Smacks of Wisdom

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."
Kurt Cobain

Of Grammatology**

For a long while now I've been wanting to do a series of posts on language usage.

While I sit about and try to make space for all the cows (I thought the first rule about this was do not link the OH, but seems like everyone's done it already.This linkage should free up about two steaks for someone else now. I'm magnanimous like that :P), I've got an issue once again with language and English.

Learn from this, see how it works, ask me if you don't get it and I shall re-explain gladly (all confidentiality held). It's not about being a pretentious language buff, it's all about helping people who seem to have no end to embarassing themselves with these basic errors. And yes, getting these grammar rules correct are requirements on the Jedi list (being the precautionary measures set in place, which should be satisfactorily checked off, before one can consider long term bovine investments).

Please do accept this paltry offering in the spirit that it was intended and so that you may de-idiot before typing up things. This is something which works on my nerves, not only because I'm a grammar nazi by profession, but also because I remember learning this in Standard 1 or 2/Grade 3 or 4 (all credits dude to Apartheid's House of Delegates owned thorough-bugger teachers) and I think that it's easy enough to understand and apply. It's quite a shame when otherwise intelligent human beings screw up their text with some of these errors. Errors which are made mostly due to not understanding the basic premise of word classes.

In English, as in all languages, there are word classes. This means that certain words function as a particular type of word or within a particular context.


There's three types of word classes which seem to confuse the hell out of the lesser mortals of the realm.

Prepositions, pronouns, and contractions.

Prepositions: Split the word into two pre -position, before a position, it denotes a place, a position. It is not to be confused with a pronoun. Examples include; Here, there, above, below, inside, outside, underneath. (PLACES)

Pronouns: Split it into two as well and nouns are people, places, things, tangible stuff unless it's an abstract noun. Examples include; his, her, them, their, our. (PEOPLE)

Thus, there is not the same as their. There shows place, their shows ownership.

Conractions are words which are joined and shortened by an apostrophe (an apostrophe which does not show possession). Consider the sentence: Here's his book, he's going to need it. (WORD(USUALLY PREPOSITION OR PRONOUN)+(USUALLY)AUXILLIARY VERB)

He's is a contraction for he is or he has. It's not the same as his which is a pronoun. Common errors include: "his mad" instead of he's mad.


Are we all clear on this one?

Next up: Concorde, Plurals and Apostrophe.

Class dismissed!
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**Bonus points to the reference catcher.

Happy '09

I hate New Year Resolutions, which I make up as I go along and by June I am still compiling them. But one that I will try to do something about this year is this blog.

I purposely missed its birthday this/last year, not for a lack of love but for a total overdose of whatever-ness. This blog started off as a completely anonymous and below the radar room for my ramblings and in many ways still is. Whilst I did not have as much time as I would've liked to spend on it, I have had a good run from it and I do occasionally feel compelled to throw out my two-cents to the universe. (Which occasionally results in the universe sending out imbecilic halfwits to throw their two-cents back into my inbox lol.)

I do think that it's time for a re-vamp (no pun intended)of this screen,but I do not have time to read many blogs or comment and I have been told by blog-addicts that I am linked on various other blogs and I should return favours and such. I do have a link list on the side, if you wish to be added, removed or url changed please drop me a line and fill me in on the relevants. And if anyone's died while I wasn't taking notice and is no longer around, let me know about that too please, kthanxbye.

2008 proved to be an interesting year, some good, some bad, lots of sad. Perspective is: losing an uncle and becoming an aunt in the same week. Life changes, life grows, life dies. We all learned, we all changed.

However, the most OMGAWESTRUCKGAWDWHATDOIDONOW moment of 2008 was when yours truly received this in the post:



(some strategic Paint-jobby editing to protect the innocent, anonymous and inboxes)

(If you ever wanted to know why I take ages to reply to some emails...there's your answer too...)

I have the neatest handwriting writing ever on screen. you should see it on paper lol.

Here's wishing everyone, all that is good for them for 09.

Happy Happy :)

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It's getting hot in here...

You know, there's those people who find it "kewt" to type "kewl" and replace -r's and -l's with w's eg "sowwy" and "hewwo". Now this is just ghei firstly, and secondly, when grown adults do this it works on my nerves (my magnanimous streak does however extend only to people who are around the age of 12-16 who do this because alas, they were not fully alive while the world and the internet was still awesome and not filled with twits), and thirdly, there is absolutely nothing more off putting than (consciously) horrific spelling and grammar.

I got this in an email from a person who brims with awesomeness and smells like teen spirit :P, with the most apt subject line ever (see below):

If you laugh, you're going to hell:

Suffice to say (before you get your panties in a knot and go all moral high ground on me)...I guess you can all queue up behind me?
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Worthy of Emo-ness or Not?

