tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4102562456827985144..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Weekend PostBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54581621126220493962021-11-12T02:38:10.629-08:002021-11-12T02:38:10.629-08:00Brenda Vaccaro--apologies for the misspelling abov...Brenda Vaccaro--apologies for the misspelling above.Kevin FitzMauricenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89277664811877959392021-10-28T16:11:52.373-07:002021-10-28T16:11:52.373-07:00There is a documentary currently in production abo...There is a documentary currently in production about Ms. Lewis. “Shari & Lamb Chop” will be directed by Emmy-nominated Lisa D’Apolito, director of “Love, Gilda,” the documentary about the late Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner. Keep a look out for it!Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8801166663722983732021-10-26T22:55:52.625-07:002021-10-26T22:55:52.625-07:00Some friends of mine were on vacation in Europe. B...Some friends of mine were on vacation in Europe. By pure chance, they and Vanna and her husband are in the same restaurants at the same times several nights in a row. Both couples eventually realized this and struck up a conversation. My friends reported that she seemed like a nice, non-egotistical person.Tom Gallowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47769499653793347302021-10-26T18:32:01.916-07:002021-10-26T18:32:01.916-07:00D. McEwan, gottacoook, Parker: You should compile ...D. McEwan, gottacoook, Parker: You should compile your posts into a humor piece and submit it to the New Yorker. Spike de Beauvoirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52480880369099125072021-10-26T06:53:35.116-07:002021-10-26T06:53:35.116-07:00"gottacook said...
Douglas - Of course. Why a...<i>"gottacook said...<br />Douglas - Of course. Why are you reacting as if I disagree?"</i><br /><br />I was agreeing with you.<br /><br /><i>"Parker said...<br />@ D. McE<br />Yes, I know the single apostrophes within quotes in the US....etc. This just gets very tedious, typing posts so often."</i><br /><br />Yeah, you have to spell and punctuate, and eventually, not hitting that shift key to get so you get ' instead of " is exhausting. <br /><br />Yet you missed my untyped point: You caught an error in my post correcting someone else and pointed it out. Fair. But you'd also made the quotation marks error in your correction of me, so after accepting your correction, I batted one back to you. Also fair.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69280554134512886512021-10-25T21:30:08.788-07:002021-10-25T21:30:08.788-07:00Douglas - Of course. Why are you reacting as if I ...Douglas - Of course. Why are you reacting as if I disagree? gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88438635400694623702021-10-25T21:14:04.437-07:002021-10-25T21:14:04.437-07:00@ D. McE
Yes, I know the single apostrophes withi...@ D. McE<br /><br />Yes, I know the single apostrophes within quotes in the US....etc. This just gets very tedious, typing posts so often.Parkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-92181104044026009072021-10-25T16:51:13.766-07:002021-10-25T16:51:13.766-07:00Gottacook, both "childrens'" and &qu...Gottacook, both "childrens'" and "Peoples'" would be incorrect, as the actual plural nouns, "Children" and "People," do not end with an "s". An apostrophe with no "s" is only correct with plural nouns that do end with "s".D, McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11381208376303345232021-10-25T09:55:22.446-07:002021-10-25T09:55:22.446-07:00D. McE.: On that point, what really bothers me is ...D. McE.: On that point, what really bothers me is when someone writes a possessive like "childrens' " or "peoples' ". (It's possible to conceive of a sentence that uses the latter correctly, such as "The world's peoples' average height...", but no one would write that.)gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52984614611061399812021-10-25T09:05:47.837-07:002021-10-25T09:05:47.837-07:00I alerted my friend who was a writer/producer on T...I alerted my friend who was a writer/producer on <i>The Nanny</i>, and worked with Shari Lewis the week she did that show, to this column. She emailed back to me this.<br /><br />"What a great post! Thanks for letting me know. She was really nice and funny when she guested on <i>The Nanny</i>, and she signed my vintage Lambchop hand puppet and a Shari Lewis doll holding a Lambchop doll I'd purchased just for the occasion. I loved her as a kid. I do recall that during the week as we were writing the episode, Fran came to the writers' room and pointedly said, 'the puppet's getting all the jokes'." <br /><br />(Gottacook, note that Jayne used her possessive apostrophe correctly as "Writer" in that sentence was a plural noun.)D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17026238748741666692021-10-25T08:57:10.439-07:002021-10-25T08:57:10.439-07:00Parker said...
McEwan...
