Is, Is

"The thing is, is that..."

Makes me nuts--like the first "is" is an embedded part of the phrase preceding the second "is." Bush used it today, talking about his new year's resolution: "My resolution is, is to..." Keep the troops safe, he says.

"Alot" makes me nuts, too. I see it. A lot. In resumes submitted by eager applicants, often. Don't people spell check resumes anymore?

One guy sent me a resume today for a publicity spot, and he'd formatted it with stuttering prose headlines. "Once Upon He Studied" heads off his education section, e.g. Another skipped the resume entirely and sent me a one-paragraph letter pitching me one of our lead titles, tying it (appropriately but poorly) to Ford's death, and closing with this: "Just $55,000 and this pitch is yours."

It's dangerous to go the creative route when you're applying for work. I've never seen it work--not once.

I had a college teacher once who wouldn't let us use the phrases "based on" or "deals with"--and though I couldn't really tell you why, beyond his complaint that they are imprecise and often used as crutches in imprecise thinking, to this day I don't use them. I'll stop and struggle for the better phrase, even though the teacher's long dead now.

I opened yet another college savings account for the kids today. My mother thought of college in the purest educational terms: a period of exploration. Anything more focused than liberal arts was, I think, something less than good. She had a certain vision. The vision died a little death when her two oldest kids graduated with big debt and took low-level jobs having nothing at all to do with their majors. But you've got to admire it, anyway; the world needs more than MBAs and doctors. I hear "is,is" or see "alot" or--unfair, but there you have it--hear "based on" or "deals with" and the person in front of me drops a little in my estimation. I'm a snob in the most bizarre ways--a snob over the most ridiculous things: things nobody but me cares about. Standard snob fare--cars, schools, clothing, jobs--those things don't hit me.

Maisie asks me: what should she study? And will she be rich if she studies drama? I tell her the truth: she won't have a lot of money working in drama, but if it's her passion, passion matters more than money. I believe it: I'm a believer. But money's not bad, either. Having no money is a challenge. She rather fancies the idea of a big house, no doubt because we don't live in one; I could see her choosing the money career.

"The thing is, is that I like nice things." That's what she tells me tonight.

I can't get her into an English lit program fast enough.