Jun 21st 2012 07:53 am Talkin’ baseball…
The classic A&J cartoon is from October, 1994. That was the year the Major League Baseball season was interrupted and the World Series canceled, because the owners and the players couldn’t agree on how to split up all the money. In case you were wondering, that’s why Arlo is so cynical, but his point remains valid, if you think about it. The strip had more import than I imagined at the time. I was an avid follower of Major League Baseball in 1994, the Braves in particular. I’ll bet I haven’t watched a dozen complete Major League games since. I’m not that stubborn, but by the time I was finished sulking, I’d gotten out of the habit.
Over the course of Arlo & Janis, some of the longest continuing stories have involved Gene’s love life or Arlo’s dream of owning a boat. The story that’s unfolding in newspapers right now involves both, so we could be here a while! Did you notice there were two versions of the strip that appeared yesterday? Wasn’t that weird?
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
184 Responses to “Talkin’ baseball…”
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:24 am #
JJ-
Although I liked the “talkie” version of yesterday’s strip, the “silent” version was a graphical tour-de-force.
Dale on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:29 am #
Why — and for that matter, How? — are there two versions of the strip that appeared yesterday? (And how would we fans make sure we see both?)
Heidi on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:41 am #
I only saw the silent version. Where can I find the talkie?
Heidi on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:44 am #
Ok, I saw the silent version via Yahoo news site’s comic listing. And I found the talkie version on gocomics site. Thanks for the heads up! I was a bit confused about the purpose of the silent one!
David in La Grange on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:44 am #
It’s up on gocomics. Just click the link above for reading today’s A&J and then back into yesterday.
Mindy on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:46 am #
I hate baseball. But I love hotdogs and apple pie. Jimmy, the suspense on the ongoing boat series is driving me up the wall! But I love it!
Jeff in Ann Arbor on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:55 am #
I got out of the baseball habit when our son graduated from high school and moved out 19 years ago. Before that, we went to a lot Tigers and Mud Hen games together. He was bat boy for the University of Michigan for for Jim Abbott and Barry Larkin’s senior year, and I went to all of their home games and many of the nearby away games as well. That was some great baseball. And since he played ball through HS, I saw all of his games for more than ten years.
Maybe I can get back into it when I retire this year.
Matt on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:06 am #
I enjoyed the silent version. It seemed like a metaphor for man’s inhumanity to man.
Whistling Rufus on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:21 am #
I want to know what Gus is up to. He’s a hard nosed businessman-you have to, to be successful in the restaurant business. I don’t mean he’s a shark necessarily, but a biddness man. What’s w/ this free stuff? Dockage, water an electric. Arlo’s waiting for him to lay all his cards on the table.
Dave in MA on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:30 am #
Thought it was just me. I saw the “silent” version yesterday. And later went back for some reason and realized there were words! I figured that somehow I had just spaced out while looking at it and hadn’t seen the words.
So, how on earth does that happen?
nonegiven on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:32 am #
I felt kind of the same way when they canceled my favorite show, then they canceled, one at a time, most of the shows I was following. I watch way less network TV now. Too much reality, anyway, that’s what I watch TV to avoid.
Ellen on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:38 am #
Speaking of baseball, has anyone noticed that our Razorbacks are in the College World Series? If you don’t have ties to any of the other teams, we’d appreciate your cheering them on! (It’s a big deal in this neck of the woods.)
fan in japan on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:40 am #
Good morning, all.
I found it interesting that Mr. Johnson expressed surprise that there were two versions of yesterday’s daily strip. I liked both versions, actually. I thought the artwork in the first version was great, and the dialog in the second version provided insight into Arlo’s thoughts.
On a different note, Arlo would not enjoy sailing a schooner in the waters around my home right now. We had a rather nasty typhoon blow through here on the other night.
Neal in Bahstawn on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:43 am #
Personally speaking, I’m with Blinky: the graphics told a fascinating story, observed by anyone who has ever spent time by a pier. What does it all mean?
Bonnie from Gloucester MA on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:51 am #
Coming late to this discussion. Interesting how everyone has a different take on the silent strip. When I saw it in the Boston Globe, I noticed that there were no boats at the dock in the background. I assumed that A & J had taken it out for a spin. Maybe even purchased it already! I also liked somebody’s speculation from yesterday’s blog – that the strip was artistic filler while Jimmy (and Arlo) figured out what to do next. Jimmy is more of a genius than he knows! A closeted existentialist maybe?
Bob, near Mark on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:02 am #
Mindy,
Since it’s on a boat, the suspense of the ongoing series should be driving you up the “bulkhead”.
phil in Missoula, MT on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:21 am #
I’ve been to one MLB game in my life…the LAstros…for a departmental ‘team building’ exercise some years ago when money was there for stuff like that. If I were going to go to a baseball (or football for that matter) game, I’d go to a high school event. Much more entertaining.
billinbossier on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:22 am #
I know your frustration in major league baseball. I almost, but did not, sulk for a long time at the end of the last college football season, when the ‘National Champion’ not only did not win their conference, but came in third. They say they are going to fix that, but we will see.
Dave in MA on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:25 am #
billinbossier,
Isn’t that what they call it when they declare someone a winner that isn’t the real winner? “Fixing it?”
Jerry in Fl on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:35 am #
It seems that days I’m here it stays quiet and days I’m away there wil be 75 postings. I read what I’ve missed and think of extremely clever things to say but, by the time I reach the end I’ve forotten what I was going to say. Probably for the best. According to the internet McDonalds has the lowest score in a customer service survey. I guess that they didn’t survey the seagulls. Actually, for the gulls, it’s all selfservice and they love the fries in the parking lot. I guess that’s why I stopped going to McDonalds. When I get home I have to wash the fries off of my car. Good to hear from Japan. That makes me wonder. How many other countries have access to A & J? A couple of days ago the local mullet wrapper had a picture on the front page of a lady with a caption that described her job. Unfortunately they left an “s” out of “assess” and spellcheck didn’t catch it because it still spelled a word. Up next-surprising news about robots.
Mindy on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:41 am #
An extra ration of flog for Bob, near Mark.
Mindy on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:41 am #
Sorry, I forgot the
to indicate I’m just jesting. And with that, I’m gone for the day, see y’all on Friday.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:03 am #
I happen to love baseball. I figure that it is all business. If I were to think of it as business, then it takes the enjoyment out of the game. I do not attend many games due to the cost. Like most sports, you can see more of the game on TV. But I have been following the Tigers through thick and thin since I moved to Michigan. I enjoy the fact there is not a clock. That is probably why many people cannot stand to watch it.
