Pedantry versus accuracy
Over the weekend I was working on an obituary of the legendary Hal Needham for the film website I write for. I asked a friend to look over what I'd written because I was really tired when I wrote it up. She is one of the few people I trust to edit things I write. She mentioned that I might want to say that a film was an actor's first U.S. film. It would have been an excellent addition to the piece, if it had actually been his first U.S. film. It wasn't. I looked to make sure. I'm not surprised she hadn't heard of his first film, it's more than a little obscure.
Then today I was reading a story on Yahoo about the best films that were remakes of other films. It made reference to Ocean's 11 with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and others) being equal to or better to the original. It also mentioned Al Pacino. Well, Al Pacino did appear in an Ocean's film but it was Ocean's 13. The writer was thinking of Andy Garcia, whose casino was robbed in the remake of Ocean's 11.
I know that I am pedantic, probably to a degree that skirts the line of acceptability by most people. I also think accuracy is critical in many things and people don't pay enough attention to it, at times. Accuracy improves clarity of meaning and message. That doesn't mean the 99 Cents Store should stop advertising that they are open from 9 to 9, 9 days a week. However it does mean that Larry Miller of Sit N Sleep better keep beating any advertised price or he will be giving out a whole bunch of free mattresses.
* * *
The battle drums are being beaten again in the struggle to help "war widows" who are not getting the full amount of two different death benefits they are entitled to under the law. That same law is the problem.
Military spouses are entitled to something called a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) if the military member elects to purchase the coverage at the time they retire. It's an annuity that ensures that if the military member dies before their spouse (or other eligible beneficiary), the survivor can continue to receive the retirement pension of the person who has died. Depending on how much coverage the retiree elects at retirement, the survivor can receive up to 55% of the retiree's pension.
However, if the survivor also qualifies for a benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) through the VA, the amount they get from the SBP is reduced dollar for dollar by the amount they get in DIC.
This has been a political hot potato for years. Congress wants the widows (widowers) to get the benefit, but can't find the money to pay for it. Worse yet, survivors who receive a refund of premiums paid for SBP who remarry before reaching the age of 57 must repay those premiums to the government.
It's a mess and it needs to be fixed.
* * *
The following message contains offensive language and you may find it disturbing. I don't condone the language used here, but will post it unedited. It was posted by a 51 year old teacher from Akron, OH:
"I don't mind if you come to my neighborhood from the ghetto to trick-or-treat. But when you whip out your teeny dicks and piss on the telephone pole in front of my front yard and a bunch of preschoolers and toddlers, you can take your nigger-ass back where it came from. I don't have anything against anyone of any color but niggers, stay out!"
He's been suspended from his position as a music teacher over these remarks, which were deleted from his Facebook page. Obviously his career is in jeopardy.
I have a few questions. Did he deserve to be suspended? If he'd said it directly to the teen he was directing the message at, would he be in as much trouble? Should he be suspended in that instance? Is this an issue of freedom of speech?
Let me know what you think.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Is it ironic that Republicans who wanted nothing more than to see Obamacare abolished are now angry it isn't working right? Seems hypocritical to me.
Ann Coulter is highly enamored of Senator Ted Cruz and strongly opposed to immigration reform or any form of amnesty. Isn't he an immigrant?
Military personnel shouldn't be forced to get liposuction in order to pass the so-called "tape test" and avoid being kicked out of the service. Make it simple. If they can pass the physical fitness standards, measure their BMI and be done with it.
Why is there a footstool on my patio? I never go out there and even if I did, there's no need or use for a footstool.
I don't want to go to the VA on Wednesday.
I do want to teach tomorrow.
Why is it that people feel entitled to rub the belly of a pregnant woman, often without asking first?
What did the guy who was hit by lightning twice in one day do to deserve that? Something he got a real charge out of?
Would you let Dr. Conrad Murray be in the same building where you were for medical treatment? I sure wouldn't. But he wants his medical licenses back in CA and TX.
Kudos to Keanu Reeves for admitting he only knows "movie kung fu" and isn't the martial arts master he seems to be, off-screen.
You know it's going to be a trying day when you go to shave in the morning, accidentally knock your razor into the sink and watch the last blade you have in the house fall down the drain.
October 28th In History:
97 – Emperor Nerva is forced by the Praetorian Guard to adopt general Marcus Ulpius Trajanus as his heir and successor.
306 – Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
312 – Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the sole Roman emperor.
456 – The Visigoths brutally sack the Suebi's capital of Braga (Portugal), churches are burnt to the ground.
