Coultergeist gets her head handed to her

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

thanks for clearing that up

When I'm misquoted, you can count on it.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

We had to learn typing with that bitch Mavis Beacon when I was in high school. I loathed her with every fiber of my being.

My teacher taught my mother, who was like 60 when I took the class She was nice, but she was a little old - one of those "You people do not know what tough is - you have ELECTRIC typewriters with an ERASURE option"

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

When I'm misquoted, you can count on it.

Well, I asked if that is what you said so I was not really quoting you

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

My teacher taught my mother, who was like 60 when I took the class She was nice, but she was a little old - one of those "You people do not know what tough is - you have ELECTRIC typewriters with an ERASURE option"

I still have one of those, too. My mother went back to college when I was little and I used to sneak and use her electric typewriter to write stories on.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

I still have one of those, too. My mother went back to college when I was little and I used to sneak and use her electric typewriter to write stories on.

I loved the old electric typewriters - I am 38 and can remember when the secretarial pool actually made noise - DING!!!!

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I loved the old electric typewriters - I am 38 and can remember when the secretarial pool actually made noise - DING!!!!

Secretarial pool scenes in movies are always bloody hilarious, ever notice that?

No, actually it was a word processor that my mother. Same difference, though.

[irishgrl]

I always LIKED school (except math ar ar!) I came early, hung out in the Library til class and enjoyed it all...even PE...I guess Im a bit mystified why there's talk of making the days longer/shorter, more classes, less classes...
Of course, I was a bit of a nerd, I never studied, hardly ever did homework and still managed to get a pretty high GPA (once I didnt have to take math any more...but how times change, I just finished a stats class and got an A! Go figure!) I engaged the teachers, asked plenty of questions (all without reading the texts mind you), my home was like a mini library, my mom had every time-life series there was, and when I got home, I'd read. and when I was done reading, I'd go out and play football with the guys! School Days, School Days...

sorry, you guys are just making me remember one of the best times of my life...

[dissention]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

I always LIKED school (except math ar ar!) I came early, hung out in the Library til class and enjoyed it all...even PE...I guess Im a bit mystified why there's talk of making the days longer/shorter, more classes, less classes...
Of course, I was a bit of a nerd, I never studied, hardly ever did homework and still managed to get a pretty high GPA (once I didnt have to take math any more...but how times change, I just finished a stats class and got an A! Go figure!) I engaged the teachers, asked plenty of questions (all without reading the texts mind you), my home was like a mini library, my mom had every time-life series there was, and when I got home, I'd read. and when I was done reading, I'd go out and play football with the guys! School Days, School Days...

sorry, you guys are just making me remember one of the best times of my life...

I always hated school libraries. They never had ****.

I did check out and read The Burning Bed from the public library when I was in elementary school, though.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by dissention

I always hated school libraries. They never had ****.

I did check out and read The Burning Bed from the public library when I was in elementary school, though.

I loved fiction and once I found out where the fantasy stuff was, and the science fiction stuff, I was hooked! I think I went book by book from one end of the shelf to the other, and Im not kidding! I used to go into the library and see which books I HADNT read! I read a BUNCH! I LOVED Heinlein, and Andre Norton and Roger Zelazny and EB White.....and Tolkien of course!

I first learned to type on my grandmother's manual typewriter, (it was a Royal or an Underwood or maybe a Royal Underwood! maybe she had one of each!) it had separate round keys....she was a newspaper reporter and whenever my sister and I would spend the night I would be woken up at the wee hours of the morning by my grandma calling the police station to get the latest police blotter stuff. she also did some community columns, covered art shows and flower shows and the like....in fact, in Oakland, where her father worked for the Oakland Tribune, she was one of the first female reporters on their staff, and very young at the time as well! My grandma was a bit of a firecracker!

ps: The Burning Bed in elementary school? Boy oh Boy! were YOU flirting with disaster! Gosh, I can remember when books like Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye were considered bad stuff......We had to read Animal Farm and Fahrenheit (crap, forget the number, its the temp at which paper burns!)
and The Grapes of Wrath (I HATED THAT BOOK!) and Up the Down Staircase
and Flowers for Algernon (that was sad) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (that was sad too) cant think of any more right now...

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by Brad

Anyway, this wasn't really directed at you. I'm just kind of venting because I've had other people say the same thing to me before, and I think it's unfair to expect everyone else (myself included) to conform when it's not they're problem in the first place.

Brad

I know. And my post wasn't necessarily directed at you. I think I was just getting irritated with the instantaneous aversion to language learning that so many people seem to have. Sometimes I border on the absurd to make a point, it's a rhetorical weakness, I admit it.

