John L.'s Comments
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Jun 30, 2008 | comments: 11
in reply to a comment by Lonnie F.
John L. Jun 23, 2009, 10:23am EDT

Lonnie,

The question was where commas are needed in the following sentence.

The mobster that had whacked Pablo "Broken Elbows" Bertolini and worked over Fingers Louie Tetrazini and Trippy-Tippy-Toes Eddie Primavera dislocated Joe "Tin Knuckles" Ravioli's shoulder and decapitated Giuseppe "The Head" Boyardee.

And the answer was given above: no commas are needed. There is only one (extremely long) independent clause, and all the modifiers are restrictive.
Jun 30, 2008 | comments: 11
in reply to a comment by Leo Lemmer
John L. Jun 23, 2009, 10:19am EDT

Leo,

Good question. See my article, "GOOD COMMA."

Your sentence is a good example of how either could be correct--but for a reason I didn't touch on in the article. "Macaroni and cheese" could be a single item (a box containing skinny noodles and a packet of orangey powder) or two items (a bag of dry elbow pasta and a brick of dairy product). You could make it clear by putting the dairy-pasta duo in the middle of the list:

He bought bread, macaroni, cheese, and beans. (4 items)

He bought bread, macaroni and cheese, and beans. (3 items)

I know the "and cheese, and" looks kind of hokey, but it's correct since the phrase "macaroni and cheese" customarily refers to one thing.

 
Jul 9, 2008 | comments: 9
John L. Jun 23, 2009, 9:50am EDT

Yes, I hear about workers being "made redundant" from time to time on the BBC. I suppose it's just another way of encoding the unpleasant--just as in America employers started "offshoring" and "rightsizing" after everyone figured out that "laying off" workers didn't mean taking it easy on them--far from it.

But rather than make up a new word, the British term take a very literal interpretation of an existing word. Redundant means unneeded, so to make workers redundant means to treat them as unneeded and get rid of them.

(Of course, if they really were unneeded, why did the company have them in the first place? Sometimes I think it would be better if we just went back to saying the workers were fired.)
Mar 12, 2009 | comments: 3
John L. Mar 15, 2009, 10:15am EDT
Jeni,

Over time, authors can become aware of their most common mistakes and learn to correct them while writing--or on the second draft. But it is always difficult to be critical of your own work. An editor can help you to see things you might miss.
Mar 13, 2009 | comments: 8
John L. Mar 13, 2009, 10:10am EDT
Sacramento, California

Got it? Your turn.
Mar 13, 2009 | comments: 8
John L. Mar 13, 2009, 10:10am EDT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mar 13, 2009 | comments: 8
John L. Mar 13, 2009, 10:10am EDT
Quito, Ecuador (Q is optional... that doesn't mean you have to skip it.)
Mar 13, 2009 | comments: 8
John L. Mar 13, 2009, 10:09am EDT
Pierre, South Dakota
Mar 9, 2009 | comments: 11
John L. Mar 9, 2009, 8:32am EDT
Okinawa

(Got it? Your turn.)
Mar 9, 2009 | comments: 11
John L. Mar 9, 2009, 8:32am EDT
Newfoundland
Mar 9, 2009 | comments: 11
John L. Mar 9, 2009, 8:32am EDT
Manhattan
Mar 9, 2009 | comments: 11
John L. Mar 9, 2009, 8:31am EDT
Long Island ((You don't have to start with A, just go in order)
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 7
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 9:01am EDT
Facials For Female Friends

(Got it? Your turn.)
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 7
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 8:00am EDT
Electricity

(Just kidding . . . how about Extra Eclairs Every Evening?)
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 7
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 7:56am EDT
Cable TV (You don't have to start with A, just go in order.)
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 29
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 1:29am EST
Cymbals

(Got it? Your turn!)
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 29
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 1:29am EST
Banjo
Mar 8, 2009 | comments: 29
John L. Mar 8, 2009, 1:28am EST
Accordion
Aug 7, 2008 | comments: 34
John L. Aug 8, 2008, 12:21pm EDT
One that most of us have overlooked unless you stumbled on it on the inner section of Blockbuster: "The Last Shot" (1996).

Alec Baldwin is an FBI agent who passes himself off as a movie producer to nail a Providence, RI, mobster (Tony Shaloub) influencing the local unions. Baldwin's unwitting screenwriter is played by Matthew Broderick, who is predictably excited that a producer is interested in his movie. The auditions attract big-name stars, and Baldwin's character starts to believe in Broderick's vision for the movie. He pushes the FBI to extend the operation, but they end up pulling the plug on the first day of shooting.

Favorite scene: Baldwin trying to convince Broderick that Providence is the perfect place for his movie, which is set in the Arizona desert.

Best part: it's based on a true story!
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John L.
Sanford, FL

professional wannabe has-been
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