Wednesday 17 April 2013

what the cuss?

The weekend before last, Fantastic Mr Fox was on the box and I thought the kids would enjoy it, so set the DVR to do its job. Every now and then the guide gets its knickers in a twist and gets the times muddled. Of course this happened that very night - recording an hour of the show before Fantastic Mr Fox and only an hour of the actual movie. It is really quite sad just how disappointed I was the following morning when we made this SHOCKING discovery. For some strange reason, the kids didn't seem to mind. They watched that hour of this fabulous movie, over and over, over and over.. later in the week they spied it as we passed the movies in Kmart and we all cheered with glee that we would find out just how fantastic Mr Fox would turn out to be. This is the part where I confess we do not own one single Roald Dahl book. I heard that gasp. Never fear, this will be fixed very, very soon.


My goodness this is a fabulous movie. Yes, I realise it's about four years old. I remember when it was released and thought how much I'd love to see it. But I had a one year old. And had my head in the toilet, pregnant with another. Heading out to the flicks was pretty low on my agenda. Maxolon was high on my agenda. Even though it barely took the edge off. I digress.

The adult humour in this movie is absolute GOLD. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, a reliable source recently informed me you can pick it up at Coles for less than a tenner. Since having the whole movie, I think I would be lying if I said it hadn't been played once - every day. What the cuss? Ahuh. Mr Fox really is that fantastic.

Other fantastic stuff? This.


If I had a side bar, it would totally be on it. And I must take my cue from Foxy - what the cuss? I was so bloody shocked when I got the email confirming I had been chosen as part of the Top 100 Finalists of Voices 2013. I remember standing in the kitchen reading it. And then reading it again because I must have read it wrong. But no, it's true, look at my face in there amongst all those beauties. Totally chuffed, totally thankful to all those who have sent congratulatory messages the past few days. I'm really humbled to be amongst such a talented bunch of women. Some are friends, some are friends who write my favourite blogs, some are simply huge inspirations in the blogosphere. Humbled indeed. It feels like a really warm pat on the back for all those late night ramblings I spit out onto the keyboard, simply freeing my head of a little (much needed) space, to help me through another day of this little journey called Life.


Other less fantastic stuff? Drivers who speed through school zones. Yes, I just changed the subject. Keep up.

I think I drove through four different school zones today, twice. And every time, without fail, cars passed me easily and disappeared quickly. And to make it worse, the majority of those drivers had children in the car with them. What the cuss? I don't get it? WHAT IS SO CUSSING HARD ABOUT KEEPING YOUR SPEEDO AT 40KMPH?? WHERE IS THE CUSSING FIRE?! I felt the need to go all redneck, roll my window down, hang out the side and yell - WHAT THE CUSS ARE YOU DOING? I felt that would be a bad example to set the one or two children I had in the backseat so I refrained. It makes my blood boil. It's like they knew their kid was safe, so why bother obeying the road rules to protect someone else's? It must have been SO satisfying arriving at their destination THIRTY SECONDS faster than if they had slowed down to obey simple road rules and protect innocent children.


And while I'm all what the cuss? about everything, just a little community service announcement. Oxford Dictionary style.
Definition of apostrophe
noun
a punctuation mark (‘) used to indicate either possession (e.g. Harrys bookboys‘ coats) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g. canthes1 Jan. ’99).
Origin: mid 16th century (denoting the omission of one or more letters): via late Latin, from Greek apostrophos 'accent of elision', from apostrephein 'turn away', from apo 'from' + strephein 'to turn'
Many people are uncertain when to use an apostrophe, and this confusion is probably increased by the fact that it is often omitted in company names (e.g. Barclays Bank). The apostrophe should be used when indicating possession (Sue’s cat) or the omission of letters or numbers (he’s gone1 Jan. '09). It should not be used in forming the plural of ordinary words, as in apple’s and pear’s or I saw two dog’s, or in possessive pronouns such as hersyours, or theirs.
Don't you feel better? Cuss, me too.

*If Kidspot were lining up Top 100 Finalists for Most Disjointed Post, I would totally be in.

