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September 10, 2011

Man, Reach and Wonder. "...him we can save."

Wer immer strebend sich bemüht, den können wir erlösen.
--Goethe

Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than Man.
--Sophocles in Antigone

"Whosoever increasingly strives upward...him we can save."

Goethe in the Compagna, 1787, JHW Tischbein (1751-1829), Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2011

Writing Well: The Editors.

I have performed the necessary butchery. Here is the bleeding corpse.

--Henry James (1843-1916), after a request by the Times Literary Supplement to cut 3 lines from a 5,000 word article.

James with Edith Wharton, 1904

Posted by JD Hull at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

Writing for Clients, Judges, and other Humans.

Insane Lawyer Posse? Lawyers, including some judges, have a certain way of talking to each other on paper which (1) really isn't needed and just alienates the rest of the thinking and semi-lucid world, and (b) even makes it think we are talking to ourselves dementedly and self-absorbedly like mental patients on third-rate time-released crank. For example, from the first line of an actual federal district court complaint (with changes made only to protect the lame):

COMPLAINT

COMES NOW, the plaintiff, Upstart Corporation, by and through its attorneys, Adams, Bones & Carson, LLC, brings this cause of action against GiantMart, Inc. for violations of the Lanham Act, and for its reasons, files with this Honorable Court the herein Complaint, the following of which is a statement of its averments and allegations:

Why not instead just:

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff, Upstart Corporation, states:

Is it just me?

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2011

The Million Dollar Handwritten Thank-You Note: It Happens.

Don't be White Collar Trash. Don't mess this one up. Just do it. If you are interviewing, prospecting for clients or have great clients giving you new work, write handwritten notes on non-wanker non-prole stationery every time you can. Do it early and often. Crane's or Tiffany's--and the simpler the design, the better. No e-mails. Handwritten thank-you notes work.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)