les24preludes
Forum GOD!
Just a conversation between myself and a group of friends.Again, I ask, where was this?
Just a conversation between myself and a group of friends.Again, I ask, where was this?
And those damned propeller seeds that sprout trees everywhere!Try raking the leaves up every damn Fall.
Bob
I have no words that won’t get me bannedJust a conversation between myself and a group of friends.
This was a joke, of course. The conversation went "what are the most common and typical animals for different countries..." So of course lions in Africa, elephants in Asia, condors around the Andes etc. etc. So when it came to the UK and what seemed the most common and typical animal, someone suggested pigeons and we all had a good laugh. Simple as that.I have no words that won’t get me banned
Sounds to me like you have dug a hole just over chest high and are now struggling to get out of it.This was a joke, of course. The conversation went "what are the most common and typical animals for different countries..." So of course lions in Africa, elephants in Asia, condors around the Andes etc. etc. So when it came to the UK and what seemed the most common and typical animal, someone suggested pigeons and we all had a good laugh. Simple as that.

If you want to get out of a hole, first thing to do is stop digging.Sounds to me like you have dug a hole just over chest high and are now struggling to get out of it.![]()
I have absolutely no idea what you are all talking about - this was clearly a joke and was never anything other than that. Please don't make me use smilies, which I never use because they destroy the subtlety of conversation. If jokes aren't self-evident, I apologise, but I would have thought in this case it could hardly be anything else. This was a genuine conversation and it went exactly as described. Most of my friends are jazz musicians and I'm pretty used to being on that wavelength. I don't know what more I can say, frankly.Sounds to me like you have dug a hole just over chest high and are now struggling to get out of it.![]()
I don't know what their problem is either, super sensitive folks looking for something that isn't there.I have absolutely no idea what you are all talking about - this was clearly a joke and was never anything other than that. Please don't make me use smilies, which I never use because they destroy the subtlety of conversation. If jokes aren't self-evident, I apologise, but I would have thought in this case it could hardly be anything else. This was a genuine conversation and it went exactly as described. Most of my friends are jazz musicians and I'm pretty used to being on that wavelength. I don't know what more I can say, frankly.
Unfortunately this medium of typing words on a page without the benefit of vocal inflection and facial expression can cause comments to be interpreted in a very different manner than the author intended.I have absolutely no idea what you are all talking about - this was clearly a joke and was never anything other than that. Please don't make me use smilies, which I never use because they destroy the subtlety of conversation. If jokes aren't self-evident, I apologise, but I would have thought in this case it could hardly be anything else. This was a genuine conversation and it went exactly as described. Most of my friends are jazz musicians and I'm pretty used to being on that wavelength. I don't know what more I can say, frankly.
Clearly that can be the case. But is it now the case, unlike the pre-smiley world, that unless you use a smiley the assumption is you're being serious? That would be a big shift. You see where I'm coming from here?Unfortunately this medium of typing words on a page without the benefit of vocal inflection and facial expression can cause comments to be interpreted in a very different manner than the author intended.
I see where you're coming from but as sarcastic as I am, I've also missed the intent of what I've read and have had to go through the uncomfortable point of being told that I misinterpreted what was said. And is that so hard to imagine when even when spoken in person many people are still often misinterpreted? You can't compare this stuff to classic literature. Often these comments are made on a stand alone basis. Things said in classic literature are within the context of the book we are reading. Much easier to understand when the context is established for us. Humor isn't always intrinsic on these forums. We haven't lost anything that we never had in the first place.Clearly that can be the case. But is it now the case, unlike the pre-smiley world, that unless you use a smiley the assumption is you're being serious? That would be a big shift. You see where I'm coming from here?
Unfortunately I just can't imagine all the classic comic literature I've read over the years - S.J Perelman, Mark Twain, Damon Runyon, PG Woodhouse, all the Russians like Ilf+Petrov, Catch 22, The World According to Garp.............. (and loads more) ..... I can't imagine any of these with smileys. It's unthinkable. Surely the humour is intrinsic and doesn't need to be pointed out with a big stick? Are we losing all that?
That's a nice turn of phrase! Maybe I'm assuming too much. I'm still never going to use smileys, though, it's just not my thing. I was a literature major in college, and playing around with language is too precious. I really don't want to make enemies for no reason, I really don't. That's not what I want at all.We haven't lost anything that we never had in the first place.