I feel kinda naked

Yes. I think "naked" is a good word to capture a reader's attention. Don't you?

But that's how I'm feeling. I have this FABULOUS new editor at the Trib--love her!--who told me that the Trib has a conservative approach to style. They like the words to speak for themselves. To this end they rarely italicize or use caps and exclamation points.

WELL! YOU CAN SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING! Over the past decade of writing my column for the d-news, I have certainly come to rely upon capping and exclamation pointing as my favorite go-to techniques. And, in fact, I think I've overdone both. So being forced to rein myself in is actually a good thing. Still. And also anyway. I feel naked without my rhetorical crutches. So! Expect! a! lot! of! random! punctuation! in! my! blog!