Screaming Penguin

There is plenty of inauguration coverage around, and I for one am very proud that Obama was elected, I think he will make an excellent president. That said, the media needs a damn thrashing, it's NOT "AN HISTORIC" day. It's "A HISTORIC" day. I have heard "an historical," "an historic," and even shit with another word in between sticking to the erroneous "an," like "an truly historic" day. I hear this same error from every media source I see (network TV, CNN, PBS, etc). Nonsense, we don't need to add absurd pomposity, media clowns. The way the English language works in this regard is you use an before vowel SOUNDS - the key is sounds. Whether or not the word starts with a vowel, if it sounds as though it does, then an proceeds it. Examples: an albatross, an elephant, an ostrich, an honorable mention, an honest victory, and that will take about an hour - and so on. Words that DON'T sound like they start with a vowel, where the starting letter is not silent, like "historic" (unless you are pronouncing it like a boob - "istoric") are not proceeded by an, just lowly, plain, simple, a. Don't believe me, because you keep hearing "an" everywhere too? Look it up: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/anhistoric.html http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w005.html