"If it was referring...<i>Parker said...<br />McEwan...<br />"If it was referring to one, specific poem only, then "Burns's poem's meter" would be correct." Please remind me why it is not, "If it were...." I am forgetting these things.</i><br /><br />Ya got me. I should have used "were," not "was." My editor on my first novel also hit me with that one, as it's an error I make habitually.<br /><br />On the other hand, when putting a quote within a quote, the quote within the quote should use single apostrophes, not double quote marks as you did --- in America. In England, it's single apostrophes for quotes, and double quotation marks for quotes within quotes. But in neither country is it double quote marks for quotes and also for quotes within quotes.<br /><br />Gottacook, I'll stick with Strunk & White, thanks all the same. "Series's" remains correct.<br /><br />D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74937716171729605982021-10-25T06:26:27.759-07:002021-10-25T06:26:27.759-07:00Fred Rogers is definitely a role model for me in t...Fred Rogers is definitely a role model for me in the sense he was such a creative person: imaginative writer, skilled and sensitive performer and accomplished composer and songwriter (as heard both in his catchy songs and his NOM operas for children). A masterful talent who never lost a child-like fasciation for discovery. Fed by the musenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83584010025900646252021-10-25T03:08:33.441-07:002021-10-25T03:08:33.441-07:00I thought my li'l ol' lady Pug, Miss CheeC...I thought my li'l ol' lady Pug, Miss CheeChee LaRoo, was weird for being so obsessed with her Lamb Chop toy! I'm glad it's not just her. We were waiting for my friend to get out of the grocery store, and he surprised her with it (impulse buy at the check-out; CheeChee had just come to us, and he wanted to make friends) when he got out to the car. "Hey, look, what's th--HEY!" Shy little thing snatched from his hand and it's been her fave ever since. Just the thing for biting down on while snoring.<br /><br />Your story made me think of a scene from one of my favorite movies: "I told them specifically, the sign should say 'SPINAL TAP and Puppet Show'!"<br /><br />Cheers, thanks a lot,<br /><br />StormStormnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7834928184342914112021-10-24T21:06:40.150-07:002021-10-24T21:06:40.150-07:00I saw Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot in a 300 se...I saw Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot in a 300 seat theater occupied by at most a dozen people. <br />His opening line was "Boy, this place must be exclusive. Look how few of us they let in!"RockGolfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17156181356179555172021-10-24T20:54:27.467-07:002021-10-24T20:54:27.467-07:00McEwan...
"If it was referring to one, speci...McEwan...<br /><br />"If it was referring to one, specific poem only, then "Burns's poem's meter" would be correct." Please remind me why it is not, "If it were...." I am forgetting these things.Parkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31714568953618061562021-10-24T19:44:56.329-07:002021-10-24T19:44:56.329-07:00My high school English teacher explained lay/lie t...My high school English teacher explained lay/lie thusly: Lay is transitive and lie is intransitive and the way you remember this is, nobody ever got a good lay from an inactive partner. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18217049477043209904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32196862408584020052021-10-24T17:22:59.362-07:002021-10-24T17:22:59.362-07:00I entered an editing training program when I finis...I entered an editing training program when I finished college. We all had dogeared copies of the Chicago Manual of Style with little paper strips marking each section and were quizzed so often we practically had that thing memorized. We engaged in long, somber, Talmud-like discussions of how to handle trivial editing controversies. I graduated the program but I had shpilkes at that age and couldn't bear being chained to a desk. So I got involved in the arts and never looked back till many years later when I lost a job and was floundering. I brushed up on my copyediting skills and worked in academic publishing for a long while where CMS was rigidly applied. Then another transition and I started working more with individual authors, much more satisfying and focused on burnishing the author's style and clarity of expression. But CMS and other grammatical standards can really help polish things up. They're especially helpful in nonfiction where there are lots of footnotes and references because the trend is to shorten things with abbreviations, styling, etc. so citations don't clutter up the page and having a system means you don't have to think about the small stuff too much.<br /><br />But since an illness happened I cut back on editing and I'm much more focused on my own writing projects and driven by urgency to make the most of my time. <br /><br />One thing that was frustrating for me about editing is that often you're not exactly showered with praise for your hard work, more like grudging acceptance. And speaking of role models (that's the focus here, right?), my favorite writer, Barbara Pym, worked as a copy editor at a scholarly journal for two decades to support her work as a novelist. She called editing "a thankless task" and that phrase was even the working title for her autobiography. But she cleverly used the characters and quirks of that dusty and obscure little world in some of her best and funniest novels (Less Than Angels, No Fond Return of Love). I still laugh out loud rereading her books and she's wonderfully bitchy.Spike de Beauvoirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18143519209652367592021-10-24T14:58:24.690-07:002021-10-24T14:58:24.690-07:00Faint boomer memories of the show. We had the pupp...Faint boomer memories of the show. We had the puppets, molded rubber heads attached to stretchy sleeves. Also little plastic finger puppets from inside some cereal. <br /><br />Yes, neither Hush Puppy nor Charlie Horse got as much quality time as Lamb Chop. I do recall a syndicated Disney show, "Mouse Factory", had Lewis and Hush Puppy as guest hosts. The theme was cats, and Hush Puppy complained about all the cat-centric cartoon clips.