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1. A few years ago, my wife and I acquired an advent calendar – like the one pictured, only older, and without the faux fruit. Being more greedy than gluttonous, we decided to fill the days with scratch-off lottery tickets instead of candy treats. Last year, I believe we earned ourselves $54. I don’t remember what we did with that money. (Bags of candy, perhaps?) What not-all-that-traditional holiday traditions does your family have?
2. As the wise George Costanza once observed, “Great couples always have a great story about how they met.” But is the opposite true? Think about the worst relationship you’ve ever been in. Did the way you met foreshadow the drama, heartbreak, doom and/or gloom that would follow?
3. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a hard time remembering whether it’s “bear with us” or “bare with us.” (Oh, who am I kidding? I’m quite ashamed.) For whatever reason, whenever I want to use that phrase, I clam up and click on the Oxford American Dictionaries widget. What’s your word usage or grammar weakness? You can be honest with us. You’re among friends.
By the way, it’s bear with us. I’m 70% sure.
4. What are you reading right now? (And would you recommend it to the rest of us?)
[See previous 'Friday Happy Hour' transcripts.]
Comments (89)
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1. I have to watch “On the Town” (not a Christmas movie) while I’m wrapping my presents.
2. Horrible college boyfriend. We met when he knocked me down while riding his bike. Should have been a clue.
3. I can never remember the differences between “principal” and “principle” and “capital” and “capitol.”
4. “Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. It’s fabulous. Read it. A complete page-turner.
posted by Decca on 12-12-2008 at 1:45 pm
1. ok so my family is Italian. Instead of the traditional holiday meal. We ALWAYS have lasagna, garlic bread, and salad.
2. I’m skipping out on this one.
3. Restaurant. I don’t even think I spelled it correctly right there. Also, what to do with things like names of books, movies, and things like that. Do you italicize, put in quotes, underline? I’m getting anxious about the next question already.
4. I am reading “It never rains in Tiger Stadium” (yea I’m just putting them in quotes) as well as “Dinner at Antoine’s”. I do not recomment the first. Even being an LSU Tiger alum, I think this book is tedious and very hard to get through. I do recommend the second. It’s set in New Orleans and the descriptions of the city are right on.
posted by Kaitlyn on 12-12-2008 at 1:48 pm
1. Chinese food on Christmas Eve. About ten years ago, my aunt offered to “cook” Christmas Eve dinner, since my mom does Christmas Day. She brought home KFC. The next year, she went with Chinese food, and we’ve gone with that ever since.
2. Generally speaking, getting into a relationship with a guy who is sniffing around one of your friends, already has a girlfriend, or has a police record at 18 is just a bad idea.
3. When you’re taking a nap, are you going to “lay” down or “lie” down? That one always escapes me. Oh, and there was a time when I couldn’t remember if destroying something was “ravishing” it or “ravaging” it (it’s the latter). I excuse myself on that because I was in the midst of writing my thesis and my brain was tired.
4. I just finished “A Tree Goes in Brooklyn.” It’s a sad, profound, quietly affecting story, so I can see why it’s considered a classic.
posted by Chelsea on 12-12-2008 at 1:48 pm
1. our strange “family tradition” is not to get a tree. we walk over to the park near our house, get a evergreen branch (preferably terminal end with some pine cones if we’re lucky) that is about a foot long, go home, put it in a bottle and decorate it with whatever is on hand. shiny rocks, firecrackers, tinfoil, put lights on it.
it’s a combination of we don’t have room because we’re in a tiny apt. and we don’t want to kill an WHOLE TREE for the purpose of ONE DAY.
4. i’m reading love and sex with robots. if you’re interested in seeing where they are currently headed with robotics in terms of household robots, this book is a good bet. he outlines his arguement for why we will be having sex with robots by, like, 2025 or something like that in a pretty convincing fashion.
posted by Sue on 12-12-2008 at 1:48 pm
1) Last year we played Guitar Hero for almost 3 hours after Christmas dinner. I’m thinking it’s a new tradition.
2) Strangely, yes. I’d never thought about it before, but I met my ex-wife at a Seattle Supersonics game. The team has left for Oklahoma City, and she left me for a guy from Oklahoma City! (OK, he wasn’t from Ok City, he’s also from Seattle.) Good riddance to them both.
3) Is a company an “it” or a “they”?
4) The new Malcolm Gladwell book. I do not recommend it.
posted by Henry on 12-12-2008 at 1:49 pm
Decca,
The only way I remember principal is because on Saved by the Bell, Mr. Belding tells the kids, “The last three letters of principal spells pal.” haha!
posted by Kaitlyn on 12-12-2008 at 1:50 pm
1. My family makes a point to go see a movie and eat a steak dinner every Christmas eve. For a couple of years, we also would go to the Waffle House on Christmas day.
2. I briefly dated someone I met in New Orleans one year at Mardi Gras. It didn’t last long, and it wasn’t happy during its short life.
3. Well, I couldn’t think of anything new, but now I’m nervous about my use of “bear with me.” Though I’m jumping on your 70%.
4. Fareed Zakaria’s new one – “The Post-American World.” Phenomenal, but he always is.
posted by Nora on 12-12-2008 at 2:01 pm
1. We can’t wake our parents up until after 8:00 am on Christmas morning. We can unpack our stockings but we are not allowed to go into their room until after 8:00. The tradition still is in place today.
2. I can’t think of any terrible relationship that was foreshadowed to be so by the way that it started.
3. My most severe grammar weakness besides spelling is where I should put commas. I can never tell and most of the time I just guess and get it right.
4. The Mental Floss History of the World. Pretty entertaining book to read.
posted by Daniel on 12-12-2008 at 2:01 pm
1. My husband and I always go out for sushi on Christmas. It’s just the two of us and we’ve never been very traditional.
2. My worst breakup was with a guy I met in high school. School was awful, so I supposed there was a bit of impending doom.
3. Their and there .. I do it all the time!
4. Looking Backward 2000-1997 by Edward Bellamy. I highly recommend it .. a very funny book
posted by Alice on 12-12-2008 at 2:03 pm
1. My family is pretty traditional (WASPs on my Mom’s side), so I don’t have an answer.
2. Um, I’m pleading the Fifth.
3. Plural possessives. Is it The Smith’s house or The Smiths’ house?
4. I just got “Inside Inside” by James Lipton from the library today. I can’t wait to crack it open tonight! And since I love “Inside the Actors Studio”, yes, I recommend it.
posted by Amy D on 12-12-2008 at 2:05 pm
1.
