Re: relative weirdness (was Re: signal and noise ...)

Adam Walker <dreamertwo@...> wrote:

> >From: Jörg Rhiemeier <joerg.rhiemeier@...>
> >Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 22:02:41 +0100
> >
> >My parents, however, know nothing about my conlanging.  I have learned
> >not to tell anything about my bizarre worldbuilding and related projects
> >quite early, when all I got was utter indifference from my father and
> >sharp disapproval from my mother.  (One ought to mention that my
> >mother's
> >parents were protestant fundamentalists, though she herself was not,
                                                               ^^^
Oops, she is still alive, but still doesn't approve of conlanging.

> >only unbearably conservative in some respects.)
>
> And what on earth has *that* got to do with the price of tea in China?  I'm
> a Protestant Fundamentalist missionary.  And I conlang like a looney-bird.
> Everyone in my family knows I conlang they all think I'm weird and they all
> think nothing more of it.  I conlang.  My sister and Mom write poetry.  My
> brothers play guitar.  My dad burps and scratches.  We all have our
> oddities.
Well, perhaps "fundamentalists" was the wrong word.  I am aware about
the
fact that in U.S. usage, "fundamentalism" often refers to a certain
brand
of Protestantism which is named after some manifesto that had the word
"fundament" in its title, or something like that, and that this usage
does not necessarily imply intolerance or anti-creativity fanaticism.

On our side of the Atlantic, this usage is virtually unknown, and the
term
"fundamentalist" refers to someone who uses a religion as an excuse for
hatred and intolerance, especially towards people who appreciate
distractions that add more fun and colour to life.

My maternal grandparents were of the latter sort.  My point was not to
offend anyone of any particular denomination.  And they never called
themselves "fundamentalists".

> >Well, I know that I am somewhat weird - one can tell that from the fact
> >that I like swimming fully clothed (something no-one in my family
> >ever understood either).
> >
> >Jörg.
>
> Well, doesn't it make you rather heavy?  Isn't it cumbersome?
Contrary to widespread belief, clothes don't make you more heavy
while swimming because they float.  It is true that the wet clothes
are heavy after the swim, but while in the water, they are virtually
weightless.  The encumbrance is much less than one might expect, even
though you are slower than without clothes.  But I am not trying to swim
as fast as I can anyway; and the way the floating and billowing clothes
gently stroke your skin is an experience that is hard to lay down in
words,
one must have felt it by oneself.

ObConlang: In Nur-ellen, there is a proverb that translates to
"Only he who can swim fully clothed, can really swim."
(I have yet not decided on all of the words I need to say that in
Nur-ellen, and the language is undergoing heavy revision anyway,
and might even emerge from that under a different name.)
The meaning is that learning to do something under ideal, theoretical
conditions means not really learning it.  (It is well known that many
good swimmers get into trouble when swimming fully clothed, because
they are not used to it.)  And yes, the people who speak the language
traditionally swim fully clothed.

Jörg.

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