I get some terrific comments on this blog. Quite a few of them, too. The database reckons over 6000, though I think there might be some suspected spams in there. Then again, there are some old comments from 2003 that haven’t been imported into WordPress yet.
Here’s some followups on some recent comments, and on my own recent posts.
On ties. Biff commented on the niceness of silk ties. I concur, in fact over the years I’ve steadily retired the polyester ones and migrated to silk — all those I wear regularly are silk, most of them woven. Nice. I still haven’t learnt how to do a Windsor knot though.
Stitch Sista commented that bow ties were invented for scientists and doctors who couldn’t have ties dipping into things. Fair call. Doesn’t explain why some desk jockeys wear them though.
Roger doesn’t like the phrase “heads-up”. I wouldn’t say I’m overly moving towards Americanisms (assuming it is an Americanism), though I do sometimes call my kids “guys”. As my sister has argued in the past, you can resist to a certain extent, but the nature of language is that it’s a developing, evolving beast, inheriting things from all around.
Flerdle remarks on a school bell that was an actual bell, rather than electronic like the one at my primary school. Marita remarked upon this too (small school in the country) and that on sunny days they would listen to Let’s All Sing outside on the teacher’s car radio.
I wrote about emergency undies. The other day I wore the emergency shirt, when the one I’d intended on wearing (last one in the cupboard) lost a vital button at the last minute.
Not a comment here, but Josh ponders Buying vs Renting.
Oh, and I thoroughly enjoyed Life On Mars last night on the telly. Made me want to dig out all that old daggy 70s music again. And I wonder if I still have that video of The Sweeney around somewhere?
PS. After Life On Mars I had a sudden urge to listen to Cream’s White Room, but couldn’t find it on my ipod. Realised with horror that I don’t have it. May have to go CD shopping at lunchtime.
10 replies on “Follow-up comments”
yeah, I liked Life on Mars. It’s a bit scary that the police (in England at least) were like that in 1973. I’m glad I don’t work in an office full of smokers!
PS I’ll confess I’m over-sensitive to “Americanisms” – probably cos my parents were from England and generally anti-American.
I hope you don’t mind random readers, but I do feel that the internet is just that: random readers that may, or may not care what you are saying. I don’t mind random comments on my blog, and hence feel, well, I’ll try to make my comments as relevant as I can towards the post I’m commenting on. Always good to get dialogue going, and get different points of views. That’s my two cents! Thanks for writing a great blog Daniel. It really is worth coming back to read.
D’oh, I forgot to tape Life on Mars!
I’d have to look it up to be sure, but I think “heads-up” is a technical term used to describe the method of displaying instrument readings on (primarily military) jet aircraft windscreens in front of the pilot’s face so he/she needn’t look down (away from what needs to be done) while travelling at Mach A-Lot and trying to avoid fast-moving high explosives. We probably first heard the term in it’s technical application in films like “Firefox”, so it probably *did* filter into the language from the US (but don’t quote me on that). Of course now, in general usage, it signifies a transfer of information in a timely fashion. And my parents were both Australian and I hate the fact that the Macquarie Dictionary quotes (or quoted) the American use of the term “knocked up” (to mean “pregnant”) as an example of Australian English! If *they* can’t get it right, what chance do the rest of us have?! And since when did we start referring to “pros” as “hookers” in Oz? Strike me roan! ;-)
After all, a “hooker” is a person who takes the middle position in the front row of a rugby scrum (both codes) and “rakes” for possession of the football! Everybody knows that!
Language is constantly evolving. Here in America, we now say “gone missing” and “snarky,” which you never would have heard 20 years ago. We get “snarky,” you get “heads up.”
The origin of Heads Up:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/heads-up.html
Season 2 of Life on Mars recently finished here in the UK. It is an absolutely fantastic show – I loved every minute of it!
You’ve got to appreciate how the British make tv. They have a story to tell. That story takes x number of episodes. No need to flog a dead horse like the Yanks.
You know the Americans are making their own version…
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