Hijack This Topic

[Tanuki Racoon]

The topic of this forum is the eleemosynary nature of raccoons. You should go on about this in great detail. Or you may hijack this topic. It's your choice.

Choose wisely, Padawan.

[Steven Keiths]

Hmmmm? I do think racoons, though adorable little critters, are more adept at taking things than offering. Though, living by eleemosynarial (is that a word?) means the fuzzy furry creature is quite adept.

Where in the hell did you come up with that obscure word? No way I'd stand on street corner asking for eleemosynary for the poor.

[Tanuki Racoon]

Well it was eleemosynary or propinquity. I was going to use xilinous but that word is so obscure that almost nobody but me has used it in a sentence this millennium. Tellurian, a favourite word of mine has well over 200,000 matches on Google while xilinous has only 168. Eleemosynary has 84,500 and propinquity 154,000. So I came to the decision to use an obscure word as opposed to a dead word.

The tellurian donned his xilinous clothing prior to the commencement of his prescribed score of anonymous eleemosynary acts.

[DesDownunder]

Can we get back to hi-jacking the topic now please?

Oh? we haven't done that yet have we? It's a bit hard to tell.

[colinian]

Well it was eleemosynary or propinquity. I was going to use xilinous but that word is so obscure that almost nobody but me has used it in a sentence this millennium. Tellurian, a favourite word of mine has well over 200,000 matches on Google while xilinous has only 168. Eleemosynary has 84,500 and propinquity 154,000. So I came to the decision to use an obscure word as opposed to a dead word.

The tellurian donned his xilinous clothing prior to the commencement of his prescribed score of anonymous eleemosynary acts.

Gee, I didn't know raccoons could suffer from idiolalia!

Definition: n. - mental state characterized by use of invented language

Colin

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

OK, so I'm not all that experienced with this kind of stuff, so if it is a funny question don't laugh too hard, but what is with the whole black line thing?

P.S. While I'm discussing things that I don't really know much about, I just have to say that I hate when I try to select a topic and I accidentally select a person instead. I do it all of the time. And then, me being me, I feel like everyone is going to think that I am some sort of stalker. So, if I click your name a million times (which I still don't know when people know that), sorry. I am not a stalker, just learning the system or whatever.

[Guest Fritz]

While I could hijack this thread, I'm more interested in the eleemosynary nature of Raccoons. It really is a topic that deserves some comments, so here goes.

I suppose it depends on the raccoons as to how the word is applied. Some years back there was an infestation of raccoons in my neighborhood. As far as the raccoons were concerned, it was that everyone should give to them and they gave little back. Now that might not be true of all raccoons, but it was of those. They were more than happy to eat my neighbors ducks and my chickens, and lord help you if your garbage can lid was not tightly held down as they would pry it off and scatter garbage everywhere. I'd like to think that Writebymyself is of a different class of raccoons, but have no proof of that.

Anyhow, their numbers built up to where small pets were no longer safe and people started getting put out with them. They would kill your dog or cat, or break into buildings in search of food and after a while it became quite common to hear guns going off at anytime of the day or night. Since most people are not particularly good shots by night, the raccoons started showing up only at night and the problems continued to worsen. Then a fortuitous thing happened. The price of coon skins went up and a trapper decided it was worth his time to do a little trapping. In an amazingly short time the raccoon problem was no longer a problem and while I never heard the finial number, at one time he was thirty-seven raccoons ahead of the game. I must confess that he was much more successful than I was at controlling the problem. I did manage to send a couple of them to raccoon heaven when they were trying to eat my chickens, but like most people I'm not the best shot in world when it is dark out and I'm running around with a flashlight, a gun, and in briefs and slippers. Holding a flashlight and trying to line up the sights at the same time is more difficult than it sounds. On the plus side I managed to get one coyote and a couple of possums along with my two raccoons, but the coyote wasn't too smart and showed up during the day, and possums move more slowly and are easier to draw a bead on. I did have to rescue the dog once as she thought she was a raccoon killer and she only weighed about fourteen pounds, but then miniature poodles don't realize they are not big fighting dogs.

