Home > Rough Draft > Archives > 2008 > September > 24 > Entry
Happy; National, Punctuation. Day!
Newsrooms are one of the last bastions of the geeky grammarians, the wacky wordsmiths, the persnickety punctuators (the loquacious alliterators).
Need proof?
That’s commitment to the lifestyle! That sweet semicolon tat is on the arm of copy editor Cassie. We take our punctuation very, very seriously around here. Debates (read “fights”) regularly break out over when a semicolon, comma or simply breaking into separate sentences would be best.
So today is a special day around here, being National Punctuation Day and all. There will be punctuation mark-shaped sugar cookies and … I don’t know what else. Check out the National Punctuation Day Web site for a quick reference on various punctuation marks, breaking news about the serial comma and even a recipe for the Official Meat Loaf of National Punctuation Day.
Comments
By Lynn
September 24, 2008 3:18 PM | Link to this
Forget all that:;’ Where’s the -cookies gonna be at?
By Joe
September 28, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
With all of this hoopla, it’s a pity that your newspaper isn’t more accurate. I often see factual as well as grammatical errors. Perhaps you should celebrate punctuation every day, instead of just once a year.
By Laurena
September 29, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
I’m reminded of an answer on a high school biology test that still bugs me.
The question was “What is the most effective method of birth control?”
I answered “condoms” from the short list of options. The teacher wanted “abstinence.”
I contended then, and now, that abstinence by definition is sex avoidance and therefore has nothing to do with the biological business of trying to keep from getting pregnant, which requires having sex in the first place.
In short: The only way to avoid making any kind of mistake is to abstain. If you’re engaged in the activity, you’re dealing with mitigation.
We’re involved in the messy but challenging business of language, day in and day out.
Joe, next year we’ll invite you over for cookies.