Need I state the obvious, as revealed in the text below. I am new to this Forum(is this the right word?)and rather new to this new-fangled computer and e-mail business. It does seem to be interesting. My Questions: In perusing the posts(postings?) I have observed that there seem to be certain rules and conventions regulating an observed etiquette or certain usages. I have further noted that contributors sometimes (rather ungraciously , it seems to me)publicly chide one another for alleged breaches in the unknown code of decorum. In order that I, and others new to the genre, may seek to avoid any such "fox pass" ( I should have written "faux pas" but doubtless Geoff or our Francophone friends would have advised that such a phrase means " step-father" or is it "putatative father" -There does not seem to be a "pundemonium emoticon" and I must ask you figuratively to supply your own?), please advise:
1. Where(if at all)are any such rules collected and how may one gain access to them? Purely as a matter of idle curiosity, who makes,and who enforces, such rules, and by what authority?
2. Where is the phrase-book translating such acro-breviations as "IOW" and "YART" and many other such acro-breviations. I THINK I have figured out those two, from their context, but, all the same, I would like to see a list or phrase-book. I am old enough to know the veteran "FYI" "MYOB" and BYOB". Maybe you, collectively, will advise "shut up and MYOB!" Otherwise, your assistance will be apreciated. Scribbler
Dear Scrib ~
Suppose you were rooting around in your grandmother's attic and you came upon an old board game which had all (or most) of the pieces but was missing the rules. That seems to me to be pretty much how this board works. Under the "land mine" principle of law, you discover that you have broken a rule when and as your foot is being blown off. The other rule is that, when correcting newbies, it is to be done gently, until their skin thickens, I think. Another way to come at this is to eschew all of this nonsense, pitch in and have a good time. I recommend the latter.
Father Steve
My Questions: In perusing the posts(postings?) I have observed that there seem to be certain rules and conventions regulating an observed etiquette or certain usages. I have further noted that contributors sometimes (rather ungraciously , it seems to me)publicly chide one another for alleged breaches in the unknown code of decorum.
Scribbler, I can definately sympathize with you in your frustration at not finding any infomation on this stuff. I was taken to task so many times that I quit posting for a while, just to stop the criticisms. Fortunately, a couple of people came to my rescue, so that I was able to continue without constant condemnation.
If I have overdone the punning, I shall try to tone it down. However, it's the only thing I'm good at (if one can rightly say that one can be good at punning!)
I was criticized most for failing to properly quote enough of the message to which I was responding. Just highlight the necessary quote, go to file, click on cut, then type "blue" in brackets instead of quotation marks, or "red" or another color, then click on paste, which moves the quoted lines to the outgoing message, and add "/blue" or "/red" in brackets, i.e these things: [ ] instead of quotation marks, or whatever color you want at the end of the quoted stuff. This info isn't found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for some strange reason. Somebody who has Anu's ear (or any other sensitive part of his anatomy, for that matter) should convince him to place operating instructions in the FAQs for us computer illiterate types!
I have never been a great fan of obsessively correcting the way that everyone posts -
I make huge numbers of mistakes, often due to to doing things quickly, I sometimes correct them when I see the post again. I hadn't even realised that we had to put the quoted part of the last post in another colour!
We have, from time to time, tried to put some helpful hints in Miscellany or Information & Announcements. These have not been intended to be applied dogmatically but have been intended to make things run a little more smoothly. Unfortunately, we are all inclined to wander off thesubject, especially if a particularly good pun or amusing aside distracts us!
Part of the problem is that some people read in flat mode, others in threaded. I tend to use a combination of the two, depending on the number of new posts. Once a thread breaks into several strands it can become very hard to follow, hence the advice to quote part of the post that you are replying to (I use > followed by the quote, as I do in e-mail). Here, I haven't done anything as all the replies are still in a straight line and (I hope) it is obvious that I am not really replying to any post in particular, just carrying along the thread.
Even if we start another thread in Info & Announcements with all the (useful) suggestions that people have made, it will get buried, like all the others, over time and we'll still have people having problems finding their way around.
It doesn't seem that Anu is inclined to add anything to the main FAQ, so I'll add another thread to Info & Announcements. Let's try to keep it clear from our usual diversions. If we use a consistent format for the way things are written, then people will be able to search for it easily.
Here's the link for anyone inclined to look:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=17018
Scribbler wrote : I have observed that there seem to be certain rules and conventions regulating an observed etiquette or certain usages. I have further noted that contributors sometimes (rather ungraciously , it seems to me)publicly chide one another for alleged breaches in the unknown code of decorum.
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Dear Scribbler, WELCOME! The above is another way to make clear the post to which you refer. Other ways to do it can be found at the top of the "post" page ... in blue. Gradually you will learn, as I did ... small steps.
That said, the two main rules of this Board are :
1. TRY to stay on the topic of words as defined in the various categories ... and puns are definetly in the word world as far as I am concerned. (You hear that TEd?) I love puns but am hopeless at them so really enjoy posts from those who are good at them.
2 Be polite. Even when you RANT on a subject.
There is a great variety of personalities, and a wide age span, on this Board and as you read you'll sort them out.
Finally, just jump in and take the chiding with the compliments. You'll do fine & have some fun along the way.
It's live and learn!
YCLIU - you could look it up.
WWFT - worthless word for today
YART - yet another rehashed topic.
That should get you started.
wow (High Priestess by default.
