Meta-Meta Nitpicky

Hooray to Mike Lynch of Mike Lynch Cartoons, a fun blog about, what else, cartoons! A week ago, Mike (Mike’s Dad) had found a rather stupid typo on a Pittsburgh Symphony advertisement. Instead of listing Joshua Bell as a violinist (who doesn’t know that, right?), they mistakenly label him a pianist. And as Mike hilariously points out, there’s a “tell” that somehow the advertising department missed:

The "tell" is that Joshua Bell is holding a violin.

Sweet. Hilarious, right? Not so fast.

Andrew Druckenbrod of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette happened upon Mike’s post and, well, he has a question. Actually it's more of a sneer.

And this was worth a blog post?

Lest you forgot, Andrew, you used space, posting space, if you will, on your blog, which is a blog that has posting space for trivial stuff that one can easily find on many blogs, which often have trivial things on them, in said posting spaces.

Come on, Mr. Lynch. I am sure you have never made any mistakes in your cartoon copy (actually, cartoonists are famous for doing that).

Fair enough. But then again, Mike never said he didn’t. He’s just humorously pointing out a “dopey” mistake—no derision involved, just humor, which is often funny.

If you know my writing here, I am far from an apologist for the PSO, but in my coverage of the institution and its performances, I always go by the philosophy that small errors don't concern me -- it's the big picture that counts.

Then again, Andrew, you’re getting paid to write about music. Mike, however, is not. He’s blogging about what interests him.

Typos interest me, too.

And in this case, I think we can cut the understaffed PSO marketing department a break, especially since the rest of the ad is well done.

Uh... you like the dopey slogan, “Feel the Chemistry?” Or the dopey slogan's silverish-tan letters written across Arabella Steinbacher's tan dress? Okay...

True (constructive) criticism...

Shit. Here comes the high and mighty...

True (constructive) criticism -- not self-serving nitpicking -- might point out that perhaps the PSO could stretch itself a bit for more bold moves in advertising.

Really? If you’re going to call Mike, who merely found the typo funny, a self-serving nitpicker, then let me ask you this: What is the only difference between your blog and Mike’s, Andrew?

But the world is hardly going to end because of this small mistake, and it is not as if mistakes don't occur everywhere...

I suggest Mr. Lynch pick on someone like Berkeley Breathed or Garfield...

This is lunacy. Either that or it’s overly-defensive. I can’t tell which. Are you suggesting that Mike should stick to what he knows, cartoons? He can’t find typos funny? He can’t post about them? On his blog? A freaking blog?!

I’ll ask again: What is the only difference between his blog and yours, Andrew? Give up? Your blog is affiliated with the Post-Gazette (and tons of their ads)! Do you think they want their name attached to your post? You know, the one criticizing a blogger for being nitpicky?

Is it worth a blog post?
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