With all that said, I would say that raccoons are not eleemosynary givers in nature, and in fact are just the opposite. And while they sometimes appear cute, they certainly are not cuddly. As with all generalizations there likely are exceptions, but my experience with real genuine raccoons is not pleasant. I much prefer the more literate types found in these pages. Or should that be semi-literate?

Like WBMS I enjoy fossicking through a dictionary, searching out odd and unusual words. I rarely use them however, because years ago I was told that a complicated and extensive vocabulary did not necessarily indicate an intellectual ability. Since my intellectual ability has frequently been called into question, I am not about to give people more ammunition than they already have. So maybe I did hijack the thread just a tittle. And yes, I used the word "tittle" and meant to use it.

[Trab]

Believe it or not, I thought WBMS had made up this word. I never even bothered to check a dictionary. I just looked at it and saw:

eleemosynary ele emo synary This immediately made me thing of EleCivil and Emo and of course synaresis, especially in consideration of the trailing "e" in "ele" and the leading "e" in "emo". I had to admire the sheer brilliance of the combination that WBMS had created. Little did I realize that he was just dragnetting his more obscure memory banks. Very disappointing indeed.

As for the black line, the trick is to highlight it by dragging your cursor over it, thereby revealing the underlying words.

I don't think too many (if any) here will think you are a stalker and perving on us by clicking our user IDs, particularly since we have pretty good sized egos. Healthy admiration and interest is not perving nor stalking. Now if you do like I do, and check out My Space photos, looking for good looking dudes, and then look at the male friends of all those males, and then the male friends of those friends, going down (pun intended) as deeply as possible, THEN you might be perving, but it still wouldn't be stalking, until you actually start to look up their addresses and visit their homes, at night, with a camera and a telephoto lens.

[Cole Parker]

. . . but it still wouldn't be stalking, until you actually start to look up their addresses and visit their homes, at night, with a camera and a telephoto lens.

Uh, Trab, why does this sound like you have some experience in these matters?

<g><g><g>

C

[DesDownunder]

Uh, Trab, why does this sound like you have some experience in these matters?

<g><g><g>

C

Experience? Sounds like he wrote the book! Just joking, I know our Trab would be mortified if anyone thought he was even capable of being a stalker.

[Trab]

So true. I AM mortified. I don't stalk. Hell, I can hardly walk. That bum knee, you know. It is amazing, but I cracked the cartilage in my right knee while hanging up a small glass Christmas tree ornament, and I ended up on crutches for 3 months and a cane for a year. And I don't mean a candy cane either, but one of those great tripping devices. The best benefit to the cane, almost more than the part about it keeping me upright (and no, not a BDSM caning either) is that I could put it on the seats right in front of me in the movie theatre and nobody would block my view. {Don't you love it when I hijack my own hijack?}

[Cole Parker]

Only you, Trab, would find serendipity in a bum knee.

C

[colinian]

OK, so I'm not all that experienced with this kind of stuff, so if it is a funny question don't laugh too hard, but what is with the whole black line thing?

It's called a "spoiler" and hides what's underneath. That way if someone is commenting on a story chapter that was just posted, and wants to say something that would spoil reading the chapter (in case someone is viewing the topic without having read the new chapter), they won't see the spoiler ("I couldn't believe that you killed off Justin! How could you do that?" or something like that). If you want to read what's under the black, highlight by holding down your mouse button and dragging across the black part.

P.S. While I'm discussing things that I don't really know much about, I just have to say that I hate when I try to select a topic and I accidentally select a person instead. I do it all of the time. And then, me being me, I feel like everyone is going to think that I am some sort of stalker. So, if I click your name a million times (which I still don't know when people know that), sorry. I am not a stalker, just learning the system or whatever.

Worry not! no one is going to accuse you of stalking. One thing you can do if all you're interested in when you come into the AD forum is reading what's new, click on the link View New Posts that you see at the right side of the second row below the AD Forums logo at the top of every page. Anything new since the last time you logged on to the forum will be listed. Very cool, and you don't have to search every topic to find the ones that have new posts. Also, you don't have to click anywhere near where you've been accidentally selecting a person.

Everyone was new once, so if there's something you don't understand feel free to ask. You can also click Help on the right end of the row below the AD Forums logo. It has lots of useful info.

Colin

[Lugnutz]

This one time at band camp, I double clicked my mouse and..........

