Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Kev B]

I like people who go to the library.

I used to go to the library when I was younger. I used to take my 3 kids along and they still enjoy reading as adults. I can't remember the last time I went though. Nowadays I tend to read mostly during the winter when my business is quieter and when I'm on holiday.

[RED-DOG]

I like people who go to the library.

I used to go to the library when I was younger. I used to take my 3 kids along and they still enjoy reading as adults. I can't remember the last time I went though. Nowadays I tend to read mostly during the winter when my business is quieter and when I'm on holiday.

I do all my reading on Kindle these days but I was parked outside the library today and saw an oldish couple coming out with their books. They were smiling and chatting and obviously excited about their choices.

You have to be a reader to understand the excitement of heading home with a batch of new books.

Ooh! Tingly.

[RED-DOG]

I can't believe how much traffic there is on the roads these days. Christ Almighty! Have they nothing better to do?

[RED-DOG]

I went past Meadowhall on Tinsley viaduct and it was absolutely rammed, no doubt with people doing their Christmas shopping.

[RED-DOG]

I had a coffee in Starbucks. £2.10 for a grande, which, I found out, equates to a medium.

Two pounds and ten pence though, that's like, two guineas for a hot drink. There's half an ounce of gold in two guineas.

In 1663, two guineas was the equivalent of £8891.60. Imagine if someone had told you back then that eventually, two guineas would only buy you a medium cup of coffee.

I commented on the price to an old guy who was in the queue behind me and he said, "Don't remind me lad, ah'v worked many a shift dahn't pit fer a sight less. Ah'm glad I didn't save any of it".

 

[RED-DOG]

I heard on Radio 4 about a survey that suggests that the young people of today aren't doing it as much as my generation used to.

What do they mean, 'Used to'?

[Tal]

I heard on Radio 4 about a survey that suggests that the young people of today aren't doing it as much as my generation used to.

What do they mean, 'Used to'?

Doing what? Buying coffee?

[RED-DOG]

I heard on Radio 4 about a survey that suggests that the young people of today aren't doing it as much as my generation used to.

What do they mean, 'Used to'?

Doing what? Buying coffee?

You can add that to the list if you want to. The closest we have at the moment is 'Buying frisbees'.


http://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2014/12/400-euphemisms-for-sexual-intercourse/

[RED-DOG]

Also, I'm scared of the proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. Apart from the every day, common or garden nuclear power station risks like earthquakes, tsunamis and human error, what a target it would make for anyone who felt like being naughty.

[Tal]

I heard on Radio 4 about a survey that suggests that the young people of today aren't doing it as much as my generation used to.

What do they mean, 'Used to'?

Doing what? Buying coffee?

You can add that to the list if you want to. The closest we have at the moment is 'Buying frisbees'.


http://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2014/12/400-euphemisms-for-sexual-intercourse/

36, 63, 123, 258 and others are not exactly euphemisms. They don't imply something. They're pretty explicit.

I'm fairly sure 308 isn't generally used for that purpose.

And 122 is not a euphemism for sexual intercourse. It's an act of itself. It's in the dictionary as such.

341 is from futurama.

Anyone who uses 387 should be punched squarely in the face, as you're never going to see a black hole through a telescope, let alone explore it.

I'm not going to go on.

[RED-DOG]

I heard on Radio 4 about a survey that suggests that the young people of today aren't doing it as much as my generation used to.

What do they mean, 'Used to'?

Doing what? Buying coffee?

You can add that to the list if you want to. The closest we have at the moment is 'Buying frisbees'.


http://thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2014/12/400-euphemisms-for-sexual-intercourse/

36, 63, 123, 258 and others are not exactly euphemisms. They don't imply something. They're pretty explicit.

I'm fairly sure 308 isn't generally used for that purpose.

And 122 is not a euphemism for sexual intercourse. It's an act of itself. It's in the dictionary as such.

341 is from futurama.

Anyone who uses 387 should be punched squarely in the face, as you're never going to see a black hole through a telescope, let alone explore it.

I'm not going to go on.

Sigh....  You do realise I have to look these up now?

[RED-DOG]

Ah! Snu snu. My Fonfon Ru.

[MANTIS01]

While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea.

When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish.

Hurling it far into the sea he said, "It makes a difference for this one."

I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.

           - Loren Eiseley

I hear you Bro.

I've been thinking about this and I must confess I don't hear...

a) The writer spent the morning throwing Starfish, only the morning. And then what, bogged off back to his writing? Or down the pub? Or whatever selfish pursuit he wanted to indulge himself in, never to throw Starfish again.

Why not throw these poor Starfish back for the whole day at least? Or make a regular daily habit of throwing Starfish every day? You know why he doesn't? Because the writer doesn't give a single fcuk about Starfish. It is pretend. After a couple of hours he can't be arsed anymore, it's too exhausting to carry on with this nonsense. Might as well just get on with his life instead. So if we are using this piece as advice for challenging minor social comments we can see that even this Starfish hero gives up pretty quickly because it really isn't worth the time and effort.

b) Every nature documentary I see people never intervene with nature, they always say you must let nature take it's course.

So yeah I don't hear. Imo the writer is simply satisfying himself at every turn.

[Redsgirl]

While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea.

When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish.

Hurling it far into the sea he said, "It makes a difference for this one."

I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.

           - Loren Eiseley

I hear you Bro.

I've been thinking about this and I must confess I don't hear...

a) The writer spent the morning throwing Starfish, only the morning. And then what, bogged off back to his writing? Or down the pub? Or whatever selfish pursuit he wanted to indulge himself in, never to throw Starfish again.

Why not throw these poor Starfish back for the whole day at least? Or make a regular daily habit of throwing Starfish every day? You know why he doesn't? Because the writer doesn't give a single fcuk about Starfish. It is pretend. After a couple of hours he can't be arsed anymore, it's too exhausting to carry on with this nonsense. Might as well just get on with his life instead. So if we are using this piece as advice for challenging minor social comments we can see that even this Starfish hero gives up pretty quickly because it really isn't worth the time and effort.

b) Every nature documentary I see people never intervene with nature, they always say you must let nature take it's course.

So yeah I don't hear. Imo the writer is simply satisfying himself at every turn.

How long he spent throwing Starfish isn't really the point though is it? The point is, up untill then he had strolled past Starfish like that business man strolled past an abandoned newborn in a Chinese gutter, and for much the same reason.
Then someone showed him that that wasnt the only option. He could act differently, if only for that instance. Then he could go to the pub.
Now here's the clever bit.
There were some kids on the beach building sandcastles who only interaction with a Starfish usualy was to chop its arms off with their spades, but after they saw the guy rescuing them they suddenley realised that the Starfish were living creatures who deserved every chance they could get.
So they spent the rest of the afternoon throwing Starfish back, and when their mam shouted them in for their teas they told her all about the fantastic Starfish and how they had saved them, and mam said 'That's nice dears', but that evening, when she took the dog out for a crap, she saw a Starfish washed in by the high tide, and fighting the feelings of repulsion she always felt when faced with this alien species she flicked it back into the surf with the toe of her flip flop.

Starfish saving eventually caught on, it became normal behavior for the visitors to the beach to be kind to the sea creatures, kind of second nature, no big thing, just people taking a few seconds out of their day for the benefit of something else.
Of course there will never be a happy ending to this story because Starfish will always wash up, but it's the best they can do, and thats always better than nothing. 

[MANTIS01]

How are we supposed to have a relationship on your father's diary if this is how long you take to reply?