MM: Recap

It’s the end of the year, of course, and therefore the ideal time for reminiscing. Punctuality Rules! has only been around since October, but, who says we can’t have a retrospective anyway, right? So, in place of our usual “Mangled Monday” feature, let’s look back over the last few months and see how much we’ve accomplished.

• We started by explaining how Punctuality Rules! got its name.
• We talked about judging things by their appearance–and how it can be a good thing.
• We started the “Mangled Monday” theme with a look at the word “it’s” in its various permutations.
• We wondered whether Punctuation could save the world.
• We looked at the old classic, Strunk and White.
• We discussed the importance of attention to detail.
• We cleared up the mystery between “lay” and “lie.”
• We expressed our disbelief at a glaring typographical error in the title of a book–on its cover.
• We affirmed that we are all travelling the road of life together.
• We examined the effect the internet is having on social interacting and manners.
• We examined when and when not to use an apostrophe.
• We talked about the importance of punctuality.
• We covered the correct way to write numbers.
• We looked at a number of commonly-confused words.
• We shared the secret of the most important thing you need to know about writing.
• We exchanged some links to other, excellent sites.
• We examined the differences between there, their, and they’re.
• We celebrated my birthday (just because).
• We talked about the importance of respect.
• We explored words that looked alike, or sounded alike, but were not alike at all.
• We discussed the correct way to denote emphasis in your writing.
• We looked at the need (and lack thereof) of abbreviations.
• We explored “connecting words” that have come up over the years to connect us to each other.
• We discussed the correct way to use contractions.
• We explored the root of holiday.
• We examined–and explored–asides.
• We nailed down how and when to use commas.
• We asked about the importance of perfection.
• We contrasted the benefits of being a dreamer against those of being a realist.
• We settled once and for all the question about starting a sentence with a conjunction. And I got to quote one of my favorite movies while doing so.
• We defined adverbs and adjectives.
• We dispelled the misty image of writing traditions.
• We discussed the Nominitive case in grammar.
• We talked about the importance of a good vocabulary, the building blocks of writing.
• We also addressed the grammatical Objective case.
• We stated quite firmly that strong writing is ideal.
• We compared the “handmade” writing style (as in, blogs) to the professional–and why professional writing is not always to be prefered.
• We listed another group of commonly-confused words. (Really, this could go on indefinitely.)
• We discussed different forms of address.

Phew! That’s actually quite a list–I’ve been busier than I thought!

Incidentally, the “we” starting each of those bullet points was a deliberate choice. Even though this blog has been entirely written by ME, there’s been a fair amount of discussion and suggestions in the comments along the way. There can never be too much conversation! (Although, if you wanted to try, by all means–the more the merrier.)

Just, don’t forget, everyone . . . tonight is “New Year’s Eve,” not “New Years Eve. (The “eve” belongs to the New Year, and so it is properly written as apostrophe-S.) No matter how you spell it, though, have a good and safe one!