Presented Without Comment

Photo by KG

(Thanks, KG!)

FRIDAY!

You know how the week before a holiday seems like it's taking FOREVER? The week after a holiday does, too. And, well, all the other weeks as well. What I'm saying is, this has been a pretty long week, and I, for one, am glad to be done with it.

Please be sure to stay in touch using all those handy links over there at the right, and maybe check out the new tumblr, even though not much is going on yet. I'm trying!

Did I post this Lucky post? It snuck in right before Thanksgiving.

If you're heading out to the mall this weekend to conquer some holiday shopping, I wish you the best of luck. I plan to do all my shopping virtually, so I don't kill anyone that bugs me. It's safest for everyone.

Stay tuned for today's Presented Without Comment, and have a good weekend! See y'all Monday.

Link Roundup

Here are some fun grammar and spelling shenanigans from around the internet, for your time-passing pleasure.

You can almost hear the annoyance in the woman's voice when she confirms this typo. I don't blame her. I'd be livid myself.
(Thanks AD, via Peninsula Daily News)

I'm a casual sports fan at best, and even I know hockey only has 3 periods.
(Thanks, MG, via Yahoo Sports)

A little late, but check out these TJ's stickers with the awesome typo, and then HuffPo has a little confession to make as well.
(Thanks, JR, via Huffington Post)

It's bad enough to have to get a stupid tattoo when you lose a bet, but to have that tattoo have an apostrophail in it? Epic tragedy.
(Thanks, AW, via OutKick the Coverage)

And in other sports fan news, a young woman who may have attended my own alma mater has a little problem dealing with the (wo)man in the mirror.
(Thanks, AD, via Deadspin)

And finally, this is why you DO NOT create jokey graphics while you're sitting around in an edit bay. Because mistakes happen, and all of a sudden they end up on TV.
(Thanks, JG, via Raw Story)

Small victories

A little good news for your Thursday morning!

Cemetery is a tough word because you really do want to spell it the way it sounds. It's one of those words I don't get AS worked up about, but since it's a commonly misspelled word, it's reasonable that people can just remember. I may have just talked myself out of staying calm about this one. Hmm...

Regardless, this article's headline started life looking like this:

screengrab by DD

But they've fixed it! Hurrah! Every little success fills me with glee! You gotta find your happiness when you can, right?

Well done, newspaper people.

(Thanks, DD!)

Showstopper

AS is on a roll this week! I've posted something from her every day this week! AS, thanks for keeping an eye out! I hope you enjoyed your trip to NY, where you spotted this:

Photo by AS

What's really sad here is that Garlic Mashed Potatoes is spelled correctly when it's paired with the chicken. But on its own? It can't even keep all its letters. It's like the Eponine of side dishes. All alone again, no H to turn to. It isn't even on Facebook, so it can't like them for a free drink! And it could really use one.

Maybe it can hang out with Seasonal Vegtable, and they can work together to earn enough money to buy themselves the letters they lack. NY is a tough town, but those kids are just crazy enough to make it work! They could put on a show! A dramatic piece. "Potatoes & Veg: A Brief History of the Irish Diaspora"

I mean, who wouldn't want to see that? They'll have their letters in no time.

(Thanks, AS!)

FLAMES

This one's a bit blurry, but have a look:

Photo by AD

I made that nice and big, so hopefully y'all can see it. That is some pretentious nonsense right there. I am just not this heavily invested in the food I eat. It's far too much effort. Especially if your menu involves some sort of historical novella about where my food is from. We aren't new friends or coworkers. I don't need to know anything about my food. It's going straight into my tummy. I realize that this information is VERY important to some people. But I don't think MOST people care. I think it's right around not that many to some. Am I wrong? Maybe. But when you spend that much time sourcing your proteins, you lose sight of what's really important. Or maybe you just run out of steam, and this happens.

Photo also by AD

Sure, the E and the D are right by each other on the keyboard. And I can totally understand that even if you did hire a proofreader, that person's brain cells might have simply shut off by this point. But c'mon. Prometheus makes it through, but WILD can't catch a break? That's pretty darn close to pathetic.

