English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

KitFox

1:00 PM

@Fx How very American.

Robusto

@Fx "Around the world" is a service you can get from a prostitute in Las Vegas. Maybe that's what he meant.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@KitFox well that's the whole idea behind Vegas.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto are you on a raft with a chicken?

Robusto

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Does a bucket of KFC count?

F'x

@KitFox but then, it has advantages: every bar when went to, we got a free round of drinks because he knew all the waitresses :)

user19161

1:00 PM

-3

Q: 'Connoisseur' for music?

Can one claim to be a connoisseur of a given genre of music? If not, what would be the equivalent word or expression to convey that one is knowledgeable in a given type of music. For example: I am a connoisseur of 80s pop music.

word-choice

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto Sure, I'll allow it.

user19161

GR

Matt Эллен

Grrrrrr indeed

F'x

@Robusto let me guess... hum, wait, no, I don't wanna guess!

@JasperLoy a more interesting question would be: can you really apply to everything?

Matt Эллен

@Robusto and here was I thinking it was just a yoyo trick

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:02 PM

0

A: Word like "serendipity" but with less emphasis on fortune or development of events

Syncrhonicity is the word you're looking for.

Luls.

F'x

would you say "I'm a connoisseur of hardcore porn"?

Robusto

@MattЭллен No belittling yoyos in chat.

user19161

@Fx Ah yes. I said it was GR because I checked my favourite dictionary and music is clearly listed there.

Matt Эллен

@Fx nah, I only dabble

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Fx Why would I need to say that? Everyone knows that.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:03 PM

@MattЭллен Yeah but think of what they can DO with the yo-yo

F'x

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 or I'm a connoisseur of r'n'b

Matt Эллен

(0_0)

Robusto

@Fx Yes. The exact translation into English would be: "I'm an adult male and I use the Internet."

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Robusto Huhuh, you said use, huhuh.

F'x

@Robusto how very sexist of you!

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 in Soviet Russia, the internet uses you?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:04 PM

@Robusto But would that make you a connoisseur? Or just a fan?

Robusto

Whoa, jump back, de bot' a yaz.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Fx So now we are sexist simply for being males?

user19161

@Fx I often wonder what women like to look at.

David Wallace

@Fx That depends. Are you?

@JasperLoy Perhaps one of the women in the room would like to comment?

Robusto

@JasperLoy Faces. And the clothes on other women.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:05 PM

Chicken on a raft on a Monday morning,
Oh, what a terrible sight to see,
The dabtoes forrard and the dustmen aft,
Sittin' there a'pickin' at a chicken on a raft!

F'x

@JasperLoy well, I have a friend who happens to think that women-targetted porn is of much-higher quality and more enjoyable

JSBᾶngs

@Fx there exists women-targetted porn?

Matt Эллен

yes!

F'x

@JSBᾶngs sure

David Wallace

@Fx Yes, it's a friend who has this opinion.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:06 PM

@JSBᾶngs yeah

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@DavidWallace mm-hm.

F'x

@JSBᾶngs supply and demand :)

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace that was his point.

F'x

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 I'm glad everyone took good note of that, wouldn't want people to think badly of my morals

JSBᾶngs

@Fx this suggests that the supply of lady porn is low (since the demand is also low. lower.)

David Wallace

1:07 PM

So what's the difference between man-targetted porn and woman-targetted porn?

Matt Эллен

It's good to know about your friends' interests. this way you know what to get them for xmas

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@JSBᾶngs except women-targeted porn is really boring because, and I'm actually quoting a director of women-targeted porn and a woman, "women don't really know what they want".

F'x

@JSBᾶngs even if it's 0.1% of total quantity, does that make it a small quantity? I wouldn't think so

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 men can't make their mind either; you're in or you're out, buddy, but make a choice for yourself!

JSBᾶngs

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 good to know. i'll keep that in mind.

David Wallace

I'm sure that different women have different tastes. There are bound to be all sorts of sub-genres of woman-targetted porn.

Matt Эллен

1:09 PM

@Fx I think I've made up my mind

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace woman-targeted porn is about women's fantasies.

JSBᾶngs

i only know one woman who openly admits to buying porn, and she did it for somewhat unusual ideological reasons

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 You don't say!

F'x

@JSBᾶngs what is the "usual ideological reason" for buying porn?!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Fx If you need to ask, you're not old enough to look at it.

Robusto

1:10 PM

I read an article that claimed 79% of the Internet porn was downloaded by men and I thought, "Only 79%? Must be a faulty study."

JSBᾶngs

@MrShinyandNew安宇 ha ha ha ha ha

F'x

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I should have stressed ideological cause that's the one that seems weird to me

JSBᾶngs

@Robusto the other 21% is downloaded by children

David Wallace

@Robusto Haven't you said that before?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Robusto the other 21% were pirates.

