From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  1 12:52:02 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2003 08:52:02 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Jim!
Message-ID: <20031001125202.91293.qmail@web41114.mail.yahoo.com>

*hangs the last streamer, suspends teeny lights around
the room and runs out to get the cake*

Hey, just because I've left the room to get the food
doesn't mean you guys can go anywhere. We have a party
to get started!

Today's birthday honouree is Jim. Birthday owls can be
sent care of this list or directly to:
jferer at yahoo.com

I hope your day is filled with fun, magic and the
company of good friends.

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  1 15:50:11 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2003 15:50:11 -0000
Subject: Birthday Dirge---Happy Birthday, Jim!
In-Reply-To: <20031001125202.91293.qmail@web41114.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <blet3j+pq3s@eGroups.com>

> Today's birthday honouree is Jim. Birthday owls can be
> sent care of this list or directly to:
> jferer at y...
> Happy Birthday, Jim!

Hi, Jim! <waves streamer which matches party hat> Ditto! If you've 
never had the Birthday Dirge (SF fannish/SCA*) sung to you...well, 
you're not gonna now, either, but I'm gonna fake it as best I can 
here.

This is to the "tune" of The Volga Boatmen (Yo-oh heave ho...)
midi URL included
http://www.silverdragon.com/punkie/sounds/volgaboatmen.mid

(Thuds (stomp the floor, pound something) should be accompanied by 
full-throated trollish HUNH! grunts.)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
Doom and gloom and dark despair
People dying everywhere!
On your Birthday! (thud!)
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
May the candles on your cake
Burn like cities in your wake.
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
Burn the castle and storm the keep
Kill the women, but save the sheep
For your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
Now that you're the age you are
Your demise cannot be far
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
We love children, yes we do
Baked or broiled or in a stew
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
May your deeds with sword and axe
Equal those with sheep and yaks
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
When you've reached this age you know
That the mind is first to go
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

It's your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)
While you eat your birthday stew
We will loot the town for you,
On your Birthday! (thud!) 
Happy Birthday! (thud!)

That isn't even all of it but I am being merciful. <g> I hope you had 
a most excellent birthday!

Sandy
*Society for Creative Anachronism, members often seen at Ren Faires




From grannybat at hotmail.com  Wed Oct  1 17:00:37 2003
From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112)
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2003 17:00:37 -0000
Subject: Stephen Fry on Tonks
In-Reply-To: <blc7s7+ca3v@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blf17l+ot0n@eGroups.com>

Ali wrote:
> Fry has recently been interviewed in the Sunday Times following the 
> release of his version of OoP. This is the excerpt in which he 
> discusses Tonks' voice:-
> 
> <<<When I did the first Harry book, Jo Rowling said I'd done the 
> voices as she imagined them.  She doesn't say what accents they 
> have, but you get a sense of it from the rhythm and word order of 
> their speech. In Phoenix, I instantly thought Tonks should sound as 
> if she came from Blackburn or Rochdale in Lancashire, slightly Jane 
> Horrocks.>>>
> 
> I still can't reconcile Tonks to the accent that Fry gives her, 
> .... I also got confused as I thought 
> he was trying to speak in a Yorkshire accent! 

What accent does he use for Umbridge? All the HP recordings at my 
local library have upwards of 50 people in line to check them out, so 
I haven't had the chance to hear a word voiced by Dale or Fry. :(

Also, could you make a stab at describing the tune Fry uses when he 
sings Weasley is Our King? I get the feeling the lyrics are set to 
the music of an old nursery rhyme, but I can't put my finger on the 
exact one.

Dawn





From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct  2 01:14:53 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:14:53 -0000
Subject: A wizardy sort of day
Message-ID: <blfu6d+t0f9@eGroups.com>

At work today I was putting away some supplies that came in the 
mail.  There was a bag of tiny plastic mouthwash cups...it was 
labelled "portion cups" but at first I thought it said "POTION 
cups"!  Darn, I was hoping I might be able to brew up a "Leave Tracy 
A Really Big Tip After Your Massage" potion, heheh.

Then when I got my lunch at Panera, the carry-out bag 
had "Bewitchingly Baked" and "Charmed By Chocolate" printed on it.  
Verrrry interesting...

Tracy 




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct  2 01:31:55 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:31:55 -0000
Subject: Black dogs
Message-ID: <blfv6b+ppc6@eGroups.com>

This is semi-on-topic, though it originated on an unrelated 
discussion group I belong to.  I am involved in greyhound adoption, 
and we were talking about superstitions and folklore regarding black 
dogs (black greyhounds are often the last to be adopted; people want 
other colors).  I did some net-surfing and found a good web site on 
the subject, and thought it might be of interest to all the Sirius 
fans here.

http://tinyurl.com/pe3m

Looking down the list of names, I am glad JKR went with "Padfoot" for 
Sirius' nickname instead of "Hooter" or "Shag Dog", lol!

Tracy  
*though I bet Sirius was quite the shag dog in his day...*




From kitten_lo at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  2 04:06:16 2003
From: kitten_lo at yahoo.com (kitten_lo)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 04:06:16 -0000
Subject: Introducing The Floo Network, a dynamic new HP RPG!
Message-ID: <blg87o+8oo7@eGroups.com>

It is the trio's seventh year and there is already unrest at 
Hogwarts. On August 26, a handful of Death Eaters escaped from 
Azkaban. Around the same time, several Death Threats were made to 
many prominent wizarding families. Hysteria abound, the beginning of 
the Hogwarts school term was postponed until October 6th, so that 
wizard and witches' fears could be assuaged before sending their 
children off to school. 

Although still in its formative stages, it is our intent to make Floo 
Network an active, dynamic and exciting Harry Potter Role Playing 
Game.   We have already amassed a great group of players that are 
RPing small plots until the school term begins.  It is a game played 
on greatestjournal.com and can be found at 
http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/floonetwork.

The keys to a successful RPG seem to be active, reliable moderators, 
organisation, and structure (such as plot). At the same time, the 
game ought to be flexible enough for players to get creative with 
their characters. It is important to note, however, that this RPG is 
strictly Harry Potter and will adhere to the canon. No original 
characters will be accepted, except under special circumstances. We 
are attempting to recreate the HP world and while we are given the 
chance to tweak and have fun with it, it must still be recognizable.

This RPG will be for mature, dedicated players. Because of the 
increasing age of the characters, mature and dark themes, players 
must be of a certain age to participate. Good writing skills will be 
an absolute necessity, as well as an ethusiasm for the rpg.

For more information, visit our website here: 
http://home.comcast.net/~floonetwork.  There are plenty of characters 
still available!

-crossposted-




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct  2 07:11:46 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 07:11:46 -0000
Subject: Black dogs
In-Reply-To: <blfv6b+ppc6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blgj3i+gotn@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> This is semi-on-topic, though it originated on an unrelated 
> discussion group I belong to.  I am involved in greyhound adoption, 
> and we were talking about superstitions and folklore regarding 
black 
> dogs (black greyhounds are often the last to be adopted; people 
want 
> other colors).  I did some net-surfing and found a good web site on 
> the subject, and thought it might be of interest to all the Sirius 
> fans here.
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/pe3m
> 
> Looking down the list of names, I am glad JKR went with "Padfoot" 
for 
> Sirius' nickname instead of "Hooter" or "Shag Dog", lol!
> 
> Tracy  
> *though I bet Sirius was quite the shag dog in his day...*

You may be interested (or not - though I never let that bother me 
anyway (!)...)  to know that Winston Churchill was a sufferer of 
bouts of very debilitating depression.  He always referred to these 
episodes as "Black Dogs".

June




From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Thu Oct  2 12:03:52 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 12:03:52 -0000
Subject: Hugely, catastrophically late for the Mixer...
In-Reply-To: <BAY8-F42jkJ5OFH62h900003637@hotmail.com>
Message-ID: <blh478+r32r@eGroups.com>

Kirstini tiptoes into the empty room, seeing only some trampled 
crisps and a snoring heap of rags in the corner. She steps in a 
puddle of something sticky, and decides, as she's stuck, to air her 
own little bio...

Err, sorry chaps. I've had a hellishly busy fortnight finishing off a 
thesis, moving house and going on holiday. I'm here now, 
though...hell, I just love talking about myself.

Name:
Kirstini
Also known as:
Kirst, Stini, Teeny Elf
Age/Sex:
23/F

Birthplace/Livingplace and feelings about same:
Living in birthplace at moment as house-sitter while my mum travels 
the world. Staring at the walls of my teenage angst as though twere 
12 Grimmauld Place. It's Edinburgh, in Scotland, home of JKR (she 
lives next door to an old school-friend's parents in a mahooosive 
house, incidentally). It's all changed since the last time I was here 
and I don't like it.

Family Life:
Boyfriend of a few years, who I was living with until we moved to 
different (neighbouring) cities last week.
Flatmate who comes with own set of Le Cruset saucepans and every book 
Nigel Slater has ever written arrives tomorrow.

Personality:
Bearded lefty with access to a Gillette Venus Ladyshave.

Words friends have used to describe you:
Short. Disorganised.

Words you have used to describe you:
Petite. Sweetly scatterbrained.

Things you do when not staring at the computer:
Read avidly, drink wine with friends, live well outwith my means, 
ignore letters from the bank, buy vintage clothes that I will never 
ever wear and hang them up all over my bedroom, sing dreadfully in 
the shower, think about going on holiday, pretend to have given up 
smoking.

Comfort foods:
Scrambled eggs with cheese on wholemeal toast. Red wine (grapes are 
food).

Education/Work:
MA Hons in English and Scottish Literature. Awaiting judgement on 
Mlitt thesis, which I handed in a fortnight ago.
Currently unemployed (oh, sorry Mr Blair, I meant "jobseeker") as of 
yesterday, when my student card expired. Swithering between 
journalism, research and academia. Intending to use the time to write 
novel. Will not write novel. 

Language skills:
High school German helped along the way by some time spent living in 
Berlin a couple of years ago. Very basic Italian, French, Spanish.

Technical know-how:
Recently acquired excellent skills in Microsoft Office (thanks, 
chaps!). As yet, said skills have not increased my desirability in 
the employment market.

Favourite HP book:
PoA. Although coming round to OoP.

Favourite HP character(s):
Change continually depending on mood. Current: Lupin, Hermione, Ron, 
McGonagall, although completely in a position to understand Sirius 
because of Grimmauld Place comparisons. Hey, I'm spending my days 
spring cleaning too! It's great! Wendy and I are in firm agreement 
that Bellatrix Lestrange has the best shoes. And in my official 
position as co-Captain of the Narrative Ark and CEO of Humble 
Products Inc, I would like to state that Umbridge was a great baddy.

Favourite HP line
"Hagrid, you live in a *wooden house*"

Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?:
Watching under protest. I will be going to PoA, and I will be wearing 
a muzzle.

Into HP fanfiction?
Nope. 

Books you'd recommend to just about anyone:
I don't know if I'd recommend any books to *anyone*. My current 
favourites are:
Barbara Trapido, The Travelling Hornplayer. Alastair Grey, A History 
Maker. Donna Tarrt, The Secret History. Armistead Maupin, Maybe The 
Moon. Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (although have just 
finished a thesis on Spark and may NEVER pick this book up again). 
Willa Muir, Imagined Corners. Janice Galloway, Clara.

Favorite TV shows:
Mostly satirical. Mind has of course gone blank. Second series of 
Blackadder, and also liked The Book Group, recently. I'm *sure* there 
are others. 

Favorite Movies:
Kirstini's Cusack Collection: Grosse Point Blank and High Fidelity. 
Also Being John Malcovich, but not for reasons above. 

Favorite Musical Artists:
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Morcheeba, The White Stripes, Erykah Badu, Tom 
Waites, Goldfrapp.

One thing about your life you'd change if you could (sorry, but you
may not say "lose weight"):
Job? Money? Not to be living in mother's house? ownership of the 
original 1920s flapper dress with jet beading which the cruel, cruel 
vintage shop refuses even to put a price on? Some more shoes? Oh dear 
god. Hadn't quite realised extent of own materialism. World Peace. 
Yeah.

One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance
copy of Book 7:
I don't want an advance copy of Book Seven, because you people 
wouldn't discuss it with me on account of spoilers. Then I'd explode 
with frustration and run amock up and down the main shopping 
thouroughfare of my area screaming "INSERT SPOILER HERE". Which would 
lead to all sorts of nasty innuendos. No. It just wouldn't do.

Philosophy for an easy life:
Always have a corkscrew handy.
How you found HPfGU:
Did a huge pre-Christmas re-read, went in a strop at lack of fifth 
book and swanned off to the internet in search of fanfic. This came 
up in the search engine on my third go.

Active at other HP sites:
The Room of Requirement. And I'm not telling you where it is.
Your most rock solid Book 6 or Book 7 prediction:
Ever So Fallible Dumbledore.

Take a moment to wave to members of the fandom you have personally 
met:
<sits on hands and looks closeted>

ADD A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN AND ANSWER IT:
Do you want another coffee?
Yeah.




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct  2 17:47:35 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 17:47:35 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
Message-ID: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>

Hey,

I recently celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary, and dh and I went
out to our favorite restaurant for dinner, which is our tradition. 
The number "13" must be *really* unlucky, because although my dinner
was excellent (tortilla-crusted flounder), dh's dinner was so salty as
to be inedible.  I think the cap must have fallen off the salt shaker
as they were preparing his meal or something.  

Ugh.  I wonder if dh's meal is a bad omen?  ;-)

Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of anyone on
OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway).  <g>
 Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you think?  I
mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time.  (And to be
inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex unions.)  

Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
among those who are married for a long time.  I know my own views of
what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
that -- what does love have to do with it?  And what else is involved?

Cindy -- who doesn't wear her engagement or wedding rings anymore
because they annoy her, and they are too small now anyway




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Thu Oct  2 18:06:27 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 14:06:27 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F7C30E3.8611.12E472D@localhost>

On 2 Oct 2003 at 17:47, Cindy C. wrote:

<snip anniversary dinner>

> Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things.
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of anyone on
> OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway). <g>
> Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you think? I
> mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time. (And to be
> inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex unions.) 

Well, my husband and I passed our 18 1/2 year mark about ten days ago, so I'm happy to 
report, you're not pushing the limit.  :)

> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
> among those who are married for a long time. I know my own views of
> what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
> blushing bride. But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about that
> -- what does love have to do with it? And what else is involved?

Well, for my part, I tell my husband out loud, every day, that I love him very much.  This serves 
two purposes, of course -- first, it tells him that I love him, very much.  It also reminds me that, 
each day, I *CHOOSE* to love him.  Loving someone is an act of will as much as it is a 
chemical reaction.  I know my husband's good points and his bad points, and I know that he 
loves me, and that he chooses, every day, to love me, AND that I still turn him on -- he calls 
me sexy all the time.  I love his hands, how they labor for my sake, and how they wander so 
softly over my skin, and all the other wonderful things he does with them.  Every day, I make a 
concious choice (not that there's any question, just that I choose to do this) to love HIM, the 
whole package, good and bad, 48-year-old man and 8-year-old boy that he still is (aren't they 
all?).  Choosing each day to love him helps me let go of several things other people might see 
as obstacles to their happiness with someone.  For me, though, these facets of my husband 
are not so much obstacles to MY happiness as they are obstacles to HIS happiness, and it is 
my job and my privilege, as his wife, friend, and partner, to help him overcome them in any way 
he will allow.

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct  2 18:07:02 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 18:07:02 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blhpg6+ta2l@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote: 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest 
> marriage of anyone on OTC 

There are lots of people on the list, so I bet we get some really 
long marriages showing up. Anyway to chip in with mine, I married 
Kate on the 21st of December 1990, so it's nearly 13 years ago for 
us too. But we started walking out together some time before that, 
18th of March 1983, when I was just 17 and Kate was 18. When I see 
17 year olds now, I cannot believe that they would be capable of 
making such a momentous decision as `choosing' the love of their 
life. I guess that's me getting old and forgetting what it's like to 
be young. As Dumbledore said:

"old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young "

> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common 
> characteristic among those who are married for a 
> long time.  I know my own views of what makes a 
> good partner have changed dramatically since I was 
> a blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone 
> else thinks about that -- what does love have to do 
> with it?  And what else is involved?

I think love has loads to do with it; and shared interests, lust, 
common visions, and commitment - you both need to believe in the 
long term enough to persevere through bad patches. Not that I'm ever 
the cause of bad patches you understand ;-)

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Thu Oct  2 18:30:38 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 18:30:38 -0000
Subject: Hugely, catastrophically late for the Mixer...
In-Reply-To: <blh478+r32r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blhqse+ee3j@eGroups.com>

Kirstini wrote:

> Currently unemployed (oh, sorry Mr Blair, I meant "jobseeker") as 
of 
> yesterday, when my student card expired. 

> Recently acquired excellent skills in Microsoft Office (thanks, 
> chaps!). As yet, said skills have not increased my desirability in 
> the employment market.

Oh, bad luck!  I hope it wasn't because of the advice we dished out.

> and also liked The Book Group, recently. 

Ah, The Book Group.  I felt a vague sense of duty about that one, 
being as how I'm in HPFGU, and watched an episode.  I just couldn't 
get into it.  It was partly that, at least in that episode, the way 
the characters were behaving seemed to have very little to do with 
the fact that they were reading books together.

I don't know if this one went abroad, but... Anyone spot parallels 
to HPFGU?

David




From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Thu Oct  2 20:22:43 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 20:22:43 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <3F7C30E3.8611.12E472D@localhost>
Message-ID: <bli1ej+rjbl@eGroups.com>

Everything, apparently.... (and I happen to agree)

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy Rizzo" <tammy at m...> 
wrote:
> Well, for my part, I tell my husband out loud, every day, that I 
love him very much.  This serves two purposes, of course -- first, it 
tells him that I love him, very much.  It also reminds me that, each 
day, I *CHOOSE* to love him.  Loving someone is an act of will as 
much as it is a chemical reaction.  I know my husband's good points 
and his bad points, and I know that he loves me, and that he chooses, 
every day, to love me, AND that I still turn him on -- he calls me 
sexy all the time.  I love his hands, how they labor for my sake, and 
how they wander so softly over my skin, and all the other wonderful 
things he does with them.  Every day, I make a concious choice (not 
that there's any question, just that I choose to do this) to love 
HIM, the whole package, good and bad, 48-year-old man and 8-year-old 
boy that he still is (aren't they all?).  Choosing each day to love 
him helps me let go of several things other people might see as 
obstacles to their happiness with someone.  For me, though, these 
facets of my husband are not so much obstacles to MY happiness as 
they are obstacles to HIS happiness, and it is my job and my 
privilege, as his wife, friend, and partner, to help him overcome 
them in any way he will allow.
> 
> ***
> Tammy

now Shirley:
WOW!  That was wonderful!  Substitute 52-year-old, and you could be 
describing *my* husband of almost 1 year (on October 19th :-) ).  
And, having been in a not-wonderful (enough said) first marriage, I 
*truly* value what I have with this man.  Too bad he's out of town 
until tomorrow, or I'd go home and smother him with kisses tonight!

Thank you for that great testimonial....

Shirley




From eloiseherisson at aol.com  Thu Oct  2 20:42:57 2003
From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 16:42:57 EDT
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
Message-ID: <1cb.11d9cfc6.2cade7d1@aol.com>

Cindy:

>Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
>First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of anyone on
>OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway). <g>
>Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you think? I
>mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time. (And to be
>inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex unions.) 

Well, I've been beaten by Tammy, in two senses, in that I was interrupted in 
the compostition of my original reply by dh's arrival (and son subsequently 
deleting it accidentally by switching screen names - I couldn't save it quickly 
as I couldn't remember where I had the OTC address stored in my address book) 
and in that she's just trumped the 18 years we celebrated on the 21st.

Well, we *would* have celebrated it if I hadn't been going to Italy without 
him. But it was OK: I bought my own present (a pair of lovely silver bracelets 
of which he thoroughly approves) and we've been making up for, err, lost time 
since my return.

>Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
>among those who are married for a long time. I know my own views of
>what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
>blushing bride. But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
>that -- what does love have to do with it? And what else is involved?

Persistence? Forbearance?...;-)

Seriously, I don't think a good or long-lasting marriage *does* need love of 
the dramatic kind (note the qualification). And despite my winking emoticon 
above, I seriously do think that persistence in the face of difficulties and 
forbearance of one's partner's more irritating traits are significant. It needs 
commitment, a belief in the relationship, awareness of how much one's partner 
is commited and gives.

I know that *I've* been difficult. I know that my husband often finds me 
difficult. I know that in many ways I'm not his ideal. And I guess that's the 
biggest reason I love him. The fact that this other person loves me, has decided 
to share his life and his income (I won't say possessions, because most of the 
posessions around here are mine or the children's and he could manage very 
well without them!) with me, no matter how stressy I get, the fact that no matter 
how much I may grouch that he doesn't understand me (well, he *is* a man) he 
is ultimately there for me, the fact that he misses me so much when he's away 
on business as he frequently is (maybe that's one of the secrets!), the fact 
that he has given me children, the fact that at the grand old age of.....well, 
never you mind.....he still finds me, err, desirable....

I have to tell you that we, or at least I, have gone through bad patches. 
There was a point, quite a long point, when I longed to walk out. But I didn't. 
And I'm glad I didn't. I can't claim that I work at this relationship as much 
as I should, but I am profoundly grateful for it. I cannot believe that this 
man has remained committed to me for so long. It's a small miracle and out of 
that, love grows, a love perhaps more meaningful than the fireworks of "being in 
love". It is sometimes a case of *deciding* to be committed to a 
relationship; there has to be something there when the feel-good factor fails.


>Cindy -- who doesn't wear her engagement or wedding rings anymore
>because they annoy her, and they are too small now anyway

Well, I have always taken mine off at night. I bought a new wedding ring a 
year or so ago, having grown out of my old one (which I never liked, so it was a 
good excuse) but having lost weight, I guess it would probably fit now. I 
wear my engagement ring on the wrong hand as I have another ring (a birthday 
present) which goes better with my wedding ring. But I wouldn't not wear them. 
That's part of our relationship, too (even though my husband never wanted to wear 
a wedding ring): it would seem like I was rejecting him or denying our 
relationship if I didn't wear them.    At one point, I wasn't wearing my engagement 
ring and he definitely noticed. It mattered, even though the ring I wore on my 
engagement finger was also from him.

I'm also superstitious about them. It's my only superstition, but I was once 
burgled on the only day that I had worn my rings to work (I was in health 
care, so I didn't normally wear rings with stones to work). So the only reason I 
still have my engagement ring and my grandmother's engagement ring is that by a 
fluke I wore them to work instead of leaving them at home. Ironically, I no 
longer wear my grandmother's ring (it's too fragile, apart from anything else), 
but I always fear that if I leave my others at home, I will lose them.

~Eloise
Off to appreciate her husband some more ;-)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct  2 21:07:13 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 16:07:13 -0500
Subject: Book Titles
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE97F1@djmail.deckerjones.com>

I subscribe to all Harry Potter news that comes accross Google and today
there was something very intersting.  
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/09/04/npott04.
xml&sSheet=/arts/2003/09/28/bomain.html
 
Presumably trademarks for the titles of the next 2 books have been
filed.  What do you all think??  I"m torn, I don't want to believe
anything until I hear JKR say it herself, but yet maybe the next book is
not too far behind. 
 
Tonya


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From foxmoth at qnet.com  Thu Oct  2 21:55:23 2003
From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 21:55:23 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bli6sb+vasd@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
his latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of 
anyone on OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being 
married, anyway).  <g>
>  Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you think?
 I
> mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time.  (And to be
> inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex 
unions.)  
> 

You've only just begun <g> The DH and I have been married 27 
years and counting.  I don't know what we have in common with 
other longterm marrieds, except being really, really committed to 
the relationship. Whatever it brings us, we both feel we belong 
together. And we tell each other that a lot.

Get your rings resized if you like them, I did.

Pippin
feeling soppy





From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Thu Oct  2 22:29:27 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 22:29:27 -0000
Subject: Hugely, catastrophically late for the Mixer...
In-Reply-To: <blhqse+ee3j@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bli8s7+pnqv@eGroups.com>

I wrote: 
>>>Currently unemployed <snip> Recently acquired excellent skills in 
Microsoft Office (thanks,chaps!). As yet, said skills have not 
increased my desirability in the employment market.>>>

Dave wrote (very sweetly):
>>Oh, bad luck!  I hope it wasn't because of the advice we dished 
out.>>

No, not at all. I am now, because of pesky second 
degree, "overqualified" to be a glorified receptionist. And these 
grapes taste just fine, thanks. 
;)

Dave also wrote:
>>Ah, The Book Group.  I felt a vague sense of duty about that one, 
being as how I'm in HPFGU, and watched an episode.  I just couldn't 
get into it.  It was partly that, at least in that episode, the way 
the characters were behaving seemed to have very little to do with 
the fact that they were reading books together.
I don't know if this one went abroad, but... Anyone spot parallels to 
HPFGU?>>

I wonder if one requires intimate knowledge of the Glaswegian accent 
to enjoy The Book Group. As for parallels to HPfGU, as I recall, the 
characters featured included: one neurotic American 
immigrant/frustrated writer, her sister, a rather more sadistic 
American who slept with people, one post-graduate student writing 
about literature whilst not smacked out of his face (that's a medical 
term, by the way), one bearded artist with social problems, one 
former football casual now sleeping with the team captain, the wife 
of said captain,who was also a professional drama queen and farming 
correspondant for Scottish Television, two gorgeous, sex-crazed 
Scandinavians, and the Scot's Porridge Oats Man in a wheelchair, all 
of whom spent six episodes a series in and out of each other's beds. 
Parallels? Ooh, I feel a new Lifestyle Poll coming on...

Actually, each episode was loosely based around the plot of the book 
they were supposed to be reading that week, and the meetings became 
less discussion groups, and more forums for them to shout at each 
other about the sex had in the previous six days. Perhaps we could 
use this idea to redirect interest to the Chapter Discussions?

Kirstini





From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Thu Oct  2 22:38:12 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 22:38:12 -0000
Subject: Black dogs
In-Reply-To: <blfv6b+ppc6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bli9ck+l95b@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> This is semi-on-topic, though it originated on an unrelated 
> discussion group I belong to.  I am involved in greyhound adoption, 
> and we were talking about superstitions and folklore regarding 
black 
> dogs

See my previous post on the assassination of President William 
McKinley

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/14324

  - CMC




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct  2 23:38:39 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 23:38:39 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blictv+sh90@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
>> 
> Ugh.  I wonder if dh's meal is a bad omen?  ;-)
> 


Jen:  I know I'm going to feel silly for asking, but what does dh 
mean?
The only thing I could think of was "designated husband" which sounds 
a *tad* unromantic, huh?

You always think of such interesting things to start a conversation, 
Cindy! And 13 years sounds like a looooong time to me. We've only 
been married 8 years and love has a lot, but not all, to do with it. 

You'd think in a mere 8 years we wouldn't have experienced much 
hardship yet, but no. So far together we've been through 3 periods of 
forced unemployment for various reasons, three moves, and yes, three 
deaths of close family members (you see we both feel a certain 
trepidation about the # 3). Some people might even say we're a jinx 
together....hmmm, I just thought of that. 

But back to my point: in our particular marriage, I'd say we've both 
developed a *very* good sense of humor that keeps us going. Oh, and 
various escape mechanisms, like HPFGU of course :). And currently we 
are experiencing brighter days indeed, which proves the "darkest hour 
before dawn" adage!

So, love is the glue and all that, but laughter is the best balm when 
love is stretched to its limits (says this chick)--Jen






From erinellii at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 00:48:28 2003
From: erinellii at yahoo.com (erinellii)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 00:48:28 -0000
Subject: Texas Quidditch
In-Reply-To: <blcd97+g54v@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blih0s+h49c@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" 
<shirley2allie at h...> wrote:
> Shirley wrote:
> > >
> > >I wonder if the Seeker is a Longhorn or an
> > >Aggie.
> 
> Jennifer Boggess Ramon wrote: 
> > I was just miffed that there was no mention at all of the most 
> > obvious wizarding school in Texas.  You know, the one with the 
> *owls* 
> > all over it, the alchemical symbols all over the chemistry 
> building, 
> > the alchemical circle set into the pavement behind the 
biochemistry 
> > building, and the Elder Signs on the entrance arch.  Not to 
mention 
> > all the ghosts, including the founder . . .
> > 
> > Ah, well.
> 
> Shirley again:
> You know, I've never actually been to the Rice campus, so I 
wouldn't 
> have thought of that.  Maybe the Seeker doesn't get to travel that 
> far....?


This is probably just the kind of info the seeker is looking for.  
Maybe we should email and tell him?

Erin





From linlou43 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 00:56:56 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 00:56:56 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blihgo+7rcr@eGroups.com>


Cindy wrote:

> Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of 
anyone on
> OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway).  
<g>
>  Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you 
think?  I
> mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time.  (And to be
> inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex unions.)  


     I've been institutionalized for 13 1/2 years myself. ;) Seems I 
have a lot less than some others that have already replied but 
sometimes it seems like forever. I can't even imagine living without 
him though, and the time seems to have flown by.


> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
> among those who are married for a long time.  I know my own views 
of
> what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
> blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
> that -- what does love have to do with it?  And what else is 
involved?


      We have had some really rough times. In our case it wasn't me 
who thought they wanted out, but hubby. We got by that though. Tough 
times breed strong relationships. If I had to pick an overriding 
characteristic (besides love- I consider that a given for it to work)
that is of paramount importance for a LTR, I would say that you need 
to be willing to fight for it. Every time I see one of those 
celebrity divorces three months after the wedding, I can't help but 
wonder why they got married in the first place if they weren't 
willing to do the work. That is not to say hard times are a 
requirement for a good relationship, but I think you all will get my 
point.

    linlou, who is going to stop here before she gets carried away

         




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Fri Oct  3 01:14:35 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 21:14:35 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blictv+sh90@eGroups.com>
References: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F7C953B.28015.124B039@localhost>

On 2 Oct 2003 at 23:38, Jen Reese wrote:

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...>
> wrote: >> > Ugh. I wonder if dh's meal is a bad omen? ;-) > 
> 
> 
> Jen: I know I'm going to feel silly for asking, but what does dh mean?
> The only thing I could think of was "designated husband" which sounds
> a *tad* unromantic, huh?

Well, see, 'DH' is a wonderfully vague term, *usually* used to mean 'dear hubby', or 'darling 
husband', but often also applied to 'darn husband' and various versions of the same.  It all 
depends on the woman's mood of the moment.  :)

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 01:22:09 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 01:22:09 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blihgo+7rcr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blij01+i71o@eGroups.com>

linlou wrote:
> Every time I see one of those celebrity divorces three months after 
> the wedding, I can't help but wonder why they got married in the 
> first place if they weren't willing to do the work. That is not to 
> say hard times are a requirement for a good relationship, but I 
> think you all will get my point.

I think what makes a LTR work is about as individual as the people in 
it (and I have been with my cohabitator/sweetheart for about 18 
years); what I've observed that doesn't work is probably easier:

Lack of trust or pathological jealousy; paranoia
Chronic me first-ism, or cutthroat competitiveness
Lack of empathy, isolationism, inability to share
Failure to commit
Tendency to entertain frequent "greener grass over there" thoughts
Grudges, inability to forgive
Immaturity, inability to mature "on the job" and learn in place
Lack of imagination
Unreasonable/mismatched expectations*

Sandy

*My favorite one of these is, I kid you not, a couple who got married 
mutually agreeing to an "open marriage." She thought it meant open 
and honest communication; he thought it meant they each got to fool 
around. And they were together several years!

(Uh, duh! I guess the working factors would be the above, inverted.)




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 05:11:19 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 05:11:19 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <1cb.11d9cfc6.2cade7d1@aol.com>
Message-ID: <blj0dn+hsmu@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote:
>Cindy wrote: 
> 
 But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
> >that -- what does love have to do with it? And what else is 
involved?
>

Eloise wrote:
> Persistence? Forbearance?...;-)
> 
> Seriously, I don't think a good or long-lasting marriage *does* 
need love of 
> the dramatic kind (note the qualification).
> ". . . I seriously do think that persistence in the face of 
difficulties and 
> forbearance of one's partner's more irritating traits are 
significant. It needs 
> commitment, a belief in the relationship, awareness of how much 
one's partner 
> is commited and gives.

>snip< 

 I know that in many ways I'm not his ideal. And I guess that's the 
> biggest reason I love him. The fact that this other person loves 
me, has decided 
> to share his life and his income >snip<
 with me, no matter how stressy I get, the fact that no matter 
> how much I may grouch that he doesn't understand me (well, he *is* 
a man) he 
> is ultimately there for me, 


> >snip<
>
 It's a small miracle and out of 
> that, love grows, a love perhaps more meaningful than the fireworks 
of "being in 
> love". It is sometimes a case of *deciding* to be committed to a 
> relationship; there has to be something there when the feel-good 
factor fails.
> 
> ~Eloise
> Off to appreciate her husband some more ;-)


Now Anna . . .

Eloise!
That was beautiful!
I could not (and will not!) say it any better myself!

DH and I will be married for 15 years next May.  FIFTEEN YEARS!!
It's hard to believe that we have been together for this long, and 
only really knew each other 2 1/2 years before we married.

For me, I was two weeks shy of turning 29 when we got married, and DH 
was already 30.  Perhaps that is what has been our advantage; in that 
because we were a bit older than a lot of my freinds, we didn't have 
any pre-conceived ideas that our marriage was going to be a fairy 
tale.   I saw that with a lot of my friends and family as they got 
married in their early 20's.  Their expectations was that of 'forever-
wedded-bliss', and boy were they surprised when real life came along.
Unfortunatley, many of them were divorced by the time I was married.
I know that that had a profound affect on me, and probably kept me 
single for as long as I was.  But as I can look back, I know it was 
to my advantage.  

Don't get me wrong; that's not to say that we weren't gaga over each 
other! (we probably spent more time together then than we do now). 
But we didn't come into the relationship with pre-concieved ideas.  
We learned very quickly after returning from our honeymoon that 
things don't always turn out the way you plan (1. new house had a 
leaky roof: $7.000 later . . . the roof was repaired, but our wallets 
were EMPTY!  2. after 5 months of marriage, I got pregnant, got sick 
and had to drastically reduce my hours, hence, even less money coming 
in!) Life has a funny way of "ruining" your plans. 
   

Eloise, I agree with you totally that making the commitment to make 
the marriage work is perhaps the most important factor. Of course, 
attraction and love has to be there as well, but, as you said, the 
fireworks will end eventually, and there has to be something there to 
make you want to stay long past the the smoke has cleared. We have 
our disagreements, but there's no name calling, or blaming (well, I 
try really hard not to!)  We respect each other's ideas, feelings, 
opinions, upbringing, religion, even if we don't agree, and I think 
that is the glue that keeps us together. Yes, I get frustrated and 
act really stupid sometimes, and he does too.  But we still  manage 
to laugh about things later.  Humor is probably one of the biggest 
attractions for me.  He can always make me laugh, even when I don't 
want to (!because I'm angry and I want to get my own way!), and I 
love that about him.  That he can make me laugh at myself is probably 
one the best things about him.

Oy! I can't think anymore!  Didn't mean for this to be this long and 
ranting . . . must go to bed!

Anna  . . . who is probably sleeping in the six year olds' bed tonite 
as he love to sleep in mommy's place when mommy works late . . .
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From hypercolor99 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct  3 11:03:39 2003
From: hypercolor99 at hotmail.com (alice_loves_cats)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 11:03:39 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It? - the other perspective
In-Reply-To: <blhpg6+ta2l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bljl2b+ge8f@eGroups.com>

Well, 

how about our NEWEST relationships/weddings?

I have this brand-new wonderful and just... well, PERFECT boyfriend, 
since Monday, 29th September. 

Anyone with something fresher? :-)

Oh, it's gonna last forever, of course.

I hope. 

:-)

Love, Alice, aged 20, so not yet qualified to compete on the long-
term marriage thing




--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote: 
> > First, I started to wonder if I have the longest 
> > marriage of anyone on OTC 
> 
> There are lots of people on the list, so I bet we get some really 
> long marriages showing up. Anyway to chip in with mine, I married 
> Kate on the 21st of December 1990, so it's nearly 13 years ago for 
> us too. But we started walking out together some time before that, 
> 18th of March 1983, when I was just 17 and Kate was 18. When I see 
> 17 year olds now, I cannot believe that they would be capable of 
> making such a momentous decision as `choosing' the love of their 
> life. I guess that's me getting old and forgetting what it's like 
to 
> be young. As Dumbledore said:
> 
> "old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young "
> 
> > Second, I started to wonder if there is any common 
> > characteristic among those who are married for a 
> > long time.  I know my own views of what makes a 
> > good partner have changed dramatically since I was 
> > a blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone 
> > else thinks about that -- what does love have to do 
> > with it?  And what else is involved?
> 
> I think love has loads to do with it; and shared interests, lust, 
> common visions, and commitment - you both need to believe in the 
> long term enough to persevere through bad patches. Not that I'm 
ever 
> the cause of bad patches you understand ;-)
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct  3 14:50:41 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:50:41 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <1cb.11d9cfc6.2cade7d1@aol.com>
Message-ID: <blk2c1+hkue@eGroups.com>

Gee, whiz!  You guys are amazing!  So many sweet and touching thoughts
already.  I can't even think of anything to say in response to Tammy's
beautiful post.

Man, this is gonna be difficult, as "sweet and touching" aren't
usually something I do very often or very well.  ;-)

Eloise:

>I seriously do think that persistence in the face of difficulties and 
> forbearance of one's partner's more irritating traits are >significant. 

Boy, ain't it the truth!

Thinking back on when I first met dh, I remember that it was *not*
love at first sight.  I had no romantic interest in dh, because I was
busy pursuing the Man Who Was All Wrong For Me.

But as time passed, I saw something in dh.  He was able to bring out
the best in me, for some reason, which is a tall order.  I was just a
better person with him than without him.  Not to mention that I could
tell he would make a great husband and father.  The love was there by
the time we married, but it definitely built over time.  And it still is.

That's why I always raise an eyebrow when a girlfriend tells me she
doesn't want to date a guy because he's "just a friend."  Personally,
I can't think of a better place to find a suitable mate than one's
friends.

Eloise:

> I know that *I've* been difficult. I know that my husband often 
> finds me difficult. 

You know, I've noticed that both of us are much more tolerant of each
others' quirks than we once were.  I don't know why this is, really. 
I attribute it to exhaustion.  Squabbling is so much *work!*

Eloise:

> I have to tell you that we, or at least I, have gone through bad
>patches.  

Oh, sure!  We all do.  For me, I've started to realize that bad
patches come with the territory.  It's kind of like a roller coaster
-- you know that when you go down, you'll always come back up.  So it
becomes easier to persevere.

<winks at Eloise because I know how much she *doesn't* like roller
coasters>

Pippin advised:

>Get your rings resized if you like them, I did.

I know, I know.  But I play the piano, see?  And my rings used to spin
around when I played and drive me *nuts* -- I have large knuckles, so
rings flop around once they are seated on my finger.  And I would
sometimes be unable to wrench the rings off before I played, and I
would be afraid I'd lose them if I did wrench them off, so . . . .

No?   Not buying it?

Darn!


Jen wrote:

>You always think of such interesting things to start a conversation,
>Cindy!

Hey, thanks!  Actually, if the conversations get interesting, it's
because you all are so very cool!


For those keeping score, though:

Pippin -- 27
Tammy -- 18.5
Eloise -- 18
Sandy -- 18
Anna -- 14.5
Linlou -- 13.5
Cindy -- 13
Dumbledad -- almost 13
Jen -- 8
Shirley -- 1
Alice -- 4 days and counting  :-)



And Shirley?

Here's one thing to keep in mind during the bad patches:

*He didn't mean it!*  :-D


Cindy -- feeling soppy her own self, but not admitting it, and whose
dh will be away all weekend  :-(




From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 15:32:52 2003
From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 15:32:52 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhpg6+ta2l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blk4r4+drno@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote: 
> > First, I started to wonder if I have the longest 
> > marriage of anyone on OTC 

Oh, hardly.  I'm sure I've heard of people saying they've been 
married longer.  On September 3, my husband and I just celebrated 
our fifteenth anniversary, and I'm fairly certain we're not the 
longest marriage here.
 
> There are lots of people on the list, so I bet we get some really 
> long marriages showing up. Anyway to chip in with mine, I married 
> Kate on the 21st of December 1990, so it's nearly 13 years ago for 
> us too. But we started walking out together some time before that, 
> 18th of March 1983, when I was just 17 and Kate was 18. When I see 
> 17 year olds now, I cannot believe that they would be capable of 
> making such a momentous decision as `choosing' the love of their 
> life.  

We've only got you beat by about a month!  Last February, we 
celebrated the 20th anniversary of our first date, which was on 
February 12, 1983, during our freshman year at Temple University.  
We were a tad older than you were, however, as we were both about to 
turn 19 in early April.  But you have a point--other 19 year olds I 
see in relationships don't ever strike me as having the potential to 
last for very long.  In fact, I feel like I'm always hearing about 
acquaintances who are about that age switching partners with 
regularity, and I even have a niece in her late twenties who married 
at 21 and is now divorced, a nephew only five years younger than me 
who is divorced, and another nephew who was going to marry the 
mother of his daughter, was living with her for some time instead, 
and then they broke up.  They share custody of their little girl 
now.  He's not a kid, either, but just turned 25 (okay, at this age 
I kind of consider 25 to be a kid <g>).
 
On another note, I'm about to face something I didn't expect to for 
some time.  Tomorrow my son is going on his first date.  He'll be 
eleven later this month and the girl is already eleven.  They're 
being chaperoned by the girl's mother.  (The mom has to drive her 
daughter into the city from the suburbs for the date anyway; my son 
met her at summer camp and they've been talking on the phone a lot 
since camp ended.) They were going to see "Second Hand Lions" until 
it was pulled from the theatre where it was playing.  Then the plan 
was changed to a trip to a museum; now my son is asking whether they 
can see "School of Rock" with Jack Black, which is PG-13.  (I didn't 
want to say yes to this at first, as we've carefully monitored the 
very few PG-13 films he's seen, but I'm starting to warm to it after 
seeing some good reviews that also explain the reason for the 
rating.)

Ack.  How did this get here so soon?  He was just a little baby a 
second ago.  And yet--I remembered the other night that I had my 
first date when I was 12, with a boy who was 11.  We went to see The 
Bad News Bears 'chaperoned' by my sister and her boyfriend (they 
were a bit 'preoccupied').  My daughter just turned nine; so far the 
only boy of which she's taken notice is Daniel Radcliffe <g>, so I 
don't think she'll be dating as soon as her brother.  But still--I'm 
reeling a bit with this.

Does anyone have a good reason why an 11 year old shouldn't see the 
Jack Black film?  (I understand the story is about 11 year olds.)  
Or should I recommend the treacly film about the dogs from space 
(erk!) instead?

--Barb

http://www.livejournal.com/users/psychic_serpent
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent
http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb





From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Fri Oct  3 16:00:27 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 16:00:27 -0000
Subject: DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <blictv+sh90@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blk6er+rg7g@eGroups.com>

Jen: 

> I know I'm going to feel silly for asking, but what does dh 
> mean?
> The only thing I could think of was "designated husband" which 
sounds 
> a *tad* unromantic, huh?

Martha: 

I'm glad you asked that - I'd been wondering too. Whenever I saw it 
written down I automatically read it as "division head", stemming 
from my days as the *worst ever* Camp America participant. I don't 
know if this is something that all summer camps do or if it was just 
the one I worked on, but if they could abbreviate something then they 
did - so division head was DH (as in "Heather is DH of Naomi"), being 
on duty was OD, senior counsellor was SC, and so on and so forth. So 
when people on this list started referring to their DHs, I was 
slightly confused.

Speaking of confusing abbreviations, I'm currently doing lots and 
lots of reading for my third-year project, which is on discourse 
analysis. In a number of the texts I have read, discourse analysis is 
abbreviated to DA, which makes sense, but means I get mixed up, and 
end up reading things wrong. Examples:

"The only thing he really looked forward to were the discourse 
analysis meetings, and they would have to stop over the holidays, as 
nearly everybody in the discourse analysis would be spending time 
with their families..." (OoP, p399 UK ed)

OR

"Overall, then, Dumbledore's army proposes that people's language use 
is much more variable than is indicated by the widely 
held 'realistic' descriptive model of language..." (J Potter (!) and 
M Wetherell, 1987: p35)

Dammit.

~ Martha, who is certainly *not* married, but would gladly join in 
the discussion if she were. :-)




From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Fri Oct  3 16:29:16 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 12:29:16 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got To Do W...
Message-ID: <147.1a25be2f.2caefddc@aol.com>

Jen: 

> I know I'm going to feel silly for asking, but what does dh 
> mean?
> The only thing I could think of was "designated husband" which 
sounds 
> a *tad* unromantic, huh?


Now Jenny here:

DH stands for Dear Husband (though the "D" part doesn't *always* mean dear, 
LOL ).  It's a pretty standard abbreviation on a lot of message boards.

~Jenny - happily (well, most of the time, LOL!) married for 6 years now  :)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From lhuntley at fandm.edu  Fri Oct  3 16:35:09 2003
From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 12:35:09 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got
 To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <blk6er+rg7g@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <8D984B50-F5BF-11D7-A21B-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu>

DH = dear husband.  ^_~

I think.

*looks v. confused for a moment*  I'm not sure if anyone's actually 
told me that, or if I just assumed that was what it meant.

sigh.  Well, it makes sense, anyway.

Laura (who is going to cut* her first class in the history of her 
education in about a minute and a half in order to go to a riding 
lesson, and who is feeling quite rebellious)

* where "cut" is defined as previously asking her teacher for 
permission and making sure that attendance is not figured into her 
course grade. ^_~




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 17:20:12 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 17:20:12 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blk4r4+drno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blkb4c+vasq@eGroups.com>

Well, I'm definitely not in the running for 
longest marriage (we're gonna celebrate 
anniversary #7 next April), but I wanted to 
respond because I'm one of those kids who 
married young.  I met Chris when I was 19... 
and we married a month before I turned 22.  
Now, I'm not disputing that some young people 
that get married just don't know what they're 
getting into, and then divorce when they hit 
their first rough spot.  One of my best 
friends got married when she was 20.  She 
made it with her husband (who I absolutely 
adored - he was a wonderful guy) to my 
wedding, then told me 2 weeks later they were 
going to get a divorce.  Why?  Because she 
decided that 21 (she turned 22 4 days after I 
did) was too young to be married, and she 
regretted not dating more people first.

Well.

6 1/2 years into my marriage, I just can't 
imagine finding anyone better for me.  Chris 
and I are best friends - sure, we fight, but 
we have never fought for more than a couple 
of days about something.  We both have hot 
tempers that flare up and then cool right 
off, so that it's rare that either of us can 
stay mad for more than a few hours at a time.  
Actually, sometimes that in itself makes me 
mad, because sometimes he does something I 
REALLY hate (like doesn't listen to me), and 
I *want* to be mad at him for a week or 
two... but it just doesn't keep. :)  And even 
though I sometimes wonder "what if..." (Chris 
is the only person I've ever slept with), I 
quickly decide that there's no point in 
wondering if the grass is greener somewhere 
else, because it just *couldn't* be.  I can't 
imagine finding anyone else who is such a 
wonderful match both physically, mentally, and 
spiritually for me.  Even though I have 
"weight issues" (mostly body self-image), he 
still comes up behind me and gooses me in the 
kitchen...  He can *always* make me laugh, 
even if I'm in a funk and have been crying for 
the past hour.  I can always make him laugh, 
too... and where am I ever going to find 
another guy like that, who's also cute, 
intelligent, and agrees with me completely 
about raising our kids?

So not *every* marriage that begins at a 
young age is doomed to failure.  Maybe these 
days it's most... but not every.

-Jen, who even loves all but one of her in-laws!




From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Fri Oct  3 17:46:35 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 13:46:35 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's Love Got To Do With It?
Message-ID: <1dc.11e0da0e.2caf0ffb@aol.com>

Jen wrote:

 < Because she 
decided that 21 (she turned 22 4 days after I 
did) was too young to be married, and she 
regretted not dating more people first.>

Now Jenny here:

I find this so funny because whenever DH and I end up talking about someone 
who's dating and looking for the love of their life, we invariably both comment 
on how *happy* we are not to be dating anymore (and I was 21 when we got 
married, he was 26) because we hated dating! :) Jen, my story is so much like 
yours that I could almost rewrite the entire thing about me! 

A lot of young people these days look at marriage  and say, "well, if it 
doesn't work out we can get divorced," instead of realizing that *this is it*. 
*Forever*.

I recently heard that someone I know had boasted to someone else how she and 
her DH had never had an argument before. Ever.  Like it was supposed to be 
impressive!  My DH and I fight on a regular basis, but that's just the type of 
people we are, high-spirited, tempermental etc.  I would lose all respect for 
him if he never disagreed with me.

Very interesting topic :)

~*~Jenny~*~

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters." - Sirius Black

http://www.geocities.com/rsfjenny/HP


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From macloudt at yahoo.co.uk  Fri Oct  3 18:10:27 2003
From: macloudt at yahoo.co.uk (Mary Ann)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 18:10:27 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blke2j+qh40@eGroups.com>

Cindy wrote:

> I recently celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary

Congratulations! :)

> Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of 
anyone on
> OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway).  
<g>
>  Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you 
think?  I
> mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time.

<vbg>  Heck, 8 years feels like a long time!  To make matters more 
interesting, DH and I lived on different continents 'til 6 weeks 
before the marriage.  We met as penfriends, and only met up face-to-
face about 8 times before I packed up my life and moved here.  No 
regrets (usually!).

> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
> among those who are married for a long time.

Friendship and some common interests are my key contenders (apart 
from the obvious ones like love).  At the same time, we have 
differing interests, so we're not surgically attached at the hip 
either.  For example, DH flat out refuses to read any HP books, and 
I flat out refuse to go train-spotting.  I've got *some* pride, ya 
know! ;)  While we have different hobbies we make sure we spend 
child-free time together every week, especially as we work opposing 
hours.  As a lot of you have said, you must never stop working on 
the relationship, or it will fall apart. 

> Cindy -- who doesn't wear her engagement or wedding rings anymore
> because they annoy her, and they are too small now anyway

Mary Ann, who wears her own wedding ring on her left hand and her 
late mother's wedding ring and silver anniversary solitaire ring on 
her right hand (too damn scared to leave the solitaire at home)




From siskiou at earthlink.net  Fri Oct  3 19:05:18 2003
From: siskiou at earthlink.net (Susanne)
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 12:05:18 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blk2c1+hkue@eGroups.com>
References: <blk2c1+hkue@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <9551392578.20031003120518@earthlink.net>



Hi,

Friday, October 03, 2003, 7:50:41 AM, cindysphynx at comcast.net wrote:

> I know, I know.  But I play the piano, see?  And my rings used to
> spin
> around when I played and drive me *nuts* -- I have large knuckles, so
> rings flop around once they are seated on my finger.  And I would
> sometimes be unable to wrench the rings off before I played, and I
> would be afraid I'd lose them if I did wrench them off, so . . . .

> No?   Not buying it?

> Darn!

I've always had trouble wearing rings. They just drove me to
distraction and I'd lose them eventually, after taking them
off and forgetting about them.

So, when my husband and I got married (14 1/2 years ago), I had
the piece of his ring (it was too large) that needed to be
cut made into an earring.

We both hope we'll make it to our 15th anniversary (and much
longer), as we are trying to overcome a "tough spot".

We love each other very much, but had an undesirable
"partner" move in a few years ago: depression. :(

We've been letting it slide for too long, hoping he would
"get over it" with the help of medication, but it's an
insidious illness, affecting the whole family in many ways.

We just started counseling today and are hopeful that things
will improve with lots of work!

-- 
Best regards,
 Susanne                           mailto:siskiou at earthlink.net

Visit our pet rabbits: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/





From pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk  Fri Oct  3 20:00:34 2003
From: pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk (bluesqueak)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 20:00:34 -0000
Subject: DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <8D984B50-F5BF-11D7-A21B-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu>
Message-ID: <blkkh2+9rki@eGroups.com>

Laura wrote:
> DH = dear husband.  ^_~
> 
> I think.
> 
> *looks v. confused for a moment*  I'm not sure if anyone's 
actually 
> told me that, or if I just assumed that was what it meant.
> 
> sigh.  Well, it makes sense, anyway.
> 
> Laura (who is going to cut* her first class in the history of her 
> education in about a minute and a half in order to go to a riding 
> lesson, and who is feeling quite rebellious)
> 
> * where "cut" is defined as previously asking her teacher for 
> permission and making sure that attendance is not figured into her 
> course grade. ^_~

::Pip!Squeak peeps round the door::

So, DH is 'dear husband'. But what's AFK?

I keep thinking it's 'Away From Kids'. Am I right?

Pip!Squeak 




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct  3 21:10:21 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 21:10:21 -0000
Subject: How do you like my office?
Message-ID: <blkojt+8tji@eGroups.com>

Have just moved office.  This is what we have got:

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

We have two rooms in a 17th Century former hospital, which was built 
and attached to a (genuine) 12th Century tower and dungeon  (yes, 
darlings we do indeed have a dungeon)  built as an annexe to a 
monastery (destroyed during the dissolution in the reign of Henry 
VIII).  

The ceilings are very low and the floors are so odd, you can see the 
tilt if you look.  

The plaster is so old it is illegal to drill holes into it and it is 
so patchy looking it makes you feel odd to look at it.  

However, we have Broadband internet at 2mb connection (yey!).

In the front of the building is a brickwork collonade of arches and 
a tile showing the date of foundation with a gargoyle face 
surmounting it.

Jealous?  I couldn't resist boasting.

Beyond belief.

June






From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Fri Oct  3 21:17:13 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 21:17:13 -0000
Subject: AFK
In-Reply-To: <blkkh2+9rki@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blkp0p+rag0@eGroups.com>

Pip wrote:

> So, DH is 'dear husband'. But what's AFK?
> 
> I keep thinking it's 'Away From Kids'. Am I right?

Yeah, I don't get that one.  I used to think it meant Away From 
Keyboard, until someone said they'd be AFC but not AFK (or the other 
way around).  I'd assumed C was Computer.

David




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct  3 21:19:54 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 21:19:54 -0000
Subject: DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <blkkh2+9rki@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blkp5q+umvt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "bluesqueak" <pipdowns at e...>
wrote:

> ::Pip!Squeak peeps round the door::
> 
> So, DH is 'dear husband'. But what's AFK?
> 
> I keep thinking it's 'Away From Kids'. Am I right?
> 
> Pip!Squeak

Ah... this one took me a while to figure out, and I've been online for
10 years, now.  AFK means "Away from Keyboard", and those who are AFK
are unable to respond to stuff.

HTH (Hope that helps),
-Jen, who sometimes wishes to take AFK vacations in the Pip sense...




From ChaseWildstar at charter.net  Fri Oct  3 21:28:36 2003
From: ChaseWildstar at charter.net (ChaseWildstar)
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 17:28:36 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] How do you like my office?
References: <blkojt+8tji@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000b01c389f5$4ead02e0$6501a8c0@mac>

send a picture




Save Goblet of Fire! www.savegof.com Sign the petition. WB wants to make it into a 2 1/2 hour 'movie', if you could call it that!



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: junediamanti 
  To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 5:10 PM
  Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] How do you like my office?


  Have just moved office.  This is what we have got:

  Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

  We have two rooms in a 17th Century former hospital, which was built 
  and attached to a (genuine) 12th Century tower and dungeon  (yes, 
  darlings we do indeed have a dungeon)  built as an annexe to a 
  monastery (destroyed during the dissolution in the reign of Henry 
  VIII).  

  The ceilings are very low and the floors are so odd, you can see the 
  tilt if you look.  

  The plaster is so old it is illegal to drill holes into it and it is 
  so patchy looking it makes you feel odd to look at it.  

  However, we have Broadband internet at 2mb connection (yey!).

  In the front of the building is a brickwork collonade of arches and 
  a tile showing the date of foundation with a gargoyle face 
  surmounting it.

  Jealous?  I couldn't resist boasting.

  Beyond belief.

  June




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct  3 22:07:54 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 22:07:54 -0000
Subject: How do you like my office?
In-Reply-To: <000b01c389f5$4ead02e0$6501a8c0@mac>
Message-ID: <blkrvq+495l@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ChaseWildstar" 
<ChaseWildstar at c...> wrote:
> send a picture

Aint got one yet -just imagine.

June

Will do when we have electric power and not gas.




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct  3 23:34:28 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 23:34:28 -0000
Subject: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <blk4r4+drno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bll124+6v0g@eGroups.com>

Barb wrote:

> On another note, I'm about to face something I didn't expect to for 
> some time.  Tomorrow my son is going on his first date.  He'll be 
> eleven later this month and the girl is already eleven.  


Eeeeek!

<glances protectively at almost-12-year-old daughter>

Man, I am really hoping that first date never comes.  Dang!  Well, I
already told her she can't date at all until sixteen, so . . . 

What?  You think 16 is kind of old for a first date?  I need some
bargaining room, don't I?  :-D

Barb's story reminded me of my first date at age 16.  I remember it
like it was yesterday because it was truly, truly awful.  In fact, I
may not have the longest marriage, but I *definitely* have the most
horrific first date.

Let's see.  I don't remember how I met this boy Curtis (bad sign).  He
wasn't handsome, witty, intelligent or much of anything, really.  He
drove his seriously beat up car (I'm not entirely sure my seat had a
seat belt) and picked me up at my house, and my dad sat him down in
the living room and chatted him up.  I sensed that my dad was
underwhelmed.  

Then we left, and he took me to meet his *mother!*  I have no idea
why.  She was nice enough, though, and I suspect he just wanted to
prove that he really *did* know a girl.  

Then we went to a movie.  The film was "Oh, God!" a feel-good family
comedy starring George Burns in the role of the Almighty.  As we
approached the ticket window, Curtis mentioned under his breath that
he didn't have any *money.*  I picked up the cost of the tickets and
snacks.  By then, I had decided I didn't like Curtis very much.

When I arrived home, my dad was asleep in the same living room chair,
and when he saw me, he wordlessly rose and went to bed.  I still
cannot *believe* he let me leave the house with that young man.

Sheez!  Some first date, huh?  :-D

Cindy -- who still flinches when she sees "Oh God!" at the video
rental store, probably due to post-tramautic stress disorder




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct  3 23:50:15 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 09:50:15 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <bll124+6v0g@eGroups.com>
References: <blk4r4+drno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>

On 3 Oct 2003 at 23:34, Cindy C. wrote:

> When I arrived home, my dad was asleep in the same living room chair,
> and when he saw me, he wordlessly rose and went to bed.  I still
> cannot *believe* he let me leave the house with that young man.
> 
> Sheez!  Some first date, huh?  :-D

I spent my first date covered up to my armpits in blood, at a place I *really* 
shouldn't have been (so was facing serious death when my school (and my date's 
school) found out!), having lost my glasses, so I was nearly blind, and with 
nobody around except the unconscious.



  
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  Sat Oct  4 00:07:36 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 00:07:36 -0000
Subject: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>
Message-ID: <bll308+oiun@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
<drednort at a...> wrote:
> 
> I spent my first date covered up to my armpits in blood
> 
> 
> 

Uh, Shaun,

Need I ask, What the heck were you doing covered in blood?
Uh, wait, maybe that's a bit of your personal life that I really 
don't need to know . . .

But, speaking of armpits, my ten year old daughter just informed me
that she needs deodorant!  And, asked me when she can start shaving 
her legs! AT TEN???!!!  

Anna . . .(who can't resist saying, "smells like teen spirit")




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sat Oct  4 00:23:17 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 00:23:17 -0000
Subject: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>
Message-ID: <bll3tl+dfv0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
<drednort at a...> wrote:

> I spent my first date covered up to my armpits in blood, at a place 
> I *really* shouldn't have been (so was facing serious death when my 
> school (and my date's school) found out!), having lost my glasses, 
> so I was nearly blind, and with nobody around except the 
> unconscious.

You really cannot just stop there, you know.

Sandy




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Sat Oct  4 00:21:14 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 10:21:14 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <bll308+oiun@eGroups.com>
References: <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F7E9F1A.11839.80489C4@localhost>

On 4 Oct 2003 at 0:07, dradamsapple wrote:

> Uh, Shaun,
> 
> Need I ask, What the heck were you doing covered in blood?
> Uh, wait, maybe that's a bit of your personal life that I really 
> don't need to know . . .

No, not personal.

Car crash - basically we were both at boarding schools so dates were fairly 
unusual - outside of organised school functions - but you could get permission if 
they trusted you.

We got permission to see a movie but when we got to the cinema, we couldn't get 
tickets - got trains back to school, but got on the wrong line - we got off at a 
station where we could get a tram to near our schools but we had time to kill, so 
decided to take a walk along a creek near the train station. While we had 
permission to be out of school to see the movie - that didn't mean we could 
wander around - basically we should have gone back to school but nobody was 
going to know.

Except that there was a major elevated road running alongside the creek, and a 
car came off the bridge and crashed into the bushes about 100 metres ahead of 
us. I'd had first aid training at school so I ran towards the car, while I sent my date 
off to find a phone.

Got to the car - three people a couple of years older than me were unconscious in 
the wreckage. And none of them seemed to have injuries I knew how to deal with - 
basic first aid training. I could give CPR, but I established they were all still 
breathing, I could deal with burns but there was no fire. Bleeding was something I 
could deal with, and there was a lot of blood around, so I was looking around 
trying to work out where it was coming from - no serious spurting wounds - most of 
it it turned out was from a girls head wound - it was bleeding an awful lot but 
actually turned out it wasn't that serious. I tried putting pressure on it - all the 
basics.

I've never been so relieved in my life when after maybe five minutes a couple of 
police came running down the creek path. Of course, then I had to convince them 
that I wasn't injured (they thought I'd been in the car, and I was pretty bloody at 
this stage). I managed to convince them that I wasn't hurt, but unfortunately I 
utterly failed to convince them they didn't need to call my school. (-8

The three people in the car recovered - they had minor fractures, and a lot of 
scrapes and scratches - worst of it was concussion, thankfully. Luckily they'd all 
been wearing seatbelts, and the car had come down through shrubs and things 
which slowed it - it wasn't like they flew off the bridge - it was basically going down 
a really steep hill.


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 saitaina at wizzards.net  Sat Oct  4 00:25:15 2003
From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina)
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 17:25:15 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
References: <blk4r4+drno@eGroups.com> <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>
Message-ID: <023201c38a0d$fcb600e0$6a371c40@aoldsl.net>

Shaun wrote:

<I spent my first date covered up to my
armpits in blood, at a place I *really*
shouldn't have been >

I can top that (after hearing why you
were covered in blood), I spent my first
date in a hospital nearly unconscious
(actually if I recall correctly...which I
can't, there were a few black outs), and
having to be given IV's to raise my blood
pressure.

Reason: Me, the idiot decided to impress
my date and his uncle by drinking them
under the table.  Thankfully when I got
REALLY drunk I was smart enough to want
to go home so as we were walking to the
DQ (Dairy Queen) to call my mom, a cop
saw me trying to hold onto a tree grill
to stand strait, picked up for MIP (minor
in possession) by consumption and then
had my mother rush me to the hospital.
If she hadn't done this, and had I not
thrown up (all over the back of the cop
car) I would have died according to the
doctors.

Thus why I haven't gone on another date
in seven years (well that and the fact no
one asks me....), and why I no longer
drink except very, VERY rarely.

Saitaina
****
"Sorry Vig...just seems like I'm about to
come out of a closet I didn't even know I
was in."

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 cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct  4 01:13:26 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 01:13:26 -0000
Subject: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <023201c38a0d$fcb600e0$6a371c40@aoldsl.net>
Message-ID: <bll6rm+q5r2@eGroups.com>

Shaun wrote:
 
>I spent my first date covered up to my
> armpits in blood, at a place I *really*
> shouldn't have been 

 
Saity wrote:

> I spent my first
> date in a hospital nearly unconscious
> (actually if I recall correctly...which I
> can't, there were a few black outs), and
> having to be given IV's to raise my blood
> pressure.

**Uncle!!**

You guys win!  Spotting Curtis $20 is *nothing* compared to being
covered in blood or fighting for consciousness in the hospital.

Cindy -- imagining Dad's expression had she come home covered in blood




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Sat Oct  4 01:54:34 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 11:54:34 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: First Date (WAS What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <bll3tl+dfv0@eGroups.com>
References: <3F7E97D7.26033.7E82A99@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F7EB4FA.16473.859FF66@localhost>

On 4 Oct 2003 at 0:23, msbeadsley wrote:

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
> <drednort at a...> wrote:
> 
> > I spent my first date covered up to my armpits in blood, at a place 
> > I *really* shouldn't have been (so was facing serious death when my 
> > school (and my date's school) found out!), having lost my glasses, 
> > so I was nearly blind, and with nobody around except the 
> > unconscious.
> 
> You really cannot just stop there, you know.

Well, I've now posted it but I realised I didn't explain what happened to my  
glasses - I was wearing my best non-school-uniform clothing which included my 
ultra-cool black leather jacket (well, it seemed ultra-cool when I was 16 - very 
fashion deprived, but I had a vague idea that a leather jacket was supposed to be 
cool. My eyesight at that stage was *just* at the point that made wearing glasses 
all the time a good idea - and my glasses were something that marked me as a 
geek so I'd taken them off on the train, trying to look less like a geek - so they 
were in my jacket pocket.

When I got to the crash, I took my jacket off becase I didn't want to damage it - it 
was the most expensive item of clothing I owned. In fact, it was the only item of 
clothing I had ever purchased myself so it was the only item I actually knew the 
value of (-8. I just put it on the ground - once I got in the car I realised just how 
poor my eyesight was, but I didn't really have time to get out, locate my jacket, 
find the glasses...

Results of this - one, as soon as I could, I did a far more detailed first aid course 
(and I still remain current at Level 3 - it's a very handy thing to know) and I *never* 
took my glasses off without really good reason again.


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 joym999 at aol.com  Sat Oct  4 04:54:28 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 04:54:28 -0000
Subject: DH and other abbreviations (was What's Love Got To Do With It?)
In-Reply-To: <blk6er+rg7g@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blljq4+jm4t@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Martha" 
<fakeplastikcynic at h...> wrote:
> Jen: 
> 
> > I know I'm going to feel silly for asking, but what does dh 
> > mean?
> > The only thing I could think of was "designated husband" which 
> sounds 
> > a *tad* unromantic, huh?
> 
> Martha: 
> 
> I'm glad you asked that - I'd been wondering too. Whenever I saw it 
> written down I automatically read it as "division head", stemming 
> from my days as the *worst ever* Camp America participant [snip]

Being a baseball fan, the first time I saw it I wondered how the 
spouse of the woman who wrote it got to be a Designated Hitter.  Was 
he in the American League?*.  I eventually realized, as has been 
pointed out, that it means "dear husband" or "darling husband" 
or "darn husband," depending on your mood.  I suppose it  can also 
mean "damned husband," "dumb husband," "deceased husband," or, well, 
I'd better stop here.

--Joywitch

*Brits, non-baseball fans, and other confused people, don't even 
worry about this.  It would take far more explaining than it's worth.




From jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu  Sat Oct  4 05:06:19 2003
From: jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu (Jen Faulkner)
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 01:06:19 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's Love Got To Do With It? - the other
 perspective
In-Reply-To: <bljl2b+ge8f@eGroups.com>
References: <bljl2b+ge8f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0310040040120.17901@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, alice_loves_cats wrote:

> Well,
>
> how about our NEWEST relationships/weddings?

I certainly am not going to beat out Alice (4 days and counting --
congrats!), but my relationship is also on the newish side, though at
just over nine months, it's now my longest (continuous) relationship.
*g*  (I'll be 25 in a couple of months, for a frame of reference.)

I met my gf online in August of 2001 (on LiveJournal), and we've been
dating since December of last year, meeting in person for the first time
on December 27th.  We live on opposite coasts, so there's a great deal
of distance involved, but we've managed to see a *lot* of each other so
far (including living together for more than two months this summer
while we were both on break from school).

And yes, I do think (hope) this will be The One. :)  She's really
everything I've ever wanted -- which isn't to say I'm blind to her
faults.  We're both rather conflict-avoidant people (both of us are more
likely to cry than yell if we think we might've hurt the other person's
feelings, which makes fighting difficult), though we have worked out
various issues as they've come up, since we both believe communication
is very important.  We both just try to be very cautious in *how* we say
things, lest we say something hurtful to the other person.  We still
both say what we need to.  But minor problems aside, she's really just
awesome and wonderful and brilliant and cute, and I'm still blissfully
happy. :)

Speaking from my not-so-vast experience, what's made this relationship
really work for me is that we were friends first -- I can't imagine ever
even wanting to date someone who wasn't also a friend (I never have,
either).  We have a *lot* in common, though not everything; our
non-overlapping interests tend to be complementary, though, which is
quite nice.  She's someone I just really enjoy *being* with, enough so
that I want to spend the rest of my life with her.  I've never wanted
that before, never had someone who I wanted to have around all the time.
Even when I was *desperately* infatuated and passionately in love
before, I'd never felt anything permanent about it: I know that this
relationship has as good a chance of being life-long as any I could be
in.

We have a lot of similar goals and values, which also helps.  I think we
basically know where the other person is coming from (and going to).
Our personalities are not identical, but similar enough to be
complementary.  We're both very introverted, for example, so she isn't
constantly wanting me to go out to parties or the like, which is fine in
someone you see occasionally, but *very* tiring in a partner.

Also, she likes my dog, and my dog likes her. *g*

--jen, the blissfully in love, who will happily talk about her
girlfriend to anyone who'll listen. :)

* * * * * *
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 linlou43 at yahoo.com  Sat Oct  4 13:22:58 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 13:22:58 -0000
Subject: Meeting Up(was Re: What's Love Got To Do With It? - the other perspective)
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0310040040120.17901@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>


Jen wrote:

> I met my gf online in August of 2001 (on LiveJournal), and we've 
been
> dating since December of last year, meeting in person for the 
first time
> on December 27th.  We live on opposite coasts, so there's a great 
deal
> of distance involved, but we've managed to see a *lot* of each 
other so
> far (including living together for more than two months this summer
> while we were both on break from school).


linlou:
      
      OK. New topic. For those who have significiant others, how did 
you meet them?

       In my case it was a little weird. I was in a semi-serious 
relationship when my bf took a job that would take him completely 
out of the picture for the summer. On his suggestion, we decided to 
see other people for the few months he would be gone. A few weeks 
later, a good friend of mine and her bf put together a big group 
trip to the beach, she even invited this guy who worked at the local 
Friendly's restaurant because she thought he had a cute butt. (I 
later found out she was trying to set me up.) This guy and I ended 
up walking up and down the beach for four hours talking. Three days 
later, we had our first kiss, and eight months later we were 
married. Thirteen years now and still going strong. (BTW at the time 
I was 19 and he was 23.)

    linlou
   




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct  4 13:45:32 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 13:45:32 -0000
Subject: Announcement:  "Nearly Departed"
Message-ID: <blmits+9nco@eGroups.com>

Hi, folks!

I'm writing to let you all know about a new Yahoo group for people who
are seriously disturbed and bent and darn proud of it! ;-)

Long ago, a friend told me about a rather interesting game she plays.
The idea is that the participants each think of 50 famous RL people
they believe will expire in the next six months. Players get points
when one of their predictions comes true.

<awkward silence>

What's that?

You guys think that's *sick?* Yep, it sure is.

You got a problem with that? ;-)

Seriously, we've set up a Yahoo group called "Nearly Departed" to use
Yahoo's features to make the scoring easier and so that we can compare
notes ("No, no, no, Jack Lord died 20 years ago!"). Besides, we need
a place to post messages consoling each other when J-Lo goes to the
Great Beyond! <veg> Already, we've had a sob session over Robert
Palmer. Can you believe it; he looked so robust? Also welcome are
opinions about famous people, quips, smart remarks and general chit
chat, especially sightings of famous people who might fall ill in the
near future.

Membership? Well, it's a closed Yahoo group (meaning that we'll
receive no spam), but we don't mean to exclude anyone. *No one* is
unwelcome or banned or any of that, and *anyone* can invite anyone
they think might be interested ? *especially* if the prospective
member has a good sense of humor. For logistical reasons, however, we
really want to keep the group below 50 people so we can keep track of
things. Invitations are first come, first served.  No money is
involved -- that would be so *tacky!*  

So far, Melody, Gail, Morgan D, Silver Dragon, Tyler, Jen Reese, Nox,
Eileen and I are on board. If you join, you'll need to post your list
of the nearly departed by Nov. 1 ?- that's when Round One begins. To
join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/ and click
"Join This Group." One of us will shoot you an invitation.

Cindy ?- who was going to predict the demise of Dick Clark before
someone explained that he is a cyborg who can never die




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sat Oct  4 18:02:42 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 18:02:42 -0000
Subject: Meeting Up
In-Reply-To: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bln202+7dn0@eGroups.com>

linlou wrote:
> OK. New topic. For those who have significiant others, how did 
> you meet them?

I *like* this topic, good job! Okay...thinking...

In 1984 I was living in NYC and flew to Portland, Oregon for the 
Westercon science fiction convention; it was my first SF convention, 
and I went just because a) I was itching to meet the guest of honor 
(Harlan Ellison <yes, I have a Harlan Ellison story>) and b) the NYC 
job was the first one I ever had that paid anything like sufficiently 
for me to fly coast-to-coast just because I wanted to. This is still 
backstory; I wandered around in a fog those four days, bumping into 
my idol just often enough to stay loopy, but still managed to have 
enough quality conversation to know that the attendees included an 
unusually high percentage of potential kindred spirits.

When I moved to Denver to take a different job a year later (NYC 
having proved too much for me), one of the first things I did was 
find out about the local literary SF convention (in a magazine), and 
register (mailed a check). When it rolled around a few months later, 
I attended, but in a sort of introverted, doing-reconnaissance way. I 
also picked up a flyer for the local, year-round SF group. A day or 
two after the convention I called the phone number on the flyer. I 
expected the person on the other end to tell me where and when the 
group met, how much dues cost, maybe chat a bit, and to say, see you 
then. We (Bruce and I) talked for hours and hours. (Turns out *his* 
plan had been to get to check out the group's newbies (read "chicks") 
first, and so he'd "volunteered" to have his # on the flyers.) We met 
face to face (although I dimly remembered seeing him at the 
convention) at the group's next party (they schedule two most 
months), had a date shortly after that.

(As it got later and the restaurant got emptier, he asked me if I'd 
mind "going by his place," as he wanted to loan me a book in order to 
share a favorite short story he'd talked about. I'd met him at the 
restaurant, being wary, still careful. And I thought the book thing 
was like that "etchings" excuse, you know, get her to your place and 
put the moves on. When we got to his house, though, he rustled the 
book right up and handed it to me. Then he just looked expectant. I 
eventually figured out, yes, he did mean right now. We spent a 
portion of our first date sharing his couch, reading. I fell a little 
in love then and there.) Three months later were living together. I 
got him and SF fandom, as a sort of extended family, all in one fell 
swoop, as he was very active and somewhat high profile in that 
community. (It was also very handy that there were dozens of people 
who'd known him for years, essentially vouching for his good nature 
and lack of Mr. Hyde side, as my track record that way had not been 
at all good). And SF fandom turned out to be the community I'd been 
looking for all my life. (In Kentucky, where I grew up, there just 
weren't that many obvious clumps of quirky, creative, socially 
awkward, know-it-all, nerdy bookworms to join up with <g>.) It was a 
lot like finding a good church is for some people (including my 
family back in Kentucky). Before I knew it, I was volunteering, and 
so two years after that con where I'd hardly spoken to anyone, I was 
running registration and getting to know absolutely *everyone*. And 
we're *still* reading and talking and loving. Ain't life grand 
sometimes? 

^--^
Sandy




From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Sat Oct  4 18:57:10 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 18:57:10 -0000
Subject: Harlan Ellison (was Meeting Up)
In-Reply-To: <bln202+7dn0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bln566+pree@eGroups.com>

msbeadsley wrote:

<yes, I have a Harlan Ellison story>

You're not going to leave us hanging there, are you?

Things I know about Harlan Ellison:

-he's a very good SF editor;

-he wrote one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time, "City on 
the Edge of Forever";

-he's never forgiven Gene Roddenberry for making a change to it 
that, IMO, was a vast improvement, so once in a while his artistic 
judgment is off (=disagrees with mine);

-he's an unremitting asshole.

I saw a Mystery Science Theater 3000 once where someone on 
screen looked a little like Harlan Ellison.  Mike and the bots' 
comments:

"They're arresting Harlan Ellison!"
"Good."

So, the world wants to know--what was he like?

Amy




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct  4 20:57:44 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 20:57:44 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
Message-ID: <blnc88+npsr@eGroups.com>

Hey, all!

Man.  I've been following the sorry tale of Rush Limbaugh's implosion,
and since it is a downright fascinating little story, I'm moving a
discussion from another HPfGU list to this one for exploration.

For those unfamiliar with Rush, he's a radio talk show personality of
the conservative persuasion.  He's actually quite successful -- his
show was once (and probably still is) the most popular radio show in
the U.S.  (Is he heard internationally, BTW?)  

He also has a rather unfortunate history of saying things that range
somewhere between "racially insensitive" to "outright racist."  He
once told an African American caller to his show to go "take the bone
out of your nose and call me back."  

Anyway, despite his partisan background, he was hired by ESPN (cable
sports channel) to do American football coverage a month ago -- which
he said was his dream job.  And Rush immediately shot himself in the
foot in discussing Donovan McNabb, the African American starting
quarterback (who led his team to the NFC playoffs at least once) for
the Philadelphia Eagles football team, saying on-air:

*****************************

"I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've
had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has
been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're
interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think
there's a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit
for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve. The
defense carried this team."

*****************************

For this, Rush was forced to resign.  He offers no apology and stands
by his statement.

Here's what I don't get though.  

If you think an athlete isn't very good, why not just say so and leave
race out of it?  You know, talk about the person's accomplishments and
failures on the field.  Why do some folks have such a hard time
accepting that a person of color might actually be *good* at something?

Ahem.  I'm glad ESPN took care of the problem rather than look the
other way.

Cindy -- who would have cut Rush a break had he backed down and
admitted his mistake, because we all slip up sometimes




From editor at texas.net  Sat Oct  4 21:43:52 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist)
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 16:43:52 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
References: <blnc88+npsr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>

First off. As a list admin, I believe that this thread is too political.
This is not a subject where discussion will engender *any* compromise or
meeting of the minds. It is simply divisive.

That said.

> Man.  I've been following the sorry tale of Rush Limbaugh's implosion,
> and since it is a downright fascinating little story, I'm moving a
> discussion from another HPfGU list to this one for exploration.

You mean, because it was totally inappropriate for that other list.

> He also has a rather unfortunate history of saying things that range
> somewhere between "racially insensitive" to "outright racist."

In your opinion.

> Anyway, despite his partisan background, he was hired by ESPN (cable
> sports channel) to do American football coverage a month ago -- which
> he said was his dream job.

I fail to see what having a partisan background has to do with it. I'm sure
all the others have political beliefs. They didn't discuss theirs; Rush
didn't discuss his. This was completely out of the realm of politics.

> For this, Rush was forced to resign.  He offers no apology and stands
> by his statement.

I would like to see your solid source for "forced." He resigned of his own
choice, because he didn't want to distract from the focus of the show, which
is football rather than people who can't understand the subject of a
sentence.

> Here's what I don't get though.
>
> If you think an athlete isn't very good, why not just say so and leave
> race out of it?  You know, talk about the person's accomplishments and
> failures on the field.  Why do some folks have such a hard time
> accepting that a person of color might actually be *good* at something?

Back when  *I* learned to parse sentences, I could identify a subject, and
the subject of Rush's derision was the media and their *non*impartial
treatment of an athlete because of his color. He said nothing derogatory
about McNabb at all. And the week before, he identified another black
athlete as, in his opinion, the best quarterback in the league. Sounds like
Rush is perfectly able to accept excellence when excellence is truly
exhibited.

> Cindy -- who would have cut Rush a break had he backed down and
> admitted his mistake, because we all slip up sometimes

~Amanda, who thinks Rush was both within bounds and correct in his analysis
of McNabb as a quarterback, and is totally delighted with her local
station's vocal support of Limbaugh









From editor at texas.net  Sat Oct  4 22:03:53 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist)
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 17:03:53 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
References: <blnc88+npsr@eGroups.com> <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <002801c38ac3$677236a0$a958aacf@texas.net>

ME:

> First off. As a list admin, I believe that this thread is too political.
> This is not a subject where discussion will engender *any* compromise or
> meeting of the minds. It is simply divisive.

It has been pointed out to me that the above could be construed as meaning
that I speak for the admin team and imply that politics is a banned topic.

Clarification: Politics isn't a banned topic. What I meant was: as someone
who has the responsibility for overseeing tone and behavior on this list,
this particular issue, being political and emotionally charged, has
*fabulous* potential to get uncivil; from that position, it would be
something I'd watch simply on the grounds of subject matter, because of that
potential.

This is an issue, like Bush, politics, and all the other formerly-banned
topics, where people feel what they feel and discussion is generally not
productive. Posts on these types of topics tend to be a lot of "well, this
is what *I* think"--lots of putting opinions forward, lots of not being
willing to be persuaded, precious little compromise, lots of flame
potential.

So. Duly clarified. Joy, take me off your shit list now.

~Amanda






From joym999 at aol.com  Sat Oct  4 22:05:28 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 22:05:28 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <blng78+igmt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> 
wrote:
> First off. As a list admin, I believe that this thread is too 
political.

Well, I'm no longer a member of the admin team, but I do remember 
that a few months ago, while I was still on the admin team, we voted 
to rescind the so-called "banned topics," such as politics.  So, for 
one of the admin team to announce that a topic is too political seems 
to contradict the current list rules.

> This is not a subject where discussion will engender *any* 
compromise or
> meeting of the minds. It is simply divisive.

That said, I think Amanda has a point.  This thread does seem a 
fairly divisive.  I'm not going to participate in it, because I can't 
see that it will accomplish anything other than allow those of us 
that hate Limbaugh to argue with those who do.

Requesting that Cindy think twice before posting divisive topics in 
the future seems reasonable.  Shutting down the thread IF and WHEN it 
turns into a flamewar seems reasonable.  But I don't really that a 
member of the admin team should censor it.

--Joywitch M. Curmudgeon




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct  4 22:33:45 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 22:33:45 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <blnhs9+eh54@eGroups.com>

Howdy!

> First off. As a list admin, I believe that this thread is too
>political.

Hey whoa!  

I didn't mean to violate any of the list rules here.  I specifically
recall the list administrators announcing a while back that there are
no banned topics on these lists.  Did this change?  If so, I will
offer an apology and delete my post.

Just for the record, I am no longer in list administration, so if
Amanda is telling me to shut up as a member of list administration, I
guess shuttin' up I'll be a-doin'.  Is that what has been decided?

You know, I don't understand this.  We are all adults here, and my
post contained no name-calling or anything like that.  We have
discussed issues related to race before on this list -- even when
there was a ban on political discussion -- anyone remember the
"N-word" thread last year, in which Amanda and I engaged in a
reasonable discussion?  I do.  We've also done the Dean Thomas issue
to death on the main list, and no one cried foul.  So what's changed?

Amanda:

> This is not a subject where discussion will engender *any*
>compromise or meeting of the minds. It is simply divisive.


Oh, I dunno.  

I'm an African American professional who has enjoyed some measure of
success in the work force.  I can tell you that I have received the
"McNabb" treatment on numerous occasions -- having my accomplishments
chalked up to pro-African American bias.  I think we certainly could
have a mature discussion here on the subject; those who can't be
mature and respectful could just skip, skip, skip.  I would especially
be interested to know about cultural differences -- would Rush's
statement have caused trouble in, say, Britain.  

Really now, there's no reason to come unhinged.

Me, I'm not looking for "compromise" -- this isn't a lawsuit or
anything.  I'm just looking for mature and entertaining discussion,
myself.  I would certainly hope that we're not limited to subjects
about which we are likely to come to a meeting of the minds.  How dull
that would be!


> I fail to see what having a partisan background has to do with it.
>I'm sure all the others have political beliefs. 

Unless they are brain dead, they probably have political beliefs of
one sort or another.  <g>  The other on-air talent, however, was hired
for their knowledge of football, whereas Limbaugh was hired because he
is a controversial and partisan figure.  

Should someone with a partisan or controversial background be hired to
do sports commentary to boost ratings?  Until now, it hadn't happened
before, so far as I know, and this experiment didn't turn out to well
for anyone.  I mean, I do wonder if people would have gone ballistic
if one of the other commentators had said the same thing.  Did people
react to the words or the speaker, and does it matter?  It's certainly
a question worth exploring, IMHO.  

It would also strike me as a little weird if ESPN hired, say Jesse
Jackson (or Jerry Falwell) to do NFL commentary.  Their expertise is
in a contentious area (respectively racial politics and religion), so
it would seem to be an odd choice.

> Back when  *I* learned to parse sentences, I could identify a
>subject, and the subject of Rush's derision was the media and their
>*non*impartial treatment of an athlete because of his color. 

Aw, come on.  If he didn't mean what many people believe he meant, why
not say, "Goodness!  I never meant *that!*  No, no."  

Me, I think the problem folks are having is simply that Rush was
saying that black quarterbacks and coaches are propped up by the
media.  And that's kinda offensive to me.

>He said nothing derogatory about McNabb at all. 

Well . . .  He said the guy was overrated and implied that this was
because of pro-black bias in the media.  That's not nice.

Cindy -- who thinks it sad that we can't discuss a topic like this
without people getting angry about it




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sat Oct  4 22:48:00 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 22:48:00 -0000
Subject: Harlan Ellison--WARNING; LONG like the Worm Ouroboros
In-Reply-To: <bln566+pree@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blnin0+on4g@eGroups.com>

Remember, you asked <g>.

Well. Backstory first: Sometime in 1983 I was perusing the science 
fiction shelves at a local (Louisville, KY) bookstore. One book kept 
drawing my attention: The cover art had an opulently sleeved arm with 
an elegantly ruffled wrist, which ended in a hand holding a 
hypodermic needle case. The top of the hypo was rearing up out of the 
case, morphing into the head of some fanged fantasy creature, and was 
poised to strike the holding hand.* The title of this book of short 
stories was "Gentleman Junkie." My eyes kept sliding across the 
author's name on the cover, Harlan Ellison. It was like every time I 
read his name, the judge in my head brought the gavel down on 
the "wrong answer" buzzer, and I put the book back. But I couldn't 
get interested in anything else, so I began to wrack my brain for why 
I got such a sense of loathing around that name. I couldn't figure it 
out, and made myself buy the book and take it home.

I read the stories. They were very good. The intros were better. By 
looking at the "other books by" section and doing a little research, 
I discovered the source of my antipathy: an old Hugo-winning story 
called "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream." I hunted up an old 
anthology, reread the story, and came face to face with my teenaged 
(decade+ previous) self, who had read this story and decided that the 
author was a monster. Oddly enough, by the time I encountered Ellison 
again, I was ready to consider him not a monster but a genius. I had 
taken off the rose-colored glasses of my adolescence and was seeing 
the world through a glass, darkly. I found and bought and devoured 
about twenty of his books, mostly short story collections, during the 
next year.

So when the opportunity came in 1984 to actually meet him, I jumped 
at it. Having read some of his critical responses to intrusive fans, 
I was very careful not to be one of those. I attended all the events 
which involved him and hovered in his vicinity whenever I could, but 
never *bothered* him, you know? (No, I just *stalked* him like a 
lunatic!) The one autograph session he was scheduled to do was front 
and center on my radar, and I showed up in the area impossibly early 
(with *two* books, one of which I'd bought at-con). I was the first 
one in line by far; but after a while, due to nerves I think, my 
bladder demanded relief.  I ducked out to go to the bathroom and when 
I got back there were thirty people in line. When I finally got up to 
the table where Himself was sitting with a convention staffer, said 
staffer asked, "Why, what happened, you were so eager and first in 
line!"  (Gee, thanks a lot, as if I wasn't gauche enough all on my 
own.)  I opened my mouth and what came out was, "I had to take a 
piss."  Didn't HE just love that.  He responded as if he were 
addressing the masses, "Hey, I had to piss, too, that's why I was 
late!" (If I hadn't gone immediately blank, we might have bonded in 
that moment; as it was they nearly had to get something with wheels 
to move me from in front of the table--I was in total brain lock. 
<lol>)

Later in the convention, there was a banquet. I had bought a ticket, 
but was so toasty that by the time it rolled around I'd lost track of 
what day it was and nearly missed it. I scrambled and made it before 
they finished serving, and I ended up seated right in front of the 
dais at a table with an unclaimed reserved seat. Having been late 
already and so close to the "stage," I hated having to be 
conspicuous; but I had to duck out and find the potty again. I crept 
out as small as I could, hugging the wall all the way, and made it 
back; moments later, HE strode down from the platform and out through 
the middle of the tables. Someone called out, "Where ya goin?" and HE 
roared back, "I have to take a PISS!" So I believe we spent that con 
with synchronized bladders. (But wait, it gets better.)

HE's guest of honor speech was the now infamous "Xenogenesis."  This 
was, as I said in an earlier post, my first SF convention.  And the 
person I had come to see spent his showcase moments bashing fandom.  
I hung my head, but that wasn't sufficient.  He really bashed fandom, 
at least the more manic, heedless, and hateful parts of it.  I put my 
head down on the table, not sure if I wanted to cry or just hide my 
face.  Later, in the preface to the published piece (in an SF 
magazine I've lost track of), he mentions a woman who is crying 
during the speech with her head on the table in front of her.  (So, 
you see, I have a claim to fame of my own. <g>) As you may also have 
noted, my first SF convention was not my last, in spite of the 
speech. In a *very* roundabout way, I consider that I owe my current 
life (rather happier than before) and love to Harlan Ellison, because 
I might never have checked out fandom without him.
 
My favorite memory of that con is sitting a row behind Harlan as he 
and Ursula K. LeGuin (!) shared a boxed lunch; I totally do not 
remember anything about the panel we were all attending.

> -he's a very good SF editor;

I'd have to add, one hell of a writer. Especially as an essayist.
 
> -he wrote one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time, "City on 
> the Edge of Forever"; -he's never forgiven Gene Roddenberry for 
> making a change to it that, IMO, was a vast improvement, so once in 
> a while his artistic judgment is off (=disagrees with mine);

The medium was limited and something had to give; but Harlan hates 
anyone f***ing with his muse. And he tended (well, he *may* have 
mellowed) to be lousy at admitting he was wrong. Other scripts 
include "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand," which were both (I 
think) original Outer Limits episodes. Harlan has a love/hate 
relationship with everything, oops, I meant to say television. Check 
out his two volumes of essays on television entitled "The Glass Teat" 
if you get a chance.

> he's an unremitting asshole.

Yes and no. My least favorite memory of that con is the morning he 
left. I managed to be in the lobby as he and Susan (not yet his wife) 
and staffers were getting him and his stuff out to the parking lot. 
In spite of the massive stacks of books (some people showed with 
sackfuls) he had signed at the session with nary a complaint, a "fan" 
with a high pile of stuff, including comic books (which he has penned 
a few of) blocked his path, loudly (and with entitlement foremost) 
protesting he'd forgotten to attend the session, and obviously fully 
expecting that the entourage would halt while HE accommodated him 
with autographs. I fully expected the berserker side of Harlan to 
spring forth and for him to chew the ninny a new asshole. He sighed 
heavily, looked extremely weary, refused politely, and navigated 
around the obstruction. I watched HE nearly every moment he was in 
public those three or four days; at no time did I see an unremitting 
asshole. The speech I have since come to consider under the category 
of "It was a dirty job but somebody had to do it." HE wrote it after 
polling every SF/fantasy writer of renown he could get to respond to 
the question, "What's the worst thing "fans" have ever done to you?" 
I have friends who worked a con where he apparently spent every 
waking moment screwing up everything the con staff tried to do; but I 
wasn't there. I can only describe the man as I saw him. And I have 
seen him since, including once when, if I'd been Susan, I'd have 
decked him. But that's Harlan; for many years he said he'd never 
marry again because he was a "troll." So it isn't like Susan didn't 
know what she was getting herself into; and she is a very, very 
classy and smart lady who (IMO) has him quite figured out, thank you 
very much. And I believe he has had some interesting medical 
diagnoses which *may* go some distance towards explaining his asshole 
quotient. Harlan is brilliant, fearless, and completely willing to 
put his ass on the line where he believes he is right. I respect 
that. 

> I saw a Mystery Science Theater 3000 once where someone on screen 
> looked a little like Harlan Ellison.  Mike and the bots' comments:
> "They're arresting Harlan Ellison!"
> "Good."

Cute. (I am obnoxiously proud that I never saw more than moments of  
MST3K; I prefer my own (and friends') live heckling to canned.)

My very favorite Ellison short story is available on cassette, read 
by the author: it's a side-splitting "Jewish science fiction story" 
about a many-armed little blue alien, called "I'm Looking for Kadak." 
(No offense to anyone who believes there's nothing funny about being 
Jewish.)

Sandy

"The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and 
stupidity." -Harlan Ellison (How can you *not* love someone who is so 
on target? Read Stephen King's introduction to the Ellison 
collection, Stalking the Nightmare, if you can find it somewhere.)

P.S. I also had a chance to thank Barclay Shaw (who did the cover art 
for that Ace re-release of Gentleman Junkie) for snaring me that day.




From pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk  Sat Oct  4 23:05:48 2003
From: pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk (bluesqueak)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 23:05:48 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blng78+igmt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blnjoc+kacu@eGroups.com>

Joywitch wrote:
> Well, I'm no longer a member of the admin team, but I do remember 
> that a few months ago, while I was still on the admin team, we 
> voted to rescind the so-called "banned topics," such as politics.  
> So, for one of the admin team to announce that a topic is too 
> political seems to contradict the current list rules.

<Snip>

You remember correctly, we have rescinded the 'banned topics' rule. 
Politics is fine, provided you discuss it in a non-divisive way. 
Rules against flaming still apply.

There is one thing that the Unnamed File says that might be relevant 
though:

> Before posting, consider how other members of our diverse         
> international community might react to your post.

This particular diversely international member of the community 
would like to point out

a) I'd never heard of Rush Limbaugh before Cindy's post.

b) My idea of American football is 'is it a bit like Rugby, but they 
have tons of padding?'

c) What's a quarterback? Is a starting quarterback just a different 
way of saying 'quarterback'?

d) what is the NFL? Why does the same team seem to be in the 'NFC 
playoffs' What's the NFC? What is a playoff anyway?

e)if we're going to talk about politics, could we talk about 
something where the *entire* list has at least a vague idea what on 
earth is being discussed?

For example, we could discuss why 'firsts' from disadvantaged or 
previously disadvantaged groups are always treated differently, 
whatever they may be first in.

Some examples from my own country:

Mrs Thatcher, a British Prime Minister in the 1980's (Prime Minister 
is the title given to the political leader of the United Kingdom, 
btw) was treated very differently by the media, simply because she 
was the first woman in that job.

[And no one seemed to notice that England had had female heads of 
state quite a few times before ;-)]

Equally, the appointment of the Chief Constable (Chief Police 
Officer) for the County of Kent in England made headline news 
yesterday - because it was the first time such a senior post had 
gone to a black officer (Michael Fuller). 

Normally, the appointment of a new Chief Constable is considered 
local news - even though Chief Constables are in line for the job of 
Metropolitan Commissioner for London (top police job in the UK).

Is this similar in other countries? Do people get treated 
differently because they are the first of their background in a 
particular job or the first to reach the top in a particular field? 
Do they get noticed more if they're the first? Do the media talk 
about them more, and concentrate more on the background than the 
ability?

Pip




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct  4 23:30:49 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 23:30:49 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!* (and American Football 101)
In-Reply-To: <blnjoc+kacu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blnl79+4jpq@eGroups.com>

Pip:

> Before posting, consider how other members of our diverse         
> international community might react to your post.

Yes, you'll notice that I took the time to give the whole Limbaugh
story rather than just state conclusions.  I did that specifically
because I know some folks here don't know football or Limbaugh.  I
thought my post contained the essential facts, but it appears that I
lapsed into "football-speak" unintentionally.  I did try to use
phrases like "American Football," and I tried to explain terms like
"ESPN."

I am sorry if my post was confusing and more explanation was in order.

Pip:

> a) I'd never heard of Rush Limbaugh before Cindy's post.

To learn more about Rush, go to:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html

That's his very own website I believe.  You can see the actual clip of
him saying the Words In Question.

> b) My idea of American football is 'is it a bit like Rugby, but they 
> have tons of padding?'

Erm, I don't know Rugby, so I can't help you.  

 
> c) What's a quarterback? Is a starting quarterback just a different 
> way of saying 'quarterback'?

Oh, OK.  

American football teams have 11 players on offense and 11 on defense.
 The offensive team has a quarterback.  The quarterback basically
"runs" the offense -- he's the on-field captain, so to speak.  He must
be able to throw the ball accurately while under assault from the
defense, he must be able to remember the plays, he must keep one eye
on the clock so he doesn't run out of time, he must remember in which
direction each of his players is supposed to run, and he must keep an
eye on what the defense has decided to do to thwart him.  And more.  

It is not easy, and quarterbacks are very well compensated.  They are
often the stars of their teams.

About 30(?) years ago, there were no black quarterbacks in the NFL. 
They were all white.  Some people said this was because blacks weren't
smart enough to be quarterbacks, as the job does require some
intellect and poise under considerable pressure.  (I know.  Yuck.) 
After some controversy about that POV, more and more black players
started to become quarterbacks.  Now, there are 32 NFL teams and 9
starting quarterbacks.  These days, the race of a particular
quarterback is a footnote -- if that.

A "starting" quarterback is simply the team's best quarterback. 
Because players get injured so much in American football, all teams
have at least three quarterbacks.  McNabb, therefore, is the best
quarterback on his team -- the Philadelphia Eagles -- which is a team
in  the National Football Conference (basically a division in the league).

 
> d) what is the NFL? Why does the same team seem to be in the 'NFC 
> playoffs' What's the NFC? What is a playoff anyway?

NFL = National Football League, a professional sports league and the
dominant one in the U.S.  (There's another start-up called "Arena
Football" or something)

NFC = National Football Conference (like I said, this is one of two
divisions in the NFL, each having 16 teams)

Playoff = the teams with the best win/loss records during the season
advance to the playoffs -- single-elimination head-to-head
competition.  The playoffs culminate in the Superbowl, in which the
winner of the NFC Division goes head-to-head with the winner of the
AFC ("American Football Conference" -- that's the other division in
the NFL).  The Superbowl winner is the NFL champion for the year. 
They get to open bubbly (I can't spell "champaigne") in the locker
room and drench their coach in Gatorade (a sports beverage).  They
also get a big check and a big ring.  The losers get to look glum and
pack their bubbly back into the case and take it home with them.  They
get a smaller check and no ring.

 
> e)if we're going to talk about politics, could we talk about 
> something where the *entire* list has at least a vague idea what on 
> earth is being discussed?

Uh, I think that is *very* unrealistic.  People talk about things I
don't understand on this list all the time.  I deal with that by
skipping the thread or asking questions, as Pip as done.  

Are we sure we want a list in which the only subjects discussed are
those which "the *entire* list" understands?  That's a tall order, I
think.


> Is this similar in other countries? Do people get treated 
> differently because they are the first of their background in a 
> particular job or the first to reach the top in a particular field? 
> Do they get noticed more if they're the first? Do the media talk 
> about them more, and concentrate more on the background than the 
> ability?

Good questions, Pip.  

I'll circle back to American Football for a minute.  The first NFL
starting quarterback I can think of who was moderately successful was
James Harris for the L.A. Rams.  (Aren't you impressed that I know
*that* off the top of my head?  <g>)  He was quite talented -- I think
he may have made it to the playoffs once.  But he had an Achilles heel
-- he fumbled a lot.  (Note:  "Fumbling" is when the player drops the
ball when he should instead hold tightly to it.)  He also wasn't very
agile, and seemed mistake-prone, IMHO.  So he did OK and got a lot of
press -- positive and negative -- because he was a "first."

Cindy -- noting that she wrote this from memory, that she used to
follow football closely but doesn't anymore, and who welcomes any
factual corrections




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Sat Oct  4 23:28:39 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 09:28:39 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Meeting Up(was Re: What's Love Got To Do With It? - the other perspective)
In-Reply-To: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>
References: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0310040040120.17901@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID: <3F7FE447.15138.2E7849@localhost>

On 4 Oct 2003 at 13:22, linlou43 wrote:

>       OK. New topic. For those who have significiant others, how did 
> you meet them?

Well, for my girlfriend - who I've now been dating about 7 years (it's hard to be 
precise because we were 'fake dating' for 5 years or so before that) and who I 
may marry someday when we both feel grown up enough - we met properly under 
experimental conditions.

Both of us were 15, and students at 'elite' private schools in Melbourne. Both of us 
had been tested as having extremely high IQs and so we were selected for an 
experimental pilot-program for profoundly gifted children to be run at the 
University of Melbourne - at this time, it was incredibly non-PC to do anything for 
gifted kids in our state (the Minister for Education actively *despised* the idea of 
giftedness and set up anti-gifted policies) so this program was kept fairly quiet, 
and fairly small - the hope was to expand it over the years.

Anyway - we were forced together in that program - and because of its size, we 
were the only two kids our age in it and basically, it was hate at first sight. OK - 
I'm exagerating a bit there. But we didn't really get along. It's embarassing to 
mention what I was like at that age - but I was actually rather *scared* of girls. I 
wasn't a social butterfly, and I was in an environment where I could have relatively 
little contact with them. In fact, earlier that year, three girls had come into our 
school grounds and asked me the way to one of our theatres - I got so tongue tied 
just trying to answer that simple question that out of sheer embarassment, I fled. 
The story of how I ran away from girls went around the school pretty quickly (-8

Anyway - I had quite weird ideas of girls, they seemed *incredibly* different to me, 
and I wasn't that sure how to relate to them. And then I found myself forced into 
close proximity with one in the hope that we'd become friends. I felt threatened by 
her - I mean, I'd gone through all my schooling being far smarter than any other 
kid around me and suddenly I was up against a girl who I knew had been selected 
on the same criteria I had been. It was scary on so many levels. I didn't know how 
to relate to a girl. I didn't really like them (I was a fairly normal 15 year old boy in 
that I was *attracted* to females in some senses, but other parts of my psyche 
were still at the stage of being worried about catching girl germs). Emma (the girl) 
had rather the same opinions as me. We also had to deal with a woman in the 
program who seemed to be trying to act as a match maker.

Anyway - we basically didn't get along well to start with. Yeesh, we were 
competitive academically, and academics was a small part of this program. But we 
became competitive in everything else as well. But we also started talking - and 
actually realised we had met before when we were 13 in an inter-school debate 
(where I'd shredded her arguments to pieces! To be fair, I had the far easier case 
to argue, but I didn't concede that at the time), and we actually began to find each 
others company interesting and pleasing (and I learned the lesson that relating to 
girls wasn't that hard at all, once you realised that the trick was to relate to them 
as a person - which most of the time I could manage, but I had serious problems 
when I accidentally walked in on her when she was naked once - she was 
changing so we could go swimming. No way I could think of her as just another 
friend at that moment - she was hideously embarassed, and my (good faith, I 
swear) suggestion that if it made her feel better, she could see me naked, lead to 
a shoe hurled in my direction!)

We tried dating a couple of times (the car crash was one of those dates), but 
those were dates for the sake of dating - we were friends, and it was cool to date, 
but there wasn't really any romance going on. So we stopped 'dating' except for 
when one or the other of us needed a partner for something (we had school 
dances and things like that) - we called these 'fake dates'. Basically for a few 
years we just fake dated, and remained friends, but eventually it started to 
become a lot more than that.


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 Oct  4 23:37:20 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 23:37:20 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!* (and American Football 101)
In-Reply-To: <blnl79+4jpq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blnljg+lhcq@eGroups.com>

Dang it!

I said:


>Now, there are 32 NFL teams and 9
> starting quarterbacks.  These days, the race of a particular
> quarterback is a footnote -- if that.

Uh . . . correction.

No.  There are 32 NFL teams (each with one starting quarterback) and a
total of 9 of these starting quarterbacks are African American.  

Sorry.

Cindy




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Sat Oct  4 23:55:10 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 09:55:10 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blnjoc+kacu@eGroups.com>
References: <blng78+igmt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F7FEA7E.16484.46BF8F@localhost>

On 4 Oct 2003 at 23:05, bluesqueak wrote:

> Is this similar in other countries? Do people get treated 
> differently because they are the first of their background in a 
> particular job or the first to reach the top in a particular field? 
> Do they get noticed more if they're the first? Do the media talk 
> about them more, and concentrate more on the background than the 
> ability?

Definitely the case here in Australia, and I think it is in most countries, and I think 
it's going to be that way for the forseeable future. In Australia, it's generally 
reported in a way that is intended to show what a step forward this is - what a 
good thing it is that people from a particular background are now enjoying 
success - and that's true to an extent.

But what annoys me is when the media gets it wrong (-8

I'm part Koorie - Australian Aboriginal. Now - the Koorie in Australia have been 
seriously discriminated against - I'm 28 and I'm part of the first generation of 
Koorie to have grown up as an Australian citizen - that right was denied to 
Koories until the late 1960s.

The thing is, because of that heritage of discrimination, over the last thirty years, 
there have been a *lot* of firsts - Sir Douglas Nicholls, first Aboriginal to govern 
an Australian state (1976). But some are not true - and are known not to be true 
by historians, and the media still reports them as 'Firsts' - for example, I remember 
articles when I was growing up about the first Koorie to become a Commissioned 
Officer in the Australian Army (this would have been around 1985). I knew at that 
stage - I was 10 - that these news reports were ridiculous and untrue, and a basic 
check of military history would have shown these journalists it was untrue - 
Captain Reg Saunders became the first openly Koorie officer in the Australian 
Army when he was commissioned a Lieutenant in 1944, and served with 
distinction as a company commander in Korea. Since that time, it's become clear 
that one of Australia's greatest war heroes from World War I, was probably part 
Koorie as well - he was the first Australian soldier to win a Victoria Cross in World 
War I, and was commissioned shortly thereafter - he went on to win the Military 
Cross twice, and after the war became Mayor of a major city - Captain Albert 
Jacka, VC, MC. The thing is - sometimes when the media writes about 'Firsts' they 
seem to be rewriting history - and I don't much like that.



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 anneu53714 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 03:17:15 2003
From: anneu53714 at yahoo.com (Anne)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 03:17:15 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blo2fr+vem7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
>
> Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of anyone 
on
> OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, anyway).  
<g>
>  Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, don't you 
think?  I
> mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long time.  (And to be
> inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include same-sex unions.) 

My DH (Mr. U) and I celebrated our 17th weddding anniversary on 
September 20th. We've known each other since January 1985 (yay, us!). 
 
> 
> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
> among those who are married for a long time.  I know my own views of
> what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
> blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
> that -- what does love have to do with it?  And what else is 
involved?

Thanks for the great Tina Turner line :-) Well, I think romantic 
love, "Eros" (didn't we have this discussions on the Main List or 
else here earlier this year?), probably dominates the earlier 
phases of a long-term relationship. But eventually the bloom is off 
the rose and you see your partner through somewhat less rose-colored 
glasses (I'm a fount of cliches tonight, sorry), and you eventually 
understand that loving someone is a decision as much as an emotion, 
and you keep making that decision every day so that the relationship 
can handle the inevitable ups and downs and especially the unexpected 
ones. And of course it's important for both of you to want basically 
the same things out of life. What's that saying? "Love does not 
consist of staring into each other's eyes, but in looking out in the 
same direction." At least that's how I see it. My husband is also my 
best friend, and someone I would've enjoyed having as a friend if 
we'd never dated.

> 
> Cindy -- who doesn't wear her engagement or wedding rings anymore
> because they annoy her, and they are too small now anyway

I haven't worn my wedding ring in several years. It belonged to Mr. 
U's mother (who died when he was 7) and was enlarged to fit my ring 
finger after Mr. U and I got engaged. Unfortunately the back of the 
band was very thin and one day a few years ago the ring just broke. 
And I've been too lazy (and cheap) to try to get it fixed. But I 
still wear my engagement ring (also the late Mrs. U's) - mostly 
because I can't get it OFF my finger any more!!

Anne U
(who now has What's Love Got To Do With It? stuck in her head)





From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 03:29:52 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 03:29:52 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!
Message-ID: <blo37g+avq9@eGroups.com>

Ok, I know this is extremely OT at the moment but 
I can't contain my excitement!

The Boston Red Sox just won their first game of the series,
coming back from a two game deficit (they HAD to win this to 
stay in the series!) Theyr'e still breathing!
Yah! Go Sox!!


Anna . . .(who can't imagine how excited I would be if I really 
liked baseball!! . . .)




From toofacedgrl at aol.com  Sun Oct  5 03:35:46 2003
From: toofacedgrl at aol.com (toofacedgrl at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 23:35:46 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Go Sox!
Message-ID: <13.22f284ea.2cb0eb92@aol.com>

*waves Sox pennant*  Let's just hope it doesn't turn into another Billy 
Buckner incident.  Go Sox!!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From joym999 at aol.com  Sun Oct  5 04:06:46 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 04:06:46 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!
In-Reply-To: <13.22f284ea.2cb0eb92@aol.com>
Message-ID: <blo5cm+kp6m@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, toofacedgrl at a... wrote:
> *waves Sox pennant*  Let's just hope it doesn't turn into another 
Billy 
> Buckner incident.  Go Sox!!

Well, as a Mets fan, I have to say that I look back at the infamous 
Bill Buckner incident with glee.  Despite that, I am rooting for the 
Sox this year, because if they win I will get to watch Pablo Martinez 
pitch in the playoffs, and watching Pablo pitch is simply wonderful.

I am convinced that Pablo is a wizard, since the balls that come out 
of his glove clearly defy the laws of physics.

For the edification of Pip and others who have no idea what we are 
talking about, I will say only that the Boston Red Sox, know 
affectionately as the Sox, are the team that never quite wins the 
World Series, because there is a curse on them.  You see, about 90 
years ago, the owner of the team sold Babe Ruth, the greatest 
baseball player of all time, to the New York Yankees, because he 
needed money to put on a play because he had the hots for some 
actress.  As a result, some wizard put a curse on the Sox.  They've 
come very, very close to winning the World Series since then, but 
never quite made it.

In 1986, they came very, very, very close.  So close, that just about 
everyone thought they had won.  They needed one more strike.  (That 
means just one more decent throw of the ball.)  In fact, one more 
strike would have won the game 9 separate times, I think.  But, well, 
with respect to the Sox fans here I won't repeat the excruciating 
details, although I remember them like it was yesterday.  Suffice to 
say that a series of bad pitches, good hitting, and a ball which 
rolled through the legs of an otherwise decent ballplayer named Bill 
Buckner due to that forgotten wizard's curse, caused the Sox to screw 
up royally, and allowed my team, the New York Mets, to win the 1986 
World Series.  

Ah.  What a wonderful moment that was.  Sheer magic.

--JMC




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 04:09:49 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 04:09:49 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <blo5id+ebf4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> 
wrote:
Cindysphinx wrote:
> 
> > Here's what I don't get though.
> >
> > If you think an athlete isn't very good, why not just say so and 
leave
> > race out of it?  You know, talk about the person's 
accomplishments and
> > failures on the field.  Why do some folks have such a hard time
> > accepting that a person of color might actually be *good* at 
something?
> 
> Back when  *I* learned to parse sentences, I could identify a 
subject, and
> the subject of Rush's derision was the media and their 
*non*impartial
> treatment of an athlete because of his color. He said nothing 
derogatory
> about McNabb at all. And the week before, he identified another 
black
> athlete as, in his opinion, the best quarterback in the league. 
Sounds like
> Rush is perfectly able to accept excellence when excellence is 
truly
> exhibited.
> 
> > Cindy -- who would have cut Rush a break had he backed down and
> > admitted his mistake, because we all slip up sometimes
> 
> ~Amanda, who thinks Rush was both within bounds and correct in his 
analysis
> of McNabb as a quarterback, and is totally delighted with her local
> station's vocal support of Limbaugh


Me (Haggridd)
Rush's original comment (as per cindysphinx):

"I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what 
we've
had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has
been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're
interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I 
think
there's a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit
for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve. The
defense carried this team."


I am aware that there are many persons on the left frothing at the 
mouth over what Rush said, and are using this comment as evidence of 
his moral bankruptcy, etc., but if they could read the comment, they 
would see that, other than the initial comment on the quarterback's 
ability, the passage was a criticism of the NFL and the sports media 
for their affirmative action stance on African-Americans in football-
- on the field, in the sidelines, or in the front offices.  This is 
documented, it is not made up my Rush.  However, the language does 
not seem to matter.  Rush was supposed to know how these persons 
would receive his comment, and censor himself accordingly.  This is 
as laughable-- and as sad-- as the Washington, D.C. city government 
official (an African-America, FWIW) who was forced to resign because 
he characterized a budget line item as "niggardly".  Hs sin was not 
allowing for how the ignorant would misinterpret hs statement as 
using th "N-word".

Don't the actual, real words and the meanings that are attached to 
these words mean anything anymore, or is it only a matter of the 
political spin?

Haggridd




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Sun Oct  5 06:20:27 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 02:20:27 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Meeting Up
In-Reply-To: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>
References: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0310040040120.17901@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>
Message-ID: <3F7F7FEB.18520.481D96@localhost>

On 4 Oct 2003 at 13:22, linlou43 wrote:

>  OK. New topic. For those who have significiant others, how did 
> you meet them?

Oooh, okay, this is a good story -- we love to share it.  :)

I met my hubby at church.  We were in the same sunday school class, and the teacher had 
asked for someone to read a scripture.  I was sitting behind and to the side of this fairly new 
guy, so I had a real good view as he flipped through his scriptures and removed a couple of 
bills.  Money.  Tens and twenties, actually.  The teacher asked him what they were doing in 
his scriptures, and he said that it was something his dad had taught him -- compared to the 
value of the scriptures, money is pretty worthless.  The teacher was impressed, the class was 
impressed, and I was impressed.  I've always lived to amuse and entertain, so I put on my 
'class wit' hat, and tapped the fairly new guy on the shoulder, and asked if he had any 
bookmarks I could use.  The teacher and class got a chuckle out of it, and *I* thought it was 
pretty funny, too, but the guy, when he turned to answer me, went all pale and looked scared, 
like he'd seen a ghost.  He didn't say anything, and I just shrugged it off.  Not everyone shares 
my sense of humor, after all.

Well, after church, I went to my car to go home, but the thing wouldn't start.  It had been 
having troubles starting for several weeks, now, and I had gotten to the point of carrying the 
jumper cables on the passenger seat rather than in the trunk.  Now, it was never a problem 
getting a jumpstart from folks at church, except for the whole "I'll be right there as soon as I do 
this" thing that takes forever and makes everyone late for their own lunch, so I went back into 
the building, wondering who I would ask THIS week for a jumpstart.  A voice in my head said, 
"Ask the guy with the bookmarks if he knows anything about cars."  I mean it, it was a real 
voice in my head.  Well, when a voice in your head tells you something at church, I mean, 
really, you listen, right?  So, I went to find 'the guy with the bookmarks'.  Turns out, he'd been 
working with cars since he was five years old.  Had a picture of himself about five or six, 
wearing a little jumpsuit with his name, 'Skip', embroidered on the patch, sitting in the engine 
compartment of a customer's car, checking the oil.  Real cute picture.  :)

So, he jumpstarts my car, follows me home, goes to his place and gets his battery charger, 
comes back to my place, puts my battery on charge, and we talk for hours and hours and 
hours.  Then he puts my battery back in my car, and gives me his phone number, so I can call 
him the next time the car doesn't start.  He leaves around 10:30 or so that night.  I get to work 
the next morning, but when it's time to go home again that evening, the car won't start.  I get a 
jumpstart from a friend at work, and get home, then I call this guy up.  He comes over with his 
battery charger, and does my battery again.  We talk for hours and hours, and he leaves 
around 10:30 again that night.  The next morning, he shows up at my door to take me to work, 
and picks me up that evening.  After about a week of this, he takes me to the auto parts store, 
and buys me, for my birthday, a brand new battery, regulator, and alternator for my car, and 
promises to put them in first chance he gets.

Two weeks later, we're engaged, and he FINALLY gets around to fixing my car.  THEN, he tells 
me why he went all white and scared-looking when I asked him about bookmarks.  Seems 
that, before he even moved into town, he'd dreamed of me, so when he actually SAW me in 
sunday school that day, he knew he was 'doomed', and that his wife-to-be had caught up with 
him.  We were married five weeks later, and people asked us what took us so long.

Sometimes, it takes a while to discover, and sometimes, you just 'know', but SOMETIMES, 
you're downright TOLD right from the start!  :)

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Sun Oct  5 06:50:19 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 06:50:19 -0000
Subject: Hugely, catastrophically late for the Mixer...
In-Reply-To: <blh478+r32r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bloevb+5i1m@eGroups.com>

Even MORE hugely and MORE catastrophically late . . . 

Wendy walks into what appears at first glance an empty room strewn 
with the debris left over from a party. After having a look around, 
she notices that she is not alone, after all . . . Kirstini is 
pulling at one of her legs as if trying to unstick her foot from the 
floor. Ah ha! A captive audience. Sounds like a good time to present 
*my* bio. 

I have nothing so grand as a thesis-finishing to account for the 
extreme lateness of my arrival to the Mixer, but oh well. I'm here 
now, and that's what counts, right? Also, I apologize in advance for 
the "Bridget Jones' Diary"ness of some of this writing. For some 
reason, I wasn't always coming out with complete sentences, and it 
is now very late and I want to post it before bed, so I'm leaving it 
as is. It's readable, just not always entirely grammatically sound. 
<G>

Name:
Wendy St. John

Also known as:
Hebridean Black (preferred username just about everywhere); 
Professor MacFusty; Hebby Elf

Age/Sex:
37/Female

Birthplace/Livingplace and feelings about same:

Heh. Born in Hollywood, California (doesn't that sound glamorous? 
It's not really. Trust me <g>). Currently living in northern 
California (East Bay area, near Berkeley). Also unglamorous, but 
somewhat preferrable to L.A. In between have lived in central 
California, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, and Scotland. Not 
particularly happy in northern California (unbelievably expensive 
and I have no friends, as we only moved here a few months ago 
<whimper>), although I'm not hating it as much this week as I did 
last week. Perhaps I'll like it even better next week. :-)

Family Life:
Married (8 years, together for almost 14), one child - my gorgeous 
little boy Connor, who will be 5 next weekend. No mammalian pets, 
but we have lots of fish (lovely - don't poo on the floor), mostly 
Congo Tetras. Although Connor is beginning to clamour for a 
pet . . . I'm planning on his first proper pet being a rat. But not 
yet. I want to wait until he's old enough for me to at least 
*pretend* he'll have any part in actually taking care of the animal 
(cleaning the cage and such). 

Personality:
ENFJ (former ENTJ before having child). In other words, a Gryffindor 
with Ravenclaw tendencies. 

Words friends have used to describe you:
Smart, creative, honest, daft, good mother.

Words you have used to describe you:
Smart, honest, daft, worst mother known to humankind <g>, or good 
mum (depending on mood), a bit thick at times, intense and prone to 
stroppiness <g>. 

Things you do when not staring at the computer:
Sleep. No, really, I enjoy it. <G> Okay, I suppose I do have a 
couple of other hobbies . . . Singing (1st soprano, currently 
singing with Oakland Symphony Chorus), I play the piano (badly); 
Birding (life list of 496, and really *really* wanting to get to 500 
before end of year), Scrapbooking (mostly on the computer these 
days, although I started out in proper albums), just a tiny bit 
addicted to Live Journal (http://hebrideanblack.livejournal.com). 
And I do manage to spend some time with my child, too. Our latest 
adventure . . . driving up Mt. Diablo in search of tarantulas. (We 
were successful! YAY!) <G>


Comfort foods:
Pasta, Lo Mein, various types of soup, Ding Dongs. Not all at the 
same time. 

Education/Work:
Haven't managed to finish a university degree, because we've moved 
so many times because of my husband's job. Last time I was working 
toward a degree, it was in Vocal Performance. Hope to go back 
someday, but probably won't study music. I'm thinking about 
Paleontology or some other natural science. Have worked in lots of 
bookstores, in administrative assistant-type jobs, and have run a 
few of my own businesses (desktop publishing and scrapbooking). Am 
currently doing no paid work, but working somewhat diligently as a 
Stay-at-Home-Mum. Thinking about re-starting my scrapbooking 
business, but going digital this time.

Language skills:
Three years of high school French (I was able to successfully order 
food in Paris and get simple directions, but not much more); one 
year of German at university (could certainly order food, and carry 
on simple conversations - German better than French because studied 
more recently); a smattering of Spanish from growing up in L.A., and 
of Italian from singing opera. Not even close to fluent in any of 
these, but have pretty good pronunciation (good enough for singing, 
anyway). 

Technical know-how:
Used to be a wiz at Word Perfect, and surely could be again if 
necessary - could work with Word, too. I know just enough HTML to 
perform simple updates to websites and post pictures and scrolling 
marquees in my Live Journal. I'm pretty good with photo manipulation 
in Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Favourite HP book:
PoA. It's actually one of my favourite books of all time, and 
although I hate memory charms in general, I wouldn't mind having one 
used on me to erase my memory of reading this book, so I could read 
it again for the "first" time.

Favourite HP character(s):
Severus Snape. Severus Snape. And . . . let's see . . . Severus 
Snape. <G> He's just Dead Sexy, no getting around that for me. I 
should probably also add that I find him complex and fascnating and 
all that, so I don't just sound like some sad old fangirl. <G> I 
also love Remus and Hermione, and I have a sick fascination with 
Lucius Malfoy, but I really don't think I should say too much about 
that. Oh, and I suppose I do like Harry. I hope he survives the end 
of the series. Well, I will say that about all of the above (except 
Lucius. I won't mind too much if he dies a painful and horrible 
death). <g>

Favourite HP line
"Maybe he's waiting to hear why you weren't on the school train" 
(That's from memory, might not be exact. But I know you know which 
scene I'm talking about). 

Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?:
Watching. They are very pretty, so I try to overlook all the 
mistakes and horrible screenwriting choices just because they *do* 
add to the visual Potterverse I carry around in my head. They 
haven't actually replaced much of it, though . . . my own vision of 
the books is still very strong.

Into HP fanfiction?
A bit . . . I read a lot when I first discovered the fandom 
(Snape/Hermione, mostly), but stopped when I realized it was 
clouding my knowledge of the canon. I've flirted a bit with it 
lately, though, reading a few things that have been rec'd here and 
there. 

Books you'd recommend to just about anyone:
"Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver and "Seat of the Soul" by 
Gary Zukav.


Favorite TV shows:
Don't watch any TV, as we don't currently have cable or satellite. 
Back when last I did watch, I enjoyed Buffy, Law and Order, NYPD 
Blue, Dawson's Creek, The Nanny, and Jeopardy. While in Scotland 
(also cableless, but able to receive a few channels nonetheless) I 
was fond of Graham Norton and What Not to Wear. Oh, and I liked Alan 
Titchmarsh's programme as well. Charlie (isn't that her name?) rocks.

Favorite Movies:
I don't often get attached to movies, but a few that I enjoy 
watching repeatedly are: Jurassic Park (1 and 2 particularly); 
Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense and Sensibility, Shrek, Galaxy Quest, 
and Nightmare Before Christmas.

Favorite Musical Artists:
J. S. Bach (he's The Man), Loreena McKennitt, Robbie Williams, Led 
Zeppelin, Avril Levigne. I listen to a lot of opera, as well 
(particularly fond of Mozart, Gluck, Purcell and Handel). 

One thing about your life you'd change if you could (sorry, but you
may not say "lose weight"):
Hmnnh. I would really rather live somewhere else - Scotland or Italy 
would be at the top of my list, but a more realistic option would be 
moving back to North Carolina. I'd also like to have some romance in 
my life, which has been missing for more years now than I want to 
count.

One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance
copy of Book 7:
My Sweetest Little Boy (Connor). 

Philosophy for an easy life:
Believe that everything works out for the best, and do unto others, 
etc. Although I'm not sure this (or anything) is going to give 
an "easy" life, nor that an easy life is even preferable. I'd settle 
for peace of mind, actually. :-)

How you found HPfGU:
After reading the books, I searched a bit on the Internet (keyword: 
Severus Snape <G>), and found some fan sites. I kept hearing about 
this *fantastic* group called Harry Potter for Grownups, and 
searched Yahoo and joined it. Well, there I was, and I wondered what 
all the fuss was about, because the place was pretty lame. Turns out 
I was in the wrong group . . . finally, I found a link to *this* 
HPFGU and fell rather promptly in love. :-)

Active at other HP sites:
I'm a list elf for HPFGU (does that count as an answer here?). I'm 
also the owner of the Room of Requirement, and I'm a member of PWP. 
I'm on the planning committe for the upcoming Convention Alley in 
Ottawa next year (not that I've contributed a darned thing to the 
planning yet . . . but I do intend to <g>). I also have rather a lot 
of HP chat in Live Journal.

Take a moment to wave to members of the fandom you have personally 
met:
AH! Lots of people at Nimbus, and I'm sure to forget someone . . . 
Gail B, Debbie, Judy, Incitata, Lilac, Caius Marcus, Cathy (Anise), 
Lady Demeter, Sushi, Lexin, Webba Pettigrew, Mike (Hedwig), Marina, 
Ann-Laurel, Deborah, Beth, Katy, Heidi, Pippin, Haggridd, Phyllis, 
Flourish, Cat Tosenberger, Steve Vander Ark, Ebony (briefly), John 
Walton (also briefly), Barb, Sara, Linda McCabe, Ixchelmala 
(briefly), Ms Scribe, Carrie, Diana, and Audrey. And others whose 
names I never caught. 

Oh, and I've also met Alan Rickman, who (while not a member of the 
fandom) surely deserves a mention here somewhere, right? <G> 

ADD A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN AND ANSWER IT:

Are you up past your bedtime writing this?
Why, yes. I am. Thanks for noticing, and good night! <G>

:-)
Wendy






From tammy at mauswerks.net  Sun Oct  5 06:55:49 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 02:55:49 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blo5id+ebf4@eGroups.com>
References: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <3F7F8835.9675.688021@localhost>

On 5 Oct 2003 at 4:09, Haggridd wrote:

> <long snip> This is as
> laughable-- and as sad-- as the Washington, D.C. city government
> official (an African-America, FWIW) who was forced to resign because
> he characterized a budget line item as "niggardly". Hs sin was not
> allowing for how the ignorant would misinterpret hs statement as using
> th "N-word".
> 
> Don't the actual, real words and the meanings that are attached to
> these words mean anything anymore, or is it only a matter of the
> political spin?
> 
> Haggridd

I think that it is a symptom of a society made up of ignorant people with a painfully limited 
vocabulary and nearly no understanding of syntax and grammar, since those were deemed, 
about twenty-five to thirty years ago, to be 'detrimental to the creative potential' of the children, 
and were accordingly dropped from the curriculum of most schools in the US.  As a result, we 
now have a public AND a media who can't tell the difference between a racial epithet and a 
word that means 'cheap', or can't tell what a person is actually speaking about if there's any of 
a myriad of politically hot catchphrases or bywords involved, or can't express themselves 
clearly and properly (and I don't mean 'politically correct' here, I mean describing their feelings 
using the best words for the job, instead of the best words' second cousins), or, if they ARE 
able to do so, their audience (for the most part) lacks the knowledge to understand.

I tell ya, it's enough to make me spit.

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From annemehr at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 08:55:52 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 08:55:52 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blk2c1+hkue@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blomao+oqb7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...>
wrote:

> For those keeping score, though:
> 
> Pippin -- 27
[ Annemehr -- 21]  <----I fit in right here!
> Tammy -- 18.5
> Eloise -- 18
> Sandy -- 18
> Anna -- 14.5
> Linlou -- 13.5
> Cindy -- 13
> Dumbledad -- almost 13
> Jen -- 8
> Shirley -- 1
> Alice -- 4 days and counting  :-)
> 
> 
> 
> And Shirley?
> 
> Here's one thing to keep in mind during the bad patches:
> 
> *He didn't mean it!*  :-D


Annemehr:
We've had a couple of bad patches ourselves, and the best way I can
describe getting through them is to realise, "I loved him before this
hard time, and I'll still love him after it's over."  It's worth the
struggle, because you always know you'll overcome it. Normally,
though, we really are good *friends* as well as lovers, and I think
this is what makes it work so well.

Our first date was Freshman year, and we were both 18.  We saw "A
Clockwork Orange" on campus, and I *hated* it -- he's been making it
up to me ever since!  We got married right out of college at 22.  Then
he got chronic fatigue syndrome, so we didn't have our first child
until he got over it, when we were 29!

Annemehr
who was born in July 1960, got married in July 1982, and thinks she
would like to die in July (not 2004, though)!





From hypercolor99 at hotmail.com  Sun Oct  5 12:09:06 2003
From: hypercolor99 at hotmail.com (alice_loves_cats)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 12:09:06 -0000
Subject: Announcement:  "Nearly Departed"
In-Reply-To: <blmits+9nco@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blp1l2+7hmj@eGroups.com>

My favourite Hungarian writer and sorta-friend got kicked out of 
school in his day (he's 53 now) for starting this game. Although, his 
version did have money involved. Not much money, but all the same. 
Everyone in the school was going crazy about this, so naturally word 
got to the teachers who eventually tracked it back to him, and 
wheeee... out he went. And that was still in the socialist period 
when you really did *not* want to have that sort of stuff on your 
CV...

So watch out, you guys! :-)

Love, Alice



--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> Hi, folks!
> 
> I'm writing to let you all know about a new Yahoo group for people 
who
> are seriously disturbed and bent and darn proud of it! ;-)
> 
> Long ago, a friend told me about a rather interesting game she 
plays.
> The idea is that the participants each think of 50 famous RL people
> they believe will expire in the next six months. Players get points
> when one of their predictions comes true.
> 
> <awkward silence>
> 
> What's that?
> 
> You guys think that's *sick?* Yep, it sure is.
> 
> You got a problem with that? ;-)
> 
> Seriously, we've set up a Yahoo group called "Nearly Departed" to 
use
> Yahoo's features to make the scoring easier and so that we can 
compare
> notes ("No, no, no, Jack Lord died 20 years ago!"). Besides, we need
> a place to post messages consoling each other when J-Lo goes to the
> Great Beyond! <veg> Already, we've had a sob session over Robert
> Palmer. Can you believe it; he looked so robust? Also welcome are
> opinions about famous people, quips, smart remarks and general chit
> chat, especially sightings of famous people who might fall ill in 
the
> near future.
> 
> Membership? Well, it's a closed Yahoo group (meaning that we'll
> receive no spam), but we don't mean to exclude anyone. *No one* is
> unwelcome or banned or any of that, and *anyone* can invite anyone
> they think might be interested ? *especially* if the prospective
> member has a good sense of humor. For logistical reasons, however, 
we
> really want to keep the group below 50 people so we can keep track 
of
> things. Invitations are first come, first served.  No money is
> involved -- that would be so *tacky!*  
> 
> So far, Melody, Gail, Morgan D, Silver Dragon, Tyler, Jen Reese, 
Nox,
> Eileen and I are on board. If you join, you'll need to post your 
list
> of the nearly departed by Nov. 1 ?- that's when Round One begins. To
> join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/ and click
> "Join This Group." One of us will shoot you an invitation.
> 
> Cindy ?- who was going to predict the demise of Dick Clark before
> someone explained that he is a cyborg who can never die




From eberte at vaeye.com  Sun Oct  5 14:02:07 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 14:02:07 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!
In-Reply-To: <blo5cm+kp6m@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blp88v+e4au@eGroups.com>

joywitch wrote:
> Well, as a Mets fan, I have to say that I look back at the infamous 
> Bill Buckner incident with glee. <snip> 

I lived in Boston at the time of that series and there was certainly 
no *glee* there, only horrified disbelief!

joywitch again:
> For the edification of Pip and others who have no idea what we are 
> talking about, I will say only that the Boston Red Sox, know 
> affectionately as the Sox, are the team that never quite wins the 
> World Series, because there is a curse on them.  You see, about 90 
> years ago, the owner of the team sold Babe Ruth, the greatest 
> baseball player of all time, to the New York Yankees, because he 
> needed money to put on a play because he had the hots for some 
> actress.  As a result, some wizard put a curse on the Sox.  They've 
> come very, very close to winning the World Series since then, but 
> never quite made it.

This is affectionately known in Boston as "The Curse of the Bambino", 
and is invoked to explain all losses and bad play by the Bo Sox.


joywitch again:
> In 1986, they came very, very, very close.  So close, that just
> about everyone thought they had won.  They needed one more strike.
> (That means just one more decent throw of the ball.)  In fact, one
>  more strike would have won the game 9 separate times, I think.
>  But, well, with respect to the Sox fans here I won't repeat the
> excruciating details, although I remember them like it was
> yesterday.  Suffice to  say that a series of bad pitches, good
> hitting, and a ball which rolled through the legs of an otherwise
> decent ballplayer named Bill Buckner due to that forgotten wizard's
> curse, caused the Sox to screw up royally, and allowed my team, the
> New York Mets, to win the 1986 World Series.  
> 
> Ah.  What a wonderful moment that was.  Sheer magic.
> 

I, too, remember it like yesterday. (covers face with hands to hide 
sobbing)  And poor old Bill Buckner--talk about the screw up of a 
lifetime!  The joke going around Boston for years was:
"Did you hear that Bill Buckner tried to commit suicide??  He jumped 
in front of a bus, but it went between his legs."

Elle (sniff, sniff)




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Oct  5 15:02:05 2003
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 5 Oct 2003 15:02:05 -0000
Subject: Reminder - Weekly Chat 
Message-ID: <1065366125.19.40834.m18@yahoogroups.com>


We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Weekly Chat 

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2003 
Time: 11:00AM - 7:00PM CDT (GMT-05:00) 

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 linlou43 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 16:38:35 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 16:38:35 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!
In-Reply-To: <blo5cm+kp6m@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blpheb+n0rc@eGroups.com>


First let me say I am a life long Red Sox fan. I still get 
aggrevated that some of the best players in American baseball 
history, like Ted Williams and Carl Yaztremski(sp?) never were able 
to wear a championship ring. As a Sox fan (I live in central 
Massachusetts) let me get some of the facts straight for posperities 
sake.

JMC wrote:

> Well, as a Mets fan, I have to say that I look back at the 
infamous 
> Bill Buckner incident with glee.  Despite that, I am rooting for 
the 
> Sox this year, because if they win I will get to watch Pablo 
Martinez 
> pitch in the playoffs, and watching Pablo pitch is simply 
wonderful.
                 <snip>
> For the edification of Pip and others who have no idea what we are 
> talking about, I will say only that the Boston Red Sox, know 
> affectionately as the Sox, are the team that never quite wins the 
> World Series, because there is a curse on them.  You see, about 90 
> years ago, the owner of the team sold Babe Ruth, the greatest 
> baseball player of all time, to the New York Yankees, because he 
> needed money to put on a play because he had the hots for some 
> actress.  As a result, some wizard put a curse on the Sox.  

linlou:

      First off, the star pitcher for the Sox is Pedro Martinez, not 
Pablo, and he's not pitching today so the Sox have to win today in 
order for him to pitch the fifth game of the series.

      As far as "The Curse of the Bambino" is concerned, I'm afraid, 
Joy, that the story you relate is partly the legend of the events, 
not just the facts. It is true that Ruth was sold to the Yankees and 
the money was partly used by the New York based owner of the team to 
fund his new play (which was a flop by the way), but the play was 
probably not the overriding factor in his decision. Sports 
historians have noted that it was actually a sound business 
decision. At the time Ruth was a rookie pitcher who had not shown 
much promise throwing the ball or as a hitter as yet. The Yankees 
offered what was, at the time, an obcene amount of money to buy his 
contract and the offer was accepted. It was a matter of gauging 
Ruth's potential against more immediate prospects and the owner 
messed up in a major way, but it wasn't a deliberate attempt to get 
rid of one of the best players of all time, just a business decision 
that was proven in time to be catastophic for the Sox as Ruth 
fulfilled his potential.
    
linlou, just setting the record straight

(BTW the Sox are playing  at the same time as the New England 
Patriots (local American Football team) today and as much as I love 
the Pats and football in general, I will be watching the Sox.) 




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sun Oct  5 17:02:02 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 17:02:02 -0000
Subject: Announcement:  "Nearly Departed"
In-Reply-To: <blp1l2+7hmj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blpiqb+95if@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "alice_loves_cats" 
<hypercolor99 at h...> wrote:
>> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> 
> wrote:
> > Hi, folks!
> > 
> > I'm writing to let you all know about a new Yahoo group for 
people 
> who
> > are seriously disturbed and bent and darn proud of it! ;-)
> > 
> > Long ago, a friend told me about a rather interesting game she 
> plays.
> > The idea is that the participants each think of 50 famous RL 
people
> > they believe will expire in the next six months. Players get 
points
> > when one of their predictions comes true.
> > 
> > <awkward silence>
> > 
> > What's that?
> > 
> > You guys think that's *sick?* Yep, it sure is.
> > 
> > You got a problem with that? ;-)
> > 
> > Seriously, we've set up a Yahoo group called "Nearly Departed" 
to 
> use
> > Yahoo's features to make the scoring easier and so that we can 
> compare
> > notes ("No, no, no, Jack Lord died 20 years ago!"). Besides, we 
need
> > a place to post messages consoling each other when J-Lo goes to 
the
> > Great Beyond! <veg> Already, we've had a sob session over Robert
> > Palmer. Can you believe it; he looked so robust? Also welcome are
> > opinions about famous people, quips, smart remarks and general 
chit
> > chat, especially sightings of famous people who might fall ill 
in 
> the
> > near future.
> > 
> > Membership? Well, it's a closed Yahoo group (meaning that we'll
> > receive no spam), but we don't mean to exclude anyone. *No one* 
is
> > unwelcome or banned or any of that, and *anyone* can invite 
anyone
> > they think might be interested ? *especially* if the prospective
> > member has a good sense of humor. For logistical reasons, 
however, 
> we
> > really want to keep the group below 50 people so we can keep 
track 
> of
> > things. Invitations are first come, first served.  No money is
> > involved -- that would be so *tacky!*  
> > 
> > So far, Melody, Gail, Morgan D, Silver Dragon, Tyler, Jen Reese, 
> Nox,
> > Eileen and I are on board. If you join, you'll need to post your 
> list
> > of the nearly departed by Nov. 1 ?- that's when Round One 
begins. To
> > join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/ and 
click
> > "Join This Group." One of us will shoot you an invitation.
> > 
> > Cindy ?- who was going to predict the demise of Dick Clark before
> > someone explained that he is a cyborg who can never die

I would join this only you are probably going to largely deal with 
US celebs - and I just don't know enough to join in.  Hope you enjoy 
it though!

No matter - just thought I'd mention my own personal version of this:

I have a personal pledge that the day Margaret Thatcher, the former 
Prime Minister of Great Britain dies, I will purchase and drink a 
bottle of the finest champagne.  And embrace the following hangover 
with pleasure.

I hate that woman so very much her death will be proof that God 
really does have the last laugh.

Apologies to any british Thatcherites out there.  Promise I won't 
make any further political comments.

Actually, no, I'm not sorry in the least.

June






From joym999 at aol.com  Sun Oct  5 17:25:17 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 17:25:17 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blo5id+ebf4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blpk5t+m5kt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Haggridd" 
<jkusalavagemd at y...> wrote:


> This is 
> as laughable-- and as sad-- as the Washington, D.C. city government 
> official (an African-America, FWIW) who was forced to resign 
because 
> he characterized a budget line item as "niggardly".  Hs sin was not 
> allowing for how the ignorant would misinterpret hs statement as 
> using th "N-word".

Actually, I live in DC, and I remember this incident quite well, and 
your facts are wrong.  The official who used the word "niggardly" 
was, in fact, a white guy, not an African-American.  He was not 
forced or even asked to resign.  He offered to resign rather than 
work with people whom he was clearly having trouble communicating 
with, and was moved to another position on the Mayor's staff.  And, 
yes, the incident was idiotic.  But the main reason it got a lot of 
press was because it was so idiotic.  I don't remember any 
implication by anyone, other than the idiot who didn't know the 
meaning of the word "niggardly," that anything racist had taken place.

JMC




From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Sun Oct  5 20:19:02 2003
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 20:19:02 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blnjoc+kacu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blpubm+pulk@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "bluesqueak" wrote:
[snip]
> Some examples from my own country:
> 
> Mrs Thatcher, a British Prime Minister in the 1980's (Prime
> Minister is the title given to the political leader of the
> United Kingdom, btw) was treated very differently by the media,
> simply because she was the first woman in that job.
> 
> [And no one seemed to notice that England had had female heads of 
> state quite a few times before ;-)]
[snip]

But then, Baroness Thatcher never has been head of state - she was 
head of government.  In a monarchy, the difference is profound, 
because the head of state becomes a head of state by way of 
inheritance, while the head of government comes to that position by 
way of election.  In USA, the President fills both roles, but that is 
a relatively unique situation in modern times - in most democratic 
republics (France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Iceland, etc.), the 
President is the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head 
of Government.

