From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Sat Nov 1 00:00:12 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 00:00:12 -0000 Subject: More Halloween Fun! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? Not sure. I have never really come across anything myself to make me think they exist. Ruth, however, has at times had a weird feeling in a place and afterwards discovered there was someone died there or whatever. > > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? I don't think there's anything. However, would it surprise you all to learn that we don't let the kids go trick-or-treating? > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. Witley is where I live. All the rest is my name. Ages ago, Joywitch put my persona into 'Frankis & Stein, auditors', and I got them offices in Infurn Alley. > > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would > you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? None I want to steal. I was intrigued by meboriqua and foxmoth. I'm now intrigued by that Portuguese pun. > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. Well, in the UK, who else but the man of the moment, Michael 'something of the night' Howard, the member for Transylvania? That would mean dressing up in, um, suit, tie, and glasses. Just when you were off guard, that's when I'd get out my policies. A turban over Mrs Thatcher's face in the back of my head would be optional. (However, he can't become PM: according to the Beeb's profile, news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3224341.stm he is a Red Sox fan - nuff said) > > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would > you do for a living? I'd quite fancy a try at gutter journalism for the Daily Prophet. > > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? shhh... secrets! > > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? Professor McGonagall, telling me I'd failed my exam: i.e. my boss or customer finding my work was really bad. > > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? I think it would be somebody saying something nice about me a day or two before. My happy memories wear out very quickly. > > * What form might your Patronus take? Perhaps, a dolphin? > > * What might your animagus form be? I think possibly some kind of monkey > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, > a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by > Tracy] > > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. > ["Scariest" > question originally posted by June] I get scared much more easily if I watch something when tired, so there's a random element to this. That moment from the first series of Spooks when (look away now) they shove the woman's face into the deep fat frier. I don't watch horror. > * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put > you? If you're not sure, here are a couple of sites where you can > get sorted: > > 7 Dragons' Sorting Hat: http://hogwarts.7dragons.net/sortinghat.html > Professor MacFusty's Sorting Hat: http://tinyurl.com/sqz2 MacFusty put me in Ravenclaw, against my better judgement (Hufflepuff). > > * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or > are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: > > The Harry Potter Obsession Test: http://www.fuuko.com/hpquiz.html Apparently I probably have a real life. > > * Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the > details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code. If you haven't > created one, > this site will walk you through it: > > Harry Potter Geek Test: http://writersu.s5.com/extra/geek01.html This looked like it would take too long to do. > > * Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms > to decorate your signature with I occasionally make up my own. > * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here > and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: > > Scholastic's Harry Potter Wizard Challenge: > http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/challenge/index.htm 33. David From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Sat Nov 1 00:36:12 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 00:36:12 -0000 Subject: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Steve asked: > > How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one? Christian replied: > Queen Elizabeth only had one mother. How can you be so sure? The Queen has two birthdays (natural and official), therefore she could very well have two mothers. It would have been a bit much to expect the Queen mum to go through the whole business twice, so surely they could have found somebody else for the official birth. So, who is (was?) the other, and, more importantly, how old is she? The Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal that the 'other', official, Queen Mother is Mrs Belladonna Sniggs, of Bounce Green, Sussex, aged 143. Securing the post of Official Queen Mother in 1926 was a first for the wizarding community, and their wizarding heritage explains much that the Muggle community thinks odd or freakish about the royal family. It is not well known in Muggle circles, for instance, that Prince Charles' ears owe something to an unfortunate Splinching incident involving a House-elf when he was still under-age and attempted to Apparate onto the set of the Goon Show. Prince Edward was a fine intelligent young man until his attempt to cast a memory charm backfired. Prince Andrew has never fully recovered from the love potion that his brothers slipped into his porridge at Balmoral, and Prince Philip's idiosyncratic views make much more sense when Mrs Sniggs' connections to the Black and Malfoy families are borne in mind. It cannot be said for certain that rumours that Lord Voldemort drives a white Fiat Uno can be conclusively refuted. Rita From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 00:37:33 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 11:37:33 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <3FA39AFD.13787.38E5340@localhost> On 31 Oct 2003 at 23:59, pengolodh_sc wrote: > The ruling sovereign is always adressed "Your Majesty", and referred > to as "Her (His) Majesty". There may be an oddity exception to this > when referring to the British Sovereigns as emperors of India prior > to indian independence, but I am not entirely certain. Britain never used the style of His (or Her) Imperial Majesty, even in useages where the Monarch was acknowledged as Emperor or Empress. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From s_ings at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 00:51:26 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:51:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: Hallowe'en Birthday Wishes x 3! Message-ID: <20031101005126.96590.qmail@web41103.mail.yahoo.com> *dashes into the party room trailing orange and black streamers and cart laden with jack-o-lanterns* For those of you who can tear yourselves away from all the Hallowe'en candy, we have 3 birthdays to celebrate today. :) Today's birthday honourees are Julia (aka Eowynn), Kelley and Rachel Bray. Birthday owls (and spare candy) can be sent care of this list or directly to: eowynn_24 at yahoo.com and bray.262 at osu.edu I hope you're all having magical days, fill with fun and the company of good friends. Happy Birthday, Julia! Happy Birthday, Kelley! Happy Birthday, Rachel! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 01:24:13 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 12:24:13 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FA3A5ED.9493.3B90EFF@localhost> On 31 Oct 2003 at 22:26, pengolodh_sc wrote: > will take well to a new King Arthur at this stage, and King Philip > has no tradition as a name within the British line of Sovereigns. Actually it does - but only a very slight one and not one anyone is likely to want to dredge up - Philip II of Spain, was proclaimed King of England after his marriage to Mary II. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 01:29:06 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 12:29:06 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: <3FA3A5ED.9493.3B90EFF@localhost> References: Message-ID: <3FA3A712.28118.3BD86F1@localhost> On 1 Nov 2003 at 12:24, Shaun Hately wrote: > On 31 Oct 2003 at 22:26, pengolodh_sc wrote: > > > will take well to a new King Arthur at this stage, and King Philip > > has no tradition as a name within the British line of Sovereigns. > > Actually it does - but only a very slight one and not one anyone is likely to want to > dredge up - Philip II of Spain, was proclaimed King of England after his marriage > to Mary II. Sorry - Mary I - Mary Tudor. I get the numbers confused more than I should (-8 Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From cindysphynx at comcast.net Sat Nov 1 01:52:55 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 01:52:55 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* Message-ID: Whew! My kids are on their way home with their Halloween loot, and the annual ritual of trying to *steal* as much as I can is about to begin. Oh, sure. I try to bargain with them based on their well-established preferences (they don't like anything with nuts). But there is always a struggle over the very best candy. According to USA Today, the top-selling candy is: Snickers -- 14% Reese's Cups -- 13% Kit Kat -- 11% Milky Way -- 6% M&Ms -- 6% So what is the very best kind of Halloween candy to score from the treat bag of your unsuspecting sleeping child? Anyone? Me, I go for Reese Stix. Followed by Snickers. They can keep the Shock Tarts and other super-sour stuff and the hard-as-a-rock bubble gum. Ouch. Cindy -- who thinks candy should never be painful to eat From s_ings at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 01:55:54 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 20:55:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: One more birthday! Message-ID: <20031101015554.46016.qmail@web41111.mail.yahoo.com> *pops in quickly with more food and cake and a few extra balloons* Have just found out we have one more birthday to celebrate. One that's not in the database. See, we have this wonderful person here who takes care of so much tech stuff for us and really doesn't get enough public appreciation. This is our chance. :) Today's other birthday honouree is Paul Kippes. Feel free to send birthday owls to this list. I hope your day is filled with fun, magic and everything you hoped for. Happy Birthday, Paul! Sheryll the Birthday Elf (hoping desperately that she hasn't embarassed Paul) ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sat Nov 1 02:15:38 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 02:15:38 -0000 Subject: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: <3FA3A5ED.9493.3B90EFF@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > Actually it does - but only a very slight one and not one > anyone is likely to want to dredge up - Philip II of Spain, > was proclaimed King of England after his marriage to Mary [I]. Interesting - I had forgotten about that one. Was Philip II then Piliph I, King Regnant of England (and if he was, was Mary Tudor then Queen Regnant or Queen Consort?), or was he Philip, King Consort of Mary I Tudor? Best regards Christian Stub? From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 02:26:48 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 13:26:48 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: References: <3FA3A5ED.9493.3B90EFF@localhost> Message-ID: <3FA3B498.24012.3F25A9D@localhost> On 1 Nov 2003 at 2:15, pengolodh_sc wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > > Actually it does - but only a very slight one and not one > > anyone is likely to want to dredge up - Philip II of Spain, > > was proclaimed King of England after his marriage to Mary [I]. > > Interesting - I had forgotten about that one. Was Philip II then > Piliph I, King Regnant of England (and if he was, was Mary Tudor then > Queen Regnant or Queen Consort?), or was he Philip, King Consort of > Mary I Tudor? King Regnant, but with a provision that (unlike William with regards to his Mary) he would not remain King after his wife's death. He will be Philip I if there is ever a Philip II, but convention as it is currently, of course, states that if a monarch is the only one to have held the name, no postnominal number is used. Parliament was summoned in the name of Philip and Mary during their brief joint- reign. Technically speaking, the assumption in British law until the time of Mary II, seems to be that a Queen Regnants husband would be King. (Jane's husband claimed to be King as well - but she was Queen for such a short period, I'm not sure anything can be based on that) though Mary II seems to have assumed it would, and this was part of the reason she wanted him made joint-Monarch. It's only with Anne, that a situation clearly develops that the Queen Regnant's husband is not King - it's possible that prior to that date, there was a position of King Consort analagous to Queen Consort, but in the case of Philip, the way Parliament was called indicates he had the full rights of a King Regnant, for as long as his wife was alive. There is also an extant proclamation giving the regnal styles of Philip and Mary. Philippus et Maria, Dei Gratia Rex et Regina Angliae, Franciae, Neapolis, Hiersualem, et Hiberniae; Fidei Defensores; Principes Hispaniae et Siciliae; Archiduces Austriae; Duces Mediolani, Burgundiae, et Brabantiae; Comites Hapsburgae, Flandriae, et Tirolis. "Philip and Mary by the grace of God King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland; Defenders of the Faith; Princes of Spain and Sicily; Archdukes of Austria; Dukes of Milan, Burgundy, and Brabant; Counts of Habsburg, Flanders, and Tyrol." Proclaimed at Westminster, 25th July 1554. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From o_caipora at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 03:35:43 2003 From: o_caipora at yahoo.com (o_caipora) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 03:35:43 -0000 Subject: More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: <3FA39AFD.13787.38E5340@localhost> Message-ID: pengolodh_sc wrote: > > > The ruling sovereign is always adressed "Your Majesty", and > > referred to as "Her (His) Majesty". I am somehow reminded of a college friend, Peter, a Norweigan, who once mentioned that he belonged to the same yacht club as the Crown Prince of Norway. Foolishly, I asked him, "What do you say when you meet the Crown Prince at the yacht club?" He replied, "Well, the Crown Prince says, 'Hello, Peter.'" - Caipora From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 04:45:08 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 04:45:08 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > > > My kids are on their way home with their Halloween loot, and the > annual ritual of trying to *steal* as much as I can is about to begin. > > > According to USA Today, the top-selling candy is: > > Snickers -- 14% > Reese's Cups -- 13% > Kit Kat -- 11% > Milky Way -- 6% > M&Ms -- 6% > > So what is the very best kind of Halloween candy to score from the > treat bag of your unsuspecting sleeping child? Anyone? > > > Cindy -- who thinks candy should never be painful to eat Oh Cindy! You beat me to the candy jar (or halloween loot in this case!). I was just coming on line to ask the very same question. Well, as a lifelong chocaholic, It's impossible for me to name just one candybar. I do have some "current" favorites, as opposed to those candies from my childhood. I too, like snichers and reese's; snickers especially frozen in the freezer (a trick DH taught me), and the peanut butter filled kit kats are yummy too (starting to notice a trend?). But some of my all time favorites are Mallo Bars (gooy coconut-marshmallow filled cups covered in dark (I think) chocolate. and Payday Bars. Those are also great. It's like getting five different candy bars in one. Mmmmmm! I don't seem to find these two chocolates bars very often, and when I do, I tend to embarass my family because I HAVE to have them!! On another note, was watching the local new tonite when they broadcasted a story live from Salem (Mass). Ah, to be in Salem on Halloween! Maybe nextyear! Well, the news is, the reporter was asking the locals who/what was the best costume they'd seen, when a young 20 something (oops! showing my age!) pulled over his buddy and yelled out "HARRY POTTER!! HE'S RIGHT HERE!" A tall, thin, dark haired bespec . . er, bespectel . . . (he was wearing glasses) popped up, grinning, in full HP regalia, even had the original striped polo underneath the robes! Didn't really look like Dan Radcliffe but he did pull off a good Harry look-a-like! Well, I have to say, that made my Halloween complete!! Especially since not one child at my door this evening was anything from the HP universe! :( How disappointing! Although, my oldest did put on his alien mask backwards and said "Look, I'm Quirrell!". But he wouldn't go out like that. He's 13 and too cool for that (or so he thinks). Oy, I think I've sampled too much of the loot!! I'm starting to ramble . . . Well, since Cindy beat me to the candy question, I'll ask, Anybody get any kiddos dressed up as HP'ers? Anna . . .(who want's to answer the mixer questions but is just too damn tired now . . .) From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 04:56:00 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 04:56:00 -0000 Subject: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? In-Reply-To: <3FA36DEC.1549.2DE3F3E@localhost> Message-ID: > On 31 Oct 2003 at 20:59, Steve wrote: > > > Wow, and I mean WOW! You guys really have some impressive knowledge of > > the royal family; at least, I'm very impressed by it. > > > MY OH MY!! Steve, that was an understatement! Jeez! I live in Massachussetts and can't even keep track of all the Kennedy's! Anna . . . (who's father was Tip O'Neils Tailor) From eowynn_24 at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 06:54:32 2003 From: eowynn_24 at yahoo.com (eowynn_24) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 22:54:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Hallowe'en Birthday Wishes x 3! In-Reply-To: <20031101005126.96590.qmail@web41103.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20031101065432.52597.qmail@web60205.mail.yahoo.com> Sheryll Townsend wrote: *dashes into the party room trailing orange and black streamers and cart laden with jack-o-lanterns* For those of you who can tear yourselves away from all the Hallowe'en candy, we have 3 birthdays to celebrate today. :) Today's birthday honourees are Julia (aka Eowynn), Kelley and Rachel Bray. Birthday owls (and spare candy) can be sent care of this list or directly to: eowynn_24 at yahoo.com and bray.262 at osu.edu I hope you're all having magical days, fill with fun and the company of good friends. Happy Birthday, Julia! Happy Birthday, Kelley! Happy Birthday, Rachel! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== Eowynn here: Thank you! Happy Birthday to everyone else!! I hope that you had as good a day as I did.I know this is a little short but I just wanted to thank everyone who emailed me off list, it really meant alot. I guess I 'know' more of you than I thought. Thanks Sherryll for all your hard work. Eowynn ( who probably had a little too much 'butterbeer') --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From risako at nexusanime.com Sat Nov 1 07:05:59 2003 From: risako at nexusanime.com (Melissa McCarthy) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 03:05:59 -0400 Subject: Late to the Halloween Mixer References: Message-ID: <005601c3a046$9ad7e1a0$8a59d718@vaio> I'm late... and there's stuff on the main list I really want to be replying to. Real life picked a bad time to intrude. But, on we go with Nifty Mixer #2! > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? No. I'm too much of a scientist to believe in something I haven't seen solid evidence of. > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? My stubbornness, because I don't put my foot down often, but when I put it down, it's down. That and the fact that I'm not really as crazy as I seem IRL. No, really. I'm not, darnit! > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. I haven't got a sig at the moment, and I just use my real name for the most part. The name I use in my email address, risako, came about while I was messing with my real name (Melissa) to try to make it Japanese-sounding, and since it turns out that Risako is a real Japanese female name, I kept it. My Yahoo! ID, otaku_risako, is obviously much the same; it has "otaku" (generally used to mean "anime fan" although that's not the real meaning of the word) because it was about the only permutation of "risako" that hadn't already been taken. > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would > you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? Catlady has the neatest name, I think! I'm owned by two cats myself. I like Shaun Hately's sig a lot. I don't think I'd want to steal anyone's, though. > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. You know, what I'd really want is just a plain ghost costume made out of an old sheet with eye holes cut in it. I was never allowed to do that as a child because my mother didn't want her good sheets ruined, and my clever plan to sew the cut-out eye holes back in afterward just didn't work for her. > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would > you do for a living? I think I'd just be me... I'd want to be Madam Pince's assistant and eventual replacement. > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? Myself surrounded by all my friends, some of whom are far away and some of whom I've lost touch with. > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? A spider. Definitely a spider. A great big one with snapping jaws and... ::shudder:: Moving on. > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? The first time my fiance told me he loved me. > * What form might your Patronus take? An angel-type being. > * What might your animagus form be? Probably some kind of cat. > And here are two more that are already being discussed on the list; > if you haven't answered them already, you can answer them now . . . > > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, > a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by > Tracy] I was *terrified* of the lamp that was hanging in my sister's room. With where it was placed, I had to see it every time I went down the hall or down the stairs, and the carving at the top looked like eyes to me, which freaked me out completely. The handles on my closet door looked like eyes too at night, with just the nightlight on. > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. > ["Scariest" > question originally posted by June] I avoid scary things like the plague due to my having too much imagination. I seem to recall a part of Sesame Street that had Muppet (I almost typed Muggle... obsessed? who, me?) witches that scared me a bit when I was four, though. > Some other fun things to do (you can post your results along with > the answers to your questions): > > * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put > you? If you're not sure, here are a couple of sites where you can > get sorted: > > 7 Dragons' Sorting Hat: http://hogwarts.7dragons.net/sortinghat.html > Professor MacFusty's Sorting Hat: http://tinyurl.com/sqz2 7 Dragons puts me in Hufflepuff. MacFusty's puts me in Ravenclaw. I'd say I'm a Hufflepuff with strong Ravenclaw tendencies. > * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or > are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: > > The Harry Potter Obsession Test: http://www.fuuko.com/hpquiz.html 37%, full-time obsessed fan. Yay! > * Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the > details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code. If you haven't > created one, > this site will walk you through it: > > Harry Potter Geek Test: http://writersu.s5.com/extra/geek01.html HPGCv1 a e+++ x+ A22 Rb HP3 S Mo HaP++ HG+++ RW++ FGW+ GW+ PW++ NL+ DT SF DM VC- GG- CC CD++ VK+ PP- OW+ AD++ MM++ RH+ SS PT- AF GL-- NhN+ CF- LV TheD- SB++& Om FA- F Sl+ FH++ sfD > * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here > and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: > > Scholastic's Harry Potter Wizard Challenge: > http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/challenge/index.htm Wow, I suck at this thing. I guess I'll never be a LOON! Happy (belated) Halloween/Samhain, all! Melissa From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 07:22:34 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 07:22:34 -0000 Subject: Who of Royal Blood for William? Message-ID: Just out of curiousity, is the anyone of true Royal blood anywhere in Europe who might be a likely wife for Prince William? Like maybe a Swedish princess? Say any royal female from 5 years younger to 10 years older that Prince William. On a related subject, how many countries in Europe still have offically recognised Royalty? Just curious. bboy_mn From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 07:33:48 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 18:33:48 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Who of Royal Blood for William? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <3FA3FC8C.2086.50B777D@localhost> On 1 Nov 2003 at 7:22, Steve wrote: > Just out of curiousity, is the anyone of true Royal blood anywhere in > Europe who might be a likely wife for Prince William? Like maybe a > Swedish princess? Say any royal female from 5 years younger to 10 > years older that Prince William. I'm unsure - I know the British Royal family well, but am not that good on the rest of Europe. Personally though, I think the question is moot. I doubt William is going to marry in the near future, and I think it most likely his future wife will not be of Royal background. He is not going to have the same pressure preceding generations of royalty have had (although there are people who would definitely be delighted if he happened to marry someone like that). > On a related subject, how many countries in Europe still have > offically recognised Royalty? Are you sure you can handle the traffic asking simple royal related questions seems to generate on this list (-8 Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Liechenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. I think. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 07:52:33 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 07:52:33 -0000 Subject: Brit Royalty ...? Royal Grandmother, Eccentric Uncle, & Magician In-Reply-To: Message-ID: ADVERTISEMENT --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote: > Steve: > >How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one? > > Well, as you know by now there isn't one. > > ~Eloise bboy_mn: The Grandmother- What I was getting at, was that bonnie Prince Charles had two grandmothers, one died at age 101, how old was the other one when she died (I assume she was Norwegian, or am I completely lost?)? I would like to set a president for a fan fiction that I am writing, that, base on unsual longevity of the Royal Family, there is the implication that there might be a trace, and just a trace of wizards blood in them. The Eccentric Uncle- Since I have all the experts roused, is there any odd, slightly eccentric, uncle in the current Royal family in the last 100 years that I could twist into being a wizard in my story? The story takes the line that it IS possible to have just a trace of wizard's blood and therefore equally a just a trace of magical ability. You don't have to be a 100% wizard or 100% muggle, you can be slightly magical. The Magician- Let's not forget that Prince Charles himself is a magician and a full fledged member of the 'Magic Circle' out of Birmingham I believe (one of many many British and European Magical Societies, might have to look that one up to confirm the right club). None the less, Prince Charles is a full fledged magician, and in order to keep his membership, must perform magic at least once a year. So I speculate for the sake of the story, and in hopes of an eccentric uncle, that the Princes interest in magic might stem from his youthful association with this mad eccentric yet magical uncle. Just a thought. bboy_mn From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 07:56:35 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 18:56:35 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? Royal Grandmother In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FA401E3.18149.520548C@localhost> On 1 Nov 2003 at 7:38, Steve wrote: > bboy_mn: > > What I was getting at, was that bonnie Prince Charlse had two > grandmothers, one died at age 101, how old was the other one when she > died (I assume she was Norwegian, or am I completely lost?)? Prince Charles' other grandmother was Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Von Battenberg. She died in 1969 aged around 85 - that's from memory. > I would like to set a president for a fan fiction that I am writing, > that, base on unsual longevity of the Royal Family, there is the > implication that there might be a trace, and just a trace of wizards > blood in them. Well, there is some longevity in the Royal Family - the Queen Mother was 101 when she died. Princess Alice, Dowager Duchess of Gloucester, is also 101. > Since I have all the experts roused, is there any odd, slightly > eccentric, uncle in the current Royal family in the last 100 years > that I could twist into being a wizard in my story? If *I* was going to do that, I'd probably use Henry, Duke of Gloucester. Just because he's fairly closely related, but wasn't particularly prominent, and there were some stories of eccentricity. And he was the husband to Princess Alice, above. He lived to be 74, IIRC. He's Charles... great-uncle, I think. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sat Nov 1 14:00:07 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 14:00:07 -0000 Subject: Who of Royal Blood for William? In-Reply-To: <3FA3FC8C.2086.50B777D@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > On 1 Nov 2003 at 7:22, Steve wrote: > > > Just out of curiousity, is the anyone of true Royal blood > > anywhere in Europe who might be a likely wife for Prince > > William? Like maybe a Swedish princess? Say any royal female > > from 5 years younger to 10 years older that Prince William. > > I'm unsure - I know the British Royal family well, but am not > that good on the rest of Europe. Personally though, I think the > question is moot. I doubt William is going to marry in the near > future, and I think it most likely his future wife will not be > of Royal background. He is not going to have the same pressure > preceding generations of royalty have had (although there are > people who would definitely be delighted if he happened to marry > someone like that). Of course, Charles didn't marry anyone Royal either - the late Princess of Wales was a daughter of the late Earl of Althorpe (though it should be mentioned that the Spencers are a very old family, and apparently look down on the Windsor-family as being upstarts). As for suitable matches for Prince William, Norway has none (Princess M?rtha Louise is over 30, and already married), Denmark has none, while Sweden has two - HRH Crown Princess Victoria (but she's a very unlikely match - she is to become Queen of Sweden, and there may even be Swedish constitutional limits on whether she can marry an heir to another nation's throne, and remain Swedish heir apparent), and HRH Princess Madeleine. I think, anyway, that the public at large is going to expect that his spouse will not be royal nor noble, but to be respectable, well- spoken, polite, virtuous, and with good sense - they do not want to see a repeat of what happened with Diana, Princess of Wales, or Sarah, Duchess of York. Am not certain on how the Countess of Wessex is viewed these days - the Earl of Wessex apparently has managed to degrade himself somewhat in the public eye. I think what the public will really want is for him to be as wise in his choice of spouse as Prince Joakim of Denmark, whose wife Princess Alexandra has become very popular. > > On a related subject, how many countries in Europe still have > > offically recognised Royalty? > > Are you sure you can handle the traffic asking simple royal > related questions seems to generate on this list (-8 > > Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Liechenstein, Luxembourg, > Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. I think. Andorra is a monarchy - the bishop of Urgell and the French President are co-princes of Andorra. This started with a feud between the Bishops of Urgell and the Counts of Foix in the 14th century, which was resolved with a treaty where the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix would be co-princes of the principlaity of Andorra. The title of co-prince was transferred to the French crown when the then count of Foix became King Henry IV of France, but the title of co- prince was discarded in 1806, at the request of the Andorrans. It was alter restored by Napoleon, and has since been held by the President of the French Republic in office. The Vatican-state can perhaps be said to be a monarchy of sorts too. Of course, both of these are very unlikely to produce an eligible match, to say the least. In addition, you have the Greek Royals - while de-throned, they are still recognised as being royals, and King Constantine is still referred to by his title, though his son will not be given that accolade - but they are still recognised enough to be eligible as matches. There are ex-royal families also related to various Balkan states, also. Outside of Europe, one finds several other monarchies. Lesotho and Swaziland are both monarchies, AFAIK, and there are recognised petty kingdoms within some other African states. There are monarchies in the Middle East, as well - Saudi-Arabia is most prominent, but also Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Quatar, and the United Arab Emirates have monarchy. There is Bhutan and Nepal in Himalaya, the Sultanate of Brunei om Borneo, and Malaysia is also a monarchy - as I understand, there are nine states within Malaysia, each being itself ruled by a hereditary ruler, and these nine rulers choose one of themselves to be King for a five-year period. Thailand is a monarchy on the traditional model, as is Japan. --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > Prince Charles' other grandmother was Her Serene Highness > Princess Victoria Von Battenberg. She died in 1969 aged > around 85 - that's from memory. Great-grandmother, actually - Princess Victoria died in 1950. Her daughter Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece, and they had several children, including Prince Philip. To my knowledge, no Norwegian has married into the British Royal Family since the 1300s or so (and then it was actually the Scots Royal family, IIRC - and she died before the marriage could be conducted). The family-link between the Norwegian and British Royal family is primarily through our first Queen after independence - Queen Maud, who was the consort of King Haakon VII. King Haakon VII was born prince Carl of Denmark, and married Princess Maud of Britain, she was one of several daughters of King Edward VII, and was thus (i) the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and (ii) the granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Prince Carl's grandfather. [snip] > Well, there is some longevity in the Royal Family - the Queen > Mother was 101 when she died. Princess Alice, Dowager Duchess > of Gloucester, is also 101. [snip] But these, of course, were not born in the Royal Family - the Queen Mother was from a Scots noble-family, and Princess Alice was also born in a Scots noble-family - she was the third daughter of the seventh Duke of Buccleuch. As for other prominent Royals, they reached the following ages: Queen Victoria: 82 King Edward VII: 69 King George V: 71 Queen Maud of Norway: 79 The Duke of Windsor: 78 King George VI: 57 Mary, Princess Royal: 68 Henry, Duke of Gloucester: 74 George, Duke of Kent: Killed in wartime flying-accident at age 42 Prince John: 14 Queen Elizabeth II: 77 so far Princess Margaret: 72 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: 82, so far A truncated family-tree of the Royals after Queen Victoria may be found at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/files/pdf/windsortree.pdf >From this can be seen that Prince Charles descends from Queen Victoria through both his mother and his father. Best regards Christian Stub? From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 1 16:23:26 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 16:23:26 -0000 Subject: Furry Trivia Message-ID: As a convinced republican finding the current board obsession with a certain hopelessly inbred dysfunctional family needs moving on from ;-) So, here's something for all you devoted pet owners out there. I have just purchased my DVD of the Matrix Reloaded (and this isn't really part of the story, but just put in to add verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative...) but was heavily distracted from it by my cat, who decided that it wouldn't do that no one was paying him any attention. So he sauntered into the middle of the living room , and waiting until he had my undivided attention, rolled over onto his back, struck a pose with his feet in the air - it looked like he was asking for someone to admire his new gloves the way he held his front paws, curled his tail picturesquely around his "back bits" for modesty and purred loudly - enough to compete with the TV set anyway. Result: Matrix Reloaded 0 - Small Black and White Cat 1. Me being an absolute sucker for this then spent the next half hour on living room rug playing rub the tummy with the cat. So cat, dog and other pet owners, how does your furry little mate get your attention? Also by way of a non-halloween type post too. June From zanelupin at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 17:42:12 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 17:42:12 -0000 Subject: Furry Trivia In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June: >So cat, dog and other pet owners, how does your furry little mate get your attention?< I don't currently have any pets because I had to give them away when I moved into the place I'm now living. Very traumatic for both the cats and for me. But I have a lot of fond memories of my attention seeking animals. Elvis was an absolutely beautiful persian who hardly needed to do anything more than walk into a room to attract anyone's attention. But this didn't stop him from showing off whenever he got the chance. His favorite trick was to do what we called "ups" where he'd walk over to someone and stand on his back legs stretching upward until the person noticed and bent down to pet him. On the rare occasion when he actually needed to compete with my school work for attention, his favorite strategy was to flop down and spread himself across whatever textbook or notebook I had sitting in front of me. If I tried to move him, he'd just do it again. I either had to give in or move to another place to study. Mouse, my other cat, climbed us. Yes, as in she reached up our legs, dug her claws in and pulled herself up our bodies until she could sit on our shoulders. This was rather painful but she was just so adorable that we sometimes let her do it without a complaint. Her other favorite means of grabbing attention was to climb on top of me while asleep and start licking my face. She used to do this to my brother's friend when he stayed over, too. He was so thoroughly disgusted by it he stopped sleeping over. I laughed at him...a lot. My first cat, Jody used similar means, but instead of licking faces she'd play with a sleeper's hair. Sorry for the length but I don't get to talk about my kitties very often these days. Thanks, June. KathyK From grannybat at hotmail.com Sat Nov 1 20:00:46 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 20:00:46 -0000 Subject: More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: Message-ID: My word. The intricacies of royal titles and inheritance are positively Slytherin. > The ruling sovereign is always adressed "Your Majesty" Are "ma'am" and "sir" acceptable fallbacks according to protocol? I've seen news footage of celebrities chatting with Queen Elizabeth and addressing her as "ma'am." > A Prince Consort, as well as children of ruling sovereigns... > are normally entitled to be adressed "Your Royal Highness", and > referred to as "His/Her Royal Highness" - in the case of male > children, their spouses will be afforded the same accolade; ... > In the case of divorce, a > spouse granted the style of "Royal Highness" will tend to loose it, > but not all the styles and titles associated - see the reversion > from "HRH the Princess of Wales" to "Diana, Princess of Wales" Is there some particular privilege that comes with the title "His/Her Royal Highness?" A British friend of mine mentioned that there was a lot of public anger on your side of the pond when Diana wasn't allowed to retain the HRH after the divorce. Grannybat From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk Sat Nov 1 20:46:06 2003 From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 20:46:06 -0000 Subject: Who of Royal Blood for William? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > > On 1 Nov 2003 at 7:22, Steve wrote: > > > > > Just out of curiousity, is the anyone of true Royal blood > > > anywhere in Europe who might be a likely wife for Prince > > > William? Like maybe a Swedish princess? Say any royal female > > > from 5 years younger to 10 years older that Prince William. > > > > I'm unsure - I know the British Royal family well, but am not > > that good on the rest of Europe. Personally though, I think the > > question is moot. I doubt William is going to marry in the near > > future, and I think it most likely his future wife will not be > > of Royal background. He is not going to have the same pressure > > preceding generations of royalty have had (although there are > > people who would definitely be delighted if he happened to marry > > someone like that). > > Of course, Charles didn't marry anyone Royal either - the late > Princess of Wales was a daughter of the late Earl of Althorpe (though > it should be mentioned that the Spencers are a very old family, and > apparently look down on the Windsor-family as being upstarts). > > As for suitable matches for Prince William, Norway has none (Princess > M?rtha Louise is over 30, and already married), Denmark has none, > while Sweden has two - HRH Crown Princess Victoria (but she's a very > unlikely match - she is to become Queen of Sweden, and there may even > be Swedish constitutional limits on whether she can marry an heir to > another nation's throne, and remain Swedish heir apparent), and HRH > Princess Madeleine. As a suggestion for further studies, may I recommend the FAQ's of alt.talk.royalty, at http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/atrfaq.htm and http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq.html (The British Royal House)? There are a few younger Princesses of the Spanish and Belgian Royal Houses, grandchildren of the current monarchs, who would qualify, but I hardly think they'll come into question. Royal marriages have indeed become much more democratic during the last decades (though I've only kept up with the closest monarchies), as there are other ways to form alliances between states these days than by forcing two youngsters to marry because of politics. (When Queen Victoria conducted politics by marrying off her children, hemophilia spread to a lot of Royal Houses on the Continent, so it can be rather risky as well...) The Swedish Order of Succession Act states that no Prince or Princess of Sweden shall become a regent of another state (through marriage, among other things) unless the King and Parliament agrees. That's the only limitation I've found, so Crown Princess Victoria *might technically* be able to become Queen Consort of another country as well as be Ruling Queen of Sweden. It would be rather inconvenient, however. BTW, I believe Crown Princess Victoria is a fifth-degree descendant of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, through her great-great-grandmother Princess Margaret, and something like fifth cousin once removed to Princes William and Harry. You know these pureblood families... :-) Speaking of marriages, the Princes and Princesses of Sweden are supposed to have presumtive marriage partners approved by the Government or be excluded from the order of succession. Are there similar rules in Britain or is the only requirement that you marry someone not a Roman Catholic? > Outside of Europe, one finds several other monarchies. Lesotho and > Swaziland are both monarchies, AFAIK, and there are recognised petty > kingdoms within some other African states. Not just petty kingdoms -- Morocco is a monarchy as well. Thailand is a monarchy on the > traditional model, as is Japan. As a matter of fact, King Bhumibol is the longest ruling monarch in the world (ascending the throne in 1946). People use to think that Queen Elizabeth II is the longest ruling monarch in Europe, but Prince Rainier III of Monaco outdoes her with three years (he ascended 1949). Alshain (what's a stalwart supporter of the republican form of government doing in this thread anyway?) From hedwigstalons at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 21:12:06 2003 From: hedwigstalons at yahoo.com (hedwigstalons) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 21:12:06 -0000 Subject: Kids In PotterVerse Regalia (WAS Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!*) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I work as an aide in a kindergarten classroom, and there was one boy, in the classroom next door (a kindergartener) who dressed as Harry Potter. One of the 4th grade teachers dressed as Professor McGonagall and did a smashing good job! Did you see that picture of the boy dressed as Harry and his dog as Fluffy? It's in Yahoo photos. Darling!! HedwigsTalons (Who wishes trick or treating was for adults!! Free candy yeah!) From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk Sat Nov 1 21:42:43 2003 From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 21:42:43 -0000 Subject: Furry Trivia In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June wrote: >>So he sauntered into the middle of the living room , and waiting until he had my undivided attention, rolled over onto his back, struck a pose with his feet in the air - it looked like he was asking for someone to admire his new gloves the way he held his front paws, curled his tail picturesquely around his "back bits" for modesty and purred loudly - enough to compete with the TV set anyway. So cat, dog and other pet owners, how does your furry little mate get your attention?>> Hey, I love a furry story (note, not a "Furry" story. Those people scare me...).Any dog-haters/cynics may well want to skip this message. I'm currently house sitting for my recently retired, world-travelling mum, and with the house comes a ten-year-old Border terrier called Flannel. Over the years, Flannel has dropped many of his more impressive tricks - the one where he adopted a roughly similar pose to June's cat and then peed like a fountain in order to welcome family members home has thankfully been consigned to his youthful folly - however there are certain tried and tested classics which I greet with nostalgia-tinged affection at the moment. Over the years, judging his reactions, I've attributed certain emotions and thoughts to each action (as all human owners are wont to do)as a means of classification: The "Hey, I love you because you took me for a walk up a hill and I like hills": lying flat on stomach, legs flat in front, legs flat out behind, and pulling torso down hill towards walker in a slow, shuffly movement, wagging tail frantically and sticking tongue out rhythmically. Nobody knows why. The Michael Jackson: In which dog squeaks loudly and shuffles backwards. This signifies that dog needs to go to the toilet NOW. The "don't read that!" Usually executed on a Saturday or Sunday when potential walker/feeder/attention giver has just relaxed with mug of coffee and broadly-spread newspaper section: Dog sits down on exactly the article potential w/f/a-g was reading(he does this with 98% accuracy), and whines, whilst pushing ears back attractively and fixing magnified eyes on aforementioned w/f/a-g. The "Wow! You came back!": In which dog is so anxious to commemorate the return of w/f/a-g that he forgets that the carpets were removed in favour of varnished floorboards three years ago, attempts an enthusiastic run down the hallway towards the front door, speeds up, trips over his front paws and ends up by skidding bemusedly (sorry for the adverb, June, but there is really no other way to describe this particular skid) out of the front door and into the garden. The "you've got food! I want food!": The movement is a similar shuffle to the Michael Jackson, but the sound effects suggest something more along the lines of a performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle in your kitchen. Kirstini Now feeling ridiculously affectionate towards dog, who wants his lickle ears scratched yes he does! From elfundeb at comcast.net Sat Nov 1 21:51:57 2003 From: elfundeb at comcast.net (elfundeb) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 16:51:57 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] More Halloween Fun! References: Message-ID: <005201c3a0c2$5fa5b220$9ddc5644@aoldsl.net> Late to the mixer, but why not? > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I don't know. Logically I shouldn't but I'm fascinated by ghost stories and don't want to discount them as the thinking brain tells me I should; maybe we're momentarily transported back in time whenever we see a ghost (not that I've ever seen one). > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? That I'm not nearly as organized and responsible as people think I am. > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. Elfun was the name of my father's pension fund. They used to head their correspondence to him "Dear Elfun" and it seemed to fit my dad, who was small and quirky and, well, elflike. The second part, deb, obviously is derived from my own name. > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? There are so many creative ones out there that intrigue me. I don't want to steal any, though. > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. My ultimate Halloween costume is something that is not remotely like me. I've dressed as a flapper, a hooker, a hippie, a gymnast, a football player, Alice in Wonderland, Queen Amidala, and Prof. McGonagall, among many others. I once dressed as a song, even though I can't sing. My old standby, though, is a witch. Typecasting, you know. > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would you do for a living? I would have Amelia Bones' job. > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? I would be surrounded by family and friends, I think, and everyone would be happy. > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? The boggart would look like me, and be reenacting the worst things I've ever done in my life. > > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? Something -- almost anything -- about my DH, who is a much better person than I am. > > * What form might your Patronus take? My patronus would unquestionably be a dolphin. > > * What might your animagus form be? I would be the mouse that roared. > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, > a certain toy or household item)? I do not recall this but I was a sickly child and I am told I was terrified of men wearing white shirts, because I thought they were doctors. > > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. This will sound ridiculous. I've always been super-rational, and scary movies really didn't scare me unless they were slice of life. But, I was terrified of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz (not the witches, or flying monkeys or anything else I knew was made up). I had recurring nightmares for years where I dashed to the basement only seconds before the tornado devastated my house, sometimes tempting fate by going back for a favorite possession. It didn't matter that I lived in an area that had never *ever* seen a tornado. > * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put > you? I am a Ravenclaw through and through, but the first sorting hat tried to put me in Hufflepuff. The second time around I got it to say Ravenclaw just by changing the answers I was iffy on. Professor McFusty inexplicably put me in Slytherin. > * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or are you bordering on obsessive? I'm right smack in the middle at 50%. It helps not to be into merchandise or timelines. >> * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Oh, embarassment! I didn't know how many times Nearly Headless Nick was axed, and I used up all 3 chances guessing wrong on that question. Total score: 13. Happy All Saints Day! - without which we would not have all our Halloween (All Hallows Eve) fun. Debbie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cindysphynx at comcast.net Sat Nov 1 22:35:04 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 22:35:04 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Anne wrote: >I too, like snichers and reese's; > snickers especially frozen in the freezer (a trick DH taught me), >and the peanut butter filled kit kats are yummy too (starting to >notice a trend?). You know, I've never had a frozen Snickers. I'm afraid it would hurt my fillings. And I have a *lot* of fillings. :-( In fact, I think melted chocolate borders on the erotic, actually. Freezing it just seems . . . I don't know . . . frigid! >But some of my all time favorites are Mallo Bars (gooy > coconut-marshmallow filled cups covered in dark (I think) chocolate. > and Payday Bars. I've never had a Mallo bar. I like coconut (Almond Joy and Mounds are another my kids will let me have, no questions asked), but I'm not big on marshmallow, if truth be told. I mean, I might choke and no one would be around to Heimlich me. Paydays are fantastic, though. I actually was allergic to chocolate as a child, so Paydays saved my life -- they were one of the few candy bars without chocolate. >Especially > since not one child at my door this evening was anything from the HP > universe! :( Same here. No Harry came to my door. In fact, I only saw one Harry at my kids' school -- and he wore the facial expression of a child forced to wear older brother's old costume. >Although, my oldest did put on his > alien mask backwards and said "Look, I'm Quirrell!". But he >wouldn't go out like that. He's 13 and too cool for that (or so he >thinks). My kids reject all of my cool costume ideas. We found a glittery formal gown someone gave us -- someone with the poor judgment to think my daughter would be caught dead in a glittery formal gown. I suggested daughter wear it and carry an Oscar trophy and "thank" all her fans and supports. Would have been cheap, original and cool. She rolled her eyes at me. Kids today! Next Halloween, I might just borrow a costume idea my little brother had at about age 16. He dressed in flesh colored shorts and wore black socks and wingtips. He donned a trenchcoat and went around flashing people. It looked *so* real! I thought it was a scream, but mother was not amused. Oh, and I should mention that there was a survey of least popular Halloween candy, but I can't find it anymore. I remember "candy corn" made the list. Also, those weird round things that come in the black and orange wax paper -- what *are* those things? And I personally have no use whatever for "Twizzlers." Or "Mike and Ike" either. Since I couldn't find the real survey, here's David Letterman's offering: ************** Top Ten Least Popular Halloween Candies 10. Bit-O-Squirrel 9. Poisonettes 8. Good n' Sweaty 7. Middlefinger 6. Della Reese's Pieces 5. Clam Duds 4. Baby Ruth Bader Ginsburg 3. Gummy Marrow 2. Ken Starrburst 1. Osmond Joy ************************* Cindy -- who *loves* Letterman Top Ten Lists *********************** http://www.clark04.com/ From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 1 22:45:51 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 09:45:51 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FA4D24F.1402.84E9AF6@localhost> On 1 Nov 2003 at 20:00, grannybat84112 wrote: > My word. The intricacies of royal titles and inheritance are > positively Slytherin. > > > The ruling sovereign is always adressed "Your Majesty" > > Are "ma'am" and "sir" acceptable fallbacks according to protocol? > I've seen news footage of celebrities chatting with Queen Elizabeth > and addressing her as "ma'am." Protocol generally is that you use their full title the first time you speak to them, and from then on, you can use the general honourific such as 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' - it's too cumbersome to use the full title all the time. Protocol is also coming to accept that fewer and fewer people know all the intricacies involved, and so general politeness is considered 'enough'. The Queen is not going to be offended if a normal member of the public calls her Ma'am or Madam, and doesn't call her 'Your Majesty', because it's clear in that case, that the person is being perfectly polite - they just may not know the rules. In actual fact, if you're likely to be meeting the Queen, someone will probably have told you the rules shortly before you do - but that's less likely the further you go down the totem pole. I've met (in the sense that I spoke to them, but they are very unlikely to remember me (-8 ), the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Princess Royal, and in each case, I was reminded of what I was supposed to say and do about five minutes before I met them. > > A Prince Consort, as well as children of ruling sovereigns... > > are normally entitled to be adressed "Your Royal Highness", and > > referred to as "His/Her Royal Highness" - in the case of male > > children, their spouses will be afforded the same accolade; ... > > In the case of divorce, a > > spouse granted the style of "Royal Highness" will tend to loose it, > > but not all the styles and titles associated - see the reversion > > from "HRH the Princess of Wales" to "Diana, Princess of Wales" > > Is there some particular privilege that comes with the title "His/Her > Royal Highness?" A British friend of mine mentioned that there was a > lot of public anger on your side of the pond when Diana wasn't > allowed to retain the HRH after the divorce. Well, the privilege is that the person *is* royal. Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales was a member of the royal family. Diana, Princess of Wales, was not. The distinction was moderately important because if Diana hadn't died, eventually a situation could have arisen where she was a member of the King's (William) immediate family, without being a member of the royal family. Diana was treated in the same way any peeress is treated (clearest example - Prince Andrew's former wife, is now Sarah, Duchess of York - she is not referred to as 'Her Grace, the Duchess of York' or 'Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of York' - in fact, she can't even be properly referred to as The Duchess of York, only as Sarah, Duchess of York). Most of the anger relating to Diana's case was to do with the symbolism of the situation - some people felt she was being badly treated, and losing HRH was part of that. It's complicated, though, because there's no incredibly rigid rules on the use of these titles - there are rules in place, but the Monarch can change them in individual cases (for example, HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, *shouldn't* be called Princess according to the published rules - but she is). Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From illyana at mindspring.com Sat Nov 1 22:53:00 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 15:53:00 -0700 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Halloween Mixer In-Reply-To: <20031031172746.69864.qmail@web14204.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20031031172746.69864.qmail@web14204.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <24EB9872-0CBE-11D8-9188-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Yah, yah, I'm late to the mixer. But I'm fashionably late!! *Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I believe that people see and experience strange things that they think are ghosts, but I am not quite sure if they are really the spirits of dead people. Until I experience a ghost myself, I am not really going to think more about them. I have read a lot about hauntings and ghosts, though, and am very interested in that kind of thing. *What things about you often come as a surprise to others? I have no idea! I guess you'll have to ask others! I do think that people are a little surprised when they realize how straightforward I am about things. I have some pretty big balls for a chick! :D *Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. I have been using "illyanadmc" for years - ever since I started using the internet, basically. "illyana" is the name of a comic book character from "The New Mutants" comic book and "dmc" stands for DeLorean Motor Company. Obviously I love DeLoreans, because i use the last name "delorean" on the internet. *Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards (a) would you like to steal or (b) intrigues you? Umm... the answer to both questions is "none." *Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. I have never really been one to create elaborate Halloween costumes; I usually just throw something together at the last minute. So, I guess my "ultimate" Halloween costume would be something half-way decent that took less than ten minutes to create - this year's "zombie bridesmaid" costume was a good example of a last-minute idea that ended up looking pretty okay. *If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would you do for a living? Well, since I want to be a librarian in the real world, I guess I would like to be a librarian in the Potterverse, as well. Or perhaps a bookshop owner. I am not sure if I would want to work at Hogwarts as a librarian, because I am not too fond of children, but perhaps I would be a librarian at a non-school WW library, if such a thing exists. *What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? I think I would see myself and my boyfriend both with higher education degrees and steady jobs that we love. That is basically what I daydream about nowadays. *What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? Either a large spider or my friends laying dead on the floor. *What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a Patronus? Not any particular memory, really. I guess I would think of my favorite stuffed animals, whom I treat like real pets because I don't have any real pets at the moment... and I'm kind of lonely. *What form might your Patronus take? Mothman! *What might your animagus form be? Something small and quick, so I could do some good spying! Perhaps a chameleon or other lizard. *What basically harmless things scared you as a child? (I have answered this before, but I will do a quick re-cap.) Spiders, even harmless and dead ones, really freak me out (and they did during the latter part of my childhood, as well). Also, and I didn't mention this before because I had forgotten about it until just now, my grandparents are world travelers and have many souveniers from their travels around their house. When I was little, I would sleep in my aunt's old room whenever I visited my grandparents, and they had these Chinese wooden masks hanging on the walls in the room. They were really scary to me, because they kind of looked like demon faces, so I eventually would ask them to take them off the walls whenever I spent the night. I looked at the masks earlier this year when I was visiting, and they are still kind of freaky-looking! *What is your scariest moment from a film or television show? I am not a very big fan of horror movies, but I don't really think they are scary. I don't like them because they are full of those startling moments - when a dead body or severed head falls in front of someone or when the killer in the movie pops up in front of someone - those kinds of moments make my heart jump and I hate that feeling. So, any movie with startling moments is no good for me. I do like well-done horror movies (like Ringu), so I will try to endure the startling moments so I can watch the movie for its story and direction. *Tell us which horror movie is your all-time favorite, and why. Well, the only stereotypicial horror movie that I actually like and own is "Night of the Living Dead." I just think it was really well-done and, while I don't think it is particularly scary, it is a pretty creepy movie. *Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put you? As much as I love the Slytherins and being a bad-guy, I would probably be sorted into Ravenclaw because I am logical and smart, and I am not cunning and evil enough to be a Slyth. I took the test and I was right - Ravenclaw. Oh, well, maybe Draco could look past all of that! :D *Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun... or are you bordering on obsessive? I scored a 32%, so I am just quite a "full-time Potter fan." Yay! I am glad my obsession isn't unhealthy... yet. Oh, I have an HP geek code that lives in my signature file: HPGCv1 a22 e+ x+* Rm Ri HP4 S+++ Mo++ HG+/VK++ HaP+/SS+++& HaP+/DM++& FGW++ DM++& VC-- GG-- CD+ VK++ SS+++& PT--- AF-- MM++ RL++ O+m FAo F- Sl FHo SfD *Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here and let us know if you are savvy or sorry. I definitely don't know as much as many people on the HPfGU lists, but would consider myself to be pretty savvy. I don't need to take a quiz to know that! illyana [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neonsister at ameritech.net Sat Nov 1 23:55:06 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 23:55:06 -0000 Subject: More Halloween Fun! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I believe that life goes on after the physical body dies. Call it a ghost, an angel, spiritual energy...life goes on. * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? My quiet demeanor goes totally out the window when I attend a U2 concert or an Ohio State football game! Also, people are surprised that I've recently started taking fencing lessons. * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the HPfGU lists. When I first got internet access I chose the name NeonSister, from a song by Thomas Dolby. The first Yahoo group I joined was a greyhound adoption forum, so I made my user name neon_grey. * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? I don't want to steal any names, but I like Constance Vigilance - very clever! * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. Someday I want to wear an elaborate, sexy mermaid costume! * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would you do for a living? I would have my own massage therapy clinic in Hogsmeade. Hogwart's students and faculty get a discount (except Remus Lupin - his are free! hee hee...) * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? I'll know it when I see it. * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? A loved one being hurt * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a Patronus? Hearing total strangers cheering "You're doing great!" and "Almost there!" at me when I ran (and finished!) the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon last winter. :-) * What form might your Patronus take? A greyhound * What might your animagus form be? I'd like to be a dolphin, but I'd have to be near water all the time for that to be useful. Probably a dog or a bird. * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by Tracy] A brief recap: Grandma's fur coat, the sweeper, Mr. Clean. * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. ["Scariest" > > question originally posted by June] In "Psycho" when we *really* see Mrs. Bates...creepy! Also, several scenes in "Signs" but especially when Mel Gibson is in the cornfield at night hunting around with a flashlight, and we glimpse an alien foot disappearing down a corn row. Tracy From jmmears at comcast.net Sun Nov 2 00:39:22 2003 From: jmmears at comcast.net (serenadust) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 00:39:22 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > I've never had a Mallo bar. I like coconut (Almond Joy and Mounds are > another my kids will let me have, no questions asked), Mine too! Almond Joys are ok, but Mounds are my very favorite. What is it with kids and coconut? Do *any* of them like it? Are coconut-lovers becoming extinct? Cindy wrote: > Next Halloween, I might just borrow a costume idea my little brother > had at about age 16. He dressed in flesh colored shorts and wore > black socks and wingtips. He donned a trenchcoat and went around > flashing people. It looked *so* real! I thought it was a scream, but > mother was not amused. Don't be offended, but I doubt that costume would have the same err.. impact, if you wore it ;-). > Oh, and I should mention that there was a survey of least popular > Halloween candy, but I can't find it anymore. I remember "candy corn" > made the list. Also, those weird round things that come in the black > and orange wax paper -- what *are* those things? ::Stiffly:: I'll have you know that I wait all year for those "things"! They are peanut butter kisses and they are *heaven*. I'm going to the movies in a few minutes and my purse is full of them. Jo Serenadust, rushing to defend her poor, unpopular favorites From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sun Nov 2 00:40:24 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 11:40:24 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FA4ED28.24055.8B77E78@localhost> On 2 Nov 2003 at 0:39, serenadust wrote: > ::Stiffly:: I'll have you know that I wait all year for > those "things"! They are peanut butter kisses and they are > *heaven*. I'm going to the movies in a few minutes and my purse is > full of them. > > Jo Serenadust, rushing to defend her poor, unpopular favorites Nonono - you don't defend them, or they might become popular! And then you would have to share them! Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 00:41:51 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 00:41:51 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > > You know, I've never had a frozen Snickers. I'm afraid it would hurt > my fillings. And I have a *lot* of fillings. :-( Anna here again; Well, actually Cindiy, you are right. The are very difficult to eat, especially since I too have very little enamal left in my mouth; (most of it is filled with old, silver, fillings, which are now also falling out ;( ). But frozen snickers really are good. I usually let them thaw out a little. It's similar to eating a Heath bar, with all that hard carmel taffy. > > In fact, I think melted chocolate borders on the erotic, actually. > Freezing it just seems . . . I don't know . . . frigid! > And yes, I must say, NOTHTING beats a large, fresh strawberry dipped in warm, melted dark chocolate!! OOOh, melted chocolate is sooo good!! > > > > Paydays are fantastic, though. I actually was allergic to chocolate > as a child, so Paydays saved my life -- they were one of the few candy > bars without chocolate. > Hmm. Payday. I think I got the name wrong. The candy bar I was thinking of is coated in chocolate, but has five little squares, all separated so you can break one off at a time, and each is filled with different things; peanut butter, caramel, vanilla creme, chocolate creme, and I think marshmallow. Gosh I can't remembere what they're called. I could have sworn Payday. Oh well. I'll let you know when I remember. > > > Since I couldn't find the real survey, here's David Letterman's offering: > > ************** > > Top Ten Least Popular Halloween Candies > > 10. Bit-O-Squirrel > > 9. Poisonettes > > 8. Good n' Sweaty > > 7. Middlefinger > > 6. Della Reese's Pieces > > 5. Clam Duds > > 4. Baby Ruth Bader Ginsburg > > 3. Gummy Marrow > > 2. Ken Starrburst > > 1. Osmond Joy > > ************************* > > Cindy -- who *loves* Letterman Top Ten Lists HAHAHA!! I LOVE David Letterman!! I've been watching him since he first appeared onthe Tonight show with Johnny when he brought in a record player and put objects on it like barbie and ken, and little plastic dogs, etc., spun it around and just watched what happened! OMG! Anna . . . (who would love to see him in person, but is afraid she'd be disappointed what with all the tv crew and commercials and all) > > *********************** > > http://www.clark04.com/ From rvotaw at i-55.com Sun Nov 2 00:56:38 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 18:56:38 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun! References: Message-ID: <007b01c3a0dc$2c74d790$dd9ccdd1@RVotaw> Yes, I know it's the day after Halloween, but it's been a very busy week! > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? No, but only because I haven't personally had any evidence. I want to believe. :) > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? That I like baseball and horse racing. They seem to think I'm too feminine at first, for some reason. > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. Because it's my name. :) Boring, I know. > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would > you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? Contance vigilance. :) > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. I really, really, really want a complete McGonagall costume, dark green velvet and all. There is that minor detail with it usually being 80 degrees for Halloween, though. > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would > you do for a living? I'd probably still be a teacher, Hogwarts, though, of course, and I think I'd prefer to teach Charms. Lots of fun there. > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? I really, honestly don't know. The closest I could guess is me with a child. My own, I mean. > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? A giant cockroach. > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? At the moment, Aaron Boone's 11th inning walk off home run, winning the AL title for the Yankees. > * What form might your Patronus take? Most likely a horse. > * What might your animagus form be? A cat (yes, I'm a true McGonagall). > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, > a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by > Tracy] Cockroaches. They still do. I know, they can't even hurt me, but that doesn't make a difference. Horrible creatures. > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. > ["Scariest" > question originally posted by June] Well, I don't really like horror movies. The closest I'd come to having a favorite, and I don't think it's really a horror movie, is The Sixth Sense. The scariest moment being the first time a ghost is scene. Eek! :) > * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put > you? If you're not sure, here are a couple of sites where you can > get sorted: Well, that's tricky. I've always thought Ravenclaw, the 7 Dragons one puts me in Hufflepuff (not even close), and most of the other sorting hats put me in Gryffindor. > * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or > are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: I'm only 49% obsessed. Tell that to anyone around here! I'm sure I'll improve after my trip to the UK next year. :) Richelle From ambiree at students.bradley.edu Sun Nov 2 01:04:57 2003 From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 19:04:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Furry Trivia In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1067735097.3fa458396a0aa@webmail.bradley.edu> my brat pack of 2 cats and 1 dog who refuses to get beyond puppy stage is a class act. it's almost always a three-ring circus here. my boy-cat Min does the sitting on your paper, book, project, whatever, til ya move him, and when you do you get a claw for your efforts....but when he eats (the starving -ha!- cat he is) he goes..."minminminminmin"...No that's not how he got his name....and i seem to be put on this planet to scratch his head only when he says so...and how...oh and Min used to do the climb up the legs, until he got old enough to jump to where he wanted.... my gal-cat Max "talks" to you for attn. She will trill at you until you bend over and hold out your hands, then she will reach up and snuggle like a baby, then climb on your shoulder and stay there til you move her. and my pup Rugbe who will be 6 this month, does all kinds of tricks for me (well, for the treats anyways) she will sit, but won't stay, lay down, shake, high five (same as shake but w/ left paw), sit pretty, dance (jump in circle on back legs) and my favorite is a trick we call "whazzup" if you say "Whazzup" to her she sits pretty and then high fives you w/ both front paws three or four times (it's adorable)....it doesn't take much for me to lavish attn on them, but they are worth every second.... and they do other things but it would take to long to tell.... :) -- Amber ***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE*** From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 01:17:42 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 17:17:42 -0800 (PST) Subject: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' Message-ID: <20031102011742.89753.qmail@web21107.mail.yahoo.com> Have you read the following article? Harry Potter and the Reader's Poundage Headache Physician Advises Young Enthusiasts To Tome Down By Rob Stein Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 30, 2003; Page A03 Excerpt: "Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest Washington, was alerted to the peril when three patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that they had been suffering from headaches for two or three days. "'In each case, the headache was dull and the pain fluctuated throughout the day,' Bennett wrote in a letter published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine... "...'On further questioning, it was determined that each child had spent many hours reading J.K. Rowling's latest book in the Harry Potter series,' Bennett wrote in the letter, which journal editors titled 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles.'" The full article is at http://tinyurl.com/szwm (aka http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ articles/A38025-2003Oct29.html) Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 01:44:00 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 01:44:00 -0000 Subject: Peanut Butter Kisses are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > > ...edited... > > Oh, and I should mention that there was a survey of least popular > Halloween candy, ... I remember "candy corn" made the list. > > Also, those weird round things that come in the black > and orange wax paper -- what *are* those things? ... > > ,,,edited... > > Cindy -- who *loves* Letterman Top Ten Lists bboy_mn: "...weird round things that come in the black and orange wax paper..." You mean those things that look like taffy? Those are PEANUT BUTTER CANDY KISSES, and they are great, although I confess I haven't had one for years. They are a salty peanut butter chew with bits of peanuts in them. The closest you can come in a commercial candy it a Bit'O'Honey bar, which really isn't a bar but several bite-sized flat rectangular chews; also very yummy. Peanut butter kisses are and always were my all-time favorite Holloween candy, and Holloween is the only time you can find them. My guess is that today's kids and many adults won't even try them since they don't have a familiar multicolored wrapper and brand name. It's a shame that our world has become so homogenized that anything that doesn't have a recognizable name, is too suspect to even try. Say what you like, but I love Peanut Butter Kisses. Se la vie. bboy_mn From jenP_97 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 01:48:14 2003 From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 01:48:14 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > Hmm. Payday. I think I got the name wrong. The candy bar I was > thinking of is coated in chocolate, but has five little squares, all > separated so you can break one off at a time, and each is filled with > different things; peanut butter, caramel, vanilla creme, chocolate > creme, and I think marshmallow. Gosh I can't remembere what they're > called. I could have sworn Payday. Oh well. I'll let you know when > I remember. Do you mean Skybars? I have a feeling people are going to hate me for posting this, especially since we've all overdosed on our children's candy, but if you're into "retro" candy, and can't find it anywhere, go here: http://www.groovycandies.com/ -Jen From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 02:00:24 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 02:00:24 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* PAYDAY In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > ...edited... > > Paydays are fantastic, though. > > > Hmm. Payday. I think I got the name wrong. The candy bar I was > thinking of is coated in chocolate, but has five little squares, > > ...edited... > > Anna bboy_mn: Payday is like a Pearson's Salted Nut Roll unless I'm mistaken. It's a nougat log covered in caramel and rolled in salted peanuts. Both Payday and Salted Nut Roll are very good if you are looking for a change from chocolate. bboy_mn (who sadly remembers when a standard size candy bar was a nickle and the supersize bars were a dime. Who also remembers the outrage when ice cream went from a nickle a scoop to a dime for the first scoop and a nickle for each additional scoop. Today a nickle wouldn't even buy you an empty cone.) From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 02:25:54 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 02:25:54 -0000 Subject: Had Enough Candy Yet? Message-ID: In case you haven't have enough candy, here are some links to US/Canada/UK stores that sell British candy. These are links from out discussion of candy around Easter time this year. Fri Apr 4, 2003 3:08 am Subject: Re: Harry's sweets - source of Brit Candy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/14733 Fri Apr 4, 2003 3:29 am Subject: Re: Harry's sweets - Black Magic http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/14734 Fri Apr 4, 2003 11:49 am Subject: Re: Harry's sweets - London Market; Salt Lake City, UT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/14737 There is a link to a UK site called 'Quarter of Candy' which has such treats as Acid Drops, Sugar Mice (& other assorted mice), Skullcrushers, Bogeyman rocks, humbugs, coconut ice, sweet tobacco, liquorice wands, Toxic Waste, Gobstoppers, assorted sherbet, and more. Just passing it along. bboy_mn From a_williams1 at pacific.edu Sun Nov 2 03:03:18 2003 From: a_williams1 at pacific.edu (aeshamali) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 03:03:18 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I lurk here on OT chatter, but I'll answer this. :) > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I do believe in ghosts. I don't have any good, logical arguement for this, I just do. I feel like there have been too many people who have had ghostly encounters, and there are just too many unexplained things in this world to rule out ghosts. > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? For some reason, the fact that I am an American, born and raised in Oregon. There was a time (when I was working as well as going to school, instead of just school) that at least once every couple weeks someone would ask me if I was Hawaiian, or polynesian, or Native American, Samoan... I once had a guy ask me how long I had been in the United States, and he went on to say that it's probably a big change from the Islands. LOL. > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. I can't take credit for the creativity, that will have to go to my mom... the name I use, Aesha or AeshaMali, is my first name and part of one of my middle names. > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} >would you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? Hmmm... I'm not sure. I'll have to take another look and get back to you. > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. I would love to do some very intricate costume, like cleopatra or something. When I was little, it was things like a witch, cat or bunny (I think I spent many years as a cat), I've been "Aphrodite" (Translation: a couple white sheets and a head wreath), and an angel. But if I was Cleo, I could have some ornate head dress, arm bands, bracelets, make up, shoes, etc.,etc... > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would > you do for a living? If I lived in the Potterverse, I would work in the Department of Mysteries. I'm very curious what's up there. > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? Me with a guitar or piano, performing. > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? My boggart would be the same as Molly's (different people, of course!). > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? Wow, that's a toughie. There'd be a lot to choose from with my mom; or when I was installed as the state leader of a youth group. > * What form might your Patronus take? A snow leopard. > * What might your animagus form be? A phoenix, of course. ;) > And here are two more that are already being discussed on the list; > if you haven't answered them already, you can answer them now . . . > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by Tracy] Well, I don't know if any UK members will remember this show... when I was little, there was a show called Diff'rent Strokes on TV. In the opening credits, the girl (I don't rememer her name) came out of the bathroom with her hair dyed green after her adopted brothers played a prank on her. I don't know why, but I was so scared at that- I just can't figure it out. Anyway, I ran out of the room every time. > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. > ["Scariest" question originally posted by June] I think the scariest moment from a tv show is from Unsolved Mysteries, when they showed a special on ghosts. Now it may not scare me as much, but when I saw it in 7th grade it scared the crud out of me. My fav scary movies are Scream trilogy (well, that's a lie- I hated part 2) and Halloween (though it makes me mad, hehe). Aesha From kkearney at students.miami.edu Sun Nov 2 07:29:00 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 07:29:00 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Oh, and I should mention that there was a survey of least popular > Halloween candy, but I can't find it anymore. I remember "candy corn" > made the list. Also, those weird round things that come in the black > and orange wax paper -- what *are* those things? And I personally > have no use whatever for "Twizzlers." Or "Mike and Ike" either. Candy corn, unpopular? Inconceivable! No, the worst type of candy is that pink bubble gum that comes in blue amd yellow wrappers. I've never met a single person who actually liked it, but it was inevitably one of the more common candies to receive (probably the cheapest). As a kid, I never had the heart to throw it out (it was candy, after all), so it would sit in my room until the end of the candy season (about a month after Easter), at which point it rivalled diamond for hardness. -Corinth, who is getting hooked on this list, and who is thoroghly depressed after watching her Hurricanes tonight. :( From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sun Nov 2 12:34:57 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 23:34:57 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: <3FA4D24F.1402.84E9AF6@localhost> References: Message-ID: <3FA594A1.13612.C5143D@localhost> On 2 Nov 2003 at 9:45, Shaun Hately wrote: > Protocol generally is that you use their full title the first time you speak to them, Seeing there are other people on this list who may know more about this than I do (which is fairly unusual on this subject), I should have said 'full title of address'. Using Her Majesty's full title as a form of address would be very time consuming and quite silly. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From cindysphynx at comcast.net Sun Nov 2 12:57:24 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 12:57:24 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Jo wrote: >::Stiffly:: I'll have you know that I wait all year for >those "things"! They are peanut butter kisses and they are >*heaven*. I'm going to the movies in a few minutes and my purse is >full of them. Oh, dear! There is no greater sin than dissing someone else's favorite treat. Sorry, Jo. But now that I've already sinned, I might as well finish the evil deed. Those black-or-orange paper things fall into a very special and unique class of candy: the type of candy where you pop it into your mouth and then immediately find yourself casting about for the etiquette rules on the most polite way to spit something out. Can you hawk it into the bushes? Can you spit it into a napkin, or must you retrieve it with your fingers? How close to the trash can must you put your face actually be so as not to offend? And if you choose not to spit it out, how finely must you chew it so that you can swallow it without requiring the Heimlich maneuver? ::ducks blows from Jo:: There are a few other candies that cause the same reaction for me. I think the only type of candy I wouldn't eat if I were marooned on a desert island is a chocolate-covered cherry out of one of those boxes of mixed chocolates. You hold this beautiful thing in your hand and admire it in the light, anticipating a wonderful experience with, say, chocolate and nougat and nuts if you are lucky, but failing to notice the tell-tale *leakage* on the bottom. You pop it into your mouth, and this sticky liquid explodes into the back of your throat, leaving you with a deflated cherry to chew. Yum. Yeah, I'd rather eat the peanut bomb chews than a chocolate-covered cherry! ;-) > No, the worst type of candy is that pink bubble gum that comes in >blue amd yellow wrappers. I've never met a single person who >actually liked it, but it was inevitably one of the more common >candies to receive (probably the cheapest). I think this gum is called "DubbleBubble" in the U.S. I actually do like it well enough (if it is fresh and soft, it is OK), but it is strangely lacking in depth and character; it is just sweet. I would never eat it around Halloween time, though. I think they must manufacturer that stuff in February and store it in a dehumidifier for months for distribution at Halloween time. As you say, it is rock-hard and impossible to chew. So ya gotta always buy it from a supplier with high turnover of inventory so you know it is fresh, and you'd never want to buy a huge bag of it in the Halloween section. You know what vintage candy really is overdue for a comeback, though? Well, there are lots of them, but I used to like those little Brach's toffees with different flavors inside: vanilla, chocolate, mocha. Also overdue for a resurgence are "Red Hots." I like all cinnamon candies because you can customize the intensity depending on how many you put into your mouth at one time. Kind of like wasabi. ;-) And Pixie sticks. These kids today don't even understand how to eat a Pixie stick properly. My kids somehow managed to *clog* the end of the tube. *Rookies.* Cindy -- who played "Scrabble" with the kids while we gorged on Halloween candy and who thinks her daughter probably cheated when she came up with "organic" for a triple word score, but who decided to praise daughter's genius rather than check her pockets for extra tiles From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 2 15:33:18 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 15:33:18 -0000 Subject: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' In-Reply-To: <20031102011742.89753.qmail@web21107.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Petra wrote: >> "Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest > Washington, was alerted to the peril when three > patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that > they had been suffering from headaches for two > or three days. > > "'In each case, the headache was dull and the > pain fluctuated throughout the day,' Bennett > wrote in a letter published in today's issue > of the New England Journal of Medicine... > > "...'On further questioning, it was determined > that each child had spent many hours reading > J.K. Rowling's latest book in the Harry Potter > series,' Bennett wrote in the letter, which > journal editors titled 'Hogwarts Headaches -- > Misery for Muggles.'" > Oh, for God's sake (and absolutely no disrespect to you Petra)... Now it is proved - everything you like doing is BAD for you. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 2 15:33:41 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 15:33:41 -0000 Subject: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' In-Reply-To: <20031102011742.89753.qmail@web21107.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Petra wrote: > Have you read the following article? > > Harry Potter and the Reader's Poundage Headache > Physician Advises Young Enthusiasts To Tome Down > By Rob Stein > Washington Post Staff Writer > Thursday, October 30, 2003; Page A03 > > Excerpt: > > "Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest > Washington, was alerted to the peril when three > patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that > they had been suffering from headaches for two > or three days. > > "'In each case, the headache was dull and the > pain fluctuated throughout the day,' Bennett > wrote in a letter published in today's issue > of the New England Journal of Medicine... > > "...'On further questioning, it was determined > that each child had spent many hours reading > J.K. Rowling's latest book in the Harry Potter > series,' Bennett wrote in the letter, which > journal editors titled 'Hogwarts Headaches -- > Misery for Muggles.'" > > The full article is at http://tinyurl.com/szwm > (aka http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ > articles/A38025-2003Oct29.html) > > Petra > a > n :) > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears > http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 15:27:34 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 09:27:34 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* References: Message-ID: <001001c3a155$d8468c20$1990aec7@rick> Am I the only one here who actually *likes* the peanut butter taffies that come in the black or orange wrappers? Candy corn is ok, Snickers and Three Musketeers are fine, Sugar Babies are too sweet, and Almond Joy and Mounds are either good or too sweet depending on my mood. My personal favorites were always Milk Duds or Resse's Peanut Butter Cups. Now I also like the milk chocolate eyeballs filled with soft caramel. My vote for the worst candy of all time isn't Double Bubbleas Corinthum thinks. It's that hard sheet of almost glass-like gum that used to come with packs of sports cards, stickers, or other collector's cards. (Notice that they pretty much gave up on including that stuff int he packs?) The worst thing you could get for Haloween, was either fruit (boxes of rasins were even lamer than apples or oranges), or those people who thought it was cool to give kids a small bag of pennies. (You know... the ones who gave you 10-15 pennies... Yeah, that's worth something...) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 15:29:20 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 09:29:20 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* References: <001001c3a155$d8468c20$1990aec7@rick> Message-ID: <001601c3a156$17659ae0$1990aec7@rick> > Am I the only one here who actually *likes* the peanut butter taffies that > come in the black or orange wrappers? > You know... I think this is the first time in my 12 years on the net that I forgot to sign an e-mail. That one, of course, was from me, Iggy McSnurd. Iggy McSnurd From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 2 15:39:15 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 15:39:15 -0000 Subject: Halloween - Miserable Brit Post In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June (putting on best fake Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen Sketch accent) wishes to make the following observation: By gum, you lot over there you don't know you're bloody born. When I were a lass, we had to make our own amusement and all we had were lanterns for Halloween which we made ourselves out of turnips. (Sadly true... even if it does sound like Baldrick in Blackadder) No sweets, certainly no 80 degrees weather - it is bloody freezing over here. Feeling rather sulky as not having a good time. Can you all say "aaaah!"? June From dhorton3 at cfl.rr.com Sun Nov 2 08:56:22 2003 From: dhorton3 at cfl.rr.com (Dianne) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 09:56:22 +0100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* References: <001001c3a155$d8468c20$1990aec7@rick> Message-ID: <002101c3a11f$30ab59e0$6401a8c0@cfl.rr.com> No Iggy.\, they are my favorites too. If that was all the candy there was I would be content. I am with you 100 %. MaryDianne3123 ----- Original Message ----- From: Iggy McSnurd To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* Am I the only one here who actually *likes* the peanut butter taffies that come in the black or orange wrappers? Candy corn is ok, Snickers and Three Musketeers are fine, Sugar Babies are too sweet, and Almond Joy and Mounds are either good or too sweet depending on my mood. My personal favorites were always Milk Duds or Resse's Peanut Butter Cups. Now I also like the milk chocolate eyeballs filled with soft caramel. My vote for the worst candy of all time isn't Double Bubbleas Corinthum thinks. It's that hard sheet of almost glass-like gum that used to come with packs of sports cards, stickers, or other collector's cards. (Notice that they pretty much gave up on including that stuff int he packs?) The worst thing you could get for Haloween, was either fruit (boxes of rasins were even lamer than apples or oranges), or those people who thought it was cool to give kids a small bag of pennies. (You know... the ones who gave you 10-15 pennies... Yeah, that's worth something...) Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Sun Nov 2 16:02:02 2003 From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com) Date: 2 Nov 2003 16:02:02 -0000 Subject: Reminder - Weekly Chat Message-ID: <1067788922.26.7674.m15@yahoogroups.com> We would like to remind you of this upcoming event. Weekly Chat Date: Sunday, November 2, 2003 Time: 11:00AM - 7:00PM CST (GMT-06:00) Hi everyone! Don't forget, chat happens today, 11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern, 7 pm UK time. *Chat times are not changing for Daylight Saving/Summer Time.* Chat generally goes on for about 5 hours, but can last as long as people want it to last. Go into any Yahoo chat room and type /join HP:1 For further info, see the Humongous BigFile, section 3.3. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/hbfile.html#33 Hope to see you there! From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 15:57:20 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 09:57:20 -0600 Subject: Too much Harry Potter? Message-ID: <000601c3a15a$0f3a1860$e5ee79a5@rick> Iggy here: Is this a sigh that the WW and Harry Potter books are too much a part of my life? When I read this headline: HP Eases Transfer of Tapes to DVD My first thought was: How on earth can Harry Potter transfer tapes to DVD? Reading the article, I discovered that it was about a new device being marketed by Hewlett-Packard to transfer your personal video tapes to DVD. Iggy McSnurd From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Sun Nov 2 17:35:52 2003 From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com) Date: 2 Nov 2003 17:35:52 -0000 Subject: New poll for HPFGU-OTChatter Message-ID: <1067794552.198.9352.w32@yahoogroups.com> Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the HPFGU-OTChatter group: Which is your favorite creature? o white owl o hippogriff o dragon o unicorn o phoenix o orange cat To vote, please visit the following web page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/surveys?id=1151101 Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups web site listed above. Thanks! From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 18:01:29 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 12:01:29 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New poll for HPFGU-OTChatter References: <1067794552.198.9352.w32@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <000901c3a16b$58a3ac80$9996aec7@rick> > Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the > HPFGU-OTChatter group: > > Which is your favorite creature? > > o white owl > o hippogriff > o dragon > o unicorn > o phoenix > o orange cat > Ummm... My favorite creatures (for the most part) aren't on there at all. Coyote, Wolf, Raven/Crow, Puma, Thunderbird, Bat, and Hawk... in that order. (Can't you sense a trend that my favorite animals are also important to Native American mythology? *grin*) If I had to pick something on that list, the Owl, but not a white owl, but a Horned Owl (like the one in the tattoo on my arm), or a dragon, since I have an Earth Dragon spirit... (I also wear a ring that my mom gave me for Christmas... His name is George, and after reading FBawtft, I figured out he's a Hebredean Black...) Iggy McSnurd From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr Sun Nov 2 18:30:21 2003 From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 18:30:21 -0000 Subject: More on succession and styles of address In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > Are "ma'am" and "sir" acceptable fallbacks according to protocol? > I've seen news footage of celebrities chatting with Queen Elizabeth > and addressing her as "ma'am." > One must also distinguish between subjects and other citizens. I have met Princess Anne and was asked to address her as "Madam" as I am of french nationality. Olivier From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 2 20:41:08 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 20:41:08 -0000 Subject: the fires came nowhere near me Message-ID: I have a hundred or so msgs to go before being caught up on OT (and a WEEK of msgs I haven't even started yet on main list) but I don't have time to finish before leaving home for a lecture about archaeology about first inhabitants of California ... so here are some replies to what I've read so far: Stasia wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19100 : << Yup. The pound is the best place to find fun and loving companions. >> My cats come from no-kill shelters (the late Nan and Obi) or from people who had to give away their cats (Sasha and Elway) or people who rescued a feral cat's litter (Taliesin and Pixy) or wandered in on their own (Cinnamon and Fancy), but I am terribly reluctant to go get a cat at the pound, because, altho' I would be saving one life, I would feel so awful about all the other cats I was leaving to be killed. Yolande's post http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19147 had the following appended to it: << L?che-vitrine ou l?che-?cran? Yahoo! Magasinage. >> Does that mean 'glass milk or screen milk"? Cindy C wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19196 : << The most exciting thing is that I saw a dress in a store that was so weird and bizarre that I tried it on. It was black, floor-length, with that whale bone rib stuff along the torso (man, that stuff is uncomfortable -- how did women *sit*?). >> In extreme cases, they didn't. They leaned against slanted boards propped against the wall. << Then it kind of created this alluring, curvy mermaid kind of thing in the hips. >> Ah, Morticia Addams costume. Seasonal (Halloween) merchandise. From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 2 20:43:31 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 12:43:31 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Too much Harry Potter? References: <000601c3a15a$0f3a1860$e5ee79a5@rick> Message-ID: <00f501c3a181$fa8fff60$a5301c40@aoldsl.net> Iggy wrote: You are not the first one who, when confronted with an add for HP (Hewlett-Packard) thinks of Harry Potter. I kept giggling through last holiday season everytime I saw ads for a product until my mother started giving me odd looks. Saitaina **** "Courtney, GI Joe had no balls," "Jack...I'm only an elected official here, I can't make decisions by myself!"-Mayor, Nightmare Before Christmas http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From grannybat at hotmail.com Sun Nov 2 22:08:07 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 22:08:07 -0000 Subject: Sweet Nostalgia In-Reply-To: <001601c3a156$17659ae0$1990aec7@rick> Message-ID: National Public Radio has an entire page devoted to the social/emotional/economic impact of candy--everything from The Ritual of the Peep to The Science of Candy Wrapper Sounds. "Oct. 31, 2003 -- Nowadays, most of us regard candy as a guilty pleasure, but during the Great Depression, sugary confections were marketed as a healthy and inexpensive source of nourishment...." Fascinating stuff. http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1485880.html Grannybat who misses Blackjack cinnamon gum From cwood at tattersallpub.com Sun Nov 2 23:05:19 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 23:05:19 -0000 Subject: Sweet Nostalgia In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Grannybat > who misses > Blackjack cinnamon gum I was a big fan of Fruit Stripes and Teaberry gum. Remember the "Teaberry Shuffle"? Ms. Tattersall who misses not having a mouthful of crowns From cwood at tattersallpub.com Sun Nov 2 23:14:16 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 23:14:16 -0000 Subject: Halloween - Miserable Brit Post In-Reply-To: Message-ID: wrote: > June (putting on best fake Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen Sketch > accent) wishes to make the following observation: > > By gum, you lot over there you don't know you're bloody born. > No sweets, certainly no 80 degrees weather - it is bloody freezing > over here. Halloween night in north Texas: something like 80 degrees at sundown, when the little candy thieves began venturing out. The weather report says we will soon see more seasonable temperatures, and I hear a collective sigh of relief across the state. But I can't figure out why people are *complaining* about it being warm at the first of November! This is awesome! Ms. Tattersall glad to be bloody born From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 23:08:25 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 17:08:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Sweet Nostalgia References: Message-ID: <001001c3a196$398b4260$39e579a5@rick> > > Grannybat > > who misses > > Blackjack cinnamon gum I always thought Blackjack was the licorice gum... > > I was a big fan of Fruit Stripes and Teaberry gum. Remember > the "Teaberry Shuffle"? > Ms. Tattersall > who misses > not having a mouthful of crowns > My personal favorite (and I wish I could find it down here in the south...) was Clove gum. It was made by the same company that made Blackjack. (Kings, or Crown... one of those two company names... I think...) Nobody could understand why I like that one so much, but it's just that I'm one of the few people I know who really likes the taste of cloves when they're used right. Iggy McSnurd (Who also smokes clove cigarettes for the taste, so he doesn't inhale... and that's the truth. I tried inhaling a few times.. burned my lungs too much since I'm not a real smoker... Now I just smoke them like cigars and a pipe... no inhale, just taste.) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 2 23:16:19 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 17:16:19 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Halloween - Miserable Brit Post References: Message-ID: <001501c3a197$541b1320$39e579a5@rick> > Halloween night in north Texas: something like 80 degrees at sundown, > when the little candy thieves began venturing out. The weather report > says we will soon see more seasonable temperatures, and I hear a > collective sigh of relief across the state. But I can't figure out > why people are *complaining* about it being warm at the first of > November! This is awesome! > Ms. Tattersall I don't like it at 80 deg. here in northern Alabama. My body puts out too many BTUs, partly because I wear a fur coat year round that's only slightly less dense than that possessed by Robin Williams. The humidity down here keeps all that heat in my body, so I begin to overheat down here at about 70 deg... I come from central California on the coast, so there's virtually no humidity where I grew up. 90 deg is easy to take there, and 45 deg is freezing. I'm still trying to get used to it down here. On the good side, I have an electric blanket on the bed, and my wife and I have never used it since I heat the bed up all by myself well enough. I can walk outside down here when it's 12 deg. (and have done so) in boots, jeans, and a tee shirt and be perfectly comfortable. The other reason people here hate 80 deg. this late in the year, and warm winters, is because the mosquito population will be a lot worse the next summer... and the thunder storms and chances of tornados will also be a lot worse during the next spring and summer as well. (I'm scared to death of tornados, even though I've never seen one. On the other hand, after being 15 miles from the Loma Prietta quake epicenter in Santa Cruz county when that thing hit in 1989, I can take a 6.5 quake without even blinking. I was on the third floor of a wooden house at the time. Not a fun experience.) Iggy McSnurd From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Mon Nov 3 00:18:00 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 00:18:00 -0000 Subject: Bloodletting (was Who of Royal Blood for William?) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Alshainofthenorth (lovely handle that) wrote: > (When Queen Victoria conducted politics by > marrying off her children, hemophilia spread to a lot of Royal Houses > on the Continent, so it can be rather risky as well...) Risky? It seems entirely consistent with the historic British approach to European power politics... corcaroliofthearmchair From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 00:36:56 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 00:36:56 -0000 Subject: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' In-Reply-To: <20031102011742.89753.qmail@web21107.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Petra wrote: > Have you read the following article? > > Harry Potter and the Reader's Poundage Headache > Physician Advises Young Enthusiasts To Tome Down > By Rob Stein > Washington Post Staff Writer > Thursday, October 30, 2003; Page A03 > > Excerpt: > > "Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest > Washington, was alerted to the peril when three > patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that > they had been suffering from headaches for two > or three days. > > ...edited.. > > Petra bboy_mn: I didn't get a headache, I got a backache that lasted for two weeks. It was so bad I could hardly get out of bed. Although, I suspect the endless hours I spent in bed reading the latest book was the cause of the backache. Ah well, it did give me an excuse to take long hot relaxing baths. bboy_mn From catlady at wicca.net Mon Nov 3 03:36:37 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 03:36:37 -0000 Subject: slightly less hurried now Message-ID: having caught up with OT but still not started main list. Iggy McSnurd wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19222 : << If *I* was the one who had to chose... I think I'd start my own house... *grin* Iggy McSnurd... Head of House Latrans (House Colors: Silver and Red, House Animal: Coyote House Members: Humorous, Wise, Outgoing, and lovers of Irony.) (Latrans is the latin species name for Coyote... btw) >> You left out 'fast, efficient killer'. Btw, doesn't "latrans" means "thief"? Pengolodh_sc wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19263 : << <> Queen Elizabeth only had one mother. >> I laughed out loud. Then David came along with his Official Mother to go along with Official Birthday. Melissa wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19283 : << Catlady has the neatest name, I think! >> Thank you! From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 04:07:57 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 04:07:57 -0000 Subject: New poll for HPFGU-OTChatter In-Reply-To: <000901c3a16b$58a3ac80$9996aec7@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" > Ummm... My favorite creatures (for the most part) aren't on there at all. > > Coyote, Wolf, Raven/Crow, Puma, Thunderbird, Bat, and Hawk... in that order. (Can't you sense a trend that my favorite animals are also important to Native American mythology? *grin*) > > If I had to pick something on that list, the Owl, but not a white owl, but a Horned Owl (like the one in the tattoo on my arm), or a dragon, since I have an Earth Dragon spirit... (I also wear a ring that my mom gave me for Christmas... His name is George, and after reading FBawtft, I figured out he's a Hebredean Black...) > > Iggy McSnurd I think the poll is designed to determine your favorite *HP* animal, lol. Coyotes don't count. So you like great horned owls, huh? I have a pair living in my yard, and I HATE them. Ok, you may think, what is she talking about, doesn't she know how completely cool it is to have a pair of Great Horned Owls around? Yeah, I thought so too, when they first moved in. About five years ago, I looked up a bunch of stuff about them on the internet. What I mostly found was a bunch of newspaper articles about them eating people's cats and small dogs. Well, I have two cats, and I had just gotten a small white Maltese puppy! There were also articles about them eating chickens, and a quote from a farmer that went (I kid you not) "They like the white ones best". Well, since then I've lived in fear that one of the owls will decide to snack on my precious pets. Do you know how annoying it is to have a perfectly good backyard and be afraid to let your dog go out into it alone? Mornings and evenings (prime hunting times) I always have to stay very close to her when I let her out, scanning the skies for swooping owls. I mean, skunks and raccoons are listed as examples of these things' diets! They can carry up to 20 lbs. And I believe it. The size of their wings is incredible. Well, Serena, my dog, only weighs 8 lbs. So I hate the owls. And also, any time it is the least bit cold- November through March, as I live in Alabama,- these things hoot half the night. Extremely annoying after a while. Erin From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 05:38:18 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 23:38:18 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] slightly less hurried now References: Message-ID: <001801c3a1cc$b11bdf20$37ee79a5@rick> From: Catlady > having caught up with OT but still not started main list. > > Iggy McSnurd wrote in > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19222 : > > << If *I* was the one who had to chose... I think I'd start my own > house... *grin* > > Iggy McSnurd... > Head of House Latrans > (House Colors: Silver and Red, House Animal: Coyote > House Members: Humorous, Wise, Outgoing, and lovers of Irony.) > (Latrans is the latin species name for Coyote... btw) >> > > You left out 'fast, efficient killer'. Iggy here: Hey... It's only for survival... (And after all, isn't it better to be fast and efficient if you need to do a deed like that, rather than slow and inefficient? *grin*) >Btw, doesn't "latrans" mean "thief"? > According to the Notre Dame Latin to English translator, when you input "latrans: you get: latrator : a barker (such as a dog) latratus : barking Some other words that share a root segment in Latin with Latrans are: latrator : a barker (such as a dog). latratus : barking. latro : bandit. latro : (-are) to bark, bay/ rant/ rumble, roar. latro : (-onis) hunter. latro : (-onis) hired servant/ mercenary soldier. latro : robber, bandit, brigand. So, if you go by "latr" as a root (which, if I would recall correctly in Latin, you wouldn't) then it shares a common segment with bandits, hunters and thieves. However, as Canis lupus is the genus and species names for wolves in general, with lupus being directly translated as wolf, then it is logical to assume that latrans would stem from the latrator, with a meaning that would be "barking dog." The name Coyote itself stems from the Aztec word, Coyotl, which literally translates as "barking dog." thus supporting my earlier comment that the origin of "latrans" as a designation stems from the root of "latrator" and not from "latro" or "latronis." The word "latrans" itself has no direct Latin translation, which is the language used for biological taxonomy. As for Coyotes being thieves, again, it's for survival... (Unless you're talking about the Totem Spirit, Coyote... then it's for fun. *grin*) But the thief aspect is more by reputation, rather than by name. As an interesting little side note, Wiley E. Coyote from the Warner Brothers cartoons was based directly on the Native American Totem of Coyote. The highly intelligent trickster who is often too clever for his own good and frequently caught in his own tricks. Those of us who have Coyote as their Spirit Guide often live interesting lives, as we frequently learn more from our mistakes than from someone saying "I wouldn't do that if I were you." On the good side, unlike most people out there, we learn quickly from those mistakes and rarely make the same ones twice. *grin* So long as you can look at yourself and laugh at the situations you get into, Coyote will usually help you think of a way to get back out. You might not always get back out with your pride fully intact, but you get out... Fortunately, we're also a lot more likely to use our wits and ability to fast talk than our fists and ability to fight. By an interesting coincidence, many people see the "children of Coyote" as being more than a little nuts because of how we see the world and live our lives... This is interesting when you consider that "latrator" means "a barker", and calling someone "barking" (IIRC) is British slang for saying someone is insane... I hope this helps explain things. *grin* Iggy McSnurd (aka: Coyote's Child) From jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu Mon Nov 3 07:15:39 2003 From: jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu (Jen Faulkner) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 02:15:39 -0500 (EST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] slightly less hurried now In-Reply-To: <001801c3a1cc$b11bdf20$37ee79a5@rick> References: <001801c3a1cc$b11bdf20$37ee79a5@rick> Message-ID: On Sun, 2 Nov 2003, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > The word "latrans" itself has no direct Latin translation, which is the > language used for biological taxonomy. Well, it does have a direct translation. It means "barking;" it's the present (active) participle of latro, latrare, 'bark'. (I don't think there's an etymological connection between latro, bark, and latro, thief; for latro, bark, cf. Gk. loideros, 'abuse', but for latro, thief, cf. Gk. latris, 'hireling' and L. lucrum, 'profit'.) --Jen :) * * * * * * Jen's HP fics: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jfaulkne/fan/hp.html Snapeslash listmom: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snapeslash Yes, I *am* the Deictrix. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Mon Nov 3 08:28:27 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 08:28:27 -0000 Subject: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "> > Have you read the following article? > > > > Harry Potter and the Reader's Poundage Headache > > Physician Advises Young Enthusiasts To Tome Down > > By Rob Stein > > Washington Post Staff Writer > > Thursday, October 30, 2003; Page A03 > > > > Excerpt: > > > > "Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Northwest > > Washington, was alerted to the peril when three > > patients, ages 8 to 10, complained in June that > > they had been suffering from headaches for two > > or three days. > > > > "'In each case, the headache was dull and the > > pain fluctuated throughout the day,' Bennett > > wrote in a letter published in today's issue > > of the New England Journal of Medicine... > > > > "...'On further questioning, it was determined > > that each child had spent many hours reading > > J.K. Rowling's latest book in the Harry Potter > > series,' Bennett wrote in the letter, which > > journal editors titled 'Hogwarts Headaches -- > > Misery for Muggles.'" > > > > The full article is at http://tinyurl.com/szwm > > (aka http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ > > articles/A38025-2003Oct29.html) > > > > The true sign of total insanity is replying to ones own post - but it occurred to me, that the real physical risk to any reader must be that of dropping the Hardback version of Order of the Phoenix on ones foot. June From paulag5777 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 11:48:17 2003 From: paulag5777 at yahoo.com (Paula Gaon) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 03:48:17 -0800 (PST) Subject: New Poll Message-ID: <20031103114817.3500.qmail@web40013.mail.yahoo.com> 3Nov03 Please vote in the new poll: "Which is your favorite creature?" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/polls Thanks, Paula "Griff" Gaon --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz Mon Nov 3 13:20:51 2003 From: vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz (=?iso-8859-1?q?Vinnia?=) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 02:20:51 +1300 (NZDT) Subject: HPFGU-OTChatter] Too much Harry Potter? In-Reply-To: <000601c3a15a$0f3a1860$e5ee79a5@rick> Message-ID: <20031103132051.81979.qmail@web41211.mail.yahoo.com> --- Iggy McSnurd wrote: --------------------------------- Is this a sigh that the WW and Harry Potter books are too much a part of my life? When I read this headline: HP Eases Transfer of Tapes to DVD My first thought was: How on earth can Harry Potter transfer tapes to DVD? Reading the article, I discovered that it was about a new device being marketed by Hewlett-Packard to transfer your personal video tapes to DVD. Vinnia: Similar thing had happened to me. I think it was last year, I was in a friend's office staring out of the windows, and saw a flag with 'LV' on it. I thought, Lord Voldemort? Why put his 'advertisement' in the middle of a busy muggle business district? Of course, that LV actually stands for Louis Vuitton, not Lord Voldemort! I refrained from reading HP for a month after that! Vinnia http://personals.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Personals New people, new possibilities. FREE for a limited time. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 13:33:52 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 07:33:52 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] slightly less hurried now References: <001801c3a1cc$b11bdf20$37ee79a5@rick> Message-ID: <000d01c3a20f$209439a0$abe379a5@rick> From: "Jen Faulkner > On Sun, 2 Nov 2003, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > > > The word "latrans" itself has no direct Latin translation, which is the > > language used for biological taxonomy. Jen: > Well, it does have a direct translation. It means "barking;" it's the > present (active) participle of latro, latrare, 'bark'. Iggy here: Hmmm... From what research I did last night I got the following: latrator : a barker (such as a dog) latratus : barking In every on-line Latin to English translator, there was no result found when I entered "latrans" into their search engines. (I visited at least 10 different sites to check this out...) The only translation I have found where "latrans" would mean "barking" is in direct relation to canis latrans. Of course, never having studied Latin myself, I am limited in my knowledge of the etymology of that used in the biological taxonomy of species. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 13:43:28 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 07:43:28 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: 'Hogwarts Headaches -- Misery for Muggles' References: Message-ID: <002201c3a210$77bda6c0$abe379a5@rick> I have one question for any physician who can't find a solution to these headaches that the kids are apparently having: "Have you ever heard of eye strain headaches?" For one thing, the kids might need to be tested for glasses if they spend so much time reading. I know that's part of why I need them. I read so much that most of my time was, and still is, spent focusing at something only a couple of feet from my face. If it gets bad enough, an eye strain, or neck tension (from holding your head in the same position all day, especially if it's bent down to read...) headache can last for days. I'm confused as to why they're making such a big deal out of a coincidental cause when they don't state whether ot not they bothered to check for any other possibilities. That's like saying someone got rabies because they own a dog. (Never mind the fact that the person got bit by a rabid racoon while on a camping trip...) Iggy McSnurd From eberte at vaeye.com Mon Nov 3 16:10:01 2003 From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 16:10:01 -0000 Subject: Favorite HP moments Message-ID: Hi All! I was just listening again to the audiotape of GoF today (for the gazillionth time) and got to the graveyard scene. I realized as I was listening to it that it was my absolute *favorite* scene in the books. That got me wondering about other people's favorite scenes (since this list is so diverse.) My votes: Favorite dramatic scene: Graveyard scene in GoF -- the only true Harry/LV show-down so far. ("We are not playing hide-and-seek Harry..." Second runner-up: Snape/Harry "turn-out-your-pockets" scene in PoA (after Harry gets caught sneaking into Hogsmeade) Favorite comic scene: Fred/George swamp scene and departure (OoP) Favorite Tear-jerking scene: Harry being hugged by Molly Weasley at the end of GoF ("He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother.") Elle From gromm at cards.lanck.net Mon Nov 3 18:23:08 2003 From: gromm at cards.lanck.net (crookshanks4) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 18:23:08 -0000 Subject: Too much Harry Potter? In-Reply-To: <00f501c3a181$fa8fff60$a5301c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: >Saitaina wrote: > > You are not the first one who, when > confronted with an add for HP > (Hewlett-Packard) thinks of Harry Potter. I > kept giggling through last holiday season > everytime I saw ads for a product until my > mother started giving me odd looks. Maria here: Oh boy, you are NOT the only one. I amile each time when I see the logo on my printer! Maria. From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Mon Nov 3 18:26:27 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 18:26:27 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Halloween Costume Contest In-Reply-To: <410-22003103297127219@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Hello, Everyone! Just a quick reminder that we're still accepting entries for our Halloween Costume Contest today and tomorrow, so don't forget to upload your photos and show off how creative you were for the holiday! Here are the details: To enter, simply upload a photo of yourself, a family member, or a friend into one of the folders inside "HALLOWEEN 2003" located in the Photos section here at OTChatter. You may enter in the following categories: Best Harry Potter themed costume Scariest costume Cutest/Prettiest costume Funniest costume Most original costume Sexiest costume (that can be worn in public without getting arrested) We'll be accepting your entries until 8pm PT/11pm ET Tuesday, November 4th (aka 4am GMT Wednesday, November 5th), after which time polls will be set up so we can all vote for our favourites. The winner in each category will receive an e-plaque, to be displayed in the Photos section of this group. Though we're especially interested in seeing what sort of Harry Potter costumes you've devised, submissions of all types are welcome. A few rules and guidelines: Photos must be of people you actually know (yourself, a friend or family member), and remember to get permission from the person in the photo before uploading to the group. When entering a photo, please provide the following information: a description of the costume, the name of the person in the photo (first names only or pseudonyms are fine), and also the name of the person submitting the photo. This information can be included in the photo description, which you can edit once you've uploaded your photo into the appropriate folder. Please be sure to upload the photos into the *category* folders (not into the overall HALLOWEEN 2003 folder itself) or we won't know which category you wish to enter. You may enter each photo in two categories if you wish (for example, a Dementor costume might be entered into "Harry Potter" and "Scariest"), but no more than two categories per photo. In order to save file space and to make sure there will be room for all the entries people wish to submit, please make sure you've formatted your photo properly before uploading, so that the file size is approximately 50k. To get a file of this size, we suggest resizing your photo so that the longest side is no more than 500 pixels long, and then saving as a compressed .jpg file. This should produce a file of the appropriate size that will still be fine for viewing on the Internet. Make certain to resize a copy - not your original. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact Hebby Elf at hebrideanblack@ earthlink.net. If you do not have the means to reformat your photos, you may send them to Hebby at that address, with "Costume Contest Photo" as the subject line and she'll be happy to reformat and upload them for you. When sending photos to Hebby, make sure to include the information requested above, and also the category (or categories) in which you would like the photo to be entered. We can't wait to see your costumes! Sincerely, Our Wizarding Leaders - the Rather Eerie Admin Team (OWLTREAT) From tammy at mauswerks.net Mon Nov 3 18:49:45 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 13:49:45 -0500 Subject: Oh, here's a cute one my hubby sent home from work. :) Message-ID: <3FA65CF9.6091.E5019@localhost> A blonde, wanting to earn some extra money, decided to hire herself out as a "handy-woman" and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do. "Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch," he said. "How much will you charge me?" The blonde quickly responded, "How about $50?" The man agreed and told her that the paint and everything she would need were in the garage. The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she realize that our porch goes all the way around the house?" He responded, "That's a bit cynical, isn't it?" The wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those "dumb blonde jokes" we've been getting by e-mail lately." A short time e later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money. "You're finished already?" the husband asked. "Yes, the blonde replied, 'and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats." Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50. "And by the way," the blonde added, "it's not a Porch, it's a Lexus". *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From gromm at cards.lanck.net Mon Nov 3 19:02:30 2003 From: gromm at cards.lanck.net (Maria Gromova) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 22:02:30 +0300 Subject: Too much Harry Potter? Message-ID: <001d01c3a23d$09e652a0$2d41983e@rcomputer> And when I search for a file, I'm not sure sometimes if a file that appeared as a reault of my search is from the folder with my Rowling-relates files or from another, with the software for the printer. It can be very confusing, bacause I naturally assume the first. Maria -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cindysphynx at comcast.net Mon Nov 3 19:16:41 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 19:16:41 -0000 Subject: Favorite HP moments In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Elle wrote: > My votes: > Favorite dramatic scene: Graveyard scene in GoF -- the only true > Harry/LV show-down so far. ("We are not playing > hide-and-seek Harry..." Oh, yes. I think that is the single best dramatic scene. As measured against the yardstick of "inability to put the darn book down and feed the children." > Second runner-up: Snape/Harry "turn-out-your-pockets" scene in PoA > (after Harry gets caught sneaking into >Hogsmeade) Good choice in the category, "Not a life-threatening situation, but this is gonna turn out to be *important!*" > Favorite comic scene: Fred/George swamp scene and departure (OoP) Mmmmm. That one didn't do it for me. I think I want to go with "All Things Aunt Marge." But I could be persuaded to change my mind. > Favorite Tear-jerking scene: Harry being hugged by Molly Weasley > at the end of GoF ("He had no memory of ever > being hugged like this, as though by a mother.") > I'm *Way* too tough to cry. Soory, can't help you there. ;-) May I add a category of my very own? Absolute-Most-Favorite-Main-List-Post-That-Can-Cheer-Me-Up When-I'm-Down-But-Not-Too-Far-Down: It's a *tie!* Tabouli's TBAY post on Mrs. Norris: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/36367 Elkins' TBAY post on Fourth Man: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/36664 Man, I get a rush every time I read those! Cindy -- who means no disrespect to the other 11,000+ posts on the main list but who keeps coming back to those two posts just . . . *because,* that's why From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 20:00:34 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 14:00:34 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Favorite HP moments References: Message-ID: <006701c3a245$25e4ca60$d497aec7@rick> > My votes: > Favorite dramatic scene: The battle in the MoM in OotP tops my list... from the point at which Lucius Malfoy's voice is first heard, through the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort. I couldn't put the book down for this part, since you had this feeling through to the end that "something else is gonna happen..." > Second runner-up: The tension of the scene in the Shrieking Shack from PoA. From the arrival of Padfoot dragging Ron into the tunnel through to when everyone was heading out of the shack. This scene actually held more drama, IMHO, than even most of the rest of the book. You were finally going to find out what really happened, and still needed to figgure out for yourself who was really telling the truth. > Favorite comic scene: Fred/George swamp scene and departure (OoP) I think I'd have to agree with this one... I think the only thing I see that comes close is the events following when the teachers at Hogwarts proceed to help "dismantle" Umbridge in the most polite ways imaginable. For a "quick shot" description, my all time favorite is the image of Peeves chasing Umbridge from the school grounds while alternately whacking her with McGonagall's walking stick, and a sock full of chalk... > > Favorite Tear-jerking scene: Harry being hugged by Molly Weasley > at the end of GoF ("He had no memory of ever > being hugged like this, as though by a mother.") > > For me, it would be either that, or the short scene when Harry realizes that his Patronus is, in essence, his own father. (It's the knowledge that, in one way or another, his father is still there to protect him just as his mother is.) Which brings me to an interesting point. Everyone keeps dwelling on the fact that Lilly's love for Harry protects him from Lord Voldemort through the ancient magics... But nobody seems to recognize that James protects Harry almost as much, by shielding him from the Dementors as Harry's Patronus. Both give love just as strongly, even after death, but their forms of protection differ. Lilly shields him with love... James shields him with courage. Just a thought. Iggy McSnurd From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr Mon Nov 3 20:29:09 2003 From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 20:29:09 -0000 Subject: HP Fonts Message-ID: Hi all, Does anyone know where I could find the fonts used for the chapter title in the Bloomsbury edition of HP or alternatively the font used for the movie title ? Thanks, Olivier From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 21:16:29 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 13:16:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? Message-ID: <20031103211629.56429.qmail@web21103.mail.yahoo.com> Could someone in the UK tell me this: do your telephone dialing mechanism have letters assigned to each of the 10 digits (except "1")? I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the following has yielded any significance to *me* so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one of you... "6" M-N-O "2" A-B-C "4" G-H-I "4" G-H-I "2" A-B-C (from US HB 125th page of 870) Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From cristina_angelo at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 21:30:10 2003 From: cristina_angelo at yahoo.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Cristina_Rebelo_=C2ngelo?=) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 22:30:10 +0100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? In-Reply-To: <20031103211629.56429.qmail@web21103.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dial M for Murder? (for all you youngsters out there, it was a Hitchcock's film :) *** Cristina Rebelo ?ngelo HYPERLINK "http://www.cangelo.novelcity.com/"www.cangelo.novelcity.com / ICQ 106255886 / Yahoo Messenger cristina_angelo / Fax (USA) 001-425-920-0285 HPGCv1 a31 e++ x+ -- z+++ A27 Rhp HPa S+++ Mo HaP++ HG++ RW++ AD++ RH+++ VK& NhN& SB& DM--- O++ F sfD Any attached file not mentioned in the body of the message may be a virus; if present, delete it for the sake of your computer, and inform the sender. Thank you. "Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour tracer un chemin/ Et forcer le destin/ A chaque carrefour Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour parler aux canons/ Et rien qu'une chanson/ Pour coinvancre un tambour Alors sans avoir rien/ Que la force d'aimer/ Nous aurons dans nos mains/ Amis le monde entier" J.Brel 1956 -----Original Message----- From: Petra [mailto:ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com] Sent: lundi 3 novembre 2003 22:16 To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? Could someone in the UK tell me this: do your telephone dialing mechanism have letters assigned to each of the 10 digits (except "1")? I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the following has yielded any significance to *me* so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one of you... "6" M-N-O "2" A-B-C "4" G-H-I "4" G-H-I "2" A-B-C (from US HB 125th page of 870) Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears HYPERLINK "http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/"http://launch.yahoo.com/promo s/britneyspears/ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor HYPERLINK "http://rd.yahoo.com/M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=17075441 08:HM/A=1524963/R=0/SIG=12o885gmo/*http://hits.411web.com/cgi-bin/autoredir? camp=556&lineid=3614674&prop=egroupweb&pos=HM" HYPERLINK "http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D=egroupmai l/S=:HM/A=1524963/rand=516842468" ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/"http://gro ups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the HYPERLINK "http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/"Yahoo! Terms of Service. --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.532 / Virus Database: 326 - Release Date: 27/10/2003 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.532 / Virus Database: 326 - Release Date: 27/10/2003 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From tammy at mauswerks.net Mon Nov 3 21:34:19 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 16:34:19 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? In-Reply-To: <20031103211629.56429.qmail@web21103.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <3FA6838B.18041.81168A@localhost> On 3 Nov 2003 at 13:16, Petra wrote: > Could someone in the UK tell me this: do your > telephone dialing mechanism have letters > assigned to each of the 10 digits (except "1")? > > I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that > Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the > MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the > following has yielded any significance to *me* > so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one > of you... > > "6" M-N-O > "2" A-B-C > "4" G-H-I > "4" G-H-I > "2" A-B-C You're not serious, right? I mean, you really can't see it? It's crystal clear, to me. M-A-G-I-C *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 21:45:33 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 15:45:33 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? References: <20031103211629.56429.qmail@web21103.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <00c501c3a253$d0130ac0$d497aec7@rick> > I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that > Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the > MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the > following has yielded any significance to *me* > so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one > of you... > > "6" M-N-O > "2" A-B-C > "4" G-H-I > "4" G-H-I > "2" A-B-C > Iggy here: How about that they spell out "MAGIC"? Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 3 21:53:27 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 15:53:27 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? References: <20031103211629.56429.qmail@web21103.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <001401c3a254$eafe6900$4286aec7@rick> Iggy here, and trying this again since it looks like Yahoomort AK'd my first try on this reply... > I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that > Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the > MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the > following has yielded any significance to *me* > so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one > of you... > > "6" M-N-O > "2" A-B-C > "4" G-H-I > "4" G-H-I > "2" A-B-C > Iggy here: How about that they spell out "MAGIC"? (First column on the first three numbers, last column on the last two numbers...) Iggy McSnurd From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk Mon Nov 3 22:39:52 2003 From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth) Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 22:39:52 -0000 Subject: Bloodletting (was Who of Royal Blood for William?) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > Alshainofthenorth (lovely handle that) wrote: > > > (When Queen Victoria conducted politics by > > marrying off her children, hemophilia spread to a lot of Royal > Houses > > on the Continent, so it can be rather risky as well...) > > Risky? It seems entirely consistent with the historic British > approach to European power politics... > > corcaroliofthearmchair Weaken your enemy by any means possible? :-) If I had to choose a disease to cripple my potential enemies I'd take something that was a bit more predictable than hemophilia and didn't have the possibility to backfire on me. Or just a violently mutating influenza virus. Alshain (liked the star, Aquila and the Summer Triangle ever since I got an interest in stars and astronomy. Orion and The Great Dog are gorgeous, bright constellations, but in these latitudes they signal the onset of the long, dark Northern winter. Seeing Aquila rise in the late-night sky means you've survived another year.) From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 23:09:40 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 15:09:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Ringing the MoM - is there a code in 6-2-4-4-2? In-Reply-To: <3FA6838B.18041.81168A@localhost> Message-ID: <20031103230940.13831.qmail@web21107.mail.yahoo.com> Yours truly: > > Could someone in the UK tell me this: do your > > telephone dialing mechanism have letters > > assigned to each of the 10 digits (except "1")? > > > > I'm curious about the sequence of numbers that > > Arthur Weasley used to gain entrance into the > > MoM with Harry for the hearing. Not that the > > following has yielded any significance to *me* > > so far...but maybe it will ring a bell in one > > of you... > > > > "6" M-N-O > > "2" A-B-C > > "4" G-H-I > > "4" G-H-I > > "2" A-B-C Tammy: > You're not serious, right? I mean, you really > can't see it? It's crystal clear, to me. > M-A-G-I-C You won't believe how many muggle "can't see the forest for the trees" co-workers I have who didn't get this...though to be fair, they didn't have the list (just a phone) in front of them... Petra a n ;P __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Tue Nov 4 00:17:59 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 00:17:59 -0000 Subject: Mmmm, Snickers are the *best!* In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jennifer Piersol" wrote: > > Do you mean Skybars? > > I have a feeling people are going to hate me for posting this, > especially since we've all overdosed on our children's candy, but if > you're into "retro" candy, and can't find it anywhere, go here: > > http://www.groovycandies.com/ > > > > -Jen OOO!! YES!! Skybars! How could I forget? Thanks Jen! I love those things! And thanks for the candyweb page. Gonna check it out right away! Anna . . . From andie at knownet.net Tue Nov 4 02:20:47 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 02:20:47 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter Trivia Chat Message-ID: Hey everybody! I was fiddling with the idea of a Harry Potter Trivia Chat Room last week after spending some time in the Trivia Madness room here on Yahoo. Someone (thanks Heidi :) was nice enough to offer me a tryout at fictionalley, but for some reason, my email keeps preventing me from accessing priviledges on that sight right now. It's been a very busy week anyway for me and I haven't had much time to play around... but, back to my reason for writing... I found out just now how easy it is to create your own chatroom here on Yahoo! The problem is getting other people to join it, so I just thought I'd let you guys knows that the name of the room I created is Harry Potter Trivia:1, so you can go into any chatroom and type /join Harry Potter Trivia:1 and get there. I would just like to try this out and see how it works. I'm thinking that the rules would be the same as the Trivia Madness... Questions in all caps, whoever answers first, takes the next question. (Only difference would be Potter related questions instead of general trivia) Andrea :) (who isn't sure if she is allowed to post this kind of stuff on here, so i'm very sorry if i'm not) From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 4 08:14:55 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 18:14:55 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Furry Trivia References: Message-ID: <01a901c3a2b2$3d98d350$69984cca@Monteith> >June wrote > Me being an absolute sucker for this then spent the next half hour > on living room rug playing rub the tummy with the cat. > > So cat, dog and other pet owners, how does your furry little mate > get your attention? My grey fluffy kitty will sit in front of me on the computer desk, sit on top of the monitor or indeed will use my arms as a hammock as I try to type. She sometimes tries to help me type. My black kitty will just bite me. Nox From jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu Tue Nov 4 06:41:44 2003 From: jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu (Jen Faulkner) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 01:41:44 -0500 (EST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] slightly less hurried now In-Reply-To: <000d01c3a20f$209439a0$abe379a5@rick> References: <001801c3a1cc$b11bdf20$37ee79a5@rick> <000d01c3a20f$209439a0$abe379a5@rick> Message-ID: On Mon, 3 Nov 2003, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > > Well, it does have a direct translation. It means "barking;" it's the > > present (active) participle of latro, latrare, 'bark'. > Hmmm... From what research I did last night I got the following: > > latrator : a barker (such as a dog) > latratus : barking > > In every on-line Latin to English translator, there was no result found when > I entered "latrans" into their search engines. (I visited at least 10 > different sites to check this out...) The only translation I have found > where "latrans" would mean "barking" is in direct relation to canis latrans. That's the problem with online dictionaries/translation engines for highly inflected languages in a nutshell: they can't find forms that aren't the first (dictionary entry) form. Think of it this way: if you want to look up an English word, it's fairly simple to figure out what its base from is. For example, you would know not to look "kicked" up under that form; you'd look for "kick" instead. Same with Latin, only there are many, many more endings that can be attached to the base form. So the verb bark, in English, has four inflected forms: bark, barks, barking, and barked. In Latin, it's got more than 50. Latro, I bark. Latras, you bark. Latrat, he barks... and on and on. Latrans is one of these forms. Just like 'barking' the participle (an adjective made from a verb) is easily formed from the English verb 'bark', so is 'latrans' from 'latro'. canis latrans 'the barking dog' canis latrantis 'of the barking dog' cani latranti 'to the barking dog' canem latrantem '(e.g. I love) the barking dog' cane latranti '(e.g. from) the barking dog' canes latrantes 'the barking dogs' canum latrantium 'of the barking dogs' canibus latrantibus 'to the barking dogs' canes latrantis '(e.g. I love) the barking dogs' canes latrantibus '(e.g. from) the barking dogs' And you wouldn't find any of those in a dictionary. If anyone is interested in trying to find Latin inflected forms online, you can use the Morphological Analyzer at the Perseus Project (www.perseus.tufts.edu): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/resolveform It'll take a form like latrantibus and tell you what it's from, which should help some. It won't translate it for you, though it will tell you what the dictionary entry form means (e.g., it'll tell you latrantibus is the dat/abl pl. m/f/n present active participle of latro, which means 'bark'). I highly recommend it over *any* other online source, because it's done by Classicists and is based on authoritative sources (the Lewis and Short dictionary). There's a dictionary lookup tool in addition to the morphological analyzer. --Jen, who really misses teaching Latin and Greek and begs indulgence for her tendency to go on about this sort of thing. :) * * * * * * Jen's HP fics: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jfaulkne/fan/hp.html Snapeslash listmom: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snapeslash Yes, I *am* the Deictrix. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 4 20:12:38 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 14:12:38 -0600 Subject: A quick question... Message-ID: <001401c3a310$00adcbe0$d585aec7@rick> Hi all... Iggy here with a quick question for you Brits... What are the 2-3 most major newspapers in the London area that would be likely to report on an unusual occurrence at a government facility? (We're not talking the "three headed bat boy born to 3000 year old mummy and fathered by Elvis" type thing. Just something happening that people can't quite figure out why or how it happened...) Thanks Iggy McSnurd From drednort at alphalink.com.au Tue Nov 4 20:47:21 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 07:47:21 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] slightly less hurried now In-Reply-To: References: <000d01c3a20f$209439a0$abe379a5@rick> Message-ID: <3FA8AB09.8428.4489F14@localhost> On 4 Nov 2003 at 1:41, Jen Faulkner wrote: > In Latin, it's got more than 50. Latro, I bark. Latras, you bark. > Latrat, he barks... and on and on. Ack! Flashbacks! Flashbacks //scenes of 30 identically clad, all in grey, 13 year olds chanting 'Amo, Amas, Amat...'// Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 4 21:23:34 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 21:23:34 -0000 Subject: A quick question... In-Reply-To: <001401c3a310$00adcbe0$d585aec7@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Hi all... > > Iggy here with a quick question for you Brits... > > What are the 2-3 most major newspapers in the London area that would be > likely to report on an unusual occurrence at a government facility? (We're > not talking the "three headed bat boy born to 3000 year old mummy and > fathered by Elvis" type thing. Just something happening that people can't > quite figure out why or how it happened...) > > Iggy McSnurd Here's four: The Times The Guardian The Independant The Daily Telegraph All "broadsheets" ie large size and serious newspapers. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 4 21:25:53 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 21:25:53 -0000 Subject: slightly less hurried now In-Reply-To: <3FA8AB09.8428.4489F14@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > On 4 Nov 2003 at 1:41, Jen Faulkner wrote: > > > In Latin, it's got more than 50. Latro, I bark. Latras, you bark. > > Latrat, he barks... and on and on. > > Ack! Flashbacks! Flashbacks //scenes of 30 identically clad, all in grey, 13 year > olds chanting 'Amo, Amas, Amat...'// > > I see your first conjugation and raise you to "Ferro, Tulli, Latum" "Timeo danae et dona ferrentes" or words to that effect. June From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 4 22:50:10 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:50:10 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Furry Trivia References: <01a901c3a2b2$3d98d350$69984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <000901c3a326$02966000$cbe479a5@rick> > >June wrote > > Me being an absolute sucker for this then spent the next half hour > > on living room rug playing rub the tummy with the cat. > > > > So cat, dog and other pet owners, how does your furry little mate > > get your attention? Iggy here: Milo (our large, mackerel tabby who's about a year old...) will lay on my belly if I'm reclining and watching tv, or lay on my legs when I'm at the computer. Biscuit (my step-son's new orange female tiger cat who's about 3 months old or so) will meow like crazy, or simply start climbing up the leg of my pants. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 4 23:04:19 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 17:04:19 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A quick question... References: Message-ID: <003201c3a327$fe420f20$cbe479a5@rick> From: June > > Here's four: > > The Times > The Guardian > The Independant > The Daily Telegraph > > All "broadsheets" ie large size and serious newspapers. > > June Iggy here: Are those the complete names? Or just the name that those familiar with them call those papers? (Do they include city or district names? (ie: People from Santa Cruz tend to refer to the Santa Cruz Sentinel simply as "the Sentinel.") Iggy McSnurd From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 4 23:49:38 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 09:49:38 +1000 Subject: The Potion Maker! Message-ID: <00e101c3a32e$51335e90$63984cca@Monteith> http://mavra.perilith.com/~rfreebern/potion/ This is a fun little link to try. Nox From s_ings at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 01:14:21 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 20:14:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, Penny! Message-ID: <20031105011421.18089.qmail@web41109.mail.yahoo.com> *surveys the tastefully decorated room and the food-laden tables then throws good sense out the window and flings confetti everywhere* Don't be shy, help yourselves to some cake and settle in for a good time. Today's birthday honouree is Penny. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: pennylin at swbell.net I hope your day is filled with fun, magic and the company of good friends. Happy Birthday, Penny! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From s_ings at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 01:19:38 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 20:19:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: Belated Birthday Wishes! Message-ID: <20031105011938.48662.qmail@web41111.mail.yahoo.com> *slinks around the corner with extra balloons and cakes and hopes no one is paying close attention* Have forgotten two birthdays, bad elf that I am. Will iron my fingers after getting these belated wishes onto the list. My sincere apologies to the birthday honourees. The missed birthdays were for Kelly K, who celebrated on the 2nd and Dicey, who celebrated yesterday. Belated birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to Kelly at: LevitatingLava at aol.com and Dicey at: dicentra at xmission.com I hope you both had magical days that brought everything you wished for. Happy Birthday, Kelly! Happy Birthday, Dicey! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From lupinesque at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 01:36:45 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 17:36:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: Personal news Message-ID: <20031105013645.21706.qmail@web20305.mail.yahoo.com> Dear HPfGUfolks, I want to share the news that I'm getting divorced from my husband, my companion of over twelve years. It's good to have made a difficult decision and feel confident that it is the right one, but it's still very sad and hard, so please keep me in your thoughts, prayers, incantations, or whatever you employ. This community has meant so much to me over the past three years. Thanks for being here. Hugs, Amy Z __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From lupinesque at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 01:42:05 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 01:42:05 -0000 Subject: Happy Birthday, Penny! In-Reply-To: <20031105011421.18089.qmail@web41109.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: The Birthday Elf announced: > Today's birthday honouree is Penny. Yay! No matter how many birthdays HPfGU itself passes, even when it's in its doddering old age and Book 7 is on all our shelves, I'll always think of Penny as its Mom. Have a magical evening, Penny! Amy From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Wed Nov 5 01:48:33 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 11:48:33 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Personal news References: <20031105013645.21706.qmail@web20305.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <001801c3a33e$ed3f3bf0$71984cca@Monteith> > Dear HPfGUfolks, > > I want to share the news that I'm getting divorced > from my husband, my companion of over twelve years. > It's good to have made a difficult decision and feel > confident that it is the right one, but it's still > very sad and hard, so please keep me in your thoughts, > prayers, incantations, or whatever you employ. This > community has meant so much to me over the past three > years. Thanks for being here. > > Hugs, > Amy Z Liberating but understandably stressful, Amy. You are in my thoughts. Nox From neonsister at ameritech.net Wed Nov 5 02:34:50 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 02:34:50 -0000 Subject: Lunar eclipse Message-ID: Here's some interesting info about the lunar eclipse coming up this Saturday, Nov.8: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/lunar_eclipse_2_031031.html Tracy *wondering what happens to werewolves during a lunar eclipse* From lhuntley at fandm.edu Wed Nov 5 02:40:52 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003 21:40:52 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Happy Birthday, Penny! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <79243BC1-0F39-11D8-9E19-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> > The Birthday Elf announced: > >> Today's birthday honouree is Penny. > Amy Z: > Yay! No matter how many birthdays HPfGU itself passes, even > when it's in its doddering old age and Book 7 is on all our > shelves, I'll always think of Penny as its Mom. Have a magical > evening, Penny! > Me too, Amy. Happy Birthday, Penny! Make it count! *big grin* Laura From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 05:06:40 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 05:06:40 -0000 Subject: Welcome Harry!! Message-ID: So I can't contain my excitement! David Letterman has a baby boy named Harry!! (after his dad!!) He just gave us the low-down of how he spent the day/eve yesterday awaiting for the arrival of his new son. Soo funny! It was rather touching though when he said that his dad passed away at age 57, and here he was at age 56, having his first child, and so named the baby after his grandfather. (In my excitement of hearing 'Harry', I forgot the middle name; I think it might be Joseph *close enough to James*) Here's wishing the new family loads of love and laughter! Anna . . .(who thinks baby Harry looks EXACTLY like his dad!) From catlady at wicca.net Wed Nov 5 05:43:35 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 05:43:35 -0000 Subject: Fwd: automated detention dispenser Message-ID: Fredrick B. Capp wrote on the Silicon Soapware list: << The rest of the site is neat too, but this app is just plain fun: http://grusha.net/snape/add.htm See how much trouble you can get Harry Potter into. >> Silicon Soapware is Tom Digby's zine, archived at http://www.well.com/~bubbles/ From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Wed Nov 5 06:30:49 2003 From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com) Date: 5 Nov 2003 06:30:49 -0000 Subject: New poll for HPFGU-OTChatter Message-ID: <1068013849.692.26191.w79@yahoogroups.com> Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the HPFGU-OTChatter group: Enter your vote for the Best Harry Potter Themed Costume, for our Halloween, 2003, Costume Contest! The winner's picture will be posted on the home page of OT for the month of November. o Dragon Trainer (Wendy, submitted by Wendy) o Gryffindor Student (Richelle, submitted by Richelle) o Quidditch Adrienne o Nymphadora Tonks (in group photo by Mr. Malfoy) o Slytherin!Ginny (in group photo by Mr. Malfoy) o Bellatrix LeStrange (in group photo by Mr. Malfoy) o Katie Bell (in group photo by Mr. Malfoy) o Ron Weasley (in group photo by Mr. Malfoy) To vote, please visit the following web page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/surveys?id=1151944 Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups web site listed above. Thanks! From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Wed Nov 5 06:41:09 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 06:41:09 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Halloween Costume Contest! Message-ID: Vote now for the winner of the Best Harry Potter Themed Costume! (Poll located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU- OTChatter/surveys?id=1151944). If you haven't yet seen the photos, they're located at: http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/hpfgu- otchatter/lst?.dir=/HALLOWEEN+2003/Best+Harry+Potter+themed&.src=gr&. order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/ Voting will be open for three days (until 7 November, 2003), and the winning photo will be displayed on the OTChatter home page throughout November. I am also pleased to annouce winners in two other categories: The award for "Cutest" goes to Jack Frost. The award for "Most Original" goes to Arlan the Wizardly Hound. Congratulations to our winners so far - e-plaques to be awarded to all winners after the poll results are in. :-) Hebby Elf From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Wed Nov 5 07:34:25 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 07:34:25 -0000 Subject: Adrienne's fantastic broom In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All, I've just been checking through the Halloween 2003 pics and WOW what good costumes everyone did. Isn't Adrienne's Katie Bell broom fantastic? Where did that come from? My own Halloween was eventful. I wore my usual idiosyncratic dumbledore/dumbledad outfit, William was Harry, and we had reli's visiting so Tom was Frankenstein's monster and Matty was a werewolf. Meg disappeared off as a cat to a school friends party (more on that later). The two funniest moments were a group of teenage girls turning round from the chip van (trailer selling fries) and exclaimed after seeing William "Ohhh, I didn't know Harry was evil". Then there was an old guy who was giving the kids sweets, looked up and saw me at the end of his drive and said to the kids "Do take something for the vicar too". So much for my costuming skills! Meg's party, unbeknown to us, involved a group of 10/11 year old girls in various costumes trick-or-treating without adult supervision. This ended in several chases by local teenage boys (one in a car) and some crying. I wasn't impressed. Cheers, Dumbledad. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 5 08:36:50 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 08:36:50 -0000 Subject: A quick question... In-Reply-To: <003201c3a327$fe420f20$cbe479a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > From: June > > > > Here's four: > > > > The Times > > The Guardian > > The Independant > > The Daily Telegraph > > > > All "broadsheets" ie large size and serious newspapers. > > > > June > > Iggy here: > > Are those the complete names? Or just the name that those familiar with > them call those papers? (Do they include city or district names? (ie: > People from Santa Cruz tend to refer to the Santa Cruz Sentinel simply as > "the Sentinel.") > > Iggy McSnurd Complete names of National ie UK wide newspapers as opposed to local papers. No extras added such as "daily" except in the case of the Telegraph - which is often referred to as the Telegraph. What I have given is what is written on the masthead. June From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Wed Nov 5 08:56:55 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 08:56:55 -0000 Subject: A quick question... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All (especially Iggy) The ones June gave you are the right `serious' ones. You'd want to consider The Sun, The Daily Mail (called the Mail), The Daily Express (called the Express) if you want tabloids. Moving the other way, The Finacial Times is a broadsheet that has a deeper focus on business news. It's very dry but is printed on distictive pink paper If it's a Sunday then The Times becomes The Sunday Times (and is enormous) and The Guardian becomes The Observer. In the olden days, many of these papers had different names, e.g. The Guardian was The Manchester Guardian. Some also have nick-names, e.g. The Guardian was known as The Grauniad becase of its terrible spell checking. While the big UK papers are all national, there is another London paper of note. The (London) Evening Standard is often read by commuters travelling home since it contains news that broke after the national dailys were printed. Cheers, Dumbledad. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Wed Nov 5 13:46:02 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 07:46:02 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A quick question... References: Message-ID: <005101c3a3a3$287ec820$5f97aec7@rick> Thanks to June and Dumbledad for your help on the question about London's major newspapers. This definately gives me enough to work with. Iggy McSnurd From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Wed Nov 5 14:30:56 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 14:30:56 -0000 Subject: Anyone going to "His Dark Materials" plays in London? Message-ID: Hi All, Is anyone planning to go to the two part stage adaptation of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy? It's on in December 2003 - March 2004 at the National Theatre (on the South Bank of the Thames in London). http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=6158 It's selling out fast though. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=2193&page=perf&id=DARK103 http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=2193&page=perf&id=DARK203 I'll probably take Kate and the kids, but I wanted to know if any other listies were planning a trip? Cheers, Dumbledad. PS Should I have sent this to HPFGU-London instead? I wasn't sure - it has far fewer members, many of whom seem to live in the USA and continental Europe!?! From ursamajr at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 14:55:24 2003 From: ursamajr at yahoo.com (Adrienne) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 14:55:24 -0000 Subject: Adrienne's fantastic broom OOPS I am entered twice! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Oops I seems to be entered twice "Quidditch Adrienne"/Katie Bell are both me, I just thought it would look funny if I blacked myself out of the group shot. Hey Dumbledad - Thank you! During the hurricane about a month ago while cutting up a fallen tree, my father (a big HP fan) saw a Nimbus shaped branch. He carved it then stained it and passed it to me. I attached some twigs held in place with some pipe fasteners, then carved a head out of balsa wood. It took about a week. -Adrienne --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" < tim_regan82 at h...> wrote: > Hi All, > > I've just been checking through the Halloween 2003 pics and WOW what > good costumes everyone did. Isn't Adrienne's Katie Bell broom > fantastic? Where did that come from? > From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Wed Nov 5 17:28:51 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 17:28:51 -0000 Subject: Fwd: automated detention dispenser In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" wrote: > Fredrick B. Capp wrote on the Silicon Soapware list: > > << The rest of the site is neat too, but this app is just plain fun: > http://grusha.net/snape/add.htm See how much trouble you can get Harry > Potter into. >> > > Silicon Soapware is Tom Digby's zine, archived at > http://www.well.com/~bubbles/ Shirley: Oh, that was fun! Yes, you can get Harry in trouble, but you can play with the answers to see whether different houses are treated to different detentions....;-) Thanks for the tip! From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Wed Nov 5 18:07:06 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 12:07:06 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Fwd: automated detention dispenser References: Message-ID: <001001c3a3c7$a0e3aa00$178aaec7@rick> Iggy here: I tried this, and got the follwoing fun responses... (Using spells against another student... just for a bit of harmless fun, mind you... and excusing that I was actually aiming for Harry Potter) Iggy McSnurd You were aiming for Potter and you missed? That was careless but even so, I'm vaguely impressed. You are excused detention. S. Snape (Getting caught wandering around after curfiew... just setting up a little practical joke.. innocent enough, right? And using the excuse that I must have been sleepwalking... oh, and hooking the mousetrap and can of paint with a wire in my sleep as well... honest.) Iggy McSnurd Sleepwalking is an unfortunate condition, and is no doubt a sign of a deep psychological disturbance. You will spend next Sunday cleaning inkstains off Prof Trelawney's soft furnishings, when no doubt she will give you the benefit of her vast experience. If nothing else, it should put your own psychological problems well into perspective... S. Snape (Well, since he decided I was disturbed, I ended up being a little insubordinate in class. Guess I shouldn't have written my name on that "Dr. Flat U. Lence Realistic Whoopie Cushion"... But it was just a harmless laugh. Well, I found out Professor Snape has a sense of humor... albeit a twisted one.) Iggy McSnurd So you enjoy 'having a laugh'? You may be surprised to learn that I, too, have a sense of humour. Of sorts. Your punishment will be an evening with Professor Lockhart, helping him to answer his (alleged) 'fan mail'. S. Snape (Well, all of this didn't go over too well with me. After all, what's an aspiring jester to do when his art isn't appreciated? So, I broke into his office to place some little tricks all over the place... He caught me... again. *sigh* So I was honest. I told him that I just wanted to leave him a present as a... umm.. lovely... err.. surprise. Yeah... that's it...) Iggy McSnurd How thoughtful. In return, I would like to make you a gift of an evening spent in my dungeon, extracting and slicing frog brains. S. Snape (Well, it doesn't take me too long to get the point... So when I skipped his class to... well... okay, I was boobytrapping his office door with a case of "Sedgewick's Shape Shifting Popper Pebbles"... I excused myself by telling me that Harry Potter made me late...) Iggy McSnurd Potter 'made you late'? Pathetic. You will report to my dungeon this evening and you will write out the following 1000 times: 'I must not blame Potter's (admittedly malicious) behaviour for my inability to arrive at class on time!' S. Snape (Hmmm... apparently even HE doesn't believe Harry can be blamed for everything... I was so frustrated that I messed up the Potions classroom during my most recent class. Honestly, I didn't SEE the fourth line of instructions on how to make that Preserving Potion. Apparently, forgetting to add three drops of sundew sap and the melted beeswax causes it to esplode and coat everything with a sticky puce goo.) Iggy McSnurd The Rules are clear. Anybody who fails to follow my clear and succinct instructions will find themselves paying the price. However, I do not appear to have suffered personal injury as a result, so you have had a narrow escape! Tonight you will report to my dungeon, where you will slice a few hundred giant horned slugs. Consider yourself lucky. S. Snape (I think I've learned my lesson. Anyone out there know what kind of soap will wash giant horned slug mucus off your hands and arms?) Iggy McSnurd From neilward at dircon.co.uk Wed Nov 5 18:34:05 2003 From: neilward at dircon.co.uk (Neil Ward) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 18:34:05 -0000 Subject: Anyone going to "His Dark Materials" plays in London? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tim said: > Is anyone planning to go to the two part stage adaptation of Philip > Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy? It's on in December 2003 - > March 2004 at the National Theatre (on the South Bank of the Thames > in London). > http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=6158 Yes, I'm going to see this in late January on two nights, spaced a week apart. I'm really looking forward to seeing Patricia Hodge play Mrs Coulter and Timothy Dalton as Lord Asriel, but I'm a bit worried that they'll make the daemons look like extras from "Cats" (as they're being played by people). Apart from a large cast of actors, the production also involves puppets, video projection and computer graphics, so it promises to be spectacular. Neil From cindysphynx at comcast.net Wed Nov 5 20:04:15 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 20:04:15 -0000 Subject: Queer (Or Straight -- It's Totally Up To You) Eye For The Candidate Guy Message-ID: Hey! Oh, man! The plot is thickening in the 8-way contest for the Democratic primary nomination. The frontrunner made some unfortunate statements yesterday that caused another candidate to . . . to *point his finger in the frontrunner's general direction!* So I have made an executive decision. I have decided that the presidential wannabes should stop all of this squabbling about the issues and we should just pick the one who is Most Good Looking. Here is a link with a photo of all of the candidates except Richard Gephardt at the MTV Political debate in which they all wore clothing designed to make them look "hip": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64780-2003Nov4.html Gephard did not attend. He wears suits most of the time. He must be disqualified. Now, I think it is quite plain that Wesley Clark is the most fetching of the candidates. He and Dennis Kucinich are both wearing black turtlenecks, but only Clark can really pull it off. The silver against the black is working for him. Dean, bless him, has no neck. I think the rolled-up sleeves thing is better than the full suit option, but it would have been nice to see him in something else. So that settles it, then. ;-) Cindy -- who was never a fan of Ronald Reagan but thinks she supports CBS' decision to yank the mini-series, but who is willing to be persuade. Oh, and who is pleased to see Neil posting again From neonsister at ameritech.net Wed Nov 5 20:09:40 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 20:09:40 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Halloween Costume Contest! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Hebby Elf" wrote: > > "I am also pleased to annouce winners in two other categories: > > The award for "Cutest" goes to Jack Frost. > > The award for "Most Original" goes to Arlan the Wizardly Hound." :-) Arlan is very happy to have won a prize! He is a bit shy about public contests at pet supply stores and dog parks, so an internet costume contest was perfect for him. Thanks! Tracy From neonsister at ameritech.net Wed Nov 5 20:03:24 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 20:03:24 -0000 Subject: Fwd: automated detention dispenser In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I love this! One of my detentions involved cleaning up the floor of the owlery (not sure if I spelled that right). I recently started volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center, and chances are I will indeed be called upon to clean up owl poop at some point! Tracy > > http://grusha.net/snape/add.htm From erinellii at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 20:42:56 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 20:42:56 -0000 Subject: Queer (Or Straight -- It's Totally Up To You) Eye For The Candidate Guy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > > Now, I think it is quite plain that Wesley Clark is the most fetching > of the candidates. He and Dennis Kucinich are both wearing black > turtlenecks, but only Clark can really pull it off. The silver > against the black is working for him. > > Dean, bless him, has no neck. I think the rolled-up sleeves thing is > better than the full suit option, but it would have been nice to see > him in something else. > > So that settles it, then. ;-) > > Cindy You didn't think John Edwards? What would you say is wrong with him? Erin From cindysphynx at comcast.net Wed Nov 5 21:05:39 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 21:05:39 -0000 Subject: Queer (Or Straight -- It's Totally Up To You) Eye For The Candidate Guy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hey! > You didn't think John Edwards? What would you say is wrong with him? Hmmm. Good point. He's handsome. Good, good. Lots of hair. Excellent. But Edwards took no fashion *risks,* see? I can see his administration now. "I know you're the president, John, but *no one* showers in a tie." Maybe Edwards should have gone with a hard-hat and dirty workboots, Village People kind of thing. Or not! Cindy From grannybat at hotmail.com Wed Nov 5 21:25:50 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 21:25:50 -0000 Subject: Sweet Nostalgia In-Reply-To: <001001c3a196$398b4260$39e579a5@rick> Message-ID: > > I was a big fan of Fruit Stripes and Teaberry gum. Remember > > the "Teaberry Shuffle"? > > Ms. Tattersall > > who misses > > not having a mouthful of crowns Umm, no, I don't think I ever ran across Teaberry. Maybe it's a regional product. I do remember Fruit Stripe gum. I have a shirt that looks just like a stick of the lime flavor. Dipping into the candy bowl again: > > > > Grannybat > > > who misses > > > Blackjack cinnamon gum > > I always thought Blackjack was the licorice gum... > > Iggy McSnurd > (Who also smokes clove cigarettes for the taste... **That's it!** Crown or King's was the parent brand, clove was the taste. (Knew there was some reason that gum tasted richer and spicier than Dentyne....) What confused me was the ace of clubs insignia both flavors had on the package. I never could remember the real name for the clove gum, only that it was the red version of Black jack. We used to call it "Redjack." Mmmmmmmm, cloves. The scent of autumn. Grannybat From jenP_97 at yahoo.com Wed Nov 5 23:04:31 2003 From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 23:04:31 -0000 Subject: Queer (Or Straight -- It's Totally Up To You) Eye For The Candidate Guy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > Hey! > > > You didn't think John Edwards? What would you say is wrong with him? > > Hmmm. Good point. He's handsome. Good, good. Lots of hair. > Excellent. But Edwards took no fashion *risks,* see? I can see his > administration now. "I know you're the president, John, but *no one* > showers in a tie." > > Maybe Edwards should have gone with a hard-hat and dirty workboots, > Village People kind of thing. Or not! > > Cindy I don't know - I'm going to have to say that Edwards was the "cutest". That leaves room for you to think that Clark was the most "distinguished", if you so desire, Cindy. ;) Plus, Edwards announced his candidacy on _The Daily Show_, so that puts him in the "has a sense of humor" category, which I find terribly attractive (my hubby is a fantastic example of this - cute, yes, but it's the fact that he's hilarious that sold me). -Jen From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Wed Nov 5 23:38:23 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 23:38:23 -0000 Subject: Digests 1271 + 1272 requested Message-ID: Greetings, Due to a hangup with Yahoo, I managed to get listed as bouncing - and in its inestimable wisdom (inestimable mainly because it is too small to be measured accurately), Yahoo!Groups decided to have me bouncing without giving me the opportunity to unbounce myself. As such, I have missed a few digests, so if anyone still has digests 1271 and 1272, I would appreciate it if you could forward them to me. Thanks in advance Christian Stub? From gbannister10 at aol.com Wed Nov 5 23:42:31 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 23:42:31 -0000 Subject: A quick question... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" wrote: > Hi All (especially Iggy) > > The ones June gave you are the right `serious' ones. You'd want to > consider The Sun, The Daily Mail (called the Mail), The Daily > Express (called the Express) if you want tabloids. > > Moving the other way, The Finacial Times is a broadsheet that has a > deeper focus on business news. It's very dry but is printed on > distictive pink paper > > If it's a Sunday then The Times becomes The Sunday Times (and is > enormous) and The Guardian becomes The Observer. > > In the olden days, many of these papers had different names, e.g. > The Guardian was The Manchester Guardian. Geoff: changed its name in the 60s (I think). I used to read it in its MG days.... > Some also have nick-names, > e.g. The Guardian was known as The Grauniad becase of its terrible > spell checking. Geoff again: The Times was known in its much earlier days as The Thunderer. It is very much a top-drawer paper and carries things like the Court Circular - the doings of the Royal Family etc > While the big UK papers are all national, there is another London > paper of note. The (London) Evening Standard is often read by > commuters travelling home since it contains news that broke after > the national dailys were printed. > > Cheers, > > Dumbledad. From gbannister10 at aol.com Wed Nov 5 23:51:02 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 23:51:02 -0000 Subject: Motorways etc. