pasternakski
Posts: 6565
Joined: 6/29/2002 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tristanjohn It seemed when I was growing up that about half of all sentences started with "Ummm. . . ." Nowadays I hear "Obviously. . . " preface about half of all sentences," with an occasional "Ummm--obviously . . ." sprinkled in, possibly just to break the boredom, possibly to encourage the optimists out here to believe at least some people have not totally neglected their history. Ah, yes, the poor man's offhand citation to authority. "Obviously we could of won in Vietnam if we wanted to." As an undergraduate, I used to enjoy the rich man's offhand citation to authority, uttered by a professorial type (not always a professor), starting with "Clearly," and containing a fluttering hand gesture reminiscent of the one used by those slutty-looking models on "The Price Is Right" presenting merchandise for bids (but, clearly, that's another story). The best one I ever heard, though, was in law school: "Clearly," (fluttering hand gesture) law is an interpenetrating medley of social and cultural medians and mores without specific design, but exacting particular effect, on the sociocultural environment in which they, and it, exist, evolve, and are applied to arising and emergent issues." There were dozens of people in the room, and not one had thought to bring a gun that day.
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Put my faith in the people And the people let me down. So, I turned the other way, And I carry on anyhow.
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