David Wallace

1:10 PM

21% is never downloaded?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> You have been on a raft with a chicken for 6 minutes 10 seconds.

Robusto

@DavidWallace Yes. But I tried searching for the string "Internet porn" on ELU chat and got the phone book.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace zing!

F'x

39 secs ago, by David Wallace

@Robusto Haven't you said that before?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

21% are the uploaders.

@Fx so what if he did? That would only make him consistent, giving his argument additional gravity.

David Wallace

1:11 PM

@Robusto Ah, see you should have searched for "ELU chat" in the phone book. Then, you'd have got internet porn.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

What is phone book?

F'x

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 a very long list of results?

Matt Эллен

book in the shape of a phone

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Fx so it's Google?

David Wallace

телефонный справочник

Matt Эллен

1:13 PM

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

F'x

@DavidWallace so the Russians don't have their own word for telephone?

Robusto

@Fx No. They share a word. Nobody owns anything in the socialist workers' paradise.

David Wallace

Of course they do. It's телефон.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Fx oh and the French do or what?

Matt Эллен

1:14 PM

the German's have handy - no one else uses that

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Parleur à distance très longue?

Robusto

@Fx Conservative, yes; lazy, no. They're on a crusade about their language, as a matter of fact.

Meysam رها در بند

@JasperLoy Are you sure you tried it on a new SE site too?

F'x

actually, I take that back and proudly announce :

etymonline.com/index.php?term=telephone&allowed_in_frame=0

telephone — 1835, "apparatus for signaling by musical notes" (devised by Sudré in 1828), from Fr. téléphone (c.1830)

I've highlighted the important part for you to see

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Fx Neither tele nor phone is French.

Robusto

1:17 PM

Do other countries have an equivalent of Académie française?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

That's like taking "Kinder" and "garten" and then pretending that "Kindergarten" is a French word.

F'x

so in the name of the French people, I claim all your telephones and телефон's

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Brrng Brrng. Répondez au parleur à distance très longue, s'il vous plaît. Et il est déjà cessé de sonner.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Robusto the Spanish have. And look where it got them.

F'x

@Robusto been there, done that

17

Q: Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English

Some languages have a "regulatory body" issuing recommendations and guidelines regarding the use of that language. For example in the case of Spanish it's the Real Academia Española whose status is recognised in all Spanish-speaking countries. The Academy, among other things, publishes a diction...

dictionaries

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:19 PM

Yeah. The Unreal Academia Española.

F'x

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 the English have the Queen

David Wallace

Yes, and so many English speakers around the world sound just like her.

Robusto

@Fx In what sense? In the Kenny Rogers sense?

David Wallace

I think you mean to say the BBC.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Fat lot of attention does Her Majesty pay to the ways her bondsmen are speaking in.

Matt Эллен

1:21 PM

@DavidWallace obviously, because if you don't sound like HRH, then you're not speaking English!

David Wallace

Bondsmen!! Pfft.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Sorry, bondswomen, too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен The Germans have "handy" but the Chinese have "hand machine"

David Wallace

@MattЭллен Water off my back. I sound more like Her Majesty than 99% of Anglophones around the world do.

Robusto

Bond girl

A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, or Holly Goodhead. Bond girls are considered "ubiquitous symbol[s] of glamour and sophistication." There is no set rule on who a Bond girl will be or what role she will play. She may be ally or enemy, pivotal to the mission or simply eye candy. Despite this broad scope there are female characters such as Judi Dench's M, and Miss Moneypenny who are not Bond girls...

They call them girls.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:22 PM

Jesus. Wikipedia has an article on every useless shit.

David Wallace

Hey, what's the plural, in English, of "cor anglais"? Any thoughts?

Robusto

@DavidWallace English horns.

Cor anglaux.

@Robusto lass?

@Fx von Trier?

1:24 PM

I mean, most people would say "cor onglays", but be stumped when it comes to writing it down, and spelling it correctly.

Robusto

A lass, alas, all ass.

F'x

4

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

So there's black in Vogue's rainbow.

Robusto

@Fx Proving that she can actually look dowdy in every color of the rainbow.

F'x

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 and creme and beige

David Wallace

1:25 PM

Hey, I only said I sound like her. I never said I look like her.

F'x

and floral :)

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Actually that poster is quite disrespectful.

Robusto

@DavidWallace Too late. Now you planted the idea.

Matt Эллен

@Fx The Queen supports gay pride!

David Wallace

Yes, "Rainbow Queen" is something of a tautology.

F'x

1:27 PM

it's a bit like where's Waldo, except it's easier

Robusto

"Rainbow Queen" is also a drag.

