Alas, Farewell...!
I guess I should just pack it in, and end my blog. It turns out, that I, a humble middle-aged housewife, with a love of comics, and a warped sense of humor, has perpetrated the ultimate offense.
I have no grasp of grammar. Also, I can't spell.
Well, actually, I CAN spell, but I'm not very good at proofreading, and I only recently discovered the "edit" function, plus I'm usually in a hurry because I think faster than I can type...and oh, what the hell.
According to "Anonymous" from my entry of "FINALLY!" on January 30th, I have a stupid title for my blog. Green Lantern Butt's Forever is not good english. Which is probably quite true, but in my defense, I was slightly toasted when I came up with it, and teenagers were involved. But I really don't feel like taking out the apostrophe. Up until this point in my life, I hadn't really even THOUGHT that much about that errant little apostrophe. It was just there. I had other things to worry about, such as bonking Hal in the head, and ogling Kyle's rear end, not to mention lusting after Guy. An apostrophe in my title did not loom large in my mind.
Apparently, "forever" is also not a noun. I don't really care, but that seems to be bothering Mr. Anonymous as well. I don't know if Mr. Anonymous actually has a blog, but if he or she does, then I'm sure that the title is in perfect english. Without dangling participles, or...or stuff. But I'm probably overreacting.
But this is exactly how I feel.
But let us examine all of our blog titles, and see if they actually make sense or not. Because, otherwise, Mr. Anonymous will be there to tell us.
Blah.
Oh, and Steelers won! Woohoo!
posted by SallyP @ 8:35 AM
42 Comments:
DON'T YOU DARE GO ANYWHERE!
You're my most favorite Green Lantern blog on Earth!!!
Really, there's NOWHERE I rather go to check and share my love for the Green Lantern community than here.
So, forget about Analnonymous and keep bringing joy to the world!
It's ok, Nerites, I'm not really going anywhere, I'm just feeling really really cranky, and needed to vent a bit.
I was just at snopes.com reading about a town in England banning all apostrophes from signs.
Apostophes, the next hot button topic!
Y'know, I've been a book editor for nearly twenty years. I used to be overly picky about typos and such in signs, newspaper articles, etc., etc., because I thought that's how I was SUPPOSED to behave. However, I got over it VERY quickly after observing a few things:
1. No matter how much they try, NO ONE can edit their own stuff consistently and with 100% accuracy. NO ONE.
2. One of the beauties of the English language (specifically American English, because it is the consummate melting-pot language) is that it is CONSTANTLY changing. What is a rule one day will not necessarily be a rule another day.
3. If editors refused to release any writing until it was absolutely, 100% accurate, NOTHING WOULD EVER GET PUBLISHED.
4. People who pick on other people for typographical and grammatical errors clearly lead incredibly boring lives -- otherwise, they would find something more constructive and useful to do.
;-)
Oh, and one more, very important rule about editing:
NEVER BOTHER WITH EDITING SOMEONE ELSE'S WRITING UNLESS YOU'RE GONNA GET PAID TO DO SO!!!!!
;-)
Sea, have I mentioned lately, that I love you?
I remember thinking that your title, apostrophe and all, referred to Green Lantern's butt owning FOREVER! Which was kinda cool.
Now, I tend to read it as the contraction: Green Lantern Butt IS FOREVER! Which is even cooler.
Either way.. don't change it. It's quite endearing.
Don't let the grammar nazis silence you.First they'll come for our apostophes and then they'll try to take our power rings and from there the rest of our freedoms will follow.
I love you, too, sweetie.
Now, let's GO DRINK BEER.
Well I'm glad that you are just letting off steam. Frankly Sally you are the reason why I'm a blogger today. When I first started to look around the blogoverse I saw your column and I realized that a blog doesn't have to be a trite diary like recitation of my woes, but that rather it can be about anything. Also it's meant a lot to me that no matter the state of my blogging (or non bloggin for a while there) you have always been there reading my stuff even when well it may have not really been worth reading. Thank you for your support and for being such a fun presence on the web. Oh and GO STEELERS! *g*
I have to admit that that apostrophe has always bothered me just a little, but I figured that (a) that's my anal retentive problem, not yours; (b) I don't know you well enough to correct you and not feel like a jerk; and (c) your blog is just too enjoyable to let an apostrophe keep me away. Now that FoldedSoup has explained the true meaning of the apostrophe, that Green Lantern Butt IS Forever, I am just that much more in love with your blog.
