Wacky things we get told to believe, for no real reason

Case One One rainy day during high school, I was sitting inside, eating my lunch when Jeanne, a fellow student, decided to educate me. She'd obviously noticed that I'd peeled my banana like any normal person would: But it wasn't good enough for her. She approached me, placed her hands on her hips and declared, "You're supposed to peel it from the other end." By 'other end', she meant this: "Why?"...

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Why I didn't study at the Auckland University of Technology University

It was late last year when indecision plagued my mind. The days were becoming longer, the air warmer. Summer was coming, and I had no idea what to do with my life! After much indecision and frustration, a plethora of infinite possibilities was hammered down to a much more surmountable two. The options were: 1. A Masters in Creative Writing at AUT 2. An Advanced Diploma in Applied Writing at Northtec Both were...

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When to use (and not to use) quotation marks

The marks of quotation are perhaps the easiest marks of punctuation to use, yet so often they lead only to destruction. You know what else leads to destruction? Walking on your face. Compare man walking on his face with man walking on his feet. Silly, yes? That's because it's easy to walk on your feet, and impossible to walk on your face. For starters, you'd need to have two faces...

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