Nope

I was going to go to Trader Joe’s with CJ this morning, but the weather service is saying that no one should be driving right now unless it’s absolutely necessary. Going outside on foot is not recommended and the official word is that even looking out the window would probably be slightly imprudent.

So I thought it would be a good time to link to a couple of things that I’ve been meaning to blog but don’t actually have that much to say about.

• A former student of mine at Princeton, Ellie Kemper, is now a comedian. She wrote a very funny piece for McSweeney’s about elite college grads and their domestic employees.
• Via Languagehat, a 1918 pledge from the American Speech Committee:
  • I love the United States of America. I love my country’s flag. I love my country’s language. I promise:
    1. That I will not dishonor my country’s speech by leaving off the last syllable of words.
    2. That I will say a good American “yes” and “no” in place of an Indian grunt “um-hum” and “nup-um” or a foreign “ya” or “yeh” and “nope.”
    3. That I will do my best to improve American speech by avoiding loud, rough tones, by enunciating distinctly, and by speaking pleasantly, clearly and sincerely.
    4. That I will learn to articulate correctly as many words as possible during the year.