And Irishgirl is right about Europeans' border hopping contributing to their knowledge of other (European) languages. Unfortunately we here in the U.S. are secluded and isolated from much of the rest of the world so we don't hold ourselves accountable, not only with regard to foreign language learning but also with regard to atrocities committed in foreign lands in the name of "freedom" and "demoncracy." What a joke. We live in a narcissistic vacuum of self-absorption and ingorance about the world we live in, and although it's a practical self-absorption, it's still a very narrow, syllopsistic way of viewing the world.

And it's nice to learn a foreign language. The learning benefits are huge AND it helps one to better understand one's OWN language. Why not succumb? You might learn something about yourself and others at the same time.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I loved the old electric typewriters - I am 38 and can remember when the secretarial pool actually made noise - DING!!!!

electric typewriter, Wished I could've used one just one time, but I do remember 'em.

I am self-taught at typing...Thus the typos left-and-right!

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

And it's nice to learn a foreign language. The learning benefits are huge AND it helps one to better understand one's OWN language. Why not succumb? You might learn something about yourself and others at the same time.

I want to learn Japanese...So when the chance presents itself I can give up my US citizenship and move to Japan & mess with their heads by knowing how to speak their language (Along with knowing some Cherokee language!)

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

I know. And my post wasn't necessarily directed at you. I think I was just getting irritated with the instantaneous aversion to language learning that so many people seem to have. Sometimes I border on the absurd to make a point, it's a rhetorical weakness, I admit it.

And Irishgirl is right about Europeans' border hopping contributing to their knowledge of other (European) languages. Unfortunately we here in the U.S. are secluded and isolated from much of the rest of the world so we don't hold ourselves accountable, not only with regard to foreign language learning but also with regard to atrocities committed in foreign lands in the name of "freedom" and "demoncracy." What a joke. We live in a narcissistic vacuum of self-absorption and ingorance about the world we live in, and although it's a practical self-absorption, it's still a very narrow, syllopsistic way of viewing the world.

And it's nice to learn a foreign language. The learning benefits are huge AND it helps one to better understand one's OWN language. Why not succumb? You might learn something about yourself and others at the same time.

You know I just tought of something that's been really bugging me....

Here at work some people were making fun of Maria Hinajosa (host of a radio program called Latino USA) - they were making fun of how she speaks English - but then with Spanish names she's all proper and might as well be in the "mother country" people find this annoying and don't like it...

BUT - we have classical music station here and NO ONE complains when the announcers says the proper names of composers complet with accents and whatnot...what's the difference I don't think people are meaning to be prejudicial but that's how it feels and it bugs me

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by Lux

I'm confused, why does this bug people? Is she from Spain? If so then they have no point at all. If not then I'm still lost. My friend of Greek heritage often pronounces words different to I but then when she speaks of her Greek friends, the names all roll off the tongue in a Greek accent. I don't understand what's wrong with that, isn't it natural? When I pronounce her name it just sound Anglicised and probably wrong to her and yet of course I pronounce the names of English heritage perfectly. Have I missed the point because if that's the same situation then these people are being ridiculous.

I don't think you missed the point - the point is these people are being ridiculous - and for some reason they find it annoying and horrid when a woman (she's from the US - but of Mexican heritage I think) - and says Spanish names properly....not all anglicized like everyone else

Glad I'm not the only one who sees this as ridiculous - that's pretty much my point - it's okay for other names to be said properly but not Spanish ones

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by Lux

In terms of speaking more than one language, we're like the US. We're so full of immigrants that many households speak more than one but they're so mixed that it's not in any way functional within the society. Even more so here than in the US, we're literally isolated from the world, the island continent. But on the other hand we're so multicultural so I don't know whether this makes our island state irrelevant or not. Anyway despite this, we manage to be informed about the world. Well not all of us obviously but it's certainly more wide-spread than in the US. I guess this comes from a cultural that does not make us think we're the most important country in the world. We're simply not taught that any country is the best. I doubt Americans are taught this in quite that wording but just to watch most Americans speak of their country, they're probably so used to it that they're not even aware but there's an undeniable belief that America is the most important. We don't have to stand up and swear to our country every morning, in fact such a thing seems fascist. The importance in the country is not emphasised and that's fine because it doesn't result in apathy towards our country, we just don't assume we're inherently more important.

That's interesting. I'm very interested in learning more about Australia, it seems to be a very unique country in many aspects. Everyone I've ever met from there has been truly amazing and usually with a good sense of humor to boot! I think that our two countries share a lot in common...I think fundamentally there's common ground among the people of our two nations. Do you sense this?