Can You Write Like Sarah Palin?

Write Like Sarah Palin - A little challenge from Slate.com

What is the single worst sentence in Sarah Palin's Going Rogue: An American Life? According to Slate's Going Rogue index, it comes on Page 102:
"As the soles of my shoes hit the soft ground, I pushed past the tall cottonwood trees in a euphoric cadence, and meandered through willow branches that the moose munched on."

Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times didn't have to read past the first paragraph for her nomination:
"I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier."

Do you think you can write like Sarah Palin?

Write a sentence that could be mistaken for one from her book. A single sentence of fewer than 150 words.  Send your entry to writelikepalin@gmail.com by 11/25.


(Does it still count as an "Evening" in Paradelle if I'm typing at 3:41 AM but I still haven't gone to sleep? I'm thinking, Yes.)

Red State, Blue State, One Sustainable Bluefish

Since the presidential election of 2000, Republican and Democratic states have been represented on TV and in the press by red (Republican) and blue (Democratic).

Though the Federal Election Commission’s 2004 election report used the same coding, it hasn't always been that way.

Actually, prior to that, the opposite colors were usually used. Ronald Reagan’s blue states were called a “lake” in 1980.

What caused this switch?

The answer doesn't seem to be clear. A piece in The Washington Post once gave part of the reason as a decision made in the NBC graphics department and also to a joke by David Letterman. Letterman make a joke during that long 2000 recount period that they might “make George W. Bush President of the red states and Al Gore head of the blue ones.”

Anyway, the shift occurred and “red” and “blue” state thinking seems to be part of our election lexicon now.


Which also leads me to think about Dr. Seuss. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is a 1960 children's book by Dr. Seuss. It's a simple rhyming book for learner readers about a boy and a girl and their amazing creature friends and pets.

I came across it again recently when I was researching a piece for my Endangered New Jersey blog about sustainable fishing practices.

Following in this fishy stream (of consciousness) I stumbled upon the Smithsonian Institution's Sustainable Seafood website. This site complements One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish - The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook. (See, there is a Seuss connection.) It's an interesting site about the seafood you might enjoy at dinner.

We generally think of seafood as a healthy choice, but not all fish and shellfish that are available in today's markets and restaurants are good choices from an environmental perspective.