The Cardinal Connection

The Cardinal Connection The Cardinal Connection The Cardinal Connection By Maeve Maddox American bird watchers enjoy seeing the bright scarlet plumage of the bird we call the cardinal (Cardinalis virginianus). The bird got its name because it reminded early explorers of the scarlet robes of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic church. cardinal: One of the seventy ecclesiastical princes (six cardinal bishops, fifty cardinal priests, and fourteen cardinal deacons) who constitute the popes council, or the sacred college, and to whom the right of electing the pope has been restricted since the third Lateran council in 1173. Originally, every priest permanently attached to a church was called a cardinal. The word came from Latin cardo, a hinge. The business of the church hinged on permanent personnel. One sense of cardinal still in use is important. cardinal adjective: something on which something else hinges or depends, fundamental; chief, principal, of special importance. We speak of cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude (so called because all other virtues depend upon them) cardinal numbers: one, two, three, four etc. (as opposed to the ordinal numbers first, second, third, fourth, etc.) cardinal points of the compass: North, South, East, West In time, the term cardinal came to refer to the first or most important priest attached to a church. Then, as the administrative reach of the papacy increased, the term came to be attached to clerics charged with advising the pope and helping him administer the work of the church. The college of cardinals, given canonical form by Pope Eugene III in 1150, has had the right to elect the pope since 1173. The cardinals may have been wearing red robes earlier, but in 1294, Pope Boniface officially conferred red cassocks, stockings, gloves, and hats on them. Red had been the trademark color of a cardinal for at least two centuries before Columbus spied the New World and exploration began that would discover the pretty red bird. In the U.S., the cardinal is a popular sports mascot. Universities that have it as their mascot include Ball State, Plattsburgh, and the University of Louisville. Even the University of Arkansas, famous for its Razorback mascot, derives its school colors of red and white from an association with the bird. Before the adoption of the razorback mascot, the university football team, organized in 1894, was called the Cardinals and the school colors were cardinal red and white. The story is that, after the triumphant 1909 season, the coach told the team that theyd played like a wild band of razorback hogs. The student body promptly voted for a mascot change, but the colors remained the same. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsHyper and Hypo50 Plain-Language Substitutions for Wordy Phrases

MEDIA COVERAGE FOR SELF-PUBLISHED WRITER

MEDIA COVERAGE FOR SELF-PUBLISHED WRITER Since newspapers generally have a policy of NOT reviewing self-published books its almost impossible to get a book review in any newspaper. Some papers go so far as to not review anything published A feature story about you is more credible and likely to generate interest than a review of your book. So look at your life and see what you have to offer newspapers readers. Do you collect Santa Claus dolls or trains? Have you turned your living room into a bird sanctuary where 50 birds fly free where your couch used to sit? Do you spend your weekends building tree houses for neighborhood kids? I wrote feature stories on all these people. When you can get a reporter interested in you running your 10th marathon, or heading up the drive to distribute sleeping bags to the homeless its very easy to work in, Oh, and I just published a book. If you have something in your life to pitch to a reporter OTHER than your book, youre almost guaranteed to be able to talk about writing the book in the article. Your self-published book may drive interest in something the public wants to know about. For instance, a parent who self-publishes a book on how to get through the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of her childs cancer to raise money for cancer research or her child, is likely to get a reporters attention. So is the coach who writes a book on how to introduce your child to sports. If you have a recognized expertise, most reporters will find a story in that. Have you written a book on the history of your town and had to go on some amazing road trips, or dig into old courthouse documents, or interview veterans in a near Are you related to someone famous who is mentioned in the book? You dont have to be Oprahs long lost sister, but if the towns local celebrity is related to you, then good for you! If youre a famous coach, teacher or political figure who self-publishes a book, chances are youll get the attention of any small town paper. Think holidays! If youve written a book on Thanksgiving traditions, or how to wrap Christmas gifts, or anything related to the big holidays- Veterans Day/Memorial Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas, Easter etc., MOST small to medium newspapers will write a story to tie the holiday to a local person. Dont stop at your daily paper. Almost all cities have alternative papers, and rural areas have weekly papers. If you live in a bedroom community then chances are you have a weekly paper whod love to write about your book. But read several issues of the paper FIRST, before you write the editor. Try to see if your book has relevance for the readership. There are all kinds of weekly papers for seniors, grandparents, sports enthusiasts, fishermen and parents. Try to find a paper (most are free and distributed at libraries, grocery stores and shopping centers) that caters to people who would be interested in your book. Dont try to get a grandparenting magazine to review your Sci-fi thriller. Do get a parenting magazine to look at your How I Learned to Get Offline and Love the Playground book on parenting in a high tech society. Dont forget bloggers! Many of the larger newspapers read local blogs and will pick up on any content that generates online buzz. The trick is to never stop marketing! You can do it!