TMI Tuesday.

I have a pinched nerve in my neck which is causing great pain. Ice, Motrin and Flexiril should help.

1. What is your language pet peeve. (example 'hot water heater', why would you heat hot water)

Well, I get annoyed when people mispronounce "nuclear" (nucular), "jewelry" (jewlery), "height" (heighth), and "drown" (dround). And there is no such word as "irregardless"-- it is a double-negative that renders itself pointless. But the one that really annoys me is when people say, "I could care less." They mean, of course, that they "couldn't care less." If they "could care less," then they really do care.

2. What is your favorite word? Both dirty and clean?

"Fuck." "Dream."

3. What is the one word you cannot spell?

Haven't met one yet.

4. What is the one word you always pronounce wrong?

I have a terrible time when I have to say the word "particularly." And I've had to say it in several plays.

5. If you could erase one popular catchphrase from the english language, what would it be?

Again, I could go on. I'll use George Carlin's. "Have a good one." Carlin's response? "I already have a good one-- what I want is a big one!"

Bonus (as in optional): The late, and very hot Michael Hutchence (INXS) once sang, "Words are weapons, sharper than knives" . What is the most hurtful thing you have ever said to anyone? Was it deliberate or accidental? What was the most hurtful thing ever said to you? Do you think it was deliberate or accidental?

I have been known to lose my temper and say a lot of hurtful things I regret later. The worst was, "I hate you." Yes, it was deliberate. I was called an asshole once by someone; that hurt. And yes, it was deliberate.

My Pet Peeves.

Okay, I have a lot of pet peeves... the usual, you know. People who dial a number on their cell phone, then start up the car and talk incessantly while driving. Or people talking on a cell phone loud and clear in a store or a public place with no regard for others around them. In fact, a good many of my pet peeves are associated with the cell phone.

But it's grammar that's on my mind today. I'm talking about very simple, very basic, yet very common mistakes that an alarmingly huge percentage of the population is making.

The worst-- by far-- is the use of an apostrophe with a plural s. "Cookie's for sale here." "No exchange's." I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If you do this, please stop. And on the subject of apostrophes, it might be a good idea for everyone to double-check the old rule about "it's" and "its." This is probably the most common grammatical error in the English

language, but if we all try very hard, we can correct it.

The other one I'd like to address today is the dangling participle. The worst offenders with regard to dangling participles or misplaced modifiers are newswriters, both on radio and television. Here is an example:

"Missing for three weeks, police found her remains in a nearby garbage dump."

The implication of this sentence is that the police were missing for three weeks. The corrected sentence makes it even worse:

"Police found her remains, which had been missing for three weeks, in a nearby garbage dump."

Well, her remains weren't missing; she was. A better version of this sentence would be:

"Police found the remains of the woman, who had been missing for three weeks, in a nearby garbage dump."

Seriously, this is an extremely common error. Next time you're bored watching or listening to a news report, try to catch one of these. You'll be surprised how often you run across them. Here is a wonderfully helpful guide you can use to find them... and to avoid them.

Yes, perhaps I'm being a harshly judgemental Virgo. Perhaps I'm making a big fuss over something many would consider trivial. But I take pride in what I learned at a young age and I believe it's important to remember and respect the guidelines and rules for intelligent writing.

I feel so much better now.