Talking to yourself

[jack]

I occasionally talk to myself. Generally only a few words in a musing sort of way, but enough to appreciate the possibility. This is when:

(i) I'm feeling exuberent, and unable not to break out declaiming what I'm thinking
(ii) Everything's wrong and I'm crying "Why me, God, why?"
(iii) Or sometimes, just too full of thinking to contain it, and start muttering the next thing on my todo list, as if my head is full of the maximum 7 things, but I can keep an 8th in my mouth
(iv) Or about aubergines.
(v) Or when I'm thinking of writing a story or poem and it gets too real and bursts out.
() Not really in the list, just to say, "Look at the pretty > shape!"

OK, I know which one you're curious about. No, I don't know why aubergenes, it just seems to be the case. I think they're inherently amusing. And often represent me being on schedule and happy and (i), because when I'm overhwlmed I'll have easy food, maybe including frozen quorn pieces for bulk, but when I have time I'll go to tesco's and get something vegetably to fry with onions and spices.

Does anyone else always say 'avocado'[1] when they mean 'aubergine'?

[1] Obligatory mock-the-stupid gack: "This guacamole is icky. I think the guacamoles must have been bad. Why are you looking at me like that? Is it "guacamoli"? ... Avocados?"

Comments

[simont]

I get vaguely confused between avocadoes, aubergines and artichokes, I think. I usually manage to remember which one I mean as soon as I have all three names in front of me, but presented suddenly with only one I might plausibly make an error :-)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I was expecting that to be "I get vaguely confused between sets, classes and collections..." :)

Hmmm. Artichokes seem quite distinctive to me, though I've never really experimented with them except when they turn up on my plate. Which may be the problem with the others, actually, I never was veyr fond of avocodos either.

remember which one I mean as soon as I have all three names in front of me, but presented suddenly with only one I might plausibly make an error :-)

Exactly. Anyone can say which is the *most* auberginy of three things, but without a baseline, three varyingly auberginy things in isolation are hard to establish quantitatively enough to say if it's auberginy *enough* to be an aubergine. Also, eg. with height.

[simont]

I suspect avocadoes are better if you're not in the UK. When I went to the US on a business trip a few years ago, I ate "Mexican" food there, and the guacamole was superb: a deep rich green and really tasted of something, nothing like the washed-out-looking pale green stuff you get in this country. lark_ascending theorised that this might be because you can get much better avocadoes there than you can here.

I always vaguely expect aubergines to have something to do with youth hostels.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ah! That might be important, yes. Maybe we should just call aubergines "eggplant" and then we wouldn't be confused, just ostracised.

[aldabra]

Google: eggplant aborigine

All praise Steve Bell

[ewx.livejournal.com]

"Why, Lord, why?"

"I did it for the FEEL-GOOD FACTOR!"

"No, Lord; why John Selwyn Gummer?"

"Who he?"

Re: All praise Steve Bell

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

*ignorance*

Re: All praise Steve Bell

[ewx.livejournal.com]

It's from 199mumble "If..." strip. I think I have a copy somewhere. I don't recall why Bell was satirizing JSG at that point; it might have been BSE, or perhaps JSG's redenomination.

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

I often talk to myself when I'm walking in the street on my own, because it's boring otherwise. I have actual conversations; sometimes I pretend I'm being interviewed about my life or opinions. People used to look at me strangely, but now I think they just assume I'm using a hands free mobile :-)

pretend I'm being interviewed about my life or opinions

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yes, that too actually: I'm thinking of something, and thinking of responses to it, and start imagining someone asking me them, and it's enough like a conversation I want to say it.

But not often enough that anyone could form opinions about me :) They probably think it's more sociable but more mad than reading while walking :)

Hands frees are good like that, but mutually need some interface. When someone's only indication that they're not talking to you is (a) a small earpiece and (b) what they're saying doesn't make any sense, little hourglasses appearing in their eyes or something would be really useful, and you could turn them on when you don't want people to interrupt you yourself.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I do it a lot, because when I was a kid I learned nobody listened whatever I said, so I might as well say whatever I'm thinking if it makes things clearer because nobody would care anyway. I don't seem to be able to stop now, and people keep looking at me like they're about to call the police and have me sectioned away from their nice little world.