I stopped by Veterans Historical Park today and checked out the new American War Memorial plaques installed before Veterans Day this month.
The plaques are really well done. Starting with the Revolutionary War (on the south near Newhall Avenue), you can walk up and down the two rows, reading and reflecting on the sacrifices made by Americans in every war up to the Gulf War. The plaques are built to last, made of high quality materials with interesting and poignant art depicting the conflict at the top.
Well done to the City and all the people who donated to make these plaques possible. They really make Veterans Historical Park a special place for our town.
That said, we have to correct this one error on the plaque commemorating the Mexican-American War of 1848:
I’m not interested in assigning blame or getting all upset about this, and I don’t think anyone else should be either, but this should not have happened. I could excuse it if this were a simple error involving ”its” and “it’s,” but mistaking the plural word “Americans” for the possessive “American’s” on a war memorial is inexcusable.
Fix it please.
Am I missing something? All I see are word’s.
Last line:
“13,283 American’s died in…”
Should read:
“13,283 Americans died in…”
An error in grammar. Don’t worry Jeff, the Mexican’s (Mexicans)won’t know the difference. For that matter no one will know, after all it is a memorial to those that gave their lives fighting the war.
Besides you may be expecting to much from our paid servants. However, think about taking your issue to the next city council meeting. You may have to do a little back scratching, but Kellar will get it changed for you. Just thank him for the In Good We Trust Plaque.
No big fish today Jeff?
Today agree… inexcusable.
I wish more well-intentioned people sought out professional assistance from qualified practioners when creating tributes, advertising, email campaigns, letter-writing requests, etc.
It only takes one spelling or grammatical error to lose all credibility.
Hopefully, the plaque will be corrected quickly and a lesson learned.
Oh brother. You think professionals do not make mistakes.
Who lost any Credits over this error? If anything the mistake will draw more visitors to the park.
I am leaving with my chisel, I’ll be back! Should only take a minute to fix this major problem.
Geez guys, you must be glad its Friday, don’t worry only a few more hours till the weekend begins!
It was an obvious stupid mistake people and needs to be corrected….but seriously…”inexcusable”. Better yet, lets find out who did it and ruin their life. They will never spell or write anything in this town ever again (insert sinister laugh here).
Orrrrr how about the right people are told about the issue and its fixed. Volia problem solved.
But it did make me chuckle how even a grammar issue can get twisted into some nationlistic agenda with American’s trying to push their will. (oops my bad I used the wrong grammar).
Amen to that Brook. We even had a local PR professional trying to drum up business over this error.
Point I was making: Bronze plaques are expensive and it is important before final sign-off that everything has been checked and double checked. There’s been plenty of oops! in this community, whether by professionals or well-intentioned volunteers. Minimizing mistakes is always the goal.
Cash, luv ya.
TT, right on.
Yeah, it’s a mistake and it should have been noticed and ‘fixed’ prior to someone else finding it. How much did this cost? Did the city (us) pay for it? How much will it cost to correct this spelling error? Will the city (us) have to pay for it?
On the surface it’s not a big deal, I agree, however someone must have proof read this prior to ’signing-off’ on the job, right?
Cash had a good idea to take it to the city. Like the back into parking spaces on San Fernando.
Cash, Cash, Cash, will you ever loose those stereotypical and prejudiced thoughts of people?
“Don’t worry Jeff, the Mexican’s (Mexicans)won’t know the difference.”
I believe that many that visit the sight are some of our bravest veterans, and they’re the ones who this should be fixed for. Unless Cash, you feel they won’t know the difference either?
Luv ya back Ms. Todd.
A thought. We have concluded that the error was not caught. It may have been caught upon completion, but the decision was made to let it pass rather than an expensive do over. My experience is that when the purchaser signs off on the text, the finish product is on the purchasers shoulder, providing the producer uses the approved and authorized text.
I am guessing Mr. Ferry had the review, approval and sign off responsibility. Ha Other than the error, the plaque looks professional to me.
I can’t believe I’m the first to notice it. There were hundreds of people there on Veteran’s Day; that was the day the plaques were officially unveiled.
Cash, Cash, Cash, will you ever loose those stereotypical and prejudiced thoughts of people?
Don’t get your dress in a bunch, I was kidding. BTW, anyone that has been in war with bullets fired at them, probably will not get too excited about the apostrophe. I don’t think they put their life on the line so we can argue over an apostrophe. They will perhaps, get upset if you waste their tax money to fix the mistake.
