Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Mary Ann or Ginger

The girl next door or the voluptuous vamp? Cutesy or sexy? Short shorts or low-cut top? Exclamation point or question mark?

Through my punctuation-colored glasses, that’s how I see the Gilligan Island ladies. Mary Ann reminds me of the perky, straight-forward exclamation point and Ginger of the curvy, mysterious question mark.

How do you like your ladies and punctuation marks? Enthusiastic or elusive? Frisky or seductive?

It’s a tough one. I used to sway more Mary Ann when I was a kid, but as an adult, I can’t help but be seduced by Ginger’s beauty.

I am equally as torn over the punctuation marks.

I appreciate a good exclamation:

I’ve got tiger’s blood and Adonis DNA!

But I do also love myself a good question:

What the hell will Charlie Sheen say next?

So, instead of focusing on the differences, let’s focus on similarities.

Can we agree that both Mary Ann and Ginger are lovely women who displayed phenomenal foresight when they overpacked for a three hour excursion?

And did you know that both the question mark and exclamation point go inside the quotation marks when they apply to the quote, but outside the quotation marks when they apply to the actual sentence?

Here, I’ll show you.

In the following sentence, the quotation is a question, so the question mark goes inside:

I asked my friend, “Who do you like better, Gilligan or The Professor?”

And it’s the same with the exclamation point:

She said, "The Professor is so hot!"

In this sentence, the whole sentence is a question, so the question mark goes on the outside:

Didn't you love it when The Professor said brainy things like, "It was a geological phenomenon caused by volcanic activity beneath the Earth's surface resulting into concentration of heat at a specific location"?

And look- it’s the same with the exclamation point when the whole sentence is an exclamation:

I do like the part about "concentration of heat at a specific location"!

20 comments:

Beth Mann said...

Thanks for the reminder. And I think Charlie uses both, at the same time ;)

Jeff Beesler said...

Excellent lesson! As for me, I always considered Mrs. Howell to be a hottie in her own right. Is that "wrong"?

Dylan Fitzgerald said...

People always think I'm wrong when I put the question mark outside the quotations-- when the main sentence is a question and the quotation is a statement. VINDICATED AT LAST!

Tere Kirkland said...

Dude, I've been doing this right forever, but people always "correct" me. Don't you hate that?

Thanks for this wonderfully educational post!

Carolyn Abiad said...

Can you believe some people think you're wrong about this? The nerve! Great post! :)

Lana Banana said...

ummm, methinks you forgot to mention the INTERROBANG!

why choose?!?!

i love them both. it's mary ann AND ginger.

RAWR!

Christopher said...

I generally go for the Mary Ann type!

Perhaps someday I might my change my mind and go after Ginger? Who knows.

Bethany Elizabeth said...

:) I'm more of a Ginger girl, myself. But I can see the appeal of either. :D

JJ said...

i love the way you put them !
i'm still somewhere in between Mary Ann and Ginger,and, i'm liking it :)

Jung said...

Pretty intersting blog post, the world could use better grammar.

Belle Armed said...

the mary ann type is hot hot hot

Meg O. said...

You're so hot.

Unknown said...

this post had me laughing' - i LOVE ur blogging style - i'll be back A LOT!

~LAST DAY 2 JOIN CUSTOM SIGN GIVEAWAY~

*kiss kiss*
Erika @ ~Tiptoe Butterfly~

Janet Johnson said...

I'll never see Gilligan's Island the same way again! Fun post. :)

Stephanie Faris said...

I had a huge crush on The Professor when I was a kid. He may have been my first crush. He's where I developed my attraction to men with their sleeves rolled up. (Odd thing, I know, but guys have their stuff too!) My husband was a Mary Ann fan...I always preferred her WAY over Ginger.

Talli Roland said...

I love your grammar lessons. I'm a bit of an exclamation-mark whore myself.

Anonymous said...

I always mess up the placement of the question and exclamation marks when it comes to quotations. Like Stephanie, I also had a crush on the professor when I was a kid! I'm just glad I'm not the only one. LOL!
Love the new header by the way! - G

Theresa Milstein said...

When I was a kid, I wanted to be ginger. Now that I'm older, I appreciate Mary Ann more. They were both great packers!

Who wouldn't be proud to have tiger's blood and Adonis DNA? Exclamation points necessary!

Mary Aalgaard said...

Thank you! I've been trying to do that right for years, but have received a few raised eyebrows. I'll point the doubters to your blog. What will CS say next?

Powdered Toast Man said...

I choose low cut top. Did you write more than that?