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[Dan M]

When I was in graduate school, I became friends with some foreign students who were being taught "conversational" English which I abhorred. They were being given lessons in bad English and were told that's how Americans speak. I had to intervene and show them that normal people don't speak like Vinny Barbarino or some dummy on a sitcom. That whole situation was very upsetting to me because these students were learning a bad form of phonetic English and could not make sense out of written English. I thought this was such a great disservice to them.

[bk]

I have one rule when writing dialogue or prose in my novels - if punctuation stops the flow and rhythm of the sentence, out it goes and I don't care what's wrong or right.  Sometimes commas just make the eye keep stopping if they're overused.  I try to be correct when it's not harmful, but sometimes a dangling participle is better than the alternative because the alternative is not the way people speak.  I didn't give a crap about it in 2001 with Benjamin Kritzer (in fact, I pulled out so much proofer punctuation in that book it's not even funny - well, it made what was funny actually funny), and I give less a crap about it now.

[Dan M]

Being from New York, I always made sure that I said words properly and listened to great announcers and narrators. I later found out that some of the finest voice over actors/narrators were from Brooklyn, for the very same reason I listened to them. They wanted to be able to sound unlike the stevedore from the docks. Sure, once that "bad" speech pattern is there, you can take it on again, but for me it's like someone asking me to do my impression of Cagney or Bogart. To this day, people can't quite place where I am from. I like that. It's not like when people hear Fran Drescher, you automatically know she's from Queens. I'm not so easy to place, even though I was born in Queens.

[Dan M]

I have one rule when writing dialogue or prose in my novels - if punctuation stops the flow and rhythm of the sentence, out it goes and I don't care what's wrong or right.  Sometimes commas just make the eye keep stopping if they're overused.  I try to be correct when it's not harmful, but sometimes a dangling participle is better than the alternative because the alternative is not the way people speak.  I didn't give a crap about it in 2001 with Benjamin Kritzer (in fact, I pulled out so much proofer punctuation in that book it's not even funny - well, it made what was funny actually funny), and I give less a crap about it now.

Yes, there's a musicality that's lost when forcing prose to adhere strictly to the rules. You are a musician so that flow would be readily apparent in your inner voice. I always hear everything in my mind's ear first.

[Dan M]

I was just reading about the origin of the phrase ". . . like the dickens" which I had assumed to relate back to Charles. Shakespeare first used this phrase in the Merry Wives of Windsor. Dickens is what is known as a "minced-oath" or a way to swear and cuss without using a true blasphemy against God, such as Gadzooks! or Jiminy Cricket!^* My favorite was Redd Foxx's way to say the 50 cent swear word without really saying it, "You motherfather!"

*Strange as it may seem, but Jiminy Cricket is an Old English euphemism for Jesus Christ.

[TCB]

Well, Artie's serves a good one.  The fries were delicious, too, and I very much like their cole slaw and the half sour pickles.

Which half is sour?

[TCB]

I was taught to use the Oxford comma, but didn't know until today that it was called the Oxford comma

Ditto!

[Dan M]

Well, Artie's serves a good one.  The fries were delicious, too, and I very much like their cole slaw and the half sour pickles.

Which half is sour?

MMMM pickle.

[Jane]

Parking, you see, is something we talk about here in the wilds of New York City. 

Congats on your good luck.

[Jane]

DR ChasSmith, I am so grateful that you could help out DR elmore3003 today. And take in a great show, besides!

Ditto!

[Jane]

DR Cilla I am sorry about your neighbor.

[Jane]

Keith found a large old keepsake box of mine.  We trashed half the stuff in there
On the upside, it is whete I had put my Heifetz ticket stubb.

[Dan M]

Keith found a large old keepsake box of mine.  We trashed half the stuff in there
On the upside, it is whete I had put my Heifetz ticket stubb.

That's great! You won't haveta Jascha about it any more 

[Dan M]

Here's something to look forward to, tomorrow that is:

[Dan M]

I think DR singdaw would approve:

[George]

I do not understand the appeal of The Addams Family musical.....at least from just listening to the music.  Maybe on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth.....but even then.....there are all of those terrible songs.

Maybe you heard this, but Nathan Lane told this story at Elaine Stritch's memorial service:  Elaine went to see him backstage after seeing The Addams Family and said "whatever they're paying you, it's not enough."

D'oh!

[George]

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom & me, taken almost 9 years ago at my mother-in-law's 90th birthday party:

Lovely picture, Ginny.

[George]

George, I am glad you clarified your mother requested Costco pizza

My mom is the only one who likes the combo.  My dad and I like the pepperoni, and my sister and niece like the cheese.  I had a couple of slices each of the pepperoni and cheese.  My mom took home the four slices of the combo pizza and I took home what was left of the pepperoni and the cheese pizzas.

[George]

Tonight is the NEXT TO LAST episode of MAD MEN.

I'm recording it.  I wanted to ketchup on all the posts (which I now have), as well as look for some videos of songs that I think my friend Jamie should sing.  She's the one who had the concert on Friday that I went to after having dinner with my friends Margo and Marsha.

[George]

DR Jane, following your move is very interesting to me.  Having lived in the same town for almost 42 years, and the same house for 27, I can't imagine what it must be like.

Vibes that this week goes as smoothly as possible!

~~~Ditto!!~~~

[George]

Catfinger:

HA HA HA HA HA!!

[George]

Parking, you see, is something we talk about here in the wilds of New York City.

A few years ago, I'd read this story about this family that bought an apartment in NYC (Manhattan).  It was also about how expensive everything is in New York.  When they bought the apartment, they had the option to buy a parking space for only $160,000!  ONLY...it is actually real estate, you know! 

[George]

Anyway, they thought that they could easily park on the streets but realized that they made the wrong choice.  By the time they did buy the parking space, they paid over $260,000!  Just for the parking space!

[George]

I just did a search and came across this article...The $1 million parking space!

[George]

I was never taught grammar. I learned it by studying foreign languages. When I entered journalism, I learned Associated Press style, which shuns excessive, unnecessary punctuation in the cause of writing that is clearer. So, it is the anti-Christ of the Oxford comma.

The two books I wrote used the Oxford comma, as most books do. Including it, after more than 30 years of writing without it, was extremely difficult.

Then, again, is the comma obsessed writer. When I worked at various jobs I always wound up being a proof reader. Not sure if I had a "proof reader" sign on my back, but that fell to me. I didn't mind, but it was at times disheartening that people who were supposedly more intelligent than me, with several higher degrees, yadda yadda yadda, couldn't write and had the worst grammar and syntax. I'm a bit of a grammar snob I guess.

I had an English teacher in junior high who was great. She asked all of us to memorize the pronouns, but to find a creative way to do it. Then, we had to present our mnemonic device to the class. Everyone liked mine. I set the pronouns to the Triumphal March from Aida. It was catchy and made them easy to remember.

I got the "professor" moniker from a couple of friends of mine.  I've had agreed to proof read job applications and college entrance exams.  I was not an English major, but I was much better at grammar and punctuation than my friends who really should know how to punctuate a simple sentence.