I’m slowing morphing in to a social media whore to supplement my income, and I want to cash in. So far I’ve made $0.31. Not bad for four months but if I went viral I could triple that.
Random Thoughts...or...What's on Your Mind?
- Thread starter Sibyl
- Start date
You mean get one dollar?
It’s a start.
You are...sick.
Can the cat do tricks? Und you will have to go U-tube to go viral. Record, edit..record .edit....repeat....
And thus society becomes less and less literate, until they can no longer communicate with the (literally) written word. There are already people who can't read cursive.Yesterday I wrote down a few notes by hand on a piece of paper, but I am so unused to do that that I find my notes to be unreadable.
Why is that funny?It's hilarious when you're watching a show with the subtitles on, and somebody runs into the scene breathing heavily, and the subtitles say "PANTS."
Kor
People with long sleeves get fewer mosquito bites and have less chance of sunburn.
Do you feel a compulsion to contradict just about everything?
Well, mosquitoes leave me alone and my skin is practically unburnable. This summer I've spent hours and hours under the sun and I've never even felt the tingling sensation you get when you've got a little too much sun exposure that day. I guess that comes from spending a lot of time outside and also a mixed heritage... Hybrids are the best.
I resent that. I am literate in six languages. How about you?
@Discofan , you're doing it again. This is a discussion board, people are allowed to discuss and have differing viewpoints. Disagreeing with you is not a slight. Please stop making it personal.
That's great for you. Some people are not so lucky. For some people, sun exposure can be very dangerous.
No need to be resentful: she said society, not you personally. And her point is valid: at least in Canada, the younger generation can't read cursive, because the schools stopped teaching it years ago.
Again, please stop making things personal.
Listen I am sorry but tell me. When someone quotes my statement and uses it as an example of growing illiteracy, how can I not take that personally?
What should I have said? Yeah, you're right I am an illiterate for not being able to reread my own handwriting?
As I said, I am not used to taking notes, because I rarely need to, I have an excellent memory. In fact, in that case, I was able to guess the words (from memory) even if I couldn't read them plus I was exaggerating a little as a self-deprecating joke.
I mean if I can't make an unflattering joke about myself without someone basically calling me stupid...
I am a straight "A"s student, I have been that way from first grade to the end of my education. Doesn't that deserve a little respect?
People being unable to read cursive is rather shocking 
Even though I have an awful handwriting I do appreciate the beauty of some writing styles. I'm particularly fond of copperplate and the old German Kurrentschrift.
The different types of cursive are a cultural wealth and they are so much prettier than printed texts (though I have to admit that at work I use a 12 pt arial, due to it's optimal legibility).
random thought: there are such a lot of rather crazy phrases in English - "the bee's knee", "cutting the mustard" or "kicking the bucket". I wonder if English speaking people(s) are deliberately trying to drive us foreigners crazy or whether they just want to keep outsiders from understanding what's being said (like with Cockney rhyming slang)? At any rate some expressions are merely puzzling (Bob's your uncle) while others are quite disturbing (killing two birds with one stone).
Even though I have an awful handwriting I do appreciate the beauty of some writing styles. I'm particularly fond of copperplate and the old German Kurrentschrift.
The different types of cursive are a cultural wealth and they are so much prettier than printed texts (though I have to admit that at work I use a 12 pt arial, due to it's optimal legibility).
random thought: there are such a lot of rather crazy phrases in English - "the bee's knee", "cutting the mustard" or "kicking the bucket". I wonder if English speaking people(s) are deliberately trying to drive us foreigners crazy or whether they just want to keep outsiders from understanding what's being said (like with Cockney rhyming slang)? At any rate some expressions are merely puzzling (Bob's your uncle) while others are quite disturbing (killing two birds with one stone).
She used your statement as a springboard to her point about falling literacy in society at large. This isn't even some kind of fringe viewpoint: there are a lot of articles out there about how the decline of handwriting is affecting us as a society. She did not accuse you personally of being illiterate, so there is no need to take anything here personally.
She never claimed you were illiterate. As to what you could have said? Well, you could have agreed with the larger point, or you could have disagreed with the larger point: there are also a lot of articles out there saying that the concern about the fall of handwriting is overblown, and is not really an indicator of a decline in society at all. Or, you know, you could have just said nothing. There is no requirement to respond to every post out there that quotes something you said.
Nobody called you stupid, nor even implied it.
Beyond the fact that there's no way anyone here would be aware of your academic record, it's not really even relevant. We ask everyone to be respectful of other members. You are free to disagree and argue your own viewpoints, but you cannot attack another poster personally. ("Post, not poster.") I am not seeing an attack, or anything personal, in @Timewalker 's post. Your posts, however, were starting to get personal, which is why I said something.
