Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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Swan taking time to smell the flowers on our morning dog walk.
The AI god is suggesting that the flowers are white bougainvillea. The plant is a vine.
Happy ogling!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/April/2026 @ 5:44 pm
It’s been a sunk cost from the beginning, Brian. I just can’t stop trying to be a teacher, though, and that’s on me.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/April/2026 @ 10:20 am
That said, I will continue to try to improve,
No, you won’t. That’s my whole point. You’ve never tried. I’d have seen it if you had.
but as you’ve noted, with minimal results.
There have been no results. It’s the same mistakes, again and again, day after day. You can’t blame age for this—it’s laziness. It’s active resistance against effort. Even if it is age, why not fight it? Again, the answer is: laziness. No desire to fight. Fighting would require work.
Whatever. I’m officially declaring you hopeless. But hey, if you’re happy with your current level, then that’s all that matters inside your bubble.
I envision another tee shirt:
DON’T STRIVE.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT IS A SHAM.
BE HAPPY.
BE UNAWARE.» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/April/2026 @ 6:32 pm
One of the narrow passages that permeates Matain.
Whoa—this is a different error. I guess I was wrong. Can you spot the problem? Hint: It’s something like subject-verb agreement.
Then, as bedtime approached, we headed on home where I prepared a batch of smoothies before calling it a night.
Is that last sentence correct? It seems I have compound predicate issues.
The “bedtime approached” sentence doesn’t have a compound predicate. A compound predicate is where you’ve got the same subject doing two distinct actions. The sentence above is a complex sentence, and it has three clauses, i.e., three subjects and three predicates (verbs + the rest).
first subject: bedtime
first verb: approachedsecond subject: we
second verb: headedthird subject: I
third verb: preparedIn the above sentence, “before calling it a night” is not a clause: It has no subject, and “calling” is a gerund, not a verb. A complex sentence has at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Your complex sentence has one independent clause and—count ’em—two dependent clauses.
independent (main) clause: we headed
dependent clause 1: as bedtime approached
dependent clause 2: where I preparedYou also failed to hyphenate “compound-predicate issues.”
So, as I said earlier:
Your pet mistakes mostly revolve around (1) commas; (2) when to use hyphens; and (3) not recognizing clauses and other sentence parts, like compound predicates.No comma problems yet (of course, I’m not done checking), but the “when to use hyphens” problem happened again, and you didn’t recognize a complex sentence with all of its clauses, instead miscalling this a “compound-predicate issue.” There were no compound predicates.
It doesn’t help that Grammarly has a contrary view, although I trust Kevin more.
This is exactly why Grammarly is worthless. See here from an authority I respect. Same info here, but from a less authoritative resource.
Her first time making a birria taco. We both liked the taco, but the dipping sauce needs some work.
The taco looks good, but it’s still not red from the rendered fat that’s part of the meat-prep process. She really hates a coated taco shell, doesn’t she? It is possible to fry a dipped shell into crispness, but the heat has to be cranked up high.
That’s okay, I have my Hash buddies, my hiking pals, and my drinking companion.
Comma splice! Possible rewrites:
1. That’s okay; I have my Hash buddies, my hiking pals, and my drinking companion.
2. That’s okay. I have my Hash buddies, my hiking pals, and my drinking companion.
3. That’s okay: I have my Hash buddies, my hiking pals, and my drinking companion.
4. That’s okay—I have my Hash buddies, my hiking pals, and my drinking companion.Guess we found a comma problem. It’s like clockwork. Same errors, over and over, day after day. Sammy fuckin’ Jankis.
Carolyn sounds like someone I know. At first, I thought “weigh in” needed a hyphen, but the Google AI god says no.
She’s using “weigh in” as a verb, so no hyphen. If it were a noun, we’d hyphenate. See my Substack article here, from last September. Scroll down a bit.
I’ll keep on trying to do better anyway.
