Ian Punnett

[Avi]

Are you from the southern half of this great country?

No, but I love American accents. Being musically inclined, I like to imitate them, as I must do for certain roles, anyway. I did not know that there were variations on Dad-gummit (the Texan pronunciation). Fascinating (pause to raise left eyebrow).

My experience as a vocal instructor has been that Mid-Westerners have the most difficulty with pronunciation of other dialects. That mid-western drawl remains no matter what. I really hope my Cleveland, Ohio born spouse does not look over my shoulder as I type this.

[Lovely Bones]

He kept pronouncing "Chupacabra" as "Chupacabbrrrrrrraaaaaaaa" and had to say the word over and over during Open Lines.  I'm sorry but nothing sounds stupider to me than a whitebread Anglo who tries to "respect" the pronounciation of another culture by doing a half-assed impression when the word is already pronounced differently in their own culture . . . it's odd and seems strange because they don't pronounce other "foreign" words that way that have previously been Americanized, such as "aluminum" instead of "aluminium."

Okay, I love all the posts on this thread, BUT . . .

I remember one night Ian made a brief mention regarding his rather intriguing family composition.  There was some reference to Puerto Rican or other Hispanic members of the family, him being adopted or fostered as a child, something along those lines.  And Dad-gummit, I didn't catch the details because I was kinda drifting in and out of sleep and because it was just a brief mention and Ian didn't do the full-on Noory trip down memory lane where Noory exposes his entire childhood for all to see. 

But in Ian's defense, rolling his "r's" in Chupacabra may not be a whitebread guy pretending he's sympatico with Hispanics so much as a white midwest guy who doesn't show his Hispanic "roots" on the outside. 

[Lovely Bones]

i think he just likes an unsolved mystery.  a guy hijacks a plane and parachutes into the pacific northwest with a suitcase full of cash.  i don't think there's any need to explain why that might be an interesting story

I agree.  Paper Boy doesn't care for Ian (or Knapp for that matter), and that's his prerogative.  But I think he's always going to look see a more complicated explanation when Occam's Razor would do with a question like this.  My opinion. 

[PB the Deplorable]

... But in Ian's defense, rolling his "r's" in Chupacabra may not be a whitebread guy pretending he's sympatico with Hispanics so much as a white midwest guy who doesn't show his Hispanic "roots" on the outside.

Or it could just be a pretentious jackass finding a new way to be superior.

In Ian's defense, George Noory - who can't even speak English - also tries to pronounce place names with a Spanish accent and botches it badly.  Wait, I guess that isn't much of a defense...

[Lovely Bones]

I think he likes these because he's pressed for time. 

Agree with you on many things, Ana, and love your posts.  But gotta disagree on this one.  Ian is a classic overachiever.  Noory's the one looking for the easy way out.  Ian is prepared, even if it takes his last gasp of energy. 

Some of us (and I count myself in this group) are obsessively, compulsively fascinated with mysteries and unsolved true crime stories.  Whenever Ian (or Knapp or on a rare occasion like last night Noory) has one of these topics, I'm stoked.  So I understand why Ian would be stoked to follow up on these cases.  OTOH, one of the reasons it took me forever to warm up to Knapp was looking at the schedule and saying, "Oh cripes, UFO's AGAIN???"  But that's just me. 

[anagrammy]

Lovely Bones, I AM SO WITH YOU ON THESE OLD MYSTERIES!  I would love nothing better than to make a list and have them just cycle through==not a whole show for one, but an update on a bunch of them.  Wouldn't you like to know where the Jon Benet Ramsey case is?  Has it gone completely cold?  Is someone working on it, if so who?  And why?  With DNA developments, there is a lot of churning on old cases.

I remember that guy who wrote a book on the Black Dahlia because his mother was killed (or almost killed? Memory, where are you?) in a similar manner.  Now there was a character, obsessed, the whole works.  Perfect whacked guest.

Back to Ian, when I was in college while raising the kids, I was an overachiever who had to develop "strategies" to leverage my time.  For example, I got a job at the newspaper as a columnist, which helped supported the family and also gave me a couple of credits for my Communications major AND fulfilled my requirement to do an internship in a business.  Three for one.  That's when I thought of Ian becoming so knowledgeable about cold cases.  It's a smart move to have that kind of knowledge in the bank for future developments.

