Anonymouswizard's Random Banter #227 and Free Cup of Tea

[el minster]

They don't count time like that in France?

[Fyraltari]

They don't count time like that in France?

No. We count the morning from midnight to eleven hour fifty nine and the afternoon from noon to eleven hour fifty nine. But even then we generally just count the day from midnight to twenty-three hour fifty nine.

[el minster]

Fascinating

[DataNinja]

Now now, that would be appropriately detailed

Okay, okay, touché.

Of course, such scenes are more important than saving the world!

Plus, from my extensive discussions with fangirls, I've discovered that heroes always want to get with the villain anyway...

Well, of course. She's always much sexier than the friend, even if the friend is kinda cute. Besides, everyone always thinks they can change a villain.

[Aedilred]

What. You guys count 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11?

Whyyyyy?

I suspect it's because people can't cope with counting including zero, which isn't all that surprising in this context because the twelve-hour system originates with pre-zero mathematics.

The problem is really that the system takes noon as its baseline. Noon should logically be 0.00pm, with midnight being 12pm. Then you can either continue through to 12.59pm or restart the clock from zero again. But starting from zero feels wrong so we start the count from one. That doesn't work, though, because that means 12.01am now falls after noon, which doesn't make sense. So we call that 12.01pm to rectify that... but that doesn't really make sense either, because it's only one minute after noon rather than 12 hours and one minute, and 12pm is total nonsense.

It pays not to think about it too hard because logically it doesn't stack up. At the end of the day, it's just convention. As with most language, how we got here is less important than that people know what you mean when you say it.

In essence it's the same issue we have with the "millennium" (and indeed every decade) which we celebrated a year early because we collectively decided to forget that the count started at 1 rather than zero.

Point this out and people call you a pedant. But it only seems to be a mental barrier when it comes to time, and not, say, money. If I owed someone a thousand bucks, and then paid them $999, on the basis that the zeroth dollar counted, you can be sure they'd have something to say about that.

[DataNinja]

In essence it's the same issue we have with the "millennium" (and indeed every decade) which we celebrated a year early because we collectively decided to forget that the count started at 1 rather than zero.

It's because we like celebrating when new things happen, and we like round numbers. That's, I imagine, why it happens.

[Peelee]

You wouldn't like my short story then. There's a little girl that has an ice cream cone, which symbolizes her childhood innocence. She drops it by accident, gets a little upset and ducks out of the way when a giant stone hand squashes it.

She of course quips, "Wow. That is a heavy hand."

Stone? I'm disappointed. The Giant hand could have been made of some variety of pork, and also been closed.

If you want to hear my suggestion then I suggest you should get Grammarly. This app will correct your misspelling.

I thought you stopped using Grammarly some time ago. If you still are using it, then I'm sorry to say it really isn't working very well.

Besides, as always, if I want to read something that'll depress me, I can always read the news.

Oooh, can I recommend you watch the documentary Dear Zachary? And super double secret recommend you absolutely do not look up anything about it online before watching it, if you do intend to watch it?*

No. We count the morning from midnight to eleven hour fifty nine and the afternoon from noon to eleven hour fifty nine. But even then we generally just count the day from midnight to twenty-three hour fifty nine.

It's a half hour past noon. Do you say "noon-thirty"? "Oh-thirty"? Be crazy like three Brits and go with "half noon" and somehow not expect thay to mean 6 o'clock?

Me, I'd go with "oh-thirty", but I also want a 0-11 clock system because I have ranted many a time about 12 coming before 1. Or heck, even the 24 hour clock works, which honestly is what I thought most of mainland Europe used already.

*

Spoiler: No spoilers, just long.

Show

The main reason for this is how the movie was made:

Spoiler: No spoilers beyond a synopsis youd get from any review site or the back of the VHS case back in the Blockbuster days... Just in significantly greater detail

Show

A young doctor, Andrew Bagby, is found murdered in a park. Kurt, Andrew's best friend since second grade, is a budding filmmaker since childhood. At the memorial, Kurt is talking to a friend Andrew made in med school, who takes about how he bonded with Andrew over their love of photography.

Kurt never had any idea whatsoever that Andrew enjoyed photography.

So Kurt decided to travel East, from their California home with all their childhood friends to the Pennsylvania town Bagby settled in to practice medicine, to Canada, and even England, where his maternal relatives were. He wanted to make a memorial video for Andrew's parents and friends, to explore the late of his life they may not have known about, so that his memory could live on even stronger. It was originally intended as a personal memento, never to be published and only shared among their private group.

