dD in an eggroll

Winnie the Pooh Lives in New York

The REAL Winnie the Pooh, that is.

This article does link from my earlier post today but I felt it needed some emphasis.

It’s time once again to review those nasty errors that damage our credibility when we write. Not normally a fun task, but absolutely necessary. I promise to keep you amused to diminish the pain (or at least I’ll give it a shot).

As with the last time we explored grammatical errors, I feel compelled to mention that copywriting and blogging should be conversational and engaging, and breaking formal grammatical and spelling conventions can often be a good thing. Every time I see a comment complaining about something like, oh, I don’t know… the improper use of an ellipsis or one-sentence paragraphs, I shake my head with sadness.

They just don’t get it.

Outside of specific professional or academic contexts, writing with a personal style that makes it easier on the reader is more important than pleasing Strunk and White. That said, I also believe you have to know the rules in order to break them. Plus, there are some errors that you’ll never convince anyone that you did intentionally in the name of style (outside of a joke), and even then some people will still assume you’re dumb.

So, let’s take a look at some more of those types of glaring errors that you never want to make. Thanks to reader suggestions and the aforementioned Messrs. Strunk and White, here are seven more common mistakes that can diminish the shine and credibility of your writing.

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Writing can be really no-win. It’s not fair, but it’s true.

If you obsess over every grammatical and structural point, you can come across as stiff. But if you’re lax and make a bunch of simple errors, you’ll come across as stupid.

You make one mistake and a lot of people will let it go. Two and you’re making them suspicious. Keep that up, with your intelligence taking hits at each turn, and your reader will decide that you’re actually a chimpanzee — and not one of the smart ones, either.

Copyblogger has covered grammar nicely here and here and here. But I, as a newcomer to these parts, have a few more peeves to add to the pot. Ignore them at your peril, Bubbles.

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Holy shit, does this rule.

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!

4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

8. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!

10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.

And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn’t ask permission and then respect the answer the first time, you are commiting a crime — no matter how “into it” others appear to be.

Girl Starts Her Own “Stuffed Animal” Internet Show but thing go horribly wrong after only 30 seconds.

1. Mute Math (16)
2. Saybia (12)
3. Girl in a Coma (12)
4. Squeal (10)
5. Explosions in the Sky (3)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Tonight, I…okay, last night, I went to my first acting slash performance related workshop since quite possibly over a year ago. Got me a little fired up about performing again.

Man, passion for…

1. Garbage (81) 
2. Avril Lavigne (62) 
3. Flyleaf (45) 
4. Alkaline Trio (36) 
5. The Dresden Dolls (25) 

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Physics is weird. There is no denying that. Particles that don’t exist except as probabilities; time that changes according to how fast you’re moving; cats that are both alive and dead until you open a box.

We’ve put together a collection of 10 of the strangest facts we can find, with the kind help of cosmologist and writer Marcus Chown, author of We Need To Talk About Kelvin, and an assortment of Twitter users.

If the Sun were made of bananas, it would be just as hot

The Sun is hot, as the more astute of you will have noticed. It is hot because its enormous weight – about a billion billion billion tons – creates vast gravity, putting its core under colossal pressure. Just as a bicycle pump gets warm when you pump it, the pressure increases the temperature. Enormous pressure leads to enormous temperature.

If, instead of hydrogen, you got a billion billion billion tons of bananas and hung it in space, it would create just as much pressure, and therefore just as high a temperature. So it would make very little difference to the heat whether you made the Sun out of hydrogen, or bananas, or patio furniture.

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Whether you are a consistent morning person, or a person who would normally wake up at a later time but are trying to train yourself to get going earlier in the day, there are certain tried and true tips that will get you moving in the morning. Here are 17 tips that will help you become the morning person you truly want to be!

1. Make sure that you have a really good reason to wake up early. This is the most important thing when it comes to rising at an early hour. If there is no motivating factor, you would probably just stay in bed. Make sure your reason is a good one. It helps to make a list.

2. Get stuff done in the AM. Make sure that you give yourself specific tasks to accomplish. If you don’t accomplish your tasks, you will be less likely to get up early next time. Make sure that you use your time effectively.

3. Make sure that you catch enough ZZZ’s the night before. If you are tired during the day, then getting up early may be causing more problems than it is fixing. Make sure that you get a full night’s rest. Go to sleep earlier, so then you can wake up early and feel rested!

4. Calculate how much sleep you will need. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to begin to get ready for bed so that you can wind down properly and still get enough sleep. Everyone needs a different amount of sleep, find what works for you!

5. Sleep Better. Many people need to sleep “better,” not just longer. Make sure that you have a high quality pillow and a relaxing environment.

6. Don’t hit snooze! Make sure that you put your clock far enough away so you have to get up. Don’t listen to the voice in your head that tells you to sleep in! Get up when you plan on to.

7. Get straight out of bed! When that alarm sounds, get a move on! The longer you stay in bed, the more likely it is that you will sleep in.

…read the full list here

Seriously, I think I should carry a cheese grater around with me.