Anagrammy

[Lovely Bones]

Or it could just be a pretentious jackass finding a new way to be superior.

Yeah.  But see, I don't find Ian to be a pretentious jackass.  I find him kind of endearing.  It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. 

[Lovely Bones]

Lovely Bones, I AM SO WITH YOU ON THESE OLD MYSTERIES!  I would love nothing better than to make a list and have them just cycle through==not a whole show for one, but an update on a bunch of them.

I'd be all about Knapp or Ian or both doing this.  What a great idea.  Assuming Premiere allows some kind of autonomy in picking topics.  Come to think of it, they must.  I doubt Premiere gave GK the Patrick Carnes missing person, trucker serial killer case.  That had to be a personal choice.

Wouldn't you like to know where the Jon Benet Ramsey case is?  Has it gone completely cold?  Is someone working on it, if so who?  And why?  With DNA developments, there is a lot of churning on old cases.

You know about the touch DNA in this case, correct? 

I remember that guy who wrote a book on the Black Dahlia because his mother was killed (or almost killed? Memory, where are you?) in a similar manner.  Now there was a character, obsessed, the whole works.  Perfect whacked guest.

I think you're talking about James Ellroy? 

I was an overachiever who had to develop "strategies" to leverage my time.

Okay, two big things we have in common.  LOL. 

[BobGrau]

Lovely Bones, I AM SO WITH YOU ON THESE OLD MYSTERIES!  I would love nothing better than to make a list and have them just cycle through==not a whole show for one, but an update on a bunch of them.  Wouldn't you like to know where the Jon Benet Ramsey case is?  Has it gone completely cold?  Is someone working on it, if so who?  And why?  With DNA developments, there is a lot of churning on old cases.

I remember that guy who wrote a book on the Black Dahlia because his mother was killed (or almost killed? Memory, where are you?) in a similar manner.  Now there was a character, obsessed, the whole works.  Perfect whacked guest.

Back to Ian, when I was in college while raising the kids, I was an overachiever who had to develop "strategies" to leverage my time.  For example, I got a job at the newspaper as a columnist, which helped supported the family and also gave me a couple of credits for my Communications major AND fulfilled my requirement to do an internship in a business.  Three for one.  That's when I thought of Ian becoming so knowledgeable about cold cases.  It's a smart move to have that kind of knowledge in the bank for future developments.

Anagrammy

I'm seeing Ian in his own TV detective show "the Deacon" where he wanders from town to town, giving sermons and being approached by grieving families who the police can't help - for no charge of course. Then at the end he goes on the radio and sums up the moral issues, ala The Midnight Caller (what was that guy's name again?)

He already smokes a pipe. Add a columbo-style raincoat and a grumpy sceptical superior (archdeacon? marge?) - instant classic.

[Eddie Coyle]

   James Ellroy would finally become a murderer if Noory attempted to interview him. And maybe he'd kill Ian as well, if the Rev went on one of his predictable morality diatribes.

[Scully]

I'd be all about Knapp or Ian or both doing this.  What a great idea.  Assuming Premiere allows some kind of autonomy in picking topics.  Come to think of it, they must.  I doubt Premiere gave GK the Patrick Carnes missing person, trucker serial killer case.  That had to be a personal choice.

(Re Jon Benet Ramsey)
You know about the touch DNA in this case, correct?

Knapp said last Sun. night that he will talk to the producers about doing the Turkish UFO story a caller suggested.  His tone suggested that wouldn't be a problem.

Re the touch DNA, please tell us.  I'm a mystery/old-crimes addict, too. 

[anagrammy]

OK girls, it's Lovely Bones, and Scully and me and anyone else who wants in -- I'm starting a new thread for us to share info on these old cases.  Let's face it, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's apparently ours.....

TELL ABOUT THE TOUCH DNA on the new thread.....I don't know anything about it.  --AND BTW, this is EXACTLY why we need Ian to jump in.  BobGrau has a wonderful idea, once a month, Ian can check out the latest ...

Anagrammy

[Scully]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dagummit

Are you from the southern half of this great country?

