From the late 1600s into the mid 1700s, the Stradivari family crafted stringed instruments, particularly violins. Many consider them the finest ever made, and it is not unusual for one to sell for several million dollars. There are many theories about the unique sound of a Strad, obviously the key one having to do with…
As most readers know, Ontario is going to the polls on June 7. At this point the Tories under Doug Ford appear to have a slight, soft lead. For students of communication, there is a lesson in the stats. CBC’s Vote Compass survey (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/vote-compass-men-women-trust-leaders-1.4683933) completed May 29, 2018, suggests that among women, Ford scores 1.6…
For months I’ve be dying to use this title, but I didn’t want to waste it. Today’s topic was a perfect opportunity because of this intensely valuable lesson: the title of a piece is its single most important component. Follow me here and I think you’ll forgive the “one weird trick” trick. There are two…
As a young lawyer I sometimes felt aggrieved when a judge would, without credit, pick up the language of my pleadings and include it in the written judgment or endorsement. “Wait a minute!,” I would think to myself, “Those are my words! At least the judge should acknowledge the source!” But as I learned a…
I think our family is fairly typically divided into two camps regarding the use of the “F word”– some find it a useful device to add colour and precision to private conversation, while others consider it rude and in bad taste in every circumstance. There’s not much middle ground. In truth, the “F word” is…
Just this week two University of Ottawa hockey players were acquitted of sexual assault. Predictably enough, a “politically-correct” advocate stepped up to complain, “Every time we see a high-profile sexual assault trial result in an acquittal, it sends women back 50 years.” Let me rephrase that: “Every time the man is not found guilty, no…
Last Friday’s Briefing garnered more than its share of response, mostly positive. Since there were no death threats, let’s take the topic a bit further. And then I’ll leave it alone. To get perspective, consider three stories– the first two of which will be familiar, the third not so much. Yet it’s the most important….
Recently a friend introduced me to the expression “peeling back the veneer”. I love it, and think that it is an important communication concept. When I was a kid, most furniture was “solid pine”, “solid walnut”, “solid maple”, or solid something. In other words, somebody had to cut down a tree, turn it into boards,…
The Greek letter “rho“ was the ancestor of the Latin letter “R” and the treatment of the letter “R” in linguistics is the study of rhoticity. I don’t mean to say whether the letter is treated nicely or shabbily, but how it is pronounced. Some languages are rhotic, that is, they pronounce the letter R…
Scientists have learned that treating elderly mice with a combination of dasatinib (a leukemia drug) and quercetin (derived from apple peelings) can rejuvenate the little creatures, giving them youthful energy and a significant extension of life expectancy. Human trials are underway, and this writer is watching with bated breath. (See bad joke, below.) So, what…