And then there is this:

https://youtu.be/uLwcc0P3eIw

It's a good thing there were guns, otherwise someone might have been hurt.

When I still lived in California, I attended a Neighborhood Watch formation meeting. A local police officer was there to explain safety and the law. The discussion was supposed to be about forming a neighborhood watch and what kinds of things needed to be watched.

As the discussion went on, we talked about issues in the neighborhood, including limited parking. At that point, the discussion devolved into petitioning the attending officer to ticket specific neighbors for parking violations and whether a neighborhood watch could enforce parking rules.

Seriously, these people wanted their neighbors jailed over simple parking inconveniences, like a truck sticking over the sidewalk or too many cars in a driveway. Yeah, let's ruin someone's life because their teenager reached driving age.

Great piece in the Times. Congratulations!

But you could a pulled that comma after "yet."

Do compromises ever work?

I mean, I know they can be carried out, but doesn't it just leave both parties roiling in resentment?

"Seriously, these people wanted their neighbors jailed over simple parking inconveniences, like a truck sticking over the sidewalk or too many cars in a driveway."

There is a site called notalwaysright that can be your one-stop shop for schadenfreude: it's 10:1 about the abject stupidity, greed and mendacity of people dealing with retail business.

No wonder HGTV et al has an audience. Actually seeing someone build something nice is refreshing.

Thanks so much, Kevin!

As for the "Yet" comma, copyeditor at the LAT controls much of that per their style. They removed an Oxford comma from a list, which gave me a small seizure.

They removed an Oxford comma from a list, which gave me a small seizure. ~ Amy Alkon at September 21, 2018 1:46 PM

Say it ain't so!

Newspaper editors are idiots. Just ask Pat Venditte, amphibious pitcher for the Oakland A's.

I once wrote a letter to the editor in which I wrote, "The Confederate States of America was never widely acknowledged as an independent nation." The editors changed it to, "The confederate states of America were never...." Um, guys, the CSA (single entity) was a self-declared, independent nation, so the name goes in caps and the verb "is" fits. The United States of America is....

And, yes, I know that usage did not start until after the War of 1812 and was not widespread until after the Civil War.

Conan:

I once wrote a letter to the editor in which I wrote, "The Confederate States of America was never widely acknowledged as an independent nation." The editors changed it to, "The confederate states of America were never...." Um, guys, the CSA (single entity) was a self-declared, independent nation, so the name goes in caps and the verb "is" fits. The United States of America is....

Says you. You have the luxury of having grown up with a language that has only one definite article.

When I was learning German (which has sixteen definite articles, some of which are used more than once, for different cases and genders) at the Defense Language Institute, we learned that some countries take a definite article.

Ich komme aus der Schweitz. (I come from Switzerland.) Die Schweitz is German for Switzerland. It's one of the few countries that takes a definite article. "Der" is the definite article for feminine nouns in the dative case, which is the case used in this sentence. (It is also masculine nominatative and feminine and plural genetive.)

Like all countries that take articles in German, Switzerland uses the feminine article.

But there is one exception and only one. Ich komme aus den Vereinigten Staaten. (I come from the United States.) Why "den"? Because it's the dative plural, and "United States" is a plural noun.

So, you might think so. Most people in the United States might think so, but speakers of other languages might not see it that way.

Patrick, Patrick, Patrick. Give it a rest.

I know you're desperate to score points on me, but this was a swing and a miss. Keep swinging. You'll get a hit one day.

I've studied German, French, Spanish, and Japanese, so I'm well acquainted with the differences in language structures. Wakarismasu ka?

This was a letter to an American newspaper published only in English. No Foreign Language editions and no Swiss editions. This was for speakers of English only.

And it's not "says me," it's "says Strunk and White." If you need a copy, I'll loan you my dog-eared copy.

No, no one's trying to score points, oh, fragile one. I simply thought it was an interesting point of trivia.

As I conceded, most English speakers would agree. Speakers of other languages might not.

Goodness, it's so easy to put you on the defensive. Perhaps you should go to your safe space for a while? I hear they have some nice coloring books and the most adorable teddy bears you ever saw.

And there's a really nice lady there, too. She's a psychologist who would be happy to talk with you if you want.

Take all the time you need, precious. The grownups will still be here when you're ready.

Oh, and regarding Strunk and White? Newsflash: they weren't infallible. But I'm sure you'll come right back and tell us you knew that all the time.

My God, you’re a child. Crid is right. You’re 9.

> They removed an Oxford
> comma from a list, which
> gave me a small seizure.

You are fighting the good flight, Amy.

[Flo King taught to be stingy with commas.]

Oooh, incredible comeback, delicate one. I'm so wounded I'll just cry myself to sleep every night for at least a month.

You do that.

🙄

Pity that guy died, but maybe you dont attack a guy with a gun acting far calmer than you telling you to back off?

He has superior firepower, if you are that sure he did something wrong go call the cops

Pity that guy died, but maybe you dont attack a guy with a gun acting far calmer than you telling you to back off? ~ lujlp at September 23, 2018 9:51 PM

Perhaps his wife should have tried to lead him away instead of filming an ever-escalating sequence of events. Perhaps she should have used her cell phone to call the police instead of using it to get a video for her YouTube channel.

There were two guns and a baseball bat in play; if you're the baseball bat, you need to leave. The entire history of weapons development has been a continuous effort to gain distance from the enemy's fist. Shirtless Rednecks had distance, Ed did not.

Since the wife's video was so choppy, I was not able, even on a second viewing, to determine if Ed attacked the neighbors with the bat and was shot in self-defense or outright murdered.

Shirtless Neighbor's trigger discipline was terrible, finger on the trigger the entire time. However, he did keep the pistol pointed at the ground.

De-escalation is always preferred over escalation. This is why.

Since the wife's video was so choppy, I was not able, even on a second viewing, to determine if Ed attacked the neighbors with the bat and was shot in self-defense or outright murdered.

One responsible gun owner with an ax to grind and those two wont serve time

Any lawyer will point out how for two minutes while the victim worked himself into an ever spiraling rage the guy with the gun remained calm never advanced and invited the victim to call the cops

The fact you dont see him attack will be immaterial, they will ague the wife deliberately tried to avoid filming her husbands attempts to provoke the confrontation