Princess Olivia

The literati in their cellars

Perform semantic tarantellas

I wish I did it half as well as them

—Al Stewart

You would think that between the Associated Press editors and the editors at the Austin American Statesman someone would know the difference between affect and effect. Well, you’d be wrong. I came across this gem in an online article about Angelina Jolie Visiting Baghdad:

“What happens in Iraq and how Iraq settles in the years to come is going to effect the entire Middle East,” she added. “And a big part of what it’s going to effect, how it settles, is how these people are returned and settled into their homes and their community and brought back together and whether they can live together and what their communities look like.”

You know Jollie didn’t say, “And a big part of what it’s going to EEEEfect…” or even, “And a big part of what it’s going to effect—and I mean the one that starts with an E…” At least they are consistent.

Friday’s Feast

Friday’s Feast is off line the week, so I thought I would follow Sam’s lead and come up with my own five questions. Here they are:

Appetizer: Can you read a newspaper or book without editing it?

Obviously not.

Soup: Which grammatical error irks you the most?

Using the wrong homophone. English is chocked full of them, and people in general don’t seem to get that not using the correct one completely changes (or destroys) the meaning of your sentence. I wood never do that.

Salad: If you were given the choice of reverse-reincarnation, which historical figure would you choose to “come back” as?

Main Course: If your doctor told you that you had to give up one of your favorite foods or die, what would be hardest for you to sacrifice?

Caffeine. Even though I have determined that drinking regular coffee has a detrimental effect on my blood pressure, I can’t give it up completely. Instead, I have switched to decaf, as if I didn’t know that decaf coffee often contains as much caffeine as regular—not to mention a lot more nasty chemicals. I even allowed myself a diet cola last night, and they simply don’t make a diet decaffeinated cola.

Dessert: In the state or province where you live, where would you least want to spend two weeks?

My home town. I never really belonged there. I don’t fit in. I don’t like chemicals in the air and the imminent threat of explosions.