tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484991614156942592012-02-03T13:02:41.845-08:00The Reluctant BloggerThe Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-90595127743387669032012-02-03T13:02:00.001-08:002012-02-03T13:02:41.858-08:00Plagiarism
This week in one of my classes, we discussed how to avoid
the dangers of the internet in violating copyright on images. While we did not discuss
text, the same thing goes for that, too.
In my working life, I’ve run into plenty of people, of all
different ages, who believe that writing consists of finding information on the
internet, copying it and pasting it into a Word document. FurthermoreThe Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-50626325058258969942012-01-27T12:19:00.000-08:002012-01-27T12:19:00.906-08:00The Lobotomy Certificate
This week, during a semi-impromptu presentation in a class
I’m enrolled in, the presenter introduced a young man by saying that he was
working toward a “lobotomy certificate.” The young man was willing to let that
pass, but when the presenter was questioned and she repeated exactly what she
had said with smiling conviction, he corrected her by piping up with “phlebotomy certificate.”
All The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-57266358092786023182012-01-20T08:43:00.000-08:002012-01-20T08:43:14.782-08:00Robins Only Live in Springtime
It has begun.
Every year, I hear all kinds of odd statements, old wives’
tales and outright fallacies casually and predictably pronounced by news
anchors, weathermen, and marketers (via TV commercials).
It seems most of them have to do with animals, holidays and
seasons. Many of them are flat-out ridiculous. Yet people perpetuate them with
glee.
It began early this year during a warm The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-75907550634027561622012-01-14T12:51:00.000-08:002012-01-14T12:51:39.508-08:00Which Pronoun?
Do you ever get corrected when you say “him and I” or “Joe
and me”? People are frequently confused about the proper use of direct and
indirect object pronouns, especially because half the people they listen to and
model are wrong.
Here’s how to get it right.
Don’t worry about what part of speech you’re using and
whether it’s direct or indirect. That’s too much analysis. Just try this The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-54112179903687915272012-01-06T09:03:00.000-08:002012-01-06T09:03:35.182-08:00Taking Care of a Pet With a Cold
The disclaimer: If
your pet is sick, please consult a veterinarian. This advice is not intended to
replace the personalized care you will get when you physically take your animal
to a licensed veterinarian.
I have been volunteering at a local animal shelter for awhile now, in the veterinary clinic. Adopters can bring their newly adopted pets in
for free help with shelter-related health The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-65269610426786080732012-01-02T09:12:00.000-08:002012-01-02T09:12:30.065-08:00Rest
This New Year’s Day, as you know, was both a holiday and a Sunday.
Traditionally, holidays and Sundays were not only days off from work, but also
generally days of rest.
It used to be (or so I’m told) that nothing was open on Sundays
or holidays except churches and the odd donut shop. You couldn’t just step out
and shop for new clothes or TVs or pick up a few necessities on Christmas. Lots The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-80445335930357980012011-12-27T12:54:00.000-08:002011-12-27T12:54:23.665-08:00Some of the good things about 2011
It was a trying year in many respects for many people. But
there was good with the bad, and there were gains with the losses.
I gained new contacts and friends this year through
networking. Networking is one of those things that people say is crucial to job
searching, but should also be practiced when not job searching. Networking is a
difficult thing for an introvert. Much of the advice The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-25123850297971094862011-12-19T13:28:00.000-08:002011-12-19T13:28:52.503-08:00Perspective
You’ve probably heard a lot about gratitude as a means of improving
your mood or your life. You make a daily list of all the things and people in
your life that you’re grateful for. It can help put things in perspective.
I call this the “There art thou happy” list. In Romeo and
Juliet, after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt and Romeo has been
banished from the city for his crime, The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-50538672748197704392011-12-07T12:47:00.001-08:002011-12-07T12:50:21.469-08:00Untried Job Search Strategies
The Disclaimer: There’s
a heavy dose of honesty here. Live with it.
I've been out of work now for a long time. Too long. And the
unemployment has come with a supersized order of rejection, big enough to clog anybody’s
emotional arteries.
