[thegeriatric]

Being picked up on my spelling and grammatical errors!

[AWR]

Originally Posted by thegeriatric Being picked up on my spelling and grammatical errors!

Does "incomplete sentence" ring a bell?

[thegeriatric]

Originally Posted by AWR Does "incomplete sentence" ring a bell?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[scratt]

oh oh oh!!

Adverts being played at ear spanking volume in program breaks!

[scratt]

TV companies that have big logos all over the screen ALL THE TIME, and that damage your TV.... not to mention your sanity!

Or cable satellite / cable companies that put subtitles in the local language smack bang over subtitles that the original film maker put in there...

[thegeriatric]

Originally Posted by scratt oh oh oh!! Adverts being played at ear spanking volume in program breaks!

Yes. I had forgotten how annoying that is.

[thegeriatric]

Originally Posted by scratt TV companies that have big logos all over the screen ALL THE TIME, and that damage your TV.... not to mention your sanity!

Wow. You are really beginning to remind me. Stop it.

[Fahrenheit]

American actors and singers using long words like 'perogative' when they just look daft, and when it doesn't warrant it.

I don't know why I thought of that. In fact, just celebrities talking about anything but their jobs is a pain in my ass.

Are you seriously cringing and wanting to cover your ears at these two talking?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTRN1auDIoQ

[Banana]

Originally Posted by World Leader Pretend Don't get me wrong, I'm all for more pedestrian friendly roadways, but there are times where I find myself seriously considering vehicular homicide. This happens about 90% of time on campus. You'll be breezing along, being alert, watching people walk along the sidewalks. You think, there are no crosswalks around, no one could cro-AGH HOLY SHIT! *screech* and some dude with headphones stuffed in his ears casually strolls across the roadway, often after emerging from a patch of bushes. You sit there, inches from him, thankful no one rear-ended you.

Well, this idiot deserves to be give a bit of metal spanking; no doubt.

Unfortunately, I've seen this the other way around. For example, I've had misfortune of being at a crosswalk where there's a frickin' box van parked 10-20 feet away from the crosswalk, thus blotting out the line of sight for both pedestrian and cars, so I have to take a few step and lean toward to assess the road. This is where I nearby got my nose cut off by the next Dale Earnhardt swooshing along, as if the intersection simply was... irrelevent.

For anybody who hasn't seen it, I posted a rant about pedestrian safety.

Crosswalks are there for a reason, you can't just cross anywhere on the road and expect people to be cool with it.

Agreed. You know, it's *almost* as if everybody acted as if traffic laws were inconveniences that doesn't just apply to them.

[AWR]

Originally Posted by Farenheit Are you seriously cringing and wanting to cover your ears at these two talking? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTRN1auDIoQ

I can't believe you made me watch that. I hate you now.

A big pet peeve of mine is a variant of the loud commercials problem: the loudness issues on DVD movies are similar. Turn the volume up to hear the dialogue, frantically lower volume when scene turns to a bar. Heaven forbid a helicopter flies by ... The whole freakin movie you've got to manage the volume. I end up putting subtitles on.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by AWR Does "incomplete sentence" ring a bell?

Yeah, it prolly does.

Originally Posted by scratt TV companies that have big logos all over the screen ALL THE TIME...

Oh, oh, oh! I just HATE that!!!!!

They have some amazing scene they want you to see, but a full one-third of the screen is completely covered by their logos and story titles, so that, HELLOOO!!!... you can't effing see the effing scene!!!!!

Oh, and my latest peeve has to do with home and garden channel programs, mainly the ones that involve remodeling rooms in a house, like Designed to Sell.

They spend the whole program remodeling rooms; and then, during the eagerly awaited 'reveal', suddenly start using jerky camera movements that zip quickly from scene to scene so that the viewer can't actually focus on anything; zoom in and out like some jr. high kid borrowing his parents video camera; and plaster a full one-third of the 'reveal' screen with giant "before" and "after" signs... as if the viewer really needed assistance in figuring that out.

I get just outraged when they do this. I can just see some nitwit director thinking the ending needs to be snappy and livened up, assuming that his attention-deficit viewers can't last the full 30 minutes without becoming comatose; but what he has done is ruin the entire program for the viewer. *seethe*

People who watch these shows want to look carefully at the remodeled room. They don't need to be assaulted with gimmicky camera movements as if they've suddenly got the attention span of a gnat. I *will* be writing these idiots a scathing letter. I can hardly wait.

