Grammar Gem of the Day: “Staff” Infection

I’m cursed. I have trouble reading books or listening to speakers because I feel the need to dissect their grammar and usage. What a nerd I have turned out to be. Here’s an example. Last Sunday I had trouble focusing on the sermon because the pastor had such bad grammar. One of his most noticible grammatical sins was his misuse of the word “staff.” He said something like this: “The staff are going on a retreat next weekend.” Sound perfectly okay? Well, here’s the rub. The word “staff” is actually singular (it is one thing), which means it should be treated this way: “The staff IS going on a retreat […]

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Grammar Gem of the Day

SEEN VS. SAW – The misuse of the word “seen” is one of my biggest grammatical pet peeves. For example, “I seen Ironman 3 last night.” ACK! The correct word is “saw.” Seen is used if it is preceded by a form of “has” (“I have seen that movie three times” – or – “She has seen the second part of the series”).

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Wacky Word of the Day

NUMEN (noun) = a divine power or spirit often identified with a natural object, phenomenon, or place (Use this word in a sentence and you’ll be entered in this month’s drawing for one of my books!)

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WACKY WORD OF THE DAY RECAP – Week of January 20

Here’s a recap of the crazy words included in this week’s WACKY WORD of the Day. Don’t forget the contest: use any of these words in a sentence and you will be automatically entered in this month’s drawing to win one of my books. We’ll begin a new monthly contest in February. There is still time to add your sentences as comments to this blog posting or on my other social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin). MONDAY — MINIM (adjective) = a musical half note or something very small or insignificant TUESDAY — FLANEUR (noun) = an aimless idler or loafer. THURSDAY — HAIMISH (adjective) = homey, cozy FRIDAY — […]

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Getting to Know Me

Every marketing guru on the planet (including me) recommends authors develop active blogs with killer content to expand their audiences and push book sales.  Since the dawn of the Internet, the quandary has always been deciding what to write about. For those of us with multiple projects in the pipeline, choosing a topic is definitely easier said than done. I have scores of magazine articles in circulation on topics ranging from faith and family to business, health and women’s issues. My specialty has always been celebrity profiles. I have eight books on the market, do a fair amount of speaking, and have decades of business of experience. Clearly, I wouldn’t have time […]

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California – Day 2 (July 20)

California – Day 2 (July 20) July 22, 2011 by Kaia Calhoun So it must be confusing to be reading these blogs for yesterday a day later, and I am feeling a lack of direction for this particular piece, but  here it goes.  And just so we understand each other, it’s hard to post on the day without staying up super late to write on the day that just happen.  So, here we are. Today (meaning yesterday) mom and I woke up nice and early to start our adventures in Northern California.  I decided to run.  Up a hill.  Because they are unavoidable. By the time I reached my halfway point […]

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