We have now reached 840 users. And our latest addition is named ‘willisreed’. Willis Reed was a center for the New York Knicks who won two championships with my personal hero, Bill Bradley.
We have a lot of users that never make any comments. And that’s cool. But sometimes all you need is a little enticement, like a thread of your own.
So, if you like to lurk, but not to comment, take a chance and post a comment here. And if you are one of our well-known loudmouths, use this thread to give us some good tips on how to prepare good barbeque, or the best way to prepare a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or something.
Ductape, this means you!!
Take the poll:
Thank you for our very own thread. One of the reasons I hardly ever post is that I always think other people say it so much better. My comments would run to “Yeah!” and “What she said!”
But I do have a grammatical comment. Your post above reminded me: I don’t understand the use of “that” as opposed to “who” as in “We have a lot of users that never make any comments.” Can anyone explain the that/who conundrum to me? If you’re talking about people why not use “who?” And, should we care?
my use of ‘that’ is probably explainable as a subliminable aversion to using ‘who’, because I am paranoid about using ‘who’ when I should use ‘whom’.
Yeah, what booman said
that one’s not so difficult!
Most of the time, it’s a simple question of object vs. subject.
The subject of the sentence does something. It acts. It is the focus of the sentence, the star of the show. Examples: Who are you? Who ate my sandwich? Hark, who goes there?
Now, the object of the sentence is acted upon. Something is done to it. It’s only there to help explain what’s going on with that diva, the object. Examples: To whom did you send that? (‘You’ is the subject.) Whom did you murder and bury in your basement?
When choosing between who/whom, just think about the reason you’re writing it in the first place. Is it the subject or object?
There’s one other usage rule, but you won’t come across it too often. You use “who” whenever it’s a predicate noun. PREDICATE NOUN?!? Yeah…it’s not that scary. A predicate noun basically is a noun that describes another noun. Simple examples of predicate nouns: He is a chimp. Laura is an idiot.
So you use “who” in situations like this: He is who did it. As I said, you probably won’t write a lot of sentences like that.
Thus ends today’s grammar lesson. I accept PayPal.
Thank you…how much for a short lesson on punctuation within quotations? ::grin::
I can never remember. I always want to put the period on the outside of the quotation marks if the quotation ends the sentence.
And I’m posting on the lurker thread because it’s safe. I’m not very brave, lol.
Punctuation within quotes is incredibly easy. Ready?
Commas and periods ALWAYS go inside ALL quotes, no exceptions.
Examples:
This also applies to quotes-within-quotes.
Examples:
Exclamations and question marks ONLY go inside the quotes if the quoted phrase or thing actually includes it.
Examples:
But compare to these:
See the difference? The Book is not called “Leaves of Grass!” The term is not “impeachment?” (But again, it doesn’t matter for periods and commas.) Anyway, you can guess how this applies to quotes-within-quotes.
Examples:
So just remember: commas and periods, always inside the quotes. Exclamations and quotations, it depends on if it’s actually part of the thing being quoted
(By the way, if punctuation within quotations is a sore spot, do NOT buy “Eats, Shoots & Leaves.” That’s that best-selling grammar book, but it’s written by a British author, and as she admits in the preface, the English just throw their periods and commas around wherever they like, which is most often outside the quotations. It’s useless in that regard.)
Yay! An answer I actually understood! I printed this out so I could refer back to it when my brain short-circuits itself and I once again forget.
LOL…thanks very much!
Wow. A grammatically correct crooner.
Use “who” when referring to people in the subject of a sentence.
Use “whom” when referring to people who are grammatical objects (those folks behind prepositions, for ex., as in “BooMan, of whom I speak.”).
Use “that” when you’re NOT talking about people — everything else.
Hope this helps whomever.
Use “who” if a verb follows. Use “whom” if a verb doesn’t follow.
The rule’s not infallible, but it works most of the time.
I never got “that” and “which” straightened out until I dated a reporter for the A.P.
“That is that” is a phrase that is often overused, which we all know.
———————————–
The connecting “that” between phrase and often is connecting two phrases that are necessary to convey the thought behind the sentence, whereas the phrase following “which” is not a necessary element behind the thought.
I.e., which is used to append phrases that are not absolutely necessary.
And that’s a lousy explanation. 🙂 Me tired girl.
I’ve been working since 4:30 a.m. so I thought I should probably revisit that explanation after some sleep. 🙂
oh man … i’ve only been working since 5AM! I have no excuse! 🙂 I can’t wait to go in the bedroom, lie down with the heating pad, and veg in front of the teevee.
Okay, I confess to taking a break to watch The Practice at 8:00 a.m. Interesting viewing. I recently posted about David E. Kelley’s shows trashing this administration. Well, the shows I’m watching now were at the very beginning of the series, and today’s episode had a good rant about Clinton and DOMA (with a final explanation that he signed the bill because it was an election year)
It was just interesting to see that Kelley is an equal opportunity snarker, when it involves issues of injustice. And now that I find myself ranting about The Practice on a diary for lurkers, I should probably go to bed.