Please stop saying that. You’re not even trying. And you know, maybe that’s just fine. But do keep a more realistic self-image. I’d see it if you were making ANY sort of effort. But the basic reason you’re not making any effort is that it’s not really important to you to improve, and there are no consequences for mental laziness. What can I do from all the way over here in Korea? Nothing. Not a thing. Again, that’s fine. Whatever. Just please be honest about the zero effort you’re putting in.
I’m not saying you live a zero-effort life. Take comfort in the effort you put into your walks, your “Decay Dance”s, and your assiduous drinking. You’re not lazy through and through; you obviously make an effort when you’re motivated to, but grammar just doesn’t motivate you, so you’re lazy about that. If I were really your teacher, I’d be more invested in finding some way to motivate you, but as you’re aware, I’m not really your teacher. So this is the hell we’re in. I preach-preach-preach for no good reason, and you ignore-ignore-ignore, all while vainly protesting that you’re trying, you really are.
I mean, seriously—when you see another of my paid-content grammar units published, do you even try the quizzes at the end? Do you then try the interactive quizzes I’ve created at the quiz website? Are you striving to get “A”s on those quizzes? If yes, there’s a button that turns your quiz results into a PDF, and you can email me your “A” (95% or 100%) as proof. Just please remember to put your name on the quiz (there’s a name blank at the top of every quiz). Hell—take a quiz, get an “F,” study more, take the quiz again, get a “D,” and so on, showing me your progress. That, frankly, would make me happy. Not that my happiness has ever been a motivator for you.
but even when I’ve been shown the rules, I tend to ignore or misapply them.
That, at least, is honest. And you tend to do these things (misapply, ignore) because you put no effort into learning. Until you overcome that inertia in your head, nothing will change, and as your brain gets ever more alcohol-soaked, things will only get worse. This is just another version of the “Everyone around him can see the problem, so why can’t he?” situation you’ve been in since your youth. Whether it’s women or grammar or whatever, it’s the same samsara, over and over.
If you sense an undercurrent of concern in all of my ranting, that’ll be your first step toward wisdom. But if you’re happy in your thickening fog of oblivious contentment, please just say so. And if you really do want to try to learn, please show the effort instead of talking about it. I ought to see a stream of PDFs in my email in-box, with slowly improving grades as time goes on. Until I finally see an “A.” Then more “A”s. Then nothing but “A”s, again and again and again.
Would I have bothered to write all of this if I’d given up on you?
Maybe what’s missing is a public affirmation from both sides: You accept me as a teacher, and I accept you as a student, then we strive together to help you improve. With that now explicitly decided, I would promise to find ways to motivate you to learn; I’d feel a sense of obligation to help my student do better instead of leaving snide and cutting comments all the time (i.e., I’d be a lot nicer instead of busting your balls). For your part, you’d feel a sense of obligation to me as your teacher—a sense of urgency, of concern about your own progress, a feeling of goal-orientation that you haven’t had up to now. But along with that will come the need for action and self-discipline: We’ll need to establish routines, maybe exchange daily or thrice-weekly emails in which (1) I throw different exercises at you, and (2) you answer within 24 hours.
But commitment, even if it means just ten minutes a day, is a scary thing, and lazy people shrink from it. They don’t want to be obliged to do anything. They’d rather just be left alone and unbothered. They don’t want to work. So please think carefully before you formally accept a teacher-student relationship. I won’t be at all offended if you say no. But just please be clear and honest with your answer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/April/2026 @ 11:18 pm
Sigh… always looking for legalistic loopholes. The sign of a bad student.
When I was a teacher, I never understood why some students would put more effort into avoiding learning than into just learning something right. Some people are wired that way, I guess: Don’t give those people safety instructions; if they’re learning to drive, just put them behind the wheel, let them drive off the cliff a few times, and if they survive, they’ll learn to respect roads that way. If they learn at all.
Then again, the idiots who don’t follow instructions are more likely to disobey orders when the Sewol ferry is sinking, so instead of remaining in place as the PA announcements say to do, they abandon ship right away and end up being the only survivors. The ones following instructions are the ones who end up drowning.
But the Sewol disaster may not prove that following instructions isn’t always good. Instead, it may merely prove that a lack of common sense can be deadly: You should know when to follow instructions and when not to.