I think the one sport where you can see the action better in person might be basketball. Growing up in Indiana, I LOVED the sport. I still root for my Boilermakers, but frankly since Michael Jordan and the “Fab Five” came on the scene, I try not to watch much. For me, they ruined the game. Of course I watched the Pistons in 2004 & 2005 actually win without a Superstar, which was the exception, but the game does not really follow the same rules as it did “back in the day”. Just my opinion.
sandcastler on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:27 am #
Found a hole in the internet hell called Central Europe, see JJ is still playing out the boat plot. See y’all about the July fourth date.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:35 am #
I love baseball and go to about a dozen professional games a year in addition to checking in on the games every evening. But what I really enjoy is the bonding time with my kids. Win or lose, each night’s game gives us something to share and enjoy (or bemoan). Going to the game is even better; there’s nothing like sitting under a summer’s night sky and passing on my memories of the game (and life) in the leisurely environment of a baseball game.
Baseball is as much about the traditions as it is about what happens on the field. Passing on those traditions to our children and remembering them with our parents binds us even closer to one another.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:51 am #
JJ:
Glad that you put that note in there. I understand how you feel as that is about how I feel about basketball now.
So did you put two versions of yesterday’s strip on purpose or did your syndicate do a boo-boo? I happened to like the dialog, but without it, it made the artwork stand out.
Boise Ed on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:53 am #
Yeah, what JJ just said. I love the game, but I’ve soured on MLB. Somewhere around 1990, Ricky Henderson was the highest-paid player at $3 million. Around June, someone else got a $3.2 million contract. About two weeks later, there was Ricky, whining “I don’t get paid enough.” My response was F.U. all, and I started going to minor-league games.
And as for the price of tickets these days, go listen to http://www.npr.org/2012/06/21/155483886/mets-have-sweltering-hot-ticket-promotion
Mark in TTown on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:57 am #
Maybe Gus is looking for a partner? Or two?
Ray on 21 Jun 2012 at 12:00 pm #
I saw the wordless version on gocomics.com yesterday, good thing you mentioned it or I wouldn’t have gone back to look at the corrected one.
Bob, near Mark on 21 Jun 2012 at 12:05 pm #
Mindy,
Remember that “flog” is “golf” spelled backwards.
And, since you’ve left the building until tomorrow, as Alfred Hitchcock used to say, “Good evening.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 21 Jun 2012 at 12:56 pm #
Mindy, Mindy, Mindy.
Norm in Utah on 21 Jun 2012 at 12:57 pm #
Bob near Mark –
Remember what Mark Twain said: Golf is a good walk ruined.
Dave in MA on 21 Jun 2012 at 1:05 pm #
For those that have the stomach for some cussing, you should go to youtube and do a search for Robin Williams routines related to golf. He does a routine in a Scottish accent about the creation of the game and the various rules and obstacles and such.
Quite funny.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 21 Jun 2012 at 3:36 pm #
Phil: I’m one up; I’ve been to two, because it was a double header. Maybe I’ve mentioned this here before. Summer of ’53, most likely, at Ebbet’s Field [Ebbets?]. Dodgers were playing another NL team [Philly?], and won both games. Roy Campanella hit homers in both, I think. Interest was mainly my wife’s, handed down from her father. He lost interest when dem Bums left Brooklyn, and I never had much interest in spectator sports anyway.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 21 Jun 2012 at 3:38 pm #
Maybe having Arlo a dependable diesel customer is Gus’s motive. Arlo shouldn’t buy the boat.
Mindy from Indy on 21 Jun 2012 at 4:00 pm #
@Dave in MA
Thanks for the Robin Williams tip. I love vintage Williams.
And apparently, Mindy must have meant the *other* Thursday this week for her story.
Mary in Ohio on 21 Jun 2012 at 5:33 pm #
I watch very little network TV – but I have Extra Innings and XM Radio and revel in baseball.
And “my” Golden Flashes gave a good accounting of themselves at the CWS, but were eliminated today.Go Razorbacks!
Jim Abbott and Barry Larkin! Wow! How great! 1994 was also the first year in decades the Indians didn’t stink. And, speaking of Jim Abbott, the Indians also have the distinction of being the only team no-hit by a one-armed man! Which kind of sums up the experience of most of us long-time Tribe fans!
3 hyphenated words in one post will probably land me in the moderation pit.
Ghost Rider 6 on 21 Jun 2012 at 5:36 pm #
There once was a Lady named Mindy,
Who hails from somewhere in Indy.
Her bosses were distressed
By the way she was dressed,
But I think she prob’ly looked quite trendy.
Ellen on 21 Jun 2012 at 6:07 pm #
Mary in Ohio
Thanks for cheering for the Razorbacks! Sorry your team was eliminated, but at least they got there in the first place. That in itself is an honor not to be overlooked.
Ellen
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 21 Jun 2012 at 6:30 pm #
Jimmy:
I have forsworn all professional sports, along with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hiring Meyer for approximately four million was the final straw.
I might still attend a few Ohio Bobcats games, but I will neither watch nor attend any Buckeyes games.
bruce on 21 Jun 2012 at 7:03 pm #
Bah, MLB bears little resemblance to reality. The business of paying $60 for a ticket and $7 for a beer so some .265 hitting outfielder can make $10 million per year is ludicrous. It is still, however, the best game in existence, where only the pitcher is directly opposed to the hitter, and everyone else plays against the game. And the only game at all where the offense has the ball. Little League, College, any portion of baseball is wonderful. Please don’t confuse the game itself with the money-grubbers at MLB.
Susan in NC on 21 Jun 2012 at 7:18 pm #
Well that explains it, I could have sworn I didn’t see words this morning and then this afternoon I happened to look at it again and there were words! I couldn’t believe I had missed seeing the words. I think I liked the silent version better.
Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 21 Jun 2012 at 7:46 pm #
Whatever sport you like, the non-professional versions are usually better, plus you get the chance to support local kids. As for basketball, the women’s game is more like the men’s game that most of us knew as kids – it’s still a team sport (even at the WNBA level), despite the media’s efforts to glorify individuals.
Mindy from Indy on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:32 pm #
@Ghost Rider 6 – Bravo! The Lady is pleased. However, trendy has never been my thing. Eccentric is more like it. For a few years, I dyed my hair every color imaginable. Fluorescent yellow was my personal favorite.
Mark in TTown on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:51 pm #
Mindy from Indy, the rainbow hair puts me in mind of Mrs. Slocum, but I’m sure the rest is very different.
Mark in Boston on 21 Jun 2012 at 8:52 pm #
By the way, did anyone notice that Tuesday’s “Doonesbury” was the dirtiest comic the Boston Globe ever printed? B.D. is giving Toggle advice “on the bedroom front”, and what he says in panel 4 gets picked up by Toggle’s phone and relayed to Alex. I won’t repeat it.
Mike near Naperville on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:16 pm #
Mark in Boston, take a closer look at panel 3. Toggle isn’t calling Alex, he’s texting her. And she responds to his call for help in Wednesday’s strip.
Judy in Conroe on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:37 pm #
Here it is Thursday, which, last time I checked, was yet another day. However, it occurred to me while that our dear friend said she would relate a story on Thursday, she did NOT say she would tell it to US. Sigh.