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Follow up to notes on roads in the UK. Motorways correspond to US freeways. They are totally segregated multi-lane dual carriageways with grade separated interchanges. Some A class roads are built to the same standards and are recognised by (M) in their designation - eg A1(M). M roads have blue backed route signs and have numbered junctions. They are usually six-lane but some, such as sectiosn of the M25 London Orbital are eight and some lightly loaded sections are four lanes. A roads (first class) fall into two categories - Primary/Trunk which are often four-lane dual carriageways and sometimes have grade separated junctinos but also have ordinary turnings on to smaller roads. These have green-backed signs. Other A class have white backed signs and are not part of the main Primary network. There are also B- class roads and then all others are unclassified. Some lower category roads can be better than higher rated ones(!) When going from my home in Porlock, West Somerset, to Taunton our county town, I often use a B-class road over the hills on which I can drive at a steady 60 mph and which is far superior to the coastal A road. A (Trunk) and M roads are maintained by the Govermental Highways Agency. Other A roads by the first tier local authority (often a County Council)and other roads by the second tier local authority. Geoff From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Thu Nov 6 01:14:35 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 01:14:35 -0000 Subject: Newspaper nicknames In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tim Regan wrote: > > In the olden days, many of these papers had different names, e.g. > The Guardian was The Manchester Guardian. Some also have nick- names, > e.g. The Guardian was known as The Grauniad becase of its terrible > spell checking. > and for a while there were separate London and Manchester editions. Also Gradian, Guardina, etc. I associate the nicknames with 'Private Eye', though whether they were invented there I can't say: Telegraph: Daily Torygraph because of its general support for the Conservative Party; Daily Hurleygraph because of its propensity to find excuses to put pictures of prominent female celebrities on its front page, with only the flimsiest excuses and clothing. Independent: Indescribablyboring. My favoured paper, but I do see what they mean at times. Sunday Times. The Sundry Trends, though I think that's fallen into disuse. The Times: The Sun. Because it is, in disguise. Murdoch is Murdoch, wherever he is. Daily Express. Daily Getsworse. Because it does. Daily Mail. Daily Mail. Because there is no worse insult. David, glad to see Neil is around From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 01:18:20 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 17:18:20 -0800 (PST) Subject: Adrienne's fantastic broom In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031106011820.81544.qmail@web21108.mail.yahoo.com> Tim Regan/Dumbledad: > I've just been checking through the > Halloween 2003 pics and WOW what > good costumes everyone did. Isn't > Adrienne's Katie Bell broom > fantastic? Where did that come from? I was just going to post that! Plus this: anyone noticed a resemblence between Adrienne and the actress who plays a certain ghost in the HP movies who's gotten rather fond of Harry? Hey, Richelle! How many of your students dressed up as HP characters too? I hope you handed out Bertie Bott's Beans... :) Y'know, Wendy, if your costume gets an encore, you can add to that big huge paper mch dragon eggs in a basket. I suggested that to the little boy who wants to dress up as Charlie (aww!) next year: he's gonna be the one with stuffed dragons in tow (ok, they'll really be dinosaurs, on leashes). BTW, this same tyke was very impressed with his dad for stumping him with that 6-2-4-4-2 = M-A-G-I-C thing. I promised that dad to not reveal that HE didn't get it the first time I pointed that out to him. Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From Malady579 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 01:19:38 2003 From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 01:19:38 -0000 Subject: Matrix: Revolutions Message-ID: ...having just got home from the theatre from the 3:35 showing of the last of the Matrix trilogy... All I can say is... Wow. That is exactly how I imagine or rather hope Harry Potter ends. I am stunned, sobered, and my mind is still racing. I would go into more, but anything I say will give much away. You just have to go and see how it all folded together. It is a bit of a philosophical exercise, but I find it worth the work out at least to see a different perspective taken to a new extreme. Oh and the trailor to Return of the King looks very epic. As does Troy. But having said that, Brad Pitt's legs in a skirt alone might get me to go see that. ::blush:: But I recommend going to see Matrix: Revolutions if you liked, and could follow, the first two. If only Harry Potter can do that too. Not end like Star Wars or a cheesy fairy tale, but in a meld of intelligence, cunning, and sobriety to life. But I am melancholy. I like that sort of thing. ::big grin:: Melody From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 6 02:32:44 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 20:32:44 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Sweet Nostalgia References: Message-ID: <002501c3a40e$44656920$77e579a5@rick> > > I always thought Blackjack was the licorice gum... > > > > Iggy McSnurd > > (Who also smokes clove cigarettes for the taste... > > **That's it!** Crown or King's was the parent brand, clove was the > taste. (Knew there was some reason that gum tasted richer and spicier > than Dentyne....) What confused me was the ace of clubs insignia both > flavors had on the package. I never could remember the real name for > the clove gum, only that it was the red version of Black jack. We > used to call it "Redjack." > > Mmmmmmmm, cloves. The scent of autumn. > > Grannybat > Iggy here: *grin* It's nice to know that my addiction to the clove gum (which, sadly, I can't get where I live now...) helped job someone else's memory... I had a second particular reason to know that Blackjack was the licorice gum... The taste, or even the smell, of licorice makes me gag. I used to dread getting the flu right up until Nyquil came out with the cherry flavor... Iggy McSnurd From annemehr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 03:13:49 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 03:13:49 -0000 Subject: Matrix: Revolutions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Melody" wrote: > ...having just got home from the theatre from the 3:35 showing of the > last of the Matrix trilogy... > > All I can say is... > > Wow. Annemehr: Oh, thanks a *lot,* Melody! I foolishly procrastinated watching the first Matrix on DVD, so that I missed Matrix Reloaded in the theaters. Now I have to rent *two* DVDs and somehow find the time to go to the movies... > That is exactly how I imagine or rather hope Harry Potter ends. > > I am stunned, sobered, and my mind is still racing. > If only Harry Potter can do that too. > Not end like Star Wars or a cheesy fairy tale, but in a meld of > intelligence, cunning, and sobriety to life. > > But I am melancholy. I like that sort of thing. ::big grin:: > > > Melody Wait! Sobered? Melancholy? Harry Potter? Oh, I hope not. I agree with you on the non-cheesy part (and I do have high hopes), but I was sort of hoping for something more like -- Peace. Balm for the spirit. Ummm... Dang. I need a thesaurus or something. But I am melancholy too, and I want an antidote! ::grins back:: Annemehr From drednort at alphalink.com.au Thu Nov 6 04:36:55 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:36:55 +1100 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. (-8 Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From ambiree at students.bradley.edu Thu Nov 6 05:59:27 2003 From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 23:59:27 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> References: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <1068098367.3fa9e33f653e4@webmail.bradley.edu> i say the kid next to the teacher in the dark jacket...what theory are you testing? Quoting Shaun Hately : > I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. > (-8 > > > > > > Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought > Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html > (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 > "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one > thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the > facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be > uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that > need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil > Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ > > Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ > > Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts > to which you're replying! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > -- Amber ***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE*** From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 6 05:58:06 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:58:06 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Matrix: Revolutions References: Message-ID: <000201c3a437$6c25f7d0$7a984cca@Monteith> Melody wrote > ...having just got home from the theatre from the 3:35 showing of the > last of the Matrix trilogy... > > All I can say is... > > Wow. All I could say after the second one was "Huh?" I *loved* the first Matirx movie, but the second just kind of went *whoosh!* right over my head. I hope I 'get' this last one... Nox (the technologically challanged...) From erinellii at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 07:30:32 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 07:30:32 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: First row, second from the right (Shaun just sounds like a blond kid to me, not sure why) Erin --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. > (-8 > > > > > > Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought > Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html > (ISTJ) | drednort at a... | ICQ: 6898200 > "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one > thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the > facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be > uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that > need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil > Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 08:35:06 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 08:35:06 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All (especially Shaun), --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Shaun wrote: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm going to hedge my bets and go for the kid in the front row, three from the left; or the kid on the back row three from the right. They both have an other-world-I'm-not-sure-why-I'm-here look that I'd expect from budding adult HP fans. Spookily, it's no easier if one knows what you look like as an adult! http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/shaun.gif Cheers, Dumbledad. From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 09:40:28 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 09:40:28 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. > > > Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought > Shaun Hately bboy_mn: Perhaps Dumbledad cheated when he leaked your adult photo, but I'll still take a shot at it. Original guess before leak photo- For some reason, in the second full row from the front, I guessed the dark haired boy third from the right, and the brown haired boy on the left end of the same row (next to the guy in the grey coat). After seeing the photo- I still like the two I originally picked but now am leaning more toward the back row, third from the left, and second from the back row, third from the left. Second best guess- Front full row, the boy seated on the left. There are a few other that seem possible based on the shape of the chin. By the way, are the sock, shorts, and jumpers you are wearing made out of wool. I swear, I had to wear wool in the Army and it nearly killed me. My skin was rubbed so raw, it was close to bleeding. I've never been able to wear anything even remotely itchy like sweaters, regardless of whether they are acrylic or wool. Even cotton sweaters bother me sometimes. Wool sweaters even itch if I wear a shirt over them. Wool pants?! I'd rather you pushed bamboo under my fingernails than wear a pair of wool pants. Drives me completely mad. Just a thought. bboy_mn From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 6 10:44:46 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 20:44:46 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Experiment References: Message-ID: <001101c3a452$ffa36e00$79984cca@Monteith> > > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Shaun wrote: > > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > > > > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > > > and guess which person in the photo is me. Centre of the back row? Or third from right of the second row from the front...? Or not...? Nox From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 6 10:48:26 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 10:48:26 -0000 Subject: Newspaper nicknames In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > Tim Regan wrote: > > > > In the olden days, many of these papers had different names, e.g. > > The Guardian was The Manchester Guardian. Some also have nick- > names, > > e.g. The Guardian was known as The Grauniad becase of its terrible > > spell checking. > > > > and for a while there were separate London and Manchester editions. > Also Gradian, Guardina, etc. > > I associate the nicknames with 'Private Eye', though whether they > were invented there I can't say: > > Telegraph: Daily Torygraph because of its general support for the > Conservative Party; Daily Hurleygraph because of its propensity to > find excuses to put pictures of prominent female celebrities on its > front page, with only the flimsiest excuses and clothing. > > Independent: Indescribablyboring. My favoured paper, but I do see > what they mean at times. > > Sunday Times. The Sundry Trends, though I think that's fallen into > disuse. > > The Times: The Sun. Because it is, in disguise. Murdoch is > Murdoch, wherever he is. > > Daily Express. Daily Getsworse. Because it does. > > Daily Mail. Daily Mail. Because there is no worse insult. > > David, glad to see Neil is around This provoked a number of thoughts which I set out below - probably the Private Eye refs. Private Eye is Britain's most scurrilous satirical magazine by the way. Fleet Street (former area where all the newspaper offices were situated - even though most have now relocated to more suburban areas, Fleet Street is still the generic name for the press) is known as "The Street of Shame" in Private Eye At one point the hq of the Express was known as "The Black Lubyanka" in Private Eye. Here is the definition of all the English national newspapers according to who reads them: The Times: Read by the people who run the country. Daily Mirror: Read by the people who think they run the country. Guardian: Read by the people who think they ought to run the country. Morning Star: Read by the people who think the country ought to be run by another country. Daily Mail: Read by the wives of the people who own the country. Financial Times: Read by the people who own the country. Daily Express: Read by the people who think that the country ought to be run as it used to be. Daily Telegraph: Read by the people who think it still is. The Sun: Their readers don't care who runs the country as long as she has big tits. I found the full quotation in this website, which might be of interest to anyone who wants a guide to the maze of English usages, and references. http://www.hps.com/~tpg/ukdict/ukdict-8.html June (Lifelong Grauniad reader) From drednort at alphalink.com.au Thu Nov 6 13:02:07 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:02:07 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Experiment In-Reply-To: References: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <3FAAE0FF.16351.1EA889D@localhost> On 6 Nov 2003 at 9:40, Steve wrote: > By the way, are the sock, shorts, and jumpers you are wearing made out > of wool. I swear, I had to wear wool in the Army and it nearly killed > me. My skin was rubbed so raw, it was close to bleeding. I've never > been able to wear anything even remotely itchy like sweaters, > regardless of whether they are acrylic or wool. Even cotton sweaters > bother me sometimes. Wool sweaters even itch if I wear a shirt over > them. Wool pants?! I'd rather you pushed bamboo under my fingernails > than wear a pair of wool pants. Drives me completely mad. This was our summer uniform at the junior (preparatory) school. The jumpers were wool, but we didn't normally where them in summer - this must have been an unusually cold day. The shirts, socks and shorts were of some sort of cotton blend - not wool - and were actually very comfortable. However, our winter uniform included woollen trousers, and I can *really* relate to what you are talking about. I'm allergic to wool (well, I was then - today I'm mostly desensitised to it). Every winter was agony - especially if we had warm weather (not that uncommon) so I sweated in the trousers. The thing was - the school was *rigid* on uniform, and I thought it was even more rigid than it was, so I just put up with it - never complained. Eventually, finally, after about three years of suffering a senior boy worked out something was seriously wrong and told the school matron. With absolutely no respect for my privacy or modesty, she pounced while I was showering - she went nuts at me for not having revealed the suffering I was experiencing (then she went even more nuts when I suggested that it was none of her business! Hey, an audience was forming and this was embarassing!) Turns out if I'd complained, they could make a *very* rare uniform exemption for actual health reasons. It had never even occurred to me that that might be possible. It was horrible - but fact is, it does seem to have had the effect of desensitising me to the allergy. As for the photos... I will reveal who I am eventually (probably some time tomorrow). For the moment, I want to give people a little more time so I can get some more answers. And, the fact, that some people have seen an adult photo of me, shouldn't do too much harm - I had a hard time identifying myself in that school photo, and could largely do so only because I knew who everybody else was (-8. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz Thu Nov 6 13:35:04 2003 From: vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz (=?iso-8859-1?q?Vinnia?=) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 02:35:04 +1300 (NZDT) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <20031106133504.81882.qmail@web41203.mail.yahoo.com> I'd say second row, third student from the right I'm curious...exactly what experiment are you doing? Please update us with the result :) Vinnia http://personals.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Personals New people, new possibilities. FREE for a limited time. From vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz Thu Nov 6 13:49:21 2003 From: vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz (=?iso-8859-1?q?Vinnia?=) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 02:49:21 +1300 (NZDT) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Matrix: Revolutions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031106134921.14162.qmail@web41215.mail.yahoo.com> --- Melody wrote: --------------------------------- But I recommend going to see Matrix: Revolutions if you liked, and could follow, the first two. Me: Ok, I didn't go to the Matrix Reloaded and I'm supposed to go to Revolutions in about 15 hours... somebody please be nice and tell me (off list) what Reloaded is all about? Thanks in advance :) Vinnia http://personals.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Personals New people, new possibilities. FREE for a limited time. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 6 13:52:20 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 07:52:20 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Experiment References: Message-ID: <006701c3a46d$33d20be0$d0e479a5@rick> Iggy here: You're the kid in the grey and red school uniform wearing the shorts and long socks... Right? *grin* Well, I see some possibilities here... If you go with logic in the probability that you were alle lined up by name... (although whether you started in the front or the back, I don't know...) If it were from the front, I'd estimate that you are the second one in from the left on the second row. If you started fromt he back, I'd estimate that you are third row, first on the left. (The slightly large built kid with the light brown hair.) If you use the idea that your nickname describes you a bit physically, then I'd say that you were the secodn kid I mentioned int he previous example, or the first kid in the first row. Both have the largest builds of the people int he class... and Dreadnaught implies somethign large and formidible. Going by my gut hunch, though... *grin* You're the scrawny little kid holding the sign down in the very front... Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 6 14:07:03 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 08:07:03 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Experiment References: Message-ID: <008901c3a46f$421e1a20$d0e479a5@rick> > bboy_mn: > Perhaps Dumbledad cheated when he leaked your adult photo, but I'll > still take a shot at it. Iggy here: In the long run, that wouldn't make any difference. (I didn't bother looking at his adult photo, btw...) If you look at me in pictures when I was a kid, my hair was light blond... Now it's a deep, chestnut brown that borders on black. When I was a kid, my face was a lot softer and I was tall, but not large of frame... Now my face is a little more angular and I bulked out a bit when I hit my growth spurts... Even my nose looks a little different. (It used to be compleely normal... Now I have a "dimple" slightly off to the left side of the end because I've had the cartelage separated and damaged so much in school I was the big guy who was different and everyone decided it would be fun to sucker punch. I still have a discolored scar on my arm from where some kid stabbed me in the arm with a pencil and the lead broke off... and this was in seven't grade, about 20 years ago...) About the only similarity you can really see is in my eyes... but even those got lighter. They used to be dark blue, now they're light grey... > By the way, are the sock, shorts, and jumpers you are wearing made out > of wool. I swear, I had to wear wool in the Army and it nearly killed > me. My skin was rubbed so raw, it was close to bleeding. I've never > been able to wear anything even remotely itchy like sweaters, > regardless of whether they are acrylic or wool. Even cotton sweaters > bother me sometimes. Wool sweaters even itch if I wear a shirt over > them. Wool pants?! I'd rather you pushed bamboo under my fingernails > than wear a pair of wool pants. Drives me completely mad. > > Just a thought. > > bboy_mn > Iggy here: All of that makes me glad that I never went to a school where uniforms were required, that I couldn't join the military (I have about six different conditions that would each disqualify me on their own...), and that wool isn't nearly as popular a clothing material here in the US as it is in the UK or Australia... *grin* Iggy McSnurd (Who *still* thinks it's funny that the Scottish lab chose to clone a sheep. Guess there weren't enough women to go around. *laugh* j/k) From ursamajr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 14:30:27 2003 From: ursamajr at yahoo.com (Adrienne) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:30:27 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <008901c3a46f$421e1a20$d0e479a5@rick> Message-ID: Second row from the top - third in from the left of the photo :) -Adrienne From ursamajr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 14:29:29 2003 From: ursamajr at yahoo.com (Adrienne) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:29:29 -0000 Subject: Adrienne's fantastic broom In-Reply-To: <20031106011820.81544.qmail@web21108.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Petra wrote: > I was just going to post that! Plus > this: anyone noticed a resemblence > between Adrienne and the actress who > plays a certain ghost in the HP movies > who's gotten rather fond of Harry? > I get this *all the time*! :) Especially when walking around in the school robes with pigtales (It does not help that I can do a nasty pout and that annoying voice also). My Halloween costume was almost the school robes with a toilet seat around my neck but I wasnt sure if people would get it. -Adrienne From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 6 14:51:08 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:51:08 -0000 Subject: Battle of the Pelennor Fields documentary/clip Message-ID: For LOTR fans this one. Have just received a mailout from Newline Cinema. The LOTR film site has a new short video showing new footage from ROTK - the video is called the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (buffs will know this is the BIG battle) together with footage showing the "making of". If it looks as good on the big screen as it looks here - it should be fantastic. Here is a link - you will need to scroll down the page some and then you will see the download. http://www.lordoftherings.net/legend/interviews/davidwenham/ Personally cannot wait for 17th December to see the trilogy in its entirety. June From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 15:17:53 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 15:17:53 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. > (-8 Top row, fourth kid from left to right. Ja, Morgan D. From stevejjen at earthlink.net Thu Nov 6 16:50:30 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:50:30 -0000 Subject: Matrix: Revolutions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Melody" wrote: > ...having just got home from the theatre from the 3:35 showing of the > last of the Matrix trilogy... > > All I can say is... > > Wow. > > That is exactly how I imagine or rather hope Harry Potter ends. > > I am stunned, sobered, and my mind is still racing. :: > > But I recommend going to see Matrix: Revolutions if you liked, and > could follow, the first two. If only Harry Potter can do that too. > Not end like Star Wars or a cheesy fairy tale, but in a meld of > intelligence, cunning, and sobriety to life. Jen: You can't leave us hanging!! Are you going to post your imagined HP ending later, for those of us who aren't following the Matrix movies? (Yes, I know hard to believe there's someone out there who doesn't care ). I'm having a hard time imagining any HP ending that will satisfy me at the moment. From starling823 at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 16:52:39 2003 From: starling823 at yahoo.com (Sternel) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:52:39 -0000 Subject: "Myrtle"/Adrienne (was: Re: Adrienne's fantastic broom) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hey all. > > this: anyone noticed a resemblence > > between Adrienne and the actress who > > plays a certain ghost in the HP movies > > who's gotten rather fond of Harry? > > I read that and nearly spit my coffee out. I was in line with Adrienne to enter Epcot for the Founder's Feast during Nimbus, when she was in her school robes, and even ticket taker asked her if she was Myrtle. =) She cannot escape it. =) I still think she should have gone for the toilet seat, it's more likely to be recognised than mine! I'm the one in the group picture dressed up as Tonks, but apparently that is *too* obscure, as random groups of people sitting in sidewalk cafes accused me of not having a costume. Which would explain the pink hair and wand, naturally I walk around like that all the time! Our Bellatrix was also not easily recognised, but as she was threatening to curse the Muggles all night, she at least got a reaction out of the crowd. Sternel, who would like to have Weasley's Wheezes to throw out at the crowd next year, and is also v. jealous of Neil for getting to see HDM on stage. From eberte at vaeye.com Thu Nov 6 16:53:00 2003 From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:53:00 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: I recall that you talked about playing sports in school and that your grandmother was an aborigine (I may have that totally wrong) so I assume that you look athletic and have dark hair. So, my guess is back row, 4th kid from the left. Second guess is the 3rd row back, 3rd kid from the left. Third guess is 2nd row back, 5th kid from the left. All wrong, huh? Elle From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 6 18:43:55 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 18:43:55 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions Message-ID: Some weeks ago, I generated a bit of discussion over English expressions. Now I'm turning the tables slightly. I've always greatly admired the American ability with slang - it's smart rather than dirty or rude and seems to be a direct descendant of wisecracking humour. What are your personal favourites - I'm not really looking for swearing here, more kiss off, smartass type remarks. Anything that you find particularly funny, smart or amusing. Be creative. Exercise your living language skills and prepare to astonish me! Ethnic imports are not only allowed but positively welcomed. June From ambiree at students.bradley.edu Thu Nov 6 19:57:44 2003 From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 13:57:44 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1068148664.3faaa7b8f3052@webmail.bradley.edu> Slang is interesting and I always seem to be behind the times....but i do have some alternatives... the people I work with and hang out with have a good ol' time with me in that they refer to any of my slang as an "Amberism" You see, I gave up swearing a year ago on a slight bet of sorts. It started out as 2 weeks, but if I said a swear before the appointed time, I got an extra week, 2 if I said the mother of all dirties....so my favorite expression for swearing is now "Mother chicken" As far as slang terms....hmm, must think as a lot of my slang is work related or HP related---no joke, if i find a way to make an HP reference in my notes during boring lectures I do. in fact one of my friends, if I won't get in on the game will say "don't be a muggle" to me...however... "I'm tagged"--dead tired or got caught "i'm ripped" or "i'm torn"--running ragged "you're joshing" -- joking "alive serious" as opposed to "dead serious" --no HP pun intended "honking the horn" --blatant cheating in a relationship will think of more as I see other replies -- Amber ***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE*** From cindysphynx at comcast.net Thu Nov 6 20:05:22 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 20:05:22 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun! What a great idea! This is gonna be fun! I haven't read anything else on the thread, but I am going with the boy with the adorable ears, third row from the bottom, second from the right. How'd I do? Cindy -- who was tempted to go with the Asian boy but who chickened out, and who may have to have her mom send her some of her childhood group pics From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 6 20:09:15 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:09:15 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] US Slang Expressions References: Message-ID: <007c01c3a4a1$dbe95de0$f6e379a5@rick> Iggy here: Lessee... some of my personal favorite expressions... One that I use on my wife occasionally is "Ya know, sometimes getting a direct answer out of you is like trying to pull teeth from a chicken." I need a little "private time" is a good expression for saying that you need to use the bathroom. We have a jump-starter box for our car (that we keep in the trunk) that's simply referred to as "the boomer" or "the boom box." Getting "bombed," "sloshed," or "schnockered." are three great ways to say that someone's drunk. (My dad's favorite is saying that someone's "three sheets to the wind.") When I'm both physically and mentally exhausted, I tend to say "I'm wiped..." One of my favorites is "geeking," which referrs to to someone spending a lot of time chatting on-line. This can also apply to someone playing a MUD or MUSh. (That's an RPG on-line that's strictly text based.. Unlike EQ or Ultima On-Line.) Which brings us to "EverCrack..." This is a slang term used by people who are addicted to playing EverQuest. Now, you can modify "geek" by turning it into "gamer-geek" to refer to any hard-core role-playing-gamer. (Either tabletop or live action.) These are usually the ones who can quote the rules of a given game from memory... or people who are "Min-Maxers." (This refers to people who know how to take advantage of number crunching in point based RPGs to achieve maximum benefit at minimum cost... I've been accused of being an expert in this field with a couple of my favorite games. *grin*) Another I'm particularly fond of is "skull jockey" to refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. I may send more as they come to mind... or as inspired by other responses... Iggy McSnurd From cindysphynx at comcast.net Thu Nov 6 20:29:33 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 20:29:33 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAAE0FF.16351.1EA889D@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun: > As for the photos... I will reveal who I am eventually (probably >some time tomorrow). Ooooh, that's exactly what we need! A *cliffhanger!* Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel! >And, the fact, that some people have seen an adult photo of > me, shouldn't do too much harm. . . Whaaaaa? Some players have seen The Real Shaun? No fair, man! Cindy -- who is not competitive ****************** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/ From pbarhug at earthlink.net Thu Nov 6 20:17:03 2003 From: pbarhug at earthlink.net (Pam Hugonnet) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:17:03 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment References: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <002101c3a4a2$f34e2d70$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631> Shaun wrote: I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. (-8 Ooh! I love things like this. Okay--I think you are the boy in the second row from the top, fifth in the line from the left. Can't wait to find out which one's really you. drpam who wishes she could do something like this, but hasn't changed appreciably and is instantly recognizable (yes, even by strangers) in photos. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From pbarhug at earthlink.net Thu Nov 6 20:48:06 2003 From: pbarhug at earthlink.net (Pam Hugonnet) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:48:06 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] US Slang Expressions References: <007c01c3a4a1$dbe95de0$f6e379a5@rick> Message-ID: <008201c3a4a7$477eeca0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631> Iggy wrote: Another I'm particularly fond of is "skull jockey" to refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Thanks lot! I nearly choked from laughing! I've been a psychologist for years and I've never heard that one before. In fact, I think I may have just found a new handle! drpam skull jockey [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 20:45:36 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 20:45:36 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > > What are your personal favourites - I'm not really looking for > swearing here, more kiss off, smartass type remarks. Anything that > you find particularly funny, smart or amusing. > > Be creative. ...edited... > > June bboy_mn: Oddly, the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post was... Beat It --- meaning go away. Although, it could have other less savory implications. What's up? --- is one that confuses many foreigners. It means, 'What's happening?', or 'is there any thing interesting occurring in your life at the moment?'. toasted, fried, baked, burnt, burned, burned out, crispy critter, and many others --- means someting is severly worn or broken. 'My car is toasted', 'This computer is completely burnt', etc... Comes from hippy drug culture where burnt meant your brain was temporarily or permanantly damaged by excessive drug use, as in, 'I's really burnt after late nights party'. Hoser --- actually Canadian. A general negative reference to a person. "Hey you hosers, get back to work". Similar to calling someone a jerk. Implies things like lazy, unreliable, and annoying. It's based on a reference to men relieving themselves of excess bodily fluids after drinking way too much beer. Bubble Headed Mini --- this is one my sister made up. It implies that in your upper crainial regions, you are are a bubble or air head. However, in the lower gonadal regions, you are woefully inadequate. Pizza face --- someone with too many zits (acne) Those are all the civil ones that I can think of at the moment. bboy_mn From foxmoth at qnet.com Thu Nov 6 20:51:42 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 20:51:42 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Family slang from my house: "face down in the chocolate" -- describing a child who is too worn out to stay awake at the dinner table and falls asleep in the middle of dessert. "half-mast" -- describes the eyelids of said child "pass the biscuits" --used to tell someone they've used a sharper tone of voice than they probably intended "organized dessert" -- something besides fruit or store cookies "awwww, itsy-bitsy" -- used to someone who's kvetching (Yiddish for always complaining) and feeling sorry for themselves. "no cookie"--response to someone who's made a snarky remark, from a family experiment where no one was allowed dessert unless they could get through the entire meal without snarking. It took us two weeks before anybody, adults included, got a dessert. "dilly-yonker"-- from dial-yanker. Someone whose response to a malfunctioning piece of equipment is to randomly twist the dials. "I'm waiting for the chandelier to fall" --I'm almost at the end of a book or a TV show and I'm not going to be available until I've finished it. "Earth to (child's name)" --pay attention, I'm talking to you. "Xena, warrior mom"--what my kids call me when I'm in get things done mode. Pippin From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 21:20:20 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:20:20 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June: American ability with slang - it's smart rather than dirty or > rude and seems to be a direct descendant of wisecracking humour. > > What are your personal favourites - > > Be creative. Exercise your living language skills and prepare to > astonish me! Ethnic imports are not only allowed but positively > welcomed. > > June fixin' to - getting ready to do something. e.g., "I'm fixin' to go to the store." wheels off - out of control, throw chance to the wind. e.g. "We figured it was going to be a wheels-off weekend when that first thing didn't go as planned." face plant - any spectacular fall when partaking in a winter sport such as skiing or snowboarding. oh, poop! - what I say around my child because "oh, shit" isn't an acceptable comment what's-her/his-toes - in place of a name you can't remember; e.g. "How did what's-her-toes act today?" trying to catch a cold - when you feel yourself coming down with a cold (don't know where I picked this one up, but have said it all my life) son of a booger - another phrase for use around children instead of the proverbial 'son of a b*tch' flatter than a pancake - generally used to describe extremely flat land; also sometimes used to describe the breasts (or lack thereof) on a woman. number-cruncher, or bean-counter - one who plays with numbers for a living, i.e., accountant, economist, etc. Shirley, who will undoubtedly think of more upon posting this (and wondering if June got the off-list email I sent her?) From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 21:27:02 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:27:02 -0000 Subject: stupid questions Message-ID: Say I wanted to delete a post I had made. How would I do that? (I'm not planning to; I just don't know how.) Also, if you reply to someone's email address from a post, rather than to the list, does a copy of that email/post get put anywhere? For instance, if I decided that I wanted to reply to Cindy or Shaun or June off-list, wrote my text and clicked on "send", would I ever be able to see what I had written again? Shirley, who has only a rudimentary knowledge of 'all things internet' From neonsister at ameritech.net Thu Nov 6 21:40:25 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:40:25 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Some of my personal favorites are medical slang terms (I used to work in a hospital). For example: Banana bag - IV fluids with potassium Circling the drain - a person not likely to live much longer LOLNAD - little old lady, no apparent distress Train wreck - patient with multiple medical problems GOMER - get out of my emergency room "He bought a tube" - patient was put on a ventilator Celestial discharge (or "patient transferred to eternal care facility) - death Teeth-to-tattoo ratio - patients with more tattoos than teeth always seem to recover surprisingly well I worked at a university hospital where all the buildings were named for people. The county morgue was the Robert Evans Morgue, so we also referred to someone who died as "gone to Bob Evans". Tracy From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 21:51:06 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:51:06 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tracy: > Circling the drain - a person not likely to live much longer Shirley: I like this one (unless, of course, it was referring to me!). More I thought of: older than God, older than dirt - *really* old SNAFU - supposedly a 'military' term: situation normal, all f**cked up cluster - my sister's shorthand for another supposed military term: clusterf**k FUBAR (my personal favorite) - f*cked up beyond all repair running on fumes - almost out of gas/fuel in the car Shirley, who really needs to get back to work.... From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 21:54:35 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:54:35 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: not good to have to repair your post *after* you sent it.... Shirley: > SNAFU - supposedly a 'military' term: situation normal, all f**cked up should have been 'f*cked up'; although you probably would have figured it out on your own since there was a running theme there ;-) sorry. From drednort at alphalink.com.au Thu Nov 6 21:58:16 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 08:58:16 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] stupid questions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <3FAB5EA8.2100.3D57545@localhost> On 6 Nov 2003 at 21:27, Shirley wrote: > Say I wanted to delete a post I had made. How would I do that? (I'm > not planning to; I just don't know how.) You could go to the lists webpage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU- OTChatter/ log in and then delete your own post from the archives. People who have it on their computer would still have it, but it'd be removed from the archives. > Also, if you reply to someone's email address from a post, rather > than to the list, does a copy of that email/post get put anywhere? > For instance, if I decided that I wanted to reply to Cindy or Shaun > or June off-list, wrote my text and clicked on "send", would I ever > be able to see what I had written again? Generally yes - you should look for a folder called 'saved messages' or 'sent-mail' or something similar to that. It's been years since I used hotmail so I can't be sure they still have this, but they certainly used to. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From stevejjen at earthlink.net Thu Nov 6 22:05:12 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:05:12 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > Now I'm turning the tables slightly. I've always greatly admired > the American ability with slang - it's smart rather than dirty or > rude and seems to be a direct descendant of wisecracking humour. > > What are your personal favourites - I'm not really looking for > swearing here, more kiss off, smartass type remarks. Anything that > you find particularly funny, smart or amusing. Jen: Living in the town where the movie "Slacker" originated, I have to include that term. It originally meant someone living on the edge of mainstream, no particular ambition except maybe finding some 'weed' ('grass', marijuana) and taking things as they come. Now it's generalized to anyone 'veging', taking it easy or relaxing. How about "better you than me", a sarcastic (but endearing) remark directed at a person joking about personal angst. Don't know if this is strictly American: "See 'ya" followed by "Not if I see you first!" Again sarcastic, but said between friends. "All that and a bag of chips"--usually describes a person who thinks a lot of him/herself. Or to describe an event or situation that was really tremendous. I'm showing my age here because I don't know any of the latest slang and don't have a teenager to ask :). From eberte at vaeye.com Thu Nov 6 22:12:13 2003 From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:12:13 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Here are few that I came up with! "taking a dirt nap" -- dead and buried "donor-cycle" -- motorcycle especially when the rider is not wearing a helmet (this is proper medical terminology) "take a five finger discount" -- to steal something "going postal" -- going really crazy (derived from multiple episodes of postal employees coming to work with a gun and shooting up their co-workers) That's all I can think of right now. Of course, the possibilities are *limitless* if we tear down the walls of good taste and start mining those juvenile favorites such as vomiting, women's breasts, smoking, drinking etc. Elle (getting back to work now...) From siskiou at earthlink.net Thu Nov 6 22:19:57 2003 From: siskiou at earthlink.net (Susanne) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:19:57 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> References: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <111182499489.20031106141957@earthlink.net> Hi, Wednesday, November 05, 2003, 8:36:55 PM, drednort at alphalink.com.au wrote: > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. Maybe the boy in the second row from the bottom, 4rth from the left? -- Best regards, Susanne mailto:siskiou at earthlink.net Visit our pet rabbits: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/ From lhuntley at fandm.edu Thu Nov 6 22:27:27 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 17:27:27 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <66F822F0-10A8-11D8-9E19-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> > I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. > (-8 I'm too competitive to actually venture a guess to this and risk feeling like an idiot for being wildly wrong later (and now you all know how truly neurotic I am), but I wanted to mention...well.... Doesn't the kid in the top row, third from the left , look like Neville Longbottom? Just a little? Yes? *bobs head hopefully* Ahh...little boys in nice, neat little school uniforms always make me...giggle. Not that I am particularly the giggling sort, mind you. It's just...I don't know. I saw the Westminster Boys' Choir once, and they made me feel the same way. I got this wild urge to run through the pews waving my arms and yelling "Run! Be free little boys! Be free!" whilst they all scattered and ran out into the street. Luckily enough, I didn't. I don't know what they would have done with me, but I suspect it might have involved getting thrown out of England. See? I'm giggling now, just thinking about it. Laura (who suspects Shaun is actually testing for something tricky like how people specify which boy they are talking about.) From trisha.masen at verizon.net Thu Nov 6 22:27:27 2003 From: trisha.masen at verizon.net (Trisha Masen) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 17:27:27 -0500 Subject: US Slang Expressions Message-ID: <20031106222727.XVSI1313.out005.verizon.net@outgoing.verizon.net> All these slang expressions aren't even getting into the subculture languages like Ebonics. Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the time) Then there's surfer language: Hangin' - based upon "hang 10" for catching a wave, but now just means hanging out with no apparent purpose Then there's valley speak (though I'm not sure how much is still used - this is from my teen years): Ohmigod - literally, Oh My God. Generally, "how shocking" Rad - short for radical (another slang term). Generally means totally cool, awesome. Similar terms: awesome, gnarly. I had others, but they've all escaped my brain now. Sorry :) ~Trisha~ From gbannister10 at aol.com Thu Nov 6 22:31:38 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:31:38 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: <007c01c3a4a1$dbe95de0$f6e379a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Iggy here: > > Lessee... some of my personal favorite expressions... > > > Getting "bombed," "sloshed," or "schnockered." are three great ways to say > that someone's drunk. (My dad's favorite is saying that someone's "three > sheets to the wind.") > However, "three sheets to the wind" is a good old UK slang expression. Geoff From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 22:32:54 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:32:54 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: <20031106222727.XVSI1313.out005.verizon.net@outgoing.verizon.net> Message-ID: Trisha: > All these slang expressions aren't even getting into the subculture languages like Ebonics. > > Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the time) > now Shirley: Do you live in New Orleans/Louisiana? I haven't heard that expression since I moved away from there! Shirley, thinking she knows what "ebonics" is, but not really sure... From eberte at vaeye.com Thu Nov 6 22:54:29 2003 From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:54:29 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Trisha: > > All these slang expressions aren't even getting into the > > subculture languages like Ebonics. > > > > Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the > time) > > > > now Shirley: > Do you live in New Orleans/Louisiana? I haven't heard that > expression since I moved away from there! > I live in Virginia and *I* hear that one all the time--from my own kids...who learned it from their babysitter. It's more like mispronounciation than slang though, I think. I've got the kids trained up now to correct the babysitter every time she says "axe" instead of "ask"--nothing like being corrected by a 5 year old to make you start to get things right. ;-> Elle (who still kisses the ground that her babysitter walks on...regardless of the "axe" thing) From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 6 22:56:22 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:56:22 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: possibilities: back row, 4th from left 2nd row from front, 3rd from left 1st row, 2nd from left pure guesses.... and, yes, the 3rd from the left on the back row *does* look like I've imagined Neville.... Shirley, who can't seem to resist checking the posting lists for new stuff! From tammy at mauswerks.net Thu Nov 6 23:20:26 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 18:20:26 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: <007c01c3a4a1$dbe95de0$f6e379a5@rick> Message-ID: <3FAA90EA.10050.178C3EE@localhost> On 6 Nov 2003 at 14:09, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > Iggy here: > One of my favorites is "geeking," which referrs to to someone spending > a lot of time chatting on-line. This can also apply to someone > playing a MUD or MUSh. (That's an RPG on-line that's strictly text > based.. Unlike EQ or Ultima On-Line.) *bouncing up and down very excited* IGGY! IGGY! You know MUSH! WOOOO! Umm, sorry. It's just that, well, it's getting harder and harder to find people who KNOW what I'm talking about when I try to drag them kicking and screaming into one of my MUSH worlds. :) *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From erinellii at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 23:24:09 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 23:24:09 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ellejir" wrote: > > Trisha: > > > All these slang expressions aren't even getting into the > > > subculture languages like Ebonics. > > > > > > Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the > > time) > > > > > > > now Shirley: > > Do you live in New Orleans/Louisiana? I haven't heard that > > expression since I moved away from there! I hesitate to even get into the Ebonics discussion, but, well, here goes: I live in Mobile, Alabama and one thing I hear all the time is "Where do you stay at?". This is as opposed to me asking someone "Where do you live?". And that phrasing really makes sense to me, because, if you think about it, you live wherever you are at the moment. I mean, you're living all the time, unless you're a vampire or something, right? But if you say "Where does she stay?" it pretty much means exactly what it says. Erin From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com Thu Nov 6 23:46:36 2003 From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent) Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 23:46:36 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: bboy wrote: toasted, fried, baked, burnt, burned, burned out, crispy critter, and many others --- means someting is severly worn or broken. 'My car is toasted', 'This computer is completely burnt', etc... Comes from hippy drug culture where burnt meant your brain was temporarily or permanantly damaged by excessive drug use, as in, 'I's really burnt after late nights party'. Me: A slang expression related to the ones above is, "Stick a fork in me; I'm done." Same idea, more colorful way of putting it, although it's a bit over at this point. Which brings me to--"That's so over." It means passe, out of date, cliched, etc. It's not hard to pick up on this one from context. I also winced the first time I heard my son say, "My bad." Now I actually use it myself. ::hangs head:: It means, "My mistake." We also have slang that's just used in our family. "Nooge" for instance (start off like you're pronouncing "nook" and then change the "k" to a soft "g") is an affectionate term for someone who's being particularly silly. "Gurnk" is something my husband coined years ago meaning either, "I'm basically happy and I hope you are too" or "I hope you're okay," often used in place of "Bless you" or "Gezundheit" when someone has sneezed. (When we've done this in the presence of other people, boy do we get the weird looks!) Variation: Gurnky-doodles. No, I did not marry Ned Flanders. Stop looking at me like that. ;) Other slang we use: "He's/she's a friend" which we use to mean basically the same thing as "friend of Dorothy." Refers to the character of Dorothy in the wizard of Oz, who was played by Judy Garland, who is revered by many gay folks and was gay-friendly herself. By extension, a "friend" means someone else who's gay- friendly. Some folks only use "friend of Dorothy" to mean someone who's actually gay him/herself. I don't know whether this is exclusive to the US; it might be used in other English-speaking countries as well. When my husband and I moved in together two years before we married, my dad called it "shacking up," which I believe is also used in other English-speaking countries. You can tell that he was really pleased about this, right? ;) Some folks brought up Ebonics, but I think there's a basic misunderstanding between the difference between cultural grammatical variations and true slang. It is possible to learn the conventions of Ebonics or, say, the version of English spoken by the Pennsylvania Germans. ("The car needs washed" rather than "The car needs to be washed.") OTOH, slang or idiomatic expressions can often be figured out from context, but they usually cannot be taken literally and there aren't rules for how idiom is created. It was said that when the first President Bush was in office, translators of his speeches for the world-wide audience had an awful time converting his words because he spoke almost ENTIRELY in idiom. It wasn't just a matter of converting his grammar from the down-home way he liked to express himself to more 'standard' English before translating. There just weren't literal translations of many, many things he said, and when translators did attempt to be literal, some very comical results often occurred. For instance, there's the old term "Bronx cheer" used to refer to a raspberry (which in turn is used to refer to the noise made when blowing air across one's tongue when it's held firmly between the teeth, making both the tongue and lower lip vibrate rapidly and often causing saliva to be expelled from the mouth). "Bronx cheer" is meant to be ironic; this rather rude noise is quite the opposite of a cheer. The first President Bush was fond of saying things like, "I give that idea a big ole Bronx cheer," or, "a big ole raspberry." Translators who didn't realize that this wasn't a GOOD thing really went a bit off in what they were communicating to the rest of the world. On a related note, the Razzies are a bunch of awards given to the worst of everything during a given calendar year; it's short for "raspberry," so even though these are awards, you REALLY don't want to win one. --Barb, who never really thought before about the mechanics of producing a raspberry http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb From Malady579 at hotmail.com Fri Nov 7 00:11:34 2003 From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:11:34 -0000 Subject: Matrix: Revolutions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Still on my Matrix high, and wanting to see it again on Monday... (Monday because I hate full theatres when I go alone) Annemehr: >Oh, thanks a *lot,* Melody! >I foolishly procrastinated watching the first Matrix on DVD, so that >I missed Matrix Reloaded in the theaters. Now I have to rent *two* >DVDs and somehow find the time to go to the movies... See, at first I did not like the first Matrix, but my brother and boyfriend were very persistant in showing me how it was so great. I then went to see Matrix: Reloaded and *loved it*. LOVED IT. I saw it four times in the first week it was out. It just arched so well, and Trinity kicks so intense ass. Plus I like the the script. But underneath it all, there was a crafty plan in action, and I am a sucker for a crafty, unshown at first plan. ::whistling innocently:: So first: you must watch the first two before seeing this one. Only way you will knwo what the hell is going on. Second: Do except to have to think a lot to follow it all. It does get very philosophical, and I think most of the fun, for me, was trying to follow it as quickly as it came. Nox wrote: > All I could say after the second one was "Huh?" I *loved* the >first Matirx movie, but the second just kind of went *whoosh!* right >over my head. I hope I 'get' this last one... Errr...well. It is not quite as complicated, but I understood the second one. And what parts I had questions, I asked those that knew all the techno stuff. This time I did not need an explanation for that, so it might be easier to follow. But it does seem as thick as Reloaded. Which is why I liked it acutally. Annemehr wrote: >Wait! Sobered? Melancholy? Harry Potter? > >Oh, I hope not. I agree with you on the non-cheesy part (and I do >have high hopes), but I was sort of hoping for something more like -- >Peace. Balm for the spirit. Ummm... -and- > Jen: > You can't leave us hanging!! Are you going to post your imagined HP > ending later, for those of us who aren't following the Matrix > movies? (Yes, I know hard to believe there's someone out there who > doesn't care ). I'm having a hard time imagining any HP ending > that will satisfy me at the moment. Well....it is kind of hard to draw this parallel without giving away major spoilers. See what I meant is that it is not a hero/bad guy story. You identify the hero at point A in the plot. YOu identify the crisis at point B. Conflict C and D happens, then finally battle E happens with hero defeating bad guy and saving the world. Yes, those movies have thier place, and I do enjoy then when I am in the mood for the need of faith that good triumphs over evil because it is good... -BUT- What made this ending reflect in me how I want Harry Potter to end is that I do not want a typical ending with Harry Potter. I want something that does saving the world, but deep down twists the mind into seeing that there are ways to get things that are not typical, and sacrifices made that are beyond just doing good. Everything is not done because their choices are good and the others are bad. Sometimes you must work around things to make other things happen. Oh dear, I am confusing myself. Just. Sometimes when you think something is some way, and you are taught some things should be that way and thus good, it actually does not make it good nor does the opposite view mean it is bad. Sometimes the fact war ends just makes life good no matter the conclusion. Now, honestly I did not give anthing away there. I promise, but I want Harry Potter to end with a nice solid conclusion but with my heart and mind still turning and pondering how it all was accomplished. Where each step happened. How each decision could have changed everything and yet happened perfectly. Choices are a *big* part of the Matrix, and I firmly belive that in Harry Potter as well. I think that is why MDDT emphasizes that Harry is not a puppet. It is our choices that make us human and creates good plots with possibility and debate after. Ok, I need to get off my wondering down a path box. But, I hope I explained a bit better here without revealing too much. Melody From fc26det at aol.com Fri Nov 7 00:46:36 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:46:36 -0000 Subject: Experiment Message-ID: Hi, I think top row, fourth from the left. Susan From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 00:41:19 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 18:41:19 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] US Slang Expressions References: <007c01c3a4a1$dbe95de0$f6e379a5@rick> <008201c3a4a7$477eeca0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631> Message-ID: <001901c3a4c7$e02564a0$e2e979a5@rick> > Thanks lot! I nearly choked from laughing! I've been a psychologist for years and I've never heard that one before. > In fact, I think I may have just found a new handle! > > drpam > skull jockey Believe it or not, I got that phrase from one of my all-time favorite TV shows... M*A*S*H. (Hawkeye refers to Dr. Sidney Freedman by that nickname in one episode, and it just stuck with me...) Iggy McSnurd (former Psych major and wannabe Skull Jockey...) From fc26det at aol.com Fri Nov 7 01:10:11 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 01:10:11 -0000 Subject: US Slang Message-ID: Ok, having grown up in Chicago and now live in North Carolina I can tell you slang changes drastically in the US! Turn on lights or Turn off lights----cut off lights, cut on lights Push the button----mash the button Pop----soda Drink (meaning alcoholic beverage)---drink (meaning soft drink) Tea (hot or cold unsweetened)----tea (very sweet iced tea) Everyone-----ya'll or you-ens Ill (meaning sick)-----ill (meaning angry) Tell someone off-------show your ass Semi truck------Transfer truck Driveway------Path or pig path And Tracy, my favorite when I was a Paramedic was Lizard (very old person) Beater = really old ragged vehicle Getting the ax or getting a pink slip = being fired Boob tube = Television Thug = bad guy, criminal And so many many more!! Susan From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Fri Nov 7 01:16:18 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 01:16:18 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tracy wrote: > Circling the drain - a person not likely to live much longer That is so beautiful. A wonderful simile for all life, not just those in hospital. "Hi, Ed, what are you doing today?" "Circling the drain, Bill, circling the drain" David From linlou43 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 02:05:49 2003 From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 02:05:49 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi all! I've been lurking for a few weeks but I had to chime in on this one. "Smile and Nod"- seems to be popular around these parts. Refers to just accepting something aggravating or that you disagree with because it's not worth arguing over. "Jeepers Crow"- my own personal instead of swearing phrase. "Senility Moment"- not being able to remember something you know, no matter what your age "Wizard of Oz Moment"- My personal version of a senility moment. Picture the scarecrow saying "If I only had a brain, if I only had a brain..." "Rugrat"- small child, sometimes referring to a mischievous child. "Munchkin"- a small child. "Munchrat"- my own term. A cross between a rugrat and a munchkin. Used affectionately. "TTFN"- Ta Ta For Now, an expression used by Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. TTFN-linlou From augustinapeach at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 02:15:51 2003 From: augustinapeach at yahoo.com (augustinapeach) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 02:15:51 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" wrote: > Family slang from my house: > > "face down in the chocolate" -- describing a child who is too > worn out to stay awake at the dinner table and falls asleep in the > middle of dessert. > > "half-mast" -- describes the eyelids of said child > > "pass the biscuits" --used to tell someone they've used a > sharper tone of voice than they probably intended > > "organized dessert" -- something besides fruit or store cookies > > "awwww, itsy-bitsy" -- used to someone who's kvetching (Yiddish > for always complaining) and feeling sorry for themselves. > > "no cookie"--response to someone who's made a snarky > remark, from a family experiment where no one was allowed > dessert unless they could get through the entire meal without > snarking. It took us two weeks before anybody, adults included, > got a dessert. > > "dilly-yonker"-- from dial-yanker. Someone whose response to a > malfunctioning piece of equipment is to randomly twist the dials. > > "I'm waiting for the chandelier to fall" --I'm almost at the end of a > book or a TV show and I'm not going to be available until I've > finished it. > > "Earth to (child's name)" --pay attention, I'm talking to you. > > "Xena, warrior mom"--what my kids call me when I'm in get > things done mode. > > Pippin I laughed when I read these -- may adopt some of them in my own family!! Now for my own slang -- My mother grew up in a small rural community where the people developed their own slang. Some of these may be hard to explain because they depend so much on context -- I'm not sure I understand them all myself. "Come here!" -- (usually said in an annoyed tone) Go away! "He has the en-thuisms" -- either "he is very excited" or "he couldn't care less" "We're having a Roy" -- a small, rather unappetizing meal (evidently named after a local cafe) "She has bulldog legs" -- she has very thin legs "She has toothpick legs" -- she has very fat legs "She is blowed over" -- she has very large breasts (evidently like a top-heavy tree???) "I weenched you" -- "I embarrassed you when you were attempting to embarrass me" or "I did something so unexpected you were caught off guard and looked stupid" "It's a breeze" -- "It is very loud around here, I can't hear myself think" "He's burnt out" -- "He just can't get enough of this" Thanks, June, for this entertaining thread! Greta From spacechaser2000 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 02:32:44 2003 From: spacechaser2000 at yahoo.com (spacechaser2000) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 02:32:44 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions Message-ID: Delurking for the moment to add: "Spit'n in the wind" means a hopeless feat. "He/she ripped me a new one" or being told off or being yelled at (the expression implies something crude happening to one's bottom). Any sentence that ends in a preposition (see above example)which is a common mid-western thing. I don't know if this is unique to the US but "pulling my/his/her/its leg" implies that someone is joking. I've heard "popped the cork" used to describe someone with an explosive temper. Being "knee deep in sh**" means you're in a whole lot of trouble. When feeling "down in the dumps" or "feeling blue" means you're sad or depressed. That's all I could come up with for the moment. Tina From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 02:59:35 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 02:59:35 -0000 Subject: Experiment In-Reply-To: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > I have put one of my class pictures from school online at: > > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoami.jpg > > I'd appreciate if people could look at that image and try > and guess which person in the photo is me. I'm just testing > something that was mentioned in one of my education classes. > (-8 > Top row, third from the left? KathyK, not fond of guessing but deciding to give it a shot anyway From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 03:10:08 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 03:10:08 -0000 Subject: Matrix: Revolutions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" wrote: > Jen: > > You can't leave us hanging!! Are you going to post your imagined HP > ending later, for those of us who aren't following the Matrix > movies? (Yes, I know hard to believe there's someone out there who > doesn't care ). I'm having a hard time imagining any HP ending > that will satisfy me at the moment. ***Anna pokes head in and quickly hides behind non-Matrix following Jen*** Well, I'm lost with The Matrix too. I beleive that the first movie was on tv the other nite as my dh was wathcing, and I walked in the room only to see on the screen two men standing by two chairs, in an empty space, and the next thing you know, they were on a cliff, still with the two side chairs. That was it for me, and I went off to read some HP fanfic . . . So Jen, misery loves company. Anna . . .(who was forced to read The Hobbit and LOTR in high school and HATED them, only to find myself actually excited about RotK: gee, could Viggo Mortensen and Orland Bloom have anything to do with it??) From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 7 03:19:58 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 03:19:58 -0000 Subject: Anyone going to "His Dark Materials" plays in London? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Neil Ward" wrote something. OOOOOhhhhhhh, the Flying Ford Anglia makes a drive-by appearance. Hugs, Neil. --Joywitch From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 03:38:05 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 03:38:05 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Rather than saying something is good, my friends and I say, "That's happy." When something is not good we say it's "un-fun." We also enjoy making up our own verbs, like "lefting" is to turn left. "New Yorking" means we're going to the city for the day. When something is all right or fine, it's "straight." To be "down with" something means I'm in, I'll do it, I agree, or the like. To chill is to relax and to hang (to spend time together) I recently noticed my brother uses "word" in nearly every other sentence. I don't know the origin of using "word" but he uses it to convey a number of responses including, "uh-huh," "I agree," and "Is that right?" There are more hovering on the edge of my brain, but I'm too tired to force them at this point. KathyK From rvotaw at i-55.com Fri Nov 7 03:59:11 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 21:59:11 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Adrienne's fantastic broom References: <20031106011820.81544.qmail@web21108.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <01d001c3a4e3$81e955b0$8a9dcdd1@RVotaw> Petra wrote: > Hey, Richelle! How many of your > students dressed up as HP characters > too? I hope you handed out Bertie > Bott's Beans... :) Well, when we drew pictures of ourselves in Halloween costumes, I only had one draw himself as Harry Potter. Complete with scar, glasses, robe, and crest. No wand, but still not bad for a six-year-old. :) As for myself, I spent most of the evening (it was our Fall social, i.e. elementary school dance) jumping out into crowds of running children, yelling stop, and brandishing my wand at them. Great for pointing, it is. :) Richelle From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 7 05:02:17 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 05:02:17 -0000 Subject: The Halloween mixer, kinda late Message-ID: Yeh, yeh, I know this was last week's mixer, but I was busy! * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I'd say they were about as likely as wizards, witches, werewolfs and poltergeists. * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? Hmmm. Like Wendy, I'd probably have to say my age. Most people think I'm in my 30s, and I'm, er, a little older. * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the HPfGU lists. Well, Joywitch is simply just my name with "witch" tacked onto the end to make me sound, well, more magical. And the "curmudgeon" part is because I'm a curmudgeon and I needed a last name. And "M" is to give me a middle initial. Brilliant, no? * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? I don't want to steal anybody's, but I like a lot of them. * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. Don Zimmer (You have to be a serious baseball fan to know who he is, but believe me that he would be a great Halloween costume, if he isn't already.) * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would you do for a living? I'd edit the Journal of Transfiguration * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? Antonio Banderas * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? My hard drive, crashing * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a Patronus? Sorry, that's top secret, and x-rated, but use your imagination. * What form might your Patronus take? My Patronus would be my ex, Pete, who I rarely miss, except when there is something creepy and disgusting crawling across my basement floor on its many legs. He was good at dealing with those, so I would guess that he would be good at dealing with Dementors, too. And, while he was around, I could have him move some heavy objects, get some stuff off the high shelves, and change a few light bulbs. Then I would zap him back to oblivion. * What might your animagus form be? An elephant, definitely. I love elephants. They are *so* grey and wrinkled. And here are two more that are already being discussed on the list; if you haven't answered them already, you can answer them now . . . * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by Tracy] Birds. Somebody stupidly took me to see Hitchcock's *The Birds* when I was 5 years old, and I hated them for years afterwards. * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. ["Scariest" question originally posted by June] I'm afraid I have a standard answer -- The moment in *The Shining* when she picks up the typing paper and reads "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy." I can't imagine anything more terrifying than finding out that someone you love has gone nuts. Some other fun things to do (you can post your results along with the answers to your questions): * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put you? If you're not sure, here are a couple of sites where you can get sorted: I always get put in Ravenclaw. However, once or twice I've been accused of being a Slytherin. * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: Only 66%! Probably because I don't read fanfiction. * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: Well, I got 42 questions right, which was the high score for the day. And they spelled Phoenix wrong. --Joywitch M. Curmudgeon From catlady at wicca.net Fri Nov 7 05:05:53 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 05:05:53 -0000 Subject: another Halloween costume Message-ID: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/031029/241/5pist.html&e=3 It's from Yahoo!News not from a list member, and I was pointed to it by DASher's post on the Digby list. USA slang: west of oneself is always 'out West' and east of oneself is always 'back East'. From trisha.masen at verizon.net Fri Nov 7 05:14:58 2003 From: trisha.masen at verizon.net (Trisha Masen) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 00:14:58 -0500 Subject: US Slang Expressions References: <1068177656.5587.35055.m8@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <00c501c3a4ee$1703e9d0$0c01000a@Tlaptop> > Trisha: > > Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the > time) > > > now Shirley : > Do you live in New Orleans/Louisiana? I haven't heard that > expression since I moved away from there! > > Shirley, thinking she knows what "ebonics" is, but not really sure... No, I live in the Philadelphia area. And while I apologize in advance if anyone is offended, but Ebonics tends to be an African-American subculture language. From my experience here, it tends to cross all socio-economic levels until you get into those who were college educated. I've thought of a few more slang terms: "skid marks on the scalp" - means something has gone completely over one's head, i.e. the punchline of a joke that you just don't get. "driving the porcelain bus" - puking, generally after a night of drinking, but not necessarily. "E-ticket ride" - contrary to what someone *under* 20 might think, this means a wild, unexpected ride and originates from when Disneyland sold tickets for their rides (A through E tickets) based upon their scariness. I remember the Matterhorn was an E-ticket ride. "lookie-loos" - also known in other parts of the country as "rubberneckers" or something I'm blanking on around here. People who slow or stop to look at accidents, usually authomobile-related. ~Trisha~ From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 05:18:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 23:18:01 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: US Slang References: Message-ID: <008101c3a4ee$85287a20$6d92aec7@rick> > Susan: > Ok, having grown up in Chicago and now live in North Carolina I can > tell you slang changes drastically in the US! Iggy here: Having moved from California to northern Alabama, I can vouch for this one. Half the things I've heard since moving here I'd never heard before. For example... "Can you lemme hold a dollar?" (trans: Would you be so kind as to be willing to lend me a small sum of money for a few days?) "Don't go borrowin' trouble." (trans: I would recommend that you calm down and not do looking to pick a fight or argument.) "He's just a grease stain." (trans: That person is not worth any more than the small stain of mtor oil deposited from my vehicle upon my car park.) "Don't ya'll go bustin' my britches." (trans: Please refrain from haranguing me about a particular subject, personal flaw, or mistake I may have made.) "I'da liked to have peed my pants." (trans: The clever picture, witticism, or situation to which I bore witness made me laugh so hard I almost expected to lose control of my bladder.) "Can ya'll put them groceries up?" (trans: Since I have taken the rime and trouble to perform the duty of stocking up on provisions, could you reciprocate by depositing said foodsuffs within our larder?) "He's ridin' the jakes." (trans: The gentleman appears to be driving with one foot upon the accelerator, and one foot upon the brake pedal in an attept to control his own excessive tendencies, yet he risks damaging his vehicle in the process.) "She ain't nothin' but a hootchie mama." (trans: The woman appears to be of the promiscuous sort, woth possible manipulative tendencies, as indicated by her actions, attire, and/or excessive cosmetic applications.) "Bless her heart." (Used at the end or beginning of a statement regarding someone's flaws, and is a method with which one attempts to make their comments acceptable in polite society. ex: "She's so skinny, she could get a tan through a picket fence, bless her heart." Alternately is used to say something polite about an infant or child when the speaker really feels that the offspring in question is the homeliest being they have seen in quite some time. Usually is altered in this instance to "Bless your little heart.") I think this about covers the ones that come to mind right now.. about an hour after my bed-time... More to come eventually... Iggy McSnurd From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 07:44:35 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 07:44:35 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK Message-ID: Don't know why this question suddenly came to me, maybe it's because it just got cold here in Minnesota (lowest temp in the state today; -2F). Do houses in the UK typical or ever have storm doors and storm windows on them? For those who don't live in cold climates, storm doors & windows are second doors and windows that go over the primary doors and windows to help keep cold and wind out. It would be absolutely unheard of for a house in Minnesota to not have them. Although, an alternative might be multi-pane windows with two or three layers of glass. The storm door/window and the multi-pane glass help insulate, so not only do they keep wind and cold out, but the keep heat in and make your house much more energy efficient. In the HP story and in most photos I see, storm doors and windows do not seem to be the case in the UK. That's seems odd in a country that appears to be concerned about energy efficiency. Can anyone confirm or deny this??? Silly question, I know, but I'm curious. One of the largest storm door manufaturers is located near my home town. bboy_mn From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 08:56:00 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 08:56:00 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ellejir" wrote: > Here are few that I came up with! > >> "take a five finger discount" -- to steal something > > Elle (getting back to work now...) One I once read in Stephen King, "via armpit express" meaning the same. In other words concealing the stolen goods under your arm. Both nice images - not that I condone the act you understand - but I like graphic imagery. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 09:02:11 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 09:02:11 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: <20031106222727.XVSI1313.out005.verizon.net@outgoing.verizon.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Trisha Masen wrote: > All these slang expressions aren't even getting into the subculture languages like Ebonics. > > Axe - used in place of "ask" or "asked" (I hear this one all the time) > > Then there's surfer language: > > Hangin' - based upon "hang 10" for catching a wave, but now just means hanging out with no apparent purpose > > Then there's valley speak (though I'm not sure how much is still used - this is from my teen years): > > Ohmigod - literally, Oh My God. Generally, "how shocking" > > Rad - short for radical (another slang term). Generally means totally cool, awesome. Similar terms: awesome, gnarly. > > I had others, but they've all escaped my brain now. Sorry :) > > ~Trisha~ Valley speak is definitely coming in the teenage population of the UK - plainly down to all those dreadful teen movies (though I'm being unfair - Clueless was good). Hello? - as a question and not a greeting. The biggest influence is in inflexion. Valley influence means that many teenagers now end every sentence with an upward stress, this is going to be hard to write but I'll try: So we went to see, like, a film? And then, we went to MacDonalds, for burgers? And it was, like, totally, awesome? All the above recently said by my 14 year old daughter describing her Saturday afternoon to her hopelessly out of date mother. So I said "Why is everything a question?" to which she replied (predictably): "Whatever!" At which point I chased her out of the room. Cross cutting cultural contamination, baby. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 09:19:37 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 09:19:37 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" wrote: > Don't know why this question suddenly came to me, maybe it's because > it just got cold here in Minnesota (lowest temp in the state today; -2F). > > Do houses in the UK typical or ever have storm doors and storm windows > on them? > > For those who don't live in cold climates, storm doors & windows are > second doors and windows that go over the primary doors and windows to > help keep cold and wind out. > > It would be absolutely unheard of for a house in Minnesota to not have > them. Although, an alternative might be multi-pane windows with two or > three layers of glass. The storm door/window and the multi-pane glass > help insulate, so not only do they keep wind and cold out, but the > keep heat in and make your house much more energy efficient. > > In the HP story and in most photos I see, storm doors and windows do > not seem to be the case in the UK. That's seems odd in a country that > appears to be concerned about energy efficiency. > > Can anyone confirm or deny this??? > > Silly question, I know, but I'm curious. One of the largest storm door > manufaturers is located near my home town. > > bboy_mn No storm windows - I know you tend to have like extra things you fit on in autumn/winter - correct me if I am wrong. The nearest we have to this is double glazing which is where windows and doors are pre-manufactured units consisting of a kind of sandwich of two sheets of glass with a thin layer between them, creating greater insulation and reducing the heat loss through windows. Please bear in mind that we do not get particularly extreme climate conditions as you do in the continental US. Because we are a maritime climate. Severe (for the UK) winter temperatures are -10 degrees and that is exceptionally bad. Wind chill factors may increase the feeling of cold but that is about as bad as it gets. Contrary to the beautiful snowy winter scenes in the HP movies, we do not usually get much snow in winter - it tends to be a newsworthy happening. When we do get snow, it generally goes after a few days. As regards winds. Again, we do not experience anything on the scale of winds that you might experience in say the mid-West. We can and do get gale force winds from the North and Irish seas but these tend to be at a maximum of force 8 on the Beaufort Scale. The last very serious wind weather I can recall was the notorious 1987 Hurricane (it is notorious because the Weather Man publicly laughed at the idea on TV because viewers had heard a hurrican WAS on the way). This caused major damage and some deaths (it is often immortalised in TV dramas set in that period to give viewers a sense of authenticity!). This only affected the southern half of the country though (I slept through the entire thing...). So to some extent, there would be little market for the kind of storm and extreme weather protection you are referring to. Mind you, if global warming becomes all that is threatened, who knows? June From drednort at alphalink.com.au Fri Nov 7 09:27:02 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 20:27:02 +1100 Subject: Experiment Result In-Reply-To: References: <20031106222727.XVSI1313.out005.verizon.net@outgoing.verizon.net> Message-ID: <3FAC0016.10211.64C1FB7@localhost> OK - so let me tell you what the experiment was about. We were told in one of my education classes that if you ask a group of people to ID a particular individual from a group photograph, on any criteria, their choices will tend to cluster. The same people will tend to get identified. It doesn't matter what the criteria is, choices cluster. I just wanted to see if that happened here. I asked the question on two different lists. http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoamiresp.jpg is the same image but with numbers added to indicate how many times each person was identified. Looks to me like there may be some clustering going on. Over a third of responses id'd only three people. Did anyone get me? Yes, and apparently I looked like Neville Longbottom. I now curse the fact that the photographer made me take off the round framed glasses I wore back then! I'm the boy on the top row, third from the left, who received 4 votes. Thanks to those who took the trouble to answer. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From drednort at alphalink.com.au Fri Nov 7 10:01:11 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 21:01:11 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Experiment In-Reply-To: <66F822F0-10A8-11D8-9E19-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> References: <3FAA6A97.2562.1BF240@localhost> Message-ID: <3FAC0817.5355.66B6372@localhost> On 6 Nov 2003 at 17:27, Laura Ingalls Huntley wrote: > Ahh...little boys in nice, neat little school uniforms always make > me...giggle. Not that I am particularly the giggling sort, mind you. > It's just...I don't know. I saw the Westminster Boys' Choir once, and > they made me feel the same way. I got this wild urge to run through > the pews waving my arms and yelling "Run! Be free little boys! Be > free!" whilst they all scattered and ran out into the street. Luckily > enough, I didn't. I don't know what they would have done with me, but > I suspect it might have involved getting thrown out of England. Little boys? LITTLE BOYS!?!? I'll have you know we were 13 in that picture and we most assuredly were not LITTLE BOYS! (-8 It was actually one of our pet hates... our school had an unusual grade structure for Australia - we were a preparatory school that ran from Grade 5-Year 8 (age 10-13) then we passed onto the senior school (the big school) at 14. Most schools were divided on primary/secondary lines - Grade Prep to 6 was primary (age 5-11) and Year 7-Year 12 was secondary (age 12-17). Now, with our summer uniform in that image, not many schools wore that uniform style - but nearly every single school that did reserved it to the primary grades. We were unusual wearing it up until age 13 - most stopped at 11. And in our universe, this was a situation that could be very embarassing. It actually seemed to us that our entire school was attempting to keep us as 'little boys' when in fact, we were very grown up (-8 I am *SOOOOOOO* grateful I went there. The year of absolute hell I'd endured the year before at another school when I was 12, more or less destroyed my childhood. This school, for one year, gave me the chance to get it back. And I am so incredibly glad I had that. But at the time, it did seem a bit odd. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Fri Nov 7 10:49:52 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 10:49:52 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "junediamanti" wrote: [snip] > Please bear in mind that we do not get particularly extreme climate > conditions as you do in the continental US. Because we are a > maritime climate. Severe (for the UK) winter temperatures are -10 > degrees and that is exceptionally bad. [snip] You should perhaps specify if this is Celsius (centigrade) or Fahrenheit degrees (the UK uses Celsius degrees nowadays, I believe). -10 degrees Celsius equals +14 degrees Fahrenheit; -10 degrees Fahrenheit equals roughly -23.3 degrees Celsius. Best regards Christian Stub? From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 11:32:54 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 11:32:54 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "junediamanti" wrote: > [snip] >> You should perhaps specify if this is Celsius (centigrade) or > Fahrenheit degrees (the UK uses Celsius degrees nowadays, I > believe). -10 degrees Celsius equals +14 degrees Fahrenheit; -10 > degrees Fahrenheit equals roughly -23.3 degrees Celsius. > > Best regards > Christian Stub? Sorry I was being typically British and insular and arrogant. I meant Celsius - I kind of assumed everyone knew exactly what I was talking about anyway -which is another typical brit fault. FYI I have endured some extreme climate conditions in Russia where I learnt from experience that -40C and -40F are the same. Bloody freezing. In Russia people simply ask in winter "How many degrees?" - "Skol'ko gradus?" - meaning how many degrees of frost. June Enjoying a somewhat balmy November day off work. From s_ings at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 13:42:04 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 08:42:04 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, lilahp (Belated)! Message-ID: <20031107134204.19791.qmail@web41111.mail.yahoo.com> *scrambles madly into the room, strewing confetti in her wake and trying to blow up balloons as she runs* It's not a pretty sight, is it, me scrambling like that? Help me out with the cake and I'll cover the decorations. Yesterday's birthday honouree was lilahp. Belated birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: southernscotland at yahoo.com I hope your day was filled with fun and brought everything you wished for. Happy Birthday, lilahp! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From s_ings at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 13:44:55 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 08:44:55 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, FruHu Message-ID: <20031107134455.29321.qmail@web41104.mail.yahoo.com> *drags in the second box of decorations and starts hanging streamers off every imaginable fixture in the room* Someone give me a hand bringing tables for the extra food, please. I think we'll have a lot of people to feed today. Today's birthday honouree is FruHu. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: iwant12 at hotmail.com I hope your day is filled with magic and the company of good friends. Happy Birthday, FruHu! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From mphunt at sprintmail.com Fri Nov 7 14:30:17 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 14:30:17 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Now here's Tracy - arriving to the party late as usual - but bringing something yummy so that all is forgiven: In my family, we refer to these as "Heathism's", as my father is the creator of most of these--and the one's he didn't create he introduced us to. Please also note that he's an incredible animal lover - so many of these are animal related. (please also note that while he was a sailor for 20 years and taught me many limericks not to be told in mixed company...take your mind out of the gutter for these...they're all very 'clean') "30-minute-job" -overly optimistic time estimate for tasks (closely related to "Heath-cut") "Blast!" -exclamation used to express frustration "Blind in one eye, can't see out the other" -impairment in one's vision "Caddy saunch-ways" -not straight, plumb or level "Can't tell which eye's looking at you" -also notes an impairment in one's vision" "Cat grease" -hairball medicine (as in "Time to grease the cat.") "Crunchies" -dry animal food "Fang" -(a verb or sometimes an exclaimation) a bite by an animal, usually in retaliation for a "Heckle" " 'Fiz you" -(note: it's a long i sound) "If I were you" "Frog Jerky" -what remains on the road after said frog has been run over and baked in the sun for a while "Frog stabber" -long, pointed beak of a bird "Frog strangler" -hard rain "Glom!" -pounce (usually what predator does to prey - or my 6 year old does to the poor cat) "Gussied up" -clean and dressed for an occasion "Head-rag" -grasping the head of an animal for the purpose of "Heckling" "Heath-cut" -short-cut gone awry "Heckle" -playful form of torture "Hitch in your gitalong" -impairment in one's ability to walk "Hooker" -being clawed by an animal, usually in retaliation for a "Heckle" "Hotter 'n Blixten" -when temperature & humidity rise to make normal life uncomfortable "Hum-dinger" -ideal "Knuckle buster" -crescent or other slip wrench "Monkey suit" -formal attire "Satcha say?" -What's that you say? "Slicker 'n a whistle" -more than acceptable "Sucky" -affectionate "Thumper" -large hind leg of an animal used for kicking and/or jumping (also used in retaliation for "Heckling") "Yuckers" -unsavory Great party! Thanks, June! Tcy From mphunt at sprintmail.com Fri Nov 7 14:36:05 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 14:36:05 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Shirley: > More I thought of: > > older than God, older than dirt - *really* old Tcy: OOHH, oohh, ooh...that reminds me of another... "farting dust" - now that's *really* old From phoenix_suzaku18 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 15:12:04 2003 From: phoenix_suzaku18 at yahoo.com (phoenix_suzaku18) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 15:12:04 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) Message-ID: I currently live at home with my mother and younger sister. Last July we moved in with my mom's boyfriend, Tom, and his two children. I am 20, and going part-time to college. My sis is 19, and working. Tom's children are Shane 18, and Andrea 15. I have huge problems dealing with their behavior. Shane says up all night. His waking hours are between 4:30pm-8:30am. Which is fine for him, because he works 4 days a week from 5 until 11pm. He has not graduated from high school, nor does he have a drivers license. My sister or I end up driving him to work. Anyway, to the problems... Shane's room is an experiment in SLOTH. Cigatrette packs and Coke cans litter every surface, including the bed. Since moving in, he has not changed his sheets. He showers once every 3 days, despite being a fry cook. I pick up litter around the house after him and his sister; banana peels, used tissues, cigarette butts (on the floor! we have ash trays!!), you name it. Also, I've caught him lying several times. Examples: Just 5 days ago my mom had purchased a carton of Tom's favorite cookies for him, and hid them in our pantry. They had yet to be opened. Yesterday, I found the carton w/only 4 cookies (out of 33) left next to the computer where he spends each night. I regularly bake cookies- a variety too- and Shane had plenty of food options. Last night as I was baking more, Shane inquired "what kind are those?". I told him and said, "You could have one if you like". He replied "Thanks, but it better be just one, otherwise I'll carbo-load and get fat." I said, "Like last night, eh?" Shane, "Yeah, I ate like half a box of cookies." Me, "What do you mean? there were only 4 left?" denial denial denial GRRRRRRRRRR...etc... .....His dad, Tom, was missing his last 2 packs of cigarettes last week. My sister and I do not smoke. Tom asked everyone where they had gone. No one fessed up. My mom did know who, but for fear of embarassing Shane did not say anything in front of everyone. The day before he had told my mom that he was out of cigarettes, and would have to pay his dad back, because he had taken 2 packs. Why would someone lie like this? I have been raised to be very honest, and can't comprehend why anyone would go out of their way to lie like that. I do understand that these examples are not severe, only severely annoying. Plus his lack of personal hygiene makes everything bad about him seem worse. Does anyone have any advice? From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 15:10:03 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 09:10:03 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: US Slang Expressions References: Message-ID: <003401c3a541$3a06fe60$47e579a5@rick> > June: > The biggest influence is in inflexion. Valley influence means that > many teenagers now end every sentence with an upward stress, this is > going to be hard to write but I'll try: > Iggy here: Here's a good way to imagine that... Watch the movie "American Pie" and listen to every line said by Michelle (?), the band geek character played by Allison Hannigan. She talks just like that. ("And this one time, at band camp...") Iggy McSnurd (Who can see Hermione in her seventh year saying to someone "And this one time, at Charms Camp, I stuck my wand...") From cindysphynx at comcast.net Fri Nov 7 15:39:08 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 15:39:08 -0000 Subject: Experiment Result In-Reply-To: <3FAC0016.10211.64C1FB7@localhost> Message-ID: Curses! I didn't win! But Shaun -- and don't take this the wrong way -- you were really *cute* as a child. Really! Cute! Now as for these results, I note with interest that no one chose the Asian child. Any guesses on why that might be? Cindy -- who would love to see more baby pics if anyone has any, and who might have to go to the basement and see what she can dig up From annemehr at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 15:49:21 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 15:49:21 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June wrote: > So we went to see, like, a film? > > And then, we went to MacDonalds, for burgers? > > And it was, like, totally, awesome? > > All the above recently said by my 14 year old daughter describing > her Saturday afternoon to her hopelessly out of date mother. I don't suppose it would be any help to point out that talking like that swept across the U.S. in the *eighties,* and had probably been old in California long before that? Yeah, you're right -- probably not. Around here, people still end sentences with question marks, but they don't pronounce their words like Valley Girls any more. Annemehr From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 15:46:36 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 09:46:36 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: US Slang Expressions References: Message-ID: <009101c3a546$550090a0$47e579a5@rick> > Now here's Tracy - arriving to the party late as usual - but bringing > something yummy so that all is forgiven: Iggy here: Some of the "Heathism's" have reminded me of a few more.. slang terms, both southern and non... > "Blast!" -exclamation used to express frustration I picked up an odd one from the cartoon "Freakazoid!" (A grat cartoon in its own warped and silly way.) "Nut bunnies!" is something I say to express frustration or annoyance when children are around. > "Caddy saunch-ways" -not straight, plumb or level My favorite one that's used similarly is "It's all kitty-wumpus." Which means something isn't level, or otherwise all messed up. > "Cat grease" -hairball medicine (as in "Time to grease the cat.") This is a cool one. I can just imagine somneone taking a large can of lard and slathering the cat with it though... if they don't understand what you mean, that is. > "Frog Jerky" -what remains on the road after said frog has been run > over and baked in the sun for a while There are so many American terms for roadkill down here inthe south that I don't know where to start... "Crow/Buzzard food" is one... "Street pizza/pancake" is another... Of course, one of the best animal names I've heard I picked up from my wife. "Possum on the half-shell" is a southern term for an armadillo. First time I heard it was when she was pointing out a dead one in the road. > "Head-rag" -grasping the head of an animal for the purpose > of "Heckling" This reminds me of the term "dew rag," which is the kerchief you see many bald or short-haired black people wearing on their heads that soaks up the sweat (or "dew") of their forheads while they work or play outside. > "Knuckle buster" -crescent or other slip wrench And, of course, when you slip with one, you usually end up "barking yer knuckles." (Then there's also the fact that many skaters and dirt/street bikers.. both motorcycle and pedal... get "road rash." This is a nasty scab one gets from a "wipe out" that marks you with a long and deep abrasion.) Iggy McSnurd From annemehr at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 15:55:59 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 15:55:59 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Steve wrote: > For those who don't live in cold climates, storm doors & windows are > second doors and windows that go over the primary doors and windows to > help keep cold and wind out. I've recently discovered another reason storm doors are essential. We had a bigger kitchen put on the back of the house this summer, and they installed the regular door but didn't bother with the storm door right away. Well, at night time, the door gets covered with bugs. Then, since the regular door swings inward, every time we'd open it we'd be pulling dozens of bugs into our kitchen, and they'd hop off and start flying around! Storm doors swing outward, so when you open them, the bugs all stay outside, and meanwhile the other door is bug-free. Annemehr, who notices an inordinate number of orange lady-bug things around Pittsburgh this autumn. From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 16:47:13 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 16:47:13 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Your plight struck a chord with me as I have had similar issues in the past with my own brother, who is two years younger than I am. For many reasons he became a problem child, which eventually resulted in too much drinking and drugs and not enough schooling or discipline. My mother, bless her, tried her best but she is not a disciplinarian and is not one to stick to her guns. She even threw him out a few times but made the monumental mistake of letting him come home without changing his behavior one bit. But anyways, he didn't finish High School, either, and very rarely did he have a job. If we got him to pick up one thing in the kitchen it was a victory. We didn't go near his bedroom. No Way. He wasn't big on hygeine, either. He stayed up all hours of the night, occasionally not returning home for many days. And he didn't have a job for an excuse. He was just a lazy, selfish bum. Then, a few years ago, the best thing in the world happened: He was arrested for possession of marijuana. That in and of itself is not wonderful, of course, particularly since it occurred on my mother's birthday but it was a wake up call, of the very generic sort. One that nevertheless proved effective when four days later, on his birthday, he had a little epiphany and set about to change his life. He got a job, and his GED. He quit doing drugs and slowed his drinking considerably. He's still not the neatest person, but then again I'm no neat freak, either. There are still a lot of other problems, too. For instance, right now he's going to a community college to learn all about computers but he doesn't have a job. And that makes me want to scream at him because I went to school full time and worked nearly full time throughout college. He also doesn't have a driver's license and is dependent on others to go anywhere. He's lucky his girlfriend is such a willing chauffer. What I want to say to you, I guess, is while I don't have any helpful advice to give, I can relate to what you're dealing with, in a sense. I know this kid isn't your family so it is different. Then I think of how many times I would have jumped at the chance to cut my brother out of my life completely, and he's family and I love him. I can only imagine how much worse your situation is because he's not your brother, just some kid you're stuck with for a while. So...I'm with ya. And now on to some questions: How does his little sister feel about his behavior? Have you and your mother spoken to his father about it? Has he talked to Shane? In other words, How does Tom handle Shane's behavior? And you can't be the only one irritated with his carrying his mess out of his bedroom and into the rest of the house. Has your mother or his father tried to do anything about it? Does it only bother you because it sounds like it would annoy and disgust anyone? About lying...I've been there on that one, too. Kurt (that's my younger brother's name) used to steal from me. Money, usually. And it would be quite obvious that he took it. And he'd sit there and lie to my face about it. He did this to my mother, too. He even pawned her jewelry (which she promptly had him arrested for. I cheered that one.) including her and my father's wedding bands. We got them back, but there's no way of knowing if that plain gold band of my father's is actually his as the pawn shop had many such bands. This nearly killed my mother. I think theft is repulsive to begin with but I think the worst is to steal from one's own family. He lied about the jewelry pawning, too of course. But there was no one else it could have been. Was I, Queen of Sentimentality in my family, about to go sell my parent's wedding rings? I think not. Short of moving out of your house, there isn't much you can do except talk to your mother about what's going on. It's your mother and his father's home. They're the ones who are ultimately going to have to lay down the law. I'm not sure anyone can force personal hygeine on the boy but they can take the stance that it is *their* house and if he wishes to continue to dwell in *their* home, he'll have to abide by some rules regarding lying, stealing, and cleanliness in particularly common areas like living rooms and kitchens. The same with his sister. She's fifteen. There is no reason for her to not follow house rules about keeping rooms neat. Is their father a particularly messy person? Was this common at their home before you all moved in together? Personally, if it were my brother living in the bedroom of filth, I would cheerfully inform him that he'd better do something about it or I would when he's not home. And then proceed to throw out absolutely *everything.* I've done it before. He got really angry to the point of a little violence with the threat of more violence (nothing too horrific, just sibling stuff). But I told him I would do it. I guess he was too used to idle threats at that point to take me seriously. Although, Shane is not your brother so I see several reasons not to do this. You probably don't want to clean up his mess. He may take it badly if he tends to be an angry or violent person and if he is, may not stop at a "little violence" if you invaded his room in such a manner. Again, this would be something his father would have to address. Sorry for the lack of organization in the above response. I wish I had better advice, but once again I do want to express that I understand the frustration and irritation that you're feeling. KathyK, who gets along with her brother quite well nowadays...most of the time From erinellii at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 17:14:35 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 17:14:35 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Erin: As someone who has a few things in common with Shane (not the bad hygiene, but some messiness, being a night-owl, and some occasional lying) I thought I'd respond to this. "phoenix_suzaku18" : Anyway, to the problems... Shane's room is an > experiment in SLOTH. Cigatrette packs and Coke cans litter every > surface, including the bed. Since moving in, he has not changed his > sheets. I'm assuming that niether you or your sister has to share a room with him in this answer. So why is this YOUR problem? Just don't go in there. You are never going to be able to fix this kid' messiness. Try, as much as is possible, not to get involved in it. Don't look at the room. Don't smell the sheets (or whatever else you've doing to determine their unwashed status) Just put it out of your mind as much as you your neat-freak tendancies will let you. Uh-oh, I just realized I'm sounding hostile. I swear I don't mean to be hostile to you, it's just that I am finding myself definitely identifying with Shane here. Sorry. "phoenix_suzaku18" : He showers once every 3 days, despite being a fry cook. I > pick up litter around the house after him and his sister; banana > peels, used tissues, cigarette butts (on the floor! we have ash > trays!!), you name it. All, right, I can see where this should bother you. Here's what my mom used to do sometimes. When you find his trash (or his sister's) lying around, DON'T throw it in the garbage. Instead, toss it into thier rooms. They will get the message. I don't know what his sister's personality is, but from what you've told me of Shane, he probably won't say anything about it to you, and this will alleviate the problem, though not stop it entirely. If either of them confront you about it, don't let yourself be drawn into an argument. Be deliberately vague. Say "Oh, I thought those were yours," or (if it's true) "I had someone coming over and was just cleaning up a bit" Say this in a nice voice, not sarcastically, but make it clear by your actions that you will no longer be putting their trash in the garbage for them. You haven't said anything about their parental situation, or how they ended up living with their dad instead of mom. Cleaning may remind them of her, and if there is resentment there, that may be one reason it's not getting done. Also, their father has been letting them get away with it for I-don't-know-how-long. It was their house before you moved in, and I'm sure it seemed strange to them to have someone come in and care about how clean it was at first. Of, course I realize it is also hard on you to have to move into this (from your POV) hellhole garbage dump. "phoenix_suzaku18" : Also, I've caught him lying several times. > Examples: Just 5 days ago my mom had purchased a carton of Tom's > favorite cookies for him, and hid them in our pantry. They had yet to be opened. Yesterday, I found the carton w/only 4 cookies (out of 33) left next to the computer where he spends each night. I regularly > bake cookies- a variety too- and Shane had plenty of food options. > Last night as I was baking more, Shane inquired "what kind are > those?". I told him and said, "You could have one if you like". He > replied "Thanks, but it better be just one, otherwise I'll carbo- load and get fat." > I said, "Like last night, eh?" Shane, "Yeah, I ate like > half a box of cookies." Me, "What do you mean? there were only 4 left?" denial denial denial GRRRRRRRRRR...etc... Erin: To anyone experienced in the art of truth-bending, it's pretty plain that there *was* no lie here. Shane did not say "I ate exactly half the pack of cookies", what he said was "I ate *like* half a box..." That "like" is a modifier. It was his way of acknowledging that he had eaten way more than half, but he was too embarassed to say "Yeah, I ate a whole box". And another issue: Why was your mom "hiding" the cookies? Because they were just for Tom? If that was the case, why wait 5 days to give them to him? Heck, Shane probably saw them three days ago, figured he'd wait to see if they belonged to anyone, waited 4 days, no one ate them, so he figured they were up for grabs. Since they'd been in the back of his mind for 4 days, his longing for them had built up to the point where he gobbled like the entire package. (This too is me imposing my own thought processes on Shane, lol) > .....His dad, Tom, was missing his last 2 packs of cigarettes last > week. My sister and I do not smoke. Tom asked everyone where they had > gone. No one fessed up. My mom did know who, but for fear of > embarassing Shane did not say anything in front of everyone. The day before he had told my mom that he was out of cigarettes, and would have to pay his dad back, because he had taken 2 packs. > Why would someone lie like this? I have been raised to be very > honest, and can't comprehend why anyone would go out of their way to lie like that. Erin: Well, you've touched on the heart of the problem there in your question. You said "I have been raised to be very honest." This being the case, it is always going to be very difficult for you to comprehend where Shane's coming from on this, as it's obvious that he has not had that advantage. To me, your scenerio brings back bad memories from my childhood. If someone forgot to put up the hose after watering the garden, for example, my dad would call us all down to the living room, line us up, and demand to know who had done it. If one of us was stupid enough to own up, that one would be subjected to a 30 minute lecture, and a week's worth of punishment chores. Whereas if no one said anything, we got a much shorter lecture, and my dad would grumble "No one's ever responsible for anything around here", before leaving us alone again. Needless to say, this atmosphere was not conductive to truth-telling. Also, that is not "going out of the way" to lie. That is a simple avoidance lie. From Shane's point of view, trouble has come to him, in the form of his dad's anger, and he was just keeping the peace; though admittedly to his own advantage. Going out of one's way to tell a lie would be if he had come in and told a big huge whopper about subduing an escaped zoo tiger or something. If you and your family want Shane not to lie to you, you have to not be confrontational, but not give him the opportunity to lie, either. For instance, if you know he's eaten all the cookies in a pack, don't say "Who ate all my cookies?" because that gives him the opportunity to say "I don't know". Instead, say in a non-accusatory way, "Shane, I know you ate all the cookies, and I was looking forward to having some. Could you not do that with this new batch I'm baking, please." I do understand that these examples are not severe, > only severely annoying. Plus his lack of personal hygiene makes > everything bad about him seem > worse. > Does anyone have any advice? Just this: Distance yourself. You are getting too drawn in to these problems. The severe world outlook clashes here will drive you nuts if you let them, and there's no way you can totally "fix" these people. You are 20. Presumably you will be leaving when you finish school, so put your energies more towards that. If you're only going part-time to college, maybe you have time for a job? If so, maybe you could move out even sooner if you can find some roommates to split an apartment or rented house with. How did Shane used to get to work before you drove him? Start making your excuses, and let him go back to the old way so you don't have to keep driving him. Or offer to take him over to the DMV to take his driving test, if there is any possibility of him getting a car. If he makes a reasonable amount of noise when he's up at night and it still bothers you, get some earplugs. I used to use them with my roommate in college, and you can still hear your alarm fine, if it's on the table right beside your bed. Or tell him some people have to sleep and to shut the heck up if he's too loud. This is one time it's ok to scream at him. As for the hygiene thing... you know, its starting to sound to me like he has a lot of the symptoms of depression. Has he ever been screened? Is he on any meds? Good luck dealing, and I hope I've helped you a little. Feel free to email me anytime. Erin OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "phoenix_suzaku18" wrote: > I currently live at home with my mother and younger sister. Last July we moved in with my mom's boyfriend, Tom, and his two children. > I am 20, and going part-time to college. My sis is 19, and working. > Tom's children are Shane 18, and Andrea 15. I have huge problems > dealing with their behavior. Shane says up all night. His waking > hours are between 4:30pm-8:30am. Which is fine for him, because he > works 4 days a week from 5 until 11pm. He has not graduated from high school, nor does he have a drivers license. My sister or I end up driving him to work. From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 17:55:43 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 17:55:43 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" wrote: > > I've recently discovered another reason storm doors are essential. > Storm doors swing outward, so when you open > them, the bugs all stay outside, and meanwhile the other door is bug-free. > > Annemehr, who notices an inordinate number of orange lady-bug things > around Pittsburgh this autumn. Yeah, my sentiment excactly. I mean, I can understand the fact that it is not a necessity to have storm doors/window for cold, but how the heck do you keep bugs out? I remember in Italy that they had shutters on the houses and hotels we stayed at (we're talking, some really OLD structures there), and in extreme heat, the shutters also helped to keep that out too. But I guess the bugs aren't that big a deal. Or are they? Anna . . .(who also had an infestation of orange lady bugs on my front screen {storm} door the other day; and, who actually heard a story on the local news about an increased amount of "stink-bugs": these god-awful looking creatures that apparently STINK when you crush them. EEEEWWWW!!) From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 18:24:19 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 18:24:19 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June wrote: >>So we went to see, like, a film? >>And then, we went to MacDonalds, for burgers? >>And it was, like, totally, awesome? >>All the above recently said by my 14 year old daughter describing her Saturday afternoon to her hopelessly out of date mother.<< Annemehr: >I don't suppose it would be any help to point out that talking like that swept across the U.S. in the *eighties,* and had probably been old in California long before that?< KathyK: The word, "like," is, like, the bane of my existence? I started using it, like, in elementary school because, like, everyone else was doing it? And we continued to use it for, like, years? The same with ending, like, every sentence as a question? (This still occurs, as Annemehr pointed out) It has taken a great effort over several years to remove this offending word from my everyday speech. Every now and then it still creeps in there and I want to bang my head against a wall for my stupidity in picking up this awful habit. Especially since I still am unable to say "forever" without taking a moment to remove the "like" from the middle of the word before I say it. Meaning, I think, "for, like, ever" rather than simply, "forever." I feel bad for all the teachers who have to put up with classes full of students interjecting "like" into every sentence. KathyK From eberte at vaeye.com Fri Nov 7 18:33:15 2003 From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 18:33:15 -0000 Subject: Ladybugs (was Re: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Annemehr wrote: > Annemehr, who notices an inordinate number of orange lady-bug things > around Pittsburgh this autumn. Lucky you if this is the *first* year that they have shown up at your house! We have been plagued by them in Virginia for at least five or six years now. They seem to come out (?in?) when the weather is cold and it suddenly gets warm again. They are called Asian ladybugs, and I believe they were imported to eat aphids or something (probably by the same idiot who brought over kudzu...) Unlike normal, red- blooded, apple-pie-eating American ladybugs (who would *never* be caught dead inside the house), the Asian variety love to swarm around windows and doors on the sunny side of the house (inside and out) and leave marks all over the walls and draperies. YUCK! Elle (recommending that Annemehr gets herself a dust-buster to help deal with the ladybug influx) From RSFJenny19 at aol.com Fri Nov 7 19:09:08 2003 From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 14:09:08 EST Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Matrix: Revolutions Message-ID: <12d.3411c8bd.2cdd47d4@aol.com> Melody wrote: I left Revolutions absolutely furious about the ending and had the frantic thought running through my mind that I didn't want Harry Potter to end this way! But after a little reflection on the movie and reading what you wrote, I defintely agree with you that I don't want HP to just build up to a final confrontation. But then, I don't think JKR would do that anyway; she's very good at throwing in unexpected things, IMO. Hrm, I want to say so much, but this is a very difficult post to write without referring to what happened in the movie, LOL. Perhaps a thread that allows Matrix 3 spoilers, because I'd love to draw parallels between Neo and Harry, not to mention some other interesting ones. Anyone up for a Matrix/HP discussion? ~RSFJenny, who is about to go read the Lord of the Rings trilogy more because she needs another epic to read with the Matrix over than because she really wants to [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From phoenix_suzaku18 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 20:03:40 2003 From: phoenix_suzaku18 at yahoo.com (phoenix_suzaku18) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 20:03:40 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Fist of all, thank you for the thoughtful responses thus far. Secondly, I want to emphasise that I do know this isn't a dire situation, and that (yes) it is way OT for HP. Last of all, I want to say what a huge relief it was to get those thoughts off of my chest. Thanks again (and try to keep it coming; I'll keep you posted.) Some reponses to Erin, (Kathy K, I'll be sure to respond to yours next): > phoenix_suzaku18: > > > I pick up litter around the house after him and his sister; banana > > peels, used tissues, cigarette butts (on the floor! we have ash > > trays!!), you name it. > Erin: > All, right, I can see where this should bother you. > DON'T throw it in the garbage. Instead, toss it into > thier rooms. They will get the message. I don't know what his > sister's personality is, but from what you've told me of Shane, he > probably won't say anything about it to you, and this will alleviate > the problem, though not stop it entirely. Me: I also have an older sister (25), and she suggested the same thing! On occasion, she would do the same thing to us (me and my little sis.) I had totally forgotten about it. It worked on us, so I'm sure I'll try it. Thanks for the reminder! Erin: > Also, their father has been letting them get > away with it for I-don't-know-how-long. It was their house before > you moved in, and I'm sure it seemed strange to them to have someone > come in and care about how clean it was at first. Of, course I > realize it is also hard on you to have to move into this (from your > POV) hellhole garbage dump. Me: Well, not quite "hellhole". Although, I know I never would have considered myself a neat-freak, before I moved in. I kinda understand how their house had been so messy. Tom works 16 hour days (his ex doesn't pay child support), and Andrea is involved with dog shows, and of course school. But Shane? Oh well, I suppose you can't always have a hat-trick. I was going to wait to say this at the end, but I admit I've been a little critical. And, I'll hold back on Shane a bit too. (*still frustrated*) > Also, I've caught him lying several times. > > Examples: Just 5 days ago my mom had purchased a carton of Tom's > > favorite cookies for him, and hid them in our pantry. They had yet > to be opened. Yesterday, I found the carton w/only 4 cookies (out of > 33) left next to the computer where he spends each night. I regularly > > bake cookies- a variety too- and Shane had plenty of food options. > >snip< > Shane, "Yeah, I ate like > > half a box of cookies." Me, "What do you mean? there were only > 4 left?" denial denial denial GRRRRRRRRRR...etc... > > Erin: > To anyone experienced in the art of truth-bending, it's pretty plain > that there *was* no lie here. Shane did not say "I ate exactly >half the pack of cookies", > > And another issue: Why was your mom "hiding" the cookies? Because > they were just for Tom? Heck, Shane probably saw them three days >ago, > figured he'd wait to see if they belonged to anyone, waited 4 days, > no one ate them, so he figured they were up for grabs. Me: Very good point. But nearly all the cookies? They were hidden because Shane's been known to eat entire *items* at one go. 1/2 gallon of icecream, 3 leftover pork chops, the Jell-o I made early in the day and was saving for dinner. I guess you could say that it was *bound* to happen, and that I should've expected no less. But it was the last straw in my mind. But I just wish that Shane could understand that there are 6 people living here, and the food is purchased for all 6. Would leaving one serving of icecream left be too much to ask? I wish I had more patience, and he more consideration. Should I leave notes on everything? My mom was raised in a family w/12 kids, and I think it peeves her even more. Erin: >big snip< If one of us was stupid > enough to own up, that one would be subjected to a 30 minute >lecture, > and a week's worth of punishment chores. >snip again< Me: That reminds me of my dad too. Only if we owned up to it the lecture was much shorter. Maybe that made all the difference. > Needless to say, this atmosphere was not conductive >to truth-telling. Me: Understandable. But did that truth-avoidence follow you into adulthood? Or in scenarios of trivial importance. I guess with the cookie thing, I just wanted him to say, "Oh, sorry, I did get a bit carried away." And if I was really lucky, "I should probably get more for my dad, since I know they were his favorite." But I didn't hold my breath for it. Erin: > If you and your family want Shane not to lie to you, you have to not > be confrontational, but not give him the opportunity to lie, either. >snip< > > Does anyone have any advice? > > Just this: Distance yourself. You are getting too drawn in to these > problems. Me: Great advice. Erin: > How did Shane used to get to work before you drove him? Me: He didn't have a job before we moved in. And where we live he has to have a permit 6 months before a test. He's had it for 2 months. Erin: > As for the hygiene thing... you know, its starting to sound to me > like he has a lot of the symptoms of depression. Has he ever been > screened? Is he on any meds? Me: As far as I know, he's fine. But depression did cross my mind too. I'll have to mention it to his dad. Thanks again, Phoenix From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 20:35:31 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 20:35:31 -0000 Subject: Pop Music Question - It's My Life Message-ID: Question for music fans. It's My Life - just released by No Doubt (and I really like it) - but who did the original or is it sampled? I know it was (or sounds like an eighties hit) but does anyone have any idea who did the original version? One of those "I can't remember the song moments" and it's driving me nuts. June From illyana at mindspring.com Fri Nov 7 20:44:40 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 13:44:40 -0700 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pop Music Question - It's My Life In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <359CB9EA-1163-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> There's a song called "It's My Life" by the band Talk Talk, but I don't know if that is the one that No Doubt has re-done because I have not yet heard the No Doubt cover. The Talk Talk song is from the '80s, though, so that may be the one. On Nov 7, 2003, at 1:35 PM, junediamanti wrote: > Question for music fans. > > It's My Life - just released by No Doubt (and I really like it) - > but who did the original or is it sampled? > > I know it was (or sounds like an eighties hit) but does anyone have > any idea who did the original version? There's a song called "It's My Life" by the band Talk Talk, but I don't know if that is the one that No Doubt has re-done because I have not yet heard the No Doubt cover. The Talk Talk song is from the '80s, though, so that may be the one. illyana [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From illyana at mindspring.com Fri Nov 7 20:57:34 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 13:57:34 -0700 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pop Music Question - It's My Life In-Reply-To: <359CB9EA-1163-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> References: <359CB9EA-1163-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Message-ID: <030CF4CB-1165-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Ha ha - whoops! I guess I felt that putting my response to the question both above and below the original post would ensure user-friendly reading, whatever that means. Sorry if there was any confusion! illyana On Nov 7, 2003, at 1:44 PM, illyana delorean wrote: > There's a song called "It's My Life" by the band Talk Talk, but I don't > know if that is the one that No Doubt has re-done because I have not > yet heard the No Doubt cover. The Talk Talk song is from the '80s, > though, so that may be the one. > > On Nov 7, 2003, at 1:35 PM, junediamanti wrote: > > > Question for music fans. > > > > It's My Life - just released by No Doubt (and I really like it) - > > but who did the original or is it sampled? > > > > I know it was (or sounds like an eighties hit) but does anyone have > > any idea who did the original version? > > There's a song called "It's My Life" by the band Talk Talk, but I don't > know if that is the one that No Doubt has re-done because I have not > yet heard the No Doubt cover. The Talk Talk song is from the '80s, > though, so that may be the one. > > illyana > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 21:08:29 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 21:08:29 -0000 Subject: It's My Life-Result In-Reply-To: <359CB9EA-1163-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, illyana delorean wrote: > There's a song called "It's My Life" by the band Talk Talk, but I don't > know if that is the one that No Doubt has re-done because I have not > yet heard the No Doubt cover. The Talk Talk song is from the '80s, > though, so that may be the one. > That's the one. Wonderful resource, wonderful illyana, wonderful folks. And the speed! Incoherent with pleasure. June From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 21:34:54 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 15:34:54 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pop Music Question - It's My Life References: Message-ID: <001901c3a576$fe20eb00$1386aec7@rick> > Question for music fans. > > It's My Life - just released by No Doubt (and I really like it) - > but who did the original or is it sampled? > > I know it was (or sounds like an eighties hit) but does anyone have > any idea who did the original version? > > One of those "I can't remember the song moments" and it's driving me > nuts. > > June > Iggy here: Billy Joel first recorded it. (It was also used as the theme song for the TV show, "Bosom Buddies.") Iggy McSnurd (a true blue and die-hard Billy Joel fan...) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 21:37:25 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 15:37:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] It's My Life-Result References: Message-ID: <003501c3a577$57785120$1386aec7@rick> > That's the one. > > Wonderful resource, wonderful illyana, wonderful folks. > > And the speed! > > Incoherent with pleasure. > > June Iggy here: Hmmm.. Think you could give me a sample of a few of the lines? (It might be either song... For all we know, Talk Talk did a cover of the Bolly Joel song as well, since Joel recorded his in the late 70's, IIRC..) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 7 21:41:10 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 15:41:10 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] It's My Life-Result References: <003501c3a577$57785120$1386aec7@rick> Message-ID: <004101c3a577$dd8862a0$1386aec7@rick> > (It might be either song... For all we know, Talk Talk did a cover of the > Bolly Joel song as well, since Joel recorded his in the late 70's, IIRC..) > > Iggy McSnurd > > Iggy here: Errr.. make that Billy Joel... Oddly enough, my second post appeared on the list before my first one... Iggy McSnurd From Erthena at aol.com Fri Nov 7 21:48:36 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 21:48:36 -0000 Subject: Hugely Immensley Late to the mixer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: loony walks into the mixer, apparantly deserted, and decides it's probably all for the best as she keeps coughing purple sparks anyway. > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? I do not believe in ghosts, mainly because I like to think we go somewhere else when we die ("after all to the well organized mind death is but the next great adventure"). However I do believe in poltergiests, because one seems to have taken up residence in my copies of Winnie the Pooh, which I can never find unless they are falling on me. > * What things about you often come as a surprise to others? I really surprized people that I neither plan to take over the world nor help anyone else take over the world. In fact, I plan to be the person who takes down the person who takes over the world. That last part is a secret (which I hope you either keep or fear)as most of my close friends plan to take over the world and I want to be a surprize when I stop them (assuming tey make it that far). > * Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In > other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the > HPfGU lists. Ooo I love this one, the first part of my name's really easy, I am a werebear. The second part, loony, annoys me to no end because I chose it in March 2003 MONTHS before OoP. It is not a Luna refrence nor is it a comment on my sanity. What my name really is is a play on Moony. Moon in latin is Luna, so Moony in latin but anglified (I really wasn't going to find out how latin nicknames worked just for the name) should be something along the lines of Lunay, Lune (pronounced like loony), Luny, or loony. I also decided that as I am a bit ashamed of being a werebear, I should never capatalize my name. This helps now as Luna's Loony tends to be capatalized. > * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would > you like to steal or {b} intrigues you? I'm really happy with my name, a lot of the others do intrigue me though. > * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. I have three, one for each obsession, Ysanne Isard from Star Wars (books and comic books). She wears a blood red version of an Imperial Grand Admaral's Uniform (it's like the grey officer's uniform, for movie watchers) has black hair with white temple locks, and her right eye is an icy blue and her left is a bright red (Yes I've spent a great ammount of time figuring this costume out). For HP I'd be (hey I rhyme) Prof. Sinistra, probably in Yule Ball garb (I know we never see her, not only is that the point, I like to imagine what an astronmy professor looks like), and for LOTR a Nazgul with all the armor. > * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would > you do for a living? If I were in the potterverse I'd want to be myself and I'd either be a writer (somone has to update A History of magic)or I'd work on the Department of International Magical Cooperation (it's something I really want to do after school, I do not want to emulate Percy or anything) > * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? Myself holding warm socks, my first novel and an autographed set of all seven HP books. > * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? If it couldn't manage a very high place it woud be...um... my best friend telling me she's married this boy who she has a crush on but who has jerked her around a few times. (I've told her no good will come of it but I am too like Cassandra, no one listenes to me). > * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a > Patronus? One day last winter when I was thoroughly depressed, the sun hadn't poked it's head out in weeks (this isn't too uncommon here but it's still depressing), and I was just generally feeling bad I went to see LOTR again for something to do and when I came out, I felt really really good, the sun was back, and it was just a great moment, happy and peaceful. > * What form might your Patronus take? The killer bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail > * What might your animagus form be? A kodiak bear > And here are two more that are already being discussed on the list; > if you haven't answered them already, you can answer them now . . . > > * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, > a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by > Tracy] Mice, mice, mice. My house was infested whenI was nine and one night I woke up with one burroughing into my side. I'm still terrified of them. > * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, > tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. > ["Scariest" > question originally posted by June] I'm not really a big horror movie person myself. > Some other fun things to do (you can post your results along with > the answers to your questions): > > * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put > you? I always thought I'd be Ravenclaw but I did the other ones anyway. The 7 dragons one put me in Hufflepuff at first but on my second run I got ravenclaw (I changed about one answer too). And on the other one (sorry forgot the name) I was Ravenclaw from the first. > * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or > are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: > > The Harry Potter Obsession Test: Wow, only 69% obsessed, I'm down, I was at 70% last time I checked. > * Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the > details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code. If you haven't > created one, > this site will walk you through it: wayyyy too long for my tastes > * Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms > to decorate your signature with at I like, SILK SHIRTS, MAGIC DISHWASHER, SILK GOWNS, the USS SAD DENIAL, and finally SHIRTY FLAMINGO (my own theory, yet to be launched) > * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here > and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: Grr... it won't let me take the quiz :-(. Oh well I'll take it and let you know later. ~~loony (spying Joywitch and waving before returning to her den of ill health) PS: I apologize for any spelling errors in this mesage, my word processor isn't working so I've got to fix it, which requires shutting down the computer. From illyana at mindspring.com Fri Nov 7 21:51:51 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 14:51:51 -0700 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] It's My Life-Result In-Reply-To: <003501c3a577$57785120$1386aec7@rick> References: <003501c3a577$57785120$1386aec7@rick> Message-ID: <97F828A2-116C-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> On Nov 7, 2003, at 2:37 PM, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > > Hmmm.. Think you could give me a sample of a few of the lines? > > (It might be either song... For all we know, Talk Talk did a cover of > the > Bolly Joel song as well, since Joel recorded his in the late 70's, > IIRC..) > Now Illyana: Here are the lyrics to the Talk Talk song: http://www.lyricsdomain.com/lyrics/23862/ I also looked up the Billy Joel lyrics, since I am not familiar with his song, and they are not the same: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/My-Life-lyrics-Billy-Joel/ C351330977A537C448256870001D54FB OR http://tinyurl.com/u4hm Like I said before, I have not yet heard the No Doubt version, but I just did a google search and it seems they have covered the Talk Talk song, not the Billy Joel song. So that ends it, I guess! illyana [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From heidilist at tandys.org Fri Nov 7 22:00:13 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (heidi tandy) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 14:00:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pop Music Question - It's My Life In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031107220013.64565.qmail@web60302.mail.yahoo.com> --- junediamanti wrote: > Question for music fans. > > It's My Life - just released by No Doubt (and I > really like it) - > but who did the original or is it sampled? > > I know it was (or sounds like an eighties hit) but > does anyone have > any idea who did the original version? I hope nobody's answered this, but it was Talk Talk (the video with all the animals) and it was, IIRC, 1983. heidi From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 7 22:09:14 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 22:09:14 -0000 Subject: It's My Life-Result In-Reply-To: <97F828A2-116C-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Message-ID: To all interested parties. Have now listened to both versions - No Doubt and Talk Talk IMHO - Talk Talk have the edge but Gwen does a pretty good rendition as a cover. The song bears no relation to the Billy Joel song. But I will download that soon and listen to it anyway. Guess I'm a bit of a sucker for the eighties thing. Or the seventies. June Thanks for all offers of help. June From neonsister at ameritech.net Fri Nov 7 22:52:30 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 22:52:30 -0000 Subject: It's My Life-Result In-Reply-To: <97F828A2-116C-11D8-8CCB-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, illyana delorean wrote: >> > Here are the lyrics to the Talk Talk song: > http://www.lyricsdomain.com/lyrics/23862/ > Thanks for posting the link to the lyrics! I love this song (the Talk Talk version - haven't heard No Doubt's yet) and that line "if I could buy my reasoning" always sounded like "if I could find my Raisinettes" to me! lol Tracy From erinellii at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 00:02:12 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 00:02:12 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "phoenix_suzaku18" wrote: > First of all, thank you for the thoughtful responses thus far. I want to say what a huge relief it was to get those thoughts off of my chest. Erin: I'm pretty sure it's been good for me to respond as well. It let me say some stuff about myself that I've understood for a long time, just never had anyone to articulate it to before. "phoenix_suzaku18": > Some reponses to Erin, : But nearly all the cookies? They were hidden because Shane's been known to eat entire *items* at one go. 1/2 gallon of icecream, 3 leftover pork chops, the Jell-o I made early in the day and was saving for dinner. I guess you could say that it was *bound* to happen, and that I should've expected no less. But it was the last straw in my mind. But I just wish that Shane could understand that there are 6 people living here, and the food is purchased for all 6. Would leaving one serving of ice cream left be too much to ask? I wish I had more patience, and he more consideration. Erin: If wishes were horses.... but don't be fooled. He *understands* perfectly well, he just doesn't care. At least while he's eating. Afterwards he may feel embarrassed or sorry, and that's where the lying comes in. But not embarassed or sorry enough to stop himself the next time! "phoenix_suzaku18": Should I leave notes on everything? Erin: Realistically? If it's something you care about, like that Jell-o for dinner, yes. It's the only way to be sure. But for goodness sakes, don't put his name on the notes. Act like they're for *everyone*. > Erin: > >big snip< If one of us was stupid > > enough to own up, that one would be subjected to a 30 minute > >lecture, > > and a week's worth of punishment chores. >snip again< > > Me: That reminds me of my dad too. Only if we owned up to it the > lecture was much shorter. Maybe that made all the difference. It wasn't the *length* so much as the number of times it happened and the utter stupidness of the things he would pick to go off about. And the attitude of enjoyment he had while he did it. It wasn't like, "Well, I'm sorry you did this, but glad you owned up to it, so here's what you have to do to make it better." No, more like "Come on, someone 'fess up 'cause I can hardly wait to PUNISH you!" He really made it into a sort of him against us thing, into which even my mom figured. I was thinking of that after I responded. If Shane's former family dynamics corresponded to my own, when he mentioned to your mom about cigarettes, he was probably hoping that your mother would say to his father something like "Oh, by the way, Shane took a couple packs of your cigarettes, but he said he'll pay you back," before his dad even found out they were missing. At least that's what my mother would have done for one of us. This is a complicated game, and of course your Mom has no idea that she's playing it. And no obligation to do so, of course. Probably much better for the relationship if she doesn't, esp. since hopefully Shane will be out on his own in, at most, a couple of years. However, currently she is playing, because she didn't tell on Shane. So Shane will see her as a co-conspirator, and she'll probably get other confessions from him. He doesn't think of it as a game, I'm sure, and might not even be aware of it. To him, it's just the way things are. I didn't start to analyze my family until just before I left. phoenix_suzaku18": But did that truth-avoidence follow you into > adulthood? Or in scenarios of trivial importance. Erin: Actually, yes, it has. Lying becomes a habit if you do it often enough. I'm nearly 24 now, and if someone says something small like, "Did you take my pen?" in a harsh or accusatory tone, I'm still liable to say "no" before I think about it. All my friends know I have a little "lying problem" and that I'm trying to overcome it. Like if they want me to ask so-and-so if she can go to the movies with our group tuesday night, and I say "Okay, I'll ask her at work tommorrow," and then I forget to do it, they'll ask me the next day if I've talked to her, and I'll be like "Yeah, I did,". So then they'll say "Can she come?" Embarassed silence. "You didn't really ask her, did you?" And I have to admit I forgot. But I'm doing better than I was two years ago. Back then I would have glibly continued "Of course she can!" and then been frantically calling the person I was supposed to have asked as soon as I could get away from the first person. Luckily I have very understanding friends. So avoidance lying really is my first instinct, even now. But only in response to a direct question, when I believe someone is going to yell at me or get mad if I say "yes." I liken it to flinching when you think someone is going to hit you. A verbal flinch. In response to an anticipated verbal hit. "phoenix_suzaku18": > I guess with the cookie thing, I just wanted him to say, "Oh, sorry, I did get a bit carried away." Erin: He did, in his own way. You're for sure not going to get anything else out of him now. "phoenix_suzaku18": And if I was really lucky, "I should probably get more for my dad, since I know they were his favorite." But I didn't hold my breath for it. Erin: Ha ha! No, no breath-holding, please! I may be sympathetic to him, but I'm not blind to the fact that a lot of it IS just plain laziness and disregard for others. Unless of course it turns out that he is horribly depressed with really screwed-up brain chemistry or something. > Erin: > > How did Shane used to get to work before you drove him? > > Me: He didn't have a job before we moved in. And where we live he has to have a permit 6 months before a test. He's had it for 2 months. Erin: Ah. Well, at least he's on the way. Ask if he's saving some money to pay for a car and insurance so he can buy one as soon as he can drive. If he's not, he needs to start now. And has he any plans to take the GED? He really should. It is an extremely *easy* test, or so I've heard. Most people pass it no problem, no need to study, even. And it's something you *need*, really, if you're not gonna finish school. Erin From melclaros at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 01:55:42 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 01:55:42 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "psychic_serpent" wrote: It was said that when the first President Bush was in office, translators of his speeches for the world-wide audience had an awful time converting his words because he spoke almost ENTIRELY in idiom. It wasn't just a matter of converting his grammar from the down-home way he liked to express himself to more 'standard' English before translating. There just weren't literal translations of many, many things he said, and when translators did attempt to be literal, some very comical results often occurred. me: And now we've moved on to George II who is "All hat and no cattle". Mel, who fell off her chair laughing at that one. Remember that staged scene on the aircraft carrier? From melclaros at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 02:05:39 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 02:05:39 -0000 Subject: US Slang Expressions In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" wrote: > I don't suppose it would be any help to point out that talking like > that swept across the U.S. in the *eighties,* and had probably been > old in California long before that? > > Yeah, you're right -- probably not.> > Around here, people still end sentences with question marks, but they> don't pronounce their words like Valley Girls any more. > me: Oh thank GOD! I broke into a cold sweat there for a minute thinking it might be *coming back*! I couldn't deal with another decade of 'mallrats' with 'sharkfins' squeaking, 'youknow?' all over the place. Mel, breathing easier in the US where the valley thing is over and done with. From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 04:30:01 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 20:30:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: "Myrtle"/Adrienne (was) Adrienne's fantastic broom In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031108043001.68376.qmail@web21105.mail.yahoo.com> Yours truly had said: > > I was just going to post that! Plus > > this: anyone noticed a resemblence > > between Adrienne and the actress who > > plays a certain ghost in the HP movies > > who's gotten rather fond of Harry? > > Adrienne: > I get this *all the time*! :) Especially > when walking around in the school robes > with pigtales (It does not help that I > can do a nasty pout and that annoying > voice also). My Halloween costume was > almost the school robes with a toilet > seat around my neck but I wasnt sure if > people would get it. After a spit take, Sternel: > I still think she should have gone for > the toilet seat, Oh I totally agree - especially if you can find (ok, make) toilet seat covers... with the Hogwarts crest printed on it of course. Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 05:40:43 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 05:40:43 -0000 Subject: Sloppy people and Liars (help!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "phoenix_suzaku18" wrote: > > ...edited... > > I am 20, and going part-time to college. My sis is 19, and working. > Tom's children are Shane 18, and Andrea 15. I have huge problems > dealing with their behavior. > > ...edited.. > Phoenix bboy_mn: A man is walk through the desert miles from any person living or dead. Suddenly, he hears something crunch under his foot. He looks down and sees a crisp new one hundred dollar bill. Question, does he keep it? ...and why? He keeps it. Why? Because he can. Why doesn't your step-brother clean up after himself? Becasue he can. Because other people will clean up for him. Why doesn't he get a drivers license because he doesn't need to. A few things you need to remember, first is that you are NOT THE PARENT, so your part in all this is limited. However, you do live there, and his behavior affects the quality of your life. So while your say is limited, but you do have some say. In my family, it's my neice, she's a irresponsible druggy. She has three kids, they've been taken away several times. One daughter has never lived with her, the other is constantly neglected, and now she just had another baby, on top of which she's been arrested several times this year. She has taken advantage of and manipulated everyone in here life until we have had no choice but to step away, and force her to live with her mistakes. So, her kids are in foster care right now because all her family, who live in the same town by the way, refused to take them in. We do love the kids dearly, but if we take them again, it just makes it too easy for her to dump them on us when ever they become inconvinient. So, this way, she has to live with the fact that the county came and took her kids way and put them in foster care. It hurt us deeply to allow that to happen, but as long as we keep insulating her from the consequences of her action, she will never learn. I think you and your natural brothers and sister should set your step-father and mother down, and tell them how you feel. I wouldn't say it in a way that makes it sound like you are making demands. Just say, this is what's happening, this is how it negatively affects your life, this is how we feel, and then let them do whatever they will do. Mostly don't let it become emotional and heated. If it starts to get out of control, you have to just collectively walk away. Until your step-brother is willing to help himself, he is a drag on all the people around him. Just a thought. bboy_mn From paulag5777 at yahoo.com Sat Nov 8 20:38:18 2003 From: paulag5777 at yahoo.com (Paula Gaon) Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 12:38:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: Which is you favorite creature poll Message-ID: <20031108203818.15268.qmail@web40006.mail.yahoo.com> 8Nov03 Thanks to everyone who's voted in the "Which Is Your Favorite Creature" poll. If you haven't voted yet, please do so at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/surveys?id=1151101 Thanks, ~Paula "Griff" Gaon --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 8 21:24:39 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 21:24:39 -0000 Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: Message-ID: As a result of your various assistances, I downloaded It's My Life and burned it onto CD with other tracks today. Since then I have listened to it on an almost constant loop. This tends to be my way, with total overkill resulting after a while, during which I might shudder if I hear the song again for some time. Does anyone else do this - by which I include having a song as a total earworm (earworm is my term for when a song/music takes up residence in your head and doesn't move out despite all attempts to evict it)? And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? The current joint earworms I have are: It's my Life - Talk Talk Introduction to Scene 2, Act 1, Boris Godunov, by Mussorgsky. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 8 21:27:32 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 21:27:32 -0000 Subject: All the Ones - 18 to go Message-ID: Just a thought - 18 more members (at time of posting) and HPFGU will have 11111 members. June From neonsister at ameritech.net Sat Nov 8 23:29:04 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sat, 08 Nov 2003 23:29:04 -0000 Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Aaaaaaaah! Earworms!!! I work in a day spa, and we have relaxing new- agey music playing all the time; about five CDs in the player that repeat randomly throughout the day. The entire "A Day Without Rain" CD by Enya is an earworm for me! Some of my co-workers have been known to remove certain CDs from the player and hide them from time to time to prevent fatal earworm episodes, lol. Tracy From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 9 00:05:34 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 00:05:34 -0000 Subject: Experiment Result In-Reply-To: <3FAC0016.10211.64C1FB7@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > I asked the question on two different lists. > http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/whoamiresp.jpg > is the same image but with numbers added to indicate how many times > each person was identified. > Did anyone get me? > > Yes, and apparently I looked like Neville Longbottom. I now curse > the fact that the photographer made me take off the round framed > glasses I wore back then! I'm the boy on the top row, third from > the left, who received 4 votes. I thought the boy who looked most like Neville Longbottom was the first on the third row from the back, next to the man in the light color jacket, with the big smile of a newly confident Neville. The black-haired boy in the second row who got four votes: he is the most-eyecatching face in the group; I think he looks like a young Sirius Black. Tell me he is now bald and fat and manages a car rental agency. I tried to guess, but the more I looked at the picture, the less I could tell which face looked like your writing style. From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 9 00:29:31 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 00:29:31 -0000 Subject: Storm Doors & Storm Windows in the UK In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > FYI I have endured some extreme climate conditions in Russia where I > learnt from experience that -40C and -40F are the same. Bloody > freezing. I recall a few years ago when a winter cold snap in Alaska ended and ATC phoned up a local newspaper editor for comment about it. IIRC He said that now that it was back to the normal 40 below, everyone was walking around with their coats unzipped as if it were only 20 below. From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 9 00:32:51 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 00:32:51 -0000 Subject: Hugely Immensley Late to the mixer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" wrote: > What my name really is is a play on Moony. Are you another Remus fangirl? > I also decided that as I am a bit ashamed of being a werebear, Why? Just because of society's descrimination against were-critters? From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 9 02:42:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 20:42:01 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Earworms References: Message-ID: <008901c3a66c$9d016920$98e779a5@rick> > June: > And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? > Iggy here: Well, you mean aside from songs in most of the shows my toddler daughter likes watching over and over? (I'll list "Beauty and the Beast" movie, "Blue's Clues," "Dora the Explorer," "the Wiggles," "SpongeBob SquarePants," and "Fairly Oddparents" in this list...) The worst ones for me have always been: "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by Leo Sayer "I Was Made for Dancing" by Leif Garrett "You Are My Sunshine" and the runes for the following three commercials - (the classic songs... not new ones) "Armor Hot Dogs" "I Wish I Was an Oscar Meyer Weiner" and "Shasta" (Great... See what you've done? Now I have them ALL running through my head at once... Thanks a heap, June.) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 9 02:47:18 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 20:47:18 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Hugely Immensley Late to the mixer References: Message-ID: <008a01c3a66c$9de33da0$98e779a5@rick> >> werebearloony: > > I also decided that as I am a bit ashamed of being a werebear, > Catlady > Why? Just because of society's descrimination against were-critters? Iggy here: Hey, you two have it easy. At least people like cats and bears... you could have it a lot worse. You could be a Nuwisha, like me... (That's a Were Coyote for those who don't know. Why else do you think I wear the badge of Coyote's Child with honor?) Coyotes have a bad enough rep... much less Were Coyotes... Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 9 04:11:13 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 22:11:13 -0600 Subject: Advice to an Evil Overlord (long... definately long) Message-ID: <000801c3a677$8513eb20$8dec79a5@rick> Hi all, Iggy here. Some of you may know of this list, but most probably don't. This is a list compiled back in 1997 by Peter Anspach and is a list of warnings to the aspiring Evil Overlord to help prevent their downfall. (I also point out the date because one or two of the items on the list are a little dated in reference to the technology from that time frame...) Anyhow, I recently found my hardcopy of this, and recovered the main file off the internet. I thought you all might like this. For reference, by the way, I think the following points are ones that Voldemort should particularly pay attention to if he really wants to achieve true dominion: 1, 6, 11, 17, 20, 21, 24, 29, 34, 41, 46, 61, 68, 75, 78, 85, 101, 102, 108, 115, 117, 151, 157, 170, 175, 184, 186, 201, 202, 208, 213, 227, 229, and 230 Enjoy... Iggy McSnurd ********** This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach. If you enjoy it, feel free to pass it along or post it anywhere, provided that (1) it is not altered in any way, and (2) this copyright notice is attached Being an Evil Overlord seems to be a good career choice. It pays well, there are all sorts of perks and you can set your own hours. However every Evil Overlord I've read about in books or seen in movies invariably gets overthrown and destroyed in the end. I've noticed that no matter whether they are barbarian lords, deranged wizards, mad scientists or alien invaders, they always seem to make the same basic mistakes every single time. With that in mind, allow me to present... The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord 1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones. 2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through. 3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon. 4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies. 5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness. 6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them. 7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No." 8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out. 9. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labeled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labeled as such. 10. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well. 11. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat. 12. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation. 13. All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal. 14. The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request. 15. I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation. 16. I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know." 17. When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice. 18. I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would provide a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time. 19. I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father. 20. Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly. 21. I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman footsoldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set. 22. No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head. 23. I will keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train my troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize my power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- my troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks. 24. I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.) 25. No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot. 26. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber. 27. I will never build only one of anything important. All important systems will have redundant control panels and power supplies. For the same reason I will always carry at least two fully loaded weapons at all times. 28. My pet monster will be kept in a secure cage from which it cannot escape and into which I could not accidentally stumble. 29. I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion. 30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief. 31. All naive, busty tavern wenches in my realm will be replaced with surly, world-weary waitresses who will provide no unexpected reinforcement and/or romantic subplot for the hero or his sidekick. 32. I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by. 33. I won't require high-ranking female members of my organization to wear a stainless-steel bustier. Morale is better with a more casual dress-code. Similarly, outfits made entirely from black leather will be reserved for formal occasions. 34. I will not turn into a snake. It never helps. 35. I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X. 36. I will not imprison members of the same party in the same cell block, let alone the same cell. If they are important prisoners, I will keep the only key to the cell door on my person instead of handing out copies to every bottom-rung guard in the prison. 37. If my trusted lieutenant tells me my Legions of Terror are losing a battle, I will believe him. After all, he's my trusted lieutenant. 38. If an enemy I have just killed has a younger sibling or offspring anywhere, I will find them and have them killed immediately, instead of waiting for them to grow up harboring feelings of vengeance towards me in my old age. 39. If I absolutely must ride into battle, I will certainly not ride at the forefront of my Legions of Terror, nor will I seek out my opposite number among his army. 40. I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve. 41. Once my power is secure, I will destroy all those pesky time-travel devices. 42. When I capture the hero, I will make sure I also get his dog, monkey, ferret, or whatever sickeningly cute little animal capable of untying ropes and filching keys happens to follow him around. 43. I will maintain a healthy amount of skepticism when I capture the beautiful rebel and she claims she is attracted to my power and good looks and will gladly betray her companions if I just let her in on my plans. 44. I will only employ bounty hunters who work for money. Those who work for the pleasure of the hunt tend to do dumb things like even the odds to give the other guy a sporting chance. 45. I will make sure I have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what in my organization. For example, if my general screws up I will not draw my weapon, point it at him, say "And here is the price for failure," then suddenly turn and kill some random underling. 46. If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor. 47. If I learn that a callow youth has begun a quest to destroy me, I will slay him while he is still a callow youth instead of waiting for him to mature. 48. I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge. 49. If I learn the whereabouts of the one artifact which can destroy me, I will not send all my troops out to seize it. Instead I will send them out to seize something else and quietly put a Want-Ad in the local paper. 50. My main computers will have their own special operating system that will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh powerbooks. 51. If one of my dungeon guards begins expressing concern over the conditions in the beautiful princess' cell, I will immediately transfer him to a less people-oriented position. 52. I will hire a team of board-certified architects and surveyors to examine my castle and inform me of any secret passages and abandoned tunnels that I might not know about. 53. If the beautiful princess that I capture says "I'll never marry you! Never, do you hear me, NEVER!!!", I will say "Oh well" and kill her. 54. I will not strike a bargain with a demonic being then attempt to double-cross it simply because I feel like being contrary. 55. The deformed mutants and odd-ball psychotics will have their place in my Legions of Terror. However before I send them out on important covert missions that require tact and subtlety, I will first see if there is anyone else equally qualified who would attract less attention. 56. My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice. 57. Before employing any captured artifacts or machinery, I will carefully read the owner's manual. 58. If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner. 59. I will never build a sentient computer smarter than I am. 60. My five-year-old child advisor will also be asked to decipher any code I am thinking of using. If he breaks the code in under 30 seconds, it will not be used. Note: this also applies to passwords. 61. If my advisors ask "Why are you risking everything on such a mad scheme?", I will not proceed until I have a response that satisfies them. 62. I will design fortress hallways with no alcoves or protruding structural supports which intruders could use for cover in a firefight. 63. Bulk trash will be disposed of in incinerators, not compactors. And they will be kept hot, with none of that nonsense about flames going through accessible tunnels at predictable intervals. 64. I will see a competent psychiatrist and get cured of all extremely unusual phobias and bizarre compulsive habits which could prove to be a disadvantage. 65. If I must have computer systems with publicly available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment. 66. My security keypad will actually be a fingerprint scanner. Anyone who watches someone press a sequence of buttons or dusts the pad for fingerprints then subsequently tries to enter by repeating that sequence will trigger the alarm system. 67. No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a full-scale emergency. 68. I will spare someone who saved my life sometime in the past. This is only reasonable as it encourages others to do so. However, the offer is good one time only. If they want me to spare them again, they'd better save my life again. 69. All midwives will be banned from the realm. All babies will be delivered at state-approved hospitals. Orphans will be placed in foster-homes, not abandoned in the woods to be raised by creatures of the wild. 70. When my guards split up to search for intruders, they will always travel in groups of at least two. They will be trained so that if one of them disappears mysteriously while on patrol, the other will immediately initiate an alert and call for backup, instead of quizzically peering around a corner. 71. If I decide to test a lieutenant's loyalty and see if he/she should be made a trusted lieutenant, I will have a crack squad of marksmen standing by in case the answer is no. 72. If all the heroes are standing together around a strange device and begin to taunt me, I will pull out a conventional weapon instead of using my unstoppable superweapon on them. 73. I will not agree to let the heroes go free if they win a rigged contest, even though my advisors assure me it is impossible for them to win. 74. When I create a multimedia presentation of my plan designed so that my five-year-old advisor can easily understand the details, I will not label the disk "Project Overlord" and leave it lying on top of my desk. 75. I will instruct my Legions of Terror to attack the hero en masse, instead of standing around waiting while members break off and attack one or two at a time. 76. If the hero runs up to my roof, I will not run up after him and struggle with him in an attempt to push him over the edge. I will also not engage him at the edge of a cliff. (In the middle of a rope-bridge over a river of molten lava is not even worth considering.) 77. If I have a fit of temporary insanity and decide to give the hero the chance to reject a job as my trusted lieutenant, I will retain enough sanity to wait until my current trusted lieutenant is out of earshot before making the offer. 78. I will not tell my Legions of Terror "And he must be taken alive!" The command will be "And try to take him alive if it is reasonably practical." 79. If my doomsday device happens to come with a reverse switch, as soon as it has been employed it will be melted down and made into limited-edition commemorative coins. 80. If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress. 81. If I am fighting with the hero atop a moving platform, have disarmed him, and am about to finish him off and he glances behind me and drops flat, I too will drop flat instead of quizzically turning around to find out what he saw. 82. I will not shoot at any of my enemies if they are standing in front of the crucial support beam to a heavy, dangerous, unbalanced structure. 83. If I'm eating dinner with the hero, put poison in his goblet, then have to leave the table for any reason, I will order new drinks for both of us instead of trying to decide whether or not to switch with him. 84. I will not have captives of one sex guarded by members of the opposite sex. 85. I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button." 86. I will make sure that my doomsday device is up to code and properly grounded. 87. My vats of hazardous chemicals will be covered when not in use. Also, I will not construct walkways above them. 88. If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again. 89. After I captures the hero's superweapon, I will not immediately disband my legions and relax my guard because I believe whoever holds the weapon is unstoppable. After all, the hero held the weapon and I took it from him. 90. I will not design my Main Control Room so that every workstation is facing away from the door. 91. I will not ignore the messenger that stumbles in exhausted and obviously agitated until my personal grooming or current entertainment is finished. It might actually be important. 92. If I ever talk to the hero on the phone, I will not taunt him. Instead I will say this his dogged perseverance has given me new insight on the futility of my evil ways and that if he leaves me alone for a few months of quiet contemplation I will likely return to the path of righteousness. (Heroes are incredibly gullible in this regard.) 93. If I decide to hold a double execution of the hero and an underling who failed or betrayed me, I will see to it that the hero is scheduled to go first. 94. When arresting prisoners, my guards will not allow them to stop and grab a useless trinket of purely sentimental value. 95. My dungeon will have its own qualified medical staff complete with bodyguards. That way if a prisoner becomes sick and his cellmate tells the guard it's an emergency, the guard will fetch a trauma team instead of opening up the cell for a look. 96. My door mechanisms will be designed so that blasting the control panel on the outside seals the door and blasting the control panel on the inside opens the door, not vice versa. 97. My dungeon cells will not be furnished with objects that contain reflective surfaces or anything that can be unraveled. 98. If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution. 99. Any data file of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb in size. 100. Finally, to keep my subjects permanently locked in a mindless trance, I will provide each of them with free unlimited Internet access. 101. I will not order my trusted lieutenant to kill the infant who is destined to overthrow me -- I'll do it myself. 102. I will not waste time making my enemy's death look like an accident -- I'm not accountable to anyone and my other enemies wouldn't believe it. 103. I will make it clear that I do know the meaning of the word "mercy"; I simply choose not show them any. 104. My undercover agents will not have tattoos identifying them as members of my organization, nor will they be required to wear military boots or adhere to any other dress codes. 105. I will design all doomsday machines myself. If I must hire a mad scientist to assist me, I will make sure that he is sufficiently twisted to never regret his evil ways and seek to undo the damage he's caused. 106. If my supreme command center comes under attack, I will immediately flee to safety in my prepared escape pod and direct the defenses from there. I will not wait until the troops break into my inner sanctum to attempt this. 107. Even though I don't really care because I plan on living forever, I will hire engineers who are able to build me a fortress sturdy enough that, if I am slain, it won't tumble to the ground for no good structural reason. 108. Any and all magic and/or technology that can miraculously resurrect a secondary character who has given up his/her life through self sacrifice will be outlawed and destroyed. 109. I will see to it that plucky young lads/lasses in strange clothes and with the accent of an outlander shall REGULARLY climb some monument in the main square of my capital and denounce me, claim to know the secret of my power, rally the masses to rebellion, etc. That way, the citizens will be jaded in case the real thing ever comes along. 110. I will not employ devious schemes that involve the hero's party getting into my inner sanctum before the trap is sprung. 111. I will offer oracles the choice of working exclusively for me or being executed. 112. I will not rely entirely upon "totally reliable" spells that can be neutralized by relatively inconspicuous talismans. 113. I will make the main entrance to my fortress standard-sized. While elaborate 60-foot high double-doors definitely impress the masses, they are hard to close quickly in an emergency. 114. I will never accept a challenge from the hero. 115. I will not engage an enemy single-handedly until all my soldiers are dead. 116. If I capture the hero's starship, I will keep it in the landing bay with the ramp down, only a few token guards on duty and a ton of explosives set to go off as soon as it clears the blast-range. 117. No matter how much I want revenge, I will never order an underling "Leave him. He's mine!" 118. If I have equipment which performs an important function, it will not be activated by a lever that someone could trigger by accidentally falling on when fatally wounded. 119. I will not attempt to kill the hero by placing a venomous creature in his room. It will just wind up accidentally killing one of my clumsy henchmen instead. 120. Since nothing is more irritating than a hero defeating you with basic math skills, all of my personal weapons will be modified to fire one more shot than the standard issue. 121. If I come into possession of an artifact which can only be used by the pure of heart, I will not attempt to use it regardless. 122. The gun turrets on my fortress will not rotate enough so that they may direct fire inward or at each other. 123. If I decide to hold a contest of skill open to the general public, contestants will be required to remove their hooded cloaks and shave their beards before entering. 