I'm not from Hillbilly Heaven either, Gassy Man, (although I live there now.)  Guess I picked up my "dad-gummit" in Texas (like Avi) where I was raised.

I'm a connoisseur of American accents, as Avi says she is.  Where in this great country is it that they say "dagummit"?  I never heard that til today, and here's the link to the other Urban Dictionary site that tells the rest of the story. 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dad-gummit

[SheilaVG]

That's funny. I mean I know you're serious but it's funny because Glenn Beckas saying something about that being annoying recently. Of course he was making a big joke about it so that what he was saying wasn't serious but he's right. This is America and we should not have to feel like we have to use the pronunciations of other lands when speaking. I mean even if the word is, for instance, An Chill Ada, that is how WE pronounce enchilda Not enchiladsha or whatever they say. But he uses unusual pronunciations for other things too, not just foreign words. I just assume it's because he feels he knows it so should use it. Every host is going to have something we could complain about but Ian is a good host so I think many of us forgive him these things because of his general tone and how good he is on the show. Same thing with George Knapp though I haven't found anything to criticize about him except maybe he talks about UFOs a wee bit too much.

Sheila

He kept pronouncing "Chupacabra" as "Chupacabbrrrrrrraaaaaaaa" and had to say the word over and over during Open Lines.  I'm sorry but nothing sounds stupider to me than a whitebread Anglo who tries to "respect" the pronounciation of another culture by doing a half-assed impression when the word is already pronounced differently in their own culture . . . it's odd and seems strange because they don't pronounce other "foreign" words that way that have previously been Americanized, such as "aluminum" instead of "aluminium."

[Avi]

"I'm a connoisseur of American accents, as Avi says she is."

Er, I'm not a she - not that I think there's anything wrong with being a she. On the contrary. My wife is a very fine she with a fine Cleveland accent. For the sake of honesty, I'm not a Texan, or even an American, either.

Unfortunately, regional accents are disappearing in the USA. Television and radio have really amalgamated most accents into a bland, featureless style. A pity. Here's a site where you can hear loads of accents (English has over 400 entries):

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php

[Art]

Television and radio have really amalgamated most accents into a bland, featureless style.

I told my linguistics teacher that 10 years ago and he was like "whuuuuuu???"

[Scully]

"I'm a connoisseur of American accents, as Avi says she is."

Er, I'm not a she - not that I think there's anything wrong with being a she. On the contrary. My wife is a very fine she with a fine Cleveland accent. For the sake of honesty, I'm not a Texan, or even an American, either.

Unfortunately, regional accents are disappearing in the USA. Television and radio have really amalgamated most accents into a bland, featureless style. A pity. Here's a site where you can hear loads of accents (English has over 400 entries):

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php

Pardon the gender change I gave you, Mr. Avi, and thanks for the neat link.

Ah well, we can't all be from Texas. 

[Avi]

Well, as the bumper sticker has it, "I got here as fast as I could!"

[Gassy Man]

Yeah, it grates on my ears when I hear an American newscaster suddenly slip in "Ee-Rrrrahk" instead of "Iraq" as if to say, "English isn't my only language, monolinguists, THIS is how the word is ACTUALLY pronounced by the NATIVES, you know-nothings."

It is condescending.  When you are hear, pronounce it like the people who live here do.

I had a funny experience with this once in Long Beach, California.  I was asking for directions and someone said to take Junipero Serra street, pronouncing it "Huan-a-pero Sera."  I said, "You mean "Hoo-Ni-per-oh Serrrrra?" and the person said, "I guess.  So, how long have you been in the U.S? (I was born here) LOL!

Anagrammy

It gets worse, too, when people try to pronounce words in a haughty way, like "LITCHrichure" instead of "literature" or "HHerb" instead of "herb."  In some cases, these are acceptable pronuniciations but arcane ones.

[Gassy Man]

No, but I love American accents. Being musically inclined, I like to imitate them, as I must do for certain roles, anyway. I did not know that there were variations on Dad-gummit (the Texan pronunciation). Fascinating (pause to raise left eyebrow).

