Well, Pixel had a real romp playing in a 10-gallon transparent plastic storage tub this morning. Pooped out, now.
It’s the Little Things #8,492
#sigh
*heh*
OK, now that that is out of my system. . .
Some of the absolutely stupid things some writers do baffle me, but at least I have found a way to be amused by them.
Recent “Dan Brown wannabe” book where the writer apparently felt even less desire to get anything right about any of his premises than Brown typically does went Brown even further by finding… unique ways to misuse plain English ( for example, misused “infallible” when groping for “unflappable”), have an “expert pilot” grab the “steering column”. . . on a helicopter whose propellers were making enough noise to keep the writer from thinking, “Maybe I ought to do my homework on helicopters before making a fool of myself in print.”
Hilarious.
Another? How about a fun-filled romp through a zombie apocalypse book filled with things like super-competent, manly-man hero filling up a late-model vehicle with gas and then “topping it off” after the pump clicks off. “Manly-men” know that can harm the vehicle’s evap system, cause the vehicle to run poorly, and even lead to hard starting or failure to start. In today’s world, it’s an easy fix (though sometimes complicated) to repair an evap system. . . IF one can narrow down the part or parts damaged by topping off, and costs can range from $10-$200, depending on several factors. In a zombie apocalypse scenario, having to repair the evap system on one’s go-to vehicle is sub-optimal.
But that’s OK, cos the book was chock full of this kind of stupid stuff, so reading it as a farce (OK, OK, skimming it, cos it wasn’t really worth reading *heh*) was. . . OK.
The problem with all these hilariously stupid books–not bad or “suckitudinous” books, just stupidly executed–is that the errors of logic, fact, grammar, punctuation, and usage they embody are just reinforced in whatever uncritical readers glom onto them. *sigh* There were once literate editorial staffs at tradpub houses to correct some of these problems, but even there, the quality of literacy in tradpub editorial staffs has waned.
Oh, well. At least I can laugh at and mock such things, and such amusement is worth something as the world generally goes to hell in a handbasket.
My Wonder Woman Seems to be Enjoying Our 40th Valentine’s Day as a Couple
I dunno why. It’s certainly not MY fault. . . 🙂
I’m enjoying it because she’s here. Frankly, that’s all it takes.
In Which I Adulterate The Holy Brew in Search of an ‘Efficiency Breakfast’
I am amused by how quickly I have developed a taste for my recently-discovered “efficiency breakfast” (crème brûlée-flavored protein powder in coffee, with some heavy cream added for nutritious fat). After my second try, it’s become my go-to quick breakfast. High protein, few carbs, good fat and COFFEE.
While it’s great to have eggs, bacon, sausage, and maybe a wee bit of fruit or berries for breakfast, this does well to fuel the body properly. I do wish the soluble fiber I have available didn’t clump in hot liquids, because I’d like to add some of that, but this’ll do for now.
Check, Mate
When my Wonder Woman was a college student (anonymous Minnesota state school 40-*mumble* years ago) she attended a lecture by a black guy trying to lay off guilt for slavery on his listeners. Q/A session came around. She asked, “Why should I feel guilt for things I never did? My people weren’t even here then!
*silence*
Next day, she bought a “Norwegian Power” t-shirt.
At Least THIS Illiterate Practice Is Still Deprecated
The occurrence of “try and [verb]” as against the correct “try to [verb]” in print in general is still minimal. Unfortunately, the #gagamaggot misuse of “and” still seems to be very common in (typically) very poorly edited self-pub text and in social media, etc., all over the increasingly “mass man”-dominated1 Internet.
Social democracy sometimes sucks.
Do note that I have no objection to the use of “try and” when it is genuinely appropriate and adds meaning. For example,
“Two Judges Try and Fail to Shut Down Union Strike” in a headline is OK, though in a sentence in the body of a text it would be better-written as, “Two judges try–and fail–to shut down union strike,” or, slightly less clear, “Two judges try, and fail, to shut down union strike.”
Or,
“It’s better to try, and regret, than not to try, and regret.”
In neither of the cases above would “try to” convey the meaning intended, but cases like this are rare compared to misuses of “try and” where “try to” is appropriate. Sadly, the colloquial misuse of “try and” contributes to a poorer language rather than enhancing English.
*Raises Hand, Waves*
Hey! Has anyone seen my invisibility cloak?
Down with Dysgraphia!
*sigh*
I have become convinced that, despite enabling many fine writers to become successful authors, self-publishing/”Indie publishing” has had an overall negative effect on the quality of text available. The sheer number of aspiring writers afflicting readers with their dysgraphia is appalling. *sigh* Oh, well, at least writing reviews on Amazon encouraging such dysgraphics to just PLEASE JUST STOP IT offer some slight ability to ameliorate the problem. Slight.
For MUCH less than the tip of the iceberg upon which contemporary lazy, subliterate, self-made dysgraphics sink their “great works,” start with:
Commonly misused words and phrases
Of course, a simple search for such things will turn up many, many more such lists, but that’s a start. And,of course, such lists don’t even scratch the surface of grammar that would gag a maggot, stupid misuses of tenses (quite apart from more ordinary grammar errors; for example, an understanding of past perfect and past conditional tenses seem to be dead, dead, dead *sigh*), and on and on and. . .
Leaving a Legacy
“Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do!” ~ Groucho Marx.
Well, even in this life, I don’t plan on dying being the last thing I “do.” I plan to rig the “urn” (a coffee can, of course) designated for my cremains to prank the person who opens it to dump my ashes in. THAT’S the last thing I’ll do. . . from beyond the “fiery trial.” Well, unless someone in my family spoils the surprise. . . I probably need to have some backup pranks set up, just in case. Maybe I can stretch my “presence” out a few years that way. 😉 Kinda leave an active legacy, ya know.
This olde pharte needs to get busy. . .
Matters of Principle or just Irrational Overconfidence?
I have ceased being shocked at the *cough* “deep thinkers” *cough* who share their “thoughts” in various print and eprint media whose “deep thoughts” are too deep to allow mundane things like spell checkers, and whose “literacy” extends only to what they have heard (and dependably misunderstood) others say.
It’s as though being stuck on a wad of gum at the far lefthand side of the Dunning-Kruger Curve is a matter of idiotic pride for them. Yeh, it’s a principle. #gagamaggot
Continue reading “Matters of Principle or just Irrational Overconfidence?”