Sign Language

 

Copy editors: Friend or faux? 

Happy National Grammar Day!

Thrilled to see that the New York City premiere of my pal Ellen Jovin's new documentary about her efforts to bring her traveling Grammar Table to all 50 states has sold out. (If you're in NYC and want to get on the waiting list, follow the instructions above.) 

To find out whether "Rebel With a Clause" is coming to a theater near you, click HERE.

I think my late brother Bill -- whose "Lapsing Into a Comma" came out in 2000 and paved the way for Lynn Truss's "Eats, Shoots & Leaves," Mary Norris's "Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen" and Ellen’s “Rebel With a Clause” -- would be tickled to see the continued success of fellow language experts following in his footsteps.

Order HERE.

UPDATE:

Wow. this "docu-comedy" exceeded all my expectations. So funny, informative and so much heart. If you love language, road trips or even just exploring the human condition, I highly recommend this one! 

(If you're in Detroit this weekend, it's headed your way.)

We rounded the night out with an incredible dinner with our friend Leah at El Quijote, where we had the best paella I can recall. (Oh, and two pitchers of white sangria.) 

And then a glass of wine at the bar inside the Hotel Chelsea, which I hadn't visited since it reopened in recent years. The service and atmosphere were bar none, which is to say nothing of my wonderful company. 

Congrats to Ellen and director-hubby Brandt Johnson on their perfect score of a film!

'I Found My Keys Searching Through My Purse'

 

Always a treat when my brother's legacy is publicly remembered. On a related note: My fellow judges and I are in the midst of picking a winner for the 2024 ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship now! 

Word Doctor

I don't see Covid-19 ever taking on the stigma of an AIDS diagnosis -- certainly not an automatic death sentence like it was before the so-called cocktail made Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome a manageable disease -- so I doubt language precision will ever be as big an issue. Still, I thought it might be worth sharing this entry from the stylebook at work.

Covid-19: 

Not all-uppercase is how we render the name for the illness caused by the new coronavirus. It derives from COronaVIrusDisease. The virus itself is scientifically named SARS-CoV-2, but we can refer to the new coronavirus, (preferred over novel coronavirus) or simply the coronavirus if clear in context..

The main takeaway editors on the desk have been told is to think of the "new coronavrius" as you would HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and Covid-19 as AIDS. In other words, you get tested for the new coronavirus -- not for Covid-19 -- just as you get tested for HIV (antibodies) rather than AIDS. A doctor diagnoses you with Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus -- just like a doctor diagnoses someone with AIDS, which is caused by HIV.

One notable difference is that there is only an HIV antibody test. With the new coronavirus, you can be tested for antibodies or tested for the virus. Still, you are being tested for the presence of the virus or its antibodies rather than the disease, as people exposed to the virus can be asymptomatic.

UPDATE: I've gotten a couple inquiries about the use of COVID-19. All caps isn’t wrong -- it's the official way and how the Associated Press stylizes it. NYT and WSJ have a rule that if an acronym can be pronounced, you only capitalize the first letter. (So, for instance, NLGJA would remain all caps while COVID becomes Covid. WaPo does covid-19 for some reason.) I probably should have left that part out. It’s really more about how there’s no such thing as a Covid (or COVID) test, which is technically like saying AIDS test, although not as big a deal, IMO. Sorry for the confusion.

Help Wanted

Nancy Coleman Awarded ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship for 2019

Congrats, indeed! My brother Bill’s love of language lives on through outstanding young editors like her. Note the person who liked the tweet is last year’s winner, Jamie Zega! xo

Good Hed

Now that's how to write an accurate headline!

Read HERE.

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

Find out by following me on Instagram HERE.

‘Will & Grace’ Co-Creator Max Mutchnick Is a Language Czar

Max Mutchnick -- about whom I happened to hear two of his former restaurant coworkers talking about his "new show" that was going to debut soon while I dining at 18th & 8th back in 1998 -- isn't a fan of the use of "anyways," and as a fellow Midwesterner, I couldn’t love him for it more!

Deeper 'Satisfaction'

Family Ties

Another bittersweet Bill moment, seeing how the auction of his tie collection at the ACES conference earlier this year in Chicago -- to raise money for the editing scholarship that bears his name -- turned out. Even though they're only ties, it's very moving to see what love and care the buyers feel for them, their own little piece of my big brother. xo 

 P.S. If you or someone you know would be interested in applying for the Bill Walsh Scholarship -- curmudgeons preferred -- applications are now being accepted through Nov. 15. 

Full details HERE.

Fading Fast

Oh, Gray Lady. Your copy-desk massacre rears its ugly head again. I see FOUR correctable errors in this (nicely written) piece: 

Photo has temp bassist Abby Travis, not drummer Gina Schock; 

Schock joined BEFORE Kathy Valentine, so her joining didn't "eventually complete" the lineup; 

song is “This Town,” not “Our Town”; 

and the Germs bassist was named Lorna Doom, not Lorna Doone. 

