A popular Vampire Weekend song begins with a rather blunt question: “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?” In the same vein, it’s been said that “nobody notices that stuff” — with “stuff” referring to punctuation, capitalization and other supposedly trivial matters. A certain former Daily Cal sports editor Read More…
It may be the last day of instruction, but that probably just means it’s almost time to start studying for finals. In the spirit of all that — and, of course, for your entertainment — I present one of my favorite lecture slides from my perception class this semester: From Read More…
Upon returning to Berkeley after spring break, I came to an unfortunate realization: that it was that time of the semester again. Perhaps I’d survived the first two months of this term, but somehow, April still managed to loom ahead of me. That couldn’t be a good sign — in Read More…
Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of returning to my hometown for an early spring break of sorts. By that, I actually mean I missed school for a week to recover from sudden illness by going home and developing very close relationships with my couch and my family’s Read More…
I have this theory that it’s just about impossible to scroll down one’s Facebook news feed for more than 30 seconds before encountering something that is either completely ridiculous or completely offensive. It must be my lucky day, seeing as I just found something that falls into both categories: I’ll Read More…
I’m definitely concerned about some individuals’ inability to spell. The word “definitely” in particular seems to be a problem for many of my peers. We’ve all seen it. Maybe it’s someone returning a text: “I’m definately coming with you!” Perhaps somebody just posted a Facebook status about how some current event is “defenitely not acceptable.” In Read More…
For a while now, I’ve had a strange fascination with the graffiti messages people write. Some are blatantly comical to the point of ridiculousness, while others are angsty confessions of unrequited love or hopeless questions of identity. Occasionally, I stumble upon nuggets of wisdom: It’s an inspiring statement. It’s genuinely Read More…
Now, I’m sure a lot of us have wondered, at some point, why words with an ‘F’ sound are spelled with a ‘ph’ instead. I suppose it wouldn’t be unreasonable for an uninformed individual to use an ‘F’ where there should be a ‘P’ and an ‘H’ in its place, Read More…
For future reference: Everyday is an adjective used to describe something that is common or ordinary. For example, a casual outfit is an everyday outfit. Every day is an adjective and a noun, meaning “each day.” For example, Berkeley students should use proper grammar every day.
Sometimes, one letter makes all the difference.