2.
3. Emmigrant and Immigrant
4. I am reading “Spinning the Blues into Gold” It is a great book about the beginning of Chess Records.
posted by QuincyK on 12-12-2008 at 2:07 pm
It can be “bear” or “bare” with us, depending on whether you are asking for patience or for the other person to get naked and join your group.
1. Tamales for dinner on Chrsitmas Eve.
3. Spelling almost anything, but also using effect and affect. There is always enough doubt about which one I’m using that I often skip them and just find a different word to use in place of either.
4. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. If you like fantasy novels, I would definitely recommend it.
posted by Craig on 12-12-2008 at 2:07 pm
1. Watching A Christmas Story over the course of the 24 hours that it’s on…and catching every animated special (especially those Rankin Bass specials)
2.My Ex husband….we started out rather turbulent (we both dropped long standing relationships to be together) and it ended pretty horrifically, too.
3. None
4. The cheesetastic Twilight series
posted by qt314159265` on 12-12-2008 at 2:07 pm
1. I don’t have any non traditional traditions, but my cousins always go to a movie on thanksgiving, I think it was just a way for their parents to get them out of the house
2.My sister met her awful boyfriend through her friend who was cheating on her boyfriend with his friend… did that even make sense?
3. It took me 15 years to spell mountain and people correctly. I have no idea why. I still have a hard time with how to spell their, but it drives me nuts when it’s not used properly, I’d rather spell it wrong than use it in the wrong context.
4. Just finished David Sedaris’ Holidays on Ice. Very funny, didn’t put me in the holiday spirit as much as I had hoped though.
posted by Shawn on 12-12-2008 at 2:09 pm
4. Mostly due to a Quick 10 the other day (Linked to my name) I went to the library and checked out “Crowded Hours” by Alice Roosevelt Longworth. It has its moments, but now I am finishing it mostly out of duty, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped. (So Stacy, you can skip it if you like.)
posted by Witty Nickname on 12-12-2008 at 2:09 pm
1)I’m just now establishing Christmas traditions with my husband (we’ve only been married less than two years), but last year when we had Christmas at our home I made two kinds of soup for lunch/dinner. I think I’m going to do that every time we have Christmas at our place.
2) The way I met my college boyfriend wasn’t portentious, but I should have known something was awry when he threw away a cute note I’d written him right while I was standing in front of him, telling me he didn’t need to keep it because he’d just read it. I was crushed.
3) The “its” – you know, it’s its’ its. . .
4) “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Can’t go wrong with a classic. I just finished “Suite Francaise” by a woman who was a victim of the Holocaust. It was an excellent portrait of human nature, love, and war. Beautiful book – it’s a shame the woman was killed before she could finish writing it.
posted by andrea on 12-12-2008 at 2:09 pm
1. I’m Jewish so our tradition for the past few years is to go to a movie and eat Chinese. Last year we upgraded to sushi though :-)
2. NA
3. I agree with Craig, I have the worst time with affect and effect.
4. I just finished reading Murder with Peacocks. Not bad so I am reading the second in the series, something about Puffins. Decca, I read Shadow of the Wind. I liked it.
posted by Jenna on 12-12-2008 at 2:18 pm
1. I wear my pjs to my parent’s house to open presents on Christmas morning. Not so odd right, well I’m 31 and I live in my own house with my husband…about 20 minutes away. So each year I’m just waiting to be pulled over by a cop while wearing my flannel pjs. My excuse is I have younger siblings still in high school, so we all do it. =)
2. I met a boyfriend while a girlfriend and I were at a bar trashing some slutty girl that walked by. He was in the booth behind us and totally nosed into our conversation. I should have known then that he thought he’d be right about everything. Ironically I also met my husband in that same bar — but told him I’d never date him because he wasn’t my type. I guess he showed me!
3. Choose and chose. Also I can’t spell caledar and unfortunatly (both spelled wrong the way I usually do) to save my life.
4. I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter series and just re-started the last book (#7). Really, AMAZING!
posted by Julie on 12-12-2008 at 2:21 pm
1. Growing up we used to spend Christmas Eve with my great-grandmother, grandmother, uncle, and aunts. At one point in the night my uncle would leave to go to the bathroom but actually go out the backdoor and walk down the street ringing a bell and saying “ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas.” Then all the kids had to go hide in the next room and pretend we were sleeping. We could hear my uncle say, “Merry Christmas!” to our parents and grandmothers. Then we he left our aunt would come get us and we’d see that Santa ate a piece of coconut cake and left a bunch of presents that definitely weren’t there before we left the room. Then we opened them.
2. I’ve only been in two serious relationships and both turned out pretty bad. Both meeting stories weren’t bad, though. I couldn’t tell that we were doomed or anything.
3. This isn’t really a problem but I type really fast but my fingers still can’t keep up with my brain so I sometimes type know when I mean now. I know the difference I just can’t seem to keep myself from doing it and I have to go back and check even little things like comments.
4. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. I just started so I can’t recommend it yet.
posted by ditzen on 12-12-2008 at 2:24 pm
1. Santa Claus will be referred to as Santa Schmaltz, but will only be mentioned after he appears in the Macy’s Day parade.
2. Keeping with the Christmas theme. I met my wife while I was dressed in a large furry Frosty the Snowman costume, while very intoxicated. She was the only person to bother to remove the head of the costume to see if I was still breathing.
3. My spelling has worsened as I get older.
4. Not currently reading anything due to extreme laziness. Favorite book is “The Martian Chronicles”. Which is becoming more enjoyable to me as it becomes more dated.
posted by Dep103 on 12-12-2008 at 2:25 pm
1. I had a copy of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” on vinyl. It’s two hours long (way longer than the TV special) and has great voice actors in it. I drove my family nuts with it and my Mom finally taped it for me so I could listen to it in my room. I try to dig that tape out every year and listen to it.
2. I went to my senior prom stag and ended up leaving with someone else’s ditched date. He was one of the most bizarre people I ever dated and stalked me for months. There was a reason she ditched him, I should’ve known better.
