Finding a Box of Family Letters

Posted and filed under media, writing.

The poem featured in today’s episode of The Writer’s Almanac on NPR is Finding a Box of Family Letters by Dana Gioia. It’s so lovely that, like many of the wonderful things which I find on the web and fear may one day disappear, I’ve decided to copy it here.

Wonderful Phrases

Posted and filed under writing.

Five Wonderful Phrases That I Resolve to Use More Frequently in Conversation soup to nuts by hook or by crook ass-over-teakettle dollars to doughnuts tits up

PicoPad Wallet Notes

Posted and filed under books, writing.

The PicoPad® is pure genius. It’s a pad of sticky notes — with a tiny pen — in a case the size of a credit card that you can easily slip it into your wallet. The PicoPad and its refills are also incredibly inexpensive. I am always scribbling notes on the backs of business cards… Read more »

Grammar Matters (Still)

Posted and filed under rants, writing.

Recently I saw a commercial for Sylvan Learning Centers. This is a company that is selling products to help your children do well in school. The ad showed a teenage girl gabbing on the telephone. The voice-over said, “Sally sure can talk fast. We can help her read fast,” or something like that. Apparently grammar… Read more »

Grammar Matters (Again)

Posted and filed under rants, writing.

Last night I writhed in agony while watching the 11 o’clock news. The local NBC affiliate was running a story about the Sacramento disc jockeys that were fired recently. (The radio personalities had sponsored a contest which led to the death of a woman.) Behind the anchorman the screen displayed DJ’s Fired. I’m sure that… Read more »

CRAM Magazine

Posted and filed under writing.

Quite nifty! My mini-tutorial — Five Tips for Smarter Playlists — has been published in the second issue of the online pdf magazine CRAM. A few weeks ago I received an email from one of their editors requesting permission to republish the essay. I had actually forgotten all about it. Then this morning someone at… Read more »

Levenger Gotham Pen Refill

Posted and filed under writing.

About a decade ago I bought a Gotham model pen from Levenger. It is by far my favorite pen. This weekend I found it in the cigar box I use to hold all my “best” pens and was quite disappointed to discover that its ink had run dry. Levenger no longer makes this fabulous pen… Read more »

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Posted and filed under books, writing.

This is an essay I wrote a loooong time ago … I must have been 13 or 14 … good old St. Paul’s Catholic Elementary School in Daytona Beach, FL …

The Commonly Confused Words Test

Posted and filed under games, writing.

Amazing! According to this test I am an English Genius. It was not a surprise to see that I scored a perfect 100%, actually, on the advanced sections. What was shocking was that I scored in the embarrassingly-low 80s on what were supposed to be the simple sections. That, and the fact that I could… Read more »

Funny Stuff in My Inbox — High School Essays

Posted and filed under comedy, writing.

These are from a joke email circulating that purports to be “ANALOGIES & METAPHORS FOUND IN HIGH SCHOOL ESSAYS”. I highly doubt that these were actually culled from high school essays. The main reason I don’t believe it is because there is no point of reference. There is no notation or source. The second reason… Read more »