I was depressed as hell today and couldn’t get much accomplished on the job front. I sat at the computer and felt depressed with my job prospects, repulsed by social media, devoid of creativity. This evening I took a walk with a neighbour, and she described the same feelings. We both knew the cause: the… Continue Reading
There’s a new book on bullying, Sticks and Stones, by author Emily Bazelon. I haven’t read it yet, but Bazelon’s article in the National Post today contained a phrase that I found apt: the empathy gap. I don’t know if Bazelon coined this phrase or not, but she’s spot on when she writes that the… Continue Reading
Have you ever wondered about these things: ♦What reports should I hand in to the shareholders? Maybe I should feed the reports into the shredder instead? ♦Couldn’t we move on to brighter thoughts before we move onto the carpet for story time? The correct preposition to use may seem obvious when examples are put side… Continue Reading
It’s not often that a news item makes me laugh out loud, but this one sure did. French publisher Flammarion has caused a furor on this side of the pond with a children’s book by author Marc Cantin. The setting for the book is Quebec, and the main character is a beaver named Kebec who… Continue Reading
An editor recently gave me one of his business cards, which were embossed with the words accuracy, brevity, clarity — the trifecta of the profession. Today, I was reminded of clarity when I saw the text on the side of a business van. Someone in the ‘hood was receiving a delivery of upscale grub —… Continue Reading
Here’s a punctuation problem that used to trip me up: When do you use commas between adjectives in a list? Consider the following examples: ♦Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the crisp red, white, and blue flag whipping in the wind. ♦When he served the rich chocolate layer cake for breakfast, I knew… Continue Reading
I attended an EAC networking event last night for students and new editors. I walked out of there with a lot to think about. I was heartened to meet so many bona fide (read: gainfully employed!) editors in so many different fields, and I was inspired to think of myself as an entrepreneur after speaking… Continue Reading
Editors at The New York Times got an earful last Sunday after publishing the obituary of Yvonne C. Brill, a celebrated rocket scientist. The obit opened with personal details about Brill, and it was mention of her “mean beef stroganoff” that caused a furor on Twitter. The obit was subsequently changed, the stroganoff left to… Continue Reading
I was spelling the word surreptitious the other day, and I had to grab the Canadian Oxford because something just didn’t look right. Sure enough, something wasn’t right: I had written surrepticious. Spelling matters. I would argue that text with several spelling errors—not merely typos—makes the writer look careless at best and unintelligent at worst.… Continue Reading
With the Toronto Blue Jays playing their first game of the season tonight, who can think straight? The Jays have a lot of talent this year, but I’m most excited to see R. A. Dickey‘s knuckleball and the shortstop moves of Jose Reyes. I’m going to Sunday’s game against Boston, but who knows who will… Continue Reading