Best regards
Christian Stub?
Nitpicker




From kelleythompson at gbronline.com  Sun Oct  5 20:37:24 2003
From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 20:37:24 -0000
Subject: AFK, AFC, DH, Etc.
In-Reply-To: <blkp0p+rag0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blpve4+3f9i@eGroups.com>


> Pip wrote:
> > So, DH is 'dear husband'. But what's AFK?
> > 
> > I keep thinking it's 'Away From Kids'. Am I right?

David:
> Yeah, I don't get that one.  I used to think it meant Away From 
> Keyboard, until someone said they'd be AFC but not AFK (or the 
other way around).  I'd assumed C was Computer. >>>

It *is* "keyboard"; the C has to be for Computer, too; possibly this 
person meant they have a text phone or something, so they're able to 
send messages, but have no access to files and so on?

--Kelley, who always thought the 'D' in "DH" was for "Darling".  Men, 
what shorthands do you use to refer to the wives?  ;-)





From susannahlm at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 20:40:20 2003
From: susannahlm at yahoo.com (derannimer)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 20:40:20 -0000
Subject: Calling Rush Listeners -- A Question of Culture
Message-ID: <blpvjk+oueh@eGroups.com>

<rubs hands>

Well, now that we've gotten onto Rush, I'm going to take this opportunity to ask a 
question that has always puzzled me about Rush Limbaugh. This is something I 
genuinely have wondered about for a while -- I'm not simply trying to bash the man 
or something -- and I would appreciate elucidation from any Rush-listeners who 
happen to be, er, sorry, tuning in.

See, my grandmother is a die-hard Republican. She's a Christian, and *very* socially 
conservative, and -- being, apart from everything else, about 85 -- also very 
culturally old-fashioned. She doesn't much approve of various sorts of crassness in 
modern life, and if you just knew her socially, you would probably think that she 
would be just the sort of decline-of-civility-lamenting person who would *hate* rude 
talk radio. And I hope we can all agree that Rush, bless his little heart, whatever else 
he is, is pretty rude. (Quotage: "The media is going into orgasm after orgasm after 
orgasm about John McCain.")

So, my question is, why does my grandmother regularly listen to, and like, Rush 
Limbaugh?

Or rather, more broadly, why do cultural conservatives and family-values folks -- I'm 
one myself, btw -- find the extraordinary crassness of many ostensibly conservative 
insititutions acceptable?

Because it's not just radio; if you look at CNN or MSNBC and then at Fox, Fox -- the 
*conservative* channel -- is the one with the sleazy electric guitar music on the 
intros, and right-leaning Bill O'Reilly is cruder than your average, equally prominent 
left-leaning talk show host is. When's the last time you heard Bill Press tell someone 
to "shut up?"

See, some people (liberals, for obvious reasons) would explain this by saying that 
those social/culutural conservatives don't really mean what they're saying -- that 
values and civility and the decline of Western civilization and whatnot is just a handy 
club to hit the Democrats with, and the fact that they like institutions like talk radio 
simply proves this. But I know for a fact that this is not the case; there are many 
people who are *very* sincere about this, and a lot of those people listen to Rush. So 
there's just got to be something else going on here, some reason why cultural 
conservatives seem so attracted to institutions that, in form, apparently diss 
everything that said conservatives believe in content.

What gives?




Derannimer, who has a few opinions about the football thing too, but who *really* 
wants an answer to this question




From toofacedgrl at aol.com  Sun Oct  5 20:47:37 2003
From: toofacedgrl at aol.com (toofacedgrl at aol.com)
Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2003 16:47:37 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Go Sox!
Message-ID: <34.3ff8a4e5.2cb1dd69@aol.com>

*waves pennant again*  Yeah Sox! Yeah Pats!  We Massachusetts denizens are 
proud today!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 21:18:45 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 21:18:45 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <3F7F8835.9675.688021@localhost>
Message-ID: <blq1rl+ampg@eGroups.com>

I have been trying so *hard* to stay out of this, I really have!

Regarding the grammatical structure of Rush Limbaugh's "sports 
commentation":

For the better part of two years (+/- 1993) I listened to his show 
every weekday (a coworker was dedicated); he is a brilliant 
entertainer, and I enjoyed that. Eventually I began to despise him: 
he is very good at fanning the flames of controversy in such a way 
that his fan base is able to say, "Hey, if you pay attention, you'll 
see that's not what he meant." That makes him a slimy git, IMO. (Now 
I support Al Franken.)

> > Haggridd wrote:
> > <long snip> This is as laughable-- and as sad-- as the 
> > Washington, D.C. city government official (an African-America, 
> > FWIW) who was forced to resign because he characterized a budget 
> > line item as "niggardly". His sin was not allowing for how the 
> > ignorant would misinterpret his statement as using the "N-word".

I can't even find a scrap of common etymology between "niggardly" and 
the word people were thinking of. As someone else has said, no, he 
wasn't African-American (and what does that matter anyway, although 
it would have), and he resigned in disgust, or in protest; it was his 
choice. (There was no "sin." This was not a moral issue whatsoever. 
Strictly politics. I know this was just a figure of speech, but...)

> > Don't the actual, real words and the meanings that are attached to
> > these words mean anything anymore, or is it only a matter of the
> > political spin?

Language is about communication; and, like it or not, usage drives 
meaning. (Look up "decimate"--it actually means reduce by 10% and 
comes from the practice in Imperial Rome of "removing" 1 of every 10 
soldiers in squads deemed to be performing under par. When's the last 
time you saw or heard "decimated" used in a way that didn't 
mean "devastated"? (And while the remaining Roman soldiers may have 
been devastated, that's not what's driving the use of "decimated" 
nowadays.)

If certain words or terms or "concepts" are leading to inflammation 
in the brains of a substantial percentage of listeners, then the 
speaker is failing to get the intended message across (unless the 
intent was to inflame--or to speak only to those who would not have 
that reaction, which is another way of being divisive).

I understand some frustration with the "political correction" of 
everything under the sun. Personally, while I understand that the 
pendulum has swung too far left for most people's comfort, I much 
prefer this state of affairs to the one which existed before it.

Tammy wrote:
> I think that it is a symptom of a society made up of ignorant 
> people with a painfully limited vocabulary and nearly no 
> understanding of syntax and grammar, since those were deemed, 
> about twenty-five to thirty years ago, to be 'detrimental to the 
> creative potential' of the children, and were accordingly dropped 
> from the curriculum of most schools in the US.

Ah, 'scuse me, but isn't this oversimplification? I don't think 
that "no understanding of syntax and grammar" is sufficient to make a 
person "ignorant." (My last formal education ended just about thirty 
years ago; most of my understanding of how words fit together is a 
result of autodidactic tendencies and has nothing to do 
with "curriculum.") There are many ways to be "ignorant," and many 
ways to be "educated."

I think that angst has far more to do with how people hear certain 
things than syntax and grammar ever could. I worked with pee-aitch-
dees (older than me, implying that their educations included syntax 
and grammar) in the field of civil rights; they were better than 
anyone else I'd ever met at finding offense where none was meant. 
Three things were in play, as far as I could tell: 1) They had very 
personal, PTSD-type reactions to certain issues; 2) They were 
absolutely determined that *awareness* of their sensitivity to these 
issues remain front and center in the dialogue; 3) They began to rely 
on the attention/awareness their sensitivity lent the dialogue and 
manipulated it in order to gain ground for their point of view as it 
related to the matter at hand. While all of that can add up to a 
gigantic pain in the ass, my personal take on the whole thing was 
that how they arrived at part #1 gave them the right to #2 and so on. 
(But then, I'm a flaming liberal with libertarian tendencies.)

I see political correctness as a process, and have faith that it's 
just a phase. Eventually, sufficient numbers of people will recognize 
that PC rhetoric has achieved all it can; at that point, it will 
start to be retired. (Some people make a career out of rabble-
rousing; they just want to keep the arguments hot and line their 
pockets. Eventually, those who care about actual outcomes will 
recognize them for the opportunists they are and find their own, 
closer to middle, ground.) Or perhaps I'm naive; but that's just me.

Sandy, hoping she's made at least a little bit of sense here




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Sun Oct  5 21:57:40 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 17:57:40 -0400
Subject: Ignorance?  (was: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*)
In-Reply-To: <blq1rl+ampg@eGroups.com>
References: <3F7F8835.9675.688021@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F805B94.12317.1BF737B@localhost>

On 5 Oct 2003 at 21:18, msbeadsley wrote:

> Tammy wrote:
> > I think that it is a symptom of a society made up of ignorant 
> > people with a painfully limited vocabulary and nearly no 
> > understanding of syntax and grammar, since those were deemed, 
> > about twenty-five to thirty years ago, to be 'detrimental to the
> > creative potential' of the children, and were accordingly dropped
> > from the curriculum of most schools in the US.
> 
> Ah, 'scuse me, but isn't this oversimplification? I don't think 
> that "no understanding of syntax and grammar" is sufficient to make a
> person "ignorant." (My last formal education ended just about thirty
> years ago; most of my understanding of how words fit together is a
> result of autodidactic tendencies and has nothing to do with
> "curriculum.") There are many ways to be "ignorant," and many ways to
> be "educated."

Tammy (now) --

I suppose that *was* a bit of oversimplification, yes, and I'm sorry for that -- it's an all-too-easy 
stumble for me to make.  For this, though, I'm still reeling from the realization that grammar 
and syntax and other tools for effective speech and writing had been left untaught for nearly 
thirty years.  As a childless couple, we never really had much interest in what the schools 
were doing, and I had had no clue about this distressing direction in 'education' until I caught a 
newspaper article several weeks ago about how a teacher had started teaching grammar, of all 
things.  I wondered why this was 'news', and read to my growing horror about what the vast 
majority of our schools had been doing to a whole generation of us!   And while being untaught 
is not the same as being ignorant (the word does mean choosing to ignore things, not simply 
not knowing them), I've found that, in all the places I've lived (three countries, ten states, and 
over fifty towns or cities), I have run into an apalling THOUSANDS of people who *are* truly 
ignorant, in the classical meaning of the word, and who have very little desire or incentive to 
expand their horizons or broaden their minds.  So, yes, it was a bit of oversimplification, but 
with (in my experience, at least) solid foundations.

Now, I've never been too keen on debate, so I'll step down now, before my feelings start to 
carry me away.  *putting away the soapbox and picking up the boxed set of HP*

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sun Oct  5 22:29:13 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 22:29:13 -0000
Subject: Ignorance?  (was: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*)
In-Reply-To: <3F805B94.12317.1BF737B@localhost>
Message-ID: <blq5vp+khjb@eGroups.com>

<snip>
> I'm still reeling from the realization that grammar and syntax and 
> other tools for effective speech and writing had been left untaught 
> for nearly thirty years.  As a childless couple, we never really 
> had much interest in what the schools were doing, and I had had no 
> clue about this distressing direction in 'education' until I caught 
> a newspaper article several weeks ago about how a teacher had 
> started teaching grammar, of all things.  I wondered why this 
> was 'news', and read to my growing horror about what the vast 
> majority of our schools had been doing to a whole generation of us!

I suspect the writer of that article of some grandstanding. While we 
are also a childless couple, many of our friends have children. As 
many of those friends are either published or aspiring writers as 
well as "word nerds" extraordinaire, I expect we would have heard 
about any widespread retirement of English grammar in U.S. schools. 
I'm concerned enough to do some research, however. Thanks for the 
heads-up.

> And while being untaught is not the same as being ignorant (the 
> word does mean choosing to ignore things, not simply not knowing 
> them) 
<snip>

I believe the term you're looking for is "willfully ignorant."  
No "choosing" is implied by the word "ignorant," at least according 
to our copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Sandy, nitpicking rather assiduously herself




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Sun Oct  5 22:32:50 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 18:32:50 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Ignorance?  (was: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*)
In-Reply-To: <blq5vp+khjb@eGroups.com>
References: <3F805B94.12317.1BF737B@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F8063D2.21602.1DFA696@localhost>

On 5 Oct 2003 at 22:29, msbeadsley wrote:

I (Tammy) wrote:
> > And while being untaught is not the same as being ignorant (the word
> > does mean choosing to ignore things, not simply not knowing them) 
> <snip>


And Sandy answered:
> I believe the term you're looking for is "willfully ignorant." 
> No "choosing" is implied by the word "ignorant," at least according to
> our copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.
> 
> Sandy, nitpicking rather assiduously herself

Sandy, I bow to the Oxford English Dictionary, especially since I don't have anything better at 
my disposal right now than www.dictionary.com.  :)

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From charisjulia at hotmail.com  Sun Oct  5 23:36:43 2003
From: charisjulia at hotmail.com (charisjulia)
Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 23:36:43 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!*
In-Reply-To: <blpk5t+m5kt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blq9ub+rt7b@eGroups.com>


Amanda wrote:

>>>>>>>>>>>>This is an issue, like Bush, politics, and all the other 
formerly-banned
topics, where people feel what they feel and discussion is generally 
not
productive. Posts on these types of topics tend to be a lot of "well, 
this
is what *I* think"--lots of putting opinions forward, lots of not 
being
willing to be persuaded, precious little compromise, lots of flame
potential.<<<<<<<<<<<<


Besides the various HPFGU groups I belong to I have only ever become 
a member of one other online discussion group. Now, I???d like to share 
something with you about this group: It???s rude.


Oh, well, ok, I???m just being a tad dramatic here and as I???ve learnt 
since I joined things aren???t really as bad as I initially gathered. 
But heated discussions will crop up and members make absolutely no 
attempt to avoid those or the ensuing blow-ups. To give you an idea, 
comments I have come across (translated faithfully, I hope) have 
included (and I kid you not):


???The only thing that comment proves is the profound lack of education 
you are obviously suffering from???


???At last! Somebody that can solve all the problems man ever faced! 
Where were you hiding all this time! Yes, after such a serious 
analysis I think I can discern the root of all my misconceptions! Oh, 
thank you, I am indeed indebted to you!???


???I???d explain why (what you just said) is utter nonsense, but I???ve got=
 
work to do right now. Bye!???


You get the picture, I assume.


Now I???m not suggesting that OTC follow this group down the merry road 
to vituperative language and personal insults. I???d hate to see that. 
And I understand that the history of the group teaches especial 
caution. I only pointed this out because, well, firstly, I???m not sure 
everybody here realises what a civil-mouthed lot we are: Yay, for 
us! ;-) And secondly because I do think that they have at least got 
one thing right: in all loaded (and therefore in all really 
important) matters people are going to disagree. Not everybody thinks 
that same way and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. Neither 
does everybody always chose the most appropriate wording to express 
themselves. Furthermore, unfortunately, sometimes people fly off the 
handle. 


*But* :

One can???t avoid all confrontation by pushing all subjects which might 
arouse one out of sight. Furthermore I???m not sure I agree that such 
discussions would necessarily be unproductive. In fact, I???d say that 
that???s a pretty bleak view of humanity. I???d like to think that most 
people are (reasonably) open-minded and willing to assume the good 
faith of those around them. Not to mention confident enough in their 
own opinion to be able to defend it in a civil conversation and not 
get overly upset if the conversation does happen to get uncivil. And 
though I can certainly see why Bush, politics and other such topics 
can be full of minefields, that doesn???t mean that logic cannot be 
applied to them or that meaningful discussions cannot be held on them.


Cindy opened an interesting topic. She also expressed herself (I 
thought) quite fittingly and with ample restraint. She took the 
different levels of familiarity which the diverse members of OTC with 
the subject might have into consideration. (this BTW from somebody 
for whom the words American football simply conjure up confusing 
images of lots of beefy men in padding charging at each other, 
getting bashed against each other and grunting a lot. And who also 
has absolutely no idea who Rush Limbaugh is.) Finaly, I have never 
been given the impression that racial discrimination was too testy a 
subject for OTC. As Cindy herself pointed out it had been discussed 
in the past without any unpleasantness arising. 


Sorry if I???ve misinterpreted your meaning completely here Amanda.


Charis Julia





From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 01:58:02 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 01:58:02 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!  Again??
In-Reply-To: <blo5cm+kp6m@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blqi7a+5c4i@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "joywitch_m_curmudgeon" 
<joym999 at a...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, toofacedgrl at a... wrote:
> > *waves Sox pennant*  Let's just hope it doesn't turn into another 
> Billy 
> > Buckner incident.  Go Sox!!
> 

> 
> In 1986, they came very, very, very close.  So close, that just 
about 
> everyone thought they had won.  
  Suffice to 
> say that a series of bad pitches, good hitting, and a ball which 
> rolled through the legs of an otherwise decent ballplayer named 
Bill 
> Buckner due to that forgotten wizard's curse, caused the Sox to 
screw 
> up royally, and allowed my team, the New York Mets, to win the 1986 
> World Series.  
> 
> Ah.  What a wonderful moment that was.  Sheer magic.
> 
> --JMC

Well, Joy,
They did it again! Unbelievable but the Sox won another game today!
And the Patriots won today too! 

As to Billy Buckner, I don't know where he is living now, but I doubt 
it's around here.  Poor ickle Bill.  But I think he's got a sense of 
humor about the whole thing, as I think he owns some batting cages 
somewhere in the NE area and (a previous fellow employee told me 
this, don't know if its really true), apparently, when you go through 
the entrance, there are a pair of legs (about 10 feet high or so), in 
full baseball regalia, on either side of the door!!  Good that he can 
laugh about it; don't know how many people besides him can even after 
17 years!

Anna . . . (whose got to go catch the last few minutes of Tarzan on 
WB)




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 02:14:39 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 02:14:39 -0000
Subject: Let's *Really* Talk About Sports Was: Oh, That Rush!
In-Reply-To: <blq9ub+rt7b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blqj6f+nfbj@eGroups.com>

> Besides the various HPFGU groups I belong to I have only ever 
> become a member of one other online discussion group. Now, I'd 
> like to share something with you about this group: It's rude.

I can't prevent myself asking: were you complaining, or illustrating? 
<G + ducking>

> To give you an idea, comments I have come across (translated 
> faithfully, I hope) have included (and I kid you not):

<snipped quotes, which I'm sorry I missed in situ, and more>

> One can't avoid all confrontation by pushing all subjects which 
> might arouse one out of sight. Furthermore I'm not sure I agree 
> that such discussions would necessarily be unproductive. In fact, 
> I'd say that that's a pretty bleak view of humanity.

Yeah, but the attempt to quash the thread was coming from a list elf 
who, I'm guessing, has had to break up some of the riots she's seen 
start out from what seemed to her to be similar beginnings. When's 
the last time you had to get out there with the riled masses and 
knock heads together?

> I'd like to think that most people are (reasonably) open-minded and 
> willing to assume the good faith of those around them. Not to 
> mention confident enough in their own opinion to be able to defend 
> it in a civil conversation and not get overly upset if the 
> conversation does happen to get uncivil. And though I can certainly 
> see why Bush, politics and other such topics can be full of 
> minefields, that doesn't mean that logic cannot be applied to them 
> or that meaningful discussions cannot be held on them.

I keep having the same philosophical thoughts about matters in the 
Middle East, myself. You think I'm kidding. I absolutely am not.
 
> Cindy opened an interesting topic. She also expressed herself (I 
> thought) quite fittingly and with ample restraint. She took the 
> different levels of familiarity which the diverse members of OTC 
> with the subject might have into consideration. (this BTW from 
> somebody for whom the words American football simply conjure up 
> confusing images of lots of beefy men in padding charging at each 
> other, getting bashed against each other and grunting a lot.
<snip> 

(I hate being in charge of anything. It takes a whole second set of 
instincts. Sometimes the wrong ones spring to fore at inopportune 
times. Like with your mate, you suddenly find yourself in "BOSS" mode 
when he didn't wash the dishes he said he was going to wash, and you 
go, okay, there was an agreement here, an assignment, and it got 
broken--and then you reset, just glad it didn't happen in bed. That 
doesn't imply any lack of ability in either role; it just means 
there's slop-over. Doesn't it?)

Isn't the whole HPFGU family just the most amazing creation? A 
community held together with nothing but common interests and 
volunteer labor. Stress "volunteer." The list elves certainly aren't 
doing it for the salary. For the power? It's pretty self-limiting, 
IMO (I'm guessing); the lists are chock-full of enough *very* verbal 
and opininated people (including the rest of the list administrators) 
that I'll bet a loose cannon administrator doesn't last very long.

> Sorry if I've misinterpreted your meaning completely here Amanda.

(Isn't it a little late for that? Poor ickle Amandageist. Where's 
that weepy emoticon; oh, well.)

You have the absolute right idea about football, by the way. Are you 
in a place where there isn't any? Can I come and live there, please? 
Actually, I think *all* professional sports should be disbanded and 
the resources rerouted to feeding and clothing and housing the poor 
and educating the illiterate. And here I'm not ducking--bring it on, 
all you rude people! ;-)

Sandy




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 02:29:56 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 02:29:56 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, Kristen!
Message-ID: <blqk34+d8mj@eGroups.com>

*scurries into the room, hastily hangs streamers and
flings confetti (taking care not to get confetti on
the food)*

I know you're all still here, so step up and join the
party.

Today's birthday honouree is Kristen. Birthday owls
can be sent care of this list or directly to:
kristen_tort at hotmail.com

I hope you're day has brought everything you hoped
for.

Happy Birthday, Kristen!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf






From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 02:32:31 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 02:32:31 -0000
Subject: Let's *Really* Talk About Sports Was: Oh, That Rush!
In-Reply-To: <blqj6f+nfbj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blqk7v+po18@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "msbeadsley" 
<msbeadsley at y...> wrote:

> 
> You have the absolute right idea about football, by the way. Are 
you 
> in a place where there isn't any? Can I come and live there, 
please? 
> Actually, I think *all* professional sports should be disbanded 
and 
> the resources rerouted to feeding and clothing and housing the 
poor 
> and educating the illiterate. And here I'm not ducking--bring it 
on, 
> all you rude people! ;-)
> 
> Sandy

I thoroughly appreciate your "modest proposal", Sandy.  Cities could 
form teams of the poor and the illiterate-- not necesarilay the same 
positions on the team-- and compete with one another in how well 
they accomplish your redirected goals. At the end of each season 
there could be a televised program with a reading comprehenson test, 
a fashion show and a bake sale to see who wins the championship.

Question:  Is there a penalty for wearing your cap backwards?

One can only hope,
Haggridd "Go Team!"




From joym999 at aol.com  Mon Oct  6 02:55:00 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 02:55:00 -0000
Subject: Congratulations Cubs Fans
Message-ID: <blqli4+nmsu@eGroups.com>

The Chicago Cubs just won a postseason series for the first time 
since 1908.  I hope all you Cubs fans are happy -- it's a great 
moment.

I'm not particularly a Cubs fan, but I'm glad they beat the Atlanta 
Braves, whose stupid pretend American Indian chanting and chopping is 
simply offensive.

--JMC




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 04:53:49 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 04:53:49 -0000
Subject: Let's *Really* Talk About Sports Was: Oh, That Rush!
In-Reply-To: <blqk7v+po18@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blqsgt+k80k@eGroups.com>

> I thoroughly appreciate your "modest proposal", Sandy.  Cities 
> could form teams of the poor and the illiterate-- not necessarily 
> the same positions on the team-- and compete with one another in 
> how well they accomplish your redirected goals. At the end of each 
> season there could be a televised program with a reading 
> comprehension test, a fashion show and a bake sale to see who wins 
> the championship.
> 
> Question:  Is there a penalty for wearing your cap backwards?

Have to feed up the starving a bit before putting them in the game, 
though; otherwise they'd be soaking the footballs (pigskin, you know) 
tender enough to chew, and eating them. Baseballs, too. And need to 
clothe and house them, particularly in colder months, or they'd have 
bat and base bonfires.

Televised? Televised! You know, I believe you're a genius! I shall 
fire off letters to both Simons (Cowell/Survivor) and 
(Fuller/American Idol) right now! Talk about a REALITY show! Oh, and 
we'll ask Rush to commentate. That should cover ALL the bases.

I think it needs to be mixed teams, though; can't have cities 
competing for the biggest and best indigent populations. And of 
course there is no penalty for wearing your cap backwards--if you've 
quite naturally turned your head 'round under it first.

Sandy, who is quite flattered that you think hers "a modest proposal"




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 05:18:32 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 05:18:32 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <bll308+oiun@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blqtv8+eirb@eGroups.com>

You do know there is a "teen" deodorant called Teen Spirit? It 
always makes me laugh to see the container. My 14 year old 
recommended it (well, told her she needed it) to my 10 year who now 
has it in two scents. 

Beth




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 06:40:09 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 06:40:09 -0000
Subject: What's Love Got To Do With It?
In-Reply-To: <blhobn+oki9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blr2o9+962f@eGroups.com>

Having just screwed up yet another post heading (should have been 
smells like... something pink [was Re:   whatever it was), and being 
beyond catastrophically late for the mixer, I thought perhaps this 
thread wasn't so old I couldn't still reply and try to redeem myself.

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
[snip]
> Anyway, this latest anniversary got me thinking about two things. 
> First, I started to wonder if I have the longest marriage of 
anyone on OTC (of those who are willing to admit to being married, 
anyway).  <g> Surely I ought to be in contention for the title, 
don't you think?  I mean, 13 years sure *feels* like a really long 
time.  (And to be inclusive, let's consider "marriage" to include 
same-sex unions.)  
> 

On Wednesday, my dh and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage--while 
supervising a youth group on a cookout! Sigh. A far cry from Cindy 
C's dinner...

> Second, I started to wonder if there is any common characteristic
> among those who are married for a long time.  I know my own views 
of what makes a good partner have changed dramatically since I was a
> blushing bride.  But I'm wondering what everyone else thinks about
> that -- what does love have to do with it?  And what else is 
involved?


We both come from homes in which our parents divorced and remarried 
others, sometimes for the worse. I think that that experience made 
us stubbornly more committed to making sure our children didn't have 
to go through it. Do we have the wonderful relationship Tammy and 
Eloise so eloquently described? Sometimes. Sometimes it's just 
bullheadedness that keeps us together. I have been struck more and 
more lately though, that we need to work on rediscovering what 
brought us together and kept us together so that we're not facing 
each other as strangers when our girls are grown. I do know that in 
some of our darkest moments, when I would consider what it would 
mean to take my girls to live in my parents' basement while I tried 
to eke out a life for us, what I thought about was not what it would 
do to them, but the aching hole I imagined in my heart.

I was 18 and he was 22 when we met while working in Yellowstone 
National Park (the summer of the fires, 1988). I look back at how we 
met and started "dating" and know that I was beyond lucky. Is it 
possible to know that the life you have is so good, and you couldn't 
have had it without the mistakes you made and /still/ want something 
so much better for your children? That is the oxymoron of my life--
knowing that I wouldn't have these lovely children if I hadn't 
gotten "knocked up" and yet knowing that I want them to have a life 
of /choices/. 

My husband is beyond supportive of me, and still regrets on my 
behalf that I didn't get to get a degree (and I still wonder if I 
could ever have decided on one!), and works incredibly long hours to 
support us. I often listen with half an ear, and have been known to 
whine about the long hours. 

Well! Thank you, Cindy, for putting forth yet another thought-
provoking topic!

Beth


> 
> Cindy -- who doesn't wear her engagement or wedding rings anymore
> because they annoy her, and they are too small now anyway

(I /did/ get mine resized several pounds ago, but as it's never fit 
properly anyway, dh suggested we look for a replacement. I think 
it's a great idea. And anyway, they're supposed to be a symbol, not 
a shackle, right??)




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Mon Oct  6 08:14:49 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 08:14:49 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <blqtv8+eirb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blr89p+pak8@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Beth wrote:
> You do know there is a "teen" deodorant called Teen Spirit? 

I think that's where the song title came from. Someone once told 
Kurt Cobain that he smelt like Teen Spirit, but he took it the other 
way (i.e. that he smelt like teen spirit) and wrote the song.

http://www.nirvanaclub.org/nfc_faq.htm#54

Cheers,

Dumbledad.




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 14:53:43 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 14:53:43 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <blr89p+pak8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blrvln+244j@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Beth wrote:
> > You do know there is a "teen" deodorant called Teen Spirit? 
> 
> I think that's where the song title came from. Someone once told 
> Kurt Cobain that he smelt like Teen Spirit, but he took it the 
other 
> way (i.e. that he smelt like teen spirit) and wrote the song.
> 
> http://www.nirvanaclub.org/nfc_faq.htm#54
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.

D'oh! There I go showing my ignorance again. I did ignore 
the "popular music" scene at about that time, and have only recently 
been trying to listen to what's on the radio since it's what my 
teenager is interested in. But I feel really old when I realize that 
I dislike most of it, don't understand the lyrics (she will 
sometimes change the station and say, "You wouldn't like this mom.") 
and would rather listen to my parents' music. I had a laugh, though, 
when an "oldies" station played Depeche Mode one day. I don't 
remember them getting much radio play in the olden days.

Old and Moldy Beth




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 19:10:06 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 19:10:06 -0000
Subject: Oh, That Rush!  He's Such A *Kidder!* (Hey, So Am I!)
In-Reply-To: <blq9ub+rt7b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blseme+1bkg@eGroups.com>

I thought better of posting the brief text of something I found. It's 
a minor but clever bit which pokes fun at (or takes the mickey out 
of) Rush Limbaugh. (No offense to fans intended.)

I present a link to follow or ignore as you choose:

http://tinyurl.com/px1l

Sandy




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 19:57:34 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 19:57:34 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <blrvln+244j@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blshfe+n7o6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Beth" <jillily3g at y...> wrote:

> D'oh! There I go showing my ignorance again. I did ignore 
> the "popular music" scene at about that time, and have only recently 
> been trying to listen to what's on the radio since it's what my 
> teenager is interested in. But I feel really old when I realize that 
> I dislike most of it, don't understand the lyrics (she will 
> sometimes change the station and say, "You wouldn't like this mom.") 
> and would rather listen to my parents' music. I had a laugh, though, 
> when an "oldies" station played Depeche Mode one day. I don't 
> remember them getting much radio play in the olden days.
> 
> Old and Moldy Beth

Oddly enough, *I* had been listening to the "classic rock" station
most of the time, until I heard "Freebird" one time too many.  Ugh! 
Now I have the radio on the station that plays current stuff -- some
rap, pop, rock, etc.  I find I like a lot of it very much -- but two
of my *kids* always make me turn the radio off in the car, and one of
them is the 13-year old!

I guess that makes them the moldy ones...

BTW, if "you wouldn't like this" it's probably about sex!

Annemehr
listening to Matchbox Twenty and Christina Aguilera lately




From charisjulia at hotmail.com  Mon Oct  6 21:00:35 2003
From: charisjulia at hotmail.com (charisjulia)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 21:00:35 -0000
Subject: Let's *Really* Talk About Sports Was: Oh, That Rush!
In-Reply-To: <blqj6f+nfbj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blsl5j+9rjl@eGroups.com>

Sandy wrote:

> I can't prevent myself asking: were you complaining, or 
illustrating? 
> <G + ducking>

<g> Both actually. Their more, err, spirited mode of expression can 
wear on the nerves after a while, but they really are good sorts in 
their own way. Deep down. Somewhere. I suppose. <g>

Nah seriously, they're a pretty cool gang once you get to know them. 
And as a matter of fact, that group???s taught me a number of useful 
stuff, such as that it's ok to disagree with people. And that very 
few things are worth really get worked up about, but enthusiasm still 
makes things interesting. And that when it comes right down to it, 
ah, just cool it, man. Like, no worries, ya know? I can't think of 
any serious disagreement (even the ones containing those quotes) that 
ended in tears rather than giggles. In fact, the giggles are always 
forthcoming.


> Yeah, but the attempt to quash the thread was coming from a list 
elf 
> who, I'm guessing, has had to break up some of the riots she's seen 
> start out from what seemed to her to be similar beginnings. When's 
> the last time you had to get out there with the riled masses and 
> knock heads together?


>Isn't the whole HPFGU family just the most amazing creation? A 
>community held together with nothing but common interests and 
>volunteer labor.

Amanda made it clear that she was speaking in her personal capacity. 
If she had indeed been representing MEG, I certainly would not have 
had any objections to complying with her rules. I really do 
appreciate the time and energy the Admin team put into keeping this 
group going, and naturally I couldn't agree more with you, Sandy: 
HPFGU rocks! :-) 


Charis Julia





From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct  6 22:12:17 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 22:12:17 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't.
In-Reply-To: <002001c38ac0$9b3372e0$a958aacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <blspc2+gp1q@eGroups.com>

You guys know how much I love to kid around.  This post is different,
though.  This time, I'm serious.  So you'll see no smiley faces or Big
Paddles or any of that this time.  I am speaking as a list member (and
former list administrator) with a serious concern I would like to see
addressed.

This weekend, I started a thread called "That Rush!  What A Kidder!" 
The point was to discuss a recent racial controversy in the U.S. ?-
something we have done before on this list without incident.  I did
not discuss politics (which isn't a banned subject anyway.)  I was not
rude.  I did not flame.  Simply put, I did nothing wrong, and it was
my hope that my post would lead to a high-quality discussion about the
compelling issues involved.  

In response, one of the list administrators (Message 18535) tried to
censor the thread, incorrectly and unilaterally concluding that my
post discussed politics (it did not) and that the content was
inappropriate (it was not).  When she was advised by someone else
(possibly Joywitch, probably off-list?) that the list rules she was
supposed to be administering did not prohibit my post, she clarified
that point.  She offered no apology, instead signing off with "So.
Duly clarified. Joy, take me off your shit list now." Message 18536. 

Thereafter, another list administrator intervened and confirmed that
my post did not concern a banned subject.  Nevertheless, she quoted a
list rule, implied my post ran afoul of it, and suggested that my post
was somehow incomprehensible to the international community, stating
"if we're going to talk about politics, could we talk about
something where the *entire* list has at least a vague idea what on
earth is being discussed?."  Message 18540.

On Saturday, I contacted the list administrators and advised them
off-list of my displeasure with what happened, explaining precisely
how both administrators had erred.  To sum up, the first list
administrator blatantly tried to shut down a discussion solely because
she didn't like the content; broke the prohibition against using
obscenity on the list; made a very cutting and unnecessary remark to
Joy; and has failed to apologize for any of it either on-list or
off-list, so far as I know.  I cannot help but see her conduct as a
blatant abuse of her position as a list administrator, as her posts
would likely have earned her a howler had she been a regular list member. 

The second administrator also has not admitted error, either on-list
or off-list (although to her credit she did reply off-list to me
personally to defend her actions).  

In my very humble opinion, what happened this weekend was inexcusable
and represents a serious breakdown in the procedures the list
administrators use (or should use) to ensure that they don't abuse
their power.  I know that we all make mistakes.  It happens.  I also
know from personal experience that making the decisions needed to run
this list in a professional, fair and timely manner is not easy.  Had
the list administrators been willing to admit their errors, we could
have just moved on.  For whatever reason, however, the list
administrators have not seen fit to own up to what happened and admit
their mistakes.  

Rather than read along on the Limbaugh thread (the actions of the list
administrators seem to have sapped my interest in doing so), I spent
some time yesterday pondering what on earth could be going on to allow
something like this to happen.  And I think I have an idea about what
it might be:

Power Without Accountability.  

Our list administrators are not elected.  List members have no say
whatever in who serves and for how long.  Those who serve can do so at
their pleasure for as long as they like.  In short, there is no
accountability -? no way to address abuses of power.

I am starting to think this is a problem.  List administrators have
considerable power over everyone and everything on this list.  They
can ban people, put them on moderated status and leave them there
indefinitely, shut down threads, douse flame wars and more.  That's a
lot of largely unrestrained power, and "forever" is a lot of time for
any person or small group of people to have it. 

For the most part, past administrators ran things as unobtrusively and
fairly as they could, and I suspect list members appreciated the fact
that list administrators were mostly "seen and not heard."  List
members seemed willing to give us wide latitude and trust us so long
as we didn't abuse our positions, and I, for one, appreciated that
trust very much.  

In return, past list administrators tried to take care not to abuse
our authority.  For instance, it was expressly and strictly forbidden
to use one's position as a list administrator to gain advantage in a
debate on the list.  Furthermore, list administrators were forbidden
from calling attention to rules violations of members on-list
(problems were always to be dealt with off-list).  They could not
"pull rank" ?- in other words, bolstering their position in a canon
discussion by referring to their status as list administrators. 
Unless they were delivering an official administrative notice with the
"ADMIN" prefix, they were supposed to behave as (and be bound by the
same rules as) an ordinary list member who just arrived last week. 
They were to be model posters at all times.

Clearly, something has broken down to allow the events of this weekend
to happen at all.  I wonder whether the HPfGU system of "power without
accountability" can continue to work.  I wonder whether there are any
safeguards at all these days to dissuade list administrators from
abusing their authority.  I wonder what happens to those who do abuse
their authority and refuse to own up to it.

No, I'm not happy.  So let me ask the question publicly:  List
Administrators, why did this happen, and what are you going to do
about it?  

I hope the list administrators will take this on-list message a bit
more seriously than my off-list messages.  I hope we can all figure
out a way to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in the future. 
And I hope the list administrators will not moderate or ban me for
defending my perfectly appropriate post and telling you all how I feel
about their inappropriate response to it.

Cindy




From editor at texas.net  Mon Oct  6 22:23:42 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist)
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 17:23:42 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't.
References: <blspc2+gp1q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001201c38c58$80fd4b00$e15aaacf@texas.net>

Cindy, have you noticed that while you were stewing, compiling statistics,
and taking notes, this thread has grown and branched off and engendered
discussion?

~Amanda





From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Mon Oct  6 22:40:26 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 22:40:26 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't.
In-Reply-To: <001201c38c58$80fd4b00$e15aaacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <blsr0q+h133@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> 
wrote:
> Cindy, have you noticed that while you were stewing, compiling 
statistics,
> and taking notes, this thread has grown and branched off and 
engendered
> discussion?
> 
> ~Amanda

And *that* was supposed to be helpful how, exactly? (Is it whiplash 
or is that stiff neck something you practiced?) I gotta go do RL 
stuff y'all, but I'll be back. After I check the notes I took in 
mediation class.

Sandy




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Mon Oct  6 23:47:39 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 23:47:39 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't.
In-Reply-To: <blspc2+gp1q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blsuur+2jb0@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

I'd completely ignored this thread since American Football leaves me 
cold (but baseball is amazing ? like cricket but minus the boredom) 
and now it turns out to have been a maelstrom of group intrigue. 
Bah, how's a guy supposed to choose what to read?

Steering posters away from potentially derisive subjects on this 
list seems a mistake. One of my favourite threads here (13086) 
started with someone questioning the interest in slash and then went 
all over the place, with accusations of homophobia and all sorts. 
But though each `side' got heated, I got the impression that there 
was an underlying layer of concern and civility. And we've had some 
really informative religious debates, another dangerous subject.

I think part of what makes this list so great is the tough 
apprentiship. People seem to only start posting on OTChatter once 
they've been around on the main list for a while. Being on the main 
list for a while implies some posting, and probably some wrist 
slapping by admins off the list. But all done in a very welcoming 
way (that's how it felt to me). So we end up with a group of people 
with a slightly mad common interest, and well groomed posting 
habits. Now this summer was crazy ? all forms of list management 
(what to read, what to write, who to mentor, etc) broke down as the 
flood gates opened. Hopefully we're only feeling the aftershocks now.

Referring to one's admin duties in a post contributing to a thread 
does seem wrong though. But who knows ? if I was ever an admin I'd 
probably have it emblazoned on my shirt!

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From elfundeb at comcast.net  Tue Oct  7 00:19:49 2003
From: elfundeb at comcast.net (elfundeb)
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 20:19:49 -0400
Subject: ADMIN:  An apology
Message-ID: <003901c38c68$b941f1e0$9ddc5644@arlngt01.va.comcast.net>

As you all know, despite the geistly and elfly names, List 
Administrators are actually human.

Being human, we sometimes forget things we should know.

Some months ago, List Administration embarked on a huge slimming 
down of list rules, which were beginning to make the Humungous Big 
File as long as OOP. The result was the "[insert new title here]" file, 
which can be found (if Yahoo is being nice today) at: 
http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/admin

Unfortunately, on Saturday, one of our List Administrators quite 
simply forgot one of the changes. She therefore pointed out that a 
thread was heading perilously close to a banned topic by the old 
rules. Unfortunately, the thread was perfectly OK by the new rules.

Although certain topics (such as RL politics) used to be banned on 
the HPfGU boards, we now rely on members of this community to be sensitive to others' views and feelings in their discussion of such 
issues. 

If a discussion of a sensitive issue seems to be likely to cause 
offence to any group or individual then we will issue an official 
ADMIN asking for discussion to stop. It will have ADMIN in the 
heading, and will be signed `for the Administration Team'.

A post without an official signature (eg Dobby Elf, Peeves the 
Geist) is not an official post. It may come from a member of List 
Administration - but they are posters first, and List Administrators 
second. 

If an individual elf/geist is sending a post as part of their 
official duties, they will sign that post with their official 
signature.

Unless a post is signed 'for the Administration Team', it is *not* 
the agreed decision of the entire team.

This is obviously an embarrassing mistake, and we *are* embarrassed.  We apologise for any confusion we may have caused.

The Administration Team


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Tue Oct  7 00:30:37 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 20:30:37 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't.
Message-ID: <1a1.1b1d15f0.2cb3632d@aol.com>

Cindy wrote:

<Our list administrators are not elected.  List members have no say
whatever in who serves and for how long.  Those who serve can do so at
their pleasure for as long as they like.  In short, there is no
accountability -" " no way to address abuses of power.>

Now RSFJenny here:

I've been wondering about this a bit myself.  I clearly recall the posts a 
month or two ago with everyone despairing over the condition of the list and the 
admins saying how few people they had to work on all the moderation etc.  I 
also recall that several people on this list (myself included) wanted to be a 
part of the solution, and were offering up our help.  With this in mind, I was 
a bit irked when I saw the post recently announcing new list elves, seeing as 
how I had never seen a notice that HPfGU was *looking* for them, and there 
apparently is no way to "apply".  Just how do you all get picked anyway? For a 
group that strives no to be cliquey, ...you've failed, big time, IMO.


If there *was* an announcement made and I just didn't get it, I'll just walk 
away quietly once I get my feet out of my mouth...


~RSFJenny, who will probably regret this post, but is a bit riled up now.

"Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are 
little toerags like Kreacher on the loose -" -Sirius Black

http://www.geocities.com/rsfjenny/HP


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From boggles at earthlink.net  Tue Oct  7 01:11:33 2003
From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon)
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 20:11:33 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Meeting Up(was Re: What's Love Got To Do
 With It? - the other perspective)
In-Reply-To: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>
References: <blmhji+jk32@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <p05200f00bba7c2a03bef@[192.168.1.100]>

At 1:22 PM +0000 10/4/03, linlou43 wrote:
>
>linlou:
>      
>       OK. New topic. For those who have significiant others, how did
>you meet them?

In the geekiest way possible - we met at a LARP (Live Action 
Role-Playing game) hosted by my college gaming group.  He was in 
costume - 40s noir detective-type - and he stood on a chair and 
insulted the heck out of someone I couldn't stand.  I realized right 
away I had to get to know him better.  At the next game, I similarly 
impressed his best friend, and got to be part of their social circle, 
and the rest just fell into place . . . (of course, I had to end the 
relationship with the physically abusive jerk I was with at the time 
first, but that was going to have to happen eventually anyway).

-- 

  - 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 FilkMavenGB at hotmail.com  Tue Oct  7 01:13:30 2003
From: FilkMavenGB at hotmail.com (Gail Ann Bohacek)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 01:13:30 -0000
Subject: Wanted: Play Script
Message-ID: <blt3vq+k5s7@eGroups.com>

I figure with 1668 members on this list, SOME-body out there may be 
able to help me...

I'm trying to snag a copy of the play script for "Little Shop Of 
Horrors".  I tried to find it on the internet but I'm not having any 
luck.  Does anybody have one laying around?   If you do, could you 
contact me off-list?  I'd sure like to look at it. 

Much obliged,

-Gail B.




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Tue Oct  7 03:45:59 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 03:45:59 -0000
Subject: On a lighter note . . .Go Sox! Again and Again!!
Message-ID: <bltctn+k6u6@eGroups.com>

WHAHOO!!

I can't believe it but the Boston Red Sox actually pulled through the 
series!  They won (by the seat of their pants).  What a game! 
Off to the big Apple on Wednesday  (UhOh!).

CowboyUp!

Anna . . .(who doesn't have a clue what that means but was listening 
to the music as they showed the crazy fans partying down on Lansdowne 
Street)




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct  7 04:19:04 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 04:19:04 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <blshfe+n7o6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com>

I've been listening to Radio Disney a lot lately, so I'm starting to 
figure out some of it. This is purely bubble-gum, feel-good Top 40 
kind of pop stuff, with very little rap mixed in. My only problem is 
that they play Smashmouth "All that Glitters" (or whatever it's 
called) nearly every hour, and Hilary Duff is omnipresent. 

Ms. Tattersall, class of 1972 and getting more and more depressed 
that the music of the era is lumped into the same "oldies" formats as 
music of the 50s (Gawd, I am so friggin' old.) 

But I feel really old when I realize that 
> > I dislike most of it, don't understand the lyrics (she will 
> > sometimes change the station and say, "You wouldn't like this 
mom.") 
> > and would rather listen to my parents' music. I had a laugh, 
though, 
> > when an "oldies" station played Depeche Mode one day. I don't 
> > remember them getting much radio play in the olden days.
> > 
> > Old and Moldy Beth
> 
> Oddly enough, *I* had been listening to the "classic rock" station
> most of the time, until I heard "Freebird" one time too many.  Ugh! 
> Now I have the radio on the station that plays current stuff -- some
> rap, pop, rock, etc.  I find I like a lot of it very much -- but two
> of my *kids* always make me turn the radio off in the car, and one 
of
> them is the 13-year old!
> 
> I guess that makes them the moldy ones...
> 
> BTW, if "you wouldn't like this" it's probably about sex!
> 
> Annemehr
> listening to Matchbox Twenty and Christina Aguilera lately




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Tue Oct  7 04:49:20 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 04:49:20 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blspc2+gp1q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bltgkg+qbdi@eGroups.com>

What's this soapbox doing here? And I forgot my mediation notes. To 
heck with it, anyway...

To the person who started the "Rush" thread: your original post was 
an attempt to inspire community discussion. The quashing of that 
effort must have come as an unpleasant shock. It was unfair. (And 
over there in Moody's office, dark detectors began going off like, 
er, mad.) When the person who'd quashed your post came back and 
essentially printed a retraction, you won that skirmish. (I didn't 
perceive the second, "let's talk about something we all understand" 
post as anything other than a plea: "can't we just play nice and not 
fight?" and not an official request even at that.) I wonder that you 
didn't realize that, gloat a little, even publicly, and go on. But, 
since the retraction wasn't couched in a conciliatory tone or 
apologetic language, it wasn't good enough. (Personally, sometimes I 
*prefer* a Snape-ish demeanor on the part of someone who's had to 
give me my way; it's sooo satisfying to know that my adversary is 
doing a slow, helpless burn. If they apologize too readily or too 
cheerfully, I'm like Aunt Marge thinking that St. Brutus must not 
beat Harry hard or long enough.) So you went on the offensive, 
determined to seek justice and to prevail.

You were right. You were absolutely, completely, and punctiliously* 
right. You had your ducks in row, not a feather out of place, 
militarily straight in formation. And you got an apology from the 
administration team. Quite an accomplishment, and quite right, since 
you were the injured party.

Now, since I am not and never have been a member of the 
administration team (and have a tendency to vivisect the human 
condition with brio and little regard for the squeamish), I feel 
altogether unencumbered about telling you that, while I see several 
likely instances of human error involved in this (well, no, that term 
won't do, it's quite obscene) tableau, yours is the one I find most 
deplorable. It is very hard sometimes to admit that one was wrong; 
but can't one at least be *right* graciously? (How many of you 
thought of Percy at least once throughout this event? I will forego 
requesting a list poll and simply ask for a show of hands. Yes, 
that's about what I'd guessed. Thank you, you may put your hands down 
now.) Being right will probably not win you any friends in and of 
itself (d'ya think?); graciousness, on the other hand, is almost 
never misplaced.

It's too severely ironic to be wholly funny *or* serious: just a few 
days ago, on a list not at all affiliated with this one but which has 
some of the same members, I suggested fomenting revolution on HPfGU. 
It was an antic and outrageous aside; I would have expected an 
immediate pie in the face from anyone who'd thought I was serious. 
(Luckily, no one appeared to.) And now here we have you demanding 
justice, and you plus someone else wanting Roberts' Rules of Order or 
Parliamentary Procedure or something. I don't know whether to sit in 
appalled silence or bray with laughter.

To that someone else: if I had any say, which thank the entire 
pantheon I do not, you would just have earned yourself a substantial 
delay in any timeline around giving you any hint of power. I 
perceived your post and its timing as reflective as an acute lack of 
judgment and timing. (It isn't just that it was an addition of angst 
the team surely did NOT need at that moment; you also, in my view, 
shot yourself rather dramatically and publicly in the foot just then. 
You perceived a weakness in the beastie you purported to want to be 
part of, and chose that moment to twist its tail! (If you can't keep 
your temper as a list *member*, dear heart, what are you likely to do 
as a list elf? (I'd be having to iron my *tongue* every day, 
personally; yeah, I know, at least it would shut me up. Maybe. 
Temporarily.)) Do you think authority makes it *easier* to keep a 
cool head? Guess what: there's a reason they say that "power 
corrupts." What did you really expect the result of your effort at 
coup d'etat to be? Well, I think you probably didn't. Everyone? This 
time I will forego asking for a show of hands; you know who you are.)

Someone "owns" each of these lists, but the labor is all volunteer. 
The Admin. team is not a committee of public servants whose salaries 
are paid by the membership; nor are they accountable as they would be 
in a democracy. While I have never been this sort of volunteer, I 
have worked similar RL organizations. They are held together by will, 
mostly good will. Authority here cannot be suborned; it can, however, 
be damaged, even past the point of no recovery. While I agree that 
list members have the "right" to have grievances addressed, there's a 
catch: if the way you approach exercising your "rights" equates 
to "divide and conquer," you destroy. If what you truly value is what 
existed here before you arrived, you'll try to leave it at least as 
functional as you found it.

Sandy, wondering if her soapbox apparated here from its home over on 
the main list

*Thanks to whoever used this word the other day on the main list; it 
had been so long since I'd seen it used that I had to look it up, and 
then look how handy it came in just now.




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct  7 05:05:11 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:05:11 -0000
Subject: Calling Rush Listeners -- A Question of Culture
In-Reply-To: <blpvjk+oueh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blthi7+i6qu@eGroups.com>

Greetings from a libertarian Rush listener (libertarians being the 
OTHER conservatives with just a drop of "lib" for balance). I started 
listening to Rush right after the 1992 election, and for years he was 
the only one forwarding the astonishing conservative viewpoint that 
maybe there is too much waste in government, too little emphasis on 
traditional values, and other such shocking ideas. Later, when then-
President Clinton was caught with his pants down, Rush was one of the 
few voices shouting "It's not about the sex! It's about the perjury, 
and trying to fix a civil rights lawsuit!" over the multitude 
shouting to the contrary, and it was highly entertaining. 

*Entertainment* is the product Rush is selling, and people are buying 
it in droves. His schtick is political opinion, and yes, he leans 
farther to the right than most people (on either side) are 
comfortable with. But he's GOOD at it, and that's what people tune in 
for. Love him, hate him, give a flying handshake, people listen. And 
he sells tons of product for his sponsors. He's so good at it that 
his many imitators can only come close, and so far, no liberal 
personality has been able to command such an audience. Many have 
tried, none have succeeded. We all know about reality TV ... Rush 
invented reality radio. 

For quite awhile, I've found him very pompous and I tired of him 
easily. He was beginning to sound EXACTLY like the stereotypical 
image of the republican fat-cat. But this ESPN thing and the drug 
allegations have taken him down a peg and he is sounding more like 
the Rush of old. Still, more people are listening because, like the 
old publicist's saw says, "Any ink is good ink," and more people are 
tuning in to see what all the fuss is about. He will survive. 


Personally, I'm getting tired of the "us good/them bad" attitude and 
the nasty politics practiced by both sides and fanned by the 
predominantly liberal mainstream media on one side and the burgeoning 
conservative alternative media on the other. Everybody on both sides 
has forgotten that politics is the means of going about doing the 
peoples' business, and all the stuff on TV and radio is just theater 
of the absurd. 

IMVHO ... 
Ms. Tattersall, a recovered LIBeral, now a fervent LIBertarian





From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct  7 05:29:46 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:29:46 -0000
Subject: Wanted: Play Script
In-Reply-To: <blt3vq+k5s7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bltj0a+t0l6@eGroups.com>

Try this link: I don't know anything about the company.
http://www.13idol.com/store/scriptlists/features_l.html

Be very careful about buying "bootleg" scripts. Whichever company 
administrates the performance rights for this musical (used to be 
Samuel French, don't know who it is now) can be very possessive.

Regards and good luck,
Ms. Tattersall

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Gail Ann Bohacek" 
<FilkMavenGB at h...> wrote:
> I figure with 1668 members on this list, SOME-body out there may be 
> able to help me...
> 
> I'm trying to snag a copy of the play script for "Little Shop Of 
> Horrors".  I tried to find it on the internet but I'm not having 
any 
> luck.  Does anybody have one laying around?   If you do, could you 
> contact me off-list?  I'd sure like to look at it. 
> 
> Much obliged,
> 
> -Gail B.




From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Tue Oct  7 06:16:04 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 06:16:04 -0000
Subject: On a lighter note . . .Go Sox! Again and Again!!
In-Reply-To: <bltctn+k6u6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bltln4+pjfu@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" 
<dradamsapple at y...> wrote:
> WHAHOO!!

YEEEEEEEEEHA!

I know, I'm completely abandoning my new hometown, which just saw its 
double chances at a World Series ring go up in flames, but the Sox!  
THE SOX!

Gather round, sorcerors.  It's time to do a little ancient magic with 
the ghost of Babe Ruth.  We shall appease his angry spirit with 
incense and chocolate, and he will go gladly to rest after his 85 
weary years of tormenting the Red Sox.

Amy Z
wondering if that works with the ghost of Bucky Dent, being as he's 
not dead

and apologizing profusely to those who don't know or give a rat's 
patootie about baseball, but it's just so exciting, take my word for 
it





From fluxed at earthlink.net  Tue Oct  7 06:54:03 2003
From: fluxed at earthlink.net (A. Vulgarweed)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 01:54:03 -0500
Subject: Sports talk
In-Reply-To: <1065442596.1965.24100.m12@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <l03130307bba8110c2a94@[67.73.135.222]>


> (this BTW from
>> somebody for whom the words American football simply conjure up
>> confusing images of lots of beefy men in padding charging at each
>> other, getting bashed against each other and grunting a lot.
><snip>

See, when you phrase it *that* way, you make it actually sound interesting! :D


>   From: "joywitch_m_curmudgeon" <joym999 at aol.com>
>Subject: Congratulations Cubs Fans
>
>The Chicago Cubs just won a postseason series for the first time
>since 1908.  I hope all you Cubs fans are happy -- it's a great
>moment.

I understand the Mardi Gras-style partying in Wrigleyville went on til 5 on
Monday morning. Many hungover-looking coworkers today. :) I stayed home and
watched on TV, where they had nice aerial views of the sea of exuberant
humanity and blocked-off streets. (Remember, this game wasn't played in
Chicago!)

>I'm not particularly a Cubs fan, but I'm glad they beat the Atlanta
>Braves, whose stupid pretend American Indian chanting and chopping is
>simply offensive.

Hear ye! Hear ye! And thank you.

Now, I'm kind of hoping for a Cubs/Red Sox matchup--the two most
effectively-hexed teams of all time ('cept maybe the Black Sox) go
head-to-head. Although I'm afraid that's a World Series that can only end
with a meteor falling on the stadium.

AV
Wondering if Aberforth would tell us anything useful about that Billy Goat
Curse.





From heidit at netbox.com  Tue Oct  7 10:24:34 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 03:24:34 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com>
References: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1065522278.292C8798@w5.dngr.org>


On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 12:19AM -0500, mstattersall wrote:
> Real-To:  "mstattersall" <cwood at tattersallpub.com>
>
> I've been listening to Radio Disney a lot lately, so I'm starting to
> figure out some of it. This is purely bubble-gum, feel-good Top 40
> kind of pop stuff, with very little rap mixed in. My only problem is
> that they play Smashmouth "All that Glitters" (or whatever it's
> called) nearly every hour, and Hilary Duff is omnipresent.
>
> Ms. Tattersall, class of 1972 and getting more and more depressed
> that the music of the era is lumped into the same "oldies" formats as
> music of the 50s (Gawd, I am so friggin' old.)
>
And this is the glory of satellite and digital radio. I've been looking 
into Sirius (weep) and XM, as I'm about to get a (gasp!) minivan and 
thus feel like it at least merits a good sound system, and they're 
amazing. Specialized stations for adult alternative,  80s alternative, 
showtunes, etc. No need to accept the dweeby station that allows the 
playing of Depeche Mode right after Debbie Gibson (who is v nice, but 
did a bunch of songs that were clearly designed to disgust her peer 
group).

Of course, it still means I'm out of it when it comes to knowing about 
Today's Music, but I learn names of bands on livejournal and thus feel 
like I have a clue.

Heidi



From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Tue Oct  7 12:41:47 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 12:41:47 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <bltgkg+qbdi@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blucab+k8lb@eGroups.com>

Good morning!

First, I would like to thank Debbie for the apology she wrote on
Amanda's behalf.  I appreciate it and accept it.

Second, I have read Sandy's post several times, and I'm a bit
confused.  I'm having some trouble figuring out which parts are
critical of me and which parts are referring to someone else,
especially since Debbie's apology came after my public statement.  Yet
I don't want to ignore Sandy's post, because it was a sincere effort
to grapple with the issues.

I will say this, then.  The reason that I felt I needed to say
something publicly is quite simple:  I was being *blown off* in my
attempts to discuss this matter with the elves off-list.  Had the
apology come in response to my off-list notes, there would have been
no reason to say anything publicly.  I thought this matter was
important, and I could not seem to get the list administrators to
understand that something needed to be done about it.  

Mmmm, I'll stop there, because I'd hate to respond to something Sandy
said that wasn't directed to me.

Cindy




From acinonyxjubatus42 at yahoo.co.uk  Tue Oct  7 14:11:44 2003
From: acinonyxjubatus42 at yahoo.co.uk (acinonyxjubatus42)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 14:11:44 -0000
Subject: Even more hugely, more catastrophically late for the Mixer...
Message-ID: <bluhj0+lev2@eGroups.com>

Well, I sorta have an excuse....namely that I was off on holiday 
during the time this started. And of course, as you do, you start 
replying. And then promptly forget about it.

So Wendy, if you think you're late...you can always point to me if 
anyone accuses you of being a procrastinator!

And of course, I had written so much that I eventually thought : 
what the heck, let's just post it. Even if everyone's forgotten wot 
the hell this is all about, and wonders if I'm some kinda egomaniac. 

So here we go!



Name: Jeremy Goh


Also known as: In real life, nothing else, really. I resisted all 
the incurably evil attempts to dub me Jez, J, Jezza. I seem to have 
acquired two nicknames online, however ? Aci (short for Acinonyx 
Jubatus, my favourite animal) and Pruffy (short for Prufrock, which 
is the eponymous hero of my favourite poem). 


Age/Sex: 27 / Male


Birthplace/Livingplace and feelings about same: Born in Kuching, 
Sarawak, Malaysia. I prefer to say that I'm from Borneo, because I 
have little in common with the country I seem to live in 
(and "Borneo" just sounds more exotic - especially when I mention 
headhunters). Kuching's a nice little city, with the distinction of 
being one of the wetter places to plonk a city down (average 5000mm 
a year, or about 200 inches) and a great place for floods (300mm in 
one day happens once every a year or so, it feels) and those 
fantastic thunderstorms that inexorably sweep down across the 
floodplain bristling with fury. Otherwise, it's a boring place.  

Currently living in an incredibly boring town called Bintulu, 
Sarawak, Malaysia. I'm here for the money ? if I had a choice I 
would be out of here, fast. There's no outpost of civilisation 
(coffee places like Starbucks, bookshops, proper cinema etc) here, 
so I am planning to get out of here to places more conducive for 
life, and intelligent conversation. I've lived for some time in 
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, London and Oxford before, and 
dammit, I miss civilisation. And friends. I'm another of those who 
needs millions of people to find a handful of friends. Funny how 
there are so few friends I've made since university, though. 


Family Life: Single, and there's no hope of changing that status 
until I get back to civilisation
 *gloom*


Personality: Myers-Briggs ? INTP. In other words, Ravenclaw by 
definition. Though have Slytherin sympathies  Am a uber-geek too at=
 
things I love (weather, HP, football (soccer to Americans), golf 
etc) 


Words friends have used to describe you: Annoying know-it-all git, 
person you should never play Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble against, 
intelligent, curious, dreamy, wino, foodie, footy mad, swallowed an 
atlas.


Words you have used to describe you: Intelligent, insatiably 
curious, passionate about interests, good golfer, bookish, mad about 
footy, trivia god, oenophiliac.


Things you do when not staring at the computer: Drink wine. Oh 
waitaminute, it's in the plural
.alright then : Read books 
(especially love my atlas!), read / think about my favourite 
subjects (Joyce, Camus, mathematics, philosophy, materials, the 
brain/mind relationship), obsess about natural disasters, earth 
sciences and meteorology, play golf, play football, cook, wine-
tasting (hic!), staring at the sky (clouds are cute, and when it's 
not cloudy I try to look for stars like Fomalhaut and Achernar). 


Comfort foods: Foie gras, mango, arugula, black truffles, cr?me 
brulee, and I know they're not technically food, but I think of wine 
as food ? Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Ch Leoville-Barton (can't afford 
Lafite and Yquem all the time, you know
) Oh yes, I'm a foodie and 
wino snob.


Education/Work: Went to school in Singapore, then read Engineering 
Science at Oxford. Got first-class honours (somehow managed to get 
that in between the partying and the idyll of college life), got a 
Masters. Sadly failed to find enough money to do the DPhil (a PhD at 
any other place). Still remains an elusive dream, because of a lack 
of money. But I can still dream!

Currently working as a technologist (engineer who does horrible 
things like optimisation etc) at a gas plant.


Language skills: English. I'm monolingual and proud of it, because 
I'm a contrarian in some ways. Everyone nags at me to learn the 
local languages "because they're useful" and I say : sod off ? I'll 
learn a language for the right reason - when I *want* to learn, not 
just because they're useful!


Technical know-how: Ooh. Plenty of hardcore engineering and 
mathematical programs. Enjoy playing around with statistics. 
Enjoying boring people with statistics and facts. Some of us have to 
make do with the only evil we can inflict on others :-)


Favourite HP book: PoA. I have *never* had so many "Oh My God!" 
moments in one book before.


Favourite HP character(s): Hermione, Tonks, Luna. Hermione's 
obsession with academic results mirrors my own (I actually miss 
having exams, which were dreadfully enjoyable); Tonks is the kind of 
person I like having around to cheer me up with something witty; and 
I simply like geek girls like Luna. 


Favourite HP line: "I'm going to bed before either of you come up 
with another brilliant idea to get us killed ? or worse, expelled." 


Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?: Love them! I even transcribed 
Parseltongue. Seems to have some vague sort of logical grammar, 
actually. Need larger dataset to decipher it :-) (Thought : I want 
to create a Parseltongue script! Maybe something like Linear B gone 
squiggly)


Into HP fanfiction? Not really. 


Books you'd recommend to just about anyone: anything by Albert 
Camus; the HP books, naturally; The Consolations Of Philosophy ? 
Alain de Botton; Ulysses ? James Joyce; Zen and the Art of 
Motorcycle Maintenance ? Robert M Pirsig; High Fidelity ? Nick 
Hornby; My Family And Other Animals ? Gerald Durrell; The 
Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy (all 5 books) ? Douglas Adams.


Favorite TV shows: all old ones ? I can't bring myself to watch much 
TV these days other than documentaries and sports. Blackadder, 
Goodness Gracious Me, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Top Gear, Red Dwarf, 
and perhaps too many cartoons
. Somehow I always end up on 
Discovery / Animal Planet / Nat Geo.


Favorite Movies: The Shawshank Redemption; The Fight Club; About A 
Boy; High Fidelity; The Lion King; 4 Weddings and a Funeral; all the 
Wallace and Gromit cartoons; Trainspotting; The Hours; Talk To Her. 
I'm sure there are more! And the HP movies too, of course...


Favorite Musical Artists: Groove Armada; The Streets; Chicane; U2; 
Oasis; Counting Crows; and many, many more. But when I hear the next 
one on the radio, I'll remember them...or more likely these days, 
Classic MTV / One Hit Wonders on the music channels. 


One thing about your life you'd change if you could (sorry, but you
may not say "lose weight"): I'd want my best friend to still be 
around (he died in 1997 of a rare viral infection in NY). 


One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance
copy of Book 7: The friends and my brother (who I consider to be a 
great friend!)


Philosophy for an easy life: Always make sure that you have wine 
glasses and a corkscrew ready at a moment's notice.

(I love my wine, if I haven't mentioned it 
 oh, never mind)


How you found HPfGU: Can't remember! I've been lurking for 3 years 
now!


Active at other HP sites: Not anymore
. Used to.


Your most rock solid Book 6 or Book 7 prediction: Dumbledore and 
Hagrid will die.


Take a moment to wave to members of the fandom you have personally 
met: None!


ADD A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN AND ANSWER IT: 
Name the one people you would most like to meet.

Albert Camus. When I read his biography, I had an unshakable feeling 
that I would be great friends with this man. His writings have a 
mixture of sensual beauty and intellectual ideas that I value very 
highly, and his personality and intelligence would make him a 
fascinating person to have a conversation with on matters like life, 
love and football.

Of course, everyone who's replied has been interesting in their own 
way, so I know a lot more people I'd like to meet! Now to get out of 
this place






From severus_sucker at comcast.net  Tue Oct  7 15:07:04 2003
From: severus_sucker at comcast.net (Severus Sucker)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:07:04 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <1065522278.292C8798@w5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <E94EDEC5-F8D7-11D7-9037-000502BE4F2C@comcast.net>

*delurk*

Greetings!

The only radio station here in Atlanta that I find I can listen to for 
any extended period of time is the local NPR station. We have an '80's 
station, but it doesn't play all that "freaky New Wave stuff" that I've 
always been partial to all that often.

Most of the time, I listen to different internet stations at 
http://www.live365.com . There's a great deal of variety there - easily 
something for every taste imaginable, even stations that play just old 
radio shows. There are some stations there that you have to be a paid 
subscriber to listen to, but the cost is reasonable, even for a poor 
returned-to-college student such as myself. ;-)

Well, back to lurking...

Severus Sucker

(Currently listening to a station that plays songs from anime 
soundtracks)




From pbarhug at earthlink.net  Tue Oct  7 17:59:52 2003
From: pbarhug at earthlink.net (Pam Hugonnet)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 13:59:52 -0400
Subject: Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells like.... something pink)
References: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com> <1065522278.292C8798@w5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <003201c38cfc$cf6202a0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631>



Heidi Tandy wrote:


And this is the glory of satellite and digital radio. I've been looking 
into Sirius (weep) and XM, as I'm about to get a (gasp!) minivan and 
thus feel like it at least merits a good sound system, and they're 
amazing. Specialized stations for adult alternative,  80s alternative, 
showtunes, etc. No need to accept the dweeby station that allows the 
playing of Depeche Mode right after Debbie Gibson (who is v nice, but 
did a bunch of songs that were clearly designed to disgust her peer 
group).

Of course, it still means I'm out of it when it comes to knowing about 
Today's Music, but I learn names of bands on livejournal and thus feel 
like I have a clue.

  Please, let me recommend that you go with XM over Sirius.  When the dh bought a satellite radio system for his car about a year ago, I raved an shouted that only an idiot would *pay* for radio.  Yes, I agreed that there was nothing worth listening to, but I didn't see that as an excuse to waste money.  Well, he listened to me, as usual, and then went right ahead and got the XM system.  Then he got an adapter that lets you bring the reciever into the house for home use.  I got addicted.  This weekend he even bought me my own XM setup.

    Over the summer, we rented a van that had a Sirius system.  There is no comparison between the quality of service and selection offered by XM and Sirius.  XM has a wider selection of channels, a bigger variety of music and a far more interesting format.  And very few commericals.  Sirius is loaded with them.  XM employs many radio veterans from the 60's and 70's to recreate the amibiance of the particular era on its channels.  Their jazz and blues stations have impressive depth and range, as does the classical channels (no Mozart's greatest hits).  I could not say the same for format and depth of Sirius.    If sound quality is an issue, I believe XM has the edge there as well.  The Delphi receiver for XM ( a mere $99.00 on sale this week at Best Buy) is rated well by the golden ear types featured in the hi-fi mags.

No, this is not a paid endorsement by XM; I really have been blown away by the quality of music on satellite radio.  Get yourself one if you can, and fast!

Now about that minivan...

drpam
whose Odyssey is in the shop and is forced to drive a Ford Windstar---ugh!






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From heidit at netbox.com  Tue Oct  7 18:37:20 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (heiditandy)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 18:37:20 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blucab+k8lb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blv150+6mue@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
> 
> I will say this, then.  The reason that I felt I needed to say
> something publicly is quite simple:  I was being *blown off* in my
> attempts to discuss this matter with the elves off-list.  Had the
> apology come in response to my off-list notes, there would have 
been
> no reason to say anything publicly.  I thought this matter was
> important, and I could not seem to get the list administrators to
> understand that something needed to be done about it.  

I do not want to get in the middle of something I'm not involved 
with. I'm a former list elf, but haven't been on the MEG list in 
about three months. However, from my participation on MEG, I do know 
that at least one person on the list is Jewish, and I *suppose* that 
the delay that Cindy feels she suffered may've had something to do 
with the fact that the post that upset her was made at about 6pm on 
Saturday (so Cindy couldn't've sent an email to the MEG list 
complaining much before 6pm herself), and more than half the 48.5ish 
hours between that moment and the moment that she complained onlist 
were taken up by Shabbat and Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of 
the year. 

If it were me, I wouldn't assume that I'd get a reply to something 
on a day when some of the people who ought to be part of the reply 
were incommunicado for religious reasons. It's like expecting a 
fully staffed help desk on Easter. 

Heidi




From heidit at netbox.com  Tue Oct  7 18:56:50 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:56:50 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells like....
  something pink)
In-Reply-To: <003201c38cfc$cf6202a0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631>
References: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com> <1065522278.292C8798@w5.dngr.org> <003201c38cfc$cf6202a0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631>
Message-ID: <1065553013.385876D2@w5.dngr.org>

I wrote about the fact that next month, I'll officially be a 
minivan-driving soccer mom and
On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 1:59PM -0500, Pam Hugonnet wrote:
>
> Now about that minivan...

Your odessy is in the shop? Mer, why? Is it something I, about to 
purchase an odessy as I am, should fret about?

And does anyone else here have an odessy? Thought? Compliments? 
Complains?

Heidi



From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Tue Oct  7 20:07:45 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:07:45 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blv150+6mue@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blv6ei+e3be@eGroups.com>

Hey,

Heidi:

>However, from my participation on MEG, I do know 
> that at least one person on the list is Jewish, and I *suppose* that 
> the delay that Cindy feels she suffered may've had something to do 
> with the fact that the post that upset her was made at about 6pm on 
> Saturday (so Cindy couldn't've sent an email to the MEG list 
> complaining much before 6pm herself), and more than half the 48.5ish 
> hours between that moment and the moment that she complained onlist 
> were taken up by Shabbat and Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of 
> the year. 

Mmmm, could be, could be.  

Debbie's note didn't mention the holiday as a factor in the failure to
reply to my off-list message about Amanda's posts, and no elf has
suggested to me off-list that the holiday had anything to do with it.
 Neither Heidi nor I can know what went on behind the scenes, I guess.  

But . . . if Amanda was genuinely unavailable due to the Jewish
Holiday, then I will deliver up a huge, slurping apology right here on
this list, because she would be entitled to it due to my religious
insensitivity.

In any event, the fact that one MEG is unavailable shouldn't preclude
one of the other 30 MEGs (those who were not observing the holiday)
from dropping a list member a note saying, "Hey, we got your message,
and we're working on a reply."  That seems only courteous under the
circumstances.  

> If it were me, I wouldn't assume that I'd get a reply to something 
> on a day when some of the people who ought to be part of the reply 
> were incommunicado for religious reasons. It's like expecting a 
> fully staffed help desk on Easter. 

An official and well-considered reply?  No.  An acknowledgement from
someone?  Yes.  

Again, I *know* how difficult it is to run this list.  On that, the
elves have my sympathy.  For what it is worth, I have now heard from
Amanda off-list on the merits regardomg her conduct -- we haven't
exactly had a meeting of the minds, but I appreciate her willingness
to engage with me -- we are discussing things, and with any luck at
all, we'll be able to resolve the sticky issues involved here.  

And the list will be better off for it, I hope.

Cindy 




From heidit at netbox.com  Tue Oct  7 20:21:56 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (heiditandy)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:21:56 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blv6ei+e3be@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blv794+j4dk@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote: 
> But . . . if Amanda was genuinely unavailable due to the Jewish
> Holiday, then I will deliver up a huge, slurping apology right 
here on
> this list, because she would be entitled to it due to my religious
> insensitivity.
> 

Oh, I wasn't talking about *Amanda* here. So terribly sorry if my 
post was at all confusing to you. 

You'd originally said, 
"On Saturday, I contacted the list administrators and advised them
off-list of my displeasure with what happened, explaining precisely
how both administrators had erred."

So I thought you were talking about the MEG list when you referred 
to the administrators, not just AMANDA as an individual. And when I 
posted, I was speaking of the MEG list as a whole, not Amanda as an 
individual, as your complaint referred to the MEGs, not Amanda as a 
person. 

I hope my clarification clarifies things for you.


Heidi




From pbarhug at earthlink.net  Tue Oct  7 20:43:16 2003
From: pbarhug at earthlink.net (Pam Hugonnet)
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:43:16 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells like....  something pink)
References: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com> <1065522278.292C8798@w5.dngr.org> <003201c38cfc$cf6202a0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631> <1065553013.385876D2@w5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <003d01c38d13$a2feabc0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631>

I bought this van in 2000 (2001 model year), after the birth of child #3.  We test drove every van on the market and really liked the Honda.  We drive it all the time; it is a dream on long trips.  Right now it is in the shop because the ABS computer had a faulty circuit in it.  Honda has been great about this.  Our service representative had never seen this problem before (service tech caught the problem on a routine diagnostic), neither had the regional representative from Honda.  But they are doing the repair as a warranty service (even though the warranty has already expired) and they have picked up the tab for the loaner car I'm driving (that crummy Windstar).  All in all, I've had a very good experience with this car.  Never had another problem with it, except for the occasional dead battery because the kids leave the interior lights on.  I really like this van and would buy it again in a heartbeat.  Other friends who drive other models of minivan have not been so lucky or so satisfied.
drpam
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Heidi Tandy 
  To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 2:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells like.... something pink)


  I wrote about the fact that next month, I'll officially be a 
  minivan-driving soccer mom and
  On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 1:59PM -0500, Pam Hugonnet wrote:
  >
  > Now about that minivan...

  Your odessy is in the shop? Mer, why? Is it something I, about to 
  purchase an odessy as I am, should fret about?

  And does anyone else here have an odessy? Thought? Compliments? 
  Complains?

  Heidi

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From lisaeckleycocchiarale at yahoo.com  Tue Oct  7 21:50:11 2003
From: lisaeckleycocchiarale at yahoo.com (lisaeckleycocchiarale)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 21:50:11 -0000
Subject: Panel sought on "Staging/performing HP" at U.S. conference
Message-ID: <blvcej+d6e8@eGroups.com>

I am a graduate theatre student and children's theatre specialist 
> interested in writing a paper and/or organizing a panel discussion 
> for one of either two conferences: the Int'l Conference on the 
> Fantastic in the Arts(March 24-28; Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA) OR 
> Popular Culture Assoc.(April 7-10; San Antonio, TX, USA).
> 
> My interest is in the various ways Rowling's books and characters 
are being staged. From schoolyard games, to summer theatre workshops 
for children, to classroom skits, to cabaret/musical theatre (I, for 
> example, put together a Hogwarts Musical for a theatre camp this 
> summer in which we performed both scenes and choreographed 
production numbers of filk songs). Both the staging itself and what 
this reveals about cultural differences would be of immense interest. 
> 
> Please tell me about experiences you have had-either formal or 
> informal - with staging Harry Potter and/or if you would be 
> interested in being part of a formal panel (Even if you cannot 
> attend, your experiences would be most hepful to my research and, 
of course,would be duly credited). 
> 
> NOTE: Respond directly to lisaeckleycocchiarale at y...
> 
> Kind regards!





From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Tue Oct  7 23:53:50 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 23:53:50 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blucab+k8lb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <blvjme+u9ac@eGroups.com>

I thought I was done; but for the sake of clarity...

> Second, I have read Sandy's post several times, and I'm a bit
> confused.  I'm having some trouble figuring out which parts are
> critical of me and which parts are referring to someone else,
> especially since Debbie's apology came after my public statement.  

Everything but the paragraph which begins "(T)o that someone else" 
was written with you in mind. (What followed that para was intended 
to apply equally to you and "that someone else.")

My point was that you were right before you got the apology; Amanda's 
(granted somewhat surly) retraction *gave* you that. See, the way I 
figure it, you had the "moral high ground." But instead of using that 
vantage to gain perspective on the overall picture, you used it as a 
launch position to make sure everyone *knew* how right you were and 
how wrong Amanda et al had been. You had a marvelous opportunity to 
actually be better than merely right, and you blew it. <Just my 
opinion.> (Sometimes, when it's that plain that *I'm* right, I love 
to apologize immediately and fulsomely. Drives the other side nuts 
<g>. So I'm really sorry for criticizing you...kidding!)

> I will say this, then.  The reason that I felt I needed to say
> something publicly is quite simple:  I was being *blown off* in my
> attempts to discuss this matter with the elves off-list.  Had the
> apology come in response to my off-list notes, there would have been
> no reason to say anything publicly.  I thought this matter was
> important, and I could not seem to get the list administrators to
> understand that something needed to be done about it.  

You *perceived* that you were being "blown off." Had you come at me 
with the righteous attitude you demonstrated in your two and a half 
page (I printed it out) post, I'd have avoided you (at the very 
least), too, at least long enough to figure out what the heck I was 
going to do about it. In their shoes, I might have even sent off 
something really unfortunate if I'd responded immediately, either a 
flat denial or just *anything* to hold you off until I had a plan. 
And I'm just one person, with just one mind (most days, please ghod)
to make up. You were dealing with a group; and you insisted on the 
attention you were demanding on *your* timetable. (While it might 
have been a courtesy for the Admin. team to send you a "please hold," 
email, personally, I'd have been inclined to fear such a thing would 
have driven you to greater heights on the moral high ground. Like a 
response of, "I don't know what you need any more time for; I'm 
*right*--just apologize to me *right now*!")

Ever hear of a Pyrrhic victory?

Sandy




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  8 00:54:38 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 00:54:38 -0000
Subject: Minivans: Was:Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells like....  something pink)
In-Reply-To: <003d01c38d13$a2feabc0$3b9f8c45@DJZCB631>
Message-ID: <blvn8e+q2uo@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Pam Hugonnet" <pbarhug at e...> 
wrote:
> I bought this van in 2000 (2001 model year), after the birth of 
child #3.  We test drove every van on the market and really liked the 
Honda.  
>snip<
.  I really like this van and would buy it again in a heartbeat.  
Other friends who drive other models of minivan have not been so 
lucky or so satisfied.
> drpam




Well, just a short note for those of you shopping for mininvans: we 
have a 2002 Dodge GrandCaravan and we abslolutely love it!

We also tried out the Honda Odyssy and really like that, but decided 
that the Caravan had more of what we were looking for.  That, and the 
fact that when we were looking, there was only one dealership in a 50 
mile radius that actually had a van in stock for us to try.  
Apparently, the Odyssys were so popular that dealerships were not  
stocking them. Because both my husband and I are the touchy-feely 
type, (er, let me re-phrase that!) we really  wanted to try out the 
actual van that we were going to purchase, and not just order one and 
hope for the best.  That's probably why I  don't shop from catalogues.

We also very much wanted to purchase a Toyota Sienna, but at the  
time, with 3 kiddos and a dog, the extra length in the GrandCaravan 
was too good to pass up.  This year, tho, Toyota came out  with a van 
that is somewhat of a hybrid between the Honda and the Caravan.  It 
really looks nice! It's much  longer than the older Sienna, and it 
has the rear split seats like the Caravan, but they also sink into 
the floor like the Honda.  

I have to say, we have had no problems with the Caravan.  I also 
work  with someone who has an older Sienna and loves that too.  

Anyway Heidi, happy minivan shopping and Good Luck!

Anna . . .(who know  way too much about minivans than she's willing 
to admit)

 
>   ----- Original Message ----
>   From: Heidi Tandy 
>   To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com 
>   Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 2:56 PM
>   Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Radio fpr the old (WAS: smells 
like.... something pink)
> 
> 
>   I wrote about the fact that next month, I'll officially be a 
>   minivan-driving soccer mom and
>   On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 1:59PM -0500, Pam Hugonnet wrote:
>   >
>   > Now about that minivan...
> 
>   Your odessy is in the shop? Mer, why? Is it something I, about to 
>   purchase an odessy as I am, should fret about?
> 
>   And does anyone else here have an odessy? Thought? Compliments? 
>   Complains?
> 
>   Heidi
> 
>        
>        
>        
> 
>

> 







From Erthena at aol.com  Wed Oct  8 04:31:35 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 04:31:35 -0000
Subject: Go Sox!!!
Message-ID: <bm03v7+ek26@eGroups.com>

<loony taking a break from dismantleing her house looking for her sox 
hat, mysteriously missing>

Yea!!! Go Pedro!!!  I've long ago given up on the Twins (I was the 
one who gave up when I found out we'd be playing the Yankees in the 
first round :-( ), it was too nutty around here when the Twins won 
ONE GAME and evryone was treating it like they won the world series.  
And anyway my Twins hats kept getting stolen by my family (I like 
baseball hats, but whenever I want to wear one it's missing).  
Anyway, I hope for a rematch of the 1918 world series (yes I know I 
wasn't born and I wouldn't be born for 69 more years) as that was the 
last time the sox won and the last time the cubs got into the series 
(and the play offs too I think).  Someone had the idea that if those 
are the teams they sould play in the old uniforms.  I love that.  Go 
Sox!!!
~~loony, off to write a nice note with a list of all her missing 
belongings in the hope that they will be returned.




From bettedavisgreen at aol.com  Wed Oct  8 12:55:18 2003
From: bettedavisgreen at aol.com (bettedavisgreen at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 08:55:18 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: smells like.... something pink
Message-ID: <cc.233c17fb.2cb56336@aol.com>


> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 12:19AM -0500, mstattersall wrote:
> >Real-To:  "mstattersall" <cwood at tattersallpub.com>
> >
> >Ms. Tattersall, class of 1972 and getting more and more depressed
> >that the music of the era is lumped into the same "oldies" formats as
> >music of the 50s (Gawd, I am so friggin' old.)
> >


Errrrr... I'm also class of 1972, if you can say that of people having been 
BORN in 1972... :)

... but I do sympathise with this thing of songs of the 70's and 80's (90's 
already??? gosh!) being considered "oldies", etc etc etc...

I'm 31, and already being considered old and classic... okay, Cobain is dead, 
Hutchence as well, but Tom Jones and Jagger are still around and kickin!!!

Cristina (who is mostly depressed at young thingies in their early teens 
wearing stuff I tried and discarded as "ghastly" back in the mid 80's... By 
Godric, where has good taste gone...)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  8 17:21:59 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:21:59 -0000
Subject: I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/Admin.'s Apology
In-Reply-To: <blvjme+u9ac@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm1h3n+ma14@eGroups.com>

Sigh. I owe a couple of people apologies. And not the fulsome kind. 

I misinterpreted what Jenny said; while I thought she was being 
provoked and having a case of sour grapes about not getting an elf 
hat, instead she was miffed that she had made a genuine offer of 
useful (as she has quals) assistance in the face of apparent need and 
it was, as far as she could tell, utterly ignored. Not only did she 
not flame me for misconstruing what she said, she has been absolutely 
darling off-list; I'm now trying to talk her into starting a Harry 
Potter role-playing group with me and she's not throwing pie in my 
face or anything, and gracefully overlooked my offer of an apology. 
Thank you, Jenny, and I'm sorry.

After an exchange of several emails, Cindy has now blocked my ability 
to communicate with her off-list (and suggested anything further I 
had to say be said here. If my goal was truly to get her to 
reconsider, to reframe, recent events, then it appears I failed. And 
if my motives were, even in part, baser (and I fear that to some 
degree this is true), then shame on me; as neither of the people I 
dissed elected to chew me out (nor did the powers that be), I shall 
have to do it myself, to the extent which feels educational. No fun, 
but nothing new. Welcome to the human race, me. Again.) As far as I 
can tell, Cindy perceives that I simply attacked her, unfairly and 
without provocation. I doubt that anything else got through. That is 
not an acceptable outcome to me, for while I am not *unwilling* to 
offend (who, me?), I try not to have it be about target practice. 
Cindy: what I wanted to provoke you to was thought, to seeing things 
differently, and I didn't do that. I suspect I did something very 
different. I'm sorry. You *were* right. And I was, well...wrong.

Sandy, muttering, "'Nuff said, already."




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Wed Oct  8 21:36:16 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 21:36:16 -0000
Subject: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
Message-ID: <bm200g+6kfs@eGroups.com>

It's almost that time again -- another high school reunion!  Yippee!

Beg your pardon?

Come *on!*  High school reunions are a blast for *everyone,* right?  <veg>

Seriously, I've started screwing up my nerve to go to my next reunion,
head held high.  I went to my 5th year reunion (not much fun, really
-- most of us had just finished college or were still there).  And I
went to my 20th reunion and spent most of the time talking to one old
pal who now flies for Northwest Airlines.  It was a kick, on the whole.

But the 20th reunion had its surprises.  Like:

First, I learned that "Bucky," one of my nerdy buddies, had tried to
ask me out to the prom.  I was so *thick* and *clueless* that I didn't
know he was trying to ask me out.  He never got an answer and took
someone else.  <wince>

Second, I had one of the *weirdest* conversations with someone that
I've ever had, I think.  Someone walked up to me and the following
occurred (with much paraphrasing):

****************

"Are you Cindy C.?"

"Yeah.  Who the sam hill are you?"

"I'm Kim.  Listen, you were the senior high school treasurer for our
class, weren't you?"

<puzzled look> 

"Yeah."

<pause>

"Well, where is it, Cindy?"

"Where's *what?*"

"The *MONEY!*  The $500 we raised in the car washes and bake sales and
everything!  It was in the class savings account, and now it's
*gone*!!!  We were going to buy a new scoreboard with that money!"

"Uh . . . I dunno.  I threw my graduation cap in the air, and that's
the last thing I remember . . . uh, Kim.  Your name is Kim, right?"

"Well, where's the bank book then?"

"Uh . . . I have no idea.  It's been 20 years."

"Well, Jack and Brian from the football team wound up with new golf
clubs, and they must have got that money from somewhere.  I think they
*stole* the $500!"

"Uh . . . OK.  Maybe you should ask them about it directly?"

"Brian's *DEAD!*"

"Um . . . sorry to hear that.  Could you ask Jack, then?"

*************

I then went off to freshen my drink.

I wonder if Kim will be there this time.  With a polygraph machine!  ;-)

Cindy -- who was a high school band geek who didn't know she was a geek




From trinity61us at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  8 22:27:43 2003
From: trinity61us at yahoo.com (alex fox)
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 15:27:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <bltero+q1aj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031008222743.90691.qmail@web14913.mail.yahoo.com>

 As a 42-year old woman, with a 30 year old "whatever" ( soon-to-be-ex?), and an 18 year-old  male roommate/best friend, I have always loved VERY heavy music. Now I'm listening to Death Metal. Cannible Corpse, Macabre, Cattle Decapitation, etc. The 30 year old hates it! He's very moldy! LOL!
 
Alex Fox ( spraying herself with Lysol, to prevent the mold from spreading! EEW!)


> Oddly enough, *I* had been listening to the "classic rock" station
> most of the time, until I heard "Freebird" one time too many.  Ugh! 
> Now I have the radio on the station that plays current stuff -- some
> rap, pop, rock, etc.  I find I like a lot of it very much -- but two
> of my *kids* always make me turn the radio off in the car, and one 
of
> them is the 13-year old!
> 
> I guess that makes them the moldy ones...
> 
> BTW, if "you wouldn't like this" it's probably about sex!
> 
> Annemehr
> listening to Matchbox Twenty and Christina Aguilera lately


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From neonsister at ameritech.net  Wed Oct  8 23:00:00 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 23:00:00 -0000
Subject: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
In-Reply-To: <bm200g+6kfs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm24tg+h7fq@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:

 "Cindy -- who was a high school band geek who didn't know she was a 
geek"

I was a high school band geek, too.  Squad Leader of the Year, even!  
lol...

My twentieth reunion will be next year.  I went to my tenth and had a 
lot more fun than I expected to.  Time has a way of mellowing the 
teenage angst and cliquie-ness (I know that's not a word).  

Tracy  




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Wed Oct  8 23:09:17 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 23:09:17 -0000
Subject: Snape turns up in the most unlikely places...
Message-ID: <bm25et+416o@eGroups.com>

Ah, the joy of finding another HP fan at work!  One of the heads of 
another department had put down her notebook for a meeting and what 
did I see taped in the back of the notebook...a photo of Alan Rickman 
in full Snape attire, with the heading "Sexy, Snarky, and 
Single...Any Questions?"  I laughed as soon as I saw it, and told 
her "that picture makes my day!"  

Tracy  *still amused*




From editor at texas.net  Wed Oct  8 23:20:11 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 23:20:11 -0000
Subject: Snape turns up in the most unlikely places...
In-Reply-To: <bm25et+416o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm263b+jeuf@eGroups.com>

Tracy:

> Ah, the joy of finding another HP fan at work!

Indeed! Someone in the elevator the other day noticed my keychain (a 
very battered stuffed Snitch) and we got into a spirited discussion 
of Quidditch and he missed his floor.

~Amanda (who'd rather discuss Alan Rickman than Quidditch, but still)







From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Wed Oct  8 23:21:43 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 23:21:43 -0000
Subject: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
In-Reply-To: <bm24tg+h7fq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm2667+e8p9@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
> wrote:
> 
>  "Cindy -- who was a high school band geek who didn't know she was a 
> geek"
> 
> I was a high school band geek, too.  Squad Leader of the Year, even!  
> lol...
> 
> My twentieth reunion will be next year.  I went to my tenth and had a 
> lot more fun than I expected to.  Time has a way of mellowing the 
> teenage angst and cliquie-ness (I know that's not a word).  
> 
> Tracy

Well, that's good to hear.  I'm heading off to my 10th next weekend
(the 17th is homecoming, the 18th is the actual party).  I, too, was a
band geek... and while I had delusions of popularity, I had a sinking
suspicion that I was a geek, too.  It wasn't too bad, though... our
head cheerleader was also our valedictorian (and a bit of a geek
herself), so it was reasonable to have hopes that I, too, could be
popular. ;)

Anyway, I'm stressing out a little, but not too much.  Ever since I
got back on my depression medication, everything seems a little rosier. ;)

-Jen, who is hoping her ex-boyfriend isn't there, because she's never
had adequate closure there...




From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Wed Oct  8 23:44:44 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 23:44:44 -0000
Subject: Snape turns up in the most unlikely places...
In-Reply-To: <bm25et+416o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm27hc+mmov@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:

...a photo of Alan Rickman 
> in full Snape attire, with the heading "Sexy, Snarky, and 
> Single...Any Questions?"  I laughed as soon as I saw it, and told 
> her "that picture makes my day!"  
> 

Speaking of Snape illustrations, allow me to throw in a plug for Red 
Scharlach's latest masterpiece:

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/musical/soundofmagic.htm

She proves that, no matter what, Snape always looks good in black!

  - CMC




From kelleythompson at gbronline.com  Thu Oct  9 04:35:57 2003
From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 04:35:57 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: Some information on how the List Admin Team operates
Message-ID: <bm2ojd+jv1t@eGroups.com>

Hello, everyone--

There has been some discussion on this list recently about 
administrative policies and some questions about just how these lists 
are governed. We do understand the concerns some of you may have, and 
we want to answer your questions, and do so as quickly as possible. 
This post will address these issues, answer some of your questions, 
and will hopefully give everyone a bit more insight into who we are 
and what we do as List Administrators.

We realize that some of what we do may appear mysterious, maybe even
random. It looked that way to us once, too. However, we do have 
policies that we follow, and we do want to share these with list 
members, so you'll know how we operate and why we do the things we 
do. Sometime in the near future, we intend to make public the
guidelines that we follow when making decisions about all the things 
we do to keep the list running smoothly and happily: how list elves 
are chosen, how new members are moderated, how we handle various 
situations, etc. We don't have this ready to present to you yet, but 
we are happy to answer any questions anyone may have, and we'll begin 
with this question that was asked of us just recently: just how does 
someone become a list elf?

We'll start with a bit of history: The very first List Elves were all
volunteers. There were somewhere between 400 - 700 list members at the
time (April '01), and the mods put out a call for volunteers. Nine 
people were brought in. The next time it was decided to add some 
people to the team, it was done by a different method, but only 
because it just happened that way. We realized we needed a few more
people on the team, so we just began mentioning list members amongst
ourselves whom we thought would be good in the role of list elf and
possibly interested in helping out. We invited these folks and most
accepted our invitation. 

This is how it worked the next couple of times, too. Now, this last 
time, we looked at all the people who volunteered, either directly to 
us or on OTC, we looked at others who were active on the FAQ team, 
and we looked at others who were active and involved in the groups. 
We came up with a list of about 45 people. This is an enormous 
number, the most we'd ever considered at one time. 

Because of how much there is to know and do in the work of being 
admins for these groups, it's better for us to bring in smaller 
groups of people at a time. There's a lot to learn, quite a bit of 
training involved, and it works more smoothly to do this with smaller 
groups. In this last round, we invited 12 people, 9 of whom agreed 
to join us.

Now, just what qualities do we look for when bringing new people onto
the Admin Team? Here are the main things we consider: 

Excellent posting habits: exemplary (*not* utter perfection, but 
really great quality) spelling, grammar, snipping, attribution, all 
that is outlined in our posting rules. We should be models of what 
we expect from the list; if we have consistent problems adhering to 
any of the rules, how can we then in good conscience enforce those 
rules on others?

Attitude and behavior: above all, the Admin Team should be people who
care about the lists, who want to ensure the continued quality of the 
lists, *and* can promote this in helpful ways. What we mean by this 
is that when answering questions from list members, when handling 
posts that don't conform to list policy, when acting as part of
the administrative team, that we do so with patience, a very helpful
attitude, friendliness and courteousness.

We also believe that how long a person's been in the group matters, 
too. We see some members who are amazing right out of the gate, but 
because our group is a bit different from other groups out there, it 
makes a great difference if the people on the Admin Team have been 
active here long enough to really grasp the feel of the group, the 
spirit of it, the diversity, the sheer complexity, and so on. 
Typically, we only bring in those who have been in the group at least 
six months. We think that's a fair amount of time for us to get to 
know them and for them to get to know us.

Aside from all these qualities being necessary when helping list
members, they're also necessary for working on and as part of the 
List Admin Team, too. Give and take is very important for the 
functioning of this team. For those who would like to help out in 
the future, know that administrating these groups takes a great deal 
of time, many hours every week. We must be as available as possible, 
not only for each other, but for the groups and all list members, too.

There is one other specific issue that has come up in recent 
discussions that we want to address now: the apparent slowness of our 
responses when questions are asked. We know that sometimes it can 
seem as though we are taking a long time to respond, however, we 
assure you that we do take all messages addressed to us seriously - 
both on-list and off-list. In fact, often our delay in responding is 
*because* we take things so seriously. We want to make sure that 
we've discussed how to handle a particular situation, and we also 
spend a lot of time in drafting and perfecting our responses, so we 
make sure we say exactly what we mean, and do it in a clear and 
concise manner. Certainly not all queries will take such 
deliberating, so most questions are answered and most situations are
handled as quickly as we are able. 

Another reason for the apparent delay is that we try to operate by
consensus, which is, of course, the *slowest* form of decision-
making. The List Administration is made up of 31 people, who among 
them cover British, Continental Europe, Near East, American East 
Coast to Pacific Coast and Australian time zones, so obviously we 
aren't all available at the same time to weigh in on decisions. And 
since we work to reach a consensus, this often requires a bit of 
discussion, again happening over time as people are available in 
their own time zone to participate. If we find we can't reach 
consensus, we will often go on to a majority vote procedure; taking 
even more time.

So, if you have a comment or concern, please don't hesitate to write 
to us at HPforGrownups-owner@ yahoogroups.com. We *will* respond 
just as soon as we can, and we apologize if we don't always attend to 
things as quickly as people might wish us to. Please keep in mind 
that we are all volunteers, so all list administration is done *in 
addition* to all that we do with our jobs and families, and while 
this list is a high priority for all of us involved in 
administration, it is not our *only* priority. 

We would rather that these discussions do not happen here on OT-
Chatter, on the main list, or on the Movie list, and we have been 
hearing from list members who feel the same. We *are* working on a 
way for all list members to discuss their thoughts and concerns with 
not only us, but with each other, and we hope to soon make this 
available to you all. For now though, please contact us at 
HPforGrownups-owner@ yahoogroups.com and please know that you are not 
the only list member with concerns and that we do take each and every 
person's comments and suggestions to us very seriously.

--The List Admin Team:
Abigail, Ali, Amanda, David, Debbie, Dicey, Eloise, Grey Wolf, Jen, 
Jim, Jo, Joy, Judy, Kelley, Kimberly, Kirstin, Maria, Marina, Melody, 
Michelle, Mike, Paul, Petra, Phyllis, Pip, Pippin, Saitaina, Sheryll, 
Steve, Tabouli, and Wendy





From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 04:51:51 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 04:51:51 -0000
Subject: Game 1 down; 3 to go  Was: On a lighter note . . .Go Sox! Again and Again!!
In-Reply-To: <bltctn+k6u6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm2ph7+kkju@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" 
<dradamsapple at y...> wrote:
> WHAHOO!!
> 
> I can't believe it but the Boston Red Sox actually pulled through 
the 
> series!  They won (by the seat of their pants).  What a game! 
> Off to the big Apple on Wednesday  (UhOh!).
> 
> CowboyUp!
> 
> Anna . . .(who doesn't have a clue what that means but was 
listening 
> to the music as they showed the crazy fans partying down on 
Lansdowne 
> Street)


Me, again,

Ok, so I'm beginning to get a bit supersticious here; I've posted 
after every game the Red Sox have won in the playoffs and they keep 
on winning (and truthfully, I am really only a fair-weather fan).
So here I go again.

But I did want to make a commentary though.  Apparently, I was 
channeling Trelawny when I spoke about the "crazy fans" in my 
previous post.  The fans actually did go crazy Monday nite outside 
Fenway Park, overturning cars and causing major mahem. I believe 
seven people got arrested.  They have now put in a major parking ban 
in the area on all game nites, including those games that are NOT in 
Boston. And I believe (if I heard the news correctly) that even the 
residents in the area can't park on the street.  No Parking!? In a 
major City!  With FIVE teaching hospitals and colleges within walking 
distance!!? What are the police thinking?   
And why do people do this?  I know that it is a major college party 
area (there's no less than half a dozen colleges in the immediate 
area)and *perhaps* the colleged-age fans got a bit carried away,  but 
why ruin it for everyone else? How can overturning a car make you 
feel good?  I suppose we should be grateful that there were no major 
injuries (IIRC), unlike some Europeon soccer games.  And I suppose 
the police had to do something.  I don't know.  Maybe I'm just 
getting old . . .

OyVey! I think I'm done ranting now.

Oh, and "Cowboy Up" apparently comes from a song about falling off an 
horse and getting back up, you know, the cliche.

Anna . . . (who will celebrate her 25 high school reunion this year, 
and wonders if they will play "Stairway to Heaven" as the last dance)

  




From toofacedgrl at aol.com  Thu Oct  9 04:58:59 2003
From: toofacedgrl at aol.com (toofacedgrl at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 00:58:59 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Game 1 down; 3 to go  Was: On a lighter note . . .Go So...
Message-ID: <75.1a8152a6.2cb64513@aol.com>

If you think that was bad, do not come near UMASS Amherst...gigantic riots 
there!  Cars got tipped over, things lit on fire...actually, ZooMass-ers use any 
excuse to light things on fire...no offense to any U-Massers--I have friends 
there and am transferring there--it's just that I don't see why that is 
necessary.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From ambiree at students.bradley.edu  Thu Oct  9 06:08:29 2003
From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu)
Date: Thu,  9 Oct 2003 01:08:29 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
In-Reply-To: <bm2667+e8p9@eGroups.com>
References: <bm2667+e8p9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1065679709.3f84fb5d182ea@webmail.bradley.edu>

Quoting Jennifer Piersol <jenP_97 at yahoo.com>:

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> wrote:
> > --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
> > wrote:
> > 
> >  "Cindy -- who was a high school band geek who didn't know she was a 
> > geek"
> > 
> > I was a high school band geek, too.  Squad Leader of the Year, even!  
> > lol...
> > 
> > My twentieth reunion will be next year.  I went to my tenth and had a 
> > lot more fun than I expected to.  Time has a way of mellowing the 
> > teenage angst and cliquie-ness (I know that's not a word).  
> > 
> > Tracy
> 
> Well, that's good to hear.  I'm heading off to my 10th next weekend
> (the 17th is homecoming, the 18th is the actual party).  I, too, was a
> band geek... and while I had delusions of popularity, I had a sinking
> suspicion that I was a geek, too
> -Jen, who is hoping her ex-boyfriend isn't there, because she's never
> had adequate closure there...

Yeah, see, i am not looking forward to my first reunion which may be my tenth 
reunion....my school doesn't do the five year thing.  Mainly that is because of 
a prediction made at the senior lock-in about me and my then serious bf....who 
later became my stalker and caused quite a few problems.  

Sorry, like KathyK's spill a few weeks ago, i got a mental blow today....long 
story short, i dated a guy for about six and a half years (3 years engaged), 
but the relationship was going soggy. i broke it off because i hadn't seen the 
(insert fav insult here) for months despite the fact he lived only a mile 
away.  

Then i moved without telling him...i spent 6 weeks being email stalked then 4 
weeks being otherwise hounded.  The courts granted protection which he violated 
70+ times and his new girlfriend (whom he had been ...um yeah... while we were 
together) did some awful things as well...

i finally got resolution, but the problem is that we go to the same college 
(6000 students).  He's been banned from courses for a year, but is back this 
semester.  i agreed as long as he stayed out of 2 buildings, the one where i 
have classes (not in conflict with his), and where i work (the library)....

all of a sudden, he NEEDS to use the library...this is his 9th year of college 
and he is still an underclassman taking 1st and 2nd year courses...i am just at 
wit's end w/ this envelope pusher.  Give him a bloody inch and he'll run the 
whole race....okay ranting done...sorry, it's just that it's my last semester 
and the dementors are at my door ....think they'd be appeased with lemon cake?

Sigh.....
-- 
Amber--who is dreading telling this at the class reunions....in oh three years.

***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE***



From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 16:11:12 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 16:11:12 -0000
Subject: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
In-Reply-To: <bm3ugp+eguk@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm41b0+enjb@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "msbeadsley" <msbeadsley at y...>
wrote:
> Jennifer Piersol wrote:
> > Then I moved without telling him...I spent 6 weeks being email 
> > stalked then 4 weeks being otherwise hounded.  The courts granted 
> > protection which he violated 70+ times and his new girlfriend (whom 
> > he had been ...um yeah... while we were together) did some awful 
> > things as well...
> 
> This is ghastly. What a creep! Did you spend a fair amount of time 
> wondering ('cos *I* did), "and this is someone who said he *cared* 
> about me?!?"
>

Just wanted to clarify - I didn't say this.  However, I had a
boyfriend in college that I met online (hence my semi-reluctance to
meet people I only know online) that was actually going to my
school... and then he ended up threatening to kill me and *I* ended up
getting a restraining order...

So that whole story sounds VERY familiar.  And I'm sorry it happened
to you.  "Luckily", my high school boyfriend was just a little
obsessed (but not stalker-obsessed), and when he heard that I was
dating other people, he wrote to me saying, "It's good to hear you're
doing well.  Never write or speak to me again." and that was it.  Here
was me, pouring out my heart to one of my "best friends" (so I thought
- I had NO idea he still had a thing for me... he had told me a month
before that HE had a crush on a girl named Margaret), and he goes and
gets mad and huffy and.. well, it was a surprise, so I've always had
this little "what if" voice in my head ever since.  I can only imagine
how awkward it would be to see him at the reunion.  

Now the guy I wasted almost 3 years having a crush on from age 13... I
can't WAIT to see what a loser he is. ;)

-Evil!Jen






From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 16:11:18 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 16:11:18 -0000
Subject: Game 1 down; 3 to go
In-Reply-To: <bm2ph7+kkju@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm41b6+o84l@eGroups.com>

Anna wrote:

> Ok, so I'm beginning to get a bit supersticious here; I've posted 
> after every game the Red Sox have won in the playoffs and they keep 
> on winning (and truthfully, I am really only a fair-weather fan).
> So here I go again.

Ah, but are you being careful to wear the same underwear for every 
game?  And no washing it in between, either.  That washes the magic 
out.

Now, I have watched only one game in the playoffs, the first Sox v As 
game, and the Sox lost.  When I stay away, they win.  Does this mean 
I can't watch any of the games?

> And I believe (if I heard the news correctly) that even the 
> residents in the area can't park on the street.  No Parking!? In a 
> major City!  With FIVE teaching hospitals and colleges within 
walking 
> distance!!? 

Knowing Kenmore Square, I wonder if anyone will notice the 
difference.  I have long suspected that the cars that fill every 
possible spot in a mile radius around Fenway Park are actually mock-
ups without working engines.

> Anna . . . (who will celebrate her 25 high school reunion this 
year, 
> and wonders if they will play "Stairway to Heaven" as the last 
dance)

Either that or "Freebird."

Amy




From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Thu Oct  9 18:08:11 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 14:08:11 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Game 1 down; 3 to go and a word to the Admins
Message-ID: <1e3.114ac630.2cb6fe0b@aol.com>

First, I wrote to an Admin personally saying this, but wanted to publicly 
apologize for going off on the lot of you, both because it wasn't my intention 
when I began the post (I actually did want to know the procedure but got 
distracted by the Sox game and got a bit carried away by the end of the post, to put 
it lightly), but also because I did, as Sandy said, kick you while you were 
down, in a manner of speaking.  That said, you gained my respect a hundredfold 
by your response and producing what I thought was a great policy.

Now, on to the Sox...

Amy wrote to Anna:

<Ah, but are you being careful to wear the same underwear for every 
game?  And no washing it in between, either.  That washes the magic 
out.>

Now RSFJenny here:

Don't forget to stay in the same seat every game too!  I left my spot on the 
couch in the seventh inning and came back to find Wakefield had walked two 
guys and they both scored! It's all my fault!! :(

But we won, We Won, WE WON!!!!!! :::dances:::

Now, I'm sorry, but the Cubbies need to lose three games because if we meet 
the Cubs in the World Series, clearly that is a sign that the world we know it 
is coming to an end. Soon.


~RSFJenny

"Baseball isn't a life-or-death issue, but the Red Sox are."


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Thu Oct  9 18:48:26 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 18:48:26 -0000
Subject: Snape turns up in the most unlikely places...
In-Reply-To: <bm25et+416o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm4ahq+j3ol@eGroups.com>

And so does Voldemort, it seems...

Today I had my first lecture on "Biological Foundations of 
Behaviour", which, incidentally, was dull as ditchwater, but that's 
beside the point - anyway, the lecture theatre has those blackboards 
which are like big vertical conveyor belts. The one on the far right 
had a bunch of chemical symbols and things on it, but right at the 
top I could just make out the phrase "WOT NO VOLDEMORT?" I wanted to 
see what it was in reference to, but there were too many people 
around. And on the desk, amongst all the "God I'm bored" stuff, 
someone had written "Support Cedric Diggory - real Hogwarts 
champion". I just wish I know who some of these people were.

Ooh! And I watched "Countdown" yesterday and got the word "Snape". (I 
know that watching Countdown is a horribly studenty thing to do and 
I'm not proud of it, but all students watch Countdown. It's a 
tradition, or an old charter, or something.)

Enough of my gabbling.

~ Martha, who incidentally just found out that her grandfather had 
twin brothers called Fred and George




From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Thu Oct  9 19:10:38 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 15:10:38 EDT
Subject: Harry Potter and the Evil Empire (attn: Sox Fans)
Message-ID: <1c9.101a9b8d.2cb70cae@aol.com>

Funny mention of HP in the Boston Herald yesterday:

"Just a game, huh? NOT! This is Luke against the Dark Side, Harry Potter vs. 
Voldemort and Frodo vs. Sauron."

I love it. Perhaps Steinbrenner is Voldemort in disguise?  Oh no, wait, 
Steinbrenner said winning is second only to breathing and I think Voldemort would 
say winning beats out breathing, seeing as how he kills those of his followers 
who try to get out (Regulus)...

~RSFJenny


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct  9 19:14:22 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 19:14:22 -0000
Subject: Digital Cameras
Message-ID: <bm4c2e+adqo@eGroups.com>

Hey, all,

I want to get my husband a digital camera for his birthday.  He is a
photographer by nature, so I can't get him anything that doesn't take
good pictures.

Any recommendations?  Also, does anyone know what "specs" a decent
digital camera should have?  I have heard that if they have poor
resolution, they're almost not worth having.  How many of those Pixel
things should I be looking for?

Cindy -- way too lazy to actually do her own legwork




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 19:18:53 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 19:18:53 -0000
Subject: Being Stalked; Was: High School Reunion Math:  1979 + 25 = 2004 (Gulp!)
In-Reply-To: <1065679709.3f84fb5d182ea@webmail.bradley.edu>
Message-ID: <bm4cat+lcf3@eGroups.com>

I am reposting this after deleting it because I got the attribution 
wrong the first time. How stupid. How embarrassing. I got so into 
whuppin' on stalkers I forgot to pay attention to exactly who I was 
responding to. I'm sorry, everyone, and especially Jennifer Piersol  
and Amber. (Perhaps on some level this is me screwing up to further 
ensure that I *never* get offered <shudder> an elf hat!)

In message #18624, Amber <ambiree at s... wrote:
>Then I moved without telling him...I spent 6 weeks being email 
>stalked then 4 weeks being otherwise hounded.  The courts granted 
>protection which he violated 70+ times and his new girlfriend (whom 
>he had been ...um yeah... while we were together) did some awful 
>things as well...

This is ghastly. What a creep! Did you spend a fair amount of time 
wondering ('cos *I* did), "and this is someone who said he *cared* 
about me?!?"

>I finally got resolution, but the problem is that we go to the same 
>college (6000 students).  He's been banned from courses for a year, 
>but is back this semester.  I agreed as long as he stayed out of 2 
>buildings, the one where I have classes (not in conflict with his), 
>and where I work (the library)....

I don't know if mace or hot pepper spray are legal where you live, 
but if they were, I'd be looking for a mini-can in a designer-color 
holder to wear on an elegant lanyard around my neck. (And relishing 
the thought of using it; but then, I can be a bloodthirsty wench.)

>all of a sudden, he NEEDS to use the library...this is his 9th year 
>of college and he is still an underclassman taking 1st and 2nd year 
>courses...I am just at wit's end w/this envelope pusher.  Give him 
>a bloody inch and he'll run the whole race....okay ranting 
>one...sorry, it's just that it's my last semester and the dementors 
>are at my door ....think they'd be appeased with lemon cake?

I was nineteen, having moved back in with my family after living with 
this guy for six months; actually spent my nineteenth *birthday* in 
court getting a restraining order. My creep used to call at 1:00 - 
3:00 a.m. and threaten to "get" me and anybody new I went out with. 
(This was long before caller i.d.) What hurt the most was that he 
threatened to hurt my "baby" brothers, who were nine and eleven at 
the time. He had copies made of an extremely compromising photo I had 
very stupidly let him take one night (alcohol had been involved) and 
sent them to all of my friends, including many at local radio 
stations (I was an oblivious "pin-up" in one control room for years 
until someone spilled the beans and I insisted they destroy it), and 
also all my *relatives*, including my grandparents. (No wonder my 90+ 
year old So. Baptist grandma thinks I need a *lot* of praying for. 
Yes, now I can laugh about it.)

Then one day, about a year later, he showed up where I was working as 
a cashier. He bought a pack of gum or something just so he could 
stare me down. I was shaking on the inside, but being face-to-face 
with him again was so surreal that I clung to the unreality of it and 
was able to look through him as if he were just a random stranger. He 
lagged behind after I gave him his change and said, "You don't know 
who I am, do you?" (Huh? I was *that* good?) And then a powerful wave 
of pure hatred swept through me. I stared him right in the eye and 
said, with a bucketful of contempt and loathing: "I know *exactly* 
who *you* are." (I'm glad now that I didn't have a gun.) And he 
blinked at me and left!

So, I don't know how good you are at rage, but in this case I 
recommend it. These guys are nothing to do with dementors. (Happy 
thoughts are not what got me through having to deal with mine, 
anyway.) It seems to me (and I have read and heard) that the whole 
curdled-affection/obsession thing with stalkers is that they feed on 
*fear*. Focus on what a scum this person is (not on your shared 
past). Get mad. Focus, girl. Outwardly. Work at it. Get a mental 
baseball bat. And use it. (Do NOT be depressed over this; depression 
is anger/inward.) *You* didn't do anything wrong! He is not some 
gliding beastie in a black cloak with any paranormal powers; he's 
just a sick, nasty thug. Do not let *him* wield power over *you*. 
Turn the tables. Get a little crazy yourself. Scare *him*. If your 
demeanor until now has been mild, so much the better. Make him 
wonder. Glare. Shoot fire from your eyes. Curl your lip. Snort. Make 
much ado of snipping up something with a large pair of scissors. Look 
avidly back and forth from his head to the heaviest, most damaging 
book in the library, which you just happen to have at your elbow.

Just some friendly suggestions.

Sandy

P.S. After that, I didn't hear from him again until many years later 
when he called wanting to know what went wrong (!) between us. I 
treated him politely but left no doubt that it was ancient history to 
me and devoid of any emotional content (I should have gotten an 
award) whatsoever. I did, as I knew he was calling from outside the 
continental U.S. (overseas operator), scrape up the courage to ask 
him, "Those things you did, you know, they were not, ah, nice...why'd 
you do them, anyway?" His answer: "Uh, I guess I was mad." (Funny how 
we both thought that was the word for it.) And that was the last of 
it.

P.S.S. Remind me to tell y'all sometime what happened the one time 
(that I know of) I got anywhere close to being raped. D*mn, having a 
berserker mode can come in handy.




From illyana at mindspring.com  Thu Oct  9 19:39:28 2003
From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 12:39:28 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Digital Cameras
In-Reply-To: <bm4c2e+adqo@eGroups.com>
References: <bm4c2e+adqo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <4BA79107-FA90-11D7-95E4-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>

My boyfriend just bought a Canon Powershot S50 and he loves it, which 
is saying a lot because he always told me that he would never buy a 
digital camera that wasn't an SLR. However, he finally decided that 
spending $1000 and above on a digital camera is not something that he 
was ready to do. He is very pleased with the Canon, because it takes 
photos almost immediately - its "reaction time" is practically as fast 
as an actual SLR. Plus, this camera has so many different functions and 
a great manual mode, so it is a good camera for photography. The only 
complaint he has with the camera is that its macro mode is not as good 
as the one on my old Sony 1.3 megapixel digital (which I think is kind 
of funny!). The Canon is a 5 megapixel.

Here is Canon's webpage for the S50 (and its brother, the S45 - the S50 
is the sexy black one):
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/s50-45/index.html

The camera is seriously loaded - you can even shoot MPEG movies with 
audio! I know a lot of digital cameras can shoot MPEG movies (my old 
Sony can), but the quality is usually not so great, and most of them 
will not do audio. The movies shot with this Canon look pretty decent, 
considering the source.

Now, the price. The camera is $500. That may seem like a lot of money 
for a digital camera to most people, but this camera is as close to an 
SLR digital camera that you can get without spending over $1000 - and 
since your husband is a photographer, you are definitely going to want 
to get him a digital camera that functions a lot like a 35mm camera. Of 
course, you could always go with a Nikon D1, which has been a favorite 
with digital photographers for a few years, but I don't know if you 
have $3000 to spend! This Canon is really very reasonably priced for 
how good it is.

Hope this helps. The camera really does take great pictures, and I am 
not being biased. I actually didn't like the idea of my boyfriend 
buying a non-SLR digital camera at first (because I thought he would be 
disappointed), but after I used it a few times I became really jealous!

Let us know what you finally decide on buying!

illyana

On Oct 9, 2003, at 12:14 PM, Cindy C. wrote:

> Hey, all,
>
> I want to get my husband a digital camera for his birthday.? He is a
> photographer by nature, so I can't get him anything that doesn't take
> good pictures.
>
> Any recommendations?? Also, does anyone know what "specs" a decent
> digital camera should have?? I have heard that if they have poor
> resolution, they're almost not worth having.? How many of those Pixel
> things should I be looking for?
>
> Cindy -- way too lazy to actually do her own legwork
>

HPGCv1
a22 e+ x+* Rm Ri HP4 S+++ Mo++ HG+/VK++ HaP+/SS+++& FGW++ DM++& VC-- 
GG-- CD+ VK++ SS+++& PT--- AF-- MM++ RL++ O+m FAo F- Sl FHo SfD

visit my livejournal! http://www.livejournal.com/users/illyanadmc


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 20:02:53 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 20:02:53 -0000
Subject: Digital Cameras
In-Reply-To: <4BA79107-FA90-11D7-95E4-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <bm4etd+hrlq@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, illyana delorean
<illyana at m...> wrote:
> My boyfriend just bought a Canon Powershot S50 and he loves it,
which 
> is saying a lot because he always told me that he would never buy a 
> digital camera that wasn't an SLR. However, he finally decided that 
> spending $1000 and above on a digital camera is not something that
he 
> was ready to do.

We have an Olympus C-4000 4.0 Megapixel camera, and it's FABULOUS. 
They've recently come down in price a little (around $350 now) because
Olympus introduced the C-720 5.0 MP camera (which is just as nice, but
"better" image quality).  Honestly, you don't really need more than a
3.0 MP camera if you're just going to make regular-sized prints.  It's
only when you get up to poster-sized prints that you need the extra
pixels.

Anyway, our Olympus has a *fabulous* (and really easy to use) zoom
lens - 3x optical, 8x digital.  If you're interested in taking
close-up shots, it's also got a very nice macro feature, which is what
tipped the scales in it's favor when my hubby's Math-Sci department
was looking for a digital camera.  Pictures are easy to take, easy to
transfer to the computer (USB cable is included), and just a really
good quality.  Also takes mpeg movies, but doesn't do sound.  It's too
bad... but the movie quality is fabulous.  Maybe the C-720 is
different.  We're waiting for the day we can afford a digital SLR, too
- but that day will be slow in coming, as we're only living on one
income and have monster debt out the wazoo...

Now, the cons.  Unfortunately, the Olympus has a lens cap that you
have to remember to take off every time you turn the darn thing on, or
it beeps at you angrily and shuts off.  See, the lens starts slowly
moving outwards when you turn it on, and if the lens cap isn't
removed, the lens hits it, and can't fully extend.  Why on earth they
designed it this way is a mystery, and while I really appreciate the
fact that it HAS a lens cap, I get beeped at a lot because I'm a
scatterbrain.

Also - it takes SmartMedia.  We liked this, as all our other
peripherals take SmartMedia (until my hubby got his new PDA, of
course), and the camera we were replacing also took SmartMedia - so we
wouldn't have to buy any extra cards.  If you're buying a camera from
scratch, you don't have to worry about this problem... but SmartMedia,
while pretty inexpensive, are kinda delicate, and they don't last as
long as Compact Flash.  Even better, get a camera with Secure Digital
as storage - it's becoming the new standard, especially with PDAs and
wireless capabilities.  We bought my mother-in-law a digital camera
for Christmas that was under $200, was 3.0 megapixels, and had an SD
card (and also took mpeg movies with no sound).

Anyway, while I'm at it, let me heartily recommend Ofoto as your
digital picture processing place - they're GREAT quality prints, they
have a fantastic storage (and guest viewing) policy, and it's great to
be able to upload your pictures and have them available to long
distance relatives who don't get a chance to see the subjects of the
pictures very often.  There are other companies - we also tried out
Shutterfly recently, but Ofoto has the best prints we've ever
received.

-Jen, sorry for the length.




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Thu Oct  9 21:00:20 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 21:00:20 -0000
Subject: Digital Cameras
In-Reply-To: <bm4c2e+adqo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm4i94+ohk4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> Hey, all,
> 
> I want to get my husband a digital camera for his birthday.  He is a
> photographer by nature, so I can't get him anything that doesn't 
take
> good pictures.
> 
> Any recommendations?  Also, does anyone know what "specs" a decent
> digital camera should have?  I have heard that if they have poor
> resolution, they're almost not worth having.  How many of those 
Pixel
> things should I be looking for?
> 
> Cindy -- way too lazy to actually do her own legwork


Ooo!! I know this!

I actually did some homework about 3 years ago when we were shopping 
for digital cameras.  I know that 3 years is a life time when talking 
electronic advancement but I think the theory still holds true.  I'm 
not really good at technical lingo tho, so forgive me.  But I have 
found that the people at Circut City are pretty knowledgabe about 
what they are selling. Yes, they are trying to sell you something, 
but I've found that if you go in and ask questions, they really are 
good about explaining things, so you might want to give them a try 
too!

Digicameraspeak 101:

Pixels are the actual number of 'dots', per say per an area (forgot 
exactly what the dimensions are).  Kind of like the nap of a rug.  
The more fibers per square inch, the deeper and plusher it is. So, 
the more the pixels, the sharper the picture.  For example, a 2.0 
megapixel picture will look great on your terminal as a screen saver, 
but might not look that great as an 8 by 10 picture printed out.  
However, a 5.0 megapixel will look fantastic (or so I gather) as an 8 
by 10 printed picture.

We purchased a Canon Elph, 2.1 megapixel about 3 years ago, and we 
absolutely love it.  We mainly purchased it for the size (it will fit 
into my husbands shirt pocket, about the size of a pack of playing 
cards) but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of it.  I have 
literally printed out pictures on cheap, ordinary, white printer 
paper, and the pictures are great. (on that note though, you really 
need a good printer too).  We have used it every year to 
make our own christmas cards.  The first year we had it, we took 1000 
pictures (really, no exaggerating).  It was rather pricey at the time 
(about $500) but the cost has more that paid for itself in film 
developing, not to mention the convenience of sitting at the 
terminal, in your underwear, making pictures. (er, not the same dirty 
underwear that I wear to watch red sox games).

We were in Circuit City this past weekend, actually, looking at 
digital video recorders.  Unbelievable how far they have come.  And 
we saw another Canon Elph,  a 5. something for the same price we paid 
for ours 3 years ago.  Now there are also cameras that  will allow 
you to take a 30 sec film on the camera itself. Kind of like the new 
cell phones. Technology is a wonderful thing!

And you'll also need an extra card (one usually comes with the camera)
for storing more pictures when you plan on taking a lot of picutres, 
like vacation or wedding, etc, and can't download them for awhile. I 
had a hard time with this concept: the card is actully like 
the 'film'.
We got an 8 MB (megabite) card with our camera when we purchased it, 
but my husband bought additional 32 and 64 MB cards to have when we 
go on vacation.  A 64 MB card will store about 120 pictures or so.

Anyway, I don't know if your husband like surprises, but I would 
bring him along with you.  It's quite an eduction.  And since he's 
the photographer, he may want to see how it feels in  his hand, as 
they really do come in all shapes and sizes. 

Well, Cindy, there will be a surprise pop-quiz, so study up!

Good luck, and check out some web sites, I know there's lots of 
informaiton out there, and yes, it's overwhelming.

Anna  . . .(who still has not responded to the dirty underwear post, 
but will probably do so when I get home, AFTER the Red Sox game.0




From anneu53714 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 02:48:07 2003
From: anneu53714 at yahoo.com (Anne)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 02:48:07 -0000
Subject: smells like.... something pink
In-Reply-To: <E94EDEC5-F8D7-11D7-9037-000502BE4F2C@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <bm56l7+pueo@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Severus Sucker 
<severus_sucker at c...> wrote:
> *delurk*
> 
> Greetings!
> 
> The only radio station here in Atlanta that I find I can listen to 
for 
> any extended period of time is the local NPR station. We have 
an '80's 
> station, but it doesn't play all that "freaky New Wave stuff" that 
I've 
> always been partial to all that often.
> 
> Most of the time, I listen to different internet stations at 
> http://www.live365.com . There's a great deal of variety there - 
easily 
> something for every taste imaginable, even stations that play just 
old 
> radio shows. There are some stations there that you have to be a 
paid 
> subscriber to listen to, but the cost is reasonable, even for a 
poor 
> returned-to-college student such as myself. ;-)
> 
> Well, back to lurking...
> 
> Severus Sucker
> 
> (Currently listening to a station that plays songs from anime 
> soundtracks)

For those of us who are locked into landbased stations (as opposed to 
XM or Sirius (about which I've heard great things) or internet-only 
stations like live365.com), here's a list of non-commercial stations 
around the United States.

http://www.gumbopages.com/other-radio.html

Many of them are affiliated with National Public Radio, but many 
others are simply "listener-sponsored" and thus not in the 
thrall of the radio anti-Christ, aka Clear Channel.

Anne U
(who uses this list a lot in her other fandom)





From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 04:55:24 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 04:55:24 -0000
Subject: o __ o   boohoo!  I jinxed the sox!
Message-ID: <bm5e3s+mbpg@eGroups.com>

Well, I had a funny feeling this would happen.

The Red Sox lost! OH woe is us!

My fellow coworker this evening, Pete, naturally wanted to listen to 
the game on the radio.  I knew from the start that this was a bad 
omen.  See, this is the first nite that Iwas working while the Sox 
were playing.  And, as Ihave done this past week, I have avoided 
watching the game till the last two innings or so (and, yes, I wore 
clean underwear everyday!), and they managed to win.
  And tonite, I had to go into another area of the lab, removed from 
the main lab, not being able to hear the radio, and when I came back, 
the Sox were up 2-0.  Yeah! But, could I stay out of the lab for the 
rest of the nite?  I HAD to get back into the main lab!  How could I 
explain to Pete that I couldn't work in the lab tonite cause the Sox 
would lose if I did; that If I listened or watched the entire game 
the Sox would lose?  Well, I did listen, and they did lose.  Poor 
Sox.  
   Well, back to Beantown. (saturday?) Maybe we'll kick some butt, 
er, I mean, win the game then.

two games down; three to go . . .

Anna . . .(who was going to ask the group about a good vacuum cleaner 
that picks up yellow-lab dog hair and won't die in two years, but 
decided that there have been an awful lot of consumer product 
questions lately, and didn't want to burden the group with another 
one.  Well, maybe one more? 
Heh, maybe we should start a HPFG Consumer Advice group?? er, only 
joking. Really.)




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 05:11:03 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 05:11:03 -0000
Subject: o __ o   boohoo!  I jinxed the sox!
In-Reply-To: <bm5e3s+mbpg@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm5f17+dt0m@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple" 
<dradamsapple at y...> wrote:
> Well, I had a funny feeling this would happen.
> 
> The Red Sox lost! OH woe is us!
  
>    Well, back to Beantown. (saturday?) Maybe we'll kick some butt, 
> er, I mean, win the game then.
> 
> two games down; three to go . . .
> 
> Anna 

Foolish Bosox fan! Know that it matters not which pair of underwear 
you wear, or how you wear your hat, or any such powerless rituals!

The Evil Empire is possessed of the old magic, You have been cursed 
by the dread "Ya No Havada Bambino" curse. Your feeble "No, No, 
Nanette" charm had proved ineffective. Powerful hexes have been 
brought to bear on you in times past:  the "Butterfinger Buckner" 
jinx, and the "Putta Dent inna Sox" hex.  We have one of your most 
powerful wizards, who defected from you for life in the big city, 
the dread Warlock Rocket C.  And we will continue to have hurling 
hexes sent your way by He-Who-Is-Named-Mariano-Rivera.  

By this time next week, you will be enjoying your (long) winter 
vacation!

Mwahaha!
Haggridd, Professor, Care of Magical Players




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 10 09:23:25 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:23:25 -0000
Subject: Digital Cameras
In-Reply-To: <bm4i94+ohk4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm5tqd+8rbc@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote:
> > I want to get my husband a digital camera for his birthday.  
> > He is a photographer by nature, so I can't get him anything 
> > that doesn't take good pictures.
> > 
> > Any recommendations?  

If he's a photographer then he'll want to tinker with the pictures 
afterwards (e.g. crop, tint, overlay etc) and so the higher the 
megapixel value the better, because you can crop pictures, blow them 
back up to a larger size, and still retain print quality.

I bought a Nikon Coolpix and I really like it apart from two major 
problems - the time between turning it on and being able to take a 
picture, and the time between pressing the button and the picture 
being taken. If your husband is just interested in arty shots this 
isn't a problem. For any candid shots, especially of kids doing the 
kind of crazy things kids do, my camera takes too long. Illyana 
recommended the Canon for this reason, and I've heard other people 
comment on its great speed. I just bought mum a Minolta Dimage XT 
for her 70th birthday. It's really slinky and has a neat feature 
where the lens zooms within the camera so it retains its sleek form-
factor. It should be fast and has high quality optics too.

Make sure that the optics are good (i.e. buy one from a company who 
make decent SLRs, telescopes, etc) and ignore the zoom rating other 
than the optical component. Non-optical zooming gives awful results.

Another thing to factor in is the software (that could be next 
year's present). If he's a computer geek too, he'll want decent 
photo manipulation software. The camera will come with some, and 
there are reasonably priced ones on the market (e.g. Microsoft's 
Picture It Pro). But the real pinnacle of these is Adobe's 
PhotoShop. It isn't cheap ($649) but is a truly amazing application. 
When you see professional graphical designers at work with PhotoShop 
it is really astonishing the results they can achieve in next to no 
time. But since it's such a powerful tool, it is quite hard to learn 
some of the complex bits. I've just swapped to Macromedia's 
Fireworks, which does much (though not all) that Photoshop can, is 
cheaper ($249), and has more sophisticated options for outputting 
the vector elements of the graphic to Flash. That may or may not 
mean anything to you. Photoshop and Fireworks are much much cheaper 
if you or your husband are students.

You mention that he's a `photographer by nature'. If getting 
something compact isn't important, you could look at high end 
digital SLRs. That way, if you shop carefully and spend a small 
fortune, he'll be able to use all his existing lens on the new 
digital camera.

All digital cameras come with paltry memory cards (e.g. 16M). Get a 
bigger one (128M or 256M) when you buy the camera. You can get huge 
ones (1Gig) but I have a feeling that they take more battery power, 
though I may be wrong there. One of the huge advantages of digital 
cameras is that it's cheap to take hundreds of pictures on a trip 
and just save the few good ones. Without the larger storage card 
you've lost that advantage.

This next suggestion probably won't help, and goes against much of 
my own beliefs on present giving, but you may just want to give him 
the money. Spending weeks browsing the internet, talking to 
shopkeepers, and buying magazines before buying a gadget is the kind 
of thing us men enjoy. So he may actually prefer to be involved in 
that process, rather than getting the camera as a done deal.

Cheers,

Dumbledad





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 10 09:44:21 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:44:21 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
Message-ID: <bm5v1l+9rff@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

I've just realized that I missed a cool trick. On October 2 Cindy 
posted about her anniversary:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/18488

and then, just seven days later, she's shopping for her husband's 
birthday present:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/18631 

So all he needs to do to be sure of lavish birthday goodies is to 
ensure that a romantic anniversary is fresh in Cindy's mind!

Me, on the other hand, has my daughter Megan's birthday, my wife 
Kate's birthday, Valentines Day, and then our anniversary (of 
dating, we mark that more than the marriage anniversary) all within 
37 days. Then we have to wait 6 months for my birthday, by which 
time any romantic finesse is long forgotten.

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From annemehr at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 15:54:28 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 15:54:28 -0000
Subject: More from MisterRogers
Message-ID: <bm6knk+ntg7@eGroups.com>

For those of us who were mourning the recent passing of Fred Rogers,
there is a new little book out.  It's a collection of his words taken
from his TV show, speeches, private letters, etc., some of them never
previously published.

It is called:
_The_World_According_to_Mr._Rogers:_Important_Things_to_Remember_, by
Fred Rogers, published by Hyperion Press.

Though Mr. Rogers is listed as the author, it was put together by his
widow and others posthumously.

Annemehr
off to www.bn.com to place her order




From tahewitt at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 16:24:30 2003
From: tahewitt at yahoo.com (Tyler Hewitt)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:24:30 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Digital Cameras
In-Reply-To: <1065791066.649.98402.m12@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031010162430.98481.qmail@web14205.mail.yahoo.com>

OK, I am an artist/photographer, and I teach
photography for a living, so one could reasonably
assume that I know my way around digital cameras.

Well, not really. I just bought my first digital
camera this past summer. I avoided them, not because I
have an aversion to them, but because I was waiting
for professinal level cameras to come down in price so
I could afford one.
Finally gave up on that and bought one to replace the
point and shoot camera I take on vacations.

 After a lot of research I bought the Minolta Dimage
F300. Its a 5 megapixel camera, has a full range of
pretty advanced features, and is smaller than my old
point and shoot, so it's easy to carry. At 5
megapixels I've actually been able to do some of my
own creative work with it (my work is largely collage
based so I was combining images). It uses the SD
memory cards, easily found at any electronics store.
I've been very happy with this camera. While not a
professional level camera, it does go way beyond an
average point and shoot, and 5 megapixels ensures good
quality prints.
It's not terribly expensive, either. I went to
pricegrabber.com and found it for $359.00. Also found
256mb memory cards for 65.00.

The big test was taking it to Britain and Washington
DC this summer. It performed wonderfully, much better
than our old non-digitalpoint and shoot. We've got
photos taken with the digital camera on that trip 
online, e-mail me privately and I'll send you the URL.
There's a few Harry Potter related images, including
one of my partner standing in front of Albert Hall the
day before J.K. Rowling gave her reading there.

Tyler


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com



From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Fri Oct 10 16:33:26 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:33:26 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <big7p2+37b7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm6n0m+l6jf@eGroups.com>

Caius Marcius wrote:
> Now that Book Five is out, the time has come for more Tom Swifties.
> 
> The previous Tom's can be found in the Files section, under "Club 
> Humor"

I have been prodded offlist, wolfishly, to contribute more to this 
thread:

"You can hear them whispering," said Luna, breezily.

"Buttocks still intact, Harry?" asked Nymphadora, moodily.
"I heard that!" said Mad-Eye, stonking off.

"Come away from here," said Hermione, flapping.

"Your link to Voldemort is dangerous, Harry," explained Dumbledore, 
scarily.

"These prophecies are balls," said Bode, roundly.

"I'm going out with Dean now, Ron," said Ginny, crushingly.

David




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 10 18:11:37 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 18:11:37 -0000
Subject: Off-Lists From HPfGU Members (WAS I Just Don't Get This.  Seriously, I Don't/)
In-Reply-To: <bm1h3n+ma14@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm6sop+9oub@eGroups.com>

Hi, all,

I've been drumming my fingers on my desktop for the last couple of
days, wondering if I should say anything more on this thread.  For
personal reasons, I have the nagging feeling that I should.  And I
think I can thread the needle here and make things better without
causing anyone any embarrassment or discomfort, so I'll have a go.

Sandy wrote:

> After an exchange of several emails, Cindy has now blocked my
>ability to communicate with her off-list (and suggested anything
>further I had to say be said here. 


Yeah, this is tricky.

My concern here is that I like and welcome off-list exchanges with
list members.  I love to send them, and I love to receive them,
especially via e-mail.  My very closest on-line friendships with
members of our community started as little off-list notes and
flourished from there.  

Indeed, I have discovered with pleasure that many people who are nice
and funny on-list are often a total kick in the pants off-list when
they feel they can let their hair down a bit.  Right now, I think I'm
juggling half-a-dozen off-list conversations with people -- concerning
such varied subjects as Zigried and Roy, sushi, the Episcopal church,
prescription medications, and parenting.  If it were a dozen
conversations, that would be twice as good, so far as I'm concerned.

That said, I have on very rare occasion felt uncomfortable with
off-list communication, either in instant messaging or in e-mail.  In
those circumstances (I think it has only happened twice at most), I
gently and politely ask that we confine our interaction to the public
forum in which it originated.  I never feel good about taking this
step, which is why I don't do it often.

I certainly don't mean to suggest that Sandy's message wasn't
appropriate or to criticize her on this list.  But I felt I should
comment here just to make absolutely certain no one gets the idea that
I am not receptive to off-list communication.  I am, I most definitely am.

Cindy  




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 10 19:14:44 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 19:14:44 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <bm5v1l+9rff@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>

Tim wrote:

<about how fortunate dh is to get all these neat birthday goodies> 

>So all he needs to do to be sure of lavish birthday goodies is to 
> ensure that a romantic anniversary is fresh in Cindy's mind!

Ha!

Actually, all he has to do to be sure of lavish birthday goodies is to
stay *employed* so the check doesn't bounce!  :-D

 
> Me, on the other hand, has my daughter Megan's birthday, my wife 
> Kate's birthday, Valentines Day, and then our anniversary (of 
> dating, we mark that more than the marriage anniversary) all within 
> 37 days. Then we have to wait 6 months for my birthday, by which 
> time any romantic finesse is long forgotten.

Man, those birthday/holiday/anniversary crunches are killers, huh?

Actually, I'm in one right now.  I have birthdays for my sister, my
brother, husband and daughter, as well as my own anniversary in a span
of <counts on fingers> 29 days.  I think there are some in-law
birthdays in there too, but who can keep *those* straight!

Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people should
form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 20:02:15 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:02:15 -0000
Subject: Summer Birthdays (was:Re: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm7387+lcdq@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...>
wrote:

> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us

I'm all up for joining little groups, but I've always *liked* my
summer birthday.  It's July 2, which I think is mid-year's-day, and we
always had the family party on July 4th.  Just think, all those
fireworks and catching lightning bugs and silly string and staying
outside in the nice and warm till all hours, all for *my* birthday
party!  Who needed a classroom party?

Now, of course, I enjoy a birthday in the same month as JKR and Harry
Potter, and the HP books tend to be released very near to it, too!

But, if you still want that support group, how about Classroom
Cupcakes Anonymous?  You can meet in an empty room in the local school
and pass them around (the cupcakes, I mean) and sing "Happy Birthday"
to each other.  Everybody always brought in stale cupcakes for their
birthday, didn't they?

Annemehr
trying to give Cindy a sympathetic pat on the back, but suspecting she
was no help at all!





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 10 20:12:34 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:12:34 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm6n0m+l6jf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm73ri+d90b@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> Caius Marcius wrote:
> > Now that Book Five is out, the time has come for more Tom 
Swifties.
> > 
> > The previous Tom's can be found in the Files section, 
under "Club 
> > Humor"
> 
> I have been prodded offlist, wolfishly, to contribute more to this 
> thread:
> 
> "You can hear them whispering," said Luna, breezily.
> 
> "Buttocks still intact, Harry?" asked Nymphadora, moodily.
> "I heard that!" said Mad-Eye, stonking off.
> 
> "Come away from here," said Hermione, flapping.
> 
> "Your link to Voldemort is dangerous, Harry," explained 
Dumbledore, 
> scarily.
> 
> "These prophecies are balls," said Bode, roundly.
> 
> "I'm going out with Dean now, Ron," said Ginny, crushingly.
> 
> David

Can't resist this bait, or is it deliberate provocation?  There are 
a number of people who know my opinions about adverb use in dialogue 
attribution only too well...(did they put you up to this, she asked 
suspiciously)

Are you all yawning comfortably?

THE ONLY WORDS YOU NEED FOR SPEECH ATTRIBUTION ARE:

He/she said

he/she asked

No adverbs and no steroids to boost the words:  ie he said, she 
said, they did not jerk out, ejaculate (except in an entirely 
different genre...), he didn't yell, scream or hiss either.  People 
say, they don't smirk, giggle or chuckle.  

Sorry JKR - I hate it.  I only forgive it because it's you and I 
will tolerate it so I can hang with the likes of Snape, Lupin and 
the rest of them.  

So said June, acerbically, and maybe arrogantly.








