Mighty Red Pen

November 23, 2009

Horrorscope

Filed under: Spellbound — mighty red pen @ 8:59 pm
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I can tell you there was only one person that was feeling flirtatious after reading this horoscope, and it wasn’t MRP. And it wasn’t in a good way, either.

Let’s just say the person who proofread this tidbit was flirting with disaster. Spelling disaster.

November 19, 2009

In my top ten worst nightmares

Filed under: Spellbound — mighty red pen @ 7:16 pm
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As the winter season rapidly approaches, we look forward to such things as softly falling snow, sledding breathlessly down a wintery slope, chesnuts roasting on an open fire (okay, not really on that last one), and, if you’re anything like MRP . . . annual report planning. Am I right?

Hat tip to Gopher.

November 18, 2009

“Pags” gags

Filed under: Mad marketing — mighty red pen @ 6:57 pm
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Steve Pagliuca is one of the candidates for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts left open after the recent passing of Ted Kennedy. MRP just spotted this advertisement for his campaign. I’m sure Pags is an endearing nickname among those who know the candidate, but it’s hard to take seriously as a campaign pitch:

Call me fussy if you like, but I prefer my candidates to have a certain amount of gravitas. “Building a Bridge to a Better Bubba”? “Poppy for President”? “Dubya=Compassionate Conservative”? They’re just missing a certain je ne said quoi.

November 16, 2009

Don’t make me unfriend you

Filed under: Wordsworthy — mighty red pen @ 6:48 pm
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The Word of the Year parade makes a stop at the New Oxford American Dictionary, which named unfriend (as in “If you don’t stop writing annoying comments on my Facebook wall, I will unfriend you”) as its top pick for 2009.

According to senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg:

It has both currency and potential longevity. In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend” is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!).

Here’s my question though: As a Facebook user, I rarely unfriend (or defriend) people, but I friend others and am friended all the time (okay, maybe I exaggerate a little bit). Given the criteria that’s been outlined, isn’t there a much more compelling case for friend as the word of the year?

Oddly enough, many of the words that didn’t have the same “lex-appeal” bear a remarkable resemblance to MRP’s Top Ten Words I’d Vote Off the Island in a Heartbeat:

intexticated – distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle

sexting – the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone

birther – a conspiracy theorist who challenges President Obama’s birth certificate

death panel – a theoretical body that determines which patients deserve to live, when care is rationed

And possibly my favorite, because it’s the most ridiculous and I love the idea of a bunch of lexicographers sitting around discussing it in all seriousness:

tramp stamp – a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman

See the rest of the nominees here.

November 12, 2009

How to use an apostrophe

Filed under: Apostrophe catastrophe, Perilous punctuation — mighty red pen @ 6:47 pm
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Who couldn’t use a helpful flow chart on the do’s and don’ts of apostrophes? Well, the folks at the Oatmeal have created one!

apostrophe

There’s so much more where this came from. Check it out.

Hat tip to Captain Moondog at Today in Awesome.

November 11, 2009

It’s a crime if you can’t rhyme

Filed under: Wordsworthy — mighty red pen @ 7:00 pm
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In this episode of the children’s television program “Arthur,” Binky Barnes finds himself trapped in Verseberg, a town where everyone speaks in poetry. Here, he meets William Carlos Williams, and they engineer an escape in what else but a red wheelbarrow:

For the whole episode, check it out here.

November 9, 2009

Imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Filed under: Mad marketing — mighty red pen @ 6:30 pm
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There’s just something awfully familiar about the new look of Ditech’s advertising:

ditech

Wonder where I’ve seen that color scheme and that dang bluebird before . . . hmm . . . where could it be?

twitter

Tweet, tweet!

November 6, 2009

Signs of the times

Filed under: Spellbound, Uncategorized — mighty red pen @ 7:29 pm
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I have to give this guy a pass for misspelling hemorrhoids only because he managed to pull off hemorrhaging.

health care sign

This person, on the other hand, gets no such pass for misspelling hypocrisy.

health care sign2

Signs spotted on Huffington Post.

November 1, 2009

I Regretsy to inform you . . .

Filed under: Overseen, Spellbound — mighty red pen @ 7:06 pm
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If you love online handicraft market Etsy, you’ll also love Regretsy, which chronicles some of the best of the worst of Etsy. There’s something for everyone; here’s one word nerds will love:

magnicifent

It’s magnificent, isn’t it?

 

October 30, 2009

I’ll Facebook you

Filed under: Grammar goddess, Pop culture — mighty red pen @ 6:10 pm
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nonsequitur

Hat tip to Non Sequitur.

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