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The Corrections

Taddle Creek strives for perfection. But sometimes even Taddle Creek makes errors. And regrets them. Taddle Creek regrets the following errors.

The debut edition of Brian Francis’s cooking column, The Kitch, in Taddle Creek No. 41, incorrectly directed baking the recipe Devilled Eggs and Asparagus in Casserole at three hundred and fifty degrees Celsius for twenty minutes. This will, in fact, result in a charred mess, and not the delicious summertime treat Brian intended. The correct temperature is three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Taddle Creek takes full blame for this mistake, with no good excuse other than to say the magazine is new to this whole cooking thing. Taddle Creek regrets the error and any pool parties it may have ruined.

On the contents page to Taddle Creek No. 40, the author Michael Christie’s first name is spelled as “Michel.” Technically, this isn’t incorrect, simply French, but Michael/Michel was so excited about being the subject of a Taddle Creek correction that the magazine hated to disappoint him. Taddle Creek regrets its use of language.

In “Elements of Style,” a look at three new reference works, by Conan Tobias, from Taddle Creek No. 40, an error both ironic and embarrassing occurs in the first instance of the title A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, in which the title’s final word is misspelled “Principals.” Obviously the editor needs to take his own advice and always be sure to check proper names letter by letter. Taddle Creek regrets the twentieth-anniversary error.

In Eleri Harris’s comic “Hell’s Bells,” which appeared in Taddle Creek No. 36, John A. Macdonald’s name was misspelled in its final instance, on the comic’s third page, as was the name of the location Rogers Pass. Also, the final panel should state “Canada is still a country 130 years later,” not “127 years later.” Eleri corrected these errors before press time, at Taddle Creek’s request, but due to a production error, the corrected page did not make it into the issue. It has since been substituted on Taddle Creek’s Web site. Taddle Creek regrets the errors.

In the short story “Salt,” by Dani Couture, in No. 30, a flashback scene details the character Lev’s receiving results of an M.R.I. in February, 1975. Though invented years earlier, the first magnetic resonance imaging scan was not performed on a human until 1977, a fact brought to the magazine’s attention by Bret Dawson, a Taddle Creek Twitter follower who is fast becoming a corrections page regular. So used to the existence of M.R.I. machines is Taddle Creek that it honestly did not even think to check this fact, placing the magazine in error and, thus, also in regret.

The summer, 2012, corrections column called out Tim Davin for stating falsely in his contributor biography that his wife does not listen to the radio. Tim has since informed the magazine that such a slur was never his intention, and the error was simply that of a misplaced comma on his part, appearing originally after the word “sons.” Tim’s bio in the Christmas, 2011, issue should have read, “He lives with his wife, and two sons who don’t listen to the radio.” Taddle Creek now anxiously awaits word from Tim’s children. In the meantime, it regrets the error.

A number of errors appeared in the People Around Here strip “Sad Music,” by Dave Lapp, in the Christmas, 2011, issue. The Jack O’Halloran Singers were credited with singing “Little Drummer Boy.” Jack Halloran was in fact the leader of that particular group, not the actor who played Non in Superman and Superman II. Henryk Górecki’s noted symphony was listed as No. 8. It is No. 3. Patti Schmidt, the former host of CBC Radio’s Brave New Waves, was name-checked as “Patty.” And while Taddle Creek is at it, Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet in D Major could have been better qualified with a “No. 1,” some more “rum”s and “pum”s could have been used between the “puh”s in the lyrics to “Little Drummer Boy,” both Górecki’s and Pärt’s names should have included accents, and another “Just in you” should have appeared before the final “Just believe in you” in the lyrics to “Valentine Heart.” Finally, “pizzicato” was misspelled. Dave’s strip came in very late and in a fit of unusualness, Taddle Creek did not fact-check it. The magazine takes full blame. Thanks to the Taddle Creek reader and frequent mistake finder Tim Davin for pointing out the Górecki mistake. For his efforts, Tim will receive yet another extension to his subscription. Taddle Creek regrets the errors.

The biography of the contributor Tim Davin, in the Christmas, 2011, issue, stated that his wife does not listen to the radio. Upon reading this, Tim’s better half reached out to inform Taddle Creek that her husband’s statement was simply not true. Taddle Creek took Tim at his word. Obviously that was a mistake. The magazine will be docking him one year off the many free subscriptions he has racked up pointing out errors in its pages. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the essay “Peeling Back the Layers,” by Alfred Holden, in the summer, 2011, issue, Paul Martel was referred to as a landscape architect. He is an unmodified architect in private practice. Taddle Creek felt it had checked this fact with Mr. Martel, but apparently some wires got crossed. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The editor-in-chief Conan Tobias’s on-line biographical note long stated his one-time association with the Acta Victoriana literary magazine, “the oldest magazine still publishing in Canada.” This “fact” was derived from a discussion among several industry veterans who couldn’t name a then-current magazine founded before 1878, the year of the Acta’s founding. In early 2011, tweeter Bret Dawson drew to Taddle Creek’s attention that the United Church Observer was founded in 1829, making it older than the Acta by a fact-breaking forty-nine years. Taddle Creek E-regrets the error.

