Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Well, my vacuum is refusing to switch on (feels itself underutilised probably) so I'm thanking Darcy for the info that you can sweep your carpet. We're doing well for random lately.
Thanks for the tip, both of you ladies, for future, in case of need!
mmmmm....supreme pizza. Sounds so much better than turkey right now.
Almost anything sounds better than turkey right now :P. But griping about too much turkey is as much a part of the ritual as looking forward to it ;)
Are all you Americans stuck with Thanksgiving leftovers? :)
Alicja wrote: "I also share the anti-ironing views. We always hang up all out clothes right after the dryer finishes with them on a rack in the garage. Usually we end up with very little wrinkles and will only ir..."I'd like one of those robots for downstairs. It is tiled. It is such a large area and I hate dragging my vacuum down there to clean it.
What brand do you have, Alicja and are you happy with it?
Derek wrote: "mmmmm....supreme pizza. Sounds so much better than turkey right now."It was yum. :]
I don't own an iron!!!! I threw it out 3 years ago, lol.As for the cheese I'm a Romano kind of girl, it's the wog in me. I love being one. It took me nearly 20 years to turn my husband into one. He finally eats Romano and Parmesan, olives and lots of pasta? BUT I cannot get him to eat anchovies Terri. I love em!!
The wife wants a new couch for Christmas. Done and purchased. We got rid of the old one today. We now need new carpets :)
I've looked it up, but I'm not sure to vote. I scrolled the first page (100 books) and I didn't feel up to read the other 400 titles, since in the first page there were all kinds of genres that I don't read and some other that I did read, and liked, but years ago. Not in 2013.Did you add some titles to the list?
Derek wrote: "mmmmm....supreme pizza. Sounds so much better than turkey right now."Not I; I went to a friend's.
Marina wrote: "So, anybody done this yet?https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."
I added my top 5, I think right after I saw Jane vote on it.
I scrolled through the list really fast by only looking at the books that were on the list and my shelves.
Terri wrote: "Scruffy is one we use a fair bit. I always remember my Mum saying to me as i am about to head out the door for school "Did you iron your uniform? You don't want to go to school looking scruffy"."That must be British [and by extension, Aussie] slang then. It's a new one to this Yank.
The author of the Ruso books, where I picked it up, is an Englishwoman. Ruso is described as her books as looking scruffy. How he can get away with that in the army is beyond me, but as Tilla always tells him: 'You're not a proper soldier' [since he's a doctor]. :)
I never would have thought scruffy wasn't universal. It's such a common word here, especially as a descriptive for dogs.
Dawn wrote: "I never would have thought scruffy wasn't universal. It's such a common word here, especially as a descriptive for dogs."Dictionary said 'Brit. colloq.'
Dawn wrote: "Marina wrote: "So, anybody done this yet?https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."
I added my top 5, I think right after I saw Jane vote on it.
I scrolled through the ..."
I just did the same with the 2012's.
Jane wrote: "Terri wrote: "Scruffy is one we use a fair bit. I always remember my Mum saying to me as i am about to head out the door for school "Did you iron your uniform? You don't want to go to school lookin..."Your comment about not knowing "scruffy" is interesting to me, Jane. I grew up about 90 miles south of Binghampton, NY, in Luzerne County, PA, and "scruffy" is not a new word to me at all. But now you've got me wondering when and were I first heard it.
Bear in mind, I was the school kid who got marked down for using one spelling for "a tale, as in fairy" (story) and a level in a building (storey).
Too much Dickens and Austen at an impressionable age, I guess ;-)
Marina wrote: "So, anybody done this yet?https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."
Only two of mine were on the list already, I had to add 3.
Portia wrote: "Jane wrote: "Terri wrote: "Scruffy is one we use a fair bit. I always remember my Mum saying to me as i am about to head out the door for school "Did you iron your uniform? You don't want to go to ..."I've not heard anyone around here [Binghamton, NY] use the word, and I do not remember it being used in Wilmington, DE, where I grew up.
I figured it out. I was a big fan of The Beatles in the 1960s. Everything was fab and gear, and so I'm sure a lot of things were scruffy, too!
Ahhh -- that might explain it: I've always been classical music and opera fan.
Ohh, I went to see Albert Herring last night, speaking of Opera. I'd seen a University student production before and hadn't liked it much but this was by the Vancouver Opera and was really quite good.
Dawn wrote: "I never would have thought scruffy wasn't universal. It's such a common word here, especially as a descriptive for dogs."Surprising isn't it. I always assumed it was a universal word too. Learn new things here everyday by interacting with an International community.
I think I've created a monster. I've found the National Theatre Live website with the encore performances of shows in cinemas in Australia. Am going to the National Theatre 50th Anniversary show on Sunday.
Lisa wrote: "I don't own an iron!!!! I threw it out 3 years ago, lol.As for the cheese I'm a Romano kind of girl, it's the wog in me. I love being one. It took me nearly 20 years to turn my husband into one. ..."
There's another word that is used in Australia that has different connotations elsewhere in the world.
Wog.
In Australia this word is part of our culture, not as an insult, but as an affectation towards Italians, former USSR countries and other Mediterranean countries (ie Greece). It is not insulting or condescending and in my country people from those countries embrace the slang word and describe themselves as Wog (example, Lisa who is clearly part Italian calls herself part wog freely).
I once used the word wog in an innocuous and unsuspecting way in a group once and the members in the conversation went silent. :) Until eventually many hours later an Englishman saw my post and told me if I had used that word in his country it would have been bad.
