Random burblings since 1999
ChangeThis is on a mission to spread important ideas and change minds.
“We’re betting that a significant portion of the population wants to hear thoughtful, rational, constructive arguments about important issues.”
Could be an interesting site to keep an eye on. Be an optimist.
Let me preface this by stating that I’m not sleeping well at the moment, so my mood isn’t a mystery to me.
It’s like looking down a well that has no bottom, the light filtering down as far as it can before it too succumbs to the enclosing murky depths. Wondering how deep it goes, remembering the last time you were here, looking down.
You turn your head to find the source of light, suddenly you panic, realising that it too is far away, up through the funnel above. It’s energy struggling to breakout of the confines, everything else faded, dim, distant.
Your shouts are muffled, incomprehensible until they echo back to you. You listen to yourself and know then that you can control this, that it’s not a slope, the handholds are there above your head, you just need to reach up and start climbing.
I’ll stop there, as I reckon I’m dangling from a couple of those handholds.
It’s a funny thing though, and something I thought I’d gotten past, the way it all builds, creeping up on you so that you don’t notice, until the last minute, that you are standing on that ledge, peering out, trying to see.
Pah.
Anyone got any good jokes?
Jim White, him aff the telly, walking along Gordon Street (yes, it’s true, I have a street named after me). I think he’s lost weight.
(And isn’t that a bizarre set of photos, what’s that all about Mr.Murdoch?)
Two young boys at the window of Silks ‘n’ Secrets, our local sex shop, giggling whilst pointing at the toys: “Nooo waaayyyyyy maaannnnn!” one remarked in that lovely, melodic, Glasgow ned twang.
A tall, very attractive, blonde lady in front of me in the queue at the sandwich shop. As she walks off, cue that shared look, between myself and the male cashier, that says: “Well you wouldn’t kick her out of bed, would you”.
Me, walking back to the office, composing this post in my head.
Prompted by this article in the New Yorker (which I’ve just happened across), I’ve been giving some thought to my use of grammar and punctuation on this here site.
(side note: I still jar when describing this site as a “blog”, odd that)
Comma usage, ellipsis (ellipsi?), italics, bold, capitals, the odd semi-colon, and the even rarer colon have all featured here. Did anyone notice that for a while after reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves my usage punctuation was much wider than normal? And that, more to the point, it has dwindled back to it’s normal state since then.
Anyway, here’s the thing. Hyperlinks. Are they, should they, can they, be considered punctuation?
For example, when I mentioned Eats, Shoots and Leaves should I have distinguished it somehow? Is “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” correct or will Eats, Shoots and Leaves suffice, or is Eats, Shoots and Leaves a valid use of the markup and grammar available to us.
Can the hyperlink serve as a form of punctuation? Is this a valid part of the evolution of language?
Of course I have a vested interest in this, being a technical writer for a living, but I’m interested in what you guys think. The masses (cultured of course), the proles, the everyday writer.
Postscript: the New Yorker article linked above nails this book precisely. Lynne Truss taps into that sense of outrage and disbelief that some of us feel when staring at public signage that is badly punctuated, and openly admits to ignoring and abusing some of the rules of grammar. I was once told that the rules of the English language were the strictest set of rules in the world, and it was only their steadfast resolve that allowed them to be bent, twisted and skewed so often by so many.
Next question: One space or two?
It feels like the lull before the storm. Literally. Figuratively.
I don’t visit “what’s in rebecca’s pocket?” nearly often enough, so this is probably old to a lot of people.
I’ve just noticed that she has a clever way of marking the difference between internal links (permalinks, self-linking etc) from external links. So simple it’s obvious. Use different colours. Brilliant.
On top of that, of course, she continues to churn out thoughtful posts and articles at a rate that I find astonishing. Especially with my lack of current motivation (see below).
She is one clever lady.