Friday, September 24, 2010

In Honor of National Punctuation Day...

I just found out today is National Punctuation Day! WOW...they have a day for everything!

Now, the next question...How do I Celebrate National Punctuation Day®? Should I get out my red pen, or pink as they are in our offices? Do I correct every incoming email? I decided to go to the pros for the answer...

Lucky for me, Jeff Rubin, Founder of National Punctuation Day® provides a step by step plan for this special day.

When asked how we should celebrate, Rubin states, "I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, as several newspaper reporters who have interviewed me for stories have asked me this question.

Here’s a game plan for your celebration of National Punctuation Day®. A few words of caution: Don’t overdo it.
• Sleep late.
• Take a long shower or bath.
• Go out for coffee and a bagel (or two).
• Read a newspaper and circle all of the punctuation errors you find (or think you find, but aren’t sure) with a red pen.
• Take a leisurely stroll, paying close attention to store signs with incorrectly punctuated words.
• Stop in those stores to correct the owners.
• If the owners are not there, leave notes.
• Visit a bookstore and purchase a copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style.
• Look up all the words you circled.
• Congratulate yourself on becoming a better written communicator.
• Go home.
• Sit down.
• Write an error-free letter to a friend.
• Take a nap. It has been a long day."

I dare any of you to find a punctuation error in this post...go ahead...I double dog dare you (wait, is that hyphenated?)
-Karen
GMG

1 comment:

Verdant Landscapes said...

"wait, is that hyphenated"

should be:

"wait -- is that hyphenated"

(That's an em dash, not an en dash. I don't know how it appeared for you, as I can't figure out how to get my computer to type it.)

gotcha!