I didn't see any other errors here besides the period after additional in the last line. Did you? Did I miss something? It's just so MANY WORDS. That are DULL.

(Thanks, AD!)

Something new...

Because I'm starting to be REALLY slammed at my day job, and NOT because I'm lazy, I'm going to try this new thing from time to time. It's not that new, actually. Other people on the internet use it regularly, so really, I'm a thief. A busy, lazy thief! Oh, well. Let's get on with it, right?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: WHEN YOU SEE IT...

Photo by DH

And another shot, just in case:

Photo also by DH

You guys don't need my help with this, right?

Also, I really love the phrase "fiscal cliff." It's so dramatic and silly and effective.

The BEAST

Most people have a pet peeve or two. Y'know, something that's relatively minor, or doesn't bother many other people, but it drives you absolutely INSANE. One of mine, as you may have guessed, is spelling words incorrectly when they're so easy to look up. Another is lousy grammar, especially from a professional communicator. For example, a person who writes press releases should be able to properly assemble a sentence, don't you think? Or a journalist. You'd think that crew would know more than most. Of course, editors should catch their mistakes, because of course, there will be some, but editors are a dying breed, and journalists know this. Therefore, a little more care should be taken, especially if you're leaning heavily on the copy of a press release.

screengrab by AS

When AS sent this in, she assured me that this drives her NUTS. Actually, she described this as her biggest bete noir in the grammar world, which is a marvelous turn of phrase! That comma is absolutely unnecessary before James Franco. Here's an interesting article I found that describes this issue. Basically, if the identifier is identifying only one person in the WHOLE WORLD, then you'd use the comma. If not (more than one Academy Award nominee, natch), then there's no need. And yes, I'd also lose the hyphen.

I don't read Deadline, so I don't know their format, but nothing reeks of press release more than a movie title in all caps. Yick.

What about you guys? What's your grammar bete noir? Your grammar waterloo? What makes you crazy?

(Thanks, AS!)

Apartment hunting

Look, anyone who has a problem with dogs is officially Not Okay by me. But this kind of takes it to another level.

Photo by AS

As AS said when she sent this to me, maybe they mean that the cat is okay. But probably not. If you know someone that keeps making this mistake, adding an apostrophe to a word that is just plural, you should send them this photo. Make a joke out of it. "HA! How stupid is THIS person? Adding that apostrophe to a plural word! CRAZY!" Maybe they'll get the hint, and you'll have provided a valuable service. TO THE NATION.

(Thanks, AS!)

Play ball!

It's Monday morning, and we're all a bit bummed about being back at work after (for some of us) the long weekend. I'm just gonna lob this softball at you. Check it:

Photo by JR

If your child played in this league, which spelling error would concern you more? Or would you simply give up and choose between the varieties of Tiger?

This is just sad, right? I mean, we still believe the children are our future, no? Or did we just all of a sudden take a pass on that? Meh. Future, schmuture. I gotta go eat some ice cream. (There's more than one reason I'm not a parent.)

Happy Monday, everyone! 4 more weeks til the next chunk of time off!

(Thanks, JR!)  

Presented Without Comment

Photo by CP

(Thanks, CP!)

When Wednesday = Friday...

Today's the end of my week, my friends! I have the next two days off from work, though I have plenty of work to do, so I'll still be plugging away. I'm going to take the next couple days off from the blog in honor of American Thanksgiving, but I'll be back here Monday morning. If you celebrate, have a wonderful day filled with food and family. If you don't, have a great rest of the week!

In case you missed it, here's my latest post for Lucky! Some shopping tips for you, regardless of your size!

As always, please keep in touch via Facebook, Twitter, or email. I've also created a tumblr for the blog, and while at this point, it's just another place to see the posts, I hope to do more with it as I learn how to use it.

Thanks for sticking with me, y'all! Your Presented Without Comment is coming up shortly. See you Monday!

Fancy food

Good morning! I'm working from home today, so I decided to not get up as early as usual. I'm sure you understand.

Here, have a look at today's first submission, and then we'll talk:

Photo by KG

I tried to clean this one up a bit, but I kept making it worse, so I'm presenting it to you in its original glory. You have to read it a little carefully. I made it big, so hopefully, y'all can see.

