Althouse: Diagramming a Sentence About Blogging on Independence Day.

July 4, 2012

Diagramming a Sentence About Blogging on Independence Day.

46 comments:

DKWalser said...: Professor,

You made me both look back with nostalgia on my days as an English professor and, at the same time, made me glad that I dropped that major for accounting. At one time I was very good at diagramming sentences, but I'd hate to try to learn a living based on that knowledge.; 7/4/12, 3:30 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I would have followed rh's format of thick lines for the main root of the diagram lines and thin lines for the branches.

Just being superficial.

Otherwise.. you -a law professor- did all the work.

BTW when are we going to see the finished work? Meade?

No rush ;); 7/4/12, 3:35 PM
edutcher said...: You really do need a dog.

Or a pool.

Or something.

Spending your Fourth of July diagramming a sentence??????

Aaagggghhhhhhhh!!!!

It's TOO HOT for anything like that!!

Besides, it's summer vacation, teach.

I don't have to think about anything like that until the Monday after Labor Day.; 7/4/12, 3:37 PM
Ann Althouse said...: It's air-conditioned in here. We don't want to go out.

As for it being a holiday, I'm a seasonal worker off work for 3 months all summer. The holiday is a day when other people are off, so that's pretty much the least important day for me to get out of the house.

But what you're really missing is that I diagrammed the sentence for fun. It was the most fun thing to do at the time.; 7/4/12, 3:40 PM
m stone said...: You're no David Foster Wallace, Ann. Sorry.

Seasonal worker?; 7/4/12, 3:46 PM
Ron said...: Why isn't this a saturday morning cartoon?; 7/4/12, 3:51 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Which nobody did. Nobody diagrammed a tornado either.

You explained that so nicely and patiently. I am impressed.

The fun on holiday is a personal thing, Silly, not the sentence diagram which is a mess.

A Japanese national taught us to diagram sentences in 5th grade, we did it differently than you, he was so proud, we were not to be shown that until the 6th. That occurred in an old squat wooden building built to barracks Japanese army hellbent on destroying America. It's almost ironic.

This message is a test to see if Google is a poopy face. If it is showing the wrong profile photo then it is, and if not, then all is well.; 7/4/12, 3:52 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: ..not the sentence diagram which is a mess.

You mean appearance..; 7/4/12, 3:58 PM
Palladian said...: You're no David Foster Wallace, Ann.

Thank goodness.

I hate when people make "you should get out more"-types of statements to people who have done something perceived as "nerdy" or insignificant or not "fun". I generally find leisure activities, of the sort preferred by average people, to be the most insignificant, boring, non-fun activities imaginable; sitting around a pool or going to a party or going out to nightclubs or watching sports or going to a barbecue... I can't think of a worse way to spend my time. To me, fun is only possible when I am doing my work or my mind is challenged. I would rather do what I did today, stay inside and work on some paintings and, as a break from that, working on re-editing some of my old film and video work, than spend my day sweating outside at some stupid barbecue.

This is one of the reasons I hate summer, and especially summer holidays: I hate being expected to "have fun" in the prescribed fashion.

Making, doing, working, thinking are the only fun things to me.; 7/4/12, 4:02 PM
bagoh20 said...: Now, do a thought diagram for this whole mess.

Mine goes like this:

Let's check Althouse --> Don't what? --> Oh, Jerry Rubin --> boomer stuff --> hippies --> I wonder if they smiled when they were high --> I bet they were high right then, and made stern faces just for a second for the photo, and then laughed their asses off for 2 minutes straight. --> What does Ann say about this? --> WTF? --> That's too hard. --> Coffee! --> Good morning puppies --> Hey it's the 4th of July! --> this is a strange day for dogs with lots of barbecue meat, but also fireworks. --> Oh Althouse is gonna explain that earlier confusion --> WTF?; 7/4/12, 4:16 PM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

But what you're really missing is that I diagrammed the sentence for fun. It was the most fun thing to do at the time.

No, I'm not missing that.

It's why I said what I said.

But, seriously, Madame, stay cool and have a good Independence Day.

For someone who loves Constitutional rights as much as you, it's the most important day of the year.; 7/4/12, 4:16 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I'm sure there are mistakes in the diagram, but if you want to say there are, you ought to do a better diagram. It's a provisional diagram, subject to correction.

But there's no inherent reason why any particular form of diagramming is required, and I'm told that this book is good about revealing different things about structure with different approaches to diagramming.

I'm interested in whether the end result looks funny or whatever.

I can see that a roll of paper would be helpful.; 7/4/12, 4:22 PM
traditionalguy said...: So she did it. She knew we were too independent to do it.; 7/4/12, 4:23 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "You're no David Foster Wallace, Ann."

Oh, maybe I should go hang myself.; 7/4/12, 4:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: My writing is terrible, as I'm sure you've noticed. So bad that I often can't decider it myself. I think I will try harder, and then I remember William Seward Burroughs (I like that Seward part), or Paul Jackson Pollock; and I say to myself: hell with that, I might just be a genius, or maybe people will think I am if I leave it all fucked up.

I can barely remember sentence diagramming (obviously). It didn't resurface that much in the sciences. I think I will revisit it, and find out what all the excitement is about. I recently revisited algebra. It's much better now without homework.; 7/4/12, 4:26 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Big Papi hit his 400th home run a little while ago.. on the 4th of July.

