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

[SherlockedCAMPer]

7 minutes ago, Artemis said:

Ugh, fanfic and fandom blogs... they can be the worst sometimes.  I only follow fandom blogs if they post mostly nonsexual art, gifs, and funny pictures.  Does she use a consistent tag on the posts you don’t like?  If so, you could try blocking that tag.  If not, you may be out of luck, though I’m by no means a Tumblr wiz.  There may be a way to only follow certain posts from her, especially if they’re tagged a certain way.  I’ve seen people talking about that, but never looked into it myself.

Speaking of weird laughs, I wish there were a prettier synonym for “chuckle”.  As a writer it’s not an uncommon thing I’m describing, but it almost always sounds wrong, especially when the situation I’m writing about is supposed to be more serious.  Just doesn’t fit right.  So then I have to try and find a fitting descriptor, like “grim chuckle” or “sinister chuckle” or “smug chuckle” or something.  Actually I wish there were more words for different types of laughter in general.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

I block the tagged ones fine, but she doesn't tag the PSAs annoyingly. I literally just want to find new stories. 🤨

Giggle? Chortle? Titter? Guffaw? I won't go on I'm sure you know how to use a thesaurus. 😋

 

Thesaurus.com will likely be your friend.  Maybe snigger?

[Artemis]

16 hours ago, Pseudonym said:

Giggle? Chortle? Titter? Guffaw?

 

16 hours ago, SherlockedCAMPer said:

Maybe snigger?

Naw, see, all of those are ugly and unserious sounding too.  A grim guffaw?  An evil titter?  An arrogant giggle?  No, lol.  Unless I'm writing The Joker.    (Also a guffaw is a loud laugh, not a soft one like a chuckle.  And a giggle is a high-pitched noise made by giddy schoolgirls; or Sherlock and John at a crime scene, lol.)  I use snigger sometimes, but it's also an ugly word, and to me it's more synonymous to snicker, which is a whispery, almost hissing laugh you are trying to suppress.  To me it's also more connotative of a situation where someone is being made fun of, so not as appropriate for general use as chuckle.

 

[Pseudonym]

Should laughter sound serious? I don't think giggle is an ugly word. I don't know, it's not a problem I have when I'm writing. I just have people staring incredulously at each other too much.

[Pseudonym]

How did we go from 'the world is overpopulated and we're killing it' to 'the perfect number of kids is three' 🤬

[Artemis]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

Should laughter sound serious?

In some cases.    There are serious kinds of laughs.

53 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

How did we go from 'the world is overpopulated and we're killing it' to 'the perfect number of kids is three'

What? 

 

[Pseudonym]

One of my other groups. Started with 'oh you'll feel really guilty after chapter three that you put kids on the planet.' I said I hadn't put kids on the planet. Then they started about their kids, turned out they each had three, which was, apparently, wonderful. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

15 hours ago, Artemis said:

I wish there were a prettier synonym for “chuckle”.  As a writer it’s not an uncommon thing I’m describing, but it almost always sounds wrong, especially when the situation I’m writing about is supposed to be more serious. 

I think I know what you mean.  About all I can think of offhand is snort, which can be derisive.  I usually need to have a live example in mind; then I just keep replaying the moment in my head (while consulting a thesaurus when necessary).

What sort of stuff do you write?  I'd be interested in seeing some.

15 hours ago, Pseudonym said:

... she doesn't tag the PSAs annoyingly.  I literally just want to find new stories. 🤨

You might post a comment asking her to use the tag "annoying PSA."    Or to tag the fanfic recs as such.

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

On 10/4/2018 at 4:49 PM, Pseudonym said:

Eurgh, I haven't been on Tumblr for months but I'm running out of things to read so I just went sloping back and remembered why I hate it so much. It's the self-righteous PSAs that irritate me the most, and the smug little 'real' stories that get reposted thousands of times but just smack of being entirely fabricated. 

What does PSA mean? 

[Pseudonym]

Public service announcement. It always seems to start with something along the lines of ‘listen up guys, this is important!’

It rarely is.

[Carol the Dabbler]

 

2 hours ago, Pseudonym said:

Public service announcement. It always seems to start with something along the lines of ‘listen up guys, this is important!'

Well, there's your exit cue!

 

[Pseudonym]

That’s why I said I scan the first line and hastily move on. 😁

[Artemis]

9 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

What sort of stuff do you write?  I'd be interested in seeing some.

Oh, different things.  Nothing in particular, and nothing finished.  Mostly dreams, memories, that sort of thing.  I don't write novels or fanfiction or anything, though occasionally I have written outlines for stories and character backgrounds.  If inspired (which is rare), I may write down a conversation or scene in my head if it comes to me; usually in script form, like I'm writing it for a movie.  That way I can get the dialogue and gestures down in quick notes before I forget, without having to fill in the full details around it.  I never do anything with it though, it's just for keeps.

