#21653
03/08/2001 6:38 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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inspired by mav, who declaims we don' need no stinkin' motto - we will NEVER agree on just one (and then repeats his plaint about our disunity in another thread!), herewith is a thread for All the [wordy] Mottoes in the Universe (as we know it).
here are some previous attempts:
All language reflects the prejudices of the society in which it evolved.
-- Casey Miller
Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes, and thanks to words, we have sunk to the level of the demons.
-- Aldous Huxley
For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it.
-- Ambrose Bierce
We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.
-- Toni Morrison
Words are loaded pistols.
-- Jean-Paul Sarte
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#21654
03/08/2001 6:57 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
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We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.
-- Toni Morrison
Seems to be the only one (aside from inevitable death) that speaks of measurement, yet doesn't conclude from it!
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#21655
03/08/2001 8:14 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
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I don't suppose Honi soit qui mal y pense would be appropriate...? 
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#21656
03/08/2001 8:25 PM
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Honi soit qui mal y pense
Definitely! Apart from being very euphonious, I love the sentiment, and use that phrase often, even though I seldom wear garters.
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#21657
03/08/2001 8:32 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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For mottos: I'm partial to Mason Williams: To be poetic is to bare one's soul
To show all of the holes and patches
Go ahead and step on it
Give it a kick and a Ha-Ha...
It'll make it tough.and Garrison Keillor: Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.shoshannah 
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#21658
03/08/2001 8:38 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.Sage, undoubtedly, but I confess to preferring my mottoes to be a little more on the pithy side. Working my way through the above put me in mind of a labrynthine 'compliment' from The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to wit, "That young girl is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting." 
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#21659
03/08/2001 8:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
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One day riding my bike to save ten cents carfare on my way to classes , I went down a long hill at 40mph past a church that had a glassed in bulletin board for inspirational quotations. Out of the corner of my eye, in a split second I read a motto I have never been able to forget.
Cheating is a confession of inferiority which I do not choose to make.
Alas, I am not sure of the author, but I think it was Booker T. Washington, a noted educator of over a hundred years ago. I have searched the Internet in vain. If anyone knows the author, please let me know.
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#21660
03/08/2001 9:18 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 387
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Nice, Max. I prefer the famous phrase "Don't Panic". The next one I like is a bit long winded, so not good for a motto, is "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effentively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation" from the article on (obviously) Babel fish.
jimthedog
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#21661
03/08/2001 9:39 PM
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"All for Words and Words for all"
wow
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#21662
03/08/2001 9:46 PM
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Posts: 3,409
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Yep, "don't Panic" is a good one. My personal motto would be closer to "Share and Enjoy", but I havw always loved the theological argument using the babelfish to prove the non-existence of God.
"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything
so mindboggingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that
some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching
proof of the non-existence of God.
"The argument goes something like this: `I refuse to prove that I
exist,' says God, `for proof denies faith, and without faith I am
nothing.'
"`But,' says Man, `The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it?
It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so
therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.'
"`Oh dear,' says God, `I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly
vanished in a puff of logic.
"`Oh, that was easy,' says Man, and for an encore goes on to
prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next
zebra crossing.
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#21663
03/08/2001 9:59 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 68
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 68 |
"Remember your towel" is my personal favorite. Well anyway, a motto, hmmm... "They spell it Vinci and pronounce it Vinchy; foreigners always spell better than they pronounce." -Mark Twain
-Scott
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#21664
03/08/2001 10:22 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 387
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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That is good. Have you read God's final message to His creatures, from "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish"? "We are sorry for the inconveniance." That's only part of the joke. Every letter except for the is seperated by commentary so you have to work out what it says. It also happens to be the only thing Marvin is happy about!!!!!
jimthedog
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#21665
03/08/2001 11:55 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 68
journeyman
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journeyman
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Yes, I have read that. I have read at least a tiny exerpt of each book in the Hitchhiker's series.
