Quotation of the Day

Entries from February 1, 2008 - March 1, 2008

Why writing matters

“A good idea presented badly can look like no idea, or a bad idea. So you owe it to your ideas to present them well.”

—Patrick Winston

Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 06:44AM by Registered CommenterRoy Jacobsen in | CommentsPost a Comment

Should I "laugh" or "cry?"

I’ve never understood why some people just don’t get the purpose of quotation marks—after all, the name says it all, doesn’t it? They’re called quotation marks because you use them to indicate quotations.

 Apparently, it doesn’t say it clearly or loudly enough, judging from some of the examples of quotation mark misuse displayed on The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks.

For example, why did someone feel it necessary to enclose the article a in quotation marks?

I could become deeply depressed over the sorry state of things, when so many people fail to understand something as basic as quotation marks. But just think of the opportunities it creates for people who take even a little care in their writing.

Posted on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 08:35AM by Registered CommenterRoy Jacobsen in , | Comments3 Comments

From the headlines

Police: Crack Found in Man’s Buttocks

“Well, where else would you expect to find it?”

You can’t say that headline writers have no sense of humor. It may be juvenile, but they do have one. 

Posted on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 09:00AM by Registered CommenterRoy Jacobsen in | CommentsPost a Comment