969 – Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Arabs is completed three days later, when reinforcements under Peter Phokas arrive.
1061 – Empress Agnes, acting as regent for her son, brings about the election of bishop Cadalus, the antipope Honorius II.
1344 – The lower town of Smyrna is captured by Crusaders.
1420 – Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming Dynasty on the same year that the Forbidden City, the seat of government, is completed.
1516 – Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza.
1531 – Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia. The southern part of Ethiopia falls under Imam Ahmad's control.
1538 – The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established.
1628 – The Siege of La Rochelle, which had lasted for 14 months, ends with the surrender of the Huguenots.
1636 – A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what would become the United States, today known as Harvard University.
1664 – The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, later to be known as the Royal Marines, is established.
1707 – The 1707 Hōei earthquake causes more than 5,000 deaths in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyūshū, Japan
1775 – American Revolutionary War: A British proclamation forbids residents from leaving Boston.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains – British Army forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
1834 – The Battle of Pinjarra is fought in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. Between 14 and 40 Aborigines are killed by British colonists.
1835 – The United Tribes of New Zealand is established with the signature of the Declaration of Independence.
1848 – The first railroad in Spain – between Barcelona and Mataró – is opened.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road (also known as the Second Battle of Fair Oaks) ends – Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant withdraw from Fair Oaks, Virginia, after failing to breach the Confederate defenses around Richmond, Virginia.
1886 – In New York Harbor, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty.
1891 – The Mino-Owari earthquake, the largest inland earthquake in Japan's history, strikes Gifu Prefecture.
1893 – Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance in St. Petersburg, only nine days before the composer's death.
1904 – Panama and Uruguay establish diplomatic links.
1915 – Richard Strauss conducts the first performance of his tone poem Eine Alpensinfonie in Berlin.
1918 – World War I: Czechoslovakia is granted independence from Austria-Hungary marking the beginning of an independent Czechoslovak state, after 300 years.
1918 – A new Polish government in Western Galicia is established.
1919 – The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.
1922 – March on Rome: Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government.
1928 – Declaration of the Youth Pledge in Indonesia, the first time Indonesia Raya, now the national anthem, was sung.
1929 – Black Monday, a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.
1940 – World War II: Greece rejects Italy's ultimatum. Italy invades Greece through Albania, marking Greece's entry into World War II.
1942 – The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) is completed through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska.
1948 – Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.
1958 – John XXIII is elected Pope.
1962 – End of Cuban missile crisis: Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
1964 – Vietnam War: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam.
1965 – Nostra Aetate, the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions" of the Second Vatican Council, is promulgated by Pope Paul VI; it absolves the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus, reversing Innocent III's 760 year-old declaration.
1965 – Construction on the St. Louis Arch is completed.
1971 – Britain launches the satellite Prospero into low Earth orbit atop a Black Arrow carrier rocket, the only British satellite to date launched by a British rocket.
1982 – The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party wins elections, leading to the first Socialist government in Spain after death of Franco. Felipe Gonzalez becomes Prime Minister-elect.
1990 – The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic holds the first multiparty legislature election in the country's history.
1995 – 289 people are killed and 265 injured in Baku Metro fire, the deadliest subway disaster.
1998 – An Air China jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.
2005 – Plame affair: Lewis Libby, Vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff, is indicted in the Valerie Plame case. Libby resigns later that day.
Famous Folk Born On October 28:
Eliphalet Remington
Jigoro Kano (RIP, Sensei)
Edith Head
Elsa Lanchester
Evelyn Waugh
George Dangerfield
Jonas Salk
Jack Soo
Bowie Kuhn
Joan Plowright
Suzy Parker
Lenny Wilkens
Jane Alexander
Susan Harris
Dennis Franz
Wayne Fontana
Telma Hopkins
Bruce Jenner
Joe R. Lansdale
Annie Potts
Bill Gates
Scotty Nguyen
Lauren Holly
Jamie Gertz
Sheryl Underwood
Andy Richter
Monica Chan
Julia Roberts
Kevin McDonald
Brad Paisley
Joaquin Phoenix
Dayanara Torres
Troian Bellisario
Since today is Bruce Jenner's birthday, I dug up some movie quotes from a film he appeared in as himself:
Crawford Mackenzie: Sorry, Candy. I adore you, I really do. It's just that I prefer my women with a penis.
#2
Crawford Mackenzie: [Crawford is showing off a new outfit] Just something I threw together. I call it... Braveheart meets Liberace-Bravache!
#3
Stig: Hey, Scottish. From my salon, right?
