Personal Fulfillment & Solopreneur Productivity Coach | RomCom Novelist
Earlier this week, we examined how it is human nature to make judgments based on first impressions. Now I would like to address an adjoining part to this same issue: namely, the problem of acting upon assumptions when we have no real basis behind them. As a writer for a local newspaper, one of my …
As a health writer with a particular interest in body image, one of the issues that crops up time and again for people who are trying to come to terms with themselves has to do with body composition. Body composition refers to how we look and how the body distributes our weight. Three people of …
In Neal Gabler’s Life: The Movie, the reader is thrust into a world where life not only imitates entertainment, it is entertainment. And no, this is not sci-fi. This, as Gabler demonstrates, is real life. The book discusses how everything that we do is a performance. We dramatize and use theatrical expressions and gestures across …
The difference between saying “shut up!” and “quiet, you!”: Shut up! is a dismissive order, indicating that the rhetor does not care for nor has any desire to hear your perspective. Quiet, you! is a passive command, suggesting that the rhetor respects your opposing viewpoint but would really rather not have to incorporate your way …
Every year, the Texas A&M University holds a contest for people to submit definitions of a contemporary term. This year’s priceless term and winning definition was: Political Correctness Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is …
The two images below depict the famous photograph of the Kent State University massacre. The first photograph is the “original”; the second has been retouched: one of the fence posts was removed from the photograph to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The second photograph was the one that first appeared in the media. In some …
I recently came across the new I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter advertising campaign promoting their “Turn the Tub Around” video competition. The videos include a “cute” little song featuring the product I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter as a “healthy” alternative to real butter. The company declares that their product has less saturated fat …
In university, we tend to gravitate towards others within our department of study. It’s only natural that we identify with others who share our passions for the subject matter that we engage in daily, so it can be a nice shift of perspective when we spend more time with people from other departments. My major …
A recent Globe and Mail article demonstrated how the set-up of a restaurant menu can make a big difference in what the consumer chooses to order. This has consequences on our health, our pocketbook, and the success of the restaurant. Food descriptions and placement on the menu can greatly benefit a restaurant’s reputation, or it …
When it comes to Creative Writing, the opening can be what makes or breaks the story. While the opening scene should intrigue the reader and invite them to read more, the first paragraph and even the first sentence should be carefully thought out so as to be the most appealing for the audience. It is …
One of my classes this term is Revolutions in Communication. Essentially it is a course about the history of communication, beginning with oral societies. Oral societies relied on stories to convey lessons, and an important part of these societies were the telling of fairy tales. The book that we are reading is Folk and Fairy …
You can find calendars everywhere. The iGoogle Homepage, student agendas, the bank, cellphones, and most homes all contain calendars. Many companies give out free calendars to promote their businesses and organizations: I’ve collected these from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, World Vision, and VitaHealth among others. But just because there are a lot …
“Symbolic action is the dancing of an attitude.” This is possibly my most favorite Kenneth Burke quote. “Symbolic action” includes but is not limited to gesture, images, demonstrations, music, slogans, and tone of voice. Rhetoric isn’t necessarily “twaddle”; it can also be (and most often is) a form of connection and a way to identify …
Last weekend I visited the Winnipeg Art Gallery with the mother dear and Mr Science. It had been years since I last looked at the art there, so it was a lovely experience to wander the big rooms and appreciate the photographs, sculptures, paintings, and other forms of art that graced the walls. Because it …
As we enter into the New Year, people all over the globe are making New Year’s Resolutions. “Resolution” implies a certain degree of resolve (naturally). This in turn implies that a firm decision has been made. What it does not necessarily imply is that these resolutions are actually kept. Not keeping resolutions seems to be …