English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Mitch

17:00

Did anybody hear about the leap second?

Cerberus

Yes, it was over before I realized.

Mitch

hm..that sounded like the start of a joke for eight-year-olds.

Gigili

@Cerb: I really don't know. The guy in that room kept teasing me and I replied to his lines in a controllable way! Then the other one jumped in and said "she doesn't matter" and I replied again.

If you're suggesting to keep my mouth shut, I am not that sort of person.

Cerberus

@Gigili All right, well, I think people have noticed that you have been calling someone "fat" for the past few days.

Maybe it is just teasing to you, but...

Gigili

@Cerberus I was joking referring to his saying that he loves food and wine, and he said many other things which people might have noticed as well.

@Cerberus It's so unfair!

Cerberus

17:03

All right, well, I guess it didn't come across the way it was intended.

May I be completely honest?

Robusto

@Cerberus Is it possible to be incompletely honest? Isn't that what we call dishonest?

The aphorism isn't "Honesty is one of the better policies."

Cerberus

@Robusto Usually, we only let bits and pieces of honesty shine through.

simchona

@Gigili I don't have "friends" who help me gang up on other users. As far as I know.

Mitch

@Robusto It should be. I'm sure there are other very good policies that could work well with honesty.

Matt Эллен

yeah, like "Honesty and not murdering people are the better policies"

4

KitFox

17:17

Honesty with rum is the best policy.

Cerberus

@KitFox How about with scones?

KitFox

wishes for rum

Cerberus

Butter and jam, mmm...

KitFox

@Cerberus Rum and scones? Ick.

Cerberus

No, no, the rum is for later.

Matt Эллен

17:20

It's odd how murder isn't dishonest

Gigili

@simchona Did I say you have such friends?

KitFox

It's about the only honest thing.

grins evilly

I can't wait for the cake.

Matt Эллен

:D

yummy yummy cake

I bet GLaDOS makes scientifically the best cake

afk

simchona

@Gigili Sometimes I feel like there's a distinct attitude when I talk to you

Gigili

@simchona I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

Carlo_R.

17:29

Hello guy, please see my last picture question and the interesting answer it already had. There is a drift on the word "bastard". Great!

Cerberus

A drift?

And which guy do you mean?

I'm a dog.

Carlo_R.

drift=shift

guy=boy

Ohh guys

Matt Эллен

tudor=stuart

Carlo_R.

I'm a learner. Some error can occur

simchona

@Carlo_R We can see your new questions for ourselves--the RSS feed notifies everyone.

user19161

17:34

@Carlo_R We usually use guys in the plural in such greetings.

Carlo_R.

@simchona - How I active rss

simchona

@Carlo_R It's automatic. So no need to self-advertise

user19161

@Carlo_R We usually use errors in the plural in such constructions.

user19161

@Carlo_R You see it as a dropdown in chat on the top left corner.

Carlo_R.

@JasperLoy Good morning Jasper. I'm happy to hear from you. happy happy happy

simchona

17:36

May 11 at 12:54, by KitFox

No flirting in chat.

Carlo_R.

@simchona Jesus! I do not think to that.

simchona

@Carlo_R Huh?

Carlo_R.

on what I active the rss

Cerberus

@MattЭллен = von sachsen coburg

Carlo_R.

I use firefox

Cerberus

17:37

Or what is your royal house called again?

user19161

@Carlo_R Anyway, you need to do some basic research before posting your questions. Check your dictionaries and do some googling first. Well, I know sometimes it seems as if others are making fun of you, but just have a thicker skin and don't worry too much. I think you are improving rapidly so that is good.

Cerberus

Don't worry, ours is part German too.

simchona

@Carlo_R Your English is confusing me right now

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus Windsor?

Carlo_R.

@JasperLoy Thank you

Robusto

17:38

I think we need to institute a new policy for ELU chat: "You must be this tall to go on this ride." By "this tall" I mean language proficient and by "this ride" I mean the never-ending roller-coaster that is The Incomprehensible Room.

Carlo_R.

@simchona Sure, my English is not so good to talk in chat. Please, patience.

Matt Эллен

Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
House
House of Windsor

KitFox

@Robusto Shall we use the Basic Inventory of Natural Language (BINL)?