)
In reply to:
I have observed that there seem to be certain rules and conventions regulating an observed etiquette or certain usages. I have further noted that contributors sometimes (rather ungraciously , it seems to me)publicly chide one another for alleged breaches in the unknown code of decorum.... please advise:
1. Where(if at all)are any such rules collected and how may one gain access to them? Purely as a matter of idle curiosity, who makes,and who enforces, such rules, and by what authority?
2. Where is the phrase-book translating such acro-breviations as "IOW" and "YART"
scribbler, by now your head will be spinning, what with all the information you have received in response to your plea. and all of this information is tres excellente, particularly the yeomanlike(!) efforts of jmh in the information forum.
so now I will endeavor to answer your (so-far) unanswered questions.
1. if you think the folks here are ungracious in their criticisms, you perhaps haven't frequented many online BBSs (bulletin board systems). we are the very models of modern civility compared to most of these.
2. as someone alluded to above, and this is a definite YART - rules? we don' need no stinkin' rules! it's just that some of us have been here for almost 12 months now (since the Maculate Inception last March) and we like to try to keep things the Way They Were When We Found Them (so to speak). so, to quote someone else, pay little attention to the man behind the curtain -- cuz mostly he isn't there.
3. we have made abortive attempts from time to time to keep *this forum (Q & A about words) to be just that. things did get a wee bit testy when a legitimate question about food words digressed into a several hundred post thread including recipes and branched off into folk's favorite things to imbibe. [see Martha Stewart web sites]
4. re acronyms - many of us hate their general overuse, myself included; but I have yet to adequately explain myself for "YART"....
5. emoticons - many of us hate them, but they seem to be required since many others miss the facial expressions that are a part of communicating one-to-one. this has recently been taken to great extremes!! [shrugs-resignedly-emoticon]
6. "IOW"?? I have *no* idea what that one is -- must be from one of the threads that I don't frequent.
7. another way of quoting, which I don't think was mentioned (probably because few like it), is to use {quote} and {/quote} [in square brackets] as I did....
HTH!! *<8-)
Enigma and evasion grow;
And shall we never find Thee out?
- Herman Melville, Carel
In reply to:
another way of quoting, which I don't think was mentioned (probably because few like it), is to use {quote} and {/quote} [in square brackets] as I did....
Amazing, so that's how it is done. I'd always wondered how people did that. Still I think, with permission from y'all, I'll stick with my space-saving ">" Ta.
The Rules are tattooed onto Father Steve's abdomen. If you ask politely he will email you a jpeg of the tattoo in all its glory. It's rather naughty, so be sure to request the high-resolution version.
>The Rules are tattooed ...
Perhaps he could supply a digital image and we can upload it Max's AWADabilia site. I'd be quite keen to purchase the bathmat version!
In reply to:
The Rules are tattooed onto Father Steve's abdomen. If you ask politely he will email you a jpeg of the tattoo in all its glory. It's rather naughty, so be sure to request the high-resolution version.
Cool! I always wondered how Bingley got those lines to appear! (Still can't follow how Tsuwm changes fonts.)
Now, about those rules: might I see the trunkated
version?
A-aah---nearly forgot: welcome, Scribbler, and you too,
Einstein of the next thread. (That was E=MC squared, wasn't it?)
jackie, as I'm always prepared to drag folks, kicking and screaming, into the new millennium, here are my helpful hints for today [putting on M. Stewart hat]:
1. the font changes automagically when I use [pre] and [/pre] to insert spacing into my text -- be forewarned that you have to do a fair bit of mucking about to get the spacing where you want it though....
2. the code for getting the superscript for MC² is [alt]0178
>I have further noted that contributors sometimes (rather ungraciously , it seems to me)publicly chide one another for alleged breaches in the unknown code of decorum.
Scribbler, what you perceive as ungracious chiding may simply be joshing amongst old friends. Remember that some have been here for nearly a year, and others, by sheer volume of posts, have become part of the family really quickly.
Once you have stuck around for a while you will see that, even when in disagreement, nobody is really hostile or mean. This is, by a wide margin, the nicest bulletin board on the net.
>even when in disagreement, nobody is really hostile or mean
Oh yes we are!
Really, and I missed it?
>Really, and I missed it?
No, no, no you were meant to say "Oh no we're not!"
We'll make a "Widow Twanky" of you, yet!
>"Widow Twanky"??????
And this is something I want to be, is it?
Sounds like those old ladies that run around town in tattered housecoats with rollers in their hair (hidden under a kerchief out of modesty of course) and old stocking rolled down to their ankles.
More or less right bel, but you missed the crucial point that Widow Twankey is actually a man. Perhaps you don't have pantos in Canada. These are re-tellings of traditional stories (Cinderella, Puss in Boots, etc.) put on in theatres throughout the land round about Christmastide and much beloved of children. Stock characters are the dame (older woman played by a man (Widow Twankey is Aladdin's mother by the way)) and the principal boy (our hero, played by a young woman in tights who has a habit of slapping her thighs every so often).
A fair amount of audience participation is expected, for example arguments between the villain and the audience (Oh yes he is, oh no he isn't, oh yes he is, oh no he isn't)and warnings shouted out by excited tots as the villain creeps up behind our hero: Behind you.
The dialogue usually includes lots of double entendres and political references despite frequent complaints that these spoil the spirit of the thing.
God, I miss them.
Bingley
Thank you for your comments Bing. I have only one thing to say:
.