I’ve been advised to think positively (that’s another blog
for another day). But after almost a year of unemployment and daily job
searching, I think The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-77932606008839700302011-11-28T11:03:00.000-08:002011-11-28T11:03:06.797-08:00Drained by a Vampire MovieI went to see Breaking Dawn Part I this weekend. I didn’t particularly care to, but a certain friend of mine loves the novels on which this movie is based, so I went with her. I enjoyed three things about the experience: the company of my friend, the chance to have a meal while sitting in the theater (we went to one of those theaters with table service), and the fact that I didn’t pay a thing forThe Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-75461763563766237472011-11-22T12:28:00.000-08:002011-11-22T12:28:09.527-08:00Don't Write NegativelyThe disclaimer: I see from my previous blog post titles that I've not practiced what I'm about to preach. However, this blog post title is intended to be ironic.You’ve heard the old adage: “Think positive.” (To which I might reply, ‘think positively,’ but that’s another blog.)I’d like to extend that adage to “Write positively.”Don’t is not a very powerful word. Case in point: When you’re The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-29853267072604612832011-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:002011-11-15T14:10:39.783-08:00The Things You Remember From CollegeI don’t know why I got all nostalgic, but the other day I got to remembering a certain college professor of mine – John Weihaupt. I took his classes in oceanography and astrogeology (the geology of the planets and moons), and admired the heck out of him. I even asked him to be my advisor on an independent study.He had led research expeditions all around the world, making important discoveries, The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-728172938302082272011-11-07T09:55:00.000-08:002011-11-07T09:55:04.915-08:00Be Careful Where You Put That Word!Be careful with your word order; it could entirely change the meaning of what you’re saying.Some words seem to be very easily misplaced. They slip in and out of sentences so stealthily that it’s hard to keep track of them. They are usually small, slippery words, like “all,” “not,” and “only.” Here are a couple of examples.
“Not all fats are bad” versus “All fats are not bad”Look, there are two The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-35520012152404233882011-11-02T14:22:00.000-07:002011-11-02T14:22:55.386-07:00A Novel Idea (Even If You Don’t Have an Idea for a Novel)Have you ever said, “Someday, I’m going to write a novel”? Well, and have you done it?Yesterday, I began writing my novel. I will finish on November 30.I am participating (again) in National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30.I hear you saying that’s crazy. But I’ve done it before. In 2009, I wrote my first novel. I did not publish my novel The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-38552198083295915382011-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:002011-10-28T10:00:58.894-07:00The Ghost of Halloween Costumes Past (With No Ghosts) The Disclaimer: OK, so I'm relatively new at this blog platform, and I struggled with making the layout the way I wanted it. The blog platform won.
It’s easy to find a Halloween costume in a thrift store and cheaper than going to a Halloween store. The quality is usually better, too, because it’s real clothing and not a plastic garbage bag that’s trying to pass itself off as leather.
Here The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-86107441527878804242011-10-21T15:12:00.000-07:002011-10-21T15:12:42.280-07:00Alternatives to “Good Luck”The Disclaimer: See that bump in my cheek? It’s my tongue.I recently went to a hardware store and told them my problem: the spout on my gas can fell down inside the can and now I can’t pour the gas out without it all running down the side of the can and pooling in a perilous flammable puddle. I asked if they had a replacement spout. The clerk’s answer was, “Good luck!”Now, I’ve had a lot of The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-36137204474770938042011-10-05T11:22:00.000-07:002011-10-05T11:22:54.526-07:00Don't Abandon Quotation MarksWe are all familiar with the uses of quotation marks. Well, actually, that’s just wishful thinking on my part – plenty of people misuse them (see the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks).Those of us who are familiar with them know that, at least in America, they are used mainly for two reasons: to indicate irony, which is what people are unwittingly doing in the aforementioned blog, and to The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-59808455887626131012011-10-01T13:37:00.000-07:002011-10-01T13:37:46.926-07:00A Wholly Unoriginal PostIs there truly nothing new under the sun? Seth Godin says that the number of creators is rising; that is, for every 100 consumers, there is someone with a blog, a TV show, or a product of some kind. When the world is saturated with creators, are the creators just re-creating old creations?We’ve all heard this complaint from movie