Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 19, No. 359.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
www.princeton.edu/humanist/
Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 08:10:32 +0100
From: "pjmoran" <noci_at_cox.net>
Subject: Your acquaintance from Leeds and 19.337
Dr. Cummings: I am eaten up with hubris. I know I'm leaving the
house -- just looking for trouble. I can't wait to become
embroiled in a situation wherein
I supply the opposite side of a telephone conversation (as you
say your acquaintance from Leeds does). I hadn't thought
of doing this, though I have gone across movie theatres to join
people who were talking and introduced myself with "I thought
that as long as we were all in the same conversation, I should
come and introduce myself." [This has always stifled further
verbiage.] To be truthful, I'm in my 60s and the groups I have cowed
with my presence have been teenagers or young adults. I don't know how
the providing of answers and comments to cell phone
users will work, but I'm bloody well going to try it.
[Patricia J. Moran, doctoral candidate, Florida State University,
<mailto:noci_at_cox.net>noci_at_cox.net, 850-243-4081]
==============================================================
From: James Cummings
<<mailto:James.Cummings_at_oucs.ox.ac.uk>James.Cummings_at_oucs.ox.ac.uk>
Cummings was answering
<<mailto:willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>, who
had previously written
about irritation to
do with use of cell phones:
". . .nowhere near so much as when a single person is talking
equally loudly on a mobile phone. This annoyance seems understandable when one
is being subjected to overhearing the intimate details of gynaecological
complaints or the complex financial details of some client's accounts. (Both
crossing taboos about what one should talk about publicly.) I once read someone
theorising that our annoyance at such conversations was because we found it
awkward hearing only one side of the conversation. However, everyone I have
asked that about has always said that it is just the person talking
loudly. One acquaintance from Leeds routinely and loudly provides
the missing half of such
conversations: Phoning Person: I'm on a train
Her: Really! So am I.
Phoning Person: I don't know when I'll get in.
Her: Well the schedule says 18:58, but we are already 10 minutes late.
Phoning Person: No, I don't know what I want for supper.
Her: How about aubergine, cheese and leek bake?'"
Received on Sat Oct 22 2005 - 03:30:00 EDT
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