More proof CNN layoffs have screwed CNN.com
March 12, 2001 11:32 AM Subscribe
More proof CNN layoffs have screwed CNN.com "Completely destroyed?" (Paragraph 3) Man, I learned not to use that redundancy in freshman J-school. Geez. Turn out the lights, Ted, the party's over.
Yeah, and that whole thing about historical treasures of humanity being lost forever kind of sucks, too.
posted by fuzzynavel at 11:37 AM on March 12, 2001
posted by fuzzynavel at 11:37 AM on March 12, 2001
Yeah, we've done that thread, though.
Besides, what are you, some kind of "Buddist freak?"
posted by darren at 11:55 AM on March 12, 2001
Besides, what are you, some kind of "Buddist freak?"
posted by darren at 11:55 AM on March 12, 2001
I don't know, is pointing out spelling & grammar errors in a CNN article really considered a worthwhile topic of conversation? By the way, you misspelled "Buddhist," but I'm going to resist the urge to post a story about it :)
posted by zempf at 11:58 AM on March 12, 2001
posted by zempf at 11:58 AM on March 12, 2001
Why should CNN matter when you can watch ""in-your-face, X-treme lawmaking coverage" on X-SPAN?
posted by crog at 12:31 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by crog at 12:31 PM on March 12, 2001
You want to be ticked, check this out:Yahoo News search for the phrase "completely destroyed"
6 different stories that used that same construction. How dare they work as journalists! How dare they!
posted by smackfu at 2:31 PM on March 12, 2001
6 different stories that used that same construction. How dare they work as journalists! How dare they!
posted by smackfu at 2:31 PM on March 12, 2001
Sorry, I'm not a native english speaker and I can't understand what the heck is wrong with "completely destroyed".
Can somebody give me a tip?
Thanks.
posted by kchristidis at 2:37 PM on March 12, 2001
Can somebody give me a tip?
Thanks.
posted by kchristidis at 2:37 PM on March 12, 2001
kchristidis: "destroyed" implies "completely." you don't partially destroy anything.
i think. i'm not in j-school, but i do write for a newspaper.
maybe i'm dumb. heh.
posted by sugarfish at 2:51 PM on March 12, 2001
i think. i'm not in j-school, but i do write for a newspaper.
maybe i'm dumb. heh.
posted by sugarfish at 2:51 PM on March 12, 2001
If something is destroyed - there is nothing left of it. Therefore the word "completely" is an unnecessary modifier. Usually pops up as the imagined obverse of "partially destroyed", which is also bad form. It's like the phrase "totally unique". If something is unique, it either is or is not unique, there are no shades of gray, so modifier words are useless appendages.
Nothing evil, just bad form where concise writing is encouraged.
posted by kokogiak at 2:51 PM on March 12, 2001
Nothing evil, just bad form where concise writing is encouraged.
posted by kokogiak at 2:51 PM on March 12, 2001
I think it should be "literally completely destroyed"
posted by gluechunk at 2:55 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by gluechunk at 2:55 PM on March 12, 2001
...in it's entirety.
posted by crunchland at 3:34 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by crunchland at 3:34 PM on March 12, 2001
...to the point that absolutely nothing recognizable was left.
posted by daveadams at 3:43 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by daveadams at 3:43 PM on March 12, 2001
Reminds me of George Carlin's piece on "final destinations"...
posted by frednorman at 3:47 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by frednorman at 3:47 PM on March 12, 2001
Do not be frightened or afraid of these grammatical constructions and syntactic structures! I have arrived to ensure victory and have come to save the day! Where ever there is redundency, I will seek it out and search for it! Where ever the glass is completely full, I will be there! I will never leave a job until I have finished completing it.
However, it looks like my work here is completely done.
[Musical orchestral flare, followed by an ordinary commonplace superhero exit.]
posted by RedundencyMan at 4:51 PM on March 12, 2001
However, it looks like my work here is completely done.
[Musical orchestral flare, followed by an ordinary commonplace superhero exit.]
posted by RedundencyMan at 4:51 PM on March 12, 2001
However, it looks like my work here is completely done.
Fallacious impostor! The worldwide global community will see though your counterfeit deception.
Each and every superhero has an archnemesis adversary. You just happen (coincidently) to be mine. I will completely destroy you, RedundencyMan!
(On a side note, who is DoublePost Guy's archnemesis adversary?)
posted by RedundancyMan at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2001
Fallacious impostor! The worldwide global community will see though your counterfeit deception.
Each and every superhero has an archnemesis adversary. You just happen (coincidently) to be mine. I will completely destroy you, RedundencyMan!
(On a side note, who is DoublePost Guy's archnemesis adversary?)
posted by RedundancyMan at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2001
I'd figure it'd be InfinitePostGuy or something, cause that'd be far, far worse than the usual double post.
posted by zempf at 8:14 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by zempf at 8:14 PM on March 12, 2001
*BAMPH* I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'm going to go get DoublePostGuy and we will settle this! No one should be frightened, it is quite common for superhero's to mistake each others intentions, and have a battle royale. hisss hissss *BAMPH*
posted by Twice_Posted_Lad at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by Twice_Posted_Lad at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2001
oh no, does this mean that CNN is dn... ;-)
http://neirp.com/
posted by muppetboy at 9:38 PM on March 12, 2001
http://neirp.com/
posted by muppetboy at 9:38 PM on March 12, 2001
I can't believe nobody made a Mojo Jojo joke in this entire rant on redundancy...
posted by wiremommy at 10:25 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by wiremommy at 10:25 PM on March 12, 2001
Yeah, and that whole thing about historical treasures of humanity being lost forever kind of sucks, too.
I agree. Those few lost pieces of pottery are an international abomination compared to all those silly new extremes of human rights repression they came up with.
Re "completely destroyed": One can make the argument that the use of "completely" in this case is legitimate, because it serves as a superlative intensifier. You can destroy an object, after all, without so totally obliterating it that there's little left over to prove it ever existed. For example, the Murrah Building in OKC was destroyed after it was bombed; it ceased to be usable. Yet half the building was still standing. When they went in and tore down the rest of it, then it was truly "completely destroyed."
posted by aaron at 10:58 PM on March 12, 2001
I think that we have completely deconstructed this phrase.
posted by ktheory at 12:15 AM on March 13, 2001
posted by ktheory at 12:15 AM on March 13, 2001
Shall we attack two more media favorites, "brutal rape" or "tragic murder."?
posted by darren at 6:51 AM on March 13, 2001
posted by darren at 6:51 AM on March 13, 2001
hisss hissss *BAMPH*
You really don't need that second hiss.
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:47 AM on March 13, 2001
You really don't need that second hiss.
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:47 AM on March 13, 2001
sugarfish & kokogiak thank you for you help and explanations.
I have now realised that the editors over there at CNN.com must feel completely destroyed with all these faults...
(Just kidding...)
posted by kchristidis at 2:52 PM on March 13, 2001
I have now realised that the editors over there at CNN.com must feel completely destroyed with all these faults...
(Just kidding...)
posted by kchristidis at 2:52 PM on March 13, 2001
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Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said countries didnt send enough envoys to plead with the radical Muslim group.
Apparently, apostrophes also were eliminated by Time-Warner as a cost-cutting measure.
posted by darren at 11:36 AM on March 12, 2001