Author Archives: Robert Basil

Another form of school caution during the pandemic

This semester almost all of my university’s classes are online. Because of that, students can participate in Kwantlen courses – indeed, courses at any British Columbia university – from anywhere in the world. This distressing caution comes from The Tyee: Some … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The School Year

The day after Labour Day is always a wonderful day. My students rescue the best in me.

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

To slough and to slither

The xkcd webcomic is very entertaining. (h/t language log)

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Business Communications course ‘in a box’ – terrific resource

My colleagues at Kwantlen Polytechnic University have been really rising to the occasion during the pandemic, in all ways. I’m especially impressed, as an editor, by how prolific and intelligent their publishing ventures have been. Here’s another super-helpful one. My … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted in Robert's posts | Leave a comment

Flagging the #tags

It’s not just the photos available for viewing and sale by the Magnum Agency but how they are tagged: Magnum Photos, one of the world’s most celebrated photographic agencies, is to re-examine the content of its archive of more than … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

RIP Geoff Nunberg

I aspired to rise to the level of acumen, clarity, and courtesy of this marvelous linguist, knowing of course that I could never get close. Listen to some of Nunberg’s commentaries for NPR’s “Fresh Air” program. — 22 August: The … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged | Leave a comment

Editing for a civil society

Friend of No Contest Communications Chet Wisniewsiki, a principal research scientist at Sophos, woke me up with this short thread earlier this week:

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On collaboration

Richard Rogers upon meeting Lorenz Hart for the first time:  “I left Hart’s house having acquired in one afternoon a career, a partner, a best friend and a source of permanent irritation.” Their song “My Funny Valentine” is something of a … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The root of beauty …

… is boldness, wrote Pasternak. “That is what’s brought us to one another.” Apropos: After Wolfgang Pauli had given a colloquium on some ideas related to particle physics, Pauli said to Neils Bohr: “You will probably think that what I … Continue reading

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment