I’m not generally up on the comings and goings, weddings and divorces of hot Hollywood couples. But I seem to remember reading somewhere that “Brangelina still won’t marry until the gays can.” According to a recent post on Yahoo! Shine, the new parents are now hubby and wife:
I guess I missed the news that they’re now hitched and gays can now marry. I’ve got to turn off CNN and all that news about some global financial difficulty and pick up a copy of Us magazine. (On a relatively minor note, I’d also put that comma before the closing quotation mark.)
October 9, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I noticed Shine made the corrections you suggested. Amazing the frequency with which they commit not only errors of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but also errors of fact.
Apparently they haven’t got a clue what to do without you.
October 9, 2008 at 5:47 pm
It was a relatively harmless — but easily avoidable — error. It’s just a case of sloppy writing, though a competent editor would have spotted and corrected it. I’m more concerned with the errors that aren’t corrected but have the potential to do real harm. I hope that there are no strict vegetarians who read Shine and think that you can get vitamin B12 by eating plums! Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin that is attainable naturally only through animal products. I pointed that out (with a link to NIH, no less), but that error is still there.
Apparently they haven’t got a clue even WITH me.
October 13, 2008 at 10:07 am
It was my error. I was getting married literally the next day, was rushing through the post, and obviously had marriage/wives on the brain. I don’t have an editor to catch my occasional mistakes. I do, however, have a clue.
Laura, I find the way you relish our blunders so cruel and petty and small. I don’t know you, but I can’t believe this is how any decent person would choose to spend his/her free time—trolling the content pages of a former employer, closely inspecting for mistakes, and then writing up snarky posts about said mistakes.
You are obviously a good copy editor. And that is very specific skill, which is why even the best writers and editors have copy editors to check their work. Don’t you want to use your skills to put something good into the world? At present, you put effort into making people who are working many hours a day (and yes making a few mistakes along the way) feel awful about themselves. Surely there’s a better use of your time than pointing out when Shine editors misplace a hyphen or a question mark.
October 13, 2008 at 10:48 am
Jennifer,
Congratulations on your recent nuptials. I can certainly understand your having “bride on the brain.”
As to your other comments, I think they should be directed elsewhere. If you find my “snark” over the top, it may be because I’ve been reading too much of Shine and its sarcasm has rubbed off. But keep in mind, I comment only on content written by paid professionals. I wouldn’t point out an error in a blog about grandkids written by a doting grandma. But professional writers and editors are held to a higher standard and represent a corporation that should ensure that that standard is met.
That is where the real problem lies. Not with the messenger, but with those who read the message and attack the messenger rather than addressing the underlying problems.
As to doing “good” with my skills: I’ve received numerous comments and private communications thanking me for this service and explaining good communication through poor examples. In fact, there are fewer errors now on Shine than there were just a month ago. Since I know that Shine writers and editors read this blog, I can only assume that it has played some part in that improvement.
The hundreds of blogs about the grammatical gaffes, spelling errors, and general abuse of the language attest to the fact that people DO care about correct usage and clear, accurate communication.
Just as a chef shouldn’t be defensive when a customer complains that the steak ordered medium-rare arrived well-done, a writer shouldn’t complain when a reader says it’s not well done at all.
October 13, 2008 at 12:33 pm
If a new customer was paying for a steak and the steak was bad, that would be one thing. If a disgruntled former employee visited his or her former place of employment, repeatedly, and complained that the restaurant wasn’t up to snuff, that would be borderline crazy.
What I gather from the above comment is you fancy yourself a copy editing vigilante. What’s the expression? Those who can’t do, teach? Keep up the good work.
October 13, 2008 at 12:55 pm
OK, that does it. Laura, I think your response was way too gentle considering the mean-spirited nature of the original message and others like it.
Apparently the Queen of Snark doesn’t appreciate snarkiness in others when she’s the target. That’s the most pathetic attack I’ve seen in a while. She doesn’t like the message, so she shoots the messenger.
Jennifer, I know Laura. You clearly do not. I have worked with Laura. You clearly have not.
You assume Laura “relishes” your blunders. She doesn’t. She points them out to show how they can be corrected. This is what editors (paid or not) do, isn’t it?
You assume TW is the only place Laura “uses her skills.” It isn’t. She happens to be gainfully employed in several other efforts. Terribly Write is a hobby for Laura, and it doesn’t define her life or her body of work.
You accuse Laura of “pointing out when Shine editors misplace a hyphen or a question mark,” overlooking the most serious observation about your article in the first place – an egregious error of FACT. You assiduously avoid addressing that issue, claiming “wedding Alzheimer’s.”
If having your errors pointed out makes you “feel awful about yourself,” you are in the wrong business.
Congratulations on your marriage. Now maybe you can become an adult and move on. If you don’t appreciate TW for what it is – a blog about correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation – don’t read it. Nobody is forcing you to read it. Take the time you save and put it into rereading and correcting what you write.
October 13, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Jennifer,
The expression is “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” It’s not an expression I would ever use because it is insulting to not only the millions of underpaid, hard-working teachers but also anyone who has ever taught, coached, or mentored another person.
I’m surprised that Yahoo! would allow you to disparage an entire profession and all its practitioners on such a public forum. But, if you consider me a “teacher,” I proudly wear that mantle. It indicates to me that someone is learning something from Terribly Write. Even those who would defend their errors.
October 13, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Wow, kudos to Old Man! I completely concur.
And Jennifer, since you don’t know Laura personally, you don’t know that she’s about as classy as they come. She’s one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had, instilling knowledge that will carry forward for the rest of my personal and professional life. Just being her cubicle neighbor helped improve my writing and editing skills. If you’d take a step back, you’d plainly see that’s what she’s doing here. Pay attention and absorb. It will only help you going forward.
And taking a crack at teachers… it’s obvious that you didn’t pay attention to yours in proper grammar lessons. Coming from a long line of teachers in my family, you’ve thrown a low blow.