“Ball & Chain” vs. Source of Stability/Emotional Support A “contronym” is word that is its own antonym. Examples include the word “left” (“the gentlemen have left and the ladies are left”); and “off” (“to turn off,” but also “activate,” as in “the alarm went off”). So, what do you call a symbol — like an anchor —...Read More
Calling it a Year (on Feb. 4) Real estate brokers suggest that agents who blog should post regularly, to keep things fresh and visitors returning. Their definition of “frequent?” A minimum of once a week. I don’t happen to agree with that — you either get in the mode of blogging or you don’t — but...Read More
I Think That’s Called “Curating” (How About “Meta-Blogging?”) As pet peeves go, it’s certainly minor. And people — bloggers — are certainly free to write, post, or link to anything they wish (subject to little things like copyright). But I do notice a trend afoot in the so-called blogosphere to substitute other people’s writing for...Read More
David vs. Goliath(s) Once upon a time (like in the ’90’s), my Op-Ed pieces, letters to the editor, etc. were regularly published by The Star Tribune, City Business, and even The New York Times. I stopped counting, but not before the tally reached several dozen pieces. In the intervening 20 years or, I don’t think that I’ve become a worse writer,...Read More
Attracting — and Deleting — Spam “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Actually, when it comes to blogs and spam posts, it’s the other way around: ‘flattery is the sincerest form of imitation.’ By that, I mean that the usual m.o. of people posting b.s. responses on blogs to piggyback on their popularity —...Read More