Crawford Mackenzie: Yeah
Stig: Still looking for a job, eh?
Crawford Mackenzie: ...yeah
Stig: Hey, I tell you what. Next month, it's loser's day! You come back and I piss on your head!
Then today I was reading a story on Yahoo about the best films that were remakes of other films. It made reference to Ocean's 11 with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and others) being equal to or better to the original. It also mentioned Al Pacino. Well, Al Pacino did appear in an Ocean's film but it was Ocean's 13. The writer was thinking of Andy Garcia, whose casino was robbed in the remake of Ocean's 11.
I know that I am pedantic, probably to a degree that skirts the line of acceptability by most people. I also think accuracy is critical in many things and people don't pay enough attention to it, at times. Accuracy improves clarity of meaning and message. That doesn't mean the 99 Cents Store should stop advertising that they are open from 9 to 9, 9 days a week. However it does mean that Larry Miller of Sit N Sleep better keep beating any advertised price or he will be giving out a whole bunch of free mattresses.
* * *
The battle drums are being beaten again in the struggle to help "war widows" who are not getting the full amount of two different death benefits they are entitled to under the law. That same law is the problem.
Military spouses are entitled to something called a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) if the military member elects to purchase the coverage at the time they retire. It's an annuity that ensures that if the military member dies before their spouse (or other eligible beneficiary), the survivor can continue to receive the retirement pension of the person who has died. Depending on how much coverage the retiree elects at retirement, the survivor can receive up to 55% of the retiree's pension.
However, if the survivor also qualifies for a benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) through the VA, the amount they get from the SBP is reduced dollar for dollar by the amount they get in DIC.
This has been a political hot potato for years. Congress wants the widows (widowers) to get the benefit, but can't find the money to pay for it. Worse yet, survivors who receive a refund of premiums paid for SBP who remarry before reaching the age of 57 must repay those premiums to the government.
It's a mess and it needs to be fixed.
* * *
The following message contains offensive language and you may find it disturbing. I don't condone the language used here, but will post it unedited. It was posted by a 51 year old teacher from Akron, OH:
"I don't mind if you come to my neighborhood from the ghetto to trick-or-treat. But when you whip out your teeny dicks and piss on the telephone pole in front of my front yard and a bunch of preschoolers and toddlers, you can take your nigger-ass back where it came from. I don't have anything against anyone of any color but niggers, stay out!"
He's been suspended from his position as a music teacher over these remarks, which were deleted from his Facebook page. Obviously his career is in jeopardy.
I have a few questions. Did he deserve to be suspended? If he'd said it directly to the teen he was directing the message at, would he be in as much trouble? Should he be suspended in that instance? Is this an issue of freedom of speech?
Let me know what you think.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Is it ironic that Republicans who wanted nothing more than to see Obamacare abolished are now angry it isn't working right? Seems hypocritical to me.
Ann Coulter is highly enamored of Senator Ted Cruz and strongly opposed to immigration reform or any form of amnesty. Isn't he an immigrant?
Military personnel shouldn't be forced to get liposuction in order to pass the so-called "tape test" and avoid being kicked out of the service. Make it simple. If they can pass the physical fitness standards, measure their BMI and be done with it.
Why is there a footstool on my patio? I never go out there and even if I did, there's no need or use for a footstool.
I don't want to go to the VA on Wednesday.
I do want to teach tomorrow.
Why is it that people feel entitled to rub the belly of a pregnant woman, often without asking first?
What did the guy who was hit by lightning twice in one day do to deserve that? Something he got a real charge out of?
Would you let Dr. Conrad Murray be in the same building where you were for medical treatment? I sure wouldn't. But he wants his medical licenses back in CA and TX.
Kudos to Keanu Reeves for admitting he only knows "movie kung fu" and isn't the martial arts master he seems to be, off-screen.
You know it's going to be a trying day when you go to shave in the morning, accidentally knock your razor into the sink and watch the last blade you have in the house fall down the drain.
October 28th In History:
97 – Emperor Nerva is forced by the Praetorian Guard to adopt general Marcus Ulpius Trajanus as his heir and successor.
306 – Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
312 – Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the sole Roman emperor.
456 – The Visigoths brutally sack the Suebi's capital of Braga (Portugal), churches are burnt to the ground.
969 – Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Arabs is completed three days later, when reinforcements under Peter Phokas arrive.
1061 – Empress Agnes, acting as regent for her son, brings about the election of bishop Cadalus, the antipope Honorius II.
1344 – The lower town of Smyrna is captured by Crusaders.
