as it should be

One thing about series on the BBC -- things have a higher likelihood not to go the way you planned. People die tragically more often. I've stayed up 'til 2 in the morning to see the finale of a series I loved where all you watch for is to see a particular man and woman admit they love each other. They finally do, and then that night she's accidentally electrocuted. Odd, but somehow fitting.

There's a time for everything. Today that thing was a wedding, a somewhat eccentric ceremony that was also one of the best I've attended. The couple married outside an abandoned country church beneath a massive old oak. There was a fiddler, and at least one groomsman wore Birkenstocks. The groom kissed the bride, then he hugged her, then he picked her up and twirled her around, he was so happy.

The old country church was a lovely setting, though unusual -- the yard was surrounded not only by rolling hillsides but cemetery. But it seemed appropriate -- another life moment, another milestone.

We have these milestones, but they are a handful of moments among a lifetime of moments.

It seems like life shouldn't be this complicated, yet I look at this TV show -- the realistic complication was what I appreciated.

But then, I also appreciate simplicity. :)

It's 2 a.m. That's why this makes no sense.

How cultured am I?

I caught the tail end of the AFI's 100 greatest movies of all time. I wondered -- how many have I seen? (I think this is last year's list.)

Answer: 21 -- more than I expected

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Casablanca (1942)
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
15. Star Wars (1977)
18. Psycho (1960)
25. E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
33. High Noon (1952)
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
38. Double Indemnity (1944)
42. Rear Window (1954)
45. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
55. The Sound of Music (1965)
61. Vertigo (1958)
68. An American in Paris (1951)
69. Shane (1953)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)

Cue U2

It's a beautiful day. Now that it's cooling down, anyhow.

My pup I took a stroll after supper. 'Course, she's old enough now to be a great-grandmother several times over, but it was lovely all the same. The sun was shining low and breeze was strong through the prairie grasses lining the path ... I love the country.

on style

Once again I'm trying to allay my guilt of never having read through "The Elements of Style," widely regarded as a masterpiece on grammar. I know I will enjoy it and be glad I did it. I just never manage to finish.

It's clear E.B. White would have been a kindred spirit. Here he's talking about Strunk, his professor, who started the book.

"He despised the expression 'student body,' which he termed gruesome, and made a special trip downtown to the alumni news office one day to protest the expression and suggest that 'studentry' be substituted -- a coinage of his own, which he felt was similar to 'citizenry.' I am told that the news editor was so charmed by the visit, if not by the word, that he ordered the student body buried, never to rise again."

However, it will also be interesting to compare the book with AP style. Just within the first few pages I've found a contradiction.

Strunk insists: "Form the possessive singular of nouns by assing 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant."

AP disagrees. (1998 version here.)

(Singular common nouns ending in s) "Add 's unless the next word begins with s."
(Singular proper names ending in s) "Use only an apostrophe."

On a completely different note, this past week I took up tracing my co-workers' genealogies. They give me the names of their grandparents or great-grandparents born before 1930, and I see what I can find in the U.S. It's much fun! I am now taking more volunteers, as I've run out of willing co-workers. Just e-mail me. It's good practice if I decide to do freelance genealogizing one day.