Plain Writing

Gobbledygook is a thing of the past

POSTED // Jun 8,2011 - I was once a writer of gobbledygook—a purveyor of pretentious, polysyllabic, ponderous, purple prose. I kept a thesaurus next to my typewriter. Thus, what I wrote was not merely “wordy” but “characterized by prolixity.”

Foul Foibles

Sorry, girls: Without those gross habits you hate, men wouldn't be men.

POSTED // May 11,2011 - One of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches was called “Women’s Problems.” Staged as a television talk show, it featured Dan Aykroyd as the moderator of a panel of sleazy men as they held forth on so-called women’s problems ...

Act Now!

Have I got a deal for you: Become a Rapture business partner!

POSTED // May 4,2011 - Hearken, all ye denizens of Earth—both saved and unsaved—the time is nigh. Nay, it is here. All true believers shall be Raptured into heaven ...

Grok Expectations

Much of the behavior practiced by Earthlings is unfathomable.

POSTED // Apr 27,2011 - This is a story about a Martian verb that has found a place in the English lexicon. For me, the story begins a long time ago ...

Don't Pay

A citizens' debt strike could restore justice to the American financial system.

POSTED // Apr 6,2011 - Glenn Beck has never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like, so imagine his delight on March 22 unveiling a new “terrorist plot” ...

Hammer Time

A good protest song unites and inspires activists of all ages.

POSTED // Mar 16,2011 - Peter, Paul & Mary performed in Salt Lake City in late 1962 or early ’63, my senior year at Highland High School ...

Mtn. Men

Though they didn't train here, Utahns still owe a debt to the 10th Mtn. Division.

POSTED // Mar 2,2011 - On April 16, 2002, then 3rd District Rep. Chris Cannon was quoted extensively in the Congressional Record as supporting the designation of a stretch of Route 224 ...

Volun-tears

Utah leads the nation in volunteering, but women are carrying the load.

POSTED // Feb 23,2011 - I tend to be skeptical of Utah’s best-in-the-nation volunteering status. Were it not for the LDS Church, I don’t think Utah’s standing would be 17 points above the national average ...

Techno Blues

It's the end of the technology road for this weary traveler.

POSTED // Feb 9,2011 - At Christmastime, as I fiddled with my son’s new iPad, I was suddenly overcome by melancholy ...

Glock Talk

POSTED // Jan 19,2011 - Too much of what politicians say these days doesn’t pass the common-sense test. That they get away with it troubles me ...