English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Mitch

00:20

The election for the supreme leader of the United Federation of Planets is being conducted via instantaneous communication

A coordinated ansible network transfers your thoughts to a central tabulator.

@Jasper Who_is_ the new UN leader?

Tonepoet

01:11

@JasperLoy The New Oxford American President!

user227867

04:13

I had a dream that someone rejected my edit.

Martin AJ

04:50

@terdon I see, thank you

user227867

05:53

I am very sad. It seems Trump is winning. With Brexit and now Trump, I think the world will collapse soon.

tchrist

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the original American science fiction television show, Star Trek. It was first broadcast January 10, 1969, on NBC and repeated August 12, 1969. It was written by Oliver Crawford, based on a story by Gene L. Coon (writing under his pen name "Lee Cronin") and directed by Jud Taylor. The script evolved from an outline by Barry Trivers for a possible first season episode called "A Portrait in Black and White". The script was accepted for the third season following budget cuts. The episode guest-stars Lou Antonio and...

user227867

I think his victory has to do with the prophecies shown on youtube, that God told people in their dreams Trump would win, and the many conservative Christians there.

user227867

I should have made a video that God told me that Clinton would win, but then nobody would watch it, as usual.

tchrist

Who shall be our Suetonius?

user227867

I prefer Sartorius, Jacob Sartorius, LOL.

tchrist

06:03

You shouldn't let this election drag you down to such a low point: the pot vote won, which means it will be a high point for many people instead.

user227867

It is very weird that when I set my browser font to small, sometimes 8 displays as 5. I am sure it is not my eyes that is the problem.

user227867

It is either a bug in the OS, a bug in the browser, or a bug in my eyes though.

user227867

Other than 8 becoming 5 sometimes, there is no other problem so far.

user227867

Anyway, Josh is set to overtake Barrie England soon.

Tonepoet

06:41

I never did get to overtake Majestic Knight on the Hunted to Extinction 2 leader-board for total experience points.

user227867

I just watched Great Expectations 2012, the one by BBC. It's very good.

Tonepoet

I think I might've heard about that from a friend recently.

user227867

The story is important to me, because I also have great expectations.

user227867

I read parts of the novel long ago, but not the whole thing yet.

user227867

If I were to read a novel from start to end, it would be this one first on my list.

user227867

06:50

I just ate two raw eggs.

user227867

I crack them into a mug, add soya sauce, and beat them with a spoon. Then I take small sips from the mug.

user227867

You should try it. It is delicious!

user227867

Of course, make sure the eggs are clean and fresh.

Tonepoet

@JasperLoy I've heard you should pasteurize the eggshells first because that's where salmonella is most likely to be.

user227867

@Tonepoet OK. I buy the eggs from the supermarket. Don't know if they are treated already or not.

user227867

06:55

I have eaten eggs raw, half-boiled, boiled, scrambled, and fried.

user227867

I have eaten salmon raw, smoked, boiled, and grilled.

Tonepoet

I usually just make omelettes.

user227867

With hot chocolate by the side.

user227867

One day, we can have omelettes and hot chocolate together, lol.

user227867

The value of the British pound went downhill after Brexit.

user227867

06:59

Perhaps the same will happen to the American dollar.

user227867

That means time to buy more books from Amazon, LOL.

tchrist

Alec Baldwin just got himself a much longer gig.

Tonepoet

I don't know about the U.S. dollar but the the peso has gone down as a result of this trend.

user227867

Time to go to Mexico.

user227867

Interesting thing about ODE and NOAD is that sense 2 and subsense 2.1 are reversed in the entry for youth @Tonepoet.

user227867

07:06

Is that just a UK vs US difference? Hmm, it is fishy.

Tonepoet

@JasperLoy I just sent you the sixth entry from the O.E.D. second edition, with all relevant quotations.

user227867

@Tonepoet By the way, you got free access to it? How?

user227867

@Tonepoet Looks like OED is more accurate than ODE. After all, the former includes more senses.

