Another columnist who can't write

[SF_Express]

...replacement for Blackistone? What happened to him?

One of those who left in the whole buyout thing.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

There was an otherwise competent writer on an excellent paper that the desk nicknamed Homonym Man. There-their, pair-pare, bear-bare, bore-boar, you get the picture. Nobody thought he sucked, it was just his blind spot. He's out of the biz or I wouldn't tell it.

 

[SF_Express]

Here's an America-Statesman story from today, kinda timely. I'll put on the other appropriate threads.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A406132

 

[Clever username]

You can't disagree with someone without calling them a mother****ing (one word, not two) idiot?
Your whole argument is lost when you start like that.
I mean, it ain't that hard.

Well I didn't know it was one word. I just hate it when F---s like this beat up a decent piece of writing by pointing out weak shi-. Point out that his opinion is bullshi-, I can live with that...

...although I'd never call you a mother ****ing idiot Moddy. Your too classy for that.

You're too classy. You're as in you are. But, hey, whatever, it's just a message board.

And mother****ing is one word and one damn fine sport. I mean, um ...

 

[shockey]

jaques was an excellent reporter as a beat writer. never seemed to me to be columnist materia, but everyone deserves a chance to grow. we shall see. 8) 8) 8)

 

[spinning27]

Seems like a very minor issue to complain about.

 

[OneMoreRead]

Jean-Jacques Taylor, the Dallas Morning News' replacement for Blackistone, just made his second offering in his new role, and in it he says "our country is full of folks who lay on psychologists' couches." Really?
Is it too much to ask that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence? Or that he at least know the difference between "lie" and "lay"? I can criticize Taylor's column for a variety of faults, from pointlessness to cliches, but it fails even at the most basic lie-lay level.
Taylor and Cowlishaw will make quite a team.

Dude, your issue is petty.

As others have mentioned, the best writers in the business slip.

Go smoke a joint, and relax a while.

-----------------

As for learning "lay" and "lie," this might help a few people. Think about bedroom sex.

LAY down on the bed (action). Bump uglies for a few minutes. Then LIE (passive) there and enjoy the post coital sensations.

Present tense: "Dude, I'm getting laid right now. Call back in 15 minutes. I'll be lying around then."

Past tense: "Dude, I got laid yesterday; it was a good three minutes. Then I lay in bed resting for three hours." (This one is tricky because of the word, but the past tense of LIE is LAY."

Present participle: "Dude, I'm bummin'. I was LAYING this hottie, and I just got too excited too soon. She got pissed, bitched me out and left me LYING there wondering who she was going to tell.

Past participle: "Dude, after I had LAID her in front of the fire place, she looked like she had LAIN in the sun all day because her back was burnt. Maybe we were too close to the fire."

 

[gandhithegreat]

Jean-Jacques Taylor, the Dallas Morning News' replacement for Blackistone, just made his second offering in his new role, and in it he says "our country is full of folks who lay on psychologists' couches." Really?
Is it too much to ask that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence? Or that he at least know the difference between "lie" and "lay"? I can criticize Taylor's column for a variety of faults, from pointlessness to cliches, but it fails even at the most basic lie-lay level.
Taylor and Cowlishaw will make quite a team.

Dude, your issue is petty.

As others have mentioned, the best writers in the business slip.

Go smoke a joint, and relax a while.

-----------------

As for learning "lay" and "lie," this might help a few people. Think about bedroom sex.

LAY down on the bed (action). Bump uglies for a few minutes. Then LIE (passive) there and enjoy the post coital sensations.

Present tense: "Dude, I'm getting laid right now. Call back in 15 minutes. I'll be lying around then."

Past tense: "Dude, I got laid yesterday; it was a good three minutes. Then I lay in bed resting for three hours." (This one is tricky because of the word, but the past tense of LIE is LAY."

Present participle: "Dude, I'm bummin'. I was LAYING this hottie, and I just got too excited too soon. She got pissed, bitched me out and left me LYING there wondering who she was going to tell.

Past participle: "Dude, after I had LAID her in front of the fire place, she looked like she had LAIN in the sun all day because her back was burnt. Maybe we were too close to the fire."

greatness...slide mother****ing in here somewhere and you got something.

 

[BYH]

As for learning "lay" and "lie," this might help a few people. Think about bedroom sex.

LAY down on the bed (action). Bump uglies for a few minutes. Then LIE (passive) there and enjoy the post coital sensations.

Present tense: "Dude, I'm getting laid right now. Call back in 15 minutes. I'll be lying around then."

Past tense: "Dude, I got laid yesterday; it was a good three minutes. Then I lay in bed resting for three hours." (This one is tricky because of the word, but the past tense of LIE is LAY."

Present participle: "Dude, I'm bummin'. I was LAYING this hottie, and I just got too excited too soon. She got pissed, bitched me out and left me LYING there wondering who she was going to tell.