This was when I was informed that in countries like England and the US, wog has a different more offensive meaning.
This is not what we mean in Australia. To us it is not an insult. Sure, if one wants it can be said in a condescending way, but that is no different to using any slang to describe a culture. ie skegs (surfers over here), Occas (multi generational Aussies), bushies (people from the country).
We even have it in movie titles. :)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216417/
I'd never heard of the word 'Wog', so I'm learning too.
Lisa wrote: "I don't own an iron!!!! I threw it out 3 years ago, lol.As for the cheese I'm a Romano kind of girl, it's the wog in me. I love being one. It took me nearly 20 years to turn my husband into one. ..."
Wog? Isn't that what the British called the people in India -- Worthy Oriental Gentlemen ? :)
Cheese: I love feta, but I've got no Greek in me and parmesan, with no Italian ancestry...
Apparently (according to this Englishman who inofrmed me I was being racist..:\..) wog is what the English called black people. As in Golliwog. It is a very racist word in the UK. He never said it was for Indians, but then they would probably have once regarded Indians as black too.I have also heard some Americans know it as a racist slur. I guess these are Americans who have close ties to 'the old country'.
Derek wrote: "I'd never heard of the word 'Wog', so I'm learning too."It was a pejorative, a racial slur, if you will.
I've read a lot of stuff on the Raj [British India].
Portia wrote: "Allie wrote: "He only listens to the oldies station. The Temptations, the Supremes, Elvis....whatever else is on the oldies station lol. His favorite is Roy Orbison so we played a lot of his tapes...."Ha! You made me laugh :)
Terri wrote: "Ironing. argh. The tedium of such a chore! Drives me around the bend."I find ironing soothing :)
Terri wrote: "No. Apparently wog is what the English called black people. As in Golliwog. It is a very racist word in the UK.I have also heard some Americans know it as a racist slur. I guess these are American..."
Bibi, my daughter, had a golliwog doll when she was little. A friend made it from a Raggedy Anne pattern and got creative.
And of course there's that piano piece: Golliwog's Cakewalk by Debussy. Probably, Terri, you and I are both right about the origin of the word.
Lisa wrote: "I don't own an iron!!!! I threw it out 3 years ago, lol.As for the cheese I'm a Romano kind of girl, it's the wog in me. I love being one. It took me nearly 20 years to turn my husband into one. ..."
Anchovies? They're an acquired taste. To ease in to them: they're in Worcestershire Sauce. I was surprised when I read the label.
Allie wrote: "Terri wrote: "Ironing. argh. The tedium of such a chore! Drives me around the bend."I find ironing soothing :)"
Like folding laundry for me.
Derek wrote: "I'd never heard of the word 'Wog', so I'm learning too."I'm with you Derek, never heard of it.
Lol! I just read in that wiki article that scientologists call non-scientologists wogs.
I read that too! Weird.
Not heard that 3 letter word since the 70's when the gollywogs were associated with Robertsons Jam, quite collectible in their day.Now anchoives & Jam :) that'd work in a kinda sweet n sour base way....
Terri wrote: "Apparently (according to this Englishman who inofrmed me I was being racist..:\..) wog is what the English called black people. As in Golliwog. It is a very racist word in the UK. He never said it ..."Yes, the Dravidians from south India are very dark.
I'd say the complexions of north Indians would be like Greeks or Italians.
Derek wrote: "Lol! I just read in that wiki article that scientologists call non-scientologists wogs."So did I. That was odd.
I'm not feeling the jam and anchovies thing. lol
Oh man. My husband just rang me from work to tell me he had just won some Taylor Swift concert tickets. :] He was going to give them to someone, but he rang to make sure i didn't want to go.....wtf?When he said "I have won Taylor Swift tickets. Did you want to go?" I thought I had stepped into another dimension and I just laughed out loud. He started laughing too. I asked him if he actually expected me to answer that question.
He knew it was the most ridiculous thing (as I don't like that kind of music nor am I a teenager nor do i have teen kids to take) to ask me, but before he gave them away he thought he better check with me first.
The mere thought of me going to a Taylor Swift concert was nearly enough to have me rolling around on the ground in hysterics.
Margaret wrote: "I think I've created a monster. I've found the National Theatre Live website with the encore performances of shows in cinemas in Australia. Am going to the National Theatre 50th Anniversary show ..."Saw that on tv, really worth watching.
Terri wrote: "Oh man. My husband just rang me from work to tell me he had just won some Taylor Swift concert tickets. :] He was going to give them to someone, but he rang to make sure i didn't want to go.....wtf..."Well, he was just being nice. Who the heck is Taylor Swift?
Lol Terri. I never did figure you as the Taylor Swift type. Personally, I'd rather go to the dentist.
C'mon folks, tell me please. I'm curious.
Jane wrote: "Another Justin Bieber?"Yes, but much taller, female and country-ish.
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Berry Pickers (other topics)Fortune's Child (other topics)
Hild (other topics)
Sharpe's Command (other topics)
Edenglassie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Amanda Peters (other topics)Nicola Griffith (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Allan Hands (other topics)
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We have one of those robot vacuums. They charge and then they make a round on all our carpeted areas. We may still have to vacuum ourselves once a week but the little robot keep it decently clean in between (especially with the cat fur all over the place).
And blue cheese is my weakness! My girlfriend won't touch it so any I buy is all mine. :P