I’d Like My Eggs With…

Posted on August 14, 2010 | Categories: Food, Question of the Week | Tags:

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Taking a break from my recent Europe-themed posts to pose a question that I have pondered for a while:

Whilst I’ve been traveling around this month with different family and friends, I’ve noticed that there are many ways people eat eggs in the morning. I’m not talking about whether eggs are scrambled, poached, fried and whatnot; everyone knows about those differences. No, I noticed that people like to put different things on/with their eggs in the morning.

Salt, pepper, salt and pepper, jam/jelly, ketchup, cheese… I am sure there are many more, but those are just the ones that come to my head first. Personally, I like to put soy sauce on my eggs. I’ve always thought that was normal, but apparently that’s considered weird to non-Chinese heritage folk…?

Question of the Week: What do you like to put on your eggs?

The Oxford (or Serial) Comma

Posted on July 23, 2010 | Categories: Question of the Week, Technology | Tags:

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I am home from my trip to the East Coast! Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip. I visited friends and family and did a lot of sightseeing, as well as shopping. The best part was when I got together with my friends from school and we were all reunited – the last time we’ll be reunited for a year, as I’m going abroad for the year and most of them are going abroad for at least a semester.

Anyway, now that I’m home again, time to return to my regular blog programming. Stephen Colbert interviewed Vampire Weekend on his show in June 2010 and the following interview took place:

Stephen: Can I take you to task for something, for a second?
Everyone: Sure.
Stephen: In one of your songs, you have the lyrics: Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?
Ezra: Yes.
Stephen: I’m here to tell you, I do. Shall we explain what an oxford comma is to the people?
Ezra: Oh. It’s always a little tough to explain… an oxford comma would be a comma that you’d put before the and or the or, at the end of a list.
Stephen: Red, white, and blue.
Ezra: Exactly.
Stephen: I mean, red comma white comma and blue.
Ezra: Do you really need the comma?
Stephen: Yes, you do need the comma.
Ezra: Why do you need the comma?
Stephen: Because otherwise it’s: red, white and blue. Our flag is not red, white and blue. That’s red and baby blue!
Ezra: There are situations where it’s necessary.
Stephen: All situations. All of them except it’s, like, a law firm. That’s every other— No, listen, have you heard of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style?
Ezra: Yes.
Stephen: Heard of that? I refer you to… (opens book) page fucking two: In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term. (snaps book shut in Ezra’s face)
Ezra: Yeah, but I mean -
Stephen: Does that sting? That’s E.B. White, you heard of him?
Ezra: Respect to Strunk and White, but it’s just protocol. It’s not— there’s no real reason.
Stephen: Yeah, it’s language. Why don’t you just take all punctuation out, be like the Romans?
Ezra: Sometimes we do.
Stephen: Really?
Ezra: I mean, we’re a band. Y’know? (shrugs)
Stephen: I weep for our nation. But, I do enjoy your music. Will you stick around and do one of your songs that is properly punctuated?
Ezra: We’ll see.
Stephen: All right, we’ll be right back with a performance from Vampire comma Weekend!

I always used to use an Oxford comma, but then when I started taking journalism classes in college I had to stop using it because AP style forbids it. Still, I prefer an Oxford comma over none; it’s what I was taught all throughout school (until college) and I think sentences look neater with one!

Question of the Week: Do you use an Oxford comma?

Texts From Last Night Bios

Posted on June 15, 2010 | Categories: Life, Online, Question of the Week | Tags:

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I am a firm believer that if you search the Texts From Last Night website hard enough, you will be able to find a text that can sum you up in, well, a text. This belief is affirmed by the countless times a text from TFLN has popped up in my Facebook news feed due to a friend writing it on another friend’s wall.

This is the text from TFLN that sums me up in a nutshell:

(314): In case you were wondering, you weren’t dreaming. I really did get stuck between my bed and the wall last night.

I actually have that text in my “About Me” box underneath my profile picture on my Facebook profile :P

(For those who are wondering: yes, I have gotten stuck between my bed and the wall before; I had to get a friend to move the bed so that I could get unstuck. It was pretty painful at the time but it makes for quite the story!)

Question of the Week: Have you found a text from TFLN that pretty much sums up who/how you are?

(Thanks to everyone for the well wishes for my mom. Her surgery went well and the whole family is very thankful for that.)