Comments for WriterPhiladelphia

Comment on Write in style: Create a style guide by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:21:23 +0000

Hello! Just want to say thank you for this interesting article! =) Peace, Joy.

Comment on Walking on air by Susan Perloff

Susan Perloff — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:00:55 +0000

I love your approach. I never thought of this as a treatment for fear of flying!

Comment on Walking on air by David Wilkins

David Wilkins — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:33:14 +0000

I love this. Next airline flight I take, I’m walking.

Comment on Edit diplomatically by A fan

A fan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:29:58 +0000

Some times it’s a pain in the ass to read what website owners wrote, but this site is really user genial.

Comment on Hail Rosa Parks by No Name

No Name — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:57:50 +0000

It is ironic that in the early days of the boycott, when MIA officials were still negotiating with officials of the city and the bus line, their demands stopped far short of ending segregation on city buses. Instead those negotiations focused on ending the practices of forcing blacks to stand so that whites could sit, such as in the case of Rosa Parks, or of forcing blacks to leave seats in the front of the black section of a bus so that whites could fill them if the white section was full. The boycott leadership also sought the hiring of some black bus drivers and more courteous treatment of black riders by bus drivers.

Comment on Spam comments and compliments by Patrice

Patrice — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:05:53 +0000

Q. I have a public relations client who wants me to write an article about her small business in a neighborhood publication. I am capable of writing it, but something about the idea bothers me. The publication would list me as the writer. Is there anything wrong with this scenario?

A. Yes, something is wrong with this scenario. The problem is: Whose side would you be on? Would you be promoting your client’s agenda or would you be writing unbiased copy explaining the client to the newspaper’s readers?

Would you tell the editor of your relationship with the client? If you tell, and the editor accepts your dual relationship, then you’re in the clear. If you don’t feel comfortable opening up to the editor, you know this is a conflict of interest.

If, on the other hand, you write about a company for a periodical or website, and the company later invites you to write for it, you are good to go. I have encountered this situation several times, most recently over an article I wrote for the Jewish Exponent about the Jewish community in St. Maarten. Six months later, the rabbi invited me to write for the organization’s annual magazine.

Going from objective writer to subjective is, uh, kosher.

Comment on Contact Susan by Susan Perloff

Susan Perloff — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:02:07 +0000

Thank you, John. Today we look for quiet, rural places to avoid maddening crowds. In 1874 Thomas Hardy wrote a novel called Far from the Madding Crowd, a term he probably took from Thomas Gray’s 1751 poem, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” Earlier uses of the word madding go back to 1579. In 1967 a movie of the same name starred Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. It's maddening, isn't it?

Comment on Contact Susan by John Magee

John Magee — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:47:01 +0000

When you want to leave the “madding” crowd at Philadelphia International Airport, you cannot depart.

Isn’t it “maddening”, Susan?

John

Comment on About sex by Susan Perloff

Susan Perloff — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:54:16 +0000

Excellent question. A recent New York Times article says, "In 1923, the suffragist Alice Paul proposed the Equal Rights Amendment to Congress." I think the proper term is women's suffrage. When I Googled female suffragist, the search engine ignored female and produced nearly 5 million hits (!) using the word women instead. Female is, as I said, an adjective, but it is not often used in relation to women's winning the vote. At least women can vote. I am open to other opinions.

Comment on About sex by Kris

Kris — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:24:51 +0000

I’ve always wondered about the term “woman suffragist” or “women suffragists” since I have to use both terms in my job at the Alice Paul Institute frequently.