I wonder how Sanada feels about this icon

[pez]

With the new comp, I opted for free delivery (within 5 working days) but they've already loaded it into a van to be delivered today. \o/ Mum just called and said it's been delivered! >D This must be the first time in years that City Link delivered something to me without problems. Probably living outside of London helps. When inside London, Royal Mail is the only company that can actually deliver anything (and I'm not counting Parcel Force although they are a RM branch or something like that.)

The comp still needs a name, but maybe later, after it's been put together and run for a day or two, probably it'll try to name itself anyway...

storme broke me with the mental image of old, giggly, psychotoic and cute Allan and Torgal.

Didn't see any cat outside this morning. I hope it's gone home.

Today I'm completing (yet another) bid submission. Found myself discussing whether there should be a comma in front of the word "and". Boss says that's absolutely forbidden in O-Level English but well, language changes, and sometimes (look, I just did it!) it's easier to read with a comma before, depending on the sentence. That's what I think anyway. With fiction I certainly think it's totally fine. With formal writing maybe I should just stick to the old rules, though.

I don't like April's Fool - judging by the sort of "harmless jokes" people come up with these days, it seems like a day to play with people's feelings and then accuse them of having no sense of humour when they actually feel hurt. Maybe I really just have no sense of humour. That said, there are still some cute stuff out there. I saw the Waitrose Pinana ad in yesterday's Metro and laughed. More details here on the Pinana.

Comments

[xiu]

...IDK. I was always taught that if it's a list of things (this, this, and this), that there's always a comma before the and, but if it's just two things (this and this, at least when comparing things), no comma. Otherwise it's. Uh. "I'm going to go to the store, and then I'm going to the library." Without the comma it just sounds like a run-on sentence XD;

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

I *think* that with British English, traditionally you don't put a comma in front of AND if it's a list of things. (Rikkai's uniform has the colours yellow, black, white and red). But really, hell if I know anything about English. This goddamn language has me so confused all the time!

[xiu]

But you know American English has to be positively contrary to British English. Like uh. You and I get very different pictures in our heads when we hear the word "van". (IDK it is 2 in the morning and I just woke up from a 4-hour alcohol-induced nap I think I am just talking out my ass now)

And people wonder why I'm not fucking majoring in this goddamn subject. XD; English has too many rules I don't care to learn :(

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma

XD;;;; OBVIOUSLY MANY PEOPLE FEEL AS CONFUSED AS WE DO!

[xiu]

Wikipedia saves the day once again.

Cryyyyyy why, English, why? D:

I generally say fuck the rules and just put commas (or semicolons) where I would pause when speaking, regardless of whether or not they actually belong there :P

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

I abuse commas in my writing by beating them with a stick using far too many of them. Liz quite often takes them out when beta-ing my stuff. XD

[xiu]

I have never really had that problem xD I think I actually tend to use semicolons incorrectly more than commas (that is, a semicolon where a comma should be).

...And then if you were to write down something I said, there could be 12 commas and all of them there legitimately. XD

Stupid commas :(

[giving-ground.livejournal.com]

Representing pauses or other quirks in people's speech is something else again though and doesn't really have to follow the general rules.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

Which makes it good that nobody here has ever tried to write down the way I speak in Chinese. Sometimes there will be a million full stops/periods and commas, sometimes THERE WON'T BE ANY PUNCTUATIONS FOR MANY PARAGRAPHS.

[jetsam]

I was always taught never to comma before an 'and'. Getting a bit past GCSE, I tend to follow the 'don't do it unless the sense absolutely requires it'. I'm sparing with them anyway, though. Lynn quite often starts wanting to add them in when beta-ing my stuff.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

I was taught the same, but since then it seems like most of the books (fiction) I read don't care about that. So it probably is just where it seems to make sense.

[elyndys.livejournal.com]

I think it's called an Oxford comma, for some reason. Traditionally in British English we don't use it, but sometimes, you're right, it makes things less ambiguous. (Sometimes it also makes them more ambiguous. XD) And the whole point of punctuation is to make things easier to understand, so use it away, if you need to! ;) /variationist

...OK you already saw the Wiki entry, lol. But I like the Ayn Rand and God example. XD

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

XD Nelson Mandela is a demigod (as well as a dildo collector)!

[giving-ground.livejournal.com]

I agree so much about April Fool's. Especially after last year and some of the things people assumed it tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Honestly, can people not come up with a ridiculous lie rather than a painfully believable one? >_>''

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

British English is much less comma happy than American English, anyway >> Oxford comma is an American thing, I think?