Misnomer

In honor of Words Matter Week, a holiday that is celebrated annually the first full week in March, the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) is hosting a Blog Challenge with a specific daily topic Monday through Friday.

I'm a day late (yes, and a dollar short!) but I thought I'd comment on yesterday's topic:

Communication breaks down when words are misused. What is the funniest, most interesting, or worst break-down you’ve ever observed?

I was struggling through my first year as a reporter at a small newspaper in Orange County, Ca. I couldn't believe how much I was expected to know and hadn't been taught in journalism school.

I worked at an old-fashioned afternoon paper, which are all but extinct these days, with early morning deadlines. I would literally break into a cold sweat just driving to work, anticipating that deadline pressure.

As the low man on the totem pole, I routinely got the klunker story assignments. That meant on Armistice Day, I was sent to the local VFW for a World War I reunion.

It might have been an inspiring, interesting event. Except for the fact that all the veterans were wheelchair-bound, hard-of-hearing and senile. Their wives poked, prodded and shouted the old-timers through the ceremony in the most demeaning way imaginable.

If I'd been more experienced, I would have known how to handle the assignment gracefully. Instead, I gritted my teeth and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

At the reception after the ceremony, I introduced myself as Karen Klein and explained that I needed to do some interviews with the veterans. But somehow, my name seemed difficult to grasp.

I shouted it multiple times, until someone at a table repeated a garbled version. Like a game of "telephone," grotesque versions of my name ricocheted around the room.

Finally, one of the women seemed to understand. "Clara Pine! This is Clara Pine. She's a reporter!" she announced.

Trying to start all over was beyond me. So for the rest of the afternoon, I was intrepid girl reporter Clara Pine.

Not my best journalism moment, but I survived. And my colleagues got quite a chuckle out of it when I got back to the newsroom.

Modern Mythology

If you're not sure of the answer on a test, go with your hunch.

It's better to let out your anger than repress it.

Some people are left-brained and others are right-brained.

No brainers, right? In fact, none of those "truisms" is true. They're all included in a new book, "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology," reviewed in this week's eSkeptic .

The title actually sells the book short, according to reviewer Dr. Harriet Hall (aka the Skepdoc). The authors go in depth on the 50 myths of the title but also briefly debunk 250 additional popular assertions like the G-spot (sorry ladies!), men thinking about sex every seven seconds (it just seems like they do, apparently) and the advantages of group think.

They also explain why myths and misconceptions arise and gain a foothold. I'm currently reading about conspiracy theories.

This sounds like a good follow up.

His Dinner With Bill

I'm a card-carrying Skeptic and appreciate the group's founder, Michael Shermer.

He recently got a seat at the table with Bill Gates and several other luminaries, although Gates is apparently the only one who got to talk.

Sounds like an interesting evening. Fly, meet wall.

Eating Right

How well I remember trying to get dinner on the table when my children were young. There was something about 6 p.m. that made it "the witching hour" in our household.

Kids were cranky, I was tired and dad was arriving home from a long day at work, stressed-out and hungry.

If I managed to get something pulled together before we all fell apart, it was a minor miracle. Like Jean Shepherd's* mom from "A Christmas Story," I swear I went years without tasting hot food. And if we all managed to bolt down the calories before someone (possibly me) spilled their milk, threw a tantrum or starting racing around the dining room, it was a good night.

So I really feel for the mom who tried a noble experiment: One month of flash-frozen, takeout dinners versus then one month of "slow food" food.

Her conclusion: If eating real food is to become the goal, everyone needs to share in the task. Working women already do the vast majority of the housework. Making them feel more guilty because they don't also bake bread and make cheese is ridiculous.

Of course, now that my kids are out of the house, I have a lot more time to do things like bake, cook and garden. I've got some broccoli ready to harvest, in fact. Anybody know how to make broccoli soup that doesn't involve cream/milk, so my lactose-intolerant husband can enjoy it too?

(h/t to Paula for the link)

*If you haven't read Shepherd's books, they are fun, light and quintessentially American without being sappy. I'm a big fan.

Good Time to Sell?

If you're thinking about selling your business this year, your timing might be fortuitous.

My Smart Answers column this week talks about the prospects for mergers and acquisitions in 2010.

Tax Day

I'm working on my taxes today in advance of meeting my CPA tomorrow and filling out the dreaded FAFSA college financial aid forms this weekend.

As I begin calculating what I owe to keep our country and state running, I'm horrified to learn that Dodgers' owners Frank and Jamie McCourt paid absolutely no taxes (state or federal) on $108 million in income over five years.

In fact, I'm not sure what's worse: Their tax avoidance or the news that they did not separate their business from their personal financial accounts.

Keeping separate books is Entrepreneurship 101. Even tiny, self-employed startups are strongly advised to keep their business accounts separate from their personal accounts.

These people owned The Los Angeles Dodgers, for godssakes!

We'd never know about any of it except for the fact that they are divorcing and a lot of their messy financials are coming out in L.A. Superior Court. The tricks and traps they used to avoid paying their share of taxes are laid out in Michael Hiltzik's column, which I linked above. It's worth reading, just to get an idea of how tax avoidance is possible - and even legal. (Though Massachusetts is auditing their 2006 tax return, apparently neither California nor the IRS is after them.)

What did all that tax-free money buy? Eight houses, country club memberships, flowers from the finest florists, meals in the best restaurants, travel on the Dodgers plane and $386 a month for Jamie's makeup.

Excuse me, I've got to get back to my receipts now. My deductions are clearly not up to par.

Self-Employed Success

Are you self-employed, or hope to be shortly?

If so, you need to read the tips my expert source gives in this week's Smart Answers column.

These are common-sense, practical things you can do to increase your odds of success, but many (if not most) self-employed people probably don't do them. The tax account thing, in particular, is a bummer.

After 20 years as a freelancer, however, I can certainly appreciate these ideas. And when I think about the failed entrepreneurs I know whose homes are now in foreclosure and life savings destroyed, I'm even more enthusiastic.