Posted on 30 April 2008 by Ugur Akinci
Rules 1 and 2
I've been working as a professional writer for almost 20 years now.
It’s been a long haul, and fun too. I always enjoyed sitting at my keyboard and click-clicking the keys. Remember that B.B. King classic, “The Thrill Is Gone”? I never had to sing that one, knock on wood.
God knows I tried many genres and styles in the past, including academic papers, journalism, desk top publishing, screen writing, short stories, blogging, copy writing, and technical writing.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Posted on 29 April 2008 by DanielthePoet
If you've been listening to Kidd Kraddick in the Morning for the past week and a half, you know about Freddy. Well, the Freddy Needs Gas Tour is over, and as I predicted, Freddy was seriously let down. Honestly, you don't make a big deal nationally about a talented musician and follow him from Pennsylvania to Texas just to have him talk and sing live in-studio for one hour without some sort of greater payoff. The Freddy Needs Gas Tour was interesting, entertaining, but not rewarding.
So, Freddy and Kidd talk. Whether it was Freddy's idea or Kidd's, doesn't matter. Regardless, Freddy posed the idea to Kidd on the air Monday morning of recording his album here in DFW and letting the KKITM fans vote on each song, the album art, etc. In other words, Freddy wants to be the UGC (user generated content) of the music industry.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Posted on 29 April 2008 by Michael Callaway
I know that this will sound just awful so brace yourself. What I am about to say could make you mad so know that you have been warned. I believe that there are those who will consider me a heathen unworthy of life itself! But I am sick, and I mean sick of all the “green” crap that we are exposed to every day. I can not stand seeing the green NBC logo on the bottom of every show, I guess they are hoping as I watch “Scrubs” or “My Name is Earl” that the green logo will send subliminal messages to my polluting brain.
Also, is it necessary for Anne Curry (or anyone for that matter) to talk to me like a kindergarten teacher every time she talks about going green? Listen for it the next time you watch the Today show, Anne’s voice changes from sophisticated news journalist to kindergarten teacher every time the subject of the environment comes up. Finally, the phrase "going green" has got to stop. I have no reasons, it just bugs me. Continue Reading
Popularity: 10% [?]
Posted on 28 April 2008 by Nicholas Johnson
In a recent article, I comically used the dysphemism “like a B-52 over Nagasaki” to describe my writing style. My aim was not to offend anybody. Well, not to offend anybody with that statement. I had an interesting comment that got me to thinking about how long is the moratorium for humorous references to tragic events.
I personally choose to laugh at as much of life as possible. I have found that it really helps me keep my sanity. Yet, at the same time, I don’t want to laugh at other people’s expense or in the wake of their pain. Now it’s one thing to laugh at kids that wipe out while riding their bikes and skateboards. It’s an entirely different thing when you outrage an entire generation.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Posted on 28 April 2008 by Gary Karbon
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)
Tip 1: Vary Your Sentence Length
One sure way to put your readers to sleep is to write with constant-length sentences. Change the length for a better copy.
SHORT SENTENCE Copy:
"Times are bad. Economy's tanking. Latest figures are not good. Government published a report. It confirms the rumors. We're in a recession."
LONG SENTENCE Copy:
"We are going through some turbulent times these days. Our economy, which is supposed to be doing well according to some indicators, is showing strains of high unemployment and the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The latest figures quoted in leading industry journals and publications do not instill confidence in analysts and consumers alike. The Department of Commerce has just published a White Paper citing several Wall Street observers who claimed that we are nowhere near the end of this current impasse. Whether we like to admit it or not, the facts are staring us in the face: we seem to be sliding headlong into a recession the likes of which have not been since the '30s."
Popularity: 7% [?]
Posted on 27 April 2008 by Gary Karbon
A California comedy with a heart.
Michael Douglas is “Charlie,” a jazz base player, a dreamer, and a loser who spends a few years in a mental institution for a tune-up from the neck-up.
His sixteen year old daughter Miranda ( Evan Rachel Wood) has lost half of her heart when her mom left the house years ago but she managed to learn how to take care of herself.
In a sense, father and daughter switched Emotional IQs over the intervening years – he became the child while she grew into what he should've been; the responsible one.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Posted on 26 April 2008 by Lisa Pawlowski
In its broadest sense, conventional wisdom considers art as taking an idea out of the air and creating something that didn’t exist before.
Susan Crane, an art student at the University of Maine in Farmington put American flags on the floor of a museum as a way to “make a statement.” She said she did it to “spark conversation and thought about how we really feel about our flag.” She went on to say that about 95-98% of the people who came to see her exhibit didn’t walk on the flags.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Posted on 26 April 2008 by Gary Karbon
Helen Gurley Brown has been a force of nature in the magazine publishing circles for decades.
Her name became synonymous with the name and success of the Cosmopolitan magazine as its longtime editor. She is the author of many bestsellers, including Sex and the Single Girl.
“The Writer’s Rules: The Power of Positive Prose – How to Create It and Get It Published” is one of my favorite reference books on writing for 2 reasons:
Popularity: 15% [?]
Posted on 25 April 2008 by DanielthePoet
This is an excerpt of Freddy's most popular song. He had two million hits on his MySpace music page before taking the songs down.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Posted on 25 April 2008 by DanielthePoet
I'd like to know what other people think about Freddy. Do you like his music? Do you find him sincere or pre-packaged? Feel free to share your comments on Freddy here.
Another video or two on the way.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Posted on 25 April 2008 by Gary Karbon
3:10 to Yuma tries to break the traditional Western-movie mold like Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992) did. But at the end, 3:10 fails to solve one of the equations that it sets for itself in Act 1.
Basically this is another "delivering the criminal to justice" story with a "morality play" at its core.
Protagonist Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a crippled Civil War veteran and loser of a farmer who cannot even command his own son’s respect.
He emerges as an unlikely hero turning down all incentives to betray himself. He resists the easy way out and sticks with a higher principle until the bitter end.
Popularity: 6% [?]
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