1420 – Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming Dynasty on the same year that the Forbidden City, the seat of government, is completed.
1516 – Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza.
1531 – Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia. The southern part of Ethiopia falls under Imam Ahmad's control.
1538 – The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established.
1628 – The Siege of La Rochelle, which had lasted for 14 months, ends with the surrender of the Huguenots.
1636 – A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what would become the United States, today known as Harvard University.
1664 – The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, later to be known as the Royal Marines, is established.
1707 – The 1707 Hōei earthquake causes more than 5,000 deaths in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyūshū, Japan
1775 – American Revolutionary War: A British proclamation forbids residents from leaving Boston.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains – British Army forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
1834 – The Battle of Pinjarra is fought in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. Between 14 and 40 Aborigines are killed by British colonists.
1835 – The United Tribes of New Zealand is established with the signature of the Declaration of Independence.
1848 – The first railroad in Spain – between Barcelona and Mataró – is opened.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road (also known as the Second Battle of Fair Oaks) ends – Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant withdraw from Fair Oaks, Virginia, after failing to breach the Confederate defenses around Richmond, Virginia.
1886 – In New York Harbor, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty.
1891 – The Mino-Owari earthquake, the largest inland earthquake in Japan's history, strikes Gifu Prefecture.
1893 – Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance in St. Petersburg, only nine days before the composer's death.
1904 – Panama and Uruguay establish diplomatic links.
1915 – Richard Strauss conducts the first performance of his tone poem Eine Alpensinfonie in Berlin.
1918 – World War I: Czechoslovakia is granted independence from Austria-Hungary marking the beginning of an independent Czechoslovak state, after 300 years.
1918 – A new Polish government in Western Galicia is established.
1919 – The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.
1922 – March on Rome: Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government.
1928 – Declaration of the Youth Pledge in Indonesia, the first time Indonesia Raya, now the national anthem, was sung.
1929 – Black Monday, a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.
1940 – World War II: Greece rejects Italy's ultimatum. Italy invades Greece through Albania, marking Greece's entry into World War II.
1942 – The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) is completed through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska.
1948 – Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.
1958 – John XXIII is elected Pope.
1962 – End of Cuban missile crisis: Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
1964 – Vietnam War: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam.
1965 – Nostra Aetate, the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions" of the Second Vatican Council, is promulgated by Pope Paul VI; it absolves the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus, reversing Innocent III's 760 year-old declaration.
1965 – Construction on the St. Louis Arch is completed.
1971 – Britain launches the satellite Prospero into low Earth orbit atop a Black Arrow carrier rocket, the only British satellite to date launched by a British rocket.
1982 – The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party wins elections, leading to the first Socialist government in Spain after death of Franco. Felipe Gonzalez becomes Prime Minister-elect.
1990 – The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic holds the first multiparty legislature election in the country's history.
1995 – 289 people are killed and 265 injured in Baku Metro fire, the deadliest subway disaster.
1998 – An Air China jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.
2005 – Plame affair: Lewis Libby, Vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff, is indicted in the Valerie Plame case. Libby resigns later that day.
Famous Folk Born On October 28:
Eliphalet Remington
Jigoro Kano (RIP, Sensei)
Edith Head
Elsa Lanchester
Evelyn Waugh
George Dangerfield
Jonas Salk
Jack Soo
Bowie Kuhn
Joan Plowright
Suzy Parker
Lenny Wilkens
Jane Alexander
Susan Harris
Dennis Franz
Wayne Fontana
Telma Hopkins
Bruce Jenner
Joe R. Lansdale
Annie Potts
Bill Gates
Scotty Nguyen
Lauren Holly
Jamie Gertz
Sheryl Underwood
Andy Richter
Monica Chan
Julia Roberts
Kevin McDonald
Brad Paisley
Joaquin Phoenix
Dayanara Torres
Troian Bellisario
Since today is Bruce Jenner's birthday, I dug up some movie quotes from a film he appeared in as himself:
Crawford Mackenzie: Sorry, Candy. I adore you, I really do. It's just that I prefer my women with a penis.
#2
Crawford Mackenzie: [Crawford is showing off a new outfit] Just something I threw together. I call it... Braveheart meets Liberace-Bravache!
#3
Stig: Hey, Scottish. From my salon, right?
Crawford Mackenzie: Yeah
Stig: Still looking for a job, eh?
Crawford Mackenzie: ...yeah
Stig: Hey, I tell you what. Next month, it's loser's day! You come back and I piss on your head!
posted by me at 1:34 PM
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