10 comments:

  1. Tahnee you are right on the money about the school zones. I am sick of being tailgated because I follow the law and drive to the speed limit. I wish people would realise the speed limit is not OPTIONAL, it is there for the safety of everyone! It makes me mad and it is just plain selfish.

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  2. I LOVE fantastic Mr Fox. I forgot about until now though, I think my toddler would Love it too!! Must get my hands on it!
    I did the same thing when I read the Kidspot email. I kept thinking they must have accidentally sent it to me! Hehe
    Karen.

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  3. 1. Fantastic Mr Fox is hands down my favourite Roald Dahl book. Possibly my favourite book of all time. That might say something about me. I read it to my ENTHRALLED kids last year that I governessed - fantastic indeed, I needed to engage them, two very different kids, twins, a boy and a girl. Mr Fox was my lifeline to connecting them with all that is FANTASTIC about literary and the written word. I hope they remember what Mr Fox taught them, as well as Miss Emma. Get yourself the BFG, Matilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach. Stat.
    2. I'm shaking my fist right alongside you with the cussers in the school zones. And I don't have kids. It's not that hard people, think for once. People are so insular.
    3. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you re: the apostrophe definition. I had a lengthy discussion with my mother-in-law about this very issue just a few weeks ago at a family dinner, it was a fierce discussion involving pens and papers and three generations putting their two cents in. She was interested as to the online blogger use of correct punctuation and grammar, just because we're 'virtual' doesn't mean it's any less real. It's not that hard people, think for once.
    (On reflection I REALLY hope I haven't incorrectly used an apostrophe in this comment...)

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  4. I've never watched Fantastic Mr Fox so I can't put my 2 cents in about that, but YES!! Why do people have to ignore the speed limit? It's not that hard...go a bit slower for approximately 200 metres. That's it. That's all they have to do!! OK, now I'm getting angry myself haha :-)

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  5. Im going to write this comment with no apostrophes and even no full stops just to cuss you off surely people can put a full stop in cant they or a capital letter for that matter yes Fantastic Mr Fox is a winner and I too have yet to add any Roahl Dahl books to our collection its on the list gosh its actually really hard to write without any punctuation no Im not drunk and yes peeps need to slow the cuss down MOCOs see what I did there cant wait to hear how the next phase of the kidspot voices goes for you
    Big love lady xo
    :)

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  6. OOhhh congratulations! Oh course it is no surprise to many of those who visit here that you would be chose for Voices of 2013. You do have such a beautiful blog, you connect so well with other blogs/bloggers your photos are divine and your writing.......... well it is ok - it is the punctuation that really sells it though!!
    No really it is well deserved you blog is great!
    Rx

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  7. Big big congratulations on your election as one of the top 100 Voices of 2013. (Is election the right word? Would nomination have been a better choice? I could not decide.) You totally deserve it - I love reading Milk Please Mum, as I am sure do many others.
    I have never seen Fantastic Mr Fox. I think that we must fix that. Thank you for sharing it.
    While I am sure that my grammar lacks perfection at times, silly errors frustrate me to no end. Especially the misuse of the apostrophe. And the typical there, their and they're etcetera. Ooh, and ensure / insure. If I keep going I am just going to make myself grumpy.
    Have a lovely weekend Tahnee!

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  8. This is one of MY favourite movies. Ever. I love the music, the animation, the voice overs, the story (of course). Our eldest is in grade one now, but last year while in prep we started reading him Roald Dahl at bedtime, after his school readers. It became everybody's favourite time of day. Danny the Champion of the World was by far, and probably still is, our favourite. Such a beautiful, adventurous story about a boy and his dad.
    Congrats on your nomination. Your blog is great reading (and looking). x

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  9. It's definitely in my top 5. Maybe top 3. Ok, my favourite. Love that cussing Fox (it IS his name after all, hence the capital letter).

    As for Kidpsot, well that goes without saying. You should be most proud x

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  10. I feel that last little part could be directed at me, my grammar is terrible ;)
    My mission this week is to acquire Fantastic Mr Fox. Congrats again on Kidspot Voices, so deserved!
    xo

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