grammar vs. the feds
so apparently two people who toured the country correcting grammar on public and private signs are being fined $3,035 for altering a sign from the 1930s in Grand Canyon National Park. Oh, and they also get probation, can't enter any national parks, and must refrain from correcting signs for a year.
Their website is down, but I looked up the "cached" section on google and found this:
The Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) is dedicated to a more perfectly spelling union.
This March through May, we, sworn members of TEAL, will be taking a road trip around the country to stamp out as many typos as we can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language. We do not blame, nor chastise, the authors of these typos. It is natural for mistakes to occur; everybody will slip now and again. But slowly the once-unassailable foundations of spelling are crumbling, and the time has come for the crisis to be addressed. We believe that only through working together with vigilance and a love of correctness can we achieve the beauty of a typo-free society.
The itinerary is as follows:
* Whole of March: From Boston to San Diego, via the steamy South
* Much of April: Up the West Coast
* Late April - Mid-May: From Seattle, through the Northern plains and mighty lakes, to New England once again
While I think that grammar-obsession can be a tad annoying, I think this is just over the top. Come on. They didn't damage the sign. They just made it better.
Good job, government.
Also, I thought this comic from Wondermark was appropriate:
Their website is down, but I looked up the "cached" section on google and found this:
The Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) is dedicated to a more perfectly spelling union.
This March through May, we, sworn members of TEAL, will be taking a road trip around the country to stamp out as many typos as we can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language. We do not blame, nor chastise, the authors of these typos. It is natural for mistakes to occur; everybody will slip now and again. But slowly the once-unassailable foundations of spelling are crumbling, and the time has come for the crisis to be addressed. We believe that only through working together with vigilance and a love of correctness can we achieve the beauty of a typo-free society.
The itinerary is as follows:
* Whole of March: From Boston to San Diego, via the steamy South
* Much of April: Up the West Coast
* Late April - Mid-May: From Seattle, through the Northern plains and mighty lakes, to New England once again
While I think that grammar-obsession can be a tad annoying, I think this is just over the top. Come on. They didn't damage the sign. They just made it better.
Good job, government.
Also, I thought this comic from Wondermark was appropriate: