The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

That's why Crayola eliminated the color "Flesh" (a pink-ish sort of color). It was controversial because it didn't match all flesh colors.

Yes, Skin, Nude and Flesh are all stupid colour names. Crayola has a box set now of "skin" color/colour (depending on country) crayons and they still don't match people.

[nana77]

I had some free time in the city, while waiting the bus, so I'd tried almost on all the libraries in there (but one) to buy the books I've gave away to my aunt: they were the three sci-fi books published locally last years: no one was even knowing about them.
I'd hear about the books on local radio, in various episodes there were interviews within the authors, too; while it's something new as a genre in here, for the local publishing's topics, I felt quite disappointed that the librarian wasn't to even know about, about none of three.
One book was entirely in friulian, and the author keeps also a contest that endures the whole year, online, to enhance short stories' writers, within a competitive challenge that doesn't last just a period, but continues endless; so he's someone not stranger, really.
One book was presented within a site, and on socials, showing a fake village as it was real (the village narrated on the book): it was fun and someone like me that doesn't knew the area might even have been tricked to think there was a real place in there (https://www.infodarsenna.it/).
But yeah, the librarians were only to know what their salespersons menage.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

That's why Crayola eliminated the color "Flesh" (a pink-ish sort of color). It was controversial because it didn't match all flesh colors.

Probably only matched Peppa pig?

Note: Peppa has 4 eyes. Two on each side.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

That's why Crayola eliminated the color "Flesh" (a pink-ish sort of color). It was controversial because it didn't match all flesh colors.

They should just stick to basic names, Pink, light Pink, Brown, dark brown, Black etc whoever is using the crayons can decide what colour skin they want to portray.

Equally who in their right mind would find the names of crayons controversial? It's just a name

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Graham44

Equally who in their right mind would find the names of crayons controversial? It's just a name

From remembering middle school Art class, the odd Spanish-language crayon packs that would find their way into the community pile of crayons were the source of some consternation, particularly the black crayon (Spanish: "negro").

The "Hooker's green" or "Hooker green" pigment also led to much juvenile snickering.

[issybird]

People! “It’s” means “it is”. And nothing else! The possessive form of “it” is “its”.

This one makes me crazy. It’s shocking how many get this wrong, consistently!

[DNSB]

I've made that error myself. An easy test is to substitute it is or it has for its or it's and see if the sentence still makes sense.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've made that error myself. An easy test is to substitute it is or it has for its or it's and see if the sentence still makes sense.

I still remember our English teacher repeating this when I was 12 or so...

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've made that error myself. An easy test is to substitute it is or it has for its or it's and see if the sentence still makes sense.

The reason it is so confusing is because it goes against the normal use of the apostrophe. In all other words the apostrophe is used to indicate a possessive but not with "it's." For myself, just like DNSB, I say it to myself to see which is correct.

A related issue I've had is with a period and the closing quotation mark. If I'm using quotation marks to indicate that I'm quoting what someone said, the problem I've had is that if the quote is an incomplete sentence and it is at the end of the sentence, should the closing period be before the closing quotation mark or after the closing quotation mark. I'm thinking it should go after the closing quotation mark because it is not part of the quotation, and if I do put it before the closing quotation it would mislead someone to think that the quotation is a complete sentence.

[Karellen]

I think it should go after the closing quotation mark. It is an annoyance for me when I see it before as I feel it is closing off the wrong sentence. I end up changing it in the ebooks.

As for the apostrophe, it can also be used to signify missing letters. Don't is do not, 'cause is because, etc. It makes sense to me that an apostrophe is replacing the missing i in it's

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

A related issue I've had is with a period and the closing quotation mark.

Unlike its vs it's, the expectations for this differ by country. The US generally wants punctuation to always be inside the quotation marks, even when it makes no sense to do so, whereas in the UK punctuation is permitted outside the quotation marks when it's not part of the quotation.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by issybird

People! “It’s” means “it is”. And nothing else! The possessive form of “it” is “its”.

This one makes me crazy. It’s shocking how many get this wrong, consistently!

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Unlike its vs it's, the expectations for this differ by country. The US generally wants punctuation to always be inside the quotation marks, even when it makes no sense to do so, whereas in the UK punctuation is permitted outside the quotation marks when it's not part of the quotation.

Actually not just the UK and not just English, but most countries only put punctuation inside the quotation marks if it is part of the quotation (or dialogue), it's not that it's "permitted outside", but that it's wrong to do it the USA way in most countries and languages.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Karellen

As for the apostrophe, it can also be used to signify missing letters. Don't is do not, 'cause is because, etc. It makes sense to me that an apostrophe is replacing the missing i in it's

Even in possessives, the apostrophe indicates a missing letter.

In Old English, the possessive was indicated by a suffix, often 'es'.
In Middle English almost all possessives were indicated by 'es',
In Early Modern English, when the use of an apostrophe for missing letters was introduced (e.g. cannot -> can't), it was used to indicate a missing 'e' in the possessive suffix, since by this time the 'e' wasn't pronounced for most words. (e.g. lambes tail -> lamb's tail)

The possessive pronoun 'its' is no more missing a letter than 'his' or 'hers', and should not have an apostrophe.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The possessive pronoun 'its' is no more missing a letter than 'his' or 'hers', and should not have an apostrophe.

Unless you are a Greengrocer.

About 1/3rd of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss is given to the Apostrophe.

I'm not sure if she carries a satchel of paints, brushes and markers to fix signage. The cover shows a panda painting in a comma.

Larry Trask's "Punctuation" is published as The Penguin Guide to Punctuation by R. L. Trask, but is/was free on his own web site.


Ancient Rome had less punctuation than the Greeks, so orators would study texts the day before.

Ancient Greek had an "h" but it became "e", so names like Homer became Ὅμηρος, thus perhaps the Greeks invented the Apostrophe. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta

Perhaps coincidentally "h" has two special uses in Irish. Various constants could exist with or without a dot such as m and ṁ. But with typesetting and especially typewriters, the ḃ, ḋ, ġ, ṁ etc became bh, dh, gh, mh. Sometimes the dots had got left off older names such as Badb or Méadb (or Maédb) though as ḋ (dh) became like "a" or silent it's usually Méabh or Maébh (like Meave in English). The other Irish use is the possessive/genitive where an "h" is added as the second letter.


It’s very annoying that the typewriters had ' and " and this carried forward to teletype in 1928 and then computer keyboard in the 1970s. Also that single closing quote and apostrophe is the same symbol in English. Word-processors get ’90s and ’tis wrong by putting an opening quote. Feet, inches, minutes etc are also often wrong. Not 6’ 3” but 6′ 3″ (prime and double prime, not closing quotes).

[issybird]

Originally Posted by issybird

Another for the "does no one edit these books?" annals:

And another, different book:

A Beckett character, might, as in Engame, begin a play buried up to her waist for no discernible reason.

Uh, that would be Happy Days. This is the type of error that makes me wonder what other ones I didn’t catch. And in a book I thought pretty terrific, too.