I don’t know; there’s a time and place for rebellion, but natural rebels often reflexively rebel against the wrong things, and it’s such a waste.
As for your “different” mistakes…
Your pet mistakes mostly revolve around (1) commas; (2) when to use hyphens; and (3) not recognizing clauses and other sentence parts, like compound predicates.
Here—try this. Write three sentences with compound predicates. Don’t make the sentences too short, either. And the coordinating conjunction in each compound predicate has to be “but” since that’s the sort of sentence where you’re likely to mess up the punctuation.
Example:
At the beach, Herbert contentedly scratched his ass but kept a cautious eye out for that butt-crack-pecking seagull.
NO COMMA.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/April/2026 @ 4:40 pm
Okay, compound predicate = 2 actions by the same subject, so NO COMMA.
WRONG: Sheila sat down, and farted.
RIGHT: Sheila sat down and farted.WRONG: He was hungry, but waited to eat.
RIGHT: He was hungry but waited to eat.So, turning to your “corrections”:
WRONG: I was going to get a haircut, but couldn’t be bothered.
RIGHT: I was going to get a haircut but couldn’t be bothered.WRONG: I had a bowl of sugar-free pudding, but wasn’t sleepy yet.
RIGHT: I had a bowl of sugar-free pudding but wasn’t sleepy yet.For the umpteenth time: Stop interrupting your compound predicates with commas.
10 to 1, you’re gonna make the same mistake in your next post. Sammy Jankis.
Please prove me wrong, I beg you.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/April/2026 @ 11:13 am
I was going to get a haircut, but couldn’t be bothered, so I kicked things off at Sloppy Joe’s.
Spot the error! Stop the error! Same error as always.
I had a bowl of sugar-free pudding, but wasn’t sleepy yet, so I grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed upstairs to The Rite Spot.
Same error again. Sammy Jankis.
So—no idea as to the cause of your complaints? Maybe it’s just what Koreans call “momsal,” a vague collection of generic “bleh” symptoms ranging from aches and pains to a runny nose, a headache, or a light fever—in any combination. Just basically a feeling of being generally off-kilter and needing to rest. Maybe the best cure is finding something that makes you happy (other than beer). Hit YouTube and search for “dogs being idiots.” You might get a chuckle out of some of those videos.
And please reread my Substack shit about “compound predicates.” Don’t just say to yourself, “A comma marks a pause, so I need one here.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/April/2026 @ 6:12 pm
Not much of a river this time of year.
Barely a creek, I’d say.
A shady spot to rest in peace.
I like the tree, guardian of the dead.
The beach view.
Nice sunset shots.
After my meal, I walked to the highway and had my nightcap at Snackbar. Then I triked home and went to bed.
I don’t know what the problem is today, but I hope you’ll be over it by evening.
Oh, and I predicted that I was heading for a train wreck with Marissa. But of course, I didn’t get off the train.
You don’t need to wish for a do-over life because you’ve been doing the same shit over and over and over again already. But you’re lucky with Swan; she ended the samsaric cycle, at least as far as love/romance/teh krayzee goes. Quality person. Only problem is… since she ended the cycle for you, you didn’t end the cycle for yourself.
There’s an analogy with Ozempic in there somewhere. If Ozempic ends the cycle of temptation, it’s not you doing it for yourself, so backsliding remains possible.
I’m pretty sure I won’t ever be going back “home.”
Is there any reason still to root for or to defend the country, then?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/April/2026 @ 5:42 pm
Making steps in the right direction
When I was told to start doing insulin injections (I finally convinced the docs to stop after a few months), they trained me on how to use an injection pen. It’s painless as long as you’re not injecting straight into a large muscle group, but I imagine you can get used to that, too. I was told to inject into the thick layer of belly fat on my lower abdomen. I’d been using a 4-millimeter needle—barely enough to get through the skin to inject insulin into the fat layer. Almost never any blood, except once. So over the course of hundreds of such injections, I had only a single bleeder. And bleeders aren’t tragic. They’re just a tiny dot of blood. No need even for a bandage.
re: quitting Ozempic
I get the impression that Ozempic is for life. The AI god says:
Ozempic is generally intended as a long-term or lifelong treatment because Type 2 diabetes and obesity are chronic, relapsing conditions, not temporary illnesses. Studies show that stopping Ozempic typically leads to the return of appetite, food cravings, and regaining most lost weight within a year.