124. Prior to kidnapping an older male scientist and forcing him to work for me, I will investigate his offspring and make sure that he has neither a beautiful but naive daughter who is willing to risk anything to get him back, nor an estranged son who works in the same field but had a falling-out with his father many years ago. 125. Should I actually decide to kill the hero in an elaborate escape-proof deathtrap room (water filling up, sand pouring down, walls converging, etc.) I will not leave him alone five-to-ten minutes prior to "imminent" death, but will instead (finding a vantage point or monitoring camera) stick around and enjoy watching my adversary's demise. 126. Rather than having only one secret escape pod, which the hero can easily spot and follow, I'll simultaneously launch a few dozen decoys to throw him off track. 127. Prison guards will have their own cantina featuring a wide variety of tasty treats that will deliver snacks to the guards while on duty. The guards will also be informed that accepting food or drink from any other source will result in execution. 128. I will not employ robots as agents of destruction if there is any possible way that they can be re-programmed or if their battery packs are externally mounted and easily removable. 129. Despite the delicious irony, I will not force two heroes to fight each other in the arena. 130. All members of my Legions of Terror will have professionally tailored uniforms. If the hero knocks a soldier unconscious and steals the uniform, the poor fit will give him away. 131. I will never place the key to a cell just out of a prisoner's reach. 132. Before appointing someone as my trusted lieutenant, I will conduct a thorough background investigation and security clearance. 133. If I find my beautiful consort with access to my fortress has been associating with the hero, I'll have her executed. It's regrettable, but new consorts are easier to get than new fortresses and maybe the next one will pay attention at the orientation meeting. 134. If I am escaping in a large truck and the hero is pursuing me in a small Italian sports car, I will not wait for the hero to pull up along side of me and try to force him off the road as he attempts to climb aboard. Instead I will slam on the brakes when he's directly behind me. (A rudimentary knowledge of physics can prove quite useful.) 135. My doomsday machine will have a highly-advanced technological device called a capacitor in case someone inconveniently pulls the plug at the last second. (If I have access to REALLY advanced technology, I will include a back-up device known as a battery.) 136. If I build a bomb, I will simply remember which wire to cut if it has to be deactivated and make every wire red. 137. Before spending available funds on giant gargoyles, gothic arches, or other cosmetically intimidating pieces of architecture, I will see if there are any valid military expenditures that could use the extra budget. 138. The passageways to and within my domain will be well-lit with fluorescent lighting. Regrettably, the spooky atmosphere will be lost, but my security patrols will be more effective. 139. If I'm sitting in my camp, hear a twig snap, start to investigate, then encounter a small woodland creature, I will send out some scouts anyway just to be on the safe side. (If they disappear into the foliage, I will not send out another patrol; I will break out the napalm.) 140. I will instruct my guards when checking a cell that appears empty to look for the chamber pot. If the chamber pot is still there, then the prisoner has escaped and they may enter and search for clues. If the chamber pot is not there, then either the prisoner is perched above the lintel waiting to strike them with it or else he decided to take it as a souvenir (in which case he is obviously deeply disturbed and poses no threat). Either way, there's no point in entering. 141. As an alternative to not having children, I will have lots of children. My sons will be too busy jockeying for position to ever be a real threat, and the daughters will all sabotage each other's attempts to win the hero. 142. If I have children and subsequently grandchildren, I will keep my three-year-old granddaughter near me at all times. When the hero enters to kill me, I will ask him to first explain to her why it is necessary to kill her beloved grandpa. When the hero launches into an explanation of morality way over her head, that will be her cue to pull the lever and send him into the pit of crocodiles. After all, small children like crocodiles almost as much as Evil Overlords and it's important to spend quality time with the grandkids. 143. If one of my daughters actually manages to win the hero and openly defies me, I will congratulate her on her choice, declare a national holiday to celebrate the wedding, and proclaim the hero my heir. This will probably be enough to break up the relationship. If not, at least I am assured that no hero will attack my Legions of Terror when they are holding a parade in his honor. 144. I will order my guards to stand in a line when they shoot at the hero so he cannot duck and have them accidentally shoot each other. Also, I will order some to aim above, below, and to the sides so he cannot jump out of the way. 145. My dungeon cell decor will not feature exposed pipes. While they add to the gloomy atmosphere, they are good conductors of vibrations and a lot of prisoners know Morse code. 146. If my surveillance reports any un-manned or seemingly innocent ships found where they are not supposed to be, they will be immediately vaporized instead of brought in for salvage. 147. I will classify my lieutenants in three categories: untrusted, trusted, and completely trusted. Promotion to the third category will be awarded posthumously. 148. Before ridiculing my enemies for wasting time on a device to stop me that couldn't possibly work, I will first acquire a copy of the schematics and make sure that in fact it couldn't possibly work. 149. Ropes supporting various fixtures will not be tied next to open windows or staircases, and chandeliers will be hung way at the top of the ceiling. 150. I will provide funding and research to develop tactical and strategic weapons covering a full range of needs so my choices are not limited to "hand to hand combat with swords" and "blow up the planet". 151. I will not set myself up as a god. That perilous position is reserved for my trusted lieutenant. 152. I will instruct my fashion designer that when it comes to accessorizing, second-chance body armor goes well with every outfit. 153. My Legions of Terror will be an equal-opportunity employer. Conversely, when it is prophesied that no man can defeat me, I will keep in mind the increasing number of non-traditional gender roles. 154. I will instruct my Legions of Terror in proper search techniques. In particular, if they are searching for escapees and someone shouts, "Quick! They went that way!", they must first ascertain the identity of this helpful informant before dashing off in hot pursuit. 155. If I know of any heroes in the land, I will not under any circumstance kill their mentors, teachers, and/or best friends. 156. If I have the hero and his party trapped, I will not wait until my Superweapon charges to finish them off if more conventional means are available. 157. Whenever plans are drawn up that include a time-table, I'll post-date the completion 3 days after it's actually scheduled to occur and not worry too much if they get stolen. 158. I will exchange the labels on my folder of top-secret plans and my folder of family recipes. Imagine the hero's surprise when he decodes the stolen plans and finds instructions for Grandma's Potato Salad. 159. If I burst into rebel headquarters and find it deserted except for an odd, blinking device, I will not walk up and investigate; I'll run like hell. 160. Before being accepted into my Legions of Terror, potential recruits will have to pass peripheral vision and hearing tests, and be able to recognize the sound of a pebble thrown to distract them. 161. I will occasionally vary my daily routine and not live my life in a rut. For example, I will not always take a swig of wine or ring a giant gong before finishing off my enemy. 162. If I steal something very important to the hero, I will not put it on public display. 163. When planning an expedition, I will choose a route for my forces that does not go through thick, leafy terrain conveniently located near the rebel camp. 164. I will hire one hopelessly stupid and incompetent lieutenant, but make sure that he is full of misinformation when I send him to capture the hero. 165. As an equal-opportunity employer, I will have several hearing-impaired body-guards. That way if I wish to speak confidentially with someone, I'll just turn my back so the guards can't read my lips instead of sending all of them out of the room. 166. If the rebels manage to trick me, I will make a note of what they did so that I do not keep falling for the same trick over and over again. 167. If I am recruiting to find someone to run my computer systems, and my choice is between the brilliant programmer who's head of the world's largest international technology conglomerate and an obnoxious 15-year-old dork who's trying to impress his dream girl, I'll take the brat and let the hero get stuck with the genius. 168. I will plan in advance what to do with each of my enemies if they are captured. That way, I will never have to order someone to be tied up while I decide his fate. 169. If I have massive computer systems, I will take at least as many precautions as a small business and include things such as virus-scans and firewalls. 170. I will be an equal-opportunity despot and make sure that terror and oppression is distributed fairly, not just against one particular group that will form the core of a rebellion. 171. I will not locate a base in a volcano, cave, or any other location where it would be ridiculously easy to bypass security by rapelling down from above. 172. I will allow guards to operate under a flexible work schedule. That way if one is feeling sleepy, he can call for a replacement, punch out, take a nap, and come back refreshed and alert to finish out his shift. 173. Although it would provide amusement, I will not confess to the hero's rival that I was the one who committed the heinous act for which he blames the hero. 174. If I am dangling over a precipice and the hero reaches his hand down to me, I will not attempt to pull him down with me. I will allow him to rescue me, thank him properly, then return to the safety of my fortress and order his execution. 175. I will have my fortress exorcized regularly. Although ghosts in the dungeon provide an appropriate atmosphere, they tend to provide valuable information once placated. 176. I will add indelible dye to the moat. It won't stop anyone from swimming across, but even dim-witted guards should be able to figure out when someone has entered in this fashion. 177. If a scientist with a beautiful and unmarried daughter refuses to work for me, I will not hold her hostage. Instead, I will offer to pay for her future wedding and her children's college tuition. 178. If I have the hero cornered and am about to finish him off and he says "Look out behind you!!" I will not laugh and say "You don't expect me to fall for that old trick, do you?" Instead I will take a step to the side and half turn. That way I can still keep my weapon trained on the hero, I can scan the area behind me, and if anything was heading for me it will now be heading for him. 179. I will not outsource core functions. 180. If I ever build a device to transfer the hero's energy into me, I will make sure it cannot operate in reverse. 181. I will decree that all hay be shipped in tightly-packed bales. Any wagonload of loose hay attempting to pass through a checkpoint will be set on fire. 182. I will not hold any sort of public celebration within my castle walls. Any event open to members of the public will be held down the road in the festival pavilion. 183. Before using any device which transfers energy directly into my body, I will install a surge suppressor. 184. I will hire a drama coach. The hero will think it must be a case of mistaken identity when confronted by my Minnesota accent (if everyone sounds American) or my Cornwall accent (if everyone sounds British). 185. If I capture an enemy known for escaping via ingenious and fantastic little gadgets, I will order a full cavity search and confiscate all personal items before throwing him in my dungeon. 186. I will not devise any scheme in which Part A consists of tricking the hero into unwittingly helping me and Part B consists of laughing at him then leaving him to his own devices. 187. I will not hold lavish banquets in the middle of a famine. The good PR among the guests doesn't make up for the bad PR among the masses. 188. I will funnel some of my ill-gotten gains into urban renewal projects. Although slums add a quaint and picturesque quality to any city, they too often contain unexpected allies for heroes. 189. I will never tell the hero "Yes I was the one who did it, but you'll never be able to prove it to that incompetent old fool." Chances are, that incompetent old fool is standing behind the curtain. 190. If my mad scientist/wizard tells me he has almost perfected my Superweapon but it still needs more testing, I will wait for him to complete the tests. No one ever conquered the world using a beta version. 191. I will not appoint a relative to my staff of advisors. Not only is nepotism the cause of most breakdowns in policy, but it also causes trouble with the EEOC. 192. If I appoint someone as my consort, I will not subsequently inform her that she is being replaced by a younger, more attractive woman. 193. If I am using the hero's girlfriend as a hostage and am holding her at the point of imminent death when confronting the hero, I will focus on her and not him. He won't try anything with his true love held hostage. On the other hand, the fact that she has been weak, slow-witted, naive and generally useless up to this point has no bearing on her actions at the moment of dramatic climax. 194. I will make several ludicrously erroneous maps to secret passages in my fortress and hire travelers to entrust them to aged hermits. 195. I will not use hostages as bait in a trap. Unless you're going to use them for negotiation or as human shields, there's no point in taking them. 196. I will hire an expert marksman to stand by the entrance to my fortress. His job will be to shoot anyone who rides up to challenge me. 197. I will explain to my Legions of Terror that guns are ranged weapons and swords are not. Anyone who attempts to throw a sword at the hero or club him with a gun will be summarily executed. 198. I will remember that any vulnerabilities I have are to be revealed strictly on a need-to-know basis. I will also remember that no one needs to know. 199. I will not make alliances with those more powerful than myself. Such a person would only double-cross me in my moment of glory. I will make alliances with those less powerful than myself. I will then double-cross them in their moment of glory. 200. During times of peace, my Legions of Terror will not be permitted to lie around drinking mead and eating roast boar. Instead they will be required to obey my dietician and my aerobics instructor. 201. All giant serpents acting as guardians in underground lakes will be fitted with sports goggles to prevent eye injuries. 202. All crones with the ability to prophesy will be given free facelifts, permanents, manicures, and Donna Karan wardrobes. That should pretty well destroy their credibility. 203. I will not employ an evil wizard if he has a sleazy mustache. 204. I will hire an entire squad of blind guards. Not only is this in keeping with my status as an equal opportunity employer, but it will come in handy when the hero becomes invisible or douses my only light source. 205. All repair work will be done by an in-house maintenance staff. Any alleged "repairmen" who show up at the fortress will be escorted to the dungeon. 206. When my Legions of Terror park their vehicle to do reconnaissance on foot, they will be instructed to employ The Club. 207. Employees will have conjugal visit trailers which they may use provided they call in a replacement and sign out on the timesheet. Given this, anyone caught making out in a closet while leaving their station unmonitored will be shot. 208. Members of my Legion of Terror will attend seminars on Sensitivity Training. It's good public relations for them to be kind and courteous to the general population when not actively engaged in sowing chaos and destruction. 209. I will not, under any circumstances, marry a woman I know to be a faithless, conniving, back-stabbing witch simply because I am absolutely desperate to perpetuate my family line. Of course, we can still date. 210. All guest-quarters will be bugged and monitored so that I can keep track of what the visitors I have for some reason allowed to roam about my fortress are actually plotting. 211. If my chief engineer displeases me, he will be shot, not imprisoned in the dungeon or beyond the traps he helped design. 212. I will not send out battalions composed wholly of robots or skeletons against heroes who have qualms about killing living beings. 213. I will not wear long, heavy cloaks. While they certainly make a bold fashion statement, they have an annoying tendency to get caught in doors or tripped over during an escape. 214. If a malignant being demands a sacrificial victim have a particular quality, I will check to make sure said victim has this quality immediately before the sacrifice and not rely on earlier results. (Especially if the quality is virginity and the victim is the hero's girlfriend.) 215. If I ever MUST put a digital timer on my doomsday device, I will buy one free from quantum mechanical anomalies. So many brands on the market keep perfectly good time while you're looking at them, but whenever you turn away for a couple minutes then turn back, you find that the countdown has progressed by only a few seconds. 216. If my Legions of Terror are defeated in a battle, I will quietly withdraw and regroup instead of launching a haphazard mission to assassinate the hero. 217. If I'm wearing the key to the hero's shackles around my neck and his former girlfriend now volunteers to become my mistress and we are all alone in my bedchamber on my bed and she offers me a goblet of wine, I will politely decline the offer. 218. I will not pick up a glowing ancient artifact and shout "Its power is now mine!!!" Instead I will grab some tongs, transfer it to a hazardous materials container, and transport it back to my lab for study. 219. I will be selective in the hiring of assassins. Anyone who attempts to strike down the hero the first instant his back is turned will not even be considered for the job. 220. Whatever my one vulnerability is, I will fake a different one. For example, ordering all mirrors removed from the palace, screaming and flinching whenever someone accidentally holds up a mirror, etc. In the climax when the hero whips out a mirror and thrusts it at my face, my reaction will be "Hmm...I think I need a shave." 221. My force-field generators will be located inside the shield they generate. 222. I reserve the right to execute any henchmen who appear to be a little too intelligent, powerful, or devious. However if I do so, I will not at some subsequent point shout "Why am I surrounded by these incompetent fools?!" 223. I will install a fire extinguisher in every room -- three, if the room contains vital equipment or volatile chemicals. 224. I will build machines which simply fail when overloaded, rather than wipe out all nearby henchmen in an explosion or worse yet set off a chain reaction. I will do this by using devices known as "surge protectors". 225. I will explain to my guards that most people have their eyes in the front of their heads and thus while searching for someone it makes little sense to draw a weapon and slowly back down the hallway. 226. I will have a staff of competent detectives handy. If I learn that someone in a certain village is plotting against me, I will have them find out who rather than wipe out the entire village in a preemptive strike. 227. I will never bait a trap with genuine bait. 228. If the hero claims he wishes to confess in public or to me personally, I will remind him that a notarized deposition will serve just as well. 229. If I have several diabolical schemes to destroy the hero, I will set all of them in motion at once rather than wait for them to fail and launch them successively. 230. I will not procrastinate regarding any ritual granting immortality. 231. Mythical guardians will be instructed to ask visitors name, purpose of visit, and whether they have an appointment instead of ancient riddles. From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sun Nov 9 07:23:47 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 17:23:47 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Earworms References: Message-ID: <004601c3a692$718ae570$63984cca@Monteith> > > And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? > > The current joint earworms I have are: > > It's my Life - Talk Talk > Introduction to Scene 2, Act 1, Boris Godunov, by Mussorgsky. > > June My earworms are "Rollercoaster" by Machine Gun Felatio "Leaving Home" and "Harpoon" by Jebediah "Celebrity Skin" by Hole and "Rip it Up" by 28 Days Nox (at least they are all songs I like this time). Oh! And just a tip that works (for me)! If you get stuck with an Earworm, concentrate *real* hard on the music for "the Chicken Dance"! It doesn't get stuck for some reason, and makes the other music go away... Crazy? Most likely... From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk Sun Nov 9 11:17:44 2003 From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 11:17:44 -0000 Subject: Advice to an Evil Overlord (long... definately long) In-Reply-To: <000801c3a677$8513eb20$8dec79a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Hi all, > > Iggy here. > > Some of you may know of this list, but most probably don't. This is a list > compiled back in 1997 by Peter Anspach and is a list of warnings to the > aspiring Evil Overlord to help prevent their downfall. (I also point out > the date because one or two of the items on the list are a little dated in > reference to the technology from that time frame...) > > Anyhow, I recently found my hardcopy of this, and recovered the main file > off the internet. I thought you all might like this. > > For reference, by the way, I think the following points are ones that > Voldemort should particularly pay attention to if he really wants to achieve > true dominion: > > 1, 6, 11, 17, 20, 21, 24, 29, 34, 41, 46, 61, 68, 75, 78, 85, 101, 102, 108, > 115, 117, 151, 157, 170, 175, 184, 186, 201, 202, 208, 213, 227, 229, and > 230 > > > Enjoy... > > Iggy McSnurd > It's funny how they never learn, isn't it. Somewhere on the net, there are similar lists for The Hero (tm), The Hero's Sidekick (tm), The Hero's One True Love (tm) and for the hangers-on of the Evil Overlord (tm), like Minions, Trusted Lieutenants and Evil Geniuses, as well as for his Wicked Yet Beautiful Daughter. (found the link; it's http://www.sff.net/paradise/lists.htm ) In the same vein, there's villainsupply.com for all the gadgets you'll need when you set out to take over the world. I note with interest that no list has the following rule: "I will not attempt to use complicated killing magic on innocent babes and sucklings too young to be properly impressed. Quietly smothering the child with a pillow will work just as well." Alshain From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk Sun Nov 9 11:46:26 2003 From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 11:46:26 -0000 Subject: In memory of a perfect lunar eclipse Message-ID: Late-night clubbing sometimes has advantages. I got home about half past two in the morning and accidentally came to witness a next to perfest total eclipse of the moon (particularly when the sky's been overcast for about a week and we only got that one single night of clear weather.) The seeing was as good as it usually gets in a city with 160,000 inhabitants (i.e. clear enough to see Orion's sword without binoculars) full moon riding high in the sky with the shadow of the Earth slowly turning it a dusky reddish-brown, the brightest stars in the sky playing the supporting parts... (Would Lupin transform during a lunar eclipse, would you say?) I want a Time-turner to relive last night again and again. Alshain From s_ings at yahoo.com Sun Nov 9 14:54:01 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 09:54:01 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, Yoda! (belated) Message-ID: <20031109145401.15569.qmail@web41102.mail.yahoo.com> *straggles in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, attempting to blow up balloons as she goes and hoping no one notices her tardiness* Yes, I'm certainly not doing a good job remembering birthdays this week, am I? Will iron my fingers when the decorations are up. Apologies to Yoda for the lateness of this announcement. Yesterday's birthday honouree was Yoda. Belated birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: yodamarie78 at yahoo.com I hope your day was magical and brought everything you wished for. Happy Birthday, Yoda! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 9 15:19:34 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 09:19:34 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advice to an Evil Overlord (long... definately long) References: Message-ID: <003901c3a6d4$e31222c0$d8e979a5@rick> > Alshain: > It's funny how they never learn, isn't it. Somewhere on the net, there > are similar lists for The Hero (tm), The Hero's Sidekick (tm), The > Hero's One True Love (tm) and for the hangers-on of the Evil Overlord > (tm), like Minions, Trusted Lieutenants and Evil Geniuses, as well as > for his Wicked Yet Beautiful Daughter. > (found the link; it's http://www.sff.net/paradise/lists.htm ) Iggy here: I found this site and am checking out the Hero list right now. It's pretty cool... but seems to be lacking a bit when compared with the Evil Overlord one. (They have a lot of good points, but some also really only seem to apply to one movie/show...) Kinda makes me wonder if they did the same levels of research. Still, a cool site so far. Thanks for the link. *grin* > Alshain: > In the same vein, there's villainsupply.com for all the gadgets you'll > need when you set out to take over the world. Iggy here: I'm definately going to check this one out as well. > > I note with interest that no list has the following rule: > "I will not attempt to use complicated killing magic on innocent babes > and sucklings too young to be properly impressed. Quietly smothering > the child with a pillow will work just as well." > > Alshain > Iggy here: That one does seem to come up a lot, doesn't it? Especially when the child (born or unborn) is destined to overthrow said Evil Overlord. I'd add the following rule immediately after that: "Any woman bearing the unborn child destined to destroy me will be killed with a hail of bullets or other method immediately lethal to the woman and child, and they will then be cremated/disintegrated/utterly destroyed. I will not wait until the child is born, nor will I try to magically extract the unborn child in any way so that they may be later sacrificed in an elaborate ceremony." I've actually come up with a number of other additions to the list. (Unfortunately, I haven't written them down... yet. *grin*) Hmmmm... If anyone wants to, directly e-mail me offlist with contributions for an addendum to the Evil Overlord list, or any of the other lists on the sites Alshain posted here. I'll compile a list and post it for anyone interested. Ok? I'm pretty sure that we can come up with a number of items, even by just looking at trends from the HP books that exist elsewhere as well... *grin* (E-mail me directly with the contributions so that we don't needlessly clutter up this HP list here.) Iggy McSnurd From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 9 16:09:51 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 16:09:51 -0000 Subject: Advice to an Evil Overlord (long... definately long) In-Reply-To: <003901c3a6d4$e31222c0$d8e979a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: >> Iggy here: > > I found this site and am checking out the Hero list right now. It's pretty > cool... but seems to be lacking a bit when compared with the Evil Overlord > one. (They have a lot of good points, but some also really only seem to > apply to one movie/show...) Kinda makes me wonder if they did the same > levels of research. > > Still, a cool site so far. Thanks for the link. *grin* > > > Alshain: > > In the same vein, there's villainsupply.com for all the gadgets you'll > > need when you set out to take over the world. > > Iggy here: > > I'm definately going to check this one out as well. > > > > > I note with interest that no list has the following rule: > > "I will not attempt to use complicated killing magic on innocent babes > > and sucklings too young to be properly impressed. Quietly smothering > > the child with a pillow will work just as well." > > > > Alshain > > > > Iggy here: > > That one does seem to come up a lot, doesn't it? Especially when the child > (born or unborn) is destined to overthrow said Evil Overlord. I'd add the > following rule immediately after that: > > "Any woman bearing the unborn child destined to destroy me will be killed > with a hail of bullets or other method immediately lethal to the woman and > child, and they will then be cremated/disintegrated/utterly destroyed. I > will not wait until the child is born, nor will I try to magically extract > the unborn child in any way so that they may be later sacrificed in an > elaborate ceremony." > > I've actually come up with a number of other additions to the list. > (Unfortunately, I haven't written them down... yet. *grin*) > > Hmmmm... If anyone wants to, directly e-mail me offlist with contributions > for an addendum to the Evil Overlord list, or any of the other lists on the > sites Alshain posted here. I'll compile a list and post it for anyone > interested. Ok? I'm pretty sure that we can come up with a number of > items, even by just looking at trends from the HP books that exist elsewhere > as well... *grin* June: If on being re-born after a period of passivity and out of body living, I make the promise that any former fair-weather supporters who ratted on me are to be killed, I will make that an immediate priority rather than listening to their abject apologies and reinstating them into my evil cohorts - especially when I should know perfectly well that they are now offering comfort and aid to my mortal enemies... I'll post this on this list, because I think everyone knows who I mean. June From tahewitt at yahoo.com Sun Nov 9 18:17:59 2003 From: tahewitt at yahoo.com (Tyler Hewitt) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 10:17:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: <1068379205.2044.2076.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <20031109181759.45116.qmail@web60510.mail.yahoo.com> Earworms-love that term! They never last too long for me, a couple of weeks, and they get replaced by somehting else. My current earworms: Ride on Shooting Star by The Pillows If any of you watch 'Adult Swim' on the Cartoon Network (and you should!) it's the song that plays over the closing credits of the anime show 'Fooly Cooly' (which is a really great show, and I don't like anime as a rule). Melodic, hook-filled punk-pop. Vibrate by Rufus Wainwright A track from his new album. A cute song, and a great cd. Copland's Third Symphony Been playing this constantly in the car this Fall. Love it! Tyler June (i think) wrote: Does anyone else do this - by which I include having a song as a total earworm (earworm is my term for when a song/music takes up residence in your head and doesn't move out despite all attempts to evict it)? And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From coriolan at worldnet.att.net Sun Nov 9 18:17:54 2003 From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 18:17:54 -0000 Subject: Advice to an Evil Overlord (long... definately long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" > wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > Iggy here. > > > > > > For reference, by the way, I think the following points are ones that > > Voldemort should particularly pay attention to if he really wants to > achieve > > true dominion: Some time ago, I wrote a filk where Voldemort, specifically referencing the Evil Overlord list, promises to reform accordingly. http://home.att.net/~coriolan/voldemort/oppose.htm#Just_Call_Me_Voldem ort - CMC From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 9 22:56:33 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 22:56:33 -0000 Subject: In memory of a perfect lunar eclipse In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "alshainofthenorth" wrote: > (Would Lupin transform during a lunar eclipse, would you say?) It's a Full Moon, so I'm sure he would. My astrologer told me that eclipses make no difference: a lunar eclipse is just another Full Moon, a solar eclipse is just another New Moon. From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Mon Nov 10 00:52:01 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 00:52:01 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <20030915125600.534.qmail@web11007.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Morgan D." wrote: > > From: "jeffl1965" > > Jeff: > > So, I've seen that I'm not the only one curious about this, so I > > wanted to ask if anybody wants to guess why Seamus is made a slut, > > regardless as to the nature of the story or his realtionship. Even if > > he's het, he's a slut, and usually even if the story is het, Seamus > > is gay and with Dean or in some cases with Percy! Why is that? > Morgan: > First thing, it's always complicated to claim there is *one* reason why > many ficwriters write similar plots or similar characterisations. > Unfortunately, many people are very fond of such generalisations and > end up inadvertently offending lots of writers. So what I'm saying here > is not what happened, but what *might* have happened. > > Slut!Character is a plot function, a stereotype common to many kinds of > fiction, particularly TV shows. There's a group? Then there's likely to > be one character, either a male or a female, that dates pretty much > everyone that comes around. The Slut!Character is useful to plots that > deal with jealousy, with the conflict between sex drive and true love, > or with smut, pure and simple... So it's not really surprising to me > that some ficwriters would introduce that function in their HP fics. > > Now, why Slut!Seamus? Well, in my humble opinion, the reasons to write > Slut!Seamus are different from the ones to write Slut!Harry. The latter > is likely to be a result of speculation about canon: could Harry's > dysfunctional background lead him to promiscuity? It's a valid > question, whether you might say "yes" or "no". > > But what do we know about Seamus? We have but a simple profile of his. > Muggle dad, witch mother, Irish... doesn't go much farther, does it? So > if you need a Slut!Character in a secondary role to a plot that takes > place mostly in Harry's dorm, he's a good candidate. > > Why Seamus and not the others? Well, assuming the protagonist is > Harry... Ron might have been written out because he was supposed to > take another role (Harry's true love, for example), or because the > author felt canon discourages the idea of a Slut!Ron (his unsuccessful > date at the Yule Ball). Slut!Neville? The author might have thought he > was too clumsy for the role. So we end up with only Slut!Dean and > Slut!Seamus as possibilities. > > Why not Dean? Well, maybe it was a silly word association: Slut/Sex > starts with an S, Seamus starts (and ends!) with an S. Or maybe the > author loathed football and didn't want to write about Dean because of > that. Or maybe the author had conscious or unconscious bias against > writing Harry having sex with a black boy. Or maybe the author had > conscious or unconscious bias against both Irishmen and sluts, so if > someone has to be the slut, let it be the Irish kid. > > And then you have to remember that ficwriters are mutually influenced. > After reading three or four fics with Slut!Seamus, if you need that > particular plot function you'll automatically think of Seamus because, > hey!, the guy has a reputation already! ^__^ > > So if you're looking about canonical suggestions that he's a slut... > no, I don't think there are any, and I don't think that's how the > phenomenon started. (I could be wrong, of course.) > > Jeff: > > Another thing, I'm curious as to why many seem to think that its > > quite cool for Dean and Seamus to be together, yet not for Harry and > > Ron? The same arguments I always hear can apply to them as > > well. "They're best mates, and it would ruin things", "They're > > obviously straight", hello? Sometimes things happen. There aren't > > even obvious clues many times. So why is it really ok for D/S, but > > not H/R? Even H/D or D/R makes less sense to me than the other pairs, > > and they even squick me a bit. ;) I won't even touch the subject of > > *anybody* with Snape. :) > Morgan: > If you find someone (as in one single person) that says both > "Seamus/Dean is cool" AND "Ron/Harry can't be lovers because they are > best mates", you please ask that person to explain this. But if you're > talking about different people... you know, one ficwriter can't be > responsible for the opinion of another ficwriter. > > Why some fans like this pairing and detest the other... Why some fans > think this pairing "makes more sense" than that other one.... that's > all VERY subjective. I could tell you about *my* preferences. They > might make you understand, in a rational way, why I think the way I do, > but it doesn't mean you'll start thinking my chosen pairings will > become appealing to you. > > Hope this helped somehow, > > Morgan D. > Hogwarts Letters - http://www.hogwartsletters.hpg.com.br > > Jeff: Ok, somehow either my copy of this didn't make it to my mailbox, or my reply didn't make it which might be the case. Some emails were bouncing, and of course there's the case of too many Elves and nobody to watch them since I had several posts that were sent back to be edited by 2 elves, and in some cases each one found different things to complain about and in some cases I decided not to bother doing more than one edit. No sense in getting mad and then deleting the Elf's email account. ;) Now, you did clear up some things for me, and gave a view that while I see your point, doesn't make it sound fair to me. :) Poor Seamus!!! Being made to wanna shag anything that breathes all the time is just terrible. I knew some randy lads before, but none were ever that bad. :) I can agree that poor Neville wouldn't be right for it, since I think he'd be too embarrased to even get naked in front of another, boy or girl, and would most likely faint at the sight of another naked body anyway. ;) That's another reason why I think that Hogwarts should have tubs, that way he won't fall and hit his head on the hard tile floor the first time he sees one of the older lads naked. :) True, he might start to drown, but I think that he'd revive quickly in the water. :) As for Dean not being the slut, ok, I can see those points too and there's also the fact that in america, anyway, blacks are stereotyped to being very promiscuious anyway, so that might've caused problems as well, and I would agree. Anyway, I am curious as to what other thoughts you have or what ships you like. I don't expect to be converted, but I am eager to hear what others have to say about it. You are welcomed to reply off- list if you so desire. My thanks for replying and my apologies for having somehow missed this post in the first place!! :) Jeff From boggles at earthlink.net Mon Nov 10 02:13:11 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 20:13:11 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: US Slang In-Reply-To: <008101c3a4ee$85287a20$6d92aec7@rick> References: <008101c3a4ee$85287a20$6d92aec7@rick> Message-ID: At 11:18 PM -0600 11/6/03, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > >"She ain't nothin' but a hootchie mama." (trans: The woman appears to be >of the promiscuous sort, woth possible manipulative tendencies, as >indicated by her actions, attire, and/or excessive cosmetic applications.) Used more often by people over 40 than those younger. Our new principal used the phrase "hootchie mama dancing" in reference to a few of our students who were shakin' their groove thang with uncommon vigor at the football game, and caused massive eye-rolling among the students. At 9:46 AM -0600 11/7/03, Iggy McSnurd wrote: >This reminds me of the term "dew rag," which is the kerchief you see many >bald or short-haired black people wearing on their heads that soaks up the >sweat (or "dew") of their forheads while they work or play outside. I'm pretty sure this is actually "'do-rag," as in, a rag that protects one's hairdo. Another couple of ones from the South: "I wouldn't piss on his rear if his piles were on fire," used by an army man to express disdain. "You look like ten pounds of flour in a five pound bag," used by one woman to another to indicate that the outfit she's wearing is not flattering. "Flour" is sometimes exchanged for more pungent nouns. -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From IAmLordCassandra at aol.com Mon Nov 10 05:10:38 2003 From: IAmLordCassandra at aol.com (IAmLordCassandra at aol.com) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 00:10:38 EST Subject: New HP website Message-ID: <70.349481ef.2ce077ce@aol.com> Hey, this site was designed/is maintained by my good friend, Jenn. http://wfc.succumbtoenchantment.net/ She's looking for publicity, etc... If you have a site and can add hers or offer advice as to where I could submit her site or would like to vote for her site (details on the page) please do so ^^ ~Cassie~ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From seeker at texasquidditch.com Mon Nov 10 05:37:06 2003 From: seeker at texasquidditch.com (texasquidditch) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 05:37:06 -0000 Subject: Wizard ghost town discovered in Texas! Message-ID: A significant new find has been added to the evidence of the Texas nexus of the wizarding world with the muggle world. Please visit www.texasquidditch.com for the latest update. Seeker From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 06:19:47 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 06:19:47 -0000 Subject: Wizard ghost town discovered in Texas! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "texasquidditch" wrote: > A significant new find has been added to the evidence of the Texas > nexus of the wizarding world with the muggle world. Please visit > http://www.texasquidditch.com for the latest update. > Seeker Erin: Dang, this person is like, too good. They'd better watch out or they might get mind-wiped. From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 06:59:51 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 06:59:51 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla Message-ID: Has anyone else read Stephen King's new book, the latest in the Dark Tower series? I just finished it, and near the end there is a small reference to Harry Potter. Made me laugh. Erin From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 10 06:46:04 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 00:46:04 -0600 Subject: Fw: The 5-Year Plan Message-ID: <000101c3a75f$02e37a60$a5ef79a5@rick> Iggy here: I got this funny e-mail from my uncle John, and thought you'd all enjoy it. (For anyone who's completely unaware of media and political events in the US, Arnold Schwartzenegger (sp?) was elected to replace the repealed California Governor, Grey Davis. Iggy McSnurd NEWS BULLETIN The New California Governor has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the state, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, The Terminator's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Terminator-English." In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of the "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with the "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should be droppd. By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrevun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united Urop vil finali kum tru. If zis mad yu smil, pleas pas it on to oza pepl. From elrond at paradise.net.nz Mon Nov 10 08:06:52 2003 From: elrond at paradise.net.nz (Michael Chance) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:06:52 +1300 Subject: Music Video Update Message-ID: <002d01c3a761$a2774e60$a95b4fcb@locxvcym> Hi :) Just my now standard warning that I've changed all of the file names for the music videos, (both slash & non-slash ones), archived on my site at http://chance.slashcity.net/ Mainly due to the usual problems of people linking directly to the files left right and centre, (to the point that one German page had links to *all* of the videos hosted on my page on their downloads page causing me to mutter terribly at their bandwidth theft :) ) The new Snape "I'm Too Sexy" gen video is being archived there permanently, but will properly have it's file name changed on a regular bases for a while as it seems to be doing at least 75% of the damage to my bandwidth - mostly due to people posting links directly to it everywhere. (Sorry, I've already gone through about 1/3 of this months bandwidth due to people posting links to that one video all over the place and it's either that or have my site run into access problems all the time). Michael From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 10 09:55:08 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 19:55:08 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla References: Message-ID: <007501c3a770$bbb08770$68984cca@Monteith> > Has anyone else read Stephen King's new book, the latest in the Dark > Tower series? I just finished it, and near the end there is a small > reference to Harry Potter. Made me laugh. > > Erin I've kind of lost track of this series... He's taking to damn long! Is this the fourth book? The last I read was the third (I think - years ago, now...). I'll have to look for it. Nox From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Mon Nov 10 10:20:07 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 10:20:07 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" wrote: > Has anyone else read Stephen King's new book, the latest in the Dark > Tower series? I just finished it, and near the end there is a small > reference to Harry Potter. Made me laugh. > > Erin Will be reading it - but as it's current rrp is ?25 (why???) I may have to wait for a shop around. June From fc26det at aol.com Mon Nov 10 11:10:52 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:10:52 -0000 Subject: Fw: The 5-Year Plan In-Reply-To: <000101c3a75f$02e37a60$a5ef79a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Iggy here: > > I got this funny e-mail from my uncle John, and thought you'd all enjoy it. > (For anyone who's completely unaware of media and political events in the > US, Arnold Schwartzenegger (sp?) was elected to replace the repealed > California Governor, Grey Davis. > > Iggy McSnurd > Oh my gosh! This was great!! I actually heard his voice in my head at the end! Thanks for the good laugh, Susan From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 14:37:07 2003 From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 14:37:07 -0000 Subject: Fw: The 5-Year Plan In-Reply-To: <000101c3a75f$02e37a60$a5ef79a5@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Iggy here: > > I got this funny e-mail from my uncle John, and thought you'd all > enjoy it. (For anyone who's completely unaware of media and > political events in the US, Arnold Schwartzenegger (sp?) was > elected to replace the repealed California Governor, Grey Davis. > > NEWS BULLETIN > > The New California Governor has just announced an agreement > whereby English will be the official language of the state, rather > than German, which was the other possibility. > > As part of the negotiations, The Terminator's Government conceded > that English spelling had some room for improvement and has > accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as > "Terminator-English." > > In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, > this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" > will be dropped in favour of the "k". This should klear up > konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. > > There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when > the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with the "f". This will > make words like fotograf 20% shorter. > > In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be > expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are > possible. > > Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which > have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre > that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is > disgrasful and it should be droppd. > > By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as > replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". > > During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords > kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil > sensibl riten styl. > > Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrevun vil find it > ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united Urop vil > finali kum tru. > > If zis mad yu smil, pleas pas it on to oza pepl. This is actually really old and obviously retooled for the current political climate--but only at the start. If you look to the end, the part about a united Europe indicates that it was clearly not originally intended to comment on the US. It's also flawed; after the supposed replacement of C by S and K, a letter C is used in the word "replace," as well as in combination with H in "changes" and other words requiring this sound. This thing has been hopping around the web for ages now. --Barb http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb From cindysphynx at comcast.net Mon Nov 10 15:18:22 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:18:22 -0000 Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: <20031109181759.45116.qmail@web60510.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi! June asked: > And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? Oooh, great question! I myself don't have earworms. I am internally and externally tone deaf and lyric-impaired. It is difficult for me even to imagine a tune, let alone have one bouncing around in my head. This question reminds me of one of my favorite episodes of "Seinfeld," though. Remember the one where George keeps saying, "Co-STAN-za!" to that ad jingle? I had an earworm for that for a full 30 minutes -- until the episode ended! ;-) Cindy -- who *loves* Seinfeld and can't wait for a chance to say she works for "Vandelay Industries" as a latex salesperson From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 10 15:58:57 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 09:58:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Fw: The 5-Year Plan References: Message-ID: <006001c3a7a3$8de97120$1996aec7@rick> > This is actually really old and obviously retooled for the current > political climate--but only at the start. If you look to the end, > the part about a united Europe indicates that it was clearly not > originally intended to comment on the US. It's also flawed; after > the supposed replacement of C by S and K, a letter C is used in the > word "replace," as well as in combination with H in "changes" and > other words requiring this sound. This thing has been hopping > around the web for ages now. > > --Barb Iggy here: WADR, I never said it was particularly new or original.. I simply said it was funny and that people might enjoy it. Whether someone may have seen a variant on it before is irrelevant, IMHO. After all, if we don't want to read and enjoy something that's got a lot of elements from other things written earlier, or is based (loosely or not) on an earlier writing, then why are we reading Harry Potter? Iggy McSnurd From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 16:26:01 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 16:26:01 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > Will be reading it - but as it's current rrp is ?25 (why???) I may > have to wait for a shop around. > > June Try the library... wait, they do have public libraries in Britian(I'm assuming from the pound usage) right? I've only recently discovered how wonderful my local libraries are. I used to buy practically every book I wanted to read, but now I go to the library all the time. They had Wolves of the Calla on the day it came out, 30 copies of it. It was great! Erin From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 16:28:32 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 08:28:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <1068467896.643.64539.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <20031110162832.80811.qmail@web20712.mail.yahoo.com> > Jeff: > > Now, you did clear up some things for me, and gave a view that > while I see your point, doesn't make it sound fair to me. :) Poor > Seamus!!! Being made to wanna shag anything that breathes all the > time is just terrible. I knew some randy lads before, but none were > ever that bad. :) ^__^ Is it still unfair if the author claims he was having the time of his life? Actually, this brushes another very complicated issue: the differences between the many fanfiction authors' backgrounds and moral codes. We come all from different places, believe in different stuff, live different life styles... and basically, each one will be squicked about different things too. There are authors who think of promiscuity as THE horrible thing, a sign of a shallow personality, a sinful soul, a dreadful character. For others, promiscuity is a positive trait, a quality of those who are true to their nature and do not conform to arbitrary systems of social behaviour. And between the two opposite perspectives, a million shades of grey. So you might see Slut!Seamus in two fics and notice that one will treat him like a worthless creature, and the other like a sensual hero. I haven't read many Slut!Seamus fics, but I've seen that phenomenon in other fandoms. Stepping away from HP for a moment... For an anime fandom, I write stories about characters that are not human, but demons from a different world. I chose to write them as polygamous in my stories. When the anime started being aired in USA, I started receiving emails from American fans complaining that I had "turned them into whores". Apparently, polygamy, even if generated from honest (if not exclusive) love, is unbearably squicking for certain segments of USA society, even if we're talking about fictional, non-human characters from a Japanese story, as written by a Brazilian ficwriter. I am unlikely to ever write Slut!Seamus, but if I were to, no one should expect an anti-promiscuity, pro-sexual-faithfulness discourse from me. ^__^ > I can agree that poor Neville wouldn't be right for it, since I > think he'd be too embarrased to even get naked in front of another, > boy or girl, and would most likely faint at the sight of another > naked body anyway. ;) That's another reason why I think that Hogwarts > should have tubs, that way he won't fall and hit his head on the hard > tile floor the first time he sees one of the older lads naked. :) I remember someone telling me (about a decade ago, jeez...) that only the very rich houses in England had showers. Not that Hogwarts would have to follow the Muggle England pattern, but... *shrugs* I tend to think of any communal bathroom as having showers, unless we're talking about anime/manga. ^__^ Then again, tubs are very dangerous for the accident-prone fellows too. > Anyway, I am curious as to what other thoughts you have or what > ships you like. I don't expect to be converted, but I am eager to > hear what others have to say about it. For HP, I write mostly gen fics, but I do read slash. I've never thought much of it before, but I think my tendency is to pair up those who are close friends in canon. In my experience, there's always some degree of sensuality in a friendship, even if the people involved never act on it, or even if they're not very aware of it either. Fanfiction can be a great tool to ask, "what if they *were* aware and *did* act on it?" When I first read PoA, when I got to the part in which Remus hugs Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, I had a half-smile on my face. You could say that scene made my slash-radar beep. ^_~ So Sirius/Remus is the slash pairing I read more about. At the Marauders' teen years, I also see potential in Sirius/James and James/Peter. (In fact, I'd say the latter is pretty much canonical, if platonic. But that's me.) I have less interest in Harry's generation, but my choice would be Ron/Harry. I also read Sirius/Harry. But that has another explanation. The relationship between Sirius and Harry (as parent/child) is the bit that interests me the most in the HP fandom, it's what dragged me deep into the fandom in the first place. But finding good gen stories about their relationship hasn't been easy -- and after OotP, it tends to become even more complicated. So the slash Sirius/Harry stuff -- not the 100% smut material, but the stories that truly work on their personalities and relationship -- are a good consolation. (Beggars can't be choosers anyway.) > My thanks for replying and my apologies for having somehow missed > this post in the first place!! :) I was glad you replied, no matter how long it took. I don't often get replies in the HPfGU groups. Morgan D. Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hogwarts __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 16:28:07 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 16:28:07 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: <007501c3a770$bbb08770$68984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, wrote: > > > > Has anyone else read Stephen King's new book, the latest in the Dark > > Tower series? I just finished it, and near the end there is a small > > reference to Harry Potter. Made me laugh. > > > > Erin > > > I've kind of lost track of this series... He's taking to damn long! Is this > the fourth book? The last I read was the third (I think - years ago, > now...). I'll have to look for it. > > Nox He sure WAS taking too long, but now he's finished with all seven of them. This was the fifth. The sixth comes out next year, early, and the seventh in November of next year. Erin From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 10 17:58:15 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:58:15 -0600 Subject: Fw: Something from my sis... Message-ID: <00e101c3a7b4$387a5900$9a92aec7@rick> Hi all... Iggy here with another funny, from my sister this time. For those who might not know, Andy Roony is a commentator on the TV show, "60 Minutes" and gives his views on current events, often with a touch of humor. Iggy McSnurd > > 1. Andy Rooney on Monica (Lewinski). > Can you believe it? Monica turned 28 this week. It seems like only > yesterday that she was crawling round the White House on her hands and > knees. > > 2. Andy Rooney on Vegetarians. > Vegetarian - that's an old Indian word meaning "lousy hunter." > > 3. Andy Rooney on Prisoners. > Did you know that it costs forty-thousand dollars a year to house each > prisoner? Jeez, for forty-thousand bucks apiece I'll take a few prisoners > into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. > I don't think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they > should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate > electricity. And, if they don't want to run, they can rest in the chair > that's hooked up to the generator. > > 4. Andy Rooney on Fabric Softeners. > My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I > noticed women coming up to me, sniffing, then saying under their breath, > "Married!" and walking away. Fabric softeners are how our wives mark their > territory. We can take off the ring. But, it's hard to get that April > Fresh scent out of your clothes. > > 5. Andy Rooney on morning differences. > Men and women are different in the morning. We men wake up aroused in the > morning. We can't help it. We just wake up and we want you. And the women > are thinking, "How can he want me the way I look in the morning?" It's > because we can't see you. We have no blood anywhere near our optic nerve. > > 6. Andy Rooney on phone-in-polls. > You know those shows where people call in and vote on different issues? Did > you ever notice there's always like 18% that say "I don't know," It costs > 90 cents to call up and vote and they're voting "I don't know." Give me the > phone. (Says into the phone) "I DON'T KNOW!" (Hangs up looking proud.) > "Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you're not sure about." > This guy probably calls up phone sex girls for $2.95 to say, "I'm not in the > mood." > > 7. Andy Rooney on cripes > My wife's from the Midwest. Very nice people there. Very wholesome. They > use words like 'Cripes' 'For Cripes sake,' Who would that be; Jesus > Cripes? The son of 'Gosh' of the church of 'Holy Moly'? I'm not making fun > of it. You think I wanna burn in 'Heck'? > > 8. Andy Rooney on Grandma > My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, 'Sexy Senior > Citizen.' You don't want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out > entering wet shawl contests. Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she > gave you for your birthday. > From macloudt at yahoo.co.uk Mon Nov 10 18:10:01 2003 From: macloudt at yahoo.co.uk (=?iso-8859-1?q?Mary=20Ann=20Jennings?=) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 18:10:01 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Earworms In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031110181001.98630.qmail@web25004.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> When I was 11 or 12 The Pretender's song Brass in Pocket was in the charts and I had that song in my head for a *week*. I don't remember how I finally got rid of it, but it drove me mad! My latest earworm is the jazz-inspired theme song of my son's Kipper the Dog video. It's not a bad tune, but when you catch yourself singing "They call him Kipper...dododododo...Kipper the dog..." in the middle of Tesco's you know it's time to up the prescription. ;) It could be worse; at least it's not !&%$! Bob the Builder! Mary Ann (yes, I can name all of Bob's machines and every engine in Thomas the Tank Engine, though not by choice) ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk From foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 19:13:37 2003 From: foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com (FoxyDoxy) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 11:13:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Earworms In-Reply-To: <20031109181759.45116.qmail@web60510.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20031110191337.55584.qmail@web60207.mail.yahoo.com> June wrote: And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? Doxy: For me it's anything by Niel Diamond, it's enough to drive me mad. I don't listen to the radio because I can't stand the top 40 and that's all they play around here. But one day I was changing CD's in my car and I accidentally pressed the "on" button and I have had "Jenny From the Block" stuck in my head for nearly two weeks now. Seriously, I think it's stalking me. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cindysphynx at comcast.net Mon Nov 10 20:11:48 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 20:11:48 -0000 Subject: Confessions of a Library Addict (WAS Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Erin wrote: > I've only recently discovered how wonderful my local libraries are. > I used to buy practically every book I wanted to read, but now I go > to the library all the time. Oh, I used to think that I could resist the lure of the public library. I'm not hooked, I thought. I can quit any time, I told myself. And now, *look at me!* I'm *ruined!* I have probably paid more in library fines over the last year than I have spent at the local bookstore. The last bill was over $80! And that was after I batted my eyelashes at the clerk and got him to knock some of it off! Beware, Erin. Beware. Cindy From george at hp-rpg.com Mon Nov 10 20:25:13 2003 From: george at hp-rpg.com (hp_rpg_com) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 20:25:13 -0000 Subject: A Mature HP RPG (6th Year) at HP-RPG.COM Message-ID: We're a very active, mature-yet-zany bunch of grownup (17+) Harry Potter fans. We have our own private journal server, which means your own character's name is free for the taking, there's a corresponding email address to it @hp-rpg.com, and there's a 150- icon limit to suit your character's every mood. If you excel at spelling and grammar, have a creative plotline or two waiting in your brain somewhere, and are a "grownup" (loosely defined, of course), come apply! Canon characters only, for now - thank you! Rules: http://hprp4grownups.homestead.com/rules.html Available Characters: http://hp-rpg.com/apply.bml Application: http://hprp4grownups.homestead.com/apply.html Wanted Characters: Neville Longbottom Lee Jordan Theodore Nott Dean Thomas Seamus Finnigan Justin Finch-Fletchley Arthur Weasley Charlie Weasley Pomona Sprout Filius Flitwick Argus Filch Mundungus Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody Shacklebot, Kingsley Dobby ...and others! From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 10 21:22:42 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:22:42 -0000 Subject: Confessions of a Library Addict (WAS Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > > Oh, I used to think that I could resist the lure of the public > library. I'm not hooked, I thought. I can quit any time, I told > myself. > > And now, *look at me!* I'm *ruined!* I have probably paid more in > library fines over the last year than I have spent at the local > bookstore. The last bill was over $80! And that was after I batted > my eyelashes at the clerk and got him to knock some of it off! > > Beware, Erin. Beware. > > Cindy But see, my library lets me renew books online. It rocks, really it does. Erin From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 10 22:55:53 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 08:55:53 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla References: Message-ID: <001b01c3a7dd$cc5e29c0$61984cca@Monteith> > > He sure WAS taking too long, but now he's finished with all seven of > them. This was the fifth. The sixth comes out next year, early, and > the seventh in November of next year. > > Erin So I've missed one... Can you tell me the title of the fourth? Thanks Erin, this is good to know... I've been dying to finish reading the series, oh for say, FIFTEEN YEARS .... Nox From neonsister at ameritech.net Tue Nov 11 00:20:37 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 00:20:37 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: <001b01c3a7dd$cc5e29c0$61984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, wrote: > > "So I've missed one... Can you tell me the title of the fourth?" The fourth book in the series is "Wizard And Glass". I'm already panicking about the fifth book because I can't remember all the details of what happened in books 1 - 4! It was a while ago when I read them. Tracy *always up to her ears in books* From boggles at earthlink.net Tue Nov 11 01:13:14 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 19:13:14 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Earworms In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 9:24 PM +0000 11/8/03, junediamanti wrote: > >And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? Oh, gods - I usually have two or three in rotation in my head at any given time. Today it was the theme to the "Neverending Story" movie and the Guns 'N Roses version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Last week it was Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes" and Weird Al's "E-Bay." I have the Harvey Danger version of "Save It For Later," Martin Page's "House of Stone and Light," They Might Be Giants' "They'll Need a Crane" and "Ana Ng," and Velvet Hammer's "Come Down" pretty often. "Yellow Submarine" trumps them all, of course. -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Tue Nov 11 01:51:34 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 01:51:34 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <20031110162832.80811.qmail@web20712.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Morgan D." wrote: > > Jeff: > > > > Now, you did clear up some things for me, and gave a view that > > while I see your point, doesn't make it sound fair to me. :) Poor > > Seamus!!! Being made to wanna shag anything that breathes all the > > time is just terrible. I knew some randy lads before, but none were > > ever that bad. :) > > ^__^ Is it still unfair if the author claims he was having the time of > his life? > Jeff: No, that would be ok. :) I'd just be concerned about him wearing his willy out. :) Having a sore one isn't very fun. :P > Actually, this brushes another very complicated issue: the differences > between the many fanfiction authors' backgrounds and moral codes. We > come all from different places, believe in different stuff, live > different life styles... and basically, each one will be squicked about > different things too. > Jeff: I agree with that. I have no problem with that at all, I just meant that I think it's unfair for poor Seamus to be the randy one. :) Or should I say, the almost demonically possessed randy boy. ;) > There are authors who think of promiscuity as THE horrible thing, a > sign of a shallow personality, a sinful soul, a dreadful character. For > others, promiscuity is a positive trait, a quality of those who are > true to their nature and do not conform to arbitrary systems of social > behaviour. And between the two opposite perspectives, a million shades > of grey. > Jeff: Interesting theory. I agree with that. In our culture being a slut is a double-edged sword. Males who are like that are considered to be sowing their wild oats, whereas a female is looked down upon. But not all males are applauded for being so. *I* was raised to understand that it's ok to have a series of lovers, but you should be true to each one, and you shouldn't date for a few weeks, then make love and then break up shortly thereafter, which some males think is the thing to do. I prefer not to make love to anybody that I don't feel some attraction to, and if I don't think we could be together and not kill each other, then I won't even consider sex at all. :) > So you might see Slut!Seamus in two fics and notice that one will treat > him like a worthless creature, and the other like a sensual hero. I > haven't read many Slut!Seamus fics, but I've seen that phenomenon in > other fandoms. > Jeff: Actually, the few I've really been able to read, he's not that bad. I know that one or two, he's actually a bit funny, if not OOC somewhat. Even then, he's only in a short scene or two. It's usually the passing references that I've seen where they try to make Seamus sound slutty in a negative way, like he's not in love with the person, but only wanting to make a deposit, to put it mildly. Usually if he's in a few scenes and paired with Dean, he's handled nicely, and not really slutty. I know what you mean about other fandoms. I've read or tried to read some stories that were just so badly done, that I had to give them up, and have even avoided some pairs just because those stories left a bad aftertaste. > Stepping away from HP for a moment... For an anime fandom, I write > stories about characters that are not human, but demons from a > different world. I chose to write them as polygamous in my stories. > When the anime started being aired in USA, I started receiving emails > from American fans complaining that I had "turned them into whores". > Apparently, polygamy, even if generated from honest (if not exclusive) > love, is unbearably squicking for certain segments of USA society, even > if we're talking about fictional, non-human characters from a Japanese > story, as written by a Brazilian ficwriter. > Jeff: Yeah, I know what you mean. I think in some cases some fans see the character as being exclusive to one person, male or female, and even in the cases of younger males, they won't even engage in mutual masturbation sessions with best friends since they're dating somebody, even if some males really will participate in such things. That's one thing that I have no problem with in relation to the HP characters. We have 5 normal boys sharing a dorm for 7 years. Even if they're exclusive to somebody, I would think that they would still engage in some form of masturbation in the dorm, either solo or with each other for a contest or just for fun. Sounds fairly normal to me. ;) Also, from what I've read or seen in Latino created literature and movies, that's a common actiivity for the males, and not considered a taboo act. In the states, while it happens, it's much more secretive and not openly discussed much due to some males feeling threatened by it for some reason. > I am unlikely to ever write Slut!Seamus, but if I were to, no one > should expect an anti-promiscuity, pro-sexual-faithfulness discourse > from me. ^__^ > Jeff: LOL!! Well,if you did, I'd read it. :) If Seamus is dating Dean, but still wants to *play* with Neville or one of the Crevvy brothers, I wouldn't have any problem with that, as long as Dean doesn't. :) > > > I can agree that poor Neville wouldn't be right for it, since I > > think he'd be too embarrased to even get naked in front of another, > > boy or girl, and would most likely faint at the sight of another > > naked body anyway. ;) That's another reason why I think that Hogwarts > > should have tubs, that way he won't fall and hit his head on the hard > > tile floor the first time he sees one of the older lads naked. :) > > I remember someone telling me (about a decade ago, jeez...) that only > the very rich houses in England had showers. Not that Hogwarts would > have to follow the Muggle England pattern, but... *shrugs* I tend to > think of any communal bathroom as having showers, unless we're talking > about anime/manga. ^__^ > > Then again, tubs are very dangerous for the accident-prone fellows too. > Jeff: LOL!! I agree. I do picture showers as well, but from what little I've seen of some UK/European boarding schools, they have tubs in many cases, so I think of Hogwarts that way. I agree that a tub would be dangerous for Neville, but I guess if Seamus went with him, or they suggested that he get into one with him and Dean, that he'd be fairly safe, well, at least from hitting his head anyway. Dunno about how safe from Seamus' wandering hands. :) > > > Anyway, I am curious as to what other thoughts you have or what > > ships you like. I don't expect to be converted, but I am eager to > > hear what others have to say about it. > > For HP, I write mostly gen fics, but I do read slash. I've never > thought much of it before, but I think my tendency is to pair up those > who are close friends in canon. In my experience, there's always some > degree of sensuality in a friendship, even if the people involved never > act on it, or even if they're not very aware of it either. Fanfiction > can be a great tool to ask, "what if they *were* aware and *did* act on > it?" > I agree. I mean, sometimes it's very obvious, even if the two aren't or in some cases, one of them might not be aware of it. ;) I think of this being the case with Harry. :) Ron might like guys smaller than him ( in more than one context) and rather like the idea of his best friend being his playmate during these experimenting years, even if one or both is actually heterosexual. > When I first read PoA, when I got to the part in which Remus hugs > Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, I had a half-smile on my face. You could > say that scene made my slash-radar beep. ^_~ So Sirius/Remus is the > slash pairing I read more about. At the Marauders' teen years, I also > see potential in Sirius/James and James/Peter. (In fact, I'd say the > latter is pretty much canonical, if platonic. But that's me.) I have > less interest in Harry's generation, but my choice would be Ron/Harry. > I agree. S/R is fine with me. I've not read that much, but I can see it. The Marauders' sounds fine. I can see either pairing, or even both. I would imagine with Peter being left out, that he'd want to get involved with James, even if he has to share. :) R/H is the obvious choice, along with D/S. I just feel sorry for Neville, because he's more or less left out unless he goes for Percy or Colin Creevy or Justin. > I also read Sirius/Harry. But that has another explanation. The > relationship between Sirius and Harry (as parent/child) is the bit that > interests me the most in the HP fandom, it's what dragged me deep into > the fandom in the first place. But finding good gen stories about their > relationship hasn't been easy -- and after OotP, it tends to become > even more complicated. So the slash Sirius/Harry stuff -- not the 100% > smut material, but the stories that truly work on their personalities > and relationship -- are a good consolation. (Beggars can't be choosers > anyway.) > Interesting. I've not read many S/H, but I can see it. Harry's so starved for any kind of attention, and especially some adult, that it's easy to see such a thing happening. If you also accept that Sirius was James' playmate at one time, and with his obsession with Harry being like James, it's not that difficult to see him switching that kind of attention to Harry. > > > My thanks for replying and my apologies for having somehow missed > > this post in the first place!! :) > > I was glad you replied, no matter how long it took. I don't often get > replies in the HPfGU groups. > > Well, again my sincerist apologies for not seeing this before. I blame Yahoo. :) I also thank you again for your reply and would gladly enjoy any more thoughts or any stories you might want to do, tu sabes? :) Jeff From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 11 10:20:08 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 20:20:08 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla References: Message-ID: <003801c3a83d$63e354a0$69984cca@Monteith> > > > > "So I've missed one... Can you tell me the title of the fourth?" > > The fourth book in the series is "Wizard And Glass". I'm already > panicking about the fifth book because I can't remember all the > details of what happened in books 1 - 4! It was a while ago when I > read them. > > Tracy *always up to her ears in books* Actually, that sounds familiar... Have I read it? Do I *have* it? Why can't I remember? You know I'm now going to *have* to unpack those six or so removalists' crates full of books that are languishing in the garage... Or pull apart the hallway cupboard, which is supposed to be used for linen, but is in fact stuffed with more books. Then when I find them all, I'll add the "Dark Tower" series to the pile of a dozen (or thereabouts) books beside the bed, ready to be read... Nox From cindysphynx at comcast.net Tue Nov 11 15:48:22 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:48:22 -0000 Subject: Confessions of a Library Addict (WAS Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Erin wrote: > But see, my library lets me renew books online. It rocks, really it > does. I know! Isn't that the *greatest* innovation? I just signed up for that a few months back. I have found, though, that there seems to be a limit on how many times you can renew. Go figure. They also have this really *irritating* habit of actually expecting me to show up with the book in hand and turn it in. Pah! Cindy -- who keeps paying for library books and then finding them a few months later when it is too late (no, they won't buy them back) From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Tue Nov 11 17:46:02 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:46:02 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, wrote: > > > > "So I've missed one... Can you tell me the title of the fourth?" > > The fourth book in the series is "Wizard And Glass". I'm already > panicking about the fifth book because I can't remember all the > details of what happened in books 1 - 4! It was a while ago when I > read them. > > Tracy *always up to her ears in books* Shirley: Boy! Do I ever know *that* feeling! Every time I see one that looks good at a discount (I hate paying full price for *anything*), I buy it. I have *so many* books - and never enough time to read them!! I used to use bookstores and barnes&noble online as my own personal libraries (except I didn't have to return the books ;-)), but I recently discovered my local library, also. I've seen so many book and author recommendations on these lists that I decided to go look into them; and the library is the best place to do that! RE: Wolves of Calla - I gave it to my sister for her birthday, but I don't think she's started it yet, and I don't know *when* I'll get around to reading it, so no spoilers, please, okay? ;-) And, have you read the Talisman and its sequel, The Black House (both by King and Peter Straub)? They are excellent, too. Shirley, who may have to take an early lunch to get some reading in.... From ezzle at aol.com Tue Nov 11 17:46:58 2003 From: ezzle at aol.com (ezzleberry621) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:46:58 -0000 Subject: Nimbus 2003- Marauder t-shirts Message-ID: Hi all- I attended the Saturday session of Nimbus 2003 in Orlando. At the registration/sign in table, they were taking orders for those black Marauder t-shirts that had "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" printed on the back. I loved them, so I ordered one for myself, my goddaughter, and her sister. I was so excited, but alas, I never received them. They were supposed to be sent to me by mail. Anyway, is there anyone else out there who ordered a shirt? I'm looking for some info as to who to contact about my missing shirts. Thanks in advance! -Erin (who was looking forward to making her marauder tee her new weekend uniform) :) From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Tue Nov 11 17:50:33 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:50:33 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: <003801c3a83d$63e354a0$69984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: Tracy: > > The fourth book in the series is "Wizard And Glass". I'm already > > panicking about the fifth book because I can't remember all the > > details of what happened in books 1 - 4! It was a while ago when I > > read them. > > > > Tracy *always up to her ears in books* > Nox: > Actually, that sounds familiar... Have I read it? Do I *have* it? Why can't > I remember? You know I'm now going to *have* to unpack those six or > so removalists' crates full of books that are languishing in the garage... > Or pull apart the hallway cupboard, which is supposed to be used for linen, > but is in fact stuffed with more books. Then when I find them all, I'll add > the "Dark Tower" series to the pile of a dozen (or thereabouts) books beside > the bed, ready to be read... > > Nox now Shirley: Maybe this will help. The 4th book was mostly Roland's backstory, and we learned about what happened to Susan (I think that's her name; it's been at least 2 years since I read it!). There was, of course, other stuff in the book, but that might help you remember if you've already read it or not. Shirley, who is now worried about whether she'll have to re-read the first 4 books prior to reading Wolves of Calla From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 11 22:25:03 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 08:25:03 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla References: Message-ID: <001501c3a8a2$a80eb3d0$72984cca@Monteith> ----- Original Message ----- > > now Shirley: > Maybe this will help. The 4th book was mostly Roland's backstory, > and we learned about what happened to Susan (I think that's her name; > it's been at least 2 years since I read it!). There was, of course, > other stuff in the book, but that might help you remember if you've > already read it or not. > > Shirley, who is now worried about whether she'll have to re-read the > first 4 books prior to reading Wolves of Calla Actually yes, thankyou, it does help. I *have* read it. Then what's the name of the third one? Oh I dunno! I'm just going to have to unpack that stuff after all... It's ok, I have to find the vacuum cleaner anyway. It's somewhere in the garage behind or under 40 crates of *crap*.... Nox From andie at knownet.net Tue Nov 11 23:24:10 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 23:24:10 -0000 Subject: Nimbus 2003- Marauder t-shirts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ezzleberry621" wrote: > Hi all- > > I attended the Saturday session of Nimbus 2003 in Orlando. At the > registration/sign in table, they were taking orders for those black Marauder > t-shirts that had "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" printed on the > back. I wasn't there at Nimbus (unfortunately) so I didn't order one and can't help with your question, but I'm wondering if those shirts can still be purchased. I went to the old Nimbus website, but he SHOP NIMBUS link seems to have been removed. Anyone know? Andrea From foxmoth at qnet.com Wed Nov 12 00:40:35 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 00:40:35 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <20030915125600.534.qmail@web11007.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Morgan D." wrote: > Why not Dean? >Or maybe the author had conscious or unconscious bias against writing Harry having sex with a black boy. < A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male as promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. They might not want to go there. Pippin From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Wed Nov 12 05:23:15 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 05:23:15 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Costume Contest Winners! Message-ID: Announcing the Winners of the Harry Potter for Grownups 2003 Halloween Costume Contest! The winner in the poll for Best Harry Potter Themed Costume is: Quidditch Adrienne! Our other winners (previously announced) are: Cutest/Prettiest: Jack Frost Most Original: Arlan, the wizardly hound Congratulations to all our winners! E-plaques have been awarded to the winners, and can be found in the Halloween, 2003, folder in the "Files" section of this group. And Quidditch Adrienne will be featured on our home page for the rest of November. Thanks to everyone who participated and voted! Hope you all had a very happy Halloween! :-) Hebby Elf, For the List Admin Team From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Wed Nov 12 06:30:01 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 06:30:01 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Morgan D." > wrote: > > > > Why not Dean? > > > >Or maybe the author had conscious or unconscious bias > against writing Harry having sex with a black boy. < > > A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male > as promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. > They might not want to go there. > > Pippin Jeff: Yes, that's what I was thinking. More riots and other nasty things would occur. Jeff From drednort at alphalink.com.au Wed Nov 12 10:02:47 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 21:02:47 +1100 Subject: Prefects In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FB29FF7.7481.BCD6FC@localhost> I've come across something some people on this list might be interested in seeing. I've been reading a book about the 'Six Great Schools' of Victoria, one of which I attended - it contains a rather interesting subchapter talking about Prefects, what they do, their attitudes, duties, privileges, etc. These six schools were very much (and still are to a great extent) on a British model, and given we've had discussions on this on the list, I thought some people might like to see it - it's short enough (about five or six pages in a 300 page book) that it can be quoted without creating Copyright problems. I don't intend to send it here - it's a little long for that - but I'd be happy to send a copy to anyone who wants to see it. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From gromm at cards.lanck.net Wed Nov 12 13:12:22 2003 From: gromm at cards.lanck.net (crookshanks4) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 13:12:22 -0000 Subject: Prefects In-Reply-To: <3FB29FF7.7481.BCD6FC@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > I've come across something some people on this list might be interested in > seeing. I've been reading a book about the 'Six Great Schools' of Victoria, one of > which I attended - it contains a rather interesting subchapter talking about > Prefects, what they do, their attitudes, duties, privileges, etc. These six schools > were very much (and still are to a great extent) on a British model, and given > we've had discussions on this on the list, I thought some people might like to see > it - it's short enough (about five or six pages in a 300 page book) that it can be > quoted without creating Copyright problems. I don't intend to send it here - it's a > little long for that - but I'd be happy to send a copy to anyone who wants to see it. Me, please! Maria > > > Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought > Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html > (ISTJ) | drednort at a... | ICQ: 6898200 > "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one > thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the > facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be > uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that > need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil > Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From cindysphynx at comcast.net Wed Nov 12 14:42:02 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:42:02 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Pippin wrote: > A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male > as promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. > They might not want to go there. Hmmm. I never considered that. Do you think it is taboo in the U.S. against depicting black men as promiscuous? Why would this be so, do you think? Cindy From tammy at mauswerks.net Wed Nov 12 15:13:35 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 10:13:35 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FB207CF.10274.6F0509@localhost> Pippin wrote: > > > A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male as > > promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. They might not > > want to go there. And Cindy asked: > Hmmm. I never considered that. Do you think it is taboo in the U.S. > against depicting black men as promiscuous? Why would this be so, do > you think? Now I (Tammy) say: Black males have had a long history of being stereotyped as both extremely virile and quite promiscuous, and while they may want to keep the 'virile' image, there's been a lot of effort lately to downplay the 'promiscuous' image, even so far as having megameetings of hundreds of thousands of black men who have publicly sworn fidelity to their families. Toss a Slut!Dean on that, from a US writer, and there would be a (small, in fanfic circles, but definite) backlash of some sort. Hardly rioting in the streets, but certainly SOME backlash. Email bombs, bubotuber pus attacks, things like that. *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 12 15:22:54 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:22:54 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <3FB207CF.10274.6F0509@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, But if the general fanon is true, hasn't everybody actually slept with everyone else anyway, and in every possible numerical combination already? Aberforth and the goats notwithstanding... June From cindysphynx at comcast.net Wed Nov 12 15:47:32 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:47:32 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <3FB207CF.10274.6F0509@localhost> Message-ID: Hi! Tammy clarified: >There's been a lot of effort lately to downplay the 'promiscuous' >image, even so far as having megameetings of hundreds of thousands of >black men who have publicly sworn fidelity to their families. Ah, OK. I hadn't made that connection, and now I see where you're coming from. I'm not so sure, FWIW, how much effort there has been to play down the promiscuity stereotype, though. If you ask Snoop Doggy Dog and Fifty Cent, anyway. ;-) It's OK, though. Female popular music artists aren't exactly playing up their own chastity vows, either. Cindy -- who thinks Mr. Dog and Mr. Cent are probably quite sweet and lots of fun at parties once you get to know them, but who thinks Missy Elliot would break your best dishes the minute you let her in the front door :-D From penapart_elf at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 18:45:55 2003 From: penapart_elf at yahoo.com (Penapart Elf) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 10:45:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: Nimbus 2003- Marauder t-shirts Message-ID: <20031112184555.53135.qmail@web13005.mail.yahoo.com> Andrea: > I wasn't there at Nimbus (unfortunately) so I didn't order one and > can't help with your question, but I'm wondering if those shirts can > still be purchased. I went to the old Nimbus website, but he SHOP > NIMBUS link seems to have been removed. Anyone know? For a list of contact names, check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19209 If that doesn't help you, you can offlist me. :) Penapart Elf __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From grannybat at hotmail.com Wed Nov 12 18:56:41 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 18:56:41 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? Message-ID: 'ello. Sounding out an idea that might, maybe, turn out to have some bearing in canon but is off-topic enough in its origins that I'd hesitate to start this thread on the main list. What snakes are native to the British Isles? I was designing my own Slytherin badge because I haven't found a commercial House emblem I like, when I realized the head of a rattlesnake wouldn't work because rattlesnakes aren't found in Britain. To be honest, the only references to British serpents I've seen are garter snakes in quaint English gardens--and they're hardly threatening. I'm familiar with the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, but I understood that to be an allegory about the Christians supplanting the druid sects. Thomas Hardy uses an adder bite as a plot device in Return of the Native, but I wouldn't think adders could survive an environment as cold and wet as Egdon (sp?) Heath. So are there any fanged, venomous serpents common across The Pond? And why do snakes as a whole seem to have such a rotten reputation in British culture? Grannybat a clueless Yank From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 18:55:57 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 18:55:57 -0000 Subject: PoA trailer Message-ID: Well, I've been one-upted by my 13 year old. I think. I told him today that maybe we could go see Looney Tunes this weekend so that we could see the PoA trailer. He just looked at me, (like a typical teenage boy) like I was an idiot, and said "Well, if the trailer is in the movie theater, then won't it be on the website?" I looked back at him, mouth open and said "Oh. I didn't think of that." So, that got me thinking, does anyone remember what the time lapse was before having trailers in theaters to when it's on the WB site? I wouldn't mind seeing Looney Tunes (just to drool over Brendan Fraser) but the kids are not interested. And how long before it's attached to anyother new release out there? Just wondering . . . Anna . . .(whose son is home sick, and when he was asked if his prescription cough medicine made him see blurry, which was one of the side affects, he again looked at me with such disdain and said, "uh, yah, I saw blurry, I wasn't wearing my contact lenses".) From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 19:07:20 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 19:07:20 -0000 Subject: PoA trailer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > does anyone remember what the time lapse > was before having trailers in theaters to when it's on the WB site? > > And how long before it's attached to anyother new release out there? > > Anna here again, I can't believe I'm replying to my own post, but, hey, you know, . . . I just checked TLC (obviously after I posted) and they said that WB will be releasing the trailer in a satellite feed! Yeah! WAhoo! Uh, one thing tho. What does that mean? Can WE see it? And when? Any answers appreciated. Anna . . .(who is embarrassingly technologically challanged) From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Wed Nov 12 20:27:34 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 20:27:34 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > Pippin wrote: > > > A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male > > as promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. > > They might not want to go there. > > Hmmm. I never considered that. Do you think it is taboo in the U.S. > against depicting black men as promiscuous? Why would this be so, do > you think? > > Cindy Jeff: Because it's sadly often the truth, and the truth hurts. They also are tried of being "singled-out" everytime there is a mention on the news about how certain diseases are more common in their race due to this activity, as well as the studies showing how their birthrate is so far above that of other races. It is sad, and I hate to see it, but trying to be "hip" I've watched a few rap videos and listened to the songs, and sex is a more common theme than drugs and murder in the songs. It's going to be an uphill battle for the good ones to disprove the facts and the stereotypes. We have several black families living on our street and they're all as nice and quiet as the rest of us. It's only the ones that move into the rental house down the street that always cause problems. Luckily they never seem to stay there very long and vanish in the middle of the night. Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Wed Nov 12 20:34:30 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 20:34:30 -0000 Subject: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <3FB207CF.10274.6F0509@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy Rizzo" wrote: > Pippin wrote: > > > > > A US writer would probably be aware that depicting a black male as > > > promiscuous would open a whole can of cultural worms. They might not > > > want to go there. > > And Cindy asked: > > Hmmm. I never considered that. Do you think it is taboo in the U.S. > > against depicting black men as promiscuous? Why would this be so, do > > you think? > > Now I (Tammy) say: > Black males have had a long history of being stereotyped as both extremely virile > and quite promiscuous, and while they may want to keep the 'virile' image, there's > been a lot of effort lately to downplay the 'promiscuous' image, even so far as > having megameetings of hundreds of thousands of black men who have publicly > sworn fidelity to their families. > > Toss a Slut!Dean on that, from a US writer, and there would be a (small, in fanfic > circles, but definite) backlash of some sort. Hardly rioting in the streets, but > certainly SOME backlash. Email bombs, bubotuber pus attacks, things like that. > > *** > Tammy > tammy at m... Jeff: True, there might not be rioting, but only as long as the media doesn't mention Slut!Dean the next time they do a report on the Slash Genre in Harry Potter. :) I should also mention that I don't live anywhere near California, but that if the local press mentioned Slut! Dean, there would be a possibility of riots or some kind of gang- related retaliation. It's really sad. Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Wed Nov 12 20:38:05 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 20:38:05 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, > > But if the general fanon is true, hasn't everybody actually slept > with everyone else anyway, and in every possible numerical > combination already? > > Aberforth and the goats notwithstanding... > > June Jeff: That's a good point. It's actually very true, except that poor Neville hardly gets to sleep with anybody. I'm not even sure I can name 2 instances where he got lucky. I do know of a few stories with Seamus with Percy, which I can't really see. :) Hmmm...now that I think of it, maybe Neville slept with Snape, which I find *very* OOC and squicky. :) Jeff From saitaina at wizzards.net Wed Nov 12 20:36:18 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 12:36:18 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships References: Message-ID: <00b401c3a95c$a3237080$8c37d7aa@net> Jeff wrote: Actually, I've read quite a few with Neville getting it on...in fact I write one with Neville torn between two young gentlemen. Saitaina From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 12 20:44:51 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 20:44:51 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grannybat84112" wrote: > 'ello. > > Sounding out an idea that might, maybe, turn out to have some bearing > in canon but is off-topic enough in its origins that I'd hesitate to > start this thread on the main list. > > What snakes are native to the British Isles? > > I was designing my own Slytherin badge because I haven't found a > commercial House emblem I like, when I realized the head of a > rattlesnake wouldn't work because rattlesnakes aren't found in > Britain. To be honest, the only references to British serpents I've > seen are garter snakes in quaint English gardens--and they're hardly > threatening. I'm familiar with the legend of St. Patrick driving the > snakes out of Ireland, but I understood that to be an allegory about > the Christians supplanting the druid sects. > > Thomas Hardy uses an adder bite as a plot device in Return of the > Native, but I wouldn't think adders could survive an environment as > cold and wet as Egdon (sp?) Heath. > > So are there any fanged, venomous serpents common across The Pond? > And why do snakes as a whole seem to have such a rotten reputation in > British culture? > > Grannybat > a clueless Yank Adders and grasssnakes And really glad I don't have to explain about the druids. June From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 21:08:20 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 21:08:20 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grannybat84112" wrote: > 'ello. > > ...edited.. > > What snakes are native to the British Isles? > > ...edited... > > Thomas Hardy uses an adder bite as a plot device in Return of the > Native, but I wouldn't think adders could survive an environment as > cold and wet as Egdon (sp?) Heath. > > ...edited... > > Grannybat > a clueless Yank The Adder seems a sufficiently nasty snake. Here are some photos. http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/amphibia/adder.html These snake are found in Lincolnshire, where ever that is. http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/amphibia/amphibia.html Adder (Vipera berus) Adders can be identified by the dark zig-zag pattern running along the back and the dark V-shape on the back of the head, with the point of the V starting between the eyes. Adders, unlike grass snakes, prefer dry open conditions. They are most commonly seen on heathlands and acid grasslands, providing there are bare areas. ***They are Britain's only poisonous snake,*** but bites are very rare and fatalities have been fewer than 10 since 1960. When walking in suitable adder habitat, it is a good idea to wear stout footware which protects the ankles, the area where most bites occur. Adders can be seen on the Trust's heathland nature reserves around Woodhall Spa and Market Rasen. Just a thought. bboy_mn From cindysphynx at comcast.net Wed Nov 12 21:20:11 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 21:20:11 -0000 Subject: Stereotypes (WAS Slut!Seamus and other ships) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hey, Jeff wrote: >It's going to be an uphill battle for the good ones to > disprove the facts and the stereotypes. We have several black > families living on our street and they're all as nice and quiet as > the rest of us. It's only the ones that move into the rental house > down the street that always cause problems. I only have one issue with this, I think. I'm not sure it's really fair to say that some members of a minority group have an uphill battle to disprove the stereotypes about other members of the group. (Correct me if I misunderstood, though, Jeff). The minority group members who are not engaged in bad behavior shouldn't have to fight a battle at all, I would hope. I mean, if people looked at minority group members as individuals rather than lumping them together and generalizing, then the stereotype would vanish all on its own without any members of the minority group having to do anything differently, I'd say. So in the case of your neighborhood with both polite minority residents and troublemakers, I'd say the polite residents should just keep on keepin' on, and nothing more should be expected of them. It sounds like some of your neighbors (assuming some of them see the behavior of some minorities as reflecting on other minorities) may be the ones who may need to adjust their attitudes. JMHO, of course! ;-) Cindy -- wishing Jeff's polite neighbors would move in next to her From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 21:23:58 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 21:23:58 -0000 Subject: Sounds Like the Work of Delorus Umbridge Message-ID: In searching for information on native snake of Great Britian, I came across this amazingly illogical typically self-serving bit of British law. It seems that trafficing in home grown tomatoes or tomato seeds (as well as many other seeds) is against the law. http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/004286.html Quoted in Part- ... I don't think many people realise it, but there is a contraband war going on in this country. It is a war which has spawned a clandestine ring of illicit and secretive dealers and buyers operating their own black economy and doing their best to steer clear of the agents of the state. And just what are these shadowy merchants trading in? Is it narcotics? Is it guns? Is it prostitution? Gambling dens? No, it's tomato seeds: "The dealer wishes to remain anonymous. Not that he's ashamed of his seeds: on the contrary, he's doubts you'll find better in England. Once you've tried their crop, he believes, you'll be hooked. But if he told you how to buy them, he could be prosecuted - and a small businessman like him can ill-afford a ?5,000 fine. ...." The Department of Farming and Rural Affairs - Plant Varieties and Seeds Act (1964) makes these tomatoes forbidden fruit - well, at least the seeds from which they are grown. >From a Reply to the original post - If you want to be completely up to date on this check out 'The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 2001', 'The Vegetable Seed (England) Regulations 2002', and 'The Seed (Registration, Licensing and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2002', and work your way back through 57 varieties of statutory instrument, directive and statute. - end quote - Just thought I would pass it along. bboy_mn From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 21:35:00 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 21:35:00 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <00b401c3a95c$a3237080$8c37d7aa@net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Jeff wrote: > > Neville hardly gets to sleep with anybody> > > Actually, I've read quite a few with Neville getting it on...in fact > I write one with Neville torn between two young gentlemen. > > Saitaina bboy_mn: >From my experience.... ah... as a reader... that is... Neville has one redeeming quality, and that is, he is quite large ...ah... ...nudge, nudge, wink, wink, ...if you know what I mean. bboy_mn From saitaina at wizzards.net Wed Nov 12 21:46:57 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 13:46:57 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships References: Message-ID: <012201c3a966$81043200$8c37d7aa@net> bboy_mn wrote: Hey, Nevvy has many redeeming qualities...but yes that is featured quite often in conjunction with my favorite Gryffindor. From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 22:04:41 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:04:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Prefects In-Reply-To: <1068669919.2828.51970.m4@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <20031112220441.24089.qmail@web20711.mail.yahoo.com> > From: "Shaun Hately" > > we've had discussions on this on the list, I thought some people > might like to see > it - it's short enough (about five or six pages in a 300 page book) > that it can be > quoted without creating Copyright problems. I don't intend to send it > here - it's a > little long for that - but I'd be happy to send a copy to anyone who > wants to see it. *raises hand* Me! Me! Me! Thanks, Shaun! Ja, Morgan D. Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hogwarts __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Wed Nov 12 22:19:26 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:19:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <1068669919.2828.51970.m4@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <20031112221926.84328.qmail@web20709.mail.yahoo.com> June: > But if the general fanon is true, hasn't everybody actually slept > with everyone else anyway, and in every possible numerical > combination already? Hmmm... Considering I've already read Snape/Bloody Baron slash... Seriously, I guess it's truth for all the main characters, but there probably still is some uncharted territory for stuff like... hmmm... Avery/Rosmerta... Narcissa/Hooch... Bagman/Wood... Fudge/Flint... Myrtle/Bane... Unusual combinations can be a relieve when you get tired of reading the same old typical pairings (Harry/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Draco, Sirius/Remus, James/Lily, Severus/Harry, etc.) June: > Aberforth and the goats notwithstanding... Well, that's canon, isn't it? ^__^ > Jeff: > That's a good point. It's actually very true, except that poor > Neville hardly gets to sleep with anybody. I'm not even sure I can > name 2 instances where he got lucky. I do know of a few stories with > Seamus with Percy, which I can't really see. :) Hmmm...now that I > think of it, maybe Neville slept with Snape, which I find *very* OOC > and squicky. :) Not my area of expertise, but I've already come across Harry/Neville, Sirius/Neville and Snape/Neville. Morgan D. Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hogwarts __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com Wed Nov 12 22:37:48 2003 From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 22:37:48 -0000 Subject: Slut! Neville/FILK question In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Jeff: bboy_mn: And finally Martha: This reminds me of a fanfic I read ages ago (and therefore cannot remember where I found it or who it's by). Anyway, it features the Gryffindor boys playing a game I am reliably informed is known as "soggy biscuit" or alternatively "ooky cookie". To avoid offending anyone I won't describe it explicitly - but let's just say it involves the depositing of a particular male bodily fluid on to a particular snack item. The last participant to do so is given the forfeit of eating it. Anyway, in the fic, as I remember it, Harry is the first to - er - well, you know, and Neville is the last. So yeah, Neville lasts longest. Another redeeming quality, non? Even if he has eaten a biscuit with THAT on it. Enough of this, before it gets overly icky, and a question or two about filks: 1) Do filks have to be set out like songs in a musical - you know, in context and everything - or can I just write a song so it's about something or someone, not meant for any specific character to sing? 2) Do filks have to be based on rock-solid canon? (I have had an idea you see, but it's certainly not canonical and I don't want to write it unless I'm sure it's OK. It'll be about Slashfic-Sirius - the one who is still at school and particularly promiscuous). If anyone knows the answers I'd be ever so grateful to hear them. ~ Martha (wearing her glittery "siriusSLASHremus" t-shirt, incidentally) From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Thu Nov 13 01:10:11 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 01:10:11 -0000 Subject: PoA trailer: It's Here! Message-ID: I can't contain my excitement . . . go NOW to http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.html Anna . . . From foxmoth at qnet.com Thu Nov 13 01:45:58 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 01:45:58 -0000 Subject: Slut! Neville/FILK question In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Martha" wrote: > Enough of this, before it gets overly icky, and a question or two > about filks: > > 1) Do filks have to be set out like songs in a musical - you know, in > context and everything - or can I just write a song so it's about > something or someone, not meant for any specific character to sing? > Oh, filks can be all kinds. Check out CMC's Harry Potter filk site if you haven't already, http://home.att.net/~coriolan/hpfilks.htm Most of them originally appeared on the main list. > 2) Do filks have to be based on rock-solid canon? (I have had an idea > you see, but it's certainly not canonical and I don't want to write > it unless I'm sure it's OK. It'll be about Slashfic-Sirius - the one > who is still at school and particularly promiscuous). If you're posting on the main list, an FF: prefix in the header will warn fanfic avoiders that it has more to do with fanfic than canon. and FILK: of course. Happy Filking Pippin who hasn't filked nearly enough lately From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 02:30:48 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 02:30:48 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <00b401c3a95c$a3237080$8c37d7aa@net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Jeff wrote: > > Neville hardly gets to sleep with anybody> > > Actually, I've read quite a few with Neville getting it on...in fact I write > one with Neville torn between two young gentlemen. > > Saitaina Jeff: Oh, you're just going to tease me and not provide links? :) Meanie. :) Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 02:38:39 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 02:38:39 -0000 Subject: Stereotypes (WAS Slut!Seamus and other ships) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." wrote: > Hey, > > Jeff wrote: > > >It's going to be an uphill battle for the good ones to > > disprove the facts and the stereotypes. We have several black > > families living on our street and they're all as nice and quiet as > > the rest of us. It's only the ones that move into the rental house > > down the street that always cause problems. > > I only have one issue with this, I think. I'm not sure it's really > fair to say that some members of a minority group have an uphill > battle to disprove the stereotypes about other members of the group. > (Correct me if I misunderstood, though, Jeff). The minority group > members who are not engaged in bad behavior shouldn't have to fight a > battle at all, I would hope. I mean, if people looked at minority > group members as individuals rather than lumping them together and > generalizing, then the stereotype would vanish all on its own without > any members of the minority group having to do anything differently, > I'd say. > > So in the case of your neighborhood with both polite minority > residents and troublemakers, I'd say the polite residents should just > keep on keepin' on, and nothing more should be expected of them. It > sounds like some of your neighbors (assuming some of them see the > behavior of some minorities as reflecting on other minorities) may be > the ones who may need to adjust their attitudes. > > JMHO, of course! ;-) > > Cindy -- wishing Jeff's polite neighbors would move in next to her Jeff: Well, Cindy, I agree with your statement that nobody *should* have to prove anything. The sad facts are that society doesn't always work as common sense dictates. :( Minorities, regardless if it's a race or sexual nature, always seem to have to fight for any kind of rights or respect. Again, this is *not* my beliefs, only what I've noticed over the years. In a perfect world, we wouldn't even have to be having this discussion, but sadly, we don't live in a perfect world. You're more than welcomed to move in next to our neighbors if you wish. :) We'd love to have more courteous people here. :) Jeff From saitaina at wizzards.net Thu Nov 13 02:39:06 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 18:39:06 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships References: Message-ID: <017301c3a98f$506946c0$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Jeff wrote: I can only give you a link to mine as I can't remember where the others are located...I read a lot of fics. The End of the Beginning: http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Saitaina/The_End_of_the_Beginning/ After the last war of Voldemort, Neville is the world's new hero, but is he ready to face those that betrayed him? Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 02:55:14 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 02:55:14 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > > Jeff wrote: > > > > > Neville hardly gets to sleep with anybody> > > > > Actually, I've read quite a few with Neville getting it on...in fact > > I write one with Neville torn between two young gentlemen. > > > > Saitaina > > bboy_mn: > > From my experience.... ah... as a reader... that is... Neville has one > redeeming quality, and that is, he is quite large ...ah... ...nudge, > nudge, wink, wink, ...if you know what I mean. > > bboy_mn Jeff: LOL!! Sure, that's what it is. :) Ah, say no more, say no more!! I think I recall a short scene in another story where he drops his trousers for somebody, at Seamus' request, iirc. :) The case was the same in this instance too. Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 02:56:43 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 02:56:43 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <012201c3a966$81043200$8c37d7aa@net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > bboy_mn wrote: > > redeeming quality, and that is, he is quite large ...ah... ...nudge, > nudge, wink, wink, ...if you know what I mean.> > > Hey, Nevvy has many redeeming qualities...but yes that is featured quite > often in conjunction with my favorite Gryffindor. Jeff: Interesting. I've seen Ron most often being written with that certain attribute. :) Several slash lists I'm on he won the polls for a question about who was blessed. :) Jeff From saitaina at wizzards.net Thu Nov 13 02:58:23 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 18:58:23 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships References: Message-ID: <019f01c3a992$017b8f20$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Jeff wrote: Ron...you're kidding right? *bursts out laughing* Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 03:06:29 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 03:06:29 -0000 Subject: Slut! Neville/FILK question In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Martha" wrote: > Jeff: > > > > bboy_mn: > > one redeeming quality, and that is, he is quite > large ...ah... ...nudge, > nudge, wink, wink, ...if you know what I mean.> > > And finally Martha: > > This reminds me of a fanfic I read ages ago (and therefore cannot > remember where I found it or who it's by). Anyway, it features the > Gryffindor boys playing a game I am reliably informed is known > as "soggy biscuit" or alternatively "ooky cookie". To avoid offending > anyone I won't describe it explicitly - but let's just say it > involves the depositing of a particular male bodily fluid on to a > particular snack item. The last participant to do so is given the > forfeit of eating it. Anyway, in the fic, as I remember it, Harry is > the first to - er - well, you know, and Neville is the last. So yeah, > Neville lasts longest. Another redeeming quality, non? Even if he has > eaten a biscuit with THAT on it. > > > > ~ Martha (wearing her glittery "siriusSLASHremus" t-shirt, > incidentally) Jeff: LOL!! Ah, I think I *might've* seen that one! That was a contest I was well grown before I'd ever heard of before. There were other contests we did, and that one would've been beyond our keen. :) IIRC, they were 16 or less at the time? I guess kids today *do* know more than we did, but still, ick!! I do have to agree that lasting is good quality, especially for a teen. :) I'm sure whomever he plays with will be quite pleased, unless they wish to have a quickie. ;) Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 03:09:36 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 03:09:36 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <017301c3a98f$506946c0$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Jeff wrote: > > Meanie. :)> > > I can only give you a link to mine as I can't remember where the others are > located...I read a lot of fics. > > The End of the Beginning: > http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Saitaina/The_End_of_the_Beginning / > > After the last war of Voldemort, Neville is the world's new hero, but is he > ready to face those that betrayed him? > Saitaina > **** Jeff: Ah, many thanks!! I'll eagerly await to read this. :) Jeff From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 03:11:47 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 03:11:47 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <019f01c3a992$017b8f20$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Jeff wrote: > > certain attribute. :) Several slash lists I'm on he won the polls for > a question about who was blessed. :)> > > Ron...you're kidding right? *bursts out laughing* > > Saitaina > **** Jeff: No, not at all. :) Why would you laugh? He is described as being tall, with large feet. It might be a stereotype, but could be rather true. At least from a few examples I've seen. ;) Jeff From saitaina at wizzards.net Thu Nov 13 03:10:57 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 19:10:57 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships References: Message-ID: <01a401c3a993$ec9ffb20$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Jeff wrote: < Ah, many thanks!! I'll eagerly await to read this. :)> I must warn you though, I'm in the process of re-writing chapters two and three so it'll go from okay chapter to crappy chapters and back to okay Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com Thu Nov 13 03:15:15 2003 From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 03:15:15 -0000 Subject: Slut! Everybody Was: Re: Slut!Seamus and other ships In-Reply-To: <01a401c3a993$ec9ffb20$50301c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Jeff wrote: > > < Ah, many thanks!! I'll eagerly await to read this. :)> > > I must warn you though, I'm in the process of re-writing chapters two and three > so it'll go from okay chapter to crappy chapters and back to okay > Saitaina > **** > Jeff: Ok, thanks. I'll add it to my faves folder and try to remember to go back and look later. Jeff From Erthena at aol.com Thu Nov 13 06:42:58 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 06:42:58 -0000 Subject: Hugely Immensley Late to the mixer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I should probably iron my hands for not responding sooner (which would be good as it far to cold in here) but I still want to respond. --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" > wrote: > > > What my name really is is a play on Moony. > > Are you another Remus fangirl? Yes, I am a lupin fangirl (but mostly a Sirius fangirl when I'm not a Legolas fangirl), but I also identify best with Lupin so when my friends and I thought "we're like the marauders" everyone said to me "You're definately Lupin" so Bam! here I am (hey I rhyme). > > I also decided that as I am a bit ashamed of being a werebear, > > Why? Just because of society's descrimination against were-critters? Well there's that and the fact that I had such illustrious forbearers (e.g. Beorn, if you don't recognize it, run, don't walk to the nearest copy of the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien) and I'm a bit different (I can't go out at night due to being a gigantic bear, ect.) So I looked at Loony and then at loony and which is more me, definitely the one that will confuse people (I get to flame at my friends when they capitalize my name). Also I like the way loony looked but not the way Loony looked. ~~loony From Erthena at aol.com Thu Nov 13 06:54:38 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 06:54:38 -0000 Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > And here's the obvious question - what are YOUR earworms? > June Oh there are too many to count, but I love getting songs stuck in people's heads so here's a short list: 1) The entire score of The Music Man (esp. Iowa Stubborn) 2) The Hampsterdance Song 3) Yellow Submarine by the Beatles 4) I've got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (I actually know the whole song, not just the snippet from the Lion King) 5) Any song not in English that I've ever sung for voice lessons 6) The entire score for LOTR, I own both soundtracks and can do too many scary memory tricks with them 7) The Philosopher's Beer Drinking Song by Monty Python 8) The Dark March (Darth Vader's theme) from Star Wars (esp. The empire Strikes Back) And then there's 9) a song called The Remedy which has lyrics that go something like "and the comedy is that it's serious, this is a strange enough new play on words" I can only think of one play on words for that and when it came out this summer, made me want to cry every time I heard it. ~~loony From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 13 14:55:23 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 08:55:23 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Earworms References: Message-ID: <01e101c3a9f6$2b499f40$1ed21e43@rick> > From Loony: > 4) I've got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (I actually know the whole > song, not just the snippet from the Lion King) Iggy here: This song sticks in my head for days after I hear it on the movie. > From Loony: > 7) The Philosopher's Beer Drinking Song by Monty Python Iggy here: I get this song stuck in my head occasionally, but I don't count it as an earworm simply because I enjoy singing it so meuch. The other MP song I feel the same way about is "the Penis Song." (Yeah... Not many people will admit that they like to sing that song... but if you've ever heard it, you can see why. It's just a fun song. *grin*) Believe it or not, these two songs are often my "antidote" to musical earworms... Funny thing is, I've been thinking about this thread and realized that my worst earworms have *nothing* to do with songs. They have to do with names or phrases. Every so often, a name or a phrase will pop into my head, and I won't remember where the name is from, or where I heard the phrase. I become completely obsessed with trying to figure out where it came from, and this can last for *days* on end. (I think my record was almost a week of trying to figure out where I had heard the name Inspector Kemp. It was from Young Frankenstein.) Usually I either have to ask someone where they heard it... often getting me some odd looks... or us a technique I have developed that I call "file search." (This is where I simply treat my subconscious like a computer and mentally set up a "file search parameters" command set that tells my brain to, essentially, conduct the file search in a background window and pull the window to the foreground when the file is found. I still have to check the search status occasionally, but it helps keeping me from obsessing about it as much on a conscious level...) Iggy McSnurd From erinellii at yahoo.com Thu Nov 13 15:38:05 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 15:38:05 -0000 Subject: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla In-Reply-To: <001501c3a8a2$a80eb3d0$72984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: > > Nox: > Actually yes, thankyou, it does help. I *have* read it. Then what's the name of the third one? Oh I dunno! I'm just going to have to unpack that stuff after all... It's ok, I have to find the vacuum cleaner anyway. It's somewhere in the garage behind or under 40 crates of *crap*.... The third one is The Wastelands, and is, IMO, the best in the series (so far). I read it over and over for a couple years. Erin From neonsister at ameritech.net Thu Nov 13 15:51:54 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 15:51:54 -0000 Subject: Earworms In-Reply-To: <01e101c3a9f6$2b499f40$1ed21e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: "The Philosopher's Beer Drinking Song by Monty Python > I get this song stuck in my head occasionally, but I don't count it as an > earworm simply because I enjoy singing it so meuch. The other MP song I > feel the same way about is "the Penis Song." (Yeah... Not many people will > admit that they like to sing that song... but if you've ever heard it, you > can see why. It's just a fun song. " Tracy here: Just last night I went to see Eric Idle on his "Greedy Bastard" tour, and the first song he performed was "The Penis Song"! There was also an audience sing-along (complete with lyrics projected larger-than- life on a screen) of the Philospher's Song. Great fun! My current earworm is the "Universe Song" (don't know if that's actually the title) from "The Meaning Of Life". From neonsister at ameritech.net Thu Nov 13 16:03:24 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 16:03:24 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: On a semi-related note, I was just reading in my local newspaper that the Columbus Zoo is moving all their non-native venomous snakes to other zoos. That's right, we will only have dangerous Ohio snakes (rattlers and copperheads) at our zoo. The head reptile keeper is retiring, and they feel they will not have the expertise to handle the assorted other cobras, adders, etc. Last year a keeper was bitten by a cobra - he survived. Perhaps they need to be looking for a Parselmouth next time they're hiring! Tracy From annemehr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 13 16:23:37 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 16:23:37 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tracy wrote: > On a semi-related note, I was just reading in my local newspaper that > the Columbus Zoo is moving all their non-native venomous snakes to > other zoos. That's right, we will only have dangerous Ohio snakes > (rattlers and copperheads) at our zoo. The head reptile keeper is > retiring, and they feel they will not have the expertise to handle > the assorted other cobras, adders, etc. Is he retiring at age 35, or did the zoo just lack the foresight to have him train a replacement as he got older? :D Annemehr who will accept any opportunity she can get to feel that anything in Pittsburgh might be better than something in Ohio, including the zoo... From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 13 16:18:25 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 10:18:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Earworms References: Message-ID: <000b01c3aa01$c5da1980$bbe09e40@rick> > Tracy here: > Just last night I went to see Eric Idle on his "Greedy Bastard" tour, > and the first song he performed was "The Penis Song"! There was also > an audience sing-along (complete with lyrics projected larger-than- > life on a screen) of the Philospher's Song. Great fun! > > My current earworm is the "Universe Song" (don't know if that's > actually the title) from "The Meaning Of Life". > Iggy here: Not many people seem to realize the level of contribution Eric Idle (IMHO, the most under appreciated of the Pythons) made to the group. He actually wrote the lyrics to over 75% of their songs... many of which helped to make them so famous. (Can you imagine a MPFC without "the Lumberjack Song", "SPAM," or "the Bruce's Philosopher Song?" Or a movie like "the Meaning of Life" without the "Universe Song" or "Every Sperm is Sacred"? How about "the Life of Brian" without the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"? I can't...) Most were sung by other members of the troupe, but they were written by Eric Idle. Iggy McSnurd Now, presenting the edited version of "The * Song" (those of you who know the song, sing along. We used to even sing it with the edits... This is transcribed from memory... *grin*) As a clue, each symbol pair counts for a word, and a different symbol is used for each term. (spoken) Here's a little something I tossed off while in the Caribbean. (sung) Isn't it awfully nice to have a **? Isn't it frightfully good to have a @@? It's swell to have a ##, It's divine to own a $$. >From the tiniest little %%, To the world's biggest ^^. So three cheers for your && or (( ((, Hurray for your )) )) )) )). Your ++ ++ ++, Your << << <<, Your >> or your "". You can wrap it up in ribbons, You can stick it in your sock... But don't take it out in public, Or they will stick you in the dock, And you won't.. come.. back. (spoken) Thank you very much. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 13 16:36:22 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 10:36:22 -0600 Subject: A new HP addiction indicator. Message-ID: <000601c3aa04$877cccc0$88c23841@rick> Iggy here: Something they need to add to the "Are You Obsessed with Harry Potter" test... Are you planning on buying the family a Nintendo Game Cube this Christmas just so *you* can get yourself a copy of "Quidditch World Cup"? (I know I am... *grin* It's the game that made the decision for me. I mean, I know I want some of the other games, but I figured I could hold off on the GC for a while longer. Not anymore...) Iggy McSnurd From ursamajr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 13 17:08:05 2003 From: ursamajr at yahoo.com (Adrienne) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 17:08:05 -0000 Subject: A new HP addiction indicator. In-Reply-To: <000601c3aa04$877cccc0$88c23841@rick> Message-ID: How Potter obsessed would you say I am if I tell you I went out last weekend and bought a PS2 just for this game? ;) My last game system was the first Nintendo but i just *had* to get this. I am ashamed. :D -Adrienne --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" < coyoteschild at p...> wrote: > Iggy here: > > Something they need to add to the "Are You Obsessed with Harry Potter" > test... > > Are you planning on buying the family a Nintendo Game Cube this Christmas > just so *you* can get yourself a copy of "Quidditch World Cup"? > > > (I know I am... *grin* It's the game that made the decision for me. I > mean, I know I want some of the other games, but I figured I could hold off > on the GC for a while longer. Not anymore...) > > > Iggy McSnurd From tminton at deckerjones.com Thu Nov 13 17:40:28 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 11:40:28 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A new HP addiction indicator. Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE46264F@djmail.deckerjones.com> -Adrienne, OH don't be ashamed!! I am right with you!! I was trying to talk my Hubby into the gaming system so I could get the game and not sound like I am THAT obsessed!! I don't feel so bad now!! THANKS!! Tonya -----Original Message----- From: Adrienne [mailto:ursamajr at yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 11:08 AM To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A new HP addiction indicator. How Potter obsessed would you say I am if I tell you I went out last weekend and bought a PS2 just for this game? ;) My last game system was the first Nintendo but i just *had* to get this. I am ashamed. :D -Adrienne --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" < coyoteschild at p...> wrote: > Iggy here: > > Something they need to add to the "Are You Obsessed with Harry Potter" > test... > > Are you planning on buying the family a Nintendo Game Cube this Christmas > just so *you* can get yourself a copy of "Quidditch World Cup"? > > > (I know I am... *grin* It's the game that made the decision for me. I > mean, I know I want some of the other games, but I figured I could hold off > on the GC for a while longer. Not anymore...) > > > Iggy McSnurd Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Click to learn more... ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 13 17:46:03 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 11:46:03 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A new HP addiction indicator. References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE46264F@djmail.deckerjones.com> Message-ID: <004d01c3aa0e$034937e0$88c23841@rick> > - Tonya > OH don't be ashamed!! I am right with you!! I was trying to talk my > Hubby into the gaming system so I could get the game and not sound like > I am THAT obsessed!! I don't feel so bad now!! THANKS!! > Iggy here: Just tell him that there's a few other people on the lists who are getting game systems specifically for HP games. (BTW: Which HP games are on the PS2? I know that the "Quidditch World Cup" is only coming out for the GC... What HP games are out for PS2.. or are coming out? *This* is what I'm ashamed of. I should know what's hot that's coming out for gaming systems... being an avid game freak m'self...) Iggy McSnurd From tminton at deckerjones.com Thu Nov 13 18:02:44 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 12:02:44 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A new HP addiction indicator. Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE462651@djmail.deckerjones.com> Iggy here: Just tell him that there's a few other people on the lists who are getting game systems specifically for HP games. (BTW: Which HP games are on the PS2? I know that the "Quidditch World Cup" is only coming out for the GC... What HP games are out for PS2.. or are coming out? *This* is what I'm ashamed of. I should know what's hot that's coming out for gaming systems... being an avid game freak m'self...) Iggy, Good idea I will tell him that!! I am not sure what games for HP are out for PS2. We have a PS2 but I haven't gotten any games for myself, by hubby is the game freak at our house!! Tonya [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cindysphynx at comcast.net Thu Nov 13 21:13:14 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:13:14 -0000 Subject: I Think We Need To Talk Message-ID: Hey, guys? It is time for some serious talk, folks. Serious talk about where HPfGU is headed and why. I really hate that it has come to this, and I've done every single thing I can think of to fix things off-list short of speaking up publicly. But I've rather run out of options at this point. It was either continue to bite my tongue and wring my hands, or face up to the fact that things have reached a point where I simply have to say something. I will tell you what I know and what I have experienced, I'll try to stick to the facts as best I can, and then you all can decide what kind of community you want HPfGU to be. For now, I am begging the indulgence of our list elves to allow us to talk about things because, as of right now, there is no other place where we can have this discussion. Please elves, hold your fire, or better yet, join in and let's make things better. Some of you may know that I used to be a member of list administration, first as an elf, then as a moderator until I left list administration in May 2003. I also headed the "Fantastic Posts And Where To Find Them" team with Elkins during Fall 2002 when they were revamped to their snappy new format, and I am still a member of that team. I wrote "HPfGU: A History" and I collaborated on a revision to the "Mysteries FP." I had the pleasure of drafting "Hypothetic Alley" with Dicey, Tabouli and Elkins, and I drafted a number of the updates to it. I have poured countless hours into HPfGU because I dearly love this internet community and I was willing to work hard to make it even better than it was when I arrived. What we have here at HPfGU is something unique and special, and I'd really like to see it stay that way. Unfortunately, what I have seen from our current list administrators lately jeopardizes our community. What I have seen is not pretty. Or healthy. Or even fundamentally fair, at times. Much of what is going on doesn't even make sense to me. I think we're on the wrong track here, but I think there is a simple and equitable solution to get these problems fixed that ought to make everyone happy. In short, I am worried that the list administrators (the elves), despite being personal friends, hard workers, and valued members of our community, have lost touch with their mission here. HPfGU is run by a group with no mandate from the list membership to run the lists -? a group not accountable to the HPfGU membership in any way whatsoever. They are not elected or term limited, and the list gets no say whatever in who joins list administration or in who ought to step down. This is not a problem in and of itself. The lists worked just fine for a long time with a structure of moderators and elves at the helm. It only becomes a problem if list administration at HPfGU becomes an in-group, a clique, a ruling class that will not tolerate dissent and has lost touch with what list members want and need. And that, I'm afraid, is where we are headed if something is not done. Where I come from those are fightin' words, huh? Ya gotta have some facts to back up that sort of statement, right? Well, let's delve further. Here are a few highlights ?- things that have occurred that suggest to me that administration of HPfGU has suffered due to the elves' total lack of accountability to list members. THE FANTASTIC POSTS TEAM. The most serious problems right now are on the "Fantastic Posts" team. The FP team (where non-elf volunteers like myself are a small minority) has always been self-governing. The FP team has its own Yahoo list, it picks its members, it decides which essays to write, etc., and it was a happy, collegial group. Last week, the list elves (who occupy a separate Yahoo list) declared that the FP team is subordinate to the list elves and is no longer self-governing. As you might imagine, this bombshell has caused morale to plummet on the FP team; there has been one resignation letter already, from a hard-working, enthusiastic FP team member. In response to objections from the FP team members, the elves pointed them toward the door: "[W]e invite you to withdraw your support by the same means that you offered it, by unsubbing from our sites." I do not think this sudden domination over the FP team by the list elves is in the best interests of list members, who by and large *do* like the FPs and want to see new ones sooner rather than later. INDIFFERENCE TO LIST MEMBER OPINION. As you all know, *no* FPs or Hypothetic Alley updates have been written since OoP. Some elves are taking the position that this is not a problem, as there is no real rush to produce anything new. No elves have supported the idea of polling the list members to determine which FPs *they* wish to see written, and one elf denounced a poll as "counter productive." My own view is that soliciting the opinions of list members is essential to inform the decisionmaking of the group. For instance, I recall that one of the most important administrative decisions surrounding the OoP release was whether to close the list. The previous list administrators polled the list, and we wound up doing what the majority of list members wanted. I think responsive leadership at HPfGU requires soliciting list member opinion rather than dismissing it as beside the point. "THE OLD CROWD." You all may recall the surge in list volume and decline in post quality at HPfGU surrounding the OoP release. What you may not know is that many of the elves joined an exclusive Yahoo Harry Potter discussion list called "The Old Crowd" days before the OoP release. TOC was started by six of the former Moderators (one of whom is still an elf) who stepped down this Spring. On TOC, HPfGU list elves were able to chat about OoP with select list members in a small group setting -- "an oasis of calm," they called it -- while the regular list members were left to drown in record message volume. To their credit, a couple of elves refused to join "The Old Crowd" on principle, but the elves who did join disagreed that their duty to HPfGU meant they owed list members their full participation and attention during the OoP release. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Old_Crowd/ PERSONNEL SHORTAGE FOR OOP RELEASE. Many of you know that the elves were *very* shorthanded for the OoP release. There were two reasons for this. First, the elves decided that they would not bring in and train new elves before the OoP release, preferring instead to focus their energies on tweaking their own internal system of governance. Second, offers of help were refused or ignored, from me just a few days before the OoP release, and from some OT-Chatter members in August. With OoP looming, I would have expected the elves to accept all the help they could get and make OoP release preparation their highest priority. RUDENESS BY ELVES. In the past, elves were required to be model posters, both before and especially after becoming elves. Obviously, if an elf doesn't abide by the rules herself or lacks the temperament and disposition to be kind and patient with list members, that person should not be an elf. Lately, there have been instances in which elves were rude right out on the main list and this list for all to see. List members who suffer rudeness at the hands of the elves have no recourse whatever -? except to write to the elves. List members who are rude receive howlers and may be placed on moderated status, but there seems to be no mechanism in place to address rudeness by the elves themselves. LACK OF PARTICIPATION BY ELVES ON THE LISTS. Ideally, the elves ought to be accessible and approachable. Although many of the current elves are active on some of the public lists, there is considerable room for improvement. For instance, only 2 of 30 elves participated in the OTC Mixer; only after I prodded them off-list about this did 2 more elves post much later. The elves also ignored the suggestion to link the bio form and mixer thread on the OTC home page. I raised this with them off-list, and one elf replied in his personal capacity, saying he just doesn't like mixers. This, I felt, was not the point. It seemed that the mixer was an ideal opportunity for the elves to introduce themselves to the list members -? especially since elves *do* post similar bios on their private Yahoo discussion list and could easily edit those bios for public consumption so the list members would have a better idea who they are. IMPROPER POSTING BY ELVES. Many of you know that an elf behaved badly on the recent Rush Limbaugh thread. This was a very serious matter; the elf in question violated explicit rules (rules I wrote last fall) prohibiting elves from pulling rank on list members to interfere with threads they don't like. The elves did issue a public apology on OT-Chatter, but the elf involved wrote to me off-list to retract the elves' collective OT-Chatter apology, saying she still believed she did nothing wrong and is unrepentant. Therefore, an elf broke the rules and then deliberately undermined the efforts of the other elves to make things better. Apparently, there is no mechanism to ensure that elves follow their own posting rules and internal guidelines, and no consequences when they don't. A RADICAL PROPOSAL IGNORED. Before bringing these issues to you all as a group, I offered up a radical proposal to the elves. I believe that many of the veteran elves have simply been elves too long and have forgotten what it is like to be a regular list member. There is also lingering personal animosity that seems to be getting worse and leading to counter-productive decisions by the elves. So this week I proposed to the elves that all veteran elves and all veteran FP team members (*myself included*) should resign their posts and turn the lists over to the newest elves and FP members, thereby sacrificing our own positions in list administration to benefit the lists as a whole. I received no response whatsoever from the elves. No, it seems that there is not a single entrenched elf who is willing to step aside voluntarily, not even for the good of HPfGU. ************************ What's the solution, though? As I said earlier, the elves *are* good people; I know most of them very well and I have met several of them in person. Part of the problem is that about half of the 40 moderators and elves have left since March for one reason or other. I believe this hemorrhage of experience and talent has sapped list administration of the diversity of opinion that once led to appropriate, balanced and fair decisions in the past. Past list policy decisions were made by hashing things out and finding a middle path; now, dissent is Unwelcome. I think the root of the problem is the system -- a system that contains no incentives for elves to *serve* the lists or to subordinate their own interests in favor of the interests of the lists and list members. I think the solution is that elves for HPfGU should be selected annually by popular election, beginning on January 1, 2004. Elections, I believe, will stop improper behavior dead in its tracks. It will provide an incentive for elves to be kind and accessible to list members. It will provide an incentive for elves to *serve* the list members rather than serve themselves. Elves who are aloof, burned out, unavailable, uninterested, invisible, arrogant, rude or simply too busy to do the job properly might not win re-election. Those who *are* doing a good job could serve one-year terms until they bow out or are not re-elected. I know. It sounds radical. We've never had elf elections here at HPfGU. But we've never needed them like we do now. The elves govern themselves through democracy. If democracy is good enough for the elves, why can't a taste of democracy work for the list members too? So. That is what has been troubling me. These problems are so darn serious that I find myself sending this message to the list even though it is likely to cost me my position on the FP team (the elves told the FP team last night that they are hard at work on a "Code of Conduct" for the FP team members, and I suspect that this post calling for elf elections will be frowned upon as insubordination). I don't know if I'm the only one who finds any of this disturbing. I am troubled, but I am just one list member. Now, the rest of you have a better idea of what is going on and why various things are happening. It's up to you, folks -- stay with the current system of elves serving at their pleasure and for their pleasure if you want, or do something new. It's completely out of my hands. Cindy From a_williams1 at pacific.edu Thu Nov 13 21:57:15 2003 From: a_williams1 at pacific.edu (Aesha Williams) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 13:57:15 -0800 Subject: PoA trailer: It's Here! References: <1068737892.4402.86944.m4@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <00fa01c3aa31$19c3fd20$d8430a0a@bre.uop.edu> >can't contain my excitement . . . >go NOW to http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.html >Anna . . . Thanks Anna! Oh, man... how can I wait 7 1/2 months?? I guess I have the release of RotK to keep me busy... and the release of the RotK DVD, if they really do release it in May... and music history and opera workshop next semester, which will be a bear and probably take up most of my time. But still... it seems so unbelievably far away!... Aesha [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cindysphynx at comcast.net Thu Nov 13 22:38:07 2003 From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 22:38:07 -0000 Subject: That's It For Me, I Guess Message-ID: Dear Cindy, Following the recent discussions on FAQ, and your ongoing dialogue with MEG, we have regrettably decided that FAQ needs to move forward without you. It has become increasingly obvious that we have gone past the point of "irreconcilable differences" with you. Your recent post to OTC, which you know to be in violation of list policy, just shows that this relationship has gone past the point of repair. We would like to provide you with the opportunity to leave voluntarily. However, if you fail to do so within the next five hours, we will unsub you from the FAQ list. Furthermore, if you violate longstanding list policy and air disagreements with list administration again on OTC, you will be banned from HPFGU. We are deeply saddened by this decision, and remain indebted to you for the work you have performed for this group. We truly wish you well in the future. Yours, Ali For the List Admin team From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 13 22:53:38 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 22:53:38 -0000 Subject: Lyra's Oxford and Re: That's It For Me, I Guess In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All, --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy quoted: > will unsub you from the FAQ list. Furthermore, if you violate > longstanding list policy and air disagreements with list > administration again on OTC, you will be banned from HPFGU. Why is discussion, criticism, and suggestions about how the lists are run not suitable for OTChatter? Oh dear - this is looking like a one line post, what shall I add? I know, Lyra's Oxford. Has anyone else read the latest short story installment of Pullman's His Dark Materials world? It's really good - the same Lyra (only more mature) and an intriguing new charecter, whom Pullman has hinted will be in the next full-length book in a few years. Cheers, Dumbledad. From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Thu Nov 13 23:26:54 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 23:26:54 -0000 Subject: Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ali: > Your recent post to OTC, which > you know to be in violation of list policy, just shows that this > relationship has gone past the point of repair. Which list policy has been violated exactly? I've just went through the Humongous Bigfile and couldn't find anything about discussing ways to improve the HPfGU structure being forbidden. We've had done this before in the OTC list. Morgan D. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 13 23:41:40 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 17:41:40 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) References: Message-ID: <000f01c3aa3f$b8f60ba0$88d61e43@rick> > Morgan D. > > Which list policy has been violated exactly? I've just went through > the Humongous Bigfile and couldn't find anything about discussing > ways to improve the HPfGU structure being forbidden. We've had done > this before in the OTC list. > Iggy here: I think they're viewing it as "dissing the admin on public channels." Iggy McSnurd From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 13 23:56:55 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 09:56:55 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) References: Message-ID: <008101c3aa41$d24131f0$68984cca@Monteith> Hmmm. Well I have been a member of one list (not HP related) which has been run for several years (with no detriment) in the way Cindy suggests - an elected moderator team. Those nominated and seconded either accept nomination or decline, and the listees vote via a poll who shall be chosen as moderator for the next twelve months. Sometimes people do such a wonderful job they are re-elected. This same list (which works wonderfully) sprang into existence because the list moderator of the *original* list began arbitrarily unsubbing people who disagreed with her. It did not make for a happy environment. Cindy has been open with her concerns, and it appeared to me, genuinely concerned with the direction the main list is taking. It seemed to me she was looking for discussion, and ways to overcome these concerns. Especially since, as Cindy herself says, she has tried the 'private correspondence' option and been unsatisfied with the result, or lack thereof. Instead, she has been subject to "if you don't like the way we do things, then leave," which I'm afraid is counterproductive. Now I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so to speak, but stifling one opinon which opposes the "ruling class"? I would have thought that OTChatter *was* the place to discuss the running of the lists. I certainly enjoy the lists and have had no reason to have 'words' with anyone, but the arbitrary unsubbing of people who disagree makes for a frightening consideration. Or perhaps I'm just wrong... Nox (having a good long think...) From atticlights at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 00:16:57 2003 From: atticlights at yahoo.com (atticlights) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:16:57 -0000 Subject: Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) In-Reply-To: <008101c3aa41$d24131f0$68984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: Well, Hi All! I'm a relatively new member who has been lurking for a while, and I've got to admit that this response from the Administration around here is enough to make me not want to be involved with this list. I checked the HBfile, and this is what it says: "The list elves also send messages offlist to members, for example, to welcome new members, answer members' questions, provide posting guidance for new and old members, and send howlers. These are also official communications and will be signed with the list elf's elf name on behalf of the admin team." And *this* is what the HBfile says about 'courtesy': BE COURTEOUS. Do not flame, send obscenities or spam, engage in other discourteous, disrespectful or illegal behavior or discuss list policy onlist (send comments to HPforGrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com instead). Before posting, consider how other members of our diverse international community might react to your post. Remember that sarcasm can be difficult to convey in written form, and that expressing opinions as fact is a sure way to provoke Snape-like responses. When in doubt, save your message overnight and reread it in the light of dawn. Attic Lights: So, am I basically correct here in understanding that the only really banned topics are flames and list-policy? That does seem a mite, well, *authoritarian,* wouldn't you say? >From an outsider's perspective, it looks like Cindy here had some legitimate concerns about the way that this list is run... who ever would have thought that there was backstabbing, betrayal, and power- mongering here at HPfGU? And the Mods have decided to reward an interested citizen by asking that she unsub from the FP group? I suppose the most obvious question is, if she's so interested, why not solicit her input instead of telling her to bug off? -Attic Lights, a new person who has no intention whatsoever of questioning list-policy around here if this is the result, and who has no interest in becoming an interested citizen if this is how they're treated. From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 00:21:04 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:21:04 -0000 Subject: A new HP addiction indicator. In-Reply-To: <004d01c3aa0e$034937e0$88c23841@rick> Message-ID: >Iggy here: >(BTW: Which HP games are on the PS2? I know that the "Quidditch World Cup" is only coming out for the GC... What HP games are out for PS2.. or are coming out? *This* is what I'm ashamed of. I should know what's hot that's coming out for gaming systems... being an avid game freak m'self...)< Hi All, In addition to "Quidditch World Cup" there is the "Chamber of Secrets" game, which came out a while ago (over a year). Also, SS was available on the first Playstation, but they are releasing it shortly for PS2. I think that's later on this month. KathyK (who bought her PS2 last year so she could play the CoS game but is trying very hard to hold off on purchasing QWC) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 14 08:37:07 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:37:07 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) References: <008101c3aa41$d24131f0$68984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <005901c3aa8a$7d6a67c0$a6706751@kathryn> Nox > > Cindy has been open with her concerns, and it appeared to me, genuinely > concerned with the direction the main list is taking. It seemed to me she > was looking for discussion, and ways to overcome these concerns. Especially > since, as Cindy herself says, she has tried the 'private correspondence' > option and been unsatisfied with the result, or lack thereof. Instead, she > has been subject to "if you don't like the way we do things, then leave," > which I'm afraid is counterproductive. Now I'm not the sharpest tool in the > shed, so to speak, but stifling one opinon which opposes the "ruling class"? > I would have thought that OTChatter *was* the place to discuss the running > of the lists. > Me (K) It seems to me that Cindy was polite and genuinely concerned about the list throughout her post and yet she still got told off for it. If discussing list policy in any way is against the rules then a whole swathe of us should surely have received messages asking us to cease and desist a few months ago when we were discussing how to deal with the influx of new posters. If the elves want to enforce the policy that list members aren't allowed to discuss the running of the list politely and intelligently then surely they should at least be consistent about it - or am I missing something here? (This is a genuine question that I would like an answer to from the elves, what is the difference in the two cases because I don't understand and if I don't understand the rules I can't very well stick to them) I too have noticed some changes on the main list which I am not ecstatic about. I don't know whether it is due to less effective 'elfing' or a complete lack thereof but whereas I once felt it was a forum where I could discuss anything canon related there are now certain topics which provoke responses of 'this isn't appropriate and anyway no one should care about this topic' responses from several poster (yes I am talking about the sexuality thread that has come up a couple of times recently) which completely smothers any intelligent debate. There are other subjects where I feel that the debate ends up highly personal and I haven't seen them calmed down by elves as swiftly (or at all) as they have been in the past (and I realise that unless I was the offender I wouldn't see a message from the elves but if they had stepped in to calm things down I would expect things to, well, calm down). My point is however that if I wanted to contact an elf about anything like this I would have to go and look them up because I currently have no clue who they are, so invisible have they been recently. Maybe if there was a method of electing them we would be more aware of who they are, I don't know, but surely it is an issue worth at least discussing, after all if none of the members are interested in it then no one will respond to this topic and we will know that the majority of members are perfectly happy with the status quo. Now I don't mean to cause any offence to any of the elves and mods (whoever you are) who I am sure work very hard, but the list has grown so rapidly recently that maybe it is time to change things a little to respond to that and make the 'enforcers' more accountable. K From risako at nexusanime.com Fri Nov 14 00:49:02 2003 From: risako at nexusanime.com (Melissa McCarthy) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 20:49:02 -0400 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) References: <008101c3aa41$d24131f0$68984cca@Monteith> <005901c3aa8a$7d6a67c0$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <006101c3aa49$1b751ba0$6401a8c0@vaio> K said: > If the > elves want to enforce the policy that list members aren't allowed to discuss > the running of the list politely and intelligently then surely they should > at least be consistent about it - or am I missing something here? (This is a > genuine question that I would like an answer to from the elves, what is the > difference in the two cases because I don't understand and if I don't > understand the rules I can't very well stick to them) I'd like an answer to that too. And I'd like to see some changes to the administration. I have some concerns with Cindy's idea of elections because I've seen that tried once before on another list, and in that case, it made matters worse. In that case, though, the elections were poorly run (set up to be unfair), and I think that was the main problem with how they turned out. Although I don't have any alternative solutions (yet), I sure have a lot of concerns. I'd happily support an election if it came to that. And I too fail to see how Cindy has done *anything* wrong, either in this post or in the original issue with the list elves which she had to bring onto the main list. Melissa, agreeing with Nox that arbitrary forced unsubbing is a pretty darn frightening thing From RSFJenny19 at aol.com Fri Nov 14 00:59:31 2003 From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:59:31 EST Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I Think We Need To Talk Message-ID: <46.4172910b.2ce582f3@aol.com> Cindy wrote: Cindy's right, you know. I've seen this happen in groups before. Perhaps it all worked out well in the past, but the list has evolved and the way it is run needs to evolve as well. I'm sure intentions have always been good in the past concerning how this group is run, but it seems to me that the administration is getting a bit carried away with themselves. And I noticed it before this subject came up. Some of you apparently have an agenda and don't want other members messing with it. Shouldn't the agenda of this group be up to the group to decide? I hope you all take this seriously and do the right thing, because if you don't it could very well break this group. Think about it. As for what was written to Cindy... I hope your embarassment over it being made public is sufficient punishment, because that was shameful. ~Jenny, who wasn't going to post this until she realized that being silent would be seen as agreeing with the admin. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From Malady579 at hotmail.com Fri Nov 14 01:07:14 2003 From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 01:07:14 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: We know many have questions Message-ID: Dear Members, This ADMIN is the HPFGU admin team's response to messages 19617 and 19620. We felt it important that HPFGU members be informed about a little of the background to that post. We are very happy to take further questions offlist at hpforgrownups-owner@ yahoogroups.com However, we want to remind everyone that list policy should not be discussed onlist. We do want to let you know, though, that as messages 19617 and 19620 make evident, there have been disagreements between Cindy and the list admin team which have been going on for nearly one year. Unfortunately, those disagreements reached the point where further attempts to reach a reconciliation would be futile, and Cindy was asked to step down. Our side in this dispute is not entirely blameless, as is frequently the case when relationships break down. We would like to have been able to solve our differences, but this has sadly proved impossible. An 11,000 member list such as HPFGU can't function effectively without an administrative team. We believe it is the admin team's responsibility to serve the 11,000 members of HPfGU. We do not think that can happen if volunteers take an adversarial, us-against-them attitude toward one other. We don't blame anyone who is unhappy with the site. We recognise that it is the fantastic posting of its members, not the activities of the admin team that make HPFGU what it is. However, we've long realized that HPfGU can't be all things to all HP fans. We'd like to accept everyone who volunteers. Unfortunately, it is not a rule that everybody must work well with us. We welcome suggestions, listen to them, and are always willing to consider improvements that do not detract from the unique style of HPfGU. Several of you have raised concerns and we will break the list policy rule one more time, to answer these; then further concerns must be directed to the -owners address. Regards, The List Admin Team Abigail (Bookish Elf) Ali (Merry Elf) Amanda (Amandageist) David (Davey Elf) Debbie (Debby Elf) Dicentra Spectabilis (Dicey Elf) Eloise Herisson (Weezy Elf) Grey Wolf (Fluffy Elf) Jen F (Jenny Elf) Jim (ex-Jimmy Elf) Jo Serenadust (Dusty Elf) Joy (Help Desk Diva and ex-Joysie Elf) Judy (Judey Elf, on sabbatical) Kelley (Kelley Elf, ex-Mod) Kimberly (ex-Moony Elf) Kirstini (Teeny Elf) Maria Alena (Manya Elf) Marina (Filky Elf) Melody (Aphrael Elf) Michelle (Shelly Elf) Mike (Aberforth's Goat, ex-Mod) Paul (technoGeist) Petra Pan (Penapart Elf) Phyllis (Poppy Elf) Pip (Pippy Elf) Pippin (Peppy Elf) Saitaina (Saity Elf) Sheryll (Rylly Elf, The Birthday Elf) Steve (Keeper of the Lexicon) Tabouli (Tooly Elf) Wendy (Hebby Elf) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 00:21:02 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 18:21:02 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Request for Policy Explanation (WAS: That's It For Me, I Guess) References: <008101c3aa41$d24131f0$68984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <002b01c3aa53$90ad7480$fa0d3a41@rick> I'm not going to state my personal views. Instead, I'll simply state that I see both sides. One side wants to see that the list is run in such a way in which the admin has a certain amount of accountability to the members. This is not an unreasonable option, but is not a required one as well. I have seen lists run well both ways, and run poorly both ways as well. The other side wants to make sure that they feel nobody is deliberately trying to lower the morale on here, and they feel that a letter of that nature is bad for morale because it is a direct challenge to their authority despite apparent prior attempts to resolve the issue in private. Personally, I have a couple of things I'd like to see changed, but I am working in my own way to try and help see that it gets attention from the admins, and I'm discussing it with them in private. Ultimately, we have a voice that the admins have no power over. If we don't like the list, we have the option of leaving and joining or making another one. That's not to say that "If you don't like it here, don't try to change it, just leave." But it *is* saying that I think the Admins understand that if they run things too poorly here, they'll drive away all the members who care about this place and end up with nothing but newbies who post only tripe. Personally, like I said before, I've seen lists run well in both formats. Despotism is bad, but having too much accountability is as well. Iggy McSnurd From zanelupin at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 02:15:35 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 02:15:35 -0000 Subject: Stuff Message-ID: Hi everyone, I was composing an open response that had a lot to do with a recent Topic-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. But I see that sending it here is not advisable. So never mind. On an unrelated note or two, Cindy is one of my favorite posters. I'm feeling grumpy. Okay, back to watching the PoA trailer over and over, KathyK From s_ings at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 02:41:08 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:41:08 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, Roo! Message-ID: <20031114024108.86912.qmail@web41115.mail.yahoo.com> *struggles to pull a cart carrying a 4 foot cake into the room, trailing streamers as she goes* Yes, I know it's late in the day to be starting a party, but look at the size of this cake! I've been slaving away in the kitchen all day. ;) Today's birthday honouree is Roo. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: pat_mahoney at hotmail.com I hope you day has been filled with fun, magic and the company of good friends. Happy Birthday, Roo! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From lhuntley at fandm.edu Fri Nov 14 03:16:53 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 22:16:53 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I Think We Need To Talk In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I'm not sure exactly where I stand on all of this, but I'm going to add my 2 knuts anyway. ^_^ I have yet to see any blatant signs of power abuse among the elves manifesting themselves on the main list. I did see signs of the moderating team being severely undermanned post-OotP, and although I commend the elves for their work during this period, I do wonder why they didn't pad their ranks before the release of OotP. As far as I know, the elf involved in the Rush incident was enforcing rules that didn't actually exist. However, I understand (if not support) her attempt to nip a potentially explosive topic in the bud, and I do not hold the rest of the admin team responsible for her actions. I am concerned by the topics discussed in Cindy's post and by the reaction of the mod team to it (although the fact that Cindy posted a personal email to the list bothers me -- I can see why she did it, but *still*). I am especially bothered by the rumor of this "no list policies" rule, especially as a) I had never noticed it before, much less ever seen it enforced OR b) it is relatively new and potentially a reactionary measure in response to recent events. Either way, it *really* bugs me. I understand that list policy is an *extremely* volatile subject, and I appreciate the mod team's efforts to keep discourse on this list as civil as possible. That said, I think the benefits of *courteous* discussion of list policy (when it is necessary) by list members far outweigh the possibility of unpleasant posts. We are all adults here, right? ^_~ *takes a deep breath* Okay. Despite all that, I do not think open election of the admin team is the answer. The participation level of most members is far too erratic within their first year (at least) of membership to risk electing a frequent poster of, say, four months' membership to office, only to lose her completely two months later when she loses interest in the group (this happens *all* the time, trust me). The *last* thing we need is an unstable admin team, IMHO. The things that would attract the average list member to vote for a candidate are *not*, necessarily, the qualities that would make a good list elf. I fear that, given open election, only very frequent posters would be elected by virtue of their high profile, whereas the posters who showed exemplary posting habits and knowledge of list rules would be passed over entirely. Please understand that I am not trying to say that "older" posters are in any way more law-abiding/dedicated/better/etc. I will be the first to say that after almost two years of membership, I'm *still* getting howlers (honestly, I just don't know when to shut up). Furthermore, my participation in the list is erratic as any newbie's. Clearly, I would not be a wise choice for list administration. ^_~ It's just that I don't think the admin team, much less the membership of HPFGU as a whole, can tell much about the long-term qualities of a potential elf without, at the *very* least, a year of posting habits to go by. Furthermore, the idea of facing dramatic changes in the admin team on a yearly basis seems like a horrible idea to me. Perhaps some compromise could be reached by which any replacements/new positions in the admin team could be filled by election by HPFGU membership from a list of candidates approved by the existing elves. (There should also be a mechanism in place by which members could indicate their interest in becoming an elf to the admin team, I think.) Or something of a similar nature. Like Cindy, I am concerned that the list elves have been drifting away from the HPFGU community -- many of them rarely posting or participating in the list. I understand that being an elf takes up a lot of time, but if those duties are preventing elves from engaging in normal list participation -- well, that's just not fair, is it? I would also appreciate any responses that elves (either as individuals or as a group) could make to the list as a whole, as I would hope that we could all discuss this issue in a constructive manner. Laura (who hasn't written a post this long in ages and ages.) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 03:14:06 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:14:06 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] That's It For Me, I Guess References: Message-ID: <004901c3aa5d$66babb60$fa0d3a41@rick> Iggy here: You know, I've been looking at this letter, and a few things bother me. First off, it appears to be addressed to Cindy from Ali... but it was posted to this list by Cindy herself. Was this something that was originally sent to her directly? The headers and other aspects seem to indicate so. (I have also talked a few times with Ali when she has had to reject a post or two of mine from the main list, and she doesn't seem the kind of person who would send something like this into the public list.) I would also ask that, if it *was* sent to Cindy directly, did she have permission to post it to the list directly? Yes, this does seem to be a little nit-picky, but it *is* understood to be at least common courtesy to ask permission to forward *any* direct e-mail to a public forum, and also to indicate this in the letter. I don't see this anywhere. I also do not see anything in the letter to indicate that she was forwarding this letter... not even the ">" marks that come with anything that's forwarded... much less a statement at the beginning of the letter that says that Cindy forwarded it. It appears to be simply copied and pasted into a new letter. I am not trying to tear apart Cindy here... she does bring up some points that may need to be addressed about how things are run if they are to go smoothly. Lord knows a number of the List Elves have heard a few gripes from me about things. Perhaps they would be willing to set aside some chat-room time as public forums for these problems once every other night for a few hours, and work on the most urgent problems. On the other hand, this tactic taken here by Cindy is, IMHO, "not proper cricket" (if this American is using the British term correctly...) and shows that she does not seem to be as completely innocent in this matter as she would have us believe. To me, stating that the List Elves and Admin need to conduct themselves with diplomacy and honor, then sending in an email that was sent directly to her in the manner she did doesn't seem all that honorable to me. As my father used to tell me, and I always believe, "Both sides have their story, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle." I would just recommend that people keep this in mind before jumping to conclusions or passing judgment on this without seeing all the facts first. Iggy McSnurd ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cindy C." To: Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 4:38 PM Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] That's It For Me, I Guess > Dear Cindy, > > Following the recent discussions on FAQ, and your ongoing dialogue > with MEG, we have regrettably decided that FAQ needs to move forward > without you. > > It has become increasingly obvious that we have gone past the point of > "irreconcilable differences" with you. Your recent post to OTC, which > you know to be in violation of list policy, just shows that this > relationship has gone past the point of repair. > > We would like to provide you with the opportunity to leave > voluntarily. However, if you fail to do so within the next five hours, we > will unsub you from the FAQ list. Furthermore, if you violate > longstanding list policy and air disagreements with list > administration again on OTC, you will be banned from HPFGU. > > We are deeply saddened by this decision, and remain indebted to you > for the work you have performed for this group. We truly wish you well > in the future. > > Yours, > > Ali > For the List Admin team > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ > > Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ > > Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 03:42:52 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:42:52 -0600 Subject: On a more fun note... Message-ID: <007901c3aa61$62f3cb80$fa0d3a41@rick> Hi all, Iggy here: With the tension that's popping up, I decided to have us do something a little fun. I went onto the web-site for OT-Chatter, and inserted a new folder into the pictures section. The folder is titles "Member Photos" and is one I started for people to put basic, real photos of themselves. (Preferably no costumes or artwork, just plain old, normal, photos of ourselves as we are in our everyday lives.) I started things rolling by including a photo of myself from about three years ago. (I started shaving my head a while back, but I'm considering re-growing my hair to my old style in the pic...) Here's to seeing more pics added to the file. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 04:08:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 22:08:01 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] That's It For Me, I Guess References: <004901c3aa5d$66babb60$fa0d3a41@rick> Message-ID: <009001c3aa64$e6b0bde0$fa0d3a41@rick> Iggy here with a correction of my own post: > Perhaps they would be willing to set aside some > chat-room time as public forums for these problems once every other night > for a few hours, and work on the most urgent problems. I didn't mean to say every other night... I meant to say every other week. (With all their other duties, I don't think that the Elves would be able to add in a "town hall meeting" that often... Once a fortnight should suffice it it's at a regular time and a few hours are made available with at least... 2-3 Elves at each meeting...) Just a clarification of my idea... *embarrassed grin at the flub of time frame suggested originally...