The rain in Spain...

On a private forum, someone posed a dilemma. She couldn't decide if she should spend five weeks in Spain and forego a great convention...or go to the convention and spend only 1 1/2 weeks in Spain. So she asked everyone her opinion.

Three out of the seven answers were: Choose Spain.

And then there was the one person who asked, "Are you sure there's a convention in Spain?"

Is Sullum even conscious as he writes?

Yes. Okay. I get it. I'm grasping. But I've spent weeks scouring the tubes for some stupidity to blog about and I just can't find it. Have I entered into some sort of "State of Grammarian Numbness" in which I just don't see the glaring mistakes because I just don't care anymore? Oh, I hope not.

Anyway, here is what I finally found. I'm not sure how great it is, but it's the best I've got.

Jacob Sullum over at our fave Townhall writes, in an article titled "Romney's gay marriage challenge" (No need to note the all-caps in the original; we can only complain about that so many times): "The Obama campaign's video implies that Romney -- unlike Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush -- also opposes civil unions, but that is not true."

And then, two paragraphs later, the dude says this:

Romney's idea of domestic partnerships clearly does not go as far as the civil unions that Obama favored until last week (which he said would provide "all the rights" of marriage). "I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender," Romney said after Obama's announcement, "and I don't favor civil unions if they're identical to marriage other than by name."

Okay, call me hardhearted, but this guy completely contradicts himself. He says Obama's ad is lying, and then turns around and admits it told the truth.

I get what he's trying to say, even if he doesn't. He wants to say that Romney would accept some kinds of legal associations for gay partners. And Obama's ad implied he would not accept some things he may very well accept. But the definition of civil unions is pretty clear: it's just like marriage...we just don't want to let them call it that...because we're big babies.

Romeny is against civil unions. No two ways to wiggle out of that one Sullum.

Best headline ever...

Here is the best headline I've ever read:

Gravy-wrestling model suffers horrific facial injuries after being hit with monkey wrench when she interrupted a friend having sex

The Daily Mail has a long history of long headlines, it's true. And I can see the need for this one. I mean, you can't just say "model" because that would be misleading. The best known thing about Elisa Sampson is that she was a gravy-wrestling champion, in a competition "outside a pub near her home in Rossendale."

And the injury was clearly "horrific" so you can't leave that out. And of course, your readers will need to know how she got those injuries so you have to tell them she got hit with a monkey wrench. And they will want to know why. And anyone can sympathize with being interrupted while having sex. And most of us have monkey wrenches lying around.

The headline, unfortunately leaves out when and where, but you can read the article to find that out. Duh.

I have my rights, you know...

I just read a terrific article about Bigfoot. It's one of those that's so engaging you don't notice any mistakes unless they're so glaring they smack you in the face. I didn't get smacked at all with the article. Just with the title.

Bigfoot, little town, big time: Elliston’s annual Sasquatch hunt a spring right-of-passage

There was no discussion of rights in the article to make one think it's a play on words. I guess there are just some people who don't know what a rite is.

I was "specting," but not anymore...

A sweet young lady on a private forum was so excited that she was "exspecting" that she just had to tell everyone about it. (You can usually tell it's not a typo when they keep spelling it the same way.)

I'm not sure what "specting" is, but she's not doing it anymore, apparently.

Maybe she was a prospector and she recently quit. But why would her doctor tell her that would make her feel tired? Seems like you'd feel refreshed to no longer have to squat over a river panning for gold.

I done went and gots my nails did...

I've been reading Star Foster for some time. She's a Pagan and/or Wiccan--I haven't completely figured out what that means. I'm sure I've poked fun at her before on some other blog, but never for her grammar.* She's always written well. I imagined her a poised, thoughtful yet strong woman. Until today...

Today Star was talking about thick hairs growing on her chin in a blog cutely called By the Hair On My Chinny, Chin, Chin, the capitalization of which I'd like to snarl over. The hairs are not a problem--I've got one (one, mind you) myself that requires plucking...not weekly like Star's...which does make one wonder.

But no, what struck me as odd, and totally threw me out of her blog about beauty was this: "I really want to get my hair and nails did."

Suddenly it wasn't Star Foster, mysterious, beautiful, witch-lady I was reading. It was weird woman who stocks the dairy products at the grocery store. And she's got several thick hairs poking out of her chin.

I'm going to struggle now to believe that Star somehow entered an altered state and typed "did" instead of "done." It won't be easy, but she's a witch after all, and that makes it very possible.

*oops. I guess I was wrong.

Two headlines at Townhall today:

The Curtail falls on the tragedy of Joe Paterno  

Inflation or Delfation? But wait...

This really makes me wonder what the problem is over there--I mean, beyond just plain stupidity.