Everything old is new again, eventually (in Sept. Wordnerdery)
On summer drives this year, I heard one song over and over again: Fast Car, sung by Luke Combs. You, too? The song isn’t new, although Luke’s version is. He was born in 1990, two years after Tracy Chapman released the original. Luke had sentimental memories of driving...
Kindness on social media? See it in links you might have missed, August edition
Kindness. Compassion. Respect. These aren’t necessarily words you associate with social media, are they? Surprise! They feature in my latest roundup of social media posts you might have missed, these specific to employee communication. I also found some interesting...
A (Taylor) Swift look at numbers in August Wordnerdery
If you use numbers to make a point, it’s not enough to just list the numbers. Especially with large or small numbers, you help your readers by giving context. In the August issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery, I look at some of the big, big numbers around Taylor...
Looking for a creative boost? Try awful writing
I can’t be the only one who eagerly awaits the results of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. At last, they’re in! This amusing contest goes back to 1982, and invites ideas for the worst possible opening sentence to a fictitious novel. It’s named after Edward...
More writing tips in links you might have missed, summer edition
For those of us who actually liked and used Twitter, the months since Elon Musk took it over have been rough. Twitter’s web traffic is down 11% compared to the same time in 2022. In less than two weeks, some 150 million people signed up for the new Twitter alternate,...
Dissecting a 5K waiver: A “Before & After” in Wordnerdery
If there’s an event involving people, you can bet someone is going to get injured. Oh, and the organizers don’t want to be responsible. That seems to be the thinking behind the official waiver you must sign to take part in a 5K run or walk. But will people understand...
Best of the blog: Top 10 posts in the Red Jacket Diaries so far in 2023
What are you reading in the Red Jacket Diaries? I’m always looking under the blog “hood” to see, and share the top 10 midway through each year. And since you know the year is half over (already!) when it’s pool season in Canada, it’s time. Here are the top...
Assignment: Find out how association members make family reunions memorable
If you spent limited time with family over the pandemic, you probably have a new appreciation for a good old-fashioned family reunion. RTOERO asked me to talk to some of their members, who are mostly retired teachers and other education workers, about family reunions....