Oh, Copyediting

So, there is an interesting headline on Yahoo's front page right about now:

Strangely enough, the headline of the article the link points to makes more sense:

For any screen-reader using guests, the first headline reads "Many TV stations will still switch to analog signal on Feb. 17" and the second reads "TV stations get ready to cut analog signal (AP)."  I just included the screen captures as evidence.

(Also, since when are article headlines not capitalized?)

It Begins Again

For the uninitiated (ha!), the Harry Potter series consists of seven books slowly but inexorably building to a final showdown between the eponymous (I love that word) hero and the most evil wizard ever (tm).

Before each book came out, there was speculation that it would be OMG DARKER AND SCARIER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE!  MAYBE OUR LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS SHOULDN'T READ IT.

Um.

Remember that "slowly but inexorably" thing?

Remember how Lord of the Rings started with a relatively innocuous thing (Bilbo disappearing at his birthday party) and ended with "The End of All Things?"

When things slowly but inexorably built towards BAD THINGS, they slowly but inexorably get...

...badder.

This should not be rocket science, folks.

The same thing, of course, happens as trailers trickle out for each subsequent movie, to my continual irritation.

(Surely, if you're going to see the sixth Harry Potter film, you've read the books?  I could forgive, perhaps, having not read the book before seeing the first, but wouldn't that pique your interest?  More to the point, in a (ahem) post-Harry-Potter world, you surely know that....  Oh, never mind.  I give up.)

Anyhow, imagine my reaction when I saw this:

Sinister twist.

A 'darker' Harry Potter.

I just -- I just --

Okay, let me try to be rational.

Kids who grew up on Harry Potter grew with the books.  If they were 11 when they read the first, they were adults when Deathly Hallows came out.  I think adults could handle Deathly Hallows, don't you?

A kid that read Sorcerer's Stone for the first time (yep, I'm American...sorry) at 11 two months ago is in a different spot.

But here's the thing.

YOU'RE THE PARENT.

IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT YOUR KID IS READING OR WATCHING THEN WATCH IT YOURSELF.

I mean, for crying out loud, people.

On another similar but related note, a couple of weeks ago, our News-2-You topic was the Country Music Awards.  Because the paper had a bit on the history of country music, I hopped onto YouTube, violated several copyrights, and made a video showing the growth of country music over time, with 30 second-ish clips from each decade of country music.

Johnny Cash being Johnny Cash showed up in two of them.

Three of my students -- including my youngest, Bart (fourth grade boy P), who just turned nine a month ago -- said, "Oh, that's that guy from the movie with the drugs!"

So we let an eight year old boy (with special needs, but even so) watch Walk the Line, but we angst that the sixth movie in a series of...well, eight, really...movies that are building to a giant confrontation with a REALLY EVIL BAD GUY...is...darker?

Walk the frelling Line.

I weep for society.

Ouch

We all slip.  I know that.  I often type "withing" when I mean "within" because I type really, really fast (80-90 wpm when I really get going...around 50ish in general) and my fingers are so used to the -ing pattern that they just add it without my brain's conscious permission.

(And, yes, typing is an unconscious thing for me; I don't spell words as I type, but I do hear them in my head -- I know there's an educational term for that, but I don't recall it at the moment.)

Anyway, I know we all slip, but slips gall me more when they are made by teachers or other school-related folks.

So this just boggles the mind.

Finally, Proof!

It might be obvious that poor grammar is one of my pet peeves.  (It particularly drives me insane when there are typos in our Teachers' Union newsletter, 'cause...well, c'mon...you're teachers.)

Anyway, it's not precisely grammar-related, but for years, I have bitten my tongue when people pronounce Ghiradelli Square (mmm...chocolate....) as "Jeer-a-deli" but didn't say anything for fear that I was the wrong one to be pronouncing it "Gear-a-deli."

So imagine my delight when I read this blog post and saw this photo:

Ah, vindication.  How nice.  :-)

Another Pet Peeve

Sight = seeing stuff

Because of my lousy sight, I must wear glasses.

I could hardly believe the sight that greeted me when I opened the door.

Site = a place (physical or "web...")

Sacramento will be the site of the next National Down Syndrome Congress conference.


The webmaster completed his total redesign of the site in under three weeks.


Cite = refer to

The judges cited three precedents in the text of their ruling.


If you do not cite your references, you will be accused of plagiarism.

Repeat Rant, but I Can't Help Myself

(Pardon the CAPSLOCK OF RAGE.)

Ahem.

IT IS NOT "COULD OF."