I have lots of issues here. First off is the pumpkinization of America. I don't entirely approve. Except when cinnamon is substituted for the pumpkin flavor, and then it's fine. I also have my doubts about adding to curry to creme fraiche. That doesn't sound good to me at all.

But, of course, the spelling error here is with the almost-delightful dessert. While the internet tells me that sundae might be derived from Sunday, or at least, they both may have the same word of origin, they do not NOW mean the same thing. For dessert, go with the ice cream, and not the day of the week.

But hey, I also learned something today! I had to google pomegranate gastrique, since it sounded kind of made-up to me. It's not! It's a thing! Though I'm not sure it'd go with sage polenta. But you may be able to tell that I'm not really an adventurous eater. Have you had it? Is it delightful with polenta? I'll trust you.

(Thanks, KG!)

The part of the dice will be played by...

Newsweek is a fairly well-respected magazine, right? When I think of it, I don't think anything negative. So I was pretty surprised when I received this:

Photo by DI

Do you see it? Let me throw you a little arrow.

Photo still by DI

We've encountered this error before. Role = part an actor plays. Roll = of the dice. I feel like we should expect more of a respected news magazine. Even if they are probably overworked and understaffed. Y'know?

(Thanks, DI, and MJ for asking her to send it to me!)

Oh, the places you'll go

Listen. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that CARIBBEAN isn't a difficult word. I regularly want to add an extra letter or two. I haven't, however, wanted to add THIS extra letter:

Photo by JR

All those challenging city names are correct, but Caribbean gets an extra N. Ok, sign. Maybe YOU'RE the one that needs the vacation, is what I'm saying.

(Thanks, JR!)

Another kind of doomsday

I was inspired to start this blog by a number of spelling errors in graphics on TV shows. That's where the "houds" in Release the Houds comes from, after all! So, it's always fun when I can once again share with you an error in a TV graphic, since, as I said back then, I have a pretty good idea how many people saw this error before it made it on to my friend AAD's TV. I'm gonna guess at least 4, if not more.

Photo by AAD

AAD says this was on the show "Doomsday Preppers." I haven't seen it, but I can see how that might be interesting to hear about. And fortunately, none of the above words are misspelled. There's just one word missing. Do you see it? Or, rather, not see it? I'm sure this is one of those instances where your brain fills in what's missing, but it's impressive that so many people did that, and this graphic made it to air. Also probably very annoying for the producers. I know it would make me crazy. Which is why I never watch my own stuff on TV. I don't need that stress!

(Thanks, AAD!)

Casting call

I'm not going to lie to you guys. It can be really weird out here in LA. Someone is always trying to become the Next Big Thing. Unfortunately, people often have very odd ideas about what it means to be the Next Big Thing. To some, it means coming up with a brave, provocative story that has emotional resonance and gives the audience a greater understanding of a topic with which they were previously unfamiliar. To others, it means being naked on camera for an extended amount of time. To each his own, y'know?

So, when you're job hunting out here, you have to be careful. I mean, you never know when you'll stumble on something like this:

Provided by XB

Clearly, Jane and Peter aren't THAT frustrated with their love lives if they're suddenly engaged. Also, they are unlikely an igneous rock formation, which is what the internet tells me PLUTONIC means. PLATONIC is the correct word, and a bad sign if this post is from the writer of the film, who is, by all accounts, a lovely talented Young Woman. I mean, if you can't believe the internet, who can you believe?

I also find it interesting that Peter is not being cast. Is he not relevant? Is his struggle not worth the effort? Oh, Wendy and Jane. Do not leave your plutonic friend out in the dust like this. It will be centuries before he breaks down.

This is a whole lotta mess in one little package, and a great way to start the day. Enjoy!

Also, I trimmed off the contact info, but if you'd like it, you let me know.

(Thanks, XB!)

Presented Without Comment

Photo by JG

(Thanks, JG!)

Welcome to Friday!

Yet another week is behind us! And next week is a short one, at least for the Americans present. Yay, turkey! I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off next week, myself, so don't forget about me.

