The Grumpy Old Men whingeing thread

Posted by: erik scothron on 25 March 2006

To post on this thread you must be over 40, grumpy and have something to whinge about. If you are under 40 start your own thread (where you can whinge about old whingers)

To kick off I want to whinge about 'Stars in their eyes' on tv - just when you thought tv could not get any worse you get 'Celebrity stars in their eyes' where people you have never heard of, with no discernable talent, sings songs you wouldn't want to inflict on your worst enemy to an audience who would clap if they saw their houses on fire. It's all too dreadful for words. I'm emigrating.

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Dunn:
Hi erik,

Re:

>>I've been forced to watch 'Will & Grace' a couple of times and did not come near to laughing once. What a load of utter sh1te. I'm told this is one of America's better shows! What can the others be like?<<

It's like the Chinese water torture... but mostly without the Chinese.

Mark

Mark,

Torture indeed. Who is that squeeky high pitched hysterical woman and why doesn't someone just shoot her? Grrrrr!

Erik

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by erik scothron

English people who use sloppy americanism such as people being served in a shop saying 'can I get a coffee.....can I get a doughnut'. If I worked in the coffee shop I would have to reply 'no, don't worry, I'll get it, you wait there'.

People who say 'really really' as in 'we had a really really great time' or....

'there was this big huge car' or....

'...and I was like so not happy, I was like really really pissed at him and he was like , you know, like so ignoring me'

Where will it all end? I'm emigrating.

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by u5227470736789439

I am so grumpy, that I I don't have a TV! When I lived in Worcester (west of the river), I got several distinctly nasty and threatening letters off the Licencing people, I put the whole affair in the capable hands of my then MP, Sir Micheal Spicer. I had a quite nice letter back from the TV people apologizing.

I think being grumpy, meant I could say, without a hint irony to the girl manning the telephone line (before I agve up and got my MP involved), that I was surprised any intelligent young person would waste their waking hours sitting in front of such dross. "Surely, you don't!" I am not sure what the poor lass made of it, but whatever, the letters continued.

In Hereford the same rigmarole has started again, but I have just biined them. I had a card from an inspector posted through the letter box. I can only say that I was sorry not to have been at home when the ispector called! I am sure I could have bored him to death for half an hour listening to say the second Partita of old Bach, over a cup of tea.

I tried this once with some Jehovah's Witnesses. Though they had to stay for the whole of part one of Messiah! In that case I said that there should be not talking during the music. They never returned! I think I frightened them.

Fredrik

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by Phil Cork

quote:
Originally posted by erik scothron:
English people who use sloppy americanism such as people being served in a shop saying 'can I get a coffee.....can I get a doughnut'. If I worked in the coffee shop I would have to reply 'no, don't worry, I'll get it, you wait there'.

People who say 'really really' as in 'we had a really really great time' or....

'there was this big huge car' or....

'...and I was like so not happy, I was like really really pissed at him and he was like , you know, like so ignoring me'

Where will it all end? I'm emigrating.

There was a great episode of 'men behaving badly' where Tony's brother and girlfriend are staying, and Gary gets so annoyed with them (getting in the way, shagging all the time etc) that he eventually loses it and rants at the girlfriend, who stares at him in amazement and says "that's, like, really rude"

Gary's response (shouted in anger) "when you say like, do you mean 'similar to' or are you just being working class?"

Classic!

phil

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:

I tried this once with some Jehovah's Witnesses. Though they had to stay for the whole of part one of Messiah! In that case I said that there should be not talking during the music. They never returned! I think I frightened them.

Fredrik

Good one Fredrik. Actually I go one stage further. I knock on their doors and that certainly frightens them.

Posted on: 21 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:

Gary's response (shouted in anger) "when you say like, do you mean 'similar to' or are you just being working class?"

Classic!

phil

Excellent Phil. I have a friend with two daughters at public school and they both talk like this. I challenged them to a 1 minute chat without saying 'and I was like...' in fact they could not go one sentance because they 'are like addicted' to it and they go ape if I call them chav.

Posted on: 22 April 2006 by Chillkram

Erik

My eleven year old daughter is the same. I doubt she can string together a sentence without uttering 'like' at every fourth word. Sometimes, we even get a double-barreled 'like-like' when she's thinking of what to say next!

Personally I blame the parents!

Mark

Posted on: 22 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:
Originally posted by Chillkram:
Erik

My eleven year old daughter is the same. I doubt she can string together a sentence without uttering 'like' at every fourth word. Sometimes, we even get a double-barreled 'like-like' when she's thinking of what to say next!