MetaEd

It's "The Incomprehensible Room". It obviously invites incomprehensibility. I fail to see the problem.

KitFox

Or maybe the Idea Proficiency Test (IPT)?

Matt Эллен

17:40

afk eating

Cerberus

> The House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (a branch of the House of Wettin) to the English Windsor

@MattЭллен I'm not using their silly modern name!

They are Germans!

Robusto

@KitFox I think the standard shall be "Can make and understand jokes in English."

4

KitFox

@Robusto That eliminates some of the native speakers...

Carlo_R.

@Cerberus As Marcus said, there is a shift in the meaning of "bastard". Bastard "tends to indicate someone who is unpleasant and antagonistic now". I think this is very interesting.

Cerberus

@Carlo_R Yes, well, a word with a specific negative connotation often turns into a general swear word.

Like "whore" or "fag".

Robusto

17:47

@KitFox I don't see the problem.

KitFox

I was considering that as well.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

►

The internet is complete now

Carlo_R.

@Gigili - I have just now noticed your new avatar. I like it. Good choice.

Cerberus

@Robusto But the standard for this room should also be "can make jokes in incomprehensible language x", or no stamp.

Robusto

@Cerberus We are incomprehensible enough without that.

Cerberus

17:50

@Robusto We, perhaps, but...

KitFox

@MrShinyandNew安宇 It is so much more tolerable that way.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox I KNOW! That was my first thought too

►

More circus afro

KitFox

HOly shit.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Haha, at first I thought that might be part of the original clip.

KitFox

I don't even know what song that is.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

17:53

In the old days people just made word jokes, because the internet was only good for words.

Then they started making image memes, like the David Caruso CSI sunglasses one.

Now it's frickin' video memes.

Up next: smell memes

KitFox

Speaking of smell memes, I just created a new one.

3

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox cool, let me remix it

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngh there we go

KitFox

Dude, you are hardcore.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Have they no consideration for people who are too lazy to click on videos?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus And what about the poor souls who don't have audio no their computer?

Cerberus

17:55

Exactly!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Oh, I forgot, those don't exist

Gigili

@Carlo_R I thought you saw it yesterday when you flagged my message. Thanks anyway.

Cerberus

Or who have black-and-white screens.

KitFox

Monochrome green!

Rufus Wainwright!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox I used to have one of those. Had a hell of a time trying to get it to work with Windows 3.1

KitFox

17:56

He is as wright as wain.

What the hell am I doing right now?

You people!

Cerberus

Yay monochrome green, that sounds fun.

KitFox

I wrote a program on my C64 to display randomly-sized, randomly-colored bars. One of the first programs I ever wrote. We had a monochrome green monitor though, so the effect was. Well. A little lackluster.

MetaEd

Amber is the new green.

user19161

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Wait, that looks like a Bieber.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy Half an hour later in Newfoundland....

Matt Эллен

18:08

►

cornbread ninja

@KitFox you lack lust / you're so lackluster

KitFox

That's all the strength that I can muster.

cornbread ninja

@KitFox :D

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

►

cornbread ninja

@Jasper don't berate me / it exasperates me

sorry (._.)

Robusto

18:18

bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18777671

cornbread ninja

@Robusto scoffs at article's picture the goog is scary though, f'reals

Cerberus

I have a question for parents.

cornbread ninja

@Cerberus is it 'why'? ;)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

KitFox

I'm a parent! I have ~~opinions~~ definitive answers!

MetaEd

18:25

I was parenting beta. The first kid always is.

Cerberus

What would you do if your mother-in-law went to look after your crying baby while she was staying with you, and she let it suckle her breast in order to soothe it?

MetaEd

That's why my sister is the one without the chicken pock scars.

Cerberus

Or him/her.

@MetaEd Haha high five!

cornbread ninja

@Cerberus my face just fell. exits discussion

Cerberus

Minus the scars.

@cornbreadninja That was easy.

MetaEd

18:27

I am unfraid of Google. I drink the Gool-aid.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Will that site stay in beta forever?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus like I know

cornbread ninja

@MetaEd unfrayed!

