Avoiding doing work that is due at 8 am tomorrow

[deelaundry]

So y'all know I'm weird, right? Some weird bullet points:

- We just saw Chicago last night, and I have a huge yen to see RSL in the Roxie Hart role. I think he would throw himself into it and have a grand ol' time. Maybe have the entire cast be opposite gender from their characters? Not with a wink and a nod, "hey we're in drag" mood (although that would be very fun as well) -- but completely serious, as if each actor is inhabiting a person of the opposite gender. Casting suggestions?

- Speaking of Wilson (oh, we weren't? I guess we weren't), Jane Adams, aka Ex-Mrs. Wilson #2, is going to be in a new HBO series called "Hung," about a regular guy who decides to become a male prostitute. LOL.

- Little Miss Thang at work, you best step off, or we are going to throw down! Most authorities on American English recommend the use of the serial comma, Bee-yotch, so you cut one more out of my communications drafts and I'm'a CUT YOU.

When linguistic prescriptivists battle, they battle, AMIRITE?

Comments

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Er ... lemme look up "linguistic prescriptivist" and then get back to you on that one, okay?

ETA to bironic: I'm afraid I don't know what "Oxford comma" actually means, either. Some of them have degrees from a higher university than others?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Today's trivia! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma)

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was, in fact, about to look it up.

I use the Oxford/serial comma. I also don't. If anyone ever specifically told me that both ways were correct, I don't recall, but I did know.

For me it just depends upon context. But doesn't everything?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I remember learning in elementary or middle school about how commas can change the meaning of sentences and lists, but not being told that using or not using a "list comma" was "right."

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

In my own, less-than-scholarly words, a linguistic prescriptivist is one who thinks a standard set of language rules should be followed. This person might be more commonly known as a grammar nerd. (HOLLA.)

Two cool wikipedia articles are here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_linguistics) and here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_prescription). As the articles say, sometimes linguistic prescription can be used to scorn or oppress. But I mostly just like to use it to help people communicate more clearly with each other.