Rhetoric is one of those subject areas I whiffed on as I cruised through high school and college. I missed out on others, too—economics, statistics, sociology, logic, geology, and many others—but rhetoric is one I think about. And—writing for a living (or part of one, anyway)—I've felt a little self-conscious about this gap in my … Continue reading On wanting a better understanding of rhetoric
Author: T Coe
On “stakeholder” and my preferred (but false) etymology
I wrote yesterday about false etymologies—all with an eye of writing this post today. I use the word stakeholder a lot in project approaches and cover letters. I'm referring to anyone with an "interest" in the project, financial or otherwise. I'll often modify the noun to fit: "community" stakeholders, "key" stakeholders, "internal" stakeholders. A lot … Continue reading On “stakeholder” and my preferred (but false) etymology
On the frustration and lure of false etymologies
People are always surprised to learn that dictionary editors aren’t strict grammarians, the unbending defenders of some frozen version of the English language. I was, too, when I started working my marketing job at Oxford Dictionaries. The editors’ motives were far more documentary than I’d expected. They loved words, and respected the odd ways that … Continue reading On the frustration and lure of false etymologies
On 7 things from last week (4/3/23)
The Record (Boygenius). The first LP from the indie supergroup was bound to be good even if it had included no more than the four singles. A great album, which closes with a clever rewrite of "Me and My Dog," my favorite track from the trio's 2018 EP. DIY woodworking blogs. I've been on the … Continue reading On 7 things from last week (4/3/23)
On working for a client
It was only my first job, more than a decade ago, that I had something like a client. As a marketing assistant in the academic books division at Oxford University Press, I fielded emails and calls from several dozen authors. The requests were simple—a sales flyer or an update on the number of book copies … Continue reading On working for a client
On survivorship bias
One of the revelations of my early 30s came in reading Cal Newport’s So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion In The Quest For Work You Love, a book that dispelled the age-old career advice “do what you love” The “do what you love” advice is in generous at heart, because it … Continue reading On survivorship bias
On the struggle with ‘x’ in alphabet content
Part of life with little kids is alphabet content. The alphabet is a key element in early literacy, so it makes some sense that authors and toy-designers stuff it in anywhere it might fit. But this surfeit of alphabet content can feeling a little overwhelming. Plus, there's the issue of 'x.' Yes, 'x' is in … Continue reading On the struggle with ‘x’ in alphabet content
On feeling ownership of a song
"Yoooooo! Play the song!" "Oh, hell yeah!" "Play the song! Play the song! Play the song!" My high school varsity locker room: the baseball team captain and co-captain. Both of whom I recall intensely disliking. I can also recall my own unsettled sense of self in this era, and have no doubt that this was … Continue reading On feeling ownership of a song
On surprise depositor fees and being a Post-It on someone’s desk
A few months ago, a check from my employer covering expenses bounced. Weird, but not a big deal, I thought. I called our business manager and she explained that there was an issue with how the checks had printed. She would just cut a new one for me. This all sounded fine—except for one thing. … Continue reading On surprise depositor fees and being a Post-It on someone’s desk
On greatest hits collections
Nearly every greatest hits collection has a problem. Problems arise owing to constraints. There's the high-level constraint, of course—how to pick favorite tracks. And some collections get this wrong! But there are constraints beyond this, too. There were the different labels jockeying for influence over an artist's discography, the artist's own (sometimes wrong-headed) preferences, the … Continue reading On greatest hits collections
Taylor Coe 