KitFox

@Cerberus I would show her where I kept the pacifiers and tell her that I didn't feel comfortable with her technique.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 You're supposed to say, yes.

@KitFox Okay, I think I might react the same way. What would you say to your husband?

OMG your mother is insane, or hmm look what she did, that was a bit odd.

Matt Эллен

18:28

KitFox

Um, well, I am trying to imagine my sleep-deprived reaction.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus I probably wouldn't know what to say. But it's a pretty far-out scenario. babies suck HARD on nipple-like things. It'd probably hurt her, unless she were actually lactating, in which case I would ask her to stop doing trying to feed the baby.

Matt Эллен

looks like a friend of @Vitaly ^^

Cerberus

@KitFox Yeah OK...your following-day reaction would also be interesting.

KitFox

I think I would probably laugh at his mother's weird behavior.

I'm not sure what he would think.

Cerberus

18:29

@KitFox OK, same here.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Probably somewhere in the middle. It's not really harmful, but it'd be frickin' odd.

KitFox

Except she just wouldn't do something like that.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 OK.

KitFox

I mean, a pinky would work just as well, probably even better since she wouldn't be lactating.

Cerberus

So I was reading this advice column, where the mother totally freaked out and wanted to call the police.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:30

@Cerberus wait, this is based on a true story?

KitFox

Well, if the MiL had a history of abuse, maybe.

But it is still a stretch to me.

I suppose I can see some women reacting that way.

Sleep-deprived, hormonal, already anxious about parenting, etc.

Cerberus

And Dear Prudence said that she shouldn't call the police, but that she was right to ask MIL to leave the house in the morning and have serious talk with her, telling her that should couldn't see the baby any more until she dealt with her "boundary issues" etc.

cornbread ninja

That's not a very nice thing to do to the baby, psychologically. Baby expects milk.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Yes.

MetaEd

@cornbreadninja That too.

Cerberus

18:32

@KitFox Agreed. But she mentioned no history.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox totally... sleep-deprived, stressed, hormones all crazy, postpartum depressions, poor per-existing relationship with MiL...

Cerberus

@KitFox OK, but she wrote to Dear Prudence later, asking "should I have called the police?".

KitFox

Also, maybe the MiL was at her wit's end trying to soothe a colicky baby.

So her DiL could have some rest.

Cerberus

Yes, probably.

MiL went up to soothe the baby while DiL stayed in bed.

cornbread ninja

At least she didn't shake it, or countless other terrible things.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:33

@Cerberus I don't know about THAT.... making her leave the house? boundary issues? let's not blow this out of proportion.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Exactly. I am glad you guys agree with me.

@cornbreadninja Nah, babies get pacifiers too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

There are lots of ways that this could be some sinister act on the part of the MiL to sabotage the DiL, or else it could be just a woman reacting to her maternal instincts in a "creative" way.

cornbread ninja

@Cerberus point taken

KitFox

@Cerberus Pacifiers are significantly different from nipples.

MetaEd

This would not even raise an eyebrow in many cultures, I suspect.

Cerberus

18:34

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Agreed: context and history count. But surely DiL would have mentioned those in her letter?

KitFox

@MetaEd I can't imagine it would be very effective.

Cerberus

@KitFox Okay, but it is still sucking?

@MetaEd Agreed.

KitFox

If a baby latches on and doesn't get milk, well, my boys would get even more pissed off.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus I can totally sympathize with the new parents saying "get out of the house" because let's face it, their decisions are not always ideal, rational decisions. But for a disinterested third-party to calmly suggest throwing the MiL out on her ass for trying to help? please.

MetaEd

@KitFox Not if the child was actually hungry, no.

Cerberus

18:35

I think MiL is a bit weird (it's still not her baby), but DiL is hysterical.

KitFox

Come on now. I wouldn't go that far.

She's a new parent. That makes everybody crazy.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Sympathize?

I think it is a bit crazy.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Yes, having a baby is extremely trying esp for the mother. The first 3 months can be seriously described as "hellish"

Cerberus

You don't tell an older person to leave the house unless she has done something terrible.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I still don't think that is an excuse.

KitFox

I don't think "hellish" is strong enough to describe the first three months.

