Setting aside the jokey one above, it is nonetheless wise for writers to avoid clichés as much as possible. Most editors and many reviewers are allergic to them; the reaction is to look more carefully at the writing and perhaps to be less forgiving. Some clichés are more offensive than others, so we are told by the […]
Category: Offbeat
Haiku signs in New York
In New York 12 street signs with a haiku underneath (designed by John Morse), have begun to appear. The plan is to install about 200 such signs, some in Spanish, at “crash-prone”crosswalks. They are believed to be ‘an eye-catching way to encourage safety.’ An example is a fallen bike with the caption: A sudden car […]
Too much coverage? Only when it is inaccurate!
Oscar Wilde is reputed to have said, “”The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” Others have paraphrased this as there is no such thing as bad publicity. This came to mind when I began scanning the web and the press in preparation for this column and discovered the astonishing […]
Spain fines helmetless film stars’ producers
Thanks to David Lawrence for bringing this to my attention. […]
Canadian satirist on bullied gay teen’s suicide
Strong words from Rick Mercer: “It’s no longer good enough for us to tell kids who are different that it’s gonna get better. We have to make it better now”. The statement comes from Rick’s latest rant, which was inspired by the suicide of 15-year-old Jamie Hubley, and was broadcast on this Tuesday’s episode of […]
Traffic mimes in Caracas, Venezuela
The Huffington Post and other media recently carried stories about the use of traffic mimes in CARACAS, the capital city. The job of the mimes is “tame lawless traffic”. About 120 mimes dressed in clown-like outfits wagged their fingers at traffic violators and pedestrians who streaked across busy avenues. Apparently in Caracas motorcycles “roar down […]
A new word: Paraprosdokian
Ian Scott introduced me to a new word “paraprosdokian’ — “a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part.” Wikipedia adds: “It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, […]
Amish jailed for refusal to display safey triangles on buggies
Steve Robrahn wrote on the Reuters website a report about 8 Amish men who were jailed after refusing to pay fines for failure to display orange-red safety triangles on their horse-drawn buggies. Their sentences ranged from 3-10 days. “The defendants contend that paying the fines would amount to complying with a law that violates their […]
Barry’s Blog #9
Authorship: How many is too many? Ana Marusic is a frequent contributor to WAME discussions and one topic that crops often crops up is authorship, and specifically, are there times when many authors are justified. After a systematic review, it appears the answer depends entirely on the discipline. In the Introduction to this report, Marusic […]
Barry’s Blog #6
Declining paintball injuries There was recently a report that a paintball caused a British woman’s breast implant to explode. That is the bad news. The good news is that paintball injuries have actually decreased in the United States. Hospital emergency visits due to air and paintball guns fell 20% from 2006 to 2008. Most such […]