h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 'Weird Al' Yankovic - A521100
Author: MSL - U166666

I have taken it upon myself to update my "Weird Al" entry.

Hey MSL,

It's best to drop by A496451 - the Update Headquarters - who deal with entries that need a little tweak.

On this page, you'll find all the guidelines you need to submit this excellent piece to them for updating

Cheers for now

While you're heading there, I think you have some tenses mixed up or something on this line:

"In 1999, Al got laser eye surgery, and no longer needs his glasses."

As it doesn't read straight with me. The first piece seems to be past tense, the second present. "...and no longer needed his glasses." reads better - or maybe "...and dispensed with his trademark glasses." Something like that.

Just a thought...

I wonder if the biographical information ought to be at the top of the entry? I think that most entries are that way round - it just seems a bit isolated at the bottom.

Thanks for writing this - I had forgotten completely about UHF, and as someone said on the edited version, it is a great, great, great film. Weird Al is famous in the UK, in that people will recognise him, but he's not *big* here.

My Weird AL favourites:

"I know Darth Vader's got you annoyed
But remember if you kill him then you'll be unemployed..."
(Yoda)

"Spatula City!!!"
(UHF)

And I must track down his other star wars parodies!

Otto

I concur on the bio thing... only occurred to me to mention it after I'd already posted! Definitely should be slotted in at the top somewhere...

Maybe mention that "All About the Pentiums" spawned the creation of the alt.total-loser newsgroup.

Or maybe it isn't worth mentioning... the place looks like it isn't worth too much attention.

The article was not quite meant to be a chronological history of Al's life. It was meant to introduce the world to his talents.

I placed the bio at the bottom, because I figured all those details about his life were not important to most folks, at first. I wanted to establish all the different ways he is so awesome, first. (In other words, I wanted to prevent folks from thinking "Who cares about when he was born, what does he DO?!", when they first come into the article.)

However, I do think the whole mixing of tenses is an issue I ought to address. I am thinking the whole final paragraph does not quite flow as well, anymore.

-Mitch

I changed "and" to "so", in the glasses line.
Perhaps this is a good-enough correction?

"In 1999, Al got laser eye surgery, so he no longer needs the glasses."

I am also trying to think of a better way to build the final paragraph. Perhaps bullet points of each sentance would work.
What does everyone think?

"In 1999, Al got laser eye surgery, so he no longer needs the glasses."

Better, but for some reason I don't like the word 'got'. 'Received' sounds better to me, but it's your entry.

How about "had"?

"In 1999, Al had laser eye surgery, so he no longer needs the glasses."

Hello, great entry... But as it's a case for the update HQ, it should be removed from here (the author may press the Remove link from the PR threads-list). As far as the linguistic bagatelles are concerned, I think a sub-ed could get rid of them.

HELL

Yes, needs to go to Update HQ.

You start out by using quotes on "Weird Al" but then stop... I would say you should either use them once, and then never again, or you should use them consistently everywhere the words "Weird Al" appear.

The "currently working on a new album" bit should probably be deleted, as (once updated), this entry *will* quickly go out of date again.

Well, I removed the "currently working on a new album" bit. I put it in there, because it gave me an excuse to update the article now, and another excuse to update it, in the future. But, I see your point.

I use Weird Al in quotes when his name is next to Yankovic, and I leave out the quotes when it is not, like this:

'Weird Al' Yankovic is a comical singer...
vs.
Weird Al is a comical singer...

I did remove one instance where that was not the case (when talking about UHF). If you really don't like it like that, I guess I will change it, but that is how most people tend to write his name, as far as I have seen.

-Mitch

Hey Mitch - did you already think about removing this one from PR? It's definitely a case for the update HQ... And not for PR.

IF you're not sure how to remove it, I could arrange things so that it can be done for you.


HELL

Do you want me to remove it?

If it is removed from PR, how can Update HQ see this newer version? Are you just going to remove the conversation link, or the whole article? I would rather not have this whole, new version removed, until the Edited version is updated with its content.

I can assure you that the updated content is winging its way to the h2g2 Towers as we speak.

Excellent entry! Weird Al is too cool.

I do have one minor editing suggestion; in the last paragraph under Al's Real Forte, there is a comma after the word "although" that seems to cause an unnecessary break in the sentence.

Also, I have a tidbit of info about Al to share. A few years ago, Al came to my city to do a concert, and my brother had the unique privelage of hanging out with him backstage! Al was also interviewed by the local paper at the time. He said that the reason he took up the accordian when he was young was because his parents told him it would be a real "chick magnet!"

Cheers!

I thought his parents bought it from a door-to-door salesman.

I suspect that the *real* reason may never come out.

Chick magnet?

I've now replaced the old entry with the new version (and have taken out the stray comma).

So I'll take this thread out of PR now. Thanks for all your work on it everyone

(and have a good weekend)

Anna