Midnite at the Library

The only thing that irks me more than seeing midnite spelled the way it is spelled on the sign in the picture is that it is spelled this way on a sign in a library parking lot. I feel strongly that the library should have the sign corrected, effective immediately.

We live in a world where so many things save us time. Instead of hunting and gathering, we can microwave pre-made meals, if we so choose. We can go to a big box store and get clothes, food, other miscellaneous supplies, and electronics all in one trip. We can send instant messages instead of writing a letter and sending it by post. With all this time saved, please just write words out the way they should be spelled. Luv should be love. Guac should be guacamole. Never send me a text that only includes the letter K. If it you feel compelled to confirm something, at least have the decency to write okay. Is it really worth spelling midnight as midnite to save one measly letter? I think not.

An Unbearable Facebook Status

A shameless pun? Indeed!

This Facebook status was forwarded to me yesterday and my editing instincts immediately kicked in, so bear with me (oh, yes, another pun).



Though I am not Facebook friends with this particular bear lover, I hoped against hope that his or her mauling of the English language was a result of extreme emotional duress. Surely, the terrible spelling and lack of punctuation is due to some tragedy beyond the realm of any imagination! But what terrible event could inspire such egregious errors and senseless abuse of words?

I put my Google search skills to use! The result? I can only assume that the tragic Facebook status is based on two news articles. The first, from May 29, 2010, is entitled "Bear helping himself to chicken coop gets shot." The second, from May 31, 2010, is entitled "Backpacker shoots, kills grizzly in Denali National Park." But the plot thickens! There appears to have been a third bear death on June 1, 2010. Who knows what poorly authored response the moving news piece "Dog intervenes in grizzly attack, but bear is eventually shot" will elicit from our bear-adoring Facebook friend.

Disclaimer: Though this post is jocular in nature, I am poking fun at the ineptly articulated response to the bear deaths. I would never use the actual deaths of the bears as fodder for my wit. If you'd like to see the articles for yourself, they can all be found on the Anchorage Daily News website: adn.com.

Special thanks goes to Ms. Rehfeldt for this contribution.

Blog the First

Well, friends, today is the day. Today is the day I give the world my first blog entry. As a longtime resident of the Twittersphere, I have decided it is time to delve into the blogosphere. I have already exceeded 140 characters, and I feel like a rebel!

I am a simple creature, with simple tastes. I like my books (well-edited, of course) and I like the people in my life, who indulge my bookish ways. But, you may ask, why am I starting this blog now? I admit, it has taken me awhile to get on the blogwagon. This is mostly due to the last three years of my life spent juggling an English master's program, a Scholarly Publishing Certificate program, tutoring a fourteen-year-old in English and writing, freelance editorial work, working at various jobs and internships, volunteering at an organization that records books for the blind and dyslexic (RFBandD), presenting papers at academic conferences, and, in any remaining free time, reading for pleasure and sleeping. Why all the free time now? Well, despite what I consider being extremely qualified, I have had little luck in getting a job. More precisely, I have had no luck getting publishers to hire me as an editorial assistant so I can work towards the real goal: being an acquisitions editor. More on that later, because I suspect jobless woes may contribute content to this blog to some degree.

Besides being a highly qualified, vivacious, young lass not being able to secure a publishing job, what else do I anticipate this blog to bring? Well, it will have a lot about books. The books I am reading, the books I have read, and the books I want to read. I find it difficult to read as anything but a critical thinker, so I will likely defy the popular opinion on books. I have two English degrees under my belt, so, to put it simply: I read a lot and expect a lot. I will also regale you with the calamities and adventures freelance editing brings. I am an avid traveler, so await tales of foreign lands! My next trip is in July, when I find myself traveling to Israel and Egypt. And, due to semi-popular demand, I will, from time to time, harness my inner snarkiness to ruthlessly judge and possibly mock egregious errors of the typographical, grammatical, and spelling variety.