Bloggy MacBloggerton

I take grammar and words pretty seriously, both because of it's importance in accurately communicating idea and because it is interesting. I am always gratified to se articles like this one about semicolons at the New York Times. Even if it has as bad a pun as this:

One of the school system’s most notorious graduates, David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer who taunted police and the press with rambling handwritten notes, was, as the columnist Jimmy Breslin wrote, the only murderer he ever encountered who could wield a semicolon just as well as a revolver. (Mr. Berkowitz, by the way, is now serving an even longer sentence.)

At any rate, I have always loved the semicolon. It is one of the most useful bits of punctuation and I am glad to see it get some loving.

Wikipedia, as usual, has some interesting info on the semicolon.

If John McCain and Barack Obama are the candidates in the presidential election, the people will have already won, as the beginning of the end for both the major parties will have begun. The two parties are what are the problem with politics, not the candidates, the 50% of America that voted (or not) for some idiot, or the ridiculous hypocritical views espoused by either side. Those are merely symptoms of the bi-partite cancer of politics.

McCain and Obama are harbingers of the end, as they are both popular for much the reason: they are seen as not being partisan and are embraced not by the lunatic fringe, but by the middle on both sides. If people self identified as Republican, Democrat, or independent were split into actual parties, the split is pretty even, 40% identify as Democrat, 30% as Republican, and the remaining 30% as independent. I say that is good in the long run. Anyone know of a running history of percentage share of parties? That would be interesting.

I just found out about National Punctuation Day and plane to celebrate this year. Not sure how yet, but something will make itself apparent.

I found out about National Punctuation Day through an email forwarded to me by my sister, alerting me to the fact that "Punctuation Man breaks with Associated Press, endorses serial comma". I have always been a strong proponent of the serial comma and dislike the ambiguity of sentences that don't use it. The serial comma has been dealt harsh blows by people seemingly unfamiliar with syntax and it's purpose in grammar.

William F. Buckley died yesterday. His views were at the least entertaining and more often thought provoking. His manner of arguing them like a block alum in the maw of his adversary. The Times' obituary was a bit short on facts but contained many nice anecdotes, running three pages.