You’re free not to trust AI, but it’s sourcing its answers from available information. Here’s what a more human-sounding website has to say (edited):
What Happens When You Stop Ozempic?
Ozempic is injected once a week. So about a week after stopping the medicine, you will start to notice that your hunger and cravings may return. You may not feel as full for as long.
While Ozempic doesn’t usually have withdrawal symptoms, people with type 2 diabetes may experience high blood-sugar levels. This may lead to symptoms like:
Excessive thirst and urination
Fatigue
Headaches
Blurry visionDue to the return of hunger and cravings, you may experience what has been called “Ozempic rebound.” This is when you start to regain the weight you lost.
According to one study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, stopping Ozempic or other weight loss drugs led to most of the weight being regained within one year. Studies like these show that obesity is a chronic disease that may need continued treatment.
But this rebound effect is not unique to Ozempic. It can happen with any weight-loss tool you suddenly stop using.
But there’s hope:
Why Would You Stop Ozempic?
Ozempic has positive and proven results, so why would someone stop using it? Dr. Schmidt says there are generally three reasons you may need to stop using Ozempic:
1. Side effects. “About 15 percent of people have significant side effects,” says Dr. Schmidt. These generally include nausea, constipation, or abdominal pain.
2. Shortage. Ozempic is popular. The manufacturer cannot meet demand, so some pharmacies are running out and unable to fill prescriptions for it.
3. Achieved weight goal. “Once you’ve achieved your weight goal, you may no longer need the medication,” says Dr. Schmidt.For those only taking Ozempic for weight loss, once you reach your goal weight, your insurance may no longer cover it. At about $1,000 per month, it’s not an affordable option for most people without the help of insurance.
How to Maintain Post-Ozempic Weight
Just because you stop Ozempic doesn’t mean you will gain the weight back. “As with any weight-loss program, sustained weight loss will only happen with a lifestyle change in diet habits and exercise,” says Dr. Schmidt.
While Ozempic may feel like magic, you need to put the work and effort in while you’re on it, so when you stop, you can maintain a healthy weight. Dr. Schmidt suggests preparing with healthy foods and anticipating that you will feel more hunger and cravings.
That last part—”you need to put the work and effort”—is what worries me. Get to your goal weight, then relapse. I know that’s what I’d do because I’ve done it. And given your history, just stopping Ozempic isn’t going to lead to a Happily Ever After.
re: grammar
You’d written: I went online with them to try and resolve the situation, but was advised to call a number in the USA.
Your solution: Either lose the comma or put an “I” after “but”.
NB: Americans put the period inside the quotation mark. Otherwise, it’s UK English. UK English is fine for UK folks, but it’s wrong for us Yanks. Yanks don’t spell the words as “colour” or “metre,” and they don’t put periods and commas outside of quotation marks.
Otherwise, your two-alternative solution (remove comma or two clauses) is correct, but do you know why? Look at the sentence structure: I went… but was advised… That’s a compound predicate—one subject, two actions. You cannot interrupt a compound predicate with a single comma.
WRONG: She sat down, and farted.
RIGHT: She sat down and farted.Same example I’ve used time and time again. The grammar of a compound predicate isn’t limited to the conjunction “and.” It can be any other coordinating conjunction from FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
The dog wanted the food but waited.
He’s self-disciplined yet is also a libertine.Or—
I went online but was advised to call the US.
See the pattern? Use the search function in my Substack; I’ve got at least five different articles that all deal with compound predicates. You need to start retaining what you read instead of letting it all go in one ear and out the other with no mental effort at all. That way lies senility. And the same discipline that can sharpen your mind will also help you if you quit Ozempic, but if you refuse to discipline yourself in that area as well, you can expect the beach-ball gut to return.
