Carl Begai

I’m not God’s gift to journalism but I consider myself a decent writer. There are lots of folks out there that are better than me, but I’ve thrown down some bad-ass prose in my time and I can look back on what I’ve accomplished with a certain amount of pride. I’ve also made mistakes for all to see and laugh at – using the word “situation” three times in a run-on sentence is my personal best – and I’ve learned from those mistakes. And while I have the whole grammar thing down pat (barring any stylistic wanderings on my part that I justify in the pursuit of creativity) every so often I see a story or review I wrote that’s gone to print with some glaring errors and think “Nice one, you dolt…” Sure, I could blame the editor, but I try not to.

With the general pace of life and all the instant messaging going on these days (and please, kiddies, keep the fucking laptop away from the bathtub!) it’s no surprise that grammatical rules have gone to hell. Blogs, text messages, Twittering, online bulletins… everyone has a voice whether they can write or not, syntax be damned. Can’t blame them, either, because ultimately it’s the message that’s important to them and the parties involved, not how pretty it looks.
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