Stay in touch! Use the usual methods, of course. You can see 'em all over there on the right. I've gotten pretty bad about responding to emails/tweets/messages/etc, but I do get there eventually. This past week was INSANE at work, but it makes the weekend all that much more delightful.

In case you missed it, my latest post over at Lucky's website.

Y'all, have a fantastic weekend! Go see Breaking Dawn! Yay!

Today's Presented Without Comment is coming your way!

NOT AGAIN.

So, this happened. AGAIN.

Photo by JG

Can you see the problem? It's at the bottom. Here, let me embiggen.

Photo by JG

I don't even have it in me to complain anymore. Blah blah foreign company blah blah translate properly for other markets BLAH BLAH. LABEL is not table. It's wrong. Someone should have caught this. It's tragic.

I need a doughnut. And a nap. And then another doughnut.

So, what's everyone doing for Thanksgiving? Because I'm now just going to pretend like we're not losing the war.

(Thanks, JG!)

MAWWAIGE

So, remember when I explained that I took French instead of Spanish in school? It's about to pay off. YES!

In French, the easiest way to make a word feminine is to add an e to the end of it. Of course, this isn't always true, and there are exceptions, but it's a starting point. Now, you add the e even when the word ends in an e. Like, for example, fiance. If you're marrying a dude, he's your fiance. If you're marrying a woman, she's your fiancee. So, in this article, it's basically saying...

Screengrab by DD

that this dude is marrying a dude. NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT. But my point is, the story indicates his fiancee is a lady. Where's her extra e? He already possibly shot her! CAN SHE GET AN E, FOR PETE'S SAKE?

However, I will allow that this is some sort of AP rule I don't know about. Journalists, I ask you. Has the word fiance been standardized in the press? Share with me your knowledge!

(Thanks, DD!)

Sound good?

Yesterday at work we were having a conversation about Thanksgiving, and what everyone's plans are. Someone suggested we have a small potluck at work, and my Scottish producer said she'd bring her shepherd's pie in, which she said was one of her specialties. It's not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but hey, I think we all were happy to be flexible where someone's specialty is concerned. And that reminded me of this menu clipping that CP sent in a couple weeks ago.

Screengrab by CP

To paraphrase what CP said, "I don't know who this Sheppard guy is, but he needs to stop going around making pies, and leave it to the shepherds." 

SO TRUE. 

(Thanks, CP!)

Trying something new...

My friend LR and I have started this new thing where we go out to a nice dinner at a place we've never been before. Ok, so we've only been once. But we have the best of intentions! A couple weeks ago, we met up at The Grove to give Gordon Ramsey's new restaurant The Fat Cow a try. I was not an instant fan, though I would like to give it one more try to be sure. I got the mac and cheese with lobster, and frankly, bacon would have been a better add-in. But there were other intriguing things on the menu, and eventually, I'll wander back over there.

While we were perusing the menu, I noticed a number of mistakes, but was too chicken to break out the flash in such a dark restaurant. LR, however, was happy to do so. And so, my friends, we all thank LR for her bravery in these challenging circumstances.

Photo by the lovely and talented LR

The major offender is the accompaniment to the Fish & Chips. Mushy pea's? Are you KIDDING ME? I mean, first off, peas are kind of the worst thing on earth. And THEN you have to shove an apostrophe in there? OY. But have a look a little further north, under the description for Buttermilk Fried Chicken, which may very well be thing I get the next time I go. Bisquits? That is not, so far as I can tell, the British version of BISCUIT. It's just wrong. WRONG, I tell you!

I would like to go off on some vitriolic, profane, Gordon Ramsey-style tirade here, but that's not how this blog rolls. It's a classy joint we got goin' on here. But that is how I FEEL. I mean, seriously. They spent a metric TON of money on the decoration of that restaurant. This is where they drew the line? "Nope! No more money will be spent. No proofreaders for us!" @#$%^%#$%^&*&%#$##$%^$@!!

Yuck.

(Thanks, LR!)

Utter catastrophe

I just can't even, y'all.

Screengrab by KN

Every single one of these ads has AT LEAST one thing wrong. The top one, of course, is the most glaring. You can't distract us with that random capitalization, ad. You totally left off 3 letters, and making the word feel special is just not going to cut it.