Past participle: "Dude, after I had LAID her in front of the fire place, she looked like she had LAIN in the sun all day because her back was burnt. Maybe we were too close to the fire."

Post of the year.

If I had grammar teachers like you, I'd never make a mistake.

 

[Blushing]

Yes, yes, to fault a column for a single usage problem is petty, and, yes, we all make mistakes. But Taylor's lie-lay error is only indicative of a larger problem: The guy can't write. For years the DMN assumed its desk was so strong it could take anybody's drivel and transform it into a column. But after the layoffs and the buyouts, that doesn't work anymore; the desk isn't what it was. Now the DMN needs writers, and it has few.
As for the rude-crude Gandhi, who said Taylor's column is a "breath of fresh air," now I know why you like it. Your writing and thinking are as trite as his. You two are like those cute little girls who would run up to the English teacher and say: "I can write, I can write, really I can. I have all these great ideas. I just can't get them down on paper."
Bull****. If the idea can't be put down on paper, can't be articulated, it's not a great idea: It's a foggy notion. Crude-Rude and Taylor have plenty of foggy notions. But, Crude-Rude, you like the column because it's -- what did you say -- thoughtful, profound, provocative, what? What did you find especially thoughtful and provocative? Maybe this gem: "Everybody wants to love and be loved."
Now, that's provocative indeed. Deep, as the cute little college girls might say. I hope everybody wrote that down. Remind me to bring a notebook the next time I read Taylor -- or try to read him, because, in truth, I don't expect to get too far. Taylor's probably a good reporter, although I'm told he's better at high-fives than breaking stories, but he's no writer. Still, he might become a decent columnist if this nasty, mean side, so admired by Crude-Rude, emerges and he stops trying to be Mr. Thoughtfully Sensitive.
But I return to my original question. We work for newspapers; we're in the communication business. Shouldn't words matter? Shouldn't writing matter? And is it too much to expect that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence?

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Yes, this column has everything. Half-ass psychobabble (gee, no one has ever thought to do THAT with Owens), would-be pearls of conventional wisdom couched in vague (unsupported) generalities, colorless prose. Baby is not exactly eating like a man after reading this. It is ideal for Dallas in many ways.

 

[MGoBlue]

My question is ... where was the copy editor to fix the lay/lie?
Mitch Albom has trouble spelling ... doesn't stop him from being an excellent writer (thanks to editors).

 

[hypocritealert]

Blushing: You are an amazing writer. Truly, you are. Pulizter worthy. No, I mean it. By the way, list the number of stories and jobs Mr. Taylor beat you out on. I know it has happened because that is the only thing that would explain your anonymous, pedantic rant. Keep the list as short as possible.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Jean-Jacques Taylor, the Dallas Morning News' replacement for Blackistone, just made his second offering in his new role, and in it he says "our country is full of folks who lay on psychologists' couches." Really?
Is it too much to ask that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence? Or that he at least know the difference between "lie" and "lay"? I can criticize Taylor's column for a variety of faults, from pointlessness to cliches, but it fails even at the most basic lie-lay level.
Taylor and Cowlishaw will make quite a team.

Dude, your issue is petty.

As others have mentioned, the best writers in the business slip.

Go smoke a joint, and relax a while.

-----------------

As for learning "lay" and "lie," this might help a few people. Think about bedroom sex.

LAY down on the bed (action). Bump uglies for a few minutes. Then LIE (passive) there and enjoy the post coital sensations.

Present tense: "Dude, I'm getting laid right now. Call back in 15 minutes. I'll be lying around then."

Past tense: "Dude, I got laid yesterday; it was a good three minutes. Then I lay in bed resting for three hours." (This one is tricky because of the word, but the past tense of LIE is LAY."

Present participle: "Dude, I'm bummin'. I was LAYING this hottie, and I just got too excited too soon. She got pissed, bitched me out and left me LYING there wondering who she was going to tell.

Past participle: "Dude, after I had LAID her in front of the fire place, she looked like she had LAIN in the sun all day because her back was burnt. Maybe we were too close to the fire."

My fourth-grade nun will be suing you for plagiarism.

 

[Blushing]

Hypo: So any criticism you don't like you dismiss as personal animosity? That's rather childish, don't you think? Why do you have to make it personal? Is it because you're self-absorbed and you assume everyone else is, too? As for my relationship with Taylor, I have none. He has beaten me on no stories; nor have I beaten him. I can recall only twice that we covered or attended the same events. I have spoken to him, but don't know him. And I certainly don't have any reason to dislike him. I do dislike the DMN, I admit, for the problems and unhappiness it has caused many people. But I doubt that I'm alone in that.
No, this isn't personal. It's not even so much about Taylor. The question remains: Is it too much to ask that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence? Or is being a columnist no longer about writing? Are newspapers no longer about writing? Perhaps those are questions for Hypo to ponder.

