This blog now redirects to sosweetly.tumblr.com, which I’ve been using as my primary blog for quite some time now. Since Tumblr won’t let me switch my primary and secondary blogs, this is the best solution I could find. Sorry for any potential confusion.

janineisabelle:

Butchering the English language (or any language) because you think it somehow illustrates your creativity or originality is complete bullshit. Language rules like grammar, spelling, and syntax exist for a reason - to convey meaning as accurately as possible. Language is the…

There is obviously a difference between rules that change the meaning of your words and rules that don’t. Go right ahead and end sentences with prepositions. When you have an understanding of grammatical rules and can make informed decisions about when they are and aren’t appropriate in your writing, that is totally acceptable. But I’m talking about a complete disregard for rules that are necessary in order for language to make sense. Without them, we get malapropisms, dangling participles, misplaced modifiers, etc. These kinds of errors seriously reduce the effectiveness and clarity of your writing. That’s not elitism, it’s fact.

Butchering the English language (or any language) because you think it somehow illustrates your creativity or originality is complete bullshit. Language rules like grammar, spelling, and syntax exist for a reason - to convey meaning as accurately as possible. Language is the best tool we have to understand each other; by knowingly misusing it, you obscure your meaning and make it harder for people to understand your intentions, thoughts, and emotions. This makes it incredibly frustrating to have any kind of relationship with you, even on the most superficial level.

You are intentionally setting yourself up for a lifetime of miscommunication, which will undoubtedly affect not only your work and personal relationships, but your ability to relate to and be understood by other people.

It is absolutely possible to use language creatively while still respecting its rules. Deliberately ignoring the rules because you think you’re somehow above them makes you sound like an asshole. An ignorant, partially illiterate, asshole.

The lovely leader of my hand lettering workshop, Katy Dockrill, has featured some of our work on her website. Go check it out!

I moved across the country to Toronto recently, and it’s been a pretty big adjustment for me. I’ve lived in BC my whole life, and even though I’ve moved around quite a lot within the province, moving 3000 miles away is a wholly different experience. The brands of milk they have here are different. Isn’t that weird? It’s something I never considered, but going to the grocery store and not finding Dairyland milk products on the shelf is somehow jarring. Being in a real “big city” for the first time (Vancouver seems like a small town compared to Toronto) definitely has its perks. I finally had the opportunity to take a hand lettering class! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for ages, but could never find in Vancouver. So, for the past three weeks, I’ve been wandering over to Nook Collective on Tuesday evenings to practice my typographical skills.

1. Heady air and heavy hearts.
2. Crossing time zones.
3. Contemplating thunderstorms.
4. And elbow patches.
5. “I’ve loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
6. My heart bursts wide open at the sight of mountains.
7. And I wish the world was softer.
8. But so long as there is tea, and books, and flowers, and beards, and rain, and and and
9. Wait for it…
10. Aurevoir.