TRAIL MAGAZINE

I'm sorry to say but /forum/smilies/confused_smiley.gif[/img]e@n]Se@n has it right. This tread seems to be developing into 'my ***** is bigger than yours' or at least better educated. Having gone through uni myself, the thing I learned most was that education can't turn a fool into a wise person and that holding a degree or whatever only indicates that the inidivual holds that qualifcation. It doesn't confer intelligence or ability. 

I've read this book, you've read that book, blab, blab. How childish. Here's a list from Amazon to keep you busy for a while (I've not read any of them and I like reading)

http://www.amazon.com/MOST-DIFFICULT-BOOKS-EVER-WRITTEN/lm/R29VPS3NEIQ0AS

Mal Mawr wrote (see)

Well Jake, if you say it's rubbish then it must be rubbish, so I surrender. You obviously have no love for Dan Brown's writing and neither do I; so, it seems, there are things we agree about.

Are you sure that the use of semicolons is justified? Should phrases, as connected, independent clauses are, be separated by semicolons?

My take on the error, or, rather, errors of construction is not about that though; I play fast and loose with punctuation all the time. My point is that there is no referential connective in any of the phrases following the second clause so each is just left hanging in the air. Additionally, each one expresses a different facet of stravaiging yet the sentence concludes with the singular terminal phrase, "in itself paramount", again with no connective. Admittedly the construction is wholly technically adrift and sloppy but the meaning of the sentence is clear to me and as the expression of thought untrammelled by syntactic function I find it appealing; I don't think syntactically.

I have to admit that your own example is a real humdinger.

I was only venturing my opinion, as indeed were you, although I do think the plain facts of Jim's prose back me up.

As for the use of the semi-colon, just my guess or "; just my guess"?.  I was educated in the comprehensive system in the 1970s where the rules of grammar and punctuation were not explicitly taught, so I have no expertise in this area.  Semi-colon or comma?  It doesn't really matter, does it?  As I say, the real problems of Jim's prose go way beyond this.

The real tragedy may be that Jim really has something of value to say but that the message is lost because of complexity of the writing.  He really could use an editor.

Still, at least we've got a love of Dan Brown in common.  Google Professor Pullum for a very entertaining blog featuring entries explaining just why Dan Brown's writing is so bad

I have to say that this,

Se@n wrote (see)

What a load of bolox and academic snobbery.

I'm so glad I don't have any post-grad qualifications. I can just enjoy something or not, without having to analyse the feck out of whether the semicolons are in the correct places.

Peter and Jane, anyone?

says it all for me.

I know that technically JP's prose can be less than perfect and may sometimes be overblown but I don't really care and he probably doesn't either, for reasons I've already stated. For evocation of the thoughts and emotions sparked by combinations of place, history, weather, time of day, company, smells, sights and sounds experienced when walking in the mountains, hills and the remoter lowlands, JP's articles do it for me brilliantly and that's all that counts. 

Why thanks, Mal.

One does try

TBH, I think Perrin's more concerned with how something sounds, rather than the sense it makes.  In that sense, he's more a poet than an author of prose.  And poets often play fast and loose with grammar.

There's a snippet of Perrin reading some of his work on an early TGO Show Podcast.

I find that piece quite mesmeric to listen to, provided I don't listen to what he's actually saying.

CP,

I had considered making that point but I didn't fancy being blown out of the water again.

> JP's articles do it for me brilliantly and that's all that counts.

Indeed.

I don't particularly like his style, but then I don't read poetry, and don't like verbosity.  But if you like his stuff, who am I to say you're wrong?  Each to his/her own.

Mr Hoppy wrote (see)

Brief Review Synopsis...(Insert any bit of Go-Lite kit circa 2003) It's light, very light, we got piss wet through and freezing cold but it's very light, the lack of features made it a one trick pony and that trick was a bit shit, however it's very light, it did fall apart before our very eyes but it is very light and it's very expensive. And light. It's predominately designed for and sold in a market with more "stable" weather than ours and tbh it's essentially unsuitable for 99.99% of the people who are going to read this review. Unsuitable to the point of being dangerous. We'd only recommend it in really good weather and suggest carrying a back-up (?!) at other times. And it's not actually that light when compared to kit that actually works. 10/10

And the latest funny (to me anyway) failure in proofreading / editing in Trail is the poll in the June edition:

"Should mountains be remeasured, or just left alone?" 63% said yes, 37% said no.

Well if you read what it says then its a clear 37% vote for doing neither of the two main options.

A bit low really - I doubt most of us intend to leave the mountains all alone and remeasurement is a bit pedantic

(I did however think it was only me who tended to answer such questions yes or no )

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com