Archive for April, 2007

I read in the Sydney Morning Herald today something that made me stop and read it again. The Workplace Relations Minister, Joe Hockey, was talking about the Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd. He was berating Rudd’s supposed stand-off with Union leaders about new industrial relations policies. Joe Hockey According to the Herald, “Mr Hockey dismissed...
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Some of the worst word abuse comes from the mouths of salesmen, particularly car salesmen and real estate agents. They like to twist your perception, selling something bad as if it’s great. “Renovator’s delight!” obviously means “run down pile of crap”, for example. Well, back in the old days they took even more liberties....
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So yesterday was my birthday, but enough about that. It also marked the release of the first new J R R Tolkien book since the posthumous release of The Silmarillion in 1977. It’s not really a new book by J R R Tolkien, but was editted together by his son, Christopher, using extensive notes...
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Hmm… Printing up your own sign and putting it up on the wall of your church doesn’t really count, I’m afraid.
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In a quick update to the previous post here on The Word about the use of the word scrotum in a children’s book, I have to share the words of the author herself. In an article she wrote in the LA Times in response to the whole ridiculous controversy, Susan Patron eloquently and plainly...
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Susan Patron was on a roll. An author and librarian, she wrote a book for nine to twelve year olds called The Higher Power Of Lucky. It got a decent print run of 10,000 copies to start off with. Then it won the Newbury Medal, considered to be the most prestigious literary award for...
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This is completely unrelated to anything The Word is actually about, but what the hell. I saw this driving along today and thought it was probably the coolest thing I had seen in a long time. So, I thought I’d share it with you all. When you see something like this you just know...
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Here in Australia, the national broadcaster conducted a poll to determine the all time most memorable speeches. ABC Radio National received 5,000 responses to its call for the public to name speeches that they considered to be unforgettable. Dr Jane Connors, ABC Radio National Manager, said, ‘We are delighted by the enthusiastic and thoughtful...
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Have you ever wondered just how much word choice can affect perception? Obviously, the greatest writers are the ones that can say exactly what they mean with perfect clarity. Check out the quote from Mark Twain at the top of my sidebar on the right – he says it better than I can, naturally....
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