I don't know if this is really the commencement address that Gene Weingarten delivered to the U of Maryland Journalism School grads, but if not, someone should. I'll have some advice for journalism grads, prospective journalism students, and journalism faculty, if I ever get around to finishing the essay (and related book) on which I'm working on that subject.

3 buttocks? I don't know if I'd like that. I used to date a girl with just one br3ast. It was in the middle of her back, she wasn't much to look at but she was fun to slow dance with.

As Weingarten said, the good jobs are held by old guys that will have to be pried out of their seats.

We had that happen at the Detroit Free Press. Neal Shine retired as editor of the paper and came back as the publisher. Tony Spina retired as Chief Photographer to come back as something like Executive Photographer, and on and on and on.

I wrote to both aking them to go back to the farm so that openings would be there for the up-and-comers. Neither were courteous to even send a form reply.

First the Joke:

"Gills With Three Buttocks"....

Okay, I get that, but where's my monkey with 4 asses?

and then this, which is an exact example of why Journo's, at least talk and TV Journo's just irritate the hell out of me.

"And because you are word people," later, " Let us begin with, quote unquote, getting a job."

first, he selectively capitalised, "And," then he admits that journo's are "word people" who should know what words men, finaly he closes the store with my biggest source of irritation that talk and TV journo's incite, that is, "quote unquote."

It is NOT! correct, though it may be accepted, it is NOT! correct to say "quote unquote" or "quote, unquote" or "quote/unquote" or any other variation there-of. If you "un" something, you are removing that something. If you "unquote" you are removing the initial quote. So whenever a journo, a "word person" says "quote unquote" they are actually saying "quote (text) (remove the initial quote, so that the test stands alone)"

In essance, here is how it sounds "quote unquote patriotism"

if it were written it would be written as:
patriotism

If it were "quote patriotism end-quote" then it would read as:
"patriotism"

You open and close comments and statements within many various liguistic symbols, you don't "un" anything that is open, unless, you want to void it's existenct to begin with.

"quote unquote" means that you aren't quoting a damn thing.

"quote endquote" I can tolerate, but it SHOULD be "quote (content) end-quote" if you wanna be proper, but don't worry, that is all changing since "word people" have no respect for phrases, or sentences, or anything more the semantic desconstruction serving only the purpose of insult.