Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[HerlockSholmes]

On 7/20/2018 at 1:33 PM, Pseudonym said:

Another curmudgeonly 'dang kids' rant - people who let their toddlers be 'cute' whilst getting in everyone else's way. I just had to do a flying visit into a supermarket for broccoli, and it's hell in there, it's the last day of term and everywhere, roads, shops etc is expected to be manic. So, it's packed, stressed people everywhere, people having to queue for the self service checkouts when normally you just walk right in. I'm rushing, since I nipped out from the office, and got stuck behind a mother letting her kid 'be cute' by carrying a bag himself, which meant extra slow walking and fumbling, and then, of course, he dropped it. So the mother had to stop, buggy taking up the entire aisle of checkouts whilst she retrieves what her darling spawn has dropped. There is a time and a place, when it's manic and people are already irate is neither. I just wanted to yell 'get out of my f*cking way!' and what gets me the most is when the mother looks at you to share an indulgent 'oh isn't he adorable?' smile. And I want to bark 'no, not especially, he looks like any other kid and he's in my bloody way.'

And just to round out the spectrum, old people who gather in a gaggles across aisles or in doorways. Also in my bloody way. MOVE! 

I occaisionally, for convenience and laziness, frequent my local Macdonald’s but I’ve finally decided....no more. It’s hell on earth. Firstly the notion of fast food no longer exists as it takes so bloody long to get served by the stupidly dressed toddlers that work there. And to make things unbearable whilst your waiting it’s like you’re under constant assault from a bunch of demented, screaming midgets. The alleged parents do nothing. I’m convinced that they could build a fire and begin throwing dogs onto it before their parents would even consider putting down their horse burgers to intervene. OK, I’ll admit that I’m not the worlds most patient man but I’m convinced that after 5 minutes of this experience Gandhi would have had his hands around someone’s throat😡

[Pseudonym]

I'm glad I'm not the only one ranting about the darling kiddywinkles. I felt bad afterwards (though stand by everything)! School holidays now, and there are definitely a lot of places to be avoided.

[T.o.b.y]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one ranting about the darling kiddywinkles. I felt bad afterwards (though stand by everything)! School holidays now, and there are definitely a lot of places to be avoided.

This is a rant thread, don't feel bad. You can vent here, we won't put the holes on your rent, just don't do it in my kitchen! 

Btw, in case you haven't already guessed, I am a parent. And I am not offended. Of course I think my kid is just the darlingest best most wonderful thing in the world but I totally get that that's my unique perspective and I don't expect anyone else to share it, just like I don't expect anyone else to be in love with my husband. (But harm a hair on either of their heads and I will become absolutely monstrous!) 

[Pseudonym]

There are plenty of lovely well behaved kids out there, unfortunately they are the ones that fade into the background in comparison the to screeching, nightmarish ones. 

[T.o.b.y]

2 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

There are plenty of lovely well behaved kids out there, unfortunately they are the ones that fade into the background in comparison the to screeching, nightmarish ones. 

It's the same with adults imo. The nasty ones tend to stand out way more than the decent majority. 

[Pseudonym]

Yep.

[HerlockSholmes]

7 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

There are plenty of lovely well behaved kids out there, unfortunately they are the ones that fade into the background in comparison the to screeching, nightmarish ones. 

Unfortunately all the screeching, nightmarish ones with barely evolved parents have all been rounded up and re-housed near to where I live. And they all eat at MacDonalds. That said, I was in Subway last week  a few miles away buying a sandwich and I swear that I saw a 20 year old couple with webbed hands. The guy would have had to get naked to be able to count up to 21.☹️

[Pseudonym]

I used to work in the library system and got farmed out to various libraries, and one of them, in a really rough area, was awful. You'd see these drugged up parents coming in with grubby, uncared for toddlers - unless they are lucky enough to get a social worker or teacher who genuinely cares those kids haven't really got a chance. 

Of course, not all horrible kids have a tragic story, some people just are horrible. 

I always thought this was a really powerful ad:

 

[Pseudonym]

25 minutes ago, HerlockSholmes said:

Unfortunately all the screeching, nightmarish ones with barely evolved parents have all been rounded up and re-housed near to where I live. And they all eat at MacDonalds. That said, I was in Subway last week  a few miles away buying a sandwich and I swear that I saw a 20 year old couple with webbed hands. The guy would have had to get naked to be able to count up to 21.☹️

I always wonder where they find the people who go on Jeremy Kyle etc. A lot of them seem to be sub-human. Stumps me. Apparently they get them all from your area.

One of my best friends in uni was born with webbed hands, webbed feet, crossed eyes and an extra toe, I always used to ask if her parents were related.  By the time I knew her everything was fixed except the toe. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

8 hours ago, Pseudonym said:

If I do book in a dry cut I have to straighten it all first, which sort of defeats the point of having it cut to go with the natural texture.

This place has always cut mine basically dry.  Of course it's really short now, and not as thick and curly as it used to be. But they seem to understand natural curl, and know how to work with it.  They may not even do perms there -- I don't recall that permy smell.

6 hours ago, HerlockSholmes said:

I’m convinced that after 5 minutes of this experience Gandhi would have had his hands around someone’s throat.

Good thing Gandhi was a vegetarian then. Doubt that he was ever inside a McDonald's.

[HerlockSholmes]

18 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

Good thing Gandhi was a vegetarian then. Doubt that he was ever inside a McDonald's.

