Author Archives: Robert Basil

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

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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:

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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

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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

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“Business Writing for Everyone”

My summer 2020 first-year students will be getting their textbook for free – Business Writing for Everyone, put together by my colleague Arley Cruther’s. It’s a wonderful resource that will make my teaching better without a doubt. Arley’s “Adaptation Statement” … Continue reading

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Journalism needs a better metaphor

NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen writes that “exposure” is a “metaphor that increasingly misleads. I refer to the image of ‘exposure’ as a description of what the press does, should do, or isn’t doing well enough. To expose wrongdoing, incompetence, … Continue reading

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A tonic

This is from a marvellous interview with Fran Lebowitz that’s in the New Yorker: I want to switch topics and ask you a bit about Toni Morrison. Everyone felt the loss of her, but largely as a literary icon or … Continue reading

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Time for some PD

It has been awhile since I taught a digital marketing course at my university. It was such a fun class! My third-year students all helped one another (and me) keep abreast of new apps and innovations – literally on a … Continue reading

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Learning hungry

Earlier posts here have discussed how many university students come to class hungry. My university’s student newspaper, The Runner, notes today that almost two out of five “post-secondary students experienced some degree of food insecurity in the past year.” I … Continue reading

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Brand-new URLs seem expensive …

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