some things make me laugh (out loud, sometimes repeatedly)
1) There will always be a CMOS:
In the Chicago Manual of Style Q&A, someone posed this question (more of a challenge, really) about capitalization:
Q. Elsewhere in the Q&A you wrote, “The day I was introduced to the The was the day I learned that irony was finished.” This is just wrong and makes no sense whatsoever. To call The The “the The” is absolutely wrong. Further, The Who should be “The Who.” It’s a proper name, and “the Who” is just wrong. Fix this.
The response, as you can see, was two paragraphs explaining the CMOS rules for capitalizing “the,” followed by one paragraph admitting that, in this specific case, writing “the The” or “the Who” or “the Band” is pretty silly, and, yes, “Our rules are not laws. They are meant to be adjusted for the unusual case or to suit a particular context. And that’s The Truth.”
2) From the New York Times: “I’m working remotely. Can I keep hiding my secret baby?“
Not so much for the question, but for the answer, which still makes me smile.
3) I stumbled on this great advice from Gomez Addams (I was a huge fan of the Addams Family TV show when I was somewhat younger):
“Never go to bed angry or on fire.”
Words to live by.
I also remember a wonderful moment on the show when the family was facing some sort of crisis, and Gomez drew himself up and said, “This is the moment of truth!”
Morticia, his loving wife, simply asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Gomez, somewhat abashed, admitted, “I didn’t think you’d ask.”
Also, for things that don’t make me laugh, here’s a little followup to an earlier post called “It’s Totally Awesome Les Miz Singing Day!“
I just found a rehearsal video of the Les Misérables performance at the Academy Awards. I like the way all the non-superstar performers are busy taking selfies with each other and filming the thing (until the moment comes that they need to sing). And at the end they get the “very good” from Cameron Mackintosh, the producer who first had the idea that a French-language concept album of Les Misérables (by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, who are also present here, along with Tom Hooper, the movie’s director) might work on the stage.
Of course that’s a very compressed and medley-ized version of “One Day More.” Here’s the whole thing.
Add comment May 4th, 2020