April 2008
1 post
March 2008
2 posts
February 2008
1 post
January 2008
9 posts
December 2007
1 post
Writing Prompts From McSweeneys
Write a short scene set at a lake, with trees and shit. Throw some birds in there, too. Write a story that ends with the following sentence: Debra brushed the sand from her blouse, took a last, wistful look at the now putrefying horse, and stepped into the hot-air balloon. A wasp called the tarantula hawk reproduces by paralyzing tarantulas and laying its eggs into their bodies. When the larvae...
November 2007
2 posts
October 2007
3 posts
September 2007
2 posts
August 2007
5 posts
July 2007
2 posts
June 2007
1 post
“Problem: the problem with problem is it is overused, so much so that it is...”
– Oh the sublime joy, here is more of the Economist.com’s Style Guide
May 2007
10 posts
“Canute’s exercise on the seashore was designed to persuade his courtiers...”
– you shouuld know my undyling love for the economist.com’s style guide by now
“Charge: if you charge intransitively, do so as a bull, cavalry officer or...”
– The Economist Style Guide
April 2007
11 posts
“Beg the question means neither raise the question, invite the question nor evade...”
– http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=673903
Aetiology is the science of causation, or an inquiry into something’s origins. Etiolate is to make or become pale for lack of light.
“Gender is a word to be applied to grammar, not people. If someone is female,...”
“Wrack is an old word meaning vengeance, punishment or wreckage. It can also be...”
– Economist.com’s Some common solecisms
Haver means to talk nonsense, not dither, swither... →