Meantime, congrats on the weight loss, and here’s to reaching 190 lbs./86 kg.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/April/2026 @ 11:08 am
I went online with them to try and resolve the situation, but was advised to call a number in the USA.
Spot the error!
I had my driver drop me off at Dr. Jo’s office for my third Ozempic injection.
Congrats on the good news re: appetite and weight loss.
Ozempic is a lifetime commitment, but it seems for the moment to be a viable path forward, so I wish you luck.
According to the AI god, you can self-inject Ozempic:
Ozempic is a prescription medication designed for self-administration at home once prescribed by a healthcare provider. It is administered via a pre-filled, disposable pen once a week into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. While frequent office visits for each dose are not necessary, ongoing medical supervision is essential to initiate treatment, learn proper injection techniques, monitor for side effects, and manage any required adjustments in treatment.
Will you switch to self-injection when you switch over to larger doses?
Why is Pink Floyd playing in my head?
A nice shot indeed. The next Artemis phase involves landing people on the moon.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/April/2026 @ 5:53 pm
And by golly, the Philippines leads the world in this catergory:
Cater-gory, eh? And the US isn’t far behind at #4.
And now it is time to say goodbye.
It’s those “hello” dogs again.
Looks to have been a good walk. You’re lucky the Hash kennel isn’t strict about your shortcutting. How many legitimate walks would you say you’ve actually done? (Hash Trail Option B, i.e., the easier version of any walk, qualifies as legitimate.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/April/2026 @ 7:14 pm
I hope the walk went well. Easter looks to have been a fun time with family. Alas, since I don’t drink, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in the dice game.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/April/2026 @ 6:49 pm
It shouldn’t matter if you’re telling them, but please don’t write it wrong.
Why I don’t trust Grammarly: “I’m sorry, I love you” (with the comma) is a comma splice. It should be:
(1) I’m sorry; I love you. (1 compound sentence w/2 independent clauses!) Or—
(2) I’m sorry. I love you. (2 separate, simple sentences; arguably more natural)Eso sí que es gracioso!
You’re missing the upside-down exclamation mark at the beginning:
¡Eso sí que es gracioso!
You can sort of guess what “calcetines” are if you know the religious term “discalced” to describe certain Catholic religious orders that reject footwear to go around either barefoot or with simple sandals.
Anyway, Happy Beaster! —as a friend of mine used to say. This same friend also called Christmas “Cursemas.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/April/2026 @ 7:12 pm
As for religion in the bar district, it was Jesus himself who turned water into wine. Or so the story goes.
The joke we’d heard in grad school was that Jesus was the first bootlegger.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/April/2026 @ 2:14 pm
But she was almost 95, which is one of the oldest I’ve seen on the funeral banners.
Like 95-year-old Koreans, though, she had perfectly black hair. (I realize that’s a photo from before she was 95, but she undoubtedly kept the look.)
Forward march!
The AI god says:
This image depicts a Holy Week penitence ritual in the Philippines, specifically Good Friday flagellation.
Religious Tradition: Devotees engage in self-flagellation to atone for sins, fulfill vows, or pray for miracles.
Costume Details: Penitents often wear costumes made of dried banana leaves, vines, or coconut leaves, sometimes covering themselves in mud.
Observance: This striking demonstration of faith occurs annually during the week leading up to Easter Sunday.
Related Event: A similar event called the “Taong Putik” (Mud People) festival occurs in June to honor Saint John the Baptist.An old woman called out “hello” as I passed by.
Did she sound like this? Or this?
A different angle on that mountain I won’t be climbing on the Easter Monday Hash.
Oh? Do tell.
We shared an order of Foodies chicken quesadillas as we took in the unexpected show taking place on the highway downstairs.
Carby, but they look good.
It seems like quite a juxtaposition to see a religious parade in the bar district.
