So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Lean'n'mean]

I used to swipe pages as a kid, but only from books I couldn't afford to buy, and only when the librarian wasn't looking.

I 'swiped' a few books from the school library when I was a pimply faced, shy teenager. No one else read them except me, serves 'em right ..... Also my second real job was as a librarian in a public library. One of my functions was to order new books & occasionally, I added a book of my own choice, usually some obscur publication only available on library lists & since I recieved & registered the newly arrived books, the book I had ordered remained invisible. This was of course pre computer days.
For those swooning in horror at such a disclosure I would like to state that I have seen the error of my ways & now lead a peaceful, law abiding existance which is just as well as I no longer have the balls to do a fraction of the things I did when younger. Such is life.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Is there anywhere in the US that pronounces words like Warwick, the English way, as in Worick? Sometimes the letter 'w' remaining silent can be difficult to a foreigner, especially from an English speaking country. I know many an English person that pronounces the Scottish town of Hawick as, Hay-wick. The Scottish will smile and politely explain that it should be pronounced: Hoick.

So are you sayin' Leicester ain't pronounced as 'lie-chester' ? So let's here ya pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch smarty pants.

 

[GHT]

So are you sayin' Leicester ain't pronounced as 'lie-chester' ? So let's here ya pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch smarty pants.

Llanfair PG, it's what we all say, unless of course you speak Welsh.

 

[2jakes]

I 'swiped' a few books from the school library when I was a pimply faced, shy teenager. No one else read them except me, serves 'em right ..... Also my second real job was as a librarian in a public library. One of my functions was to order new books & occasionally, I added a book of my own choice, usually some obscur publication only available on library lists & since I recieved & registered the newly arrived books, the book I had ordered remained invisible. This was of course pre computer days.
For those swooning in horror at such a disclosure I would like to state that I have seen the error of my ways & now lead a peaceful, law abiding existance which is just as well as I no longer have the balls to do a fraction of the things I did when younger. Such is life.

Saturday mornings, 10¢ and my school bus pass, I could head downtown to the
public library.
My favorite books were the huge illustrations of world famous oil paintings.
These were for reference only and not permitted to be checked out of the building.
Knowing this, I would bring my own paper and copy my favorite paintings.
Later at home I would use the back of cardboard or discarded wood panels and paint
my own using what I had copied from the library. Impressionist art being my favorite
theme.

For favorite reading material, I would visit Brock’s Book Shop.
The owner had a plethora of comics, paperbacks, hardbacks and magazines
dating back to the 1920s.
The basement smelled of old musty paper. I would spend the rest of the afternoon there.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Llanfair PG, it's what we all say, unless of course you speak Welsh.

For non Welsh speaking listeners at home, here's how it's done;

 

[Edward]

I think what Morrison and Doors did was impressive and, much of it, of high quality - but also, IMHO, much of the high quality material was too similar to itself. Had he lived, they/he needed to expand their sound or, my guess, they'd have been doing their greatest hits from a limited list.

I've long suspect Morrison would have disappeared in 1970, lived in exile in Paris, before re-emerging around 77, re-energised by the punk scene.

Dying young, good looking, artistically successful and in a swirl of drugs and booze - also see Brian Jones, Hendrix, Joplin (she checked almost all the boxes) - definitely helped cement a certain mystique and hagiography to one's work in that era. They were early success and future promise that never had to be met / that never burned out / that never got fat, wore cheesy clothes and played Vegas.

Hendrix gets grouped in with the rest, but the idea of him being a drug death in the same way is a fallacy. He was certain no stranger to weed and speed alongside acid, but his death was caused by sleeping pills - he hated flying and knew he'd get no sleep on the plane to the US, so he took sleeping pills to sleep through the day before the flight. Accidentally overdid them and choked in his own vomit in his sleep. I believe he'd have gone on to more interesting things; by 1970, he'd lost the ability to edit himself down - it was all sprawling and overlong - but I suspect he'd have gotten past that. I sort of envision him as an elder statesman of rock, except retaining his cool, not turning into a naff old fool like Jagger or Clapton.