Tonepoet

I got a library card from somewhere that has a database access subscription.

user227867

I see. Maybe I should get the Shorter OED after all...

Tonepoet

07:15

I missed the opportunity to bid on a C.D. on ebay that had the O.E.D. second edition on it unfortunately. $10 would've been nice for a hardcopy, even if it's not a book.

Actuallly, scratch that. The Youth entry hasn't been updated since 1921 according to the O.E.D. online, so it's from the first edition actually...

user227867

Good enough for me.

user227867

I am going to take a nap. Good night @Tonepoet.

Tonepoet

G'night.

Tonepoet

07:48

Google says Donald Trump won the requisite electoral votes to become president if anybody's wondering.

Araucaria

09:02

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

.....

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message We Are Dead,

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

.....

Gone is our North, our South, our East and West,

Our working week and our Sunday rest,

Our noon, our midnight, our talk, our song;

I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

.....

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

user227867

09:41

@Tonepoet That just means that miracles do happen, which is good news for me, because I need them.

user227867

@Araucaria You may press shift+enter for line breaks instead.

terdon

10:25

@Araucaria Yeah. That about sums it up. Damn.

user227867

10:40

I think Trump's victory will only have a small effect on me.

user227867

So, it's not a thing for me to worry about.

Andrew Leach

@JasperLoy Depends where he deploys troops, I suppose.

He may decide to annex Antarctica.

terdon

11:45

@AndrewLeach On the bright side, the chances of his managing to find it on a map are slim.

user227867

11:58

Hello @RegDwigнt nice eagle you have.

RegDwigнt

trumpdonald.org

tchrist

First they came ...

"First they came ..." is a famous statement and provocative poem written by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis' rise to power and subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Many variations and adaptations in the spirit of the original have been published in the English language. It deals with themes of persecution, guilt and responsibility. == The text == The best-known versions of the speech are the poems that began circulating by the 1950s. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum quotes the following text...

Mitch

12:54

@AndrewLeach The maps say the US has already begun its imperial campaign there. Almost literally slices of the pie.

If McMurdo Bay falls, all hope is lost. On the bright side, literally, global warming should lead to better beach front property there.

Araucaria

@Mitch No, that's not how it's going to pan out:

nucleardarkness.org/warconsequences/hundredfiftytonessmoke

It's going to be very, very cold indeed ...

tchrist

> Looks like Obama will be firing FBI director Comey — just as soon as the President can line up the squad to do the deed.

Mitch

14:00

@Araucaria I was thinking quite the opposite

Here the UN pie slices are only suggestions for areas exposed by the ice cap melting. Actual geography comes into play.

One of our own, @JasperLoy has already made a substantive claim to the FRA (Free Republic of Antarctica), to which you can get provisional citizenship by paying him !,000 BC (bitcoin) via paypal. Comes with a passport (just send you drivers license photo) and a flashlight keychain with de-icer spray.

Andrew Leach

@Mitch Nah. "Tierra del Sur" will be British.

Mitch

14:44

@AndrewLeach Everybody knows from their history books that the bloodless "New South Cambrian War" ended with the transfer of sovereignty from Great England to Argentina in 2109. You must be referencing a pre-2100 political map.

user129412

17:42

A stupid question.. How do I write this sentence in a more elegant way? It somehow feels off to me. "My studies, and specifically my research project, have taught me much about how I would envision my future in biology." (It's about how doing research has taught me about if/how/in what direction I'd like to continue)

Færd

Why stupid?

I think you should replace much with a lot, a great deal, very much, or...

user129412

Hm, now that you mention it, I'm not sure why I wrote stupid. Simple is what I had in mind. That's a good idea though

Færd

> Be careful!

> In positive sentences, don't use much without very. Don't say, for example, 'I enjoyed it much' or 'We much agree' Say 'I enjoyed it very much' or 'We very much agree'.
> In negative sentences, you can use much without 'very'.

user129412

17:57

Aha!