Lost in A**2 on 21 Jun 2012 at 9:49 pm #
For those who didn’t see the boat in yesterday’s strip, may I suggest taking another look, with especial attention to the left border?
Mrs. Slocum. Took a minute, but yes, she had some interesting hair colours.
David in Austin on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:04 pm #
Whoooooo Pig Soouuie!
WHOOOOOOO PIG Soouuie!
WHOOOOOOO PIG SOOOUUIE!
RAZORBACKS!
Dave in NC on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:27 pm #
Mark and Mike: yes, she was reading Toggle’s text …it’s hard to believe how that could have been misinterpretted!!!!
Ghost Rider 6 on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:42 pm #
Yes, Judy, ’tis sad but true. One of our number apparently toyed with our emotions and then did not make us privy to her promised revelation, which would have no doubt been a rollicking tale told in her own inimitable style.
Oh, OK, Lady M. I’ll have to work on a revision. And I doubt you were eccentric, although maybe eclectic. Meanwhile, this fevered imagination is working on how you two-thirds remove a garment. I just can’t get the math to work out, especially for garments worn above the waist.
Galliglo in Ohio on 21 Jun 2012 at 10:56 pm #
Lost in A**2: Have looked at yesterday’s strip again. I don’t know anything about boats, but it looks like the end (bow? stern?) is up out of the water. Can that be correct?
Ghost Rider 6 on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:02 pm #
And, David in Austin? No offense, but I think my limerick scanned better than yours.
Lost in A**2 on 21 Jun 2012 at 11:39 pm #
Yes, that is correct. That is why “waterline length” and “length overall” are different: overhang.
NK in AZ on 22 Jun 2012 at 12:21 am #
I don’t have anything against the Razorbacks–yet. But they lost tonight, and my Arizona Wildcats won this afternoon, so we’re in the finals and either Arkansas or South Carolina still has to get there. Just sayin’–GO CATS!
CW in 617 on 22 Jun 2012 at 1:47 am #
Jeff in Ann Arbor, Mary in Ohio -
Like many baseball fans, I had not heard of Jim Abbott until he hit the majors, when it became immediately clear that he was not just a Pete Gray type fill-in. A friend who followed the game more closely than I explained that in college, he was able to swing a mean bat. To this day, I couldn’t explain how he could field a grounder, transfer the ball from his glove to his hand, and make the throw.
As I recall, he spent most of his pro career in the AL, and so didn’t hit.
He has always impressed me as a really classy guy, and I hope Jeff’s son learned to be an admirer.
Mindy from Indy on 22 Jun 2012 at 5:46 am #
Ten dollars?! Sold!
And yes, 2/3 is possible Ghost Rider 6
As for eccentric vs. eclectic, perhaps a bit of both.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 22 Jun 2012 at 6:05 am #
I always get a chuckle when someone says they don’t like professional sports because the competitors make too much money and the cost of attending is too high. I wonder if they complain that Tom Cruise gets paid $25 million for a movie or that a restaurant charges $75 for a $15 piece of steak. It’s all just the cost of entertainment. At least at sporting events you are allowed and even expected to publicly voice your disapproval.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 22 Jun 2012 at 7:27 am #
I actually saw Jim Abbott pitch in High School. I was calling on AC Spark Plug in Flint and one of the ladies in Quality Control was telling me about her son who pitched for Flint Central. Her son was a teammate of Jim and I was curious as to how a kid without a right hand could pitch. I found out. VERY well. He also played QB on his high school team too.
Neal in Bahstawn on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:18 am #
I’m with Mindy from Indy. Ten bucks! But is that include sales tax? And what about ‘doc fees’ and ‘dealer prep’?
bruce on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:45 am #
I don’t go to movies, either. Product not worth price charged and abhorrent viewing conditions.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:52 am #
I first heard of Jim Abbott before he went professional; I believe he pitched for the US Olympic baseball team.
Slight correction of a previous commenter: Abbot was not one-armed, just one-handed. Regardless, he was still impressive. As I recall, he would balance his glove under on his right arm, pitch the ball with his left hand and then smoothly slide the glove onto his hand, ready to catch the return throw from the catcher. A few teams tried to take advantage of his handicap by bunting the ball to him, but as Abbott was able to smoothly field and throw out the runner, that strategy was quickly dropped.
Robin in Fl on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:55 am #
Mark in Boston
Wow–the double entendre is pretty wild. I had missed that.
Bonnie from Gloucester MA on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:02 am #
To Lost in A**2: I guess I didn’t see the boat section in the now infamous seagull strip because I didn’t want to. I was thinking that there was an empty boat slip just behind the gulls. The boat in the background must be some “other” boat. Jimmy has always insisted that readers see more in his strips than he intends.
Speaking of the boat – $10 bucks! Jimmy has been playing with us all week. Rascal!
Robin in Fl on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:11 am #
Bonnie
I think even at $10 that will be an expensive purchase. You know the old saying: a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:13 am #
Dock fees were waived, Neal, and, unless the hull is going to suddenly fall away from rot, ten bucks is a deal/steal, and if Arlo doesn’t want it, I’ll take it! Gotta admit, I didn’t quite expect it to turn out this way…but will Arlo actually accept the deal?
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:14 am #
Oh, sorry, Ghost & Company. I was away yesterday so the story for yet another day had to wait through no fault of my own although I’m happy to say that Mindy from Indy got trapped into taking up the slack which was great with me! Thanks, Mindy!
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:19 am #
I think we’ve learned not to second guess JJ. How many us saw that coming? I sure didn’t.
By the way, those gulls are either Herring or Ring-Billed gulls. At this scale, you wouldn’t expect to see the distinctive bill markings. Both occur on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Birders generally avoid “seagull”. Many gulls mostly favor fresh water and some are essentially land birds who nest near water, the local Franklin’s Gulls of western MN, for instance.
Neal in Bahstawn on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:55 am #
Mindy, I wrote ‘doc’ as in documentation fees; a standard dealership ploy to jack up their profit. But it was all in fun. As Robin points out, the purchase price of a boat is just the starting point for expenses.
Dave in NC on 22 Jun 2012 at 10:08 am #
Arlo’s being put into a corner … he can have his dream boat ( well, his second one after Janis ) for nothing. Now it’s time to take the plunge or stop the dream.
Jeff in Ann Arbor on 22 Jun 2012 at 11:29 am #
CW in 617 – Yes, my son did appreciate Jim Abbott’s qualities. Three or four years later, we were in Boston and got tickets to a Red Sox – Yankees game. Jim wasn’t pitching that evening, so we sent a note back to the Yankee’s locker room before the game, and he came out and visited with us for a while. Class.
Blinky – Jim didn’t but his glove under his arm – it would have fallen out on his windup or stretch. Instead, he set the glove on the wrist (stump) of his arm, fingers pointing down, then as he came down hard off the mound, he seamlessly slid his hand into the glove and was ready to field, almost before the pitch reached the batter. It was an athletic thing of beauty.
