I am not a member of the grammar police and I am not particularly fond of their worker’s union (wink, wink). All kidding aside, I do like to think I know a fair amount about grammar and word usage, but I must confess, I have some weak areas. If you would like to try your skill at a grammar and word usage test, check out the link below. Fair warning, however, some of the word pairs have fairly nuanced meanings which are often overlooked in common usage.
Ahem! I did manage to earn a “Grammar Pro” ranking.
Here are a few from the quiz to give you a hint. You are on your honor not to look these up for the correct answer beforehand; you’re being watched!
Which of the following words would fit in the blank space?
“The weather just gets worse the ______________ west you go.”
A – farther B – further
Do you know the difference between infer and imply?
What is the difference between the abbreviations e.g. and i.e. is a bit more tricky.
NOTE: The article below and accompanying video is being presented on the JBRish blog with permission from the originator, Rocket and the Pickleball Rocks Team. You can check out their website at the link below:
When you build a shrine to anything, there comes a certain responsibility.
In the case of the city of Surprise, Arizona, the Surprise City Pickleball Courts, since opening 4 years ago, have become somewhat of a shrine to the sport of pickleball. But the shrine may be crumbling.
The Villages of Florida is considered THE pickleball vacation spot in the country simply because there are so many available courts.
But as we travel the U.S., when you ask people where is the mecca of pickleball, it is overwhelmingly Surprise, Arizona. Everywhere we go, people talk specifically about The City Courts.
As a matter of fact, the Surprise City Courts have become so famous nationwide that most people just refer to them as THE CITY COURTS. When players mention The City Courts, everyone knows they are referring to the 8 courts at 14534 W. Tierra Buena Lane next to Dreamcatcher Park.
There is Yankee Stadium for baseball, Pebble Beach for golf and The City Courts for Pickleball.
But sadly, The City Courts are now so overcrowded that it is starting to become a negative.
It is hard to believe that the city of Surprise isn’t falling over themselves to expand that facility in order to maintain their brilliant, pickleball-tourist attracting reputation.
These courts are packed with people waiting to play. At just about any time, you can catch some of the best pickleball players in the world, including National Champions, Gigi LeMaster, Steve Wong, Mark Friedenburg, Scott Lennan and others, mixing in with men and women brand new to the sport. It is a wonderful experience that has become famous throughout the sport of pickleball and its two million plus players.
It is (or was) truly THE place to play pickleball when you travel to Arizona.
It is interesting to watch the surrounding communities now building pickleball courts at breakneck speed in order to capitalize on the mega growth the sport of pickleball is currently experiencing.
Hope the City of Surprise realizes it before it’s too late. Sadly, based on what we’ve seen, the mecca will soon be moving.
“You have delighted us long enough.” — Jane Austen
“We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.” — M. Facklam
“We always admire the intelligence of those who ask us for advice.” — Ramsey Clark
“Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.” — Richard Whately
From time-to-time, JBRish presents a picture quote as part of it’s STATUS QUOtes series. Check the link below to see more quotes as well as additional picture quotes.
“Brevity is the soul of wit.” — Shakespeare, Hamlet
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” — Margaret Atwood
“Once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you cant go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.” — Don Miller
“I don’t dream at night, I dream all day; I dream for a living.” — Steven Spielberg
Every so often someone will ponder or ask the question outright: “Why do you take pictures?” The simple answer, which is often the best, is that photographs can be powerful. Did you ever see someone look at a picture and cry? Did you ever see someone look at a picture and smile? Did you ever see someone look at a picture and recoil in horror or astonishment?
I have seen all of these and I have experienced them as well. Oh, and one last thing…photographs can be fun.
The Cooperative of Photography (COOPH) has produced a YouTube video called The Power of a Photograph and they provide specific examples of
Unique moments
Iconic Moments
Fun Moments
Moments of Loss & Desperation
Moments of Defiance
Moments of Bravery
Moments of Love & Respect
…And Moments of Triumph
The video below helps us appreciate why people take photographs and the power behind pictures.
From the YouTube video:
Published on Apr 19, 2016
“The COOPH team explores iconic photographs and famous moments throughout history that captured raw human emotions and stunned the world.”