Monday, February 18, 2013

February 18: Blog in the Raw

My last post today is going to be a blog in the raw.  That means I'm not going to proofread or correct what I'm typing.  I'm just going talk about whatever comes into my head.  I'm not going to backspace or speell check or anything.  (OK, that's funny, misspelling "spell.")

Pretty much, when I type in a post, they all pretty much look like this.  I'm a pretty fast typiest, so my fingers sometimes work faster than my brain.  Especially when it comes to spelling and grammar.  After I'm done entering a post, I usually spend a good 15 or 20 minutes proofreading and correcting it.  I hate reading blogs that are poorly written, which is about 98% of them.  Either that or they're about food or fashion or crafts.

Yes, I'm bitching about the state of blogdom.  I wish there were more really good writers blogging out there, instead of the vomit that's usually posted.  Perhaps it's my sensibilities as a college English professor.  It could be.  I've read so many comma splices and sentence fragments that I think my own skills are detriorating.  The final word in that last sentence proves it.

I usually tell my students not to worry about grammar or spelling on their first drafts.  The problem with that advice is that they apply it to their second, third, fourth, and final drafts, as well.  And now I read that they're not going to be teaching kids in elementary school how to write in cursive.  It makes me weep for the state of the world.  If the power goes out and the wireless towers are disabled, nobody is going to able to communicate with each other any more.  We'll be reduced to a planet of people wandering around like the walking dead, staring at our blank computers and smart phones and tablets.

Yes, this is a rant.  A poorly spelled and punctuated but deeply felt rant.

Maybe Saint Marty should have lived on the prairie with Laura Ingalls.

It's never stopped me, either

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