1. A Promise Kept by Elise Crawford is a Story of Love, Loss and Grief
January 03, 2010


A Promise Kept by Elise Crawford begins with a chapter called Ground Zero. Crawford uses vivid description, peppered with actual news clips, photos, and details from witnesses, emergency crews and survivors to tell the story of Seattle Metro bus operator, Mark McLaughlin, who was shot and killed by a transit rider on November 27, 1998. Crawford details how Mark wrestled the man for control and how the 72 foot bus, along with 32 passengers, went off the Aurora Bridge and landed on an apartment complex. We are instantly captivated with the rescue effort and search for Mark, missing from the... (read more)

Author: William Potter | Article Views: 373

2. A Promise Kept by Elise Crawford-A Book Review
January 03, 2010


A Promise Kept by Elise Crawford begins with a chapter called Ground Zero. Crawford uses vivid description, peppered with actual news clips, photos, and details from witnesses, emergency crews and survivors to tell the story of Seattle Metro bus operator, Mark McLaughlin, who was shot and killed by a transit rider on November 27, 1998. Crawford details how Mark wrestled the man for control and how the 72 foot bus, along with 32 passengers, went off the Aurora Bridge and landed on an apartment complex. We are instantly captivated with the rescue effort and search for Mark, missing from the... (read more)

Author: William Potter | Article Views: 431

3. Will Textbook Rentals Save You Money?
December 29, 2009


Fundamental Principles of Molecular Biology, 11th Edition Revised. If that sounds like a book you'd like to pay $200 for brand new, use for a semester, and then get no money back for at the end of the term because the 12th edition will be out soon, you should probably buy a copy from your campus bookstore. Just think how much fun it will be to wait in line in a crowded bookstore, drop hundreds of dollars, use the book for a few chapters, get nothing back for it, and then have to lug around the outdated book every time you move. What student wouldn't love that? If, on the other hand, you'd... (read more)

Author: Ryan Camomile | Article Views: 218

4. Improve Your Writing by Creating a Writing Habit
December 29, 2009


Creative writing is both an art and a craft, and as with other crafts, to improve you need to practice consistently. Just like a new piano student is drilled day after day by their teacher in the musical scale, a writer can exercise their writing "muscles" by doing writing exercises and by "free-writing". Writing exercises can take almost any form, as long as the writer is working with words and also with their imagination or memory. But equally as important as taking writing practice seriously when you are doing it, is to be consistent and to write nearly every day whether or not you are in t... (read more)

Author: Rocky Cole | Article Views: 313

5. Improve Your Writing Through Simple Writing Exercises
December 29, 2009


Writers need to limber up their writing "muscles" the same way dancers or singers loosen up their bodies or voices before a practice session or a performance. Words are the medium that writers work with, and just as an artist might do some rough sketches or blend some new colors on a palette before commencing on a portrait, a writer should do some work with words before commencing "more serious" work. Now that is not to say that the warm up won't have value, for just as a sketch may be the basis for a beautiful painting. Some writing done as warm up can become the frame around which a writer c... (read more)

Author: Rocky Cole | Article Views: 308