He didn’t bat very often or perhaps at all at UM as the NCAA has a designated hitter.
Burns on 22 Jun 2012 at 12:11 pm #
My first thought on today’s trip was that it is a real view inside Gus: He’s not good at saying things but this is his way of saying “I want you to be my daughter’s in-laws”.
Karla on 22 Jun 2012 at 12:13 pm #
Yeah – I’m finally not too late to contribute to a conversation! I also feel professional baseball is overrated, not just for the money aspect but for the utter boredom. They’re too good! My 7r old son was just in his first attempt at softball and if the majors were 1/2 as exciting I’d pay full price! Balls just dropping onto the field with three kids looking at it, and THEN running for it. Kids catching the ball and then not knowing what to do with it. And my favorite, the few times the kids were really working together and would actually get someone out!! However, I doubt dear son will sign up again because it “cuts into my play time” and “we just sit around waiting for someone to hit the ball”. Yeah, he’s a daisy picker!
Jerry in Fl on 22 Jun 2012 at 12:20 pm #
As promised-robots. Acording to the History channel the US Army has 4,000 robots which can forage for certain plants and turn them into energy to keep themselves running. Sounds like eating to me! Questions-what do they look like and what else can they do? I think that I remember Jim from the college world series. As a pro didn’t he pitch a no-hitter?
phil in Missoula, MT on 22 Jun 2012 at 12:32 pm #
Karla;
My son started playing soccer at 5 or 6 and we called it ‘bunch-ball’. You can imagine a bunch of 5 yearold kids gathered around a ball, kick-kick-kicking away it. Occassionally the ball would squirt out and the bunch would take off after it. It was hysterical. Afterwards, they would come running off the field yelling, “Did we win? did we win? Can I have a treat?”
Mindy from Indy on 22 Jun 2012 at 3:11 pm #
I figured Gus would low-ball the price, but ten bucks? Wow! Gus knew what he was doing though; He made sure Janis would fall in live with the boat do Arlo *has* to buy it. Smart man.
Mindy – you are most welcome.
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 3:25 pm #
Mindy from Indy, I had a really great reason for missing Thursday and leaving you to hold the bag, so to speak. But what are nom de jumeaux for if not to help each each other out? [I really do hope I got that right! I'm not at all gifted at most things French!]
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 3:25 pm #
Ooooooooooooooookay. Did I really leave myself open that time or that?
Mindy from Indy on 22 Jun 2012 at 3:40 pm #
Mindy – I wasn’t going to say anything. Although I believe you’ve sent some imaginations afire again.
Bob, near Mark on 22 Jun 2012 at 3:44 pm #
What, Mindy, French fries or French toast?
Mary in Ohio on 22 Jun 2012 at 4:31 pm #
I stand corrected on Jim Abbott. But my “one-armed” comment was still true to the spirit of the Indians’ fortunes more often than not (*sigh*). Abbott always seemed like a class act, and I’m glad to have it confirmed by everyday people who knew him. What’s he doing now? Coaching somewhere, I hope.
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 5:56 pm #
Ah, gee, I’m constantly leaving myself wide open like that. Gentlemen, and Mindy from Indy will agree, I’m sure, would quietly ignore the faux pas. Right?
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 Jun 2012 at 6:01 pm #
Sure, Mindy, I’m sure I won’t give it another thought.
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 Jun 2012 at 6:10 pm #
Lady Mindy: I tried to revise “trendy” out of the limerick, but I didn’t like how it came out. Also the best ones seem to feature the word “Nantucket” and I wasn’t sure that that would be well received by you. So I decided to use a different form…
Lady Mindy risen
blaze of yellow fluorescence
she rivals the sun
Mindy: Sorry you had to be away yesterday. Otherwise you might also have had a haiku written just for you.
Bob, near Mark on 22 Jun 2012 at 6:29 pm #
Mindy, you can’t expect to slip an innocent faux pas past folks… without someone noticing.
NK in AZ on 22 Jun 2012 at 7:27 pm #
Frome his bio page on the Net: Jim Abbott was born September 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan without a right hand. He was an All-America hurler at Michigan; won the Sullivan Award in 1987; was the pitcher for the Gold Medal Olympic Team in 1988; and threw a 4-0 no-hitter for the New York Yankees versus Cleveland (September 4, 1993). Jim played for 10 seasons on 4 different teams and ended his big league playing career in 1999.
Abbott has worked with The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) on several initiatives encouraging businesses to hire people with disabilities.
Today, in addition to often being a Guest Pitching Instructor during Spring Training for the Los Angeles Angels, Jim Abbott is a motivational speaker.
Mindy on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:28 pm #
Okay, with all this baseball conversation, before I go to bed, let me ask this: Who’s on First?
John in Virginia on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:32 pm #
Say goodnight, Mindy.
Russell Way Out There on 22 Jun 2012 at 8:40 pm #
Gus is a hardcore sentimentalist. For a gruff, business as usual sort of guy — and in the food service business, if he’s a success, he has to be! — the man has a soft spot. I don’t think he’s trying to “buy” Arlo and Janis’ friendship, nor is he trying to “buy” his daughter a husband and a stepfather for his granddaughter. I think he’s one of your basically nice people who wants to take care of his extended family, actual and potential. After all, Gene did a heck of a lot of work on that schooner!
As for baseball, I love to watch kids playing and having fun. But I begin to loose faith in it as it gets into the upper levels of high school — I’ve seen too many coaches, perfect examples of those-who-can-do-teach {but not all of them!} — try to be Billy Martin. {I can’t think of a single other baseball coach except Lasorda which shows how I keep up.} And college ball, in ALL areas, is nothing more than pro ball farm teams. Then you get into the pros. By then it’s ceased to be a sport and it’s mutated into a corporate carnivore. I begin to think the only true sports now involve auto racing and I’m not even a NASCAR fan since it’s so commercialized. Where else could Danika Patrick be such a celebrity and show show little overall? Even Formula 1 has lost its appeal.
Okay, enough rant. Feel free to stone me or burn me at the stake. At least I haven’t commented on politics!
Ben on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:07 pm #
I’m a newcomer to this blog but definitely not to Arlo & Janis, leading the pack in my Top Five cartoon picks. I’ve watched this blog in the shadows for a long time now and the reason I’m “coming out,” I guess you could say, is simply to congratulate Jimmy Johnson on his splendid work and his loyal and avid readers who converge here daily. Someone said not long ago that this page is basically the home of a family. That’s definitely true and, Jimmy, it says a lot about you and your work to earn such loyalty from such a diverse group of people who actually seem to self-police themselves to avoid vulgarity or abuse of any sort. If my backyard was big enough I’d invite all of you over for a beer and charcoal grilling party.
Robin in Fl on 22 Jun 2012 at 9:52 pm #
Ben
I’ll say welcome even though this isn’t my site, but welcome to the online party. And, you could invite us over a few at a time!
