Books for sale

Powerpoint presentations

Dr. Henry had suggested these sites for preparing a PowerPoint presentation. They have some very helpful tips and guidelines.

Lana Johnson's tips

Creating a great presentation

editing our papers

I found some tips about editing or proofreading. Hope they help everyone as we come to the end of our semester.

Preparing yourself to proof or edit

-Write at the end of the day; edit first thing in the morning. (Usually, getting some sleep in between helps.)
-Listen to music or chew gum. Proofing can be boring business and it doesn't require much critical thinking, though it does require extreme focus and concentration. Anything that can relieve your mind of some of the pressure, while allowing you to still keep focused, is a benefit.
-Don't use fluorescent lighting when proofing. The flicker rate is actually slower than standard lighting. Your eyes can't pick up inconsistencies as easily under fluorescent lighting.
-Spend a half-hour a month reviewing grammar rules.
-Read something else between edits. This helps clear your head of what you expect to read and allows you to read what really is on the page.
-Make a list of things to watch for—a kind of "to do" list—as you edit.

Tsk, Tsk

Don't think I will shop at this store for their sale items.

Editing and Writing

We had discussed in class the idea of being both an editor and a writer and if those positions are conflicting. I was reading the forward of Beloved, written by Toni Morrison. She writes:

“The question of priorities--how can you edit and write at the same time--seemed to me both queer and predictable; it sounded like “How can you both teach and create?” “How can a painter or a sculptor or an actor do her work and guide others?” But to many this--write combination was conflicting.”

She goes on to give a detailed explanation of her feelings about this subject. I might add, while working as an editor she published four novels. I think this shows that yes, it is possible to be an editor and a successful writer.

Honolulu Weekly: A generally pretty good job in trying » Honolulu Weekly

Honolulu Weekly: A generally pretty good job in trying » Honolulu Weekly

I read editorial piece and thought about some of our discussions in class about spelling of the Hawaiian language and the use of the ʻokina and the kahakō.

Trying to be cute, the sign that is.

I know they are trying to be cute with the sign, but it really kinda bugs me. They had a lot of those, (bugs) in their corn too.

Reporting on Movies

At my internship this week I did interviews with some really incredible film makers and producers. When I was writing about the films I realized I did not know how what to do with the title of their movies. With essays you always put the title in quotation, Toni Morrison addresses the black woman's view on women's lib in her essay, "What the Black Woman thinks about Women's Lib." The title of a book is in italics. I am reading Toni Morrison's book, Tar Baby. But what do you do when you are referencing a movie or a documentary?

I will get back with you when I find out, or you can let me know if you find out first. In all the reviews, some capitalized the entire title, some italicised and some put the title in quotations. I am not sure what to do or who to follow?

I recently wrote a short blog for HONOLULU magazine on-line. I was reporting on specials that the bars are having for football promotions. The Yard House was having specials on bloody mary, mimosa, and other cocktails. At first I capitalized them all. I was following the e-mail the manager had sent. Then I was not sure if they should or shouldn't be. I had to go ask the editor. She said it was not in their style to capitalize the names of drinks, even if it is their proper name. Made sense after, but I am glad I asked.

I always turn to the Grammar Girl for her Quick and Dirty Tips.
So here’s the Quick and Dirty Tip on random or vanity capitalization: don’t.

One reason capitalization matters is that a word’s meaning can change depending on whether it's uppercase or lowercase.

“See those three domiciles over there? Well, I live in the white house.” That’s quite different from, “I live in the White House [capital W, capital H].” That White House is where the president lives.

In English, we capitalize words that are proper nouns—that is, they describe a specific thing or entity. They could be a title, a name, or a specific place such as the president's residence: [THEE] White House.

We lowercase words that are considered common nouns—that is, they can be used to describe many things, such as any one of the multitude of white colored houses in the world.

(As an aside, I'll note that in German all nouns and certain pronouns get uppercased; now there's a gratuitous “Das Kapital” reference just waiting to be made. And so I made one.)

Letter

I read through everyone's posts about the badly written letter we are to edit. I think the one thing that has been overlooked is that this is a solicitation letter or request. I worked for a firm that sent these out regularly after business had been completed. That being said, they are usually a template situation that are made to cut and past names into certain points of the letter. What this plumber is trying to do is get referrals. A complete rewrite is almost necessary to make it flow better.
As for the beginning, I think the "Aloha!" should be completely taken out. I do not think that is how a business letter should even start.

Celebrate puncutation

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/