COULD'VE IS A CONTRACTION OF COULD HAVE.  AS IN, "I COULD HAVE GONE TO THE STORE BEFORE WORK IF I HADN'T SLEPT TOO LATE."


IT IS NOT "COULD OF."


IT IS NOT "SHOULD OF."


IT IS NOT "WOULD OF."


HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE.


IT IS COULD HAVE (OR COULD'VE), WOULD HAVE (OR WOULD'VE), AND SHOULD HAVE (OR SHOULD'VE).


*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*

*relieved sigh*

Grammar Lesson for Today

I was reading a message board thread about songs, and I hit upon a new grammar pet peeve.

You put song titles in "quotation marks."

You italicize the name of the album.

(Memory trick:  Short things get quotation marks.  Long things get italicized.)

So, this is correct:  My favorite version of the song "Hallelujah" is on k.d. lang's album Hymns of the 49th Parallel.

Bonus tip:  The same trick memory trick works for stories and books.  Short stories get quotation marks; books get italicized.

So, this is correct:  The only thing of Stephen King's I've ever finished is the story "The Langoliers" from the book Four Past Midnight.

Stop and Think

Look, I realize that lots of grammatical errors, especially on the Internet, are simply a result of typing too fast.  You get going, and before you know it, an apostrophe sneaks its way into the word, and all of a sudden the dog was chasing "it's" tail.

I get it.  I do.

It's really easy to type an extra "o" and have someone loose their pants (I hope they tightened them).

But what I don't get is when the error itself makes no sense.

How can something be a "worse-case scenario?"  I mean, stop and think about it.  That implies there is something that could, indeed, be even worse.

Yes, this was prompted by something I read.

(But this makes my eyes itch almost as badly as "I could care less," which, of course, means that you actually do care some since you are capable of caring less than you do now.)

Hmph.

Sad and Amusing

Please don't hate me because I find this blog very, very amusing.

Especially this one, since it's a formal thing from a school.  If she's still living (I got a Christmas card from her either this year or last year), Mrs. Sylwester is exploding steam out of her ears at this very moment.  If she's not, she is spinning in her grave.

And this one, 'cause it's freaking tatooed on your body forever.

Grammarian

I can once again claim my grammar nerd status by saying I got 'em all right.

Should I be scared?

Pet Peeves

Language evolves; I know that.  So I know that what I am about to be grumpy about may be completely wrong five or ten years from now, but please indulge me.

Everyone is all of a sudden up in arms about Microsoft forcing computer manufacturers to stop selling computers with Windows XP pre-installed.  Vista has been out since...what...last Novemberish?

Believe it or not, I'm with Microsoft on this one -- and that from the person that just bought a fresh copy of Windows XP for Lore.

However.

Computer companies have limited resources.   Yes, even Microsoft.  There are only so many geeks who can write operating system code.  So when you work to develop a new OS, sooner or later, you have to shift your resources away from the old OS.

Anyway.

When you have lots of people chatting about computer things, you hear some interesting stuff, and it reminded me of a few pet peeves of mine.

1.  Downloading is taking something "down" (from a network) TO your computer.  The image is that the Internet is in the wires and the air floating above you and you are taking it out of the sky and putting it down onto your computer.

So, you download movies from iTunes to your computer.

You do NOT -- NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT -- download a program from a CD.  You install (see #3) a program from a CD.

2.  Uploading is when you take something from your computer and put it UP into that imaginary network in the sky.

So, you upload your video to blogger.

You do NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT upload a program to your computer from a CD (or ever, that I can think of).

3.  The following are all acceptable variants for putting software on your computer to use: install, load, putting XYZ on my computer.

Downloading software is NOT making it usable.  Downloading software is simply taking the file from the Internet and putting it on your computer.  Installing software is when you make it usable on your computer.

4.  You do not have "an iTunes."  It is a playlist or a library.  "Hallelujah" is in three or four playlists and is in my iTunes library.  It is NOT "in my iTunes."

5.  Windows XP is the operating system.  It is the stuff that is running on your computer ALL THE TIME.  Office XP/2004/etc. is an office suite.  It's a group of programs you use.  THE TWO ARE NOT THE SAME.

And finally...

6.  It drives me absolutely frelling bat**it insane when people say "I used my Word" or "I used my Works" or "I used my Outlook."  Yeah, you bought it...but you just don't say it that way. 

Headdesk...

...which is Internet slang, of course, for, "D'oh!"

So, I'm reading this perfectly lovely piece of smushy fluff (yeah, yeah), by this mostly literate author (I can't read any other kind anymore; in my early days online, I read everything, but now...), and...I....

