From today's Express, care of Fiona Zublin

[deckardcanine]

The trick to being a modern superhero is to play to your strengths. And Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson, authors of "The Great Typo Hunt," have the right idea.

Armed with chalk, markers, stick-on letters and correction fluid, the two men set out across the country seeking out typos and fixing them, explaining the correct usage of the apostrophe to one and all. They stopped by shopping malls, grocery stores and gas stations, adding commas and correcting spelling -- copy editing avengers bringing hope to unemployed English majors everywhere.

Deck, who first came up with the idea after seeing a sign that read, "No Tresspassing," acts as the narrator of this chronicle of their 2008 cross-country jaunt.

The concept is simple, perfect for both a quarter-life crisis and a book deal: two guys on a road trip, correcting all the typos that they survey.

For those of you rolling your eyes, yes -- the endeavor can come off a bit persnickety, as can Deck's epiphanies about racism and miscommunication and the overall tinge of "educated man's burden" that surrounds the whole project. When the two get summoned to appear in court for vandalizing a 100-year-old sign at the Grand Canyon, the reader could experience a tiny thrill of schadenfreude. But the book is redeemed by the unfailing niceness that pervades Deck and Herson's every interaction. They're earnest and polite -- and they seem to have realized that being condescending jerks wasn't going to get them far in this particular project.

But while many sticklers for grammar seem to be obsessed with belittling those around them who don't know all the rules, these two guys just want to help America better itself, one well-placed apostrophe at a time.

Man, if I didn't have a good job, I'd wish I'd joined them. I may have to read this book.

Comments

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

I sympathize with their plight, but vandalizing other people's property, even for a worthy cause, is a bad idea.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the "stoped" typo in the article is intentional.

===|==============/ Level Head

[marmoe.livejournal.com]

Don't think so, there's also "the reader could experience". On the other hand, I've learned a new word: stope.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Gosh, maybe I make more typos when I'm copying from a hardcopy instead of using my own words.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Oops, that's mine. :)

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

You'd think the red underlining in Firefox would draw my attention, but their dictionary is pretty limited. It doesn't recognize "miscommunication," for example.

spell-check is my friiiiend

[thatcatgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it still grabs mine, even with all the proper nouns and non-words I use. I only occasionally use a real word it doesn't have the spelling (or at least a spelling for), at least comparatively.

Still doesn't save me fro he dumb ones that still make reel words, through. ;D

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

Have you read Eats Shoots and Leaves (http://books.google.ca/books?id=c3ETv37GqfcC&dq=eats+shoots+and+leaves&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=3l9uTJLDIIP-8Abn85nCDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false)? Also a damned fine read :)

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have, thanks.

[akktri.livejournal.com]

I have a compulsion to do that anyway. I have from time to time corrected memos from the boss that he taped on the wall, but I didn't do more because I'd get in trouble.