[Kraetos]

When someone decides to break plans with you and not even call. Nothing else makes me angry and disappointed faster.

Almost everything else in life I'll brush off pretty fast. But if you forget you said you were going to see me, and then don't even call, well, fuck you and your mother, unless you have a damn good reason. And "oh well I was chillin' with Matt and I guess it slipped my mind" is not a good reason.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Windswept Oh, and my latest peeve has to do with home and garden channel programs, mainly the ones that involve remodeling rooms in a house, like Designed to Sell. They spend the whole program remodeling rooms; and then, during the eagerly awaited 'reveal', suddenly start using jerky camera movements that zip quickly from scene to scene so that the viewer can't actually focus on anything; zoom in and out like some jr. high kid borrowing his parents video camera; and plaster a full one-third of the 'reveal' screen with giant "before" and "after" signs... as if the viewer really needed assistance in figuring that out. I get just outraged when they do this. I can just see some nitwit director thinking the ending needs to be snappy and livened up, assuming that his attention-deficit viewers can't last the full 30 minutes without becoming comatose; but what he has done is ruin the entire program for the viewer. *seethe* People who watch these shows want to look carefully at the remodeled room. They don't need to be assaulted with gimmicky camera movements as if they've suddenly got the attention span of a gnat. I *will* be writing these idiots a scathing letter. I can hardly wait.

OMG OMG Yes!

I hate that. It's like, I just want to see the finished room! And you really can't. Either they spend exactly fifteen seconds showing you the entire finished house, or they ruin it with fast cuts and Cribs-style camerawork.

[sirnick4]

When someone says, "that's gay!"

My homosexual roommate shed the light for me on this one. I'm glad he did, because I see how insensitive it is.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by sirnick4 When someone says, "that's gay!" My homosexual roommate shed the light for me on this one. I'm glad he did, because I see how insensitive it is.

Ooh ooh ooh! I have plenty of pet peeves where homophobia is concerned. But we won't go there. Not this early in the morning.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by Roboman OMG OMG Yes! I hate that. It's like, I just want to see the finished room! And you really can't. Either they spend exactly fifteen seconds showing you the entire finished house, or they ruin it with fast cuts and Cribs-style camerawork.

Glad to hear that you agree. I felt sure I wasn't the only one who absolutely *hated* what they're doing.

I mean, I used to *love* that show. I would get such great satisfaction from seeing them take a dumpy, creepy, yucky house and turn it into a charming little gem of pleasing design.

But, *now*...

I've seen a few shows where, instead of actually showing you the room, they fill the room up with people talking about their feelings and experiences.

HELLOOO you fools, I wanna see the effing room, *not* watch these people blathering on. By all means, let them blather as a voice-over; but let me SEE the ROOM! Grrrrr.

[Fahrenheit]

Watching those "Dont pirate DVD" snippets that you are forced to watch before getting to the menu of a perfectly legal dvd you just bought - yet get a pirated one from Thailand and its not there!

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by sirnick4 When someone says, "that's gay!" My homosexual roommate shed the light for me on this one. I'm glad he did, because I see how insensitive it is.

How about special interest groups that redefine words?
1) Yes, the word "gay" has "evolved" and is now used almost exclusively to refer to sexual orientation.
2) How do people study Shakespeare nowadays? Someday will the group that happens to "own" the meaning of the word "gay" seek to ban authors who have used that word in ways they can interpret as being derogatory?

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward How about special interest groups that redefine words? 1) Yes, the word "gay" has "evolved" and is now used almost exclusively to refer to sexual orientation. 2) How do people study Shakespeare nowadays? Someday will the group that happens to "own" the meaning of the word "gay" seek to ban authors who have used that word in ways they can interpret as being derogatory?

Wait...what?

[Fahrenheit]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward How about special interest groups that redefine words? 1) Yes, the word "gay" has "evolved" and is now used almost exclusively to refer to sexual orientation. 2) How do people study Shakespeare nowadays? Someday will the group that happens to "own" the meaning of the word "gay" seek to ban authors who have used that word in ways they can interpret as being derogatory?

Come again?

[sirnick4]

Anonymous Coward-

Words change with time. There really is nothing that can be done about that. Do you expect the meaning of words to be constant and never change?

Maybe I misread your post.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by Roboman Wait...what?

In other words, not so very long ago, the word "gay" was perfectly acceptable and not subject to interpretation as synonymous with a derogatory term for "homosexual". Now, use of the word is automatically assumed to be in the context of defamation to persons of a single sex orientation.