Cerberus

@Feral: Oh, haha, I hadn't noticed that link. Silly Americans and their religion.

@Fx Wow! That's pretty cool.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Jasper, do you use an iPhone? Because I think I found one of your IM conversations

Matt Эллен

lol

David Wallace

Which side do you think was Jasper?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:30 PM

The right of course. Jasper is always right.

Robusto

You left out the QED.

David Wallace

"Delivered" is IM for "QED".

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Robusto I think they spelled it "Delivered".

Jinx

Oh come on.

David Wallace

JINX!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Meta-jinx

Cerberus

1:30 PM

God, you're all witty today.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

No, your not.

Robusto

All-caps jinx trumps mixed Jinx.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus that'd be God's omniwit

Cerberus

Oh, you're God too?

Matt Эллен

he's all witty everyday

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:31 PM

No, your god too

Cerberus

My god is Hades.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

aka Matt

Matt Эллен

did Hades have any sons?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

aka Reg aka Robusto aka Jasper aka Thursagen

David Wallace

in Mathematics, Mar 25 at 3:07, by John Smith

@DavidWallace: you never ask questions, omnipotent?

Matt Эллен

1:33 PM

@Cerberus well the site is duller than normal today, so we're entertaining ourselves

Cerberus

Even duller?

Hmmm.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace John Smith?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus maybe you have a question up your sleeve for such a rainy day?

Meysam رها در بند

@MrShinyandNew安宇 it's immoral to tap other people's conversations

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 which may or may not have been his/her real name.

Cerberus

1:35 PM

I usually just pray when I have a question.

KitFox

Holy crap, what have I missed?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus such a good, pious boy you are

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Meysamرهادربند Is it? What if doing so will save over 9000 lives?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@MrShinyandNew安宇 that's a random hypothetical question. Here's one right back at you, what if one of those 9000 lives turns out to be that of the next Hitler?

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 By that logic, everyone should go around killing random people, because there's a chance that one of their victims will be the next Hitler.

Meysam رها در بند

1:38 PM

@MrShinyandNew安宇 We should not interfere with God's decisions. If god want's to get over 9000 people killed, we are not allowed to prevent it.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace Exactly.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 What if the next Hitler's pogrom kills millions of future psychopathic killers, by virtue of eliminating their ancestors?

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace Yes! this is what I've been saying all along!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Exactly.

KitFox

Mmm, homefries. They call to me.

bbl

Matt Эллен

1:39 PM

CU

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Meysamرهادربند I'm going to assume that this statement is a joke, because if it's not, I don't have enough time in the day to explain just how wrong it is.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

There is no God.

There, it took me less than a second.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Except to say that if God didn't want me to tap Jasper's IM conversation, He would have smitten me with lightning before I could do it.

Meysam رها در بند

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Come on... Who created you then?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@Meysamرهادربند My parents.

Cerberus

1:40 PM

@Jasper: In case you liked Ron, look here:

Matt Эллен

Gipetto

Cerberus

meta.philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

plugs ears la la la la la! Not listening! Not getting involved!

Meysam رها در بند

@MrShinyandNew安宇 That was a joke

Cameron

Looks like I walked in on something fun. So, how about them Yankees?

David Wallace

1:42 PM

@Meysamرهادربند even those of us who don't believe in God?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> You have been on a raft with a chicken for 36 minutes 32 seconds.

Cameron

…no baseball fans in here?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

There's such a thing?

David Wallace

God? Or baseball fans?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

If there are baseball fans, there is no God. QED

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:44 PM

I am a baseball fan for the portion of the baseball season that involves the Blue Jays in the playoffs for the world series. Needless to say, I haven't watched a game in a few years.

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Your logic is irrefutable.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 I am not a baseball fan QED I am God

Cameron

If God created baseball fans, would she suddenly blink into nonexistence?

Meysam رها در بند

@DavidWallace If you don't believe in God, that's your problem, not God's

Robusto

Baseball is a game that has to be experienced at the park, but it's just too expensive these days. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $500 to take my family to a ball game.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:46 PM

@Meysamرهادربند that means God has no problem with people not believing in him.

Matt Эллен

so it's a sin, but not a problem

Cameron

@Robusto that's a fair point. It's much better live, but far too expensive. There is a good farm league near where I live, $5 tickets, lots of fun

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Meysamرهادربند How is not believing in God David's problem? More like his advantage.

Cameron

@MrShinyandNew who is God David?

Matt Эллен

Godiva

David Wallace

1:47 PM

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I'm not sure that it is.

Meysam رها در بند

@MrShinyandNew安宇 People who don't believe in God, will not be blessed by Jesus. That is the problem

Cameron

darn good chocolate

David Wallace

Children who believe in Santa enjoy Christmas more than children who don't believe in Santa.

