Everyone gets a kick out of wacky signs. From Leno to Lynne Truss, lots of folks have entertained us with signage that is confusing, misleading, or just plain wrong. The title of this post shows a common mistake seen on signs: the use of an apostrophe s where just an s is correct (Cds from… Continue Reading
It was last September. My youngest had started school full-time. I felt giddy with the freedom of it all. I spent midday at the AGO, ran errands all by myself (I forgot how quickly I could get stuff done sans kids!), perused library shelves at length, went out for coffee at that place I’d always… Continue Reading
CBC Radio’s arts and culture program Q with Jian Ghomeshi aired an interview with Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg this morning. Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, advises women to embrace self-confidence. She says more women are needed in roles of power in the workplace so that women can make systemic changes. But to get there, women… Continue Reading
Today the Huffington Post tweeted an old article on usage by editor Zoe Triska. The subject: nauseated vs. nauseous. That’s a good one that has confused me before. Most editors are well versed in the usual usage suspects: alternate/alternative, loath/loathe, flaunt/flout, historic/historical, principal/principle, farther/further, and so on. One usage distinction that recently came to my attention… Continue Reading
I initially felt rather cynical about attending the career workshops on offer at Ryerson University, but it turns out I’ve found them very helpful. My big take-away (for you pedants: the way I just used take-away is not correct according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary): creating my own personal brand is a requirement. Yup, just the kind… Continue Reading
I recently created a business card combining my passions for editing and lifting. I called my freelance business “heavylifting editorial services,” and I set the phrase raising the bar for communication above a logo of a barbell. But I guess raising the bar has its origins in track and field (high jump, vaulting), so I’ve… Continue Reading
Since I wrecked my knee last fall, I’ve noticed that there are many references to standing strong in the Bible and in the writings of the saints. When you’ve experienced the vulnerability of unreliable footing, these references take on personal significance and become personal meditations. Sometimes one or two words can make all the difference… Continue Reading
How hard can this be, right? Singular subjects take singular verb forms, and plural subjects take plural verb forms: Jane runs. Jane and Spot run. But sometimes it’s tricky. Consider the following pairs of sentences, the first from Amy Einsohn’s Copyeditor’s Handbook, the second from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (if memory serves): The only… Continue Reading
CBC radio’s The Current got into the fray today concerning Mayer’s face-time edict for Yahoos. The show asked “if working from home was really working.” And the consensus was that full-time work from home is undesirable (as shown in studies), but part-time work from home can result in greater productivity because workers have choice in how and… Continue Reading
The mommy wars are back in the media again with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer apparently banning staff from working from home because lack of face time can restrict the spontaneous sharing of ideas that generates the next big thing. And Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg has extolled young women to stop worrying about work-life balance before they even need… Continue Reading