All credits are due to cujo who managed to make me simultaneously want to gag and LOL. But in all seriousness, with my terminal geekiness I was more zOMG and sad than LOL at first. It took me a while to see the funny side of this.

So without further delay, ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present the horror of the week:

Now in case you don't see the horrific part, the bald guy is Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and the other guy is Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) and they're very cosily playing guitars together.

Still don't get it? Skinner's Mulder and Scully's boss and he tries to save them from the duplicios Krycek. And look at Skinner's feet language!! Positively yergggh man. Skinner and Krycek that's not a very attractive couple man :/.

Still don't get it? You really should update yourself on your X Files knowledge.


zOMG this is undefinable, this feeling, it's like warm and fuzzy (cos on the surface it's an awww pic) but at the same time there's this rising bile feeling. Does anyone know if there's a 12-step programme for Chronic Geeks?


The Truth is Out There,
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In Typical qL Fashion:

In honour of three people, who in their own ways each deserve a post of their own, queen_Lestat hereby announces the arrival of some Black Humour. Now I know lots of people will probably get hard-arsed about something like this, but I think we should take a step back and heave a collective LOL at the non-religious elements of the composition presented:




B!, F!, C!...in that order!

*bows head in blasphemous shame*
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Stupid Post

Right, so sue me. I don't do New Year Resolutions, I do online quizzes though. It's equally time wasting as the former. n3rd 4 l1f3! \m/ So here goes, a post, a cheap one at that too, but a post none the less. I have a kind of arrangement with someone that I will throw in a 2c on religion. Look out for that.

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Drama Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Social Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Musician
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

And thanks to Saaleha, I now know that I can spel en do gramerrrrr:



And then the force took over and bandwidth rape became commonplace in the land:



(those are screen shots because blogger wasn't picking up on the coding cut and paste jobby properly)


See, the thing with online quizzes is that they're addictive,and often lol-worthy(though some have appalling grammar and spelling and look like they've been designed by 12 year old 3m0 n008z). But I find that if you didn't know you were going to get a particular answer then you need to lock yourself up in a cupboard and get to know yourself. And now I have zero to say since that. Fare thee well Farmer John.

And for the grand finale...just when you thought life couldn't get better/worse here comes- Happy 08!

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! boredomnesseses
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Why? How? Actually... WHAT?!

I blame The Organ Harvester.

For probably cultivating such a fan base and then laying the smackdown (so to speak) on the powers that be to demand equal rights.

Please, oh please someone tell me how is it possible that the dictionary on my humble, unassuming cellular phone has the word "Pillay" stored by default? But I had to add "phoned" and "phone" in as words.

Noodlew, mageno, intender <- that's what I get when I tried Moodley, Naidoo, and Govender. It was worth a try...right?

I think there might just be one too many charos in I.T.

teh_weirdness
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Patriotism is...

me.

zOMG!

I cannot sleep because I am worrying about the ANC Polokwane conference thing. No, really. Despite my usual insomnia, my eyes cannot close and neither can I stop thinking about the possibilities of the outcome.

zOMG!

I mean what if Zuma wins? Will showering join beetroot and garlic and olive oil and lemon juice in our National First Aid Kit? What if Thabo wins? Will he cling to power and become Mugabe II? Well garlic and lemon juice concoction will still be available on the chronic medication list anyway. *shrivels into foetal position*

zOMG!

Lawdeh, I'm blogging about this *clutches duvet*. Talk about g33k!n355.I don't want to get into the ins and outs and of why we shouldn't panic. Because that would be hypocrisy at it's best. Personally, I think they're both a bit Blaaaaah and I wish we had one of those head to head presidential candidate debates like they do in the States.

zOMG!

I don't know whether the tone of what I am writing here is revealing the SHEER AMOUNT OF PANIC I feel. I think I am mad. Really.

zOMG!

I have this feeling of panic...like I quit smoking, imbibed a litre of coffee-neat and then went to OD on 3ph3dr4**. teh_panic! Consternation is not a good noun...sounds too fuddy duddy to reflect TEH_PANIC!!!

zOMG!

AAAAAAAAAAAAarrrrrrrrggh!!!

zOMG!

I hope it all works out, I need sleep. I can only imagine how Zuma and Thabo feel...I wonder if they have sleepless nights worrying about the state of the country and it's people like I have.

Nkosi Sikele i Afrika...we need it.
*counting sheep*

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**please translate on your own- 3= e and 4=A. Don't need any more spam through Google searches than I already have :)

ph0r g4m3rz

...the bowling game...lol..

To my fellow gamer geeks out there wherever you may be in this world...Enjoy

credits to the devil himself :) for this gem :)

And if you don't get it, well then, you should know I have keine Mitleid für die Mehrheit :)


Auf Wiedersehen
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