Yeah, you mean "Thor Wars Episode II: Attack of the Dark Elves", that crazy sci-fi space war movie from awhile ago?

Yeah, It wasn't horrible, but all the laser battle stuff in the beginning just set me off for the rest of the movie.

BTW_ Did you pee in the wrong corner of the LPC? Haven't seen you there in awhile!

I call it "Thor: I was supposed to care?"

Because I just found myself not caring about that long, weird episode of Doctor Who that didn't have The Doctor in it.





"Sooner or later I rub everybody the wrong way." (48 HUMOR pts)

This seems like the best place for me to express myself. I figure if people are posting in here, they already know I'm a nasty old bastard and they're either okay with it or asking for it.

"Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me finds me disagreeable." (77 HUMOR pts)

I figure it's best if I keep all the nasty I seem to generate in one place.

Thank you for clarifying.

Wait. You call that clarifying?

I reread that thing, and I don't think "clarifying" was the word you were looking for.

To be completely honest, I think I've successfully confused myself!

It made it clearer to me what you were trying to say than the previous post did. I still don't entirely agree with it, but at least I understand what you were saying, and I consider that progress.

The responsibility is always on the speaker or writer to be understood, and always has been. That the writer might expect the reader to work at it a bit? That goes back at least to Shakespeare. The dude made up words willy nilly and abandoned grammar all over the place.

Also, critical thinking is independent of formal writing or speaking. This was made clear to me when studying sociolinguistics. I'll see if I can find samples later.

Also, I think what you see is not the result of slipping standards as much as every moran being able to broadcast what once would have only been on paper notes.

You are married with a kid on the way, you are anything but free.

Always with the negative posts, Moriarty, always with the negative posts.

(13,188 Haven points)

As a guy who came out of thin air in the middle of an alley while his buddies are flying around on wires cutting everybody to shreds said, "Very true. Very, very true."

If that's the Kelly's Heroes reference that I think it is then I'm really FREAKED out right now, because that's the second time that movie has come up this week and what are the chances of that?

Man, you just can NOT get off the French's case! Dude, why do you dislike them so much?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Morane

Shakespeare, like cummings, is an example of someone who knew the rules well enough to break them.

Making a reference that you expect the reader to understand not only requires that the reader understand the rules as you do, and understand the manner in which you break them, but it respects the reader and their intelligence.

Interestingly, I think that relates to what you said earlier about "authoritarian" and "democratic" approaches to language.

I'm speaking only from my point of view. You can take it for what it is. You may think I'm lying. You may think I don't understand my own motivations, and that, therefore, I'm not lying to you, but I'm lying to myself. But, as honestly as I can tell you, I'm not a "stickler" because I want some sense of superiority. I do not do it to attain some feeling of superiority. I do it because I'm a teacher. It is what I am and what I do. Yes, I've left the profession of "teaching", but I'm not talking about a certificate or a position. And I point out these things to people not to deride them, but to elevate them. I've not become the "stickler" I am without any help. Legions of people have pointed out my mistakes and missteps to me. I return the favor to others. How much of a feeling of superiority can I be seeking if my ultimate goal is to educate them to the point where they are capable of pointing out my mistakes?

It seems to me that a "stickler's" approach to language would be the one most capable of liberating people.

"Liberté! égalité! frater . . . "

Eh, yeah, no. That last one is where the French and I part ways.

It was indeed. I channeled my inner-Donald Sutherland while typing it.

WHOAH! Too weird.

Two of my students are brothers and they train together since their skating skills aren't too far off. We joke around quite a bit when they are out there since they're around middle school age.

The older one did something totally other than what I'd told him to do and I asked him why he did it. He said, "Because you ruined my self-esteem."

I said, "Oh, really, Calliou? I hurt your little feelings?"

He said, "Yeah, you're always hitting me with those negative waves."

I stopped dead. I almost fell down in the process. After a few questions I discovered that their father was responsible for showing that obscure bit of cinematic bizarre-ness to them and I spent a large portion of the rest of the day with that rotten hippie song from the credits running through my brain.

The younger brother pointed out that there were no hippies in WWII.

Good point there.