Brian Jones was already burned out by 68; I doubt he'd have ever gotten himself together much again even had he lived.

Guess you're referring to Elvis in your last sentence. However, I'd wager a bet that more people still listen to Elvis Presley past their 20s and 30s than still listen to the Doors or Hendrix nowadays. Morrison, Hendrix, Jones, Joplin, hell, even Sid Vicious are kind of stuck in their eras while Presley had a wider audience base and a bigger cultural influence. And don't forget that Elvis also died young(ish).

Elvis was always a much more commercial product from the off; none of the others were ever exactly mainstream. Sid Vicious is probably the most famous of the Sex PIstols now because of the murder charge, but the truth of the matter is that he was largely irrelevant to musical history before he died.

I agree - Elvis was bigger in his day and cast a bigger shadow. My snarky point was that his image took a hit with his cheesy Vegas era (which the others avoided by dying young and at their, then, peak), but no question, he was and is a much bigger cultural icon than any of the others I noted.

Funny thing is that it was the kitschy, jumpsuit era Elvis that first drew me in.

I have no idea who is rightfully credited with noting on the occasion of Elvis Presley's death that it was "a brilliant career move," but it's a quotation for the ages.

That exact quote seems best evidenced to have originated with unnamed "Hollywood cynics" as quoted in Esquier in 1978 (https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/08/04/good-career-move/), in reference to Elvis, though there's a persistent internet insistence that Buddy Holly said it first (I've never seen any convincing evidence for that).

Hendrix did make a similar point at some time between 67 and 70, though:

"It's funny how most people love the dead, once you're dead, you're made for life."

Bob Dylan did brassiere commercials for Victoria's Secret not so long ago.

I saw that. I reckon Bob found it as hilarious as I did; he can't have been doing it for the money, and he's notoriously stubborn...

It's also worth remembering that although Elvis grew up in The South's bible belt, he never claimed to be more famous than Jesus.

Interesting how times have changed - if someone said that today, I think it would still provoke a similar reaction in the Bible Belt but would be unlikely to get much notice elsewhere.

The other sister-in-law present at our Easter gathering shared a story about the two-year-old son of a couple she and her husband knew who, upon being presented with a book for the first time in his life, spent quite some time trying to figure out why he couldn't swipe the pages or enlarge the photos. My first thought was that it was a rather sad commentary on how modern life and modern technology have become so intertwined, and my second thought was that this surely couldn't have been an isolated incident.

This is reported again in this morning's Metro. Part of me is shocked - but then I'm of the print era. We're on the cusp of a major shift in communications, where the digital replaces the analogue. There's every chance that in a century or two noone will have physical books, it will all be digital - and they'll look back on how primitive we all were in wasting precious earth resources on paper and ink... The kids I teach now - undergraduates at 21, and postgraduates - all type everything. The only time they handwrite for anyone else to see is when they sit my exam, because UK universities are still a bit backward and haven't gotten on board with exam-software yet. Once they do, I'll likely never see any student's handwriting ever again. I prefer a 'real' book myself, but once we have several generations of folks who have grown up without my attachment to the physical, I don't expect print to last.

Is there anywhere in the US that pronounces words like Warwick, the English way, as in Worick? Sometimes the letter 'w' remaining silent can be difficult to a foreigner, especially from an English speaking country. I know many an English person that pronounces the Scottish town of Hawick as, Hay-wick. The Scottish will smile and politely explain that it should be pronounced: Hoick.

Equally amusing is when they get to Ahoghill.

 

[Fading Fast]

I hate the word "no'reaster." It may have been used in writing by folksy poets in the 18th Century or whatever idiot justification the Wikipedia linguists like to use for it, but New Englanders never *said* it that way until the rise of TV weather channels. Traditional New England dialect is and has always been very specifically non-rhotic, and in a word like "Northeaster" the R sound is elided, not emphasized.

The traditional pronunciation, as used by every actual Old New Englander I knew before 1985, was "no'theasta." Stick that in your Weather Channel and shovel it.