.
.
BEHIND YOU!
And what are us poor panto-lovers living in benighted countries where it isn't popular at all going to do when Julian Clary finally hangs up his stilettos or discovers he has cellulite, dahling!? You always need the good fairy, don't you?
Ye Gods, I was beginning to think "panto lover" was some kind of transvestite!
I'm sure there is famous sketch where someone is explaining pantomime to an American. I thought it was Bob Newhart along the lines of his "Sir Walter Raleigh Monologue" but I can't see it mentioned so maybe it was a spoof.
It goes something like:
- So the principal boy ... is a girl dressed up as a boy
- Yes
- And the dame ... is a man dressed up as a woman
- Yes
- And you say that you allow children to see this?
- Yes!
No you are safe "panto-lovers" are not always transvestites!
Welcome, Scribbler. Having followed all the thread from your original post, and being a fellow new guy on the block, I, too, wondered about the proper etiquette required to participate in the, at first, bewildering array of these fora. I hope you will not let discouragement overwhelm, dang the discretion being the better part of valor, plunge right in and let the chips fall (only 8 more posts to matriculation to newbie emoticon), say whats on your mind, follow as best you can and have fun with your own words. It will become clearer and clearer the more you browse and respond or initiate that one does not have to be a Webster or even a Garg to simply speak ones mind.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
You may fire when ready, Gridley!
>Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! You may fire when ready, Gridley!
Funny, I just read "Gridley's interests, "reading, hunting, fishing, swimming, biking, rollerblading, singing, websurfing". i didn't spot torpedoes anywhere , is that a side-line?
Spoken by Admiral Farragut on entering harbor of Manila in Spanish American War. I think.
Correction: Encyclopedia says it was Admiral Dewey. Sorry about that.wwh
>Spoken by Admiral Farragut
And he wasn't speaking to someone called "spelchkr" by any chance?
re: Admiral Farragut--
No-- he was talking to David Porter--his second in command-- (since he was order not just his ship but a fleet!) and there end my knowledge of US navel history.
and as for me, i loved it when i got picked on-- i felt like i had "joined the family"-- since most almost everybody (starting with Jackie!) is unfailing polite to strangers and newbies-- but once you've been here for a while, your typo and mistakes or poorly phrased posts are fair game-- so for now, you are "company" and treated with decorum, but keep posting, and soon you'll just be a provider of fodder (as i am) or will fill the board with witty puns, neatly turned phrases, and literal inquires as to the meaning of a post!
>US navel history
As in "The House of Orange"?
ooops, sorry .v (duck), couldn't resist it!
well, this thread too has gone beyond the pale... one has to wonder if scribbler ever came back to read all this.
In reply to:
It will become clearer and clearer the more you browse and respond or initiate that one does not have to be a Webster or even a Garg to simply speak ones mind.
-- Thanks, I think.
All scribbler has to do now is go full speed ahead and fire at will (exemption for me I hope)
>Now, about those rules: might I see the trunkated
version?
ARGH. I torso through the thread to make that pun before you did. It was abdominal!
Dear TEd: careful lest you get your keister punted.
Actually I have enjoyed them
well, this thread too has gone beyond the pale...I didn't notice any red faces here of late
.
well, this thread too has gone beyond the pale...
I didn't notice any red faces here of late. Well, wsieber, some of us are more
modest than
others.
a pale is just a palisade-- a wooden frontier wall to keep out invaders.
but the pale refers specifically to the wall about Dublin-- (one of the newer cities in the old world-- a few years past 1000) that keep the irish out of dublin. It was one of the improvements the english made to ireland when they first occupied it.
>but the pale refers specifically to the wall about Dublin--
...and who amongst us would dare question Helen of Troy's credentials on the subject of walled cities?
That's what I love about this Board. While I had long known about The Ple of Irish history, I did not that there had been so many others, including another English Pale, around Calais. Here's a link to a Britannica article on pales in general
http://208.154.71.60/bcom/eb/article/3/0,5716,59523+1,00.htmlAnd here's a link to map showing The Pale in mediæval Ireland
http://www.irelandstory.com/maps/historical/map1450.gif
thank you max and marty-- NY's North River (north of NYC it is commonly known as the Hudson River)--has a Palisades-- Steep high cliffs, they are so named be they in effect became a effective barrier-- the shores of the river north of what is midtown, about 42nd street-- on the NJ side of the river are high -- several hundred feet, sheer cliffs of cystaline granite. (Very similar to the "devil's steps stones" in North Ireland.) It is a ancient volcanic layer, that has be twisted and turn 90 degrees. A similar structure exist in northern Manhattan-- but not till 168th St--
the George Washington bridge-- (180th street) has almost no "Up Ramp" on either side of the river-- there is slight grade-- but not the steep grade common to suspension bridges-- the bridge is almost level the ground--until the ground suddenly drops away in a sheer cliff.
Very unlike the ANZAC, for example-- which was shown as one of the challanges in the Olympic Marathon race.
Very unlike the ANZAC, for example-- which was shown as one of the challanges in the Olympic Marathon race.
?????!!!!????
ery unlike the ANZAC, for example-- which was shown as one of the challanges in the Olympic Marathon race. ?????!!!!????
My initial reaction was exactly the same CapK, but on reading your post, I was shamed by the realisation that our helen's recall of Sydney georgraphy was so much better than mine own. I seem to recall a dedication of an ANZAC bridge in Sydney a little while back, and suspect that is what helen was referring to.
