Writing advice will often tell you that you have to know the formula in order to break it. Nothing makes that rule clearer than comedy does.
As I mentioned last Thursday on National Grammar Day, without an appreciation for the rules of Grammar, we wouldn’t have the basic framework to understand why LOLcats and Oddly Specific signs are funny.
Sometimes the humor isn’t in twisting “the formula”, it’s in exposing it… as in these examples, presented for your viewing and listening pleasure. Enjoy!
* Tribune’s banned words, all in one sentence.
* The definitive Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer. (youtube link. requires sound.)
* The definitive boy band song: Title of the Song by Da Vinci’s Notebook. (requires sound. Yes… as songs often do! *cough*) If you like their music, please consider purchasing it.
(Part of Da Vinci’s Notebook tours these days as Paul and Storm. Insert gratuitous plug here. They’re worth catching, if you get a chance!)
* And The Onion reports: Nation Shudders at Large Block of Text. WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text. (click link for the rest of the story!)
There’s nothing I can say today. Instead, I turn to our friends at I Can Has Cheezburger:
…Yes.
(But it’s still not a crapshoot!)
Click through the image of Tuesday’s comic (above) and continue forward — it seems to be the start of a story arc!
William Shakespeare was baptized April 26, 1564 and died April 23, 1616. Whether you’re celebrating his birth or commemorating his death, this is the Bard’s week.
There are a lot of Shakespeare-inspired gifts out there. Far more than I could spotlight or even list in a single post. They could fill a whole blog by themselves. But, in honor of the Bard, I thought I’d share a few of the wittiest offerings I’ve found:
The Romeo & Julienne cutting board brings a literary touch to your kitchen. It’s available from perpetualkid, from Amazon, and from numerous other shops online.
Two clever applications of Shakespearean quotations are available from the Globe Theatre’s gift shop: an “Out, damned spot!” eraser and a “Hoods make not monks” hoodie.
But you don’t need to travel all the way to the source to find your witty clothing. A search for “Shakespeare” on Cafepress will keep you busily browsing for quite a while.
In the current clever vein, though, the t-shirt proclaiming “And thus I clothe my naked villany” is most deserving of a special mention!
Have a favorite Shakespearean-themed gift? Drop me a line or leave a note in the comments!
It’s just a couple short weeks until the start of Passover (the holiday comes early this year: sundown on Wednesday, April 8th). As you’re beginning your holiday preparation, keep a copy of the guide to kosher imaginary animals nearby.
It’s hard enough to stick to a restricted diet while on a normal vacation, much less when stranded in a mystical ocean or enchanted forest, but Ann VanderMeer, practicing Jew and editor of Weird Tales has contributed her knowledge so that we all might benefit. Small enough to print and store on the shelf with your cookbooks, this guide will soon be a kitchen reference staple!
Just as all scholarly Jewish writings do, this one invites interpretation and further question. Be sure to browse the comments too, to learn when it’s appropriate to wrap bacon around a hobbit.
I don’t usually make two link/image posts in a row, but this time it’s for a special occasion: Valentine’s Day is this weekend.
First of all, since February is Misused Apostrophe Month, let’s set the record straight:
Groundhog Day doesn’t have one.
Valentine’s Day is the day of St. Valentine.
Presidents’ Day is the day of more than one president.
Are we good?
Good. Now, on to business.
While I don’t go out of my way to nitpick the spelling and grammar of my friends and associates, I always appreciate those special, special mishaps that make it into the public domain on posted signs, on product packaging, and on… cakes.
Cake Wrecks has a very special Valentine’s themed post. Ah… sweet, sweet spelling.
I had a serious post in mind for today, but I saw this on icanhascheezburger last night and, well, I think this one speaks for itself.
I never have days like this, either.
Actually, I’m really fortunate right now. All my clients lately have been wonderful, eloquent, and easy to work with. May the trend continue!
I had a lovely holiday with family, and now I’m back in the office looking at the two manuscripts on my desk.
In the spirit of the season, my mother had asked me if I would like one of those “I am the grammarian about whom your mother warned you” shirts. I graciously declined, and pointed her toward my Grammar Vampires post.
However, in the process of browsing related things, I did come across the irritable vowels shirt. (second item on the page)
I never have days like that.
If I were writing an article here every day… well, I’d never get any editing done. But also, I’d probably dedicate one day of the week to humor, snark and sarcasm related to publishing, writing, editing, and finger-pointing at unintentional typos.
As it is, I have the freedom to interject these things as whim and circumstance allow. That means that I can take a break from the advice posts, after long-winded serious offerings like Thursday’s, to present some lighter fare.
The sadly gone-quiet 101 Reasons to Stop Writing is a delightful stress-relief site for those in various corners of the publishing business. They’re not the first to parody the beautiful and inspirational Successories line of motivational posters (Demotivators have existed for years, and may in fact outshine their source material in popularity), but 101 Reasons’ set is particularly notable for its editorial and writerly bent.
For your viewing pleasure, then, Demotivators on editing, writing, and the everpresent slushpile. May they lighten your desktop and your step.