But, most importantly – Welcome to all new folks and lurkers! For me to come out of the shadows after many years lurking on Kos speaks volumes for the welcoming demeanor of this site. And when you find yourself in a position where all you can add to a thread is “Yeah, what he/she said” – do what I do and just make shit up and hope that no one notices. 🙂 What the heck, I find it’s a good way to entertainment myself. :^) (Okay, I’m pretty much kidding about making shit up, but not so much about keeping myself entertained – that’s an area in which I’m truly gifted!)
Good night, and please do post your comments (while you’re eating your pie). I doubt you’ll find a better blog host, so now’s your chance to jump in while the site is still new – and it shouldn’t take long before you too are weatherbeaten oldsters like those of us with IDs under 276. (The truly magical number in my little world)
How did you find out about my pie?
I hadn’t told anyone.
(My brother has cancer, and he and his wife are terribly busy these days. They have five boys. Half the town has signed up to bring them food. Last weekend, when I was visiting, they got two rhubarb/strawberry pies. The boys hate rhubarb. YES!!!!!!! So they offered — I didn’t ask — they offered, okay?! — to give me the pie. I still have about 1/3 of the pie left.
I gave some to Senator Boxer the raccoon the other night, but he doesn’t like rhubarb either. So I get it all.)
Because, ya know that raccoon you’ve been taking care of? It’s wired. Carries around a mini camcorder too. So I know everything about you, Pie Girl :^)
I’ve been meaning to ask about your brother. I hope he’s doing well, and I hope your family is hanging in there. You know that many of us – strangers though we may be – care about you and wish you the best. While we may be distanced by miles, we’re still connected in spirit.
More power to ya for making off with the pies!
Many hugs, dear.
“That” is used with a restrictive clause or phrase; “which” is used with a nonrestrictive c/p.
Example: The kitten that was sitting in the window had poop on its feet. What this means (besides the obvious fact that the cat has poor personal hygiene): there are other kittens in the room, and you want specifically to identify the one sitting in the window.
Example: The kitten, which was sitting in the window, had poop on its feet. There are no other kittens in the room. Therefore, the information about location (sitting in the window) isn’t necessary and thus doesn’t “restrict” the meaning.
If you anthropomorphize your cats like we do around my house, is it g.c. to say, regarding one of several kittens: “The kitten who was sitting in the window had poop on her feet”?
What if it was a human? How about “The woman who was crossing the street jumped up on the curb to avoid the speeding taxi” or does it have to be “The woman that was crossing the street…
woman who
Just remember “Soylent Green.” “It’s people!!!!”
Well I promised you booman to get my sister to sign up and she did but I won’t give out her name as she says she will most likely be one of those ‘lurkers’…but she did sign up…my one good deed so far that has gotten accomplished.
I suspect that you have many other good deeds that you have accomplished in your lifetime
and need constant reinforcement with “4” ratings. I’m excellent! I’m excellent! Yaaaaay Leaf!
😉
Seriously, I post because every once in a while I have something useful to say (or at least something not offensive)…
I try to be useful but often find I fall short, and erase my post! It’s harder for me to express myself in a comment than in a diary … dunno why … maybe for the same reason I was a miserable failure at extemporaneous speaking at debate tournaments but did alright at oratory. No spontaneity! :):) Or whatever …
I’m in awe of you who can write great comments. Although the best comments I’ve seen in a while were on Welshman’s diary where people just typed, “Done.” — indicating they’d sent off e-mail and faxes to help the woman in Yemen.
Sometimes the diary or the comments within it says it all for me… exactly like Welshman’s post.
And don’t despair Susan, your diaries are worth a thousand comments!
who will give anyone a “4” who makes me laugh.
I comment, but haven’t written a diary entry until tonight. I’ve written a few on Kos but never anything that caught fire, so to speak.
I like getting in on the ground floor over here. Perhaps my ramblings won’t get lost as they do over at Kos. 😉
but only one-time diarist there. Here on BooMan Tribune, I’m still kinda gettin’ a feel for the place. Thanks for having me.
Wow. Four of us work for Negroponte!
My daughter sent this to me today…. go “Awwwwwwww.”
Would Booman do this? I bet so.
Kenya baby saved by dog stirs hearts across globe
May 10, 2005
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A baby girl rescued by a dog after being dumped in a Kenyan forest to die was offered homes across the world on Tuesday, with callers from as far away as Japan offering to care for the infant, dubbed Angel by nurses.
The baby, estimated to be about two weeks old, was handed over to police by a family whose unnamed dog found her in a forest near Nairobi as she foraged for food for her puppies.
