Archive for December 2019

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations on vision -- we'll need them in 2020

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations on vision -- we'll need them in 2020
It’s been a while since I’ve gone “browsing through Bartlett’s” — looking for quotations to enjoy about various things. But with 2020 looming, I’m getting tired already of various vision-related clichés. So here, for two (or maybe three) posts, I present a few of the best, freshest sayings I’ve found on seeing or vision. We’ll... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
December 30, 2019 at 2:21 pm
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It's not over yet: Hope for the Apostrophe Protection Society

It's not over yet: Hope for the Apostrophe Protection Society
I was dismayed to receive an e-mail from a friend and reader early in December about the closing of the Apostrophe Protection Society. You can read that e-mail here. Contrary to its headline, however, ignorance and laziness have not won. I looked at the society’s web site, www.apostrophe.org.uk, and I was pleased to find that ... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
December 18, 2019 at 10:08 am
• 2 comments

Time after time, what we get wrong about time

Time after time, what we get wrong about time
I’m laying aside The Chicago Manual of Style for now, although I may return to it later. My reading on most recent Fridays has included “The Essential List: The Week’s Best Stories,” an e-mail newsletter from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Today’s edition, under the usual subject heading FUTURE, has an article on “What we get... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
December 13, 2019 at 1:19 pm
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What The Chicago Manual of Style says about the ends of decades -- arrrrggh!

What The Chicago Manual of Style says about the ends of decades -- arrrrggh!
It was barely December before I started seeing mentions of year-end lists — best of, worst of, oddest of whatever a column or site reviews. Those are fine with me. But the lists of best, worst or whatever of the decade are too early. Decade means ten years — not nine. So I wanted to come... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
December 6, 2019 at 12:58 pm
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Kipling Tuesday: 'To James Whitcomb Riley,' a grateful reply to a fellow poet

Kipling Tuesday: 'To James Whitcomb Riley,' a grateful reply to a fellow poet
In 1890, Rudyard Kipling received a copy of “Rhymes for Children” by James Whitcomb Riley, a fellow poet, who lived in Indiana. These days, such a gift would result in some sort of social media post on the theme of “Look what I got!” But in 1890, Kipling wrote to Riley in a poem we... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
December 3, 2019 at 2:24 pm
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