Robusto

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Thanks for putting things into perspective for us.

Cameron

@DavidWallace unless their parents are poor

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:49 PM

@Meysamرهادربند People who don't believe in Odin won't get to dine with the warriors in the halls of Valhalla either.

David Wallace

OK, but bear with me and don't get picky. Maybe people who believe in God lead happier and more fulfilled lives than atheists do.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace at first I read that as "children who believe in Satan". sadly I reread it

David Wallace

Yeah, along with the dyslexic who sold his soul to Santa.

Robusto

@Meysamرهادربند "Go sell crazy somewhere else. We're all stocked up here." — Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace Mormons do, according to South Park. That's all I know.

Cameron

1:50 PM

Matt Эллен

:D

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

The stone works, Lisa!

David Wallace

So, if somebody could convince me that there's a God, they may well be doing me a huge favour.

Meysam رها در بند

@Robusto I have to see that movie

David Wallace

Even though they'd be wrong.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:51 PM

@DavidWallace Until you go wage a war in His name.

Which some people invariably will.

David Wallace

OK, but most theists don't wage wars.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Just one person is too many.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace well, the trick to believing in God is to not need convincing. Just start telling yourself every day that God exists

Cameron

@DavidWallace is it because you'd believe in God, though, or because religious people tend to have more involved and tightly-knit communities with better emotional support structures? Couldn't you just have the community and skip the mythology?

David Wallace

But I won't believe myself.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

1:52 PM

It's called believing for a reason. You don't have to know.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace if you want to, you will.

Cerberus

> I consider myself a logical positivist, although I have never read the logical positivists.

David Wallace

@Cameron Yes, that's right. This chat room is my church / mosque / synagogue.

Cerberus

Guess whose profile says this.

Meysam رها در بند

@MattЭллен Right on

Matt Эллен

1:52 PM

@Cerberus Ron Maimon?

David Wallace

@MattЭллен No, I won't. I'm no more capable of convincing myself that God exists than I am of convincing myself that the Easter Bunny exists. I am NOT an atheist by choice.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Ding!

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace As you wish, but I know if one says something to oneself enough, one will eventually believe it to be true

Robusto

Religion is myth created by human beings out of fear and ignorance.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Stop quoting Wikipedia.

Matt Эллен

1:55 PM

@Cerberus You're felling a bit cranky today?

Meysam رها در بند

@DavidWallace Even if it's not possible to prove that God exists, choosing to believe in him will make your life easier

David Wallace

@MattЭллен well you just keep telling yourself that, OK!

Robusto

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Is that what it says? Really? What a coincidence.

Matt Эллен

:Þ

Gigili

Wow, are you still here @DavidWallace?

Cameron

1:55 PM

@Meysam it makes my life easier to believe that I'll win the lottery, it doesn't make it true

Robusto

@Meysamرهادربند Oh, so we add laziness to fear and ignorance.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

BTW, only 100-odd ahead with 30 minutes left. I can haz support for sniping? @Rob @Kit

KitFox

Roger, wilco.

David Wallace

@Meysamرهادربند I'm not talking about proof. I firmly believe that it's not possible to prove either the existence or the non-existence of God.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@KitFox on Fight, please. Very tough decks in there.

Robusto

1:56 PM

With all the B's in his username, we're going to have to start calling @RegDwightB8 "Bubba" ...

KitFox

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Oh, you want me to fight for us?

David Wallace

@Gigili Not for much longer. Public holiday tomorrow (err today) though.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Hubba Bubba.

@KitFox shit, forgot to mention that bit again.

Robusto

No bubble gum in chat.

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 I'll see what I can do. Can't promise anything.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Contrary to popular belief, this chat is not Singapore.

KitFox

1:57 PM

Oh God, it's the Fluffy Bunnies! I suck against the Fluffy Bunnies!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@KitFox then sit on your hands or something.

David Wallace

@Meysamرهادربند My point is that I cannot choose to believe in Him.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace I will choose so for you.

There, I've chosen. You now believe in God.

Gigili

Well done.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Thanks.

I can do seven of those on a good day.

David Wallace

1:59 PM

Meysam, are you physically capable of choosing to believe in the Easter Bunny (assuming you don't already)?

Robusto

I thank God that he made me an atheist.

Meysam رها در بند

@DavidWallace But you are not denying his existence either. And that is a good thing. Hope is always a good thing

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

I thank atheism that it made me God.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Meysamرهادربند Since realizing that I don't believe in him, and that it's all rubbish, my life has become easier, not harder. I don't have to go to church and listen to some blowhard talk about stuff he doesn't understand, and spread misinformation about important social topics, for one thing.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Nonplussed, rather!

But I have to run.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…