3. I’m never sure whether to use effect or affect. I’ve tried looking this up in the dictionary and it doesn’t make it any clearer.
4. “Hogfather” by Terry Pratchett. It’s one of the Discworld Series, but not one of the best Discworld books I’ve read. There are much better ones.
posted by cheryl on 12-12-2008 at 2:26 pm
1. We have trees ornaments for all the 12 days of Christmas. Those MUST go on the tree first, if I’m not at home when the tree goes up, they’re saved until I get there.
2. I met a college boyfriend at a fraternity party… it wasn’t even HIS fraternity. I should have known right then and there that he’d be a mooch.
3. I always say “on accident” but my mom insists that it is supposed to be “by accident”. I don’t get it, we don’t do things “by purposely”
4. I’m reading the Charlaine Harris novels that the HBO show TrueBlood is based on. They’re good, but the book I read before them, “Eleven Minutes” was AWFUL!
posted by Stephanie on 12-12-2008 at 2:27 pm
3) I struggle when providing captions for pictures that I’m in. Is it “I” or “me”? For example, “John and I” or “John and me”? I think the trick is to take away the other person and use the same pronoun you would use in the singular; In this case it would be “me”. However, I still see so many people label photos “John and I”. Which is it???
Captcha: which revision!
posted by A on 12-12-2008 at 2:41 pm
1 – nothing really other then watching the horrible 80’s movie “Baby Boom” if it happens to be on. It always makes me thing of the holidays, any time of year really.
2 –
3 – I write and say “anyways” instead of “anyway” and it used to drive my ex crazy!
4 – The Handmaids Tale by Margarette Atwood. Not very far in to it but i love her writing and this is one of the classics!
posted by Gayle on 12-12-2008 at 2:51 pm
1. The night before Thanksgiving my family always used to go to The Longhorn BBQ. I’m not even sure why, it’s just a family tradition.
2. I briefly dated a guy in college who was the RA of the hall where my previous boyfriend lived. I broke up with this previous boyfriend to date the RA. So when we would hang out in his dorm, I always had to sneak by the previous boyfriend’s room and try not to let him see me. It was awkward. Actually, the whole relationship was awkward and didn’t last very long.
3. I totally agree with all the people who have said effect & affect, plus I have some sort of mental block when typing, and I almost always type “thign” instead of thing.
4. Right now I’m reading Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, which is so amazing and gritty, and Octopussy by Ian Fleming (gotta love Bond!)
posted by MW on 12-12-2008 at 2:51 pm
1. This marks the 10th year I have tried to convince my husband to make his famous enchiladas for Christmas (add a little lettuce & tomato – voila, red & green for the holidays)…it’s not a tradition YET but I am NOT giving up.
2. decline
3. Do people “flounder” or “founder” when stumble? I constantly misspell “peninsula” on the first try (Freudian slip?)
4. A Sorrow In Our Heart: the Life of Tecumseh by Alan Eckert. It’s heart breaking at times.
posted by Elizabeth on 12-12-2008 at 2:52 pm
1. Always pizza for dinner on Christmas Eve and sometimes a movie on Christmas Day (if it’s just the 2 of us.)
2. Ex was a blind date arranged by a cousin I never cared much for and her soon-to-be-ex. My ex was her ex’s roomate in military school. See where this was going? I didn’t. My vision may have been 20-20 but my insight was legally blind at the time.
3. My spelling is excellent but my fingers are dyslexic.
4. Last book of aforementioned “cheese-tastic” Twilight series. I would only recommend it to teenage girls or older women with darkly romantic souls who wouldn’t be caught dead with a bodice ripper.
3.
posted by seapearl on 12-12-2008 at 2:52 pm
It’s gotta be “bear with us”. Bare=nekkid.
Otherwise, you’d have “to bare children” and “just grin and bare it”, which is just WRONG.
…Or wait, are those the original meanings? Confused now.
1. Whenever my boyfriend & I decide to stay in town for Thanksgiving/Christmas, we go out for Chinese food. My family opens gifts at midnight (as soon as it’s Christmas Day). Christmas also = homemade tamales (somewhat non-traditional).
2. The only awful relationship I had started when a roommate asked me to return a book to a guy, and we got to talking. But the same roommate also introduced me to the guy who’s my boyfriend now (getting close to 10 years now!), so I forgive her for it!
3. Nothing springs to mind, though I’m sure there are some times. I’m unsure about something.
4. Becoming a Tiger: How Baby Animals Learn to Live in the Wild – Great book covering all sorts of critters, from sea, land and air. It’s very dense and erratic; you can have at least 3 different animal stories on a single page (as if David Attenburough’s gone nuts)! It’s extremely factual and entertaining at the same time. The author is very casual and jokey, which I like a lot. I think a lot of parts would make good bedtime stories for kids. I wish it had pictures, coz I don’t always know what the animals discussed look like. Definitely recommended.
posted by tona b. on 12-12-2008 at 2:54 pm
1) Every year, my mother sets up the nativity scene in a place of honor; every year, my brother and I put the sheep on the roof of the manger. Has to be done. What follows is a constant, if subtle, battle for proper sheep placement.
2) Dated a boy in high school, got dumped for an easy girl and a cheap feel. Dated the boy again after college, became the dumper when said boy began telling people he was the son of God. (This really happened.)
3) Is the phrase “one another” or “one and other”? I am also fanatical about spelling, but “occasionally” always trips me up; I usually try to add an extra “s”, given the double consonant theme.
4)I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, by Tucker Max. Definitely not for the weak-hearted or politically correct, but I find myself laughing out loud regularly. Recommended as a fast, easy read.
posted by Megan on 12-12-2008 at 2:56 pm
A: that is what I understood too, and it drives me nuts when people label their pictures “john and I” you wouldn’t label a picture “I” if it were just you! argh. My mother in law does that all the time… she also says “I seen that too” all the time! It’s all I can do to keep my mouth shut.
posted by Shawn on 12-12-2008 at 3:01 pm
1) By the time Christmas rolls around, we are way tired of the traditional feast. We now have lasagna (we are not remotely Italian) for Christmas Eve. And on my mom’s side of the family, we have soup and hors d’ourves. What kind of soup depends on who’s hosting, but we always have a pot of oyster soup as well, no matter what. Ewwwwww!
