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September 30, 2008
Sigh...
(note: this e-mail was sent to me as part of a mass group, the contents are not private, and the name is only blocked because there is no reason to make this private person into a public one over my use of the e-mail to express ennui.)
Posted by dpoland at September 30, 2008 03:47 PM
Comments
And another one bites the dust.
Posted by: Aladdin Sane ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 30, 2008 03:50 PM
I thought this had been announced a long time ago?
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 03:54 PM
You're like a teacher teaching intelligent creation in the summertime, J-Mc.
Nooooooooo subtlety.
(point of reference: Fat Albert)
Posted by: David Poland at September 30, 2008 04:10 PM
Sometimes, DP, I forget this blog is actually a diary. Yes, I got your point, but I thought it might be something else.
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 04:14 PM
I prefer Fat Abbot.
Posted by: Jeremy Smith at September 30, 2008 04:16 PM
You don't have to get offense as a form of defense, J-Mc.
There is a difference between anticipating a death and the day the body gets cold. Sorry that confused you.
Posted by: David Poland at September 30, 2008 05:25 PM
So...you're three days early.
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 05:31 PM
(I apologize for my intentional rhetorical obtuseness, but seriously: who sends out an email like this? I'd be equally confused if it read "Hello. As of Friday Oct. 3 there will be 81 days until Christmas.")
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 05:36 PM
Can you pleaase stop putting commas at the end of sentences before the persons name? If you put a name at the top of the sentence, you're addressing the person, so you set it off with a comma, but at the end, a comma signifies who the message is from, so there's no need for a comma the way you're using it.
Posted by: T. Holly at September 30, 2008 05:47 PM
T. Holly, that is absolutely incorrect.
The direct-address comma rule applies wherever the address occurs in a sentence.
"I was talking to you T. Holly," for example, which is what you seem to be suggesting, is WRONG.
As is ending a letter or post with: "That's all I have to say about that, LexG." That means I am addressing LexG, not that I am signing off.
Posted by: LexG at September 30, 2008 05:58 PM
Three degrees!
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 05:59 PM
That's right,,,,,,,,,, Jeff.
Thanks for recognizing.
(I actually think T. Holly has piped up with this before, and I schooled him then, too. Of course he ignored it.)
Jesus Christ. SHRUNK AND WHITE, BITCH.
Posted by: LexG at September 30, 2008 06:01 PM
Same difference here: If you like, we can talk about it. We can talk about it if you like.
Posted by: T. Holly at September 30, 2008 06:01 PM
T. Holly, please learn something:
http://editfast.com/english/grammar/commas/commas_hey_you.htm
Posted by: LexG at September 30, 2008 06:02 PM
Lex, T. Holly is (a) female, and (b) not a native-born English speaker (correct me if I'm wrong).
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 06:08 PM
WHOA, IS SHE HOT?
GET ON FACEBOOK OR IM ME AT YAHOO.
ROCK ON.
Posted by: LexG at September 30, 2008 06:13 PM
Yes, there would have to action before the name to be a sign off. Minor phrases shouldn't be set off by commas though in modern editing.
Posted by: T. Holly at September 30, 2008 06:47 PM
They can be.
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 30, 2008 10:32 PM
The comma is totally expendable in this case, a relic from times of old. Get with the new, Lex. Maybe it's the habits of editors coming out here but hey, if you can find a reason to eliminate a pause in the flow of a sentence I say go for it.
Posted by: Kristopher Tapley at October 1, 2008 01:33 AM
Maybe it's because I have an English degree, but I'm with Lex on this one. Such "relics" serve a purpose. Some pauses shouldn't be eliminated. To take one of Lex's examples: "That's all I have to say about that, LexG." The comma makes it clear that Lex is being addressed. Without the comma, it would mean the writer has said all he has to say about Lex ("that LexG").
Commas are notoriously difficult for lots of people, and I understand the impulse to just throw up your hands and say "f" it. I've read lots of stories and scripts by wannabes who randomly insert commas every five words or so in hopes of getting it right some percentage of the time. And others use none at all. Read a few dozen consecutive run-on sentences and see if you don't think commas are our friends.
Posted by: yancyskancy at October 1, 2008 01:51 AM
Kris, that's the same thinking that in movies suggests that every film should be paced faster, faster, faster. Which is nice when it drops out redundant material, less nice when it means abandoning intelligibility and meaningful interludes and reflection.
This is one of those 'slow erosion of standards' things as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: jeffmcm at October 1, 2008 02:36 AM
Posted by: matro at October 1, 2008 08:45 AM
Comma use in screenwriting is a real mo fo. Some will say they should only be included when the speaker is intended to pause, so a lot of normally correct grammatical uses would be eliminated. Although, as some of the examples brought up here would suggest, deletion of some commas could cause confusion and change of meaning by how the line is delivered.
Posted by: Triple Option at October 1, 2008 10:04 AM
"Ya see all you have to do is get an idea and write it down on paper and then hire someone one else to put in the commas and shit. I've seen scripts that had words I known were misspelled and hardly had any commas in there at all"
Posted by: hcat at October 1, 2008 12:10 PM
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