Memories of WWII (The Late, Great Misunderstanding):
The troops from Australia and New Zealand were commonly known as ANJACs ..Does it stand for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp ... or what? The AC bit mystifies me.
wow
Oh yes-- i didn't watch all of the olympics-- but i felt for the mathoners as they ran up the up ramp approach to the the ANZAC bridge--No shade, far into the race, and a big hill to run up! The commentator explaned the meaning of ANZAC-- it was the first time i heard the word--
and my post was a bit hasty-- as the head honco (title is Regional Adminstrator- top post in the office-- one of top 10 in country for this organization!) called me to office for personal tutorial on some software--
as the head honco…called me to office for personal tutorial on some softwareNow, you know, Helen dear, that when you throw a comment like that into this here forum you have to expect a little woo-wooing and definitely a lot of nudge-nudge wink-winking
Sparteye stoops (and stoops low) to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by BelM:
"...for personal tutorial on some software--"
I'll bet that by the time you were done "tutoring" him, it was hardware! No more floppies for that administrator!
Jackie ! Jackie ?
The children are at it again.
Hurry! Hurry! Or you'll lose a chance to join the fun.
wow
omG i didn't understand that post, until i saw WOW's.... sheesh......
ya bunch o' pervs!
Like tutoring his tutee to toot.Perish the thought.
Does it stand for Australian and New Zealand Army CorpsSure does - you've just earned yourself an ANZAC biscuit for that one.
Please EXCUSE ( I should have said PARDON but the cost of pardons is reputed to be escalating)this very belated post to your responses, but I have, perforce, been otherwise engaged in the Real World. It's good to be back. Allow me to offer a general word of thanks to all and some specific replies to Qs and comments.
First, thanks for answering my basic question about "rules". If there had been rules, I wanted to know about them and respect them. Since there seem to be few - and these loosely defined, I shall, as you advised, plough ahead lexlessly and recklessly, and then await your further guidance in whatever form. I hasten to assure that my skin, seasoned elsewhere over some several decades, is the envy of many a battle-scarred old rhino. Ergo, "lay on, McDuff, and damned' be he(she) who first ..."etc. and I shall accordingly feel free to fire off to the E-postles similarly appropriate E-posts and E-pistles of my own.
Next to some specific responses.
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(b)To WWH re: Scribbler,fire at will, but not Will(/b)
Note I do not think the BOLD is working. must be doing it wrong!
No, Dr. Will, I WILL not fire at you. I do hope, however, that you and the others are straight about the concern over the souls of the torpedoes. ILIU (I looked It Up, to be sure.)Admiral Farragut, at Mobile Bay (in the 1860s) said "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Years later, Adm. Dewey, entering Manila Bay, undoubtedly said Something but history records no damning of torpedoes. FYI the torpedoes in question were not the self-propelled projectiles used by submarines of WWI and WWII, but were rather mines anchored out of sight slightly below the surface of the water.
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To TSUM
1.Did Scribbler read this? A. Yes, quite obviously.
2. FYI, Your Worthiness, I receive a daily Wordsworth of entertainment from WWFTD and find that the quotidian offerings of WWFTD are always interesting,often magnisonant and sometimes even useful. Thank You!
#. What is "IOW"? A. My guess is that it means "In Other Words". It seems a useful shortcut. As for my "guesses",however, please note that, until set straight by the Board, I had "guessed", from the context, that YART meant "You Already Read This??" Close enough, but no cigar.
4. Q. "Shall we never find Thee out?" CAREL
A. "For everything there is a time, a time to ...etc." Eccles.
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An Epistolary note to Mr. Bingley (On an un-related topic)
-----------------------------------------------------------My dear Mr. Bingley,
Am I mistaken, dear Sir, or do I have the honor of addressing ...... eh, that is to say that, certain evidence suggests .. implies .... Damme, Sir, if , in fact you are he who married .. When was it??? Merciful God! Could it have been, in the wicked warp of Time, two CENTURIES ago? ... Ah, well ...
At all events, dear Sir, I beg pardon for this breach of civility, this undue familiarity, but if you ARE he who took to wife Jane B___, then pray convey to her AND to her dearest sister Lizzy, (Is she yet - and forever!- Lady D__?)the most delightful, high spirited creature who ever graced ... Enough! Enough! A word from you, post restante,and all will be known.
For now, dear Sir, believe me to be ....
Yrs most sincerely & etc.
Scribbler
------------------------------------------------------------- Without seeking to be complete, I close w/ a scattering of thanks to new friends- To Priest and High Priestess, to Mlle Bel and Cara Dea,to His Worthiness and the Captain, Max, Geoff and Alex (behind you, Alex!), to Jo, Jackie & TEd, to Marty, Dr. Will and Splckr and, not least, to Sparteye and to Sparta (Spartan was she ere she saw Troy ) You can, of course,take the girl out of the country, but you cannot take the country.... etc and speaking of Troy,(and Grecian Marathons) "Are these the hips that faced a thousand haunches, and toppled the topless towers of .... ANZAC?" Scribbler, on advice of friends, ploughs ahead fearlessy and awaits further guidance. Proofed and Mutatis mutandis (Unless the Spelchecker screws it up!)