Jerry in Fl on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:34 am #
Good morning Robin. Keep an eye on the weather reports this weekend. Why are airline fares going up when fuel is falling like a rock?
Jerry in Fl on 23 Jun 2012 at 6:06 am #
If your forecast map shows a color that you are not familiar with along the Florida coast, the coastal areas of all of Florida are under a rip current warning today. Didn’t turn on the sprinklers this morning. Plenty of rain this weekend especially tomorrow.
sandcastler on 23 Jun 2012 at 6:58 am #
Mindy, not from Indy, the French comment has left me wishing I was hom. My wife studied French and made good grades.
Spent part of Saturday morning in a Solvakian hospital, be glad you
Live in the USA. BTW, TISFAD
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 9:37 am #
I know, sandcastler, you’re an international diamond smuggler and you missed your connection on the Orient Express to Marakesh after which six rogue agents of the former KBD chased you all the way to Budapest where, in a running gun battle, you “neutralized” three and barely escaped only to be followed by the remainder all the way to Bosnia where you dispatched all of the remaining heavies but, in so doing, sustained painful but non-critical injuries and were questioned but not detained by the police who were really members of the Russian Federation’s FSB and SVR, the entities into which the KGB morphed following Gorbachev’s break-up of that agency for it’s part in the unsuccessful coup that left Boris Yeltsin in the international spotlight as a leader rather than as a drunken minor politician and mayor or Moscow.
Whew! That’s a rather long sentence.
Did I cover it adequately?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 23 Jun 2012 at 9:54 am #
“its”.
John in Virginia on 23 Jun 2012 at 9:54 am #
No more coffee for you, Mindy. That was actually a short sentence for her, this early in the day and after 93 cups of coffee, give or take.
Robin in Fl on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:15 am #
Jerry
The weather guessers said it would rain heavily here. Then that it wouldn’t. Then that it would. They are saying there is a high probability of prognostication all weekend.
We still have standing water from the last storm because the water table is so high. I think I will move my car to the highest part of the property–that way it will be bright and sunny all week.
TruckerRon on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:39 am #
I’ve not been a fan of any team sports for several years now. It’s not a question of interest, it’s one of blood pressure! I’m one who gets too emotionally involved.
Jerry in Fl: I have heard that the problem with airlines and fuel prices is that they contract for the fuel many months, if not years, in advance. It allows them to smooth out the prices in the long term, but they’re not as free as we individuals are to take advantage of price drops… but they’re not as affected by price increases. It makes the price of doing business more predictable.
Here in Utah we’ve been plagued by wildfires, most of which have been sparked by idiots “target shooting.” Here’s a report on the biggest one in terms of people evacuated from their homes:
http://bit.ly/KDTHN1
Russell Way Out There on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:30 am #
Either Emeritus didn’t like Mindy’s evaluation of sandcastler’s situation or he’s picking nits. I think she left out the part about the ravishingly beautiful auburn-haired, green-eyed beauty from the Mossad whose mission paralleled sandcastler. Her mission required that she eliminate sandcastler if he got in the way but she ended up falling in lust with him and cried when he declined to spend the summer with her at Montego Bay. My apologies for editorializing, Mindy. Just tweaking and fine tuning.
Bob, near Mark on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:54 am #
Yup, it’s its.
Now if we could only find someone in an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polkadot bik…
Oh Janis!
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:24 pm #
I had an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polkadot etc. when I was in high school, Bob. Bought it with my own savings. Dad saw it and refused to let me wear it.
sandcastler on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:34 pm #
Mindy,
Like your storyline, tis better than the actual story. Betting your tales would be better with European express drunk at a sidewalk cafe.
sandcastler on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:35 pm #
Expresso, had helos overhead that distracted me.
Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:44 pm #
sandcastler: Were they black?
Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:51 pm #
Well, Mindy, it’s not the promised tale of the wet T-shirt , but your story of how you wanted to wear an itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini has warned my imagination enough for it to produce you your own haiku…
other Mindy posts
blaze of teeny bikini
parlez-vous français?
Mark in TTown on 23 Jun 2012 at 12:52 pm #
Mindy, What’s on second. Who’s pitching?
sandcastler on 23 Jun 2012 at 1:07 pm #
GR6, no black ones.
On fourth floor of a former military barracks with a view of an airfield. Purpose of trip is sitting on an abandoned taxiway, 12 MIG-21′s. We are attempting to acquire salvave rights on them.
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 1:30 pm #
I’m not nearly as adept speaking French as I am cooking French, which I generally don’t like, but in other areas French I excel. Thank you for the haiku. I’ve never been the recipient of that before. John once created a dirty limerick and then an off color poem, however…
Tom in Glendora, CA on 23 Jun 2012 at 2:03 pm #
Mindy – Who’s on First….yes he is.
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 2:10 pm #
What, Tom?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 23 Jun 2012 at 2:44 pm #
Russell: Why apologize for editorializing? I do it all the time.
Mindy: That was a wonderful example of a long sentence but, as Bob confirmed, that “it’s” should have been “its”. [See Strunk and White, p. 1, Elementary Rules of Usage 1.] I am a volunteer copy editor for two different outfits. The secular one does not make as much use of that talent as it should. [I also do a regularly scheduled task for them, which I often find most rewarding.]
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 23 Jun 2012 at 3:10 pm #
Mindy What is on second. According to this link. JJ is at Shortstop.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/humor4.shtml
NK in AZ on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:15 pm #
Thank you all for the it’s its editorializing! That’s one of my major soap-boxes, along with your you’re and others of that ilk.
Bob, near Mark on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:30 pm #
NK in AZ,
Their, they’re, now. Calm down.
Mindy from Indy on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:31 pm #
Two poems about me! I’m so flattered. Thank you Ghost Rider 6. [I was going to continue that thought, but it wouldn't have come out right. More fuel, so to speak.
]
Mindy! Don’t blow sandcastler’s cover! Which begs the question, how do you prefer your martinis, sandcastler?
Bob, near Mark on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:33 pm #
NK in AZ,
One of my favorites is seeing a time period such as the 1960s abbreviated as the 60′s, rather than as the ’60s.
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 5:57 pm #
Mindy from Indy, it’s okay. ["It's" as in "It is," a contraction, Emeritus.] Sandcastler is changing professions as I understand it. He plans on being a wild and wooly surfer. Now all we have to do is convince him that the surf is no good at all in Needles, Arizona. [How's that for preserving is "legend," which is what all those secret agent men call their cover stories?]
Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Jun 2012 at 7:12 pm #
sandcastler: A dozen Fishbeds? Really? Cool. Gonna beat some swords into plowshares?
Mindy: You’re welcome. Care to share the limerick? You could redact as necessary (if that would leave anything to share.)
