Use of the word 'bitch' among Furrae

[Tapewolf]

I've just been proofreading someones' fanfic.  In one of the later scenes, a cocky young Incubus gets into an argument with Fa'Lina and calls her a 'clever bitch'*.

Since Fa'Lina literally is a female dog, I would guess the word 'bitch' is not considered an insult among Furrae, at least not in the same way as among humans.

Any thoughts on the matter?


*Actually it was "cleaver bitch" but I'll let that pass

[ITOS]

I guess the real question is if you should refere to yourself as a dog/cat/etc or cubi/being/etc or both (cubi-cat ).

[xHaZxMaTx]

It's only an insult if it's taken as one.

[Hilary]

In Paladin's story, the mouse cubi yells "You bitch!" at the villian as an insult. So I think it's mostly the intent behind it that determines the meaning.

[Rowne]

I totally agree with the sentiment of something only being an insult as long as it's taken as one because these days, most languages are so twisted that they're beyond recognition.  I find it really funny how some relatively normal words have picked up incredibly lewd connotations.  One such example of this is douche.  I'm not being dirty, it's right there in the dictionary, dirtyness is brought into it by the minds of the people who accept the current lingo as lore and law.

Eventually, I think that every word within the English language is going to have some kind of insulting or dirty connotation.  I can see a distant century, let's say ... the 22nd, where people are running around and calling each other teapots, armchairs and waterfalls.

Still, I imagine that furrae would have some new connotations based on words relative to their World.  I suppose that 'bitch' in particular would have a new base (dictionary) meaning that has little to do with canines.  Though that's only an assumption.  I geek over stuff like this anyway, it's fascinating to me.

[Tapewolf]

Still, I imagine that furrae would have some new connotations based on words relative to their World.  I suppose that 'bitch' in particular would have a new base (dictionary) meaning that has little to do with canines.  Though that's only an assumption.  I geek over stuff like this anyway, it's fascinating to me.

I note that Dan calls Lorenda a 'fat cow' and she takes it as a compliment.  There's several ways of interpreting that strip, though, as to whether Dan was actually trying to offend her or not.  Alexsi shows surprise, though which makes things yet more confusing.

Do you dream in colour?

[Rowne]

I note that Dan calls Lorenda a 'fat cow' and she takes it as a compliment.  There's several ways of interpreting that strip, though, as to whether Dan was actually trying to offend her or not.  Alexsi shows surprise, though which makes things yet more confusing.

Do you dream in colour?

Good point.

Though Alexsi might've been surprised at the fat aspect.  For example, if Cows have bulk by default then it would be accepted that they're not fat, they're simply representing their average build.  I'd think that perhaps Alexsi was surprised at Dan being facetious and a bit controversial.  On one hand, he was making a statement of the obvious and on the other, it might've been a bit of an underhanded insult to anyone not a Cow, since Cows likely don't see weight as a negative aspect.

That's the best I can come up with, anyway.  Not the greatest, I admit but it does seem to fit Dan's personality profile.  He seems to be like that.

As for dreaming in colour, not sure where that one came from but many Scientific journals swear that it's not possible.  I'd say I've dreamed in colour numerous times but it might simply be my mind adding colour to the dream after the effect.

I wish I could actually dream in greyscale and remember it in greyscale though, that might inspire my mind to create gumshoe-ish noir dreams and those would be very entertaining.

[xHaZxMaTx]

If you can't dream in color, how are you able to describe a certain object in said dream as a certain color?  I distinctly remember a glowing orange street-light in a particularly frightening dream I had when I was little.

[Jack McSlay]

it's not language-related, it's region-related. for example, in portuguese we have the word "puto" which in brazil means being angry, while in portugal means kid. not to mention "puta" (it has the same meaning as the word in spanish  )

so, bitch likely indeed meant to be something that has nothing to do with dog.

[Rowne]

If you can't dream in color, how are you able to describe a certain object in said dream as a certain color?  I distinctly remember a glowing orange street-light in a particularly frightening dream I had when I was little.

The boffins would argue that you saw a glowing grayscale lamp and that your mind added the most appropriate colour after.

I believe what you're saying, mind you, I'm just providing you with the official "How is it possible?" answer, since that seems to be better than any personal opinions of my own.

I can't be completely sure but I'm betting that some people can indeed dream in colour, perhaps it's just a rare thing or something that the boffins are completely wrong about.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Maybe they're just pulling it out of their bung-holes like string-theory.   And wouldn't the most logical color for a streetlight be white, yellow, or somewhere inbetween?

[Rowne]

This is entirely possible!

Also, it might be that it's more like being colourblind than grayscale, I don't remember the details exactly.  There are some crazy theories out there, though.

