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MY FRIEND CHESTER

2010-09-29 · letter vlog · John · 3:18 · watch on YouTube

Topic: History & curiosities (also: Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion

John adds his own language mix-ups (chest of drawers, hors d'oeuvres, who vs that) to Hank's list and argues that grammar exists for clear communication, so correcting others snottily defeats its purpose.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Reply to Hank's Monday video: never use 'effect' as a verb

  • ★★ Adding to Hank's Monday video, John advises that when you want to use 'effect' as a verb, don't, ever, no matter what. (playful) — 00:00:10

00:00:13 — A professional writer (awards, translations, the NYT Book Review's 'miraculous') still makes hideous mistakes, like his double negative

  • ★ John says his books sometimes win awards, are translated into many languages and are often nicely reviewed; the New York Times Book Review once called one 'miraculous', to which he says 'almost'. (playful) — 00:00:20 · New York City
  • ★★ John says being a professional person of letters does not stop him making hideous grammatical mistakes, such as the double negative in that very sentence. (playful) — 00:00:33

00:00:43 — Moving to Indianapolis and furniture shopping: John asks Sarah about a 'chest or drawers'

  • ★★ John says that three years ago he and Sarah (the Yeti) moved from New York City to Indianapolis, where more space meant buying a lot of furniture. — 00:00:43 · Sarah Urist Green, New York City, Indianapolis
  • ★★ In a furniture store John kept asking Sarah whether they needed a 'chest or drawers' until she answered that they might need a 'chest of drawers'. (playful) — 00:00:58 · Sarah Urist Green

00:01:23 — Until about 25 John did not connect the hors d'oeuvres he ate with the ones he read about

  • ★ John says he was probably about 25 before he realized that the hors d'oeuvres he ate at functions were the same hors d'oeuvres he read about in books. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:20

00:01:42 — John lets Willy in: 'the treat is a lie'

00:01:51 — 'Who' vs 'that': the Avett Brothers' lyric 'friends that I can trust'

  • ★★ John says 'who' describes a person and 'that' everything else, so the Avett Brothers, one of his favorite bands, infuriate him by singing 'friends that I can trust'. (playful) — 00:01:51

00:02:17 — Grammar exists for clear communication; snotty correction makes people stop talking; proposal to ask and answer grammar and pronunciation questions non-snottily in comments

  • ★★★ John says grammar and pronunciation exist to make language clear, efficient and transparent; snotty mutual correction makes people afraid to talk, the opposite of grammar's purpose of clear communication. — 00:02:17
  • ★ John says that, according to the comments on Hank's Monday video, mixing up 'orgasm' and 'organism' in biology class happened a lot. (playful) — 00:02:40
  • ★★★ John proposes that commenters instead non-snottily ask and answer the grammar and pronunciation questions they have always had; he can't pronounce 'Avett Brothers' or tell lie from lay. — 00:02:46

00:03:05 — On his way to speak in Waupaca, Wisconsin; sign-off

  • ★★ John says he is on his way to Waupaca, Wisconsin, where he will be speaking on Friday and Saturday, with more information in the description. — 00:03:05 · doobly-doo

Humor (significant)

  • In a furniture store John keeps asking Sarah whether they need a 'chest or drawers'. — 00:01:05

    “well, we might need a chest of drawers.”

  • Reading 'hors d'oeuvres' in books, John never connected the word with the food he ate. — 00:01:38

    “That sounds like something you order at a brothel.”

  • John lures Willy inside with the promise of a treat. — 00:01:47

    “Good news? You're inside. Bad news? The treat is a lie.”

  • John objects to the Avett Brothers singing 'friends that I can trust'. — 00:02:05

    “Friends you can trust like what? Like a tomato plant, or a Super Nintendo, or a tennis racket?”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: linguistic prescription

Also: People: Sarah Urist Green

Organizations: The New York Times Book Review

Groups: The Avett Brothers

Terms: doobly-doo

Places: Indianapolis · New York City · Waupaca, Wisconsin

Memes: The cake is a lie (“The treat is a lie”)

animal: Willy

Also centred on linguistic prescription: Grammar School with Snooki

Replies to

  • continues · Stop Embarrassing Yourself — “In your video on Monday, you talked about lots of ways I can keep from linguistically embarrassing myself”

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