BB8's elements of style
hi grammar nazis! (HI! big gloved, 3 fingered hand a waving at you) yes, you know who you are. ( i only know you by 'anon' ). i thought i should maybe clear the air on a few things for you today. lest you've been up late, hand wringing.
1. i'm not a 'journalist' and don't try to be. so reminding me that my journalistic skills are "less than that of a 5th graders", is sort of like telling someone, who's rolling up a beach towel, that they're sushi making skills are sorely amiss.
2. i do own strunk and white's elements of style. i actually read it. i just don't really care to follow their elements of style. and i'm not really a writer anyway so i don't really have to follow anyone else's rules. (to which i say, "sweet!")
3. no i am not an e.e. cummings fan. (anti-semites rub me the wrong way) i just find it gets in the way to have to stretch my pinky, down there to hit that shift button. (read: i'm a bit lazy) when i do write, as in pen something, i actually write, in all block lettering. but if i did that here, you all would think i was screaming at you. and nobody likes that blog.
4. and you're right, i rarely go back and read what i've written. or use spell check. i don't have a really good reason for this. but i will say, you get very spontaneous commentary from me this way.
5. and yes, i DO make up words all of the time. but sometimes you just have to. i'm a visual person who gesticulates when i speak. writing doesn't allow me to explain something as well as i'd like (maybe because i'm no, journalist). so, i smoosh words together, borrow from the kid working the tilt-o-whirl at the santa monica pier, use acronyms-- whatever it takes. yo.
and lastly, i do hope you'll continue to read BB8, warts and all. it's all for fun, mank.
Comments
If anyone needs something to read, pick up a New Yorker sometime.
Megan, you don't need Strunk & White's Elements of Style, you could write your own guide to style (albeit on completely different elements).
QED.
i'm just trying to stop the bleeding from readers, commenting on my lack of journalistic abilities!I GET IT ALREADY!!! i got it when i got a "D" in A.P. english for god's sake.
becky, i had no clue that the forward was by the step-son of E.B. White.
thanks for the enlightenment.
i just rattle. i do. basically anyone who reads this blog, has a conversation with me. a real one. not contrived. and i started all of this out of joy. that's it. i just wanted to share my joy of things that i see (sometimes it's the joy of seeing things that i think are very wrong or odd)
and if ya don't agree. that's cool. and if it really ruins your day....move on!
the rest of you, pull up a chair. because i love having you here!
group hug.
"...not that I loved Cesar less, but that I loved Rome more..." Anyone who has a deep, deep love of the Strunk & White, knows exactly what I mean (for those of you who don't, grammer is Cesar and BB8 is Rome. You'll find this quote on p.20 of the 3d edition, in the 2d chapter, Elementary Principles of Compostion). I've read it cover-to-cover multiple times. And I love me some Megalicious.
i'm serious, and i take my work seriously, but this is nonsense. the NYT and LAT? slate or salon? now those are legitimate targets --you're obviously someone who needs a target -- and there's plenty of sloppiness and inconsistency at all of them to keep you busy this decade. or, pick up three NYT best sellers, and open to any page. but here? you make grammar a tool of harrassment and belligerence, and you serve nothing and no one. bb8: on behalf of the rest of us, please keep writing in your own voice, with a sense of play and liveliness. you absolutely get to explore your own desires and priorities here. i know you know that; i just want to high-five you on it.
and as a fellow shift-o-phobe, who needs those pesky upper case letters anyway? i am a typing dyslexic- if i had to worry about capitalization, in addition to concentrating on typing "the" instead of "teh" and "and" instead of "adn", well, i'd never even a basic email sent.
keep up the good work, and thanks for speaking up to the anal retentive grammar trolls!
with lower case love,
maison21
I'm all about your clever wit. Your writing is brilliant, inventive, savvy, skilled and versatile. Just like you!
2. Anonymous, I'd like to point out what a little phenomenon your snotty comments have created. You've brought out lots of love for BB8, and while it was obviously unintentional, it's still a good, good thing.
Well done!
J