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Am really stressed now with wedding preparations, even though there isn't really that much that I have to do—the most pressing duty right now is cleaning house so people staying over here won't be too shocked. All the same, there is this irrational, constant low-level stress leaving me with little inspiration for witty blog postings. Bear with me, gentle readers.

Meanwhile, there's a quote I've been meaning to post here for some time, because I think it's quite wonderful: it is from Teresa Nielsen Hayden's Making Book, the chapter on copyediting (which I have read with especial care as it's pretty much what my VIE duties consist of.) The discussion concerns the serial comma—"Tom, Dick, and Harry" or "Tom, Dick and Harry" which is a difficult matter. And TNH writes:

[sometimes] one ought to use the serial comma to avoid forcing an undue intimacy upon Dick and Harry*. [footnote:] Or anyone else, for that matter; as witness the dedication which read, "This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God."