Search found 4058 matches

by Raphael
Wed Apr 24, 2024 5:22 am
Forum: Conlangery
Topic: Exploring the diversity of constructed languages
Replies: 6
Views: 461

Re: Exploring the diversity of constructed languages

You're right about conlanging in general - but specifically here on the ZBB , there traditionally seems to be a focus on "naturalistic" conlangs, that is, conlangs that might plausibly be spoken by humans from Earth, or a fantasy or science fiction species very similar to humans from Earth...
by Raphael
Sun Apr 21, 2024 6:32 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Venting thread
Replies: 1940
Views: 15029303

Re: Venting thread

Raphael wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2024 9:37 am An elderly friend of the family is in the hospital after a stroke. I don't know her that well personally, but I know her husband fairly well.
Turns out the husband of the couple had a stroke a day or two after his wife did. He's in the hospital, too. When it rains...
by Raphael
Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:56 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?
Replies: 43
Views: 1268

Re: Do you think it will ever be possible to go back in time?

The one thing we can say about our current physics is that it does not yet completely model the universe, so if we discover new physics, it is conceivable that that might tell us it is possible to go faster than light. But I consider it exceedingly unlikely. And I'm not sure that even that would ma...
by Raphael
Sun Apr 21, 2024 2:45 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: British Politics Guide
Replies: 1936
Views: 1019803

Re: British Politics Guide

Trivial note: a few days ago, I noticed that the word "laboratory" contains the names of both of the major British parties (yes, I know about the missing "u"), and now I can't unsee that.
by Raphael
Sun Apr 21, 2024 2:41 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Happy things thread!
Replies: 1211
Views: 716904

Re: Happy things thread!

Nice to see something good happening to you once in a while!
by Raphael
Sun Apr 21, 2024 2:38 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Venting thread
Replies: 1940
Views: 15029303

Re: Venting thread

Just yesterday my brother and my other brother's girlfriend got into a pretty serious car crash. My brother sustained a concussion and a minor injury to his spleen while my brother's girlfriend sustained two broken limbs, a shattered pelvis, marrow on her lungs and a more serious concussion. Both w...
by Raphael
Fri Apr 19, 2024 12:38 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: War in the Middle East, again
Replies: 455
Views: 75795

Re: War in the Middle East, again

I wish the solution to global antisemitism was as simple as "give the Jews a nation-state", but it really isn't. Without the support of the USA, would Israel even still exist? And if that's the case, then for Jews to be safe in Israel they have to be safe in the USA as well. An antisemiti...
by Raphael
Fri Apr 19, 2024 12:28 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Random Thread
Replies: 3734
Views: 453018

Re: Random Thread

Travis B. wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2024 10:34 am
Man in Space wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2024 4:31 am - Not just one, but two 1:6-scale Mr. Clean action figures (still in their boxes)
Did anyone actually specify how tall Mr. Clean is?
The text that came with those figures, perhaps?
by Raphael
Fri Apr 19, 2024 3:17 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Random Thread
Replies: 3734
Views: 453018

Re: Random Thread

It's now been about ten years since I bought the first handful of DVDs that eventually grew into a fairly large de facto DVD collection. I say "de facto" because I never set out to collect DVDs, the way people set out to collect sports cards or action figures. I just thought it would be ni...
by Raphael
Tue Apr 16, 2024 9:37 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Venting thread
Replies: 1940
Views: 15029303

Re: Venting thread

An elderly friend of the family is in the hospital after a stroke. I don't know her that well personally, but I know her husband fairly well.
by Raphael
Tue Apr 16, 2024 6:39 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1406
Views: 450583

Re: English questions

Which pronunciation of Chicago do you favor (I have been listening about "End of Beginning" by Djo, i.e. Joe Keery, on repeat today), which prominently has THOUGHT in Chicago while from hearing people from Chicago speak I generally hear it with a clear centralized or even fronted LOT (i.e...
by Raphael
Mon Apr 15, 2024 6:33 am
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1406
Views: 450583

Re: English questions

Raphael wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2024 3:44 pm What is the exact meaning of the word "cute" in Hiberno-English? It seems to be subtly different from its meaning in most other varieties of English, but I'm not entirely sure how.
Bump?
by Raphael
Fri Apr 12, 2024 1:42 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: United States Politics Thread 46
Replies: 1431
Views: 446221

Re: United States Politics Thread 46

From the Nietzsche thread: Well ok. I have never actually watched Southpark so I didn't get the reference. Pretty much everyone I know considers the show intensely bigoted and reactionary, for what it's worth. They were libertarians, but they do oppose Trump. Penn Jillette was libertarian too until...
by Raphael
Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:42 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: United States Politics Thread 46
Replies: 1431
Views: 446221

Re: United States Politics Thread 46

Are Americans that interested in socialism? If the answer turns out to be'not that much' well, it still sucks but the situation does reflect public opinion. The key thing is that the vast majority of Americans don't know what socialism is and confuse "socialism" with either social democra...
by Raphael
Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:34 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Venting thread
Replies: 1940
Views: 15029303

Re: Venting thread

Got hit with a slur today by some guy who claimed that English has stopped evolving and is now frozen. This is the first time I can recall having been hit with a slur that refers to a group I belong to. 1) Sorry to hear that. 2) Is that slur a relatively recent coinage? In that case, it would be qu...
by Raphael
Mon Apr 08, 2024 3:05 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: United States Politics Thread 46
Replies: 1431
Views: 446221

Re: United States Politics Thread 46

It's been said all over the internet, but it's worth repeating: The entire strategy of the Democratic Party is to be one yottameter (no more no less) to the left of the GOP, so they can stake a claim to 50% of the Overton window without spooking their donors or rattling their own personal finances....
by Raphael
Sun Apr 07, 2024 3:44 pm
Forum: Languages
Topic: English questions
Replies: 1406
Views: 450583

Re: English questions

What is the exact meaning of the word "cute" in Hiberno-English? It seems to be subtly different from its meaning in most other varieties of English, but I'm not entirely sure how.
by Raphael
Sun Apr 07, 2024 3:41 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Happy things thread!
Replies: 1211
Views: 716904

Re: Happy things thread!

Good luck, bradrn!
bradrn wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2024 12:59 pm

(Also, re Ares Land: ‘there’? I got the impression that you live in Paris yourself…)
I think he mentioned a while ago that he was moving somewhere else, which was part of why he didn't post much for a while.
by Raphael
Tue Apr 02, 2024 4:33 am
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Settler colonialism in action
Replies: 183
Views: 5965

Re: Settler colonialism in action

Anyway, I mostly stay out of the "Libs discover world politics" threads, but geez, this one is bad. Err, what? If by "Libs" you mean "anyone who's neither a tankie nor a right-winger", then, whatever the flaws of their own understanding of the world, they at least make...
by Raphael
Sat Mar 30, 2024 3:00 pm
Forum: Ephemera
Topic: Random Thread
Replies: 3734
Views: 453018

Re: Random Thread

rotting bones wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2024 2:00 pmTaking random vitamins for general health is a scam. (Originally, scammers sold them as a cure for cancer!)
Yes, that's the reason why I posted my initial question.