While I agree with all this (and remember it that way, too), what probably bothers me more is that every rain shower greater than a sprinkle and longer than two hours is now called - hyped hard as - a "Northeaster" (however it is pronounced). And if more than three snowflakes might fall somewhere in NYC, the schools must be closed, all the plows called out and extra food staples bought - it's crazy how overhyped the weather is now and how we are pushed to overreact.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Is there anywhere in the US that pronounces words like Warwick, the English way, as in Worick? Sometimes the letter 'w' remaining silent can be difficult to a foreigner, especially from an English speaking country. I know many an English person that pronounces the Scottish town of Hawick as, Hay-wick. The Scottish will smile and politely explain that it should be pronounced: Hoick.

The traditional Boston dialect has a lot of non-intuitive pronunciations -- if you pronounce the suburb of Worcester as anything but "Woostah" or Leominster as anything but "Lemminstah" or Gloucester as anything but "Glawstah" or Peabody as anything but "Pibbady" you will immediately be marked as an outsidah. Lynn, however, is just Lynn, Lynn the City of Sin, you never get out the way you went in.

 

[tonyb]

One "not from here" will almost certainly stumble when first attempting to pronounce Puyallup, or Sequim, or Geoduck. Swinomish and Cle Elum might throw him for a loop, too.

But Humptulips is pronounced exactly like you think it is.

 

[GHT]

Of all the English words that sounds different to it's spelling it has to be Wednesday. At school I remember that it was named after an Anglo Saxon god name of Woden, hence Woden's Day. But I also remember from schooldays, during an English lesson, the reason that we have quirky spellings like silent first letters as in knee, pneumatic, gnaw and so on, was because English went through some dramatic changes during the 15th & 16th centuries. It was also the time of the first printing presses and they tended to standardise the language. Our English teacher speculated that the printers just couldn't keep up the changes in pronunciation.

Although I remember the lesson about Woden and his day, I wasn't too sure, so I looked it up and was surprised to find that even Shakespeare had a go at changing Wednesday to Wensday, but I couldn't find whether it was in the sonnets or the plays.

 

[redlinerobert]

I used to swipe pages as a kid, but only from books I couldn't afford to buy, and only when the librarian wasn't looking.

 

[2jakes]

At 6'3".

About the only comfortable seat in theaters for me!

 

[2jakes]

....if more than three snowflakes might fall somewhere in NYC, the schools must be closed, all the plows called out and extra food staples bought - it's crazy how overhyped the weather is now and how we are pushed to overreact.

Very very rare we get snow.
If we get one snowflake it makes news. Three snowflakes and the city shuts down.
Chains on tires or snowplows....
what's that?

About the only time we see snow is
on Christmas Day:

"It's a Wonderful Life", A Christmas Story" or "A Christmas Carol".

These movies are shown 24/7 around
this time.
Not sure if the projector got stuck
or the projectionist had to go to
the John or it's on auto-pilot and
everyone's at home because of the
snowflakes.

 

[Harp]

Although I remember the lesson about Woden and his day, I wasn't too sure, so I looked it up and was surprised to find that even Shakespeare had a go at changing Wednesday to Wensday, but I couldn't find whether it was in the sonnets or the plays.

Time and the hour run
through the roughest day. Wm Shakespeare

 

[GHT]

Time and the hour run
through the roughest day. Wm Shakespeare

Macbeth? Seriously? I am so impressed, the knowledge of Loungers just blows me away.

 

[Edward]

Of all the English words that sounds different to it's spelling it has to be Wednesday. At school I remember that it was named after an Anglo Saxon god name of Woden, hence Woden's Day. But I also remember from schooldays, during an English lesson, the reason that we have quirky spellings like silent first letters as in knee, pneumatic, gnaw and so on, was because English went through some dramatic changes during the 15th & 16th centuries. It was also the time of the first printing presses and they tended to standardise the language. Our English teacher speculated that the printers just couldn't keep up the changes in pronunciation.

Although I remember the lesson about Woden and his day, I wasn't too sure, so I looked it up and was surprised to find that even Shakespeare had a go at changing Wednesday to Wensday, but I couldn't find whether it was in the sonnets or the plays.