2) I’d have to say my ex-husband. I knew him for a long time and refused to date him for years. He finally wore me down. I actually thought that he had changed all of the things that kept me from dating him in the first place. And he did, all of which changed the day after our wedding. I don’t regret it because our son is now 18 and is an AWESOME young man, but leaving my ex (loser) was the best decision I ever made, for both me and my son.
3)affect and effect – if you look them up in the thesaurus, the definitions are too close to figure out which one to use when. I’m right there with you Craig. Impact is a great word that I use quite frequently to bypass the “ffect” word.
4) I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series and “Scarpetta”.
4)
posted by bzzyb on 12-12-2008 at 3:03 pm
A–you are correct in dropping the other person to determine whether to use “I” or “me”. You are also correct in titling the photos “John and me”.
I went to elementary school and had a really strict nun for English/grammar. Apparently the public high school English teacher always knew what kids came from our grade school because of the impeccable grammar. I have always been good with grammar and spelling, so unfortunately I don’t have anything to contribute to that topic.
But there, their and they’re are always big killers. I have a co-worker who often uses threw for through. I have to confess I am a bit of a grammar b***h so I go nuts when I see that. Oh well. I can’t do math to save my life, so there you go….
posted by El on 12-12-2008 at 3:07 pm
1) For about the last 4 years my family has forgone the lengthy process of cooking a big Christmas turkey or ham and instead have build-your-own tacos. The ingredients are all setup on the table and the entire meal you’re constantly asking someone to pass something or put a little of that on the plate you’re holding up. It’s the most annoying, yet fabulous thing.
3) Comma usage, is a real problem, for me, anyway.
4) I’ve been reading Beloved by Toni Morrison for about the last 2 months. It’s not that long of a book. I should have been finished weeks ago. But life is hectic and I find that doing other things has been more important than making time to read lately. It hurts me to say that.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 12-12-2008 at 3:09 pm
3a) Apparently I also can’t spell “foregone”
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 12-12-2008 at 3:10 pm
1. My family and I are Jewish so on Christmas we go to the movies. It’s not the greatest tradition, but it’s something to do.
2.
3. I can’t remember if some words end in “el” vs. “le”. Drives me nuts especially when I try to do crossword puzzles (
posted by Me! on 12-12-2008 at 3:14 pm
Thanks Shawn and El!
posted by A on 12-12-2008 at 3:20 pm
1. My mother and I put up the Christmas tree whilst watching the Nightmare Before Christmas.
2. My friend asked my first boyfriend out for me in a note, which I did not ask or want her to do. He ended up breaking up with me for her. Fun times, fun times.
3. I never know when to put an apostrophe in “its”. “it’s”? “its”? I never know.
4. Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward. Not for the kiddies, I must admit, but fantastic. First book of the series is Dark Lover. Read it!
posted by Camille on 12-12-2008 at 3:20 pm
1. We don’t celebrate holidays. So, that’s kind of unusual.
2. The night we met, a lot of drama went down over our mutual friends fighting over another girl. Now that I think about it, I should have known to run.
3. “I use to do something?” or “I used to do something?” I know I say that phrase all the time, but I never type it out. When I attempt to type it out, it occurs to me that I have no idea what I am saying. So I try not say that phrase out loud.
4. Haunted by the great Chuck Palahniuk
posted by Stephanie on 12-12-2008 at 3:21 pm
1. When I was about 5 or 6, my family got a real tree, and when we brought it home we found a bird’s nest inside. My mom went out and got some faux birds with wired feet at a craft store. We put one bird in the nest and one overlooking it. We had that nest every year ’til it dried out and broke (it was mud and twigs), about 10-12 years. The tree still isn’t complete w/o the little yellow birds, though now they have a fake nest. When my mom finally sells the house, I am taking those birds.
We also have a lot of needlepoint decorations made by my grandmother before she died in ‘84. She’d make them to sell, but some she goofed on. We still smile at the mini-mailbox with ‘neol” on the side.
4. I’ve been re-reading everything on my bookshelves for a while. Currently in the middle of “The Fiery Cross” by Diana Gabaldon (I’ve been going through the “Outlander” series all week. The weather’s been bad and they eat time rather enjoyably.) while occasionally dipping into the stories in “In The Forest Of Forgetting” by Theodora Goss (and also “The Mental Floss History Of The World”).
posted by steph on 12-12-2008 at 3:21 pm
Since we are talking somewhat on traditions I really want to start one with my family. Does anyone have any fun ideas?
posted by Des on 12-12-2008 at 3:34 pm
Stephanie-
I always question that too! I actually just looked it up because it was going to drive me nuts until I learned the correct answer. Here’s what I found:
We use the verb use in its past tense with an infinitive to indicate a past condition or habitual practice: We used to live in that house. Because the -d in used is not pronounced in these constructions, people sometimes mistakenly leave it out when writing. Thus it is incorrect to write We use to play tennis. When do occurs with this form of use in negative statements and in questions, the situation is reversed, and use to (not used to) is correct: You did not use to play on that team. Didn’t she use to work for your company?
posted by Used To on 12-12-2008 at 3:36 pm
1.We don’t really have traditions yet because it seems to change every year, and this is our fifth Christmas together.
2.No crazy stories, but I used to date guys with unusual names, and that all ended badly.
3.The plural possessives definitely get me every time.
4.Also reading the last bood of the Twilight series, but while listening to the orchestral version of Coheed and Cambria’s In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth. It really adds to the atmosphere, but the books are still only so-so.
posted by Nicole on 12-12-2008 at 3:40 pm
1. I don’t buy a lot of gifts, so every year my husband and I go to the dollar store and buy each other 10 presents. That way, the tree looks like it’s packed with gifts.
2. I met the worst relationship of my life walking through a park. The sprinklers went off and he saw me get soaked. He helped me get out of there by cramming the sprinkler heads into the ground. I experienced a lot of mindless destruction in that relationship.
3. Is it “an historic event” or “a historic event”? I never remember.
4. I’m reading “The History Buff’s Guide to the Presidents” – a fun read.
posted by Kris on 12-12-2008 at 3:45 pm
Holy Buckets! I meant to say, my son and I. Not a good mistake to make immediately preceeding a discussion on grammar. Where’s the little red line telling me I’m about to make a grammatical error?!?!
posted by bzzyb on 12-12-2008 at 3:46 pm
1. To make sure Jewish Aunt Marion feel at home, we have eaten a kosher deli meal for our Christmas Eve family celebration for the past thirty-seven years. I think we are the only people who had a standing Chrstmas Eve catering order with Leo’s Kosher Deli. Oddly enough, Christmas would not be Christmas without my corned beef on Rye. This will be by first Christmas ever without Aunt Mari; she died in May.
