I tried so hard to like Emma. My friend and I swapped favourite books and I struggled through 100+ pages before quitting and saying I was sorry but I'd rather watch Clueless. I just cared so little about how it ended.

Yeah, it's hard to control! I travelled alone for four months and at one point found myself occasionally speaking with a bizarre mix of some of the common aspects of accents in the area (eg "d" instead of "th") because I hadn't spoken to someone who had english as their first language in so long.

I think code-switching is different. Like "Spanglish" is code-switching - where you use multiple languages in one conversation. My Grandmother and her Finnish friends who all grew up in Canada did this a lot because they could so easily switch between Finnish and English.

So interesting! Thanks for the insight - I'll definitely look up that book. I love stuff like this - it makes so much sense when presented but it would never have occured to me as a pattern. Whenever I read posts like this I end up daydreaming about being friends with the poster and drinking lots of tea while learning…

I'm from outside the US and that stereotype is so pervasive (yay The Simpsons?) that when I was on a train to Pompeii and heard some people speaking in a southern accent I was inappropriately surprised to tune in and hear that they were discussing the role of art analysis in learning about lost historical cultures and…

Just because it has a name doesn't mean you're not crazy....

Depends on the person - my sister's a low social monitor/self-monitor so she doesn't adapt in that way which can be good because she doesn't end up "in" with groups she doesn't actually like, or bad because she can struggle to connect with people, especially early on when most connections are built on perceived…

Definitely! It's called self-monitoring or social monitoring. If you're high on the scale then you change your behaviour to fit in, usually sub-consciously.

I'm a high social monitor so I often sub-consciously adapt my patterns of speech to match those around me. At best it helps me fit in and hopefully not make others uncomfortable, but at worst it sometimes sounds mocking, like I'm trying to imitate someone as a joke. Lying about your family background's a bit…

Have you seen the original video? It's super creepy - the person filming obviously thinks it's cute and this little boy just chases her around trying to hug or kiss her for ages. Gee, I wonder why men think persistence is key and that "no" really means "try harder"?

This is the best meet-cute ever. I reread these whenever I'm feeling sick or just generally low. Except the Circle of Magic ones. They never grabbed me in the same way.

And Crouch made the maze portkey, so even if there was a block or whatever, he obviously has the knowledge and power to get around it. If he could magic the trophy, he could magic anything.

And Barty Crouch makes the maze portkey without anyone's permission or knowledge, so if he could create an exception that day, why not any other day in the whole school year?

LIONESS RAMPANT!!!!

Yeah, that's probably true. The only time I was ever successfully "picked up" I could definitely tell that he would be fine to walk away if I wasn't interested. Is it just that guys who would hear no seem less creepy because they are less creepy?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=maori+king

This is so perfectly worded. I think I wrote three paragraphs replying to someone else about this, and this is exactly what I was trying to say.

Men aren't very good at hearing a "hard no" in person either though. It's partly socialization to think if they persist and find the right phrase or action then they'll win the prize, and partly thinking that women are "just playing hard to get". When I try to think how many guys have left me alone after just one…

The thing about just asking in person is that it's great in theory, but cis straight men are the worst at hearing "no". My boyfriend gets hit on by men a lot because his best friend is lesbian so they hang out in gay-friendly places, it doesn't bother him because he says "sorry, no thanks" and almost invariably the…

I think the ONLY time it's okay to comment on weight loss is if you know the person well and you know they have been personally striving to lose weight, so recognition will make them feel good. Even then, I would always couch it in terms of achievement, not attractiveness. Saying "You look great, you've lost so much…