“Enormous numbers of people are taken in, or at least beguiled and fascinated, by what seems to me to be unbelievable hocum, and relatively few are concerned with or thrilled by the astounding—yet true—facts of science, as put forth in the pages of, say, Scientific American.”–Douglas Hofstadter
A Biden/Warren Ticket
There is an art to being obnoxious. Some of us are naturally obnoxious, but even the naturally charming can learn to be obnoxious. Here are some tips: Belittle as pseudoscientific anybody who believes in any form of alternative medicine. Let’s say your friend George sees an acupuncturist for his back problems. Point out large double … More The Art of Being Obnoxious
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.”–Stephen Colbert
Does grammar matter? Take a look at these two sentences from the website of the Plain English Campaign(http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/). The first sentence is from a actual document on school children. High-quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process. Here’s the plain English translation: Children need good schools if … More Clarity and Wordiness
Nobody likes the grammar police. There’s a joke about two women sitting on a plane. One of them, a Texan, turns to the other and asks, “Where are you all from?” The woman looks at her and answers disdainfully, “I’m from a place where people don’t end sentences with prepositions.” The Texan smiles … More Grammar Myths
“The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions.”–George Carlin
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“White man makes guns? No problem. Black rapper says ‘guns’? Congressional hearing. ‘Oh, my God, that nigger said gun, and he rhymed it with fun!’”–Chris Rock
Grammar and usage aren’t always cut and dried. Here are some disputed points: Taller than I/me Most grammar books consider the following sentence an error: Mort is taller than me. The error here is the object pronoun “me.” It should be the subject pronoun “I”—Mort is taller than I— because what the sentence really says … More Disputed Grammar
No Harm Spilt 