Cheers!
On a completely unrelated note, have you heard that not only Guy Gardner and Sinestro will star in an upcoming episode of Brave and the Bold, but also Gnort?! Perhaps a post dedicated to Gnort's butt is in order.
We have an edit function? Really?
I'm not being sarcastic, I honestly didn't know myself and have commited the exact same sins about a thousand times. Not that I care. Plus, you're so much fun I couldn't care less.
And as for apostrophes (or "apo'strophe's") as they're more correctly spelt, only one person has authority over such things (at least in England):
Sir D'Anville O'Medarlin, the Apostropher Royal.
I'd noticed that before but thought it was negligible... Besides who was to say you hadn't meant "Green Lantern Butt IS Forever"? Possibly as in "Forever Yours"...
Okay now reading again I realize that had already been said, but the point remains valid.
You should have done this post Flowers for Algernon style, y'know, like the chapter where he first learns about commas so he just puts them all over the place. Only with apostrophes.
People who hide behind the Anonymous moniker are usually cowards who it's not worth listening to. (Was that sentence bad grammar? Possibly. Who cares?)
Forever isn't a noun? Really? Isn't it like a concept or something? Doesn't that make it a noun? I mean, it IS a thing.
I've actually never even noticed that apostrophe.
Sounds to me like this person is way too sensitive about grammer to even be using the internet. I mean, what's he/she going to do when they get to the comments sections on YouTube? His/her head will probably explode.
I suppose that I overreacted, and should have just let it go, but really, this anonymous person just wouldn't let it GO!
I did not know that there was a Royal Apostropher, and I am enchanted.
Beer and apostrophes for everyone!
Sheesh. I thought the comments by Anonymous were childish.
I always thought your title meant Green Lantern Butt is Forever. I never knew exactly what you meant by that, but it did make the title stick in my mind and make it easy to remember you as the GL fanatic whose blog always entertains me.
So keep posting, keep the title, and forget about Anonymous, okay?
Nerites, You should have written "DON'T YOU DARE GO NO WHERES!!"
Proper grammar will you in this world farther.
English should have been capitalized...
(I should probably duck now...)
I hate when the "grammar nazi" label gets thrown around, because I guess I am secretly one of those people. I have a hard time taking the words of others seriously if they don't care enough about what they say and how they say it to at least attempt to make it coherent.
But hey, I know I'm not perfect, either. Typos happen, mistakes are easy to make and even easier to miss when you're editing yourself, and there are lots of grammar rules that are obscure or difficult to understand. That's why I never call people out on it. It's just not polite! If it's only a few small errors, I ignore them and keep reading. If it's really bad, I just quietly skip the offending post/story and move on to something else. No fuss, no ruffled feathers.
Your posts are always perfectly coherent and I never really notice any errors. That's why it was particularly mean and spiteful to pick on you over one little thing like that! Anonymous was probably just a troll.
And "Green Lantern Butt's (or Butts) Forever" is the best blog name EVER. Don't ever change it.
(Also, on a random note, I'm reading Fables now because of you. Thank God for trades -- otherwise I'd never get caught up on what's happening!)
Baal, don't make me come over there and smack you around.
It really is hard to self-edit, I've gone back and re-read things that I've written and just cringed, and I imagine that we have all done the same. I've noticed that somehow, it is easier to spot a misspelled word when somebody ELSE does it.
I do however, know how to spell misspelled. HaHAH!
Duskdog, isn't Fables good? As you say, thank God for Trades.
Who cares?
Seriously, you love comics, you have interesting topics, an original name, and a fun tone.
Who cares what some anonymous person says?
Keep going.
'Twas in th' year 6539 when Ahss, Green Lantern o' Sector 8055, was murder'd by th' internat'l supervillain known as Grammar Nazi. 'Pon th' ol' space cop's demise, 'is ring went out in search of a 'nother. O'er far 'n' wide th' ring flew, at last findin' a lonely maitre 'd servin' hors d'oeuvres in a far 'way Hawai'ian bed-'n'-breakfast. "'N brightest day, 'n blackest night, no evil'll escape m'sight. Let those who worship evil's might, 'ware m'power, Green Lantern's light!" spoke th' new 'un, an' he took off 'n search o' 'is enemy. At last, whils't 'twixt th' planets 'round a blacken'ed sun on All Saints' e'en, th' spankin'-new Lantern smack't his foe 'pon th' 'ead, an' Grammar Nazi fell 'fore 'is 'vengeance. "'O, yon' n'er-do-well," dids't th' hero speak, "you p'rhaps think'd you'd win th' day, 'n' 'twas a close 'un. But, y'know, you may've ended Green Lantern Ahss, but Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!"
