After years of newspaper editing and speech training, I have a few choice words to say about the beloved Mother Tongue. That's English, Love, a language that the chaps over the pond no longer speak well. We've not only improved upon their laws and measuring system, and football, and food, we've refined the language to something entirely else.

Well, some of us have.

I'm watching a series on television called The Ultimate Fighter. It's the Yanks against the Brits. Funny thing, this. As often as not, there are subtitles at the bottom of the screen when one of the Brits is speaking. You just can't understand the blokes.

Don't let this be you. Keep the language pure. Good grammar is next to Godliness - as are word choice, spelling, and punctuation.

I don't care if U R texting. Strain yourself, please, and use the correct work. K?

Finer points:
Home, hone. You "home in" on a target, not "hone in." Even Leslie Stahl, of acclaimed elitist pig 60 Minutes fame, got this wrong a couple of weeks ago. So did Dave Ramsey, the personal finance nag, when he asked a caller to "hone in" on his car payment.

I know, "home in" sounds wrong to you. That's because all of your so-called "friends" use it incorrectly. But real friends don't let friends drive the wrong verb, and I'm your friend.
Think of a homing pigeon. As he flies back toward home, he "homes in" on his goal. You "hone" a knife edge, you "home in" on an objective.

As with much of what I will tell you, your true friend in a sea of language sycophants, many commentators and dictionaries will say the "alternate" is also acceptable because it has become "established in common usage" or some drivel. One language maven said: "Here is the moral of the story: Language is fluid. It changes and stretches. Just when we think we can home in / hone in on a rock-solid rule, we find the sands of language shifting. You take one route, I'll take another, and let's meet gladly at the end of the sentence."
Gag me. It's just so, so ... wimpy. Weak. British. Wrong.

Don't let this be you, noble warrior. Wrong is wrong is wrong - I don't care how often you do it. Remember "it depends on what the definition of 'is' is?" And "situational ethics?" And "enhanced interrogation techniques?" And "I didn't inhale?" And "if all the other kids are jumping off a cliff, are you going to jump off a cliff?"

Don't do it! Stand your ground! Carry the flag! Write and speak only Proper American!
I'll teach you how.

- Michael Byrd

We like building websites for non-profits, and and we donate half of our fee back to them. So we were especially happy for the opportunity to rebuild the Latimer House website. Home to the Historical Society of the Lower Cape Fear, the Latimer House sponsors tours, houses historical archives, and features a beautiful enclosed garden. Their website, HSLCF.org, includes online ticket purchasing and e-newsletter signup (in addition to a design we really like).

Visit their site at HSLFC.org. More importantly, visit the Latimer House.

Wilmington attorneys Mitch Baker and Troy Slaughter have created a new website for their firm.

The site, bakerandslaughter.com, is flash as well as substance. The design features an animated photo slideshow that presents both attorneys and the approach of the firm. Professional photography makes a world of difference. The site is also a deep and well-organized law library of only original and topical material. As "attorneys to the attorneys," Baker and Slaughter provide current material in a special section of the site geared toward attorneys. Another section addresses the public. A client section is also available, as well as a Hot Topics area that addresses up-to-the-minute developments in ongoing cases.