Lady Mindy: I’m flattered that you are flattered. And since I subscribe to the theory “the more fuel the better,” feel free to continue any thoughts you may have.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 23 Jun 2012 at 7:44 pm #
Bob nr Mark: Unfortunately, the New York Times does that. Beats me why. The New Yorker doesn’t. Then again, the New Yorker is where E.B. White worked, and where he published the article about his ’20s Cornell English prof., Willy Strunk, which in turn led to Macmillan’s publication of Strunk and White in ’59, and the end of any financial worries White may have had.
The final it’s/its example on p. 1 of Strunk and White is, “It’s a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.”
Mark in Boston on 23 Jun 2012 at 8:15 pm #
Why do airlines keep raising prices as the price of fuel goes down? For the same reason that dogs…
Because they can.
Just like credit cards still charge 18% to 25% interest even as savings accounts pay 0.25%.
Tom in Southern Ohio on 23 Jun 2012 at 8:28 pm #
I have found Bob the Angry Flower’s “Quick Guide to the Apostrophe, You Idiots” to be helpful. You can find it here: http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
Cheers,
Tom
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 23 Jun 2012 at 8:51 pm #
I try to be more understanding with folks’ spelling and puncuation, although people who write Loose when they mean lose (I plan to loose weight) and when people misspell my last name does drive me crazy.
However I have received email, Christmas letters and sympathy notes from folks that have terrible English skills but who have the warmest hearts. I guess that I thank the Lord that I was able to pay my way through college and have reasonable writing skills. However I am sure that I sometimes drive people crazy. The bottom line is the content of the message and not necessarily the proper structure.
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 9:23 pm #
Steve from Royal Oak, Mi, re “loose” in lieu of “lose,” there exists a woman we know who, trying to be polite, is about three sandwiches short of a picnic, who recently under liposuction to remove quite a few pounds of unwanted fat. That, in itself, is no big deal and something I’d not even mention…except that she told everyone, repeatedly and at every opportunity, that she was going to undergo the procedure to “loose” said fatty materials. When tactfully advised of the misuse of the word [not by me, so it's safe to presume that it was, indeed, tactful] she got rather indignant and declared that the tissue would be sucked loose [no naughty comments, boys!], ergo sum, the word “loose” was definitely correct and accurate. So there are times when the spelling is correct. No?
Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:24 pm #
At work, I often have to deal with people whose logical systems are very short on consistency, validity, soundness, and completeness. Although frustrating, I have to admit it can occasionally, as in Mindy’s example, be amusing.
What naughty comment, Mindy?
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:26 pm #
Mindy- No. “Loose” is an adjective, not a verb. The correct parallel statement might have said the woman was planning to “release” some unwanted fat, odd at that sounds.
It’s (right?) also highly unlikely that the Orient Express would go to Marrakesh, if my memory of geography is correct. Marrakesh is in extreme NW Africa, while the express went from central Europe (Berlin??) towards Istanbul/Constantinople in Asia Minor, as it used to be called.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:27 pm #
“as”
TruckerRon on 23 Jun 2012 at 10:51 pm #
curmudgeonly ex-professor:
Mindy- No. “Loose” is an adjective, not a verb.
Actually one online dictionary also lists it as a verb:
verb (used with object)
20. to let loose; free from bonds or restraint.
21. to release, as from constraint, obligation, or penalty.
22. Chiefly Nautical . to set free from fastening or attachment: to loose a boat from its moorings.
23. to unfasten, undo, or untie, as a bond, fetter, or knot.
24. to shoot; discharge; let fly: to loose missiles at the invaders.
verb (used without object)
27. to let go a hold.
28. to hoist anchor; get under way.
29. to shoot or let fly an arrow, bullet, etc. (often followed by off ): to loose off at a flock of ducks.
30. Obsolete . to become loose; loosen.
Mindy on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:01 pm #
Never mind. Apparently the satire was lost in the translation.
CW in 617 on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:29 pm #
Anyone else remember when the Smothers Brothers did the bit “And You’d Better Untangle Your Mind”?
Pat Paulsen was getting a tattoo, and the skin artist went overboard with the vowels and made it “BORN TOO LOOSE”.
Is there any term, the equivalent of “typo,” for misspelling a tattoo?
While we’re here, see Strunk & White, page 36, for inclusion of punctuation in a quote. I think I got it right tonight.
Lost in A**2 on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:44 pm #
(I’d decided that using the Orient Express to get to Marrakech was imaginative enough to let pass. Although I did check its location.
phil in Missoula, MT on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:51 pm #
CW — It’s tatoops.
Mark in TTown on 23 Jun 2012 at 11:55 pm #
Wir fahr’n, fahr’n, fahr’n auf der Autobahn. No connection, just like the music to this song. Pardon the spelling if incorrect, blame my hearing.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 24 Jun 2012 at 1:23 am #
Trucker- Thanks for the information. I suspect the usages mentioned are a result of then-incorrect common speech – but that’s how languages change, eh?
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 3:15 am #
Robin, I stayed up to watch the weather, one of my many bad habits. I don’t see how we can avoid rain tomorrow in NWFL, with increasing wind from the SE. Those who get paid for this stuff are saying that Debbie will go to Texas, unless it doesn’t, in which case it will go east, back across the peninsula, a term for Florida which I find increasingly appropriate.
sandcastler on 24 Jun 2012 at 4:12 am #
Glad to see Luddie show up, was worried he had been left alone at home. Sure he will love living aboard the schooner and being a dock cat.
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:35 am #
Jimmy:
MLB: I remember a similar line in “A Bronx Tale,” except that the neighborhood gangster was speaking of the Yankees.
If you haven’t seen that movie, you might like it.
Lost in A**2 on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:55 am #
I just love to pick nits.
Curmudgeon, that “common usage” was CORRECT, not incorrect. And still is. Yes, language changes, but not always from “correct” to “incorrect” or vice versa. Consider “effect” and “affect.” Both are verbs, “To effect a change,” and “To affect a change,” for example. I can use “effect” as a noun: “The effect of Debbie concerns many,” (to remain on topic.
) Right off hand, I can’t come up with a sentence that uses “affect” as a noun.
“I” and “me” are a pair that are used ‘incorrectly,’ often. “He gave the boat to my wife and I,” for example. If the lady weren’t involved, he would have given the boat to me.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:07 am #
Mindy, I understood the satire. I too realize that loose is a verb as in “The lady with the liposuction had many of her brain cells loosened to believe lose is the same as loosened”
CW, I watched the Smothers Brothers all of the time and sort of remember that image, but frankly probably had never seen anyone mispell the word “lose” at that point in my life. It is the internet and social media where I have seen more misspellings & punctuation errors.
Mark in TTown: Your post reminded me of the commercial where everyone gives their own rendition of “Rocket Man” Sometimes the lyrics that people come up with can be hilarious.
Finally a couple years ago I was waiting at the Washington Monument, waiting to go up and had a tremendous view view of the Lincoln Memorial. Two ladies were sitting next to me reminiscing of how beautiful it must have been to watch Obama being inaugarated on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. As they kept going on, I just shook my head and put it in my hands, not wanting to make eye contact.
