Finnegans Fisted

Once upon a time, James Joyce wrote a book called:

Finnegans Wake

That's not:

Finnegan's Wake

But some blogger's get the title wrong! Which means they don't understand the book at all. This blog has two missions. One, educate the ignorant. Two, correct all such mistakes world wide. And three, anything else.

18.7.05

The Return of the Fist

When your city has been blown to smithereens, it gives you a new and deeper perspective on life and the importance of apostrophe's. Two weeks ago, for example, I might have told Matty, who spends his time upon this war-torn earth writing bitter whinings about celebrity photos, this:

"Matty, your profile lists one of your favourite books as Finnegan's Wake. However, that book doesn't exist. James Joyce in fact wrote a book called Finnegans Wake, you terrible fool. Please correct your error then jump in front of a bus."

Now my message is much more humane, and considered.

"Matty, I thank the fates and stars and gods that you are alive, and weren't blown to smithereens along with half of this war-torn world recently. For now you still have time upon this earth to do precious work. I mean, to correct the apostrophe you've added to Finnegans Wake in your profile. After that, may I suggest you tour London on the buses for a month or so, just to see see what happens?"

10 Comments:

At 7/18/2005 10:11:00 PM, Blogger sarah said...

how tactful of you dear fist.

 
At 7/19/2005 12:28:00 AM, Blogger SafeTinspector said...

Holy shit!
You have a great gift for understatement.






I know what I said.

 
At 7/19/2005 01:24:00 AM, Blogger {illyria} said...

that will be the nicest thing you ever did. not the transience brand of nice, but good enough. glad you're back.

 
At 7/20/2005 11:36:00 AM, Blogger hungbunny said...

There is always a place for pedantry, no matter how many people get blown up. So, am I correct in assuming that that rogue apostrophe in "blogger's" is ironic?

 
At 7/20/2005 12:13:00 PM, Blogger Fist said...

Yep. I make a number of such errors pretty much with each post, so that if I do ever make such a mistake genuinely, it just looks like another ironic in-joke.

I'm untouchable.

 
At 7/20/2005 07:24:00 PM, Blogger hungbunny said...

I've never finished Finnegans Wake, but I've read a guide to it. Apparently the title is hugely significant, as you'd expect. You know how Ulysses ends with the word "yes"? Well the key word in Finnegans Wake is "no":

Fin neg answa ke.

Fin(d) neg(ative) answa = ke(y).

Apparently.

 
At 7/20/2005 09:43:00 PM, Blogger Fist said...

Yeah. Finnegan also means everyman, and no-man also means Christ's empty cave, and Ulysses outside of the Cyclops's gaze, and wake up means no to the book of sleep, and, and, and, and all these and's makes me want to say an ecstatic yes to Nora Barnacle's molly bloom between her legs, and

 
At 7/21/2005 01:40:00 AM, Blogger SafeTinspector said...

Dolly Womb!

 
At 7/21/2005 07:24:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i read that guys profile and it irritated me.

i don't know if i could of found any tact-ish things from within to have written the second letter. bravo

 
At 8/02/2005 12:37:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the newer, gentler you? better not piss you off then hee

 

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