I thought at first it was a snooty European constr...

2008-09-19T16:04:00.000-04:00

I thought at first it was a snooty European construction, like 9.19.08 for dates.

Jim Thomsen

Bill, here's an item unrelated to the Waldof-Astor...

2008-09-10T14:14:00.000-04:00

Bill, here's an item unrelated to the Waldof-Astoria thing:

In today's Washington Post (.com) there's a story by Craig Whitlock about the hunt for Bin Laden. Paragraph 8 begins with "Today, seven years after he masterminded the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." I think I've spotted three errors in that one phrase.

(1) It seems incongruous to say "Today" on September 10. Even if it is intended to be the more general version of "today," using it on the day before the key date seems dissonant. Wouldn't "now" have been better?

(2)"...seven years after he masterminded..." That implies he masterminded the event on or near the day that it happened. Presumably the masterminding took place significantly prior to the event, so wouldn't it be better to say something like "seven years after the attacks he masterminded?"

(3) This one is pickier, but has it been established unequivocally that Bin Laden masterminded the thing? I thought it was widely believed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did the masterminding while Bin Laden did the approving and funding.

I'm interested in your thoughts on these things. Your eye is far superior than mine in spotting these errors, but it's pretty unusual for me to spot three in one phrase, so I'm all jumpy and can barely contain myself!

I would have Twittered this but um, I think it's more than 140 characters. ;-)

That's where Walmart's hyphen went!

2008-09-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

That's where Walmart's hyphen went!

Hear, hear!

2008-09-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hear, hear!

Comments on Blogslot: Waldorf Equals Astoria?

I thought at first it was a snooty European constr...

Bill, here's an item unrelated to the Waldof-Astor...

That's where Walmart's hyphen went!

Hear, hear!