Punctuation Day. Period.

After this weekend, autumn is officially upon us (it began on Saturday), so prepare for lots of Fall-related Reports.  Decorative Gourd's are already popping-up in grocery stores, so it can only be a matter of time...

But first, a disgruntled and impatient reader sent me an e-mail earlier this morning alerting me that today is National Punctuation Day.  This reader had some choice uses for punctuation marks, which I won't repeat here for the sake of decency.  But (and I'm sure this won't be good for keeping his ego at a reasonable level) he has influenced the Report for the day.  I am, after all, a Technical Editor by trade.  My missing Punctuation Day would be like an elf not celebrating Christmas.

To celebrate this glorious grammarian day, here are some useful and comical pointers on punctuation use.  First up, some classics from The Oatmeal on "How To Use an Apostrophe" and "How To Use a Semicolon."  The grammar lessons of middle school would have been so much more interesting with these examples.  These, of course, are two mysterious pieces of punctuation that are often the subject of question, self-doubt, and second guessing.  Another piece of punctuation, used in the last sentence, is a subject of much debate:  The Oxford Comma (also known as the serial comma).

The Oxford Comma, most famous for its title role in a Vampire Weekend song, is a contentious piece of punctuation.  In fact, the first question of my interview for my current position asked how I felt about the Oxford Comma.  If it is unclear by my consistent use of it in the Report, I'm for it, just as the sandwich club is for frilly toothpicks.  Others are opposed.  The New York Times, for instance, doesn't use them.  Some argue that maintaining use of the Oxford Comma is simply being a slave to historic grammatical convention, just like the type-writer imposed two spaces after a period that is not relevant in a computer-font world.  This, as NPR's blogger Linda Holmes observes, is not the case.  As you can see from this comic, the Oxford Comma is fundamentally important in reducing ambiguity.  Please embrace it.  Or respond with a compelling argument for the opposition.

Along with celebrating the Oxford Comma and other pieces of punctuation, there are numerous options for birthday celebrations of note.  Readers could...

• Have a Coke and a Smile for Mean Joe Greene;
• Play the music and light the lights for Jim Henson; or
• Believe in the green light for F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Peace, love, and Oxford Commas

India Ink

Another late day for the Report... I'm afraid I accidentally slept in a bit today and spent quite a bit of the morning feeling like this little guy.  But now I've got a stomach full of terrible work coffee and my eyes are open, at least for a little while.  Great responses to yesterday's soda debate (sodebate?), as Mr. Mueth offered another map and some perspective from "an odd island of soda in a sea of pop."  Tamara, meanwhile, found more examples of Rhode Island-ese, in her attempt to translate PSDS:  "We saw BSNDS at the zoo in Franklin Park. We bought it at CS and Roebuck's. Mother always said, "Don't forget to wash behind your ES." The Boos and GS got to Mantle. PS are a juicy fruit. Crying causes TS. This car VS to the left."

While yesterday we discussed words that divide from within a culture, today, we're discussing words that cross from one language and culture to another.  The BBC has a great article on the Hobson-Jobson dictionary, which catalogs words the English language has borrowed from India.  The origin of "dam(n)" is particularly interesting, but what really surprised me was how many commonplace words have Indian roots.  Of course, words like yoga, jodhpur, sari, and guru come from India, but so many of the words (pyjamas, cot, shampoo, atoll, bandana, etc.) are ones that I've always assumed have long been English, not adopted.  The repetition-based words are also fun to say out loud.  Though you'll probably look silly mumbling "higgledy-piggledy" to yourself at work.
 
And as long as we're looking at items involving Britain interfacing with the world, check out the video that the BBC is using as their Olympics titles.  (NOTE: The link auto-plays a video, so be ready for sound right when you click here.)  The video is a brilliant concept, featuring the Olympics just completely taking over England, from the city to the country.  (Surely better than the Opening Ceremonies where the English countryside takes over the Olympics... Including live animals!)  And even beyond the phenomenal integration of sport to site, the transitions between events and locations is also great.  I'm particularly taken with the diver-to-rower transition.
 
Don't stop thinkin' about tomorrow... Because it will be Friday!  But as you think about that, find some time to think about today, too, and about the 69th birthday of Christine McVie, the Fleetwood Mac member who wrote "Don't Stop," "You Make Lovin' Fun" and other hit songs for the greatest album of all time, Rumours.
 
It'll soon be here!

The Pale King of Pop

Things are underway a bit late here at the Report, but it's allowed us to gather some great material for you today, continuing a debate that I inadvertently spurred yesterday with my flippant comment on Sodapop.  (No, not the Outsider. The drink he's holding.)  Yes, having taken linguistics classes, I should have acknowledged that there are regional differences in the words people use for things.  In New England, things are "wicked cool."  In Rhode Island, a lot of women (and some men) have "PSDS".  People in the midwest pack things into "baygs."  In the non-existent, imaginary region that my Dad's voice is from, people drink "melk."  But few words create more regional tension than those that define.
 
Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan over at the Dish, I have found an objective investigation of the soda-pop-coke phenomenon.  Interesting method of data accumulation.  I was particularly taken with the filtering to ensure only soft drink related posts were tagged, then avoid talking of "Coke" as a brandname... Though interesting he doesn't acknowledge filtering out alternative uses of Coke... Interesting that soda is such a coastal term... How did it pass over the middle of the nation without touching down?  And seriously, what cutesy fantasy world is it where "fizzy drink" is a common expression?  Oh, New Zealand?  Okay.  That makes sense.  Freaking Hobbits.
 
The second major story today is an interesting article on the largest piece of literary intrigue in the past year.  No, Dan Brown didn't release a new book.  (If he did, chances are someone's secret child is part of some organization's plot for world domination.)  I'm referring to the Pulitzer Prize Board's decision not to award a prize for literature in 2012, in spite of what I understand were three pretty outstanding nominees.  Well, Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and Specimen Days, and one of the three jurors for this year's decision has come out with a "letter" explaining the process.  Really, though, his piece is much more than that, as it offers a thoughtful reflection on the general awarding of prizes to works of literature.  
My favorite quote from the piece, though, is on generational subjectivity:

"What seem fatal flaws to one generation strike the next as displays of artistic courage. Who cares that Henry James went on sometimes at questionable length because he was being paid by the word? Who cares, for that matter, that Marconi merely invented radio transmission when his actual goal was to pick up the voices of the dead?"

One generation's failure can be another generation's American Top 40 with Casey Kasem!  (Screw you, Seacrest.)

And to prevent things from getting too intellectual here at the Report, here are two cute things:  First, a sweet parody of a song that's been making the Internet rounds, featuring a friend who taught many of us one of our first C-words.  (Get your mind out of the gutter, readers!)  Second, a sour encounter with a healthier snack.

You could call him Aaron Burr by the way he's dropping Hamiltons... And today, he did drop Hamilton.  It's the 208th anniversary of that famous duel.  The Wikipedia piece is an interesting read.  It appears Ham shot first.  (Though George Lucas routinely tampers with the Wiki to edit the past.)

Soda Pop-Culture

Strong support yesterday for the adorable story of Joshie, as well as for the scientific method of reporting on the Higgs Boson.  Higgs also inspired last night's (tragically non-winning) trivia team name: "Are You There, God Particle, It's Me, Margaret."  Because, y'know... The Higgs Boson wants to hear all about the Mag's Pre-Teen Problems.
 
Today we move from science to soda.  (Which, in the world of secret recipes and carbonation, is a type of science.)  John Nese shares his obsession with soda (or "pop" or "Coke" to those of you who are wrong/from other regions) in this thirteen minute interview.  Admittedly it's a bit long, but for those of you who work through it, you'll find some interesting trivia and rewarding comments.  Nese getting all worked up about energy drinks is good stuff, but what's really fun is watching his enthusiasm build as he explores his own shelves.  A kid in a candy store has seldom seemed a more appropriate parallel than here with this man in his soda shop.  As one of the few Moxie fans that I know, I was thrilled to learn that it is the only soda name found in the dictionary.  And coffee soda?! What-the-what?!
 
To pair with the refreshing bubbles of soda-pop, we've got a couple of video-game related items.  First, some video games that have been re-created as traditional Japanese art.  Not gonna lie, some of these games are dramatically improved by this art shift.  A Samurai Starfox would have been great, though I'm also a fan of the Wes Anderson take on that world of barrel-rolls.  Pokemon's apparent move to some seedy underbelly of the gambling world exposes the danger and corruption involved in what is essentially dog-fighting (just with more varied breeds).  And following Mario Kart: Double-Dash, I'm surprised Nintendo didn't try to tap transportation nostalgia and draft "Mario Kart: Rickshaw Racers."  Speaking of Mario, here's an excellent map detailing the Mario World of Nesteros.  An entertaining link for Game of Thrones fans, and one which has me searching for "Who-Plays-Who" parallels between the fantasy series and the games.  All I've got is a Peach-esque Daenerys searching all over for three Yoshis that she somehow managed to lose.

JAY! JAY! JAY!  It's Sophia Vergara's birthday and that's got me hungry... Hungry for more Hunger Gaaaaaaaames!

[One reader hoped this Report's title referred to Rob Lowe's classic performance as Sodapop Curtis in The Outsiders.  This led to my proposal of a new weekly report on Rob Lowe's activities, called "The Rob Lowedown."  I also proposed a cute toy / street gang mash-up of My Little Ponyboy.  Neither of these projects materialized.]