something wicked this way comes
I have a midterm in a week. A week after that, exams start. I think I can, I think I can... One more assignment left, in my Discourse Analysis class, and it's going to be fun. We have to figure out what the discourse marker "whatever" means. Like, in this (entirely hypothetical!) context:
Chris: Aww, poor baby, did you have a dream that you got a 63%?But not this context:
Me: Whatever.
Whatever you may think, I'm not scared of low marks, I'm scared of being stupid and therefore not being able to accomplish my goals, dumbass. ;)In other news, I posted my first question on AskMetafilter. I'm still so excited about having an actual account there, it makes it SO much more addictive.
Things I've been thinking about recently:
- "I was so offended!" "Yeah, no, that's totally inappropriate." Why do we say "yeah, no"? What does that mean? And why is it never "yes, no"?
- Bush vs. Saddam: why is Bush (and most other people) referred to by his last name in headlines, but Saddam is ALWAYS referred to by his first name? Is Hussein just too long? Does this happen with any other (current/former) world leader? (Blair, Arafat, Martin, Chirac, Sharon but never Tony, Yassar, Paul, Jaques, Ariel)
- The graduate degrees I want to take are at York. But having three degrees from the same place is ... well, kind of dumb. You don't get a well-rounded education that way. But I don't like/think I would get into the programs at University of Toronto, they're not teaching the things I want to know. At least, I don't think I can manipulate their programs enough to find out what I want to know. But I could do that at York. But... argh. There's always UVic, with their billions of interdisciplinary degrees, but that is in Victoria. World, why aren't you cooperating?
- I get to see Badly Drawn Boy on Friday! Yay!!
- I know at least five mothers/fathers of my friends who have died when their kids are still under 25. Is that a lot? (for reference: Jane Poelman (cancer), Kathleen Morgan (cancer), Ria Hoogendam (lupus), Sharon Flegle (Lou Gehrig's disease), Jim Hagerman (suicide?))
- I want a dog. Right now. Alternately, I want a friend with a dog, so I can play with it but not pay for it or clean up after it. And not one of those little yappy dogs either, I want a REAL dog. If it can't beat my cat in a fight, it doesn't count.
posted by Heather Ann @ 11:10 AM
7 Comments:
Please, please, please tell me that this "Saddam is ALWAYS referred to by his first name? Is bin Laden just too long?" doesn't mean that you think Saddam's last name is bin Laden. Because that would really be too much to bear.
Argh! I knew there was something I hadn't edited properly in that post. Of course, I know... Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden... I'm going to blame that little slip on Dubya and his constant associations. (dammit!)
How can you say no to that face?
Well, considering that I live in a 3-bedroom apartment with two other girls and a rather feisty cat on the 8th floor, and have no time to walk said dog or money to pay for food/shots/visits to the veterinarian... it's actually pretty easy to say no to that face. Sometimes dogs are actually better off NOT living with me. No dog wants to stay in a little apartment all day with the psycho cat that is Watson.
I believe the first name/last name thing may have roots in the first gulf war. Neighbouring Jordan was ruled by King Hussein, and much confusion resulted in the early days of the war because, because both he and Saddam were instrumental figures and so, many CNN discussions involved what Hussein was going to do about the actions of Hussein and whether Hussein was an ally of the Americans in their war against Hussein.....
Also, whats with the dog pictures post?
Oh, I see. I missed the part of your post about wanting a dog. :$
I concur. Apartment life is no fun for pooches, or for Watson. :)
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