Two hundred sixty-one pages full of examples, ideas, resources, and more...it is written especially to help people write good releases for more than journalists: it's written to help people write for the Web.

A very multi-talented person is Joan Stewart. She's fast becoming one of my heroes.

Recently, someone asked me, "Which is correct for the plural of my last name - Strauss's or Strausses or Strauss'???? And what about possessives?

First, let's discuss sibilants. Merriam-Webster's defines a sibilant as having, containing, or producing the sound of or a sound resembling that of the s or the sh in sash. It says sibilant is a present participle of sibilare, which is to "hiss, whistle, of imitative origin."

Chicago Manual of Style says (6.7) The PLURALS of most nouns are formed by the addition of "s" or "es." When the noun ends in soft "ch" or in "s, sh, j,x, or z," the plural inflection is "es."
So it appears the plural of your name is "Strausses." The Strausses live there. The Strusses are going to Rome. The Strausses have guests.

You'd only use an apostrophe if it were used in a possessive manner: The Strauss's landscaping...The Strauss's dog.

Chicago Manual of Style says (6.24)The general rule for the POSSESSIVE of nouns covers most proper nouns, including most names ending in sibilants...

Examples: Kansas's, Burn's, Ross's. Rice University Style Guide says:
Form the possessive of singular nouns, including proper
nouns and words ending in sibilants, with ’s (but heed exceptions
noted in Chicago).

• Mrs. Davis's house


• The boss's office


• Octavio Paz's work

Here's a terrific article:
Making Words Possessive When They End in Sibilants

Hydrocephalus
Cerebral Palsy
Scoliosis
Seizures
Severe delays

Doctors say Maria will be deaf and blind, and never able to feed herself or walk. But her parents know their daughter can do more if given a chance.

Rather than blame the state, although of course this must be addressed, and is being addressed next Monday at a hearing, perhaps people could stay tuned to Roberts' blog and see how things turn our. If there's a further delay, then perhaps concerned people could send some money to the family.

It's just that doctors have expressed concern that she must stand as soon as possible to hopefully avoid further deterioration of her little body. As Roberts says, the sooner she is upright, the better. I'll keep you posted.

NOTE: Saturday's paper published an update. People came through, offering lots of help. The state will approve of the walker Maria needs. And the El Zaribah Shrine will provide the stander. What an outpouring of support for Maria's parents! And the article itself is an encouragement. Roberts quotes the grandmother of a child with disabilities: "Never give up on these children. They surprise us so much."

He is a very bright little boy but he has difficulty with cause and effect. He does not have forethought as to what his actions might cause. Zachary is unaware of dangers such as: open bodies of water, crossing the street, or thttp://www.ossweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt.cgi#he ill intention of strangers.

Zachary has a very difficult time socializing with other people. It would be so nice for him to not only have a best friend, but a dog would also teach him to look outside of himself and to care for another living being.

Karen's enthusiam and commitment truly make a difference in the lives of many families, and she hopes her organization can grow in a healthy way so she can see increased numbers of families helped.

Her agency's website is at http://www.4pawsforability.org - it's worth a visit.

And be sure to read about her children. She has one adopted child at home, and three in Haiti awaiting the time when all the approvals can be made.

It rocks.

Little did I know that earlier that same evening, just a few miles away, my brother, David Crook, was in the parking lot of Big Lots when he spotted the magnificent sunset. He grabbed his Pentax and got a few good shots. Granted, sunsets look their best with some kind of landmarks involved, but in this case, they would have detracted from the splendor in the sky. Here's what I think is the best of the "lot."

Oh, and did I mention that Andie's home is Christmas Hills Tree Farm, home of the Burton Blue Noble fir? Yep.

John and Cheryl Crook Burton are my nephew and niece, and the help from the Crooks was invaluable. They've spent a lot of time at the farm. In fact, David goes up to Mossyrock every harvest to help John and Cheryl in any number of ways. His photography helped make this site come together.

Here's a picture (lightly edited by me) David took in June 2008 when they flew up for Andie Burton's high school graduation:

Okay. Since I didn't ask my daughter, Shannon, what fourteeners were, I googled them, and when she and my son-in-law Roger returned, she gave me more info:

Just wanted to let you know we made it back. In one piece. I suppose it WAS rather exhausting for a "vacation" and now I'm trying to recover at home......it's been busy! We did climb three 14-ers. Got caught in a storm at the top of the one where we did two together. Scared the living daylights out of me. Thank you Lord that we didn't get hit by lightning. The one we did the following day was hard and NO storms! BEAUTIFUL alpine flowers/waterfalls, clouds, snowfields, etc., etc. I thought about you and your photographic eye! But the price to get up where we were is very very hard!

We climbed "Redcloud," "Sunshine," (those were the two hooked together, sort of, where we got caught in the storm) and then the next day on the other side of the dirt road (Grizzly Gulch Trail off of Cinnamon Pass) "Handies" Peak. It's great adventure and a great work out as well!

Shannon and Roger do a lot of climbing, running, etc.. They live near Pike's Peak. What a fun thing to do. I enjoy hiking as well, but not Extreme Hiking. And I have acrophobia, so have to limit where I hike. But...what a terrific thing to do on the Fourth of July!

Do you get confused when the plural of a word doesn't end in "s"?

"Criteria" is plural (like "phenomena"), while "criterion" is singular, like "phenomenon." You have one criterion or many criteria. It's easy to be confused, since some words (e.g., "data" and "media") are the same whether singular or plural.

Examples: Kelly Ward detailed the six basic criteria for accepting a client...The restaurant has one criterion for entry: every customer must wear shoes or sandals.

Criteria: plural

Criterion: single