Dear Scribbler: Ordinarily I avoid ethanol, but I envy you the beverage that so delightfully loosens your tongue,
propels your pen, and presses the the keys of your keyboard to such pleasant effect.wwh
Thank you for raising the issue. We have known for some time that Mr Bingley is the very same person as the subject of your screed. Fortunately, he was an early recipient of crygenics. He was meant to be fully defrosted in 2001 to co-incide with the re-release of Mr Kubrick's film. Unfortunately some of the instructions were lost in transit to Indonesia and the date was mis-read, so he was thawed a year too early and he is feeling a little green around the gills but then, sic transit gloria mundi. He has asked that his true identity be kept secret from the rest of the world as he is worried about the consequent press coverage and invasion of his privacy. So please do not let this discussion leave the privacy of AWAD, his "safe house" for the present. AnnaStrophic, a highly trained agent, has been given special orders to dispose of anyone who lets the secret out so do not underestimate this instruction!
Scribbler,
Your post of March first is, I think, about the most amazing one I have ever seen here. It is: happy, careful,
witty, intelligent, assertive, meek, seeking, taking, general, specific, polite, wordful, wordfull, explanatory,
asking, dry, serious, fun, highly literate, combining,
separating (hang on, I'm only through the second paragraph),
knowledgeable, noteworthy, wide-ranging, honorific, learned,
respectful, friendly, open, humble, beholden, arcane,
complimentary, and---NEW!
I think we can all look with eager anticipation for whatever you post, my dear! I am SO glad you're here!!!!!
sirrah scribbler,
I believe you to have misnomer'd your own self. I shall endeavour to -- non, se mettre en devoir de faire quelquechose -- address you henceforth as scrivener.
your 'umble servant,
-w.m.
Dear Scribbler,
I have come but lately to this thread, which only now have I read in its entirety. I missed, therefore, any earlier opportunity to welcome you to this motley - though noble - companionship. I would, you may rest assured, have done so without reservation had that opportunity availed. But, having perused your latest missive, may I add, to whatever belated welcome I may offer, my admiration for your perspicacity, erudition and wit. You are, Sir, without doubt, an acquisition to this board for which we may all rejoice and to which we may look forward in eager anticipation to your continued intelectual additions to our mutual adumbrations.
Glad to have you with us, chum!
My Dear Sir,
My sister-in-law, whose whereabouts is also being concealed from the curious eyes of the World, presents her best compliments. She desires me to express a sense of her utmost gratitude that her childish effusions should meet with the approbation of so discriminating a taste as Mr. Scribbler's.
I remain, Sir,
Your most humble and obedient servant,
Bingley
My dear Mr. Bingley,
Allow me to say, Sir, that you are Kindness itself. You cannot know with what pleasure your most welcome letter was received. I awakened to a cold, bleak dawn. Your epistle brought with it rays of sunshine dispelling - somewhat! - the gloom of the State of Grace-lessness that - res miserabilis - has become LIFE! in the 21st Century. The step of Scribbler, burdened by years, somehow attained a certain spring.
But I ungraciously impose upon your time and privacy. So - enough for now. Pray accept for yourself, and pass on to your good lady -and, as well, to The Others! - the heartfelt compliments of your Correspondent. If, in the fullness of Time, you would do me the honor, tempe de tempe, of sending me a line, I assure you, dear Sir, that any such would be most gratefully appreciated by - may I so boldly presume? -
Your friend,
Scribbler
As the curtain opens, Scribbler is standing, upstage right, talking, in mid sentence, His voice is soft, broad vowels stretched a bit too long, his final consonants are soft, Southern,and almost imperceptible. He is a tall man, about --but let's see what he is saying - -
SCRIBBLER: I'm sure glad to see all off you folks from the AWAD Board here tonight. And special thanks to you,Jackie, for all of those nice things you said to me. That was a long list, but I'm glad you left out "Trustworthy, Loyal, Brave, Clean, and Reverent" or the Boy Scouts mighta tried to take me back to see if I coulda moved up from Second Class Scout. Well, as I tol' y'all a minit ago, I gotta go backstage to see if I can help.
Exit - downstage right. House lights blink twice, then remain off. Noises off. A rustle of papers - a clearing of a throat. No one is onstage, but there is a Voice heard from offstage. Is it Scribbler's? Surely it is, but different, richer, fuller. A theatre voice, a radio voice without trace of a regional accent. Listen --
Voice: And Jackie, my dear, I did so very much admire those clever things you said in your response to Alex Williams's Reintarnation post of 1/29. Such wit- Such verve - Bravo! That Reintarnation schtick looks like so much fun that I think that I shall have a new run at it. But if I do, or when I do, it will only be in imitation of your talent. You know they say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," but Oscar Wilde, the consummate epigrammist, refined the phrase to its essence. "Imitation," said the genius Mr. Wilde, "is the Tribute that Mediocrity pays to Genius." Those words always sit very close to my Scribbling heart as a constant reminder, when, as Reader, I read the works of authors I admire. In consequence of all of which, Dear Lady,permit me to dedicate, as Tribute to your inspiring Genius, my future Reintarnation(Newlogism) post to you. Know that I am, and shall remain, ever your ....
Mediocrity (and, as well, Scribbler)
All is quiet. House lights go up. The crowd begins to shuffle out. Then another Voice from ... Somewhere?.. An old, creaking, high-pitched voice, British or perhaps -- "Carry on, old chap, and the Luck O' the Irish to you. Remember, you have promises to keep and reams to write before you sleep."
Of our auld acquaintance Bingley and his good ladywife.