I hope this clarifies things. If you wish to discuss further, it may be best to move to PM so as not to bog the thread down.
People being unable to read cursive is rather shocking
Even though I have an awful handwriting I do appreciate the beauty of some writing styles. I'm particularly fond of copperplate and the old German Kurrentschrift.
The different types of cursive are a cultural wealth and they are so much prettier than printed texts (though I have to admit that at work I use a 12 pt arial, due to it's optimal legibility).
random thought: there are such a lot of rather crazy phrases in English - "the bee's knee", "cutting the mustard" or "kicking the bucket". I wonder if English speaking people(s) are deliberately trying to drive us foreigners crazy or whether they just want to keep outsiders from understanding what's being said (like with Cockney rhyming slang)? At any rate some expressions are merely puzzling (Bob's your uncle) while others are quite disturbing (killing two birds with one stone).
"Killing two birds with one stone" is related to the French expression "Faire d'une pierre deux coups" "Make two hits with one stone." It may be a little grimmer than the French version but it's ok.
"Bob's your uncle" means you're all set and is probably related to having an uncle of influence or accomplishment. I am just guessing
"Bought The Farm" that you haven't listed refers to the soldiers who were talking of the farm they would buy once the war is over. It's an ironic statement.
"Kicking The Bucket" I may be wrong but I always picture someone hanging himself and kicking the bucket from under him.
"Cutting the mustard" IMO comes from "pass muster" which then has been distorted to "pass mustard" and distorted again to "cutting the mustard"
"The Bee's Knee" means small and is different from "The Bee's Knees" which means excellent. I don't know where that comes from.
I am sorry but maybe it's also the heat which is getting to me today. It's been around a hundred all day and being from up north initially (I moved a few months ago) I am not used to that kind of weather.
nope, to buy a farm means to fall in battle - it's a very small farm (size depending on the size of the 'buyer')
"[i forgot the name] is dead and [another name i forgot] bought the farm next to his. "
robert anson heinlein: starship troopers (they are buying a lot of farms in this one)
thanks for the explanations - some were new to me. But that's not quite what I meant. My point was perhaps a bit badly phrased. Let me try to explain:
Every language has some proverbial expressions that can't be translated literally since they refer to anecdotes, quotes or misquotes or sometimes are just verbal games.
But English seems to be especially rich in this particular type of proverbial phrases. Is the reason for that abundance a sort of national character trait, a mere consequence of the language being so rich or a matter of historical/cultural background? (admittedly #1 and #3 overlap considerably) Or is there a reason I overlooked? What causes the British/American particular faible for these proverbial expressions?
Every language has some proverbial expressions that can't be translated literally since they refer to anecdotes, quotes or misquotes or sometimes are just verbal games.
But English seems to be especially rich in this particular type of proverbial phrases. Is the reason for that abundance a sort of national character trait, a mere consequence of the language being so rich or a matter of historical/cultural background? (admittedly #1 and #3 overlap considerably) Or is there a reason I overlooked? What causes the British/American particular faible for these proverbial expressions?
Well, English is a language that is very rich indeed. It has many words, more than most languages, including French!! which is far from being bad in that area. It has a complex etymology, words from all origins, many languages. An armada of synonyms that you wouldn't believe. I think it's related to British history which is also very complex. The sun never sets on the British empire! Meaning they had colonies everywhere.
a bucket is (or better was) a frame to hang slaudered animals from or to carry stuff around like the ones you see on many pictures from the vietnam war
"swifter then he that gibbets on the brewers bucket"
^shakespeare used it in that sense in heny IV. the word is most likely derived from the french trébuchet. as to kick the bucket has no connotation to suicide i think that hanging themselves is most likely a false friend
to kick the bucket (away) in that sense could mean to no longer be forced to carry the yoke (of life)
"swifter then he that gibbets on the brewers bucket"
^shakespeare used it in that sense in heny IV. the word is most likely derived from the french trébuchet. as to kick the bucket has no connotation to suicide i think that hanging themselves is most likely a false friend
to kick the bucket (away) in that sense could mean to no longer be forced to carry the yoke (of life)
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I don't have an answer to your question (sorry), but I just thought I'd mention that I have heard it said on multiple occasions that our grammatical structure is pretty basic, and that, and our lack of assigning gender to nouns, overall makes English a very easy language to learn for non-native speakers... except for the fact that we employ idioms to an excessive degree, which is the main issue for people learning English as a second language.
exactly - and many native english speakers to not even bother to learn a foreign language as everybody else speaks it anyway
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