Bruin Fisher
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Everything posted by Bruin Fisher
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Different comes from French and just means 'differing'. So the following sentences mean the same: At this point his opinion departs from the orthodox. At this point his opinion differs from the orthodox. At this point his opinion is different from the orthodox. I don't think I would accept either of these: At this point his opinion is different to the orthodox At this point his opinion is different than the orthodox I found a discussion on the Grammarist website which insists that in fact all three usages -different from, to or than - are correct although than is more common in the USA and to is more common in the UK. Apparently all three have been used in great literature for hundreds of years. The Grammarist does tactfully point out that some people consider to and than absolutely unacceptable and therefore to take care when using them in work to be presented to a teacher. http://grammarist.com/usage/different/
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I have an idea that footie in Australia is Australian Rules Football, a quite different game with some similarities to rugby, and as far as I remember very attractive extra short shorts... No doubt Graeme will pop up and correct me if I've got that wrong, or maybe Des will? Tig? Around these parts it's known as Tag. There are massive regional variations over quite small distances in playground terminology. Gym shoes are a good example. They're pumps, sneakers, trainers, daps, tennis shoes, sandshoes, and several other names - and alternative words are completely unknown out their region. So we always called them daps and wouldn't have known what a sneaker or pump was.
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Language is a never-ending fascination for me. I was in a museum dedicated to the poetry of the Lakeland poets a while back and noticed a wall poster with an extract from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, including the line 'Thorough the fog it came'. I tactfully pointed out the printing error to the attendant on duty who noted it down to be corrected in due course, but when I later checked Coleridge's original poem I found he did actually write 'thorough the fog it came'. He was intentionally using archaic language, and the word 'thorough' once meant the same as 'through' - we still have the word 'thoroughfare' for a through road. More fool me.
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Actually we park our cars too, but we never park automobiles, or station wagons, or until recently SUVs. Here in the UK there's quite a lot of usage which has become common and generally accepted although it's a product of insufficient education and wrong according to the strictest standard, and 'park up' is an example of that. Sometimes it's used to differentiate the whole process of parking a vehicle from the actual moment of drawing to a stop: "I unloaded the shopping and then I had to go back out to park my car because it was on double yellows. It took me ages to find a space and I eventually parked up next to the chippy on the corner of the High Street, and walked back." I would consider that usage acceptable, just about... Where does the phrase 'listen up, people!' come from, though? I think that's one of yours, isn't it? In the UK we never listen up unless we are in thrall to US-led corporate-speak.
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Since winning the competition they're all over YouTube (search Dou Piti on Youtube to find them). One clip is a Q&A session in which they announce they're best friends, they live together, work together, play sport together but that's all. Their act is unashamedly homoerotic and refreshingly so. There's a lot of eroticism in dance and same-sex duets have long been a bit coy about the sexual chemistry involved. This pair make no bones about it and it's like a breath of fresh air. Here's another pair, possibly not so technically impressive but very sensual.
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I just came across this young male duo. Here they are auditioning for the German talent show 'Got To Dance 2015'. They went on to win the competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMYDgxFObo
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Beetle radiator? Maybe they made them different for the US market, but I used to own one of those and....
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The school investigation will determine whether or not code of conduct violations occurred... Hmm, methinks if code of conduct violations did not occur, there's something seriously wrong with the school's code of conduct.
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Thanks so much Larkin, and Cole too, for kindly commenting on one of my older stories, one that I'd almost forgotten about. It's an odd experience to find myself reading something I wrote, but reading as though it's new to me. I can't pretend Graffiti is one of my favourites, but it does resonate with my own memories - my own schooldays were spent in a place much like that described in the story - and therefore it feels very personal. I'm so glad you liked it.
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The trouble with that plan is they wouldn't eat them because of the bacon. Because, as we all know, it's okay to slaughter innocent civilians, but it's not okay to eat pig.
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Oh Colin, you're an absolute scream. Quite brilliant. Hilarious. Thanks for putting a perma-grin on my face!
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Isn't language fascinating?!
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Perhaps they shared a common meaning in previous centuries when parcel could mean a gathered together group of indeterminate number. In addition to 'a parcel of rogues' I mentioned before, there is 'a parcel of land' - both mostly archaic usages now.
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I find the different usage of English in different parts of the world fascinating. I'm reading Cole Parker's new story First Year - aren't we all?! I've noticed he uses the term 'passel' a few times. I can see from the context what it means, but it's not a term I hear day-to-day. We do have the word parcel, which is a package, typically for sending through the mail. An old-fashioned parcel was wrapped in brown paper and tied with string but nowadays it's more likely to be a padded mail bag or an Amazon card sleeve. So, here's my question: does passel mean the same as parcel - a bundling of objects together into one container - or is the meaning something else? There's a folk song by Steeleye Span called A Parcel of Rogues which shows the word meaning a group, in this case of people, although that's certainly not its normal use here.
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Glad you're cheerful, Luggie. You have friends here who care about you.
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Marmite - poached egg on toast just isn't right without a generous scrape of marmite on the toast.
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You're very welcome, Chris.
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http://www.fishermansfriend.com/en-gb/
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At this time of year in Britain, coughs and colds are commonplace and many Britons find a good way to ward off the germs is to suck a Fisherman's Friend. Do you have a similar custom in the USA?
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It's been around on the web for a long time. I think it may be genuine though - I could imagine a father claiming to have known his son was gay since he was six even though as Graeme quite rightly says he couldn't have - but it's a neat way of making clear that he doesn't have a problem with it. I hope it's genuine - i would like to think there's a Dad around somewhere who wrote that letter. He deserves a hug.
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Mmm... I watched that too. Inexplicable.
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Sorry, Colin, but I don't think Scotland would have him. He's fallen out with them pretty comprehensively and I doubt he'd be allowed into the country.
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Eloquent Ozzies...
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Same-sex marriage not recognised on death certificate
Bruin Fisher replied to Graeme's topic in News & Views
According to the BBC report on this news item, it may be that this sad event might catalyse the powers that be to introduce equal marriage legislation at federal level, thus putting this sort of thing to an end in Australia for good. Apparently polls put Australians 60% to 72% in favour. -
A great story. Evocative, reminiscent of movies such as Brassed Off, and Little Voice (both highly recommended for their depiction of Northern British life in the mid 20th century).
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