Maybe the bar district needs it most. There’s a story of a bodhisattva who took the form of a gambler in order to preach the dharma to a gambler.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/April/2026 @ 7:31 pm
The folk etymology of “Maundy” in “Maundy Thursday” is that it comes from the French “maudit,” meaning “cursed.” The real etymology, though, is this (from Etymonline.com):
Thursday before Easter, mid-15c., from Middle English maunde “the Last Supper” (c. 1300), also “ceremony of washing the feet of poor persons or inferiors, performed as a religious rite on Maundy Thursday” (early 14c.), from Old French mandé, from Latin mandatum “commandment” (see mandate (n.)); said to be so called in reference to the opening words of the Latin church service for this day, Mandatum novum do vobis “A new commandment I give unto you” (John xiii:34), words supposedly spoken by Jesus to the Apostles after washing their feet at the Last Supper.
You see the “mand” root in words like mandate, command, commander, demand, etc.
I guess people thought of “cursed/maudit” because Maundy Thursday is the night—right after the Last Supper—that Jesus was betrayed and imprisoned. Christians contend the Last Supper was a Jewish Passover Seder, but I’ve heard some Jews argue that the form of the supper was all wrong for a Seder, which usually involves bitter herbs, charoset (which is good!), eggs, and other food to remind the Jews of their bitter period of bondage in Egypt.
We name the days of Holy Week in the Presbyterian Church; it’s not just a Catholic thing, but I guess different Protestant denominations have their own ways of handling Holy Week. I bet your minister knew what the days were. Here’s the AI god’s rendition of the week for 2026:
Days of Holy Week 2026
Palm Sunday (April 13): Jesus enters Jerusalem.
Holy Monday (April 14): Jesus clears the Temple.
Holy Tuesday (April 15): Jesus teaches and preaches.
Holy Wednesday (April 16): Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
Maundy Thursday (April 17): Last Supper and betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Good Friday (April 18): Crucifixion and burial of Jesus.
Holy Saturday (April 19): Jesus in the tomb.
Easter Sunday (April 20): Resurrection of Jesus.Anyway, have a good Easter weekend.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/April/2026 @ 4:53 pm
Luckily, the manager, someone I’ve known for years, was standing nearby, and I said to her, How can you not have red wine? She responded, “We have it”, and took the waitress with her to the stockroom. She returned with a big bottle of red wine, and the evening was saved.
One is left to wonder why the waitress said the resto was out of wine. Ignorance? Or laziness?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/April/2026 @ 6:55 pm
Good luck with the birria. I hope the taco shells end up looking red, the way they’re supposed to.
Good luck, too, with rising prices, likely a result of rising fuel costs. Buy from America or Canada, guys! Don’t help fund the Russian war effort!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/April/2026 @ 9:24 pm
Have the 1701 party at your place and serve Trek-themed food. Most of it will probably be Klingon since Klingon food is the alien food most discussed on the shows:
1. blood wine
2. Gagh (live bloodworms)
3. Firewine
4. various Klingon mollusksThere’s also non-Klingon food and drink like
1. Romulan ale
2. various Vulcan soups and broths
3. various Vulcan salads
4. Vulcan breads
5. individual Vulcan fruits and vegetablesTrek-themed recipes are all over the Web, so all you have to do is Google them (Klingon food/drinks, Romulan food/drinks, Vulcan food/drinks, Bajoran food/drinks, Cardassian food/drinks, Ferengi food/drinks, etc.). I just had a random thought and searched for “tribble recipes,” which led to a bunch of recipes for roasted tribbles (which look a lot like a combination of doughnut holes and meatballs). On the show Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Klingon Worf developed a taste for human prune juice, declaring it “a warrior’s drink.”
At least get your tee designer for 1701 to do a sexy drawing that combines images from the Trek shows and movies with Hash motifs like your curvy bikini girl—maybe the bikini girl in a naughty-looking Starfleet uniform, fawning over a muscular Vulcan on an alien planet’s beach. Or, hell, fawning over an old Starfleet admiral with a beer belly.
You’ve got two weeks to let your creatives know. If you’re in a mood to celebrate, of course. No pressure. It’s only a nerdy idea.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/April/2026 @ 5:45 pm
Two more Hashes, and it’s 1701, the Enterprise’s number (NCC-1701). I hope you celebrate with a Star Trek theme.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/April/2026 @ 10:30 am
The first time I said goodbye to Arizona was in 1983 when I moved to Arkansas. I said goodbye again yesterday when the losers on the Arizona floating bar couldn’t be bothered to step away from their card game and send the raft to pick me up. Fuck off, you cunts!