If you want to fight for something worthwhile and supports the soldiers, fight Obama. He is taking away our freedom as fast as he can. The freedom they fought for. Next time you see a tea party say thanks to the protectors. You will probably be thanking a veteran.
Protesters.
Jeff, you may not have been the first to notice the mistake. You are probably the first to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
The park has a deeper meaning than a grammar quiz.
Call Bob before Ms. Todd does. You deserve the credit. Officer Bob will fix it. If Bob won’t carry your water call Bill Kennedy. I think Bill wears his Air force uniform to bed.
Withay…how you been this is your olf friend Petz
All this nonsense about an unintentional error on a plaque that probably cost over $1,000.
Not a word about the intentional and unauthorized placement of scare quotation marks on the “In God We Trust” placements by the city.
*Scare quotes is a term for a particular use of quotation marks. Quotation marks are placed around a single word or phrase to indicate that the word or phrase does not signify its literal or conventional meaning. In contrast to the nominal typographic purpose of quotation marks, the enclosed word(s) may not necessarily be quoted from another source.
Thanks for the shout out, cash, but not the hill on which I would choose to die.
My apologies Cash, I should have known you were only kidding…you big joker! Had me going there!
Oh wait, ….let me,,,just…pull this….dress ..there!
Irony police, arrest this man.
“Veterans Day”
not
“Veteran’s Day”
http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetday_faq.asp
Wasn’t it just last year that the City hung banners all around town with a similar error?
Oh yeah, CC…what was that? I remember something about that. Jeff or (anyone else) help us out here.
Mike, very funny indeed!
Submit it here
http://www.apostropheabuse.com/
Jeff, you can place your request via:
http://user.govoutreach.com/santaclarita/faq.php
Wow. Let me say that again… Wow.
at least you got Frank’s attention.
What did Frank say?
Just another slippage in our country’s values.
‘Good enough’ is acceptable. Mistakes go uncorrected.
It’s a national complacency.
Hey Jeff, I’ll match whatever amount you want to put up to corect this error.
Cash
petz, scvfan is frank ferry, or a close confidant.
Mike: You are rather irritating. I am not Mr. Ferry or any elected official. I’m a conservative who pays attention to local politics and also likes to contribute on an interesting liberal blog. I respect Jeff and his writing skills.
You should just…move….on…..
Here is an idea. Why don’t we create a blog where everyone uses their real name? The net is the wild west, and many lament the lack of respect given to it. If it is indeed the wave of the future, and the print media is dying in many places, it seems to make sense that news outlets would work to create places where legit opinions are valued. I am sure that for entertainment purposes it is great to have nameless people “letting it fly” in some spaces, but I think it would be terrific if we had spaces where our opinions always has our name on it. It would certainly lead to more civil discourse, and perhaps with effort we could educate and learn from one another leading to better understanding. I do admire Tim Meyers, Sterling King, Jeff Wilson, and Dave Bossert and many others who put their names on their posts. Perhaps we could label one blog “Real People” and the other “Take with a grain of salt” What say you Jeff?
tbb you don’t want to get mixed in with all that riff raff. surf above it. we needz U 2 win.
I do like TimBen’s suggestion, but Jeff won’t go for it as it would lead to much fewer postings.
Someone diret TBB back to the forum and tell him to start answering the questions.
Petz
Do you have to answer the question?
Can’t you comment on an idea that would end the Mike’s comment that accuse scvfan of being Frank Ferry?
If you used your real name there would be no doubt.
I do believe that is what TBB was suggesting!
God Bless the men and women that serve our country and forgive those who may make a mistake.
Mike has credibility with me and I do not know what difference it makes. Frankly, (no pun) intended it would be nice if elected officials posted here anonymously or using their real name.
To eliminate any doubt – Petz, a legend in his own mind is aka Steve Petzold (widely considered to be the most prolific and provocative Conservative commentator in the SCV.) Sorry Kevin. Petz is listed in the phone book and my cell is 661-609-1739. Open invitation to join anyone for a cup of coffee and freewheeling discussion.Petz leads a community discussion group bimonthly (the Pragerphiles) in the SCV .
Look for the blue 2003 Pontiac Aztek with the bumber stickers and magnetic ribbons. Honk as you pass him by in the slow lane.
Of course I’m teasing SCVfan, it’s just that he/she has taken positions that square with Frank’s likes and dislikes, friends and enemies, and so forth. First comment involved libeling TBB and it was followed up with comment defending Ferry. Also: ultra-sensitivity about the “Mayor Dude” campaign (who defends that? honestly!).
