@twofivefive Woo-hoo! My kitties have been getting a bit pudgy but they love to chase things. A rat inspired exercise program is just what the need. Could you guys sell hamster balls sometime soon just so the rat has a fighting chance?
@KDemo
Everyone gets fond of a bozo now and then. And I think she was stuck in Amarillo being harassed by the cattle industry in a big trial when it happened?
A few mental lapses can be forgiven in that instance.
@f00l I’m so tempted to take a shot at Texas that this left open but I’ve never seen you be seriously obnoxious about Texas so I’ll let it pass. You’re a definite minority among Texans I’ve encountered.
@jqubed
Take all the shots at Texas that you are in the mood for. It’s cool. It’s not like people from here haven’t deliberately attracted notice.
I love this place, but I am incredibly aware of what’s wrong with it besides hot summers.
Dr Phil is a Texan. Sigh. When I catch mention of him, sometimes I think he might be a pretty good actor too. Possibly a far better actor than he is a therapist.
PS
I’m sorry you haven’t encountered more normal Texans. You have have encountered normal Texans temporarily acting the part of being Archetypal Texans, a role many of us play once in a while as a gentle form of self-parody.
Ok, we have a fair number of successful, loud, self-righteous folk with blinders on. But I haven’t found a shortage of those in any state in the US. Maybe Texans just have a gift for getting noticed when we are loud.
“Sure, I’ll hold you beer. Here, you hold mah rattlesnake.”
I think the prob with Texans compared to other “redneck” places is that we can be loud, can be self-righteous, can be stupid, can do all those at once, and also I suspect we don’t accidentally make the Darwin Award lists as frequently.
@f00l My most recent problem was with a guy who moved here from Texas and proceeded to declare North Carolina to not be Southern because it didn’t have things from Texas he considered intrinsically Southern, like burritos for every meal and salsa on everything. He could not comprehend that those are not in fact part of the Southern tradition but are from the Southwest/Mexican culture. I’d never before considered Texas to be Southern at all, but in the course of our conversations I found that there are some aspects of Texas culture and cuisine that I would consider Southern. There are a lot of things, though, that aren’t. They’re great things, they just aren’t Southern, and he was basically prepared to exclude the entire rest of what would traditionally be considered Southern States from being Southern because they didn’t have these things Texas (and New Mexico, Arizona, and California) has, making Texas the one true Southern State in his opinion. It was weird, and I regretted getting into that argument afterwards. Seemed to damage what was otherwise looking like it could turn into a decent friendship, and we really haven’t done anything since, although I have reached out a few times inviting him to things.
@jqubed
I hope it turns out that he’s a decent human in spite of everything.
Most people I know understand well which parts of Texan common culture are Southern, and which parts are Western or Southwestern, and which parts are just Texan.
Texas had legal slavery after it became a state in 1845, and cotton plantations and similar agriculture; Texas left the US and joined the CSA after Lincoln’s election to the Presidency. Many Texas, including my relatives, fought in the Civil War (in my family, fought on both sides).
We aren’t Deep South though, and never were. I would certainly expect both Carolinas to be far more typically Southern than Texas ever has been.
Most of the Texans I know have far more historical and cultural knowledge than your acquaintance does. I find his attitude untypical - most Texas go all crazy with pride about all the things that are specifically Texan, and also about the things Texas dominates in some form or other.
And most of us play “the Texan” as a gently humorous, “put-on” caricature.
Hope that guy has other, more attractive qualities.
(BTW - here you always find both “sweet tea” and unsweetened ice tea.)
I tuned in to one episode of her show more than a decade ago and she came off as a close mined racist. Wish I remembered the date or the topic. Did I catch her on a bad day?
Also, today’s question is likely to set off the grammar nerds… I read here until I got tired of it without really getting an answer. It seems it may be more correct to say “Did you use to…” because “did” and “used” don’t both need to be past tense. But others argue that “used to” is a modal verb and should remain intact. Still others argue that “used to” is correct because it sounds the same as “use to”, but they’re just talking nonsense.
While I am usually pretty good about not making snap judgments regarding people in “real life”, I have to admit I let my first impression of Oprah unjustly cloud my judgment for a long time.
The first (and only) episode I ever saw of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” was in the late 80’s. She had some guest (not a celebrity) who was crying about her recovery from substance addiction and the woman used the phrase “I was always the black sheep of the family” and a very agitated Oprah interrupted her by saying that “No, ma’am, we do not use phrases like that” She continued on with a lecture that the expression was insulting because it asserted that being black was worse than being white. The woman, already emotional, became a nervous wreck. I switched the channel and my opinion of Ms. Winfrey was pretty much cemented after less than 10 minutes of viewing.
Flash-forward a couple of decades and having seen her doing some pretty cool things, I began to think maybe she was not such a jerk after all. By this time, I now obviously had a way to do a web search on “Oprah black sheep” and while I couldn’t find that particular clip, I actually found plenty examples of her using the phrase herself and even had one whole episode dedicated to the subject.