Oh wait. What was the topic?

[DesDownunder]

... I has lots of useful info.

Colin

I'm sure you does, Colin. I has lots of usefulls too.

[Trab]

Darn. I'm ticked off. I didn't see that. Des, you rock!!!!!

[Cole Parker]

This one time at band camp, I double clicked my mouse and..........

Jeff, I'm sure, just sure, that it should be: This one time, at band camp. . . .

Her execution of that phrase, with the pause after 'time,' was perfect.

Damn that was a funny movie. Thanks for reminding me!

C

[Lugnutz]

Jeff, I'm sure, just sure, that it should be: This one time, at band camp. . . .

Her execution of that phrase, with the pause after 'time,' was perfect.

Damn that was a funny movie. Thanks for reminding me!

C

Just don't drink the beer on the nitestand before looking in it.....

[Insomniac]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hb0eJgaHCls&

[Cole Parker]

Hilarious!

C

[Steven Keiths]

One more time I am confused. Y'all can stop your groaning right now. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

It has to do with this, I'm gonna' step out on a limb here 'cause I'm really not certain of the term but this--thread, Hijacking a topic--is what exactly? I know what hijacking is. It is when you try to have an airplane fly where you want it to go, usually by force. Going up the pilot and telling him/her you'd like to go to the Bahamas rather than the intended destination of Juneau, Alaska, and saying 'please' is probably not hijacking. Putting a small calibre weapon to their temple with or without the 'please,' might be considered, at the least, attempted hijacking. So, if I said I was going to, or threatened to post one of my poems, that could be considered hijacking--correct? Poetry is not my strong suit, though I dabble in it from time to time.

These are important things to know as I may not like what someone is saying so I could just tell them if they kept it up I'd sumbit a poem. That of course would have them scrambling to talk about something else.

My other question; why would someone start a topic that asks the reader to hijack it? Is this racoon humor I'm missing?

--Steven

If you can't laugh at yourself; you're probably not funny.

[Trab]

Yes, it is is raccoonish humour.

[Insomniac]

One more time I am confused. Y'all can stop your groaning right now. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

It has to do with this, I'm gonna' step out on a limb here 'cause I'm really not certain of the term but this--thread, Hijacking a topic--is what exactly? I know what hijacking is. It is when you try to have an airplane fly where you want it to go, usually by force. Going up the pilot and telling him/her you'd like to go to the Bahamas rather than the intended destination of Juneau, Alaska, and saying 'please' is probably not hijacking. Putting a small calibre weapon to their temple with or without the 'please,' might be considered, at the least, attempted hijacking. So, if I said I was going to, or threatened to post one of my poems, that could be considered hijacking--correct? Poetry is not my strong suit, though I dabble in it from time to time.

These are important things to know as I may not like what someone is saying so I could just tell them if they kept it up I'd sumbit a poem. That of course would have them scrambling to talk about something else.

My other question; why would someone start a topic that asks the reader to hijack it? Is this racoon humor I'm missing?

--Steven

If you can't laugh at yourself; you're probably not funny.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VLbeQ5EKu9Q

[Tanuki Racoon]

Why I hate Fritz

I write a raccoonishly humourous post on Thread Hijacking

He responds with a very long post in which

(A) He kills a raccoon or two...

(B) He doesn't hijack the topic

© Repeat A

Fritz will find a Very Special Surprise in his shoes, on his pillow, and in his barcalounger.

[EleCivil]

This immediately made me thing of EleCivil and Emo and of course synaresis, especially in consideration of the trailing "e" in "ele" and the leading "e" in "emo". I had to admire the sheer brilliance of the combination that WBMS had created.

Dagnabbit, WriteByThySelf, now you're getting people to associate me with emo. I'm no emo kid, but just for that, I'm gonna hijack this topic, Fourfa style.

Phase two: "emo." Moss Icon, the Hated, Silver Bearings, Native Nod, Merel, Hoover, Current, Indian Summer, Evergreen, Navio Forge, Still Life, Shotmaker, Policy of Three, Clikatat Ikatowi, Maximillian Colby, Sleepytime Trio, Noneleftstanding, Embassy, Ordination of Aaron, Floodgate, Four Hundred Years, Frail, Lincoln, Julia, Shroomunion, some early Unwound, etc.

