Saturday, August 9, 2008

Frivolous and Stupid

FRIVOLOUS

I happened to be behind this party animal while out riding a few days ago...


I have to say that FUN 437 beat the heck out of the 101 class. Maybe it was the lab portion that made it so fulfilling. In any event, I had a blast in college and so did my elder daughter who will be finishing up her bachelor's after a fall internship. Our baby starts college in a few short weeks and half of me wants her to keep up the seriousness with which she earned valedictory status in high school while the other half would love to see her lighten up a little and make sure that she has fun too.

STUPID

My only real prejudice is against the stupid. I don't mean folks who aren't blessed with a heaping helping of natural smarts. I mean incompetence in any form. I ride past this billboard often enough in my travels and every time I see it my blood boils...


That "It's" drives me crazy. It should read "its," without the apostrophe because as it stands it means, "...at it is finest." I called the place one day and asked to speak to the owner. I told him that a huge injustice had been done him by the billboard company because there was a misspelling on the board which sits atop his pizza joint. I told him about the, "It's" and he said, "I don't know. I'll have to go out and look." That was that. I hope he bakes a better pizza than he writes copy for his advertising if he's the one who came up with the slogan complete with misspelling. On the other hand, I think it was the responsibility of the billboard owner or the menu service which is also advertised on the same board to have proofread the copy and alerted the pizza guy to the error. Regardless of who's at fault I think it's pathetic that such a glaring mistake welcomes travelers into the valley along a busy road. I think in part it makes all of us who live here look like idiots.

5 comments:

John McClane said...

Hand tossed has another meaning in English English which means I wouldn't go near one of their pizzas anyway.

And shouldn't it be hand-tossed? With a hyphen?

John McClane said...

And brick oven-baked, for that matter?

Marc said...

Just remember, spelling doesn't count.

Along Route 222 just North of Kutztown, there is a Rainbow "Vacum" and repair shop. I think that's just crazy... Yes, vacuum is a strange word, but you would think someone could have noticed the funny spelling on the side of all the boxes.

And the Allenwood Hotel has a billboard along Route 22 between 309 and the turnpike that advertises it's "Clean, quite rooms". Quite what? Quite charming? Quite dilapidated? They don't tell you. This is only on the southbound side. The sayings shown to people traveling northbound are different.

Lance said...

Yes, the "it's" mistake - I see it so many times in office writing, and it is funny/bad to see it out in public. Congratulations to your daughters on their success in school!

Scootin' Fool said...

Then we have the following words: you're
your
their
there
they're
to
too
of
off

Dangit! My father was an English teacher and I grew up in Massachusetts so I saw (and heard) plenty of incorrect usage, but down here in PA, especially Lancaster County, the grammar and usage are horrible. I cringe every time I see "should of" in an official publication or memo.