The analytical thinker (and writer) must soberly use facts to argue the case for the truth. But if you hate the Yankees — just viscerally hate them — and you’re literary enough, you can throw that out the window. That’s what David Bentley Hart did in his New York Times opinion piece. Here’s how it starts: … Continued
There’s a new Bitcoin blackmail scam circulating — this time based on passwords from website breaches. This extortion email is likely to be less effective than the paper letters because it’s full of obvious errors. My post last April about the Bitcoin blackmail letter in my mailbox has become popular. It generates over 300 views … Continued
I talk about the bullshit in what we read all the time. I’m so deep into it that I’m inured to the whole concept. But I had an experience yesterday that helped me recognize just how pervasive the problem of bullshit is. Here’s the scene. I’m running a plain writing workshop for a group of … Continued
I’ve always loved baseball. But it’s gotten slow and boring, and young people are losing interest. It’s time for some radical changes. Veteran sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy summed up the problem in the Boston Globe. It’s an average of 3 minutes and 45 seconds between balls put in play. There are interminable waits between innings and … Continued
I edit smart people. And I don’t pull punches. If your writing has a problem, I’m going to tell you about it. One of my writer clients recently posted some of my editorial comments on Facebook, so everyone could see how, ahem, “direct” I was. He called me “ruthlessly encouraging.” This guy is writing a … Continued
At the UN’s World Health Assembly, which took place in May, health experts attempted to reach consensus on ways to improve health worldwide. As in any international gathering, there was conflict. But this year’s conference featured strong-arm tactics on the unlikely issue of breastfeeding. If you’ve never had a baby, you probably wonder what all … Continued
EPA head Scott Pruitt resigned yesterday in the wake of a dozen corruption accusations. His resignation letter is puffed up and implies that God backs both Trump and Pruitt, who did nothing wrong. Hmm . . . If you want to know the complete list of what Scott Pruitt did wrong, from spending $43,000 of … Continued
If you are a consultant, you’re supposed to be providing a service your client can’t get on her own. The usual dynamic is “I know about my area of expertise; I can help you with that.” But what happens when your client is more of an expert than you are? Your ability to contribute to an … Continued