#Punctuation

     Although this week's reading was minimal, Solomon's discussion of the importance of punctuation and font ties in a lot of themes from the previous readings--as I'm sure it is meant to.  In my last blog post, I wondered why Times New Roman somehow became the standard font across multiple platform in and outside the walls of academia.  While Solomon didn't exactly answer this question for me, he did reassure to me the fact font, as well as punctuation, have their purpose within printed composition.  Being able to write and type for so many years now, it was interesting to read about the utilities of such basic symbols we use every time we pick up a pen or get on Microsoft Word.  The main point of Solomon's article came with his closing assertion, "[w]hether prominent or subtle, punctuation marks are the heartbeat of typography, moving words along in proper timing and with proper emphasis" (289).  When we compose certain texts, we want to be able to set the pace and have some sense of control over how the content is to be perceived.  Every author has his or her individual style that elucidates this fact, often setting them apart from comparable writers.  For instance, when I write a paper for a class, or even short responses, I like to use dashes to include additional thoughts complimentary to the main subject of the sentence.  The reason I rarely use the dash in blogger is because I can't figure out how to do it.  Word does it automatically for me, where most online forums do not.  And why is it automatic on Word and nowhere else?  Who is making these decisions?  It's actually quite maddening.  I've never been a fan of using commas in this instance, because it just doesn't feel like the point is really being driven home.  I also can't stand using semi-colons.  They're ugly to me on page and screen.  This may seem ridiculous to every other person in this class, but this is the preference and stylistic deviation I am talking about.  We all have them, even though we probably never think about it.  I feel like Solomon's article starts many discussions of similar grandeur.  They might not seem so essential, but have the ability to educate the author and reader on the role of punctuation and about what makes his or her voices unique in such a broad field.

     Surfing the web, I found an article in regard to the history of some of our most famous punctuation marks.  It's interesting to see the development of these symbols from their origins to how they are being used now.  I really liked the part about the pound sign or hash tag (#).  Who knew the internationally recognized symbol for Twitter used to designate a pound weight in ancient Rome?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/09/origins-of-hashtag-manicule-diple-pilcrow-ampersand-explained.html