continuation of the random thread...

[Andrew_TSKS]

...with a response to alex's "both/as well as" question:

you know, i think sometimes in academic writing people emphasize being extremely precise rather than being clear. wordy constructions like "both/as well as" may seem more correct to someone who is used to academic writing because it's very precise. but i think academic writing's emphasis on precision often clouds the overall point that is trying to be made, because the sentences get really long and complex and it's hard to weed your way through them. so once you conquer one long, wordy sentence and parse its meaning, you've started to forget what the sentences before it meant. and by the time you finish a 10 page article, you've spend 3 times as long reading it as you would have spent reading 10 pages normally, and have only a third as clear of an idea of what you've just read as you normally would.

anyone else noticed this particular phenomenon? or am i crazy?

[Good Intentions]

No, it's normal to spend three times as wrong reading, say, academic philosophy. It's not any less clear in the way you describe, it's just that more dense.

alex, if I were the editor I'd strike out either the 'both' or the 'as well', which I'm leaning towards considering as simply wrong. But as a spellchecker you have the prerogative just to roll your eyes.

[Bannister]

I'm smoking in my girlfriend's living room while she's away  at her parents' house  for the night.  She gets angry enough about the socks I leave on the floor, and if she knew about this there would be a real cold front moving in over our bedrooms vicinity when she got back.

My eyelashes are sticking into my eyeball a lot today, and I'm tugging at them a lot to see if some have come loose.  Consequently, my eyelids are sore. 

This morning, I woke up with a mosquito bite on my neck.

My entire body itches no matter how much I scratch.   

My cute little kitty cat is purring away like an old outboard motor and her sleek, velvety fur is cool on my palm.  Love, love, love x 10 

[cool banana]

slepy ;l

[morgan]

I'm smoking in my girlfriend's living room while she's away  at her parents' house  for the night.  She gets angry enough about the socks I leave on the floor, and if she knew about this there would be a real cold front moving in over our bedrooms vicinity when she got back.

That's not cool, man.  Just sayin'.

[coldforge]

I'm smoking in my girlfriend's living room while she's away  at her parents' house  for the night.  She gets angry enough about the socks I leave on the floor, and if she knew about this there would be a real cold front moving in over our bedrooms vicinity when she got back.

That's not cool, man.  Just sayin'.

Well, not everybody's allergic to the stuff.

[morgan]

If someone doesn't want you to smoke in their house, you should respect that.  Period.

[SPACERACE]

if they can't tell, then *shrug*

[ellaguru]

No, it's normal to spend three times as wrong reading, say, academic philosophy. It's not any less clear in the way you describe, it's just that more dense.

alex, if I were the editor I'd strike out either the 'both' or the 'as well', which I'm leaning towards considering as simply wrong. But as a spellchecker you have the prerogative just to roll your eyes.

I like "both/and", but I spent a long time reading academic philosophy, and therefore I like tagging sentence structure for clarity. "Both/as well as" does sound pretty terrible, but since "as well as" means the same thing as "and", it's not wrong, just awkward. Of course, were I editing it, I'd change it anyway.

[alex]

alex, if I were the editor I'd strike out either the 'both' or the 'as well', which I'm leaning towards considering as simply wrong. But as a spellchecker you have the prerogative just to roll your eyes.

I like "both/and", but I spent a long time reading academic philosophy, and therefore I like tagging sentence structure for clarity. "Both/as well as" does sound pretty terrible, but since "as well as" means the same thing as "and", it's not wrong, just awkward. Of course, were I editing it, I'd change it anyway.

Thanks, people. I ended up just telling her that I didn't know if it was wrong, per se, but that it struck me as superfluous and awkward and that I'd thus strike one of the two terms (I think I suggested to go with "both/and", because she uses "as well" a lot, if not quite as excessively as "perceive", which must have appeared three to five times on every page). Since I just handed her my corrections on paper and she made the changes herself, it was her call if she wanted to accept my suggestion or not.

I fear that my own thesis has some rather ridiculous constructions and repetitions as well.

