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Book Review: The Translator by Nina Schuyler
Any translator would be intrigued by a novel entitled The Translator. Judging by the rave reviews garnered by author Nina Schuyler for her second novel, however, the book appeals to a much larger...
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A Farewell to Books
Tower of Used Books by Jorge Royanvia Wikimedia CommonsI have spent the better part of my life in libraries and bookstores. I now have my own library, a collection that, over the years and despite many...
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Ordinary People in Interesting Times
Chinese New Year in Paris 2013via Wikimedia CommonsHe: 57 soon 58, worked 35 years for the same employer, a solid and still thriving brick and mortar manufacturing company, rose steadily from blue...
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Three Variations in the Key of Icon
Via Wikimedia CommonsSteven Jobs inspired a full range of reactions, all strong. He also provided fodder for countless lines of copy online and off, and inspired at least one novel, a film and a...
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Dust of Snow
After weeks of bitter cold, then weeks of soggy raw, the snow fell over the weekend. Sunday morning, a pristine blanket of white over gritty brown, transformed the landscape. I headed out to visit my...
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Zen and the Art of Blogging
Enso CircleCalligraphy by Kanjuro Shibata XX "Ensō (円相)Nearly a year ago, for several reasons, I decided to blog daily. For the most part, I succeeded. Not two months into the 2014, however, a series...
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Missing the Movies
Drive-in at Fields Point (National Archives)One sign that you have officially become a cantankerous oldster? Whining about how, back in the day, everything was o! so superior. Statements that start...
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Accidental Sabbatical
Buster Keaton from WikimediaAny freelancer can tell you how it goes. In a nutshell: feast or famine. The trick? Squirrel away as much cash as possible while you can and hope it can hold you over during...
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Mother’s Tongue
Lewis Hine via WikimediaTranslators put a high value on the mother tongue. The first language mastered and, presumably, passed on by one’s mother is a source of immense pride. So important is this...
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Beating Soapbox Envy
Let’s face it: some online experts are more equal than others. There is a solution …Read more »
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Newsflash: Molière and Shakespeare Are Dead
Photo credit: Mariusz Kubikvia Wikimedia CommonsPeople love to grouse about corporate double-speak, overused acronyms, SMS slipping into formal communications and emoticons. My pet peeve: radio jocks...
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Invisibility, a Has-Been Superpower
Quick! If you could have any superpower right now, what would it be? Invincibility, the ability to morph into just about anything or fly, or piercing x-ray vision? For me, it’s a no-brainer....
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Changes
I once worked with a woman who would say, in the midst of soul-scorching upheaval, “Change is good.” Each time, she would unleash a shrill giggle of delight at her delicious (if not terribly original)...
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Rethinking, Redefining, Refreshing
Photo credit: Tomasz Sienicki via Wikimedia CommonsCritics of the blogging craze frequently carp about narcissism and the veritable tidal wave of low quality copy rife with unsubstantiated opinion that...
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What to Write When You Are Tired of Writing
by Nikolas BaronDo you love to write? If the answer is a definite no, here are some tips that will make the process a little less painful. Is your answer an enthusiastic yes? Even so, admit it, there...
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California Dreaming on such an Autumn's Day
After a glorious week of warm temperatures and blue, blue skies, today dawned grey and rainy. Not cold. But you know it's just a matter of time. The shifting seasons, autumn, rain and snow, all things...
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The Fine Line between Vocation and Profession
The long, dark days of winter lend themselves to sorting things out. Now and again, the process leads to an epiphany. This winter, I discovered the essential difference between a vocation and a...
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Machine Translation Fast Forward
Way back in April 2013 … wait, that's not even a year ago. Okay, less than a year ago, I wrote about machine translation. Since then, the advent of low-cost or even free machine translation has...
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Stop Wasting Time Networking
Networking can mean the difference between surviving and truly thriving for both freelancers and a full-time employees. Just “making the rounds” when you're at loose ends or have a few bucks in your...
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Networking: Take Two and Rolling!
“All the world's a stage,” said Jaques in Shakespeare's As You Like It. These days, the world of work seems more like a movie. Successful networking, like a boffo box office hit, requires lengthy...
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Personal Branding, More than a Meets the Eye
These days, marketing experts would have us believe that, along with social media engagement, personal branding is a “must” for both freelancers and salaried employees alike. But what exactly is...
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Reading for a Rainy Day
Spring in Montreal, like fall, an in-between season of raw grey days, sometimes snowy but mostly rainy, sends me running for shelter between the covers of a tried and true classic: Tess of the...
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Breather: When Your Home Office Just Won't Do
Of all the reasons people decide to freelance, the possibility of working from a home office may be close to the top. No more commuting plus the freedom to organize your work time and space according...
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Marc-Olivier Giguère, Photographer
Mastering the Language of LightI have known Marc-Olivier Giguère for 15 years. A Quebec native equally at ease in French, his mother tongue, and English, Marc also masters the ins and outs of language...
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Word of Mouth to the Power of Social Media
If you believe that you don't need to buy into the current social media frenzy, if you eschew online anything, more power to you. Content in the belief that “this, too, shall pass”, you're probably not...
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