-Started in the DC area in 1987/88 with bands inspired by that area's post-hardcore acceptance of new, diverse sounds within the punk scene. Moves onward to New Jersey and California, then onward to Philly, Richmond VA, a bit in Canada, a bit in Illinois, and not much else.

-Musically there's a lot dynamics between ultra-soft / whispered vocals / twinkly guitar bits and full-bore crashing / twin Gibson SG guitar roaring / screaming vocals. One of the most recognizable and universal elements of emo shows up in the guitar sound of this style: the octave chord. Octave chords give this style a high-pitched, driving urgency and a very rich texture. The Gibson SG / Marshall JCM-800 guitar combo and Ampeg 400 bass amp is the classic emo gear. Solid-state amps are unheard of.

-The vocal style is usually much more intense than emocore, ranging from normal singing in the quiet parts to a kind of pleading howl to gut-wrenching screams to actual sobbing and crying. Straight-edge boys tend to hate that part, and much derision is levelled at emo bands on this point. Most emo bands tend to have some epic-length songs that build up very slowly to a climax where someone cries. If you're receptive to this kind of thing, it can be extremely powerful and moving, since it's very hard to fake that kind of pure emotion convincingly.

-Lyrics tend toward somewhat abstract poetry, and are usually low in the mix and hard to decipher. Record inserts have lyrics, but often so disorganized and haphazard that they're very difficult to read [unless the record was released on Ebullition Records, in which case there are many inserts on small, brightly-colored papers containing poetic writing from the label owner and all his friends about disillusionment, anger, and things that happened when the writer was four. Such writing is known as emo writing, and there are many, many zines just like that]. Said inserts are almost always done with antique typewriters or miniscule hand-lettering, containing no punctuation or capitalization. Often the only information about the band listed is the band members' first names. Another trait of really emo records is to have no information whatsoever about song titles.

-Artwork, too, tends toward abstract black-and-white photographs of rusted/broken things (especially machinery), drawings of flowers, and pictures of old men, little boys, and little girls. Lots of live photos indicates the band is probably from the East Coast, and probably listened to straight-edge at some point.

-Live emo bands tend to play with backs to the audience during the quiet parts. During the loud exploding parts, the musicans have a tendancy to jump and shake unpredicatable and knock things over - especially mike stands. Combine this with the fact that the singers often fail to make it to the mike in time to sing, and decide just to scream at the absolute top of their lungs wherever they are when the time comes, means that often entire shows will pass without the audience being able to hear the vocals. If, however, the band has a lot of screaming during the quiet parts, this can be an extremely powerful tactic.

-The is a particular emo dance sometimes seen in the audience at emo shows. It's known as "the emo tremble." The trembler clasps his/her hands together (wringing them from time to time), leans forward, bounces quickly on the balls of the feet, and shakes the upper torso in time to the music. Once in a while the trembler will grab the back of the head and rock back and forth. The more the person likes the band, the more he or she will double over. Also, a reader submits: "i think you forgot the "emo chest tap" or just "the chest tap". this goes on a lot in the northeast...i particularly remember lots of chest tapping occuring at shotmaker shows."

-Commercialism is very much repressed in this emo scene. Few bands make t-shirts. Most records are put out on very small, home-run labels or on the band's private label. Records are sold cheap (the classic pricing scheme was $3 7"s, $5 LPs, and $8 CDs. Inflation has driven these prices up in recent years). Shows are univerally $5 or less, and touring bands often are lucky to get gas money (despite the promoter usually not paying local bands).

-There is also a bias against digital technology within most bands. Emo recordings tend to be analog only, cheaply done, with a tendency toward mostly live tracking with few overdubs. Equipment is heavily weighted toward tube gear. Until recently, most emo records were made on vinyl only. CD reissues of broken-up bands' discographies are becoming common, though.

-Lastly, emo bands tend not to last long. It was not uncommon an emo band's only recording to come out posthumously and much delayed. Obviously, this puts a damper on the distribution of the records since no one in the band puts much effort into promotion.

-a modern perspective: the term "screamo" is used a lot nowadays to describe bands that are based most heavily on this kind of music.