Færd

And I don't feel comfortable about that would.

terdon

@Færd I don't think that's relevant here. The much isn't being used as an intensifier, but to mean "a lot". Things like Færd has taught me much about life are perfectly fine.

So *we much agree is wrong, but we agree about much is fine.

Færd

@user129412 ^

terdon

I agree about the would, though.

Færd

BTW, I don't think it makes much sense to say something has taught you how to envision your future. You learn things that help you to envision your future.

terdon

18:05

@user129412 why have they taught you much about how you would envision your future? First of all, they can't really teach you much about envisioning it, rather they have taught you much and so have changed the way you envision it.

@Færd Jinx!

Færd

Ha!

terdon

How about: "My studies, and specifically my research project, have greatly affected how I envision my future in biology."

user129412

That I like!

Færd

@terdon The positiveness of the effect is absent.

terdon

True.

"My studies, and specifically my research project, have helped me envision my future in biology."

user129412

18:07

Hm, but that does not sound very enthusiastic. I am not sure if it has to, as it is in a formal context, but I would still like to emphasize that I have learned a lot about where I want to go.

terdon

@user129412 Personally, I would switch it around and say something like "My studies, and specifically my research project, have convinced me that I want to continue in biology" or ". . . have convinced me that I have a future in biology.", or "fanned my interest in biology" or something like that.

And welcome aboard, by the way. I'm a biologist too :)

Færd

What is it called when singers deliberately strain their voice and make it crack to sound sad, stressful, or roary? Does that technique have a name?

user129412

@terdon Thank you!

terdon

:)

@Færd Not that I know of.

Færd

Was I clear about what I meant?

Never mind. It's straining and roaring.

And stressing and cracking. That's good enough for now.

@Araucaria Funny irony. We've been worried about global warming while it might be global cooling that's actually going to send us down to our doom.

Færd

18:34

> 7. used as a pronoun

> You can use much as a pronoun to refer to a large quantity or amount of something.

> There wasn't much to do.

> Much has been learned about how the brain works.

> Be Careful!

> You don't usually use 'much' as an object pronoun in positive sentences. Instead you use a lot. For example, don't say 'He knows much about butterflies'. Say 'He knows a lot about butterflies'.

@terdon While I do find "Færd has taught me much about life" acceptable (compared to *we much agree, at least), I think it clashes with the grammar note above.

To make it bare and clear, cut the about life: "Færd has taught me much". How does that feel?

(Apart from the fact that I don't know that much about life)

Færd

18:51

> In an informal style, we use much and many mostly in questions and negative clauses. In most affirmative clauses they are unusual (especially much); other words and expressions are used instead.

> How much money have you got? -I've got plenty. (NOT I've got much.)

> He's got lots of men friends, but he doesn't know many women. (More natural than He's got many men friends ... )

> Did you buy any clothes? -Yes, lots. (NOT Yes, many.)

> In a formal style, much and many are more common in affirmative clauses.

> Much has been written about unemployment. In the opinion of many economists, ...

(From Practical English Usage)

It's silent about using much as an object pronoun in affirmative clauses in formal style. Maybe it's OK according to that author then.

terdon

@Færd Less good, granted. Still acceptable though.

google.gr/…

Færd

Thanks for notifying me about that.

Færd

19:22

Oxford Dictionaries doesn't have 'whine'!

Robusto

20:09

@Tonepoet Electoral vote. Not popular. Shades of 2000 ...

Here's a song to celebrate the event:

Fall Of The American Empire-State Radio

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Bye-bye, democracy ... you were nice while you lasted.

Bye-bye clean air, clean water, fish in the sea, animals on the land, scientific inquiry, reason, reasonableness, and hello climate change, hello fascism, hello hopelessness. I just wonder who will get Reinhard Heydrich's job now.

Robusto

20:35

The Trouble with the Electoral College

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