The second one features either a make-your-own crepe pie (which, what?), or a make-your-own call, depending on how you interpret whatever's going on there. I prefer to make all my own calls, but maybe that's just me. I have no interest in a make-your-own crepe pie. PASS.

Totally capital letter fail in the 3rd ad. It's just wrong.

But seriously, y'all. WTF is a crepe pie?

(Thanks, KN!)

Not Candyland...

We love smartphones. But they may be the cause of our demise. Just have a look.

Photo by TTGP

I made this one super big fun so you can see exactly what's going on here.

I don't know about y'all, but a Candy Isle sounds pretty good to me. Definitely hard to resist. Worth making the swim. However, in a store, you usually find candy in the candy AISLE.

Sigh, y'all. SIGH.

(Thanks, TTGP!)

Sign, repair thyself

There's a sandwich I love. I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before. This sandwich I love can be found at a shopping center in LA. At this shopping center, they have a terrible time with their transportation systems. There's always some combination of escalators and elevators out. You almost always have to take the escalator up one flight and then walk around to a set of stairs, and then take them up a flight, and then cross the parking garage to get to the pay stations, and on and on. Or the up escalators are fine, but the down ones are out. Which you think would be fine, since you can still walk down an escalator. But no. It's all blocked off. ANYWAY.

Imagine my lack of surprise when I saw that, once again, the elevator near where I like to park was out. Usually, they just put up a string of caution tape across the doors, but this time, a sign was posted.

Photo by me! 

SO CLOSE! Sticking that I in there gives it almost a French flair, don't you think? It's fancy now. Of course, the comma is also troubling, but hey, this is primarily a spelling error blog! DIRECTORY, in case anyone was confused.

Also, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. This is going to be a CRAZY week for me at the office, so I want to apologize in advance if I forget to post here. Please forgive me. Bear with me while I get the busy week over with, and all will return to normal soon. I promise!

Thanks!

Shopping

There are few things more entertaining than billboards in LA. They can be so random, and odd, and bizarre, and the images on them sometimes appear to have nothing to do with the product they're selling. I especially love it when they're just some sort of artsy image, and you only know what they're selling if you already know the product. Which seems stupid, but what do I know?

I like them less when they're objectifying women, of course. I understand that often sells products, but it's still gross. Like what's going on here:

Photo by me! 

This hot girl is spray painting the ground. She also seems really pissed about something. She doesn't like being interrupted while spray painting the ground, perhaps? Her shirt's all torn, so maybe she just finished a fight. That would piss me off, for sure. Or maybe she's just embarrassed to be involved in this nonsense.

Bev Hills and Soho, consider yourselves warned.

Dear Robin: Jeans is plural, and not possessive. Therefore, it doesn't require an apostrophe. You look dumb, and your billboard is confusingly misogynistic. Color me offended. ON TWO COUNTS.

Presented Without Comment

Photo by AD

(Thanks, AD!)

Friday, November 9

La la la! We survived another one, y'all. That much closer to turkey!

I joined a book club, so now I really have to read the book this weekend. I started it while standing in line waiting to vote, so at least I'm a few pages in. I haven't really been sucked in yet, but maybe it'll pick up? It's The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman. What are you reading?

Here's this week's Lucky link! Ever had a hard time getting the girls to look good? I give you some tips.

Please keep in touch over the weekend, and send me any fails you find! You can use any or all of the options over there on the right!

Remember to tell a friend if you're enjoying the blog!

Ok, enough for now. Have a good weekend, and see you Monday!

Yet again

Recently, I replaced my TiVo. It was a joyous occasion, mixed with sadness. Joyous because my old one was dying - rebooting constantly, and not always recording my shows, and sad because, well, new TiVos are really expensive. But, I was whining about it so much on social media that at least one friend finally offered to buy me one herself. And so, it was time. The new TiVo and I have been very happy together. I haven't taxed it overmuch yet, because I'm still so used to dealing with the old one.

It and I did have some good times together. This is a photo I took just a few short weeks before I put it out to pasture.

I do so enjoy the newer interface. I like new. 

