A friend rang this afternoon to draw my attention to the fact that this blog has shown up in The Times today. Apart from the fact that I am delighted to be that close to Tina Fey, I don't know how to respond to publicity. When I began this blog it was only because I wanted to read my own thoughts written down. Then slowly a few other people overheard me muttering to myself and occasionally dropped in. Some of them felt moved to comment. That's as it should be. Blogs are best approached with either low expectations or no expectations at all.I note that I occasionally stray "exhilaratingly close to grumpy old man territory". I have decided not to be discouraged by any such category reprimand. The fact it might be possible to assign somebody to a group of citizens does not, I've decided, make their views any less valid. I probably am a grumpy old man. Deal with it. Old gits have something to say, as does everyone else. I don't hold anyone's age against them. Nor should anyone else.
If you were really being a grumpy old man in that posting about "could of" you would have included a brief introduction to modal constructions using the present perfect. That you didn't, whilst also drawing attention to a clear fault, was restrained.
ReplyDeleteClive James thinks that language slips and slides into poor health with age, as the rest of us do. But there is no reason for it to do so, as long as people who know pass on their knowledge. Only in totalitarian extremism would people be afraid to point out errors. And that ain't where we are at.
Probably?
ReplyDeleteCertainly!
Join the club.
The very point of a blog, is indeed, just that - to see your thoughts on the big screen. Not a big screen, in the cinematic sense, but, just more than a few pages of A4 scattered about the place. I have only recently started blogging for this very reason, it's just a more up to date version of the daily diary I wrote back in '82 (hopefully not as embarrassing)
ReplyDeleteThe age thing always travels with you. When you are 16, 21 seems old - my present 42 would have seen me already in the morgue awaiting a pine box. Blog away, Good Sir.
'Grumpy Old Man' is good, but I look at it another way. I'm the grit in the oyster that produces the pearl
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ReplyDelete"Rumpled visage"? There's something not quite right about that image, isn't there - as if you'd stuck your nose and lips on messily, which I doubt is quite what the writer intended.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo of Ms Fey. Which brings me to my current favourite grouse - the photos in Vanity Fair. A truly dreadful set of Tina Fey last month and an equally bland set of Cate Blanchett this month. They used to be the standard for photo journalism - managing to capture the very essence of subjects. Almost cancelled my subscription after the Fey collection. Tres disappointing.
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