The dog carried the baby in her mouth across a busy road and set her down beside her puppies in the compound of the family’s iron sheeted shack.
“Two of my children, Colins and Kennedy, came running to say there was a baby crying in the compound but they could not trace it,” the Nation quoted housewife Mary Adhiambo as saying.
“I followed them outside and we started looking around the compound and a nearby plot. I saw my dog, which I have had for the last five years, lying protectively with a puppy beside a soiled baby wrapped in a torn black cloth. I held the baby in my arms and carried it to into the house.”
Hannah Gakuo, a spokeswoman for Kenyatta National Hospital, said the girl was stable and undergoing tests. Several callers to the hospital had offered material and financial support as well as new homes, she said.
Reuters/Boston Globe
Bettern Rex.
Bettern me. But I pretty lurkdog pie eater. Eatm ratsis too.
And where are the fundies nutjobs? Oh, right.
salt virgin mary=white
baby, kenya=black
white good, black (or any other color) bad!
that still leaves “where are the black fundit nut jobs?”
because up until this week, I’ve been too busy with school projects and studying for finals. I would love to spend more time here. But as it is I’ve only been able to post maybe two comments a day on DKos alone. I’ve posted more on New European Times, but that is because I’m a moderator and must constanyly be alert for the trolls. That, and I like the discussion there. I like the discussion here as well, I’m just physically unable to participate.
But I promise after tomorrow, I will get in as much as humanly possible here.
I’ve posted diaries (nothing major) and comments (mostly snark) and am still finding my way. I’ve only been a regular at the blogs since 2/05. As to comments, I do find that others have either already said it or will likely say it better. Yes, thanks for having us all, it is nice not to get lost in the shuffle like over at dKos.
I’ll out myself as one of the four who said I work for Negroponte. I’m his girl Friday. No, not his girl on Fridays! Jeeesh! I read all of his secret cables.
and you other three? what do you do?
Fluffer.
What does that call for, she asked suspiciously.
Sorry.
OMG. So that’s why he’s never …
I ..well, never mind, I could tell ya but…ya know.. ; )
No more of this double-secret blog-monitoring for Negroponte for me, I quit! Damn sonofabitch never paid me. “Check’s in the mail,” he said. Frickin’ liar.
I clean toilets at the School of the America’s.
I feel so proud, I was the first vote for “work for negroponte”… but of course Susan has to come along and blow my cover…
😉
Clean up the mess he left behind. What a shitty job! Too much work but this administration is all about hard work. Well Jeez, I am a liberal and you know we are so lazy and never work or contribute to society. So, I quit too. Hah!!
Anybody want to do a Santorum-bashing diary? If so, e-mail me and I’ll give you the goods.
This is pretty cool, for those of you who haven’t seen it:
http://www.pcactionfund.org/delayspocket/
My man Mo Hinchey (NY-22) is number 414. Booyeah!
My man Jim McDermott is #414!
Hey wait . . . there’s a bunch of #414! No fair!
Man.
(lurk, lurk, lurk…:)
I was wondering about you. I think you win the prize for the first person to register who is not a member of my family, a programmer, a close personal friend, or someone I specifically invited.
User ID: 18.
And I thought you had forgotten about us!! Good to see you.
I knew a good thing when I saw it.
My blogging time has been greatly curtailed of late. So I pass through in the night these days. Y’all are on my mind though. Still glad to be here.
like this and this and envy people like Pastordan and susanbhu who get front paged. Just because they have something to say on a regular basis. Hmph.
Maybe I should tell stories about his dog . . .
We can share in the non-testosterone-crazed glory.
I voted for “because I have nothing brilliant to say”, but I’m stopping by Marie Callender’s tomorrow and buying some pie. That’s the option I wanted to select, but I didn’t have any, and I just couldn’t bring myself to lie to you good people.
Anyway, thanks for starting BMT up. It looks like the posters are having a good time, and I’m sure most of the lurkers are as well!
By the way, I certainly hope you’re not using Diebold machines to tally these votes…
I’m little more than a sponge. I’m afraid to be squeezed.
Wow, a shoutout on my first day. Good times.
I’m too new to be considered a lurker….just give me a couple of days of silence, then you get to call me a lurker…. 😉
What duck?
Just signed up moments ago… user ID 846. Been a Kossack for a little more than a year, but don’t post often over there since it became so crowded. Can’t say I will be any more prolific over here, though… I just don’t have a lot to say right now.
Nice to see the regional sections. Also nice to see spellcheck, though as a Mac user I don’t need it (since spellcheck is built into the OS).
Hi. mrboma846, welcome to this site and to other lurkers who commented here on this diary. I want to invite you to go to this diary and tell us about you, post pics, or just share whatever.
So jump right into this site, the water is fine.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/5/10/92548/2405
I’m a Kossack too which is how I found Boo.
(You’re right – the spellcheck is a GOOD THING…)