In the Gallery article “Tragic Hero,” in the summer, 2010, issue, a photo caption written by Conan Tobias stated that the roof of the Saint John City Market resembles the inverted keel of a ship. Although that is the locally accepted lore, apparently there is some controversy surrounding this theory, depending on how one defines “resembles.” Reportedly the work of unemployed ship engineers, the roof is indeed flat and, to an expert, most likely does not look that much like a ship’s keel. To others, it may. Taddle Creek regrets the uncertainty.

Along with several instances of improper capitalization, the story “Trinity,” by Michael Cho, in the summer, 2009, issue, contained a few factual errors. The population of Los Alamos is given as six thousand scientists and staff. This number also should include families of those scientists and staff. Leslie Groves’ title at the time of the Manhattan Project was “Brigadier General.” Groves also was one of many who built the Pentagon, and should not have received sole credit. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s love of sixteenth-century poetry should have been qualified as French poetry. And the Jornada del Puerto was misspelled. Taddle Creek caught these errors before press and pointed them out to Mike, but he refused to make the changes. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The small type in the fake ad “Be an Artist,” by Michael Cho, in the summer, 2009, issue, read, in part, “No guarantees, express or implied are made with this offer.” The correct wording is, “No guarantees, expressed or implied, are made with this offer.” Taddle Creek caught this error before press and pointed it out to Mike, but he refused to make the change. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The magazine’s Halloween, 2008, editorial stated that Original Foods was the only company in Canada still manufacturing molasses kisses. A loyal reader presented Taddle Creek with a bag of Kerr’s kisses shortly thereafter, proving otherwise. Taddle Creek took the word of an Original representative while fact-checking and obviously should have dug further. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the Gallery article “The Art of Sport,” by Conan Tobias, in the Christmas, 2006, issue, the cartoonist Lou Skuce’s overhead-projector invention was referred to as a “Cartoonoscope.” It properly is called a “Cartoonograph.” Taddle Creek came across both spellings during the fact-checking process and, with only secondary sources at its disposal, opted for the former. It opted wrong. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the profile of the artist Sonja Ahlers, “Bunny Heads and Stranger Things,” by Rachel Pulfer, in the Christmas, 2006, issue, Ms. Ahlers was quoted making reference to a “heart” mural. It is in fact a “Heart” mural. When Taddle Creek fact-checked the article and asked Ms. Ahlers if she had indeed made a “heart” mural, she assumed the magazine was referring correctly to the band Heart, and not (incorrectly) to the internal organ, and said yes. It was Taddle Creek’s fault for not assuming someone would ever make a mural with Heart as its focus. It knows better now. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The magazine’s summer, 2006, editorial referred incorrectly to The Taddle Creek Guidebook to Fact-Checking Fiction as The Taddle Creek Guidebook to Fact-checking Fiction. Taddle Creek must have been ill when it let such an egregious hyphenation/capitalization error slip by. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The photograph of the urban guru Jane Jacobs, by Phillip Smith, in the Christmas, 2004, issue, really looked like crap when it was printed, even though the original photo was perfectly clear. (A much better, albeit smaller, version of the photo can be found in the summer, 2006, issue.) Taddle Creek takes equal blame along with the printer for this technical mishap. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The photograph of a small stuffed dog accompanying the story on how much the Japanese love Ian Phillips—“Big in Japan,” by Conan Tobias, in the Christmas, 2003, issue—had a line through it. It shouldn’t have. It was the printer’s fault. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The first paragraph of Taddle Creek Recommends in the summer, 2003, issue, was printed in the wrong font. Taddle Creek thinks it made a cut-and-paste error from an earlier template that went unnoticed. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

