• Writing in pen

    Mark my words v.3

    As I’ve mentioned in past blog posts (seen here and here), I’m drawn to certain words. The attraction is often a word’s meaning or spelling, but sometimes I just like the way a word rolls off my tongue.

    These are more of my favorites:

    Marmoset

    Pangolin

    Kaleidoscope

    Petrichor

    Soiree

    Exquisite

    Luna

    Aglet

    Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

    Vaquita

    Drambuie

    Overmorrow

    Blasphemy

    Gallivant

    Luminescence

    Clandestine

    Parallelogram

    Haberdashery

    Dastardly

    Diabolical

    Glockenspiel

    Calamity

    Fika

    Epimetheus

    Oddbody

    What are some of yours?

  • The Written Word returns

    When Yahoo Groups shut down last month, I lost access to The Written Word, a mailing list I’d run for nearly 17 years. The contact information for hundreds of subscribers also disappeared as did my entire archive of past postings.

    The concept for The Written Word was simple: email a daily quotation about writing, editing, journalism, poetry or publishing. It was basically the online version of a page-a-day calendar.

    On weekends and vacations, I would prep future emails by scouring magazines and reading writing-related websites. I’d buy quotation collections secondhand and fill ’em with sticky notes, marking the pages that offered advice I wanted to share. Whenever I scrolled through social media, I’d save any interesting commentary from experts in the publishing business.

    While my goal was to provide a bit of inspiration to aspiring and professional writers, I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that the quotations I shared sometimes helped me too.

    As 2020 ended, I considered putting this project behind me. It was only after reading the many old emails I’d saved thanking me for sending the quotes that I decided to continue The Written Word. I may not be able to go out into the world and volunteer in person right now, but I can help others in this small way.

    So, I’ve relaunched The Written Word on Tiny Letter. To subscribe, click here. And if you enjoy what you read, share it with others and encourage them to subscribe as well.

  • old typewriter

    Quote of the day

    “May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” —Neil Gaiman

  • In Memoriam: A Look Back At Many Of The People We Lost in 2020

    hourglass.jpgSome people view obituaries as morbid stories, but in truth only one line of an obit deals with death. The rest of the story focuses on the amazing lives people led.

    In 2020, these were the obituaries of people whose lives — and deaths — most affected me:

    * Betty Pat Gatliff, forensic artist

    * Neil Peart, drummer

    * Michael Cafferty, author and attorney

    * Mary Higgins Clark, mystery novelist

    * Kirk Douglas, actor

    * Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician

    * Clive Cussler, adventure novelist

    * James Lipton, “Inside the Actors Studio” host

    * Kenny Rogers, country music singer/actor

    * Bill Withers, R&B singer

    * Earl Deutch, ‘Kiss Cam’ favorite

    * William Helmreich, sociology professor and New York walker

    * Bob Otto, who played “Taps” at more than 5,000 veteran funerals

    * Tom Burford, apple expert

    * Kate Matte, bookseller

    * Brian Dennehy, actor

    * James M. Beggs, NASA administrator

    * Madeline Kripke, doyenne of dictionaries

    * Jack Randall, ichthyologist and coral specialist

    * Little Richard, self-described “King and Queen” of rock and roll

    * Roy Horn, illusionist

    * Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite, last of the “Monuments Women”

    * Fred Willard, actor

    * Ian Holm, actor

    * Joel Schumacher, director

    * Carl Reiner, comic actor/writer/director

    * Hugh Downs, broadcast journalist

    * Ennio Morricone, film composer

    * John Lewis, civil rights leader and congressman

    * Kelly Preston, actress

    * Regis Philbin, talk show and game show host

    * Olivia de Havilland, actress

    * Wilford Brimley, actor

    * Chadwick Boseman, actor

    * Ruth Bader Ginsburn, Supreme Court justice

    * Eddie Van Halen, rock guitarist

    * Sean Connery, actor and original James Bond

    * Luis Troyano, “Great British Baking Show” finalist

    * Alex Trebek, game show host

    * Jan Morris, travel writer, historian and memoirist

    * Ben Bova, science fiction writer

    * Betsy Wade, journalist

    * Al Cohen, magician and magic shop owner