Armchair Degree   2004-08-27

Capitalization. Punctuation.

I've been thinking about both since my last journal entry.

I have about an hour of free time on my hands everyday as I ride the bus to and from work. Sometimes it's too crowded to get a seat and sometimes it's just me and the speed freak behind the wheel. Regardless of the jostle or lack thereof, however, I always have enough time and space to let my mind wander.

Capitalization. Punctuation.

Someone left a comment on the last journal entry saying, "at least it's [lack of capitalization] cute and unthreatening."

Very true. Lack of capitalization is kind of cute and unthreatening. It definitely sets a tone. Maybe something like, "Hey, we're friends. Let's dispense with the Man and get on with the business of having a serious heart to heart." I mean, if you're having a heart to heart with your friend you wouldn't very well want to come across as either ugly or threatening by doing something like TYPING IN ALL CAPS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT; typing in all caps sets a tone, too. And capitalization, well, it lets the Man into the chat rooms of the nation — a place he probably isn't welcome. Capitalization isn't particularly cute, but neither is it particularly threatening. It mostly just reeks of adherence to rules. The Man.

So, it was with no small shock that with sophomoric thoughts like this running around in my head I was confronted head on with the issue of capitalization in the downstairs bathroom of a McDonalds restaurant on a busy street corner on a foolishly hot day. It's not all that often that I find myself in a McDonald's restaurant. On the odd occasion I am in one it's usually to broker a deal between a man and a pony. This occasion was no exception. After navigating my way around several dodgy-looking, wet spots on the floor I came face to face with McDonalds' latest advertising slogan faux-graffitied in bright, yellow letters under the golden arches on the back wall.

i'm lovin' it

Normally, this wouldn't register. This time, however, it did.

No capitalization. No punctuation.

Why no capitalization or punctuation? And then it occured to me - if ever there was a Man, Ronald McDonald is he. If you're the Man who's trying to not look like the Man what do you do? I'll tell you what you do, you try and look cute and unthreatening.

No capitalization. No punctuation.

Standing in the basement of the McDonalds restaurant brokering the deal I realized McDonalds was trying to have a heart to heart with me. However the slogan came into being it probably wasn't because someone was too lazy to hit the shift key. It was a cool, calculated decision.

Cute. Unthreatening.

So, what's the point? The point is, I have a fair bit of time to look out the window on my way to work. That, and sometimes lack of capitalization and punctuation say more than, "I'm lazy."

Visit the   McDonalds Taiwan   site to see what McDonalds is up to on this side of the world.

If you haven't see the documentary,   Super Size Me  , it's well worth the price of admission. It has nothing to do with English, but it does have everything to do with healthy eating choices — of which, McDonalds offers none.

Marlene + Todd  |  Leave a Comment  |