From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr  Fri Oct 10 20:34:45 2003
From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:34:45 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm7555+dnn8@eGroups.com>


> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us

I would joined anytime and so would my three best friends. My birthday is August 30th 
so I never had any classroom party and each year I had school furniture as presents 
because school was about to start. 

Olivier, who suggests to name the group the Remi, but that is only if my friends are per 
chance reading this post, sorry for the private message




From jmmears at comcast.net  Fri Oct 10 20:39:13 2003
From: jmmears at comcast.net (serenadust)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:39:13 -0000
Subject: Summer Birthdays (was:Re: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm7387+lcdq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm75dh+pjll@eGroups.com>


> > Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that 
she
> > never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like 
the
> > winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people 
should
> > form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name 
for us

Annemehr responded:
> I'm all up for joining little groups, but I've always *liked* my
> summer birthday.  It's July 2, which I think is mid-year's-day, 
and we
> always had the family party on July 4th.  Just think, all those
> fireworks and catching lightning bugs and silly string and staying
> outside in the nice and warm till all hours, all for *my* birthday
> party!  Who needed a classroom party?
> 
> Now, of course, I enjoy a birthday in the same month as JKR and 
Harry
> Potter, and the HP books tend to be released very near to it, too!
> 
> But, if you still want that support group, how about Classroom
> Cupcakes Anonymous?  You can meet in an empty room in the local 
school
> and pass them around (the cupcakes, I mean) and sing "Happy 
Birthday"
> to each other.  Everybody always brought in stale cupcakes for 
their
> birthday, didn't they?


Well, *I* needed a classroom party <g>!  Of course, if my birthday 
had fallen near a cool (non-present giving) holiday like the fourth 
of July, I'd have felt a lot better with a summer birthday.  In 
fact, my cousin's birthday is on the 4th and there was always a big 
family cook-out, and sparklers, and swimming......::sniff:: (getting 
depressed just thinking about it).

I, OTOH, have a late August birthday which meant I always got a lot 
of school clothes, pencil cases, etc. BAH!

Anyway, count me in for that summer birthday orphans group.

Jo S. who never realized that the cupcakes were stale and thought 
that it was her own bitterness over never being the birthday girl.




From bettedavisgreen at aol.com  Fri Oct 10 20:41:54 2003
From: bettedavisgreen at aol.com (bettedavisgreen at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:41:54 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Missed a trick
Message-ID: <104.375a633f.2cb87392@aol.com>

Dans un e-mail dat? du 10/10/2003 21:18:36 Paris, Madrid, 
cindysphynx at comcast.net a ?crit :

> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us

Me too, me too! July 19th!

The only time I was at school at my birthday was in college, final year, and 
it really wasn't that much fun - no party, just had a class where nobody 
really bothered to go beyond "well, then happy birthday". Not even the ones invited 
to the dinner afterwards (they did sing me Happy Birthday in the restaurant, 
but it is the *first* time people see you on that day that *really* counts, 
isn't it?...)

However, my mom did a most lovely thing, which, as a bad daughter, I barely 
remember: because I could never have "a party in the classroom", when of my 
christening (I was baptized in May, at almost 9 y-o, and one week later was my 
First Communion) she threw a party for me at school!

Anyway, count me in for that support group... Maybe I can grow out of this 
habit of mine of taking a holiday from work on my birthday... Maybe I can 
understand exactly why is it I always do it...

Cristina (back from a month in Portugal with little personal Internet time, 
and still trying to get some time off to find out what you've all been up 
to...)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From siskiou at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 10 21:05:24 2003
From: siskiou at earthlink.net (Susanne)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 14:05:24 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <104.375a633f.2cb87392@aol.com>
References: <104.375a633f.2cb87392@aol.com>
Message-ID: <170244065132.20031010140524@earthlink.net>



Hi,

Friday, October 10, 2003, 1:41:54 PM, bettedavisgreen at aol.com wrote:

>> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
>> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
>> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people
>> should
>> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name
>> for us

> Me too, me too! July 19th!

How about the ones left out during the winter?

My birthday is January 1rst, and while I always had
fireworks to start the day off (once I was old enough to
stay up until midnight), everyone was always tired and
hung over on my actual birthday.

And no school parties, either, though in Germany (where I
lived until age 30) I don't remember anyone having their
birthday celebrated in class after kindergarten.

Oh, and I always got "big" presents for Christmas and
Birthday together, and cards combined for both...

It all seemed very unfair to me ;)

-- 
Best regards,
 Susanne                           mailto:siskiou at earthlink.net

Visit our pet rabbits: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/





From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 21:46:06 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 21:46:06 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm79au+pec9@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:

> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people 
should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us


Well, speaking for my son David, he would have loved that when he was 
younger (the support group).  His birthday is July 28.  But now that 
he's a 'teenager' (13), he's actually glad that he won't get the 
attention in school.  Although he's thrilled that he shares Harry's 
birthday week!! (although, he's too 'old' to admit it to anyone but 
me and his dad).

And my daughter, who's birthday is in April, is actually jealous of 
my July boy:  See, we have April as our big birthday month, with my 
husband, his father (who unfortunately, had his last one this year at 
age 70), his sister, her husband, my daughter, and my other son.
My daughter has always had to celebrate her birthday in this plethera 
(love that word) of birthday-ness (?not a word).  And, David, has 
always been able to have a nice party-cookout outside,in the warm 
July air, with water toys and the like. 

 Ahh well, I guess the grass is always greener. . .

Anna . . .(whose looking forward to a mother's ring someday with two 
diamonds and a ruby :) well, I can dream can't I?)




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Fri Oct 10 21:47:06 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 21:47:06 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <170244065132.20031010140524@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <bm79cq+380i@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Susanne <siskiou at e...> wrote:
Friday, October 10, 2003, 1:41:54 PM, bettedavisgreen at a... wrote:
> 
> >> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that 
she
> >> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like 
the
> >> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people
> >> should
> >> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name
> >> for us
> 
> How about the ones left out during the winter?
> 
> My birthday is January 1rst, and while I always had
> fireworks to start the day off (once I was old enough to
> stay up until midnight), everyone was always tired and
> hung over on my actual birthday.
> 
> And no school parties, either, though in Germany (where I
> lived until age 30) I don't remember anyone having their
> birthday celebrated in class after kindergarten.
> 
> Oh, and I always got "big" presents for Christmas and
> Birthday together, and cards combined for both...
> 
> It all seemed very unfair to me ;)
> 
> Best regards,
>  Susanne  

Hear, hear! My birthday is January 5, and I got the old "This is for 
Christmas AND your birthday" treatment all my life. When I became an 
adult, I took charge of the situation and MOVED my birthday! That's 
right--I changed it to *July 5,* six months later, and celebrated it 
as my "half-birthday." The entire family embraced the idea (after 
awhile) and now they only acknowledge the January event and save the 
presents and party for July. Missing the first "real" birthday was 
strange, but it was well worth waiting for.

Ms. Tattersall, who always WANTED a summer birthday to be able to 
have swim parties with friends!





From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Fri Oct 10 22:16:52 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 22:16:52 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <170244065132.20031010140524@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <bm7b4k+lgkh@eGroups.com>

Susanne wrote:

> And no school parties, either, though in Germany (where I
> lived until age 30) I don't remember anyone having their
> birthday celebrated in class after kindergarten.

Yeah, my memory of England is the same.  My birthday is in term 
time, and I don't remember I or anybody else having a party at 
school, at any time.

I didn't go to kindergarten as my parents held on to me until the 
last legal moment.

David




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct 10 22:35:00 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:35:00 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>
References: <bm5v1l+9rff@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F87C0B4.19525.2F7F92D@localhost>

On 10 Oct 2003 at 19:14, Cindy C. wrote:

> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us

Never got a classroom party - well, I never had a birthday party at all. Not once. 
And that *did* make me bitter. (-8

I'm just glad my birthday was in the summer (January 20th - second last week of 
the summer holidays here in Australia) otherwise I might have had to face the real 
reason I didn't get one - as it was the fact that it was the school holidays was a 
convenient excuse that worked until I was 12 or so.


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  Fri Oct 10 22:40:17 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 22:40:17 -0000
Subject: Summer Birthdays (was:Re: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm75dh+pjll@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm7cgh+scd6@eGroups.com>

Jo wrote:


> Jo S. who never realized that the cupcakes were stale and thought 
> that it was her own bitterness over never being the birthday girl.

ROFL!

Some teachers in my kids' school seem to be trying to kill the whole
in-class birthday celebration.  What with 20+ birthdays to celebrate,
plus a party for every major holiday, plus the disruption and the mess
and the hyperactivity-brought-on-by-sugar-consupmtion and the peanut
allergies and the candles and the *fire* . . .  it gets to be a bit much.

One teacher has taken to having the children all draw a picture of a
cake for the birthday child on bright construction paper rather than
allow real cupcakes.

Now that *would* taste bitter!

Cindy -- whose birthday fell in the middle of an Arizona summer, and
it was just way too *hot* for something involving candles




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 10 23:27:45 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 23:27:45 -0000
Subject: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <3F87C0B4.19525.2F7F92D@localhost>
Message-ID: <bm7f9h+e092@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
<drednort at a...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Never got a classroom party - well, I never had a birthday party at 
all. Not once. 
> And that *did* make me bitter. (-8
> 
> I'm just glad my birthday was in the summer (January 20th - second 
last week of 
> the summer holidays here in Australia) otherwise I might have had 
to face the real 
> reason I didn't get one - as it was the fact that it was the school 
holidays was a 
> convenient excuse that worked until I was 12 or so.
> 

Shaun,

No party, ever?
Oh dear!  We must remedy that quickly!!

***Anna digs out some icecream, cookies, and paper plates;
   throws some curly ribbon around to make the place look 
   festive . . .***

HAPPY BELATED/EARLY BIRTHDAY, SHAUN!!

Here's to many, many, very happy birthdays in your future!!

Anna . . .(who knows that you can always count on us HPFG folks for a 
great party!!) 

> 
> 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 lupinesque at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 00:01:34 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:01:34 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm73ri+d90b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm7h8u+ugfm@eGroups.com>

June wrote:

> Can't resist this bait, or is it deliberate provocation?  There are 
> a number of people who know my opinions about adverb use 
in dialogue 
> attribution only too well...(did they put you up to this, she asked 
> suspiciously)
> 
> Are you all yawning comfortably?
> 
> THE ONLY WORDS YOU NEED FOR SPEECH ATTRIBUTION 
ARE:
> 
> He/she said
> 
> he/she asked
> 
> No adverbs and no steroids to boost the words:  ie he said, 
she 
> said, they did not jerk out, ejaculate (except in an entirely 
> different genre...), he didn't yell, scream or hiss either.  People 
> say, they don't smirk, giggle or chuckle.  
> 
> Sorry JKR - I hate it.  I only forgive it because it's you and I 
> will tolerate it so I can hang with the likes of Snape, Lupin and 
> the rest of them.  
> 
> So said June, acerbically, and maybe arrogantly

But... but... but if it weren't for adverbs and exotic equivalents of 
"said," we couldn't do Tom Swifties.

she said, amiably.




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 00:08:41 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:08:41 -0000
Subject: Happy "Birthday", Shaun! (Was:Re: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm7f9h+e092@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm7hm9+elbn@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dradamsapple"
<dradamsapple at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
> <drednort at a...> wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > Never got a classroom party - well, I never had a birthday party at 
> all. Not once. 
> > And that *did* make me bitter. (-8
 
> Shaun,
> 
> No party, ever?
> Oh dear!  We must remedy that quickly!!
> 
> ***Anna digs out some icecream, cookies, and paper plates;
>    throws some curly ribbon around to make the place look 
>    festive . . .***
> 
> HAPPY BELATED/EARLY BIRTHDAY, SHAUN!!
> 
> Here's to many, many, very happy birthdays in your future!!
> 
> Anna . . .(who knows that you can always count on us HPFG folks for a 
> great party!!) 

::Annemehr wanders over from the Mixer, notices curly ribbon::

Ah, another party?!
Here, I just happen to have some candles in my back pocket!

Happy "Birthday", Shaun!
So, how many "birthday hugs" will that be?

Annemehr




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 04:13:25 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 04:13:25 -0000
Subject: School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bm7387+lcdq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm8015+ahr8@eGroups.com>

I remember feeling as if it wasn't fair that my birthday fell during 
the summer, too. Although the birthday kids didn't get *parties* per 
se, we sang Happy Birthday to them; sometimes there were cupcakes, 
too, but only at morning milk break (milk break! Did you have milk 
break?). It was two cents (this was in 1965, when I was in second 
grade) for an eight-ounce (I think that's right) container of milk. I 
got a nickel for milk every morning and hoarded the change, until I 
noticed one morning that one girl had stopped getting milk. I asked 
her why and she didn't answer me. Turns out (teacher told me 
privately, to deflect my concern and curiosity) that this girl's 
father was out of work and the family couldn't afford the two cents 
every day. (The school lunch program took care of lunches but not the 
morning milk; I thought then and still think that's nuts, that there 
was funding to cover lunches every day (thirty-five cents, I think) 
but not another two cents). Next day, I bought two milks and just 
happened to pass this girl's desk on my way back to mine and also 
just happened to leave the second milk on her desk. When I got back 
to my desk, I snuck a glance over at her. She was staring at the 
milk, not looking up. Then, very slowly, she stuck the straw in the 
milk and drank it. And for a while that's where two of my three 
cents' "change" went every morning. Until one day when that girl went 
up ahead of everyone else and laid down her own two cents for milk; 
and every morning after that, on her way back to her desk with her 
milk, she'd smile at me.

After that, I didn't care so much about my birthday falling during 
the summer. I had my three cents back, no matter whose birthday it 
might be.

That was the same year that one day, when some of the boys in our 
class were naughty, the teacher threatened to paddle them. This was 
the first time in school I'd heard of this, and I had a shiny little 
epiphany and said, "Excuse me, but if you have to resort to physical 
violence to keep order in the classroom, you're in the wrong 
profession." And the teacher just walked out of the room without any 
of her usual parting words about being back in a minute or that we 
should be good and stay quietly in our seats. As the minutes 
stretched by, I started to worry. Considering the looks on some of my 
classmates' faces and the way Mrs. Anderson (yes, I still remember 
her name) had left, I began to think that I'd made a tactical error 
and that she'd gone to get a *bigger* paddle. (Of course, after so 
long to ruminate, I expected to be on the receiving end. I thought I 
might even be killed, she was gone so long. I was, after all, only 
seven years old and still figuring things out.) But then one of the 
other teachers came in and read to us, saying that Mrs. Anderson had 
had to take care of something. Mrs. Anderson came back a while later 
and never mentioned paddling again, and the naughty boys, figuring 
they'd gotten off lucky, behaved for the rest of the year. I kinda 
felt the same and followed suit.

It wasn't until I was almost out of high school that my parents told 
me that the school had called that day years earlier. The upshot was 
that Mrs. Anderson, being a first year teacher, had been off having a 
good cry during her absence. (After everyone had conferred, they'd 
decided that, under the circumstances, perhaps not calling attention 
to the incident was best.) Hearing about this ten years later, I felt 
bad; I had actually liked her best of any of my grade school 
teachers. But...I couldn't help thinking that she'd probably given up 
pretty permanently on corporal punishment, too.

Sandy, waxing nostalgic and wishing she had more time lately




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 05:18:38 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 05:18:38 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm7h8u+ugfm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm83re+j395@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
wrote:
> June wrote:

> > 
> > THE ONLY WORDS YOU NEED FOR SPEECH ATTRIBUTION 
> ARE:
> > 
> > He/she said
> > 
> > he/she asked

The only liquid you need to drink is water, but would you seriously 
want to forgo fresh-squeezed orange juice, ice cold milk, coca-cola 
classic, an agg cream (you New Yorkers know what I mean), a dry 
martini, single malt scotch, lapsang souchong tea, espresso, 
cappucino, lemonade, Dr. Brown's Black Cherry soda, Killian's Irish 
Red beer, draft Guiness stout, or scumble? (For you non-Discworld 
readers, scumble is made from apples-- well, mainly apples.)

In all seriousness, I think dialogue is handled best wn there is no 
need for attribution because it is clear from the dialogue itself.  
Judicious use of other lucutions than "he said/she said" can relieve 
the monotony wit out overpowering the dialogue.  I have no 
objections to a "she asked" or a "he answered" when a question is 
posed.  Nor would I delete a "they chorused" at a group response.
The sparing-- extremely sparing--- use of modifying adverbs can add 
to the flavor of a passage.  Which of these are acceptable and which 
are not I can only answer by quoting Justice Brennan's rule for 
finding obscenity:  "I know it when I see it."

Haggridd (who very much appreciates Amy Z's Swiftie in her previous 
post)




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sat Oct 11 07:09:55 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 07:09:55 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm83re+j395@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm8ac3+f2ro@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Haggridd" 
<jkusalavagemd at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
> wrote:
> >> The only liquid you need to drink is water, but would you 
seriously 
> want to forgo fresh-squeezed orange juice, ice cold milk, coca-
cola 
> classic, an agg cream (you New Yorkers know what I mean), a dry 
> martini, single malt scotch, lapsang souchong tea, espresso, 
> cappucino, lemonade, Dr. Brown's Black Cherry soda, Killian's 
Irish 
> Red beer, draft Guiness stout, or scumble? (For you non-Discworld 
> readers, scumble is made from apples-- well, mainly apples.)

Yes, but a good dialogue writer can add the (genuine) flavourings to 
the speech itself, whereas adverbs are more like a fake essence.  
Think fine vintage claret as opposed to wine flavouring for cooking.
> 
> In all seriousness, I think dialogue is handled best wn there is 
no 
> need for attribution because it is clear from the dialogue 
itself.  
> Judicious use of other lucutions than "he said/she said" can 
relieve 
> the monotony wit out overpowering the dialogue.  I have no 
> objections to a "she asked" or a "he answered" when a question is 
> posed.  Nor would I delete a "they chorused" at a group response.
> The sparing-- extremely sparing--- use of modifying adverbs can 
add 
> to the flavor of a passage.  Which of these are acceptable and 
which 
> are not I can only answer by quoting Justice Brennan's rule for 
> finding obscenity:  "I know it when I see it."

There's generally no need for any attribution in a two-hander 
scene.  Once it is established who spoke first, all but the very 
stupid reader should be able to keep up. One way is to skip 
attribution entirely and use a sentence to describe a gesture or 
action by the speaker:  "I hate you!" She slapped his face hard.  
<snigger>.

Back to your points above, I agree totally (she agreed, totally)- 
but I believe that the content of the dialogue when written well 
should preclude the need for the Swifty.  If someone says "I hate 
you" we can be fairly sure that they said it angrily.  Essentially, 
I find "swifties" rather intrusive when I'm reading.  It can reach 
the point that I start looking for them, rather than concentrating 
on the story.  If there's too many of them, I start making them up, 
facetiously (there's another - man don't they breed like rabbits?).

June






From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Sat Oct 11 14:15:32 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 14:15:32 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm73ri+d90b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm93a4+gqvd@eGroups.com>

June expatiated:

> Can't resist this bait, or is it deliberate provocation?  There 
are 
> a number of people who know my opinions about adverb use in 
dialogue 
> attribution only too well...(did they put you up to this, she 
asked 
> suspiciously)

Honestly, no, it wasn't baiting.  If you've posted over on the main 
list about this I'm afraid I've missed it.

> Sorry JKR - I hate it.  I only forgive it because it's you and I 
> will tolerate it so I can hang with the likes of Snape, Lupin and 
> the rest of them.

When I read OOP aloud to my son I really noticed this habit.  On 
many, many occasions I interpreted the speech, came to the adverb, 
and had to go back and re-read in a different tone of voice.  I 
didn't like it at the time.

I think it's an interesting question whether this adds to or 
detracts from the story.  JKR kept overriding my interpretation, but 
maybe there's a point to that.  I am not sufficiently good or 
experienced a writer to know if she could have written the dialogue 
slightly differently to ensure that the appropriate tone of voice 
would come out of the printed words.

> So said June, acerbically, and maybe arrogantly.

This is all very interesting, but I hope it won't prevent you 
enjoying the Swifties, which are, after all, nothing to do with 
realistic dialogue and everything to do with feeble puns.

David




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sat Oct 11 14:46:09 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 14:46:09 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm93a4+gqvd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm953h+lfft@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
>
> When I read OOP aloud to my son I really noticed this habit.  On 
> many, many occasions I interpreted the speech, came to the adverb, 
> and had to go back and re-read in a different tone of voice.  I 
> didn't like it at the time.
> 
> I think it's an interesting question whether this adds to or 
> detracts from the story.  JKR kept overriding my interpretation, 
but 
> maybe there's a point to that.  I am not sufficiently good or 
> experienced a writer to know if she could have written the 
dialogue 
> slightly differently to ensure that the appropriate tone of voice 
> would come out of the printed words.
> 
> > So said June, acerbically, and maybe arrogantly.
> 
> This is all very interesting, but I hope it won't prevent you 
> enjoying the Swifties, which are, after all, nothing to do with 
> realistic dialogue and everything to do with feeble puns.
> 
> David

"Indupitably not," she replied, enthusiastically.

Swear to God, I'm going to stop this.  I'm giving up tonight, 
really. Honestly.  

June




From foxmoth at qnet.com  Sat Oct 11 15:53:05 2003
From: foxmoth at qnet.com (pippin_999)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 15:53:05 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm8ac3+f2ro@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9911+frtj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" 
<june.diamanti at b...> wrote:

> 
> Back to your points above, I agree totally (she agreed, totally)- 
> but I believe that the content of the dialogue when written well 
> should preclude the need for the Swifty.  If someone says "I 
hate 
> you" we can be fairly sure that they said it angrily.  Essentially, 
> I find "swifties" rather intrusive when I'm reading.  It can reach 
> the point that I start looking for them, rather than concentrating 
> on the story. 

One of the things that makes JKR's writing so accessible to 
young  people as well as adults who haven't read much fiction 
before is those swifties, IMO. It takes experience with both real  
life and the conventions of fiction-writing before you can decode 
emotional content from  speech and gestures alone. The 
adverbs make it simpler. 

Pippin




From eloiseherisson at aol.com  Sat Oct 11 15:59:32 2003
From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 11:59:32 EDT
Subject: Beware Badgers!
Message-ID: <136.25852325.2cb982e4@aol.com>

A cautionary tale.

When my husband arrived home the other night, he asked me to come out with 
him to look at his car. He had apparently hit a badger which had run across the 
road in front of him and having stopped the car some miles later discovered 
that coolant was flooding out.

Externally it looked undamaged (I don't know what the badger looked like) and 
we assumed that somehow a joint or a valve or something had become detached 
or damaged because of the impact.

When I took it to the garage, however, the story was somewhat different. This 
is a Volvo S60 we're talking about, so it's fairly substantial. At least by 
British standards <g>. The impact with the badger had split the main radiator 
and bent the two subsiduary ones in front of it, also bending the reinforcing 
bars behind the front bumper. They're all going to need replacing. Thank 
goodness he wasn't in our little MG, or the thing would probably have written it 
off!

What I don't understand is that I drive along the same route to school. I 
knew roughly where the accident had happened and was dreading seeing the poor 
creature next morning. But there was no sign of it whatsoever although there was 
the usual assortment of other dead wildlife. I can't really believe that it 
was off nursing a bad headache in the undergrowth somewhere.

So...don't pick a fight with a badger, even if you're in a car. The badger 
may win.

~Eloise
Who's only ever run over a rabbit and was severely traumatised by that.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 17:13:43 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 17:13:43 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm93a4+gqvd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9do7+fhhf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> June expatiated:

Beautiful!  Full marks for David for this brilliant riposte and en 
passant comment on language of attrubution. Kudos!


> When I read OOP aloud to my son I really noticed this habit.  On 
> many, many occasions I interpreted the speech, came to the adverb, 
> and had to go back and re-read in a different tone of voice.  I 
> didn't like it at the time.
> 
> I think it's an interesting question whether this adds to or 
> detracts from the story.  JKR kept overriding my interpretation, 
but 
> maybe there's a point to that.  I am not sufficiently good or 
> experienced a writer to know if she could have written the 
dialogue 
> slightly differently to ensure that the appropriate tone of voice 
> would come out of the printed words.

David, I find this extremely interesting.  You pose the crucial 
question: Is JKR deficient in her use of dialogue, or is your ear 
for her dialogue defective?  I would be extremely interested if you 
would cite a number of examples, either onlist or offlist.  I would 
like to see whether I interpret these exchanges differently from 
JKR, as demonstrated by her choice of adverb.  I think you have hit 
upon something new in discussion of the HP books here, and more 
substantive than trading Swifties, however entertaining they may 
be.  Let's pursue it, shall we?

Haggridd 
> 
> David




From melclaros at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 17:50:39 2003
From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 17:50:39 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm8ac3+f2ro@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9ftf+sp06@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" > Yes, but a 
good dialogue writer can add the (genuine) flavourings to 
> the speech itself, whereas adverbs are more like a fake essence.  
> Think fine vintage claret as opposed to wine flavouring for cooking.
> > 

Jumping in after a long absence Mel adds:

I agree. However the key is "a good dialogue writer". These are few 
and far between. I simply can not read a story/book with bad or 
unbelievable dialogue. I can't count the number of books I've tossed 
on 
the reject pile after my brain shuts down from the effort of trying 
to rationalize badly written or impossible dialog. 

I'll take a good adverb any day, or "he said with a sneer" if sneered 
comment is something someone--that character in particular would 
*actually* say.






> June:
> There's generally no need for any attribution in a two-hander 
> scene.  Once it is established who spoke first, all but the very 
> stupid reader should be able to keep up.

And here we have the opposite rule. While good writers of dialogue 
seem to be a dying breed, very stupid readers seem to be multiplying 
(I'll leave out the adverb). Look at the best seller lists for 
further elaboration on this. 

Yes, I am a snob.


>June:
> One way is to skip 
> attribution entirely and use a sentence to describe a gesture or 
> action by the speaker:  "I hate you!" She slapped his face hard.  


Much needed, yes. Another example is in cases of irony or sarcasm. An 
astute reader may not need a signpost, and if a character is 
succesfully portrayed and the dialog in character and believable it 
should be obvious to even the more dim ones, but again one has to 
assume that the reader is coming in to the conversation as an 
unknowing stranger and may need a nudge. A nudge, mind you--not a 
hammer over the head. "He said sarcastically" is a pet peeve of mine. 
Consider the misunderstandings in emails and on forums such as this 
and you'll see why in some cases it is necessary to clarify how a 
line is said or meant to a reader. It's either throw in an adverb or 
an emoticon and PLEASE let's not go there!



>June:
>  If someone says "I hate you" we can be fairly sure that they said 
>it angrily.  


Can we? Really? I can think of a few examples where that would most 
certainly be a misreading. Of course most of them are in mushy 
romantic scenes, but those do occasionally creep into stories, even 
great literature.


>Essentially, I find "swifties" rather intrusive when I'm reading. 

If they're overused, yes. I agree. They become distracting. My point, 
and I do have one, is that there is a happy medium. There are adverbs 
in the language and they are there for good reason. They have a 
valuable job to do. Is less more? Perhaps in some cases, yes.


Mel  




From charisjulia at hotmail.com  Sat Oct 11 17:55:34 2003
From: charisjulia at hotmail.com (charisjulia)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 17:55:34 -0000
Subject: Summer birthdays (WAS: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm70f4+9mai@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9g6m+g23u@eGroups.com>

> Cindy -- who had a summer birthday, who is forever bitter that she
> never *once* got a party in the classroom to celebrate it like the
> winter birthday kids, and who thinks the summer birthday people 
should
> form a support group as soon as someone thinks up a good name for us


Hey! And what about us poor spring babies! I haven't spent a single 
birthday since I was * twelve* not steeped in books, cramming away 
for finals. And not only do you get to spend the day indoors 
studying, oh no. You also hardly get any presents from friends. "I'm 
sorry but I've haven't been out *at all* lately and I swear I'll get 
something really great when the exams finish". . . in a month.


Yeah, whatever. Sigh.


In fact, I can vivedly remember taking Modern History for my 
university entrance exams on my 18th. 


"And *that's* what it means to be an adult", said my Mum.


Charis Julia, who's nameday is on Christmas day thereby ensuring that 
everybody forgets that too. Grumble, grumble.




From zorb47 at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 18:43:15 2003
From: zorb47 at yahoo.com (Zorb)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 11:43:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Summer birthdays (WAS: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bm9g6m+g23u@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031011184315.43704.qmail@web20509.mail.yahoo.com>


--- charisjulia <charisjulia at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hey! And what about us poor spring babies! I haven't
> spent a single 
> birthday since I was * twelve* not steeped in books,
> cramming away 
> for finals. And not only do you get to spend the day
> indoors 
> studying, oh no. You also hardly get any presents
> from friends. "I'm 
> sorry but I've haven't been out *at all* lately and
> I swear I'll get 
> something really great when the exams finish". . .
> in a month.

I was just considering posting about that, myself!  I
have an early June birthday, which, ever since I was
thirteen, has fallen on or just before final exams
week.  This year (my twenty-first birthday), I had two
papers due and a presentation to give.  All I wanted
to do afterwards was sleep.

Most people, aside from my family, completely forget
about it or are way too busy with their own studying
to do anything.  While the *real* summer babies used
to get their birthdays announced at school on their
half-birthdays, the poor exam week ones got nothing
(except during my senior year, when I knew the guy who
read the announcements).

Combined holiday present syndrome happens to me every
few years, too, because my birthday also coincides
with graduations.  

So take heart, summer birthday people!  It could be
worse. ;-)

Zorb

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com



From joym999 at aol.com  Sat Oct 11 19:26:32 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 19:26:32 -0000
Subject: little bits of thread
Message-ID: <bm9lh8+57md@eGroups.com>

I've been storing little bits and pieces of conversations that I've 
been meaning to respond to.  Most of you have probably forgotten 
these threads by now, but since I'm home with a cold and I need 
something to take my mind off the fact that I want to rip my sinuses 
out of my head and soak them in boiling water, I'm going to bore you 
all with them right now:

* I am incredibly jealous of June, who works in a place that sounds 
like Hogwarts.  Don't go into any dark alleys, June, or I might sneak 
up behind you and steal your dungeon.  The Joycave could really use a 
dungeon.  (You might say I was a curmudgeon without a dungeon, but 
you wouldn't because it would be too awfully punny.)  On second 
thought, if you promise to lock up Margaret Thatcher in the dungeon 
and throw away the key and never, ever, feed her, maybe I'll let you 
keep it.

*Amanda was never on my shit list.  I don't even own a shit list.  I 
have an exasperating list, but most of my friends have spent some 
time there at one point or other.  In fact, I spend most of my time 
there myself.

*I mistakenly called Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez by the wrong 
first name.  I have some excuses.  It was midnight.  I was tired.  I 
am senile.  There was a book sitting right there on my desk next to 
the computer by PABLO Neruda.  I meant no slight to the Red Sox.  As 
an apology to Red Sox fans, I promise not to mention Bill Buckner 
again until next season, unless the Red Sox by some incredible stroke 
of luck beat the Yankees in the playoffs, in which case the city of 
Boston will feel the full power of my sturdy oak wand with its dragon 
heartstring.

*I, too, am one of those people who are allergic to perfume.  I 
occasionally have to move to another spot in a public place, as my 
eyes start to burn, my throat starts to itch, and my nose does all 
sorts of unpleasant things.  A small amount of perfume, discretely 
applied, doesn't seem to bother me, but some people like to pour on a 
whole bottle.  Oh, and I've met Jo Serenadust in the flesh, I while I 
have to admit I don't really remember that much about the way she 
smells, her claim that she does not overuse perfume is accurate.  
And, she's pretty cool.

*I still count Amy and David among my bestest of friends, despite the 
horrible Swifties they posted.  And I promise to never, ever, ever, 
never say anything "joyfully."

? Joywitch M. Curmudgeon




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sat Oct 11 19:55:34 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 19:55:34 -0000
Subject: little bits of thread
In-Reply-To: <bm9lh8+57md@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9n7m+no4t@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "joywitch_m_curmudgeon" 
<joym999 at a...> wrote:
> I've been storing little bits and pieces of conversations that 
I've 
> been meaning to respond to.  Most of you have probably forgotten 
> these threads by now, but since I'm home with a cold and I need 
> something to take my mind off the fact that I want to rip my 
sinuses 
> out of my head and soak them in boiling water, I'm going to bore 
you 
> all with them right now:
> 
> * I am incredibly jealous of June, who works in a place that 
sounds 
> like Hogwarts.  Don't go into any dark alleys, June, or I might 
sneak 
> up behind you and steal your dungeon.  The Joycave could really 
use a 
> dungeon.  (You might say I was a curmudgeon without a dungeon, but 
> you wouldn't because it would be too awfully punny.)  On second 
> thought, if you promise to lock up Margaret Thatcher in the 
dungeon 
> and throw away the key and never, ever, feed her, maybe I'll let 
you 
> keep it.

I promise, I promise - and what's more I invite you to tea - we can 
sit over the oubliette where she is and catcall down while we drink 
it!  May I formally offer you free run of my dungeon any time.  (no 
weirdness intended!) by the way - the premises are great, pity the 
boss couldn't be the same ;-)


June




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Sat Oct 11 20:37:02 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 20:37:02 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm9do7+fhhf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9ple+uc1g@eGroups.com>

Haggridd wrote:

> David, I find this extremely interesting.  You pose the crucial 
> question: Is JKR deficient in her use of dialogue, or is your ear 
> for her dialogue defective?  I would be extremely interested if 
you 
> would cite a number of examples, either onlist or offlist.  I 
would 
> like to see whether I interpret these exchanges differently from 
> JKR, as demonstrated by her choice of adverb.  I think you have 
hit 
> upon something new in discussion of the HP books here, and more 
> substantive than trading Swifties, however entertaining they may 
> be.  Let's pursue it, shall we?

I'll see what I can do, though I can't remember the examples now.  
My daughter has belatedly asked me to read OOP to her so I will try 
to note cases as I go along.

David




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Sat Oct 11 20:44:37 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 20:44:37 -0000
Subject: little bits of thread
In-Reply-To: <bm9lh8+57md@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bm9q3l+orj3@eGroups.com>

Joywitch wrote:

> The Joycave could really use a 
> dungeon.  (You might say I was a curmudgeon without a dungeon, but 
> you wouldn't because it would be too awfully punny.)

Are you in high dudgeon?

> *I mistakenly called Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez by the wrong 
> first name.  I have some excuses.  

This sounds like fudging.

> *I, too, am one of those people who are allergic to perfume.

You object to unguent sludging?
 
> *I still count Amy and David among my bestest of friends, despite 
the 
> horrible Swifties they posted.

Now that's ungrudging!

> And I promise to never, ever, ever, 
> never say anything "joyfully."
> 
> ? Joywitch M. Curmudgeon

David, unbudging




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 22:01:21 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:01:21 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Grey Wolf!
Message-ID: <20031011220121.22697.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com>

*dances into the room, flinging confettin and dragging
a large cart laden with cake and other goodies*

Someone please give me hand getting this food on the
tables. I'm sure some of these people are hungry after
waiting most of the day for me to show up with the
goodies. :)

Today's birthday honouree is Grey Wolf. Birthday owls
can be sent care of this list or directly to:
greywolf1 at jazzfree.com

I hope your day has brought everything you hoped for.

Happy Birthday, Grey Wolf!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Sat Oct 11 08:49:39 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 18:49:39 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Missed a trick
References: <bm79au+pec9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000201c39048$549f58c0$77984cca@Monteith>

>
> Well, speaking for my son David, he would have loved that when he was
> younger (the support group).  His birthday is July 28.  But now that
> he's a 'teenager' (13), he's actually glad that he won't get the
> attention in school.  Although he's thrilled that he shares Harry's
> birthday week!! (although, he's too 'old' to admit it to anyone but
> me and his dad).

Yay! My birthday is July 28. Only problem is that this the middle of winter
in Australia and it always rains on that day for some reason :-(

Nox




From catlady at wicca.net  Sat Oct 11 23:01:30 2003
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 23:01:30 -0000
Subject: little bits of thread
In-Reply-To: <bm9lh8+57md@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bma24a+d119@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "joywitch_m_curmudgeon"
<joym999 at a...> wrote: 

>  And I promise to never, ever, ever,  never say anything "joyfully."

But 'joyously' and 'enjoyably' are still available --- and the latter
is a good description of your spliced threads post.

And of David's dudging, fudging, sludging, ungrudging, unbudging
reply. David, would a budgie-keet say something "budgingly"?

Sherry bought out birthday cake for Grey Wolf, but surely he would
prefer fresh dead animals? Happy birthday to all the summer babies and
spring babies and winter/Christmas/New Year babies and autumn babies!




From fc26det at aol.com  Sat Oct 11 23:08:46 2003
From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 23:08:46 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm9ftf+sp06@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bma2hu+fth4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "melclaros" <melclaros at y...> 
wrote

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" > > 
June:
> >  If someone says "I hate you" we can be fairly sure that they 
said 
> >it angrily.  


Mel: 
> Can we? Really? I can think of a few examples where that would most 
> certainly be a misreading. Of course most of them are in mushy 
> romantic scenes, but those do occasionally creep into stories, even 
> great literature.
 There are adverbs 
> in the language and they are there for good reason. They have a 
> valuable job to do. Is less more? Perhaps in some cases, yes.


Now Susan:
I'm afraid I have to agree with Mel.  There have been many times that 
I have said "I hate you!" while laughing and grinning.  Knowing what 
a persons mood is simply with the written word *without 
embellishments* is a very difficult thing to do.  Just my two cents!

Susan




From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 11 23:35:25 2003
From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent)
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 23:35:25 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bma2hu+fth4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bma43t+co14@eGroups.com>

I understand the criticism of some folks concerning adverbs 
like "joyfully."  Adverbs are often not the way to go when trying to 
communicate the way someone is speaking.  It is just not true that 
the words themselves can always communicate adequately the way the 
person is saying them.  Sometimes, however, if you feel the need to 
use an adverb, it might be that you need to vary the verb your using 
to indicate speech.

For instance:

"Where do you think you're going?"

could have any sort of context.  

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked softly.

"Where do you think you're going?" she whispered urgently.

"Urgently" is an adverb that helps create a fuller picture of the 
way the speaker is behaving, and by varying the 'speaking' verb from 
asked to whispered (we don't necessarily need to use 'asked' since 
that's what you do with questions) we don't have the problem of too 
many adverbs, since 'she asked softly and urgently' is awkward and 
tedious.  Someone whispering urgently is a bit on edge.  You can't 
communicate this by the words in the quote alone, or just by saying 
that their volume was soft.

"I told McGonagall about what you did," Neville said haltingly.

"I told McGonagall about what you did," Neville finally managed to 
say, shaking the entire time.

The first version, with an adverb, communicates the way he spoke, 
but the second way communicates both the way he spoke and the way he 
was behaving. ('Finally managed to say' implies that he had some 
difficulty getting the words out without cluttering the quote itself 
with annoying pauses.)

Sometimes adverbs might be examined more closely, in case the images 
being communicated through them might be better conveyed using 
another method, but sometimes they're entirely appropriate. (If 
Neville really did speak haltingly, rather than shaking all over, 
the first version would be preferred.)  When possible, adverbs 
should be used to describe the way the person spoke, stood, sat, 
moved, etc., rather than the person's mood ("joyfully" for 
instance).  "Harry slumped down in his chair and glowered at Ron," 
is more effective than, "Harry sat grumpily in his chair."  What 
does it mean to sit grumpily?  It doesn't really communicate what's 
going on.  Adverbs should be used in the service of words that are 
more clearly delineating the characters' actions, when they're used 
at all. ("Harry slumped down in his chair and glowered at Ron," has 
no adverbs.)  

--Barb

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent
http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb

 




From Erthena at aol.com  Sun Oct 12 00:52:11 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 00:52:11 -0000
Subject: Summer birthdays (WAS: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <20031011184315.43704.qmail@web20509.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <bma8jr+crcc@eGroups.com>

Well, I'm unusual but what about late winter/early spring babies.  
I'm March 18 and I can't figure out the last time I had school on my 
birthday because it's always during spring break!  This year in fact 
is the first in 3 or 4 years (I think) that I'll actually be in 
school on my birthday.  Also in addition to missing a lot of 
birthdays I could never have a party because either 1) I was out of 
town or 2) If I had school friends at another school would be on 
break and be out of town (I live in MN so by march we've usually had 
5 months of snow, grey skies and cold and we're all ready to go 
somewhere hot and sunny).  Also it is in no way possible for ym 
birthday not to be during lent, so I have to deal with people who 
gave up sweets and Pizza and all sorts of stuff for lent as well (I'm 
catholic and go to Catholic school and many of my friends are 
catholic so it's just messy).
Just my two knuts
~~loony, thinking that maybe there is no good time to be born




From melclaros at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 12 01:26:41 2003
From: melclaros at yahoo.com (melclaros)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 01:26:41 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm93a4+gqvd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmaakh+jmvj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
 
> 
> When I read OOP aloud to my son I really noticed this habit.  On 
> many, many occasions I interpreted the speech, came to the adverb, 
> and had to go back and re-read in a different tone of voice.  I 
> didn't like it at the time.


Mel has a quesion--
I'm curious, David, are you a Brit? I'm wondering only because I've 
heard this before from people I know and I'm wondering if it's simply 
that many Americans (I AM American so don't anyone start waving the 
flag at me because this is an observation only.) in particular have 
problems grasping some of the subtleties of British--shall we say--
delivery.
Living in a "bi-lingual" home all my life it never really crossed my 
mind and I usually 'got it right' (according to JKR's chosen adverb) 
as to what the character was trying to convey.  American speech, 
however is far more, well ok, honest. It's easier, I think, for 
Americans to read something and take it at face value. This is why so 
many Americans envy the British ability to twist a simple sentence 
into something quite different--usually  a horrible insult to you 
that it takes a week to understand.



Mel, fully expecting David will answer that he is, in fact, one of 
those ascerbic Brits himself and thereby blow this idea out of the 
water.




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 12 04:51:45 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 04:51:45 -0000
Subject: Summer birthdays (WAS: Missed a trick)
In-Reply-To: <bma8jr+crcc@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmaml1+dql4@eGroups.com>

Lots of horrible birthdays, yes.  Summer birthdays - yuck.  Spring
birthdays?  Same thing (I'm a late springer, myself).

But my husband is a LEAP YEAR BABY.

Whose sister was born on March 1st, so they shared birthdays 3/4 of
the time!!

Ha!

I get to throw his 8th birthday party next year.


Does he win the bad-time-for-a-birthday prize?

-Jen, sicky-sick-sick...




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 12 06:50:39 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 06:50:39 -0000
Subject: "There will be no white flag above my door . . ."  ;  um, well, not yet
Message-ID: <bmatjv+15dd@eGroups.com>

. . . Anna runs quickly (there's one of those *naughty* adverbs 
again) across the field, ducking behind the scoreboard, trying to get 
in so she can change the numbers to where they are supposed to 
be . . .

UGGGHHH!! The white flag stuck in my pocket got caught on the door 
handle!! NO! I'm not ready to wave it yet! Give it back!! 


Oh well, I didn't see the game, or listen to it, but just read about 
it on mlb.com.  Sounds like a doozy.  Poor Sox.  Poor Don Zimmer. 

Here's hoping "the sun will come out tommorrow".  

Sorry, can't help the song lyrics. I know it's lame.  I'm doing an 
overnite for a fellow vacationing employee, and my brain is totally 
fried.  I hate overnite.  

Anna . . .(who could probably see the Citgo sign right now if I went 
up and looked out the 8th floor window) 




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Oct 12 15:02:25 2003
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 12 Oct 2003 15:02:25 -0000
Subject: Reminder - Weekly Chat 
Message-ID: <1065970945.27.89206.m14@yahoogroups.com>


We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Weekly Chat 

Date: Sunday, October 12, 2003 
Time: 11:00AM - 7:00PM CDT (GMT-05:00) 

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 Erthena at aol.com  Sun Oct 12 16:08:34 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 16:08:34 -0000
Subject: I am fangirl
Message-ID: <bmbua2+ahmm@eGroups.com>

This came to me in the middle of Physics sometime this week, so I 
promptly wrote it down and forgot all about it.  However I found tit 
this morning and wanted to pass it along.
I am Fangirl
I know the Entire script to FOTR and TT
I watch them once a month at least
And I say the lines along with the actors
But I still swoon when Legolas comes on the screen
There are pictures of Legolas all over my stuff
Which is green in spite of slytherin.
And I'm dangerous if you should insult Legolas
For good reasons are Legolas fans called the most dangerous
I am fangirl hear me roar
I think Sirius Black is Dead Sexy 
And I knew he was gonna die,
Which I don't believe he did
But when Bellatrix's spell hit him
And he fell backwards through the veil
I was too shocked to cry
I couldn't then but I can now
Now tears obstruct my vision on p 806 (U.S. ed.)
And a wave of depression hits me like a dementor
But I still read, pain or no
I am fangirl Hear me roar
~~loony, who really was roaring on friday because of the full moon ;-)





From bigheadhb at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 12 17:14:12 2003
From: bigheadhb at yahoo.com (bigheadhb)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 17:14:12 -0000
Subject: Jaason Isaacs in The Tuxedo
Message-ID: <bmc254+pl3l@eGroups.com>

Hi All,
I really enjoy the posts, they are such fun.  In flipping through the 
channels the other day, I happened to catch Jaason Isaacs in a Jackie 
Chan movie entitled, "The Tuxedo".  I almost didn't recognize him 
without that great long blond hair - but I couldn't miss those eyes!  
He was very cool and suave as a James Bond type character - but I 
still think he is much hotter as Lucius Malfoy.  I searched the posts 
to see if this had already been discussed and I didn't find any 
mention.  Did anyone happen to catch this movie?  Thanks all, and 
please have a great day!

Bid D




From anneu53714 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 12 20:20:21 2003
From: anneu53714 at yahoo.com (Anne)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 20:20:21 -0000
Subject: HELP! Need transit directions in/around London
Message-ID: <bmcd25+gpu@eGroups.com>

Actually I need these for a fan fic I'm working on -- though I have 
visited London, we stayed in a different part of town (Pimlico) than 
where I'm interested.

I know that in PS/SS, Harry and Hagrid stopped for a snack at 
Paddington Station before Harry took a train from London back to 
Little Whinging. But I want to get Harry INTO London on a train, from 
Little Whinging. So, I have several questions:

1) What train line(s) (Britrail?) would go to Paddington Station from 
anywhere in Surrey?

2) Do any train lines from Surrey go to other stations, and which 
ones?

3) How would a person get from Paddington Station to Diagon Alley? 
Would one take the Underground from Paddington to Charing Cross? (I 
am assuming Diagon Alley is not distant from Charing Cross station, 
because The Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross Rd.) If so, which 
underground route? If not, would one take a bus? Would it have to be 
a double-decker bus (open-topped) to accommodate Hagrid??

I don't mean to be a pest; hope someone can help. Thanks in advance. 
Feel free to email me off the list.

Anne U




From hp at plum.cream.org  Sun Oct 12 23:34:50 2003
From: hp at plum.cream.org (GulPlum)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 00:34:50 +0100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HELP! Need transit directions in/around
  London
In-Reply-To: <bmcd25+gpu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20031012234940.009a17a0@plum.cream.org>

Due to a combination of being abroad and busy with other aspects of life, 
I've not had anything to say for several months. However, things should be 
getting back on track...

Anne wrote:

>1) What train line(s) (Britrail?) would go to Paddington Station from
>anywhere in Surrey?

First Great Western and Thames Trains are the relevant rail companies 
running services from Paddington. (FGW lines run mainly into Wales, Thames 
are commuter lines; other train companies run services from Paddington but 
not into/through Surrey). The best bet for services to Little Whinging is 
Thames Trains as FGW services only barley touch onto Surrey (see below).

>2) Do any train lines from Surrey go to other stations, and which ones?

Surrey is a fairly large county and forms an "L" shape around south-western 
and southern London. The more southern parts of Surrey are served by trains 
from Victoria or Waterloo (with possible suburban interchanges such as 
Wimbledon or Croydon). However, Harry took a train from Paddington in 
canon, which firmly places L.W. in the more westerly part of Surrey and no 
other London terminus is possible.

No native (even one as unused to rail travel as Harry or even Hagrid) would 
confuse which part of Surrey they're going to, and information at train 
stations (including maps) make it abundantly clear which station is 
required to go to which part of the country.

>3) How would a person get from Paddington Station to Diagon Alley?
>Would one take the Underground from Paddington to Charing Cross? (I
>am assuming Diagon Alley is not distant from Charing Cross station,
>because The Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross Rd.) If so, which
>underground route? If not, would one take a bus? Would it have to be
>a double-decker bus (open-topped) to accommodate Hagrid??

It's a common fallacy among foreigners to believe that London is full of 
open-deck  buses. The only double-decker buses with open top decks are 
tourist services; even the traditional buses seen in postcards, etc, with 
entry from the back of the bus and a conductor (such as the Knight Bus from 
PoA which we've all seen) are fairly rare. Most (read "almost all") London 
buses are modern enclosed vehicles with entry at the front and no conductor 
(you pay the driver). Anyone over 8ft tall would never fit through the door 
(trivia: any object over 6ft long isn't allowed on board).

The only way for Hagrid to get from Paddington to Charing Cross Road by 
public transport is by Tube (i.e. Underground). Take the District/Circle 
line (coloured green and yellow respectively) two stops southbound to 
Notting Hill Gate and then the Central Line (red) eastbound to Tottenham 
Court Road (http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tubemap/). Leave and take the 
appropriate exit for Charing Cross Road and walk southwards to the L.C. 
Allow about 30 minutes for the journey.

However, if Harry (or anyone else) is travelling without Hagrid, they can 
take a number 15 or 23 bus from outside Paddington station to The Strand 
(outside Charing Cross Station) and then up past Trafalgar Square into 
Charing Cross Road from the south. (If memory serves and nothing's changed 
in the last couple of years, the number 15 should be a traditional 
open-back Routemaster bus). Allow around 40 minutes for the journey.

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, happy to be back



From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Mon Oct 13 11:50:45 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 11:50:45 -0000
Subject: HELP! Need transit directions in/around London
In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20031012234940.009a17a0@plum.cream.org>
Message-ID: <bme3il+mqn4@eGroups.com>

Richard wrote:
> Due to a combination of being abroad and busy with other aspects of 
life, 
> I've not had anything to say for several months. However, things 
should be 
> getting back on track...

Welcome back!
 
Anne wrote:

> >2) Do any train lines from Surrey go to other stations, and which 
ones?

Richard:
> No native (even one as unused to rail travel as Harry or even 
Hagrid) would 
> confuse which part of Surrey they're going to, and information at 
train 
> stations (including maps) make it abundantly clear which station is 
> required to go to which part of the country.

Um, Richard, I'm not sure which country you live in, but the 
conjunction of 'rail travel' and 'abundantly clear' is, to say the 
least, an unusual one in the British branch of the English language.  
Unless, of course, by 'abundantly clear' you mean 'wilfully obscure' 
or 'mind-bendingly incoherent'.  Choosing your service means 
simultaneously assessing geographical proximity, timetabling 
convenience, and the fiendish complexities of the fare structure.  I 
think the natives get confused all the time.

Can we be sure, for example, that the Reading service from Waterloo 
does not go near to localities also served from Paddington?  You can 
get to parts of Surrey from London Bridge and I think Thameslink 
stations such as - *tada* - Kings Cross.  You used to be able to do 
it from Broad Street, which is virtually on the opposite side of 
London, via the old North London line to Kew.  There are cross-
country services, too: we can't know for sure that Harry didn't go 
from Paddington to Reading and change there onto the Gatwick line via 
Guildford.

> >3) How would a person get from Paddington Station to Diagon Alley?
> >Would one take the Underground from Paddington to Charing Cross? (I
> >am assuming Diagon Alley is not distant from Charing Cross station,
> >because The Leaky Cauldron is on Charing Cross Rd.) If so, which
> >underground route? If not, would one take a bus? Would it have to 
be
> >a double-decker bus (open-topped) to accommodate Hagrid??

> Most (read "almost all") London 
> buses are modern enclosed vehicles with entry at the front and no 
conductor 
> (you pay the driver). Anyone over 8ft tall would never fit through 
the door 
> (trivia: any object over 6ft long isn't allowed on board).

So you are saying that the bus would be open-topped *after* Hagrid 
had boarded it, right?
> 
> The only way for Hagrid to get from Paddington to Charing Cross 
Road by 
> public transport is by Tube (i.e. Underground). Take the 
District/Circle 
> line (coloured green and yellow respectively) two stops southbound 
to 
> Notting Hill Gate and then the Central Line (red) eastbound to 
Tottenham 
> Court Road (http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tubemap/). Leave and 
take the 
> appropriate exit for Charing Cross Road and walk southwards to the 
L.C. 
> Allow about 30 minutes for the journey.

I don't have Dumbledore's knee handy, but there are other routes.  
The Bakerloo line goes direct from Paddington to Charing Cross so 
that would be sensible.  I'm ptretty sure PS states they took the 
tube - didn't Hagrid get stuck in the barriers?

David




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 13 13:12:00 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 13:12:00 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bikd1e+dav2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bme8b0+4t9k@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter "Caius Marcius" daringly started a thread of 
Tom Swifts that went swimingly:
<Caius'>
> "I skipped my Occlumency lesson again," said Harry absent-mindedly
> "This charm, which I learned from Prof. Lupin, will doubtless 
prove quite difficult for most of you," said Harry patronizingly.
> "A week's detention, Potter," said Umbridge back-handedly.
> "I need a draught of Relaxation," said Hannah Abbott testily.
> "Tarantallegra!" said Dolohov standoffishly
> "Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army," said Dumbledore 
militantly. 
> "I want to escort Harry to King's Cross," said Sirius doggedly. 
> "I see you've met my mother," said Sirius picturesquely. 
> "Doxies have got to be good for something," said Fred jokingly. 
> "And look, Broderick, you've been sent a potted plant," said 
Miriam Strout devilishly
<Pippin's>
> "I'm monitoring the Floo Network," said Umbridge, gratingly.
> "We are not animals," said the Centaur hoarsely.
> "There's something I can't remember," said Snape, pensively.
> "Come on, you can do better than that," said Sirius, finally.
<David's>
> "This light isn't real," said Arthur, sunnily.
> "Detention, Potter," said Umbridge, cuttingly.
> "Oh, and fifty to Ravenclaw for Miss Lovegood," said McGonagall, 
pointedly.
> "Thank you, Mum" said Neville, sweetly.
> "Come on, you can do better than that," said Sirius, archly.
> Snape studied his exam paper, owlishly.
> Fudge gaped at the statue, brainlessly.

And promptly I'll add mine singularly 


"Oh, why don't we have a night off?" said Hermione unpredictably

Cheerily,

Dumbledad





From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 13 14:11:47 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 14:11:47 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bme8b0+4t9k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmebr3+4vgi@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,

> 
> And promptly I'll add mine singularly 

> 
> "Oh, why don't we have a night off?" said Hermione unpredictably
> 
> Cheerily,
> 
> Dumbledad

"One more time,"  seconded Haggridd:

"One must use the Inner Eye," said Trelawney unpredictably.




From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Mon Oct 13 15:00:03 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 15:00:03 -0000
Subject: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmebr3+4vgi@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmeelj+miae@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Haggridd" 
<jkusalavagemd at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
> <tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> > Hi All,
> 
> > 
> > And promptly I'll add mine singularly 

> > 
> > "Oh, why don't we have a night off?" said Hermione unpredictably
> > 
> > Cheerily,
> > 
> > Dumbledad
> 
> "One more time,"  seconded Haggridd:
> 
> "One must use the Inner Eye," said Trelawney unpredictably.

"Since when has Sirius Black been a singing sensation?" asked Harry 
disconcertedly.

"Young Master has been worthless since becoming an Animagi," said 
Kreacher mutteringly.

"It keeps sticking - ever since that scum wore it," said Mad-Eye 
unblinkingly.
   
    - CMC

  - CMC





From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Mon Oct 13 15:08:38 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 15:08:38 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bm9911+frtj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmef5m+4m8a@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" 
> <june.diamanti at b...> wrote:
> 

> 
> One of the things that makes JKR's writing so accessible to 
> young  people as well as adults who haven't read much fiction 
> before is those swifties, IMO. It takes experience with both real  
> life and the conventions of fiction-writing before you can decode 
> emotional content from  speech and gestures alone. The 
> adverbs make it simpler. 
> 
I think some authors like to use adverbs in an attempt to communicate 
more exactly how a character "sounds" in delivering the line. I have 
before me a text in which over the course of two pages, the various 
characters peak "blandly", "mutely", "encouragingly", "bluntly", 
"bitterly", "defiantly", and "haughtily" . The author is George 
Bernard Shaw (from Ceasar & Cleopatra), and though the objection may 
be made that Shaw was creating stage works rather than narrative, it 
is the case that Shaw put an uncommon amount of effort into the 
printed versions of his plays (e.g. the long prefaces, the hyper-
elaborate stage directions containing much information that cannot be 
realized on stage. etc).  

Some authors just like using adverbs.


   - CMC




From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Mon Oct 13 16:57:53 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 16:57:53 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmef5m+4m8a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmelih+h2ug@eGroups.com>

I was rereading PoA in the bath last night with the adverb thread in 
mind, when this little gem jumped out at me. And then made me cringe 
somewhat.
*******
'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Ron, 
hotly.
 'You didn't seem so sure when you were telling Harry it was a 
sheep,' said Hermione, coolly.
*******
Why did she do that? Why didn't anyone stop her? I quite like 
adverbs, and often I like JKR's adverbs. But there are certain things 
which should be stopped, and using "hotly" and "coolly" in the same 
area without making any sort of point out of it is one of them.
I haven't got very much to do at the moment. Do you think if I went 
round to Bloomsbury and offered my services as an editor for Book 6 
for free they'd take me?
Kirstini 





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 13 17:44:29 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 17:44:29 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmelih+h2ug@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmeo9t+k7nb@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> 
wrote:
> I was rereading PoA in the bath last night with the adverb thread 
in 
> mind, when this little gem jumped out at me. And then made me 
cringe 
> somewhat.
> *******
> 'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Ron, 
> hotly.
>  'You didn't seem so sure when you were telling Harry it was a 
> sheep,' said Hermione, coolly.
> *******
> Why did she do that? Why didn't anyone stop her? I quite like 
> adverbs, and often I like JKR's adverbs. But there are certain 
things 
> which should be stopped, and using "hotly" and "coolly" in the 
same 
> area without making any sort of point out of it is one of them.
> I haven't got very much to do at the moment. Do you think if I 
went 
> round to Bloomsbury and offered my services as an editor for Book 
6 
> for free they'd take me?
> Kirstini

They would if I was hiring... - and you'd get paid...

<g>

June




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 13 18:44:16 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 18:44:16 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.  Go Directly To Jail.  Do Not Pass Go.  Do Not Collect $200,000,000.
Message-ID: <bmerq0+h052@eGroups.com>

Hey, all,

I've been following the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant with
increasing interest.  I'm not happy with young Kobe.  And I'm *really*
not happy with his defense lawyer.

By way of background, Kobe Bryant is a *very* well-compensated
professional basketball star with a reputation as a general all-around
good guy.  Some months back, he had intercourse with a 19-year old
hotel employee.  Kobe had been a guest at the hotel where she works,
and the alleged attack took place in his room.  

Kobe says the sex was consensual.  He hasn't provided any evidence of
this yet, but the case is still in the pre-trial stage.

The victim says it was rape.  She has physical evidence of injury
inconsistent with consensual sex.  She reported the crime
*immediately* to another hotel employee, who took the allegations
seriously enough to escort her to her home that night.  Her father
went to the police the next morning.  Her account -- some consensual
kissing and hugging followed by her being abruptly whipped around,
grabbed by the scruff of the neck, bent over a chair, and forced to
submit -- sounds plausible, and there is physical evidence that things
got very rough.

Kobe, I think, is in a world of hurt.  They give out prison time in
Colorado for this sort of thing, I'm told.

Also appalling, though, is that Kobe seems to have found himself a
defense lawyer who will violate the court's orders and the Colorado
rape shield law when it suits her.  Despite a court order that the
victim's name not be mentioned in the hearing, Kobe's lawyer
"inadvertently" said the name *six* times.  Kobe's lawyer also
strongly implied that the victim had been with several other men on
previous evenings, which is dancing pretty close to violating the rape
shield law.  As best I can figure, Kobe's Dream Team is thinking their
best shot at an aquittal is by intimidating the complaining witness
into dropping the whole thing.  

So.  

Personally, I'm having some trouble finding reasonable doubt of guilt
here, myself.  But there are many things going on that I just can't
understand.  Why, for instance, are cameras being allowed in the
courtroom?  Why haven't Kobe's lawyers moved for a change of venue to
something other than this small town of Eagleton, CO, where everyone
knows everyone?  Aren't there sanctions for willfully violating the
rape shield law, and shouldn't there be?  Could this possibly be the
first time Kobe did such a thing (after all, you'd expect other women
to come forward with similar tales of assault in such a high-profile
case)?

Cindy -- whose default position is that the reason women report rape
is that they were *raped,* and who would never wind up seated on a
sexual assault case jury




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 13 18:55:09 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 18:55:09 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmelih+h2ug@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmesed+sjl8@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> wrote:
> I was rereading PoA in the bath last night with the adverb thread in 
> mind, when this little gem jumped out at me. And then made me cringe 
> somewhat.
> *******
> 'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Ron, 
> hotly.
>  'You didn't seem so sure when you were telling Harry it was a 
> sheep,' said Hermione, coolly.
> *******
> Why did she do that? Why didn't anyone stop her?

Annemehr:
I'll bet she just thought it was funny.  After all, she's said she
puts in what she herself finds funny.  And maybe her editor thought it
fit in well enough with the style and humor of the story -- or maybe
only had the time or clout to look out for even worse things...

It doesn't bother me, though.  It's the sort of thing that puts a grin
on my face as I read -- as if it's a "private" joke between the author
and the reader. I suppose the danger in it is that it can pull you
right out of the story if you find it jarring.

As for adverbs in general, I find them quite useful.  We know
perfectly well from this list that you can type a sentence in a
certain context and still have a dozen different interpretations made
by the readers.  I believe it was Barb who suggested that you could
set the tone by the surrounding sentences and phrases other than
adverbs; however, her examples struck me as generally much more wordy.
 There is a certain economy in using adverbs, which I find convey a
lot of information quickly, unless of course you can do it even better
with the verb itself ("Hermione whispered").

My only complaint was there was absolutely too much snarling in OoP--

--Annemehr growled, doggedly





From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr  Mon Oct 13 21:47:58 2003
From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:47:58 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmesed+sjl8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmf6ie+9ar3@eGroups.com>

Even though I agree Tom Swifites are not a sign of great talent with the pen, I think I 
have an idea why JKR use them so much. English is my second language and I assure you 
that so many adverbs make an exceptionally easy read for foreigner or-I assume-
children. I have the impression that adverbs such as "cooly", "harshly" or the likes are 
much easier to understand than specific verbs conveying the same feeling. For instance, I 
would have need a second to understand "Harry slumped down in his chair and glowered 
at Ron" Barb exemple of a sentence that can be re-written without adverb while  "Harry 
sat grumpily in his chair" is immediately clear to me.

However I do feel there are a bit too many snarling and beaming in Oop.

Olivier




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 13 22:42:48 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 22:42:48 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmesed+sjl8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmf9p8+kqgf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:

> As for adverbs in general, I find them quite useful.  We know
> perfectly well from this list that you can type a sentence in a
> certain context and still have a dozen different interpretations 
made
> by the readers.  I believe it was Barb who suggested that you could
> set the tone by the surrounding sentences and phrases other than
> adverbs; however, her examples struck me as generally much more 
wordy.
>  There is a certain economy in using adverbs, which I find convey a
> lot of information quickly, unless of course you can do it even 
better
> with the verb itself ("Hermione whispered").
> 
> My only complaint was there was absolutely too much snarling in 
OoP--
> 
> --Annemehr growled, doggedly

I think in theory there is a qualitative difference between prose 
and dialogue.  In prose, the prose itself is the main conveyor of 
information, and it behooves the writer to use such modifiers as 
will make his intent and meanin and mind-set clear.  In dialogue, 
the phrases of attribution are just that, mere direction signs, and 
any conveyance of information attitude, intent should have been 
accmplished in the words used by the characters.

Having said that, I think the practice is frowned on because it is 
used by so many inferior authors-- and overused-- to the point where 
it distracts the readr from the words of the converstion, and that 
is the point where I think anybody would agree that the adverbs have 
been misused.  In the hands of a good writer, who does not overuse 
them, they can indeed add flavor to a dialogue, or another level to 
the text (the shared joke that was spoken of).

"My big brother said that," Grawp said haggerdly.




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Mon Oct 13 22:52:36 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 22:52:36 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmelih+h2ug@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmfabk+cic7@eGroups.com>

Kirstini channeled:

> *******
> 'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Ron, 
> hotly.
>  'You didn't seem so sure when you were telling Harry it was a 
> sheep,' said Hermione, coolly.
> *******

... Ron barked.
... Hermione rammed home.

D




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 14 00:35:53 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 00:35:53 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.  Go Directly To Jail.  Do Not Pass Go.  Do Not Collect $200,000,000.
In-Reply-To: <bmerq0+h052@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmfgd9+e1cv@eGroups.com>

Cindy C wrote:
> I've been following the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant with
> increasing interest. I'm not happy with young Kobe. And I'm 
> *really* not happy with his defense lawyer.

I've been trying to hit the "mute" button fast enough each time local 
newscasters get that avid leer they wear every time they manage to 
come up with some new or at least not already totally masticated 
tidbit in this case. I haven't always succeeded.

> By way of background, Kobe Bryant is a *very* well-compensated
> professional basketball star with a reputation as a general all- 
> around good guy. Some months back, he had intercourse with a 19-
> year old hotel employee. Kobe had been a guest at the hotel where 
> she works, and the alleged attack took place in his room. 

What occurred to me first and is still paramount in my mind is that 
he showed a profound lack of judgement. He is a married public figure 
who has a lot riding on his image. While sports heroes often get 
the "boys will be boys" treatment, corporate sponsors like heroes 
whose resumes do not include any sort of sex scandal. Whether or not 
the sex was consensual may come out in court and it may not; the 
verdict will be an *official* finding. But the only two people who 
will ever really know the truth are the people who were involved in 
the act. Even *they* may not agree on whether or not both of them 
were willing. And a simple lack of judgement does not mean Kobe 
Bryant should go to jail; I'm not sure everyone gets that, either.

> Kobe says the sex was consensual. He hasn't provided any evidence 
> of this yet, but the case is still in the pre-trial stage.
> The victim says it was rape. She has physical evidence of injury
> inconsistent with consensual sex. She reported the crime
> *immediately* to another hotel employee, who took the allegations
> seriously enough to escort her to her home that night. Her father
> went to the police the next morning. Her account -- some consensual
> kissing and hugging followed by her being abruptly whipped around,
> grabbed by the scruff of the neck, bent over a chair, and forced to
> submit -- sounds plausible, and there is physical evidence that 
> things got very rough.

It's much harder to prove a negative, as in that something (rape or 
anything else) did *not* happen. Evidence is around things that *did* 
happen; a lack of evidence does not "prove" the reverse. Thus, 
reasonable doubt. And while the court of public opinion and the media 
are simmering in the aromatic juices of meager fact and abundant 
surmise, the court's job is to stick to "innocent until (unless) 
proven guilty." They haven't even gone to trial yet, and 
the "Skeeters" are feeding like mad. Makes me want to douse them all 
in Deet.

> Kobe, I think, is in a world of hurt. They give out prison time in
> Colorado for this sort of thing, I'm told.

(I'm in Colorado. There's no doubt that they give out prison time 
here for "this sort of thing.") There is just *no* escape from the 
media coverage here; perhaps the national media is more restrained, 
but I'm not betting on it: though I haven't been doing any sort of 
analysis. And the hotter the coverage is, the unlikelier it is that 
anything like a fair trial will be possible *anywhere*--hey, do you 
think it's a conspiracy between the defense team, the major media and 
professional sports cartels: to muddy the waters sufficiently that 
the system will be too hip-deep in water-muddying to be effective and 
so produce reasonable doubt before a trial argument is even begun?

> Also appalling, though, is that Kobe seems to have found himself a
> defense lawyer who will violate the court's orders and the Colorado
> rape shield law when it suits her. Despite a court order that the
> victim's name not be mentioned in the hearing, Kobe's lawyer
> "inadvertently" said the name *six* times. Kobe's lawyer also
> strongly implied that the victim had been with several other men on
> previous evenings, which is dancing pretty close to violating the 
> rape shield law. As best I can figure, Kobe's Dream Team is 
> thinking their best shot at an aquittal is by intimidating the 
> complaining witness into dropping the whole thing. 

Kobe's defense team is reminding me more and more of the razzle-
dazzle man in Chicago. (If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, 
baffle them with bullsh--.) Dream Team? Nightmare Brigade, more like, 
IMO.

> Personally, I'm having some trouble finding reasonable doubt of 
> guilt here, myself. But there are many things going on that I just 
> can't understand. Why, for instance, are cameras being allowed in 
> the courtroom? Why haven't Kobe's lawyers moved for a change of 
> venue to something other than this small town of Eagleton, CO, 
> where everyone knows everyone? Aren't there sanctions for 
> willfully violating the rape shield law, and shouldn't there be? 
> Could this possibly be the first time Kobe did such a thing (after 
> all, you'd expect other women to come forward with similar tales of 
> assault in such a high-profile case)?

At one point "everybody knew" the Ramseys were guilty of killing 
little Jon-Benet (another infamous Colorado crime). And now pundits 
and public opinion are back to being undecided again. In that case 
there was never even an indictment, and most people (at least around 
here) at one point would have hanged that little girl's parents on 
the wave of public sentiment around her death.

According to what I've read, usually a judge will attempt to seat a 
jury in the jurisdiction where the case was filed. Only if it becomes 
apparent by responses of potential jurors that they are prejudiced 
against the defendant will the trial be moved. And this judge already 
said (back in August) that the extensive publicity "diminishes the 
remedy of a change of venue," so he would be unlikely to grant one. 
Sanctions for violating the rape shield law are likely up to the 
judge as well, and may not need to be applied until later. (He may 
see this as obfuscation on the part of the defense, which may be 
trying to make this at least momentarily about either the victim's 
nerve or the defense's tactics rather than about the facts in the 
case. In which case, I'm glad the judge didn't fall for the bait.) 
Whether or not to allow cameras in the courtroom is definitely his 
call; it could be as simple as the amount of money this case is 
costing and a decision to allow the public to see why and how those 
resources are being spent.

Note: it's Eagle County, near Vail; there's no Eagleton.

As for whether or not this could "possibly be the first time Kobe did 
such a thing," what he did or did not do is still undetermined. No 
prior complaints *could* simply mean that his judgement was at least 
a bit better before July of this year: he may have chosen women who 
were thrilled enough to be the recipient of his attention to be 
unlikely to complain if the form it took was unacceptable or even 
illegal.

> Cindy -- whose default position is that the reason women report rape
> is that they were *raped,* and who would never wind up seated on a
> sexual assault case jury

Sandy, who doesn't have a default position in rape cases, and who 
hopes she'd be able to be an effective juror if asked





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 14 07:48:29 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:48:29 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.  Go Directly To Jail.  Do Not Pass Go.  Do Not Collect $200,000,000.
In-Reply-To: <bmerq0+h052@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmg9od+s0pp@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote:
> whose default position is that the reason women report rape
> is that they were *raped,* and who would never wind up seated 
> on a sexual assault case jury

I worry about the incidence of rape too. I have a mother, wife, and 
daughter, and I wish I lived in a world where they, and all women, 
didn't have to worry about being sexually assaulted.

But I also have a son; and I wish I lived in a world where there was 
no danger of him, or other men, being wrongly accused of sexual 
harassment or sexual assault.

Sadly, both my ideal worlds aren't this one.

Cindy - have you seen/read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"? Do you 
think it is realistic?

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Tue Oct 14 09:01:39 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 19:01:39 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Missed a trick
In-Reply-To: <bm7f9h+e092@eGroups.com>
References: <3F87C0B4.19525.2F7F92D@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F8C4813.10601.D033B5@localhost>

On 10 Oct 2003 at 23:27, dradamsapple wrote:

> Shaun,
> 
> No party, ever?
> Oh dear!  We must remedy that quickly!!
> 
> ***Anna digs out some icecream, cookies, and paper plates;
>    throws some curly ribbon around to make the place look 
>    festive . . .***
> 
> HAPPY BELATED/EARLY BIRTHDAY, SHAUN!!
> 
> Here's to many, many, very happy birthdays in your future!!
> 
> Anna . . .(who knows that you can always count on us HPFG folks for a 
> great party!!) 

Well, I didn't expect that (-8

But I feel the need to point out that I wasn't a neglected child - my birthdays were 
acknowledged by my family, and they did their best - but I had very few friends for 
most of my childhood, and my birthday came about 10 days before the return to 
school at the start of each year - after at least 4 or 5 weeks of holidays, where I 
had little contact with even those few friends I had. It just wasn't an environment 
that worked for birthday parties.

I enjoyed my birthday celebrations with my family - but I did long at times for a 
'proper' birthday party - with games and balloons and lots of presents. I idealised 
them, I guess - because I didn't have much experience of them even as a guest.


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  Tue Oct 14 13:05:03 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 13:05:03 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.  
In-Reply-To: <bmg9od+s0pp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmgs9v+t9n2@eGroups.com>

Hi,

Tim wrote:

> I worry about the incidence of rape too. I have a mother, wife, and 
> daughter, and I wish I lived in a world where they, and all women, 
> didn't have to worry about being sexually assaulted.

Amen to that!  I think it would be interesting to be a "Guy For A Day"
to see what it would be like to walk around *not* keeping my eyes open
for predators.  I feel like a wildebeast at a watering hole half the
time.  

Actually, one reason I tend to believe women who claim rape is that I
personally can't imagine ever working up the courage to report a
sexual assault.  *Especially* in a date rape situation, where lots of
people still have a tendency to disbelieve a woman who wound up in a
compromising situation.  So if a woman does work up the courage -- and
if she's able to endure one of those rape kits -- I tend to believe
her.  So I believed William Kennedy Smith's accuser.  Mike Tyson's
accuser.  And Kobe Bryant's accuser.

Not to worry, though.  If ever called for jury duty, I'd tell the
truth about my bias, and I'd be excused.
 
> But I also have a son; and I wish I lived in a world where there was 
> no danger of him, or other men, being wrongly accused of sexual 
> harassment or sexual assault.

I have a son, too.  He'd better keep his hands to himself, I'm
thinkin'.  ;-)

Seriously, it's a problem for both genders.  These days, the costs of
being convicted of a sex crime are really significant.  You even have
to *register* in many communities after you've served your time (I
still haven't made up my mind about those registration laws.)

> Cindy - have you seen/read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"? Do you 
> think it is realistic?

Uh . . . 

<shuffles feet awkwardly>

Well, you know, I was *just* going to read that book.  Really, it's
right here at my local bookstore, and as soon as I . . . 

<awkward pause>

OK.  No.  But it's not *my* fault!  A friend *insisted* that I read
"The Da Vinci Code."  She just kept *hounding* me about it.  So I've
read the first 15 pages.  And now she keeps after me anyway -- "Are
you up to Chapter 6 yet?  No?  Come *one!*"  ;-)

<proudly>

Nevertheless, I currently hold the world's record for number of
readings of "Pat the Bunny," however.

Cindy -- thinking that Arthur Miller fellow probably hasn't read "Pat
the Bunny" even *once*, and hoping Tim will elaborate about "The Crucible"




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Tue Oct 14 13:08:48 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 13:08:48 -0000
Subject: Happy "Birthday", Shaun! 
In-Reply-To: <bm7hm9+elbn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmgsh0+e4dm@eGroups.com>

Cake?  

Somebody brought a real *cake?*  German chocolate?  Oh, my *favorite!*

Budge up, people, and pass the forks!

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Shaun!  ;-)

Cindy -- admitting that the December birthday people do get a
seriously raw deal, and wishing Shaun were a bit closer so we could
take him to a restaurant and have the staff embarrass him properly





From s_ings at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 14 13:49:14 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 09:49:14 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Constance Vigilance!
Message-ID: <20031014134914.60599.qmail@web41113.mail.yahoo.com>

*puts the finishes touches on the decorations, surveys
the tables of food and scratches her head...*

I know I've forgotten something but I can't for the
life of me remember what.... hey, I've got it! We need
music!

*drags out karaoke machine*

That's the best I could do on short notice. Hope it
does the trick. :-D

Today's birthday honouree is Constance Vigilance.
Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or
directly to: constancevigilance at yahoo.com

I hope you day if filled with fun and magic.

Happy Birthay, Constance Vigilance!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 14 14:21:11 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 14:21:11 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.
In-Reply-To: <bmgs9v+t9n2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmh0oo+h10a@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Cindy wrote:
> Cindy -- thinking that Arthur Miller fellow probably hasn't 
> read "Pat the Bunny" even *once*, and hoping Tim will 
> elaborate about "The Crucible"

Right. "The Crucible" is a play that Arthur Miller published in 
1953. It describes the witch trials of Salem Massachusetts in 1692, 
which Miller uses as a metaphor for the McCarthy trials. What made 
me think of the play is that it shows how innocent people can be 
found guilty of crimes they did not commit. In the play Abigail 
Williams (and other young women from the town) accuse Elizabeth 
Proctor (and others) of witchcraft. Elizabeth escapes hanging 
because she's pregnant but her husband John is hung. Abigail's 
motives were vindictive ? she wanted revenge for being shunned. The 
potential of accusing Elizabeth gave Abigail real power. And she 
used it.

There's a film version which Miller wrote the screenplay for with 
Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder playing the leads in (I haven't 
seen this version though).

Cheers,

Dumbledad





From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct 14 15:50:27 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 15:50:27 -0000
Subject: Pat the Bunny (Was: Go To Jail.)
In-Reply-To: <bmgs9v+t9n2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmh603+kppq@eGroups.com>

> Nevertheless, I currently hold the world's record for number of
> readings of "Pat the Bunny," however.
> 
> Cindy -- thinking that Arthur Miller fellow probably hasn't 
read "Pat
> the Bunny" even *once*, and hoping Tim will elaborate about "The 
Crucible"

You will enjoy the variations of "Pat the Bunny" contained in this 
article on the children's books celebrities would write:

http://www.nydailynews.com/11-08-2002/news/col/lskenazy/story/123607p-
110967c.html

Ms. Tattersall






From joym999 at aol.com  Tue Oct 14 16:58:37 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 16:58:37 -0000
Subject: restaurant birthdays
Message-ID: <bmh9vt+smsh@eGroups.com>

There's been some talk of restaurant birthdays, which made me think 
of the fact that I hate, hate, hate having Happy Birthday sung to me 
in a restaurant.  I agree with Dave Barry, who says that "There comes 
a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal 
about your birthday.  That time is age 11."

My mother, who recently retired after teaching third grade for over 
40 years, has spent most of her life with eight-year olds.  She, 
therefore, does not understand this rule, and thinks that everyone 
wants to have a big deal made about their birthday.  OTOH, I, at this 
point in my life, would just as soon have everyone forget about my 
birthday, and especially about my ever-advancing age, although you 
can buy me a present if you want to. ;-D

So, my mother continued to insist that the waitstaff of whatever 
restaurant we were in bring out a birthday cake and sing loudly to me 
every year, until I was in my late 20s and she finally realized that 
I had been pleading with her for over 10 years to NOT TELL THE DAMN 
WAITER THAT IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Some of what helped finally get my message across to my mother was a 
series of mishaps.  There was the time, at Tavern on the Green, when 
a bunch of waitrons came out with a cake and sang "Happy Birthday 
Dear Karen" to me.  About 10 minutes later, we heard them sing to 
someone else (you can guess what her name probably was) "Happy 
Birthday Dear Joy."

The best, though, was the time in a seafood restaurant on Long Island 
named Louie's.  The entire staff came out with a cake and sang to me:

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear customer!
Happy Birthday to you!

--Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, who wants to thank Catlady for her nice 
comments and for the fact that she never says anything cattily.





From gallico_cat at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 14 17:40:20 2003
From: gallico_cat at yahoo.com (gallico_cat)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 17:40:20 -0000
Subject: new to the group
In-Reply-To: <000b01c309fc$dc49f9b0$9c01f50c@mac>
Message-ID: <bmhce4+auki@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Chase Wildstar" 
<Chasewildstar at a...> wrote:
> well congradulations, im a Trek fan myself, but now im hooked on 
Potter.
> Hard to find a single gal that enjoys one or the other or those 
kinds of
> things.

I think you should go and check out a Star Trek convention where you 
live. That should be a good place to meet a single gal who likes 
Potter and Star Trek.

G.C.




From smiller at dslextreme.com  Tue Oct 14 20:43:03 2003
From: smiller at dslextreme.com (Susan Miller)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 20:43:03 -0000
Subject: Happy Birthday, Constance Vigilance!
In-Reply-To: <20031014134914.60599.qmail@web41113.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <bmhn4n+9khe@eGroups.com>

Thank you so much! The karaoke was the perfect touch!

Constance

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Sheryll Townsend <s_ings at y...>
wrote:
> *puts the finishes touches on the decorations, surveys
> the tables of food and scratches her head...*
> 
> I know I've forgotten something but I can't for the
> life of me remember what.... hey, I've got it! We need
> music!
> 
> *drags out karaoke machine*
> 
> That's the best I could do on short notice. Hope it
> does the trick. :-D
> 
> Today's birthday honouree is Constance Vigilance.
> Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or
> directly to: constancevigilance at y...
> 
> I hope you day if filled with fun and magic.
> 
> Happy Birthay, Constance Vigilance!
> 
> Sheryll the Birthday Elf
> 
> =====
> http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________ 
> Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Tue Oct 14 21:03:23 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 21:03:23 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmelih+h2ug@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmhoar+d5k0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> 
wrote:
> I was rereading PoA in the bath last night with the adverb thread 
in 
> mind, when this little gem jumped out at me. And then made me 
cringe 
> somewhat.
> *******
> 'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Ron, 
> hotly.
>  'You didn't seem so sure when you were telling Harry it was a 
> sheep,' said Hermione, coolly.
> *******


"Thanks for bringing up this topic," Jen said, grumpily, "now I can't 
read anything on the main list without stumbling over the adverbs... 

Jen, who found the adverb "stumblingly" in the dictionary while 
checking her spelling. Huh? Never heard *that* one used in a 
sentence...




From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 14 21:05:12 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 21:05:12 -0000
Subject: restaurant birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bmh9vt+smsh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmhoe8+3m8f@eGroups.com>

>Joywitch M. Curmudgeon posted about restaurants and birthdays and 
things. Martha applauds enthusiastically (if the 
word "enthusiastically" is an acceptable adverb). ;-)

Joywitch, this is a truly wonderful rant, with which I agree 
wholeheartedly. Can't decide if my worst experience was the Italian 
restaurant where these three guys who were, essentially, different 
incarnations of Super Mario, serenaded me with a mandolin and a 
tambourine while the entire restaurant stared in horror, or the time 
that a Cliff Richard song was involved. 

My parents also have the particularly endearing habit of getting the 
staff at the restaurant to decorate the cake with some random and 
confusing in-joke which I then have to explain to everyone and which 
always leaves me paranoid that the waiting staff think I'm slightly, 
well, odd. This year it was "Happy birthday, love from Halibut 
Gibbous". The story behind this is long, involved and ultimately 
really quite dull, but everyone wanted to know what it was about, so 
I had to explain, and by the end, everyone's like, "Oh, right. OK."

Joywitch again:
> Happy Birthday to you!
> Happy Birthday to you!
> Happy Birthday dear customer!
> Happy Birthday to you!

This has got to be without a doubt one of the funniest things I have 
ever heard. It's the personal touch that really makes these things 
special, isn't it? :-D

At my primary school on a Friday morning in assembly everyone who had 
a birthday got to go and stand at the front, then we all sang "happy 
birthday dear children" and *one* of the kids got to *hold* a cake 
which was made of *plaster*. And my birthday always fell in half-
term, so I never got to go up. But I'm not bitter, no.

~ Martha, who smashed her first birthday cake with a fist, and it's 
been downhill ever since




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Tue Oct 14 22:34:27 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 08:34:27 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bm8015+ahr8@eGroups.com>
References: <bm7387+lcdq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F8D0693.24358.3B871B4@localhost>

On 11 Oct 2003 at 4:13, msbeadsley wrote:

> seven years old and still figuring things out.) But then one of the 
> other teachers came in and read to us, saying that Mrs. Anderson had 
> had to take care of something. Mrs. Anderson came back a while later 
> and never mentioned paddling again, and the naughty boys, figuring 
> they'd gotten off lucky, behaved for the rest of the year. I kinda 
> felt the same and followed suit.

This brought back a very vivid memory for me.

I've mentioned before that part of the reason Harry Potter appealed to me was 
that when I first read Philosopher's Stone, I saw some parallels with my life. When 
I was 12, I endured a year of complete and utter hell at school - to the extent I was 
suicidal by the end of the year. End result, after a lot of running around, I started 
at a new school the following year, just after my 13th birthday. And it seemed like 
heaven to me.   

I loved everything about it. I loved the buildings, I loved the grounds, I loved the 
uniform. I was impressed by the fact that we had to call the teachers 'sir'. It's kind 
of hard to describe the sheer joy I felt about being there.

And then about a week into first term, our form master (who was also my house 
master) sat down at the start of a class and began to talk to us about behaviour - 
now we were the oldest boys in this school (it was the prep school to a very well 
regarded school, where we went the following year), and most of the class had 
been together for three years at this time - a few had started the previous year, I 
was the only one who started that year, and so was the only one who didn't know 
how the school worked.

As he began his talk, it became quite clear that this school took bad behaviour 
very seriously - not a problem. I'd always been one of the 'good boys'. But then I 
began to work oit the implications of what he was saying.  

And I began to realise that this school still used corporal punishment.

This was *quite* a shocking realisation - because I thought it was illegal! Most 
people did. I found out later that all the news reports I'd seen about it becoming 
illegal back when I was 7 and in grade 2, were only referring to schools run by the 
state. It was still legal for independent schools, and mine was one that still used it. 
And by the way this teacher was talking, they used it a lot.

He talked for a long time - basically outlining dozens of different offences and 
telling us the punishment we could expect if we were caught engaging in any of 
them. I have *never* been in a classroom that was so quiet and so attentive and 
so focused. So I had a lot of time to think about what he was saying - it took a 
while to get my head around it - but finally I worked out what I thought about the 
new situation I was in.

"Cool. Oh wow. Cool."

I was delighted to be in that school - I was *so* happy about it. Sure, I was 
nervous as well, and a bit scared, but I was also really impressed. I'd spent a year 
of total hell because I'd been at a school where discipline meant nothing - and this 
seemed so marvellous in comparison.

I reached that revelation after about twenty minutes of his talking - and by the 
forty minute mark, it had eased up a bit as he went on and on ('If you're found out 
of bounds behind the pine trees, you'll get two. If I catch you up one of them, I'll 
crack you four...'). He made it sound like this was an hourly occurrence and that 
seemed a little excessive - not that I was particularly worried, though. I was a 
good boy.

It may seem paradoxical - but I felt *safe* for the first time in over a year in that 
class, that day.  

They didn't actually use it anywhere near as much as this talk lead me to believe, 
I might add. 

> Sandy, waxing nostalgic and wishing she had more time lately

Nostalgia can be fun.

(waiting to be told he's a barbarian (-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 eberte at vaeye.com  Tue Oct 14 22:46:03 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 22:46:03 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmgs9v+t9n2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmhubb+157i@eGroups.com>

Cindy wrote:
 
> <snip>
> But it's not *my* fault!  A friend *insisted* that I read
> "The Da Vinci Code."  She just kept *hounding* me about it.  So I've
> read the first 15 pages.  And now she keeps after me anyway -- "Are
> you up to Chapter 6 yet?  No?  Come *on!*"  ;-)
> 

Uh-Oh! 
My friend kept hounding *me* about the *same* book so I finally 
ordered it (have not received it yet.)  What's with all this 
hounding...do you think that they are on commission or something???  
She finally got me interested by saying, "I thought that you would 
like this book since you like Harry Potter so much", although, quite 
frankly, it does not sound a bit like a Harry Potter book to me. (Not 
sure that she has ever actually read a Harry Potter book, but still 
she is a pretty nice person.)  I am getting worried that my new book 
will not live up to expectations since Cindy has not yet gotten to 
page 16.  


Cindy again: 
> Nevertheless, I currently hold the world's record for number of
> readings of "Pat the Bunny," however.
> 

Yeah, well, at least that is a really short book.  My 3 year old's 
current favorite is an alphabet book called "Too Many Bunnies".  ("A 
is for Abel who slept on the table, B is for Blair...."  You get the 
idea.)  I would take "Pat the Bunny" over that one anytime.
Elle  




From lynntownsend100 at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 14 22:46:55 2003
From: lynntownsend100 at yahoo.com (Lynn)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 15:46:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Fwd: [kardasi-security] Survey
Message-ID: <20031014224655.5785.qmail@web41408.mail.yahoo.com>



Kira <kira at kardasi.com> wrote:To: 
From: "Kira" 
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 09:30:02 +0200
Subject: [kardasi-security] Survey

Hi, my name is Dara. I'm a student at a US East Coast University. I'm
taking
a course at the moment in human sexuality. As part of the course
requirements I need to create a survey and distribute it among a large
number of people to collect the data. I chose to do a survey about
Slash
Fanfiction. I'm writing to you to request that you fill out this
survey, and
maybe even add this survey to a few mailing lists. I'm sending it out
to as
many people as I can, but unfortunately I can only reach so many. It
will
only take a few minutes to fill out and I would greatly appreciate it.

Here's the link:
http://www.createsurvey.com/cgi-bin/pollfrm?s=11688&magic=5vvFFieoG07lJ2Q

There is no rush to take it. It will be up for another month or so. I
thank
you in advance for your time.

~Dara




Harry Potter Fandom...it's not just a philosophy...it's a way of life...
-"Nancy Button"   http://www.nancybuttons.com
"No,no one f*cks about with you if you're carrying a big heavy stick."
-Jason Issacs on being Lucius Malfoy

Slash Fic Writer:
We don't own them,we just borrow them and turn them gay...

---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Tue Oct 14 22:52:32 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 22:52:32 -0000
Subject: restaurant birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bmhoe8+3m8f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmhung+e4f0@eGroups.com>

Hey,

Martha praised Joywitch and wrote:

 
> Joywitch, this is a truly wonderful rant, with which I agree 
> wholeheartedly. 

Oooh, sounds like we need another birthday club to go with the "Summer
"Birthday Club (what was our name again?) and the "Too Close To
Christmas" Birthday Club.  Maybe we could call it the "Please Don't
Celebrate My Birthday Or Expect Me To Remember Your Birthday Either"
club.  PDCMBOEMTRYBE, for short.  ;-)

Nah, I like receiving loot for any occasion, but my birthday doesn't
feel special to me at all.  Unlike my kids' birthdays or my wedding
anniversary, I kinda don't remember my own birthday.  It's kind of
hard to relate to it, if you will.

Cindy -- who thinks it would make more sense to send her mother
something on her birthday because her mother *definitely* remembers
that date very well





From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 14 23:02:05 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 23:02:05 -0000
Subject: School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <3F8D0693.24358.3B871B4@localhost>
Message-ID: <bmhv9d+8p8t@eGroups.com>

Shaun wrote:
<snip>

> It may seem paradoxical - but I felt *safe* for the first time in 
> over a year in that class, that day.  They didn't actually use it 
anywhere near as much as this talk lead me to believe, I might add. 
<snip>
> (waiting to be told he's a barbarian (-8 )

Not a barbarian. A barbarian would have been dealing out his *own* 
corporal punishment ala Dudley. You are actually quite civilized, as 
far as I can tell. ;-)

I went to somewhat dangerous schools for several years (muggings, 
fights, knifings). And there was *lots* of corporal punishment 
administered in my school in, oh, say, seventh through ninth grades; 
it made no appreciable difference. In tenth grade I transferred to a 
school which used almost no corporal punishment and which had few 
discipline problems. The difference was structure; expectations were 
expressed very clearly and everyone knew the consequences of stepping 
out of line. Any infractions were dealt with immediately and without 
discussion (parent conferences, detention, suspension, expulsion). I 
don't think the difference is corporal punishment. It's consistent 
discipline, whatever form it takes. (I prefer the version which does 
*not* involve giving anyone other than a parent the choice to strike 
a child, but that's just me. Hitting is clear and unambivalent and 
quick; and it's relatively easy. But other methods do not reinforce 
acceptance of violence.)

Sandy




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Wed Oct 15 01:32:16 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 01:32:16 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmhubb+157i@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmi830+nibt@eGroups.com>

Funny, my sister is coming to visit this weekend and told me she is 
bringing "The Da Vinci Code" for me to borrow.  Perhaps it's a 
conspiracy!

Tracy

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ellejir" <eberte at v...> wrote:
> Cindy wrote:
>  
> > <snip>
> > But it's not *my* fault!  A friend *insisted* that I read
> > "The Da Vinci Code."  She just kept *hounding* me about it.  So 
I've
> > read the first 15 pages.  And now she keeps after me anyway --
 "Are
> > you up to Chapter 6 yet?  No?  Come *on!*"  ;-)
> > 
> 
> Uh-Oh! 
> My friend kept hounding *me* about the *same* book so I finally 
> ordered it (have not received it yet.)  What's with all this 
> hounding...do you think that they are on commission or 
something???  
> She finally got me interested by saying, "I thought that you would 
> like this book since you like Harry Potter so much", although, 
quite 
> frankly, it does not sound a bit like a Harry Potter book to me. 
(Not 
> sure that she has ever actually read a Harry Potter book, but still 
> she is a pretty nice person.)  I am getting worried that my new 
book 
> will not live up to expectations since Cindy has not yet gotten to 
> page 16.  
> 
> 
> Elle




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Wed Oct 15 02:00:59 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 02:00:59 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmi830+nibt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmi9or+tm1m@eGroups.com>

Tracy:

> Funny, my sister is coming to visit this weekend and told me she is 
> bringing "The Da Vinci Code" for me to borrow.  Perhaps it's a 
> conspiracy!

Hmmmm.  Something fishy is going on, definitely.

That's how they hook you, you know, those Da Vinci people.  They tell
you that you can just *borrow* the book.  That's what my friend said
every single time she saw me:  "Oh, I'll bring it and you can just
borrow my copy."

Ha!  I outsmarted her.  I paid for my very own copy.

Does anyone want to borrow it?  :-D

Cindy





From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 02:24:18 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 02:24:18 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmi9or+tm1m@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmib4i+aipj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...>
wrote:
> Tracy:
> 
> > Funny, my sister is coming to visit this weekend and told me she is 
> > bringing "The Da Vinci Code" for me to borrow.  Perhaps it's a 
> > conspiracy!
> 
> Hmmmm.  Something fishy is going on, definitely.
> 
Now *I* am getting suspicious.  The selection this month for my book
club is _The Da Vinci Code_.

We haven't bought it yet (I'm hoping it's a fast read...), but
probably this weekend.

Very very strange.

-Jen, who hates it when the book club book is a hardcover...




From oodaday at yahoo.co.uk  Wed Oct 15 02:24:46 2003
From: oodaday at yahoo.co.uk (oodaday)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 19:24:46 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Missing Messages
Message-ID: <20031015022446.5065.qmail@web25105.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>

Hey, is anyone else not getting all the posts? I have only gotten 4 messages all day and none of them are new. I know people are posting because I've checked my friends mail boxes and they have loads of messages. I've checked my settings and everything looks fine. What gives? And what can I do about it? Help, I want to be in the loop again. 
 
Dooda, feeling abandoned. 


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From elfundeb at comcast.net  Wed Oct 15 03:00:41 2003
From: elfundeb at comcast.net (elfundeb2)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 03:00:41 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.
In-Reply-To: <bmh0oo+h10a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmid8p+mrg0@eGroups.com>

Tim Regan wrote:
 
> Right. "The Crucible" is a play that Arthur Miller published in 
> 1953. It describes the witch trials of Salem Massachusetts in 1692, 
> which Miller uses as a metaphor for the McCarthy trials. What made 
> me think of the play is that it shows how innocent people can be 
> found guilty of crimes they did not commit. In the play Abigail 
> Williams (and other young women from the town) accuse Elizabeth 
> Proctor (and others) of witchcraft. 

Others including John Proctor.

Elizabeth escapes hanging 
> because she's pregnant but her husband John is hung. 

"Aye, but [they] touched" (Abigail and John, that is, making it very 
much like the Kobe Bryant example).

"Aye, but [they] did not" (or so claimed the guilt-wracked John).  
Nor did Abigail need to reveal the details, or even the fact, of the 
touching in order to convict John of witchcraft, which makes this 
very different from Cindy's example.  And also unlike the Kobe Bryant 
case, it's a study of John's guilt.

> 
> There's a film version which Miller wrote the screenplay for with 
> Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder playing the leads in (I haven't 
> seen this version though).

I've seen theatrical productions of The Crucible, as well as read it 
several times, and I always find it very powerful.  I've never seen 
the film, though, which IIRC got vey mixed reviews.

Debbie
who'll lend Cindy her copy of The Crucible in exchange for the 
DaVinci Code, now that she's been informed that she'll be shunned at 
cocktail parties unless she reads what everyone else is reading ;-)





From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 04:33:24 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 04:33:24 -0000
Subject: Digital Cameras, if it's not too late
In-Reply-To: <bm4c2e+adqo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmiimk+4dsd@eGroups.com>

I confess, I know nothing about digital cameras except that the one 
my husband bought thinking his newspaper would go halfsies (yeah, 
right) is really fun. However, I remembered your question when I 
came across the issue of Consumer Reports I'd ignored until I was 
cleaning and lo and behold, they're reviewing digital cameras. I 
still don't understand enough to explain, but maybe if you check out 
a copy from your library you will.

Good luck,
Beth





From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Wed Oct 15 07:36:16 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 07:36:16 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmib4i+aipj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmitdg+ugnp@eGroups.com>


> -Jen, who hates it when the book club book is a hardcover...

You've found a book club that sells books you actually want to 
read?  How d'you manage that?

> Debbie
who'll lend Cindy her copy of The Crucible in exchange for the 
DaVinci Code, now that she's been informed that she'll be shunned at 
cocktail parties unless she reads what everyone else is reading ;-)

That doesn't sound like a very serious threat: I thought cocktail 
parties were a purely fictional animal, considerable less convincing 
than, say, the Crumple-Horned Snorkak.

David




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Wed Oct 15 08:30:01 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 08:30:01 -0000
Subject: Go To Jail.
In-Reply-To: <bmid8p+mrg0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmj0i9+kj00@eGroups.com>

Hi Debbie (& the list),

--- In HPFGU- Debbie wrote:
> "Aye, but [they] did not" (or so claimed the guilt-wracked 
> John).  Nor did Abigail need to reveal the details, or even 
> the fact, of the touching in order to convict John of 
> witchcraft, which makes this very different from Cindy's 
> example.  And also unlike the Kobe Bryant case, it's a study 
> of John's guilt.

I didn't mean to suggest The Crucible as a parallel to the Kobe 
Bryant case (of which I know nothing) but as a test of Cindy's 
blanket statement:

> the reason women report rape is that they were *raped,*

You are right that The Crucible is a study of John's guilt, but 
that's not all it is (it wouldn't be a good metaphor for the 
McCarthy trials if that was all it was about). It also shows how 
vindictive small minded people can wield huge devastating power when 
the courts loose sight of `innocence until proven guilty'; i.e. when 
the burden of proof is superseded by a fervent revulsion of the 
alleged crime. Such fervour seems especially dangerous when `the 
masses' find the crime titillating. This was true of witchcraft in 
the 1690s and was true of communism in the 1950s; we must ensure 
that it is not true of any crime today.

Cheers

Dumbledad





From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Wed Oct 15 08:29:32 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 18:29:32 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bmhv9d+8p8t@eGroups.com>
References: <3F8D0693.24358.3B871B4@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F8D920C.8158.210CB4@localhost>

On 14 Oct 2003 at 23:02, msbeadsley wrote:

> Shaun wrote:
> <snip>
> 
> > It may seem paradoxical - but I felt *safe* for the first time in 
> > over a year in that class, that day.  They didn't actually use it 
> anywhere near as much as this talk lead me to believe, I might add. 
> <snip>
> > (waiting to be told he's a barbarian (-8 )
> 
> Not a barbarian. A barbarian would have been dealing out his *own* 
> corporal punishment ala Dudley. You are actually quite civilized, as 
> far as I can tell. ;-)

Heh - I might have tried that if I'd thought I'd have had a hope at all of winning - 
but I was attacked by groups of over 100 kids at a time. Fighting back in any form 
just didn't work.

Only once at the school from hell, did I take any action to defend myself - 
grabbing the hair of a boy who was crushing me against a wall with his motorised 
wheelchair in clear view of a teacher who did nothing - except come after me with 
a detention for defending myself. I'm not sure if that bully was worthy of protection 
because he was in a wheelchair (which he used to great effect as a weapon), or if 
it was the fact that his mother was a Cabinet Minister, that gave him special 
privileges.
 
> I went to somewhat dangerous schools for several years (muggings, 
> fights, knifings). And there was *lots* of corporal punishment 
> administered in my school in, oh, say, seventh through ninth grades; 
> it made no appreciable difference. In tenth grade I transferred to a 
> school which used almost no corporal punishment and which had few 
> discipline problems. The difference was structure; expectations were 
> expressed very clearly and everyone knew the consequences of stepping 
> out of line. Any infractions were dealt with immediately and without 
> discussion (parent conferences, detention, suspension, expulsion). I 
> don't think the difference is corporal punishment. It's consistent 
> discipline, whatever form it takes. (I prefer the version which does 
> *not* involve giving anyone other than a parent the choice to strike 
> a child, but that's just me. Hitting is clear and unambivalent and 
> quick; and it's relatively easy. But other methods do not reinforce 
> acceptance of violence.)

I don't think corporal punishment reinforces acceptance of violence. I never have. 
I think kids are easily intelligent enough to understand the difference between 
corporal punishment and violence in general, and understand that the latter is not 
acceptable, even in environments where the former is - and there's studies to 
back that up.

But I certainly agree that corporal punishment isn't the only answer to disciplinary 
problems - I know there are schools that do an excellent job with other methods. I 
just happen to think that it's better than nothing at all - and here at least, when it 
was taking out of state schools, there wasn't any concerted effort to replace it with 
other methods.

I certainly don't think it should be used a lot - the main reason it worked at the 
school I attended is because it was part of a large arsenal of approaches to 
discipline - not all of which were punitive at all. They used what seemed 
appropriate in every individual situation. But they didn't rule any method out.

I would have liked a system where the bullies who went after me were subjected 
to corporal punishment, but where I was totally immune to the possiblity (-8

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work that way. They had this strange idea that 
everybody should be subjected to the same sanctions...


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 kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Wed Oct 15 10:23:06 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 10:23:06 -0000
Subject: Adverbs can be your friends  WAS: Re: The Return of Tom Swift
In-Reply-To: <bmesed+sjl8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmj76a+kf6n@eGroups.com>

 Annemehr, after quoting my "hotly/coolly" POA horror, wrote, 
responsively:
> I'll bet she just thought it was funny.  After all, she's said she
puts in what she herself finds funny.  And maybe her editor thought it
fit in well enough with the style and humor of the story -- or maybe
only had the time or clout to look out for even worse things...> 

"Now, you know," said Kirstini, reflectively, "you may actually have 
a point there. Because I've just found something too awful not to be 
a joke." Here she brandished a copy of PoA triumphantly, before 
clearing her throat inquisitorially.

"Hem, hem... 

"'Because her cat acted like all cats do,' Hagrid continued, 
doggedly."(Bloomsbury hardback POA, 202) 

I can't see any excuse for this whatsoever. This has to be a joke, 
doesn't it? Not a very funny one, but still..." She trailed off, 
preliminarily. 

"Now I worry about veering very close to on-topic -" she mutterd, 
precariously. "I wonder if JKR has formed a sort of metatext of 
private author-reader communication around all these adverbs? I know, 
obviously, that that's basically what adverbs do anyway. I'm just 
speculating as to the liklihood of her having taken the extra step." 
she finished, significantly.

Too many adverbs do spoil the broth a bit, don't they?
Kirstini, who will dutifily take this over to Main List and plonk on 
the adverb thread over there should it continue.




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Wed Oct 15 13:15:44 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 13:15:44 -0000
Subject: Adverbs and other friends
In-Reply-To: <bmj76a+kf6n@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmjha0+jicm@eGroups.com>

Kirstin wrote, provocatively:

>"I wonder if JKR has formed a sort of metatext of 
> private author-reader communication around all these adverbs? I 
know, 
> obviously, that that's basically what adverbs do anyway. I'm just 
> speculating as to the liklihood of her having taken the extra 
step." 

I think there are other potential cases of this, particularly in 
OOP, which may be references to the movies or to aspects of the 
fandom.  Pippin and I have mentioned some of them on the main list 
before:

- Luna may be a side-swipe at the 'Mary Sue' phenomenon;
- There is a moment in OOP when Nearly Headless Nick
is prevented from saying something that seems important.  In fact he 
does say it a little later, so I wondered if it was a tribute to  
Nearly Completely Cut John Cleese;
- At some point Snape is described as having a 'curtain' of greasy 
hair.  This seems (to me) just slightly at odds with the Snape of 
the earlier books, but not with Alan Rickman's portrayal.  Perhaps 
it's just my mental image of book!Snape that's askew.

It is an interesting thought that the movies may no longer be 
completely derivative, or, rather, *only* derivative, works.

The guides to pronunciation of Hermione, her 'almost in Ravenclaw' 
reference, and Harry's presents to his friends are more serious 
examples of author listening.

David




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 13:42:44 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 09:42:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Katze and Nethilia!
Message-ID: <20031015134244.5124.qmail@web41114.mail.yahoo.com>

*scurries around trying to make the room look twice as
nice as usual, leaving a trail of confetti in her
wake*

Why twice as nice, you ask? We have two birthdays to
celebrate, that's why. :-D

Today's birthday honourees are Katze and Nethilia.
Birthday owls for both can be sent care of this list
and Nethilia's can be sent directly to:
nethilia at yahoo.com

I hope you both have wonderful days, filled with fun
and the company of good friends.

Happy Birthday, Nethilia!
Happy Birthday, Katze!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From tminton at deckerjones.com  Wed Oct 15 13:43:02 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 08:43:02 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Kiddos books (Was :Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail))
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248B06@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Cindy again: 
> Nevertheless, I currently hold the world's record for number of
> readings of "Pat the Bunny," however.
> 
 Next Elle said:
Yeah, well, at least that is a really short book.  My 3 year old's 
current favorite is an alphabet book called "Too Many Bunnies".  ("A 
is for Abel who slept on the table, B is for Blair...."  You get the 
idea.)  I would take "Pat the Bunny" over that one anytime.
Elle   
 
Now me Tonya:
 
 This is too funny!!  My 3 year old is stuck on "Finding Nemo".  We just
had a discussion last night on maybe we could find a new book to read.
You have thought I pinched her the way she reacted.  I back peddled so
fast I am still sorry I even suggested a new book!!  Although I am very
happy we do not own the alphabet book!!  I might have to look into the
"Pat the Bunny" book!!  Thanks for making me feel like I have a normal 3
year old!!!
Tonya 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Wed Oct 15 13:56:18 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 13:56:18 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . . 
Message-ID: <bmjjm2+bp5a@eGroups.com>

. . .  and I am *thrilled* about it!

In the past, the telephone drove me nuts most of every day.  I
received an endless stream of calls from telemarketers.  When the
phone rang, I would either pick up and hear a sales pitch, or I would
stumble all around the house trying to find a phone with caller ID
before the answering machine picked up.  If I took a chance and just
answered the phone when it rang, it was often one of those annoying
recorded sales pitches.  Or there would be no one on the line because
it was one of those annoying recorded sales pitches that hangs up when
a live person answers.

Worse, far worse, were the telemarketing faxes which burned up my
expensive toner cartriges.  Finally, I just took the paper out of the
fax machine.

But now we have the National "Do Not Call" list.  Since October 1, I
have received *not one* telemarketing call.  When the phone rings, it
is someone who wants to talk to *me,* not my wallet.

So here's my question.  Obviously, the direct marketing association
fought the "Do Not Call" list as hard as it could, but it lost the
fight spectacularly.  Why, then, did the special interests lose this
fight?

Also, I understand there is registry (run by the Direct Marketers
Association) for people who do not wish to receive junk mail.  You
have to pay $5, but it would be worth it to avoid all of the junk
mail, which is bound to spike now that telemarketers can't hound us
anymore.  Has anyone registered for that?  I'm afraid I'll send them
$5, and they'll add my address to a list of *suckers* who will believe
anything.  ;-)

Cindy -- who doesn't fully understand the free speech challenge the
telemarketers made, but is reasonably confident their free speech
argument is bogus




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 14:54:59 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 14:54:59 -0000
Subject: Da Vinci Code (was Re: Go To Jail)
In-Reply-To: <bmitdg+ugnp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmjn43+nfpf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley"
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> 
> > -Jen, who hates it when the book club book is a hardcover...
> 
> You've found a book club that sells books you actually want to 
> read?  How d'you manage that?

Hmm... Okay, what I meant was "reading group" (our formally proposed
name almost 5 years ago was the "Reading Salon" (snerk)... and we go
alphabetically through our member list, and the selected person gets
to pick a book he/she thinks might be interesting.  My first time
around, I actually picked HP&SS - and everyone read it but 2 people. 
These two people were a couple (the woman wears the pants/trousers, if
you get my drift), and she actually said when we started discussion,
"I don't read *children's books*."

Well, that wasn't very nice, was it?  Needless to say, she quit the
group a few months later.  I guess we weren't high brow enough for her. ;)

So anyway, Lorie (this month's picker) selected TDVC, which she's
heard is good (from friends), but it's not available in paperback yet,
so it's a little hard on the budget this month.

-Jen, broke until next year - when she doesn't have to pay preschool
costs anymore.




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 16:22:03 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 16:22:03 -0000
Subject: School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <3F8D920C.8158.210CB4@localhost>
Message-ID: <bmjs7b+9k8n@eGroups.com>

> Heh - I might have tried that if I'd thought I'd have had a hope at 
> all of winning - but I was attacked by groups of over 100 kids at a 
> time. Fighting back in any form just didn't work.

It boggles my mind that you survived. It *must* have been hell. I 
thought getting beaten up just a couple of times by individuals and 
mugged once by a group of several girls was bad enough. I still 
wonder that you didn't wait until you could get a tormenter alone and 
have a go at one of them now and then; or did dire repercussions 
always follow?

> Only once at the school from hell, did I take any action to defend 
> myself - grabbing the hair of a boy who was crushing me against a 
> wall with his motorised wheelchair in clear view of a teacher who 
> did nothing - except come after me with a detention for defending 
> myself. I'm not sure if that bully was worthy of protection because 
> he was in a wheelchair (which he used to great effect as a weapon), 
> or if it was the fact that his mother was a Cabinet Minister, that 
> gave him special privileges.

This is a good reminder that just because someone has special needs 
or is a member of a minority or may have suffered that they are not 
necessarily "nobler" than the general populace. The world is not made 
up of good guys and Death Eaters, to paraphrase.

> I don't think corporal punishment reinforces acceptance of 
> violence. I never have. I think kids are easily intelligent enough 
> to understand the difference between corporal punishment and 
> violence in general, and understand that the latter is not 
> acceptable, even in environments where the former is - and there's 
> studies to back that up.

There are also studies which illustrate that corporal punishment 
*does* reinforce acceptance of violence. The American Academy of 
Pediatricians cited this as a reason in the statement they issued 
opposing the use of corporal punishment in schools.

Kids also "understand" that smoking cigarettes leads to bad breath, 
general smelliness, stained teeth, addiction, expense, burn holes in 
favorite garments, and health problems. And they are swayed in 
significant numbers every year to take up the filthy habit; how does 
*that* happen to "easily intelligent enough" kids?

I like, and conclude with, the following quote by Dr. Benjamin Spock:

If we are ever to turn toward a kindlier society and a safer world, a 
revulsion against the physical punishment of children would be a good 
place to start.

Sandy




From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 16:54:34 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 16:54:34 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmjjm2+bp5a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmju4a+3fpe@eGroups.com>

Cindy C. wrote:
> Or there would be no one on the line because it was one of those 
annoying recorded sales pitches that hangs up when a live person 
answers.

There was a law here in Colorado for a while which *only* prohibited 
the use of automated systems for sales use, and *it* was struck down 
by someone wielding the notion that it interfered with freedom of 
speech. Right. The tape recorder and auto dialer had rights to 
constitutional protections...

> But now we have the National "Do Not Call" list.  Since October 1, I
> have received *not one* telemarketing call.  When the phone rings, 
> it is someone who wants to talk to *me,* not my wallet.

Ah, golden silence. Except it seems that charities are working hard 
to take up the slack.
 
> So here's my question.  Obviously, the direct marketing association
> fought the "Do Not Call" list as hard as it could, but it lost the
> fight spectacularly.  Why, then, did the special interests lose this
> fight?

I *suspect* it's actually because the vast majority of people, 
including those making the ruling, fall somewhere in 
between "dislike" and "utterly despise" on the scale of feeling about 
telemarketers. They are so incredibly obnoxious that *no one* really 
wants to deal with the. NPR ran a segment on how many poor ickle 
telemarketers are facing unemployment now. I can't say I feel very 
sorry for them: personally, I did my best to warn them. Any live 
telemarketer who got me on the phone (especially before we got caller 
i.d.) was apt to hear "Go get a *real* job!" before I hung up. They 
really should have listened.

Sandy




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 15 17:13:41 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:13:41 -0000
Subject: Kiddos books (Was :Da Vinci Code )
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248B06@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bmjv85+e9gv@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...> 
wrote:
>  This is too funny!!  My 3 year old is stuck on "Finding Nemo".  We 
just
> had a discussion last night on maybe we could find a new book to 
read.
> You have thought I pinched her the way she reacted.  I back peddled 
so
> fast I am still sorry I even suggested a new book!!  Although I am 
very
> happy we do not own the alphabet book!!  I might have to look into 
the
> "Pat the Bunny" book!!  Thanks for making me feel like I have a 
normal 3
> year old!!!


This discussion is taking me back! My son is 5 now and I still 
remember most of the words to "Goodnight Moon"; we could recite it 
anywhere, with our own particular voice variations and ad-libs. 
Granted, it's not exactly long, but still :). 

This was a great diversion tactic when Sam started getting upset, but 
the downside was walking around thinking in rhymes for the next 
hour "Goodnight Little House, Goodnight Little Mouse..."

I miss those "board book" days.  Now the picture books we read take 
forever, and my son doesn't like the concept of a chapter book as 
reading a chapter or two a night--no, he wants the whole thing right 
then and there.  I can't blame him of course, I could never read a 
chapter of HP a night! 

We're currently reading some of the Magic Treehouse series--thanks to 
whoever recommended those a few weeks back. 

Jen






From przepla at ipartner.com.pl  Wed Oct 15 17:24:52 2003
From: przepla at ipartner.com.pl (Przemyslaw Plaskowicki)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 19:24:52 +0200
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmjjm2+bp5a@eGroups.com>
References: <bmjjm2+bp5a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F8D82E4.7010801@ipartner.com.pl>

Cindy C. wrote (2003-10-15 15:56):

>But now we have the National "Do Not Call" list.  Since October 1, I
>have received *not one* telemarketing call.  When the phone rings, it
>is someone who wants to talk to *me,* not my wallet.
>
>So here's my question.  Obviously, the direct marketing association
>fought the "Do Not Call" list as hard as it could, but it lost the
>fight spectacularly.  Why, then, did the special interests lose this
>fight?
>  
>
Being an European, I fortunately, don't suffer from telemarketers, but I 
believe it's because telemarketers' line of defense is based on free 
speech. I mean, muting them completely would be definitely against 1st 
amendment.
Do not call list is however, a list of persons who do not want to LISTEN 
to them. And it would be again, against 1st amendment to force people to 
listen to unwanted speech. I mean you can always don't watch unwanted 
television channels, don't read unwanted books, don't discuss unwanted 
topics, but you are forced to listen to telemarketers' unwanted 
transmissions. You can always hang off, but _after_ receiving unwanted 
communication, not before as is the case in books, television etc.

On a related note, I am very sad, that there is no way to block this way 
spam. The international nature of the Internet makes Do Not E-mail list 
impossible.

Pshemekna





From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Wed Oct 15 18:27:37 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 18:27:37 -0000
Subject: Book group (was Da Vinci Code)
In-Reply-To: <bmjn43+nfpf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmk3ip+iaor@eGroups.com>

Jen wrote:

> Hmm... Okay, what I meant was "reading group" (our formally 
proposed
> name almost 5 years ago was the "Reading Salon" (snerk)

Oh, you are a member of a *book group* - that's much more 
interesting!  I have been thinking about finding, or even starting 
one of those, based on the experience of HPFGU.

So, is it all about the books, or about who fancies whom? (That's 
not necessarily a digression in the context of HPFGU.)

> -Jen, broke until next year - when she doesn't have to pay 
preschool
> costs anymore.

Hm.  My experience is that costs just go up and up, so far.

David, ?50 to the good because his son's trip to Germany was called 
off - but there's still Prague to pay for




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Wed Oct 15 20:35:13 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:35:13 -0000
Subject: Book group (was Da Vinci Code)
In-Reply-To: <bmk3ip+iaor@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkb21+6tqo@eGroups.com>

David wrote:

>I have been thinking about finding, or even starting 
> one of those, based on the experience of HPFGU.

Well . . . 

Now that you mention it . . . 

It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that it would be kind
of fun to have a HPfGU Book Club. I mean, a lot of us share similar
tastes in reading material, and we all know each other and we all like
each other . . . 

I just never had the courage to actually propose it.  And I definitely
don't have the time (or literary background) to help run it.  But I
have no problem being a free-rider and taking advantage of the hard
work of others . . . <g>

Anyway, that's just a thought.

Cindy -- who looked away from the Cubs game to read another few pages
of "The Da Vinci Code", only to look up and see that 8 runs had scored
somehow 






From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 21:22:36 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 21:22:36 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmju4a+3fpe@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkdqs+8mkv@eGroups.com>

Cindy C. wrote:
 
>>But now we have the National "Do Not Call" list.  Since October 1, 
I have received *not one* telemarketing call.  When the phone rings, 
it is someone who wants to talk to *me,* not my wallet.<<

Sandy:
 
>I *suspect* it's actually because the vast majority of people, 
including those making the ruling, fall somewhere in 
between "dislike" and "utterly despise" on the scale of feeling 
about telemarketers. They are so incredibly obnoxious that *no one* 
really wants to deal with the. NPR ran a segment on how many poor 
ickle telemarketers are facing unemployment now. I can't say I feel 
very sorry for them: personally, I did my best to warn them. Any 
live telemarketer who got me on the phone (especially before we got 
caller i.d.) was apt to hear "Go get a *real* job!" before I hung 
up. They really should have listened.<


I don't care for telemarketers, either.  In fact, I'm not a fan of 
the telephone at all.  I absolutely refuse to answer it when I am 
home unless it's someone I *need* to talk to.  My feeling is that if 
you really want to talk to me, you can come see me and we'll talk 
face to face.  I drive my family crazy.  When I have my very own 
phone line it will have an answering machine message that will say 
something like, "I don't answer my phone.  If you want to talk to me 
you have no choice but to leave a message."

This isn't because I find telemarketers particularly intrusive, but 
because I find *all* phone calls intrusive and it cuts into my 
precious time if I have to answer the phone, even if it's just to 
take a message for someone else.  I'm very protective of my "me" 
time.  I like to spend that on the computer talking about Harry 
Potter.  That's much more important than anything anyone could 
possibly call me for.  <g>

I've been working in retail and customer service type jobs for the 
past six years now.  My most recent job is taking phone orders (I 
hate the phone more than ever!) for a catalog company and I have to 
deal with a great range of people in all sorts of moods, many of 
them foul.  As a result, I have over the years become the perfect 
customer.  I always smile at the clerks, give the waitstaff tips of 
at minimum 15% but usually much more, I never complain unless I 
really have no choice (ie something I bought is broken) and even 
then I don't have this burning desire to take it out on the poor 
person who has to deal with me.  What's the point?  It's not their 
fault.  

And I just don't understand how people can be so rude to 
telemarketers.  Sandy's above comment is quite mild compared with 
some of the things that have come out of my younger brother's 
mouth.  I yell at him for it.  Yes, these folks chose to take the 
job they're doing and I suppose they could go look for a "real" job, 
but it still doesn't mean they're inviting abuse or that they 
deserve it.  If you don't want to hear it just hang up the phone!  
Insulting these folks does nothing to change how many calls one 
receives and only serves to show how petty and nasty people are.

Myself, I go back and forth with what I do on the rare instance I 
answer the phone and it also happens to be a telemarketer.  I never 
know if it's more unkind to let them go through their whole spiel 
before politely but firmly saying, "No thanks" or to cut them off at 
the beginning to let them know there's no chance I'm buying whatever 
it is they're selling.  I go back and forth because when I'm in the 
middle of a spiel, I don't enjoy being interrupted by the customer.  
But at the same time, I hate getting to the end of what it is I'm 
saying and then getting a "No.  I wonder why they didn't just tell 
me that before I got rolling.  

I hope I haven't rambled too much.  There's no one here to cut me 
off.  :-)  And I also hope I didn't use too many adverbs for you 
folks.

KathyK (wondering if Sandy might be so kind as to define "real job" 
for her as Kathy always defined "real job" as anything that helps 
pay the bills)

Oh, and on an unrelated note I'm one of those folks who makes the 
restaurant sing to my friends on their birthdays.  It's such a great 
way to torment and annoy them, I can't resist. <g>





From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 15 21:59:50 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 21:59:50 -0000
Subject: No One Calls....& My worst job ever
In-Reply-To: <bmkdqs+8mkv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkg0m+6430@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> 
wrote:
> Myself, I go back and forth with what I do on the rare instance I 
> answer the phone and it also happens to be a telemarketer.  I never 
> know if it's more unkind to let them go through their whole spiel 
> before politely but firmly saying, "No thanks" or to cut them off 
>at the beginning to let them know there's no chance I'm buying 
>whatever it is they're selling. 

Jen: I've decided cutting telemarketers off at the first pause is the 
way to go. Then you're not interrupting much, but not letting it go 
on too long and inspiring false hope <g>.

> KathyK (wondering if Sandy might be so kind as to define "real job" 
> for her as Kathy always defined "real job" as anything that helps 
> pay the bills)

I'm with you on this one, Kathy!  I've had numerous *interesting* 
jobs to pay the bills, but the most boring by far was the "envelope 
opener". I opened envelopes with insurance claims for 8 loooong 
hours, and I do mean a full 8 hours. We got exactly 1 hour for lunch 
and you had to punch in at 8AM and leave at 5 PM, no exceptions. If I 
remember correctly they started docking pay. 

And that's not the worst of it--you had to wear hose every 
day.....yuck. I live in Texas and this was summertime, and let me 
tell you, you *don't* want to wear hose under those conditions. 
Thankfully it was a summer job and only lasted three painful months.

Jen, who thinks Kathy is amazing if she can listen to a ringing phone 
without answering it.




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Wed Oct 15 21:57:57 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 07:57:57 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: School Daze; Was Summer Birthdays
In-Reply-To: <bmjs7b+9k8n@eGroups.com>
References: <3F8D920C.8158.210CB4@localhost>
Message-ID: <3F8E4F85.11013.245F413@localhost>

On 15 Oct 2003 at 16:22, msbeadsley wrote:

> > Heh - I might have tried that if I'd thought I'd have had a hope at 
> > all of winning - but I was attacked by groups of over 100 kids at a 
> > time. Fighting back in any form just didn't work.
> 
> It boggles my mind that you survived. It *must* have been hell. I 
> thought getting beaten up just a couple of times by individuals and 
> mugged once by a group of several girls was bad enough. I still 
> wonder that you didn't wait until you could get a tormenter alone and 
> have a go at one of them now and then; or did dire repercussions 
> always follow?

It just wasn't really an option. That school kept us all in a fairly restricted area - it 
really was not that possible to get anyone alone. Fact is most of the times I was 
attacked took place in clear view of teachers - it was just that they didn't care at all 
about doing anything about it. It was a combination of factors - one was that the 
school leadership was *very* anti-punishment, and *very* pro-freedom - so even if 
teachers wanted to take action, they knew they'd rarely get backup. Partly it was 
they'd embraced a very new method of conflict resolution in the school, which 
meant that bullies were seen as people with problems who needed help - which I 
can agree with to an extent, in many cases, but this school went way too far - and 
so if any action was taken, it involved getting the bully counselling. It might have 
even worked for some of them - but the whole system broke down when they were 
dealing with serious assaults, which needed much more serious treatment. And it 
broke down further still, when there were so many kids involved, they couldn't 
hope to deal with it through counselling, because there just weren't the resources.

Two days a week I was relatively safe - Tuesday and Thursday when I could go to 
the library at recess and lunchtime. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the 
library was set aside for use by girls only - and I had to be out on the playground.

After I was finally left unconscious by a beating, and an ambulance had to be 
called, the school came up with a solution - it gave me lunchtime detention for the 
rest of the year. That way, nobody could get at me at lunchtime. Seemed to me 
rather weird, though - they couldn't give the bullies detentions because that might 
negatively impact their self opinions. But they could do it to the victim.
 
> > Only once at the school from hell, did I take any action to defend 
> > myself - grabbing the hair of a boy who was crushing me against a 
> > wall with his motorised wheelchair in clear view of a teacher who 
> > did nothing - except come after me with a detention for defending 
> > myself. I'm not sure if that bully was worthy of protection because 
> > he was in a wheelchair (which he used to great effect as a weapon), 
> > or if it was the fact that his mother was a Cabinet Minister, that 
> > gave him special privileges.
> 
> This is a good reminder that just because someone has special needs 
> or is a member of a minority or may have suffered that they are not 
> necessarily "nobler" than the general populace. The world is not made 
> up of good guys and Death Eaters, to paraphrase.

In actual fact, this guy wasn't that bad - I had a fair amount to do with him a few 
years later, and he was a nice enough fellow then - but back in Year 7, he'd been 
in the situation where he knew he was a potential target, and in a school where 
there was little sign anyone would do anything to stop that, he took the approach 
of joining the bullies for protection. I don't like what he did - I could never have 
made that choice - but he was in a pretty awful situation as well.
 
> > I don't think corporal punishment reinforces acceptance of 
> > violence. I never have. I think kids are easily intelligent enough 
> > to understand the difference between corporal punishment and 
> > violence in general, and understand that the latter is not 
> > acceptable, even in environments where the former is - and there's 
> > studies to back that up.
> 
> There are also studies which illustrate that corporal punishment 
> *does* reinforce acceptance of violence. The American Academy of 
> Pediatricians cited this as a reason in the statement they issued 
> opposing the use of corporal punishment in schools.

This is an issue, I've had to look at on a number of levels. Primarily, because I'm 
on a series of committees for my old school (the good school!) looking at things 
like bullying and discipline and other things as well. In addition, my paid 
employment involves looking at studies, all sorts of research, into public safety 
issues, and analysing those studies (and often the raw data if it's available) to 
work out if they really show what the authors claim they show, and if the data is 
reliable (for example, are sample sizes large enough, etc). And as I'm studying in 
a large University with many large reference libraries, including a specialist 
Education library, I have pretty access to the studies.

The thing is - I've looked at a lot of data, and studies, including those commonly 
cited by the AAP - the one they most commonly cite as showing what you are 
describing is Murray Straus 'Spanking and the Making of a Violent Society'. I've 
looked at that study and others - and, IMHO, they're not academically credible 
enough to make recommendations based on them - what they may be is a pointer 
to where further research is needed (Straus certainly identifies issues that need to 
be examined further to see if they are true - but he doesn't show more than the 
possibility that they *may* be true).

That AAP, by the way, has also moderated its position on corporal punishment in 
schools over the last five years, because it has accepted that the data it was 
using is sketchy as well. As a body they still don't support it (though a significant 
number of its members disagree with that position) but it's not controversial at all 
to point out the weakness of the studies they used - that's accepted. Their 
position now seems to be more like 'We have evidence that this *might be* a bad 
idea, so why risk it until we have more data', rather than 'We have evidence that 
this *is* a bad idea'.

I can understand that position and I think it's a reasonable one on the face of 
things. But my view is, in a situation where you have conflicting data, with studies 
on both sides, you maintain the status quo until you have better data. I'd oppose 
any schools reintroducing corporal punishment if they don't have it, until there's 
better data, *but* I also don't think schools that are using it should abolish it until 
there's better data either (at least, not over that particular issue - there may be 
other good arguments for abolition in certain cases, for example, if it's being used 
in a racially unbalanced way which seems to be possible in some parts of the US).

The best analysis I've ever seen on Corporal Punishment in schools (and the one 
that most closely matches my perceptions, and experiences) is now 31 years old, 
and would need to be redone before I'd want to rely on it - but my feeling is that it 
is probably still accurate *with regards to the type of school I attended* - that's the 
other issue - the area isn't black and white. It does come down to the attitudes in 
particular schools, and groups, etc. I'd certainly agree there are some schools it 
shouldn't be used in, but I just think it has a place for some schools as well. 
 
> Kids also "understand" that smoking cigarettes leads to bad breath, 
> general smelliness, stained teeth, addiction, expense, burn holes in 
> favorite garments, and health problems. And they are swayed in 
> significant numbers every year to take up the filthy habit; how does 
> *that* happen to "easily intelligent enough" kids?

There's a real difference between 'understanding' and how people respond to 
those understandings - especially kids. But I don't think the situations are 
comparable.

When talking about whether or not corporal punishment leads to a reinforcement 
of acceptance of violence, we are - by definition - talking about attitudes 
('acceptance') of something. We are talking about understanding. So in that case, 
understanding is a core issue.

When talking about smoking, understanding is *far* less important than actions. 
It's not the core issue - though it can have some impact on it.

If physical punishment in schools, lead to increased student-student violence, 
you'd have a situation where actions became more important than understanding - 
but trying to work out if that's the case or not is extremely difficult. Here in my 
state, where corporal punishment was banned in state schools 20 years ago, the 
level of reported violence in those schools has more than quadrupled over those 
20 years - but nobody can clearly say what the causes of that are, or quantify it 
(or for that matter, even be entirely certain how real the increase actually is).  

In the few schools that have continued to use corporal punishment, levels have 
remained constant and lower - but, again, saying what the causes of that are, is 
*very* tricky.

I actually know someone who is trying to get funding to do some serious research 
into this at the moment - I'd love to see that happen.
 
> I like, and conclude with, the following quote by Dr. Benjamin Spock:
> 
> If we are ever to turn toward a kindlier society and a safer world, a 
> revulsion against the physical punishment of children would be a good 
> place to start.

Spock, frankly, baffles me on this. He was (probably more than anyone else) most 
responsible for the fact that the use of corporal punishment diminished over the 
period from around 1960 or so. Yet, in 1989, he started saying that the fact that 
"ever-rising figures for murders within the family, wife abuse, and child abuse in 
America" were a reason to stop parents spanking their kids...

His position doesn't seem to make much sense to me, honestly - he's partly 
responsible for the decreased use of corporal punishment - but when crime and 
abuse figures are up, he claims it's because of spanking. So apparently less 
spanking leads to increased societal violence, so we should do less of it...

No, I don't believe that - but it is pretty much the position he took in 1989. So I find 
it rather hard to take his statements on that seriously.

I'm not anti-Spock - I think he did a great deal of good, overall (though he made 
some mistakes on a few issues - some of which he admitted). But while he was a 
leader in the field in 1946, I think he's been superseded - and while many of his 
ideas have remained in the mainstream, others have been modified.

And the statement above - well, I just can't really agree with it. While a kindlier 
society, and a safer world, are great ideas in theory, kids have to live in the world 
we have now. I'm of the personal opinion that part of my childhood was 
deliberately sacrificed my people for their own politico-social ends, and I didn't 
like it. No matter how worthy their ultimate goals were, I'm the one who had to pay 
the price for them. They didn't.


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 eberte at vaeye.com  Wed Oct 15 22:01:54 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 22:01:54 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmkdqs+8mkv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkg4i+l1s6@eGroups.com>

KathyK wrote:

> Myself, I go back and forth with what I do on the rare instance I 
> answer the phone and it also happens to be a telemarketer.  I never 
> know if it's more unkind to let them go through their whole spiel 
> before politely but firmly saying, "No thanks" or to cut them off 
at 
> the beginning to let them know there's no chance I'm buying 
whatever 
> it is they're selling.  I go back and forth because when I'm in the 
> middle of a spiel, I don't enjoy being interrupted by the 
customer.  
> But at the same time, I hate getting to the end of what it is I'm 
> saying and then getting a "No.  I wonder why they didn't just tell 
> me that before I got rolling.  
> 

There has been blessed telephone silence at my house too since 
October 1st and count me in as one who hopes that the "National Do 
Not Call List" withstands any and all court challenges.  It *really* 
is annoying to just get your (mildly dyslexic) son settled down to 
his dreaded "reading aloud" homework or just corral the kids for a 
bath when the phone rings and it is *nobody-that-you-want-to-talk-to* 
(aka a telemarketer).  I know that I should just ignore the ringing 
telephone, but that goes against a lifetime of programming. (Hey, it 
could be someone *important* -- !my mother!, !Ed McMahon!, !Keanu 
Reeves!, !JK Rowling!) 
I usually answer politely (inwardly seething as the caller butchers 
the pronunciation of my name) and cut them off near the beginning of 
their spiel with a "Thank you very much but we are not interested" 
immediately followed by a hang-up.  Is that really rude do you 
think?  
In my own defense, experience has taught me that if you don't hang up 
immediately, telemarketers are trained to flip to page two of their 
script, and (ignoring any polite protests) will launch into the rest 
of their long-winded sales pitch.

Elle (who adores reading the Miss Manners column and wonders what 
the "proper" response to this situation should be)  




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 15 23:27:19 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 23:27:19 -0000
Subject: I CAN'T WATCH!!
Message-ID: <bmkl4n+u5vm@eGroups.com>

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

It's 7 to 6 Boston . . .

It's the 7th inning . . .

Oh Lord give  me strength . . .

Anna . . .




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Wed Oct 15 23:52:44 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 23:52:44 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmkg4i+l1s6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkmkc+mt9b@eGroups.com>

Wow!  Kathy can ignore a ringing telephone!  She must be made of
*granite!*  ;-)

For me, an unanswered phone is right up there with an alarm clock no
one will turn off.  Makes me homicidal, it does.

Elle wrote:

>It *really* 
> is annoying to just get your (mildly dyslexic) son settled down to 
> his dreaded "reading aloud" homework or just corral the kids for a 
> bath when the phone rings and it is
>*nobody-that-you-want-to-talk-to* (aka a telemarketer).  

Yeah.  Throw in children who are old enough to answer the phone, and
it is even worse.  

When the kids can answer, the phone rings, one of the kids answers
and, unable to tell the difference between a telemarketer and *real
person,* the child will retrieve me.  Even though the kids are trained
to ask "Who's calling?" they invariably forget the answer by the time
they find me, and all they can remember is that "Fed-something" is on
the phone.

Elle:


> I usually answer politely (inwardly seething as the caller butchers 
> the pronunciation of my name) 

Ha!  Yeah, that's a real give-a-way, huh?  "Could I speak to Mrs.
Urgen -- uh, Algernon -- mmm, Eldinon?"  

>and cut them off near the beginning of 
> their spiel with a "Thank you very much but we are not interested" 
> immediately followed by a hang-up.  Is that really rude do you 
> think?  

My method was to *immediately* start speaking as soon as I had smoked
them out as telemarketers, which took seconds.  To keep them off
guard, I always said this in a terribly cheerful voice:  "Oh, thanks
for thinking of me!  I wouldn't be interested, so please place me on
your Do Not Call List!  Bye!"  I would then immediately start the
phone moving from my ear to the cradle, regardless of the reaction.  

Works for charities, too!  The only telemarketers I ever felt sorry
for were those soliciting for firefighters/police officers,
particularly after 9/11.  So I'd throw in a "Thanks for all you do!"
just for them.  

Sandy wrote:

>Any live telemarketer who got me on the phone (especially before we
>got caller i.d.) was apt to hear "Go get a *real* job!" before I hung
>up. 

I don't want to put words in Sandy's mouth, but I suspect "Go get a
*real* job!" just meant something akin to "Can you please go make
widgets or do something -- anything -- that adds more value to society
than just bothering people who don't want to talk to you?"  That's how
I read it, anyway!  :-D

Cindy -- who once received a call at her place of business (stodgy law
firm) from someone soliciting for the police department, who agreed to
donate, and who was *very* alarmed a few days later when a police
officer in full uniform arrived to pick up the check and asked the
receptionist to find me




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 00:26:32 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 00:26:32 -0000
Subject: Game 7
Message-ID: <bmkojo+jhcg@eGroups.com>

OMG! We won!  Go Sox! Cowboy Up, and all that jazz!

Till tomorrow . . .

Anna . . .




From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 00:42:04 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 00:42:04 -0000
Subject: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <bmkojo+jhcg@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkpgs+f8r4@eGroups.com>

*high-fives Anna*

Now if only I had a tape of the game so I could watch the glories!  
I couldn't even listen on the radio.

Amy Z
wondering who the heck came up with the idea of a weekday 4 
p.m. game--1 p.m. for some of us <fume>




From fc26det at aol.com  Thu Oct 16 01:42:36 2003
From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 01:42:36 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmkdqs+8mkv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmkt2c+jj13@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> 
wrote:


> And I just don't understand how people can be so rude to 
> telemarketers.  Sandy's above comment is quite mild compared with 
> some of the things that have come out of my younger brother's 
> mouth.  I yell at him for it.  Yes, these folks chose to take the 
> job they're doing and I suppose they could go look for a "real" 
job, 
> but it still doesn't mean they're inviting abuse or that they 
> deserve it.  If you don't want to hear it just hang up the phone!  
> Insulting these folks does nothing to change how many calls one 
> receives and only serves to show how petty and nasty people are.


Well, let me help you understand...<grin>.  One day, I received a 
call from a telemarketer.  She started talking and I politely said,"I 
am not interested."  She kept talking.  I more forcefully said' "I 
said I am not interested."  She started getting rude with her 
speaking so I hung up on her.  She then called back and when I 
answered simply said, "BI*CH!".

Don't think I have ever been so angry in my life!  I usually will be 
polite but if they don't get the program the first time I say I am 
not interested.......<evil grin>....its no holds barred.

Susan




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 02:17:55 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 02:17:55 -0000
Subject: Announcing Convention Alley!
Message-ID: <bmkv4j+69iv@eGroups.com>

Greetings from the Convention Alley Planning
Committee!

We are pleased to announce that HPforGrownups has
agreed to sponsor our event, to be held at the
University of Ottawa from July 30 - Aug 1, 2004. This
means that we will, via various HPFGU lists, be able
to keep you up-to-date on all the news on our upcoming
conference.

Our vision for this conference is to have as many of
our presenters as possible drawn from the HP fandom as opposed to 
distributing our CFP mainly to academia. It is the continued quality 
of discussion on the HPFGU lists that makes us believe this is 
possible.

We are in the process of setting up a website and will
let you know as soon as it is up and running. Our Call
for Papers (CFP) will be released very soon. In the
meantime, feel free to ask any questions you may have
at our LiveJournal
(http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/)
or on the HPFGU-Convention list
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Convention/).

Those of you wishing to help plan the event can
volunteer by indicating your interest in either one of
the above locations and one of our Planning Committee
members will contact you as soon as possible.
Volunteers are welcome in all areas including, but not
limited to: art, games room, sponsorship, decorations,
finance, legal, security, logistics, registration,
vendor marketplace, programme, public relations and
social programming. Help us make this the best event
possible.

We look forward to seeing you in Ottawa next summer to
help us celebrate Harry's birthday!

Sheryll Townsend
Chair
Convention Alley Planning Committee






From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 02:34:57 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 02:34:57 -0000
Subject: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <bmkpgs+f8r4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bml04h+2jgt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
wrote:
> *high-fives Anna*
> 
> Now if only I had a tape of the game so I could watch the glories!  
> I couldn't even listen on the radio.
> 
> Amy Z
> wondering who the heck came up with the idea of a weekday 4 
> p.m. game--1 p.m. for some of us <fume>

Amy,
I got one better.  We are having an incredible wind storm today and 
this evening here in the northeast, and lost our TV signal (actually, 
we have comcast, so I don't know what happened) just about 4:30 pm 
here in my town.  I didn't have the game on but heard moans of "MOM.  
There is  something wrong with the TV!"  

I can't imagine the local bars and restaurants, everyone must have 
gone crazy!  Luckily, the TV came back on about 6:15 or so, allowing 
us to see the wonderful finish to this exciting game! GO SOX!

Anna . . .(who's also really excited about visiting the Pumpkin 
Festival in Bucks County PA this weekend, and seeing Tom Chapin in 
concert again!!) 