Personally I blame the parents!

Mark

Mark,

Another pet hate of mine is the 'you know' brigade. Those who say 'you know' in every other sentance. 'you know' and 'like' are what I call 'sentence fillers'. Everytime a person struggles for a word they whack in the sentence filler. On a casual level a person may seem articulate because they don't pause for breath when talking but take out the sentence fillers and what is left? The sentence fillers are automatic and require no thought but using them gives the practioner a second longer to fish for a suitable word which if they can't find results in yet another sentence filler which is your 'like, like' I suppose.

I watched Kate Winslett on 'Parkinson' and I swear she said 'you know' at least once in every single sentence. Imagine the conceit, for so it is in my view, that instead of seeking for a way to comunicate effectly one imputes mind reading skills on one's audience and then get upset when one's audience fails to understand. When this happens they tend to say the same thing slower or louder or both.

My response upon hearing 'you know' is 'no, sorry I don't know'. Many children are seemingly incapable of precise, carefully constructed sentences however they pass their english exams. How can this be? Do children simply just swap from one mode of communication to another or are exams just massively dumbed down these days?

Who knows? Not moi. I'm emmigrating.

Regards,

Erik

Posted on: 22 April 2006 by Phil Cork

To change the subject slightly,

What annoys me IMMENSELY are the sticky security seals that come on DVDs these days!

They're extremely difficult to get off, rip easily (rather than coming off in one go), and often rip the plastic cover of the DVD case itself! And there are frequently THREE of them, one on each 'opening face' of the DVD case. I'm sure that one of the buggers would deter 99% of people intent on stealing DVDs, why three??!!

An analogy would be a high security car key which needs to be fiddled with for 10 minutes and ends up, like, scratching the paintwork or ruining the lock. Or a door key where you have to damage the door to get in, and it takes you half an hour.

Please, please can they think of another way of protecting DVDs from shoplifting?

Yours, despairingly,

Phil <sigh>

ps the word 'like' was added intentionally for Eric

Posted on: 22 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:
Originally posted by Phil Cork:
To change the subject slightly,

What annoys me IMMENSELY are the sticky security seals that come on DVDs these days!

Phil,

Some idiot in my local DVD shop whacks a big fat price label OVER THE TITLE of the DVD so I have to pick each one out and look on the back to see what it is.

Thank you for the 'like'.

Erik

Posted on: 23 April 2006 by Chillkram

quote:
Originally posted by erik scothron: Another pet hate of mine is the 'you know' brigade. Those who say 'you know' in every other sentance. 'you know' and 'like' are what I call 'sentence fillers'. Everytime a person struggles for a word they whack in the sentence filler. On a casual level a person may seem articulate because they don't pause for breath when talking but take out the sentence fillers and what is left? The sentence fillers are automatic and require no thought but using them gives the practioner a second longer to fish for a suitable word which if they can't find results in yet another sentence filler which is your 'like, like' I suppose.

Erik

This has now evolved to a composite 'like, you know' which is even more meaningless and inane.

Also sentences are interspersed frequently with 'yeah?' as if seeking approval for every point made, or worse, 'you get me, yeah?' (this last my daughter utters only mockingly thank goodness).

Although I have posted on another thread that language is organic and ever-evolving (which it is) this doesn't mean that standards should drop. Good english is the basis of good communication and we should not allow this debasement of our our language to continue unabated.

I always correct my daughter whenever I hear any of these 'sentence fillers' but I fear, taking up on another point you made, that the school does not take the matter as seriously as they should. Misspellings go uncorrected, poor sentence structure is tolerated and, I believe, this does result in the dumbing down to which you refer. This was not the case when I was at school and the page would have been covered in accusatory red pen had I presented work of the standard I see left uncorrected in her book.

Or maybe my vision is clouded by looking back through the many years since I was at school.

Or perhaps I'm just being a grumpy old man, but then that is the title of this thread so I'll not apologise for that.

Ah, there's nothing like a good rant on a Sunday morning to clear the cobwebs! Now, like, where's that girl? I'm off to do some shouting!

Regards

Mark

Posted on: 23 April 2006 by erik scothron

quote:
Originally posted by Chillkram:
quote:
Originally posted by erik scothron: Another pet hate of mine is the 'you know' brigade. Those who say 'you know' in every other sentance. 'you know' and 'like' are what I call 'sentence fillers'. Everytime a person struggles for a word they whack in the sentence filler. On a casual level a person may seem articulate because they don't pause for breath when talking but take out the sentence fillers and what is left? The sentence fillers are automatic and require no thought but using them gives the practioner a second longer to fish for a suitable word which if they can't find results in yet another sentence filler which is your 'like, like' I suppose.

