Offen go A-rye

This all started while reading a blog thread at www.pajiba.com that had people post their pet peeves for mispronunciations or their own mistakes. We all have them. Words we read as a child, never heard anyone speak, then one day in class our own version is heard and laughed at. Or as happened to one friend, where he inadvertently said "In-eee-veet-able" instead of "Inevitable" and was mocked mercilessly.

I am a casual grammar-nazi. Only in the sense that sometimes people will mispronounce or have terribly constructed sentences, and in my mind, I'll scold them. In reality, I am terrible at grammar. I don't remember rules; I throw in commas left and right. My spelling has degraded over the years due to spell-check and online dictionaries (how many times do you just mash your search terms into Google because you know it'll figure out what you wanted...) I'm sure you'll find examples of this throughout my posts here.

As such, I generally get annoyed and angry with true grammar-nazis. People who correct you mid-sentence, or post comments lambasting the author, giving mini-educations on what's proper. I used to get really really angry. Now if they do it nicely, I'll accept it.

The old argument is "these are colloquial", its the evolution of language, accept it, and learn it. It's what I used to say, and still sometimes argue for certain points. But the reality is that grammar/spelling does serve a purpose. Words do have value, and to have them maintain value, there has to be boundaries and rules. If we allow everything to mis-mash, to become vague or have multiple meanings, we lose the the efficacy of language. This goes for speaking as well as writing.

I tend to look for a balance. Accept that the beauty and curious nature of language, written and oral, is that it evolves and changes to reflect the time and place of it's people. But realize that word choice, sentence construction, and your own speaking abilities, really do have a large effect on how the world views you as a person. Perhaps the clash of the the colloquial and the rules-lover is the way we keep language from going the way of Idiocracy, but still allow it to continually evolve.

However, don't be a dick about it.

Classic Internet Hatred Post

Remove him forever

When asked about an online petition to get him out of the film business, which had 18,000 signatures at the time, Uwe Boll said, "18,000 isn’t enough to convince me,” he said, adding that it would take more like a million signatures."

You click that, you sign it, you get others in on it. The quote from Uwe is not a guarantee, but if there are a million signatures, what a definitive statement for him to go away.

Honestly

5th-grader finds error

The story is about a 5th grader who found a small error in a Smithsonian Exhibit. The real key to the story is the name of the boy.

Kenton Stufflebeam.

You heard me. Wow. Wow.

Yea Yea

Every so often I get hooked on a movie trailer. I realize its as much the content as the music behind it. A long time ago it was Road to Perdition and the great piano theme, right now it's Street Kings. While the trailer has some moments that don't seem so great, I consistently seek it out or stop to listen to it. This time specifically because of Lupe Fiasco's "Put you on Game".

My experience with Lupe Fiasco is limited to guest spots on Kanye West albums and my younger brother telling me he's fantastic. I'm no expert, no true aficionado of hip hop, though I do have a passing knowledge of what seems like more talented acts/people. I am a white boy from the suburbs, but good music is good music.

I'm not going to go into a debate, if there is one, on commercializing hip hop with movies or mainstreaming, but its enough of a clip to go seek out more about the album The Cool (And I suppose Food & Liquor as well.)

Speaking of things I enjoy, I was watching my 30Rock Season 1 DVD and it's still funny. Alec Baldwin gets so many great lines, and sells them so well, completely quotable. To the point of pissing people off.

I also have a small addiction to Top Chef. I'm really not into the whole foodie trend. I enjoy trying to cook my own dishes, but they're never complicated, or employ ingredients that were flown from around the world. I also don't like many of the contestants, and don't enjoy reality show formatting. Yet for some reason... I seek it out, and won't change the channel when the new episode is on.

Oh the irony

Lets ignore the fact that I snuck in a bag of brownie bites to see the film Run Fatboy Run.

If you don't know about it, the film is the latest for Simon Pegg, who starred in the hilarious Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz. It was directed by David Schwimmer (who knows how that happened), and was written by Michael Ian Black, with I think a rewrite from Simon Pegg. I've read other reviews that lament the fact that the usual Pegg collaborators were not involved. I don't know if they just want copies of Shaun of the dead, but I think too much expectation about how the film should behave is disingenuous.

It contains signature Pegg mannerisms, but to begin a list of Pegg cliches lessens the impact of his abilities. He really has a face full of expression, and uses this to great effect. He manages some really touching moments in the film, with his son and his almost-ex-wife, and that kind of points to the type of film this is. It's more of a blend of romantic comedy and his previous efforts, where an average guy is stumbling to get by. Only near the end did everything become a little too sappy for my tastes, perhaps reflecting the American humor/film influences. (Trivia!: The original script centered on the running of the Los Angeles Marathon. Once a UK production team decided to make the film, the location was changed to London.)

It was funny, it had touching moments, it was worth seeing it at matinée price.