The stupidity of transatlantic red-eye meals

The stupidity of transatlantic red-eye meals

Sometimes companies do nonsensical things that just make you wonder what series of decisions and traditions could possibly justify their behavior. For some reasons, those things seem to happen most often in the travel and health care industries. Today, let’s talk about transatlantic red-eye flights from North America to Europe. I’ve probably taken 30 of…

Read “Grammar for a Full Life,” a worthwhile companion to “Writing Without Bullshit”

Read “Grammar for a Full Life,” a worthwhile companion to “Writing Without Bullshit”

Lawrence Weinstein, cofounder of Harvard’s Writing Center and director of the writing center at Bentley University, wrote Grammar for a Full Life: How the Ways We Shape a Sentence Can Limit or Enlarge Us. This is a writing book that explores not just the best ways to write, but how those methods are connected to…

Bookstore or church? A visit to Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness.

Bookstore or church? A visit to Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness.

The name of the store in Inverness, Scotland, UK was Leakey’s Bookshop. As soon as I walked in the door I knew I would be there a while. I’ve been in a lot of used bookstores in my day. I’m drawn magnetically to the classic science fiction, the history books written from a decades-old perspective,…

In the wake of shocking changes at Scribe Media, tips on how authors can protect themselves

In the wake of shocking changes at Scribe Media, tips on how authors can protect themselves

Publisher’s Lunch, usually a reputable source, is reporting that “Ghostwriting and publishing services firm Scribe Media abruptly shut down yesterday, laying off its staff.” A second source that I trust received an email saying that Scribe had laid off most of the staff in preparation for a sale. Other authors are reporting no response to…

Based on one complaint, Amanda Gorman’s poem was banned. Why protect our youth from truth?

Based on one complaint, Amanda Gorman’s poem was banned. Why protect our youth from truth?

Amanda Gorman composed her poem The Hill We Climb for Joe Biden’s inauguration. Now, based on one feckless parent’s complaint, an elementary school in Miami has removed it so children can no longer access it without a parent’s permission. Here’s the whole poem; judge for yourself. Is this text going to corrupt young people? I’ve…