By Laura Wallis for The Stir by CafeMom
I come from a long line of English teachers on my mother’s side. I remember being corrected on my grammar pretty much as soon as I could speak—for my grandmother, my full grasp of the distinction between “bring” and “take” was as vital as covering my mouth when I yawned. Speaking and writing correctly was just good manners.
These days, though, the school of thought on correcting kids has relaxed somewhat.
You know what fool is? It’s a naive person, someone who lacks good judgment. As you can imagine, a fool would be easily tricked by a clever ruse. Proof is an adjective that means “able to withstand, or invulnerable.” When you combine the two terms, you get foolproof. This adjective means “involving no risk or harm, or never-failing.” In other words, something foolproof would still work even if a fool were operating it.
I want to put a ding in the universe.
—Steve Jobs
You don’t have to be a fan of iEverything to recognize the tremendous impact Apple has had on technology and business. Steve Jobs led the company he co-founded in 1976 with charisma and an insatiable drive to innovate and succeed. When Jobs died in 2011, he left a legacy that will continue to shape our world for generations.
I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals.
Did you know May 26 is Sally Ride day?
Sally Ride was an astronaut, physicist, and science educator—and she shattered one of the highest glass ceilings to become the first American woman in space.
Throughout her life she inspired millions and defied gender stereotypes at every turn.
Can letter writing teach you how to write a novel? Can your socks help you identify a theme? What do neuroscientists have to say about writing? Find the answers by checking out these links to our favorite stories from around the web this week. Have something you’d like to see us cover here? Let us know in the comment section!
The Marvels (Fiction) Brian Selznick
I’m currently finishing up a university degree in journalism, and I’ve been doing journalistic work for newspapers and radio alike for some years now. It’s a line of work wherein proofreading is essential. People are paying to read a piece you’ve written, which means you simply…
Read more: WriteWorld: Writing Tips: Proofreading
Welcome to one of our favorite holidays of the year: Bad Poetry Day. August 18 brings with it the license and the freedom to let those terrible sonnets fly.
Sure, many of us remember our high school days when just about any drama would send us scurrying to the page to dash off a few lines. However, the resulting text is not exactly what we mean by bad poetry. Even those stanzas, penned when we were young, were important to us.