Doesn’t anyone care about accuracy anymore?

UPDATE:

They still didn't correct the timeline error, but it's a start. Here's hoping writer Evelyn McDonnell had a better copy editor for her upcoming book, "Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyoncé. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl" -- she sure seems like she needs all the help she can get.

Le(a)d Astray

From HERE.

My ACES in the Hole

With new friends Sarah and David

Great couple of days at the #ACES2018 conference in Chicago, meeting so many nice people who loved and respected my brother Bill. (See you next year in Providence!) I learned that the organization once known as the American Copy Editors Society has changed its name -- partially to acknowledge vanishing copy desks and partially to recognize that editors have never worn more hats -- and is now known as ACES: The Society for Editing. Last night's spelling bee -- an idea Bill introduced five years ago -- and reception were a hoot. I got to hang with my new BFF Sarah and the winner of my brother’s scholarship. I met a female fan of my blog who started following me ages ago as a fellow Debbie Harry fan. Plus Netflix had a camera crew on hand for a documentary it’s working on about the exclamation point and a bunch of us were interviewed for it! 

With Nina, circa 1986

Trip was made even more special by crashing with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Nina, whose hospitality knows no end. (BTW: I'm still hung over for our night out in Andersonville!)

Jacqueline and me with 2018 Bill Walsh Scholarship winner Jamie Zega, who is headed to the Washington Post this summer to intern 

As a fundraiser for the scholarship, ACES is auctioning off a bunch of Bill's ties. I already got the ones I wanted -- as did Terence and the other men in the family -- but there are still a lot left as Bill was a slave to fashion! 

My Kind of Town

Just a heads-up to my fellow copy-editor friends and cohorts around the country that I have made an 11th-hour decision to go to Chicago to be at the ACES conference on Thursday for the presentation of the first Bill Walsh Scholarship. (I'll also be at the happy hour tomorrow at Encyclopædia Britannica.) Hope to see some of you there!

Won Is the Loneliest Number

"Men don't make passes at boys who don't use apostrophes." -- Dorothy Parker, wasn't it? (As seen on a mailbox on my street. From HERE.)

Good Hed, Bad Hed

Hyphens matter.

(Follow me on Instagram HERE.)

Bill Walsh Named Member of Inaugural Class of the University of Arizona J-School Hall of Fame

Proud but bittersweet moment as the University of Arizona School of Journalism has officially announced that my brother Bill is a member of the inaugural class of the journalism school's Hall of Fame. (Bill was inducted into the Arizona Daily Wildcat Hall of Fame in 2006.) It's an accomplished group that also includes New York Times best-selling author Lynne Olson, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter/writer Nancy Cleeland and "Today Show" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. So wish he were here to see this -- he would have loved it.

 Read about all 16 inaugural members HERE.

By the way, applications are being accepted until Nov. 15 for the Bill Walsh Scholarship at the American Copy Editors Society. (Tell your nieces and nephews!) I'm proud to announce that I will be one of the judges. For complete entry details, click HERE.

Start Spreading the News

It appears World War III is officially under way. Never imagined this would be the cause, though. #punctuationmatters 

Black and Blue

THIS is why newspapers need lots of editors.

And talk about a missed photo opportunity. The story was mostly about an 18-year-old from Austria, Jurij Rodionov, who the Journal said "appeared to be wearing a royal blue brief with navy trim, which wasn’t going to fly. A tournament supervisor was called to the court to confirm the findings of the chair umpire. She did. Then she explained to Rodionov that his underwear might become visible when his shirt hiked up during the service motion. Rodionov fished through his tennis bag, and pulled out another blue-and-blue number. That got him sent back to the locker room. A spare was located. The match ensued."

Other media outlets had the good sense to capture the moment, although we still didn't get a peek at the "blue-and-blue number."

UPDATE:

A boys' doubles team also got busted -- top-seeded Zsombor Piros of Hungary and China's Wu Yibing were handed white briefs by a courtside official and sent back to the locker room to change after their undies of color were detected. Piros had blue (un)mentionables beneath his white shorts while fellow 17-year-old Wu had opted for black. Piros and Wu won that match on Wednesday. However, sporting their new white underwear, they lost in the second round on Thursday against Sebastian Korda and Nicolas Meija. "The blue and black shorts were our lucky pants," said Piros, who had worn his more colorful attire in the early rounds of the singles tournament. "There were no signs to indicate we were supposed to wear white underwear. I only got caught out because a little bit of blue was showing. Some umpires don't say anything. Maybe they prefer not to focus on the underwear." Piros said the white replacements rustled up by tournament officials were very comfortable. "They never asked for them back," he added. "If I come back to play here again, I will remember not to wear blue or green." Despite the clothing conundrum, Piros said he wasn't unhappy at the saga. "I think it's kinda funny," he added.

I've never been more popular among British reporters here than when I started talking about underwear...here's the first check... #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/rrppYa2eoE

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 13, 2017