I am surmising that at the time, she just didn’t fully understand the etymology of the phrase. Changing one’s opinion once they have all the facts is something a lot of people are much more resistant to do.
@DrWorm
Anyone who goes free-form live on television daily is going to have some bad moments.
I have only seen her show in snippets, when I happened to be in a room where it was on, or the show became part of a news story.
She seems to be an excellent and gifted broadcaster to that sort of audience.
She is a kick ass businesswoman. She had done some wonderful things. She seems to be, overall, a decent person who acts on good intentions, in spite of all that success.
I would be interested to see her take on another big public role, just to see what she did with it.
I believe this marks the first time in my mehstory that I’ve starred each and every main post above mine. If I remember to come back and check, I’ll star the ones below it too.
oohhh a free star…!
Just here for my star.
Wait… Will I have to pay taxes on this star?
@Oneroundrobb they’re just about worthless, so yeah, probably. Capital gains and whatnot.
Oooh stars!
I checked under my seat…
No star there.
/giphy no star
@2many2no
/giphy what!!!..
Nooooo! Now there’ll be star inflation and all of my stars will be worthless!
@nogoodwithnames I gave you a star for that.
@nogoodwithnames
/giphy Star Wars
Rats! You get rats! & you get rats! Everyone gets free rats!
@twofivefive Woo-hoo! My kitties have been getting a bit pudgy but they love to chase things. A rat inspired exercise program is just what the need. Could you guys sell hamster balls sometime soon just so the rat has a fighting chance?
/giphy starlord
I’m just here for the stars. I was told there would be stars.
@KDemo
/youtube catch a falling star
I saw an episode or two, maybe.
@communist It’s @hollboll’s favorite gif!
@jqubed ha, mine too! knew someone would post it .
No, I never got it. I admire her ability to do what she does, but seem immune to the effect.
She’s a good actress, I’ll give her that.
@thismyusername - Agreed. She lost respect when she promoted Dr. Phil. Complete poser.
@KDemo and listening to anything on dr oz makes my brain hurt.
@KDemo
Everyone gets fond of a bozo now and then. And I think she was stuck in Amarillo being harassed by the cattle industry in a big trial when it happened?
A few mental lapses can be forgiven in that instance.
/giphy bozo
@f00l
Sorry about that giphy. Too late to edit.
@f00l I’m so tempted to take a shot at Texas that this left open but I’ve never seen you be seriously obnoxious about Texas so I’ll let it pass. You’re a definite minority among Texans I’ve encountered.
@KDemo Ya Phil is no Oz.
And Howw DOes THAt make YOU, FEEEEL?
@jqubed
Take all the shots at Texas that you are in the mood for. It’s cool. It’s not like people from here haven’t deliberately attracted notice.
I love this place, but I am incredibly aware of what’s wrong with it besides hot summers.
Dr Phil is a Texan. Sigh. When I catch mention of him, sometimes I think he might be a pretty good actor too. Possibly a far better actor than he is a therapist.
PS
I’m sorry you haven’t encountered more normal Texans. You have have encountered normal Texans temporarily acting the part of being Archetypal Texans, a role many of us play once in a while as a gentle form of self-parody.
Ok, we have a fair number of successful, loud, self-righteous folk with blinders on. But I haven’t found a shortage of those in any state in the US. Maybe Texans just have a gift for getting noticed when we are loud.
@f00l It’s just that we take pride in anything we do, even if it’s being obnoxious.
@2many2no
There is a sweet pleasure in playing the to the archetype.
@f00l ‘…have a gift for getting noticed when we are loud…’ And then Florida Man said ‘Hold mah beer!’
@OldCatLady
“Sure, I’ll hold you beer. Here, you hold mah rattlesnake.”
I think the prob with Texans compared to other “redneck” places is that we can be loud, can be self-righteous, can be stupid, can do all those at once, and also I suspect we don’t accidentally make the Darwin Award lists as frequently.
@f00l My most recent problem was with a guy who moved here from Texas and proceeded to declare North Carolina to not be Southern because it didn’t have things from Texas he considered intrinsically Southern, like burritos for every meal and salsa on everything. He could not comprehend that those are not in fact part of the Southern tradition but are from the Southwest/Mexican culture. I’d never before considered Texas to be Southern at all, but in the course of our conversations I found that there are some aspects of Texas culture and cuisine that I would consider Southern. There are a lot of things, though, that aren’t. They’re great things, they just aren’t Southern, and he was basically prepared to exclude the entire rest of what would traditionally be considered Southern States from being Southern because they didn’t have these things Texas (and New Mexico, Arizona, and California) has, making Texas the one true Southern State in his opinion. It was weird, and I regretted getting into that argument afterwards. Seemed to damage what was otherwise looking like it could turn into a decent friendship, and we really haven’t done anything since, although I have reached out a few times inviting him to things.
@jqubed
I hope it turns out that he’s a decent human in spite of everything.
