Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.

[ << Previous 25 ]

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
ginmar	12:44a	( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
linguaphiles [ widdertwin ]	4:14p	Brand names seeping into the lexicon Is there a word for when a trademarked name works its way into a language as the general word used for that item? A few examples in English I can think of are Bandaid, Kleenex, and Thermos. In German there's Tempotuch (a brand of pocket-sized tissue packs) and a few others. Is it just a subset of metonymy, or is this something entirely different? I'm also curious about examples from other languages. (13 Comments |Comment on this)
ginmar	5:58p	And another couple of things ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
tatjna	9:46a	Today you don't get a cut ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
linguaphiles [ di_glossia ]	4:54p	"Shag" Usage On the radio today, I heard an advertisement for an upcoming local concert called z104 ShagFest. Among local beachgoers, shag is slang for dancing. I'm familiar with the BrE shag, but I have no idea whether it's still used in a sexual context. My question is: would this name be amusing to non-AmE speakers? For that matter, AmE speakers not from Eastern Virginia or the Carolinas? (35 Comments |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ dorsetgirl ]	7:46p	Use of "has closed" in American English Today's "Official Google Blog" has confused me quite a lot. At the beginning of the second paragraph is the statement "...I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed." My first thought was - that's an odd thing to get excited about. I carried on reading, looking for an explanation of (a) why Google were no longer dealing with Motorola and (b) why this was exciting. I didn't find one. Having reached the bottom, still in great puzzlement, I finally realised that I'd missed the title: "We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility". Which is presumably exciting. So my questions: (1) Do other speakers of British English find this an odd way to phrase this announcement? Did/would you read it as something having ended? (2) For speakers of American English - is this a standard phrasing? Does the word "closed" ever mean "ended", or does it always mean "signed and sealed"? (25 Comments |Comment on this)
seanan_mcguire	9:10a	There's room for everyone on the Wall. And now, the moment I have been quietly waiting for... Ahem. From today's announcement at Publishers Weekly: "Film rights: Mira Grant's trilogy, Feed, Deadline, and Blackout, optioned to Rachel Olschan, producer at Electric Entertainment, by Pouya Shahbazian of FinePrint, on behlf of Diana Fox at Fox Literary." WE OPTIONED THE FILM RIGHTS TO FEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, this doesn't mean this will necessarily be a movie (although I hope there will), but it takes us a huge, huge step closer to that becoming a reality. Everyone I've dealt with has been amazing, supportive, and enthusiastic, and now there's a beautiful chance that maybe, we can see Shaun and Georgia Mason on the big screen. How's that for a book-day present? ETA: Belated comment amnesty, because you guys are awesomely enthusiastic, and wow will I never get to all these comments! Current Mood: ecstatic (179 Comments |Comment on this)
seanan_mcguire	7:53a	When will you rise? Blackout is on store shelves today. After more than six years of work, and after three years of publication dates, the trilogy is over. I may have seemed a little quiet lately. That's honestly because I'm sort of in shock. I just can't believe it's over. I've been living with these people for so long that knowing that their book is closed is just...it's stunning. It's difficult to wrap my head around. It's finished. When I finished Feed, it was the best thing I had ever written, and I truly believe that writing it is what enabled me to grow enough as an author to become publication-ready (the final revision of Rosemary and Rue happened after the first draft of Feed). Each subsequent book has stolen that title from its predecessor. I am proud of these books. I am amazed by them. And no, I am not ashamed to say that. It's my book-day. I get to be proud. This trilogy has earned me two Hugo nominations (three, if you count "Countdown"), a place on the Publishers Weekly Best Books list, and so much more. It has brought me into contact with amazing people from around the world. It has allowed me to indulge my passion for viruses and pandemic preparedness without freaking people out (too much). It has changed my life forever, and I am so grateful, and I am so pleased that you have all been here with me. I'll open the discussion thread for Blackout tomorrow or Thursday, after more people have had time to finish the book; please, no spoilers here. But...thank you. Thank you all so much, forever. Rise up while you can. Current Mood: grateful but sad (139 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 21st, 2012
linguaphiles [ cattiechaos ]	8:40p	Ilokano translation request. Sorry to bother you all with a translation request, but my Filipino friend wrote something in Ilokano in my yearbook and I'd love to know what it says! ( Click for text. ) Current Mood: grateful (1 Comment |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ firerosearien ]	9:33p	Inspired by this post, same question: what's your favorite curse word in a non-native language? I like Scheiß, altercocker (I dunno how to spell it in Yiddish) and oye mama huevos, which is more a phrase than an actual word. (38 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
tatjna	8:47a	Thor's hammer is totally a euphemism ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 21st, 2012