<br /><br />In answer to a Friday question, our host offered a story of Nathan Lane. He was starring in a sitcom that had already been cancelled, but contracts allowed/required the shooting of a few more episodes -- extra paydays for the soon-to-be-unemployed crew. Lane, knowing full well the episodes would never see air, was still thoroughly professional and gave it his all.DBensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01144515471557731622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1130551545971623202021-10-24T13:38:04.879-07:002021-10-24T13:38:04.879-07:00D. McEwan: I have always enjoyed your comments ove...D. McEwan: I have always enjoyed your comments over the years I've been coming here, but I must respectfully take issue with this latest one. Although it may be true what you write about the effect of having been an English minor, I know from 36 years as a professional copyeditor that sticking dogmatically to style rules can sometimes interfere with clarity of presentation. Real experience every day dealing with and querying manuscripts by scientists has taught me more than any style guide ever could (and I've written a few).gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46539315627417075352021-10-24T13:37:04.839-07:002021-10-24T13:37:04.839-07:00I love vents and I admired Ms. Lewis. My Mom used...I love vents and I admired Ms. Lewis. My Mom used to marvel at her dancing in high heels. When I first moved to Vegas she came through signing books at a local bookstore. I couldn't make it over there to meet her. Two years later she passed away. One of the big regrets of my life.DwWashburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057278992504418291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76342949910626182702021-10-24T13:36:38.887-07:002021-10-24T13:36:38.887-07:00Wonderful story, I love Carmen McRae! I've hea...Wonderful story, I love Carmen McRae! I've heard interviews with her about her life and work with jazz musicians and they are riveting. She shouldn't have had to endure those disrespectful patrons, management should have thrown the bums out. <br /><br />I saw Betty Carter perform at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. She wore a gorgeous gold lame gown and was awesome.Spike de Beauvoirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16780879506513378492021-10-24T13:03:30.126-07:002021-10-24T13:03:30.126-07:00Billy Preson...back in the early 80's, I had a...Billy Preson...back in the early 80's, I had a great night on the roulette table at Harvey's in Lake Tahoe. I ran back to our room, roused my buddies (we were there skiing for spring break) and told them I was treating them to the midnight show. It was us (4 of us) and one other couple in the room. That's it. Billy still came out and played his heart out like it was an audience of 5,000. Great show, great performer, and I became a fan for life.D. Musickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732066060512288839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16998207994815995312021-10-24T12:54:16.626-07:002021-10-24T12:54:16.626-07:00What a great story. Sheri Lewis created a such a w...What a great story. Sheri Lewis created a such a wonderfully kind, nurturing, cute, wise, funny, caring relationship between her and that adorable yarn named Lamb Chop. She was a my first crush, too. Sheri, not the yarn.<br /><br />On the other side of the Foxx: A million years ago, my comedy team was hired by Redd Foxx to perform at his club in Los Angeles. Redd couldn’t have been nicer to us. He would watch our set and chime in with suggestions. We took the all. He decided to identify each night in the club - “Date Night,” “Costume Night,” etc. Thursday night was deemed, “Gay Night.” Date Night - good crowd. Costume Night - good crowd. Gay night - one guy. <br /><br />Redd, we can’t do our show for one guy... <br />Hey, you guys are drink salesmen. Now go out and sell that guy some drinks!<br /><br />We did. That one guy was a great audience, laughed at every joke. Lesson learned. <br /><br />Gotta a few role models, including a guy named Ken Levine.Jeff Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01708037522976667642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81508064311951035732021-10-24T12:26:00.846-07:002021-10-24T12:26:00.846-07:00As a musician, I've played gigs where there wa...As a musician, I've played gigs where there was no one in the audience, save for the bar staff and sound guy. And we got free beer.<br /><br />More to the point, it was worth it just to practice in a no-pressure environment, and to maintain professionalism.<br /><br />And we got free beer. Did I mention free beer?Ere I Saw Elbanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-145126880598248402021-10-24T12:19:14.459-07:002021-10-24T12:19:14.459-07:00@Breadbaker
I often quote something she said abou...@Breadbaker<br /><br />I often quote something she said about a Jewish celebration TV special that find extremely warm and welcoming and highly powerful especially in this era of division and rejection. It may have been in TV Guide.<br /><br />As I recall, it was to the effect of, even if you were not of the same faith, she would love to have you join in with her because, "If I were having a birthday party, wouldn't I want to invite you to that, too?"Greg Ehrbarhttp://www.gregovision.comnoreply@blogger.com