If anyone’s interested in Agatha Christie, or books, check out this beast. The front cover is over a foot away from the back cover. Funny thing is, it’s only 4,000 pages. They could have made it bigger all round, sparing the footlongedness of it all. But obviously they didn’t want to!
Archive | Language/Lit
Failure to Communicate
Sitcoms are Stupid In the world of sitcoms and dumb movies, a guy going to a foreign land is bound to say something completely idiotic in the strange language. While shaking hands with a possible business partner, he says, “your rhinoceros is very snotty.” Or “your mother is pregnant with my baby.” Then, either everyone […]
Up Late
I’m awake late late late. Reading through XKCD strips that I’ve missed recently, I ran into this one. It’s not really funny, but I bring it to you for edification: My friends, remember (or at least note), the “et” in “et al.” is a full word and doesn’t take a period. The “al.” is an […]
On Not Finishing
I used to read books all the way through, regardless of how much I was enjoying it. It was a point of honor, I guess, or a belief that character was being built (or proven). Screw that. If you haven’t hooked me by the time I’ve finished, let’s say, a third of the thing, then […]
Writing Style
I’m reading Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.” It’s famous, of course, but was never intended to be anything more than a fast-paced, crappy, detective novel. That’s my take, anyway. But I can’t help laughing when I see some of the writing. Chapter 9 ends with the following short sentence: “His eyes burned yellowly.” I really liked […]
A Happy Couple
weeklyrob: Could I have a couple of those widgets, please? Undefined Other: Sure! How many do you want? weeklyrob (internally): A COUPLE. weeklyrob: Two, please.
On Being Naked
Do you remember that scene in Blue Velvet, where Isabella Rossellini appears on a front lawn completely naked? Her arms are outstretched like that girl in Vietnam whose village had been bombed by the Vietnamese Air Force? I’m reading The Kindly Ones, by Anthony Powell. It has nothing like the emotional intensity of Blue Velvet […]
Speaking of He or She
“A person shooting a moose should make sure that their gun has more than one round in it.” “A person” is singular, but “their” is plural. Honestly? I don’t mind. English speakers have been doing the “they” trick for a long time, and complaining about it is actually the more recent development. But it is […]
So Aggravating
I only use the word aggravate to mean “make worse.” When I hear people use it to mean “annoy,” I always, always, always, notice it and make a small mental translation. But, although this is true, I want you to know that I’m not “correcting.” I’m “translating.” That’s because I know that aggravate has been […]
Guilt-Inducing Sign
Seen on the train in Melbourne, Australia. They could have said “passengers” instead of “passenger.” The sign would have worked just fine that way, while avoiding the awkwardness of the verb-subject disagreement. But I don’t really mind. We don’t have a good way to say he-or-she, so I’m ok with “they.” I do present heorshe […]