It’s taken years to get those plaques made because so many eyes kept going over them and making changes. To replace one now because of a misplaced apostrophy would cost in the neighborhood of $1000+. It’s the thought that counts, not the grammar.
Grammar and language skills will continue going down the toilet with the mass use of texting, Twitter and the like. I’d love to know the combined salaries of all of the “many eyes” who supposedly proofread the plaque. The city is forever putting out press releases, city communications, and hanging banners with many typos on them, hire a proofreader!
Jeff, good point. Just make sure you spell “historical” right before you point out the city’s mistake.
Noted!
I also screwed up “Veteran’s” and have fixed that.
Notice I fixed it. I didn’t let it sit there forever.
Jayne, consider revising:
The city is forever putting out press releases, city communications, and hanging banners with many typos on them, hire a proofreader!
To:
The city is forever putting out press releases, city communications, and hanging banners with many typos. Hre a proofreader!
oops, i meant “Hire”
Also meant to add a
None are immune!
SHE is not ultrasensitive about anything related to MayorDude.com.
Rather, it’s called playing devil’s advocate and pointing out flaws in one’s argument.
I’m very disappointed the City didn’t catch this error. Maybe the City will pay to fix the error.
But I’m thinking the some of you here would also complain about the City wasting money on grammar while in a recession. Mistakes happen. They should be fixed.
But we should also put things into perspective and give an appropriate level of priority to apostrophes.
You’re right. I should have just let it slide. Gone about my day and not made a fuss.
A thousand pardons for pointing out this error.
I guess my expectations were too high?
Jeff, if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. It’s a shame to see an error like that on something permanent.
SCVfan: fair enough! carry on.
I think that’s my biggest problem with this particular error…it’s permanent. It’s not something that you can just slurry over and restripe.
“But I’m thinking the some of you here would also complain about the City wasting money on grammar while in a recession.”
SCVFan, though I agree with your thought, was this made during the recession? Afterall it was just added to that area last month, right? If this error was made during the recession (not before), then heck who ever made it should fix it. During this time of watching the dollars (even the CITY), it should be a consideration, but the customer should still be satisfied and now that it’s been brought up, well….
If my or my fathers’ names had been misspelled on a brick I’d probably have complained but I complained about waiting so long for the story boards that I’m just happy to have them finally in place with or without a minor error.
Okay, I like that answer, navigator! I guess it comes down to who it really affects, right? perhaps Cash hit it on the head originally (minus the ‘mexican’ comment) that perhaps no one will ever really notice, eh? But if it’s a persons name then it might mean more to the loved ones who may be personally involved. Thanks for your input and putting it into context. I say never mind;leave it the way it is!
Well said Navigator. This conversation reminds me of an article I read a while back about the “Grammar Vandal”.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/15/stop_sign_travesties/
Maybe this can be your next blog Jeff?
It doesn’t help the current situation, but I’ve decided based on this discussion that Point of View Communications will offer pro bono review services to local non-profits embarking on an endeavor of a permanent nature, be it a bronze plaque or engraving on a building, etc.
(Previous pro bono work includes involvement with the ‘Return of the Olympic Rings’ bronze plaque in the peristyle of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 2005 and a dedication plaque at Golden Valley High School, 2006.)
POV professionals hold advanced degrees in business (MBA), communications (MA) and linguistics (PhD). We are available to be that final set of eyes to review grammar, punctuation and spelling.
No cost, no obligation. Just drop me a note at ttodd@pointofviewcommunications.com to discuss.
Mistakes happen; we get that.
Moving forward, we hope this helps and organizations take advantage of our resources.
TB, Perhaps we need to be less sensitive. I for one take no comments as an attack, nor am I ever offended.
I thin V town is right.
One more thing, if I recall, Jeff has been served with official request to divulge the names of people that have made unsettling comments.
Freedom of speech has many meanings.
”
One more thing, if I recall, Jeff has been served with official request to divulge the names of people that have made unsettling comments.”
I was subpoenaed once, yes. I fulfilled my duty in compliance with a legal order by a qualified officer of the Court in Los Angeles County. The legal order was in relation to one post by one user and did not cover other readers or commenters. I was ordered to by the Law.
A standing policy of SCVTalk is to not reveal the identity of posters, visitors, commenters, or readers of this website.
But I will not go to jail for any of you. So keep that in mind. :p
man, you think I’m afraid of jail?
Good for you Jeff! I’ll make sure I don’t write anything that may cause me to do jail time, since you won’t do it for me!