DEAR RICHARD: I am curious about an advertisement on TV that proclaims, “Only pay for what you need” Is that correct, or should it say, “Pay for only what you need.” –Mary Jane Mott, San Carlos The commercial you identify is for Liberty Mutual Insurance and it is aired so frequently and ubiquitously that, to […]
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. -Dr. Seuss For book lovers of all ages admission is free and worth every penny. Attendees will enjoy panel discussions with award-winning authors, activities, live entertainment, and exhibitors, including local authors and independent booksellers. […]
An old American folk rhyme chuckles: Where can a man find a cap for his knee, Or a key for a lock of his hair? Can his two eyes be called an academy Because there are pupils in there? In the crown of his head, what gems are set? Who travels the bridge of his […]
Next week, Comic-Con returns to San Diego, where, back in August 1970, it began life as the Golden State Comic Book Convention in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel. That first event drew about a hundred attendees. San Diego Comic-Con has become the largest gathering of comics and pop culture enthusiasts in the world. […]
William Shakespeare began his comedy “Twelfth Night” with the line “If music be the food of love, play on!” About a century later, playwright William Congreve opened his comedy “The Mourning Bride” with the equally famous line “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast” (almost always misquoted as “the savage beast”). If music be […]
I am a freelance writer of magazine and newspaper columns and articles. That means that I write these pieces on a fee-paid assignment basis rather than on a regular-salary-with-benefits arrangement with a single employer. Most medieval knights were committed to a feudal lord, but those who weren’t could hire themselves and their lances to anyone […]
Recently, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, held in Washington, DC, celebrated its centennial. Since 1925, children across our fair land have competed in classroom, school, and regional spelling bees, hoping to make it to the big dance, the Scripps National Spelling Bee. On the model of the collectively busy bee, we call these events spelling […]
DEAR RICHARD: I have a difficult time when people say, “I’m outa here” when they are still right here. If they were truly “outa here,” they would be somewhere else and would not be able to speak in the present tense. It makes no sense to talk to people about the correct tense, because, what the […]
The typographical error Is a slippery thing and sly. You can hunt till you are dizzy, But somehow it will get by, Till the forms are off the presses, It is strange how still it keeps. It shrinks down into a corner And never stirs or peeps. That typographical error, Too small for human eyes, […]
One of my favorite newspaper corrections reads: “It was incorrectly reported last Friday that today begins T-shirt Appreciation Week. It is actually Teacher Appreciation Week.” This year, National Teachers Appreciation Week comes on May 5-9. Teachers change the world one child at a time, yet they are sorely unappreciated. In 1985, the National Education Association […]