I respect this local news organization, in general -- I really do. But why do errors like this always slip through on its site?
I don’t tink so
Reply
Oh DEAR.
I'm testing out a few design ideas here, so please pardon my mess.
Hey, a girl can play once in a while.
That kind of night
I work in some funny places. Freelancing affords that kind of freedom, attached to which is the responsibility to get the work done. That has necessitated whipping out the ol' laptop wherever I can: in various waiting rooms, coffee shops, the back deck of the boat, the laundry room, the car ("Could you pull over at that Nice 'n Easy, Brian? They have wi-fi and I need to upload this stuff...").
Tonight, it means enjoying a fleeting pleasure. I wait every winter for it: Continue reading
Tonight, it means enjoying a fleeting pleasure. I wait every winter for it: Continue reading
A vote for honesty
Ah well... so much for keeping up with the blog. I hope to write more in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I want to share something beautiful that I accidentally ran across. Its simplicity, directness and honesty make me want to find the bit of Native American hidden somewhere in my heritage.
The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer, a Native American elder
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting in your heart's longing. Continue reading
Lessons from a little rowboat
This time of year brings me back to shivery mornings in an old boatyard barn, where my father readied our boat for launch each spring. A child then, I watched in awe as he sanded every inch of that huge wooden hull and lovingly applied glossy white paint and black stripes. I waited patiently for the boat's launch — and that of the little dinghy Dad had given me, where I contentedly spent so much of my childhood. It was there that he taught me the most about life, and about staying afloat after he and my mom were gone.
The following essay was first published by SheKnows.com. After my father's death in 2005, when we found a copy among some papers he'd saved, I knew that he'd heard me — and that he knew I'd heard him, too. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I bought a boat of our own. Now, as then, I feel closest to them there, on the water. Happy spring ;-). Continue reading
The following essay was first published by SheKnows.com. After my father's death in 2005, when we found a copy among some papers he'd saved, I knew that he'd heard me — and that he knew I'd heard him, too. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I bought a boat of our own. Now, as then, I feel closest to them there, on the water. Happy spring ;-). Continue reading
In hard times, be selfish
Back in December, the inspiring Speaker/Author/Coach/Consultant Tom Justin wrote in his blog about a simple act of kindness that made all the difference in an otherwise stressful day. The key here: He was the giver, not the recipient. Reading it has inspired me to share two similar experiences. Continue reading
The funniest forum exchange I’ve seen in a long time
From Slashdot.org (thanks to @PhilJamesRoxby on Twitter):
Disgusting grammar.
by XcepticZP (1331217) on Thursday February 19, @11:05AM
What a disgusting display of English grammar. Come on, Slashdot! I thought you editor's had better standards.
Re:Disgusting grammar.
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 19, @11:12AM (#26917645)
If you are going to criticize someone's grammar. Your post should be grammatically flawless. And your post isn't. That's laughable.
Re:Disgusting grammar.
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 19, @11:39AM (#26917979)
If YOU are going to. criticize someone else's. Grammar. Don't use sentence fragments to do. It.
Re:Disgusting grammar.
by hairykrishna (740240) on Thursday February 19, @12:38PM (#26918911)
Shatner, is that you?
How not to begin a sentence
A full day of copyediting today reminded me of another pet peeve: Goofy words at the beginning of sentences.
They're the lazy guy's way of communicating, the equivalent of n in an algebraic equation. In these sentences as in algebra, the objective is to get rid of the n and replace it with something meaningful. And when we're successful, the whole equation—the sentence—adds up more sensibly.
Two n words stand out: Continue reading
Eight articles on women and heart disease (Go Red!)
My mother -- thin, fit, vibrant -- died at just 57, some 20 years ago, of heart disease that masqueraded as anything but. So when SheKnows hired me to write a series of articles in recognition of American Heart Month and of the Go Red campaign to raise awareness of women's heart disease, I was particularly interested. Had we known then how women's heart disease signs can differ from those of men, she might have seen me graduate college, met my husband and children, and grown old with my father.
Here are the articles. You no doubt know some of this stuff, but it all bears repeating. Often.- 7 Ways to cut your risk of heart disease Year after year, heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of women in the US, eclipsing other threats such as cancer. While you can't control some factors (like genetics), there's oh-so-much you can do.
- 8 Surprising heart disease facts This silent killer can be sneakier and swifter than you realize. Arm yourself with the heart disease facts. Continue reading
Preventing apostrophe abuse
It's a danger that reaches into every aspect of modern communication: apostrophe abuse. Every day, thousands of innocent apostrophes vanish, leaving the words where they lived bereft of meaning. They're not even safe at Amazon.
When they do turn up, they're typically enslaved into the service of some inappropriate word. Witness the well-meaning "it's" used as a possessive, as in "an apostrophe worth it's weight in gold." Oh, the humanity.
Equally as disturbing is the random appearance of these humble punctuation marks in places an apostrophe should never go -- the dark, dank underbelly of words that are neither possessives nor contractions. "We have dictionary's for sale!" (Don't try that at home.) Makes me wonder if perhaps there's been an appropriation for apostrophes in the president's new stimulus package, and now we have to use them up. (Hey, why not? It includes funding for a butterfly garden in Florida -- why can't they back a few apostrophes? Commas, however, may be excessive.)
Enough of the abuse. Apostrophes, unite and proclaim your simple truths:
Continue reading