Next time you’re getting down on yourself about how long it takes you to write…
…consider how long it takes Jerry Seinfeld to write a joke. Of course, consider as well the attention to craft and detail – particularly timing – that he devotes to the process. Chances are, many speechwriting clients aren’t so vested in the process that they’ll be willing to give you that kind of running room… not … Keep reading →
From 2010, good advice on joke-writing in speeches
From How political speechwriters do comedy. – Slate Magazine: Which brings us to the third rule: Use jokes as damage control. Clinton never made light of the Lewinsky scandal directly. But in 1999, he started off his WHCD speech by somberly noting that had the Senate’s impeachment vote gone another way, he wouldn’t be standing here today. … Keep reading →
PC World features Noise to Signal
When I was a young ‘un still trying to wrap my mind around personal computers, modems, desktop publishing and stuff, I had only a few trusted sources to turn to: my very few friends who shared my interest… whatever I could glean at 300 baud from Ottawa’s various computer bulletin boards… and magazines.
Two magazines in particular gave me the education I was looking for: PC Magazine and PC World. For me, neither übergeek or total n00b, they were the holders of the keys to the tech kingdom of the mid-to-late 1980s and early 90s.
So I’m especially delighted that, all day today, PC World’s web site has as its lead feature “a dozen of the best tech-related cartoons the Web has to offer“… and among those exalted 12, you’ll find Noise to Signal.
Head on over – and check out the other 11 cartoons as well, along with editor JR Raphael’s lively commentary. (Want to read more JR Raphael? Then head to his site eSarcasm – billed, wisely, as “not for the easily offended”.)
