A prehistoric misspelling

Oh, Copyeditors Needed Now, I hate to tell you this, but somebody on your staff has the brain of a dinosaur.  (I can say this with confidence because I'm guessing dinosaurs couldn't spell very well.)  I'm pretty sure that staff member doesn't have dinosaurs on the brain, though...if they did, they'd surely have spelled Jurassic correctly.

Lord have mercy...

Doesn't anyone at this news organization understand that the largest U.S. nun's organization conjures up a very different picture than, say, the largest U.S. nuns' organization?  The latter--which I think is what they meant to write--refers to a large organization of nuns.  The former refers to the organization that belongs to one enormous nun.  

*sigh*

I'm not a religious girl, but even I'm throwin' out a few prayers, hoping that this news website eventually gets a clue about proper apostrophe usage...

HUMP DAY GRAMMAR for March 13, 2013

I saw this and couldn't resist posting it...  Did you know sperm have tales?  Not tails, but tales...and whirling tales, at that! 

Part of the reason I've been blogging so infrequently is because I've been off writing a tale myself--it's not a whirling tale, but instead a tale of fiction.  I'm sooooooo close to being finished the first draft...  (And then comes revision.  Fun!)

Anyway, just wanted to say a quick hello to those of you who still pop in here from time to time.  Enjoy your Hump Day, everyone!  :)

Red Pen, Inc.--Jailbird Edition

Oh, relax, you sillies!  I'm not in jail.  But tonight I'll be posting about snafus associated with a couple of guys who are in jail.  Like this one:

Ahhh, Charles Manson.  Looked creepy way back when, and got creepier-looking with age.  But I found Helter Skelter, the (very long and very detailed) book about the Manson murders, to be a fascinating read. 

And then there's this guy--less creepy than Mr. Manson, but I can't figure out why anyone cares what he buys at the jail store...

It should be no surprise, considering the homonym error, that this article was written by a Yahoo.  *sigh*

In totally unrelated news, baseball season's started...finally!  Which team are you rooting for this season? 

A Hunger Games homonym horror

Oh, those Yahoos!  They're at it again, and this time they're messin' with Hunger Games headlines.  (Readers, have you read The Hunger Games trilogy?  I just read it a week ago and I highly recommend it.)

Katniss is indeed a heroine, but she's not a heroin.  The author's dystopian world may have kids killing other kids as entertainment, but it does not have teenage girls being drugs (some role model that would be!).  *sigh*

Are you going to see The Hunger Games this weekend?  I'm going to wait a while before I see it (ew, crowded movie theatres!), but in the meantime I did at least pick up a few bottles of the Hunger Games nail polishes...  :)

HUMP DAY GRAMMAR for March 21, 2012

Dear Yahoos:

Do you actually read the shit you write (and notice when a sentence is being cut off), or do you just hit "publish" without giving it a second look?

Never mind.  I think I've answered my own question.  But kudos to you for at least making this FAIL Hump Day-related.  That takes true talent!

Love,

The Grammarphile

Red Pen, Inc. wishes you a sweet Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, dear readers!  I hope you and your loved ones have a super-sweet day.  And speaking of sweet...my very own sweetheart was the one who took this picture (seriously, who the hell doesn't know how to properly spell "sugar"? *sigh*).

To my awesome boyfriend John, you're the perfect Valentine for this little grammar geek.  Thank you for being awesome...and also for sending me this photo!

HUMP DAY GRAMMAR for February 8, 2012

You know what's even worse than screwing up a homonym?  Buying condoms whose brand name is "Billy Boy."  Their name kinda brings to mind banjo music, mullets, backwater towns, and certainly nothing that would put me in a "hump day" sort of mood...

An Alcatraz apostrophe catastrophe

I know that Jorge Garcia is really, really awesome.  He does stand-up comedy in his spare time, seems super-cool in interviews, and even sends autographed pictures to fans. 

However, all that awesomeness is in ONE person, not two.  There is only one Jorge Garcia--well, at least only one on the new show Alcatraz.  But based on this apostrophe usage, you wouldn't know that.  *headdesk*

Moving on, away from the topic of apostrophe aggravation...who else watched the 2-hour premiere of Alcatraz the other night?  I did...and I was hooked from the very beginning.  I can't wait to see more of this show.  If you watched Alcatraz, what did you think?  And for my Lostie friends, was it also strange for you to hear Jorge having a "Duuuuude"-free conversation about some other island (ie Alcatraz) that isn't, you know, the island?  I guess I'm still getting used to the fact that Jorge is not Hurley in every TV show he's in.  :)

For other Jorge/Alcatraz/Lost fans...consider "liking" Sidekick22 on Facebook.  That's Jorge's girlfriend, the writer and one-time Lost extra Bethany Shady, and she's always posting super-cool stuff that fans will enjoy.  For example: the Diego's Soul Patch podcast that she and Jorge do regarding Alcatraz.  Fun stuff!

A glutenous goof-up

I am a gluten-free girl, but luckily I loathe beer, so this hasn't been an issue for me.  (My issue is having to drive past a Philly Pretzel Factory every day on the way home from work and not stopping to get a yummy soft pretzel.  *sigh*  I know if I gave in and ate one, I'd bloat up like I was 8 months preggo--among other, too-TMI-to-mention-here symptoms--and I would really prefer to actually fit into my pants, thankyouverymuch.)

For those of you who don't know much about the gluten-free lifestyle, gluten is also present in barley...which is also present in beer.  Barely doesn't contain any gluten, but barley most certainly does!