I suspect you’ll forgive them and patronize them again soon enough. Yes, I know there are plenty of bars to choose from, but you do have a history of forgiving and forgetting. I can’t think of a single place I’ve been back to after forsaking it. Once bitten, forever shy. Of course, that could simply mean that I’m a petty, small-minded little shit who lacks the maturity to forgive. But if there are other fish in the sea, why look back at all?
I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer, I was throwing awesome darts, and getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.
Several ways to rewrite the above.
1. I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer. I was throwing awesome darts and getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.
2. I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer; I was throwing awesome darts and getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.
3. I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer, I was throwing awesome darts, and I was getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.
4. I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer; I was throwing awesome darts, and I was getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.For example (3) above, that’s not how you’d normally handle independent clauses if you had only two clauses (it’d be a comma splice), but in this case, you’ve got three independent clauses all acting like items in a list, and as we all know, list items can be separated by commas! You could also still separate them with semicolons:
4. I learned that a good friend in South Carolina [had] succumbed to cancer; I was throwing awesome darts; I was getting rejected by the women I was attracted to.
I’m remaining confident that oil will be flowing again soon, but who knows?
Dear Philippines: Stop buying from the ME and start buying from the US or Canada or some other non-ME country.
Ain’t never heard o’ no Junior Bonner. Is it worth a watch?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2026 @ 11:13 pm
I think “mumu” may or may not be an accepted Anglo spelling (leaning more toward “not”). The Anglo pronunciation is “moo-moo,” but the native-Hawaiian spelling and pronunciation are “muumuu/mu’umu’u” or “moo-oo-moo-oo.”
I assume you mean the comma wasn’t needed, but I like it better with it than without.
But given how often you use them, you seem to favor compound predicates, unnecessarily comma’ed. We must purge ourselves of these demons.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2026 @ 9:22 pm
Oho! I wrote:
I had puppy-love crushes on some of my female classmates in elementary school (I remember Carol Miller and Melinda Chambers, both brown-eyed brunettes), and finished sixth grade in 1981.
Spot the error! I’m not exempt from criticism, either.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/March/2026 @ 7:17 pm
I was born in 1969 and lived through the 70s as well, but my first real memories of the 70s come from around the time of Star Wars (1977). I had puppy-love crushes on some of my female classmates in elementary school (I remember Carol Miller and Melinda Chambers, both brown-eyed brunettes), and finished sixth grade in 1981. I was a straight-A student all four quarters of sixth grade, and I’d gotten third place in the regional spelling bee (I misspelled “muumuu”; the winner, Meghan Hanrahan, correctly spelled the absurdly easy “aerotrain”). Despite the loss, I was riding high. Then along came junior high in a school for the gifted, and I got my first-ever C in anything. Sucked. Especially with an aghast Korean mom looking at my report card.
Anyway, the 70s to me meant fishbowl haircuts for my half-Korean hair, family picnics at various parks, weird paisley patterns on clothing, big collars, huge glasses, bell-bottom jeans, a lot of corduroy tops and bottoms, and various 70s-era cartoons and TV shows, including from horror movies that gave me nightmares.
Now that I spend so much time reviewing movies, I think the 70s were a time when Hollywood was way less politically correct and had more balls, but at the same time, it was a reflection of some ugly societal conflicts and prejudices. Also, it was just before the 80s, the real era of Lucas and Spielberg, which is when cinema really started to up its game with tighter editing, pacing, sound, and visual effects. That said, the 70s produced some amazing movies, like THX-1138 (1971—George Lucas at his most creative), The French Connection (1971), The Exorcist (1973, and both directed by William Friedkin), Star Wars (1977), and—as I found out years later when I finally saw it—the utterly incredible Deliverance (1972), which holds up even today. If you’ve never seen Deliverance, I highly, highly, highly recommend it. I’m surprised I haven’t reviewed it on the blog, but it’s easily one of my absolute favorite movies, and it definitely cements the idea that, in the 70s, Hollywood had big, massive balls. I’m pretty sure that people like Quentin Tarantino agree, which is why so many Tarantino films are 70s callbacks in terms of music and ambience.
