Brandishment

This morning started off the usual way, with me trying to calculate time and rush to fit everything in to those regimented time slots that occupy my schedule and my mind. I don't think regimented can be used as an adjective, since I don't see it in the dictionary and I often wonder about such things, but I do use it as one anyway. I think you should be able to turn anything into an adjective if you want to.
Yesterday someone used the word "brandishing" in a sentence, as in "brandishing a sword." I considered correcting him, since I knew the person he talked about did not actually brandish a sword; rather, the sword was strapped to his back. My hesitation in correcting him stemmed from the fact that I doubted the accuracy of my definition of the word as I imagined it to be, and I wasn't sure if he was using "brandishing" with "carrying in a holster" synonymously. Did he actually mean the guy was brandishing the sword(?), or did he mean that he just had the sword on his body(?), or did he misunderstand the meaning of the word(?), I silently pondered at the time. This morning I took a second that I didn't have to look it up, as it was, well, not so much weighing on my mind, but resting lightly on my mind. So, I confirmed to myself that, yes, brandishing means, in the context of having a weapon, "menacingly waving about," and, looking back, I was glad that I had not been so sure of myself that I corrected him in the moment. It wouldn't have been worth it. Plus, the story sounds so much better with the sword being waved around rather than tucked away on his person.
Do people carry swords nowadays, with the possible intention of brandishing them? Is a sword more than just a collectible? Apparently, they do, and yes.
I also learned "brava" is a word and can be used "interjectionally," as the dictionary puts it, to congratulate a female instead of "bravo," as one would for a male. I also did not know that "interjectionally" was a word.

Friday, April 25

Just about every time I look at a newspaper I think about how I used to work for one. I see mistakes, I think of better headlines, and I miss the days when, in my tiny little microcosm of a town, I would be sent to cover plays, concerts, art exhibits, board of education meetings, city council meetings, county commission meetings, car accidents, robberies, fires, and just about everything else imaginable, from birth to death and everything in between. Once I wrote a story for newspaper week, and the title of my story was "Newspapers: From Birth to Death and Everything In Between." I wrote, edited, took lousy pictures, developed and scanned photos, learned PhotoShop and Quark Express, and put together the pages on the computer and got them ready to go to the press. After I stopped working there, it was difficult to read anything without editing it in my head. My mind was programmed to omit unnecessary words, correct spelling and grammar, and think in active voice. Now, I only catch major mistakes. So much time has gone by since I left the newspaper job that the time I spent there is only a tiny fraction of my life (about 1/9th). I have spent more time than that, after that, in my current vocation, which isn't even close to being fun but somehow is held to a higher societal value, even though it impacts less people and tends to suck the life out of everyone involved (no, I am not an embalmer, but metaphorically close).

Fare for Fortification

This past weekend I learned about carrot puppies. I had a grilled carrot puppy sandwich. The carrot puppy sandwich had grilled carrots, coleslaw, lettuce and tomato. Who would just know that? Have I climbed a notch on the sophistication scale now that I do?
This afternoon I took a few minutes to read the introduction to the Strunk & White book. William Strunk was E.B. White's professor in 1919. Strunk's publishing company contacted Mr. White after Strunk's death and asked him to update the book. Mr. White spends most of the introduction bringing life to his memory of Professor Strunk. The memory that I carry away from the introduction is Professor Strunk's assertion that you should be bold about something you're not sure about. If you don't know how to pronounce something, don't be indecisive and timid about saying it. Say it loud and say it wrong, he said. It is better to be confident about your choices, right or wrong, than to be indecisive and inaudible. Your indecision and timidity will cause you to languish indefinitely.
I received a card from my aunt today. Today, more than ever before, she lets me know so warmly that my west coast family members who live a thousand miles away care about me and my life. Thank you.
I have seen her seven or eight times, not counting photographs, but I am family and she cares. Whether I have ever been loving, inconsiderate, altruistic or selfish is irrelevant. I have been none of those things to her, as I live a thousand miles away, but it doesn't matter. Family people love you unconditionally.

Being Wrong About Writing Stuff

One of the dangers of talking about how to use good grammar happens when the purported teacher makes a mistake. There will always be a mistake. Well, almost always. Take "Clever Nickname on Blog That No One Will Ever Use," for example. Does it mean no one will ever use the blog? Or does it mean no one will ever use the clever nickname? The writer intended for it to mean that no one will ever use the clever nickname, but it's not written that way. To be correct and specific, it would have had to say, "Clever Blog Nickname That No One Will Ever Use." I guess it could mean both. I'll just have to be satisfied with imperfections, my own and others'. I guess that's why I don't often draw attention to grammatical mistakes; instead, I cringe inwardly when I see an apostrophe out of place or other, similar blatant error. By the way, would it be others'. or others.' ??