As I expected, my last column on the Oxford comma generated some lively feedback — and a topic for this month’s column. It turns out that there is another punctuation mark that causes almost as much angst among the readership as the Oxford comma: the apostrophe.
The readership is apparently in good company; in 2014, Grammarly.com crowned “misused apostrophes” the undisputed champion of its “Most Maddening Writing Error” challenge. One voter said, “[I]t seems like there is a whole new wave of people who believe that you NEED an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to make a word plural.”
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2018-02-07 13:33:062018-02-07 13:33:06Apostrophe Misuse: The 'Greatest Solecism' In the Punctuation World?
What, pray tell, does legendary football coach Vince Lombardi have in common with the comedic actor Bill Murray?
The pursuit of perfection.
“Perfection,” Lombardi famously stated, “is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
As for Murray, it wasn’t what he said about perfection, it was what his character did about it in the movie “Groundhog Day.”
The movie is set in Punxsutawney, Pa., the epicenter of this nation’s annual observance of Groundhog Day — where this morning Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter. In the fictional “Groundhog Day,” the main character, played by Murray, starts out as a thoroughly disgusting weatherman who ultimately wins the hand of his beautiful colleague, played by Andie McDowell.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/giphy-41.gif270480NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2018-02-02 10:20:002018-07-21 18:59:06Vince Lombardi, ‘Groundhog Day’ and the Pursuit of Perfection
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2018-01-04 10:27:552018-01-04 10:27:55The CLE You Need On NC's New Power of Attorney Act
Apostrophe Misuse: The ‘Greatest Solecism’ In the Punctuation World?
Featured PostsAs I expected, my last column on the Oxford comma generated some lively feedback — and a topic for this month’s column. It turns out that there is another punctuation mark that causes almost as much angst among the readership as the Oxford comma: the apostrophe.
The readership is apparently in good company; in 2014, Grammarly.com crowned “misused apostrophes” the undisputed champion of its “Most Maddening Writing Error” challenge. One voter said, “[I]t seems like there is a whole new wave of people who believe that you NEED an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to make a word plural.”
Read more
Vince Lombardi, ‘Groundhog Day’ and the Pursuit of Perfection
Featured PostsWhat, pray tell, does legendary football coach Vince Lombardi have in common with the comedic actor Bill Murray?
The pursuit of perfection.
“Perfection,” Lombardi famously stated, “is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
As for Murray, it wasn’t what he said about perfection, it was what his character did about it in the movie “Groundhog Day.”
The movie is set in Punxsutawney, Pa., the epicenter of this nation’s annual observance of Groundhog Day — where this morning Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter. In the fictional “Groundhog Day,” the main character, played by Murray, starts out as a thoroughly disgusting weatherman who ultimately wins the hand of his beautiful colleague, played by Andie McDowell.
Read more
The CLE You Need On NC’s New Power of Attorney Act
Featured PostsIf you deal with matters related to power of attorney in North Carolina, you’ve probably heard the rules changed on Jan. 1.
Your next best chance to get up to speed on these changes comes on Wednesday, Jan. 10, with a video replay of the North Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act CLE at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.
Prepared by the NCBA Elder & Special Needs Law and the NCBA Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Sections, the CLE offers:
Start your New Year right with 6 hours of CLE credit. Click here to find out more about this program.