Bill's own spelling was notoriously inconsistent; there are a number of records of him failing to spell his own name the same way on every occasion.

The one that really threw me when I fist moved to London was Islington - somehow, I'd grown up pronouncing it with a silent S, as in Island.

 

[Fading Fast]

Very very rare we get snow.
If we get one snowflake it makes news. Three snowflakes and the city shuts down.
Chains on tires or snowplows....
what's that?

About the only time we see snow is
on Christmas Day:

"It's a Wonderful Life", A Christmas Story" or "A Christmas Carol".

These movies are shown 24/7 around
this time.
Not sure if the projector got stuck
or the projectionist had to go to
the John or it's on auto-pilot and
everyone's at home because of the
snowflakes.

I understand how even a small amount a snow in a region that rarely if ever gets snow is a big deal, but NYC gets several small and a few large snow storms almost every year. Into the '90s, a few inches of snow was noted, but treated as no big deal / still a normal day. Now - like this past Monday - the weather reporters and general news hyperventilate - "NYC to get 1-3 and, possibly, even up to 5 inches!!!"

Come on, that's a very manageable snowfall for this city. Also, it was in the 40s and 50s over the weekend, so everyone knew that very little of it would stick to the warm ground (very little did) and the forecast for Tuesday and the rest of the week was above freezing (so what little was around all disappeared quickly). Hence, this one deserved only a mention, but of course, it was treated as snowmageddon (not that bad, but they ginned it up pretty good).

 

[Fading Fast]

New complaint (really an old one we've talked about before). As I was cutting into a See's Easter Egg for lunch dessert today (I love Easter candy), I noted how much smaller it was than years ago and looked to see that it is 4.2 ounces.

No human mind ever happened upon 4.2 ounces as a number (as a trader, I can attest to the power of round numbers to the human mind - something proved out in game theory as well), but, my guess, years of the food equivalent of coin clipping has lead us to this silly point of odd-numbered weights for packaged food.

I'm sure See's thought reducing the size and leaving the price the same (my guess) was a "smart" way slip a price increase by its customers. And for some, it probably worked that way. But for many - we get the game, know it's sleazy and insulting and, thus, think less of See's.

If you want to raise your price - raise it, but do it with integrity, don't try to sneak it past your customers. The stratagem might seem successful in the short run, but it erodes the good will of your customers in the long run. We used to love See's candy and feel good about the company, now we still like the candy, but feel cheated by the company.

I don't have any studies to back this up, but I'll bet, the loyalty brands like Maytag and Kenmore used to have with the public didn't develop from being sneaky - it developed from offering a well-made product at a fair price and backing it up with an honest guarantee. Maytag, in particular, wasn't an inexpensive brand, but even my didn't-part-with-a-dollar-lightly dad thought their appliances were worth it as they lasted longer, honored their guarantee and cost less in the long run.

When times get tough - and for Kenmore that certainly happened - they were able to call on their customers' good will for a long time. Companies like See's will have none of that as if they have a problem (say a food contamination issue that they clean up and then try to make a comeback), I won't feel a desire to be loyal to See's, but will see them as getting what they deserve.

 

[2jakes]

Macbeth? Seriously? I am so impressed, the knowledge of Loungers just blows me away.

Doctor was impressed that I was reciting Shakespeare when I was on the operating table
and given a sedative or some pain killer while he operated on me.

I had to memorize Hamlet’s monologue in English class at high school which was 30 years ago.

 

[GHT]

New complaint (really an old one we've talked about before). As I was cutting into a See's Easter Egg for lunch dessert today (I love Easter candy), I noted how much smaller it was than years ago and looked to see that it is 4.2 ounces.

No human mind ever happened upon 4.2 ounces as a number (as a trader, I can attest to the power of round numbers to the human mind - something proved out in game theory as well), but, my guess, years of the food equivalent of coin clipping has lead us to this silly point of odd-numbered weights for packaged food.

Shrinking size remaining the same price? You don't really believe that you have the monopoly of such a practice, do you?

And as for the 4.2 ounces, since when did we ever trade in one tenth of a penny/cent? Every fuel garage in the UK seems to.