Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

First.Aspect

You are all kidding yourselves that you understand emoticons.

I think one of the kids in said YouPube video was asked how they would react to something like, "thanks! 🙂"

And the answer was something like, "that's quite aggressive."

Um, okay....

pblakeney

Snowflakes. 😉

rick_chasey

First.Aspect said:

You are all kidding yourselves that you understand emoticons.

I think one of the kids in said YouPube video was asked how they would react to something like, "thanks! 🙂"

And the answer was something like, "that's quite aggressive."

Um, okay....

rjsterry

First.Aspect said:

You are all kidding yourselves that you understand emoticons.

I think one of the kids in said YouPube video was asked how they would react to something like, "thanks! 🙂"

And the answer was something like, "that's quite aggressive."

Um, okay....

Oh, it's all so complicated, isn't it?

Have you considered that the YouTube video is a wind-up for this kind of performative fogeyishness.

First.Aspect

rjsterry said:

First.Aspect said:

You are all kidding yourselves that you understand emoticons.

I think one of the kids in said YouPube video was asked how they would react to something like, "thanks! 🙂"

And the answer was something like, "that's quite aggressive."

Um, okay....

Oh, it's all so complicated, isn't it?

Have you considered that the YouTube video is a wind-up for this kind of performative fogeyishness.

Sadly I haven't a clue.

rjsterry

I mean, who doesn't like using jargon to mock the out-group without them realising?

pinno

rjsterry said:

I mean, who doesn't like using jargon to mock the out-group without them realising?

I have never seen that in here.

First.Aspect

pinno said:

rjsterry said:

I mean, who doesn't like using jargon to mock the out-group without them realising?

I have never seen that in here.

🤨

pinno

Brian's perspective is that the emoticons are part of an ever evolvong language and that is both interesting and exciting to him but personally, they fit in with an ever abbreviated visual and verbal landscape. English can be such a rich and multi layered langage but that is being eroded.

For example:
You buy a newspaper. You sit and read a large percentage of it.... because you paid for it.
Now you skim news sources and pick what catches your eye.
Shorty (now 9), gets a restricted time slot on the laptop. She heads straight for Youtube in seacrh of instant entertainment, sound bites.
This came to a head when I noticed a pattern: I will read to her on weekday nights and we can watch something at the weekends. I have started x number of books and not got far because she looses interest and gets fidgety (just like you are now FA). I reminded her that stories build. It takes time and give it that time because they can be good. Langiage looses the potential of richness during any form of abbreviation.

She likes Roald Dahl, i'll give her that and she will read on her own but Dahl gets stuck in straight away, so the gratification is immediate.

Headlines have to be a shock or over emphasised because without which, people arent going to sit up and notice.

What as been illustrated in this conversation so far, is that use of the emoticon, even though ironically it's use is intended as a clear message, can be ambiguous.

First.Aspect

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

pinno

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

First.Aspect

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

I couldn't be less fidgety. Just ask my cats. I have the most purrfurred lap because there are so few earthquakes.

I'm hurt.

pblakeney

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

Pick on me if you wish.
I tend ignore all comments so a few more won't matter. 😉

pinno

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

Pick on me if you wish.
I tend ignore all comments so a few more won't matter. 😉

Don't think I haven't noticed.

pinno

First.Aspect said:

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

I couldn't be less fidgety. Just ask my cats. I have the most purrfurred lap because there are so few earthquakes.

I'm hurt.

You're not, so I am not concerned.

Have you posted pics of those cats? I seem to remember 1 tabby and 1 black cat. Is that correct?

This morning I arrived at school to drop Tricky off. 1 very pretty long haired female cat was peering through the gate from the outside (she lives there) and a tabby (another female) stalks up behind her. I thought perhaps this was going to be a friendly encounter but all hell broke loose and they were rolling over and over pulling lumps out of each other with accompanied cat noises. I wasn't having this and split them up with a push from my foot.
They then noticed me and decided to carry on fighting 20 yards away on someone's front lawn until they went there seperate ways, hair on end, never looing eye contact.

rjsterry

pinno said:

Brian's perspective is that the emoticons are part of an ever evolvong language and that is both interesting and exciting to him but personally, they fit in with an ever abbreviated visual and verbal landscape. English can be such a rich and multi layered langage but that is being eroded.

For example:
You buy a newspaper. You sit and read a large percentage of it.... because you paid for it.
Now you skim news sources and pick what catches your eye.
Shorty (now 9), gets a restricted time slot on the laptop. She heads straight for Youtube in seacrh of instant entertainment, sound bites.
This came to a head when I noticed a pattern: I will read to her on weekday nights and we can watch something at the weekends. I have started x number of books and not got far because she looses interest and gets fidgety (just like you are now FA). I reminded her that stories build. It takes time and give it that time because they can be good. Langiage looses the potential of richness during any form of abbreviation.

She likes Roald Dahl, i'll give her that and she will read on her own but Dahl gets stuck in straight away, so the gratification is immediate.

Headlines have to be a shock or over emphasised because without which, people arent going to sit up and notice.

