EP397: A Gun for Dinosaur

[Scattercat]

Y'know, I don't know where we got sentient time from for this story.  It's just the way time travel works.  We can't go faster than the speed of light, but no one today talks about how Light just "knows" when you're about to go too fast and smacks you around.  It's merely a consequence of the physical laws and the universal constants.  No one in the story gave any indication that they believed there was some sort of entity behind the limit on repeat visits; it's just how the stuff works, and running into your time duplicate is akin to running into a brick wall in a racecar.  (The "visible signs" thing was presumably a nod to the idea that observation collapses the quantum waveform, albeit one rooted in a common misconception about what constitutes "observation.")

Anyway, off to cull some comments.  I just didn't see anyone address this initial complaint beyond amusement at the idea of sentient time.  (Shades of Astro City and "The Nearness of You," perhaps?)

[Gamercow]

I asked Ayoub to play it how he felt comfortable. Unfortunately, my American ear doesn't discern English accents well enough to know between all of them,

Isn't that sad? Brits are familiar with so many nuances of US dialect and speech patterns because of the wealth of films and TV we receive. But you miss out on our Brummies, Geordies, Scousers, Estuaries, Scots, Welsh, Irish (northern, Eire, Dublin, Belfast), Sussex (they have 'chickings' and 'kitchings') and West country drawlers, and Cumbrian yollerers and farm yakkers. Probably you get the Eastenders though

Not so sad. We have dialects in every state that you've never heard. My home state of Pennsylvania has four or five that I know of and probably a couple that I don't. I'll read for you sometimes in Pittsburghese, then we can watch the hate comments roll in by the millions!

I'd love to hear that. I have a distinct memory of riding in a hotel shuttle from the airport in Philly and being shocked that I couldn't understand A. SINGLE. WORD. of what the driver was saying over the walkie talkie.


I moved from Chicago to North Carolina (hi Scattercat!) seven years ago and it was a long time before I could understand people who are from the mountains. Contrast that with the heavy, yet still easily understandable eastern NC accent, and the almost non-accent of many people who grew up in Raleigh or Charlotte.

Philly accent is VERY different from Pittsburgh, plus Pittsburghese repurposes a lot of words (like 'jumbo' means 'bologna') and makes new ones (like 'nebby' means 'nosey').

This would be an interesting experiment, though... If we had a story -- preferably a very short, 1st-person piece -- and gave it to narrators to translate into their dialect and record, then we could put them together and put it in the feed as a bonus track. That might be very interesting. Or maybe do a month where we run the regular stories, then at the end of each episode, tack on a version done in regional dialect. Or just do a thread in the forum inviting people to submit a recording of their favorite part of that week's story read in their regional dialect and recorded on their phone or something. Then, if enough of those are interesting, maybe assemble them into an episode or something.

Hmm -- interesting possibilities.

Ooooh, dialect discussions.  Love em.  Love deciphering them.  Love listening to people and trying to figure out where they're from through their accent and choice of words.  I had a friend from Philly come up to visit me in Boston, and we went to a sub shop.  He ordered a "chicken cheese steak".  Hilarity ensued.  Another time dialects came up was when I was in the Air and Space Museum in DC, and overheard a woman asking the info desk "Where can I find a bubbler?"  The poor person behind the desk was baffled, so I went over and I pointed the woman to the water fountain that was hiding around the corner.  As we walked over, I said "Are you from the Boston area?"  She replied in the affirmative, and wondered how I knew, because she didn't have a noticable Boston accent. I explained that bubbler was one of those very specific regional words that just doesn't migrate for whatever reason.  She looked confused, but thanked me all the same.

If we ever do a dialect episode, or if anyone needs anything read in a Boston accent, sign me up. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink a cabinet.

[matweller]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

Is anyone here old enough to have ever seen the kind of fountain that word comes from? We had one in the park my folks took me to when I was a kid and kids pretty much always made it a routine to use it through the course of play, much to the horror of parents (and to present day me -- how did we all not get hepatitis?). For those not familiar, bubblers were always-on fountains that shot a Sharpie(tm) -thick jet straight up a couple inches that doubled back on itself as it fell to the drain, giving the "bubbling" appearance. The one I mentioned above, though, wasn't very strong and had a slow drain, so that using it pretty much meant sinking your face into a pool of water, which kids didn't mind, but -- ewww.


Imagine this, with the intent for public drinking...

[chemistryguy]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

Is anyone here old enough to have ever seen the kind of fountain that word comes from? We had one in the park my folks took me to when I was a kid and kids pretty much always made it a routine to use it through the course of play, much to the horror of parents (and to present day me -- how did we all not get hepatitis?). For those not familiar, bubblers were always-on fountains that shot a Sharpie(tm) -thick jet straight up a couple inches that doubled back on itself as it fell to the drain, giving the "bubbling" appearance. The one I mentioned above, though, wasn't very strong and had a slow drain, so that using it pretty much meant sinking your face into a pool of water, which kids didn't mind, but -- ewww.


Imagine this, with the intent for public drinking...

I'm no germaphobe, but yuck.

[Dem]

We had the foul-smelling 'health giving' waters of Harrogate and many's the miserable encounter I had with that stinking effluence as a child! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Pump_Room,_Harrogate

[Unblinking]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

I've heard "bubbler" is used in some parts of Wisconsin as well, not sure how it migrated there from New England.

[Fenrix]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

I've heard "bubbler" is used in some parts of Wisconsin as well, not sure how it migrated there from New England.

Yeah I spent several years in Milwaukee and "bubbler" was ubiquitous.

[Gamercow]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

I've heard "bubbler" is used in some parts of Wisconsin as well, not sure how it migrated there from New England.

Yeah I spent several years in Milwaukee and "bubbler" was ubiquitous.

That's news to me, but very interesting.  I really wonder how that word migrated there.

[CryptoMe]

"Bubbler" is CLASSIC New England.

Is anyone here old enough to have ever seen the kind of fountain that word comes from? We had one in the park my folks took me to when I was a kid and kids pretty much always made it a routine to use it through the course of play, much to the horror of parents (and to present day me -- how did we all not get hepatitis?). For those not familiar, bubblers were always-on fountains that shot a Sharpie(tm) -thick jet straight up a couple inches that doubled back on itself as it fell to the drain, giving the "bubbling" appearance. The one I mentioned above, though, wasn't very strong and had a slow drain, so that using it pretty much meant sinking your face into a pool of water, which kids didn't mind, but -- ewww.

LOL!

I just drank from one of those fountains on my run today. But this one was the properly functioning kind, where the jet smacks you in the face as soon as you turn it on to drink.

Interestingly enough, I have never heard the name "bubbler" before. And I spent 5 years in Rhode Island....

Anyway, misogyny aside, I thought the story was fun.

[Thunderscreech]

Anyway, misogyny aside, I thought the story was fun.

Was it misogynistic?  I was taught that misogyny meant actual hatred of women.  What I read in the story seemed more like sexist perhaps.

Or has the definition changed?

[Scattercat]

Etymologically speaking, misogyny would translate directly to "hatred of women," yes.  In meaning, however, the word is not limited solely to Jack D. Ripper ranting about his precious bodily fluids.  This story minimizes and dismisses the female characters for nonsensical reasons based on patriarchal "common wisdom" about gender roles, which is misogyny, however unintended or expected given the cultural milieu.