You have no idea how much fun I get out of curating this blog. The comments and contributions you all make are incredibly rewarding, especially/even when flaws in my grammar or inaccuracies in my content are pointed out.
I don’t like making mistakes, but I don’t often get bent out of shape over them, and I appreciate being held to high standards (Amy). As a writer, my grammar, spelling, and punctuation really should be top shelf. But they aren’t always, and I pay the price.
As a defense mechanism against the minefield that is ‘I’ and ‘me’, Byron briefly considered referring to himself in the third person, but then, he himself decided against it.
In other news, I am considering the Back To School Wardrobe post that we always do this time of year, with a twist: I just received an email from a reader in Scotland who’s off to university this fall. He asked about clothes and wrist watches, and I replied in a private email.
Next week, I may simply delete any personal information from our correspondence and post that as our annual Back To School advisory. I think I offered solid advice.
Any thoughts? Or does the actual list of clothing items and vendors serve the purpose more effectively?
Thanks. Talk soon.
- BGT
Amy gives Byron a B+ for grammar and an A+ for attitude. Graciousness, humility and a willingness to learn beat defensiveness, combativeness and willful ignorance at all times and under all circumstances. I would like to see your advice to the reader rather than another list, with the caveat that I always advise extreme caution when purchasing an expensive wristwatch. In my opinion they are usually not worth the money. The only exception is watches that are expensive but not obviously so. I realize I’m probably in the minority on this.
Good humor, Amy! And I agree, let’s see the advice to the reader. On the watch front, for YEARS I begged my mom to pass her Movado on to me. She did. I also have a Tissot. Different meanings associated with each piece, but I appreciate them both very much. Pet peeve: men who wear watches the size of hubcaps. Ugh.
Hi Byron,
I would vote for publishing the tweaked list. Since you’re in Europe, would you mind mentioning European sellers of high quality clothing, especially for women? I’m having a really hard time here in Germany, even Land’s End isn’t what it was. Recently I shopped for myself and what I saw mostly looked like one time use clothing (In a medium to high end shop) that wouldn’t survive the first washing cycle. So, just for fun, I went into the men’s section to see whether I could get something for my elderly brother.
It was like stepping into another shop. The men’s section clothing was of best quality, good cloth, very well made in the seems and finish, fine buttons. Maybe because to the most part, men don’t do retail therapy.
Christine, I totally agree! It’s incredibly hard to find quality clothing for women (probably not just here in Germany) and I have actually come to browse the menswear sections regularly, enjoying the odd piece , especially shoes since I have large feet 😉.
I completely agree with this. Men still can find quality garments at many stores where women get junk for the same price.
As a very petite woman, size inflation makes this even more difficult as at many stores I can’t even find something small enough to fit myself width-wise. Hems I can handle, or a tailor can. But if I’m remaking an entire garment I might as well look for custom clothing or go the 1950s home economics class route and make my own wardrobe.
I vote for correct. It’s a title. The noun plus “me” combination, as subject, is common but certainly not correct. While “it’s me” is incorrect, it may be acceptable colloquial usage in conversation.
As for correcting grammar, my general policy is that not offending the speakers may be more important than correcting their language-usage. There may be limits to this.
The Old Money Book did mention grammar, but it did not offer suggested reading and references. Adding that would be a help especially for people who don’t know that they need help. Correct punctuation, too, is unusual today. However, I must acknowledge the fact that online grammar tests can be incorrect.
When reading a scholarly paper, I tend to stop reading when grammatical errors appear. The author loses credibility.
I’ve always enjoyed reading the list’s. As for your Scottish friend, I would recommend The House of Bruar to him for good quality Scottish clothing. I’ve bought from them for many years. Very well made, very classic clothing for both men and women. Best, Jane Keller
I found a FT article entitled “Me, Myself and I are all annoyed at Pronoun Misuse”. I love a clever title, and love your sense of humor on the topic. My family have an ongoing group text whenever we want clarification on some question of grammar or language usage in general. It is confusing, and of course, language does progress. We keep each other up on current slang or text/Tiktok abbreviations and marvel at the misuse of language we overhear. It gives us a chance to connect over a shared love of words and culture. As for whose grammar I correct, that is reserved for people I know well, and who I know will appreciate it!
