Making Light :: Dept. of regrettable errors :: comments http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#comments Language, fraud, folly, truth, history, and knitting. Et cetera. en Wed, 05 Feb 2003 00:29:35 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.261 Dept. of regrettable errors From Erik Olson, a CNN blooper from day before yesterday.... From Erik Olson, a CNN blooper from day before yesterday.... http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #1 from Paul Riddell comment from Paul Riddell on 3.Feb.03 Well, _no wonder_ it had problems. Every time I get in my Neon and go that fast, I lose all sorts of parts, like the transmission, the brakes, and the carburetor...

Seriously, considering the number of people recently laid off by CNN whose job was to catch errors like that, I'm not surprised in the slightest. We're already seeing far too many Web sites and magazines that edit-by-Word-spellchecker, and proofreaders and factcheckers are considered unnecessary expenses, so why should television be any different?

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 5:13 PM by Paul Riddell</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15446 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15446 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:13:40 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #2 from Erik V. Olson comment from Erik V. Olson on 3.Feb.03 Again!

Last sentence.

They need copyeds. Badly.

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 5:42 PM by Erik V. Olson</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15448 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15448 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:42:59 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #3 from Xopher comment from Xopher on 3.Feb.03 Wow, I didn't know the shuttles had Inversion drives! Musta been shot down by the Hightons.

The second one, I suspect, came when someone edited down a longer sentence and didn't check to make sure it still made sense.

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 5:50 PM by Xopher</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15450 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15450 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:50:53 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #4 from Stefan Jones comment from Stefan Jones on 3.Feb.03 Ten years down the road, some conspiracy nut will cite this as evidence that NASA was testing a stardrive based on UFO technology.

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 5:53 PM by Stefan Jones</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15451 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15451 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:53:20 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #5 from James D. Macdonald comment from James D. Macdonald on 3.Feb.03 Just today I found an error in a Gale Research book....

And not just a minor error either. A honking great "Didn't they bother to look this up?" error that I noticed while skimming the table of contents, went to the chapter to check, and yeah, they got it flamin' wrong.

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 5:58 PM by James D. Macdonald</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15452 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15452 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 17:58:22 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #6 from Greg van Eekhout comment from Greg van Eekhout on 3.Feb.03 In Electrolite's comments, David Moles pointed to this blooper in the online edition of the Washington Post:

Shuttle Loss Puts Mir Operation in Jeopardy

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 6:12 PM by Greg van Eekhout</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15455 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15455 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 18:12:31 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #7 from Bill Higgins comment from Bill Higgins on 3.Feb.03 I was watching MSNBC yesterday when George Stephanopoulos, on the verge of a commercial break, looked into the camera and said, "And when we return-- more from the First Woman In Space-- Sally Ride!"

I yelled at him, but he'd disappeared.

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 6:37 PM by Bill Higgins</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15457 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15457 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 18:37:19 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #8 from Laurie Mann comment from Laurie Mann on 3.Feb.03 Or the broadcaster (I think he was on NBC) who
reported that, like the Challenger, the Columbia
broke up over land...

(I don't think any of the Challenger landed on
the ground - didn't it all land in the Atlantic?)

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 6:53 PM by Laurie Mann</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15458 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15458 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 18:53:44 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #9 from Elayne Riggs comment from Elayne Riggs on 3.Feb.03 I saw on one of the all-news channel scrolls that parts were found as far as Lousisiana. Hey, Lou Sisiana, didn't he fix my plumbing the other day?

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 7:10 PM by Elayne Riggs</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15461 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15461 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 19:10:26 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #10 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden comment from Teresa Nielsen Hayden on 3.Feb.03 Jim -- no kidding, you found an error in a Gale Research volume? Was that before or after you opened the book?

]]> <p>Posted February 3, 2003 7:59 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15466 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15466 Mon, 03 Feb 2003 19:59:21 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #11 from Helen Thompson comment from Helen Thompson on 4.Feb.03 Jim and Teresa--If it's the same error I found, it's before you open it. On the cover, in the table of contents, and in the chapter, as I recall.

I was looking forward to showing my SF professor my contribution to said volume, but he is the misspelled party.

--Helen

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 1:23 AM by Helen Thompson</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15472 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15472 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 01:23:15 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #12 from Emma comment from Emma on 4.Feb.03 As a librarian I can tell you...sometimes we cringe when we have to get a Gale Research book. It's guaranteed to be screwed up, if only because nobody has ever used, in their presence, the mighty words "check your spelling!"

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 9:53 AM by Emma</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15481 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15481 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 09:53:01 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #13 from James D. Macdonald comment from James D. Macdonald on 4.Feb.03 At a hundred and fifty five bucks a copy, you'd think they could have hired a proofreader.

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 11:03 AM by James D. Macdonald</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15483 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15483 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 11:03:31 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #14 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden comment from Teresa Nielsen Hayden on 4.Feb.03 Helen, I don't even know which Gale Research volume that is. I just have faith that it's like all the others I've seen.

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 12:48 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15488 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15488 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 12:48:00 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #15 from Kathryn Cramer comment from Kathryn Cramer on 4.Feb.03 ...They set out one day
In a relative way
And arrived on the previous night.

Would that it were so.

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 1:40 PM by Kathryn Cramer</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15492 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15492 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 13:40:16 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #16 from Arthur D. Hlavaty comment from Arthur D. Hlavaty on 4.Feb.03 It took writing articles myself to really get through to me that the reference books in the library are like poems, rather than trees, but, yes, there are mistakes in Gale books.

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 4:03 PM by Arthur D. Hlavaty</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15500 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15500 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 16:03:47 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #17 from Helen Thompson comment from Helen Thompson on 4.Feb.03 I live, I learn. :)

When The Weakest Link came out, the academic weekly I work for was sent a press kit for the show with a door-sized red duotone poster of Anne Robinson's face. Emblazoned above her scowling visage was the caption "You are the weakest link!"

You knew you'd made the big editing error when you came into work and found said poster on your door. I got robinsoned for an unfortunate misspelling of public.

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 4:28 PM by Helen Thompson</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15503 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15503 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 16:28:26 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #18 from Adina Adler comment from Adina Adler on 4.Feb.03 Erik, I'm not seeing the error in your second reference. The last paragraph reads, "Columbia disintegrated high above Texas on Saturday. It is the first shuttle to be lost since the Challenger exploded 17 years ago, almost to the day."

What's wrong with that?

]]> <p>Posted February 4, 2003 5:48 PM by Adina Adler</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15511 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15511 Tue, 04 Feb 2003 17:48:28 -0500 Dept. of regrettable errors -- comment #19 from Erik V. Olson comment from Erik V. Olson on 5.Feb.03 They fixed it. It used to say "It is the second shuttle to be lost since the Challennger...."

]]> <p>Posted February 5, 2003 12:29 AM by Erik V. Olson</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15538 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002320.html#15538 Wed, 05 Feb 2003 00:29:35 -0500