Comments on: A daughter reminisces: the making of a writer https://thenewneo.com/2006/05/15/daughter-reminisces-making-of-writer/ A blog about political change, among other things Wed, 13 May 2009 17:29:27 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: douglas https://thenewneo.com/2006/05/15/daughter-reminisces-making-of-writer/#comment-14397 Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2006/05/daughter-reminisces-making-of-writer.html#comment-14397 If you have children, surround them with books. Have them see you reading. They’ll figure out by osmosis that there is something interesting and valuable there. It’s also good to read to your children, but it turns out to not be nearly as big a factor as just having books around.

Perhaps the ‘genetic’ or ‘heredity’ analogy is a poor choice of words?

]]> By: stumbley https://thenewneo.com/2006/05/15/daughter-reminisces-making-of-writer/#comment-14398 Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2006/05/daughter-reminisces-making-of-writer.html#comment-14398 I am reminded of a particular phrase that always delights me…a line from the film “Far and Away”, which is one of the better put-downs I’ve ever heard. I’ve told my daughters, when they’re angry, to remember the line, and instead of resorting to the common epithets most young adults use (mother***er, a**hole, etc.) to use the beauty and utility of language to better effect.

The line is uttered by Nicole Kidman’s character, Shannon Daugherty, as she labors away in a chicken factory, plucking chickens. The supervisor is a martinet, hectoring the workers day in and day out, threatening them with docking their pay when they upset him.

Shannon has offended the supervisor, and he’s docked her for Thursday. She hesitates for a moment, judging her anger, and then responds with “Take Friday as well, you spineless little fraction of a man.”

“Spineless little fraction of a man.” How much more devastating and elegant than “mother***er.”

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