22 Words
Experiments in getting to the point.Shake and shimmy to avoid the dreaded tissue.
Morrow started wiggling as a game, but now it’s how he avoids getting his nose wiped.
You can see it almost works:
A great review of my brother’s work
Some customers of Piper Construction have written a glowing review.
If you’re around the Twin Cities, join the crowd of happy customers!
Rap in an ordinarily non-rap church is good. Now let’s spread the open-mindedness.
I dislike rap, but I’m glad we occasionally feature it at church.
Now I think a metal band should get a chance.
What’s the most you’d pay to see a musician, and who’s that musician?
I probably wouldn’t spend over about $10 for a concert.
Except for front row Lyle Lovett tickets. Then I’d pay $15.
You?
More weirdness from the previous tenants
Along with other odd things we’ve found, outside I continue unearthing “leaves” from a fake tree that was planted in the yard.
Is a blog with comments somehow a truer blog than those that have comments off?
Occasionally, I encounter the opinion online that a blog isn’t a real blog if it doesn’t have comments.
What do you think?
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Related:
• A question for non-commenters
• An idea to improve commenting
• On derailed comments
Unlike taking notes, Twittering requires more concentration and self-consciousness.
Despite twittering’s similarity to note-taking, it demands more attention from the writer:
Tweets are for an audience, while notes barely require coherence.
(Inspired by some responses to Josh Harris’s and my dad’s posts.)
Recommend a beverage for the season. Here’s Molly’s and mine:
Thanks to a friend’s sleuthing, we had smoothies tonight using the same mix as Dunn Brothers.
With heavy whipping cream, of course.
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Related:
The Key to Writing (in any genre): Steal well.
Rip off ideas subtly enough that no one knows where they came from specifically, but obviously enough that they’re still worth hearing.
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Related:
• Let your readers be discovers
• An alternative to Strunk & White
• Make every sentence count
Why we can’t all be poets
The reason my father did not wax lyrical about warm spring nights…was that he wasn’t a poet, he was a topic.
-Kincaid Chance in Duncan’s The Brothers K, 125
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Related:
• I want to read your favorite poems
• 22 contemporary poets worth reading
• The thanklessness of being inaugural poet
Irwin Chance on the difficulty and value of biography
Full grown adults get darn complicated when you set their life down on paper end to end. Yet it’s almost worth it…
The Brothers K, 123
A false idea about ideas of Jesus, but it’s good to remember some people feel this way.
It’s strange the way everybody has their own pet notion about Jesus, and nobody’s pet notion seems to agree with anybody else’s.
-Kincaid Chance in Duncan’s The Brothers K, 60
A newish blog to check out: Ten Digit Lumber
I recommend Jessica Melling’s blog.
It’s funny, often punny, and concise (without any ridiculous, arbitrary limitations like some people have).
Consider subscribing.
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Related:
• 4 blogs I read but haven’t mentioned here
• Recommend blogs you bet we’ve never heard of
I’m mildly disappointed with Target’s new diapers.
With the recent overhaul of Target diapers, not one of the 3 reasons why I used to like them is true anymore.
4 things I’m going to do today instead of being on the computer.
1. Shop at my new favorite store.
2. Plant plants.
3. Demolish a wall.
4. Eat brats.
What will you do with your computer off today?
OK, so there is one time you shouldn’t use they/them/their as a singular pronoun.
Don’t go gender neutrally referring to a pregnant lady’s baby as “them.”
Because, no, she isn’t having multiples, thank you very much.
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Related:
• Masculine nouns can be gender neutral.
• 3 pronoun options for replacing singular they.
• A grammar book said this sentence is correct.
Happy 30th Birthday, Molly!
I love you for giving me most of your twenties.
Here’s a couple of your favorite people saying they love you too:
Thabiti Anyabwile lists 9 things he appreciates about my mom’s new book.
Thabiti Anyabwile got my mom’s new book today and wrote a kind, perceptive review.
Also, he taught me a new word: phenotype.
If you wouldn’t make a kid feel ugly, fat, or stupid, don’t make them feel disfluent.
When you correct children’s language, it’s similar to remarking on their skin or weight or intelligence.
Do it carefully, if you must.
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Related:
• If you speak, you know grammar.
• Beware the oversimplification of grammar.
• How to deal with irritation at others’ grammar.
Putting our sin nature to practical use
Put ‘gently used’ stuff [out] with a sign “free” on it…no takers. Put “for sale” and it was stolen by morning.
“Does disability and disease dominate our home? In a word, yes.” But…
John Knight responds to NPR’s interview with Karl Greenfeld.
They offer very different perspectives on the effect of disability on a household.
What’s the last interesting (though perhaps trivial) thing you’ve learned?
This morning I discovered that the earliest plural of dwarf is dwarfs.
Dwarves was popularized by Tolkien.
What have you learned recently?
No, son, I won’t read you that book, but I can use it to teach you a new word: inane.
I won’t read Orison Scooby-Doo.
My mom wouldn’t read us Curious George.
What books are too annoying to read to your kids?
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Related:
• 22 of our favorite picture books
• Using kids books to teach literature
Jesus Follower, Christians are your family. Are you going to disown them?
Self-applying the term Jesus follower for accuracy or lexical variety is good.
Doing it to distance yourself from other Christians is cowardly.
Don’t judge something’s value by whether or not you can live without it.
When you take a break from something and you don’t miss it, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not valuable in your life.
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