The reason I believed it is because when I think about my dreams, I'll be able to think that "Yes, I think that item was purple." but when asked if I actually perceived it as purple whilst sleeping or simply assumed purple as the most logical colour after waking, I couldn't say.

I can't exactly examine my own dreams that well yet.  I've worked at lucid dreaming but I've had zero success there too, so ... Iono.

[Hilary]

Hehe... that is pretty funny. You CEO!

I think I dream in color because once, I dreamt I was in a candy store, and I couldn't decide between the yellow, green, and purple jawbreakers. And there were happy blue and yellow VW buses driving on the streets and in the parking deck. Yes... a small look into my unconcious mind.  

[Rowne]

Yep.

I admit though that the reason I took that theory as a possibility is because I have an affinity for butt-hole theories.  Usually it seems that the crazier theories are today, the more likely it becomes that they're going to proven fact tomorrow.

There are those though that simply have too much evidence to be true and the one about dreaming seems to be one of those.

I suppose another reason is that I've had some particularly vivid dreams and I can't particularly spot the colours of certain items in them.  Like, there was this one dream (and I believe I've spoken about this on this very board before) ...

It involved a supermarket, lots of people sitting around in deckchairs and reading books, newspapers and assorted things.  I pull out a deckchair, sit down and start nosing through my own whatever-it-is.  At this point, a multi-coloured Dog wandered up to my somniferous avatar and declared a hearty "Hi!"

I recall that Dog being multicoloured, I still can't remember what colours he was though.  I think he was striped and rainbowish, can't say for sure.

I think this might be why they're convinced that we don't dream in colour ... because they reviewed a bunch of people like me who're terrible at remembering certain details of their dreams.  :p

----

Then again, it's not exactly colours that I have trouble with alone, either.  If I remember my dreams correctly (which I likely don't), it seems that anyone who isn't involved within the particular story of a dream is faceless.  Much like that recent and very creepy episode of Doctor Who.  Just wandering vague bodies with no particular detail to them, plodding around and doing vague and unimportant things.

From this, I have to assume that some people can simply retain more knowledge about their dreamscape than others and I'm one of those who, whilst being able to grab the gist of dreams, has trouble with the details.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Hmm...  Perhapsit's possible to dream too many colors.  As you said, the dog in your dream was multi-colored, but you couldn't remember exactly what colors the dog was.  Maybe you can only dream a limited number of colors, 16-bit color on your computer seems to be a fitting analogy.  Same would go for your faceless random characters.  If, in your dreams, it's not important, why put detail into it?  Seems probable that your brain would be conserving 'processing' power, much like a video game.

[Rowne]

I'm particularly pleased by this analogy.

It would make sense though that the mind wouldn't stress itself over details, going simply for broad creativity rather than uninteresting minutae.  After all, it isn't the concious mind that's in the driving seat when we dream, it's that part of the mind that handles little details and the comprehension of them.  Which is why I believe we also can't read when we're dreaming.

[Amber Williams]

In all honesty, the main reason I would avoid using a word like bitch in the comic is because I'm well aware of the impact it has in our society.    In DMFA standards it likely wouldn't even have a meaning, much less an insult.  The closet it would come would likely be in describing a non-sentient canine...so it would be the equivalent of anyone here calling someone a chimpanzee.(which while some anti-evolutionary folk might get upset, its considered pretty lame/mild in terms of insult)  And even that comparison is prettly flat.

While I'm sure there would be very colourful and creative new swearwords to properly insult a various creature or being, odds are I won't bother too much. If the characters insult the other, I usually try to be more clever in their insults than resorting to a buzzword.

[EvilIguana966]

Do I dream in color?  I think so, but that's kind of hard to really answer concretely.  Dreams are an odd state of mind.  I seem to recall reading that the areas of the brain that govern logic are supressed when dreaming.  Given that, it's no wonder that dreams can be so illogical.  I can't explain very well in words the things I remember from my dreams because no words exist to really describe them.  It's often hard to differentiate between strands of thought in the way we would while awake.  Interestingly enough, I have had dreams where I realized I was dreaming and had some amount of success in altering the outcome.  For a while a couple years back I was frequently able to realize I was having a nightmare and then use a quick upper body movement to jerk myself awake.  Anyway, sorry for the derail, just felt like adding my 2 cents in. 

[Eibborn]

...Normally, I'd consider this off-topic, but as the question has been answered and a new topic presented I feel that this thread is fair game.

*Snip* Do you dream in colour?

To questions like this, I reply Does it matter? Is there any way of finding out one way or another? If not, then I really don't see the point. It's like asking 'Where did the matter that exploded in the big bang come from?' or (alternatively), 'Where did God come from?' Impossible to get a sure answer.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Where did the matter that exploded in the big bang come from?'

