style madness

[Jonathan Lighter]

Apparently, the History Channel's policy has always been that narration
must be in the historical present.  I don't believe I've ever heard even a
professorial interviewee orient his narrative to the past tense.

And the History Channel's biggest hit ever appears to be "Pawn Stars."

Lindsay Lohan was just one of many, many movie stars and sports celebs at
the Annual White House Correspondents' Dinner (previously known by
attendees as the "Nerd Prom"), as the President of the United States
exchanged scripted quips with Jimmy Kimmel about empty campaign promises
and eating dogs.  People laughed and clapped.

JL

On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: style madness
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Of course, there are sound business reasons for sticking with the
> present:
> > it saves space, it's more thrillingly "now."
>
> Personally, I think that there's a plot afoot to destroy the concepts
> of style and elegance as they relate to the written form of out
> glorious language.
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org