Thursday, July 31, 2008

Am I a grammar prude?

There are 2 songs that really, really bug me when I hear them. 
They particularly get to me because, if not for their very blatant english mistakes, I'd actually like them.  A lot. 

The first is Kid Rock's All Summer Long. The mistake in this song is not actually the grammar, but the poetry style:

"We were trying different things/we were smoking funny things/making love out by the lake/all summer long."

It's a really catchy chorus, but as it gets stuck in my head, I keep saying "You can't rhyme a word with itself." And this perpetuates the song getting stuck in my head, because I keep thinking about how wrong it is. 

The other song is "Don't phunk with my heart" by The Black Eyed Peas.  First of all, funk is not a verb. I don't care what anybody says about language being controlled by the ones who speak it, they are wrong if they think some celebrity rock band can legitimately change grammar by mimicking an incorrect way of speaking used by uneducated, low class individuals. And don't even get me started about the spelling. 

These things bug me, alright? Please people, don't assume your audience are a bunch of ignoramuses, because "if you build it, they will come."

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hishtadlut: Putting in Effort

"In Jewish tradition, it is believed that by preparing for a certain event, one helps the event come about. For example, many single people buy an article of clothing which they will use for their weddings in orders to help bring about that day. (This concept is called Hishtadlout)."

-From a facebook group for a tzipiyah.com event which invites everyone to join them at the Beit HaMikdash on Tisha B'av, with the coming of Mashiach. 

Not quite. In my book, this concept is called voodoo, or depending on the perspective, planning in advance. I know a couple of girls who bought head scarves while they were in Israel, even though they weren't anywhere close to getting married, because they didn't know when the next time they would be back would be, and the scarves are much cheaper in Israel than in America. 

Hishtadlut would be going out on dates, asking friends if they know anyone who'd be good for you, etc. Really, it's anything pro-active in finding someone to get married to. Buying a wedding veil won't help you find the right person. It's not pro-active in finding the right person, it's pro-active in planning the perfect wedding. But the person should come first. 

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Diversity in the Office

Here is a recent conversation between a co-worker and I. This particular woman was hired because she speaks Spanish, and many of our customers speak only Spanish. 

Her: Now why would someone have put the file for "Smith-Carrey, Heidi" after "Smith, Veronica"?
Me: Because we file first by last names, then by first names.
Her: But C comes before V, so Carrey comes before Veronica.
Me: Yes, but Carrey is part of her last name. Her last name is "Smith-Carrey". So you do all the Smiths, and then you start doing all the "Smith-Carrey".
Her: OK, but see this name starts with a C and this name starts with a V. The C name should be first. This is why I can't ever find the files that I need. People just don't know how to file around here.
Me: Yeah, that's a problem alright.