Aye, lass. I ken thee well. Dinna concern tha self for ol' McScribbler whose vaulting spirit is ever in th'Highlands (his truant heart yet insisting on remaining within his breast in the USA). Tha secret's safe wi me. My lips are sealed til Birnan Wood shall remove (AGAIN) to Dunsinane. Of Annastrophe, pray tell me more, for of her role, I canna ken. Am I meant to ken?
McScribbler of Clan Wallace
>Of Annastrophe, pray tell me more, for of her role, I canna ken. Am I meant to ken?
Some do ken and canna ken,
Some can ken that want it:
But we can ken ma old dear hen,
Sae let great Burns be thankit.
Decode this and destroy on receipt, we would not like to get it into the wrong hands!
In reply to:
but the pale refers specifically to the wall about Dublin...a few years past 1000... that keep the irish out of dublin
Helen - a note on "the pale" - it also refers to that area of "Russia" where the Jews were forced to live during the reign of, let's see, I'm supposed to know this... here, after a bit of quick research on my bookshelves, I have found this:
After the partition of Poland, the Jews of Russia consituted the largest Jewish community in the world. Their legal situation during the nineteenth century was entirely subject to the capreciousness of the czarist regime. A tradionalist czar like Nicholas I, who wanted toconfine the Jews to The Pale of Settlement, interpreted "integration" as "conversion." emphasis mine
---from A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People edited by Eli Barnavi (Shocken Books, NY 1992).
And I have a map of the area, so if anyone would like to see it, I can scan and send it - btw, is there anyway to include a small (or large) image in either a posting OR in a private message (sent via the board)???
I suppose that the 'idea' of creating 'The Pale of Settlement' came from what happened in Ireland! So, once again, we see that there is nothing new under the SUN!
Sorry if I interjected toooooooo much history into this posting, but once again, since I'm a tour guide with no tourists to guide, I feel the need to 'practice' and you guys get the 'benefit'[I-can-see-that-you-are-thrilled emoticon]...
Shoshannah
[from the wings she watches]
In reply to:
AnnaStrophic: from the wings she watches
You are toooooo funny! And what an amazing cast we are, don'tchaknow - why if we had a barn, we could put on a... tum tum te dum.... SHOW!
Shoshannah
just to show that she does have a sense of humor
amidst all the craziness of this world [trying-to-get-beyond-being-a-stranger-emoticon]
>from the wings she watches
this is the kind of stuff we should have put in profiles...
-joe friday
jack of small trades & master of one
and procurator of the geek chorus
Shoshannah asked
btw, is there anyway to include a small (or large) image in either a posting OR in a private message (sent via the board)???If you go to
http://www.myspace.com and login as maxquordlepleen, password Crescent, you can upload anything you think may be of interest to Board members into the folder named AWADabilia. The site may be down from time to time, I am currently evaluating other web storage sites to see if they are easier to use and more reliable.
Salaam
...and, if it's an addressable (HREF'd) image or audio file stored on another site, you can link to it from here with the [ url] tags like this:
http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/charset/latin1.gif
Max - thanks for the info on adding images
(and you, too, tsuwm) - actually, I read about your AWADabilia site but I haven't yet had a chance to go there for a look! But I will...
Max - only one quick note - you ended with "Salaam" but
com-o-van (of course) you do know that my language here in
ISRAEL is
e-vrit (HEBREW) - so the word I use is
Shalom!
Shoshannah
she said with elbows bent at her side, palms up and slightly extended while shrugging her shoulders and making that irritating little 'tsk tsk' sound with her ... !!
Max - only one quick note - you ended with "Salaam" but com-o-van (of course) you do know that my language here in ISRAEL is e-vrit (HEBREW) - so the word I use is Shalom!Indeed, and I do hope that I gave no offence by using a greeting in the
other official language of Medinat Yisra'el.
Actually, I use salaam for the same reasons I use namaste. It sounds nice, and it's a link to my father's birthplace. He grew up in what is now Pakistan, and salaam was, and is, an everyday greeting in that part of world.
Noho ora mai
In reply to:
I do hope that I gave no offence by using a greeting in the other official language of Medinat Yisra'el.
Max - no offence taken - only, just now, I'm afraid it's very hard to stay interested in learning or speaking any Arabic - the more bombs they detonate against us or the more shooting at us (with AK-47s, I might add) or throwing stones (and believe me, these are not pebbles, rather they are large jagged pieces of hard limestone - remember that stoning used to be a regular form of execution here... and is quickly becoming so again, it seems)... killing people who are just trying to go about regular daily lives... killing people who are NOT in conflict with them, except in their minds, just by our existence..., they more I simply stop trying to get along. [please excuse my rambling emoticon]
Well, that's not exactly true - I'm always interested in getting along with those who are different, but I want them to respect me in the same way that I am supposed to respect them, and unfortunately, it seems that it just doesn't work that way.
It all just makes me tired... [heavy sigh emoticon]
Shoshannah
Oh, and thanks for writing the name of the State of Israel in correctly transliterated Hebrew! Not many understand the word Yisra'el, so it's nice to meet someone who does!
Whoops - now I show my ignorance - what is Noho ora mai????
what is Noho ora mai?It is the closing salutation used on NZ's Maori language TV news bulletin, and expresses a sentiment very similar to shalom aleichem. "Noho" means "continue" or "remain", "ora" means "health, well-being,peace", and "mai" is a preposition meaning "toward". Perhaps the best English equivalents are themselves translations from the Vulcan: "Live long and prosper", "peace and long life".