critics: That movie was formulaic. This movie was just that movie The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-149788980078887142011-09-26T12:52:00.000-07:002011-09-26T12:52:50.048-07:00What Is Personal?The definition of what is personal, and therefore private, has changed with time.It used to be that your body was personal and private. At various times in history, you dared not show your neck or ankle or bellybutton to anyone and seeing someone else’s in public was scandalous. There was shame in revealing the personal, at least to the wrong person and at the wrong time. To reveal the personal The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-9340301826978076982011-09-16T10:57:00.000-07:002011-09-16T10:57:50.078-07:00An Occupational Hazard of WritersThe Disclaimer: This isn’t so much a disclaimer as a credit. The following was inspired by a conversation with new friend and fellow ex-teacher Robert Hageman. Thanks, Rob!One of the biggest occupational hazards of being a writer and editor is that everyone thinks they can do the job as well as, if not better than, you can. (Hey, that’s funny -- that was one of my occupational hazards as a The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-47290006934580079162011-09-06T09:48:00.000-07:002011-09-06T09:48:15.885-07:00I Made a MistakeIn a recent job interview, I had to fess up to an infamous error I made while at my last job. I was editing an edition of a research journal. The editing and proofreading had been a long process, and it was down to the finishing touches. Suddenly, word came that the journal was going to be handed out at a conference and it needed to go to print now. The graphic designer was preparing the standardThe Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-24845403734519395972011-08-31T10:36:00.000-07:002011-08-31T10:36:13.833-07:00Idiosyncrasy or verbal crutch?The disclaimer: Yep, I use a couple of these myself, without even thinking about it. And it must stop.Have you ever noticed people peppering their speech with useless or even erroneously used words and phrases? Do you think it’s colorful or just annoying? I’m talking about things like:· “Actually.”Example: “So, I actually called the phone company, and I actually complained about my bill.The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-32817266484622193752011-08-28T13:35:00.000-07:002011-08-28T13:35:57.602-07:00UnconnectedThe disclaimer: This blog is most decidedly colored by the mental state one can get into when one is unemployed.I believe I’m not the first to suggest that this globally connected world is not so connected. We are losing sight of each other.When we drive, all that metal and rubber between us makes it easy to lose sight of the fact that all the cars around us contain at least one human being each.The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-28979922118004855552011-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:002011-08-21T12:31:03.815-07:00The Devolution of HandwritingI’m sure you’ve read (probably in the neat, sans-serif lettering of digitized print) that cursive writing and penmanship are on the decline. That, indeed, some schools have even stopped teaching cursive writing because it is so useless. That except perhaps for calligraphy hobbyists, everyone’s penmanship, not just doctors’, is rapidly waning.Perhaps like me, you still have some use for writing byThe Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-53416829468282904292011-08-13T13:17:00.000-07:002011-08-13T13:17:41.500-07:00Stick Your Apostrophes Where They BelongThe Disclaimer: I have been an English teacher and am currently a professional writer and editor --though an unemployed one -- so you weigh the evidence.Have you forgotten the difference between a plural, a possessive and a contraction? Are you unsure about when to use an apostrophe and where to stick it? Your misuse of apostrophes could cause undesirable consequences for you, not the least of The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-82742339411110250662011-08-09T12:48:00.000-07:002011-08-09T12:48:00.123-07:00Lee Pace and Real ActingThe Disclaimer: Now, I may be getting all critical here about actors and maybe one actor in particular, but that’s not to say that I actually know what I’m talking about. Yes, I’ve been there myself, most un-notably in the fifth grade musical and the college one-act festival. But no, I was not good.Lee Pace is seriously underrated. Do you know him? He doesn’t usually show up on magazine covers The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648499161415694259.post-29093395335694271062011-08-09T12:28:00.000-07:002011-08-09T12:28:00.193-07:00The DisclaimerThis blog posting is one big disclaimer.From here on out, this blog will be irregular and unclassifiable. There’s no set topic. It’s undisciplined and unscheduled. Even the tone may vary. You might expect to find musings on books, movies and popular culture. You might find a semi-serious discourse on a concept such as creativity. You might find a lesson in grammar. Who knows? I certainly don’t.I The Reluctant Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485872087842878123noreply@blogger.com0