"In the highest civilization the book is still the highest delight."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) Letters and Social Aims, "Quotation and Originality" American philosopher best known for Transcendentalism.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Earth Day
Tonight between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. city skylines and rural landscapes will be in darkness. Power will be out. Or will it? The percentage of power saved last year during Earth Day was less than the previous year. Has the public lost interest in Earth Day? The World Wildlife Fund optimistically predicts that 400 Canadian cities will participate this year, up from 300 last year. Raising awareness for climate change and conservation is every one's responsibility. Let's turn off the power wherever we can ~ it is only for one hour.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Smile for Today:
William Allen White, the editor of the Emporia Gazette, Kansas, described his war against his staff's over-use of the word 'very' this way:
If you feel you must write 'very', write 'damn'. So, when the urge for emphasis is on him the reporter writes, 'It was a damn fine victory. I am damn tired but damn well ~ and damn excited.' Then because it is the Emporia Gazette, the sub-editor deletes the profanity and the quotation reads. 'It was a fine victory. I am tired but well ~ and excited.' That's how the Gazette attains its restrained, simple and forceful style.
Restrained, simple and forceful.
Writer's Guide and Index to English
Joan Harkness, Wise and Witty Observations of a Word Watcher, Andre Deutsch Ltd. 1998.
William Allen White, the editor of the Emporia Gazette, Kansas, described his war against his staff's over-use of the word 'very' this way:
If you feel you must write 'very', write 'damn'. So, when the urge for emphasis is on him the reporter writes, 'It was a damn fine victory. I am damn tired but damn well ~ and damn excited.' Then because it is the Emporia Gazette, the sub-editor deletes the profanity and the quotation reads. 'It was a fine victory. I am tired but well ~ and excited.' That's how the Gazette attains its restrained, simple and forceful style.
Restrained, simple and forceful.
Writer's Guide and Index to English
Joan Harkness, Wise and Witty Observations of a Word Watcher, Andre Deutsch Ltd. 1998.
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