Most people I know understand well which parts of Texan common culture are Southern, and which parts are Western or Southwestern, and which parts are just Texan.
Texas had legal slavery after it became a state in 1845, and cotton plantations and similar agriculture; Texas left the US and joined the CSA after Lincoln’s election to the Presidency. Many Texas, including my relatives, fought in the Civil War (in my family, fought on both sides).
We aren’t Deep South though, and never were. I would certainly expect both Carolinas to be far more typically Southern than Texas ever has been.
Most of the Texans I know have far more historical and cultural knowledge than your acquaintance does. I find his attitude untypical - most Texas go all crazy with pride about all the things that are specifically Texan, and also about the things Texas dominates in some form or other.
And most of us play “the Texan” as a gently humorous, “put-on” caricature.
Hope that guy has other, more attractive qualities.
(BTW - here you always find both “sweet tea” and unsweetened ice tea.)
@KDemo
This giphy is somehow necessary to my well-being.
Cats and frapps, cats and frapps.
Hey @mediocrebot star me!
I tuned in to one episode of her show more than a decade ago and she came off as a close mined racist. Wish I remembered the date or the topic. Did I catch her on a bad day?
@FightingMongoos she can’t be racist; she’s not white.
Staaaaaaaaaaars
Why?
/giphy the more you know
Sometimes you just want stars a little too much.
/giphy oprah everybody gets a star!
Also, today’s question is likely to set off the grammar nerds… I read here until I got tired of it without really getting an answer. It seems it may be more correct to say “Did you use to…” because “did” and “used” don’t both need to be past tense. But others argue that “used to” is a modal verb and should remain intact. Still others argue that “used to” is correct because it sounds the same as “use to”, but they’re just talking nonsense.
Please deposit extra stars for grammar below.
@djslack
I’m just here to
pointstar whore.@jqubed
/image “lone star”
I love stars!!
Are the stars tax-free?
@LaVikinga If you get 20 stars you should probably pass one along.
@caffeine_dude If I give everyone a star, does that lesson the value of the stars? (Here, kid, have a participation trophy star?)
@LaVikinga not in tejas or kalifornia
You get a STAR and you get a STAR and you get a STAR… EVERYONE gets a STAR !!!
Everyone gets one of the resident evil S.T.A.R.S?? I’ll take Jill Valentine!
Watched her talk show until she started using it to “pat” herself on the back all the time. So not for over 25 years.
oprah? yeah, i watch it most days now since she changed her name to ellen and died her hair. i like it when she dances in the audience the best.
I have nothing to add, but I want a star.
Star-bellied sneetches are assholes.
@joelmw
Historical precedent?
Don’t leave us with so little!
@f00l
@joelmw
Thanks, I feel much better now.
@f00l The Sneetches and Other Stories
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
This marks the day that everyone’s altruism score got a tiny little bump.
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Oprah who? Please leave me and the rock I live under alone.
@txag96
This rock?
While I am usually pretty good about not making snap judgments regarding people in “real life”, I have to admit I let my first impression of Oprah unjustly cloud my judgment for a long time.
The first (and only) episode I ever saw of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” was in the late 80’s. She had some guest (not a celebrity) who was crying about her recovery from substance addiction and the woman used the phrase “I was always the black sheep of the family” and a very agitated Oprah interrupted her by saying that “No, ma’am, we do not use phrases like that” She continued on with a lecture that the expression was insulting because it asserted that being black was worse than being white. The woman, already emotional, became a nervous wreck. I switched the channel and my opinion of Ms. Winfrey was pretty much cemented after less than 10 minutes of viewing.
Flash-forward a couple of decades and having seen her doing some pretty cool things, I began to think maybe she was not such a jerk after all. By this time, I now obviously had a way to do a web search on “Oprah black sheep” and while I couldn’t find that particular clip, I actually found plenty examples of her using the phrase herself and even had one whole episode dedicated to the subject.
I am surmising that at the time, she just didn’t fully understand the etymology of the phrase. Changing one’s opinion once they have all the facts is something a lot of people are much more resistant to do.
@DrWorm
Anyone who goes free-form live on television daily is going to have some bad moments.
I have only seen her show in snippets, when I happened to be in a room where it was on, or the show became part of a news story.
She seems to be an excellent and gifted broadcaster to that sort of audience.
She is a kick ass businesswoman. She had done some wonderful things. She seems to be, overall, a decent person who acts on good intentions, in spite of all that success.
I would be interested to see her take on another big public role, just to see what she did with it.
You get a star, You get a star, everyone gets a star!!!
Oprah spent part of her early career in Baltimore. Star me!
I believe this marks the first time in my mehstory that I’ve starred each and every main post above mine. If I remember to come back and check, I’ll star the ones below it too.
@cinoclav
@cinoclav I did the same!
@thismyusername And… Star!
What are stars for?
@w00tm3h - I see you’re new here.
Stars are the equivalent of likes or thumbs-up
Starway to Heaven
/giphy allstar
Oprah my gurl.
My mom made me do it!