-Scott
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#21666
03/09/2001 12:40 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 68
journeyman
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journeyman
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I say our motto should be something by either Douglas Adams or Mark Twain. Here's another good one: "Classic" A book that people praise and don't read. -Twain
-Scott
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#21667
03/09/2001 12:49 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
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his plaint about our disunity in another threadNo, not me, guv! One of the main things about this board I cherish is the lack of agreement – it has helped underline for me the extraordinary strength achieved through diversity. Babel save us all from the TRUTH – people down through the ages have taken their particular brand of this madness as a good excuse for a bonfire… So, Max, add me to the queue for auto da fe behind Jackie But I know, tsuwm – that was really just a good excuse to resurrect a bit of Middle English, wasn’t it?! I love all of these quotes - so shall be completely undecided when it comes to determine the TRUTH about which we should consign to history.
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#21668
03/09/2001 6:23 PM
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Posts: 3,409
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Babel save us all from the TRUTH – people down through the ages have taken their particular brand of this madness as a good excuse for a bonfire…Absolutely, but at least some of such people chose to be burned rather than do the burning. 
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#21669
03/09/2001 6:53 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
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One more Motto suggestion from me - from one of my favorite poets:
When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart;
and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
-Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
(poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate)
I use it as my 'signature' on regular e-mail... and sometimes get some interesting comments from it's inclusion!
Shoshannah
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#21670
03/09/2001 8:03 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
Here's my suggestion for a motto:
IMPENETRABILITAS
This is the background for it. (I hope you enjoy meeting up with this again as much as I did):
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words to mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."
...
"Impenetrability! That's what I say!"
"Would you tell me please," said Alice, "what that means?"
"Now you talk like a reasonable child," said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. "I meant by 'impenetrability' that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life."
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#21671
03/10/2001 12:03 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
Here's my suggestion for a motto:
IMPENETRABILITAS
This is the background for it. (I hope you enjoy meeting up with this again as much as I did):
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
Given the context, perhaps Humpty's definition of "glory" would be equally apt for a motto here.
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#21672
03/10/2001 3:38 AM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
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How about a bit of a variation on the family motto that appears on our coat of arms...
Family and friends, first, forever and always.
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#21673
03/10/2001 2:43 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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Okay - I do have another one, brought to mind by BelM's mention of her family coat of arms - the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina has this on it's face:
Esse Quam Videri
I think it's a good motto for everyone!
Shoshannah
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#21674
03/10/2001 2:55 PM
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Our coat of arms bears the motto : "Fortes et Fidelis" which has been translated for me by Father O'Leary (Do you remember I mentioned him ... secretary at the Vatican?)
anyway he said it's "Strong and Faithful."
Pretty neat, huh?
wow
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#21675
03/10/2001 2:59 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
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Shoshanna : re Esse Quam Videri -- translate please? Something about truth? I'd rather have our "own" motto, and along that line of thought; and since there are so many Latin scholars hereabouts, perhaps we could translate "we don't need no motto" into Latin and use that ? wow
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#21676
03/10/2001 4:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
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wow>re Esse Quam Videri -- translate please? Something about truth?That was a good guess, given my penchant for it, but NO - Esse Quam Videri, which also aptly describes many, if not most, native North Carolinians (can't speak for the many transplants there now) is: TO BE RATHER THAN TO SEEM.I think your suggestion of translating we don't need no motto into Latin is BRILLIANT - can we do it BEFORE the 14th and introduce it to the world, via the board of course, at the same time as Ali unveils her "Happy Anniversary of the Birth of AWADtalk" graphic ??? I'm NOT a Latin scholar by any stretch, but I'll work on it - any others game?Shoshannah
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#21677
03/10/2001 4:06 PM
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Posts: 3,439
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translating we don't need no motto into Latin is BRILLIANTJust had to see it once more! Mercy!You make me  and that's not common at my age! Thank you for the compliment wow
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#21678
03/10/2001 4:58 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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How about:
Dictum non indiget?