Oh, and G'nort. '-)
BTW, my word verfication was "coning," which I hereby declare the official participle descibing the act of writing apostrophed words. "What are you doing?" "I'm coning my words." "Oh, well, don't let your mother see you doing that."
My current word verification is "corpoxe," which I hereby declare the official verb describing the result of coning words. "I spent three hours coning words, and now my head is totally corpoxed." "Oh, well, definitely don't let your mother see you doing that."
Don't let the Grammar Nazi get YOU all corpoxed, Sally!
I've always thought your errant apostrophe was cute. :-)
I must admit that when I notice grammar problems I tend to gnash my teeth and groan, but not for blogs. Blogs are different, they're democratic, for everyone and shouldn't be held up to exact Queen's English standards. Part of the fun of them is that they are colloquial.
Until recently I've been reading your blog title as Green Lantern's Butt Forever, which would indicate my appalling level of observation.
And I agree with everyone else, it is impossible to proofread and accurately edit your own writing, even if you use the spellchecker option. Especially if you use the spellchecker and it doesn't recognise 'doesn't' or English spelling.
And your comebacks on anonymous' comments win :-)
(Is that the correct use of an apostrophe?)
Even as a man with an English BA, I realize that every time somebody forces someone to obey the rules of grammar on the Interwebs, a LOLCat dies. True story.
Also, to hell with Anonymous. You are far too awesome to be bound by the pedantic rules of grammar. Additionally, it's entirely possible that you are declaring that a Green Lantern named Butt owns something Forever. So there, nyah.
This'll cheer you up:
http://luchins.com/wwtt/?p=1303
I'm glad you're not really signing off, Sal. From where else would we get our fix of Green Lantern Gluteus, Hal Jordan Head Injuries, or Batman Bashings?
Quit!? Like hell you say!...OK, you're not quitting. Lemme calm down for a sec...
I think as grammar and spelling continue to be whittled away by texting and/or ignorance, there's going to be fewer people complaining about anal little mistakes. Conversely, the ones that are still hung up on it, will complain louder.
And personally, I am abusing the hell out of ellipses, so "Anonymous" can lump it.
No, I'm not really quitting. The overly dramatic title, really was just a dig at Valerie over at Occasional Superheroine, who is "quitting" putting up controversial topics for the fifteenth time. And, because I was just feeling damned pissy.
Sorry, occasionally I am not a nice person.
And, I was really really corpoxed. Cove, you're right, that's a fabulous new word. And look...I used two apostrophes AND ellipses!
I'm beginning to think we should all just use insane grammar for the rest of the week, but that would probably be petty.
And thank you all.
Just like to say I love your blog, grammatical or not.I was wondering if you watch Big Bang Theory. I instantly thought of you when I heard where Sheldon hides his spare cash.
Sally, one of the things I've always loved about your blog is that it's definitively YOUR blog. Your personality and writing style always comes through, and it's just fun as hell to read. And if that's why we read comics, why isn't that good enough for blogs?
I've worked as a copy editor for a looooong time, and of course typos are going to jump out. But if you let it get in the way of enjoying a blog you like ... well, that's just sad.
Keep up the good work, Sally! I'm going to go back and purposely put your apostrophe back in my blogroll — Anonymous can choke on it.
Anonymous must be a follower of this blog:
http://www.apostropheabuse.com/
.
Gnort is my favorite. No contest now that Hal's lost his whitewalls.
G'nort IS g'nice!
I must say, I would be displeased if you were to cease your blogging.
You do not wish to displease Doctor Polaris, do you?
Oh, Doctor Polaris...you really know how to compliment a girl!
All this talk of apostrophes reminded me of a word a friend of mine made up: Trying to decide whether a pattern in a piece of carpeting was paisley, a comma, or an apostrophe, she declared it "Paimostrophe!"
It's a good word...let's spread it around! Paimostrophe!
Your blog title is interesting...I am contemplating the use of the apostrophe on the word Butt. Does the FOREVER belong to the Butt of Green Lantern? Oh well...some people are picky.
But (pun intended) besides that I enjoy reading what you write!
Check out this GL butt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samaritanx/2333710359/
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