Wednesday, July 14, 2010

the return of the choey

So yesterday I turned 27 and decided that someone other than FH needs to know what goes on in my head. Narcissistic much? Maybe. But loads of fun for me, and I’m pretty sure at least my mom will read this, and she’s always asking what’s going on in my life, as is in her job description. So here I am, what I’m doing, where I’m going, and some of the things my brain dreams up. But first, a rant. Apostrophes, people, are easy to use. We are all taught basic punctuation when we’re like, what, 7? But apparently this simple lesson has not stuck with many of us through to adulthood, and it is starting to drive me slightly batshit at the appallingly different (and oh so completely horrendously wrong) ways professionals are using this tiny little piece of the English language. Just today, I’ve come across this ugly apostrophe: From The Caketress Blog: “…one of my favorite Muskoka venue’s for nothern weddings” – unless said venue was in possession of ‘for nothern venues’, then sorry Caketress, ya got it wrong. Also, for the love of icing, check that spelling! Good old Wikipedia has this to say about the humble apostrophe: In English, it serves two main purposes—the omission of one or more letters (as in doesn’t for does not) and the marking of possessives (as in the cat’s whiskers), though usage in forming certain plurals is sometimes accepted. And yes, there are some times when you put the apostrophe at the end of the word, but let’s not confound these already-confused writers. If you really want a guide on how to properly use Mr. Apostrophe, I refer you to the University of Victoria, Wellington’s fantastically simple tutorial here. Ok, I’m off my soapbox for the day, but be warned punctuation evil-doers, because I can strike at any time!