The Bagby family is very quickly pulled into a sordid affair - the suspected murderer claims she is carrying Andrew's child. Kurt decides to shift the tone of the movie; it is now for the sin, to tell him about the father he would never know. Along the way, it turns into a sort of real-time true crime story, as the murder case unfolds, and events occur that again charge the tone of the film, and shed light in the decision to release it publicly.

This will probably negate all my efforts to get you (or most people) to watch it, but it is the epitome of the phrase "a roller-coaster of emotions." I don't think a movie has ever made me angrier, or tossed me so far down a pit of despair, while also eliciting genuine laughs and having, if not a completely heartwarming ending, then as close to one as could be under the circumstances. And that's why I think anyone who wants to watch it** should not look up a single thing about it, since said events, while not exactly famous, will absolutely be the first things popping up in almost any search engine. By watching it blind, you experience it the way it was meant, and the way the filmmaker and family experienced it, which really pulls you in even more and creates a sort of camaraderie. Because the Bagbys are saints, I tells ya!

**And I think everyone should watch it, it's hanfs down the finest documentary I've ever seen, and is able to evoke the emotions the filmmaker felt and wants you to feel without being exploitative. For example, some (accurate, IMO) reviews:

"It is impossible not to be fired up by Kurt Kuenne's incendiary cri de coeur, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father." - New York Times

"An undeniably shattering story, if forgivably shaky in its impassioned, therapeutic unfolding." - Los Angeles Times.

"Among the most enraging (documentaries) I've ever seen, and while it's fine and heartfelt and I commend it to those of you with strong constitutions, it is the film that has finally broken me." - Vulture

"Kuenne lovingly assembles home-movie footage and new interviews, while deftly borrowing a narrative trick from fiction--the plot twist--to create a true-crime story so gripping, devastating, and ultimately unforgettable that it easily trumps any thriller Hollywood has to offer this year." - The Village Voice

"Without becoming a screed for victims' rights, the riveting film shows how in the face of terrible events a grieving parent is galvanized into activism." - The Hollywood Reporter

And, I should note, these were all from overwhelmingly positive reviews. It got a standing ovation at Cannes. It is far and away the best documentary I have seen. I think everyone should see it at some point. But you definitely should be prepared for it.

[enderlord99]

Stone? I'm disappointed. The Giant hand could have been made of some variety of pork, and also been closed.

Ah, yes. Bacon-punched{.}

EDIT:T he best word to choose in a game of Hangman, assuming that the guessers are all native English-speakers and that the selection of available words is "any word for which everyone present knows the meaning" is...

Piñata.

It's not technically an English word, but most English-speakers know it anyway (so it's technically usable by the rules given) and it contains a letter other than the traditional 26. Nobody will guess it.

It's also humorous in that context of that game.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Oooh, can I recommend you watch the documentary Dear Zachary?

I've just said I'm really not looking for depressing stories about the end of innocence and your recommendation is a "roller coaster of emotions" documentary that opens with the death of a parent? That does not sound like a barrel of laughs.

Although, speaking of, any luck with Pratchett?

Grey Wolf

[enderlord99]

I've just said I'm really not looking for depressing stories about the end of innocence and your recommendation is a "roller coaster of emotions" documentary that opens with the death of a parent? That does not sound like a barrel of laughs.

Although, speaking of, any luck with Pratchett?

Grey Wolf

Maybe he missed the word "not"

[Peelee]

I've just said I'm really not looking for depressing stories about the end of innocence and your recommendation is a "roller coaster of emotions" documentary that opens with the death of a parent? That does not sound like a barrel of laughs.

Grey Wolf

It's absolutely not a barrel of laughs, but I would describe it more as "travel through the deepest dark to get to the light at the end". It's definitely not about the end of innocence (well...that argument could be made, I suppose, but I would contest it) so much as it is about resilience, and being able to keep going even when the feeling to give up is impossibly overwhelming. And putting good into the world despite anything that may happen.

But yeah, there's a reason I wrote so much about how emotional it gets - I think everyone should watch it, but I don't want to trick anyone into watching it, and I understand if any decide to not. Like I said, I realized I was undercutting my efforts to entice you, and I still think that's the right way to go about it. I think everyone should watch it, but nobody should watch it without being prepared for it.

Although, speaking of, any luck with Pratchett?

Grey Wolf

Well, it's in English, so that helps. The very jumpy format I'm not a huge fan of, but I'm enjoying it so far. Much lighter than Dear Zachary.

[Fyraltari]

It's a half hour past noon. Do you say "noon-thirty"? "Oh-thirty"? Be crazy like three Brits and go with "half noon" and somehow not expect thay to mean 6 o'clock?