2. At the hair salon. My stylist set us up by booking us for haircuts at the same time. I should have known it was a bad omen for a guy to see me for the first time in a salon cape. And I also should have picked up on how utterly vain her was.
3. I am a grammar snob, so its really embarassing that I get who and whom mixed up. I also cannot pronounce statistics.
4. Just finished “The Glass of Time” by Michael Cox. I already miss it.
posted by allisonW on 12-12-2008 at 3:49 pm
About 6 years ago while driving to my parents on Christmas morning the song “Closing of the Year” came on and has come on every year since. About 3 years I decided to make sure it was on my Ipod in case I missed it on the drive over. It is a peaceful time for me. That is the only time during the entire year that I will listen to it. If it comes up in my shuffle I skip over it on purpose just to have that moment Christmas morning.
posted by Jennifer on 12-12-2008 at 3:50 pm
Shawn–Aaaaargh!! “SEEN”! OMG, that drives me bonkers. I feel your pain…don’t you want to just yell, just once, “I SAW!! It’s ‘I SAW’,
*@&%@&%!”?
posted by El on 12-12-2008 at 3:52 pm
1. Christmas Eve we refuse to watch or listen to any Christmas anything. My sisters and I are all musicians, and we’ve been playing the stuff since October, so in order to tolerate Christmas Day, we turn it all off the day before. (Pink Floyd and Los Lonely Boys are common replacements.)
2. Hell no! I met my worst ex ever by giving him a tango lesson that became filled with all sorts of inside jokes. It was almost chick flick worthy.
3. I speak Spanish as often as I do English, and so oftentimes I switch grammars. My worst is misplacing possessives: I’ll end up saying “the car of Andrew” instead of “Andrew’s car”. Not completely wrong, but certainly not the best.
4. Julio Cortazar’s “Hopscotch” (Rayuela). It’s written so that you can either read it straight through or skip around by following the chapter number written at the end of each chapter. I’ve read it straight through (brilliant and highly recommended), and now I’m trying the alternative reading. I’m not far enough in to give an informed opinion, but it’s certainly promising.
posted by Madi on 12-12-2008 at 3:54 pm
Des-
How about a scavenger hunt for gifts. My friends and I do that and often hide things all around the town. It’s pretty entertaining and the build up to opening a gift is wonderful!
posted by Kaitlyn on 12-12-2008 at 3:55 pm
1. For about 8-9 years we had a family tradition, that Christmas eve dinner was potluck and everyone brought there favorite dishes, which resulted in several x-mas’s without turkey or ham but instead we would have Ribs, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Duck, Ect…and the side dishes were always a surprise…it was a fun tradition while it lasted.
2. My worst relationship actually started very good, but my first meeting with the ex I was in a relationship with her best friend.
3. Parody and Parity
4. Lessons in Liberty – Bob Barr. Definitely recommend.
posted by greg on 12-12-2008 at 3:57 pm
1. We always had the same food EVERY year for Christmas, and I got bored. I also stopped eating meat for the most part, and even when I did eat meat, I didn’t like the Christmas Day options. So after years of eating rye bread, cheese, pickles, deviled eggs and jello & fruit mold, I started making an all cheese lasagna with a mix of ricotta, goat and mozzarella cheeses. I didn’t think anyone else would like it/eat it, but it disappears every year.
2. I met all my exes ok, but there were definitely red flags that should have signaled “Get out–NOW!!!” Always trust that inner voice/instinct.
3. As previously stated, I am a grammar b***h but I do have a hard time pronouncing “rural”. Go figure.
4. Not reading anything at present, but a few weeks ago I finished “Dewey: The Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World”. Easy read. Entertaining. Don’t finish at your desk at work without kleenex handy. Or co-workers who understand why you are crying over books about animals.
posted by El on 12-12-2008 at 4:17 pm
1. The only non-traditional tradition my family has is that of throwing wrapping paper balls at one another after opening presents. It’s not really so much a tradition as something that’s inevitable when you get a bunch of partially insane people together in one room.
posted by scoobnut on 12-12-2008 at 4:29 pm
Really, so many questions about affect and effect? Here’s how I remember it: Affect is always a verb and effect is always a noun…EXCEPT—when talking about creating or bringing about something (to ‘effect’ a law),then effect is a verb. Or, if you’re a psychologist or psychiatrist, you might use affect as a noun (as in “lack of affect”). If you are neither a shrink nor a law-maker, just remember: affect, verb; effect, noun.
Hope that helps!
posted by loripop on 12-12-2008 at 4:33 pm
Shawn & El – I feel your pain too, “I seen” makes me NUTS along with “can I axe you a question” and “can you borrow me $5?”
How to sound dumb in 3 easy statements….
~Bethy
posted by Bethy on 12-12-2008 at 4:37 pm
1. My main Christmas tradition is decorating in as non-festive a manor as possible whilst still maintaining maximum glitter. Last year: Die cut thirties movies stars and silver roses. This year: Gold glitter hummingbirds. Next year: Smashed glass baubles, and stamped-on gift-wrapped boxes.
2. It’s not an ex-partner, but an ex-room-mate. We were on the phone inviting her to move in when a hawk flew into the living room, dropped a small blackbird on the carpet and wheeled back out again. We should have known then, she was a lunatic who was last seen jumping into the passenger seat of a silver convertible.
3. I’m British and I moved to America a year ago. I have discovered that the first thing to be confused was my grasp of English-English Grammar and American-English Grammar. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but they are different and it’s really hard to remember.
4. “The Teeth of the Tiger” an Arsene Lupin mystery by Maurice Leblanc. If you like convoluted thrillers set in 1900’s Paris with a criminal master-mind hero, then I would recommend it.
posted by Jen - The Alien Spouse on 12-12-2008 at 4:41 pm
1. My family still goes caroling. When we were little we could each have one friend over. Now I am 24 with two sisters 17 and 21 and we still do it every year, now we have about 50-60 people because everyone keeps inviting themselves back. Also people love it when we carol to (at?) them.