First of all, how crazy depressing does this show sound? How it will likely end? Um, no, thanks. I'll take a pass on having that information, thanks. I'm all set with having no idea.

But you see the real issue, right? Fitting in nicely with today's theme. Yet another its abuse. I'm certain there are any number of freelance proofreaders out there that would be happy to help out with this sort of thing. But first, TiVo guide, you have to admit there's a problem. The guide has to hit rock bottom. And I'm guessing that's a ways off yet.

It's hard to watch good friends slowly disintegrate, isn't it?

It's a crying shame

Today's posts have a theme! I love a theme. Y'all know that.

This screencap was sent by my friend AW. Now, I don't play any games on my phone. I'm lazy, and in no way competitive, so I just don't get sucked into this stuff. I've never played a single moment of Angry Birds. But these games are CRAZY popular, and people dig them, so this is probably yet another example of Things I Don't Get But Everyone Else Does. Like sitcoms. or ketchup. Ooh. Or tea! Why do you want to drink wrung-out tree branches? Blech.

Anyhoodle, have a look, and see if you can figure out today's theme.

screencap by AW

See it? Up there in the the first line? Yep, I knew you would. Today's theme is Using the Wrong Its, brought to you by your 8th grade English class.

Come to think of it, when DO we study the different its? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I didn't really learn to tell the difference until sometime in college. What about you? When did you come up with a way for you to remember?

(Thanks, AW!)

Sounds mostly good!

So, yeah. I took French in school. I had to be different, you see. Everyone else took Spanish because we were in Florida, and that seemed sensible. But NO. I had to take French. And as a result, I am sometimes useless at Mexican restaurants. Well, not as much any more. I've learned a bit in my time in Los Angeles. But in the beginning? Useless. A stranger in a strange land.

But I'm pretty sure, even back then, I would have known this was wrong:

Screengrab by XB

When I plugged "arros can pollo" into google, I got that whole did you mean arroz CON pollo? response that it gives when it thinks you're stupid and is judging you, so I guess that version doesn't even exist. ARROZ CON POLLO, y'all. Chicken and rice. A universal dish.

I have no idea what "Bed of Lettuce" is a euphemism for. Because everyone knows a plain old bed of lettuce doesn't need fancy capital letters, right? So that has to MEAN something.

You can see the rest of the menu here. I've become a big fan of eat24 recently, and in no way blame them for this minor tragedy. They pull the info from the restaurants, as I understand it. I still heart you, eat24!

(Thanks, XB!)

and you'll like it!

As CE said when she submitted this photo, I usually give non-English-speakers a bit of a pass, but this was just too cute not to post.

Photo by CE

MUSH! Obvs, they mean MUCH. It's an all you can eat buffet in England, where they have thus far resisted the Euro. I feel like that's kind of a lot of money for a buffet, especially with the last digit missing. I mean, I guess the worst it could be is a 9, in which case that's, what, like $25 for a buffet? Seems a bit high to this cheap-o.

However, my favorite part is that children under 1.2 meters get discounted rates. Does that leave out really short adults? And why the height decree? You have to wonder at what created the need for that rule. Like, did they get a run of really tall 10 year olds that ate everything they had because they were growing so fast? 1.2 meters is nearly 4 feet tall. At about what age do kids pass that height? It seems like an arbitrary rule, but I bet it's not.

Just a delightful mystery for us to ponder.

(Thanks, CE!)

My BEST choice?

JR's second submission is a bit more straightforward. I suppose this is one way to avoid having to choose which your/you're to use, if you're not sure.

Photo by JR

There's also a bit of ellipsis abuse going on here, but it kind of pales in comparison. 

Listen, if I were selling a product in a foreign country whose language I didn't speak, you better believe I would pay an expert to make sure all the information printed on the packaging was grammatically correct and made sense. I can understand that if you're only familiar with the US via the internet it might seem like we don't take our grammar seriously, but let me assure you, rest of the world, WE DO. 

(Thanks, JR!)

I prefer pancakes.

GET OUT THERE AND VOTE, FELLOW AMERICANS!

Ahem. Back to the task at hand.

Two submissions today from my friend JR, who has apparently gone on some sort of fire-related spending spree.