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 9:02 am #
The ceremony was done at the Capitol building, of course, but it was an honest mistake for someone probably not from the DC area, especially since Lincoln was receiving special recognition at the time.
sandcastler on 24 Jun 2012 at 9:11 am #
GR6, watched flight kadets learning to fly gliders today. Always amazing how many air forces takes the low cost approach to initial flight training. To best of my knowledge, sure will be corrected if in error, only USAFA has a glider flight program. Off to Bratsilava in the morning for four days of meet and greet, followed by two days R&R in Vienna before flying home.
TruckerRon on 24 Jun 2012 at 10:41 am #
Lost in A**2, you mentioned my pet peeve: people confusing whether to use “I” or “me” when in conjunction with another noun or pronoun. It should be obvious that when you can substitute “us” that “me” is the right choice, but too many people slept through the grammar sessions in their English courses. The only thing that penetrated their naps was the idea that you list yourself last.
John in Virginia on 24 Jun 2012 at 10:48 am #
lie, lay, laid…lay, lay, lied, laid again, etc.
John in Virginia on 24 Jun 2012 at 10:54 am #
Or…wake, woke, waken, woken, waked, awakened, wack, wacked, whacked and whoopie? Whose grammar is perfect? And who’s is a paragon of linguistic divinity?
Bob, near Mark on 24 Jun 2012 at 12:01 pm #
sandcastler,
Wave to my daughter if you fly over Bavaria. Her husband is a US Army flight instructor/inspector in the UASSD (Aviation Safety and Standardization Detachment).
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 12:27 pm #
I lead a lead sinker to the water. I led my family home. The weather depends on whether or not the storm comes this way. The one that I frankly am never sure about is where puctuation goes after parenthesis. Sometimes quotations can be tricky too. Also right and correctly I have no problem with, but a lot of people do. Also again I am not sure if there is a rule about the comma in the previus sentence. One rule I ignore along with just about everyone is that a preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.
Mindy from Indy on 24 Jun 2012 at 1:47 pm #
Poor Luddie is having a bad day. That is a bird with a death-wish.
Ghost Rider 6 on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:02 pm #
sandcastler: Interesting. Take care and enjoy Vienna.
John: Testing the Moderation software, are we?
Mindy: Since every single other thing in your essay (I mean, sentence) was 100% correct and based on true facts (I know, I know), I, personally, am giving you a pass on the geographical issue. (You realize all this might have been avoided had you used all that creativity on your wet T-shirt story.)
Ghost Rider 6 on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:04 pm #
Hi, Lady Mindy.
BTW, what color is your hair today?
Lost in A**2 on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:16 pm #
(My grammar is inspired, but probably not divinely.
)
Mindy from Indy on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:37 pm #
@Jerry in Fl
In American English, the puncutation goes inside the quotes, most of the time. In British English, they go on the outside. (I pretend I’m British when doing quotes, the American way looks doofy.) It does go on the outside if the whole sentence is a question and not just the quote. Does anyone have a copy of “Who is on First”? vs. Mindy asked, “who is on first?” (at least that’s what I remember. The one that I struggle with is the comma placement in this one -> “Where is Ludwig?,” Arlo asked Janis. (I think that is right, but I’m not sure.) The whole “preposition at the end of a sentence” bit is hogwash. The who came up with that said it sounded better, but it wasn’t a hard and fast rule (he is also responsible for that “no split infinitive” silliness too). Those were carved in stone later.
I put prepositions at the end of sentences and will cheerfully split infinitives as often as I can, just because.
@Ghost Rider 6 Auburn. I really want to add some “extra” color, but my boss isn’t keen on the idea. I might add some color around the fourth and be “patriotic.”
Larry Sheldon on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:39 pm #
I remember an ex-Scrub Jay and “Squeekie”.
Day after day after day, every time Squeeie head for one of his sunny spots, that bird would hit him repeatedly. He walked the long way around the yard , hugging the fence behind the shrubs, but eventually, he would have to cone out in the open….
One day, I guess, he decided “enough!” and on the second or third strafeing run, Squeeky had the bird timed and at the right moment stood up on his hind legs and turned and Jerry Riced that bird against his chest with his fore-legs…..
My father did not fare so well–there was a blackbird that would sit on the peak of the gable of the house in front of ours and hit my father’s poor bald head every day as Dad came down the walk….
Mindy from Indy on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:43 pm #
Apparently, I also lose [or is it loose?
] parentesis and capital letters on occasion as well. Sigh. Darn technology.
I also have a friend whose sister is convinced hysterical and delirious are synonyms. She doesn’t understand why I call her Bucky Katt.
Bob on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:49 pm #
Jerry – that preposition “rule” has been debunked. It isn’t considered a real rule any more.
Mindy on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:49 pm #
Ghost, Mindy from Indy covered the “wet T-shirt” story so it wasn’t necessary for me to present mine. That would have been duplication of effort even though the stories were fundamentally different. [Notice how adroitly I avoided the use of "loose" or "lose" there!]
Judy in Conroe on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:50 pm #
Jerry in FL – I certainly hope that Debbie makes it all the way to Texas and we get some rain from it. Looks as though the northern Gulf Coast is going to get it, and most predictions show it going inland around New Orleans. Hope that doesn’t mean bad news for my kids, who live in the area.
As for grammar, I’ve done my share of proofreading so also get a jolt when I see mistakes emblazoned on billboards, etc. Back in 2000 it was particularly sad to see millennium with only one “n” displayed frequently.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 24 Jun 2012 at 2:57 pm #
Mindy from Indy:
“Those were carved in stone later.” Very good. Often one encounters the mixed metaphors, “cast in stone” or “carved in concrete”.
BTW, that last ” in my last sentence above some would insist always goes after the period/full stop. Increasingly, the usage is to see what it does grammatically. If a full sentence is being quoted, then it goes after the period. If it’s a quoted word inside the quoter’s sentence, it goes before the period.
Robin in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 3:14 pm #
Lost
Affect is a perfectly good noun: from wiki.answers.com
“Affect” as a noun is used in psychology to mean emotion or an emotional response. For example: “She had a happy affect.”
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Affect_as_a_noun#ixzz1ykAdthwl
“Spokesperson Affect” was the basis of my dissertation!
Mindy on 24 Jun 2012 at 4:17 pm #
Gee, emeritus, the way you used ” in the first sentence, paragraph two, begs the question: Should that quotation mark have been used, as is, as simply “, or, since it’s being cited as an example, should it not have, more properly, been shown as “”" or a quotation mark within quotation marks? What a weekend. Sundresses, polka dot bikinis, wet T-shirts and English 101. At least the poetry and Haiku fit into the latter, no? I won’t get into the matter of who or whom fits into the preceding three.
