As a linguist I can acquire local dialects, but I keep that in check, because some people think you are making fun of them when you do it, rather than attempting to communicate effectively.

When people stop offering their opinions and attempt to simply disrupt the conversation, they have a tendency to disappear from the comments. I have no problem with people disagreeing with anything that is said here, because that is what happens in life. I do have a problem when someone attempts to restrict others from expressing their opinions.

I find that the relative anonymity of commenting here helps because there are few if any preconceptions. When you meet someone face-to-face, we all make some assumptions and have preconceived ideas about that person. Of course, we still make a mental image (not necessarily a physical image, more of a personality image), especially after many comments. 🙂

We don’t need to ‘Google’ problems, we just need to think back in our own lives.

Amen to that! It one reason why I think these re-enactment people are total fools. They want to glorify war and death, and in reality they have no clue at all!

Actually Bryan, you wouldn’t have much trouble understanding my accent. I was trained to be a very quick study of local accents, and had plenty off opportunity to practice when I lived there. 🙂 I can even do a few authentic Russian accents if it would help m8. 😉 😆 The biggest problem is that Aussies generally speak a lot faster than most American’s, but that’s not an issue for me. “When in Rome, be a Roman candle!” as one trainer put it. 🙂

Hey… whatever happened to that moronic troll you had for awhile? I guess he finally gave up huh? 😆

and thanks for the vid Juanita! 😀

Actually, because you are in complete control of the situation, i.e. you don’t have to react unless you want to and can edit your words until you press ‘print’ reduces the normal stress of communication. It is also generally done at quiet times of the day.

There is a long history of letter writing. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson got along a lot better in their written correspondence than they ever did in person. There is also the fact that you don’t have to deal with accents. Mine would be familiar enough, but Kryten’s would take some concentration. The whole crew around here has lived long enough to know the good and bad in life, which makes a difference. We don’t need to ‘Google’ problems, we just need to think back in our own lives.

As for the video, their lucky no one had a heart attack. I can see the humor, but I have also dealt with too many pranks that have gone wrong. That is the curse/blessing of living a long time.

I agree with both you guys that reenactments are hilarious. That’s why I almost lost it in my own front yard the other night. I had just hit my saturation point for insanity that day. Actually, I was kind of grateful for the comedic release.

And Kryten, with everything that you have going on, it’s very generous of you to offer words of encouragement for someone else. Thanks, and I hope things are getting better for you “down under”.

If anyone has a black sense of humor and needs a laugh, here’s a video that someone emailed me a few minutes ago. Apparently, it’s a Brazilian reality show. Without giving too much away, the lights in an elevator go out and a ghost appears to unsuspecting victims:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HoJveRDptDs

Actually, I’m more concerned with what might happen to the horses, as the humans deserve what they get, but the horses didn’t volunteer and would probably be embarrassed if they knew what was going on. 😈

ooooh!! I like that idea! With real sharp Swords and pikes too! 😈

*sigh* Yeah, I guess you have a point. At least they are only a danger to like minded fools. That’s something I guess. Small mercies yadda…

(Most animals are smarter than most humans just BTW). 😉

Kryten you see a lot of powder burns and bruises among them because they don’t seem to remember that even without the bullet, anything in the barrel gets expelled at high speed. The newbies slice and dice themselves setting up camps and using edged tools.

If they weren’t playing war, they would be out in the woods bothering the animals, or shooting someone’s cows, so this is a good way to keep them occupied that doesn’t endanger the public at large.

You will rarely see any cavalry units. It isn’t easy to train a horse to ignore loud noises. People may not have gotten any smarter, but horses have. I shutter to think what would happen if one of these events actually had a cavalry skirmish.

It’s just a bunch of wannabes who never grew up playing soldier in safety. maybe they should all sign up and go to Afghanistan, then they might find out what it was really like.

And from what I’ve seen, most of them never grow out of it, or grow up.

The lights are usually on at this place, and we have a friendly crowd. As I said before, this blog helps me dealt with anger management issues. It is a release.

Reenactors are one of the things that have gained popularity in my lifetime, that I don’t really understand. What is so interesting about finding out what it felt like, to a minor degree. what military life was life in the 1860s. Military life in the field sucks, and when you throw uncomfortable uniforms, bad footwear, leaky tents, and lead sealed canteens and cooking utensils, the ‘fun’ is not noticeably increased.

I assisted an acquaintance with his research for his role, and I’m really surprised he is still married. He tasked his wife with a lot of hand-sewing to prepare his ‘uniform’. I was really amazed that she actually agreed to do it, but I suspect that his clothes are as uncomfortable as they can possibly be.

Well, it’s better than operating a meth lab, and you can hope they will grow out of it.

I don’t have to deal with Alzheimer’s or Dementia (though I do occasionally wonder about that one), I do have some mental health issues and sometimes feel so fatigued I struggle all day, and I sometimes get crazy mood swings. I hope these anti-depressants I’m now on will help somewhat, so far all they seem to have done is make me feel more lethargic, but do seem to have taken some of the edge off the anger and other things. *shrug* 🙂

Sincere best wishes, and best of luck!