Wednesday, June 22, 2011

How to know if you're anal retentive

When you write comments like those below in response to a TPM blog article about the recent financial woes of the SETI Institute:
Ugg the Repug (an anonymous name that speaks volumes) first marks up the original copy with his corrections: "The SETI Institute, the group in Mountain View, Calif., that had built an array of radio telescopes to search for extraterrestrial life, has set up a fundraising drive to revive its project to search for extraterrestrial life."

Then he (and it's gotta be a "he"; women are rarely so lame) writes: "Search for way not to separate subject from verb. Also, search for source other than other blog. If you call and get no answer, search for words to at least say you search. Har har har."
Rubbish. The subject/verb rule is not as ironclad as he states, particularly if the "sandwich" is handled cleanly. Also, getting to the point quickly by front-loading the Five W's is sometimes more important, esp. in news reporting. It's a judgment call. But then, "judgment" is clearly an alien concept to Mr. Repug. Pun intended. Har har har. Get a life, caveman.

(I generally don't waste time on trolls and poseurs, but I couldn't resist taking a swing at such a deserving target. Plus I'm a longtime SETI fan.)

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