3. I have a hard time with well and good. At work whenever my boss asks “how are you doing?” I mean to say I’m good, since this is less awkward then well, but then I usuaully mumble “good” and then I worry that he thinks I’m an idiot. I think I am stressing over that waaay to much!
Camille – an easy way to think of its and it’s is to think in terms of his or hers. If you are using possessive its, then there is no apostrophe, just like his or hers doesn’t have apostrophes. If you are saying it is, then it does have an apostrophe, like can’t or won’t. That has always helped me.
posted by Kim on 12-12-2008 at 4:45 pm
1. I guess it’s kind of Christmas-y, but we always decorate the dog with whatever bows and ribbons used to reside on presents. Then we take bets on how long she’ll leave them on.
2. His name was Steve. I don’t get along well with Steves. I shoulda known better.
2. Who and Whom. I will never figure that out as long as I live.
4. Crocheting at work. It’s a slow afternoon, and damned if these scarves won’t make themselves!
posted by Miss V on 12-12-2008 at 4:50 pm
Bethy–Hahahahaha! I never heard “Can you borrow me $5?” I will have to remember that.
posted by El on 12-12-2008 at 4:57 pm
1. My sister and I usually have a Christmas Eve dance party. And we drink wine and talk about boys :D
2. When my ex and I got together, we were both pining for other people. When we broke up, same deal. In the middle? Ugh.
3. Jason, if you’re ashamed, I’m embarrassed that I can’t spell “embarrassed”. It usually takes me several tries to get that one right!
4. Right now I’m reading “Motherless Brooklyn” by Johnathan Lethem. It’s the second Lethem book I’ve read. He’s great. Noir with a twist! I’m also hoping to get the new David Bergen book “The Retreat” for Christmas.
posted by Linds on 12-12-2008 at 5:01 pm
El, I am totally with you on rural. The worst tongue twister ever to me is “rural route”. It takes me about two minutes to spit it out.
PS. Thanks to everyone for all of the good books to put on the reading list for the holidays!
posted by Lyn on 12-12-2008 at 5:08 pm
Not sure if it’s right but I recall being told that effect is for something physical in the world an affect has to do with emotionality. However, having read the earlier comment about verb/noun I think it must be more complicated so I looked it up but am more confused than before(click my name for the link).
Rural, like judicial, is one of those words that makes who ever is pronouncing them sound drunk!
3. I have trouble with ent vs ant endings. I think this may just be due to my poor spelling. I was once told that people taught to read with phonics are usually bad spellers… not sure if that’s true either!
posted by polaroidgirl on 12-12-2008 at 5:40 pm
1. I’m not sure how non-traditional this is, but my family always has a cocktail hour on Christmas eve. This is when we are allowed to open one small “teaser” present, which is almost always a cheesy gag gift.
2. I became friends with my boyfriend (of 4+ years) when I got him fired from his job. We started dating a little over a year later and the rest is history.
3. Who/whom. Still have trouble with that one. Also where punctuation goes in relation to quotation marks. I have a friend who drives me nuts with some speech oddities. She says “pacific” instead of “specific”, “catched” instead of “caught”, “supposably” instead of “supposedly”, and “breffest” instead of “breakfast”. I hope she doesn’t read mental_floss.
4. I just finished reading the Twilight series. I thought they were sort of fun, but really stupid. Especially the last one.
posted by Christina on 12-12-2008 at 6:27 pm
1. We, too, pelt one another with balled up Christmas wrap.
2. Geeze where do I begin?
3.
4. currently reading ‘Cold Sassy Tree’ which I’m really enjoying. Just finished the third book in the Inkheart Series ‘Inkdeath’ A tween book, my daughter and I both read. Enjoyed it. And prior to that the four books in the Twilight series. Okay, but by the last half of the last book, I was a bit bored.
posted by Vickey on 12-12-2008 at 6:56 pm
1. We have to eat breakfast before we can open presents on Christmas morning. The breakfast is always biscuits and tomato gravy. (I know, you probably haven’t heard of it. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, and also, whatever you do, don’t equate it with ketchup.)
2. N/A
3. I’m an English major, so spelling and grammar aren’t problems for me. I like to tell people that the only thing I can do with numbers is spell them and use them correctly in a sentence, provided that “divided by” isn’t in the sentence. (Oh, and To Chelsea: people lie; things lay…at least in the present tense anyway.)
4. I’m in between books. I just bought a whole bunch on a long lunch to Barnes & Noble. I’m planning on re-reading Magyk by Angie Sage so I can read the sequels. (It’s a really entertaining children’s book.)
posted by Kimmer on 12-12-2008 at 7:05 pm
1. Monopoly on Christmas eve, the only time my mom would play, the end of the game was bedtime.
2. The man I will love forever I met at a restaurant and he was barefoot.
3. Separation or seperation?
4. Michener’s The Source
posted by CIndylou on 12-12-2008 at 7:11 pm
1. classic jewish tradition, which has already been mentioned (many times) above; movie and chinese food.
3. Capital and Capitol are problems for me, even though I know the difference. I also can’t spell weird or friend without the friendly red line correcting me.
4. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” but i just finished “Anathem”
posted by Shap on 12-12-2008 at 7:14 pm
1. We have a pretty traditional Midwestern Christmas, I suppose. We bake Christmas cookies and watch A Christmas Story at least once. Usually twice. We have a big gift opening on Christmas morning. We have a big meal and play with/read our gifts.
2. I hit him in the face with a dodgeball while we were working at a summer enrichment program for kids. Odd, yes.
3. Definitely. I use it too much and misspell it every time.
4. I just finished Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War by Peter Maass. Hands down the best book I’ve read in the last five years. Sad though. Bosnia was hell.
posted by Kieran on 12-12-2008 at 7:38 pm
1. My mom always makes cinnamon pull-aparts for Christmas morning (they’re like cinnamon rolls, but oh, so much better). Last year we went to my dad’s ex-wife’s house (my sibling’s mother). I feel a tradition in the making, as well.
2. Not applicable, I haven’t had one yet.
3. Necessary and further vs. farther. I can never remember if necessary has two c’s or not. I also can never remember when to use further or farther. To add fuel to my patheticness, I can never figure out if “further” has two u’s or not.
