Band names

Sometimes it's easy: "The Beatles are my favorite band."
Sometimes it's not: "Arcade Fire are mine... IS mine?"
What do you think? Does a band's name refer to its members (plural), or to a unified collective (singular)?
I know, I know, you could argue it depends, but I need an answer:
Are you happier that REM are no longer together, or that REM is no longer together?

Naval & Navel

-al – relating to a navy, ships.
-el – bellybutton.

While we're at it, which do you prefer: "bellybutton" or "belly button"?

serial commas... again??

Why not? A friend of mine (and therefore a friend of yours) found this perfect explanation of why serial commas are important. AND it's done with an illustration. So I had to pass it along here.

Grate & Great

Grate – a gridlike screen, usually of metal. Also, the act of scraping roughly, either literally or metaphorically.
Great – large in number or size. Also, of good quality.

For the record, a pile of grated cheese could never be so great that it would stop being great.

Steal, Steel, Stele

Steal – to take without permission.
Steel – an alloy of iron. Also, to harden one's emotions in preparation for an unpleasant event.
Stele – a commemorative marker, usually taller than it is wide.

So, basically, if you steal the king's flowers, you might have to steel yourself for the possibility of having a sharp piece of steel separate your body from your head. But if it makes you feel any better, maybe someone will erect a stele to remember you by.

on the brink of economic collapse...

I simply have to ask: "Grecian" or "Greek"?

Passed & Past

I was tempted to draw Michael J. Fox driving past a younger version of himself in a Delorean, but I didn't want to cause the space-time continuum to collapse.