CONduit 22: Time-Lords of CONduit

CONduit is Salt Lake City's annual science-fiction/fantasy convention, and it's something I look forward to every year. This year was especially dear to my heart, as a Doctor Who fan: the plethora of Doctor Who costumed people (I was dressed as Amy Pond, companion to the 11th Doctor), props (like the plywood TARDIS for photo-ops), panels (my favorite being the Kid Con Sonic Screwdriver Panel), etc., made me very happy.

Beyond that, what made this year special to me was Tamora Pierce as Guest of Honor, and the profusion of YA panels, both for readers and for writers. Last year, on my own blog, I did a three-post series, discussing the panels I went to on each of the three days. I'll do a shorter version of that here that I think I'll call The Good, The Bad & The Awesome*.

How to Play Headlines

 Clarification

We'd like to clear up some possible confusion.  For nearly twenty years, there has been a science fiction and fantasy writing critique group in the Salt Lake City area called CALLIHOO.  There are various versions of what the letters in CALLIHOO mean.  Someday, we might tell you. . . .  When Callihoo Publishing was born, it was staffed by so many members of CALLIHOO, that we decided to use the writers' group's name for the company.  However, the two entities are completely separate.  Yes, Callihoo Publishing publishes stories by members of CALLIHOO.  But being a member of CALLIHOO doesn't automatically mean your stories will be published, nor does Callihoo Publishing only use work (stories and art) by members of the writers' group.  The publishing company did adopt the CALLIHOO gosling when it was first formed and needed a logo.  This might change . . . or it might not.  The Logo Contest, coming soon, will establish that!

With that taken care of, we come to the fun part of this blog post.

Why a Gosling?

When you visit our blog or our website, you might find yourself curious about the omnipresence of a single figure. It's the Callihoo gosling. He's hanging out on our wallpaper, he's nabbed the title of the blog, and he's
even filling in as logo until our upcoming logo contest in June. When not online, the gosling is generally to be found displayed near someone's writing space, a box of commas strung helpfully around his neck. All of which begs the question: how did a bunch of writers wind up adopting a gosling as their mascot?

Meet the Grammar Curmudgeon

Hello!  I'm the Grammar Curmudgeon.  Sometimes I find examples, out in the wild, of blatantly incorrect use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.  Since complaining about them in public is quite curmudgeonly, I shall do so here.  Of course, even the most curmudgeonly can make mistakes, so if anyone wishes to pick apart my spelling, grammar, or punctuation, I'm more than willing to hear your views.  I might disagree . . . or you might convert me.

Today's example was in a local newspaper, but I've seen this problem many places.  What is the problem?  The difference between "every day" and "everyday."  (Yes, I am aware that the last sentence is a fragment.  It was done intentionally.)

"Everyday" means normal, common, or ordinary.  So, does this ad mean "an ordinary, common, normal party in May"?  Or does it, perhaps, mean "A party every day in May"?  In other words, a party that happens daily.  The latter is what I believe was meant.  It's unfortunate that whoever designed this ad didn't know the difference between "everyday" and "every day."

There's my sample for today.  Check back to enjoy others as I find them.

(A note on the picture.  It was taken from a rather fuzzy newspaper with my cell phone camera, so the quality is not high.  But it should get the point across.)

Welcome to our blog!

Hello, readers!  Callihoo Publishing not only wants to provide you with the finest in science fiction and fantasy reading, but also to give you food for thought.  Thus was the Callihoo Publishing blog born.  We'll talk about writing, reading, science fiction, fantasy, and related subjects.  We might be serious, and we might be silly.  But we hope we're never boring.

Check back often for our newest blog post.

And in the meantime . . . read one of our stories!