4. I’m currently reading Robert’s Rules of Order In Brief. It’s actually really interesting. I reccommend it, but be aware, after you do it’ll drive you nuts when people don’t use proper parlimentary procedure. I’m also reading the Mental Floss History of the World. Interesting stuff. In addition, I just finished Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
posted by Chelsey on 12-12-2008 at 8:48 pm
1. We set up the Christmas tree and other holiday decors on All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1)
2. I dreamt that she was walking towards me with a halo of light over her and I was mystified and I kept thinking about her because of that dream. The next time I saw her I was sort of in love lol
3. A lot and alot :)
4. Battle Royale by Koushon Takami. It’s Lord of the Flies meets Survivor
posted by Leizl on 12-12-2008 at 9:05 pm
1. I wear a tie.
2. The day we met she gigged a fork in my thigh and spit on face. At least that’s the way I remember it.
3. I have to look up the word “insouciance” once a month.
4. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. One that I’ve never read and finally doing so. It’s a fun read!
posted by Pete on 12-12-2008 at 10:16 pm
1) I have a pretty typical Southern Christmas. Last year, my dad got married so, we had to visit the step grandparents.
2) Haven’t really had one yet. I am only sixteen.
3) Commas. I get confused about where to put them.
4)The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Great book. Very touching.
posted by Brittney on 12-12-2008 at 10:37 pm
1. My family watches the movie Screwed with Norm McDonald on Christmas day. It started a few years ago and just caught on.
2. The day we met my high school boyfriend nailed me in the head with a shoe in the hallway. That was probably the high point in the relationship.
3. Where you’re cheering for someone, is it “Here here!” or “Hear hear!”? Are we calling attention to someone, or asking a crowd to listen? That one has been irritating me for months.
4. I Like You: Entertaining Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris. Full of silly laughs, recipes and craft tips. I learned how to entertain the elderly and glue googly eyes on pinecones. What fun!
posted by Andie on 12-12-2008 at 11:29 pm
1. My sisters and I are all married and out of the house, but my mom still buys us all matching pj’s that we open on Christmas Eve and wear on Christmas Day. Also, my husband and I (newlyweds) make sugar cookies with icing, but we put funny designs on them. My husband goes the more x-rated route with his designs. lol Men are eternally 12 years old.
2. I dated a guy who I worked with. He was great outside of work and even introduced me to his friends, but at work, it was like he didn’t know me. At all. Should have noticed that sign. lol
3. I am a total grammar nazi…I hate when people use incorrect grammar or spell words wrong, especially “there”, “their”, “they’re” and the like. I do get confused, however, with whether it’s lie down or lay down…
4. I’m not reading anything at the moment, just because I’m in a book rut. I have No Country For Old Men on the bookshelf,unread. I’m also thinking of reading Twilight, just to see what all the fuss is about.
posted by Shannon on 12-12-2008 at 11:33 pm
1. My family’s tree-topper is a pair of Groucho Marx funny nose glasses. Not a star, not an angel. funny nose glasses. I don’t know why- I think my parents started doing that before I was born. I love it.
Also- nobody looks at the tree til we all go downstairs together to see what Santa’s left us. This started when I was a kid, and even at 30 I feel really weird if I give the tree more than a furtive glance before the stockings.
3. I have trouble with commas, and words like judgment and knowledge. the whole dge thing.
4. Just finished “My Most Excellent Year” by Steve Kluger. YA fiction with oddball characters, baseball, Broadway, and Mary Poppins. Best I’ve read in AGES!
posted by Elizabeth W. on 12-13-2008 at 12:09 am
1. Throwing the cats into a snow pile – it’s always good for a laugh. Yes, they have claws, no they never claw us
2. I spent a decade of my life pickled and went through some pretty bad relationships.
3. Trying to talk or type half asleep. Some times I look at previous posts and just think I sound like a complete moron.
4. Ummm, a post on Mental floss. Seriously, I just returned to work after 13 years and I’m too tired to read anything.
posted by Lorelei on 12-13-2008 at 12:24 am
1) my 3 brothers and I watch A Clockwork Orange, for all the obvious reasons.
3) I create words, like CRAZEL for example, and use them repeatedly in the hope that they will enter the vernacular.
4)Tristam Shandy…..a bit of an effort to wrap my head around it but ultimately worthwhile! Recommended if you have an ample supply of both time and unsweetened gin.
posted by ROBCO on 12-13-2008 at 12:25 am
1. We have hot dogs on Christmas eve.
2. Ones that start off as blind dates tend to end bad.
3. I’m dyslexic I have problems with most word usage.
4 Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card. Yes I would recommend it if you have read the other Ender books.
posted by Justin on 12-13-2008 at 9:41 am
1. For Christmas, I am ensuring that my kids will have stuff to talk about in therapy for years to come: “It’s an OCD Christmas!”. Luckily, (NOT!) my elder girl exhibits the same traits, so she’s perfectly happy to comply with wierd instructions like kissing the 1/2 inch baby Jesus every night before bed, Santa photos, The Grinch may only be watched Christmas Eve, the angel decorations have priority on the tree, cookies and milk for Santa, you may not get dressed until after stockings are opened, it goes on and on. I’m driven to create the perfect Christmas – I even have a secret roll of wrapping paper only for the Santa brought gifts. One non-traditional tradition I’m starting is the answer to the perplexed cry of agony: “But we don’t have a CHIMNEY!” – it’s a large, glittery ceramic key that we will place on the front doorknob for Santa to magically get in our house!
2. I met Bill in a dive bar. Our relationship was a dive bar, marked by infidelity, alcohol, and really bad sex.
3. surprise? surprize? suprise?
I hate this word.
4. Just finished A Lion Among Men – probably the best written of the Wicked series, and makes me want to continue, but it’s odd – war fantasy for women???
posted by Marion on 12-13-2008 at 10:54 am
1. This isn’t family, but with the staff of the restaurant where I worked, it was the xmas eve tradition to hit a karaoke joint on st. marks place. I bought myself a bottle(or three) of soju with my name in japanese written in magic marker–and we stayed until they threw us out…
2. I met Nerea when her boyfriend was in the bathroom. We could barely hear each other talk over the music–turns out those were always the best conversations we had.
