From the category archives:

WRITING

THE “F” WORD: no longer restricted to locker room conversation

December 10, 2011

I don’t think of myself as a prude.   Granted, I do represent a generation in which ballroom dancing, etiquette classes, and other demonstrations of a more “straight-laced” society prevailed.   I still open doors for women, give up my seat when appropriate, and walk on the outside of the sidewalk when my wife is with me.  [...]

Read the full article →

COPASETIC: okay, just right, all in order

November 27, 2011

My first “real job” was with Nabisco as a salesperson.   I was a disaster.  Instead of “selling” a store owner on purchased vast amounts of product, I would agree with them that business was slow and they probably didn’t need more boxes of cookies and crackers.  The company sent a man to “mentor” me on [...]

Read the full article →

OBTUSE: dull

November 14, 2011

A person can be obtuse. So can a topic, a program, a comment, even a movie.   It all depends upon how engaging they are.  And some people are just plain obtuse … boring … dull. It doesn’t take a lot to dis-engage someone.  A discussion may start out in a very interesting way, but soon [...]

Read the full article →

DENOUEMENT: in a novel, the final outcome of the plot

November 2, 2011

Much of the contemporary literature I’m reading has a variety of plots which are twisting and turning throughout the story.   I find myself scrambling to keep the names and circumstances straight … and frequently wondering just where this story is going.  I found that to be the case in the Steig Larsson series, “The Girl [...]

Read the full article →

PROPHYLACTIC: to act in advance to prevent a disease

October 26, 2011

I know, I had the same problem.   I used to think that there was only one meaning for the word prophylactic, and it had something to do with birth control.   As a matter of fact, the device, the condom, came to be known as a prophylactic.  Until fairly recent years I thought that was the [...]

Read the full article →

RE-PURPOSING: repeating a previous posting

September 27, 2011

Someone online the other day was critical of Martha Stewart for repeating a column and illustration she had prepared a year or so ago.  The gist of the criticism was that it was disingenuous of Ms  Stewart to repeat a previously-published piece without identifying it as such.  Hmmmm.    That’s an interesting way of taking a [...]

Read the full article →

COUNTER-CULTURE:

September 16, 2011

The late 60′s and early 70′s were my cultural puberty.   I was still quite fuzzy and I hadn’t yet developed my adult voice.  I was in the process of becoming culturally aware and my attempts at demonstrating it were fumbled and awkward. It was during that era that a phenomenon covered his country that has [...]

Read the full article →

PAUCITY: a condition of scarcity

August 29, 2011

Paucity is one of those words that easily could be exaggerated by misunderstanding the true meaning.   If someone says that their refrigerator is absolutely empty and their cupboards are bare, it is inappropriate to say they have a paucity of food.  The truth is that they are food-less.  If there was a paucity of food [...]

Read the full article →

POLITICAL METAPHORS: imagery used to describe politicians and their shenanigans

July 27, 2011

I have an unusual habit of reaching for my BlackBerry first thing in the morning and scanning the news before starting to stir.  It gives my wife a little respite before her alarm. There are several sites (apps) to which I go, including The New York Times. Even though I will scour the pages in [...]

Read the full article →

AUTHOR: writer

July 16, 2011

You’ll have to forgive me.  I just returned from a bookstore where they had advertised a book signing and reading by a regional author.  I had decided earlier that I wouldn’t go, having sampled the book and finding it less than inspirational.  But … I remember the times I’ve sat there waiting for someone to [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries