<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="/css/feed.xsl"> <feed version="0.3" xml:base="http://diveintomark.org/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns="http://purl.org/atom/ns#" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:lang="en" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"> <dc:title>dive into mark</dc:title> <tagline>the best of all possible worlds</tagline> <dcterms:isFormatOf>/</dcterms:isFormatOf> <link xlink:href="/xml/comments.xml" type="application/atom+xml" rel="comments" title="Recent comments"></link> <dcterms:modified>2004-06-02T19:52:48Z</dcterms:modified> <dc:identifier>tag:diveintomark.org,2001-07-29:/</dc:identifier> <dc:rights>Copyright 2001-2004, Mark Pilgrim, all rights reserved</dc:rights> <generator xlink:href="http://wordpress.org/" version="1.2">WordPress</generator> <entry> <dc:creator>Mark Pilgrim</dc:creator> <dc:title>The apostrophe is the modern day Shibboleth</dc:title> <dc:isFormatOf>http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/06/02/apostrophe</dc:isFormatOf> <dc:identifier>tag:diveintomark.org,2004-06-02:/archives/20040602195248</dc:identifier> <dcterms:issued>2004-06-02T19:52:48Z</dcterms:issued> <dcterms:created>2004-06-02T19:52:48Z</dcterms:created> <dcterms:modified>2004-06-02T19:52:48Z</dcterms:modified> <dc:subject>Writers</dc:subject> <dcterms:abstract>One of the disadvantages of dealing with a copy editor is that I now have a much higher sensitivity to grammatical errors. (202 words)</dcterms:abstract> <dc:description xml:base="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/06/02/apostrophe" type="text/html" mode="escaped"> <p>One of the disadvantages of</p> <ol> <li><a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/05/12/copy-editor">dealing with copy editors</a> and</li> <li>reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592400876/ref%3Dnosim/diveintomark20">Eats, Shoots & Leaves</a></li> </ol> <p>is that I now have a much higher sensitivity and much lower tolerance for grammatical errors. It’s like after you quit smoking, and you realize that all of your friends smell badly. Or when you’re on a diet, and you realize that everyone around you is fat. Or (to end on a positive note) when you’re newly engaged, and suddenly the world around you is a sea of diamond rings.</p> <p>The world around me is a sea of grammatical errors.</p> <p>At the YMCA, this sign sits above the water fountain:</p> <blockquote> <p>REMEMBER NO SPITTING!!!!!</p> <p>IN THE FOUNTAIN, THANK’S!!!!!</p> </blockquote> <p>On the way home from work, there is a handmade sign on the side of the road:</p> <blockquote> <p>Window Tinting</p> <p>Cars $150</p> <p>SUV’s $180</p> </blockquote> <p>At our day care center, one room has this sign in the window:</p> <blockquote> <p>THE TODDLER’S ARE OUTSIDE</p> </blockquote> <p>The <a href="http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/">Apostrophe Protection Society</a> is nice, but it’s so… British. What it needs is a militant wing. Like those culture jammers that go around <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/strip-pix-burn-iraq-009574.php">defacing iPod posters</a>. OK, “culture jammers” probably overstates it.</p> <p>Hey look, <a href="http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Activism/Media/Culture_Jamming/">culture jamming has its own DMOZ category</a>. And its own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming">Wikipedia page</a>. As does <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(mark)">the apostrophe</a>.</p> <p>The apostrophe is the modern day <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/shibboleth.html">Shibboleth</a>.</p> </dc:description> </entry> </feed>