Reading comprehension
Remember those tests we took in grade school? With your No. 2 pencil? "Be sure to blacken the entire oval, no stray marks..." as if everyone had just landed from outer space.
I always scored highest on the reading comprehension sections. "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" "Do they have a fourth of July in Canada?" And more recently, I've worked as a magazine editor, freelance writer, newsletter editor, publications management, etc. etc.
So when I post something to a newsgroup, and get a bunch of truly goofy replies to a very minor detail...followed by more people's replies containing their experiences on said detail....GRRRR.
Example: I used the term "lagniappe" in a posting recently (no, it wasn't on Eons) and mentioned that "it's Mardi Gras season," helpfully providing a reference to those who might have no clue as to what that word means or where to find details. Because the thread had to do with another winter holiday, someone posted chapter and verse about the dates for Mardi Gras, the other holiday, how one could not possibly have anything to do with the other, badee badee badee.
Huh? This *is* Mardi Gras season. Right now. It just started, and it goes for another 24 days (but who's counting?). Don't tell me I can't use one of my favorite words in a sentence. (Bet you've never typed it, let alone said it out loud.) I'll mention lagniappe around Halloween, Easter, Labor Day, and Christmas if I want to!
At least Hallmark doesn't make "lagniappe" cards.
Yet.
I always scored highest on the reading comprehension sections. "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" "Do they have a fourth of July in Canada?" And more recently, I've worked as a magazine editor, freelance writer, newsletter editor, publications management, etc. etc.
So when I post something to a newsgroup, and get a bunch of truly goofy replies to a very minor detail...followed by more people's replies containing their experiences on said detail....GRRRR.
Example: I used the term "lagniappe" in a posting recently (no, it wasn't on Eons) and mentioned that "it's Mardi Gras season," helpfully providing a reference to those who might have no clue as to what that word means or where to find details. Because the thread had to do with another winter holiday, someone posted chapter and verse about the dates for Mardi Gras, the other holiday, how one could not possibly have anything to do with the other, badee badee badee.
Huh? This *is* Mardi Gras season. Right now. It just started, and it goes for another 24 days (but who's counting?). Don't tell me I can't use one of my favorite words in a sentence. (Bet you've never typed it, let alone said it out loud.) I'll mention lagniappe around Halloween, Easter, Labor Day, and Christmas if I want to!
At least Hallmark doesn't make "lagniappe" cards.
Yet.
posted
by Veloise
