7 ms·

I'm ashamed to admit I was put off at first by the heavy Chicago accent, but holy shit this was interesting and informative, and the fellow knows his botany. I

I'm ashamed to admit I was put off at first by the heavy Chicago accent, but holy shit this was interesting and informative, and the fellow knows his botany. I liked, subscribed, and "hit that bell" as the youtubers say these days.

mef 7y ago
out of curiosity, why do you think accents put you off?
- rendall 7y ago
  I don't have a problem with accents at all. I think, at first, I thought he was faking or exaggerating his accent for effect. Then I realized I wasn't familiar with the Chicago accent enough to know what was real or exaggerated. Then I decided to just listen to the guy and forget about the accent. All this happened within about 10-15 seconds. In retrospect, I am super familiar with and rather fond of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Boston accents; maybe for me the Chicago accent falls into a kind of uncanny valley where it's close to those other accents to sound almost the same, but different enough to sound "weird" and "fake". But, the more I watch these videos, the more his accent will be familiar to me.
  - sk5t 7y ago
    For sorta-realistic Chicago accents, watch and enjoy the movie "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford. For big ol' jokey Chicago accent, the "Superfans" SNL sketches.
    - rendall 7y ago
      It was recalling those sketches that made me realize it was probably a Chicago accent. "Da Bearss"
MisterTea 7y ago
> I'm ashamed to admit I was put off at first by the heavy Chicago accent, As someone with a thick NYC accent it's gratifying to see someone else with a rough appearance and thick accent dish out some knowledge. I only watched the video for a few min and already I see tattoos and hear cursing. Most people would probably write this man off as unintelligent and of low class. I myself have had to mask my accent in some situations as I've been told it makes me sound "common". (fuck you) And although I don't have any tattoos, I know plenty of people who look down on them. I worked for a guy who forced employees with visible arm tattoos to wear long sleeve shirts. It's amazing how many so-called progressive people still espouse classist bigitroy.
- MisterTea 7y ago
  Oh, hmmm, appears I'm being modded down in response to a perceived attack on the GP, rendall. Wasn't my intent. The fuck you was a kind of "people who think like that can get fucked" and so was the classist remark. Nothing was directed towards rendall.
- rendall 7y ago
  Hey, man. That sucks you're getting modded down. I didn't see it as an attack. I liked what you said.
ljm 7y ago
I'm not from the US so I don't have the ear for accents, but my first impression was that this YouTube channel is basically Tony Soprano's account of the afterlife. He finally got out and found himself doing botany in North California. It made me enjoy the videos much more.
ljm 7y ago
I'm not from the US so I don't have the ear for accents, but my first impression was that this YouTube channel is basically Tony Soprano's account of the afterlife. He finally got out and found himself doing botany in North California. It made me enjoy the videos much more. Seriously though, I actually find this much more engaging. You can see where the passion is and not being afraid of being yourself gives makes it so authentic. The guy just fuckin' loves his botany.
ljm 7y ago
I'm not from the US so I don't have the ear for accents, but my first impression was that this YouTube channel is basically Tony Soprano's account of the afterlife. He finally got out and found himself doing botany in North California. It made me enjoy the videos much more. Seriously though, I actually find this much more engaging. You can see where the passion is and not being afraid of being yourself gives makes it so authentic. The guy just fuckin' loves his botany and shit.
- rendall 7y ago
  Tony Soprano was Jersey Shore Italian. It hits the TH sound a bit softer, with the tongue a bit closer to the front towards the teeth. The Chicago accent hits that sound with a hard D, with the tongue pressing the palate further back from the teeth. Also, the S sound is harder, too, especially at the end of a word. There's nothing wrong with his accent at all! I just wasn't used to it, and it sounded like a fake Bronx accent to me at first, until I parsed it and realized it was probably a Chicago accent.
pbhjpbhj 7y ago
I'm just on the "Alligator Lizards ..." video and he's asking "are you learning anything here [about "MFLs!] or are you just, like, hearing that silly fucking accent". Honestly, this guy is great. So knowledgeable, such a lively delivery, so inspiring.

mef 7y ago

out of curiosity, why do you think accents put you off?

rendall 7y ago
I don't have a problem with accents at all. I think, at first, I thought he was faking or exaggerating his accent for effect. Then I realized I wasn't familiar with the Chicago accent enough to know what was real or exaggerated. Then I decided to just listen to the guy and forget about the accent. All this happened within about 10-15 seconds. In retrospect, I am super familiar with and rather fond of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Boston accents; maybe for me the Chicago accent falls into a kind of uncanny valley where it's close to those other accents to sound almost the same, but different enough to sound "weird" and "fake". But, the more I watch these videos, the more his accent will be familiar to me.
- sk5t 7y ago
  For sorta-realistic Chicago accents, watch and enjoy the movie "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford. For big ol' jokey Chicago accent, the "Superfans" SNL sketches.
  - rendall 7y ago
    It was recalling those sketches that made me realize it was probably a Chicago accent. "Da Bearss"

MisterTea 7y ago

> I'm ashamed to admit I was put off at first by the heavy Chicago accent, As someone with a thick NYC accent it's gratifying to see someone else with a rough appearance and thick accent dish out some knowledge. I only watched the video for a few min and already I see tattoos and hear cursing. Most people would probably write this man off as unintelligent and of low class. I myself have had to mask my accent in some situations as I've been told it makes me sound "common". (fuck you) And although I don't have any tattoos, I know plenty of people who look down on them. I worked for a guy who forced employees with visible arm tattoos to wear long sleeve shirts. It's amazing how many so-called progressive people still espouse classist bigitroy.

MisterTea 7y ago
Oh, hmmm, appears I'm being modded down in response to a perceived attack on the GP, rendall. Wasn't my intent. The fuck you was a kind of "people who think like that can get fucked" and so was the classist remark. Nothing was directed towards rendall.
rendall 7y ago
Hey, man. That sucks you're getting modded down. I didn't see it as an attack. I liked what you said.

ljm 7y ago

I'm not from the US so I don't have the ear for accents, but my first impression was that this YouTube channel is basically Tony Soprano's account of the afterlife. He finally got out and found himself doing botany in North California. It made me enjoy the videos much more. Seriously though, I actually find this much more engaging. You can see where the passion is and not being afraid of being yourself gives makes it so authentic. The guy just fuckin' loves his botany.

ljm 7y ago

rendall 7y ago
Tony Soprano was Jersey Shore Italian. It hits the TH sound a bit softer, with the tongue a bit closer to the front towards the teeth. The Chicago accent hits that sound with a hard D, with the tongue pressing the palate further back from the teeth. Also, the S sound is harder, too, especially at the end of a word. There's nothing wrong with his accent at all! I just wasn't used to it, and it sounded like a fake Bronx accent to me at first, until I parsed it and realized it was probably a Chicago accent.

pbhjpbhj 7y ago

I'm just on the "Alligator Lizards ..." video and he's asking "are you learning anything here [about "MFLs!] or are you just, like, hearing that silly fucking accent". Honestly, this guy is great. So knowledgeable, such a lively delivery, so inspiring.