Thu, 25 Jul 2024 21:31:37 EDT
Apple Pie
The Great and Terrible Captain Cucamunga hereby declares that the only proper way to make apple pie is as follows. The crust must be a pâte brisée and not a shortcrust. The filling must contain Granny Smith apples, Demerara sugar, cinnamon, and corn starch. Nothing more is permitted.
Those of you who do not obey these guidelines must wear t-shirts that read, “The captain is disappointed with me.”
Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:06:16 EDT
The word Chimichanga…
…is the Mexican equivalent of thingamajig or trinket.
Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:30:30 EDT
Consider This Sentence
The following sentence appears in The Washington Post on Apple News. “Weeks of pent-up Democratic panic gave way to a historic flood of campaign cash for likely presidential nominee Vice President Harris this week, as allied groups reported massive fundraising hauls amid donor elation.”
The Washington Post: Home of the Run-On Sentence. The Washington Post: Where as is a coordinating conjunction.
The sentence wants to split into two. Historic has an unstressed first syllable, so let’s convert the preceding a to an an. Let’s replace likely with presumtive because it flows better. Let’s name Kamala Harris in full because it flows better. This week is too far away from the verb the phrase modifies. Let’s fix that. Allied groups is surprising on first encounter. Let’s replace it.
My rewrite: “Weeks of pent-up Democratic panic gave way this week to an historic flood of campaign cash for presumptive presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Fundraising entities have reported massive hauls amid donor elation.”
Tue, 23 Jul 2024 14:11:15 EDT
Consider This Sentence
The following sentence occurs in The Washington Post on Apple News. “U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, telling staff that she took ‘full responsibility,’ according to a copy of a letter sent to agency staff and obtained by The Washington Post.”
The Post loves overly-elaborate run-on summary sentences. The captain does not.
My rewrite: “After intense criticism from U.S. lawmakers, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her post on Tuesday. In a letter to staff, Cheatle said that she took ‘full responsibility’ for the security lapse that enabled Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.”