I suspect you would have missed out on some aspects of that during medieval torture.

I’m getting emotionally overwhelmed and so doing a small, very manageable task.

100% relatable.

I was going to say I think that’s Wishbone, but everyone knows that.

I’m so very glad you laughed!

It’s an awesome series, or so I felt when I read it. Have you watched the movie? It’s very different, but shares many qualities and is enjoyable to a lesser (IMHO) degree.

Since I have your attention, you talked about your chicken, and I mentioned my wife, I’ll tell you a much more boring story that is much more meaningful to me:

In the time when my then-girlfriend was about to become my then-fiance, there was a local vineyard we frequented. I’ve never really been a major wine drinker and she barely drinks at all, but the wine there was exceptionally good and the owner was very personable (and took a liking to us personally). Almost immediately after I proposed, we went to the winery and, unplanned, told the owner of the vineyard of the event.

The owner was very excited and offered us a sample of some wine they hadn’t released yet, which was also awesome. While we enjoyed the wine and the sights, one of her pets jumped on the table provided. It was … Drum roll … a rooster. Neither of us had really interacted with livestock before, so it was rather a treat and kind of marks the beginning of the engagement for us. I’m not sure if I took any pictures, but my now-wife sure did.

I wasn’t going to mention the name of the vineyard for fear of doxxing myself, but my comment history already mentions my time in that area and the vineyard is worthy of mention. Unfortunately, their only web presence appears to be Facebook, but here it is:

https://m.facebook.com/@MountFelix/

edit: hopefully this works. Subsequent edit: I still can’t get images working in my client, connect.

You couldn’t construct a Chinese sentence with dual meanings? Maybe not this one, but any? I know literally no Chinese, so I can’t cite an example; but I thought completely unambiguous communication was why constructed languages like lojban exist.

edit: In a question about grammar, I used redundant words, but I can’t think of a better replacement for “construct” in either case. I tried, though.

colorful words

I guess it makes sense that phaders are no longer a well known thing, but I still expected to get some relevant results when I searched for that to see if I remembered the word correctly.

Maybe I did misremember it.

When much younger, I read the Odd Thomas series. In the first or maybe second book of the series, the titular protagonist encounters some coyotes. The protagonist suggests, when being hunted by them, the survival strategy of making loud, sudden and bold movements and sounds to startle the coyotes into fleeing.

I can’t say whether this would be effective or not, but apparently I took it to heart at the time. Very soon thereafter I was having a nightmare about being chased by coyotes through my dad’s backyard (at the time probably the wildest place I’d been). I took the book’s advice and threw myself forward, yelling. Unfortunately, that was apparently the moment my brain released me from my dream, resulting in me thrusting myself in my then-girlfriend’s then-sleeping face, yelling.

For what it’s worth, I now would recommend avoiding that approach unless actually imperiled in waking hours.

edit: Not to diminish the impact of PTSD. My hope was that the ideally humorous story would raise your spirits. Apologies if it did otherwise. However, I laughed at myself several times while typing the above. Hopefully you enjoyed the anecdote, too.

XcQ, link stays blue.

You’ve lost your ability to see anything else?

Maybe, but I think it’s more fun with genuine reactions. That’s why I made the original post - it really did scare me, if only for a moment when I turned the corner.

This is especially true because, in general, I’m the only one in the house awake when this startlement might occur.

edit: I guess “genuine reactions” wasn’t really the correct description. I more meant “reactions to an unmanufactured situation.” I don’t want to make anyone scared, but if someone gets startled by an unexpected and natural and harmless situation, it’s more likely to be funny. Especially if the individual in question is me.

My feelings about them mirror yours exactly.

There’s an accounting of this kind of event happening in the Catch Me if You Can novel. I can’t attest as to whether it’s true and unfortunately it’s been long enough that I don’t remember details, but I believe it’s primarily the protagonist overhearing two women talking about how attractive he is during a bus ride. I think at this point he’s in shackles, which could be considered to enhance the story.

Perhaps you did not read their username!

What’s a gym?

I was very surprised to discover it was her in Room (not The Room).

Did you not see the fishing episode?

Other people saw that?

I was once a kid (I’m pretty sure) and have never enjoyed a banana.

I remember the first time I saw this comic, sometime in the nineties, I think. My dad explained it to me very similarly to how you did here.

There was a similar comic, which currently I can’t find; I don’t even remember if it was Far Side, but the art style in my head matches. The comic in question features two dogs hopping around a hillside covered in blueberries with one declaring to the other “you were right! This is thrilling!” I read them far enough apart in time that I think my dad had to explain it to me again.

In trying to find the latter comic, I discovered that Putin performed a cover of the song in 2010. Odd. Wiki page mentioning this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry_Hill