ginmar	2:38p	( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (13 Comments |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ lied_ohne_worte ]	3:27p	Help me understand a joke, please! I'm currently reading the novel "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (although at this point it's more a matter of making myself finish it, because of a number of issues that make me cringe, but that's not what I'm posting about). Although I'm normally pretty good at understanding English-language idioms and jokes, there's a recurring joke (?) I don't get, which Google didn't help with either. ( I said the words aloud several times while posting, and I now suspect this might be something crude, so have an lj-cut ) (30 Comments |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ mavisol ]	4:38p	An ellipsis at the end of a direct speech --"So weird…", thought I and repaired to the theatre.-- Is this a correct punctuation? I can't remove the ellipses here because it's in the Russian original from which I'm translating. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 20th, 2012
ginmar	11:36p	( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ pastilla ]	5:27p	Anyone know the term "autre" as meaning passé, untrendy out-of-date? My mother (British) used to use the French word "autre" (or something that sounded like it) to describe something that had gone out of style (passé) . . . always with a comical mock-affected, intonation . . ."Oh, my deeeeeeear . . . that is so "autre," don't you know?" I tried to Google the word this morning to double-check the spelling, and came up with nothing. I'm starting to wonder if I misunderstood what she was saying? Ring any bells with anyone? (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 21st, 2012
tatjna	10:39a	In which we take Buddha for a drive ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (20 Comments |Comment on this)
happyinmotion	10:09a	Comfortably boring pictures of my wrist after removal of the extra bone I've had an extra bone growing in my wrist for the last few years. My wrist had gradually worsened from "hurts when I do handstands" to "explodes with swelling if I hold a circular saw for more than twenty mintues". Given that we're still working on the house, this needed fixing. So last monday, I slipped under general anesthetic and woke up an hour later feeling annoyingly chirpy, minus the bone. I've asked for it back, coz a) it's mine, and b) every other time I've seen my own bones has been accompanied by copious bleeding, so I'd curious to know what they look like when I'm not entering shock. I pulled the dressing off last night. I've some deep bruising and a pretty tiny scar, with threads from the internal stitches poking out. These get removed next week and in the meantime I have to not fiddle with them. ( Cut for large but non-bloody pictures ) Oh yeah, you Americans out there, this is the hideous face of socialised medicine. *points* *laughs* *realises that the state of US healthcare just isn't funny* Seriously, why the hell are you not burning down health insurance company offices? (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 20th, 2012
discworld [ icarus_chained ]	11:06p	Fic - In Self, Possessing It was meant to be for the prompt, Vimes & Vetinari cuddling, but the Vetinari in my head would not bend. *shrugs* So ... a different kind of connection? Title: In Self, Possessing Rating: PG-13 Fandom: Discworld Characters/Pairings: Sam Vimes, Havelock Vetinari. Vimes & Vetinari Summary: Some years in the future, Vimes and Vetinari finish the conversation they've spend years having Wordcount: 2514 Warnings/Notes: Future!Fic. And I'm shakier on them than I'd like. No specific spoilers, but takes everything up to Unseen Academicals into account Disclaimer: Not mine Read here on LJ, or here on AO3 Current Mood: tired (4 Comments |Comment on this)
discworld [ msskylark ]	10:18p	Long Shadows Chapter 2 Title: Long Shadows - Chapter 2 Characters: Sybil Ramkin/Sam Vimes Rating: T for the moment Warnings: none - but it is set at the end of Guards! Guards! and before Men at Arms. Mention in author notes of Snuff. Disclaimer: I don't own anything. That distinction belongs to Pterry alone.....I just take them out for a stroll every now and then. Summary: Sometimes old echoes want to be heard... Chapter Two below the cut. Link to FF.net here ( Read more... ) Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Monday, May 21st, 2012
wellingtonnz [ tatjna ]	8:54a	Clothing bins? Hey does anyone know if/where there are clothing bins in the central city, within carrying distance of Cuba St? (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 20th, 2012
linguaphiles [ undre ]	9:37p	Spontaneous English speakers always doubt if they would sit on russian "scar maker". If you explain them that it is a diminutive form of "scum ya" they anyway keep doubting. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
linguaphiles [ amles80 ]	4:09p	Two English phrases Hello, I come with two unrelated English questions. 1) I’ve often heard the phrase “The world is your oyster” (or, my, his, her, or whatever pronoun fits the context). I understand what the phrase means, but I am puzzled by the word oyster. Can anyone explain where this phrase comes from? I really don’t understand and I’m curious about how the world can be likened to an oyster! 2) I’m writing a short Downton Abbey fanfic. Is “knocked up” a term O’Brien would use when talking to Thomas about somebody who accidentally got pregnant? (28 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 19th, 2012
linguaphiles [ doni_dyke01 ]	6:49p	Question of Japanese kanji (possibly hiragana or katakana, though) I came across a character on a youtube video that I was wondering about, and I've no clue what it is. ( Youtube video and MS Paint picture ahoy ) For the video, you want to skip to about 10 minutes in to see it. Any clue as to what it is? Current Mood: curious (8 Comments |Comment on this)
vegrecipes [ frayed_11 ]	9:55p	Marinated courgette salad with goat's cheese and pine nuts Like a salad, but not just for rabbits :) Recipe and more photos here ( Recipe ) (20 Comments |Comment on this)

[ << Previous 25 ]