As I entered the Imperial Ministry of Propoganda (aka, my small office in a medium sized building at an insignificant university in a smaller then average state), this morning, a colleague of mine and I had the following conversation that made me think about the use of
articles in the English language:
Colleague: Hey Rusty, I came into my office this morning and the message light on my phone was signalling that I had a message.
Rusty: Was it the message? [an inside reference to a message from the majors (a big research university) calling him up from the minors (our little teaching university)]
Colleague: No, it was a message.
Rusty: Oh, sorry. Was it da message, though? [from a hot chick]
Colleague: No, it was just a message.
See how powerful these articles can be? The only other language I speak is Russian which has no
a or
the and since I went to a California public school I wonder if I really speak Imperial Standard all that well. Since there was never a School House Rocks lesson on articles (was there?) I probably misuse them on a regular basis. I mean, am I using these articles correctly? Further, how hip does one have to be before he can use
da instead of
the? Is my blog
a blog,
the blog, the (pronounced
thee) blog, or
da blog? Since I don't have time to read every blog in the universe on a daily basis, I have come up with a list of blogs according to
a,
the,
the(e), and
da.
The(e) Blog
When you pronounce
the like
thee everyone knows you are talking about the one and only, the big Kahuna, the center of the universe, THE(E) Blog, your
OWN BLOG. For instance, "I was at
the(e) blog today and someone dropped the funniest comment." The(e) Blog:
Rusty Shackleford's mypetjawa (insert own blog here)
The Blog
When speaking of
the blog you generally are talking to somebody else about
THEIR BLOG. So
the blog is reserved for people you have some sort of personal contact with. For instance, in an e-mail to
MB2 I say, "I saw what you did at
the blog." Since this site has been up only a little over a month, Rusty's list of
the blog is limited to those I've had some e-mail or other contact with (in no particular order). Of course, since this is a bit of a "shout-out" to those that have encouraged me, I wonder if they should be listed under
da blog? The Blog:
MB2
Bravo Romeo Delta
Cooper
MikO/Vic
Macker
Space Reserved for General Jack D. Ripper
Space Reserved for Zulubaby
A Blog
When speaking of
a blog you are talking about one of a billion blogs out there. Most of you know mypetjawa as
a blog, and I know most of you as
a blog. But since I go to
a blog or another almost every day, here is my
a blog list. I don't know any of them, not even an e-mail, and I haven't even added some of them to my blogroll, but they definitely qualify as
a blog. A Blog:
Aaron
Michelle
Misha
feste
Robert's Jihadwatch & Dhimmiwatch
Da Blog
You only use this term for blogs that are too cool to really put your blog on that level. Like, when your blog grows up you hope it is
da blog. But you ask yourself, "Am I funky (prounounced funk-eh) enough? Am I? Am I?" And of course, you know in your heart of hearts that you aren't. *sigh*. These blogs are funky! Da Blog:
Allah is DA House
Commissar is in DA Lubyanka
Iowahawk is in DA Midwest
Charles is in DA Little Green Football
Post Script:
That Blog
As I was typing away I realized that there was one other category. It is a category reserved for those who say bad things about your blog. You know, like your talking to your buddy and you say, "Can you believe what that bee-yatch said about Rusty in
that blog!" When talking to your VRWC buddies
that blog usually refers to Democratic Underground (notice, NOT LINKED) because they are always dissin one blog or another. But Rusty only has one
that blog. That Blog:
Kassie Church
Update: This post isn't about driving traffic up. I just wanted to give props where props are due.