3. Continuously and continually
4. Right now I’m reading Memoirs of My Nervous Illness by Daniel Paul Schreber
posted by bcnbri on 12-13-2008 at 2:32 pm
1. My grandma hides a tin pickle ornament on her Christmas tree and every year on Christmas Eve the family plays “find the pickle on the tree for 5 dollars”.
2. I met my ex through a friend. No foreshadowing there.
3. I cannot say the word specific it always comes out “pacific” unless I really think about it.
posted by B on 12-13-2008 at 3:44 pm
1. There are too many people in my family to set tables for a normal holiday dinner so we eat turkey sandwiches off of ‘fancy’ paper plates while sitting on the floor.
2. My dad threw a tomato at my mom’s head while they were both working at the grocery store so she would have to talk to him. Their first date was to a demolition derby where she got pelted with bits of tires. I have no idea how I was born.
3. I always write nesacarially and probally. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t use those two words way too often.
4. I just borrowed “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis but I haven’t started it yet
posted by emilybird on 12-13-2008 at 4:35 pm
1. We open Christmas presents on Christmas morning. The first person to wake up sits on the stairs and starts singing. As other people wake up, they join in. It used to be only Christmas carols, but now we always sing “Oh The Cow Kicked Nelly,” which is one of those second verse same as the first songs. One year we gargled songs.
Also, during present opening, it’s required to wear all apparel items for the duration of the gifts. This isn’t so much a factor now that we really don’t get/give too many presents any more. Then after presents, my dad makes omelets that have a bizarre secret ingredient like flaked coconut.
3. ie seems to be trouble for me: their, weird, receive.
4. I am reading:
a. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
b. Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
c. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace
d. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
e. Troy by Adele Geras
f. Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon
I’d recommend a, c, d and f. The others are kind of meh, but I’m a teen librarian so it’s work related.
posted by Julia on 12-13-2008 at 6:11 pm
1 and 2 I’m opting out of.
3. I’m bad at the its, I always get corrected on Word.
4. I’m reading “Ulysses” by James Joyce for a class. It’s(is that right?) the most difficult book I’ve ever read and would have stopped by now if it weren’t for the class. Also I’m supplementing this book with The Mentalfloss History of the World to keep my sanity. I’m almost done with it though so I don’t know what I’m going to do without it. Maybe start over.
posted by Tricia on 12-14-2008 at 3:41 am
1. Watching “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” and “How the Grinch stole Christmas”
2. Whether to underline or put in quotation marks when it comes to titles of books and songs.
3. Never had one to do that.
4.”Blessings”, by Anna Quindlen.
posted by Sara on 12-14-2008 at 4:26 pm
I love the Groucho Marx glasses at the top of the tree! Also the family that sings on xmas morning. Sounds like a fun family. :)
1. There are no children in what I consider my ‘family’ (brother/sis-in-law and her brother and sister and sister’s husband. Get that?) – I’m the youngest at 35.
Before I moved to NZ, the tradition was to all get together on Christmas Eve and go out to dinner. Then we were all required to stay in the same house (whomever was hosting that year). We put out our ’stockings’ (random small gift bags) which ‘Santa’ would fill with random stuff overnight (used to be my sis-in-law and her sister, but after a few years we all started getting up at different times and putting stuff in the bags).
On Christmas morning, we’d get up and open the ’stockings’ then have breakfast, then open all the other gifts – one by one. Oh, and the women are forced to wear Christmas pins and matching PJ bottoms (forced because it wasn’t my idea).
Then we play a game of croquet or some other competitive game.
We’d all shower, prepare and eat Christmas dinner. We aren’t religious, so instead of saying grace, we’d tell jokes around the table.
2. Almost all my “how we met” stories were good, but all the ‘how we ended’ stories were horrific (but now entertaining).
3. I can’t spell embarrassed (embarassed?) either. The whole lay/lie thing confuses me as well – I just use ‘lie’ for everything. Also..vaccuum? Vacuum? Vaccum?
When I lived in Pittsburgh, I would hear people say “I’ll ride you home” instead of “I’ll give you a ride home”. Drove me crazy!
4. Just finished “Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac” by Gabrielle Zevin. Excellent book and highly recommended! She has an incredible gift for writing.
posted by Dawn on 12-14-2008 at 4:49 pm
1. This is half a Christmas tradition half thanksgiving tradition, whenever we go up to see family, we always play Christmas music on thanksgiving :) This year its basically all that’s ever on the radio!
2. pass
3. Way too many to count, so I just basically worship spell check :P
4. 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult highly, highly recommend it, it’s fabulous!
posted by Therese on 12-14-2008 at 6:48 pm
1.) Thanksgiving every year my dad and I have to listen to Arlo Guthrie’s song “Alice’s Restaurant”. Started years ago when we heard it on a local radio station on Thanksgiving Day. And sometime during the Christmas season it’s an absolute must to watch “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.
2.) I met one of my ex’s while she was a heroin junkie. You can imagine for yourself how that ended.
3.) Gray vs. Grey…the whole debate is gray…or is it grey? Argh!
4.) Right now I’m rereading ‘Red Dragon’ by Thomas Harris. Starts slow, gets better as it goes on. But I would *highly* recommend a somewhat rare book by Hunter S. Thompson entitled “The Curse of Lono”. An avatistical look at Hawaiian culture through the eyes of the good Doctor.
posted by Adam on 12-14-2008 at 7:04 pm
1) I suppose this isn’t really untraditional, but it’s a new tradition. I like to watch “Elf” every year since it came out. I love that a recent movie has already become a classic for me.
2) This is bad beginning/good ending. I met my husband while he was married to someone else (I didn’t know it until much too late). He was in the middle of divorce proceedings when I got pregnant. We made it through some pretty harrowing times, got married, and are now ridiculously happy 14 years later, and with a beautiful daughter.
3) I always question my spelling of “weird.” The whole “I before E” rule doesn’t apply to this one, and whether I put the I or the E first, I always think I’ve spelled it wrong. And I’ve always been a phenomenal speller. I can’t figure it out.
4) “The Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell.
posted by bre on 12-15-2008 at 9:46 am
On our first date, we went on a picnic at a local pond. We ate and then we feed the ducks and the geese at the pond. We didn’t know it at the time, but there was a goose at the pond that tended to attack people, and that goose just happened to attack my date. In retrospect, I should have taken my cue from the goose.
posted by Janel on 12-18-2008 at 3:25 pm