Bush Inaugurated to Second Term

Read the New York Times’ coverage of the inauguration here.

Tiny Cars for Tiny People

I was a little caught off guard when I saw my first Scion xA:

Scion xA (photo from Consumer Guide)

For the briefest moment, I thought I was looking at a Geo Metro, which my friend Jojo drove before she traded up to a Honda Civic. That is, I thought it was a Geo Metro before I saw the sleek Scion logo on the back of the car.

The humble Geo/Chrevolet Metro, also Ned Flanders’s car on The Simpsons (photo from Consumer Guide)

It’s nice to know that consumers now have more options should they choose to size down from their SUVs. A report I read or heard recently indicated that the popularity of cars like the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Mini Cooper and declining sales of SUVs along with increasing gas prices are spurring automakers to focus more upon developing small cars.

Writing Tips

A writer once observed that some people just like to attend writing classes; they don’t necessarily want to write. I feel that way sometimes, like after I come out of a great writing class, have read something really inspirational, or read a published work that makes me jealously think I could have done better. Finding the motivation to write is a difficult proposition. Established writers almost always suggest that a better strategy is to set a writing schedule and apply oneself to writing as if it were a regular job.

Tonight I had my first class of second semester. The class is Long-Form Nonfiction, taught by Ron Rosenbaum, who writes a column titled “The Edgy Enthusiast” for the New York Observer among other credentials. He had a lot to share with the class, suggestions for how to be a good writer. Here are some: