Liberated Writer: After many years of writing in corporate environments where subject matter is somewhat restricted to one's area of expertise within the company and which, of necessity, must be relevant to the company and departmental missions, I am enjoying the opportunity for both creative writing and being exposed to many new possibilities.

As a corporate training designer, developer, and facilitator my writing focused on software manuals, job aids, Help files, etc., with the occasional opportunity to contribute to the company newsletter and to redesign manuals, and proof read or edit the work of fellow employees. I also provided training materials on the company intranet.

As an Independent Contractor, I no longer need to restrict my creative impulses to my personal writing. I have an opportunity to write on a variety of topics, and enjoy what I learn from each one. Helium also offers me the opportunity to seriously explore my not-so-serious side. I'm very excited about that!

My passion is ...

writing, photography, digital art

I know too much about ...

very few things, if any! I'm a perpetual student/learner.

My parents always told me ...

to never do anything I'd hate to have anyone find out about.

My childhood ambition ...

to be a ballet dancer and/or actress.

My favorite memory ...

Returning to Yosemite after too many years away.

Why I write ...

I have a lot to say and I love language.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

"Photoshop User" magazines to get up to speed on the new version; "Questioning the Millennium" by Stephen Jay Gould; and "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"

My first job ...

Full-time: 6 weeks working in a high country camp in Yosemite.

My best moment ...

Being named best actress in a non-musical in a state-wide community theater competition.

My inspiration ...

I am inspired by a variety of things, from a beautiful sunrise to an article in the news.

Society & Lifestyle > Social Values & Norms Political correctness gone wrong

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Here's a purely rhetorical questions: how can something that was wrong from the start go wrong? Political correctness was never a good idea, but the ramifications are either worse than its creators ever dreamed or (heaven forbid!) it's exactly what they had in mind from the beginning.

According to Philip Atkinson, "Political Correctness (PC) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, expressions and behavior, which were then legal, should be forbidden by law, and people who transgressed should be punished."

Mr. Atkinson p...

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