If this continues, and the term "gay" is universally accepted to the current meaning, what will happen when someone who has only grown up with that meaning goes back and reads "classic" works that use the word with its former definition? You must admit that people misinterpret things all the time and make some misunderstanding the focus point of some campaign.

Sure, language is dynamic and the meanings of words change and evolve. There will always be some period when the meaning is ambiguous. Forty or fifty years ago, when I was growing up, a situation or event could be described as "gay" and it would not be insensitive or, for that matter, refer to any human trait.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by sirnick4 Words change with time. There really is nothing that can be done about that. Do you expect the meaning of words to be constant and never change?

No, but if a special interest group redefines a word, especially within a relatively short time period, it just causes confusion.

Special interest group here is undefined because it could be those who use the word in a derogatory fashion, or some group that adopts the term, or some combination of the two.

So, it is a pet peeve for me. Why not make up your own word that is distinct from an existing word?

[Fahrenheit]

But the meaning of the word hasn't changed. Its used a derogatory term for people, as some people see being homosexual as a negative thing. Its not like it has just picked it up and decided to use it as a bad word.

[Robo]

Let's go over the meanings of the word "gay," from oldest to newest:

1 "lighthearted and carefree, characterized by cheerfulness or pleasure" - Inoffensive. The "special interest groups" who have "redefined" the word "gay" aren't going to ban Shakespeare for using it in this context. However, like it or not, language has evolved, and using "gay" in this context will make you sound old-fashioned at best and arouse a potentially awkward double entendre at worst.

2 "(of a person, esp. a man) homosexual, relating to or used by homosexuals" - Usually inoffensive.* This is the most commonly accepted definition of the word today; if I told someone that I was writing a novel about a gay pirate, nobody would assume I was talking about a pirate with a cheerful disposition.

*Like any descriptor of a group of people, context is key; referring to the entire homosexual population as "the Gays" is likely to cause offense.

3 Pejorative. Very versatile, can be used to mean "stupid," "moronic," virtually any form of the word "bad," and - unsurprisingly - "queer." Offensive. This was most likely the usage of the phrase "that's gay" that sirnick4 was referring to.

[709]

I used to put about twenty fags in my mouth a day.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally posted by Farenheit:
"But the meaning of the word hasn't changed. Its used a derogatory term for people, as some people see being homosexual as a negative thing. Its not like it has just picked it up and decided to use it as a bad word."

But that's the point. The meaning of the word has most definitely changed. You consider it as derogatory.

OK, let's back up. Go look in the Oxford English Dictionary for the etymology of the word.

That's why I referred to Shakespeare. He could have used the word with a meaning totally different than today's accepted meaning. But he could have written something in which the word would make sense, but still could be read and interpreted by a modern reader, and Shakespeare could then be described as supporting or making fun of homosexuals when, in fact, he meant to describe a joyous situation that had nothing to do with gender orientation.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward But that's the point. The meaning of the word has most definitely changed. You consider it as derogatory.

I do?

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward OK, let's back up. Go look in the Oxford English Dictionary for the etymology of the word. That's why I referred to Shakespeare. He could have used the word with a meaning totally different than today's accepted meaning. But he could have written something in which the word would make sense, but still could be read and interpreted by a modern reader, and Shakespeare could then be described as supporting or making fun of homosexuals when, in fact, he meant to describe a joyous situation that had nothing to do with gender orientation.

So...people who read Shakespeare have to understand his vocabulary?

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by Roboman I do? So...people who read Shakespeare have to understand his vocabulary?

Sorry, I used a quick reply to Farenheit, not expecting that replies would come so quickly. I'll edit the post to reflect to which post it was meant to refer.

Of course people who read Shakespeare must understand his vocabulary in order to understand the context of what he is saying. Otherwise, if they don't understand the context, at best, they will not understand what he is saying and, at worst, they would take offense to it.

When some vocal group takes offense to something, common sense goes out the window.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward Sorry, I used a quick reply to Farenheit, not expecting that replies would come so quickly. I'll edit the post to reflect to which post it was meant to refer. Of course people who read Shakespeare must understand his vocabulary in order to understand the context of what he is saying. Otherwise, if they don't understand the context, at best, they will not understand what he is saying and, at worst, they would take offense to it. When some vocal group takes offense to something, common sense goes out the window.

What vocal group are you talking about? Where are the people up in arms about Shakespeare's usage of the word "gay"?