* Iggy McSnurd From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 14 05:15:13 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 05:15:13 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) Message-ID: I'm going to do something that will doubtless piss off both sides in the recent debate, if not everybody on HPfGU, but I think it's time to stop bullshitting around and tell people the truth about what's going on around here. As we all know, HPfGU is run by an admin team of 30 or so list elves and poltergeists. Currently, the admin team makes decisions democratically. In the past, the admin team was divided into two groups ? the elves/poltergeists, and a smaller group of about 8 people called The Moderators, who had a separate Yahoo list, and who were the ultimate authority here on HPfGU. Cindy was one of those Moderators. Last March, the Moderators asked Cindy to leave the Moderator team, but did not ask her to leave the admin team. Many of the list elves and poltergeists were outraged, and came to Cindy's defense. A small revolution ensued, and when the dust cleared, most of the Moderators had resigned from the admin team, and some from HPfGU as well. I was, at that time, a poltergeist and only peripherally involved in list admin. I was one of the first people to rise to Cindy's defense because I agreed that she had been wronged, and because I had many criticisms of the way the list was run. At the time, I felt that the Moderators were heavy-handed, autocratic, and undemocratic. I couldn't understand why they would oust Cindy, who seemed to be trying hard to reach out to the list elves and poltergeists and understand our concerns. I helped lead the fight to get them to resign, and argued that we run the admin team more democratically. When the Moderators resigned, the admin team was facilitated by Amy Z, and then later I became assistant facilitator. Amy and I tried to lead the process of opening up and democratizing the administrative processes. This was an emotional and difficult time for those of us who were long-time members of HPfGU. Many of us had become close friends, and together we had forged a community that was an important part of many of our lives. It was sad to see so much dissent and anger. Several of the Moderators who left the list were friends of mine who I still miss. During this time, it became more and more clear to me that Cindy's motives were not what I had originally perceived them to be. After several months of working closely with her, I finally realized that her goals were not the best interests of HPfGU, but instead were personal. I realized, through talking to a lot of other admin team members and several Moderators, that Cindy had lied about several supposed events, and had often manipulated the truth. I finally came to the conclusion that what Cindy seemed to want was to run HPfGU herself, her way. This was rather a startling conclusion, to me. I mean, I *liked* Cindy. She is smart, funny and interesting. She was my friend. And why the hell would anyone go to so much trouble to try and take over a discussion group about a children's book? In fact, I still don't get it. Nevertheless, I'm afraid it's true. Cindy has consistently, first from her position as Moderator, then from her position as a member of the admin team, and more recently in her position on the FAQ team, tried to unduly influence and manipulate both people and circumstances in an attempt to gain leadership of the HPfGU community. Which is not to say that some of the issues Cindy is raising *aren't* valid. I believe that HPfGU *should* be run more democratically. Perhaps the elves should be elected; although I'm betting if we held elections only a tiny percentage of HPfGU members would actually vote. I agree that it is unfair to prohibit discussion of list policy, since there is clearly both a need and a demand by HPfGU members to do so. I think that if the admin team and/or the OTC membership feel that OTC is not the proper place for it, then another list should be created on which HPfGU members can openly discuss list policy. The creation of a list of this type was proposed by a member of the admin team last spring, and I will admit that I didn't like the idea at the time, because I felt that the admin team was too overburdened by its tasks and unable to even read another list, let alone respond properly to list members' ideas. But, time and circumstances have changed, and I do think that the admin team has to provide HPfGU with an outlet for policy discussions, especially considering that many of these discussions in the past have been helpful. And Cindy is right that some rotten things have happened. The creation of "the Old Crowd" list which she refers to was pretty nasty, (although I have to point out that it was NOT created by the admin team) and was what ultimately led me to decide to leave the admin team, although I don't think that the existence of that list had much of an impact on HPfGU. And elves are sometimes rude, and sometimes break their own rules, and not everyone is always nice or happy. And although the admin team has itself become much more democratically run, there remains the question of whether HPfGU as a whole could (or should) be more democratically run. But a disproportionate part of the rudeness and dissent and anger have been caused by Cindy herself, as she has, one by one, driven away her friends and supporters in her bizarre attempt to create trouble on HPfGU. One more piece of dirty laundry I must air ? While Amy and I were facilitating the admin team, Cindy posted something policy-related on the Main List which, in my opinion, the admin team had not authorized. I said so publically (on the admin team list), Cindy took offense, and resigned from the admin team. At that time, people who resigned, for whatever reason, were allowed to return if and when they wanted to. A month or so later, Cindy asked to return, and Amy and I decided that we did not have the authority to allow old admin team members to automatically return. We discussed it on the admin list, and the general feeling was that given the emotionally charged nature of things, that none of the former Moderators who had left would be allowed back at that time. Cindy was extremely upset at this, and accused Amy and I of "throwing her off" the admin team. After Amy and I left the admin team, she once again asked to return, and was rebuffed once again when admin team members voted against allowing old members to return. I'm really sorry that things have come to this. I imagine that some of you will think that I am making this all up or that I'm simply a lackey of the admin team. You have only my word for it that I only came to these conclusions after many long months of emotional angst. I have my own disagreements with the admin team, and the way HPfGU is run, but the last person I want to represent those disagreements is Cindy. There is one thing I know for sure. Either all of the current and past admin team members, including myself, are deluded, or Cindy is disruptive, destructive and ? despite her continuing interesting and funny posts ? is not someone I want to be a member of my community. Sadly, Joywitch M. Curmudgeon From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 05:54:25 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 23:54:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long) References: Message-ID: <00aa01c3aa73$c35b3000$fa0d3a41@rick> >From: "joywitch_m_curmudgeon: >During this time, it became more and more clear to me that Cindy's >motives were not what I had originally perceived them to be. After >several months of working closely with her, I finally realized that >her goals were not the best interests of HPfGU, but instead were >personal. I realized, through talking to a lot of other admin team >members and several Moderators, that Cindy had lied about several >supposed events, and had often manipulated the truth. I finally came >to the conclusion that what Cindy seemed to want was to run HPfGU >herself, her way. Iggy here: On two different occasions I have been an admin on a MUD (Multi-User Domain... it's a strictly text based RPG on line...) and have weathered admin upheavals on those as well. Unfortunately, those who often led the charge when it came to "constructive realignment of power" were those who did the least real work in the long run, and were the most stubborn about feeling that their own way of doing things was the only right way to do them. This is not to say that every person who wants to work hard to see positive change has an ulterior motive, but if you look at history, those who often led revolutions in many second and third world countries (and some first world ones as well) "in the best interests of the people" often did so for power of their own so that they could be among the elite ruling class they cast down. Nor am I saying that Cindy was definitely in this trend, since I don't know her well enough to make that call. I'm just pointing out that one should always be careful about trusting someone who says they can make things better if you just let them lead you. It's much along the same lines of televangelists who say they can guarantee you'll get into Heaven... for a small donation to their church, of course. >From: "joywitch_m_curmudgeon: >This was rather a startling conclusion, to me. I mean, I *liked* >Cindy. She is smart, funny and interesting. She was my friend. >And why the hell would anyone go to so much trouble to try and take >over a discussion group about a children's book? In fact, I still >don't get it. Nevertheless, I'm afraid it's true. Cindy has >consistently, first from her position as Moderator, then from her >position as a member of the admin team, and more recently in her >position on the FAQ team, tried to unduly influence and manipulate >both people and circumstances in an attempt to gain leadership of the >HPfGU community. Iggy here: As someone who has been betrayed and stabbed in the back by many a friend, I know of what I speak. The best way to gain influence is not through force, but through endearing yourself to others. Starting with one person at a time, you can work your way up to small groups, then larger ones. It's the creedo of any good con artist. "Earn their trust, show them you're their friend, and fleece them behind their back." (To this day, the one thing someone can say to me that will put me on full alert is something to the effect of "You know, I know exactly how you think and feel, because we've led almost identical lives." 9 times out of 10, this meant that they were conning me and going totry to make friends with me and then screw me over somehow.) As to why someone would bother to try and take over a discussion group about a kid's book? Well, first I would ask the question of "How many people are in this group?" Get power over the group, and you have some influence over what those people say and what they read. Even over as isolated subject as a children's book, this is a great deal of influence. Running the group is a position of authority and power... regardless of whether you use it well or not. I've been amazed at how much of an impact I've had over other people in on other mailing lists I've been on, just by discussing views that had nothing to do with the list subject. People were telling me that what I had expressed had changed their lives. This actually scared me, because I had an understanding of how a cult leader could gather such a huge following. Fortunately, I am an honest and nice guy... so I slowly started separating myself from these people since I wanted them to think more for themselves. (Trust me, you'd be amazed at what some people came to me with...) Unfortunately, I could see some of these people possibly falling prey to less savory people later on. I'm not saying that Cindy was this type since, as I said earlier, I don't know her well enough to fraw a reliable conclusion... but you asked a question, and I answered it from my own experience. I hope this helps somewhat. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 06:06:12 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:06:12 -0600 Subject: FINALLY!!! Message-ID: <00b901c3aa75$691fe7a0$fa0d3a41@rick> WOW!!! I *finally* (after many download problems, including multiple attempts and many hours of trying to download both QuickTime and the PoA trailer itself) got to watch the trailer for PoA. It looks COOL!!! I especially like the part with the Knight Bus. (And boy, does Draco look *really* different now...) Snape as Neville's gran looks great too... I just have one question: What was a cow doing directly outside the Three Broomsticks??? Oh, and I hope that whoever it was conducting that choir with their wand was *very* careful. I'd hate to think that those toads were students when the song started. *grin* Iggy McSnurd From a_williams1 at pacific.edu Fri Nov 14 07:20:47 2003 From: a_williams1 at pacific.edu (Aesha Williams) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 23:20:47 -0800 Subject: The Trailer- don't read if you're afraid of spoilage Message-ID: <005201c3aa7f$d3239980$d8430a0a@bre.uop.edu> So, there's the big choir in the trailer... why? There's no choir in the books, and they don't even allude to any musical instruction. I hope this is just a little entertainment during dinner or something, and something they don't spend too much time on, since there's plenty more that they could focus on. And they're all holding... frogs?? Hmm. Aesha [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 08:23:44 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 08:23:44 -0000 Subject: The Trailer- don't read if you're afraid of spoilage In-Reply-To: <005201c3aa7f$d3239980$d8430a0a@bre.uop.edu> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Aesha Williams" wrote: > So, there's the big choir in the trailer... why? There's no choir in the books, and they don't even allude to any musical instruction. I hope this is just a little entertainment during dinner or something, and something they don't spend too much time on, since there's plenty more that they could focus on. And they're all holding... frogs?? Hmm. > > Aesha bboy_mn: No, I think this is something strictly for the trailer. That happens quite often but most people never notice it. Trailers frequently contain scenes that are creates especially for the trail as a way of conveying some aspect or the mood of the movies in the short amount of time available. The song they are singing is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. Something wicked approaching seems a reasonable theme to convey the nature of Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm betting there is no Choir in the actual movie. I guess we'll have to wait until June to see for sure. Just a thought. bboy_mn From saitaina at wizzards.net Fri Nov 14 08:32:12 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 00:32:12 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: The Trailer- don't read if you're afraid of spoilage References: Message-ID: <054801c3aa89$d510df00$783d1c40@aoldsl.net> bboy_mn wrote: Actually, they could have shot it for the movie and never used it. That's where all those "missing scenes" in trailers come from. Rarely does one shoot footage just for a trailer...it's a waist of time and money when you can just grab stuff off the editing room floor and toss it in, especially scenes directors like but snip anyway. Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From ameliagoldfeesh at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 09:13:11 2003 From: ameliagoldfeesh at yahoo.com (ameliagoldfeesh) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 09:13:11 -0000 Subject: The Trailer- don't read if you're afraid of spoilage In-Reply-To: <054801c3aa89$d510df00$783d1c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Aesha Williams" wrote: > So, there's the big choir in the trailer... why? There's no choir in the books, and they don't even allude to any musical instruction. ------ A Goldfeesh: Whew, I'm glad movies based on books don't ever have anything original in them and follow the books to the letter and not the spirit! Seriously now, on the HPfGU-Movies list, people have suggested the choir might have something to do with Halloween (even though the Great Hall isn't decorated for Halloween.) I think bringing music into Hogwarts makes since considering it is never brought up in the books although Dumbledore deems it important. Listies have discussed the lack of music before on the main list, after all. A Goldfeesh (who uses Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to get unwanted songs out of her head) From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 11:25:10 2003 From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:25:10 -0000 Subject: Goodbye Message-ID: This is not list policy discussion; it's merely a personal announcement. I have just submitted my resignation from the HPfGU-FAQ group, and I am now stepping away from all the HPfGU groups I'm part of. I'm not unsubscribing, in hopes that sometime in the future -- be it tomorrow or years from now -- the HPfGU structure will be in the hands of an administration that will be able to restore my joy and pride for being in this community. I apologise to all the members participating in the threads I've been discussing lately; I know leaving in the middle of a conversation is not polite, but I feel this was a decision I had to make for my own peace of mind. I won't be following any of the lists anymore, so anyone who wishes to reach me please email me privately. Thanks, Morgan D. From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Fri Nov 14 11:28:12 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:28:12 -0000 Subject: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <007901c3aa61$62f3cb80$fa0d3a41@rick> Message-ID: Iggy wrote: > I started things rolling by including a photo of myself from about three > years ago. (I started shaving my head a while back, but I'm considering > re-growing my hair to my old style in the pic...) Nice photo, Iggy! (and Illyana) It might take a while but I'll see if I can find anything. Most photos wih me in also involve the kids and I'm a bit loth to put them on what they call 'your sad Harry Potter forum'. David From editor at texas.net Fri Nov 14 11:33:39 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 05:33:39 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] FINALLY!!! References: <00b901c3aa75$691fe7a0$fa0d3a41@rick> Message-ID: <000c01c3aaa3$27f27c60$2f59aacf@texas.net> Iggy: > I *finally* (after many download problems, including multiple attempts and > many hours of trying to download both QuickTime and the PoA trailer itself) > got to watch the trailer for PoA. Yeah, I had to wait until I got to work and the better connection there, to see it actually *moving* and everything. Way cool, isn't it? > I especially like the part with the Knight Bus. (And boy, does Draco look > *really* different now...) Yeah, he lost the Brylcreem look. I deeply appreciate this. > I just have one question: What was a cow doing directly outside the Three > Broomsticks??? Someone over on Movie did a scene-by-scene, which is absolutely fabulous, and they said it was a yak. Not that it answers the question, but it's a more remote and eccentric animal to find in Hogsmeade. I must go watch it again when I get to work; I frankly missed this before. Possibly just part of the non-Muggle atmosphere? > Oh, and I hope that whoever it was conducting that choir with their wand was > *very* careful. I'd hate to think that those toads were students when the > song started. *grin* LOL. Were the toads croaking along? Why holding *toads*? This is the weirdest part of the trailer, for me. Toads are not usually associated with singing--or not with good singing.. ~Amanda From lhuntley at fandm.edu Fri Nov 14 12:11:14 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 07:11:14 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Joywitch: > I'm going to do something that will doubtless piss off both sides in > the recent debate, if not everybody on HPfGU, but I think it's time > to stop bullshitting around and tell people the truth about what's > going on around here. Contrary to being pissed off, I'd like to thank you for your input, as an explanation of this sort is exactly what I'd been looking for from someone from "the other side" (or, at least, the middle ground) in the conflict. Thus far the admin team (as an official body) has been very tight-lipped about the whole affair. Not that I blame them exactly, as a "WELL, she did *this*!" post from the admin team as a group would hardly be seen as dignified or appropriate. However, this *does* leave general list members with only one side of the story, and the general impression that poor Cindy is getting clobbered by the nasty and despotic list elves. > Which is not to say that some of the issues Cindy is raising *aren't* > valid. I believe that HPfGU *should* be run more democratically. > Perhaps the elves should be elected; although I'm betting if we held > elections only a tiny percentage of HPfGU members would actually > vote. Well, the fact is, only a tiny percentage of all HPFGU membership is active on the list at any given time. Still, I am really wary of the idea of the election being open for anyone to enter and, perhaps, even anyone to vote. I don't want members of the admin team to feel insecure in their positions -- or, in fact, for the elves to *be* insecure in their positions. IMO, this can only lead to more of the animosity between elves/elves and elves/listies that we are experiencing right now. And I think we can all agree that this is not a pleasant thing. > I agree that it is unfair to prohibit discussion of list > policy, since there is clearly both a need and a demand by HPfGU > members to do so. I think that if the admin team and/or the OTC > membership feel that OTC is not the proper place for it, then another > list should be created on which HPfGU members can openly discuss list > policy. I second that idea. > There is one thing I know for sure. Either all of the current and > past admin team members, including myself, are deluded, or Cindy is > disruptive, destructive and ? despite her continuing interesting and > funny posts ? is not someone I want to be a member of my community. I'm still not sure banning her from the list is the appropriate action in these circumstances. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't list policy in the past been to place offenders on moderated status before ousting them from the list completely? Assuming that Cindy has been acting in a way that deserves censure from the admin team, why should her case receive special treatment? Also, her actual "rule-breaking" on-list has been, IMO, minimal. Forwarding Ali's personal email to the list at large was *definitely* wrong, and discussing list policy on-list was (maybe) wrong, but other than that, her behavior does *not* seem outrageous, at least, IMHO, from the POV of the general list membership. It seems that the admin team is responding to this case in a way that is not exactly in line with their normal policies, and this makes me nervous. Despite the fact we should never have seen Ali's email, the fact is, we *have* seen it, and from my POV, it pretty much looked like the admin team was threatening to BAN Cindy from ALL of HPFGU if she "air[ed] disagreements with list administration again on OTC." Given this information and the "no list policies" rule, the question in *my* mind (and, I'm sure, the minds of many other listies), is if publicly disagreeing with the list administration could get *me* banned, and what this means in relation to my membership in HPFGU. Laura From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 14 20:52:16 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 12:52:16 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long) References: Message-ID: <002001c3aaf1$30902860$a6706751@kathryn> Laura Ingalls Huntley Contrary to being pissed off, I'd like to thank you for your input, as an explanation of this sort is exactly what I'd been looking for from someone from "the other side" (or, at least, the middle ground) in the conflict. Thus far the admin team (as an official body) has been very tight-lipped about the whole affair. Not that I blame them exactly, as a "WELL, she did *this*!" post from the admin team as a group would hardly be seen as dignified or appropriate. However, this *does* leave general list members with only one side of the story, and the general impression that poor Cindy is getting clobbered by the nasty and despotic list elves. K Actually one of the admin team mailed everyone who participated in the thread Cindy started (or at least everyone who had participated up to the point she posted) explaining that while she would not go into details of the dispute because she was trying not to make anyone into the 'bad guy' the argument was longstanding and far more complex than we realised. She also said that Cindy's post was not the reason (or certainly not the sole cause) she was asked to resign. I don't want to say any more because I haven't asked permission to repeat the information here. Now I personally have no desire to get in the middle of this dispute as I am not anything to do with the admin team and can't possibly know exactly what is going on but as I told the elf in question I also would like a place where the general membership can discuss policy. If only because I wouldn't want to go to the admin team with general and vague complaints about something when I could discuss it in a more public forum first and maybe help hammer out a suggestion for dealing with it. While the elves would be by no means required to follow any suggestions made I think a general discussion of things to eliminate the pointless and unworkable suggestions might save them work. I thought the thread we had a few weeks ago about he large number of new members was helpful for the older members *and* the newbies and relieved a lot of frustration without generating any real bad feeling. We're all mature enough to stick to the guidelines and not turn threads like that into personal attacks. I don't like the idea of a chat because I don't really know how to use the chat facility. Besides I prefer e-mail to the list because it lets me think more carefully about what I'm saying (doesn't always stop me saying stupid things ... but it's a start ). Btw I'm still waiting for someone on the admin team to explain why Cindy's original post (which regardless to the background of it was a polite and intelligent analysis of how *she* felt list policy wasn't working) is any different to the thread we had about newbies and such a little while ago. I don't understand the difference and I really want an explanation of the rule. Anyone? K From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 13:35:14 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 07:35:14 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: Message-ID: <002101c3aab4$24320940$86d61e43@rick> > David: > Nice photo, Iggy! (and Illyana) Iggy here: Thanks... *grin* I've gotten some interesting reactions from peope to that pic. (Mostly it's along the lines of "Man, I didn't think he'd look like that..." ) I agree that the pics of Illyana are cool. (She looks like someone I used to do Live Action Role Playing with in the downtown area of Santa Cruz in Califirnia. A big group of us used to play a Vampire LARP on the outdoor mall there.) > > It might take a while but I'll see if I can find anything. Most > photos with me in also involve the kids and I'm a bit loth to put > them on what they call 'your sad Harry Potter forum'. > > David No worries about time. I just hope a lot of people put at least one pic in the folder so that we can put faces with the names. *grin* As for the kids thinking your forum is sad... I'm fortunate enough that my 13 year old step son can't complain since he's the one who got me hooked on Harry Potter, and my 2 year old daughter is too young to care. = ) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 13:59:35 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 07:59:35 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long) References: <002001c3aaf1$30902860$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <003e01c3aab7$8ac4db80$86d61e43@rick> > Laura Ingalls Huntley > > Contrary to being pissed off, I'd like to thank you for your input, as > an explanation of this sort is exactly what I'd been looking for from > someone from "the other side" (or, at least, the middle ground) in the > conflict. Thus far the admin team (as an official body) has been very > tight-lipped about the whole affair. Not that I blame them exactly, as > a "WELL, she did *this*!" post from the admin team as a group would > hardly be seen as dignified or appropriate. However, this *does* leave > general list members with only one side of the story, and the general > impression that poor Cindy is getting clobbered by the nasty and > despotic list elves. Iggy here: I agree with this. It would be nice to hear more of the story, but there's two things standing in the way of that: 1 - As we have been told, it would take hours of post to give a blow-by-blow relating of exactly what happened on both sides. 2 - Cindy is no longer with the list, and therefore can't respond to anything the others would say. Whether Cindy was right or wrong in things that she may have done in this whole situation (and the same goes for the admin), it would be unfair not to let her state her responses to what gets said. > K > > Actually one of the admin team mailed everyone who participated in the > thread Cindy started (or at least everyone who had participated up to the > point she posted) explaining that while she would not go into details of the > dispute because she was trying not to make anyone into the 'bad guy' the > argument was longstanding and far more complex than we realised. She also > said that Cindy's post was not the reason (or certainly not the sole cause) > she was asked to resign. Iggy here: I was on that list who received a letter from this admin member. Some of the points raised, along with the fact that (aside from notes explaining why a post may be blocked on the main list for someone on mod status) all official letters are worked on by a group of admin, makes me wonder one thing... Was the letter we saw from Ali already set to be sent out *before* Cindy posted her letter? Or was it a reaction to it? Is there an admin out there who can answer that question? (Ali, perhaps? Since she was the one who sent it to Cindy...) This isn't an accusation, or anything, just a desire to understand the situation a little better. > K >Now I personally have no desire to get in the middle of this dispute as I am not anything to do with > the admin team and can't possibly know exactly what is going on but as I > told the elf in question I also would like a place where the general > membership can discuss policy. If only because I wouldn't want to go to the > admin team with general and vague complaints about something when I could > discuss it in a more public forum first and maybe help hammer out a > suggestion for dealing with it. While the elves would be by no means > required to follow any suggestions made I think a general discussion of > things to eliminate the pointless and unworkable suggestions might save them > work. Iggy here: One of the list elves contacted me for a moment after I suggested the "town hall meeting" idea and said that they thought it was a good idea. It's something to consider. Would anyone else be interested in an open forum chat, that's scheduled on a regular and accessable basis, where people can freely (and respectfully) discuss problems they see with how the list is run? (And also give positive feedback as well, of course, since if you don't know what you're doing right, you might change that in an attempt to fix something that's wrong...) >K >I don't like the idea of a chat because I don't > really know how to use the chat facility. Besides I prefer e-mail to the > list because it lets me think more carefully about what I'm saying (doesn't > always stop me saying stupid things ... but it's a start ). Iggy here: Perhaps if the admin started a list titled something like "HPFGU-TH" (HPgGU - Town Hall), where people could post admin relatied issues, observations, and constructively work on helping the admin see what people feel about how things are run... and then have an associated and regulat "town hall meeting" on chat for those who like to have a more direct chat method to aid the town hall list... What do people think of that? The people who want the more post-oriented format can have that, and those who like to discuss things more directly can do that as well. Iggy McSnurd From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 14:08:20 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 08:08:20 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE462662@djmail.deckerjones.com> Iggy, You're a cutie!! *blushing furiously* Good idea to put up pictures!! Tonya (who is happily married with a 3 year old but not dead :) ) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From mphunt at sprintmail.com Fri Nov 14 14:32:44 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:32:44 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: <00b901c3aa75$691fe7a0$fa0d3a41@rick> Message-ID: "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > WOW!!! > > I *finally* (after many download problems, including multiple attempts and > many hours of trying to download both QuickTime and the PoA trailer itself) > got to watch the trailer for PoA. > > It looks COOL!!! me (tcy) I had the same problems...but finally downloaded it and now can't stop watching it! The largest problem now is the d at mn earworm of the song the choir sings There is something that is bugging me about the trailer (it's not the cow/yak in Hogsmede). It's Lupin. Everytime I see him in the trailer (and the publicity shots, too), I have to remind myself that it's Lupin and not Pettigrew. I pictured Lupin as an average-looking (though slightly worse for the wear) wizard. The Lupin in the trailer looks more like I pictured Pettigrew (slightly rounded face, suspicious, schemeing eyes and not at all attractive). Perhaps it is just the shots I've seen? Maybe I'll think differently when I see the movie Pettigrew? Or maybe I just have a strange picture in my head of Lupin? Anyone else bugged by this - or should I just shut up and go back to lurking? Tcy From stevejjen at earthlink.net Fri Nov 14 14:47:55 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:47:55 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy Hunt" wrote: > There is something that is bugging me about the trailer (it's not the > cow/yak in Hogsmede). It's Lupin. Everytime I see him in the > trailer (and the publicity shots, too), I have to remind myself that > it's Lupin and not Pettigrew. I pictured Lupin as an average- looking > (though slightly worse for the wear) wizard. The Lupin in the > trailer looks more like I pictured Pettigrew (slightly rounded face, > suspicious, schemeing eyes and not at all attractive). I've been wondering the same thing! I picture Lupin as similar to that actor, Ron Silver, in earlier days. In my mind he's a little bedraggled, but handsome and even has a slight arrogance. Every shot I've seen for POA he looks stoop-shouldered and cringing. Weak. I don't like it and hope the actual film shows him in a different light. But overall the trailer was very cool! That choir song is stuck in my head, though. And Gary Oldham as Sirius looks promising. Jen R. From maria_kirilenko at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 14:57:29 2003 From: maria_kirilenko at yahoo.com (maria_kirilenko) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:57:29 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tcy wrote: > There is something that is bugging me about the trailer (it's not the > cow/yak in Hogsmede). It's Lupin. Everytime I see him in the > trailer (and the publicity shots, too), I have to remind myself that > it's Lupin and not Pettigrew. Me too! All the time. It's almost exactly how I pictured Pettigrew. I pictured Lupin as an average-looking > (though slightly worse for the wear) wizard. The Lupin in the > trailer looks more like I pictured Pettigrew (slightly rounded face, > suspicious, schemeing eyes and not at all attractive). Sadly, I have to agree. > Perhaps it is just the shots I've seen? Maybe I'll think differently > when I see the movie Pettigrew? Or maybe I just have a strange > picture in my head of Lupin? > > Anyone else bugged by this - or should I just shut up and go back to > lurking? Actually, I'd be interested in hearing who *did* imagine Lupin the way he is in the movie. Everyone I've spoken to seems to dislike his look. At the very least, they say that Lupin's not supposed to have a mustache. So, you're certainly not alone. But the trailer itself is fantastic. I can't believe that the movie comes out in more than six months. So sad. Maria Alena From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Fri Nov 14 15:20:13 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:20:13 -0000 Subject: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <002101c3aab4$24320940$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: Iggy here: > I agree that the pics of Illyana are cool. (She looks like someone I used > to do Live Action Role Playing with in the downtown area of Santa Cruz in > Califirnia. A big group of us used to play a Vampire LARP on the outdoor > mall there.) Yes, cool, but on closer examination, that isn't actually a live rabbit she's eating. David From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 16:17:09 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 16:17:09 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: <000c01c3aaa3$27f27c60$2f59aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: Amanda wrote: > LOL. Were the toads croaking along? Why holding *toads*? This is the > weirdest part of the trailer, for me. Toads are not usually associated with > singing--or not with good singing.. This is true. But they *are* associated with witches, and with Macbeth, and specifically with Act IV, Scene 1, which is where the lines of their song come from. (First witch) Round about the cauldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter'd venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. (Second witch, a few minutes later) By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Me, I think they're Umbridges. Amy who has managed to watch, though not download, the trailer, and loves the costume designer for SnapeGranny's outfit, which is correct in every particular From illyana at mindspring.com Fri Nov 14 16:33:09 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 09:33:09 -0700 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <002101c3aab4$24320940$86d61e43@rick> References: <002101c3aab4$24320940$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: <3B797D42-16C0-11D8-879A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> > > David: > > Nice photo, Iggy! (and Illyana) > > Iggy here: > > Thanks... *grin*? I've gotten some interesting reactions from peope to > that > pic.? (Mostly it's along the lines of "Man, I didn't think he'd look > like > that..." ) > > I agree that the pics of Illyana are cool.? (She looks like someone I > used > to do Live Action Role Playing with in the downtown area of Santa Cruz > in > Califirnia.? A big group of us used to play a Vampire LARP on the > outdoor > mall there.) Now illyana: Thanks for the compliments, guys! I hope we can get more people to add their photos, because it's always good to be able to put a face to a name (or something like that - I'm up early today!), even if it's someone who doesn't post very often (like me). So, come on and post your photos, everyone! illyana [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 16:27:53 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 10:27:53 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: Message-ID: <01fc01c3aacc$428b94c0$86d61e43@rick> Iggy here: It's great to know that one of my fun ideas is being accepted so readily. Since I started the file abotu 12 hours ago, five people aside from myself have posted pic there, and a number of others had said that they're looking for pics to send in. *grin* BTW: Does anyone else think Dumbledad looks like either Dan Castalanetta (the voice of Homer Simpson), or Arman Shimmerman (sp?... the actor who played Quark in Deep Space Nine... the actor.. not Quark himself... *chuckle*)? Oh, and Tonya.. My wife would be jealous if she ever sees the pic you posted. Our daughter is 2 1/2 years old, a pair of scissors has never touched her hair, and we still can't get her in pigtails or a ponytail... which frustrates my wife to no end... I keep telling her that giving our daughter a trim would help her hair grow faster, but she doesn't believe me... (Which is funny, since my wife prefers to keep her own hair short...) Iggy McSnurd From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 17:22:42 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 17:22:42 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Laura wrote (great posts, Laura): > Contrary to being pissed off, I'd like to thank you for your input, as > an explanation of this sort is exactly what I'd been looking for from > someone from "the other side" (or, at least, the middle ground) in the > conflict. Thus far the admin team (as an official body) has been very > tight-lipped about the whole affair. Not that I blame them exactly, as > a "WELL, she did *this*!" post from the admin team as a group would > hardly be seen as dignified or appropriate. However, this *does* leave > general list members with only one side of the story, and the general > impression that poor Cindy is getting clobbered by the nasty and > despotic list elves. > I'm still not sure banning her from the list is the appropriate action > in these circumstances. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't list > policy in the past been to place offenders on moderated status before > ousting them from the list completely? Assuming that Cindy has been > acting in a way that deserves censure from the admin team, why should > her case receive special treatment? Also, her actual "rule- breaking" > on-list has been, IMO, minimal. Forwarding Ali's personal email to the > list at large was *definitely* wrong, and discussing list policy > on-list was (maybe) wrong, but other than that, her behavior does *not* > seem outrageous, at least, IMHO, from the POV of the general list > membership. Yep, there you have the history in a nutshell. Here's what happens: Cindy becomes impossible for most of the other Moderators to work with, and after months of effort (no doubt with plenty of missteps on their part--they weren't perfect), they say to the rest of the Admin team, "we can't work with Cindy." Because they don't want to have a huge war on the Mods-Elves-Geists list, with he said/she said, and because they think the rest of the admin team will trust their judgment, and because it's gratuitous to list someone's offenses the way I'm doing here, they *don't* give their side. The rest of the Admin team is thrown into turmoil. Yes we trust the other Mods' judgment, but we also trust Cindy. She's always seemed so reasonable, so open to other views. How could anyone deem her impossible to work with? Surely this is a case of poor Cindy being clobbered! Weeks of painful wrangling ensue. Over time, Cindy becomes impossible for most of the other Elves and Geists to work with. Most of them, like Joywitch, realize that her version of the story contained significant untruths. But Cindy has left the team and the team is reevaluating all sorts of rules for itself, including how one joins, leaves, or returns to it, so Cindy's not there and there's no need to say anything to anyone else. However, Cindy *has* been granted by the then-facilitators of the Mods-Elves-Geists list, Joywitch and Amy Z, who think it's a place she can employ her considerable talents and get a lot from the HPfGU community. Bad move. At first, to most of the people working on the FAQs, Cindy seems like a model HPfGU member, and administrator of the FAQ process. But she has in no way let go of her desire for revenge against her once-fellow-Moderators, nor of the habits that make it very difficult to deal with any kind of disagreement with her, and over time, she becomes impossible for many of the people on FAQ to work with (caveat: here I'm going purely by the things posted here, as I have no insider view of FAQ since June). So, that's three times Cindy has infuriated a group who was trying to work with her, while the people outside the circle can't see what the problem is. And now what is she doing? The same thing she did a few weeks ago: dragging OTC through her disputes with the people who are trying to run the list. Group number four. And people here are responding EXACTLY the way I and many others responded when she was kicked out of the Moderators: some trust the people who have drawn the line with her, while many others say "Huh? Cindy?! What's wrong with Cindy? She's so smart, and nice, and reasonable." (Blessedly, when she went ballistic about Amanda and wanted an APOLOGY for having been mistakenly held to a rule that was no longer in existence, the no- politics rule, at least one person not on admin saw right through it and said so on the list.) If history continues to unfold as it has consistently done, in a couple of months the people who are now defending Cindy will understand exactly what the others were complaining about. They may send sympathetic and apologetic e-mails to those people, but the damage will have been done. They, the latest defenders, will now be on the growing list of people whom Cindy deems Ever So Evil, but others won't get it at all, because they will only know Cindy's side of the story. Or maybe, if the Admins give their side and let Cindy give her side and everyone's allowed to give every piece of evidence and opinion that's on their minds, others *will* eventually get it, but OTC will be limping and bleeding the way the Mods and the Admins were by the time they recognized that the only ways to have a peaceful relationship with Cindy were to (a) do things her way or (b) be in separate rooms. BTW, Cindy is *not* in a separate room right now. She is still a member of this list, and I assume that the fact that she hasn't responded onlist means that her posts are moderated, though maybe she's busy or choosing not to post. If it's the case that she's moderated, yes, it may seem unfair that she isn't having her say-- that's EXACTLY what happened each time before. "Everyone should have their say." But--and I know this from trying to lead an open and accepting community in my RL--every once in a while a community deals with someone whose way of having his or her say is to gossip, spread lies, tell each faction what they want to hear, and generally play everyone off each other until the community is in shreds. And when the leaders of a community recognize that they're dealing with someone like that, they have a responsibility to the community to shut him or her out. Some people will punish them for it (in this case, all anyone can really do is bitch to them and/or leave the list). But it's what's right for the community. I punished the Moderators, myself, not by kicking them out--no one did that--but by letting them get sick of being jumped on and eventually leave. And now they have the sad satisfaction of knowing that I and the others who blamed them or let them be the fall guys finally get it. I get exactly why Cindy was impossible to work with, and I wish I'd gotten it from the first moment they said it. But I had to learn it the hard way. I really, really hope the administrators can learn from history and act on what they know is fair, not what will *look* fair to those who can't possibly know the whole story. Cindy will go on lobbying people offlist, which has always been her modus operandi, and that's her right, and it's the lobbyees' right to believe her version. But the administration can't lay out the entire battle without re-creating the battle and leaving OTC as bloody as M- E-G once was. As a matter of fact, I fully expect that they're going to tell me to stop sending things like this or face moderated status. > from my POV, it pretty much > looked like the admin team was threatening to BAN Cindy from ALL of > HPFGU if she "air[ed] disagreements with list administration again on > OTC." > > Given this information and the "no list policies" rule, the question in > *my* mind (and, I'm sure, the minds of many other listies), is if > publicly disagreeing with the list administration could get *me* > banned, and what this means in relation to my membership in HPFGU. Don't sweat it, Laura or anyone. The issue isn't this single, trivial matter at all.** See, the thing is, we don't have a list rule like "be nice" or "tell the truth" or "don't pick fights." So you can't kick Cindy off for failing to stick to those reasonable, but unwritten, expectations. You *can* kick her off for a seemingly minor offense such as posting list policy stuff to OTC. Think of the feds sending Al Capone to Azkaban, I mean Alcatraz, for tax evasion. It wasn't really the point, but it did the job. (And no, I'm not comparing Cindy to a murderer. It's just an analogy, and a good one IMO.) Amy **quite the opposite; *I* complained to the admins about the list policy discussions taking place on OTC a couple of months ago, and they said something like "we're letting it go because it's a great discussion and really useful to the lists." I do recognize that many people enjoy them--they just give *me* ulcers, but as you can see, I have just a *bit* of history with them and was glad to leave all things administrative behind last summer. But once in a while I am so upset by what's going on that I have to speak out, and that's what I've just done. From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 17:30:55 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:30:55 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE462669@djmail.deckerjones.com> Iggy McSnurd said: Oh, and Tonya.. My wife would be jealous if she ever sees the pic you posted. Our daughter is 2 1/2 years old, a pair of scissors has never touched her hair, and we still can't get her in pigtails or a ponytail... which frustrates my wife to no end... I keep telling her that giving our daughter a trim would help her hair grow faster, but she doesn't believe me... (Which is funny, since my wife prefers to keep her own hair short...) Tonya: Iggy: Jade was 2 1/2 in that picture taken about 6 months ago. Scissors have never touched her hair either!! she was a baldie for the longest time. It is just now down to her shoulders!! I love the long hair and so does my hubby!! You should post a picture of your daughter!! Jade brings out the best in me for sure!! Tonya [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From Ali at zymurgy.org Fri Nov 14 17:41:31 2003 From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 17:41:31 -0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long) Message-ID: Iggy wrote:- <<>> Ali responds:- The letter I sent to Cindy last night was not a knee-jerk reaction to a sudden crisis; it had been prepared earlier in response to issues on the FAQ list, and to an ongoing situation. The letter was however amended to take into account Cindy's post on OTC. The letter was indeed sent in private, and was meant to protect her reputation. Despite Cindy's decision to go public, we still believe that we have a duty not to repost her messages. I acknowledge how frustrating that is for you ?to have only part of a picture. But, I couldn't stand here and work for HPfGU if I was to disgorge confidential information about individuals to a public forum. Please note that the letter was not sent because of Cindy's post, but rather as a result of breakdown in relations. The letter was intended to end the problems on FAQ and ensure that people once again feel able to write FPs. For all of you who think that Cindy is a great and charismatic poster, I agree. For all of you who fear that the Admin Team is some kind of despotic, uncaring group, we will try to allay your fears. Sometimes, and hopefully very, very rarely, people reach circumstances where they have to acknowledge a breakdown in relationships. I don't need everybody on the team to like me, I don't even need them to agree with me (I don't know many people who are as fascinated by the Dursleys as I am!), but what I do need is to be able to work with them. I need to feel that I am working with other team players. This group is simply too big and (IMO) too special to allow for any other kind of group. The relationship has been deteriorating for a year. OTC is the forth front to see these problems - the old system of moderators collapsed because of it, the Admin Team was afflicted by it, more latterly the FAQ list has been consumed by it. If I truly believed that it was us that was responsible for the situation, then please understand I would go: I would have gone a long time ago. But, I don't. At this point then, our choices were growing rather limited. Sometimes it is better to walk the hard path and try to resolve a situation, than try to accommodate the unaccommodatable (is that a word?) or simply ignore the problem. Ali, Speaking as an individual, but reflecting the Admin Team's feelings From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 17:58:36 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:58:36 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE462669@djmail.deckerjones.com> Message-ID: <025a01c3aad8$f26ea060$86d61e43@rick> > Tonya: > Iggy: > Jade was 2 1/2 in that picture taken about 6 months ago. Scissors have > never touched her hair either!! she was a baldie for the longest time. > It is just now down to her shoulders!! I love the long hair and so does > my hubby!! You should post a picture of your daughter!! Jade brings > out the best in me for sure!! > Tonya > Iggy here: *laugh* I would, but then fewer people would think I'm so cute. (That pic was taken when I was still living in central California about 3 years ago... and, incidentally, was the one that sealed my wife's fate. *grin*) I started shaving my head last spring to help cope with the humidity down here. I'm going to grow my hair back to the way it is in the pic, though, since I'm starting to acclimate to the environment here. Awww heck... sure, I'll find one with me and my daughter to send in... Iggy McSnurd ps: Ok... I just loaded a pic of my wife and daughter at my wife's office, and one of me relaxing while my daughter sleeps on my belly. Both pics were taken early this year. From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Fri Nov 14 18:19:25 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 18:19:25 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: First of all, Mr. McSnurd, could you do us a favour and shut up? You know absolutely *nothing* about any of us involved in this and calling people names (even with the caveat that nothing you're saying might apply - the admittance of which makes your behaviour worse if you think about it) is ghastly behaviour on your part. So ghastly that for the first time in HPFGU history, I'm breaking all rules of civility and telling someone to shut up. But honestly, you should. You have every right to say what you think about list policy, but your personal attacks on Cindy are *way* out of line, given your complete non-connection to everyone involved. Now, on to the real issues here. First, I'll make clear where I'm coming from. As some of you will know, I'm a long-time HPFGU poster here. I've never been a member of MEG: The Administration list. I have since about last September been a member of FAQ, the HPFGU list which takes care of writing the Fantastic Posts. I've also been very good friends with quite a number of the people in the middle of this dispute. Yesterday, I resigned from FAQ because it was no longer possible to work there, given the current situation. As of the moment, I'm not officially connected with HPFGU in any way shape or form. Joywitch: > I finally came to the conclusion that what Cindy seemed to want >was to run HPfGU herself, her way. (and) >This was rather a startling conclusion, to me. I mean, I *liked* >Cindy. She is smart, funny and interesting. She was my friend. >And why the hell would anyone go to so much trouble to try and take >over a discussion group about a children's book? In fact, I still >don't get it. Nevertheless, I'm afraid it's true. Cindy has >consistently, first >from her position as Moderator, then from her position as a member >of the admin team, and more recently in her position on the FAQ >team, tried to unduly influence and manipulate both people and >circumstances in an attempt to gain leadership of the HPfGU >community. I have to disagree with the general feeling of this statement. Yes, Cindy does have a history of wanting things her way. I have occasion to know this myself. Cindy got rather ticked at me last October/November over FAQ issues. I can be pretty darn stubborn over details, I didn't like Cindy's keyword plans, and well, it wasn't pretty. In that, I'm rather surprised that the rest of you seem to think it some amazing new discovery that Cindy is a person who wants her way and will fight to the end to get it. Regardless, a desire to get one's way, to prove that one is right, is not the same as some secret plan to take power. It's been left out in these accounts of Modgate the fact that not all the mods supported Cindy's ouster. Elkins, who had worked with Cindy as a mod, and seen Cindy's 'behaviour', and is well-known is these parts for being thoroughly impartial, did not. While, unfortunately, Elkins is unavailable at the moment, I think I can speak for her that Cindy does not have a Secret Plan (TM). That does not mean, of course, that Cindy's strategies and actions have been correct. In the end, this whole thing goes way, way back. War on HPFGU has been going on for at least a year and a half now. What about the good old TBAY debacle? Everything today is rooted in a deal of history. Joywitch: >And Cindy is right that some rotten things have happened. The >creation of "the Old Crowd" list which she refers to was pretty >nasty, (although I have to point out that it was NOT created by the >admin team) and was what ultimately led me to decide to leave the >admin team, although I don't think that the existence of that list >had much of an impact on HPfGU. *agrees* Those elves who joined TOC should be ashamed of themselves. I know some of you and I can only hope that you weren't thinking properly. Eileen From melclaros at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 18:31:29 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 18:31:29 -0000 Subject: Why I'm thinking of unsubbing. Message-ID: This has been coming on a while now and the posts here over the last couple of days have clarified things greatly. 1. My first inkling of trouble was immediately following the publication of OoP when it seemed that virtually EVERY familiar poster on the main list vanished overnight. "Ok," I thought, "they're formulating their usual well-thought-out responses." And so I scrolled patiently through the "Why couldn't Harry see the Thestrals?" posts and the "I'm new here!" posts, and the "Sorry if this has been brought up before," posts while I waited. And waited. And waited. It's been months now and I can still say with confindence that the overwhelming majority of posts on the mainlist right now are by people I do not recognize as having been there prior to the publication of OoP. I have no problem with that in and of itself, but UNTIL LAST NIGHT continued to wonder where my favorite posters were. Thank you, Cindy, for telling us that they quietly removed themselves from us rabble and took themselves off to a private inner-sanctum where the word "Thestral" has probably yet to be typed. I find this *disgusting*. Ok, you wanted some peace and quiet, I don't blame you, but just how long are you planning to stay away, "Old Crowd"? 2. I almost hit the Unsub button a few months ago while reading this very list when I stumbled upon a group of listees, many of whom had been members either about the same length of time as myself (or less! and I've been here maybe a year and a half for your reference) making nasty comments about "newbies" on the main list and suggesting draconian methods of "dealing" with them such as implementing a "No Post" period for all new listees or limiting all newbies to one-post- per-day. This at at time while OoP had just been published and there were DOZENS of current threads going on many DIFFERENT topics. Aren't new members still put on "moderated" status? Isn't that the POINT? If one particular new listee is posting 27 one-line responses to the same thread, isn't it his/her elf's job to nudge them in the right direction? If elves can't handle the jobs they've volunteered for, then they should resign. "Please limit your responses in any given thread" seems like a simple enough directive. Perhaps if some of them had spent less time b*tching and hiding they'd have been able to handle the volume of new listees. Note the word **SOME**. 3. The very idea that this idiocy is STILL GOING ON. There is one bright side to it though. Post volume and active membership will plummet. Think of all the free time ADMIN will have then. Mel, who gives her patience through this weekend, maybe. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 18:34:31 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 12:34:31 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) References: Message-ID: <027c01c3aadd$f2fbfa00$86d61e43@rick> >Eileen: > First of all, Mr. McSnurd, could you do us a favour and shut up? Iggy here: If I don't have the desire to say something I feel is relavent, I will. >Eileen: > You know absolutely *nothing* about any of us involved in this and > calling people names (even with the caveat that nothing you're saying > might apply - the admittance of which makes your behaviour worse if > you think about it) is ghastly behaviour on your part. So ghastly that > for the first time in HPFGU history, I'm breaking all rules of > civility and telling someone to shut up. But honestly, you should. You > have every right to say what you think about list policy, but your > personal attacks on Cindy are *way* out of line, given your complete > non-connection to everyone involved. > Iggy here: First off I'll say that you take personal affront to anything I have said, and feel the need to express it like this, I would recommend next time sending me a direct mail so that the rest of this list doesn't need to be involved in your personal feelings towards me. If you wish to state a general disagreement with what I have said, and wish to do it more diplomatically, then I feel this is a reasonable place for it. To my recollection, I have never called anyone names, nor made any personal attacks against anyone on either side. From the start I have maintained my belief that both sides are probably at fault in this issue to some degree, and that they truth of the situation lies in between both positions. The closest I have done with regard to Cindy is state that I felt her actions in sending a private e-mail into a public forum was inappropriate, especially when she hadn't apparently asked permission to do so, nor did she indicate that she was forwarding the letter. The manner in which it was posted made it appear as though the letter was sent to the list directly. This is an opinion which I have seen support for both on and off-list. I have also maintained the entire time that I feel the Admin here does need to make some improvements to how they run things, and how they enforce their rules. For the entire time, I have worked to make sure I have been civil and unbiased, and I am sorry if you have misconstrued any statements I have made. If you wish, you can point out specific instances and I will do what I can to clarify my meaning for you and anyone else who may have misunderstood what I have said. As for anything else, I have answered questions posed, and made it clear that I am doing so from my own experience in other areas. I have also attempted to make it quite clear that I am *not* trying to insult, attack, or otherwise cast aspersions on Cindy. But that will also not prevent me from pointing out any inconsistencies I see. Anyone else out there can feel free to correct me if I am wrong here. If you can do it in a manner appropriate to this list, then post it here if you wish. If you feel you must do so in a way that is inappropriate to this list, then by all means, e-mail me directly. If anyone wishes to back up my observations, feel free to do that as well. Iggy McSnurd From fc26det at aol.com Fri Nov 14 18:50:16 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 18:50:16 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lucky_kari" wrote: > First of all, Mr. McSnurd, could you do us a favour and shut up? > I beg your pardon, but this was uncalled for. Not Cindy or the Administration has stooped to this level in this discussion. I quit posting or even reading the main list because of rudeness like this. I really hate the thought of leaving this list too. We are supposed to be grownups. I will not get into the discussion that is going on that started this mess but please try to act with a little dignity. Susan by the way when you say "us" please be sure to exclude those of "us" that do not feel the same way you do. From grannybat at hotmail.com Fri Nov 14 18:57:28 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 18:57:28 -0000 Subject: Snakes in Britain? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > What snakes are native to the British Isles? > > > The Adder seems a sufficiently nasty snake. Here are some photos. > > http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/amphibia/adder.html June, Steve, thanks for the info. This gives me some ideas. Oddly enough, the grass snake looks more intimidating (to me, anyway), than the adder. Maybe it's the pose. Grannybat phormer snake phobic From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Fri Nov 14 19:06:29 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:06:29 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) In-Reply-To: <027c01c3aadd$f2fbfa00$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" > If I don't have the desire to say something I feel is relavent, I will. > Even if it's totally obnoxious. Yes, we've seen that. > Iggy here: > > First off I'll say that you take personal affront to anything I have said, > and feel the need to express it like this, I would recommend next time > sending me a direct mail so that the rest of this list doesn't need to be > involved in your personal feelings towards me. No, it doesn't cut both ways. If you can get personal (without even having any reason to do so), I can call you on it. > To my recollection, I have never called anyone names, nor made any personal > attacks against anyone on either side. Well, luckily this is an email list. To take one obnoxious example. "It's the creedo of any good con artist. "Earn their trust, show them you're their friend, and fleece them behind their back." followed by "I'm not saying that Cindy was this type since, as I said earlier, I don't know her well enough to fraw a reliable conclusion... but you asked a question, and I answered it from my own experience." Well, that doesn't cut it. We have a phrase for that type of character assasination. "But Brutus is an honourable man. So are we all, honourable men." It is not *allowable* to assassinate someone's character, with no knowledge of the events, and then say that you're not *really* saying it, just sort of somehow implying it without knowing what's going on, but of course you could be wrong blah blah blah. The end effect is the same. It's still character assasination, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Susan: >by the way when you say "us" please be sure to exclude those of "us" that do not feel the same way you do. Of course, you're not included in "us!" *Us* are the people who have suffered one and a half years of this. Who have lost friends, shed our tears, worked hard to mend differences without any results. Believe me, I don't think any of *us* would miss Iggy's libellous remarks about con-men and televangelists. If you're ok with character assasination on Iggy's part, I would indeed suggest you leave the list. Eileen From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 19:04:14 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:04:14 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE982E@djmail.deckerjones.com> Iggy here: *laugh* I would, but then fewer people would think I'm so cute. (That pic was taken when I was still living in central California about 3 years ago... and, incidentally, was the one that sealed my wife's fate. *grin*) I started shaving my head last spring to help cope with the humidity down here. I'm going to grow my hair back to the way it is in the pic, though, since I'm starting to acclimate to the environment here. Awww heck... sure, I'll find one with me and my daughter to send in... Iggy McSnurd ps: Ok... I just loaded a pic of my wife and daughter at my wife's office, and one of me relaxing while my daughter sleeps on my belly. Both pics were taken early this year. Tonya: Cool Iggy!! I will find a pic of my hubby and put it up also!! YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!! Thanks for sharing!! All the pictures are wonderful!! I am very happy putting faces with Names!! Thanks everyone who has been putting up photos!! Tonya [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 14 19:13:40 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:13:40 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" wrote: > However, Cindy *has* been granted by the then-facilitators of the > Mods-Elves-Geists list, Joywitch and Amy Z, who think it's a place > she can employ her considerable talents and get a lot from the HPfGU > community. Bad move. At first, to most of the people working on the > FAQs, Cindy seems like a model HPfGU member, and administrator of the > FAQ process. But she has in no way let go of her desire for revenge > against her once-fellow-Moderators, nor of the habits that make it > very difficult to deal with any kind of disagreement with her, and > over time, she becomes impossible for many of the people on FAQ to > work with (caveat: here I'm going purely by the things posted here, > as I have no insider view of FAQ since June). The first sentence of the above paragraph is a little confusing, so I thought I'd correct it, nitpicker that I am. I think that Amy meant to say: "However, Cindy *has* been granted leadership of the FAQ group by the then-facilitators of the Mods-Elves-Geists list, Joywitch and Amy Z, who think it's a place she can employ her considerable talents and get a lot from the HPfGU community." Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, L.O.O.N. From maria_kirilenko at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 19:24:32 2003 From: maria_kirilenko at yahoo.com (maria_kirilenko) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:24:32 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Reminder. Message-ID: Everyone: Please keep the tones civil, re: main list wording: "We strongly encourage use of proper spelling, punctuation and grammar in posts, and expect members to observe common sense, courtesy and netiquette at all times." Emphasis on that last clause. This is basic list policy, regardless of thread. Maria Alena, for the List Admin Team. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 19:22:02 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:22:02 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) References: Message-ID: <02a701c3aae4$9606cf80$86d61e43@rick> . > > > Iggy here: > > > > First off I'll say that you take personal affront to anything I have said, > > and feel the need to express it like this, I would recommend next time > > sending me a direct mail so that the rest of this list doesn't need to be > > involved in your personal feelings towards me. > Eileen: > No, it doesn't cut both ways. If you can get personal (without even > having any reason to do so), I can call you on it. Iggy here: I didn't have a problem with you taking personal affront, or even stating that to me. I even told you that I felt it was perfectly appropriate to state your view on this to the list... so long as it was done respectfully. The comments by me on thiis were not regarding the fact that you said anything, it was rather in the manner you said it that I felt was inappropriate for a list posting. > Eileen: > Well, luckily this is an email list. To take one obnoxious example. > > "It's the creedo of any good con artist. "Earn their trust, show them > you're their friend, and fleece them behind their back." > > followed by "I'm not saying that Cindy was this type since, as I said > earlier, I don't know her well enough to fraw a reliable > conclusion... but you asked a question, and I answered it from my own > experience." Iggy here: This is a prime example of an edit oriented misquote. Here is the entire paragraph you got the first part from (and it was in regard to a question that was posed to the list, not to a specific person): As someone who has been betrayed and stabbed in the back by many a friend, I know of what I speak. The best way to gain influence is not through force, but through endearing yourself to others. Starting with one person at a time, you can work your way up to small groups, then larger ones. It's the creedo of any good con artist. "Earn their trust, show them you're their friend, and fleece them behind their back." (To this day, the one thing someone can say to me that will put me on full alert is something to the effect of "You know, I know exactly how you think and feel, because we've led almost identical lives." 9 times out of 10, this meant that they were conning me and going totry to make friends with me and then screw me over somehow.) The comment you said followed did not immediately, or even closely follow the "con artist" commentary. It was placed at the end of the entire letter, where the paragraph above was at the beginning, and was added to make sure that people understood that my comments were as a general answer to the question posed, and not aimed at Cindy. The closest commentary to the line you plucked out about Cindy was the statement that people who endear themselves to others can have a surprising impact on them... and I pointed out that I had experienced it first hand. > Eileen: > Well, that doesn't cut it. We have a phrase for that type of > character assasination. > > "But Brutus is an honourable man. So are we all, honourable men." > > It is not *allowable* to assassinate someone's character, with no > knowledge of the events, and then say that you're not *really* saying > it, just sort of somehow implying it without knowing what's going on, > but of course you could be wrong blah blah blah. > > The end effect is the same. It's still character assasination, and > you should be ashamed of yourself. Iggy here: I feel no shame for an act I have not comotted. And I have never denied anything I've said. I simply clarified that some of my answers were general responses and not directed at Cindy in particular. The interesting effect of this attempt to clarify the situation is to cause you to believe the opposite of what is intended. I again will state that, if anyone out there supports their view, they can feel free to state it civilly on this list. If they can't be civil, then please send the replies directly to me. Susan: >>by the way when you say "us" please be sure to exclude those of "us" >>that do not feel the same way you do. >Eileen: > Of course, you're not included in "us!" *Us* are the people who have > suffered one and a half years of this. Who have lost friends, shed > our tears, worked hard to mend differences without any results. > Believe me, I don't think any of *us* would miss Iggy's libellous > remarks about con-men and televangelists. > > If you're ok with character assasination on Iggy's part, I would > indeed suggest you leave the list. > Iggy here: With all due respect, it is not your duty to tell people that they need to leave this list. Unless you are one of the admin, it is not your place to dictate the acceptable membership of this community. I must also confess an amazement at someone who makes accusations of libel and character assassination so lightly. I have made every effort to remain civil, and clarify any potential misunderstandings. I have never ignored a post that presents an accusation to me, nor have I attacked anyone or committed libel at any time. I have also made every effort to quote people clearly and appropriately, which is one reason I archive not only everything I send out, but everything I ever receive... so that I can reference it properly. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 19:23:47 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:23:47 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE982E@djmail.deckerjones.com> Message-ID: <02ba01c3aae4$d7bc1980$86d61e43@rick> > Tonya: > > Cool Iggy!! I will find a pic of my hubby and put it up also!! YOU > HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!! Thanks for sharing!! > > All the pictures are wonderful!! I am very happy putting faces with > Names!! Thanks everyone who has been putting up photos!! > > Tonya > Iggy here: *grin* The only one I haven't put a pic up of is my step-son... partly because he has his shirt off in almost every one of them, and I don't think he'd want one of them posted on a list. Iggy McSnurd From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Fri Nov 14 19:30:59 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:30:59 -0000 Subject: Why I'm thinking of unsubbing. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear Mel, I'd like to reassure you about the disappearance of familiar posters post-OotP. While indeed there was The Old Crowd, and some posters did go there, a lot of the regular posters simply vanished overnight *because* of the behind-scenes problems (and you can see now how extensive they were!) We haven't been posting anywhere. We've been numb, and often very, very busy. I think this goes for the majority of us who have had a connection to HPFGU MEG and FAQ. Eileen --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "melclaros" wrote: > This has been coming on a while now and the posts here over the last > couple of days have clarified things greatly. > > 1. My first inkling of trouble was immediately following the > publication of OoP when it seemed that virtually EVERY familiar > poster on the main list vanished overnight. "Ok," I thought, "they're > formulating their usual well-thought-out responses." And so I > scrolled patiently through the "Why couldn't Harry see the > Thestrals?" posts and the "I'm new here!" posts, and the "Sorry if > this has been brought up before," posts while I waited. And waited. > And waited. It's been months now and I can still say with confindence > that the overwhelming majority of posts on the mainlist right now are > by people I do not recognize as having been there prior to the > publication of OoP. I have no problem with that in and of itself, but > UNTIL LAST NIGHT continued to wonder where my favorite posters were. > > Thank you, Cindy, for telling us that they quietly removed themselves > from us rabble and took themselves off to a private inner-sanctum > where the word "Thestral" has probably yet to be typed. I find this > *disgusting*. Ok, you wanted some peace and quiet, I don't blame you, > but just how long are you planning to stay away, "Old Crowd"? > > > > 2. I almost hit the Unsub button a few months ago while reading this > very list when I stumbled upon a group of listees, many of whom had > been members either about the same length of time as myself (or less! > and I've been here maybe a year and a half for your reference) making > nasty comments about "newbies" on the main list and suggesting > draconian methods of "dealing" with them such as implementing a "No > Post" period for all new listees or limiting all newbies to one- post- > per-day. This at at time while OoP had just been published and there > were DOZENS of current threads going on many DIFFERENT topics. Aren't > new members still put on "moderated" status? Isn't that the POINT? If > one particular new listee is posting 27 one-line responses to the > same thread, isn't it his/her elf's job to nudge them in the right > direction? If elves can't handle the jobs they've volunteered for, > then they should resign. "Please limit your responses in any given > thread" seems like a simple enough directive. Perhaps if some of them > had spent less time b*tching and hiding they'd have been able to > handle the volume of new listees. Note the word **SOME**. > > 3. The very idea that this idiocy is STILL GOING ON. There is one > bright side to it though. Post volume and active membership will > plummet. Think of all the free time ADMIN will have then. > > > Mel, who gives her patience through this weekend, maybe. From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 19:43:13 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:43:13 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: JMC wrote: > I think that Amy meant > to say: > > "However, Cindy *has* been granted leadership of the FAQ group by the > then-facilitators of the Mods-Elves-Geists list, Joywitch and Amy Z, > who think it's a place she can employ her considerable talents and > get a lot from the HPfGU community." > > Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, L.O.O.N. Yeah, that's what I meant. Something got chopped in a cut-and-paste. Amy Z, L.O.O.N. but sloppy typist From foxmoth at qnet.com Fri Nov 14 19:49:45 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:49:45 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Enough Already! Message-ID: So, now you know why we only seldom allow policy discussions on list and why we manage list discipline in private. No more. If you folks have anything further to say pertaining to list policy or list discipline say it off list, or email us at -Owner. HPforGrownups-owner @ yahoogroups.com without the spaces, of course. We thank those of you who have posted civilly on this thread. Peppy Elf for the List Administration Team From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Fri Nov 14 19:56:11 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:56:11 -0000 Subject: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) In-Reply-To: <02a701c3aae4$9606cf80$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" > The comments by me on thiis were not regarding the fact that you said > anything, it was rather in the manner you said it that I felt was > inappropriate for a list posting. Just as my original comments were regarding the fact that your manner was completely inappropriate for a list posting. Iggy wrote: (re my quote) >This is a prime example of an edit oriented misquote. Well, no, since the extended post is *worse*. I just took one example of your character assasination, and then pointed out what your disclaimer was. Below we get more of it, including charming lines such as "I know of what you speak." Iggy wrote: > Here is the entire paragraph you got the first part from (and it was in > regard to a question that was posed to the list, not to a specific person): > > As someone who has been betrayed and stabbed in the back by many a friend, I > know of what I speak. The best way to gain influence is not through force, > but through endearing yourself to others. Starting with one person at a > time, you can work your way up to small groups, then larger ones. It's the > creedo of any good con artist. "Earn their trust, show them you're their > friend, and fleece them behind their back." (To this day, the one thing > someone can say to me that will put me on full alert is something to the > effect of "You know, I know exactly how you think and feel, because we've > led almost identical lives." 9 times out of 10, this meant that they were > conning me and going totry to make friends with me and then screw me over > somehow.) > > > The comment you said followed did not immediately, or even closely follow > the "con artist" commentary. It was placed at the end of the entire letter, > where the paragraph above was at the beginning, and was added to make sure > that people understood that my comments were as a general answer to the > question posed, and not aimed at Cindy. You're not getting the point, are you? There is no place for general comments. This is not a theoretical discussion about meglomaniacs or con artists. The point is that even when you include a disclaimer that none of this is related to Cindy, it is. You are destroying her character, even if you don't mean to. What would you think if I were to write a whole post about despicable people and then end it up with "None of this, of course, applies to Iggy, of whom I don't know anything." The disclaimer would not ring true. Iggy: >The interesting effect > of this attempt to clarify the situation is to cause you to believe >the opposite of what is intended. Of course I don't believe you intended this. How does intention matter? No, I don't believe you intended to stumble into the middle of no-man land and set off Armageddon. But nevertheless, you have. And common sense should have told you that what you were posting was *wrong*. Iggy: > I must also confess an amazement at someone who makes accusations of libel > and character assassination so lightly. Lightly? *laughs* You don't know me do you? Rest assured that I do not make such accusations lightly. My response to you is completely unprecedented in HPFGU history. Eileen From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 19:53:22 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:53:22 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Why I'm thinking of unsubbing. Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE982F@djmail.deckerjones.com> Melclaros said: 1. My first inkling of trouble was immediately following the publication of OoP when it seemed that virtually EVERY familiar poster on the main list vanished overnight. "Ok," I thought, "they're formulating their usual well-thought-out responses." And so I scrolled patiently through the "Why couldn't Harry see the Thestrals?" posts and the "I'm new here!" posts, and the "Sorry if this has been brought up before," posts while I waited. And waited. And waited. It's been months now and I can still say with confindence that the overwhelming majority of posts on the mainlist right now are by people I do not recognize as having been there prior to the publication of OoP. I have no problem with that in and of itself, but UNTIL LAST NIGHT continued to wonder where my favorite posters were. Thank you, Cindy, for telling us that they quietly removed themselves from us rabble and took themselves off to a private inner-sanctum where the word "Thestral" has probably yet to be typed. I find this *disgusting*. Ok, you wanted some peace and quiet, I don't blame you, but just how long are you planning to stay away, "Old Crowd"? BIG HUGE SNIP Now Tonya: I have been trying my hardest to stay out of all this junk but I have to speak up now. I am not sure the actual difinition of "old crowd" but the way I am reading it here that means those who belonged to the group before OOP. Well, I belonged to the group before OOP, so does that make me one of those you are talking about?? I don't find the list boring nor am I looking for some private space. If I was it certianly would not be in a group of 11,000 people now would it?? On the other hand maybe we do need to look into the administration end of the group and decided how we want our group run, personally I hardly ever hear from admin unless I have posted inproperly. I have no idea what their jobs entails I am sure with sooooo many people on the list it is hard work and I respect them for doing it. I really do not agree with some of the tones people have been taking with others, very disrespectful. I do hope that will stop soon. Why are we here?? We LOVE HARRY!! Let's get back to what is really imporatant here.... Tonya (Who happens to like talking about Thestrals and won't get tired of them) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 19:59:50 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:59:50 -0000 Subject: why people go quiet In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Eileen wrote: > I'd like to reassure you about the disappearance of familiar posters > post-OotP. While indeed there was The Old Crowd, and some posters did > go there, a lot of the regular posters simply vanished overnight > *because* of the behind-scenes problems (and you can see now how > extensive they were!) We haven't been posting anywhere. We've been > numb, and often very, very busy. I think this goes for the majority > of us who have had a connection to HPFGU MEG and FAQ. Add, in my case, that I went to a conference the day after the book came out and returned to hundreds of posts; was disappointed with OoP (I'm not any longer, but now there are thousands of posts over the dam); was moving and starting a new job last summer; and just maybe, had just reached the other side of the peak of my interest in HP, much as I still love it. IOW, there are lots of reasons the active list membership changes. Leaders of HPfGU frequently shift some of their attention to movie stuff or fanfiction or RPGs or FAQ-writing or a different HP list. In my experience, the number one reason elves post less once they become elves is that it takes hours a day to administer the list, especially if you're always fighting fires. Easy to say "elves, get over this stupid debate already," but if someone keeps on throwing bombs, you either have to ban them (STALINIST!), ignore them (RUDE!) or deal with them. Amy Z From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 20:07:06 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:07:06 -0000 Subject: sorry (was "why people go quiet") In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I started writing this before Pippin's ADMIN and so posted it to find that I had just violated an ADMIN request. My apologies. Amy Z From neilward at dircon.co.uk Fri Nov 14 20:13:23 2003 From: neilward at dircon.co.uk (Neil Ward) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:13:23 -0000 Subject: Why I'm thinking of unsubbing. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Mel said: << [something about dull OoP posts] and ....UNTIL LAST NIGHT continued to wonder where my favorite posters were. Thank you, Cindy, for telling us that they quietly removed themselves from us rabble and took themselves off to a private inner-sanctum where the word "Thestral" has probably yet to be typed. I find this *disgusting*. Ok, you wanted some peace and quiet, I don't blame you, but just how long are you planning to stay away, "Old Crowd"? >> Don't go on our account! I can assure you that the existence of 'The Old Crowd', with its snoozing membership of some 60 or so people, has nothing to do with the lack of posting by your favourite posters on HPfGU. Firstly, there hasn't been much posting there either and, secondly, even if there had been, it wouldn't preclude people from posting on HPfGU or any number of other message boards as well. In my case, Harry Potter simply fell off the radar after my first reading of OoP and I guess I won't want to post a word on it until I've read it a second time (which I'm told improves it). Neil/flyingfordanglia Incidentally, I'm the owner of 'The Old Crowd' and a former moderator of HPfGU. Hold the rotten fruit though, as I've just had this cloak dry cleaned. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 20:07:05 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:07:05 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] ADMIN: Enough Already! References: Message-ID: <02f101c3aaea$e1995f20$86d61e43@rick> > Peppy Elf > for the List Administration Team: > > So, now you know why we only seldom allow policy discussions > on list and why we manage list discipline in private. > > No more. If you folks have anything further to say pertaining to list > policy or list discipline say it off list, or email us at -Owner. Iggy here: Out of respect for the list admin, and to ease their burden, I will bow completely out of the current discussions I am involved in regarding the recent problems unless they indicate to me that it is acceptable to resume. Iggy McSnurd From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 14 20:19:53 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:19:53 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) Message-ID: Well, Quite a debate going on here, worse than the British House of Commons in a major debate (now that's insulting). As is common in such affairs, there is probably blame and misunderstanding on both sides. At present, I'm on nobody's side but my own. But I personally will be staying ON LIST and here's why. I joined this list shortly post OOP publication. I spent some time on the internet after reading OOP and as I was the first person in my "real world" acquaintance to read it, was fairly desperate to discuss it with someone. So like probably most people here I took to the internet and eventually found the main HPFGU list. I was blown away by the variety and smartness of some of the posts. It took some doing to keep up with the volume and I was too scared to post for a while - but did a lot of reading of Fantastic Posts so I could get the ethos of the group first. Scared I might have been, but it was a blast to come across theories that I thought only I knew and had figured out. After about three weeks I posted - most terrifying experience of my life. Then after a few weeks more I came "off moderation" - boy was I proud. AND no one had flamed me. That was in June. Since then, I've made a lot of friends, taken to writing fics, generally, this list has been a good catalyst for good changes in my life (though you may not agree as regards the fic writing...). I've found other lists, too and so all in all, the main list has been very good to me. Firstly the rules. Sure. I've had the odd warning - has anyone not? Elves are doing their job and I've never had any impolite emails from elves. A good many lists I'm on don't have elves or the like, but they don't have nigh on 12,000 members either. It's the volume that makes this list different and probably very hard to run. Now I'm making it clear that I'm not going to get in the middle of the row that started this. Like I said, I know a number of people involved on both sides and I deeply respect them as people so hope they will realise why I'm not prepared to come out on any particular side. Both have rights, both are entitled to opinions and lets not forget the right to free speech. Living as I do in a so called free country where the so-called free press cannot detail the pathetic decadent behaviour of the heir to the throne..., but I digress. Here's my take on what I consider to be the main points of the debate so far... 1. Cindy has been a good friend to me and made me welcome when I joined the list. You have no idea how good that made me feel. I know nothing of the background to the present dispute, but I just want to place this on record. It's good to be made welcome to a large community - don't lose someone who does this - it's a hugely underrated service. Its hard to generate warmth in a large community like this. Let's keep that. 2. People should stop getting personal. Yes, someone will post or say something you don't like. Just ignore it. I recently made a post on the main list and received a post back that I found insulting. But at the end of the day, their opinion was just as valid as mine (but not as right of course ). 3. The role of moderator, administrator, boss whatever, is ALWAYS going to be a thankless task. I would not want to do it. But someone has to. At the end of the day, the Admin team are people too, and they were recruited from the likes of us too. Lets respect that. 4. This list needs healing. I would welcome an informed debate on its way forward. What's wrong with debate in a vibrant community? The Admin team should see that (from me certainly) not as criticism or a challenge, but simply as an acknowledgement that some healing process may be required here. Lets look at the structure of the list and hear what people from all ends of the debate have to say. The admitted fact that the community is schismatic (formation of the Old Crowd, etc) makes it clear that all is not well. There's some great people here, let's never lose sight of that. 5. Newbies. What is the problem with newbies? On all other lists, newbies are made formally welcome and encouraged to post. I have some fantastic email correspondence with people who have welcomed me to lists, ie. Tolkein lists. Now I know that none of these lists are as large as this one. Given. But everyone on every list is new at some point. The senior members of this list were new at some point. At what point do people become allowed to post? This worries me. Yes I know there will be repetition. That pisses me off sometimes, quite frankly - but at the end of the day, I know that I went through doing my turn on whether Snape was a vampire (he isn't so don't go there...) and who could see the Thestrals. I don't engage in these debates anymore, because I've been there. But when I joined the list - I hadn't so I wanted to say me piece. The only way to improve any set up is to work to reform from within. History teaches us that those who went outside the system generally did little good to the community at large. But let's reform by debate and respect. Not by abuse and criticism. And I think I've said me piece now. Please. Let's remember why we're here. This is a big community and a very disparate community too, but that's part of the magic. Don't lets be like the worst part of the Wizarding World and just want to get rid of the mixed bloods. Love and peace? June From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 20:23:29 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:23:29 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] sorry (was "why people go quiet") Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE46266E@djmail.deckerjones.com> Me too!! Sorry!! Tonya -----Original Message----- From: Amy Z [mailto:lupinesque at yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 2:07 PM To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] sorry (was "why people go quiet") I started writing this before Pippin's ADMIN and so posted it to find that I had just violated an ADMIN request. My apologies. Amy Z Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Click to learn more... ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From mphunt at sprintmail.com Fri Nov 14 20:38:24 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:38:24 -0000 Subject: I just can't help myself ;-) Message-ID: I tried real hard to find a midi...or a copy of the lyrics...but no luck. I really thought we could all use a rousing chorus (with or without the large, computer generated frogs/toads seen in the movie trailer) of Koom-ba-ya (spelling?)! Really...I'm feeling the love, aren't you? Tcy (who has been watching from the safety of lurkdom...but whos evil side takes over sometimes and forces her to speak like this - d at mn! If only I could use my powers for good.) From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 14 20:48:14 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:48:14 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > Well, > > Quite a debate going on here, worse than the British House of > Commons in a major debate (now that's insulting). > > As is common in such affairs, there is probably blame and > misunderstanding on both sides. At present, I'm on nobody's side > but my own. But I personally will be staying ON LIST and here's why. [snip long list of reasons] Yeh, yeh. We all know that the real reason you're staying is that you are the only one of the 11,000+ members of of HPfGU who actually has access to a *real* dungeon and you want to lord it over us. --Joywitch, who isn't jealous or anything. Oh no, not at all. From editor at texas.net Fri Nov 14 20:51:58 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:51:58 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Junediamanti: > > But I personally will be staying ON LIST and here's why. > > [snip long list of reasons] NotJealous!Joywitch: > Yeh, yeh. We all know that the real reason you're staying is that > you are the only one of the 11,000+ members of of HPfGU who actually > has access to a *real* dungeon and you want to lord it over us. June has access to a *real* dungeon? *blinks* Who's in it? ~Amanda, curious (and likely notjealous, too) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 15 04:54:11 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:54:11 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Why I'm STAYING (long) References: Message-ID: <002d01c3ab34$842a0020$a6706751@kathryn> > Yeh, yeh. We all know that the real reason you're staying is that > you are the only one of the 11,000+ members of of HPfGU who actually > has access to a *real* dungeon and you want to lord it over us. > > --Joywitch, who isn't jealous or anything. Oh no, not at all. > > huh? Can someone explain that, I'm intrigued (on second thought I'm probably making up a much more interesting explanation in my head anyway ) K From constancevigilance at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 20:54:58 2003 From: constancevigilance at yahoo.com (constancevigilance) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:54:58 -0000 Subject: My picture is posted, too Message-ID: I don't say much in this forum, but just in case somebody wants to know what I look like, I've posted a couple of myself. The second one is from my recent trip to London, and was really taken where it says it is. ~ Constance Vigilance From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 20:49:50 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:49:50 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I just can't help myself ;-) References: Message-ID: <033901c3aaf0$da7ffe00$86d61e43@rick> > Tcy > I really thought we could all use a rousing chorus (with or without > the large, computer generated frogs/toads seen in the movie trailer) > of Koom-ba-ya (spelling?)! > > Really...I'm feeling the love, aren't you? > Iggy here: Just so long as we don't have to hold hands and sing "Free to Be, You and Me" or "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore", I'm all for it. *grin* *picks up his wand and actually turns one of the singers into a kitten as he tries to set the tempo* Oops. Does someone else want to conduct? (Sorry about that, June. I'll change you back as soon as I remember the spell... Or find Professor MacGonagall...) *sticks his wand into his back pocket and runs from the room to look for help... followed by a flash of light and a boom from outside the door.* AAAIIIIGGHH!!!! MY BUTTOCK!! SOMEONE CALL MADAME POMFREY!! *whimper* please? Iggy McSnurd (who now knows how Forrest Gump's war wound felt...) From joym999 at aol.com Fri Nov 14 20:59:03 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:59:03 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda" wrote: > June has access to a *real* dungeon? *blinks* Who's in it? Margaret Thatcher, last I heard. But whatever you do, June, don't give the dungeon keys to Pippin or a whole bunch of us loudmouths will be joining Maggie. And even *I* don't deserve to be locked up with her. --JMC From tminton at deckerjones.com Fri Nov 14 20:55:10 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 14:55:10 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] My picture is posted, too Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE462671@djmail.deckerjones.com> ~ Constance Vigilance I don't say much in this forum, but just in case somebody wants to know what I look like, I've posted a couple of myself. The second one is from my recent trip to London, and was really taken where it says it is. WOW YOU GOT TO SEE PLATFORM 9 3/4 WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW !! Tonya (who is totally jealous and who wants to visit London someday) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 14 21:00:52 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:00:52 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda" wrote: > Junediamanti: > > > > But I personally will be staying ON LIST and here's why. > > > > [snip long list of reasons] > > NotJealous!Joywitch: > > > Yeh, yeh. We all know that the real reason you're staying is that > > you are the only one of the 11,000+ members of of HPfGU who > actually > > has access to a *real* dungeon and you want to lord it over us. > > June has access to a *real* dungeon? *blinks* Who's in it? > > ~Amanda, curious (and likely notjealous, too) Not who you think... but boy do I wish... and a potions lab all of our own... sigh. My dungeon is at the end of my office, and was built in the 12th Century. My office is glaringly modern and was only built in the 17th Century. June From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 15 05:08:45 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:08:45 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Why I'm STAYING (long) References: Message-ID: <001b01c3ab36$8c6a0d50$a6706751@kathryn> > > Not who you think... but boy do I wish... and a potions lab all of > our own... sigh. > > My dungeon is at the end of my office, and was built in the 12th > Century. > > My office is glaringly modern and was only built in the 17th Century. > > June > That's rather cool, where do you live, if that's not too impertinent a question? K From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 14 21:22:56 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:22:56 -0000 Subject: Wolves of the Calla - Spoiler Wanted Message-ID: This is to those who have read it already.... As a sixties/seventies kind of kiddy one of the big things that fascinates me in the Dark Tower series is this Crimson King thing... The first album I ever bought -saving up out of my own money was: In the Court of the Crimson King - by King Crimson (1969). Uber prog rock album. And as a matter of fact, it's playing now, but not the same record as I bought way back when. So, does anyone know, did Steve mean the same thing - has he publicly acknowledged a debt to Robert Fripp, Ian Mcdonald, Michael Giles and Peter Sinfield, et al, and does the new book mention the Crimson King at all? I know the Crimson King might just be "It" but as soon as I heard the first reference, I was smitten. June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 14 21:26:43 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:26:43 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: <001b01c3ab36$8c6a0d50$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > > > > Not who you think... but boy do I wish... and a potions lab all of > > our own... sigh. > > > > My dungeon is at the end of my office, and was built in the 12th > > Century. > > > > My office is glaringly modern and was only built in the 17th Century. > > > > June > > > > That's rather cool, where do you live, if that's not too impertinent a > question? Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In a rather boring house, to be honest. However the office where I work is the former "Holy Jesus Hospital" for plague victims now refurbished and also part of a former Benedictine priory. The ceiling is lethal to anyone taller than 5'6". The floors are so old that things slide across them. Yes, I do feel lucky. Fortunately, the toilets and other facilities work. June > > K From risako at nexusanime.com Fri Nov 14 21:33:49 2003 From: risako at nexusanime.com (Melissa McCarthy) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 17:33:49 -0400 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Why I'm STAYING (long) References: Message-ID: <002f01c3aaf6$fe126140$6401a8c0@vaio> K: > > That's rather cool, where do you live, if that's not too > impertinent a > > question? June: > Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In a rather boring house, to be > honest. However the office where I work is the former "Holy Jesus > Hospital" for plague victims now refurbished and also part of a > former Benedictine priory. The ceiling is lethal to anyone taller > than 5'6". The floors are so old that things slide across them. > Yes, I do feel lucky. Fortunately, the toilets and other facilities > work. Oooooooh...... Can I visit you? I'll bring cookies and pumpkin juice! and I promise to stay out of the way! (It's perfectly safe to say yes; I live in Canada and I'm too poor to go globetrotting!) Melissa, whose new earworm is Kumbaya From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 21:37:19 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:37:19 -0000 Subject: My picture is posted, too In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Wow. I want to go to London! I have duly posted mine. I don't have Platform 9 3/4 in my photo, but I do have a very adorable niece. Amy Z From lupinesque at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 21:46:29 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:46:29 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Amanda blinked: > > June has access to a *real* dungeon? *blinks* Who's in it? Joywitch informed: > Margaret Thatcher, last I heard. But whatever you do, June, don't > give the dungeon keys to Pippin or a whole bunch of us loudmouths > will be joining Maggie. And even *I* don't deserve to be locked up > with her. But she does deserve to be locked up with you. AND your cauldron, AND your back issues of The Nation. Amy Z whose sermon-writing days correlate precisely with her high-list- volume days, and today is no exception From cristina_angelo at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 21:56:09 2003 From: cristina_angelo at yahoo.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Cristina_Rebelo_=C2ngelo?=) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 22:56:09 +0100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's dungeon (was Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June said: > > Not who you think... but boy do I wish... and a potions lab all of > > our own... sigh. > > > > My dungeon is at the end of my office, and was built in the 12th > > Century. > > > > My office is glaringly modern and was only built in the 17th Century. > > June: Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In a rather boring house, to be honest. However the office where I work is the former "Holy Jesus Hospital" for plague victims now refurbished and also part of a former Benedictine priory. The ceiling is lethal to anyone taller than 5'6". The floors are so old that things slide across them. Yes, I do feel lucky. Fortunately, the toilets and other facilities work. Cristina: Wait a second. This toilet talk (sorry...) reminded me of (now, where was that?) something being discussed/ said about Hogwart's facilities, and plumbing. Come on, say it... you work at Hogwarts, right??? (Apart from the minor detail you say the dungeon is 12th century, and Hogwarts is a 1000 y-o, and others, but that's just you trying to lead us in the wrong direction...) :) C *** Cristina Rebelo ?ngelo HYPERLINK "http://www.cangelo.novelcity.com/"www.cangelo.novelcity.com / ICQ 106255886 / Yahoo Messenger cristina_angelo / Fax (USA) 001-425-920-0285 HPGCv1 a31 e++ x+ -- z+++ A27 Rhp HPa S+++ Mo HaP++ HG++ RW++ AD++ RH+++ VK& NhN& SB& DM--- O++ F sfD Any attached file not mentioned in the body of the message may be a virus; if present, delete it for the sake of your computer, and inform the sender. Thank you. "Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour tracer un chemin/ Et forcer le destin/ A chaque carrefour Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour parler aux canons/ Et rien qu'une chanson/ Pour coinvancre un tambour Alors sans avoir rien/ Que la force d'aimer/ Nous aurons dans nos mains/ Amis le monde entier" J.Brel 1956 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.537 / Virus Database: 332 - Release Date: 06/11/2003 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 14 21:50:57 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:50:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: My picture is posted, too References: Message-ID: <002101c3aaf9$64091000$c0f41d43@rick> > I have duly posted mine. I don't have Platform 9 3/4 in my photo, > but I do have a very adorable niece. > > Amy Z > *grin* I actually saw the pic before I saw this post. It's nice to see so many people also posting pic that include other family members, especially their kids or nephews and nieces. Brings in more of a family inclusion rather than just getting to see what you look like. We get to learn about people who are important to you as well... Iggy McSnurd From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 15 05:59:57 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:59:57 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Why I'm STAYING (long) References: Message-ID: <004901c3ab3d$b2cc8b10$a6706751@kathryn> > > Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In a rather boring house, to be > honest. However the office where I work is the former "Holy Jesus > Hospital" for plague victims now refurbished and also part of a > former Benedictine priory. The ceiling is lethal to anyone taller > than 5'6". The floors are so old that things slide across them. > Yes, I do feel lucky. Fortunately, the toilets and other facilities > work. > Wow, I really envy you. I did some work for my undergrad degree on medieval hospitals and medicine, I would love to work in a building like that, of course I live right near St Albans so I might some day. Of course the problem with really old buildings is that the ceilings tend to be too low for normal sized people (I'm 5'3" and according to the lads I went to university with officially a munchkin *grumble*) but the stairs are often really deep so I have to jump from step to step. Actually you know, Hogwarts must have particularly high ceilings and doorways in particular or Snape's dramatic sweeping walks would be punctuated by swearing as he walked into the doorframes - of course that only covers the corridors and classrooms because you'd expect the Great Hall and such to have high ceilings. K From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Fri Nov 14 22:33:41 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 08:33:41 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE982E@djmail.deckerjones.com> <02ba01c3aae4$d7bc1980$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: <008701c3aaff$5b7ff240$76984cca@Monteith> >>All the pictures are wonderful!! I am very happy putting faces with Names!! Thanks everyone who has been putting up photos!! Tonya<< I agree - I love putting faces to the names I've been reading for these past months, but no one will see my pics there. I'm not shy (ok I am, but that's not the reason), I just don't have the facilities (digial camera or scanner) to upload pics. Nox From drednort at alphalink.com.au Fri Nov 14 22:42:18 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 09:42:18 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <008701c3aaff$5b7ff240$76984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <3FB5F4FA.2892.5F1C99@localhost> On 15 Nov 2003 at 8:33, silverdragon at ezweb.com.au wrote: > I agree - I love putting faces to the names I've been reading for these past > months, but no one will see my pics there. I'm not shy (ok I am, but that's > not the reason), I just don't have the facilities (digial camera or scanner) > to upload pics. I *hate* doing this - I've uploaded a recent photo of me to the folder. People are lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at things) that work made me get my photo taken for a security pass. I am photophobic - mostly as a result of a bullying incident at school. I despise being photographed. *Hoping he still doesn't look like Neville...* Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From neonsister at ameritech.net Fri Nov 14 22:57:36 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 22:57:36 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "maria_kirilenko" wrote: "Everyone I've spoken to seems to dislike his > look. At the very least, they say that Lupin's not supposed to have a mustache." Yes, the Inspector Clouseau mustache has got to go! I do want to like MovieLupin, though; because David Thewlis is one of my favorite obscure actors. I think he'll do the part justice, once we get past the fact that he doesn't look like the Lupin we all have in our heads! Tracy From erinellii at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 22:59:20 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 22:59:20 -0000 Subject: Why I'm thinking of unsubbing. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Mel said: they quietly removed themselves > from us rabble and took themselves off to a private inner-sanctum > where the word "Thestral" has probably yet to be typed. I find this > *disgusting*. Ok, you wanted some peace and quiet, I don't blame you, but just how long are you planning to stay away, "Old Crowd"? >> >Neil Ward": Don't go on our account! I can assure you that the existence of 'The Old Crowd', with its snoozing membership of some 60 or so people, has > nothing to do with the lack of posting by your favourite posters on > HPfGU. Firstly, there hasn't been much posting there either and, > secondly, even if there had been, it wouldn't preclude people from > posting on HPfGU or any number of other message boards as well. > Incidentally, I'm the owner of 'The Old Crowd' and a former moderator of HPfGU. Hold the rotten fruit though, as I've just had this cloak dry cleaned. Erin: Just a comment and a couple of questions on the current situation. I hope neither of these are deemed political enough to get me a message from the mods. First, while I realize that this is indeed a serious situation for those involved, I can't help laughing just a little bit. How can you *not* expect controversy from someone who, in TBAY, captains the Big Bang destroyer and runs around hitting people with her big paddle? And if it was up to me, I'd give her a pass no matter what, in gratitude for all the entertaining TBAY posts. About that Old Crowd list; Did Elkins ever wite anything there? And if she did, is there any way I can get a copy of it? Erin From erinellii at yahoo.com Fri Nov 14 23:07:17 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 23:07:17 -0000 Subject: Wolves of the Calla - Spoiler Wanted In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > This is to those who have read it already.... > > As a sixties/seventies kind of kiddy one of the big things that > fascinates me in the Dark Tower series is this Crimson King thing... > > The first album I ever bought -saving up out of my own money was: > In the Court of the Crimson King - by King Crimson (1969). Uber > prog rock album. And as a matter of fact, it's playing now, but not > the same record as I bought way back when. > > So, does anyone know, did Steve mean the same thing - has he > publicly acknowledged a debt to Robert Fripp, Ian Mcdonald, Michael > Giles and Peter Sinfield, et al, and does the new book mention the > Crimson King at all? > > I know the Crimson King might just be "It" but as soon as I heard > the first reference, I was smitten. > > June Wow, I will have to look up the album. There are a few mentions of the Crimson King in Wolves, but really just hints that he will be the ultimate thing they have to face. As far as I know, SK hasn't publically said anything about that album, and I read any interview about the Dark Tower pretty obsessively. Erin From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Sat Nov 15 00:01:26 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:01:26 -0000 Subject: Has Elkins written anything recently In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > About that Old Crowd list; Did Elkins ever wite anything there? And > if she did, is there any way I can get a copy of it? > > Erin No. Unfortunately Elkins has been gone, gone, gone. She is currently waging war on the House of Dread. Not only did it have garish floral wallpaper, it also had one furnace where the city authorities demanded two. Let's all hope she gets out alive. Eileen From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 00:09:24 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:09:24 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Begging Your Patience . . . Message-ID: Fellow Listmembers, We know how frustrating it is to throw out ideas and then hear nothing. We wanted to let you know that the admin team has been trying to think of the best way to institute a public forum for listmembers to give input. It's actually been on the table for quite some time. Ironically, it is one of the initiatives that got back- burnered when we had to begin devoting more resources to dealing with the situations that led up to the recent administrative issues. One of the more unfortunate side effects of recent events is that a more "legalistic" attitude has crept into the building; the admin team has become extraordinarily cautious in how we word any official or formal communications from the team. Our standard method of decision-making, consensus, is a time-consuming process in any case, and this added caution makes it take that much longer to reach decisions that we feel confident are right for the lists. We apologize for the delay. We want to let you know that you *are* being heard. We're debating the most effective way to set up a system that will function smoothly and provide a venue for listmember input on list policy and procedure in a friendly and constructive environment. Yesterday, we promised that we (the List Elves) would make one final post on the subject here in OT Chatter, addressing some of the concerns brought up recently on the list. Instead of going ahead with that, and breaking our own rule about policy discussion on OT Chatter, we intend to wait and post this response a bit later than originally planned, once we decide how and where to best have these discussions. Therefore, in the meantime, if any of you have additional questions or concerns, please contact us at -owners until we get the system finalized. Lastly, we sincerely thank you for the constructive suggestions that many of you have floated, and beg your patience for just a bit longer. Wendy St. John, aka Hebby Elf, for the List Admin Team From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 00:06:59 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 18:06:59 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: <3FB5F4FA.2892.5F1C99@localhost> Message-ID: <003501c3ab0c$651f1940$3ed21e43@rick> From: "Shaun > I *hate* doing this - I've uploaded a recent photo of me to the folder. People are > lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at things) that work made me get my > photo taken for a security pass. I am photophobic - mostly as a result of a bullying > incident at school. I despise being photographed. > > *Hoping he still doesn't look like Neville...* Iggy here: Hmmmm... So *that's* what Neville will look like when he grows up... *grin* Seriously though... You look a lot like a computer / gamer geek I knew back in Santa Cruz. (And yes, he was a nice guy...) I also saw Tracy's photo, and have one thing to say... WHIPPETS!!! (I had a housemate for two years who had a couple of whippets. Good dogs, if a little high strung. *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Sat Nov 15 00:30:57 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:30:57 -0000 Subject: Why I'm STAYING (long) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June: (lives in) > > Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In a rather boring house, to be > honest. However the office where I work is the former "Holy Jesus > Hospital" for plague victims now refurbished and also part of a > former Benedictine priory. The ceiling is lethal to anyone taller > than 5'6". The floors are so old that things slide across them. > Yes, I do feel lucky. Fortunately, the toilets and other facilities > work. Didn't they work for the Benedictines? Or is that what's meant by a vow of continence? David, picturing exploding monks... From s_ings at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 00:44:02 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:44:02 -0500 (EST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <01fc01c3aacc$428b94c0$86d61e43@rick> Message-ID: <20031115004402.71481.qmail@web41103.mail.yahoo.com> --- Iggy McSnurd wrote: > Iggy here: > > It's great to know that one of my fun ideas is being > accepted so readily. > Since I started the file abotu 12 hours ago, five > people aside from myself > have posted pic there, and a number of others had > said that they're looking > for pics to send in. > > *grin* > Couldn't resist. It's such a great idea and puts faces to the names we've all been seeing. The photo I posted was taken at a fundraiser for the Pride Festival a few years back when I was on their Board of Directors. It's a tad misleading, since I'm rarely known to hang out in bars and don't drink. :-D Best I could without dragging in a photo of the whole family, parents included! Sheryll ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From Erthena at aol.com Sat Nov 15 00:51:09 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:51:09 -0000 Subject: my picture is up Message-ID: Well here's my picture, how do I look? I'm trying to find this year's school picture, as it was much better. ~~loony From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Sat Nov 15 00:51:19 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:51:19 -0000 Subject: Has Elkins written anything recently In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lucky_kari" wrote: > > About that Old Crowd list; Did Elkins ever wite anything there? And > > if she did, is there any way I can get a copy of it? > > > > Erin > > No. Unfortunately Elkins has been gone, gone, gone. She is currently > waging war on the House of Dread. Not only did it have garish floral > wallpaper, it also had one furnace where the city authorities demanded > two. > > Let's all hope she gets out alive. > > Eileen Let's just hope that the wallpaper isn't yellow... Catherine, sitting on her hands for this one... From bolland at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 01:09:01 2003 From: bolland at earthlink.net (goodnight_moon5) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 01:09:01 -0000 Subject: Rowling-inspired book discussion list Message-ID: Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought someone posted about an email list which discussed books which inspired JKR - Austen, Dickens, etc. I've searched the archives of this list and the Big One to no avail. Was it only a dream? If not, would the list-owner (or some other kind soul) post the info again? thanks Lauri (who won't unsub either) From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr Sat Nov 15 01:35:35 2003 From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 01:35:35 -0000 Subject: Rowling-inspired book discussion list In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "goodnight_moon5" wrote: > Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought someone posted about an email > list which discussed books which inspired JKR - Austen, Dickens, > etc. I've searched the archives of this list and the Big One to no > avail. > > Was it only a dream? If not, would the list-owner (or some other kind > soul) post the info again? > > thanks > > Lauri (who won't unsub either) Hi Lauri, It is called HP_Writers_Group and this is the url http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HP_Writers_Group/ Enjoy it ! All the best, Olivier, who feels a bit sad for the war on OT-Chatter From neonsister at ameritech.net Sat Nov 15 01:45:42 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 01:45:42 -0000 Subject: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <003501c3ab0c$651f1940$3ed21e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > > "I also saw Tracy's photo, and have one thing to say... > > WHIPPETS!!! > > (I had a housemate for two years who had a couple of whippets. Good dogs, > if a little high strung. *grin*)" Good guess! Mine are actually greyhounds (which are exactly the same shape as a whippet, just larger). Whippets and Italian Greyhounds (an even smaller version) have more of a reputation of being high- strung, but the big retired racing greyhounds like mine are actually major couch potatoes! It would be nice to lounge around and eat like they do and still maintain such a slim and muscular shape! Tracy From s_ings at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 02:12:17 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 21:12:17 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, Devika! Message-ID: <20031115021217.69437.qmail@web41106.mail.yahoo.com> *surveys the freshly decorated room, flings a few handfuls of confetti and wanders off in search of the food trolley* Come on, I know you can't all be out partying elsewhere on a Friday night when there's a birthday party going on right here! Today's birthday honouree is Devika. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: devika at sas.penn.edu I hope your day is magical and filled with fun. Happy Birthday, Devika! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 02:33:20 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 02:33:20 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "maria_kirilenko" > wrote: > > "Everyone I've spoken to seems to dislike his > > look. At the very least, they say that Lupin's not supposed to have > a > mustache." > > Yes, the Inspector Clouseau mustache has got to go! I do want to > like MovieLupin, though; because David Thewlis is one of my favorite > obscure actors. I think he'll do the part justice, once we get past > the fact that he doesn't look like the Lupin we all have in our > heads! > > Tracy ***Anna comes out from her invisability cloak**** Yes, Tracy, I holeheartedly agree. Although I am not familiar with David Thewlis, I don't believe his 'look' for Lupin is very canon- like. I find it amusing that although he is a literarry (sp?) fictional character, described in great detail by his creator, the "big guys" at WB were way off base, at least according to our expectations of what he should look like. I hope David does do the part justice. At least if he can't look the part, maybe he can play it. As far as the rest of the trailer is concerned, I liked it. It was rather quick-paced, but I suppose it should be in a teaser trailer. And toads?? I didn't catch them the first (4) times I watched the trailer, but will be on the lookout later. Anna . . . From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 02:46:56 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 02:46:56 -0000 Subject: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE982E@djmail.deckerjones.com> Message-ID: Iggy wrote: Ok... I just loaded a pic of my wife and daughter at my wife's > office, and one of me relaxing while my daughter sleeps on my belly. Tonya replied: > Cool Iggy!! I will find a pic of my hubby and put it up also!! YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!! Thanks for sharing!! All the pictures are wonderful!! I am very happy putting faces with Names!! Thanks everyone who has been putting up photos!! Now me (Wendy): Okay. I love this idea (and thanks for suggesting it in the first place, Iggy!). And in reading this, I thought - oh yeah, I'll post a picture of me and my five-year-old son. That will be great. So, I started looking for a photo to post . . . and started getting very grumpy about something . . . (mini-rant ahead) ::grin:: I have a digital camera and I use it frequently. I take thousands of pictures in the course of a year. (No kidding). So, I have tons of great photos of my son . . . and photos of my husband and son . . . and photos of fabby places we've been . . . and the odd decent photo of me taken when I've shoved my camera into someone else's hands . . . But Connor and me together? Grrrrr. Hardly ever! And, of the ones there are, so many of those are awful - it's hard enough getting grownups to pose, but getting a five year old to do so? Fuhgeddaboutit. So, there are all these pictures of me, and Connor looking the other way, or making a face. Or a few where he looks cute, but I look like something from "Night of the Living Dead." Nope. Not using any of those (especially not the NotLD ones) ::grin:: Okay. So, I'll take matters into my own hands, I thought. I'll just take a picture of me and Connor now - using the auto thingy on my camera. But,of course, he wasn't in the mood for that. Impossible to take a photo of an unwilling five-year-old. Grrrrr. So, instead I had to choose from (literally) the *four* half-way decent pictures that I could find of the two of us taken in the past *year and a half.* Four pictures in a year and a half? Not good. ::grin:: Anyhow, I decided to go with the most recent of these - it's only about three months old. It's maybe not the best of the bunch, but at least it's the way we really look now (instead of the way we looked early last year. I haven't changed much, but Connor has). Sorry about the shadows, but this really *is* the best I could do, and I Photoshoped it a bit, which did help. But still . . . Grrrr. ::grin:: :-) Wendy (Who needs to have a talk with her husband about him taking more pictures) ::grin:: (And who is very much enjoying seeing all these pictures! Yay!). From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 02:40:54 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:40:54 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] my picture is up References: Message-ID: <002a01c3ab21$e57311e0$4dd81e43@rick> > Well here's my picture, how do I look? I'm trying to find this > year's school picture, as it was much better. > > ~~loony > Iggy here: I'm embarrassed to say that with the "wearbear" part of your nickname (and since I've never seen a gender identifier for you in one of your letters)... I always thought you were a big and furry guy... looking kinda like Rupert on "Survivor: Pearl Islands." Man, was I WAY off on that one... *gives one of his very rare blushes* Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 02:51:08 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 20:51:08 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... References: Message-ID: <004f01c3ab23$53b9dac0$4dd81e43@rick> > Now me (Wendy): > > Okay. I love this idea (and thanks for suggesting it in the first > place, Iggy!). Iggy here: No problem. I was thinking that we could all use some fun and have the closest thing we can to a "group get together" with all the tension that hit the list. I'm just happy that it's been met with such enthusiasm. I didn't expect it to take off as fast as it did. *laugh* > :-) > Wendy > (Who needs to have a talk with her husband about him taking more > pictures) ::grin:: (And who is very much enjoying seeing all these > pictures! Yay!). > Iggy here: Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. We have about 150+ pictures on our computer, and I'm in maybe 10% of them since I'm usually the one holding the camera. Of those, only about 5-7 of them are decent enough to be put on the list... if that. Iggy McSnurd From cristina_angelo at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 03:05:13 2003 From: cristina_angelo at yahoo.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Cristina_Rebelo_=C2ngelo?=) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 04:05:13 +0100 Subject: Pay Pal email - virus alert Message-ID: Wait a second... I remember people talking about an email like this on the list some time ago... Here's a quote from CNET News, and the link to the full story: A computer virus that camouflages itself as a message from PayPal has started spreading among home users, antivirus companies said on Friday. The program is a variant of the Mimail virus, which HYPERLINK "http://news.com.com/2100-7349-5100741.html?tag=nl"has previously spread by appearing to be a security advisory from Microsoft. The latest version of the program is attached to an e-mail forged to look as though it came from PayPal, HYPERLINK "http://news.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.com.com%2F2100-1017-960 658.html&siteId=3&oId=2100-7355-5107764&ontId=1009&lop=nl_ex"an online payment service bought by eBay last year. Running the program infects the victim's computer and asks the PC user for credit card information, which the virus then sends to the attacker. The virus appears as an attachment--"www.paypal.com.scr"--to an e-mail that purports to be from PayPal. "PayPal would like to inform you about some important information regarding your PayPal account," the message reads. "This account, which is associated with the email address will be expiring within five business days. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but this is occurring because all of our customers are required to update their account settings with their personal information. We are taking these actions because we are implementing a new security policy on our website to insure everyone's absolute privacy." (end of quote) HYPERLINK "http://news.com.com/2100-7355-5107764.html?part=dht&tag=ntop"http://news.co m.com/2100-7355-5107764.html?part=dht&tag=ntop *** Cristina Rebelo ?ngelo HYPERLINK "http://www.cangelo.novelcity.com/"www.cangelo.novelcity.com / ICQ 106255886 / Yahoo Messenger cristina_angelo / Fax (USA) 001-425-920-0285 HPGCv1 a31 e++ x+ -- z+++ A27 Rhp HPa S+++ Mo HaP++ HG++ RW++ AD++ RH+++ VK& NhN& SB& DM--- O++ F sfD Any attached file not mentioned in the body of the message may be a virus; if present, delete it for the sake of your computer, and inform the sender. Thank you. "Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour tracer un chemin/ Et forcer le destin/ A chaque carrefour Quand on n'a que l'amour/ Pour parler aux canons/ Et rien qu'une chanson/ Pour coinvancre un tambour Alors sans avoir rien/ Que la force d'aimer/ Nous aurons dans nos mains/ Amis le monde entier" J.Brel 1956 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.537 / Virus Database: 332 - Release Date: 06/11/2003 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From fc26det at aol.com Sat Nov 15 04:12:07 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 04:12:07 -0000 Subject: Pictures... Message-ID: So the big question.....does anyone look like you pictured them in your heads (other than Shaun who we got a sneak peak of)? Susan...who hasn't posted a picture yet cause the ones she has would break everyone's computers. From lhuntley at fandm.edu Sat Nov 15 05:28:40 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:28:40 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <3FB5F4FA.2892.5F1C99@localhost> Message-ID: <9269B814-172C-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Well...I posted the picture included with my yahoo membership ID thingamajig. So...yeah. This is the picture anyone who's bothered to look me up has seen for the past two years. *pauses* Until now, I hadn't actually looked at it in awhile. I'm thinking I should look into getting a picture online in which I'm actually looking at the camera -- or at least appear to be clothed. You know, I actually *have* a webcam *and* a digital camera (the photo I uploaded was a webcam capture, obviously), but neither of them are compatible with my Mac. :( Sigh. Just as long as you all understand that my eyes are usually a tad more focused and that I actually wear clothing quite often. ^_~ Oh, also: Shaun: > I *hate* doing this - I've uploaded a recent photo of me to the > folder. People are > lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at things) that work made > me get my > photo taken for a security pass. I am photophobic - mostly as a result > of a bullying > incident at school. I despise being photographed. > > *Hoping he still doesn't look like Neville..." I'm beginning to fear that I've scarred you for life, you know. ^_~ I hope it at least goes with all your others. Neville is cool. *nods* And he may defeat the Dark Lord someday. It's a good thing to look like him. Laura (who is dreadfully tired, and who has been intending to go to bed for nearly four hours now, but who just can't seem to drag herself away from her computer.) P.S. Sorry if this post is horribly incoherent. It seems that between the flu, parents' weekend, and writing so many very serious posts lately, I have been rendered rather insensible. Tra-la-la. P.P.S. I really do love all of you, you know that, right? This is by far the best online community I've ever been involved with, and I want you all to know that I'm tremendously proud to be a part of it. Sure, there are problems, but...but... C'mon, guys, group hug. We can make it work. From groups at e-dennis.net Sat Nov 15 05:53:24 2003 From: groups at e-dennis.net (Dennis) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 05:53:24 -0000 Subject: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > >maria_kirilenko wrote: > > > >"Everyone I've spoken to seems to dislike his > > look. At the very least, they say that Lupin's not supposed to > >have a mustache." > > > Yes, the Inspector Clouseau mustache has got to go! I do want to > like MovieLupin, though; because David Thewlis is one of my favorite > obscure actors. I think he'll do the part justice, once we get past > the fact that he doesn't look like the Lupin we all have in our > heads! > > Tracy Sorry, but two things: A. I'm still giddy as a schoolgirl three days after first seeing the trailer. I can't wait to see the whole film. Why do they torment us until June every year of late? B. I too am somewhat put off by the difference in Lupin's description and his appearance in the trailer, but I figure I'll reserve my judgment until Harry gets on the train, and he rouses to chase away that fantastically done dementor and starts handing out chocolate. I figure if he acts like Lupin, I'll immediately accept him. A winning smile and the right disposition, and I'll let him get by with a Fu Man Chu! I was the same way about seeing Flitwick's dis-formation in the movie until he started giggling with glee when Hermione levitated her feather. Then I knew it was Flitwich at heart, even if they made him goblin-ish. -Dennis Who knows "goblin-ish" is not a word, but who decided it was too late to give serious consideration to finding a better term. *g* From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 08:01:02 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 08:01:02 -0000 Subject: Pictures... Proceed at your own risk. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Potterfanme" wrote: > So the big question.....does anyone look like you pictured them in > your heads (other than Shaun who we got a sneak peak of)? > > Susan...who hasn't posted a picture yet cause the ones she has would > break everyone's computers. bboy_mn: I'm always unconfortable seeing what people actually look like. I prefer to make my judgements based on what they say. I do form mental images of various people who stand out in the groups, and those images are invariably wrong. In a society where we allow ourselves to make snap judgements about people based on the way they look, I think it's better not to know. That said, while I'm not posting a photo of myself, I will point out that I have a slightly disguised and not extremely current photo of myself in my profile. http://profiles.yahoo.com/bboy_mn It is an adult profile, but there is nothing there that would be objectionable to anyone of any age. It's just 'adult' to make it crystal clear to anyone who might look, that I am not a kid. Proceed at your own risk. bboy_mn From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 15 07:59:44 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 18:59:44 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... In-Reply-To: <9269B814-172C-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> References: <3FB5F4FA.2892.5F1C99@localhost> Message-ID: <3FB677A0.22685.C10A00@localhost> On 15 Nov 2003 at 0:28, Laura Ingalls Huntley wrote: > Well...I posted the picture included with my yahoo membership ID > thingamajig. So...yeah. This is the picture anyone who's bothered to > look me up has seen for the past two years. *pauses* Until now, I > hadn't actually looked at it in awhile. I'm thinking I should look > into getting a picture online in which I'm actually looking at the > camera -- or at least appear to be clothed. You know, I actually > *have* a webcam *and* a digital camera (the photo I uploaded was a > webcam capture, obviously), but neither of them are compatible with my > Mac. :( > > Sigh. Just as long as you all understand that my eyes are usually a > tad more focused and that I actually wear clothing quite often. ^_~ > > Oh, also: > > Shaun: > > I *hate* doing this - I've uploaded a recent photo of me to the > > folder. People are > > lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at things) that work made > > me get my > > photo taken for a security pass. I am photophobic - mostly as a result > > of a bullying > > incident at school. I despise being photographed. > > > > *Hoping he still doesn't look like Neville..." > > I'm beginning to fear that I've scarred you for life, you know. ^_~ I > hope it at least goes with all your others. No, not scarred for life. It's just that it never occurred to me that anyone might think I looked like Neville. People who've seen some of my other childhood photos online have said I looked like Harry before now (mostly because of the fact I was wearing glasses, I think, and had unruly hair) but not Neville. > Neville is cool. *nods* And he may defeat the Dark Lord someday. It's > a good thing to look like him. Oh, I like Neville. I *really* liked OotP because Neville, IMHO, came into his own. One of my favourite bits in all the books: "'Go on then,' said Harry, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, the five wands of Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna rose on either side of him." Six children - and they are still children - standing their ground against Evil. (And that's why Good will win). And this: "He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Neville's arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking;" Neville is *scared* - who wouldn't be. But he still stands his ground. It's easy to be a hero when you're not frightened - Neville has it in him to be one even when he is. Injured, scared, he still stands his ground. "'He's dot alone!' shouted a voice from above them. 'He's still god be!'" There's a famous Australian poem (I'm on an Australian poetry kick - the Battle of the Bards specifically - imagine the two greatest poets of an entire nation carrying on a debate in verse... whoah, that's powerful!), probably the most famous - "The Man from Snowy River." There's a line about a boy who people are writing off. 'So he waited, sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend "I think we ought to let him come," he said; "I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end, For both his horse and he are mountain bred."' That's Neville to me - he'll be there when he's wanted at the end. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sat Nov 15 08:16:08 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 18:16:08 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Harry Potter in Wolves of the Calla References: Message-ID: <010b01c3ab50$b9e371d0$67984cca@Monteith> > > > The third one is The Wastelands, and is, IMO, the best in the series > (so far). I read it over and over for a couple years. > > Erin Thankyou. I'm sure I only have three books, but have read "Wizard and Glass"... Perhaps I have an 'omnibus' edition or something... I'll have to check... Thanks again. Nox From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 15 18:45:56 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 10:45:56 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: FINALLY!!! References: Message-ID: <00f101c3aba9$8846f440$a6706751@kathryn> I just want to know why the Malfoys, who are very wealthy, seem to have used a pudding basin to cut Draco's hair. It looks like someone just dumped a bad wig on him. I know some people prefer it to the brylcreem look, but, while I wasn't a fan of that, this is worse. imo. Surely his parents can afford a decent barber K > From christyj2323 at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 14:45:04 2003 From: christyj2323 at yahoo.com (Christy) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 14:45:04 -0000 Subject: www.azkaban.com Message-ID: Does everybody know that there's a trailer up for POA at that website? June release, and it looks awesome. I didn't see any mention of it here, so I thought I'd say hi. Christy (mainly a lurker) From christyj2323 at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 14:45:23 2003 From: christyj2323 at yahoo.com (Christy) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 14:45:23 -0000 Subject: www.azkaban.com Message-ID: Does everybody know that there's a trailer up for POA at that website? June release, and it looks awesome. I didn't see any mention of it here, so I thought I'd say hi. Christy (mainly a lurker) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 15:15:33 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 09:15:33 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pictures... References: Message-ID: <002301c3ab8b$51ed0ec0$77f21d43@rick> > So the big question.....does anyone look like you pictured them in > your heads (other than Shaun who we got a sneak peak of)? > > Susan...who hasn't posted a picture yet cause the ones she has would > break everyone's computers. > Iggy here: *raises his hand* I look *exactly* as I pictured myself to look. So do my wife and daughter. *grin* Other than that... no, I don't think anyone looks like I pictured them. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 15:31:09 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 09:31:09 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: FINALLY!!! References: Message-ID: <003201c3ab8d$7fd96d40$77f21d43@rick> > -Dennis > I was the same way about seeing Flitwick's dis-formation in the > movie until he started giggling with glee when Hermione levitated > her feather. Then I knew it was Flitwich at heart, even if they > made him goblin-ish. > Iggy here: Funny thing is, I saw the first movie before I ever read the books, so I pictured most of the characters in the book like their counterpoints in the movies unless something indicated too strongly otherwise. For example, all the Dursleys have different hair colors in the movie than in the book, but it's such a minor detail to me that it doesn't really matter. I'm a fan of the series, but I'm not so bad about it that a minor detail on a relatively minor character upsets me. Although I do admit to wishing that they actually got someone for PoA who looks more like the pics of Lupin in the books... or even a lot closer to his description. But, like you say, if he portrays Lupin well, his exact appearance will matter to me a lot less. As for Flitwick looking goblin-ish in the movie, when you realize that Warwick Davis also played the Head Goblin at Gringott's... well... Here's a few other Warwick Davis roles: Willow Uthgood... the movie "Willow" Wickett... the Ewok that first encountered Princess Leah in "Return of the Jedi" the Leprechaun... the "Leprechaun" movies the young Greedo type alien that's one of Anikin's friends... "Stat Wars - the Phantom Menace" Personally, I think the only person who would have come close to playing the role well (aside from the late Billy Barty, and he's American anyhow) would have been David Rappaport... but he's dead too. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 15:42:46 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 09:42:46 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: FINALLY!!! References: <00f101c3aba9$8846f440$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <006101c3ab8f$1f299e00$77f21d43@rick> > K > I just want to know why the Malfoys, who are very wealthy, seem to have used > a pudding basin to cut Draco's hair. It looks like someone just dumped a bad > wig on him. I know some people prefer it to the brylcreem look, but, while I > wasn't a fan of that, this is worse. imo. Surely his parents can afford a > decent barber > Iggy here: I actually agree. I prefer the way Draco looked in the first two movies to how he looks in PoA. The haircut they gave him is lousy... but it does make him look more like he came from a slightly inbred lineage that's obsessed with "purity of the blood" though... so I guess it is appropriate in some ways... Iggy McSnurd From mphunt at sprintmail.com Sat Nov 15 17:51:38 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:51:38 -0000 Subject: Photos (d@mn you, Iggy!) Message-ID: I HATE sharing pictures of myself...so this should let you know just how much this list means to me...I've posted one... D at mn you, Iggy for trying to lighten the place up! ;-) Tcy (returning to the safety of her fortress high atop "Lurker's Hill") From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 17:54:04 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:54:04 -0000 Subject: Draco's hair Re: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: <00f101c3aba9$8846f440$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > I just want to know why the Malfoys, who are very wealthy, seem to have used > a pudding basin to cut Draco's hair. It looks like someone just dumped a bad > wig on him. I know some people prefer it to the brylcreem look, but, while I > wasn't a fan of that, this is worse. imo. Surely his parents can afford a > decent barber I was wondering if it wasn't the actor playing Draco who wanted the haricut in his RL, leading to the "pudding bowl" look (lol, kathryn!). You'd think the movie people would want to keep him in- charater with the slicked-back look, just like Hermione and Harry kept their in-character styles. But that would beg the question still-why that cut?!? Jen R., wishing both Movie!Lupin and Movie!Draco looked more like the ones in my head. From annemehr at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 19:20:29 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 19:20:29 -0000 Subject: Draco's hair Re: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Kathryn Cawte wrote: > > > > I just want to know why the Malfoys, who are very wealthy, seem to > have used > > a pudding basin to cut Draco's hair. Jen Reese: > I was wondering if it wasn't the actor playing Draco who wanted the > haricut in his RL, leading to the "pudding bowl" look (lol, > kathryn!). You'd think the movie people would want to keep him in- > charater with the slicked-back look, just like Hermione and Harry > kept their in-character styles. But that would beg the question > still-why that cut?!? > > Jen R., wishing both Movie!Lupin and Movie!Draco looked more like > the ones in my head. Annemehr: I can't see the trailer very well, because it's so dark, but it *looks* like they let Dan Radcliffe have a bit of a haircut. I'm glad -- "untidy" does *not* mean "really, really, long," and I was getting tired of the whole hair-over-the-ears look. So there's one major improvement, anyway! Annemehr who can't make Lupin out in the trailer at all :-( From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 15 20:00:06 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:00:06 -0000 Subject: More on Draco's Hair - was Re: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: <00f101c3aba9$8846f440$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > I just want to know why the Malfoys, who are very wealthy, seem to have used > a pudding basin to cut Draco's hair. It looks like someone just dumped a bad > wig on him. I know some people prefer it to the brylcreem look, but, while I > wasn't a fan of that, this is worse. imo. Surely his parents can afford a > decent barber > > > K > > Mind you, just a thought, upper class children in this country generally DO have the pudding basin special! Or at least probably a very expensive haircut that just LOOKS like it was done around the pudding basin. It's that kind of bland interchangeable pageboyish type thing. Where I come from, and where kids are badder, rougher and harder, the favoured haircut is the No. 1. (usually done together with first body piercing in our pikier families along with first tatoo of "Mum" ) For those of you that don't know, it's similar to what newly inducted soldiers get. ie very short indeed. To be perfectly honest, longish pageboyish, pudding basin hair is as much a class signifier in this country as accent is. June From fc26det at aol.com Sat Nov 15 20:34:30 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:34:30 -0000 Subject: Shot by Shot Trailer Message-ID: Most of you probably have already found this but for those of you who haven't, The Leaky Cauldron has a shot by shot analysis of the trailer. It cleared up a lot of missed items and explained some of the questions I had when I saw the trailer in motion. They have the bits of cannon that each shot pertains to underneath each picture. The only thing they did not clarify was the chorus. They said we would all know what that is about so they won't list the page number! Dang it!! Enjoy! Susan PS: for those of you who may not be able to download the regular trailer this may be a good alternative. From hp at plum.cream.org Sat Nov 15 20:40:46 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:40:46 +0000 Subject: TV alert for British residents Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031115202833.009909e0@plum.cream.org> Looking through the TV schedules for the coming week (as I usually do on a Saturday), I notice that this Monday's guest on Room 101, stand-up comedian Linda Smith, proposes banishing (inter alia) "adults who read Harry Potter books". Could be fun (to be made fun of) and then discuss ad infinitum why her reasoning is All Wrong (TM). :-) For those who don't know what Room 101's about, the best I've found is this rather poor article on the BBC site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A519482 Make a date then: BBC2 Monday 9-9.30pm, repeated next Saturday at 10.45pm (after The Big Read, which I assume everyone is following?). From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 15 21:19:45 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 08:19:45 +1100 Subject: HP Chat In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031115202833.009909e0@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <3FB73321.5409.1EC71C@localhost> I know there is (or used to be) a weekly chat associated with the HPFGU lists. Does anyone know where or when this is? My exams are over, my studies are more or less over until nearly March, so I can get up early to attend things like that (which I think is the reason I haven't before). But I don't know when it is or where it is (and I'll have to work out time differences etc). Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sat Nov 15 21:23:04 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:23:04 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Photos (d@mn you, Iggy!) References: Message-ID: <000b01c3abbe$aa29ade0$bed61e43@rick> > I HATE sharing pictures of myself...so this should let you know just > how much this list means to me...I've posted one... > > D at mn you, Iggy for trying to lighten the place up! ;-) > > Tcy > (returning to the safety of her fortress high atop "Lurker's Hill") *cackles maniacally* My plan is working!! My evil plan is working!!! (Oops... perhaps I shouldn't have said that... ) *clears his throat and straightens his robes.* Ummm... I am so glad that this list means enough that you are willing to post a pic of yourself. I have enjoyed being able to see what so many of you look like in real life. Iggy McSnurd From hp at plum.cream.org Sat Nov 15 21:40:16 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:40:16 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat In-Reply-To: <3FB73321.5409.1EC71C@localhost> References: <4.2.0.58.20031115202833.009909e0@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031115212715.009a5310@plum.cream.org> At 21:19 15/11/03 , Shaun Hately wrote: >I know there is (or used to be) a weekly chat associated with the HPFGU >lists. >Does anyone know where or when this is? > >My exams are over, my studies are more or less over until nearly March, so >I can get up early to attend things like that (which I think is the reason >I haven't before). >But I don't know when it is or where it is (and I'll have to work out time >differences etc). Sundays from 7pm UK time (plus whatever your time differential is). Take the "chat" link from any Yahoo group front page and type "/join hp:1" (without the quotation marks). I've not had the time to participate for quite some time, but due to clicking on the wrong bookmark a couple of times fairly recently, I can attest that it's still going strong... I'm expecting guests tomorrow afternoon and/or evening and depending on the time of their arrival/departure, I might be able to show up myself. :-) A reminder is sent (automatically?) to each of the HPFGU lists every Sunday. I'm surprised you've never noticed, Shaun. :-) From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sat Nov 15 21:43:53 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 08:43:53 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031115212715.009a5310@plum.cream.org> References: <3FB73321.5409.1EC71C@localhost> Message-ID: <3FB738C9.22591.34E074@localhost> On 15 Nov 2003 at 21:40, GulPlum wrote: > A reminder is sent (automatically?) to each of the HPFGU lists every > Sunday. I'm surprised you've never noticed, Shaun. :-) Thanks! And actually I have noticed the reminder - thing is I don't particularly trust automated reminders like that - I've been on too many lists where the details have changed but nobody bother to change the reminder notice! 7pm UK time - that's 6am here... should be doable. Unless I get called out to another train crash tonight! *Shaun growls* Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From kelleythompson at gbronline.com Sat Nov 15 21:47:30 2003 From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:47:30 -0000 Subject: HP Chat In-Reply-To: <3FB73321.5409.1EC71C@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun: > I know there is (or used to be) a weekly chat associated with the HPFGU lists. Does anyone know where or when this is? > > My exams are over, my studies are more or less over until nearly March, so I can get up early to attend things like that (which I think is the reason I haven't before). > But I don't know when it is or where it is (and I'll have to work out time differences etc). >>> Excellent! Shaun, the chats happen on Sundays at 2 pm US east coast time. That's a 16 hour difference for you (right now, after time changes; 14 hours when it changes back). So, 6 am Monday mornings for you. Oy, still horrifically early for you, unfortunately. Of course, chat does usually go on for hours, so you can sleep in a bit and still pop in. :-) To get into the room, join any Yahoo chat room and type "join/ HP:1" into the text box (without the quote marks) and hit enter; will take you straight there. Looking forward to seeing you there! Btw, glad you posted your pic, too; you look a fair bit like my high school boyfriend. ;-) --Kelley From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 22:02:43 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:02:43 -0000 Subject: Pictures... Iggy = No, No, No! In-Reply-To: <002301c3ab8b$51ed0ec0$77f21d43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > > > So the big question.....does anyone look like you pictured them in > > your heads (other than Shaun who we got a sneak peak of)? > > > > Susan > > > > Iggy here: > > *raises his hand* > > I look *exactly* as I pictured myself to look. So do my wife and > daughter. *grin* > > ...edited... > > Iggy McSnurd bboy_mn: No, No, No, Iggy; your photo is completely wrong. You don't look anything like that. You are a short skinny boy in his mid-twenties, cool and smart, who is rather cute I must add (as opposed to the handsome man in that fake photo you posted). No, sorry, in my mind, you don't look anything like that at all ;). Steve/bboy_mn From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 22:16:05 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:16:05 -0000 Subject: Shot by Shot Trailer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Potterfanme" wrote: > The only thing they did not clarify was the chorus. They said we > would all know what that is about so they won't list the page number! > Dang it!! > Enjoy! > Susan Weren't they being sarcastic about that page number, since there's no such choir, esp. with the toads in hand? (Maybe you're being sarcastic too? I can't tell sometimes ). Jen, wishing Book 6 was coming out June 4th instead of the movie. From erinellii at yahoo.com Sat Nov 15 22:48:18 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:48:18 -0000 Subject: Shot by Shot Trailer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Alright, where exactly is the shot by shot analysis of the trailer on the leaky cauldron? I've been there three times looking, I must be blind or something. Will anyone give me a link or directions? Please? Erin From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sat Nov 15 22:56:27 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:56:27 -0000 Subject: Shot by Shot Trailer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" wrote: > Alright, where exactly is the shot by shot analysis of the trailer on > the leaky cauldron? I've been there three times looking, I must be > blind or something. Will anyone give me a link or directions? > Please? Here's the link: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/PoATrailer1.html Hope it works! Jen From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sun Nov 16 07:05:24 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 23:05:24 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] More on Draco's Hair - was Re: FINALLY!!! References: Message-ID: <001101c3ac10$059d1260$a6706751@kathryn> > > > > To be perfectly honest, longish pageboyish, pudding basin hair is as > much a class signifier in this country as accent is. > > June > >Yeah you're right of course, it is very "Little Lord Fauntleroy" isn't it, but still I don't care how rich he is if a boy like that turned up to any school not entirely made up of upper class twits (which includes Hogwarts) with a haircut like that is going to get his head flushed down a toilet. K From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 15 23:41:12 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 23:41:12 -0000 Subject: More on Draco's Hair - was Re: FINALLY!!! In-Reply-To: <001101c3ac10$059d1260$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > >Yeah you're right of course, it is very "Little Lord Fauntleroy" isn't it, > but still I don't care how rich he is if a boy like that turned up to any > school not entirely made up of upper class twits (which includes Hogwarts) > with a haircut like that is going to get his head flushed down a toilet. > > K Notwithstanding Hogwarts, anyone who turned up to my daughter's school (and her new school is a lot nicer than her old one)with hair like that would get the following VIP treatment (and the fact of his magic wand and rich daddy wouldn't matter at all) 1. Flushed down the toilet. 2. Book bag used as football 3. Permanent and lifelong derision - even if he returned the following day with a crewcut because once you are seen to be "weird" then you are weird forever. 4. Snubbing by the resident goths because his hair is the wrong colour - long hair is OK provided it is dyed black. 5. Running the gauntlet of the school females making "being sick" gestures. And that's on a good day, provided the school bullies don't get involved. Best days of your life! June From bookraptor11 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 00:13:29 2003 From: bookraptor11 at yahoo.com (bookraptor11) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 00:13:29 -0000 Subject: Draco's hair (and Harry's) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" wrote: > I can't see the trailer very well, because it's so dark, but it > *looks* like they let Dan Radcliffe have a bit of a haircut. I'm > glad -- "untidy" does *not* mean "really, really, long," and I was > getting tired of the whole hair-over-the-ears look. So there's one > major improvement, anyway! > > Annemehr > who can't make Lupin out in the trailer at all :-( Donna: One thing I've liked in the stills and trailer is Harry's hair. In the first two movies it was too neat too much of the time. Every shot in POA shows Harry's hair very mussed. I agree about Draco's hair. They should be calling him Dorko. I'm still not sure on Lupin. The only clear picture we see is in the boggart scene and he's behind Neville. Donna From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 02:23:10 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:23:10 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Pictures... Iggy = No, No, No! References: Message-ID: <002101c3abe8$95fc2d00$d1c13841@rick> > > bboy_mn: > > No, No, No, Iggy; your photo is completely wrong. You don't look > anything like that. Iggy: I don't??? > Steve/bboy_mn > You are a short skinny boy in his mid-twenties, cool and smart, who is > rather cute I must add (as opposed to the handsome man in that fake > photo you posted). > > No, sorry, in my mind, you don't look anything like that at all ;). Iggy here: Actually, I'm a tall, slender, vaguely elvish looking man in his late twenties with jade green eyes and long chestnut hair, usually tied back in a ponytail. I have a goatee, and wear a pair of slightly blue tinted pince-nez glasses. My face usually bears an expression of a roguish sense of humor, spiced with a dash of cool intellect. I don't wear robes, but a long, midnight blue cloak with a sky-blue lining over my usual performing clothes. (I'm a professional jester, mind you.) My usual clothes are a midnight blue vest over a tunic that's red on my left side, and green on the other. My long, blue dragon skin belt is tied about my waist. My pants are green on my left side, red on the right, and are tucked into a pair of soft, knee high boots that mach my vest and cloak. A blue, dragon skin satchel is strapped at my right hip and carries my wand in a holster, and my performing gear in the main pouch. A slender rapier with a silver hilt is at my left hip, both for my sword swallowing act, and for more practical uses. A soft, matching blue beret (cocked rakishly to the side) completes the ensemble. (And did I mention that my great grandfather was an Incubus who forsake his family and his lineage to live with a human woman?) *That's* what the real Iggy looks like in the Wizarding World. Iggy McSnurd (*grin*) From editor at texas.net Sun Nov 16 03:46:42 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:46:42 -0600 Subject: This is all Iggy's fault Message-ID: <002101c3abf4$40d9eea0$1359aacf@texas.net> I have posted two photos: Sheryll and me and the delectable Mr. Rickman, from our trip to New York in August 2002; and one of my whole family, so you will all know what the people I gripe about look like. Joywitch, are these kids too cute? Will your cauldron crack if you try to cook them? If any of you go blind, it's Iggy's fault. ~Amanda ------------------------ Those who cannot hear the music, think the dancers daft. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 03:48:41 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:48:41 -0600 Subject: Amanda's pics Message-ID: <00c901c3abf4$87f5aae0$d1c13841@rick> Iggy here: Cool pics Amanda. I like the one with your family. I also have to ask how you ever managed to get a pic of you and Sheryll with Alan Rickman.... (Where? And how was he?) Personally, the most famous person I ever met was David Ogden Stiers. (Maj. Winchester from M*A*S*H was his most famous role, as well as Jumba Jukiba in "Lilo and Stitch") I was managing a video game store in San Jose, California at the time, and was working alone that day. He came in, patiently waited while I finished helping the other customers, and I ended up getting to chat with him for about 10-15 minutes or so while I helped him chose a couple of Game Boy games for himself. He was actually a really cool guy, and while I already appreciated his work, his friendly and "I'm just an average guy who just happens to work as an actor" type of attitude made me a definite fan. (Now I tend to actually look for him in things, and am happy when I hear that he's part of a particular project that I think would suit him.) Iggy McSnurd From cwood at tattersallpub.com Sun Nov 16 03:55:34 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 03:55:34 -0000 Subject: This is all Iggy's fault In-Reply-To: <002101c3abf4$40d9eea0$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: Is that a Gryffindor tie your kid is wearing? Ms. Tattersall > I have posted two photos: Sheryll and me and the delectable Mr. Rickman, > from our trip to New York in August 2002; and one of my whole family, so you > will all know what the people I gripe about look like. > > Joywitch, are these kids too cute? Will your cauldron crack if you try to > cook them? > > If any of you go blind, it's Iggy's fault. > > ~Amanda > > ------------------------ > Those who cannot hear the music, think the dancers daft. From editor at texas.net Sun Nov 16 04:02:08 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:02:08 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Amanda's pics References: <00c901c3abf4$87f5aae0$d1c13841@rick> Message-ID: <002901c3abf6$6885a780$1359aacf@texas.net> Iggy: > Cool pics Amanda. I like the one with your family. Yeah, we got all of us to look good for one 500th of a second. I was very impressed. But I *am* restraining my youngest. > I also have to ask how you ever managed to get a pic of you and Sheryll with > Alan Rickman.... (Where? And how was he?) We were in New York. We arranged to meet there specifically to see Alan Rickman on Broadway in "Private Lives." We figured he was meeting us halfway and that was as close as he'd get to either San Antonio or Ottawa. And he was truly wonderful, especially with some little kids who had come to the matinee with their mom and were all big eyes and shy voices. Got right down so they could talk in his ear. The stage door guy said he could only remember two other actors who regularly made time for their fans like Alan Rickman did. Every night--20-40 minutes. Lovely man. Plug--go see "Love, Actually, " newest film out--has him, *and* a slew of other tremendous actors. > Personally, the most famous person I ever met was David Ogden Stiers. (Maj. > Winchester from M*A*S*H was his most famous role, as well as Jumba Jukiba in > "Lilo and Stitch"). (whispers) I had a crush on Major Winchester....was *so* disappointed to find out David Ogden Stiers' actual voice did not bear that accent. Oh, and no, my son isn't wearing a Gryffindor tie--it is yellow with a little red lion on it, but that was sheerest accident, it was part of an outfit (the rest long outgrown) that had been a gift from someone. I should say it *is,* though. My youngest son loves green and so likes Slytherin. Pray for me, two Houses in one house. ~Amanda From cwood at tattersallpub.com Sun Nov 16 04:11:42 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 04:11:42 -0000 Subject: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: <00c901c3abf4$87f5aae0$d1c13841@rick> Message-ID: >Iggy said, after remarking on Amanda's fabulous luck at meeting and having her photo made with Alan Rickman: > Personally, the most famous person I ever met was David Ogden Stiers. Do famous people met in an autograph line at a science fiction onvention count? If so, I've met most of the original Star Trek cast (and recurring guests), some of the NextGeneration cast, and Doctor Whos three through six. I also had the honor of autographing my *own* book for Claudia Christian, J. Michael Stracynski, and D. C. Fontana (of Babylon 5 fame at the time). THAT was coolness. Oh, yes, and once I shared a destination with John Houseman. He was at SMU giving a talk on his days with the Federal Theater Project, and I found myself walking down the hall next to him as we were both headed for the loo. We smiled and nodded to one another as we went through the respective doors. Ms. Tattersall From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 16 04:15:26 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:15:26 -0800 Subject: I can't belive I did this...(Photos) References: Message-ID: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Alright, for your...viewing pleasure I have actually broken my code of no pictures and uploaded two. Picture One: Me. Er..it's me, what can I say. Oh, and yes, the poster behind me was there for a reason *smirk* Picture Two: Family My Grandmere, Grandpere and Mere (er, Grandmother, Grandfather, Mom). Taken last Christmas. Just an idea of who I'm bitching about. Sadly there are no pictures of my cats, dog or fish as that would clog up the photos section. I would much rather put up a picture of Piggy in a tin can or Salem demanding food then me but oh well. :o) Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From editor at texas.net Sun Nov 16 04:18:13 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:18:13 -0600 Subject: And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: Message-ID: <003301c3abf8$a83831c0$1359aacf@texas.net> On the thread of interacting with famous people: I snuck backstage at a benefit concert in San Antonio when I was 14 and met Danny Kaye and got his autograph. I don't think I got a coherent word out. (notes that her crushes were not the norm for teenage girls--Danny Kaye, David Niven, James Mason--hm.) ~Amanda, whose husband is not happy that her current crush is actually *alive* From editor at texas.net Sun Nov 16 04:22:19 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:22:19 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I can't belive I did this...(Photos) References: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <003801c3abf9$3a559700$1359aacf@texas.net> Saitaina: > Alright, for your...viewing pleasure I have actually broken my code of no > pictures and uploaded two. > > Picture One: Me. (very surprised) For no reason at all, I had *always* considered you to have dark hair. This isn't as bad as the person one time whose gender I had incorrectly assumed for over a year, but still. You're supposed to have dark hair! I wonder where we get these things. ~Amanda From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 16 04:25:14 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:25:14 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I can't belive I did this...(Photos) References: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> <003801c3abf9$3a559700$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: <006201c3abf9$a265e8e0$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Because I actually do have dark hair, I've dyed my hair though since the age of 10 (varying shades from black to Draco Blonde) so my natural hair colour is never shown...it's brown by the way. (Plus if you've ever read the HP fanfiction with my one and only cameo I have black hair in there). Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From cwood at tattersallpub.com Sun Nov 16 05:09:51 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 05:09:51 -0000 Subject: I can't belive I did this...(Photos) In-Reply-To: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: Submitted for your amusement and for frightening small children: moi and the DH. I actually ceased aging at about 26 years...photos since then have had this Dorian Gray thing going on that I can't seem to Photoshop out. Ms. Tattersall From erinellii at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 05:52:23 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 05:52:23 -0000 Subject: Shot by Shot Trailer In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > wrote: > > Alright, where exactly is the shot by shot analysis of the trailer on the leaky cauldron? I've been there three times looking, I must be blind or something. Will anyone give me a link or directions? > > Please? > > > Here's the link: > > http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/PoATrailer1.html > > Hope it works! Jen Thank you, Jen, that worked perfectly. And I loved the commentary! Thanks. Erin From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 06:12:31 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 00:12:31 -0600 Subject: M*A*S*H (was - Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Amanda's pics) References: <00c901c3abf4$87f5aae0$d1c13841@rick> <002901c3abf6$6885a780$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: <005101c3ac08$9fd729e0$4ed81e43@rick> > Amanda - > (whispers) I had a crush on Major Winchester....was *so* disappointed to > find out David Ogden Stiers' actual voice did not bear that accent. > Iggy here: Actually, his real voice isn't that far off. Granted, his voice seems a little thicker and slightly nasal now, but for Winchester he seemed to only really "Bostonize" it slightly. He doesn't actually speak "casually" in real life, but it's more like speaking properly (a-la Winchester) is what comes naturally to him, so it doesn't sound condescending or particularly aristocratic when he does it. As for M*A*S*H in general, I'm a big fan of the series. The collected TV episodes on DVD are near the top of my Christmas list, and I've seen every episode at least 5 times each. ("Abyssinia Henry", which was the one where Col. Blake gets sent home but doesn't make it still gets to me. I can quote the telegram from memory. "Col. Henry Blake's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors." I also can't handle the part in "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" where Hawkeye finally has the breakthrough and remembers why he had his breakdown. It still upsets me deeply when I even think about it.) One of the things I always wondered about was who I would be likely to make friends with (or at least try to) if I were in that camp. I figured it would be: Col. Potter - He always seemed like a very fatherly kind of guy who can still be businesslike. I'd probably end up looking up to him and probably being in a "mentor" type situation. Father Mulcahey - I'm not a Christian (I'm a Neo-Pagan), but he's one of those nice, solid kind of people who you feel like you could talk philosophy and religion with even if you weren't a Catholic, and he'd be open to the discussions. I also appreciate someone I feel like I can go to when I'm faced with personal problems. Max Klinger - Hey, I'm a bit of an oddball myself, and I think we'd get along. We're both a little strange, but very loyal and dedicated to the people we care about. I'd also actually love to hear about life in Toledo from his perspective, since he's seems to be the one who has the most "hometown loyalty," and I can appreciate that. He's also got a cool smile and very expressive eyes, and he seems like a person I could trust as a friend. Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III - While he doesn't seem the type to want to really be friends with most people, I think we'd at least associate through our mutual love of classical music and good literature. I'd also want to just chat with Maj. Sidney Freedman when he visits. I was a psych major for a long time, and I think I'd love to just talk about it with him. He also seems to be one of the most well grounded and compassionate members of the psych professions I've seen. *grin* As for dating, I'd actually want to go after Nurse Baker, Nurse Dish, and Ginger. (Honestly, part of me would also want to be friends with, if not date, Kellye...) Anyone else a fan of the show, and who would you hang out with? Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 06:22:07 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 00:22:07 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Amanda's pics References: Message-ID: <005801c3ac09$f76e7400$4ed81e43@rick> > Ms. Tattersall > Do famous people met in an autograph line at a science fiction > onvention count? If so, I've met most of the original Star Trek cast > (and recurring guests), some of the NextGeneration cast, and Doctor > Whos three through six. I also had the honor of autographing my *own* > book for Claudia Christian, J. Michael Stracynski, and D. C. Fontana > (of Babylon 5 fame at the time). THAT was coolness. Iggy here: Did you actually get to say more than "Hi... I am, like, your BIGGEST fan. You are, like, so... you know... COOL! Oh, can I have your autograph?" *grin* I think the main question is, did you actually get to chat with them for more than 30 seconds in a line? If not, then you met them "fan-wise." If so, then you *really* got to meet them. > Ms. Tattersall > Oh, yes, and once I shared a destination with John Houseman. He was > at SMU giving a talk on his days with the Federal Theater Project, > and I found myself walking down the hall next to him as we were both > headed for the loo. We smiled and nodded to one another as we went > through the respective doors. > Iggy here: Ok, that one doesn't count. *chuckle* Otherwise you can say that I met Keifer Southerland and some of the other stars of the "Lost Boys" because I was at their set a couple of times while filming in public. Oh, BTW: I forgot to mention that I met Katherine Kerr as well and got to chat with her and her husband at length. The housemate I mentioned who has the whippets is a professional writer, and I went to drop him off when he was having dinner at her house. I got to visit with her for a while. (She has a nice little house in a suburb near San Francisco.) Oh, and my housemate at the time was Kevin A. Murphy. He's one of the writers for White Wolf Games, and does some other fantasy writing for anthologies and on a freelance basis. I don't think a lot of people would know of him, and he was also my roomie for two years and is still a friend of mine... so I never really think of him as a possibly "famous" person... Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 06:24:33 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 00:24:33 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I can't belive I did this...(Photos) References: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <005d01c3ac0a$4e58d1c0$4ed81e43@rick> From: Saitaina > Er..it's me, what can I say. Oh, and yes, the poster behind me was there for a > reason *smirk* > Iggy here: *grin* I'm actually wondering more about what the Cabbage Patch Kids are doing on the chair next to you. Iggy McSnurd From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 16 06:33:08 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:33:08 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I can't belive I did this...(Photos) References: <005901c3abf8$4464c640$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> <005d01c3ac0a$4e58d1c0$4ed81e43@rick> Message-ID: <00c701c3ac0b$80c4ba60$673c1c40@aoldsl.net> Iggy wrote: <*grin* I'm actually wondering more about what the Cabbage Patch Kids are doing on the chair next to you.> Those are my Christmas Cabbies. Okay, Okay so I collect Cabbage Patch Dolls, I can't help it, when you've had one in your hands since you were one it's hard to tear yourself away from them. Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From a_williams1 at pacific.edu Sun Nov 16 06:39:16 2003 From: a_williams1 at pacific.edu (Aesha Williams) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 22:39:16 -0800 Subject: No fair!! References: <1068954503.3121.36143.m15@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <007701c3ac0c$5b7cdac0$d8430a0a@bre.uop.edu> Okay. I'm checking out who put photos up after I did last night, and I see one of... Amanda, Sherryll and ALAN RICKMAN?! I am so jealous. Ohh... he looks so good in that picture... I was never attracted to older men until there was Alan... be still my rapidly beating heart! Aesha [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From Erthena at aol.com Sun Nov 16 07:19:00 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 07:19:00 -0000 Subject: my picture is up In-Reply-To: <002a01c3ab21$e57311e0$4dd81e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > > > > Well here's my picture, how do I look? I'm trying to find this > > year's school picture, as it was much better. > > > > ~~loony > > > > Iggy here: > > I'm embarrassed to say that with the "wearbear" part of your nickname (and > since I've never seen a gender identifier for you in one of your letters)... > Iggy McSnurd Gee, I thought I'd said I was a legolas/Sirius/Lupin fangirl. I thought that screamed 'teenage girl alert'. oh well, it's fun to pop other's misconceptions. <"))>< (why a fish, I'm not sure. ~~loony From Erthena at aol.com Sun Nov 16 08:02:23 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 08:02:23 -0000 Subject: SOS-main list Message-ID: Just because I feel like dredging up old topics all over again, I have to ask for help on the main list. I know list volume is WAY down but I still have trouble keeping up. So if someone who actually is keeping up could tell me their secret or refer me back to the posts in August, I think, where we talked about strategies for the main list I'd be immensely grateful. ~~loony, who doesn't want to battle yahoomort tonight or she'd look the posts up herself. From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sun Nov 16 01:11:09 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:11:09 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat References: <3FB73321.5409.1EC71C@localhost> <3FB738C9.22591.34E074@localhost> Message-ID: <000001c3ac25$75c22110$79984cca@Monteith> > > 7pm UK time - that's 6am here... should be doable. Unless I get called out to > another train crash tonight! > > *Shaun growls* Ahh, I heard about this on the news yesterday. That was awful... Are you in the SES? Nox (and the Wallabies won, so it's [almost] all good today!) From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sun Nov 16 09:48:52 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:48:52 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat In-Reply-To: <000001c3ac25$75c22110$79984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <3FB7E2B4.29949.30F717@localhost> On 16 Nov 2003 at 11:11, silverdragon at ezweb.com.au wrote: > > > > 7pm UK time - that's 6am here... should be doable. Unless I get called out > to > > another train crash tonight! > > > > *Shaun growls* > > Ahh, I heard about this on the news yesterday. That was awful... Are you in > the > SES? > > Nox (and the Wallabies won, so it's [almost] all good today!) No - and I live in Frankston so I wouldn't have been called to Ballarat even if I was - (well... not unless it was an incredibly big crash!). No, I work for a pseudo- government body associated with any public safety issues and I'm our offices current 'expert' on train accidents. Basically our brief is to look at any issue that affects public safety and come up with plans to deal with them - as you might have noticed, we've had a bad run on train safety recently - two collisions at Spencer Street, the boy who jumped off a moving train to avoid ticket inspectors... well, train safety is becoming a big deal. Worst thing about yesterday was I was still dressed for 40 degree weather - even when I got to Ballan where it was about 8 degrees over night! I got there well after all the casualties had been evacuated (and sheesh, they were lucky that there weren't any fatalities). Fact is, I'm not sure why it was sent - it's pretty clear that the main safety recommendation to come out of this accident will be don't park trucks on train lines and I don't think that requires much thought. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sun Nov 16 09:58:47 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 19:58:47 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat References: <3FB7E2B4.29949.30F717@localhost> Message-ID: <009001c3ac28$3b63a040$79984cca@Monteith> Shaun wrote ----- Original Message ----- > > No - and I live in Frankston so I wouldn't have been called to Ballarat even if I was > - (well... not unless it was an incredibly big crash!). Ah Ok. I'm terribly shamed to admit I didn't actually hear where the crash was exactly, except in Victoria . No, I work for a pseudo- > government body associated with any public safety issues and I'm our offices > current 'expert' on train accidents. Basically our brief is to look at any issue that > affects public safety and come up with plans to deal with them - as you might have > noticed, we've had a bad run on train safety recently - two collisions at Spencer > Street, the boy who jumped off a moving train to avoid ticket inspectors... well, > train safety is becoming a big deal. Yeah I've noticed the safety thing hasn't been all that good. Lucky for me I never travel by train. Or live in Victoria and travel by train anyway . > > Worst thing about yesterday was I was still dressed for 40 degree weather - even > when I got to Ballan where it was about 8 degrees over night! I got there well after > all the casualties had been evacuated (and sheesh, they were lucky that there > weren't any fatalities). Fact is, I'm not sure why it was sent - it's pretty clear that > the main safety recommendation to come out of this accident will be don't park > trucks on train lines and I don't think that requires much thought. It *was* lucky there were no deaths from what I saw on the telly. And how *stupid* are the two guys who left the ute on the railway line? Wouldn't you try and move it? Or alert someone in a *hurry*? Nox From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sun Nov 16 11:26:58 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:26:58 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat In-Reply-To: <009001c3ac28$3b63a040$79984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <3FB7F9B2.13301.8ACBF9@localhost> On 16 Nov 2003 at 19:58, silverdragon at ezweb.com.au wrote: > Yeah I've noticed the safety thing hasn't been all that good. Lucky for me I > never travel by train. Or live in Victoria and travel by train anyway > . In actual fact, at the moment, it's looking like the problems are all unrelated - just random bad luck they've happened in a cluster. > It *was* lucky there were no deaths from what I saw on the telly. And how > *stupid* are the two guys who left the ute on the railway line? Wouldn't you > try and move it? Or alert someone in a *hurry*? Well, they still haven't ruled out the possibility it was deliberate - but last I heard, the two guys claimed they didn't have time to move the ute. They've apparently said it stalled on the line and they were trying to move it until they heard the train coming - and they only just got out themselves. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From abigailnus at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 13:02:13 2003 From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 13:02:13 -0000 Subject: SOS-main list In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" wrote: > Just because I feel like dredging up old topics all over again, I > have to ask for help on the main list. I know list volume is WAY > down but I still have trouble keeping up. So if someone who > actually is keeping up could tell me their secret or refer me back > to the posts in August, I think, where we talked about strategies > for the main list I'd be immensely grateful. The simplest solution is to be selective. I joined the list in December '01, when membership was only 4000, and still I didn't read every post. I certainly don't these days. I choose which posts to read according to their subject line and, occasionally, their author (which is why, by the way, it's always helpful to give your post a descriptive and even distinctive subject line). I assume that you're using webview and not receiving all messages to your inbox - if you aren't, I suggest you change your settings accordingly (you can do this on the list website through the Edit My Membership link at the right-hand corner of the page). Set yourself to No Email or Special Notices (recommended) and read the list from the website. That way, if you find yourself overwhelmed, you can pick and choose the messages that interest you the most. Abigail From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 16 13:10:26 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 13:10:26 -0000 Subject: Kings Cross Info Message-ID: Londoners or seasoned rail travellers help is required! It's not for me, but for a friend (which almost sounds like I'm about to ask something rude . I'm looking for information about the King's Cross train station. More precisely, I'm trying to find out how one gets from Platform 10 (the real one) to platform 4 and then back to 10 -- as in, how many staircases one has to climb up or down, if there are any ticket barriers or any other remarkable elements in the way, and how long it takes to get to one platform to the other. Now I've used Kings Cross many times, but not over the last few years, so unfortunately, the exact layout of the platforms has somewhat dropped out of my mind and I can't see it in my head anymore. I can see the concourse, and the platforms in front of me, but not the numerical order of the platforms - are they left to right for instance? Sorry can't remember. So here's a plea to people who do use it - especially fans because they will be able to see it. Feel free to mail me off list if you want - and any suggestions at all are most welcome - web sites whatever. June From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sun Nov 16 13:28:27 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 23:28:27 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Chat References: <3FB7F9B2.13301.8ACBF9@localhost> Message-ID: <004b01c3ac45$861e7610$72984cca@Monteith> From: "Shaun Hately" > > In actual fact, at the moment, it's looking like the problems are all unrelated - just > random bad luck they've happened in a cluster. Sorry for disappearing like that. I was helping my SIL with a reading assignment. 'Wuthering Heights'. I love it but 10:30 is too late to remember a book you last read about 20 years ago... And yes, I guess it usually is just random bad-luck. > Well, they still haven't ruled out the possibility it was deliberate - but last I heard, > the two guys claimed they didn't have time to move the ute. They've apparently > said it stalled on the line and they were trying to move it until they heard the train > coming - and they only just got out themselves. I've just heard the two guys are being charged with something... Dum-dums... Nox From hp at plum.cream.org Sun Nov 16 14:24:10 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 14:24:10 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Kings Cross Info In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031116135130.009b2950@plum.cream.org> At 13:10 16/11/03 , june wrote: >I'm looking for information about the King's Cross train station. >More precisely, I'm trying to find out how one gets from Platform 10 >(the real one) to platform 4 and then back to 10 -- as in, how many >staircases one has to climb up or down, if there are any >ticket barriers or any other remarkable elements in the way, and how >long it takes to get to one platform to the other. > >Now I've used Kings Cross many times, but not over the last few >years, so unfortunately, the exact layout of the platforms has >somewhat dropped out of my mind and I can't see it in my head >anymore. I can see the concourse, and the platforms in front of me, >but not the numerical order of the platforms - are they left to >right for instance? Sorry can't remember. Platforms are counted right to left from the main concourse. There's a plan here, on the Network Rail site: http://tinyurl.com/v7ka (from a link on this page: http://tinyurl.com/v7j8) All platforms are on the same level, and unlike most British stations, that's pavement level, with no stairs or ramps to get to them. The usual way to get from the extension housing platforms 9-11 is to take the passage onto platform 8 (on the far right on the plan) and then walk along the head of the platforms towards 4-5. However, the whole area in front of the station is being redeveloped at present, so the way to get to platforms 9-11 changes (because of works to and around the walkways, coloured grey on that plan). At times it's possible to get to 9-11 from the outside world by walking around the side of the main station, but sometimes you have to enter the main station and go through the passage from platform 8. There are currently no barriers at the head of individual platforms or groups of platforms. I assume the reason for the question is that your friend is physically disabled in some way? :-) From cindyspitz2003 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 14:25:29 2003 From: cindyspitz2003 at yahoo.com (cindyspitz2003) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 14:25:29 -0000 Subject: Clarification and Apology Message-ID: Hi, all, Note: I'm posting this message under a new Yahoo ID because I think (but can't be sure) that I'm moderated or banned under my old "Cindysphynx" ID. Cindy **************** Hi, all, You will be pleased -- no, *thrilled* -- to hear that I have no intention of offering up a massive post refuting the unfortunate things said about me last week. No need to thank me; it's the least I could do! There is one thing that should be addressed, though. Some list members opined that it was wrong of me -- a breach of netiquette -- to forward Ali's message threatening to ban me from HPfGU. Also, someone was unhappy that I didn't add any explanation for your benefit. Let me clarify, then. Official communications from list administration -- howlers and the like -- that list members receive are not the same as a private off-list message. We discussed this just last week on the "Fantastic Posts" list. The elves, in answer to the question of whether a member could advise other members of disciplinary action taken, replied that the member "may do so if they wish." I can tell you from past experience that list members unhappy with a howler they receive have in the past forwarded the message to others or posted them (LJ and so forth). More to the point, though, is that official elf communications should be written such that admnistrators are indifferent if they are distributed to others. The elves should be professional and evenhanded in these matters, but most importantly, they should be stone cold correct on their application of the rules to the poster in question. Therefore, I can't in all sincerity apologize for forwarding the message -- I thought it emblematic of the very problems I was hoping we all could discuss. I will apologize, however, for not including some introductory language to say what Ali's Official Message was supposed to *be,* as I can see how this would be confusing to some. Let's just say I was somewhat at a loss for words by that point. Further, I hope that this post itself complies with the rules; usually people are allowed to issue apologies and clarifications as they see fit. Anyway, I have written to the elves to find out whether I will be banned or moderated and *why,* so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Cindy -- who is not a lying, megalomaniac con artist televangelist nor does she play one on TV From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 16 14:29:49 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 14:29:49 -0000 Subject: Kings Cross Info In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031116135130.009b2950@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: >>> > Platforms are counted right to left from the main concourse. > > There's a plan here, on the Network Rail site: http://tinyurl.com/v7ka > (from a link on this page: http://tinyurl.com/v7j8) > > All platforms are on the same level, and unlike most British stations, > that's pavement level, with no stairs or ramps to get to them. The usual > way to get from the extension housing platforms 9-11 is to take the passage > onto platform 8 (on the far right on the plan) and then walk along the head > of the platforms towards 4-5. However, the whole area in front of the > station is being redeveloped at present, so the way to get to platforms > 9-11 changes (because of works to and around the walkways, coloured grey on > that plan). At times it's possible to get to 9-11 from the outside world by > walking around the side of the main station, but sometimes you have to > enter the main station and go through the passage from platform 8. > > There are currently no barriers at the head of individual platforms or > groups of platforms. > > I assume the reason for the question is that your friend is physically > disabled in some way? :-) No a fanficcer! Is that the same? This is brilliant - thanks so much. June From heidilist at tandys.org Sun Nov 16 15:07:41 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 07:07:41 -0800 Subject: Reply to cindy References: <1068995123.361F05DD@s5.dngr.org> Message-ID: <1068995267.32F72515@w5.dngr.org> On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 9:25AM -0500, cindyspitz2003 wrote: > Note: I'm posting this message under a new Yahoo ID because I think > (but can't be sure) that I'm moderated or banned under my old > "Cindysphynx" ID. Oh, but Cindy, don't you remember helping me test the moderated and banned powers on Yahoo when the mods, of which you were then a part, when y'all were trying to figure out how to keep the lists safe from deletion by the person or persons who deleted the main list and other hpfgu lists in March, 2002? It would say at the top of the webview screen if you were banned, and iirc you'd get an email to your primary email account as well. So one *should* easily know. Btw - I think the above is technological knowledge and not list policy, so I think it was fine to share it with the list. The rest of this, however, contains a bit of policyish stuff. > Official communications from list administration -- howlers and the > like -- that list members receive are not the same as a private > off-list message. We discussed this just last week on the "Fantastic > Posts" list. The elves, in answer to the question of whether a member > could advise other members of disciplinary action taken, replied that > the member "may do so if they wish." Huh! I think it's a bit unfair to extrapolate policy on faq, which is a working group with a purpose, to otc, which, well, isn't (isn't a working group, I mean; clearly we have a purpose!). I mean, you thought it was fine to block memberships of those who were interested in participating on faq, and I'm sure you had your reasons, but I can't imagine that you'd think anyone's participation on otc should be blocked, except perhaps spammers and those who were involved in the lists' deletion, although it's possible you've changed your mind about that, too. > More to the point, though, is that official elf communications should > be written such that admnistrators are indifferent if they are > distributed to others. The elves should be professional and > evenhanded in these matters, but most importantly, they should be > stone cold correct on their application of the rules to the poster in > question. I agree with you here, in theory, but sometimes it's hard to predict where the canny mind will create policies and then manipulate those policies for his or her own purposes. It's almost impossible to technically be 100% consistent, as situations sometimes change. I mean, I don't remember how I felt during the summer about having a list to discuss hpfgu-list policy, but I'm now of the mind that it makes sense. I'm not sure I'd be able to participate much, but I can see the benefits to the community in having it. Heidi, who once was an elf and still is a faqwriter From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 15:46:57 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 09:46:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: my picture is up References: Message-ID: <001b01c3ac58$df413d00$37d21e43@rick> > > Gee, I thought I'd said I was a legolas/Sirius/Lupin fangirl. I > thought that screamed 'teenage girl alert'. oh well, it's fun to > pop other's misconceptions. <"))>< (why a fish, I'm not sure. > > ~~loony > Iggy here: *chuckle* I think you did... and that one must have just flown by me somehow... *smacks himself in the forehead with a rubber turnip* Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 16 15:51:33 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 09:51:33 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] SOS-main list References: Message-ID: <002201c3ac59$89b1bee0$37d21e43@rick> > ~ loony: > Just because I feel like dredging up old topics all over again, I > have to ask for help on the main list. I know list volume is WAY > down but I still have trouble keeping up. So if someone who > actually is keeping up could tell me their secret or refer me back > to the posts in August, I think, where we talked about strategies > for the main list I'd be immensely grateful. > Iggy here: *chuckle* I just skim topics I'm not all that interested in without actually reading them that much. Anything I might find new or interesting will just sort of pop out at me. Otherwise, I only really keep a close track of the threads I'm participating in or that I might find particularly fascinating. If I tried to keep completely abreast of every topic, especially with a toddler in the house and starting to go back to school for my degree, I'd go nuts. (Well........ moreso than I usually am. My forms of insanity can be fun... stressed out insanity isn't.) Iggy McSnurd From annemehr at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 16:22:28 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 16:22:28 -0000 Subject: SOS-main list In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" wrote: > Just because I feel like dredging up old topics all over again, I > have to ask for help on the main list. I know list volume is WAY > down but I still have trouble keeping up. So if someone who > actually is keeping up could tell me their secret or refer me back > to the posts in August, I think, where we talked about strategies > for the main list I'd be immensely grateful. > > ~~loony, who doesn't want to battle yahoomort tonight or she'd look > the posts up herself. Well, my strategy back in August was to be *very* selective, chosing posts by subject lines I found interesting, and hoping people had changed them accordingly when the subject on a thread drifted to a different topic (I know this doesn't always happen, but what can you do). I also skimmed a *lot* of the posts to look for new ideas. Now, I seem to do fine in webview, as Abigail recommended also. From the Home page I click on "messages," then enter the number after the last message I read in the little box and click "go." That gives me a display of messages with subject lines and who posted them. Then I click the "expand messages" button and a whole group of messages are displayed in their entirety, looking much like a Daily Digest. It's easy to scroll down and read the ones I'm interested in, or skim others, and scroll right past the ones I've had enough of (e.g. prefect discussions since I've read Shaun's wonderfully detailed messages on the subject before). And you do get around 20-25 messages loaded with only one ad. It has a big advantage over Daily Digests in that it's always available when you have a chance to read; back in the day when I was on Digest, I'd check my email and find nothing, then the day would get busy, and then when I got back to my email, there'd be *two* long digests to wade through! If I'm pressed for time, I tend to skip topics that have the most to do with things that we're just going to have to wait and see what happens, such as SHIPping, where I have read lots of different predictions and opinions in the past and don't think anyone can really draw a firm conclusion. Other than that, it seems I am lucky in that I can't sleep for too long at a time, so at night when everything quiets down and the family goes to bed, I get a couple-three hours of peace to read the lists and post if I want! I realise this strategy may not have universal appeal! :-) Hmm... I've rambled on for a while -- hope some of it was helpful! Annemehr From abigailnus at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 17:14:36 2003 From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 17:14:36 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Once Again... Message-ID: We must remind you that discussion of list policy is not permitted on OTC. The list elves are currently in the process of creating a forum in which members of HPfGU will be able to offer opinions and suggestions on the running of the list. We beg your patience while we work out the details of this arrangement. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the -owner address. Abigail aka Bookish Elf For the List Administration From neonsister at ameritech.net Sun Nov 16 18:32:56 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 18:32:56 -0000 Subject: M*A*S*H (was - Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Amanda's pics) In-Reply-To: <005101c3ac08$9fd729e0$4ed81e43@rick> Message-ID: Last February I ran in the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans. Many of the aid stations (where volunteers hand out Gatorade, water, bandaids, etc as you stagger by) had themes. One of them was a M*A*S*H* tent - every volunteer was dressed as a character from the show. "Klinger" ran out into the street and offered me a martini! Tracy From Erthena at aol.com Sun Nov 16 18:41:15 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 18:41:15 -0000 Subject: SOS-main list In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" wrote: > Digests in that it's always available when you have a chance to read; > back in the day when I was on Digest, I'd check my email and find > nothing, then the day would get busy, and then when I got back to my > email, there'd be *two* long digests to wade through! That's almost what i do, except when I feel like reading the messages i'll read the digests and then go to the site and read until I run out of messages or time. I just run out of time too much. A big thanks to evryone who replied to this topic. ~~loony From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sun Nov 16 20:22:21 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:22:21 -0000 Subject: And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: <003301c3abf8$a83831c0$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" wrote: > On the thread of interacting with famous people: > > I snuck backstage at a benefit concert in San Antonio when I was 14 and met > Danny Kaye and got his autograph. I don't think I got a coherent word out. OK, technically I haven't met a famous person (except Laura Bush because she grew up in Midland where I'm from), but I did find myself behind Matthew McConaghy (US film actor) in the Austin, TX Airport one time. I didn't even realize it was him until my DH pointed him out; he had on black everything and sunglasses and looked way too hip to be a regular person. He's a cutie! Jen, sighing over her brush with greatness and hoping she meets Alan Rickman one day. From kcawte at ntlworld.com Mon Nov 17 04:32:09 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:32:09 -0800 Subject: M*A*S*H (was - Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Amanda's pics) References: <00c901c3abf4$87f5aae0$d1c13841@rick> <002901c3abf6$6885a780$1359aacf@texas.net> <005101c3ac08$9fd729e0$4ed81e43@rick> Message-ID: <009301c3acc3$c38b6ac0$a6706751@kathryn> > Anyone else a fan of the show, and who would you hang out with? > > Iggy McSnurd > > Where I live (in the UK) Paramount Comedy shows two episodes a night. They just reached the end a few weeks ago (I'd never seen the finale before, *sniffle*) and started right at the beginning, which is a bit of a shame because I *hate* Frank Burns. I liked Charles because he seemed like a good guy (if slightly annoying) Frank was just awful. I guess I'd like to hang out with Radar, he's always been my favourite. Klinger was wonderful too. I'd like spending time with Father Mulcahey (oh I can't spell that!) and I'm not religious at all but he seemed like the kind of guy who you could talk to about anything and wasn't at all stuffy (I loved it when Charles was worried he snored and that might make him like 'normal' people and the Father yelled at him ) I cry whenever I see the episode where Blake dies, too. I usually cry when Radar goes home as well, but then I tend to tear up really easily at TV programs. K From kelleythompson at gbronline.com Sun Nov 16 20:54:11 2003 From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:54:11 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: We Regret to Announce Message-ID: Fellow Listmembers: It is with deep regret that the ADMIN team must announce that we have banned Cindy from the HPFGU family of lists. This is a rare but precedented step, taken when all other alternatives have been exhausted and an impasse reached. We do not take this action lightly, as these forums were founded to be open to anyone who loves Harry Potter and this fan community. However, the List Admin Team has decided that, in this situation, irreconcilable differences exist, in the areas of perception of list rules, appropriate use of communication venues, and civility. This decision is the result of months of attempts to communicate with her to reach an understanding. These attempts have failed. We reluctantly take this final step, as the best way to handle this situation for the overall benefit of the lists. Please understand--we are more than willing to discuss matters of list administration with our listmembers who respect the purposes of the lists, the list rules, and us as fellow listmembers. We cannot, and do not intend, to administrate these groups in a vacuum. We ask that you please allow us to show our willingness by asking your questions and engaging with us in constructive discussions through the owners address and the new forum when it is opened. We are sorry to take this action. We wanted you to hear about it from us first. --The List Admin Team From lynntownsend100 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 21:16:56 2003 From: lynntownsend100 at yahoo.com (Lynn) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 13:16:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] ADMIN: We Regret to Announce In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031116211656.15320.qmail@web41412.mail.yahoo.com> Ermm...One question:(and don't answer it if you don't want to...I just want to make sure that *I'M* not banned as well...)What did Cindy do that she was so evil and/or obnoxious and/or illegal and/or other that she was banned from *all* the "HPFGU"'s lists? This isn't the first time that this question has come up in my mind about a "public banning"(The first time was on a semi- ex-gay[Oh, please *don't* ask...]group.)it *is* the first time(OK, second...the first time was on a HP RPG group, but upon reading the posts on the site[the person posted *quite* a few comments on the sudden end to her storyline...]I didn't have *any* questions, in fact I probably would've booted her out myself.)that I've seen a public banning in a HP group and I want to make sure that I don't repeat her mistakes. If this isn't up to posting standards,it's not a problem, I won't try to repost, but in that case, please answer me privately if you have the time... Thank You, -lynntownsend --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From katydid3500 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 22:46:27 2003 From: katydid3500 at yahoo.com (Kathryn Wolber) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 14:46:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: My Two Knuts (long) (In Which Eileen Steps In) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031116224627.74329.qmail@web40507.mail.yahoo.com> --- Potterfanme wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lucky_kari" > > wrote: > > First of all, Mr. McSnurd, could you do us a > favour and shut up? Susan: > I beg your pardon, but this was uncalled for. By the way when you say "us" please be sure to > exclude those of "us" that do not feel the same way you do. I'll have to second that. That was absolutely ridiculous. I think Iggy's response was both well thought out and neutral. Just because you disagree with someone doesn't mean they did something wrong. And can someone tell me where in the HBF it says that you can break the list rules, but only when you get really pissed off?? ~Kathryn __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Sun Nov 16 23:06:29 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 23:06:29 -0000 Subject: Fantastic Lists & Where to Find Them (was: Clarification...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "cindyspitz2003" wrote: > ...edited... We discussed this just last week on the "Fantastic > Posts" list. ...edited... > > Cindy bboy_mn: You keep mentioning the "Fantastic Posts" *LIST*, but I can't find any mailing list or dicussion group related to 'Fantastic Posts'. Is this a private group just for the member of the Fantastic Post team, or is there really a public group available somewhere. I am aware of the website 'Fantastic Posts and Where to Find Them', but not aware of any discussion group.. Just curious. bboy_mn From editor at texas.net Sun Nov 16 23:16:36 2003 From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 17:16:36 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Fantastic Lists & Where to Find Them (was: Clarification...) References: Message-ID: <000d01c3ac97$b011c6a0$a058aacf@texas.net> > bboy_mn: > > You keep mentioning the "Fantastic Posts" *LIST*, but I can't find any > mailing list or dicussion group related to 'Fantastic Posts'. Is this > a private group just for the member of the Fantastic Post team, or is > there really a public group available somewhere. > > I am aware of the website 'Fantastic Posts and Where to Find Them', > but not aware of any discussion group.. It's not a discussion group--meaning, it's not a public list for general discussion. I guess it's a focus group. Way back when--and I mean *way* back--it was organized as a separate list from the main one, to avoid cluttering the main list. I think it predates Chatter, even. In any case, it's devoted to the production of the Fantastic Posts FAQs. ~Amanda From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 00:23:06 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 18:23:06 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: Message-ID: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> Iggy here: Ok all. Here's the new and fun question of the day: Who are the top 10 people you'd want to hang out with for a weekend, and why? (In no particular order... And guys... you can leave the porn starlets off the list. *laugh*) At least 6 must be living, but up to 4 can be alive or dead, language will be no barrier... and no fictional characters. (We'll save that for another topic later...) My list is: Robin Williams: Part of it would be to see how much of his personality is what we see in the media, and how much is actually more quiet and introspective. (Also, because I like how he tends to look at the world a lot of the time.) Jackie Chan: I'm a big fan of his movies, and in interviews he seems like a nice, easygoing guy who would be cool to just hang out with and possibly learn a few martial arts tricks from. Alton Brown: (from the TV show "Good Eats") I really like the style he shows in his cooking show, teaching the style and technical stuff, but doing it in a fun and easy to digest (pun intended) manner. I love to cook as well, and it would be interesting to just exchange recipies and make a number of meals together to see how our styles work together. Gene Wilder: Probably one of my all-time favorite actors. He has some of the most kind and expressive eyes of any actor I've ever seen. (Only Jamie Farr comes close in that regard, IMHO.) I'd love to spend a quiet weekend with him just talking about his life and career in acting, as well as his philosophies on life itself. He's lifed through a lot, and so have I, and it would me interesting to see how we each learned and grew from those experiences. Steve Martin: He's actually more philosophical than many people think, and he's dedicated to his work and making sure it's done as right as he can get it. He's a good writer, has a unique sense of humor, and anyone who can do comedy, and lay the banjo as well as he can would be fun to spend a weekend with. Jeff Foxworthty: I have all of his CDs, and a couple of his books. I'm a big fan of his stand-up, and I'd love to see if he's as much of a normal guy as he comes across. Not only do I think I could contribute a number of things to his "you might be a redneck" lists, but I think it would be an enjoyable, simple living kind of weekend, even though he's a star. St. Thomas Aquinas: I hold to one of his strongest philosophies when it comes to religion. (to paraphrase) "God gave us a mind that is capable of questioning everything. We would be doing Him a gift a great injustice if we did not do so." It would be very interesting, and enlightening to both of us, I think, to spend a weekend discussing faith, religion, and philosophy. Bruce Lee: He was a deeply philosophical man who I have a great deal of respect for. Even if we did not discuss the martial arts directly, I think I would learn a lot about discipline and perspectives on life from talking to him about philosophy and his approaches to life. Bette Midler: Funny, talented, and has a wonderful voice. She has achieved a great deal in the entertainment world by approaching things with her own sense of style. I'd love to see what she's like in real life. (Ok, and I'll have to admit that, while I admire her a lot, I also think she's one of the hottest women on Earth.) Dr. Ruth Westheimer: She's a briliant woman who's led a very interesting life. I used to be a psych major focusing in human sexuality, and I think it would be great to discuss the topic at length with her. I'd also love to hear not only how she got into the fireld, but about just the general experiences in her life. (She actually fought with the resistance in WWII, and can still field strip and re-assemble an M1 rifle in the dark... Little known fact there.) I think that's 10 people... Iggy McSnurd From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 17 00:32:32 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 10:32:32 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> Message-ID: <004e01c3aca2$4b13e3e0$72984cca@Monteith> Iggy wrote >>Bette Midler: Funny, talented, and has a wonderful voice. She has achieved a great deal in the entertainment world by approaching things with her own sense of style. I'd love to see what she's like in real life. (Ok, and I'll have to admit that, while I admire her a lot, I also think she's one of the hottest women on Earth.)<< Have you been talking to my husband? He thinks the same... Nox (who looks nothing like Bette Midler) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 00:52:56 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 18:52:56 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> <004e01c3aca2$4b13e3e0$72984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <004301c3aca5$282e2540$d3f11d43@rick> > > Have you been talking to my husband? He thinks the same... > > Nox (who looks nothing like Bette Midler) > > Iggy here: *laugh* No. I just have an appreciation for women of many ages and body types. My wife and I each have what we call a "hottie list." It's a list of people that, even though we're married and deeply in love with each other... well... if we ever got a chance for a "romantic liaison", the other person would have to understand if we jumped on the chance... (no pun intended...) Of course, not that we'd ever have the chance... *grin* That's one of the things that makes the lists so fun... My list actually includes some people many wouldn't think of... To name a few of the less typical ones: Caroline Rhea, Queen Latifah, Bette Midler, Peri Gilpin, Katey Sagal, and Jean Smart. They all have qualities I find particularly attractive. (Not that I'd stray from my wife, of course. We are so loyal to each other it's funny.) From lucky_kari at yahoo.ca Mon Nov 17 01:10:19 2003 From: lucky_kari at yahoo.ca (lucky_kari) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 01:10:19 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: We Regret to Announce In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Kelley wrote: > It is with deep regret that the ADMIN team must announce that we have > banned Cindy from the HPFGU family of lists. This is a rare but > precedented step, taken when all other alternatives have been > exhausted and an impasse reached. Precedented? The only person ever to be banned from the HPFGU lists was Sinead who deleted the list. I hadn't noticed Cindy deleting the list lately, so while the decision may be correct it isn't precedented. > We do not take this action lightly, I know this to be a fact. However, I think you've taken it wrongly. What has Cindy done? Sent you a tons of owners messages and announced her intention to keep sending you owners messages. I know this has been horribly annoying for you, but does that actually break the rules? Couldn't you just *delete* her messages if they're so upsetting? Isn't jumping immediately to banning her an over-reach? Eileen, sickened by the whole situation From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 17 01:12:12 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:12:12 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> <004e01c3aca2$4b13e3e0$72984cca@Monteith> <004301c3aca5$282e2540$d3f11d43@rick> Message-ID: <00c401c3aca7$d54216e0$72984cca@Monteith> > Iggy wrote > My wife and I each have what we call a "hottie list." It's a list of people > that, even though we're married and deeply in love with each other... > well... if we ever got a chance for a "romantic liaison", the other person > would have to understand if we jumped on the chance... (no pun intended...) > Of course, not that we'd ever have the chance... *grin* That's one of the > things that makes the lists so fun... > > My list actually includes some people many wouldn't think of... To name a > few of the less typical ones: Caroline Rhea, Queen Latifah, Bette Midler, > Peri Gilpin, Katey Sagal, and Jean Smart. Yeah I got one of those lists too... And it helps that the people are unattainable famous faces and not the sweet little 20 year old trolley-boy from the local Seven-eleven who so desperately needs corrupting, or your wife's best friend, or something ... *That* would be bad form... And I have to admit that on my list alongside the Russell Crowes and Hugh Jackmans etc are Amande Assante, Uma Thurmon (ok, I know...), and it used to contain Rutger Hauer (although I saw him in that Sci-Fi series 'Lexx' a few years ago and changed my mind . He looked *awful*). Nox From dicentra at xmission.com Mon Nov 17 01:22:36 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 01:22:36 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_and_the_canonicity_of_her_artwork_(long)?= Message-ID: As was announced on The Leaky Cauldron, Mary GrandPr?, who created the cover art and chapter illustrations for the Scholastic editions of HP, gave a lecture at the Salt Lake City, Utah library on Saturday, Nov. 15th. The SLC denizens from HPfGU and SugarQuill arrived in costume an hour early and got third-row seats in the stadium-seating auditorium: Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, Dicentra (me), Lilac, Wahlee, and a few others from SQ whom I did not know. I thought I'd share some of the interesting tidbits she shared with us. She's been doing illustrating for 20 years; during the latter 10 she's been involved with children's literature. She and her husband are originally from Minnesota, but they recently moved to Florida. In fact, that move was one thing that prevented her from being a keynote speaker at Nimbus 2003. They moved to Florida where her husband took a job as head of an art school. She mentioned that she's seeing Christmas decorations in the palm trees and thinks: "Give it up, people; you need *snow* if you're going to do the decorations." For that reason, she appreciated the snow-covered mountains surrounding SLC. She showed us slides of her work, but none of it from her work for the novels because she doesn't own the copyright to those illustrations -- Scholastic does, and I think she said Warner Brothers has some rights to it as well. As the illustrator for a chapter book, she is paid a lump sum for her work, which is then the property of Scholastic, and does not get any royalties for her artwork. (That's a standard contract feature in the publishing world, not Scholastic being tight.) She does own the copyright when she illustrates a picture book, however. She was very diplomatic when talking about her compensation, but she hinted that she was suppressing a rant. She did say that Scholastic worked out an arrangement for her to get extra compensation in lieu of royalties (I got the impression that it wasn't even close to what royalties would have been), and that her compensation has increased with each novel, though I imagine not by near enough. She mentioned that she also created the lightning-bolt font for the cover of the books, for which she was not compensated. She began drawing when she was five, and her parents eventually bought her some pastels, which were the least messy of the artistic media (as opposed to watercolors and oil paints, I suppose). All of her current artwork is in pastels, including the HP cover art. She told us that her dogs tend to track the pastel dust all over the place, so there are multicolored dog tracks everywhere. She doesn't use a mask to protect herself from the dust (though she says she should probably use one), and imagined that the inside of her lungs is probably multicolored. Nice image, I think. She uses her finger to blend the pastels: she says that finger oils set the chalk, whereas tissues and other paper smudgers lift the chalk from the paper. She does not prepare the paper with a coat of gesso prior to applying the chalk, but she did show us something she'd drawn on a piece of scrap plywood that she did prepare with gesso. The wood grain showed through, creating a pleasing texture. She used to use fixatives to set the finished work, but she has stopped that because she believes the vapors are hazardous. She cites Marc Chagall as her primary influence, with Pollack, Hopper, Moore and others whose names I didn't take down as other important influences. In Jr. High, she was known as The Artist and did stage design for the plays. She went to a Minneapolis school of art design and waited tables for 15 years before taking a leap of faith and going freelance full-time. She has done some teaching, but feels that she's not very good at it, since creating art and teaching it are two very different skill sets. About 10 years ago, she developed her current style, which she calls "soft geometry." She didn't develop a personal style before that because the paradigm in the illustration community was that one should learn a variety of styles to accommodate different projects. Then the paradigm shifted, and now illustrators are expected to have a trademark look to them. She showed us slides of some of the illustrations she's done over the years. They are all much cooler, IMO, than her HP work. The faces of Fleur, Cedric, and Krum on the cover of GoF carry signs her trademark facial style but Harry doesn't. She showed us the illustrations from "Plum," a book of poetry by Tony Mitton, "Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat" and "Pockets" by Jennifer Armstrong, the cover of Time Magazine, conceptual drawings for the movie Antz, and other little illustrations for magazine articles and pamphlets. Her artwork is truly remarkable. It's extremely imaginative, highly stylized, and she uses bright colors with gusto. At some point, she'd like to publish a book of her non-Potter artwork. She and her husband are creating a children's picture book right now: Amazon has its release date at March 2004. When David Saylor at Scholastic told her that Time wanted her to do the cover art for their lead story, he said something like: "But I guess you're very busy, so this might be one to turn down." She said that most artists dream of illustrating the cover of Time since their earliest years. "What? Are you crazy? Of course I'll do the cover." The art director at Time wanted her to emphasize that HP was getting boys to read, so her first sketch showed three boys (facing out) reading a book underneath a huge portrait of Harry. She was peeved that they were emphasizing boys: granted, boys *were* learning to like reading because of HP, but there were plenty of girls involved in the phenomenon, not to mention crusty old adults. Her second version showed the backs of the boys' heads (she hoped one of them could pass as a girl). The final version shows Harry only. As for the Harry Potter series, this is how it all happened: One day, David Saylor called her and said that they had a manuscript for a chapter book called Harry Potter and the School of Magic that "might be a series, but we'll probably do just the one." She almost didn't take the job, but then she read Book 1 and really liked it. They told her (I assume after the first book took off) that there would be three books in the series, then they said five, and finally they said seven. She makes three preliminary sketches and they choose one, "they" being the Scholastic editor and art director. She does not confer with JKR on the illustrations, because the editors want the artists to come up with their own interpretation of the story. (This is also common practice in the children's book industry.) This means, then, that the illustrations are NOT CANON. So much for finding secret clues in the cover art. Sorry! She did meet JKR once in Chicago when she was doing book publicity. She told GrandPr? that she likes her covers the best. However, JKR does approve her preliminary character sketches, but she's very willing to let GrandPr? bring her own artistic vision into the art -- which means that she very likely approved Snape With Goatee and other renderings that fans dislike. GrandPr?'s favorite character after Harry is Hagrid, whom she models after her St. Bernard. She had deliberately avoided the movies to preserve her artistic vision and only recently saw them. (I assume after she did OoP.) She appeared to be reasonably satisfied with the art direction in the movies, but she *really* wanted to mess up Dan Radcliffe's hair. "He looked too... British. Too well cared-for." We informed her that the publicity photos from PoA show a scruffier hairstyle for Harry. She seemed pleased. Of all the non-Bloomsbury artists to do HP cover art, she is the only one who gets to read the manuscript before creating a cover. Security concerns keep the mss. out of the hands of other artists, which explains why some of the foreign-language covers are so goofy. She never knows when the manuscript is going to be sent to her: someone from Scholastic calls her and utters a code word to tell her that the manuscript is being sent to her, at which time she has to drop everything and work on HP. She can't discuss the book with anyone, including her family members, and she has to sign all kinds of confidentiality agreements to that end. She says that reading is very difficult for her (dyslexia?), and that we fans know the books far better than she does. When she sees each new manuscript, which is always bigger than the last, she groans inwardly because the reading task is so hard for her, and the extra chapters mean extra work for her, probably with the same timeline. The typical timeline for her role in the book production is: --Two weeks reading the manuscript (which is loose pages at this stage), then re-reading it and marking character descriptions. --Three or four days creating preliminary sketches. --Ten days doing the final rendering. She doesn't affect the stereotypical artistic mannerisms, attitude, or ego (though she was wearing all black), and sometimes it seemed strange that this very normal person standing before us had such amazing imagery in her head. She was very tolerant when some children asked her questions about the upcoming PoA movie and also with a very loud guy who appeared to be developmentally disabled. Afterwards, at the book signing, she was very nice and accommodating. (She's left-handed, BTW.) By the time we becostumed folks got to her, she had been signing for about 45 minutes (I think). They passed out Post-Its so we could write our names and other stuff if we wanted it personalized. I had her write "To Dicentra: Rictusempra!" though it came out "Rictosempra." I don't think she knew what Rictusempra meant. That's ok, though. She thanked us for coming in costume, and when I mentioned that we were a bunch of Internet folks, she asked what site I meant. "Harry Potter for Grownups," I replied. "Ooohhh!" she said, recognizing the name. "Did you go to the conference in Orlando?" I told her that I had, and observed that she had been invited but wasn't able to make it. She told me that the move to Florida, plus some recent surgery and other stuff made it impossible for her to go. Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, and Lilac will have to tell you what she said to them: I wasn't listening. Lilac also took abundant photos, and she'd better post them soon! (FYI: Lilac has spectacular lilac robes with sequins and everything but she left them in the car because she was too chicken to wear them in public. That's right -- I called you a chicken.) --Dicentra, who forgot to ask her why Harry was holding his wand in his *left* hand on the covers of GoF and OoP. Rats! From rvotaw at i-55.com Mon Nov 17 02:06:25 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:06:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> Message-ID: <00b001c3acaf$687b6f40$ef9ccdd1@RVotaw> > Iggy here: > > Who are the top 10 people you'd want to hang out with for a weekend, and > why? (In no particular order... And guys... you can leave the porn starlets > off the list. *laugh*) At least 6 must be living, but up to 4 can be alive > or dead, language will be no barrier... and no fictional characters. (We'll > save that for another topic later...) Well, since there are no fictional characters, so much for Harry. Next best thing then: Living people: 1) Daniel Radcliffe--I'd love to have a conversation with that kid, just to be around someone that young who has that much charisma and charm. 2) Rupert Grint--what's a weekend without "cool" thrown in a thousand times? :) 3) Viggo Mortensen--need you ask why? :) 4) Derek Jeter--looks aside, it would be fun to hang out with a major league baseball player. 5) J.K. Rowling, just in case she'd give me a clue or two. 6) Laffit Pincay--retired now, he was my favorite jockey for years, and I'm sure he'd have some stories to tell. 7) J.R.R. Tolkein--maybe some of his style would rub off on me. 8) Lucille Ball--got to be one of the funniest people ever to live. 9) Jane Austen--see #7 :) 10) Davey Crockett--childhood hero (yes, I had a coonskin cap!) Richelle From boggles at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 02:39:36 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 20:39:36 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 4:11 AM +0000 11/16/03, mstattersall wrote: > >Iggy said, after remarking on Amanda's fabulous luck at meeting and >having her photo made with Alan Rickman: >> Personally, the most famous person I ever met was David Ogden >Stiers. > >Do famous people met in an autograph line at a science fiction onvention count? Harrumph. If they do, then I've met Jaime Escalante (and I have his autograph). (Not that that was a science convention, and I bet most of y'all are too old or too young to know who he is - he's the teacher on whom the movie _stand and Deliver_ was based, and he has hosted several educational programs about math and technology.) I've also done the Right-Hand Rule with Bill Nye the Science Guy. :) -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From annemehr at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 02:44:31 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 02:44:31 -0000 Subject: Meeting famous people (Was:Re: Amanda's pics) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Jennifer Boggess Ramon wrote: > I've also done the Right-Hand Rule with Bill Nye the Science Guy. :) Lucky you! I loved that grass car... What's he doing, nowadays, anyway? Annemehr who would love to spend a weedend with Bill Nye, and who's never met anyone famous, but saw Maynard Feruson's band in an airport once... From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 03:21:24 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 03:21:24 -0000 Subject: And *I* didn't meet... In-Reply-To: <003301c3abf8$a83831c0$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: Amanda wrote: > On the thread of interacting with famous people: > > I snuck backstage at a benefit concert in San Antonio when I was 14 and met > Danny Kaye and got his autograph. I don't think I got a coherent word out. Gotta jump in on this one. First of all, I have also met Alan Rickman, and will post the photo as soon as I've posted this message. He was lovely, btw. But I have met some other famous people - growing up in Los Angeles, it's hard not to trip over them, sometimes. . Well, actually, I've not seen as many as you might imagine . . . James Garner (twice - got his autograph, although not sure whatever happened to it) . . . oh, there are others, but my best story (and the reason I wanted to write this) is a bit of rant . . . so I think I'll move right along to that. Okay. First, to set the scene: I was in 5th grade (10 years old, or so), and Charlie's Angels was my FAVOURITE television show. (No one make any comments, please. I was 10, all right? ). And of all the angels, Sabrina was my favourite. She was perfect - so glamourous (not as glam as Jill and Kelly, but still . . . ), and she was the *smart* one. I got teased for being the smart one at school, so seeing intelligence being valued was really special for me. (Now, I cringe at just how awful the show was and not really very good in the role model department, but let's leave that discussion for another day, shall we?). In any case, I *adored* Kate Jackson. I used to pretend to be her when my friends and I ran around playing cops and robbers (or whatever the heck it was we played, pointing cap guns at one another). She was my favourite person in the world. Well, one day my friends and I had ridden our bikes from the Marina to Redondo Beach (gad - my rear end hurts at the mere thought of trying that now - 26 mile round trip, I think). Anyhow, as we were nearly home, riding through Playa del Rey beach, we saw the familiar set up of trailers that meant some filming was happening. Mildly curious, we slowed down . . . to discover that they were filming an episode of . . . you guessed it! Charlie's Angels! AHHHHHHHHH! OMG! Yep - there was Farrah Fawcett . . . .ooh! Jacklyn Smith . . . oh, and the guy that plays Bosley . . . and then, I saw her. Kate. Standing near a trailer, about 15 yards from where we'd stopped. Ooh. Kate Jackson. My very favourite star in all the world - and there she was. How could I resist? So, I got off my bike, and timidly walked over to her. I didn't have a paper or pen, but I don't think that even crossed my mind. Just to be in her presence . . . As I walked near, she spotted me. Her biggest fan, I was. And what did she do? She whispered to her body guard . . . he hurried over to head me off, and said, "Sorry. Ms. Jackson isn't signing autographs." She, by this time, had turned and high-tailed it to her trailer. What? Not signing . . . what? But I LOVED her. She was my FAVOURITE. What do you mean not signing autographs? Of course, I said none of this. I just turned away, crushed. Heart broken. Honestly. I still haven't forgiven her for treating me like that. For pete's sake, I was 10 - obviously not a stalker. And there weren't 50 people with me or anything. I don't think my friends even came along. Just little old me. And she couldn't even say hello? Well. This is a public forum, so I won't say the word that came to mind for *years* afterward anytime I thought of her. But I will say that I *still* laugh every time I see her doing a commercial for something lame - HAH! Look where you are now! A total has-been. Serves you right for having broken my little 10-year-old heart. Charlie's Angels was a pretty stupid show, too, come to think of it. So, take it from me that actually meeting your idols isn't always a happy experience. Alan Rickman was lovely, though. And he *did* give me his autograph - graciously. Bless him. Kate should have taken a page out of his book. :-) Wendy From melclaros at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 03:33:36 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 03:33:36 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: We Regret to Announce In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lucky_kari" wrote: > Precedented? The only person ever to be banned from the HPFGU lists > was Sinead who deleted the list. I hadn't noticed Cindy deleting the > list lately, so while the decision may be correct it isn't precedented. What I'm wondering now is if public pillorying is precedented. Banning someone for questionable reasons is bad enough; it should have been done privately and quietly. The only people who needed to know were those involved. I see no reason that this sorry event had to be announced with a "special notice" to the entire list membership. Mel, closer than *ever* to unsubbing, and just when some nice people here had *almost* talked me out of it. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 03:39:53 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 21:39:53 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* didn't meet... References: Message-ID: <001b01c3acbc$7861a480$2df41d43@rick> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wendy" > my best story (and the reason I > wanted to write this) is a bit of rant . . . so I think I'll > move right along to that. > Iggy here: I've actually known people who've met a couple of famous people who were like that. One person was working at a stand selling trinkets at a fair. Along came Louie Anderson, who was acting a bit aloof the whole time and ended up trying (for about 5 minutes) to convince the girl I knew, that he deserved some free stuff because he was a famous star. She said he was very cheap, and pretty full of himself. Another old friend of mine's father drove a taxi in New York City for a couple of years and gave a ride to Bob Keeshan (the original Capt. Kangaroo). He said the guy was not only at least halfway drunk, but was a complete jerk.. to use a non-censored word... the entire time. He was a bitter, prejudiced man, and my friend's father said it showed clearly in Keeshan's comments through the entire half hour ride. (I later read an article in TV Guide about the New Capt. Kangaroo show with the new actor, and they had a snippet comment from Keeshan and the way he talked about the new actor confirmed (at leas in my mind) the story about the taxi ride. On the other hand, there's some good people too. I got to meet Suli McColluch (sp?) who is a stand up comic, while on line waiting for a Weird Al concert. He was really cool and just hung out near the entrance chatting with people. Weird Al's drummer was there too (I can't remember his name) doing the same thing because he's from Santa Cruz as well... (remember... that's where I'm from... though I live in Alabama now...) Iggy McSnurd From drednort at alphalink.com.au Mon Nov 17 03:48:38 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:48:38 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: References: <003301c3abf8$a83831c0$1359aacf@texas.net> Message-ID: <3FB8DFC6.21615.713FDD@localhost> Famous people I have met. Let's see: Princess Diana - I met Prince Charles as well as the same time, but in his case, it was one of those shakehands and move on things - the Princess got us ice- cream! (I was about 7 or 8 at the time, I think) John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia. About a two minute conversation with him. His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell - back when he was Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, I was quite often one of his Altar Boys. I went to school with Matthew Newton, who is a well known Australian actor (his father is probably Australia's biggest name in television - I met him once or twice as well). Oh - and I was taught some lessons at school by a priest who was in 'The Exorcist' (playing a Priest, of all things!) but I can't remember his name. Just that he was really cool. "Don't any of you boys want to ask me about religion? No. OK, well they sent me a limo when we were filming..." Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 03:51:43 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 21:51:43 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: We Regret to Announce References: Message-ID: <002801c3acbe$1e898ac0$2df41d43@rick> > Mel: > What I'm wondering now is if public pillorying is precedented. > Banning someone for questionable reasons is bad enough; it should > have been done privately and quietly. The only people who needed to > know were those involved. I see no reason that this sorry event had > to be announced with a "special notice" to the entire list membership. > Iggy here: I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was announced to us so that we know what happened when we cease to hear from Cindy on the list itself. Also that the admin of the list wishes us to understand that, while they regret having had to make the decision, they felt it was the only one left to make. I would also think that they are earnest in informing us that this decision was not made lightly, and that we don't need to worry about mass bannings when one of us might disagree with a policy. It was made for a specific situation. Personally, I would rather not have any list or conflict on one get to the point where the admin feels someone needs to be banned... yes, even Cindy. (Contrary to what some may think, I was not trying to campaign against her, nor did I have any wish for it to get to the point where the admin felt the need to ban her.) Unfortunately, sometimes there's no other resort that can be found. Failure to be able to reach an amicable compromise in a dispute is an indication of failure in some part on both sides of the situation, not just one side or the other. Iggy McSnurd From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 04:26:07 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 04:26:07 -0000 Subject: 6 Degrees of Separation (Was: And *I* met) In-Reply-To: <3FB8DFC6.21615.713FDD@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun Hately wrote: > Oh - and I was taught some lessons at school by a priest who was in 'The Exorcist' (playing a Priest, of all things!) but I can't remember his name. Just that > he was really cool. "Don't any of you boys want to ask me about religion? No. OK, > well they sent me a limo when we were filming..." OH! This mention of a priest reminded me of another "famous" person I knew. Well, actually she herself wasn't that famous, but knowing her is terrific for playing 6 Degrees of Separation . . . Her name is Rose Parente, and she plays one of the nuns in the movie "Sister Act." I imagine she's been in other things, as well. But I knew her because she was my first piano teacher, when I was four or five years old. I actually don't remember her well at all, but knowing her gives me two degrees of separation from Whoopie Goldberg. Which gives me three degress of separation from . . . well . . . from just about everyone. In Hollywood, at least. And beyond that . . . well, the possibilities are just about endless, eh? :-) Wendy (Who has seen Prince Charles, Gerald Ford, and Queen Elizabeth II, but not actually met any of them). From boggles at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 04:39:25 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:39:25 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> Message-ID: At 6:23 PM -0600 11/16/03, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > >Who are the top 10 people you'd want to hang out with for a weekend, and >why? (In no particular order... And guys... you can leave the porn starlets >off the list. *laugh*) At least 6 must be living, but up to 4 can be alive >or dead, language will be no barrier... and no fictional characters. (We'll >save that for another topic later...) 1) Hypatia. To have been a female scholar, and such a respected one, in an era more misogynistic than even the Victorian one - you must have had guts. Plus, we hear so little about the Pagan martyrs . . . 2) Carl Freidrich Gauss. I want to learn as much as I can from the greatest mathematician who ever lived. He wasn't terribly personable, but on the other hand, he was the one who encouraged Sophie Germain to continue her work - even once he found out her gender. 3) Dorothy Clutterbuck. I want to know the *real* story of the Old Forest Coven. 4) William Blake. Everything anyone else wrote about him while he was alive suggests he was a very sweet guy, if a bit of a space-cadet. Most people who are such potent channels for the creative force end up getting /twisted/ by it somehow - he never did. Oh, dear. I've run out of my dead people already. The rest of this list is going to be much harder . . . and very much colored by what I've been doing this weekend. 5) Sean Astin. Having listened to the cast commentary on both the Fellowship and Two Towers LoTR Extended Edition DVDs, he seems to both be a really good actor and a knowledgable history buff - I suspect he'd be great fun to discuss philosophy and politics with. 6) Howard Shore. I want to hear about the process of creating music for movies in general and the LoTR movies in particular. How do you come up with themes for people and places? How do you choose instrumental "voices" for different locations and moments? 7) Molly Ivins. She's one of the few people who really understands what goes on in Texas politics, and she's not afraid to tell everyone. And these days, Texas politics is national politics in the US . . . Plus, she's so funny! 8) Judith Marin. I want to have a proper four-course meal with all the proper silver with the woman who can give the correct etiquette for every occasion and never slip into elitism . . . 9) Andy Partridge (of XTC). Because I'm a screaming fangirl. ;) 10) Phil Foglio. I'm an incredible fan of his artwork and the sense of humor he brings to his original works. Plus, he's a roleplayer and an SF/fantasy geek in his own right - I'd love to get a chance to play a session of GURPS with him. Oh, boy. Geek check; I lose. ;) -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From zanelupin at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 04:56:51 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 04:56:51 -0000 Subject: And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: <3FB8DFC6.21615.713FDD@localhost> Message-ID: The only famous person I've met wasn't famous at the time. Well, he was famous in our town because he'd had some success in acting at the time: James Vanderbeek of the now-ended television show "Dawson's Creek" I used to play softball with his younger sister and he'd sometimes come watch the games. Then after "Dawson's" began he'd sometimes come home and rent movies at my video store. The other employees used to steal the receipt he signed when he left. Having no actual interest in the show, myself, I refrained from the (very) petty theft. Oh, I remembered someone else I've met. Chris Berman, the sportscaster, sometimes comes into our store. He's a very friendly guy. And here's my story in which I didn't actually meet a famous person but he was right near us: The governor of the state of Connecticut is John Rowland. Several years back my mother, younger brother, and I had dinner at a Japanese restaurant with some family friends. I don't know what this is called because that was my one time in a Japanese restaurant but we sat where they cook the food right in front of you. The cooking area was surrounded on all sides by customers watching. We ended up seated directly across from the Governor. So we all sort of smiled at him and continued our meal... Well, apparently seeing Governor Rowland was much too much for one of the people who was with us. He kept saying excitedly and *loudly* that now we could tell people we'd had dinner with the governor. And he continued saying it, perhaps unaware of his volume and unaware of our quickly reddening faces. Rowland and co. would glance at us from time to time, and we all did our best to ignore their looks and to try to shush our friend without embarassing him or hurting our feelings. I just prayed we finished dinner quickly. As I type this it sounds very mild, but at the time, when I was a teenager, this was *mortifying.* KathyK, who is sad to see Cindy go but understands the reasoning From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 04:55:04 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:55:04 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> Message-ID: <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> >From: Boggles > 5) Sean Astin. Having listened to the cast commentary on both the > Fellowship and Two Towers LoTR Extended Edition DVDs, he seems to > both be a really good actor and a knowledgable history buff - I > suspect he'd be great fun to discuss philosophy and politics with. Iggy here: Isn't he the one who also played Alec Trevalyin in "GoldenEye"? On a side note, even though I've only gotten a chance to watch the first half of the first movie for LotR, I can't help but think one thing whenever I see Elrond: "Oh my god!! Agent Smith took over the body of an Elf!!!" A little trivia about "the Matrix" btw... Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) was in the movie series since the first one in 1999, right? Well, she also played a woman named Liz Teel in a TV show called "Matrix" back in 1993. (It was about Steven Matrix, an underworld hitman who is killed, and sent back to gain a reprieve from Hell by helping others... more can be found on the IMDB site...) > Boggles: > 10) Phil Foglio. I'm an incredible fan of his artwork and the sense > of humor he brings to his original works. Plus, he's a roleplayer > and an SF/fantasy geek in his own right - I'd love to get a chance to > play a session of GURPS with him. > Iggy here: *grin* You're gonna hate this one then... Aside from being one of Phil's biggest fan myself, my old housemate Kevin (who I mentioned earlier) is a very good friend of Raymond E. Feist (author of the Kelewan books like "the Riftwar Saga"), and also of Phil and Kaja Foglio. He actually stays at their house whenever he's in Washington. I have an original, and autographed, piece of artwork that my friend asked Phil to draw for me... and told him I'm a huge fan of his. It's a sketch of a topless Amazon-type woman holding a spear with a "come here cuz' I'm gonna f*** yer brains out whether you want it or not" look and grin on her face. (Needless to say, it's one of my most prized pieces of art. *grin*) I also have an old Bick pen with his artwork on it that I've carried in my black pouch even though it's run out of ink about 8 years ago. (I collect everything I can with his or Kaja's artwork on it. And I mean *everything*... Those true fans will know of the particular card game and associated comic book.) Bit of trivia here: As homely as Phil is, his wife Kaja is actually the model for many of the women in his drawings. Iggy McSnurd From stevejjen at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 05:04:47 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 05:04:47 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_and_the_canonicity_of_her_artwork_(long)?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra: > When David Saylor at Scholastic told her that Time wanted her to do > the cover art for their lead story, he said something like: "But I > guess you're very busy, so this might be one to turn down." She said > that most artists dream of illustrating the cover of Time since their > earliest years. "What? Are you crazy? Of course I'll do the cover." Jen: I take it this was a cover done in the past--do you know the approximate date? I'd be curious to see it because I don't remember that one. Dicentra: > She makes three preliminary sketches and they choose one, "they" being > the Scholastic editor and art director. She does not confer with JKR > on the illustrations, because the editors want the artists to come up > with their own interpretation of the story. (This is also common > practice in the children's book industry.) This means, then, that > the illustrations are NOT CANON. So much for finding secret clues in > the cover art. Sorry! Jen: The covers may not give away any secret clues, but I always thought the POA cover was the most interesting for 'giving away' the story inside. There's the outline of Sirius in the tower; Harry and Hermione on Buckbeack; Scabbers with light casting a large shadow behind him, as if he's changing from his animagus form to human; a very small picture of Prongs on the inside back cover; and a werewolf under the Whomping Willow. Of course, I saw all that in retrospect! The other covers give general information, but not quite so many specifics about the story. Thanks for all the good information, Dicentra! From jenP_97 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 06:27:05 2003 From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 06:27:05 -0000 Subject: And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Okay, so here I am, being jealous of everyone that's met someone famous (even though I'm not exactly one of those people that goes out of their way to meet them, and if I were ever in the room with one, I'd probably freak out...), when I realized I've met someone "famous", too! N. Scott Momaday. He taught a class on (get this!) Emily Dickinson at the University of Arizona while I was there... I don't know if he's still on the faculty, but this was in '96. Oh, he also taught an "oral history" class for the Native American department, but this was his love - his absolute love is for Dickinson. Crazy, huh? So every Tuesday night, we'd meet from 6pm - 9pm and just talk about Dickinson. Fantastic. Oh, and he'd start off each class with a "quiz" about something or other, and as a prize, he'd give away one of his complimentary (sp?) copies of some novel that publishers would send him. When we were about half-way through the class, he asked a bunch of English majors (haha!) what the highest mountain in the world was - and I was the only one who raised my hand. I was such a nerd - I said "Everest, but some debate that and think that K-2 is actually taller now" - and he just looked at me and handed back _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_ by Bronte. I was so intimidated when I started, thinking "Hell! This is a Pulizer Prize winning author!" But you know what? The first thought that popped into my head when he walked into the classroom was, "Oh my gosh, he reminds me of my dad!!!" Goes to show you. -Jen (who is battling a fever... darnit!) From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Mon Nov 17 08:16:35 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 08:16:35 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman interview... Message-ID: Hi all, I meant to post this yesterday, to give everyone fair warning, but I, um, forgot. For all those interested Brits, Philip Pullman is one of Andrew Marr's guests on R4's Start the Week - in about 45 minutes. Catherine From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 10:32:11 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 02:32:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031117103211.77545.qmail@web21104.mail.yahoo.com> Wendy: > But I have met some other famous people - > growing up in Los Angeles, it's hard not to > trip over them, sometimes. . True...I've lived in LA for years now. Celebrity sightings seem to always happen when you least expect it: Coming out of the bathroom at a tiny 99-seat theatre in LA, I almost slammed the door into Milton Berle (Uncle Milty himself). Once got a "wrong number" call and spent several minutes convincing Roseanne that no, I am not her assistant playing a trick on her. Came out of work one day only to find a car double-parked behind me in the parking lot. Went storming back into the building yelling about the idiot who blocked me in. A guy turned around, took out his car keys, tossed them to me, and went right back to what he was doing. I spent the next few minutes trying to figure out just where to stick Mr. Spock's key - a beemer's ignition is not where mine is! Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Mon Nov 17 12:14:15 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:14:15 -0000 Subject: More on Philip Pullman Message-ID: Hi all, Having now listened to the PP interview, I've discovered one thing - Lyra's Oxford is not the last we're going to hear of her. He's planning another full length novel set when she is 16. In the same world, but not in the Cold North. I guess we're going to have to wait for a while though... Catherine From eloiseherisson at aol.com Mon Nov 17 12:31:59 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloise_herisson) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:31:59 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> Message-ID: Iggy: > > >From: Boggles > > > 5) Sean Astin. Having listened to the cast commentary on both the > > Fellowship and Two Towers LoTR Extended Edition DVDs, he seems to > > both be a really good actor and a knowledgable history buff - I > > suspect he'd be great fun to discuss philosophy and politics with. > > Iggy here: > > Isn't he the one who also played Alec Trevalyin in "GoldenEye"? Nah, that's the delectable Sean Bean, who was *also* in LOTR, confusingly (Boromir). Sean Astin is Sam. I did one of those silly test things on the internet once. I was looking up something to do with Alan Rickman and this site which purports to tell you which stars you're most compatible with based on your birthdate came up. http://www.celebmatch.com/ Mine came out as, Alain Prost 98% Spike Lee 97% Dylan McDermott 97% Sean Bean 97% Kelsey Grammer 96% Unfortunately I only scored 51% with Alan Rickman (surely some mistake!), though 99% on Physical compatibility ;-). Enough for a weekend, anyway. ;-) ~Eloise From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com Mon Nov 17 12:47:30 2003 From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:47:30 -0000 Subject: And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics In-Reply-To: Message-ID: On the subject of famous connections, Martha says: 1) I met Timmy Mallett (that talentless git from children's TV who used to hit kids with a foam hammer and pretend to be "wacky") when I was seven and it was SUCH an anticlimax 2) A woman who my mother used to work with had sex with Geoffrey from "Rainbow" (and just to prove how weird she was, she bragged about it - I mean, you wouldn't *tell* anyone, would you?) 3) I once saw Sanjay (I think his name was Sanjay) from "EastEnders" in the moshpit at Reading Festival, as well as Richard Bacon - and that was just after he was kicked off "Blue Peter" 4) I have embarrassed myself in front of Philip Pullman (I didn't mean to tell him he was a bad writer. I don't think he's a bad writer. I was just nervous, and it sort of came out like that) 5) My brother used to live with Alabama 3 - the band who did the theme tune to "The Sopranos" Loony: >Gee, I thought I'd said I was a legolas/Sirius/Lupin fangirl. I >thought that screamed 'teenage girl alert'. oh well, it's fun to >pop other's misconceptions. Martha: **Waves frantically at Loony** You have great taste, dude. ;-) BTW, is it "werebear" as in those cool toys that I always wanted but never got with the reversible heads? ~ Martha (who is contemplating putting up a picture but is waiting until she can find one where she doesn't look fat, isn't pulling an odd face, and looks like a grown-up, since she's paranoid she's too young at 21 to be a grown-up) :-P From eowynn_24 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 13:16:04 2003 From: eowynn_24 at yahoo.com (eowynn_24) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 05:16:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: Wow! I missed something. Message-ID: <20031117131604.98441.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> Eowynn here: I must have really missed a lot in the last few weeks. I mean last time I was on, there was a lot of discussion about same old same, and now there are people unsubbing, getting banned, and I don't understand most of the newer conversations. Please tell me I am not in any trouble with the admin ( who I love, by the way, and totally support.) I must have missed a thread somewhere. Can anyone tell me why Cindy is gone, and why are so many people leaving. Iggy, I am glad that you are still here. I love your posts. Anyways I am just a little confused, and lost. Hopefully my schedule has calmed down enough that I can join in some conversations. Eowynn ( hoping that oodaday, foxydoxy, pippin, bohcoo,dicentra, and others are still around also.) --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From kcawte at ntlworld.com Mon Nov 17 20:49:58 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:49:58 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> Message-ID: <000201c3ad58$1d5b5d00$a6706751@kathryn> > > >From: Boggles > > > 5) Sean Astin. Having listened to the cast commentary on both the > > Fellowship and Two Towers LoTR Extended Edition DVDs, he seems to > > both be a really good actor and a knowledgable history buff - I > > suspect he'd be great fun to discuss philosophy and politics with. > > Iggy here: > > Isn't he the one who also played Alec Trevalyin in "GoldenEye"? > > K Nope, that's Sean Bean (Boromir) I think Astin is Sam but I'm awful with the actor names, well the hobbits anyway. Iggy > On a side note, even though I've only gotten a chance to watch the first > half of the first movie for LotR, I can't help but think one thing whenever > I see Elrond: > > "Oh my god!! Agent Smith took over the body of an Elf!!!" > K Yeah, my first reaction is always, don't trust him, he's evil. Fortunately I've seen the movie several times (have only seen TTT once but once the special edition is out on dvd that will change) and I'm getting over that. Actually I'm still shocked to discover that Gimli is Professor Arturo (Sliders). K From tminton at deckerjones.com Mon Nov 17 14:13:24 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 08:13:24 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: On a more fun note... Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE46267C@djmail.deckerjones.com> Now me (Wendy): Okay. I love this idea (and thanks for suggesting it in the first place, Iggy!). And in reading this, I thought - oh yeah, I'll post a picture of me and my five-year-old son. That will be great. So, I started looking for a photo to post . . . and started getting very grumpy about something . . . (mini-rant ahead) ::grin:: I have a digital camera and I use it frequently. I take thousands of pictures in the course of a year. (No kidding). So, I have tons of great photos of my son . . . and photos of my husband and son . . . and photos of fabby places we've been . . . and the odd decent photo of me taken when I've shoved my camera into someone else's hands . . . But Connor and me together? Grrrrr. Hardly ever! And, of the ones there are, so many of those are awful - it's hard enough getting grownups to pose, but getting a five year old to do so? Fuhgeddaboutit. So, there are all these pictures of me, and Connor looking the other way, or making a face. Or a few where he looks cute, but I look like something from "Night of the Living Dead." Nope. Not using any of those (especially not the NotLD ones) ::grin:: Okay. So, I'll take matters into my own hands, I thought. I'll just take a picture of me and Connor now - using the auto thingy on my camera. But,of course, he wasn't in the mood for that. Impossible to take a photo of an unwilling five-year-old. Grrrrr. So, instead I had to choose from (literally) the *four* half-way decent pictures that I could find of the two of us taken in the past *year and a half.* Four pictures in a year and a half? Not good. ::grin:: Anyhow, I decided to go with the most recent of these - it's only about three months old. It's maybe not the best of the bunch, but at least it's the way we really look now (instead of the way we looked early last year. I haven't changed much, but Connor has). Sorry about the shadows, but this really *is* the best I could do, and I Photoshoped it a bit, which did help. But still . . . Grrrr. ::grin:: :-) Wendy (Who needs to have a talk with her husband about him taking more pictures) ::grin:: (And who is very much enjoying seeing all these pictures! Yay!). Now me Tonya: Wendy, I totally have the same problem!! My hubby needs to be asked and asked and asked to take pictures that include me!! The picture I posted was one taken by his mother (Who by the way is AWESOME!! I am soo lucky to have a great mother-in-law). Your son is absolutely adorable!! Tonya (Sorry for being off line all weekend but RL gets in the way sometimes) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 15:04:23 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 09:04:23 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] And *I* met....was Re: Amanda's pics References: Message-ID: <006001c3ad1c$1758f020$2ac53841@rick> > -Jen : > Okay, so here I am, being jealous of everyone that's met someone > famous (even though I'm not exactly one of those people that goes out > of their way to meet them, and if I were ever in the room with one, > I'd probably freak out...), when I realized I've met someone "famous", > too! > Iggy here: You know, something about this post jogged my memory.. and it's about something I had mentioned in the past. I actually also met Tom Lehrer at UCSC. An old friend of mine was a theatre major (focusing on production and direction) and took her roomie (my GF at the time) and I to check out a small musical comedy class recital/performance at the school. It was a small event, simply taking place in one of the classrooms and wasn't a publicized thing. It was for the students who knew about it mostly. Well, Mr. Lehrer was teaching the musical comedy class, so I was able to watch a class performance of his. (He also accompanied them on the piano.) Just before the production, he gave a bit of background, and his style (including the humor) was just like you hear in his old live performances. After the performance was over, I had the opportunity to chat with him for a couple of minutes, and even get him to autograph the copy of the book of his songs I had. *grin* I guess I didn't think of him because he's a teacher now. (He teaches at UCSC. Mostly "math for non-math majors" and "musical comedy.") Iggy McSnurd From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Mon Nov 17 15:15:23 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 15:15:23 -0000 Subject: More on Philip Pullman In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Catherine wrote: > Having now listened to the PP interview, I've discovered one thing - > Lyra's Oxford is not the last we're going to hear of her. He's > planning another full length novel set when she is 16. In the same > world, but not in the Cold North. > > I guess we're going to have to wait for a while though... Just to say... It's repeated at 9:30 tonight (1630 EDT), and you can listen to it over the internet: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/starttheweek.shtml Click on "Listen to the most recent Start the Week" - I don't know when they update it, though. Or, at the right time tonight/this afternoon, click on "Listen Live". David From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 15:16:10 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 09:16:10 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... References: <20031117103211.77545.qmail@web21104.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <008701c3ad1d$bc75cf00$2ac53841@rick> > Petra > a > n :) > Came out of work one day only to find a car > double-parked behind me in the parking lot. > Went storming back into the building yelling > about the idiot who blocked me in. A guy > turned around, took out his car keys, tossed > them to me, and went right back to what he was > doing. I spent the next few minutes trying to > figure out just where to stick Mr. Spock's key - > a beemer's ignition is not where mine is! > Iggy here: *laugh* I'd probably be too afraid to touch his car and just wait for him to finish what he was doing. Speaking of close brushes, I once worked at the call center for a company called West Marine Products that sells boating and related supplies. Our team instructor (Dave) was telling us about how, whenever Patrick Swayse calls in to place orders, he always wanted to speak with Dave. The class was chatting about that they wouldn't ever expect to get a call from anyone famous and it was just a fluke. Well, my first day running solo at my workstation, the third call I got was from Dan Fogelberg. I spent the next 10 minutes after the call trying to figure out if it was really him. Dave said that since he lived at a place called Coyote Ranch in Colorado, it most likely *was* him. (As opposed to him living somewhere like Harlem in NY.) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 15:30:48 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 09:30:48 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <00a901c3ad1f$c7d7b5a0$2ac53841@rick> > Eloise ~ >I did one of those silly test things on the internet once. >I was looking up something to do with Alan Rickman innocent> and this site which purports to tell you which stars you're >most compatible with based on your birthdate came up. Iggy here: I checked out this site, and here's who I got... (although I don't think just going by the birthdaye is the best way to do it...) Kathy Griffin 100% Gabriela Sabatini 99% Daphne Bunskoek 99% Lucy Liu 98% Rena Sofer 98% I suppose Kathy Griffin isn't too bad. She's kinda pretty and I think she's funny (if slightly abrasive at times.) It's based completely on your biorythms (which can be determined by your birth-date) but by notheing else. Now, if you want to take one based on your personality nad a more in-depth questionaire, try taking some of the tests at www.emode.com and seeing what you get. (There's a LOT of tests there, and it keeps a record of the tests you've taken int he past. Granted, it's a "buy this report" type place, but they do still give you a basic breakdown of your results on the results. They also offer occasional promos where, for a week, you can get the full reports on any "premium tests" you take for free. I took *full* advantage of this the last time they did it. *grin*) Here's the result I got from them on the "Celebrity Matchmaker" test: Yowza! She may be hitched to Michael Douglas, but fiery Welsh beauty Catherine Zeta-Jones was meant to be your dream girl. As exotic and sensual as they come, this adventurous actress started her career in British TV and then swashbuckled her way onto Hollywood's A-list after co-starring in The Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas. *grin* I gots no complaints, baby.. Iggy McSnurd From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com Mon Nov 17 16:01:50 2003 From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 16:01:50 -0000 Subject: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> Message-ID: Iggy: > On a side note, even though I've only gotten a chance to watch the first > half of the first movie for LotR, I can't help but think one thing whenever > I see Elrond: > > "Oh my god!! Agent Smith took over the body of an Elf!!!" Martha: Iggy, I laughed out loud when I read this... :-) However, my first thought when I saw Elrond - and indeed when I first saw Agent Smith - was of this: http://www.angelfire.com/goth/trinitygoth/priscilla.htm Additionally, Keanu Reeves is always, always Ted "Theodore" Logan. Therefore, The Matrix should have gone something like this in the World According to Martha: Smith: Ah, Mr Anderson... We meet again. At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. Neo: Woah. Dude. This is most totally non, non, non, non-heinous. Smith: Go on, now, go! Walk out the door! Just turn around now! You're not welcome any more! And so on, and so forth. Would have been a much better movie, I feel. ~ Martha, who thought Neo was called "Neil" for a while. "My name... is... Neil!" From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 16:36:24 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 16:36:24 -0000 Subject: Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... In-Reply-To: <008701c3ad1d$bc75cf00$2ac53841@rick> Message-ID: Iggy McSnurd wrote: > Well, my first day running solo at my workstation, the third call I got was > from Dan Fogelberg. I spent the next 10 minutes after the call trying to > figure out if it was really him. Dave said that since he lived at a place > called Coyote Ranch in Colorado, it most likely *was* him. (As opposed to > him living somewhere like Harlem in NY.) Small world! I haven't met Dan Fogleberg, but my Aunt knows him - she went to school with him (high school, at least, maybe elementary as well). In Illinois. And reading all these things, I keep remembering other interesting stories (well, I think they're interesting. You all may find them dead boring ). . . if so, then move along, move along . . . nothing to see here . My dad's name was Dennis St. John, same as the drummer (at one time anyway) for Neil Diamond. So we often got calls for the band, and for the drummer in particular. Sort of funny, but also annoying. And once we got a call from the "real" Dennis St. John, apologizing for all the other phone calls. I'm not sure if Neil himself ever called, though. Another celebrity encounter I had was with Goldie Hawn. She was at my high school filming a movie (don't remember which movie, but my HS was also the place they filmed the original "Grease." Before my time, though). Well, I didn't see her coming - she walked out of a door into the hall, and we crashed into one another. I gave her a look (attitude - hey, I was 15 ), and she gave me a look (attitude - hey, she's a movie star), and we sort of looked at each other, and then gave up on giving any *real* attitude, and both went in our separate directions. LOL. It seems I'm destined to *not* have nice encounters with celebrities. Except Alan. He was lovely. Oh. And I forgot to mention the most important celebrity sighting I've ever had - at least in relation to this group . . . I once saw JK Rowling at the John Lewis in Edinburgh. I was getting ready to try on some black velvet trousers - she was at the counter buying blouses. I looked at her, must have had some recognition in my face, because she looked sort of nervous, and looked away. It seemed obvious she didn't want to be bothered. So, I went on into the fitting room with my trousers. (Aren't I considerate - to refrain from chasing her through the store?). She probably guessed I was a fan, too - I was wearing my Gryffindor scarf (the nifty Marks and Sparks one I paid way too much for on eBay). Gah. Me and my scarf in John Lewis. She was probably terrified. Okay. Hopefully that's it for me and celebrity encounters. I can't really think of any others. Well, except for that time I met Johnny Depp in an elevator and he asked me to marry him . . . oh wait. That didn't actually happen . . . it was just a dream, wasn't it? Darn. Wendy From trisha.masen at verizon.net Mon Nov 17 16:39:22 2003 From: trisha.masen at verizon.net (Trisha Masen) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:39:22 -0500 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) Message-ID: <006401c3ad29$5b17d9e0$1a01000a@Tlaptop> > >From: Boggles > > 5) Sean Astin. Having listened to the cast commentary on both the > > Fellowship and Two Towers LoTR Extended Edition DVDs, he seems to > > both be a really good actor and a knowledgable history buff - I > > suspect he'd be great fun to discuss philosophy and politics with. > Iggy here: > Isn't he the one who also played Alec Trevalyin in "GoldenEye"? No, Sean Bean played Alex Trevalyn. He was also in "Patriot Games" and the main Irish terrorist (and the character name escapes me right now, though I've read the books). I first saw him in "Stormy Monday" with Sting...many eons ago. ~Trisha~ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From foxmoth at qnet.com Mon Nov 17 16:58:18 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 16:58:18 -0000 Subject: And *I* didn't meet... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I 've seen: Chuck Connors riding his motorcycle off-road in Palm Springs. John Cleese taking a private tour of Sea World San Diego. His guide was telling him how one of the trainers was killed by a whale. Seems she fell into the tank and the beasts are trained to push everything to the side. Jay Leno attending a classic car show in LA. Dinah Shore visiting her daughter at summer camp. My grandmother, who was taking a VIP tour of MGM way back when, stopped dead in a revolving door when she recognized the gentleman going through the other way. "That's Clark Gable! That's Clark Gable! That's Clark Gable!" It was a while before they could get her to move and Mr. Gable could go about his business. (This may be a family legend, as I've heard it since about other celebrities. But who knows?) ---- I've met: the late Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago - got my picture taken and accidentally stepped on his toe Bill Cosby-shook hands Pope Paul- shook hands Imelda Marcos - had tea went to summer camp with Carly Simon, who was working as a counselor teaching guitar. Pippin From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Mon Nov 17 17:00:24 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 17:00:24 -0000 Subject: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > However, my first thought when I saw Elrond - and indeed when I first > saw Agent Smith - was of this: > > http://www.angelfire.com/goth/trinitygoth/priscilla.htm > > Additionally, Keanu Reeves is always, always Ted "Theodore" Logan. > Therefore, The Matrix should have gone something like this in the > World According to Martha: > > Smith: Ah, Mr Anderson... We meet again. At first I was afraid, I was > petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. > > Neo: Woah. Dude. This is most totally non, non, non, non-heinous. > > Smith: Go on, now, go! Walk out the door! Just turn around now! > You're not welcome any more! > > And so on, and so forth. Would have been a much better movie, I feel. > > ~ Martha, who thought Neo was called "Neil" for a while. "My name... > is... Neil!" This is fantastically creative - I want to see this film and no I'm not being sarcastic. I can think of a number of very funky potential cross-pollinations we could come up with. It's funny the way often our first encounter with an actor tends to capsulate the way we see him ever after. And thanks Martha - I might have trouble forgetting NEIL now. June From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 17:26:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:26:01 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Agent Mitzi DelBra References: Message-ID: <000d01c3ad2f$e1363480$62d81e43@rick> > Martha: > > Iggy, I laughed out loud when I read this... :-) > > However, my first thought when I saw Elrond - and indeed when I first > saw Agent Smith - was of this: > > http://www.angelfire.com/goth/trinitygoth/priscilla.htm Iggy here: You know, I've seen the movie before, and it never registered to me that they were the same person. *chuckle* > Martha: > Additionally, Keanu Reeves is always, always Ted "Theodore" Logan. > Therefore, The Matrix should have gone something like this in the > World According to Martha: > Iggy here: *lol* That was funny... I wonder what other roles could be mangled like that. (Or have been unintentionally... I never knew Ted had joined the LAPD and ended up having to defuse a bomb on a bus....) Let's see... Ted as Jonathan Harker: Woah... Dude, you're, like, a total vampire? That's BOGUS, dude! Agent Smith as Elrond: (in a voice of controlled anger) That ring, Mr. Baggins, are a threat to our system. Perhaps you are asking yourself how you can travel to Mordor to destroy it. Well there is no Mordor, Mr. Baggins. *grin* Here's something I'd like to do. Anyone who can "rewrite" a scene from any popular movie with another character played by a given actor (like the lines from above, or what Martha wrote), send them in to me directly. I will compile them into a single file and post it to the list, post it to a file on the list site and/or simply make it available by request... Ok? Let's see how creative we can get. Each person will be credited for their contributions, of course. *grin* Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 17:37:24 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:37:24 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... References: Message-ID: <001a01c3ad31$77c1d3e0$62d81e43@rick> > Wendy: > Small world! I haven't met Dan Fogleberg, but my Aunt knows him - > she went to school with him (high school, at least, maybe elementary > as well). In Illinois. > Iggy here: Actually, speaking of musicians and high school, Carole King came to our school for a visit (she lives close to the city where I grew up) and I got to see her from a pretty good vantage point. She was really cool and joked around. Not only was she pretty casual about things, but after talking about her career, she performed "I Feel the Earth Move." for us. (Beforehand, though, she joked about the fact that the last time she had played the song, we had been hit by a 6.2 earthquake... so she was hoping that wouldn't happen again this time. *grin*) This was back in '85, I think, and the 6.2 earthquake was 2 years prior. (I remember it, because my middle school class was outside getting our 8th grade group photo taken at the time. Needless to say, the photographer on the roof freaked out. *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 17:48:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:48:01 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... References: <001a01c3ad31$77c1d3e0$62d81e43@rick> Message-ID: <004901c3ad32$f3d071c0$62d81e43@rick> Iggy here: You know, I never realized, before this thread, exactly how many famous people I've met... This even goes as far as just now remembering that in eight grade, I was in an educational film as a student in a classroom. Our teacher was the actor who played the original headmaster at the school on "the Facts of Life." Unfortunately, I don't remember his name, but he was a really nice guy. (Cut me *some* slack here... it was over 20 years ago.) A couple of us sat with him during the lunch break in filming, where we got to eat with him and just chat about things in general, and ask questions about what it's like to be an actor. (Yes, I know... Iggy McSnurd admitting that he was in an educational movie. It was called "Drugs - Don't Be Fooled." It's from the early '80s and was pretty low budget, as school films tend to be... If you were ever unfortunate enough to have to watch it, I was the kid talking about the fact that you can overdose on over the counter medicines like aspirin, and later commenting on the fact that pot has THC, which effects the central nervous system... *yeesh*) Iggy McSnurd From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Mon Nov 17 18:16:42 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:16:42 -0000 Subject: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: <000d01c3ad2f$e1363480$62d81e43@rick> Message-ID: Iggy wrote: > Agent Smith as Elrond: (in a voice of controlled anger) That ring, Mr. > Baggins, are a threat to our system. Perhaps you are asking yourself how > you can travel to Mordor to destroy it. Well there is no Mordor, Mr. > Baggins. Agent Elrond: The question *is*, Mr Baggins, not what you choose to do with the ring, but whether you understand the choice you have already made. David From dicentra at xmission.com Mon Nov 17 18:45:18 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:45:18 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "eloise_herisson" wrote: > Unfortunately I only scored 51% with Alan Rickman (surely some > mistake!), though 99% on Physical compatibility ;-). Enough for a > weekend, anyway. ;-) Hee! I got a 94% overall with AR! They put me down for these mugs here: Ben Stiller 99% Jon Cryer 98% Don Cheadle 97% Hector Camacho 96% Ving Rhames 96% None of whom have exactly floated my boat, but oh well. I also got a 23% on Dan Radcliffe (including 0% emotional compatibility) 52% for Rupert 67% for Gary Oldman (Sirius! No!) but I couldn't find David Thewlis. I guess that makes me a Snapefan? Me? The Sirius Apologist? The site's a fraud, I tell ya! --Dicey, who actually digs AR a whole lot From saitaina at wizzards.net Mon Nov 17 19:18:34 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:18:34 -0800 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <013901c3ad3f$9ad98f40$8a331c40@aoldsl.net> One very happy girl They put me down as 100% physical on him (with emotion at 37% and intellect at 92%), umm, hello, Duh! I did not want to lick the screen everytime I watch his movies for no reason. Sadly, my number one boytoy (whose name I won't admit to as it's completly fan girly) only scored a 45% with physical being the highest at 68%. Ah well, I still got Tom. Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From cwood at tattersallpub.com Mon Nov 17 19:25:36 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:25:36 -0000 Subject: Celebrity sightings (was) And *I* didn't meet... In-Reply-To: <004901c3ad32$f3d071c0$62d81e43@rick> Message-ID: > Iggy here: > You know, I never realized, before this thread, exactly how many famous people I've met... How could I have forgotten my not one, but two, dressing room encounters with the ultimate music schlockmeisters, KISS? The first was in 1976 when I, as a representative of the local top-40 music radio station, escorted the 10-year-old winner of a "meet KISS in their dressing room" contest the station had sponsored. I herded the kid and his cadre of friends into the common room of the dressing area, where the band emerged in full makeup from the private area to pose for photos, then disappeared until concert time. Two years later while on the local event staff of the municipal coliseum in another city, I was assigned to wardrobe during the KISS concert. I actually handled some of their costumes and boots, and also took a jumbo load of black socks to the nearby laundromat. This was before any of them actually allowed themselves to be seen without makeup, so I probably stood right beside them without knowing it. In both incidents, the latter in particular, I have to say that my chief impression is that rock stars can get really, really, really, really, *stale.* (Phew.) For some reason this had totally slipped my mind; must be one of those "senior moments"--an expression you wouldn't expect to be used in the same paragraph with KISS. Time marches on. Ms. Tattersall, who also "roadied" for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, John Denver, and others who did not smell quite as bad From Mhochberg at aol.com Mon Nov 17 19:40:54 2003 From: Mhochberg at aol.com (Mhochberg at aol.com) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:40:54 EST Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re:Mary=20GrandPr=E9=20in=20SLC=20and=20the=20can?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?onicity=20of=20her=20artwork=20(long)=20=20?= Message-ID: <33.40c91c67.2cea7e46@aol.com> Thank you so much for this wonderful message. I love her work and am delighted to hear so much of her story. Some years ago there was an article about Mary GrandPr? in Mary Englebreit's Home Companion. It was after the first few HP books but there wasn't much about it in the article. ----Mary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 19:42:44 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:42:44 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: <000201c3ad58$1d5b5d00$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: Iggy: > > On a side note, even though I've only gotten a chance to watch the first half of the first movie for LotR, I can't help but think one thing whenever I see Elrond: > > > > "Oh my god!! Agent Smith took over the body of an Elf!!!" Kathryn: > Yeah, my first reaction is always, don't trust him, he's evil. Fortunately I've seen the movie several times (have only seen TTT once but once the special edition is out on dvd that will change) and I'm getting over that. Wendy: Heh heh heh . . . I still can't get over it. I am *totally* creeped out by Elrond in the films. And the thing is, I hadn't seen any of the Matrix films until about a month ago, so my creeped-outness by this actor is unconnected. I'm not sure if I ever saw him in anything else and don't remember, or if he just comes across as creepy to me in general. But it's creating trouble for me with the LotR movies. My husband keeps telling me that Elrond is cool, and trustworthy . . . but I just DON'T believe it. He creeps me out! Evil! (I'm speaking here as someone who *has* read the trilogy and so should know these things, but it's been more than 15 years ago, and I honestly don't remember how it ends). On a related note, yesterday I finally saw the LotR trailer (when seeing Matrix Revloutions, LOL). And it made me cry. Gah. I'm going to be a wreck. I cried at least 5 times watching TT (I really got going while Smeagol/Gollum fought with himself). I think the new film is going to be worse. If I'm already sobbing at just 45 seconds of thrown-together scenes . . . . ARGH! I think I'd better bring a box of tissues to the cinema with me. ::grin:: :-) Wendy (Who still hasn't seen the PoA trailer . . . hey, maybe I should take Connor to see "Loony Tunes" today. He's home sick from school, but going to a film surely isn't an overly ambitious activity for a sick day). ::grin:: From lupinesque at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 20:08:50 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:08:50 -0000 Subject: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June observed: > It's funny the way often our first encounter with an actor tends to > capsulate the way we see him ever after. Oh, yeah--James Earl Jones may try to pass himself off as a cuddly or curmudgeonly guy, but I know Darth Vader when I hear him. (Doesn't CNN realize it's tipping us off to the fact that it's aligned with the Dark Side?) And although I have mercifully forgotten most of Field of Dreams and therefore can't craft a very detailed parody, it does make me dreamy to imagine a scene like this: KEVIN COSTNER: Mr. Mann, I need your help. JAMES EARL JONES: KEVIN COSTNER: JAMES EARL JONES: AUDIENCE: Amy From mphunt at sprintmail.com Mon Nov 17 20:08:49 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:08:49 -0000 Subject: DelBra/Smith/Elrond/BABE???? was:Re: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > Iggy wrote: > > > Agent Smith as Elrond: (in a voice of controlled anger) That > ring, Mr. > > Baggins, are a threat to our system. Perhaps you are asking > yourself how > > you can travel to Mordor to destroy it. Well there is no Mordor, > Mr. > > Baggins. > > Agent Elrond: The question *is*, Mr Baggins, not what you choose to > do with the ring, but whether you understand the choice you have > already made. > > David Tcy: As if all of this wasn't scary/strange/funny enough - Hugh Weaving also did one of the voices in the movie Babe - I think he was one of the dogs. It's one of my 6 year old's favorite movies. It's beginning to hurt my poor ickle head thinking of the melding of all of his characters! From groups at e-dennis.net Mon Nov 17 20:12:16 2003 From: groups at e-dennis.net (Dennis) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:12:16 -0000 Subject: Well, if everyone else is gonna... Message-ID: I guess I will too. Post a picture that is. Sadly, I have the problem of some other posters, namely being the one operating the camera, as opposed to being the subject of a photo. I found one of myself and my cat, err-Kneazle under the influece of a strong sleeping draught. She's pretty much my family anyway, so that counts, right? Right!? *g* We live in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. That's in the States. Where's everyone else from? -Dennis From lupinesque at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 20:14:34 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:14:34 -0000 Subject: DelBra/Smith/Elrond/BABE???? was:Re: Agent Mitzi DelBra In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Tcy: > > As if all of this wasn't scary/strange/funny enough - Hugh Weaving > also did one of the voices in the movie Babe - I think he was one of > the dogs. It's one of my 6 year old's favorite movies. > > It's beginning to hurt my poor ickle head thinking of the melding of > all of his characters! This reminded me of an actress whose career has been utterly ruined for me: Julie Kavner. I can't see her in anything, old or new, without hallucinating an 18-inch blue beehive on top of her head. Again, some voices are unforgettable, and once associated with a particularly memorable role . . . Well, she can live on the Simpsons royalties forever, which is a good thing, 'cause no casting director could hear her read without bursting out laughing. Amy From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Mon Nov 17 20:39:48 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:39:48 -0000 Subject: Hugo Weaving is NOT Elrond In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Wendy" wrote: >> Wendy: > > Heh heh heh . . . I still can't get over it. I am *totally* creeped > out by Elrond in the films. And the thing is, I hadn't seen any of > the Matrix films until about a month ago, so my creeped-outness by > this actor is unconnected. I'm not sure if I ever saw him in > anything else and don't remember, or if he just comes across as > creepy to me in general. But it's creating trouble for me with the > LotR movies. My husband keeps telling me that Elrond is cool, and > trustworthy . . . but I just DON'T believe it. He creeps me out! > Evil! (I'm speaking here as someone who *has* read the trilogy and > so should know these things, but it's been more than 15 years ago, > and I honestly don't remember how it ends). Speaking as a total Tolkein nerd, I have to say, Hugo Weaving is miscast. By the time of Fellowship of the Ring - Elrond is second highest ranked Elf after Galadriel. He's not a pureblood (there's that word again!) elf - because his father Earendil was the product of a union between an Elf Princess and a mortal man (no not the Beren and Luthien one). In the books, Elrond is warm, humane and wise. He does not hate the race of men as seems to be being said in the films. Now don't get me wrong - I love the films and I believe Peter Jackson is deliberately setting up Elrond as anti-mortal so that there is dramatic tension about the Aragorn-Arwen thing, but there is a big difference between the character in the movies and the one in the books. > > On a related note, yesterday I finally saw the LotR trailer (when > seeing Matrix Revloutions, LOL). And it made me cry. Gah. I'm going > to be a wreck. I cried at least 5 times watching TT (I really got > going while Smeagol/Gollum fought with himself). I think the new > film is going to be worse. If I'm already sobbing at just 45 seconds > of thrown-together scenes . . . . ARGH! I think I'd better bring a > box of tissues to the cinema with me. ::grin:: > > :-) > Wendy One calendar month to go today... and really counting. And if any of you found Helms Deep heavy, wait til you see the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. There is also a documentary on the making of this battle at Newline's LOTR site. June From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Mon Nov 17 21:38:51 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 21:38:51 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "eloise_herisson" wrote: Eloise wrote: > I did one of those silly test things on the internet once. > I was looking up something to do with Alan Rickman innocent> and this site which purports to tell you which stars you're > most compatible with based on your birthdate came up. > > http://www.celebmatch.com/ OK, have just done same. Mine very very disappointing: Hugh Jackman, 100% Jamie Kennedy 98% Eduardo Verastegui 98% Tim McGraw 98% Chipper Jones 97% You know, I'm too lazy to Google them, but the only one of these I know of (vaguely) is Hugh Jackman. Who on earth are the others? Are they all famous in the US but not in the UK? Even more disappointingly, I ran Colin Firth through and came out 12%. 12%!!!! James Marsters was at 72% though, which made up for it. I'm wondering how many nutcases/fortune hunters actually use these sites for research purposes?! Catherine From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 21:43:35 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 15:43:35 -0600 Subject: M*A*S*H Message-ID: <000801c3ad53$dc636c60$5ec03841@rick> Iggy here: It's interesting to note, since it was brought up earlier, that the final episode of M*A*S*H ("Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen") is on the Hallmark channel right now... Iggy McSnurd From siskiou at msn.com Mon Nov 17 22:00:24 2003 From: siskiou at msn.com (Susanne) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:00:24 -0800 Subject: Member photos Message-ID: <10222436360.20031117140024@msn.com> Hi, I've really enjoyed seeing all the pictures of list members, and even though I'm a very quiet member, I have posted one of me and my daughter. I seem to be the one *taking* all the pictures in our family, and had a hard time finding one that I was actually in myself! -- Best regards, Susanne mailto:siskiou at msn.com Visit our pet rabbits: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/ From meggy11103 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 21:40:41 2003 From: meggy11103 at yahoo.com (meggy11103) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 21:40:41 -0000 Subject: Anyone? Message-ID: Does anyone happen to know of a story/fanfic in which the Maraduers are in Slytherin. I know this topic has been discussed many times and it deeply intrigued me but I have yet to find a story on it. If you happen to know of one , please let me know because I have looked everywhere -Meggy From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 22:32:19 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:32:19 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Catherine: Mine very very disappointing: > > Hugh Jackman, 100% > Jamie Kennedy 98% > Eduardo Verastegui 98% > Tim McGraw 98% > Chipper Jones 97% > > You know, I'm too lazy to Google them, but the only one of these I > know of (vaguely) is Hugh Jackman. Who on earth are the others? > Are they all famous in the US but not in the UK? Erin: Chipper Jones is a baseball player. Plays for the Atlana Braves, I think. Not sure. He is pretty good looking, I believe. Tim McGraw is a pretty famous country singer. Jamie Kennedy is an- actor? He has this TV show called the Jamie Kennedy experiment, but I've never watched it. No idea who Eduardo is. Or Hugh Jackman, for that matter. Catherine: Even more disappointingly, I ran Colin Firth through and came out 12%. 12%!!!!> > James Marsters was at 72% though, which made up for it. Erin: Again, no idea who Colin Firth is, but I started screaming when I realized I'd forgotten James Marsters. I got a 95 %, so back off, he's mine!! Mine, I tell you!! :-) LOL From annemehr at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 22:39:03 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:39:03 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Eloise wrote: > > > I did one of those silly test things on the internet once. > > I was looking up something to do with Alan Rickman > innocent> and this site which purports to tell you which stars > you're > > most compatible with based on your birthdate came up. > > > > http://www.celebmatch.com/ > Catherine wrote: > OK, have just done same. > > Mine very very disappointing: Mine were also very disappointing, so much so that I didn't even bother copying them (I don't even know who they are)! But these made me happier: Alan Rickman 83% (the 53% emotional category brought it way down) Viggo Mortensen 90% (and the physical was 100% -- heh, heh!) Sean Astin 94% (all right, I can see it) Even though he's just a "baby," I did Dan Radcliffe, too. Though he only came out at 51%, the emotional category was 99% -- maybe that's why I like him playing Harry so much! Annemehr From lupinesque at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 22:49:38 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:49:38 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Catherine, who *claims* to be happily married, wrote: > Hugh Jackman, 100% > Jamie Kennedy 98% > Eduardo Verastegui 98% > Tim McGraw 98% > Chipper Jones 97% > > > You know, I'm too lazy to Google them, but the only one of these I > know of (vaguely) is Hugh Jackman. Who on earth are the others? > Are they all famous in the US but not in the UK? I can help out with two: Tim McGraw is a country music singer and Chipper Jones is a somewhat arrogant, exasperatingly* fantastic baseball player. I really can't see you with either one of them. You sure you got your birthdate right? > Even more > disappointingly, I ran Colin Firth through and came out 12%. 12%!!!! I'm sorry. Maybe if you don't tell him, he'll still want to date you. I came up with: Jared Leto 100% Ricky Martin 98% George Michael 98% Shawn Kemp 96% Ice Cube 95% and Yasmine Bleeth 100% Simone Angel 99% Dido Armstrong 99% Teri Hatcher 98% Lexa Doig 98% I haven't a clue who most of these people are. George Michael is the wrong sexual orientation. I come out ***73%*** on the Firth Scale, however, with a 98% match in the intellectual biorhythm. Score! Amy *for anyone but an Atlanta Braves fan From lupinesque at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 23:03:58 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:03:58 -0000 Subject: Anyone? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Meggy asked: > Does anyone happen to know of a story/fanfic in which the Maraduers > are in Slytherin. I know this topic has been discussed many times and > it deeply intrigued me but I have yet to find a story on it. I Googled "marauders" +"in slytherin" and came up with mostly irrelevant results, but did get this: http://www.astronomytower.org/authors/madamemad/TSP03.html I would think that OoP gave this twist a major boost. HTH, Amy Z wondering whether one can give a twist a boost, and prepared to commit ritual suicide if Lupin's a Slyth From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 22:58:47 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 16:58:47 -0600 Subject: the Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game Message-ID: <002001c3ad5e$5d120920$dcd61e43@rick> Iggy here: Ok all... I've decided to put together a Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game. At the end of this, is what I've come up with off the top of my head, so far. If anyone has any other ideas, please send them in... either to the list or to me. I want to compile them into a complete game. (Of course, once PoA comes out, we'll be adding to the list when we all get to see that.) Iggy McSnurd The Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game (This list will be expanded as more movies are released.) Whenever Ron whimpers, take a drink. Whenever Ron says the word "panic," take 2 drinks. If Ron looks like he's about to wet himself, take a drink. Whenever Harry breaks his glasses, take 2 drinks. Whenever Harry touches his glasses, take a drink. Any time Harry speaks to a snake (or an image of one), take one drink per line he speaks. When Hermione fixes Harry's glasses, take a drink. When Hermione puts school above anything else, take 2 drinks. Any time Hermione talks to someone like she knows better than they do, take a drink. When Snape sneers at someone, take a drink. When anyone associated with Slytherin House calls someone by their last name, take a drink. When Dumbledore nods and smiles at someone in a knowing way, take 2 drinks. If Hagrid reveals information he shouldn't have, take a drink. If he realizes that he shouldn't have said something, take 2 drinks. If a scene contains a definite "red herring," take 2 drinks. If Dobby causes trouble for Harry, take a drink. Whenever Dobby punishes himself, take 2 drinks. Whenever Lockhart (or one of his pictures) flashes his "winning smile," take one drink per smiling Lockhart. (This rule alone should get you sloshed quickly.) Any time Lockhart lies about his skills or credentials, take a drink. Whenever Draco deliberately tries to get Harry into trouble, take 2 drinks. Whenever Professor MacGonagall looks at someone sternly, take a drink. Whenever Collin Creevy takes a picture of Harry, take 2 drinks. Whenever any picture in a scene moves or talks, take one drink per moving picture. Whenever you notice a scene that's missing Peeves, take 2 drinks in honor of our favorite missing poltergeist. Any time you notice that Ron had been inserted into a scene instead of someone else, take a drink. If Molly Weasley calls a child by a pet name, take a drink. If you can see Hermione's parents in Flourish and Blott's without needing to slo-mo, take 3 drinks. Whenever Vernon Dursley gets red in the face, take 2 drinks. From tammy at mauswerks.net Mon Nov 17 23:08:48 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:08:48 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FB90EB0.10824.1EFB942@localhost> Catherine Coleman wrote: > Mine very very disappointing: > > Hugh Jackman, 100% > Jamie Kennedy 98% > Eduardo Verastegui 98% > Tim McGraw 98% > Chipper Jones 97% > > > You know, I'm too lazy to Google them, but the only one of these I > know of (vaguely) is Hugh Jackman. Now me (Tammy) OH MY GOSH! Catherine, that's just awful! You are missing out on SOOO MUUUCH! Let's see, what's Hugh been up to recently, that you might have heard of. Hmmm. Well, let's see. Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Leopold, Third Duke of Albany, in 'Kate and Leopold', with Meg Ryan. Stanley, the ex-con hacker in 'Swordfish', with John Travolta and Halle Berry. Eddie Alden, the co- worker/roommate in 'Someone Like You', with Ashley Judd. Abraham Van Helsing, the monster hunter, in the next spring's 'Van Helsing' flick. Curly MacLain, the lovestruck cowboy, on stage in London's West End production of 'Oklahoma!' in 1998. Peter Allen, the songwriter/choreographer who was married to Liza Minelli, on stage for the next year on Broadway, in 'The Boy From Oz'. And, if you're lucky enough to lay hands on some of his Aussie work (very VERY hard to do in the US), he played Jack Willis, the truck-driving romance novelist in 'Paperback Hero', with Claudia Carvan, and Wade, the grieving, angry, older brother, in 'Erskineville Kings'. Plus he's had a few series in Australia, before hitting the big screen, and has had a few other acclaimed stage roles as well, in musicals. Yes, he sings and dances, too! *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From fc26det at aol.com Mon Nov 17 23:18:28 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:18:28 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: <00a901c3ad1f$c7d7b5a0$2ac53841@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > > Eloise ~ > >I did one of those silly test things on the internet once. > >I was looking up something to do with Alan Rickman >innocent> and this site which purports to tell you which stars you're > >most compatible with based on your birthdate came up. > Iggy here: > > I checked out this site, and here's who I got... (although I don't think > just going by the birthdaye is the best way to do it...) > > > Kathy Griffin 100% > Gabriela Sabatini 99% > Daphne Bunskoek 99% > Lucy Liu 98% > Rena Sofer 98% > Iggy McSnurd Yeah well, I got: Tom Hulce 100% Mel Gibson 98% Hakeem Olajuwon 98% Matt Dillon 97% Chow Yun-Fat 96% The only one I went *YIPPEE* to was Mel. I know Hakeem is a basketball player and Matt Dillon is much too young. No idea who the other two are. Then I put in Patrick Stewart (my alltime favorite), Alan Rickman, Arnold Swartzenegger, and Pierce Brosnan. Intellectually we are perfectly compatable. What's up with that? I have never been super intellectual. This is very depressing. Susan who agrees with Iggy, birthdates don't cut it! From witchywoman at obdb.net Mon Nov 17 23:21:54 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:21:54 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: Message-ID: <009801c3ad61$96c17680$99960144@home> > No idea who Eduardo is. Or Hugh Jackman, for that matter. Hugh Jackman is an Aussie actor. He's been in movies like X-Men and X-Men 2 (Wolverine), Kate & Leopold (w/Meg Ryan) and Someone Like You (w/Ashley Judd). I was highly upset with my choices as well (one was Dutch I think and the other British...was the lead singer of the group Take That). So I went and plugged in a few names I did like: Alan Rickman: Overall - 78%, 97% Intellectually compatible (goodie!) Colin Firth: Overall - 64%, 94% Emotional compatibility (thats IT?!?) Orlando Bloom: Overall - 94%, 96% Physical compatibility (Its all good!) Viggo Mortensen - 58%, 78% Emotional and thats the highest one (Sobs in her coffee) Gerard Butler: Overall - 68% (sobs again), 96% Physical.....feels MUCH better! Rupert Grint (who's a baby I know but so adorable): Overall - 40%, 11% emotional! I think celebmatch is trying to tell me he needs a teensy bit more emotional maturity for me...or maybe its the other way around! P.S. If I could choose, I would pick any of these gentlemen to spend the weekend with. P.S.S. I'm new to the list and I love it so far! Hope to chat often with you all! P.S.S.S. I am American but it appears that I love the UK men the most. Hrmm...........haha Tammy (aka Witchy Woman) From heidilist at tandys.org Mon Nov 17 23:32:35 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 15:32:35 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? In-Reply-To: <009801c3ad61$96c17680$99960144@home> References: <009801c3ad61$96c17680$99960144@home> Message-ID: <1069111959.1176D83@r5.dngr.org> On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 6:22PM -0500, Tammy wrote: > P.S.S.S. I am American but it appears that I love the UK men the most. Well, given the cast of the new film *Love, Actually* I think that makes a lot of sense. And with your Rupert Grnt comment, you're certainly welcome in The Bad Place anytime. Heidi, who is married, but still able to appreciate colin firth, hugh grant, etc. From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 17 23:37:12 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:37:12 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: Message-ID: <00b001c3ad63$ba98f5e0$77984cca@Monteith> My matches came back as... Bryan Dattilo 99% David Chokachi 99% Kiefer Sutherland 98% Marco Borsato 98% Ronan Keating 98% And the only ones I've heard of are Kiefer Sutherland and Ronan Keating... And I don't fancy either of them... Just for the record I got 85% physical, 62% emotional and 14% intellectual (for a total of 54%) with Alan Rickman. And 57% physical, 78% emotional and 92% intellectual (for a total of 76%) with Jason Isaacs. I knew there was a reason to like the CoS movie... Nox From lhuntley at fandm.edu Mon Nov 17 23:50:09 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:50:09 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Amy: > I came up with: > Jared Leto 100% > Ricky Martin 98% > George Michael 98% > Shawn Kemp 96% > Ice Cube 95% > and > Yasmine Bleeth 100% > Simone Angel 99% > Dido Armstrong 99% > Teri Hatcher 98% > Lexa Doig 98% > > I haven't a clue who most of these people are. George Michael is the > wrong sexual orientation. Your people are at least a *little* well-known. Want to hear my list? Vincent Kartheiser 96% Jeremy Sumpter 95% Riley Smith 93% Lance Bass 92% Jake Gyllenhaal 91% I don't know about the rest of you, but I have no idea who any of these people are. So, I decided to do some research. Vincent Karthesier was a painfully androgynous youth who grew up to be -- get this -- the adult version of Angel's son, Connor. *is a Buffy purist and has yet to watch an episode of Angel* Jeremy Sumpter is, surprise, another androgynous little boy, now playing Peter Pan himself in the upcoming Peter Pan film, starring Jason Issacs (Lucius Malfoy, for you Harry Potter purists, ^_~). I'll give three guesses what the next one's like, and the first two don't count. ^_~ Riley Smith is yet *another* pretty boy, who was in "Eight Legged Freaks" and "Not Another Teen Movie" (neither of which I've watched), but whom I'd actually seen before in a cheesy made-for-TV movie on the Disney Channel entitled "Motocrossed," which was sort of horrible. And by "sort of," I actually meant "really, really." And Lance Bass? Lance Bass is apparently from the demonspawndevilsatanluciferevilevilevil band that calls itself (according to IMDB) N'Sync, NSYNC, 'N Sync, 'NSync, and/or *NSync. AND he looks like a girl. *bludgeons self to death with plastic spoon* At this point in my research I was, understandably, quite discouraged. It's not that I don't *like* pretty boys, it's just that I prefer the Orlando Bloom flavor to the JTT flavor. Much, *much* prefer, that is. So, as I typed Jake Gyllenhaal into the IMDB search function, I felt a glimmer of hope at his vaguely interesting last name, but wasn't getting my hopes up. Turns out, Jake Gyllenhaal is Donnie Darko. *big grin* Have I mention that I *adore* Donnie Darko? Score. I also got 88% for James Marsters, which is pretty decent, I'd say. *smirk* I also tried a few of the Harry Potter kids for the hell of it (hey! I'm *only* 18!), and got: Rupert: 79% Dan: 89% Emma: 72% Sean: 65% Harry Potter is my love slave. ^_^ For women, I got: Michelle Branch 98% Lynsey Bartilson 98% Marit Larsen 98% Katherine Heigl 98% Cherly Tweedy 97% I can't stand Michelle Branch, and I had never heard of any of the others, but upon further inspection they are all cheeky blonde girls who bear striking resemblances to my male matches. What is it about being 18 that gives this site the right to just *assume* I ought to be soulmates with some pretty little kid? Honestly. I'm not even that fond of blondes. Laura (who decided to boycott this site after it gave her only 54% for Angelina Jolie.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From witchywoman at obdb.net Mon Nov 17 23:49:42 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:49:42 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: <009801c3ad61$96c17680$99960144@home> <1069111959.1176D83@r5.dngr.org> Message-ID: <00c401c3ad65$78c4a040$99960144@home> Thank you Heidi. And if I need any other qualities to enter The Bad Place, I'm sure I can provide them. :o) "Love, Actually" is like my ultimate smorgasbord (spelling?). P.S. I would also love to spend a weekend with Dean Koontz, Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, John Sandford, JD Salinger, Charles Dickens, Alicia Sebold, Tami Hoag and many, many, many other authors. Tammy, who isn't married and thankful of that fact at the current moment. (Witchy Woman) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Heidi Tandy" To: Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 6:32 PM Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? > > On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 6:22PM -0500, Tammy wrote: > > P.S.S.S. I am American but it appears that I love the UK men the most. > > Well, given the cast of the new film *Love, Actually* I think that makes > a lot of sense. > > And with your Rupert Grnt comment, you're certainly welcome in The Bad > Place anytime. > > Heidi, who is married, but still able to appreciate colin firth, hugh > grant, etc. From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Mon Nov 17 23:54:59 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:54:59 -0000 Subject: 250 Million Copies Sold Message-ID: Mon, Nov 17, 2003 http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2188210 -Quoted in Part- JK Rowling???s Harry Potter books have hit a quarter of a billion sales which is an ???unprecedented??? figure, the author???s agent said today. The series of five books has now shifted 250 million copies globally, and she is now at work on the sixth title. The books have been translated into 60 languages including Gujarati, Latin, Faroese and Macedonian and sold in more than 200 territories around the world. See also- http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&st= oryID=404429§ion=news http://tinyurl.com/vfal Thought you might like to know. bboy_mn From mphunt at sprintmail.com Mon Nov 17 23:59:33 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:59:33 -0000 Subject: the Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game In-Reply-To: <002001c3ad5e$5d120920$dcd61e43@rick> Message-ID: OK Iggy....I like the idea - but you've completely left out Filch and any reference to house points. How about a drink each time someone's house points are taken away by Snape? Or a drink each time Filch threatens a student or refers to Ms. Norris by a pet name? tcy --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > Iggy here: > > Ok all... I've decided to put together a Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game. > At the end of this, is what I've come up with off the top of my head, so > far. If anyone has any other ideas, please send them in... either to the > list or to me. I want to compile them into a complete game. (Of course, > once PoA comes out, we'll be adding to the list when we all get to see > that.) > > Iggy McSnurd > > > > > The Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game > > (This list will be expanded as more movies are released.) > > > Whenever Ron whimpers, take a drink. > > Whenever Ron says the word "panic," take 2 drinks. > > If Ron looks like he's about to wet himself, take a drink. > > Whenever Harry breaks his glasses, take 2 drinks. > > Whenever Harry touches his glasses, take a drink. > > Any time Harry speaks to a snake (or an image of one), take one drink per > line he speaks. > > When Hermione fixes Harry's glasses, take a drink. > > When Hermione puts school above anything else, take 2 drinks. > > Any time Hermione talks to someone like she knows better than they do, take > a drink. > > When Snape sneers at someone, take a drink. > > When anyone associated with Slytherin House calls someone by their last > name, take a drink. > > When Dumbledore nods and smiles at someone in a knowing way, take 2 drinks. > > If Hagrid reveals information he shouldn't have, take a drink. > > If he realizes that he shouldn't have said something, take 2 drinks. > > If a scene contains a definite "red herring," take 2 drinks. > > If Dobby causes trouble for Harry, take a drink. > > Whenever Dobby punishes himself, take 2 drinks. > > Whenever Lockhart (or one of his pictures) flashes his "winning smile," take > one drink per smiling Lockhart. (This rule alone should get you sloshed > quickly.) > > Any time Lockhart lies about his skills or credentials, take a drink. > > Whenever Draco deliberately tries to get Harry into trouble, take 2 drinks. > > Whenever Professor MacGonagall looks at someone sternly, take a drink. > > Whenever Collin Creevy takes a picture of Harry, take 2 drinks. > > Whenever any picture in a scene moves or talks, take one drink per moving > picture. > > Whenever you notice a scene that's missing Peeves, take 2 drinks in honor of > our favorite missing poltergeist. > > Any time you notice that Ron had been inserted into a scene instead of > someone else, take a drink. > > If Molly Weasley calls a child by a pet name, take a drink. > > If you can see Hermione's parents in Flourish and Blott's without needing to > slo-mo, take 3 drinks. > > Whenever Vernon Dursley gets red in the face, take 2 drinks. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 17 23:58:05 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 17:58:05 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <006801c3ad66$a7b78ec0$dcd61e43@rick> > Laura > Riley Smith is yet *another* pretty boy, who was in "Eight Legged > Freaks" and "Not Another Teen Movie" (neither of which I've watched), Iggy here: I've seen "Not Another Teen Movie" and I love it. (Mostly because I grew up in the '80s, the era that originated the truly cornball teen movies that are so cool when you look back at them and watch the really lame ones again.) It's got all the trends and cliche's that you find in all the really classic movies, and they even have Molly Ringwold (the queen of the 80's teen flick) at the end actually calling the actors on their teen-movie b.s.... A truly classic scene in itself, since she even rags on one of her own old roles.) They also have an almost line for line (with a few replaced/revised lines for the comedy value) redo of one of the scenes from Breakfast Club where the dean is punishing the rebel with extra detentions. If you were ever a fan of the classic teen movies, then it's definately worth watching. > Laura (who decided to boycott this site after it gave her only 54% for > Angelina Jolie.) Iggy here: Am I the only one who doesn't find Angelina Jolie particularly spellbinding??? (Given a choice, I'd rather have Halle Barry or Drew Barrymore.) Iggy McSnurd From mphunt at sprintmail.com Tue Nov 18 00:05:10 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 00:05:10 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts Message-ID: I've been doing some archive digging and have found many references to a group known as "MDDT". I can't seem to find the origin of this group name. Is the name the initials of the founding members?, relating to Magic Dishwasher?, or something else entirely? And while we're on the subject of old farts...whatever has happened to Tabouli? Such a wiz (or should that be witch?) at coming up with great acronyms. I've been here for nearly a year now and don't remember seeing posts by her since then... It's no big deal...I was just curious. thanks, tcy From trisha.masen at verizon.net Tue Nov 18 00:10:53 2003 From: trisha.masen at verizon.net (Trisha Masen) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:10:53 -0500 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: <1069113613.5748.83536.m1@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <010401c3ad68$6ef156a0$1a01000a@Tlaptop> Okay, now that someone posted the link, I did my own match. Running strictly my birthdate returned four people I'd never heard of and "Test". So, I ran Daniel Radcliffe (even though I'm old enough to be his mother...but we don't talk about that): physical: 100% emotional: 62% intellectual: 98% total: 87% Hey, that's not too bad :) Alan Rickman and Rupert Grint both returned around 40% with very low physical percentages. So I ran Harrison Ford... physical: 85%; emotional: 84%; intellectual: 23% for a total of 65%. So I guess that means we wouldn't be talking. Thanks for the amusement. www.celebmatch.com ~Trisha~ From lhuntley at fandm.edu Tue Nov 18 00:25:12 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:25:12 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I've uploaded a picture, *again*. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I know, I know. For someone who purportedly hates having her picture taken/displayed/etc., I certainly have an odd way of showing it. However, I couldn't help showing off the Love of My Life. Isn't he beautiful, intelligent, creative, wondrous, sexy, amazing, sensitive, etc., etc., etc.? Yes, yes. You know he is. *smiling like an idiot* You know, if he knew I'd posted his picture for everyone in this group to see, he'd probably try to kill me. *sappy sigh* AND, he's coming to visit me in *8* days. I have not seen him in almost three months. *is going quite mad, if you hadn't noticed* By the way, the picture was taken at my high school graduation last spring, which is why I'm wearing cheap blue robes. Laura (who is in love, and therefore must be excused from any and all displays of sickening cheerfulness.) From joym999 at aol.com Tue Nov 18 01:33:05 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 01:33:05 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" wrote: > I can help out with two: Tim McGraw is a country music singer and > Chipper Jones is a somewhat arrogant, exasperatingly* fantastic > baseball player. I really can't see you with either one of them. > You sure you got your birthdate right? Not that I'm competively trying to outdo Amy Z, the Trivia Queen, but Tim McGraw, the country music singer, is also the son of Tug McGraw, a baseball player who pitched for the N.Y. Mets in the 1970s. > I came up with: > > Jared Leto 100% > Ricky Martin 98% > George Michael 98% > Shawn Kemp 96% > Ice Cube 95% Ice Cube? Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! > Yasmine Bleeth 100% > Simone Angel 99% > Dido Armstrong 99% > Teri Hatcher 98% > Lexa Doig 98% What? Who? Joywitch, endlessy amused at the thought of Catherine and Chipper Jones or Tim McGraw, or Amy and Ricky Martin or Ice Cube From neonsister at ameritech.net Tue Nov 18 01:41:47 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 01:41:47 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? In-Reply-To: <010401c3ad68$6ef156a0$1a01000a@Tlaptop> Message-ID: *whining and pouting* How come other people did "Celeb Match" and got Hugh Jackman, Alan Rickman, and other such delectable men; and I got a professional wrestler I've never even heard of? I'm also 98% compatible with River Phoenix - a DEAD person! lol Tracy From kkearney at students.miami.edu Tue Nov 18 02:01:16 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 02:01:16 -0000 Subject: Japanese Translation Message-ID: Having recently begun studying Japanese, I was hoping to get my hands on a copy of the Japanese translation of the Harry Potter series (I figure it would be good reading practice, since I know the books so well). I located Sayzansha Publishing's website, but it doesn't look like they take online orders. Does anyone know if I can order it from the United States? -Corinth From rvotaw at i-55.com Tue Nov 18 02:08:27 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:08:27 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: Message-ID: <021501c3ad78$dbf393c0$b2a0cdd1@RVotaw> Annemehr wrote: > Mine were also very disappointing, so much so that I didn't even > bother copying them (I don't even know who they are)! Mine were disappointing too, but I copied them in the hopes that someone has actually heard of them. :) Johnny Diaz Reyes 98% Daan Schuurmans 98% Scott Speedman 96% Jeff Hardy 96% Jesse Spencer 96% I also looked up a few other people, just for fun. Viggo Mortensen--74% (99% emotional), not too bad Keanu Reeves--36%, oh well Colin Firth--56% :( Derek Jeter--59% (that's it???) Since I wasn't having much luck there, I thought I'd try all the HP actors I could think of: Alan Rickman--81%, now that's better :) Kenneth Brannagh--84%, see? Now I'm on a roll! Gary Oldman--76%, never would've guessed that much Running out of adults, on to the kiddies: Daniel Radcliffe--70% just a tad young, I think. Rupert Grint--54%, I didn't think so either. Tom Felton--47%--that's a relief. Sean Biggerstaff--66%--couldn't quite decide whether to put him in adults or kiddies anyway Well, that was amusing anyway. :) Richelle [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neonsister at ameritech.net Tue Nov 18 02:13:34 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 02:13:34 -0000 Subject: Owl post Message-ID: If I ever get my letter accepting me to Hogwarts, I've already chosen my owl. :-) I volunteer at a wildlife rehab clinic, and we currently have a patient that everyone refers to as "the cutest owl ever". She is a saw-whet owl, about 5 inches tall with huge yellow eyes. Despite her tiny size she tries to act big and scary when I take her out of the cage for her treatments - hopping, flapping, and clacking her beak. Here's a link to a photo of this species of owl: http://tinyurl.com/vfv4 Cute or what?! They are small enough that when they sleep in the evergreens they resemble pine cones - good camouflage against predators. Tracy From stevejjen at earthlink.net Tue Nov 18 02:15:14 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 02:15:14 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > *whining and pouting* > How come other people did "Celeb Match" and got Hugh Jackman, Alan > Rickman, and other such delectable men; and I got a professional > wrestler I've never even heard of? I'm also 98% compatible with > River Phoenix - a DEAD person! lol Lol! Oh well, you and River *could* have had a great life together-- isn't that enough? Here are my matches: Benjamin Bratt 100% Patrick Dempsey 98% Olivier Martinez 98% Brad Pitt 98% Brian Krause 98% Shoule I break the bad news to Jennifer Aniston that Brad should be mine? (Truthfully, he's just not my type ). Who are Olivier Martin and Brian Krause? From jmmears at comcast.net Tue Nov 18 02:57:45 2003 From: jmmears at comcast.net (serenadust) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 02:57:45 -0000 Subject: I've uploaded a picture, *again*. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Laura Ingalls Huntley wrote: > I know, I know. For someone who purportedly hates having her picture > taken/displayed/etc., I certainly have an odd way of showing it. > > However, I couldn't help showing off the Love of My Life. Isn't he > beautiful, intelligent, creative, wondrous, sexy, amazing, sensitive, > etc., etc., etc.? Yes, yes. You know he is. *smiling like an idiot* > > You know, if he knew I'd posted his picture for everyone in this group > to see, he'd probably try to kill me. > > *sappy sigh* Good Grief, Laura. I just checked out the picture of you and the LOYL and all I can say is that Harry Potter really *is* your love slave! Jo Serenadust, who thinks that Laura and her sweetie make a very sweet couple From boggles at earthlink.net Tue Nov 18 02:58:20 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:58:20 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> Message-ID: At 10:55 PM -0600 11/16/03, Iggy McSnurd wrote: > >From: Boggles > > > 5) Sean Astin. >Iggy here: > >Isn't he the one who also played Alec Trevalyin in "GoldenEye"? Nope, that's the other Sean - Sean Bean, who played Boromir. Sean Astin is that most faithful of hobbits, Samwise Gamgee. (Bean's mighty pretty himself, don't get me wrong, but he has a reputation for being a bit of a male chauvinist pig, or at least did in his younger days.) >"Oh my god!! Agent Smith took over the body of an Elf!!!" "MIS-ter Aragorn! You know what I can't stand about elves? It's the *smell* . . ." > > Boggles: > > 10) Phil Foglio. > >Iggy here: > >I have an original, and autographed, piece of artwork that my friend asked >Phil to draw for me... and told him I'm a huge fan of his. I do have one of the original pieces for one of his Magic: the Addiction, oops, I mean Crack, the Gathering, oh, well, you know what I mean, cards - a very, very good friend of mine and the Spouse's picked it up for us at a con once. But I have to admit, it's not quite as cool. >(I collect >everything I can with his or Kaja's artwork on it. And I mean >*everything*... Those true fans will know of the particular card game and >associated comic book.) Tsk, tsk! The comic book came first! (In both cases, actually, since the same game mechanic has since been used for a game based off of one of his other comics.) Darn funny comic, too . . . ;) >Bit of trivia here: As homely as Phil is, his wife Kaja is actually the >model for many of the women in his drawings. Homely? *Homely?* A man who can wear a hat that well? Goodness, what rigid beauty standards you have there, m'dear - hate to think what you'd think of me . . . -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From Malady579 at hotmail.com Tue Nov 18 03:14:39 2003 From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 03:14:39 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts (gee...thanks) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tcy asked: > I've been doing some archive digging and have found many references > to a group known as "MDDT". I can't seem to find the origin of this > group name. Is the name the initials of the founding members?, > relating to Magic Dishwasher?, AHHHHHHHH!!! Are we so quiet lately that no one knows us?? Oh dear. Does this mean we need to be dragging MD back into the Tbay sandbox more? I do not mind you know. I ever so enjoy debating forever in circles. ;) Anyway... Hi. My name is Melody. I am a MDDT. So is Pip and Grey Wolf. See, back during say....February or so (too lazy to look it up), we were debating metathinking and MD and other ever so enjoyable things to share a sentence (I saw that wince), and it was said MD now had an official defense team. Since we at the Safe House just love to shorten everything, I think Pip called us MDDT in her next post. It was picked up by other posters and it just stuck. Us three were already grouped together for obvious reason, so it was just easier to refer to us as a whole that way. Also it separated MD as a part of the Safe House and not *the* Safe House. MDDT lives in the Safe House, but not everyone who lives there is in MDDT. ::big grin:: Got that? Oh, and MDDT also includes the Safe House house elf Sneaky and my carnivorous bunny Coney. They are essential to our operation, you know. So anyway, that is where that acronym comes from. We still us it quite often and will when we ever do get together our OoP and MD post. We will. I promise. Jsut got to read OoP a few more times. :) Melody who does not feel like an old fart, but supposes she is now in list years... From saitaina at wizzards.net Tue Nov 18 03:39:54 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:39:54 -0800 Subject: OFFLIST: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <032001c3ad85$a1ee23e0$8a331c40@aoldsl.net> No point sending this to OTC I now sooo hate you. :o) No fair as I want the skinny man...I could feed him..soup. :o) By the way, he was actually pretty good as Connor, too bad you don't watch Angel. Saitaina (who should really boycott the site for her Eliza Dushku score..) **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From saitaina at wizzards.net Tue Nov 18 03:41:54 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 19:41:54 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] OFFLIST: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: <032001c3ad85$a1ee23e0$8a331c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <033301c3ad85$e9d34aa0$8a331c40@aoldsl.net> *bangs head on desk* NEVER send email after being awake 33hrs..you do REALLY stupid things like not replacing email addies. Saitaina **** Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist. http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 03:58:00 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 21:58:00 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: Message-ID: <000901c3ad88$2a4924e0$66ef79a5@rick> > *whining and pouting* > How come other people did "Celeb Match" and got Hugh Jackman, Alan > Rickman, and other such delectable men; and I got a professional > wrestler I've never even heard of? I'm also 98% compatible with > River Phoenix - a DEAD person! lol > > Tracy > Iggy here: Hey, it's not like I got anyone particularly good. BTW: Who was the pro-wrestler? Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 04:03:58 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:03:58 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: <001801c3aca0$fa1aa1a0$d3f11d43@rick> <008401c3acc6$f8825920$2df41d43@rick> Message-ID: <002401c3ad88$ff69ff00$66ef79a5@rick> > Boggles - > Tsk, tsk! The comic book came first! (In both cases, actually, > since the same game mechanic has since been used for a game based off > of one of his other comics.) Darn funny comic, too . . . ;) > Iggy here: *grin* I have the first printing of the first issue of that particular comic... as well as the first printing of all the other ones (save the last one, unfortunately...) Not only that, but I have mint condition copies of the collected editions as well. I also have a LOT of the cards from the game as well... (But I'd love to have at least one complete set to my name... just to see them all... *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 04:31:02 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:31:02 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: <000901c3ad88$2a4924e0$66ef79a5@rick> Message-ID: <006a01c3ad8c$c7833f80$66ef79a5@rick> > > > > Iggy here: > > Hey, it's not like I got anyone particularly good. Iggy, again: I just reviewed the list of matches I got... Ok... well I *DO* Have Lucy Liu on the list... so I guess it's not all bad. *grin* Iggy McSnurd From joy_the_lemur at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 04:47:38 2003 From: joy_the_lemur at yahoo.com (joy_the_lemur) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 04:47:38 -0000 Subject: Japanese Translation In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Have you tried amazon.co.jp? http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/505198/ref=sr_ra_all/249- 9997865-0196329 (I know yahoo will split that URL up) It's a bit tricky to navigate though you CAN shop in English on that site. The only thing is, when you do, the results tend to be the books in English. So browse in Japanese. I believe it would be possible to navigate the shopping cart section in English so that once you get the books you want into your shopping cart, you can go through the check-out process in English. And they do ship international. I've managed to order books from there in the past with extremely limited Japanese skills. If you live in or near LA or Chicago, you can go to Asahiya Bookstore and just get it there. Kinokuniya bookstores are in the LA Area, the San Francisco Bay area, in Seattle, Portland, New York and New Jersey and they all should have the books in stock as well. These two bookstores also have websites though I find it a bit more a challenge to navigate those. :) You might call them up and see if you can actually order it from them if you're nowhere near these stores. Good Luck! -Joy --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "corinthum" wrote: > Having recently begun studying Japanese, I was hoping to get my hands > on a copy of the Japanese translation of the Harry Potter series (I > figure it would be good reading practice, since I know the books so > well). I located Sayzansha Publishing's website, but it doesn't look > like they take online orders. Does anyone know if I can order it from > the United States? > > -Corinth From zanelupin at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 04:49:54 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 04:49:54 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I wasn't even going to do this, but you've all sucked me in : My best matches: Adam LaVorgna 98% Kobe Bryant 97% Freddie Prinze Jr. 97% Robbie Williams 97% Giancarlo Fisichella 96% *blinks* Kobe Bryant? What? *rolls eyes* And Freddie is just my favorite actor. *snort* I have a vague idea who Adam LaVorgna is...I think he was (is?) on one of those WB shows. Don't have a clue about the other two. For fun: Alan Rickman: 73% Dan Radcliffe: 63% Rupert Grint: 58% Derek Jeter: 88% Hugh Jackman: 63% Viggo Mortensen: 60% Darn the luck. I should just change my birthday! Yes, that's it. KathyK, who eventually plans to post a photo From erinellii at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 06:52:37 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 06:52:37 -0000 Subject: Looking for that certain phrase Message-ID: Can anyone help me? I'm trying to write an enormously long post for the main list, and I know there's this sentence in one of the books that goes something like "Ron said a word he would not have if Mrs. Weasley had been there" That's not an exact quote of course. The problem is, it's a very small line and I have no idea which book it is in, except probably not SS. So if this just jumps out at anyone and you can point me to a book and chapter, I'd be extremely grateful. Thanks, Erin From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 18 06:55:01 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:55:01 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Agent Mitzi DelBra References: Message-ID: <013401c3ada0$e4cfebb0$6d984cca@Monteith> : > > KEVIN COSTNER: Mr. Mann, I need your help. > > JAMES EARL JONES: > > KEVIN COSTNER: > > JAMES EARL JONES: > > AUDIENCE: > > Amy Amy, please tell me your another who thinks Costner is like an overdose of Serapax! I'm comatose in under a minute watching him... Nox From heidilist at tandys.org Tue Nov 18 06:56:53 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:56:53 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Looking for that certain phrase In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1069138616.124D5062@r5.dngr.org> I believe this is in the forrest at the world cup. GoF. On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 1:53AM -0500, erinellii wrote: > Can anyone help me? I'm trying to write an enormously long post for > the main list, and I know there's this sentence in one of the books > that goes something like "Ron said a word he would not have if Mrs. > Weasley had been there" > > That's not an exact quote of course. The problem is, it's a very > small line and I have no idea which book it is in, except probably > not SS. So if this just jumps out at anyone and you can point me to > a book and chapter, I'd be extremely grateful. > > Thanks, > Erin > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ > > Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin > Files! > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ > > Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from > posts to which you're replying! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 18 06:58:03 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:58:03 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Owl post References: Message-ID: <013e01c3ada1$5063bf00$6d984cca@Monteith> > > http://tinyurl.com/vfv4 > > Cute or what?! They are small enough that when they sleep in the > evergreens they resemble pine cones - good camouflage against > predators. > > Tracy Thta is soooo *cute*! I love owls... My MiL doesn't. She's Italian and tells me in Italy they're bad luck... Nox From groups at e-dennis.net Tue Nov 18 07:05:22 2003 From: groups at e-dennis.net (groups at e-dennis.net) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 02:05:22 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Looking for that certain phrase In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <> It's in Goblet of Fire, Chapter Nine. I quote: Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley. ?Language, Weasley,? said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. Two or three pages in, depending on what version you're reading. Hope that helps. =o] Dennis From erinellii at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 07:14:45 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 07:14:45 -0000 Subject: Looking for that certain phrase In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > It's in Goblet of Fire, Chapter Nine. > > I quote: > > Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never > have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley. > > "Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. > > > Two or three pages in, depending on what version you're reading. > > Hope that helps. =o] > > Dennis Thank you so so much, Dennis, and Heidi too! I knew I could count on someone around here to remember it, but I didn't expect such fast responses. You guys are *good*. Thank you again. Look for my enormously long TBAY post sometime tommorrow. Erin From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Tue Nov 18 07:28:46 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 07:28:46 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Jen asked: "Who are Olivier Martinez and Brian Krause?" Can't help you with Brian, but Olivier Martinez is YUMMY! He's one of my current favourite actors. I've only seen him in one movie (he plays the lover in "Unforgiven"), so I don't know if he can act beyond this one role, but he's really sexy. I actually put him in manually at the site to get a rating, and turned up with a respectable %84. Of the five on my own top five, I'd only ever heard of two of them - both basketball players, Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning. (Alonzo. Nice. ). Others that I put in myself: Alan Rickman, a sorry %52 (and that was mostly based on an high intellectual score) Jason Isaacs - %94 Whoo hoo! Lucius AND Hook! (But he's married. Drat) and Johnny Depp - also %94. He also happens to be very much a favourite of mine. Also married. (Double drat, as I feel confident that he would be my soul mate if it weren't for that pesky being married already thing) ::grin:: I guess I'd better go with Olivier, though. He's the only one that I'm certain is not married (other than Rickman, whose score simply doesn't qualify him). So, if Mr. Martinez will just let me know when he has a weekend free . . . ;-) Wendy (Who spent far more time at that site than is probably healthy) From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 18 08:14:36 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:14:36 -0000 Subject: the Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, And you both figure on being capable of reading by the end of Chapter 2? Congratulations. I'm now surveying the very interesting underside of the table. June "Tracy Hunt" wrote: > OK Iggy....I like the idea - but you've completely left out Filch and > any reference to house points. > > How about a drink each time someone's house points are taken away by > Snape? Or a drink each time Filch threatens a student or refers to > Ms. Norris by a pet name? > > tcy > > > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" > wrote: > > Iggy here: > > > > Ok all... I've decided to put together a Harry Potter Movie > Drinking Game. > > At the end of this, is what I've come up with off the top of my > head, so > > far. If anyone has any other ideas, please send them in... either > to the > > list or to me. I want to compile them into a complete game. (Of > course, > > once PoA comes out, we'll be adding to the list when we all get to > see > > that.) > > > > Iggy McSnurd > > > > > > > > > > The Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game > > > > (This list will be expanded as more movies are released.) > > > > > > Whenever Ron whimpers, take a drink. > > > > Whenever Ron says the word "panic," take 2 drinks. > > > > If Ron looks like he's about to wet himself, take a drink. > > > > Whenever Harry breaks his glasses, take 2 drinks. > > > > Whenever Harry touches his glasses, take a drink. > > > > Any time Harry speaks to a snake (or an image of one), take one > drink per > > line he speaks. > > > > When Hermione fixes Harry's glasses, take a drink. > > > > When Hermione puts school above anything else, take 2 drinks. > > > > Any time Hermione talks to someone like she knows better than they > do, take > > a drink. > > > > When Snape sneers at someone, take a drink. > > > > When anyone associated with Slytherin House calls someone by their > last > > name, take a drink. > > > > When Dumbledore nods and smiles at someone in a knowing way, take 2 > drinks. > > > > If Hagrid reveals information he shouldn't have, take a drink. > > > > If he realizes that he shouldn't have said something, take 2 drinks. > > > > If a scene contains a definite "red herring," take 2 drinks. > > > > If Dobby causes trouble for Harry, take a drink. > > > > Whenever Dobby punishes himself, take 2 drinks. > > > > Whenever Lockhart (or one of his pictures) flashes his "winning > smile," take > > one drink per smiling Lockhart. (This rule alone should get you > sloshed > > quickly.) > > > > Any time Lockhart lies about his skills or credentials, take a > drink. > > > > Whenever Draco deliberately tries to get Harry into trouble, take 2 > drinks. > > > > Whenever Professor MacGonagall looks at someone sternly, take a > drink. > > > > Whenever Collin Creevy takes a picture of Harry, take 2 drinks. > > > > Whenever any picture in a scene moves or talks, take one drink per > moving > > picture. > > > > Whenever you notice a scene that's missing Peeves, take 2 drinks in > honor of > > our favorite missing poltergeist. > > > > Any time you notice that Ron had been inserted into a scene instead > of > > someone else, take a drink. > > > > If Molly Weasley calls a child by a pet name, take a drink. > > > > If you can see Hermione's parents in Flourish and Blott's without > needing to > > slo-mo, take 3 drinks. > > > > Whenever Vernon Dursley gets red in the face, take 2 drinks. From fluxed at earthlink.net Tue Nov 18 08:26:32 2003 From: fluxed at earthlink.net (A. Vulgarweed) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 03:26:32 -0500 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: <1069113613.5748.83536.m1@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: >Wendy: > >Heh heh heh . . . I still can't get over it. I am *totally* creeped >out by Elrond in the films. And the thing is, I hadn't seen any of >the Matrix films until about a month ago, so my creeped-outness by >this actor is unconnected. I'm not sure if I ever saw him in >anything else and don't remember, or if he just comes across as >creepy to me in general. But it's creating trouble for me with the >LotR movies. My husband keeps telling me that Elrond is cool, and >trustworthy . . . but I just DON'T believe it. Heh. Yeah, Elrond is cool. Honestly, he is. He's just *still* kicking himself for not shoving Isildur into the Cracks of Doom, Ring and all, when he had the chance all those millennia ago. It makes him grumpy, but you can't really blame him. You know, I saw the first Matrix movie when it came out, and liked it OK, but it just never grabbed me all that hard (I think it's Keanu--he tends to cause some degree of instant tune-out for me). No, the role I remember Hugo Weaving from that I couldn't get out of my head was in _Priscilla, Queen of the Desert_. Yeah--*spectacular* drag performance. He creeps me out! >Evil! (I'm speaking here as someone who *has* read the trilogy and >so should know these things, but it's been more than 15 years ago, >and I honestly don't remember how it ends). > >On a related note, yesterday I finally saw the LotR trailer (when >seeing Matrix Revloutions, LOL). And it made me cry. Gah. I'm going >to be a wreck. I cried at least 5 times watching TT (I really got >going while Smeagol/Gollum fought with himself). I think the new >film is going to be worse. If I'm already sobbing at just 45 seconds >of thrown-together scenes . . . . ARGH! I think I'd better bring a >box of tissues to the cinema with me. ::grin:: Eeek. Well, take it from someone who's re-read them very recently: buy *stock* in Kleenex. Nobody will need to worry about drinking too much soda in an over-3-hour movie because all the moisture will be coming out our faces. (You know who made me cry in TTT? Theoden and Treebeard.) >:-) >Wendy >(Who still hasn't seen the PoA trailer . . . hey, maybe I should >take Connor to see "Loony Tunes" today. He's home sick from school, >but going to a film surely isn't an overly ambitious activity for a >sick day). ::grin:: Can I just say--I know some of the the casting choices have been controversial, but can I just get a hallelujah on the casting of *Crookshanks*?!? What a perfect, surly-looking, cranky, smart scrunch-faced kitty. In fact, I can almost hear _him_ saying, "Men? Men are weak!" AV who hasn't taken the quiz because if she isn't compatible with Viggo Mortensen or Johnny Depp, she doesn't want to know. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 18 09:13:00 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:13:00 -0000 Subject: wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad Message-ID: Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses Jeun From witchywoman at obdb.net Tue Nov 18 09:45:54 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 04:45:54 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? References: Message-ID: <00c901c3adb8$c26480a0$99960144@home> Jen wrote: > Shoule I break the bad news to Jennifer Aniston that Brad should be > mine? (Truthfully, he's just not my type ). Who are Olivier > Martin and Brian Krause? Brian Krause plays Leo on the WB show Charmed (was married to Piper and is the father of Wyatt). Can you tell I love this show? BTW, that is a VERY good pick in my opinion. Olivier Martinez is the lover for Diane Lane's character in the movie Unfaithful. Tammy, who has to get up at this ungawdly hour to get ready for work. Is she getting ready for work? Nooooooooooooooo! She's reading mail which is much more fun. (aka Witchy Woman) From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Tue Nov 18 11:14:49 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 11:14:49 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts (gee...thanks) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Melody" wrote: [snip] > Oh, and MDDT also includes the Safe House house elf Sneaky and > my carnivorous bunny Coney. They are essential to our > operation, you know. [snip] Coney? *That* Coney? Do Kevin and Kell know? :) Herdthinning regards Christian Stub? From michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 12:33:41 2003 From: michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com (michaeljacksonfan1970) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 12:33:41 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts (gee...thanks) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Melody" wrote: > Tcy asked: > > I've been doing some archive digging and have found many references > > to a group known as "MDDT". I can't seem to find the origin of this > > group name. Is the name the initials of the founding members?, > > relating to Magic Dishwasher?, > > > AHHHHHHHH!!! > > Are we so quiet lately that no one knows us?? > > Oh dear. Does this mean we need to be dragging MD back into the Tbay > sandbox more? I do not mind you know. I ever so enjoy debating > forever in circles. ;) Now me: How can I find out more abut this? And can I join the MDDT or MD? ~Madeline From mphunt at sprintmail.com Tue Nov 18 13:56:37 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 13:56:37 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts (gee...thanks) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "michaeljacksonfan1970" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Melody" wrote: > > Tcy asked: > > > I've been doing some archive digging and have found many references > > > to a group known as "MDDT". I can't seem to find the origin of this > > > group name. Is the name the initials of the founding members?, > > > relating to Magic Dishwasher?, > > > > > > AHHHHHHHH!!! > > > > Are we so quiet lately that no one knows us?? > > > > Oh dear. Does this mean we need to be dragging MD back into the Tbay > > sandbox more? I do not mind you know. I ever so enjoy debating > > forever in circles. ;) > > Now me: > > How can I find out more abut this? And can I join the MDDT or MD? > > ~Madeline now tcy: Madeline The best place to find out about MD (MAGIC DISHWASHER)(as well as many other great theories and essays) is at Fantastic Posts: http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/ in particular, MD can be found at Hypothetic Alley: http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hypotheticalley.html The only other way is to wade through the Yahoo Archives...which is a long and sometimes fruitless effort. As for how to join...you'd have to ask one of the members of a particular group...I'm mostly just a lurker. Good luck and I hope you find the TBAY as enjoyable a read as I have. tcy From mphunt at sprintmail.com Tue Nov 18 14:07:10 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:07:10 -0000 Subject: wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > > > Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer in > waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat > ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses > > > Jeun Tcy: (blotting the tears from her eyes as she tries to recover from the side-splitting laughter) I'm so glad you were talking about research...I was afraid this post was the aftermath of the HP Movie Drinking Game!! By the way, my 12 year old daughter will not be told of this research as she and I often have 'discussions' on the merits of good spelling. From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 14:10:31 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:10:31 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Agent Mitzi DelBra References: <013401c3ada0$e4cfebb0$6d984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <001401c3addd$bb5085a0$afd61e43@rick> > Nox > > Amy, please tell me your another who thinks Costner is like an overdose of > Serapax! I'm comatose in under a minute watching him... > Iggy here: Personally, I'd rather put a bullet through my brain than watch another movie he directed. I was able to watch "Dances With Wolves" once... it was good... but too long for me to bother sitting through a second time. "Waterworld," as lame as it was, had some interest the first time I saw it but, again, was too long and also lame for me to even want to consider watching a second time. I watched about... ohhh... 5 minutes here and there of "the Postman" when it came on TV.. and that lasted maybe half an hour even flipping back and forth. "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves" was a decent enough movie, but I agree with the joke in "Men in Tights" where Elwes says that "Unlike *other* Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent." (Who knew Baron Robin of Loxley was actually from the American Midwest??) It's the only movie of his I'll re-watch occasionally. Other than that, I can't really stand any of his movies. I think he has *way* too high an opinion of himself both as an actor and a director. He let the rave reviews for his work on "Dances With Wolves" go to his head... but he wasn't smart enough to let the hideously poor reviews pull him back down to the ground. (I'd rather sit through an "Ally McBeal" marathon smoking pot that sit through any of his movies other than Prince of Thieves... and I find Ally McBeal trite and inane, and I am violently allergic to marijuana... it shuts down my respartory system. Imagine having a severe asthma attack from mild second-hand exposure from concerts and such... and a potentially lethal one if I ever tried to take a hit off a joint. Discovering this allergy wasn't a fun experience.) Iggy McSnurd From annemehr at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 14:23:08 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:23:08 -0000 Subject: wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy Hunt" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" > wrote: > > > > > > Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer > in > > waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat > > ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses > > > > > > Jeun > > Tcy: > (blotting the tears from her eyes as she tries to recover from the > side-splitting laughter) > > I'm so glad you were talking about research...I was afraid this post > was the aftermath of the HP Movie Drinking Game!! Annemehr: You know, I think it was, because... June, dear, your name *ends* in an "e"! Ahneemnr From hp at plum.cream.org Tue Nov 18 14:29:20 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:29:20 +0000 Subject: Celebmatch/celeb spotting/weekends Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031118133519.009b2a60@plum.cream.org> The results Celebmatch came up with for me were ... interesting. Gina Gerson (99%), I like (apart from other things, she's one day younger than myself), although what she sees is Owen Wilson is beyond me. However, Lorraine Kelly (98%) (non-Brits, don't ask) - yeuch! Looking at HP-related folk, a 94% average compatibility with Emma Thompson pleases me, especially the 100% "physical".... I'm not sure how to take a 99% "intellectual" match with young Master Radcliffe (although the other indicators were very low)! As for celeb spotting/name dropping... Starting with the HP world, I've met John Cleese on several occasions (enough to have interesting in-depth conversations); I've encountered Richard Harris a couple of times (though not to speak to) and I've seen Michael Gambon on stage (and outside stage doors afterwards). My main HP cast claim to fame, though, is that I lived on the same street as the Radcliffes for about 7 months in 1998. I must've seen young Dan in the street several times over that period (although of course I didn't know it at the time). I discovered this fact when visiting a friend who still lives there in the summer of 2000, and he described the media kerfuffle when the HP casting was announced... Other than the HP world, I used to see John Simpson (BBC journalist) on the tube almost every day; the late Willie Rushton used to buy his cigarettes from the same shop I did in the Earls Court Road (some dreadful, smelly, yellow brand, I recall). I could also mention the current Pope, I suppose (private half-hour audience for group of eight); I also met him about 5 years before he took up the position (he was visiting our school) and there was a photo in the school album of him patting me on the head. Oh, and talking of neighbours, I lived next door to Charles Gray (famous, depending on one's interests, as Blofeld in "Diamonds Are Forever", or as The Narrator in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" movie) back in the early nineties. He was a raging queen and would regularly have huge arguments in the middle of the night with the toy boys he'd picked up (and thrown out), standing on his first-floor street-facing balcony and throwing the unfortunate youth his clothes one by one... As for choosing house guests for a weekend, I love a good argument, so for my dead guests, I'd like to invite two pairs of adversaries: Hitler and Churchill (AFAIK, they never actually met), and for some intellectual debate, Samuel Johnson (he of the English Dictionary) and Noah Webster (he of the American). They had very different views about language and the divergence of our common yet separate languages is largely traceable to those ideas. Churchill would also have a lot to say to both of them, though I'm not sure how Herr Hitler would fit in. As for those still alive, I'd like to get JKR and Philip Pullman to knock heads and ideas (and I think they'd fit in rather nicely with the rest of the crowd). I'd invite Robin Day (British journalist, now retired) to tell some of his stories (he's an incredible raconteur) and to keep order (nobody could chair a discussion the way he did). Of course, I'd need a bit of eye candy, but I wouldn't like her (them) to be out of her (their) depth intellectually, so I'm not quite sure. I'd have to think about that one for a bit longer... From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 14:23:38 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:23:38 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: the Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game References: Message-ID: <003101c3addf$91d3e080$afd61e43@rick> >June: > And you both figure on being capable of reading by the end of Chapter > 2? > > Congratulations. I'm now surveying the very interesting underside of > the table. > Iggy here: *laugh* That's why it's the HP *Movie* Drinking Game. If I made it the *Book* Drinking Game, I'd be able to get a lot more vicious, with things like: Every time Peeves is rude... take a drink. Every time Peeves plays a joke... take a drink. Every time they mention Petunia's horsy teeth, take three drinks. Any time one of the Dursleys gives Harry an ugly look... take 2 drinks. Any time English slang that might confuse an American is used... take 4 drinks. (You would *not* believe how long it took me to figure out the exact definition of "snogging." The first time I read it, I has an image of Kreacher having a *very* intimate encounter with Mr. Black's pants... *ick*) Any time you read something that can have a sexual double meaning... take two drinks. (You'll be in a coma halfway through Harry buying his first "wand" in Ollivander's.) And if I wanted to be *really* mean, I'd add the three following rules: Any time someone's name is mentioned in a sentence, take one drink per name mentioned. Whenever a paragraph is started with an indentation, take a drink. and last but not least... Any time a punctuation mark is used, take a drink. (Can you say "alcohol poisoning" by the end of the first paragraph?) 'Nuff said Iggy McSnurd From kkearney at students.miami.edu Tue Nov 18 14:33:37 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:33:37 -0000 Subject: Japanese Translation In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Have you tried amazon.co.jp? Thanks, they had it. > If you live in or near LA or Chicago, you can go to Asahiya Bookstore and just get it > there... > Kinokuniya bookstores are in the LA Area, the San Francisco Bay area, in Seattle, > Portland, New York and New Jersey and they all should have the books in stock as > well. I'm currently living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, not exactly the center of international culture. :) I miss living in as city with access to those sort of things. -Corinth From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 14:30:01 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:30:01 -0600 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) References: Message-ID: <003b01c3ade0$7468a340$afd61e43@rick> > AV: >Eeek. Well, take it from someone who's re-read them very recently: buy >*stock* in Kleenex. Nobody will need to worry about drinking too much soda >in an over-3-hour movie because all the moisture will be coming out our >faces. (You know who made me cry in TTT? Theoden and Treebeard.) Iggy here: One of these days, when I have the time between classes and taking care of my dughter, I'll actually get to read the LoTR trilogy... (I saw the old animated movies, but not much more, other than about the first half of the first fo the recent movies on DVD...) I've read the Hobbit, and have it and all three of the LoTR books... I just never got more than about 5-6 chapters in to book one before something demanded my attention for so long that I had lost track of what was going on in the bok and would have had to start over... Oh well... One of these days. Iggy McSnurd From hp at plum.cream.org Tue Nov 18 14:41:02 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:41:02 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Celebmatch/celeb spotting/weekends In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031118133519.009b2a60@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031118143905.0098ae80@plum.cream.org> Further to what I posted a few minutes ago, and before any Brits point it out, I just realised that Robin Day died three years ago! In that case, I'll have to go for second-best, and invite Jeremy Paxman. Much more abrasive discussion-chairing, but much more fun for it! From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 14:38:24 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:38:24 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad References: Message-ID: <006101c3ade1$a0c02660$afd61e43@rick> > Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer in > waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat > ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses > > > Jeun > Iggy here: I think I actually successfully disproved this in a letter I had replied to of this nature sent to me by my mom by pointing out that it depends on how common the words are, the length of the word, and the context. In other words, it only works if we have a strong chance of knowing the words we're reading by context in the first place. (I did this by listing words in a sentence like June's above... and then by taking a series of long words plucked at random and completely rearranging all but the first and last letters. Even *I* needed a key to read those, and I was the one who wrote them.) Iggy McSnurd From erinellii at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 14:51:19 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:51:19 -0000 Subject: Japanese Translation In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "corinthum" > > I'm currently living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, not exactly the > center of international culture. :) I miss living in as city with > access to those sort of things. > > -Corinth Wel, I live in Mobile, Al, so I feel your pain. Didn't Iggy sday he lived in Alabama too? Hey Iggy, what part of Alabama do you live in? Did I ask you this once before? Erin From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 18 14:52:58 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:52:58 -0000 Subject: the Harry Potter Movie Drinking Game In-Reply-To: <003101c3addf$91d3e080$afd61e43@rick> Message-ID: This reminds me of one we played in college, called Jacks. Requirement: one pack of stupid students, one pack of ordinary playing cards. To play: Deal the cards about the table, the first player to receive a jack (or knave) nominates a drink (must be a spirit preferably), the second player also nominates a drink as before. The third jack recipient orders and pays for BOTH drinks in a glass, and the fourth gets to drink them. Hic! Second variation - I call this the Moscow Rules, I didn't play but I was there. Any number of players: Each player takes one bottle of Stolichnaya vodka and drinks it as quickly as they can. The first player to pass out gets a mohican haircut courtesy of the other players. This really happened, November 1984, Pushkin Institue of Russian Language, Moscow. The "winner" was a very bizarre irishman called Owen. I assure you, having a Mohican haircut in Soviet Russia in 1984 was a very definite statement. If he's posting here, HI, howarya. June > > Iggy here: > > *laugh* That's why it's the HP *Movie* Drinking Game. > > If I made it the *Book* Drinking Game, I'd be able to get a lot more > vicious, with things like: > > Every time Peeves is rude... take a drink. > > Every time Peeves plays a joke... take a drink. > > Every time they mention Petunia's horsy teeth, take three drinks. > > Any time one of the Dursleys gives Harry an ugly look... take 2 drinks. > > Any time English slang that might confuse an American is used... take 4 > drinks. (You would *not* believe how long it took me to figure out the > exact definition of "snogging." The first time I read it, I has an image of > Kreacher having a *very* intimate encounter with Mr. Black's pants... *ick*) > > Any time you read something that can have a sexual double meaning... take > two drinks. (You'll be in a coma halfway through Harry buying his first > "wand" in Ollivander's.) > > > And if I wanted to be *really* mean, I'd add the three following rules: > > Any time someone's name is mentioned in a sentence, take one drink per name > mentioned. > > Whenever a paragraph is started with an indentation, take a drink. > > and last but not least... > > Any time a punctuation mark is used, take a drink. (Can you say "alcohol > poisoning" by the end of the first paragraph?) > > > > 'Nuff said > > Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 14:51:43 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 08:51:43 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Celebmatch/celeb spotting/weekends References: <4.2.0.58.20031118133519.009b2a60@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <00a601c3ade4$36c78520$afd61e43@rick> > GilPlum: > Oh, and talking of neighbours, I lived next door to Charles Gray (famous, > depending on one's interests, as Blofeld in "Diamonds Are Forever", or as > The Narrator in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" movie) back in the early > nineties. He was a raging queen and would regularly have huge arguments in > the middle of the night with the toy boys he'd picked up (and thrown out), > standing on his first-floor street-facing balcony and throwing the > unfortunate youth his clothes one by one... > Iggy here: That one, IMHO, is pretty cool. (Well, ok, the "raging queen" part I didn't know about.. and I don't know how cool the "arguments with this boy toys" thing is.. but still...) I'm a big fan of Bond movies, and have actually brought up a couple of time that he's one of the only 2 actors to play two different characters in different Bond movies. (He played a British agent in "You Only Live Twice" before he later took on the role of Bloefeld.) Maude Adams was the other. Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 15:01:04 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:01:04 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Japanese Translation References: Message-ID: <00a801c3ade4$d1665840$afd61e43@rick> > Erin > > Wel, I live in Mobile, Al, so I feel your pain. Didn't Iggy sday he > lived in Alabama too? Hey Iggy, what part of Alabama do you live in? > Did I ask you this once before? > Iggy here: *laugh* Yeah... You asked me once when you were upset about something I had said about my experiences as a Westerner here in Alabama. We ended up chatting over direct e-mail and agreeing that Southerners were ok, Bubba's were bad. = ) I used to live in Santa Cruz, California... Now I live in a podunk little city, called Somerville, about 20 minutes from Decatur and an hour from the main malls in Huntsville... (The only reason it's a city and not a town is that they have a city hall and a city council... and they want to annex one of the nearby towns...) Heck, were I live we have a hard time even getting modern American culture... (I'm still pissed at the cable company that they have the rest of the county wired for cable modem access, but they're apparently just sitting on their thumbs... to put it as politely as I can... when it comes to completing the setup for our city and surrounding few miles for cable modems...) Iggy McSnurd From greywolf1 at jazzfree.com Tue Nov 18 15:13:39 2003 From: greywolf1 at jazzfree.com (Grey Wolf) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:13:39 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts (gee...thanks) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Melody wrote: > [snip] > > Oh, and MDDT also includes the Safe House house elf Sneaky and > > my carnivorous bunny Coney. They are essential to our > > operation, you know. > [snip] Christian wrote: > Coney? *That* Coney? Do Kevin and Kell know? :) > > Herdthinning regards > Christian Stub? Errr... I know you're joking, but the answer is, in fact, yes. When the idea of a nice innocent-looking bunny that was actually more than it seemed first popped up in the drawing board I immediately associated it with dear Coney from K&K (she's my favourite character in the series - just like Maggie in the Simpsons) and thus I proposed to use her. It was well received by the rest of the MDDT, so I got in contact with Bill Holbrook to ask for permission to use his character. I explained the situation, assured him that I wouldn't be selling anything with Coney (or indeed, using anything but her name and characteristics - not even her image) and he agreed to the whole thing. I am still very thankful to Bill for allowing us to use little Coney. If you care to try, you could look in the archives for the first appearance of Coney, and you'll see I put the copyright notice and the linkage just in case anyway. In case you don't care to fight yahoomort (and who could blame you!), Coney is copyright Bill Holbrook from here to eternity, used with permission and anyone who wants to read the delightful adventures of Coney & co can go to http://kevinandkell.com Hope that helps, Grey Wolf From lupinesque at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 15:33:50 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:33:50 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: We prefer "coots" or "codgers." ;-) Amy who has a dishwasher for the first time in 15 years, and calls it Grey Wolf in tribute (. . . and yes, it is magical. I put the dishes and soap in, press a button, wave my wand, mutter some fake Latin, and voila! Clean dishes!) From lupinesque at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 15:37:48 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:37:48 -0000 Subject: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Joywitch, fooling no one, wrote: > Not that I'm competively trying to outdo Amy Z, the Trivia Queen, but > Tim McGraw, the country music singer, is also the son of Tug McGraw, > a baseball player who pitched for the N.Y. Mets in the 1970s. Damn. I wondered whether there was a connection and thought about looking it up so that I could throw in a little extraneous information, but I thought "nah, McGraw isn't that unusual a name." An opportunity to defend my title as Trivia Queen and I missed it. I guess I'll just have to retrieve my paper Miss Use of Muggle Artifacts crown from the recycle bin. > Joywitch, endlessy amused at the thought of Catherine and Chipper > Jones or Tim McGraw, or Amy and Ricky Martin or Ice Cube *I* think Ice Cube's kinda cute. Who the hell is Ricky Martin? Amy Z From lupinesque at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 15:54:53 2003 From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:54:53 -0000 Subject: Owl post In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tracy wrote: > If I ever get my letter accepting me to Hogwarts, I've already chosen > my owl. :-) I volunteer at a wildlife rehab clinic, and we > currently have a patient that everyone refers to as "the cutest owl > ever". She is a saw-whet owl, about 5 inches tall with huge yellow > eyes. Despite her tiny size she tries to act big and scary when I > take her out of the cage for her treatments - hopping, flapping, and > clacking her beak. AWWWWWWW! I saw one of these last year during an excellent live-animal show all about owls, at which the owl-rescue guy who was presenting admirably avoided making even the slightest reference to HP. I, of course, was thinking HP the entire time, especially when he introduced us to the saw-whet owl. He said it's the smallest owl in the . . . United States? Northeast? (This was in Massachusetts.) Pigwidgeon is probably a Scops, but I still thought of him when I saw the owl smaller than this man's hand, and barely restrained myself from saying, "ooh, look at the weeny owl!" Amy Z From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 15:51:39 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:51:39 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <018401c3adeb$dbde3ac0$afd61e43@rick> > Amy Z: > An opportunity to defend my title as Trivia Queen and I missed it. I > guess I'll just have to retrieve my paper Miss Use of Muggle > Artifacts crown from the recycle bin. Iggy here: That's the one you got at Burger King a while back... right? > Amy Z: > *I* think Ice Cube's kinda cute. Who the hell is Ricky Martin? > Iggy here: *sigh* Ok.. in letting you know this, I am going to also reveal my real name... which, unfortunately, is Rick Martin. (I say "unfortunately" because I still receive no end of Ricky Martin jokes, references, and people mistakenly calling me Ricky rather than Rick...) Please, no jokes... I've heard them all a million times... and I don't "shake my bon-bon" for anyone but my wife. Ricky Martin is a Puerto Rican salsa and pop singer who was in Menudo when he was really young. After that, he ended up starring in a number of Mexican soap operas, before moving up to staring in American ones. During this time, he still sang a lot. He broke out from the Hispanic music scene and into a more multi-cultural one with the release of his self named album. The biggest hits from this album were "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "Shake Your Bob-Bon." The album also features the song that was the anthem for one of the World Cup Soccer series... I forget what year... this song was "Ole Ole..." IIRC... He's rather good looking in a boyish sort of way, and there was constant controversy for a while about what his actual sexual preference was. As he keeps his private life strictly private, he refused to confirm or deny any rumors. No, I am not a fan, although I do have a CD of his self titled album because my sister bought it for me one B-day and it's actually not a bad CD. You just can't help but learn all this stuff when you share the same #$%*! name. (And his name, incidentally, is actually Enrique Martin-Morales) Iggy McSnurd From hp at plum.cream.org Tue Nov 18 16:13:21 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:13:21 +0000 Subject: Charles Gray/Room 101 In-Reply-To: <00a601c3ade4$36c78520$afd61e43@rick> References: <4.2.0.58.20031118133519.009b2a60@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031118152824.00992100@plum.cream.org> Iggy wrote: >That one, IMHO, is pretty cool. (Well, ok, the "raging queen" part I didn't >know about.. and I don't know how cool the "arguments with this boy toys" >thing is.. but still...) The "raging queen" bit is neither cool nor uncool, it just *is* (live and let live, I always say). Incidentally, his more outlandish costumes Gray wore in RHPS were pretty typical of the way he dressed as a matter of course. :-) However, the blazing rows at 3 or 4 in the morning (some of which lasted a couple of hours) were absolutely, definitely uncool. It was an *ultra* posh street (the house I lived in was sold last year for almost 3 million pounds, and it needed a lot of work done to it - people were impressed when I told them my address at the time, but they didn't know that I rented an attic room) :-) and his behaviour really was untenable at times. Apart from the rows, he had a habit of listening to Verdi operas late at night, VERY loud with his windows wide open (I lived there during the warmer months of the year). Talking of "posh" (explanation forthcoming), I mentioned at the weekend that "adults who read Harry Potter" was one of the items Linda Smith wanted to consign to oblivion on Room 101 last night. For those who don't know what this show is about (the link I provided didn't really say much beyond the basic premise), a celebrity is invited to discuss their pet peeves with the show's presenter, Paul Merton. It's all done for laughs, in case anyone was wondering... Several "things" (depicted by inexpensive props) are proposed to be banished from the world, and the celebrity has to persuade Merton that the world would be a better place if the subject under discussion was consigned to oblivion. The whole thing is a million miles from being Politically Correct and is an opportunity for people to be as prejudiced as they wish. In the past, people have banished "people in wheelchairs", "golf", "bicycles", several politicians, etc... Anne Robinson (of "Weakest Link" fame) got into very hot water when she wanted to abolish "Welsh People" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2543573.stm). Enough on the background, on to last night's show. Ms Smith's argument was that other than people reading HP to little children, or those with reading difficulties (!), adult interest in the Potterverse is unhealthy and debilitating (or a symptom of general infantilism in society). She was particularly scathing of those who "feel no shame to be seen reading Potter in public" on trains, etc, and "don't have the decency to disguise the book with pornography or something". The rest of the conversation was variations on that theme. In some cases, especially if he's unsure of what the audience reaction to his decision may be, Merton takes a hand-count of the studio audience as to whether or not to allow a particular "thing" to be consigned to the depths of Room 101. He did so in this case - with an overwhelming proportion of the audience voting in favour of oblivion. The show's director clearly agreed with the decision - when showing the people against casting out "adults reading HP", he chose to show a pair of media stereotypical Potter fans: two very obviously overweight women wearing spectacles looking very, very nerdy. The segment was introduced with a filmed interview with an American stereotypically geeky guy in a bookshop buying the new HP book (OotP) "for his wife", and much discussion ensued about whether or not someone as geeky and unattractive as this guy could have been married... All in all, the show went to great lengths to maintain the image of adult Potter fans as sad, unattractive geeks. (Admittedly, the show's presentation and style always shows the object under discussion in the most unflattering light possible, so there's nothing really unique about taking the p*ss out of Potter fans in that way.) As for the reason why I thought of mentioning the topic of Room 101 when I used the word "posh", the last item Linda Smith proposed consigning to Room 101 was... "anything posh" (She was successful). From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 18 16:17:00 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 10:17:00 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Owl post References: Message-ID: <019f01c3adef$76e34260$afd61e43@rick> > Amy Z: > I saw one of these last year during an excellent live-animal show all > about owls, at which the owl-rescue guy who was presenting admirably > avoided making even the slightest reference to HP. I, of course, was > thinking HP the entire time, especially when he introduced us to the > saw-whet owl. He said it's the smallest owl in the . . . United > States? Northeast? (This was in Massachusetts.) > Iggy here: As an American who's really into Native American folklore (and who's Spirit Guide is Coyote), I'd probably cause a scandal by bringing a Raven or Crow rather than an owl. They're more intelligent than owls, and the Raven is a trickster spirit, so it would go well with me. If I *had* to bring an owl, I'd bring a Great Horned owl, like the one I've got tattooed on my left bicep. (I have a tattoo of a horned owl with a heart body flying under a full disk crescent moon while carrying an Ankh in its talons.) His name would be Archimedes, the same as the owl pendant I wear and the one in my tattoo. (Named both after the philosopher, and Merlin's owl from "the Sword in the Stone.") I'll see if I can upload a picture of my tattoo. The artwork isn't the highest of quality (I may try to find someone who can touch it up to look a little better...) but it's something important to me. I kept coming back to the same design for 5 years before I got it, so I know I can live with the design for the rest of my life. Oh, and by some odd coincidence, I discovered that I can make the wings flap. As for the symbology, the owl is for wisdom, the heart is for love, the ankh is for life, and the moon is for dreams. Four of the things I hold in the highest of value. (Now if I can only find a way to add humor into the image... *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From tammy at mauswerks.net Tue Nov 18 17:44:46 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 12:44:46 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Owl post In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <3FBA143E.5340.5ECEA81@localhost> Tracy wrote: > If I ever get my letter accepting me to Hogwarts, I've already chosen > my owl. :-) I volunteer at a wildlife rehab clinic, and we currently > have a patient that everyone refers to as "the cutest owl ever". She > is a saw-whet owl, about 5 inches tall with huge yellow eyes. Despite > her tiny size she tries to act big and scary when I take her out of > the cage for her treatments - hopping, flapping, and clacking her > beak. Here's a link to a photo of this species of owl: > > http://tinyurl.com/vfv4 > > Cute or what?! They are small enough that when they sleep in the > evergreens they resemble pine cones - good camouflage against > predators. Now me (Tammy Rizzo) Oh, now this is weird. :-) There was an article in Sunday's paper about the saw- whet owls! I hadn't gotten around to leafing through the paper until this morning, and there was a pic right there on the front page, showing this TINY little owl. Of course, my first thought was, "PIG!" *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From lhuntley at fandm.edu Tue Nov 18 18:18:29 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 13:18:29 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: I've uploaded a picture, *again*. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <9C5BCC04-19F3-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Jo said: > Good Grief, Laura. I just checked out the picture of you and the > LOYL and all I can say is that Harry Potter really *is* your love > slave! What can I say? He is. *smiles sheepishly* Heh. Would you believe I didn't even notice the resemblance until I'd been dating him for about five months? *hangs head in shame* All my family refer to him as "Harry Potter" now, though. It's rather..uh, embarrassing. His eyes are even green most of the time. I keep worrying that the reason I was initially attracted to him was because I subconsciously thought he looked like my favorite book character, and what kind of creepy obsessive freak that makes me. Really, I'm quite nervous about it. Oh well, he's better than Harry Potter. *remains calm as OTC erupts into outrage and shouts of "SACRILEGE!" are heard* Well, he IS. ^_~ Only seven days until he comes to visit me. ^_^ Laura From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 18 18:28:49 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 18:28:49 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031118152824.00992100@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: > I have occasionally watched Room 101 and have often pedantically composed a letter which remains unsent to the production company. The purpose of Room 101 in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell was not to be some rubbish bin where you got rid of unwanted things, but it did of course house "The worst thing in the world". This was personal to every individual but it was your worst fear, the one that could turn the most rational individual into a quivering wreck. In Winston Smith's case it happened to be rats. He escaped death by rats by pleading with his captors for his lover to be put there instead of him, the idea Orwell was stating was that after such pleas you could not feel the same way about that person anymore. This was the ultimate victory of the state machine over the private individual to make them renounce their deepest love. If you haven't read Nineteen Eighty Four, I recommend the scene where Winston Smith, the hero of the book faces his greatest fear as one of the most terrifying in fiction. So accordingly, I find the rather silly TV programme a bit annoying because it trivialises a magnificent idea and piece of literature. Pendantic - yes I suppose so. June > > Talking of "posh" (explanation forthcoming), I mentioned at the weekend > that "adults who read Harry Potter" was one of the items Linda Smith wanted > to consign to oblivion on Room 101 last night. > > For those who don't know what this show is about (the link I provided > didn't really say much beyond the basic premise), a celebrity is invited to > discuss their pet peeves with the show's presenter, Paul Merton. It's all > done for laughs, in case anyone was wondering... Several "things" (depicted > by inexpensive props) are proposed to be banished from the world, and the > celebrity has to persuade Merton that the world would be a better place if > the subject under discussion was consigned to oblivion. > > The whole thing is a million miles from being Politically Correct and is an > opportunity for people to be as prejudiced as they wish. In the past, > people have banished "people in wheelchairs", "golf", "bicycles", several > politicians, etc... Anne Robinson (of "Weakest Link" fame) got into very > hot water when she wanted to abolish "Welsh People" > (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2543573.stm). > > Enough on the background, on to last night's show. Ms Smith's argument was > that other than people reading HP to little children, or those with reading > difficulties (!), adult interest in the Potterverse is unhealthy and > debilitating (or a symptom of general infantilism in society). She was > particularly scathing of those who "feel no shame to be seen reading Potter > in public" on trains, etc, and "don't have the decency to disguise the book > with pornography or something". The rest of the conversation was variations > on that theme. > > In some cases, especially if he's unsure of what the audience reaction to > his decision may be, Merton takes a hand-count of the studio audience as to > whether or not to allow a particular "thing" to be consigned to the depths > of Room 101. He did so in this case - with an overwhelming proportion of > the audience voting in favour of oblivion. The show's director clearly > agreed with the decision - when showing the people against casting out > "adults reading HP", he chose to show a pair of media stereotypical Potter > fans: two very obviously overweight women wearing spectacles looking very, > very nerdy. The segment was introduced with a filmed interview with an > American stereotypically geeky guy in a bookshop buying the new HP book > (OotP) "for his wife", and much discussion ensued about whether or not > someone as geeky and unattractive as this guy could have been married... > > All in all, the show went to great lengths to maintain the image of adult > Potter fans as sad, unattractive geeks. > > (Admittedly, the show's presentation and style always shows the object > under discussion in the most unflattering light possible, so there's > nothing really unique about taking the p*ss out of Potter fans in that way.) > > As for the reason why I thought of mentioning the topic of Room 101 when I > used the word "posh", the last item Linda Smith proposed consigning to Room > 101 was... "anything posh" (She was successful). From grannybat at hotmail.com Tue Nov 18 19:29:30 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:29:30 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_and_the_canonicity_of_her_artwork_?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra wrote: > Mary GrandPr?, who created the cover art > and chapter illustrations for the Scholastic editions of HP, > gave a lecture at the Salt Lake City, Utah library on Saturday, Nov. > 15th. The SLC denizens from HPfGU and SugarQuill arrived in costume > ... Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, Dicentra (me), Lilac, > Wahlee, and a few others from SQ whom I did not know.... > > She showed us slides of some of the illustrations she's done over > the years. They are all much cooler, IMO, than her HP work. The > faces of Fleur, Cedric, and Krum on the cover of GoF carry signs > her trademark facial style but Harry doesn't. The bit of the dog (Padfoot, I assume) peeking over the hedge, only the top of his head and his brooding eyes visible, is more illustrative (heh) of the sense of humor she displays in her other work, too. She sneaks her whimsy into some of the chapter drawings, I've noticed; the image of Lockhart's beaming teeth and Ron looking queasy over a cauldronful of slugs springs to mind. I got the impression that the art director doesn't attach nearly as much importance to the chapter drawings as to the book jacket, so she may feel she has more leeway for humor inside the book. She must have had a lot of fun drawing the house elf heads wearing Santa Clause trims. > She makes three preliminary sketches and they choose one, "they" > being the Scholastic editor and art director. She does not confer > with JKR on the illustrations, because the editors want the artists > to come up with their own interpretation of the story. > ...This means, then, that the illustrations are NOT CANON. Should this paragraph be posted to the main list? I debated posting something similiar. > However, JKR does approve her preliminary character sketches, but > she's very willing to let GrandPr? bring her own artistic vision > into the art -- which means that she very likely approved Snape > With Goatee and other renderings that fans dislike. > She says that reading is very difficult for her (dyslexia?), and > that we fans know the books far better than she does. I think it's worth noting that when I asked her why she drew Snape in a way other than how JKR described him (couched in terms of who approves the final drawings, so as not to appear hostile), GrandPre's face went blank for a moment and she asked in a small voice, "How is he described?" Maybe this is just a projection of my own feelings, but I seemed to sense a collective "Huh???!" of disbelief from the audience...at least, down the row to my left, where all the black academic gowns were sitting. ;) The woman who puts the face on Our Boy Harry says she loves him--but she doesn't remember important details like that? (!) I gave her a condensed version of canon rather than quote chapter and verse. She took a moment, then said, still in that small, somewhat intimidated voice, that she thought JKR's description left enough room for "other" interpretations. Clearly the woman does not realize the important function that Details Assumed or Deliberately Not Described serve in JKR's text. (If Snape had been meant to have facial hair, Harry would have noted it. And I'm sure his messy, greasy, teenage-nightmare-of-a-hairdo will prove important to character development when Snape's past is revealed.) I can't accept that JKR approved the image of balding Snape with a goatee. Maybe it's a personal, private joke of hers--maybe the chemistry teacher upon whom she based Our Beloved Potions Master really was balding and bearded--but it spoils my mental image of a pivotal character. >(She's left-handed, BTW.) By the time we becostumed folks got to her, > she had been signing for about 45 minutes (I think). > ... I had her write "To Dicentra: Rictusempra!" though it came out > "Rictosempra." I don't think she knew what Rictusempra meant. That didn't surprise me. If she couldn't remember Snape's physical description or which hand Harry uses to hold his wand, it's a cinch she wouldn't remember a spell that was used only once throughout the books. > She thanked us for coming in costume, and when I mentioned that we > were a bunch of Internet folks, she asked what site I meant. "Harry > Potter for Grownups," I replied. "Ooohhh!" she said, recognizing the > name. "Did you go to the conference in Orlando?" I told her that I > had, and observed that she had been invited but wasn't able to make > it. She told me that the move to Florida, plus some recent surgery > and other stuff made it impossible for her to go. > > Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, and Lilac will have to tell you what she > said to them: I wasn't listening. When my turn came she asked me if we were all together. I said yes, were were all members of HP4GU, and I was the obnoxious Snape questioner. She smiled. (I'll confess I was afraid I had scared her off during the Q&A.) She confirmed that I wanted her to sign on the page that had the Snape-facing-off-with-Sirius drawing for the Occlumency chapter, then scribbled my online name, date, and her sig in the white space. As I moved to make space for the next person in line, GrandPre said she liked my lipstick--a deep, metallic green, for those of you who didn't see it. > --Dicentra, who forgot to ask her why Harry was holding his wand in > his *left* hand on the covers of GoF and OoP. Rats! I didn't manage to ask, either, but I'm not worried about this anymore. When Jen showed us her copy of the special edition hardback, I noticed that the image of Harry in the blue DoM room is used as end pages. While we were ooohing and aaaahing over the details of Dumbledore's spectacles and the decapitated fairies that grace the Black house on the new book jacket, she pointed out that the first cover art had been "flipped" inside the book covers. There Harry holds his wand in his right hand. So, aside from GrandPre's potential dyslexia and lack of memory for details, whichever hand was drawn in the original artwork has no hidden meaning attached to it. Grannybat From mphunt at sprintmail.com Tue Nov 18 19:50:13 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:50:13 -0000 Subject: Question for the old farts In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Amy Z wrote: > We prefer "coots" or "codgers." > > ;-) > Amy > who has a dishwasher for the first time in 15 years, and calls it > Grey Wolf in tribute > > (. . . and yes, it is magical. I put the dishes and soap in, press a > button, wave my wand, mutter some fake Latin, and voila! Clean > dishes!) tcy: How about "experienced listmembers"? I assure you, my impertinence was meant in jest. 'Old Fart' and so old that one 'farts dust' are meant as terms of endearment, honestly. And thank you (and Melody and Grey Wolf) for replying to my question. tcy (her life now on the verge of being complete because some of the old farts spoke with her, will head back into the shadows and lurk with a great big ol' grin on her face) From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Tue Nov 18 20:41:52 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 20:41:52 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "junediamanti" wrote: [snip] > The purpose of Room 101 in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell was > not to be some rubbish bin where you got rid of unwanted things, > but it did of course house "The worst thing in the world". > This was personal to every individual but it was your worst > fear, the one that could turn the most rational individual into > a quivering wreck. [snip] Somehow this immediately caused me to think of a boggart. Best regards Christian Stub? From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 18 21:05:52 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:05:52 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "junediamanti" wrote: > [snip] > > The purpose of Room 101 in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell was > > not to be some rubbish bin where you got rid of unwanted things, > > but it did of course house "The worst thing in the world". > > This was personal to every individual but it was your worst > > fear, the one that could turn the most rational individual into > > a quivering wreck. > [snip] > > Somehow this immediately caused me to think of a boggart. > > Best regards > Christian Stub? Brilliantly noticed - because when I made this post that's what I thought and wondered if JKR had even nodded to this when she wrote POA. This is a genuinely good parallel. June From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk Tue Nov 18 21:17:53 2003 From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:17:53 -0000 Subject: I've uploaded a picture, *again*. In-Reply-To: <9C5BCC04-19F3-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Message-ID: Erm, I've uploaded a picture too - I was out with some friends recently when someone came along and took our picture for the bar website. My title bit came out a bit cryptic - I couldn't fit "Kirstini and friends - I'm the one in green" into the description, so I thought I'd mention it here. And Laura's boyfriend is absolutely lovely(swift bit of topic relevance there). Kirstini, making another rare, sheepish appearance on OTC. From lhuntley at fandm.edu Tue Nov 18 21:52:39 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:52:39 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I've uploaded a picture + Dicey's Robes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <875E82E8-1A11-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Kristini said: > Erm, I've uploaded a picture too - I was out with some friends > recently when someone came along and took our picture for the bar > website. My title bit came out a bit cryptic - I couldn't > fit "Kirstini and friends - I'm the one in green" into the > description, so I thought I'd mention it here. You look like you're having fun. ^_~ I like your hair color, by the way. I've always wanted to dye mine that color, but...well, I'm afraid to. (I've never done anything to my hair except cut it -- and even then, rarely.) Kristini again: > And Laura's boyfriend is absolutely lovely(swift bit of topic > relevance there). Aw, thanks. I just happen to think so too. ^_^ Dicentra - I thought your costume was amazing. Did you sew it yourself, or did you buy it somewhere? If you bought it, where? And if you sewed it, what pattern did you use (if you used one, that is)? I've wanted to get my very own robes for some time now, but I can find a *nice* set to buy, and I don't trust my sewing abilities enough to make one without a pattern. And the flowers are very nice ^_~. The sort of look like Bleeding Hearts to me -- are they actually the same thing, or just related? Laura (who is full of questions today.) From flitwicksman at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 21:55:37 2003 From: flitwicksman at yahoo.com (Brian) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:55:37 -0000 Subject: Looking for that certain phrase In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" wrote: > > > > > It's in Goblet of Fire, Chapter Nine. > > > > I quote: > > > > Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never > > have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley. > > > > "Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. > > > > > > Two or three pages in, depending on what version you're reading. > > > > Hope that helps. =o] > > > > Dennis > > > Thank you so so much, Dennis, and Heidi too! I knew I could count on > someone around here to remember it, but I didn't expect such fast > responses. You guys are *good*. Thank you again. Look for my > enormously long TBAY post sometime tommorrow. > > Erin So does this have anything to do with what he may have said? I have a pretty good idea (but of course, I do have a dirty mind!). Brian:-) From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 18 22:36:49 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 08:36:49 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Agent Mitzi DelBra References: <013401c3ada0$e4cfebb0$6d984cca@Monteith> <001401c3addd$bb5085a0$afd61e43@rick> Message-ID: <003101c3ae24$76087fb0$69984cca@Monteith> > (I'd rather sit through an "Ally McBeal" marathon smoking pot that sit > through any of his movies other than Prince of Thieves... and I find Ally > McBeal trite and inane, and I am violently allergic to marijuana... it shuts > down my respartory system. Imagine having a severe asthma attack from mild > second-hand exposure from concerts and such... and a potentially lethal one > if I ever tried to take a hit off a joint. Discovering this allergy wasn't > a fun experience.) > Iggy McSnurd Nox again I absolutely concur with your thoughts on Costner, althought I *probably* couldn't do the "Ally McBeal" thing . Or the pot. No interest in it. I've *never* even puffed on any kind of cigarette/pipe in my life. Simply no desire to whatsoever. I'd rather slice my own stomach open and pull my innards out while vulatures deveoured me while I still lived than watch "Ally". Well, it would still be a slow death, but far less painful... Nox (who feels 'not-quite-so-dumb' after last night's National IQ Test) From thomasmwall at yahoo.com Tue Nov 18 22:45:58 2003 From: thomasmwall at yahoo.com (Tom Wall) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 22:45:58 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: We Regret to Announce In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Melclaros wrote: What I'm wondering now is if public pillorying is precedented. Banning someone for questionable reasons is bad enough; it should have been done privately and quietly. The only people who needed to know were those involved. I see no reason that this sorry event had to be announced with a "special notice" to the entire list membership. Tom: As far as I know, it is not precedented for the Moderators to publicly burn someone in effigy, nor is it implied or - ostensibly - is it allowed by the HBfile. Someone on the Admin team should look into that, as it's my recollection that derogatory statements made about other members are among the banned topics of conversation. Furthermore, I'm wondering why it is that the ADMIN team doesn't classify their post regarding Cindy as, in fact, two violations at once, since it certainly seems to reek of "Policy" explanations from my end of the fiber-optic cable. -Tom, who wants to point out that, however well-intentioned the Mods' request is, e-mails to -owner do not always get answered, nor should anyone expect them to be. If you have questions, I'd wait for the new policy forum to open up. From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Tue Nov 18 23:24:00 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 23:24:00 -0000 Subject: wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > > > Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer in > waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat > ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses > > > Jeun Shirley: How long did it take you to type all those words incorrectly???!! My 5th-grader is a terrible speller (due to a learning disability called Phonemic Awareness Deficit) and a very slow typist, so I have her write rough drafts that I then type into Word for her. Then she and I sit and go through spell-check so she can make the necessary corrections. I cannot tell you how difficult it is for me to type the words as she has written them; I always type them with correct spelling and have to go back and change them to whatever bastardization she came up with. So, doing what you did above would have taken me forever, and probably would require some alcoholic beverage or four.... ;-) Shirley, slightly worried that she had no trouble deciphering your message *and* that she didn't see that you had 'misspelled' your name at the end.... From adollarandfiftycent at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 00:05:05 2003 From: adollarandfiftycent at hotmail.com (adollarandfiftycent) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 00:05:05 -0000 Subject: Celebmatch/celeb spotting/weekends In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031118133519.009b2a60@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: > As for celeb spotting/name dropping... Starting with the HP world, >I've met John Cleese on several occasions (enough to have interesting >in-depth conversations); I've encountered Richard Harris a couple of >times (though not to speak to) and I've seen Michael Gambon on stage >(and outside stage doors afterwards). I haven't met many celebreties, and no British ones at all. I did see a famous basketball player lounging by the pool at a resort once, and I remember thinking that he was really, really tall and those chairs aren't made for people that tall. I didn't bother him though. Wouldn't have been nice. Fifty From s_ings at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 00:50:22 2003 From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:50:22 -0500 (EST) Subject: Happy Birthday, Erin and Silvercat! Message-ID: <20031119005022.94572.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com> *loads the tables with many goodies and two cakes and rushes out in search of more decorations* Come on over and join the party! There's lots of food and fun to be had. Today's birthday honourees are Silvercat and Erin. Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or directly to: silvercat at qnet.com and erinellii at yahoo.com I hope you're both having magical days and are getting everything you wished for. Happy Birthday, Silvercat! Happy Birthday, Erin! Sheryll the Birthday Elf ===== http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/ ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca From adollarandfiftycent at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 01:09:45 2003 From: adollarandfiftycent at hotmail.com (adollarandfiftycent) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 01:09:45 -0000 Subject: Happy Birthday, Erin and Silvercat! In-Reply-To: <20031119005022.94572.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Sheryll Townsend wrote: > *loads the tables with many goodies and two cakes and > rushes out in search of more decorations* > > Come on over and join the party! There's lots of food > and fun to be had. > > Today's birthday honourees are Silvercat and Erin. > Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or > directly to: silvercat at q... and > erinellii at y... > > I hope you're both having magical days and are getting > everything you wished for. > > Happy Birthday, Silvercat! > Happy Birthday, Erin! I love birthdays. Happy birthday, Erin and Silvercat! Is there a way to sign up for a greeting? Fifty From augustinapeach at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 02:17:59 2003 From: augustinapeach at yahoo.com (augustinapeach) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 02:17:59 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: <003b01c3ade0$7468a340$afd61e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: > One of these days, when I have the time between classes and taking care of > my dughter, I'll actually get to read the LoTR trilogy... (I saw the old > animated movies, but not much more, other than about the first half of the > first fo the recent movies on DVD...) I've read the Hobbit, and have it and > all three of the LoTR books... I just never got more than about 5- 6 chapters > in to book one before something demanded my attention for so long that I had > lost track of what was going on in the bok and would have had to start > over... > > Oh well... One of these days. Now AP: My husband has nagged me ever since I've known him to read the LOTR trilogy --- finally, last January, after seeing "The Two Towers," I gave in. I finished them all in less than two weeks! -- and that was with a full-time job, two little kids, and traditional division of household duties (meaning I do nearly everything - ha!). I just couldn't stop reading. I read at breakfast, I read at lunch, I cooked supper with a book in my hand . . . . > > Iggy McSnurd From michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 03:03:59 2003 From: michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com (michaeljacksonfan1970) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 03:03:59 -0000 Subject: I've uploaded a picture, *again*. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Teeny Elf, that is a very nice picture, and green is a good color for you. Does your shirt have an orange circle on it, or is that just the light or glare or something? ~Madeline --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" wrote: > Erm, I've uploaded a picture too - I was out with some friends > recently when someone came along and took our picture for the bar > website. My title bit came out a bit cryptic - I couldn't > fit "Kirstini and friends - I'm the one in green" into the > description, so I thought I'd mention it here. > > And Laura's boyfriend is absolutely lovely(swift bit of topic > relevance there). > > Kirstini, making another rare, sheepish appearance on OTC. From lilac_bearry at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 03:38:21 2003 From: lilac_bearry at yahoo.com (Lilac) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 03:38:21 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_/_Pics_uploaded!?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra: The SLC denizens from HPfGU and SugarQuill arrived in costume an hour early and got third-row seats in the stadium-seating auditorium: Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, Dicentra (me), Lilac, Wahlee, and a few others from SQ whom I did not know. Me: The other members that attended were S. Gwendolyn, Siriusnutter, and Fellytone. Dicentra: Lilac also took abundant photos,and she'd better post them soon! Me: Done! Check the photo section of OTC, album named Mary GrandPre. Dicentra: [Mary GrandPre] was very diplomatic when talking about her compensation, but she hinted that she was suppressing a rant. She did say that Scholastic worked out an arrangement for her to get extra compensation in lieu of royalties (I got the impression that it wasn't even close to what royalties would have been), and that her compensation has increased with each novel, though I imagine not by near enough. She mentioned that she also created the lightning- bolt font for the cover of the books, for which she was not compensated. Me: I got that same impression as well. I for one was a little surprised by that...I thought with how much money the books bring in for Scholastic and Warner Bros, I assumed that she was making a fair amount more with each book. Of course, not the same amount as JKR, but still. Am rather disappointed that she isn't. Can't we petition to get her contract changed? ;) Dicentra: She showed us slides of some of the illustrations she's done over the years. They are all much cooler, IMO, than her HP work. The faces of Fleur, Cedric, and Krum on the cover of GoF carry signs her trademark facial style but Harry doesn't. Me: In total agreement. Her "original" work had just a touch more whimsy and fantasy to it, imo. A lot of her pre-HP subjects have what I describe as a "Cedric Nose" - the strong, straight bridge, curved slightly from eyebrow to tip; chiseled, sharp edges of the nose from the eyebrow to tip; yet with softness around other features, etc. Is this the "soft geometry" she is referring to? In my un-art-educated opinion, I think her style is very magical. I'm sitting here looking at the cover of GOF (so I can fully describe the "Cedric Nose"), and I can tell you for a fact that I see a lot of Mary in Harry's face on the cover, especially in the nose and smile. I believe I read an interview (on TLC?) where she said that Harry had some of her own features (can't currently find the article, though - sorry). Dicentra: She showed us the illustrations from "Plum," a book of poetry by Tony Mitton, "Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat" and "Pockets" by Jennifer Armstrong. I've seen and read "Plum" before, but not the other two. We were lucky enough to have her summarize/read from each of these books as well. I am definitely buying "Pockets" and "Chin Yu", plus "Sea Chest" looked marvelous as well! Her children's book illustrations are exquisite; realistic, yet with that sense of whimsy and magic. You can view some of them at her website at www.marygrandpre.com . Dicentra: She had deliberately avoided the movies to preserve her artistic vision and only recently saw them. (I assume after she did OoP.) She appeared to be reasonably satisfied with the art direction in the movies, but she *really* wanted to mess up Dan Radcliffe's hair. "He looked too...British. Too well cared-for." We informed her that the publicity photos from PoA show a scruffier hairstyle for Harry. She seemed pleased. Me: As were we! I've always loved the way she drew Harry's hair. Wahlee was the one in the audience to speak up on that -- good girl! Dicentra: She never knows when the manuscript is going to be sent to her: someone from Scholastic calls her and utters a code word to tell her that the manuscript is being sent to her, at which time she has to drop everything and work on HP. She can't discuss the book with anyone, including her family members, and she has to sign all kinds of confidentiality agreements to that end. Me: I believe she said that the manuscript is brought personally to her by someone from Scholastic. I remember her saying something like the person is "chained" to the manuscript (exaggerating, of course) until it gets directly into Mary's hands. At least, that was my impression, but then again, I didn't take notes...I was mostly taking pictures. Dicentra: Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, and Lilac will have to tell you what she said to them: I wasn't listening. Me: I forgot what I was going to ask her when I finally got up there! Darn it! But I did thank her for coming and sharing her work with us. She said she was glad she was invited. I also asked her if she ever gets sick of us crazy Potter fans (as I got the impression that she's a tiny bit intimidated by us canon thumpers that know the books better than she *winks at Grannybat*), and she said, "Oh, no!" Dicentra: (FYI: Lilac has spectacular lilac robes with sequins and everything but she left them in the car because she was too chicken to wear them in public. That's right -- I called you a chicken.) Me: *cluck, cluck* I KNOW I am! *is ashamed* I was chicken on my own home turf. Besides that, the hat hurts my head and ruins my hair-do after just a few minutes (sorry Gail...I don't know how Gilderoy does it...must be those hair care products he markets :P) But Dicentra and Grannybat, you're outfits were wonderful! I did, however, wear my very warm and wonderful Gryffindor scarf that I bought from Dooda. And, coincidentally enough, FoxyDoxy (Dooda's sister) is married to someone I went to high school with...small world, huh? Those four HPFGU gals ate pizza and talked Potter theory that evening, while I had a flat tire on the way home from MGP and a headache the rest of the night, so I was a party pooper and stayed home. :( Bummer. You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. (Yes, it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) Lilac :) From tammy at mauswerks.net Wed Nov 19 04:33:06 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 23:33:06 -0500 Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re:_[HPFGU-OTChatter]_Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_/_Pics_uploaded!?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FBAAC32.18837.130BF60@localhost> Lilac wrote: > You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, > though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. > (Yes, it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) Now me (Tammy Rizzo) Oh, tell us! Tell us! I solemnly swear I am not eating pizza. *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From erinellii at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 05:20:59 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 05:20:59 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_/_Pics_uploaded!?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Lilac" wrote: > Me: > I got that same impression as well. I for one was a little > surprised by that...I thought with how much money the books bring in for Scholastic and Warner Bros, I assumed that she was making a fair amount more with each book. Of course, not the same amount as JKR, but still. Am rather disappointed that she isn't. Can't we > petition to get her contract changed? ;) Erin: Not until she changes her Snape picture! Someone on this list described it once as a "crime against humanity", lol. I'm probably being unfair, though. I love every single one of her other pictures (well, except Sirius should have had longer hair in PoA) and I especially love her Luna Lovegood. Lilac: > You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, > though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. > (Yes, it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) Please, please tell! You've got me all curious now... Erin From erinellii at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 05:35:03 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 05:35:03 -0000 Subject: Looking for that certain phrase In-Reply-To: Message-ID: In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Brian" wrote: > >> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" > wrote: > > > I quote: > > > > > > Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would > never > > > have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley. > > > > > > "Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. > > > > Thank you so so much, Dennis, and Heidi too! I knew I could count on someone around here to remember it, but I didn't expect such fast responses. You guys are *good*. Thank you again. Look for my > > enormously long TBAY post sometime tommorrow. > > Erin > > Brian:-) > So does this have anything to do with what he may have said? I > have a pretty good idea (but of course, I do have a dirty mind!). Erin: Nah, not really. It's for my long TBAY "Bill Weasley is Ever So Evil" post, and basically is just to establish that Mrs. Weasly doesn't usually permit her kids to swear where she can hear them. I was going to post it today, but it got enormously long (for me, anyway), and I was debating on whether to split it into two parts or three, when I got unexpectedly called into work. I just got home about half an hour ago. So now it will probably be tommorrow (Wednesday) afternoon before I finish. You'll be able to read it all then. I'm pretty sure I know what Ron said also-- but won't rule out the possibility that he could have gotten creative and made up something a lot *worse*. Erin From foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 06:48:55 2003 From: foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com (FoxyDoxy) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 22:48:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Mary_GrandPr?_in_SLC_and_the_canonicity_of_her_artwork_(long) Message-ID: <20031119064855.28020.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> Dicentra wrote: The SLC denizens from HPfGU and SugarQuill arrived in costume an hour early and got third-row seats in the stadium-seating auditorium: Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, Dicentra (me), Lilac, Wahlee,and a few others from SQ whom I did not know. Doxy (me): Lilac, Dooda, and I got there extra early and saved the entire front row for us. But we had to move to the third row because there was a violin recital before Mary GrandPre spoke. It turned out that the third row was better anyway because of the way the podium was positioned. And we got to listen to some 8 year olds play the violin. It was wonderfully entertaining. Grannybat: I think it's worth noting that when I asked her why she drew Snape in a way other than how JKR described him (couched in terms of who approves the final drawings, so as not to appear hostile), GrandPre's face went blank for a moment and she asked in a small voice, "How is he described?" Maybe this is just a projection of my own feelings, but I seemed to sense a collective "Huh???!" of disbelief from the audience...at least, down the row to my left, where all the black academic gowns were sitting. ;) The woman who puts the face on Our Boy Harry says she loves him--but she doesn't remember important details like that? (!) Doxy: Yes, that's exactly what it was. A collective "Huh?" But to tell you the truth Grannybat, I think you intimidated the poor woman. You, sitting there in all your Slytherin glory was more than she had expected I'm sure. Dicentra: Afterwards, at the book signing, she was very nice and accommodating. (She's left-handed, BTW.) By the time we becostumed folks got to her, she had been signing for about 45 minutes (I think). They passed out Post-Its so we could write our names and other stuff if we wanted it personalized. I had her write "To Dicentra: Rictusempra!" though it came out "Rictosempra." I don't think she knew what Rictusempra meant. That's ok, though. Doxy: We were told that our books would be worth more later if we just had her sign them and not personalize them. But come on, like I'm ever going to sell my book. Dicentra: Dooda, FoxyDoxy, GrannyBat, and Lilac will have to tell you what she said to them: I wasn't listening. Doxy: In my book she wrote "To Doxy Sinsiriusly Mary GrandPre" and she drew a smiling Harry Potter face. Dicentra: (I) forgot to ask her why Harry was holding his wand in his *left* hand on the covers of GoF and OoP. Rats! Doxy: After she signed my book I remembered that I forgot to ask her if there was any meaning in the decapitated fairy on the cover of the special edition OoP. What with all the reference to beheading throughout the series so far I thought maybe she knew something she would be willing to share. So Dooda and I waited until the line thinned down (because we're geeks who didn't have anything else to do) and we asked her to sign a piece of paper for a dear friend of ours who couldn't be there. We got to talking about "Plum" and *again* I forgot to ask her. I didn't want to look like a stalker so we didn't get back in line. Lilac: And, coincidentally enough, FoxyDoxy (Dooda's sister) is married to someone I went to high school with...small world, huh? Doxy: Yep. If anyone wants to hear stories about Lilac in high school I have loads of them ;o) Lilac: Those four HPFGU gals ate pizza and talked Potter theory that evening, while I had a flat tire on the way home from MGP and a headache the rest of the night, so I was a party pooper and stayed home. :( Bummer. Doxy: We were wondering what happened to you. We thought that maybe you just didn't want to model your robes for us :P Lilac: You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. (Yes, it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) Now me (Tammy Rizzo): Oh, tell us! Tell us! I solemnly swear I am not eating pizza. Doxy: Do you really want to know? All right then... We were talking about Bertha Jorkins being the incubator for slimy baby Voldemort. And Voldemort looked snake-like because he was feeding off Nagini's milk. Some of us in the group didn't like the idea of poor Bertha's body being used that way, and Lilac says "Maybe Nagini's the mommy." Then the discussion turned into a Wormtail/Nagini ship. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 19 09:17:32 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:17:32 -0000 Subject: wwo tihs is so cool! etiher taht or I'M vrey sad In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" > wrote: > > > > > > Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer > in > > waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat > > ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses > > > > > > Jeun > > Shirley: > How long did it take you to type all those words incorrectly???!! > > My 5th-grader is a terrible speller (due to a learning disability > called Phonemic Awareness Deficit) and a very slow typist, so I have > her write rough drafts that I then type into Word for her. Then she > and I sit and go through spell-check so she can make the necessary > corrections. I cannot tell you how difficult it is for me to type > the words as she has written them; I always type them with correct > spelling and have to go back and change them to whatever > bastardization she came up with. So, doing what you did above would > have taken me forever, and probably would require some alcoholic > beverage or four.... ;-) > > Shirley, slightly worried that she had no trouble deciphering your > message *and* that she didn't see that you had 'misspelled' your name > at the end.... Cheated. Cut and pasted from an email I received from a former colleague on Monday. However, enough to drink and it is exactly my typing style. You just KNOW you should get off the computer when every word is a typo. Oh, and I'd posted it before I realise that to get the thing right I should have typed my name as "Jnue" June From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 09:50:13 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:50:13 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All, Apparantly George Orwell named it after a meeting room at the BBC where he had many a long soul destroying meeting. It's also the appartment number of Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) at the start of the first Matrix movie. Cheers, Dumbledad. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 19 11:19:20 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 11:19:20 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" wrote: > Hi All, > > Apparantly George Orwell named it after a meeting room at the BBC > where he had many a long soul destroying meeting. > > It's also the appartment number of Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) at the > start of the first Matrix movie. > > Cheers, > > Dumbledad. I'll up the Orwell ante and recollect that he based all the ministries in Nineteen Eighty Four: The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Plenty, the Ministry of Peace and the Ministry of Love on none other than Senate House, which is the Headquarters of the University of London - and where my own very small college was located (in part of it). For a look at the Ministry of Truth click here http://www.ull.ac.uk/ This building was used for the disemination of propaganda during WWII and Orwell was actually based here doing just that for the British Government. June (always pleased to talk Orwell) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Wed Nov 19 21:08:42 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:08:42 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Room 101 References: Message-ID: <00ab01c3aee1$510f55e0$a6706751@kathryn> > > I'll up the Orwell ante and recollect that he based all the > ministries in Nineteen Eighty Four: The Ministry of Truth, the > Ministry of Plenty, the Ministry of Peace and the Ministry of Love on > none other than Senate House, which is the Headquarters of the > University of London - and where my own very small college was > located (in part of it). > > For a look at the Ministry of Truth click here > > http://www.ull.ac.uk/ > > This building was used for the disemination of propaganda during WWII > and Orwell was actually based here doing just that for the British > Government. > > June > Wow, really? I used to have classes in there (in a little room of the library actually). Hated the place, it was so confusing (well to me anyway). Not of course as confusing as the main building at RHUL where I was based though. K From gromm at cards.lanck.net Tue Nov 18 18:48:12 2003 From: gromm at cards.lanck.net (Maria Gromova) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:48:12 +0300 Subject: [***SPAM***]: Re:[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...) References: Message-ID: <000201c3aea1$a07e3820$f741983e@rcomputer> > Giancarlo Fisichella 96% Don't have a clue about the other two. Now Maria: Giancarlo Fisichella is a Formula One racer, not among the leaders (or wasn't last time as I heard of him). Maria From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 15:53:31 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 15:53:31 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Iggy McSnurd wrote: > > One of these days, when I have the time between classes and taking > care of > > my dughter, I'll actually get to read the LoTR trilogy... > then AP said: > My husband has nagged me ever since I've known him to read the LOTR > trilogy --- finally, last January, after seeing "The Two Towers," I > gave in. I finished them all in less than two weeks! -- and that > was with a full-time job, two little kids, and traditional division > of household duties (meaning I do nearly everything - ha!). I just > couldn't stop reading. I read at breakfast, I read at lunch, I > cooked supper with a book in my hand . . . . now Shirley: I had tried to read the Hobbit forever ago, and couldn't get into it (I mean, this was high school - *forever* ago!). Then I saw that the movies were coming out and read some about how they had been made and were going to be distributed (you know, filmed all at once over 2-3 years in *New Zealand* (how cool is that?) and then coming out as 3 movies over 3 years). I really don't like seeing a movie based on a book before I've read the book, so decided to get through that trilogy. I read it in about a month, I think (so you, AP, must be one hell of a speed-reader, or I'm just slow ;-)). Loved it so much that I read all of the appendix in the third book (thereby learning a *lot* about the Arwen-Aragorn relationship), then read the Hobbit (probably should have read it first) and then borrowed the Silmarillion from a friend. The latter is *wonderful*, albeit a bit difficult to get into. Anyway, they're well worth the effort, Iggy, and give you a better background for the movies. My husband hasn't read any of them and had a whole year go by between seeing the first and second movies, and poor guy was quite lost during the second movie. I'm going to sit down with him before we see the third movie and watch the first two so he won't be so lost this time around. In fact, I'm attempting to read Beowulf right now, because that was a big fave of Tolkein's, as well, and I've read that he based a great deal of LOTR on it. Happy reading! Shirley, who wants more free time to read that pile of books by her bed (and in the den and living room....) From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Wed Nov 19 18:04:20 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 18:04:20 -0000 Subject: Robi Hood (was Agent Mitzi DelBra) In-Reply-To: <001401c3addd$bb5085a0$afd61e43@rick> Message-ID: Iggy wrote: > "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves" was a decent enough movie, but I agree with > the joke in "Men in Tights" where Elwes says that "Unlike *other* Robin > Hoods, I can speak with an English accent." (Who knew Baron Robin of Loxley > was actually from the American Midwest??) It's the only movie of his I'll > re-watch occasionally. To be fair, modern Nottinghamshire English is probably no closer to the English of the thirteenth century than Costner's accent. If Robin Hood could hear a modern Englishman and a modern American speaking, he'd probably think they were both speaking the same foreign language - and he'd probably be right. If RH existed, he almost certainly wasn't baron of anything. David, who thinks the best Robin Hood was 'Maid Marian and her Merry Men', BBC Children's TV From grannybat at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 19:15:18 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 19:15:18 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary_GrandPr=E9_in_SLC_/_Pics_uploaded!?= In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Dicentra: > Lilac also took abundant photos,and she'd better post them soon! > > Me: > Done! Check the photo section of OTC, album named Mary GrandPre. Nice photos, Lilac. Memo to self: Muffin hat needs major embellishment. Change silhouette or suffer the indignity of being mistaken for a grouchy leprechaun. > I'm sitting here looking at the cover of GOF (so I can fully > describe the "Cedric Nose"), and I can tell you for a fact that I > see a lot of Mary in Harry's face on the cover, especially in the > nose and smile. I believe I read an interview (on TLC?) where she > said that Harry had some of her own features (can't currently find > the article, though - sorry). Fascinating. If you do find that article, please pass it on. I haven't been thrilled with the way she's drawn Harry's face until the blue cover of OOP. > Dicentra: > She never knows when the manuscript is going to be sent to her: > someone from Scholastic calls her and utters a code word ... > > Lilac: > I believe she said that the manuscript is brought personally to her > by someone from Scholastic. I remember her saying something like > the person is "chained" to the manuscript (exaggerating, of course) There was a moment when, I think, the entire audience thought she was dropping a hint about how soon Book 6 would come out. "Oh, you'll get it this winter..." I know I wasn't the only one who leaned forward in my seat upon hearing that line. But it became clear as she continued that she was paraphrasing an editorial conversation just to illustrate her point about the security surrounding JKR's manuscripts. > Lilac: > I also asked her if she ever > gets sick of us crazy Potter fans (as I got the impression that > she's a tiny bit intimidated by us canon thumpers that know the > books better than she *winks at Grannybat*), and she said, "Oh, > no!" Heh. More than a little bit, I think. I detected a frisson of puzzlement coming from the adults in back of us. "She doesn't remember what Snape looks like? How can that be?" "Canon thumpers." I like that. > Dicentra: > (FYI: Lilac has spectacular lilac robes with sequins and everything > but she left them in the car because she was too chicken to wear > them in public. > > Lilac: > I did, however, wear my very warm and wonderful Gryffindor scarf > that I bought from Dooda. Was that your scarf being used to rope off the row of seats we took? It looked like an official Reserved for VIP's barrier. ;) Grannybat From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 19 20:28:40 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 20:28:40 -0000 Subject: Robi Hood (was Agent Mitzi DelBra) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > Iggy wrote: > > > "Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves" was a decent enough movie, but I > agree with > > the joke in "Men in Tights" where Elwes says that "Unlike *other* > Robin > > Hoods, I can speak with an English accent." (Who knew Baron Robin > of Loxley > > was actually from the American Midwest??) It's the only movie of > his I'll > > re-watch occasionally. > > To be fair, modern Nottinghamshire English is probably no closer to > the English of the thirteenth century than Costner's accent. If > Robin Hood could hear a modern Englishman and a modern American > speaking, he'd probably think they were both speaking the same > foreign language - and he'd probably be right. > > If RH existed, he almost certainly wasn't baron of anything. > > David, who thinks the best Robin Hood was 'Maid Marian and her Merry > Men', BBC Children's TV Firstly - I agree - that was a brilliant, witty and intelligent kids programme which even put across a feminist pov in a non-patronising way. Secondly, the programme took the piss out of the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves rather well. Best laugh was the fact that one of the Merry Men was a Rastafarian. I assumed that it sent up the fact that Morgan Freeman played an unlikely part in RHPOT - yes I know he was supposed to be a "Moor" but for my part that bit of plot creaked loudly, and I assumed it was just the film trying to be PC. No disrespect to Morgan Freeman - who acted Costner off the screen, along with another well known British actor who shall remain nameless. Come to think of it, it isn't really hard to act Costner off the screen is it? June From erinellii at yahoo.com Wed Nov 19 20:32:36 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 20:32:36 -0000 Subject: Love Speaks poem Message-ID: I saw this posted on another site: http://www.chaoskitty.com/angel/ck_wls.html For those of you who love Alan Rickman. From grannybat at hotmail.com Wed Nov 19 20:51:11 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 20:51:11 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Mary=5FGrandPr=E9=5Fin=5FSLC=5Fand=5Fthe=5Fcanonicity=5Fof=5Fher=5Fartwork=5F(long)?= In-Reply-To: <20031119064855.28020.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: FoxyDoxy wrote: > >> Grannybat: >> I think it's worth noting that when I asked her why she drew Snape ... GrandPre's face went blank for a moment and she asked in a small voice, "How is he described?" >> >> Maybe this is just a projection of my own feelings, but I seemed to sense a collective "Huh???!" of disbelief from the audience... > > Doxy: > Yes, that's exactly what it was. A collective "Huh?" But to tell you the truth Grannybat, I think you intimidated the poor woman. You, sitting there in all your Slytherin glory was more than she had expected I'm sure. Oh, I doubt it was my looks. She did say she liked my makeup, after all. I think she was intimidated by my speaking style: I'm used to making my point heard in large rooms full of contentious opinions-- and I wasn't about to let her wiggle out of an answer, either. Ever notice during our pizza-n-theory sessions how I tend to talk over and interrupt people? That's a habit of mine left over from college and public speaking. > Lilac: > > Those four HPFGU gals ate pizza and talked Potter theory that evening, while I had a flat tire on the way home from MGP and a headache the rest of the night, so I was a party pooper and stayed home. :( Bummer. > > Doxy: > > We were wondering what happened to you. We thought that maybe you just didn't want to model your robes for us :P Or that you'd had a domestic situation involving childcare and an obstinate husband. I'm glad you made it home safe, Lilac. > Lilac: > You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. (Yes, it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) > > Now Tammy Rizzo: > Oh, tell us! Tell us! I solemnly swear I am not eating pizza. > > > Doxy: > All right then... We were talking about Bertha Jorkins being the incubator for slimy baby Voldemort. And Voldemort looked snake-like because he was feeding off Nagini's milk. Some of us in the group didn't like the idea of poor Bertha's body being used that way, and Lilac says "Maybe Nagini's the mommy." Then the discussion turned into a Wormtail/Nagini ship. I was just about to expound on this when I realized it's probably too **on**-topic for this list. Grannybat From gbannister10 at aol.com Wed Nov 19 21:02:09 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 21:02:09 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: <003b01c3ade0$7468a340$afd61e43@rick> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" wrote: Iggy: > > One of these days, when I have the time between classes and taking care of > my dughter, I'll actually get to read the LoTR trilogy... (I saw the old > animated movies, but not much more, other than about the first half of the > first fo the recent movies on DVD...) I've read the Hobbit, and have it and > all three of the LoTR books... I just never got more than about 5-6 chapters > in to book one before something demanded my attention for so long that I had > lost track of what was going on in the bok and would have had to start > over... > > Oh well... One of these days. > Geoff: Not very often I get around to looking at OT - it seems to be a full time job keeping up on FGU. But I would agree with one of the other posters - "The Hobbit" is not the best book to start with. I first read LOTR in 1955 or 1956, just after publication when I was in my mid-teens. I went into my local library in South London and saw this hardback book with a very attractive and simple cover (the early editions were a silver grey with a stylised "red eye" in the centre). I looked at it, read part of the first page and thought "What an odd book." and replaced it on the shelf. The next week, I did precisely the same! The following week, I looked and thought, "Well, let's give it a whirl" and took it out. That was dangerous. From there I was hooked. I read the book (like Christopher Lee) almost every year for about 20 years and became something of a consultant on it. One of my friends used to test me by throwing quotes at me and seeing how long it took to find the relevant page. It was only when the family started growing up and the posthumous books began to flow that the annual read moved to longer intervals. I read "The Hobbit" many years after first finding LOTR and was disappointed. OK, it is a children's book but JRRT adopted a narrative style which swings between being patronising and jollying the young ones along with awful puns etc. If you read Humphrey Carpenter's 1976 biography, you are told how the children's book sequel turned into the adult epic and how Tolkien's niggling over detail kept it from publication for so long. I have to admit that I find the Silmarillion intersting but heavy going. Again, if you read Carpenter, you will see why. JRRT never really intended the book for publication when he started writing back about 1915. It was for his own pleasure - a vehicle for his linguistic invention. After LOTR, he began to try to move it towards a finished state but was still working on bits which didn't match up when he died. Christopher Tolkien, his third son and literary executor, worked for three years trying to iron out some of the inconsistencies before it was posthumously published in 1976. Two other very good background books if you are interested are the newer biography "Tolkien: a biography" by Michael White and "J R R Tolkien:author of the century" by Tom Shippey which is an excellent critique of Tolkien's works. Michael White is a well known newspaper commentator in the UK. I always said I didn't want to see a film of LOTR (especially after the 1978 cartoon), probably because I couldn't see it being done by real actors. I have since eaten my words. It took me some while to get my head round TTT because of some extra ideas being introduced - Aragorn going over the cliff, the elves at Helm's Deep but I think I am now comfortable with them. The only bit which leaves me cold or possibly puzzled is the face to face encounter between the Nazgul and Frodo on the battlements of Osgiliath.... However, I eagerly await 17/12/03 and the arrival of ROTK. It continues to occupy pride of place next to HP1-5 on my bookshelves. Geoff From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Wed Nov 19 22:09:38 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:09:38 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: > > > I have occasionally watched Room 101 and have often pedantically > composed a letter which remains unsent to the production company. Me too, although in this case, I would have written to Linda Smith herself, with regard to the fact that her whole justification for this was totally flawed. Don't get me wrong - I often enjoy Room 101 - one of my favourites being an appearance with the late Spike Milligan (unusual in that he tried to consign the whole of Portsmouth to the room). But Linda Smith seemed quite unfunny from the start. I confess that I switched off after the HP segment, but Richard, if you are a Robin Day fan, surely you must have been slightly offended by her assertation that all men who wear bowties deserve to be on a register of known deviants (or somesuch) with lynch mods congregating outside their front doors? Anyway, I'm digressing. What peeved me about the HP thing was how completely patronising, ignorant and ultimately flawed her argument was. Saying that whenever she sees an adult reading HP makes her want to thrust a "proper" and "adult" piece of literature at them is presuming that a) the person reads nothing other than HP (apart from perhaps LOTR, which she also hates) and b) even if they did, they wouldn't be reading anything decent, such as "Madame Bovary". Stupid bloody woman. Oh, and what Richard forgot to say was that despite the production team being biased, I still heard quite a few boos from the audience over this. Catherine From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Wed Nov 19 23:23:33 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 09:23:33 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) References: Message-ID: <004b01c3aef4$27325890$7a984cca@Monteith> Geoff wrote > I always said I didn't want to see a film of LOTR (especially after > the 1978 cartoon), probably because I couldn't see it being done by > real actors. I have since eaten my words. It took me some while to > get my head round TTT because of some extra ideas being introduced - > Aragorn going over the cliff, the elves at Helm's Deep but I think I > am now comfortable with them. The only bit which leaves me cold or > possibly puzzled is the face to face encounter between the Nazgul and > Frodo on the battlements of Osgiliath.... However, I eagerly await > 17/12/03 and the arrival of ROTK. > It continues to occupy pride of place next to HP1-5 on my bookshelves. Mine too. I really do miss Tom Bombadil though. I know he wasn't a major character, but he was an interesting one. And about the only thing that really squicks me is the portrayal (at first) of Faramir. In the books he comes across as so noble, so honourable he makes my teeth ache. Book!Faramir would never try to take the ring. I did not get this impression of Movie!Faramir. Did he try, or was he tempted beyond how Book!Faramir was tempted? I have only seen it once, and unfortunately we had hail storms, power failures during which I was trying to make dinner and two screeching children while I was *trying* to watch it... So I probably missed a lot. Nox From kcawte at ntlworld.com Thu Nov 20 07:54:10 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 23:54:10 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) References: Message-ID: <005d01c3af3b$a07b6b00$a6706751@kathryn> Geoff > I always said I didn't want to see a film of LOTR (especially after > the 1978 cartoon), probably because I couldn't see it being done by > real actors. I have since eaten my words. It took me some while to > get my head round TTT because of some extra ideas being introduced - > Aragorn going over the cliff, the elves at Helm's Deep but I think I > am now comfortable with them. The only bit which leaves me cold or > possibly puzzled is the face to face encounter between the Nazgul and > Frodo on the battlements of Osgiliath.... However, I eagerly await > 17/12/03 and the arrival of ROTK. > K I loved TTT in the cinema and now I have got hold of the special edition dvd (bought it this afternoon, just finished watching it) I am just blown away. It's so much better with the extended and new scenes - it's almost a different book in places. I loved the new bit of the trees coming to Helm's Deep especially and the Boromir-Faramir flashbacks were wonderful. I rather thought patience was an Elvish virtue - but if it is then Legolas must have been hiding behind a door when it was handed out :) Oh and the Ent draft and the scenes with the stores at Isengard (I'm a big Merry and Pippin fan - I thought he was making them into comic relief a little too much at first but on reflection I think he's got the balance right). Still the one thing Peter Jackson has going in his favour above everything else is the total removal of Tom Bombadil from the storyline - can't fault him for that. It is the most boring and pointless section of the books, other than Weathertop I spend all the pages between Bree and Rivendell wishing JRRT would just get *on* with things! A friend of mine has a theory about the Aragorn "Hug of Death", basically if he hugs you (and you're male) you're doomed to die before the end of the film. Poor Haldir is most reluctant to return the hug - perhaps he's heard this theory :) K From kcawte at ntlworld.com Thu Nov 20 07:59:06 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 23:59:06 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) References: <004b01c3aef4$27325890$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <007501c3af3c$3e9d4a60$a6706751@kathryn> Nox > Mine too. I really do miss Tom Bombadil though. I know he wasn't a major > character, but he was an interesting one. And about the only thing that > really squicks me is the portrayal (at first) of Faramir. In the books he > comes across as so noble, so honourable he makes my teeth ache. Book!Faramir > would never try to take the ring. I did not get this impression of > Movie!Faramir. Did he try, or was he tempted beyond how Book!Faramir was > tempted? I have only seen it once, and unfortunately we had hail storms, > power failures during which I was trying to make dinner and two screeching > children while I was *trying* to watch it... So I probably missed a lot. > > > K Well i think we're going to have to agree to disagree on Bombadil. The film version of Faramir is good with him taking the hobbits to Osgiliath but letting them go )at the risk of his own life) when Same tells him about the Temptation of Boromir. There are several added/extended Faramir bits in the Special Edition dvd which make him much more of a real person. I must admit to not having read the books in a long while and being unable to remember exactly how those scenes go. The extended scenes also give Faramir a chance to warn the hobbits about Cirith Ungol. K From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 20 00:04:17 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:04:17 +1000 Subject: TTT: was (One of these days... ) References: <004b01c3aef4$27325890$7a984cca@Monteith> <007501c3af3c$3e9d4a60$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <00c701c3aef9$d8154c30$7a984cca@Monteith> > > Well i think we're going to have to agree to disagree on Bombadil. The film > version of Faramir is good with him taking the hobbits to Osgiliath but > letting them go )at the risk of his own life) when Same tells him about the > Temptation of Boromir. There are several added/extended Faramir bits in the > Special Edition dvd which make him much more of a real person. I must admit > to not having read the books in a long while and being unable to remember > exactly how those scenes go. The extended scenes also give Faramir a chance > to warn the hobbits about Cirith Ungol. > > K I'm waiting for the extended edition. My husband has promised me an early Xmas present ;-) I have the extended Fellowship DVD, and want the same for TTT. I'm glad Faramir gets more time... Nox From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 20 00:00:03 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:00:03 +1000 Subject: Great Minds Message-ID: <00bd01c3aef9$40496f30$7a984cca@Monteith> >From another list. Some good quotes... Nox 1. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain 2. We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. --Winston Churchill 3. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. --George Bernard Shaw 4. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy 5. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. --James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994) 6. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. --Douglas Casey, Classmate of W.J.Clinton at Georgetown U. (1992) 7. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. --P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian 8. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. --Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) 9. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -- Ronald Reagan (1986) 10. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. --Will Rogers 11. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. --P.J. O'Rourke 12. If you want government to intervene domestically, you're a liberal. If you want government to intervene overseas, you're a conservative. If you want government to intervene everywhere, you're a moderate. If you don't want government to intervene anywhere, you're an extremist. --Joseph Sobran, Editor of the National Review at one time (1995) 13. In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. --Voltaire (1764) 14. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. --Pericles (430 B.C.) 15. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. --Mark Twain (1866) 16. Talk is cheap-except when Congress does it. --(Unknown) 17. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. --Ronald Reagan 18. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --Winston Churchill 19. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. --Mark Twain 20. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. --Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) 21. There is no distinctly native American criminal class-save Congress. --Mark Twain 22. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -- Edward Langley, Artist 1928-1995 From kcawte at ntlworld.com Thu Nov 20 09:18:26 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 01:18:26 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] TTT: was (One of these days... ) References: <004b01c3aef4$27325890$7a984cca@Monteith> <007501c3af3c$3e9d4a60$a6706751@kathryn> <00c701c3aef9$d8154c30$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <002701c3af47$414e3890$a6706751@kathryn> > Nox > I'm waiting for the extended edition. My husband has promised me an early > Xmas present ;-) I have the extended Fellowship DVD, and want the same for > TTT. I'm glad Faramir gets more time... > K I bought it today (with money I don't really have) and then literally got home, took my coat and shoes off and put the dvd in. There is a whole new scene called Sons of the Steward which is a flashback to the day Boromir recaptures Osgiliath and gets his mission to go to Rivendell with interaction between Faramir, Boromir and Denethor and a whole new scene at the end with Faramir helping the hobbits to go on their way as well as extended stuff. I am *so* pleased. They don't really move the plot on (why they were dropped for the cinema release I assume) but they're great character scenes, showing us a lot more about the hows and whys of the characters rather than the whats and whens - plus you know added Sean Bean is never a *bad* thing :) On the whole I loved the extra stuff. With FOTR the extra scenes were kinda neat but didn't really change the film, with TTT I felt that the film was much, much better with the new stuff (and I thought it was incredible before) K From foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 02:02:11 2003 From: foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com (FoxyDoxy) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 18:02:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Wormtail/Nagini (was:Mary_GrandPr?_in_SLC_and_the_canonicity_of_her_artwork_(long)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031120020211.65186.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> > Doxy: > All right then... We were talking about Bertha Jorkins being the incubator for slimy baby Voldemort. And Voldemort looked snake-like because he was feeding off Nagini's milk. Some of us in the group didn't like the idea of poor Bertha's body being used that way, and Lilac says "Maybe Nagini's the mommy." Then the discussion turned into a Wormtail/Nagini ship. Grannybat: I was just about to expound on this when I realized it's probably too **on**-topic for this list. Doxy: Oh please expound. Take it to the main list if you must. I wanna hear more about this new ship. Besides there aren't any shipping debates going right now and this might get them moving again. Doxy, who doesn't ship, but is morbidly interested in this one. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neonsister at ameritech.net Thu Nov 20 02:56:29 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 02:56:29 -0000 Subject: Love Speaks poem In-Reply-To: Message-ID: ooh, thanks for the link! Exactly what my work-weary self needed. His voice has amazing restorative powers! Tracy *tension melting away* > http://www.chaoskitty.com/angel/ck_wls.html From penapart_elf at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 03:48:16 2003 From: penapart_elf at yahoo.com (Penapart Elf) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 19:48:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: HPfGU birthday greetings (was) Happy Birthday, Erin and Silvercat! In-Reply-To: <20031119062459.97941.qmail@web41101.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20031120034816.4407.qmail@web13007.mail.yahoo.com> Fifty: > Is there a way to sign up for a greeting? But of course! :) Just go the HPFGU homepage, click database on the left hand menu. Click the second database on the list, "Birthdays." There should be a link on the top that says "add record." Click that and fill in the information. Of course, birthday greetings are not just for brand new members like Fifty here but for *all* listees so please feel free to add yourself to the database if you are not already in it! :) Penapart Elf __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ From cwood at tattersallpub.com Thu Nov 20 04:16:04 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 04:16:04 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: <00bd01c3aef9$40496f30$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: What I find interesting about these quotes is that they range all the way back to ancient Greece, yet the sentiments are largely the same as they are today. Ms. Tattersall > From another list. Some good quotes... > > Nox > > > 1. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of > Congress. But I repeat myself. > > --Mark Twain > > > 2. We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity > is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the > handle. > > --Winston Churchill > > > 3. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the > support of Paul. > > --George Bernard Shaw > > > 4. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, > which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. > > -- G. Gordon Liddy > > > 5. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting > on what to have for dinner. > > --James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994) > > > 6. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer from poor people in rich > countries to rich people in poor countries. > > --Douglas Casey, Classmate of W.J.Clinton at Georgetown U. (1992) > > > 7. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car > keys to teenage boys. > > --P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian > > > 8. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors > to live at the expense of everybody else. > > --Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) > > > 9. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short > phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it > stops moving, subsidize it. > > -- Ronald Reagan (1986) > > > 10. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the > facts. > > --Will Rogers > > > 11. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what > it costs when it's free. > > --P.J. O'Rourke > > > 12. If you want government to intervene domestically, you're a > liberal. If you want government to intervene overseas, you're a > conservative. If you want government to intervene everywhere, you're a > moderate. If you don't want government to intervene anywhere, you're an > extremist. > > --Joseph Sobran, Editor of the National Review at one time (1995) > > > 13. In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money > as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. > > --Voltaire (1764) > > > 14. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean > politics won't take an interest in you. > > --Pericles (430 B.C.) > > > 15. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature > is in session. > > --Mark Twain (1866) > > > 16. Talk is cheap-except when Congress does it. > > --(Unknown) > > > 17. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy > appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. > > --Ronald Reagan > > > 18. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the > blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of > misery. > > --Winston Churchill > > > 19. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that > the taxidermist leaves the skin. > > --Mark Twain > > > 20. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is > to fill the world with fools. > > --Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) > > > 21. There is no distinctly native American criminal class-save > Congress. > > --Mark Twain > > > 22. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. > -- Edward Langley, Artist 1928-1995 From tabouli at unite.com.au Thu Nov 20 04:23:19 2003 From: tabouli at unite.com.au (Tabouli) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 15:23:19 +1100 Subject: O.L.D. F.A.R.T.? Message-ID: <003c01c3af1e$0b0f2f10$118386cb@useriq2qgc104q> tcy: > And while we're on the subject of old farts...whatever has happened to Tabouli? Such a wiz (or should that be witch?) at coming up with great acronyms. I've been here for nearly a year now and don't remember seeing posts by her since then...< Oldtimer Long Distinguished For Acronyms Responds Tardily... Hi tcy! Most flattering, that my acronymic fame lives on in newbies who were never around in my heyday! During said heyday, my HPFGU obsession was out of control. I was receiving and reading digests from four or five HPFGU lists, and posting up to 6 long posts a day on the main list and OTC, including daily TBAY epistles (Long Live LOLLIPOPS!), lashings of acronyms, copious poetry defending the honour of Tom Bombadil, lengthy screeds on cross-cultural issues and so on and so on. It couldn't go on ever, and it, well, didn't. That said, I haven't vanished entirely. I still skulk about on OTC (the only digests I get, these days), and I'm in touch with quite a few HPFGU friends behind the scenes. Every now and then I vow to make a triumphal return, raise the LOLLIPOPS banner, submit brilliant discourses on OoP and so forth, but in all honesty, I think I've burnt myself out. Time to pass on the torch, I say. If you're *really* curious about the saladic psyche, I do have a livejournal these days at http://www.livejournal.com/users/tabouli/ , but it's regrettably empty of Harry Potter acronyms and other entertainments. I've never been sure about LJ etiquette. I'm careful to keep what I write real name-free and not too personal/incriminating, but then sometimes wonder whether this drains all the spice out of the concept. This is also the first time I've posted my LJ url on a large public forum. Eeg! Feels all a bit narcissistic. And risky. How many people do I actually want to read my LJ, anyway? The more the better? Or an exclusive set of people I can keep track of just in case? Hmmm... any thoughts from other LJers? Sinking back into obscurity, Tabouli. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From cwood at tattersallpub.com Thu Nov 20 04:36:28 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 04:36:28 -0000 Subject: Love Speaks poem In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > erinellii shared this link: > http://www.chaoskitty.com/angel/ck_wls.html > For those of you who love Alan Rickman. Although I hate to admit that Rickman doesn't do that much for me, I gotta admit that's some mighty nice ear candy. Ms.Tattersall (now, Johnny Depp...!) From lhuntley at fandm.edu Thu Nov 20 05:46:07 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 00:46:07 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ms. Tattersall > What I find interesting about these quotes is that they range all the > way back to ancient Greece, yet the sentiments are largely the same > as they are today. Which is a testament to the fact that human nature (which uh..governs..both government and the individual's reaction to it) just doesn't change. I especially found the Ronald Reagan quotes interesting. Who knew he could be funny? *looks around* Well...*I* didn't. *thinks* Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity before he became president, or am I horribly mixed up? Laura (who is both comforted and a bit dismayed by the predictability and immutability of human nature.) From drednort at alphalink.com.au Thu Nov 20 06:03:43 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 17:03:43 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FBCF3EF.18938.887888@localhost> On 20 Nov 2003 at 0:46, Laura Ingalls Huntley wrote: > *thinks* Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity before he > became president, or am I horribly mixed up? Yes, he was originally an actor - not a bad one either, though he generally only did second rate films. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Thu Nov 20 11:57:35 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 11:57:35 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Laura wrote: > *thinks* Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity before he > became president, or am I horribly mixed up? No, no, you are thinking of Martin Sheen. David Gerald Ford - anyone remember him? From gbannister10 at aol.com Thu Nov 20 14:28:01 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 14:28:01 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: <005d01c3af3b$a07b6b00$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > Geoff > > I always said I didn't want to see a film of LOTR (especially after > > the 1978 cartoon), probably because I couldn't see it being done by > > real actors. I have since eaten my words. It took me some while to > > get my head round TTT because of some extra ideas being introduced - > > Aragorn going over the cliff, the elves at Helm's Deep but I think I > > am now comfortable with them. The only bit which leaves me cold or > > possibly puzzled is the face to face encounter between the Nazgul and > > Frodo on the battlements of Osgiliath.... However, I eagerly await > > 17/12/03 and the arrival of ROTK. > > > > > K > > I loved TTT in the cinema and now I have got hold of the special edition dvd > (bought it this afternoon, just finished watching it) I am just blown away. > It's so much better with the extended and new scenes - it's almost a > different book in places. I loved the new bit of the trees coming to Helm's > Deep especially and the Boromir-Faramir flashbacks were wonderful. I rather > thought patience was an Elvish virtue - but if it is then Legolas must have > been hiding behind a door when it was handed out :) Geoff: Hm. As I commentd to Kneasy in an off-group email, you need to read the Silmarillion. If you look at First Age Elves like Feanor or Maeglin as examples and they're a lot leaner and meaner than the Third Age lot! From gbannister10 at aol.com Thu Nov 20 14:34:56 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 14:34:56 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: <004b01c3aef4$27325890$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, wrote: Geoff: > > It continues to occupy pride of place next to HP1-5 on my bookshelves. Nox: > Mine too. I really do miss Tom Bombadil though. I know he wasn't a major > character, but he was an interesting one. And about the only thing that > really squicks me is the portrayal (at first) of Faramir. In the books he > comes across as so noble, so honourable he makes my teeth ache. Book!Faramir > would never try to take the ring. I did not get this impression of > Movie!Faramir. Did he try, or was he tempted beyond how Book! Faramir was > tempted? Geoff again: I've always felt Tom Bombadil was very peripheral to the story. In 1981, the BBC ran a superb 26 part radio version (with Ian Holm as Frodo interestingly enough) and, in that, TB was also left out. I was interested in the different portrayal of Faramir in the film. He is a very civilised, almost reluctant, warrior in the book. He seems a little more devious in the film - though I'm not quite sure devious is the right word. Like Boromir, he wants Gondor and the Free World to triumph but I think he is able ultimately to step back and take a wider view than Boromir did. The latter realised too late what had gone wrong. He was an interesting character - a bit ready to shoot from the hip but I think his pushy father rather explained some of it. From kcawte at ntlworld.com Thu Nov 20 22:50:47 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 14:50:47 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) References: Message-ID: <001e01c3afb8$bd38b7c0$a6706751@kathryn> > Geoff: > Hm. As I commentd to Kneasy in an off-group email, you need to read > the Silmarillion. If you look at First Age Elves like Feanor or > Maeglin as examples and they're a lot leaner and meaner than the > Third Age lot! > > K Oh good grief no. Life is too short. I have an audio tape of it read by the delicious Martin Shaw which i use when I have insomnia. I'm always asleep well before the end of the first side of the first tape. K From shirley2allie at hotmail.com Thu Nov 20 16:02:22 2003 From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:02:22 -0000 Subject: TTT: was (One of these days... ) In-Reply-To: <002701c3af47$414e3890$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > Nox > > I'm waiting for the extended edition. My husband has promised me an early > > Xmas present ;-) I have the extended Fellowship DVD, and want the same for > > TTT. I'm glad Faramir gets more time... > > > > K > I bought it today (with money I don't really have) and then literally got > home, took my coat and shoes off and put the dvd in. There is a whole new > scene called Sons of the Steward which is a flashback to the day Boromir > recaptures Osgiliath and gets his mission to go to Rivendell with > interaction between Faramir, Boromir and Denethor and a whole new scene at > the end with Faramir helping the hobbits to go on their way as well as > extended stuff. I am *so* pleased. They don't really move the plot on (why > they were dropped for the cinema release I assume) but they're great > character scenes, showing us a lot more about the hows and whys of the > characters rather than the whats and whens - plus you know added Sean Bean > is never a *bad* thing :) On the whole I loved the extra stuff. With FOTR > the extra scenes were kinda neat but didn't really change the film, with TTT > I felt that the film was much, much better with the new stuff (and I thought > it was incredible before) > > K now Shirley has a question: When you're talking about the special edition, are you talking about the DVD that's around $80US? Because I bought the less expensive one that came out before the special edition. Somewhat irritating, that, since I hate to have two copies of the same movie, but the special edition sounds really great. Shirley, wishing she'd been more patient when the TTT DVD first came out.... From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 16:47:45 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:47:45 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" > wrote: >> > I rather > > thought patience was an Elvish virtue - but if it is then Legolas > must have > > been hiding behind a door when it was handed out :) > > Geoff: > Hm. As I commentd to Kneasy in an off-group email, you need to read > the Silmarillion. If you look at First Age Elves like Feanor or > Maeglin as examples and they're a lot leaner and meaner than the > Third Age lot! I take it you mean that they were impatient. Coincidentally, I've just written bio sketches of both for an LOTR website. Feanor definitely didn't have much truck with hanging around and waiting. Maeglin seemed more prepared to play a long game in my opinion. Of course long games are a moot point when you're immortal. This weeks bios were Fingon, the two I've just mentioned, Hurin which I'm about to post and Morgoth to go, which should keep me out of the pub for the next week. Morgoth doesn't really bother about patience either - he's one of these people who just goes for what he wants when he wants it really... "What me, feel guilty?" June Big Silmarillion fan, and possibly even bigger Morgoth fan. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 16:51:24 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:51:24 -0000 Subject: TTT: was (One of these days... ) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" wrote: > now Shirley has a question: > When you're talking about the special edition, are you talking about > the DVD that's around $80US? Because I bought the less expensive one > that came out before the special edition. Somewhat irritating, that, > since I hate to have two copies of the same movie, but the special > edition sounds really great. > > Shirley, wishing she'd been more patient when the TTT DVD first came > out.... Can't be patient when these come out - well not when it't the first chance to see the movie since cinematic release. I'll watch TTEE on Boxing Day - because I'm getting it for Christmas. June Now less than one month to ROTK. From joym999 at aol.com Thu Nov 20 17:01:50 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 17:01:50 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > Laura wrote: > > > *thinks* Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity before > he > > became president, or am I horribly mixed up? > > No, no, you are thinking of Martin Sheen. ROTFLMAO! > Gerald Ford - anyone remember him? The hand-picked successor to Richard Nixon, who (according to Lyndon B. Johnson) was so dumb that he couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. --Joywitch From annemehr at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 17:06:33 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 17:06:33 -0000 Subject: TTT: was (One of these days... ) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > now Shirley has a question: > When you're talking about the special edition, are you talking about > the DVD that's around $80US? Because I bought the less expensive one > that came out before the special edition. Somewhat irritating, that, > since I hate to have two copies of the same movie, but the special > edition sounds really great. > > Shirley, wishing she'd been more patient when the TTT DVD first came > out.... Actually, I wonder, too, because yesterday I bought the 4-DVD extended version (for $30), but they also had a 5-DVD version, complete with a Gollum figure for around $50 (and I believe these prices will go up after this week). My husband told me he heard about the two versions, and that each has some stuff the other doesn't have. So in order to get *everything,* you'd have to buy both -- quite an investment! Annemehr From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 20 17:08:22 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 11:08:22 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000601c3af88$eaf2ce60$8a95aec7@Einstein> >> davewitley >> Gerald Ford - anyone remember him? > >? The hand-picked successor to Richard >Nixon, who (according to Lyndon B. Johnson) was so dumb that he >couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. > >--Joywitch Iggy here: It should also be noted that Gerald Ford's tendency to fall down stairs was the main inspiration for Chevy Chase's famous pratfall entrances on the original Saturday Night Live. *grin* Iggy McSnurd From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 01:28:05 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 17:28:05 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: TTT: was (One of these days... ) References: Message-ID: <003201c3afce$bb09eee0$a6706751@kathryn> Annemehr > > Actually, I wonder, too, because yesterday I bought the 4-DVD extended > version (for $30), but they also had a 5-DVD version, complete with a > Gollum figure for around $50 (and I believe these prices will go up > after this week). My husband told me he heard about the two versions, > and that each has some stuff the other doesn't have. So in order to > get *everything,* you'd have to buy both -- quite an investment! > > > K I didn't know that the one with the figurine had an extra disc. I thought that when FOTR came out the only difference between the special edition and one with the bookends was, well the bookends - so I assumed it was the same this time around. I think they release the normal one about 6 months ahead of the Special Edition with the extended version of the film in the hope people will buy both but I know when the original version came out that WHSmith was asking everyone 'do you want to pre-order TTT?' and every single person I saw in there said 'no, I'm waiting for the Special Edition' so I'm not sure that that works well. I know most of the film mags usually recommend waiting. A friend of mine bought the extra special edition of FOTR with bookends and was disappointed in it, said he should have stuck to the run of the mill special edition, so the 5 disc one may not be worth the money anyway, or they may have learnt from last time and it might be. I have heard that the special edition of ROTK won't take so long to come out. *fingers crossed* Hmm looking at those prices you Americans seem to be getting it cheaper anyway because the four disc set is about 30 in the UK, which is certainly more than $30 but I'm not sure by how much. Actually I shopped around for mine and noticed that while HMV are selling at full price Woolworths and WHSmith have it 2 cheaper - in case anyone is interested, and if you shop around online you can probably get it cheaper than that. But I had to have it yesterday, couldn't wait. Oh and can I just say - Legolas, surfing down the stairs at Helm's Deep, very very cool (if less than strategically sound ) K From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Thu Nov 20 18:24:21 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 18:24:21 -0000 Subject: Judgement on Jackson Message-ID: No, not *him*. Kathryn wrote: "Still the one thing Peter Jackson has going in his favour above everything else is the total removal of Tom Bombadil from the storyline - can't fault him for that." O.L.D.F.A.R.T. mentioned: "copious poetry defending the honour of Tom Bombadil" Sounds like a gauntlet to me. David From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Thu Nov 20 18:43:59 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 18:43:59 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless Message-ID: I heard something on the radio (Radio 4 Today Programme) that I thought might interest some of you. AS Byatt has done it again. Apparently, some wily American author with an eye for the main chance ('I'm not pretending this is great literature') has published 'Pride and Promiscuity', a version of 'Pride and Prejudice' with the naughty bits left in. ASB somehow got wind of this and sounded off on 'Today' about how this was terrible, an insult to the reader's imagination, etc. (I can't remember the rest.) In effect, she has just handed massive free publicity to what is almost certainly run-of-the-mill Austen fanfic. So, fanficcers, you can't make a quick buck now, but 50 years after JKR dies, you could get lucky and have some pompous person sell your wares on a national radio station. David, laughing, if not all the way to the bank From kelleythompson at gbronline.com Thu Nov 20 18:49:18 2003 From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 18:49:18 -0000 Subject: From the main list -- "(CAUTION) Re: Stereotyping" Message-ID: Hi, everyone! I'm posting this for Mirror, who is buried under a pile of papers to be graded. ;-) She's asked me to post it here on her behalf: Iggy wrote: Iggy here: > CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION I am adding in this statement because I want to let people know in advance that some of the statements I make in this letter, and some of the words I use may be offensive to the more sensitive reader. >>> Mirror here: While it's important to be sensitive impossible to dialogue if people do not tell the truth about how they feel. I answered your post because I agree with you on some things and rather violently disagree on others. But I am glad you brought the subjects up. Iggy: >I grew up in central California, in Santa Cruz... which is quite close to San Francisco and Berkeley. Santa Cruz is often even more rabid about "politically correct advocacy" than almost any other place I have been. I also spent a great deal of my childhood on the UCSC university campus... and universities, as most of us know, are "hotbeds of social change"... I also spent a good amount of time in the '90's visiting friends on that same campus. >>> Mirror: I grew up in New York City and went to Yale. Bet there's not much difference. What I notice about these 'hotbeds of social change' is that there is no more dialogue than in the 'conservative' places they are always railing about. There is just a different kind of orthodoxy, just as rigidly enforced-- or maybe more rigidly. Iggy: > My reason for stating all of this is to say that I definitely know of where I speak from when I say that there's too many people out there that are so fanatical about making sure a certain gender, race, sexual orientation, etc, gets treated equally and with full rights and objectivity, that they not only tend to overlook other issues while blindly pursuing their own agendas, but they also tend to perpetuate aspects of the political views that they supposedly fight against. >>> Mirror here: In my opinion, this is very correct. I have noticed the same thing. Iggy: > (One of my more controversial questions to pit-bull feminists who scream for total equality >>> Mirror: I had to stop calling myself a feminist about 15 years ago. I grew up in the 60's and no, things were not fair to women then and I sincerely believe that we have a right to equal pay for the same work (doesn't happen in the US) equality in education, the right to be encouraged to play sports (didn't happen when I was a girl) and so forth. However, feminism has now gone way beyond these kinds of demands and is defined very narrowly by the very far out liberal left who have a lot of beliefs that I morally can't agree with at all. Iggy says: > Men(especially white Christian men) are seen as having most of the power. They also seem to overlook the fact that only the upper class people seem to have any real advantages. In fact, white middle class men often find it harder to get into college because there are many more programs (like affirmative action) that are seen as leveling the playing field for everyone but actually, to my experiences at least, tend to skew things away from white lower/middle class males having much ability to get into school without great grades and tons of scholarships. >>> Mirror: I think the middle class generally gets squeezed in the US. We are black middle-class and get cut no breaks so far as these things, believe me. We just put a son into college so I know what I am talking about. We did not get considered for any scholarships. The best schools demand crazy grades/SATs/athletics etc for everyone now. My son had 1400 SATs, great grade point average, black belt in karate, award winning paintings, bilingual in Spanish, etc. etc. and still could not make above the second tier in colleges. Many (black) middle class friends in the same position. People always make a big deal out of affirmative action for blacks and it does not really work quite like people seem to think it does. There is plenty of affirmative action in this country that people do not scream about-- for athletes, for instance, who can get even into top tier schools with very poor grades and get kept there (I am a college prof, I know what I am talking about). And wealthy, upper class people still get the best deal with everything. I think what may be hitting you, Iggy, is that because the upper class remains white, anglo-saxon (I don't say Protestant, because I think few of them are really Christian in the sense I would use the word) and the males of this class DO still run everything that matters in the US (take a look at the photos of the heads of major corporatioins, at Congress and at everything else that matters) people may tend to assume that all white males belong to this class and have power. Which of course leaves white males who do not belong (and there are plenty of them) in a bind. That said, I have to state that there are things that people of color do put up with that you, Iggy, are not subject to. Re, what you have written below about black complaining about slavery-- there are few loud blacks such as Al Sharpton who have made a career on doing this, however, most black people are not interested in this subject, which is, as you have said, 150 years in the past. Most blacks are much more concerned about difficulties here in the present, of which there are many, even once you get to be middle class. Leaving aside the subject of the N word (which I personally do not use and not like to have used on me, though it has happened) I can tell you that prejudice is real and alive in the US and much more of a concern to me and most other people than past history. Also, though slavery finished in 1865, segregation and even such things as lynching continued into the 1960's, which is not so long ago. I live in Maryland where plenty of people in their 40's can tell you about not being able to use banks, use libraries etc. in their childhoods because of being black. Iggy: > Can you imagine the House Elves being freed from service en-masse and, three centuries later, still declaring that the wizarding world owed them a massive debt for what happened before any of the living wizards were ever born? >>> Mirror: See above. Iggy: > How about Hermione and the other "muggle-born" and "half-blood" wizards and witches calling each other "mudblood" in a friendly manner, but jumping all over any "pure-blood" who dares even think of using the word? Would this be fair? >>> Mirror: Here, although I am glad you feel free to voice your opinion, I have to say that I don't think you know exactly what you are talking about. TV shows show black people doing this all this time (using the N word) and of course the airwaves are now flooded with gangsta rappers and such people using this (and other really bad language) promoting drugs and violence, but this is very far from what most black people behave like. When you say this, I have to wonder if you know many blacks personally, or have just seen the media. This is like if I said, for instance, that all white males who have Southern accents married their first cousins, and drank beer and drove around in pickup trucks shooting at people. People in many parts of the US believe this. I personally, however, know many Southern white lower- class or middle class white males who are perfect gentlemen to everyone (mostly in my church). Please let's don't stereotype anybody, even using house-elves as a disguise for what we are talking about. Iggy writes: >Hermione is questing for House Elf rights, but she tends to not think about many factors. Do they want to be freed of their service? Or do they see it as their accepted and honored purpose in life? Does she respect their wishes when they seem offended at the idea of pay and freedom? If she succeeds in getting all the House Elves feed, what then? To what I can see, she wants them freed from service, but hasn't even considered what they're supposed to do with their lives later. Has she thought about tacking on a House Elf Placement Program onto her cause, in an effort to find gainful and respected employment for freed House Elves? >>> Mirror writes: Iggy, if people had thought like what you are saying here, we would still be living in Gone With the Wind. Sometimes people need to make some noise about really unjust systems. I think this is JK Rowling's thought and why she included this whole house-elf motif. Iggy: > I think she could do a lot more good for House Elves if she thought things through a lot better. For one thing, she can attempt to improve how the House Elves are treated, without necessarily needing to have them freed or given pay. >>> Mirror: !!!!!!!! I think I will end my answer to you here. How can you improve how someone is treated that is working for someone else forever, for no money, without freeing them or giving them pay? I don't know for sure that Rowling actually means house-elves to stand for African slaves (there are plenty of other oppressed groups she could be talking about; there is slavery still existing in the world today and I know JKR worked for a group for a long time that is trying to abolish it) but think about if it were YOU that was the house-elf. respectfully, Mirror, who doesn't think she is going to talk any further about this subject-- too far OT for me, to be truthful. From heidilist at tandys.org Thu Nov 20 18:54:45 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:54:45 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1069354497.2994A127@r5.dngr.org> This book is actually about three years old - I remember buying it in my first year in the ho fandom, when I was working on an Austen-inspired piece of hp fanfic (homage, on astronomytower.org). The book is actually very faithful to Austen in terms of writing style and the characterizations are as on-point as possible. But some of the reviewers at Amazon clearly can't take a joke any better than Byatt, but then again, my feeling is, anything that irks her has *got* to be good. Heidi Http://www.fictionalley.org On Thu, 20 Nov 2003 1:49PM -0500, davewitley wrote: > I heard something on the radio (Radio 4 Today Programme) that I > thought might interest some of you. > > AS Byatt has done it again. > > Apparently, some wily American author with an eye for the main > chance ('I'm not pretending this is great literature') has > published 'Pride and Promiscuity', a version of 'Pride and > Prejudice' with the naughty bits left in. > > ASB somehow got wind of this and sounded off on 'Today' about how > this was terrible, an insult to the reader's imagination, etc. (I > can't remember the rest.) > > In effect, she has just handed massive free publicity to what is > almost certainly run-of-the-mill Austen fanfic. > > So, fanficcers, you can't make a quick buck now, but 50 years after > JKR dies, you could get lucky and have some pompous person sell your > wares on a national radio station. > > David, laughing, if not all the way to the bank > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ > > Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin > Files! > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ > > Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from > posts to which you're replying! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From dicentra at xmission.com Thu Nov 20 19:32:44 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 19:32:44 -0000 Subject: I've uploaded a picture + Dicey's Robes In-Reply-To: <875E82E8-1A11-11D8-9F04-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Laura Ingalls Huntley wrote: > Dicentra - I thought your costume was amazing. Did you sew it > yourself, or did you buy it somewhere? A neighbor with a surge machine sewed it for me. It's from the McCall's 3789 pattern, and the material is a very low-pile velour-type thing -- very heavy so it drapes nicely. I bought the full 11 1/4 yards and had the neighbor make the largest size, but I still had scads of material left over, plus I had to hem it up about 8 inches. Cost me about $70 in materials. (The woman at the fabric store said she hoped I'd be wearing it more than once at that price; she needn't worry!) I got the clasp and Hogwarts patches off the Internet, the Dicentra patch I stitched myself (from a bookmark pattern), the spotted owl I bought in Estes Park CO, long before HP was published, and the mahogany/maple wand I got at Nimbus (Alivans.com). If you Google the words "cloak clasp," or look for them on eBay, you can find places on the Internet that sell robes and other stuff for RenFest-type activities. Enough of it overlaps into our niche to be useful, especially if you want to be an ordinary witch/wizard and not a Hogwarts student. > And the flowers are very nice ^_~. The sort of look like Bleeding > Hearts to me -- are they actually the same thing, or just related? Dicentra spectabilis is the botanical name for the common bleeding heart in the photo. There's also a "bleeding heart" vine, Clerodendrum thomsoniae, which is not related. --Dicey From tammy at mauswerks.net Thu Nov 20 19:36:39 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 14:36:39 -0500 Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re:_[HPFGU-OTChatter]_Mary=5FGrandPr=E9=5Fin=5FSLC=5Fand=5Fthe=5Fcanonicity=5Fof=5Fher=5Fartwork=5F=28long=29?= In-Reply-To: <20031119064855.28020.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <3FBCD177.28535.1175397@localhost> On 18 Nov 2003 at 22:48, FoxyDoxy wrote: > Lilac: > > You should hear our previous theory about Wormtail and Nagini, > though...but only if you aren't eating pizza at the same time. (Yes, > it's very EEEEEWWWWWWW!) > > Now me (Tammy Rizzo): > > Oh, tell us! Tell us! I solemnly swear I am not eating pizza. > > > Doxy: > > Do you really want to know? All right then... We were talking about > Bertha Jorkins being the incubator for slimy baby Voldemort. And > Voldemort looked snake-like because he was feeding off Nagini's milk. > Some of us in the group didn't like the idea of poor Bertha's body > being used that way, and Lilac says "Maybe Nagini's the mommy." Then > the discussion turned into a Wormtail/Nagini ship. Now me (Tammy Rizzo) again Well, I'd considered the Bertha-as-incubator idea myself (shudder), already, but I'd never considered putting that onus on Nagini. And snake 'milk' is actually venom, but then again, I bet we all knew that already, didn't we. Never mind. :) *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From eloiseherisson at aol.com Thu Nov 20 20:13:47 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloise_herisson) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 20:13:47 -0000 Subject: Room 101 In-Reply-To: <00ab01c3aee1$510f55e0$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: Coincidentally I see in today's paper that Rachel Whiteread has made a cast of Room 101, which has just gone on display in the V&A. http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2003/11/14/31544.html Kathryn Cawte on Senate House: > Wow, really? I used to have classes in there (in a little room of the > library actually). Hated the place, it was so confusing (well to me anyway). > Not of course as confusing as the main building at RHUL where I was based > though. No! I lived in that building for three years and still occasionally dream about getting lost trying to find the right corridor, or having problems with the archaic lifts or wandering round the tunnels. Of course, in those far off days, it was still known as RHC. You can now take a virtual tour of that remarkable building (based on a French chateau) via the college website (that takes me back!) http://www.rhul.ac.uk/ ~Eloise From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 20:14:23 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 20:14:23 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > I heard something on the radio (Radio 4 Today Programme) that I > thought might interest some of you. > > AS Byatt has done it again. > > Apparently, some wily American author with an eye for the main > chance ('I'm not pretending this is great literature') has > published 'Pride and Promiscuity', a version of 'Pride and > Prejudice' with the naughty bits left in. What naughty bits? June shrieked and ran off to flick through her copy to see if she could find them. The Andrew Davies adaptation on the BBC some years ago featured Darby in the bath and Darcy in wet clothes and see through shirt - is this it? - Girls it WAS worth it. > > ASB somehow got wind of this and sounded off on 'Today' about how > this was terrible, an insult to the reader's imagination, etc. (I > can't remember the rest.) > > In effect, she has just handed massive free publicity to what is > almost certainly run-of-the-mill Austen fanfic. > > So, fanficcers, you can't make a quick buck now, but 50 years after > JKR dies, you could get lucky and have some pompous person sell your > wares on a national radio station. A mainstream writer several years ago wrote a sequel to P&P called "Pemberley" and no one shrieked fanfic then (probably because the phenomenon that is fanfic barely existed then). Sequalling or prequelling the books of others is not entirely dishonourable, regardless of what Byatt thinks. The best known example of high class fanfic that I can recall is "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys which is a prequel of Jane Eyre - and excellent too. It deals with the youth and life of the first Mrs Rochester - the madwoman in the attic, as she grows up in the West Indies. Technically fan fic you might say - but decidedly uber fanfic. So Byatt needs to stop being so sniffy because us fanficcers can keep some very high class company indeed! June From kkearney at students.miami.edu Thu Nov 20 20:25:34 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 20:25:34 -0000 Subject: TTT: was (One of these days... ) In-Reply-To: <002701c3af47$414e3890$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: K wrote: > I bought [The Two Towers] today (with money I don't really have) and then literally got > home, took my coat and shoes off and put the dvd in. I did the same thing, resulting in only about four hours of sleep that night. :) There is a whole new > scene called Sons of the Steward which is a flashback to the day Boromir > recaptures Osgiliath and gets his mission to go to Rivendell with > interaction between Faramir, Boromir and Denethor and a whole new scene at > the end with Faramir helping the hobbits to go on their way as well as > extended stuff. I am *so* pleased. They don't really move the plot on (why > they were dropped for the cinema release I assume) but they're great > character scenes, As an obsessive LotR (books) fan, the Faramir characterization in the original film version was the one thing I didn't like. However, I just watched the "From Book to Screen" documentary, and they actually won me over with their arguement for changing him for the movie (They felt Frodo and Sam needed a conflict given that Shelob was moved to RotK, and felt Faramir's resistance to the ring would undermine the ring-corrupts-absolutely idea). -Corinth From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 20:33:41 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 20:33:41 -0000 Subject: Mad - Gotta share this Message-ID: I've just received a jokey/gossipey email with this in and it deserved to be shared. Darwin awards anyone? Vodka-racing should be an Olympic sport The winner of a vodka-drinking competition in Volgodonsk, Russia died 20 minutes after his win. He had downed three half-litre bottles in 30 minutes, after a shop promised ten free litres to the person who could drink the most in the shortest time. Five other contestants ended up in intensive care. Those not in hospital turned up at the shop the next day for another drink, but sadly the manager had been taken away and charged with manslaughter. Nastrov'ye June From tahewitt at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 20:44:12 2003 From: tahewitt at yahoo.com (Tyler Hewitt) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 12:44:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: <1069339745.6039.4753.m17@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <20031120204412.67025.qmail@web60503.mail.yahoo.com> Laura Ingalls Huntley asked: Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity before he became president, or am I horribly mixed up? Me: Reagan basically had the same job his entire working life: second rate actor __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 20:51:21 2003 From: michaeljacksonfan1970 at yahoo.com (michaeljacksonfan1970) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 20:51:21 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: <20031120204412.67025.qmail@web60503.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Tyler Hewitt wrote: > Laura Ingalls Huntley asked: > > Was Reagan the one that was some sort of celebrity > before he became president, or am I horribly mixed up? No, you got it correct. Ronald Reagan was a movie actor, then governor of California, then President. In that order. ~Madeline From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 05:00:30 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:00:30 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter]RHUL References: Message-ID: <001301c3afec$634d9f80$a6706751@kathryn> ~Eloise > > No! > I lived in that building for three years and still occasionally dream > about getting lost trying to find the right corridor, or having > problems with the archaic lifts or wandering round the tunnels. Of > course, in those far off days, it was still known as RHC. > K I had some of my classes in that building, I was perpetually lost - and the library in there is awful. Any library where your directions to the correct section can include things like 'first left, up the stairs, turn left and then right, across the landing, down the stairs and it's right behind you' is just evil! I half expected to travel through L-Space and end up in the Discworld :) Why is it necessary for every university to have one building where there are no windows on the corridors and every floor looks identical to every other? At least at my first university you could tell where you were by the numbering system for the rooms, I *never* worked out the numbering system at RHUL. On the other hand few universities have stately homes on campus. I have The Professionals on DVD and RHUL plays the part of a private school in one ep, Windsor substituted for London a couple of times too. K From kkearney at students.miami.edu Thu Nov 20 21:03:53 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:03:53 -0000 Subject: One of these days... (was?: Re: Who would YOU spend a weekend with? (was: And *I* met...)) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Iggy wrote: > > One of these days, when I have the time between classes and taking > care of > > my dughter, I'll actually get to read the LoTR trilogy... (I saw > the old > > animated movies, but not much more, other than about the first half > of the > > first fo the recent movies on DVD...) I've read the Hobbit, and > have it and > > all three of the LoTR books... I just never got more than about 5- 6 > chapters > > in to book one before something demanded my attention for so long > that I had > > lost track of what was going on in the bok and would have had to > start > > over... I see others have already offered similar opinons, but I figure I'll throw in my two cents anyway. I first read "The Hobbit" in sixth grade and it didn't resonate with me at all then, probably partially because I could never enjoy required reading (too much directed analysis). The LotR series had always been on my mental to-read list, based on the wonderful reviews I'd heard, but I guess it was never in my mind when I was in a bookstore. Then I heard they were making a movie, and realized I had to read the books first (I never see movies of books I plan to read). The first half of FotR was the slowest part, in my opinion; but once I hit Rivendell I couldn't put them down. I devoured them in about a week and a half, and they quickly vaulted up my "favorite books" list. I have since reread them dozens of times. I've also read the Silmarillion, which I love but didn't read all at once; as others mentioned, it's much more a history than a story. I reread the Hobbit last year, hoping that with my new love of Tolkien I would enjoy it more than the first time. I did, but it still doesn't captivate me nearly as much as Tolkien's other work. Besides the intricate plot, wonderful themes, and great story that captivate most readers of LoTR, I am particularly fascinated by Tolkien's invented languages. Languages in general, and specifically comparitive liguistics and constructed languages, are a favorite hobby of mine. The intricate history and evolution behind the small excerpts found in Tolkien's novels are well worth study for anyone with similar interests. So, in conclusion, Iggy, read them! You won't regret it. Geoff wrote: > I always said I didn't want to see a film of LOTR (especially after > the 1978 cartoon), probably because I couldn't see it being done by > real actors. I have since eaten my words. It took me some while to > get my head round TTT because of some extra ideas being introduced - > Aragorn going over the cliff, the elves at Helm's Deep but I think I > am now comfortable with them. I too was very skeptical that anyone could do justice to the books, but the movies won me over. I expected to be irked by each little change (and was by some, at first), but most are so well justified (as explained in the movie appendices) that they don't bother me at all. I simply accept it as an alternative interpretation of the story. Although I agree, the Nazgul face-to-face scene seemed a bit illogical. Geoff: > It continues to occupy pride of place next to HP1-5 on my bookshelves. Hey, mine too. I have a shelf reserved just for these two series, very accessible for continuous rereading. :) -Corinth From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 05:06:25 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:06:25 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds References: Message-ID: <002d01c3afed$36b88c40$a6706751@kathryn> ~Madeline > No, you got it correct. Ronald Reagan was a movie actor, then > governor of California, then President. > > In that order. > > K But unlike Arnie he didn't jump straight into politics out of nowhere, he was President of the Screen Actors' Guild for a while (which might not give you the same political experience as being a Congressman, for example, but rates higher than Mr Universe and the Terminator ) Americans like to say that anyone can become President (or apparently Governor of California), I just wish they didn't insist on proving it so often ;) Not that we Brits are always discriminating in our choice of politicians. Hmm if Arnie can become the Governator, can we elect Alan Rickman as Mayor of London maybe? K From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 21:11:46 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:11:46 -0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter]RHUL In-Reply-To: <001301c3afec$634d9f80$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > ~Eloise > > > > No! > > I lived in that building for three years and still occasionally dream > > about getting lost trying to find the right corridor, or having > > problems with the archaic lifts or wandering round the tunnels. Of > > course, in those far off days, it was still known as RHC. > > > > K > > I had some of my classes in that building, I was perpetually lost - and the > library in there is awful. Any library where your directions to the correct > section can include things like 'first left, up the stairs, turn left and > then right, across the landing, down the stairs and it's right behind you' > is just evil! I half expected to travel through L-Space and end up in the > Discworld :) Why is it necessary for every university to have one building > where there are no windows on the corridors and every floor looks identical > to every other? At least at my first university you could tell where you > were by the numbering system for the rooms, I *never* worked out the > numbering system at RHUL. > > On the other hand few universities have stately homes on campus. I have The > Professionals on DVD and RHUL plays the part of a private school in one ep, > Windsor substituted for London a couple of times too. > > K To both: I was interviewed for there! But went to The School of Slavonic and East European Studies instead (and try saying that lot when you're vodka-ed up). June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 20 21:13:57 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:13:57 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: <002d01c3afed$36b88c40$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > > Hmm if Arnie can become the Governator, can we elect Alan Rickman as Mayor > of London maybe? > > K I'll happily run around putting posters up! Drive his campaign bus, whatever! June From tammy at mauswerks.net Thu Nov 20 21:24:35 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:24:35 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds In-Reply-To: <002d01c3afed$36b88c40$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <3FBCEAC3.7396.17A28E4@localhost> On 20 Nov 2003 at 21:06, Kathryn Cawte wrote: > Hmm if Arnie can become the Governator, can we elect Alan Rickman as > Mayor of London maybe? > > K Oooh! I'd vote for him! Don't know how much that would help, though, since I'm American . . . . *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From tabouli at unite.com.au Thu Nov 20 21:34:48 2003 From: tabouli at unite.com.au (Tabouli) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 08:34:48 +1100 Subject: Tom Bom, merry Tom Message-ID: <003501c3afae$23205e40$835032d2@useriq2qgc104q> As someone who almost made a "Bring Back Bombadil!" T-shirt to wear to FOTK, I can't let all this Bombadillic discussion go by without comment... Nox: > I really do miss Tom Bombadil though. I know he wasn't a major character, but he was an interesting one. Ring-a-ding-dillo to that! I like LOTR, but I've always found it a bit humourless. Oh, there are a few stuffy attempts, and Treebeard (my other favorite) has his moments, but the only time when Tolkien really lets his hair down is with his shamelessly whimsical portrayal of Bombadil. An eternal earth father beyond even the power of the Ring as this bouncy little man in brightly coloured clothing singing silly rhymes... it's just priceless! I think he deserves a least a cameo in all the movies and things, but no-one listens to me. Geoff: >I've always felt Tom Bombadil was very peripheral to the story. In 1981, the BBC ran a superb 26 part radio version (with Ian Holm as Frodo interestingly enough) and, in that, TB was also left out.< Kathryn: > Still the one thing Peter Jackson has going in his favour above everything else is the total removal of Tom Bombadil from the storyline - can't fault him for that. It is the most boring and pointless section of the books, other than Weathertop I spend all the pages between Bree and Rivendell wishing JRRT would just get *on* with things!< Boring? *Boring*? My first contact with LOTR was as a seven year old child. My father read it to me aloud as a bedtime story whenever I went to bed early enough. I found (and still find) the Old Forest sequence one of the most eerie and fascinating in the entire book. The sinister, sentient trees that whisper and shift and lure travellers into the heart of the forest. Old Man Willow sucking Merry and Pippin into his trunk and threatening to squeeze them in two. The wonderful absurd rescue from this singing man in yellow boots, who has, infathomably, shacked up with a silver-green water nymph called Goldberry (!). The hot baths and lavish meals and stories. The intriguing scene with Tom and the Ring. The creepy, creepy business with the Barrow-Wights the following day, who are banished by (hee!) the summoning of Tom by chanting one of his ridiculous poems... how could one not be moved? I agree that it's not actually essential to the plot, and sadly concede that that's why it gets the chop all the time, but I do like it. I think FOTR is the best of the three books, and the Bombadil scene is a great story within the story. It's all that tedious tosh with Merry and Pippin in the city in Part III which is boring. Why on earth would anyone care what they're up to when Frodo and the intriguing Gollum (whom I agree with Pullman is the most interesting character in the book, if lacking Tom's whimsical charm) are on their way to Mordor with the Ring? If it wasn't for Treebeard, I'd skim that section every time. In praise of Tom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo... Tabouli. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From dancingtai at earthlink.net Thu Nov 20 22:17:28 2003 From: dancingtai at earthlink.net (Karen) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:17:28 -0000 Subject: OotP Artfest - Wave Two Message-ID: Hi everyone! Sorry for the crosspost. This is for the fanartists out there- I'm sending this email to announce the second wave of the OotP Artfest. Wave one was held a few months ago and we had some great art sent out to us. We're hoping to get even more artists involved for the second and final wave of the fest. The second wave is based on the latter half of the OotP book. You pick from a variety of challenges that are listed, then create and submit your artwork before the deadline (Dec. 19). For further details on the rules check out the participate page of the Artfest site. The goal is to get the whole book illustrated by fanartists and we're looking forward to seeing even more amazing art works. ;-) Hope you're interested and even if you're not- wouldn't hurt to check out the artwork posted! The Artfest page is located at: http://www.phoenixtears.com/artfestootp Hope you give it a shot. =) Karen From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Thu Nov 20 22:25:04 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:25:04 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" > wrote: > > > Hmm if Arnie can become the Governator, can we elect Alan > Rickman as Mayor > > of London maybe? > > > > K > > I'll happily run around putting posters up! Drive his campaign bus, > whatever! > > June You'd have my support - anything's better than Ken, considering what he's done to the transport system during his term. I drove into London v. early Tuesday morning and left Wednesday night and had to pay ?10 in congestion charges. And has congestion eased? No. And are the traffic lights still almost permanently stuck on red? Yes. Ooh, politics. Makes me want to slam my head, Dobby like, in the oven door (which is an Aga, so it's always on, and v. hot) for discussing it (even though politics are allowed now). Catherine From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Thu Nov 20 22:30:13 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:30:13 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: <1069354497.2994A127@r5.dngr.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Heidi Tandy wrote: But some of the > reviewers at Amazon clearly can't take a joke any better than Byatt, > but then again, my feeling is, anything that irks her has *got* to be > good. > > Heidi Why??? What has AS Byatt done? I've always been a fan of hers - loved Possession, loved the Frederica Quartet (particularly Babel Tower), loved some of her more Gothic, fantastical fiction. I did find she's a bit difficult in RL - I met her at a reading in Blackheath a few months ago, and found her quite uninspiring to listen to, and quite humourless, but I think some of her work more than makes up for any character defects. Catherine From abigailnus at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 22:39:29 2003 From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:39:29 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > A mainstream writer several years ago wrote a sequel to P&P > called "Pemberley" and no one shrieked fanfic then (probably because > the phenomenon that is fanfic barely existed then). Fanfic has existed, in one form or another, for several decades. People have probably been making up stories with their favorite book/movie/TV characters for as long as there have been books, movies and TV. Written fanfic that got passed around from fan to fan had its beginnings in Star Trek fandom back in the 60s and 70s. Fans used to prints up fanzines, containing their own stories. By the way, it's in these magazines that the self-inserted-author character, Mary Sue, got her name. A fanfic writer named Mary Sue wrote a story about a half-human, half-Vulcan princess who had Kirk, Spock and McCoy chasing after her. 30 years later, and that's the plot of most episodes of Enterprise. Not that I'm bitter at the bastardization of a beloved genre or the fact that they might as well retitle the show Star Trek: Soft-Core Porn or anything. But, back to the matter at hand, it *is* odd that this particular Austen fanfic has suddenly got Byatt riled up. Apart from Pemberley, there's also a book called The Bar Sinister which deals with Lizzy and Darcy's married life, and I'm sure there are others. Surely Byatt can't be new to the phenomenon. Plus, who is it that she thinks is the target audience for this book? Clearly the only people who will be at all interested will be those who have already read the original. > > Sequalling or prequelling the books of others is not entirely > dishonourable, regardless of what Byatt thinks. The best known > example of high class fanfic that I can recall is "Wide Sargasso > Sea" by Jean Rhys which is a prequel of Jane Eyre - and excellent > too. It deals with the youth and life of the first Mrs Rochester - > the madwoman in the attic, as she grows up in the West Indies. > Technically fan fic you might say - but decidedly uber fanfic. For that matter, Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca is generally considered to be a riff on JAne Eyre. And then, of course, there's Bridget Jones' Diary, if you want to talk about the bastardization of a classic. Of course, I adored both Bridget Jones books, and I think that having read the Austens they were based on first really heightened my enjoyment of them. Abigail Who loves Byatt's Possession with a fiery passion, just for the record. From abigailnus at yahoo.com Thu Nov 20 22:45:09 2003 From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:45:09 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catherine Coleman" wrote: > Why??? What has AS Byatt done? I've always been a fan of hers - > loved Possession, loved the Frederica Quartet (particularly Babel > Tower), loved some of her more Gothic, fantastical fiction. I did > find she's a bit difficult in RL - I met her at a reading in > Blackheath a few months ago, and found her quite uninspiring to > listen to, and quite humourless, but I think some of her work more > than makes up for any character defects. Catherine, you may have missed this the first time around, but about the time OOP came out, Byatt wrote an article for the NY Times in which she discussed the phenomenon of adults reading Harry Potter. I imagine that you can guess what she said - we're childish, incapable of dealing with the real world, and have had our imaginations formed by watching TV and Saturday morning cartoons. This has not endeared her to the HP fan community, and especially not to HPfGU. I'm with you on Possession, although I haven't read anything else of hers (whenever I check out an Amazon site for one of her books, the reviews invariably start with 'While not as good as Possession...'), but she does come off as an awful snob. You can probably still find the article at the NYT archives, although you have to register to read it (it's free). Abigail From heidilist at tandys.org Thu Nov 20 22:51:54 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (heiditandy) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:51:54 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" > wrote: > > I heard something on the radio (Radio 4 Today Programme) that I > > thought might interest some of you. > > > > AS Byatt has done it again. > > > > Apparently, some wily American author with an eye for the main > > chance ('I'm not pretending this is great literature') has > > published 'Pride and Promiscuity', a version of 'Pride and > > Prejudice' with the naughty bits left in. > > What naughty bits? June shrieked and ran off to flick through her > copy to see if she could find them. > June, if you have an Amazon.com account, you can read a chapter of it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/068487265X/ref=sib_rdr_prev1_14/102- 5832678-1902530?% 5Fencoding=UTF8&keywords=darcy&p=S011&twc=15&checkSum=APyIvdOcTxX3NFp KCv1JvpKA7DnWhMr%2F6MUtFiIX6j8%3D#reader-page - enjoy the published fanfic! heidi, whose FictionAlley.org hosts a few Austen-style HP fanfics From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 06:51:38 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:51:38 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: AS Byatt - clueless References: Message-ID: <001b01c3affc$0bbbc3e0$a6706751@kathryn> > > Abigail > Fanfic has existed, in one form or another, for several decades. People > have probably been making up stories with their favorite book/movie/TV > characters for as long as there have been books, movies and TV. Written > fanfic that got passed around from fan to fan had its beginnings in Star > Trek fandom back in the 60s and 70s. Fans used to prints up fanzines, > containing their own stories. By the way, it's in these magazines that the > self-inserted-author character, Mary Sue, got her name. A fanfic writer > named Mary Sue wrote a story about a half-human, half-Vulcan princess > who had Kirk, Spock and McCoy chasing after her. K I know slash fanfic dates as far back as Sherlock Holmes so presumably fanfic can be dated further. Some academic author (no I can't remember who, sorry) compared fanfiction to the bardic culture of the early middle ages (and earlier) with it simply being the way that we as an audience actively participate in a story/world. K From heidilist at tandys.org Thu Nov 20 22:55:07 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (heiditandy) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:55:07 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catherine Coleman" wrote: > > Why??? What has AS Byatt done? I've always been a fan of hers - > loved Possession, loved the Frederica Quartet (particularly Babel > Tower), loved some of her more Gothic, fantastical fiction. I did > find she's a bit difficult in RL - I met her at a reading in > Blackheath a few months ago, and found her quite uninspiring to > listen to, and quite humourless, but I think some of her work more > than makes up for any character defects. She called us "childish adults" in an editorial in the NY Times after OotP came out. You can read a blurb about the editorial and some of the backlash over at http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/cgi- bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=byatt - you can't get the original editorial anymore without paying a fee, though. Heidi From cwood at tattersallpub.com Fri Nov 21 00:45:12 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 00:45:12 -0000 Subject: Great Minds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: >Catherine: I drove into > London v. early Tuesday morning and left Wednesday night and had to > pay ?10 in congestion charges. And has congestion eased? Begging pardon; what are congestion charges? Do you have to pay extra to be stuck in traffic in London? Ms. Tattersall (not a Brit, in spite of the name) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 09:02:45 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:02:45 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds References: Message-ID: <006501c3b00e$3ab07760$a6706751@kathryn> Ms. Tattersall Begging pardon; what are congestion charges? Do you have to pay extra to be stuck in traffic in London? K Well that would seem to be a good working definition of them :) There's an area of central London (quite a large area) and if you want to go into it at any point you have to pay a toll, if you don't pay within 24 hours it goes up drastically I think, and then again if you haven't paid by the end of a set period. There are cameras the whole way around the zone and they record number plates of everyone who goes in. If you happen to get lost and stray into it it's very annoying. If you have to go in every day it's very expensive. Which since the government recently privatised the Tube since when it's developed a distressing habit of falling of the rails and crashing into walls makes it not terribly popular. K From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Fri Nov 21 01:01:54 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 11:01:54 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days... References: Message-ID: <006301c3afcb$0f265c60$64984cca@Monteith> > > Geoff again: > I've always felt Tom Bombadil was very peripheral to the story. In > 1981, the BBC ran a superb 26 part radio version (with Ian Holm as > Frodo interestingly enough) and, in that, TB was also left out. That's why I liked him so much, I think. Even Gandalf and the other Wizards, the Ents and the Elves do not know *anything* about TB's beginings. He just *is*. That kind of thing interests me. > I was interested in the different portrayal of Faramir in the film. > He is a very civilised, almost reluctant, warrior in the book. He > seems a little more devious in the film - though I'm not quite sure > devious is the right word. > > Like Boromir, he wants Gondor and the Free World to triumph but I > think he is able ultimately to step back and take a wider view than > Boromir did. The latter realised too late what had gone wrong. He was > an interesting character - a bit ready to shoot from the hip but I > think his pushy father rather explained some of it. I can't wait to get my early Christmas pressie now...:-) I liked Book!Faramir a lot, and as worried that the movie had he portrayed as Boromir!Mk2. Nox From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Fri Nov 21 01:09:53 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 11:09:53 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Tom Bom, merry Tom References: <003501c3afae$23205e40$835032d2@useriq2qgc104q> Message-ID: <00a501c3afcc$2c0aa470$64984cca@Monteith> > As someone who almost made a "Bring Back Bombadil!" T-shirt to wear to FOTK, I can't let all this Bombadillic discussion go by without comment... > >>snipped because I just wanted to say<< Yay Tabouli! Tom fans gotta stick together... I *love* the absurdity of it, and the fact *no one* knows his beginnings. Nox From cwood at tattersallpub.com Fri Nov 21 01:26:43 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:26:43 -0000 Subject: Congestion charges In-Reply-To: <006501c3b00e$3ab07760$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: In other words, you pay a fine for adding to the traffic congestion in that part of the city. (I hope no one in the Texas Department of Transportation is reading this and getting bright ideas.) MsTatt From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 21 09:35:12 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:35:12 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Congestion charges References: Message-ID: <00b601c3b012$c34e14c0$a6706751@kathryn> MsTatt > In other words, you pay a fine for adding to the traffic congestion > in that part of the city. (I hope no one in the Texas Department of > Transportation is reading this and getting bright ideas.) > > > K Yes. And I believe the income from it is supposed to be spent on the scheme itself and public transport improvements. The trouble is not the idea itself so much as you have to pay the fines so that public transport can be improved, but until it *is* you don't have any alternative to paying the fines ... I know there is a school literally a few yards inside the zone, the parents are not happy. And the teachers (who already don't earn enough to even think of getting on the property ladder in London) are very very upset - so of course people park in the surrounding streets, and skirt the zone by driving down the (formerly) quiet streets just outside of the zone instead of using the main cross London routes. K From kelleythompson at gbronline.com Fri Nov 21 02:08:54 2003 From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 02:08:54 -0000 Subject: ADMIN: Announcing HPFGU-Feedback (repost) Message-ID: Sorry for the repost, everyone; the link wasn't working properly in the first message. Hello, Fellow Listmembers! We have a long-standing rule in HPFGU of not discussing list policy on the public lists. We've asked this of our members for a variety of reasons, and the lack of onlist policy debates has been appreciated by many members. However, we have also had feedback from some of you that you would like, at times, to be able to discuss list policy in an open forum, rather than simply sending messages to the -Owner address. The List Admin Team has also found the current system to be less than satisfactory, so we have come up with a new way for list members and list admnistration to come together and discuss matters of list policy in a friendly and constructive manner. We have created a new list, called HPFGU-Feedback. It is a forum for members of the HPFGU lists to comment, question, suggest, and discuss matters of list administration with each other and members of the List Admin Team. As this is a totally new feedback system, we are going to run it for a one-month trial period, from 20 November, to 19 December, 2003. To join, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Feedback/ . If you wish to participate, please make sure to read the messages that are sent to your e-mail address upon subscribing to the list, as all members are required to send an acknowledgement that they have read, and agree to follow, the list's Ground Rules before taking part in discussion. We look forward to hearing what you have to say! :-) Hebby Elf From illyana at mindspring.com Fri Nov 21 04:08:11 2003 From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:08:11 -0700 Subject: The Hobbit/LOTR (was: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] One of these days...) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <52236CA4-1BD8-11D8-9578-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> On Nov 20, 2003, at 2:03 PM, corinthum wrote: > > I see others have already offered similar opinons, but I figure I'll > throw in my two cents anyway.? I first read "The Hobbit" in sixth > grade and it didn't resonate with me at all then, probably partially > because I could never enjoy required reading (too much directed > analysis).? I also disliked "The Hobbit" when I read it at a young age (6th or 7th grade - my mom made me read it over the summer, since it is one of her favorite books), and I was therefore turned-off to the whole LOTR thing. I am currently reading the books for the first time ever (I'm in the middle of TTT right now), and I know that I would have never even considered reading them if the movie(s) hadn't been made. I am not quite sure if I disliked "The Hobbit" because I was forced to read it (due to poor grades in school) or because I was too young to appreciate Tolkein, but I think I will read it again after I am done with LOTR and see if I still dislike it. illyana, who just realized that this post is pretty pointless, but is going to hit "send" anyway! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From annemehr at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 05:10:33 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 05:10:33 -0000 Subject: Hi-Res PoA pics on Mugglenet Message-ID: Mugglenet has three new PoA pictures posted (and thanks to TLC for the link): http://www.mugglenet.com/pics/newpoa.shtml Before, I said I was glad they let Dan have a haircut, but, sheesh, it looks like Rupert Grint hasn't been near scissors in quite some time! And I have to say, that when she's wearing those "Muggle" clothes, that Emma Watson *looks* like Emma Watson, not Hermione! And, where the heck is Susan Bones -- oh...yeah, I forgot! Annemehr really looking forward to the movie, despite all the griping From erinellii at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 05:36:46 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 05:36:46 -0000 Subject: Well, I posted part one of ESE!Bill... Message-ID: I just posted part one of the Bill Weasley is Ever So Evil Theory that I've been working on for, like, ever. Won't you all run over to the main list and read it? Please? You know you want to... I think it would be awesome if we could get some good TBAY threads going over there. It's just such a fun way to write and discuss stuff. Any one up for writing me a reply in TBAY format? Erin From bookraptor11 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 06:28:52 2003 From: bookraptor11 at yahoo.com (bookraptor11) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 06:28:52 -0000 Subject: Great Minds & Question for Nox In-Reply-To: <00bd01c3aef9$40496f30$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, wrote: > From another list. Some good quotes... > > Nox Is it ok to copy this to another list? Do I have to get permission from someone? Donna From drednort at alphalink.com.au Fri Nov 21 06:50:09 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 17:50:09 +1100 Subject: I love debate! In-Reply-To: References: <00bd01c3aef9$40496f30$7a984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <3FBE5051.14553.1465EA6@localhost> Well, I'm off to a meeting of a JFK Assasination Society where I will have to debate like mad as I am one of those people who believes the Warren Commission got it right, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and that there is no reason to assume a conspiracy... And some people might think HPFGU gets heated at times (-8. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From carmenharms at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 07:10:30 2003 From: carmenharms at yahoo.com (snazzzybird) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 07:10:30 -0000 Subject: I love debate! In-Reply-To: <3FBE5051.14553.1465EA6@localhost> Message-ID: --- "Shaun Hately" wrote: > Well, I'm off to a meeting of a JFK Assasination Society where I will have to > debate like mad as I am one of those people who believes the Warren > Commission got it right, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and that there is no > reason to assume a conspiracy... And I believe the exact opposite! On this one issue I'm a card- carrying Conspiracy Nut, and am confident the facts bear me out. But I'm resigned to the fact that I'll probably never know what really happened; maybe it's not even knowable anymore. Good luck in your debate! Sounds like a fine time. --snazzzybird, who honestly doesn't wear a tinfoil hat From catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk Fri Nov 21 07:28:38 2003 From: catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk (Catherine Coleman) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 07:28:38 -0000 Subject: Congestion charges/Clueless AS Byatt In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "mstattersall" wrote: > In other words, you pay a fine for adding to the traffic congestion > in that part of the city. (I hope no one in the Texas Department of > Transportation is reading this and getting bright ideas.) > MsTatt Yep - in London it costs ?5 per day. If you forget, you are fined something in the region of ?30 (although someone told me it was ?70, so I'm not sure on this point). Anyway, the idea was to get people off the roads and onto Public Transport, which is overcrowded as it is. And yes, as Kathryn said, the money is supposed to be spent on improving transport, but I haven't noticed any great improvement. These improvements seem to be centred on making as many streets as possible one way, which means everyone gets hopelessly lost when driving around London. And even if it is slightly quieter in the Centre (which isn't really discernable) it's also much, much worse around the outskirts. It took me an hour and a half to drive the 8 miles from Tower Bridge to the M11 on Wednesday - a drive which is often about 20 mins in off peak times. It almost made me glad to be back in Norfolk (although the drivers here are something else again). Catherine, who takes the point on AS Byatt, but who nevertheless finds it very ironic, considering Byatt's obsession with fairytales. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 21 07:55:28 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 07:55:28 -0000 Subject: AS Byatt - clueless In-Reply-To: <001b01c3affc$0bbbc3e0$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > I know slash fanfic dates as far back as Sherlock Holmes so presumably > fanfic can be dated further. Some academic author (no I can't remember who, > sorry) compared fanfiction to the bardic culture of the early middle ages > (and earlier) with it simply being the way that we as an audience actively > participate in a story/world. > > K So as a fanfic writer I'm part of an ancient, mediaeval bardic culture? Go me! Holding head up high now! June From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Fri Nov 21 09:16:45 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:16:45 -0000 Subject: I love debate! In-Reply-To: <3FBE5051.14553.1465EA6@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun wrote: > Well, I'm off to a meeting of a JFK Assasination Society What a sinister name! Need we look any further for the *true* culprits? D From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Fri Nov 21 11:13:41 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 21:13:41 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Great Minds & Question for Nox References: Message-ID: <000f01c3b020$85fc1c80$6f984cca@Monteith> > Is it ok to copy this to another list? Do I have to get permission > from someone? > > Donna I don't think so. It was uncredited when I got it, and since it is just a list of quotes it doesn't really *belong* to anyone in the sense of an original posting. Nox From saitaina at wizzards.net Fri Nov 21 11:27:26 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 03:27:26 -0800 Subject: The bad things about quiting smoking... References: <000f01c3b020$85fc1c80$6f984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <004401c3b022$722e00e0$bb361c40@aoldsl.net> Alright, you always hear about the good things, but here is a list of things I have compiled in my recent quit time: 1. You get your sense of smell back and realize your house reeks and can't figure out why (I'm still sniffing everything trying to figure this out) 2. You realize you really can't stand your mother without nicotine drugging you. 3. This just sucks. Period. :o) Saitaina **** Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it always monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed supermodels? http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 21 11:59:35 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 11:59:35 -0000 Subject: The bad things about quiting smoking... In-Reply-To: <004401c3b022$722e00e0$bb361c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Alright, you always hear about the good things, but here is a list of things I > have compiled in my recent quit time: > > 1. You get your sense of smell back and realize your house reeks and can't > figure out why (I'm still sniffing everything trying to figure this out) > > 2. You realize you really can't stand your mother without nicotine drugging > you. > > 3. This just sucks. Period. > > Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, ate the burger, smoked my last one 18 January 1997, at 10.15 pm. Still miss the one with the drink, the one after a great meal. The real ass-kicker is the kind of new and improved sore throats you get after your throat and respiratory sensitivity kicks back in. My wallet is really glad I quite though. June From jwcpgh at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 13:58:34 2003 From: jwcpgh at yahoo.com (Laura Horowitz) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 05:58:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] ADMIN: Announcing HPFGU-Feedback List In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031121135834.73028.qmail@web41303.mail.yahoo.com> This is to confirm that I have received the ground rules for the Feedback List and agree to abide by them. Thanks for starting this list! Laura Hebby Elf wrote: Hello, Fellow Listmembers! We have a long-standing rule in HPFGU of not discussing list policy on the public lists. We've asked this of our members for a variety of reasons, and the lack of onlist policy debates has been appreciated by many members. However, we have also had feedback from some of you that you would like, at times, to be able to discuss list policy in an open forum, rather than simply sending messages to the -Owner address. The List Admin Team has also found the current system to be less than satisfactory, so we have come up with a new way for list members and list admnistration to come together and discuss matters of list policy in a friendly and constructive manner. We have created a new list, called HPFGU-Feedback. It is a forum for members of the HPFGU lists to comment, question, suggest, and discuss matters of list administration with each other and members of the List Admin Team. As this is a totally new feedback system, we are going to run it for a one-month trial period, from 20 November, to 19 December, 2003. To join, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU- Feedback/. If you wish to participate, please make sure to read the messages that are sent to your e-mail address upon subscribing to the list, as all members are required to send an acknowledgement that they have read, and agree to follow, the list's Ground Rules before taking part in discussion. We look forward to hearing what you have to say! :-) Hebby Elf For the List Admin Team Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From stevejjen at earthlink.net Fri Nov 21 14:12:28 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 14:12:28 -0000 Subject: Hi-Res PoA pics on Mugglenet In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" wrote: > Mugglenet has three new PoA pictures posted (and thanks to TLC for the > link): > > http://www.mugglenet.com/pics/newpoa.shtml > > Before, I said I was glad they let Dan have a haircut, but, sheesh, it > looks like Rupert Grint hasn't been near scissors in quite some time! Thanks for the link, Anne! Now I'm wondering what scene that last picture represents, the one with the Trio in front of a group of other kids? (I like Rupert's shaggy, no-scissors-near-my-hair-for- ages look--that's how I think of Ron). Jen, looking forward to the movie for Alan Rickman and Gary Oldham, who are a little more her age From stevejjen at earthlink.net Fri Nov 21 14:22:13 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 14:22:13 -0000 Subject: I love debate! In-Reply-To: <3FBE5051.14553.1465EA6@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > Well, I'm off to a meeting of a JFK Assasination Society where I will have to > debate like mad as I am one of those people who believes the Warren > Commission got it right, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and that there is no > reason to assume a conspiracy... > > And some people might think HPFGU gets heated at times (-8. This time of year in Texas, Nellie Connally* always gives interviews describing what it was like riding in the car with JFK on that fateful day (seeing as she's the only one of the riders still alive). Anyway, yesterday I heard a clip where she said when JFK got shot, he said something like, "They're going to kill us all." I'd never heard that, and it made me wonder, what did *he* suspect was going on? Of course, that could just be a dying man's confused last thought, but since I'm part of this group now, I see conspiracies everywhere.... Jen *Nellie Connally was wife to former Texas Governor John Connally, both in the car From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 14:46:56 2003 From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 14:46:56 -0000 Subject: Happy Birthday, Melanie! Message-ID: *dances into the room throwing confetti, then lights candles on a huge chocolate cake oozing with vanilla icing* Today's birthday honoree is Melanie. Birthday owls may be sent care of this list or directly to Melanie at: ilovbrian_99 at yahoo.com. I hope all of your wishes come true today, Melanie! Happy birthday! Poppy Elf, who is birthday elfing on behalf of a vacationing Sheryll today From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 21 15:34:57 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:34:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] The bad things about quitting smoking... In-Reply-To: <004401c3b022$722e00e0$bb361c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <000301c3b045$063da0c0$6997aec7@Einstein> Iggy here: You forgot a couple of other things... 1: You get your sense of taste back enough to realize that "blackened" is actually just a Cajun term for "burned." 2: You realize that sitting bolt upright in the morning and hocking up a lung from your smoker's cough actually helped you get up for work on time. 3: You no longer have an excuse for going out in front of the office at random times with your friends for a "smoke break" (and a long "water cooler" chat) Iggy McSnurd (who isn't a smoker, but half his wife's family smokes heavily... as did half his friends back in Santa Cruz.) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 21 15:38:52 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:38:52 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: The bad things about quitting smoking... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000401c3b045$951c07a0$6997aec7@Einstein> >My wallet is really glad I quite though. > >June Iggy here: I am convinced that the reason so many people who are quitting smoking not to replace a smoking addiction or find an alternate oral fixation... It's because they get their sense of taste back and all that food now tastes so good that they want to eat everything they can. *grin* (I got my wife to quit... well... for a month... and that's why she ended up eating more...) Iggy McSnurd From annemehr at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 17:36:47 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 17:36:47 -0000 Subject: The bad things about quitting smoking... In-Reply-To: <000301c3b045$063da0c0$6997aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: > Iggy here: > 3: You no longer have an excuse for going out in front of the office at > random times with your friends for a "smoke break" (and a long "water > cooler" chat) You need an excuse? I've never smoked, but I always went out with my friends for a "smoke break." I always came back smelling like cigarettes, too, so who was to know? Annemehr wishing she knew someone to hang out with who smokes good cigars -- one of the best smells there is! From o_caipora at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 17:38:11 2003 From: o_caipora at yahoo.com (o_caipora) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 17:38:11 -0000 Subject: I love debate! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I recently read a book "What do YOU care what people think?" consisting of conversations with and text by Richard Feynman. He was a Nobel-prize winning physicist who was on the commission that investigated the first space shuttle disaster. He said that a Senator at the investigative hearings said something like, "When you're conducting an investigation, you have to have investigators. It's no enough to just take what people tell you. We did that on the Warren Commission and we're still being questioned." The last part of the book is Feynman's report on the Shuttle disaster - an appendix to the committee's report. Feynman investigated. He also considered not just why that shuttle had exploded, but what it was about the way NASA did things that allowed the disaster to happen. He pointed out a lot of flaws in how NASA did things. His report is a perfect diagnosis of what went wrong in the SECOND space shuttle disater, too. Very sad. - Caipora > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" > wrote: > > Well, I'm off to a meeting of a JFK Assasination Society where I > will have to > > debate like mad as I am one of those people who believes the > Warren > > Commission got it right, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and > that there is no > > reason to assume a conspiracy... > > > > And some people might think HPFGU gets heated at times (-8. From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 21 17:42:05 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 17:42:05 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays Message-ID: This is what we call the kids school play that depicts the Nativity, in the UK. It's getting closer to Christmas, the shops here are full of it, early Festive Filks have been spotted, several people near where I live have the most vulgar and over the top external Christmas lights on their houses, so... Nativity Plays. As a parent, I feel they often provided some of the funnier experiences when my daughter was younger and I like to hear any amusing recollections other people have. Here's some of mine: 1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, often schools jump through ecumenical and pantheist hoops to engage all the children in the school and I've seen some very funny attempts to "include" Islamic and Hindu children here. 2. Everyone must have a part. This is one of my favourite aspects. Schools don't like competitiveness anymore. In my day, it was a capsule play with simply the best actors picked for the key parts, lesser actors got to be the donkey's back end, and the rest formed the choir. Now everyone has to be in it, and noticeable by their loving parents. In the last one I attended there was a fantastic musical number performed by a troup of dancing Christmas puddings - though I have to say, had anyone attempted to cast MY daughter as a dancing Christmas pudding - we would have been having "words" afterwards. A recent example I heard of included dancing lobsters. Now where on earth did that idea come from? 3. Shepherds. In our tradition the Shepherds' parts seem to be exclusively the province of the local urchins. Small boys wearing checked tea-towels on their heads and looking like the smallest chapter of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. When I last went, in addition to that, the shepherds carried crooks which seemed to have been constructed by broom handles and bent coathangers covered in paper. They had plainly been using these as fighting weapons before coming on stage because they were all bent completely out of shape. 4. Small kids never mind their parents being present in the audience and will cheerily wave to them regardless of whether they are making a speech at that time. 5. Great speaking. I heard the following at my last nativity play. It helps if you are familiar with the Geordie accent (that's north east england for you foreigners!) but phonetically rendered here goes. Enter Chief Shepherd, who glares at Mary and Joseph, having waved for some time to his mum and dad who are somewhere in the audience: "Thu-aingil-toldus-tocomeandsee-thebabycheesus" This is said at maximum speed and is all one word. Try saying aloud the get the local colour. 6. All time favourite and this was a more modern approach: Joseph comes home from work and says to Mary: "How's our Jesus been then?" Mary: "He's been a right little b****r all day." Right - lets get it clear I'm not sneering. I watched everyone of them laughing and crying at the same time and wouldn't have missed any of them for the world. Dancing Christmas puddings included. June From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk Fri Nov 21 17:53:24 2003 From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 17:53:24 -0000 Subject: The bad things about quiting smoking... In-Reply-To: <004401c3b022$722e00e0$bb361c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: Saitaina wrote: > 1. You get your sense of smell back and realize your house reeks and can't > figure out why (I'm still sniffing everything trying to figure this out) > > 2. You realize you really can't stand your mother without nicotine drugging > you. > > 3. This just sucks. Period. > Don't you go forgetting now... 4.) The spots. Hey, apparently it's just the toxins coming out. 5.) Taking up passive smoking as a serious hobby. 6.) Disapproving looks/speeches from non-quitters whenever you express a craving verbally. 7.) The empty feeling after finishing a meal. 8.) Your appetite comes back and you suddenly don't fit into any of your clothes. 9.) Having to actually deal with tension. 10.) Who knew my hands needed so much occupation? Kirstini. Two months, four days. And *of course* taking a draw off the butt of a friend's ciggy when mildly inebriated doesn't count! From grannybat at hotmail.com Fri Nov 21 18:59:23 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 18:59:23 -0000 Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_Wormtail/Nagini_(was:Mary=5FGrandPr=E9=5Fin=5FSLC)?= In-Reply-To: <20031120020211.65186.qmail@web60209.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: >> > Doxy: >> > ... We were talking about Bertha Jorkins being the incubator >>> for slimy baby Voldemort. And Voldemort looked snake-like >>> because he was feeding off Nagini's milk. Some of us in the group >>> didn't like the idea of poor Bertha's body being used that way, >>> and Lilac says "Maybe Nagini's the mommy." Then the discussion >>> turned into a Wormtail/Nagini ship. >> >> Grannybat: >> I was just about to expound on this when I realized it's probably >> too **on**-topic for this list. > > Doxy: > Oh please expound. Take it to the main list if you must. Well...that last crack of mine was meant more an ironic commentary on the twist of OT-ness than anything else. Most lists will toss a post for being **off**-topic rather than on. To be honest, I'd rather not bring up unlikely sex scenarios on the main list because I've publicly stated that I'm more interested in the ethics and societal implications of the Magical World's attitudes toward sex, as opposed to the salacious fun of squick-inducing SHIPs. Not that I have anything against salacious fun; I just haven't been able to snatch enough time between work and home to write any of my novel-length posts that explore Magical sexual attitudes. I really ought to send those out before I pursue the weirder stuff. Credibility matters to prissy Neo-Victorians like me. Besides, I'm still prodding Our Amanda (not The Geist) to post her interesting theory on Mrs. Figg's maiden name. > Doxy, who doesn't ship, but is morbidly interested in this one. It does have that compelling, can't-look-away-from-this-car-crash appeal, doesn't it? Grannybat From lhuntley at fandm.edu Fri Nov 21 19:01:10 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 14:01:10 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Hi-Res PoA pics on Mugglenet In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <11C19E58-1C55-11D8-9DA6-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Annemehr: > Mugglenet has three new PoA pictures posted (and thanks to TLC for the > link): > http://www.mugglenet.com/pics/newpoa.shtml > Before, I said I was glad they let Dan have a haircut, but, sheesh, it > looks like Rupert Grint hasn't been near scissors in quite some time! *giggles* Dan is such a little pixie boy. You're right though, his hair is *much* better. I think that Columbus pretty much went for "long" in lieu of "messy," because he thought that having the main character's hair be distracting was a Bad Thing, but the new style is definitely truer to canon *and* distracts from Dan's face less. I don't know what's up with Rupert's hair. Maybe he just *wanted* it long and they didn't have the heart to chop it off anyway? *grins* > And I have to say, that when she's wearing those "Muggle" clothes, > that Emma Watson *looks* like Emma Watson, not Hermione! Eh. Emma Watson. She's the only one of the kids that I just can't reconcile with my internal perceptions of their characters. I think the thing with Dan and Rupert is that they both seem to have "bonded" with their characters. Emma, on the other hand, spends all of her time making sure everyone knows she has more fashion sense than Hermione. *rolls eyes* Laura (who wonders if this post ought to be going to the Movie list) From grannybat at hotmail.com Fri Nov 21 19:14:56 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 19:14:56 -0000 Subject: O.L.D. F.A.R.T.? In-Reply-To: <003c01c3af1e$0b0f2f10$118386cb@useriq2qgc104q> Message-ID: Captain Tabouli dashed my hopes: > > Most flattering, that my acronymic fame lives on in newbies who were never around in my heyday! ...I still skulk about on OTC (the only digests I get, these days), and I'm in touch with quite a few HPFGU friends behind the scenes. Every now and then I vow to make a triumphal return, raise the LOLLIPOPS banner, submit brilliant discourses on OoP and so forth, but in all honesty, I think I've burnt myself out< Aw, maaaaaaan. Not even a single post on the wonderful new can(n)on of Snape's pensieve memory? That scene was just **meant** to be the foremost artillery on the Good Ship L.O.L.L.I.P.O.P.S.! And there are so many new theories floating around the BAY just beggging for good acronyms. It took me a week to come up with the pathetic name D.R.I.B.B.L.E.; who will come up with brilliantly twisted and slightly snarky labels now that the Talking Salad and her faithful pet GreyWolf have been lost at sea? Tell me the M.A.G.I.C. hasn't died.... Grannybat From grannybat at hotmail.com Fri Nov 21 19:22:30 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 19:22:30 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Junediamanti wrote: > This is what we call the kids school play that depicts the > Nativity, in the UK. ... As a parent, I feel they often provided > some of the funnier experiences when my daughter was younger... > I watched every one of > them laughing and crying at the same time and wouldn't have missed > any of them for the world. Dancing Christmas puddings included. This is not the same as Christmas panto, yes? One of my Alan Rickman e-groups got into a discussion of that, but I'm still a bit unclear on the distinctions. Could you educate me a bit? Grannybat once again a clueless Yank From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 22 03:33:24 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 19:33:24 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays References: Message-ID: <001201c3b0a9$750cf190$a6706751@kathryn> Grannybat > This is not the same as Christmas panto, yes? One of my Alan Rickman > e-groups got into a discussion of that, but I'm still a bit unclear > on the distinctions. Could you educate me a bit? > > K Panto - usually a fairytale (Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White, Aladdin etc). Featuring the Principal Boy (main male role ie Prince Charming, Peter Pan etc) played by a young, athletic girl in tights and a tunic and the Panto Dame (comic female role i.e. Ugly Sisters, Widow Twanky) played by a guy in big frocks a wig and make up. Featuring an evil villain (who you boo) a happy ending and much shouting of "he's behind you" and "oh no he didn't" "oh yes he did" from the characters and the audience. Usually there is some 'audience participation in the form of kids being dragged on stage by one of the characters and much yelling of lines from the audience. Also sweeties being thrown at the audience, bad jokes, awful puns and (usually) some political comment. Nativity Play - pretty much never done professionally (unlike pantos which are usually put on at least one in each town by professional actors as well as amateur productions). Tells the tale of Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. Pretty much only performed by kids in schools at Christmas for the parents. Full of Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men and, apparently, dancing Christmas puddings. K From heidilist at tandys.org Fri Nov 21 19:46:21 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 11:46:21 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1069443984.1AB3A72A@r5.dngr.org> On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 12:43pm, junediamanti wrote: > 1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is rooted > in the Judeo-Christian tradition... Actually, no. I don't want to sound mean, and I'm really trying not to sound sarcastic but... It's firmly rooted in Christian tradition. Given that, as a rule, Jews don't celebrate Christmas, there's nothing "Judeo-" about the tradition. June, I know you weren't trying to do or say anything negative here, and you were describing something that takes place in schools around the world in december, I just needed to post and clarify this, because it's a little buggaboo of mine. Heidi From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Fri Nov 21 19:52:09 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 19:52:09 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: <1069443984.1AB3A72A@r5.dngr.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Heidi Tandy wrote: > > On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 12:43pm, junediamanti wrote: > > > 1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is rooted > > in the Judeo-Christian tradition... > > Actually, no. > > I don't want to sound mean, and I'm really trying not to sound sarcastic > but... > > It's firmly rooted in Christian tradition. Given that, as a rule, Jews > don't celebrate Christmas, there's nothing "Judeo-" about the > tradition. > > June, I know you weren't trying to do or say anything negative here, and > you were describing something that takes place in schools around the > world in december, I just needed to post and clarify this, because it's > a little buggaboo of mine. > > Heidi No offence taken at all and I stand happily corrected. What I was after was to make the distinction between that and Islam and Hindu faiths. If I used Judeo-christian as a term it was to make the point that Christianity is a descendent faith of the senior Judaism. And I certainly hope I didn't give any offence and apologise if I did. June From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr Fri Nov 21 20:22:09 2003 From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 20:22:09 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Heidy > > > 1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is > rooted > > > in the Judeo-Christian tradition... > > > > Actually, no. > > > > I don't want to sound mean, and I'm really trying not to sound > sarcastic > > but... > > > > It's firmly rooted in Christian tradition. Given that, as a rule, > Jews > > don't celebrate Christmas, there's nothing "Judeo-" about the > > tradition. > > June : > No offence taken at all and I stand happily corrected. What I was > after was to make the distinction between that and Islam and Hindu > faiths. If I used Judeo-christian as a term it was to make the > point that Christianity is a descendent faith of the senior Judaism. > Now me : And to continue in the same vein, Islam considers Jesus as the greatest of the prophet before Mahomet and firmly defends the virginity of Mary, calling her the saintest of all women.There is a whole surat in the Coran describing the encounters between Mary and the archangel Gabriel. It is not at all uncommon (in fact quite common) for muslim mothers to bless their children with the love of "God, Mahomet and the Holy Virgin." Besides, there is a turkish saying that goes "If you sin, God will forgive you. If he doesn't, then Meriem (ie Mary) will ammend for you." So Nativity Plays are not at all alien to the original muslim faith. All the best, Olivier From drednort at alphalink.com.au Fri Nov 21 20:50:20 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 07:50:20 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: I love debate! In-Reply-To: References: <3FBE5051.14553.1465EA6@localhost> Message-ID: <3FBF153C.13101.447B1A5@localhost> On 21 Nov 2003 at 14:22, Jen Reese wrote: > This time of year in Texas, Nellie Connally* always gives interviews > describing what it was like riding in the car with JFK on that > fateful day (seeing as she's the only one of the riders still alive). > > Anyway, yesterday I heard a clip where she said when JFK got shot, > he said something like, "They're going to kill us all." I'd never > heard that, and it made me wonder, what did *he* suspect was going > on? Of course, that could just be a dying man's confused last > thought, but since I'm part of this group now, I see conspiracies > everywhere.... That sounds confused to me - either Mrs Connally is confused, or (more likely) the way she said what she said gave a wrong impression about who was doing the talking. President Kennedy said nothing during the assasination - he was physically incapable of doing so. The first shot came very close to his spine and almost certainly caused the loss of all voluntary movement below the neck - his movements in the films are a classic reflexive response to such injury. But more significantly the wound came close to giving him an instant tracheotomy - speech would have been virtually impossible, coupled with a state of shock, and films and witness statements at the time reveal he said nothing. Governor Connally on the other hand, when he heard a second shot and realised that both the President and himself had been hit cried out 'My God, they're going to kill us all.' This has been public knowledge since 1963 and can be seen in the films. The situation was that two shots had been fired and the two most important people in the car had been wounded (note: the official version (which I believe) is that only one bullet caused both Kennedy and Connally's initial wounds - the second round is believed to have missed completely - but Connally heard both of them). Kennedy *was* seriously unpopular with certain elements in Dallas - they'd taken out full page newspaper advertisements protesting his visit, describing him as a traitor. Connally was certainly aware that there could be some sort of conspiracy, and he was in a situation where the people in the car seemed to be being picked off one at a time. There could have been a conspiracy - it is virtually impossible to prove a negative, and say "There was definitely no conspiracy". But my personal view is that there is also no compelling evidence to believe there was. Most of the supposed facts raised in the conspiracy press over the years, aren't facts - the classic example is the supposed 'zigzag' flight path of the 'magic bullet'. It's still being presented as a problem even though we've known for 35 years that there is no reason a zigzag flight path is required (people assume - and so does the zigzag path - that Kennedy and Connally were both sitting one behind the other, both up against the right hand side of the vehicle. That positioning given a shot from the right rear would require the bullet to change course in mid-air to strike both of them. However, that assumption of position is wrong - Connally was sitting forward and to the left of the President. When the positions are used accurately the bullet travels very close to a straight line path, with no mid-air manoeuvering. We know that Connally was sitting closer to the centre of the car for two reasons - the first is that there are photos that show the relative positions of people in the car, the second is that Connally was sitting in a fold down jumpseat, which was mounted close to the centre of the car. Yet, most people have been told about the zigzagging magic bullet by the popular media - which does seem *incredibly* suspicious. Finding out the actual real flight path and real positions takes some reading. There's a book 'Mortal Error' - can't remember the authors name right now - which is based on a premise that a Secret Service agent accidentally fired the fatal head shot - while a conspiracy theory itself, it's probably done more than any other book to convince conspiracy theorists that there was no conspiracy simply because it was the first book widely read by conspiracy theorists (and at the time I was one, myself) to clearly explain the 'magic bullet' with reference to Kennedy and Connally's position. It made a lot of people think: "Wow - if that can be explained so clearly and easily, what else do I believe is unexplainable but can be easily explained." We do surveys at our meetings. We've found over the years that the more a person reads about the Kennedy assasination, the more likely they are to come to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald did it! (there are exceptions - there are well informed conspiracy theorists). My view is that is simply because the more spectacular books, the ones that most people are likely to read first, are the conspiracy oriented books - which also tend to be shorter. My view based on reading everything I can get my hands on on this topic (I've even read the entire Warren Report) over the last decade or so, is pretty much as follows. I am 99.9% certain that President John F. Kennedy was killed by two shots fired from the Texas School Depository. A third round was fired and missed (probably the second round fired). I am 99% certain that his assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. I am 95% certain that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I concede the possibility that there may have been a conspiracy - a totally successful conspiracy wouldn't be apparent after all. I just can't see any compelling reason to assume there was. To me, it looks very much like Oswald decided to shoot the President only the night before it happened. It's just a tragedy that he had the means and the opportunity to do so - motive, as well, but I'm less convinced on that (the most likely motive I have seen formulated still seems rather weak to me - I know of people who've killed with less motive though). Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From witchywoman at obdb.net Fri Nov 21 20:59:35 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:59:35 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: The bad things about quiting smoking... References: Message-ID: <02ac01c3b072$5e97c1b0$99960144@home> Also: 1. Having no attention span for a couple of weeks. Couldn't even concentrate on playing on the computer. 2. Not being able to have a cig with an alcoholic beverage or with a cup of coffee (the coffee part almost broke me). 3. Realizing you were sticking more food in your mouth more often than you had ever actually stuck a cigarette in it (mine was lollipops and sour gummy worms....evil candy! hahahaha) Tammy who quit on Sept. 10, 2000 at 2:30 am. (aka Witchy Woman) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 21 21:40:52 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:40:52 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: The bad things about quitting smoking... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000201c3b078$26f7e450$2293aec7@Einstein> > Annemehr >You need an excuse? > >I've never smoked, but I always went out with my friends for a "smoke >break."? I always came back smelling like cigarettes, too, so who was >to know? > >Annemehr >wishing she knew someone to hang out with who smokes good cigars -- >one of the best smells there is! Iggy here: Actually, no... since while I don't smoke per-se, (no doctor has ever considered me a smoker) I do occasionally smoke clove cigarettes or pipe tobacco cigars. (I don't inhale, because you don't WANT to inhale either of those unless you like getting sick...) Iggy McSnurd PS: While writing the above line, I noticed something... "per-se" means "By itself." And it sounds a *lot* like Percy, who is the one Weasley that's really "by himself" right now. Odd, isn't it? From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Fri Nov 21 22:21:16 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 08:21:16 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Festive Note - Nativity Plays References: Message-ID: <007001c3b07d$c85637c0$71984cca@Monteith> June wrote > 1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is rooted > in the Judeo-Christian tradition, often schools jump through > ecumenical and pantheist hoops to engage all the children in the > school and I've seen some very funny attempts to "include" Islamic > and Hindu children here. One of my best friends had this experience last year. She and her family are Pagan and had reservations about being in the school Nativity play but were eventually persuaded to take part, along with the child of the vehemently atheist family and the Hindu child. The three families made the effort and got involved... and were the only ones to actully turn up to the performance... Nox From cwood at tattersallpub.com Fri Nov 21 23:21:37 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 23:21:37 -0000 Subject: HP character hats Message-ID: I received this link from someone because it had a turkey hat, but saw that they also had HP character costume hats. Christmas IS coming... http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/page/H/CTGY/HP Ms. Tattersall From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net Sat Nov 22 07:39:01 2003 From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 07:39:01 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: June Diamanti wrote: > This is what we call the kids school play that depicts the Nativity, in the UK. It's getting closer to Christmas, the shops here are full of it, early Festive Filks have been spotted, several people near where I live have the most vulgar and over the top external Christmas lights on their houses, so... > Nativity Plays. As a parent, I feel they often provided some of the funnier experiences when my daughter was younger and I like to hear any amusing recollections other people have. Wendy: Okay. I have just one, as Connor has only had one Nativity Play experience - that was last year, when he was doing his preschool year at the primary in our village. This particular production was heavy on shepherds and angels . . . of course, the boys were to be shepherds, dressed in rather awful robes, with tea towels on their heads. The girls were to be angels - a much better deal, if you ask me, as they got to wear ballet-type outfits - tights and skirts, with angel wings. Very cute. Well, play practice was moving along just fine - Connor was slated to be a shepherd. I was prepared with the tea towel I was to provide. But at the dress rehersal, Connor apparently realised that he was getting a VERY bad end of the deal. Tea towel? Oh no. He wanted wings. So you know what they did? They let him be an angel. And not just any angel - he was Gabriel. Gave him white robes - and, of course, wings. Fantastic. He was so cute - up on the back of the stage with all the tu-tu'ed little girls. Waving at me. Saying random things that weren't in the script. I think he had a fantastic time. I sure loved watching him. I'm laughing now just thinking about it. Thanks, June, for reminding me of such a happy memory. :-) Wendy From Erthena at aol.com Sat Nov 22 08:31:38 2003 From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 08:31:38 -0000 Subject: LOTR/Hobbit (a little late) Message-ID: I can't resist a good LOTR thread even if I have to jump in a little late. 1) The Hobbit- I like the Hobbit (it's the inspiration for my name, Beorn is a werebear too). This is probably due to the fact that I have a fantastic Lit. teacher who had us read and analyze The Hobbit in ninth grade. This was the first time I'd read it (Just after the movie came out). This teacher is really great at what he does and so I may have a greater appreciation for the Hobbit than others because I got to have it explained to me.(although this teacher's very anti-HP and I have quite a few rants in the margins of my notes about dumb, stupid people who can't realize how great HP is and who shouldn't make my fellow students give me a harder time than they already do...) 2)LOTR-amazing, I just started reread number six and expect it to be so great. I am sad though that I never read the books before I saw the movies (I had a bad experience with the animated Hobbit). I'm slowly moving away from PJ's vision and having a few of my own opinonis now. It was the coolest feeling whan I thought, "well, they sure messed up *that* in the movie", because I was worried I'd be tainted by the movie-cannon forever. 3) my recommended reading order(otherwise known as the order read them in first)- LOTR first, then the Hobbit, then the Sil. Too many of my family turned away from JRRT becaus they read the Hobbit first. It's a good read, but LOTR is better (for most people). The hobbit is seconed because it is a nice break if you're reading all three at once, and it's nice to see what Frodo is saving when he goes on his quest. The Sil is third because it takes the longest, gets boring, and is not reccomended for those who are reading LOTR because it's popular or are being forced, only read the Sil if you love LOTR. (more on the Sil below) 4) Movies- I love the movies, esp Orliegolas. They're beautiful, and powerfuul and they do a good job, mostly, of adapting the books (except for their perversions of Farimir, I *spit* on their Faramir) Then there's the Legolas fangirl thing (be warned it's true what they say about Legolas fangirls being the most dangerous type of fangirl). 5) The Sil.- I once read that it takes 100 read throughs to understand the Sil., and I believe it. The more times you read it the more sense it makes. As you learn who's who and why the Minis Tirith isn't the same Minas Tirith you get the stories underneath the confusing style, and they're all great, and even fun after a fashion. 6) Special Edition DVD's - I own both, even though my most recent play has prevented me from watching all of TTT, and they are so great. Full of facts and fun (esp. the fourth disk of FOTR, the cast documentary is beyond funny, but that's another post completely) well that's about it, way longer than I thought it'd be ~~loony From eloiseherisson at aol.com Sat Nov 22 10:03:54 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 05:03:54 EST Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays Message-ID: June: >Nativity Plays. As a parent, I feel they often provided some of the >funnier experiences when my daughter was younger and I like to hear >any amusing recollections other people have. Here's some of mine: > >1. PC. Yes, indeedy. Though the Christmas Nativity play is rooted >in the Judeo-Christian tradition, often schools jump through >ecumenical and pantheist hoops to engage all the children in the >school and I've seen some very funny attempts to "include" Islamic >and Hindu children here. Well, none of that in our school, but that would because it's ethnically and culturally not very diverse and pays lip service to Christianity. Our school's tended to alternate between nativities and Christmas shows (with each younger year having a go at each at least once) although I've noticed that there's been a tendency recently to move away from straight nativity plays and to put on something less religious that somehow manages to incorporate a nativity tableau or some reference to the true meaning of Christmas. The very worst thing (up to last year when our new school hall gave us an excuse to move the event) used to be that the pre-prep (that's the rising 5s to 7 year olds) had to do their Christmas carol service in the local parish church (that is local to the school, not my local parish). I don't know the vicar of that parish personally; he may be a very nice man, for all I know, but as parents we all used to dread it. I don't think I have ever once seen him smile at the children or the congregation; he's one of those people with a naturally forbidding expression. He started every carol service with a stern reminder that this was not a concert and that photographs were inappropriate and an attitude that seemed to say we were all uniformly just the proud parents from the posh school down the road (it's fee-paying, but far from posh) come to see their little darlings. He seemed to have no recognition that amongst us, too, were likely to be people for whom this event actually meant something more. Well do I remember the occasion on which a grandfather, who had come in late and missed the admonition was foolhardy enough to stand up to take a picture. Dear Severus himself couldn't have swept down the aisle with more menace to deal with the miscreant at the end of the service. Thing is, during the service, the older children didn't exactly do a play, but as the nativity story unfolded, they gradually formed a tableau of the scene. But the taking of photos even *after* the service had finished was frowned upon. It still makes me mad. I was strongly associated with the church at the time and felt tarred by the unwelcoming attitude of this man of the cloth. >2. Everyone must have a part. This is one of my favourite >aspects. Schools don't like competitiveness anymore. In my day, it >was a capsule play with simply the best actors picked for the key >parts, lesser actors got to be the donkey's back end, and the rest >formed the choir. Now everyone has to be in it, and noticeable by >their loving parents. In the last one I attended there was a >fantastic musical number performed by a troup of dancing Christmas >puddings - though I have to say, had anyone attempted to cast MY >daughter as a dancing Christmas pudding - we would have been >having "words" afterwards. A recent example I heard of included >dancing lobsters. Now where on earth did that idea come from? Alice, I should think. The Lobster Quadrille. But yes, all have parts. That's essential. But even with all the extra characters that seem to be part of events now, there are still parts and *parts*. The children may be unaware of it, but the parents aren't! There's still that unspoken warm glow of pride when your daughter is chosen to be Mary, even though her role seems to be played down somewhat in the productions I've seen recently (and that's not a theological point!) I've had two Marys. My youngest was Mary last year. She looked perfect. Except that she was *completely* disengaged from the action, ignored baby Jesus totally (the fact that she'd been positioned bizarrely *in front of* the manger didn't help!) and spent most of the time looking behind her at the action, or engrossed in conversation with the shepherd "boy" who was the star of this particular production. <> >Right - lets get it clear I'm not sneering. I watched everyone of >them laughing and crying at the same time and wouldn't have missed >any of them for the world. Dancing Christmas puddings included. I agree. They were a highlight of the year and I'm sorry that they're over for me now. What haven't we mentioned? There's always the child with the very loud and often tuneless voice who you can hear above everbody else. There's the child who inevitably gets overcome by the whole occasion and has to be removed, sobbing from the stage or else shows off appallingly. Robins and snowmen with cushions pushed up their jumpers (as in sweaters) that inevitably start to slip and have constantly to be hoiked surreptitiously (or not!) back up into place. There's always at least one child wearing their tights (that's panty hose) back to front (usually a boy). At various times my four children have been a shepherd, a king, a Christmas cracker (do you guys have those in the US?), a piece of tinsel, a snowflake, a reindeer, a star, the inevitable angels. The tinsel song brought the house down ("Oh won't you wrap me round the Chrismas tree?/ Oh won't you wrap me round (I love to shimmy, shimmy....) This year I don't have to make a costume. ;-( I think my all time favourite must have been the one when my third child was playing the angel. At one point she noticed that Mary's head-dress had fallen off and she then proceeded to spend about half the play doggedly but ineffectually trying to replace it. Gradually, more and more of the audience started to notice this little sub-plot developing and the whole hall was overcome by suppressed giggles. It assured her of a much bigger part than her role warranted in the official school video, anyway. But we're still not allowed to mention it. Shhh! ~Eloise Who actually becomes more Scrooge-like by the year and can't *stand* Christmas starting this early, but is a sucker for a nativity play. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sat Nov 22 21:08:47 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 13:08:47 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays References: Message-ID: <007901c3b13c$d28e96a0$a6706751@kathryn> > > ~Eloise > > Who actually becomes more Scrooge-like by the year and can't *stand* > Christmas starting this early, but is a sucker for a nativity play. > > K It's not Scroogelike. I adore Christmas, but I wish people would wait until December. Santa's Grotto opened last week at the local shopping centre. Every shop is playing Xmas music and has decorations up - I'm going to be heartily sick of it by Xmas and have now scratched shops off the list of places I'm job hunting (because I'd be forced to go after their audio system with a hammer after a couple of days of constant Christmas music and being sacked is bad) K From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 22 14:24:29 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 14:24:29 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: <007901c3b13c$d28e96a0$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > >> It's not Scroogelike. I adore Christmas, but I wish people would wait until > December. Santa's Grotto opened last week at the local shopping centre. > Every shop is playing Xmas music and has decorations up - I'm going to be > heartily sick of it by Xmas and have now scratched shops off the list of > places I'm job hunting (because I'd be forced to go after their audio system > with a hammer after a couple of days of constant Christmas music and being > sacked is bad) > > K That's nothing - I saw my first Christmas display in a Newcastle shop in September. I like Christmas too, but I'm blowed if I'm gonna get so overspent on it that I won't be able to pay for it until next July. Here's a short pet hate list: People who boast in October that they've done all their Christmas shopping (including the turkey) and once they wrap up all their presents (by end of October) they are sorted. Shops with large displays of "gifts" - by which I mean stuff that no one in their right mind would want or buy - like beer tankards "for the golfer in the family" What the? Surely the golfer in the family wants new golf clubs or suchlike. Kitchen aprons for men with "World's Best Dad" on them or that sort of thing. The inevitable productions of really crap records by the likes of Robbie Williams - which people who should know better buy in droves and make number 1 so that the rest of us have to listen to it everywhere we go. Obscure "My Book of the Year" lists (there's one today in the UK Daily Telegraph) which include pious "I'm better read and more intellectual than thou" nominations from famous people and there's never a mention of any book you've read or enjoyed. The appearance in the shops of magazines which tell you how to provide a show off victorian Christmas, have endless recipe's for obscure ways of doing brussel sprouts, when all you need to do is boil the buggers. People who live near me who have decided to decorate the entire outside of their houses with fibre optic lights, meaning I have to close my curtains or risk a migraine or seizure if I look at the display. And this in November yet. I'll get my festive spirit going soon, I dare say, I just wish it didn't feel like a very long exam - written and practical. June From eloiseherisson at aol.com Sat Nov 22 15:12:13 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 10:12:13 EST Subject: Being Scrooge-like (was:Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays) Message-ID: <150.2715b11b.2cf0d6cd@aol.com> Kathryn Cawte: >It's not Scroogelike. I adore Christmas, but I wish people would wait until >December. Santa's Grotto opened last week at the local shopping centre. >Every shop is playing Xmas music and has decorations up - I'm going to be >heartily sick of it by Xmas and have now scratched shops off the list of >places I'm job hunting (because I'd be forced to go after their audio system >with a hammer after a couple of days of constant Christmas music and being >sacked is bad) Well, confession time. I've already been to a Christmas party. Last night. Not willingly, you understand, but I did quite enjoy it (much against my better judgement). It was a corporate bash at Somerset House, on the Strand in London, which is a wonderful, elegant building with a varied history (it too, at one stage was part of the University of London - Kings' College, or at least part of it, used to be based there). It now houses the Courtauld Collection. http://www.somerset-house.org.uk/ Anyhow, in the winter there is an ice rink in the courtyard. It was really very evocative. Folks skating, a professional choir up in the balcony singing carols, strolling entertainers, the ice rink lit by huge torches. Youngest one paying a visit to Santa accompanied by the most delightful elf. Made me (even me!) feel quite sentimental. I had a wonderful surprise when I visited the ladies' room just before leaving. It was most beautifully decorated with sparkling silver branches, fairy lights and sprays of completely fresh eucalyptus and pine between the basins. I've never seen anything quite like it and it was just so unexpected, like suddenly walking into a fairy woodland grotto! Like June, I saw the first signs of Christmas this year in the supermarket before the end of September. I can't believe that the central London Christmas lights have been on for a week already (as they have in our local town. Our village ones don't go on for another week, thank goodness. I'm trying to persuade my younger two that I need a musical flashing (and I don't mean illuminated) Santa like a hole in the head. I think soon ours will be the only house in the country soon that isn't adorned with an illuminated snowman, or doesn't have reindeer chasing across the roof. I agree so much about being sick of Christmas by the time it happens. These days everyone seems to celebrate Christmas *before* the festival itself and forgets that the actual Christmas season is the twelve days starting with Christmas. After Christmas is such an anti-climax. I used to be very strict, refusing to put up the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve itself. That softened to the weekend before Christmas. Last year I broke down and put it up at the beginning of the school holidays. Last year was also the first year I gave in to the pressure to buy chocolate Advent calendars. Not at the beginning of December, I hasten to add, but when they were reduced a few days later (told you I was Scrooge-like!) I never did quite understand what a daily chocolate ration had to do with marking a penitential season. But then, in European tradition, the giving of little presents throughout Advent has an honourable history, I believe. Although I suspect this has more to do with the cult of St Nicholas than with Christmas itself. I don't know. I suppose that I feel that when I was a child, Christmas was much more special, partly because it wasn't anticipated so much. It wasn't as commercialised, we didn't get nearly as much stuff. But many children these days have so much anyway that it is only an orgy of indulgence that marks out Christmas as being different. I was happy with a Christmas stocking of small presents from Father Christmas, with nuts and a tangerine in the toe. I've no idea *what* mine would think if they found fruit and nuts in their Christmas sacks! Turkey, or even chicken, was a luxury food and traditional Christmas dinner was really special. Now it seems much more ordinary and despite more cosmopolitan tastes in this country generally, I'm about the only person in my house who enjoys all the *traditional* extras that make it special - cranberry sauce, bread sauce, chestnuts, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake with real, home-made marzipan. Talking of which, I haven't made my puddings or cake yet. Must check my store cupboard and get on with them! ~Eloise (call me Ebenezer!)Herisson wondering when *cranberries* became part of a traditional British Christmas. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com Sat Nov 22 16:10:19 2003 From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 16:10:19 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Eloise described a particularly unpleasant sermon-leader and finished with: > It still makes me mad. I was strongly associated with the church at the time > and felt tarred by the unwelcoming attitude of this man of the cloth. Martha: The guy who led our Christmas services was the exact opposite. Bless him, he tried ever so hard to be cool and trendy and down with the kids, but we still loathed him. Once he brought in a terrier to help illustrate some point (can't remember what exactly) and - guess what? - it did a poo on the floor, which was the greatest moment in the history of the school's Christmas services. Also, the vicar's catchphrase was "Jesus is the reason for the season", which Destiny's Child have appropriated on the sleevenotes of their Christmas album. Eloise: > I've had two Marys. My youngest was Mary last year. She looked perfect. > Except that she was *completely* disengaged from the action, ignored baby Jesus > totally (the fact that she'd been positioned bizarrely *in front of* the manger > didn't help!) and spent most of the time looking behind her at the action, or > engrossed in conversation with the shepherd "boy" who was the star of this > particular production. Martha: Two Marys in one family? Not fair. When my class did the Nativity when I was 5, all my friends got to be angels, with tinsel halos and pretty frocks, and I had to be the scabby innkeeper's scabby wife. The kid playing the innkeeper always had a trail of thick, gunky snot on his face/sleeves and I was most disgusted by the "husband" I had been lumbered with. I had to wear a brown dress and my part in the play consisted of pointing at the stable. My costume was hung up in the cloakroom with the label "Martha - wife", and I believe this played a pivotal role in shaping my feminist attitudes. Wife, indeed! Eloise: > There's always the child with the very loud and often tuneless voice who you > can hear above everbody else. There's the child who inevitably gets overcome > by the whole occasion and has to be removed, sobbing from the stage or else > shows off appallingly. Robins and snowmen with cushions pushed up their jumpers > (as in sweaters) that inevitably start to slip and have constantly to be hoiked > surreptitiously (or not!) back up into place. There's always at least one > child wearing their tights (that's panty hose) back to front (usually a boy). Martha: Not forgetting, of course, the kid who gets to "play" the coconut halves during "Little Donkey" (or similar song involving donkey) and at some point holds them up to look like a bra. OK, maybe that was unique to my primary school where we once had a kid set fire to the toilets, but that's another story. ~ Martha (who quite likes Christmas but HATES Christmas pop songs) From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com Sat Nov 22 16:12:59 2003 From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 16:12:59 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Eloise described a particularly unpleasant sermon-leader and finished with: > It still makes me mad. I was strongly associated with the church at the time > and felt tarred by the unwelcoming attitude of this man of the cloth. Martha: The guy who led our Christmas services was the exact opposite. Bless him, he tried ever so hard to be cool and trendy and down with the kids, but we still loathed him. Once he brought in a terrier to help illustrate some point (can't remember what exactly) and - guess what? - it did a poo on the floor, which was the greatest moment in the history of the school's Christmas services. Also, the vicar's catchphrase was "Jesus is the reason for the season", which Destiny's Child have appropriated on the sleevenotes of their Christmas album. Eloise: > I've had two Marys. My youngest was Mary last year. She looked perfect. > Except that she was *completely* disengaged from the action, ignored baby Jesus > totally (the fact that she'd been positioned bizarrely *in front of* the manger > didn't help!) and spent most of the time looking behind her at the action, or > engrossed in conversation with the shepherd "boy" who was the star of this > particular production. Martha: Two Marys in one family? Not fair. When my class did the Nativity when I was 5, all my friends got to be angels, with tinsel halos and pretty frocks, and I had to be the scabby innkeeper's scabby wife. The kid playing the innkeeper always had a trail of thick, gunky snot on his face/sleeves and I was most disgusted by the "husband" I had been lumbered with. I had to wear a brown dress and my part in the play consisted of pointing at the stable. My costume was hung up in the cloakroom with the label "Martha - wife", and I believe this played a pivotal role in shaping my feminist attitudes. Wife, indeed! Eloise: > There's always the child with the very loud and often tuneless voice who you > can hear above everbody else. There's the child who inevitably gets overcome > by the whole occasion and has to be removed, sobbing from the stage or else > shows off appallingly. Robins and snowmen with cushions pushed up their jumpers > (as in sweaters) that inevitably start to slip and have constantly to be hoiked > surreptitiously (or not!) back up into place. There's always at least one > child wearing their tights (that's panty hose) back to front (usually a boy). Martha: Not forgetting, of course, the kid who gets to "play" the coconut halves during "Little Donkey" (or similar song involving donkey) and at some point holds them up to look like a bra. OK, maybe that was unique to my primary school where we once had a kid set fire to the toilets, but that's another story. ~ Martha (who quite likes Christmas but HATES Christmas pop songs) From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sat Nov 22 17:03:01 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:03:01 -0000 Subject: Being Scrooge-like (was:Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays) In-Reply-To: <150.2715b11b.2cf0d6cd@aol.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote: > > Well, confession time. > I've already been to a Christmas party. Last night. Not willingly, you > understand, but I did quite enjoy it (much against my better judgement). > >>> Like June, I saw the first signs of Christmas this year in the supermarket > before the end of September. I can't believe that the central London Christmas > lights have been on for a week already (as they have in our local town. Our > village ones don't go on for another week, thank goodness. I'm trying to persuade > my younger two that I need a musical flashing (and I don't mean illuminated) > Santa like a hole in the head. I think soon ours will be the only house in the > country soon that isn't adorned with an illuminated snowman, or doesn't have > reindeer chasing across the roof. > > I agree so much about being sick of Christmas by the time it happens. These > days everyone seems to celebrate Christmas *before* the festival itself and > forgets that the actual Christmas season is the twelve days starting with > Christmas. After Christmas is such an anti-climax. > > I used to be very strict, refusing to put up the Christmas tree until > Christmas Eve itself. That softened to the weekend before Christmas. Last year I > broke down and put it up at the beginning of the school holidays. Last year was > also the first year I gave in to the pressure to buy chocolate Advent calendars. > Not at the beginning of December, I hasten to add, but when they were reduced > a few days later (told you I was Scrooge-like!) I never did quite understand > what a daily chocolate ration had to do with marking a penitential season. > > But then, in European tradition, the giving of little presents throughout > Advent has an honourable history, I believe. I inherited a beautiful, hand-embroidered advent calender that my mother made from a European Kit. You hang little presents from it - one for each day of advent. Do this one Christmas, and one only and that's it. It costs a small fortune to do - 24 little presents. Although I suspect this has more to > do with the cult of St Nicholas than with Christmas itself. > > I don't know. I suppose that I feel that when I was a child, Christmas was > much more special, partly because it wasn't anticipated so much. It wasn't as > commercialised, we didn't get nearly as much stuff. But many children these days > have so much anyway that it is only an orgy of indulgence that marks out > Christmas as being different. I was happy with a Christmas stocking of small > presents from Father Christmas, with nuts and a tangerine in the toe. I've no idea > *what* mine would think if they found fruit and nuts in their Christmas sacks! Yes, I get the eyes heavenward when I start talking on that theme. > > Turkey, or even chicken, was a luxury food and traditional Christmas dinner > was really special. Now it seems much more ordinary and despite more > cosmopolitan tastes in this country generally, I'm about the only person in my house who > enjoys all the *traditional* extras that make it special - cranberry sauce, > bread sauce, chestnuts, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake with real, home-made > marzipan. The trimmings are the best bit - I could survive without the turkey but not the bits. > > Talking of which, I haven't made my puddings or cake yet. Must check my store > cupboard and get on with them! > > ~Eloise (call me Ebenezer!)Herisson > > wondering when *cranberries* became part of a traditional British Christmas. This reminds me of a favourite film of mine "Shadowlands". For those who haven't seen this film it stars Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger portraying the doomed and bittersweet romance between C S Lewis and his wife, Joy Gresham. It's a wonderful weepy film and the performances by Hopkins and Winger have to be seen to be believed. Anyway that brings me to the particular moment. In the film, Joy Gresham and her son are guests of C S Lewis and his brother for Christmas day. He asks what they would normally have for their own traditional Christmas Lunch and she says "Oh, you know the usual, turkey, cranberry sauce..." Now this is set in the late fifties and cranberry sauce, while common enough in the UK now was not a standard turkey accompaniment then. However, undaunted, the family cook serves what she considers to be a near equivalent and everyone sits down to eat turkey and... raspberry jam, with Joy hissing sotto voce to her son "Just eat it and say nothing". Wonderful moment. June From melclaros at yahoo.com Sat Nov 22 17:47:03 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:47:03 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > > No offence taken at all and I stand happily corrected. What I was > after was to make the distinction between that and Islam and Hindu > faiths. If I used Judeo-christian as a term it was to make the > point that Christianity is a descendent faith of the senior Judaism. > never discuss politics or religion. I should think it would be a whole lot easier to integrate muslim children into a nativity play-- afer all, they do recognize Jesus as a great prophet--than other religions or for that matter kids from atheistic backgrounds. This is one thing that we're (Americans) good at, even if some of us do get shrill and take things waaayyy too far over the top. You won't see a Nativity Play in an American public school. Period. June, haven't you seen Love Actually yet? You'll love the end. From dicentra at xmission.com Sat Nov 22 20:09:06 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:09:06 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <150.2715b11b.2cf0d6cd@aol.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote: > Kathryn Cawte: > I used to be very strict, refusing to put up the Christmas tree until > Christmas Eve itself. That softened to the weekend before Christmas. We in the U.S. have the advantage of Thanksgiving Day, the 4th Thursday in November, which is considered the proper beginning of the Christmas season. (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, isn't it? Do y'all mark the beginning of Christmas at that time?) Stores used to hold off on Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. the biggest shopping day of the year because of all the special sales), but I saw X-mas decorations for sale on the aisle next to the Halloween candy this year. They're no longer honoring the Thanksgiving barrier, bless their greedy little hearts. I won't put up my own Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. The neighbors down the street (with the display you can see from orbit) were rigging up their stuff last weekend. I still have my Halloween decorations perched in the windowsill (laziness, not principle). --Dicentra From coriolan at worldnet.att.net Sat Nov 22 20:30:20 2003 From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:30:20 -0000 Subject: I'm Going to be on Television! (I Think) Message-ID: I'm currently at my once a week Saturday job, at the President Benjamin House http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/ We currently have an exhibit to commemorate the 40th anniversary of JFK's assassination (which runs through the end of the year). Today being November 22, one of the local TV stations (Channel 8, I don't know the call letters) sent out a reporter to do a story about it. We had a fairly large group touring the exhibit when the camera arrived, and they interviewed several of us seniors as to where we were 40 years back. They also asked me my opinions as the significance of JFK presidency, and I gave them benefit of my amateur historical expertise. (HEM HEM). It should air tonight at 11 pm, though I am at the mercy of the editors as to whether I'm in it or not. - CMC From grannybat at hotmail.com Sat Nov 22 20:46:42 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:46:42 -0000 Subject: Dicey's Robes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra replied to Laura: > > > Dicentra - I thought your costume was amazing. Did you sew it > > yourself, or did you buy it somewhere? > > A neighbor with a surge machine sewed it for me. It's from the > McCall's 3789 pattern.... I bought the full 11 1/4 > yards and had the neighbor make the largest size, but I still had > scads of material left over, plus I had to hem it up about 8 >inches. How much fabric would you estimate was left over? This looks like a good pattern for cutting down some of my fabric stash. (Oddly enough, this is one of the few costume patterns I don't have in my collection.) > ...the Dicentra patch I stitched myself (from a bookmark pattern) Laura, I've seen Dicey's patch in person. You wouldn't believe the fine detail in the stitching--and I say that as a needleworker who's never particularly liked cross-stitch patterns. Grannybat From catlady at wicca.net Sat Nov 22 21:00:47 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 21:00:47 -0000 Subject: I'm Going to be on Television! (I Think) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Caius Marcius" wrote: > They also asked me my opinions as the significance of JFK presidency, Men stopped wearing hats with business suits. From przepla at ipartner.com.pl Sat Nov 22 21:19:07 2003 From: przepla at ipartner.com.pl (Przemyslaw Plaskowicki) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 22:19:07 +0100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: I'm Going to be on Television! (I Think) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FBFD2CB.3050109@ipartner.com.pl> Catlady (Rita Prince Winston) wrote: >--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Caius Marcius" > wrote: > > > >>They also asked me my opinions as the significance of JFK presidency, >> >> > >Men stopped wearing hats with business suits. > > Actually that is an urban legend. See this address: http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.htm -- Przemyslaw 'Pshemekan' Plaskowicki There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have. (Don Herold) From jillily3g at yahoo.com Sat Nov 22 22:23:02 2003 From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 22:23:02 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra wrote: We in the U.S. have the advantage of Thanksgiving Day, the 4th Thursday in November, which is considered the proper beginning of the Christmas season. [snip] Stores used to hold off on Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. the biggest shopping day of the year because of all the special sales), but I saw X-mas decorations for sale on the aisle next to the Halloween candy this year. They're no longer honoring the Thanksgiving barrier, bless their greedy little hearts. Me, Beth: This always used to bother me, especially when I worked retail, but I think I'm completely desensitized now and just look for the biggest bargain. Sigh. Dicentra: I won't put up my own Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. The neighbors down the street (with the display you can see from orbit) were rigging up their stuff last weekend. I still have my Halloween decorations perched in the windowsill (laziness, not principle). > > --Dicentra Beth: I have purposefully looked for Thanksgiving decorations so I could have an excuse not to put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving (because doesn't it seem /un-thankful/ to ignore it?), but when I look at the tasteful outdoor displays of some of my neighbors (not all of my neighbors, but that's another story) I have to admit there is wisdom in trying to attach the lights before it freezes! Has anyone found a solution for those of us who live where it could very well snow before Thanksgiving? Beth From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sat Nov 22 22:38:24 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 22:38:24 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Dicentra spectabilis" wrote: > Stores used to hold off on Christmas decorations until the day after > Thanksgiving (a.k.a. the biggest shopping day of the year because of > all the special sales), but I saw X-mas decorations for sale on the > aisle next to the Halloween candy this year. They're no longer > honoring the Thanksgiving barrier, bless their greedy little hearts. I was really disappointed this year to see a Mall Christmas store open long before Halloween, and to see Christams decorations vying for a place by the Halloween candy! How much further back can we go before they just leave the Christmas displays up year-round?!? Jen, huffing over Christmas losing some of its magic when you can buy a Santa Clause in October. From risako at nexusanime.com Sun Nov 23 00:03:25 2003 From: risako at nexusanime.com (Melissa McCarthy) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:03:25 -0400 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] When the decorations go up References: Message-ID: <017201c3b155$38114be0$6401a8c0@vaio> Dicentra: > We in the U.S. have the advantage of Thanksgiving Day, the 4th > Thursday in November, which is considered the proper beginning of the > Christmas season. (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, isn't it? Do > y'all mark the beginning of Christmas at that time?) Yup, Canadian Thanksgiving is in October! I can't speak for all of Canada, of course, but around here, we don't mark the beginning of Christmas until, usually, the tail end of November... actually, right around American Thanksgiving. Coincidence? Now, the Christmas *shopping* season, on the other hand... that can start in September. It's so strange to see back-to-school ads and Christmas ads at the same time. > Beth: I have purposefully looked for Thanksgiving decorations so I > could have an excuse not to put up Christmas decorations until after > Thanksgiving (because doesn't it seem /un-thankful/ to ignore it?), > but when I look at the tasteful outdoor displays of some of my > neighbors (not all of my neighbors, but that's another story) I have > to admit there is wisdom in trying to attach the lights before it > freezes! Has anyone found a solution for those of us who live where > it could very well snow before Thanksgiving? We're used to snow around here I have fond memories of standing outside, mittenless, in the middle of a mini-snowstorm with my father trying to attach a stubborn set of lights to the house. Mostly we just cope with it, although some people do put up their lights early (say, beginning of November) and just don't turn them on until it gets closer to Christmas. Melissa, who feels strongly that the *real* Christmas season starts with Advent From kkearney at students.miami.edu Sun Nov 23 00:22:53 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 00:22:53 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra: > We in the U.S. have the advantage of Thanksgiving Day, the 4th > Thursday in November, which is considered the proper beginning of the > Christmas season. (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, isn't it? Do > y'all mark the beginning of Christmas at that time?) > > Stores used to hold off on Christmas decorations until the day after > Thanksgiving (a.k.a. the biggest shopping day of the year because of > all the special sales), but I saw X-mas decorations for sale on the > aisle next to the Halloween candy this year. They're no longer > honoring the Thanksgiving barrier, bless their greedy little hearts. I'm glad some other people still respect this date. :) I absloutely refuse to do anything Christmas oriented (decorate, listen to Christmas music, shop for presents, etc) until after Thanksgiving. There's a reason Santa comes at the end of the parade. I was very ticked to come home from work yesterday and see that my apartment complex had hung greenery and bows from the sign at the entrance. I don't habitually shop for Christmas gifts until Dec. 20 or so, and always make at least one purchase Christmas Eve. But that also falls into the "Laziness, not principle" category. -Corinth From Malady579 at hotmail.com Sun Nov 23 00:38:17 2003 From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 00:38:17 -0000 Subject: I'm Going to be on Television! (I Think) In-Reply-To: <3FBFD2CB.3050109@ipartner.com.pl> Message-ID: Caius wrote: >>>They also asked me my opinions as the significance of JFK presidency, Catlady wrote: > >Men stopped wearing hats with business suits. Prezemtslaw wrote: > Actually that is an urban legend. See this address: > http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.htm Errr....no it isn't. Woemen started wearing hats because Jackie did, and JFK tried to wear hats too so the hat industry in America would thrive. Unfortunately, the trend of dressing up like the rich was going to the way side, and by the time JFK was shot, a lot of the things like gloves and hats were on their way out. This happened all over the globe after WWII really as the shift of influence changed. Besides, during 1963, major fashions changes began to happen. That is the year miniskirts were introduced by Mary Quant or Courreges (still debated hotly in fashion circles). The Beatles followed soon after with their major influence to youth and adult culture. And thus urban and working class clothing started to become the fashionable, and the rich, with all their accessories, were going out. Melody getting her Masters in historic fashion, but admits to know more about the 19th century than the 20th. From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sun Nov 23 00:44:46 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 00:44:46 -0000 Subject: This must be a joke! Message-ID: http://tinyurl.com/w5ik Supposedly, an American company now has introduced Turkey&Gravy- flavoured soda. Words fail me.... Best regards Christian Stub? From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sun Nov 23 01:00:34 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 01:00:34 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Not replying to any one in particular here. In Norway, it used to be that Christmas-decorations and Christmas- products would not appear in shops until December 1st. That is still the date when the outdoor Christmas-trees and the outdoor Christmas- decorations in the streets are lit, but Christmas-decorations and pother products are increasingly early. This year, the Christmas marchpane-bags appeared in shops September 25th - what's the point of selling Christmas-sweets so early that people are sick of them when Christmas is actually there? They will only taste better the longer you wait before indulging. In fact, there now seems to be a small but growing popular movement against this commercialisation of Christmas, with protests, attempts of boycots of the worst offenders, and similar. At least, most Norwegian still stick to the tradition of not putting up the tree until December 23rd, in the very late evening (typically finishing the tree at around 2 a.m., or so) - we still like to differentiate Advent, with special Advent-decorations, whicha re much simpler and more restrained. Many families still also enforce that the children are not actually allowed into the room with the tree until the morning of Christmas Eve - so that the children will see the tree finished, in a room lit only by the lights on the tree. Best regards Christian Stub? From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sun Nov 23 09:20:10 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 01:20:10 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: Message-ID: <002601c3b1a2$febcf300$a6706751@kathryn> Christian Stub At least, most Norwegian still stick to the tradition of not putting up the tree until December 23rd, in the very late evening (typically finishing the tree at around 2 a.m., or so) - we still like to differentiate Advent, with special Advent-decorations, whicha re much simpler and more restrained. Many families still also enforce that the children are not actually allowed into the room with the tree until the morning of Christmas Eve - so that the children will see the tree finished, in a room lit only by the lights on the tree. K That's cool. My parents always used to put the tree up the weekend before Christmas after I'd gone to bed. It was magical coming downstairs to see all the decorations and the tree the next morning. Of course now I end up doing about 60% of the work with my dad doing the rest. I don't bother with a tree (small flat) but I admit to loving Christmas decorations - although I'm ambivalent on the subject of tinsel which looks great but tends to leave bits around that are still there come February :) I'd probably end up doing more of the work putting up my dad's stuff if it wasn't for the fact that I'm a)very short and b) so scared of heights that stepladders scare me - for some reason my father dislikes the idea of all the decorations being so low he'd strangle himself on them :) K From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 23 01:30:27 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:30:27 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: Message-ID: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> *stops decorating the tree, covered in a band of flashing lights (that won't stop playing carols no matter how many buttons I push), coloured lights and a stubborn ornament* Er...I put mine up the week of Thanksgiving (or before). I can't help it! I love Christmas...I wait avidly for the decorated trees to go up in stores (and always joke about how one day I'm going to sneak out with one under my coat). Plus I've already bought and wrapped the presents (hence the tree going up, gotta have a place for the prezzies). I could never understand people putting up decorations so late...it's all over on the 26, why not enjoy it...I love a month of my tree and Santa candles and icicle lights....I even have my display dolls (okay really my cabbage patch dolls that I have on my couch) dressed up in their Christmas finest...the only thing I don't have is an ickle Christmas tree for the fish tank. Saitaina Who just discovered a broken ornament and has a half decorated tree until she can replace it. **** Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it always monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed supermodels? http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sun Nov 23 01:45:22 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 01:45:22 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Saitaina" wrote: [snip] > I could never understand people putting up decorations so > late...it's all over on the 26, why not enjoy it [snip] But it is not! In the Anglo-American tradition, Christmas has 12 days - in the Scandinavian tradition Christmas has 13 or 20 days, depending on regional traditions. In my family we never take down the tree until January 6th (13th Day), at least, and I know many families finish Christmas with a tree-raiding party on January 13th (20th Day) - a big children's party, the paper-baskets on the tree being (re-)filled with Christmas-candy and cookies, and teh kids raid the tree for these goodies, and play traditional games, as a way of wrapping up Christmas. Best regards Christian Stub? From saitaina at wizzards.net Sun Nov 23 01:49:03 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:49:03 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: Message-ID: <012601c3b163$fa0f6f20$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Christian wrote: Dang, in my family Christmas was done after dinner (usually before desert). Tree was down the next day, present excitement over and we're getting ready for the next holiday. Saitaina **** Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it always monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed supermodels? http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From andie at knownet.net Sun Nov 23 02:30:24 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 02:30:24 -0000 Subject: This must be a joke! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > http://tinyurl.com/w5ik > > Supposedly, an American company now has introduced Turkey&Gravy- > flavoured soda. Words fail me.... > > Best regards > Christian Stub? As terrible as it sounds, this is true! I was out to lunch with a few people from work on Friday, and guess what I saw on the counter? Yes, a Turkey & Gravy beverage. We spent quite a bit of time making fun of it, and so I really had to laugh when I read your post! And NO, I didn't buy it!!! :) Andrea From catlady at wicca.net Sun Nov 23 03:15:15 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 03:15:15 -0000 Subject: One of the questions on the Halloween Mixer Message-ID: was which other listies's names or IDs would you like to steal? A: I will keep my name, but some of the names I get envious of are: silvercatofbast tigerpatronus Minerva McTabby Felinia From SnapesSlytherin at aol.com Sun Nov 23 03:43:07 2003 From: SnapesSlytherin at aol.com (Blair) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 03:43:07 -0000 Subject: This must be a joke! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > Supposedly, an American company now has introduced Turkey&Gravy- > flavoured soda. Words fail me.... No joke, that seems like typical American thinkin'! Way to go us! What *will* we think of next... Although now that I've read about it, I kinda have the urge to try one...just to see what it's like. The question I have about it is will it be popular with the vegetarians? The link said there was no meat extracts in it (which confuses me I must admit). Oryomai Making her first post on OTChatter! *waves* From annemehr at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 05:28:49 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 05:28:49 -0000 Subject: When the decorations come down (Was:Re: When the decorations go up) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Saitaina" wrote: > [snip] > > I could never understand people putting up decorations so > > late...it's all over on the 26, why not enjoy it > [snip] Christian Stub?: > But it is not! In the Anglo-American tradition, Christmas has 12 > days - in the Scandinavian tradition Christmas has 13 or 20 days, > depending on regional traditions. In my family we never take down > the tree until January 6th (13th Day), at least, and I know many > families finish Christmas with a tree-raiding party on January 13th > (20th Day) - Annemehr: Christian is right. If Saitaina's family ran the first Christmas, the poor magi would have arrived at a deserted stable... No HPfGUer wants to be dissin' the magi! ;-) Annemehr who generally gets the tree up the weekend before Xmas (yes, it's a place to stick the presents), and takes it down Jan. 7th or so... From coriolan at worldnet.att.net Sun Nov 23 05:32:54 2003 From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 05:32:54 -0000 Subject: I'm Going to be on Television! (I Think) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Caius Marcius" wrote: It should air tonight at 11 pm, though I am at > the mercy of the editors as to whether I'm in it or not. > I was on WISH-TV channel 8 tonight - reduced to about a five-second clip, but I was still on. - CMC (wearing neither a hat nor a business suit) From fluxed at earthlink.net Sun Nov 23 09:18:05 2003 From: fluxed at earthlink.net (vulgarweed) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 09:18:05 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > never discuss politics or religion. I should think it would be > a whole lot easier to integrate muslim children into a nativity play-- > afer all, they do recognize Jesus as a great prophet--than other > religions or for that matter kids from atheistic backgrounds. > This is one thing that we're (Americans) good at, even if some of us > do get shrill and take things waaayyy too far over the top. You won't > see a Nativity Play in an American public school. Period. > June, haven't you seen Love Actually yet? You'll love the end. Huh, Whuuuuuh? We had them *every friggin year* when I was a kid. Also Bible stories read to us every morning, like it or not (as the only atheist-family kid in town, believe me, I did NOT feel free to pipe up and object). It was only when my 3rd-grade teacher came out and told me that dinosaur bones were tricks of the devil that my dad called the school board and objected, and after that the months of death threats were so stressful that I wished I'd never said anything. Yes, this was all in a public school, in Virginia. We are SO FAR away from that separation-of-church-and-state ideal in this country it's pathetic. AV (who wouldn't say the Pledge of Allegiance *ever*, although I did kind of like the angel costume) From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Sun Nov 23 09:30:50 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 19:30:50 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <026c01c3b1a4$7c83ef40$77984cca@Monteith> It always seems really silly to me (for us in the South, at least) to have the traditional Northern Hemi decorations, such as snowmen, reindeer, fat guys in really *not* hot weather red suits. So our tree is always green and not one of those white feigned snow ones, simply hung with fairy lights and masses of fake flowers. The year before last it was just fake sunflowers and lights. Last year we went for the coloured flowers though ;-) It looked nice and made much more sense to me than having *snowflakes* all over the place (I ask you... It's usually over 30C here on Christmas Day!). The rest of the house was just hung with some evergreen prunings, which filled the house with the smell of eucalypts... Keep it simple, me. Nox (who screeched out loud when the supermarkets had Christmas stuff for sale in early September...) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sun Nov 23 19:47:53 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 11:47:53 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: <012601c3b163$fa0f6f20$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: <002501c3b1fa$af480960$a6706751@kathryn> > Christian wrote: > > days - in the Scandinavian tradition Christmas has 13 or 20 days, > depending on regional traditions.> > Saitaina > Dang, in my family Christmas was done after dinner (usually before desert). > Tree was down the next day, present excitement over and we're getting ready for > the next holiday. > > K I'm English and we always went with the twelve days tradition - isn't that when the wise men were supposed to have arrived? The tree was always taken down on the 6th, in the evening (no later even when it would have been convenient because it's bad luck). Now thought Christmas seems to have a tendency to run from the beginning of the school holidays till everyone goes back to school (shops and shopping centres starting in November notwithstanding) K From kcawte at ntlworld.com Sun Nov 23 19:54:30 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 11:54:30 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> <026c01c3b1a4$7c83ef40$77984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <00ce01c3b1fb$9bc1e8b0$a6706751@kathryn> > > Nox (who screeched out loud when the supermarkets had Christmas stuff for > sale in early September...) > > K You know what really gets me? When you walk into the bakery section in about October and see Christmas Cakes and Christmas Puddings (OK not objecting to the last one I could eat them all year round) ... right next to Hot Cross Buns! K From neonsister at ameritech.net Sun Nov 23 15:37:58 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:37:58 -0000 Subject: Movies, nativity plays, Sirius, etc. Message-ID: I went to see "Love Actually" last night, which I really enjoyed. An extra bonus - the movie theater had a promotional piece up for the PoA movie. It was a street sign (Hogsmeade, I think) with the "Have you seen this wizard?" poster hanging on it. How fun to gaze at Sirius Black as I salted my popcorn at the concession stand! Tracy *former shepherd in the church nativity play, mid 1970's* From confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com Sun Nov 23 17:02:31 2003 From: confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com (BelleDameSansMerci) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:02:31 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <026c01c3b1a4$7c83ef40$77984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: Well...my roomate and I put our tree up a last week, but in our defense we have also bought all of our gifts for each other, and the tree being up gives us the opportunity to display/taunt each other with them (haha! go ahead, shake it. Who's to say I didn't put anything in it to weigh it down!). Of course, the cats have already eaten some garland, and broke two ornaments (not to mention opened one of my presents and eaten to ribbons off the remaining ones). This is actually the only time available that we would have to decorate, since finals begin the first week of december, and then I'm off to my parents house up north by mid-december, and my roomate is off to Newfoundland at around the same time. *Amber* First post- nice to meet you! From melclaros at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 17:30:08 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:30:08 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <012601c3b163$fa0f6f20$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Christian wrote: > > days - in the Scandinavian tradition Christmas has 13 or 20 days, > depending on regional traditions.> > > Saitaina replied: > Dang, in my family Christmas was done after dinner (usually before desert). > Tree was down the next day, present excitement over and we're getting ready for > the next holiday. > We have a "game" in my family. On the way home on Christmas night we take note of the discarded Christmas trees on the side of the road waiting for trash pick up (yup, CHRISTMAS NIGHT). They are ALWAYS outside the same houses we noted while playing our Thanksgiving night game, "Who's decorating too damned early?". The rest of the trees from those houses are generally out by the end of the 26th. Yup, if my tree went up in November, I'd hurl it out on the street as soon as the radio stations stopped playing carols too. (Normally noon, 12/25.) Our tree (and the rest) never goes up prior to Dec. 10 and if I can push it back further I do. We used to keep it up until 1/6 and still do depending on how that coincides with the school holidays, but it always stays up through New Year's day. From melclaros at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 17:37:49 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:37:49 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "vulgarweed" You > won't > > see a Nativity Play in an American public school. Period. >> We had them *every friggin year* when I was a kid. Also Bible stories > read to us every morning, > in a public school, in Virginia. Let's put it this way: You won't see a LEGAL one. What some nutcases slip under the radar until the ACLU finds out is a whole 'nother topic--one that would fit under previous discussions on things like book banning and burning. From Mhochberg at aol.com Sun Nov 23 17:39:40 2003 From: Mhochberg at aol.com (Mhochberg at aol.com) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 12:39:40 EST Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) Message-ID: >> Christian wrote: >> Saitaina wrote: > Dang, in my family Christmas was done after dinner (usually before desert). > Tree was down the next day, present excitement over and we're getting ready > for > the next holiday. << I write: Saitaina, that is so sad! Nowadays, we begin our Christmas projects on the Monday after Thanksgiving and end on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. First we put an Advent wreath on the dining room table and the excitement builds over the next few weeks. Each day, we bring out another box of decorations or have a new activity. It's all very low key but building until the 25th. Then there is 12 days of celebration. Except for taking down the tree when it gets too dry to be safe, everything stays up until the 6th. Along the way, we celebrate St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, etc. The first time I saw a decorated house become bare on December 26, I was so depressed. ---Mary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From kcawte at ntlworld.com Mon Nov 24 03:26:49 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 19:26:49 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: Message-ID: <005e01c3b23a$cff3e220$a6706751@kathryn> OK this is mainly goign to be relevent to the Brits but - does anyone else remember that you always felt Christmas was starting when Blue Peter used to start their Advent Crown/Wreath? K From drednort at alphalink.com.au Sun Nov 23 19:48:58 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 06:48:58 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FC1A9DA.22575.20B91D8@localhost> On 23 Nov 2003 at 17:37, melclaros wrote: > Let's put it this way: You won't see a LEGAL one. What some nutcases > slip under the radar until the ACLU finds out is a whole 'nother > topic--one that would fit under previous discussions on things like > book banning and burning. I find this topic moderately fascinating. I'm Australian, and like Americans, Australians are guaranteed freedom of religion and the separation of Church and State in our Constitution. As a matter of fact, those who wrote our Constitution used the US Constitution as a model on this issue: US Constitution (First Amendment): "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Australian Constitution (Section 116): "The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth." Reasonably similar language (Australia's was written by dozens and dozens of lawyers so naturally it takes a lot longer to say anything). But the interpretations over the years have been fairly different. American legal interpretations on 'freedom of religion' and the separation of church and state have seemed to me at times, to have gone too far. That's a personal opinion, of little value as I'm not a US citizen. But to me, any legal decision that bans Nativity plays (for example) moves into the realm of 'prohibiting the free exercise' of religion. Here in Australia, the basic interpretation of freedom of religion, and the separation of church and state means that the government is forced to treat religious practices, or religious groups in *precisely* the same fashion as non religious practices, and non-religious groups in the same circumstances. Religion may not be afforded any privileges - but it can't be discriminated against either. Nativity plays aren't that common in state run schools anymore - because most schools have diverse populations and have respect for that diversity. But it's not a compulsion - it is common courtesy. The thing is... our courts have taken a less stringent approach on this - and the end result seems to be that we have far *less* involvement of religion in politics than the US does. We don't have a large and powerful religious right in Australia (we have Fred Niles, but he's generally regarded as a joke). Religion is *not* a factor in political decisions - the Churches do express views on 'social justice' issues at times - our Federal Treasurer's (a man who has a quite reasonable chance of being the country's next Prime Minister) brother is a religious minister who is quite willing to criticise government policy and gets attention when he does so. But religion really doesn't impact on our political system in the way it seems to in the US. Sometimes I wonder if the US is shooting itself in the foot on this issue. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From grannybat at hotmail.com Sun Nov 23 20:14:52 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:14:52 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Jen huffed: > I was really disappointed this year to see a Mall Christmas store > open long before Halloween, and to see Christams decorations vying > for a place by the Halloween candy! How much further back can we go > before they just leave the Christmas displays up year-round?!? Count yourself lucky, Jen. In my neck of the woods--Salt Lake City, Utah--at least two malls have had year-round Xmas stores in the concourses since...oh, at least 1999. Jingle Bells and artificial snow in July. Uh huh. Grannybat From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 23 20:16:25 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:16:25 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <005e01c3b23a$cff3e220$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" wrote: > OK this is mainly goign to be relevent to the Brits but - does anyone else > remember that you always felt Christmas was starting when Blue Peter used to > start their Advent Crown/Wreath? > > K Oh the memories that brings out. Two twisted coathangers, entwined with tinsel, I am old enough to remember the first time that happened! We made one just like it at school too. What about the Blue Peter Christmas appeal. In their causes, I have knitted blanket squares, collected foil milk bottle tops, used stamps, old clothes... I have made Christmas decorations out of washing up liquid cartons, sticky backed plastic... Oh, hell, I'm showing my age! June From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 23 20:19:06 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:19:06 -0000 Subject: Dancing Lobsters Message-ID: I posted a comment about Nativity Plays a couple of days ago which suggested that this was a casting ruse by schools. Today I saw Love Actually, and realised I'd cross pollinated the idea with this. Love Actually features a school Nativity Play and it has dancing lobsters. Convinced me though. June Go see the movie, too. It's great. From aaoconnor2002 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 20:23:41 2003 From: aaoconnor2002 at yahoo.com (aaoconnor2002) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:23:41 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? Message-ID: I've been following the discussion of the timing of Christmas decorating and I was curious how people handle another aspect of the holiday season - gift opening. When I was growing up we were allowed to pick one present to open on Christmas Eve, the rest had to wait until morning. We would gather in the living room. All the packages would be distributed and when each person had his pile in front of him the chaos would commence. Eventually we would be dragged away from our presents when dinner was ready. I assumed this was the way all families did it until I got married. My first Christmas at my in-laws was quite different. For one thing everybody waited until after dinner to open presents. They also had a different way of handling present distribution and opening. Apparently at some point in the distant past an elderly aunt had felt slighted because she hadn't been thanked by each individual child as they opened their presents. She made her displeasure known. Basically she pouted for several months until my in-laws agreed to change the way they handled Christmas presents. A new tradition was introduced. One person acted as "Santa" and handed out each present individually. Then the entire family had to sit and watch the person open the package, ooh and aah appropriately and thank the giver. By the time I joined the family the elderly aunt was long deceased but no one dared change the way things were being done. It wouldn't have been so bad but my husband was one of seven children. With assorted spouses, grandchildren and cousins it wasn't unusual to have 25 people sitting around watching other people open packages. Add to that the fact that dinner rarely got servrd until 6 pm or later and you ended up with tired and very cranky children of all ages still opening packages at midnight. How do other people from large families handle this? Audrey From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Sun Nov 23 20:24:34 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:24:34 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "melclaros" wrote: [snip] > This is one thing that we're (Americans) good at, even if some > of us do get shrill and take things waaayyy too far over the > top. You won't see a Nativity Play in an American public school. > Period. Instead you seem to have the four foodgroups - and apparently strongarm parents into making the costumes. In Norway, most schools don't have nativity-plays as such (even if we do have a state-church) - instead they put on a variety-performance, which will include skits, songs, and elements from what would be part of a nativity-play if there was one. The entire school is involved, but not everyone onstage - there would always be some who'd refuse to go onstage, and instead got backstage-duties. Best regards Christian Stub? >From a country where we use *real* spruce-trees for Christmas From kcawte at ntlworld.com Mon Nov 24 04:27:08 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:27:08 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: Message-ID: <001801c3b243$3e0ce010$a6706751@kathryn> June > > I have made Christmas decorations out of washing up liquid cartons, > sticky backed plastic... Oh, hell, I'm showing my age! > > > >> K I never got to make any of the stuff - partly because my mother knew I had the artistic ability of a dead frog, and partly because I had (and still have) no attention span (outside of reading which I could do for hours from as soon as I was old enough) and would have left the resulting mess half finished. Art classes were a nightmare for me - while I have very little artistic talent, I am a total perfectionist. The two combined result in immense frustration and temper tantrums whenever I had art homework. *shudders in memory* But I did used to like watching the things they made on Blue Peter. I'd forgotten the appeals though - I remember a couple of Bring and Buys done for Blue Peter appeals. K From melclaros at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 20:26:10 2003 From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:26:10 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: <3FC1A9DA.22575.20B91D8@localhost> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" wrote: > On 23 Nov 2003 at 17:37, melclaros wrote: > > > Let's put it this way: You won't see a LEGAL one. > > I find this topic moderately fascinating. > > I'm Australian, and like Americans, Australians are guaranteed freedom of religion > > Sometimes I wonder if the US is shooting itself in the foot on this issue. Indeed we are. The thing is you see is that we have "watchdog groups", as I'm sure do you. These groups take it upon themselves to make the life everyone who has any belief system whatsoever miserable. If, on public land, you have one holiday display that ANYONE, from ANY ANGLE can see as being remotely related to ANY sort of religion, you can rest assured SOMEONE will jump on you unless you counter it with a corresponding ambiguous display related to every other possible spiritual bent. There's a town near me where when you drive by the city park there is a display consisting of oversized greetings cards offering salutations for Christmas Solstice Hannukkah Ramadan (which is long over by December 19, 21, 24/5, but hey!) New Year and one or two others I can't think of off hand and it's not up yet so I can't check. School boards are so afraid of litigation that the very idea of December's approach sends shivers of fear through the legal dept. Classroom teachers are constantly asking each other and staff if we think art projects or decorations are "okay" and parties before the beginning of winter holidays are strongly discouraged. End of year school concerts are so painfully boring that they're becoming a chore to organize as well as attend. The teachers dread them and the kids hate them. I live in Florida. Approved icons such as snowmen, snowflakes and the like are not very evocative of ANY Holiday here. "Let it Snow" is an inappropriate song for a school concert. They might as well not bother at all, really. End of rant. Mel, who is happy to simply respect the beliefs--or non-beliefs of others and wish they'd do the same for her. From eloiseherisson at aol.com Sun Nov 23 20:26:58 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:26:58 EST Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) Message-ID: <36.4bf5577a.2cf27212@aol.com> Mary: >Saitaina, that is so sad! Nowadays, we begin our Christmas projects on the >Monday after Thanksgiving and end on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. > >First we put an Advent wreath on the dining room table and the excitement >builds over the next few weeks. Each day, we bring out another box of >decorations >or have a new activity. It's all very low key but building until the 25th. >Then there is 12 days of celebration. Except for taking down the tree when it >gets too dry to be safe, everything stays up until the 6th. Along the way, we >celebrate St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia Day, etc. Mary, that is such a lovely way of doing things. I think I'll try to do something like that, starting at the beginning of the school holidays. I do enjoy having the house look festive, but it's a big job and easily becomes a burden when all done at once. To split it up and do it a bit at a time like that is a great idea and should keep the children happy whilst hopefully building up the excitement. It's a bit like turning the whole house into an Advent calendar, isn't it? Now all I need is Hermione to make me a timetable... BTW, on the subject of Advent calendars, has anyone else noted the new version of those? I think it started with the Millennium, but last year too (I haven't looked this year) I saw "countdown calendars" which had chocolates for every day of December, right up to the New Year. ~Eloise Who saw her first roadside Christmas tree seller of the year today. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From gbannister10 at aol.com Sun Nov 23 20:42:59 2003 From: gbannister10 at aol.com (Geoff Bannister) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 20:42:59 -0000 Subject: LOTR/Hobbit, DVDs In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" wrote: > I can't resist a good LOTR thread even if I have to jump in a little > late. > 2)LOTR-amazing, I just started reread number six and expect it to be > so great. I am sad though that I never read the books before I saw > the movies (I had a bad experience with the animated Hobbit). I'm > slowly moving away from PJ's vision and having a few of my own > opinonis now. It was the coolest feeling whan I thought, "well, > they sure messed up *that* in the movie", because I was worried I'd > be tainted by the movie-cannon forever. > > 3) my recommended reading order(otherwise known as the order read > them in first)- LOTR first, then the Hobbit, then the Sil. Too many > of my family turned away from JRRT becaus they read the Hobbit > first. It's a good read, but LOTR is better (for most people). The > hobbit is seconed because it is a nice break if you're reading all > three at once, and it's nice to see what Frodo is saving when he > goes on his quest. The Sil is third because it takes the longest, > gets boring, and is not reccomended for those who are reading LOTR > because it's popular or are being forced, only read the Sil if you > love LOTR. (more on the Sil below) > loony: > 5) The Sil.- I once read that it takes 100 read throughs to > understand the Sil., and I believe it. The more times you read it > the more sense it makes. As you learn who's who and why the Minis > Tirith isn't the same Minas Tirith you get the stories underneath > the confusing style, and they're all great, and even fun after a > fashion. > > 6) Special Edition DVD's - I own both, even though my most recent > play has prevented me from watching all of TTT, and they are so > great. Full of facts and fun (esp. the fourth disk of FOTR, the > cast documentary is beyond funny, but that's another post > completely) > Geoff: As some of you will know, I am one of the Ancients when it comes to LOTR, having first read it about 1955-6 and since then about 25-30 times in total. The problem I always have (and I know one or two friends also share) is that I get stuck in "Book 4" - the second half of TTT. We have the first part where JRRT cleverly intertwines the threads of those who have remained on the west side of the river - Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn, Gandalf and Merry/Pippin and then you get the long spell with just Frodo/Sam/Gollum which tends to be rather unlightened gloom and I do find it heavy going on occasions. One of the good things about the films is that Peter Jackson has also inter-cut this section with the others. The problem with the Silmarillion is that I have to read with one finger permanently anchored in the genealogical tables at the back because I am asking myself things like: "Is this guy a man or an elf?" "Now who is this guy's father?". It's interesting but slow progress. Some parts of the Silmarillion are extremely good - the Elves' crossing of the Helcaraxe in the First Age and the betrayal and destruction of Gondolin come to mind. With the movies, I managed to acquire a video original edition of FOTR, a vidoe extended edition and then decided that a DVD player was needed, twisted the corporate arm of the family to get one for Dad's birthday and then got the 4-disc extended DVD. No way did I want the Argonath in my study; there's enough clutter there already! ((I have since given away the video extended edition). I am now touting for the 4-disc extended edition for Christmas. I'm prepared to be extreeeeeemly patient and wait until then. But not the 5 disc set thank you. In passing, my elder son who is also an LOTR addict, he teels me that there is a special CD of the ROTK music which has something with it about Howard Shore's work composing. Geoff From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com Sun Nov 23 21:51:12 2003 From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 13:51:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: JKR meets the Simpsons tonight Message-ID: <20031123215112.55420.qmail@web21105.mail.yahoo.com> In case you haven't heard yet, the episode of The Simpsons in which they visit England and meet Tony Blair, JKR, Ian McKellen, etc. is on tonight - Fox at 8 pm (check your local listings). Hmm...have the Simpsons ever met up with Tracey Ullman (as herself) yet? Petra a n :) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Sun Nov 23 22:58:48 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 22:58:48 -0000 Subject: LOTR/Hobbit, DVDs In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, > > 5) The Sil.- I once read that it takes 100 read throughs to > > understand the Sil., and I believe it. June: It takes one! The more times you read it > > the more sense it makes. As you learn who's who and why the Minis > > Tirith isn't the same Minas Tirith you get the stories underneath > > the confusing style, and they're all great, and even fun after a > > fashion. > > > Geoff: > > > The problem with the Silmarillion is that I have to read with one > finger permanently anchored in the genealogical tables at the back > because I am asking myself things like: "Is this guy a man or an > elf?" "Now who is this guy's father?". It's interesting but slow > progress. Some parts of the Silmarillion are extremely good - the > Elves' crossing of the Helcaraxe in the First Age and the betrayal > and destruction of Gondolin come to mind. June: Not anymore for me. The Silmarillion was always the book that was written for me. I read it in 1977 (as soon as it came out) and stayed up all night to read it in one sitting. I'm good on geneology (I could follow the family trees in "I Claudius") so can generally always fix any character in their place. Golden moments: 1. Earendil gets to the blessed realm and it seems that no one is there. He's just about to leave when Eonwe calls to him. 2. Hurin's last stand at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad: "Aure Entuluva!" 3. Beren saying to Thingol "The quest is fulfilled: even now a Silmaril is in my hand" and then showing the fact that his hand is gone. 4. Morgoth having a very dark design indeed when he meets Luthien. 5. Glaurung the dragon looking at Niniel/Nienor and her realising just what her true relationship with Turin is. 6. Morgoth enmeshed in the web of Ungoliant and the Balrogs to the rescue. Tolkien can't always do character or dialogue, but boy can he do story! Just my all time fave book. June From stevejjen at earthlink.net Sun Nov 23 23:06:09 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 23:06:09 -0000 Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <36.4bf5577a.2cf27212@aol.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote: > BTW, on the subject of Advent calendars, has anyone else noted the new > version of those? I think it started with the Millennium, but last year too (I > haven't looked this year) I saw "countdown calendars" which had chocolates for > every day of December, right up to the New Year. One of the traditions I started in college was collecting interesting advent calendars to display every year as decoration. Now it's turned into an exciting ritual my son and I share: Last year we had a really cool one from Playmobil, where every day you open a new box with a figure to add to a nativity scene, including animals and various decorations--very fun for kids! Over the years of collecting I've noticed an increase in the "Countdown to Christmas" calendars as opposed to the Advent calendars; I like both kinds personally, esp. the ones with chocolate! I didn't notice any going all the way into Jan., but I'm going to check into that if it means *more* chocolate . Jen R. From witchywoman at obdb.net Sun Nov 23 23:12:22 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 18:12:22 -0500 Subject: Seeing Things Message-ID: <009101c3b217$40557480$99960144@home> I actually had a couple of HP experiences today. I went to the theatre and saw "Love, Actually." GREAT MOVIE! I would just like to add that I am a secretary and would have given anything to have had Alan Rickman be my boss. (fans self). Woooooo! It was weird seeing Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson play a married couple when they are both going to be in the PoA movie. The second experience gave me thoughts that would have gotten me arrested. As I was walking out of the theatre, they were assembling this movie prop. It kinda looked like a sign post and I was like no way..........and sure enough, one of the sign posts read Hogsmeade. I came that close to stealing it right out of their hands. If I knew I could have outrun them, I would have. I looked exactly like the signpost at the beginning of the trailer. They are putting it up already and there's *7* more months to go! Anyhoo, just had to share. Tammy (aka Witchy Woman) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From boggles at earthlink.net Sun Nov 23 23:40:47 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:40:47 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) In-Reply-To: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> References: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: At 5:47 PM +0000 11/22/03, melclaros wrote: >This is one thing that we're (Americans) good at, even if some of us >do get shrill and take things waaayyy too far over the top. You won't >see a Nativity Play in an American public school. Period. If they tried that in our district, not only would I be all over them like a chicken on a junebug for violation of Separation of Church and State, but I can easily see it setting off fights - Hispanic Catholics vs. Missionary Baptists vs. Muslims vs. Buddhists vs. Jehovah's Witnesses vs. Hindus vs. etc. - that might spill into the streets. I can't imagine being someplace so lacking in diversity that anyone could write a script that wouldn't grossly offend someone. >At 5:30 PM -0800 11/22/03, Saitaina wrote: > >I could never understand people putting up decorations so late...it's all over >on the 26, why not enjoy it... That's precisely why my family puts up the decorations so "late" (the last Sunday in Advent, usually) - because it *isn't* all over on the 26th. The 26th is only the Second Day of Christmas! My family always left everything up until the 12th Night (January 6th, Epiphany for some). We also had a lovely Advent wreath every year. *sigh* I miss the Advent wreath. Normally, I don't miss much of the trappings of my Christian upbringing, but a Yule wreath just isn't the same, even though I know the solar imagery is where the wreath came from in the first place. -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From boggles at earthlink.net Sun Nov 23 23:51:46 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:51:46 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 9:18 AM +0000 11/23/03, vulgarweed wrote: > >Also Bible stories >read to us every morning, like it or not (as the only atheist-family >kid in town, believe me, I did NOT feel free to pipe up and object). >It was only when my 3rd-grade teacher came out and told me that >dinosaur bones were tricks of the devil that my dad called the school >board and objected, and after that the months of death threats were >so stressful that I wished I'd never said anything. Yes, this was all >in a public school, in Virginia. I grew up in a large town in Mississippi (well, large for Mississippi, anyway), and while we were too diverse to have a Nativity play in the school, the school Christmas program certainly had religious carols in it, which we were all required to sing. Our third-grade teacher also read a Bible-devotional snippet to us every day just after the Pledge. Now, my mother is a fundamentalist Lutheran. One of the tenets of the WELS Synod Lutherans in the US is the concept of "closed fellowship." That means, among other things, that we were not supposed to pray or otherwise have the appearance of being in religious fellowship with anyone (Christian or not) with whom we knew we had major differences of doctrine. (That meant pretty much anyone who wasn't a conservative Lutheran.) So my mother was absolutely incensed when I told her about this. She called up the school and had a major hissy over the phone at various people. The outcome: I had to stand outside the classroom when the devotional was being read. No one ever even suggested to the teacher that she should stop, as far as I could tell. However, the fact that I had permission to leave the room apparently made the atheist child's parents brave enough to complain, so shortly after that started, at least I had company. We were both mercilessly teased about it, of course, but we were both nerds and so were used to it anyway. Trying to explain this to a substitute teacher once was highly amusing (in retrospect - at the time, we were rather upset about it). The teacher had been concerned enough about her daily Bible story that she had *written it into her lesson plan* for the sub - and she hadn't included the exemption for me and the other kid. The sub simply could not understand why on Earth we would want to leave the room, and she refused to let us do so . . . -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From fc26det at aol.com Sun Nov 23 23:55:55 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 23:55:55 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "aaoconnor2002" wrote: > When I was growing up we were allowed to pick one present to open on > Christmas Eve, the rest had to wait until morning. Susan: This is what my family did as I was growing up also. > Eventually we would be dragged away from our presents when dinner was > ready. Susan: Yep, remember it well! > For one thing > everybody waited until after dinner to open presents. > > A new tradition was introduced. One person acted as "Santa" and > handed out each present individually. Then the entire family had to > sit and watch the person open the package, ooh and aah appropriately > and thank the giver. > > How do other people from large families handle this? > Audrey Susan: Well, we did this also. There were only 5 of us so it didn't take that long (especially since we got up before it was light out!) but I think that my mother did this to slow us down and make sure that we actually looked at what we got. When I got married it was also culture shock. My husbands family would open gifts after supper on Christmas Eve. They usually got very angry with me because I would only allow the children to open the gifts from them on Christmas Eve. The ones from my family and Santa waited until Christmas Day. I finally got them to understand that they had a chance to start their own family traditions and now it is our turn to start ours. They finally understood. Still didn't like it but understood. We are not as strict with the one at a time as my mother was but if I see one of the kids getting a bit wild, I will slow things down a bit. Susan Overexcited children, arguments with family, depressed friends and alas no money! Let the Holidays begin!! From bboy_mn at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 00:11:06 2003 From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:11:06 -0000 Subject: Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? Message-ID: I've often wondered what 'Mulled' was. What made Mulled Wine distinct from plain wine and what made Mulled Mead different from mead. A while back I was researching British gin, and generally unique British food and drink, and came across a wine distributor's internet site that offered Mulling Syrup, but there weren't any details about exactly what that was. Finally, my curiousity go the best of me and I had to researk 'mulling'. It turns out, it simply means 'spiced'; spiced wine and spiced mead. Typical Mulling Spices - cinnamon cloves, nutmeg, mace, star anise, allspice berries, cardamom pods, slices of fresh ginger, orange zest and lemon zest, allspice, hibiscus, juniper berry, bayleaf, ...other in various combinations. A very popular brand seems to be Raven's Original Mulling Spice- http://www.ravensoriginal.com/spice.html which is a combination of- cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, orange, lemon and sugar and is used for wine, mead, tea, punch, cider, and baking. If that is not to your liking, here is a recipe to make your own Holiday Mulled beverage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/christmas_2002/mulled_wine.shtml Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, and would you care to enlighten us with your opinion? Just thought I would passs that along. bboy_mn From kcawte at ntlworld.com Mon Nov 24 08:21:12 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:21:12 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? References: Message-ID: <002d01c3b263$ec39c020$a6706751@kathryn> bboy_mn > Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, and would you care to > enlighten us with your opinion? > > Just thought I would passs that along. > K Mulled wine is usually hot as well as spiced btw. It's delicious - which from someone who hates red wine as a rule is saying a lot. Can't think of the company name right now but when you buy dried herbs in a supermarket they usually come in yellow and white packets or jars (someone tell me which company I mean?) anyway that company make mulled wine spices as well. They come in sachets (like Bouquet Garni) and you heat the wine gently in a saucepan with the sachet in the pan too - never done it myself because I'm lazy, but I keep meaning to. Gluhwein - is that mulled wine? Because I drank a lot of that when I spent a year in Bavaria (boy does it get cold there at Christmas, I mean that's obvious in theory, but it's so much colder than you expect even knowing average temperatures). One of the department stores had a window which sold food and drink - Schweinenackensemmel (OK I admit it's been a few years and my spelling is deserting me) with mustard and a glass of gluhwein really warmed you up when shopping. K From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Mon Nov 24 00:33:09 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:33:09 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, Audrey wrote: > I've been following the discussion of the timing of Christmas > decorating and I was curious how people handle another aspect > of the holiday season - gift opening. [snip] Being for all practical purposes an only child (three halfbrothers living 800 miles away and encountered once every few years do not count, IMO), my family was hardly large. We open our gifts on Christmas Eve, which is the norm in Norway. Like most Norwegians we also pile the wrapped presents underneath the Christmas-tree, until the time for opening. We always have dinner first - back when my granmother was alive this meant very late opening of presents, as we always visited her for the opening of presents in the nursinghome before having dinner at home. Dinner, of course, is *always the same - always, without exception, every year. Norwegians like traditions - which explains why the last 30 years TV has shown every December 23rd a short skit about Miss Sophie and her butler (shown in Germany and one other country on New Year's Eve); if they skipped it a year, or changed to a different version (the one shown in Germany is in colours, I believe), there would be an outrage throughout Norway. Anyway - I was supposedly talking about opening presents. My family does it in very civilised fashion. One person is more or less a santa (but without the costume), picking one and one present from under the tree, reading the note, and handing it to the correct person. Then that person opens the present. Tearing of paper and string is not done - preferably the string is slid off, alternately scissors are used. With the paper, we work on the bits of tape, trying to pull off the tape, alternatively using scissors (we have relatives who are notorious for excessive use of tape in giftwrapping). As one gets the tape loose, one then unwraps the present, and then neatly disposes the wrappingpaper in the wastebag we have handy nearby. Best regards Christian Stub? From hp at plum.cream.org Mon Nov 24 00:33:44 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:33:44 +0000 Subject: Christmasy topics Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031123205337.00994970@plum.cream.org> Interesting conversations, folks! Now for my take... The ever-earlier introduction of Christmas decorations and shopping gets on my nerves quite severely. Early September saw the end of redevelopment of a huge swathe of central Birmingham and the opening of a new shopping mall. All the shops opened for business for the first time on the same day (4th September) and several of them already included Christmas decorations and/or stock. Considering that I came back from a summer holiday in southern France at that time, and Birmingham was sweltering in the heat on my return, it all felt particularly crass. Of course, by now everyone else has joined in, and the decorations and Christmas music is everywhere. The city's festive illuminations were switched on last Sunday with a big fanfare. Eloise mentioned the new-style "Advent" calendars.... I was really narked last year when shopping for some for my nephews, to discover that they were all indeed "countdown" calendars, with 31 days, only sometimes with the 25th day "highlighted" in some way. The HP ones (which are the ones I got - the kids had a VERY HP-themed Christmas last year) didn't even have anything special for the 25th at all. Our family traditions (bearing in mind that my parents are very strict Catholics) are that apart from a few necessary culinary preparations, there's no sign of Christmas as such until the last few days. Like all good Catholics, we do, however, take Advent into account. No Advent calendars, but a advent wreath in the middle of the table and a candle ceremonially lit on each Advent Sunday. We also pull out our traditional Nativity scene package (stable, manger, various figures etc) and set it up on the mantle on the first day of Advent. Each Advent Sunday, more figures are added, until on Christmas Eve, all that's missing is the Baby. Between the beginning of Advent and Christmas, there is of course the Feast of St Nicholas (6th December). Our family "borrowed" a tradition from the French for this feast whereby children wake up to find their shoes filled with fruit and sweets. Our parents modified that tradition somewhat when they got to be able to afford it, and rather than find our shoes filled with goodies, we'd simply find a new pair of shoes at the foot of our beds on the morning of 6th December - our dad has always preferred giving "practical" gifts. Last year, I had one of the shocks of my life when I woke up on 6th December to find my dad had put "money for a pair of shoes" in my trainers (though I'm not sure if it was a hint that they were a bit smelly). :-) When we were kids, the my dad would set up the Tree on Christmas Eve and we'd dress it all together (we are family of seven kids). We grew up and moved away from home (and our parents got old), so whoever arrived home first would set it up and dress it (usually me). Two years ago, I moved back to look after our now quite elderly parents, so I'm here all the time, but the idea of having a decorated tree in the house before Christmas Eve continues to be distasteful and I wouldn't dream of getting or dressing it before then! Being Polish, we celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. This has proved handy for my married sisters (all of whose husbands are English), so they don't have the otherwise common dilemma of which spouse's family to visit - after Christmas Eve celebrations with our family, they spend Christmas Day with their respective husbands'! Traditionally, Christmas Eve celebrations start when the youngest member of the household spots the first star in the night sky. Nowadays, with light pollution (and the fact that British skies are usually overcast), it's difficult to see a star with a telescope, never mind the naked eye, so we start at a fixed time (6pm). The youngest child still has a role, though, as he (it's currently my 4 year-old nephew) gets to put the Christ-child in the manger. I won't go into detail about what goes on, as it's well covered by web sites - (neither of these is as comprehensive as I think it should be, but between them, they cover all the salient points for those who are interested) http://www.pgf.cc/religion/Polish_Christmas.htm http://www.polishworld.com/christmas/ http://www.polartcenter.com/cgi-bin/shop.pl/page=christma.htm#Wafer There *should* be 12 courses/dishes for dinner, but our family realised a LONG time ago that too much food ended up being thrown away, so we limit ourselves to six (even that's too much and we need a break after each pair of courses!). Apart from that, we stick fairly rigidly to the traditions listed on those sites. Gifts are opened after dinner, and although we usually designate someone as "Santa" (or rather, one of my sisters assumes the role - quite forcibly!), there's none of the waiting for each person to open a gift and be oohed and aahed (I feel sorry for Audrey and that particularly boring family tradition). It's just a general free-for-all. As one of the sites points out, the Polish Christmas lasts a lot longer than the "twelve days" in the Anglo-American tradition, as it continues until 2nd February (as it does for the Catholic Church). *That* is when the decorations come down in a Polish household (including ours). Non-Poles have visited our house towards the end of January and asked outright if we're just lazy, leaving the tree up that long. :-) With six weeks to sing carols and other Christmas songs, I see absolutely no reason to start on them ahead of schedule, and apart from the fact that I've spent this week preparing various compilation CDs for family members, I won't be having on in the house until Christmas Eve. As for Nativity plays, as usual, "things ain't what they used to be". When I was a child, we put on a "proper" traditional gig, with Joseph (x1), Mary (x1), Baby (i.e. doll) (x1), Herod (x1), Inn-keeper (x1), Inn-keeper's Wife (x1), Magi (x3) and sundry Shepherds, Bethlehem Residents and Animals (Sheep, Cows, Dogs, though not Crustaceans). Apart from being a reference to the Monty Python sketch about the painting of the Last Supper with 26 Disciples and 3 Jesuses (and kangaroo), the "(x1)" refers to the Nativity play at the local primary school (which is the one I attended!) which had two sets of the Holy Family... I myself played Herod two years, and shepherds two others (I was jealous of my brother, who got to be Joseph!). I also recall being admonished by the school's head teacher not to participate in singing the carols which followed the plays due to being unable to sing in tune (in my very powerful voice). Things haven't changed in that regard. ;-) And to finish this rather lengthy message, I worked for/with a charity for many years, and for a couple of years I was heavily involved in the selection of designs and printing of our Christmas cards. When I contacted our regular printers in mid-August, they were wondering why I'd left it so late, as most of their regular customers had already got their seasonal printing done! Even so, by the end of September, two of our supporters (both titled ladies) had written in with their orders for 300 and 250 each... From hp at plum.cream.org Mon Nov 24 00:50:55 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:50:55 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031124004117.0098de70@plum.cream.org> At 00:11 24/11/03 , Steve wrote: >Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, and would you care to >enlighten us with your opinion? !?!? Christmas isn't Christmas without mulled wine! I'm really quite surprised that a native English speaker is unfamiliar with the term (though perhaps I shouldn't be)... Asking (middle-class and higher?) British adults whether they've tried mulled wine is akin to ... well, asking North Americans if they've ever tried Maple syrup... (although until fairly recently, the number of Brits who'd tried maple syrup would have been very small). Whilst the British Isles aren't exactly a centre of viniculture, mulling wine (or, indeed, mead) is an integral part of our culture. Then again, there are those who might say that British wines can only be made palatable by mulling them... :-) As to my own opinion of what it's like, even the pre-packed spice mixtures sold in supermarkets do a splendid job (although I prefer to make up my own mixture, very heavy on cloves, a taste I adore - though not everyone agrees, which is fine by me as I'm left with more tipple). From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr Mon Nov 24 01:15:54 2003 From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 01:15:54 -0000 Subject: Alan Rickman question was Seeing things In-Reply-To: <009101c3b217$40557480$99960144@home> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy" wrote: > I actually had a couple of HP experiences today. I went to the theatre and saw "Love, Actually." GREAT MOVIE! I would just like to add that I am a secretary and would have given anything to have had Alan Rickman be my boss. (fans self). Woooooo! It was weird seeing Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson play a married couple when they are both going to be in the PoA movie. > > Tammy > (aka Witchy Woman) > I was wondering : do Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson have some kind of artistic relationship or is it only a coincidence that the three films I know featuring one features the other (I am speaking of HP, Judas' Kiss and Love actually) ? A there are some Alan Rickman fans here, I thought you might know. Olivier From hp at plum.cream.org Mon Nov 24 01:28:17 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 01:28:17 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Mad - Gotta share this In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031124010026.00997220@plum.cream.org> At 20:33 20/11/03 , June wrote: >Darwin awards anyone? > >Vodka-racing should be an Olympic sport I can do one better than that. This is absolutely true and I can supply references to anyone who doubts me... Many years ago, when I was a lot more stupid than I am now, I attended a party at a friend's house (those who weren't of Polish stock were Irish, and both nations lay claim to being the biggest drinkers in Europe). I don't recall how, but we got into a shot-for-shot vodka drinking competition. We started off with about 6 contenders, but after several rounds, we ended up with myself and our host's sister-in-law. Six or seven rounds after that, she'd had enough. It was decided that as winner, my prize would be drinking all the vodka left in the house. Partly as a result of having downed the equivalent of a litre of (good, strong) vodka in about half an hour, and partly because I was very, very stupid generally, I agreed to down it all in one go, straight out of the bottle. I downed the half-bottle that hadn't been used in the championship, and then a full litre bottle in the space of at most five minutes. I have a vague recollection of the next ten minutes, which consisted of an argument with our host, who wanted to drive me to the nearest hospital. I made it clear that I didn't think any such intervention was needed, and apparently, I hit him. Hard. He's my best mate and I'd known him for 20 years, and that was the first (and only) time either of us had got physical with the other. It seems that I belted him so hard that they almost took *him* to the hospital! ... The next thing I recall is waking up under the apple tree in their garden a couple of hours later (about 2am). I refused point blank to be driven home and insisted that I would walk (a distance of about 13 miles) and took off before anyone could stop me. What I didn't bet on was my sense of direction (or rather, complete absence thereof) and it's only when I noticed that the signposts to Dover were showing decreasing milages that I realised that I was walking in the wrong direction. Thankfully, a taxi was driving past, so I jumped in and got home at about 7am. I went to bed and woke up at 10.30 feeling fresh as a daisy (much to my surprise, as I shouldn't have woken up at all!). I phoned my host of the night before to find out if I'd done anything else stupid, and to let them know that I was OK. His wife answered the phone to tell me that he'd spent half the night driving around London looking for me. He hadn't thought of going in the opposite direction... :-) They'd also called every potential hospital and police station. What they did NOT expect was that I'd be phoning them asking if THEY were OK! Now, I'm not saying all the above to brag or from any sense of machismo, but to admit that I have absolutely no idea why I am alive after such an incredibly, astonishingly STUPID stunt. And it's a stunt that I have no intention of ever repeating and indeed, have managed to talk people out of at least twice. I was lucky for some reason. There is no reason for anyone else ever to be so lucky. From boggles at earthlink.net Mon Nov 24 01:37:21 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 19:37:21 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 12:11 AM +0000 11/24/03, Steve wrote: > >Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, Yup. >and would you care to enlighten us with your opinion? Mulled mead is very, very good stuff. :) Wouldn't be Yule without it, IMHO. This is a relatively recent tradition for me, as it happens - my father is a teetotaler, so we never had mulled mead or wine when I was growing up, although my mother very occasionally mulled some sweet cider. (Also good stuff, although not the same at all.) Of course, some would question the wisdom of drinking hot drinks (alcoholic or not) in Houston in December, when the temperature is often 80 degrees F (that's in the neighborhood of 26 degrees C). -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk Mon Nov 24 02:08:04 2003 From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 02:08:04 -0000 Subject: Alan Rickman question was Seeing things In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Olivier: >>I was wondering : do Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson have some kind of artistic relationship or is it only a coincidence that the three films I know featuring one features the other (I am speaking of HP, Judas' Kiss and Love actually) ?>> I think it's more that we only really have four actors in Britain (Colin Farrell doesn't count), and so they're all kind of forced into close contact with each other every now and again. Seriously, have a look at this: http://www.handbag.com/gossip/celebrityinterviews/alanrickman/ in which the man himself (kind of) answers your question. Be warned. This is a very girly site! Kirstini From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 02:41:24 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 02:41:24 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? Message-ID: I taped the Simpsons where they go to England and J.K. Rowling is on briefly, just one line. But I did notice they mispronounced her name- made it rhyme with howling, instead of "Rolling". Erin From kkearney at students.miami.edu Mon Nov 24 03:24:32 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 03:24:32 -0000 Subject: Festive Note - Nativity Plays In-Reply-To: <3FC1A9DA.22575.20B91D8@localhost> Message-ID: Shaun wrote: > American legal interpretations on 'freedom of religion' and the separation of > church and state have seemed to me at times, to have gone too far. That's a > personal opinion, of little value as I'm not a US citizen. But to me, any legal > decision that bans Nativity plays (for example) moves into the realm of 'prohibiting > the free exercise' of religion. One of the main problems, from my point of view, is that the people who tend to speak out in support of religion-in-school type things tend to be the extremes. Therefore, the arguement usually degrades into "This country was founded on Christianity and we should have the right to teach everyone Chrisianity" vs "Anything that even hints at religion is prejudicial". The latter usually wins out, with the exception of some of the more conservative areas, soecifically in the south. I actually went to a Catholic elementary school, so we had many religious songs in our Christmas concerts. I only remember doing one Nativity though. And I also remember singing several Hannukah related songs, and learning the story behind them. Obviously our teachers realized that learning about another religion could be beneficial, and wouldn't cause us all to immediately convert. :) -Corinth From shufan90 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 03:39:34 2003 From: shufan90 at yahoo.com (shufan) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 19:39:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up, and a thanksgiving story In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031124033934.61718.qmail@web80310.mail.yahoo.com> I used to be one of those people who would decorate the day after thanksgiving, but now that I am a parent and may children are still small I have held off until at least a week before for two reasons One, so they don't get so excited about the holiday that they can't sleep for a month and two, so I don't have to keep lecturing them not to touch the tree becasue they think my collection of Disney ornaments should be with thier toys. On a Thanksgiving note, my five year old was sooo dissapointed that when we went to the store to purchase a turkey it was frozen that she asked her father if we can real turkey next year, you know one you go out shoot. At which point I could not look at my husband because he abhors hunting. jen her first post in a very long time, graduate school will do that to you. waves in greeting Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin Files! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from posts to which you're replying! Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From kkearney at students.miami.edu Mon Nov 24 04:12:37 2003 From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 04:12:37 -0000 Subject: Christmasy topics In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031123205337.00994970@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: GulPlum wrote: > Between the beginning of Advent and Christmas, there is of course the Feast > of St Nicholas (6th December). Our family "borrowed" a tradition from the > French for this feast whereby children wake up to find their shoes filled > with fruit and sweets. Hey, someone else who celebrates St. Nicholas Day! Is it really French? My family is Irish, and we've always done it. As I mentioned in a previous post, I attended a Catholic elementary school, and a guy (usually one of the teachers) would come into our classroom dressed as St. Nick (realistic style, not Santa) and give out candy on that day. And of course we'd all put out out shoes at night. However, recently I've been finding fewer and fewer people, even Catholics, who have heard of this tradition. And I was very upset to find that St. Nick apparently doesn't visit college dorms or apartments. :) Regarding the Christmas traditions thread, here are mine. First, the morning wake up call. My sister and brother and I started this seven or eight years ago, when I was in high school. We prepared a rousing rendition of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" for trumpet, clarinet, and saxophone. My parents had always been very adamant (for both Christmas and Easter) that they were not to be awakened before 8:00. So at 8:00 on the dot we quietly opened the door to their room and we performed our lovely concerto directly outside my parents room, with the wood floors of the foyer providing wonderful amplification. My mother let out the loudest possible gasp and shot straight up at the first note. Since then, the surprise factor has disappeared, but we still provide a musical wake-up, usually with a medley finished off with the classic "We Wish...". Our ensemble has expanded to two trumpets, a clarinet, a saxophone, and a baritone as each kid has taken up an instrument, which is an unusual quintet but provides for a nice balance. My parents love it, and demand encore performances later that night. As for present opening, our gifts from Santa are never wrapped. So, once my parents get up and our instruments are put away, we go downstairs and ooh and aah over those, and amuse ourselves for about an hour. My sister and I outgrew Santa once we went to college, but then he had a spat of senility and brought stuff for us a year later, then stopped, then started. So it's still something of a mystery as to what I will find when I go downstairs. :) After that, we take a break for brunch. All our gifts from each other are opened after brunch in the one-at-a-time fashion. It usually lasts for an hour or two. I actually like that we don't all just dive in; it extends the fun for a while, and I get to see what everyone else got. Later in the afternoon we go to my aunt's house where my dad's side of the family celebrates (we host my mom's side). There we pick up one more present each. Due to the size of his family (he's one of six, all of whom are married and have between two and five kids), we all put our names in a hat about a month before Christmas and draw one person to give a gift to. As for taking down decorations, I laugh at all you silly people who actually take down decorations in a timely fashion. And by timely, I mean the Jan. 6 people, not the day after Christmas people. For some reason we would never get around to taking decorations down for a minimum of three or four weeks after Christmas. The longest we ever left lights up was mid-March, but we had an excuse; it was the blizzard year and our lights were frozen to the bushes. We did have the good sense not to turn them on though. I seem to have inherited this trait; last year my roommate and I took down our tree when we got back from winter break, but were too lazy to actually take it to the dumpster. It sat on our patio until one of the neighbors complained (although our other neighbor loved it; she genuinely thanked us for the pine scent, a rare treat in Miami). -Corinth From rvotaw at i-55.com Mon Nov 24 05:20:22 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 23:20:22 -0600 Subject: Nativity plays and public schools Message-ID: <000b01c3b24a$a9833c20$6a9ecdd1@RVotaw> At 5:47 PM +0000 11/22/03, melclaros wrote: >This is one thing that we're (Americans) good at, even if some >of us do get shrill and take things waaayyy too far over the >top. You won't see a Nativity Play in an American public >school. Period. That's not necessarily true. I teach in a public school, this is my fifth year in this school. Our Christmas program is divided by grade level, so each grade puts on a ten minute program/song/dance/whatever. And there is always at least one Nativity play during the program, or something very blatantly religious. Last year the 3rd grade did a song, "Jesus, What a Wonderful Child." A very, very Christian song--normally a choir song in churches. The pre-k did "O Little Town of Bethlehem." They all dressed as angels and bowed before the manger, one at a time. This year our theme is "Celebrating the King around the World." Each grade focuses on one country, and as you can tell from the theme, Christian themes are welcome. Anyway, just pointing out that there are a few areas where you will still find Nativity plays in American public schools. Richelle From valkyrievixen at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 05:50:37 2003 From: valkyrievixen at yahoo.com (M.Clifford) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 05:50:37 -0000 Subject: Uploaded Pic Plug Message-ID: Hi everyone, I just uploaded a pic to the photo's page here on HPFGU. It's a shot of my niece and nephew in Hermione and Draco costumes that my sister handmade for them. Its picture #17 which is on the second page. Its a really great pic and anyone who checks it out let me know if you would like to see others like it. She is making more of them for my children and my other neice and nephew also. Cheery wishes >From Valky From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk Mon Nov 24 06:33:43 2003 From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 06:33:43 -0000 Subject: Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031124004117.0098de70@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum wrote: > At 00:11 24/11/03 , Steve wrote: > > >Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, and would you care to > >enlighten us with your opinion? > > !?!? Christmas isn't Christmas without mulled wine! I'm really quite > surprised that a native English speaker is unfamiliar with the term (though > perhaps I shouldn't be)... > > Asking (middle-class and higher?) British adults whether they've tried > mulled wine is akin to ... well, asking North Americans if they've ever > tried Maple syrup... (although until fairly recently, the number of Brits > who'd tried maple syrup would have been very small). > > Whilst the British Isles aren't exactly a centre of viniculture, mulling > wine (or, indeed, mead) is an integral part of our culture. Then again, > there are those who might say that British wines can only be made palatable > by mulling them... :-) > > As to my own opinion of what it's like, even the pre-packed spice mixtures > sold in supermarkets do a splendid job (although I prefer to make up my own > mixture, very heavy on cloves, a taste I adore - though not everyone > agrees, which is fine by me as I'm left with more tipple). There are LOADS of variations in the countries of Northern Europe (it gets damn cold here). It seems every cooking show and ladies' magazine produces different recipes during Advent. The easiest procedure of all is to buy factory-made "gl?gg" either made from wine (in some cases fortified with spirits) or fruit juice (grape and blackcurrant, usually -- there's even a white version with apple and white grape these days) and spices. You'd make a "uni student version" by using the non-alcoholic, ready-made stuff and then spiking it with vodka (excellent excuse to drink vodka by referring to Ancient Traditions) and I used to have a recipe that used "Christmas flavour" black tea as a base. The mulling spices are OK, but I'd cut out the star anise (makes everything taste like cough syrup.) Boil them in a little water for a few minutes and then add the infusion to the wine, maybe a little sugar if the wine's very dry. Heat, but don't let it boil. Are Finns and Scandinavians the only ones in the world who add whole almonds and raisins to their glasses? Alshain (no Christmas feelings yet) From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Mon Nov 24 05:54:42 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 15:54:42 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) References: <00d401c3b161$612eb1a0$32381c40@aoldsl.net> <026c01c3b1a4$7c83ef40$77984cca@Monteith> <00ce01c3b1fb$9bc1e8b0$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <000001c3b260$cd8fe530$61984cca@Monteith> > Kathryn wrote > You know what really gets me? When you walk into the bakery section in about > October and see Christmas Cakes and Christmas Puddings (OK not objecting to > the last one I could eat them all year round) ... right next to Hot Cross > Buns! > Yeah I don't mind the old pud either, but if I ate them as much as I'd like to, I'd look like one! And then there's the fact I was fairly recently diagnosed as a diabetic , so I have to forefeit things like that... *So* not fair... Nox (longing for a Snickers bar, but having to content herself with *sniffing* it...) From lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 15:19:26 2003 From: lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com (lj_fan2000) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 15:19:26 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "aaoconnor2002" wrote: > I've been following the discussion of the timing of Christmas > decorating and I was curious how people handle another aspect of the > holiday season - gift opening. We open gifts on Christmas morning only. We take turns opening the gifts, so the whole process takes a long time. It's fun that way, though, and there are lots of chances to take good pictures. Less mess, too! LJ From foxmoth at qnet.com Mon Nov 24 17:18:55 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:18:55 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: At my inlaws house the presents are opened one at a time, except for one memorable year when we were visiting with my toddler son. Grandma put the tree with the presents underneath inside the playpen and figured all was safe from busy little fingers. But Ben reached through the bars and though he could not get at the presents, he did manage to pull off all the tags! My MIL is a very organized person, the sort who has all her shopping and wrapping done by the middle of July, so she couldn't remember who was supposed to get what. We took turns opening presents one at a time and trying to guess at the intended recipient. Pippin From cwood at tattersallpub.com Mon Nov 24 17:58:21 2003 From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:58:21 -0000 Subject: Alan Rickman question was Seeing things In-Reply-To: Message-ID: >Kirstini theorized: > I think it's more that we only really have four actors in Britain > (Colin Farrell doesn't count), and so they're all kind of forced into > close contact with each other every now and again. Ms. Tattersall concurred: As a huge fan for decades of all comedies British that are regularly broadcast on the local PBS affiliate and BBC America, I'd come to believe that there really are only about fifty professional actors in Britain, because they all have been on most of the series at one time or other. Now they are turning up in the HP movies. From ameliagoldfeesh at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 18:48:20 2003 From: ameliagoldfeesh at yahoo.com (ameliagoldfeesh) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 18:48:20 -0000 Subject: Never too late for a mixer, is it? Message-ID: ********************* Hey, I've been a bit busy, okay? Name: Amy Delavan Also known as: A Goldfeesh is my most used identity, Nectarine (on ISCA BBS) and possum5005. Age/Sex: 26, Female Birthplace/Livingplace and feelings about same: Born in Hamburg, Ia, as it had the hospital, and grew up in Tabor, Ia. It is a small town (1,500 est.) in SW Iowa. Have lived in Ames, Ia (3 hours away) since 1998 and while I've enjoyed it here I'd like to move closer to home in a year or so. I'd love to be nearer my parents, siblings and nieces/nephews. Family Life: I have my parents, two brothers and two sisters, a herd of nieces and nephews. Last year I met my fiancee, we live together in Ames with a bunch of adorable ratlings and 3 huge goldfish and I just bought five small ones. Personality: When I was in highschool and younger I was quiet and shy, a big reader and history nerd. While I still read and am a history nerd, going to college got me to finally come out of my shell. I was shocked to hear myself described as a "chatterbox" at work a few weeks ago. :) Things you do when not staring at the computer: Work, read, sleep, clean rat cages (seems endless sometimes, spend time with my fiancee, hit the movies. Comfort foods: Chocolate milk, ice cream, orange juice at times. Education/Work: I have a degree in history from ISU and so, naturally, I'm currently working at Walmart. However, I really like working there and could see moving up the ranks and making a career of it. Language skills: English, usually, but not always skillfully :) Technical know-how: I can fix the needle on my ancient portable record player (and that's all that's really important) Favourite HP book: Prisoner of Azkaban Favourite HP character(s): The Trio, Snape Favourite HP line "Wow!" said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a storm-tossed, fathoms deep lake, and pushed out by a giant sea monster. Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?: Not avoiding them but haven't watched them too recently either. Into HP fanfiction? Not recently, I used to read some Snape fanfic and Sugarquill writings. Books you'd recommend to just about anyone: Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough, about the young T.R. Watership Down by Richard Adams, pretty soon you just clean forget it's about *rabbits*. Tolkien, of course. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, a book that gets better on every reread. You always find more in it than you last remembered. Edgar Allen Poe Favorite TV shows: Haven't watched much TV of late. I've been hooked to Home and Garden television for some reason, watch some Animal Planet, History Channel and AMC. Favorite Movies: Scaramouche- Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh. Many Rivers to Cross- Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker. Sense and Sensibility- Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman The Neverending Story Robin Hood- Disney animated- the Best Robin Hood movie made Favorite Musical Artists: The Beatles, ex-Beatles, especially George Harrison, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ELO, Eric Clapton, Fats Domino, Hank Williams, and of course, Bob Dylan. I've only seen Dylan eleven times and am ready to see him eleven or more, more times. *s* One thing about your life you'd change if you could (sorry, but you may not say "lose weight"): Fix my relationship with my best friend- we've sorta been going different ways these last few months. One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance copy of Book 7: My family and fiancee. Philosophy for an easy life: Don't get too upset and things will eventually work out. How you found HPfGU: From another HP related site I'm sure- but I don't really remember now. Active at other HP sites: I'm a bit less active at Sugarquill than I am here- so not too active... Your most rock solid Book 6 or Book 7 prediction: Dumbledore will die by the end of the series. Take a moment to wave to members of the fandom you have personally met: I've never met anyone on here personally- although I've seen Eric Oppen on ISCA BBS. A Goldfeesh, She's looking in to my eyes, and she's a-holding my hand She looks in to my eyes, she's holding my hand She say, "you can't repeat the past," I say "You can't? What do you mean you can't? Of course you can." Bob Dylan, Love and Theft, song- Summer Days From dicentra at xmission.com Mon Nov 24 18:50:11 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 18:50:11 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" wrote: > I taped the Simpsons where they go to England and J.K. Rowling is on > briefly, just one line. But I did notice they mispronounced her name- > made it rhyme with howling, instead of "Rolling". Actually, it was two lines. The first was in reply to Lisa exclaiming something like, "There's JK 'rolling', author of the HP series," to which JKR replied, "That's right, young muggle." Then she told Lisa how the series ends (line 2). I thought Ian McKellan's cameo was much funnier. It was much *longer* anyway. Surely, they could have come up with something more substantial for JKR, something more satirical. --Dicey, who thinks some of the time spent on the $1,000 bill should have gone to JKR From lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 19:58:10 2003 From: lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com (lj_fan2000) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 19:58:10 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "erinellii" wrote: > I taped the Simpsons where they go to England and J.K. Rowling is on > briefly, just one line. But I did notice they mispronounced her name- > made it rhyme with howling, instead of "Rolling". Did she really do the voice for it? If so, how did they wind up making a mistake like that, I wonder. LJ From Ali at zymurgy.org Mon Nov 24 20:18:28 2003 From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 20:18:28 -0000 Subject: Mulled Mead and Mulled Wine... MULLED, say what? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" wrote: >> > Anybody here ever had a Mulled beverage, and would you care to > enlighten us with your opinion? This is my favourite recipe for mulled wine:- For every 1 litre of red wine add 100gm (4oz) of soft brown sugar 500ml ginger ale (just short of one English pint) slices of orange and apple spices eg cinnamon, nutmegs and cloves ( I also prefer the little spice sachets as it reduces the amount of sediment). Heat all the ingredients up together really slowly so that the flavours infuse. Just before the drink is ready to serve add one cupful of brandy or whisky (put in near the end so that the alcohol doesn't evaporate). The result is very yummy and very alcoholic. Apparently, wine was originally heated by a red hot poker being inserted into the liquid, nowadays, we heat it up on the hob. One of my friends microwaves hers, and claims that it works well, but I just don't think that it would give the flavours time to infuse. Ali From erinellii at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 21:16:44 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 21:16:44 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Erin: But I did notice they mispronounced her name- > > made it rhyme with howling, instead of "Rolling". >> LJ: > Did she really do the voice for it? If so, how did they wind up > making a mistake like that, I wonder. Erin again: Yes, it was really her voice. The way I understand it, they send the lines to her and she reads them over the telephone and that's how they record. They then add that recording in when the other actors record. So JKR wouldn't have heard the final version where the actress playing Lisa mispronounces it. Erin From lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com Mon Nov 24 21:19:46 2003 From: lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com (lj_fan2000) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 21:19:46 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > Erin again: > Yes, it was really her voice. The way I understand it, they send the > lines to her and she reads them over the telephone and that's how > they record. They then add that recording in when the other actors > record. So JKR wouldn't have heard the final version where the > actress playing Lisa mispronounces it. I wonder if she gets paid to do something like that. And why she would bother if she didn't get paid, especially if she's not promoting anything. LJ From drednort at alphalink.com.au Mon Nov 24 21:38:52 2003 From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 08:38:52 +1100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Alan Rickman question was Seeing things In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FC3151C.32545.1E4C908@localhost> On 24 Nov 2003 at 17:58, mstattersall wrote: > Ms. Tattersall concurred: > As a huge fan for decades of all comedies British that are regularly > broadcast on the local PBS affiliate and BBC America, I'd come to > believe that there really are only about fifty professional actors in > Britain, because they all have been on most of the series at one time > or other. Now they are turning up in the HP movies. No, there's a lot more than 50 actors in Britain - just that 99% of them can't escape from 'The Bill' and 'Casualty'. Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html (ISTJ) | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Mon Nov 24 22:06:03 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:06:03 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000001c3b2d7$2b225950$65ef79a5@Einstein> Iggy here: When I moved down here to Alabama from California, I brought with me a couple of Christmas traditions that have been in my family since childhood. Like many people here, we all get to open one present the night before, but it's selected for us so that we don't accidentally spoil any surprises that involve more than one present. (Like the fact that I plan on getting the family a Nintendo Game Cube and a few games. If someone opens one of the games the night before, then they know they're getting the game cube.) On Christmas morning, one person is selected to be the "Santa" for the day and they hand out the presents from under the tree. This is partly so that gifts get handed out as evenly as possible, and also so that one person doesn't open all their gifts and then sit around watching others open theirs. (Since one of the rules is that we don't get to play with any of our presents until all of the presents are opened. The only exception is my daughter, but she's only a toddler, so we kinda have to make that exception to help keep her happy and quiet.) One of the other traditions we started as a family since I moved down here is rather interesting. Our feeling is that we give gifts to each other as a family. One person may pick out a particular gift, but it's still from everyone. So, we don't bother putting "To: / From:" tags on the gifts. (After all, it's pointless to say on every gift that it's from the other family members, isn't it?) Instead, we each find a wrapping paper that's our own. This is the one that all of our presents are wrapped in, and identifies the gift as going to us. Not only is this a fun way to do things, since you get to chose a personalized paper that you like, but it also adds more variety to the appearance of the pile of gifts under the tree. Something we're considering doing, once my daughter turns 5 or so and understands the tradition, is to adopt a variant of the British tradition of Boxing Day (at least, as I've heard it described... where officers and enlisted in the military, or servants and employers... switch places for a day.) and setting it up where the kids and the parents get to swap places for a day. Iggy McSnurd From tminton at deckerjones.com Mon Nov 24 22:20:58 2003 From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:20:58 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE4626FC@djmail.deckerjones.com> Iggy here: When I moved down here to Alabama from California, I brought with me a couple of Christmas traditions that have been in my family since childhood. Like many people here, we all get to open one present the night before, but it's selected for us so that we don't accidentally spoil any surprises that involve more than one present. (Like the fact that I plan on getting the family a Nintendo Game Cube and a few games. If someone opens one of the games the night before, then they know they're getting the game cube.) Tonya: I have to tell a funny one!! For Christmas a couple years back my hubby wanted the new Playstation soooooooooo bad and he had a Nintendo so instead of having him open the new Playstation first I had him open all the games and made it sound like I was trying to get him games for his current system and how did I do, only to find out that these games didn't work on his system.... (you would have thought he would have figured it out after 6 games or so but NOOOOOOO) Then very last after making plans for the day after Christmas to return all the games. HEHEHEHE I gave him the Playstation and when he finally figured out that I had been playing with him the whole time he laughed and laughed!! It was too much fun!! I love giving presents more then getting that is the good part!! Tonya [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From joym999 at aol.com Mon Nov 24 23:04:02 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 23:04:02 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lj_fan2000" wrote: > > > > Erin again: > > Yes, it was really her voice. The way I understand it, they send the > > lines to her and she reads them over the telephone and that's how > > they record. They then add that recording in when the other actors > > record. So JKR wouldn't have heard the final version where the > > actress playing Lisa mispronounces it. > > I wonder if she gets paid to do something like that. And why she > would bother if she didn't get paid, especially if she's not promoting > anything. Are you kidding? I'm surprised she didn't offer to *pay* for the privilege of appearing on the Simpsons. Personally, I couldn't imagine a greater compliment. --Joywitch From Mhochberg at aol.com Tue Nov 25 00:27:14 2003 From: Mhochberg at aol.com (Mhochberg at aol.com) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 19:27:14 EST Subject: When the decorations go up (was: Being Scrooge-like) Message-ID: <175.22c53e1f.2cf3fbe2@aol.com> eloiseherisson at aol.com wrote: >> Mary, that is such a lovely way of doing things. I think I'll try to do > something like that, starting at the beginning of the school holidays. I do > enjoy > having the house look festive, but it's a big job and easily becomes a > burden > when all done at once. To split it up and do it a bit at a time like that is > a > great idea and should keep the children happy whilst hopefully building up > the > excitement. It's a bit like turning the whole house into an Advent calendar, > > isn't it? << I like the way you wrote that. Thank you! It does indeed turn the house itself into an Advent calendar. The reason we started doing it that way was because it was a big job for us too. My kids were very little at the time and this worked out well. They didn't get overwhelmed and did get excited each day, wondering what the surprise would be. As for a timetable, I print out a month calendar and just start filling in each day. Days that are already too busy have us doing simple things like reading Christmas poems or stories at dinner time. If we are too tired, we watch Christmas movies or old tapes or look at photo albums. ---Mary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Tue Nov 25 00:53:36 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 00:53:36 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "aaoconnor2002" wrote: > I've been following the discussion of the timing of Christmas > decorating and I was curious how people handle another aspect of the > holiday season - gift opening. > > snip< > > How do other people from large families handle this? > > Audrey Oh boy. Christmas Eve and presents. Unfortunately, brings back bad memories. See, when I still believed in Santa, my father took me out for awhile so that my mother could put all the presents under the tree, so that I would be surprised when I got back. She told me that "Santa came while you were out." (note: I, too, am an only child). What possessed my mother to put the presents under the tree early that year is beyond me. They NEVER put out the presents on Christmas eve. Well, I was soo excited, that I asked if I could open one present. To make a long story short, I had opened all of my gifts that Christmas Eve, and had nothing to open on Christmas morning. Tears. So many tears. I have never forgotten that and to this day will not allow my children to open gifts on Christmas Eve. (can you say, paranoid-Scrooge?) Well, things are now much better, because we have no way of seeing both sets of grandparents all in one day. So, we have traditionally gone to my mothers' house on Christmas eve, where we open presents there; Christmas morning, we open presents at our house; and usually, Christmas day-evening, we open presents at my mother-in- laws, where all the little kiddies gather. We tried to have one person open one present at a time, but impatience ruled and it's utter chaos with everyone opening presents all at once. It's fun though! Twenty-four hours of presents!! Anna . . .(who hopes she didn't depress anyone with her story) From neonsister at ameritech.net Tue Nov 25 03:14:58 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 03:14:58 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans Message-ID: I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the Advertising Slogan Generator: http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan Some of my results from plugging in HP character names: 1. Nothing works better than a Harry 2. A day without Weasley is like a day without sunshine 3. Watch out, there's a Dobby about! 4. Poppin' Fresh Moody (somehow not as cool a nickname as "Mad Eye"!) 5. Moving at the speed of Sirius 6. Snape - Australian for beer 7. My goodness, my Dumbledore! 8. You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Buckbeak (ewwww...) 