Grammatical Disregard

Dear World Inhabitant,

I am seventeen years old. I write in a blog. I do not own a website.

There is a person, a Web entrepreneur, who made a website called http://www.mycyc.com/. His or her goals apparently comprise making a website, inviting teens to join the website and lowering the standards of grammar.

Look at it: http://www.mycyc.com/. Tell me your inner grammarian doesn't just hurl.

I can understand the teen blogs containing such egregious mistakes, but the homepage of a website should be professional. The lowercase I's and the placement of apostrophes—or worse, the exclusion of necessary apostrophes—are just a couple among many grammatical mistakes. People wonder why some teens are completely inept in grammar. I blame adults who try to be 'hip' by ignoring grammar. Most teens would think, if this adult can do it, so can I.

Let's cross into an era of good grammar, an era in which all people value grammar and adhere to its principles. Right now, I would actually be happy with even half of the population caring to study grammar.

Sincerely,
Nathan

PS I deliberately used comprise to portend my next topic.

Don't post. Don't post. Surprise!

Censor This

Third post today. It's only 1 AM.
I'm going to do more NaNo after this, I promise.

Topic: Censorship
Reason: Curiosity

There are certain words I never say - by never say I mean I can count the number of times I've said each of them on one finger. These words are just words, but I've been conditioned to not use them, because they are 'dirty' words. They are forbidden words.

I don't like profanity. I think when it's overused it makes the speaker come across as stupid.

That being said, I can appreciate the emotion that can - seemingly - only be conveyed through expletives.

I am starting to think I have no problem with profanity, just excessive use of the same words. Writing always makes me discover things about myself I didn't know.

I still feel uncomfortable using profanity, though, but I'm really starting to question the reasoning behind its taboo labeling.

Puzzlingly Yours,
Nathan

I miss King.

Nerd Day

Homecoming
Band Halloween [yes, I marched wearing that]

I want King back. I want it bad. I want it like a citizen of Wasilla, Alaska wants meth. Except more fervently, and less painfully. I haven't even included the pictures of my very closest friends, because honestly it hurts too much. I'm a neglectful friend. I regret that.

Tonight is a whining night, apparently.

I should be either sleeping, or writing my Novella.

Good plan. I'll write away the pain.

I'm so dramatic.

Lonely Yours,

Nathan

PS - I would say sorry for the Wasilla comment, but seriously, all those meth labs? Really? Really?

No.

I wrote a really long post.

Did you know if you highlight your text in this box using shift and page up, the text completely erases? Well, it does.

Screw this. I'm not rewriting all of that crap.

Basically:

• I'm bad at saying no.
• [insert witty quotes and examples here.]
• I wish I could say no.
• So many take advantage of my inability to refuse.
• Blahblahblah, whinewhinewhine.
• Noonecares.

Annoyingly Everyone's,
Nathan

Capitalization

My mom was delighted when her great-uncle, Great-Uncle Sam, came to visit.

Great-Uncle Sam hadn't seen Mom in nearly two years.

He was busy being President Uley.

If the person's name would make sense in place of the word, then capitalize it. For example:

"Yesterday, Dad bought a new shirt."
"Yesterday, Alan bought a new shirt."

But not,
"Yesterday, my Dad bought a new shirt."
Because there is no sense - at least not in the same way as the first one - in writing:
"Yesterday, my Alan bought a new shirt."
Instead, that example should be written:
"Yesterday, my dad bought a new shirt."

That part is easy enough.
Now, we move on to titles.

You wouldn't write mr. Hathaway, so why would you write president Bush?
President in the example above is just as much a title as Mister.
When president serves as just a noun, and not a title it will not be capitalized:

"President George W. Bush has been the president for eight years."

What about when a person doesn't use the president's name and just calls him or her by the name President?
Since a president is a person of authority it is bad etiquette to just refer to him or her by the term President, alone. However, the terms Mister President and Madam President are completely acceptable.

Presidential Election 2008

I'm seriously stressed about this American presidential election. I'm watching and Obama seems pretty stagnant at 103, as McCain climbs frightfully fast - 33 to 34 to 43 to 58; Obama stays at 103.



Why must the electoral colleges play with my emotions? I was so excited, now I'm just worried.





Go Obama! Go, go!



Sidenote: Felt tip pens? Really? That's what we're talking about during the election? REALLY?


Woah, woah. Obama's at 175 now. I feel better.
Also, he won Michigan - yay!

Typing about this as it is going on is crazy, and sporadic.

When vs. Whenever

When versus Whenever

Whenever in doubt, use when.

If that doesn't suffice as a grammar rule for you, keep reading.
Whenever should be used in conjunction with statements representing indefinite time, statements applying to more than one time, or statements needing a general adverb, exempli gratia:

"Whenever I go to the movies, I get extra butter on my popcorn."

In this case, whenever applies to all times I go to the movies.

"Come over to my house whenever you want."

Whenever, in this case, is not a specific time.

"I eat whenever I am hungry."

Because I am hungry at more than one time, I use whenever as a general adverb.

When should be used with phrases of definite time, exempli gratia:

"When I go to the movies, I will get extra butter on my popcorn."

"When I went to the movies, I got extra butter on my popcorn."

In the above sentences, when pertains to definite times of going to the movies.

"Come over my house when you need help."

When, in the above sentence, tells of the time during which "you need help."

This is a specified time, and therefore calls for the use of the word when.

"When I am hungry I will eat."

When, in this case, pertains to the time in which "I am hungry."

The use of the word will specifies time, and therefore when is used.

If that made no sense to you, then go with my first rule: Whenever in doubt, use when.

There is no basis for my rule, except I've heard whenever overused way too much lately. That's also the motivation behind this post. I find whenever annoying, now. Here are some commonly heard negative examples, which illustrate the wrong way to use whenever:

"Do you remember whenever I was in the car with you yesterday?"

The time is specified by the other words in the sentence.

"Whenever I was younger, I had a dog."

Granted, he or she may not remember when the dog was had,

but younger specifies enough to need when instead of whenever.

When when is wrongfully used in place of whenever I barely notice, whereas when whenever is used when the word should be when it sends a cacophonous ringing through my ears. So, just use when all the time, if you can't remember the rules.

Sorry for being anal-retentive,

Nathan

P.S. I think grammar is one of my favorite topics for writing. There will probably be more grammar-snob posts to come.

Blog

I've tried this before. I've never been more regular than once in a blue moon. I don't have high expectations, so maybe this will be good; I'll explain:

I have absolutely no grace under pressure, so I think conversely with no pressure I should perform gracefully.

Logic Cited:

Modus Tollens

P→Q

~Q

∴~P

If I'm not graceful, then there is pressure present.
There is no pressure present.
Therefore, I'm [not, not] graceful.

Don't expect the posts to become less nerdy.
The understood subject, you, of that imperative sentence is, as of now, referring to nobody. We'll see if I ever "out" this blog. That might present pressure, though, and I don't need to point out why that would be detrimental to the blog.