I had an internet meltdown today. I saw an article in my Facebook newsfeed, one that being commented on and shared that 1) was factually incorrect, 2) listed no author, nor identified the credentials of the site itself, 3) used links to other posts on the same site as the majority of its source citations. Why? Why was this on the internet? Why had it gotten picked up by a major news source? AND WHY DOES IT MAKE ME WANT TO PULL MY TOENAILS OUT?
Beyond cliché: the things we keep telling ourselves
Few things preoccupy a writer who produces a large quantity of material more than clichés. Some turns of phrase are so ingrained in our minds that when we use them to express ourselves we don’t even hear them. Sometimes, we honestly aren’t even sure if the phrase is our own, or a cliché we’ve heard in passing long ago. In those cases, thanks for existing, Google. You’re really helpful there.
Fuck Censorship Already
Big news in swearing today, guys. The New York Times dropped an effer. It was in the context of a quote from a book, and in a well-buried section of the The Gray Lady, but it was there. And oh, how the world gasped.
Before commenting further, let me first expose a bias of mine. I love discussing swearing in media and literature so much, that this isn’t even the first time I’ve written about it. It’s fair to say I’m passionate about swearing. I don’t do it for shock value; I don’t write swear words into my writing when it’s not appropriate, but I am fervently committed to saying exactly what I want to say the way I want to say it, using the entire spectrum of word tools in my writer’s toolbox. I think everyone should, writers and speakers alike. Censorship is censorship is censorship, right?
Natalie Burg 