In reply to:
Perhaps the best English equivalents are themselves translations from the Vulcan: "Live long and prosper", "peace and long life".
Which hand signal is from the Kabballah - the mystical side of Judaism - and can be seen in paintings and images in some of the very old synagogues in S'fat (up in the Galil).
BTW - I understand there is something very significant about a person that can actually make this hand signal without any effort - and it happens that I am one of them, so I hope the significance is good!
Whaddyathink?
Shoshannah
BTW - I understand there is something very significant about a person that can actually make this hand signal without any effortReally? I have never been able to understand how anybody could have trouble with the gesture. Even with my functionally impaired right hand, it's not that hard, with my left, it's almost autonomic.
In reply to:
I have never been able to understand how anybody could have trouble with the gesture.
Me neither - but others have told me they can NOT do it!
Actually, the reason you nor I have trouble doing this is because we were born with the correct gene - probably something inherited from the Vulcans who originally inhabited this planet (and, of course, taught it to the Kabbalists which is how Leonard Nimoy learned it - when he was researching ancient Vulcan culture in preparing for his role...) and may be watching us even now as we go about our daily lives or take too much time out of it to post messages to this board!
Ya know - the Vulcans actually liked living here, but then they decided to import Tribbles to be their pets and, well, the rest is history, as they say (sort of like what kudzu did to the roadsides of the southern USA).
And, now that I've passed from being a stranger
to being a newbie
(b'hatz-la-chah to me), I can say, with a clear conscience and a good feeling way deep down inside... Lila tov and see you all on the 'morrow!
Shoshannah
In reply to:
Really? I have never been able to understand how anybody could have trouble with the gesture. Even with my functionally impaired right hand, it's not that hard, with my left, it's almost autonomic.
Well, I can do the Vulcan greeting gesture with my right hand, but if I try with my left hand all it produces is a trembling in my little and ring fingers. My left hand doesn't seem to be otherwise impaired.
Bingley
I can make the Vulcan "sign" with both hands, equally well {puffed with pride icon soon to be deflated she fears}
Did you know that Captain Kirk could not make the sign and when it was necessary he do so for the plot they had to tie the fingers to each other?
Must be genetic, like being able to curl the edges of the tongue while sticking it out!
{prepared for onslaught she slinks away}
wow
In reply to:
I can make the Vulcan "sign" with both hands, equally well {puffed with pride icon soon to be deflated she fears}
Did you know that Captain Kirk could not make the sign and when it was necessary he do so for the plot they had to tie the fingers to each other?
Must be genetic, like being able to curl the edges of the tongue while sticking it out!
{prepared for onslaught she slinks away}
Okay - if you're slinking, so am I 'cause I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue when sticking it out... there must be a word for this condition??????
I did not know that about Captain Kirk - well, I knew he couldn't actually make the sign himself, but I didn't realize they had to tie his fingers together... In this day, they'd simply superimpose someone else's hand onto the picture using computer imagery... oooh, that was interesting [yawning as she tries to find the send button emoticon]
Shoshannah
Okay - if you're slinking, so am I 'cause I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue when sticking it out... there must be a word for this condition??????The two functions must be common together, as I am also able to make the Vulcan gesture with both hands while poking out my curled tongue. It seems curious that almost the only thing I
can do with my righ hand is make a gesture of salutation and peace. Curious, yet apt.
>Okay - if you're slinking, so am I 'cause I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue when sticking it out... there must be a word for this condition??????
Well, the way I see it, the world is made up of the Vul-cans and the Vul-can'ts ~ [unrelenting need to make the puns that are too cheap for TEd to touch emoticon]
And let us hope none of those signs are Vul-gar.
I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue when sticking it out... Oh yeah, well I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands while curling my tongue, while crossing my eyes, while walking and chewing bubble gum all at the same time.
Can someone please provide me with a simple mnemonic to distinguish Star Wars from Star Trek?
thanks in advance
Star Wars is stratospheric, Star Trek is intergalactic.
In reply to:
Star Wars is stratospheric, Star Trek is intergalactic.
A perfect distinction! Thanks Bill... I guess I never had to think about it as I was an original Trekkie and never got excited about the Star Wars Triology (or whatever it is now).
Shoshannah
in my first posting as a 'star traveler' (well, okay, journeyman...but star traveler sounds much more exciting & romantic since I'm going where I've never gone before and meeting many more new life forms than I ever thought existed...)
I was assuming that Star Wars referred to the proposed hideously expensive and doubtfully effective defence against nuclear attack on the US.
Now, Bill, THAT's funny - you understand the distinction without knowing what it's all about! You are right on one level - but in this case, the Star Wars mentioned is a movie - well, a 'triology' about a battle between good & evil, as it were - the first one (which was not actually the first one in the triology as I understand it) starred Harrison Ford... but the truth is, I never saw any of them! So, I'm sure someone out there can fill you in on this, better than I can!
What I do find interesting is how these words (from movies like Star Wars and TV shows like Star Trek) creep into our daily vocabulary as if they are real words or we are talking about real people and real events - such as that Vulcan hand gesture (well, it was a real hand gesture, as I mentioned in a previous posting... but it was NOT, as far as we know, first done by Vulcans).