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 15 03:47:43 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 22:47:43 -0500
Subject: A fum little e-mail
Message-ID: <001601c392cf$17dc3960$f5e279a5@rick>

Hello all.

Iggy McSnurd here.  Most of you probably know of me from the main list...
since I assume that's where all of you joined here from.  *grin*

Well, the other day I glanced at the title of one of my books, and an
alternate popped into my mind.  So, naturally, my warped brain took the idea
and ran with it.  Here's what I came up with... let me know how you like it
and I'll send in more as I come up with an expanded list.

Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster


*****

Harry Potter spin-off books I'd like to see.

"The World According to Grawp"
 A touching tale about a runt among giants, and a giant among men, and how
he seeks to understand his life.

"Lord of the Elves"
 A sometimes humorous, but often serious and dark, story about Dobby and
Winky, as they cope with being stranded with a group of other House Elves on
a deserted island.  This is a tale of their struggles against their fellow
Elves, who revert to a more primitive nature.

"A Clockwork Wand"
 The Disturbing tale of Draco Malfoy and his Goons, and the eventual
attempts to use extreme measures at St. Mungo's to reform Malfoy from his
evil ways.

"Are You There God?  It's Me, Hermione."
 In this book, we follow a young witch, Hermione, as she strives to
understand the changes that come with puberty.

"The Diary of Ginny Weasley"
 A firsthand account of the experiences and feelings of a young girl by the
name of Ginny Weasley, as she recounts her life during the second Wizard's
War to her diary, Tommy.

"The Scientist of AZ"
 A story of Luna Lovegood and her pet Snorkak, Crumpy, who are transported
to a land of Muggles, named Arizona (but called AZ for short by the local.
"postal" service) by a passing tornado.  There they struggle along the Black
Asphalt road in an attempt to find the Scientist who can send them back to
Hogwarts.

"Where the Forest Ends"
 A collection of poetry by the Half-Giant, Hagrid.  This book contains such
poems as "I'm Being Toasted by a Blast-Ended Skrewt," and " Santa and the
Centaur."  Truly a collection that will be treasured by children of all
ages.

"The Sword of Gryffindor" (series)
 This saga chronicles the War Mage, Harry, and the love of his life,
Hermione (the Mother Professor), as he discovers that he is the true wielder
of the Sword of Gryffindor.  Harry struggles with his legacy as the Heir of
Lord Voldemort, and along with the now reformed Death Eaters, attempts to
save the lands from an ancient and powerful evil.



And for a few TV shows:

"H. R. Hufflepuff"
 A show for kids where we follow the adventures of Helga R. Hufflepuff and
her young friend, Neville.  Often taking place in her "magical garden," they
try to keep Neville's golden wand away from the evil wizard, Voldie-Poo.

"Mr. Dumbledore"
 This sitcom is about the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Mr. Dumbledore,
after his retirement.  Once leaving his duties at the school, he joins on as
a butler for the Creevy family.  Many hijinks ensue, and many touching
lessons are learned as Mr. Dumbledore takes young Dennis and Colin under his
wing.

"Hogwarts, 11320"
 A drama with some comedic moments, this show follows the lives of six close
friends at Hogwarts.  Ronald and his sister, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Luna,
and Neville all form close bonds and relationships as they make their way
through life and Wizarding school.

"Welcome Back Snape"
 This sitcom with some serious themes, Severus Snape returns to Hogwarts
after a hiatus spying on the Death Eaters, only to find out that his former
job has been taken and the only one available is in teaching Remedial
Potions to a group of misfits collectively known as the StinkSaps.

"D*A*S*H"
 Follow the sometimes funny, and sometimes serious lives of the members of
the Dumbledore's Army, Special House as they help keep people alive during
the second Wizard War.  Spending much of their time near the front lines,
the members of this specially formed House of Hogwarts form close bonds and
friendships, as well as fun times together.  Led by General Dumbledore, and
his second in command, Colonel Potter, these young students prove themselves
time and time again.








From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 04:24:52 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 04:24:52 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmkdqs+8mkv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bml6ik+8iml@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> 
wrote:
> And I just don't understand how people can be so rude to 
> telemarketers.  Sandy's above comment is quite mild compared with 
> some of the things that have come out of my younger brother's 
> mouth.  I yell at him for it.  Yes, these folks chose to take the 
> job they're doing and I suppose they could go look for a "real" 
job, 
> but it still doesn't mean they're inviting abuse or that they 
> deserve it.  If you don't want to hear it just hang up the phone!

> KathyK (wondering if Sandy might be so kind as to define "real job" 
> for her as Kathy always defined "real job" as anything that helps 
> pay the bills)

(This is my second try at this; I had a very nice answer to your post 
all typed up and Yahoomort ate it.)

So, picking pockets is okay? Forgery? Credit card fraud?

A real job is (this is a paraphrased quote) like obscenity: I know it 
when I see it. If you *really* want an analysis, I can do one. Most 
jobs are real jobs.

I am usually polite, cold sales call or not; I found more and more of 
them persisting past a polite refusal, leaving me with the choice to 
hang up in their ear, something I was raised to believe was worse 
than swearing (calls were still dialed back then), or give them 
career advice.

As for customer service--I have done it for twenty years in several 
capacities and several cities around the country. People on both 
sides of the counter deserve courtesy. However--telemarketers in no 
way provide customer service; one must first be a customer in order 
to be "served." And a great many telemarketers go through extensive 
training in manipulative sales techniques. The schemes are predatory, 
in more ways than one.

Further, as someone who was burgled before and after leaving the 
nest, I'm tellin' ya, it was real different. So I have to wonder if 
your attitude might be different if it were not your parents' home 
being invaded via telephone by all manner of uninvited flim-flam 
agents, but your own. There's a reason we now have a national no-call 
list, you know.

Sandy




From trinity61us at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 04:33:47 2003
From: trinity61us at yahoo.com (alex fox)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 21:33:47 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Happy Birthday, Constance Vigilance!
In-Reply-To: <20031014134914.60599.qmail@web41113.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <20031016043347.16063.qmail@web14916.mail.yahoo.com>

Happy Birthday, Constance!!!  May you have all your Dreams come true!!!!
 
Alex Fox!

 
=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
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From msbeadsley at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 05:08:43 2003
From: msbeadsley at yahoo.com (msbeadsley)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 05:08:43 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmkmkc+mt9b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bml94r+h601@eGroups.com>

Sandy wrote:
>Any live telemarketer who got me on the phone (especially before we
>got caller i.d.) was apt to hear "Go get a *real* job!" before I hung
>up. 
 
Cindy wrote:
> I don't want to put words in Sandy's mouth, but I suspect "Go get a
> *real* job!" just meant something akin to "Can you please go make
> widgets or do something -- anything -- that adds more value to 
> society than just bothering people who don't want to talk to you?"  
> That's how
> I read it, anyway!  :-D

Absolutely! What I really wanted to say was, "Excuse me, but I find 
myself inspired to recommend a change in your vocation to something 
which might involve the manufacture and/or provision of goods and/or 
services to/for some population which is desirous and/or requiring of 
same." But all I had time for was four or five words with most of the 
real bulldog type sales callers. Ergo, distillate of sentiment 
into: "Go get a real job!"

Sandy




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 16 13:28:33 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:28:33 -0000
Subject: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <bml04h+2jgt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmm6e1+hgtu@eGroups.com>

Hi,

Amy wrote:


>Amy Z
> > wondering who the heck came up with the idea of a weekday 4 
> > p.m. game--1 p.m. for some of us <fume>

Yeah, that was a surprise!  And two big games on the same day, too.  I
can't even watch that much baseball in one day!


Anna wrote:

>GO SOX!

<sigh>  Yeah, I guess so.  I absolutely love underdogs (I can't resist
a good "David vs. Goliath" story, myself).  I only watched the Cubs
game out of the corner of one eye last night.  I had a bad feeling
about that one all the way.

But Dang!  I don't follow baseball, but the last time I got behind the
Sox was in the World Series against the Mets.  The Sox rather let me
down.  Yeah.  Bill Buckner.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/021016.html

But OK, Anna.  I'll get behind the Sox one more time.  

Cindy -- idly wondering who plays first base for the Sox these days
and wondering if they sell "Cubs/Sox" hats so she can kill two birds
with one stone




From heidit at netbox.com  Thu Oct 16 13:41:44 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 06:41:44 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <bmm6e1+hgtu@eGroups.com>
References: <bmm6e1+hgtu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1066311710.799B0D1@r5.dngr.org>

On behalf of the South Florida area, I'd like to repeat what they said 
on tv this morning:

Please, don't hate us.

Yes, I know it's been 15ish years since the cubs were in a series, but 
our team is reallt *the little team that could*.

Most everyone down here was originally - or still is, at heart, a fan of 
something else - the yankees or the mets, the sox, cubs or dodgers. 
Perhaps even the Twins.

But our highest paid player is getting 10 million over three years. 
Derek Jeter makes more in a year than all our players combined (and a 
few of the coaches thrown in for good measure).

Earlier in the year, MLB was talking about taking our team away.

But they worked like hell and played like heaven and with everyone 
rooting against them, they pulled it off.

And while we may not be anyone's truest beloved, the players are good 
and full of hope and I'm off to buy some tickets now.

So, again...

Please, don't hate us.

Heidi, native floridian

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 9:28AM -0500, Cindy C. wrote:
> Real-To:  "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at comcast.net>
>
> Hi,
>
> Amy wrote:
>
>
>> Amy Z
>>  > wondering who the heck came up with the idea of a weekday 4
>>  > p.m. game--1 p.m. for some of us <fume>
>
> Yeah, that was a surprise!  And two big games on the same day, too.  I
> can't even watch that much baseball in one day!
>
>
> Anna wrote:
>
>> GO SOX!
>
> <sigh>  Yeah, I guess so.  I absolutely love underdogs (I can't resist
> a good "David vs. Goliath" story, myself).  I only watched the Cubs
> game out of the corner of one eye last night.  I had a bad feeling
> about that one all the way.
>
> But Dang!  I don't follow baseball, but the last time I got behind the
> Sox was in the World Series against the Mets.  The Sox rather let me
> down.  Yeah.  Bill Buckner.
>
> http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/021016.html
>
> But OK, Anna.  I'll get behind the Sox one more time.
>
> Cindy -- idly wondering who plays first base for the Sox these days
> and wondering if they sell "Cubs/Sox" hats so she can kill two birds
> with one stone
>
>
> ------------------------ 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 rvotaw at i-55.com  Thu Oct 16 15:50:20 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 10:50:20 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Game 7
Message-ID: <2950805.1066319420617.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>


Heidi wrote:

> But our highest paid player is getting 10 million over three years. <BR>
> Derek Jeter makes more in a year than all our players combined (and a <BR>
> few of the coaches thrown in for good measure).<BR>

Really? If this is referring to the Florida Marlins, this information didn't 
sound quite accurate to me, so I looked it up.  I think the TV station, 
whatever it was, was a bit of on their figures. According to ESPN, the total 
team salary for the Florida Marlins is $52,538,298.  Which Derek Jeter does NOT 
make in a year.  His yearly salary is $15,600,000.  Also, the highest paid 
player on the Marlins team (Ivan Rodriguez) makes $9.3 million a year.  Not 
over three years.

If it's referring to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, as they're the only other 
Florida team, it's not too far off.  The Devil Rays have a team salary of 
$18,730,000, which is still more than Derek Jeter's salary, but a lot less than 
Alex Rodriguez ($22,000,000).  Still, if that's the comparison they were trying 
to make, one should also point out that the Devil Rays finished the season 63-
99, compared to the Yankees 101-61.  So hardly a decent comparison.  

On a slightly off note, I wonder if it has yet occured to the Texas Rangers 
that having the highest paid player in baseball still does not win them games?

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct 16 16:22:43 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:22:43 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <001601c392cf$17dc3960$f5e279a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com>

Iggy wrote:
 
> "H. R. Hufflepuff"
>  A show for kids where we follow the adventures of Helga R. 
Hufflepuff and
> her young friend, Neville.  Often taking place in her "magical 
garden," they
> try to keep Neville's golden wand away from the evil wizard, Voldie-
Poo.

I love this one - for some reason I was recently reminiscing about 
trippy 1970's children's tv shows I used to watch. Of course, "H.R. 
Pufnstuf" was right up there (along with "The Banana Splits"...that 
was a favorite of mine).  

Tracy
 





From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 16 17:04:09 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:04:09 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmmj29+d3ho@eGroups.com>

Iggy's idea:

"Welcome Back Snape"
This sitcom with some serious themes, Severus Snape returns to 
Hogwarts
after a hiatus spying on the Death Eaters, only to find out that his 
former
job has been taken and the only one available is in teaching Remedial
Potions to a group of misfits collectively known as the StinkSaps.


Jen: This one was particularly funny, Iggy! The image of Snape 
smoldering when he finds out his new mission. Even he might be 
speechless.  Oh, and I also liked, "Are you there God? It's me, 
Hermione." Lol. 


Tracy:

Of course, "H.R. 
> Pufnstuf" was right up there (along with "The Banana Splits"...that 
> was a favorite of mine).  


Jen:

I loved the "Banana Splits" too--In fact I ran across a re-run on the 
US cable channel TV-Land about a month ago. I tried to get my 5-year 
old to watch it, but he pronounced it *weird*. Hmmpf--go figure. OK, 
next to today's computer generated stuff it was a little different, 
maybe even cheesy...<g>




From linlou43 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 17:05:14 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:05:14 -0000
Subject: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <bmm6e1+hgtu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmmj4a+d3i1@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Amy wrote:
> 
> 
> >Amy Z
> > > wondering who the heck came up with the idea of a weekday 4 
> > > p.m. game--1 p.m. for some of us <fume>
> 
> Yeah, that was a surprise!  And two big games on the same day, 
too.  I
> can't even watch that much baseball in one day!
> 
> 
> Anna wrote:
> 
> >GO SOX!
> 
> <sigh>  Yeah, I guess so.  I absolutely love underdogs (I can't 
resist
> a good "David vs. Goliath" story, myself).  I only watched the Cubs
> game out of the corner of one eye last night.  I had a bad feeling
> about that one all the way.
> 
> But Dang!  I don't follow baseball, but the last time I got behind 
the
> Sox was in the World Series against the Mets.  The Sox rather let me
> down.  Yeah.  Bill Buckner.
> 
> http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/021016.html
> 
> But OK, Anna.  I'll get behind the Sox one more time.  
> 
> Cindy -- idly wondering who plays first base for the Sox these days
> and wondering if they sell "Cubs/Sox" hats so she can kill two birds
> with one stone




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 16 17:11:32 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:11:32 -0000
Subject: Painting Walls
Message-ID: <bmmjg4+3pob@eGroups.com>

It took a month, but I finally finished painting my bathroom--I'm 
very thorough, OK? (It couldn't be all the time I spend on HPFGU 
<g>). 

So here's my question: What's the secret for a smooth finish when you 
use a paint roller? I always end up with streaks, drips, etc. Is it 
the quality of paint, type of roller, technique? You can always tell 
where I start a new section. :(

I would love to hear any tips, painting stories, etc.  Jen




From linlou43 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 16 17:13:19 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:13:19 -0000
Subject: game 7
Message-ID: <bmmjjf+k1c4@eGroups.com>

  

sorry about my last post all, hit the send button accidentally

Cindy wrote:

> > idly wondering who plays first base for the Sox these days



 It's Kevin Millar. Now that's not to be confused with third baseman
Bill Mueller-pronounced Miller. Millar hits fifth right after Manny R 
and has played AWESOME defense all post season.

  hope that helps, linlou




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 15 17:08:30 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:08:30 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fum little e-mail
References: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <007c01c3933f$01a32e40$6691aec7@rick>


> I love this one - for some reason I was recently reminiscing about
> trippy 1970's children's tv shows I used to watch. Of course, "H.R.
> Pufnstuf" was right up there (along with "The Banana Splits"...that
> was a favorite of mine).
>
> Tracy

Yeah... I recently thought of it because VH1 has been showing "I Love the
70's" series sets... They mentioned the show and commented (among other
things) on how high Sid and Marty Croft had to be to come up with a bunch of
their old shows.  I remember "Space Nuts", "The Isis and Shazam Hour" (or
something like that) "Super Buggy" , "Banana Splits", "H. R. Puffinstuff"
and a bunch of those other semi-psychedelic, live-action "kids shows" from
the early and mid 70's.  (I grew up on those things, being born in 1970
m'self.)

I also remember a number of cartoon and cartoon/live-action mixed shows that
I wish I knew the names of.  (Like the 3 teens who could change into the
Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster... or the one with the cat who
used to daydream about being a super hero, or spaceman, and such...)

(Speaking of cartoons, who else here thinks that Scrappy Doo deserved the
"Bullet In Their Brain" award as the most annoying "add on" character in
cartoon history?  Man, I could handle the Smurfs better than I could deal
with him.  At least with the Smurfs, the whole show was bad... With Scrappy,
it was a single character in an otherwise cool show...  I comment on this
because my toddler daughter just fell asleep watching the live-action Scooby
Doo movie...)

Anyone else here remember "That's Incredible", "Real People", or "Kids Are
People Too."?



Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster






From RSFJenny19 at aol.com  Thu Oct 16 17:56:32 2003
From: RSFJenny19 at aol.com (RSFJenny19 at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:56:32 EDT
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Game 7
Message-ID: <f6.31c37d9c.2cc035d0@aol.com>

Richelle wrote:

On a slightly off note, I wonder if it has yet occured to the Texas Rangers 
that having the highest paid player in baseball still does not win them games?


RSFJenny here:

That's because they can't afford any other talent because they're paying him 
so much!  Doh! There's no "I" in Team, Arod!  I hope he's happy with all that 
money, but personally, I would've done what Brad Radke (of the Twins) did; 
take a hometown discount to stay with a team so they could still afford other 
talent and be competitive.  Notice that the Twins were in the playoffs...

I know money's great and all, but really, if you're there to play ball (and 
you *love* it, as so many players profess), wouldn't you rather have a shot of 
going to the World Series and winning it all than adding a few extra million 
to your bank account (which already contains many millions)?????

Just my opinion, though feel free to ask me if I've changed my mind when 
*I'm* the one making the millions... ;)

GO SOX!!!

~RSFJenny~

"I dreamed I was watching you lot play Quidditch, I was trying to get you to 
stretch out a bit further to grab the Quaffle." - Harry Potter

http://www.geocities.com/rsfjenny/HP


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From ambiree at students.bradley.edu  Thu Oct 16 18:50:37 2003
From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (Amber)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:50:37 -0000
Subject: Ack!  Spanish Editions
Message-ID: <bmmp9t+5r91@eGroups.com>

Hey guys, 

So I have a friend who travels like mad and brings me back an HP book 
every time she leaves the country.  A couple of weeks ago she brought 
me back a copy from Mexico.  Yeah!!!!  

Then last week or so I was reading an article about the translation 
for the 5th book in Spanish and it said something about the different 
translations it does, i.e. Catalan, Galician, Castillian, and it said 
that Salamandra (Castillian) has different regional versions for S. 
America, US, Spain, and Mexico.  That got me thinking.

At my bookstore, we have the spanish version that looks EXACTLY like 
the one my friend brought back, but has a different ISBN (like the 
social security number for books).  I bought that book too and 
started flipping through to random pages and comparing them.  They 
are the same! 

So, being a library person I went to my top sources (my mom and my 
boss) who work in libraries and asked them.  They appear to have 
different distributors, but I don't see why they would have different 
isbns!  They are both trade size paperbacks.  They look exactly the 
same.

Does anyone out there in HP land know why this is so?  Or did I just 
spend $15.00 on a duplicate book?


Desparately Seeking answers,

Amber




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 16 19:18:26 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 19:18:26 -0000
Subject: Game 7
In-Reply-To: <1066311710.799B0D1@r5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <bmmqu2+c2ig@eGroups.com>

Heidi pleaded:

> On behalf of the South Florida area, I'd like to repeat what they
>said on tv this morning:
> 
> Please, don't hate us.

Aw, come on!  It's not Florida's fault.  We don't hate you guys. 
We're just bummed, that's all.  Cheer up, there!  If nothing else, it
proves that baseball is *not* fixed.  ;-)


> But our highest paid player is getting 10 million over three years. 
> Derek Jeter makes more in a year than all our players combined (and
>a  few of the coaches thrown in for good measure).

Oh, but Derek Jeter is so dang *cute!*  :-D

Seriously, he did a very nice job as host of Saturday Night Live last
year.  Before that, I had never heard of him.

Cindy -- who finally *buckled* and agreed to get her 12-year-old
daughter a cell phone after a neighborhood high school freshman girl
was approached in the dark by a strange man at her bus stop, who ran
off when she pulled out her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1 




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 16 20:04:34 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:04:34 -0000
Subject: Painting Walls
In-Reply-To: <bmmjg4+3pob@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmmtki+u3sg@eGroups.com>

Hey!

Jen wrote:

> So here's my question: What's the secret for a smooth finish when
>you use a paint roller? I always end up with streaks, drips, etc. Is
>it the quality of paint, type of roller, technique? You can always
>tell where I start a new section. :(

First of all, what color did you paint?  I ask this not because it
makes a difference, but just because I'm nosy.  ;-)

Anyway, I have painted <counts on fingers> seven rooms/bathrooms, two
halls and a stairway in my house.  Along the way, the local hardware
paint guys took me under their wing and gave me a ton of good advice.
   Seriously, they know me and snicker at me all the time!  This is
what they said: 

Many people think the best indoor paint to use is Benjamin Moore.  I
find it very thick, which cuts down on drips and uneven markings.

I have plaster walls, and I've never had trouble getting a smooth
finish.  Hmmmm.  Are you using a pretty good roller?  Are the walls
reasonably clean?  If not, you may need to wash them (ugh) or prime them.

Use a caulk gun and caulk the crack that often develops between the
door frame and the wall.  

When you "cut in," don't do too much at once.  ("Cutting in" is using
a brush to do the edges and corners but using a roller on the rest.) 
If you do, the "cut-in" paint will be darker than the surrounding,
rolled-on point.  

Do prep work with a particular spackle called "Crack Shot."  It allows
you to get a nice smooth clean finish for filling holes and other
repair work.  Works on baseboards, too.  Prime with latex primer, or
if you are having a bleed-through problem, go with
oil-based/latex-compatible primer.  

If you must prime the whole room, have your primer tinted to match the
paint.  No charge, usually.

Use that pricey blue masking tape.  It won't peel off the paint when
you remove it.  Regular masking tape can be a nightmare!  You do the
whole room, and then the tape lifts the paint off the ceiling or trim.
 Ugh.

Don't use a ladder in a room with normal height ceilings.  Get an old
chair.  It is easier to move around and get onto and off of it, and
you won't bang your newly-painted walls with the ladder.

When you use your roller, have a 4-foot extension pole on it.  This
eliminates all bending and stretching.  You just stand there and roll
from floor to ceiling.

Oh, and whatever you do, *always* have an audio tape of Harry Potter
playing while you work.  

OK, they never told me that last at the store.  I just like the idea!
 
> I would love to hear any tips, painting stories, etc.  

Mmmm, my daughter's bedroom is Granny Smith Apple green, one bathroom
is a bold periwinkle (the paint store guy tried to wave me off on that
color selection, but I like it), and I'm about to do other daughter's
room in a ghastly pinkish purple.

Cindy -- who still hasn't done her own bedroom because, well, where
would she sleep while she does the work?




From siskiou at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 16 20:10:08 2003
From: siskiou at earthlink.net (Susanne)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:10:08 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Painting Walls
In-Reply-To: <bmmjg4+3pob@eGroups.com>
References: <bmmjg4+3pob@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <2081415425.20031016131008@earthlink.net>



Hi,

Thursday, October 16, 2003, 10:11:32 AM, stevejjen at earthlink.net wrote:

> So here's my question: What's the secret for a smooth finish when
> you 
> use a paint roller? I always end up with streaks, drips, etc. Is it 
> the quality of paint, type of roller, technique? You can always tell 
> where I start a new section. :(

Do you let the old section dry completely, before you start
a new section?

>From our remodeling experience last year, you have to get at
least one wall done completely in one go, otherwise you will
see where you stopped, and later started again.

And the paint needs to be stirred well each time, otherwise
you may get uneven coloring.

Fortunately (at least for the painting) our bathroom is so
small that it was no trouble at all to get it painted in one
go, with a second layer the next day.

What roller you use depends on the type of finish your wall
has. Is it textured or completely smooth? The smooth finish
is the hardest to hide mistakes on. Texture is more
forgiving.

-- 
Best regards,
 Susanne                           mailto:siskiou at earthlink.net

Visit our pet rabbits: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/





From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Thu Oct 16 20:19:06 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:19:06 -0000
Subject: A fun little e-mail
Message-ID: <bmmufq+c7d2@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
I remember "Space Nuts", "The Isis and Shazam Hour" (or
> something like that) "Super Buggy" , "Banana Splits", "H. R. 
Puffinstuff"
> and a bunch of those other semi-psychedelic, live-action "kids 
shows" from
> the early and mid 70's.  (I grew up on those things, being born in 
1970
> m'self.)

I never cared much for those trippy live-action kid shows, although I 
was on board with the Monkees in the late 60s, who probably started 
it all.


> (Speaking of cartoons, who else here thinks that Scrappy Doo 
deserved the
> "Bullet In Their Brain" award as the most annoying "add on" 
character in
> cartoon history?  With Scrappy,
> it was a single character in an otherwise cool show...  I comment 
on this
> because my toddler daughter just fell asleep watching the live-
action Scooby
> Doo movie...)
> 

Check out www.jumptheshark.com for other examples of bad decisions 
made on otherwise good TV shows.

I remember Scooby & the gang from their first days on TV. They were 
of the same vintage as the Archies, and Josie & the Pussycats. I 
still haven't seen the recent live-action versions of Scooby or 
Josie, but I hear there's a Scooby2 in the works. I hope they leave 
out sCrappy!

Iggy, your HP show titles were all brilliant! Keep up the good work!
Ms. Tattersall




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Thu Oct 16 20:31:52 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:31:52 -0000
Subject: Ack! Spanish editions
Message-ID: <bmmv7o+rrec@eGroups.com>

"Amber" <ambiree at s...> wrote:
> At my bookstore, we have the spanish version that looks EXACTLY 
like 
> the one my friend brought back, but has a different ISBN (like the 
> social security number for books).  I bought that book too and 
> started flipping through to random pages and comparing them.  They 
> are the same! 
> 
I don't see why they would have different 
> isbns!  They are both trade size paperbacks.  They look exactly the 
> same.

You probably bought an identical book to the one your friend brought 
back, but there must be some difference between them that might not 
be immediately apparent. One might be a later printing in which 
something (probably in the translation) was corrected or updated. 
According to ISBN rules, every time you change a book in any way, you 
must slap a new ISBN on it. Compare the ISBNs on your older copies of 
SS/CoS/PoA with current editions that may look the same on the 
outside.

Ms. Tattersall, who works in the book publishing biz




From smiller at dslextreme.com  Thu Oct 16 20:34:33 2003
From: smiller at dslextreme.com (Susan Miller)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:34:33 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmmvcp+n87h@eGroups.com>

Tracy and Iggy, while you are reminiscing about dear Helga (and her
near namesake, HR Pufnstuf), you might want to sing our tribute to
her, currently at this link:

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/newfilks.htm#Helga_Hufflepuff

The tune is, well, the one you might expect. But if you need a
refresher on the tune, I've included a link in the filk to the
original. Enjoy!

Constance Vigilance



--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> wrote:
> Iggy wrote:
>  
> > "H. R. Hufflepuff"
> >  A show for kids where we follow the adventures of Helga R. 
> Hufflepuff and
> > her young friend, Neville.  Often taking place in her "magical 
> garden," they
> > try to keep Neville's golden wand away from the evil wizard, Voldie-
> Poo.
> 
> I love this one - for some reason I was recently reminiscing about 
> trippy 1970's children's tv shows I used to watch. Of course, "H.R. 
> Pufnstuf" was right up there (along with "The Banana Splits"...that 
> was a favorite of mine).  
> 
> Tracy




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct 16 21:18:34 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:18:34 -0000
Subject: Computer weirdness
Message-ID: <bmn1va+hq0p@eGroups.com>

I'm apologizing in advance if my response to the "Painting walls" 
thread shows up twice.  Then again, I'm not sure if it will even show 
up at all, as Yahoo is being tempermental this afternoon.  

Tracy




From eberte at vaeye.com  Thu Oct 16 21:29:24 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:29:24 -0000
Subject: Computer weirdness
In-Reply-To: <bmn1va+hq0p@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmn2jk+go9a@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> I'm apologizing in advance if my response to the "Painting walls" 
> thread shows up twice.  Then again, I'm not sure if it will even 
show 
> up at all, as Yahoo is being tempermental this afternoon.  
> 
> Tracy

Ditto here, Tracy.  My last three posts have been eaten by Yahoo 
(vanished without a trace!) and I am acknowledging defeat.  
(Score:  Yahoo - 3, Elle - 0)

Elle (keeping it short as she expects Yahoo to try to run up the 
score)




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 16 21:44:33 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:44:33 -0000
Subject: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
In-Reply-To: <bmn2jk+go9a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmn3g1+ig8g@eGroups.com>

Hey,

> Elle (keeping it short as she expects Yahoo to try to run up the 
> score)

ROFL!  Yeah, I'm having trouble too.  Maybe that's why the list is so
quiet?

OK, can anyone solve a nagging Outlook problem I'm having?  I'm
totally stumped.

If I want to address an e-mail to a friend, I can just start typing
their name or e-mail, and Outlook will recognize it and give me a list
of potential addressees.  I click on the right one, and the message is
addressed.  This is Good.

The trouble is that once Outlook puts someone down as a potential
addressee, they seem to stay as one forever.  Say I want to send a
message to my good buddy George Bush.  I can type "George" and it will
give me every e-mail address George ever had, which requires me to
remember which one is the right ISP.  It also remembers the one time I
mis-typed and will offer up as a choice "Goerge Bush."  Also awful is
that it remembers every "George" to whom I ever sent an e-mail, so I
have on occasion sent an e-mail to the wrong George, which is *way*
embarrassing.  This is Bad.

So how do I get rid of these unnecessary, erroneous and outdated
default e-mails?

I'm sorry to ask here, but dang it!, I just cannot take this anymore.

Thanks,

Cindy




From saitaina at wizzards.net  Thu Oct 16 21:49:56 2003
From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:49:56 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
References: <bmn3g1+ig8g@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <009c01c3942f$73009e60$24321c40@aoldsl.net>

Open your address book...delete as
necessary, close address book.

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 przepla at ipartner.com.pl  Thu Oct 16 21:53:41 2003
From: przepla at ipartner.com.pl (Przemyslaw Plaskowicki)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:53:41 +0200
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
In-Reply-To: <bmn3g1+ig8g@eGroups.com>
References: <bmn3g1+ig8g@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F8F1365.8060403@ipartner.com.pl>

Cindy C. wrote:

>ROFL!  Yeah, I'm having trouble too.  Maybe that's why the list is so
>quiet?
>
>OK, can anyone solve a nagging Outlook problem I'm having?  I'm
>totally stumped.
>
>If I want to address an e-mail to a friend, I can just start typing
>their name or e-mail, and Outlook will recognize it and give me a list
>of potential addressees.  I click on the right one, and the message is
>addressed.  This is Good.
>
>The trouble is that once Outlook puts someone down as a potential
>addressee, they seem to stay as one forever.  Say I want to send a
>message to my good buddy George Bush.  I can type "George" and it will
>give me every e-mail address George ever had, which requires me to
>remember which one is the right ISP.  It also remembers the one time I
>mis-typed and will offer up as a choice "Goerge Bush."  Also awful is
>that it remembers every "George" to whom I ever sent an e-mail, so I
>have on occasion sent an e-mail to the wrong George, which is *way*
>embarrassing.  This is Bad.
>
>So how do I get rid of these unnecessary, erroneous and outdated
>default e-mails?
>
>I'm sorry to ask here, but dang it!, I just cannot take this anymore.
>
>  
>
I belive that all those addresses are keept in you Outlook Adress Book, 
look there and remove unwanted adresses. There is some option in Outlook 
to automatically add all addresses sent to Address Book -- uncheck it.
And best of all: use Mozilla (Netscape 7), popup-free browser with spam 
filters e-mail client: http://www.mozilla.org

Pshemekan





From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Thu Oct 16 23:02:44 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:02:44 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fum little e-mail
References: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com> <007c01c3933f$01a32e40$6691aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <006f01c39439$bd171880$74984cca@Monteith>

> Yeah... I recently thought of it because VH1 has been showing "I Love the
> 70's" series sets... They mentioned the show and commented (among other
> things) on how high Sid and Marty Croft had to be to come up with a bunch
of
> their old shows.  I remember "Space Nuts", "The Isis and Shazam Hour" (or
> something like that) "Super Buggy" , "Banana Splits", "H. R. Puffinstuff"
> and a bunch of those other semi-psychedelic, live-action "kids shows" from
> the early and mid 70's.  (I grew up on those things, being born in 1970
> m'self.)

Me too! '71 here. And don't forget Sigmund the Seamonster... And 'Electra
Woman and Dyna Girl'... Actually I have in my possession possibly the
*worst* video in the history of television. I'm serious! It is - wait for
it - HR Puff'n'Stuff Live on stage with (drumroll please) the Brady Bunch
Kids. I know, I know. Kill me now... in this video the guy who played Jimmy
is about 19, six feet tall, still wearing the 'Jimmy' outfit, and still with
the speech impediment... I wonder what he's up to now, if he didn't die or
something. Was it Jack Wild or something like that?



> I also remember a number of cartoon and cartoon/live-action mixed shows
that
> I wish I knew the names of.  (Like the 3 teens who could change into the
> Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster... or the one with the cat
who
> used to daydream about being a super hero, or spaceman, and such...)

Ooh! I *loved* the Wolfman, Dracula etc one, but I can't think of what it
was called either. One of our networks is going into retro mode and showing
Batfink each night before the very first series of Doctor Who is shown. Just
waiting for them to drag out Hong Kong Foey - remember, he slept in the
filing cabinet and had a striped cat called Spot? Oh and the Blue Falcon...




> (Speaking of cartoons, who else here thinks that Scrappy Doo deserved the
> "Bullet In Their Brain" award as the most annoying "add on" character in
> cartoon history?  Man, I could handle the Smurfs better than I could deal
> with him.  At least with the Smurfs, the whole show was bad... With
Scrappy,
> it was a single character in an otherwise cool show...  I comment on this
> because my toddler daughter just fell asleep watching the live-action
Scooby
> Doo movie...)

YES! I loved Scooby Doo until they introduced Scrappy (we called him Crappy,
too).

Nox (thinking its *so cool* that there are others who admit to remembering
these shows...)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 15 23:31:02 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 18:31:02 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fum little e-mail
References: <bmmvcp+n87h@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002401c39374$6950d3a0$6e95aec7@rick>



> Tracy and Iggy, while you are reminiscing about dear Helga (and her
> near namesake, HR Pufnstuf), you might want to sing our tribute to
> her, currently at this link:
>
> http://home.att.net/~coriolan/newfilks.htm#Helga_Hufflepuff
>
> The tune is, well, the one you might expect. But if you need a
> refresher on the tune, I've included a link in the filk to the
> original. Enjoy!
>
> Constance Vigilance

*grin* I noticed that the song immediately after it was based on a Tom
Lehrer song.  He's one of my favorites of musical comedy... and,
incidentally, he teaches at UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz), in
the town where I grew up.  I've actually met the guy, and got him to
autograph a copy of his song book that I have.

(Little known fact:  Tom Lehrer left the musical comedy business shortly
after Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize.  He is quoted as saying
that he was quitting because "I can't write anything more absurd than
that.")

Iggy McSnurd







From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 15 23:50:48 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 18:50:48 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fum little e-mail
References: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com> <007c01c3933f$01a32e40$6691aec7@rick> <006f01c39439$bd171880$74984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <003701c39377$29730160$6e95aec7@rick>


>Nox:
>
> Me too! '71 here. And don't forget Sigmund the Seamonster... And 'Electra
> Woman and Dyna Girl'... Actually I have in my possession possibly the
> *worst* video in the history of television. I'm serious! It is - wait for
> it - HR Puff'n'Stuff Live on stage with (drumroll please) the Brady Bunch
> Kids. I know, I know. Kill me now... in this video the guy who played
Jimmy
> is about 19, six feet tall, still wearing the 'Jimmy' outfit, and still
with
> the speech impediment... I wonder what he's up to now, if he didn't die or
> something. Was it Jack Wild or something like that?


Iggy here:

Oh, *ick*.. I feel sorry for you about that video.  (Of course, I can't feel
too sorry for you... as my mom sent my daughter a copy of "Wiggle Bay"
staring the Wiggles.)

If you get Nickelodeon (and Nick Jr.) down there, you may have seen the
commercials for the live, stage show of Dora the Explorer.  The woman who
plays Dora looks to be about in her early 20's, and appears to wear a C cup
bra.  Definately doesn't look like a 6 (or so) year old girl.
>Nox:
> Ooh! I *loved* the Wolfman, Dracula etc one, but I can't think of what it
> was called either. One of our networks is going into retro mode and
showing
> Batfink each night before the very first series of Doctor Who is shown.
Just
> waiting for them to drag out Hong Kong Foey - remember, he slept in the
> filing cabinet and had a striped cat called Spot? Oh and the Blue
Falcon...
>

Iggy:

Well, if you get Cartoon Network, they have "Boomerang" on Saturday mornings
at about 5 or 6 am.  They show cartoons from different years in the 60's and
70's.  They also have a whole channel dedicated to those shows called the
"Boomerang Channel."  TV Land does some of those shows on Sat mornings as
well, I think.

I think I recall Batfink... I definately know of Hong Kong Phooey (voiced by
the late, great, Scatman Crothers.), and Blue Falcon and Dynomutt.  (They
had a great episode on Dexter's Lab with BF and DM as guest stars.  Dexter
helps repair Dynomutt after an accident and goes WAY overboard on tech
upgrades...)

>
> YES! I loved Scooby Doo until they introduced Scrappy (we called him
Crappy,
> too).
>
> Nox (thinking its *so cool* that there are others who admit to remembering
> these shows...)

I don't know of anyone who doesn't think Scrappy should have been put down
after the first episode.  Of course, for the Doo family cameos, my favorite
was his cousin, Scooby Dum.  (For one thing, he was SUPPOSED to act stupid,
and for another, he was only in about 5-10 episodes total...)


Ok... Going to the shows of the 80's...

Anyone here used to watch the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon?  Or, my
favorite at the time, "Kidd Video"?  (They actually had a pretty good band
in RL.  Did some good cover songs, and a few pretty good original songs as
well.)  And who here, aside from myself (*guilty grin*) was a fan of ALF,
and the two ALF cartoons?  ("ALF Tales" was a great show.  They took fairy
tales and such, and combined them with set movie genres or pop culture.
Like "ALFred Hitchcock Presents - Jack and the Beanstalk", or "Robin Hood"
done with a Big Band theme...)


Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster






From rvotaw at i-55.com  Fri Oct 17 01:05:23 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:05:23 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
References: <bmn3g1+ig8g@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <008c01c3944a$c2410e40$72a0cdd1@RVotaw>

Cindy C wrote:

> So how do I get rid of these unnecessary, erroneous and outdated
> default e-mails?

You can get rid of them by just deleting them, but to prevent them from
coming back again, click on Tools, Options, and the Send tab.  There should
be a checkmark in the box by "Automatically put people I reply to in my
address book."  Remove the checkmark, click apply, and it should stop adding
everybody under the sun to your address book.

Richelle





From joym999 at aol.com  Fri Oct 17 01:07:53 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 01:07:53 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <002401c39374$6950d3a0$6e95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bmnfd9+1065o@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:

> (Little known fact:  Tom Lehrer left the musical comedy business 
shortly
> after Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize.  He is quoted as 
saying
> that he was quitting because "I can't write anything more absurd 
than
> that.")

Hi.  It's me -- Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, not-so-friendly local 
compulsive, founder of The League Of Obsessed Nitpickers, and unable 
to keep her mouth shut when she has a chance to correct someone.

So, here we go:  Tom Lehrer actually left the musical comedy business 
long before Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, which was in 
1973.  Lehrer's records were all released in the 1950s, or at the 
very latest the early 1960s.

And, what he actually said about Kissinger was that "Political satire 
became obsolete when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize."

--Joywitch, returning you to your regularly scheduled nitpicking

**GO YANKEES**




From gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx  Fri Oct 17 01:33:43 2003
From: gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx (Gabriela)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 01:33:43 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <007c01c3933f$01a32e40$6691aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bmngtn+rv1f@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> 
> I also remember a number of cartoon and cartoon/live-action mixed 
shows that
> I wish I knew the names of.  (Like the 3 teens who could change 
into the
> Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster... or the one with 
the cat who
> used to daydream about being a super hero, or spaceman, and 
such...)


> snip

Born in 1970 too. (My birthday is in two weeks). Hey! That used to 
be my favorite cartoon, I don't know the name in English but I 
remember it was called El Grupo Increible (The Incredible Group, I 
remember the names of two of the characters Drac and Frankie. I also 
liked Sport Billy, and some japanese stuff like Remi, Heidi and 
Candy-Candy (it was like a soap-opera for children). 

Thanks Iggy for posting this. I felt like a child again, I still 
like to watch cartoons, but they are not that fun anymore.

Gabriela
A Sox fan  :)




From tahewitt at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 01:42:15 2003
From: tahewitt at yahoo.com (Tyler Hewitt)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:42:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: painting walls
In-Reply-To: <1066352878.2295.71111.m11@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031017014215.27278.qmail@web14208.mail.yahoo.com>

Lots of good advice on wall painting on this list, to
which I'd add this:

Make sure you use a roller appropriate to the wall
texture. Smooth walls need a thin roller, textured
walls (stucco, etc.) need thick, squishy rollers.

Roll slowly! If you roll too quiclky the paint will
spatter everywhere. It also seems to lay too thin a
coat when rolled too quickly.

I've used Martin Senour paints and like them a lot. A
lot of places don't carry it, however. I had to call a
good handfull of paint stores to find one that carries
it.


So, what colors have I painted? someone who claimed to
be nosy wanted to know:
We've chosen our colors from a Martin Senour line
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the '50's (I live in
an early prairie style home, built in 1917, so those
colors fit well). The dining room is oyster shell
white, which is white with the tiniest gray/cream
splash. One accent wall in the dining room is a brick
red color. one upstaires bedroom is the same red
color, one is ochre (close to a terra cotta color),
and one is a dusky blue/green with light blue ragging
on top. The remaining bedroom is my studio, and hasnt
been repainted yet. The entranceway is a light
brown/gray, with oyster shell white ragging on top,
which makes it look like stone (it's stucco walls).

Tyler

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 03:07:24 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 22:07:24 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fun little e-mail
References: <bmngtn+rv1f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002701c39392$a1c42340$3196aec7@rick>




> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd"
> <coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> >
> > I also remember a number of cartoon and cartoon/live-action mixed
> shows that
> > I wish I knew the names of.  (Like the 3 teens who could change
> into the
> > Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster... or the one with
> the cat who
> > used to daydream about being a super hero, or spaceman, and
> such...)
>
>
> > snip
>
> Born in 1970 too. (My birthday is in two weeks). Hey! That used to
> be my favorite cartoon, I don't know the name in English but I
> remember it was called El Grupo Increible (The Incredible Group, I
> remember the names of two of the characters Drac and Frankie. I also
> liked Sport Billy, and some japanese stuff like Remi, Heidi and
> Candy-Candy (it was like a soap-opera for children).

Hmmm... Drac and Frankie... Lemme see what I can turn up on the title with a
little research.

WOOHOO!  Found it!!

Frankie, Howler, and Drak Jr. were all members of "the Drak Pack".

Here's the plot summary from the IMDB:

To make amends for all the havoc his uncle, Count Dracula, caused, his great
nephew leads a team of superheroes made up his friends. When they strike
their hands and yell "Drack Pack Wacko!", they transform into teenage
versions of Dracula, The Frankenstein Monster and a werewolf. Together, they
oppose the plots of Dr. Dred and his minions who threaten the world.

(Thanks for the names, Gabriella... *grin*)

>
> Thanks Iggy for posting this. I felt like a child again, I still
> like to watch cartoons, but they are not that fun anymore.
>
> Gabriela
> A Sox fan  :)
>

Well, what country do you live in, and I can probably suggest a number of
cartoons.  (Well, if you're in the US or have access to some of the major
toon channels from here.)  Trust me, I know toons.  My wife even comments
that her son didn't watch as many cartoons as he does now until I joined the
family.

A few suggestions of fun toons I enjoy watching:  (Some are action, some are
comedy, and a couple are both... And some, you have to be a REALLY young kid
at heart to love... *grin*)

(N = Nickelodeon / Nicktoons, C = Cartoon Network)

the Fairly Oddparents (N)
Sopngebob Squarepants  (N)
What's New Scooby Doo  (C)
Justice League  (C)
Teen Titans  (C)
Angry Beavers  (N)
Rocko's Modern Life  (N)
Time Squad  (C)
the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy   (C)
Courage the Cowardly Dog  (C)
My Life as a Teenage Robot  (N)
Ed, Edd, and Eddy   (C)

You might like them, you might not.  I know that I've seen most of them so
often that there's few I can't tell the plot from the title.  For a number
of them, they just appeal to my twisted mind and often have fun hidden
references and comments specifically for us Generation X'ers...  Mostly
since almost all of them were created by our generation and, therefore, are
actually designed to appeal to use more than to the kids.  The appeal for
the younger generations is a side product.  It's been that way with most
cartoons... they're created to mainly target the members of the toon
creator's generation, with a secondary design to appeal to other ages.
Loony Toons, Scooby Doo, Time Squad... all of them.


Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster

(And student of human nature...)







From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 04:28:54 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 04:28:54 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
Message-ID: <bmnr66+o5b8@eGroups.com>

Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on.  Yankees vs. 
Marlins?  I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll 
give this World Series a miss.  See you in March, pastime o' mine.

Amy Z




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 05:12:33 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 05:12:33 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <bmnr66+o5b8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmnto1+f87@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
wrote:
> Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on.  Yankees vs. 
> Marlins?  I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll 
> give this World Series a miss.  See you in March, pastime o' mine.
> 
> Amy Z


DITTO.

It was a rather difficult evening. 
At least  the Apocalypse won't happen, as was predicted on CNN if the 
Sox met the Cubs. 

GO MARLINS!


Anna . . .(whose so glad  she's going out of town this weekend so she 
doesn't have to listen to all the sports commentary, and replay, like 
it has already started {and there STILL dredging up Bill Buckner!})




From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 06:05:05 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 06:05:05 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bml6ik+8iml@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmo0qh+8pqe@eGroups.com>

Hi All, 

Just some responses...

Jen Reese:

>I'm with you on this one, Kathy! I've had numerous *interesting*
jobs to pay the bills, but the most boring by far was the "envelope
opener". I opened envelopes with insurance claims for 8 loooong
hours, and I do mean a full 8 hours. We got exactly 1 hour for lunch
and you had to punch in at 8AM and leave at 5 PM, no exceptions. If I
remember correctly they started docking pay.<

Eek!  Envelope opener?  A bit tedious, was it?  My favorite but also 
most boring job was an internship I did at a museum last summer.  I 
loved it there.  It's such a cool place.  

I was chosen to organize the print collection.  While it was quite 
interesting to see how the museum changed over time, it did get a 
little painful hunched over these photos, straining to determine if 
this was really the northeast parlor and if so, when did it look 
like this?  Plus I sat alone in the library with very few people to 
talk to, which also gave me a headache.  But I was able to get out 
every so often because I researched Barnabas Deane.  Never heard of 
him?  Not surprising.  Ever hear of his big brother, Silas Deane?  
Most folks here in Connecticut just know him by his highway :-) 

Cindy:

>Wow! Kathy can ignore a ringing telephone! She must be made of
*granite!* ;-)

For me, an unanswered phone is right up there with an alarm clock no
one will turn off. Makes me homicidal, it does.<

See, but this ability is not always a good thing.  I am also much 
too good at ignoring my alarm clock <g>   

Susan:

>Well, let me help you understand...<grin>. One day, I received a
call from a telemarketer. She started talking and I politely said,"I
am not interested." She kept talking. I more forcefully said' "I
said I am not interested." She started getting rude with her
speaking so I hung up on her. She then called back and when I
answered simply said, "BI*CH!".<

Susan, I don't know what to say.  That woman offends me both as a 
consumer and as someone working in customer service.  And it reminds 
me that I get irritated when the clerk at the grocery store doesn't 
even say "hi" to me when I greet her and smile, which I invariably 
do.  I can't even imagine how angry I'd be to be treated like that 
by someone who called *me.*  

Sandy:

>So, picking pockets is okay? Forgery? Credit card fraud?<

Well gee whiz, I suppose I deserve that response since I didn't 
qualify my definition of real job as anything *legal* that helps pay 
the bills.

>As for customer service--I have done it for twenty years in several
capacities and several cities around the country. People on both
sides of the counter deserve courtesy. However--telemarketers in no
way provide customer service; one must first be a customer in order
to be "served." And a great many telemarketers go through extensive
training in manipulative sales techniques. The schemes are predatory,
in more ways than one.

Further, as someone who was burgled before and after leaving the
nest, I'm tellin' ya, it was real different. So I have to wonder if
your attitude might be different if it were not your parents' home
being invaded via telephone by all manner of uninvited flim-flam
agents, but your own. There's a reason we now have a national no-call
list, you know.<

Well, here is where I have to reiterate that I find nearly all phone 
calls to be intrusive.  Telemarketers are no different than any 
other call that interrupts me while I'm at home.  And actually I 
look forward to when all the calls are my very own and I can ignore 
them to my heart's content without constant shouts of, "Can you get 
that?  I'm busy."  

I do understand why there's a Do Not Call list.  Telemarketers are 
an annoyance and obviously a huge problem for many people.  All I 
was trying to get at is that it's not necessary to take out one's 
irritation on the actual person who does the calling.  They're just 
trying to make a living, no matter what manipulative techniques 
they've learned.  Very few, I'm sure are sitting on the other side 
of the telephone line twisting their mustaches creating ways to 
screw people out of money.  That's for people who get paid more than 
they do.

Cindy:

>I don't want to put words in Sandy's mouth, but I suspect "Go get a
*real* job!" just meant something akin to "Can you please go make
widgets or do something -- anything -- that adds more value to
society than just bothering people who don't want to talk to you?"
That's how I read it, anyway! :-D<

Sandy:

>Absolutely! What I really wanted to say was, "Excuse me, but I find
myself inspired to recommend a change in your vocation to something
which might involve the manufacture and/or provision of goods and/or
services to/for some population which is desirous and/or requiring of
same." But all I had time for was four or five words with most of the
real bulldog type sales callers. Ergo, distillate of sentiment
into: "Go get a real job!"<

Until there are enough productive jobs to go around that add value 
to society, there will be people working in these evidently wasteful 
and useless positions.  And because they do allow people who may not 
otherwise have a job to be able to make some money, they are 
therefore not without value to an individual nor are they without 
value to our society, which values people who work over those who 
stand around and say, "Nope sorry, I can't work there.  It's beneath 
me."  

Sandy, I see your point about how invasive it is and how it forces 
the people answering the phone into making a decision in which 
neither choice is particularly desirable (buying things you don't 
need or rejecting a fellow human being).  However, events in my life 
and in the lives of those around me have led me to have a different 
perspective on the "real job" issue.  

And I have grappled with my own principles recently regarding the 
place I just started working at.  I don't like big companies.  Never 
have.  I don't like the telephone.  The thought of working at the 
same company as my mother still makes me shudder.  So how did I end 
up taking catalog orders from rich people?  Because I need the job.  
I need the money in order to do what I feel I have to with my life.  
So I stand by my definition of "real job."

KathyK (who has to "upsell" items in every order but is not allowed 
to go any further after the customer says, "no," the first time, 
which is just fine)





From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 17 06:38:01 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 06:38:01 -0000
Subject: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
In-Reply-To: <bmo0qh+8pqe@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmo2o9+9gq3@eGroups.com>

Jumping in a bit late on this . . . 

> Cindy:
> 
> >Wow! Kathy can ignore a ringing telephone! She must be made of
> *granite!* ;-)
> 
> For me, an unanswered phone is right up there with an alarm clock 
no
> one will turn off. Makes me homicidal, it does.<

Wendy: 

Heh heh  . . . I am capable of ignoring the telephone. I am one of 
those people who mostly hates the telephone anyway, even when 
someone I like is calling. It just feels intrusive to be pulled away 
from whatever I'm doing at someone else's whim. Which is why I 
trained myself to ignore the phone if I'm not in the mood to talk. 
I'd actually started being snippy with people who called me 
(friends, I mean) and then I realized it wasn't their fault I was 
being inconvenienced. They called, but I was the one who chose to 
answer the darned thing. So, I stopped answering and life actually 
did become better. :-)

Lately, however, my five-year-old is not able to ignore it, and 
always runs to grab it. Sometimes he actually answers it, sometimes 
he brings it to me. So I have to talk more often now, but at least I 
didn't have to get up off my rear to answer the thing. <g> 

Sandy:
 
> >As for customer service--I have done it for twenty years in 
several
> capacities and several cities around the country. People on both
> sides of the counter deserve courtesy. However--telemarketers in no
> way provide customer service; one must first be a customer in order
> to be "served." And a great many telemarketers go through extensive
> training in manipulative sales techniques. The schemes are 
predatory,
> in more ways than one.


Wendy:

I agree completely with this (and I, too, have been on the recieving 
end of a few really rude telemarketers, which can make it more 
difficult to be friendly to those who follow). I do understand that 
this is a way some people choose to make a living, but that doesn't 
mean that I have to appreciate their intrusion into my life. 

Although I wonder just how much longer there will even be 
telemarketers . . . lately, I've been getting computerized calls. 
The phone rings, and a recorded voice tells me, "Hello! This is a 
very important call. Please hold," or some such nonsense. HELLO? A 
recording calls me and tells me to hold? Erm, I don't think so. I 
assume that if I had held (has anyone actually done this? Maybe I 
really won the lottery or something and missed it <g>), eventually a 
real person would have come on the line. But maybe soon it will just 
all be computers. Well, they're welcome to talk to my answering 
machine as long as they like. <g>

I will say that this computer thing is a big improvement as far as 
I'm concerned . . . it is *so* easy to hang up on the recording 
asking me to hold. <g>

Wendy




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Fri Oct 17 06:58:20 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 16:58:20 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fum little e-mail
References: <bmmgkj+251o@eGroups.com> <007c01c3933f$01a32e40$6691aec7@rick> <006f01c39439$bd171880$74984cca@Monteith> <003701c39377$29730160$6e95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <000701c3947c$2dad1800$67984cca@Monteith>


> Iggy here:
>
> Oh, *ick*.. I feel sorry for you about that video.  (Of course, I can't
feel
> too sorry for you... as my mom sent my daughter a copy of "Wiggle Bay"
> staring the Wiggles.)

Nox:
My kids have every Wiggles video ever made up until recently. Now they
inform me Hi-5 are better...



> If you get Nickelodeon (and Nick Jr.) down there, you may have seen the
> commercials for the live, stage show of Dora the Explorer.  The woman who
> plays Dora looks to be about in her early 20's, and appears to wear a C
cup
> bra.  Definately doesn't look like a 6 (or so) year old girl.

Yeah we get Nickelodeon and Nick Jnr but unfortunately they are only
available on Pay TV which I, alas, do not have... I've not heard of Dora the
Explorer. We *do* quite often get Nickelodeon shows on ABC, such as Rugrats,
SpongeBob Squarepants, Rocko's Modern Life etc. I used to love the Powdered
Toast Man on Ren and Stimpy. Dunno what that says about me... <lol>



> I don't know of anyone who doesn't think Scrappy should have been put down
> after the first episode.  Of course, for the Doo family cameos, my
favorite
> was his cousin, Scooby Dum.  (For one thing, he was SUPPOSED to act
stupid,
> and for another, he was only in about 5-10 episodes total...)

Yeah Scooby Dum was funny. I was partial to the 'Scooby Doo Meets...'
episodes. I particularly enjoyed the ones with the Harlem Globetrotters and
Don Knots.



> Ok... Going to the shows of the 80's...

I didn't watch much TV in the '80's. I was too busy dressing in all black,
locking myself in my bedroom (in the dark, no less), listening to
Alternative music like the Cure, Nick Cave, Bauhaus and the Smiths... Oh and
not talking to anybody.... <lol> G-d, I was a wet end....

Nox (Upset over last night's episode of Stargate SG-1... Jonas is gone
<sniff>. But on the good side, Daniel Jackson is back...)




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Fri Oct 17 07:03:30 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:03:30 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fun little e-mail
References: <bmngtn+rv1f@eGroups.com> <002701c39392$a1c42340$3196aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <001501c3947c$c5f74cc0$67984cca@Monteith>

Iggy wrote:
> Frankie, Howler, and Drak Jr. were all members of "the Drak Pack".
>
> Here's the plot summary from the IMDB:
>
> To make amends for all the havoc his uncle, Count Dracula, caused, his
great
> nephew leads a team of superheroes made up his friends. When they strike
> their hands and yell "Drack Pack Wacko!", they transform into teenage
> versions of Dracula, The Frankenstein Monster and a werewolf. Together,
they
> oppose the plots of Dr. Dred and his minions who threaten the world.

YES! The Drack Pack! Thankyou! You know, I would have been awake all night
trying to remember this...

 Nox




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 17 08:40:05 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:40:05 -0000
Subject: Painting Walls
In-Reply-To: <bmmjg4+3pob@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmo9t5+bnfo@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> It took a month, but I finally finished painting my bathroom--I'm 
> very thorough, OK? (It couldn't be all the time I spend on HPFGU 
> <g>). 
> 
> So here's my question: What's the secret for a smooth finish when 
you 
> use a paint roller? I always end up with streaks, drips, etc. Is it 
> the quality of paint, type of roller, technique? You can always 
tell 
> where I start a new section. :(
> 
> I would love to hear any tips, painting stories, etc.  Jen

the curse of Yahoo has crossed the Atlantic.  Have replied to this 
but Yahoo ate my post.

Here goes again.

Use a cardboard box - a large one - flatten it out and before rolling 
paint onto the wall, work the roller on the cardboard. This will 
ensure paint is evenly distributed on the roller before you touch the 
wall.  This tip was from a professional.

Less is more - don't overload the roller with paint.  Use the best 
paint you can afford - "trade" varieties tend only to work well on 
new plaster.  Do not believe the boasts of any brand that claims to 
be able to cover walls in one coat only.  Again this only tends to 
work on new plaster.

Work quickly and use roller strokes in different directions to avoid 
lining and streaking.  Ideally one coat should be completed in one 
session.  Several thin coats is better than few thick ones.

If the plaster surface to be coated is poor, consider applying plain 
lining paper to the wall before painting.  A professional did my 
staircase this way and it looks great.  (Have contacts - not wealth!)

June




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 17 11:34:00 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:34:00 -0000
Subject: painting walls
In-Reply-To: <20031017014215.27278.qmail@web14208.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <bmok38+o7ts@eGroups.com>

Tyler wrote:

>The dining room is oyster shell
> white, which is white with the tiniest gray/cream
> splash. One accent wall in the dining room is a brick
> red color. one upstaires bedroom is the same red
> color, one is ochre (close to a terra cotta color),
> and one is a dusky blue/green with light blue ragging
> on top. The remaining bedroom is my studio, and hasnt
> been repainted yet. The entranceway is a light
> brown/gray, with oyster shell white ragging on top,
> which makes it look like stone (it's stucco walls).

<blink>

Oh, *man!*  Accent walls and everything!  I've always wanted an accent
wall (or even a ragged wall), but that would require actually finding
two colors that coordinate, and that will never happen.  ;-)

And Tyler has the courage to use *red,* too!  And here I was thinking
that the fact that someone was able to pry that can of white paint out
of my hands was a huge accomplishment.  I would love a red room
somewhere, but I've rather run out of rooms.  Most of my rooms and
halls are butterscotch, which is OK, but hardly inspiring.

Has anyone had the guts to do a ceiling in anything other than
"ceiling white?"

Cindy -- wondering what it would feel like to wake up to a ceiling
color like lavender




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 17 12:04:16 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 12:04:16 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <bmnto1+f87@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmols0+o608@eGroups.com>

Anna wrote:

> It was a rather difficult evening. 

Heh.  Actually, it was fine.  I went to bed at the bottom of the 9th.
  No way was I hanging around for *extra innings.* 

<confused look>

What?

I guess anyone who would prefer sleep to seeing the conclusion of that
game is someone who isn't a true baseball fan at heart, huh?  I slept
like a baby.


> Anna . . .(whose so glad  she's going out of town this weekend so
>she doesn't have to listen to all the sports commentary, and replay,
>like it has already started {and there STILL dredging up Bill >Buckner!})

Poor Bill!

Hey, I have a question about this poor guy who interfered with the
Cubs player during the series.  I understand that some media outlets
published his name, address, place of employment and phone number.  

Can they *do* that?  Can he sue them for invasion of privacy?  Don't
journalists have some kind of code of honor or something?

Darn.  Where's Darrin when ya need him!  ;-)

Cindy -- who doesn't see what the big deal is, because it's not like
the guy ran around naked on the field during a Cubs bases loaded home
run or something *important*




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 12:17:57 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:17:57 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: painting walls
In-Reply-To: <bmok38+o7ts@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031017121757.96565.qmail@web41106.mail.yahoo.com>

 --- "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at comcast.net> wrote: > > 
> Oh, *man!*  Accent walls and everything!  I've
> always wanted an accent
> wall (or even a ragged wall), but that would require
> actually finding
> two colors that coordinate, and that will never
> happen.  ;-)
> 
My entryway is colourwashed. Yellow on the bottom,
dusty rose on top, making it all look like a pale
terracotta colour. Ceiling is pine panels and trim is
hunter green. Bathroom is colour washed with green
over cream on the bottom half of the walls and plain
cream on the bottom. Small strip of wood separating
the two, painted hunter green. Same green on the
baseboards and window trim.

> And Tyler has the courage to use *red,* too!  And
> here I was thinking
> that the fact that someone was able to pry that can
> of white paint out
> of my hands was a huge accomplishment.  I would love
> a red room
> somewhere, but I've rather run out of rooms.  Most
> of my rooms and
> halls are butterscotch, which is OK, but hardly
> inspiring.
> 
Red? I have red, too. Living room/dining room is red.
Goes well with the original hardwood floors that we
uncovered in January. 

> Has anyone had the guts to do a ceiling in anything
> other than
> "ceiling white?"

Our kitchen ceiling is not white, but it's not just
that we painted it another colour. We originally
wanted a tin ceiling but settled for painting textured
wallpaper instead and putting it on the ceiling in
small panels. Andy has painted it to look like aged
copper. Very nice. Kitchen is the only room with white
walls. Has hunter green trim. Yes, green trim
everywhere in the house. Provides a nice continuity
from room to room.

Sheryll, who did almost none of the painting herself
but left that to Andy

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 12:26:01 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 07:26:01 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Damn Yankees
References: <bmnr66+o5b8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001301c393e0$aae81640$5c90aec7@rick>

> Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on.  Yankees vs.
> Marlins?  I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll
> give this World Series a miss.  See you in March, pastime o' mine.
>
> Amy Z
>


Give up baseball... Football is better.  *grin*

(Go Ravens!  Go 'Niners!  Raiders suck so far this year... so I'll hold off
the rooting for them...)


Iggy McSnurd







From s_ings at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 13:02:42 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:02:42 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Belated Birthday Wishes x 2!
Message-ID: <20031017130242.28446.qmail@web41103.mail.yahoo.com>

*sidles quietly into the room, hoping no one notices
the decorations going up a day late*

I would have slammed my fingers in the oven door, but
that would have made the cakes fall and we just can't
have that happening. 

Yesterday's birthday honourees were Rowan
Brook-Thompson and Oryomai Vasklar. Belated birthday
owls can be sent care of this list or directly to
Rowan at: rowanbrookt at hotmail.com and directly to
Oryomai at: SnapesSlytherin at aol.com

I hope you both had very special days, filled with
joy, magic and everything wonderful.

Happy Birthday, Rowan!
Happy Birthday, Oryomai!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From tminton at deckerjones.com  Fri Oct 17 13:18:30 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:18:30 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248B3F@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Cindy,
Did you get this fixed??  If not are you running XP operating system??
If you are there is another way to fix this.  Let me know and I will
send the instructions for a fix.
Tonya

	-----Original Message-----
	From: Cindy C. [mailto:cindysphynx at comcast.net] 
	Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 4:45 PM
	To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
	Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook
Question
	
	
	Hey,
	
	> Elle (keeping it short as she expects Yahoo to try to run up
the 
	> score)
	
	ROFL!  Yeah, I'm having trouble too.  Maybe that's why the list
is so
	quiet?
	
	OK, can anyone solve a nagging Outlook problem I'm having?  I'm
	totally stumped.
	
	If I want to address an e-mail to a friend, I can just start
typing
	their name or e-mail, and Outlook will recognize it and give me
a list
	of potential addressees.  I click on the right one, and the
message is
	addressed.  This is Good.
	
	The trouble is that once Outlook puts someone down as a
potential
	addressee, they seem to stay as one forever.  Say I want to send
a
	message to my good buddy George Bush.  I can type "George" and
it will
	give me every e-mail address George ever had, which requires me
to
	remember which one is the right ISP.  It also remembers the one
time I
	mis-typed and will offer up as a choice "Goerge Bush."  Also
awful is
	that it remembers every "George" to whom I ever sent an e-mail,
so I
	have on occasion sent an e-mail to the wrong George, which is
*way*
	embarrassing.  This is Bad.
	
	So how do I get rid of these unnecessary, erroneous and outdated
	default e-mails?
	
	I'm sorry to ask here, but dang it!, I just cannot take this
anymore.
	
	Thanks,
	
	Cindy
	
	
	
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From rvotaw at i-55.com  Fri Oct 17 13:22:46 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:22:46 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Damn Yankees
Message-ID: <5637479.1066396966583.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>

Amy Z wrote:

> Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on. Yankees vs. <BR>
> Marlins? I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll <BR>
> give this World Series a miss. See you in March, pastime o' mine.<BR>

Well, I always try to respect fans of other teams, so I kept my mouth shut 
until now.  But in the words of Derek Jeter, "The ghosts will show up 
eventually." :)  Or better yet, Ka-Boone! :D

Okay, shutting up now.

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 12:52:22 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 07:52:22 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: No One Calls Me Anymore . . .
References: <bmo0qh+8pqe@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003801c393ea$c9160640$5c90aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

Personally, I look at telematketers as any other kind of salesperson.  If
they're polite to me, I'm polite to them.  If they're rude or overly
aggressive towards me, I act accordingly.

My simple response to the polite ones (usually those calling for charitable
organizations...) is that "I'd love to be able to donate at this time, but
unfortunately we can't afford anything."  If they are persistent after that,
I bore them to death with a pitiful recollection of all the medical and
other problems I'm having financially... (I feed them a big line of bull...
and make it as miserable as realistically possible) until they hang up.  I
don't think I've ever had someone last more than 20 second with that
method...

For the exceptionally aggressive or rude ones, I try the first technique
initially.  If they get bad from there, I simply hold down one of the number
buttons for that loud tone in their ear for about 30 seconds, and hang up.
(Better yet, if I'm on my phone in the bedroom, I switch to speakerphone,
and put the earpiece right up against the mike to produce that loud,
screetching feedback...)

The worst one I had to deal with is the lady who called saying that the
company she worked for would give me 6 free magazine subscription, that I
could change at any time at will from a list any time, and for as many times
as I wanted, within the next 3 years.  They'd also send me a brand new
wristwatch as well.  (I hate wearing anything on my wrist.  I use a
pocketwatch, m'self...)  All they asked was a small fee to maintain their
company records and database... simply $4.95 a week, payable in one of three
possible plans.  When I pointed out that they were asking me to ultimately
pay $785 dollars for 6 magazine subscriptions that I could get on my own for
about $100 dollars at most by going directly through the magazines
themselves, she went from aggressive to rude with me and then hung up.

*yeesh*  Some people.  (And it's amazing how fast some telemarketers talk
when they're trying to tell you about how great a deal you're getting.
Seems to be a requirement to be a trained auctioneer, just to confuse people
or have them miss info when it goes by so fast.)


Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster


"Tonks: the Death Eater Slayer"
    Join the adventures of Tonks, and her friends Harry and Hermione as they
life life as Aurors.  Nymphadora Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, one of a special
breed and, guided by Kingsley, has special powers that make her especially
qualified to fight Death Eaters.  Watch her as she fights off the multitude
of evil beings invading London, now containing the recently opener mouth of
a HellHole, all the while dealing with her own personal problems in the
Ministry and the lonliness that can come with being a Slayer.








From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 13:24:07 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:24:07 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: painting walls
References: <bmok38+o7ts@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003d01c393ea$cc2960c0$5c90aec7@rick>


> Oh, *man!*  Accent walls and everything!  I've always wanted an accent
> wall (or even a ragged wall), but that would require actually finding
> two colors that coordinate, and that will never happen.  ;-)

Iggy:

My mom actually painted most of the rooms in her house on her own.. with
some help from me on the base-coats.  She then went over the walls with a
sponge-dab technique to layer other colors over it lightly to add depth and
contrast to them.  They look great.  (I'm going to see if I can get my wife
to let me do that with the bathroom at least.  I want to use light blue and
aqua over a mid-range blue.)

If you do it right, you can put a base coat of a mid-range color, then
accent it by dabbing on paints that are both lighter, and darker.  (How much
of each you use is determined by the end effect you want.)  My mom has found
it easiest to do this with shades of blue in one room, yellows in another,
and tan/light brown with slight yellow ocrhe highlights in another rom...

>
> And Tyler has the courage to use *red,* too!  And here I was thinking
> that the fact that someone was able to pry that can of white paint out
> of my hands was a huge accomplishment.  I would love a red room
> somewhere, but I've rather run out of rooms.  Most of my rooms and
> halls are butterscotch, which is OK, but hardly inspiring.

Red is ok, but it's been proven to have an odd psychological reaction with a
lot of people depending on the specific red used.

I once lived with some roomies in a condo for about a year... I had the
master bedroom.  The landlord (who used to have that room) has painted the
walls burgundy, and the closet's sliding doors burgindy.  It sounds like an
odd color combo, but it worked well enough that I didn't bother asking to be
allowed to repaint.  (Of course, it also wasn't a color set I would have
chosen, m'self.)

>
> Has anyone had the guts to do a ceiling in anything other than
> "ceiling white?"

I wish I could, but the ceilings of virtually every house I've lived in has
had that "spray on" ceiling coating that comes off if you even rub on it.
(Personally, I can't see why they put it there.  I hate the stuff, m'self.
I wonder if I can ask my landlord if I can scrape it off our ceiling so we
can paint it... Either that, or get permission to just paint over it if we
get one of those spray guns.)

>
> Cindy -- wondering what it would feel like to wake up to a ceiling
> color like lavender
>

If I paint my ceiling, I'd like to do an intricate job of it...  Light blue
paint with some carefully painted on clouds to make it look like the morning
sky... then, over that, speckle some of the "invisible" glow in the dark
paint in patterns so that it looks like a starry sky at night when the
lights are off.  Kinda give you the feeling you're under the bewitched
ceiling of the dining hall at Hogwarts.  *grin*


Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster


*laugh*  I just got a call from one of those "robotic telemarketers" as I
was writing this.  (I download my mail and answer offline to free up the
phone in case my wife needs to contact me about something.)






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 13:04:18 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:04:18 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Painting Walls
References: <bmo9t5+bnfo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003c01c393ea$cb36c360$5c90aec7@rick>


Of course, there's also the simplest solution of all.  Buy or rent one of
those paint sprayers that sicks the paint straight from the can.   *grin*
(That's what I'm thinking of doing when we finally get a chance to paint our
entire apartment.  We've lived here so long that the landlord has given us
carte-blanche to paint the apartment however we want.  I've been here 3
years, my wife has been here 6.... most people in this apartment & trailer
complex are here for about 1-3 months at most, and often skip out owing rent
when they leave.  My landlord is working hard now to make this more of a
family place and trying to get in more long term tenants...  He's realizing
that having steady tenants is much better for him in the long run...)

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 13:35:03 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 08:35:03 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Damn Yankees
References: <bmols0+o608@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003e01c393ea$cd039420$5c90aec7@rick>


> Hey, I have a question about this poor guy who interfered with the
> Cubs player during the series.  I understand that some media outlets
> published his name, address, place of employment and phone number.
>
> Can they *do* that?  Can he sue them for invasion of privacy?  Don't
> journalists have some kind of code of honor or something?
>
> Darn.  Where's Darrin when ya need him!  ;-)
>
> Cindy -- who doesn't see what the big deal is, because it's not like
> the guy ran around naked on the field during a Cubs bases loaded home
> run or something *important*


So long as his place of employment isn't a "security clearance" or other
restricted type of job, and his phone number isn't unlisted, I don't think
he can sue them... since all the information is a matter of accessible
public record.

It's just like the fact that businesses can post copies of bad checks (with
the account numbers blacked out or otherwise concealed) and/or the names of
people who tried to pass them where anyone can see them.  (Personally, I
have more respect for businesses that simply keep a list of bad-check
writers behind the counter, and only show the names of those who are real
problem people.  It shows some understanding for those who bounced a check
completely by accident.)


Iggy McSnurd

ps: What DID the guy do?  I don't follow baseball.  (At the risk of
offending some, I personally get bored easily by it...  That's why I like
football, and can tolerate basketball if I need to... More action.)






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 12:55:51 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 07:55:51 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A fun little e-mail
References: <bmngtn+rv1f@eGroups.com> <002701c39392$a1c42340$3196aec7@rick> <001501c3947c$c5f74cc0$67984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <003b01c393ea$ca2a3560$5c90aec7@rick>


> YES! The Drack Pack! Thankyou! You know, I would have been awake all night
> trying to remember this...
>
> Nox

Iggy:

Imagine how *I* feel... I've been trying to remember the name of the show
for at least 10 years now.

(I'm thinking back on the show and remembering that Dr. Dred went around the
world to pursue his evil plans in a big, red and dark gray/black zeppelin.
That, and I'm also starting to remember other little images from the show.
It's really weird how finally having the name of the show is unlocking
snippet memories about it.)

Iggy McSnurd







From eberte at vaeye.com  Fri Oct 17 13:52:30 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 13:52:30 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <bmnr66+o5b8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmos6u+qufu@eGroups.com>

Amy Z wrote:

> Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on.  Yankees vs. 
> Marlins?  I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll 
> give this World Series a miss.  See you in March, pastime o' mine.
> 

Foolish Red Sox fans!!!!
Never, never underestimate the "Curse of the Bambino"!  It is *very* 
ancient magic!
Regarding the Cubs fan who knocked away that foul ball (Disclaimer:  
I did not actually see this game--based on description of event 
provided by my DH), he probably needs to enter the Federal Witness 
Protection Plan.  Sports fans can really be nutty about such things!

Elle (A foolish Red Sox fan herself, who actually went to bed last 
night thinking that the Sox *had it in the bag*!  I know....what a 
*dope*!)




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Fri Oct 17 14:11:31 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:11:31 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Damn Yankees
Message-ID: <4523080.1066399891829.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>


 Iggy McSnurd wrote:

> ps: What DID the guy do? I don't follow baseball.(At the risk of
> offending some, I personally get bored easily by it... That's why I like
> football, and can tolerate basketball if I need to... More action.)

Well, basically the fan was doing what fans normally do if a foul ball comes 
there way.  Trying to catch it.  His eyes were on the ball, and he wasn't 
paying attention to whether or not Alou had a play on the ball. Alou was trying 
to catch it, but the fan, also trying to catch it, knocked it away and they 
weren't able to get the out, the batter had another go, and the Marlins got on 
a roll and won the game.  Personally, I think it's stupid to blame the fan for 
the entire series loss.  Sure, that would've been the second out and maybe the 
Cubs would've won the game, but they had plenty of chances and blew it. Don't 
get me wrong, I like the Cubs (though not as much as the Yankees), but they 
really did have plenty of opportunity and blew it.

As for offending baseball fans, I'll take the risk of offending football fans, 
I find it boring because everytime anything gets going everybody falls down, 
whistle blows, they all stop and line up again.  Baseball may last a lot 
longer, but at least nobody blows a whistle when someone drops the ball, you 
can just keep running after it. :)

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 17 15:32:17 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:32:17 -0000
Subject: Painting Walls
In-Reply-To: <bmo9t5+bnfo@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmp221+i6gl@eGroups.com>


Wow---You guys are a wealth of painting information!  I think my 
problem is both the quality of paint used (pretty cheap) and not 
using the correct roller for the texture of my wall (smooth).  Thank 
you Cindy, Susanne, Tyler, June, Iggy and anyone I missed for your 
inspired painting tips and general renovation know-how.

(Sigh)  What I really wish for is enough money to have someone else 
paint my walls ;).  I'm just not a handy-woman at heart.

Now about color, we have a red room as well--the bathroom of all 
places.  It's bright red, cherry red, painted by the previous owner. 
The color has grown on us, though, and now we wouldn't change it. 

In my estimation the only thing that would make it better is bright 
blue or purple towels to increase the color volume (I'm actually not 
kidding--bland towels just don't work with this color).

My new bathroom is a deep sky blue and we have a sunflower-yellow 
bedroom--every other room is beige and next on my list for an 
overhaul. I really wnated the blue bathroom to be some shade of 
purple, but my *d*h nixed that--should he get any say-so if I'm the 
one doing on the work?!? I didn't think so, but decided to give in so 
I could choose the living room color <evil grin>


Jen, crossing her fingers that this will post, but copying it just in 
case....




From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 17 16:16:50 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 16:16:50 -0000
Subject: A fum little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <003701c39377$29730160$6e95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bmp4li+ulds@eGroups.com>

Nox:

> > YES! I loved Scooby Doo until they introduced Scrappy (we called 
him
> Crappy,
> > too).

Iggy:

> I don't know of anyone who doesn't think Scrappy should have been 
put down
> after the first episode.

Martha:

Hear, hear. God, I loathed that repugnant little creature. What were 
they thinking of? What did Crappy Doo add to the show? NOTHING. I 
think he was supposed to be cool, you know, with all that "Puppy 
Power" stuff, but he was just utterly, utterly disgraceful. If only 
he had, just once, done that cutesy little fist-waving puppy-power 
thing, and the monster had picked him up and eaten him. *rantrantrant*

The Book of Ratings agrees: http://www.bookofratings.com/scooby.html

Iggy:

> Ok... Going to the shows of the 80's...
> 
> Anyone here used to watch the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon?  

Martha:

Ooh! Ooh! Dungeons and Dragons!

OK, as a child of the 80s, I remember hardly any of the shows that 
have been discussed thus far, but I do have the pleasure of being 
able to remember "Dogtanian" and "Mysterious Cities of Gold" - both 
of which, if I remember correctly, had been dubbed from Spanish, 
really badly, so the speech didn't match up with the movement of the 
characters' lips. Whenever there was movement of lips without any 
appropriate dialogue to be inserted, the character would grunt.

By far the greatest children's TV programme of the 80s, though, must 
have been Knightmare. Challenge TV was showing it a while ago and it 
was just as scary as I remembered. Anyone else share my passion for 
this greatest of all great TV shows?

~ Martha




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 17 17:21:28 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:21:28 -0000
Subject: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248B3F@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bmp8eo+1nu7@eGroups.com>

Hey,

Tonya wrote:

> Cindy,
> Did you get this fixed??  

Well . . . 

<hangs head in unbearable shame>

No.  

I *tried* though, I really did!  I tried everything everyone
suggested, and the only thing that had any impact was turning off the
auto-recognize feature altogether.  And I don't want to do *that!*  I
just want to delete all of the bogus addresses.  Sheez, just today, I
learned that I got Heidi's e-mail wrong *again!*  It was Outlook
again, Heidi, I swear!  Sorry.


>If not are you running XP operating system??
> If you are there is another way to fix this.  Let me know and I will
> send the instructions for a fix.

<falls down on knees and begs deliverance>

Please, please help me!  I almost sent a male friend a message
intended for my Dad because they have the same first name!

Cindy -- feeling like a dinosaur who can't master anything technical
anymore




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 17 17:30:46 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:30:46 -0000
Subject: Different Sports For Different Sorts (WAS Damn Yankees)
In-Reply-To: <4523080.1066399891829.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>
Message-ID: <bmp906+ur52@eGroups.com>

Richelle:


> As for offending baseball fans, I'll take the risk of offending
>football fans, I find it boring because everytime anything gets going
>everybody falls down, whistle blows, they all stop and line up again.
 >Baseball may last a lot longer, but at least nobody blows a whistle
>when someone drops the ball, you can just keep running after it. :)

Ooooh, a "here's why I like/dislike that sport" discussion!  I like those!

I recently heard survey results in which people were asked their least
favorite televised sports.  (Sorry, I looked for a link and came up
empty, so this is from memory).  

Four of the Top 10 Least Favorite Sports were professional golf. 
LPGA, PGA Masters and two other variants of professional golf.

Men's Pro Tennis was Number 10.  (Oh, come on.  It's not *that* dull
to watch.)

NASCAR was Number 5 or so.

Synchronized swimming, for some reason, did not make the cut.  ;-)

Seriously, then.  How come there is so darn much golf and NASCAR on TV
if so many people don't like to watch it?

Cindy





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 16 17:45:48 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 12:45:48 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
References: <bmp8eo+1nu7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000601c3940d$576c31e0$4e92aec7@rick>

Have you tried simply setting up your actual address book?  You can enter
the addresses when you want them there, you can assign them nicknames, and
select specific addresses simply by clicking on the appropriate header
button when setting up a new e-mail.

BTW: Here's the help info for managing your addresses.  It's directly from
the Outlook Express helpiles.  (Anything I've marked with a "*" is a topic
you can look up in the Outlook Express helpfiles themselves.)


To change contact information

In the Address Book list, locate and double-click the name you want, and
then change the information as needed. Click the tabs to access different
information sections.
 Note

To delete a contact, select the contact name in the Address Book list, and
then click Delete on the toolbar. If the contact is a member of a group, the
name will also be removed from the group.



And some more info here:



Deleting contacts from your Address Book
You can easily remove contacts and groups from your Address Book. When you
delete a contact from a group, the name is removed from the group but the
entries for both the group and the individual remain in your Address Book.
Likewise, deleting an entire group does not remove the entries for the
individual members who made up the group.

The following topics provide more information:

*Delete a single contact

*Delete a contact from a group

*Delete a group




And how to add in your own addresses to your own address book:



Adding contacts to your Address Book
There are several ways to add e-mail addresses and other contact information
to your Address Book:

*Add names directly from e-mail messages

*Import an address book from another program

*Type names and contact information directly in to your Address Book

*Add people and businesses you find on the Internet

*Import a business card (vCard)




Hope this all helps.

Iggy McSnurd
the Prakcter
(and former personal Internet Consultant... although he would be more help
showing you how rather than just telling... but that's just my teaching
style..  Anyone know how I can do image captures of those windows to
possibly do a step by step "show process?")









From joym999 at aol.com  Fri Oct 17 18:23:57 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 18:23:57 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <bmnr66+o5b8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmpc3t+s99d@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> 
wrote:
> Well, the curses laid on Chicago and Boston live on.  Yankees vs. 
> Marlins?  I can't decide which team I despise more, so I think I'll 
> give this World Series a miss.  See you in March, pastime o' mine.
> 
> Amy Z

SOUR GRAPES!  I smell sour grapes!  Look, don't be a muggle.  There 
is a powerful curse on the Chicago Cubbies and the Bosox.  You just 
can't fight magic like that.  Even Red Sox ace pitcher Pedro 
Martinez, who I will admit pitched brilliantly last night and has not 
just a little magic of his own, can not overcome a hex of this sort.

Maybe someday the Red Sox will find a way to rid themselves of the 
Curse of the Bambino.  Maybe someday somewizard will find a cure for 
being a werewolf, and Lupin can get a real job.  Maybe someone will 
finally get that portrait of Sirius Black's mother off the wall.  But 
until then:

********GO YANKEES!!!*********

--JMC




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 20:49:24 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 20:49:24 -0000
Subject: Telemarketers -Tip, Tricks, and Revenge
Message-ID: <bmpkkk+fj50@eGroups.com>

I don't have a direct response to anyone or anything in the recent
telemarketer thread, but I do have a couple of small comments.

Symapathy for the Devil-

The people who run telemarketing services are brutally strict in the
way they run their operation. The telemarketers themselves, rather
than the people who run the organization, are treated like slaves. You
are allowed a precise amount of time for each caller, and you have to
make an impossibly large number of calls per day. Plus, you are given
a script, and are not allowed to deviate from it under any
circumstances under penalty of unemployment. Even if a legitimately
interested customer asks a simple question, you can not answer it,
unless you can take the answer as a direct quote from the script. All
other questions are to be avoided even if it cost you a sale.

I had a friend who was desparate for a job so he work in telemarketing
briefly and said it was the most oppressive stifling irrational
environment he has ever work in.


Revenge, Sweet Revenge-

One night a telemarketer called during a TV program I was interested
in, so I just left the line open, set the phone down on the sofa,
turned up the TV and continued watching. I left the phone this way for
about 15 to 20 minutes then hung it up.

You have to understand that with most phone systems, if the person
being called doesn't hang up, the phone line stays open indefinitely.
Even if the person making the call hangs up, as long as I didn't hang
up, the connection to me will remain open and prevent the caller from
making any more calls.

He was not a happy camper.

After I thought about it, I felt kind of bad because I probably make
him fall 10 calls short of his quota that night, which would have
gotten him in trouble with his boss. And it's his boss who is the real
jerk, not the telemarketer himself.


The Clue-

Here is how I avoid most telemarketing calls. When a telemarketer
calls there is frequently a short pause sometime accompanied by a
clicking sound. This is the automatic dialing system switching your
call over to the next available customer service representative. So if
the person calling me doesn't start talking instantly after I say
'Hello', I hang up. If it was someone I know who wanted to talk to me
but was distracted for a second or two, they will have heard my voice
and will call me back immediately. If it was a computerize automated
call, the customer service representive will assume it was a bad
number and wait for the computer to switch the next call over to him/her.

Just a few thoughts.

bboy_mn






From tminton at deckerjones.com  Fri Oct 17 20:59:04 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:59:04 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook Question
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9802@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Cindy,  
 
First Close Outlook then do a search for files on your c drive and look
for *.NK2 files.  You are looking for the one that lives in a location
something like this:  c:\Documents and Settings\*your user
name*\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.  When you have found this file
delete it. It will recreate itself the next time you open OUtlook.  This
file is the file that "remembers" information for when you start typing
a name into the "To" line on an email message.  It will take it a couple
of days to "remember" and start filling in the names you send emails to.
I hope that makes sense.  Let me know if you have any quesitons about
it!!  
 
May the force be with you young jet fighter,
Tonya

	-----Original Message-----
	From: Cindy C. [mailto:cindysphynx at comcast.net] 
	Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003 12:21 PM
	To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
	Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Computer weirdness & Outlook
Question
	
	
	Hey,
	
	Tonya wrote:
	
	> Cindy,
	> Did you get this fixed??  
	
	Well . . . 
	
	<hangs head in unbearable shame>
	
	No.  
	
	I *tried* though, I really did!  I tried everything everyone
	suggested, and the only thing that had any impact was turning
off the
	auto-recognize feature altogether.  And I don't want to do
*that!*  I
	just want to delete all of the bogus addresses.  Sheez, just
today, I
	learned that I got Heidi's e-mail wrong *again!*  It was Outlook
	again, Heidi, I swear!  Sorry.
	
	
	>If not are you running XP operating system??
	> If you are there is another way to fix this.  Let me know and
I will
	> send the instructions for a fix.
	
	<falls down on knees and begs deliverance>
	
	Please, please help me!  I almost sent a male friend a message
	intended for my Dad because they have the same first name!
	
	Cindy -- feeling like a dinosaur who can't master anything
technical
	anymore
	
	
	
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From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 21:24:52 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 21:24:52 -0000
Subject: The Cubs fan commited mortal sin.  was: Re: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <003e01c393ea$cd039420$5c90aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bmpmn4+ccb8@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd
> 
> ps: What DID the guy do?  I don't follow baseball.  (At the risk of
> offending some, I personally get bored easily by it...  That's why 
I like
> football, and can tolerate basketball if I need to... More action.)

You are pardeoned for your blasphemy against baseball if you never 
played or were able to see it ina park.  Unlike American football, 
which is packaged for television, baseball is not conveyed well on 
tv.  There is so much going on, though-- much more than in footbball-
- that you cannot be bored.  The tv camera focuses only on pitcher, 
catcher and the play with the ball.

Anyway, that Cubs fan should have known better.  I remember at least 
half a dozen times-- once when I was at the park-- that fans shrank 
back in order to give their own team a play on the ball. The 
televsion commentators were trying to smooth things over when they 
said that any fan would have eyes only for the ball.  Nonsense! 
Fans focus on the play.  The story of this fan in't tragic; there is 
a baseball term tat describes it precisely: bus leagu.

Haggridd (Thank you, Pedro Martinez, for your ego. 
"Babe, Bucky, Bukner, Boone.  
Red Sox won't win Series soon.")




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 17 21:38:35 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 21:38:35 -0000
Subject: Telemarketers -Tip, Tricks, and Revenge
In-Reply-To: <bmpkkk+fj50@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmpngr+sh6b@eGroups.com>

Hey,

Steve wrote:

> The people who run telemarketing services are brutally strict in the
> way they run their operation. The telemarketers themselves, rather
> than the people who run the organization, are treated like slaves. 


<heavy sigh>

I know, I know.  It cannot possibly be any fun.  I'd rather sell cars.
 Or shoes.  Or caskets.  *Anything* but phone sales.


> I had a friend who was desparate for a job so he work in
>telemarketing briefly and said it was the most oppressive stifling
>irrational environment he has ever work in.

He should try working at Costco (formerly Price Club)!

Talked about a slave ship!  They put a stop watch on you for bathroom
breaks and lunches.  


"Hey, boss, I'm back.  Want me to open up my register?"  

<click of stopwatch, notation on clipboard of 1-minute of tardiness>

But if they needed *you* to stay a few minutes late, *that* was
*different!*  That was *expected.*  They didn't use a stopwatch for that.

They set the cash registers to record the input speed of every
cashier, then posted a *ranking* sheet every week in the employee room
with everyone's name, their number of items per minute, and their
number of errors for the month (see below).  Those who rang slowly
were taken off the register and given menial work to do.  Those who
rang quickly and accurately were given . . . nothing, actually.

This was before scanners were invented, so cashiers had to input the
item code for each item, and the cash register would ring up the
price.  Therefore, the best way to gain a competitive advantage over
fellow cashiers was to memorize as many common item codes as you
could.  I still remember the code for 50 pounds of Purina Puppy Chow
-- 12505.  Ring in 12555 and you'd be erroneously ringing up a case of
paper towels.

The cash registers were too primitive to calculate 5% sales tax, so
you had to look up the tax on a yellow card they gave you.  That,
however, was slow.  The second best way to be faster than the next
fellow was to learn to calculate 5% sales tax in your head for any
subtotal.  I can still do that parlor trick, too.

Register receipts were checked at the door.  You were allowed three
mistakes a *month.*  (Yes, they really *did* catch lots of mistakes by
spot-checking receipts at the door -- the security guards had their
performance monitored as well, so they were thrilled when they caught
you in a mistake.)  Your fourth mistake (or one especially *big* one)
meant you were placed on menial work.

In Arizona back then, "menial work" was collecting shopping carts in
the summer heat.  All day.  You got two 15-minute breaks and a
30-minute lunch for a full shift, though.  

But no water.  You had to bring your own water.

Cindy -- noting that this job was *unionized* and wondering how bad it
would have been had it not been, and whose biggest mistake was in
failing to charge a customer properly for a car battery because she
accidently used the code for soap or something





From linlou43 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 17 21:58:21 2003
From: linlou43 at yahoo.com (linlou43)
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 21:58:21 -0000
Subject: A Note From a Sox Fan
Message-ID: <bmpolu+qfmc@eGroups.com>

   Congratulations Yankee fans. I really believed that this was 
going to be our year, but it was not to be. The disappointment in 
Red Sox nation is palpable. The blame game is being played at water 
coolers, on the airwaves, in the newspapers and anywhere else you 
can possibly think of. Enough is enough. There is no curse. (If 
there was I'm sure the group from the Salem Witches Institute that 
attended the Quidditch World Cup would have done something about it 
by now.) After getting by my initial frustration and disappointment 
this morning ( and Boone's home run was this morning eastern time, 
not last night) I have come to some conclusions. Sox fans had the 
pleasure and priviledge this season of watching their team play the 
game with all their hearts. The camaraderie shown on the field and 
in the dugout was heartwarming. 

   I'm not denying the occasional arrogance of certain members of 
the team,but to have felt that I was a part of the battle of this 
extraordinary group was wonderful. 

    So, here's to the Red Sox and Red Sox Nation. Here's to Variteck 
and Damon. Here's to Millar, Mueller, Nomar and Walker. Here's to 
Nixon, Wakefield, Williamson, Lowe and all the rest. There is no 
shame in being one of the top four teams in the country. 

    As the saying goes....Just wait 'till next year.

  linlou




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Fri Oct 17 23:10:54 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 09:10:54 +1000
Subject: Telemarketers 
References: <bmpkkk+fj50@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00ac01c39503$eb20ed30$75984cca@Monteith>

Telemarketers are bad but what *really* gets me going is those auto-calls
that you get from banks, finance companies etc. *They* call *you* with an
automated message telling *you* to wait until there is a service person
available. I'm sorry, but if they don't have to time, or a real person, for
me to talk to and answer their calls, then I'm afraid I certainly don't have
the time to wait for them either. I hang up. Every time. Then I get the real
person calling back, getting very shirty because I have hung up. I work from
home in Day Care (or I did - having a Sabbatical till Xmas) I *cannot* have
toddlers running around my house unsupervised while I wait for them to get
back to me. <grrr!>

Nox (who also hates telephones, but tolerates it for the internet
connection)




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Sat Oct 18 02:14:34 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:14:34 -0000
Subject: Snape's out to get me!
Message-ID: <bmq7ma+u3v1@eGroups.com>

Last week I mentioned my delight in discovering a picture of Snape in 
a co-worker's notebook (see Message 18617).  This morning when I got 
to work she had hung up the same Snape photo in our supply room, with 
an attached note addressed to me -  "Ms. Coakley - did you honestly 
believe you could avoid your detention?  10 points from your house!  
Unless, of course, you're a Slytherin..."

Tracy  *not a Slytherin, but always enjoys when HP stuff in the 
workplace!*




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 17 02:08:31 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:08:31 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] The Cubs fan commited mortal sin.  was: Re: Damn Yankees
References: <bmpmn4+ccb8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <010901c39454$91747cc0$99eb79a5@rick>



> > Iggy McSnurd
> >
> > ps: What DID the guy do?  I don't follow baseball.  (At the risk of
> > offending some, I personally get bored easily by it...  That's why
> I like
> > football, and can tolerate basketball if I need to... More action.)
>
> You are pardeoned for your blasphemy against baseball if you never
> played or were able to see it ina park.  Unlike American football,
> which is packaged for television, baseball is not conveyed well on
> tv.  There is so much going on, though-- much more than in footbball-
> - that you cannot be bored.  The tv camera focuses only on pitcher,
> catcher and the play with the ball.

Iggy here:

Actually, I've been to a few baseball games as a kid... and wasn't too
thrilled with the game.

I was also on a Little League team in 5th grade, and it was the most
miserable sports experience of my life.  (Part of it was because, as is
often the case in Little League, the pitcher was the coach's son, the
shortstop and first baseman were kids of the two assistant coaches, and the
rest of us were pretty much left to fend for ourselves.  We were also told
we would each get a chance to play every position... well, I got to play
every position in the outfield only.  It's usually the coach's kids, or an
incredibly adept kid on the team, who get all the training and the rest of
the kids are S.O.L...)

On the other hand, I was on a soccer team in 6th grade and, while the coach
and asst. coach both had kids on the team, we all got a lot of training and
got to have fun in the game.  It quickly turned into my favorite sport to
play.  (I was usually fullback or halfback and enjoyed every minute of it.
My favorite moment was when the opposing goalie kicked the ball and it flew
most of the way accross the field directly to me.  I managed to kick it back
so well that it went directly to our forward in front of their goal, and he
scored.)

In high school, I was one of the biggest guys in my class, and everyone said
I should either be on the football or wrestling teams, but by then I stopped
being into sports and was taking performing arts classes.  (In h.s. I was
6'4" tall, 295lbs, and could leg press 3 sets, 20 reps, 750lbs and barely
break a sweat.  My max on bench press was about 110lbs though.  *chuckle*
I'm down to about 225lbs now, which is ideal for me.)

>
> Anyway, that Cubs fan should have known better.  I remember at least
> half a dozen times-- once when I was at the park-- that fans shrank
> back in order to give their own team a play on the ball. The
> televsion commentators were trying to smooth things over when they
> said that any fan would have eyes only for the ball.  Nonsense!
> Fans focus on the play.  The story of this fan in't tragic; there is
> a baseball term tat describes it precisely: bus leagu.

Was that "bus league"? Or "bush league"?

Personally, I think any true fan in a situation like that should pretty much
stay "hands off" until it's pretty much positive that the player has no
chance to make a save.  Otherwise it would be like a ref calling a ball out
of bounds in soccer a good 5 yards inside the line.

Of course, depending on the inning, the guy may have had a few too many
beers in him and got carried away.  (That doesn't excuse him, not by a long
shot, but it might be an explanation.)


So far as my personal perspective on baseball, my boredom and lack of
interest for the sport may very well stem from two things:  The bad
experiences I had in playing the sport itself, and the fact that you hear a
lot more often about whiney baseball players wanting huge salaries to pretty
much sit on their butts and be worshiped.  (That, and I think it's absurd to
charge fans $25 dollars for an autograph when it's the fans who are the
reason you have your job in the first place.  That's one of the things I
liked about Pro Wrestling when I was a kid.  The wrestlers would give you
their autograph for free because they knew that you were why they were
there... not the other way around.  And yes, I know that pro wrestling is
"sports entertainment"... but those guys are just as much hard-core athletes
as any "real" sports player...)


Iggy McSnurd
(Who has no problem with baseball fans, but just prefers the more intense
action of football.)







From annemehr at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 18 02:56:35 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:56:35 -0000
Subject: Snape's out to get me!
In-Reply-To: <bmq7ma+u3v1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmqa53+vdkl@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> wrote:
> Last week I mentioned my delight in discovering a picture of Snape in 
> a co-worker's notebook (see Message 18617).  This morning when I got 
> to work she had hung up the same Snape photo in our supply room, with 
> an attached note addressed to me -  "Ms. Coakley - did you honestly 
> believe you could avoid your detention?  10 points from your house!  
> Unless, of course, you're a Slytherin..."
> 
> Tracy  *not a Slytherin, but always enjoys when HP stuff in the 
> workplace!*

This is soooo cool!  I have *got* to get me some sort of HP thing to
carry around with me just in case I cross paths with another adult fan!

Annemehr
who's never gotten a reaction when reading HP books in public, though...




From gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx  Sat Oct 18 03:44:57 2003
From: gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx (Gabriela)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 03:44:57 -0000
Subject: A fun little e-mail
In-Reply-To: <002701c39392$a1c42340$3196aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bmqcvp+fpo7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> 
> 
> (Thanks for the names, Gabriella... *grin*)
 
 You are very welcome, glad I could help. :)
 
> Well, what country do you live in, and I can probably suggest a 
number of
> cartoons.  

I am in Mexico, but have access to american satelllite t.v.

> A few suggestions of fun toons I enjoy watching:  (Some are 
action, some are
> comedy, and a couple are both... And some, you have to be a REALLY 
young kid
> at heart to love... *grin*)
> 
> (N = Nickelodeon / Nicktoons, C = Cartoon Network)
> 
> the Fairly Oddparents (N)
> Sopngebob Squarepants  (N)
> What's New Scooby Doo  (C)
> Justice League  (C)
> Teen Titans  (C)
> Angry Beavers  (N)
> Rocko's Modern Life  (N)
> Time Squad  (C)
> the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy   (C)
> Courage the Cowardly Dog  (C)
> My Life as a Teenage Robot  (N)
> Ed, Edd, and Eddy   (C)
 
I have watched some of these, and I like them especially Spongebob 
Squarepants, he's great. I think these cartoons are good, but I miss 
the old ones. Luckily I have the Boomerang channel, and two local 
channels are showing (don't know if that's the correct word) Heidi 
and Remi, the two very dramatic japanese cartoons. Do you know them?

The Drak Pack! I really loved that. Thanks on the info.

Gabriela
Still a child at heart 




From gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx  Sat Oct 18 04:10:11 2003
From: gabolamx at yahoo.com.mx (Gabriela)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 04:10:11 -0000
Subject: Ack!  Spanish Editions
In-Reply-To: <bmmp9t+5r91@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmqef3+uvmm@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amber" <ambiree at s...> wrote:
> snip

> Does anyone out there in HP land know why this is so?  Or did I 
just 
> spend $15.00 on a duplicate book?
> 
> 

I am not very sure about this, but I think all the translations into 
different versions of Spanish will be done for the first time in 
OoP.  I bought the books in Spanish and when I read them I noticed 
the translation was made in Spanish from Spain; here in Mexico we 
had the first four books in that Spanish from Spain translation, 
which are not bad, but the language is somehow different (think 
American/British English), that may be why both of your books are 
identical. I think the publishers are doing this different 
translations now because the books have become so popular that they 
want to target each major region of the spanish speaking community. 

Gabriela
(hoping this post wasn't confusing)




From lupinesque at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 18 13:56:01 2003
From: lupinesque at yahoo.com (Amy Z)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 13:56:01 -0000
Subject: The Cubs fan commited mortal sin.  was: Re: Damn Yankees
In-Reply-To: <bmpmn4+ccb8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmrgph+kuve@eGroups.com>

Haggridd wrote:

>Thank you, Pedro Martinez, for your ego. 

Pedro *does* have an ego, but any pitcher would say "let me stay 
in."  The reason the manager is in charge and not the pitchers is 
supposed to be that he has better judgment.  However, Grady Little's 
wasn't so hot the other night, was it?  He had a couple of steady 
guys in the bullpen, miraculously, and didn't use them; he knew, or 
ought to have known, that Pedro's fizz flattens after 95 pitches, but 
didn't act on it.  As my sister says, I hope he and Dusty Baker enjoy 
sitting on the sofa together, watching the Series.

Amy Z
in total agreement about the mortal sin





From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 18 14:52:35 2003
From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 07:52:35 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] A fum little e-mail (Dungeons & Dragons)
In-Reply-To: <1066486958.938.16261.m12@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031018145235.85655.qmail@web11008.mail.yahoo.com>

Iggy:
> Anyone here used to watch the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon?  

I watched all the episodes ever shown here in Brasil, but I suspect
there might have been more of them. Funny, although I loved the series,
I never got around to look for an episode guide and see if there were
any other episodes. 

On the other hand, I had a lot of fun researching the legend about the
never-produced final episode, which would allegedly reveal the entire
story to have been a farce and that all the main characters had in fact
died in that roller-coaster thingie accident. 

(Alas, I don't believe it to be true. D&D was not anime after all, and
USA cartoons tend to be too conservative for something like that.)


Morgan D.

Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hogwarts
Choking on Words - http://www.livejournal.com/~morgan_d

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From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Sat Oct 18 23:11:04 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 09:11:04 +1000
Subject: Goodbye Harry
Message-ID: <003501c395cd$1b4755c0$79984cca@Monteith>

Sad animal story... If you're upset by such things please avoid...



About nine weeks ago my black cat had a litter of four kittens; two mackeral tabbies, a silver tab and a tiny little black tab - a runt - with white feet which we called Harry. He was so small, with loads of scruffy black hair. The kids took to Harry straight away, but he didn't thrive like the others. The twins (we named Fred and George) were always brawling and playing tricks on each other. The silver (my SiL called her Lily) was sweet and quiet, and poor little Harry was the loner. Soon enough, the kittens were old enough to find new homes for, and all but Harry were given to (hopefully) good homes. We decided to keep little Harry, since the kids had become so attached to him. Harry ate, let his Mum feed and bathe him, and seemed reasonably healthy; a little small, a little skinny but he seemed ok. Unfortunately, when we got home from shopping this afternoon, his eyes were stare-y and his breathing laboured. Naturally we called the vet and took him in. The news was bad. Poor little Hary had a congential defect, resulting in a very flattened chest and ribcage. His lungs and heart would never grow. The vet said this was the most servere case she'd seen, and most kittens born with this die within minutes, or at the outside, within a week. The fact he'd lasted nearlly nine weeks was incredible. Sadly little Harry was put down this afternoon, as he was in a very bad way. He would have starved to death otherwise as he had stopped eating. Now I have two very distraught children and a distraught me, not to mention a panicking mamacat (who still bathed and looked out for him). My daughter (9) is able to understand what has happened, but my son (4) is proving very difficult to console...

Thanks for listening...

Nox (crying more over a kitten than over many people she knows...)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Sun Oct 19 01:35:55 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 01:35:55 -0000
Subject: Goodbye Harry
In-Reply-To: <003501c395cd$1b4755c0$79984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bmsppr+227r@eGroups.com>

So sorry about Harry the kitten. I wish I had something more helpful 
to say...may you find peace of mind knowing that you gave little 
Harry a good, loving home for the short time he was with you.

Tracy *very emotionally attached to animals*




From trinity61us at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 19 01:50:10 2003
From: trinity61us at yahoo.com (alex fox)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 18:50:10 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Goodbye Harry
In-Reply-To: <003501c395cd$1b4755c0$79984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <20031019015010.24884.qmail@web14908.mail.yahoo.com>

That's so sad! I understand completely! I have three cats that I am completely devoted to. I had the misfortune of having my personal baby cat that I have had for nine years get out and go missing for a week. I was in hysterics the whole time! Thank Goddess she came back, skinny, but otherwise good. I feel for you and your kids.
 
Alex Fox

silverdragon at ezweb.com.au wrote:
Sad animal story... If you're upset by such things please avoid...



About nine weeks ago my black cat had a litter of four kittens; two mackeral tabbies, a silver tab and a tiny little black tab - a runt - with white feet which we called Harry. He was so small, with loads of scruffy black hair. The kids took to Harry straight away, but he didn't thrive like the others. The twins (we named Fred and George) were always brawling and playing tricks on each other. The silver (my SiL called her Lily) was sweet and quiet, and poor little Harry was the loner. Soon enough, the kittens were old enough to find new homes for, and all but Harry were given to (hopefully) good homes. We decided to keep little Harry, since the kids had become so attached to him. Harry ate, let his Mum feed and bathe him, and seemed reasonably healthy; a little small, a little skinny but he seemed ok. Unfortunately, when we got home from shopping this afternoon, his eyes were stare-y and his breathing laboured. Naturally we called the vet and took him in. The news was bad. Poor
 little Hary had a congential defect, resulting in a very flattened chest and ribcage. His lungs and heart would never grow. The vet said this was the most servere case she'd seen, and most kittens born with this die within minutes, or at the outside, within a week. The fact he'd lasted nearlly nine weeks was incredible. Sadly little Harry was put down this afternoon, as he was in a very bad way. He would have starved to death otherwise as he had stopped eating. Now I have two very distraught children and a distraught me, not to mention a panicking mamacat (who still bathed and looked out for him). My daughter (9) is able to understand what has happened, but my son (4) is proving very difficult to console...

Thanks for listening...

Nox (crying more over a kitten than over many people she knows...)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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From rvotaw at i-55.com  Sun Oct 19 02:38:40 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 21:38:40 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Ack!  Spanish Editions
References: <bmqef3+uvmm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00cb01c395ea$1bf9afa0$95a2cdd1@RVotaw>


Amber wrote:

> Does anyone out there in HP land know why this is so?  Or did I
> just spend $15.00 on a duplicate book?

I'm not sure, but if you go to www.mugglenet.com and click on "Book Covers,"
then go to either Mexico or Spain you can see the different book covers.
There are two (probably the ones you have) that look virtually identical,
except for a border around one set.  I have the one with the border.
Anyway, besides those two, there are three other editions shown (one looks
like it could be an adult edition), which must be the other translations you
were talking about.

Richelle





From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Oct 19 15:02:39 2003
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 19 Oct 2003 15:02:39 -0000
Subject: Reminder - Weekly Chat 
Message-ID: <1066575759.23.6921.m3@yahoogroups.com>


We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Weekly Chat 

Date: Sunday, October 19, 2003 
Time: 11:00AM - 7:00PM CDT (GMT-05:00) 

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 june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sun Oct 19 15:22:55 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 15:22:55 -0000
Subject: Goodbye Harry
In-Reply-To: <003501c395cd$1b4755c0$79984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bmua8f+2m5h@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:
> Sad animal story... If you're upset by such things please avoid...
> 
> 
> 
> About nine weeks ago my black cat had a litter of four kittens; 
two mackeral tabbies, a silver tab and a tiny little black tab - a 
runt - with white feet which we called Harry. He was so small, with 
loads of scruffy black hair. The kids took to Harry straight away, 
but he didn't thrive like the others. The twins (we named Fred and 
George) were always brawling and playing tricks on each other. The 
silver (my SiL called her Lily) was sweet and quiet, and poor little 
Harry was the loner. Soon enough, the kittens were old enough to 
find new homes for, and all but Harry were given to (hopefully) good 
homes. We decided to keep little Harry, since the kids had become so 
attached to him. Harry ate, let his Mum feed and bathe him, and 
seemed reasonably healthy; a little small, a little skinny but he 
seemed ok. Unfortunately, when we got home from shopping this 
afternoon, his eyes were stare-y and his breathing laboured. 
Naturally we called the vet and took him in. The news was bad. Poor 
little Hary had a congential defect, resulting in a very flattened 
chest and ribcage. His lungs and heart would never grow. The vet 
said this was the most servere case she'd seen, and most kittens 
born with this die within minutes, or at the outside, within a week. 
The fact he'd lasted nearlly nine weeks was incredible. Sadly little 
Harry was put down this afternoon, as he was in a very bad way. He 
would have starved to death otherwise as he had stopped eating. Now 
I have two very distraught children and a distraught me, not to 
mention a panicking mamacat (who still bathed and looked out for 
him). My daughter (9) is able to understand what has happened, but 
my son (4) is proving very difficult to console...
> 
> Thanks for listening...
> 
> Nox (crying more over a kitten than over many people she knows...)
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The very real sense of bereavement we can feel over the loss of a 
beloved family pet is underrated.

My deep sympathies to you for your loss.  When my beloved 
tortoishell, Mickey died in 1987 it was months before I stopped 
missing her - and her fellow black house cat Sviatopolk was 
devastated too.

I don't distinguish between the loss of our animal friends and our 
human friends.  Console yourself that it was your loving care that 
made Harry's short life so very special.

June




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sun Oct 19 15:37:53 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 15:37:53 -0000
Subject: This And That For No Reason At All
Message-ID: <bmub4h+7fe3@eGroups.com>

Hey,

Man, it's *quiet* around here!  OK, then.  Random observations are in
order . . . 

First, today's Washington Post reports that Prince (formerly known as
The Artist Formerly Known As Prince; formerly known as Prince; 
formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson) is now a devout Jehovah's
Witness who visits prospective converts in their home door-to-door.  I
had some Witnesses come through my neighborhood just the other day
(they drop by now and then, and they are just the *nicest* folks you'd
ever want to meet), so now I will scan the next group closely for The
Purple One before deciding whether to invite them in!  ;-)

Here's the Prince link, complete with a photo -- a photo that makes me
wonder how in the world Prince wound up with hair so much nicer than mine?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43543-2003Oct17.html

Second, following on to our disscussion of telemarketers, here's a
story from yesterday's Post about how telemarketers can get around the
"Do Not Call" list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43543-2003Oct17.html

Third, here's a "last call" if anyone else wants to join "Nearly
Departed."  That's the Yahoo group where we tearfully predict the
demise of famous people around the world.  Round One starts on
November 1, so if you'd like to join, now's the time. 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/18531

To amuse ourselves in the meantime, the group has addressed a number
of philosophical issues of burning interest to members.  Like what it
means to have "blown pupils."  Why brain swelling can be such a
life-threatening problem when one is attacked by a tiger.  Why it is
so difficult to kick an addiction to prescription pain killers.  We're
about to get started working out the meaning of life and all that, and
we can use all the help we can get!  ;-)

Cindy -- sending sympathetic thoughts Nox's way because she still
misses her own dog that died suddenly several years ago

*****************

Suggested presidential campaign slogan:  "Wesley, Wesley, he's our
man!  If he can't do it, nobody can!"

http://www.clark04.com/




From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 19 17:20:35 2003
From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 17:20:35 -0000
Subject: Release of the Convention Alley Call for Papers
Message-ID: <bmuh54+t2i0@eGroups.com>

The Convention Alley Planning Committee is pleased to announce the
release of the Call for Papers (CFP) for our HPfGU-sponsored
international Harry Potter conference to be held July 30-August 1,
2004 at the University of Ottawa. The text of the CFP follows this
introduction, and may also be found as both a text file and in Word
in the files section of the HPfGU-Convention list.

While we welcome submissions by members of the professional and
academic communities, we strongly encourage members of the fandom
community to participate. That means we are looking for submissions
from *you*, the die-hard fan who can recite the Harry Potter books
verbatim, who knows the content of every JKR interview ever given!
The topic areas noted in the CFP are merely suggestions ? we are open
to proposals on any and all facets of the Harry Potter fandom.

Proposals may take the form of a 500 word abstract or a completed
conference paper (approximately 5-7 pages). Please note that
proposals submitted via regular mail must be postmarked no later than
January 3, 2004, and proposals submitted electronically must be
received by January 17, 2004.

Please read the CFP carefully to note all of the particulars. We are
looking forward to receiving your submissions!

~Phyllis Morris
on behalf of the Convention Alley Planning Committee



CALL FOR PAPERS

Convention Alley
An International Harry Potter Convention
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
July 30-August 1, 2004

This international conference envisions bringing the Harry Potter
fandom together in the beautiful city of Ottawa to discuss J.K.
Rowling's novels with one another and with literary scholars. In
addition to a keynote speaker and programming sessions presented by
fans and professionals, the convention will feature directed
discussion groups as well as informal opportunities for fans and
scholars to get to know one another and to enjoy the city of Ottawa.
A highlight of the convention will be a party for all participants to
celebrate Harry's birthday on July 31st.

The Canadian Programming Committee seeks proposals for presentations,
moderated panels and workshops on any topic relating to the Harry
Potter novels and/or their fan community. We strongly encourage
members of the fandom community to participate, and also welcome
submissions by members of the professional and academic communities.
While potential topics and suggested submissions are noted below to
get your creative juices flowing, we are interested in any and all
ideas ? please do not feel limited by the potential topic areas or by
the examples of potential submissions!

Presenters should be at least 18 years old, as the conference
programming is intended for adults. However, participants are
encouraged to bring their families and many of the informal events
will be open to family members.

Programming Sessions

Potential programming session topics include, but are not limited to,
the following areas:

? Characters in the Harry Potter series. Thanks to the myriad
of characters dreamed up by Rowling, there are innumerable
opportunities for presentations in this area. A submission might
include two panelists presenting evidence in Rowling's canon that
Professor Severus Snape will turn out to be evil in the end, and two
other panelists presenting canon evidence that Snape will turn out to
be good. Another submission might propose a presentation comparing
Draco Malfoy as he is portrayed in Rowling's canon vs. Malfoy as he
is known in fanfiction.

? Mythology in the Harry Potter series. Rowling draws heavily
from mythology in the series, from the three-headed dog Fluffy (based
on Cerberus who guarded the Underworld in Greek mythology) to names
such as "Argus" and "Narcissa." A submission might highlight the
characters that are based on mythology, explain their mythological
basis and provide a rationale for why Rowling chose to link those
characters with these specific myths.

? Education in the Harry Potter universe. We invite teachers
(and administrators) in the fandom to compare their jobs to the ones
held by their analogs in the Harry Potter novels. Possible topics
include detailed analyses of Rowling's views on the state's role in
education, and how the teachers in Rowling's universe would fare in
the "real world".

? Symbolism in the Harry Potter series. Proposals might
explore how Rowling uses symbols and metaphors to express her views
and the goals of the series. For example, submissions might analyze
metaphors of death ("beyond the veil") or symbols of Christ (the
stag, the phoenix, Harry's repeated resurrections).

? Fandom Influences in the Harry Potter series. A proposal in
this area might review Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to identify instances where
Rowling may have responded to popular questions from the fandom
(e.g., how to pronounce "Hermione").

? Understanding and Exploring British Terms in the Harry Potter
novels. For non-British readers, some of Rowling's British
expressions and terms are, well ? foreign! A submission in this area
might propose a roundtable discussion run by British fans that would
entertain audience questions on dialects and British terms in the
novels.

The Canadian Programming Committee cannot stress enough that these
topic areas are merely suggestions. They should not, therefore, be
interpreted in any way as limitations on the subject matter of
potential proposals. Proposals on any and all facets of the Harry
Potter fandom are welcome and encouraged. The Committee only
requests that your proposal be respectful of the interests and views
of others in the fandom.

Time Blocks

Proposals should specify the estimated amount of time needed for
presentation and discussion.

Programming sessions will be held on Saturday, July 31 and Sunday,
August 1. Our goal is to make all of the programming sessions as
interactive as possible. Accordingly, for individual presentations,
we suggest a planned presentation of between 30-45 minutes, followed
by a 30-minute audience participation session. This is a guideline,
however ? presenters are welcome to propose other ideas for
encouraging audience participation. Strictly lecture-based
presentations are discouraged, however. Accordingly, proposals must
include an outline for how audience participation will be solicited.

The suggested time period for moderated panels and workshops is
between one hour and 30 minutes and two hours. As with the
individual presentations, proposals for moderated panels should
include a 30-minute audience participation session.
A volunteer staff member will be present at each session to introduce
the presenter, assist with any technical difficulties and facilitate
the audience participation component.

Proposal Submissions

Proposals submitted via regular mail must be postmarked no later
than: January 3, 2004.
Proposals submitted electronically must be received by: January 17,
2004.
Proposals may take the form of a 500 word abstract or a completed
conference paper (approximately 5-7 pages). Any attachments must be
in Microsoft Word to be readable.
Proposals should be sent via e-mail (preferred) or regular mail in
advance of the submission deadline to the following:
E-Mail submission: convention_alley @yahoo.ca. Please use "Ottawa
2004 Programming Submission" in the subject line.

Regular mail: Convention Alley
Box 36058
1318 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 3A0
Canada

Proposal Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated based on an assessment of the level of
interest conference participants will have in the topic area and the
originality of the ideas presented, as well as the use of correct
spelling and grammar.

Notification and Submission of Final Papers

We plan to notify presenters whose proposals are selected for
presentation at the convention during the week of February 16, 2004.
We regret that, in order to keep conference fees as low as possible,
we are unable to fund presenters' registration, hotel and/or travel
costs, or provide any other form of remuneration. Presenters will
need to register for the conference at their own expense when they
confirm that they will present (confirmations must be postmarked or e-
mailed by March 3, 2004).

Presenters must submit their final completed paper in an electronic
format (either as a text file or in Word) to the above e-mail address
by May 15, 2004 (preferred) or by regular mail to the above address
by May 1, 2004. Completed papers sent by regular mail must be
submitted on a disk. All submissions will be edited for consistency
of style, acronym use, and correct punctuation and grammar.
Guidelines to ensure uniform style in the published proceedings will
be provided to each successful presenter when selection notifications
are issued. No changes will be made to submitted text without the
prior approval of the author.

Directed Discussion Groups

The only way to improve upon an on-line chat is to have an in-person
chat! Directed discussion groups will be scheduled throughout the
weekend to accomplish this. These sessions will not have formal
presentations, but will be guided by a moderator to get topics
started and to move the discussion along. Since it is an unfortunate
inevitability that we will receive more submissions for presentations
than we can accept, we will invite those individuals who submitted
topics that are not chosen to serve as moderators for these panels.

Disclaimers

This convention is an unofficial event, and is not endorsed by HP
Education Fanon, Inc., Warner Bros., the Harry Potter book publishers
or J.K. Rowling and her representatives.









From lucyliz_ward at hotmail.com  Sun Oct 19 21:53:57 2003
From: lucyliz_ward at hotmail.com (Fairy Queen)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 21:53:57 -0000
Subject: What's the fun in baseball?
Message-ID: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com>

Hi

Although I hardly ever post here, I do read the messages, and have 
recently been following all the talk about baseball.  I see that a 
lot of people obviously enjoy it very much, but I was wondering where 
all the excitement comes from? I live in the UK, and have never seen 
a baseball game; I am imagining it as something like rounders, but I 
am sure there are many differences.  A few months ago my brother went 
to America and Canada and whilst he was in one of them (I forget 
where exactly he was) he saw a baseball game, and afterwards sent me 
this email;

We've just got back from watching a baseball game - the Toronto Blue 
Jays against the Baltimore Orioles.  (I have no idea what one of 
those is either.)  And I can say without fear of contradiction that 
it was the most boring three hours of my life.  It made a 16-hour 
coach journey look like a good idea for a rainy day and an 11-hour 
flight seem heavenly.  Not only is it American and therefore stops 
every 5 minutes for a T.V. ad break, but it has pointless features 
built in, like 'stretch time' when, two-thirds of the way through 
everything stops whilst 3 aerobics instructors prance onto the field 
to get the crowd moving again, I guess to avoid lawsuits as people 
get Deep Vein Thrombosis.  But North Americans for some unfathomable 
reason get excited by this sport.  But I wasn't excited, oh no.  All 
I felt was confusion, boredom and frustration.  Confusion because I 
couldn't understand what the hell was going on; boredom because the 
whatever-the-hell they were doing took three hours and frustration 
because I can't understand why they don't just HIT THE F*****G BALL.  
Surely it's all reflexes?  With enough practice, you should be able 
to train yourself to swing automatically at the right time, as 
the 'pitch' (I'm at least getting into the lingo) is always from the 
same spot and the ball travels at roughly the same speed.  It doesn't 
even seem to be that hard a sport.  Compared to cricket, it seems 
positively easy - the fielders have massive gloves doubling the size 
of their hand, the batters only have to run in 15-yard segments and 
get to 'walk' to the next base if the pitcher does something wrong a 
certain number of times, neither of which I could discern.  And, it 
doesn't have the one saving grace of other North American sports, 
namely cheerleaders.  So there you go.  Baseball - the world's most 
boring sport.  Curling; come back, all is forgiven. 

So that really, is all I know about baseball.  I am sure that James 
(my brother) must be exaggerating somewhere, because I doubt the 
sport could be so popular if it was that boring?  Perhaps it's just 
that he's used to 90 minute football matches (soccer), and so three 
hours seemed a little long.

Just wondering
Lucy xxx

PS On a totally different thread ('RE a fum little email') Martha 
said 

By far the greatest children's TV programme of the 80s, though, must 
have been Knightmare. Challenge TV was showing it a while ago and it 
was just as scary as I remembered. Anyone else share my passion for 
this greatest of all great TV shows?

To which I reply;
Yes! I loved that, and I've been watching it recently as well. The 
virtual reality really was basic then, wasn't it?






From lucyliz_ward at hotmail.com  Sun Oct 19 22:03:36 2003
From: lucyliz_ward at hotmail.com (Fairy Queen)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 22:03:36 -0000
Subject: Ooops
Message-ID: <bmv1no+pj9u@eGroups.com>

After just posting that question about baseball, thinking I had 
already checked that people wern't already discussing what I just 
asked, I noticed that Richelle has said

> As for offending baseball fans, I'll take the risk of offending
>football fans, I find it boring because everytime anything gets going
>everybody falls down, whistle blows, they all stop and line up again.
 >Baseball may last a lot longer, but at least nobody blows a whistle
>when someone drops the ball, you can just keep running after it. :)

So she'd sort of already covered what I just asked, d'oh! It's 
reasons like this why I don't post often. I don't think I've ever 
sent a post without being embarassed by some aspect or another of it 
straight afterwards.

And I just noticed Iggy said:

So far as my personal perspective on baseball, my boredom and lack of
interest for the sport may very well stem from two things:  The bad
experiences I had in playing the sport itself, and the fact that you 
hear a
lot more often about whiney baseball players wanting huge salaries to 
pretty
much sit on their butts and be worshiped.  (That, and I think it's 
absurd to
charge fans $25 dollars for an autograph when it's the fans who are 
the
reason you have your job in the first place.  That's one of the 
things I
liked about Pro Wrestling when I was a kid.  The wrestlers would give 
you
their autograph for free because they knew that you were why they were
there... not the other way around.  And yes, I know that pro 
wrestling is
"sports entertainment"... but those guys are just as much hard-core 
athletes
as any "real" sports player...)


So really there was no need for my new thread at all -  i should have 
looked harder.

Double d'oh!
Lucy
*Off to iron hands and lurk for another six months*







From catlady at wicca.net  Sun Oct 19 22:31:43 2003
From: catlady at wicca.net (Catlady (Rita Prince Winston))
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 22:31:43 -0000
Subject: Ooops
In-Reply-To: <bmv1no+pj9u@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmv3cf+30oh@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Fairy Queen"
<lucyliz_ward at h...> wrote:

> So she'd sort of already covered what I just asked, d'oh! It's 
> reasons like this why I don't post often. I don't think I've ever 
> sent a post without being embarassed by some aspect or another of it 
> straight afterwards.

> So really there was no need for my new thread at all -  i should have 
> looked harder.
> 
> Double d'oh!
> Lucy
> *Off to iron hands and lurk for another six months*

Pleased don't feel embarrassed, please don't iron your hands, and
please don't feel compelled to lurk. I enjoyed your post.

Btw the way, an oriole is a little gaudy black and yellow songbird;
there are several species of orioles, of which one is named Baltimore
Oriole, so the team name Baltimore Orioles is quite clever. A blue 
jay is a a clever, aggressive, blue colored bird with a little crest
on its head -- I think they're related to crows. Around here, the
"experts" always tell us not to call the scrub jays "blue jays" and 
we always reply: they're blue and they're jays, so they're blue jays. 




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Sun Oct 19 23:08:22 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:08:22 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's the fun in baseball?
References: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <011301c39695$e539a680$66984cca@Monteith>


> So that really, is all I know about baseball.  I am sure that James
> (my brother) must be exaggerating somewhere, because I doubt the
> sport could be so popular if it was that boring?  Perhaps it's just
> that he's used to 90 minute football matches (soccer), and so three
> hours seemed a little long.
>
> Just wondering
> Lucy xxx

Hi Lucy

Got a laugh out of this email... But three hours a little long? <grin>. Of
course a five day cricket test is a walk in the park... <lol>

Nox (give me one-day cricket, AFL or rugby and I'm happy...)




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Sun Oct 19 23:12:18 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:12:18 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Goodbye Harry
References: <bmsppr+227r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <014701c39696$71d151b0$66984cca@Monteith>

Thanks Tracy, Alex, June, Cindy and Lorrie (who replied off-list) for your
thoughts regards little Harry the kitten. It is very much appreciated.

Nox




From joym999 at aol.com  Mon Oct 20 00:00:29 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 00:00:29 -0000
Subject: baseball
Message-ID: <bmv8it+9m0k@eGroups.com>

Now, while I personally love baseball, I can understand why other 
people might think it's dull.  They are wrong, of course, but I *can* 
understand it.

I suspect that baseball is one of those cultural things, like hot 
peppers, gefilte fish, chitlins, and steak and kidney pie, that you 
can only really understand and enjoy if you've grown up with it.

--JMC




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Mon Oct 20 00:09:25 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 00:09:25 -0000
Subject: What's the fun in baseball?
In-Reply-To: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmv93l+3j93@eGroups.com>

Lucy, in my experience baseball can go either way - boring, or fun!  
Sometimes a game seems to go on forever with very little happening, 
but if you're lucky enough to get to a game with lots of scoring, 
stolen bases, maybe a bench-clearing brawl (heheh); it can be pretty 
entertaining.  

Baseball on tv is boring to me, but I enjoy attending games 
occasionally.  Part of the appeal of a live baseball game is the 
atmosphere - and of course, stadium food and a beer!  :-)

Tracy 





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 00:54:16 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 19:54:16 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's the fun in baseball?
References: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com> <011301c39695$e539a680$66984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <003701c395db$8b8791c0$af86aec7@rick>


>
> Hi Lucy
>
> Got a laugh out of this email... But three hours a little long? <grin>. Of
> course a five day cricket test is a walk in the park... <lol>
>
> Nox (give me one-day cricket, AFL or rugby and I'm happy...)


Heck... You guys are still one up on me.  Personally, all I know about
Cricket is what little I saw in the movies "King Ralph" and "Hope and
Glory."

I know about darts, curling (sorta), golf (sorta), and European
football/soccer.  Other than that, I'm lost on English sports.

Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the excitement in
that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I do about
baseball...)


Iggy McSnurd
(Who was considered by the Sorting Hat for Ravenclaw for always asking
"why?", "how?" and, more importantly "why not?" but was finally put in
Gryffindor because he still steps out of the house each day despite his
fears... panic attack disorder, and all that comes with it, is such a pain.
I know exactly how Neville feels.)






From yswahl at stis.net  Mon Oct 20 01:23:10 2003
From: yswahl at stis.net (samnanya)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 01:23:10 -0000
Subject: FF POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER  - BOOK !  (I of 1)
Message-ID: <bmvddu+vigf@eGroups.com>

NOTE  - I got the idea for writing this little satire when I began
questioning  why on earth I was getting all lathered up about
other people's (and my own) opinions and posts on the HPFGU
site and about the Harry Potter series in general. 

Comments are appreciated.  First post is the story, second is the 
epilogue.
Enjoy!. 

So without further ado or explanation, and taking into account as
many of the suggestions I could stomach, here for your 
entertainment in two parts is .....



                THE  POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER

                         YEAR ONE -  THE THINGY STONE

Chapter One - The Boy Who Lived
==========================
In which, after dropping Harry Potter at 4 Privet Drive, Rubeus Hagrid
is arrested and sent to Azkaban for not wearing his crash helmet while
illegally flying over Privett Drive on a motorcycle allegedly 
registered to 
convicted felon Sirius Black.

"Don't blame me!" yelled Mr. Hagrid, ripping a tire off a police 
cruiser, 
"Finding a size 24 motorcycle helmet is tough enough this time of 
night,
and I was on an urgent and secret mission on behalf of Albus 
Dumbledore, 
deliverin' a baby to Priv....oops, shouldn't have told ya that!".

Mr. Hagrid was later released on his own recognizance on a 
technicality
after the arresting officer's defective alcohol detector could not 
demonstrate
that Mr. Hagrid had consumed the required three quart minimum needed 
to 
prove that the half giant.was indeed intoxicated.

Later in the chapter,  the Dursleys  have Harry's scar illegally 
removed by 
out-patient cosmetic surgery and the application of copious amounts of 
botox.


Chapter Two - The Boy Who Can't Be Found
=================================
In which, after years of abuse and neglect by the Dursleys, Harry 
Potter
was removed from their care by Child Welfare and placed at the 
residence
of Frank Bryce where he mysteriously disappeared shortly thereafter.
"I have no idea whatsoever what happened to the boy!" hissed the small 
squat man when contacted by a representative from Child Welfare.
"Lassst I sssaw of him he was being fed to .... I mean feeding our pet 
ssnake, Nagini." 

In an angry interview, Albus Dumbledore raged that "Some idiot at 
Child
Welfare removed young Potter from a home where he was under a charm
to protect him against the Death Eaters and sent him to a  place where 
he 
likely was eaten by one."

Child Welfare declined to comment.


Chapter Three - The Letters To No One
=============================
Deleted and later renumbered since Harry has not yet been found.
See attached picture of young Potter on Milk Carton.


Chapter Four - The New Keeper of the Wands
=================================
In which Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of 
the
Ministry of Magic, helps sign into law two special pieces of 
legislation, one
for the production of environmentally approved safety wands,   and the 
other
for the protection of  young wizards and muggles. 

According to the first law, all wands must be manufactured in such a  
way
that no dragons, unicorns, or phoenixes would be harmed during the 
making
of said wands. In addition, a special license from the MoM would be 
required
before production of wands made from unicorn tails would be approved.
The measure passed by a narrow margin, with angry and vocal 
dissention.
"What purpose is a wand if it cannot be used ?" raged Albus 
Dumbledore. 

The second law required that all Hogwarts students  would only be 
authorized
to wave a non-functional wand. Wands that  turn into chickens when 
waved,
though frowned upon, would  be acceptable pending the development of a 
more
aesthetically pleasing model. Students caught using a non-approved 
wand would
be subject to immediate expulsion.
In addition, all students would be rigorously tested on the ethics and 
morals of
proper wand use, including specific directives against the improper 
insertion
of wands into body orifices of any and all living creatures (including 
but not 
limited to troll nostrils)


Chapter Five - Diagon Alley
=====================
In which students and parents who arrived at Diagon Alley found that 
most
of  the stores had been closed or were out of business due to the 
onerous 
legislative environment or events beyond anyone's control.

 Gringotts Bank was shuttered after  the books were found to be cooked
(literally) by some rogue goblins. All safe deposit boxes were sealed 
and
Hagrid could not retrieve the sorcerers stone hidden in Vault 713 
(oops, 
shouldn't have told ya that!).

Mr. Ollivander was taken into custody and his wand shop shuttered by 
the
MoM after dozens of illegal wands made from the tails of  unicorns and 
dodos were found hidden under illegally deforested mahogany chips.

Hogwarts students aimlessly wandered about Diagon Alley as they tried 
in vain to obtain the newly required license needed to purchase owls, 
but
no one in  the MoM really gave a hoot.  In effect, all students were 
forced
to send all mail via the  post office, which resulted in the cessation 
of all
effective  mail delivery to and from Hogwarts for the year. Attempts 
to
send letters to Hogwarts via owls covered with sticky postage stamps
proved futile. Wildlife rescue needed to be called to free and clean 
the 
many gummy and postage cancelled owls that littered the countryside.
A special investigation is pending.

Rats, er.... vermin, were clearly not  permitted as (gasp!) pets by 
the  MoM 
since "the MoM can not be responsible for tracing where they have 
been". 
In a last attempt at sanity, and at great personal peril, an anonymous 
wizard
sent Hedwig to search for Harry Potter, though the poor thing  did not 
have
a clue who Harry Potter was or what to look for.


Chapter Six - Journey to Hogwarts
=========================
In which we met Neville Longbottom, the Weasleys, Draco Malfoy and
Hermione Granger as well as several other inconsequential students. 
The trip
on the Hogwarts Express was uneventful and dreadfully boring as no one
aboard was famous or worthy of going on about.
(editor's note : The only objection  we found in this chapter  is an 
uncompensated  product placement - a reference to "mars bars"-  which
was of course erased since no wizard knew what on earth a mars bar 
was,
and Miss Granger, the only identifiable muggle on board,  was not 
helpful,
which was understandable considering  that her parents were both 
dentists.


Chapter Seven - The Sorting Hat
========================
In which the Sorting Hat was declared a bio-hazard having been on who
knows how many filthy first year heads during  the thousand years of
Hogwart's existence. The hat was about to be tossed into the rubbish 
when
someone got the bright idea  to auction it off on EBay where it was 
sold to
some poor unsuspecting muggle for fifteen pounds.

The students were sorted into their houses using a politically correct 
procedure
that assured that all students would be allocated fairly and 
impartially to a
house.  Draco Malfoy was assigned to Gryffindor and Susan Bones to 
Slytherin,
where she was promptly turned into a bullfrog by Flint.

Hermione Granger was assigned to Hufflepuff. She was later observed 
chewing
gum and drawing stars and squiggles all over her textbooks while 
daydreaming
in class about shopping trips to Tahrjay or Bloomies.

"Like, I mean, Hogsmeade is sooooo uncool," she simpered to her gang 
of rogue
Hufflepuff girls, while dragging  on her cigarette then rubbing it out 
on the butt of
a stone gargoyle, who shrieked indignantly.


Chapter Eight - The Potions Master
==========================
In which it was learned that Professor Severus Snape was recently 
removed 
as potions master from Hogwarts after several complaints from 
students,
particularly  Neville Longbottom, an emotionally challenged boy. 

"H-he was never ever nice to me and almost boiled Trevor, my toad, who
besides being my pet, is also on the endangered amphibians list," 
Master
Longbottom complained bitterly. "Snape always made fun of me in class.
My parents would sue but their guardians are still in litigation with 
Gringotts Mutual for denying their disability claim, and one law suit 
at
a time is enough to be going on with."

The final straw for Snape came when the amphibian that was actually 
tossed 
into the blibbering potion in Trevor's stead was later proven to be 
Susan 
Bones, who had been missing for several days. Professor Snape escaped, 
presumably to avoid the Dark Lord, but actually to avoid questioning 
by
authorities regarding Miss Bones' disappearance. 

After a lengthly but futile search over several months covering 
several
states, authorities received an anonymous tip from a parsel-mouth  
that
former Professor Snape could be found in Pensacola, Florida working as
the night manager of a  Jamba Juice franchise.


Chapter Nine - The Midnight Time-Out Session
===================================
What? WHAT!! You really thought there would be a duel at Hogwarts???? 
Puh leeeeez! To avoid resorting to such barbarism, the students sat 
around 
a healing circle to iron out their differences. Though this is the 
longest and
most tedious chapter in the book , the reader will be pleased to know 
that all
differences were resolved in a politically correct manner and of 
course no
student was brained or hexed in this chapter.

The highlight of the "duel" was when Draconius Malfoy and Neville
Longbottom rose as one and hugged in the center of the room to the 
polite
applause of all.

"I am pleased to act in so forthright a manner with my new found 
friend Nev.
This is SO much more civilized than wand waving. or bat hexing."
"Yes, Mal, " grinned Mr. Longbottom. "Though Drac's dad was a death 
eater,
oops ... I mean Post Life Masticator, and my parents are resently 
merely 
cabbages due to his actions, I am sure that it is now the proper time 
to let
bygones be bygones so that we all enjoy our newfound companionship."

Hermione Granger was particularly pleased with this new turn of 
events.
"Dey done lottsa good stuff to get deir differences resolved, " she 
said 
between cracking gum. "and dis  meeting is a great excuse not to 
studey
dose dum wizzaard books or go to those dreeeery classes anyhoo. I mean 
like, who NEEDS magic? I'll use my charms and good looks to get by....
".


Chapter Ten - Halloween
===================
Professor Flitwick resigned in protest after attempting to teach his 
class
using the new MoM wand safety requirements. "I mean who ever heard 
of such a thing !" he squeaked. "Swish and cluck!  Swish and cluck!
There were chickens all over the place! Maybe  the Ministry thinks 
that
having all these chickens  flapping around Hogwarts is a GOOD thing - 
but I have had enough!  What good are fluffy souffles  and omelets 
against the
Dark Lord !... oops  I mean the Tragically Misunderstood Wizard With
A Challenged Childhood ?"

Meanwhile, Hermione Grainger was absent from the Halloween feast 
because
she lost track of time (how ironic!) and dallied too long in the 
girl's bathroom
putting on her makeup.

Unfortunately, all that was found of Miss Granger later that evening 
was a
greasy smudge on one of the sinks after the mountain troll rampaging 
through
Hogwarts trapped her in the bathroom and repeatedly whomped her with 
his
big club. With no Harry Potter to save her, and with Ron Weasley 
assigned to 
Ravenclaw where he was studying library science and elf-folk dancing, 
no one
noticed that she was missing. Upon roping off the crime scene, 
authorities
were puzzled by a lone chicken frantically flapping around the girls 
bathroom,
though some  suspect that  it may have been conjured by Miss Granger's 
wand 
in it's feeble attempt to save her.

Meanwhile, on Privet Drive in Surrey, a muggle child went berserk, 
stabbing 15
people. When finally subdued, the rather porky child (oops ... 
gravitationally
challenged child) was found clutching a mysterious sword that had 
belonged to one
"Godric Griffindor".

"Little Dudders was at this party sticking his wand up someone's butt  
wearing
 this silly hat I got on EBay when this shiny sword fell out of it and 
bonked him 
on his head!" the muggle mum sobbed, "my poor little tyke just went 
wiggy
and started slashing and stabbing people! It wasn't his fault! He's a 
good boy! 
There should have been a warning labels on that sword!"

Manwhile, little porky (oh my!  I meant to say   spherically enhanced 
)  Dudders
sat in a corner drooling "Now  I'M the hair of Slytherin! Now I'M the 
hair of
 Slytherin!"
Both mother and child were taken to the local precinct for 
questioning.


Chapter Eleven - Quidditch
======================== 
In which the exciting though recklessly dangerous "broom Quidditch" 
had of 
course been banned and replaced by a safer more acceptable  
hobby-horse
Quidditch. Special stands were erected for all the doctors and 
ambulance chasing 
lawyers anticipating  an accident.  The match was delayed for two 
months to
allow for construction of  wheelchair access needed to obtain OSHA 
approval
of the plans.

To pay for the special construction required, two more circles were 
added  to the
three way above ground level, resulting in a more environmentally 
sound and
aesthetically pleasing design. In a clever marketing move, the 
Ministry 
announced that the first Quidditch Match was  to be sponsored by Audi 
Motors.