Page 24 of the summer, 2003, issue was printed off-centre. The copy should be slightly higher and to the right. It was the printer’s fault. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the most ironic of errors, the title of “Proofreader” was spelled as “Proof Reader” from the summer, 2003, issue through to the Christmas, 2005, issue, even though the magazine’s style is the former. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The photograph of the cartoonist Joe Matt, by Phillip Smith, in the Christmas, 2002, issue, really looked like crap when it was printed, even though the original photo was perfectly clear. Taddle Creek takes equal blame along with the printer for this technical mishap. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The photograph of the cover star Ken Tobias on the Christmas, 2002, issue was credited to Ian MacEachern and Gordon Anderson. Mr. MacEachern deserves sole credit. The stamp on the back of the original print credited both gentlemen. Taddle Creek has met Mr. MacEachern since and learned that his was the only finger on the shutter. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The cover of the summer, 2001, issue was printed with a matte finish. It should be a smooth gloss. It was the printer’s fault. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the Gallery article “Art Waiting to Happen,” by Conan Tobias, in the Christmas, 2000, issue, the subject of Greg Holman’s photograph at the top of page 43 was identified as Telford Fenton. It is not. The subject is unidentified. The magazine has no good excuse for this. It was simple sloppiness. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In Alfred Holden’s profile of the composer Percy Faith, “The Streamlined Man,” originally published in Taddle Creek No. 4, the author states, “Midway through the show, while directing the orchestra from the piano, playing his million-seller hit ‘Theme from A Summer Place’—written by veteran Hollywood composer Max Steiner and arranged by Faith for the 1959 movie—Faith turns to the camera and shrugs.” Although Faith’s version of this song is the aforementioned million-selling hit, Hugo Winterhalter’s version of Steiner’s song is the one that actually appears in the film. Alfred admits to having made an assumption—the fact checker’s greatest enemy—and both he and the magazine regret the error. In that same profile, the author states, “When Faith died of cancer in Los Angeles on February 9, 1976 (too many of his Columbia album covers showed him smoking while in the studio), the Toronto Star’s Dennis Braithwaite would write, ‘an exploiter rather than a creator, Percy Faith can’t be said to have advanced the popular music of his time.’” Although Alfred does not implicitly state Faith died of lung cancer, it was implied. The reader and Faith aficionado Bill Halvorsen wrote in to let Taddle Creek know this was not the case. What type of cancer Faith died from remains a mystery, but readers should not make the same assumption the magazine did. Taddle Creek regrets the vagueness and the cigarettes.

In Andrew Loung’s biography in the Christmas, 1999, issue, the name of the journal Ça Met Égal was spelled without accents. Taddle Creek could not find a copy of or contact information for this obscure journal in those days of information superhighway infancy, so it asked Andrew if he was really, really, sure of the spelling, and to please look at a copy to be super-extra sure. He swore there were no accents. The twenty-first-century Web calls you a liar, Mr. Loung! Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The cover of the Christmas, 1999, issue looked like it was printed in black and white. It is actually a blue duotone. It was supposed to be printed with a deep blue, much like the summer, 2002, issue, but came out so light as to appear to contain no colour at all. It was a printing error, but the magazine takes blame for this one. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The first three issues of Taddle Creek—Christmas, 1997, 1998, and 1999—were not very good. There’s some great stuff in them, but the issues are pretty sloppy in general. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

Page 36 of the Christmas, 1998, issue was printed off centre. The copy should be slightly to the right. It was the printer’s fault. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The contents of the Christmas, 1998, issue identified the cover star as Francis Tobias. It is not. There was a long discussion between those in the know about this person’s identity, and opinion was somewhat divided. The magazine is now satisfied that the information provided originally is incorrect. The cover star is apparently a very close (now deceased) friend of those in-the-know people, so close, apparently, that no one remembers his name. He is likely also the unidentified cover star of the Christmas, 2000, issue. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The Christmas, 1997, and Christmas, 1998, issues were not fact-checked in any kind of trustworthy way. They should have been. Taddle Creek wasn’t yet at the top of its game. Readers are cautioned not to believe a word in these issues without proper verification. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the short story “The Silk Tie,” by Caitlin Smith, from Taddle Creek No. 1, a few proper names, including Living Language, Johnnie Ray, McGillivray, and Tensor, were slightly misspelled. A few of the French words and names were a bit off, too. The magazine had not yet begun to fact check. Taddle Creek regrets the errors, especially Johnnie Ray.

In “The Mugging of Mrs. Melaney,” by Keneth Doiron, from Taddle Creek No. 1, Lenox Hill Hospital originally was misspelled “Lennox.” The magazine was not fact checking at the time. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

In the short story “The Headache,” by Michael Boughn, in the Christmas, 1997, issue, the lyrics to the song “I Can See Clearly Now” were a bit off. Also, the song was originally credited to Jimmy Cliff. Though Cliff did sing a popular version of this song, given the timeframe of Michael’s story, the version in question would have been sung by Johnny Nash. Mao Tse-tung’s name also was missing a hyphen. Taddle Creek wasn’t really fact checking back then. It regrets this, and the errors.

In the essay “The Forgotten Stream,” by Alfred Holden, in the Christmas, 1997, issue, “courtesy” was spelled as “courtsey” in the photo credit on page 3. It was a typo. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The cover photo of the Christmas, 1997, issue was dated circa 1962. It is circa 1958. The magazine made an educated guess and since has realized it was wrong. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The spot colour on the cover of the Christmas, 1997, issue came out a pinkish orange. It should be a bright red, like the Christmas, 1998, issue. The magazine told the printer what colour it wanted, but the printer didn’t oblige. Taddle Creek regrets the error.

The cover of Christmas, 1997, issue—the magazine’s first—contained cover lines. It should not have. The magazine caved to peer pressure and bad advice and never made the mistake again. Taddle Creek regrets the error every single day.

The Christmas, 1997, issue—the magazine’s first—was eight-and-a-half inches wide by eleven inches high. It should be eight inches wide by ten-and-three-quarter inches high, just like all the rest. The magazine knew better, but somehow, inexplicably, it still happened. Chalk it up to gross stupidity. Taddle Creek regrets the error.