Why I Will No Longer Write for a Certain Publication

1) It's sloppy. Each issue contains numerous formatting inconsistencies, plus spelling errors (including repeated misspellings of my own name).
2) It's unpredictable. I've asked the editor for an editorial/publishing calendar numerous times. Doesn't seem to exist.
3) Its Web site is out-of-date.
4) Despite multiple requests--one of which was actually acknowledged by return e-mail-- I seem unable to obtain a contributor's copy of the issue containing my last (as in most recent, as well as final) piece. Never mind my subscription copy.
5) I can't seem to script an e-mail to the editor these days without waves of irritation and annoyance washing over me.

What factors can make you swear off writing for a particular publication?

--Prunella

This is Reality?

I don’t usually watch reality tv shows, but as a break, I was looking at one not long ago that featured dance routines, and I was disturbed to see how the women were scarcely clad and were shaking their bodies seductively, whereas the men relied on their talent (or lack thereof). Again, what is about women’s bodies being public property? Why do we feel we can look at women (wearing what amounted to little more than g-strings and tight tops), dancing around and giggling and smiling and flipping their long locks and shimmying their bodies, whereas we expect men to perform and show their strength and skills (and, possibly, to do it all with a shirt half-unbuttoned, their muscular, hairy chests somewhat on display)?

A reflection of reality indeed!

--Curly

Money Talks, Non-Gratitude Walks

I have complained about this before, but I must mention again how many emails I get from people asking for help. I often do help people and then I am rarely thanked for my time and effort.

I complained about this and someone told me she started a consulting business, so now people have to pay her if they want this kind of help. Perhaps money will talk, since apparently gratitude doesn’t.

--Curly

Forward: Untrue “Facts”

Related to my last point about stupid forwards, I would like to complain about untrue ones. Yes, there are sites like Snopes, where you can check if a certain item is really dangerous for your health or if a celebrity really has such a low IQ or whatever, but why should I have to check facts and then correct you? I have several times sent emails back to people, refuting their “facts” and suggesting they send an explanatory message to everyone they sent their original forward to, and really this is a waste of time and energy.

So if you are going to send a forward containing “facts,” get your facts straight first!

--Curly

Forward: Re: Forward: Forward: Stupid

We all have limited time, so why do people like to waste time (both mine and theirs) by reading and then forwarding stupid emails? How nice that you think women are phenomenal, that you consider me a friend, that you laugh at stereotyped jokes about men and women, that you want everyone to be aware of strange people who might be hiding in the back seat of cars, that you find statistics about which ethnic groups won Nobel Prizes interesting, that you would like to consider whether Jesus was black or Jewish (or perhaps non-existent), and so on, but why do I have to think about such things (especially when I’ve already seen each message many times!)?

It is a waste of my time to have to look through the email, decide whether I want to read it or not, and then delete it. So please stop sending the same lame, dull, and useless emails over and over again!

--Curly

Happy Crabby New Year

It’s scarcely the new year and I’m already crabby (okay, fine, I’m always crabby). Besides finding the holiday season itself stressful for a number of reasons (the forced joviality, the Christmas songs playing non-stop, the commercialism, the dull parties, time spent with relatives), I also find holiday-related travel annoying and rant-worthy.

Too often, tickets don’t arrive in the mail as they should, which leads to me having to make calls and enquiries and sometimes to having to buy new tickets, which may or may not be reimbursed. And trains, buses, and planes are always very crowded, frequently with people eating smelly food and talking loudly, and these people may not have showered recently either. Then the staff at airports and on planes are generally rude, snapping at customers (including at me, because I dared to order a vegetarian meal). I somehow always manage to arouse suspicion when going through customs as well, perhaps because I have dual citizenship, live outside my native country, and travel a lot.

All told, it’s an exhausting and frustrating time of the year, and it has left me with a headache. But the good news is that it’s over now. At least for the next dozen months!

--Curly