Notes from The Universe

Do you get daily notes from The Universe? I heard about this email list from my friend S. The notes are usually  personalized just for you, like the one below is for me, and usually they have some great nugget to meditate on for the day. Today's message was particularly great - exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks, Universe! Sign up here if you want your own!

Practice, Rachel. Study. Prepare yourself. Think. Act. Face the beasts. Pay the piper whatever dues you think you have to pay. Do the dance, walk the fire, wait in line. Plant the seeds, hoe the field, go to market. Because on the day that you become all that you now dream of becoming... Oh my gosh, there is simply no price that would seem too great. It's going to be that good, you're going to be that happy, and it's going to be for so, so long, Rachel. Guaranteed. Tallyho,     The Universe

Thanksgiving=Happy

"Nothing is either good or bad. It's thinking that makes it so."

--William Shakespeare

Most days I choose to have an attitude of gratitude and my days are better for it. Today being Thanksgiving and all, that is especially true. I am truly grateful for all the blessings in my life. 

Because it's Thanksgiving and I've been seeing "Happy Thanksgiving" greetings everywhere, I pondered its meaning. Do we really mean "be happy while you're giving thanks today"? To me, it seems like it should be "Thanksgiving=Happy." I know that when I'm looking for things to be grateful for, even if it's been a particularly crap day and I don't feel like I have anything to be grateful for, when I start making a gratitude list, my attitude improves. If I am giving thanks, for the big things and even the smallest things, overall, I'm a happier person. 

I hope you had a Thanksgiving=Happy day today and carry that over into every one of your days! 

Hear me. Right here.

Do you know the difference between the words tousled and tussled? How about the words shawl and shaw? How about dolled and dulled? Dessert and desert? Here and hear? Your and you're? Its and it's?

I came across the first four malapropisms in various online venues over the last few days. And see here/hear, your/you're and it's/its misused on the regular.

A salon blog uses the word "tussled" like it has something to do with hair. They use it as the TITLE of the blog! If I were dead, I'd be turning in my grave. Maybe the hairstyles are fighting?

A fashion blogger I used to follow used the word "shaw" to describe that piece of clothing worn over a women's shoulders to fend off a chill. I happened upon it when searching for Halloween costume ideas. One shaw I can think of is Mr. Aidan Shaw and he'd be welcome to drape over my shoulders to keep me warm any time.

John Corbett as Aidan Shaw in SATC 2

A local arts organization tweeted about being all "dulled up" for a big announcement they were about to make. Hopefully the announcement itself doesn't put people to sleep for being lackluster.

A local, well-known and loved restaurant retweeted someone's twit pic of the "desert" they had enjoyed at the restaurant. Shaking my head on that one. Really? Here's how it works: There's only one "s" in desert because it's so hot and dry that the other "s" dried up. Dessert has two because its extra sweet.

If you're using the written word to communicate with others, to promote yourself, your own brand or the brand you work for, your life might not depend on using words properly, but it might end up affecting your livelihood. Impressions are formed. Your one tweet, Facebook post or one blog post is the only chance you have to make an impression.

For the record I write and edit copy for a living, so I'm ALWAYS looking for mistakes, but not in a "hehe, I'm going to catch all the grammar dummies" way. I basically can't not see mistakes. Once I see them, I make an assumption and I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this. I also clearly understand that people posting casually as individuals have developed a more relaxed way of communicating. I can look past that. I also know that mistakes are made and missed in the editing process. But I'll always be surprised when I see that it coming from a company, an individual professional or an established organization.

One thought: I should start an editing business.

Another thought: We've all been doomed by the dumbing down of America. Texting, tweeting and communicating in soundbites has made people care less and less about grammar and proper use of the English language.

I'll just keep writing/editing and ranting when I see prime examples of misuse.

Your vs. You're. R U kidding?

I write/edit for a living, so it should come as no surprise that the use of proper grammar scores points with me.

This article on grammar was a featured article on the MSN homepage yesterday. I clicked on it out of curiosity. I was a little flummoxed to read an article that dished out all the simple grammar goodies everyone should have learned in school, but clearly did not. I know darn well that in an age of text messages ("ill brb. txt me when u get there"), instant messaging and every other form of electronic communication that seems to wag its tongue in the face of proper grammar that knowledge of English grammar is floundering.

I came across this tweet from a local public relations firm today while looking at Grand Rapids Social Diary's Twitter "following" list.

[Redacted] co-founder, [Redacted], congratulated us on the @[redacted] merger with a giant cake: http://yfrog.com/cb16nj11:59 AM Aug 7th from Tweetie

In case cake link doesn't work, (because it wasn't earlier) it says, "Congratulations Heard your eating for two now." Please also note the random quotation marks at the end of the sentence. Here's the amusing part, this firm is now considered one of the largest public relations firms in Michigan and they can't even get the copy on a cake right. "Your" vs. "you're"? Really?! Folks, it's not rocket science and it's kind of your JOB to get things right. And if a vendor is doing work for you, it's your job to make sure they get it right! Or if someone messes up, notice the error, eat the cake and don't post it on your Twitter account for the entire world to see! Duh!

We all make mistakes, but this is one that did not need to be paraded around on the interwebs. Who exactly manages the public image of this firm? They clearly need some help on getting the simple things right. Just saying.

hobo

I've heard the word "hobo" popping up in conversation more and more these days. I'm guessing it's related to people's fears about our precarious economic situation. I wasn't sure of the word's roots until reading something a couple days ago - it's shorthand for Homeward Bound. Like back in the day when one might hop a train or hitchhike and say "I'm homeward bound". Apparently all it took was enough of these cats floating around and a new word is born - hobo! (I just looked up hobo on Wiki and apparently there are many differing theories about where the word came from. So draw your own conclusions!)

I just saw this today and apparently candy sales are doing well despite the economy. I can attest to that (say hello to Mike and Ike in my desk drawer!) I can safely say, however, no matter how hard up I get for some sugary satisfaction, I will not EVER grab for some Hobo Beans. They're maple flavored, people! Who in their right mind thought that would ever be okay?! Can you imagine the pitch meeting for them?

"So Hobo Beans will be baked bean flavored jelly beans. Consider it an homage to the days of yore - when people actually ate out of can warmed over a fire. They'll come in a cute tin can with an adorable dog watching its master warm food over a barrel fire. And best part ever - MAPLE is the only flavor they'll come in! I think we've got ourselves a winner. Kids will eat 'em up."

Um, no they won't. This 35 year old kid is disgusted by anything maple flavored. And anyone old enough to have actually eaten out of a can during the Great Depression, probably doesn't have any teeth left or isn't even around for this candy resurgence! I would bet they'd be glad for it!