Either ‘midi et demi’ (literally ‘noon and a half’) or ‘douze heure trente’ (literally twelve hour thirty).

Are you sure you positionned that spoiler box right?

[Peelee]

Are you sure you positionned that spoiler box right?

It was originally un-spoilered asterisk continuation, and when I decided to spoiler it for length, I just didn't think to take out the asterisks and move it. So....yes? I guess?

[Bartmanhomer]

Stone? I'm disappointed. The Giant hand could have been made of some variety of pork, and also been closed.

I thought you stopped using Grammarly some time ago. If you still are using it, then I'm sorry to say it really isn't working very well.

Oooh, can I recommend you watch the documentary Dear Zachary? And super double secret recommend you absolutely do not look up anything about it online before watching it, if you do intend to watch it?*

It's a half hour past noon. Do you say "noon-thirty"? "Oh-thirty"? Be crazy like three Brits and go with "half noon" and somehow not expect thay to mean 6 o'clock?

Me, I'd go with "oh-thirty", but I also want a 0-11 clock system because I have ranted many a time about 12 coming before 1. Or heck, even the 24 hour clock works, which honestly is what I thought most of mainland Europe used already.

*

Spoiler: No spoilers, just long.

Show

The main reason for this is how the movie was made:

Spoiler: No spoilers beyond a synopsis youd get from any review site or the back of the VHS case back in the Blockbuster days... Just in significantly greater detail

Show

A young doctor, Andrew Bagby, is found murdered in a park. Kurt, Andrew's best friend since second grade, is a budding filmmaker since childhood. At the memorial, Kurt is talking to a friend Andrew made in med school, who takes about how he bonded with Andrew over their love of photography.

Kurt never had any idea whatsoever that Andrew enjoyed photography.

So Kurt decided to travel East, from their California home with all their childhood friends to the Pennsylvania town Bagby settled in to practice medicine, to Canada, and even England, where his maternal relatives were. He wanted to make a memorial video for Andrew's parents and friends, to explore the late of his life they may not have known about, so that his memory could live on even stronger. It was originally intended as a personal memento, never to be published and only shared among their private group.

The Bagby family is very quickly pulled into a sordid affair - the suspected murderer claims she is carrying Andrew's child. Kurt decides to shift the tone of the movie; it is now for the sin, to tell him about the father he would never know. Along the way, it turns into a sort of real-time true crime story, as the murder case unfolds, and events occur that again charge the tone of the film, and shed light in the decision to release it publicly.

This will probably negate all my efforts to get you (or most people) to watch it, but it is the epitome of the phrase "a roller-coaster of emotions." I don't think a movie has ever made me angrier, or tossed me so far down a pit of despair, while also eliciting genuine laughs and having, if not a completely heartwarming ending, then as close to one as could be under the circumstances. And that's why I think anyone who wants to watch it** should not look up a single thing about it, since said events, while not exactly famous, will absolutely be the first things popping up in almost any search engine. By watching it blind, you experience it the way it was meant, and the way the filmmaker and family experienced it, which really pulls you in even more and creates a sort of camaraderie. Because the Bagbys are saints, I tells ya!

**And I think everyone should watch it, it's hanfs down the finest documentary I've ever seen, and is able to evoke the emotions the filmmaker felt and wants you to feel without being exploitative. For example, some (accurate, IMO) reviews:



And, I should note, these were all from overwhelmingly positive reviews. It got a standing ovation at Cannes. It is far and away the best documentary I have seen. I think everyone should see it at some point. But you definitely should be prepared for it.

I'm still using Grammarly and so far it's working great.

[Peelee]

I'm still using Grammarly and so far it's working great.

It's really not, I'm sorry to say. That's the problem with grammar programs - they don't do a good job and they also don't teach grammar, so when they inevitably do poorly, you have no idea.

Because if you're using it, I can attest that it is not working well.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

The very jumpy format I'm not a huge fan of

I'm guessing you refer to how there tend to be two (barely connected) plots in the book, and Pratchett switches between them as the story progresses? Well, the good news is that that eventually goes away - I draw the arbitrary (and fuzzy) line between "Early Pratchett" and "Late Pratchett" at the point where books stop having those two parallel plots.

Unfortunately, I never had a problem with it, so I didn't think to give you a heads-up. Sorry.

Grey Wolf

[SZbNAhL]

The best word to choose in a game of Hangman, assuming that the guessers are all native English-speakers and that the selection of available words is "any word for which everyone present knows the meaning" is...

Piñata.

It's not technically an English word, but most English-speakers know it anyway (so it's technically usable by the rules given) and it contains a letter other than the traditional 26. Nobody will guess it.

