Wednesday, March 27, 2013

They are those little lines that use their influence...To help a sentence make more sense!


Good Day Everyone!  Yet another fabulously snowy gray day in Wisconsin.  I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing of Spring in everyone else’s back yard though.  I am simply pea-green with envy.  (Snarl.)

 Lovely bloggers!  Please check your gravatars and make sure there is within them a direct link to your blog.  As of late I have had many wonderful new followers sign on but whenst (?) upon clicking your avatar to go and visit your own fabulous blog, I get a dead end or merely links to the blogs that you follow.  I believe it would just take a trip to your Google profile (or similar ilk) and affixing your blog address under "links”.  Caveat:  The blog link will sometimes work when you leave comments, but not when you are listed as followers.  Anyway, since it is all about networking I thought I would bring it up.  Does anyone else have comments or similar experiences with this?
Okay.  That was tres boring, but I’ve been meaning to bring it up forever, but didn’t because of its tedious nature.

 I know I have waxed and warbled quite a bit about the established pedentry as of late (see:  On Word Count and Other Matters and Debbie Downer and the Dreaded Don'ts ) however, when it comes to punctuation, I shall conform and sign on with zeal. 
 

“Eats, Shoots and Leaves” by Lynne Truss is a fabulous read and a joyful romp into the land of punctuation and its misuse at the hands of the uninformed multitudes.  (Of which I must admit to being a previous soldier in the ranks, though an unwitting one.  The worst kind of soldier!)
I struggle with punctuation quite a bit while writing, especially dialogue. I love the colon and semi-colon, and the much-used, beloved dash.   I have long wished to use them with grace and aplomb but have never sought help.  I try them out, but then—unsure, change everything around so I only have to use the period.  And those grammar and punctuation websites are so…yawn.  Stretch.  Where was I?  Oh, yes—cookies! (You get the picture.)

My overuse of the comma has been shameful to the point of gluttony.  The little buggers are like potato chips.  Why have just one when a whole bag is SO much more gratifying?  Why indeed!  Don’t even get me started on the ellipsis…

With chapters entitled “The Tractable Apostrophe”, “That’ll Do, Comma”  and “Cutting a Dash” this book delivers the goods
in an amusing, entertaining way and will have you guffawing out loud and finding grammatical errors everywhere you look. 
If you get through the preface and find beating in your heart a newfound zeal to master the art of punctuation, this book is for you. (And it  does make one feel so good to know one is perfecting an art so few care to learn—like hurling.  (The kind with a broom. And ice.)
Its’ never too late to learn something new.  (I did that on purpose.)

 Please do check out the new offering by our lovely blogmate Hart Johnson.  I look forward to the read and best of luck to you, Hart! 

The Begonia Bribe: 2nd in the Garden Society Cozy Mystery series by Alyse Carlson (aka: Hart Johnson).
                                                                                     
Roanoke, Virginia, is home to some of the country’s most exquisite gardens, and it’s Camellia Harris’s job to promote them. But when a pint-sized beauty contest comes to town, someone decides to deliver a final judgment … A beauty pageant for little girls—the Little Miss Begonia Pageant—has decided to hold their event in a Roanoke park. Camellia is called in to help deal with the botanical details, the cute contestants, and their catty mothers. She soon realizes that the drama onstage is nothing compared to the judges row. There’s jealousy, betrayal, and a love triangle involving local newsman —and known lothario—Telly Stevens. And a mysterious saboteur is trying to stop the pageant from happening at all.  But the drama turns deadly when Stevens is found dead, poisoned by some sort of plant. With a full flowerbed of potential suspects, Cam needs to dig through the evidence to uproot a killer with a deadly green thumb.         

   I’ll close with an observation:  Has anyone noticed the new sandwich McDonalds is touting on their billboards everywhere?  The McWrap.  Seriously?  Say it with me people. 
"Mick-Crap."   Guess who was absent from the boardroom THAT day?

And what does one sandwich in between those two buns?
 ~Just Jill

(Extra points for anyone who can tell me where the title of my blog came from...)

 

 

 

24 comments:

  1. I love comparing commas to potato chips. And I need a grammar book that will actually help me learn grammar. I've studied and studied but it never sticks. So thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. I hope you enjoy the read! THanks for stopping by Sara.
      ~Just Jill

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  2. Excited for Hart!
    And yes, it's frustrating when the icon doesn't link to a blog.

