Well I usually love most of this app and it has a lot of glorious and wonderful and beautiful and magical things in it, but the writers just…well, sometimes they just don’t use proper grammar. They sometimes can’t make a subject agree with a verb. I know I’m getting picky here, but one glaring bad grammar mistake just ruins the rest of a beautiful story for me. For example: “They ascend up the mountain.” You don’t need “up” in that sentence, it’s redundant. “They ascend the mountain” will do. Stephen Fry, who I love and adore, even read a couple of mistakes in the lavender story “Blue Gold” by Phoebe Smith, and I’m amazed he didn’t catch them. “But for many, simply strolling the fields can in themselves offer a kind of spiritual as well as physical journey” should read “But for many, simply strolling the fields can in itself offer a kind of spiritual as well as physical journey.” (“Strolling” is the subject there, and not “fields.”) One more: “a whole network of vibrant fields open out before you” should be “a whole network of vibrant fields opens out before you,” as the subject is “network” here, and not “fields.” Phoebe Smith’s otherwise perfectly beautiful story is marred by these slight grammatical oversights…and Stephen’s magical voice traps them on the recording forever…his musical intonations and Phoebe’s general use of language are otherwise beautiful and impeccable, with depth and expression that are absolutely unmatched. If I didn’t love this story so much I wouldn’t say anything…we all have room to improve, and certainly I myself could use vast improvements in just about everything…but when you love and listen to these stories as much as I do, (and they are really helpful to me besides), you want them to be as perfect as possible. I’m sure everyone at Calm wants that, too.The worst example of grammar on the Calm app is Tamara Levitt’s frequent use of “as best as you can.” It’s either “as best you can” or “as well as you can” but NEVER “as best as you can.” Now all that to say, I love the amazing work Tamara brings to the table and her wonderful vast knowledge of many spiritual and useful subjects. I love her writing, and her magnificent spiritual presence on the recordings. She is a wonderful person. But for her to be using that phrase wrong just makes her sound like she wasn’t paying attention in class that day. Tamara! I love you! Please don’t say “as best as you can”! I want you to sound 100 percent like the star that you are! Oh, and by the way, never use “equally as.” It’s redundant also. Use equally or as but not both and never right next to each other. “Equally good” or “as good” and you’ve done enough; never use both.I could go on. I know I’m frightfully picky, but I LOVE this app and I love the sleep stories SO much, and I want them to shine in their magnificence like finely cut diamonds or Fabergé eggs. The occasional (and again, these are rare but they do happen and I notice them) glaring error could be resolved by a good proofreader. A second pair of eyes on your written work after the final draft is done is invaluable. (Note: a pair IS invaluable; that demonstrates the subject agreeing with the verb, right there. The verb does not need to agree with “eyes” in “of eyes” because “eyes” is not the subject.)All that to say…I’m still giving this app five stars because I love it so much. Best seventy dollars a year I ever spent. I love Eric Braa’s voice too (the Halloween story is one of my favorites) and also I love the voices of Nimmy March, Alan Sklar, Eduardo Ballerini, and Emiko Susilo, just to name a few and along with so many others. I think I’ve listened to the Moss Temple story about a trillion times; it never gets old. I love the Calm app. Maybe I just expect a little more from all of you because you are such shining lights, each and every one of you. Hence my complaints about the grammar. Keep doing the wonderful work and thanks to all, and a special thank-you to Jeff Warren for bringing me to meditation. Again, many thanks to you all for bringing more peace into the world.