 

[gandhithegreat]

Blushing: You are an amazing writer. Truly, you are. Pulizter worthy. No, I mean it. By the way, list the number of stories and jobs Mr. Taylor beat you out on. I know it has happened because that is the only thing that would explain your anonymous, pedantic rant. Keep the list as short as possible.

Oh yeah....no doubt.

 

[gandhithegreat]

Yes, yes, to fault a column for a single usage problem is petty, and, yes, we all make mistakes. But Taylor's lie-lay error is only indicative of a larger problem: The guy can't write. For years the DMN assumed its desk was so strong it could take anybody's drivel and transform it into a column. But after the layoffs and the buyouts, that doesn't work anymore; the desk isn't what it was. Now the DMN needs writers, and it has few.
As for the rude-crude Gandhi, who said Taylor's column is a "breath of fresh air," now I know why you like it. Your writing and thinking are as trite as his. You two are like those cute little girls who would run up to the English teacher and say: "I can write, I can write, really I can. I have all these great ideas. I just can't get them down on paper."
Bull****. If the idea can't be put down on paper, can't be articulated, it's not a great idea: It's a foggy notion. Crude-Rude and Taylor have plenty of foggy notions. But, Crude-Rude, you like the column because it's -- what did you say -- thoughtful, profound, provocative, what? What did you find especially thoughtful and provocative? Maybe this gem: "Everybody wants to love and be loved."
Now, that's provocative indeed. Deep, as the cute little college girls might say. I hope everybody wrote that down. Remind me to bring a notebook the next time I read Taylor -- or try to read him, because, in truth, I don't expect to get too far. Taylor's probably a good reporter, although I'm told he's better at high-fives than breaking stories, but he's no writer. Still, he might become a decent columnist if this nasty, mean side, so admired by Crude-Rude, emerges and he stops trying to be Mr. Thoughtfully Sensitive.
But I return to my original question. We work for newspapers; we're in the communication business. Shouldn't words matter? Shouldn't writing matter? And is it too much to expect that a columnist be capable of writing a good sentence?

Little college school girls? Hmmmm, let me ponder that for a minute. Can they have short plaid skirts and moonlight at the local strip club?

So you admit that barking down this commentary because of a slip up is a bit silly. I'm just wondering why you did it? Hypo makes a good point and it's exactly what I thought. This message board can be a really great tool for blowing off steam, pressing reporters to be better at what they do, etc. But your post smacks of an individual that was just demoted, passed over or was forced to take the buyout (my bet is demoted). And if that's the case, I'm sad for you...even more of a reason you should make a better case if you want to say Jacques is a poor writer. There are many columnists that are poor writers, Galloway would have ended up as a janitor if he was graded on writing ability. His MO was to call people out on their bull**** and I guarantee you, save for the use of expletives in print, Galloway has called many a coach and manager a motherfu--ing idiot to their face. Jimmy Johnson and Bobby Valentine come to mind. He's also had a beer with them about an hour after that most of the time. He's earned their respect. Taylor will do that as well.

I'm OK with ripping Jacques...he's only got a few weeks before the honeymoon is over and I'll be the first to rip his ass if he's halfway up Jerry Jones or Bill Parcells ass. But consider this one, from Jacques' column today, "Parcells sold his coaching soul for T.O." Now, tell me when Blackistone did this? Tell me when Cowlishaw did or does this? So instead of beating someone up over peanuts, why not rip the people that have caused the heartache at DMN and start with the section's leader. All I can say to your "rude and crude" comment toward me is, thanks for reading.

To answer your question, "Shouldn't words matter." Yes, words that can sell a newspaper. 95% of the readers of DMN never caught the lie/lay error. But a wonderful prose writer who quotes this, "It was just a good team effort," should be fired.

 

[JayFarrar]

Maybe JJ got it right and the desk changed it.
Been known to happen...

 

[greenie]

Taylor's probably a good reporter, although I'm told he's better at high-fives than breaking stories, but he's no writer.

You want to question JJT's writing skills or whether he's columnist material? Fine. But there is absolutely no doubt he's one of the best reporters in the biz. All the dude did was dominate one of the most competitive beats in the country.

If he's better at high-fiving than breaking news, the man must be one hell of a high-fiver.

Feel free to continue your petty, bitter anonymous attacks, Blushing.

 

[standman]

I would suspect that a writer making the transition from reporter to columnist struggle to find his voice. My goodness this is the guy's second column. I agree with Gandhi that at least it's a an opinion. There are columnists in town that can speak the King's english and bore you to tears.

Also, while the lay-lie deal comes off as a grammatical error, that column appeared on the front page of the sports section. How many copy editors didn't catch that mistake? Especially on a column that's non-deadline. It's only the friggin' section front, the first thing people see. Copy editors can make a story better and save a writer's ass. They can also edit in a mistake, press the wrong button and mangle a headline or just fall asleep. Much of a copy editor's job is about quality control and there was slip up on the writer's part and the CE's part.

It's called being human.