Reposting a Literal Rant

Okay gang, I know those of you who have followed my blog for a while will recognize this as a previous rant - BUT - spelling errors are rampant on Facebook. I don't ask my FB friends to be particularly articulate for my humble sake - but I am beginning to wonder about our ability to properly communicate the written word. I don't want to believe that Americans are dumb. Reading and writing correctly are important indicators of our society's intelligence! Okay - enough of me and my soapbox...the word in question this time is "definitely." Now, this is a more complicated word than others I've seen butchered...so I'm going to repost a rant I made about a word that should be SO SIMPLE to spell, but eludes so many.

I've really tried to ignore the inability of some people to spell words correctly. I've tried to be understanding that not everyone was privileged to have the secondary education that I enjoyed. But the blatant misuse of ONE WORD IN PARTICULAR is very troubling to me...and I'm afraid that before long, no one will remember how to use this word correctly. It's the word LOSE.

Does anyone remember that word? Because I haven't seen it in a LONG TIME. Seems like people are "loosing" things a lot...and it's driving me INSANE.

So, quick lesson for you all: you LOSE something, which means you have misplaced it or got drunk the night before and flailed it asunder. You didn't LOOSE it...that word means to make something "less tight." Unless, in some strange event, you lose your belt after loosening it, then you are allowed to use those words in the same sentence. Just in that instance.

You are "losing" the battle. Oh, and we seem to have the spelling of the word "lost" down okay - can we maybe draw on that knowledge, to remember the base word has ONE, and ONLY ONE "o?"

You don't LOOSE an election - you LOSE it. I know it's tough, this English language, with all the bizarro rules. You are used to pronouncing the singular vowel in a word structured like "lose" with a STRONG vowel sound, right? It's got that "e" at the end, with that funky consonant right before it. So, it doesn't seem right - "lose" is one of those words that defies the rules.

But that's why I like "lose." It's unique. It doesn't follow the crowd. So, please, for the love of the poor word, use "lose," okay? Please?

Cricket...cricket...cricket...

Oh, yes...indeed...Tiggerlane seems to have left the dang building. SO WRONG.

I was thinking today that so many of my blog buds followed me over to Facebook, and judging from our continual dialogue in that forum, still enjoy an occasional dose of my insanity. Yes, I'm still FB'ing....but not blogging much. However, you can find me easily on FB at http://www.facebook.com/tiggerlane.

Also, based on how many folks alerted me that my Twitter account had been hacked, I still have followers there, too. I'm all Tiggerlane up in there, in case you didn't know.

As I was rooting around the blogosphere today, I noticed many of my old blog buddies aren't maintaining their blogs like before. I haven't visited all of them, but so many have ceased. Why? Are they like me, and have found another forum? Or, have they simply used the blog as a crutch to get thru a difficult time? I wonder....

I promised I would write more here, but haven't. And I am feeling the guilt.