Bee’s Musings

Sometimes I think my blog is just turning into a whole collection of sites that I find to be interesting, entertaining, or flat out good ways to spend my time. This moment is no exception, as I proudly present Common Errors in English.

Not only does this give you the correct way to use words like to/too/two, but can also give you the history and background (as well as correct usage, of course) of common phrases.

Some examples:
Begs the Question
An argument that improperly assumes as true the very point the speaker is trying to argue for is said in formal logic to “beg the question.” Here is an example of a question-begging argument: “This painting is trash because it is obviously worthless.” The speaker is simply asserting the worthlessness of the work, not presenting any evidence to demonstrate that this is in fact the case. Since we never use “begs” with this odd meaning (“to improperly take for granted”) in any other phrase, many people mistakenly suppose the phrase implies something quite different: that the argument demands that a question about it be asked—raises the question. If you’re not comfortable with formal terms of logic, it’s best to stay away from this phrase, or risk embarrassing yourself.
Please RSVP
R.S.V.P. stands for the French phrase Répondez s’il vous plaît (“reply, please”), so it doesn’t need an added “please.” However, since few people seem to know its literal meaning, and fewer still take it seriously, it’s best to use plain English: “Please reply.” It is a mistake to think that this phrase invites people to respond only if they are planning to attend; it is at least as important to notify the person doing the inviting if you cannot go. And no, you can’t bring along the kids or other uninvited guests.

Find the top stories from all kinds of web 2.0 sites with PopURLS. Instead of visiting Digg, Delicious, Reddit, NewsVine, (need I go on), now I just visit this page. Plus I get to see cool Flickr photos, and videos from YouTube. Welcome to a whole new element of time-enhancements.

Looking for a cute site to look at pictures of cute fuzzy kittens and laugh? Check out http://icanhascheezburger.com

Hilarious, I tell you. Hilarious.

One of my favs:

Ok, so here’s a good example of a perfect man for the modern woman.
Read more

I can really watch FlickrVision for a long time. A Very long time. Have some time on your hands? Then you could watch too.

I’ve had a fair number of people tell me that I’m funny. Miscellaneous (a.k.a., Elena) has told me that it’s because I “talk cute.” Don’t ask me how a person can “talk cute,” but apparently I do. By talking “cute”, however, its hard to be taken seriously.

Maybe not everyone wants to be taken seriously, and nobody wants to be taken seriously all of the time, but from time to time, it would be really nice to have times that I’m not just a walking joke. I’m glad that people think I’m funny, but there are times when I need to be seen as a mature adult, with good, valuable ideas.

I’m going to make the most of being funny, while I still can. I’ll write up some of the silly things I say and do. I’ll say them outloud when they come to mind. But please, of you read this - sometimes I am a serious person, and it will keep us all happy if you remember that.

I found a new reason to go grocery shopping - the Take Home Chef. Quite the interesting show I’ve found there, courtesy of my friend TiVo.

Don’t have TiVo? Get it - and Netflix. They’ve changed my life.

If you’re a Calvin and Hobbes fan (which you should be), check out this Calvin and Hobbes Search Engine. I’ve already wasted plenty of time on finding some of my favorite comics, which I’m posting on my door at work.

Of course, the geek in me wonders if they really took the time to tag each of these comics with the key words that belong with it based on content. After doing a few searches, I believe that they have scanned in the comics and used OCR to create the tag indexes.

Wouldn’t it be a fun job, at least for a while, to read comics and tag them with keywords? I could do that for a week or 2.

Happy searching!

Looking for something to give you a quick laugh during the day?
1. Go to Google
2. Click on maps
3. Type in: New York, New York to Paris, France
4. Read #23….
5. Laugh and pass on to your friends.

Spinner Magazine covers the 20 Worst Lyrics Ever including ones from Culture Club, Elton John, Eminem, and P.Diddy. Imagine that - bad lyrics from P.Diddy. It was worth a couple of laughs though.