My experience as a vocal instructor has been that Mid-Westerners have the most difficulty with pronunciation of other dialects. That mid-western drawl remains no matter what. I really hope my Cleveland, Ohio born spouse does not look over my shoulder as I type this.

Could be.  I'm a midwesterner, though I've been told my high school French accent isn't bad.  The flip side is the midwestern accent is generally the one in the U.S. preferred for newscasters and the like.

[Gassy Man]

Yeah.  But see, I don't find Ian to be a pretentious jackass.  I find him kind of endearing.  It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

Nah, he can be a pretentious jackass.  He's definitely smarter than George Noory, certainly a better interviewer, occasionally an enjoyable host, and much too often, as Christopher Hitchens might put it, an annoying "little ponce."

[Gassy Man]

I'm not from Hillbilly Heaven either, Gassy Man, (although I live there now.)  Guess I picked up my "dad-gummit" in Texas (like Avi) where I was raised.

I'm a connoisseur of American accents, as Avi says she is.  Where in this great country is it that they say "dagummit"?  I never heard that til today, and here's the link to the other Urban Dictionary site that tells the rest of the story. 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dad-gummit

I'm in the midwest and very close to Appalachia, the literal hillbilly heaven, and have never heard anyone around here pronounce the "d" in "dadgummit."  I've probably heard it pronounced that way in movies and television though and just never paid attention.   

[Gassy Man]

That's funny. I mean I know you're serious but it's funny because Glenn Beckas saying something about that being annoying recently. Of course he was making a big joke about it so that what he was saying wasn't serious but he's right. This is America and we should not have to feel like we have to use the pronunciations of other lands when speaking. I mean even if the word is, for instance, An Chill Ada, that is how WE pronounce enchilda Not enchiladsha or whatever they say. But he uses unusual pronunciations for other things too, not just foreign words. I just assume it's because he feels he knows it so should use it. Every host is going to have something we could complain about but Ian is a good host so I think many of us forgive him these things because of his general tone and how good he is on the show. Same thing with George Knapp though I haven't found anything to criticize about him except maybe he talks about UFOs a wee bit too much.

Sheila

Well, no offense, but Glenn Beck is a little ponce.

[BobGrau]

It gets worse, too, when people try to pronounce words in a haughty way, like "LITCHrichure" instead of "literature" or "HHerb" instead of "herb."  In some cases, these are acceptable pronuniciations but arcane ones.

It's "herb", not "erb" - and while we're at it, "football" is not pronounced "soccer"

[Gassy Man]

It's "herb", not "erb" - and while we're at it, "football" is not pronounced "soccer"

Not in these parts unless you're talking about some gangly 50 year old with a combover.

[Avi]

From Ireland, land of poets and scholars, and from whence I so humbly hail, "haitch" vs. "aitch (voiced vs. unvoiced letter 'h')" is a serious speech marker of one's political/class affiliation.

[beachcomber]

Punnett can be unnecessarily verbose, pretentious, self-aggrandizing egotistical self-involved and elitist but I had to fastblast him when he pronounced Lima (Ohio) like he was talking about LEE-MA , Peru.

Here, Lima is pronounced  like the simple Lima bean  (or "Slima" as the haters are wont to say).

But it didn't help. He still thinks rural Ohioans speak with a Spanish accent.
Oh well.

[anagrammy]

From Ireland, land of poets and scholars, and from whence I so humbly hail, "haitch" vs. "aitch (voiced vs. unvoiced letter 'h')" is a serious speech marker of one's political/class affiliation.

And, prithee tell, what in the world is a "haitch/aitch?"

(I realize I may be losing my percent Irish here by asking, even though my name is Kathleen and my grandmother came from County Cork.

Anagrammy

[BobGrau]

Not in these parts unless you're talking about some gangly 50 year old with a combover.

someday.

I'm normaly pretty easy-going about the (percieved) misuse of lnagague adn spilling, but that 'erb' thing has always bugged me for some reason. Stupid really, cos I drop my 't's consanly.

[PB the Deplorable]

Punnett can be unnecessarily verbose, pretentious, self-aggrandizing egotistical self-involved and elitist...

Just the qualities one would look for in a minister.  Not that Ian actually believes in any of that 'God' stuff.