9. Let your fingers do the walking through the Lupin (oh my! *blushing*) 10. Only the crumbliest, flakiest Lockhart ...and my personal favorite: 11. Voldemort. It's what's for dinner! Tracy *she who is easily amused* From boggles at earthlink.net Tue Nov 25 05:20:58 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 23:20:58 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 8:23 PM +0000 11/23/03, aaoconnor2002 wrote: > >How do other people from large families handle this? My parents and both sets of grandparents all lived in the same town (indeed, the parental units and the one grandmother still living are still there). Moreover, my parents belong to different churches. So we had a longstanding process we went through for the holiday: Christmas Eve: At about 8 pm, Mom's church holds its Christmas Eve service, which is traditionally delivered by the children - the teenagers do the longer readings and stage-manage, the middle children do the bulk of the readings, and the small children sing. (There was some question, especially since it was a fairly small church, as to when one was no longer a child and therefore not eligible to participate in this event. I argued strongly for graduation from high school, but was outvoted by the adults, who set the cutoff at age 20.) My grandfather was the organist for the church. After the children's service, we all returned to my maternal grandparents' house for cookies, hot chocolate, and caroling. Granddaddy would play the organ, and we would sing four-part harmony, at least until the cookie crumbs started getting in the way. Mom's family always opened gifts on Christmas Eve when she was growing up, so we exchanged gifts with the maternal grandparents and the aunt who still lived with them. Midnight: Dad usually went to Midnight Mass at his church. I always begged to be allowed to come along, which I finally was allowed to do my junior year in high school. Mom, who sings with the choir at his church despite not actually being a member, occasionally also came, and if she did I wasn't allowed to - I was the eldest child and thus got baby-sitting duty. Christmas morning: The presents usually had been set under the tree the Sunday before, but there were always a few more under the tree Christmas morning than there had been. My parents never held any truck with Santa; we had been told that he was a myth, or at most a symbol of the giving spirit of Christmas, as soon as we learned about him from our friends. Generally, each child (there were four of us) took a present, and then we all opened them at once. No effort was made at opening them neatly unless there was a reason to conserve the paper. After we'd all opened them, we showed off what we got to the other children, who typically expressed envy (as a number of our presents were always books, this was often expressed as: "I get to read that second!"). Mom and Dad typically opened theirs late in the process, as Dad typically videotaped the event and thus had his ands full, anyway. Afterwards, we had breakfast, and Mom and Dad debated whether Dad would go to Mass that morning (he only did if he'd missed the Midnight Mass the night before; I don't know why they always debated whether he would attend a second one). Christmas day: Around noon we would head over to my paternal grandmother's house and have dinner with that side of the family. This side was sufficiently large that they did the name-swap in early September, with each nuclear family buying gifts for one other nuclear family. However, it was also traditional for our grandmother to give a couple of gifts to each grandchild, and for godparents to give their godchildren a gift. Usually one of the uncles would play Santa and sit under the tree, distributing gifts, which was also done a round at a time: everyone got a gift, then everyone opened theirs at once and thanked the person who gave it to them. The adults usually ran out of gifts before the children, so the last few "rounds" were rather ragged. Frighteningly enough, we still do something very much like this, minus the services, even though we never spend Christmas with my family anymore - we do a small Christmas Eve exchange with friends, a Christmas morning exchange with each other, and a Christmas afternoon exchange with the Spouse's family. -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Tue Nov 25 05:21:06 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 05:21:06 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the > Advertising Slogan Generator: > > http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan > > Some of my results from plugging in HP character names: > > 1. Nothing works better than a Harry > > 2. A day without Weasley is like a day without sunshine > > 3. Watch out, there's a Dobby about! > > 4. Poppin' Fresh Moody (somehow not as cool a nickname as "Mad > Eye"!) > > 5. Moving at the speed of Sirius > > 6. Snape - Australian for beer > > 7. My goodness, my Dumbledore! > > 8. You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth > with Buckbeak (ewwww...) > > 9. Let your fingers do the walking through the Lupin (oh my! > *blushing*) > > 10. Only the crumbliest, flakiest Lockhart > > ...and my personal favorite: > > 11. Voldemort. It's what's for dinner! > > Tracy > *she who is easily amused* Oh my!! This could be, er, rather risque! Hermione: (I swear on a stack of bibles this is what I got:) "THAT'S HANDY, HARRY! STICK IT IN THE HERMIONE!" Anna . . .(who's going to try more names . . .) From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Tue Nov 25 05:26:09 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 05:26:09 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the > Advertising Slogan Generator: > > Oh man!! Another great one; Tom Riddle: "THE BEST PART OF WAKING UP IS TOM RIDDLE IN YOUR CUP" Anna . . (must go to bed . . . But Noo! must try more names!) From erinellii at yahoo.com Tue Nov 25 06:18:28 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 06:18:28 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Erin: Wow, I almost wonder if the computer can somehow associate words... I got "GIVE THE DOG A LUPIN"-- you know, all those fanfics that do exactly that... and "MILD GREEN SIRIUS LIQUID"-- which with Sirius's family being in Slytherin.... --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" > wrote: > > I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the > > Advertising Slogan Generator: > > > > > Oh man!! Another great one; > > Tom Riddle: > > "THE BEST PART OF WAKING UP IS TOM RIDDLE IN YOUR CUP" > > Anna . . (must go to bed . . . But Noo! must try more names!) From risako at nexusanime.com Tue Nov 25 06:49:17 2003 From: risako at nexusanime.com (Melissa McCarthy) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 02:49:17 -0400 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans References: Message-ID: <008b01c3b320$3fcf9540$6401a8c0@vaio> Anna: > (I swear on a stack of bibles this is what I got:) > > "THAT'S HANDY, HARRY! STICK IT IN THE HERMIONE!" Oh dear... The best one I've gotten so far: "Wouldn't You Rather Be Hermione?" Why, yes! Yes, I would! Melissa, far too easily amused From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 08:13:14 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 08:13:14 -0000 Subject: Christmas presents - one at a time or all at once? In-Reply-To: <000001c3b2d7$2b225950$65ef79a5@Einstein> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "IggyMcSnurd" wrote: > >> Something we're considering doing, once my daughter turns 5 or so and > understands the tradition, is to adopt a variant of the British > tradition of Boxing Day (at least, as I've heard it described... where > officers and enlisted in the military, or servants and employers... > switch places for a day.) and setting it up where the kids and the > parents get to swap places for a day. > That idea dates back to the Roman Republic. On Saturnalia (which is the festival that Christmas was designed to replace - the dates largely match) Roman's would be expected to wait on their slaves, for that day only. Actually, I've never come across that tradition myself as a Brit - but there are a lot of regional and local traditions around. June From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Tue Nov 25 10:57:37 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:57:37 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans References: Message-ID: <00a401c3b342$f0f94fb0$66984cca@Monteith> > > http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan Hmmm, without a word of a lie, I got "Make Severus Yours..." Nox (thinking it over...) From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 13:24:47 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 13:24:47 -0000 Subject: My Dungeon Message-ID: For anyone who remembers the description of my office (complete with dungeon), I have finally found some pics online for you all. Here is a link, hope it works, they never do when you want em to! http://www.timmonet.co.uk/html/body_holy_jesus.htm The actual dungeon is a smallish cell in the basement of the stone tower. Happy Thanksgiving to all you over there! June From lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com Tue Nov 25 13:54:05 2003 From: lj_fan2000 at yahoo.com (lj_fan2000) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 13:54:05 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "joywitch_m_curmudgeon" wrote: > > Are you kidding? I'm surprised she didn't offer to *pay* for the > privilege of appearing on the Simpsons. Personally, I couldn't > imagine a greater compliment. I wonder whether someone like her even needs a compliment like that. After hearing how wonderful you are for years, wouldn't it be tempting to just be a bit more reclusive rather than continue to seek out publicity? LJ From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 14:33:38 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 14:33:38 -0000 Subject: Who watched the Simpsons? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "lj_fan2000" wrote: > > I wonder whether someone like her even needs a compliment like that. > After hearing how wonderful you are for years, wouldn't it be tempting > to just be a bit more reclusive rather than continue to seek out > publicity? > > LJ Perhaps she did it to impress her daughter and other young relatives. Often, and I've read other celebs say this, kids, especially teens are less impressed by what you actually do than by the fact that you appear on certain tv programmes that THEY watch. June From stevejjen at earthlink.net Tue Nov 25 14:35:51 2003 From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 14:35:51 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the > Advertising Slogan Generator: > > http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan Hehehe--this is fun! Thanks Tracy. Here are my results: 1) Have Snape Your Way! and, Splash Severus All Over! 2) Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Dumbledore (Elixer of Life anyone?) 3) Does She or Doesn't She? Only Her Sirius Knows For Sure. Jen, thinking that last one is a keeper ;). From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 14:37:59 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 14:37:59 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" > wrote: > > I really must get out more, lol...I've been playing with the > > Advertising Slogan Generator: > > > > http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan > > > Hehehe--this is fun! Thanks Tracy. Here are my results: > > 1) Have Snape Your Way! and, Splash Severus All Over! > > I kinda like this one... ;-) June From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk Tue Nov 25 16:09:26 2003 From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:09:26 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: The Slogan Generator is *really* into its slash today. Why, I positively blushed. Tonight, Let it be Neville Longbottom Life Should Taste As Good As Ron. Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Neville Longbottom. I Bet He Drinks Sirius. However, all you hetfic fans can have a little something too: What Would You Do For A Severus? You Can Really Taste The Bellatrix! Also, and slightly more canon-related, we had: The Biggest Malfoy Pennies Can Buy. Wait Til We Get Our Dumbledore On You. You Like Voldemort. Voldemort Likes You. and, spookily: 3-in-1 Protection for your Potter Is this Generator running MAGIC DISHWASHER, or something? Okay, so I'm going to do something productive now. Kirstini From rvotaw at i-55.com Tue Nov 25 16:14:30 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 10:14:30 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans References: <00a401c3b342$f0f94fb0$66984cca@Monteith> Message-ID: <006501c3b36f$35319710$98a2cdd1@RVotaw> > > > http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan Okay, fine, thought I'd give it a try. Here's what I came up with: "Yo Quiero Neville Longbottom." "Sirius really satisfies." (hey, not bad!) "It's a beautiful Remus." :) "Dial down the Bellatrix." "See the USA in your Harry." "151 Countries, One Harry." (Now that's true!) "Loves the Severus You Hate." (But I don't hate Severus! Course, Harry does . . ..) "Gotta Lotta Hermione." "Obey your Snape." (Okay, okay!) "Every Kiss Begins with Wood." (Really?) "Easy, breezy, beautiful Harry Potter." (Don't think Harry would like the sound of that!) I have to admit, that was fun. :) Richelle From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 16:26:49 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:26:49 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: <006501c3b36f$35319710$98a2cdd1@RVotaw> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Mine: Don't get mad, get Severus! Whoo hoo. June From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Tue Nov 25 16:38:43 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 10:38:43 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: <006501c3b36f$35319710$98a2cdd1@RVotaw> Message-ID: <000201c3b372$9a9f4a40$5293aec7@Einstein> (Please forgive if this gets a duplicate sending. YahooMort may have AK'd the first one, or it might get here later, weak and on its hands and knees from the vile spell.) I looked up this site, and Tracy, I'm gonna kick yer butt if I meet you for sending me to another "Stupid and Silly Humor" type site that I'm now addicted to after my first visit. BTW: While I was doing this, one of the popup ads was one where I could get the newest HP book free if I could pick Ginny out of a lineup. *grin* (Unfortunately, I also had to apply for a credit card and be a member in good standing with them for over 60 days... Yeah, right...) Iggy McSnurd Here's what I got. "You're Never Alone with a Rita Skeeter." (Boy, ain't that the truth. Especially when she's looking for a story on you.) "Stimulation for Body and Kreacher." (Who here really *wants* to stimulate Kreacher? Now *there's* a disturbing thought.) "Semper Cho Chang." (Always Cho Chang? I guess they're hinting that she's self centered. Naaaaaaah. *snicker* Fun note here: My spellchecker wanted to change it to "Simper Cho Chang." *laugh*) "A Hermione Is Forever." (Ok, *she* might not really be forever, but her lectures sure make it feel that way.) "Things Go Better with Peeves." (Ok, even *I* am at a loss for a comment about this one.) "Nothing Works Better Than A Flitwick." (I should hope so. He's such a cool teacher..) I accidentally got two on one name here. "Percy - It Does a Body Good." (Does that mean he's a milquetoast?) and "Have You Forgotten How Good Percy Tastes?" (Honestly, I have absolutely *no* interest in knowing how Percy tastes. Now if I can just find my Pepto-Bismol to settle my stomach at even the thought.) "Get The Door - It's Fudge." (Ok, this one works for those of you on either the "Candy of the Month Club," or the "Misdirecting Government Official in Denial of the Month Club." Next month, the people in the second club get a visit from G.W. Bush.) "I Like The Dumbledore In You." (I won't comment on this one, since it's bizarre on *so* many levels.) "The Sirius For All Ages." (Just for all you ladies. There's still hope for you yet. *grin*) "151 Countries, One Snape." (Ok. I don't get this one. Perhaps if we substituted "women" for "countries" it might work. But who would want to be one of those women? *grin*) "Get The Hagrid Out. " (Yes, it's the rallying cry of the Umbridge supporters.) Which leads is to one of the truest ones of all. "Watch Out, There's an Umbridge About." (Need I comment?) From alexpie at aol.com Tue Nov 25 17:43:31 2003 From: alexpie at aol.com (alexpie at aol.com) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 12:43:31 EST Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Digest Number 1314 Message-ID: <14d.2739325b.2cf4eec3@aol.com> Jen wrote: > 1) Have Snape Your Way! and, Splash Severus All Over! > I like mine even better--"When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be Snape Overnight!" (When doesn't it, really?) By the way, did we all notice that Lisa Simpson mispronounced JKR's name? Cheers-- Ba [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Tue Nov 25 17:47:35 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:47:35 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: <000201c3b372$9a9f4a40$5293aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "IggyMcSnurd" wrote: > (Please forgive if this gets a duplicate sending. YahooMort may have > AK'd the first one, or it might get here later, weak and on its hands > and knees from the vile spell.) > > I looked up this site, and Tracy, I'm gonna kick yer butt if I meet you > for sending me to another "Stupid and Silly Humor" type site that I'm > now addicted to after my first visit. > > >> > "151 Countries, One Snape." > > (Ok. I don't get this one. Perhaps if we substituted "women" for > "countries" it might work. But who would want to be one of those women? > *grin*) Me... June From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Tue Nov 25 18:20:53 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:20:53 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases Message-ID: This is a description - in some respects, edited highlights - of Christmas the way my family did it when I was a child. Some of the elements we retain in my own family. Advent In my childhood, we always celebrated Advent the Danish way: a wreath of spruce (fir? pine?) branches, decorated with cones, berries etc. There were four candles, and the first one was lit on the first Sunday, and lit for a while every day until the second Sunday, when two candles would be lit, and so on. From the fourth Sunday until Christmas Eve, all four would be lit, and the lit wreath would be part of the general decorations on Christmas Eve. As for calendars, not usually with chocolate in. However, when I was about 6 (one of my first Christmases in England anyway), my grandfather painstakingly decorated 23 small and one large matchboxes, by pasting wrapping paper and coloured paper shapes onto them, filled them with various small sweets, and then wrapped them individually in more wrapping paper (each one a different colour and pattern) with the numbers from 1 to 24 stuck on, tied up with gold thread, and hung them all on a long piece of ribbon, and sent them to us, for my mother to hang between two hooks on the wall. Then, of course, we opened one box on each day. The wrapping paper was all kept, and this 'calendar' re-used, by popular acclaim, for years and years until my brother and I grew up. Amazingly, as far as I can recall, the same original paper was used all that time. For many years into adulthood, I associated dates in December with specific colours, because of that wrapping paper. After the first year, my mother provided the sweets, and kept Solomonic judgement over who got what, as well as who got to unwrap and who got to open the box. We also had a lovely German Advent calendar, which got re-used for many years. This was a strange but entirely convincing (to a child) conflation of the ancient world of the nativity and vaguely eighteenth century Germany (the calendar itself was modern, vintage about 1960). It depicted a walled town, covered in snow, and on the 1st you opened a milepost which discovered the town to be Bethlehem, Judea. Successive dates disclosed such things as a lit advent wreath in a window, a stall selling geese, a yard full of Christmas trees (I loved the fact that you could see the tops of the trees poking over the wall, so that, when you opened the door the trees inside lined up with their tops 'outside': to this day, I don't reckon an Advent calendar is worthy of the name unless what is behind the doors is consistent in this way with the picture on the front; this calendar had the *backs* of the doors realistically illustrated), and, on the 6th, St Nicholas walking through one of the main gates. As the Day approached, the pictures homed in on the Christmas story, with the Three Kings turning up through another gate on the 18th, and some shepherds pitching up some time after that. This, interleaved with a big church service taking up the 17th, 19th (high windows into the choir) and 22nd (west doors). Centre of the whole picture, of course was the stable, with the nativity scene behind the doors. I think if I were to sit down carefully and think, I could remember what nearly every door was, even now. The whole thing was done with loving attention to detail, and yet involved no special theme or anything unusual in an Advent calendar, yet it seems beyond the reach of craft or commerce today to produce anything like. I'm fairly certain my parents never threw it away, but we can't find it now. A metaphor for childhood, if ever there was one. We did have a new calendar every year, but it was never as good. We followed the 'progressive decoration' approach mentioned by Mary and Eloise, though I think more on a weekend by weekend basis than daily. Stages included (I can't swear as to the order, or as to its consistency from one year to another) getting out the Danish room decorations (cardboard nisser* to be pinned to the walls or hung by thread from the lights), setting up the nisse landscape (cotton wool snow and red two-inch tall pipe-cleaner nisser with sledges, skis, pots of rice pudding), making and putting up paper chains, making our own decorations (Japanese lanterns, Danish heart decorations, cutting out folded paper patterns). On Christmas Eve, my father would set up a nativity scene of carved wooden figures (again German; we lived there for three years when I was small). Topics too numerous to mention include the making and filling of krammehuser, the decoration of the Christmas table, the visit of the Salvation Army brass band, the date candle, and the making of peppermint pastilles. Christmas Tree As Christian mentioned, always a real tree, though these days not necessarily spruce in the UK as the industry has discovered trees with better needle-holding ability. What he didn't mention is that the trees are covered with real candles (as well as decorations, and baskets and krammehuser full of sweets). The tree was decorated on Christmas Eve, and, as people have said, the old tradition (which I believe was imposed on my mother) was that the children would be packed of to their rooms, or out, while the tree was decorated and presents laid under it, so that the first the children would see was the fully decorated, lit, present- carpeted tree near to the table laid with the Christmas dinner, on the evening of Christmas Eve. I suspect that, for my grandfather, that moment was the high point of the year, for which the rest of the year functioned as a kind of decorative display case. We didn't quite go the whole hog on this. Once we were old enough, we helped decorate the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve. We'd all help bring presents down later on, just before the dinner. The tree would come down January 7th. Christmas Christmas proper would start at 3pm with the festival of nine lessons and carols on the radio from Kings College. Accompanied by tea and posh biscuits (eg Bahlsen Choco Leibnitz). Then a funny period where we'd bring the presents down, finish off any odd jobs ('for the last time, will you tidy your room'!) and generally wait around while my mother did the honours with the goose. After setting the table, my father would dig out a bottle of some obscure spirit such as framboise, and when we boys were older we'd get to try it. Dinner would be goose, with plentiful trimmings, followed by (I think) ice cream when we were small, later ris a la mande, which was a nod to the traditional Danish Christmas dinner, in which rice pudding is the starter, followed by goose, followed by aebleskiver (a sort of apple tart). Red wine for the main course, sweet sherry for the dessert. The tree would be lit just before dinner. Usually the candles would burn themselves out by the end of the evening. Ris a la mande is sweet rice pudding, cooled, mixed with whipped cream, flavoured with vanilla. Despite that description, it's delicious. A single almond was added, and the person who got the almond in their portion got a small gift, the almond present. After dinner, singing carols round the tree. Even Danes recognise that there is a spiritual element to Christmas, or rather, that while spirituality is 99% food, drink, and having a good time with your family, the other 1% does need attending to. Danish carols themselves tend to be short on baby Jesus and long on eating, drinking, and having a good time with your family, but we mostly sang English as we kids didn't have that much Danish. Then, presents. We had a sort of halfway house: different presents would be opened simultaneously, but everyone would be expected to acknowledge what everyone else was getting. We were also halfway between England and Denmark: presents from each other and Danish relatives were opened Christmas Eve (as is Danish custom); presents from English relatives were opened Christmas morning, by our beds. Christmas lunch: the great cold table (det store kolde bord, more commonly known in English-speaking countries by its Swedish name, the smorgasbord). All sorts: pickled raw herring, cold goose, stuffed gooseneck, rillettes, gravad laks, various other meats and pates, lots of cheeses, all washed down for the adults with beer and snaps. Goose dripping is a delicious alternative to butter for meats (but *not* fish) eaten on rye bread - in fact wholemeal bread spread with goose dripping and a pinch of salt is a delight in itself. For many years we had Christmas cake, which generally lasted until about the end of January. The tree would be lit again, certainly on New Year's Eve and Twelfth Night (6th Jan), sometimes on other evenings, e.g. if we had visitors. Twelfth Night we'd let the candles burn down: when the last candle went out that was the end of Christmas. David *Nisser are small gnomelike creatures with red hats and striped jerseys associated with Christmas and, loosely, with Father Christmas (Julemanden) in Denmark. Like Danes, they eat a lot, particularly rice pudding. From joym999 at aol.com Tue Nov 25 18:22:14 2003 From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:22:14 -0000 Subject: My Dungeon In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" wrote: > The actual dungeon is a smallish cell in the basement of the stone > tower. Just the place for Margaret Thatcher! Very cool photos, thanks, June. It's weird how those old, old buildings are now surrounded with modern car parks and highways. It reminds me of this plaza in Mexico City called the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (the Plaza of the Three Cultures). There's some Aztec ruins, a medieval Spanish church, and a big modern office building. During the big earthquake in 1985 (1986?), the big modern office building was badly damaged, but the other two were fine. --Joywitch From ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk Tue Nov 25 18:49:13 2003 From: ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk (ladyramkin2000) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:49:13 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: I recently in a fit of absent-mindedness, sent this post to the main group, for which sincere apologies. The point I wanted to make was: I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any comments would be gratefully received. Sylvia From grannybat at hotmail.com Tue Nov 25 19:40:10 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:40:10 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases In-Reply-To: Message-ID: It's lovely to read all the variations on family traditions for the holidays. Such a refreshing change from American mass-marketed consumer culture. Dave jogged my memory: > ... presents from each other and Danish > relatives were opened Christmas Eve (as is Danish custom); presents > from English relatives were opened Christmas morning, by our beds. This reminds me of something I was wondering over the weekend. On Xmas day Harry and Ron wake to find their presents piled at the foot of their beds. I had thought this arrangement was a boarding school practice--putting all the kids' presents under a single tree might produce some problems. But then I remembered a song from a play about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitain, "The Lion in Winter." I'll spend my day the lover's way Unwrappng my gifts in bed So this is a holiday tradition among English families? Or is it common among the British in general? Grannybat From alexpie at aol.com Tue Nov 25 20:30:18 2003 From: alexpie at aol.com (alexpie at aol.com) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:30:18 EST Subject: Advertising Slogans Message-ID: <7a.4bafe480.2cf515da@aol.com> And I wouldn't be at all surprised if this actually were his slogan: "Probably the best Percy in the world!" Ba [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From mphunt at sprintmail.com Tue Nov 25 20:33:54 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:33:54 -0000 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ok, ok....better late than never. (really - I tried to avoid this one - but you all seemed to be having way too much fun) Here's what I got: "It's How Quiddich Is Done." "If You Really Want To Know, Look In The Muggle." "Gee, Your Weasley Smells Terrific." "We Do Death Eater Right." "Show Me The SPEW." "Ding-Dong, SPEW Calling." "Maybe She's Born With It, Maybe It's St. Mungo's." ...and the best for last.... "You've Got Questions, We've Got Hogwarts." Tcy From jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu Tue Nov 25 21:44:58 2003 From: jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu (Jen Faulkner) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:44:58 -0500 (EST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Philip Pullman trilogy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Tue, 25 Nov 2003, ladyramkin2000 wrote: > I recently in a fit of absent-mindedness, sent this post to the main > group, for which sincere apologies. The point I wanted to make was: > I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem > to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder > if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying > yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any > comments would be gratefully received. Well, I really liked them. The first two. I was not as impressed with the third (I felt it was a bit too anvilicious). What did you dislike about them? Have you only read the first one, or have you tried the second (or third) too? If you didn't like Lyra, you might enjoy Will, the main character of the second book, more. But if you didn't like the world (the concept of daemons and Dust and all), that probably won't improve. I do think I liked the second one better, but I still have a number of complaints about all three (I think the anti-religion preaching was way overdone). And if it's the anti-religious sentiments that bothered you, that only gets much, much worse. But... what does anyone think of the short story that was just (fairly recently) published? I can't say the story would've excited me much if I didn't already know the characters/world, but I *adored* the format, with the maps and other found objects. Those were so neat! Totally worth the $9ish. And I must admit to looking forward to more stories in the universe, even if I was disappointed with *The Amber Spyglass*. So, Sylvia, if you've given them a fair chance, I wouldn't personally bother again, at least not for a good long while. Some books just don't grab you -- I personally have *never* liked Austen. No matter how many people tell me she's great, I can't like them. I don't see any reason to keep torturing myself with trying them. But, on the other hand, I'd always felt terribly guilty about not liking/being able to read the LotR. Every *other* sf fan in the world (I felt) adored them. But I *couldn't* get past the first 100 pages of Fellowship. And I set them aside for years. And then, miraculously, after seeing the first movie, I wanted to know what would happen *so* much that I managed to get through those hundreds of pages of nothing happening and Tolkien's prose (which I can actually now appreciate stylistically -- I couldn't when I was younger) to discover that I actually enjoyed the books. But either way --- don't feel compelled to read/like them. If you don't, you don't. :) --Jen :) * * * * * * Jen's HP fics: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jfaulkne/fan/hp.html Snapeslash listmom: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snapeslash Yes, I *am* the Deictrix. From witchywoman at obdb.net Tue Nov 25 22:09:22 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:09:22 -0500 Subject: Wishing I lived in NYC Message-ID: <000a01c3b3a0$c7f705e0$99960144@home> Article below. Sounds like so much fun! I'd have a kid just to be involved. LOL! Tammy (aka Witchy Woman) ---------------------------- Press Release Source: Art Smart Adventures Inc. Art Smart Adventures to Host a Harry Potter-Inspired Art Hunt at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Tuesday November 25, 3:56 pm ET NEW YORK, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Art Smart Adventures Inc. today announced it will be hosting a series of Art Hunts, entitled Potter and the Mythology Maze, inspired by the popular stories of Harry Potter. Art Smart Adventures will lead children ages 5-12 and their parents on a trivia seek-and-find event through The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City three weekends in December. The "Potter and the Mythology Maze" Art Hunt uses Potter trivia to direct families through a maze among the creations of ancient Greek potters, the antiquities of Rome and Egypt, and the galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Event dates: Saturday, December 6, 2003: enter upon arrival between 10am and 11am Sunday, December 14, 2003: enter upon arrival between 1pm and 2pm Saturday, December 20, 2003: enter upon arrival between 10am and 11am The Art Hunt is designed to educate families about the mythology connections used by J.K. Rowling. One clue asks participants to track down an animal similar to the one into which Harry's godfather transforms. After finding it, they'll discover how the "dog days of summer" refer to the Sirius Star that shines bright in August. To get through the maze, children answer a set of questions focusing on Potter trivia from all five books, leading them to related art objects along a planned route. Clues will guide the way. For example, a.. Find a figure that has the same first name of Professor McGonagall. * Track down a painting with a very old-fashioned version of Harry's Nimbus. a.. Discover an object made from a material that has the same color as unicorn's blood. Need help with a question? Families can ask for additional clues from an Art Smart educator, located in stations throughout the museum indicated on their Mythology Maze Map. Tickets are $15 per child and $20 per adult, which includes museum admission. Pre-registration is required and tickets can be purchased by online at www.ArtSmart.com or by calling Art Smart Adventures at 212-595-4444. The event lasts one hour once the families enter the route. Also of interest: Art Smart Adventures' Treasure Maps December issue focuses on the mythology connections between classical heroes and Harry Potter. Treasure Maps are monthly family-friendly museum guides that help families explore NYC art collections, cultures and concepts at their own pace. These colorful downloadable pdf guides highlight a particular culture or theme. Each Treasure Map is chock-full of ideas, information, and resources to structure a family's museum visit and inspire children long after they've gone home. Art Smart Adventures' website introduces this new offering, and provides a link to a sneak peak. http://www.ArtSmart.com/maps.shtml Art Smart Adventures aims to make museums fun for families by offering public art hunts around NYC museums, Treasure Map museum guides, and art museum tours. (Art Hunts are not a museum-sponsored event.) HARRY POTTER? is a registered trademark of Warner Bros. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Wed Nov 26 00:26:14 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:26:14 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <7a.4bafe480.2cf515da@aol.com> Message-ID: <000201c3b3b3$eb5c79d0$6def79a5@Einstein> Iggy here: *sigh* Ok. Since I have been thoroughly introduced to this site and am hooked on it (thanks a heap, Tracy), and needed some humor to deal with today's frustration, I ended up with these additional slogans. (I kept out some of the more inane ones, or the ones that just didn't make *any* sense at all.) Iggy McSnurd Silly Rabbit, Harry Potter is for Kids. (Yeah.But we adults like it to. *grin*) Top Breeders Recommend Tonks. (Well, after all, she *is* a Metamorphmagus, after all. It would never get boring, that's for sure.) Put A Tonks In Your Tank. (I'd rather not. She can do enough damage without Muggle artillery added into it.) Puts the Voldemort in Britain. (Oddly true. My question is, *what* does?) Bet You Can't Eat Voldemort. (Bet you I don't want to..) The Man From Padfoot, he says "Yes" (Much to the ladies delight, I bet.) "Shhhhh. You know Hagrid." (Yeah. Tell him something secret, and he'll accidentally spill the beans five minutes later.) "Quidditch - Australian For Beer" (I guess that explains all the post-match riots.) "The Biggest Ollivander Pennies Can Buy." (Hmmmm. He must not be that big if he's only worth pennies. Must be why he owns a "wand" shop.) "Make Someone Happy With A Galleon." (Better yet, make them ecstatic with a ton of Galleons.) "Doing It Right Before Your House Elves." (Sounds like someone's feeling pretty kinky if you ask me.) "Bridge That Gap With Goblins." (Quick! Someone tell the Quibbler that Fudge is up to his old tricks again and using Goblins as building materials.!) "Promise Her Anything, But Give Her Goblins." (Boy, there's a gift that'll keep the relationship going.) Do You Eat The Prongs Last? (Mmmmmm. Looks like it's venison for dinner.) Wormtail Keeps Going And Going. (Yeah. And I just keep reloading the gun.) From kcawte at ntlworld.com Wed Nov 26 04:38:21 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:38:21 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Childhood Christmases References: Message-ID: <000001c3b3fe$6ac07a10$a6706751@kathryn> Grannybat > Unwrappng my gifts in bed > > So this is a holiday tradition among English families? Or is it > common among the British in general? > K When I was small all my presents used to be left in a large sack with Santa pictures on it next to my bed - once I got older they would be left under the tree and we would all open them together Christmas morning. On a related note - when I was about 4 or 5 my parents bought a large inflatable Santa which they put in my room when I was asleep thinking I would be thrilled when I woke up. About 8 am the next morning they began to wonder why I wasn't up yet (whereas now they'd wait until at least lunchtime before wondering ) so they came to check on me. I was lying in bed with the covers over my head pretending to be asleep - having had it drummed into my head by frazzled parents every Christmas Eve that if you are awake when Santa arrives you don't get any presents. They used to tell people this all the time as an amusing anecdote but at the time they were guilt-ridded and I was traumatized. K From kcawte at ntlworld.com Wed Nov 26 11:05:54 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 03:05:54 -0800 Subject: Windows Media Player Tech Help Message-ID: <000c01c3b40d$43124070$a6706751@kathryn> Does anyone know how to get screen caps from a .mpeg movie file using this program? K "The Loudest Noise Comes From The Electric Minerva." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From oodaday at yahoo.co.uk Wed Nov 26 03:53:16 2003 From: oodaday at yahoo.co.uk (oodaday) Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:53:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20031126035316.12488.qmail@web25110.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> LOL! This is great fun! * Reach out and touch Mrs. Figg. * When you've got George, flaunt it. * Life's pretty straight without Dudley. * Sirius Wanted * If you like a lot of Neville on your biscuit, join our club. * Schhh... you know Hurricane Jo. And for the 4th Man kayack passengers... * Hope it's Avery, it's Avery, we hope it's Avery.... -- Dooda, always looking for more ways to waste time. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 26 08:04:18 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 08:04:18 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ladyramkin2000" wrote: > I recently in a fit of absent-mindedness, sent this post to the main > group, for which sincere apologies. The point I wanted to make was: > I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem > to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder > if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying > yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any > comments would be gratefully received. > Sylvia I was fortunate in that I caught an excellent BBC Radio 4 dramatisation, featuring Terence Stamp playing Lord Asriel at the same time as I stated reading them. This brought the books alive for me, and I have to say that although I liked them I might well have found them hard going otherwise. I'm minded to re-read shortly - its generally the re-read that determines whether a book is one of my personal "great ones" or not. If it's any help - Lyra irritated quite a lot a first, then as the story proceeded, I got to like her better. IMHO a very imaginative story - though some of the concepts are quite hard to grasp and sometimes the author does over pedal his views. June From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Wed Nov 26 09:42:45 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:42:45 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Sylvia, presumably a Pratchett fan, wrote: > I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem > to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder > if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying > yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any > comments would be gratefully received. I really enjoyed these books (but like someone else, found the last the weakest), and was hooked from the beginning, but I must say at times that was despite the style. At times it just felt like hard work: work that was justified by the reward, but work nonetheless. David From hp at plum.cream.org Wed Nov 26 11:22:23 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 11:22:23 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Windows Media Player Tech Help In-Reply-To: <000c01c3b40d$43124070$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031126110105.00941c40@plum.cream.org> At 11:05 26/11/03 , Kathryn Cawte wrote: >Does anyone know how to get screen caps from a .mpeg movie file using this >program? Simple answer: you can't. Without getting *too* technical, The way Media Player works, there is no "image buffer" from which to copy stills. (Basically, as far as the Media Player is concerned, there are no still images to catch). In order to get image captures, you need to use software which is designed with that feature in mind, and as far as I'm aware, there is no simple software designed to do ONLY that (though I've never looked hard enough and thus am open to correction on that point). What you need is a high-end media player which has the facility designed into it, or video editing software, which generally means paying for it. Personally, I use PowerDVD for still captures (which, despite its name, also plays standalone mpeg files). A trial version is available for free if you're not going to make a habit of requiring this facility: http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=28 From ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk Wed Nov 26 10:56:42 2003 From: ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk (ladyramkin2000) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 10:56:42 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: Many thanks to the people who were kind enough to reply to my post.I think my main objection was that I don't like being preached at, either pro- or anti-religion. I think I'll give it one more try, then give up gracefully. Why waste time on reading something you don't really enjoy, when there are so many books waiting to be read - not to mention re- and re- and re-reading Harry Potter and Terry Pratchett. Sylvia From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Wed Nov 26 12:30:20 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 12:30:20 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "davewitley" wrote: > This is a description - in some respects, edited highlights - of > Christmas the way my family did it when I was a child. Some of the > elements we retain in my own family. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christmasinternational would love seeing this tale, I have no doubt. > Advent [snip] > The whole thing was done with loving attention to detail, and > yet involved no special theme or anything unusual in an Advent > calendar, yet it seems beyond the reach of craft or commerce > today to produce anything like. [snip] That seems to be a common trend in Advent- and Christmas-decorations - they grow bigger and more magnificent in some ways each year, yet at the same time, they are tacky, and somehow fail to grasp the delicacy required. > Christmas Tree > > As Christian mentioned, always a real tree, though these days > not necessarily spruce in the UK as the industry has discovered > trees with better needle-holding ability. What he didn't > mention is that the trees are covered with real candles (as > well as decorations, and baskets and krammehuser full of > sweets). [snip] We tend to use not the common spruce found in the wild, but various special breeds, which have been refined with crossbreeding. A large amount of Norwegian Christmas-trees are in fact imported from Danish Christmas-tree farms. While some may still use live candles on Christmas-trees in Norway, the vast majority has gone over to electric lights, though they are shaped to resemble candles. The risk of fire is simply too great for most people's peace of mind. Mind, we still have the Christmas-tree candle-holders from my grandmother on my mother's side. Incidentally, this years Christmas-tree for Trafalgar Square in London - this being 57th year Oslo gifts a tree to London - was shipped from Oslo a couple of days ago; it is to be lit December 4th. It was shipped with DFDS Tor Line, which transports the tree without charging money for it. The tree is the annual token of thanksgiving from the citizens of Oslo to the citizens of Britain in general and London in particular, as a way of saying thanks for the support and friendship shown us during the war. > Christmas > > Christmas proper would start at 3pm with the festival of nine > lessons and carols on the radio from Kings College. Accompanied by > tea and posh biscuits (eg Bahlsen Choco Leibnitz). [snip] Last year I acquired a recording of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - it is a very beautiful service, and if I manage it, I will try to catch it on BBC this year - I believe BBC transmits it at midnight on Christmas Eve? In Norway, Christmas begins with bells tolling at 5pm, and at the same time the boys-choir "NRKs Guttekor S?lvguttene" sing Christmas carols in radio and on TV. The choir stems from two choirs - S?lvguttene (= "The silverboys") and the Boys' Choir of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, formed in 1940 and 1947 respectively, and headed by the same man - Torstein Grythe. In the 60s they were merged to form the present choir, and Grythe remained its primary conductor until last year - and still is the manager and assistant conductor of the choir today, 63 years after the founding - this actually has earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. > Ris a la mande is sweet rice pudding, cooled, mixed with whipped > cream, flavoured with vanilla. Despite that description, it's > delicious. A single almond was added, and the person who got the > almond in their portion got a small gift, the almond present. [snip] I think this is what we call riskrem in Norway, the traditional dessert for Christmas-eve dinner, served with sweet red sauce based on fruit-extracts. It is simply too rich for me, though my parents love it. Christmas-dinner in Norway falls into several categories, depending on regional and family traditions. My family holds to baked rib with medister-food (sausages and meatballs/meatpatties made from a blend of minced pork and minced beef), served with potatoes, vegetables, and thin, dark gravy. Common alternatives are fresh cod with Sandefjord-butter (a special form of butter-based suace), particularly popular on the southern coastline; and pinnekj?tt (literal translation is stick-meat), which is individual ribs of mutton boiled with sticks of birch that lend a special flavour, and served with potatoes and mashed and creamed Swedes. Some areas have a tradition for serving head of codfish as Christmas-dinner, but that is rather uncommon. Goose is ahrdly seen at all, while turkey in the recent decade has gained popularity as New Year's Eve dinner. > Christmas lunch: the great cold table (det store kolde bord, more > commonly known in English-speaking countries by its Swedish name, > the smorgasbord). [snip] Sounds very much like Christmas-lunch on Christmas Day for most Norwegian families, apart from goose, which is very uncommon in Norway. For 2nd Day the menu is dictated by what was served on Christmas Eve. If Christmas Eve saw meat, 2nd Day will see fish, and vice versa. In my family it is lutefisk which reigns supreme on 2nd Day - and which causes a temporary reversion from the silver cutlery to regular steel cutlery, as lutefisk blackens silver very quickly. > For many years we had Christmas cake, which generally lasted until > about the end of January. [snip] Would this be sweet wheat-bread, with raisins and candied fruit in the dough? > *Nisser are small gnomelike creatures with red hats and striped > jerseys associated with Christmas and, loosely, with Father > Christmas (Julemanden) in Denmark. Like Danes, they eat a lot, > particularly rice pudding. They are closely related to pre-Christian traditions - they originated as an the embodiment of the souls of the past generations who lived on a farm. They would tend animals and the farm, and generally protect and provide for the wellbeing of the farm, but only if treated well - if treated badly, they would set up all sorts of mischief as vengeance. An important part of treating them properly was to give them food - originally one would pour the richest Christmas-ale on a specific place, but in latter years this had changed to placing rich hot Christmas-porridge with lots of fat and syrup in the barn on Christmas-eve. The Christmas-porridge traditionally was not a riceporridge, but cooked on cream and sour-cream, with wheat-flour, and was very rich in itself. If one failed to do this, one really was in trouble. For instance, one tale explains how on one farm, the maid was tasked with taking out the food to the nisse. This maid, however, didn't believe in the nisse, and thought it was too bad to put such rich food out just when it was just going to be food for foxes and mice and rats, so she ate it herself. The next time she went into the barn, however, she was assailed by the nisse, and as punishment for having eaten his food, he grabbed her and danced her so hard that she died from exhaustion. One could also give the nisse items of clothing, but care should be taken not to give them new clothes - one tale tells of how one farmer was so pleased with the help the nisse gave, that he gifted him with all-new trousers of white goat-leather. Then, to his surprise, the nisse no longer did any work at the farm. When he finally met the nisse in person, he asked why. "Well, I can't make thise nice new trousers dirty, can I?" was the response. Best regards Christian Stub? From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Wed Nov 26 13:32:55 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 13:32:55 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc" wrote: > ---> > > > Christmas proper would start at 3pm with the festival of nine > > lessons and carols on the radio from Kings College. Accompanied by > > tea and posh biscuits (eg Bahlsen Choco Leibnitz). > [snip] > > Last year I acquired a recording of the Festival of Nine Lessons and > Carols - it is a very beautiful service, and if I manage it, I will > try to catch it on BBC this year - I believe BBC transmits it at > midnight on Christmas Eve? In Norway, Christmas begins with bells > tolling at 5pm, and at the same time the boys-choir "NRKs Guttekor > S?lvguttene" sing Christmas carols in radio and on TV. The choir > stems from two choirs - S?lvguttene (= "The silverboys") and the > Boys' Choir of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, formed in > 1940 and 1947 respectively, and headed by the same man - Torstein > Grythe. In the 60s they were merged to form the present choir, and > Grythe remained its primary conductor until last year - and still is > the manager and assistant conductor of the choir today, 63 years > after the founding - this actually has earned him a place in the > Guinness Book of World Records. > June: Re: the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The usual time for its transmission is sometime during the afternoon or early evening on BBC Radio 4 I think. I have found it very pleasant to listen to while chained to the kitchen sink/cooker - as I frequently spend the afternoon/early evening of Christmas Eve in order not to spend Christmas day in the same place. I'm not a religious person but I agree it's very evocative and beautiful. June From eloiseherisson at aol.com Wed Nov 26 13:35:00 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 08:35:00 EST Subject: Childhood Christmases Message-ID: <61.3859266f.2cf60604@aol.com> Christian Stub?, quoting David: >> Christmas proper would start at 3pm with the festival of nine >> lessons and carols on the radio from Kings College. Accompanied by >> tea and posh biscuits (eg Bahlsen Choco Leibnitz). >[snip] > >Last year I acquired a recording of the Festival of Nine Lessons and >Carols - it is a very beautiful service, and if I manage it, I will >try to catch it on BBC this year - I believe BBC transmits it at >midnight on Christmas Eve? As David indicated, it's broadcast live from King's at 3pm GMT on Christmas Eve. It should be available as a live broadcast on the Radio 4 website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/index.shtml In Delia Smith's Christmas recipe book, she says that part of her Christmas routine is the making of mince pies whilst listening to the service. At midnight, or rather somewhat before, there is usually a broadcast of Midnight Mass. You asked about Christmas cake. I don't know what David's was (whether Danish or British) but a traditional British Christmas cake is a very rich, dark fruit cake, well matured and preferably well libated over intervals with alcohol (whisky or brandy), covered with marzipan (almond paste) and icing. Tradiationally this is "royal icing", which is a very hard and brittle, with either piped decorations, or roughed up into a "snow scene" (the standard refuge for those who can't ice!). These days, softer, fondant icings (which you can buy ready made) are more common, I think. When I was a child, my mother would either pipe a lattice star onto the cake, decorating it with little silver balls, or else create a scene with a model Father Christmas, reindeer, etc. I think it partly depended how much time and patience she had for decorating that year! I don't do fancy things with icing, but I have a dead easy and effective way of decorating a Christmas cake. I simply mix an assortment of (carefully selected) nuts and glace fruits together into some seived, heated apricot jam (this acts as a glaze) and arrange them in a circle that I've marked out on the top of the cake. It takes moments and looks wonderful. I'm afraid I can't take credit for the idea, although I can't remember where I got it from. BTW, is there anyone else here who enjoys their Christmas cake with a bit of strong cheese (Canadian cheddar is my cheese of choice)? I think eating fruit cake with cheese is a northern habit that I picked up from my Lancastrian mother. Or perhaps it's just a family oddity (now mine alone). But one of my favourite Christmas goodies isn't British at all. I *love* panforte (although I don't think this was originally a Christmas delicacy). I just wish it wasn't double-concentrated calories! ~Eloise [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From eloiseherisson at aol.com Wed Nov 26 13:36:50 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 08:36:50 EST Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: <122.28bd07a8.2cf60672@aol.com> Sylvia: > I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem > to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder > if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying > yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any > comments would be gratefully received. I *listened* to the trilogy on tape - I used to do a lot of long school runs and having an audio book on the go stopped the natives getting too restless. I also often find it easier to get into something by listening , so I don't know if I would have persisted if I'd been reading. (I have always adored listening to stories and still remember the sense of bereavement when my parents decided I was too old to need to be read to at night) I found the first book very hard to get into. I found the way it launched straight into Lyra's universe confusing and the writing somewhat pretentious. I also didn't really warm to Lyra as a character for a long time. But as time went on, I was captivated by the world that Pullman had created and by the story that was unfolding. The trilogy has left a deep impression; it's the atmosphere and some of his characters and inventions that have stayed with me. As in HP, it's some of the adult characters whom I find the most interesting. I adore Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear, and Lee Scoresby the balloonist. I am desperately frustrated that we don't learn more about Lord Asriel (and won't say anything about his final appearance in The Amber Spyglass for fear of spoiling it, but that scene haunts me). I identify strongly with Mary Malone, the ex-nun turned research physicist. I enjoy Pullman's inventiveness - daemons, his portrayal of witches, the world of the mulefa, the ability of the subtle knife to cut portals between parallel universes. And he has a power to shock and move. This probably isn't a good forum in which to compare the deaths portrayed in his books with those in HP, but I am afraid that for me at least, Pullman wins hands down on that particular score. I am certainly looking forward to his next foray into Lyra's world - and hoping that this is not the only world in his universe that the next book visits. ~Eloise Who thinks that in reality, if Pullman wanted to find an explanation for "dark matter", all he needed to do was to look down the side of my third child's bed, where I swear he would find all the unaccounted for mass in the universe. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From kcawte at ntlworld.com Wed Nov 26 21:50:56 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 13:50:56 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Windows Media Player Tech Help References: <4.2.0.58.20031126110105.00941c40@plum.cream.org> Message-ID: <008901c3b467$62206ff0$a6706751@kathryn> > Personally, I use PowerDVD for still captures (which, despite its name, > also plays standalone mpeg files). A trial version is available for free if > you're not going to make a habit of requiring this facility: > > *bangs head on desk* I own that! I didn't know it could play .mpeg files. Well OK thanks, now I do. Thank You Kindly. K From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com Wed Nov 26 16:34:13 2003 From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:34:13 -0000 Subject: Happy Birthday, Lisa! Message-ID: *hangs up a huge pinata stuffed with candy, then hands Lisa the bat* Today's birthday honoree is Lisa. Birthday owls may be sent care of this list or directly to Lisa at: linman6868 at aol.com I hope you have a magical day today, Lisa! Happy birthday! Poppy Elf, who is birthday elfing on behalf of a vacationing Sheryll today From annemehr at yahoo.com Wed Nov 26 18:17:09 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:17:09 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <000201c3b3b3$eb5c79d0$6def79a5@Einstein> Message-ID: Iggy wrote: > Put A Tonks In Your Tank. > > (I'd rather not. She can do enough damage without Muggle artillery added > into it.) ::grin:: Okay, you're a bit young for this one -- it was a *gas* tank. It was a slogan for, um, Esso I think (Exxon nowadays) -- "Put a tiger in your tank." So, if I *could* put Tonks in my gas tank, could I change my minivan into a Porsche? (Sorry, kids, you'll just have to walk...) Annemehr From kcawte at ntlworld.com Thu Nov 27 02:38:22 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:38:22 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans References: Message-ID: <001701c3b48f$93072d70$a6706751@kathryn> OK, my results. Darn I think I'm addicted to this. Should we start Advertising Slogans Anonymous guys? He Who Thinks Snape Drinks Snape. (I'm trying very hard not to descend into the gutter) Have a Break. Have a Snape. (That's my kind of recreation) Don't Be Vague. Ask for Slytherin. (instructions for being sorted) The Future's Bright. The Future's Lucius. (*smirk*) Why Have Cotton When You Can Have Lucius? (Yeah baby) Get the Voldemort Habit. (DE recruitment campaign) The Cream of Moony. (uh, yeah, see my first comment, and then make up your own jokes) You Too Can Have A Padfoot Like Mine. (Please?) I Feel Like House Elf Tonight. (Well I guess it beats having them stuffed and mounted) Vorsprung Durch House Elf. (*speechless*) There's First Love, and There's Prongs Love. (aw) The Loudest Noise Comes From The Electric Minerva. (No, I don't know what it means, I don't know what it was for originally and I don't care. It's my new sig file) My Goodness, My Minerva! (oh yeah) What's In Your Gryffindor? (Pumpkin pasties, Every Flavour Beans and Honeydukes Chocolate usually) It Makes Your Umbridge Smack. (lol) Reach Out and Touch Hermione. (Shippers unite) Schtop! This Azkaban is not Ready Yet! (Redecoration) Azkaban - It Looks Good on You. (For Sirius in PoA) Good Dementor Has Danish Written All Over It. (it does?) K "The Loudest Noise Comes From The Electric Minerva." From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Wed Nov 26 20:01:31 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 14:01:31 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000001c3b458$16f51cb0$64ee79a5@Einstein> Iggy wrote: > Put A Tonks In Your Tank. > > (I'd rather not. She can do enough damage without Muggle artillery added > into it.) >Annemehr > >::grin:: > >Okay, you're a bit young for this one -- it was a *gas* tank.? It was >a slogan for, um, Esso I think (Exxon nowadays) --? "Put a tiger in >your tank." > Iggy here: *laugh* How young do you think I am?? I'm 33, and yes, I know what the slogan actually refers to. I was just doing a play on words... (After all, isn't that half the fun of the site in the first place? *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no Wed Nov 26 21:07:41 2003 From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:07:41 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "junediamanti" wrote: [snip] > Re: the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The usual time for > its transmission is sometime during the afternoon or early > evening on BBC Radio 4 I think. We don't have BBC Radio available where I live, but we have BBC Prime, one of the two international BBC TV-channels, and BBC Prime sent "Carols from King's" at midnight British time (1 am my time) on Christmas Eve last year, so that is what I'm going off. Best regards Christian Stub? From annemehr at yahoo.com Wed Nov 26 22:12:53 2003 From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 22:12:53 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <000001c3b458$16f51cb0$64ee79a5@Einstein> Message-ID: > Iggy wrote: > > > Put A Tonks In Your Tank. > > > > (I'd rather not. She can do enough damage without Muggle artillery > added > > into it.) > > >Annemehr > > > >::grin:: > > > >Okay, you're a bit young for this one -- it was a *gas* tank.[...] > Iggy here: > > *laugh* How young do you think I am?? > > I'm 33, and yes, I know what the slogan actually refers to. I was just > doing a play on words... (After all, isn't that half the fun of the site > in the first place? *grin*) > > > Iggy McSnurd Annemehr, smacking forehead: Okay, I lopped off about 5 years off your age... And I thought the "Tiger in your tank" slogan went out in the early '70s -- and if that's true, then you still have some memory! Isn't it cool to be born in a year that ends in a zero? Then you can never forget how old you are -- once you've had your birthday, the last digit of the year is the last digit of your age (and I swear I've used this trick at doctors' offices and stuff when they asked for my age an I blanked out on it!). Annemehr born in 1960, and showing it From zanelupin at yahoo.com Wed Nov 26 23:48:24 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 23:48:24 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <001701c3b48f$93072d70$a6706751@kathryn> Message-ID: This is too much fun! Here are some of my results: "It's that Dumbledore feeling" "The Mrs. Figg goes straight to your head" "Good to the Last Gryffindor" "Don't get mad, get Salazar Slytherin" "Mama's got the magic of Salazar Slytherin" "The curiously strong Sorting Hat" "You deserve a Bloody Baron today" "With a name like Dementor, it has to be good" "We don't make Voldemort. We make Voldemort better" "Simple impartial Aunt Marge" "Exceedingly good Portrait of Mrs. Black" "Snap! Crackle! Quirrel!" "Snape-the freshmaker" "A tough Marauder's Map to follow" "Lupin makes everything better" "Your Harry, right away" "A taste for Lupin" "Change your whole Sirius" "Little. Yellow. Different. Lupin." And my favorite: "I was a Fidelius Charm weakling" KathyK, wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating tomorrow! From erinellii at yahoo.com Thu Nov 27 00:06:26 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 00:06:26 -0000 Subject: Childhood Christmases In-Reply-To: Message-ID: "grannybat: ... something I was wondering over the weekend. On > Xmas day Harry and Ron wake to find their presents piled at the > foot of their beds. I had thought this arrangement was a boarding school practice--putting all the kids' presents under a single tree might produce some problems. But then I remembered a song from a play about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitain, "The Lion in Winter." > > I'll spend my day the lover's way > Unwrappng my gifts in bed > > So this is a holiday tradition among English families? Or is it > common among the British in general? > Grannybat Erin: Oh, dear, Grannybat. I'm American, so can't speak for the British customs, but when I read that line, I got the impression that the "gifts" mentioned weren't of the sort that came in wrapping paper and bows... unless you like to get a little playful... Erin From tammy at mauswerks.net Thu Nov 27 00:29:18 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:29:18 -0500 Subject: More advertising slogans! Message-ID: <3FC4FF0E.31486.F2064E@localhost> Okay, after the last few days, I just *HAD* to go plug in some names myself, and these are what I came up with: Feel the Remus. (Ooooh, my pleasure!) And All Because The Lady Loves Lupin. (Well, that's pretty much the plot of a book, isn't it?) Better Ingredients, Better Severus. (I can just imagine how pissy he'd get if he had substandard ingredients!) Mum's Gone to Snape. (Poor Ron, what a travesty -- Molly/Snape!) The Ultimate Sirius Machine. (Hmmm, that sounds promising . . . ) Black Really Satisfies. (VERY promising! *da-roool*) It's a Nymphadora Adventure. (What is, crossing an empty room?) Life's Pretty Straight Without Tonks. (Umm . . . okay, that works, on several levels.) Albus Tested, Mother Approved. (Would that go on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?) Dude, You're Getting a Dumbledore! (Dude, you're getting too excited about your Chocolate Frogs!) Dial Down the Minerva. (Hey, this one kinda works with that one about a loud Minerva!) Biting the Hand that Feeds McGonnagal. (This could be either a bad house elf, or a mad-cat Minerva.) The Harry is Mightier than the Sword. (Apparently, the Sorting Hat thought so!) Just for the Taste of Potter. (Actually, he's a TAD bit young for MY taste . . .) It Could Be Lucius. (Well, it could be!) The Malfoy Breakfast. (Hippogriff eggs, over easy?) Have a Break. Have a Draco. (Hrmm . . . again, just a TAD bit young for me, but still . . .) Get Neville or Get Out. (And this would be Lord Thingy's order to his DEs?) It's the Longbottom You Can See. (As opposed to the Shortbottom you can't?) Crunch All You Want. We'll Make Ron. (EEEWWW!!) The Weasley Goes Straight to your Head. (Weasley Is Our King!) You Can On a Ginny, Can Do! (Umm . . . we can WHAT on a Ginny?) Break Me Off a Piece of That Gred And Forge. (Which piece? Gred or Forge?) Only The Crumbliest Flakiest Hermione. (Hermione? Flakey?) Hope It's Granger, It's Granger, We Hope It's Granger... (Draco's motto during COS?) Can't Do It In Real Life? Do It On Luna. (BWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!) A Glass and a Half in Every Lovegood. (No WONDER she's so flakey!) Unzip a Rubeus. (AAAAAAACK!!!) It Does Exactly What It Says On The Hagrid. (Erm . . . ooooo-kaaay . . . ) Hungry? Why Wait? Grab a Tom. (*snickersnerk*) Mama's got the Magic of Riddle. (Maybe young Tom would've turned out nicer that way, though) Making the Voldemort Taste Better. (What, a sprinkle of cinnamon in the Rebirth Potion?) Sometimes You Feel Like a Dobby, Sometimes You Don't. (Couldn't have said it better myself.) *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From strophe at tds.net Thu Nov 27 01:00:40 2003 From: strophe at tds.net (malior) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:00:40 -0600 Subject: Advertising slogans In-Reply-To: <1069852784.1848.69633.m12@yahoogroups.com> References: <1069852784.1848.69633.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: > >"Every Kiss Begins with Wood." (Really?) > I will go back to lurking in a minute, but I just had to thank Richelle for posting this. I was laughing so hard, I alarmed everyone in the house. I got: Devon Knows How They Make Snape's Worst Memory So Creamy. (Oh. My. God. As they say in the fanfics...) and Gee, Your Buckbeak Smells Terrific. (Somehow, I doubt that. Perhaps "horrific.") and Bridge That Gap with Cedric. (I have now gone to a very bad mental place.) Malior -- strophe at tds.net From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 27 01:54:52 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:54:52 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <001001c3b489$764839f0$5386aec7@Einstein> >Annemehr, smacking forehead: > >Okay, I lopped off about 5 years off your age... >And I thought the "Tiger in your tank" slogan went out in the >early '70s -- and if that's true, then you still have some memory! Iggy here: Actually, I've seen that slogan as recently as a few years ago. *grin* > Annemehr >Isn't it cool to be born in a year that ends in a zero?? Then you can >never forget how old you are -- once you've had your birthday, the >last digit of the year is the last digit of your age (and I swear >I've used this trick at doctors' offices and stuff when they asked >for my age an I blanked out on it!). Iggy here: Yeah... My step-son and I have that same advantage. (He was born in 1990.) The funny part was when the medical clinic back in Santa Cruz accidentally entered my birth-date as 1907. When we found the mistake and corrected it, I gained the right to tell people that I had gotten 63 years younger in less than 5 minutes. *grin* Iggy McSnurd From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 27 02:37:26 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 20:37:26 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <001001c3b489$764839f0$5386aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: <001101c3b48f$691ae880$5386aec7@Einstein> Iggy Here: Some more slogans. Did Somebody Say Hedwig? (Who?) A Smooth-Running Pigwidgeon is a Relaxing Experience. (Well, we can at least dream of one.) For The Pigwidgeon You Don't Yet Know. (You mean the calm one who sits still?) Bread Wi' Pigwidgeon Taken Out. (Now we'll *never* get Crookshanks to eat that sandwich.) A Taste for Crookshanks. (No, he won't want it now that Pig got away.) I'm not Just the Winky, I'm a Member. (Ok. this works on *SO* many levels. Ye Gods, I love twisted slang.) Only Crookshanks Has The Answer. (Hmmm. Could he be the one destined to reveal to Harry and Neville how to rid the world of Voldemort?) Have You Forgotten How Good Winky Tastes? (I've never tasted her. I guess you'll have to go ask Dobby.) Behold the Power of Buckbeak. (Yep. He's at least half a horse. power.) Don't Forget The Krum, Mum. (Geee.. That one actually rhymes.) 8 out of 10 Owners who Expressed a Preference said Their Cats Preferred Bode. (Well. That's *one* way to get rid of the body.) It's Fleur Time. (Yes folks. It's Bill Weasley's favorite snack.) The World's Local Fleur. (Interesting. I didn't know she was franchised.) Come Fly The Friendly Moaning Myrtle. (*laugh* Now there's an interesting image.) The Incredible, Edible Wand. (Looks like a new product line for Honeydukes.) Try Voldemort. You'll Like It. (The *other* DE recruiting slogan.) I Wish I Were a Snape Weiner. (No. really. I don't.) Whenever There's a Snack Gap, Snape Fits. (This one definitely goes with the previous one. It's a big hit with the ladies. *grin*) Tonks Stays Sharp 'til The Bottom of the Glass. (Now there's a witch who can drink.) Come See the Softer Side of Tonks. (Can I? Please.?) Iggy McSnurd (Who loves that they introduced someone like Tonks in OotP. Something in me definitely says "yummy." Dunno how to day it any other way...) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 27 03:02:11 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:02:11 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <001101c3b48f$691ae880$5386aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: <001201c3b492$de30a260$5386aec7@Einstein> Iggy here: Ok, I was playing with the names, and I got all of these in a row. I think the site's server was hacked by one of the women on the list to produce these answers consistently. Normally I wouldn't send in another set so quickly, but I think the ladies here wouldn't want me to wait on this one. Iggy McSnurd Sirius, the Other White Meat. (And served by hundreds of women. Well, they*want* to serve him.) Have Sirius Your Way. (Another one for the ladies.) Hope It's Sirius, It's Sirius, We Hope It's Sirius... (The mantra of most of the ladies on this list as they open their holiday gifts.) I'm a Secret Sirius Drinker. (Another one for the ladies.) The Right Snape at the Right Time. (And the right time for most of the women here is... any time...) With A Name Like Snape, It Has To Be Good. (And yet another for the ladies...) Gotta Lotta Remus. (Good news for the ladies... again... *yeesh*) Remus - It Does a Body Good. (Well... Not *MY* body...) Fill It To The Rim With Remus. (Okay... That's it... Show's over... What's WITH that site tonight???) From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au Thu Nov 27 04:18:37 2003 From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:18:37 +1000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising slogans References: <1069852784.1848.69633.m12@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <000501c3b4a9$a8ca0370$76984cca@Monteith> Ok. ok. I got one. I got one...! "I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Snape." Nope. Not saying *anything*. Nothing *at all*... Nox From zanelupin at yahoo.com Thu Nov 27 06:37:43 2003 From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 06:37:43 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I *knew* I should have never gone to that site! It's 1:30 am and what am I doing? Playing with these slogans. Can't stop myself. Anyways, I've got some more: "Give that man a Ginny" "And all because the lady loves muggles" (it's Tom Marvolo Riddle's mother's fault. If only she hadn't fallen for Tom Sr!) "Go to work on a Fluffy" "Run for the Aragog" (Follow the Spiders?) "If only everything in life was as reliable as a Mad-Eye" "Semper Prophecy" "Mild green Grawp liquid" (::wrinkles nose in disgust::) "I want my Trelawney" (Dumbledore has Trelawney stay after Umbridge fires her) "Ask the man fromt he Knight Bus" "I'm only here for the mudblood" (Diary!Tom's original mission?) My favorite this time around: "Can you tell Stubby Boardman from Butter?" --KathyK, whose other favorite slogan is "I was a Fidelius Charm weakling." From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 27 09:36:09 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:36:09 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I call all your slogans and raise to (fanfare of trumpets) the very potentially rude: Severus-lickin good Severus, and on, and on and the unbelievably serendipitous: That's handy Harry - stick it in the Severus (for slash ficcers?) Make room for the Severus A Severus works wonders A taste for Severus Just for the taste of Severus and finally, because I've wasted quite enough time already: A different kind of company, a different kind of Severus. Incidentally - I keep getting messages when I go on that site, about experiencing high traffic and I think "Year, I know, most of the HPFGU-OT website". June From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 27 09:54:46 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:54:46 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy In-Reply-To: <122.28bd07a8.2cf60672@aol.com> Message-ID: Hi All, --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Eloise wrote: > I *listened* to the trilogy on tape - I used to do a lot of long > school runs and having an audio book on the go stopped the > natives getting too restless. I also often find it easier to get > into something by I so agree with this. It's enabled me to enjoy books (e.g. Joyce's "Ulyses", Milton's "Paradise Lost", and Eco's "Focaults Pendulum") that there is no way I'd have been able to stick with if I had been reading them. The Pullman audio books are fantastic. They are unabridged, and read by a cast including Pullman himself as narrator. Here are the links to them on Amazon (though I got mine cheap on ebay): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807281808 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807281859 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807282375 Dave mentions the BBC Radio adaptation. I didn't listen to this so I cannot really comment. Only to say that it is abridged, and they did add things (I think, but may be wrong, that they name Mrs Coulter's daemon while the books don't). If you are a BBC Radio 4 fan it's worth noting that several of the cast members in the tapes I listened to were also characters from the long running Radio 4 soap "The Archers". Here's the mapping: Alison Dowling = Mrs Coulter (HDM) = Elizabeth Pargetter (The Archers) Garrick Hagon = Lee Scoresby (HDM) = Simon Gerrard (The Archers) http://www.garrickhagon.com/ Tim Bentinck = Joachim Lorenz (HDM) = David Archer (The Archers) http://www.bentinck.net Jane Collingwood = Kirjava (HDM) = Emma Carter (The Archers) Hayward Morse = The Chaplain/Fra Pavel/Oliver Payne/Basilides (HDM) = Lester Nicholson aka Nick (The Archers) > The trilogy has left a deep impression; it's the atmosphere > and some of his characters and inventions that have stayed > with me. > I identify strongly with Mary Malone, the ex-nun turned > research physicist. Wow, yes. She is such a fantastic character. I think that's why I didn't find the third book disappointing: because there's so much of her in the book. And romance, I am a sucker for a bit of romance. I was so impressed with Dr. Mary Malone that I took up reading the I Ching on her recommendation! Those who know me will realise just how unlikely that is. > This probably isn't a good forum in which to compare the > deaths portrayed in his books with those in HP, but I am > afraid that for me at least, Pullman wins hands down on > that particular score. Sure it is. But if you do get into the Pullman books and want some discussion online there's a great forum you can try at http://www.darkmaterials.net/forum/ (as well as OTChatter, of course). That's the forum associated with http://www.bridgetothestars.net/ which is a great resource. There are some Yahoo groups too but they are too quiet to be that useful. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oxford2/ is worth note as it is where Sophie aka `Daja' posts. She's the girl who threatened to hurt a cute squirrel if he didn't finish the third book! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml? xml=/arts/2002/01/29/bopull27.xml (or try http://tinyurl.com/tvbf if that gets squidged) > I am certainly looking forward to his next foray into Lyra's > world - and hoping that this is not the only world in his > universe that the next book visits. It's out already :-) Check out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375828192 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807219967 It's a short story with some interesting additional paraphernalia (maps, pages from other books, a postcard from Mary to a friend etc). It's a great read. It was originally going to be part of "The Book of Dust" which he is writing at the moment, but he decided to release it now as a taster/teaser. They are also doing a film (same production company as LotR with Tom Stoppard writing the script), and a play: http://www.nt-online.org/?lid=6102 http://www.nt-online.org/?lid=6107 So, do persevere with the Pullman books. They are well worth it IMHO. I also realy enjoyed reading his short book "I Was A Rat" to the kids. "The White Mercedes" (called "The Butterfly Tatoo" in the USA) was another good Pullman. That's for teenagers. He certainly writes great female roles. Cheers, Dumbledad. From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 27 11:50:06 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 11:50:06 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All, --- In HPFGU-OTChatter I wrote: > Dave mentions the BBC Radio adaptation. Wrong - it was June, not Dave. Sorry. From eloiseherisson at aol.com Thu Nov 27 12:08:12 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 07:08:12 EST Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: Eloise (me) > I am certainly looking forward to his next foray into Lyra's > world - and hoping that this is not the only world in his > universe that the next book visits. Dumbledad: It's out already :-) Check out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375828192 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807219967 It's a short story with some interesting additional paraphernalia (maps, pages from other books, a postcard from Mary to a friend etc). It's a great read. It was originally going to be part of "The Book of Dust" which he is writing at the moment, but he decided to release it now as a taster/teaser. Oh, yeah. Sorry, I wasn't clear. I've got Lyra's Oxford (and am wondering about all the hidden significances I am apparently missing). I meant the next full-length novel. I presume, from the postcard and the presence of Mary's writing on the cruise programme that she will be featuring. I hope so. ~Eloise [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From koukla_es at yahoo.es Thu Nov 27 13:27:16 2003 From: koukla_es at yahoo.es (neith_seshat) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 13:27:16 -0000 Subject: Christmasy topics In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "corinthum" wrote: > GulPlum wrote: > > > Between the beginning of Advent and Christmas, there is of course > the Feast > > of St Nicholas (6th December). Our family "borrowed" a tradition > from the > > French for this feast whereby children wake up to find their shoes > filled > > with fruit and sweets. > Hey, someone else who celebrates St. Nicholas Day! I think it is also a tradition in the Netherlands, where IIRC, St. Nicholas is a Spanish bishop who gives presents to good children and brings bad ones back with him to Spain(Please correct me if I'm wrong) As a Spanish, our traditions until recent times differed from others. We celebrate January 6th,the Epiphany, when the Three Wizard Kings bring presents to children (and older people, too). Children write their letters to their favourite King, and the Royal Postmen bring them to the East, where they live. (It's really nice to see my cousins doing so). The day before, there are parades in every town or city. For instance, in my city there is a really big one with camels, horses and everything. It's wonderful for children, who get there to see it and wait for hours. Then, we go home and leave something for eat and drink for the Kings and Camels (nougat, some whisky, bread and water for the animals), and wait for presents for "good" children. If they have misbehaved, they will have coal (sweet coal) instead. Is there any other countries where this tradition is observed? Neith From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 27 13:40:38 2003 From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 13:40:38 -0000 Subject: Significances in Lyras Oxford (was Re: Philip Pullman trilogy) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi All, --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Eloise wrote: > Oh, yeah. Sorry, I wasn't clear. I've got Lyra's > Oxford (and am wondering about all the hidden > significances I am apparently missing). I meant > the next full-length novel. I presume, from the > postcard and the presence of Mary's writing on > the cruise programme that she will be featuring. > I hope so. Here are two possible significances: 1) Clarissa Coulter's book, "The Bronze Clocks of Benin", advertised on the reverse of the map, may be where she had the spyflies made. 2) Remember the cruise liner itinerary? Well, Smyrna is the former name of Izmir, a city in Turkey, a city with a large ancient tower. Maybe Smyrna/Izmir could be the name of Cittegazze in our world. Maybe the annotation is to Lyra and Will's first meeting. (The first one's mine, the second is from `humhumhum' at http://www.darkmaterials.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=21) Then there are the new characters. Pullman let slip in an interview that one of them is important in "The Book of Dust". That must be the alchemist? Cheers, Dumbledad From vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz Thu Nov 27 13:45:06 2003 From: vinnia_chrysshallie at yahoo.co.nz (=?iso-8859-1?q?Vinnia?=) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 02:45:06 +1300 (NZDT) Subject: High School in US Message-ID: <20031127134506.36229.qmail@web41207.mail.yahoo.com> Hi everyone! I'm wondering, is there much difference between public school and private school in America? Aside from the fact that you have to pay to attend private school, of course. Would there be much difference in the curriculum? Also, which school is considered good (but not snobbish) in New York area? All your input is greatly appreciated :) Vinnia http://personals.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Personals New people, new possibilities. FREE for a limited time. From fc26det at aol.com Thu Nov 27 14:00:53 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 14:00:53 -0000 Subject: Turkey Day! Message-ID: Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all gather for a feast together? Susan From witchywoman at obdb.net Thu Nov 27 14:02:28 2003 From: witchywoman at obdb.net (Tammy) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:02:28 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] High School in US References: <20031127134506.36229.qmail@web41207.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <008e01c3b4ef$17da45f0$99960144@home> Tammy says: There are a couple of blaring differences between public and private schools. Private schools have much, much, much smaller classes so they can be tutored on a more one on one basis than a public school class which can have between 30-40 students in it. Private schools students tend to be more of the richer variety than public school students. They pay an obscene amount of money sometimes for better teachers, smaller classes and a classier curriculum. I, having attended a public school find nothing wrong with public school teachers but I guess it comes down to their education petigree. You can check out a list of private schools in NY from the link below. They almost all have a link going to their own website. http://www.abacusguide.com/abacus_guide_to_NYC%20private_schools_.htm I hope this helped. Tammy (proud to have been a graduate of regents and state diplomas from a public school in NY :o) (aka Witchy Woman) Vinnia said: > Hi everyone! > > I'm wondering, is there much difference between public > school and private school in America? Aside from the > fact that you have to pay to attend private school, of > course. Would there be much difference in the > curriculum? > > Also, which school is considered good (but not > snobbish) in New York area? > > All your input is greatly appreciated :) > > > Vinnia From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Thu Nov 27 15:16:44 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:16:44 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000601c3b4f9$787d9ba0$4997aec7@Einstein> >Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans!? Wouldn't it be >wonderful if we could all gather for a feast together? >Susan Iggy here: Happy Thanksgiving from here too! The feast would be cool... (But then, we'd be away from our real families.) How about we gather at 6am and meet for breakfast and coffee tomorrow instead, and take on the crowds for our first day of holiday shopping together? (I figure... Great Mall of America in Washington DC? *grin*) Iggy McSnurd From neonsister at ameritech.net Thu Nov 27 16:17:18 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:17:18 -0000 Subject: Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: My tv's on and I'm thinking how Arthur Weasley would be fascinated by the Macy's Thanksgiving parade! You are all invited over to my house because my husband bought a turkey that's waaaaaaay too big for just two people - thirteen pounds. *gazing into the crystal ball* I foresee leftovers for many, many days... Tracy *wishing she was having Sirius, the other white meat...lol, I couldn't let that one go without a comment!* --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Potterfanme" wrote: > Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans! Wouldn't it be > wonderful if we could all gather for a feast together? > Susan From kcawte at ntlworld.com Fri Nov 28 00:45:18 2003 From: kcawte at ntlworld.com (Kathryn Cawte) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:45:18 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Advertising Slogans References: Message-ID: <008c01c3b548$ed3e6d30$a6706751@kathryn> Why is it put in Lupin's name and I get chocolate slogans? So far I've had - All Because the Lady Loves Lupin Chocolate Lupin Since 1911 and The Lighter Way to Enjoy Lupin Also There's Something Special in the Whomping Willow and Better Living through the Whomping Willow K "The Loudest Noise Comes From The Electric Minerva." From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk Thu Nov 27 17:50:33 2003 From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 17:50:33 -0000 Subject: Rules for Men Message-ID: Some of us are working while you lot enjoy a bit of holiday fun. However, here's some holiday fun I just received at work: THE RULES 1.Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella. 2.It is ok for a man to cry under the following circumstances: a. When a heroic dog dies to save its master. b. The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse. c. After wrecking your boss' car. d. One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game". e. When she is using her teeth 3.Any Man who brings a camera to a stag night may be legally killed and eaten by his mates. 4.Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend out ofjail within 12 hours. 5.If you've known a bloke for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever, unless you actually marry her. 6.Moaning about the brand of free beer in a mate's fridge is forbidden. Complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable. 7.No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your mate's birthday is strictly optional. 8.On a road trip, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest. 9.When stumbling upon other blokes watching a sporting event, you may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who's playing. 10.You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have brought her to climax. If you trap her head under the covers for the purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend. 11.It is permissible to quaff a fruity alcopop drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless supermodel...and it's free. 12.Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to kick another bloke in the nuts. 13.Unless you're in prison, never fight naked. 14.Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed. 15.If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything. 16.Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers. 17.A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must remain sober enough to fight. 18.Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both - that's just mean. 19.If you complement a bloke on his six-pack, you'd better be talking about his choice of beer. 20.Never join your girlfriend or wife in discussing a mate of yours, except if she's withholding sex pending your response. 21.Phrases that may not be uttered to another man while lifting weights: a. Yeah, Baby, Push it! b. C'mon, give me one more! Harder! c. Another set and we can hit the showers! 22.Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing:Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need. 23.Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer than you are able to have sex with her. 24.Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up if necessary. 25.The morning after you and a girl who was formerly "just a friend" have carnal drunken monkey sex, the fact that you're feeling weird and guilty is no reason not to nail her again before the discussion about what a big mistake it was. 26.It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for her to drive yours. 27.Thou shalt not buy a car in the colours of brown, pink, lime green, orange or sky blue. 28.The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets a Playstation .End of story. June From ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk Thu Nov 27 18:02:47 2003 From: ladyramkin2000 at yahoo.co.uk (ladyramkin2000) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:02:47 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: May I thank all the people who have so kindly replied to my post. In the face of such enthusiasm, I feel I must give the books another try. Thankyou, all you nice people Sylvia From fc26det at aol.com Thu Nov 27 18:34:43 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:34:43 -0000 Subject: Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: <000601c3b4f9$787d9ba0$4997aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "IggyMcSnurd" wrote: > > Iggy here: > > Happy Thanksgiving from here too! > > The feast would be cool... (But then, we'd be away from our real > families.) > > How about we gather at 6am and meet for breakfast and coffee tomorrow > instead, and take on the crowds for our first day of holiday shopping > together? (I figure... Great Mall of America in Washington DC? *grin*) > > > Iggy McSnurd Cool, though I would have to get up at around 4 am to get there at 6 am.....I think. Don't know how the people who commute from here to DC everyday do it! Susan From fc26det at aol.com Thu Nov 27 18:38:22 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:38:22 -0000 Subject: Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" wrote: > My tv's on and I'm thinking how Arthur Weasley would be fascinated by > the Macy's Thanksgiving parade! > > You are all invited over to my house because my husband bought a > turkey that's waaaaaaay too big for just two people - thirteen > pounds. *gazing into the crystal ball* I foresee leftovers for many, > many days... > > Tracy *wishing she was having Sirius, the other white meat...lol, I > couldn't let that one go without a comment!* > I was watching it also....thought there would be a Harry Potter something in it.....did I miss it? You know you can freeze some of that bird...much better a couple *weeks* later rather than every day for a couple weeks! : ) Susan....who thinks she may rather have a Lucius dessert! From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com Thu Nov 27 23:41:52 2003 From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 23:41:52 -0000 Subject: Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Susan wrote: > Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans! Wouldn't it be > wonderful if we could all gather for a feast together? It's not on Thanksgiving day, but Potter fans will be gathering at a feast to celebrate Harry's birthday on July 31, 2004 in Ottawa at the next convention! And yes, we anticipate that it will be a wonderful event! Check out the Convention Alley LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/) or the HPFGU-Convention list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Convention/) for details. ~Phyllis shamelessly promoting Convention Alley at every opportunity From dicentra at xmission.com Thu Nov 27 23:54:04 2003 From: dicentra at xmission.com (Dicentra spectabilis) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 23:54:04 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: <7a.4bafe480.2cf515da@aol.com> Message-ID: I thought I'd give some of our favorite theories a spin: 3-in-1 Protection for your SINISTER. (Sirius Isn't Nutters; Instead, Sirius Tried to do Everything Right.) 8 out of 10 Owners who Expressed a Preference said Their Cats Preferred SWEET GEORGIAN. (Snape Went Evil Expecting to Gloat, Eyes Open, Recanted Gradually, Incensed at Nefariousness) A LOLLIPOPS Is Forever. (Love of Lily Left Ire Polluting Our Poor Severus) Aaahh, BLAME SIRIUS! (Badly Led Astray, Moonlit and Excommunicated: Surely Implicating Remus Is Unjust Slander) All BB GUN, All The Time. (Bitter Bill Goes Undeniably Nefarious) FEATHERBOAS: The Other White Meat (Foaming Enthusiasts of Ambush, Torture, and Hostility, Embracing Really Bloodthirsty) Operations and Savagery) Get the SECOND FLAMINGO Habit. (Snape Eternally Covets Ogleworthy Norris' Damsel Form, Like Argus: Mrs "Inaccessible" Norris Generates Obsession!) Go Crack a FLYING HEDGEHOG. (Fearful League Yabbering "Innocent Narratives Generally Harbour Enemies, Death-eaters, Grim Henchmen or Gangsters") I'd Walk a Mile for a GIANT CUSHION. (Ginny Isn't a Naive, Trivial Child Unworthy of Securing Harry's Interest: Object Now!) I'm Cuckoo For OCELOTS. (Once-zealous Crew of Elder Listees Oddly Taken Silent) It's a Lot Less CRAB CUSTARD Than a Hover. (Classy, Rich, Ambitious, Bold: Crouch's Unsung Sexiness Tempts All Raunchy Damsels) It's the SYCOPHANTS You Can See. (Society for Yes-men, Cowards, Ostriches, Passive-aggressives, Hysterics, Abject Neurotics, and Toadying SYCOPHANTS Loves the TOAD KEEPER You Hate. (The Odious Amphibian: Death-eater Knavishly Executing Espionage, Pursuing Evil Revenge) Moms Like You Choose SAD DENIAL. (Sirius' Awful Death Didn't End Neatly: It's A Lie!) Nothing Acts Faster Than AIRSHIP FANCY. (Any Ingenious Resurrection Sirius Has Is Problematic; Fans Absolutely Need Cathartic Yielding) OWL TREAT-Lickin' Good. (Our Wizarding Leaders: The Really Ecstatic Administration Team) Promise Her Anything, But Give Her MATCHING ARMCHAIR. (Marooned at the Court Hearing, Ill-fated Neville Got a Reverse Memory Charm, Hatching Amnesia-Invoking Results) SILK SHIRTS Unscripted. (Snape Is Likeable, Kinda. Seriously Has Issues Regarding Time in School.) Super FLINT is Almost Here. (FLINT-Like Inconsistencies Nitpicked Triumphantly) Take Two Bottles into the LYCANTHROPE? (Lupin Yields Candy, A Nasty Trick; He's Really, Obviously, Perfectly Evil) The FLIRTIAC That Likes To Say Yes. (Filch's Lover Is Regretting Transformation Into A Cat) The Good GREY UNDERPANTS Kids Go For. (Ghastly Remembrances Expose Yesteryear Unhappiness; Notable, Discomforting, Example Reflecting Parental Acrimony, Neglect: Trouserless Severus) The World's Local GARBAGE SCOW. (Gibberish, Altogether Redundant Blather And Gobbledegook Everywhere! Superfluous Can(n)on Obtains Welcome) There's no Wrong Way to Eat a SILK GOWNS. (Suspiciously Insane Longbottoms, the Key's the Gum Or Wrappers Neville Saves) Too Orangey for REDHEAD ALWAYS. (Ron Equals Dumbledore: Headmaster Evades Armageddon Disguised As Legendary Wizard And Yesterday's Savior) Turn Loose The RIOT GEAR. (Ron Is Obviously a Thick Gargoyle, Especially At Relationships) We Want To Be Smiths LOON. (League Of Obsessed Nitpickers) You Deserve A KISS THIS DUCK Today. (Karkaroff Is Suspiciously Solicitous Towards His Illustrious Student, Demonstrating Unsavory Cravings for Krum) You Press the CHOP, We Do the Rest. (Cranium of Headmaster On a Platter) For more HPfGU acronyms, see Inish Alley http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?method=reportRows&tbl=13 --Dicentra From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Fri Nov 28 01:59:57 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:59:57 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Rules for Men In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <000001c3b553$5734b190$7f35d843@Einstein> Iggy here: This is missing some provisos and addendums. (And please note that anything with ">" before it was sent by June. It's easier to say that rather than attribute before every little thing on this one.) >2.It is ok for a man to cry under the following circumstances: > >???? a. When a heroic dog dies to save its master. >???? b. The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse. >???? c. After wrecking your boss' car. >???? d. One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game". >???? e. When she is using her teeth f. When it's announced that Jenna Jameson is retiring. g. When hit in the family jewels... (but not while anyone else is watching.) >4.Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend >out of jail within 12 hours. Of course, if you're a true friend, you'll be sitting on the cot next to them saying "Man, she sure didn't look like a cop, did she?" >6.Moaning about the brand of free beer in a mate's fridge is >forbidden.? Complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable. You may only say something to the effect that it's too warm, too hot, or too cold. You are never allowed to specify an actual temperature. (i.e. No saying that Bud Light is best served at 43deg Fahrenheit.) >7.No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for >another man. In fact, even remembering your mate's birthday is >strictly optional. But remembering your MATE's (notice the emphasis... we're talking your wife or girlfriend here...) is mandatory unless you enjoy sleeping outside in the doghouse... literally. >9.When stumbling upon other blokes watching a sporting event, you >may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask >who's playing. Asking *what's* being played is also forbidden. If you can't tell in the first five seconds, you're not a guy. >10.You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have brought >? her to climax. If you trap her head under the covers for the >purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend. And if you do it while he mouth is open and she's inhaling, she's your wife... >11.It is permissible to quaff a fruity alcopop drink only when you're >sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless >supermodel...and it's free. But remember, it must be a *female* supermodel. >14.Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed. And you only let them wear a thong or G-string if you can get a good laugh out of it... and photos to embarrass them with later. >16.Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as >spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the >ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers. And even then, it's advisable you check for an Adam's apple before you consider dating her. >21.Phrases that may not be uttered to another man while lifting >weights: > >???? a. Yeah, Baby, Push it! >???? b. C'mon, give me one more! Harder! >???? c. Another set and we can hit the showers! d. You're almost there! >22.Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal >footing: Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other >situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you >need. (Even then, your eyes must always stay within a vertical line directly in front of you, or a horizontal ark no lower than your natural eye level.) >28.The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for >Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets a >Playstation .End of story. The following are also acceptable: A 65 piece tool kit. Power tools. A membership to the "Keg of the Week" club. A subscription to Playboy or Maxim. 'Nuff said. Iggy McSnurd From heidilist at tandys.org Fri Nov 28 03:50:04 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:50:04 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Turkey Day! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1069991408.2AA62A9A@s5.dngr.org> > Susan wrote: > >> Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans! Wouldn't it be >> wonderful if we could all gather for a feast together? > Actually, a bunch of us are! On Sunday, a few dozen potterphiles from & visiting southern california are going for tea just north of San Diego - I'm not sure if more people can join but if you're curious, email me offlist. And in June, about 150 fans are having a few feasts, as part of a week-long *or* weekend-long event surrounding the premiere of Prisoner of Azkaban - more info at http://www.hpfantrips.com. And of course, there's the just-announced sequel to Nimbus - 2003... In Salem, in October 2005, we're expecting a thousand or so HP fans to converge, feast, learn, discuss and debate. Http://www.livejournal.com/~_witchinghour_ has more. See you at something! Heidi From mphunt at sprintmail.com Fri Nov 28 12:29:05 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:29:05 -0000 Subject: Rules for Men In-Reply-To: <000001c3b553$5734b190$7f35d843@Einstein> Message-ID: > Iggy here: > > This is missing some provisos and addendums. > > (And please note that anything with ">" before it was sent by June. > It's easier to say that rather than attribute before every little thing > on this one.) > > > >2.It is ok for a man to cry under the following circumstances: > > > >???? a. When a heroic dog dies to save its master. > >???? b. The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse. > >???? c. After wrecking your boss' car. > >???? d. One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game". > >???? e. When she is using her teeth > > f. When it's announced that Jenna Jameson is retiring. > g. When hit in the family jewels... (but not while anyone else is > watching.) > > > >4.Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend > >out of jail within 12 hours. > > Of course, if you're a true friend, you'll be sitting on the cot next to > them saying "Man, she sure didn't look like a cop, did she?" > > > >6.Moaning about the brand of free beer in a mate's fridge is > >forbidden.? Complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable. > > You may only say something to the effect that it's too warm, too hot, or > too cold. You are never allowed to specify an actual temperature. > (i.e. No saying that Bud Light is best served at 43deg Fahrenheit.) > > >7.No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for > >another man. In fact, even remembering your mate's birthday is > >strictly optional. > > But remembering your MATE's (notice the emphasis... we're talking your > wife or girlfriend here...) is mandatory unless you enjoy sleeping > outside in the doghouse... literally. > > >9.When stumbling upon other blokes watching a sporting event, you > >may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask > >who's playing. > > Asking *what's* being played is also forbidden. If you can't tell in > the first five seconds, you're not a guy. > > >10.You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have brought > >? her to climax. If you trap her head under the covers for the > >purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend. > > And if you do it while he mouth is open and she's inhaling, she's your > wife... > > > >11.It is permissible to quaff a fruity alcopop drink only when you're > >sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless > >supermodel...and it's free. > > But remember, it must be a *female* supermodel. > > > >14.Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed. > > And you only let them wear a thong or G-string if you can get a good > laugh out of it... and photos to embarrass them with later. > > > >16.Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as > >spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the > >ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers. > > And even then, it's advisable you check for an Adam's apple before you > consider dating her. > > >21.Phrases that may not be uttered to another man while lifting > >weights: > > > >???? a. Yeah, Baby, Push it! > >???? b. C'mon, give me one more! Harder! > >???? c. Another set and we can hit the showers! > > d. You're almost there! > > > >22.Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal > >footing: Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other > >situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you > >need. > > (Even then, your eyes must always stay within a vertical line directly > in front of you, or a horizontal ark no lower than your natural eye > level.) > > >28.The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for > >Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets a > >Playstation .End of story. > > The following are also acceptable: > > A 65 piece tool kit. > Power tools. > A membership to the "Keg of the Week" club. > A subscription to Playboy or Maxim. > > 'Nuff said. > > Iggy McSnurd Tcy: lol...and I didn't think anything could overpower the smells of turkey in my house....jeez - smell the testosterone! From heidilist at tandys.org Fri Nov 28 14:16:25 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 06:16:25 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] High School in US In-Reply-To: <008e01c3b4ef$17da45f0$99960144@home> References: <20031127134506.36229.qmail@web41207.mail.yahoo.com> <008e01c3b4ef$17da45f0$99960144@home> Message-ID: <1070028992.29E55726@w5.dngr.org> On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 6:02am, Tammy wrote: > > Private schools have much, much, much smaller classes so they can be > tutored > on a more one on one basis than a public school class which can have > between > 30-40 students in it. Not necessarily, on a high school level. I switched from public to prep school after 9th grade (ie for the last 3 years of high school) and went from 24 person classes, on average, to 18-20 - except photography and debate, which were much smaller. > > Private schools students tend to be more of the richer variety than > public > school students. They pay an obscene amount of money sometimes for > better > teachers, smaller classes and a classier curriculum. Actually, the private and public elementary schools in our district have per capita incomes that are similar, as approx 1/4 of the private school students are on scholarship. I also don't think, having experienced both, that the teachers are profoundly more brilliant, as teachers. But yes, the curriculum makes a difference. The junior high (ages 11-14ish) near us has a new principal, and he has dropped all music, drama and arts classes, as well as speech & debate, so the students can focus on prep for the test they must take in the end of 8th grade. He did this because he said students shouldn't be distracted from academics, but how is telling a solid B student that she can't become a talented clarinetist or violinist a positive thing? He's dessimated the curriculum, and even my husband, the pro-public school guy he is, has said that if this doesn't change in the next 6 years, our son will go to my prep school from 6th grade on, simply because this bloody, single-minded focus on the test is inapropriate for a large number of students, including our Harry. > > I, having attended a public school find nothing wrong with public > school > teachers but I guess it comes down to their education petigree. I attended public school myself, in the 70s and 80s. I'm sending my child to an excellent one in august. But it's not the same now as it was 20 or even 10 years ago, and parents should really look closely at the practises of a school, not just their test scores, before seeing if it's right for the child. Heidi > >> Hi everyone! >> >> I'm wondering, is there much difference between public >> school and private school in America? Aside from the >> fact that you have to pay to attend private school, of >> course. Would there be much difference in the >> curriculum? >> >> Also, which school is considered good (but not >> snobbish) in New York area? >> >> All your input is greatly appreciated :) >> >> >> Vinnia > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ________HPFGU______Hexquarters______Announcement_______________ > > Before posting to any HPFGU list, you MUST read the group's Admin > Files! > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/ > > Please use accurate subject headings and snip unnecessary material from > posts to which you're replying! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From louisa at mishka.fslife.co.uk Fri Nov 28 17:16:38 2003 From: louisa at mishka.fslife.co.uk (Louisa Cudahy) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 17:16:38 +0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy Message-ID: <3FC782F6.9080605@mishka.fslife.co.uk> > > >I have tried, several times, to read these books, but just cant seem >to get into them. As I know many people really love them, I wonder >if it is something in me that is resisting them. Is it worth trying >yet again, or should I just decide Pullman isn't for me. Any >comments would be gratefully received. >Sylvia > People have already given you some great thoughts on His Dark Materials (I enjoyed them but also found Pullman's anti-religious preaching a little heavy handed) but I do have one thing to add that I haven't seen mentioned yet: have you tried his Sally Lockhart books? There are four, called (I think this is in the right order) The Ruby In The Smoke, The Shadow In The North, The Tiger In The Well, and The Tin Princess. How to describe them? Sort of feminist-mystery-action-adventures set in Victorian England. If you get my drift... The Tiger In The Well is my favourite, and the first Pullman book I read. I defy any mother to read it and not want to reach into the book and do some damage to the bad guys! It drew me in, and I respond emotionally to these books in a way similar to my feelings on Harry Potter. I did not get emotionally invested in His Dark Materials (well, not much. I did care a great deal about Lee Scoresby and Iorek). Yours, Louisa From przepla at ipartner.com.pl Fri Nov 28 22:16:02 2003 From: przepla at ipartner.com.pl (Przemyslaw Plaskowicki) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 23:16:02 +0100 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Technical Problems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FC7C922.90200@ipartner.com.pl> lj_fan2000 wrote: >I have a pc, and I can't seem to uninstall something from my computer. > It is something called "Second Thought" and it seems to be generating >a lot of pop-ups and security warnings. I ran "Ad Aware" already, and >that didn't help. Targeting "Second Thought" on the desktop and >trying to uninstall it didn't work, either. > >Any bright ideas out there? > > Quick googling shows this article: http://tinyurl.com/wxhh which point out these urls: http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/2ndthoughtadware/index.phtml http://www.2nd-thought.com/uninstall.html General hint: Don't use IE for your browsing: use mozilla (www.mozilla.org) or opera (www.opera.com). You won't end up with such problems. -- Przemyslaw 'Pshemekan' Plaskowicki Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. (Edgar Allan Poe, "Eleonora") From boggles at earthlink.net Fri Nov 28 23:17:43 2003 From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 17:17:43 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] High School in US In-Reply-To: <20031127134506.36229.qmail@web41207.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20031127134506.36229.qmail@web41207.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: At 2:45 AM +1300 11/28/03, Vinnia wrote: >Hi everyone! > >I'm wondering, is there much difference between public >school and private school in America? Aside from the >fact that you have to pay to attend private school, of >course. Would there be much difference in the >curriculum? (Disclaimer: I teach at a public high school, so I'm not entirely objective on the subject.) It depends on which state the public school is in and what sort of private school it is. Many states have set curricula that every public school has to follow. Below are a few examples by state: Texas: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/index.html New York: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ls.html California: http://www.cde.ca.gov/standards/ North Carolina: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/ The state then adopts textbooks that contain, at a minimum, all the topics contained in the state curriculum. If your child is in a public school, you can be pretty well assured that your child has at least had lessons on every topic contained in your state's curriculum. (Whether they were particularly good lessons, or course, depends upon the teacher, the textbook, and the individual school; whether your child remembers anything about the topics depends upon the quality of the teaching and the effort your child put into it.) Private schools, on the other hand, are not held to the state curriculum, and thus their curricula are generally set by (a) what the faculty of the school thinks is important for the children to learn at each grade level, and (b) what the topics in the textbook chosen by the school's directors are. (These two feed into each other - if the faculty thinks genetics is important in eighth grade, the school will purchase eighth grade science textbooks that have genetics in them, and then the teachers will teach genetics in eighth grade for the next ten years until they buy new textbooks, at which point they will probably recommend textbooks with genetics because "that's what we teach in wighth grade science.") In addition, public schools are required by the No Child Sinister Buttock Act, oops, I mean the No Child Left Behind Act, to test their students in reading, writing, and mathematics at certain grade levels. Many states also test in social studies and science, either at the same grade levels or at higher ones (I think NCLB is eventually going to require the science testing as well). Many states already had pervasive testing systems; here's some information on Texas's: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/about/overview.html I'm not a fan of pervasive and constant testing, myself. It takes away from instructional time, and (especially in the middle grades) encourages administrators (who are graded pretty much solely on their school's test scores) to push teachers to overemphasis the topics covered by the test, often to the exclusion of any topics that are not covered by the test (even if they're in the state curriculum). Moreover, they're all reading tests first, and topic tests only secondarily; any student who has difficult reading is going to have difficulty passing the science, social studies, and mathematics tests, too, even if they know and understand the content in those subject areas. Private schools are not required to take the NCLB tests, and are usually not required to take the state tests, either. Thus, they don't have the pressure of "teaching to the test." On the other hand, for most private schools there are no accountability measures whatsoever - if the school is doing a very poor job of, for example, teaching 5th grade math, the only way to tell is for the kids to get to 6th grade math and not do well. Private schools are immediately responsible to the parents - they're paying for this, after all. This has positive and negative repercussions. On the one hand, a teacher who is demonstrably not very good will not last very long at a private school under the barrage of complaints from parents. On the other hand, this can also happen to a very good teacher who happens to upset a parent or a group of parents somehow - by participating in a protest, by teaching evolution in biology, by being gay, etc. Moreover, children of particularly rich parents who not only pay tuition but make donations of time or money to the school can often get away with slacking in class or behaving badly - the school is loathe to discipline them for fear of losing their parents' support. Finally, there are failure rates. A public school is under extreme pressure to have low failure rates, for several reasons. A student who is retained more than once in the lower grades often becomes disruptive simply because they're older and larger than the other students. Students who fail a grade, or several classes, in the upper grades often become discouraged and drop out instead of finishing. On the one hand, this encourages teachers to try and reach every child; on the other hand, it often means a kid can get away with slacking all year - s/he know s/he'll be promoted whether s/he actually does any work or not. Whether a private school has to worry about failure rates depends on the demand for slots at the school. A private school that has a waiting list has little reason to engage in social promotion - better to give the kid the failing grade s/he earned, let the parents leave, and take the next kid on the waiting list, who might benefit more from the experience. On the other hand, a private school that needs every student it has to stay financially sound is even less likely to keep a failing kid back a grade than a public school is. In my experience, private schools that are founded for the purpose of being preparatory schools - that is, schools designed with the intent of sending every graduate on to a good college - tend to have more rigorous curricula than the public schools. Religious private schools that are not prep schools tend to have curricula that are about the same as public schools or slightly weaker, especially at the middle grades. Private schools that are neither religious nor prep schools are unpredictable. -- - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon boggles(at)earthlink.net "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. " - Gauss, in a Letter to Bolyai, 1808. From grannybat at hotmail.com Sat Nov 29 00:00:28 2003 From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 00:00:28 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dicentra, > FEATHERBOAS: The Other White Meat I nearly splattered tea all over computer screen when I read that. *Warn me* when you post something that funny! (and how appropriate for the day after Turkeygiving) I can see a lot of these turning up as sig lines.... Grannybat From catlady at wicca.net Sat Nov 29 01:31:19 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 01:31:19 -0000 Subject: Book Praise Message-ID: READING HARRY POTTER: Critical Essays edited by Giselle Liza Anatol So far, the first of the books I bought at Nimbus 2003 that I *don't* think turned out to be a waste of money. Even tho' some of the essays are quite irritating (e.g. Julia Park's essay consists of bashing Rowling and Potter for the deep sin of being "middle-class"), enough are quite interesting. My favorite essay therein is one by Susan Hall on the absence of the rule of law in the British wizarding world, which is more of an arbitrary dictatorship. Her talk at Nimbus 2003 connected this sorry state of the wizarding world with the sorry state of the rule of law in Muggle Britain at the time, 1692, of the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. There is one essay, "Harry Potter and the Acquisition of Knowledge" by Lisa Hopkins, that I kept wanting to show to the listie, lunalovegoodrules, who invented BIC PEN and ANOTHER HARRY ... the academic noticed the same "ignorance becomes Harry's defining condition" but develops a much more mundane explanation for it. From andie at knownet.net Sat Nov 29 01:48:48 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 01:48:48 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" wrote: > READING HARRY POTTER: Critical Essays > edited by Giselle Liza Anatol > > So far, the first of the books I bought at Nimbus 2003 that I *don't* > think turned out to be a waste of money. I bought this book off of Amazon, and just received it the other day. I'm only into about the 4th essay or so, but I am enjoying it so far. I'm not looking forward to the Rowling bashing regarding women's roles in the series, but most people so far have been quite fond of JKR. :) (Being biased myself, I tend to not want to read the negative ones.) I'm also reading "The Wisdom of Harry Potter" right now, and while I've also just started reading that one as well, it also seems positive toward JKR and the morality and ethics of the Wizarding World. Has anyone read "New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5" by the Wizarding World Press' yet? (I finshed it the other day, and well, I think I need to read it again!) grindieloe :) (Andrea... who celebrates her 28th birthday today!) From fc26det at aol.com Sat Nov 29 02:00:52 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 02:00:52 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grindieloe" wrote: > Has anyone read "New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5" by the Wizarding > World Press' yet? (I finshed it the other day, and well, I think I > need to read it again!) > > grindieloe :) > (Andrea... who celebrates her 28th birthday today!) Oh Goodie!! I didn't know they had a new book out! I really enjoyed the first one. Now I have something to look forward to....Oh, and Happy Birthday! Susan From andie at knownet.net Sat Nov 29 02:08:33 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 02:08:33 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Potterfanme" > Oh Goodie!! I didn't know they had a new book out! I really enjoyed > the first one. Now I have something to look forward to....Oh, and > Happy Birthday! > > Susan Thanks for the birthday wishes :) The difference about this new book is that it only gives you clues to go on... it doesn't really tell you EXACTLY what the clues mean. It just gives you enough information to figure it out... and sometimes (in my case at least) enough to figure it out after I go back and re-read OoP again!!! :) Still, a worthy read! P)lus, you get little plastic cut-outs that can be used as bookmarks: 1)Rules of Constant Vigilance, 2)Running- Bits, and 3) HP-Sleuth Membership Card. Andrea From catlady at wicca.net Sat Nov 29 02:31:07 2003 From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 02:31:07 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" wrote: > READING HARRY POTTER: Critical Essays > edited by Giselle Liza Anatol > My favorite essay therein is one by Susan Hall which also has a footnote about the Quidditch World Cup: "The main action of Goblet of Fire probably commences in August 1994. There is no particular reason the Quidditch World Cup should take place in the same month and year as the soccer World Cup, but there are very signification (and probably deliberate) parallels between the soccer World Cup of 1994 and the Quidditch World Cup. First, and most unusually, each of England, Wales, and Scotland failed to make it to the finals in 1994, whereas both Ireland and Bulgaria, the Quidditch finalists, did appear in the soccer tournament with Hristo Stoitchkov of Bulgaria the joint highest goal scorer (Bulgaria was knocked out in the semi-finals) and wild public enthusiasm and support within Ireland for the unprecedented success of Charlton's team.(snip)" My memory isn't what it used to be ... wasn't 1994 the year that the World Cup matches were held in USA? USA was in it only because of being the host country, and won one and lost two in the first round? One of those matches must have been against Iran, because what I remember is that the men at my work, besides clustering around small televisions that a few men brought in from home, teased Cambyse Mirabedy about having to cheer for both teams. From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sat Nov 29 02:44:03 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 02:44:03 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry Message-ID: HELP!!!! Forgive the OT-ness of this post, but I'm at my wits end. The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all time high. As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood relatives. And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two sisters, just laughs at me. Any child psychologists out there (or those of you who have been through this already), willing to give out advice? I'll make you some Lasagna. and Tiramisu for dessert. write me off list at dradamsapple at yahoo.com Thanks! Anna . . .(whose beginnig to feel she needs a nice white jacket like Lockhart's in the last scene of Cos, AFTER the credits rolled . . .) From heidilist at tandys.org Sat Nov 29 05:06:46 2003 From: heidilist at tandys.org (Heidi Tandy) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 21:06:46 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Book Praise In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1070082408.A088E75@w5.dngr.org> On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 5:52pm, grindieloe wrote: > Has anyone read "New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5" by the Wizarding > World Press' yet? (I finshed it the other day, and well, I think I > need to read it again!) > Does she still think Lupin is really James? From rvotaw at i-55.com Sat Nov 29 05:37:21 2003 From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 23:37:21 -0600 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Book Praise References: Message-ID: <013301c3b63a$f9cc9ac0$c6a2cdd1@RVotaw> Catlady wrote: > READING HARRY POTTER: Critical Essays > edited by Giselle Liza Anatol > > So far, the first of the books I bought at Nimbus 2003 that I *don't* > think turned out to be a waste of money. Ooh, I don't have that one yet! I'll add it to my list. Grindieloe wrote: > Has anyone read "New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5" by the Wizarding > World Press' yet? (I finshed it the other day, and well, I think I > need to read it again!) I've ordered it, it's on the way from Amazon. Of course, I haven't finished the Unofficial Guide . .. book yet. I'm reading The Hidden Key to Harry Potter right now, which is really good. I like the way he thinks. I've also just gotten The Wisdom of Harry Potter, but I haven't read it yet. Anyone have that one? Richelle From andie at knownet.net Sat Nov 29 15:36:05 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 15:36:05 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: <013301c3b63a$f9cc9ac0$c6a2cdd1@RVotaw> Message-ID: > > > I've also just gotten The Wisdom of Harry Potter, but I haven't read it yet. > Anyone have that one? > > Richelle I have that one and am in the middle of it, but I am enjoying it. He is a true HP and JKR fan. There is a lot of focus on the morality and ethics of the WW. :) Andrea From andie at knownet.net Sat Nov 29 15:37:46 2003 From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 15:37:46 -0000 Subject: Book Praise In-Reply-To: <1070082408.A088E75@w5.dngr.org> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Heidi Tandy wrote: > > On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 5:52pm, grindieloe wrote: > > Has anyone read "New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5" by the Wizarding > > World Press' yet? (I finshed it the other day, and well, I think I > > need to read it again!) > > > Does she still think Lupin is really James? Yes, she still thinks Lupin is James, but she does admit to the mistake of not considering the "chamber pot room" to be the room that Harry didn't know the powers of yet. Andrea (who, btw, never stopped thinking that it was the chamber pot room, even after reading Ult. UnOff. Guide.) :) From tammy at mauswerks.net Sat Nov 29 16:53:45 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 11:53:45 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Technical Problems In-Reply-To: References: <3FC7C922.90200@ipartner.com.pl> Message-ID: <3FC888C9.11829.2EDF8D@localhost> On 29 Nov 2003 at 14:57, lj_fan2000 wrote: > You know, I stopped using IE some time ago, but IE is still on my > computer. Lately, pop-ups only come in on IE, even when it is not > running. Pornographic pop-ups. Should I uninstall IE completely, or > is that a very bad idea? > > LJ Ooooh, that is a VERY BAD IDEA . . . with a qualifier. Windows depends on IE being on the system (they designed it to be an integrated, integral part of the system, even though it causes problems), but Windows doesn't HAVE to depend on IE. However, simply un-installing IE will only cause more problems, like consistent crashing for no reason, or half the programs not working anymore if you can even get Windows to start. There is a wonderful pair of programs out there, though, that dis-integrate IE from the Windows operating system, so that Windows doesn't think it requires IE to be on the system, and it still runs very, very, VERY nicely. Go to http://www.litepc.com/download.html and scroll down to 'IEradicator' (it's tiny and free)if you only want to remove IE from your Windows system. If you want even more control over your Windows installation, though, you really should look into their '(*)Lite' software. 98Lite, 2000Lite, and XPLite all convert IE and several more 'required' components to optional components, and speed up Windows in many other ways. I would recommend getting the Professional versions (98Lite was the best $25 I've spent on software in YEARS), since they convert about three times as many 'required' components as the freeware versions do. I can't praise their software enough! It's like a miracle! *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From yswahl at stis.net Sat Nov 29 17:57:26 2003 From: yswahl at stis.net (samnanya) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 17:57:26 -0000 Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy - try the unabridged tapes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ladyramkin2000" wrote: > May I thank all the people who have so kindly replied to my post. In > the face of such enthusiasm, I feel I must give the books another try. > Thankyou, all you nice people > Sylvia Major addiction warning! ------------------------- Try the unabridged tapes. They are "role played" with each character played by a different actor/actress and Pullman reading the non-dialog portions. THese tapes are far superior to any other I have ever heard in any genre and will change the way you listen to audios. Samnanya From eloiseherisson at aol.com Sat Nov 29 18:16:55 2003 From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:16:55 EST Subject: Philip Pullman trilogy - try the unabridged tapes Message-ID: Samnanya: > Major addiction warning! > ------------------------- > Try the unabridged tapes. They are "role played" with each character > played by a different actor/actress and Pullman reading the non-dialog > portions. THese tapes are far superior to any other I have ever heard > in any genre and will change the way you listen to audios. I totally agree....except... did anyone else fond the music on these tapes absoulutely excruciating? It seems to be de rigeur for certain audio books to have pretty mediocre music between sections, but I really did think this was bad. ~Eloise Who's now started reading the trilogy in print and can't help but hear the narrative in Pullman's voice. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] From neilward at dircon.co.uk Sat Nov 29 20:25:54 2003 From: neilward at dircon.co.uk (Neil Ward) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:25:54 -0000 Subject: No subject Message-ID: Cross-posting from LiveJournal, here are some photographs of the Snitch sent to me last year by Amanda and Sheryll. As you'll see in these action shots, I have to keep the little bugger tied up or it would fly straight out of the window to freedom. It did get rather excited when I got the camera out - it enjoys the attention, I think. Oh, and I named it Dora. flyingfordanglia From neilward at dircon.co.uk Sat Nov 29 20:28:07 2003 From: neilward at dircon.co.uk (Neil Ward) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:28:07 -0000 Subject: Doh! No subject in my last message.. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Okay. Kill me now. Neil From saitaina at wizzards.net Sat Nov 29 20:47:34 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 12:47:34 -0800 Subject: Burn Pain Relief? References: Message-ID: <039101c3b6ba$06610620$50321c40@aoldsl.net> Anyone know how to stop a burn from hurting when you touch it? I backed into my heater and burned my upper thigh and other areas and it's killing me everytime I move my leg. Saitaina **** Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it always monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed supermodels? http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From erinellii at yahoo.com Sat Nov 29 20:51:55 2003 From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:51:55 -0000 Subject: Advertising Slogans In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grannybat84112" wrote: > Dicentra, > > > FEATHERBOAS: The Other White Meat > > I nearly splattered tea all over computer screen when I read that. > *Warn me* when you post something that funny! (and how appropriate > for the day after Turkeygiving) > > I can see a lot of these turning up as sig lines.... > > Grannybat Erin: Yes, I think I know which one I'll adopt. Look out for the third psrt of the theory, coming tommorrow or Monday! Erin "All BB GUN, All The Time" From mckosvc at bmts.com Sat Nov 29 21:05:05 2003 From: mckosvc at bmts.com (ovc88guelph) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:05:05 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > HELP!!!! > > Forgive the OT-ness of this post, but I'm at my wits end. > The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all time > high. > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood relatives. > And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two sisters, just laughs > at me. > Any child psychologists out there (or those of you who have been > through this already), willing to give out advice? > I'll make you some Lasagna. and Tiramisu for dessert. > write me off list at dradamsapple at y... > Thanks! > > Anna . . .(whose beginnig to feel she needs a nice white jacket like First, find a good solid wall, then beat your brow against it until the noise of fighting children subsides. My children are close in age (7 year old girl and 6 year old boy). We live on a farm and there are no children of their age nearby. Thus, when they are not visiting friends, or having friends visit, or in school, they have to play together. They can be both best of friends and worst of enemies. I have no magic solution to sibling rivalry (no pun intended). We do have a few strategies that we use (besides the wall) which sometimes work and sometimes don't. We have a peace stick. It is given to each one in turn to air their problem. The other child isn't allowed to talk until they have their turn with the stick. When you have the peace stick, you can't say anything negative about the other person, like "she's stupid" or "he's a liar". You can only talk about actions and how they made you feel. Of course, sometimes this means I'm training them to be first rate lawyers or politicians when they say "she's playing with dolls and making them do stupid things", "he lied about using my toys, and that makes me feel angry". They may also have future careers with Roget's, since they are not allowed to call someone "dumb" or "stupid", the words "moron", "cretin"and "mud-blood" have been added to their vocabulary! Even when the peace stick doesn't work, it does bring the volume down to one angry little voice at a time. We also have punishments for bad behaviour, which means a time out or removal of a favourite toy or other item. Lately, we have been getting the kids to think of their own punishment. This usually stops the arguing, while they try and figure out something bad enough to be accepted by me, but something they can live with. Actually, I have found their self inflicted punishments to be much more severe than any I would have chosen. My daughter chose to put away her newly purchased tea set until "spring". This punishment was picked in Sept...and I live in Canada...spring is a long, long way away! So far, they have not asked to be let off of any punishment. We adults have also found it fun to stage a concurrent mock argument. This often stops the children's argument, while they jump a the chance to use our strategies to solve our quarrel. My daughter loves to sit us and separate rooms, and run back and forth with messages. My son's eyes gleam with anticipation when he says "if you say something mean, you'll have to have a punishment, and I get to pick it!" When all else fails, including the wall, I revert back to the old standards my parents used. "Can't get along together? Fine, you go upstairs; you go downstairs". Or "If you have time and energy to waste on fighting, I have a few more useful things for you to do" which was followed by some less than desirable chore, usually outside and out of hearing range! MMcK From SnapesSlytherin at aol.com Sat Nov 29 21:27:28 2003 From: SnapesSlytherin at aol.com (SnapesSlytherin at aol.com) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 16:27:28 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Sibling rivalry Message-ID: <4385308E.3E04AA60.4B073798@aol.com> You didn't mention how old your children are. Since I'm still techincally a child myself (high school is almost over!), I can kinda give you an idea from the child POV. Are your children in different activities? I know my sister and I fight constantly because she's a jock and I'm a band fag (my words, not hers). She always puts down band/drama guild/choir and I put down softball/volleyball/basketball. There's really no way to stop that. Do you make one child go to the other's activies? My sister is bitter because she always has to go to band concerts, and I've never been to any of her games. Do you favor one child (subconsiously)? My parents let my sister get away with so much, and I fight with her about it. Do you let them do things at the same age? I always resented my brother and sister because they go to see R rated movies *way* before I was allowed (my sister was in 3rd grade when she saw Scream and my mother didn't let me when I was in 5th) and they get to stay up as late as I am and I'm older. The last thing I have to add is something you probably don't want: Do your children just hate eachother? I know, I know -- it's horrible to hate your family. But I have to say that I honestly hate my sister. You don't get to choose who you're related to. They might just not get along. I know you want them to, but sometimes it's impossible. My sister and I can only be in the same room if we're discussing HP stuff. If it's anything else, forget about it. She's calling me a stupid whore and I'm telling her she's a slut who needs to put on some clothes. Hope I could help a little. Oryomai ...my poor parents... From neonsister at ameritech.net Sat Nov 29 22:07:46 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 22:07:46 -0000 Subject: Burn Pain Relief? In-Reply-To: <039101c3b6ba$06610620$50321c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Anyone know how to stop a burn from hurting > when you touch it? I backed into my heater > and burned my upper thigh and other areas and > it's killing me everytime I move my leg. If you want to go the natural route, lavender essential oil is good for burns (but it needs to be a pure essential oil, not just something with lavender scent added). Or you could try taking an anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen, etc). If it's blistering and nasty you should probably see a doctor! Tracy From saitaina at wizzards.net Sat Nov 29 22:09:53 2003 From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 14:09:53 -0800 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Burn Pain Relief? References: Message-ID: <041c01c3b6c5$859a4b80$50321c40@aoldsl.net> Tracy wrote: Not blistering as as soon as it was burnt the skin peeled off (my heater was quite hot) so it's just an open wound w/burn) Off to find IBprofin. Saitaina **** Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it always monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed supermodels? http://www.livejournal.com/users/saitaina "No, one day I'm going to look back on all this and plow face-first into a tree because I was looking the wrong bloody way. And I'll still be having a better day than I am today." From mphunt at sprintmail.com Sat Nov 29 22:28:33 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 22:28:33 -0000 Subject: Tech Problems w/ New poll for HPFGU-OTChatter In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grannybat84112" wrote: > > Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the > > HPFGU-OTChatter group: > > > > Now that OoP has been released, which of > > these proposed revisions to existing > > "Fantastic Posts and Where To Find Them" > > would you most like to see? > > > > To vote, please visit the following web page: > > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/surveys?id=1158399 > > You know, I've tried to vote in this poll several times, and every > time this link takes me to a poll results page, not a voting choices > page. So I tried going thru the Polls category link at the left- hand > side of the screen; oddly enough, neither this poll nor the other > one --which allowed me to vote without problem-- is even listed in > the Open Polls section. > > (by the way, who's John and why does he require such rough handling?) > > I've tried voting on both my rickety home PC and my computer at work, > which has a T1 connection, so I'm reasonably certain the technical > problem isn't at my end. Has this happened to anybody else? > > Any ideas how I can get around this? I thought I should check with > other posters before I take this to the elf list. > > Grannybat Tcy here: Granny - I had similar problems (see the "Poll Vaulting" posts earlier today) and 'zanelupin' (Kathy K) offered this suggestion: "I think it has to do with the new polls already showing up as closed. I had the same problem as you when I clicked on the link. So I went to the Polls section and found it's no longer open, thus it's displaying the results only." Hopefully the authors of the poll (or Admin, or whomever) will realize the problem and fix it...either that or it was a poll with a *very* short lifespan. Tcy From mphunt at sprintmail.com Sat Nov 29 22:35:24 2003 From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 22:35:24 -0000 Subject: Burn Pain Relief? In-Reply-To: <039101c3b6ba$06610620$50321c40@aoldsl.net> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Saitaina" wrote: > Anyone know how to stop a burn from hurting > when you touch it? I backed into my heater > and burned my upper thigh and other areas and > it's killing me everytime I move my leg. > > Saitaina I've always used aloe on burns...but I don't think I've had any that serious. With an open wound...please be watchful for infection! An antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin) says for 'minor' burns, cuts, etc...not sure if yours qualifies as 'minor'. It also comes in a blend with topical pain killers and may help. Good luck. Tcy (having sypmathy pains in her ass) From senorcaco at hotmail.com Sun Nov 30 00:05:20 2003 From: senorcaco at hotmail.com (enjoiturbulence) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 00:05:20 -0000 Subject: New Story: In Nomine Message-ID: My new story, In Nomine, is up now. You can check it out at http://www.thedarkarts.org/authorLinks/Chris_D/. In Nomine is a new series of vignettes about the Guild of Michael, in their quest to fight the Dark Lord Voldemort using any means they can, utlizing methods of magic and violence to bring down the greatest foe they have seen in their millennia of combat. Part of the By the Sword- Universe, this takes place at various times before, during, and after the events of By The Sword. Please check it out and see what you think. Peace and respect, Chris D From confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com Sun Nov 30 00:08:24 2003 From: confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com (BelleDameSansMerci) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 00:08:24 -0000 Subject: Burn Pain Relief? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <> Same here...or other variations with vitamin E. It tends to moisturize well so the skin doesn't pull in the area when you move. Amber ----> the klutzy one who can't make toast without burning herself. From confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com Sun Nov 30 00:34:01 2003 From: confusedandpronetowander at hotmail.com (BelleDameSansMerci) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 00:34:01 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: <4385308E.3E04AA60.4B073798@aol.com> Message-ID: < The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all time > high. > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood relatives. > And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two sisters, just laughs > at me. > Any child psychologists out there (or those of you who have been > through this already), willing to give out advice>> Well, I am twenty-two now, but in grade school and highschool my brother and I would fight relentlessly. It got so bad that at one point a neighbour called the police because we were being so loud. We are only separated by two years, which I think is a major factor in sibling disputes. In all honesty, things only got better once I moved 6 hours away to attend university. Now, although you definitely wouldn't classify us as the best of friends, we certainly respect each other enough to stay out of one another's way. I think what made us fight even more was people trying to 'force' us to get along/do activities together, no matter how good their intentions were. When I would be angry and say "I hate my brother!", and get the response of "no you don't, you love him", it would totally infuriate me and make me want to fight with him more. To have someone totally invalidate my opinion/feelings and try to enforce what they thought a sibling relationship should be did not help the situation at all, in fact I believe it accomplished the direct opposite. Personally, I would have preferred it if my parents enforced the idea that I didn't have to like my brother (because, let's face it, I didn't), but I did have to respect him, and he me. I think it would have also helped if my parents made an effort to do things with each of us individually, rather than forcing us to be together. I would have loved it for my dad to go out of his way to do something with me by myself, and I'm sure my brother would have liked my mother to do the same. Oryomai- Once you are a bit older and out of the house, things will improve, I guarantee it. It's really hard to fight with someone you only see a handful of times in a year. Of course, you might just ignore each other when you do get together, but at least that's better than name-calling or physical fights. Amber (who decided that if she ever has children, they will be at least 10 years apart) From hp at plum.cream.org Sun Nov 30 00:55:29 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 00:55:29 +0000 Subject: The Big Read Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031130005250.00978b70@plum.cream.org> I just posted my views on tonight's show on the Leaky Cauldron comments section, but thought I'd release it to the wolves here as well... ;-) Regrettably, I missed the first 5 mins, but I felt that most of what Ripley had to say about the GoF was completely beside the point, self-evident or well, patronising. Considering that most people who would be likely to want to read HP have already read the five books to date, the detailed (yet flawed) synopsis of the GoF storyline was unneeded. The way the Big Read survey is structured (no more than a single book by any author) is unfair to the HP phenomenon and the possibility of discussing (i.e. "selling") it is hampered by the fact that, compared to the other multi-book "Books" included in the survey (LOTR, H2G2, HDM), it isn't finished, and we don't know where it's going! Not only that, but whilst "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" (also reviewed tonight) also suffered in that the "pitch" had to be limited to that one book rather than the wider Narnia chronicles, at least that was the first Narnia book published, whereas GoF is smack in the middle of the HP series! It's perfectly fine Ripley saying that "Harry is growing up", or to spend 5 minutes each on the First Task and the Yule Ball, but the Second Task was overlooked, the Third Task was summarised in a couple of sentences, and not a word was said about the changing relationship between Harry, Ron and Hermione (and not mentioning Cho Chang was, frankly, unfair) - those relationships are what show that Harry & Co are growing up, and are at the core of the book's meaning! Another thing that displeased me... I really liked Bill Oddie's review of "Wind In The Willows" (I'm not a particular fan of the book although I've read it a couple of times, and even participated in a stage version) - the thrust of his presentation was to explain why adults might be interested in this book, and what it means to him personally. There was a little of that in Ronni Ancona's presentation on LW&W (although I find it disingenuous that she failed to raise the issue of the book as religious allegory, which whatever one's views on its literary merits, is central to what it's about!), but beyond stating that the Potter books had found an adult audience, Ripley said absolutely nothing about what it might possibly be that attracts us! Frankly, I disagree entirely with Sarah's opinion - I thought the HP segment was a hugely wasted opportunity for a serious investigation of Harry's appeal to adult fans (given that we're considered something of a joke in the British media) and an exploration in a serious context of WHY JKR has turned around children's interest in books, rather than just stating as an accepted fact. Incidentally, I don't even think that GoF is the best of the HP books and it shouldn't even have been included in the top 21 (PoA wins hands down). (For those who haven't worked it out, HDM = His Dark Materials, H2G2 = Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, LW&W = The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) From dradamsapple at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 01:15:09 2003 From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 01:15:09 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: <4385308E.3E04AA60.4B073798@aol.com> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, SnapesSlytherin at a... wrote: > You didn't mention how old your children are. You know, I remembered this after I hit the send button . . . My oldest, a boy, is 13; my daughter, the middle one, is 10; and the "baby", my boy, is 6. > Are your children in different activities? It's not so much the activities than just being in the same confined space together, be it the living room or the van. > Do you favor one child (subconsiously)? Well, I try to think that I don't consciously favor one over the other but I know I probably do: my youngest. And probably because I know he's my last. His personality is also overwhelming. He's a born politician; I can see him being class president, captian of the football team, valedictorian, yada, yada, yada. SOOO different than the other two, and perhaps they see it too. But he's also the instigator. He LOVES to tease his sister, or egging his older brother on. He has always wanted to be like them; wanting to do homework and projects when they had to. But they just think he's a pain in the neck (I'll keep this G rated). The older two just don't want him around. > The last thing I have to add is something you probably don't want: Do your children just hate eachother? Well, hopefully, they are too young to truly hate each other. And I hope that that does not happen. > > Hope I could help a little. > Oryomai > ...my poor parents... Yes, us poor parents. I think that's why they invented room and board at college . . . Anna . . . From dfrankiswork at netscape.net Sun Nov 30 01:21:25 2003 From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 01:21:25 -0000 Subject: Haggis tragedy Message-ID: See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3240190.stm Rita Skeeter adds, for the benefit of Harry Potter fans intending to visit Scotland: The last hopes of American tourists to go Haggis-hunting were today dashed as the Rhann of Kutch closed his Argyllshire estate to Haggis hunting, bringing to an end a centuries-old tradition. His ghillie, making the announcement, pointed out that the Haggis hunt had increasingly been disrupting Sporran farmers, whose specially trained sheep had been put off the scent by the sight of tourists in lurid tam-o-shanters and plaid pants chasing across the glens. Erwin G. Hackenheimer III, speaking for the National Tourist Federation, said: "This is a real blow for American tourists looking for traditional Old-World food customs to participate in. The annual Morroccan gutting of the Cous-Cous Fish for its roe has always been unappetizing, the Sienese Spaghetti Pick is frankly dangerous, and El Nino has made the mass drifting of the egg sacs of the Tea Bag Shark onto the Cornish coast ever more unreliable. However, Americans can still find charming traditions in their own hemisphere. Gathering and roasting the droppings of the Blue Mountain Mocha Rabbit is a lot less disgusting than it used to be, and, provided sensible precautions are taken, digging for Rum Truffles in Barbados need not result in more than minor injury." From jenP_97 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 01:27:22 2003 From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 01:27:22 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry (watch out, very LONG!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Anna wrote: > HELP!!!! > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood > relatives. And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two > sisters, just laughs at me. Ugh, don't you hate that smug look on people's face when they think they know more than you do? I get it a lot (and I get really annoyed) when people tell me that I've got it easy, and just to wait until my two are teenagers. Whatever. ;) Anyway, take this how you will - my two are 3 1/2 years apart and not really fighting yet, so I can't speak from the parent's point of view. However, my sister and I fought constantly (and we got violent, too). I think it was made a little worse because we only had my dad around to give us attention (my mother died when I was 8 and she was almost 6). I'm the oldest, and I always resented my dad giving something to Janet when I got it. That meant that if I got to stay up until 9 when I was 13, and then my dad went around and let my little sister (who was 7) stay up that late, too, I had to wait 2 more years to do something than she did. Sure, it seems trite, and I'm sure my dad thought he was just saving himself some whining and sanity (if I hadn't been so resentful, I might do the same thing myself with my kids now), but it was NOT fair. Being oldest SUCKS! Then again, being the youngest SUCKS, too! My sister was always compared with me at school, and as I had great grades and did really well, she hated the fact that she was expected to do exactly the same. It was probably reinforced at home, though I don't personally remember any examples of my dad saying anything like, "Why aren't your grades as good as Jennifer's?" In the rare instances that I got to do something because I was older (like drive myself to the drive-in with my friends), it wasn't FAIR, just because I had the luck to be born first. And I admit it, I was horrible to her. I had 2 extra years of vocabulary and "technique" behind my torture by the time I got old enough to switch to emotional (rather than physical) abuse... I was really mean. I wish I could say that it'll get better at a certain age - but it didn't stop until I went to college. And now that we're adults, we still don't like each other much. She thinks I'm naive and sort of a bumpkin for getting married at almost-22 and having my first baby at almost-24. I think she's relationship-impaired and emotionally unavailable. There are things that might have made it better, though. I totally agree with a previous poster in that having my dad do things with us separately instead of just making us spend our time with each other would have been helpful. We might not have resorted to abuse to attract our dad's attention. Let's face it, any attention is better than none. ;) Since I was the oldest, it would have been nice if I could have had some extra "perks" along with my extra responsibilities. I mean, as a parent, I realize that it's a lot easier to deal with your second (and third, I would assume) children and their milestones. I obsessed over everything my first one did. You know, cleaning her pacifier everytime it dropped and such. The second one gets away with murder already, even though I'm trying *really* hard to make it fair. I'll probably eat my words when my kids really start getting into it in oh... 5 years. ;) And I hate to say it, but kids are just going to fight, and you're probably just not going to understand that. Since you were an only, you never had to fight for attention, and you probably remember *yearning* for someone to play with and talk to. But siblings hardly ever turn out to be your best friend. You're *forced* to live with them, you don't get to choose them like you do your friends. So until they all move away from each other and can *choose* to hang around each other, they're probably just going to fight about things. I mean, there have to be some people you just can't *stand*, right? But you probably don't have to eat dinner with them every night and share a bathroom with them and share the television every night. Unless you can't stand being around your kids... and frankly, I wouldn't blame you right now. ;) This is probably all just depressing you, so I'll stop now. ;) -Jen, overly fond of asterisks, apparently. From jenP_97 at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 01:33:19 2003 From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 01:33:19 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry (watch out, very LONG!) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jennifer Piersol" wrote: Replying to my own post here because I'm obviously math-impaired: > That meant that if I got to stay up until 9 when I was > 13, and then my dad went around and let my little sister (who was 7) > stay up that late, too, I had to wait 2 more years to do something > than she did. Um. Yeah. I subtracted 2 years from the bedtime instead of my age. DUH! Janet would have been 11 then. And I think I got to stay up until 9 earlier than 13, but I don't remember for sure. But my dad *DID* change our bedtimes at the same time when we were kids, and it really really made me mad. -Jen, with more asterisks already! From tammy at mauswerks.net Sun Nov 30 02:33:10 2003 From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:33:10 -0500 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FC91096.8362.99C719@localhost> Anna wrote: > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood > relatives. And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two > sisters, just laughs at me. As the oldest of four kids, both clustered AND spread out (I'm 38, my brother just turned 37, my sister will turn 36 just before Christmas, and my other sister just turned 31), I can assure you that not ALL sibling sets have all-out wars during their growing years. The four of us, while not always buddy-buddy, were usually at least on civil terms with eachother. When I was younger, I was closest to my brother, but as he grew older and started liking loud noises and banging things into other things, I switched my favor to my middle sister (my youngest sister was still too young to be very interesting). Before too long, though, it was clear to everyone in the family that my middle sister was NOT good at sharing a bedroom, so I was 'forced' to room with my youngest sister, who has been my best friend for decades now. I remember one absolute knock-down, drag out, barroom brawl we had as children -- the worst fight we'd ever had. I was 14 or 15 at that time, and so there was certainly the potential for quite a bit of damage. I don't remember what it was about, just that we were going at eachother in the worst way, all four of us, such that I was worried about Mom and Dad having to call for an ambulance or the police or something. At the height of the battle, some houseguests passed by the door of my bedroom, where we were having our huge fight. Of course, we hardly noticed at the time, but they brought it up at dinner that evening. One said that he had never known a family of siblings to sit quietly together and calmly discuss their differences as we had been doing that afternoon, and he was extremely impressed by our decorum and good behavior. We kids were completely shocked! Our worst behavior ever, our harshest fight, our most SHAMEFUL breach of all that our parents had taught us, and two outsiders were actually impressed by how quiet and peaceful we were being. It brought home to me the thought that each family is different, and how you are raised paints your perspective on everything for the rest of your life. It also showed me that we quite obviously had it very good, since other families apparently got along much worse than we did. Our parents did try very hard to make a point of spending one-on-one time with each of us on a regular basis, and also to keep age-related 'perks' age-related, rather than letting them slide into the realm of 'general' allowed behavior for the whole family. Our allowances (when we had them) were scaled by our age as well as our behavior and chores. Our parents tried their very best to be as fair and impartial as they could be, but they also let each one of us know how we each were special to them in specific ways. As the oldest, I held a special place the others could never share. As the only boy, my brother held a special place we girls could never know. As the youngest, my little sister held a special place the rest of us could never have. As the middle girl, my other sister got a lot of attention and praise, so that she would know she was appreciated for herself, and that her place in the family was sure and secure, and that she would never be 'just the middle child' -- a special place that the rest of us couldn't ever know. I think that went a HUGE way towards minimizing any sibling rivalry that might have caused problems otherwise. I don't know if this helps you in your situation or not, but it MIGHT help. *** Tammy tammy at mauswerks.net From neonsister at ameritech.net Sun Nov 30 02:45:39 2003 From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 02:45:39 -0000 Subject: Haggis tragedy In-Reply-To: Message-ID: rofl!!! I'm sure somebody on this list has eaten haggis. I have not - can you describe the taste? Is it comparable to the flavor/consistency of any more "common" foods? Don't tell me "it tastes like chicken", lol! If given the opportunity I'd at least try it once. Tracy *thinking "Haggis Tragedy" would be a great name for a band* --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" wrote: > See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3240190.stm From hp at plum.cream.org Sun Nov 30 03:22:02 2003 From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 03:22:02 +0000 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Haggis tragedy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031130025606.0097e6b0@plum.cream.org> At 02:45 30/11/03 , Tracy wrote: >rofl!!! > >I'm sure somebody on this list has eaten haggis. I have not - can >you describe the taste? Is it comparable to the flavor/consistency >of any more "common" foods? Don't tell me "it tastes like chicken", >lol! If given the opportunity I'd at least try it once. It tastes like.... well, I'm not quite sure what, but certainly NOT chicken! Is it perhaps the only foodstuff in that regard? And I've tasted a lot of things most people would never consider trying, and indeed, most things tasted like chicken, though usually with some kind of qualifier: crocodile: rancid chicken frog: chicken breast in a fish sauce snail: chicken in garlic sauce (admittedly, the thing about snails isn't the taste but the texture, which is unlike anything else I've ever tried) horse: chicken leg (which surprised me, as I expected it to taste more like venison) and the first time I tried snake meat, I thought I was being conned (i.e. that I had actually been given slivers of chicken) until I saw it being prepared. Given that haggis usually has a large cereal content (oats, barley), and as the meat content is minced (don't forget that it's meant to be made from sheep entrails) and is heavily spiced, the texture can be very "un-meaty". I suppose the closest thing one can compare it to would be a spicy lamb burger. Some of the haggises I've tasted have been quite revolting (due to the particular combination of herbs and spices), but some have been very, very tasty indeed. I must admit that I've never tried making one from scratch myself though... (List of recipes: http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html, and one I particularly liked: http://www2.wcoil.com/~highlndr/haggis.html) From lhuntley at fandm.edu Sun Nov 30 07:40:47 2003 From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 02:40:47 -0500 Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <83223556-2308-11D8-889F-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu> Anna: > Well, I try to think that I don't consciously favor one over the > other but I know I probably do: my youngest. And probably because I > know he's my last. His personality is also overwhelming. He's a > born politician; I can see him being class president, captian of the > football team, valedictorian, yada, yada, yada. SOOO different than > the other two, and perhaps they see it too. But he's also the > instigator. He LOVES to tease his sister, or egging his older > brother on. He has always wanted to be like them; wanting to do > homework and projects when they had to. > But they just think he's a pain in the neck (I'll keep this G rated). > The older two just don't want him around. Well, the way you've described it, if I were any of your other children, I'd hate him with a fiery passion, too! I'm going to give you advice based on my personal experience, and I don't think it would level with whatever the Ph. D.'s are saying right now, and I *know* it's going to sound counterintuitive to you, but here it is. Ignore it. Yes, I know it's pretty impossible, but if your family is anything like mine, it's the best you can do. At the very least, for the love of God, *don't* try to mediate these things. You will *always* come off as favoring one or the other, and this will make and anger/hatred/jealously that exists between your kids even greater. I know my brother and I didn't cut each other a break until my younger sister came along - nine years after my brother was born - and my mother made it an "us against her" situation. I really felt badly for my brother at this juncture, actually. He was born when I was two and a half, and therefore I don't really remember what life was like without him. Poor Jason, though. Nine years of being the Baby, and suddenly he's bumped into the role of an older sibling. I just don't understand it. Rationally, I can understand why a mother might automatically take the side of a two year old rather than a 11 year old, but what is this sentiment about "the last one"? What's so much more important about them? Aren't *all* kids equally their mother's babies? Anyway, back to the topic. Some siblings get along great, some have calm arguments, some fight bitterly. If yours are the fighting bitterly type, I really don't think there is anything you can do to stop it and several things you can do to make it worse. I mean, I'm sure the situation is much more complicated than what you've described, but don't you think your kids can sense everything you told us? What sort of pressures do you think that puts on all of them? Will the older ones feel like there's no point in striving, since you don't expect as much of them anyway? Will the younger one feel so pressured to succeed that he'll fear really trying for risk of failing anyway? I don't really know the answers to these questions, and I probably still wouldn't even if I knew every nuance of your family's situation. However, in my experience (and I will tell you right now that it is a very limited experience), trivial fighting over teasing/toys/etc. between siblings is actually much less worse than it seems to be to a parent. The bitterest feelings are often the result of parental intervention and pressures. So, I guess what all of this works up to is that, IMHO, you should just let them work it out on their own. I don't really know if it's good advice, but it's what I wish my mother would have done for me. Actually, maybe you should ask them what they think. At the very least, a heartfelt plea for peace and an earnest discussion about how you could help them get along might guilt trip them into taking their fights to a slightly lower decibel/violence rating. For a couple days, at any rate. Laura (who is never going to have children, because they seem like horribly sensitive, delicate, and complicated little monsters, and she'd probably mess them all up so spectacularly that it would take *decades* of therapy to sort them out.) From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com Sun Nov 30 15:29:50 2003 From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (IggyMcSnurd) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 09:29:50 -0600 Subject: the Eight Days of Chanukah Message-ID: <000701c3b756$cfeb9860$b686aec7@Einstein> Iggy here: At Kelley's suggestion, I am sending this in. It's a little ditty I wrote a number of years back as a Chanukah gift for a Jewish GF I had at the time. It's sung to the (shortened) tune of "the Twelve Days of Christmas." Here's just the last verse, since there's no point in writing out the lines over and over... And please forgive any spelling mistakes... I'm just a gentile who does his best... And, of course, also keep in mind that it's rather tongue in cheek and no offense is intended to anyone... Iggy McSnurd The Eight Days of Chanukah On the eighth day of Chanukah, my true love gave to me... Eight lit Menorahs, seven spinning dreidels, six yarmulkes, FIVE GOLDEN YADS, four matzo balls, three gefilte fish, two hard-bound Torahs, and a cartload of bagels and lox... From foxmoth at qnet.com Sun Nov 30 18:47:13 2003 From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:47:13 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > HELP!!!! > > Forgive the OT-ness of this post, but I'm at my wits end. > The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all time > high. > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood >relatives.And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two >sisters, just laughs at me. The first thing that has to happen is you and your DH need to be on the same page. Kids are very good at detecting these kinds of differences between their parents and exploiting them. It could take anything from a heart-to-heart talk to marriage counseling to get you two working together, but I'd start with the heart-to-heart, which means you and the DH take a few hours away from the kids to discuss this. Pippin in Dear Abby mode From golden_faile at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 20:42:22 2003 From: golden_faile at yahoo.com (golden_faile) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 20:42:22 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" wrote: > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" > wrote: > > HELP!!!! > > > > Forgive the OT-ness of this post, but I'm at my wits end. > > The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all > time > > high. > > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood > >relatives.And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two > >sisters, just laughs at me. > > Pippin is right to an extent( forgive me Pip) But I understand where you are. I was an only child. And I for sure thought that there was something wrong with my children, for all of their squabbling! There is really nothing that you can do. They are going to fight. Just make sure that you lay the guidelines (they must have some basic respect for each other... no name calling, no being physical) and let them go. Every once in awhile they will step over these boundaries, but so long as they know that this is serious and punishable, they should be okay. Then just steel yourself against the shreiks and screams because they ARE going to bicker. Hope I helped. Laila From augustinapeach at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 22:12:19 2003 From: augustinapeach at yahoo.com (augustinapeach) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 22:12:19 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" wrote: > HELP!!!! > > Forgive the OT-ness of this post, but I'm at my wits end. > The fighting between my three offspring has reached an all time > high. > As an only child, I know not of fighting amongst my blood relatives. > And I don't know what to do. My DH, who has two sisters, just laughs > at me. > Any child psychologists out there (or those of you who have been > through this already), willing to give out advice? > I'll make you some Lasagna. and Tiramisu for dessert. > write me off list at dradamsapple at y... > Thanks! > > Anna . . .(whose beginnig to feel she needs a nice white jacket like > Lockhart's in the last scene of Cos, AFTER the credits rolled . . .) AP: Give yourself a break. . . . I read somewhere that siblings fight so much because the home is a "socially acceptable" place to work out and try relationship behaviors (not to discount any of the other ideas that other people have brought up -- unfairness of perks, etc.) My 8-year-old son says mean things to his 5-year-old sister that I know he doesn't say at school (anyway, I've never had any notes from the teacher or bad conduct grades!) -- it's like he's experimenting. Other times, I'm not even sure they realize they are fighting -- they are just reacting out of habit or whatever ("you call me a name, I'll call you a worse one"). However, on Thanksgiving, they both said the other was the thing they are most thankful for. Try not to let the negative color the way you view all their interaction. Greta (who has been guilty of turning the car radio up VERY loud to drown out the sound of a pointless argument in the back seat) From fc26det at aol.com Sun Nov 30 23:32:58 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 23:32:58 -0000 Subject: the Eight Days of Chanukah In-Reply-To: <000701c3b756$cfeb9860$b686aec7@Einstein> Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "IggyMcSnurd" wrote: > Iggy here: > > The Eight Days of Chanukah > > On the eighth day of Chanukah, my true love gave to me... > Eight lit Menorahs, > seven spinning dreidels, > six yarmulkes, > FIVE GOLDEN YADS, > four matzo balls, > three gefilte fish, > two hard-bound Torahs, > and a cartload of bagels and lox.. Iggy McSnurd Forgive my ignorance but what are Golden Yads? I am familiar with the rest. Susan From fc26det at aol.com Sun Nov 30 23:48:41 2003 From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 23:48:41 -0000 Subject: Sibling rivalry In-Reply-To: Message-ID: --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "golden_faile" wrote: > > Pippin is right to an extent( forgive me Pip) But I understand > where you are. I was an only child. And I for sure thought that there > was something wrong with my children, for all of their squabbling! > There is really nothing that you can do. They are going to fight. > Just make sure that you lay the guidelines (they must have some basic > respect for each other... no name calling, no being physical) and let > them go. Every once in awhile they will step over these boundaries, > but so long as they know that this is serious and punishable, they > should be okay. Then just steel yourself against the shreiks and > screams because they ARE going to bicker. Hope I helped. > > Laila I agree with the above. My kids are two years apart. Girl is older than the boy. When they were quite small....5 and 3 they started physically fighting. One day I had enough. We lived in a two story house with a full heated basement. They used to clamp on to each other biting, scratching, kicking etc. to the point that they looked like the cartoons where the fighters are just a dust ball rolling around. I calmly grabbed each one by the scruff of their neck and carried them downstairs to the basement. I told them that this was a home for people and if they wanted to act like animals they could live in the basement. I turned around and went upstairs and shut the door. The silence was deafening! Soon I heard them talking to each other trying to figure out what to do next.(I was sitting next to the door) Soon they came running up the stairs asking to come back in. I told them they could only if they could stop the fighting. They never physically fought again. I have always told my kids that they did not have to like each other but to remember that one day when their Dad and I were gone, they would only have each other. I am very pleased to say that now that they are 18 and 16 they truly love each other. They are very close. My son is having a hard time currently since his sister has gone to college. Will they openly admit they love each other.....NO WAY!! Did they argue and bicker non stop growing up? You bet! And tattle.....my gosh if I had a nickle for every tattle I could buy Hogwarts Castle. Just remember that even though these kids are from the same parents, they are each an individual just like you and me. Susan