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Earlier today, the Associated Press's Stylebook sent out the following tweet:

YES: This is wonderful news!We now support the modern usage! [Insert cheeky use of "hopefully" here!] Because among the ranks of the Grammar Rules We Knowingly Break Because Those Rules Are Stupid, the long-standing edict against "hopefully" has long held a place at the top. "Hopefully," the law of grammar has informed us, should be used only in the most literal sense: to describe something that is done in a hopeful manner. Used in the way the majority of English-speakers use it -- as a proxy for hope -- the word is, we are told, simply wrong.

As the AP put it in a previous tweet:

Got that?Do not use it.

The anti-"hopefully" mandate has been a bad grammar rule in the manner of all bad grammar rules: It doesn't track with the way people actually use the language. The ruleis completely out of touch with those it's meant to regulate. And while grammar guides, by nature, will always represent a tension between the vernacular use of a language and the normative use of it ... still, when everyone's just ignoring a rule, that rule demands amendment. We talk about language being a living thing; implied in the clich is the idea that, for living things, "growth" and "life" are pretty much the same thing. And the best way to let language live -- to let it grow, to let it flourish -- is to rid it of obsolete rules, just as the AP has done today.

So: Yay! The change is a small thing, but it's a reminder of a broader truth: that language evolves -- just like the Internet itself -- as a product of end-user innovation. Top-down guidelines and regulations can be valuable; but they are valuable only insofar as they reflect people's habits and assumptions. Language, like any good technology, must be responsive to the people who use it.

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Original post:
Grammar Regulators Concede to the 'Modern Usage' of a Word

Feeling creative? Try something with your photos by using words to fill in the colors.

WordCam for Android.

These days, you can find tons of different photo-editing tools in Google Play. Most apps will take or import a picture, add some filters, maybe do a crop or two, and it's done. But what if you're looking for a different approach to making art with your Android device?

WordCam offers a way to add messages to images in a unique way: making the words color and shape the entire picture. Here's how to get started:

Note: The free version of the app will not allow you to add custom words to images. However, you can see how "WordCam" fills an image of your choosing.

First you'll need to grab a copy of WordCam for Android. You can use the free version to check it out, and if you like it, the Pro version will let you add custom words or phrases.

This is how a photo will look with the free WordCam app.

Choose a picture from your personal Gallery or take a new one. Once chosen, the app will apply the words to the photo. Even though you can't pick any of your own words, the app allows you to see how the finished picture will look. You can apply the "WordCam" name to as many photos as you'd like to get a feel for the app. If you're interested in using your own words, grab the Pro version.

Select your words.

Before choosing a photo, you'll want to adjust the words and fonts. Press on the Words option of the main menu, and then press on the Clear All button. This will allow you to start a fresh list of words you want to use. After that, head back to the main menu and then into the Fonts menu. Check off each font you want to use in your photo.

Read more from the original source:
Turn any photo into word art with this Android app

The former mayor of Fairbury, Neb., remembers James Ferneau well. What's more, she's jealous of Burlington for landing him as its new city manager.

LaVeda Fry said her town was on the verge of bankruptcy before Ferneau stepped in as its first city administrator in 2005. Fry credits Ferneau's cost-cutting and attracting external funding as the impetus for turning around the small city by the time he left three years later.

"It was great working with Jim," Fry said. "You should be very pleased to have him. I wish we had him back."

Fry isn't the only one with good things to say about Burlington's incoming city manager. Council members, city clerks, newspaper editors and reporters from here to Nebraska agree: James Ferneau is smart, and he is good at his job.

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Ferneau, 44, interviewed and was hired as Burlington's new city manager Feb. 18. He begins his duties here April 23.

"I really enjoyed working with him," said Sharyl Preston, the city clerk in Fairbury, who only worked with him for a few months. "You could ask him anything, and he either knew it, or he'd find out right away for you. I hated to see him leave."

"He's probably one of the brightest individuals I've worked with," said Sergeant Bluff Mayor Dale Petersen.