As for style, I am always ready for your thoughts. I feel slightly on the outside of usual suggestions for women, since my own preferences are very feminine.
The content of this blog is always a treat even when my duties prevent me from commenting! I would love to have a peek into your correspondence. Back to school is the perfect time to assess one’s wardrobe and cull/replace/pivot where clothing no longer suits. ♡
I guess wardrobe is very important to many people. It seems to be such a popular topic here on your blog and I really enjoy your insights into classic clothing from your books too. I’m looking forward to the post!
I’m always self-conscious about my grammar. My native language is German and I have studied English at university but it usually takes me a quite a while to write a post like this because I’m trying to be exact and understood correctly. Of course, typos happen and it’s not always practical to have someone proofread or go over a text several times. Having immersed myself in linguistics, I also find mistakes and language change incredibly interesting. My husband is dyslexic (which is actually another matter of course) and this part of our reality made me quite aware of the importance of good writing but also of the misunderstandings and disregard that can be caused by the lack of it.
I do my best! I have read and studied Strunk’s guide on style and several other grammar books but applying it proves to be much harder and teaching grammar to students even more so. However, I found that even rather low level students are interested in grammar when you try to explain and not be didactic about it.
I love this blog, and your musings, guidance and advice although, I do hope that Byron’s influence will remain confined to the literary, given his predilection for a lot of extremely questionable things. That said, the thought of an amoral literary superhero, “the byronic man’, does sound fun.
Do wrist watches date you? My father bought my son a wrist watch for his high school graduation. The watch is still in the box. Young people use their smart phone for everything and consider a wrist watch unnecessary. Medical personnel wear an iWatch that directly accesses their iPhone. Their wrist watch is helpful. Are old fashioned wrist watches just jewelry?
I make errors in grammar on occasion so I’d be the last to criticize another. I believe that the prevalence of texting has dulled our (my anyway) antennae for correct grammar.
My sons often tease me that my texts contain commas and capitalized letters. I tell them that I just can’t go all in on the “texting minus grammar” bandwagon. It’s not me.
I always enjoy the back to school wardrobe post. I hope to see it. Having two in college I can tell you that it has gotten more casual than I think you’d approve of.. (Joggers and workout clothes abound on campus.) You can advise but you can’t push too hard. I find that saying less makes for what you do comment on more meaningful.
Bravo, brilliant
Dear OMGs and Gs,
I do realise that Byron is, or was busy with a screenplay as well as other projects. However three weeks is an unusually long time for him to be silent on this blog. Has anyone heard from him ? I trust he is ‘okay’.
Regards,
David.
I’ve been thinking (and praying) about the very same thing!
Speak up Byron – please – you know how we count on your words of wisdom, grace, humor, guidance, and so forth to live our OMG lives!
We miss you! JanB
Sorry – I forgot to remind you that – if applicable – you’re welcome to use my family’s infallible stress-reduction techniques – (you remember them from earlier posts) – (1) drive your Triumph Spitfire erratically until it gets taken away from you and you can only visit it in its garage or (2) prepare FISH for every meal ad infinitum until your world eventually turns brighter! Both solutions are absolutely foolproof! Promise! I wouldn’t kid you!
And remember – don’t make me chase you across the park to make you start talking to us again! Because you know I’ll do it!
We love you, accept you and need you back! And NOW please – you skinny, handsome, funny, wonderful, extraordinary author and human being!
JanB
Finally – and I swear I mean it everyone – you might begin with my own personal preference for coping with life’s quiet, sad and/or rough patches i.e. – listen to Stamitz, et al
Just a thought for you to consider JanB
I think that sharing the advice you provided to the reader, a list, and examples would be perfect! ‘Tis the season!