First on the docket this morning is the celebration of the master Baroque violinist Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, born on this day in 1678. Your Holiday Hero feels a deep connection with "il Prete Rosso" for several reasons. Numero uno: Vivaldi was a red head. In fact, he was so known for his red hair that as a priest (yes, he was ordained) he obtained the oh-so appropriate nickname mentioned above meaning "The Red Priest"--no commie connection, I think. Secondly, Vivaldi was a master violinist, and, if I do say so myself, I happen to play violin rather effectively as well. Okay, I'm no Baroque concertist, but I can hold my own in the Oklahoma! reproduction! String instruments rule, baby (although flutes aren't so bad either)! Finally, Vivaldi had what doctors now know to be asthma, which is why he could not play any wind instruments. Sad. Among Vivaldi's many achievements, he was most notable for his concerto series The Four Seasons; playing for Pope Benedict VIII; his deep influence on Johann Sebastian Bach; and dying a pauper because the freaking emporer died before Vivaldi could take advantage of his Baroque music adoration...typical! So, go forth, find Vivaldi's work, and enjoy!
Next on our holiday hop is National Grammar Day. Indeed, today is the day for grammarphiles everywhere to come out of hiding and rejoice among their fellows. This day is a day where the split infinitive is recognized as a capital crime, commas are not tolerated in splices, and apostrophes shine in the light of existence! Unfortunately, Grammar Day has not been celebrated for eons (as it should have been), but the world of writing has suffered greatly as cell phone text messaging, IMing, and "tweeting" have become the norm of communication. It's no wonder students couldn't pick a semicolon out of a line-up if the prosecuting attorney stood there and whispered the answer in their ear-budded or Dr. Dre Beats-lined ears. Damn you, electronics! Thankfully, Ms. Martha Brockenbrough began this holiday as part of her quest to make grammar a productive part of society once again. Perhaps, her goal was to attempt to make proper grammar "cool," as the kids would say. Perhaps...wait, what? Grammar, cool? Ha! No. While writing instructors around the world cringe and take increasingly larger gulps of their favorite malted beverages as they drown in another freshman comp paper wishing that grammar might actually be taught to and understood by the masses once again, it does seem that the way of punctuation, syntax, and grammatical correctness has been trampled. I urge you, on this most prestigious of holidays, to remember your grammar rules from the days of yore (hopefully you haven't drank the brain cells containing those memories out of existence) and speak correctly, use punctuation, and, for the love of all that is grammatically holy, do NOT forget the difference between your and you're; their, they're, and there; or to, too, and two!
Moving on. Our third and final holiday is the observance of National Ghostwriters Week. A ghostwriter is a person who writes books, articles, blogs, etc. for another person presumed to be the author of said work. Basically, it is a day to celebrate the hard-working men and women who make lazy-ass authors sound awesome...*cough*...yes. Many books are assumed to have been ghostwritten including such classics as Dark Watch by Clive Cussler, Second Chance by James Patterson, and Heat Wave by Richard Castle. Hmm, I'm noticing a trend with the gender of these authors. So, today is your chance to go hug your ghostwriter, serve her (or him, yeah right) specially brewed coffee, and bask in the glory that is her (or his, I guess) wit and personality. Um, I went a bit off, huh? Oh well. Ghostwr...I mean...Holiday Hero, away! Cheers.
P.S. In case you couldn't guess, today's blog was brought to you by the Ghostwriters Alliance International, founded in Albuquerque, NM 2012 by Ms. Jessica Troy. Yes. "GAI. We exist so you don't have to!"
For the record, I stand opposed to the idea that split infinitives are problematic; sometimes the easiest way to clarify a sentence is to insert the adverb between the "to" and the verb itself. Grammarians just don't like it because it shouldn't be done in Latin, but then again, LATIN USUALLY USES SINGLE-WORD INFINITIVE FORMS. Also, if you've ever heard that it's bad to end a sentence with a preposition, you can thank the Latinists for that dose of artificiality, too.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'.
I also don't mind having split infinitives, but I was berated by Damico one time for translating a piece and including a split infinitive. After that, I am extremely careful around her with split infinitives. And, there is a reason I did not include ending sentences with a preposition--I hate that rule! Anyway, enjoy grammar day!
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