Writing
Tawt I Saw a Puddy Tat
01/11/15 10:28 Filed in: Interests
Mark Steyn is a writer who Bob and I enjoy reading. He is has a needle sharp wit that he uses in his writing and TV discussions. It appears he got a cat a year ago and quite enjoys having him. The cat is named Marvin. Mark Steyn did a Halloween video and he is a cat album coming out. More about it here.
Comments
Prepositions
30/05/15 16:07 Filed in: Interests
In all of the writing I need to do for my current work, Bob and I talk a lot about wording. He commented the other day that we both have a propensity to overuse prepositions. Then the next day here comes this comic.
Hiatus
24/02/15 20:08 Filed in: Personal
In spite of working at trying to keep up a daily entry for the past 2.5 years in this blog, I have had to accept a forced hiatus from putting my thoughts and different informational items here. For some reason, my website software refused to export and publish my daily musings. There are still glitches yet I have gotten the site back to publishing but only by dropping or deselecting 1.5 years of entries. I am hoping they will have the kinks worked out soon and I can placed the other entries back with what is what will show on my site. It has been discouraging to say the least.
I may slowly go back and fill in the gap with interesting topics and musings. I have enjoyed doing this, actually much better than Facebook since it is my creation, not just bits and pieces placed in someone else's software media that makes them money.
I may slowly go back and fill in the gap with interesting topics and musings. I have enjoyed doing this, actually much better than Facebook since it is my creation, not just bits and pieces placed in someone else's software media that makes them money.
Sentences and Prepositions
24/11/14 16:20 Filed in: Interests
Bob has a better memory and understanding of English grammar than I do. What I was exposed to was not absorbed to the level of sticking with me. Many times he reminds me you should not end a sentence with a preposition. Well, this rule overall is full of hooey. Just see what Churchill thought of this.
“A great man once said, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” “
Read about it here and see where definitely one can use prepositions at the end of a sentence.
“As for today, according to the Oxford Dictionaries, there are four primary types of sentences where it sounds more natural to end a sentence with a preposition:
Infinitive: Joe had no one to go with.
Who, what, where type questions: What song were you listening to?
Passive: The cat was let in.
Relative clauses: That’s the man she lived with.”
“A great man once said, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” “
Read about it here and see where definitely one can use prepositions at the end of a sentence.
“As for today, according to the Oxford Dictionaries, there are four primary types of sentences where it sounds more natural to end a sentence with a preposition:
Infinitive: Joe had no one to go with.
Who, what, where type questions: What song were you listening to?
Passive: The cat was let in.
Relative clauses: That’s the man she lived with.”
New Favorite Phrase
29/07/14 07:17 Filed in: Interests
What is the difference between a cat and a comma?
One has claws at the end of its paws while the other
has a pause at the end of a clause...
Grammarly.com
One has claws at the end of its paws while the other
has a pause at the end of a clause...
Grammarly.com
Better Writing
02/05/14 07:02 Filed in: Interests
What a nice day out today! In errand running today, we bought a number of our garden and herb plants for the year. Bob got them planted in the raised beds next to the parterre garden. Spring is here!
Well, on to the subject of the day......writing. I find writing is a struggle for me. I have lost the underlying rules of grammar, punctuation, and some spelling due to lack of use and age. As I go along though, I find I need better writing skills even more. The demand is higher on what I need to provide others. I have been trying to read some of the books I bought in the past about how to write better and with more of a punch. A lot of it is just doing it with the “practice makes perfect” concept behind it. I came across this article that i saved to blog about. It covers why everyone who teaches should teach writing. It has a number of good points to back up what I am saying here about myself. Please read on.
Well, on to the subject of the day......writing. I find writing is a struggle for me. I have lost the underlying rules of grammar, punctuation, and some spelling due to lack of use and age. As I go along though, I find I need better writing skills even more. The demand is higher on what I need to provide others. I have been trying to read some of the books I bought in the past about how to write better and with more of a punch. A lot of it is just doing it with the “practice makes perfect” concept behind it. I came across this article that i saved to blog about. It covers why everyone who teaches should teach writing. It has a number of good points to back up what I am saying here about myself. Please read on.
Literature About Nothingness
23/04/14 08:47 Filed in: Interests
One of television’s great comedic shows is Seinfeld. The concept behind it was writing about the “nothing” in our lives. Even a number of shows focused on Jerry and George developing a TV show for a network about “nothing”. As I read this particular article about Paul de Man and his rise (and fall) in the field of literary theory, at the end I felt his work was about the nothingness of his work and theory. I have to admit that I do not have an in depth background in the liberal arts. This story was fascinating because of all the background of Paul de Man himself and how he fooled so many people about who he was and his work. In some ways, another fine example of how we elevate the cool without knowing the substance.
“Twenty-five years ago, literary theory went through a crisis, and it has never really recovered its reputation. The crisis would have happened even if Paul de Man had never existed, or had never left Belgium, from which he emigrated to the United States, in 1948. But de Man became its symbol. His story, the story of a concealed past, was almost too perfect a synecdoche for everything that made people feel puzzled, threatened, or angry about literary theory.”
“Twenty-five years ago, literary theory went through a crisis, and it has never really recovered its reputation. The crisis would have happened even if Paul de Man had never existed, or had never left Belgium, from which he emigrated to the United States, in 1948. But de Man became its symbol. His story, the story of a concealed past, was almost too perfect a synecdoche for everything that made people feel puzzled, threatened, or angry about literary theory.”
Another Good Writing Bit
22/09/13 10:07 Filed in: Politics
I have covered this person’s writing style before from their blog. It is well-done and they seem to always have an apt written illustration of the issue to start. This article discusses how we often believe we are clever and have been so smart in what we do. When it is often that our counterpart or opponent has been much more clever because they are so much more devious and good at it. The article discusses why we should have been working at the Syria problem long before we are playing catch up and trying to look good at it.
Reacher
30/08/13 15:10 Filed in: Interests
Lee Child is due to have a new Reacher novel out within a few weeks. He is one of my favorite authors to read. I got Bob hooked on his books too. His books are not fluff and I feel each word used means something. It is “to the point” type of writing. So, it was with enjoyment that I came across this article of another Lee Child fan. I can see from other authors listed that this person and I would have a lot to talk about. He poses the question of which book is a person’s favorite of Lee Child’s. I have to vote the first I read, 61 Hours. It was taught and tense. It pulled me in to where I could not put it down. I love the mental analyses Reacher goes through to evaluate a tough situation or where a fight can ensue. He plans it out and it usually works. The bad people are “toast” in the end. Yahoo!!!
Edouard Daladier Moments
29/08/13 15:02 Filed in: History
I comment frequently how I love history, especially certain time periods in history. I also enjoy a good writer and one that engages the imagination with the use of their words. The words will paint images that add to what is being said. One example that is a mix of current affairs and a historical take on the run up to World War ll is found in this article. The author and blogger Diplomad is one of the writers I just described. The article to me is a well written piece and makes it point(s) well.
Justified and Writing
21/08/13 20:51 Filed in: Interests
One of the best TV shows around is Justified. Timothy Olyphant portraying Reylan Givens is a superb actor and made for that role. The writer who wrote the short stories that Justified is based upon is Elmore Leonard. Mr. Leonard passed away the other day at an age in his 80s. He was a very popular author and there was a recent article re-posted from 2001 that discussed his views and rules on writing. He advised easy on the adverbs, exclamation points and watch the Hooptedoodle. I find it always pays to listen to someone who has demonstrated they know what they are doing and he fits that bill. Here is another article from someone else who Elmore Leonard gave good life advice.
