Monthly Archives: January 2018
First Attempt at Photographing a Fluorescent Specimen
I’ve taken an interest in fluorescent rocks. This is my first attempt at photographing such a specimen. It’s a piece of petrified wood I found at Blue Diamond Nursery in Las Vegas, better known as Cactus Joes. (external link). The … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged Blue Diamond Nursery, Cactus Joes, EXIF, fluorescence, Las Vegas, minerals, night time photography, Nursery, petrified wood, Photography, rocks
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We Are Traveling at Amazing Speed
Mahatma Gandhi once said that there was more to life than increasing its speed. Yet, it’s likely our rate of travel will keep increasing without us noticing it all, much as passengers don’t feel an airliner going from four hundred … Continue reading
Proofreading, Editing, and Revising
I frequently work on the writing of others, chiefly foreign speakers for whom English is a second language. Proofreading is the lightest correcting I do, revisions involve the most work. People argue greatly over what these terms mean. Here are … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts on writing, Uncategorized, Writing by others, Writing tips
Tagged document revisions, editing, editor, proofreading, revisions, reworking, writing
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James A. Murray: Butte’s Radical Irish Millionaire
My brother’s book on James Murray (internal link) is now available for pre-order for $14 from Amazon. (Prime) Congratulations, Bill! James A. Murray: Butte’s Radical Irish Millionaire Paperback – February 20, 2018 by Bill Farley (Author), David M. Emmons (Foreword) … Continue reading
The Frumious Bandersnatch!
I always return to the poetry of Lewis Carroll. It is the height of arrogance to invent new words yet Carroll did it time and again, effortlessly, beautifully, inviting us into a world entirely of his own imagination. Jabberwocky ‘Twas … Continue reading
Would The #MeToo Movement Find This Funny?
Stanton Delaplane loved his daughter and treated her accordingly. Still, that did not prevent him from enjoying a rich fantasy life when envisioning her future. Would the #MeToo movement find this writing from 1953 offensive? Or could they find that some … Continue reading
On a Cat Ageing
On a Cat Ageing He blinks upon the hearth-rug, and yawns in deep content, accepting all the comforts that Providence has sent. Louder he purrs, and louder, in one glad hymn of praise for all the night’s adventures, for quiet, … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing by others
Tagged Alexander Gray, cats, mice, On a Cat Aging, Poetry, Writing by others
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An Irritated Introduction
An exasperated James Roof at Tilden Regional Park, writing in 1959. If all writing could be so honest. This passage is from his introduction to Guide to the Plant Species of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden: Some Unhelpful Notes We are miles … Continue reading
The Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling
Endless campaigns abroad are not something unique to America. I am amazed with Kipling’s brevity and wit. The Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories (1902) I Keep six honest serving-men: (They taught me all I knew) Their names … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing by others
Tagged empire, Kipling, Poetry, The Elephant's child
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When Do Your Eyes Glaze Over?
“A reader’s eyes may glaze over after they take in a couple of paragraphs about Canadian tariffs or political developments in Pakistan; a story about the reader himself or his neighbors will be read to the end.” Donald E. Graham … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts on writing, Uncategorized, Writing tips
Tagged bullet lists, editing, eyes glazing over, focus, losing concentration, rewriting
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