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March052007

David Remnick, Mandy Moore, and Guy Maddin Share a Surprising Secret

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To wit, they’re all in this post. Oh, susceptible feed-readers!

David Remnick makes plenty of good sense in the London Independent, though if you read the fine print it’s actually an excerpt from a Stop Smiling interview. But if you actually visit Stop Smiling, at least if you’re me, you’ll be unable to find the Remnick interview, and will have to content yourself by reading instead about one of your favorite filmmakers, Guy Maddin. And if, after you read the Remnick interview, you’d like to see a photo of him looking rather stern as he interviews Barack Obama, Mediabistro has provided one.

Also, although it’s tempting to view Britney et al. as paragons of grammatical virtue, the quite handy and culturally relevant site Celebrity English will set you straight. Among C.E.’s many practical features:

Grammar Examples
Hone your grammar skills! Janet Jackson and Owen Wilson will teach you about run-on sentences. Madonna and Nicole Kidman will teach you about dangling participles. Which stars would you like to teach you about subject/verb agreement? How about Johnny Depp? Britney Spears? Tom Cruise?

Vocabulary Examples
Have fun while you improve your word power! Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will teach you about words that mean “charitable” and “inclination.” Paris Hilton will teach you what “contrition” and “explicate” mean. Orlando Bloom will show you the difference between “avocation” and “vocation.” Learn why Scarlett Johansson is adamant about a decision she made.
Plus, who’s making the most mistakes? Only Celebrity English knows! It’s almost The Chicago Manual of Life & Style, a publication that would suit me to a T.

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