[alexandra]

i'm kind of around today.

but there is grocery shopping to do and knitting and reading.

i'm now a manager at my job. my days are super hectic.

[Andrew_TSKS]

if they can't tell, then *shrug*

i dunno, seems like a pretty serious respect issue, in light of the fact that this is dude's girlfriend's house we're talking about here. taking a "what he/she doesn't know won't hurt him/her" attitude towards one's significant other seems indicative of coming problems to me.

[SPACERACE]

well it kinda sounds like you know neither of these people nor details of their relationship.

[G.C.R]

New job. First day. Cant tell yet what it'll be like.

[Andrew_TSKS]

well it kinda sounds like you know neither of these people nor details of their relationship.

ok yeah but to be completely blunt, i'd say it's a pretty fucked up thing to do to your girlfriend, no matter the circumstances.

[diesel_powered]

But totally random... I had kind of a stressful day, but I have some very expensive tuna salad from Whole Foods and some nice bread and a six pf New Holland's Mad Hatter and I just smoked the last of my pot, so things are pretty good, all things considered.

[Swimmy]

There's this line in a Radon song that runs through my head over and over.

"I said, 'How do you handle all of the hangovers?' She said, 'I haven't been hungover 'cause I haven't been sober for weeks and months and years.'"

No, this doesn't belong in the stuck-in-your-head thread, or whatever.

[Gracelette]

There was a storm blowing up outside this morning and I was enjoying the swirly grey clouds so much that it took me five minutes to realise my laundry was still outside, by which time, half my socks and underwear had blown off the third floor balcony and gone god knows where. Even though it is a bit annoying that I'm gonna have to buy some new socks, I am kinda in love with the idea that my socks have flew off into the dawn like little witches and are having socky adventures right now. Also I found a pair of my black lacy undies hanging on the banister of our building's internal staircase, which means that somebody was neighbourly enough to manhandle my underwear when they found it outside, which is way more than I'd do for anyone in our building. It is heartwarming really.

[cool banana]

New job. First day. Cant tell yet what it'll be like.

what, where, etc. ?

[YojimboMonkey]

I think a spicy habanero salsa can help me understand other people.  Because habaneros are love, but habaneros are also pain.  Oh god. 

There's only so far I can take that analogy without bad things



Other random: my lovely wife has been packing me sandwiches for lunch in a Spider-Man container.  I have decided that this is because she loves me and she is awesome.

Spider-Man is also love.  But he is not also pain unless you are a villain and you have it coming.

[girl]

Spider-Man is also love.  But he is not also pain unless you are a villain and you have it coming.

. . . or if you're in the audience, watching Tobey Maguire do that weird dance scene in Spider-Man 3.

The talk about peppers in the photo thread reminded me that when I went out for mojitos, we also had calamari. We were sitting outside, and it was pretty dark, so I didn't actually read the menu. When the calamari came out, I put some on my plate and then ate what I naturally assumed was a piece of calamari, only to find out that there were also jalapenos in the mix.

[El_Josharino]

I think it's time for a rousing rendition of "Conversations Between a Kinda Drunk Josh and the Dude Who Works Overnight at Taco Bell Through the Speaker Thing!"

Josh: Hello! I was wondering, do the spicy chicken burritoes come with sour cream?
Overnight Dude: I'm sorry sir, they don't.
Josh: Don't be sorry! This is good news for me, as I would like one with no sour cream whatsoever!
Overnight Dude: Will there be anything else?

That's all for this week's edition of CBaKDJatDWWOaTBTtST.

[Ah_Pook]

. . . or if you're in the audience, watching Tobey Maguire do that weird dance scene in Spider-Man 3.

that was one of the only good parts about the movie, what

[das kranke Tier]

Man, where the hell is everybody?

[YojimboMonkey]

I gave my best yesterday, man.  That bit about habaneros and Spider-Man?  Pure gold.  I'm spent.

I'm making some more salsa for a picnic later this week though and I think I'll try throwing a few more varieties of chiles in there.  Definitely some serranos, maybe some thais.  Give it a deeper heat.