Erik

This has now evolved to a composite 'like, you know' which is even more meaningless and inane.

Also sentences are interspersed frequently with 'yeah?' as if seeking approval for every point made, or worse, 'you get me, yeah?' (this last my daughter utters only mockingly thank goodness).

Although I have posted on another thread that language is organic and ever-evolving (which it is) this doesn't mean that standards should drop. Good english is the basis of good communication and we should not allow this debasement of our our language to continue unabated.

I always correct my daughter whenever I hear any of these 'sentence fillers' but I fear, taking up on another point you made, that the school does not take the matter as seriously as they should. Misspellings go uncorrected, poor sentence structure is tolerated and, I believe, this does result in the dumbing down to which you refer. This was not the case when I was at school and the page would have been covered in accusatory red pen had I presented work of the standard I see left uncorrected in her book.

Or maybe my vision is clouded by looking back through the many years since I was at school.

Or perhaps I'm just being a grumpy old man, but then that is the title of this thread so I'll not apologise for that.

Ah, there's nothing like a good rant on a Sunday morning to clear the cobwebs! Now, like, where's that girl? I'm off to do some shouting!

Regards

Mark

Mark,

Excellent. I agree entirely. If I had children I fear I would spend my whole time correcting their english and I would end up alienating them. I feel for those parents who through good example bring children up to be articulate and polite only to see their efforts ruined by mixing with other children.

I also blame the celebrity culture which so many aspire to. If children see their celebrity idols in say, 'East Enders' speak or behave in a certain way then they think it must be ok for them to. I blame'east enders' for spreading so much slovenly speech and bad attitude. I would ban it.

As for the teachers you mentioned I think I would send their work back to them 'corrected' and I would take it up with their heads of department etc.

As for having a good rant on a sunday morning I find it sets one up for the day rather like a good breakfast and it beats going to church, like, you know.

All the best,

Erik

Posted on: 23 April 2006 by Guido Fawkes

quote:
Originally posted by erik scothron:
English people who use sloppy americanism such as people being served in a shop saying 'can I get a coffee.....can I get a doughnut'. If I worked in the coffee shop I would have to reply 'no, don't worry, I'll get it, you wait there'.

Coffee shops frustrate me. Why can't I just buy a cup of coffee without having to answer twenty questions? "Do you want Colombia Nariño Supremo with satisfying walnut flavors, Guatemala Antigua, House Blend, LightNote Blend or Organic Shade Grown Mexico? Do you want it large, extra large or regular? Do you want it decaf (whatever that means)?" At which point I say "could I possibly have a pot of tea instead?"

I tried to buy Fish and Chips and was asked if I wanted Fish Lunch Special or Fish Lunch Deluxe. When I asked the difference, I was told: Special had Baked Beans and Deluxe had Mushy Peas. So I said neither just Fish and Chips. "Oh we don't do that, we do Fish Lunch Special or Fish Lunch Deluxe". "Well can I have Fish Lunch Special without Baked Beans?" "I don't know I'll have to ask the manager".

And what on earth are fries? I think they mean chips.

I must be getting old.

Posted on: 23 April 2006 by Guido Fawkes

quote:
Originally posted by Phil Cork:
What annoys me IMMENSELY are the sticky security seals that come on DVDs these days!

I don't know why those ugly bar code strips on the artwork on elpees and CDs are not easy to peel off stickers.

I bet if I bought the equivalent of Rembrandt today then it would have a bar code in the corner.

Posted on: 23 April 2006 by Chillkram

quote:
Originally posted by erik scothron:

As for the teachers you mentioned I think I would send their work back to them 'corrected' and I would take it up with their heads of department etc.

God idea, Erik, I may try that.

quote:
Originally posted by ROTF:

Coffee shops frustrate me. Why can't I just buy a cup of coffee without having to answer twenty questions? "Do you want Colombia Nariño Supremo with satisfying walnut flavors, Guatemala Antigua, House Blend, LightNote Blend or Organic Shade Grown Mexico? Do you want it large, extra large or regular? Do you want it decaf (whatever that means)?" At which point I say "could I possibly have a pot of tea instead?"

Agreed, and the other issue I have with coffee shops is the fact they feel the need to serve it scaldingly hot. I frequently have to ask them to put cold water in. Surely coffee is best made at below boiling point.

Mark