Etiquette Hell

I think that staring directly at the person and saying "BIL, you're currently being very offensive.  We're going to stop talking about this," might be your best option.  Get up and walk away if he keeps going after that.

True.

I have never gotten to go to Scotland yet.

He's my husband's only brother and they were estranged due to the drugs for a long time.  So I don't want to do a cut_direct.  I don't want to get so mad I shoot him.  I don't want to listen to him blather. 

Thing is, don't people usually notice when the listener Really Does Not Want To Hear It? 

Normal people do, yes. Lunatics don't necessarily notice, and they don't especially care either way. They just know they have something they need to express to the world.

If you don't want to listen to his vile lies, you're going to have to shut him down hard if and when he tries to spew them at you. You don't have to change his mind, you just have to teach him that saying such disgusting things around you is a very, very bad idea. Even flatworms can be taught, and this guy probably won't pose much more challenge than that.

  With the cat speaking in a Stewie voice, naturally!

Quote from: ladyknight1 on May 14, 2013, 02:53:53 PM

Too funny! I look the same when I save sycamore leaves and Luna moths.

Are you saving the moths and feeding them sycamore leaves?

When I was in elementary school, I was a nerd before "nerd" was a word.  I did a "science experiment" on the polyphemous moths that infested the birch trees in our front yard.  Really infested!  These large, almost neon green caterpillars were dropping out of the trees on our heads as we walked past.  I collected the caterpillars.  I observed them spinning their pupas.  I watched a couple emerge from their cocoons and pump their wings to their full beauty.  I watched several beat their wings to shreds on the bird cage before I let the last one fly free!  I discovered all the eggs they laid in the bird cage, then the tiny little caterpillers hatched in my room and died all over the place.

My father says he hasn't seen a single polyphemous moth since that year.  In the name of scientific inquiry, I wiped out an entire population of moths.  I may have saved the birch trees, but wasn't there a compromise solution?  When I learned, later in life, the concept of the effect of the observer on the observed phenomenon, I said, "Been there, done that.  Be wary of the unintended consequences of well intentioned acts."

You really managed to collect every caterpillar on that tree? And no moth born on a nearby tree wandered over? That seems unlikely. I think there must be a different explanation but your mind associated the end of the moths with your experiments. If I am wrong, then please come visit me, as we have a caterpillar problem.