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    1. Hi Cap'n!
      Thanks for popping by and a big "Woot" for Hart!
      ~Just Jill

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  3. Hi Jill. I go back and forth. Too many commas...too little, and it's so easy to add one more. Love the potato chip comparison.
    I've also noticed avatars (even comments) are sometimes hard to follow. I hope I'm not one of them. Please let me know if I am!! I plan to follow you in the the a-z. http://shells-tales-sails.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi Sharon,
      Thanks for stopping by and no--your gravatar is not an offender. It takes me to your profile page and then on to your blog. Yay.
      ~Just Jill

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  4. What is more annoying than to be in a place that 'blocks' bloggers, seeing a perfectly enjoyable post, and being unable (a) to read it, and (b) to respond to it? I love Truss' first book. Not keen on the second. But she does have a delicious way of putting things! Thank you for an enjoyable, smile-making (and handy) post!

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    1. Of course you have read it, Dear. I shouldn't wonder. What is her second book, pray tell? (I must Google.) And I must visit your blog! I have, as of late, been buried up to my arse in the home-stretch of "Gia".
      Thanks for your sparkling presence Diana. Always a welcome sight.
      ~Just Jill

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  5. Commas do instill quite a pause in my soul...but... I am more of an ellipses-tortured girl.

    The only way to say McWrap is to roll those R's avoiding the McCrap issue. It's probably only pronounced correctly in Scotland.

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  6. High-larious. I think they put haggis in those wrrraps.
    ~Just Jill

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  7. I feel such guilt when I can't find a link to follow someone back! With some who don't have their blog listed in their profile, they must leave a comment or there is no way to find them.

    And I still haven't picked up that Eats, Shoots, and Leaves book, but I've heard it's great. Commas matter, as do titles. McWrap = Mc Crap. LOL.

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    1. Hey there! I can relate to the guilt! I also can relate to taking far too long trying to track down someone's blog! (They are all worth it, of course!)
      Always nice to hear from you,
      ~Just Jill

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  8. I used to accuse my students of using a comma sprinkler when they were done with their writing, just to be sure there were enough commas. Where they were placed seemed to have no rhyme or reason and there were far too many. But maybe that's what editors are for.

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    1. Oh! Is THAT what editors are for...
      (I knew there had to be a reason.)
      Thanks for stopping by Rosi. Your blog is awesome and I enjoyed it today.
      ~Just Jill

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  9. I must confess. I'm slightly addicted to ellipses. But they're SUCH delightful little tools...

    Just for you, I added a link to my icon. (Gravatar? Um, whatever ya call it.)

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  10. Commas and potato chips are a classic combination! Very clever! I too am addicted to punctuation and even wrote about it for one of my A to Z posts! Jill, I tried coming here a few times, and for some reason my comments wouldn't take. I even wrote about how much I liked Justified which is based on an Elmore Leonard story, but I didn't agree with his writing tips ( Debbie Downer).
    Sorry, I haven't seen you in a while.

    Julie

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    1. Thanks for the persistence Julie. I have no idea why your comments wouldn't take except that this is BLOGGER and rife with problems. (Oops. I apologize mighty blog-gods...)
      Nice to hear from you!
      ~Just Jill

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  11. Thanks so much for your day-brightening comment on my blog and for featuring it as your Blog du Jour.

    I also thank you for having a Google+ profile that links to your delightful blog--love all the great paintings. I second the plea to people to please put your blog link in your profile--whether you used Google+ or Gravatar. It's also good to list an email address. When you leave a comment on a blog, it should be like leaving a business card. Sometimes a commenter says something great and I want to interview them or invite them to guest blog. I can't do that if I can't find you!

    The "nut tree" nursery rhyme has always been one of my favorites. It full of such joy and a glorious sense of abundance.

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  12. Oh, man... I so share your comma fetish! And THANK YOU for sharing Begonia Bribe!!! I just added you to my list of sharers!!!

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    1. You are SO welcome. Lovely to have you here.
      ~Just Jill

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  13. I too have struggled to locate a few people's blogs, especially this month while I'm doing the Blogging from A to Z challenge.

    I bet I'd blush with guilt while reading that punctuation book. I'm guilty of so many things- I use periods a lot like this....and I'm also a dash-aholic.

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    1. O.E. Rolvaag only used elipsis...and when I was young and impressionable I thought it was cool to only use them too...
      Guess what my writing instructor had to say...
      ~Just Jill

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  14. Hi, I have heard so much about Eats, Shoots and Leaves, that I really must get it. I have a real problem with commas, among other punctuation problems.

    I have also had the experience you opened this post with. Often I want to click on a follower's avatar and go straight to their blog, but sometimes I go to a dead end instead.

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  15. Oh yeah, this makes me really frustrated. I'm really serious about visiting back, but sometimes, I have to give up because I just can't find the blog I'm looking for.

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Please use your words and comment freely! We really should meet!