The Literate Pooch

The Literate Pooch

Matilda was playing Bookworm the other day and was incredulous to discover there’s a hyphenation in Milk-Bones. Bookworm doesn’t recognize hyphenated words. Do your pets have trouble spelling particular words? Please share their stories in the Comments box...
Salem’s Big Debut

Salem’s Big Debut

We hate to mix our mammalian metaphors, but Salem is something of a ham. When he saw this photo of himself experiencing his first, rare, Texas snowfall, he tried to persuade us that — if we told his agent it was dandruff — he could get a starring gig in a new series...
Opportunism is Not a Dirty Word

Opportunism is Not a Dirty Word

People sometimes seem to be all but sneering when they use derivations of opportunism. They’re likely to say things, down their noses, of course, like: “That’s just shameless opportunism.” Or, with a dismissive shake of their heads as they turn...
Go After the Ball

Go After the Ball

A few weeks ago, I attended a local basketball camp to watch the son of a friend play. During the game, it occurred to me that young basketball players are like elderly drivers: They have no idea anyone else is around. They’re always surprised to discover...

Are You Talkin’ to Me?

Contributing editor, John Brandon, recently published a piece in Inc. called, “8 Expressions Really Good Communicators Always Use”. If nothing else, it proves the old adage that one man’s compliment is another man’s insult. You can read the...