Ooh ooh, pick me pick me!  I had this theory awhile back about this particular matter. (No pun intended)

The way I see it, everything in the 'big bang' has and always will be.  To begin, let's start near the end;  Black holes ravage the universe, growing ever larger in mass and smaller in volume.  The inconcievably large masses consum everything, even eachother.  No matter what the distance, gravity will sooner or later cause these large masses to come together in one large super-black hole.  All the matter in the universe in a single object the size of a micron.  The gravity caused by this mass causes the black hole to fully collapse into anything but less than nothing.  This is the time right before the big bang.  What causes the black hole to explode?  Not sure, but every element in the known and unkown universe combined in such a fashion is inevitably going to cause some sort of reaction.  So yeah, the whole thing explodes spreading matter all across the universe.  Then the whole thing starts over again.

[Hilary]

To questions like this, I reply Does it matter? Is there any way of finding out one way or another? If not, then I really don't see the point. It's like asking 'Where did the matter that exploded in the big bang come from?' or (alternatively), 'Where did God come from?' Impossible to get a sure answer.

Just to play devil's advocate (or maybe just the devil herself) those cavemen probably never believed in such far-fetched fantasies like the lightbulb. So we might figure it out one day. Or maybe not. That is, assuming the apocalypse doesn't kill us all first. *whistles a happy tune* 

[Rowne]

The big bang theory was always too normal for me, it didn't seem romantic enough.  I prefer the idea of dimensional planes crossing over each other, myself, which would help explain the relatively flat nature of the Universe (we're in an envelope after all, pretty much, as opposed to a sphere).

Of course, those theories are unlikely and it's quite possible the Universe will have been borne of the most boring and predictable idea but the day I accept the most boring idea is the day I stop being Rowne!

[Hilary]

I prefer the "It's all in your mind, Neo" version. Because that means that at some point I might get to ninja fight Hugo Weaving.

[Tapewolf]

Gah, I should have known that my sign-off comment would be taken literally.
It's actually an obscure song by Bill Nelson from 1980.  If I wanted to know if people dreamed in colour I would probably have asked the APF.
I should have used that line from 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' instead.

[Vidar]

The big bang theory was always too normal for me, it didn't seem romantic enough.  I prefer the idea of dimensional planes crossing over each other, myself, which would help explain the relatively flat nature of the Universe (we're in an envelope after all, pretty much, as opposed to a sphere).

That's just our Milky Way. The universe has a roughly sphericle shape.

Rowne  Posted on: Today at 01:14:06

Eventually, I think that every word within the English language is going to have some kind of insulting or dirty connotation.  I can see a distant century, let's say ... the 22nd, where people are running around and calling each other teapots, armchairs and waterfalls.

Like in Victorian England, it was quite hard to speak a sentence without mentioning at least 5 euphemisms for female genitalia, and another 3 for intercourse.

[ITOS]

The big bang theory was always too normal for me, it didn't seem romantic enough.  I prefer the idea of dimensional planes crossing over each other, myself, which would help explain the relatively flat nature of the Universe.

You mean like in the M-theory?

[Rowne]

That's not exactly what I was thinking of but it's fascinating reading material and that's always appreciated.  More distractions from other things I should be doing!  I'll be sitting here reading M-Theory related things for a while to see if any of it clicks with what I was thinking of.  Regardless though, it seems as though they're striking for the most outlandish of theories with 11 dimensions and I can't help but love that.

[Hilary]

Gah, I should have known that my sign-off comment would be taken literally.
It's actually an obscure song by Bill Nelson from 1980.  If I wanted to know if people dreamed in colour I would probably have asked the APF.
I should have used that line from 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' instead.

Heh... well, it made for interesting conversation. If pointless. Hey, FVK. We just wanna end your world...

[Tapewolf]

Gah, I should have known that my sign-off comment would be taken literally.
It's actually an obscure song by Bill Nelson from 1980.  If I wanted to know if people dreamed in colour I would probably have asked the APF.
I should have used that line from 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' instead.

Heh... well, it made for interesting conversation. If pointless. Hey, FVK. We just wanna end your world...

http://nice.purrsia.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=79;t=001967;p=18#000427

In any case, my query about the word 'bitch' in Furrae seems to have been answered adequately.  If people want to talk about cosmology instead, that's cool.  I think plasma theory is the way to go.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"Steady-State" versus "Big Bang" theories are fun, but the Big Bang appears to have overthrown all opponents. Apparently due to people liking the idea of things blowing up...

The bang-crunch-bang-crunch theory is another old one, as well. Only problem is, we can't tell anything about anything before the singularity, or afterwards, for that matter, so the difference between a single bang, and a series of bang-crunches is, from our point of view, irrelevant thought experiments.

I did note the recent threory put out by Hawkings and Hawkins (I think) that someone linked from their LJ - only problem is finding the damn thing.