But of course, there was much  work yet to be done!  To prevent 
injury, the use
or even the possession of blodgers was banned, and the actual Quaffle 
was
 required to be made from soft rubber from specially grown 
non-endangered 
rubber trees.

After considerable objections by the Safety in Athletics Committee, 
chaired by 
pacifist Ravenclaw student activists Crabbe and Doyle, the beaters 
were
eliminated from the team, but after rabid complaints from the 
Quidditch
Players Union, who threatened to strike if any players were 
eliminated,  
cooler heads prevailed and the two beaters on each team were retained 
as
health inspectors, who could  stop a match for any reason if any 
player, fan,
or creature was deemed endangered. The beaters' titles were changed to 
the
more proper "enablers" to better explain their new more humane roles.

The day of the game began with a special ceremonial reading of the 
rules,
with sufficient time allotted to ascertain that everyone was  
familiarized
with them, that lasted four hours. To leave no doubt as to the 
interpretation
of the rules, they were printed  in English, Gaelic, House-Elfish, 
Braille,
High-Colonic and Troll.

Both teams met in the center of the field to review the rules yet 
again, although said
rules were also printed on the Quaffle in indelible ink along with 
instructions as 
to the proper care cleaning and handling of said quaffle. The game was 
delayed 
just a tad longer  so that the proper forms and waivers of liability 
could be signed 
in triplicate and notarized,  and that all sponsors products be 
properly endorsed
and displayed.

At last the game began in earnest just before sunset , and continued  
well into the
night, though few students had consumed the needed amount of coffee, 
no-doz or
methamphetamines needed to endure the ennui. In addition, no one could 
see what 
the hell was happening on the field since after all the OSHA 
requirements were met,
there was not enough galleons left in the Hogwarts Treasury for 
stadium lights.

Though the actual cheering for an individual team was banned, the fans 
were 
encouraged to engage in refrains of Kumbaya and Michael Row Your Boat 
Ashore,
which served to anesthetize the barely conscious crowd.

When things seemed particularly futile, and it became evident that 
someone might
actually have to WIN this thing,  Neville Longbottom obligingly fell 
off his hobby
horse after he was grazed by a whiffle-snitch and was promptly 
surrounded by suits.
The game was then suspended indefinitely while all involved haggled 
over the fine
points of the rules. Specially trained paramedics were called to 
counsel the team that
was losing    (oops...temporarily computationally deficient though 
well within the
schema of recovery)
Classes were cancelled for the next two days so that everyone could 
have a well
deserved rest or to goof off in general. The spirit of Hermione 
Grainger miraculously 
appeared to celebrate the occasion.


Chapter Twelve - The Boys Who Made Out Like Bandits
========================================== 
In which Hogwarts is finally closed, not because of the evil deeds of
Lord Thingy  (the Tragically Misunderstood Wizard With A Challenged
Childhood , to you), but by  numerous victorious class action lawsuits
brought by Neville  Longbottom and other interested parties. As part 
of
the settlement, the Hogwarts School was later sold to Universal 
Studios,
to reopen  in the near future as a theme park.

In a miraculous turn of events, THE Harry Potter was later found 
wandering
aimlessly banging into walls at King's Cross  Station and talking to a 
fluffy
white owl. When questioned, Mr. Potter  muttered of a "Dark Lord" who 
had
held him prisoner in a big house and fed him lucky charms (the poor 
deluded
boy said memory charms, but what did he know?).  He was helpless and
unable to properly care for himself until such time as he learned his
full legal rights. 

Mr. Potter kept on muttering that we was famous, and was long overdue 
at 
Hogwarts, but after walking repeatedly into a wall between platforms 9 
and 10,
was taken away to St. Mungo's for observation.

In a later development, Neville Longbottom and his best friend and 
brilliant
tral lawyer Draconius Malfoy were seen eating chicken marsala (range 
free
chicken of course) at Spago's where both parties refused all attempts 
to
interview them.

--------------end of the story, or is it just the beginning ???
---------------

Epilogue
================ 
A few months later, long after the Thingy story that everyone was so 
sure would be 
a sure fire marketing success  (that is,  until it was edited and 
politically corrected
to death)  was long forgotten languishing as number 40008 on the 
Amazon Best
Seller List ,  remaindered on a hidden back shelf at Barnes and Noble, 
and left for
compost in the gardening department of K-Mart next to the Martha  
Stewart
artifacts and memorabilia,  and within 25 words of ending this  
incredibly long
run on sentence, and while running some errands one Sunday afternoon, 
I accidentally
discovered a bitter though unbowed Albus  Dumbledore cleverly 
disguised as
a Wal Mart greeter.

I regained my composure in the presence of such a great wizard, and 
after 
sensing my respect and admiration for what he was and could have been, 
he 
begrudgingly agreed to chat, though he was not a happy camper by any 
means.

"I was such a talented wizard and Hogwarts was such a great school" he
complained, "and NOW look at the lot of us! Pathetic, I say!"

His long robes were replaced by the uninspiring Wal Mart Uniform and 
he was
minus his beard due to the strict personnel dress code. Though ol' 
Albus held up
pretty well  through many hundreds of years of wizard wars and 
adventures, he
sadly had aged considerably since he left Hogwarts in disgrace. 
Standing by the
shopping carts in Wal-Mart, he just looked  very ........... old.

"Even Trelawney couldn't predict that it would all end like this!" 
said Albus, 
shaking his head sadly while directing some jerk loudly yammering on 
his 
cel-phone down the Halloween Candy aisle where he was promptly bitten
by Professor Lupin, nattily dressed in what appeared to be  a werewolf 
costume.

"Hundreds of years of education and for what?" he raged, sending two
insufferably whiny little brats down to the gardening section, where 
Professor
Sprout lassoed them with devils snare, ignoring their pitiful cries 
which grew 
fainter by the minute. She turned to Dumbledore and flashed him the 
"thumbs up".

"Lucky to get this job!" he smiled wistfully. "Even after I turned the 
manager
into a  baboon's backside they didn't relent until I threatened them 
with an Age 
Discrimination suit! Hot Damn!" he cackled, "Now THAT got their 
attention! 
I thought I had power at Hogwarts! HA!!! " his voice boomed across the 
store, 
and there was a gleam of triumph in his eyes . He smiled as if nothing 
had changed.

"Maybe I will write my memoirs one day," he mused, pointing out the 
location 
of the pets department to a studio apartment dweller, the type who 
lets their dogs
poop in children's  sandboxes while loudly yammering about animal 
rights. He
watched carefully  as the man smugly turned the corner, at which time 
Aragog
silently  dropped  from the ceiling  onto the man's  back. After short 
struggle
and a few strangled choked-off screams, the man lay twitching,  Aragog 
clicking his mandibles in triumph.

Hagrid peered around the corner and waved his thanks to Dumbledore for
providing such a varied and nutritious diet for his old friend and 
pet.
"Least I can do, Old Chum!" shouted Dumbledore down the aisle.
Fang trotted over, lifted his leg, and peed on the man's motionless 
body.

"Great man, Dumbledore! Great man!" smiled Hagrid. Few knew that 
Dumbledore,
at great risk and peril, let Hagrid hide Aragog and his immediate 
family
 in the ductwork above the pet department after the Forbidden Forest 
was
razed and converted to time shares. 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. I could see that though bitter, he still 
was 
able to find joy in the simple pleasures of life..

"One thing you can be sure of, though!": he said, waving a finger at 
me. 
"I won't end up all broke and depressed like that poor Rowlings woman, 
listening  to the opinions of all those Politically Correct  Silly 
People
when I write MY book!!"

"What do you mean, sir?" I said. "What people?"
"All those silly critics! " he muttered, starting to become bitter 
again. "All those 
who dismiss JKR as a "children's book writer"!" He wrinkled his long 
nose,
and I almost expected flames to fly out.
"All those who say she can't hardly write at all! They can't even hold 
her 
broomstick I say .... ESPECIALLY  those silly posters on the internet 
with their
silly theories and silly ideas......without a sense of humor or a  
life...They simply
have to  get out more! Chat rooms..... what sheer utter silliness"

I nervously turned my head, quickly locating the nearest exit.  
"Shame was that she actually listened to them, JKR did, .... and now 
look  " He 
stared at the ground sadly. "Poor woman......"
The customer traffic into Wal Mart had temporarily halted. Dumbledore 
looked at
me clearly for the first time. and his eyes slowly squinted. 
Legilimens? I thought at first, but that was in the book that was 
never written! 
He was now looking at me very carefully, trying to read my thoughts. 
Lucky for 
me I don't have very many.
"You haven't seen that ... that Samnanya nitwit around ....  have you?
" 
I avoided his eyes.  "W-who?"
"This poster who can be rude and opinionated... no different than the 
rest of 'em
and he thinks he knows EVERYTHING and can figure it all out........." 
He smiled malevolently. "well ..... does he?"
I turned for the door. Without my having noticed it before, Professor 
Lupin
had positioned himself at the exit.... standing there smiling with a 
bag of 
mars bars in his hands. I noticed that he had big pointy teeth. 
I smiled stupidly and shrugged. Lupin shook the bag and grinned.
"Still think I killed Sirius?" he said conversationally,  ripping the 
bag of mars bars 
with several of his very sharp fingernails. 
"Uhhh..." I turned to Dumbledore, who was glancing over my shoulder. 
"Looks like you will be someones just desert ..." he smiled. "He can't 
WAIT to 
wolf you down, so to speak....."
I heard the mars bar bag shredding behind me.
I wondered where Luna Lovegood was, but realized sadly that she would 
never
ever be written in this version of the Potterverse, and she would 
never get
the chance to work with Harry against ......
Lupin tossed the confettied shreds of the bag aside and advanced 
towards me. 
I thought of performing the immensely complex Homorphus Charm on Lupin 
like Gilderoy Lockhart did to the Wagga Wagga  werewolf but who the 
hell
was I kidding? I'm not even sure that that fool could do it, like he 
did in the book.
Well, at least I stay up late at nights and could howl with the best 
of them.
I awaited my fate. 
But then Lupin stopped.
"Aahhhh, but wait !" said Dumbledore. "Maybe you are in luck, after 
all!"
He was rising on his toes and staring over my shoulder.
"Minerva!" he shouted, waving both arms way over his head. "Over here!
"
I turned to see Professor McGonagall striding into Wal-Mart. Somehow 
that
just  didn't seem right --- she was so Lord and Taylor, but I kept my 
big mouth
shut for a change.
"Albus!" she beamed. " I have found one! Hadn't been mentioned until 
Book
Three but clearly this is a matter that I daresay just cannot wait!"
She held this little gold thingy between two fingers. It was a time 
turner.
Dumbledore stared at me. "Any objections ?"
The time turner glinted in the flourescent lights.
" That's funny...." Dumbledore said, knowing that there was nothing 
funny at all. 
"Seems to me that  there were lots and LOTS  of readers who had 
problems with
the time turner concept when it was first introduced.  Especially 
those self 
righteous web posters  - " he spat the last word out like he just bit 
into a 
Bertie Botts camel vomit flavored jelly bean -"on that silly website 
who
screeched like banshees when it was first used.  Cheap trick! They 
cried.
Bet none of THEM ever wrote a story before."
He took the time turner from McGonagall and held it gently in his 
palm,
checking to see that it  could still turn.
"We are going to go back and set Ms. Rowling's book right.... aren't 
we?"
Lupin and Hagrid and Sprout and Fang and Aragog and ..... the whole
damned world - all  seemed to be closing in in around me...... 
"W-we?"
"Well, YOU think you are a writer ...... yeah, WE....." 
I cringed.
"Hell, " he sneered. "You don't even have a life anyway......"
"I do ..... kind of..... I mean I have a family and ...."
"You should have thought of that before .............."
Dumbledore raised time turner, and with a swish and flick of his index 
finger, 
he conjured a thin necklace that enveloped everyone in the circle, 
including me.
Remus Lupin had his arm around my shoulder. His fur itched.  Everyone 
was
smiling, except for me. 
"Thank you, Minerva."
"My pleasure Albus. Though as you remember, the time turner would not 
even
have been here if not for .... for ......Miss Granger."
Dumbledore nodded - I saw a tear trickle down his face, but there was 
no beard
for it to fall into, so it dropped on the floor with a gentle plop. 
The small inert 
critter it happened to splash on, stirred, rolled over,  looked 
around, and darted out
the front door into the parking lot. I noticed that it was missing a 
digit on its right 
front paw. Was that a clue? 
I shook my head until it cleared.

"The end, " said Dumbledore, looking around at us all, of another 
silly story."
It was getting late, and there wasn't much to feast on in Wal-Mart.
"Before we go, I must first acknowledge the demise of a very fine 
person,
who should be here, and most assuredly will be after we set things 
right in 
the Potterverse." 
He kicked me in the ankle. I stood up straight.
"I would like us all to raise our glasses  to Hermione Granger."
"But if I do that I cant see anything!" I protested.
"Shut up, you fool!" hissed McGonagall. "Where you are going you won't 
NEED
your stupid glasses!"
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued,"Remember Miss Granger" 
I raised my glasses. As expected, I couldn't see a damned thing.
"Everybody ready? Time to set the record straight and give Ms. 
Rowlings her
 just reward, I say!"
I was speechless --- I always wanted to be a writer - it was my dream 
---
and  yet.....
"Ready?" Dumbledore asked me.
I nodded.
He smiled and said, totally out of character."Yeah.. right... YOU 
WISH!"
He spun the time turner and the world blurred even more, and I nearly 
fainted.

When the air finally cleared, I was standing before a huge display of 
Harry Potter
fiction  -  the REAL thing - just as JKR intended without any outside 
interference
Her own brave vision, without the silly ideas and blibberings of 
others who thought
that THEY......... WE ........... I ............knew everything.... 
when in reality,
we could not hold her broomstick.
I reached out and grabbed a copy, flipping through the pages. It was 
all there 
exactly as it should be. Every word. Every idea. I never felt better.

Suddenly I heard a commotion and looked up. A large white owl darted 
overhead, 
swerved in front of me, and dropped a red envelope onto the book  I 
was holding. 
I stared at the letter for a second and realized that it was one of 
those dreaded
howlers that JKR wrote about. I looked around.
The store was full of people, especially little kids, several who 
stared at me, smirking 
and giggling, knowing what was to come. 
I opened the envelope. I mean, what else COULD I do if it was a 
howler?

"IF YOU'RE SO BLEEPIN' SMART, WRITE YOUR OWN FRIGGIN' BOOK 
AND DON'T CRITICISE OR MOUTH OFF WITH YOUR HIDDEN OPINIONS 
OR PROBLEMS OR AGENDAS OR ATTITUDES TO THOSE OF US WHO HAD
THE COURAGE AND TOOK THE RISKS AND MADE THE SACRIFICES TO
WRITE OUR OWN BOOKS AND GET THEM PUBLISHED!!!"


The howler blew me the raspberry and burst into flames. A little girl 
giggled and ran down the
aisle to tell her mother who said that she didn't hear anything. 
Really now.......

The owl sat atop the display, his leg stretched out waiting for a tip. 
I gave him a knut and we
both went on our separate ways whistling. Well I did anyway. Owls 
don't whistle. Gonna need an
editor.......





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 01:31:51 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 20:31:51 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] FF POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER  - BOOK !  (I of 1)
References: <bmvddu+vigf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <005601c395e0$fc036640$af86aec7@rick>

I LOVE this!

(Especially since I grew up in one of the most formidable bastions of
political correctness - Santa Cruz, California.  Think of it as being like
San Francisco combined with Berkley... but without the common sense or
restraint when it comes to imposing your PC views on others.)

Iggy McSnurd






From kaisenji at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 01:57:53 2003
From: kaisenji at yahoo.com (Kaisenji)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 01:57:53 -0000
Subject: Nimbus 2005 in Ottawa, Canada
Message-ID: <bmvff1+kpuh@eGroups.com>

Hi all this is propably my first time posting but here goes.
Ottawa?!? As my mom quiped "Get ready to shell out serious $$$$$$$ in
Canada."  Am I gonna need to take out a loan to go for just 3 days?? Argh!
Kidding! I'm kidding! No slams against our Canadian potter people.  As
someone who is "frugal" most of the time, this seems to place so many
people outside of affortability. But it is early still so maybe they
got a smashing deal (crosses fingers).  Or have I been that long out
of the loop thanks to two classes requiring LOTS of reading?
Thoughts?
Kaisenji
p.s.  Oooooo, I'd just love to do a paper on Potter!
-------
Here's the note if folks didn't get it:
Posted 10/19/03
The Convention Alley Planning Committee is pleased to announce the
release of the Call for Papers (CFP) for our HPfGU-sponsored
international Harry Potter conference to be held July 30-August 1,
2004 at the University of Ottawa. The text of the CFP follows this
introduction, and may also be found as both a text file and in Word
in the files section of this list.

While we welcome submissions by members of the professional and
academic communities, we strongly encourage members of the fandom
community to participate. That means we are looking for submissions
from *you*, the die-hard fan who can recite the Harry Potter books
verbatim, who knows the content of every JKR interview ever given!
The topic areas noted in the CFP are merely suggestions ??? we are open
to proposals on any and all facets of the Harry Potter fandom.

Proposals may take the form of a 500 word abstract or a completed
conference paper (approximately 5-7 pages). Please note that
proposals submitted via regular mail must be postmarked no later than
January 3, 2004, and proposals submitted electronically must be
received by January 17, 2004.

Please read the CFP carefully to note all of the particulars. We are
looking forward to receiving your submissions!

~Phyllis Morris
on behalf of the Convention Alley Planning Committee




From susannahlm at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 02:00:16 2003
From: susannahlm at yahoo.com (derannimer)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 02:00:16 -0000
Subject: Telemarketer Strategies
Message-ID: <bmvfjg+66e8@eGroups.com>

So, how *do* people deal with telemarketers? Other than the polite "Sorry, but we're 
not interested," that is?

To get people started:

<hem, hem>

My mother pretends that it's a faulty connection, and goes "Hello? Hello? Hello, hello? 
Hel*lo*?" over the telemarketing spiel and then, "as there's no one on the line" hangs 
up.

My dad is always coming up with elaborate lines like this one:

"I'm sorry, he's not here right now, but he should get parole in about four months. He 
can call you back then, if you like."

or:

"*BOB!* You're *Bob,* aren't you?! Oh, come on now, I remember you! Bob 
Jacobson, you were in my high school class! Hey, Bob, how did you ever get this lousy 
job?"

Unfortunately, he never actually *uses* these lines when telemarketers are on the 
phone; he seems not to quite have the heart, or something, and generally resorts to 
the polite "Sorry, etc." instead.

I know a family who *did* do things like that to telemarketers though, and worse: 
they would sing into the phone, they would hold the phone by a toilet and flush it, 
they would hand the phone around from family member to family member and 
introduce themselves to the telemarketer ("Hi! My name is Julia and I'm in eighth 
grade!" "Hi! My name is. . . "), they would make nonsense noises into the phone, they 
would grab a school book and start reading science texts at the telemarketer. *They* 
weren't supposed to be the ones who hung up first. Apparently a telemarketer once 
called them back after hanging up, and said: "You little brat" to the girl who answered 
the phone.

I admire these tactics tremendously, but I seem to take after my father in this area -- 
I always feel so *guilty* when I hear those poor people on the phone that I never 
seem to be able to do things like that.




Derannimer, who doesn't think she'd have the chutzpah to sing the Dutch 
ambassador's part from "Please Hello" in "Pacific Overtures" at a telemarketer even if 
she *did* have the heart to 




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Mon Oct 20 02:16:20 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 21:16:20 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's the fun in baseball?
References: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <004301c396b0$27c0c0a0$6a9ccdd1@RVotaw>

Lucy wrote:

> So that really, is all I know about baseball.  I am sure that James
> (my brother) must be exaggerating somewhere, because I doubt the
> sport could be so popular if it was that boring?  Perhaps it's just
> that he's used to 90 minute football matches (soccer), and so three
> hours seemed a little long.

Well, first of all let me say that if someone doesn't understand the rules
of baseball (anyone remember how many hundreds there are?), or at least some
of them, it could be quite boring.  Sure, at any given moment any player out
there could hit the ball if they wanted to.  But the point is not to just
*hit* the ball, but to hit it where you want it to go.  Hit it the wrong
place, it's caught, you're out.  Hit it in the right place, it falls in for
a hit, or better yet, it's out of the park for a home run.  That's why they
don't just get up there and swing away, and why they hit so many foul balls.
Waiting for a pitch they can hit the way they want to.  Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't.

Oh, and let me point out that baseball does *not* stop every five minutes
for a commercial break.   Baseball, in fact, is not designed for television
(football--American football, is).  There's a commercial break between every
half inning, regardless of how long it lasts.  If no one gets a hit, it may
be three or four minutes.  If lots of players are getting hits, it may be
15, 20 minutes or more.  There's also a reason for those commercial breaks,
it's a bit boring to watch players run in and out of the dugouts getting in
position, tossing balls around to warm up.  Sure, they stretch that out a
bit for commercials, but not that much.  There's also commercial breaks when
a team changes pitchers, that takes a while too, and once again, it's a bit
boring to watch the pitcher walk to the mound and warm up on a few pitches.

Richelle, ever the defender of baseball. :)





From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Mon Oct 20 03:02:42 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 13:02:42 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's the fun in baseball?
In-Reply-To: <003701c395db$8b8791c0$af86aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <3F93DCF2.32337.9C16EDF@localhost>

On 18 Oct 2003 at 19:54, Iggy McSnurd wrote:

> Heck... You guys are still one up on me.  Personally, all I know about
> Cricket is what little I saw in the movies "King Ralph" and "Hope and
> Glory."
> 
> I know about darts, curling (sorta), golf (sorta), and European
> football/soccer.  Other than that, I'm lost on English sports.
> 
> Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the excitement in
> that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I do about
> baseball...)

Well, I'm a cricket fan - one of the few sports I like, and the only one I really like to 
watch. I even like test cricket (Australia v Zimbabwe, heading up to a thrilling 
conclusion at the moment) which is the form where a match can take 5 days and 
is just as likely to end in a draw.

But it is a game that I concede is pretty hard to like, unless you understand the 
nuances. If you do, it's very cerebral with an incredible level of tactics.

Just one example - a bowler (roughly equivalent to a pitcher in baseball) has six 
balls at a time in which to try and get batsmen out. In a low level game, he's likely 
to simply bowl as hard and as fast as he can - but in a higher level one, he will do 
so (for example) by bowling four balls at a set length which the batsmen can play 
in a certain way, knowing it will fall safely - and then a fifth that bouncer a foot 
shorter in 22 yards, looks the same to the batsmen, but when played in the same 
way pops up a bit higher and carries twenty yards further to a fieldsman.

And in a test match, the bowler has the time and luxury to take 30 balls over five 
overs to do that if he needs to.

That's just one nuance - but the game is full of them.

Briefly, it's a fairly simple game fundamentally. There are two teams, each of 11 
players (with a 'Twelfth Man' who is a substitute who can field but isn't allowed to 
bowl or bat).

A team of 11 will generally consist of *about* 4 specialist batsmen, 4 specialist 
bowlers, and 3 all rounders (who can both bat and bowl effectively). Those 
numbers are not fixed and do vary.

Generally the best batsmen go into bat earliest, followed by the all rounders, 
followed by the bowlers - all 11 players bat in an innings.

Two batsmen are on the field at anytime - one at each end of the pitch or wicket 
(an area 22 yards long in the centre of the field).

Runs are scored by running the length of the pitch - each length is one run (so if 
an odd number of runs are scored, the other batsmen will become the one to face 
the bowling - strategy again - towards the end of an innings when you might have 
a specialist batsmen still in after a long time, accompanied by a specialist bowler, 
they often won't run unless they can score 2 runs to avoid making the bowler bat.)

A ball that reaches the boundary fence after being hit scores a four - four runs. A 
ball that clears the boundary on the full scores a six.

Bowlers bowl groups of six balls at a time - if they bowl a wide (a ball that misses 
the stumps by such a wide margin as to make it unplayable), the opposing team is 
awarded an 'extra' run and that ball doesn't count in the six. The same happens 
with a 'no ball' which is generally caused by a bowler bowling from a position too 
close to the batsmen - a no ball can't get a batsman out by hitting the stumps or 
by being caught.

The stumps - at each end of the pitch are three sticks - these are called the 
stumps (or the wickets). A bowler can get a batsman out by hitting the stumps with 
the ball. The batsman can also go out if they hit a ball to a fieldsman (or the 
bowler) who catches it on the full, or by being run out - if a fieldsman manages to 
hit the stumps while the batsmen are running.

Basically a team bats until it is out (until 10 batsmen are out - because number 11 
then doesn't have a partner), and the other team tries to beat their score.

There are two main varieties of the game - test cricket which is the classic form, 
which consists of two innings, where both teams can theoretically bat until both 
are out - or until time runs out in which case the game is a draw (draws are 
common - ties are *very* rare - a tie can only occur if after two complete innings, 
scores are identical. At international level, there have only ever been two tied test 
matches - Australia versus West Indies 1960; and India versus Australia 1986.

And one day cricket - often called pyjama cricket because at international level, 
the players wear colourful uniforms rather than whites. A one day match consists 
of one innings generally of 50 overs each - and the team that has the highest 
score at the end of their innings wins whether the match ended because of them 
being bowled out, or because they ran out of overs.

One day cricket is the more exciting form in many ways - but doesn't have quite 
the same level of tactics as the test form (though can still have a lot of them and 
they can be quite different).

Scores are high - 300 runs in an innings of a test match isn't uncommon - 500 is 
getting rarer but still happens fairly regularly. In one day matches, 200 is fairly 
common - 300 is pretty impressive.

An impressive score for an individual is 50 runs - a half century - or 100 runs - a 
century - those are the scores batsmen go after. Double centuries are rarer, triple 
centuries are very rare, and nobody has yet achieved a quadruple century in 
international cricket - the current world record was set just over a week ago - 380 
runs by Matthew Hayden of Australia. The man generally regarded as the greatest 
batsman in history, Sir Donald Bradman of Australia, had an *average* score of 
99.91 - in a game where 100 runs in any innings is impressive, that is incredible.

Again, it's also got weird terms like a lot of sports - one of the fielding positions is 
'Silly Mid On', a batsmen who scores 0 runs in an innings gets a 'duck' (Bradman 
actually scored a duck in his final innings which prevented him leaving with an 
average of over 100).

Like most sports... it's not just the game. It's the traditions associated with it that 
appeal to a lot of people. And they are many - the most tradition laden trophy in 
test cricket is the size of an egg cup, and can only be won by England or 
Australia. The game is meant to be a gentleman's game - where the batsman 
always gets the benefit of the doubt, and where the umpire's decision is never 
argued with (that one isn't quite true at international level!)

"I can still remember 
In the backyard with Dad
Over the fence was six and out
Best time we ever had

I'd run in like Dennis Lillee,
Bowl straight like I'd been told
And send the wickets flying
And dream of green and gold

Go Aussie Go
Go Aussie Go

Go you gold and greens,
Keep the spirit flowing,
Part of all our dreams,
The legend keeps on growing

Go you gold and greens,
Keep the spirit flowing,
Part of all our dreams,
The legend keeps on growing

>From Don Bradman to the Chappells
>From Allan Border to Shane Warne
>From the beaches and the parks
The dream keeps burning strong

Go you Aussies go,
Show them how you play
>From the outback to the sea
We're with you all the way

Go you gold and greens,
Keep the spirit flowing,
Part of all our dreams,
The legend keeps on growing

Go you gold and greens,
Keep the spirit flowing,
Part of all our dreams,
The legend keeps on growing

Go Aussie Go
Let's hear it,
Go Aussie Go
Let's cheer it.
Go Aussie Go
Let's hear it,
Go Aussie Go
Let's cheer 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 yswahl at stis.net  Mon Oct 20 03:45:49 2003
From: yswahl at stis.net (samnanya)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 03:45:49 -0000
Subject: POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER - CLEARER POST
Message-ID: <bmvlpd+h6v2@eGroups.com>

NOTE  - I got the idea for writing this little satire
when I began questioning  why on earth I was getting
all lathered up about other people's (and my own)
opinions and posts on the HPFGU site and about the
Harry Potter series in general. 

Comments are appreciated. Enjoy!. 



       THE  POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER

           YEAR ONE -  THE THINGY STONE

Chapter One - The Boy Who Lived
=======================================================
In which, after dropping Harry Potter at 4 Privet Drive,
Rubeus Hagrid is arrested and sent to Azkaban for not
wearing his crash helmet while illegally flying over
Privett Drive on a motorcycle allegedly registered to 
convicted felon Sirius Black.

"Don't blame me!" yelled Mr. Hagrid, ripping a tire off
a police cruiser, "Finding a size 24 motorcycle helmet
is tough enough this time of night, and I was on an
urgent and secret mission on behalf of Albus Dumbledore, 
deliverin' a baby to Priv....oops, shouldn't have told
ya that!".

Mr. Hagrid was later released on his own recognizance 
on a technicality after the arresting officer's 
defective alcohol detector could not demonstrate
that Mr. Hagrid had consumed the required three 
quart minimum needed to prove that the half giant
was indeed intoxicated.

Later in the chapter, the Dursleys have Harry's scar
illegally removed by out-patient cosmetic surgery and
the application of copious amounts of botox.


Chapter Two - The Boy Who Can't Be Found
====================================================
In which, after years of abuse and neglect by the
Dursleys, Harry Potter was removed from their care
by Child Welfare and placed at the residence of
Frank Bryce where he mysteriously disappeared
shortly thereafter.

"I have no idea whatsoever what happened to the
boy!" hissed the small squat man when contacted
by a representative from Child Welfare.
"Lassst I sssaw of him he was being fed to ....
I mean feeding our pet ssnake, Nagini." 

In an angry interview, Albus Dumbledore raged
that "Some idiot at Child Welfare removed young
Potter from a home where he was under a charm
to protect him against the Death Eaters and 
sent him to a  place where he likely was
eaten by one."

Child Welfare declined to comment.


Chapter Three - The Letters To No One
================================================
Deleted and later renumbered since Harry has
not yet been found.
See attached picture of young Potter on
Milk Carton.


Chapter Four - The New Keeper of the Wands
=================================================
In which Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary
to the Minister of the Ministry of Magic, helps
sign into law two special pieces of legislation,
one for the production of environmentally approved
safety wands, and the other for the protection
of young wizards and muggles. 

According to the first law, all wands must be
manufactured in such a  way that no dragons,
unicorns, or phoenixes would be harmed during
the making of said wands. In addition, a special
license from the MoM would be required before
production of wands made from unicorn tails would
be approved.
The measure passed by a narrow margin, with angry
and vocal dissention."What purpose is a wand if it
cannot be used?" raged Albus Dumbledore. 

The second law required that all Hogwarts students
would only be authorized to wave a non-functional
wand. Wands that  turn into chickens when waved,
though frowned upon, would  be acceptable pending
the development of a more aesthetically pleasing
model. Students caught using a non-approved wand
would be subject to immediate expulsion.
In addition, all students would be rigorously
tested on the ethics and morals of proper wand
use, including specific directives against the
improper insertion of wands into body orifices
of any and all living creatures (including but
not limited to troll nostrils)


Chapter Five - Diagon Alley
===================================================
In which students and parents who arrived at Diagon
Alley found that most of the stores had been closed
or were out of business due to the onerous 
legislative environment or events beyond anyone's
control.

Gringotts Bank was shuttered after  the books were
found to be cooked (literally) by some rogue goblins.
All safe deposit boxes were sealed and Hagrid could
not retrieve the sorcerers stone hidden in Vault 713
(oops, shouldn't have told ya that!).

Mr. Ollivander was taken into custody and his wand
shop shuttered by the MoM after dozens of illegal
wands made from the tails of  unicorns and dodos
were found hidden under illegally deforested
mahogany chips.

Hogwarts students aimlessly wandered about Diagon
Alley as they tried in vain to obtain the newly
required license needed to purchase owls, but
no one in  the MoM really gave a hoot. In effect,
all students were forced to send all mail via the
post office, which resulted in the cessation of
all effective mail delivery to and from Hogwarts
for the year. Attempts to send letters to Hogwarts
via owls covered with sticky postage stamps proved
futile. Wildlife rescue needed to be called to free
and clean the many gummy and postage cancelled owls
that littered the countryside.
A special investigation is pending.

Rats, er.... vermin, were clearly not  permitted as
(gasp!) pets by the  MoM since "the MoM can not be
responsible for tracing where they have been". 
In a last attempt at sanity, and at great personal
peril, an anonymous wizard sent Hedwig to search
for Harry Potter, though the poor thing didn't have
a clue who Harry Potter was or what to look for.


Chapter Six - Journey to Hogwarts
=====================================================
In which we met Neville Longbottom, the Weasleys,
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger as well as several
other inconsequential students. The trip on the
Hogwarts Express was uneventful and dreadfully
boring as no one aboard was famous or worthy of
going on about.
(editor's note: The only objection we found in this
chapter is an uncompensated product placement - a
reference to "mars bars"- which was of course
erased since no wizard knew what on earth a mars
bar was, and Miss Granger, the only identifiable
muggle on board, was not helpful, which was
understandable considering that her parents
were both dentists.


Chapter Seven - The Sorting Hat
====================================================
In which the Sorting Hat was declared a bio-hazard
having been on who knows how many filthy first year
heads during  the thousand years of Hogwart's
existence. The hat was about to be tossed into the
rubbish when someone got the bright idea to auction
it off on EBay where it was sold to some poor
unsuspecting muggle for fifteen pounds.

The students were sorted into their houses using a
politically correct procedure that assured that all
students would be allocated fairly and impartially
to a house. Draco Malfoy was assigned to Gryffindor
and Susan Bones to Slytherin, where she was
promptly turned into a bullfrog by Flint.

Hermione Granger was assigned to Hufflepuff. She 
was later observed chewing gum and drawing stars
and squiggles all over her textbooks while
daydreaming in class about shopping trips to
Tahrjay or Bloomies.

"Like, I mean, Hogsmeade is sooooo uncool," she
simpered to her gang of rogue Hufflepuff girls, 
while dragging  on her cigarette then rubbing it
out on the butt of a stone gargoyle, who shrieked 
indignantly.


Chapter Eight - The Potions Master
==================================================
In which it was learned that Professor Severus
Snape was recently removed as potions master from 
Hogwarts after several complaints from students,
particularly Neville Longbottom, an emotionally
challenged boy. 

"H-he was never ever nice to me and almost boiled
Trevor, my toad, who besides being my pet,is also on
the endangered amphibians list," Master Longbottom
complained bitterly. "Snape always made fun of me in
class. My parents would sue but their guardians are
still in litigation with Gringotts Mutual for
denying their disability claim, and one law suit at
a time is enough to be going on with."

The final straw for Snape came when the amphibian
that was actually tossed into the blibbering potion
in Trevor's stead was later proven to be Susan
Bones, who had been missing for several days.
Professor Snape escaped, presumably to avoid the
Dark Lord, but actually to avoid questioning by
authorities regarding Miss Bones' disappearance. 

After a lengthly but futile search over several
months covering several states, authorities
received an anonymous tip from a parsel-mouth
that former Professor Snape could be found in 
Pensacola, Florida working as the night manager
of a Jamba Juice franchise.


Chapter Nine - The Midnight Time-Out Session
-------------===================================
What? WHAT!! You really thought there would be
a duel at Hogwarts???? 
Puh leeeeez! To avoid resorting to such
barbarism, the students sat around a healing
circle to iron out their differences. Though
this is the longest and most tedious chapter
in the book , the reader will be pleased to
know that all differences were resolved in a
politically correct manner and of course no
student was brained or hexed in this chapter.

The highlight of the "duel" was when Draconius
Malfoy and Neville Longbottom rose as one and
hugged in the center of the room to the polite
applause of all.

"I am pleased to act in so forthright a manner
with my new found friend Nev. This is SO much
more civilized than wand waving. or bat hexing."
"Yes, Mal," grinned Mr. Longbottom. "Though
Drac's dad was a death eater, oops ... I mean
Post Life Masticator, and my parents are
resently merely cabbages due to his actions,
I am sure that it is now the proper time to
let bygones be bygones so that we all enjoy our
newfound companionship."

Hermione Granger was particularly pleased with
this new turn of events. 
"Dey done lotsa good stuff to get deir differences
resolved," she said between cracking gum. "and
dis meeting is a great excuse not to studey
dose dum wizzaard books or go to those dreeeery
classes anyhoo. I mean like, who NEEDS magic?
I'll use my charms and good looks to get by....".


Chapter Ten - Halloween
===================================================
Professor Flitwick resigned in protest after
attempting to teach his class using the new MoM
wand safety requirements. "I mean who ever heard 
of such a thing !" he squeaked. "Swish and cluck!
Swish and cluck! There were chickens all over the
place! Maybe the Ministry thinks that having all
these chickens  flapping around Hogwarts is a GOOD
thing - but I have had enough! What good are
fluffy souffles  and omelets against the Dark Lord!
.. oops I mean the Tragically Misunderstood Wizard
With A Challenged Childhood ?"

Meanwhile, Hermione Grainger was absent from the
Halloween feast because she lost track of time
(how ironic!) and dallied too long in the girl's
bathroom putting on her makeup.

Unfortunately, all that was found of Miss Granger
later that evening was a greasy smudge on one of
the sinks after the mountain troll rampaging
through Hogwarts cornered her in the girl's
bathroom. With no Harry Potter to save her, and
with Ron Weasley assigned to Ravenclaw where he was
studying library science and elf-folk dancing,
no one noticed that she was missing. After roping
off the crime scene, authorities were puzzled by
a lone chicken flapping around the girls bathroom,
though some suspect that it may have been conjured
by Miss Granger's wand in it's feeble attempt to
save her.

Meanwhile, on Privet Drive in Surrey, a muggle
child went berserk, stabbing 15 people. When
finally subdued, the rather porky child (oops ...
gravitationally challenged child) was found
clutching a mysterious sword that had belonged
to one "Godric Griffindor".

"Little Dudders was at this party sticking his
wand up someone's butt  wearing this silly hat
I got on EBay when this shiny sword fell out
of it and bonked him on his head!" the muggle
mum sobbed, "my poor little tyke just went
wiggy and started slashing and stabbing people!
It wasn't his fault! He's a good boy! There
should have been a warning labels on that sword!"

Manwhile, little porky (oh my!  I meant to say
spherically enhanced )  Dudders sat in a corner
drooling "Now  I'M the hair of Slytherin!
Now I'M the hair of Slytherin!"
Both mother and child were taken to the local
precinct for questioning.


Chapter Eleven - Quidditch
================================================== 
In which the exciting though recklessly dangerous
"broom Quidditch" had of course been banned and
replaced by a safer more acceptable  hobby-horse
Quidditch. Special stands were erected for all the
doctors and ambulance chasing lawyers anticipating
an accident. The match was delayed for two months
to allow for construction of  wheelchair access
needed to obtain OSHA approval of the plans.

To pay for the special construction required, two
more circles were added  to the three way above
ground level, resulting in a more environmentally
sound and aesthetically pleasing design. In a 
clever marketing move, the Ministry announced that
the first Quidditch Match was  to be sponsored by
Audi Motors.

But of course, there was much  work yet to be done!
To prevent injury, the use or even the possession
of blodgers was banned, and the actual Quaffle was
required to be made from soft rubber from specially
grown non-endangered rubber trees.

After considerable objections by the Safety in 
Athletics Committee, chaired by pacifist Ravenclaw
student activists Crabbe and Doyle, the beaters
were eliminated from the team, but after rabid
complaints from the Quidditch Players Union, who
threatened to strike if any players were eliminated,  
cooler heads prevailed and the two beaters on each
team were retained as health inspectors, who could
stop a match for any reason if any player, fan,
or creature was deemed endangered. The beaters'
titles were changed to the more proper "enablers"
to better explain their new more humane roles.

The day of the game began with a special ceremonial
reading of the rules, with sufficient time allotted
to ascertain that everyone was  familiarized with
them, that lasted four hours. To leave no doubt as
to the interpretation of the rules, they were
printed  in English, Gaelic, House-Elfish, Braille,
High-Colonic and Troll.

Both teams met in the center of the field to review
the rules yet again, although said rules were also
printed on the Quaffle in indelible ink along with
instructions as to the proper care cleaning and
handling of said quaffle. The game was delayed 
just a tad longer  so that the proper forms and
waivers of liability could be signed in triplicate
and notarized,  and that all sponsors products be
properly endorsed and displayed.

At last the game began in earnest just before sunset,
and continued  well into the night, though few
students had consumed the needed amount of coffee,
no-doz or methamphetamines needed to endure the ennui.
In addition, no one could see what the hell was 
happening on the field since after all the OSHA
requirements were met, there was not enough galleons
left in the Hogwarts Treasury for stadium lights.

Though the actual cheering for an individual team
was banned, the fans were encouraged to engage in
refrains of Kumbaya and Michael Row Your Boat Ashore,
which served to anesthetize the barely conscious crowd.

When things seemed particularly futile, and it became
evident that someone might actually have to WIN this
thing,  Neville Longbottom obligingly fell off his
hobby horse after he was grazed by a whiffle-snitch
and was promptly surrounded by suits.
The game was then suspended indefinitely while all
involved haggled over the fine points of the rules.
Specially trained paramedics were called to counsel
the team that was losing (oops...temporarily
computationally deficient though well within the
schema of recovery)
Classes were cancelled for the next two days so that
everyone could have a well deserved rest or to goof
off in general. The spirit of Hermione Grainger
miraculously appeared to celebrate the occasion.


Chapter Twelve - The Boys Who Made Out Like Bandits
==================================================== 
In which Hogwarts is finally closed, not because of
the evil deeds of Lord Thingy (the Tragically
Misunderstood Wizard With A Challenged Childhood,
to you), but by  numerous victorious class action
lawsuits brought by Neville  Longbottom and other
interested parties. As part of the settlement,
the Hogwarts School was later sold to Universal
Studios, to  be reopened in the near future as a
theme park.

In a miraculous turn of events, THE Harry Potter
was later found wandering aimlessly banging into
walls at King's Cross  Station and talking to a
fluffy white owl. When questioned, Mr. Potter 
muttered of a "Dark Lord" who had held him
prisoner in a big house and fed him lucky charms
(the poor deluded boy said memory charms, but what
did he know?).  He was helpless and unable to
properly care for himself until such time as he
learned his full legal rights. 

Mr. Potter kept on muttering that we was famous,
and was long overdue at Hogwarts, but after
walking repeatedly into a wall between platforms
9 and 10, was taken to St. Mungo's for observation.

In a later development, Neville Longbottom and 
his best friend and brilliant tral lawyer Draconius
Malfoy were seen eating chicken marsala (range free
chicken of course) at Spago's where both parties
refused all attempts to interview them.

-end of the story, or is it just the beginning ???---

Epilogue
==================================================== 
A few months later, long after the Thingy story
that everyone was so sure would be a sure fire
marketing success  (that is,  until it was edited
and politically corrected to death) was long
forgotten languishing as number 40008 on the
Amazon Best Seller List,  remaindered on a hidden
back shelf at Barnes and Noble, and left for
compost in the gardening department of K-Mart
next to the Martha  Stewart artifacts
and memorabilia, and within 25 words of ending
this incredibly long run on sentence, and while
running some errands one Sunday afternoon, I
accidentally discovered a bitter though unbowed
Albus  Dumbledore cleverly disguised as
a Wal Mart greeter.

I regained my composure in the presence of such
a great wizard, and after sensing my respect and
admiration for what he was and could have been, he 
begrudgingly agreed to chat, though he was not a
happy camper by any means.

"I was such a talented wizard and Hogwarts was
such a great school" he complained, "and NOW look
at the lot of us! Pathetic, I say!"

His long robes were replaced by the uninspiring 
Wal Mart Uniform and he was minus his beard due
to the strict personnel dress code. Though ol' 
Albus held up pretty well through many hundreds of
years of wizard wars and adventures, he sadly had
aged considerably since he left Hogwarts in 
disgrace. Standing by the shopping carts in
Wal-Mart, he just looked  very ........... old.

"Even Trelawney couldn't predict that it would all
end like this!" said Albus, shaking his head sadly
while directing some jerk loudly yammering on his 
cel-phone down the Halloween Candy aisle where he
was promptly bitten by Professor Lupin, nattily
dressed in what appeared to be  a werewolf costume.

"Hundreds of years of education and for what?" he
raged, sending two insufferably whiny little brats
down to the gardening section, where Professor
Sprout lassoed them with devils snare, ignoring
their pitiful cries which grew fainter by the
minute. She turned to Dumbledore and flashed him
the "thumbs up".

"Lucky to get this job!" he smiled wistfully.
"Even after I turned the manager into a  baboon's
backside they didn't relent until I threatened
them with an Age Discrimination suit! Hot Damn!"
he cackled, "Now THAT got their attention! I 
thought I had power at Hogwarts! HA!!!" his voice
boomed across the store, and there was a gleam
of triumph in his eyes. He smiled as if nothing
had changed.

"Maybe I will write my memoirs one day," he mused,
pointing out the location of the pets department
to a studio apartment dweller, the type who lets
their dogs poop in children's  sandboxes while
loudly yammering about animal rights. He watched
carefully  as the man smugly turned the corner,
at which time Aragog silently  dropped from the
ceiling  onto the man's  back. After a short
struggle and a few strangled choked-off screams,
the man lay twitching,  Aragog clicking his
mandibles in triumph.

Hagrid peered around the corner and waved his
thanks to Dumbledore for providing such a varied
and nutritious diet for his old friend and pet.
"Least I can do, Old Chum!" shouted Dumbledore
down the aisle.
Fang trotted over, lifted his leg, and peed on
the man's motionless body.

"Great man, Dumbledore! Great man!" smiled
Hagrid. Few knew that Dumbledore, at great risk
and peril, let Hagrid hide Aragog and his
immediate family in the ductwork above the pet
department after the Forbidden Forest was
razed and converted to time shares. 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. I could see that
though bitter, he still was able to find joy in
the simple pleasures of life..

"One thing you can be sure of though," he said,
waving a finger at me. "I won't end up all
broke and depressed like that poor Rowlings
woman, listening to the opinions of all those
Politically Correct  Silly People when I write
MY book!!"

"What do you mean, sir?" I said. "What people?"
"All those silly critics! " he muttered, starting
to become bitter again. "All those who dismiss
JKR as a "children's book writer"!" He wrinkled
his long nose, and I almost expected flames to
fly out.

"All those who say she can't hardly write at all!
They can't even hold her broomstick I say ....
ESPECIALLY  those silly posters on the internet
with their silly theories and silly ideas......
without a sense of humor or a  life...They
simply have to  get out more! Chat rooms.....
what sheer utter silliness"

I nervously turned my head, quickly locating the
nearest exit.  
"Shame was that she actually listened to them,
JKR did, .... and now look  " He stared at the
ground sadly. "Poor woman......"
The customer traffic into Wal Mart had temporarily
halted. Dumbledore looked at me clearly for the 
first time. and his eyes slowly squinted. 
Legilimens? I thought at first, but that was in
the book that was never written! 
He was now looking at me very carefully, trying
to read my thoughts. Lucky for me I don't have
very many.

"You haven't seen that ... that Samnanya nitwit
around ....  have you?" 
I avoided his eyes.  "W-who?"
"This poster who can be rude and opinionated...
no different than the rest of 'em and he thinks
he knows EVERYTHING and can figure it all out.." 
He smiled malevolently. "well ..... does he?"
I turned for the door. Without my having noticed 
it before, Professor Lupin had positioned himself
at the exit.... standing there smiling with a bag
of mars bars in his hands. I noticed that he had
big pointy teeth. 
I smiled stupidly and shrugged. Lupin shook the
bag and grinned.
"Still think I killed Sirius?" he said
conversationally,  ripping the bag of mars bars 
with several of his very sharp fingernails. 
"Uhhh..." I turned to Dumbledore, who was glancing
over my shoulder. 
"Looks like you will be someones just desert ..."
he smiled. "He can't WAIT to wolf you down,
so to speak....."
I heard the mars bar bag shredding behind me.
I wondered where Luna Lovegood was, but realized
sadly that she would never ever be written in this
version of the Potterverse, and she would never
get the chance to work with Harry against ......
Lupin tossed the confettied shreds of the bag
aside and advanced towards me. 
I thought of performing the immensely complex
Homorphus Charm on Lupin like Gilderoy Lockhart
did to the Wagga Wagga  werewolf but who the hell
was I kidding? I'm not even sure that that fool
could do it, like he did in the book.
Well, at least I stay up late at nights and
could howl with the best of them.
I awaited my fate. 
But then Lupin stopped.
"Aahhhh, but wait !" said Dumbledore. "Maybe you
are in luck, after all!"
He was rising on his toes and staring over my
shoulder.
"Minerva!" he shouted, waving both arms way over
his head. "Over here!"
I turned to see Professor McGonagall striding into
Wal-Mart. Somehow that just  didn't seem right ---
she was so Lord and Taylor, but I kept my big
mouth shut for a change.
"Albus!" she beamed. " I have found one! Hadn't
been mentioned until Book Three but clearly this
is a matter that I daresay just cannot wait!"
She held this little gold thingy between two
fingers. It was a time turner.
Dumbledore stared at me. "Any objections ?"
The time turner glinted in the flourescent lights.
" That's funny...." Dumbledore said, knowing that
there was nothing funny at all. 
"Seems to me that there were lots and LOTS of
readers who had problems with the time turner
concept when it was first introduced.  Especially
those self righteous web posters  - " he spat
the last words out like he just bit into a 
Bertie Botts camel vomit flavored jelly bean -
"on that silly website who screeched like
banshees when it was first used. Cheap trick!
They cried.
Bet none of THEM ever wrote a story before."
He took the time turner from McGonagall and held
it gently in his palm, checking to see that it
could still turn properly.
"We are going to go back and set Ms. Rowling's
book right.... aren't we?"
Lupin and Hagrid and Sprout and Fang and Aragog
and ..... the whole damned world - all seemed to
be closing in in around me...... 
"W-we?"
"Well, YOU think you are a writer ... yeah, WE....." 
I cringed.
"Hell," he sneered."You don't have a life anyway.."
"I do .. kind of.. I mean I have a family and ...."
"You should have thought of that before ......."
Dumbledore raised time turner, and with a swish and 
flick of his index finger, he conjured a thin
necklace that enveloped everyone in the circle,
including me.
Remus Lupin had his arm around my shoulder. His fur
itched.  Everyone was smiling, except for me. 
"Thank you, Minerva."
"My pleasure Albus. Though as you remember, the time
turner would not even have been here if not for ....
for ......Miss Granger."
Dumbledore nodded - I saw a tear trickle down his
face, but there was no beard for it to fall into,
so it dropped on the floor with a gentle plop. 
The small inert critter it happened to splash on,
stirred, rolled over, looked around,and darted out
the front door into the parking lot. I noticed that
it was missing a digit on its right front paw.
Could that be a clue? 
I shook my head until it cleared.

"The end, " said Dumbledore, looking around at us all,
of another silly story."
It was getting late, and there wasn't much to feast
on in Wal-Mart.
"Before we go, I must first acknowledge the demise of
a very fine person, who should be here, and most
assuredly will be after we set things right in the
Potterverse." 
He kicked me in the ankle. I stood up straight.
"I would like us all to raise our glasses to
Hermione Granger."
"But if I do that I cant see anything!" I protested.
"Shut up, you fool!" hissed McGonagall. "Where you are
going you won't NEED your stupid glasses!"
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued,"Remember
Miss Granger" 
I raised my glasses. As expected, I couldn't see a
damned thing.
"Everybody ready? Time to set the record straight and
give Ms. Rowlings her just reward, I say!"
I was speechless --- I always wanted to be a writer - 
it was my dream --- and  yet.....
"Ready?" Dumbledore asked me.
I nodded.
He smiled and said, totally out of character,"Yeah..
right... YOU WISH!"
He spun the time turner and the world blurred even
more, and I nearly fainted.

When the air finally cleared, I was standing before
a huge display of Harry Potter fiction - the REAL
thing - just as JKR intended without any outside
interference Her own brave vision, without the silly
ideas and blibberings of others who thought that
THEY .... WE .... I .... knew everything .... when
in reality, we could not hold her broomstick.

I reached out and grabbed a copy, flipping through
the pages. It was all there exactly as it should be.
Every word. Every idea. I never felt better.

Suddenly I heard a commotion and looked up. A large
white owl darted overhead, swerved in front of me,
and dropped a red envelope onto the book I was 
holding. 
I stared at the letter for a second and realized
that it was one of those dreaded howlers that JKR
wrote about. I looked around. The store was full of
people, especially little kids, several who stared
at me, smirking and giggling, knowing what was
to come. 
I opened the envelope. I mean, what else COULD I
do if it was a howler?

"IF YOU'RE SO BLEEPIN' SMART,
WRITE YOUR OWN FRIGGIN' BOOK 
AND DON'T CRITICISE OR MOUTH OFF
WITH YOUR HIDDEN OPINIONS OR
PROBLEMS OR AGENDAS OR ATTITUDES
TO THOSE OF US WHO HAD THE COURAGE
AND TOOK THE RISKS AND MADE THE
SACRIFICES TO WRITE OUR OWN BOOKS
AND GET THEM PUBLISHED!!!"


The howler blew me the raspberry and burst into flames.
A little girl giggled and ran down the aisle to tell 
her mother who said that she didn't hear anything.
Really now.......

The owl sat atop the display, his leg stretched out
waiting for a tip. I gave him a knut and we both
went on our separate ways whistling. Well I did anyway.
Owls don't whistle. Gonna need an editor.......





From yswahl at stis.net  Mon Oct 20 03:46:00 2003
From: yswahl at stis.net (samnanya)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 03:46:00 -0000
Subject: POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER - CLEARER POST
Message-ID: <bmvlpo+2vsc@eGroups.com>

NOTE  - I got the idea for writing this little satire
when I began questioning  why on earth I was getting
all lathered up about other people's (and my own)
opinions and posts on the HPFGU site and about the
Harry Potter series in general. 

Comments are appreciated. Enjoy!. 



       THE  POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER

           YEAR ONE -  THE THINGY STONE

Chapter One - The Boy Who Lived
=======================================================
In which, after dropping Harry Potter at 4 Privet Drive,
Rubeus Hagrid is arrested and sent to Azkaban for not
wearing his crash helmet while illegally flying over
Privett Drive on a motorcycle allegedly registered to 
convicted felon Sirius Black.

"Don't blame me!" yelled Mr. Hagrid, ripping a tire off
a police cruiser, "Finding a size 24 motorcycle helmet
is tough enough this time of night, and I was on an
urgent and secret mission on behalf of Albus Dumbledore, 
deliverin' a baby to Priv....oops, shouldn't have told
ya that!".

Mr. Hagrid was later released on his own recognizance 
on a technicality after the arresting officer's 
defective alcohol detector could not demonstrate
that Mr. Hagrid had consumed the required three 
quart minimum needed to prove that the half giant
was indeed intoxicated.

Later in the chapter, the Dursleys have Harry's scar
illegally removed by out-patient cosmetic surgery and
the application of copious amounts of botox.


Chapter Two - The Boy Who Can't Be Found
====================================================
In which, after years of abuse and neglect by the
Dursleys, Harry Potter was removed from their care
by Child Welfare and placed at the residence of
Frank Bryce where he mysteriously disappeared
shortly thereafter.

"I have no idea whatsoever what happened to the
boy!" hissed the small squat man when contacted
by a representative from Child Welfare.
"Lassst I sssaw of him he was being fed to ....
I mean feeding our pet ssnake, Nagini." 

In an angry interview, Albus Dumbledore raged
that "Some idiot at Child Welfare removed young
Potter from a home where he was under a charm
to protect him against the Death Eaters and 
sent him to a  place where he likely was
eaten by one."

Child Welfare declined to comment.


Chapter Three - The Letters To No One
================================================
Deleted and later renumbered since Harry has
not yet been found.
See attached picture of young Potter on
Milk Carton.


Chapter Four - The New Keeper of the Wands
=================================================
In which Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary
to the Minister of the Ministry of Magic, helps
sign into law two special pieces of legislation,
one for the production of environmentally approved
safety wands, and the other for the protection
of young wizards and muggles. 

According to the first law, all wands must be
manufactured in such a  way that no dragons,
unicorns, or phoenixes would be harmed during
the making of said wands. In addition, a special
license from the MoM would be required before
production of wands made from unicorn tails would
be approved.
The measure passed by a narrow margin, with angry
and vocal dissention."What purpose is a wand if it
cannot be used?" raged Albus Dumbledore. 

The second law required that all Hogwarts students
would only be authorized to wave a non-functional
wand. Wands that  turn into chickens when waved,
though frowned upon, would  be acceptable pending
the development of a more aesthetically pleasing
model. Students caught using a non-approved wand
would be subject to immediate expulsion.
In addition, all students would be rigorously
tested on the ethics and morals of proper wand
use, including specific directives against the
improper insertion of wands into body orifices
of any and all living creatures (including but
not limited to troll nostrils)


Chapter Five - Diagon Alley
===================================================
In which students and parents who arrived at Diagon
Alley found that most of the stores had been closed
or were out of business due to the onerous 
legislative environment or events beyond anyone's
control.

Gringotts Bank was shuttered after  the books were
found to be cooked (literally) by some rogue goblins.
All safe deposit boxes were sealed and Hagrid could
not retrieve the sorcerers stone hidden in Vault 713
(oops, shouldn't have told ya that!).

Mr. Ollivander was taken into custody and his wand
shop shuttered by the MoM after dozens of illegal
wands made from the tails of  unicorns and dodos
were found hidden under illegally deforested
mahogany chips.

Hogwarts students aimlessly wandered about Diagon
Alley as they tried in vain to obtain the newly
required license needed to purchase owls, but
no one in  the MoM really gave a hoot. In effect,
all students were forced to send all mail via the
post office, which resulted in the cessation of
all effective mail delivery to and from Hogwarts
for the year. Attempts to send letters to Hogwarts
via owls covered with sticky postage stamps proved
futile. Wildlife rescue needed to be called to free
and clean the many gummy and postage cancelled owls
that littered the countryside.
A special investigation is pending.

Rats, er.... vermin, were clearly not  permitted as
(gasp!) pets by the  MoM since "the MoM can not be
responsible for tracing where they have been". 
In a last attempt at sanity, and at great personal
peril, an anonymous wizard sent Hedwig to search
for Harry Potter, though the poor thing didn't have
a clue who Harry Potter was or what to look for.


Chapter Six - Journey to Hogwarts
=====================================================
In which we met Neville Longbottom, the Weasleys,
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger as well as several
other inconsequential students. The trip on the
Hogwarts Express was uneventful and dreadfully
boring as no one aboard was famous or worthy of
going on about.
(editor's note: The only objection we found in this
chapter is an uncompensated product placement - a
reference to "mars bars"- which was of course
erased since no wizard knew what on earth a mars
bar was, and Miss Granger, the only identifiable
muggle on board, was not helpful, which was
understandable considering that her parents
were both dentists.


Chapter Seven - The Sorting Hat
====================================================
In which the Sorting Hat was declared a bio-hazard
having been on who knows how many filthy first year
heads during  the thousand years of Hogwart's
existence. The hat was about to be tossed into the
rubbish when someone got the bright idea to auction
it off on EBay where it was sold to some poor
unsuspecting muggle for fifteen pounds.

The students were sorted into their houses using a
politically correct procedure that assured that all
students would be allocated fairly and impartially
to a house. Draco Malfoy was assigned to Gryffindor
and Susan Bones to Slytherin, where she was
promptly turned into a bullfrog by Flint.

Hermione Granger was assigned to Hufflepuff. She 
was later observed chewing gum and drawing stars
and squiggles all over her textbooks while
daydreaming in class about shopping trips to
Tahrjay or Bloomies.

"Like, I mean, Hogsmeade is sooooo uncool," she
simpered to her gang of rogue Hufflepuff girls, 
while dragging  on her cigarette then rubbing it
out on the butt of a stone gargoyle, who shrieked 
indignantly.


Chapter Eight - The Potions Master
==================================================
In which it was learned that Professor Severus
Snape was recently removed as potions master from 
Hogwarts after several complaints from students,
particularly Neville Longbottom, an emotionally
challenged boy. 

"H-he was never ever nice to me and almost boiled
Trevor, my toad, who besides being my pet,is also on
the endangered amphibians list," Master Longbottom
complained bitterly. "Snape always made fun of me in
class. My parents would sue but their guardians are
still in litigation with Gringotts Mutual for
denying their disability claim, and one law suit at
a time is enough to be going on with."

The final straw for Snape came when the amphibian
that was actually tossed into the blibbering potion
in Trevor's stead was later proven to be Susan
Bones, who had been missing for several days.
Professor Snape escaped, presumably to avoid the
Dark Lord, but actually to avoid questioning by
authorities regarding Miss Bones' disappearance. 

After a lengthly but futile search over several
months covering several states, authorities
received an anonymous tip from a parsel-mouth
that former Professor Snape could be found in 
Pensacola, Florida working as the night manager
of a Jamba Juice franchise.


Chapter Nine - The Midnight Time-Out Session
-------------===================================
What? WHAT!! You really thought there would be
a duel at Hogwarts???? 
Puh leeeeez! To avoid resorting to such
barbarism, the students sat around a healing
circle to iron out their differences. Though
this is the longest and most tedious chapter
in the book , the reader will be pleased to
know that all differences were resolved in a
politically correct manner and of course no
student was brained or hexed in this chapter.

The highlight of the "duel" was when Draconius
Malfoy and Neville Longbottom rose as one and
hugged in the center of the room to the polite
applause of all.

"I am pleased to act in so forthright a manner
with my new found friend Nev. This is SO much
more civilized than wand waving. or bat hexing."
"Yes, Mal," grinned Mr. Longbottom. "Though
Drac's dad was a death eater, oops ... I mean
Post Life Masticator, and my parents are
resently merely cabbages due to his actions,
I am sure that it is now the proper time to
let bygones be bygones so that we all enjoy our
newfound companionship."

Hermione Granger was particularly pleased with
this new turn of events. 
"Dey done lotsa good stuff to get deir differences
resolved," she said between cracking gum. "and
dis meeting is a great excuse not to studey
dose dum wizzaard books or go to those dreeeery
classes anyhoo. I mean like, who NEEDS magic?
I'll use my charms and good looks to get by....".


Chapter Ten - Halloween
===================================================
Professor Flitwick resigned in protest after
attempting to teach his class using the new MoM
wand safety requirements. "I mean who ever heard 
of such a thing !" he squeaked. "Swish and cluck!
Swish and cluck! There were chickens all over the
place! Maybe the Ministry thinks that having all
these chickens  flapping around Hogwarts is a GOOD
thing - but I have had enough! What good are
fluffy souffles  and omelets against the Dark Lord!
.. oops I mean the Tragically Misunderstood Wizard
With A Challenged Childhood ?"

Meanwhile, Hermione Grainger was absent from the
Halloween feast because she lost track of time
(how ironic!) and dallied too long in the girl's
bathroom putting on her makeup.

Unfortunately, all that was found of Miss Granger
later that evening was a greasy smudge on one of
the sinks after the mountain troll rampaging
through Hogwarts cornered her in the girl's
bathroom. With no Harry Potter to save her, and
with Ron Weasley assigned to Ravenclaw where he was
studying library science and elf-folk dancing,
no one noticed that she was missing. After roping
off the crime scene, authorities were puzzled by
a lone chicken flapping around the girls bathroom,
though some suspect that it may have been conjured
by Miss Granger's wand in it's feeble attempt to
save her.

Meanwhile, on Privet Drive in Surrey, a muggle
child went berserk, stabbing 15 people. When
finally subdued, the rather porky child (oops ...
gravitationally challenged child) was found
clutching a mysterious sword that had belonged
to one "Godric Griffindor".

"Little Dudders was at this party sticking his
wand up someone's butt  wearing this silly hat
I got on EBay when this shiny sword fell out
of it and bonked him on his head!" the muggle
mum sobbed, "my poor little tyke just went
wiggy and started slashing and stabbing people!
It wasn't his fault! He's a good boy! There
should have been a warning labels on that sword!"

Manwhile, little porky (oh my!  I meant to say
spherically enhanced )  Dudders sat in a corner
drooling "Now  I'M the hair of Slytherin!
Now I'M the hair of Slytherin!"
Both mother and child were taken to the local
precinct for questioning.


Chapter Eleven - Quidditch
================================================== 
In which the exciting though recklessly dangerous
"broom Quidditch" had of course been banned and
replaced by a safer more acceptable  hobby-horse
Quidditch. Special stands were erected for all the
doctors and ambulance chasing lawyers anticipating
an accident. The match was delayed for two months
to allow for construction of  wheelchair access
needed to obtain OSHA approval of the plans.

To pay for the special construction required, two
more circles were added  to the three way above
ground level, resulting in a more environmentally
sound and aesthetically pleasing design. In a 
clever marketing move, the Ministry announced that
the first Quidditch Match was  to be sponsored by
Audi Motors.

But of course, there was much  work yet to be done!
To prevent injury, the use or even the possession
of blodgers was banned, and the actual Quaffle was
required to be made from soft rubber from specially
grown non-endangered rubber trees.

After considerable objections by the Safety in 
Athletics Committee, chaired by pacifist Ravenclaw
student activists Crabbe and Doyle, the beaters
were eliminated from the team, but after rabid
complaints from the Quidditch Players Union, who
threatened to strike if any players were eliminated,  
cooler heads prevailed and the two beaters on each
team were retained as health inspectors, who could
stop a match for any reason if any player, fan,
or creature was deemed endangered. The beaters'
titles were changed to the more proper "enablers"
to better explain their new more humane roles.

The day of the game began with a special ceremonial
reading of the rules, with sufficient time allotted
to ascertain that everyone was  familiarized with
them, that lasted four hours. To leave no doubt as
to the interpretation of the rules, they were
printed  in English, Gaelic, House-Elfish, Braille,
High-Colonic and Troll.

Both teams met in the center of the field to review
the rules yet again, although said rules were also
printed on the Quaffle in indelible ink along with
instructions as to the proper care cleaning and
handling of said quaffle. The game was delayed 
just a tad longer  so that the proper forms and
waivers of liability could be signed in triplicate
and notarized,  and that all sponsors products be
properly endorsed and displayed.

At last the game began in earnest just before sunset,
and continued  well into the night, though few
students had consumed the needed amount of coffee,
no-doz or methamphetamines needed to endure the ennui.
In addition, no one could see what the hell was 
happening on the field since after all the OSHA
requirements were met, there was not enough galleons
left in the Hogwarts Treasury for stadium lights.

Though the actual cheering for an individual team
was banned, the fans were encouraged to engage in
refrains of Kumbaya and Michael Row Your Boat Ashore,
which served to anesthetize the barely conscious crowd.

When things seemed particularly futile, and it became
evident that someone might actually have to WIN this
thing,  Neville Longbottom obligingly fell off his
hobby horse after he was grazed by a whiffle-snitch
and was promptly surrounded by suits.
The game was then suspended indefinitely while all
involved haggled over the fine points of the rules.
Specially trained paramedics were called to counsel
the team that was losing (oops...temporarily
computationally deficient though well within the
schema of recovery)
Classes were cancelled for the next two days so that
everyone could have a well deserved rest or to goof
off in general. The spirit of Hermione Grainger
miraculously appeared to celebrate the occasion.


Chapter Twelve - The Boys Who Made Out Like Bandits
==================================================== 
In which Hogwarts is finally closed, not because of
the evil deeds of Lord Thingy (the Tragically
Misunderstood Wizard With A Challenged Childhood,
to you), but by  numerous victorious class action
lawsuits brought by Neville  Longbottom and other
interested parties. As part of the settlement,
the Hogwarts School was later sold to Universal
Studios, to  be reopened in the near future as a
theme park.

In a miraculous turn of events, THE Harry Potter
was later found wandering aimlessly banging into
walls at King's Cross  Station and talking to a
fluffy white owl. When questioned, Mr. Potter 
muttered of a "Dark Lord" who had held him
prisoner in a big house and fed him lucky charms
(the poor deluded boy said memory charms, but what
did he know?).  He was helpless and unable to
properly care for himself until such time as he
learned his full legal rights. 

Mr. Potter kept on muttering that we was famous,
and was long overdue at Hogwarts, but after
walking repeatedly into a wall between platforms
9 and 10, was taken to St. Mungo's for observation.

In a later development, Neville Longbottom and 
his best friend and brilliant tral lawyer Draconius
Malfoy were seen eating chicken marsala (range free
chicken of course) at Spago's where both parties
refused all attempts to interview them.

-end of the story, or is it just the beginning ???---

Epilogue
==================================================== 
A few months later, long after the Thingy story
that everyone was so sure would be a sure fire
marketing success  (that is,  until it was edited
and politically corrected to death) was long
forgotten languishing as number 40008 on the
Amazon Best Seller List,  remaindered on a hidden
back shelf at Barnes and Noble, and left for
compost in the gardening department of K-Mart
next to the Martha  Stewart artifacts
and memorabilia, and within 25 words of ending
this incredibly long run on sentence, and while
running some errands one Sunday afternoon, I
accidentally discovered a bitter though unbowed
Albus  Dumbledore cleverly disguised as
a Wal Mart greeter.

I regained my composure in the presence of such
a great wizard, and after sensing my respect and
admiration for what he was and could have been, he 
begrudgingly agreed to chat, though he was not a
happy camper by any means.

"I was such a talented wizard and Hogwarts was
such a great school" he complained, "and NOW look
at the lot of us! Pathetic, I say!"

His long robes were replaced by the uninspiring 
Wal Mart Uniform and he was minus his beard due
to the strict personnel dress code. Though ol' 
Albus held up pretty well through many hundreds of
years of wizard wars and adventures, he sadly had
aged considerably since he left Hogwarts in 
disgrace. Standing by the shopping carts in
Wal-Mart, he just looked  very ........... old.

"Even Trelawney couldn't predict that it would all
end like this!" said Albus, shaking his head sadly
while directing some jerk loudly yammering on his 
cel-phone down the Halloween Candy aisle where he
was promptly bitten by Professor Lupin, nattily
dressed in what appeared to be  a werewolf costume.

"Hundreds of years of education and for what?" he
raged, sending two insufferably whiny little brats
down to the gardening section, where Professor
Sprout lassoed them with devils snare, ignoring
their pitiful cries which grew fainter by the
minute. She turned to Dumbledore and flashed him
the "thumbs up".

"Lucky to get this job!" he smiled wistfully.
"Even after I turned the manager into a  baboon's
backside they didn't relent until I threatened
them with an Age Discrimination suit! Hot Damn!"
he cackled, "Now THAT got their attention! I 
thought I had power at Hogwarts! HA!!!" his voice
boomed across the store, and there was a gleam
of triumph in his eyes. He smiled as if nothing
had changed.

"Maybe I will write my memoirs one day," he mused,
pointing out the location of the pets department
to a studio apartment dweller, the type who lets
their dogs poop in children's  sandboxes while
loudly yammering about animal rights. He watched
carefully  as the man smugly turned the corner,
at which time Aragog silently  dropped from the
ceiling  onto the man's  back. After a short
struggle and a few strangled choked-off screams,
the man lay twitching,  Aragog clicking his
mandibles in triumph.

Hagrid peered around the corner and waved his
thanks to Dumbledore for providing such a varied
and nutritious diet for his old friend and pet.
"Least I can do, Old Chum!" shouted Dumbledore
down the aisle.
Fang trotted over, lifted his leg, and peed on
the man's motionless body.

"Great man, Dumbledore! Great man!" smiled
Hagrid. Few knew that Dumbledore, at great risk
and peril, let Hagrid hide Aragog and his
immediate family in the ductwork above the pet
department after the Forbidden Forest was
razed and converted to time shares. 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. I could see that
though bitter, he still was able to find joy in
the simple pleasures of life..

"One thing you can be sure of though," he said,
waving a finger at me. "I won't end up all
broke and depressed like that poor Rowlings
woman, listening to the opinions of all those
Politically Correct  Silly People when I write
MY book!!"

"What do you mean, sir?" I said. "What people?"
"All those silly critics! " he muttered, starting
to become bitter again. "All those who dismiss
JKR as a "children's book writer"!" He wrinkled
his long nose, and I almost expected flames to
fly out.

"All those who say she can't hardly write at all!
They can't even hold her broomstick I say ....
ESPECIALLY  those silly posters on the internet
with their silly theories and silly ideas......
without a sense of humor or a  life...They
simply have to  get out more! Chat rooms.....
what sheer utter silliness"

I nervously turned my head, quickly locating the
nearest exit.  
"Shame was that she actually listened to them,
JKR did, .... and now look  " He stared at the
ground sadly. "Poor woman......"
The customer traffic into Wal Mart had temporarily
halted. Dumbledore looked at me clearly for the 
first time. and his eyes slowly squinted. 
Legilimens? I thought at first, but that was in
the book that was never written! 
He was now looking at me very carefully, trying
to read my thoughts. Lucky for me I don't have
very many.

"You haven't seen that ... that Samnanya nitwit
around ....  have you?" 
I avoided his eyes.  "W-who?"
"This poster who can be rude and opinionated...
no different than the rest of 'em and he thinks
he knows EVERYTHING and can figure it all out.." 
He smiled malevolently. "well ..... does he?"
I turned for the door. Without my having noticed 
it before, Professor Lupin had positioned himself
at the exit.... standing there smiling with a bag
of mars bars in his hands. I noticed that he had
big pointy teeth. 
I smiled stupidly and shrugged. Lupin shook the
bag and grinned.
"Still think I killed Sirius?" he said
conversationally,  ripping the bag of mars bars 
with several of his very sharp fingernails. 
"Uhhh..." I turned to Dumbledore, who was glancing
over my shoulder. 
"Looks like you will be someones just desert ..."
he smiled. "He can't WAIT to wolf you down,
so to speak....."
I heard the mars bar bag shredding behind me.
I wondered where Luna Lovegood was, but realized
sadly that she would never ever be written in this
version of the Potterverse, and she would never
get the chance to work with Harry against ......
Lupin tossed the confettied shreds of the bag
aside and advanced towards me. 
I thought of performing the immensely complex
Homorphus Charm on Lupin like Gilderoy Lockhart
did to the Wagga Wagga  werewolf but who the hell
was I kidding? I'm not even sure that that fool
could do it, like he did in the book.
Well, at least I stay up late at nights and
could howl with the best of them.
I awaited my fate. 
But then Lupin stopped.
"Aahhhh, but wait !" said Dumbledore. "Maybe you
are in luck, after all!"
He was rising on his toes and staring over my
shoulder.
"Minerva!" he shouted, waving both arms way over
his head. "Over here!"
I turned to see Professor McGonagall striding into
Wal-Mart. Somehow that just  didn't seem right ---
she was so Lord and Taylor, but I kept my big
mouth shut for a change.
"Albus!" she beamed. " I have found one! Hadn't
been mentioned until Book Three but clearly this
is a matter that I daresay just cannot wait!"
She held this little gold thingy between two
fingers. It was a time turner.
Dumbledore stared at me. "Any objections ?"
The time turner glinted in the flourescent lights.
" That's funny...." Dumbledore said, knowing that
there was nothing funny at all. 
"Seems to me that there were lots and LOTS of
readers who had problems with the time turner
concept when it was first introduced.  Especially
those self righteous web posters  - " he spat
the last words out like he just bit into a 
Bertie Botts camel vomit flavored jelly bean -
"on that silly website who screeched like
banshees when it was first used. Cheap trick!
They cried.
Bet none of THEM ever wrote a story before."
He took the time turner from McGonagall and held
it gently in his palm, checking to see that it
could still turn properly.
"We are going to go back and set Ms. Rowling's
book right.... aren't we?"
Lupin and Hagrid and Sprout and Fang and Aragog
and ..... the whole damned world - all seemed to
be closing in in around me...... 
"W-we?"
"Well, YOU think you are a writer ... yeah, WE....." 
I cringed.
"Hell," he sneered."You don't have a life anyway.."
"I do .. kind of.. I mean I have a family and ...."
"You should have thought of that before ......."
Dumbledore raised time turner, and with a swish and 
flick of his index finger, he conjured a thin
necklace that enveloped everyone in the circle,
including me.
Remus Lupin had his arm around my shoulder. His fur
itched.  Everyone was smiling, except for me. 
"Thank you, Minerva."
"My pleasure Albus. Though as you remember, the time
turner would not even have been here if not for ....
for ......Miss Granger."
Dumbledore nodded - I saw a tear trickle down his
face, but there was no beard for it to fall into,
so it dropped on the floor with a gentle plop. 
The small inert critter it happened to splash on,
stirred, rolled over, looked around,and darted out
the front door into the parking lot. I noticed that
it was missing a digit on its right front paw.
Could that be a clue? 
I shook my head until it cleared.

"The end, " said Dumbledore, looking around at us all,
of another silly story."
It was getting late, and there wasn't much to feast
on in Wal-Mart.
"Before we go, I must first acknowledge the demise of
a very fine person, who should be here, and most
assuredly will be after we set things right in the
Potterverse." 
He kicked me in the ankle. I stood up straight.
"I would like us all to raise our glasses to
Hermione Granger."
"But if I do that I cant see anything!" I protested.
"Shut up, you fool!" hissed McGonagall. "Where you are
going you won't NEED your stupid glasses!"
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued,"Remember
Miss Granger" 
I raised my glasses. As expected, I couldn't see a
damned thing.
"Everybody ready? Time to set the record straight and
give Ms. Rowlings her just reward, I say!"
I was speechless --- I always wanted to be a writer - 
it was my dream --- and  yet.....
"Ready?" Dumbledore asked me.
I nodded.
He smiled and said, totally out of character,"Yeah..
right... YOU WISH!"
He spun the time turner and the world blurred even
more, and I nearly fainted.

When the air finally cleared, I was standing before
a huge display of Harry Potter fiction - the REAL
thing - just as JKR intended without any outside
interference Her own brave vision, without the silly
ideas and blibberings of others who thought that
THEY .... WE .... I .... knew everything .... when
in reality, we could not hold her broomstick.

I reached out and grabbed a copy, flipping through
the pages. It was all there exactly as it should be.
Every word. Every idea. I never felt better.

Suddenly I heard a commotion and looked up. A large
white owl darted overhead, swerved in front of me,
and dropped a red envelope onto the book I was 
holding. 
I stared at the letter for a second and realized
that it was one of those dreaded howlers that JKR
wrote about. I looked around. The store was full of
people, especially little kids, several who stared
at me, smirking and giggling, knowing what was
to come. 
I opened the envelope. I mean, what else COULD I
do if it was a howler?

"IF YOU'RE SO BLEEPIN' SMART,
WRITE YOUR OWN FRIGGIN' BOOK 
AND DON'T CRITICISE OR MOUTH OFF
WITH YOUR HIDDEN OPINIONS OR
PROBLEMS OR AGENDAS OR ATTITUDES
TO THOSE OF US WHO HAD THE COURAGE
AND TOOK THE RISKS AND MADE THE
SACRIFICES TO WRITE OUR OWN BOOKS
AND GET THEM PUBLISHED!!!"


The howler blew me the raspberry and burst into flames.
A little girl giggled and ran down the aisle to tell 
her mother who said that she didn't hear anything.
Really now.......

The owl sat atop the display, his leg stretched out
waiting for a tip. I gave him a knut and we both
went on our separate ways whistling. Well I did anyway.
Owls don't whistle. Gonna need an editor.......





From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 03:48:26 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 03:48:26 -0000
Subject: Salespeople in person
Message-ID: <bmvlua+7cqr@eGroups.com>

Hello All,

I was at work on Saturday afternoon.  We were having a huge sidewalk 
sale and we were quite busy.  A woman came up to the counter, so I 
said, "Can I help you?" like a good little worker bee.  

Instead of some question about the sale or an item to purchase she 
said, "You wear perfume, right?"

I said the first thing that came to mind: The truth.  "Absolutely 
not!  It gives me a nasty headache."  She wrinkled her forehead at 
this, which for some reason indicated to me that I should 
elaborate.  So I cheerfully added, "I can't even stand using 
shampoo.  It kills me."  

She sort of glanced at the top of my head and left, evidently to go 
spray cologne all over my boss' son, who was watching the 
merchandise.  

Later that night, a man and a woman came into the store.  Again I 
mistook them for customers.  Again they were trying to sell me 
perfume.  I told them the same thing I told the other people.  They 
tried to sell to my workers.  One girl said she had no money, so did 
the guy, and the other girl said she wore only $5 perfume.  After 
making some remark about stepping into "bizarro world" they left.

This is not the first time this has happened.  I've been offered 
some equivalent to health insurance, more perfume, makeup, and I've 
been asked to donate to various charities, including a woman who 
comes around every few months with a letter essentially just asking 
for money for herself because she's deaf and has children to support 
or something.  

That reminded me of this whole telemarketing thing.  I find someone 
coming to the place I work and attempting to sell things to me or my 
workers much worse than telemarketers bothering me at home.  In 
essence these folks are stealing money from my bosses when they 
waste my time with their sales pitch.  

And why sell to people at work, anyway?  Because it's a captive 
audience?  And they only seem to go for the younger people.  Are we 
more naive and more likely to buy from them?  

Still I can't be rude to them.  Sometimes I'm a little too nice.  
The guy selling the sort-of insurance took maybe 20 minutes to get 
rid of because I was much too nice about it for a while.  He was 
very aggressive but I didn't give in.  I just ended up wasting both 
our time (oops!).  I'll bet it's a lot harder to be rude in person 
than on the phone but at least I have the backup response that I'm 
too busy *working* to talk to them.  But I feel bad dismissing them 
just like that, too.  Okay, that's just sad.

Anyway, I only bring it up because I thought it was funny the 
perfume people showed up right around the same time as this 
discussion about telemarketing.  

Have a wonderful night!

KathyK




From Erthena at aol.com  Mon Oct 20 03:49:11 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 03:49:11 -0000
Subject: Damn Yankees
Message-ID: <bmvlvn+vuq1@eGroups.com>

I know this is a bit late but I have to share my little story of my 
Dad's reaction to the Sox losing (he's been a huge Red Sox fan since 
he was a kid).  He keeps insisting that there is a "non-existant 
sports event" in which he hopes "the imaginary fish team" 
defeats "the evil empire".  These are direct quotes and do not and 
the fact that I've memorized them relates to how many times I've 
heard them said.  I was luckily having a sleepover during the game 
and didn't see him blow up at the manager when the Sox lost.  I've 
heard it was extremely nasty.

~~loony, who is thinking of swearing off baseball altogether because 
when she watches the yankees win (even when they aren't in the game 
she's watching)




From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 03:57:40 2003
From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 03:57:40 -0000
Subject: Nimbus 2005 in Ottawa, Canada--NOT
In-Reply-To: <bmvff1+kpuh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bmvmfk+12vv@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kaisenji" <kaisenji at y...> 
wrote:
> Hi all this is propably my first time posting but here goes.
> Ottawa?!? As my mom quiped "Get ready to shell out serious $$$$$$$ 
in
> Canada."  Am I gonna need to take out a loan to go for just 3 
days?? Argh!
> Kidding! I'm kidding! No slams against our Canadian potter 
people.  As
> someone who is "frugal" most of the time, this seems to place so 
many
> people outside of affortability. But it is early still so maybe 
they
> got a smashing deal (crosses fingers).  Or have I been that long 
out
> of the loop thanks to two classes requiring LOTS of reading?
> Thoughts?
> Kaisenji
> p.s.  Oooooo, I'd just love to do a paper on Potter!
> -------
> Here's the note if folks didn't get it:
> Posted 10/19/03
> The Convention Alley Planning Committee is pleased to announce the
> release of the Call for Papers (CFP) for our HPfGU-sponsored
> international Harry Potter conference to be held July 30-August 1,
> 2004 at the University of Ottawa. The text of the CFP follows this
> introduction, and may also be found as both a text file and in Word
> in the files section of this list.

Um, I believe there seems to be some misunderstanding here.  If you 
read the beginning of the call for papers, it says clearly that the 
name of the event is Convention Alley, not Nimbus.  It also says 
that it is taking place in 2004, not 2005.  The board of HPEF is 
considering bids for a Nimbus 2005 (if we decide to keep that name) 
but a bid has not yet been chosen, and no one is planning to submit 
one for Ottawa in 2005, as far as we know.  Finally, just because a 
book costs $10 in the US and the jacket says it's $15 in Canada 
doesn't mean things are more expensive there than here; the exchange 
rate, as those figures should tell you, is actually quite favorable 
to US residents.  And while it IS probably early enough to get a 
good deal on airfare, it's not as early as you think, since, again, 
the event is less than a year from now, not just under two years.

 
 




From princessmelabela at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 06:16:52 2003
From: princessmelabela at yahoo.com (Melanie Black)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 23:16:52 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's the fun in baseball?
In-Reply-To: <bmv93l+3j93@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031020061652.24949.qmail@web20712.mail.yahoo.com>

Lucy, in my experience baseball can go either way - boring, or fun!  
Sometimes a game seems to go on forever with very little happening, 
but if you're lucky enough to get to a game with lots of scoring, 
stolen bases, maybe a bench-clearing brawl (heheh); it can be pretty 
entertaining.  

Baseball on tv is boring to me, but I enjoy attending games 
occasionally.  Part of the appeal of a live baseball game is the 
atmosphere - and of course, stadium food and a beer!  :-)

Tracy 

I adore baseball.  But this is mainly because I have been raised around it.  My brother started playing at age 4, and is now 18 and playing in college.  I personally adore the sport and while lots of people think it's boring.  A close game is awesome!  And seeing someone make an amazing play is even better.  I love it! However, Like I said, baseball was practically my brothers first word and I have gone to countless games :).  


We shall never forget Sirius Black....long live his memory!  
Come visit my LJ http://www.livejournal.com/users/princessmela2
 




Click to subscribe to Sirius_Black








---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From koukla_es at yahoo.es  Mon Oct 20 06:48:38 2003
From: koukla_es at yahoo.es (neith_seshat)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 06:48:38 -0000
Subject: More about JKR visit to Spain
Message-ID: <bn00g6+f4b0@eGroups.com>

Dear all,

I informed you when the Prince of Asturias Prize was given to JKR. 
The ceremony will take place next Thurday October 23rd, and it 'll be 
seen in Euronews and via internet(www.fpa.es)

Unfortunately, she won't give any speech during the ceremony (she 
wanted to, but it is not foreseen). And, worst of all, due "to 
editorial requirements", she will be the only person who will not 
give any conference; she will have only a private encounter with 30 
children, organised by the publishers.

I am quite disappointed, becuase there are always interesting 
conferencies by the winners (I myself had the opportunity of 
listening to Noam Chomsky, for one, and even Woody Allen gave one). 

Let's hope her publisheres will change her policy!

Neith




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Mon Oct 20 06:58:24 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 16:58:24 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] What's the fun in baseball?
References: <3F93DCF2.32337.9C16EDF@localhost>
Message-ID: <023101c396d7$8f40ceb0$66984cca@Monteith>

Iggy wrote
> > Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the
excitement in
> > that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I do about
> > baseball...)


Shaun replied
> Well, I'm a cricket fan - one of the few sports I like, and the only one I
really like to
> watch. I even like test cricket (Australia v Zimbabwe, heading up to a
thrilling
> conclusion at the moment) which is the form where a match can take 5 days
and
> is just as likely to end in a draw. <snipped due to length>


Nox now:
What he said! (in response to Shaun's damn fine reply and explanation of
cricket.)



And if anyone is interested, these two give pretty easy to understand
descriptions of rugby union football... (if *I* can understand it, it must
be easy.)

http://www.thisis-rugby.com/union/content/beginners_guide.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/rugby_union/rules/html/default.stm


And this one explains AFL (Australian Football League). Nothing to to do
with English sports at all, but since it's being played all over the place
these days and I brought it up... <grin>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Rules_Football

Love
Nox




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Mon Oct 20 09:31:54 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:31:54 -0000
Subject: Most boring sport (was What's the fun in baseball?)
In-Reply-To: <bmv15l+6f6k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn0a2a+e1cl@eGroups.com>

Lucy quoted her brother:

>  And I can say without fear of contradiction that 
> it was the most boring three hours of my life.  

I have never watched baseball so I can't comment directly.  However, 
I think there must be some serious rivals for most boring sport.

I find cricket dull i the extreme.  And I have always imagined that 
some Scotsman, overhearing that the English had the most boring game 
in the world, was impelled by a fit of patriotic enthusiasm to invent 
golf.

The BBC does its bit to keep audiences in a permanent state of torpor 
by allocating large blocks of programming from time to time to the 
laughably named 'world' snooker championships (contestants have been 
known to hail from as far away as Ireland).  That these are held in 
Sheffield tells the prospective viewer all he needs to know.

David




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 11:43:50 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:43:50 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Nimbus 2005 in Ottawa, Canada
In-Reply-To: <bmvff1+kpuh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031020114350.11060.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com>

 --- Kaisenji <kaisenji at yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi all
this is propably my first time posting but
> here goes.
> Ottawa?!? As my mom quiped "Get ready to shell out
> serious $$$$$$$ in
> Canada."  Am I gonna need to take out a loan to go
> for just 3 days?? Argh!
> Kidding! I'm kidding! No slams against our Canadian
> potter people.  As
> someone who is "frugal" most of the time, this seems
> to place so many
> people outside of affortability. But it is early
> still so maybe they
> got a smashing deal (crosses fingers).  Or have I
> been that long out
> of the loop thanks to two classes requiring LOTS of
> reading?
> Thoughts?
> Kaisenji
> p.s.  Oooooo, I'd just love to do a paper on Potter!

As Barb pointed out (thanks, Barb!), this is not a
Nimbus event. The home page information will be
changed shortly, sorry for the confusion.

As for the expense of coming to Canada? No matter
where a conference is held there are always going to
be people who can't afford to travel there. Keep in
mind that any prices given by the Convention Alley
team will be in Canadian dollars, which means the cost
in US dollars will be about 25% lower.

The event is next summer, so it's not too early to
start looking for travel deals.

Sheryll

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From s_ings at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 11:46:39 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:46:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Nimbus 2005 in Ottawa, Canada
In-Reply-To: <20031020114350.11060.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <20031020114639.65957.qmail@web41115.mail.yahoo.com>

 --- Sheryll Townsend <s_ings at yahoo.com> wrote: >  ---
> 
> As Barb pointed out (thanks, Barb!), this is not a
> Nimbus event. The home page information will be
> changed shortly, sorry for the confusion.
> 
Yup, replying to my own post. I meant the homepage of
the -Convention list would be changed, having thought
(for some odd reason) that I was *on* the
HPFGU-Convention list at the moment. 

Sheryll

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 12:56:58 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 07:56:58 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
References: <3F93DCF2.32337.9C16EDF@localhost>
Message-ID: <001301c39640$7ce40ee0$34ec79a5@rick>

> > Iggy:
> > Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the
excitement in
> > that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I do about
> > baseball...)
>


>Dreadnought:
> Well, I'm a cricket fan - one of the few sports I like, and the only one I
really like to
> watch. I even like test cricket (Australia v Zimbabwe, heading up to a
thrilling
> conclusion at the moment) which is the form where a match can take 5 days
and
> is just as likely to end in a draw.

*snip*

Thanks for such a detailed explanation of the game.  I think I get the idea
now.  (Kinda makes me want to watch a game just to see if I do...)

Just a few quick questions:

Why does the bowler throw the ball with his arm twisted the way it is?
(compared to the form used in baseball... or even underhand like in
softball...)

Did the term "sticky wicket" come from cricket, or croquet?  (I imagine it
being a term like being in a "pickle" in baseball, where the runner is stuck
between two bases and, since the basemen can toss the ball to eachother, the
runner doesn't really have a safe base to get to, but hasn't been quite
gotten out yet...)

Does cricket have anything that's the equivalent of a "strike" or a "foul
ball" in baseball?  (I understand that they have outs, runs, and "home runs"
of a sort...)

Ok... about runs...

(wicket) ------------------------------------------->(wicket)   = 1 run
(wicket) <------------------------------------------ (wicket)   = 1 run

Right?


(I may have another question or two later...)

Iggy McSnurd







From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 13:18:25 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 08:18:25 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Most boring sport (was What's the fun in baseball?)
References: <bn0a2a+e1cl@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003e01c39643$7b3a4f20$34ec79a5@rick>


>David:
> I find cricket dull i the extreme.  And I have always imagined that
> some Scotsman, overhearing that the English had the most boring game
> in the world, was impelled by a fit of patriotic enthusiasm to invent
> golf.

Iggy:

*grin* A little bit of trivia here about the origin of the name "golf."

G-entlemen
O-nly
L-adies
F-orbidden

(Betcha didn't know that, eh?)

> David:
> The BBC does its bit to keep audiences in a permanent state of torpor
> by allocating large blocks of programming from time to time to the
> laughably named 'world' snooker championships (contestants have been
> known to hail from as far away as Ireland).  That these are held in
> Sheffield tells the prospective viewer all he needs to know.

I knew this once... I think...  but what IS snooker?  (And what's Sheffield
have to do with it?)


Iggy McSnurd
(who lives in northern Alabama now, having moved from the coast in Central
California.)






From chiara.fantoni at cec.eu.int  Mon Oct 20 13:53:36 2003
From: chiara.fantoni at cec.eu.int (chiara.fantoni at cec.eu.int)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 15:53:36 +0200
Subject: Barry Trotter: worth a read?
Message-ID: <ED675BC8D7CCD711990E009027FC031A0E317E@EX2BEL86MBX01>

Hi everyone!

I've been redirected from the main HPFGU list, so I'll have my try here, I
hope you don't mind!

I was wondering in a bookshop in The Hague - Holland on Saturday (I live in
Belgium) - and alongside the usual HP books, all in English, at least for
OOTP as the Dutch version is still to come out, I saw these two books which
are announced as a parody.

Went through a couple of pages, didn't have enough money with me as my
credit card has been blocked for security reasons, but they look nice
enough.

Is it worth buying them for the fun (they are not cheap, but the price is
still acceptable) or should I stick to the original?

I must say I'm a late fan, having been taken almost against my will to see
the second film and then decided I wanted to read the books (and watch the
first film)...

Has any of you read them?

The commentaries on Amazon are not so bad, any comments?

Chiara



From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 20 14:00:11 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:00:11 -0000
Subject: Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
In-Reply-To: <001301c39640$7ce40ee0$34ec79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bn0ppb+vbe6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> > > Iggy:
> > > Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the
> excitement in
> > > that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I 
do about
> > > baseball...)
> >
> 
> 
>

Don't understand why you colonials have such problems with this - 
it's so simple really:

Definition of cricket

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's 
in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the 
next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side 
that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to 
get those coming in, out. 

Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go 
in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he 
goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.

There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and 
they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have 
been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice 
after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that 
is the end of the game!

HOWZAT!

June




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 20 14:09:17 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:09:17 -0000
Subject: Most boring sport 
In-Reply-To: <bn0a2a+e1cl@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn0qad+d1c1@eGroups.com>

Lucy wrote:

>And I can say without fear of contradiction that 
> it was the most boring three hours of my life.  

David countered:


> I find cricket dull i the extreme.  


I've never seen cricket.  But I think the single most boring sport --
the one I would most consider absolute *torture* to sit through --
would be . . . . 

NASCAR.  

Oh, man.  Around and around and around and around they go.  And what
are they doing?  

Driving a car.  

Heck, *I* can drive a car, and I never ever crash into walls and burst
into flames, either.  ;-)


That said, the sport I would nominate for "Sport That Is Really Cool
At First Glance But Has No Staying Power" would be the X-treme sports
like the grown men riding the little bikes or doing flips on
skateboards.  Yeah, they're athletes and all and the tricks are
amazing.  But it is hard to stay interested for very long because when
you've seen one guy shoot off a ramp and take his feet off the pedals
and kick his legs really high, you've rather seen them all, huh?

Cindy -- who can't understand why she finds gymnastics so fascinating
but can't muster the same interest for the bike dudes





From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 14:18:49 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:18:49 -0000
Subject: What's the fun in baseball?
In-Reply-To: <3F93DCF2.32337.9C16EDF@localhost>
Message-ID: <bn0qs9+6ilf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" 
<drednort at a...> wrote:
 
> Well, I'm a cricket fan - one of the few sports I like, and the 
only one I really like to 
> watch. I even like test cricket (Australia v Zimbabwe, heading up 
to a thrilling 
> conclusion at the moment) which is the form where a match can take 
5 days and 
> is just as likely to end in a draw.
> 
> But it is a game that I concede is pretty hard to like, unless you 
understand the 
> nuances. If you do, it's very cerebral with an incredible level of 
tactics.


By, am I glad we Americans took the best of cricket and of rounders, 
and invented the perfect game:  baseball!  It has all the 
cerebration you could want, with complex tactics, and you get to run 
in a diamond, not just back and forth.

Haggridd, spiritual descendant of Abner Doubleday.




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 20 14:25:43 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:25:43 -0000
Subject: Barry Trotter: worth a read?   No! IMHO
In-Reply-To: <ED675BC8D7CCD711990E009027FC031A0E317E@EX2BEL86MBX01>
Message-ID: <bn0r97+iv9d@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, chiara.fantoni at c... wrote:
> Hi everyone!
> 
> I've been redirected from the main HPFGU list, so I'll have my try 
here, I
> hope you don't mind!
> 
> I was wondering in a bookshop in The Hague - Holland on Saturday 
(I live in
> Belgium) - and alongside the usual HP books, all in English, at 
least for
> OOTP as the Dutch version is still to come out, I saw these two 
books which
> are announced as a parody.
> 
> Went through a couple of pages, didn't have enough money with me 
as my
> credit card has been blocked for security reasons, but they look 
nice
> enough.
> 
> Is it worth buying them for the fun (they are not cheap, but the 
price is
> still acceptable) or should I stick to the original?
> 
> 
> Has any of you read them?
> 
> The commentaries on Amazon are not so bad, any comments?
> 
> Chiara

I bought and read Barry Trotter, hoping to find a parody as funny 
as "Bored of the Rings", but I was quite disappointed.  The parody 
quickly degenerated into sexual antics among the Trio.  It was no 
clever or funny at all except for a tiny bit at the beginning.  The 
story is about a real Barry Trotter who wants to sabortage the 
making of a Barry trotter movie so that he could live in peace and 
quiet.  The book quickly forgets its premise, with dismal results.


Fon't waste you money

Haggridd




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 14:44:56 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 09:44:56 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
References: <bn0ppb+vbe6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001101c3964f$91bbe9a0$b793aec7@rick>


> June:
> Don't understand why you colonials have such problems with this -
> it's so simple really:
>
> Definition of cricket
>

*snip*

AHHH!!  I get it now.

Cricket is the British / Aussie offshoot of baseball!!   (Since, apparently,
by your description, it's the exact same thing...  *grin*)

Iggy McSnurd






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 20 15:00:16 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 15:00:16 -0000
Subject: Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
In-Reply-To: <001101c3964f$91bbe9a0$b793aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn0ta0+j46l@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> 
> > June:
> > Don't understand why you colonials have such problems with this -
> > it's so simple really:
> >
> > Definition of cricket
> >
> 
> *snip*
> 
> AHHH!!  I get it now.
> 
> Cricket is the British / Aussie offshoot of baseball!!   (Since, 
apparently,
> by your description, it's the exact same thing...  *grin*)
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

No - baseball is the US version of cricket - we saw it first.

June




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 15:07:48 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 10:07:48 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
References: <bn0qad+d1c1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001e01c39652$c33dd580$b793aec7@rick>


> Cindy -- who can't understand why she finds gymnastics so fascinating
> but can't muster the same interest for the bike dudes

Iggy:

Heck, you think all the sports you folks have listed are dull, you forgot
the most boring of ALL!  Professional Chess.


Silly thing is, when you look at all the so-called "sports" out there where
people don't seem to really DO much, or get paid a ton to sit on their
butts, I'm amazed Pro-Wrestling gets as much flack as it does.  Yes, it's
"sports entertainment."  Yes... the outcomes are pre-determined (barring a
major problem or accident, like when you actually SAW Sid Vicious' leg snap
during a match... I've got that on tape somewhere.  *ouch*).  But to call
those guys fake is disrespecting the amount of dedication and work they put
into it... Your average pro-wrestler does more work and gets more of a
workout per year than almost any other athlete in a "real" sport... not to
mention that it's an inherently more dangerous job for a LOT less pay.
(When Brett Hart got a 5 mil contract for 3 years, it was considered a MAJOR
contract... compare that to some athletes in other sports that get $15 mil
or more per year, and then spend most of their time on the benches.)


At the risk of offending some, here's a couple of my personal views:

Golf... not a sport.  (Tiger Woods is a technician, not an athlete.)

NASCAR... not a sport.  (Jeff Gordon is a driver, not an athlete.)

Baseball... a sport.  (Nolan Ryan was an athlete.)

Hockey... a sport.  (Wayne Gretskey was an athlete.)

Darts... not a sport.  (Any game you can play with one hand, while drinking
a pint in the other, isn't a sport.)

Horse Racing... a sport... for the horses only.  (Jockeys are just dead
weight, IMHO.)

Football... a sport.  (Jerry Rice is an athlete.)

Rodeo... a sport... kinda.  (You may disagree, but most of those things
require a lot of durability and ability.)

Billiards... not a sport.  (Minnesota Fats was a practical physicist and
technician, IMHO, not an athlete.)

Basketball... a sport.  (Kareem, Wilt, and yes... even Jordan... are all
athletes.)

Gymnastics... a sport.  (I kinda have to agree with this, since my
step-sister is a professional gymnastics teacher and a gymnast herself, so I
know what they go through.)

Rugby, Soccer, and Swimming... all sports.

Diving, Bike Racing, "X-Games"... borderline.  All require skill... but...


Pro-Wrestling... "sports entertainment"... with real athletes.  (Get in the
ring and do what Goldberg, Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar do a few times a
week and see how long *you* last... *chuckle*)


'Nuff said.

Iggy McSnurd







From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 20 15:45:23 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 15:45:23 -0000
Subject: Most boring sport
In-Reply-To: <001e01c39652$c33dd580$b793aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn0vuj+pol2@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Brits win again: Ladeez and gennlemuns I give you the most boring 
sport of all time bar non:

Crown Green bowling.

Don't ask.

And British Football (soccer) runs it a very close second.  I have 
prayed for the death of David Beckham (brain dead Captain of England 
and husband of pathetic self publicist and former Spice Girl) for a 
long time now but HE up there is ignoring me.  If they played in my 
back garden I'd draw the curtains.

June




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Mon Oct 20 15:50:39 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 10:50:39 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
Message-ID: <20186067.1066665039572.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>


> Horse Racing... a sport... for the horses only. (Jockeys are just dead
> weight, IMHO.)

> Rodeo... a sport... kinda. (You may disagree, but most of those things
> require a lot of durability and ability.)

I find these two comparisons amusing.  In one (horse racing) you describe the 
jockey as dead weight.  But in the other a lot of durability and ability is 
required.  I consider them both sports, but I can't see how rodeo could be 
considered a sport while the jockey part of horse racing is not.  I've been a 
fan of horse racing for, oh, over 15 years.  For the first few years I thought, 
wow, that looks like fun, must be great to be a jockey, just hop up there and 
hang on, right?  Wrong.  I've ridden horses since I was six, and that's easy 
enough, once you learn.  Riding race horses is a lot different.  For starters, 
just holding the position isn't that easy.  I've tried this, not on a real 
horse, but on an electronic horse thing at the Kentucky Derby museum.  It is 
murder on the legs, I can't imagine doing it for 2 minutes straight, not once, 
but many times throughout a day.  Not to mention you don't just sit up there 
and hang on, actual use of the brain and quick reflexes are required.   Which 
is why jockeys get a suspension for interfering with other horses, and not the 
horse. :)

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 20 16:53:06 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 16:53:06 -0000
Subject: Most boring sport
In-Reply-To: <001e01c39652$c33dd580$b793aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn13ti+gnsr@eGroups.com>

OK, I'll play . . . 

Iggy wrote:

> Heck, you think all the sports you folks have listed are dull, you
>forgot the most boring of ALL!  Professional Chess.

Does anyone call chess a sport?  I kind figured that a sport must, at
minimum, be physical rather than mental.  And shouldn't you have to
break a sweat from something other than the possibility that you might
lose?  And shouldn't there be at least some risk of injury?  IMHO,
this rules out . . . 

Poker -- not a sport.

Bowling -- not a sport.  (Bowling was a demonstration sport in an
Olympic games, was it not?)

Shooting a gun -- not a sport, unless you must also ski or run around.

Shooting a bow and arrow -- borderline, but a sport.  Probably takes
real arm strength.  

Synchronized swimming -- boring and rather pointless, but a sport, I
guess.

Rhythm Gymnastics -- dangerously close to circus performance, but you
do have to know how to do the splits, so a sport.

Ballroom dancing -- mmmm, not a sport.  "Uniforms" are just *way* too
close to evening attire.


BTW, here's a link to the International Olympic Committee's official
website, which lists all of the Olympic sports.  I think there are
something like *400* Olympic sports.

http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/index_uk.asp

Cindy

======================

Wesley, Wesley, he's our man!  If he can't do it, nobody can!

http://www.clark04.com/

 






From jdumas at kingwoodcable.com  Mon Oct 20 17:00:41 2003
From: jdumas at kingwoodcable.com (Katze)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 12:00:41 -0500
Subject: question about border estimates
Message-ID: <3F9414B9.4080608@kingwoodcable.com>

Hi Everyone,

I'm delurking. I've thoroughly enjoyed the dsicussions here, but have 
waited to get involved until I had something specific to say or ask.

I'm currently working on a new quilt, and I need my border yardage 
estimates. When I preview the yardage estimate, the computer program 
estimates my border fabric as if I'm not going to piece it. However, I 
will be pieceing the border, so I don't need the 5+ yards they tell me I 
need. Is there a way to turn this option off? I would like the program 
to estimate my border yardage as if I am going to piece it.

Thanks for you assistance.

Take care
Kristin




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 20 17:06:11 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 17:06:11 -0000
Subject: Most boring sport
In-Reply-To: <20186067.1066665039572.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>
Message-ID: <bn14m3+8462@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, rvotaw at i... wrote:
> 
> > Horse Racing... a sport... for the horses only. (Jockeys 
are just dead
> > weight, IMHO.)
> 
No... I beg to politely differ.

Horse racing (in England we just call it racing because the Horse is 
a given) is never boring. Jockey skill is most definitely required 
when you add jumps to the equation.

You can bet on it and it ain't dumb luck either.  Form, watching the 
horses in the paddock, watching the horses go down towards the 
start - you can tell if they want to run today.  

Judicious selection of winners at the right time of my life has been 
very useful.  Almost always get the winner in the Grand National 
(our most famous steeplechase race) because there is skill and 
knowledge to predicting the outcome.  I would have fitted in as a 
Ancient Roman no bother - chariot races.

Speaking of which - are there Thestral races?  Can you bet on them - 
and if so, how can you prove your horse won?

June




From mphunt at sprintmail.com  Mon Oct 20 17:26:48 2003
From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 17:26:48 -0000
Subject: FF POLITICALLY CORRECT HARRY POTTER  - BOOK !  (I of 1)
In-Reply-To: <bmvddu+vigf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn15so+rogf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "samnanya" <yswahl at s...> 
wrote:

> Comments are appreciated.  First post is the story, second is the 
> epilogue.
> Enjoy!. 

Sam!  Wonderful story!  I don't usually read FF, but for you I made 
an exception.  It was worth it...this one is great fun!  As one with 
a fairly twisted sense of humor, I had a few laughs reading your tale.

Thanks for sharing it!

Tcy




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Mon Oct 20 17:26:46 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 17:26:46 -0000
Subject: What's the fun in baseball?
In-Reply-To: <004301c396b0$27c0c0a0$6a9ccdd1@RVotaw>
Message-ID: <bn15sm+bf7s@eGroups.com>

Richelle wrote:

> There's also a reason for those commercial breaks,
> it's a bit boring to watch players run in and out of the dugouts 
getting in
> position, tossing balls around to warm up.  Sure, they stretch that 
out a
> bit for commercials, but not that much.  There's also commercial 
breaks when
> a team changes pitchers, that takes a while too, and once again, 
it's a bit
> boring to watch the pitcher walk to the mound and warm up on a few 
pitches.

Let me get this straight.  Baseball was not designed for commercial 
breaks; instead, commercial breaks were introduced to keep baseball 
from being too boring?

> Richelle, ever the defender of baseball. :)

Are you sure?

David




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 17:21:07 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 12:21:07 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
References: <bn0vuj+pol2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000501c39665$6339c6e0$41e579a5@rick>




> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
> <coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> > Brits win again: Ladeez and gennlemuns I give you the most boring 
> sport of all time bar non:
> 

Iggy here:

Ummm... I didn't say that.  Was someone else.

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 17:28:41 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 12:28:41 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
References: <20186067.1066665039572.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>
Message-ID: <000e01c39666$71f7c640$41e579a5@rick>


Iggy:
> > Horse Racing... a sport... for the horses only.  (Jockeys are just dead
> > weight, IMHO.)
>
> > Rodeo... a sport... kinda. (You may disagree, but most of those things
> > require a lot of durability and ability.)
>

> Richelle:
> I find these two comparisons amusing.

*snip*

Iggy:

*grin*

I was stating that, as I've ever seen it, the jockeys seem to simply be
hanging on, and are often chosen for how small they are, thus to reduce the
horse's load.

On the other hand, someone riding a bull or bronco must hang on for dear
life with only one hand and their legs (if they're lucky) while the animal
is doing everything in its considerable power to get rid of you.  Which is
why staying on a bull or bronco for 8 seconds or more is considered
phenomenal.

I can see that being a jockey would be hard on the knees... but riding rodeo
would be hard on the whole body.


Just out of curiosity, and to possibly aid in my re-assessment of
hose-racing as an actual sport for the rider... What does a jockey actually
have to go through in the way of training and actual athletic ability?  And
what are the requirements to be a good one?


Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 17:50:10 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 12:50:10 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
References: <bn13ti+gnsr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001501c39669$72a11e40$41e579a5@rick>


> Cindy:
>
> OK, I'll play . . .
>
> Iggy wrote:
>
> > Heck, you think all the sports you folks have listed are dull, you
> >forgot the most boring of ALL!  Professional Chess.
>
> Does anyone call chess a sport?  I kind figured that a sport must, at
> minimum, be physical rather than mental.  And shouldn't you have to
> break a sweat from something other than the possibility that you might
> lose?  And shouldn't there be at least some risk of injury?  IMHO,
> this rules out . . .

Iggy:

*grin* Well then, Mrs McGonagall's chessboard in SS/PS turned chess into an
extreme sport... *laugh*

(Besides, have you ever gotten one of them pawns stuck up your nose?  Well I
have, and it hurts... I mean... well... ummm... actually...)

Actually, I've also been told stories of professional chess players who have
suffered such extreme stress that they have massive hypertension, and one or
two have even had strokes or heart attacks at major competitions because
they couldn't handle the stress.

> Cindy:
>
> Bowling -- not a sport.  (Bowling was a demonstration sport in an
> Olympic games, was it not?)

Iggy:

I agree here.  All you need, really, is good aim, and decent arm strength.

> Cindy:
>
> Shooting a gun -- not a sport, unless you must also ski or run around.
>
> Shooting a bow and arrow -- borderline, but a sport.  Probably takes
> real arm strength.

Iggy:

A comedian (Robin Williams, I think) once likened the Biathalon to a Nordic
drive-by.  I tend to agree with him.

As for archery.. I agree that it's a borderline sport.  It DOES take arm
strength, aim, and a steady hand.  It's also a sport where you can get
injured.  (Take it from a man who accidentally shot HIMSELF in the arm while
firing a bow.  True story... I do NOT lie here.  I was practicing with a
recurve bow, and someone handed me an arrow that was shorter than it should
have been for my draw length.  When I brought my thumb back to my jawline,
aimed, and released, the arrow lodged against the arm of the bow and
snapped... driving it into the crook of my left arm.  Fortunately it snapped
paralell and flat, not as a spike... I was only using a 55lb bow, and I was
in the habit of rolling up my shirtsleeves... which protected the area where
the arrow struck somewhat.  I still got a nasty gash in my arm, but it could
have been a lot worse had I not been wearing that heavy cotton shirt with
the sleeve rolled up.)

Some bows, btw, have gone up in tension to 200lb pull and beyond for some of
the custom jobs for serious competitors.  Imagine having to try and draw one
of those.


> Cindy:
>
> Synchronized swimming -- boring and rather pointless, but a sport, I
> guess.

Iggy:

*grin* My sister's mother-in-law was in the Olympics a number of years back
as a mamber of the American Synchronized Swimming Team.  She's actually told
me that it's a lot harder than it looks, and requires definite athletic
ability.  You need strength, coordination, stamina, and a good sense of
orientation in an almost weightless environment.  Not to mention that some
synchronized swimmers can hold their breath underwater about as long as a
professional pearl diver.  (We're talking 3-5 minutes and more...)

> Cindy:
>
> Rhythm Gymnastics -- dangerously close to circus performance, but you
> do have to know how to do the splits, so a sport.

Iggy:

*laugh*

I assume that, here, you're talking about the ones that use the ribbon on a
stick, hula hoop, or clubs in their routine, right?

(I agree here then... Borderline sport...)

> Cindy:
>
> Ballroom dancing -- mmmm, not a sport.  "Uniforms" are just *way* too
> close to evening attire.

Iggy:

I agree here... wholeheartedly.

Although, with what they put their bodies through and even though it's
considered a performing art rather than a sport, I'd rank ballet as being
comperable to a sport when it comes to the level of physical ability you
need to be good.  (I knew someone who was a professional ballet dancer, and
not only were they required to keep in top physical shape, sometimes they
were required to practice dancing while on their toes to such a degree that
some dancers had to bandage their feet repeatedly because their toes would
actually begin to bleed through their toe shoes.


Iggy McSnurd







From rvotaw at i-55.com  Mon Oct 20 17:57:15 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 12:57:15 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: What's the fun in baseball?
Message-ID: <22814177.1066672635452.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>

David wrote:

> Let me get this straight. Baseball was not designed for commercial <BR>
> breaks; instead, commercial breaks were introduced to keep baseball <BR>
> from being too boring?<BR>

Last I checked it was TV that required the commercials, my point was that they 
fit them in where baseball has natural breaks (i.e. between half innings), not 
every five minutes as they wish, or when the action peaks as in tv shows. :)

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Mon Oct 20 18:17:44 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 13:17:44 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
Message-ID: <25028935.1066673864934.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>


Iggy wrote:

> Just out of curiosity, and to possibly aid in my re-assessment of
> hose-racing as an actual sport for the rider... What does a jockey actually
> have to go through in the way of training and actual athletic ability? And
> what are the requirements to be a good one?

Well, this could get rather complicated.  To start at the beginning, 16 is the 
youngest a rider can be licensed to ride.  Which means they've started at least 
a year before, working horses early in the mornings at the track, slowly 
working their way in so that a trainer will be willing to hire them once they 
have a license.  Unless they are fortunate enough to be hired as an exercise 
rider, they don't get paid for that.  Nor do jockeys get paid for riding early 
in the mornings for years to get ahead and earn a trainer's (and owner's) 
confidence enough so that they don't have to spend their lives at the track at 
the crack of dawn.  Or several hours before, in most cases.

There are jockey schools as well, one just started in the U.S. a couple of 
years ago.  There may be another as well, in the New England area, I think.  
There's a very prominent one in Puerto Rico, and also South Africa.  At these 
schools, skills are taught, perfected, and so on.  Some jockeys are born with a 
natural talent, others learn it once they realize they aren't going to be tall 
enough to, say, play basketball. :)

A really good jockey sends signals through the reins, the horse knows what he's 
thinking.  A jockey must be gentle, yet powerful enough to control a fully 
grown thoroughbred.  Most of all, a good jockey must be confident.  It's easy 
to lose your nerve after a few close calls under pounding hooves, and a jockey 
who has lost his nerve will soon be off the market, either on his own choosing 
or simply because no one will hire him anymore.

Jockeys must also keep their weight down, a riding weight of 110 means not 
weighing more than around 103 lbs.  This involves, for the health conscious 
ones, running long distances (usually around the track) and a very strict 
diet.  For the unhealthy ones, sitting in the sweat box for hours on end.  
Weight training is almost always done, as I said before, it's tough controlling 
an animal that big.

Well, I'm sure I've left out a lot, but I hope that helps.

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From editor at texas.net  Mon Oct 20 19:34:16 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 19:34:16 -0000
Subject: Tolkien filking!
Message-ID: <bn1dbo+u193@eGroups.com>

Found this, meandering through LJ-land. To those who have seen it, 
apologies. To those who have not--don't have a mouthful of anything.

~Amanda

http://www.usenet.com/newsgroups/rec.arts.books.tolkien/msg03446.html




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 19 19:47:44 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 14:47:44 -0500
Subject: A little side note  (Scooby Doo)
Message-ID: <000a01c39679$dec27140$dae379a5@rick>

Hi all,  Iggy here.

Since we had been mentioning shows and movies like Scooby Doo, I found this
summary of the plot for "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed"  (the sequel to
the live action movie.  It's currently in post-production.).


"The Gang investigates the dastardly plans of a masked villain who is
planning to take control of the city of Coolsville by tampering with the
"Monster Machine" that reproduces Mystery, Inc's classic foes such as The
10,000 Volt Ghost, Captain Cutler and The Creeper. Their investigation leads
them to the Coolsonian Museum where they are attending a book release red
carpet event, along the way they encounter the mysterious museum curator
Patrick (Seth Green) and a pesky Reporter (Alicia Silverstone), with a
reported romantic subplot between the Reporter and our beloved Fred."


Should be interesting...

Iggy McSnurd







From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Mon Oct 20 21:27:31 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 07:27:31 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
In-Reply-To: <001301c39640$7ce40ee0$34ec79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <3F94DFE3.27719.DB5117C@localhost>

On 19 Oct 2003 at 7:56, Iggy McSnurd wrote:

> > > Iggy:
> > > Anyone care to explain Cricket to me?  (I can't understand the
> excitement in
> > > that... but then, I don't know nearly as much about that as I do about
> > > baseball...)
> >
> 
> 
> >Dreadnought:
> > Well, I'm a cricket fan - one of the few sports I like, and the only one I
> really like to
> > watch. I even like test cricket (Australia v Zimbabwe, heading up to a
> thrilling
> > conclusion at the moment) which is the form where a match can take 5 days
> and
> > is just as likely to end in a draw.
> 
> *snip*
> 
> Thanks for such a detailed explanation of the game.  I think I get the idea
> now.  (Kinda makes me want to watch a game just to see if I do...)
> 
> Just a few quick questions:
> 
> Why does the bowler throw the ball with his arm twisted the way it is?
> (compared to the form used in baseball... or even underhand like in
> softball...)


Partly a matter of tradition, partly because it's adds an element of skill to the 
game.

It's an action that has evolved over time - in the early days of cricket, the ball was 
actually bowled along the ground underarm. When ladies started playing cricket, 
several adopted an overarm action simply because the dresses they wore at the 
time were too wide to make underarm bowling convenient - male cricketers saw 
that and realised it allowed a lot more skill on the part of the bowler, because it 
allowed the bowler to put spin on the ball, so it would bounce in an unpredictable 
(to the batsmen) fashion. So overtime the overarm action became standard.

Straight 'pitching' as in baseball doesn't really work in cricket because while in 
baseball, most swinging is done involving the ball at the level of the upper body, 
the presence of the stumps (which are about waist high) in cricket necessitates 
playing around the legs - if bowlers were permitted to hurl the ball at the stumps 
without requiring the bowling action, games would probably be over in a few 
minutes - the game would change dramatically from a duel between the batsman 
and bowler, to something that gave the bowler a massive advantage.

Underarm bowling remained legal under the laws of first class cricket until a 
couple of years ago, but was virtually never used at a high level.

In fact, bowling arm is considered (if you pardon the expression) very 
underhanded.

Back in 1981, in an Australia v New Zealand match, New Zealand was in the 
situation of needing six runs (ie, to hit the ball out of the stadium) off the last ball 
to tie the match.

This was *incredibly* unlikely - the New Zealander facing the bowling wasn't a 
specialist batsman and such a hit would have been very unusual coming from 
him. But it was possible, and tension was pretty high because of that.

The Australian Captain, Ian Chappell instructed the bowler (his brother, Trevor) to 
deliver the last ball underarm in a fashion that made it absolutely impossible for 
the New Zealand batsmen to get under the ball and score a six.

That incident is regarded as one of the most disgusting in cricket history. It 
followed the letter of the law, but grossly violated the spirit. And it caused a *lot* of 
ill feeling.

That's another thing about cricket being a gentleman's game - the codes are 
important as well as the rules, and teams that violate those codes are 
condemned. "It just wouldn't be cricket" is an expression that means "It wouldn't 
be fair."

The infamous Bodyline series of the 1930s, when England's Captain devised 
tactics that sought to neutralise Australian batting by bowling at the batsmen 
rather than the stumps, lead to a rather famous phrase: "There are two teams out 
there, and only one is playing cricket."
 
> Did the term "sticky wicket" come from cricket, or croquet?  (I imagine it
> being a term like being in a "pickle" in baseball, where the runner is stuck
> between two bases and, since the basemen can toss the ball to eachother, the
> runner doesn't really have a safe base to get to, but hasn't been quite
> gotten out yet...)

Sticky wicket is a cricket term, but it may have come across from croquet - early 
forms of cricket where the ball was rolled along the ground and hit with something 
like a mallet had some pretty serious similarities to croquet.

A sticky wicket is quite literally sticky - because the ball in cricket bounces on the 
bowler to the batsman, the consistency of the ground can make a huge difference 
to the game - if the ground is slightly wet and soft, the ball will bounce differently 
from if its rock hard (and again, tactics come into it - over the course of a match, 
especially a five day tests, the ground will change consistency and you tailor you 
attack to those changes). A sticky wicket is quite nasty to play on, because you 
will have a hard time making decent scoring shots.
 
> Does cricket have anything that's the equivalent of a "strike" or a "foul
> ball" in baseball?  (I understand that they have outs, runs, and "home runs"
> of a sort...)

No real equivalent to a strike (if the ball goes past you and doesn't hit the stumps, 
you're fine - indeed, you can even run on it if the ball goes past the fieldsman as 
well, and you want to risk it). No real equivalent to a foul ball either - although the 
leg bye is probably worth mentioning - if the ball comes off your leg and gets past 
the fieldsman, you can run on it, and score leg bye (although if a ball hits your leg 
in a position where it clearly would have hit the stumps if your leg hadn't got in the 
way, you're out - LBW or Leg Before Wicket).
 
> Ok... about runs...
> 
> (wicket) ------------------------------------------->(wicket)   = 1 run
> (wicket) <------------------------------------------ (wicket)   = 1 run
> 
> Right?

Yes - for every single length of the pitch, you score one run. If you go there and 
back so you wound up where you started, you've scored two.


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 pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk  Mon Oct 20 21:50:48 2003
From: pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk (bluesqueak)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 21:50:48 -0000
Subject: Cricket  (was: What's the fun in baseball?)
In-Reply-To: <001301c39640$7ce40ee0$34ec79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bn1lbo+h7u0@eGroups.com>

 Iggy McSnurd writes:
> Just a few quick questions:
> 
> Why does the bowler throw the ball with his arm twisted the way it 
is?
> (compared to the form used in baseball... or even underhand like in
> softball...)

If you go to 
http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/cis/cricket/papers/rf.html#2
you will find more information than you want to know about the 
biomechanics of the bowling action.

However, basically, the cricket bowling action is used for its 
flexibility. It's a very accurate throw, which can be very fast (100 
mph+ is the maximum speed clocked). 

Underarm was allowed until 2000(I think) but you'd have been laughed 
off the pitch unless you were *very* good - a reasonably competent 
batsman could knock an underarm bowl all over the place [unless your 
tactic was to make them laugh so much you could bowl them out - 
there were occasional 'surprise' underarm bowls]. It is still 
technically allowed, but you have to announce beforehand that you 
intend to bowl underarm.

The cricket overarm allows for a *lot* of tricky variations, as 
well. Like the dreaded 'googly', where a spin is put on the ball - 
but for the first part of its flight, it looks like it's going to 
curve to one side of the batsman, and then it goes the other way.

> 
> Did the term "sticky wicket" come from cricket, or croquet?  (I 
> imagine it being a term like being in a "pickle" in baseball, 
> where the runner is stuck between two bases

It comes from cricket, and no, it's not getting stuck between the 
two wickets. A sticky wicket is when the pitch has both muddy and 
dry patches. This means that you can't tell where on earth the ball 
is going to bounce when it hits the ground (if it hits a dry patch, 
it will bounce, if it hits a wet patch, it will squelch and stick). 

A sticky wicket is thus a pain for batsman and fielder, but worse 
for the batsman. You can't direct the ball between two fielders 
accurately, which is what you're trying to do.
> 
> Does cricket have anything that's the equivalent of a "strike" or 
> a "foulball" in baseball?  

LBW, or Leg Before Wicket. The aim of the bowler is to knock the 
stumps off the top of the wicket. Obviously, if the batsman puts 
himself in front of the wicket, the bowler can't do that. So LBW is 
a foul, and you are out. The umpire will automatically assume the 
ball *would* have hit the wicket if you hadn't put your ruddy great 
carcass in the way.

> 
> Ok... about runs...
> 
> (wicket) ------------------------------------------->(wicket)   = 
1 run
> (wicket) <------------------------------------------ (wicket)   = 
1 run
> 
> Right?
> 

Not sure. The batsman and partner need to cross safely between 
wickets - if your diagram is showning batsman and partner changing 
wickets, then you are right, that's a run.

So you need at least two people left to bat in cricket. The end of 
the game is not when *all*  of a team are out, it's when *all but 
one* are out. The last person will usually have his score recorded 
as '54 not out' to show that they could have made more runs, but had 
no partner.

Cricket is not boring, by the way. It's simply a form of English Zen 
meditation, exported to the world ;-)

Pip!Squeak

[not a cricketer, but the daughter of a Cricket Umpire.]





From jdumas at kingwoodcable.com  Mon Oct 20 22:58:19 2003
From: jdumas at kingwoodcable.com (Katze)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 17:58:19 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] question about border estimates
In-Reply-To: <3F9414B9.4080608@kingwoodcable.com>
References: <3F9414B9.4080608@kingwoodcable.com>
Message-ID: <3F94688B.1060602@kingwoodcable.com>

Well obviously this isn't going to make any sense to folks out there...

Sorry - posted to the wrong addy..

...walks away with bright red face...

Katze wrote:

>Hi Everyone,
>
>I'm delurking. I've thoroughly enjoyed the dsicussions here, but have 
>waited to get involved until I had something specific to say or ask.
>
>I'm currently working on a new quilt, and I need my border yardage 
>estimates. When I preview the yardage estimate, the computer program 
>estimates my border fabric as if I'm not going to piece it. However, I 
>will be pieceing the border, so I don't need the 5+ yards they tell me I 
>need. Is there a way to turn this option off? I would like the program 
>to estimate my border yardage as if I am going to piece it.
>
>Thanks for you assistance.
>
>Take care
>Kristin
>
>
>
>________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  Mon Oct 20 23:33:28 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:33:28 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
References: <bn0qad+d1c1@eGroups.com> <001e01c39652$c33dd580$b793aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <007101c39762$918445e0$6c984cca@Monteith>

Iggy wrote
> At the risk of offending some, here's a couple of my personal views:
>
> Golf... not a sport.  (Tiger Woods is a technician, not an athlete.)
>
> NASCAR... not a sport.  (Jeff Gordon is a driver, not an athlete.)
<snipped>

 and SWAFFing (Salt Water Fly Fishing) <blech>. NOT a sport. In fact any
kind of fishing... If I want a fish that bad I'll buy one at the market
thank you very much...

The only fishing that *may* come even close to a sport is big game fishing
(apart from the fact I feel sorry for the fish. How would you like to be
just cruising through the ocean at 60k per hour or so and get a hook through
the mouth? Not nice, say I.)<lol>

Nox




From kaisenji at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 01:25:58 2003
From: kaisenji at yahoo.com (Kaisenji)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 01:25:58 -0000
Subject: Nimbus 2005 in Ottawa, Canada--NOT
In-Reply-To: <bmvmfk+12vv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn21v6+om93@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "psychic_serpent"
<psychic_serpent at y...> wrote:

> Um, I believe there seems to be some misunderstanding here.  If you 
> read the beginning of the call for papers, it says clearly that the 
> name of the event is Convention Alley, not Nimbus.  It also says 
> that it is taking place in 2004, not 2005.  The board of HPEF is 
> considering bids for a Nimbus 2005 (if we decide to keep that name) 
> but a bid has not yet been chosen, and no one is planning to submit 
> one for Ottawa in 2005, as far as we know.  Finally, just because a 
> book costs $10 in the US and the jacket says it's $15 in Canada 
> doesn't mean things are more expensive there than here; the exchange 
> rate, as those figures should tell you, is actually quite favorable 
> to US residents.  And while it IS probably early enough to get a 
> good deal on airfare, it's not as early as you think, since, again, 
> the event is less than a year from now, not just under two years.
--------------------------------------------
*actual raised eyebrow*
I asked if I had missed something and wanted to be filled in. This is
why I posted the message because I knew if I did not know, someone would.
If I offended people with my teasing, I'm sorry. In all seriousness I
did want clarification. 




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Tue Oct 21 09:06:49 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:06:49 -0000
Subject: Campaign slogans
In-Reply-To: <bmub4h+7fe3@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn2sv9+641f@eGroups.com>

Cindy wrote:

> Suggested presidential campaign slogan:  "Wesley, Wesley, he's our
> man!  If he can't do it, nobody can!"

What's wrong with "Wesley is our King"?

:D




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Tue Oct 21 09:32:11 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:32:11 -0000
Subject: question about border estimates
In-Reply-To: <3F94688B.1060602@kingwoodcable.com>
Message-ID: <bn2uer+t8fn@eGroups.com>

Katze wrote:
> Well obviously this isn't going to make any sense to folks out 
there...
> 
> Sorry - posted to the wrong addy..

Well, I read it, and thought: straight down the line typical OT-
Chatter post.

David, amazed there hasn't been a rash of replies from quilt 
enthusiasts - basically it's just cross-stitching with larger 
pixels, isn't it?  Or decorating walls with smaller ones?

David




From princessmelabela at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 10:12:53 2003
From: princessmelabela at yahoo.com (Melanie Black)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 03:12:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Most boring sport
In-Reply-To: <001501c39669$72a11e40$41e579a5@rick>
Message-ID: <20031021101253.94849.qmail@web20706.mail.yahoo.com>

Although, with what they put their bodies through and even though it's
considered a performing art rather than a sport, I'd rank ballet as being
comperable to a sport when it comes to the level of physical ability you
need to be good.  (I knew someone who was a professional ballet dancer, and
not only were they required to keep in top physical shape, sometimes they
were required to practice dancing while on their toes to such a degree that
some dancers had to bandage their feet repeatedly because their toes would
actually begin to bleed through their toe shoes.


Iggy McSnurd

Take it from the girl who did Winter Guard and Dance Team in high school it's a sport.  Ballet and Rythmic gymnastics require both upper body strength as well as leg strength.  


We shall never forget Sirius Black....long live his memory!  
Come visit my LJ http://www.livejournal.com/users/princessmela2
 




Click to subscribe to Sirius_Black








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Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Tue Oct 21 13:33:43 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:33:43 -0000
Subject: Campaign slogans
In-Reply-To: <bn2sv9+641f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn3cjn+h2b5@eGroups.com>

Hey!

David, showing his talent for American politics, suggested:

> What's wrong with "Wesley is our King"?

Not bad, not bad at all, David.  I, er, just didn't think of it!

Actually, I play on another list (wholly unrelated to HP).  To date,
everyone has been cordial and friendly there, even on their off-topic
list like this one.  There are a *lot* of political posts and threads
on their off-topic list.  

But guess what?  I changed my sig line on that other list to refer to
Wesley Clark, and all of a sudden, everything changed.  I mean, the
*tone* of the posts changed.  Instead of saying, "I disagree with your
views of the prevalence of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits," I
will now hear, "I wouldn't pee on a lawyer if she were on fire."  

I wonder if Tabouli will give me lessons in how to become a proper
Sinsister Social Scientist!  ;-)

Cindy -- hoping to recruit a few volunteers to pee on her should she
burst into flames




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 13:41:56 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:41:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Belated Birthdays Wishes, Kelly and Jeralyn!
Message-ID: <20031021134156.35195.qmail@web41115.mail.yahoo.com>

*sneaks in quietly and tries to gussy up the party
room with bandaged fingers, struggling with streamers*

Yes, I've been a very bad Birthday Elf and missed more
birthdays. My sincere apologies for the belated
wishes.

Yesterday's honourees were Kelly and our very own,
long-time member, Jeralyn, the Voicelady. Belated
birthday owls can be sent care of this list or
directly to Kelly at: kslivlib at yahoo.com

I hope you all had magical days, filled with joy and
laughter.

Happy Birthday, Kelly!
Happy Birthday, Jeralyn!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf (wishing she had a time-turner)

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 15:52:35 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 10:52:35 -0500
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move it to Chatter )
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9804@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Geoff  said :
Further picky Brit comment. Tonks' "Wotcher" could be anywhere in 
London. The "East London" accent referred to probably means Cockney 
but "Sarf Lunnon" which uses a lot of Cockney phrases covers a much 
wider area. I lived for 45 years in SW London and still use "wotcher" 
myself, though as you will see in a mo, I am not a Londoner.
 <snip>
 
Geoff,
I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.  Could
you help me find a good use??   You know how the southern accent works,
long drawn out vowels and "fix'en to" is another common word here.  I
had to learn these types of things when I moved here, I had great fun
giggling at the waiters and their southern drawl.  Thanks!!
 
Tonya (who is having too much fun using the language in RL, I know I
need to get a life but I have been able to use "Budge up there", "Nick"
(Sp??) and "Oy".  Of course I have had to explain the meanings of these
but way fun to increase the vocabulary!!)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Tue Oct 21 16:00:55 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:00:55 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move it to Chatter )
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9804@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn3l7n+2gqt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...> 
wrote:
> Geoff  said :
> Further picky Brit comment. Tonks' "Wotcher" could be anywhere in 
> London. The "East London" accent referred to probably means Cockney 
> but "Sarf Lunnon" which uses a lot of Cockney phrases covers a much 
> wider area. I lived for 45 years in SW London and still 
use "wotcher" 
> myself, though as you will see in a mo, I am not a Londoner.
>  <snip>
>  
> Geoff,
> I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.  
Could
> you help me find a good use??   You know how the southern accent 
works,
> long drawn out vowels and "fix'en to" is another common word here.  
I
> had to learn these types of things when I moved here, I had great 
fun
> giggling at the waiters and their southern drawl.  Thanks!!
>  
> Tonya (who is having too much fun using the language in RL, I know I
> need to get a life but I have been able to use "Budge up 
there", "Nick"
> (Sp??) and "Oy".  Of course I have had to explain the meanings of 
these
> but way fun to increase the vocabulary!!)
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Posh brit:  Hello, how are you?

Cockney type personage: Wotcher!

I think that should suffice as an adequate translation.  (You may 
note my snobbery - I am from the North of England where we look down 
on Cockneys precisely because they look down on us!  It may be a 
small island  - but the divisions go deep)

June




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 16:13:49 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:13:49 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move it to Chatter )
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BC7@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Posh brit:  Hello, how are you?

June said: 
 Cockney type personage: Wotcher!

I think that should suffice as an adequate translation.  (You may 
note my snobbery - I am from the North of England where we look down 
on Cockneys precisely because they look down on us!  It may be a 
small island  - but the divisions go deep)

June
 
Hey thanks, So would you call it slang or is it proper (?) to say
wotcher??  What I am trying to say that Hey or Hi is considered slang
and and Hello is "proper".  At least that is what my mother drilled into
my head!!  :)  Oh and does Jim Dale pronounce it properly??  I know that
occasionally he miffs on names.  Thanks thanks!!  Oh and how do you know
who is who so you know who to be snobby with and who not to. Sounds
tough to figure out!!  
 
Tonya  :)  having too much fun with this thread!!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tiggersong at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 17:33:29 2003
From: tiggersong at yahoo.com (tiggersong)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:33:29 -0000
Subject: Kitties!
Message-ID: <bn3ql9+k12h@eGroups.com>

We just got two cats from the pound, and I wanted to share their 
names with people who'd enjoy them as much as we are.

We named one of them Butterbeer and the other one Sugarquill.  I 
anticipate much mayhem around the house as they get silly and cute.

Now back to your normally scheduled Off Topicness.

Thanks,

Stasia




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 18:01:06 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 18:01:06 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move 
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9804@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn3s92+5tkd@eGroups.com>

Tonya wrote:

> I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.
 <snip>
> Tonya (who is having too much fun using the language in RL, I know I
> need to get a life but I have been able to use "Budge up there", "Nick"
> (Sp??) and "Oy".  Of course I have had to explain the meanings of these
> but way fun to increase the vocabulary!!)


You're much braver than I am!

I haven't been *trying* to use Britspeak in RL, but I seem to keep
running into situations where "snarky" or "squicked" would be a
perfect word to use.  I don't use them, though, because people would
look at me funny (not that they couldn't be doing that already).

Annemehr
amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)




From Ali at zymurgy.org  Tue Oct 21 18:15:56 2003
From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 18:15:56 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move it to Chatter )
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BC7@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn3t4s+p9oe@eGroups.com>

 
 June said: 

>>>  Cockney type personage: Wotcher!
 
 I think that should suffice as an adequate translation.  (You may 
 note my snobbery - I am from the North of England where we look 
down on Cockneys precisely because they look down on us!  It may be 
a small island  - but the divisions go deep)>>>

I come from East London but not from within the sound of Bow Bells, 
so I'm not a Cockney. I also don't suffer from the North/South 
divide snobbery. I personally don't like it. Funnily enough when I 
lived in Manchester, I wasn't classed as a "Southern Wuz" (I'm not 
sure how to spell that, I just used to hear it a lot), because I was 
a Londoner which somehow exempted me - well at least to my friends - 
although obviously not to all Northerners!

Tonya asked:-
 
> Hey thanks, So would you call it slang or is it proper (?) to say
>wotcher??  What I am trying to say that Hey or Hi is considered 
slang and and Hello is "proper". 

Wotcher is slang. I used to use it all the time, instead of "Hi Ya" 
or "How's it going". I finally gave up using it after 3 years living 
in Manchester during which I had the mickey taken out of me too many 
times...

Tonya again:-

 <<< Oh and does Jim Dale pronounce it properly??  >>>

Sorry, I can't tell you if Jim Dale pronounces it properly, I can 
only moan about the fact that Stephen Fry's "Tonks' voice" makes me 
cringe!

<<<Oh and how do you know who is who so you know who to be snobby 
with and who not to. Sounds tough to figure out!!>>>  

I'm not sure I know what you mean here. I know that I used to have 
an awful habit of inverted snobbery whereby I would speak in my 
strongest possible London accent to people with what I thought to 
be "posh" accents. These days, my accent has all but gone and only 
resurfaces when I'm typsy or nervous!

Ali




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Tue Oct 21 18:41:18 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 18:41:18 -0000
Subject: Harry's dad is alive!
Message-ID: <bn3uke+2u8t@eGroups.com>

And he's living in Kansas making heaps of money breeding dogs!  From 
a greyhound adoption mailing list I'm on:

ABILENE, Kansas (AP) -- For $70,000, you'd think the sale of a 
greyhound involved a bus. 
The 16-month-old dog, named Rooftop Gizmo, was bred and raised by 
Emporia resident James Potter. Potter sold 10 dogs Saturday for a 
total $274,200, including $45,000 for Gizmo's littermate Rooftop Rip 
Cord. 


lol...
Tracy





From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 18:38:51 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:38:51 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move it to Chatter )
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9806@djmail.deckerjones.com>


Tonya asked:-

> Hey thanks, So would you call it slang or is it proper (?) to say
>wotcher??  What I am trying to say that Hey or Hi is considered 
slang and and Hello is "proper". 

 Ali said:
 Wotcher is slang. I used to use it all the time, instead of "Hi Ya" 
or "How's it going". I finally gave up using it after 3 years living 
in Manchester during which I had the mickey taken out of me too many 
times...
 
TOnya again:
OH yes I have used Mickey also in RL.  I didn't practice enough so it
was sort of choppy on the delivery but the nexxt time I am prepared!!
Love this!!
 
Tonya again:-

<<< Oh and does Jim Dale pronounce it properly??  >>>

 Ali said:
 Sorry, I can't tell you if Jim Dale pronounces it properly, I can 
only moan about the fact that Stephen Fry's "Tonks' voice" makes me 
cringe!
 
Tonya now:
I think I am going to ask for the Stephen Fry version for Chrstmas this
year!!  I bet they are cool.  I really like the Jim Dale reading, so I
am sure I will like Stephen Fry also!!  Of course I will make a note to
cringe at the Tonk's voice!!  Thanks!!  
Tonya
 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 18:45:28 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:45:28 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BCD@djmail.deckerjones.com>


 Annemhr said: 
You're much braver than I am!

