Misuse Of Word In Star Wars Book

I collected Star Wars toys and books for many years, starting in 1977 and stopping sometime after the release of Revenge Of The Sith.  There were several books I had never gotten around to reading, and the writers’ strike has now given me time to do so. Well, I just finished reading Star Wars X-wing Book Three: The Krytos Trap. I had difficulty enjoying it because the author, Michael A. Stackpole, misused a word in the book’s second sentence. Here is what he wrote: “Rogue Squadron had come to mourn the passing of one of its own on the week anniversary of his death.” I read the sentence many times, trying to make sense of it. I figured it had been a year since the death of the character, and Stackpole meant to write “the anniversary week.” That’s what I thought for quite a while until it became clear many pages later that only a week had passed. And then it became clear that Michael A. Stackpole has no idea what the word “anniversary” means. It means, “the yearly return of the date of some event.”  There is no such thing as a week anniversary or a six-month anniversary. The word comes from the Latin annus, meaning year. From that word, we also get annual, which means yearly. The writer should be thoroughly embarrassed for making such a mistake. And why did the editor not catch it?

Gift Wrapping, Latest Edition

Many years ago, I got into the habit of taping photos to the wrapping paper for gifts that I'd bought for folks. I began taking photos of them, the idea being that the photos would keep me from repeating a joke. I think I've still repeated myself from time to time. Anyway, are are a few photos of gifts from the last year or so.

Photos From Work

Last night was the wrap party for Season 6 of Station 19, and we had a lot of fun, drinking and dancing and hanging out with good people. Here are some photos taken during the shooting of the final episode of the season. But don't worry, there are no spoilers or anything like that, not even any shots of the sets or actors. Rather, these are photos from my experience of the whole thing as a production assistant. I hope you get a kick out of them.

Special effects attack the camera department on March 31st...

On April 4th, the hair and makeup departments got their own little fire on Stage 11, thanks to the props department...

And the next day, individual fires were added (but also a little fire extinguisher, so everyone felt safe)....

And here is the breakfast menu from that day. The cinnamon rolls were delicious, so a little later I went back to get a second one, but they were all gone. Just as well, my expanding belly says.

There was plenty of good food that day, and this food truck was thanks to the number 1 on our call sheet. I had the vegan curry, and it was so good.

Here is a lonely utility sound cart waiting for some actors...

On April 6th, there was more good food...

That day, some of the stunt players had their hair and makeup done on the third floor. While I waited for them, I took this picture. Regarding the sign on the left, there were actually several stairs, not just one (though for the number of times I had to go up them, I would have preferred just one). And as for the sign on the right, the alarm doesn't sound like an intermittent tone. It has an intermittent tone. Not sure what it sounds like, as it did not have cause to go off. I also like that the little guy apparently walked through the fire at the top of the stairs. Good for him!

On April 10th, we had our final location day...

There's gold in that there room.

I spent a good deal of time in this hallway.

That doorway where you can see the trash can and a case of water led to the room where the cast held for the day.

Breakfast, April 12th (I had pancakes)...

The view from the parking garage the morning of April 13th...

 I am always happy when the caterers serve French toast.

The hair and makeup camp fire returns to Stage 11.

One question that was asked several times the last couple of days was, How do we get onto the set?

 View from the parking garage the morning of April 14th,  the final day of shooting...

Last lunch menu of Season 6...

Poem

On February 3rd, I woke up to discover I'd written a poem in my sleep. Not sure if it's complete or not. But this is it:

     clown hands rise from the fire
     exploding
     splattering the walls with a delicious jelly
     the first step
     in turning this house into a sandwich

 

 

 

  

Life Of Ian

      Ian Douglas was able to read minds. Unfortunately, he lived in Kentucky and so died without ever knowing he possessed such a rare gift.

 

(Copyright 2022 Michael Doherty)

(Note: When I first heard about two-sentence stories, I thought, "Ridiculous." Then I thought, "I wonder if I could write one." And then I forgot all about it. But while at work today, I wrote this little story. It made a coworker laugh, and it made my girlfriend laugh. I hope it will make you laugh as well. One other thing: like any other story, it took a few drafts to get it right.)

People Are Getting Dumber Every Day

The owner of the red car hasn't quite grasped the concept of parallel parking.

Photos From Outside A Questionable Massage Business

The other day I saw this sign on the door for a massage parlor.

Now setting aside the fact that nearly two months have passed since New Year’s Day and the sign should have been removed by now, what on Earth compelled the person who made this sign to alert patrons that the establishment will also be closed three years ago? Strange.

While pondering that for a moment, I then noticed the more professional-looking sign in the window to the right of the door.

Three things about this sign made me chuckle. The first was the fact that the place claims to specialize in men and women, making one wonder what sorts of folks they don’t specialize in. Clearly, whoever made the sign does not know the definition of the word “specialize.” The second thing, of course, is “Deeep Tissue.” You’d think someone would have caught that. And then, if misspellings aren’t your thing, this place also offers “Deep Tissue.” How thoughtful. It’s like they caught the error, but rather than correcting it, just added the correctly spelled word below. That, as you might have guessed, was the third thing that gave me a laugh. And yes, I also noticed “Couple Massage,” but it did not make me chuckle, just annoyed and depressed me.