Mindy from Indy on 24 Jun 2012 at 4:27 pm #
@emeritus Minnesota biologist My grandma is legendary for her mixed and original metaphors. A couple family favorite originals are “sounds like a herd of turtles” [translation - lots of noise, but not getting anywhere too quickly.], “So thick, you can’t cut butter.” [trans - can't see, ex. Foggy night], and my personal favorite “Bundled up like horses**t.” [trans - well dressed for the cold.] I am half convinced Betty White met my grandma at some point and created Rose from that meeting.
Ghost Rider 6 on 24 Jun 2012 at 5:12 pm #
Lady Mindy: Auburn (and I’m sure Jimmy would agree) is nice. Just how “extra” would the additional color be? Since you mentioned the upcoming national holiday, I can only imagine red, white and blue.
Although a malapropism rather than a mixed metaphor, this is still a classic: A friend, relating how she had been awakened in the middle of the night by a loud noise, stated, “I sat deadbolt upright in bed.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 24 Jun 2012 at 5:30 pm #
Mindy: I suppose we might as well put your wet T-shirt story to bed, so to speak. However, I feel obligated to warn you that failure to provide details regarding the incident merits declaration of a CIA (Combustible Imagination Alert).
Along those lines, I consider a weekend that includes sundresses, bikinis and wet T-shirts to be a good weekend.
CW in 617 on 24 Jun 2012 at 6:20 pm #
Like others here, I have spent a part of my career checking grammar and punctuation. Even Strunk and White acknowledge that sometimes, the correct grammar just doesn’t cut it, a classic example being “Woe is I”.
Getting the prepositions to behave is often not worth the trouble. My favotie example is Shakespeare’s Sonnet LXXIII, which contains the line “Consum’d with that which it was nourished by.”
When I’m in a real nerdy mood, I add the claim that the prime-numbered sonnets are the best.
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 6:47 pm #
You mean I wasn’t breaking a rule? Oh well, I tried. Two of my favorites-Throw on the breaks and lay down on the horn. NHS now admits they don’t know where the storm is going. They’re pretty sure at the moment that it won’t turn west. Currently it isn’t raining, winds gusty 20-25 mph and temps unusually cool in the ow to mid 70′s.
Lost in A**2 on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:07 pm #
I had a feeling ‘affect’ could be used as a noun, I just couldn’t come up with a sentence.
Bob, near Mark on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:24 pm #
CW in 617,
Another classic example where correct grammar doesn’t cut it is Pogo’s statement, “We have met the enemy and they is us.”
For fans of malapropism, mixed metaphors, etc., there are the supposed statements of the Reverend William Archibald Spooner.
Yogi Berra also comes to mind – “I never said half the things I said” or something like that.
TruckerRon on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:27 pm #
If we’re going to talk about punctuation, we ought to consider this:
A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.
‘Why?’ asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
‘Well, I’m a panda,’ he says, at the door. ‘Look it up.’
The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. ‘Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.’
TruckerRon on 24 Jun 2012 at 7:29 pm #
We often speak of our patients’ “affect” at the state psychiatric hospital. We worry about those with flat affects… as in catatonic schizophrenia.
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:07 pm #
Thank goodness for keyboards. They won’t let us have sharp objects.
Jerry in Fl on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:09 pm #
BTW, it should have been brakes.
Mindy from Indy on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:22 pm #
TruckerRon I have the book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves.” It’s all about proper grammar. It even comes with punctuation stickers so you can correct signs and annoy people who hate having their grammar corrected. I highly recomend it. It’s quite funny. I forget the name of the British lady who wrote it, but she does address the American/British differences. Yes. I am a nerd. That book is only one of many I have on grammar and writing. The Chicago Manual of Style doubles as a great doorstop too.
Speaking of people not liking their grammar corrected, anyone ever notice how proud some people are about their bad grammar? How is ineffective communication something to be proud of?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:41 pm #
Mindy: When I type it here, the two ‘ in ” are just vertical lines, not curved either way. Maybe “quotes” around words behave differently. Let’s see.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:42 pm #
Now we know; the moderator did it.
Mindy on 24 Jun 2012 at 8:53 pm #
Mindy in Indy, I had a professor in college, Speech 101, who handed out one Great Rule that I have taken to heart and always remembered as it applied to journalists as well as public speakers. What the dear man said was, “Always speak [write] on the level of the person or persons to whom you are trying to impart a message.”
Jim from NC on 24 Jun 2012 at 9:06 pm #
Jerry in Fl. My best friend lives in Tarpon Springs and he had water up his driveway this afternoon. Fortunately, his house sits about 3 feet above the street level.
Galliglo in Ohio on 24 Jun 2012 at 9:36 pm #
My son lives in Spring Hill, not far from Tarpon Springs. Just got a message from him about an hour ago, saying that 10″ of rain was dumped. Fortunately, all is OK with he and his family, but a lot of people are going to be hurting. My prayers for all.
Mark in Boston on 24 Jun 2012 at 10:14 pm #
We are very sorry that Mrs. Harrison is unable to be here with us today. She is ill and has been in bed with the doctor all this week.
Really, you are all very unkind to laugh at this. She is having a terrible time!
She is at death’s door and the doctor is trying to pull her through.
John on 24 Jun 2012 at 11:34 pm #
Mark in Boston? Do I laugh like a maniac? Or do I offer sincere condolences? I’m glad Mindy hasn’t seen this…she’d be paralyzed! And I hate it when she’s like that….
Jerry in Fl on 25 Jun 2012 at 1:25 am #
No rain here yet, but the NHS is sure that it will rain a lot, somewhere, eventually. If this area should get a lot of rain over a short period, say two days, it will be river city as there is still water high from a few days ago. I probably shouldn’t mention the string of earthquakes from Memphis down the west side of the Mississippi. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Lost in A**2 on 25 Jun 2012 at 6:03 am #
As one of my co-workers wrote on the white board:
“Let’s eat Grampa!”
“Let’s eat, Grampa!”
Punctuation. It saves lives!
John in Richmond Texas on 25 Jun 2012 at 7:48 am #
I remember the Electric Company (the show for kids older than Sesame Street) showing what happens when there’s no punctuation and so you add your own — Private property ? No. Fishing allowed.
Dave in NC on 25 Jun 2012 at 7:53 am #
getting back to the comic strip for a moment …. anyone else wondering why Arlo is acting more angry at fulfilling his dream than one would expect?
Meryl A on 25 Jun 2012 at 11:19 pm #
Our local 19th century restoration had a lot of fun with the baseball strike. They took the opportunity to push their 19th century baseball leagues ( 2 different decades of 19th century) as the only baseball being played. Even their ribbons at the (tri) county fair featured one of their period players. It was enough of a push that they still have active leagues. These are guys playing by period rules in period clothes. They had to set up a second field for them to use a couple of years back. (So we now do our 18th century reenactment encampment with a wooden backstop, which we pretend and refer to as a wall of a nearby building.