Grammar Moses: What this country needs is people of action
When you're new to the U.S. presidency, you want to surround yourself with people of action.
That seems to be what President Joe Biden is doing.
No, I'm not foolishly wading into the murky waters of political advocacy. I merely noticed a pattern the other day when Antony Blinken was confirmed as secretary of state.
Take a look at the lineup of Biden's confirmed cabinet members and others waiting to be confirmed and tell me you don't see the same pattern: Yellen, Blinken, Rouse, Power, Burns and ... Fudge.
Yep, all verbs.
Too bad Carl "Action Jackson" Weathers is too busy with his acting career.
Like-new
You'll probably find more euphemisms in the automobile industry than you will in the sewage treatment racket.
Remember when you felt more confident that the secondhand car you were buying was better than "used" because it was "pre-owned"?
If that 2003 Hyundai I've been eyeballing were to pass a 324-point inspection, I would feel better about its genes, I suppose.
But until recently, I'd never heard this one: A TV advertisement for an auto dealer was hawking "'like-new' cars for the same price as 'used.'"
Hmmmmmm, I'm not sure I see the difference.
One word or two?
Faithful correspondent Kay Cahill asked me to discuss when one should use "into" and "in to."
"Into" is a preposition that suggests something's physical location within something else.
"Zuzu went into the store to stock up on rice cakes."
"Into" also can suggest a transformation.
"She turned me into a newt!"
"Into" also can suggest enthusiasm.
"She's not into you, dude."
Resist the temptation to smoosh the two words together when they just happen to appear next to each other in a sentence: "I log in to the calico cat lovers website when I'm feeling lonely."
PR corner
As you might imagine, newspaper editors such as me sometimes wish we had PR-repellent raincoats, because the emails comes in torrents. I estimate I receive upward of 100 emails a day from public relations people.
My name must be on some national and international news contact lists with an asterisk and "easy mark" notation, because I get pitches on tech gatherings in Japan and festivals in Italy and Portugal. My Portuguese is shaky, so perhaps I've missed out on some cool things.
I get stuff weekly from Holland, Michigan. Why? No clue.
Don't get me wrong. We love local PR folks. And we use or take inspiration from a lot of their material. But I recently received a 1,025-word solicitation to cover the 50th anniversary of Pebbles cereal in 2021.
Because I am 58 years old, this should be right in my wheelhouse. What 8-year-old doesn't love a crunchy dessert option for breakfast?
Maybe it was that I grew up in a Cheerios and Grape-Nuts household (and still do). But I've never tried Pebbles - either the Fruity or Cocoa varieties.
And it's unlikely that I'll ever try them or Bamm-Bamm Pebbles, Cupcake Pebbles, Sugar Cookie Pebbles and Poppin' Pebbles (they fizz in your mouth) or their more exotic cousins - Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles coffee creamers, Fruity Pebbles candy bars, and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles protein powders.
Despite my lack of interest in the product and the ugly sneers my dentist would give me if I were to try any of them, I was impressed by the writer's enthusiasm for the products and excitement for the big birthday celebration, even if Post employees end up being the only ones raising a glass.
"This brand has always been about igniting creativity," the release said, "so we hope our fans will join us and get inspired as we Yabba Dabba Doo!"
In the end, the copy writer succeeded with me, because I just typed the word "Pebbles" 11 times.
Write carefully!
• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.