He might have popped in for a veggie burger and a portion of fries Carol.👍

[HerlockSholmes]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

I always wonder where they find the people who go on Jeremy Kyle etc. A lot of them seem to be sub-human. Stumps me. Apparently they get them all from your area.

 

I can count up to ten and tie my shoelaces at the same time so around here I’m virtually Stephen Hawking😃

[T.o.b.y]

Who is Jeremy Kyle? 

I wonder whether I can count while doing up my shoes. I am a bit afraid to try now... Although I already know that, in the words of David Sedaris, "my IQ in dollars would buy you about three buckets of fried chicken". 

[Carol the Dabbler]

11 minutes ago, T.o.b.y said:

Who is Jeremy Kyle? 

According to whatever website I checked awhile ago, he's the host of a British TV program that the site referred to as a "tabloid show," which should give you an idea of the general tone.  Apparently his guests are the people involved in some sort of real-life melodrama, who are encouraged to confront each other (sometimes physically) on the air.

There are similar shows here in the US, though I can't offhand name one.  What about Germany?

[T.o.b.y]

54 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

According to whatever website I checked awhile ago, he's the host of a British TV program that the site referred to as a "tabloid show," which should give you an idea of the general tone.  Apparently his guests are the people involved in some sort of real-life melodrama, who are encouraged to confront each other (sometimes physically) on the air.

There are similar shows here in the US, though I can't offhand name one.  What about Germany?

There used to be a lot of similar programs on German TV too. It's what's commonly known here as an "afternoon talkshow" although, as you said, the interaction isn't always limited to talking. 

I have no idea whether they're still running. We don't have TV, we just watch DVDs and stuff that is available online, and since I left school, I am no longer in touch with what's popular. 

[HerlockSholmes]

I’ve honestly never watched JK apart from clips. It’s horrendous. Here are a few clips.

https://youtu.be/9hzgufr5SWI

[Pseudonym]

I don't watch it either, but I've been places where it's on in the background and the entire thing makes me cringe. JK himself is so patronising it's not surprising that some of the cavemen go for him. 

[HerlockSholmes]

It’s one of those programmes, and there are many of them, that make my toes curl up when I even see clips of it.

[Pseudonym]

Disaster! It hasn't rained properly here for months, loads of my plants have died, Britain has gone brown and crispy. Today a pretty epic storm came through, I went toddling downstairs, and discovered half my kitchen was flooded with dirty, smelly water. Just been mopping up buckets of it. Then I had to stick my arm down the drain out the garden to see if it had blocked, which was as gross and stinky as you'd imagine it to be. Waiting for the floor to dry off properly and then I'm going to bleach the hell out of it.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, HerlockSholmes said:

It's one of those programmes, and there are many of them, that make my toes curl up when I even see clips of it.

I take it you mean makes your toes curl in a bad way?  'Cause if not, you're a way stranger dude than I thought!

Actually, this is the first time I've heard "makes my toes curl" used in a (hopefully) pejorative sense.  I'd always heard it used as a synonym to "turns me on."  But Google brings up both meanings, and somewhat more on the negative side I think.

[HerlockSholmes]

2 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I take it you mean makes your toes curl in a bad way?  'Cause if not, you're a way stranger dude than I thought!

Actually, this is the first time I've heard "makes my toes curl" used in a (hopefully) pejorative sense.  I'd always heard it used as a synonym to "turns me on."  But Google brings up both meanings, and somewhat more on the negative side I think.

I’d never heard of the other meaning Carol. Over here it always means something that makes you cringe but possibly for a couple of reasons.. For example, I really dislike heights (I don’t even like being tall.) So when I see film footage taken by someone hanging from the side of a tall building it ‘makes my toes curl.’ But the phrase can also describe something that’s really embarrassing. Like when your young and you see your Dad dancing at a party like he’s a teenager.😃

[Carol the Dabbler]

26 minutes ago, HerlockSholmes said:

... when I see film footage taken by someone hanging from the side of a tall building it ‘makes my toes curl.’

I have an analogous reaction to such scenes, but I'm more likely to say that it makes my stomach curdle or something along those lines.  Come to think of it, though, looking down from a cliff or a tall building will definitely make the soles of my feet prickle.  In fact, just thinking about it will do that!

I've never heard the other meaning used by a man, so maybe it's related to female reflexes.  And maybe it's an American expression.  In any case, a woman sees a sexy-looking guy and she says appreciatively "Ooh, he makes my toes curl!"

[Pseudonym]

Stand back, British and female coming through!

I would use it the same way Herl did, though when you pointed out it could mean something else I could see it that way too. I've never used it that way, but I think I might have seen it written.   

Though if I saw 'he made her toes curl' in a book I'd be a bit stumped to know how to take it. 

 

[HerlockSholmes]

I’d say it’s indicative of tensing up. I was going to say ‘stiffening.’😃

[HerlockSholmes]

From an online free dictionary.

make (one's) toes curl

1. To cause one an acute feeling of disgust, shame, embarrassment, or anguish. Her story aboutthe disastrous wedding made everyone's toes curl. The thought of having to give herpresentation in front of an audience made her toes curl. I don't know why, but the sound ofanother person chewing makes my toes curl.

2. To cause one an acute feeling of joy or pleasure. When he leaned in to kiss me at the end ofthe date, it made my toes curl.

 

It recognises Carol’s version.