Author Topic: New column-type thingy (Read 107629 times)

Brinestone · « **Reply #100 on:** February 05, 2008, 11:44:27 AM »

WHOA!!!!

Farmgirl · « **Reply #101 on:** February 05, 2008, 01:46:49 PM »

Quote

I know! I was pretty excited when I saw that. I wonder how he came across my blog.

Hmm.. Well, if you Google Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, your blog comes up on page 4. So unless he was really digging..

rivka · « **Reply #102 on:** February 05, 2008, 09:39:30 PM »

Pfft. One of his AA's jobs is probably Googling "Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage" and finding interesting new hits.

The real question is whether (s)he compiles the list weekly or daily.

Jonathon · « **Reply #103 on:** February 06, 2008, 07:58:52 AM »

Porter · « **Reply #104 on:** February 06, 2008, 08:00:41 AM »

I had never seen that non-Churchill quote before. That's funny!

Farmgirl · « **Reply #105 on:** February 06, 2008, 08:42:52 AM »

Quote

AA?

Administrative Assistant.

That's what they call a secretary these days.

Jonathon · « **Reply #106 on:** February 06, 2008, 08:48:10 AM »

I know that secretaries are called administrative assistants. I just didn't know that administrative assistants were called AAs.

Porter · « **Reply #107 on:** February 06, 2008, 08:55:36 AM »

It's because they all drink to dull the pain.

Neutros the Radioactive Dragon · « **Reply #108 on:** February 06, 2008, 09:08:48 AM »

Yes.

[rant]And then your boss decides that you do more than just that, and starts refferring to you as "Executive Administrator" when they were just looking for "Executive Secretary", but for some reason that's not very "PC" today.

And, I added those quotes, not for emphasis, but to imply that it's not my idea to use these stupid titles.

Dangit! What's wrong with calling me a secretary?[/rant]

Jonathon · « **Reply #109 on:** February 06, 2008, 09:17:53 AM »

You know, "secretary" used to be a prestigious title until it became a job typically filled by women. I find that sad.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #110 on:** February 06, 2008, 01:42:33 PM »

I think Condolezza Rice ought to be called the Administrative Assistant of State, in that case.

rivka · « **Reply #111 on:** February 06, 2008, 07:01:07 PM »

Quote

I just didn't know that administrative assistants were called AAs.

Well, now you know.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #112 on:** February 06, 2008, 11:12:33 PM »

I'm eating the Condolezza Rice Pudding that I made for lunch today!

Jonathon · « **Reply #113 on:** March 19, 2008, 08:07:54 PM »

Update!

rivka · « **Reply #114 on:** March 19, 2008, 08:56:18 PM »

Interesting and insightful.

Neutros the Radioactive Dragon · « **Reply #115 on:** March 20, 2008, 07:53:23 AM »

Cool RSS feed too. Thanks again.

goofy · « **Reply #116 on:** March 20, 2008, 08:06:25 AM »

Pullum:

Try to imagine biological education being in a state where students are taught that whales are fish because that is judged easier for them to grasp; where teachers disapprove of tomatoes and teach that they are poisonous (and evidence about their nutritional value is dismissed as irrelevant); where educated people accuse biologists of "lowering standards" if they don't go along with popular beliefs. This is a rough analog of where English grammar finds itself today. The state of relations between the subject as taught by the public and the subject as understood by specialists is nothing short of disastrous. The fact is that almost everything most educated Americans believe about English grammar is wrong. In part this is because of misconceptions concerning the facts. In part it is because hopeless descriptive classifications and antiquated theoretical assumptions doom all discussion to failure. Amazingly, almost nothing has changed in over a hundred years. The 20th century came and went without affecting the presentation of grammar in popular books or the teaching (what little there is of it) that goes on in schools. Today's grammar books differ in content only trivially from early 19th-century books.

http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Summer_2...1/lecture1.html

Jonathon · « **Reply #117 on:** March 20, 2008, 08:06:31 AM »

Rivka and Neutros: Danke und bitte.

goofy: I love that quote. I think it captures the situation quite well, unfortunately.

Porter · « **Reply #118 on:** March 20, 2008, 08:10:30 AM »

That's interesting.

Jonathon · « **Reply #119 on:** June 02, 2008, 09:16:45 PM »

Finally!

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #120 on:** June 02, 2008, 09:50:48 PM »

High-5!

Jonathon · « **Reply #121 on:** July 13, 2008, 08:58:01 PM »

On the proper orthography of logos.

Jonathon · « **Reply #122 on:** September 06, 2008, 08:18:08 PM »

On the participial adjective impacted.

The Genuine · « **Reply #123 on:** September 08, 2008, 09:20:18 AM »

The word "impacted" always reminds me of constipation.

Noemon · « **Reply #124 on:** September 08, 2008, 10:47:28 AM »

It always reminds me of Star Wars.