What as been illustrated in this conversation so far, is that use of the emoticon, even though ironically it's use is intended as a clear message, can be ambiguous.

Having been there, don't worry about it. Youngest was really funny about reading up until a few months ago - could do it, but had to be nagged to do it - then found some old Tintin books we had dug out of the loft. Something clicked and now we have to nag her to stop reading and go to bed. Not sure why Tintin was the thing that did it, but at a guess I'd say it was something she found rather than something we said she had to read.

First.Aspect

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

I couldn't be less fidgety. Just ask my cats. I have the most purrfurred lap because there are so few earthquakes.

I'm hurt.

You're not, so I am not concerned.

Have you posted pics of those cats? I seem to remember 1 tabby and 1 black cat. Is that correct?

This morning I arrived at school to drop Tricky off. 1 very pretty long haired female cat was peering through the gate from the outside (she lives there) and a tabby (another female) stalks up behind her. I thought perhaps this was going to be a friendly encounter but all hell broke loose and they were rolling over and over pulling lumps out of each other with accompanied cat noises. I wasn't having this and split them up with a push from my foot.
They then noticed me and decided to carry on fighting 20 yards away on someone's front lawn until they went there seperate ways, hair on end, never looing eye contact.

We have 4 now. Tabby and black cats now 16 and slowing down. Two Bengals, who are a bit mad. One in particular seems to be the reincarnation of a gremlin about half the time, and a tribble the other half.

pinno

rjsterry said:

pinno said:

Brian's perspective is that the emoticons are part of an ever evolvong language and that is both interesting and exciting to him but personally, they fit in with an ever abbreviated visual and verbal landscape. English can be such a rich and multi layered langage but that is being eroded.

For example:
You buy a newspaper. You sit and read a large percentage of it.... because you paid for it.
Now you skim news sources and pick what catches your eye.
Shorty (now 9), gets a restricted time slot on the laptop. She heads straight for Youtube in seacrh of instant entertainment, sound bites.
This came to a head when I noticed a pattern: I will read to her on weekday nights and we can watch something at the weekends. I have started x number of books and not got far because she looses interest and gets fidgety (just like you are now FA). I reminded her that stories build. It takes time and give it that time because they can be good. Langiage looses the potential of richness during any form of abbreviation.

She likes Roald Dahl, i'll give her that and she will read on her own but Dahl gets stuck in straight away, so the gratification is immediate.

Headlines have to be a shock or over emphasised because without which, people arent going to sit up and notice.

What as been illustrated in this conversation so far, is that use of the emoticon, even though ironically it's use is intended as a clear message, can be ambiguous.

Having been there, don't worry about it. Youngest was really funny about reading up until a few months ago - could do it, but had to be nagged to do it - then found some old Tintin books we had dug out of the loft. Something clicked and now we have to nag her to stop reading and go to bed. Not sure why Tintin was the thing that did it, but at a guess I'd say it was something she found rather than something we said she had to read.

Oh, she read all my Tintins in the space of 6 weeks, aged 8.
It's since she has been taking to the laptop that her attention span with reading has reduced - at home at least.
I am not worried as she is doing very well at school. It's just that I treasure that time with her reading a good book.

rick_chasey

Tintin 💪🏻💪🏻

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

Tintin 💪🏻💪🏻

That's Popeye.

pblakeney

pinno said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

First.Aspect said:

I don't know why I'm being singled out as being fidgety.

I wasn't flattering myself into thinking that what I was writing was interesting enough to keep your attention.
I am quite happy to single out others.
Suggestions on a postcard please.

TBH, it's Mince n tatties tonight and i'm just killing time.

Pick on me if you wish.
I tend ignore all comments so a few more won't matter. 😉

Don't think I haven't noticed.

One consolation for getting old.
You eventually get to the stage where a constant thought is, frankly my dear...

pinno

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

Tintin 💪🏻💪🏻

That's Popeye.

I thought it was 2 ducks.

briantrumpet

pinno said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

Tintin 💪🏻💪🏻

That's Popeye.

I thought it was 2 ducks.

For ages I made this out to be something much ruder than a nose... 👃

rjsterry

This place is a good advert for Specsavers.

briantrumpet

rjsterry said:

This place is a good advert for Specsavers.

I generally don't view yellow noses from below. Well, or any other colour, come to that. But then I'm not really short.

pinno

rjsterry said:

This place is a good advert for Specsavers.

Half past 3 at the bus stop.

Pross

Why I've just watched Skyfall (for the umpteenth time) on ITV2 with adverts when I have the DVD sat underneath the TV.

pblakeney

Pross said:

Why I've just watched Skyfall (for the umpteenth time) on ITV2 with adverts when I have the DVD sat underneath the TV.

🤣🤣🤣

TheBigBean

Pross said:

Why I've just watched Skyfall (for the umpteenth time) on ITV2 with adverts when I have the DVD sat underneath the TV.

Presumably the DVD requires you to get up from the sofa to watch it.

First.Aspect

Cyclists are above horse riders in the "heirarchy of road users".

It looks a long way down from there, to me, and the horse less likely to do what it is told than my bike is.