This little book, the Elements of Style, originally by William Strunk and later revised and expanded by Elwyn Brooks White. Strunk taught an English course with the original version of this book as the required textbook at Cornell University in 1919. White was one of the students took that class. Decades later, White was asked … Continue reading The Elements of Style
Category: Rant
The Founder’s Dilemmas
In the last a few years, multiple friends recommended The Founder’s Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman to me. I did not pick it up till my recent trip returning from Canada. One evening, a friend, A.J., compared the startup environment in Canada with that in Silicon Valley. He commented on how this environmental difference affects the … Continue reading The Founder’s Dilemmas
Hegarty on Creativity – There Are No Rules
Rule number one of traveling to a new place is to visit its museums. I wish some museums offer lodging service, for example, one could happily spend three days and nights of a long weekend in Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rule No. 2 is its independent or secondhand bookstores. I have a very soft spot … Continue reading Hegarty on Creativity – There Are No Rules
Story Craft
Up and in my home office. It is 3:12am. Again around 3am. Here I am with the book Story Craft - The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction by Jack Hart. Am I eternally cursed by some dark magic force of 3am? I first fell victim to this probably in autumn 2005, living in Paddington, just … Continue reading Story Craft
Reading as a Writer
This past week, I attended a one week Reading as a Writer program at Stanford, led by Jonah Willihnganz, Director of the Stanford Storytelling Project. There were about twenty of us, in a cosy seminar room up in the fourth floor of Sweet Hall, with gorgeous views of the campus. There are two beautiful windows, … Continue reading Reading as a Writer
How to live on 24 hours a day
In 1910, Arnold Bennett wrote a small volume of non-fiction titled How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. It is probably his best-known work among dozens of books that he wrote. I listed this as my book of this week. I would be cheating if I do not inform you upfront that I … Continue reading How to live on 24 hours a day
Night
My book of this week is Night, written by Elie Wiesel and translated by his wife Marion Wiesel. Elie wrote about his experience of being deported from his home town Sighet in northern Transylvania to concentration camps towards the end of the WWII in 1944, at age fifteen. Elie’s mother and sisters were separated from … Continue reading Night
Weddings and Funerals
I do not like weddings. Weddings make me cry. The moment the bride and bride’s father walk into the ceremony room in the town hall or church, the music in the background, the view of the two people. One is excited with some fear of the future. Uncertain how life will pan out but overjoyed … Continue reading Weddings and Funerals
My practice of improv and the book Improv Wisdom
I procrastinated from Friday night until the very early morning of Sunday before I committed myself to write about my book of the week, Improv Wisdom - Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up, by Patricia Ryan Madson. Writing this summary has not escaped my mind, whether I was deadheading roses, or making flower arrangements, or planning … Continue reading My practice of improv and the book Improv Wisdom
Customer Service
Most of us have had some experiences with customer service before, positive or negative or neutral. We can probably find ourselves united in the unpleasant memory of one or two international service providers, if we start sharing our bad experiences. At those circumstances, we ask: why does this company not put their customer first, as … Continue reading Customer Service