"Blah blah blah, then all visages of sleep left."

NO.  No, no, no, no-ity, no!

Visage = appearance (his ancient visage = his old face).

Vestige = stuff left over (vestigial organs = organs that are left over that used to be important and aren't anymore).

You meant "vestiges of sleep."

As on, all little itty bits and pieces of sleepiness went away.

Threw me right out of the moment, it did.

Maybe THEY Should Play Free Rice

Ahem.

Ladies and gentlemen of the writing community,

Palatable = nice.  Yummy.  Good for your palate.  You like it.

Palpable = you can feel it.  Touchable.

I highly doubt that the electricity between two people was "palatable."

Unless you...like...eating...elec--

Nah.

Nitpicking

If you say you "could care less," it means that you could, in fact, care less.  Ergo, you care a little.

My guess is, you mean that you "couldn't care less;" meaning, of course, that you could not care less.  That you care so little that it's impossible for you to care even a little bit less.

Just...No

"Haltingly familiar."

...

Haltingly familiar?

HALTingly familiar?

Good grief.  You meant, perhaps, hauntingly familiar?

Bulldozer was better today, despite the principal telling him he had to stay behind from the field trip...poor Aide T missed former-student-C (of the 3 hour long screamfests) again.  A minor meltdown in the afternoon (a few swings but mostly wailing like a stuck pig).

Personally, I think it was just a couple of bad days.  But I think at this point, even the principal doesn't believe me that he's doing better -- because all she's seen is him being a brat.  I should pull all my Bulldozer comments out of here and make them like pretty (as in, a data-type spreadsheet or something) to prove it.

Our sub for Aide J, who we've had before -- though granted not during the Drama Fest that is this year -- was muttering all afternoon about how it was "ridiculous" that Bulldozer could "do whatever he wants."  Perhaps she missed the part where he missed the field trip, had to work before he earned a break, and then wailed for half an hour because he had to work again?

(Boy, it's tempting, though.  Imagine how happy Bulldozer would be if he could do whatever he wanted?)

Meanwhile, I'm still sick.  Walking to Target about did me in today, so I'm hopeful that just a...ahem...regular school day tomorrow will be more manageable.  (I must have looked bad today; I was in the office after the kids got on the bus, and the principal sent me home!)

Edited to add:  this is so sad....

You're Climbing...What, Now?

Folks...a little rant.

1. Peek = to look at something, usually surreptitiously (e.g. "he peeked around the corner to watch his mom hide the birthday presents").

2. Peak = the top of a mountain (e.g. "the peak of Everest is the highest place on the world")

3. Pique = spoiled anger (e.g. "a fit of pique") or to rise (e.g. "pique your interest").

In the last half hour, I've seen "peaked my interest" twice and "peeked my interest" once. Grrrrr.

Seriously, why am I the only one who remembers these things? (I know why I'm the only one who cares -- I'm a nerd.) Eesh.

Shaking Head

I seriously want to email something like this to the whole Internet.

Who's = who is.

Always.  Forever.

Whose = possessive.

Correct:

Who's coming to dinner? = Who is coming to dinner? = Correct

Whose shoes are those? = Who owns those shoes? = Correct

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong:

Who's shoes are those? = Who is shoes are those = NO NO NO

Whose going to cook dinner? = Who owns going to cook dinner? = NO NO NO

In short, if you can't substitute "who is" and having it make sense, use whose.

Eesh.

Nerd Squee

That rocks.  The person who drew it rocks.  'Nuff said.  :-)

Murphy's Law

The week o' Murphy's Law ended yesterday when I was stuck in a colossal traffic jam (11 miles in 2.75 hours) and then proceeded to try to break the middle finger of my left hand.

Because typing sucks, more on that later.

Instead, a grammar rant:

Cliche is a noun.  It refers to "a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought."

Cliched is an adjective.  It describes something that is overused.

In other words...

Correct:

1. The jokes in the last episode of The Simpsons were tired and predictable, to the point of becoming cliches.  D'oh!
2. So many people imitated Lucille Ball's style that it became cliched.

Incorrect (oh, so incorrect that it makes me weep for the English language):

1. Apple's style is becoming a bit cliche.  (Quoted from macrumors.com.)  You meant cliched, as you're describing the style.

Also?  "Nitsche" is not the term you were looking for when describing a small, particular market/audience/fandom.  You meant niche.

Eek.

Random Pet Peeve

Epi.  Piccie.  Linky.

Honestly -- can't you just say (type) "episode," "picture" (I'd accept "pic"), or "link?"  In the last one, it's not even an abbreviation.

Eesh.