I much prefer the 70s for nostalgia than the awful 80s, a decade I’d like to forget—the feathered and over-sprayed hairdos, the awful synth-pop music, the pastel Polo shirts and sweaters worn over the shoulders and knotted on the chest. A shame, too, because some of my favorite personal moments come from the 80s, but the decade taken as a whole was garbage. It amazes me that some people these days pine for the 80s. Jesus Christ.
Well, I hope the 70s celebration was fun.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/March/2026 @ 7:10 pm
Are you saying you don’t see the stand/I pun in my comment or, or that you see it but don’t get it?
stand
IBasically, it’s “I understand.” And
take in take
—is “in between takes.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/March/2026 @ 10:48 am
I guess your site doesn’t allow the HTML for underlining—just boldface and italics. The “stand/I” visual pun is supposed to have an underline or fraction bar or underscore beneath the “stand,” with the “I” being centered beneath. You can still get the pun even without the fraction bar, though.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/March/2026 @ 11:02 pm
Nothing really, except for where we did our Friday group hike way out on the far side of Subic, in Barangay Aningway-Sacatihan, and trekked to Balon Falls.
Clearer punctuation:
Nothing, really, except for where we did our Friday group hike: way out on the far side of Subic, in Barangay Aningway-Sacatihan. We then trekked to Balon Falls.
We were looking for a different way back down, and hired this youngster as our guide.
Spot the error! I can see this is another of your pet errors, never to be corrected no matter how many times it’s pointed out.
It’s rare to see a horse in these parts, but here you go.
Looks tasty. Time for some low-carb horse jerky!
Swan has the recipe now, but we need to find some corn tortillas to work with.
Buy her a tortilla press and some masa harina (or whatever it’s called in the PI). That way, you/she can make your/her own tortillas. Or you can make the tortillas, and she can fry them up after prepping the meat and consommé.
I’m glad I don’t rely on public transport or have any flights scheduled. It’s a crazy time.
The AI god claims the PI gets most of its fuel from the Middle East.
She’s got some skilled fingers there, Cedric. See what else she can do with them!
Holy smokes! A perfectly written meme!
Took me a bit longer than it should have to get this one.
Immediately followed by a poorly punctuated meme. Sigh…
re: Bach meme
I had to look it up. “Think outside the Bachs.” Ha ha. But at least the pun shows some cleverness. It’s one of those visual/spatial puns like
stand
Iand
take in take
I used to do those with my EFL students.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/March/2026 @ 10:59 pm
Changing “I wonder” to “I want to know” doesn’t change the fact that you’re declaring your mental state (in this case, declaring a desire to know). If you just want to ask, then you should write a straight question:
Who in the fuck is paying for those ‘no’ votes?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/March/2026 @ 1:12 pm
I wonder who’s paying for those “no” votes?
Spot the error!
Nice sunset. Watch the carbs in chicken fingers and pulled-pork BBQ sauce.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2026 @ 6:54 pm
«« Back To Stats PageI love ice cream. Let’s grab an ice-cream sandwich!
Exactly. And that’s why “doesn’t look right” doesn’t cut it as a rule for writing grammatically, and why so many people get the phrasal-adjective hyphenation rule wrong. But you could argue, in the case of “ice-cream sandwich,” that the hyphen is unnecessary because the phrase is familiar enough not to cause a problem with clarity. The example I’ve given repeatedly is “high school student” (which I personally hyphenate, but which I’m not going to penalize if left unhyphenated).
I get tremors just thinking about going without beer for a week.
There’s your addiction right there.
Six out of 360 sounds rare to me.
Six times a year sounds like six times too many to me. Six times a year, lying in my own piss? If that’s acceptable, then I have no pride or dignity.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2026 @ 5:34 pm