Ferneau has been city administrator in the northwest Iowa town on the Missouri River just south of Sioux City since 2008. Petersen, too, credits Ferneau for much of the town's recent success, which includes a renovation of city hall partially paid for with grant money Ferneau found.

"You guys should be very pleased to have him work for your city," Petersen said. "We are definitely going to miss him here."

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Rave reviews for Ferneau

Originally published April 1, 2012 at 5:30 AM | Page modified April 1, 2012 at 7:54 AM

Rave To the young father walking, embracing and shielding his tiny baby from the weather at Green Lake. Dads in the 1950s didn't usually take care of babies and both generations were poorer for it. Lasting harmony and happiness to you both! Every day is Father's Day.

Rant To the city of Seattle, which decided that there should not be parking at the light-rail stations so that citizens, not just tourists, could use it.

Rave and Rant Rave to Robert, who got the license plate of the vehicle with the person who smashed my car window and stole my purse, remained on the scene to file a police report with me and even volunteered to sweep up the broken glass in the parking lot! A big rant to the thieves.

Rant To bicyclists who ride two (or more) abreast. I understand their desire to socialize but, please, people safety first. If you want others to share the roads or trails for your benefit, then lead by example.

Rave For the Girl Scouts and all those who bought cookies for Operation Cookie Drop. You'll never know how much it will brighten the service members' day.

Rant To drivers who continuously ignore the 20 mph speed limit in school zones. Do you not see the flashing lights and crossing guards indicating that children are present? One day a child will be hit because you were on your phone or rushing somewhere and not paying attention.

Rave To the fellow who sold our son a used car that had serious mechanical issues. When we informed the seller that the car had a blown head gasket and cracked heads, he refunded most of the sale cost to pay for the engine rebuild, even sending $200 more than he agreed to. It's so appreciated and restored our faith in humanity.

Rant To annoying, impersonal "robo-calls," no matter what they're for.

Rave To the lovely couple who drove across town to return a wallet before we even realized it was missing. Thanks so much!

The rest is here:
Rant & Rave: Three cheers for honest folks!

Shane McGraw of RC General Contractors works on a laptop at the remodeled lobby of the West Virginia State University Economic Development Center on the West Side, home to DigiSo.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- David Wohl never got to build his glitzy media center in downtown Charleston. But the next best thing is about to open on the West Side -- a digital arts production studio called DigiSo.

Several years ago Wohl, the former dean of arts and humanities at West Virginia State University, probably sensed the school was never going to raise the $10 million needed to build a four-story home for State's graduate media studies program on Capitol Street.

So Wohl approached Jenny Fertig, who had been running an economic development center for the WVSU extension service in an old storefront on Kanawha Boulevard near Patrick Street. Fertig just happened to have some unused federal grant money lying around.

Meanwhile, Sarah Halstead and other folks involved with Create WV had been kicking around an idea to build a place where creative artists -- photographers, musicians, filmmakers -- could work, collaborate and encourage young people through mentorships.

Create WV, a grass-roots offshoot of the Vision Shared movement, has held statewide conferences each year since 2007. As its name implies, its mission is to build creative communities and encourage artists to work and live in West Virginia.

"While that was going on, Jenny was over here," said Halstead who, with her sister, Becky Kimmons, runs Katalyst, a consulting service. "David Wohl and [filmmaker] Danny Boyd at WVSU had gotten a HUD grant for a commercial kitchen. But that didn't work out.

"Jenny called and said, 'We have a pot of money. What can we do?' Create was asked what is a tangible use for this money. We re-wrote the grant."

HUD officials agreed. Instead of a kitchen, the money could be used for studios, lights, computers, software and other high-tech gear.

That was about two years ago. As of Wednesday, the renovations were nearly complete. The drab maze of offices has been totally transformed, with about $1 million from several grants. The grand reopening is scheduled for April 10.

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Digital arts studio ready to open on West Side