It's also humorous in that context of that game.

If you're going to allow words people know that contain non-English characters, how about כּשׁר or حلال‎? Or any other loanwords from languages that use non-Latin scripts.

[enderlord99]

If you're going to allow words people know that contain non-English characters, how about כּשׁר or حلال‎? Or any other loanwords from languages that use non-Latin scripts.

Because those aren't how the audience spells them.

English-speakers (at least in America) know about the correct spelling of "Piñata" but they (generally) wouldn't think to try it.

[Peelee]

Because those aren't how the audience spells them.

English-speakers (at least in America) know about the correct spelling of "Piñata" but they (generally) wouldn't think to try it.

They could guess n. The diacritic doesn't change it as letter any more than capualization changes letters. For example if you chose "Ether" as your word and they guessed "e", you wouldn't write _ _ _ e _, only putting in the lowercase e because they didn't say "capital E". Or, if you chose a band, they wouldn't need to say "backwards R" to have the letter r appear for the band Korn.

The ñ trick is stacking the deck and not playing fairly. And that's ignoring that with other commonly guessed letters, like i, a, and t, it could be guessed anyway.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Because those aren't how the audience spells them.

English-speakers (at least in America) know about the correct spelling of "Piñata" but they (generally) wouldn't think to try it.

"ñ" may be a separate letter in Spanish, but in English, it is just a regular n with a diacritic mark on top. In hang-man, if someone calls out n, you'd need to fill in ñ, and at that point they'd probably guess the word.

I mean, you can of course cheat, but if so, there are easier ways to cheat.

Grey Wolf

[Jasdoif]

The ñ trick is stacking the deck and not playing fairly. And that's ignoring that with other commonly guessed letters, like i, a, and t, it could be guessed anyway.

And apparently, "pinata" is common enough to be listed as a variant by the likes of Merriam-Webster.

[Bartmanhomer]

It's really not, I'm sorry to say. That's the problem with grammar programs - they don't do a good job and they also don't teach grammar, so when they inevitably do poorly, you have no idea.

Because if you're using it, I can attest that it is not working well.

Maybe I should try Grammarly Premium. It's an upgrade of Grammarly but It requires money to get Grammarly Premium.

[Anonymouswizard]

They could guess n. The diacritic doesn't change it as letter any more than capualization changes letters. For example if you chose "Ether" as your word and they guessed "e", you wouldn't write _ _ _ e _, only putting in the lowercase e because they didn't say "capital E". Or, if you chose a band, they wouldn't need to say "backwards R" to have the letter r appear for the band Korn.

The ñ trick is stacking the deck and not playing fairly. And that's ignoring that with other commonly guessed letters, like i, a, and t, it could be guessed anyway.

It's one of those cases of 'a legitimate trick, shame nobody wants to play with you again'. Like using a proper noun or uncommon variant spelling (such as UK English in a game with Americans, or vise-versa).

[el minster]

If you're going to allow words people know that contain non-English characters, how about כּשׁר or حلال‎? Or any other loanwords from languages that use non-Latin scripts.

You speak Hebrew ?

[Peelee]

"ñ" may be a separate letter in Spanish, but in English, it is just a regular n with a diacritic mark on top. In hang-man, if someone calls out n, you'd need to fill in ñ, and at that point they'd probably guess the word.

I mean, you can of course cheat, but if so, there are easier ways to cheat.

Grey Wolf

Huh. This is someone I'd like to hear more from.

[Fyraltari]

My own favorite word for hangman is zigzag, because not only do people rarely guess the z, but in French it's spelled "zig-zag" and how many people do you think will think of "-"?

[DataNinja]

My own favorite word for hangman is zigzag, because not only do people rarely guess the z, but in French it's spelled "zig-zag" and how many people do you think will think of "-"?

I enjoy using 'halcyon' for hangman. Not only because I think it's a good word, and I like using it whenever I can, but because it's uncommon enough that it doesn't immediately spring to mind.

[Peelee]

I enjoy using 'halcyon' for hangman. Not only because I think it's a good word, and I like using it whenever I can, but because it's uncommon enough that it doesn't immediately spring to mind.

Ahh, the halcyon days of hangman.

"Lazy" works for me. I don't have to keep track too hard, which is good, seeing as I'm lazy.

[el minster]

What about "za", it's in the scrabble dictionary?

[Bartmanhomer]

Last night I dream of a dragon deity: Aasterinian and Lendys. They were fighting for an ethical reason to have Chaos and Law clashed each other. However one of their siblings Sardior made a special appearance to stop fighting to balance the Chaos and Law together.