The only time I ever wrote finished work was for school assignments, and that was only because it was forced, not something I was inspired to do.

That reminds me, I was digging through some bins awhile back and came across a short story I had to write for my 10th grade mythology class.  I should see if I can dig it up again and post it here, so you all can laugh at it. 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm impressed that you're so careful about finding just the right way of phrasing something you're not planning to publish.

[Artemis]

That's just the way I am, I guess.    I'm very detail-oriented and I like to do things right the first time, even if it's just for my own satisfaction.

(Also, I love words, so I want to pick just the right ones to describe what I'm seeing in my head.)

 

[Artemis]

So I'm looking for that story, and I came across this thing I wrote for my 10th grade English class.  I remember writing it: I was starting to become disillusioned with the education system, and I was in a rather bad mood at the time because I felt my time was being wasted with way too much busywork, and it was getting on my nerves.  This was my way of making my feelings known, lol.

The assignment was to write our own version of Hamlet's "To be, or not to be," soliloquy.

Sidenote: I never once ditched class, lol.

Edit: Removed.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Love it!

[Arcadia]

"The undiscovered county jail"! That's brilliant.

I'm willing to bet school didn't challenge you enough. Because clearly you enjoy being educated. 😉 

[Carol the Dabbler]

18 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

"The undiscovered county jail"! That's brilliant.

I'm willing to bet school didn't challenge you enough. Because clearly you enjoy being educated. 😉 

Agreed!

I've been pondering the term "ditching," which in this case pretty clearly means skipping school for the day.  Around here that's called "playing hooky" (though I have no idea why), and where I taught in the Boston area it was called "bunking" (as in remaining in one's bunk-bed I assume).

We use "ditch" as a verb here as well, but it's a more general term meaning to discard.

[Artemis]

12 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I usually need to have a live example in mind; then I just keep replaying the moment in my head (while consulting a thesaurus when necessary).

Do you write, Carol?

23 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I'm willing to bet school didn't challenge you enough. Because clearly you enjoy being educated.

You're probably right.  After about 6th grade I started feeling like everything being taught to me was just regurgitated stuff I'd already learned.  It got very old very quick.

 

[Artemis]

7 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

We use "ditch" as a verb here as well, but it's a more general term meaning to discard.

It's both where I'm from. 

I don't think the origin of "playing hooky" is known, I've heard several credible theories.  The expression is used here too, but not quite as often as "ditch" or "skip".  I've never heard "bunking".

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 minutes ago, Artemis said:

Do you write, Carol?

Most of my writing nowadays consists of polishing the wording of my posts, but yes, every now and then I come up with a story idea and generally see it through -- sooner or later.

17 minutes ago, Artemis said:

After about 6th grade I started feeling like everything being taught to me was just regurgitated stuff I'd already learned.

Probably because it was!

I was really thrilled with algebra, because it was actually something new.

10 minutes ago, Artemis said:

I don't think the origin of "playing hooky" is known, I've heard several credible theories.

I just now looked online, and must agree with you.

[Artemis]

42 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Most of my writing nowadays consists of polishing the wording of my posts, but yes, every now and then I come up with a story idea and generally see it through -- sooner or later.

Anything published, or that you'd want to share?    I'd be interested in seeing some.

42 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I was really thrilled with algebra, because it was actually something new.

Urgh, not me.  I started learning algebra in 5th or 6th grade, maybe even a little in 4th.  And then they taught it again in 7th grade... and 8th grade... and 9th grade... could barely stand it anymore by that point.  Then finally in 10th grade I learned trigonometry, but I had a terrible teacher; and the school had messed up the progression of my math education, because I was supposed to take geometry first as a basis for trig.  On top of that, I missed the first two weeks of class.  So I really struggled through that one, and it was hard for me to find purpose in it, because it seemed like information I would never revisit again in my life (and I haven't).  Ask me what I remember from trig and you will basically get "sine, cosine, tangent, and triangles," even though I probably put more study time into that math class than any other.  In 11th grade I took geometry, which I liked much better, but again there wasn't much new there.  Then in 12th grade I had pre-calc, which was basically algebra again, but on steroids.  Then more algebra and calculus in college, plus statistics.  And then algebra again, when I went back to college for my technical degree.

There was really only one math class I took where I felt like I was learning new things, and that was a mathematical concepts course in college.  I got to discover Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio, which was absolutely fascinating to me, along with different ways that math was found and applied in the universe and everyday things.  I wish I'd had a class like that at a younger age, math might have interested me more.

 

[Artemis]

While we're on the subject, have people seen this video, and what do you think?  It's a case for curriculum reform.

 

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

We didn't get algebra till 9th grade, by which time I was bored silly by arithmetic.

Did you ever see a Disney cartoon movie called Donald in Mathmagic Land?  You'd probably get a kick out of it.

[Artemis]

No I didn't!  What is it?  I wonder if it's online somewhere, I'm going to look.