I love punctuation and am willing to accept the implications

Let me preface this story with “are you kidding me?”

Title of article I read: Its a catastrophe for the apostrophe in Britain

and here is the beginning....

On the streets of Birmingham, the queen's English is now the queens English.

England's second-largest city has decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned. But some purists are downright possessive about the punctuation mark. It seems that Birmingham officials have been taking a hammer to grammar (fantastic saying!) for years, quietly dropping apostrophes from street signs since the 1950s.

Through the decades, residents have frequently launched spirited campaigns to restore the missing punctuation to signs denoting such places as "St. Pauls Square" or "Acocks Green."
This week, the council made it official, saying it was banning the punctuation mark from signs in a bid to end the dispute once and for all. Councilor Martin Mullaney, who heads the city's transport scrutiny committee, said he decided to act after yet another interminable debate into whether "Kings Heath," a Birmingham suburb, should be rewritten with an apostrophe. "I had to make a final decision on this," he said Friday. "We keep debating apostrophes in meetings and we have other things to do." (seems like a sensible statement)

Mullaney hopes to stop public campaigns to restore the apostrophe that would tell passers-by that "Kings Heath" was once owned by the monarchy. "Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate, and are not needed," he said. "More importantly, they confuse people. (who do they confuse? I am actually very glad I don't know anyone that is confused by apostrophes) If I want to go to a restaurant, I don't want to have an A-level (high school diploma) in English to find it."

...and my opinion:

What?! Okay, so this made me laugh at first. It's funny. But then I thought about it a bit longer and decided that this is absurd. First of all, being a "writer" I have to admit that the English language is incredibly flawed. That I am not denying. However, since when are you allowed to just make up your own rules and decide there will be no apostrophes on street signs? And really...is it that confusing? I guess I'm okay with it in Britain but I swear...If this ever makes its way to the States I will be the first one with a picket in my hand shaped like a giant exclamation point!

I know, I know...

This is going to sound weird but sometimes I think that a good song is one I don't notice at first. Especially at work (but it happens in the car and at home when I'm doing awesome things like cleaning dishes and blasting music), but seriously, an annoying song makes me jump to my feet and stop it IMMEDIATELY! Like if it happens to keep playing for one second more it will make my mind melt or something equally dramatic.

Explanation: I am at work and I need to write something. And sometimes writing is hard. If you can believe it or not...however, music helps. Anyway, if I am writing and can write with headphones on that not only means that I am a great writer, but also that great music is playing. Bad music is distracting but a good song I will not even hear. Weird. I know.

But, the best songs, of course will stop you in your tracks and allow you to do nothing else but listen.

The new addition to Hayes Valley park. And my personal tribute to my mom, who is the greatest woman ever (hmmm...she reminds me a bit of myself) and whose favorite song is "Imagine" by John Lennon.

This is my favorite poem.


Siren Song

This is the one song everyone would like to learn
the song that is irresistible
the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see beached skulls

the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can’t remember.

Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don’t enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,

I don’t enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.
I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.

Come closer.
This song is a cry for help
Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique at last.
Alas it is a boring song
but it works every time.

Margaret Atwood

why, oh why did she swallow that fly?

Every morning when I drive to work and listen to "Baby, it's cold outside," my heart is filled with amazing Christmas cheer. And though I don't still believe in Santa Clause, I do still yearn to be his wife.

Doesn't she look amazing?! So cheery and happy. The hair...well, not so much. But, I am willing to sacrifice. Santa baby. Oh, Santa baby.

quotes i've found worthwhile lately

"A meal without wine is called breakfast."

"Why waste a second not loving who you are?"

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"It's not your salary that makes you rich. It's your spending habits." (this one reminds me of my dad, that is why i like it...it's not revolutionary but very true nonetheless...and of course, "rich" is being defined in terms of money and that is up for interpretation....jury is still out on that one)

"Dreaming of one person for hours straight can, and will, lead to delusions."

Though these are not my words, I find something about them true to who I am and what makes me up...who knows?

a case of the tuesdays

The coolest thing I learned about this month was a challenge posed to Ernest Hemmingway to write his biography in just six words.

His went something like this: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn..."

I came across a lot of fantastic ones from people both famous and not-so-famous. My favorites were:
"Catholic school backfired. Sin is in!"
"Longed for him. Got him. Shit."
"Will this do (lazy writer asked)?"
"Finally, he had no more words."
"Steve ignores editor's word limit and"
"Dorothy: 'Fuck it. I'll stay here.'"

and as my good friend used to say, the "story of my life" is:

Doing nothing is too a hobby!