im - 3/25/2009 07:07:00 AM

We need to talk. I'm going to get this off my chest or else I will harbor resentment for something you probably aren't even aware you're doing (maybe not you, but someone you know). Unawareness is what mistakes are all about. I make mistakes all the time. I type too fast, don't proofread, etc. I get it. But seriously, when you use our name in print, like for an ad or something, try to get it right. Here is a short list of common errors. Print it out and keep it handy the next time you log on to praise or complain about us, and especially when you write to ask us for free stuff. It'll make you look smarter. 1) Surly, our name. No E. Not surely (surely you jest), not shirley, not surley (you're thinking of Burley perhaps?). A quick check of the definition of the word that is our name may help you understand things better: [sur-lee] –adjective, 1. churlishly rude or bad-tempered 2. unfriendly or hostile; menacingly irritable 3. dark or dismal; menacing; threatening. Get it? Got it? Good. 2) Mr. Whirly, our crankset. Same rule applies. No E. Not Whirley. 3) Pugsley, our snow/sand/grandpa's face frame. I can see where this might get confusing, but there are no variations of the spelling of this word that I am aware of, except perhaps for misspellings. Frankly, how people arrive at 'Surley Pugsly' is beyond me. Oddly, I have never noticed a single misspelling of Big Dummy. Ironic, isn't it? Learn it. Know it. Live it. *************************************************************************** This may be more of a command than a warning. It's humpday. As Wednesdays are neither here nor there anyhow, and since my brain is flummoxed by a lingering cold simultaneous to an impending visit from a local media luminary, which I hope will result in a 'marketunity', I offer up the following with no particular purpose in mind. Yup. And here's one more from offcenter. I have no explanation exactly, but again: it's Wednesday. I just think they all go really well together. Have a real good day now. "You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy." -Charles Manson "I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting." -Andy Rooney “I had a horse in Mexico one time that I rode. He was just bones when I got him. I started feeding him bread and everything else. I called him Bimbo after the bread down there. "Here Bimbo," and he'd come running. He knew me, God bless him. I often wondered what happened to him." -Ernest Borgnine -----