Alexander

Don't like it? Don't listen.

That's the first thing I thought!

Same here. I was about 19 when I discovered jazz. Didn't really start listening seriously until I was about 21.

This has been HEAVILY discussed on another thread. And the skit was censored for broadcast. It was "bleep in a box."

Hey, Danielle, I'm just kidding around. Don't be so serious. You're far too young! I know, I know. I'm a high school English teacher. I'm the enemy. For what it's worth, you seem like a pretty together kid. We're all glad you're here and that we can help corrupt the morals of a minor...er...I mean, broaden your interest in jazz through our input. I should note that we are a pretty well educated and well spoken bunch around here, and that for the most part people on this board refrain from "netspeak" as it is employed by the young people. Just as it is considered proper "netiquette" to refrain from typing in all caps, it is also considered courteous to (at the very least) be MINDFUL of things like spelling. I'm not saying that each post has to look like a doctoral thesis (you should see Aric's posts sometimes), but it should at the very least be clear and easy to understand. For the most part, I am NOT a grammar nazi. I was just picking on you because, well, you were new and presented a splended opportunity to do some hazing. I'm done now.

I didn't know that you were a fellow Alexander!

I understood Reagan perfectly well. Did that make him hip? Maybe his English teacher was on his case. That could explain everything. I said that it's hip to be understood, not that understandable people are necessarily hip.

In the United States, in it considered proper to place the period inside the quotation mark. In the UK (and Canada and Australia, etc.) the period is placed outside the quotation mark.

Try WinRAR. Do a Google search, since I am hesitant to recommend any single site.

Wow! This second grammer and punctuation exercise is even tougher than the first. When using sequential periods for the effect of a pause, I've always used three. Is their a rule concerning this? Is this even an official punctuation? Is three enough? Is four too many? You stumped me on that one! Three sequential periods are called an "ellipsis." Ellipsis is derived from the Greek word "ελλειψις" meaning "omission." It refers to any part of speech that is intentionally omitted. It is colloqually used (especially in e-mail and internet chat) to indicate a pause, an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence (aposiopesis, which itself derives from the Greek "ἀποσιώπησις," meaning "to become silent"). Ellipses most often consist of three periods (although they can be represented typographically by three asterisks). Some style manuals insist that a space be placed before the first period to indicate the omitted word.

When dropping a 'g' it is considered proper to use an apostrophe following the 'n,' as in "flippin'." "Careless" should be spelled as two separate words here ("care less"). In addition, that sentence should read: "I really couldn't care less; it's the internet! Come on!" Note the use of the semicolon to join the independent clauses. As to your last statement, proper grammar, punctuation and usage are a part of making oneself understood. And being understood is always hip! By the way, you don't need two backslashes to separate the words "hip" and "cool" (nor do those words need to be capitalized).

Who Cares? Looks like they did a video for virtually every track on the album! This one is great. Mario Van Peebles IS Blacula!

That's a great one too! Have you seen the "Gone Daddy Gone" bug video? Not as good as the others, but still pretty twisted...

Since you asked... Your first sentence should read: "Welcome to the wacky world of Organissimo; stick around, it gets even better!" A semi-colon is usually preferable to the dash. If you must employ the dash, then you should have put a space between it and the word "organissimo." You should have two spaces between a punctuation mark that ends a sentence (such as an exclamation point) and the first word in the next sentence. I beg to differ! Using the em-dash (a longer mark than the dash, and inserted without spaces) is a perfectly acceptable way to vary punctuation. When the em-dash is unavailable (as it is here on this forum), the usual practice is to put in two dashes, again without spaces--like this. In addition, nowadays it is only dusty academics ( ) who put two spaces after the final punctuation of a sentence. The two-spaces rule dates from the days of monospaced fonts, when it helped visually mark the end of a sentence. With today's proportional fonts, it's no longer necessary. All professionally published material nowadays has only one space after final punctuation. As one grammar and punctuation geek to another, I salute you! I've heard of this "one space" rule. A friend of mine (a professor of music theory) had to do that when submitting a paper for publication recently. I refuse to accept it, however! It's just not the way I was brought up, dammit!

Great Video!!! I've already stated on another thread that "St. Elsewhere" is the non-jazz album of the year. Danger Mouse keeps producing better and better albums, and Cee-Lo is a wonderful singer (his solo albums are great, too). Not being the MTV watching type, I hadn't seen this video when it first appeared. Gnarls Barkley does "Zelig!" Watch them hang with Duke Ellington, The Velvet Underground, the Clash, the Stones, and many, many more! Great fun! Oh, did I mention Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell? Great song, too!

Quick thinking? He fell asleep in a dumpster. He thought to use his cell to call for help. I'd call that quick thinking.

See, this guy was lucky and quick thinking, but not a hero. The guy on the subway tracks was a hero.

Exactly. In my book, a hero is someone who puts him or herself in danger in the hope that it will make a difference. I don't consider people who *find* themselves in danger to be heroes. Their handling of the situation can be admirable, but to be a "hero" one must have the option *not* to act.

But none about the spelling of "controversy". Guy Damn proofreader's on his coffee break!

Oh, really? Hey, who wrote that?

H.G. Wells had a tripod problem...

Since you asked... Your first sentence should read: "Welcome to the wacky world of Organissimo; stick around, it gets even better!" A semi-colon is usually preferable to the dash. If you must employ the dash, then you should have put a space between it and the word "organissimo." You should have two spaces between a punctuation mark that ends a sentence (such as an exclamation point) and the first word in the next sentence. Interestingly, there is a good deal of controversy over the origin of the word "copacetic." Bill "Bojangles" Robinson claimed to have invented the word while working as a shoeshine boy, although some African-Americans claim to have heard the word long before Robinson popularlized it. Others, however, claim that the word derives from Hebrew, specifically the terms hakol b’seder, "all is in order," or kol b’tzedek, "all with justice." Still other claim that it comes from the Chinook word copasenee, "everything is satisfactory," once used on the waterways of Washington State, or from the French coupersetique, from couper, "to strike," or from the French phrase copain(s) c’est épatant ("buddy(s), that’s great!").

The question should be "Whose school is good in jazz." "Who's" is a contraction of "who is." "Whose" is possessive. Guess whose the teacher! I expect better from you, Chuck!

The question should be "Whose school is known for its jazz band." "Who's" is a contraction of "who is." "Whose" is possessive. When referring to an institution (such as a school) it is appropriate to use the singluar pronoun, rather than the plural ("their"). And it's not "ment." It's "meant." I'm an English teacher. I can't help myself.

Very sorry to hear about this. Bacterial Menengits is, indeed, scary as hell. Basically, what's happening is that your brain is swelling up. Very nasty. Every year, when I was in college, it seems like one or two kids would come down with it in the dorms. It always put a big scare into everybody. Nowadays, I think they have a vaccine for it. I remember that I had to get the shot when I was in grad school a couple of years ago. I hope he recovers.