Blogging on Kindle

Fellow bloggers and blogger readers, you can now publish and read blogs on Kindle, Amazon's handheld electronic reader. When I discovered that bloggers could make their blogs available for readers on this device I was thrilled. Although the number of my readers who would read my blogs on a Kindle--or even who own a Kindle--is probably small, I really like the idea.

I have been wanting a Kindle (or something like it) since they first came out. As soon as the price comes down from the almost $300 that it costs to buy one now, I will probably get one. I read a lot and I love the idea of being able to get a book--any book--instantaneously and be able to read it in an almost book-like form while sitting comfortably in my cozy armchair with my feet up over the side (something I can't do at my computer).

Now, to discover that you can subscribe to blogs on Kindle just adds to its allure. I can see myself traveling on an Amtrak train across the Canadian Rockies, my Kindle in hand, following all my favorite bloggers as I take my dream vacation. Yes, there is a cost to subscribing to a Kindle blog--but isn't there always? I checked and it appears that most blogs cost anywhere from 99 cents to $1.99.

I signed up both Communication Exchange and my other blog Subjective Soup to be posted on Kindle. Supposedly, they will both be available in 48-72 hours. It took a while to sign up as I had to configure the Kindle page for my blog just as I do for my blog page. When I previewed the results, they seemed fine. The print was easy to read and the graphics were clear. The only problem is that everything is in black and white--no color. I assume that's standard for Kindle.

Bloggers can potentially make some money from having their blogs available on Kindle if enough readers subscribe. I don't know how large the market is for Kindle blogging, but I'm anxious to find out.

What about you? Do you own a Kindle? Would you publish your blog on Kindle? Would you subscribe to your favorite blog on Kindle?

(photo from www.amazon.com)

Jillian's Grammar

Jillian Harris, ABC's Bachelorette of the season, seems to have it all going for her. She's pretty, smart, and articulate (well, maybe except for one glaring mistake in failing to send Wes, the obnoxious, publicity hound, home earlier). What bothers me about Jillian is her grammar.

When she speaks directly to the camera (and she does that a lot), she continually confuses her pronouns. She transposes objective case and subjective case pronouns, particularly when she has a plural. For instance, instead of saying, "He and I had a great date," she says, "Him and I had a great date." Or, the other way, she says, "That was fun for he and I," rather than "That was fun for him and me." She doesn't do this with single pronouns. That is, she correctly says, "I had fun," or "He had fun," or "It was fun for me," or "It was fun for him." But, give this girl a combined subject or object pronoun and she muffs it every time. And believe me, it's beginning to grate on my nerves. I suppose I'm overly critical because of my many years teaching Communication and correcting student grammar both orally and written.

Yes, I know. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small sin. But ABC has marketed Jillian as "smart and savvy." This image is soiled when she speaks so poorly. Maybe she makes this mistake because she's from Canada. Possibly mixing up pronouns like this isn't considered a grammatical crime up there north of the border (sorry, Flit), but I don't think so.

Combined plurals are so simple. You just imagine how one prounoun would sound and then put them together. That is, "He had a great date," and "I had a great date," become "He and I had a great date." Or, "It was fun for him," and "It was fun for me," become "It was fun for him and me." (You can check how well you know your subject and object pronouns by taking this little quiz. Try it and let me know how you scored.)

All right, readers, let me have it! Am I a fussy old biddy or are you too bothered by Jillian's grammar?

(photo from http://abc.go.com/primetime/bachelorette/index?pn=index)

Is Lying Ever Justified?

Every time we speak we choose to tell the truth or we choose to lie. When we lie, we may reap immediate benefits. However, these benefits may be short-lived and ultimately lead to repercussions later on. If we lie regularly when we communicate, lying may become ingrained and it may become difficult for us to even recognize when we are or aren't lying. This cavalier attitude towards lying affects the kind of communicators we are.

According to a recent MSNBC poll, many of us believe that in certain situations, lying is justified. Often, people claim that the only reason they lie is to keep from hurting someone else’s feelings. However, this is generally not the case. Most researchers indicate that the most common reason for lying is self-protection--not sparing the feelings of others. Philosopher Sissela Bok examines the ethics and the ramifications of lying in her elegant book.

Telling the truth can be painful and embarrassing, but it is generally the best way to communicate. Ultimately, all of us benefit when we tell the truth. This is not to say that we should go out of our way to insult people just to be honest. It only means that we can be truthful even when presenting unpopular or difficult information. We can develop our ability to communicate our message truthfully in ways that are tactful. This ability is a sign of an effective communicator.

Can you tell the truth without causing pain? How have you shown your honesty while still being tactful?

Post Update

You may have noticed that I have not posted recently. The reason for this is that I have got another one of my super migraines and can't face the computer screen for more than a few minutes. However, I am starting to feel better and intend to be back to regular posting in a few days. Thanks for your patience!

(photo by rob dunlavey @www.flickr.com)