Literally "A motto (maxim) is not required"
I couldn't think of a Latin equivalent to our use of "stink" in this context. But we do have a real Latin scholar on the board, NicholasW, I think. Maybe ... ?
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#21679
03/10/2001 5:07 PM
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#21680
03/10/2001 5:30 PM
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Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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tsuwm suggests stinking = foetidus?
As a direct translation of the word, yes of course, but I was thinking of the meaning behind the use of "stinkin' " in this context.
Latin would have had an adjective which meant something similar emotively, to what we mean, I'm sure, but it wouldn't be obvious.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#21681
03/10/2001 5:43 PM
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Heaven forfend we should ever be obvious!
wow
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#21682
03/10/2001 6:29 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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Well - I think we should just leave this one up to NicholasW - whaddayasay?
Hey Nick - any ideas on this one - in Latin: "we don't need no stinkin' motto" and without being tooooo obvious, please!
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#21683
03/10/2001 7:18 PM
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Posts: 116
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After a bit more thinking... (okay, some tell me I should stop with the thinking as it usually just gets me into MORE trouble), but here goes.
I have translated our proposed non-motto into Hebrew and shortened it to now read (obviously transliterated):
BLEE SISMAH MASRICHAH - literally, "without slogan stinking"
Maybe not as recognizable as Latin, but could be interesting, nonetheless, and would certainly be ours and only ours!
Shoshannah
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#21684
03/10/2001 7:31 PM
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Dear Shoshanna, I kind of like the idea of the traditional Latin.
It's being a dead language and all can confuse the uninitiated and keep the scholars busy to say nothing of what the psychiatrists would strive to deduce about people who would adopt "No motto" for a motto!
Color me old stick-in-the-mud old fashioned.
{wringing hands, hoping no umbrage taken by our beautiful rose}
wow
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#21685
03/10/2001 8:18 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
"we don't need no motto"
I think using Latin for the motto (if we have one) is a good idea, but I don't care much for using that as the motto. A motto should be a concise statement that summarizes intent. The Boy Scout motto is "Be Prepared". It's short, and says much. Saying that we don't need a motto as our motto just sounds like we wasted a lot of time trying to come up with something.
I think if we're going to have a motto, it should have to do something with what the board is really about: discussing language, literature and culture. (Maybe that could be translated into Latin.)
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#21686
03/10/2001 8:34 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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I think if we're going to have a motto, it should have to do something with what the board is really about: discussing language, literature and cultureWhat say they? Let them say. (A poor attempt at a motto, I know, I just like the phrase )
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#21687
03/10/2001 9:01 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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wow>I kind of like the idea of the traditional Latin
Actually, I do, too. I was just messing around with it which gave me a chance to practice my Hebrew - which is poor at best!
Meanwhile - here's another idea:
MUTTUM NON POSSUMUS
Shoshannah
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#21688
03/10/2001 9:22 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 328
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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I know it's not Latin, but I always liked the motto on the Wimsey family arms: As my whimsy takes me.
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#21689
03/10/2001 9:41 PM
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Posts: 13,803
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Wiggle around in my family tree a little bit and you get the Kerr family motto: Sero sed serio Late but serious
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#21690
03/10/2001 10:44 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
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In reply to:
Saying that we don't need a motto as our motto just sounds like we wasted a lot of time trying to come up with something.
Making it especially appropriate, I would think.
Obiter dicta forever!
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#21691
03/10/2001 11:44 PM
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Posts: 13,803
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We don't need non egemus
Can't go along with mottum, apparently it meant word, not motto. Might also be hard to code in the double negative.
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#21692
03/11/2001 12:12 AM
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Wimsey family arms: As my whimsy takes me.
A friend of mine has last name Russell. The Russell Family motto is (no kidding) Che sera, sera.
(Humming the song she wanders away ...)
wow
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