I haven't been *trying* to use Britspeak in RL, but I seem to keep
running into situations where "snarky" or "squicked" would be a
perfect word to use.  I don't use them, though, because people would
look at me funny (not that they couldn't be doing that already).

Annemehr
amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :) 
 
Now me again, Tonya:
 
You know all my friends already know that there is a different rhythm
running through me so they just accept me.  They ask the meanings and
have stopped asking where I have been learning "Britspeak" knowing the
answer already!!  Not really bravery per say, just my idea of having
some fun!!  I love quoting lines from the books.  
 
Yeah the Texas thing, you can tell I am a transplant here in where
everything is big!!  I have to tell you about after living out here I
had some high maintenance big hair lady say to me "So you sort of go for
the natural look??"  I told her Yes I did and took it as a compliment.
I do not use much makeup and I prefer to have air dried and very long
hair!!  :)  "Bless Her"
 
Tonya
 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Tue Oct 21 18:53:38 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 18:53:38 -0000
Subject: Budge up  (Re: Wotcher )
In-Reply-To: <bn3s92+5tkd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn3vbi+6s46@eGroups.com>

> > Tonya (who is having too much fun using the language in RL, I 
know I
> > need to get a life but I have been able to use "Budge up 
there", "Nick"
> > (Sp??) and "Oy".  Of course I have had to explain the meanings 
of these
> > but way fun to increase the vocabulary!!)
> 

> Annemehr:
> You're much braver than I am!
> 
> I haven't been *trying* to use Britspeak in RL, but I seem to keep
> running into situations where "snarky" or "squicked" would be a
> perfect word to use.  I don't use them, though, because people 
would
> look at me funny (not that they couldn't be doing that already).
> 
> Annemehr
> amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)


Jen:  Hey fellow Texan, Tonya!  I've been able to use "budge up" 
and "budge along" in context (I think).  Oh, and "enough to be going 
on with....".  I don't think I'm brave enough to attempt Wotcher, 
yet.  

Also waiting to use Ruddy and "All right then?" instead of the 
American version, "Are you OK?" or "everything alright?"





From eowynn_24 at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 18:53:42 2003
From: eowynn_24 at yahoo.com (eowynn_24)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:53:42 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Harry's dad is alive!
In-Reply-To: <bn3uke+2u8t@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031021185342.92958.qmail@web60207.mail.yahoo.com>



Tracy <neonsister at ameritech.net> wrote:
>And he's living in Kansas making heaps of money breeding dogs!  From 
>a greyhound adoption mailing list I'm on:

>ABILENE, Kansas (AP) -- For $70,000, you'd think the sale of a 
>greyhound involved a bus. 
The 16-month-old dog, named Rooftop Gizmo, was bred and >raised by 
Emporia resident James Potter. Potter sold 10 dogs >Saturday for a 
total $274,200, including $45,000 for Gizmo's littermate >Rooftop Rip 
Cord. 


lol...
>Tracy

 

Now me Eowynn:

Well I suppose that would be the last place any DE or LV would think to look for him. Breeding dogs in muggle USA, great hiding place.I am still laughing, I must be tired. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Eowynn 





 




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 18:56:36 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:56:36 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Budge up  (Re: Wotcher )
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BCF@djmail.deckerjones.com>

> Annemehr:
> You're much braver than I am!
> 
> I haven't been *trying* to use Britspeak in RL, but I seem to keep
> running into situations where "snarky" or "squicked" would be a
> perfect word to use.  I don't use them, though, because people 
would
> look at me funny (not that they couldn't be doing that already).
> 
> Annemehr
> amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)


Jen said :  Hey fellow Texan, Tonya!  I've been able to use "budge up" 
and "budge along" in context (I think).  Oh, and "enough to be going 
on with....".  I don't think I'm brave enough to attempt Wotcher, 
yet.  

Also waiting to use Ruddy and "All right then?" instead of the 
American version, "Are you OK?" or "everything alright?"

 Now Tonya:   Waving HI!!   OH yes I need to use the "enough to be going
on with...".  "All right then" I have used!!  Usually it gets used at
the end of a conversation with a small sprinkling of sarcasm so I am
still having trouble remembering to put it at the beginning!!  
Tonya


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From Ali at zymurgy.org  Tue Oct 21 19:23:49 2003
From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 19:23:49 -0000
Subject: Squicked was Re: Wotcher
In-Reply-To: <bn3s92+5tkd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4145+peml@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:

>>> I haven't been *trying* to use Britspeak in RL, but I seem to 
keep running into situations where "snarky" or "squicked" would be a
 perfect word to use.  I don't use them, though, because people would
 look at me funny (not that they couldn't be doing that already).<<<
 
Is "squicked" Britspeak? I've never heard of it. Funnily enough, 
when I tried to do a search on Google, I kept getting referred to 
the Sugar Quill site. I've found a meaning of it on this website:-
http://blackraptor.hispeed.com/m7fic/contents/terms.htm which is a 
fanfiction site. The word is derived from derived from sqeamish and 
icky. It could be British, but I've certainly never heard of it.

Ali
 





From editor at texas.net  Tue Oct 21 19:28:38 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 19:28:38 -0000
Subject: Nimbus and C.A. and HP, Oh, My!
In-Reply-To: <bn21v6+om93@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn41d6+7cno@eGroups.com>

Kaisenji, eyebrow raised, said

> I asked if I had missed something and wanted to be filled in. This 
is
> why I posted the message because I knew if I did not know, someone 
would.
> If I offended people with my teasing, I'm sorry. In all seriousness 
I
> did want clarification.

Okay, *now* you've asked for it. (laughs evil sinister laugh) Oh, 
wait, is this mike *on*? *ahem* Testing, one, two...

Hi, Kaisenji. Sorry it's taken so long to respond. We haven't kept as 
close an eye on Chatter as we have on Convention. I'm on the Ottawa 
team, and I'll bring your post to their attention when I get home (am 
at work).  (who knows? You might find yourself in charge of 
something.... whoops, who *could* be making that evil laugh?)

Seriously, though, the name thing is an honest mistake. It's a bit 
confusing. "Nimbus" was the name used by the Orlando event, which was 
sponsored by HP Educaton Fanon, Inc. (HPEF). HPEF is a nonprofit 
organization formed by representatives from (I believe) the 
HPforGrownups fine Family O'Lists, The Leaky Cauldron, and Fiction 
Alley (I am doubtless getting some of this wrong--HPEF guys, leap on 
in).

HPEF had originally intended to pursue doing a yearly event. The 
complexity of organizing an event of the size and quality of Nimbus 
2003, though, caused them to readjust that expectation to every two 
years. So the next HPEF event will be in 2005, not 2004.

Nor have they decided, I think, whether "Nimbus" will be a part of a 
repeating event's name yet, or not; so the 2005 HPEF event may or may 
not be a Nimbus.

Anyway. Ottawa. A team had been preparing for a 2004 event already, 
to be the next in line. When HPEF went to a biannual schedule, we 
decided too much work had been put in already to abandon our plans, 
and are proceeding with a 2004 event, Convention Alley.

We've just released our call for papers, we have an LJ community, and 
there's a Yahoo group you can join (convention_alley) for people 
interested in helping with the event. [I would give you all these 
URLs and links except that I'm at work and they are not at my 
fingertips here.]

While not HPEF, Convention Alley is sponsored by the HP4GU Family 
O'Lists. Even if it weren't, Chatter is a viable venue to ask for 
information, but the HP4GU-Convention list (is it hpFgu? I can never 
remember) is the more focused List For Event Discussion. HPEF's 2005 
event, as well as Convention Alley.

Sheryll's the team lead for CA, and she's in Canada. As such, she 
spells funny and forgets to give amounts in real money as opposed to 
Canadian, but otherwise she can be a fine source of information. As I 
said, I'll make sure the team's aware of your query and my answer, in 
case I left anything out, or Sheryll wishes to attempt to defend her 
spelling.

Hope I covered everything. I now return to my regularly scheduled 
rota of sick children (over the last three weeks each child has 
gotten a virulent tummy virus in turn, carrying buckets with them 
about the house; and according to the doctor this morning, they're 
starting in on the flu. Someone please remind me of the joys of 
parenting. Quickly.)

~Amanda, a.k.a. VoldeMom






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Tue Oct 21 19:41:49 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 19:41:49 -0000
Subject: Kitties!
In-Reply-To: <bn3ql9+k12h@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn425t+apqv@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "tiggersong" 
<tiggersong at y...> wrote:
> We just got two cats from the pound, and I wanted to share their 
> names with people who'd enjoy them as much as we are.
> 
> We named one of them Butterbeer and the other one Sugarquill.  I 
> anticipate much mayhem around the house as they get silly and cute.
> 
> Now back to your normally scheduled Off Topicness.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Stasia

Good for you to give to kitties a loving home.  Our present moggy, 
my beloved familiar Domino came from the Cats' Home (=pound)

June




From jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu  Tue Oct 21 19:57:35 2003
From: jfaulkne at sas.upenn.edu (Jen Faulkner)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 15:57:35 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Squicked was Re: Wotcher
In-Reply-To: <bn4145+peml@eGroups.com>
References: <bn4145+peml@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0310211551320.49@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003, Ali wrote:

> Is "squicked" Britspeak? I've never heard of it. Funnily enough,
> when I tried to do a search on Google, I kept getting referred to
> the Sugar Quill site.

I don't know whether the term is British in origin or not, but the only
place I've ever heard it was in fannish speech -- as Ali says, it's a
combination of "squeamish" and "icky," and it means something that you
find viscerally yucky, usually a sexual thing.

As in: "The thought of combining trepanation and sex really squicks me."

(Squick, v.t.; squicky, adj.; squick, n.)

--jen, who, yes, finds the combination of trepanning and sex *very*
squicky :)

* * * * * *
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 cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct 21 20:55:53 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 20:55:53 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
In-Reply-To: <bn3s92+5tkd@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn46gp+lacr@eGroups.com>

Tonya wrote:
I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.

Then Annemehr signed off:
amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)

Wotcher, pardner!
There are a lot of Texas-born wannabrits down here in the Lone Star 
State. It probably has more to do with the early and easy 
availability of Britcoms that with HP, though. I remember 
seeing "Monty Python" on local PBS in 1974...it was the doggonedest 
thing I ever saw, and decided right then and there that the Brits 
have the edge on us in comedy. 

Ms. Tatterall,
standing in a tea-chest singing "Jerusalem"





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Mon Oct 20 21:05:28 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 16:05:28 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn46gp+lacr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <005201c3974e$297e6b60$39ea79a5@rick>



> Tonya wrote:
> I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.
>

Iggy here:

Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for a LONG
time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  (Usually when describing someone
as a bloody git, or a bloomin' git.)  Dunno where I picked it up, since I
grew up in central California... probably from a book somewhere.

Of course, in the US, the last thing a straight guy wants to ask someone is
"Can I pinch a fag?"   Over here it has an ENTIRELY different meaning.  (And
it just might get you laughed at, slapped, or propositioned by some guy.)


Iggy McSnurd






From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 21:57:40 2003
From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 21:57:40 -0000
Subject: Nimbus and C.A. and HP, Oh, My!
In-Reply-To: <bn41d6+7cno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4a4k+hntb@eGroups.com>

Amanda wrote:

> We've just released our call for papers, we have an LJ community, 
> and there's a Yahoo group you can join (convention_alley) for 
> people interested in helping with the event. [I would give you all 
> these URLs and links except that I'm at work and they are not at my 
> fingertips here.]

The LiveJournal address is: 
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

and the Call for Papers may be found on the HPFGU-Convention list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Convention/.

If you are interested in volunteering, please post a message to the 
LJ or to the Convention list indicating your areas of interest and 
we'll send you an invitation to our volunteers group 
(convention_alley).

~Phyllis







From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 21:58:44 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:58:44 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BD7@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Tonya wrote:
I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.

Then Annemehr signed off:
amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)

 Ms. Tatterall Said:
 Wotcher, pardner!
There are a lot of Texas-born wannabrits down here in the Lone Star 
State. It probably has more to do with the early and easy 
availability of Britcoms that with HP, though. I remember 
seeing "Monty Python" on local PBS in 1974...it was the doggonedest 
thing I ever saw, and decided right then and there that the Brits 
have the edge on us in comedy. 

Ms. Tatterall,
standing in a tea-chest singing "Jerusalem" 
 
OH YES!!  That is is WOTCHER PARTNER!!  That is doable and even better
when dragging out the a sound in partner.  I would also agree with the
wannabrit with a slight addition:  I am a Texas transplant wannbrit!!
Yep that's me!!  YEEEHAW!!  Happy to know ya!!
 
Tonya 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 21 22:01:26 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:01:26 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BD8@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Iggy here:

Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for a
LONG
time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  (Usually when describing
someone
as a bloody git, or a bloomin' git.)  Dunno where I picked it up, since
I
grew up in central California... probably from a book somewhere.

Of course, in the US, the last thing a straight guy wants to ask someone
is
"Can I pinch a fag?"   Over here it has an ENTIRELY different meaning.
(And
it just might get you laughed at, slapped, or propositioned by some
guy.)


Iggy McSnurd
 
Now Tonya:
 
OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??  
Tonya 




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From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Tue Oct 21 23:04:35 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 09:04:35 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BD8@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <00c301c39827$b2c1fcf0$73984cca@Monteith>

>
> Now Tonya:
>
> OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
> guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??
> Tonya


Yep. We used to use it in that context in Australia too, but not lately. Not
since we copy everything American, anyway...

Nox




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Tue Oct 21 23:09:08 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 23:09:08 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <005201c3974e$297e6b60$39ea79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bn4eak+12fe@eGroups.com>

Iggy:
> Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for 
a LONG
> time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  (Usually when describing 
someone
> as a bloody git, or a bloomin' git.)  Dunno where I picked it up, 
since I
> grew up in central California... probably from a book somewhere.

I say "budge up" (as do many of the others) and have been known to 
substitute "Bob's your uncle" for "there ya go." Mostly I substitute 
naughty yet somehow more polite-sounding Britslang for more explicit 
anglo-saxonisms when I'm thoroughly brassed off: "smeg!" (Thanx, Red 
Dwarf) or "bugger!" 

Ms. Tattersall, 
apologizing for cussin' in polite company








From ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 21 23:25:33 2003
From: ms_petra_pan at yahoo.com (Petra)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:25:33 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: "Norway's only state-backed witch"
Message-ID: <20031021232533.58617.qmail@web21105.mail.yahoo.com>

Witch Gets State Grant (Reuters)

A witch has won subsidies from the 
Norwegian state to run a business of
potions, fortune-telling and magic.

Lena Skarning said, among others:

"...Harry Potter is a fairy tale and I'm not..."

For the full story, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/rth0

(aka http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031021/od_nm/
life_norway_witch_dc_1)

Petra
a
n  :)

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com



From andie at knownet.net  Wed Oct 22 00:29:11 2003
From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 00:29:11 -0000
Subject: GoF Questions
Message-ID: <bn4j0n+8e8p@eGroups.com>

I know this really isn't OT, but I didn't want to post it on the main 
list, as I'm sure it's been discussed, and I don't want to be given 
the "rolling eyes" silent treatment on my post. *lol*  

Anyway, I was listening to GoF in my car today (again), and in the 
Riddle House, when Voldemort says to Wormtail that there is "one more 
murder" and the path to Harry Potter is clear... Who was he talking 
about?  I know that this has probably been discussed a lot, but I 
just can't recall what everyone came up with for this.  

grindieloe

(already thinking that she's getting the "we've discussed that a 
million times" sigh... but really hoping someone will point her 
toward a few posts)




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 22 01:17:13 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 01:17:13 -0000
Subject: Sick Kids (Re: Nimbus and C.A. and HP, Oh, My!)
In-Reply-To: <bn41d6+7cno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4lqp+it7p@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda" <editor at t...> wrote:
> Hope I covered everything. I now return to my regularly scheduled 
> rota of sick children (over the last three weeks each child has 
> gotten a virulent tummy virus in turn, carrying buckets with them 
> about the house; and according to the doctor this morning, they're 
> starting in on the flu. Someone please remind me of the joys of 
> parenting. Quickly.)
> 
> ~Amanda, a.k.a. VoldeMom

You must be SuperMom as well, since you're actually still in the 
house and haven't run away from home :). 

There's a light at the end of the tunnel! The darkest hour is just 
before the dawn!  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger! (Those are 
my mantras when everyone in the house is sick and crossing the 
border from grumpy to downright surly). 

Jen, wishing you well....




From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Wed Oct 22 01:38:22 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 01:38:22 -0000
Subject: Campaign slogans
In-Reply-To: <bn2sv9+641f@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4n2e+t1ha@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> Cindy wrote:
> 
> > Suggested presidential campaign slogan:  "Wesley, Wesley, he's our
> > man!  If he can't do it, nobody can!"
> 
> What's wrong with "Wesley is our King"?
> 

Wesley cannot save a thing
A stalking horse for Hill Clinton
That's why neo-cons all sing
Wesley is our king

Wesley tries so hard to spin 
His praise of Dubya and Colin
Wesley will make sure we win,
Wesley is our king


   - CMC (right-wing striking again)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 21 01:49:57 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 20:49:57 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BD8@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <003501c39775$a4365da0$2895aec7@rick>


> Now Tonya:
>
> OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
> guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??
> Tonya
>

Iggy here:

Well, in British slang, it does mean "Can I bum a cigarette."

In the States, it means "Can I pinch (literally) a gay man?"

Fag, over here, being considered a derogatory term for a homosexual male.
(Unless, of course, you are one.. then you get to use the same double
standards other cultures use with derogatory terms about their culture and
use the term all you want... Don't get me started on that one unless you
REALLY care to hear a rant.  I sent one in to the main list once when
someone ticked me off, but it got blocked since I'm still moderated there...
*chuckle*)


Iggy McSnurd


"These are two of the simplest, yet truest statements about human nature:
    It is the truly foolish who think themselves wise men.
    Yet it is the wise man who is aware of how truly foolish he is."

-- Coyote's Child  (aka:  Iggy McSnurd)






From jeopardy18 at attbi.com  Wed Oct 22 02:02:38 2003
From: jeopardy18 at attbi.com (seanmulligan2000)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 02:02:38 -0000
Subject: Campaign slogans
In-Reply-To: <bn4n2e+t1ha@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4ofu+8lud@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Caius Marcius" 
<coriolan at w...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
> <dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> > Cindy wrote:
> > 
> > > Suggested presidential campaign slogan:  "Wesley, Wesley, he's 
our
> > > man!  If he can't do it, nobody can!"
> > 
> > What's wrong with "Wesley is our King"?
> > 
> 
> Wesley cannot save a thing
> A stalking horse for Hill Clinton
> That's why neo-cons all sing
> Wesley is our king
> 
> Wesley tries so hard to spin 
> His praise of Dubya and Colin
> Wesley will make sure we win,
> Wesley is our king
> Dennis Kucinich is our king. 
He will get out out of Iraq.
He will get us back on track.
That's why the Democrats all say Dennis is our King.

> 
>    - CMC (right-wing striking again)




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Wed Oct 22 02:05:46 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 02:05:46 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <005201c3974e$297e6b60$39ea79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bn4olq+3nsl@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
" Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for 
a LONG
> time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  

I am fond of "git" myself.  There's just something satisfying about 
how it sounds, lol! I learned it from watching "Black Adder" videos.

Tracy




From pkerr06 at attglobal.net  Wed Oct 22 02:28:39 2003
From: pkerr06 at attglobal.net (bluesox4113)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 02:28:39 -0000
Subject: Nimbus and C.A. and HP, Oh, My!
In-Reply-To: <bn41d6+7cno@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn4q0n+7iei@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda" <editor at t...> wrote:
>
> 
> HPEF had originally intended to pursue doing a yearly event. The 
> complexity of organizing an event of the size and quality of Nimbus 
> 2003, though, caused them to readjust that expectation to every two 
> years. So the next HPEF event will be in 2005, not 2004.

I'll just add a clarification for the HPEF Board of Directors that we
are taking a two-year hiatus after Nimbus 2003 (until 2005) but this
does not necessarily mean that we will always have a two year interval
between conventions.  Scheduled conventions for 2005 and beyond have
not yet been determined by the HPEF board.

Peg Kerr
President, HP Education Fanon, Inc.




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 22 02:45:12 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 02:45:12 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <005201c3974e$297e6b60$39ea79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bn4qvo+fqi9@eGroups.com>


> Iggy here:
> 
> Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for a
LONG
> time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  (Usually when describing
someone
> as a bloody git, or a bloomin' git.)  Dunno where I picked it up,
since I
> grew up in central California... probably from a book somewhere.
> 
> Of course, in the US, the last thing a straight guy wants to ask
someone is
> "Can I pinch a fag?"   Over here it has an ENTIRELY different
meaning.  (And
> it just might get you laughed at, slapped, or propositioned by some
guy.)
> 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

The year I lived in England, my Dad said "bloody" *all* the time --
because he could swear without really (to him) swearing, especially in
front of us kids (I was 11 at the time).  I do hope he managed to
control it at work, though!

Annemehr
who does not remember using much Brit slang that year -- except for
"beezer" (or was it beazer), which was also the name of a comic book.




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 22 02:47:14 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 02:47:14 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <00c301c39827$b2c1fcf0$73984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bn4r3i+5ku1@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:
> >
> > Now Tonya:
> >
> > OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
> > guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??
> > Tonya
> 
> 
> Yep. We used to use it in that context in Australia too, but not
lately. Not
> since we copy everything American, anyway...
> 
> Nox

So if we Americans are copying the Brits, will you all in Australia
eventually be getting Britspeak from us?

Annemehr





From saitaina at wizzards.net  Wed Oct 22 02:53:07 2003
From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 19:53:07 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak and other variations (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn4r3i+5ku1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <008001c39847$9fb75cc0$2c311c40@aoldsl.net>

annemehr wrote:

<So if we Americans are copying the Brits,
will you all in Australia
eventually be getting Britspeak from us?>

Soon the world will be speaking the same
language.  It'll just be passed along from
country to country until we all catch on.

Of course I'm a Californian who mixes up
words to my liking at random.  My mother
often doesn't know if she's going to be
called mom, mum, mere, mamana, or hey you.

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 hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 22 04:30:21 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 04:30:21 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak and other variations (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <008001c39847$9fb75cc0$2c311c40@aoldsl.net>
Message-ID: <bn514t+gale@eGroups.com>

Saitaina wrote:

"Of course I'm a Californian who mixes up
words to my liking at random. My mother
often doesn't know if she's going to be
called mom, mum, mere, mamana, or hey you."


Is that a California thing? Maybe so, as I'm a native Californian, 
and for the longest time I've been at a complete loss as to what to 
call my mother. She was Mommy the whole time I was growing up (just 
as my father was Daddy). While Daddy remained Daddy even after I was 
an adult, for some reason I've never found something "comfortable" 
to call my mom (for some reason Mommy just doesn't cut it these 
days). So now she's Ma, Mom, Mum, Mother, or "the crazy woman on the 
phone." Oops! No, not that last one. <G>

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who does this. <g>

Wendy 





From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Wed Oct 22 06:58:05 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 16:58:05 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn4r3i+5ku1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <004401c39869$d8ae1060$7d984cca@Monteith>

>
> So if we Americans are copying the Brits, will you all in Australia
> eventually be getting Britspeak from us?
>
> Annemehr

I guess up till the 50's when Australians were basically 'displaced Brits',
most of our culture was essentially gleaned from the Mother Country. My Dad
(born in '29) still uses rhyming slang and various "Britishisms". Once the
White Australia Policy was abolished (which took 25 years - from 1949 till
1973, and non-Europeans were able to apply to immigrate, thus allowing other
influences into Australia), then with the technological advances since then
the USA took over, I guess, as the world-wide benchmark, if you will.
American television shows, movies, music etc all took over from the fewer
local productions and the usual British stuff we were used to (not me! I
wasn't born till later...). Except for on the ABC (national,
government-funded public broadcaster) that is... So we've had our
"Britspeak" days but I guess they're coming back now <grin>.


Saitaina wrote
>>Soon the world will be speaking the same
language.  It'll just be passed along from
country to country until we all catch on.<<

Sure enough! Have you been reading Orwell..? <Nox says suspiciously>.
Nothing sinister, I've just been reading Orwell myself..Not 1984, Animal
Farm, but the three Nations remind me an awful lot of the EEU, OPEC and the
err... other one... that includes Asia/Australia etc (can never remember
those intials - you watch, I'll remember seconds after I go off-line.), and
several others. Orwell just had the number of "nations" wrong, but I imagine
any day now we'll get down to three..)

Nox (sorry for bringing politics etc into it, but I'm still reeling at the
fact I was actually *born* while we still had something so racist and
horrible as the "White Australia Policy"...)




From kelleythompson at gbronline.com  Wed Oct 22 07:15:44 2003
From: kelleythompson at gbronline.com (Kelley)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 07:15:44 -0000
Subject: GoF Questions
In-Reply-To: <bn4j0n+8e8p@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn5ar0+pv1j@eGroups.com>

grindieloe <andie at k...> wrote:
> Anyway, I was listening to GoF in my car today (again), and in the 
> Riddle House, when Voldemort says to Wormtail that there is "one 
more murder" and the path to Harry Potter is clear... Who was he 
talking about?  I know that this has probably been discussed a lot, 
but I just can't recall what everyone came up with for this.  
> 
> grindieloe
> 
> (already thinking that she's getting the "we've discussed that a 
> million times" sigh... but really hoping someone will point her 
> toward a few posts) >>>>


LOL, oh yes, as we all know topics never get repeated on the main 
list, eh?  ;-D

Here's the last thread on it I could find; starts with post #81528 
(Sep 24) "Who is it that Wormtail is supposed to murder, in GoF?"

Happy to help, 

Kelley




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Wed Oct 22 08:26:37 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 08:26:37 -0000
Subject: "Norway's only state-backed witch"
In-Reply-To: <20031021232533.58617.qmail@web21105.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <bn5evt+jpbv@eGroups.com>

Petra wrote:

> Witch Gets State Grant (Reuters)

> http://tinyurl.com/rth0

What a hoot!  I particularly liked:

'Skarning said Harry Potter was unrealistic. "He rides his broom 
backwards. Real witches ride with the brush part in front," she 
said.'

Is this official Norwegian endorsement of the realism of all other 
aspects of Harry Potter?

David




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 21 12:47:58 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 07:47:58 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak and other variations (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn4r3i+5ku1@eGroups.com> <008001c39847$9fb75cc0$2c311c40@aoldsl.net>
Message-ID: <001701c397d1$8f93e820$8687aec7@rick>


>Saitaina:
> Soon the world will be speaking the same
> language.  It'll just be passed along from
> country to country until we all catch on.

Iggy here:

Actually, the funny thing is that (since it's considered beneficial for so
many cultures to know) English is considered to be the closest thing that
the world has to a "universal language" right now.  What type you lears
(American or "the King's English") is usually determined by whether your
home is closer to the US or Britain.

This, of course, is not counting Esperanto... which is a language designed
by a group of linguists to specifically BE a universal language, learnable
by any culture.  (You can actually sign up for courses in the language by
mail.)  It never really caught on.

>
> Of course I'm a Californian who mixes up
> words to my liking at random.  My mother
> often doesn't know if she's going to be
> called mom, mum, mere, mamana, or hey you.
>
> Saitaina
> ****

Iggy here:

Yeah... I grew up in Santa Cruz on the north end of the Monterey Bay.  We
had a strong enough Hispanic culture that I apparently have a completely
fluent accent... even though I only know a few phrases in Spanish.  (It goes
back to the "what languages and accents you grew up around.)  In fact,
Watsonville, which is the county's main farming area, is mainly populated by
Hispanics to the point where just by growing up there, you'll be bilingual
without even taking it in high school.

Then we also had a pretty strong Asian community, especially with the
University of California, Santa Cruz, being one of the main "draws" of the
city.  (Santa Cruz is just on the other side of a small mountain range from
Silicon Valley.)  So you'll pick up some Japanese or Chinese phrases
depending on who you hung out with there.  (I never went to UCSC for
schooling... but a lot of my friends did, so I was there a lot.)

Of course, one of the fun things to do is to is, when you only know (or use)
a few phrases in a lot of different languages, is mix them almost at random
within the same sentence.  ("Buenos dias, y'all.  Wie gehts?")  Watching the
look of utter confusion on someone's face as they try to decipher which
language is which, and how they should reply, can be priceless sometimes.


Iggy McSnurd

(Currently letting his ABS FIRECAT rest for a little while, so it can get
used to the new kitten we have in the house.  She's a small tiger cat named
"Biscuit."  Your male, mackerel tabby, Milo McGonagal, is still trying to
get used to her.)





From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 22 13:20:44 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 09:20:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Michelle!
Message-ID: <20031022132044.18802.qmail@web41110.mail.yahoo.com>

*blows up the last of the balloons, scatters confetti
and goes off in search of the cake*

Hey, just because I'm leaving the room for a minute
doesn't mean you can't get the party started! I'll be
back shortly with cake and other goodies.

Today's birthday honouree is Michelle Barnett.
Birthday owls can be sent care of this list or
directly to: firefightermichelle at yahoo.com

I hope your day is filled with magic and brings
everything you wish for.

Happy Birthday, Michelle!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 22 13:54:10 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:54:10 -0000
Subject: New Alan Rickman movie?
Message-ID: <bn6262+q2b5@eGroups.com>

Hello all,

Just a quick question;
I saw a commercial for a new movie starring Hugh Grant, Emma 
Thompson, Alan Rickman, and a few other stars whom I can't remember 
at this moment.  I think it's called 'Without Love'.  I looked it up 
on Comingsoon.net but didn't find it.

Anyone know about this and when it's due to come out?

Thanks,

Anna . . .




From heidit at netbox.com  Wed Oct 22 14:00:53 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 07:00:53 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Alan Rickman movie?
In-Reply-To: <bn6262+q2b5@eGroups.com>
References: <bn6262+q2b5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1066831258.2655CB5C@r5.dngr.org>

Love, Actually. That's the title. I think it's coming out in november 
and doesn't it look delightful?

Heidi
http://www.fictionalley.org


On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 9:54AM -0500, dradamsapple wrote:
> Real-To:  "dradamsapple" <dradamsapple at yahoo.com>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Just a quick question;
> I saw a commercial for a new movie starring Hugh Grant, Emma
> Thompson, Alan Rickman, and a few other stars whom I can't remember
> at this moment.  I think it's called 'Without Love'.  I looked it up
> on Comingsoon.net but didn't find it.
>
> Anyone know about this and when it's due to come out?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Anna . . .
>
>
> ------------------------ 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 editor at texas.net  Wed Oct 22 15:12:59 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda Geist)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 10:12:59 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Alan Rickman movie?
References: <bn6262+q2b5@eGroups.com> <1066831258.2655CB5C@r5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <003401c398ae$fb9ce200$ce5aaacf@texas.net>

It's opening November 21, and Alan Rickman is half of one of several
couples. It's a romantic comedy. And from the trailer, looks great.

I'm imagining that working on a film where all he had to do was get his hair
done---no wig, no contacts--must have been a very nice break.

~Amanda

----- Original Message -----
From: "Heidi Tandy" <heidit at netbox.com>
To: <HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Alan Rickman movie?


> Love, Actually. That's the title. I think it's coming out in november
> and doesn't it look delightful?
>
> Heidi
> http://www.fictionalley.org
>
>
> On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 9:54AM -0500, dradamsapple wrote:
> > Real-To:  "dradamsapple" <dradamsapple at yahoo.com>
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Just a quick question;
> > I saw a commercial for a new movie starring Hugh Grant, Emma
> > Thompson, Alan Rickman, and a few other stars whom I can't remember
> > at this moment.  I think it's called 'Without Love'.  I looked it up
> > on Comingsoon.net but didn't find it.
> >
> > Anyone know about this and when it's due to come out?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Anna . . .
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ 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/
>
>       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 shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Wed Oct 22 16:56:39 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 16:56:39 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
In-Reply-To: <bn46gp+lacr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn6cs7+60h9@eGroups.com>

> Tonya wrote:
> I am from Texas and I would love to use the word "wotcher" in RL.
> 
> Then Annemehr signed off:
> amused by the image of British slang being used in Texas  :)
> 
Then Ms. Tattersal:
> Wotcher, pardner!
> There are a lot of Texas-born wannabrits down here in the Lone Star 
> State. It probably has more to do with the early and easy 
> availability of Britcoms that with HP, though. I remember 
> seeing "Monty Python" on local PBS in 1974...it was the doggonedest 
> thing I ever saw, and decided right then and there that the Brits 
> have the edge on us in comedy. 
> 
> Ms. Tatterall,
> standing in a tea-chest singing "Jerusalem"

now Shirley:
So, where do all you Texans live?  I was born in Midland (Jen and I 
have covered this ground already; so was she) but now live in 
Colorado, where I get to have seasons, and snow, and skiing, 
snowshoeing, hiking, climbing 14-ers, etc.  Still consider myself a 
Texan, though.... :-)   (oh, and Hook 'em!; even if we *can't* seem 
to beat those Sooners)

Shirley, who still quotes from Time Bandits and Monty Python whenever 
given the opportunity...




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Wed Oct 22 18:11:02 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:11:02 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BEB@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Shirley asked:
So, where do all you Texans live?  I was born in Midland (Jen and I 
have covered this ground already; so was she) but now live in 
Colorado, where I get to have seasons, and snow, and skiing, 
snowshoeing, hiking, climbing 14-ers, etc.  Still consider myself a 
Texan, though.... :-)   (oh, and Hook 'em!; even if we *can't* seem 
to beat those Sooners)

Shirley, who still quotes from Time Bandits and Monty Python whenever 
given the opportunity...
 
Now Tonya:
 
Shirley,
I grew up in Golden Colorado.  Now I live in Fort Worth and I love it!!
I am tired of shoveling snow!!  I do miss the four seasons, skiing and
the gorgeous mountains!!  But I can always to visit family in Colorado
when I need a fix.  I love it here, I do not plan to move anytime soon!!
I need to add that I went to undergraduate school in Nebraska!!  GO
CORNHUSKERS!! (ok I will also admitt I cheer for the Sooners when they
are not playing the Huskers!!
 
Tonya 


	



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From lhuntley at fandm.edu  Wed Oct 22 19:13:39 2003
From: lhuntley at fandm.edu (Laura Ingalls Huntley)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 15:13:39 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <bn4qvo+fqi9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <D81D2FE5-04C3-11D8-B1F0-000A95E29F3E@fandm.edu>


On Tuesday, October 21, 2003, at 10:45 PM, annemehr wrote:

>
>> Iggy here:
>> Personally, the only "Britspeak" words I tend to use (and have for a 
>> LONG time) are "bloody", "bloomin'" and "git."  (Usually when 
>> describing someone as a bloody git, or a bloomin' git.)  Dunno where 
>> I picked it up, since I grew up in central California... probably 
>> from a book somewhere.

Annemehr:
> The year I lived in England, my Dad said "bloody" *all* the time --
> because he could swear without really (to him) swearing, especially in
> front of us kids (I was 11 at the time).  I do hope he managed to
> control it at work, though!

Like Iggy, I use pretty minimal Britspeak, and the only word that I 
have used/heard since I was a child was "bloody" -- but only in the 
context of "bloody mess." Or, more specifically, "This house is a 
BLOODY MESS! Why can't you people pick anything up??!!  WHY DO I HAVE 
TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?!"

That was my mother, if you couldn't guess.

Despite the fact that she uses it constantly, I'm not really sure where 
she got it from -- my grandfather is Italian, but I can't understand 
where an Italian immigrant would pick up British slang.  *shrugs*

Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when a phrase I'd heard my mother 
scream at least once a day for most of my life turned out to contain a 
fairly serious British swear word.  ^_~  Esp. when if I said something 
as innocuous as "that's sucks," I'd get yelled at.  Double standards, I 
tell you.  Piffle.

Laura (who likes the way British swears sound, but hasn't got the 
stones to use them herself ^_~.)




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Wed Oct 22 19:46:25 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 19:46:25 -0000
Subject: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BEB@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn6mqh+39ab@eGroups.com>

> Shirley asked:
> So, where do all you Texans live?  

> Tonya replied:
Now I live in Fort Worth and I love it!!

Ms. Tattersall's 2 bits:
I'm in dynamic Denton (non-Texans: north of Fort Worth/Dallas) but 
grew up in the town of Fort Stockton (WAY the heck out west, in the 
desert part). Went to school in Abilene and Lubbock--"Go Red 
Raiders!" I don't mind not having distinct seasons and do just fine 
in the summer heat. Can't imagine living anywhere else, really.

Please check out www.texasquidditch.com
for HP-themed silliness. That's my contribution to the "potterverse," 
FWIW.






From tminton at deckerjones.com  Wed Oct 22 20:31:36 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 15:31:36 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Wotcher (was:  Chapter Discussions: Chapter 3, the Advance Guard and I move
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BF6@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Ms. Tattersall's 2 bits:
I'm in dynamic Denton (non-Texans: north of Fort Worth/Dallas) but 
grew up in the town of Fort Stockton (WAY the heck out west, in the 
desert part). Went to school in Abilene and Lubbock--"Go Red 
Raiders!" I don't mind not having distinct seasons and do just fine 
in the summer heat. Can't imagine living anywhere else, really.

Please check out www.texasquidditch.com
for HP-themed silliness. That's my contribution to the "potterverse," 
FWIW.
 
Now Tonya:
HI, waving!!  I can almost see you from the high rise building in
Downtown Fort Worth where I am working!!  I am getting used to the
summer heat!!  I can now say 115 degrees without gagging, I would say a
couple more years and the heat won't faze me!!  
 
Cool site!!  Thanks for sharing!!
Tonya 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From joym999 at aol.com  Wed Oct 22 22:15:54 2003
From: joym999 at aol.com (joywitch_m_curmudgeon)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 22:15:54 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <004401c39869$d8ae1060$7d984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bn6viq+etf8@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:


> Nox (sorry for bringing politics etc into it, but I'm still reeling 
at the
> fact I was actually *born* while we still had something so racist 
and
> horrible as the "White Australia Policy"...)

Have you seen the movie "Rabbit Proof Fence?"  I highly recommend 
it  -- it's about the Australian policy of removing mixed race 
children from their families which lasted until the 1970s.  In the 
film, these children run away and walk thousands of miles back to 
their homes.  Incredible, moving film.

Joywitch, who was born back in the days when interracial marriage was 
illegal in some parts of the U.S.






From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Wed Oct 22 22:31:59 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 08:31:59 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn6viq+etf8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <008a01c398ec$4f59e0e0$6f984cca@Monteith>

>
> > Nox (sorry for bringing politics etc into it, but I'm still reeling
> at the
> > fact I was actually *born* while we still had something so racist
> and
> > horrible as the "White Australia Policy"...)
>
> Have you seen the movie "Rabbit Proof Fence?"  I highly recommend
> it  -- it's about the Australian policy of removing mixed race
> children from their families which lasted until the 1970s.  In the
> film, these children run away and walk thousands of miles back to
> their homes.  Incredible, moving film.


Yes I have seen it. Its one I made sure I watched, even though movies about
extreme injustice upset me greatly (for weeks, or months even!). If you want
another very moving film (although not always in good ways) try "Once Were
Warriors" about a young Maori family in New Zealand from a lower
socio-economic background. That film had me upset for the longest time...

Nox






From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 22 23:16:51 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 19:16:51 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Alan Rickman movie?
In-Reply-To: <003401c398ae$fb9ce200$ce5aaacf@texas.net>
Message-ID: <20031022231651.68710.qmail@web41112.mail.yahoo.com>

 --- Amanda Geist <editor at texas.net> wrote: > It's
opening November 21, and Alan Rickman is half
> of one of several
> couples. It's a romantic comedy. And from the
> trailer, looks great.
> 
> I'm imagining that working on a film where all he
> had to do was get his hair
> done---no wig, no contacts--must have been a very
> nice break.
> 
> ~Amanda
> 
Amanda's right about the opening date, though I may be
lucky enough to see it next week. There will be a
promotional screening next Thursday at the theatre I
work at and I'm hoping to talk the promoter's into
letting me have one of the free passes. :-D

Sheryll, practically dancing in anticipation

=====
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______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 02:14:38 2003
From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 02:14:38 -0000
Subject: GoF Questions
In-Reply-To: <bn4j0n+8e8p@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn7die+5oig@eGroups.com>

grindieloe wrote:

> Anyway, I was listening to GoF in my car today (again), and in the 
> Riddle House, when Voldemort says to Wormtail that there is "one 
> more murder" and the path to Harry Potter is clear... Who was he 
> talking about?  

Scholastic changed "curse" to "murder" in the US version of the book 
(the UK version reads "curse").  That one more curse was placing the 
Imperius Curse on Mad-Eye Moody.  By changing that one word, 
Scholastic has confused this for millions of fans!

The Lexicon has pages with all of the US-UK differences, btw.

~Phyllis




From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 02:55:04 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 02:55:04 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <008a01c398ec$4f59e0e0$6f984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bn7fu8+ovv0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:

> If you want another very moving film (although not always in good 
> ways) try "Once Were Warriors" about a young Maori family in New 
> Zealand from a lower socio-economic background. That film had me 
> upset for the longest time...
> 
> Nox

No kidding... that movie was gut-wrenching, wasn't it?  I 
LOVED it - and hated it at the same time - and I recommend 
it to everyone looking for a good drama.  My husband was 
skeptical, but it's one of his favorites now, too.  We even 
do the "Don't get lippy with me" thing as an in-joke.

'Course, in the movie, it's not that funny... ;)

*Definitely* go rent this movie.  Actually, it was just on 
IFC (Independent Film Channel) recently... it might be on 
again.  It ran right after _Strictly Ballroom_ last time... 
in case anyone's keeping track of those things.

-Jen, who loved getting free passes to movies in college...





From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 04:19:38 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 04:19:38 -0000
Subject: New Alan Rickman movie?
In-Reply-To: <bn6262+q2b5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn7ksq+dh7f@eGroups.com>

Here's a link to IMDb's page on it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/
I haven't seen ads for it (no cable, no aerial antenna), so I don't
have trailers to compare to, but IMDb says it opens the 7th.

What a cast list! I don't understand the 6.7 stars, though,
(especially since it hasn't even been released) unless it's because of
Denise Richards! (Was there ever a less-believable scientist, even in
a Bond film?)

Beth




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Thu Oct 23 04:28:36 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:28:36 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <bn6viq+etf8@eGroups.com>
References: <004401c39869$d8ae1060$7d984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <3F97E594.14904.12DFB4@localhost>

On 22 Oct 2003 at 22:15, joywitch_m_curmudgeon wrote:

> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:
> 
> Have you seen the movie "Rabbit Proof Fence?"  I highly recommend 
> it  -- it's about the Australian policy of removing mixed race 
> children from their families which lasted until the 1970s.  In the 
> film, these children run away and walk thousands of miles back to 
> their homes.  Incredible, moving film.

Unfortunately, it's also rather historically inaccurate.

My grandmother was one of the children taken from her family as part of the 
assimilation policies - so I'm not one of the nutcases who claims it never 
happened. But the historical evidence is, that it was *thankfully* much rarer that 
many people have been lead to believe, and for the majority of its victims, not as 
negative as some people try to present (the fact that it wasn't as negative doesn't 
make it right, of course - and it was largely a matter of luck that it wasn't for 
many).

The film has some serious inaccuracies in its portrayal of what actually happened, 
and personally, as someone who comes from a background where the facts are a 
part of my family's history, I find it very disturbing to see them distorted in the way 
they were in that film. There was no need to distort things - what actually 
happened was bad enough. But please don't think that film is a true story - it 
contains some elements of truth, but it also contains a significant amount of 
fiction.

It's a pretty good film - but please understand that it's not a particularly true story. 
Mollie Craig - one of the women, who was one of the girls the film was about, has 
said that it's not her story anymore.


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 jillily3g at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 06:44:36 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 06:44:36 -0000
Subject: Telemarketers and phone scams (long)
Message-ID: <bn7tck+2feq@eGroups.com>

I really did try and write something at the time this thread was 
current, but it got "lost" and I moved on -- until my phone call 
today.

A man called today asking for my husband at about 11:15 a.m. My 
husband is an editor at the local paper and since the man sounded a 
little brusque, I figured he wanted to complain about something. He 
gave his name as John Higgins and listed some 800 number I was to 
tell my husband to call, asking when he would be home. 

"I have no idea. Sometimes he comes home for lunch," I answered, 
slow to realize that I shouldn't have. "May I tell him what this is 
regarding?" 

"Yes. To whom am I speaking?" He actually sounded a tiny bit 
friendlier.

"This is his wife."

"Well, then I can talk to you. You have an outstanding balance on 
your [company x] card and there's been no payment on it for over a 
year. We are about to turn it over for refusal to pay. What are you 
going to do about it?"

"That is /so/ interesting, because we haven't had a [company x] card 
for years and I just read an article about calls like these."

Really surly now, "So you are refusing to pay?"

"No, what I'm going to do is investigate this."

And on it went, as he got angrier and more threatening, interrupting 
me, asking me when my husband's birthday is (I didn't tell him), and 
finally telling me to hang up. I said that I wouldn't because I 
loved that this was costing him money. He said that it wasn't 
costing him anything, threatened more and then said to hang up 
again. I just covered the mouthpiece and listened until I got a busy 
tone.

It wasn't until after I hung up that I realized that I hadn't read 
an article, but a friend from my book club had related a similar 
experience in which the man claimed she had an outstanding phone 
bill. Unfortunately, she did correct him on her middle initial and 
supplied him with her birthdate before she started resisting. But I 
was glad to have had the knowledge of her experience when I was 
faced with this guy.

I'm guessing that, since I am probably one of three people left in 
the U.S. without a cell phone, all of you are much more savvy to 
these things than I am, but just in case, I wanted to pass on this 
warning reminding everyone to /not/ give out personal information 
over the phone. Remind older people, too, as I can easily see my 
grandmother being totally cowed by this jerk.

I called the police department, since I couldn't reach the credit 
bureau, because I felt like I should be reporting it to someone. The 
kind, bored duty officer explained that there wasn't anything they 
could do anyway, since these numbers were often fake.

As far as true telemarketers are concerned, I've always tried to be 
polite, but my brother tries to get them talking as long as 
possible, especially about their personal lives, and a friend said a 
sympathetic telemarketer once confessed to her that he was trained 
to keep talking until she hung up, so she said "Thanks!" and did. 

Beth, who had to work really hard not to use "he growled" "I 
laughed" or adverbs, but will leave in the "answered"




From charisjulia at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 09:32:34 2003
From: charisjulia at hotmail.com (charisjulia)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 09:32:34 -0000
Subject: Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
In-Reply-To: <004401c39869$d8ae1060$7d984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bn877i+2ujv@eGroups.com>

Nox wrote:


<<<<<<<<Not 1984, Animal
Farm, but the three Nations remind me an awful lot of the EEU, OPEC 
and the
err... other one... that includes Asia/Australia etc >>>>>>>>


<blushes bright red at deplorable inability to just let it go>


Umm, you wouldn't by any chance be referring to the EU, would you? 
The European Union, established with the Treaty of Maastricht, 
linking with even closer ties the previously formally separate three 
Communities, one of which was the EEC, later renamed EC?

Confused yet?

Yes, Eurocracy is indeed a fact.


Charis Julia, with many apologies for being such a nerd





From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Thu Oct 23 12:15:58 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 22:15:58 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak (was Re: Wotcher)
References: <bn877i+2ujv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <009501c3995f$6b8d48b0$72984cca@Monteith>


----- Original >
> Umm, you wouldn't by any chance be referring to the EU, would you?
> The European Union, established with the Treaty of Maastricht,
> linking with even closer ties the previously formally separate three
> Communities, one of which was the EEC, later renamed EC?

Yeah, I realised the mistake as soon as I got off-line, then hoped no one
would notice... <lol>

Nox





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 12:39:50 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 12:39:50 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248BD8@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...> 
wrote:
> Iggy here:
> 
> > Of course, in the US, the last thing a straight guy wants to ask 
someone
> is
> "Can I pinch a fag?"   Over here it has an ENTIRELY different 
meaning.
> (And
> it just might get you laughed at, slapped, or propositioned by some
> guy.)
> 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd
>  
> Now Tonya:
>  
> OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
> guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??  

> Tonya 

You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we should 
compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a start:

Brit             American

Fag              Cigarette
Gay man          Fag
Snout            Cigarette
Petrol           Gas
Rubbish          Trash
Dustbin          Trashcan
Tights           Pantyhose
Knickers         Panties
Pavement         Sidewalk
Road             Highway
Motorway         Freeway
Trousers         Pants
Pants            Undershorts
Crisps           Chips
Chips            Fries

Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?






From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct 23 13:39:44 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 08:39:44 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C00@djmail.deckerjones.com>

June said:
You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we should 
compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a start:

Brit             American

Fag              Cigarette
Gay man          Fag
Snout            Cigarette
Petrol           Gas
Rubbish          Trash
Dustbin          Trashcan
Tights           Pantyhose
Knickers         Panties
Pavement         Sidewalk
Road             Highway
Motorway         Freeway
Trousers         Pants
Pants            Undershorts
Crisps           Chips
Chips            Fries

Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?

Now Me again Tonya:
Cool!!  Yes let's continue a with the list.  Here's a good one what do
you call the bathroom or restroom??  
 
Tonya  (who's mother would be totoally embarssed for asking such a
question right out load in the middle of a crowded room)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From eberte at vaeye.com  Thu Oct 23 14:00:57 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:00:57 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn8mup+jrjj@eGroups.com>

June wrote:
> You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we should 
> compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a start:
> 
> Brit             American
> 
> Fag              Cigarette
> Gay man          Fag
> Snout            Cigarette
> Petrol           Gas
> Rubbish          Trash
> Dustbin          Trashcan
> Tights           Pantyhose
> Knickers         Panties
> Pavement         Sidewalk
> Road             Highway
> Motorway         Freeway
> Trousers         Pants
> Pants            Undershorts
> Crisps           Chips
> Chips            Fries
> 
> Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?


How about these:

Brit               American
Jumper             Sweater
?Pinafore          Jumper
Trainers           Sneakers
Bonnet (car)       Hood (car)
Boot (car)         Trunk (car)

Does *snout* really mean a cigarette in Brit-speak?  Weird.
Elle




From heidit at netbox.com  Thu Oct 23 14:03:25 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (heiditandy)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:03:25 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8mup+jrjj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn8n3d+bahk@eGroups.com>

Not to stop y'all from doing this exercise, but the Lexicon already 
has a Brit-American "glossary" up at http://www.hp-
lexicon.org/strictly_british1.html. Enjoy!

Heidi

 HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ellejir" <eberte at v...> wrote:
> June wrote:
> > You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we 
should 
> > compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a 
start:
> > 
> > Brit             American
> > 
> > Fag              Cigarette
> > Gay man          Fag
> > Snout            Cigarette
> > Petrol           Gas
> > Rubbish          Trash
> > Dustbin          Trashcan
> > Tights           Pantyhose
> > Knickers         Panties
> > Pavement         Sidewalk
> > Road             Highway
> > Motorway         Freeway
> > Trousers         Pants
> > Pants            Undershorts
> > Crisps           Chips
> > Chips            Fries
> > 
> > Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?
> 
> 
> How about these:
> 
> Brit               American
> Jumper             Sweater
> ?Pinafore          Jumper
> Trainers           Sneakers
> Bonnet (car)       Hood (car)
> Boot (car)         Trunk (car)
> 
> Does *snout* really mean a cigarette in Brit-speak?  Weird.
> Elle




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 14:05:16 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:05:16 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn8n6s+r351@eGroups.com>

June wrote:

> You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we should 
> compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a start:
> 
> Brit             American
> 
> Fag              Cigarette
> Gay man          Fag
> Snout            Cigarette
> Petrol           Gas
> Rubbish          Trash
> Dustbin          Trashcan
> Tights           Pantyhose
> Knickers         Panties
> Pavement         Sidewalk
> Road             Highway
> Motorway         Freeway
> Trousers         Pants
> Pants            Undershorts
> Crisps           Chips
> Chips            Fries
> 
> Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?

Annemehr's additions:

..Brit.............American
------------------------------
..Vest.............Undershirt
..Biscuit..........Cookie
..Water Closet(WC).Bathroom (it's all in one room --tub,sink, toilet)
..Loo..............Bathroom/Restroom (the latter is a public one)
..Lorry............Truck
..Boot.............Trunk (of a car)
..Jumper...........Sweater 
..Pub..............Bar
..On Holiday.......On Vacation
..Fringe...........Bangs
..Verge............Berm
..Happy Christmas..Merry Christmas
..Braces...........Suspenders
..Public School....Private School
..Chemist..........Drug Store
..Bangers..........Sausages
..Garden...........Yard
..Pudding..........Dessert
..Middle...........Waist
..Queue/Plait......Braid




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 23 14:07:16 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:07:16 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn8nak+582t@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" <> >  
> Brit             American
> 
> Fag              Cigarette
> Gay man          Fag
> Snout            Cigarette
> Petrol           Gas
> Rubbish          Trash
> Dustbin          Trashcan
> Tights           Pantyhose
> Knickers         Panties
> Pavement         Sidewalk
> Road             Highway
> Motorway         Freeway
> Trousers         Pants
> Pants            Undershorts
> Crisps           Chips
> Chips            Fries


Now about knickers/panties and pants/undershorts:  I don't know if 
its universally American, but we call everything "underwear" around 
here--no distinction made for male/female except sometimes young 
girls call underwear "panties".

Adding to the list:

Bumpershoot(sp.?)=umbrella
Bonnet of car=hood of car
Jumper=Sweater
Nappies*=Diapers 
Private school=Public School (correct me if I'm wrong on this)

*(not sure if nappies is British, but my sister lived in New Zealand 
and used nappies and NZ'ers used quite a bit of Brittspeak)

Jen




From jmd at jvf.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 14:12:10 2003
From: jmd at jvf.co.uk (Jeremy Davis)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:12:10 +0100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
References: <bn8nak+582t@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003801c3996f$a89ee0f0$0e010001@jmd2000>

Snout - Cigarette is not 100% correct. Snout is really just the tobacco,
nobt the fully rolled cigarette.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at earthlink.net>
To: <HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 3:07 PM
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was
Brittspeak)


> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" <> >
> > Brit             American
> >
> > Fag              Cigarette
> > Gay man          Fag
> > Snout            Cigarette
> > Petrol           Gas
> > Rubbish          Trash
> > Dustbin          Trashcan
> > Tights           Pantyhose
> > Knickers         Panties
> > Pavement         Sidewalk
> > Road             Highway
> > Motorway         Freeway
> > Trousers         Pants
> > Pants            Undershorts
> > Crisps           Chips
> > Chips            Fries
>
>
> Now about knickers/panties and pants/undershorts:  I don't know if
> its universally American, but we call everything "underwear" around
> here--no distinction made for male/female except sometimes young
> girls call underwear "panties".
>
> Adding to the list:
>
> Bumpershoot(sp.?)=umbrella
> Bonnet of car=hood of car
> Jumper=Sweater
> Nappies*=Diapers
> Private school=Public School (correct me if I'm wrong on this)
>
> *(not sure if nappies is British, but my sister lived in New Zealand
> and used nappies and NZ'ers used quite a bit of Brittspeak)
>
> Jen
>
>
>
> ________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 bumbledor at charter.net  Thu Oct 23 14:25:19 2003
From: bumbledor at charter.net (Bumbledor)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 10:25:19 -0400
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Telemarketers and phone scams (long)
References: <bn7tck+2feq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <008001c39971$802d6a40$6501a8c0@mac>

Beth,, the best way to deal with those schmucks is to Mine information from THEM.
Find out what the account number is, how much is owed, when the debt was created, what is his name,
what is his phone number, so you can call him back, etc..  And yes, keep them talking.
remember, the more rude they get, the more likly its a skam.

No law requires you to deal with 3rd party collections agencies - UNLESS its part of your contract. I.E. the credit card contract you sign, when you get your mastercard or visa..

And thats what you need to do, find out if there is a contract, and if so, who are the parties.. I.E. you and Mastercard, or you and mastercard/3rd party collections.

Most of the time, the collections will say they have a contract with Mastercard - but will not say they have one with you. Absent a contract with YOU and the collections agency, then the collections agency can do NOTHING legaly..

Its those phone calls and letters, which are their sneaky way of getting you to contract with them - abet a bit of fraud and non-disclosure on their part and ignorance on your part is required for them to get a "default" contract. But a contract it is, and then they have you. You not only pay the collections agency, but the original debtor as well.



----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Beth 
  To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 2:44 AM
  Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Telemarketers and phone scams (long)


  I really did try and write something at the time this thread was 
  current, but it got "lost" and I moved on -- until my phone call 
  today.

  A man called today asking for my husband at about 11:15 a.m. My 
  husband is an editor at the local paper and since the man sounded a 
  little brusque, I figured he wanted to complain about something. He 
  gave his name as John Higgins and listed some 800 number I was to 
  tell my husband to call, asking when he would be home. 

  "I have no idea. Sometimes he comes home for lunch," I answered, 
  slow to realize that I shouldn't have. "May I tell him what this is 
  regarding?" 

  "Yes. To whom am I speaking?" He actually sounded a tiny bit 
  friendlier.

  "This is his wife."

  "Well, then I can talk to you. You have an outstanding balance on 
  your [company x] card and there's been no payment on it for over a 
  year. We are about to turn it over for refusal to pay. What are you 
  going to do about it?"

  "That is /so/ interesting, because we haven't had a [company x] card 
  for years and I just read an article about calls like these."

  Really surly now, "So you are refusing to pay?"

  "No, what I'm going to do is investigate this."

  And on it went, as he got angrier and more threatening, interrupting 
  me, asking me when my husband's birthday is (I didn't tell him), and 
  finally telling me to hang up. I said that I wouldn't because I 
  loved that this was costing him money. He said that it wasn't 
  costing him anything, threatened more and then said to hang up 
  again. I just covered the mouthpiece and listened until I got a busy 
  tone.

  It wasn't until after I hung up that I realized that I hadn't read 
  an article, but a friend from my book club had related a similar 
  experience in which the man claimed she had an outstanding phone 
  bill. Unfortunately, she did correct him on her middle initial and 
  supplied him with her birthdate before she started resisting. But I 
  was glad to have had the knowledge of her experience when I was 
  faced with this guy.

  I'm guessing that, since I am probably one of three people left in 
  the U.S. without a cell phone, all of you are much more savvy to 
  these things than I am, but just in case, I wanted to pass on this 
  warning reminding everyone to /not/ give out personal information 
  over the phone. Remind older people, too, as I can easily see my 
  grandmother being totally cowed by this jerk.

  I called the police department, since I couldn't reach the credit 
  bureau, because I felt like I should be reporting it to someone. The 
  kind, bored duty officer explained that there wasn't anything they 
  could do anyway, since these numbers were often fake.

  As far as true telemarketers are concerned, I've always tried to be 
  polite, but my brother tries to get them talking as long as 
  possible, especially about their personal lives, and a friend said a 
  sympathetic telemarketer once confessed to her that he was trained 
  to keep talking until she hung up, so she said "Thanks!" and did. 

  Beth, who had to work really hard not to use "he growled" "I 
  laughed" or adverbs, but will leave in the "answered"




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct 23 14:59:30 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 09:59:30 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C0E@djmail.deckerjones.com>

annemehr added this to the Brit/American list:
..Verge............Berm
 
What is this??  I have no idea what a berm is.  
Tonya


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 15:10:18 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:10:18 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C0E@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn8r0q+3sm8@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...>
wrote:
> annemehr added this to the Brit/American list:
> ..Verge............Berm
>  
> What is this??  I have no idea what a berm is.  
> Tonya
> 

It's the edge of the road (not a street, where you have a curb).  I'd
be willing to swear there's another American name for it, but my
chronic problem of frequently being unable to bring even the most
common words to mind when I want them once again rears its ugly head.
 This problem is a real pain when I want to tell my kids to do
something; by the time I think of the word I need, they're long gone.

Oh! Another name for it is "shoulder" (as in "Do Not Pass On Shoulder"
roadsigns)!

Annemehr
verbally challenged





From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct 23 15:15:40 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 10:15:40 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C12@djmail.deckerjones.com>

It's the edge of the road (not a street, where you have a curb).  I'd
be willing to swear there's another American name for it, but my
chronic problem of frequently being unable to bring even the most
common words to mind when I want them once again rears its ugly head.
This problem is a real pain when I want to tell my kids to do
something; by the time I think of the word I need, they're long gone.

Oh! Another name for it is "shoulder" (as in "Do Not Pass On Shoulder"
roadsigns)!

Annemehr
verbally challenged


 
Ok I know what you are talking about!!  Thanks I have 2 new words for
the shoulder of a road now!!  
 
Tonya (still having a great time with the language thread!!)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 22 15:51:16 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 10:51:16 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
References: <bn8mup+jrjj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00d201c398b4$556937c0$888eaec7@rick>

Iggy here:

*grin* Let's go one better...

Here's some web-sites that specialize in relating the difference between
"Brittspeak" and "Amer-isms" (we'll coin that last one from here on... ok?
*grins and bows as his supposed cleverness.*)  I've checked these sites to
make sure that they have at least a moderate number of definitions, and
aren't just trying to sell you a book.  (Note that one or two are based to
sell books, but also provide enough definitions for free to make them worth
visiting. And at least one is a good resource page to springboard off to a
lot of slang based sites.)  Please also note that a number of these
glossaries, while mainly focusing on the English slang, often include some
Scott, Irish, or Welsh slang in their definitions.

http://www.effingpot.com/        (a book sales based main page, but has a
lot of definitions available from their sidebar.)

http://www.lexscripta.com/desktop/dictionaries/slang.html        (a good
springboard site to slang sites for a number of different languages.
Assembled by an Aussie... in case you're interested.)

http://www.hps.com/~tpg/ukdict/        (Hasn't been updated since the 1983,
6th ed., but still a good site for a lot of definitions that have stood the
test of time.)

http://www.bg-map.com/us-uk.html   (A site with a decent list of terms.
Also has some commentary about differences of definition even in some parts
of the US.)

http://www.aldertons.com/        (A neat site that's mostly a Cockney
Rhyming Slang dictionary... but can definately be useful.)

http://www.londonslang.com/        (A great site from the pages I've checked
out.  Includes a decent amount of Cockney rhyming slang, and has a number of
explanations of the more sexually oriented definitions you won't find on the
other sites.. but they're still done rather appropriately...)

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/usgbglos.html        (A quick little
reference to British slang...)

http://www.english2american.com/dictionary/wholelot.html        (A decent
British slang dictionary that includes commentary and possible origins from
the site owner.)



Now, here are a few American based slang dictionaries:  (Please note that a
lot of the terms in thses slang dictionaries are, unfortunately, either very
regional, or only really used by select "sub-cultures" in the US, and is far
from being comprehensive about everyday terms for most Americans.  The
British to American glossaries seem to do a better job of covering those
points.)

http://www.manythings.org/slang/        (A decent site, from what I checked
out, although the interface is a bit annoying and some of the terms seem to
be very regional.)

http://members.tripod.com/~jaguarpage/slang.htm        (Contains a lot of
slang from the US, Canada, and the UK... Unfortunately, it also has a LOT of
sexually explicit slang terms.  Do not visit if you are easily offended.)

http://eslcafe.com/slang/list.html        (A decent site, overall...)

http://eslcafe.com/slang/list.html        (a pretty good glossary of
"ghetto" slang.  Not the way most Americans tend to talk... mostly the black
ghetto culture, and "white boy wannabee's")

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wrader/slang/  (a pretty extensive listing of
slang terms, although it is... again... pretty regional and ghetto in some
cases...)

http://members.aol.com/ciaranskye/slang2.html        (Has a decent listing
of sites where you can find slang from a lot of different areas of the world
and, more importantly for being listed here, has a good variety of links to
regional sites in the US...)



Hope this provides a decent start to understanding.  *grin*  Feel free to
list a review of any or all of these sites once you've checked them out.


Iggy McSnurd







From olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr  Thu Oct 23 16:25:25 2003
From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 16:25:25 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn8vdl+a96r@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" <june.diamanti at b...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...> 
> wrote:
> > Iggy here:
> > 
> > > Of course, in the US, the last thing a straight guy wants to ask 
> someone
> > is
> > "Can I pinch a fag?"   Over here it has an ENTIRELY different 
> meaning.
> > (And
> > it just might get you laughed at, slapped, or propositioned by some
> > guy.)
> > 
> > 
> > Iggy McSnurd
> >  
> > Now Tonya:
> >  
> > OH my what does "Can I pinch a fag?"  mean over there??  Ok let me
> > guess.....  "Can I bum a cigarette?"  Is that right??  
> 
> > Tonya 
> 
> You clearly need the existence of a recognised authority  we should 
> compile a dictionary for our mutual clarification.  Here's a start:
> 
> Brit             American
> 
> Fag              Cigarette
> Gay man          Fag
> Snout            Cigarette
> Petrol           Gas
> Rubbish          Trash
> Dustbin          Trashcan
> Tights           Pantyhose
> Knickers         Panties
> Pavement         Sidewalk
> Road             Highway
> Motorway         Freeway
> Trousers         Pants
> Pants            Undershorts
> Crisps           Chips
> Chips            Fries
> 
> Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?

I'll had 
Rubber Eraser
Condom Rubber
just in case someone wants to know how one of my girl friend felt when I asked her if 
she had a rubber on her in my first student trip to United States.

Olivier




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 16:48:05 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 16:48:05 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C00@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bn90o5+l9j4@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" <tminton at d...> 
wrote:
> > Now Me again Tonya:
> Cool!!  Yes let's continue a with the list.  Here's a good one what 
do
> you call the bathroom or restroom??  
>  
> Tonya  (who's mother would be totoally embarssed for asking such a
> question right out load in the middle of a crowded room)
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

bathroom/restroom - now here's a challenge:

toilet
lavatory
loo
lav
Khazi
bog
ladies or gentlemen (according to who is using the public toilet)
Gents (for men)
WC
urinal (for men)
little girls room
little boys room
where the big knobs hand out (mens)
the porcelain (I'm off to point Percy at the porcelain - a stricly 
male term)
The doughnut in granny's greenhouse


this is because we excel in euphemism - as you can see.  

June





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 17:29:38 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 17:29:38 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8nak+582t@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9362+5rio@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

You're all forgetting my favourite: "fanny". In England it mild(ish) 
slang for vagina, while in the sates it's your behind. Soon after I 
moved to the USA, our charming and elderly next door neighbour said 
that he'd been tempted to shoot deer in the fanny to get them to 
move out of his yard. I was mortified.

Pronunciation is also key. I often arranged meetings with colleagues 
in the restaurant, only to be met by horrified looks as they thought 
I'd said the rest-room.

I'm English, and I've never called tobacco `snout'. I would have 
used the phrase "can I bum a fag off you" to mean "may I borrow a 
cigarette", but I've given up smoking now.

The public school thing is more complex. In England there are an 
elite set of private schools that are called public schools. They 
were public by the definition that held when they were formed. (E.g. 
Eton was founded in 1440, when the only other education would be in 
your castle or in a monastry!)

So what do American women call what we call suspenders ? i.e. the 
things that hold up ladies stockings?

I cannot remember where I read this, but we use the term bangs too, 
but only for a horse's tail hair cut!

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 17:33:17 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 17:33:17 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn9362+5rio@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn93ct+o5fg@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter I wrote:
> I cannot remember where I read this, but we use the term 
> bangs too, but only for a horse's tail hair cut!

Now I can - it was in Bar's post here in May

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/15325

Cheers,

Dumbledad




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 22 17:36:56 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 12:36:56 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
References: <bn8nak+582t@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002101c398c3$1881a4a0$e58faec7@rick>


>
> Now about knickers/panties and pants/undershorts:  I don't know if
> its universally American, but we call everything "underwear" around
> here--no distinction made for male/female except sometimes young
> girls call underwear "panties".
>
> Jen

Iggy here:

Well, for men, we have -

boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs (a wonderful invention that combines the
comfort of boxers with the support of briefs), jockey shorts (or "jockeys"
for short... probably because the design most likely was a combination of a
jock-strap and a pair of briefs...), "tighty whiteys", "banana hammock", and
baggies... (the last one being usually boxers or briefs that are old and
well-worn enough to go baggy...)


Then there's for women -

panties, briefs, thong (yes, that piece of fabric held on with a piece of
dental floss between her butt cheeks), "unmentionables", "dainties", "granny
panties" (those are the high-waisted, no-nonsense cotton briefs.)


On the other hand, it's becoming more popular among women in the US, for
some reason, to start wearing men's briefs or boxers for their own
underwear.


Hope this helps.

Iggy McSnurd


PS: Since I can't find the letter where someone asked the real difference
between a "solicitor" and a "barrister"... from what I understand, a
solicitor is more like a paralegal... (someone who can help you deal with
legal documents and official stuff, but isn't a "trial lawyer" and doesn't
actually go to court)... and a barrister is more like an actual attorney who
can go to trial for or against you.

Of course, the fun part is that a "solicitor" in the US is a door-to-door
salesman (would that be like a "brushman" in the UK?), and is usually trying
to sell you something... Then there's also "solicitation" which is often
used in the courts to refer to charges relating to prostitution.  (Kinda
funny when you think of the fact that solicitors on both sides of "the pond"
are people who are trying to screw you in one way or another... *grin*)







From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 17:51:24 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 17:51:24 -0000
Subject: Solicitors and barristers (was Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <002101c398c3$1881a4a0$e58faec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn94es+5lic@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Iggy wrote:
> PS: Since I can't find the letter where someone asked the real 
difference
> between a "solicitor" and a "barrister"... from what I understand, 
a
> solicitor is more like a paralegal... (someone who can help you 
deal with
> legal documents and official stuff, but isn't a "trial lawyer" and 
doesn't
> actually go to court)... and a barrister is more like an actual 
attorney who
> can go to trial for or against you.


Here's how the OED distinguishes them. I think the up-shot is that a 
solicitor has not been "called to the bar" and so cannot be an 
advocate in the superior courts of law (I think that's what we call 
the high court). Solicitor first:

One properly qualified and formally admitted to practise as a law-
agent in any court; formerly, one practising in a court of equity, 
as distinguished from an attorney.
  The rise of solicitors as a class of legal practitioners, and the 
gradual recognition and definition of their status, are illustrated 
by the first group of quotations.

Now barrister:

A student of the law, who, having been called to the bar, has the 
privilege of practising as advocate in the superior courts of law. 
The formal title is barrister-at-law; the equivalent designation in 
Scotland is advocate.
  The name originated in the ancient internal arrangements of the 
Inns of Court: see quot. 1545 infra, and BAR n. 24. But by 1600, it 
was currently associated with the bar of the courts of justice, at 
which utter-barristers had before that date secured the right to 
plead, formerly possessed only by sergeants and apprentices-at-law.

There, clear as mud.

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 22 17:52:08 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 12:52:08 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
References: <bn9362+5rio@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002e01c398c5$37907860$e58faec7@rick>

>Dumbledad:
>The public school thing is more complex. In England there are an
>elite set of private schools that are called public schools. They
>were public by the definition that held when they were formed. (E.g.
>Eton was founded in 1440, when the only other education would be in
>your castle or in a monastry!)

Iggy here:

Well, in the US, we tend to use the following definitions:  (Please note
that these are all for schools under the university level..)

Public School - Any school that's open to public attendance and doesn't
require a fee to attend.  This is the most common type of school, as it's
easily accessable.  Some still do have reputations, however, as to how good
their educational standars are.  Unfortunately, this often relates almost
directly to what kind of neighborhood they're in.

Private School - Any school that requires one to be on a waiting list, pass
entrance testing, and require the parents to pay a fee for their child to
attend.  Most are considered to be exclusive, and generally have a higher
standard of educational level because they can hand-pick their students and
can restrict the number of people per teacher to easier obtain the maximum
benefit.

Catholic / Christian School - Sometimes public, sometimes private, and
always run by one religeous organization or another.  They usually require a
very strict dress code, often resorting to uniforms to enforce these rules.
Their educational level is usually considered to be better than that of a
public school, due to the levels of discipline they require and enforce, but
lower than that of a private school because they're less selective about who
attends.

Boarding School - Any private school that houses its students, providing
both room and board.  Many of these are military schools / academys,
ultra-exclusive private schools, religeous schools that are intended for a
"life in the faith," or are off in the other direction and are schools for
particularly troublesome kids.  The education level is usually seen to be th
e highest standard you can get.

>Dumbledad:
>So what do American women call what we call suspenders - i.e. the
>things that hold up ladies stockings?

Iggy here:

They call them "garters" (usually if they're attached to a corset or
bustier) or "garter belt" (if they're simply attached to a waist belt.).  Of
course, there's also the "garter" that's an elastic, and usually frilly,
strap that goes around the upper part of the stocking without any other
straps.  This kind is traditionally worn 9at least one of them) on the
bride's leg for the groom to remove after the ceremony.  He throws this to
the single men much in the same way the bride throws the boquet.  (And it
meand the same thing for whoever catches it... so the reaction among the men
to this is usually the opposite of the ladie's reaction to the bouquet.
They run like hell AWAY from it.  *grin*)

>Cheers,
>
>Dumbledad.
>

Hope this helps...

Iggy McSnurd







From eberte at vaeye.com  Thu Oct 23 18:02:30 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:02:30 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn9362+5rio@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn953m+79pc@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> 
> You're all forgetting my favourite: "fanny". In England it is a
> mild(ish) slang for vagina, while in the states it's your behind.
> Soon after I moved to the USA, our charming and elderly next door
> neighbour said that he'd been tempted to shoot deer in the fanny to
> get them to move out of his yard. I was mortified.
> 

Yeah, well, *that* will teach those deer to move, now won't it?!

Does anyone in England use the name "Fanny" as a nickname for 
Frances?  It is not very common anymore in the US due to the obvious 
hazard for teasing on the grade-school playground, but it would seem 
to be an even riskier nickname in the UK based on what you just said. 

Elle (who doesn't like deer eating up her garden either, and would 
have *loved* to see Tim's face when his neighbor made that 
suggestion!)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 22 18:01:51 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:01:51 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Gardening tips  (was: Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched)
References: <bn953m+79pc@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003d01c398c6$94b767a0$e58faec7@rick>



> Elle (who doesn't like deer eating up her garden either, and would
> have *loved* to see Tim's face when his neighbor made that
> suggestion!)
>

Iggy here:

My mom has the same problem... She says that one of the most effective
solutions she's found is coyote urine.  You can buy it at some gardening
stores (by the bottle, of course) and spray it around your plants.  The deer
can smell this and it helps keep them away from the garden.

Oh, another fun little tip:  If you grow roses and have a problem with
aphids, grow garlic in the same bed.  Roses and garlic grow well together,
and the smell will keep the aphids from your roses.  (In fact, one nickname
for garlic is "the stinking rose")



Iggy McSnurd






From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 18:25:38 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:25:38 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn953m+79pc@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn96f2+g6b6@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter wrote:
> Does anyone in England use the name "Fanny" as a nickname for 
> Frances? 

They could, but I never met any (though I do know several Frances 
who don't shorten their name to Fanny). It's certainly not in the UK 
top ten that for 2002 baby girls, that was:

Chloe Emily Megan Emma Jessica Sophie Sarah Charlotte Hannah Olivia 

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 18:33:44 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:33:44 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn96f2+g6b6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn96u8+5oja@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter wrote:
> > Does anyone in England use the name "Fanny" as a nickname for 
> > Frances? 
> 
> They could, but I never met any (though I do know several Frances 
> who don't shorten their name to Fanny). It's certainly not in the 
UK 
> top ten that for 2002 baby girls, that was:
> 
> Chloe Emily Megan Emma Jessica Sophie Sarah Charlotte Hannah 
Olivia 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.

Fanny was a common diminutive for Frances - certainly in the 
1930's.  Read Nancy Mitford's "Love in a Cold Climate" and "The 
Pursuit of Love" the main narrator is a thinly disguised version of 
Nancy herself called the Honourable Frances Logan, known to all and 
sundry as Fanny.  

Fanny Burney the 19th century author.
Fanny Price in Mansfield Park.

Not anymore.  And no wonder.

June




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 18:37:34 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:37:34 -0000
Subject: Solicitors and barristers (was Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn94es+5lic@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn975e+40md@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> > 
> Here's how the OED distinguishes them. I think the up-shot is that 
a 
> solicitor has not been "called to the bar" and so cannot be an 
> advocate in the superior courts of law (I think that's what we 
call 
> the high court). Solicitor first:
> 
> One properly qualified and formally admitted to practise as a law-
> agent in any court; formerly, one practising in a court of equity, 
> as distinguished from an attorney.
>   The rise of solicitors as a class of legal practitioners, and 
the 
> gradual recognition and definition of their status, are 
illustrated 
> by the first group of quotations.
> 
> Now barrister:
> 
> A student of the law, who, having been called to the bar, has the 
> privilege of practising as advocate in the superior courts of law. 
> The formal title is barrister-at-law; the equivalent designation 
in 
> Scotland is advocate.
>   The name originated in the ancient internal arrangements of the 
> Inns of Court: see quot. 1545 infra, and BAR n. 24. But by 1600, 
it 
> was currently associated with the bar of the courts of justice, at 
> which utter-barristers had before that date secured the right to 
> plead, formerly possessed only by sergeants and apprentices-at-law.
> 
> There, clear as mud.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.

Lets make it simpler:

Barristers talk more in court.

Barristers wear the wig and gown - solicitors just wear normal 
clothing.

Barristers can become Queen's Counsels and then progress to being 
judges.

In the UK when you need a lawyer - you start with a Solicitor who 
may feel the need to engage a barrister on your behalf.

June




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 18:39:26 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:39:26 -0000
Subject: Gardening tips  (was: Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched)
In-Reply-To: <003d01c398c6$94b767a0$e58faec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn978u+a452@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Iggy here:
> Oh, another fun little tip:  If you grow roses and have a problem 
with
> aphids, grow garlic in the same bed.  Roses and garlic grow well 
together,
> and the smell will keep the aphids from your roses.  (In fact, one 
nickname
> for garlic is "the stinking rose")
> 
> 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

A saucer of beer attracts the slugs and keeps them off your lettuces!

They don't like garlic sown in a bed either.

June




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct 23 18:41:59 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:41:59 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C1A@djmail.deckerjones.com>

So, what do Britt's call jokes and such?? 
 
Tonya


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 18:47:44 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:47:44 -0000
Subject: Telemarketers and phone scams (long)
In-Reply-To: <008001c39971$802d6a40$6501a8c0@mac>
Message-ID: <bn97og+flgv@eGroups.com>

Thank you for the good advice. The trouble is, in this case the 
account in question no longer exists. As in the case of my friend, 
the scammers get ahold of some little bit of information and try to 
bully you into thinking they are a collection agency. 

"Susie A. Q, our records show that you owe from Alexander Telephone 
company several hundred dollars. How are you going to pay that?"

"My name is Susie L. Q."

"Right, I've corrected that. You used to have an apartment at 99 
Candy Cane Lane in Middleofamerica?"

"Yes"

"We show you have an outstanding balance of several hundred dollars. 
Will you be paying for that with a credit card or would you like me 
to make an electronic transfer from your checking account?"

"Wait a minute. What company did you say you were with?"

"Mulctuary [love that word from Lemony Snicket!) Collectors. We have 
thousands of contracts with Alexander Telephone to collect 
outstanding bills. Now, before I give you any more information 
regarding this account, I'll need to verify who you are. What is 
your birthdate."

And on, and on, until they have plenty of information for identity 
theft and you may have given them a payment, to boot. "Susie" 
called "Alexander Telephone" and was told that they don't keep 
records from as many years ago as her bill was supposedly dated, so 
there was no way to verify, but that they don't contract 
with "Mulctuary" to collect payments. "Mulctuary" also operates out 
of the country, making it harder to track and prosecute.

OTOH, I have dealt with credit card company Y [not X, we haven't had 
an account with X for 15 years] when my account was past due (found 
the envelope with check in the van the next day) and when I told the 
very friendly yet persistant representative that I didn't feel 
comfortable giving him my information over the phone but could make 
a transfer online as soon as I got off the phone with him, he was 
very courteous. 

Anyway, it was just something I wanted to pass along, because like I 
said, I can envision my Grandma being bullied into giving this guy 
all the information he needed /plus/ her checking account number and 
being wiped out in an eyeblink. 

Beth




From mphunt at sprintmail.com  Thu Oct 23 18:49:03 2003
From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:49:03 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8r0q+3sm8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn97qv+3qkm@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tonya Minton" 
<tminton at d...>
> wrote:
> > annemehr added this to the Brit/American list:
> > ..Verge............Berm
> >  
> > What is this??  I have no idea what a berm is.  
> > Tonya
> > 
> 
> It's the edge of the road (not a street, where you have a curb).  
I'd
> be willing to swear there's another American name for it, but my
> chronic problem of frequently being unable to bring even the most
> common words to mind when I want them once again rears its ugly 
head.
>  This problem is a real pain when I want to tell my kids to do
> something; by the time I think of the word I need, they're long 
gone.
> 
> Oh! Another name for it is "shoulder" (as in "Do Not Pass On 
Shoulder"
> roadsigns)!
> 
> Annemehr
> verbally challenged



That's funny....I've never heard the shoulder of a road called a 
berm.  I always thought a berm was a mound of dirt.  When man-made, 
they are for privacy (really big) or just for looks (when smaller) in 
landscaping (it adds height or prominence to plants).  

I just never know when I'll learn something new on this list!

Tracy
(who suffers from "brain fades" all the time)




From eloiseherisson at aol.com  Thu Oct 23 18:51:06 2003
From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:51:06 EDT
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
Message-ID: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>

>> annemehr added this to the Brit/American list:
>> ..Verge............Berm
>>
>> What is this?? I have no idea what a berm is.
>> Tonya

Annemehr:
>It's the edge of the road (not a street, where you have a curb). I'd
>be willing to swear there's another American name for it, but my
>chronic problem of frequently being unable to bring even the most
>common words to mind when I want them once again rears its ugly head.
>This problem is a real pain when I want to tell my kids to do
>something; by the time I think of the word I need, they're long gone.
>
>Oh! Another name for it is "shoulder" (as in "Do Not Pass On Shoulder"
>roadsigns)!

In the UK, 'verge' normally means a strip of grass edging a road (synonymous 
with 'grass verge') as opposed to the 'hard shoulder', the tarmac (asphalt) 
strip that edges a motorway or major road.

Jen:
>Bumpershoot(sp.?)=umbrella

I've never, ever heard that one


>
>Nappies*=Diapers
*(not sure if nappies is British, but my sister lived in New Zealand
and used nappies and NZ'ers used quite a bit of Brittspeak)

Correct. Short for napkins. I've always wondered where "diapers" came from.

>Private school=Public School (correct me if I'm wrong on this)

British Public School = American Private School. But only some British 
private schools are called Public Schools. These are the ones which belong to an 
organisation called The Headmasters' Conference, at least the boys' ones are. I'm 
not sure how it's defined for girls' ones

Olivier:

>I'll had 
>Rubber Eraser
>Condom Rubber
>just in case someone wants to know how one of my girl friend felt when I 
asked
>her if
>she had a rubber on her in my first student trip to United States.

While we're in that area, do I have to be the person who adds "fanny" to the 
list? ;-)

Drat! Dumbledad just beat me to it. Ah well, at least I don't have to 
explain.

( wrote this a short while ago but things like children's teas kept 
intervening)

I was told a great story the other day about an American woman who had 
invented some kind of support hose being interviewed on the BBC and causing 
embarrassed consternation to her interviewer by repeatedly extolling on air their 
virtues for smoothing and controlling your fanny.

No, I don't think Fanny is still used as a girl's name really. What would it 
be short for? Frances is the only name I can think of and although my youngest 
has a close friend of that name it's not all that common in the playground 
(school yard).

And *still* in that area, here an ass is kind of like a mule and a butt (does 
it have one 't' or two?) is a bum, or more crudely, an arse. Hence your fanny 
pack = our bum bag.

But I've never hear the word bangs used for a horse's tail. Maybe because I 
never had mine cut that short.
Queue is very old fashioned for a braid. Not common usage. 

Then to add to the list there's, 

Lift = Elevator
Pavement - sidewalk
Underground (or Tube in London or Metro in Newcastle) = subway
Subway = (I think) = underpass
Windscreen = windshield
Waistcoat = vest
Leaving school = graduation
Graduation = successfully completing an undergraduate degree    
Hair slide = barrette   
Courgette = zucchini
Aubergine= eggplant
Prawn = shrimp
Bill = check
Banknote = bill
Hockey = field hockey
Ice hockey = hockey
Football = soccer
Riding = horseback riding   
School = institution you attend up to the age of 18 or 19 (with a few 
exceptions)
College = normally an institute of higher education which may be independent 
or part of a university
Faculty = university department.
Professor = head of faculty (broadly)

Now, while we're here, can someone please explain all those names you 
Americans have for different years in school and University?
    
~Eloise

who has never forgotten the moment many years ago when a friend offered to 
lend her some suspenders for her baby son. I wouldn't have minded, but he wasn't 
even wearing stockings at the time. ;-)

Ah - Dungarees = overalls!



    



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 18:55:42 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:55:42 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn9362+5rio@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn987e+qjnj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> So what do American women call what we call suspenders ? i.e. the 
> things that hold up ladies stockings?
> 

Garter? Garter belt? 
So are what we call suspenders -- the things to hold men's pants up -
- braces or is there another name?

Beth, whose only pre-HP experience with Brittspeak was her 
mother's "bodice busters"




From mphunt at sprintmail.com  Thu Oct 23 18:59:57 2003
From: mphunt at sprintmail.com (Tracy Hunt)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:59:57 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8i6m+772k@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn98fd+41b2@eGroups.com>

 
> Brit             American
> 
> Fag              Cigarette
> Gay man          Fag
> Snout            Cigarette
> Petrol           Gas
> Rubbish          Trash
> Dustbin          Trashcan
> Tights           Pantyhose
> Knickers         Panties
> Pavement         Sidewalk
> Road             Highway
> Motorway         Freeway
> Trousers         Pants
> Pants            Undershorts
> Crisps           Chips
> Chips            Fries
> 
> Those are off the top of my head.  Who's game to continue?


Now Tcy (me) adds:

How about  Way Out for Exit  

And I don't know about direct translations...but what you call bacon 
and what I call bacon are not the same thing (I think I remember 
being told that if I wanted american bacon I should ask for streaky 
bacon...but I have no idea what I'd call your bacon over here.




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 19:05:33 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:05:33 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn987e+qjnj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn98pt+o29n@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Beth" <jillily3g at y...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
> <tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> > So what do American women call what we call suspenders ? i.e. 
the 
> > things that hold up ladies stockings?
> > 
> 
> Garter? Garter belt? 
> So are what we call suspenders -- the things to hold men's pants 
up -
> - braces or is there another name?
> 
> Beth, whose only pre-HP experience with Brittspeak was her 
> mother's "bodice busters"

Sock suspenders.  And the very thought of them makes me giggle.

We had a famous comedy duo called Morcambe and Wise.  Part of their 
show was to do a very silly and very funny adaptation of some 
classic play.  In it, Eric Morecambe used to regularly show up in 
costume - and sock suspenders.  Even in a version of Cleopatra.

June




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 19:07:17 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:07:17 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn987e+qjnj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn98t5+3gd6@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Beth wrote:
> Garter? Garter belt? 
> So are what we call suspenders -- the things to hold men's 
> pants up - braces or is there another name?

If you mean trousers, then yes, the things that hold them up are 
called braces (or a belt, or a waistband). If you mean pants, they 
are held up by elastic ;-)

Cheers,

Dumbledad.




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Thu Oct 23 19:11:04 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:11:04 -0000
Subject: How many 't's in Britspeak? (was June's OT Board)
In-Reply-To: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>
Message-ID: <bn9948+8a5o@eGroups.com>

Eloise wrote:
 
> Then to add to the list there's, 
> 
> Lift = Elevator

Am I right in thinking:

Escalator = Moving stairway?

If so, the fact the two nations should have opposite choices for 
Latin and Anglo-Saxon etymologies for these similar words has always 
amused me

I/me = This <insert noun of choice, e.g. correspondent>

David




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 23 19:12:49 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:12:49 -0000
Subject: Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched 
In-Reply-To: <002101c398c3$1881a4a0$e58faec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bn997h+5m9r@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:

> Well, for men, we have -
> 
> boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs (a wonderful invention that combines 
the
> comfort of boxers with the support of briefs), jockey shorts 
(or "jockeys"
> for short... probably because the design most likely was a 
combination of a
> jock-strap and a pair of briefs...),<ETC.,> 
> 
> Then there's for women -
> 
> panties, briefs, thong (yes, that piece of fabric held on with a 
piece of
> dental floss between her butt cheeks), <ETC.>



I still contend, despite the possibilities outlined above, that when 
an American goes into the store looking for "foundation garmets" 
(the official name for the Underwear Dept.) most of us walk up to a 
salesperson and say, "where's the *underwear*?" as opposed to "where 
can I buy thongs/panties/jockey shorts?". ;).

OK, a woman may ask for the "lingerie" department instead.
 
Jen




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 19:14:42 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:14:42 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn98fd+41b2@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn99b2+km65@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Tracy added:
> How about  Way Out for Exit  

And there's `pissed' which means drunk in England and angry in 
America (we'd say `pissed-off' in England to mean angry).

And another that caused me some trouble is `bollocks', which means 
testicles in England but has come to mean nonsense. Soon after 
starting my job in America I was in a meeting where someone's 
argument was obviously rubbish. So I said "That's bollox" to which 
my future boss turned to me and she asked "Tim, what's a bollock?" 
It was a tricky moment.

Cheers,

Dumbledad.







From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Wed Oct 22 19:22:32 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 14:22:32 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Gardening tips  (was: Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched)
References: <bn978u+a452@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <004f01c398d1$d8b78b00$e58faec7@rick>


> A saucer of beer attracts the slugs and keeps them off your lettuces!
>
> They don't like garlic sown in a bed either.
>
> June
>

Iggy here:

Another tip from my mom...

If you want to keep earwigs away from your plants, then put this contraption
together:

take a bottlecap from a 2 liter plastic bottle
an open and cleaned tunafish can (other type of larger, but preferably
shallow, containers will do)
soy sauce
vegetable oil  (the light kind works best)


Put the bottlecap in the middle of the can and fill the cap with soy sauce
fill the can with the oil up to about 2/3 the height of the bottlecap
place a few of these in your garden


Here's how it works...  The smell of the soy sauce attracts the earwigs.
When they try to get to the sauce, they get stuck in the oil and covered...
so they can't climb back out of the container.  They either drown in the
oil, or are simply trapped.


'nuff said

Iggy McSnurd






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 19:36:29 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:36:29 -0000
Subject: Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn997h+5m9r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9ajt+budj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> 
> I still contend, despite the possibilities outlined above, that 
when 
> an American goes into the store looking for "foundation garmets" 
> (the official name for the Underwear Dept.) most of us walk up to 
a 
> salesperson and say, "where's the *underwear*?" as opposed 
to "where 
> can I buy thongs/panties/jockey shorts?". ;).
> 
> OK, a woman may ask for the "lingerie" department instead.
>  
> Jen

Another one - "Foundation Garments" in Uk is referring to underwear 
that gives you a shape when you have none.  Remember the big 
knickers in the Bridget Jones Diary movie?  That sort of thing.

"Hello Mummy"

June




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 23 19:37:02 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:37:02 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>
Message-ID: <bn9aku+9v3u@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote:
> Now, while we're here, can someone please explain all those names 
you 
> Americans have for different years in school and University?


I'll have a go at this one, although different areas of the US use 
different terms and can include different ages:

Elementary or Primary School: Kindergarten-5th or 6th grades (Ages 5-
10 or 11)

Middle School: Grades 6 (or 7)-8th grade

High School:
Grade 9--Freshman
Grade 10--Sophomore
Grade 11--Junior
Grade 12--Senior

Junior College: 2-year institution where you graduate with an 
Associates Degree. There are also other schools loosely 
called "trade schools" that offer programs in areas like 
cosmetology, technical training, auto repair, etc.  Courses of study 
like these can also be found in the Junior colleges.

Then we have 4-year Colleges and Universities, but I can't remember 
the distinction between the two--Is a College one where you can only 
get a 4-year degree; and a University one where you can also get 
Graduate degrees?

Anyway, you can get a 4-year Bachelor's degree at a College or 
University, in whatever your particular field is, from astrophysics 
to Zoology and everything in between.

(And just to make this entirely confusing, Universities often 
have "Colleges" within their setting for each particular field of 
study, i.e., College of Natural Scineces, College of Liberal Arts).

Jen, not realizing how confusing our education system is until this 
very moment ;).




From pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk  Thu Oct 23 19:44:42 2003
From: pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk (bluesqueak)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:44:42 -0000
Subject: Solicitors and barristers (was Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn975e+40md@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9b3a+g43o@eGroups.com>

June wrote:
> 
> Lets make it simpler:
> 
> Barristers talk more in court.
> 
> Barristers wear the wig and gown - solicitors just wear normal 
> clothing.
> 
> Barristers can become Queen's Counsels and then progress to being 
> judges.
> 
> In the UK when you need a lawyer - you start with a Solicitor who 
> may feel the need to engage a barrister on your behalf.

It's easiest to think of a barrister as a specialist trial lawyer, 
because that's what they are. They are trained solely to argue a 
case in court (which is why trial judges are ex-barristers - they 
know all the tricks)

A solicitor is someone trained to do all the other legal stuff that 
*doesn't* involve actually going into court and pleading the case 
(though they are now allowed to act as a trial lawyer in lower level 
cases).

So if you are in trouble, you see a solicitor. The solicitor will 
know the legal precedents in your case, explain your rights, advise 
you on when and when not to answer questions, fill out any legal 
paperwork, do all the basic background stuff.

It's only when the solictor says 'this is serious enough to go to a 
higher court' that you would be advised to engage a barrister. Even 
then, the solicitor would still be dealing with your case. They will 
do a lot of the research for the barrister, finding witnesses, 
searching for precedents. 

The barrister is trained to take all that stuff and construct a 
coherent case in court. They're also trained to cross examine 
hostile witnesses, whereas solictors usually only deal with 
supporting witnesses. 

So, a barrister is a trial lawyer; a solicitor does all the other 
legal work. 

I think a 'paralegal' is what we would call a 'legal secretary'. 
They're an administrator who specialises in administration in law 
firms - so they've studied some law, but not the full amount 
required by a qualified solicitor. 

Nowadays it's not unknown for the legal secretary to night study for 
a law degree and then become a qualified solictor.

Pip!Squeak




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 19:48:58 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:48:58 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn8n3d+bahk@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9bba+2an8@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "heiditandy" <heidit at n...> wrote:

> > > Brit             American
> > > 
> > > Fag              Cigarette
> > > Gay man          Fag
> > > Snout            Cigarette
> > > Petrol           Gas
> > > Rubbish          Trash
> > > Dustbin          Trashcan
> > > Tights           Pantyhose
> > > Knickers         Panties
> > > Pavement         Sidewalk
> > > Road             Highway
> > > Motorway         Freeway
> > > Trousers         Pants
> > > Pants            Undershorts
> > > Crisps           Chips
> > > Chips            Fries
> > 
> > Brit               American
> > Jumper             Sweater
> > ?Pinafore          Jumper
> > Trainers           Sneakers
> > Bonnet (car)       Hood (car)
> > Boot (car)         Trunk (car)
> > 

Barmy = Daft, excentric - barmy refers to foam, implying that the
person has brain full of foam. It comes from a reference used in the
beer brewing industry to refer to beer foam. Another word for Mad,
nuts, cuckoo, bonkers, bubble in the fizz tank, one brick short of a
load, one oar in the water, etc...

Daft = mad, crazy, foolish, stupid

'Spend a Penny' = go to the bath room; "excuse me, I'm going to spend
a penny".

pissed = very drunk

Just thought I would add a few.

Steve/bboy_mn







From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 23 19:52:29 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:52:29 -0000
Subject: Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9ajt+budj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9bht+uj2@eGroups.com>

Hey, cool idea, June!

I'm still reading up on this neat thread, but I had an idea that I
don't want to forget.  I wonder if there's any way June's dictionary
can be converted into a file and uploaded here and/or on the main
list?  A mention on the home page wouldn't go amiss, either, I think.

And while I'm on the subject, did we ever decide what the list
administrators should do about linking the mixer to the home page?

Cindy -- doing a drive-by posting and hoping she's not repeating
something others have said already




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 19:54:25 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:54:25 -0000
Subject: Spam Spell Caster Software  ...and it really really works.
Message-ID: <bn9blh+5isn@eGroups.com>

I recieved this SPAM email and as annoying as SPAM might be, I found
this one mildly interesting. I'm sure the product totally sucks but I
suspect this is someone's way of cashing in on the HP craze.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

This is NOT SPAM. You Agreed to receive a one time message


SpellKaster is taking the web by storm ! You've got to see it to
believe it. SpellKaster is the world's first spell casting software
based completely on Radionic Energy. There's nothing else like it and
best of all - it really works ! Radionic Energy is comprised of the
powerful vibrational forces that flow throughout our universe. This
powerful energy affects all life forms on Earth...Animals, plants and
human beings. Some people describe this powerful force as good luck,
bad luck, fate, coincidence but the science behind the phenomena knows
better...

...link deleted...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Why do they always say 'this is not spam' when that is exactly what it
is. And why do they always say I signed up for this crap when I assure
you I did NOT.

I didn't include the link because I'm sure this is a total faud, but
it seemed interesting none-the-less.

bboy_mn

 





From grannybat at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 19:59:20 2003
From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:59:20 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>
Message-ID: <bn9buo+d58r@eGroups.com>

Eloise wrote:

> ...here an ass is kind of like a mule and a butt (does 
> it have one 't' or two?) is a bum, or more crudely, an arse. 

Two T's. "But" in American is only a conjunction.

I was under the impression that use of the word "arse" goes according 
to class distinction. True?

Tangentially related...I've also been given to understand that in 
Britian "bleeding" is a much worse obscenity than "bloody." Any 
natives care to elaborate?

 
> Queue is very old fashioned for a braid. Not common usage. 

I always thought it meant to line up and wait your turn, as if at a 
movie ticket box office. 

If I may venture perilously close to On-Topic-ness...there's a new 
TBAY on the main list that's just begging for some of the Old Guard 
to come out and play.

Shamelessly self promoting,
Grannybat





From saitaina at wizzards.net  Thu Oct 23 20:06:38 2003
From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:06:38 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Spam Spell Caster Software  ...and it really really works.
References: <bn9blh+5isn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <009801c399a1$2be33200$20381c40@aoldsl.net>

bboy_mn wrote:

<Why do they always say 'this is not spam'
when that is exactly what it
is. And why do they always say I signed up
for this crap when I assure
you I did NOT.>

Actually, you probably have without realizing
it.  If you ever enter an online contest,
fill out a membership registration, or even
awnser a survey, and just once, forget to
uncheck the "Yes, I would like to hear from
you and your affiliates" (or some veriation
there of), you are opted into every mailing
list that company, and their parterners, and
the people who pay them for your name and
email address has to offer.  Which is, quite
a lot.

Also, a quick note, if you're a member of
EZsweeps, this is why you're reciving spam.
The 'robo hound' sweeps do not uncheck those
boxes, so for every sweep you enter, every
day you enter, that's another sign up on the
list.

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 lmbolland at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 23 21:09:17 2003
From: lmbolland at earthlink.net (goodnight_moon5)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:09:17 -0000
Subject: picture of the "Leaky Cauldron" - Charing Cross Rd.
Message-ID: <bn9g1t+tfgi@eGroups.com>

A few months ago someone posted a pic they took somewhere on Charing 
Cross Rd. of a place which could pass for the Leaky Cauldron. (I 
believe they added in a LC sign above the door)  Another pic even had 
the alley behind it.  

Anyone know where that pic might be? I thought it was in the files 
here but couldn't find it just now.

We'll be there next week and wanted to take a look for ourselves and 
snap some piccies. :)

Lauri 




From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 21:20:04 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:20:04 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn9aku+9v3u@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9gm4+qucl@eGroups.com>

Jen Reese:

> Middle School: Grades 6 (or 7)-8th grade<

KathyK adds:
This can also been referred to as junior high school, although I 
think that term is on its way out.  But I definitely went to Dodd 
Jr. High Scool rather than Dodd Middle School as the sign now 
proclaims.  
  
Jen Reese:
>Then we have 4-year Colleges and Universities, but I can't remember 
the distinction between the two--Is a College one where you can only 
get a 4-year degree; and a University one where you can also get 
Graduate degrees?<

KathyK:
That's my understanding of it, too.  But whether one attends a 
college or university, it's usually referred to by the students 
as "going to college" rather than "going to university."  

The only time it ever made a bit of difference to anyone at my 
university was when our president referred to it as a college rather 
than a university when welcoming President Bush there a few years 
back.  I think we found it annoying that our own school president 
couldn't get our name right.  Don't know why...Of course our 
president was a very interesting character.  He really liked to get 
right in there and do things like *shudder* conduct our chorus 
concerts or play a victim in EMT training classes.  Oops, tangent.

KathyK




From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 23 21:39:13 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:39:13 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched 
In-Reply-To: <bn9gm4+qucl@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9hq1+4v4a@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> 
wrote:
> KathyK adds:
> This <Middle School> can also been referred to as junior high 
school, although I 
> think that term is on its way out.  But I definitely went to Dodd 
> Jr. High Scool rather than Dodd Middle School as the sign now 
> proclaims.  


Me too! I went to San Jacinto Junior High but you never hear that 
anymore; 'Middle School' is definitely preferred.

In an interesting twist, our 9th grade was held in an entirely 
separate school, only for 9th grade--did anyone else have that? The 
two 9th-grade schools were called Midland Freshman High School & Lee 
Freshman High Schools to distinguish them from the high schools of 
the same name.

My theory now is that football (not soccer) is *very* competitive in 
my hometown, and instead of building a third high school that would 
dilute the talent pool, they elected to convert two old schools into 
these Freshman schools. Don't know if it's true, but believe me it 
*could* be true, which is bad enough ;). 

Jen




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 23 21:49:04 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:49:04 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn98t5+3gd6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9icg+4vmt@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter Beth wrote:
> > Garter? Garter belt? 
> > So are what we call suspenders -- the things to hold men's 
> > pants up - braces or is there another name?
> 
> If you mean trousers, then yes, the things that hold them up are 
> called braces (or a belt, or a waistband). If you mean pants, they 
> are held up by elastic ;-)
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.

Oops! Forgot to check the dictionary before posting. Trousers, 
definitely trousers. [note to self to catch up on dictionary]

Beth




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Thu Oct 23 23:02:35 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:02:35 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn98t5+3gd6@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9mmb+gkce@eGroups.com>

>Dumbledad said:
> If you mean trousers, then yes, the things that hold them up are 
> called braces (or a belt, or a waistband). If you mean pants, they 
> are held up by elastic ;-)
> 
The EDS corporation (based in Texas) has always been known for 
enforcing a strict dress code for its executives. The story goes that 
a few years ago, EDS was opening an office in London, and they were 
orienting their local new-hires. They were told that the men were 
expected to wear suits and ties, and the women must wear dresses or 
pants suits. A ladies' suit with slacks instead of a skirt was what 
they meant, but imagine the horror on the faces of their female 
executives!
Ms. Tattersall




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Thu Oct 23 23:19:10 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:19:10 -0000
Subject: Dress codes (was Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched)
In-Reply-To: <bn9mmb+gkce@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9nle+6k2c@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Ms. Tattersall wrote:
> The EDS corporation (based in Texas) has always been known for 
> enforcing a strict dress code for its executives.

Ages ago I worked at British Telecom's research labs in Suffolk, UK. 
They were changing from a `preffer a suit' company, to a `smart but 
casual' company. At one group meeting I told my group that we were 
all expected to dress "west coast". One of the group looked confused 
and asked "You want us to dress like the Welsh?"

Cheers,

Dumbledad.




From fc26det at aol.com  Thu Oct 23 23:49:01 2003
From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:49:01 -0000
Subject: Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn997h+5m9r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9pdd+de85@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote: 
> 
> I still contend, despite the possibilities outlined above, that 
when 
> an American goes into the store looking for "foundation garmets" 
> (the official name for the Underwear Dept.) most of us walk up to a 
> salesperson and say, "where's the *underwear*?" as opposed 
to "where 
> can I buy thongs/panties/jockey shorts?". ;).
> 
> OK, a woman may ask for the "lingerie" department instead.
>  
> Jen

I think foundations refer mostly to girdles (corsette) and bras. 
(they support the offending parts like a foundation on a house....tee 
hee..)  Actually, until recently, I haven't seen girdles much.  Think 
they pretty much went out of style or were too much trouble.
Susan  





From augustinapeach at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 01:00:19 2003
From: augustinapeach at yahoo.com (augustinapeach)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:00:19 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
Message-ID: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>

Hi, everyone.

Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-old 
son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- or 
be able to suggest others he might like.  

Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

I've tried to get him to read the Chronicles of Narnia, but no luck 
so far.  Can only keep trying, I guess!

Thanks for your help.

Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)





 




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 01:24:05 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:24:05 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9hq1+4v4a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9uvl+114cp@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...>
wrote:

> My theory now is that football (not soccer) is *very* competitive in 
> my hometown, and instead of building a third high school that would 
> dilute the talent pool, they elected to convert two old schools into 
> these Freshman schools. Don't know if it's true, but believe me it 
> *could* be true, which is bad enough ;). 
> 
> Jen

Yes, American football is extremely important anywhere I've ever been
in the U.S.  That's why you will always have High Schools with
Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors (grades 10, 11, and 12) -- you need
them for the team. The 9th graders (freshmen) are less and less often
included.

The simplest way to think of the American school system is that there
are twelve grades, with 1st grade beginning with 6-year-olds
(depending on the age cut-off date).

Elementary schools will be 1st grade through around 4th-6th (it really
just depends on the size and number of the school buildings available).

At the other end is High School which is always 10th, 11th, and 12,
and sometimes also includes 9th.

In between you will have schools called whatever is convenient.  For
instance, our school district goes from Elementary (1st-5th), to
Middle (6th & 7th), to Intermediate (8th & 9th) to High School
(10th-12th), just because that's the best way to fit the students into
 the buildings they have.

But no matter what, you start 1st grade at around 6, complete 12
grades, and then you graduate.

Annemehr
who of course hasn't even mentioned Kindergarten (before 1st) and
preschool (before Kindergarten)...heh, heh...




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Fri Oct 24 01:27:19 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:27:19 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Need some literary advice
References: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002701c399cd$ff99c9c0$209fcdd1@RVotaw>

Greta wrote:

> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Unfortunately I haven't read any of those.  I've bought The Thief Lord, but
haven't had a chance to read it.  Has he read the Spiderwick Chronicles?
They're a lot lower level than HP, but an enjoyable easy read nonetheless.
How about Artemis Fowl? I admit there's that little situation with him being
a career criminal at twelve, but the books are good anyway, as long as your
son understands the fantasy bit there, and being an advanced reader I'm sure
he does.  I seem to end up buying most of my own reading material through
Scholastic book clubs I do at school, so it's hard to admit that what I
enjoy reading is really probably suitable for advanced 8 year olds. :)

Richelle





From mckosvc at bmts.com  Fri Oct 24 01:36:18 2003
From: mckosvc at bmts.com (ovc88guelph)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:36:18 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <bn9mmb+gkce@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bn9vmi+6ug7@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "mstattersall" <cwood at t...> 
wrote:
  How about

Take away = Take out (as in food)
Car Park = Parking lot
Head, Headmistress, Headmaster = Principal
(Head is also a slang for toilet here)

   What are some slangs for pregnancy?  I had a 17 year old friend 
who went on a school trip to Australia. She was invited to a formal 
tea with a number of respectable senior ladies. When she was asked 
if she wanted any more food, she replied "No thanks, I'm stuffed" , 
meaning she was too full to have any more, but which was taken to 
mean she was pregnant!
    What are Dons? Are they the equivalent of Deans (ie head of a 
college within a university)?
    Finally, "bangs" wrt horses tails refers to a style of tail, ie 
the tail is level "--"  not natural " v " (that's the best picture I 
can produce on a keyboard).

MMcK




From mckosvc at bmts.com  Fri Oct 24 01:47:55 2003
From: mckosvc at bmts.com (ovc88guelph)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:47:55 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9uvl+114cp@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bna0cb+2hnc@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:
> Annemehr
> who of course hasn't even mentioned Kindergarten (before 1st) and
> preschool (before Kindergarten)...heh, heh...

And here (Canada) we have JK and SK...junior and senior 
kindergarten. I think my K to Grade 6 school was called Elementary 
or Junior Elementary, and my Grade 7 to 8 school was "Senior 
Elementary". High school (Grade 9 to 12/13, when grade 13 existed) 
were also called Secondary Schools. Freshman, Soph, Junior, Senior 
were terms that were never used. However, first year university 
students were called freshman or "frosh", but I never heard the 
other terms used for 2nd, 3rd or 4th year students. 

MMcK 




From erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 01:50:52 2003
From: erisedstraeh2002 at yahoo.com (Phyllis)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:50:52 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bna0hs+116nd@eGroups.com>

Greta wrote:

> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
> old son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.

I would suggest the "Dark is Rising" sequence by Susan Cooper.  It's 
fantasy, and it features a young boy as the main character and hero - 
someone for your son to relate to!

~Phyllis




From jillily3g at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 03:10:40 2003
From: jillily3g at yahoo.com (Beth)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 03:10:40 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9hq1+4v4a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bna57g+ssqh@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> 
> wrote:
> > KathyK adds:
> > This <Middle School> can also been referred to as junior high 
> school, although I 
> > think that term is on its way out.  But I definitely went to 
Dodd 
> > Jr. High Scool rather than Dodd Middle School as the sign now 
> > proclaims.  
> 
> 
> Me too! I went to San Jacinto Junior High but you never hear that 
> anymore; 'Middle School' is definitely preferred.

Beth:
We have two buildings for 6th-8th grade, but one calls itself a 
Middle Schoo and one a Junior High. The junior high, however, uses 
what it calls "the middle school concept" because it divides the 
students into teams and the teachers on those teams are to develop 
units together and compare notes on students to create a more caring 
environment. My daughter was very happy to move to high school...

> In an interesting twist, our 9th grade was held in an entirely 
> separate school, only for 9th grade--did anyone else have that? 
[snip]
> Jen

No, but the city I grew up in tripled in size in about 15 years and 
found it needed a new high school. The building in which I went to 
junior high was converted for only 6th grade and the high school for 
7th and 8th.

My husband went to a middle school for 4th-6th grade and a junior 
high for 7th-9th. The school district kept changing the classes 
around in different buildings to try and make all the students fit--
not really a problem anymore.




From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Fri Oct 24 03:24:10 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 03:24:10 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bna60q+p8l5@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 

I'd recommend "The Series of Unfortunate Events", ten books in number 
at present, regarding the three orphaned Baudelaire children and the 
ultra-evil Count Olaf,  authored by the unlikely Lemony Snicket

http://www.lemonysnicket.com/books.html

(by "unlikely" I mean that I do not believe that a real live person 
would possess so harmonious a moniker though I could be wrong).  

The tribulations visited upon the Baudelaire children make Privet 
Drive seem a paradise on Earth by comparison.

   - CMC




From heidit at netbox.com  Fri Oct 24 03:26:49 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:26:49 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bna60q+p8l5@eGroups.com>
References: <bna60q+p8l5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1066966013.18E5BEDA@w5.dngr.org>


"augustinapeach" wrote:

>>  Hi, everyone.
>>
>>  Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
> old
>>  son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP
>>  books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to
>>  browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't
>>  sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain
>>  certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having
>>  much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you
>>  might be able to give me a brief review of the following books --
> or
>>  be able to suggest others he might like.
>>
>
Have you looked into the Spiderwick series yet? 3 books out so far, good 
for elementary school-aged kids, and cleverly written and ilustrated.

Heidi



From bookraptor11 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 04:31:29 2003
From: bookraptor11 at yahoo.com (bookraptor11)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 04:31:29 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bna9v1+6972@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

The Thief Lord is a fantasy of two boys who run away to Venice to 
escape being split up by their aunt and uncle, who want the cute 5 
year old but can't be bothered with his older brother.  They fall in 
with a group of street kids who are led by the Thief Lord, an older 
boy who gives them a place to live and brings them items that they 
can fence.  Readers find out early about the boy's true identity.  
Most of the book is taken up with stealing a wing that is missing 
from an animal on a carousel, which is rumored to have the magical 
ability to make the young older and the old younger. Nice story, can 
lead to good discussions on growing up and growing up too fast. There 
are two nice, intelligent adults who offset the nasty or foolish 
adults. (I like Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events for the 
humor, but all the grownups are evil or idiotic, or sometimes both!) 

A Rumor of Dragons is actually half of the first book of the 
Dragonlance Trilogy, repackaged for older children and teens. The 
text is the same as the adult version. The violence is not as graphic 
as some adult fantasy novels, but is higher than a children's book.  
Also, one character, Tanis Half-Elven, is a half elf because his 
mother was raped by a human; this is stated but the episode is not 
described in the text. 

If you see similar books by Robert Jordan, this is also an adult 
fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, given the same treatment as the 
Weis and Hickman trilogy.

I can also recommend Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo. 
Charley discovers he can hear what people in photographs are saying. 
When his grandmother and her nasty sisters discover this, they send 
him to Bloor Academy, where he finds other children with unusual 
gifts.  It turns out there are 12 endowed, all descendants of the Red 
King, a powerful magician, and not all of them are good. It doesn't 
have the complexity of Harry Potter, but is a good story. The second 
book is out, but I haven't read it yet, and a third will be 
published.  

Hope this helps.

Donna
  




From fluxed at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 24 04:46:55 2003
From: fluxed at earthlink.net (A. Vulgarweed)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:46:55 -0500
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <1066951843.1363.26502.m16@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <l0313032ebbbe5c623e2d@[67.73.135.171]>

_________________________________________________
>
>Message: 20
>   Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 21:20:04 -0000
>   From: "KathyK" <zanelupin at yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
>
>Jen Reese:
>
>> Middle School: Grades 6 (or 7)-8th grade<
>
>KathyK adds:
>This can also been referred to as junior high school, although I
>think that term is on its way out.  But I definitely went to Dodd
>Jr. High Scool rather than Dodd Middle School as the sign now
>proclaims.

This too has regional variations. I went to Hillsville Intermediate School,
(in Virginia--Southerners don't mind extra syllables?) , which was grades 7
through 9. The corresponding high school, of course, was 10 -12, and
elementary schools were Kindergarten (about age 5) through 6th grade (about
age 11). One classroom each - we didn't do any of that changing-rooms stuff
until Intermediate School, and it made us feel very grown-up.

I never heard the term "Middle School" growing up. Ever. "Junior High"
occasionally, but I think I might've gotten that from Judy Blume books.
>
>Jen Reese:
>>Then we have 4-year Colleges and Universities, but I can't remember
>the distinction between the two--Is a College one where you can only
>get a 4-year degree; and a University one where you can also get
>Graduate degrees?<
>
>KathyK:

>The only time it ever made a bit of difference to anyone at my
>university was when our president referred to it as a college rather
>than a university when welcoming President Bush there a few years
>back.  I think we found it annoying that our own school president
>couldn't get our name right.  Don't know why...Of course our
>president was a very interesting character.  He really liked to get
>right in there and do things like *shudder* conduct our chorus
>concerts or
***play a victim in EMT training classes.*** [emphasis mine] BOGGLE.

Too tempting. TOO tempting. Hippocratic oath? Huh what?

AV









From bookraptor11 at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 05:16:41 2003
From: bookraptor11 at yahoo.com (bookraptor11)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 05:16:41 -0000
Subject: Another  good book
Message-ID: <bnacjp+g0h7@eGroups.com>

Just read a great new young adult fantasy book and wanted to 
recommend it to the listies as a good read while they're waiting for 
the next Harry Potter. It's The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan 
Stroud.  

Nicholas is an eleven year old apprentice magician. When an adult 
magician, Simon Lovelace, humiliates him in public, Nathaniel decides 
to speed up his education on his own.  He teaches himself spells 
beyond his years. As part of his plot of revenge he summons 
Bartimaeus, a 5000 year old djinni, to help him steal Lovelace's 
Amulet. He quickly finds he is over his head, summoning and 
controlling are two different things. Also, the theft of the amulet 
leads to magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

A good read. Mr. Stroud, like JKR, doesn't talk down to his audience, 
and the world isn't a HP clone.  Magic is wandless; magicians get 
their powers from their ability to summon and control various imps 
and djinn.  There is also a subplot that will probably run through 
the trilogy, about rebellious commoners, who are sick of the status 
quo. The book takes place in "contemporary" England, where the PM and 
all the lesser Ministers are magicians; the commoners are barred from 
government.

The tone of the book, though, is not overly serious. Chapters 
alternate, some written in the third person, others have the annoyed 
Bartimeous speaking (griping) in the first person.  I'd quote some, 
but am not sure it's ok.  If you're intrigued, I'd suggest checking 
Amazon or Barnes and Noble, where you can usually read excerpts.

Donna


 




From jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com  Fri Oct 24 07:07:07 2003
From: jeffl1965 at sport.rr.com (jeffl1965)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 07:07:07 -0000
Subject: Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9ajt+budj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnaj2r+b79r@eGroups.com>



  Also, in Cricket, the team doesn't wear a cup supporter, but they 
use a box, which they share, on some teams. Its a piece of plastic 
they insert into the groin area when they go to bat, and remove 
later.  You don't see it on tele much, since they tend to be proper 
and leave the personal shots for the footie games when at least one 
player gets his umbro's pulled down.:) But the boys who play cricket 
are required to wear the box iirc. 


  Jeff




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Fri Oct 24 07:49:43 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 17:49:43 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Need some literary advice
References: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <018f01c39a03$63bdac20$63984cca@Monteith>

 I'm wondering if any of you
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- or
> be able to suggest others he might like.
>
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman



The Spiderwick Chronicles -- Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

My daughter is almost 9, an advanced reader and likes them. She is also
reading whatever Diana Wynne-Jones she can get, and Alan Garner's "Moons of
Gomrath" and "Elidor".

Michael Hoeye's books about mouse, Hermux Tantamoq. (recommended by my book
club for 12+). I haven't read them, as I was never one for talking animal
stories. Having said that, I loved the Duncton Wood series (by William
Horwood, if anyone's interested). The only 'talking animal' stories I could
get into...

I can't remember the author, but I'm sure a web-search will turn it up (I'm
off - out to dinner for our tenth wedding anniversery), the Lily Quench
books. Sounds familiar, though <grin>. Just replace "dragon slayers" with
"wizards"  Here's the blurb... "Lily Quench (recently orphaned) finds out
her family were dragon slayers, and a dragon turns up in the villages she
lives in. Whay is she to do?"  Haven't read them yet, but they have been
recommended by several people. Just checked the author name; it's Natalie
Jane Prior.

Hope this helps
Nox




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 24 08:03:14 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 08:03:14 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnamc2+2s3d@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
> 
> I've tried to get him to read the Chronicles of Narnia, but no luck 
> so far.  Can only keep trying, I guess!
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)

Sadly I'm posting this from works so cannot run and check the 
bookshelves.  So this is going to be rather vague.

I got my daughter some excellent books in the form of comic strips - 
beautifully illustrated.  They covered the Shakespeare stories and 
another covered the Greek Myths and the Tale of Troy.  

The Shakespeare one was called something like Mr Shakespeare's 
amazing plays.  

I'm sure you'd be able to find something like this in a good bookshop 
with a good children's section - it seems to me like it might 
originally be a US idea, because I think your publishers can often be 
more imaginative.  

Further to that, any adaptation the "great stories" by which I mean 
the myths and such is probably worth a try.  I discovered Roger 
Lancelyn Green's "Tales of the Greek Heroes" when I was seven and 
that was that.  Hooked on myths and legends for ever. 

June




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 24 08:54:43 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 08:54:43 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bnamc2+2s3d@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnapcj+nh6b@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter Greta wrote:
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
> old son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.

Definitely definitely go for the Lemony Snickets that were 
recommended earlier. They may appear to dark on your `browse 
through' but they aren't, they are really funny and cleverly 
written. They also spurred my (then 7 year old) son to extra 
activities, like his own spy stories which we peppered with Lemony 
Snicket style photos. Great fun. We also designed VFD t-shirts 
sporting the legend "Ask me about VFD", but I'm yet to get them run 
off. You'll have to read the series to find out what VFD might, and 
might not, stand for, and what constitutes a Lemony Snicket style 
photo.

So, now that you've brought them lets do two more series. I'd 
normally say these were beyond an eight year old, but if he can read 
OotP to himself, then they may not be. Firstly Philip Pullman's Dark 
Materials trilogy, and secondly Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books. 
The Pullman books are deep and fantastic, a good compliment to HP. 
They may be too dark and involved for his age though. The Artemis 
Fowl books are fabulous, really humorous fantasy with lots of modern 
technology and environmental concerns. For example, in the book the 
fairies have been driven underground by us human's abuse of the 
surface. Hence the fairy's police force is called the Lower Elements 
Police. One elite group within the LEP is reconnaissance. They're 
called "LEP recon" and use to wear green uniforms. That's where our 
word leprechaun comes from :-) Both sets have fantastic audio 
versions available which you could get from the library to make your 
`browse through' doubly fun.

Cheers,

Dumbledad

PS I'm not sure I can forgive Greta for starting Christmas talk in 
October.





From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 24 09:28:52 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 09:28:52 -0000
Subject: MIT's Media Lab Dublin & Magic Wands
Message-ID: <bnarck+ojoo@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

You just have to love MIT's Media Lab. I just stumbled accross this 
research project at their new European lab in Dublin. It's 
researching a system linking interactive play and magic wands!

http://www.medialabeurope.org/hc/projects/wanderfulalcove/

I liked this quote:

"the magic wand presents an interesting design opportunity as a form 
for a tangible computer interface"

Sure it does. So hopefully Hermione will be doing some wand 
programming next year. Perhaps Ron's wand had a bug?

Cheers,

Tim.








From lmbolland at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 24 09:45:54 2003
From: lmbolland at earthlink.net (goodnight_moon5)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 09:45:54 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <002701c399cd$ff99c9c0$209fcdd1@RVotaw>
Message-ID: <bnasci+cmfm@eGroups.com>

I've got a 9 yo advanced reader, too.  We don't care for Lemony 
Snicket, Spiderwork or Artemis Fowl - they seemed like HP knock-offs 
and not very well written - sort of "mental junk food." Just our HO, 
of course, tastes vary!  However, we *love* Susan Cooper books: The 
Dark is Rising series (Over Sea, Under Stone is the first book and 
absolutely brilliant) and also The Boggart. Joan Aiken's books are 
terrific and she's so prolific your son will be reading for 
years. :)  My son is in the middle of her Wolves of Willoughby Chase 
right now.  My 13 yo loves Elizabeth Goudge (JKR's fav childhood 
author) particularly The Little White Horse as well as the Narnia 
series.

While you've got him reading, how about Greek Myths? My 9 yo has worn 
out his copy of d'Auliare's Greek Myths. We also enjoy the classics - 
Wind in the Willows, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,  Tanglewood 
Tales, Just So Stories, anything by E. Nesbit, Dick King-Smith or 
Mary Norton.   

Lauri




From abigailnus at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 10:22:41 2003
From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 10:22:41 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnauhh+s2er@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:

> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire

Wicked, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz from the POV of the wicked witch, 
is definitely not for children.  I don't mean that there's inappropriate stuff 
(there's a teensy bit of sex, but it's over so fast you hardly notice it) but 
that the story is written for adults to enjoy, and its themes are adult themes.  
Plus, it's not that great - I always want to like Maguire's stuff more then I 
end up doing.

Has your son read the classics?  Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, The 
Phantom Tollbooth, almost anything by Roald Dahl (my favorites are Charlie 
and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda, and any 
child who loves Rowling will adore Dahl).  Francess Hodgon's Burnett's A Little 
Princess and The Secret Garden are wonderful, but might be a little too girly.  
For that matter, since he likes fantasy, why not start him on the path to the 
definitive work of fantasy?  My mother read The Hobbit to me when I was 
younger then 8, and gave me The Lord of the Rings when I was 13.  

You also might want to look at Neil Gaiman's Coraline, which is pretty great 
and a little spooky (but he says that it scares adults more then it scares 
children).  Terry Pratchett has recently written two books for young readers 
which are set in his fantastic world of Discworld - The Amazing Maurice and 
His Educated Rodents and The Wee Free Men.  I've only read the first one, but 
I've heard great things about the other one too.

I'm sorry you didn't care for Narnia.  Most of the series is acceptable, but The 
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is, in my opinion, fantastic.  And can I be the 
voice of dissent on Pullman's His Dark Materials series?  The first two books are 
passable, although the writing is not that great and the plot makes little sense, 
but the third book is awful, and Pullman completely abandons his plot in order 
to beat his readers over the head with his (in my opinion, extremely bigoted) 
philosophy.

Abigail




From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Fri Oct 24 10:41:30 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 10:41:30 -0000
Subject: Swearies: (Was:June's OT Board Dictionary Launched)
In-Reply-To: <bn9buo+d58r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnavkq+s2pu@eGroups.com>

Grannybat:
> Tangentially related...I've also been given to understand that in 
> Britian "bleeding" is a much worse obscenity than "bloody." Any 
> natives care to elaborate?

Yup! And..er, no. "Bleeding" is a very old swear word, only used on 
(cockney soap opera) Eastenders these days. And not offensive in the 
slightest. "Bloody" really isn't bad either - I think it also pops up 
on soaps, and is therefore sanctified pre-watershed swearing. At the 
beginning of the century, that Eliza Doolittle said "bloody" onstage 
in Pygmalion caused outrage (fainting? Am I exaggerating?). When they 
told us this at high school we all burst out laughing.
Personally, I think it remains around only because it's so bloody 
satisfying to use.
Kirstini




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 12:29:38 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 07:29:38 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Underwear Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
References: <bn9pdd+de85@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002001c39961$54a0af00$9a87aec7@rick>


> I think foundations refer mostly to girdles (corsette) and bras.
> (they support the offending parts like a foundation on a house....tee
> hee..)  Actually, until recently, I haven't seen girdles much.  Think
> they pretty much went out of style or were too much trouble.
> Susan
>


Iggy here:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  I'm just glad that men's
underwear manufacturers don't make our briefs like the other people make
bras.

(Making us look bigger is ok.. so is the 18 hour support part... It's the
underwire that lifts and separates that makes me cringe...)


'nuff said...

Iggy McSnurd






From s_ings at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 12:49:06 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 08:49:06 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Dinah!
Message-ID: <20031024124906.52994.qmail@web41115.mail.yahoo.com>

*scurries about hanging streamers and setting out cake
and other goodies*

Come on, folks, let's get this party started. It's
Friday, we can start the weekend early, can't we?

Today's birthday honouree is Dinah. Birthday owls can
be sent care of this list or directly to:
bludger_witch at yahoo.com

May your day be filled with friends, fun and much
happiness.

Happy Birthday, Dinah!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 12:43:45 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 07:43:45 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Need some literary advice
References: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003101c39963$4e1ad820$9a87aec7@rick>


> Thanks for your help.
>
> Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)

How about:

the Belgariad and the Malloreon.  (a pentet series and its sequil... both by
David Eddings)
the Cleric Quintet  (a series by R.A. Salvatore)
the Dark Elf Trilogy, the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and the following Dark Elf
books (by R. A. Salvatore)
the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (by Tolkein, of course)
the Dragon and the George  (by Peter S. Beagle... sp?)

Just a few suggestions...

Iggy McSnurd






From s_ings at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 12:53:08 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 08:53:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Pyrus Japonica! (belated)
Message-ID: <20031024125308.91635.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com>

*peers around the corner, hoping no one out there is
keeping notes on tardiness, sneaks in with large boxes
and starts decorating quickly*

Yes, I missed a birthday. Will gladly iron hands or
slam them in an oven door if my sincere apologies are
not sufficient.

Yesterday's birthday honouree was Pyrus Japonica.
Belated birthday owls can be sent care of this list or
directly to:pjaponica at yahoo.com

I hope you day was magical and brought everything you
wished for.

Happy Birthday, Pyrus Japonica!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 12:52:01 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 07:52:01 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
References: <bn9vmi+6ug7@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003f01c39964$74cee000$9a87aec7@rick>


>    What are some slangs for pregnancy?  I had a 17 year old friend
> who went on a school trip to Australia. She was invited to a formal
> tea with a number of respectable senior ladies. When she was asked
> if she wanted any more food, she replied "No thanks, I'm stuffed" ,
> meaning she was too full to have any more, but which was taken to
> mean she was pregnant!
> MMcK
>

Well, "knocked up" is one term for being pregnant here... which is why I
laughed so hard to learn that it means "to wake up" there in the UK.

Brit:  Yeah, I knocked my girlfriend, my sister, and my brother this morning
before I made breakfast for us all.
American: WHAT?!?!?!?


Here are a few others for pregnancy:

preggers, "with child", "in a family way", knocked up, "she's got a bun in
the oven", and  "she's eating for two"


(Just to name a few...)

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 12:55:17 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 07:55:17 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need some literary advice
References: <bna60q+p8l5@eGroups.com> <1066966013.18E5BEDA@w5.dngr.org>
Message-ID: <005201c39964$e9d90880$9a87aec7@rick>

Iggy here again:

I forgot to mention the "Artemis Fowl" books by Eoin Colfer.  My step-son
has the three books in the series so far and likes them.  Me, I'm just
waiting for him to get them back from my brother-in-law so I can read them
myself...

Iggy McSnurd






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 24 13:12:28 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:12:28 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <003f01c39964$74cee000$9a87aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnb8fs+du07@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
 
> Here are a few others for pregnancy:
> 
> preggers, "with child", "in a family way", knocked up, "she's got a 
bun in
> the oven", and  "she's eating for two"
> 
> 
> (Just to name a few...)
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

In the club
In the pudding club
In pig
Up the duff
up the stick


June




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 13:20:17 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 08:20:17 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need some literary advice
References: <bnasci+cmfm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00a301c39968$68204660$9a87aec7@rick>


> While you've got him reading, how about Greek Myths? My 9 yo has worn
> out his copy of d'Auliare's Greek Myths. We also enjoy the classics -
> Wind in the Willows, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,  Tanglewood
> Tales, Just So Stories, anything by E. Nesbit, Dick King-Smith or
> Mary Norton.
>
> Lauri


Iggy here:

You could also try some of the Egyptian, Norse, and Native American myths.
(Erdoes and Ortiz collected a wonderful set of the last kind in their book,
"Native American Myths and Legends.")  He might also like some of the Asian
myths and legends from Japan or China.


Just a few more ideas inspired by other replies...

Iggy McSnurd






From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 13:55:01 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:55:01 -0000
Subject: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <l0313032ebbbe5c623e2d@[67.73.135.171]>
Message-ID: <bnbavl+3t5r@eGroups.com>

I said before about the president of my college:

>>He really liked to get right in there and do things like *shudder* 
conduct our chorus concerts or

AV:

 ***play a victim in EMT training classes.***<< [emphasis AV's] 
BOGGLE.

>Too tempting. TOO tempting. Hippocratic oath? Huh what?<

KathyK:

Okay, I need to clarify what I said above.  He wasn't actually 
practiced on.  He just liked to dress up as a drowning swimmer, 
complete with those arm float thingies and flippers and pretend he 
had drowned.  Of course no one would use him as a teaching device.  
He just liked to be involved.
  
What really made me shudder was watching him "conduct" our concert.  
Our professor really wasn't going to say no to our *president.*  
That would not be in the music department's best interest.  
Fortunately, it was "Hallelujah Chorus" he wanted in on rather than 
the rest of the portions we did from "The Messiah."  We've all done 
the "Hallelujah Chorus" so many times that we didn't need to worry 
about him too much during the concert.  

KathyK 




From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 24 15:51:00 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 15:51:00 -0000
Subject: Amazon Full Text Search - but not HP
Message-ID: <bnbhp4+g57o@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

Amazon searches now allow searching of the text of some books. Go to 

http://www.amazon.com

and type "Neville Longbottom" into the search field. The results 
list the books (other than the important 5) that his name appears in 
and the sentences. Cool.

Cheers,

Dumbledad.




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Fri Oct 24 15:52:50 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 15:52:50 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <005201c39964$e9d90880$9a87aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnbhsi+5ej7@eGroups.com>

> Iggy here again: 
> I forgot to mention the "Artemis Fowl" books by Eoin Colfer.  My 
step-son
> has the three books in the series so far and likes them.  Me, I'm 
just
> waiting for him to get them back from my brother-in-law so I can 
read them
> myself...

You're going to like them! I like to say that they're a cross between 
NYPD Blue and Grimm's Fairy Tales. They are hilarious!
Ms. Tattersall




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Fri Oct 24 16:17:55 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 16:17:55 -0000
Subject: Pratchett, Pullman and Snicket (was Need some literary advice)
In-Reply-To: <bnauhh+s2er@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnbjbj+gt6v@eGroups.com>

Abigail wrote:


> Terry Pratchett has recently written two books for young readers 
> which are set in his fantastic world of Discworld - The Amazing 
Maurice and 
> His Educated Rodents and The Wee Free Men.  I've only read the 
first one, but 
> I've heard great things about the other one too.

Wee Free Men is good - but I thought it was just the next in the 
series, not aimed at younger readers.  It has a more linear 
structure than the other Discworld books - if I have a complaint 
about Pratchett it's that he flips back and forth between his 
characters with stroboscopic frequency, so Wee Free Men was a 
pleasant change on that score.

And can I be the 
> voice of dissent on Pullman's His Dark Materials series?  The 
first two books are 
> passable, although the writing is not that great and the plot 
makes little sense, 
> but the third book is awful, and Pullman completely abandons his 
plot in order 
> to beat his readers over the head with his (in my opinion, 
extremely bigoted) 
> philosophy.

While I definitely liked the series, I agree with some of these 
criticisms.  He builds up some pretty significant expectations in 
the first two books, and wriggles out of one of them with an 'I 
lied', and just leaves some of the others hanging.  I found it 
fairly easy to let the philosophy slide in one eye and out the 
other, so to speak, and I'm not sure the plot holes arise because of 
the philosophical preoccupations, or are just changes of mind, or 
just holes.

Dumbledad mentioned Snicket-type photos.  These arise really in The 
Unauthorised Autobiography, whose placing with respect to the rest 
of the series is obscure, to say the least.  I can't see how the 
Series of Unfortunate Events can be seen as a Harry Potter knock-
off, though.  As well as being highly literary in its own right, it 
breathes a very different atmosphere to HP, IMO.  Somebody mentioned 
the link from JKR to Dahl: if LS reminds me of anyone it's PG 
Wodehouse, or Cameron McCabe's "Face on the Cutting Room Floor".


David




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Fri Oct 24 17:02:56 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 17:02:56 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
Message-ID: <bnbm00+vnlh@eGroups.com>

Hey, all,

The most fascinating thing is going on in Florida, and I'm just
mesmerized by it.  In short, the husband of a woman who has been in a
persistent vegatative state for over a decade won a protacted court
fight to disconnect her feeding tube over the objections of the
woman's other relatives.  The feeding tubes were disconnected.  The
Florida legislature immediately passed a law giving the governor of
Florida emergency authority over the woman's care, and he ordered that
the feeding tube be reconnected against the husband's wishes.  That is
where matters now stand, I think.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2971-2003Oct22.html

Gee.  I've never heard of this happening before.  By what authority is
the state allowed to *do* such a thing?  What happened to the privacy
rights of the family involved, or does that sort of thing not matter?  

I had no idea that the state could pass a law concerning the medical
care of one person like that.  But if they can, I also can't think of
a good reason why governors all over the U.S. couldn't do exactly the
same thing -- just intervene in gut-wrenching family decisions and
decide the question.  Oh, dear.

So.  How do other countries handle these sorts of euthanasia-type
questions?  In the U.S., I think (but am not sure) that the next of
kin gets to decide unless there's a living will in which the patient
has made his/her wishes known.

Cindy -- who has a lot of trouble understanding how the doctors can be
so sure that this patient will never get better, but who figures it
isn't her place to decide

*****************

http://www.clark04.com/





From augustinapeach at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 24 18:19:22 2003
From: augustinapeach at yahoo.com (augustinapeach)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 18:19:22 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bnapcj+nh6b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnbqfa+o7or@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" 
<tim_regan82 at h...> wrote:
> 
> PS I'm not sure I can forgive Greta for starting Christmas talk in 
October.

Now me:

Don't worry!  I'm not listening to the carols yet!  I had a couple 
of days off from school and thought it would be a good time to play 
Santa without the young'uns tagging along and before the rush toward 
final exams starts.  But the bookstore was rather intimidating -- so 
MUCH to read!  Where does one start?!!!!

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.  You've helped me put some 
of the titles on the "save for later" list and have given me some 
ideas for things to suggest to him.  


Greta




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 18:35:12 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:35:12 -0500
Subject: Fan-Fic?
Message-ID: <009701c39994$668975c0$ab8faec7@rick>

Hey all...

Where do I find fan-fics on the site?  (Are they in the file archives?  Or
do I have to wade through every single subject header int he archives to
find them?)

Iggy McSnurd






From heidit at netbox.com  Fri Oct 24 18:53:43 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 11:53:43 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Fan-Fic?
In-Reply-To: <009701c39994$668975c0$ab8faec7@rick>
References: <009701c39994$668975c0$ab8faec7@rick>
Message-ID: <1067021628.1AF847A5@w5.dngr.org>

There is little if any fanfic posted here on otc, because it was more or 
less banned for a few years. However, the hpfgu fanfic faq is available 
- I don't have the link on hand (even though I update it) but you can 
get to it from http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq - enjoy!


Heidi, admin for fictionalley, the largest HP-specific fanfic archive 
(http://www.fictionalley.org)


On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 2:41PM -0500, Iggy McSnurd wrote:
> Real-To:  "Iggy McSnurd" <coyoteschild at peoplepc.com>
>
> Hey all...
>
> Where do I find fan-fics on the site?  (Are they in the file archives?  
> Or
> do I have to wade through every single subject header int he archives 
> to
> find them?)
>
> Iggy McSnurd
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------ 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 charisjulia at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 24 19:12:03 2003
From: charisjulia at hotmail.com (charisjulia)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 19:12:03 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
In-Reply-To: <bnbm00+vnlh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnbti3+l547@eGroups.com>


Cindy:
> So.  How do other countries handle these sorts of euthanasia-type
> questions?  In the U.S., I think (but am not sure) that the next of
> kin gets to decide unless there's a living will in which the patient
> has made his/her wishes known.


Well, in Europe euthanasia is legal in only two countries: the 
Netherlands and Belgium. Switzerland is quite an interesting case: 
euthanasia is forbidden but assisted suicide (where the patient 
him/herself had to physically carry out the fatal act on their own) 
is not. Ever heard of Dignitas? It's the only assisted suicide group 
in Switzerland which welcomes foreigners. It's all pretty 
controversial. You could just fly into the country, be picked up at 
the airport, skip through a brief interview with a psychologist and, 
a couple of hours later, be dead.


Charis Julia, who turned in favour of both euthanasia and assisted 
suicide after watching her grandmother's slow slouch to death from 
Parkinson's. Just as long as accountability is ensured. 





From tminton at deckerjones.com  Fri Oct 24 20:40:41 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 15:40:41 -0500
Subject: Pumpkin Juice (was:[HPforGrownups] Bat Bogey Hex and moved to Chatter)
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C3F@djmail.deckerjones.com>

Arya  Said: 
 <<<  Anyone got a recipe for Pumpkin juice?  >>>>>
 
Tonya:
Oh yea me too!!  I want a recipe for pumpkin juice.  I have tried to
come up with one on my own and had the same spitting, gagging reaction
to it as Arya had to her butterbeer recipe!!  
 
Tonya 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From andie at knownet.net  Fri Oct 24 21:23:52 2003
From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 21:23:52 -0000
Subject: Pumpkin Juice/Butterbeer
In-Reply-To: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C3F@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <bnc598+455e@eGroups.com>

Mugglenet.com has an excellent recipe for pumpkin juice and 
butterbeer.  At mugglenet, go to Rosmerta's Recipes at the bottom of 
the menu on the left hand side of the page.  I know that for the 
butterbeer, they suggest rootbeer, honey, and butter.

Let me know how they taste, as I haven't tried them.  

Oh yeah, there are other recipes there as well - treacle fudge, etc.

Andrea :)




From eberte at vaeye.com  Fri Oct 24 22:21:00 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 22:21:00 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnc8kc+dlj1@eGroups.com>

Greta wrote:
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
> 
> I've tried to get him to read the Chronicles of Narnia, but no luck 
> so far.  Can only keep trying, I guess!
> 

I agree with those who recommended "A Series of Unfortunate Events" 
by Lemony Snicket.  The books are cleverly written and my 7 year old 
son (a rotten reader, sad to say) loves to have me read them to him.  
The characters are one-note and cardboard (especially when compared 
to HP) but the vocabulary is fantastic and the kids are the heroes in 
the tales (because, as someone already pointed out, all the adults 
are idiots or evil.)
He might also like Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series.  A 
couple of the books in this series won Newbery Awards or Honors.  The 
books are really great, although they lack the humor of the HP series.
Two of my favorite books from childhood were "A Wrinkle in Time" by 
Madeline L'Engle and "The Silver Crown" by Robert C. O'Brien--both 
fantasty books with female child heroines.  I re-read them both 
within the last year and was not as thrilled with them as I once was, 
but as a grade-schooler I found them *delightful*.