How many of us may talk about the characteristics of a Vulcan or (over here with the weekly showing of the program Star Gate - is it on anywhere else in the world?) discuss the effects of going through the gate or the how it must feel to have another being living in your stomach?!
Is there a thread already started for this type of discussion - that is, how words from science fiction, primarily TV or movies, have become part of our daily vocabulary?
Shoshannah
I saw and enjoyed the Star Wars movies. But for a long time now, "Star Wars" was contemptuous name for the antimissile program Pres. Reagan started, and it has been said Pres. Busch might revive.
"how it must feel to have another being living in your stomach?!"
-- pregnant? [glad-I'm-not-going-there-again emoticon]
In reply to:
"how it must feel to have another being living in your stomach?!"
-- pregnant? [glad-I'm-not-going-there-again emoticon]
Oh Sparteye - thought you were busy watching basketball! What a hoot! Of course, I wasn't thinking of THAT... but it's a good retort!
Shoshannah
Sparteye wrote : another being living in your stomach?!"
-- pregnant? [glad-I'm-not-going-there-again emoticon]
Me too, Sparteye. Oh, the kicking and the heartburn!
Would not change a thing tho, two handsome sons and enough fodder to lay guilt for a lifetime when I want something!
Chuckle chuckle,
wow
In reply to:
Okay - if you're slinking, so am I 'cause I can do the Vulcan sign with both hands WHILE curling the edges of my tongue
That is so easy! (to anyone yet to try this) I've heard that curling your tongue is genetic, so if you can't do that it's hopeless. It also seems that some people can't do the vulcan sign. I have no explanation to that.
jimthedog
I've heard that curling your tongue is genetic,While I can curl my tongue, I was miffed as a child to discover that I do not have the (apparently) genetic ability to wiggle my earlobes. I also envied a friend who could wrap his thumb around the back of his little finger, and was the only person I have ever met who could twiddle both thumbs simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise). The hours I spent trying to do that!
Dear Max: Wiggle your earlobes? I've known some muscleheads, but none with muscles attached to their ear lobes! I have seen pictures of some really pesky flies in your part of the world, but I doubt they could be driven away with the most vigorous ear movements of any human I have ever seen.I know a couple ancient corny jokes about ear movements, but they are neither clever enough or chaste enough to include in this post.You must be content with your already generous endowment with talent.
Do Vulcan ears have such an ability? I'm trying to picture
Leonard(?) Nimoy flapping his Star Trek ears.
Nope, but they do have two eyelids.
Okay Max... please elaborate:
(1) Are you suggesting that this person could stretch his thumb *backwards* (across the back of his hand) to hook it on his pinky? egads....
(2) (and i'm honestly not trying to be obtuse, here) What exactly is twiddling? Isn't it when you lace your fingers together then twirl your thumbs? The natural pattern would be to twirl them in the same direction, one on top of the other, but it's not difficult to reverse one, provided you open your hands a bit to allow sufficient space between their rotating tips so as not to bump into one another. Am I doing it incorrectly? Even when i curl my tongue while twiddling one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise in this manner, i can't see where the problem might lie...
I'd appreciate your input, before my thumbs develop acute tendonitis
~b
Yes, my friend could, and often did, stretch his thumb *backwards* (across the back of his hand) to hook it on his pinky? He would also demonstrate his ability to bend all his fingers backwards to touch the back of his wrist.
Congratulations on the asynchronous twiddling. I keep asking people to try, and no one has demonstrated the gift, you are blessed.
Perhaps you could upload an mpeg of a command performance for us?
Be careful what you wish for, my dear... i have a great deal of time on my hands and a new digital camera i'm experimenting with. of course, i haven't bothered to get a manicure for weeks, so the mpeg won't be coming in the immediate future....
seriously... i'll admit that it's not as natural as having both thumbs moving in the same direction, but the trick is simply to concentrate on the one that's moving counterclockwise; the other one will naturally move clockwise, if you just ignore it. (or is this indicative of some major brain dysfunction on my part??? [introspective glance, followed by a cavalier shrug])
>twiddle both thumbs simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise)
not to pick nits (well, of course, that's exactly what I'm picking ;), but when twiddling one's thumbs, aren't they naturally going "simultaneously in opposite directions (clockwise and anticlockwise)"? (at least from the POV of each hand or thumb -- keep them spinning and point them both away from you!)
not to pick nits (well, of course, that's exactly what I'm picking ;)
Sorry to hear you've been infested with lice-- are you lousy with them?
[ducking emoticon!]
>are you lousy with them?
jalouse?
Let us now praise pediculocide shampoos. I was reading a history book not long ago, about Julian the Apostate. He described humorously his problem with lice: "I put up with the lice that scamper about in (my beard) as though it were a thicket for wild beasts." Imagine an Emperor, in elegant Constantinople, joking about being infested with lice!
No not in the least! I have done nit picking--my children had lovely fine hair-- so fine that tha fine toothed comb wasn't fine enough to remove nits-- so I sat and nit picked..
given a choice, i would much rather change a stinky diaper than nit pick-- one is over and done in a few minutes-- the other goes on for hours!
Did you know lice are facetious-- they prefer clean hair? and while Bill is happy about effective shampoo's they are serious chemical to apply to young childrens scalps..
I can't wiggle my ears, but I can twiddle my thumbs in opposite directions. AND: I can appear to twitch my nose by moving my upper lip back and forth, just like Elizabeth Montgomery used to do in Bewitched.
What do I win!?!