Yesterday, I said it had been quite a week for news. In fact, I can’t stop reading. This is a special edition, with news unrelated to James Comey or Russia. Continue reading
Church of the Informed Citizen: May 22, 2017
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Category Archives: Journalism
Church of the Informed Citizen: May 21, 2017
What a week for news. I’m still reeling from it. Make sure you didn’t miss any of the biggest stories: Here’s the New York Times‘ Saturday roundup, aptly titled, Having Trouble Keeping Up With All the Trump News? Here Are the Must-Reads.
Church of the Informed Citizen: May 7, 2017
Several months ago, my husband and I began opening up our house on Sunday mornings to friends who want to join us for newspaper reading. I consider knowing what’s going on in the world a civic responsibility, an obligation I owe to myself, my community and my country. Setting aside time to read the Sunday papers is important to me, and encouraging my friends to do the same feels right as well.
Found Poetry: Survivors, Two Continents
I’m no poet, but a reader of both poetry and the news. Sometimes they don’t seem so far apart. Here, a found poem, based on excerpts from original reporting in The New York Times and Chicago Tribune. Continue reading
A Modern Trifecta: Science, Technology, Ethics
Christmas is past, the new year ahead, and in between traveling to and fro, baking, cooking, and cleaning, I’m able to do a bit of reading and thinking. They go together, of course; it’s one of the reasons I read.
Right now, I’m thinking, and reading, about the ethics of technology and science–the ethical challenges, that is. Continue reading
Eliminate these 2 words to improve your writing
Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. -Mark Twain
I just stumbled upon a web page (truly stumbled upon, as in “Thanks, Stumble Upon, the social media network I almost never use but might start glancing at occasionally after this!”) with a Mark Twain quote so priceless that it inspired this post:
It’s not just the quote, though. The article on the Writers Write website, “45 Ways to avoid using the word ‘very,'” goes to the heart of one of my pet peeves. There are two words that I think writers should excise from their vocabulary, and one of them is in fact “very.” The other? “Thing.” Continue reading