Elle 




From oscarlopes at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 24 22:49:27 2003
From: oscarlopes at hotmail.com (neostorm_99)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 22:49:27 -0000
Subject: A great Harry Potter related RPG
Message-ID: <bnca9n+pfib@eGroups.com>

This is a message for any person interested in joining a Harry Potter
related Role Playing Game. Its based on an alternative school called
the Salem Academy.

If you are interested please follow this link:

http://s2.invisionfree.com/SalemAcademy/

And post your character in the Dining Room/Sorting Hat thread.

The Salem Academy is very lax in its rules, you can basically RP to
your content without asking for permission for certain plots as long
as it only involves the ppl you are RP-ing with.

Since it is not Hogwarts, The Salem Academy offers many surprises and
interesting twists etc. Many ppl rp here of all different ages.


So Join if at all interested.


http://s2.invisionfree.com/SalemAcademy/
 





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 23 23:29:03 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:29:03 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Pumpkin Juice (was:[HPforGrownups] Bat Bogey Hex and moved to Chatter)
References: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C3F@djmail.deckerjones.com>
Message-ID: <003801c399bd$73392760$cb91aec7@rick>

Iggy here... re-sending this one since it looks like Yahoomort decided to
devour it the first time...


> Arya
>     Anyone got a recipe for Pumpkin juice?
>

Yeah... Squeeze a pumpkin REALLY hard.  *yeesh*

Iggy McSnurd







From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 25 00:30:43 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:30:43 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
In-Reply-To: <bnbm00+vnlh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bncg7j+k5td@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> Hey, all,
> 
> The most fascinating thing is going on in Florida, and I'm just
> mesmerized by it.  In short, the husband of a woman who has been in 
a
> persistent vegatative state for over a decade won a protacted court
> fight to disconnect her feeding tube over the objections of the
> woman's other relatives.  The feeding tubes were disconnected.  The
> Florida legislature immediately passed a law giving the governor of
> Florida emergency authority over the woman's care, and he ordered 
that
> the feeding tube be reconnected against the husband's wishes.  That 
is
> where matters now stand, I think.
> 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2971-2003Oct22.html
> 
> Gee.  I've never heard of this happening before.  By what authority 
is
> the state allowed to *do* such a thing?  What happened to the 
privacy
> rights of the family involved, or does that sort of thing not 
matter?  
> 
> I had no idea that the state could pass a law concerning the medical
> care of one person like that.  But if they can, I also can't think 
of
> a good reason why governors all over the U.S. couldn't do exactly 
the
> same thing -- just intervene in gut-wrenching family decisions and
> decide the question.  Oh, dear.
> 
> So.  How do other countries handle these sorts of euthanasia-type
> questions?  In the U.S., I think (but am not sure) that the next of
> kin gets to decide unless there's a living will in which the patient
> has made his/her wishes known.
> 
> Cindy -- who has a lot of trouble understanding how the doctors can 
be
> so sure that this patient will never get better, but who figures it
> isn't her place to decide
> 
> *****************
> 
> http://www.clark04.com/


Cindy,

This is an interesting problem.  Here in medical mecca (Boston) all 
the medical ethicists are banging there heads against the wall, 
wondering how on earth this could happen.  

I don't know the specifics of this case, but if she had a 'Living 
Will', then I do believe that the court must uphold that.  Basically, 
a 'Living Will' allows a person to have their intentions for care 
known, in the case that they are incapacitated and/or unable to make 
their own decisions, like being disconnected from life support if one 
is 'brain dead'.  I think in this case, the woman may have verbally 
made her intentions known to her husband, who then acted upon her 
wishes, but her parents objected, saying that she was responding to 
them and they want to keep her alive. Then there's the whole 'Power 
of Attorney' and all, allowing one person to speak in anothers' 
behalf. 

I'm no lawyer, but I work in a hospital, and I'm very curious to see 
how this turns out.  It is amazing how families hold on to their 
loved ones when there really is no hope.  It's an awful place to be, 
hearing that this person will not recover.  Unfortunately, I've been 
there personally twice in the past two years with my dad and dad-in-
law. Fortunately, they were both sick enough that they just passed 
without us having to make such an awful decision. 

Ugghh! The whole thing sends shivers down my spine.

God willing, she will be at peace soon.


Anna . . .(who is currently at work, trying to save some lives, but 
taking a break to recoupe from the workload)






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 24 00:41:12 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 19:41:12 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
References: <bncg7j+k5td@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <008101c399c7$874fc740$cb91aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

Personally, I feel that force-feeding her to keep her alive is cruel,
unusual, and unwarranted punishment upon her and her husband.

At the point she's at right now, she's not much more than a body as it is...
the mind is pretty much gone.  If she cannot eat in any manner other than a
tube into her stomach, then the only thing that's functioning is her
autonomic system.  The parents need to let her go.

>From a political standpoint, IMHO, Jed didn't do this because he cared about
the woman's rights or her life... He did it to pave the way for votes to
re-election (or election to a better office).  If his personal views on
saving lives was the issue, then he would have stepped in on a number of
other situations a LOT earlier than he did.


This is just my opinion, of course.

Iggy McSnurd







From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sat Oct 25 01:07:57 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 01:07:57 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
In-Reply-To: <bncg7j+k5td@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bncidd+t3dm@eGroups.com>

Hi,

Anna wrote:

> This is an interesting problem.  Here in medical mecca (Boston) all 
> the medical ethicists are banging there heads against the wall, 
> wondering how on earth this could happen.  

I'm, er, banging with them, Anna!  ;-)

Seriously, I was reading up on this just now in the NY Times, and some
people are saying some very interesting things.  Apparently, some view
this new law and Bush's action (Jeb Bush, not George) as a victory
against the courts.  The argument seems to be that the courts have too
much power.  A spokeswoman for (Republican) Alan Keyes said, "All
these so-called culture wars reflect this incredible disconnect
between an out-of-control, despotic, high-handed elite in the courts
and the two other branches, which still seem to have some
responsiveness and some accountability to the electorate."

I find myself scratching my head on this one.  The court didn't decide
whether to disconnect the feeding tube, as I understand it.  The court
decided which family member gets to decide.  I believe the court's
decision would have been the same had the extended family wanted the
feeding discontinued and the husband wanted the feeding to continue.


> I don't know the specifics of this case, but if she had a 'Living 
> Will', then I do believe that the court must uphold that.  

That's true.  Unless and until, that is, the legislature passes a law
that says the Living Will doesn't mean anything and the governor gets
to decide.  

::shiver::

Here, the only evidence of what the patient would have wanted was the
husband's testimony that this is what she told him.

>Basically, 
> a 'Living Will' allows a person to have their intentions for care 
> known, in the case that they are incapacitated and/or unable to make 
> their own decisions, like being disconnected from life support if
>one is 'brain dead'.  

I have one of those.  It's kind of scary, though, in a way.  Talk
about putting a heck of a lot of trust in one's husband!  ;-D


 
> I'm no lawyer, but I work in a hospital, and I'm very curious to see 
> how this turns out.  It is amazing how families hold on to their 
> loved ones when there really is no hope.  

But it seems that there are so many stories of people who *do* come
back.  I think it would be really hard to give up hope, myself. 
Especially if the person seems not to be in any observable pain.


> Ugghh! The whole thing sends shivers down my spine.
> 
> God willing, she will be at peace soon.

I hope so too.

Iggy wrote:

>From a political standpoint, IMHO, Jed didn't do this because he
>cared about the woman's rights or her life... He did it to pave the
>way for votes to re-election (or election to a better office). If his
>personal views on saving lives was the issue, then he would have
>stepped in on a number of other situations a LOT earlier than he did.

Some say he did it because he is staunchly anti-euthanasia and a
devout Catholic.  Some say he did it to please his right-to-life
constituents.

Regardless of his motives, it does seem that a desperately ill person
is being used as a pawn by a politician.  I would think her husband's
religious and other beliefs would be more important than Jeb's.

Cindy -- who trusts the courts more than she trusts the politicians,
but who has decided to trust her husband most of all





From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Sat Oct 25 06:13:11 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 06:13:11 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bnauhh+s2er@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnd49n+ti73@eGroups.com>

 "abigailnus" <abigailnus at y...> wrote:

> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> 
> Wicked, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz from the POV of the wicked 
witch, 
> is definitely not for children.  I don't mean that there's 
inappropriate stuff 
> (there's a teensy bit of sex, but it's over so fast you hardly 
notice it) but 
> that the story is written for adults to enjoy, and its themes are 
adult themes.  
> Plus, it's not that great - I always want to like Maguire's stuff 
more then I 
> end up doing.


I agree with this review of "Wicked" completely - I really wanted to 
like it, and just didn't. Not much, anyway. It's not *bad,* it's 
just not as good as I'd hoped it would be. I was a huge fan of the 
original "Oz" books as a child (both the ones written by Baum, and 
the ones written by other authors, as well. "The Hungry Tiger of Oz" 
is my all-time favourite). So, I found "Wicked" to be disappointing. 
It was interesting and a bit clever, but not clever enough.

I will say, though, that I *loved* "Confessions of an Ugly Step-
sister." (I'm assuming Abigail has read it . . . for everyone else, 
it's retelling of the "Cinderella" fairy tale, told by one of the 
step-sisters). I found this to be *very* clever, and a really great 
take on what I have often found to be a very sexist and awful fairy 
tale as it is usually told to children. (At least as it was told to 
me as a child). This is actually one of the best books I've read in 
the past few years (in my top 5, anyway). I really, really enjoyed 
it and would highly recommend. Like "Wicked," though, this is not a 
children's book, for the same reasons Abigail mentioned 
regarding "Wicked." I'm curious, Abigail . . . what 
about "Confessions" did you not like?

And, does Maguire have other books besides these two?

:-)
Wendy 




From abigailnus at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 25 08:46:04 2003
From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 08:46:04 -0000
Subject: Gregory Maguire (was: Need some literary advice)
In-Reply-To: <bnd49n+ti73@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bndd8c+e2ip@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Wendy" <hebrideanblack at e...> wrote:

> I will say, though, that I *loved* "Confessions of an Ugly Step-
> sister." ... I'm curious, Abigail . . . what 
> about "Confessions" did you not like?

I liked Confessions a lot more then Wicked, but it still felt half-baked 
to me. I don't think Maguire ever decided if he was rewriting a fairy 
tale, giving it a modern twist, or writing a novel that happened to draw 
on a fairy tale for its plot.  In other words, he couldn't decide where to 
place his emphasis - on the real world elements or the fairy tale ones.  
Also, I didn't care for the ending - Maguire had so many balls up in the 
air - Iris' painting, the mysteries of Clara's past, the romance between 
Iris and Jasper, to name only a few - and he seemed to abandon most 
of them for the sake of the traditional fairy tale wrap up.  Mostly, 
Confessions didn't spark my interest the way other retellings of fairy 
tales do.  It felt not-quite-ready.

> And, does Maguire have other books besides these two?

I've only read Wicked and Confessions, but he has another novel called 
Lost, which I'm told has something to do with Jack the Ripper, and 
there's a new book of his coming out these days called Mirror, Mirror, 
which is, naturally, a retelling of Snow White.  Also, I think before he 
wrote adult books he was writing children's books (picture books, I think).

Abigail




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 24 10:53:11 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 05:53:11 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need some literary advice
References: <bnd49n+ti73@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003401c39a1d$05953720$0fe479a5@rick>


From: "Wendy"
>
>  I was a huge fan of the
> original "Oz" books as a child (both the ones written by Baum, and
> the ones written by other authors, as well. "The Hungry Tiger of Oz"
> is my all-time favourite).

Iggy here:

A little bit of trivia for everyone here...

L. Frank Baum's first book was not "the Wizard of OZ", as so many people
think.  Rather, it was "Dot and Tot in Merryland."

(The names Dorothy and Toto are even derived from the two main characters in
his first book.)


BTW: I have also read all of the books from the Wizard of OZ series by
Baum... as well as the little known book "the Shaggy Man of OZ" by an author
who's name I cannot recall at the moment.


Iggy McSnurd
(Who was delighted to discover, many years ago, that he and L. Frank Baum
have the same birthday... May 15th, and was also happy that one of his
favorite TV actors, the late John Ritter, played Baum in the TV movie "The
Dreamer of OZ."  Perfect casting, IMHO.)

-- We shall all remember and mourn the loss of such a wonderful man as John
Ritter.







From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sat Oct 25 12:15:28 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:15:28 -0000
Subject: Desperately seeking poetic quote
Message-ID: <bndph0+iqrm@eGroups.com>

Hi very well read clever people

I am looking for a suitable poem to quote in a fiction I am working 
on.  

What I want is a consoling poem to a bereaved person. 

Unfortunately, all I can think of at the moment is Ash Wednesday or 
Burnt Norton - both too long and therefore not lending themselves to 
providing a good fragment for quoting purposes.  They seem possibly 
overtly Christian as well - and that's not really what is wanted.

I do not want "Stop All the Clocks" by Auden - done to death -  
though I like it.  Or anything too mawkish either. 

So, anybody got a best consolatory poem? 

Any suggestions would be gratefully received - any line will do 
because I'll be able to find the full poem and author easily enough 
if it's reasonably well known.

Help is greatly appreciated - I have a total brain freeze on at the 
moment and have not found anything in my books at home.

June

Written this day on 25th October 2003 - the 588th anniversary of the 
Battle of Agincourt - today is the feast of Crispin Crisipinian.  
Big British Anniversary (English beat the French despite being 
outnumbered 5:1):

Another famous Harry speaks...

    This day is called the feast of Crispian: 
    He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, 
    Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, 
    And rouse him at the name of Crispian. 
    He that shall live this day, and see old age, 
    Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, 
    And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' 
    Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars. 
    And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' 
     (...) 
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; 
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me 
    Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, 
    This day shall gentle his condition: 
    And gentlemen in England now a-bed 
    Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, 
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks 
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. 

William Shakespeare - Henry V

Patriotic sigh.






From psychic_serpent at yahoo.com  Sat Oct 25 12:46:00 2003
From: psychic_serpent at yahoo.com (psychic_serpent)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:46:00 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bndra8+3hls@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of 
you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
> 
> I've tried to get him to read the Chronicles of Narnia, but no 
luck 
> so far.  Can only keep trying, I guess!
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)

I think that Narnia, although it may have appealed to 8 year olds 
and up when it was first published, is written in a style that is 
slightly too archaic for today's kids of the same age.  He probably 
wouldn't be interested in it until at least high school now.

Donna gave a good rundown of "The Thief Lord."  If you want to know 
how a kid responded to this, however, my daughter (9 years old) just 
finished, absolutely adored it, and spent the whole time talking to 
me about Italian and Venice (since I'm a singer I was able to help 
her with the Italian pronunciation).  She loved it so much that she 
immediately wanted to start reading it again (we read the first 
chapter together last night, so I get to be in on it too, this 
time).  She's in love with the idea of going to Venice, and when we 
say good evening to each other now, it's, "Buonasera, Carissima!"  

I think that 8 is too young for the subject matter of the Pullman 
Dark Materials trilogy, but anything else he's written for younger 
readers I'd highly recommend.  Have you considered Eva Ibbotson?  
(Or is it Ibbottson?)  Fabulously funny books with lots of magic.  
Very, very reminiscent of JKR.  "Which Witch" and "The Secret of 
Platform 13" are the favorites around here.  (No, she didn't steal 
her ideas from JKR--she wrote these first.)

Also, Jane Langton's series about the Hall children has wonderful 
fantasy, great characterization and introduces children to many 
moral dilemmas similar to what we find in the Potter books. (I also 
find many of the characters similar to those in JKR's books, 
especially Eleanor Hall, who's very Hermione, her brother Eddy, 
who's like a combination of Harry and Ron, little Georgie, who 
reminds me of Ginny, and their Uncle Fred, who's like a combination 
of Arthur Weasley and Dumbledore.)  The books are: "The Diamond in 
the Window," "The Swing in the Summerhouse,"  "The Astonishing 
Stereoscope," "The Fledgling" (both wonderful and 
heartbreaking!), "The Fragile Flag," and "The Time Bike."  They've 
all been read so much around here that they're falling apart.  
("Diamond," and "Summerhouse" were mine when I was a kid, so they 
were already dog-eared when I gave them to my children.)

Have you also considered the "Indian in the Cupboard" series?  I 
read this to my son when he was about 8, and it raises all sorts of 
moral questions, in addition to being fun.  Very well written, kids, 
parents and other characters who are three-dimensional, and the 
plots are gripping.

--Barb

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent
http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb





From maryjo at neyersoftware.com  Sat Oct 25 18:05:35 2003
From: maryjo at neyersoftware.com (Mary Jo Neyer)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 14:05:35 -0400
Subject: case of Ms. Schiavo
Message-ID: <007801c39b22$96ee5160$6601a8c0@cinci.rr.com>

The reason the case of the comatose woman in Florida is so controversial is that there are a lot of questions about the motivations of her husband.  He has not been a regular visitor to his wife;  he is infact living with another woman and has had one child by the latter and is expecting another.  The woman's parents have been her constant visitors.  the husband had the choice of divorcing his wife and moving on with his life, but he chose not to, because if she dies while he is still married to her, he receives a lot of MONEY.  There was a large cash settlement made on Ms. Schiavo after the accident, part of which pays for all her nursing care expenses.  Mr. Schiavo has great motivation to have his wife die :  lots of money.  There is no evidence except his word that she ever expressed the desire to not be maintained in a comatose state.  None of her friends or family ever recall hearing her express such ideas.  So this is not just a simple matter.

Mary Jo

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coriolan at worldnet.att.net  Sat Oct 25 22:06:08 2003
From: coriolan at worldnet.att.net (Caius Marcius)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 22:06:08 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
In-Reply-To: <bnbti3+l547@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnes4g+qgde@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "charisjulia" 
<charisjulia at h...> wrote:
> 
> Cindy:
> > So.  How do other countries handle these sorts of euthanasia-type
> > questions?  
> 
> Charis Julia, who turned in favour of both euthanasia and assisted 
> suicide after watching her grandmother's slow slouch to death from 
> Parkinson's. Just as long as accountability is ensured.

I used to be in favor of euthanasia, but reading about the Dutch 
experience shows that accountability is something that can't be 
assured. 

http://www.chninternational.com/hendin.htm

  - CMC




From boggles at earthlink.net  Sat Oct 25 23:35:16 2003
From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 18:35:16 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Squicked was Re: Wotcher
In-Reply-To: <bn4145+peml@eGroups.com>
References: <bn4145+peml@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <p05200f03bbc0b8cc9842@[192.168.1.100]>

At 7:23 PM +0000 10/21/03, Ali wrote:
>--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...>
>wrote:
>
>Is "squicked" Britspeak? I've never heard of it.

I hadn't realized it was supposed to be Britspeak either, as I've 
been using it since early adolescence and I was raised in the Deep 
South.  (On the other hand, ours was a BBC-heavy household, so I 
suppose I might have picked it up there - but no one I knew seemed to 
have any trouble understanding it, and I seem to recall at least a 
few others using it themselves.)

-- 

  - 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 drednort at alphalink.com.au  Sun Oct 26 00:07:22 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:07:22 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Desperately seeking poetic quote
In-Reply-To: <bndph0+iqrm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F9BAAEA.8890.3725E1C@localhost>

On 25 Oct 2003 at 12:15, junediamanti wrote:

> Hi very well read clever people
> 
> I am looking for a suitable poem to quote in a fiction I am working 
> on.  
> 
> What I want is a consoling poem to a bereaved person. 
> 
> Unfortunately, all I can think of at the moment is Ash Wednesday or 
> Burnt Norton - both too long and therefore not lending themselves to 
> providing a good fragment for quoting purposes.  They seem possibly 
> overtly Christian as well - and that's not really what is wanted.
> 
> I do not want "Stop All the Clocks" by Auden - done to death -  
> though I like it.  Or anything too mawkish either. 
> 
> So, anybody got a best consolatory poem? 

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of out future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far that you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

- Remember, Christina Georgina Rossetti


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 boggles at earthlink.net  Sun Oct 26 00:33:15 2003
From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:33:15 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] American Schools Re: June's OT Board
 Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <bn9hq1+4v4a@eGroups.com>
References: <bn9hq1+4v4a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <p05200f05bbc0bf040d75@[192.168.1.100]>

At 9:39 PM +0000 10/23/03, Jen Reese wrote:
>
>Me too! I went to San Jacinto Junior High but you never hear that
>anymore; 'Middle School' is definitely preferred.

In theory, at least, a Junior High and a Middle School are not the 
same thing.  A Junior High is run like a high school: lockers, big 
impersonal gyms, changing classes seven times a day, etc., only for 
slightly younger kids.  A Middle School is run as a transition from 
an elementary school to a high school; kids typically change classes 
less often, they're often in a "pod" of students who all see the same 
teachers, there's usually a counselor or administrator who oversees 
each pod, locker areas are supervised, and so on.

However, most "middle schools" are in fact Junior Highs with the sign 
painted over.  Often it still says "Junior High" in the stonework on 
the front of the building.  (I interviewed at one of these places.)

Then there are "Intermediate Schools," which are intended to be a 
transitional phase between elementary school and middle school, and 
more likely to actually be run on the pod concept than middle schools 
are.

>In an interesting twist, our 9th grade was held in an entirely
>separate school, only for 9th grade--did anyone else have that? The
>two 9th-grade schools were called Midland Freshman High School & Lee
>Freshman High Schools to distinguish them from the high schools of
>the same name.

An awful lot of Houston area schools have that now.  Our district's 
are called Ninth Grade Centers rather than "Freshman High Schools," 
but the students invariably refer to them as the "Fishbowls."

>My theory now is that football (not soccer) is *very* competitive in
>my hometown, and instead of building a third high school that would
>dilute the talent pool, they elected to convert two old schools into
>these Freshman schools. Don't know if it's true, but believe me it
>*could* be true, which is bad enough ;).

Actually, the usual justification is cost - a new high school is 
*very* expensive to build and staff, while a ninth grade center is 
smaller and cheaper, doesn't require the hiring of nearly as many new 
faculty members, and takes the pressure off the main campus almost as 
well.

-- 

  - 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 Oct 26 00:33:22 2003
From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:33:22 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was
 Brittspeak)
In-Reply-To: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>
References: <20.1afbcde5.2cc97d1a@aol.com>
Message-ID: <p05200f04bbc0bccb8831@[192.168.1.100]>

At 2:51 PM -0400 10/23/03, eloiseherisson at aol.com wrote:
>
>Prawn = shrimp

This is extremely pedantic usage, but here a prawn and a shrimp are 
two different things.  A shrimp does not have claws; a prawn is 
larger and does.

>Now, while we're here, can someone please explain all those names you
>Americans have for different years in school and University?


At 7:37 PM +0000 10/23/03, Jen Reese wrote:
>Then we have 4-year Colleges and Universities, but I can't remember
>the distinction between the two--Is a College one where you can only
>get a 4-year degree; and a University one where you can also get
>Graduate degrees?

Yes, that's correct.  We also have "Institutes," which only issue 
bachelor's degrees in certain areas, such as an engineering institute 
or an education institute.  There are a dying breed these days, 
though.

>(And just to make this entirely confusing, Universities often
>have "Colleges" within their setting for each particular field of
>study, i.e., College of Natural Scineces, College of Liberal Arts).

In addition, some universities, especially those that are very old or 
deliberately modeled on those that are, have "residential colleges" 
instead of dorms; they differ in that a few members of the faculty 
also live there, in apartments maintained by the university, and that 
the everning meal is generally served "family-style," with dishes of 
food placed on the table and everyone serving themselves from them, 
rather than cafeteria-style.

Rice University has both academic colleges and residential colleges 
within the university, which can get quite confusing.  ;)

-- 

  - 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  Sun Oct 26 01:28:44 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 01:28:44 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <p05200f05bbc0bf040d75@[192.168.1.100]>
Message-ID: <bnf80c+kker@eGroups.com>

Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon wrote:
 
>In theory, at least, a Junior High and a Middle School are not the 
same thing.  A Junior High is run like a high school: lockers, big 
impersonal gyms, changing classes seven times a day, etc., only for 
slightly younger kids.  A Middle School is run as a transition from 
an elementary school to a high school; kids typically change classes 
less often, they're often in a "pod" of students who all see the 
same teachers, there's usually a counselor or administrator who 
oversees each pod, locker areas are supervised, and so on.<

KathyK:

My junior high seems to have been a little bit of both.  We switched 
classes seven times a day, had lockers lining the hallways, and had 
large gyms.  But we also sort of had those pods.  The school housed 
both 7th and 8th grades, with each grade divided into four different 
teams.  Each team rarely interacted with the others.  Within the 
teams, students were divided into four different groups for the 
basic classes of math, english, social studies, and science.  We 
used colors for ours.  

In seventh grade I was on the "Green" Team and I was an "Army 
Green."  The only times I saw my friends from the Blue, Red, or 
Purple teams were at lunch where we were made to sit with our team 
members anyway, or in classes such as chorus or gym.

Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon about ninth grade centers:
 
>Actually, the usual justification is cost - a new high school is 
*very* expensive to build and staff, while a ninth grade center is 
smaller and cheaper, doesn't require the hiring of nearly as many 
new faculty members, and takes the pressure off the main campus 
almost as well.<

My town did that with the kindergarten classes.  There used to be 
kindergarten classes in the elementary schools when I was that 
young.  But a few years later they moved them all to this school 
building that wasn't currently housing any students to make room for 
more children.  

Also, in an effort to save money that would be spent if the town 
were to build a new high school or second middle school, it keeps 
adding on to the existing buildings.  The high school renovation 
completed a few years ago seems to be doing it's job thus far.  
However, the addition to the middle school, which seems to mark the 
transition in the name from Junior High to Middle School, was not 
sufficient and the town is trying to work out how to fit in and fund 
another add on.  
 
KathyK (who has names for that school she attended other 
than "junior high" and "middle school," like "Evil Pit of Doom."  
Did anyone out there actually *like* junior high?)





From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Sun Oct 26 01:47:54 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:47:54 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
References: <bnf80c+kker@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <021d01c39b63$2d6ece90$76984cca@Monteith>

Just reading about scjooling in other countries and it's interesting.

Gee it's so much simpler here (Queensland, Australia). We have...

Kindergarten (optional for 3-4 year olds).
Preschool (optional for 4-5 year olds, often attached to the Primary School
but may be an entirely seperate facillity)

Then we have
Primary School (must be 5 years old before 1st January to start term. Grades
1 through 7)
High School (Grades 8 through 12)
End compulsory schooling...

School starts in January (final week) and ends in early November (or late
October for some private schools and Grades 11-12 at most State scools). So
school year coincides with the *actual* year. It helps to have summer at the
right time to do this <grin>.

Nox (with her very intelligent son stuck at home for an extra year because
his birthday is mid-January...) :-(




From andie at knownet.net  Sun Oct 26 02:17:54 2003
From: andie at knownet.net (grindieloe)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 02:17:54 -0000
Subject: HP Trivia Chat Room
Message-ID: <bnfasi+d9p8@eGroups.com>

What do you guys think about starting an HP Trivia chat room.  I was 
in a Trivia Madness chat room, and it was kind of fun, but I was 
hoping that some kind of HP question would come up... could we get 
something like that going?  HP Trivia Room?  You know, kind of like 
our Sunday chat thing, but trivia related.  

Just wondering...
Andrea :)




From elrond at paradise.net.nz  Sun Oct 26 03:24:53 2003
From: elrond at paradise.net.nz (Michael Chance)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:24:53 +1300
Subject: Snape "I'm Too Sexy" video
Message-ID: <002501c39b70$c9fdc600$46454fcb@locxvcym>

Hi :) I think a large number of you will have heard about the gen Snape
music video, as the site it was originally on has been closed down until
next month due to running out of bandwidth :) It can now be found at -
http://chance.slashcity.net/multi/i'm-too-sexy.wmv - for the time being at
least :) It's *not* slash based, in case you're worried about that, and
actually is really funny and extremely well done :)

There are some more HP videos, including a number of non-slash based ones at
my site at http://chance.slashity.net/

Michael




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 04:37:30 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 04:37:30 -0000
Subject: American Schools Re: June's OT Board Dictionary Launched
In-Reply-To: <021d01c39b63$2d6ece90$76984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bnfj2a+hf0a@eGroups.com>

Nox wrote:

> Nox (with her very intelligent son stuck at home for an extra year
because
> his birthday is mid-January...) :-(

That might not be so bad after all.  My very intelligent younger
brother's birthday is Christmas Eve, and the cutoff date for school
was January 1st, so he was the youngest in the class.  It ended up
being a problem for him since he was small and less mature (a year
makes a big difference at that age).  One year, when we moved, my
parents enrolled him in the same grade he'd just completed in our
former school district, and he did much better and was much happier.

Annemehr
still very happy with her own summer birthday  :-)




From Erthena at aol.com  Sun Oct 26 07:13:15 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 07:13:15 -0000
Subject: Extremely off topic: A series unfortunate events
Message-ID: <bnfs6b+h4il@eGroups.com>

I apologize in advance for the complete lunacy of this post but as I 
have just finished the tenth book in the series of unfortunate events
(the Slippery Slope which I didn't know had even come out yet) my 
head is now spinning and it needs to be regrounded. 

With all due respect   

~~loony

Okay 1)this is an amazing book, my new personal favorite in the 
series (I didn't have one before actually).  But 2)it's driving me 
insane.  Really, I mean not as insane as I was in June or anything, 
but I was far better off then because there was this vast HP fandom 
that I was connected with and many of my close friends who had also 
stayed up most of the night reading OOP.  However not one of my 
friends, family, or casual acquaintances has finished the series.  
So I'm sitting here with this huge (in meaning, not length) book on 
my brain and I can't talk to anyone about it.  So this is my 
desperate cry for help, if there are any other Unfortunate Events 
fans out there please e-mail me off list(erthena at aol.com).  I need 
to discuss this book but I won't ruin anyone's enjoyment of the 
series if or when they decide to read it just because I'm 
temporarily insane (another way I'm not as bad as I was in June,as 
my sister knew that Sirius died about 5 min. after I finished the 
book).

Thanks in advance.

~~loony (truly living up to her name tonight)





From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 08:15:32 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 08:15:32 -0000
Subject: Pumpkin Juice and Butter Beer
In-Reply-To: <003801c399bd$73392760$cb91aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnfvr4+plu0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd"
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Iggy here... re-sending this one since it looks like Yahoomort
decided to
> devour it the first time...
> 
> 
> > Arya
> >     Anyone got a recipe for Pumpkin juice?
> >
> 
> Yeah... Squeeze a pumpkin REALLY hard.  *yeesh*
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

bboy_mn:

Well, you really could 'juice' a pumpkin, but fresh pumpkins are hard
to come by any time other than Holloween. And pumpkin is not exactly
the juiciest fruit around, so a lot of pumpkin equal not much juice. 

I've eaten raw pumpkin flesh and I like the way it taste, so running
that flesh through a juicer, adding a dash of sugar, and perhaps some
pumpkin spice might actually produce something very drinkable.

Others have suggested adding Pumpkin Spice/Pumpkin Pie Spice to your
favorite juice (apple was suggested). 

Another alternative would be to take a juice base of your liking
(again, suggesting apple) and blend it with some canned pumpkin pie
mix; essentially making a pumpkin pie smoothie. 

As far as Butter Beer, nothing you can create is ever going to taste
as good as the enraptured discriptions in the book make is sound. In
general, most things butterscotch flavored are not going to taste that
great. But here are some suggestions.

-(Vanilla) Cream Soda with butterscotch ice cream topping added. Note:
you can also get concentrated butterscotch flavoring in the baking
section of your grocery story. The concentrated flavoring would be a
little less messy as the butterscotch ice cream flavoring requires a
lot of syrup and a lot of stirring to get it mixed into the cream
soda, and all that stirring makes the cream soda foam all over the
place. A few drops of liquid concentrated flavoring might be simpler.

Root beer would seem a logical mix, and there are several butterscotch
flavored root beer recipies out there, but I don't think you will be
too satisfied with the results. 

-Here is my latest idea, but first I digress; during the Thanksgiving
and Christmas holiday, my mother makes her special spicy apple cider.
She takes a big electric party coffee percolator and fills it with
apple juice, then she fills the part where the coffee grounds usually
go with a spicy cinnimon candy called 'Red Hots'. Then she plugs it
in, and lets it percolate, thereby melting all the Red Hot candies
into the apple juice. Makes great hot apple cider, always spiced just
right.

So, why not do that with butterscotch. Take apple juice and instead of
using 'Red Hots' as described above, use your favorite butterscotch or
butterrum hard candy. Once the juice and the candy have been disolved
together, I have to beleive you will have a great tasting hot holiday
drink.

By the way, did you know that Acid Pops are a real candy, as are sugar
mice.

Just a few thoughts.

bboy_mn







From abigailnus at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 08:45:12 2003
From: abigailnus at yahoo.com (abigailnus)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 08:45:12 -0000
Subject: Extremely off topic: A series unfortunate events
In-Reply-To: <bnfs6b+h4il@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bng1io+9j2e@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "werebearloony" <Erthena at a...> wrote:
>  So this is my 
> desperate cry for help, if there are any other Unfortunate Events 
> fans out there please e-mail me off list(erthena at a...).  I need 
> to discuss this book but I won't ruin anyone's enjoyment of the 
> series if or when they decide to read it just because I'm 
> temporarily insane 

Loony, you might want to check out the website www.readerville.com.  
It's a discussion community for readers (and writers) and there may be 
a Lemony Snicket discussion going on.  Alternatively, you could check 
out Salon's TableTalk forums (tabletalk.salon.com), which has a book 
section.

Abigail
Who knows the pain of reading a great book and having no one to discuss 
it with.




From witchwanda2002 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 12:32:43 2003
From: witchwanda2002 at yahoo.com (Wanda the *B*Witch)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 04:32:43 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Muggles are here!
Message-ID: <20031026123243.94303.qmail@web13702.mail.yahoo.com>

Happy Sunday everybody!




 
WANDA   f   English
Pronounced: WAWN-da
Possibly means "a Wend", referring to the Slavic people who inhabited eastern Germany.
WANDA (f.) - Teutonic 'wanderer'; so R?na
 
Merenwen Oronr? (elvish)
 






 














---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From bumbledor at charter.net  Sun Oct 26 13:06:59 2003
From: bumbledor at charter.net (Bumbledor)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 08:06:59 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Trivia Chat Room
References: <bnfasi+d9p8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003101c39bc2$0a5a8110$6501a8c0@mac>


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "grindieloe" <andie at knownet.net>
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] HP Trivia Chat Room


> What do you guys think about starting an HP Trivia chat room.  I was
> in a Trivia Madness chat room, and it was kind of fun, but I was
> hoping that some kind of HP question would come up... could we get
> something like that going?  HP Trivia Room?  You know, kind of like
> our Sunday chat thing, but trivia related.
>
> Just wondering...
> Andrea :)
>

Dunno. I mean, some of us prefer to use voice chat rooms, and thats been an
impossible task to do. I've been to several chat rooms on daily basis for
over 3 weeks, looking for adult voice chatters.
The only place Ive had luck is Yahoo HP rooms, which are mostly filled with
kids..12-16. So I end up sitting there listening to it in the background as
I run Paltalk or LIVVE chats..

So doing a triva room seems to be to be just as hard of a task...




From trowas_cat at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 13:20:04 2003
From: trowas_cat at yahoo.com (Kat)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 13:20:04 -0000
Subject: Fic Search
Message-ID: <bnghm4+b5un@eGroups.com>

The first one is where Ginny gets desperate since Harry's
graduating. So she turns herself into this vamp wanna be from the 8th
dimension. Not literally, just a *REALLY* bad make-over. Harry gets
desperate and tells everyone that Draco Malfoy's his boyfriend. And
Malfoy actually helps him out.

The second one is a Neville getting revenge on Severus story. He
makes sure his potion blows up to "wipe the smirk off Professoe
Snape's face". Hermione turns into a naked Aphrodite, Harry losses
his scar, Ron his freckles and Severus is an Apollonian statue. The
potion he was working on was to make every blemish go away.

Please, PLEEEEEEEEEEASE help me. *sniff*




From HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com  Sun Oct 26 16:02:33 2003
From: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com (HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com)
Date: 26 Oct 2003 16:02:33 -0000
Subject: Reminder - Weekly Chat 
Message-ID: <1067184153.20.4467.m20@yahoogroups.com>


We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Weekly Chat 

Date: Sunday, October 26, 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 cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sun Oct 26 16:38:03 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:38:03 -0000
Subject: FILK:  (What) A Wonderful Bay (WASJune's OT )
In-Reply-To: <bn9buo+d58r@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bngt9b+s2n4@eGroups.com>

Grannybat wrote:

> If I may venture perilously close to On-Topic-ness...there's a new 
> TBAY on the main list that's just begging for some of the Old Guard 
> to come out and play.

Come out and play?  Aw, come on!  The Bay is rockin' just fine without
some of the old, grizzled veterans!

What the Bay could use, though, is the occasional really bad FILK.  I
think I'm just the gal for the job.  :-D

This one's dedicated to Dicey, who gave me my Big Paddle, which
resides on top of my refrigerator because my son will ruin it if he
gets his hands on it again.

**************

(WHAT) A WONDERFUL BAY


Don't know much about alchemy,
Don't know much arithmancy,
Don't know much about Lockhart's book,
Don't know much about the charms I took,
But I saw the Symposium,
By the end the floor was covered with scum, 
What a wonderful Bay it would be.


Don't know much about herbology,
Don't know much astronomy,
Don't know much about Ancient Runes,
Don't know what a paddle is for,
But I know Toadkeeper I and II,
And I remember "Tew Eww to be Treww."
What a wonderful Bay it would be.


REFRAIN:

Now I don't claim to know every theory, 
But I'm trying to be,
I think that maybe knowin' DISHWASHER, baby 
I could understand the MDDT,

Don't know much about _Quiddich Through The Ages_,
I saw the pictures and I turned the pages,
Never saw the Dark Lord's rise and fall,
Don't know nothin' 'bout nothin' at all,
Theory Bay is what I'm thinkin' of,
Need motivation or maybe a shove,
What a wonderful Bay it would be.

*****************

Cindy -- stone-cold tone deaf and rhythm-impaired since 1961




From Erthena at aol.com  Sun Oct 26 16:52:08 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:52:08 -0000
Subject: Need some literary advice
In-Reply-To: <bn9tj3+ttgr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bngu3o+bps5@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> <snip>
> Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)
Now me:
Sorry for getting on this late but how about the Chronicles of 
Prydain by Lloyd Alexander.  They follow the adventures of Taran, the 
assistant pig keeper.  There are five books in the series plus 
another book of short stories they are:
The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron
The Castle of Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King
The Foundling
The librarian at my school, which will be pre-k through 12 as of next 
year (the school is brand new so we're building up the high school 
year by year, with my class as the first graduating class) 
recommended them to me because she knew I was a HP fan and she 
thought I'd like it.  Well I read them and the books joined Tolkien's 
in my books-that-had-horrible-movies-that-I-wouldn't-read-until-ninth-
grade-because-I-thought-the-books-were-as-awful-as-the-movies list.  
I do recommend watching te disney movie (The Black Cauldron) but only 
after finishing The Book of Three and The Back Cauldron.

Hope that helps

~~loony




From neonsister at ameritech.net  Sun Oct 26 17:51:56 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:51:56 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
Message-ID: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>

Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a child 
(for example, a certain toy or household item)?  I remember being 
frightened by:

 -  an old fur coat in my grandmother's closet. It just looked too 
much like a real animal to me!

 - the vacuum cleaner.  I'm guessing this is a pretty common fear of 
kids.

 - the bald man on the label for Mr. Clean.  I'm not sure if Mr. 
Clean is sold outside the U.S.  It's a multi-purpose cleaning 
solution, and the mascot is a big, muscular bald man with white 
eyebrows and a gold earring.   Creepy!

Tracy 






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sun Oct 26 18:56:22 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 18:56:22 -0000
Subject: Pumpkin Juice A-go-go (Was Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer
In-Reply-To: <bnfvr4+plu0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnh5cm+uli9@eGroups.com>

>From a book I own called SuperJuice by Michael Van Straten.

You need a juicer for this.

The recipe is called Passionate Pumpkin (so it must be THIS recipe 
that's used in fanfiction)

apricots (2 stoned)
mango (1 peeled and stoned)
pumpkin (one slice peeled)

then blend with 

Wheat germ (1 dessert spoon)
sesame seeds (1 teaspoon)
saffron (a tiny pinch)
1 handful of ice cubes

The note under the recipe says the following:

"Super rich is vitamins A, C and carotenoids, rich in vitamin E, B 
vitamins and zinc. Passionate Pumpkin makes a potent remedy for both 
sexes which also encourages the production of healthy sperm, what's 
more, it makes a perfect drink at any time of the day."

Blushing now as I type.  

DEFINITELY the one they drink in fanfic.

June





From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sun Oct 26 19:01:23 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:01:23 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnh5m3+huk1@eGroups.com>

Tracy asked:

>What basically harmless things scared you as a child 
> (for example, a certain toy or household item)?  I remember being 
> frightened by:

Hmmm.  I'm rather ashamed to admit being quite frightened as a child
of anyone with a physical disability.  <cringe>  Sad, huh?

I haven't outgrown having irrational fears, though.  Currently, I am
squicked by:

Blood and most bodily fluids.

Those large sand crickets that lunge at me in the laundry room.

*All* stinging insects.



Cindy -- who does not think the stinging insects are more afraid of
her than she is of them






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sun Oct 26 19:02:00 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:02:00 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnh5n8+j170@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child 
>> Tracy

I'm not sure whether this is what you are looking for...

The Disney cartoon Snow White gave me a fortnight's worth of broken 
nights and terrible nightmares, so bad my Mum took me to the Docs.

The bit that freaked me out, and still does, is when the wicked 
stepmother makes her way into the dungeons of the castle and walks 
past a cell, where there is a skeleton reaching for a jug of water 
that has been placed just out of reach.

EEEEEEEH!!!

Interestingly enough, on UK Channel 4 last night and continuing 
tonight, was a programme about the 100 scariest moments in film and 
tv.  Watched it last night and will continue tonight - though there 
were a number of items which sent me running into the kitchen to 
hide. 

Worst of all - Lawrence Olivier doing the demented dentist bit in 
Marathon Man.

EEEEEEEHHHH!!!! cubed.

What's yours?

June




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Sun Oct 26 19:04:26 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:04:26 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh5m3+huk1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnh5rq+hgje@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
>> 
> Those large sand crickets that lunge at me in the laundry room.
> 
> *All* stinging insects.
> 
> 
> 
> Cindy -- who does not think the stinging insects are more afraid of
> her than she is of them

Of course they're not afraid of us - they know they outnumber us.  
Bastards!

June




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 19:17:49 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:17:49 -0000
Subject: OT: Warming PayPal Fraud Scam
Message-ID: <bnh6kt+e980@eGroups.com>

Warning, this is the biggest FRAUD scam on the internet right now. 

DO NOT RESPOND TO IT!!!

If you get a very official looking message from PayPal (an on-line
payment service) that takes you to an equally official looking PayPal
webpage that asks you to enter your Credit Card information, DO NOT DO IT!

THIS IS A FRAUD!!!

You can NOT get to your genuine PayPal account settings without going
to the main PayPal page, logging on using you username and password
then proceeding to your Account Info page. 

There are several people running this scam right now, and I hate to
see it because PayPal is an excellent, and very safe way to send money
by email, or to use to purchase items on-line. 

My apologies to the group administrators and to the group for posting
something so seriously off-topic, but the email and the webpage it
directs you to look VERY official and it's very easy to be fool.
Please do not fall for this scam. 

Forward, all fraudulent emails to -
accessviolation at paypal.com

bboy_mn







From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Sun Oct 26 19:25:17 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:25:17 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnh72t+jv79@eGroups.com>

"Tracy" wrote:

> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child 
> (for example, a certain toy or household item)?  

This is fun. I sometimes think of myself as being a little bundle of 
irrational fears, but I know it's really not *that* bad. I'm still 
afraid of heights (not entirely irrational) and of swimming in water 
I can't see into, for fear of being attacked by a shark. Also not 
entirely irrational, except that I can't swim in lakes (no sharks 
there), nor in swimming pools unless someone else is swimming with 
me (to "get my back" as it were). ::grin:: Funnily enough, I wasn't 
afraid of water like this as a child - I used to swim in the Pacific 
Ocean all the time as a child, sometimes even at night. But around 
age 20 I started getting freaky about it (and no, this did not 
happen right after seeing "Jaws" - that movie came out several years 
prior to the onset of my phobia).

As a child, the "harmless" item that scared me the most were dolls. 
I hated dolls (still don't really like them, actually), which was 
unfortunate because my mother is a doll FANATIC. So there were dolls 
everywhere in our house - except in my bedroom, where I wouldn't 
allow them. I was afraid they'd come to life at night and hurt me. I 
liked stuffed animals instead, and had dozens (still have several of 
them, in fact). Stuffed animals = nice; Dolls = evil. 

I was also not fond of cockroaches and stinging insects; I've 
managed to get over both of these things in terms of being afraid of 
them. I still don't like roaches (does anyone? <g>), and I'm now 
able to be in the same vicinity with most stinging insects without 
having to run screaming. <g>

I also used to get freaked out out by horror movies - particularly 
ones with aliens. Still a bit freaked out by the thought of aliens. 
I remember this one movie in particular that had these aliens with 
huge heads and long, razor-like fingers. The scene I remember most 
clearly is one of this alien attacking a cow. It was a really old 
and horribly bad movie (I would have been watching it in the 1970s, 
but it was probably somewhat older than that). I was so scared I hid 
under the dinner table. Which begs the question - what on earth were 
my parents thinking making me watch a film like this during 
dinner?!? Argh. No wonder I'm a fearful wreck now! <grin>

:-)
Wendy




From przepla at ipartner.com.pl  Sun Oct 26 19:35:02 2003
From: przepla at ipartner.com.pl (Przemyslaw Plaskowicki)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 20:35:02 +0100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] OT: Warming PayPal Fraud Scam
In-Reply-To: <bnh6kt+e980@eGroups.com>
References: <bnh6kt+e980@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F9C21E6.40502@ipartner.com.pl>

Steve wrote:

>[...]
>There are several people running this scam right now, and I hate to
>see it because PayPal is an excellent, and very safe way to send money
>by email, or to use to purchase items on-line. 
>  
>
[...]

http://www.paypalwarning.com/

Quote from that page: "This website is a collection of horror stories, 
news reports and other information addressing problems with Paypal, 
Inc..  While we do not have the resources to verify each and every 
complaint we receive, we do believe that all reports posted here are 
true based on our own experience with Paypal and the growing number of 
corroborating  horror stories we receive every day."

Pshemekan

-- 
Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. (Marie Ebner von Eschenbach, Aphorisms, 1905)






From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 19:51:41 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:51:41 -0000
Subject: case of Ms. Schiavo
In-Reply-To: <007801c39b22$96ee5160$6601a8c0@cinci.rr.com>
Message-ID: <bnh8kd+49jm@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Mary Jo Neyer" <maryjo at n...>
wrote:
> ...edited...  Mr. Schiavo has great motivation to have his wife die
:  lots of money.  There is no evidence except his word that she ever
expressed the desire to not be maintained in a comatose state.  None
of her friends or family ever recall hearing her express such ideas. 
So this is not just a simple matter.
> 
> Mary Jo

bboy_mn:

I don't know how many of you have seen the short video clips of this
woman on TV, and I confess that I don't know how old these videos are,
but the woman I see is capable of appropriate facial expressions and
she seems to be able to respond to the world around her, so I'm not
convince just how 'vegitative' this woman is. 

Certainly, she is massively and irreversably disable, but she doesn't
seem 'brain dead' to me. Also, this woman is capable of breathing on
her own, so it's not like 'turn the switch off and she dies'. Being
fed hardly qualifies as being sustained by artificial means. If they
stop giving the most able bodies person food and water, they will
certainly die.

So, I think it is very important for a very neutral and knowledgable
third party to evaluate this situation. It need to be determined that
she is incapable of having any 'quality' of life; that she isn't moved
by music or a sad story, that she is unaware of the presents of her
friends and family, and therefore unable to take comfort in their
presents. 

Personally, I am not convinced that she is truly in a vegitative state.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn







From heidit at netbox.com  Sun Oct 26 20:37:49 2003
From: heidit at netbox.com (Heidi Tandy)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 12:37:49 -0800
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: case of Ms. Schiavo
In-Reply-To: <bnh8kd+49jm@eGroups.com>
References: <bnh8kd+49jm@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1067200673.30A0493@w5.dngr.org>


On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 2:51PM -0500, Steve wrote:
>
> I don't know how many of you have seen the short video clips of this
> woman on TV, and I confess that I don't know how old these videos are,
> but the woman I see is capable of appropriate facial expressions and
> she seems to be able to respond to the world around her, so I'm not
> convince just how 'vegitative' this woman is.

You might find today's New York Times article on this interesting, as it 
describes the differences between reflexes and deliberate movements.

> So, I think it is very important for a very neutral and knowledgable
> third party to evaluate this situation. It need to be determined that
> she is incapable of having any 'quality' of life; that she isn't moved
> by music or a sad story, that she is unaware of the presents of her
> friends and family, and therefore unable to take comfort in their
> presents.

And that's what happens in court proceedings. It has happened in this 
case, where the court was convinced that this actually is the case. 
However, that wouldn't be enough to remove the tube if her husband were 
not in favour ofnthe tube's removal, but he is her next of kin and he 
claims she told him she didn't want heroic measures, although at one 
point about 10 years ago, he definitely tried such measures.

Personally, I think living wills should be required of anyone over the 
age of 22, but given how many people don't have traditional wills, raise 
hands if you think that's ever going to become common.


Heidi, who is actually all for heroic measures, personally (and whose 
husband & parents know it)



From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Sun Oct 26 21:17:36 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 21:17:36 -0000
Subject: case of Ms. Schiavo
In-Reply-To: <007801c39b22$96ee5160$6601a8c0@cinci.rr.com>
Message-ID: <bnhdlg+9epn@eGroups.com>

Mary Jo wrote:

> The reason the case of the comatose woman in Florida is so
>controversial is that there are a lot of questions about the
>motivations of her husband.  

<snip scandalous circumstances>

Yes, but . . . 

Do we really want a system where the next-of-kin (the spouse in this
case) have their lifestyle and motivations questioned like this?  This
may seem a bit harsh, but by not having a living will, she
(deliberately or unwittingly) trusted *him* to make her decisions.  I
don't see how we can have a system where the next-of-kin get to decide
unless other family members manage to tar them in the media.  

Yes, there will be uncomfortable cases at times, but no system is
perfect.  At least having the next-of-kin decide is usually humane and
places the decision in the hands of those who can be assumed to care
most.  

Regardless of who makes the decision, though, I have to agree with
Steve that removal of feeding tubes squicks me more than cessation of
heart/lung support.  If you can't breathe on your own for 10 minutes
and the tests say you have no brain function, well . . .  But if
someone is simply so badly injured they can't swallow or feed
themselves, but they can breathe, that does seem closer to the line to
me.  

Cindy -- who thinks heroic measures would *hurt,* and who would be OK
if dh pulled the plug 'cause we all gotta go sometime and being in a
vegetative state for 13 years isn't really living




From bumbledor at charter.net  Sun Oct 26 22:59:51 2003
From: bumbledor at charter.net (Bumbledor)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 17:59:51 -0500
Subject: OT: Warming PayPal Fraud Scam Its not just paypal, its ebay, half dot com, etc.
References: <bnh6kt+e980@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <007801c39c14$dccd0ad0$6501a8c0@mac>

Steve, et ALL:
the same skam applies to your EBAY or Half.com accounts.. I constantly get
these offical looking pages sent to me, due to my being a power buyer on
Ebay. (I buy for 5 people who don't have internet access of their own). All
of them are a skam..
Ebay, PayPal, Halfdotcom will NEVER email you  a message asking you to
confirm your ID, password, Credit card info, or any other personal info.




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve" <bboy_mn at yahoo.com>
To: <HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2003 2:17 PM
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] OT: Warming PayPal Fraud Scam


> Warning, this is the biggest FRAUD scam on the internet right now.
>
> DO NOT RESPOND TO IT!!!
>
> If you get a very official looking message from PayPal (an on-line
> payment service) that takes you to an equally official looking PayPal
> webpage that asks you to enter your Credit Card information, DO NOT DO IT!
>
> THIS IS A FRAUD!!!
>
> You can NOT get to your genuine PayPal account settings without going
> to the main PayPal page, logging on using you username and password
> then proceeding to your Account Info page.
>
> There are several people running this scam right now, and I hate to
> see it because PayPal is an excellent, and very safe way to send money
> by email, or to use to purchase items on-line.
>
> My apologies to the group administrators and to the group for posting
> something so seriously off-topic, but the email and the webpage it
> directs you to look VERY official and it's very easy to be fool.
> Please do not fall for this scam.
>
> Forward, all fraudulent emails to -
> accessviolation at paypal.com
>
> bboy_mn
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________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 bookraptor11 at yahoo.com  Sun Oct 26 23:24:35 2003
From: bookraptor11 at yahoo.com (bookraptor11)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 23:24:35 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh72t+jv79@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnhl3j+qsv1@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Wendy" <hebrideanblack at e...> 
wrote:
> "Tracy" wrote:
> 
> > Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> > here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
> child 
> > (for example, a certain toy or household item)?  

> Wendy:
> As a child, the "harmless" item that scared me the most were dolls. 
> I hated dolls (still don't really like them, actually), which was 
> unfortunate because my mother is a doll FANATIC. So there were 
dolls 
> everywhere in our house - except in my bedroom, where I wouldn't 
> allow them. I was afraid they'd come to life at night and hurt me.

Me(Donna):

I had that fear too, but only after watching that Twilight Zone 
episode about the killer doll ("My name is talky Tina, and I'm going 
to kill you" -- I still remember the dialogue!) Stupid kid that I 
was, I'd watch it every time it came on and then spend the next few 
nights afraid to go to sleep.

Most horror movies didn't scare me, but what was shown on tv 30 years 
ago was a lot tamer. The goofiest thing that scared me was that WB 
cartoon, One Froggy Evening, the one with the singing frog who will 
only sing in front of one man. It used to disturb me. Was it an evil 
frog, why was it trying to destroy a man it didn't even know? Was it 
punishing the man for being greedy? Nice voice though...

My biggest fear was those big beetles with the pincers. They'd bite, 
so I don't know if that was irrational. I used to be afraid they'd 
get in at night and crawl on my bed. I was afraid of the dark, but 
mostly of the things that could be in it (dolls, beetles, etc.).

Happy Halloween everyone!  And Wendy, if you've never seen that 
Twilight Zone, don't!

Donna




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 00:17:52 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:17:52 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnhl3j+qsv1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <006d01c39b56$9b60a200$c9e979a5@rick>

Iggy here:

Well, as I have a pretty bad case of Panic Attack Disorder, my life is
pretty much filled with irrational fears to this day.

So far as my odd childhood fears were concerned, here are a few of the
biggies:

  Potato bugs (aka: Jeruselem crickets.)  Ugh.  Disghusting color, huge
gross eyes, look almost fleshy but not quite.  They were like the color of
infected skin.  The nasty things freak me out to this day... and finding one
crawling out of my shoe about 12 years ago is why I overturn my shoes and
tap them out before putting them on even now.

  Cockroaches... especially the big ones.  I live in the south now, so you
kinda have to get used to them, especially when you live in an apartment.
You can only control them, not get rid of them completely.  This fear hit me
when I saw the large, metallic and indestructable flesh eating roaches in
the George Peppard movie from the '70s... Thunder Alley, I think it was
called.  (It was a post-nuclear holocaust type movie.)

  the Hamburglar.  Yes, I was scared of that supposedly happy little
McDonald's character.  My older sister had told me about a nightmare she had
had about him, and I ended up having the same one... every night for two
weeks straight.  It was one where he was chasing me and my family around
trying to off us with a butcher knife.



  My big ones in this day and age are making sure that safety seals and such
are intact on foods, and I can't take capsules of any sort.  The other one
is having to wash my hands almost immediately after touching anything slimy,
sticky, greasy, or potentially covered in germs.  I can't even wait a few
minutes without getting stressed.  (Ah.. the joys of the compulsions that
come with panic attack disorder...  *yeesh*)


Iggy McSnurd
(Who would be a Ravenclaw if it weren't for the fact that he refuses to let
irrational fears ruin or rule his life... so he was placed in Gryffindor.
No wonder I like Neville so much... easy to identify with him.)






From fc26det at aol.com  Mon Oct 27 00:49:25 2003
From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:49:25 -0000
Subject: Irrational Childhood Fears
Message-ID: <bnhq2l+td5h@eGroups.com>

My fear as a child was air raid sirens.  Now, those of you living in 
Europe may wonder why this is irrational.  I live in the US.  Every 
time I hear one of those sirens, I have the same nightmare.  I am 
running up a hill somewhere in Germany.  I can see the cover for the 
shelter but I just can't seem to get there.  When I finally do reach 
it, someone else is running up to it so I help them get into it.  And 
on it goes.  I never do get inside, I usually wake up in a cold 
sweat.  

One of the towns near us had an air raid siren for their fire siren.  
My dad was in the army in WWII and I can remember waking up in the 
middle of the night and he would be watching an old black and white 
war movie.  I always snuggled up next to him and we watched until I 
fell asleep.  They always had those sirens.

I still get a chill up my back when I hear one but the dreams are few 
and far between now tho not gone altogether.

Susan




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Mon Oct 27 01:11:01 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 11:11:01 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnhl3j+qsv1@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <01ab01c39c27$30a56870$65984cca@Monteith>

> > "Tracy" wrote:
> >
> > > Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary,
> > > here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a
> > child
> > > (for example, a certain toy or household item)?


As a kid I had a toy clown that looked almost *exactly* like the one in
Poltergeist. I used to lock it in the cupboard or hide it under the bean
bag...

And now I fear GRASSHOPPERS! I *hate* grasshoppers! Especially the really
big crunchy ones. I used to live in North Western Queensland in the desert,
and we'd get *plagues* of the things. Every step out into the yard would
send thousands of the revolting things flying all over. I would refuse to
hang out washing in those conditions - it would be 45+ degrees celsius and
I'd have the dryer on to get the clothes dry. Once I gritted my teeth and
went out to get the clothes off  the line (I was lazy and left them out
overnight). Of course the grasshoppers had arrived overnight, hadn't they?
So what did I grab with my lily white hand when I went to pull the first peg
off? You got it - a dirty great gasshopper that was sitting on the peg...
And I had very long hair, so the thought of one getting caught in my hair...
<shudder>.

Blech!

Nox




From grannybat at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 01:27:08 2003
From: grannybat at hotmail.com (grannybat84112)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 01:27:08 -0000
Subject: (What) A Wonderful Bay It Would Be
In-Reply-To: <bngt9b+s2n4@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnhs9d+cg2g@eGroups.com>

Captain Cindy enjoined languidly:
> 
> > ...there's a new 
> > TBAY on the main list that's just begging for some of the Old  
> > Guard to come out and play.
> 
> Come out and play?  Aw, come on!  The Bay is rockin' just fine 
> without some of the old, grizzled veterans!
 
Rockin'? Welllll...you might call it that, but to me it's just 
ripples in the shallow end of the pool. I'm feeling wistful for the 
days of tall SHIPS with House colors flying and canons blazing, 
lethal cocktails in DIANA's drawing room, and raucous toga parties 
regardomg Livian Rome. Nobody's been bounced out of George's bar 
since your anger management group met, and there's a nary a pink 
flamingo caught hiding in even the smallest cathedral. 

Come on, the traffic on the main list isn't THAT bad.


> Don't know much about alchemy,
> Don't know much arithmancy,
> Don't know much about Lockhart's book,
> Don't know much about the charms I took...

Love it. The lyrics lend themselves better to Sam Cook's more upbeat, 
syncopated version than to the laid-back James Taylor cover. Now if I 
could just get that annoying tune from Evita to stop running thru my 
head....

Curse that Caius Marcius.

Grannybat





From eberte at vaeye.com  Mon Oct 27 01:52:01 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 01:52:01 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnhto1+clqn@eGroups.com>

Tracy wrote:
> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a
> child (for example, a certain toy or household item)?


I was always totally freaked out by *clowns* (still don't like them 
to this day.)  They were big and had weird hair and funny paint all 
over their faces....<shudder>.  I am always amazed to see them at 
toddler birthday parties.

My nightmares as a child had to do with the *inappropriate-movie-du-
jour* in my recent viewing history.  I lived in mortal fear of 
quicksand for many months (after having seen a movie featuring poor 
souls being slowly sucked down into the muck.)

I was not afraid of *all* dolls, only the *evil* ones that come to 
life at night when you are sleeping (just kidding Tracy!)  My 
brother's mother-in-law collects dolls and I agree that dolls in that 
kind of quantity are *uncanny* and *creepy*.  I don't blame you for 
banning them from your bedroom.  

Elle (who has a 5 year old daughter with an irrational fear of wolves 
after watching "Old Yeller")




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Mon Oct 27 03:10:01 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 03:10:01 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bni2a9+1q4e@eGroups.com>

>Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child?   

General Irrational Fear: When I was very small, I was out in the car 
with the P&M and we were forced to stop between two train tracks 
while trains whizzed by in both directions, in front of us and behind 
us. We were in absolutely no danger, but the noise and motion scared 
me half to death and I think I screamed loud enough to drown out the 
trains. I could not even approach train tracks, in a car, on foot or 
on a bicycle, without serious trepidation, until I was an older 
teenager.

Halloween-based Irrational Fear: At about age 9 or 10, around 
Halloween, I got some plastic models of the Mummy and the Wolfman 
classic film characters (the kind of plastic models you had to 
assemble, like cars or airplanes, with that delicious glue you can no 
longer buy). I put them together and admired my handiwork, then read 
the stories that came in the boxes with the plastic parts. The 
stories creeped me out so bad that I imagined that the Mummy and/or 
the Wolfman would come to life in the middle of the night and kill me 
horribly, like in the stories. I crammed the models back into their 
boxes and threw them into the storm drain at the end of the block.

When they crawl out of the Gulf of Mexico with 40 years worth of 
seaweed on them, they gonna be lookin' for me.
Ms. Tattersall,
watching her back!






From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 04:01:54 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 04:01:54 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child 
> (for example, a certain toy or household item)?  I remember being 
> frightened by:


My irrational fear that just won't go away no matter how old I get 
or how hard I try to ignore them is *spiders.*  How I loathe those 
creepy crawley creatures.  Just thinking of them skittering around 
is making my skin crawl.  I can't even sleep in my bedroom if I see 
one sitting on the ceiling on the other side of the room.  So I 
either spend an uncomfortable night sleeping on the floor of another 
room or, more likely, spend half the night staring at the thing 
willing it to move lower so I can catch it without touching it 
(can't squish 'em, either) and dump it outside.  

My other childhood fear was of this life size Santa Claus doll that 
resided in the attic of my old house.  It was there when we moved in 
and we kept it because for some reason my parents thought it was 
funny.  They sat it in the living room for Christmas for a few 
years.  When my father passed away, decorating for Christmas took a 
new turn and there was no more attic exploration.  Santa was 
thankfully forgotten by all but me.  I refused to go into the attic 
because I knew he was there, ready to stare at me with that plastic, 
blank, cheerful face that filled me with terror.  I wouldn't even go 
into the attic when we were getting ready to move and needed to see 
what was up there.  I already knew what was up there waiting for us 
and he could stay there for all I cared.  Stupid creepy Santa.  

KathyK (whose worst encounter with a spider occurred when she was 
reading in bed and one fell from the ceiling right into the book in 
front of her nose.  An inch in my direction and it would have landed 
*on me.*  I then spent two hours looking for the thing all over and 
around my bed because it disappeared when I jumped up screaming.)




From illyana at mindspring.com  Mon Oct 27 05:04:34 2003
From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 22:04:34 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com>
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <0E8B2ACC-083B-11D8-909A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>


On Oct 26, 2003, at 9:01 PM, KathyK wrote:

>
> My irrational fear that just won't go away no matter how old I get
> or how hard I try to ignore them is *spiders.*? How I loathe those
> creepy crawley creatures.? Just thinking of them skittering around
> is making my skin crawl.? I can't even sleep in my bedroom if I see
> one sitting on the ceiling on the other side of the room.? So I
> either spend an uncomfortable night sleeping on the floor of another
> room or, more likely, spend half the night staring at the thing
> willing it to move lower so I can catch it without touching it
> (can't squish 'em, either) and dump it outside.?
>
> KathyK (whose worst encounter with a spider occurred when she was
> reading in bed and one fell from the ceiling right into the book in
> front of her nose.? An inch in my direction and it would have landed
> *on me.*? I then spent two hours looking for the thing all over and
> around my bed because it disappeared when I jumped up screaming.)

You think that's bad? I am also afraid of spiders - even dead ones - 
and one morning I awoke to find a spider in my mouth! Actually, it was 
half-way in my mouth, and I grabbed it and threw it across my bedroom. 
That was so disgusting. Another time, I was lying on the couch in my 
parent's house (when I was younger and still lived there), and I looked 
up to see two dead tarantulas hanging from this window sill that was 
probably ten feet above my head. We had this rectangular window that 
was kind of indented in order to allow the homeowner to display plants 
or other pretty things in the living room. Anyway, we never used it for 
that kind of thing, and I guess these tarantulas decided to hang out up 
there until they died. They were kind of hooked-together and one of 
them was dangling over the edge - imagine if it had fallen on me! I 
probably would have had a heart attack!

My parent's house was a nightmare for an arachnophobic person like me - 
we always had spiders hanging around, because my dad thought that 
spraying for bugs was unhealthy and unnecessary. Sometimes tarantulas 
would get in, but usually the worst were wolf spiders, which are a 
little scarier than tarantulas because they are faster and less docile. 
Tarantulas are usually quite timid and don't like being around people.

I have other frightening spider stories, like my stay at a summer camp 
that was infested with daddy long-legs (some of them enormous and with 
extra legs) when I was ten or eleven, but I think I have said enough 
for now! Plus, I'll probably have nightmares if I keep thinking about 
creepy-crawlies!

illyana, who is also fearful of elevators (only slightly), being a 
passenger in a car (I only like to drive), death (but who isn't?!), and 
images of the Earth as seen from space (and sometimes other planets, 
but usually only the Earth - this is my strangest fear and has only 
recently started being a problem)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From tiggersong at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 05:33:52 2003
From: tiggersong at yahoo.com (tiggersong)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 05:33:52 -0000
Subject: Kitties!
In-Reply-To: <bn425t+apqv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bniao0+37gb@eGroups.com>

> Good for you to give to kitties a loving home.  Our present moggy, 
> my beloved familiar Domino came from the Cats' Home (=pound)
> 
> June

Yup.  The pound is the best place to find fun and loving companions.  
And troublemakers!

Butterbeer is a real wildkitty, too.  I'm beginning to think she's 
been drinking a little too much ... butterbeer!

Stasia




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 08:32:46 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 08:32:46 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
Message-ID: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>

Following a mention in a previous post, and taking the childhood fear 
theme in a different direction, especially since Halloween is getting 
closer.

On Saturday night and last Night a TV channel in the UK broadcast a 
programme called the 100 scariest moments.

The full results can be seen here.

http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/S/scary/results_1
00-91_1.html

I watched it (in between hiding behind my hands, a newspaper, running 
into the kitchen to make coffee) and while I didn't entirely agree 
with the order, I generally agreed they'd made a good job of rounding 
up some of the scariest moments in film and tv ever.  

The winner was  "Here's Johnny!" from the Shining.

My two eeeeeek moments were:

1.  Saturday - Lawrence Olivier about to get seriously mediaeval with 
a dentists drill in Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man

2.  A bit from "The Thing" involving surgery and sudden teeth.  No I 
won't go into any further detail, but eeeeeeeeeeew!  Had me running 
for the bathroom.

So here's my point.  What's your scariest moment?

Interesting informational point that I never knew - the scary guy in 
Halloween was wearing a Captain Kirk mask cut about a bit because 
they couldn't afford to make anything!  Probably most people knew 
that but I didn't.

June






From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Mon Oct 27 08:37:31 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:37:31 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F9D73FB.10341.1737108@localhost>

On 26 Oct 2003 at 17:51, Tracy wrote:

> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a child 
> (for example, a certain toy or household item)?

Car mufflers. (-8

When I was very small - probably younger than two, I asked my dad what that 
thing under the car was. He told me it was the exhaust pipe (at least that was his 
story!). I heard 'destroy pipe'. For the next five years, I was terrified by dreams of 
a walrus moustached man with slick black hair coming after me with his destroy 
pipe. I still have the dreams occasionally - but today I have control in them and I 
know the idea is absurd.


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 olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr  Mon Oct 27 09:31:29 2003
From: olivierfouquet2000 at yahoo.fr (olivierfouquet2000)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 09:31:29 -0000
Subject: Can . . . Can The Governor *Do* That?
In-Reply-To: <bnbm00+vnlh@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bniolh+7cdv@eGroups.com>

> 
> So.  How do other countries handle these sorts of euthanasia-type
> questions?  In the U.S., I think (but am not sure) that the next of
> kin gets to decide unless there's a living will in which the patient
> has made his/her wishes known.
> 
> Cindy -- who has a lot of trouble understanding how the doctors can be
> so sure that this patient will never get better, but who figures it
> isn't her place to decide
> 

Interestingly (or sadly) enough, a similar case has just occured in France. Here 
euthanasia is illegal, even if the patient expresses his wishes to die. So this is the story : 
a young man had a terrible car accident which left his mind intact but left him paralysed, 
blind and mute. He could still communicate with his moher and one of his friend through 
a particular kind of sign language involving only his thumb. After a few years, he wrote a 
letter to the President, asking for the right to die. The President answered he could not 
grant this right. So he dictated his friend a book where he clearly stated the reasons why 
he wanted to die and asked his mother to kill him. She did, one month ago.

According to the french law, she thus has commited murder, but there is no doubt that 
the trial will end with acquittal, event though it seems to me that she will be formally 
charged.  

Excatly at the same time has started the trial of a nurse accused of euthanasia. She was 
condemned to twelve years of prison (but I hasten to say her case is really strange, and it 
is not clear wether she was a serial killer or a compassionate nurse).

I may be wrong, but I have the impression that following this two cases, euthanasia will 
become if not legal at least acceptable in France but only if the act of hastening death is 
performed by a relative, not by a member of the medical body.

All the best,

Olivier






From tim_regan82 at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 09:44:28 2003
From: tim_regan82 at hotmail.com (Tim Regan)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 09:44:28 -0000
Subject: Extremely off topic: A series unfortunate events
In-Reply-To: <bng1io+9j2e@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnipds+974e@eGroups.com>

Hi All,

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter loony wrote:
> However not one of my friends, family, or casual 
> acquaintances has finished the series. So I'm sitting 
> here with this huge (in meaning, not length) book 
> on my brain and I can't talk to anyone about it.

But this is a list for off-topic stuff, so go for it here! I loved 
the books and would welcome discussion about them (here or 
elsewhere).

Did you see this site too
http://www.quidditch.com/lemony%20snicket.htm
it's got some great "notable allusions" from the series.

Cheers,

Dumbledad.





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 09:50:11 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 09:50:11 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnipoj+5udp@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "junediamanti" 
<june.diamanti at b...> wrote:
>Further to my last post - this hyperlink should work if you want to 
see the top hundred scary moments - do you dare?

http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/S/scary/index.htm
l

June




From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Mon Oct 27 11:06:41 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 11:06:41 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bniu81+b9gs@eGroups.com>

June, her sperm count soaring, wrote:

> My two eeeeeek moments were:
> 
> 1.  Saturday - Lawrence Olivier about to get seriously mediaeval 
with 
> a dentists drill in Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man
> 
> 2.  A bit from "The Thing" involving surgery and sudden teeth.  No 
I 
> won't go into any further detail, but eeeeeeeeeeew!  Had me 
running 
> for the bathroom.

I don't usually watch horror movies so most of them were new to me 
(why did I watch, then?  Beats me).

However, we did think that bit from "The Thing" was brilliant.  We 
both burst out laughing.  It just seemed so cartoonish and 
implausible.

We did turn over on Saturday night to 'Parkinson', where a horror 
story of its own was unfolding.  He was interviewing the infamous 
Trinny and Susannah from 'What not to Wear' (TV makeover people who 
spend ?1000 helping you buy a new wardrobe, after first ruthlessly 
criticising your current appearance), and was clearly squicked when 
they tried to remove his tie.  He never recovered, and took out his 
anxiety on his next guest, Meg Ryan, who didn't know what had hit 
her but spiritedly defended the corner of her new film anyway.  I've 
never seen him so hostile to a guest, or so ill at ease.

David, who has seen "Marathon Man"




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 11:15:34 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 11:15:34 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bniu81+b9gs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bniuom+b9kp@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" 
<dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> > We did turn over on Saturday night to 'Parkinson', where a horror 
> story of its own was unfolding.  He was interviewing the infamous 
> Trinny and Susannah from 'What not to Wear' (TV makeover people who 
> spend ?1000 helping you buy a new wardrobe, after first ruthlessly 
> criticising your current appearance), and was clearly squicked when 
> they tried to remove his tie.  He never recovered, and took out his 
> anxiety on his next guest, Meg Ryan, who didn't know what had hit 
> her but spiritedly defended the corner of her new film anyway.  
I've 
> never seen him so hostile to a guest, or so ill at ease.
> 
> David, who has seen "Marathon Man"

You obviously never saw him lose it when he interviewed Rod Hull and 
Emu and Emu attacked him.  He was so angry (though manfully 
struggling with it) he made Jeremy Paxman look positively soft and 
cuddly.

Trinny and Susannah irritate me too, but unfortunately, the people 
they make over usually do look very much better at the end.

June




From paulag5777 at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 12:00:05 2003
From: paulag5777 at yahoo.com (Paula Gaon)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 04:00:05 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
Message-ID: <20031027120005.35972.qmail@web40020.mail.yahoo.com>

27Oct03   
Tracy was freightened by:
- the bald man on the label for Mr. Clean. I'm not sure if Mr. Clean is sold outside the U.S. It's a multi-purpose cleaning solution, and the mascot is a big, muscular bald man with white eyebrows and a gold earring. Creepy!

Paula:
Gee, that's really strange.  I loved him as a kid.  Always fantasised about sitting on his shoulders.  Now sitting on the toilet and knowing that it was dying to swallow me up when my dear grandma would say:  "Don't hold on to the seat, it's not sanitary."  That was another matter.  I could never decide what was worse, being "unsanitary" or being swallowed into who knows where.
 
Paula "Griff" Gaon




          "...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

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From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 12:39:49 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 12:39:49 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnj3ml+e47j@eGroups.com>

Tracy:

> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child 
> (for example, a certain toy or household item)?  

Martha:

When I was really small (three or four) I was terrified, to the point 
of hysteria, of Thomas the Tank Engine. (I was also scared of Ringo 
Starr's voice, although I don't think that's at all irrational. 
*grin*) I was scared of lions behind the sofa who would eat me. I was 
scared of ghosts who would take me out of my bed and throw me down 
the stairs. I slept in the bottom of two bunkbeds and I was scared of 
the wooden slats of the bed above, possibly because they looked 
slightly like railway sleepers and I thought that the aformentioned 
Tank Engine might come along them in the night. I was scared of all 
insects and other such creatures. I wasn't scared of clowns or 
dressed-up people in general, but I was scared of this guy I once saw 
when out shopping with my mother - he was dressed as a teddy bear but 
he wasn't wearing gloves or anything, so he had normal human hands 
and that really, really freaked me out. I was scared of the Queen of 
Hearts in the Disney (Is it Disney? I can't remember) cartoon 
of "Alice in Wonderland". I was scared of Country and Western/roots-
type music that my parents listened to, because all the songs were 
sad. I was scared that if I disobeyed my teacher at school, God would 
kill my little brother (and my teacher was happy to foster such 
beliefs in us, so I was kind of scared of her too. Once, she set the 
bin on fire and claimed it wasn't happening). When I was a bit older -
 11 or 12 - I had a teacher at school who gave us a lesson on out-of-
body experiences. I misunderstood somehow and basically got the idea 
that I had to cling on to the sides of my bed at night or I would 
float away.

Now, of course, I'm not scared of anything. Except heights, moths, 
medium-sized spiders, china dolls, the possibility of there being 
anything icky in my hair, crickets and grasshoppers and things, 
crowds that push you around and you can't get out of them, having 
someone walk behind you at night.

Still, could be worse, at least I don't suffer from pentheraphobia*, 
lachanophobia** or arachibutyrophobia***.

~ Martha (who needs a nice hot sweet strong cup of tea after reliving 
all those childhood traumas)

* Fear of one's mother-in law
** Fear of vegetables
*** Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 13:09:36 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:09:36 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnj3ml+e47j@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnj5eg+er63@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Martha" 
<fakeplastikcynic at h...> wrote:
 I was scared that if I disobeyed my teacher at school, God would 
> kill my little brother (and my teacher was happy to foster such 
> beliefs in us, so I was kind of scared of her too. Once, she set 
the 
> bin on fire and claimed it wasn't happening). 

June:
This sounds like the sort of teacher that needs a bit of remedial 
professional development training - or maybe just dismissal.  I 
recall one or two similar psychos myself.  I had one who smacked my 
(7 year old) hand with a ruler for getting some maths wrong (before 
such practices were banned) - this didn't teach me anything except a 
real fear of numbers which I didn't really overcome for another ten 
years.

Stephen King once wrote a wonderful story about that kind of teacher 
called "Here by Tygers" where an absolute bitch of an elementary 
school teacher gets gobbled up by a tiger in the boys toilet - in his 
author note, he says she is based on a real teacher of his, and 
adds "if a real tiger had gobbled her up I guess I could have gotten 
behind it... you know how kids are."

June






From yodamarie78 at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 13:52:50 2003
From: yodamarie78 at yahoo.com (yodamarie78)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:52:50 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnj7vi+j69c@eGroups.com>

My childhood fear, aside from pretty much everything, was this book 
called "Tailypo."  Which is about an old man who cuts the tail off of 
this little animal and eats it because he is starving and the animal 
comes back to get it's tail back.  For some reason this was read to 
us in Kindergarden and I couldn't get to sleep for weeks and even 
dreamed that my parents had the tail one night.  It still creeps me 
out!
My other not so irrational fear is snakes, my sisters used to tease 
me about it, but luckily my husband is just as scared of them as I am 
so he can identify.

Yoda




From eberte at vaeye.com  Mon Oct 27 14:40:51 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:40:51 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjapj+867q@eGroups.com>

June wrote:
> Following a mention in a previous post, and taking the childhood
> fear theme in a different direction, especially since Halloween is
> getting closer.
> On Saturday night and last Night a TV channel in the UK broadcast a 
> programme called the 100 scariest moments.
> <snip> 
> So here's my point.  What's your scariest moment?
> 

For some reason I was absolutely terrified by the movie "Carrie"--the 
first one with Sissy Spacek.  I don't think that I slept a wink the 
night after I saw it.  Blood-drenched (and very pissed-off) Carrie 
was beside my bed on one side all night, while her earth-covered hand 
was snaking up to get me from the side toward the wall.  I have never 
chanced watching the movie again so I don't know if it is really 
*that* scary.  
I recently watched the movie "The Ring" and it was also the stuff of 
nightmares.  If the phone had actually rung right after I watched the 
movie I believe that I would have had a heart attack!  I am ashamed 
to say that I was rather relieved when the seven day anniversary 
passed without incident.  
"The Shining" was a very scary movie, but I thought that the part 
when his wife checks his desk and finds that *all* his papers are 
filled with the same phrase typed over and over again "All work and 
no play make Jack a dull boy", and realized that her husband was 
stark raving mad--*that* part was creepier than the "Here's Johnny" 
bit.  The latter actually made the audience laugh (although 
nervously.)

Elle (not going to ever watch "The Ring" again and giving it a big 
thumbs-down seal of disapproval)





From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 27 14:48:08 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:48:08 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjb78+hhgu@eGroups.com>

June wrote:

> The winner was  "Here's Johnny!" from the Shining.


I couldn't get the link to work, but I can nominate my own eeeeeeeeek
moments.

1.  The ending of "Carrie."  No, I take that back.  *All* of "Carrie."
 Dang, that movie literally kept me up at night.  It combines the pain
of being unpopular in high school with all that *blood!*

2.  The torture scene from "Reservoir Dogs."  Quentin went *way* too
far with that one.

3.  The sledgehammer scene from "Misery."  Oh, man, that looked like
it would really, really *hurt.*

4.  In the category of "Relentless Tension" for cinematic moments
where I felt like *I* was the one who was about to be killed, I'd
nominate Samuel L. Jackson's speech quoting scripture before he whacks
Yuppie!Brad.

5.  In Alien, when that *thing* blasts through the guy's chest, looks
around a bit, and then races off.  "Alien" gets mega-bonus points for
being brave enough to have a female star, too.

Mmmm, I'd say "Alien" and "Carrie" are probably the best horror films
I've ever seen.  They're the only ones I can remember seeing, anyway.  :-D

Cindy -- who peeks through her fingers during the really bad parts,
and who didn't find "The Shining" to be all that scary, really






From ambiree at students.bradley.edu  Mon Oct 27 16:07:45 2003
From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 10:07:45 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com>
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <1067270865.3f9d42d153023@webmail.bradley.edu>

Alright, my irrational fears are many, but I have to live with most of them.  
It's my family's fears I find funny....

My fears:

Needles---not the sewing kind....the stick them in your skin for evil "healing" 
purposes, i.e. shots, drawing blood, etc.  In high school, my health class had 
a textbook with a picture of someone with a hypodermic needle in their 
forearm...nobody was on the other end....and keep in mind this is prior (about 
5-6 years before) to reading HP...and the needle in the picture was MOVING!!!! 
I swear it was.  It was a wizard pic, I know it.

The Dark---anywhere.  Daddy's admonitions about shadows, living down the street 
from a convenience store that was on what we called Bar Row (22 places to get 
alcohol in a 2 mile stretch of road on the outskirts of town)

Amber---who has 700 dolls in her bedroom, and laughs when my sister does 
the "spider dance." 


-- 
Amber

***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE***



From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 27 16:17:31 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:17:31 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries -- Off-list
In-Reply-To: <bnjapj+867q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjger+euaf@eGroups.com>

Hi!

> For some reason I was absolutely terrified by the movie 
>"Carrie"--the first one with Sissy Spacek.  

Ha!  I *swear,* I wrote my post before reading yours!  And no, I
really couldn't sleep at all that night, even though I was in
*college* at the time

Cindy -- who glimpsed a re-run of "Carrie" where she is walking down
the street in her blue blood-soaked prom dress and is about to flip
John Travolta's car and *dove* for the remote control






From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 27 16:42:34 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:42:34 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries -- Off-list
In-Reply-To: <bnjger+euaf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjhtq+6vn3@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...>
wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> > For some reason I was absolutely terrified by the movie 
> >"Carrie"--the first one with Sissy Spacek.  
> 
> Ha!  I *swear,* I wrote my post before reading yours!  And no, I
> really couldn't sleep at all that night, even though I was in
> *college* at the time
> 
> Cindy -- who glimpsed a re-run of "Carrie" where she is walking down
> the street in her blue blood-soaked prom dress and is about to flip
> John Travolta's car and *dove* for the remote control

OK, that was embarrassing.  I meant that to go off-list, and now all
of you know what a total *wimp* I am.

RedFaced!Cindy -- who is going to skip "Kill Bill" because it is
probably too violent for her




From cwood at tattersallpub.com  Mon Oct 27 16:44:41 2003
From: cwood at tattersallpub.com (mstattersall)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:44:41 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnji1p+6vp8@eGroups.com>

> So here's my point.  What's your scariest moment? (in film)

My mom and I were watching "Psycho" on TV late at night. We'd already 
gotten through the shower scene and were sufficiently creeped out 
when we heard breaking glass in the house! We ran to the kitchen and 
got out big long carving knives and started hunting everywhere for 
the intruder! Talk about interactive TV! (Well, it turned out that 
the pane of glass in the light over the cooking range that was 
cracked already had finally cooled too quickly once too often and had 
broken through and fallen out of its fixture. Huge relief at the 
time, huge anticlimax now.)

The first time I saw "Jurassic Park" on the big screen: the suspense 
during the scene in the kitchen where the dinosaurs are stalking the 
kids was so intense, I nearly had to leave the theatre. Usually I'm 
OK with strong suspense, but for some reason that really got to me.

Ms. Tattersall,
who has not seen JPII or III and probably won't!




From foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 16:47:19 2003
From: foxydoxy1 at yahoo.com (FoxyDoxy)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 08:47:19 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <0E8B2ACC-083B-11D8-909A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <20031027164719.51807.qmail@web60203.mail.yahoo.com>

illyana delorean <illyana at mindspring.com> wrote: 
>My parent's house was a nightmare for an arachnophobic >person like me - 
>we always had spiders hanging around, because my dad >thought that 
>spraying for bugs was unhealthy and unnecessary. >Sometimes tarantulas 
>would get in, but usually the worst were wolf spiders

Ewww. I hate wolf spiders. My daughter overheard me telling my sister to keep an eye out for one at my house because I had killed one in my bathroom, and they always travel in pairs. Now my little girl won't eat any fruit without thoroughly examining it for any microscopic punctures that a spider might have done to get into the fruit. Because if they travel in pears they might also travel in apples and grapes. 

Foxy Doxy, who doesn't have any *irrational* fears, but her mother is afraid of Girl Scouts. 




---------------------------------
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Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

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From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 16:47:15 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 10:47:15 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com> <0E8B2ACC-083B-11D8-909A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <001001c39be0$d15fc540$e393aec7@rick>


>illyana:
>You think that's bad? I am also afraid of spiders - even dead ones -
>and one morning I awoke to find a spider in my mouth! Actually, it was
>half-way in my mouth, and I grabbed it and threw it across my bedroom.

Iggy here:

I have one at least as bad... One of the reasons cockroaches wierd me out is
because, since moving here to Alabama, I've woken up TWICE to a roach
crawling into my ear.  I managed to get them back out on my own pretty
quickly, but I'll tell you one thing, not only is is a scary experience, but
it's downright painful when an adult one turns itself around in your ear
canal to crawl back out.

>illyana:
>That was so disgusting. Another time, I was lying on the couch in my
>parent's house (when I was younger and still lived there), and I looked
>up to see two dead tarantulas hanging from this window sill that was
>probably ten feet above my head.

Iggy here:

Funny enough, the only time a tarantula would bother me would be if I woke
up to find it in my bed or on me.  I've actually handled a California Brown
Tarantula... moving it off to safety with a small stick and a hat...  Think
of a very hairy brown tarantula that grows to be as big as an adult male's
hand with the legs at rest... (Not extended fully, but not curled up.)

>illyana:
>My parent's house was a nightmare for an arachnophobic person like me -
>we always had spiders hanging around, because my dad thought that
>spraying for bugs was unhealthy and unnecessary. Sometimes tarantulas
>would get in, but usually the worst were wolf spiders, which are a
>little scarier than tarantulas because they are faster and less docile.
>Tarantulas are usually quite timid and don't like being around people.

Iggy here:

The ones that actually terrify me (since I have fortunately gotten away from
the black widows that roam around California) are the brown recluses here in
the south.  Those actually scare me worse than the black widows because
they're not only more dangerous, but I know some of the strange things their
venom can possibly do to someone who has a bad genetic reaction to it.
(Trust me... you don't want to know.)  I actually found a dead one in the
glass globe over one of our light outlets when I was changing a bulb.

God forbid I ever visit Australia and see a funnel web spider.  I'd probably
just go into a massive case of the willies there on the spot.


>illyana:
>I have other frightening spider stories, like my stay at a summer camp
>that was infested with daddy long-legs (some of them enormous and with
>extra legs) when I was ten or eleven, but I think I have said enough
>for now! Plus, I'll probably have nightmares if I keep thinking about
>creepy-crawlies!

Iggy here:

A couple of fun little bits of info about daddy long legs'...

1:  They're not really spiders.  Instead of having a head and abdomen like
spiders (a two segment body), they have only a single segment head/body.

2:  Ounce for ounce, the venom of a daddy long legs is ten times more potent
than that of a black widow.

3:  Here's the good news about #2... their fangs are so small and thin, that
they can't even get through the first main layer of your skin, so they would
not be able to inject any venom into you.


*grins*

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 17:17:13 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:17:13 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnj3ml+e47j@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <005501c39be5$00a168a0$e393aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

All of this actually recently reminded me of my most irrational fear:
Orangutans.

When I was 10, I slept in my own bedroom in the top bunk of an old set of
bunkbeds.  (I got to chose which one I wanted to sleep in on any given
night.)  I used to have these images of an orangutan peeking up from the
below the foot of my bed, grinning at me in a friendly way, then dropping
back down.  He would do this two or three times, then he would jump all the
way up onto the foot of my bed, bare his teeth in rage, and reach out with
this immensely long arms to attack me.

I had these visions when I was awake and as nightmares as well.  For three
entire months this lasted... I still don't know exactly how I got them to go
away...


How's THAT for an irrational fear?  (Especially considering I lived in the
Sierra Nevada foothills in California at the time, and was nowhere near
Borneo.. *grin*)

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 17:19:28 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:19:28 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnj7vi+j69c@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <006001c39be5$50d5a2a0$e393aec7@rick>

> Yoda:

> My childhood fear, aside from pretty much everything, was this book
> called "Tailypo."  Which is about an old man who cuts the tail off of
> this little animal and eats it because he is starving and the animal
> comes back to get it's tail back.  For some reason this was read to
> us in Kindergarden and I couldn't get to sleep for weeks and even
> dreamed that my parents had the tail one night.  It still creeps me
> out!


Iggy here:

I'm glad to see that someone else was freaked out by that story.  My sister
told it to me when I was 7, and I had nightmares about it for weeks.


Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 17:38:36 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:38:36 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] All Time Scaries
References: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <006501c39be7$fd434220$e393aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

Lessee... all time movie moments that freaked me out:

Well, the ENTIRE movie "Seven."  I couldn't watch the last half of it
because it wierded me out WAY too much and was too disturbing to me.

the Kevin Bacon scene in "Friday the 13th" where he gets the arrow through
his neck from underneath the bed he's lying on.  For a long time afterwards,
I checked under my bed for maniacs and was more comfortable avter we
eventually removed my bed-frame and by bed was a box-spring and matress on
the floor.

Almost everything about Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown in "IT."  (Now THAT
was an "Evil Tim Curry" role...)

There's a particularly horrifying scene, at least for us men, in a Dutch
film called "The Fourth Man".  It stars Jeroen Krabbe'  (he was in "the
Fugitive", "the Living Daylights", and "Ever After") and is about a
bi-sexual poet who ends up hooking up with a female hairdresser who's three
husbands all died mysteriously.  He had these very surreal visions through
the entire movie, that lead him to believe that she's a "black widow" type.
The scene that still freaks me out is after they have had sex, and are lying
in her bed.  She sits up and snakes his hand down beneath the covers and
between his legs, grabbing his... well...  Anyhow, she moves the covers
back, and then you see a pair of scossors in her other hand.  They flash
down and her hand other hand comes up with his bloody.. well.. let's just
say it was a Lorena Bobbit moment.  He sits bolt upright in bed screaming
and realizes that he was having a dream vision.  Even the memory of it still
makes me "tuck and cover" to this day...

Also, this isn't a scary moment, but is one worth mentioning... in "Monty
Python's Meaning of Life" where the fat guy in the restaurant begins
throwing up all over the place just grosses me out like you wouldn't
believe.  I can't STAND to watch anything where someone is throwing up.
(And you don't really want to know why, aside from the obvious... trust me.)


Iggy McSnurd







From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 17:50:58 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 17:50:58 -0000
Subject: case of Ms. Schiavo
In-Reply-To: <bnhdlg+9epn@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjlu2+70ip@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> 

> 
> Cindy -- who thinks heroic measures would *hurt,* and who would be 
OK
> if dh pulled the plug 'cause we all gotta go sometime and being in a
> vegetative state for 13 years isn't really living


Hmm,

Cindy, you bring up an interesting point.
Heroic measures.  Do we all know exactly what 'heroic measure' mean?
Unfortunaley, I found out when my father was ill.
 
Yes, we all think of heroic meausures as someone who is brain dead, 
being kept alive, and fed, and finally having the strength to let 
them go.  But did you know that if you/your loved one does not 
want 'heroic measures' performed, and you/they are are choking on a 
piece of toast, that THEY will not save you? That if you refuse to 
eat the food (as was the case with my father), that they will 
eventually stop feeding you?   This is what was explained to my 
mother and me when my father was in a nursing home.  'Heroic 
Measures' is a term that is so clearly misundertstood, that it was a 
complete shock to me when they told me this.  The fact that I have 
worked nearly half my life in a hospital and thought I was up on 
things, and wasn't aware of this, well, you could have knocked me 
over with a feather. Apparently, one has to make all of their 
intentions absolutely, clear, and in writing.  And it all so 
confusing.  

It is so unfortunate that we research buying cars, houses, appliances 
etc. in such great detail  and yet when it comes to our/loved ones' 
health, we are completely ignorant.  We, unfortunately, trust the 
medical profession (as a medical professional myself, I can speak 
from experience) so much that when it comes to something like this, 
you are so emotionally invested that you can't think clearly, and by 
then, it's too late to do the research.  

I don't mean to scare you all, but this is the way it is.  
I urge all of you with older/elderly parents to find out Health Care 
Proxys (aka Living Wills), and also how to protect their assets and 
savings by getting information on estate planning.  Estate planning 
does NOT require you to be a millionare, but is necessary to protect 
the assets one has built up (even if it's only a few thousand $)

 It is so overwhelming.  It's an awful, awful thing to think about, a 
loved one, or ourselves passing, but we need to be informed so that 
we can make somewhat reasonable choices when the time comes.


Anna . . .(on a lighter note, Grady Little, manager of the Boston Red 
Sox, has been let go)






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 17:54:45 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:54:45 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] "Wizard Pics"  (was:Re: Irrational childhood fears)
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com> <1067270865.3f9d42d153023@webmail.bradley.edu>
Message-ID: <007c01c39bea$3ee42ee0$e393aec7@rick>

> Amber-
> Needles---not the sewing kind....the stick them in your skin for evil
"healing"
> purposes, i.e. shots, drawing blood, etc.  In high school, my health class
had
> a textbook with a picture of someone with a hypodermic needle in their
> forearm...nobody was on the other end....and keep in mind this is prior
(about
> 5-6 years before) to reading HP...and the needle in the picture was
MOVING!!!!
> I swear it was.  It was a wizard pic, I know it.


Iggy here:

Actually, that's not as uncommon as you'd think.. (Well, I hope not... even
though I'm the only person *I* know who does this...)

When I was a kid, I used to have a poster my mom had given me of Rio de
Janeiro.  I would stare at one picture, it was a beach shot, and it would
come to life as though I was looking through a window, including people
leaving and entering the scene.  And we're not just talking movement, but
also sounds.  For some reason, I've had this happen to me a number of times
in my life... where I look at certain photos, and it soon becomes that I am
actually watching what was happening when the photo took place.  People,
cars and animals all begin to move, sounds can be heard...  It's rather
interesting, and unnerving to some who can't see what I am seeing.  (I'm
just glad that my wife loves me as much as she does and takes these things
in stride.)

I don't know if it's just that I have a particularly vivid imagination that
simply takes over and "completes the scene" for me, or something else.  They
say that mental/psychic abilities can awaken in people sometime after severe
head trauma... and I fell out of a treehouse into a thornbush on a rocky
mountain when I was about six.  I landed on my head and neck and was out
cold for a good five minutes or so.  Since then, I have experienced
precognitive deja-vu with startling regularity, hunches and/or warnings that
have proven true on too many occasions to ignore, and I used to predict
earthquakes in California with startling accuracy... I always knew they were
coming 2 days before they did, and with a rough estimate of their
severity... and have had flashes and visions of people's pasts with no way
of knowing in any regular way, especially if they've never told anyone else
what happened. I've even been able to focus energy from myself to help ease
pain and tension for others or produce other effects, including mild
hypnosis, with no formal training.  So a part of me wonders if it's tuning
into the "post-cognitive" impressions of the scene I am viewing and actually
witness it.


Iggy McSnurd
(who hopes this type of revelation doesn't make TOO many people think he's
off his rocker... but figures it's safe enough to talk about considering
what type of fan group this is...)







From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 18:17:50 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:17:50 -0000
Subject: Healthy Diet - The Very Final Word
Message-ID: <bnjnge+a1jc@eGroups.com>

A former work colleague has just sent this to me.  Forgive if you've 
heard before:

For those of you who watch what you eat...here's the final word on 
nutrition and health. It's a  relief to know the truth after all 
those conflicting medical studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks 
than the British or Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks 
than the British or Americans.

3. The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart 
attacks than the British or Americans.

4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer 
fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats 
and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.


CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is 
apparently what kills you

CHEERS.

June






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Sun Oct 26 18:18:28 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 12:18:28 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: All Time Scaries
References: <bnji1p+6vp8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <009301c39bed$8ef0b540$e393aec7@rick>


> Ms. Tattersall:
> The first time I saw "Jurassic Park" on the big screen: the suspense
> during the scene in the kitchen where the dinosaurs are stalking the
> kids was so intense, I nearly had to leave the theatre. Usually I'm
> OK with strong suspense, but for some reason that really got to me.

Iggy here:

Little but of trivia that nobody but me seems to have noticed unless I point
it out to them...

There's a scene in the original JP movie where the raptors are checking out
near the ventellation ducts and you see light shining in an odd pattern
accross the face of the leader.

It's actually a reflection of the word "GATTACA" over and over... which is a
word derived from the chemical bases to indicate the genetic coding
structure of DNA.  The individual four letters stand for the chemical bases
in the DNA structure.



>
> Ms. Tattersall,
> who has not seen JPII or III and probably won't!

Iggy here:

Actually, 2 is kinda scary, but a bit of a joke compared to the original.
It was a cool flick, but I was able to predict too much of what was going to
happen in it to enjoy it as much as I could have.

Number 3 is much better than 2, but isn't as suspensful as the first one.

I don't think you should have a problem with either one of them, IMHO.

Iggy McSnurd





From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 18:50:45 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:50:45 -0000
Subject: Pumpkin Juice A-go-go (& Britspeak, too, now)
In-Reply-To: <bnh5cm+uli9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjpe5+c1nt@eGroups.com>

June:
> The recipe is called Passionate Pumpkin (so it must be THIS recipe 
> that's used in fanfiction)
> 
> apricots (2 stoned)
> mango (1 peeled and stoned)
> pumpkin (one slice peeled)
>
Shirley:
this just made me realize another language difference:
A U.S. recipe would tell you to "seed" the apricots and mango; 
as "stoned" usually implies high (as in, on drugs), or having thrown 
large rocks/stones at someone.
Odd, how these little differences keep popping up.... ;-) 

June:
> then blend with 
> 
> Wheat germ (1 dessert spoon)
> sesame seeds (1 teaspoon)
> saffron (a tiny pinch)
> 1 handful of ice cubes
> 
> The note under the recipe says the following:
> 
> "Super rich is vitamins A, C and carotenoids, rich in vitamin E, B 
> vitamins and zinc. Passionate Pumpkin makes a potent remedy for 
both 
> sexes which also encourages the production of healthy sperm, what's 
> more, it makes a perfect drink at any time of the day."
> 
> Blushing now as I type.  
> 
> DEFINITELY the one they drink in fanfic.
> 
> June

Shirley:
Yep, I'd say so.  Sounds good for.... all sorts of things!! ;-)




From paulag5777 at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 19:05:30 2003
From: paulag5777 at yahoo.com (Paula Gaon)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 11:05:30 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
Message-ID: <20031027190530.4453.qmail@web40020.mail.yahoo.com>

27Oct03 
 
June wrote:
This sounds like the sort of teacher (Once, she set the bin on fire )  that needs a bit of remedial 
professional development training - or maybe just dismissal. 
 
Paula now:
Ooo, this is a really sensitive subject with me.  I "fell back" on elementary teaching for awhile to earn a living.  After experiencing almost every day damned if you do/damned if you don't-ie getting absolutely no support or backup for the myriad of discipline problems teaching kids that nobody else was willing to in addition to having parents call me up screaming bacause their little darling always gave an accurate account of whatever allegedly happend, constantly being told that I was either too hard or too soft...get the picture?  Fortunately, I never went so nuts that I set anything on fire or whacked a kid.  Just ended up with high blood pressure.  But the principal somehow decided that I was suicidal (maybe it had crossed my mind since I had a number of years before retirement) and sent me to counselling.  The long and short of it, too many, who really have no business there,  "fall back" on teaching and do nothing but damage to themselves; IMHO the kids come out pretty
 unscathed--the laws are by and large on their side.  So, to this day, my REAL "irrational" fear:  I won't be alone with or take responsibility for any child over the age of 2 and always diplomatically request that friends not bring kids to my home.  Figured if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen, maybe kinder would be a better word...
 
Paula "Griff" Gaon  



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From illyana at mindspring.com  Mon Oct 27 19:18:23 2003
From: illyana at mindspring.com (illyana delorean)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 12:18:23 -0700
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <001001c39be0$d15fc540$e393aec7@rick>
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com> <0E8B2ACC-083B-11D8-909A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> <001001c39be0$d15fc540$e393aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <555368E4-08B2-11D8-829F-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>



> Iggy wrote:
>
> The ones that actually terrify me (since I have fortunately gotten 
> away from
> the black widows that roam around California) are the brown recluses 
> here in
> the south.? Those actually scare me worse than the black widows because
> they're not only more dangerous, but I know some of the strange things 
> their
> venom can possibly do to someone who has a bad genetic reaction to it.
> (Trust me... you don't want to know.)? I actually found a dead one in 
> the
> glass globe over one of our light outlets when I was changing a bulb.
>
> God forbid I ever visit Australia and see a funnel web spider.? I'd 
> probably
> just go into a massive case of the willies there on the spot.

Now illyana:
Brown Recluses are pretty scary, because they are so deadly - good 
thing we don't have those here in AZ. But venom/poison really has 
nothing to do with my fear of spiders - I just think they're creepy. I 
hate it when people remind me that most spiders are harmless or aren't 
going to bite me, because that has nothing to do with my fear of them! 
They just have too many legs and want to crawl all over me!!

> Iggy again:
>
> A couple of fun little bits of info about daddy long legs'...
>
> 1:? They're not really spiders.? Instead of having a head and abdomen 
> like
> spiders (a two segment body), they have only a single segment 
> head/body.

Now illyana again:

Yah, I know that they're not really spiders. Well, at least the ones 
most people consider to be daddy long-legs aren't really spiders. There 
is a type of daddy long-legs spider, but I can't really remember 
anything about it. (I have a friend who is obsessed with spiders, and 
she gave me this info.) Anyway, the single segment body thing really 
scares me, for some reason. Just the fact that they have this tiny dot 
for a body and head and then these long-legs that sometimes get out of 
control! At this camp I went to (I mentioned it before), this colony of 
daddy long-legs lived there, and some of them were really mutated (with 
too many legs and large bodies). That experience was what actually 
sparked my fear of spiders - before then, I had never had a problem 
with them, and I can actually remember playing with spiders when I was 
really little.

illyana, who forgot to include in her last post that she is also afraid 
of her teeth rotting and falling off, and she frequently has dreams 
about these kinds of things



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Mon Oct 27 19:19:01 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:19:01 -0600
Subject: Teachers (was -Re:  Irrational childhood fears)
References: <20031027190530.4453.qmail@web40020.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <001c01c39cbf$2fac1840$5cec79a5@rick>


> Paula now:
*snip*
> IMHO the kids come out pretty unscathed--the laws are by and large on
their side.
*snip*

Iggy here:

I don't know if I'd say that.  In high school, I was stuck with one
particular teacher for four whole semesters, and she tormented me during her
classes worse than most of the kids in school.  She also supported it when
other kids poked fun at me in classes, and was both directly and indirectly
the cause of a lot of my social self confidence problems as a teenager.  (I
was pretty confident in a number of my classes like English, speech, choir,
and drama, however... places where I could hide behind characters or other
modes of expression...)

A few examples of what she did:

1 - My initials are "R.M.", and she once commented in a class that it was
unfortunate that my initials weren't "B.M." so they could refer to me as
"Bowel Movement."  One of the kids piped up that they could always call me
"Rectal Movement."  She gave him an extra credit point for hit quick wit.

2 - I could say something in class and would get docked points for "talking
out of turn" or "talking up in class"... yet any other student could say the
same thing and under the same circumstances, and would get bonus points for
being clever or having an innovative view on things.  Even a few of the kids
I knew in school commented to me that it was unfair.

3 - If I told a story of something that had happened to me in my life as it
related to the current discussion, she would dock me points for telling
"tall tales" (unless it was something embarrassing to me..and then she'd
just laugh and not give me the bonus point she'd give someone else.)  This
was coming from a woman who looked like Gene Simmons (from KISS) in drag,
and claimed that weight lifters on the beach were always hitting on her,
that she had dated each of the Beatles, that she got a ride to a Rolling
Stones concert in the limo of the band itself when her car broke down on the
way, that she was the first female drag race driver, that she was the first
female to teach in an all male prison, and that she turned down a wedding
proposal from a mega-millionaire because she wanted to keep teaching.


I found out years later from one of my other history teachers that the
entire Social Studies department at the school eventually banned together
and not only got her fired, but got her teaching credentials revoked and had
her banned from ever teaching in the county again.  They did this because of
not only how she treated some of the students, but how she often treated a
number of her co-workers as well.


Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Mon Oct 27 19:27:11 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:27:11 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bni5bi+vc6l@eGroups.com> <0E8B2ACC-083B-11D8-909A-003065B8B954@mindspring.com> <001001c39be0$d15fc540$e393aec7@rick> <555368E4-08B2-11D8-829F-003065B8B954@mindspring.com>
Message-ID: <002101c39cc0$52b73c60$5cec79a5@rick>


>illyana:
>Brown Recluses are pretty scary, because they are so deadly - good
>thing we don't have those here in AZ. But venom/poison really has
>nothing to do with my fear of spiders - I just think they're creepy. I
>hate it when people remind me that most spiders are harmless or aren't
>going to bite me, because that has nothing to do with my fear of them!
>They just have too many legs and want to crawl all over me!!

Iggy here:

I think the thing that freaks me most about their venom... well, two things
really... ok... well here they are:

1:  Their venom is Necrotic... meaning that it simply kills off the tissue
as it spreads through the body, leaving huge patches of dead and rotting
tissue in its wake if the area isn't excised early enough.  (Fortunately,
it's not a hemotoxin per-se... it spreads through the skin rather than the
blood, so you can remove it simply by cutting out the infected areas.)  I'd
rather have a black widow bite me and be sick as a dog for a couple of days
rather than have my skin begin to rot on my own body.

2:  There is a small chance (but still a chance) that you will have a
genetic reaction to the toxin, which is even worse if it somehow gets into
your bloodstream... If you are one of the very few people with this
reaction, then your body alters so that (for the rest of your life) any
break in the skin that you get spreads and becomes a bloody lesion.  Even
barking your knuckle or cutting your finger can become a serious problem
that will require a trip to the hospital.  Sometimes the lesions can occur
on their own as well.


Just some stuff to give you some extra willies before Halloween.

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Mon Oct 27 19:33:12 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:33:12 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: All Time Scaries
References: <bnjros+a708@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002801c39cc1$2a0fb700$5cec79a5@rick>

>   Brian:-)
>    I remember going swiming in the ocean about three days after I saw
> Jaws and not even be phased.  Yet to this day, I canot take flowers
> to a grave ever since I first saw Carrie (one of my favorite films of
> all time).

Iggy here:

I'm actually this way with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.  I've
actually fallen asleep during a few of them late at night and not had a
problem with it.

On an odd note, Freddy Kruger actually came after me in one of my dreams.
Fortunately, my "Dream Power" is the "Will and the Word" (from the world of
the Belgariad) pretty much on par with the power of Belgarion with the Orb
of Aldur in hand.  (Yeah... Nifty, ain't it?  *grin*)  I destroyed Freddy in
my dream utterly and completely by growing to immense size and snuffing his
soul, crushed between my hands, much like holding a burning ember until it
was extinguished.  (The odd thing was, for about 2-3 minutes after I woke
up, my hands had the faint sensation that I had been holding a hot coal
between them.)

He's never bothered me in my dreams since then.  (That was his first, and
last time to ever try to get me.  *grin*)


Iggy McSnurd






From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Mon Oct 27 19:44:58 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:44:58 -0000
Subject: case of Ms. Schiavo
In-Reply-To: <bnjlu2+70ip@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjsjq+6nph@eGroups.com>

Hey,

I wrote:

> Cindy -- who thinks heroic measures would *hurt,* and who would be 
> OK if dh pulled the plug 'cause we all gotta go sometime and being
>in a vegetative state for 13 years isn't really living


Anne replied:

>Do we all know exactly what 'heroic measure' mean?


Heh, heh.  Apparently not!

I have heard much made of the fact that it is barbaric to remove a
feeding tube because the patient is allowed to dehydrate and starve to
death.  (BTW, I listened to an NPR radio program in which the two
experts said that someone in the end stages would not suffer from
removal of a feeding tube, but then again, how would *they* know?)

But little is said about the alternative -- living with a tube in your
stomach for 13 years and coping with everything that comes with that.
 Doesn't that hurt too?  I don't know; I'm just asking.

> Unfortunaley, I found out when my father was ill.

Yeah, I got a taste of this with an uncle.  He was slowly but most
definitely dying in the hospital.  The decision had to be made whether
to put him on life support as his organs began to fail or let him go.
 It was decided to put him on life support machines so that one of his
children could make it to Texas from Europe (she was military, so she
needed permission and a military flight, etc.).  My dad was against
this and thought this was rather selfish of her as she needlessly
prolonged his suffering.

Maybe Jeb should have decided?  ;-D

Anne:

>'Heroic 
> Measures' is a term that is so clearly misundertstood, that it was a 
> complete shock to me when they told me this.  

Yeah, the devil is in the details, definitely.  What is heroic in one
circumstance is not in another.  I think the most sensible thing is
just to appoint the family member you think has the best judgment and
let them do whatever they think is best.

>Estate planning 
> does NOT require you to be a millionare, but is necessary to protect 
> the assets one has built up (even if it's only a few thousand $)

Yeah, it definitely pays to Take Care Of Business, but I understand
why people don't.  Getting a lawyer to draft a will is *expensive.* 
The more complex your situation (divorce, remarriage, lots of assets)
the more you need a properly-written will, and the more it will cost you.

>  It is so overwhelming.  It's an awful, awful thing to think about,
>a loved one, or ourselves passing, but we need to be informed so that 
> we can make somewhat reasonable choices when the time comes.

It is awful, but not nearly as awful as having your entire family
squabbling (and using precious resources) about what to do with you
because you didn't make it clear when you were able to do so.

Cindy -- who put her will in a safe deposit box and can't find the
darn key anywhere

*******************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/




From flitwicksman at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 19:45:41 2003
From: flitwicksman at yahoo.com (Brian)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:45:41 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnji1p+6vp8@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjsl5+k006@eGroups.com>

I can remember going swiming in the ocean about three days after I 
first saw Jaws and not even be phased. Yet to this day, I cannot take 
flowers to a grave ever since I first saw Carrie (one of my favorite 
films of all time).


Brian:-)





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 19:57:32 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:57:32 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <002101c39cc0$52b73c60$5cec79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bnjtbc+i8uk@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> 
>> Iggy here:
> 
> I think the thing that freaks me most about their venom... well, 
two things
> really... ok... well here they are:
> 
> 1:  Their venom is Necrotic... meaning that it simply kills off 
the tissue
> as it spreads through the body, leaving huge patches of dead and 
rotting
> tissue in its wake if the area isn't excised early enough.  
(Fortunately,
> it's not a hemotoxin per-se... it spreads through the skin rather 
than the
> blood, so you can remove it simply by cutting out the infected 
areas.)  I'd
> rather have a black widow bite me and be sick as a dog for a 
couple of days
> rather than have my skin begin to rot on my own body.
> 
> 2:  There is a small chance (but still a chance) that you will 
have a
> genetic reaction to the toxin, which is even worse if it somehow 
gets into
> your bloodstream... If you are one of the very few people with this
> reaction, then your body alters so that (for the rest of your 
life) any
> break in the skin that you get spreads and becomes a bloody 
lesion.  Even
> barking your knuckle or cutting your finger can become a serious 
problem
> that will require a trip to the hospital.  Sometimes the lesions 
can occur
> on their own as well.
> 

Question Iggy:

Do you watch your DVD copy of Chamber of Secrets lots and will you 
be queueing up for tickets to Return of the King in December?

June (cackling evilly)





From eberte at vaeye.com  Mon Oct 27 20:27:59 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:27:59 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnjsl5+k006@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjv4f+64pu@eGroups.com>

Brian wrote:
> I can remember going swiming in the ocean about three days after I 
> first saw Jaws and not even be phased. Yet to this day, I cannot 
take 
> flowers to a grave ever since I first saw Carrie (one of my 
favorite 
> films of all time).
> 

Hmmmm.  Something is weird with my computer.  I read Iggy's quote 
from Brian *before* Brian posted it.  (At least on my screen.)
The end of "Carrie" was unique in its day because it was the first 
movie that I recall in which the story seemed to be wrapped up and 
the "villian" dispatched (in this case, Carrie, a scary/sympathetic 
type of villian, *dead*) and then the final scene was a blow-you-away 
shocker. <eeeeeeeeeeeeekkk!> 
Now, of course, the *final twist* is standard fare in a horror movie 
and I doubt that the audience would clear out without it occurring.

Elle (high fiving Brian and Cindy for their taste in horror flicks, 
and low fiving Cindy (under the desk) for having "Carrie" nightmares 
*all night long* like, errrr, someone else she knows) 





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 20:27:54 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:27:54 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnjtbc+i8uk@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjv4a+v6p@eGroups.com>

While we're all on the subject of squicks and squickage...

I have just ejected the most ENORMOUS wasp from my bedroom.

How the hell did it get there?? I've heard autumn wasps can be very 
nasty and stingy.

And just how long had it been there?  Did it spend the night?  Last 
night?  EEEEEK.

June

Who is really sorry she teased anyone about spiders.




From boggles at earthlink.net  Mon Oct 27 20:28:29 2003
From: boggles at earthlink.net (Jennifer Boggess Ramon)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:28:29 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
References: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <p05200f05bbc32e9bc18d@[192.168.1.100]>

At 5:51 PM +0000 10/26/03, Tracy wrote:
>Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary,
>here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a child
>(for example, a certain toy or household item)?

My parents had a laser disk player very early on, before very many 
movies had been released in LD format.  One of the early disks they 
bought was an interactive mystery story - sort of like a game of 
_Clue_, only with different frames and clips on the disk instead of 
the cards.  One of the very early sequences on the disk, one of the 
ones you got every single time you played the game, was of someone 
with a gun sneaking down a dark hallway, poking the gun through a 
barely-ajar door, and firing.

I had to make sure all doors were either wide open or firmly closed 
after dark for *months* after seeing that the first time, and again 
for about a week every time my parents played that particular disk 
after that.


I'm also deathly afraid of heights, small dogs, and jellyfish, but 
none of those are irrational - all three of those things have managed 
to hurt me pretty consistently every time I've let my guard down 
around them.  (Only small dogs, though.  Big dogs - retrievers, 
German shepherds, huskies, wolf-crosses, etc. - either like me or 
ignore me.)

On the other hand, I kind of like spiders and snakes . . .

-- 

  - 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 coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Mon Oct 27 20:31:26 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:31:26 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnjtbc+i8uk@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000f01c39cc9$4cbcb160$4797aec7@rick>

> Question Iggy:
>
> Do you watch your DVD copy of Chamber of Secrets lots and will you
> be queueing up for tickets to Return of the King in December?
>
> June (cackling evilly)

Iggy here:

I actually don't have any real problem with the spiders in CoS in the
slightest.  (We have the DVD and watch it whenever my daughter is in the
mood to.)  It kinda makes my wife a bit squeamish, though.  For one thing,
the idea of the giant spiders on the screen don't phase me much, since the
more I can separate it from reality, the better off I am.  It's one of the
reasons I can deal with movies like Alien and Deep Blue Sea MUCH better than
I can handle films like Seven, or Silence of the Lambs.  (I still refuse to
watch the latter of the two.)  The more plausible I see something as being,
the worse it effects me...

As for RotK... as I have yet to actually read LotR, I don't get the
reference.  (Although I am planning on reading it soon.)  My step-son has a
copy of the first movie on DVD, and I've only gotten the chance to watch
about half of it.  I haven't really gotten a chance to watch any of the rest
of the story...I know the main storyline, but that's mostly from the old
cartoon movies...

BTW: Speaking of bugs in movies, and scary parts of said movies... My
daughter and I are watching The Mummy Returns even as I write this, and it's
the scene near the beginning where the flesh eating scarabs burst out of the
ground at the dig site.  It's making me recall my reaction when I saw the
first movie in the theatre with a few friends.  For the rest of the movie,
since you see the first swarm of scarabs, none of us put our feet on the
floor until the credits began to roll.  (And even then, it was with a great
deal of trepidation.)


Iggy McSnurd


Iggy McSnurd






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Mon Oct 27 20:38:05 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:38:05 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnjsl5+k006@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnjvnd+iah5@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Brian" <flitwicksman at y...> 
wrote:
> I can remember going swiming in the ocean about three days after I 
> first saw Jaws and not even be phased. 

There was an interesting footnote in last nights broadcast about 
Jaws (which came third).  

They interviewed Stephen Spielberg about the film and he said that 
when the film was previewed the "popcorn in the air" moment (his 
words) was the bit where Roy Scheider is ladling fishheads out of 
the back of the boat and suddenly this gaping shark's mouth just 
opens up before him.

According to Speilberg, he decided he could do better than this and 
went back and put the bit in where the severed head floats out of 
the sunken boat.  He said, not only the popcorn flew but most of the 
audience flew into the air at that.  

I can avow to the truth of that.  I saw Jaws the year of its release 
in 1976.  When that head appeared, the entire cinema - as one 
person, shrieked and did indeed jump out of their seats.  And I 
still think the reverse tracking shot of Roy Scheider on the beach 
when the little kid's lilo goes up in a fountain of blood may be one 
of the most stomach dropping moments ever.  Often imitated - never 
duplicated.

June




From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 21:10:50 2003
From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 13:10:50 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Healthy Diet - The Very Final Word
In-Reply-To: <1067283949.4898.43113.m13@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031027211050.3541.qmail@web11003.mail.yahoo.com>

>    From: "junediamanti" <june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk>
> 
> CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is 
> apparently what kills you

LOL! Thanks, June! I knew what Hagrid was doing to Grawp was cruel and
unacceptable, but I hadn't figured it was also attempted murder!

Dewa mata,

Morgan D.
Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hogwarts

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/



From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Mon Oct 27 21:58:31 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 07:58:31 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] All Time Scaries
References: <bnil7e+el4b@eGroups.com> <006501c39be7$fd434220$e393aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <005701c39cd5$76a5f2a0$69984cca@Monteith>

>
> Also, this isn't a scary moment, but is one worth mentioning... in "Monty
> Python's Meaning of Life" where the fat guy in the restaurant begins
> throwing up all over the place just grosses me out like you wouldn't
> believe.  I can't STAND to watch anything where someone is throwing up.
> (And you don't really want to know why, aside from the obvious... trust
me.)
>
>
> Iggy McSnurd

With you on that one! That is THE most revolting scene in a movie that I can
currently think of. EEEWWWWW! I always skip that bit when I watch it.

Nox




From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 22:03:43 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 22:03:43 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnjvnd+iah5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnk4nv+dvqv@eGroups.com>

<<snipping>>
June: 
> According to Speilberg, he decided he could do better than this and 
> went back and put the bit in where the severed head floats out of 
> the sunken boat.  He said, not only the popcorn flew but most of 
the 
> audience flew into the air at that.  
> 
> I can avow to the truth of that.  I saw Jaws the year of its 
release 
> in 1976.  When that head appeared, the entire cinema - as one 
> person, shrieked and did indeed jump out of their seats.  

Shirley:
Ditto on that!!  I was so tensed right before that scene, I was 
leaning forward in my seat.  So when the head appeared, I grabbed 
(what I thought was) the back of the seat in front of me.  Turned out 
it was the *shoulders* of the guy in front of me.  Poor thing - no 
telling what he tells people about that moment nowadays.....

June, continued:
And I 
> still think the reverse tracking shot of Roy Scheider on the beach 
> when the little kid's lilo goes up in a fountain of blood may be 
one 
> of the most stomach dropping moments ever.  Often imitated - never 
> duplicated.
> 
> June

Shirley:
Okay, stupid question (guess I don't remember the entire movie, after 
all), but what's "lilo"?

My childhood scary was from a movie I don't even remember, except it 
was about vampires, I was at a slumber party, and we were all 
sleeping in tents in the backyard.  When the movie was over, everyone 
went peacefully to sleep, and I don't think I slept properly for 
*weeks* afterward.  I kept pulling the covers *all the way* up to my 
chin, even though it was summer and very hot - as if that would 
really protect me from being bitten....

Shirley, who has, at the edge of her memory, an all-time scary, but 
can't remember.... and maybe that's a good thing  ;-)




From flitwicksman at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 27 22:07:19 2003
From: flitwicksman at yahoo.com (Brian)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 22:07:19 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnjv4f+64pu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnk4un+am5k@eGroups.com>

> Hmmmm.  Something is weird with my computer.  I read Iggy's quote 
> from Brian *before* Brian posted it.  (At least on my screen.)

  It's not your computer.  I caught a spelling error after posting 
and deleted, corrected and then posted it.

  Also, I remember seeing Death Wish at the theater and having to 
walk home afterwards by myself at dusk and looking for muggers 
everywhere.






From neonsister at ameritech.net  Mon Oct 27 22:54:31 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 22:54:31 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh72t+jv79@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnk7n7+ja5a@eGroups.com>

While we're talking about scary dolls and scary movies, how about the 
Zuni fetish doll in the movie "Trilogy Of Terror"?  I'm glad I never 
saw that movie as a child - it creeped me out enough as an adult!

Tracy




From soleta_nf at yahoo.ca  Mon Oct 27 23:06:43 2003
From: soleta_nf at yahoo.ca (=?iso-8859-1?q?House=20Yolande?=)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:06:43 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Pumpkin Juice A-go-go (& Britspeak, too, now)
In-Reply-To: <bnjpe5+c1nt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031027230643.23583.qmail@web40410.mail.yahoo.com>

June:
> The recipe is called Passionate Pumpkin (so it must be THIS recipe 
> that's used in fanfiction)
> 
> apricots (2 stoned)
> mango (1 peeled and stoned)
> pumpkin (one slice peeled)
>

Shirley:
> this just made me realize another language 
> difference:
> A U.S. recipe would tell you to "seed" the apricots > and mango; as "stoned" usually implies high (as in, > on drugs), or having thrown 
> large rocks/stones at someone.
> Odd, how these little differences keep popping 
> up.... ;-) 
 
Yolande:
I'm glad you clarified that. I was interested in making that recipe, and I was wondering if "stoned" meant I should mush the fruit to bits with a rock. :)
 
Yolande



---------------------------------
L?che-vitrine ou l?che-?cran ? Yahoo! Magasinage.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From soleta_nf at yahoo.ca  Mon Oct 27 23:06:52 2003
From: soleta_nf at yahoo.ca (=?iso-8859-1?q?House=20Yolande?=)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:06:52 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Pumpkin Juice A-go-go (& Britspeak, too, now)
In-Reply-To: <bnjpe5+c1nt@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031027230652.191.qmail@web40407.mail.yahoo.com>

June:
> The recipe is called Passionate Pumpkin (so it must be THIS recipe 
> that's used in fanfiction)
> 
> apricots (2 stoned)
> mango (1 peeled and stoned)
> pumpkin (one slice peeled)
>

Shirley:
> this just made me realize another language 
> difference:
> A U.S. recipe would tell you to "seed" the apricots > and mango; as "stoned" usually implies high (as in, > on drugs), or having thrown 
> large rocks/stones at someone.
> Odd, how these little differences keep popping 
> up.... ;-) 
 
Yolande:
I'm glad you clarified that. I was interested in making that recipe, and I was wondering if "stoned" meant I should mush the fruit to bits with a rock. :)
 
Yolande (a Canadian)



---------------------------------
L?che-vitrine ou l?che-?cran ? Yahoo! Magasinage.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From fc26det at aol.com  Mon Oct 27 23:13:06 2003
From: fc26det at aol.com (Potterfanme)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 23:13:06 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <002801c39cc1$2a0fb700$5cec79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bnk8q2+afb0@eGroups.com>


> >   Brian:-)
> >    I remember going swiming in the ocean about three days after I 
saw
> > Jaws and not even be phased.  Yet to this day, I canot take 
flowers
> > to a grave ever since I first saw Carrie (one of my favorite 
films of
> > all time).
> 

I don't have a problem with water because of Jaws, I just don't like 
the little fishies bumping into my legs............yech!

I read the book The Exorcist.  Went to see at the theater twice.  
Great movie.  Excellent book.  Came on TV about a month ago and all I 
had to do was hear the girls voice and I got the willies so bad I had 
to turn the tv off.

This also happens when I hear a car horn.  Has anyone seen the movie 
The Car?  It is about a car that is possessed by the devil and right 
before it kills someone the horn blows constantly.  I think James 
Brolin starred in it as a Sheriff.

Susan




From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Mon Oct 27 23:44:18 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 23:44:18 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <000f01c39cc9$4cbcb160$4797aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnkaki+jsfj@eGroups.com>

<<some snippage>>
 Iggy here:
I can deal with movies like Alien and Deep Blue Sea MUCH better than
> I can handle films like Seven, or Silence of the Lambs.  (I still 
refuse to
> watch the latter of the two.)  The more plausible I see something 
as being,
> the worse it effects me...

now Shirley:
Yes, that's what gets to me, too.  And I had the same issue with both 
of those movies.  [And, oddly enough, the book, Salem's Lot, by 
Stephen King, somehow did that to me, as well (but maybe I just have 
a vampire fear-thing, since the movie that scared me when I was a 
kid).]  There have been several movies that I have chosen not to see 
because I think I'll just identify with it too much to really get 
enjoyment out of it.  I had *no* desire to see that Hannibal movie a 
couple of years ago.... ick!

Iggy again:
> 
> As for RotK... as I have yet to actually read LotR, I don't get the
> reference.  (Although I am planning on reading it soon.)  My step-
son has a
> copy of the first movie on DVD, and I've only gotten the chance to 
watch
> about half of it.  I haven't really gotten a chance to watch any of 
the rest
> of the story...I know the main storyline, but that's mostly from 
the old
> cartoon movies...

Shirley:  I had to think about this one a little while, June, but 
then I remembered.  Wondering how they'll do that on the big 
screen.....  Iggy, don't worry about it, but do read the books before 
you see the movies, if you can; my husband has never read them and 
had trouble keeping track of stuff in both the first two movies.  I, 
on the other hand, absolutely *loved* them.  And don't get me started 
on Aragorn - with him I could watch paint dry.....

Iggy again: 
> BTW: Speaking of bugs in movies, and scary parts of said movies... 
My
> daughter and I are watching The Mummy Returns even as I write this, 
and it's
> the scene near the beginning where the flesh eating scarabs burst 
out of the
> ground at the dig site.  It's making me recall my reaction when I 
saw the
> first movie in the theatre with a few friends.  For the rest of the 
movie,
> since you see the first swarm of scarabs, none of us put our feet 
on the
> floor until the credits began to roll.  (And even then, it was with 
a great
> deal of trepidation.)
> 
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

Shirley:  I, too, have had this happen.  Point in fact:  we had this 
huge snake on our front sidewalk several years ago.  It was just 
peacefully sunning itself, but I couldn't figure out what kind it was 
and ended up calling some snake-rescue guy to come get it (turned out 
it was, IIRC, a Mississippi mud-snout, or something like that, but I 
digress).  Anyway, it was weeks before I could walk outside our house 
without my ankles getting all tingly, clearly anticipating a snake to 
rub against them, or something.

Shirley, who probably won't see Kill Bill, either, because that 
hypodermic needle scene in Pulp Fiction totally squicks her out, who 
really is happily married (but, let's face it, Aragorn is dead 
sexy!), and who generally doesn't have an irrational fear of snakes 
but evidently is prone to the creepy-crawlies in the right(wrong?) 
situations... ;-)




From eberte at vaeye.com  Tue Oct 28 00:45:11 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 00:45:11 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnkaki+jsfj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnke6n+pe4n@eGroups.com>

Shirley wrote:
> <big snip>
> Shirley, who probably won't see Kill Bill, either, because that 
> hypodermic needle scene in Pulp Fiction totally squicks her out, 
who 
> really is happily married (but, let's face it, Aragorn is dead 
> sexy!), and who generally doesn't have an irrational fear of snakes 
> but evidently is prone to the creepy-crawlies in the right(wrong?) 
> situations... ;-)


Well, if you don't like blood, "Kill Bill" is not for you.  They are 
sliding around on it/wading through it in the big showdown scene.  
Movies like that don't bother me that much because they are so 
implausible.  I confess to actually liking the "Die Hard" movies.  
But I was *aghast* to hear a child's voice in the theater at 
the "Kill Bill" showing--definitely *not* a kid's movie, IMHO.

Speaking of creepy-crawlies, the ultimate example of the power of 
suggestion is when you get the note home from your child's school 
stating that there is a case of *head lice* in the class.  
ARRRRGHH!!!   We have never (*frantically* knocking wood) yet had 
actual head lice in our family, but *invariably* my head starts 
itching and itching as soon as I see that note.

Elle (who agrees that Aragorn is *dead sexy*)




From Malady579 at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 28 00:58:19 2003
From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 00:58:19 -0000
Subject: Magical Sims
Message-ID: <bnkevb+n6na@eGroups.com>

Not sure many here are Simmers, but the computer game The Sims is
coming out with its last expansion pack for this version of the
game...Sim 2 comes out in February or so.  ::grin::

Anyway, the latest one comes out tomorrow here in the US, and it gives
your sims the ability to do magic.  Should be interesting and there
are sims sites out there with HP type downloads for The Sims so you
can recreate Diagon Alley or Hogarts.  There are even HP skins to be
found, though the quality can be shotty on some sites.  Most are
different levels of impressive, but being the obsessed Simmer I am, if
you are looking for the HP sims sites, I can get you the links.

So just spreading the news of a new game out there.  The game itself
is like an electronic dollhouse.  Oh, and this expansion pack is not
solely based on HP (you cannot fly on brooms) but it is very similar.
 Combine Charmed, Bewitched, HP, carnaval atmosphere, fantasies like
Jack and the Bean Stalk, and you get this game.  

And they finally created a teaset for those British Sims to take tea.
 ::grin::


Melody
who should not be playing games since her prof just told her to
rewrite Chapter Three of her thesis.  Will this thing ever end...




From dradamsapple at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 28 01:28:02 2003
From: dradamsapple at yahoo.com (dradamsapple)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 01:28:02 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnh1js+nahj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnkgn2+c69d@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy" <neonsister at a...> 
wrote:
> Since it's Halloween season and time to talk of all things scary, 
> here's a topic.  What basically harmless things scared you as a 
child 
> 

Uh, ok.

Believe it or not, nuns in black habits.

I lived my first four years of life in a predominantly Italian 
neighborhood, where priests and nuns were everywhere, and new 
everyone.   One day my mother and I were out shopping and one of the 
nuns approached my mother to say hello.  WELL, all you could see of 
her was her face, stuffed into that white frame of a 'hat', on top of 
billowing black draped material, which made up her habit. (She would 
make Snape proud).  I can remember like it was yesterday (and not 40 
yrs ago) how scared I was.  I ran and hid behind my mother, and 
didn't come out until she left.  She was such an impossing figure.

Of course, I was educated for sixteen years in Catholic schools,(go 
figure), where it ended up that some of the nuns at my high school 
and college dressed better than the students.  Oh well.


Anna . . .(who still doesn't know what the official name for the nun-
hat is)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 28 01:41:27 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:41:27 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood fears
References: <bnkaki+jsfj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001301c39cf4$9d6fa9c0$bd95aec7@rick>


> Shirley:  I, too, have had this happen.  Point in fact:  we had this
> huge snake on our front sidewalk several years ago.  It was just
> peacefully sunning itself, but I couldn't figure out what kind it was
> and ended up calling some snake-rescue guy to come get it (turned out
> it was, IIRC, a Mississippi mud-snout, or something like that, but I
> digress).  Anyway, it was weeks before I could walk outside our house
> without my ankles getting all tingly, clearly anticipating a snake to
> rub against them, or something.
>

Iggy here:

I think I can top this one.

I came home from work one day and checked the mail.  Walking up the path to
the front door, I was looking at the addressees on the envelopes and wasn't
really paying attention to what was going on around me.  I saw a couple of
bees fly by out of the corner of my eye... then a few more... and another
one... "Hmmm... Seem to be a lot of bees around today." was about the only
thing to pass through my brain about that...

Then I stepped up onto the small front porch and a sound finally penetrated
into my brain and I stopped.  Looking up, I saw a swarm of bees on my front
door... two feet in front of my face.

I think I set the record at that moment for the backwards long jump from a
standing start.  I jumped back at least a good six feet or more.  To get in,
I had to go in through the back door... reaching up through the dog door to
unlock the main door.
I called the police and asked what I should do... getting routed from one
place to another, I finally got in touch with a bee keeper.  (Note: if you
ever end up in a situation like this, call one.  They will often come out,
collect the bees, and simply take the swarm as payment... since they get
another hive of honey bees out of the deal...)

The apiarist (bee keeper) came out to collect the swarm while I watched.  He
said that the swarm was probably traveling through the area, and had chosen
my door because the dark color retained more heat and would help keep them
warm through the night.

He also estimated the size of the swarm at about 20,000 bees.  (I was just
happy that I saw them before they perceived me as a threat.  If worst came
to worst, I would have probably jumped into the pool in the back yard to get
away, then called an ambulance to deal with the stings I would have gotten
in the meantime.)

As a side note:  One of the kids in the neighborhood took a bunch of photos
of the swarm and gave me the duplicates.  *grin*


Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 28 01:55:22 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:55:22 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Magical Sims
References: <bnkevb+n6na@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <002701c39cf6$9967a420$bd95aec7@rick>


> Melody:
> So just spreading the news of a new game out there.  The game itself
> is like an electronic dollhouse.  Oh, and this expansion pack is not
> solely based on HP (you cannot fly on brooms) but it is very similar.
> Combine Charmed, Bewitched, HP, carnaval atmosphere, fantasies like
> Jack and the Bean Stalk, and you get this game.
>

Iggy here:

I can't remember where I found it (I can try to find the site again) but we
actually have a broom on our Sims game that your Sims CAN fly.  The
description even mentions a reference to practicing Quidditch on it.

As a matter of fact, I attached the file... (Successfully, I hope.)  To
install it, save it to your desktop... then open folders in the following
order:  My Computer, your designated hard drive, Program Files, Maxis, the
Sims, Game Data, and Objects.  Then move the broomstick file into the
Objects file.

In the game itself, it *should* show up under the misc. items category, and
I think will only be visible if you click on the infinity symbol.  Let me
know if anyone has any problems with the file and I'll try to track down the
site.


Iggy McSnurd



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 28 01:57:56 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 19:57:56 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Magical Sims
References: <bnkevb+n6na@eGroups.com> <002701c39cf6$9967a420$bd95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <003601c39cf6$e938af80$bd95aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

Looks like the magical broom file didn't send through... Contact me directly
if you want the file...

Iggy McSnurd






From Malady579 at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 28 02:18:32 2003
From: Malady579 at hotmail.com (Melody)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 02:18:32 -0000
Subject: Magical Sims
In-Reply-To: <002701c39cf6$9967a420$bd95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnkjlo+mfhf@eGroups.com>

Iggy wrote: 
>I can't remember where I found it (I can try to find the site again)
>but we actually have a broom on our Sims game that your Sims CAN fly.


Oh yeah.  That is at Cheap Frills, but I never downloaded it.  
hm...let me get the link...

http://www.cheapfrills.org/

Go to objects in the menu to the left and hit page 3.  It is there.

::big grin::


Melody




From Erthena at aol.com  Tue Oct 28 02:54:52 2003
From: Erthena at aol.com (werebearloony)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 02:54:52 -0000
Subject: missing the main list
Message-ID: <bnklps+v69m@eGroups.com>

I was wondering if anyone else is having problems with the daily 
digest feature on the main list, and here too come to think about 
it.  I've missed about ten recently and it's really bothering me.

Thanks!

~~loony




From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 28 04:10:06 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 04:10:06 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnk4nv+dvqv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnkq6u+50nf@eGroups.com>

Shirley:

>My childhood scary was from a movie I don't even remember, except 
it was about vampires, I was at a slumber party, and we were all 
sleeping in tents in the backyard.  When the movie was over, 
everyone went peacefully to sleep, and I don't think I slept 
properly for *weeks* afterward.  I kept pulling the covers *all the 
way* up to my chin, even though it was summer and very hot - as if 
that would really protect me from being bitten....<

KathyK:

Oh my goodness!  I could have written this myself.  I too remember 
watching a vampire movie that now only exists vaguely somewhere in 
my head.  Only, I was at home sneaking peeks into the Living Room 
where my mother was watching it.  I wasn't allowed to so I couldn't 
even tell her I was scared or she would have gotten mad at me for 
disobeying her.  

I used to do the covers up to the chin thing as "protection" against 
vampires, too.  I did it for *years.*  It was a very long time 
before I felt comfortable enough to sleep without doing this.  I 
still sometimes wakes up with my blankets bundled under my chin.  
And with my teeth clenched firmly shut to prevent spiders from 
invading. <g>

KathyK (who peeked into the Living Room too often as a child and now 
only watches scary movies when dragged to them against her will)





From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Tue Oct 28 03:42:48 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 13:42:48 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] "Wizard Pics"  (was:Re: Irrational childhood fears)
References: <bnk97c+enp0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <000001c39d21$7e014580$65984cca@Monteith>

> > Iggy McSnurd wrote
> > (who hopes this type of revelation doesn't make TOO many people
> think he's
> > off his rocker... but figures it's safe enough to talk about
> considering
> > what type of fan group this is...)
>

Susan adds
> The mind is an amazing thing isn't it?  I have also looked at
> pictures to the point of seeing things move and feeling like I am
> actually in them.


Good to see I'm not *quite* as deranged as first thought... In my Dad's
place (now Dad's place, was the family home, but hey! We grew up) there are
two wall plaques I guess, of siamese cats, each about a foot and a half
high. I used to 'see' them move, especially at night. Many years later, my
sister said she also used to 'see' them move as a kid during one of our late
night discussions. We both *swear to this day* that they moved. Darn things!
Used to creep me out big time.

Nox




From fluxed at earthlink.net  Tue Oct 28 07:25:17 2003
From: fluxed at earthlink.net (A. Vulgarweed)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 02:25:17 -0500
Subject: Irrational childhood (and afterward...) fears
In-Reply-To: <1067283949.4898.43113.m13@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <l03130300bbc3c5a3ddc7@[67.73.136.129]>

I saw Carrie and Alien and Jaws and The Shining and all that when I was a
kid (and yes, I was too young for R-rated movies, but I got away with it
with a friend's older brother....don't remember how), and they didn't
really faze me all *that* much that I remember. I was in horrible suspense
in the theater of course, but they didn't really stick with me much
afterward like that.

But those are GOOD horror movies. For me, it was a BAD horror movie that
did it. Anybody remember a horrible little cheapie, circa 1979 or so,
called 'Prophecy'? Paper mill in Maine dumping nasty chemicals in the
water. Ancient Indian prophecy about the revenge of the mountain. Fugly
giant mutated fish, then.....fugly giant slimy mutated BEARS, who had
super-ursine powers (couldn't be shot) and killed people. Did anybody else
see this thing? Oh MAN. See, I grew up in the woods. My dad was a park
ranger. He was always on about the destruction of the environment and
conservation (still is). This movie seemed very PLAUSIBLE to me, and while
I didn't give up playing in the woods (couldn't really, as there was
nowhere to play for miles that wasn't woods), I spent a lot of time running
out of them in screaming terror because some songbird or bunny rabbit was
rustling in the leaves and startled me.

Oh yeah, also reading. I read Stephen King with no lasting trauma. What got
me was Poe's "The Premature Burial"--which contains a VERY VIVID
description of *exactly* what it might be like to be buried prematurely, in
loving sensual detail. Gaaah. I blame him for my enduring claustrophobia.

Which brings me to: Flying. (On airplanes, silly) SOMETIMES. The worst part
is, the panic attacks come and go with no rhyme or reason--when I buy a
ticket to go somewhere, I never know if on the day of the flight I'm gonna
be all chill, having my bad canned Bloody Mary and reading Harry Potter and
watching the pretty clouds below, or if I'm going to be _whimpering in
mortal terror and begging a flight attendant to hold my hand_ (yes, I
really have done this.) I was fine coming back from New York from a
friend's wedding--in August 2001. (When I went back about a month and a
half later to help some friends through the aftermath, I took the friggin'
Amtrak, oh yes.)

