Linking

Links appear to be important in the way Google looks at blogs. That and the spirit of friendship leads me to add links to the blogs of friends. To the right are links to Trina Hess’ comedy blog, Lynda Stucky’s blog on speech issues, and Patty Kreamer’s blog on getting organized. Good stuff there. Take a look.

But don’t forget to come back!

I’m also allowing anonymous comments for the time being. But it would be nice if you at least gave us your first name. We’ll see how that goes.

From the “Who knew?” department

Did you know there are blank keyboards on the market? Blank as in no markings on any of the keys. To this non-touch typist, people who use this kind of keyboard to type, write, or enter data are doing none of those things. They’re just showing off. (This post is cross-filed under “sour grapes.”)

This is a topic worthy of more space. Watch for a future article in the Legacy Road Communique.

(Note: This post was written on a keyboard with every key clearly marked. As Nature intended.)

Another note: I wrote an article about blank keyboards and other modern oddities. Read it here: http://pittsburghlive.com:8000/x/pittsburghtrib/focus/s_587003.html

Spoiler Alert

I make it a point never to read a movie review until after I’ve seen the movie. That’s because most of these so-called reviewers seem to be unable to write a compelling review without giving away all the goodies in said movie.

Salon.com is an on-line magazine with respectable editorial content. But some of the reviews can’t get by without a “spoiler alert.” A spoiler is a part of the article that reveals a crucial plot point. You know– one of the surprises that makes a good movie.

(Salon is certainly not the only offender, but they’re high on my list.)

My point: If you’re not a good enough writer to write around these points, switch to writing obituaries. Even if you do give away the ending, who’s going to be surprised?.

Down to Business

I’ve been learning the ropes about blogging, and as a result, this blog has been a little light in the information area. I don’t know all the ropes yet, just enough to not hang myself. Now we’ll move on to language, writing, memoirs, and all the other communication topics you’d expect. The blog is designed to be a more personal venue than the newsletter, so I’m getting personal with a couple of words.

 

Take the word “vanish.” It’s an intransitive verb, meaning it does not take an object. You’ve heard such sentences as “The magician vanished an entire elephant.” That’s wrong. You can feed the elephant, you can pet the elephant, you can wash the elephant … All of those verbs take objects. The magician can make the elephant vanish, but s/he can’t vanish it.

 

My friend Laura C sent me a newsletter she received in which the lead article was titled “Can Blogging Grow Your Business?” The information in the article was spot on, containing good advice. But the title contains a problem: the verb.

 

“Grow” can be either transitive or intransitive, depending on how it’s used. Used in this sense, the verb doesn’t work. You can grow a daisy from a seed, but that daisy wasn’t there before. Adding plant food might make the flower grow to be bigger, but you can’t say that you’re adding plant food to grow the daisy because the daisy is already there.

 

The business is already there, too, so you’d have to say something like “Can Blogging Make Your Business Grow?” Here “grow” is used in the sense of “get bigger.” That title is more effective anyway, because it ends with the word that provides the key idea in the article. And it has only one syllable, and one syllable at the end of a sentence adds punch because it serves as an oral period. So there.

 

Successful communication depends on the way the words hit your ear, both the inner ear and the outer. I ask you, Gentle Reader, to please send along your comment as to how those two verbs hit your ear.

 

Until next time…

Paris and Bridgewater

There’s a saying about sidewalk cafés in Paris: If you sit at your table long enough, everyone you know will pass by. The sayer was probably talking about Frenchmen passing by, but the adage applies here, too.

 

Saturday marked my first participation in a book fair. The first annual Bridgewater BookFest (held appropriately in Bridgewater, PA)  took place on Saturday, June 21, 2008. Brilliantly organized by Valentine Brkich, the all-day, outdoor event took up a whole block of the town and had something literary for everyone. Everyone with a literary bent, anyway.

 

You had games and books for the children, and even children’s authors. Pittsburgh TV personality Dave Crawley for one. I had met Dave before, so I went over to his table to say hi. He’s such a nice guy that he didn’t even mind having a table out in the hot sun in the kids’ area. He was having a fine time signing his books for the kids.

 

The adults could find adult authors to chat with and buy books from in “Author Alley.” That was me, along with other friends like Patty Kreamer, Nancy Stampahar, and tablemate Tom Lipinski. Neither Tom nor I had remembered to bring a tablecloth, so to deal with the bare wood surface, we decided ours was the rustic table.

 

You could listen to some of these authors give presentations on various topics such as writing, publishing, and getting your life organized. You could even find hot dogs, sno-cones, and freshly squeezed lemonade.

 

If you were one of the authors (me) you could also think your author’s table had been transported to the aforementioned Parisian café.

 

I was there from 8:30 in the morning to around 4:30, and in that time five people I hadn’t seen in years dropped by. This is easier to believe when you realize that Bridgewater is just over the river and down the road from my home town of New Brighton. But still…

 

First there was Susan, a friend of a friend of my late parents, who attends the same church we did (before I converted to heathen). We passed the time and dropped names. The nice lady even bought a book.

 

Then came Susanne, with whom I was graduated from New Brighton High School. After graduation, she stayed in the area while I moved all the way to Pittsburgh. She seemed slightly embarrassed by the fact that she had stayed, and I’m not sure why.

 

Then my friend Kevin appeared. He’s the owner of Graule Studios in Rochester, PA, and I hadn’t seen him in an embarrassing number of years, more than 25 at least. We promised to stay in touch.

 

Then came a lady named Judy, who asked if I remembered her. And I did. She was a neighbor of my parents, from the years after I moved away. When she told me her son was graduating from college, I realized just how long it had been. Never mind. Too long.

 

Finally, Lauren dropped by. Turns out she’s one of my students from the Art Institute from 22 years ago.

 

My friend Diana came too, but I had invited her and seen her just the day before, so that doesn’t figure in to old home week. But hers was another pleasant, familiar face.

 

Val’s wife was in charge of the advertising for the BookFest and she did a great job, because that’s why some of the people said they came … to see if I was still me.

 

I can’t wait to see what happens when I actually get to Paris.

Bye, Lucy.

This is Lucinol the beagle’s last day of vacation at my house. I’m a dog lover from way back, so I have mixed emotions about seeing her leave. But the cats’ emotions are undiluted. In their heads, I know they’re singing, “Ta ra ra boom de ay, it’s going home today!”

So Much to Sniff, and Only One Nose

My Facebook friends already know this, so I’ll clue you in. I have a female house guest for ten days. She’s polite and loveable with beautiful brown eyes, floppy ears, and a wet nose. Lucy the beagle had taken over the upstairs and relegated the cats, Lulu and Fleck, to the downstairs office. Now that the cats have resigned themselves to the fact that Lucy is a part of the household (temporarily), I’ve let the dog come down to the basement.

Funny how animals can communicate acceptance or rejection so economically. A look or a hiss, either is enough to make Lucy back off. Even so, it’s fortunate the cats have hiding places downstairs that Lucy doesn’t know about.

And then there’s the sniffing. Seems this dog’s nose is always to the floor or the ground. I had forgotten how much info dogs get through their noses. Lucy is very well informed.

Well, hi there.

Welcome to the Legacy Road blog. Yes, I’ve finally got one foot on the blogging bandwagon. The other one’s still dragging in the dirt.

This blog will comprise more personal content and observations than the newsletter. It will also be shorter. Communication and animals will still be the main topics, with room for some wide tangents.

Stay tuned.