Coincidences like that are just cool.; 7/4/12, 4:32 PM
bagoh20 said...: The age of books and the physically written word was a very long one. I wonder what will replace it. There will be no dusty bookshelves or dry and aged paper holding what we do. There will just be the ideas floating out there as electrons in pristine condition for eternity. I wish my body was digital.; 7/4/12, 4:32 PM
k said...: I don't care what anyone says, I so appreciate seeing a fabulous sentence diagram -- why, I can't even make a comment about the holiday or the weather or whatever. Cheers, Althouse + Meade! Happy Independence Day!; 7/4/12, 4:34 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I just checked.. Big Papi is an American citizen.

Just saying.; 7/4/12, 4:38 PM
God, An Original A-hole said...: Apologies in advance for the profanity, the bouncy video quality, and the generally obnoxiousness of:

Video Response to Althouse's Video

Enjoy!; 7/4/12, 4:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: There's also that Big Fun song in "Heathers."; 7/4/12, 4:58 PM
bagoh20 said...: God sounds like Tommy Chong, which makes sense since Tommy Chong looks like God.; 7/4/12, 5:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: God, your buffering sucks.; 7/4/12, 5:01 PM
Palladian said...: "God" has an internet connection as quick and broad as his wit and intellect.; 7/4/12, 5:03 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I bet they were high right then, and made stern faces just for a second for the photo, and then laughed their asses off for 2 minutes straight."

I certainly hope so. Who's the woman supposed to be anyway?

It was before lefties got the memo that they had to be feminist, so it was assumed to be perfectly fine to have some "chick" in the poster with you. No one would think she's the co-author so who is she? They'd just see her as an attribute explaining and defining the man.; 7/4/12, 5:04 PM
bagoh20 said...: "God, your buffering sucks"

That's what Joseph Smith said. It took 60 days for 500 pages, but that was before 4G.; 7/4/12, 5:08 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Don't let a diagram bring you down... or a supreme court case?; 7/4/12, 5:13 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Who's the woman supposed to be anyway?"

A token to suggest to women that they are welcome, and a message to men saying: "join us, and meet liberal chicks." Selling revolution is just like selling beer.; 7/4/12, 5:16 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/4/12, 5:22 PM
Toshstu said...: Ok, Wisconsinites, I've had the brats soaking in Shiner Bock, chopped jalapeños, onion, bell pepper, horseradish, and some habaneros for spice.

The brats will get parboiled in this brew before being gently introduced to the warm embrace of mesquite and apple, where they'll roll around until they sing.

Then to the bun, a hearty number with crisp crust and a little bit of fight, perfect to hold the brat and blend of sauteed and fire-roasted peppers, onions and mushrooms, all washed down with yet another Shiner.

Is this a great country, or what?; 7/4/12, 5:24 PM
jungatheart said...: Not too shabby, God. Now if we were all to turn in dead drunk commentary on Althouse, we might get somewhere.; 7/4/12, 5:36 PM
Quaestor said...: edutcher wrote:
You really do need a dog.

Or a pool.

Or something...

How about an editor?; 7/4/12, 5:43 PM
Rabel said...: When CERN announced that they had found God's particle, I wondered how he had managed to lose it in the first place.

After watching his video, I understand.; 7/4/12, 5:58 PM
ken in tx said...: Toshstu, Are you one of those New Braunfels, Shiner, German Texans? Do y’all still dance the Texas Polka with those pretty Mex-Tex German girls in their frilly petty-coats? Do you still have those Marachi-umpa bands?

As I said, Texas is the most American state.; 7/4/12, 6:11 PM
Rabel said...: "Who's the woman supposed to be anyway?"

Nancy Kurshan?; 7/4/12, 6:24 PM
Toshstu said...: We do all that still, and more, Ken.

Hell, Muslims line dance with Jews here, republicans do the hokey-pokey with democrats, but on the Fourth, we're all Wisconsonians, eating our brats.; 7/4/12, 7:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Wisconsinites.; 7/4/12, 7:52 PM
Toshstu said...: Texas and Wisconsin have some similarities, Your democrats flee too, but ours I think fleed first.

It didn't do us much good, they came back.; 7/4/12, 7:59 PM
Meade said...: Sconnies; 7/4/12, 8:01 PM
Toshstu said...: Wisconsinauts, Madisonites, Milwaukefarians, does it matter? We're all American today, and later we're going to blow shit up, symbolically.; 7/4/12, 8:21 PM
bagoh20 said...: Wiscies; 7/4/12, 8:25 PM
Meade said...: "does it matter?"

Asks a Texan? A real Texan?; 7/4/12, 8:26 PM
Unknown said...: The Book link does not seem to work. It takes me to the bottom of the comments on this post.
jjm; 7/4/12, 9:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Thanks for the heads-up on the book link.

Fixed.; 7/4/12, 9:40 PM
Toshstu said...: I'm not a Real Texan, I've just been here a couple of decades.

I'm a True American, I have no allegiance other than to to where I live for now, in America, I root for the local sports teams.

The common question when one lives in areas where everyone is from somewhere else is "where are you from?", and the older I got, the harder it was to answer the question.

Two generations ago, it was unusual to venture 20 miles from home, that was the universe. Now, we've all left the farm, and we aren't ever going home again, Americans by nature are restless people.; 7/4/12, 9:47 PM
Rusty said...: But what you're really missing is that I diagrammed the sentence for fun. It was the most fun thing to do at the time.

I took a copier apart, once, because I was bored. I made a telescope out of the lens. It was afun thing to do at the time.; 7/5/12, 6:29 AM