Fortunately, in this instance, she assures me her child is "ofer" 36 months.

Photo by JR

Clearly, it's just a typo, since the D and the F are next to each other on the keyboard, but it's really a shame that the typo made it to printing and packaging.

Friends who speak other languages: is what you can see there spelled correctly? Does that sentence need two idades? I'm concerned this may be some sort of international house of horrors.

Also, my favorite German word has always been schnell, but it may now have been replaced by aufbewahren. It sounds like what you scream at the screen when you're watching a horror movie. "Dude, don't go in there! AUFBEWAHREN!"

(Thanks, JR!)

Committed

You know how when you type the same word over and over again, you begin to feel like it's not really a word? It loses all meaning somewhere along the way, and just becomes a jumble of letters with no real point. I can only guess that in the construction of this website, the writer must have started to get that feeling about the word "commitment." While the word itself doesn't actually appear all that often, if it's in the mission statement of the company you work for, you likely see it pretty regularly. On the website, in letterhead, in signs around the office. That sort of thing. And that can make it really difficult to spell the word correctly, especially when it's a different form of the word.

It's a lot of words.

Check out the last word. It's COMMITMENT. But seriously, I wish that was the only problem this website has. If you have a few minutes, check out the whole thing. It didn't seem like a good idea to reproduce it here, but it's worth your time. Apostrophails, typos, and formatting errors abound. It's a sound demonstration of why a LOT of words isn't necessarily the best way to communicate. Packing All The Words into a website isn't a great way to pitch your company. Getting straight to the point and not wasting a potential client's time is.

Something to think about the next time you're writing copy for your organization. Or the next time I'm telling someone a story. I do so LOVE to use as many words as possible.

(Thanks, AB!)

Not helping the stereotype

Good morning! We're starting the week off with a submission that's not a spelling fail. More of a diction fail. Have a look:

Submitted by CD

CD says this was posted by her alma mater to its Athletic dept. website. Her question, which I agree with: "If this is a "sold out event," then why tell people not to miss it? Don't we have to miss it because there are no tickets left?"

An excellent point, CD. There's more madness here than meets the eye, it would seem. Oh, LMU. Time to get your English department on the phone with your Athletic department for some sort of meeting of the minds. How many university departments does it take to produce one event poster?

Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to. That way lies madness.

(Thanks, CD!)

Presented Without Comment

Photo by JR

(Thanks, JR!)

It's NOVEMBER, y'all.

Can you believe it? When did that happen? Where did the year go? The good news is that we're now in the same month as Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday, full of carby delicious foods. Are you making your turkey plans yet? Don't keep them secret!

I hope you guys are still enjoying reading this blog! If so, please feel free to share the posts on Facebook, or Twitter, or email a link to your friends. If you like it, they will, too!

If you spot any submissions for the blog, send those bad boys on to the usual places! The email address is over there on the right!

Keep an eye out for today's Presented Without Comment, and have a fantastic, leftover-candy filled weekend!

Meet you back here on Monday.

Higher education

I attended Florida State, which is in Tallahassee, Florida. Just down the street from FSU was (is) Florida A&M, so I've always had a special place in my heart for that school, too. I took a class there, which didn't go all that smoothly, but that was the fault of a classmate, and not the school.

While doing research this week for a project at work, I went digging through FAM's website for some info, and stumbled upon this little gem:

Still no Oxford comma.

Now, listen. I understand that FAM's Media Relations office must be kinda swamped these days, since they're having some...issues. But this is particularly egregious seeing how it immediately follows a line about enhancing the public image of FAMU.

I heart you guys. Get your ___ together! I want to see you always awesome! Always awesomer!

Yeah, I'm making up words now. It's probably because I only took ONE class at FAM. I should have taken more.

Happy Holidays!

Now that Halloween is over, prepare for the mental and emotional onslaught that is the Christmas shopping season. Let me be the first to wish you the best of this impending holiday.

Photo by IU

Maybe it's multiple choice? After all, IU is a teacher.

Also, Oxford comma, I miss you terribly. There's a time and a place to skip it, and this is not one of them. Come back to us, dear friend!

(Thanks, IU!)