Cerberus

18:37

In any case, then DiL should call MiL, apologize for over-reacting.

KitFox

Fuck that noise.

Cerberus

Hey, what's wrong with Hell?

KitFox

MiL should just leave it alone, and DiL should just forget about it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus I didn't say I would condone it or recommend it. I said I sympathized

Cerberus

OK.

KitFox

18:38

The baby is alive and well. She has more important things to think about.

Cerberus

Exactly.

Okay, now I can go on and read letter no. 2, thanks for your input!

Matt Эллен

lol

1:40 eating and chatting, 0:02 tidying. I'm not really doing too well...

Cerberus

Sounds like a good distribution?

Do fun stuff, skip unfun stuff.

KitFox

Well, how untidy can your flat possibly be?

It's got what, 3 rooms?

Matt Эллен

I'd skip unfun stuff if I didn't have an unexpected flat inspection on Thursday :(

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:43

Matt Эллен

@KitFox 5 rooms and the hall, but the spare room is a mess

@MrShinyandNew安宇 yeah, like that

Cerberus

@MattЭллен What, an inspection? By whom?

Matt Эллен

the front room isn't much better

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен Nobody expects the unexpected flat inspection

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus by the letting agent

Cerberus

18:43

@MrShinyandNew安宇 How did you get into my house??

@MattЭллен Is that legal?

It isn't here.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus I know a guy who knows your landlord

KitFox

@MrShinyandNew安宇 OMG I slept with that guy!

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Nooo I don't want to rent from you and your cronies!

KitFox

It's like we're cousins!

Cerberus

Ahh that's where you got your pretty house.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:44

@Cerberus He isn't my crony, per se.

But I bribed him with those photos you sent me

KitFox

My house isn't pretty. And we own it.

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Spare me the details of what you did or did not do together.

@KitFox Oh, details...

But it does look nice.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus yeah, they did give me a week's notice, I just didn't check my email

KitFox

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Oh God, that makes me feel incredibly anxious.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:46

@Matt, found your bike

it's underneath the other bike

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 This has happened to me in the past. Except that I had only 1 room then, so it is venial, right?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus um.....

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Here, they would have to ask you and you would have to agree on a day and time.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Not in my house it isn't :)

@Cerberus what if you just never agree?

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Regular boy's room.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:48

Here they have to give something like 48 hours notice

@Cerberus Not my room

Cerberus

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Then landlord will have to go to court.

KitFox

Oh God, Geezis, these pictures are awful.

Cerberus

I believe.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus seriously!? wow

Cerberus

Unless there is some pressing reason.

Like an emergency, gas leak.

Matt Эллен

18:48

@MrShinyandNew安宇 oh shit! that's where it's been! I must have been riding someone else's all this time

Cerberus

Renters are extremely protected here, sometimes a bit too much, even.

I say this as a dog who rents his doghouse.

Do you guys want a live picture of the mess in my house?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus sure

Cerberus

I'm not tidying up for you.

cornbread ninja

@Cerberus yes please

Matt Эллен

go for it!

cornbread ninja

18:51

I will judge not.

KitFox

Oh my lord, will this person please leash their child?

There is a young kid hollering in the hallway.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Just run out and start breastfeeding the child

as an experiment

do it for the science!

cornbread ninja

!!!

Cerberus

Hahaha.

Yes!

Matt Эллен

lol

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

18:54

@cornbreadninja did you miss our earlier conversation? :)

cornbread ninja

@MrShinyandNew安宇 no! that was my way of laughing :D

KitFox

YES! FOR SCIENCE!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@cornbreadninja ah :)

KitFox

runs into hallway

cornbread ninja

@KitFox I will kiss the girl from Venus / for science

KitFox

18:55

You are so brave.

Oh. AFK.

Cerberus

Arg, it says my SIM card is missing.

So the picture will be a few minutes.

cornbread ninja

@KitFox let's get those missiles ready to destroy the universe!

I had that as my windows startup sound for a while

Cerberus

> A new survey of 500 senior Wall Street executives found that 24% said that unethical or illegal behavior was not only acceptable, but even necessary in order to achieve success in their business.

newser.com/story/149829/…

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…