Spiders. Yup. LOL about Chamber of Secrets and Return of the King. I was SO
MAD at Peter Jackson. I wanted to get them over with in the same year!

Post too long. Spider story coming soon.

AV, irrationally scared of telling the spider story.





From fluxed at earthlink.net  Tue Oct 28 07:46:00 2003
From: fluxed at earthlink.net (A. Vulgarweed)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 02:46:00 -0500
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <1067314212.4443.66828.m9@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <l03130301bbc3cb9e45ac@[67.73.136.51]>

Iggy, thank you SO MUCH for the information about brown recluse venom being
NECROTIC. I will sleep SO much better, thank you. :P

My spider story:
Last day of my first year of college, in upstate New York, and my parents
were on their way to get me. I didn't want to leave, didn't want to go
home, wasn't packed, and had a horrific hangover (not just alcohol). All I
wanted was a shower, so I padded down the hallway of our weird little
wooden-cabin experimental-dorm-things and into the shower room, which was
kind of like a rustic cabana. Just as I'm about to step in, I look down and
what is sitting on the drain but this humongous spider, with its legs all
spread out. It was *much* bigger than my hand. It wasn't fat like a
tarantula, but it was, if anything, even bigger than one. It was built like
a wolf spider (my least favorite kind), all alert and pointy and
mean-looking. I SHRIEKED, and the maid came running. I stood there half in
and half out of my towel and gibbered inarticulately and pointed at that
EIGHT LEGGED FREAK. She just said something like--I think it was--'Oh,
nursery spider.' So she went and got the industrial vacuum cleaner and
sucked it right up with a loud THUP!!

I still couldn't deal with the shower. I barely made it to the toilet
before the dry-heaving started.

Nursery spider? Well of course. Eats babies, I'm sure.

However, I could never find anyone else who had seen anything like this or
had heard of it. I was sure _everyone_ I told this to thought that my
failure to 'just say no' most of that year was having...effects. I felt a
little bit crazy. Was even doubting my own reality. Until--14 years later,
I was meeting my aunt for a family reunion at Baltimore-Washington airport,
and her flight was late and the info was wrong, and right behind the
information desk they had this display of mounted dead wildlife of various
sorts--mammals, fish, birds. Local species? Endangered? Didn't get the
theme. And there, in that glass case, was a **spider** _just like the one I
had seen_. Every bit as big and ugly as I remembered--the legspan was a
good eight inches. Go to BWI and look if you don't believe me--it's
*there,* or at least it was the summer of 2000.

I think I feel _worse_ knowing they really exist.

AV





From pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk  Tue Oct 28 08:06:51 2003
From: pipdowns at etchells0.demon.co.uk (bluesqueak)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:06:51 -0000
Subject: Attaching Files: WAS Re: Magical Sims
In-Reply-To: <003601c39cf6$e938af80$bd95aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnl82r+raft@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Iggy here:
> 
> Looks like the magical broom file didn't send through... Contact 
me directly
> if you want the file...

You can't attach files on any of the HPfGU lists, Iggy. That's for 
virus protection reasons - most virii are spread by attachments.

Pip!Squeak





From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Tue Oct 28 08:25:04 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:25:04 -0000
Subject: All Time Scaries
In-Reply-To: <bnk4nv+dvqv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnl950+83n5@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" 
<shirley2allie at h...> wrote:
> <<snipping>>
> June: 
> June, continued:
> And I 
> > still think the reverse tracking shot of Roy Scheider on the 
beach 
> > when the little kid's lilo goes up in a fountain of blood may be 
> one 
> > of the most stomach dropping moments ever.  Often imitated - 
never 
> > duplicated.
> > 
> > June
> 
> Shirley:
> Okay, stupid question (guess I don't remember the entire movie, 
after 
> all), but what's "lilo"?

Sorry - more cross cultural confusion.

A lilo is what we brits call a blow up air bed that you can float in 
the water on.

Sorry.

June
> 
> My childhood scary was from a movie I don't even remember, except 
it 
> was about vampires, I was at a slumber party, and we were all 
> sleeping in tents in the backyard.  When the movie was over, 
everyone 
> went peacefully to sleep, and I don't think I slept properly for 
> *weeks* afterward.  I kept pulling the covers *all the way* up to 
my 
> chin, even though it was summer and very hot - as if that would 
> really protect me from being bitten....
> 
> Shirley, who has, at the edge of her memory, an all-time scary, but 
> can't remember.... and maybe that's a good thing  ;-)




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Tue Oct 28 08:29:41 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:29:41 -0000
Subject: Irrational childhood fears
In-Reply-To: <bnke6n+pe4n@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnl9dl+je3j@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ellejir" <eberte at v...> wrote:
>> the "Kill Bill" showing--definitely *not* a kid's movie, IMHO.
> 
> Speaking of creepy-crawlies, the ultimate example of the power of 
> suggestion is when you get the note home from your child's school 
> stating that there is a case of *head lice* in the class.  
> ARRRRGHH!!!   We have never (*frantically* knocking wood) yet had 
> actual head lice in our family, but *invariably* my head starts 
> itching and itching as soon as I see that note.
> 
> Elle (who agrees that Aragorn is *dead sexy*)

I remember this one from when my daughter was at primary school (aged 
6).  There had been an outbreak of headlice and we parents all got 
called in for a talk by the Headteacher.  This included a slideshow 
and by the end of the slide show, every parent in the audience was 
surreptitiously scratching.  

And no - since you ask - we never got 'em.

June




From paulag5777 at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 28 13:02:40 2003
From: paulag5777 at yahoo.com (Paula Gaon)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 05:02:40 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Teachers(was-irrational childhood fears)Sorry, typo in previous.
Message-ID: <20031028130240.46827.qmail@web40010.mail.yahoo.com>

28Oct03

Iggy wrote:
 
*snips*
 Paula now:
 IMHO the kids come out pretty unscathed--the laws are by and large on
their side.

Iggy here:
I don't know if I'd say that.  In high school, I was stuck with one
particular teacher for four whole semesters, and she tormented me
during her classes... claimed that she turned down a wedding
proposal from a mega-millionaire because she wanted to keep teaching....
I found out  that Social Studies department at the school eventually banned
together and not only got her fired, but got her teaching credentials revoked
and had her banned from ever teaching in the county again. 
*snips*
 
Paula now:
Wow, Iggy!  This was a really strange and unusual and SAD case.  But believe me, more often that not, students can ban together and "hang" a teacher who just insists that they do their homework.  This teacher sounds like the type who was angry and frustrated because she was stuck in a profession that she hated and wanted to take it out on everybody else.  Believe me, I've seen those types, they are angry, bitter people and a real tragedy.  I decided that life's too short to end up like that.  Believe me, if a mega-millionaire had come along, I would have grabbed him even if he'd been a clone of The Marquis de Sade to get out of the classroom....no, no, just  kidding.  But really, sometimes one just has to take a chance and make the effort to find a suitable situation.  Otherwise, everybody gets hurt in the long run.
 
Paula "Griff" Gaon




          "...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Tue Oct 28 13:36:29 2003
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 13:36:29 -0000
Subject: "Wizard Pics"  (was:Re: Irrational childhood fears)
In-Reply-To: <bnk97c+enp0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnlrct+j4uk@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "Potterfanme" wrote:
[snip]
> I also had a very startling night one time.  I had finally
> moved into an apartment of my own.  I had a boyfriend that
> was going to come by after he got off work late at night.  I
> was very tired and decided to go to bed.  I swear I had not
> fallen asleep.....I heard my door open.  Then I saw the
> bathroom light turn on (The bathroom was opposite my bedroom
> door).  Heard the shower run.  I waited and waited and he
> still did not come out.  Finally, I got up to see why he was
> taking so long in the shower and no one was there.  Talk
> about spooky.  I was rattled for a couple days after that.
> I am hoping that I really was so exhausted that I fell asleep
> but I don't think so.
> Susan

Sounds a lot like a phenomenon often referred to in Norway 
as "vard?ger"; am not certain of the etymology, but the word is 
believed to stem from Ancient Norse.  Essentially it is experienced 
as being not a ghost as much as an echo of something that will 
happen - or more specifically, someone who is coming:  you hear your 
spouse come home, including the car in the driveway, stepping up to 
the door, opening and closing the door, and then:  nothing.  The door 
has not been opened, not a track to be seen outside (even if there is 
fresh snow, mud or similar).  Then you hear it all again some short 
while later, but this time it is for real.  

You don't mention whether your boyfriend did come - if he did, he may 
have planned on showering, but changed his mind when you were so 
spooked.  Vard?ger does not normally include speech - just the sound 
of actions.  They most often involve persons close to you; for some 
people the advance time is so similar from time to time that you know 
how long time you have to put over the coffee; see message 2 on
http://tinyurl.com/sofq  

Some texts refer to it as a form of telepathy, and mention that sound-
halucinations is the most common form, but that some people also have 
visual halucinations.  The term vard?ger refers to when these 
impressions are so strong that one realises who will be coming -  you 
are seeing his/her vard?ger.  As far as I understand, it is not a 
case of who can see/hear other people's vard?gers as much as who has 
a vard?ger for other people to see/hear.

I should mention that this is something that I never have encountered 
myself, nor have I encountered other paranormal phenomena.

Best regards
Christian Stub?




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 28 14:04:43 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:04:43 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Irrational childhood (and afterward...) fears
References: <l03130300bbc3c5a3ddc7@[67.73.136.129]>
Message-ID: <001301c39d5c$71712b60$098baec7@rick>



>A. Vulgarweed:
> But those are GOOD horror movies. For me, it was a BAD horror movie that
> did it. Anybody remember a horrible little cheapie, circa 1979 or so,
> called 'Prophecy'? Paper mill in Maine dumping nasty chemicals in the
> water. Ancient Indian prophecy about the revenge of the mountain. Fugly
> giant mutated fish, then.....fugly giant slimy mutated BEARS, who had
> super-ursine powers (couldn't be shot) and killed people. Did anybody else
> see this thing? Oh MAN. See, I grew up in the woods. My dad was a park
> ranger. He was always on about the destruction of the environment and
> conservation (still is). This movie seemed very PLAUSIBLE to me, and while
> I didn't give up playing in the woods (couldn't really, as there was
> nowhere to play for miles that wasn't woods), I spent a lot of time
running
> out of them in screaming terror because some songbird or bunny rabbit was
> rustling in the leaves and startled me.

Iggy here:

I heard about the movie... my sister saw it and told me all about it.  I can
actually see something like that potentially happening... but it didn't
worry me too much, since I didn't live in an area with bears.  (Mountain
lions, on the other hande, definately lived in the area.  As a matter of
fact, UCSC has signs at the start of every path that leads into the woods
warning about mountain lions and telling how to deal with them if you
encounter one.)

There was a movie about the same time as Prophecy, called Manitou... THIS
was the one that freaked out my sister.  It was about a woman who had a
swelling on the back of her neck that kept growing.  When the doctors cut it
open, out came a monstrous Indian spirit or something... It started killing
people and had to be defeated.  Shortly after seeing the movie, my sister
got a big ingrown zit (aka, aboil) on the back of her neck.  She freaked
like you wouldn't imagine...

The other one that used to get to her was a movie called "It's Alive" about
a couple who have this mutated monster baby that scrabbles around killing
people until they finally manage to kill it.

Then of course, there was "Amityville Horror" and "Rosemary's Baby."  Both
of those movies freaked her out as well.

>A. Vulgarweed:
> Oh yeah, also reading. I read Stephen King with no lasting trauma. What
got
> me was Poe's "The Premature Burial"--which contains a VERY VIVID
> description of *exactly* what it might be like to be buried prematurely,
in
> loving sensual detail. Gaaah. I blame him for my enduring claustrophobia.

Iggy here:

One of my favorite Poe stories, and one that wierds out a lot of people, is
"the Cask of Amontillado."  It's about a man who is seeking revenge for a
possibly real, or imagined, slight against his family.  He lures a man from
the other family down into his wine cellar during a citywide celebration,
using promises of a cask of a rare wine knonw as Amontillado.  There's
nothing in the small cellar cubby but a set of shackles set into the wall.
He locks the drunkard into the shackles, and then proceeds to brick him up
into the cubbyhole of the wall.

>
> Which brings me to: Flying. (On airplanes, silly) SOMETIMES. The worst
part
> is, the panic attacks come and go with no rhyme or reason--when I buy a
> ticket to go somewhere, I never know if on the day of the flight I'm gonna
> be all chill, having my bad canned Bloody Mary and reading Harry Potter
and
> watching the pretty clouds below, or if I'm going to be _whimpering in
> mortal terror and begging a flight attendant to hold my hand_ (yes, I
> really have done this.) I was fine coming back from New York from a
> friend's wedding--in August 2001. (When I went back about a month and a
> half later to help some friends through the aftermath, I took the friggin'
> Amtrak, oh yes.)

Iggy here:

Ok, about Amtrak trains first... I refuse to ride cross country on a train,
even though I *really* want to, because I had a very vivid dream about me
being in a train wreck and possibly dying.  (Everything going head over
heels, then going black...)

On the other part of the above statements...

I'll assume that, with your reference to Panic Attacks, that you are a
fellow sufferer.

A major positive event actually happened in my life due to severe panic.
(This is a "silver lining" story here...)

My mom had turned in a heap of her frequent flyer miles to get me a ticket
back east to Syracuse, NY, to visit family.  The night before I was supposed
to go, I started to get incredibly anxious, so my mom told me to just see
what happened in the morning and decide if I wanted to still go in the
morning.  (I was staying at her house that night since she was going to
drive me to the airport the next morning.)  The morning I was supposed to
go, I was pretty much curled up on the floor in the fetal position, staring
at the wall.  We decided that I wasn't going to go...

Now for the good part...  I met my wife on-line about 3 months before, and
we had been in pretty much constant contact over the phone and via e-mail.
We both knew a good deal about eachother (the good and the bad) and had
pretty much fallen in love, though I was in Santa Cruz, California, and she
was in northern Alabama.  Well, during the week I ended up staying home on
vacation (since I wasn't in NY) she and I decided that I would be moving
down here to Alabama.  This was with the intent for me to live with her and
her son, and intent to become engaged (unless something went really wrong,
which it didn't, obviously).

I am convinced to this day that, had I gone to NY, it would have been a
*lot* longer before we had reached the decision for me to move down here...
if ever.  Now we're married, have a 2 year old daughter, and I have a 13
year old step-son.

My family thought I was insane for deciding to move down here... that is
until they met my wife, then they accepted her.  My mom had even been on the
verge of disowning me entirely.  I think what told her I was serious was
when I told her that if she felt the need to disown me, I would accept that,
and she would have no son... but that even that would not deter me.  Every
part of me told me that it was something I had to do.. for good or bad.

To this day, whenever anyone asks my mom how I'm doing down here, she tells
them "You know, I thought he was out of his mind when he told me he was
moving to Alabama to be with a woman he met on-line, but I'll be damned if
the kid didn't know exactly what he was doing."  *grin*  (My southern wife
actually gets along better with my Italian mother better than I do most of
the time... *chuckle*)


Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Tue Oct 28 14:18:00 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:18:00 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: spider story
References: <l03130301bbc3cb9e45ac@[67.73.136.51]>
Message-ID: <001a01c39d5e$4c1c0fe0$098baec7@rick>


>A. Vulgarweed:
> Iggy, thank you SO MUCH for the information about brown recluse venom
being
> NECROTIC. I will sleep SO much better, thank you. :P

Iggy here:

*chuckle*  Just comfort yourself with these facts:

1: Brown recluses don't like people and tend to want to hunt only in narrow
spaces, given the choice.  You should be pretty safe in your bed.

2:  Brown recluse venom doesn't require an antivenom, you just need the area
numbed and excised.  They can do this easily in any emergency room.  Unless
you have that bad genetic reaction, the procedure and cure are pretty
simple, from what I've been told.  My uncle was bitten by one, and said that
getting treatment was easy, and pretty much painless.

>A. Vulgarweed:
> I SHRIEKED, and the maid came running. I stood there half in
> and half out of my towel and gibbered inarticulately and pointed at that
> EIGHT LEGGED FREAK. She just said something like--I think it was--'Oh,
> nursery spider.' So she went and got the industrial vacuum cleaner and
> sucked it right up with a loud THUP!!
>

Iggy here:

Because I live in an apartment, especially in the south, we get bugs of all
sorts in our apartment to varying degrees depending on both the season and
whether or not someone is moving in or out of one of the other apartments in
the building.  The bugs attract spiders as well, of course.

Every week or two, I simply attack the hose to our vacuum cleaner, and co
through the house getting all the bugs and spiders I see.  (I've even,
amazingly enough. learned how to use the thing to dispose of flies.  I wait
until they're against the kitchen window and get them then.  The glass and
light tend to confuse the flies enough that you can get them with the vacuum
before they get away.  It takes some patience, but it can be done.  *grin*)


Iggy McSnurd







From cantor at vgernet.net  Tue Oct 28 14:28:39 2003
From: cantor at vgernet.net (Amy Miller)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 09:28:39 -0500
Subject: Again
Message-ID: <3F9E7D17.2060105@vgernet.net>

Dear Friends,

I cannot believe it myself but I am having more surgery next Wednesday, 
and I am again asking for your prayers.  I thought having a kidney 
transplant was going to make my life easier!

I thank you in advance and pray your lives are filled with luck and 
blessings.

Amy Miller





From jenP_97 at yahoo.com  Tue Oct 28 16:13:01 2003
From: jenP_97 at yahoo.com (Jennifer Piersol)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 16:13:01 -0000
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <001a01c39d5e$4c1c0fe0$098baec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnm4id+4vb6@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd"
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:

<big ol' snip>

> Every week or two, I simply attack the hose to our vacuum cleaner

<'nother snip>

A man that vacuums???  Every time my husband decides I've taken too
long to thoroughly clean the house (not often, as he's as messy (or
moreso!) as I am), he'll take out the vacuum and "clean".  Then, I
feel terrible when I turn into my mother (also not often when it comes
to cleaning) and have to re-vacuum the house right afterwards.

Okay, here's my spider story.  I'm horribly afraid of spiders - so
much so that if there's a spider in our room, unless I SEE the body
after my husband has smashed it, I'm awake for the next hour just
sitting up in bed looking everywhere for more.  In the past few weeks,
we've had two HUGE black widows in our hallway that surprised me
during routine trips to the kids' room in the middle of the night... I
almost touched one when my hand went to turn on the hall light.  So I
get very easily freaked out (COS wasn't too bad because the "real"
looking spiders didn't do anything to anyone).

It all stems from when I was oh - 6 or 7 years old.  I was in bed, and
I had this horrible nightmare that daddy-long-legs (they're really
cellar spiders around here, but we still call them daddy-long-legs)
were crawling all over my head and face while I was in bed.  I
screamed and screamed, and my parents (who were in bed, so it must
have been late) just sorta yelled at me from their room "It's just a
dream, sweetie... go back to sleep!"  Well, I couldn't leave it at
that, so I got up, turned on the light, and there on my pillow were
two daddy-long-legs.  I don't remember anything after that, so it's
possible I was so scared that I passed out (wait - now that I think
about it, I do remember freaking out and turning my pillow over and
over periodically for the rest of the night to make sure there weren't
more - and I slept with the light on for weeks afterwards).

Anyway, that's why I'm scared of spiders now.  I think it's also why
I'm not hesitant (no matter how tired I am) to go to my daughters'
room when I hear them calling for me. ;)

While I'm at it, I'm also afraid of heights (ferris wheel incident) to
the point of panicking at the thought of having to ride on a ski lift.
 I'm scared of L.A. traffic (but mostly only when someone else is
driving, and it's getting better now that I'm on antidepressants). 
I'm not afraid of public speaking, per se (I get nervous, sure, but
it's not debilitating), but I *am* afraid of talking to new people...
so much so that I can rarely call people I don't know on the phone. 
My husband teases me about the fact that I can't order pizza.  And I
also have regular nightmares about my teeth rotting and falling out,
although I think I read somewhere that that means I'm afraid of
something else, which of course, I can't remember at the moment.

And horror movies?  No way.  Let me just say that when _IT_ came out
on television, I BEGGED my sisters to not watch it... instead, they
turned up the volume so that I could even hear it in my room with my
door closed and the covers over my head (and the light on), so I ended
up sleeping in my dad's room for TWO WEEKS!  And I was about 16 years
old!!!!!

Jen, who is trying not to transfer her fears to her kids, but whose
daughter is just as afraid of spiders as she is...




From editor at texas.net  Tue Oct 28 20:38:19 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 20:38:19 -0000
Subject: Return of the Skrewt Spawn!
Message-ID: <bnmk3r+boco@eGroups.com>

In the spirit of the creepy stories (in the sense of those things 
that creepeth upon the earth--or, worse, *me*), I am reposting the 
Attack of the Skrewt Spawn. Enjoy. 

Message 11638
From:   "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> 
Date:  Sat Aug 10, 2002  12:43 pm
Subject:  Attack of the Skrewt Spawn
 
Allow me to quote the description of Blast-Ended Skrewts:

" They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and 
slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no 
visible heads."

It is my sad and sober duty to inform you all, and to warn those of 
you who live in dry, desert areas, that Hagrid is evidently *not* the 
first wizard to breed such things. A close relative of the Skrewts 
evidently escaped and has established itself in the native fauna. I 
know this because I killed one in my garage a couple of days ago.

This creature, cleverly sensing the absence of my husband, He Who 
Must Deal With Bugs, invaded the *day* he left. And it chose its time 
well. Picture this.....a sleepy woman remembers she has not fed the 
cat (aided in this by the cat making a constant stream of trills and 
hopeful little forays toward the garage, wherein are his food and 
water bowls). Sleepy woman, I point out, is wearing no shoes, which 
is very stupid given the fact that (a) the cat's attitude toward his 
box has been very cavalier for quite a while, (b) the garage is where 
I see most of the recluses (although the odds that they can bite 
before being crushed against concrete are small, unlike when you sit 
on them on upholstery or stand on them on carpet); (c) the garage is
also a very likely place for scorpions (in fact, the carcass of a 
rather large dead one is, even as we speak, under the bag of cat 
food, startling me on a regular basis, but I never have anything to 
hand to deal with it and simpy make yet another quickly-forgotten 
mental note to clear it away in a bit). So no shoes is not the 
brightest way to go into the garage, but the foregoing should also 
let you all know that I am not entirely unprepared or unfamiliar with 
creepies in the garage. Okay.

I turn on the light, open the door, and stand on the step in the 
garage. Leon (the cat) comes through the cat door in the wall and 
begins his loop-through-the-legs-and-cat-food-bag routine. A movement 
on the garage floor (a couple inches below the raised area where the 
freezer sits) catches my eye, and I think it is a scorpion, a large 
one. I look. It's not. I don't know what it is.

Let me say now that I am a native Texan and have lived 37 1/2 of my 
38 years here. With the exception of about four years in Austin, all 
of that time was in San Antonio. The most recent seven years were in 
this very house. And I have never, never, never, *ever* seen anything 
like this thing crawling (very fast)towards me. I am horrified.

It moves like a scorpion, in very fast little jerky rushes. 
Scorpions, in fact, are loved by most cats because they move like cat 
toys and are fun to play with (cats are way too fast to get stung). 
Not my cat, though, of course, so no help in this situation either. 
Leon looked at this creature and promptly ignored it, just as I have 
seen him watch a scorpion walk past him, and he continues his "feed 
me" routine, getting massively in the way as I try simultaneously to 
keep this thing in sight, stay away from it, make sure I'm not 
stepping on any known evils while dealing with the unknown, and
find something to kill it with. Even if Jan were here, it's moving 
too fast for me to go for help, and I am NOT going to allow anything 
that looks like this to get away alive.

I am finding it a bit hard to look away from this thing, making it 
even more difficult. This is true horrified fascination. It has two 
very long front legs (I find out later they aren't legs, but such was 
my impression at the time) held up and out, in the exact attitude you 
take when you are playing scary monster with your kids and are 
chasing them--extended over its head (except it doesn't look like it 
has a head) and forward. The pattern on its back is very reminiscent 
of the scale pattern on a scorpion, and the color is similar--that, 
combined with its movement, makes my mind *still* try to make it a 
scorpion even when I can see it's not.

It comes up the little raised shelf and I do a creditable imitation 
of those ladies in cartoons on chairs, jumping back onto the step 
below the door. [To my credit, I don't think I yelled.] It goes back 
down, I jump down and grab one of a pair of sandals that's in the 
garage because Leon hairballed in them and I haven't had time to 
clean them out yet. I check for recluses beneath and on the sandal--
none. Good. I killed one under a garbage bag out here last trash day. 
I look for The Thing.

It has gone along the edge of the raised area, heading toward some of 
the Stuff piled in here, and is perilously close to escaping. This 
thing is not only as fast as a scorpion, it doesn't stop like they 
do, it's in continuous motion, little rushes. I quickly scan the 
vicinity for other nasties, see none, vault the catbox, miss the cat 
poop, and smite this thing. It doesn't stop moving, but it stops 
going anywhere, which I interpret with some satisfaction as death 
throes. Eventually it does stop moving.

It's not moving and I am no longer threatened. I am still staring in
horrified fascination. I don't know what this thing is. A closer look 
is unpleasant, because the oddities I noticed are reinforced. I wish 
they'd been tricks of the light or the adrenaline, but what I saw was 
accurate. It has a body like a spider, and those front things can't 
be legs because it has eight other ones. It's about the size--for 
those of you in the US--of a large one of those big garden spiders 
that roam the grass, a diameter (including legs) of about 2 to 2-1/2 
inches. Its head is awful. It looks like a peach--just a groove, no 
eyes that I can see, no features. The head is shiny. The butt 
(whatever that is in bugspeak) is indeed the color and pattern of a 
scorpion, but no stinger. I am afraid to touch it and leave it where 
it lies. I wonder if an alien ship has landed nearby and what other 
odd things may be happening by. This looks like it belongs in a cave. 

It's still there, by the way--I keep sneaking glances at it when I'm 
feeding my useless cat, to make sure it hasn't reanimated and snuck 
off to plot revenge. I was *totally* creeped out by this.

Last night, with Catherine's help, I did a Google search and *found* 
the thing. It's called a sun spider. Or camel spider. Or whipscorpion 
or windscorpion (due to its speed). I found the site of some lunatic 
who takes pictures of arachnids as a hobby (rest easy, any of you who 
thought *we* were weird), and I made a positive identification. [This 
guy even has *movies* of this thing, if anyone is masochistic enough 
to want to see how it moves.] But it's not natural, I refuse to 
believe it.

No, this is another wizarding thing that escaped, some experiment of a
teacher or student at the Texas wizarding academy. Like horny toads,
creatures like this are positive evidence that there is a wizarding
population in this area. To my disgust, the magic control office has 
as much problem with people taking vacation in the summer as other 
offices, and nobody has shown up to Obliviate my encounter with this 
(which I would appreciate).

Anyway, I now give you the URL so you can see the Skrewt spawn. It's 
clearly related to Hagrid's larger blasting Skrewts. From the 
descriptions I found, this subspecies does not shoot fire. Thank all 
the good gods. I must warn you, not only is this thing hideous, the 
lunatic taking the picture has it sitting on his *foot* and his 
*hand.* This makes my skin crawl on two levels, the thing itself and 
the thought of it touching me. I still won't even poke the body with 
a stick; He Who Deals With Bugs must handle it when he gets back. 
This is beyond me trapping stuff under bowls and cups and balancing 
large unabridged dictionaries on top to keep them there until he can 
arrive and handle it; this thing had to die and I'm even ooked out by
the carcass. Looking at the pictures, I can see the tiny black eyes 
buried in the crevice, but they are much less harder to see on the 
one I met. And mine was larger.

In a word. Eeurgh.

--Amanda the Skrewt-Killer

P.S. of October 2003--the Skrewt was, some months later, mounted in 
lucite, has been carried on trips and shown to other HP fanfolk, and 
is currently on the shelf above my desk at work as I type.  ~A


http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid4.jpg
http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid6.jpg
http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid2.jpg


 





From editor at texas.net  Tue Oct 28 20:46:31 2003
From: editor at texas.net (Amanda)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 20:46:31 -0000
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <001a01c39d5e$4c1c0fe0$098baec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnmkj7+t71l@eGroups.com>

> Iggy here:
> 
> *chuckle*  Just comfort yourself with these facts:
> 
> 1: Brown recluses don't like people and tend to want to hunt only 
in narrow
> spaces, given the choice.  You should be pretty safe in your bed.

Yes, but when you're up at 3 a.m. nursing your baby, and one crawls 
out from under the couch between your feet and takes off across the 
floor, it *does* pretty much wake you up for the rest of the night.

Have lots more recluse stories, including my cat spitting a full-
grown live (if groggy) one out at my feet (had not bitten him); or 
finding *two* in the kids' bathtub (ugh). Best story of all involves 
unpacking a box of paperback books (finger-and-thumb method, one well-
shaken book at a time), locating a recluse that fled into the 
recesses of the remaining books (damn), locating a scorpion that did 
the same (*damn*), and finding them beneath the last book. Scorpion 
had killed the spider. I did thank it nicely before I killed it, too.

At this point, I can tell a recluse from other house spiders by the 
way they *walk.* Scorpions and recluses = house. Black widows = 
outside (in mailbox, on lawn furniture, etc., but *outside*, thank 
God for small favors).

Welcome to Texas. We won't even *start* on wasps. 

~Amanda






From tminton at deckerjones.com  Tue Oct 28 20:54:34 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 14:54:34 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Return of the Skrewt Spawn!
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE248C70@djmail.deckerjones.com>

I think I am going to be sick.  I just looked at one of the pictures and
you know that thing is on some nutter person's hand.   I cannot believe
that you had the nerve to kill it.  You have my respect!!
 
Tonya

	-----Original Message-----
	From: Amanda [mailto:editor at texas.net] 
	Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 2:38 PM
	To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
	Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Return of the Skrewt Spawn!
	
	
	In the spirit of the creepy stories (in the sense of those
things 
	that creepeth upon the earth--or, worse, *me*), I am reposting
the 
	Attack of the Skrewt Spawn. Enjoy. 
	
	Message 11638
	From:   "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> 
	Date:  Sat Aug 10, 2002  12:43 pm
	Subject:  Attack of the Skrewt Spawn
	
	Allow me to quote the description of Blast-Ended Skrewts:
	
	" They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale
and 
	slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no 
	visible heads."
	
	It is my sad and sober duty to inform you all, and to warn those
of 
	you who live in dry, desert areas, that Hagrid is evidently
*not* the 
	first wizard to breed such things. A close relative of the
Skrewts 
	evidently escaped and has established itself in the native
fauna. I 
	know this because I killed one in my garage a couple of days
ago.
	
	This creature, cleverly sensing the absence of my husband, He
Who 
	Must Deal With Bugs, invaded the *day* he left. And it chose its
time 
	well. Picture this.....a sleepy woman remembers she has not fed
the 
	cat (aided in this by the cat making a constant stream of trills
and 
	hopeful little forays toward the garage, wherein are his food
and 
	water bowls). Sleepy woman, I point out, is wearing no shoes,
which 
	is very stupid given the fact that (a) the cat's attitude toward
his 
	box has been very cavalier for quite a while, (b) the garage is
where 
	I see most of the recluses (although the odds that they can bite

	before being crushed against concrete are small, unlike when you
sit 
	on them on upholstery or stand on them on carpet); (c) the
garage is
	also a very likely place for scorpions (in fact, the carcass of
a 
	rather large dead one is, even as we speak, under the bag of cat

	food, startling me on a regular basis, but I never have anything
to 
	hand to deal with it and simpy make yet another
quickly-forgotten 
	mental note to clear it away in a bit). So no shoes is not the 
	brightest way to go into the garage, but the foregoing should
also 
	let you all know that I am not entirely unprepared or unfamiliar
with 
	creepies in the garage. Okay.
	
	I turn on the light, open the door, and stand on the step in the

	garage. Leon (the cat) comes through the cat door in the wall
and 
	begins his loop-through-the-legs-and-cat-food-bag routine. A
movement 
	on the garage floor (a couple inches below the raised area where
the 
	freezer sits) catches my eye, and I think it is a scorpion, a
large 
	one. I look. It's not. I don't know what it is.
	
	Let me say now that I am a native Texan and have lived 37 1/2 of
my 
	38 years here. With the exception of about four years in Austin,
all 
	of that time was in San Antonio. The most recent seven years
were in 
	this very house. And I have never, never, never, *ever* seen
anything 
	like this thing crawling (very fast)towards me. I am horrified.
	
	It moves like a scorpion, in very fast little jerky rushes. 
	Scorpions, in fact, are loved by most cats because they move
like cat 
	toys and are fun to play with (cats are way too fast to get
stung). 
	Not my cat, though, of course, so no help in this situation
either. 
	Leon looked at this creature and promptly ignored it, just as I
have 
	seen him watch a scorpion walk past him, and he continues his
"feed 
	me" routine, getting massively in the way as I try
simultaneously to 
	keep this thing in sight, stay away from it, make sure I'm not 
	stepping on any known evils while dealing with the unknown, and
	find something to kill it with. Even if Jan were here, it's
moving 
	too fast for me to go for help, and I am NOT going to allow
anything 
	that looks like this to get away alive.
	
	I am finding it a bit hard to look away from this thing, making
it 
	even more difficult. This is true horrified fascination. It has
two 
	very long front legs (I find out later they aren't legs, but
such was 
	my impression at the time) held up and out, in the exact
attitude you 
	take when you are playing scary monster with your kids and are 
	chasing them--extended over its head (except it doesn't look
like it 
	has a head) and forward. The pattern on its back is very
reminiscent 
	of the scale pattern on a scorpion, and the color is
similar--that, 
	combined with its movement, makes my mind *still* try to make it
a 
	scorpion even when I can see it's not.
	
	It comes up the little raised shelf and I do a creditable
imitation 
	of those ladies in cartoons on chairs, jumping back onto the
step 
	below the door. [To my credit, I don't think I yelled.] It goes
back 
	down, I jump down and grab one of a pair of sandals that's in
the 
	garage because Leon hairballed in them and I haven't had time to

	clean them out yet. I check for recluses beneath and on the
sandal--
	none. Good. I killed one under a garbage bag out here last trash
day. 
	I look for The Thing.
	
	It has gone along the edge of the raised area, heading toward
some of 
	the Stuff piled in here, and is perilously close to escaping.
This 
	thing is not only as fast as a scorpion, it doesn't stop like
they 
	do, it's in continuous motion, little rushes. I quickly scan the

	vicinity for other nasties, see none, vault the catbox, miss the
cat 
	poop, and smite this thing. It doesn't stop moving, but it stops

	going anywhere, which I interpret with some satisfaction as
death 
	throes. Eventually it does stop moving.
	
	It's not moving and I am no longer threatened. I am still
staring in
	horrified fascination. I don't know what this thing is. A closer
look 
	is unpleasant, because the oddities I noticed are reinforced. I
wish 
	they'd been tricks of the light or the adrenaline, but what I
saw was 
	accurate. It has a body like a spider, and those front things
can't 
	be legs because it has eight other ones. It's about the
size--for 
	those of you in the US--of a large one of those big garden
spiders 
	that roam the grass, a diameter (including legs) of about 2 to
2-1/2 
	inches. Its head is awful. It looks like a peach--just a groove,
no 
	eyes that I can see, no features. The head is shiny. The butt 
	(whatever that is in bugspeak) is indeed the color and pattern
of a 
	scorpion, but no stinger. I am afraid to touch it and leave it
where 
	it lies. I wonder if an alien ship has landed nearby and what
other 
	odd things may be happening by. This looks like it belongs in a
cave. 
	
	It's still there, by the way--I keep sneaking glances at it when
I'm 
	feeding my useless cat, to make sure it hasn't reanimated and
snuck 
	off to plot revenge. I was *totally* creeped out by this.
	
	Last night, with Catherine's help, I did a Google search and
*found* 
	the thing. It's called a sun spider. Or camel spider. Or
whipscorpion 
	or windscorpion (due to its speed). I found the site of some
lunatic 
	who takes pictures of arachnids as a hobby (rest easy, any of
you who 
	thought *we* were weird), and I made a positive identification.
[This 
	guy even has *movies* of this thing, if anyone is masochistic
enough 
	to want to see how it moves.] But it's not natural, I refuse to 
	believe it.
	
	No, this is another wizarding thing that escaped, some
experiment of a
	teacher or student at the Texas wizarding academy. Like horny
toads,
	creatures like this are positive evidence that there is a
wizarding
	population in this area. To my disgust, the magic control office
has 
	as much problem with people taking vacation in the summer as
other 
	offices, and nobody has shown up to Obliviate my encounter with
this 
	(which I would appreciate).
	
	Anyway, I now give you the URL so you can see the Skrewt spawn.
It's 
	clearly related to Hagrid's larger blasting Skrewts. From the 
	descriptions I found, this subspecies does not shoot fire. Thank
all 
	the good gods. I must warn you, not only is this thing hideous,
the 
	lunatic taking the picture has it sitting on his *foot* and his 
	*hand.* This makes my skin crawl on two levels, the thing itself
and 
	the thought of it touching me. I still won't even poke the body
with 
	a stick; He Who Deals With Bugs must handle it when he gets
back. 
	This is beyond me trapping stuff under bowls and cups and
balancing 
	large unabridged dictionaries on top to keep them there until he
can 
	arrive and handle it; this thing had to die and I'm even ooked
out by
	the carcass. Looking at the pictures, I can see the tiny black
eyes 
	buried in the crevice, but they are much less harder to see on
the 
	one I met. And mine was larger.
	
	In a word. Eeurgh.
	
	--Amanda the Skrewt-Killer
	
	P.S. of October 2003--the Skrewt was, some months later, mounted
in 
	lucite, has been carried on trips and shown to other HP fanfolk,
and 
	is currently on the shelf above my desk at work as I type.  ~A
	
	
	http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid4.jpg
	http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid6.jpg
	http://wrbu.si.edu/www/stockwell/photos/solpugid2.jpg
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
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From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 28 22:10:11 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 22:10:11 -0000
Subject: Return of the Skrewt Spawn!
In-Reply-To: <bnmk3r+boco@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnmpg3+vn73@eGroups.com>

Amanda, the Skrewt-killer:
<<much snippage, but Shirley must say:  *great* story!>>
> 
> Anyway, I now give you the URL so you can see the Skrewt spawn. 
It's 
> clearly related to Hagrid's larger blasting Skrewts. From the 
> descriptions I found, this subspecies does not shoot fire. Thank 
all 
> the good gods. I must warn you, not only is this thing hideous, the 
> lunatic taking the picture has it sitting on his *foot* and his 
> *hand.* This makes my skin crawl on two levels, the thing itself 
and 
> the thought of it touching me. I still won't even poke the body 
with 
> a stick; He Who Deals With Bugs must handle it when he gets back. 
> This is beyond me trapping stuff under bowls and cups and balancing 
> large unabridged dictionaries on top to keep them there until he 
can 
> arrive and handle it; this thing had to die and I'm even ooked out 
by
> the carcass. Looking at the pictures, I can see the tiny black eyes 
> buried in the crevice, but they are much less harder to see on the 
> one I met. And mine was larger.
> 
> In a word. Eeurgh.
> 
> --Amanda the Skrewt-Killer
> 
> P.S. of October 2003--the Skrewt was, some months later, mounted in 
> lucite, has been carried on trips and shown to other HP fanfolk, 
and 
> is currently on the shelf above my desk at work as I type.  ~A

now Shirley:
Oh, **ICK**; it gives me the willies just *looking* at it!  And to 
think that guy is letting it *touch* him.  I hope I manage to forget 
about those pictures before bed tonight!  You are truly brave if you 
can sit with it so near you on a daily basis, even if it *is* in 
Lucite.

That looks like something you'd find in the desert, except I don't 
ever remember seeing anything like it around Midland.  What's it 
doing in humid San Antonio?  Yep, definitely a sign that *someone* 
has been ignoring the rule against magical creature cross-breeding :-)

Shirley, still creeped-out (thank God it's awhile until dark, here!)




From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 28 22:19:40 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 22:19:40 -0000
Subject: Other creepy-crawlies (was Re: spider story)
In-Reply-To: <bnmkj7+t71l@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnmq1s+7ft9@eGroups.com>

<snip>
Amanda:
 Yes, but when you're up at 3 a.m. nursing your baby, and one crawls 
> out from under the couch between your feet and takes off across the 
> floor, it *does* pretty much wake you up for the rest of the night.
> 
> Have lots more recluse stories, including my cat spitting a full-
> grown live (if groggy) one out at my feet (had not bitten him); or 
> finding *two* in the kids' bathtub (ugh). Best story of all 
involves 
> unpacking a box of paperback books (finger-and-thumb method, one 
well-
> shaken book at a time), locating a recluse that fled into the 
> recesses of the remaining books (damn), locating a scorpion that 
did 
> the same (*damn*), and finding them beneath the last book. Scorpion 
> had killed the spider. I did thank it nicely before I killed it, 
too.
> 

Shirley:  now, that's class  ;-)

Amanda:
> At this point, I can tell a recluse from other house spiders by the 
> way they *walk.* Scorpions and recluses = house. Black widows = 
> outside (in mailbox, on lawn furniture, etc., but *outside*, thank 
> God for small favors).
> 
> Welcome to Texas. We won't even *start* on wasps. 
> 
> ~Amanda

Shirley:
But what about fire-ants?  Or centipedes?  Or tree-bores? ...Those 5-
inch-long bugs that look like huge cockroaches, but *fly* - right 
into a 6-year-old's (mine) *very* long hair and get tangled; only 
time I've ever fainted.  That had an impact - I'm 44 now and *still* 
get goosebumps thinking about that!  ::shiver::

See what you started?   ;-)





From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Tue Oct 28 23:01:12 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 10:01:12 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: spider story
In-Reply-To: <bnm4id+4vb6@eGroups.com>
References: <001a01c39d5e$4c1c0fe0$098baec7@rick>
Message-ID: <3F9F8FE8.2073.41126DC@localhost>

My spider story... well, two.

When I was five, I came downstairs to the lounge where my father was lying 
asleep on a couch. Just above his head was a Sydney Funnel Web spider. This is 
one of the most deadly spiders on Earth, and it is very nasty looking. I screamed.

Dad woke up and leapt up - somehow acquring the spider on his head as he did 
so - I knew it was on his head. He doesn't. He's facing his five year old son who is 
screaming like a banshee for no explainable reason. He starts to run towards me. 
In sheer and absolute terror on two levels - one that the spider might eat me (it 
wasn't that big, but I was five) and two that it might eat my father, I bolted, still 
screaming.

My baffled father is chasing me up the stairs as I'm screaming in terror for no 
reason he can understand and the whole time this spider is just sitting there on 
his head. I managed to reach the bathroom about a step ahead of him and shut 
the door.

"What's wrong! What's wrong!"

*Incoherent wails*

"Come on, what's wrong?!?"

finally: "SPIDER!"

"There's a spider? Well, open the door and I'll squash it!"

"On head!!!"

"On your head... there's a spider on your head............... Oh..."

*EXPLOSION OF SWEARING. Heavy breathing.*

"Spider's dead."

Second story - much tamer, much more long lasting. About ten years ago, I was 
bitten on the toe by a white tailed spider, which is one of those necrotising ones. 
My toe is still infected by what it did - every couple of weeks it swells up to twice 
normal size, and because radically painful. It also looks horrible - the only way 
they can deal with it for certain is amputation - fortunately only of the big toe. For 
some reason, the infection doesn't spread so we've left it for the moment - I'd 
really like to keep my toe. And a couple of times we've come pretty close to 
beating the infection.


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  Tue Oct 28 23:29:47 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 23:29:47 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers...
In-Reply-To: <bnfvr4+plu0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnmu5b+t5ol@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
>
> ...edited...
> 
> So, why not do that with butterscotch. Take apple juice and instead of
> using 'Red Hots' as described above, use your favorite butterscotch or
> butterrum hard candy. Once the juice and the candy have been disolved
> together, I have to beleive you will have a great tasting hot holiday
> drink.
> 
> ...edited....
>
> Just a few thoughts.
> 
> bboy_mn

bboy_mn:

Just out of curiousity I gave the butterscotch hard candy and hot
apple juice a try. Although I didn't have a percolator, so I just
heated a cup of apple juice in a pan with a single hard butterscotch
candy. 

It actually worked pretty good; a pleasant tasting hot buttery cup of
cider. It's probably the most drinkable of all the recipies I've
tried; most were pretty bad.

Notes: It might be worth trying other milder juices; the apple flavor
kind of overwhelmed the butterscotch. Perhaps white grape juice, or
pear juice might work. 

If you insist on having a drink with 'fizz', then you could add a
splash of room temperature ginger ale, cream soda, 7Up/Sprite, or club
soda (or whatever). 

Also, a bit of cinnamon (stick, spice, candy, etc...) might have given
it a little more 'zing'. Maybe that's just a conditioned expectation;
for me, anything apple needs some cinnamon.

In addition, I bought the cheapest hard butterscotch candy the store
had, it might improve the flavor if you used a really premium grade of
rich creamy butterscotch/rum candy. 

I also got the impression while drinking that a hint of caramel would
have worked nicely to give a little more rich creamy sense.

At any rate, it was very drinkable, although I don't know how close it
came to anyone's expectation of what butterbeer should be like.

An alternative depending on what you think Butter Beer should look
like, is a combination of milk, butterscotch, and some fizzy drink as
sugggested above. I've always pictured Butter Beer looking something
like really foamy coffee with cream; a tannish brown creamy look with
thick rich foam. 

Suggestion for this method- blend milk and good quality butterscotch
syrup in a blender, then add 'fizzy' drink to taste. Refrigerate in a
closed container until ready to serve. 

Alternate alternative to the method suggested - blend premium quality
vanilla ice cream with good quality butterscotch syrup then add
'fizzy' drink to taste, store in a closed container. That gives you
everything you need; thick, rich, creamy, butterscotchy, and foamy. Yummy.

Just thought I would pass that along.

bboy_mn




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Tue Oct 28 23:56:01 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 09:56:01 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Return of the Skrewt Spawn!
References: <bnmk3r+boco@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00df01c39daf$0b626020$6c984cca@Monteith>

Amanda
>>Anyway, I now give you the URL so you can see the Skrewt spawn<<

THAT is one of the most revolting things I've *ever* seen in my life, and I
lived for a number of years in outback Australia, home of *Squillions* of
the creepy bugs and things... Urgh!

Nox




From rvotaw at i-55.com  Wed Oct 29 02:19:21 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (Richelle Votaw)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 20:19:21 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] More ButterBeers...
References: <bnmu5b+t5ol@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00d101c39dc3$1127f240$749dcdd1@RVotaw>

I make my butterbeer by using cream soda and mixing in butterscotch ice
cream topping. I use the cream sodas in bottles, poor part of it out, add
the butterscotch, shake well, drink and enjoy. :)  And it definitely
qualifies as sickly sweet. :)

Richelle





From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 29 03:53:53 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 03:53:53 -0000
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <3F9F8FE8.2073.41126DC@localhost>
Message-ID: <bnndkh+f9fs@eGroups.com>


All right, I'll bite.  ;-)

My spider story is also kind of a coming of age story.

One time when I was a teenager, I was taking the dog out the back door
for a walk, and as I was passing my Dad, I pointed out a
middling-sized spider on the floor.

"Well, step on it!" he said.

Teenager or not, I was used to doing what he told me.  I stepped on it
without even thinking about it.

Turned out it was pregnant.

A couple dozen tiny spiders came out of it and began running all over
the floor.  I screamed and pointed.  "Step on them!" my Dad told me.

"No, YOU step on them!" I yelled back, and went right out the door.

I didn't do everything I was told after that.

Annemehr





From kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk  Wed Oct 29 03:54:28 2003
From: kirst_inn at yahoo.co.uk (Kirstini)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 03:54:28 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers...
In-Reply-To: <00d101c39dc3$1127f240$749dcdd1@RVotaw>
Message-ID: <bnndlk+imtr@eGroups.com>

Richelle:
> I make my butterbeer by using cream soda and mixing in butterscotch 
ice cream topping. I use the cream sodas in bottles, poor part of it 
out, add the butterscotch, shake well, drink and enjoy.>

Ohhh, these sound fantastic. However, I must confess to a little 
typically Britishy (cf yesterday's Guardian article on "a nation of 
drinkers") boozy objection - I've always imagined that  Butterbeer 
has at least a little alcohol in it. I like the idea (Steve's) of 
buttery cider, but have the impression that that method was booze-
free too. I imagine it as something of the alcoholic level of canned 
Shandy (any Brits remember this?)or dandelion and burdock - ie not 
really having much of an effect on anyone but house elves and 
particularly giggly thirteen year olds.
Kirstini. Mmm, Butterbeer...




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 29 07:01:59 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 07:01:59 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers... Alcohol Content
In-Reply-To: <bnndlk+imtr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnnol7+lo64@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> wrote:

> 
> Ohhh, these sound fantastic. However, I must confess to a little 
> typically Britishy ... boozy objection - I've always imagined that  
> Butterbeer has at least a little alcohol in it. I like the idea 
> (Steve's) of buttery cider, but have the impression that that method 
> was booze-free too. I imagine it as something of the alcoholic level 
> of canned Shandy ... ie: not really having much of an effect on anyone
>  but house elves and particularly giggly thirteen year olds.
> 
> Kirstini. Mmm, Butterbeer...

bboy_mn:

I have explained this in past discussions of Butter Beer, but I'll
give it a go again.

Back in 'the good old days' the only way to get carbonation (fizz)
into soft drinks was to ferment them; add yeast and sugar then let the
yeast grow feeding off the sugar and producting carbon dioxide as a by
product. That's how beer gets it foam, but that is also how beer gets
it's alcohol; it's a by-prodict of fermentation. 

It doesn't seem reasonable to me that in the old fashioned wizard
world, fizzy soft drinks would use 'charged' water; fermentation of
ginger ale, ginger beers, root beer, sarsaparilla, birch beer, and
most other root and spice soft beverages have been made with a
fermention process for centuries. To keep them from turning 'hard',
you control the amount of sugar available to the yeast, and you cool
them before a significant amount of acohol has a chance to form. 

The point is that any naturally fermented soft beverage has a small
amount of alcohol in it. In fact, the law in the UK allows for
fermented soft beverages by classifying any beverage with 0.5% alcohol
content or less as 'soft' and therefore an acceptable drink for
children. You would have to drink a dozen bottle to come close to the
alcohol content of a single beer, so they see it as pretty safe.

However, 0.5% would probably be enough to affect a very small creature
like a house-elf. With there small bodies, one fermented 'soft'
beverage could easily be the equivalent of a normal 'hard' beer.

Based on my research of beverages in UK which relates to a FanFic
story I am writing, they do make a 'baby' shandy. Shandygaffs that
kids can drink, they are made with real beer and ginger ale or lemon
soda, but they use what we call 'near' beer or NA beer here in the US.
In other words, beer that has less than 0.5% alcohol. 

It is very likely that foaming butterbeer is fermented but soft, and
that accounts for allowing kids to drink it, but additionally accounts
for it's effects on house-elves.

Just passing it along.

bboy_mn





From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 29 07:12:07 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy St John)
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 23:12:07 -0800
Subject: ADMIN: Halloween Fun, Part 1
Message-ID: <410-22003103297127219@earthlink.net>

Hello Everyone!

Halloween is just around the corner, and as we all know, this is usually an
exciting time in the Potterverse. Giant pumpkins . . . trolls in the
dungeon . . . <g> Well, we think it's an exciting time in the real world
too, and judging by the recent discussions about creepy crawlies, and
things that scare us, people on this list are ready for some Halloween
festivities! Always eager to please, your List Elves are preparing some fun
and games for your enjoyment.

Our first holiday diversion: A Halloween Costume Contest!

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! And stay tuned for more Halloween fun!

Sincerely,

Our Wizarding Leaders - the Rather Eerie Admin Team (OWLTREAT)






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Wed Oct 29 08:20:55 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 08:20:55 -0000
Subject: Other creepy-crawlies (was Re: spider story)
In-Reply-To: <bnmq1s+7ft9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnnt97+hj55@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" <t 
>> > Welcome to Texas. We won't even *start* on wasps. 
> > 
> > ~Amanda
> 
> Shirley:
> But what about fire-ants?  Or centipedes?  Or tree-bores? ...Those 
5-
> inch-long bugs that look like huge cockroaches, but *fly* - right 
> into a 6-year-old's (mine) *very* long hair and get tangled; only 
> time I've ever fainted.  That had an impact - I'm 44 now and 
*still* 
> get goosebumps thinking about that!  ::shiver::
> 
> See what you started?   ;-)

Jeez I'm REALLY glad to live in temperate, moderate England - well 
not always - but I think I'll happily keep our rather pathetic little 
bugs!

And no - they are NOT all God's little creatures.

June




From s_ings at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 29 12:40:30 2003
From: s_ings at yahoo.com (Sheryll Townsend)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 07:40:30 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!
Message-ID: <20031029124030.76219.qmail@web41102.mail.yahoo.com>

*scurries in, trailing streamers and balloons,
carrying a large cake*

Yes, we have a birthday today, so come and join the
fun. I hope you're all ready for a party!

Today's birthday honouree is Elizabeth C. Birthday
owls can be sent care of this list.

I hope your day brings everything you hope for.

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Sheryll the Birthday Elf

=====
http://www.livejournal.com/community/conventionalley/

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca



From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Wed Oct 29 14:33:28 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 14:33:28 -0000
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <bnndkh+f9fs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnoj3o+o1nj@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:
> One time when I was a teenager, I was taking the dog out the back 
door
> for a walk, and as I was passing my Dad, I pointed out a
> middling-sized spider on the floor.
> 
> "Well, step on it!" he said.
> 
> Teenager or not, I was used to doing what he told me.  I stepped 
on it
> without even thinking about it.
> 
> Turned out it was pregnant.
> 
> A couple dozen tiny spiders came out of it and began running all 
over
> the floor.  


Eeeeewwwww!! I'm not even a "scared of spiders" person and that's 
*really* creepy for some reason, Anne. Thanks for sharing ;).

Jen, who doesn't have a creepy spider story but *does* live in 
Texas, home of all the creepy-crawlies other people mentioned and 
thousands more....




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Wed Oct 29 14:50:43 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 09:50:43 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: spider story
In-Reply-To: <bnoj3o+o1nj@eGroups.com>
References: <bnndkh+f9fs@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3F9F8D73.15547.2BD382D@localhost>

On 29 Oct 2003 at 14:33, Jen Reese wrote:

> Jen, who doesn't have a creepy spider story but *does* live in 
> Texas, home of all the creepy-crawlies other people mentioned and
> thousands more....

I don't have a creepy spider story, either, but I *did* live in Texas, home of all the 
creepy-- er, yeah, what Jen said.  I did once see, perching proud as a peacock on 
one of our poor scraggly bushes, a . . . flying insect of some sort, I *THINK*.  It 
looked like a mosquito, if a mosquito could have a body as long and thick as my 
pinky finger, with a proportionate legspan and black wings.  It wasn't a wasp -- it had 
the charactaristic long proboscis of a mosquito, but it was as large as a small 
hummingbird!  Freaked me out, lemme tell ya; even for Texas, that thing was 
oversized!  We lived fairly close to a nuclear power plant, and I couldn't help 
thinking that that . . . that THING must have come from there.  So, of course, I've 
been leery of 'Evil Mutant Radioactive Insect Thingy' movies since then.  :)

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From ambiree at students.bradley.edu  Wed Oct 29 16:01:13 2003
From: ambiree at students.bradley.edu (ambiree at students.bradley.edu)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 10:01:13 -0600
Subject: My spider story...or actually my sister's story
In-Reply-To: <000f01c39cc9$4cbcb160$4797aec7@rick>
References: <bnjtbc+i8uk@eGroups.com> <000f01c39cc9$4cbcb160$4797aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <1067443273.3f9fe4491f153@webmail.bradley.edu>

Okay,

my turn....I told you guys that I think my families fears are kinda funny...

well, my sister who is a tough-girl type (ie not afraid of anything) is 
terrified of spiders.  To my knowledge, she's never been bit or otherwise 
traumatized by the critters.  I don't like spiders myself, but my sister does 
what we call the "spider dance."  She screams, jumps, flails her arms and 
generally provides a good laugh to all.  Now, we live in the Midwest of the US, 
no real dangerous spiders, although occassionally we will get a brown recluse 
and the mosquitoes have West Nile Virus.  Me being a prankster, I love to get 
GREAT ideas.  

I borrowed one of those plastics Halloween spiders and tied a black thread to 
it.  Then I hung the thread from her bedroom door and made sure it was at eye 
level.  Then I turned off her light.  She came home later with friends and I 
TRIED to get her to come down the hall to her room.  She would not come near 
me.  So, I enlisted the aid of my mom, who was in on the joke.  She got my 
sister to come down the hall and look into her darkened bedroom.  Sis was about 
3 inches from the "spider" when her eyes suddenly focused on it.

She screamed, did the allout spider boogie, and practically crawled up my mom, 
who is the same height as us (that is to say we are all about 5 feet tall), 
before she figured out it was fake.  Then she grabbed it and threw it into her 
room (stupid move for a later date).  Then she whipped around and started 
flailing at my mom (not hurting her), but Sis missed me because I had fallen to 
the floor laughing hysterically.  To this day, my sister does not trust me when 
I want her to see something, and it's been 6 years.  But boy was it worth it.  
She still loves me. But mom doesn't get involved in my practical jokes on my 
sister anymore as she's the one who gets hurt everytime....mom's no fun.


Still thinking of ways to get my sis to do the spider dance.
-- 
Amber

***"The GWE has Spoken."--The GWE***



From annemehr at yahoo.com  Wed Oct 29 16:23:19 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 16:23:19 -0000
Subject: spider story
In-Reply-To: <bnoj3o+o1nj@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnophn+ov8r@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...>
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
> wrote:

> > Turned out it was pregnant.
> >
> > A couple dozen tiny spiders came out of it and began running all 
> over
> > the floor.  
> 
> 
> Eeeeewwwww!! I'm not even a "scared of spiders" person and that's 
> *really* creepy for some reason, Anne. Thanks for sharing ;).

Yeah. Just think of being that spider before it was stepped on, and
having dozens of little spiders crawling around *inside* you!

Annemehr
posting this against her better judgment




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Wed Oct 29 01:47:08 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 11:47:08 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: spider story
References: <001a01c39d5e$4c1c0fe0$098baec7@rick> <3F9F8FE8.2073.41126DC@localhost>
Message-ID: <000601c39de5$d68703b0$7b984cca@Monteith>

Shaun wrote
> Second story - much tamer, much more long lasting. About ten years ago, I
was
> bitten on the toe by a white tailed spider, which is one of those
necrotising ones.
> My toe is still infected by what it did - every couple of weeks it swells
up to twice
> normal size, and because radically painful. It also looks horrible - the
only way
> they can deal with it for certain is amputation - fortunately only of the
big toe. For
> some reason, the infection doesn't spread so we've left it for the
moment - I'd
> really like to keep my toe. And a couple of times we've come pretty close
to
> beating the infection.

Aren't they awful? We've got white tails everywhere here. They just love to
hide in clothing and bed linen, and I removed one only a day ago from my
kitties' litter box. We used to live in a suburb known affectionately by the
locals as "Redback Hill". Every morning I had to go around the outside of
the house armed with a shoe to kill the redbacks underneath the window
sills, and on the kids swings and slides. Urk. I was a Family Day Care
provider; all I needed was a case of redback bite!

Nox




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Wed Oct 29 22:43:54 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 08:43:54 +1000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
Message-ID: <001001c39e6e$22fbe2f0$77984cca@Monteith>

You know there has been no mail since about 12:45 am Wednesday on any lists. Just checking to see if everyone is alive or Yahoo! is stuffing around again. Yahoo! -worth about what we pay for it, sometimes...

Nox

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From shirley2allie at hotmail.com  Wed Oct 29 23:14:18 2003
From: shirley2allie at hotmail.com (Shirley)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:14:18 -0000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
In-Reply-To: <001001c39e6e$22fbe2f0$77984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bnphka+7mg0@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:
> You know there has been no mail since about 12:45 am Wednesday on 
any lists. Just checking to see if everyone is alive or Yahoo! is 
stuffing around again. Yahoo! -worth about what we pay for it, 
sometimes...
> 
> Nox
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Shirley:
Well, I just figured it was a slow day.  I'm in the US, in the 
Mountain Time Zone, so I'm not sure how long ago 12:45 am Wednesday 
is for you (it's about 4:15 pm on Wednesday here).

Shirley, just wanting to reassure you that there is life out here :-)




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 30 04:36:27 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 04:36:27 -0000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
In-Reply-To: <bnphka+7mg0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnq4gb+9rfu@eGroups.com>

Nox asked:

> You know there has been no mail since about 12:45 am Wednesday on 
> any lists. Just checking to see if everyone is alive or Yahoo! is 
> stuffing around again. 

Oh, hey, I'm here.  Life is really *dull* right now, that's all.

Lessee.  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*?).  Then it kind of
created this alluring, curvy mermaid kind of thing in the hips.  I
didn't buy it, though because, really now, who looks good in *whale
bone rib stuff* anyway and . . . . 

<notes stifled yawns>

Hey.  I warned you that life was dull. :-D

Cindy -- who did find an *amazing* dress that was such a steal that
she thought there must be a digit missing from the price, but who has
to wait until next summer to wear the darn thing






From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 30 08:10:35 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 08:10:35 -0000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
In-Reply-To: <001001c39e6e$22fbe2f0$77984cca@Monteith>
Message-ID: <bnqh1r+u55u@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, <silverdragon at e...> wrote:
> You know there has been no mail since about 12:45 am Wednesday on 
any lists. Just checking to see if everyone is alive or Yahoo! is 
stuffing around again. Yahoo! -worth about what we pay for it, 
sometimes...
> 
> Nox
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's all gone quiet because everyone has curled themselves up into a 
very small tight ball so that the spiders don't get them.

I'll post again when I dare come out of the cupboard.

June






From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Thu Oct 30 09:52:19 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:52:19 +1000
Subject: I think it's me :-(
Message-ID: <014e01c39ecb$82a99f50$7c984cca@Monteith>

Just checking I can now *get* email, but I can't send anything privately to *anyone*. Just seeing if I can send list mail...

Nox (the technologically challanged...)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 13:45:24 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 07:45:24 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Where has all the mail gone?
References: <bnq4gb+9rfu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001d01c39eec$12e6ec60$04ef79a5@rick>

> Nox asked:
>
> > You know there has been no mail since about 12:45 am Wednesday on
> > any lists. Just checking to see if everyone is alive or Yahoo! is
> > stuffing around again.
>

> Cindy replied:
> Oh, hey, I'm here.  Life is really *dull* right now, that's all.


Iggy here:

Life is dull?????

Maybe for you... *chuckle*

Let's see... what's going on in my life?

1:  I'm a stay-at-home father for my daughter, who's about 2 1/2 years old
and *very* adventurous.  Add into that our 1 year old cat (a male mackerel
tabby I named Milo McGonagall) and our new kitten that my step-son got (a
female tiger he named Biscuit)  and you have a lot of exercise for me.

2:  I have one week to complete all my paperwork (Application, financial
aid, disability forms, etc...) for a November 13th start date for going back
to school with an on-line college to try and get a Bachelors of Science
degree in Information Technology.

3: Because of the minimum computer requirements for a computer when taking
classes through this school, I had to arrange for a new computer.  Not only
did I have to shop around, but also had to strike up a deal with my mom to
get the computer.  Also, in order to take advantage of some special price
breaks, all of this had to be done yesterday... in one day.  (On the good
side, by Nov. 20th, I should have my new laptop and multi-function printer
delivered to me. *grin*)

4:  We're getting linoleum put into our kitchen by our landlord, so I have
to arrange to move everything out of the kitchen (including appliances) so
the flooring can be installed.  (Which also will probably include pulling up
a few floorboards and replacing them...)

5:  I had to do some research for my father so I can get his approval for
reimbursements on my college classes so that I can actually *go* back to
school.



And that's just the beginning.

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 13:55:38 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 07:55:38 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Where has all the mail gone?
References: <bnqh1r+u55u@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <003c01c39eed$84c756c0$04ef79a5@rick>


> It's all gone quiet because everyone has curled themselves up into a
> very small tight ball so that the spiders don't get them.
>
> I'll post again when I dare come out of the cupboard.
>
> June
>


Iggy Here:

Ummmm... June?  Don't spiders love to hide in cupboards?  I don't know about
where you are, but here, they do.  Our cupboards and closets are full of
them.  (Unless, of course, I've recently gone through the house nabbing them
with the vacuum.)

They seem to love those kinds of places... cupboards, closets, under the
bed, behind the couch, in the tight corners of the ceiling...(Especially
daddy long legs and those other, long legged and spindly, yet slightly fuzzy
house spiders that you don't know are crawling on you except for that slight
feeling when they move some of the hairs on your skin...)  But, maybe that's
just here where I live.


(There... that should get her out of the cupboards and posing again.
*grin*)

Iggy McSnurd







From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 30 14:06:41 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:06:41 -0000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
In-Reply-To: <003c01c39eed$84c756c0$04ef79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bnr5th+dfiv@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
(snip)
> 
> (There... that should get her out of the cupboards and posing again.
> *grin*)
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

Hee hee.

"Posing" again.  Sounds like I should post with Madonna's "Vogue" 
playing in the background :-) (Strike the pose)

June leaps out of the cupboard and strikes attitudes all over the 
place, before looking for a safer spider free refuge.  

BTW -apparently NO ONE is ever more than a metre away from some kind 
of spider or other...

June




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 30 14:29:28 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:29:28 -0000
Subject: I'll See Your Routine And Raise You One Ho-Hum (WAS Re: Where has all the )
In-Reply-To: <001d01c39eec$12e6ec60$04ef79a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bnr788+102mu@eGroups.com>

Iggy cheerfully wrote:

> Life is dull?????
> 
> Maybe for you... *chuckle*

Oh, I do think I could win the award for Most Mundane activities in a
single day.  Let's see . . . 

1.  Just finished washing the poodle in the tub because he was so darn
stinky!  Then realized that tub is draining really, really slowly and
should have snaked tub *before* washing poodle.  Must find snake;
plumbers cost money.  

2.  Must test out new paint colors on wall.  Keep forgetting to bring
paintbrushes and screwdriver up from the basement due to general
forgetfulness.

3.  Must finish sewing "Josie and the Pussycats" costume and "Medieval
Princess" costumes, like, *right now!*  Must buy more fabric for "Jose
and the Pussycats" costume because daughter, bless her, somehow
thought the 1/2 yard swatch she bought was enough to cover her.  

4.  Must *immediately* buy meat for crock pot dinner tonight or it
won't be finished by dinnertime and we'll be having frozen pizza again.

5.  Must spend at least 30 minutes wringing hands about not having
time for a paying job.  

Although . . .  I could always strike it rich selling *Tupperware!*  ;-D

Cindy -- who remembers having toddlers and who doesn't know where Iggy
gets the energy 





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 14:49:54 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 08:49:54 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] I'll See Your Routine And Raise You One Ho-Hum (WAS Re: Where has all the )
References: <bnr788+102mu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <00bb01c39ef5$1e356de0$04ef79a5@rick>



> Cindy -- who remembers having toddlers and who doesn't know where Iggy
> gets the energy
>

Energy???  What energy?  It's willpower, desperation, and not having much of
any other choice.  (Of course, there ARE payoffs, as any parent well
knows...)

Well, being diagnosed as clinically hyperactive helps... But I was out cold
before 10:00 last night and didn't even twitch when my wife apparently
brought our screaming daughter back into our bedroom.  (The little tyke had
apparently startled the cat a the wrong time and got a swipe on the arm for
it.)

Today looks to be about the same as yesterday...

Iggy McSnurd






From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct 30 15:03:14 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:03:14 -0000
Subject: I'll See Your Routine And Raise You One Ho-Hum (WAS Re: Where has all the )
In-Reply-To: <bnr788+102mu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnr97i+4toq@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
 "2.  Must test out new paint colors on wall."

I was at the home store looking at paint samples at recently and was 
almost tempted to buy one simply because it was called "Lupin"!   
heheh...actually, it is a rather nice color and I may yet find a use 
for it.

Tracy




From cindysphynx at comcast.net  Thu Oct 30 15:24:03 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:24:03 -0000
Subject: I'll See Your Routine And Raise You One Ho-Hum (WAS Re: Where has all the )
In-Reply-To: <bnr97i+4toq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnraej+ah5c@eGroups.com>

Tracy wrote:

> I was at the home store looking at paint samples at recently and was 
> almost tempted to buy one simply because it was called "Lupin"!   
> heheh...actually, it is a rather nice color and I may yet find a use 
> for it.

OK, I'll bite.  What color is "Lupin?"  Blood red, perhaps?  ;-)

Cindy -- who already doesn't like *any* of the paint colors she is trying

*******************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nearly_Departed/
 
http://www.clark04.com/

 





From neonsister at ameritech.net  Thu Oct 30 15:41:00 2003
From: neonsister at ameritech.net (Tracy)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:41:00 -0000
Subject: I'll See Your Routine And Raise You One Ho-Hum (WAS Re: Where has all the )
In-Reply-To: <bnraej+ah5c@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnrbec+bnll@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> 
> "OK, I'll bite.  What color is "Lupin?"  Blood red, perhaps?  ;-)"

Actually it was very close to Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color - 
lilac!  

Tracy *who had a bedroom with red walls as a child*




From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 30 17:53:36 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Hebby Elf)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 17:53:36 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <410-22003103297127219@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>

The spookiest and most hauntingly Harry Potterish of all holidays is 
upon us! As promised, your List Elves have gathered some fun and 
games for your Halloween enjoyment.
 
As announced here at OTChatter, we're holding a Costume Contest (see 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/19186 for 
details and "HALLOWEEN 2003" at 
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/lst for the 
photo album) with the winner of the "Best Harry Potter Themed 
Costume" category to be displayed on HPfGU-OTChatter's home page.
 
But that's not all <g> for we now present our Halloween Mixer! Many 
of us enjoyed filling out and posting our answers to the OT Mixer 
(which can be found in the Files section of this group, 
titled "bio.doc"), so we've created a Halloween "supplement" - 
filled with questions and quizzes to amaze and amuse. Is it a trick 
or a treat? You decide. Have fun filling it out, and when you're 
done, feel free to post your answers and results here.
 
 
* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
 
* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?
 
* 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.
 
* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?
 
* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.
 
* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
you do for a living?
 
* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
 
* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?
 
* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
Patronus?
 
* What form might your Patronus take?
 
* What might your animagus form be?
 
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]
 
* 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]
 
 
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
 
* 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 
 
* 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
 
* Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms 
to decorate your signature with at 
 
Inish Alley:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database
 
Hypothetic Alley:
http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hypotheticalley.html
 
* 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 
 
We hope you have fun with this, and we wish everyone a very Happy 
and Hauntingly Harry Potter Halloween!
 
Sincerely,
 
OWLTREAT (Our Wizarding Leaders: Terrifying Rampantly Eerie Admin 
Team) 

P.S. In case you have trouble with any of the links in this message, 
they can also be found in the "Halloween Fun" folder in the Links 
section in
this group.




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Thu Oct 30 18:50:42 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:50:42 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnrmi2+vthb@eGroups.com>

> > * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

No.  At present because I've never seen one.  However, I am prepared 
to be convinced.
>  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

Dunno - I suspect at my age I'm probably only too predictable.  

>  
> * 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.

It's my real name.  The surname of which is originally greek, from 
my Grandfather who came from the island of Chios.  The first name is 
NOT because I was born in June because I was born on May 31.  My 
mother didn't fancy the name May so called me by the month when I 
was expected to arrive.

I also post in some places under the Azazello and write fanfic under 
this alias (well it's hardly an alias now - is it June?).  This is 
after a 
character in a book called the Master and Margarita by Mikhail 
Bulgakov.  Azazello is a demon who is a close personal assistant of 
Satan himself.  In the book he bumps people off too.  Make what  you 
will of that.  The original Azazel was the demon who is Lucifer's 
standard bearer.  I find the name a bit cool.


>  
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} 
would 
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Don't know really.  Everyone has a more interesting name than me 
because mine isn't an alias.
>  
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

I would dress up as Death from the Sandman series.  Partly because 
she's very cute and I'd like to look like that.

>  
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what 
would 
> you do for a living?

I'd be a very wealthy female dark wizard who had no need whatever to 
work for a living.

>  
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Not socks. A smiling bank manager fawning on my every whim.

>  
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Sadly, similar to Molly Weasley's.  I found that bit rather 
upsetting because I knew exactly what she might be feeling. 

>  
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?

Getting told we had got my daughter into her school of first choice 
in July - she was bullied out of her old one and I almost despaired 
that we'd ever sort that out.


>  
> * What form might your Patronus take?

A fairly impressive big cat - maybe a tiger.
>  
> * What might your animagus form be?

I'd quite like the tiger for that too.

>  
> 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]

Here's a new squicker I've just remembered.  When I was at school 
aged about 7 we each made our own "Doll's Houses" out of shoeboxes 
and such (pathetic really but we had to make our own amusements when 
I were a kid...) and I made a chest of drawers out of matchboxes.  
The best dolls houses (of which mine was one) were displayed on a 
class room table next to some flowers.  About two weeks later, I 
looked in my chest of drawers and out swarmed the biggest collection 
of baby earwigs you've ever seen.  So I was scared by 

a.  Matchboxes
B.  Dolls houses


>  
> * 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 keep thinking about new things for this too.  There's so many 
scaries and not enough time to detail them all.  Actually one I was 
discussing earlier today comes to mind - Its Alien and not the 
infamous chest burster.  It's the bit where John Hurt leans over the 
alien egg and that horrible icky thing attaches itself to his face.  
Euugh.

It'll probably be another tomorrow - or someone will post a 
different thing and I'll go "Me too!"

>  
>  
> Some other fun things to do (you can post your results along with 
> the answers to your questions):
> 
>As regards sorting - I veer between Slyth and Ravenclaw.  Make of 
that what you will.  

Oh, and I've brought along two of red and two of white - will that 
do and will it be enough?

June




From gwendolyngrace at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 30 19:14:28 2003
From: gwendolyngrace at yahoo.com (Gwen)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 11:14:28 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Important information from HPEF, Inc.
In-Reply-To: <bnrgd8+f3g0@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031030191428.29115.qmail@web13503.mail.yahoo.com>

Hi, all!

Theres been much discussion in the past few weeks
about whos doing what concerning Harry Potter
Conventions. Wed like to clarify some things, remind
you of some changes, and announce some new contact
information, and then well be clearing off to our own
space.

So, Parte the Firste: In case there is still any
confusion, wed like to clarify that HP Education
Fanon Inc., the group that brought you Nimbus  2003,
is not the same thing as HPFGU. Its confusing due to
the timing of HPEFs creation, and because HPFGU was
one of our sponsors for the event. But HPEF is an
independent 501(c)3 educational organization.

The current administration of HPEF looks like this:

Peg Kerr* (President)
Lee Hillman (Vice President, Chair, Communications
Committee)
Leeanna Izuel (Secretary)
Carlisle Webber* (Asst. Secretary)
Penny Linsenmayer (Treasurer)
Barb Purdom* (Chair, Nominating Committee)
Debbie Duncan (Chair, Legal Committee)
Rob Ihinger*
Steve VanderArk*
Heidi Tandy
John Walton (Board member ex-officio)

* denotes a voting member.

Parte the Second: We posted this a few weeks ago to
HPFGU-Convention, but heres a reminder:

HPEF, Inc. is pleased to announce the commencement of
a new Yahoo Group community entitled: "HPEF-Events."
This group will be used to discuss and plan events
planned by our organization, HP Education Fanon, Inc.
The HPFGU-Convention list served us well through the
planning of the Nimbus - 2003 Symposium, which was
recently held in Orlando, Florida. However, since as a
practical matter that list is owned and maintained by
the Harry Potter for Grownups group, we decided to
continue from this point forward with our own group
for the discussion of any and all HPEF events. To
join, go to 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPEF-Events/?yguid=76844299
and follow the instructions.

If the HPFGU administration is willing, HPEF events
will *also* be discussed on the HPFGU-Convention
listserve as appropriate, but official definitive
announcements about upcoming HPEF events will appear
*first* on our own group.

This also means that all lingering questions about
Nimbus  2003, as well as all questions about upcoming
events in 2005 and beyond, should be sent either to
HPEF-Events or directly to the Board. Well still keep
an eye on things here, and redirect people to the HPEF
group when necessary.

Speaking of the Board,

Parte the Third: 

If youd like to contact the Board directly, we have a
new email address:

HPEF at yahoogroups.com

Which also complements 

Parte the Fourth:

We let slip recently that our corporate address has
also changed. It is now:

HP Education Fanon, Inc.
c/o Bryce Linsenmayer
Haynes & Boone, L.L.P.
1000 Louisiana, Suite 4300
Houston, TX 77002


We now return you to your regularly scheduled list.

Gwendolyn Grace
Chair, Communications Committee
HP Education Fanon, Inc.





From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk  Thu Oct 30 19:44:02 2003
From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:44:02 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers...
In-Reply-To: <bnndlk+imtr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnrpm2+t1gs@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> wrote:

> Ohhh, these sound fantastic. However, I must confess to a little 
> typically Britishy (cf yesterday's Guardian article on "a nation of 
> drinkers") boozy objection - I've always imagined that  Butterbeer 
> has at least a little alcohol in it. 

You could try spiking it with a dash of Baileys, within reasonable
limits, and keep the kids away from it. Apple cider and Baileys,
however, sound like a match from the ninth circuit of hell. I've never
tried but imagine the flavours would clash terribly and the cream
would curdle.

Alshain




From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk  Thu Oct 30 20:00:22 2003
From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:00:22 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers... Alcohol Content
In-Reply-To: <bnnol7+lo64@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnrqkm+jgph@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:

> bboy_mn:
> 
> I have explained this in past discussions of Butter Beer, but I'll
> give it a go again.
> 
> Back in 'the good old days' the only way to get carbonation (fizz)
> into soft drinks was to ferment them; add yeast and sugar then let the
> yeast grow feeding off the sugar and producting carbon dioxide as a by
> product. That's how beer gets it foam, but that is also how beer gets
> it's alcohol; it's a by-prodict of fermentation. 
> 
> It doesn't seem reasonable to me that in the old fashioned wizard
> world, fizzy soft drinks would use 'charged' water; fermentation of
> ginger ale, ginger beers, root beer, sarsaparilla, birch beer, and
> most other root and spice soft beverages have been made with a
> fermention process for centuries. To keep them from turning 'hard',
> you control the amount of sugar available to the yeast, and you cool
> them before a significant amount of acohol has a chance to form. 
> 

The traditional May Day drink in Finland is called 'sima' (Fin.) or
'mj?d' (Swe.), and translates as 'mead', I suppose. It consists of
water, brown sugar, lemons, raisins and yeast, and some people add
hops for a little bitterness. It's fermented for a few days, and what
you get is a fizzy drink tasting of caramel with hints of lemon (quite
good, actually), and I've never in my life heard of even serious
teetotallers forbidding children to drink it. There is a commercial
version which I suppose is carbonated, but everyone agrees that the
home-made stuff is tastier. So the old-fashioned method of making
fizzy drinks is still going strong in some parts of the world.

Just thought I'd share,
Alshain
 




From tammy at mauswerks.net  Thu Oct 30 20:19:36 2003
From: tammy at mauswerks.net (Tammy Rizzo)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:19:36 -0500
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: More ButterBeers... Alcohol Content
In-Reply-To: <bnrqkm+jgph@eGroups.com>
References: <bnnol7+lo64@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA12C08.27922.A07B37@localhost>

On 30 Oct 2003 at 20:00, alshainofthenorth wrote:

> The traditional May Day drink in Finland is called 'sima' (Fin.) or
> 'mj?d' (Swe.), and translates as 'mead', I suppose. It consists of
> water, brown sugar, lemons, raisins and yeast, and some people add
> hops for a little bitterness. It's fermented for a few days, and what
> you get is a fizzy drink tasting of caramel with hints of lemon (quite
> good, actually), and I've never in my life heard of even serious
> teetotallers forbidding children to drink it. There is a commercial
> version which I suppose is carbonated, but everyone agrees that the
> home-made stuff is tastier. So the old-fashioned method of making
> fizzy drinks is still going strong in some parts of the world.
> 
> Just thought I'd share,
> Alshain

Oh, don't stop sharing there, Alshain!  Tell us more!  Give us a recipe!  It sounds 
quite tasty, and I for one would love to try it.

***
Tammy
tammy at mauswerks.net





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 20:18:02 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:18:02 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
References: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <015001c39f22$eef2cd60$04ef79a5@rick>

>
> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Yes.  The spirit of my great-grandfather has been watching over me since the
day he died.

>
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

That I can actually be very quiet and introspective.  Also that I firmly
believe that most of the faiths out there are not incompatible.

>
> * 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.

Ignatious Palandraius McSnurd, Joviality Integration Specialist
(aka:  Iggy McSnurd, the Jester)

This was the name of a character I created for two different RPGs to have
fun with.  He was actually a much more effective character than everyone but
me thought he would be.  He's that aspect of me representing the wisdom that
comes with having a sense of humor about the world.  Much like what Coyote
has taught me.  (Which, incidentally, is why CoyotesChild is my e-mail
address name. Coyote is my Spirit Guide.)


>
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I don't really see one out there that I'm envious of.

>
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

A well made black suit and vest combo with a deep scarlet tie.  Black hair
and goatee stylishly trimmed, and blood red contacts for my eyes with small
horns on my gorehead.  Add to this a "Book of Contracts" and a black and red
marbled fountain pen with crimson ink.

I've worn it three years in a row.  (This was back in California.  I went as
"Lucifer Mephistopheles El Diablo... Louis to my friends." I did this three
different years and had a book of contracts to buy souls.  Of course, there
was a disclaimer at the bottom stating that the contracts were in no way
real... *chuckle*)  There's not a chance in... ummm... well...  that I'll be
wearing it down here in Alabama.

The only thing I'd want to add is a pair of mechanical and articulated,
black, bat-like wings sprouting from the back.

>
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
> you do for a living?

Who says I don't?  *grin*

(My "Iggy" personality is a professional jester/comedian much like Robin
Williams in style in the Wizarding World.)

If it was me personally, however, I'd be wither Tom and tend bar at the
Leaky Cauldron, Florean Fortescue and have an Ice Cream Shop, or I'd own
Flourish and Blotts.  *grin*

>
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

To be honest, I don't know.  Most of what I'd want, I don't think I'd be
able to see.  (Like being able to hear in my right ear.  I've been
completely deaf in my right ear for as long as I can remember... Or not
having the disabilities I have.. but none of them are physically visible...)

>
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

A Dementor, without a doubt.  Having Panic Attack Disorder, the thing I fear
most is fear itself...

>
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
> Patronus?

There are a few that would work...

My wedding day, and my wife saying "I do."

It was scary in its own way, but also in hearing that I was going to be a
father.

Seeing my daughter be born.

The joy I feel in my heart each time my daughter smiles at me and squeals
"Daddy!" as she lunges to give me a hug.

>
> * What form might your Patronus take?

One of four things... Coyote, Wolf, Raven, or Owl  (Probably in that order)

>
> * What might your animagus form be?

(See previous question.)


> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
> a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by
> Tracy]

I've answered this one... and added to the answer a few times.  *grin*

>
> * 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]
>

(see previous question.  *grin*)


> * 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:

This site put me in Hufflepuff.  (They need to increase their text size
though, some of the questions and such were kinda hard to read.)

> Professor MacFusty's Sorting Hat:

This one put me in Slytherin for some odd reason.

>
> * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
> are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:
>
> The Harry Potter Obsession Test:

I am apparently 34% Obsessed

*31-60%

*Full time Potter fan. You're obsessed.


>
> * 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:

Ok... here we go.  I will attempt to assemble my own code in this reply as
we speak...

HPGCv1
A33  e  y++++  y*  A30  R1  Hpa  S  Mo +  HaP++
HG+  RW+   FGW++  GW++  PW-  NL+++   DM+
CC-  VK+   PP-  AD++   MM++  RH++   SS++
GL+  NhN+  CF-  LV+  TheD+  SB+   O+ m
FA-  F+c  sfDF


>
> * Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms
> to decorate your signature with at
>
> Inish Alley:

Ok... Using Inish Alley, I have these that I support to a greater or lesser
degree...

AIRSHIP FANCY
BLAMELESS
BUTTERFLIES
DAVY JONES'S LOCKER
DEPRECIATION
DRACO'S TRAGEDY
FIAGRA
FIASCO
FISH FINGERS
FITD
GANG WARS
GORE
HEAD IN SAND
I LUV SAILING OPS


Ok... at about this point, my brain has given out on me...

>
> * 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:

It doesn't say... All I know is that I scored 22, and am #4 on the high
scores list.  *grin*



I think that covers it for now...

Iggy McSnurd






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 21:02:13 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:02:13 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Halloween Mixer  (re-send)
References: <bnrmi2+vthb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <005801c39f29$18b9a140$3395aec7@rick>

Iggy here:

I apologize if anyone gets this twice.  I'm re-sending it because it looks
like YahooMort seems to have AK-ed the first copy, I think...

Iggy



>
> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Yes.  The spirit of my great-grandfather has been watching over me since the
day he died.

>
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

That I can actually be very quiet and introspective.  Also that I firmly
believe that most of the faiths out there are not incompatible.

>
> * 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.

Ignatious Palandraius McSnurd, Joviality Integration Specialist
(aka:  Iggy McSnurd, the Jester)

This was the name of a character I created for two different RPGs to have
fun with.  He was actually a much more effective character than everyone but
me thought he would be.  He's that aspect of me representing the wisdom that
comes with having a sense of humor about the world.  Much like what Coyote
has taught me.  (Which, incidentally, is why CoyotesChild is my e-mail
address name. Coyote is my Spirit Guide.)


>
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I don't really see one out there that I'm envious of.

>
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

A well made black suit and vest combo with a deep scarlet tie.  Black hair
and goatee stylishly trimmed, and blood red contacts for my eyes with small
horns on my gorehead.  Add to this a "Book of Contracts" and a black and red
marbled fountain pen with crimson ink.

I've worn it three years in a row.  (This was back in California.  I went as
"Lucifer Mephistopheles El Diablo... Louis to my friends." I did this three
different years and had a book of contracts to buy souls.  Of course, there
was a disclaimer at the bottom stating that the contracts were in no way
real... *chuckle*)  There's not a chance in... ummm... well...  that I'll be
wearing it down here in Alabama.

The only thing I'd want to add is a pair of mechanical and articulated,
black, bat-like wings sprouting from the back.

>
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
> you do for a living?

Who says I don't?  *grin*

(My "Iggy" personality is a professional jester/comedian much like Robin
Williams in style in the Wizarding World.)

If it was me personally, however, I'd be wither Tom and tend bar at the
Leaky Cauldron, Florean Fortescue and have an Ice Cream Shop, or I'd own
Flourish and Blotts.  *grin*

>
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

To be honest, I don't know.  Most of what I'd want, I don't think I'd be
able to see.  (Like being able to hear in my right ear.  I've been
completely deaf in my right ear for as long as I can remember... Or not
having the disabilities I have.. but none of them are physically visible...)

>
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

A Dementor, without a doubt.  Having Panic Attack Disorder, the thing I fear
most is fear itself...

>
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
> Patronus?

There are a few that would work...

My wedding day, and my wife saying "I do."

It was scary in its own way, but also in hearing that I was going to be a
father.

Seeing my daughter be born.

The joy I feel in my heart each time my daughter smiles at me and squeals
"Daddy!" as she lunges to give me a hug.

>
> * What form might your Patronus take?

One of four things... Coyote, Wolf, Raven, or Owl  (Probably in that order)

>
> * What might your animagus form be?

(See previous question.)


> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
> a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by
> Tracy]

I've answered this one... and added to the answer a few times.  *grin*

>
> * 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]
>

(see previous question.  *grin*)


> * 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:

This site put me in Hufflepuff.  (They need to increase their text size
though, some of the questions and such were kinda hard to read.)

> Professor MacFusty's Sorting Hat:

This one put me in Slytherin for some odd reason.

>
> * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
> are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:
>
> The Harry Potter Obsession Test:

I am apparently 34% Obsessed

*31-60%

*Full time Potter fan. You're obsessed.


>
> * 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:

Ok... here we go.  I will attempt to assemble my own code in this reply as
we speak...

HPGCv1
A33  e  y++++  y*  A30  R1  Hpa  S  Mo +  HaP++
HG+  RW+   FGW++  GW++  PW-  NL+++   DM+
CC-  VK+   PP-  AD++   MM++  RH++   SS++
GL+  NhN+  CF-  LV+  TheD+  SB+   O+ m
FA-  F+c  sfDF


>
> * Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms
> to decorate your signature with at
>
> Inish Alley:

Ok... Using Inish Alley, I have these that I support to a greater or lesser
degree...

AIRSHIP FANCY
BLAMELESS
BUTTERFLIES
DAVY JONES'S LOCKER
DEPRECIATION
DRACO'S TRAGEDY
FIAGRA
FIASCO
FISH FINGERS
FITD
GANG WARS
GORE
HEAD IN SAND
I LUV SAILING OPS


Ok... at about this point, my brain has given out on me...

>
> * 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:

It doesn't say... All I know is that I scored 22, and am #4 on the high
scores list.  *grin*



I think that covers it for now...

Iggy McSnurd






From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 30 21:25:44 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 21:25:44 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrmi2+vthb@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnrvko+4l5a@eGroups.com>

My answers to the mixer:

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

I don't *not* believe in ghosts, but since I have never actually 
seen one (or at least never seen something I was *certain* was a 
ghost), I'm not willing to say unequivocably that I believe. I am 
definitely open to the idea, and I am curious about just what a 
ghost really is - just an imprint of someone's energy field in an 
area? In which case this would be more like a video of a person - 
something you could see, but that couldn't interact with its 
surroundings. Or are ghosts actual entities (like in the 
Potterverse)? Hmnh. In writing this I realise that I do believe in 
entities that we can't see (Iggy mentioned his grandfather. I also 
believe that I have been contacted by the spirit of my departed 
grandmother - once, in a dream, but I believe it was really her, not 
just a regular old dream). I'm just not sure I'd call them ghosts. 
In any case, I've never seen a white glowing, moaning thing. And 
glad of it. I think I'd be really frightened if I were to see 
something like that. :-)


* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

People are often surprised by my age. I guess I look younger than I 
am - I'm 37, and often get mistaken for being much younger (in my 
mid-20s). Not complaining about this, of course ;-). And it's not 
because of any particular virtue or fanatical health consciousness 
on my part. Just lucky, I guess. Or good genes - thanks, mum! :-)


* 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.

There are two names I use, and both of them are related. For the 
longest time, I'd just used my name as my e-mail address and ID 
(well, usually wstjohn with some number or another after it). But 
when I had to switch ISPs because we were moving, I decided to get 
more creative. I wanted a Harry Potter "handle," so I looked through 
the books. Dragons are my favourite creatures, and I chose the 
Hebridean Black because it is the breed of dragon native to Scotland 
(which is where we were living before our recent move back to the 
U.S.). So, I became "hebrideanblack." 

But that's a bit impersonal, so I sometimes go by a more "human" 
type name - Professor MacFusty. She's my "Potterverse persona," if 
you will, and is a member of Clan MacFusty (the family who takes 
care of the Hebridean Black dragons on the Outer Hebrides). Again, a 
Scotland connection, but this time I'm a person, instead of a dragon 
myself. <g> Although I'm sure there are some who find the fire-
breathing aspect fits my personality quite well. <GGG>


* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I don't think there's anyone else's handle I'd like to steal. I'm 
actually very happy with my own. There are several intriguing ones, 
though. I've wondered about the origin of Cindysphynx (why sphynx?), 
and also about the origin of bboy. Hopefully they'll both answer the 
question above, and then I'll know. <G>
 

* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Hmnh. This is tough. There are so many. Maybe a really cool 
Galadriel costume - like she looks in the films. With the glow, too.


* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

I'd be a dragon trainer, of course (see answer about my name) - 
working on the reserve in Romania. At least until Hagrid gets sacked 
(or dies, take your pick <g>), and then I'd return to Hogwarts and 
teach Care of Magical Creatures.


* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Me and my true love. 


* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Same as Molly's - well not the *same* (I wouldn't see the Weasley 
children <g>), but I have no doubt that my worst fear is having 
something horrible happen to my son. (Just like June, too. I suspect 
that several of us will have this same deepest fear).


* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
Patronus?

My son's smiling face.


* What form might your Patronus take?

Hmnh. I have a strong connection to owls, so it might be that, but I 
actually think it's more likely that I'd get some sort of big cat - 
a lioness or mountain lion. That's how I see myself when I'm on the 
defensive, anyway. For example, someone messes with my kid - here 
comes mamma mountain lion. Watch out! <G>


* What might your animagus form be?

I think I'd answer the same to this as above. Although in this case, 
I think I'd more likely be an owl than a big cat. Could go either 
way, though.


* What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
a certain toy or household item)?

I already answered this - it's dolls. I was afraid they'd come alive 
and hurt me. And yes, I have seen the "Talky Tina" episode 
of "Twilight Zone," and needless to say, I didn't enjoy it! <GGG>


* What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or,
tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why.

Heh heh heh . . . I used to really *really* love horror movies, but 
I don't really watch them now. I used to love being scared, but 
found that often I would have bad effects after the fact - nights 
spent laying awake in bed afraid to sleep for fear of some creature 
from a movie (or Stephen King character) coming to get me. (And yes, 
I've done that "covers pulled up to my chin" thing on many occasions 
<g>). I've decided that it's better for my peace of mind to just 
avoid putting in scary images, so for the most part I don't actally 
watch horror movies anymore. Not anything with a lot of blood and 
gore, anyway. Suspense is fun - graphic violence is not, not for me 
anyway. <g> 

Having said that, I think my scariest moment isn't from something 
I'd call a "horror" movie - it's the velociraptors from any of 
the "Jurassic Park" movies. (WARNING - JP SPOILER AHEAD) They just 
scare the heck out of me, and I often will leave the room during the 
parts they are in - it's just too stressful for me to watch. 
Particularly that scene in the kitchen of the first movie - even 
though I know they don't manage to eat either of those kids. Gah! 
Terrifying. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night 
convinced that they've overrun my house, and then I'm scared to get 
up and use the bathroom. <g>


* 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:

Seven Dragons put me into Gryffindor this time (although this hat 
has also, on occasion, put me into Ravenclaw). Professor MacFusty's 
hat (can you guess who wrote this one? <g>), also put me into 
Gryffindor.

This works for me - I do believe I really am a Gryff. Sometimes I'd 
prefer to be a Ravenclaw, because Gryffs can be a bit thick <g>, but 
I'm just not sure I'm really clever enough for that. Plus, I'm a LOT 
like Hermione, and she's a Gryff. So, Gryffindor it is. And yeah, 
sometimes I'm stupid enough . . . erm, I mean *brave* enough to go 
charging in before thinking things through. Works for me. <g>


* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

ARGH! I'm 63% obsessed: "Very obsessed. You may be suffering from 
withdrawl symptoms while waiting for the next book to come out." 
Well, that must explain the depression I've been going through 
lately! <g> 


* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here
and let us know if you are savvy or sorry:

Hmnh. I'd say I was a bit sorry today - my high score was only 17 
(although at the time I played, I was the top score for the day. I'm 
sure that record won't stand for long). My highest score ever is 66. 
Grr. Must brush up on my trivia. <g>


:-)
Wendy
(Who will be dressing up as a dragon trainer tomorrow night. 
Pictures to follow)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 21:54:18 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:54:18 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Halloween Mixer
References: <bnrvko+4l5a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <006701c39f30$5f8f9dc0$3395aec7@rick>

> Wendy:
> Seven Dragons put me into Gryffindor this time (although this hat
> has also, on occasion, put me into Ravenclaw). Professor MacFusty's
> hat (can you guess who wrote this one? <g>), also put me into
> Gryffindor.

Iggy here:

It's interesting that I answered the 7 Dragons questions both as my real
self, and manifesting the "Iggy McSnurd" aspect more strongly, and (even
when I stated a preference for another house... where the hat laughed at
me..) I always end up in Hufflepuff.  Looks like the hat from there feels
that I'm such a quintissential Hufflepuff that there's no other option,
unless I go through and lie outright.... (Which I won't do...)

As for your site, Prof. MacFusty, I end up in Slythierin when I answer
manifesting "Iggy" in my nature, but I end up in Ravenclaw when I answer
morelike my real self...



Iggy McSnurd






From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Thu Oct 30 22:18:00 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Wendy)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:18:00 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <006701c39f30$5f8f9dc0$3395aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bns2mo+rvol@eGroups.com>

Iggy wrote:
> 
> [About the 7 Dragons Hat] Looks like the hat from there feels
> that I'm such a quintissential Hufflepuff that there's no other 
option,
> unless I go through and lie outright.... (Which I won't do...)
> 
> As for your site, Prof. MacFusty, I end up in Slythierin when I 
answer
> manifesting "Iggy" in my nature, but I end up in Ravenclaw when I 
answer
> morelike my real self...


Wendy again:

My question for you . . . which house do you think best suits you? 
Both as your "real self" and as "Iggy?" 

I'm interested in this sort of thing - especially since, after OoP, 
it seems that we have canon to show that student choice *is* a 
factor in house selection. In fact, that's why some of the questions 
in the sorting hat I wrote are meant to be "self-selecting" - in 
other words, it's easy to skew your result based on your answers to 
these questions - I thought that was in line with what we learn 
about the Sorting Hat in OoP. I don't think it's all about student 
choice, but if you're on the border between two (or more) houses, 
the hat will put you where you most want to go. That's my thought 
right now, anyway. Maybe we'll learn even more later in the series.

:-)
Wendy




From eberte at vaeye.com  Thu Oct 30 22:27:28 2003
From: eberte at vaeye.com (ellejir)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:27:28 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrvko+4l5a@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bns38g+10dh1@eGroups.com>

 My answers to the mixer:
> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
> 
No, because I live in a really old house and it is much more 
convenient *not* to think about them.  But I do believe that the 
spirits of people we loved still watch over us (kind of like the girl 
in "The Lovely Bones".) 
 
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?
>
Well, for one thing, they are surprised to find out that I am a Harry 
Potter fanatic. 
 
 
> * 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.
> 
It is my name. The email address is a contracted version of my name.


> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?
>
No one's. The elf names are cute, though.

 
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
> you do for a living?
> 
I would be Hermione--but without the house-elf obsession.

> 
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
> 
My harmonious family--kids not fighting, biting etc.

 
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?
> 
Molly Weasley-type fear of injury/death of one of mu children.

 
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?
> 
Birth of my children or their sweet faces telling me that they love 
me.

 
> * What form might your Patronus take?
> 
A big cat or a unicorn.

 
> * What might your animagus form be?
> 
It would be nice to have an animagus that could fly--so maybe a 
unicorn.

 
> * 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:
> 
> Seven Dragons put me into Gryffindor (I couldn't read all of the 
questions on my screen.)  Professor MacFusty's put me in (ARRRRGH!!!) 
Slytherin! (Going back now to *re-sort*, taking care to avoid any 
answers that sound selfish or ambitious--will probably land in 
Hufflepuff.)
I would rather be a Gryffindor, but suspect that I would really get 
sorted into Ravenclaw by the *real* hat.
 
> * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
> are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:
> 
Only 38% obsessed!  Wow!  My husband will be *stunned* to learn that 
there are others out there who are *much more* obsessed than I!
 
> * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here
> and let us know if you are savvy or sorry:
> 
High score was 22.  Most of the questions are easy but a few are 
*very* obscure.

Elle (really *annoyed* that she got sorted into Slytherin and 
*refusing* to join Pansy Parkinson's gang of sniggering Slytherin 
girls)




From tminton at deckerjones.com  Thu Oct 30 22:29:14 2003
From: tminton at deckerjones.com (Tonya Minton)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:29:14 -0600
Subject: Halloween Mixer
Message-ID: <8D5AD53268720840968E25CB71EC7CAE9810@djmail.deckerjones.com>

 

	Tonya's Mixer answers: 
	 * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? 
	**********************Yes I believe!!  My father passed away
when I was 5 years old and I can feel him at times.  That is the best
why I have!! 
	
	* What things about you often come as a surprise to others? 
	********************* That I can learn from books, and I like
learning.
	
	* 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 should have been more creative!!  How boring
my own name nothing exciting!!  :( 
	
	* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a}
would 
	you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?   
	***************************I find most very interesting!!  So I
would steal anyone's, not picky!! 
	
	* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. 
	*************************** I just like to pretend to be someone
or thing else!!  As long as I am having fun it's the ultimate!!
	
	* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what
would 
	you do for a living? 
	******************I would want to be a teacher and teach art or
photgraphy.  I am not sure who I would want to be but definalnty someone
batty like Neville's Grandma (I hope she turns out to be on the good
side!!) 
	
	* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? 
	*******************A healthy me and a clean house that I didn't
have to clean. 
	
	* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? 
	*****************My boggart would be a BIG HAIRY SPIDER!!  Like
Ron's 
	
	* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up
a 
	Patronus? 
	******************A shoe sale at Dillard's  :)  It's a
sickness!!  OK it would be my wedding day to my wonderful Hubby!! 
	
	* What form might your Patronus take? 
	*************A Hippo 
	
	* What might your animagus form be? 
	*************an owl
	
	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] 
	******************** Scary looking shadows!!
	
	* 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 still don't like Freddie and Jason
movies!!  
	
	
	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: 
	****************Gryffindor from both sortings!!
	
	* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . .
or 
	are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: 
	***************************IT says I am 82% obsessed, I think
that is a little low!! 
	
	* 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: 
	*****************************HPGC v1 a+ e+++ x+ Z++++ A? R1 HP3
S++++ Mo++ HaP+++ HG++++ FGW++++ O+ct FA+ F- SI----FH----SFD 
	
	
	* Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some
acronyms 
	to decorate your signature with at  
	**************************I don't know!! 
	
	* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz
here 
	and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: 
	**************************Not too bad I got 34 correct. 
	
	 that was fun!!  THanks!!
	 
	Tonya 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Thu Oct 30 23:31:26 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 10:31:26 +1100
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
References: <410-22003103297127219@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <3FA239FE.32428.9CEFE17@localhost>

Ooh, this looks fun and interesting.

> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

No. By nature, I'm a scientist - while I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility that 
ghosts exist, I'd require a lot more evidence before I'd believe they do.
  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

Um... OK, how to put this without appearing completely and utterly arrogant. My 
brain. I have been stuck with an extremely high IQ, and apparently when talking to 
people in real life, I can come across as very intellectually intense and sometimes 
quite scary.
  
> * 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.

Fairly long story, but I love telling it.

Dreadnought - OK, the school I went to was *extremely* wrapped up in tradition. 
Both formal traditions of the school, and informal traditions among the students. 
One of the latter was the existence and use of nicknames. Nicknames were 
earned - they were allocated to you by older boys based on your name, your 
personality, or your achievements. And they changed - which was a good thing 
because sometimes you got a bad one. When you got one you liked, you held 
onto it.

I tended to get fairly bad ones 'Psycho Bicycle' 'Eyebrows McKinley' - I went 
around for a long time known as 'Lovely' Hately - which is an awful thing to have 
to wear at an all boys school.

A formal tradition of the school was sport. We had compulsory sports training two 
nights a week after school, and compulsory inter-school sport on Saturday 
mornings. I was... all right at sports. Not bad, but not brilliant. My school 
worshipped Australian Rules Football - from memory we had something like eight 
Aussie Rules teams at every year level, and in the winter that was the school's big 
name sport. I didn't like it that much - it could be fun to play, and to watch, but it 
was not for me. So in winter, I played Rugby Union - a sport that I found a lot 
more enjoyable, but also one played by a lot less people at the school, and so 
one where I actually had a chance of standing out a little bit.

I was fairly good at Rugby for my age - not a brilliant player, but a reasonably 
good one in a school where the best athletes went into Aussie Rules. I played for 
my year level team - and we did OK.

For Americans on the list who don't know Rugby (most probably have at least a 
basic idea, I know) superficially it's somewhat similar to what Americans mean 
when they say 'football'. What Americans call a 'touchdown', we call a 'try' in 
rugby. I want that understood, because I want people to understand why I was 
proud of my achievement.

When I was 15, some sort of virus went through the school - a *lot* of students got 
sick - not seriously ill, but ill enough that playing sports in the rain was a bad idea 
(and the week this happened was very wet, all our sports fields turned to mud - 
and as the Rugby pitch, being a minor sport, wasn't on the best land, it was a 
mudbath). The senior team, the First XV, had a major game that week that they 
couldn't afford to forfeit - forfeiting was bad. Much better to lose by 200 points 
than forfeit in terms of the competition as a whole. The senior teams started 
pulling in junior boys to play - and Aussie Rules, being the premier sport, was 
even pulling in Rugby and Soccer players for the week - it was taking the school's 
top talents, because it was the prestige sport. Everybody is moving up and I found 
myself selected for the Rugby First XV, at least a year before I would have had a 
chance at that in normal circumstances.

I took the field on Saturday - and the other team probably outweighed us two to 
one - they were one of the best teams around, while two thirds of our team were 
undersized. And when the match started, the outcome was predictable - they were 
annihilating us.

The field was churning mud - and if it hadn't been we'd have probably been in a 
lot more pain, because at least it was fairly soft mud. It was slippery - the game 
had no finesse. But it didn't need to  - basically we spent 95% of the time within 
25 yards of the try line we were defending, our sole aim was to try to keep their 
winning margin to less than 100 points. And the way we were playing that looked 
like being a close run thing.

Near the halfway mark of the game, a fairly decent crowd from our school had 
developed - our opponents had come from an unusual distance (most of the 
schools in our competition were located pretty close to each other - two were a 
considerable distance away) so we'd started later than normal and other matches 
had finished so we were the best entertainment around.

Anyway - we were defending maybe two or three metres off our line. I was right up 
against one of the sidelines - less muddy there, than towards the centre of the 
field and the ball came out that wide only rarely in this match. The ball spilled right 
in front of me, and I scooped it up. This HUGE player from the other team came 
charging down at me - basic principle seemed to be that he was going to pick me 
up and take me over the line with the ball - and I tried to sidestep, thrusting out a 
hand. I slipped. He slipped. My hand went into his face - my finger went into his 
eye. Total accident and there was a pause of maybe half a second before he gave 
an enraged ROAR and I took off down the field like a rabbit in sheer terror and 
fear for my life.

Their whole team had come forward - they really weren't bothering with much 
defence anymore. And I don't think I've ever run as fast in my life. I wanted to live. 
I'd covered 60 yards - and I could hear him behind me every step, and everybody 
else seemed to be chasing me as well, before I realised that I actually still had the 
ball. I kept running as people came behind me from both sides, I managed to 
push through two of them simply because I had forward momentum, they were 
coming sideways and the mud meant they couldn't change direction easily - about 
ten yards from the try line, I could feel everybody converging on me - but I'd also 
realised that I could maybe score. They caught me - one from behind, one 
slamming into me from behind and to the left about two metres from the tryline - 
and I dived trying to put the ball down in the corner. I went through the corner flag 
- our combined weights uprooted the thing and was buried in the mud off to the 
side of the pitch. 

The Referee had been caught out by the movement too - couldn't tell if I'd got the 
ball down. Neither could I for that matter - and I was lying in the mud, completely 
winded and thinking I was dying. The Ref asked if I'd got it down. The guys who 
tackled me said I had. So I got the try. Most fortunately in the probably fifteen 
seconds or so, we'd been charging down the field, the fellow I'd eyegouged had 
come to the realisation that it'd been an accident - and I actually hadn't injured 
him, thankfully.

I had to leave the game - but watching were some of the guys who assigned 
nicknames and who knew I was unhappy with what I had. They started discussing 
things - considered names like Tank, I know, but knew I came from a navy family 
so decided on Dreadnought - name for an early type of battleship. And I liked that 
name. And I claimed it. And a couple of years later when I first got an e-mail 
account, I used it.
  
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Um... can't answer. I'm on well over 100 mailing lists and I can't remember which 
sigs are on which lists.
  
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Halloween isn't a big thing here in Australia - it's becoming more common for kids 
to get into it, basically because kids tend to embrace traditions that result in free 
candy - but when I was a kid - and that's not that long ago - where I was anyway, 
Halloween was seen as in very bad taste, as if we were culturally subservient to 
the US, so had to apishly copy it. So it's not something I've really thought about.

> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
> you do for a living?

Probably a Hogwarts teacher, giving full choice. Potions or Arithmancy, I think - 
subjects that seem to me to be more... scientific.. in many ways than most of what 
they learn. Or maybe just a teacher who teaches them Mathematics and English - 
there seems to be a need for specialist instruction in that (-8.
  
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Minister for Education in my home state - I want to reform (well, that's what I call 
it), the school system (-8
  
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Possibly a Walrus Moustached man carrying a Car Muffler... it's hard to answer 
that, really. My true greatest fear, the greatest horror I face would be the death of 
a person I could have saved. I think. 
  
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?

Aged 13. My second day in a new school after a year of abject and total hell at 
another school. Sitting down next to a statue, just having finished my lunch. And 
for the first in my life - at 13 years of age, a boy comes up to me and asks me if I 
want to join in a game. Tears comes to my eyes now even just thinking about how 
I felt. It's really hard to describe how I felt in that moment. Happy, so happy, just 
because somebody had asked me to play with them... and feeling for the first 
moment ever, that, maybe, just maybe, I'd found a place where I could fit in.
  
> * What form might your Patronus take?

Like Hermione's - an otter. It's part of my family crest and I've always felt attached 
to them. Maybe a blue tongued lizard - I have a thing for them going back to age 2 
or so when one stuck it's tongue out at me. IT WAS JUST SO COOL!!!!!
  
> * What might your animagus form be?

Blue tongued lizard, or a platypus. 
  
> 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]

Car Muffler man mentioned above - I also answered in more detail in the thread.
  
> * 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]

Scariest moment in a film - two, actually. One for just momentary terror, and one 
for absolute nightmare inducing horror.

The first was in Jurassic Park - when the dinosaur rips through a wall. I saw that 
movie with two guys from school, who'd also seen it the previous night - they 
didn't warn me. They watched me to see how I'd react. Well, somebody about five 
rows back had a three quarter full large coke land in their lap (-8

Horror - the Fly. "Help meeeeeee. Help meeeeeee." Yeesh - why did you have to 
ask that question!
  
> 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:

Sites tend to put me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Pretty sure I'd be a Ravenclaw.
  

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  Thu Oct 30 23:37:52 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:37:52 -0000
Subject: More Maps...
Message-ID: <bns7cg+humv@eGroups.com>

Some of you may have seen this in the main group.

... I do have an on-line map of London indicating the likely area and
location of 12 Grimmauld Place.

It is a map that is centered around Kings Cross Station and shows a
one mile radius from that centeral point. Warning: the map is very
large (550kb) so it may take a while to load with a normal modem (love
my DSL connection).

Kings Cross & 12 Grimmauld Place:
http://tinyurl.com/sx1i

http://www.homestead.com/bluemoonmarket/files/hogwarts/12grim.jpg

As a bonus, here is a map of Surrey and London showing significant
points, giving distances to significant locations, and with links to
interesting points in Surrey.

Surrey & London:
http://www.homestead.com/bluemoonmarket/files/hogwarts/surreymap.html

http://tinyurl.com/sx27

I though this might help the discussion, given people a map of
reference points to help them visualize the London area around Kings
Cross station.

In this discussion, people seem to be favoring the neighborhoods north
of Kings Cross Station as formerly elegant areas now gone to seed.
Someone who live in London is sure they have found the real 12
Grimmauld Place in the Swiss Cottage neighborhood.

Just throwing it in.

bboy_mmn






From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 23:35:15 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 17:35:15 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Halloween Mixer
References: <bns2mo+rvol@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001301c39f3e$83e94f00$0cea79a5@rick>


> Wendy again:
>
> My question for you . . . which house do you think best suits you?
> Both as your "real self" and as "Iggy?"
>

Iggy here:

To be honest, when I look at the personality for that "Iggy" side of me, I
can easily see him in Hufflepuff when I think about the qualities of that
House.  He's loyal, steadfast,and clever, but he tends to use his wits to
try and make others feel better rather than for his own ends (like
Slytherin) to show how clever he is (like I imagine Ravenclaws do at times)
or to save people in grand ways... (a la Hermione as a Gryffindor).  He's
probably one of the most silly and humorous of the Hufflepuff legacy, but I
can see Professor Sprout actually helping him explore that aspect of himself
and the desire to bring happiness to others.

As for my overall view, I can see things being the same as with "Iggy", but
I also look at the fact that a lot of times (to be honest) I do take some
pride in being clever and innovative for the sake of being clever and
innovative.  I also tend to ask "Why?", "How?" and "Why not?" a lot of the
times.  I am inquisitive and pretty information oriented a lot of the
times.... so I would think that would put me in Ravenclaw.

On the other hand... (this is, what, the third hand?)  I also recognize
that, especially with my severe anxiety and panic attacks, I have been
pretty brave on a regular basis.  The fact that I'm bound and determined not
to let this problem beat me down, I go out and do stuff, I left everything I
knew to move to Alabama and be with the woman who is now my wife, and I keep
plodding along despite all the fears, I kinda think that Gryffindor would
suit me.


There's where your theory of choice by the student starts to fall apart.
I'd like to think I'm brave enough for Gryffindor, I am probably intelligent
and clever enough for Ravenclaw, and I would fit in well with Hufflepuffs.


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)





From dfrankiswork at netscape.net  Thu Oct 30 23:42:06 2003
From: dfrankiswork at netscape.net (davewitley)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:42:06 -0000
Subject: Where has all the mail gone?
In-Reply-To: <bnr5th+dfiv@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bns7ke+7vvu@eGroups.com>

June wrote:

> "Posing" again.  Sounds like I should post with Madonna's "Vogue" 
> playing in the background :-) 

Probably the effect of the pumpkin juice

David




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Thu Oct 30 23:43:27 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 17:43:27 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Where has all the mail gone?
References: <bns7ke+7vvu@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001d01c39f3f$9ea252a0$0cea79a5@rick>



> June wrote:
> 
> > "Posing" again.  Sounds like I should post with Madonna's "Vogue" 
> > playing in the background :-) 
> 
> Probably the effect of the pumpkin juice
> 
> David
> 

Yeah... She's been drinking Pumpkin Schnapps again.  *chuckle*

Iggy McSnurd






From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Thu Oct 30 23:56:17 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:56:17 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers... More Brewing Info
In-Reply-To: <3FA12C08.27922.A07B37@localhost>
Message-ID: <bns8f1+79ku@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy Rizzo" <tammy at m...> wrote:

> On 30 Oct 2003 at 20:00, alshainofthenorth wrote:
> 
> > The traditional May Day drink in Finland is called 'sima' (Fin.) or
> > 'mj?d' (Swe.), and translates as 'mead', I suppose. It consists of
> > water, brown sugar, lemons, raisins and yeast, and some people add
> > hops for a little bitterness. It's fermented for a few days, and
> > what you get is a fizzy drink tasting of caramel with hints of 
> > lemon ...edied...


> 
> Oh, don't stop sharing there, Alshain!  Tell us more!  Give us a 
> recipe!  It sounds quite tasty, and I for one would love to try it.
> 
> ***
> Tammy
> tammy at m...

bboy_mn:

Just an additional warning when making you own fermented beverages.

1.) don't use grocery store yeasts (bread yeast or even common grocery
store brewer's yeast) these will not give the best results. Go to your
local store that sells home brewing supplies or one of the many home
brew stores on-line (they have them everywhere in the world). I've
heard that champagne yeast creates a very rich cream head of foam. 

They also sell flavor concentrate for home brewing ginger ale, ginger
beer (not the same as ginger ale but still mostly alcohol free), root
beer, and many other traditional fruit, herb and spice type beverages.
They can probably advise you on the best yeast to use.

2.)store the finished product in plastic screw top 'pop' bottles.
Don't use glass, because even after being refrigerated, the yeast can
still grow a bit and the expanding gas will cause the bottles to
explode (or at least break). Another advantage to champagne yeast is
that it is more sensitive to temperature and is more likely to stop
fermenting once refrigerated.

3.)everything used in the brewing process must be absolutely CLEAN as
close to sterile as you can get under home brewing conditions,
otherwise you are likely to create a very good crop of mold, not to
mention germs and bacteria. 

Don't let this scare you off though, if you make small batches and
drink them as soon as they are ready, the chance of harmful
contamination in very small. The Home Brew stores also have a variety
of bottle/kettle disinfectants that you can buy.

If you are experienced at this, you can very accurately guess the
yeast to sugar ratio, and then glass storage may no be that big a problem.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn







From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 00:38:51 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:38:51 -0600
Subject: How to Confuse Trick or Treaters
Message-ID: <001a01c39f47$5c56e980$b3e379a5@rick>

Iggy here:

I got this from a web-site my mom referred me to.  Thought y'all might like
it.  (I'll send in more if I find any..)

Iggy McSnurd




How To Confuse Trick or Treaters...

Wait behind the door. When they get near the door, jump out wearing a
costume, holding a bag, and yell, "Trick or Treat!" Look at them, scratch
your head, and act confused.

Get about 30 people to wait in your living room. When trick-or-treaters come
to the door, invite them in. Once they're inside, have everyone yell,
"Surprise!!!" Act like it's a surprise party.

Get everyone who comes to the door to come in and see if they can figure out
what's wrong with your dishwasher. Insist that it makes an unnatural
"whirring" sound.

After you give them candy, hand them a bill.

Open the door dressed as a giant fish. Collapse, flop about gasping for air,
then don't move until they go away.

When you answer the door, look at them, act shocked and scared, and start
screaming your head off. Slam the door and run around the house, screaming
until they go away.

When you open the door, shout, "Drop and give me twenty!" and Insist they
each do push-ups before you give them any candy.

Hand out menus and let them order their candy. Keep asking if anyone wants
to see the wine list.

Answer the door dressed as a pilgrim. Stare for a moment, pretend to be
confused, and start flipping through a calendar.

Instead of candy, give away colored eggs. If anyone protests, explain that
you've been trying to get rid of the eggs since Easter.

Answer the door dressed as a dentist. Angrily lecture them about tooth decay
until they leave.

Answer the door with a mouthful of M & M's and several half-eaten candy bars
in your hands. Insist that all your candy is gone.

Put a horn and tails on a pumpkin and put it on a throne on your porch.
Insist that they all bow down and worship Beelzebub, Prince of Darkness.






From stevejjen at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 31 04:31:12 2003
From: stevejjen at earthlink.net (Jen Reese)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 04:31:12 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnsoig+fb9k@eGroups.com>

How exciting--quizzes and everything! 

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? 

Yes, even though I've never seen one. It just makes sense to me that 
by choice or circumstance a spirit/soul might occasionally not make 
it to the other side. 
  
* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

I seem very pragmatic, but have a big interest in metaphysics, 
psychic "vibes" and the like. One of my favorite authors along these 
lines is Sonia Choquette, who wrote "Your Heart's Desire" and "The 
Psychic Pathway".

* 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 originally signed up as "ariadnemagic", becuase Ariadne is my own 
private "magical" name, so unlike Jennifer, a name you see 
*everywhere*. I'm never part of a group without at least one other 
Jennifer (and this one has a least 5 or 6 that I know of ).

* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Well, I like the Pip, Pippin names because they remind me of Pippi 
Longstocking ;). Also, Arrowsmith is clever (I've always assumed 
it's a take on Aerosmith the band, but maybe Kneasy/Sneaky could 
answer that?). I wouldn't mind stealing "alshainofthenorth" because 
it sounds so poetic. Maybe I should change mine to 
Ariadneofthesouthwest?
 
* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.  

OK, for years now I've been saying I want to be Jackie Kennedy 
Onassis (former U.S. First Lady) with a pillbox hat, gloves, wool 
suit and box purse. Alas, I never get the outfit together (which is 
a shame this year because my hair would make the perfect flippy-
doo). Last year I was a skunk and the year before that, Harry.

* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
you do for a living? 

I'd love to take over Ollivander's store and help people select 
wands. He's getting pretty old, right?

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? 

Moving boxes (we moved three times in three years before now).

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
Patronus? 

The day OOTP finally arrived <bg>
 
* What form might your Patronus take? Polar bear
 
* What might your animagus form be? A crab--for my astology sign and 
my mood at times!
  
* What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, 
 a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by 
Tracy]  
Mirrors. Creepy at night.
 
* 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]  

"Poltergeist" and "Halloween I" both kept me up at night.
 
 * 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: 

Hufflepuff in one and Ravenclaw in the other.
  
 * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or 
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here: 

29% obsessive--this quiz said I have a real life! I was pleased and 
will have to tell my family (who believe HP IS my 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: 

This quiz seemed complicated--didn't take it.
 
* Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms 
to decorate your signature with atInish Alley: 

BADD ANGST of course, since I helped write it. SILK GOWNS is 
promising. LOLLIPOPS is intriguing. Stoned!Harry, too.

* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here 
 and let us know if you are savvy or sorry:

The best I got was a 30. How should I know what time Sirius asked to 
see the trio in Hogsmeade or how many legs a hinkypuck has? Really!!


Jen, who let Halloween sneak up on her this year and doesn't have a 
costume :(
  
 




From kkearney at students.miami.edu  Fri Oct 31 05:28:04 2003
From: kkearney at students.miami.edu (corinthum)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 05:28:04 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnsrt4+7t3a@eGroups.com>

I don't usually journey over to this list, but this looked like fun. 
Here goes...
  
> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

No.  I believe in an afterlife, and in the spirits of those we love
watching over us, but I don't believe in the spirit-returns-to-earth
concept.  Too illogical.  :)
  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

Depends on the person.  At work, people are usually surprised to learn
I dance, love musicals, study languages, etc.  Those I know through
these activities are surprised I'm a scientist.  My close friends and
family really aren't surprised by much anymore; they just smile
indulgently.

> * 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 first started using the name Corinth on a Les Miserables board when
I was younger.  No real personal significance; I just decided to
choose an obscure Les Mis reference.  Corinth was the name of the area
in which the barricades were erected, mentioned a handful of times in
the novel.  I added the UM (a tribute to my alma mater) because the
alias corinth was already registered with Yahoo, but I never sign with
that, and am strangely annoyed when people quote me as "corinthum".

> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I am intrigued by Dicentra's handle; I know it's a plant, but why?

> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Anything elaborate, creative, and personal.  I hate those
mass-produced, store-bought costumes. 

> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
> you do for a living?

I think it would be interesting to research and develop new spells.  I
love trying to explain the magic in the books logically, using laws of
physics. 
 
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Hmm, I don't know.  Is that a bad sign?

> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

One of two things: Fire or Failure (ooh, alliteration).  I'm not quite
as phobic as I once was, but fire is still my biggest tanglible fear.
 Not quite sure why; perhaps because it's so unpredictable.  And as
for failure, well, I don't deal well with it.  Not at all.  Very like
Hermione in that respect.

> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?

My family, especially my sister and mother.

> * What form might your Patronus take?

Perhaps a large cat (tiger, panther, or similar).  Seems like a good
animal to protect me from and chase down dementors. 

> * What might your animagus form be?

I'd love to be a bird of some sort.  Fly around, see the world, see 
ultra-violet light...  But for irony's sake I'd probably end up as
zooplankton.  :)

 
> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, 
> a certain toy or household item)? 

Well, all the ones I can think of off the tiop of my head are related
to the aforementioned fire phobia.  Matches, lighters, bunsen burners
(okay, not common in a house, but several of my classes)... I won't
use any of them.  I baked a cake for my roommate on her last birthday
and had to ask her to light the candles.

When I was around 12 or so I developed a fear of the garage door
opening.  This came about after a teacher of mine told a story to
demonstrate safe storage of gasoline.  He told of a man who had
improperly stored gasoline in his garage.  When he smelled the fumes
from the leaking can, he was immediately woried an opened the garage
door to ventilate the room.  However, a spark from the garage door
opener ignited the fumes and caused a major explosion.  For years I
would hit the garage door opener and immediately return to the hallway
to wait for the door to completely open before entering the garage,
even though I knew quite well that a) we didn't store gasoline in our
garage or even park a car there and b) standing five feet from the
garage was hardly safer than being in it in the event of an explosion.

I sound really crazy when I put that in writing, don't I?   

> * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, 
> tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. 

I like movies that build up a lot of tension rather than being
actually scary.  "Signs" was good at that; it probably wouldn't be
that scary if I watched it again, knowing what happens, but when I saw
it in the theater, every little thing was making me jump.
 
> * 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:

Both put me in Ravenclaw.  Which was my preference.  Yay.
  
> * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or 
> are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

Everything I do borders on obsessive.  :)  But this says I'm only 40%
obsessed; I guess I'm really only obsessed with the books, not the
movies, merchandise, etc.
  
> Scholastic's Harry Potter Wizard Challenge:

36 right.  What, an obscure detail I didn't know?  I'm ashamed.
  
Well, that was interesting.  I'll retreat to the main list now.

-Corinth




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 06:52:51 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 06:52:51 -0000
Subject: Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
Message-ID: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>

Let's assume for the moment that the reigning King of England married
a witch before being crowned King of England, would that witch be
considered Queen or merely the wife of the king? 

In a sense, I am asking if the spouse of the reigning monarch also
holds the highest royal title, or is the highest royal title reserved
excusively for the reigning King/Queen.

Does that question make sense?

Perhap, restate one more time; are the reigning monarch and spouse
automatically King AND Queen, or does the title only reside with the
one who is reigning at the time?

If Hermione married Prince William (they are about the same age) and
Prince William became King, would that automatically make Hermione
Queen, or would she only hold the title Queen if William died and
Hermione took over.

Just curious.

bboy_mn




From o_caipora at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 07:10:34 2003
From: o_caipora at yahoo.com (o_caipora)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 07:10:34 -0000
Subject: Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnt1ta+u7bq@eGroups.com>

"Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
> Perhap, restate one more time; are the reigning monarch and spouse
> automatically King AND Queen, or does the title only reside with the
> one who is reigning at the time?
> 
> If Hermione married Prince William (they are about the same age) and
> Prince William became King, would that automatically make Hermione
> Queen, or would she only hold the title Queen if William died and
> Hermione took over.

The kingship descends through blood. Mary married King (George? 
Edward?). Had Elizabeth. King died. Elizabeth became Queen; Mary 
became "Queen Mother". She's the one who kicked the bucket a year or 
so ago.

Outside of royalty, mother becomes "dowager".  A "Dowager Duchess" is 
the widow of a Duke. Her son became Duke and his wife Duchess. 

It's kind of like "emeritus" in academia.

In many of those old, grand English country houses there's a smaller 
(but still very nice) house called the "Dower House"; it's where the 
old Lady moves when the old Lord kicks off, to let her live out her 
remaining years in dignity and incidentally keep her out of the new 
Lady's hair.

So Hermione would never "take over". Her son would become King. Iif 
you read too much fanfic, he might become Queen.

Phillip is "Prince" rather than "King" because that's the custom; 
he's a consort, not a monarch. There's a title, Princess Royal, for a 
sibling of the monarch, which the monarch can bestow or not as she 
pleases. Liz hasn't given it to her sister.

 - Caipora 




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct 31 08:32:35 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:32:35 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA2B8D3.14437.1ABC19@localhost>

On 31 Oct 2003 at 6:52, Steve wrote:

> Let's assume for the moment that the reigning King of England married
> a witch before being crowned King of England, would that witch be
> considered Queen or merely the wife of the king? 
> 
> In a sense, I am asking if the spouse of the reigning monarch also
> holds the highest royal title, or is the highest royal title reserved
> excusively for the reigning King/Queen.

OK -

There is one type of King, but two types of Queen. A King is *always* the 
Monarch. A Queen generally is not. There is the Queen Consort (wife to the 
Monarch), and the Queen Regnans (Monarch in her own right).

The reason there have been so few Queens in their own right is that if there is 
any male heir of a similar relationship to the closest female heir to the crown, they 
have precedence. A Princess can become Queen of the United Kingdom only if 
she has no brothers - it doesn't matter if she is older than them - her brothers 
have precedence under British law.

For example - the Queen's children in order of birth are Charles, Anne, Andrew 
and Edward. In order of succession it is Charles, Andrew, Edward, Anne (I'm 
leaving out the children of Charles and Andrew, both of whom also have 
precedence over Anne). Put another way - when Prince Andrew was born, Anne 
went from second in line to the throne, to third.

> Does that question make sense?
> 
> Perhap, restate one more time; are the reigning monarch and spouse
> automatically King AND Queen, or does the title only reside with the
> one who is reigning at the time?

If the Monarch is male, he is King, and his wife is Queen (Queen Consort).

If the Monarch is female, she is Queen (Queen Regnan) and her husband is 
Prince Consort.

That is the current situation in Britain - Elizabeth II is Queen Regnans. Her 
husband is Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh - he is the Prince Consort, but he 
was also created Duke of Edinburgh in his own right.

> If Hermione married Prince William (they are about the same age) and
> Prince William became King, would that automatically make Hermione
> Queen, or would she only hold the title Queen if William died and
> Hermione took over.

Under normal circumstances, if Hermione married Prince William, she would 
become Queen. There is no circumstance under which she could take over as 
Queen in her own right (if King William died while his closest heir was still under 
age to reign effectively, his closest heir would still become King or Queen, and 
Hermione might be appointed Regent until such time as the Monarch came of 
age). She would retain the title of Queen - Dowager Queen Mother (the Queen 
Mother took that title without commonly using Dowager, because at the time her 
husband King George VI died, his mother Queen Mary (widow of King George V) 
was still alive and holding the title of Dowager Queen) - but she would have no 
special powers, except those granted by the Regency if applicable.

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 Oct 31 08:40:38 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:40:38 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <bnt1ta+u7bq@eGroups.com>
References: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA2BAB6.23884.22195A@localhost>

On 31 Oct 2003 at 7:10, o_caipora wrote:

> "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
> > Perhap, restate one more time; are the reigning monarch and spouse
> > automatically King AND Queen, or does the title only reside with the
> > one who is reigning at the time?
> > 
> > If Hermione married Prince William (they are about the same age) and
> > Prince William became King, would that automatically make Hermione
> > Queen, or would she only hold the title Queen if William died and
> > Hermione took over.
> 
> The kingship descends through blood. Mary married King (George? 
> Edward?). Had Elizabeth. King died. Elizabeth became Queen; Mary 
> became "Queen Mother". She's the one who kicked the bucket a year or 
> so ago.

Not so.

The current Queen's mother was also named Elizabeth. She died last year - she 
was Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, widow of King George VI. The current 
Queen's grandmother was Mary - Queen Mary, the Dowager Queen Mother 
(widow of King George V). She actually preferred to simply be Queen Mary - 
didn't like the Dowager term, and her preference was accepted.

Queen Mother is reserved for situations where the Dowager of a King is also the 
mother of the current Monarch (that will generally be the case - but it is possible a 
situation will arise where a Queen Consort is not the mother of the next Monarch 
and nobody seems sure what their title would be in that case - most like the title 
would be Dowager Queen)
 
> Outside of royalty, mother becomes "dowager".  A "Dowager Duchess" is 
> the widow of a Duke. Her son became Duke and his wife Duchess. 
> 
> It's kind of like "emeritus" in academia.
> 
> In many of those old, grand English country houses there's a smaller 
> (but still very nice) house called the "Dower House"; it's where the 
> old Lady moves when the old Lord kicks off, to let her live out her 
> remaining years in dignity and incidentally keep her out of the new 
> Lady's hair.
> 
> So Hermione would never "take over". Her son would become King. Iif 
> you read too much fanfic, he might become Queen.
> 
> Phillip is "Prince" rather than "King" because that's the custom; 
> he's a consort, not a monarch. There's a title, Princess Royal, for a 
> sibling of the monarch, which the monarch can bestow or not as she 
> pleases. Liz hasn't given it to her sister.

Queen Elizabeth II's sister is now deceased - she died early last year. Her 
daughter Anne, holds the title, Princess Royal.

Phillip, BTW, is a Prince in his own right (Prince Phillipos of Greece and 
Denmark), as well as Prince Consort to Her Majesty, the Queen, and Duke of 
Edinburgh.




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 Oct 31 08:43:30 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:43:30 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <3FA2B8D3.14437.1ABC19@localhost>
References: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA2BB62.27170.24BC23@localhost>

On 31 Oct 2003 at 19:32, Shaun Hately wrote:

> That is the current situation in Britain - Elizabeth II is Queen Regnans. Her 
> husband is Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh - he is the Prince Consort, but he 
> was also created Duke of Edinburgh in his own right.

I'm wrong - I've just been checking. Prince Philip was never created Prince 
Consort - it wasn't considered necessary, because he already held a title of 
Prince. However, in 1957, he was made a British Prince, and he is the Queen's 
Consort

.


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  Fri Oct 31 09:18:07 2003
From: cindysphynx at comcast.net (Cindy C.)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:18:07 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnt9cf+kp84@eGroups.com>

Hey!  A Mixer!  I live a good Mixer!

> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Nah.  Ghosts are inconsistent with my religious beliefs.

  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

If I told you, then it would ruin the surprise!

  
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
> you do for a living?

Oh, I'd probably be a lawyer, like I am now.  Or maybe I'd do
something useful and sell Tupperware instead!  :-D

  
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Tupperware?  (You know, that stuff is dang useful!  Except in the
microwave.  It's awful in the microwave.)

  
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Tupperware that has been in the microwave.  ::shudder::

Cindy -- dog tired from 10 straight hours of sewing costumes  






From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Fri Oct 31 10:48:13 2003
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 10:48:13 -0000
Subject: Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <bnt1ta+u7bq@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnteld+7jf5@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "o_caipora" wrote:
> "Steve" wrote:
> > Perhap, restate one more time; are the reigning monarch and
> > spouse automatically King AND Queen, or does the title only
> > reside with the one who is reigning at the time?
> > 
> > If Hermione married Prince William (they are about the same
> > age) and Prince William became King, would that automatically
> > make Hermione Queen, or would she only hold the title Queen
> > if William died and Hermione took over.
> 
> The kingship descends through blood. Mary married King (George? 
> Edward?). Had Elizabeth. King died. Elizabeth became Queen; Mary 
> became "Queen Mother". She's the one who kicked the bucket a
> year or so ago.

Not Mary - the last Queen named Mary died in 1953, and was the 
consort of King George V, who died in 1936.  The son of King George V 
was Edward, who became Edward VIII.  Edward VIII, however, had a love-
interest considered at the time unsuitable for a Sovereign, the 
American twice divorced Mrs Wallis Simpson, whom he had met and wooed 
already in 1930, when she was still married to her second husband.  
He eventually realised that he had to choose between the Crown and 
Mrs Simpson, and executed an Instrument of Abdication December 10th 
1936; it took legal power December 11th, when Edward gave Royal 
Assent to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act, by which 
Edward VIII and any children he might have were excluded from 
succession to the throne. In 1937, Edward was created Duke of Windsor 
and married Wallis Simpson. 

After Edward VIII, his next younger brother, Prince Albert, the Duke 
of York, reluctantly (he was a very shy person) ascended the throne, 
taking the name George VI.  He remained Albert to his friends and 
family - King Haakon VII of Norway was a good friend of King George 
VI, and would always begin his letters to him "Dear Bertie..."

Prince Albert had in 1923 married a Scots Lady of noble heritage, the 
4th daughter of Lord Glamis, who would later become the 14th Earl of 
Strathmore and Kinghorne: Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.  The Bowes-Lyons 
reside at Glamis Castle, which I am given to understand was Macbeth's 
home.  A fact perhaps not know to many is that when she was 14, upon 
the outbreak of the First World War, Glamis Castle was converted to a 
hospital for wounded soldiers, and she took on nursing-duties for the 
duration.  King George VI and Queen Elizabeth hsi consort had two 
children, Princess Elizabeth, born 21 April 1926, and Princess 
Margaret, born on 21 August 1930.

The full style and titles of the Queen Mother were read by Garter 
Principal King of Arms (the senior herald of the English (not 
British) College of Arms - in Scotland the senior herald is the Lord 
Lyon King of Arms) during the funeral service on 9 April 2002:

"Thus it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory 
life unto His Divine Mercy the late Most High, Most Mighty and Most 
Excellent Princess Elizabeth, Queen Dowager and Queen Mother, Lady of 
the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Lady of the Most Ancient and Most 
Noble Order of the Thistle, Lady of the Imperial Order of the Crown 
of India, Grand Master and Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian 
Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal Victorian Chain, Dame 
Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Dame 
Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John, 
Relict of His Majesty King George the Sixth and Mother of Her Most 
Excellent Majesty Elizabeth The Second by the Grace of God of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other 
Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of 
the Faith, Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, whom may 
God preserve and bless with long life, health and honour and all 
worldly happiness."

[snip]
> 
> Phillip is "Prince" rather than "King" because that's the
> custom; he's a consort, not a monarch. There's a title,
> Princess Royal, for a sibling of the monarch, which the
> monarch can bestow or not as she pleases. Liz hasn't given
> it to her sister.

Instead she has given it to her daughter, Princess Anne - it is 
traditionally conferred upon the eldest daughter of the ruling 
Sovereign by the Sovereign, and there may only be one Princess Royal 
at any one time.  Queen Elizabeth's sister, HRH Princess Margaret, 
died in February 2002; she was not made Princess Royal as Princess 
Mary, daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, was Princess Royal at 
the time of Queen Elizabeth's accession.  The curent Princess Royal 
is the seventh holder of the title:

Mary (eldest daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France) 
1631-60; styled Princess Royal c.1642. 

Anne (eldest daughter of George II and Caroline of Brandenburg-
Anspach) 1709-59; styled Princess Royal 1727. 

Charlotte (eldest daughter of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-
Strelitz) 1766-1828; styled Princess Royal 1766.

Victoria (eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) 1840-
1901; styled Princess Royal 1840. 

Louise (eldest daughter of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) 1867-1931; 
declared Princess Royal 1905. 

Mary (only daughter of George V and Queen Mary) 1897-1965; declared 
Princess Royal 1932.

Anne (only daughter of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh) born 
1950; declared Princess Royal 1987.

In general, looking around the British monarchy's official webpage, 
will provide very much information on legalities, traditions, history 
of the monarchy, etc.:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/

Best regards
Christian Stub?
One of the resident royalists




From alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk  Fri Oct 31 12:24:42 2003
From: alshainofthenorth at yahoo.co.uk (alshainofthenorth)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 12:24:42 -0000
Subject: More ButterBeers... Alcohol Content
In-Reply-To: <3FA12C08.27922.A07B37@localhost>
Message-ID: <bntkab+u81t@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Tammy Rizzo" <tammy at m...> wrote:

> Oh, don't stop sharing there, Alshain!  Tell us more!  Give us a
recipe!  It sounds 
> quite tasty, and I for one would love to try it.
> 
> ***
> Tammy
> tammy at m...

OK. Disclaimer: IANAH (I Am Not A Home-Brewer). I'm not quite sure
I've got the hang on conversions from metric to imperial, so don't sue
me if anything goes wrong. Keep everything as clean as you possibly
can. Be careful with the yeast. I could tell you stories about
inadvertently making "champagne mead" by dividing every ingredient by
half except for the yeast, but they're infinitely more amusing when
told by somebody else.

Serious home-brewers might be more interested in making the medieval
version made with honey and spices (though not suitable for children).
Check e.g. http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com/

2 1/2 gallons of water
2 lbs. soft brown sugar (you'll get a lighter version if you use half
brown half white sugar, and an even darker version if you add molasses.)
2-4 lemons, to taste (If you're picky about pesticides you'll want
organic ones, since the rind is used as well)
One quarter of a teaspoon of *fresh* yeast -- we've always used baking
yeast at home, but I suppose you can use brewer's yeast if you have it.
That's the basics. Some people add dried mint, hops or fresh ginger.

Peel off the yellow part of the lemon rind, then peel away the white
part and discard. Slice lemons in thin slices (if you're feeling lazy,
just squeeze out the juice.)

Heat a gallon of the water to boiling temp and dissolve the sugar in
it. Mix this syrup with the peel+slices/juice of lemon and the cold
water in a large, clean container (I usually buy the cheapest kind of
plastic bucket and clean it with hot water)and let it cool to body
temperature. Dissolve the yeast in a small part of the liquid and add
to the rest, making sure that everything's properly dissolved. Cover
with a lid and leave in room temperature overnight.

Next day you'll bottle the mead, so wash up a lot of big plastic
bottles in hot water (glass *might* break, even though you don't use
that much yeast). Once the bottles are clean, add a teaspoon of white
sugar and 4-5 raisins (the sugar gives some extra boost to the yeast,
the raisins are there to tell you when the mead's ready to drink) into
each bottle and strain in the mead. Close the bottles and leave to
ferment again until the raisins have floated to the tops of the
bottles. In room temp, it takes between two and three days; in a
cooler place, about a week.  It keeps for about a week, stored in the
fridge.

Alshain (might just be about to commit the almost-heresy of making
mead in the autumn. Oh, Beltane or Samhain, who cares. :-) )




From silverdragon at ezweb.com.au  Fri Oct 31 12:31:57 2003
From: silverdragon at ezweb.com.au (silverdragon at ezweb.com.au)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 22:31:57 +1000
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
References: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <006a01c39faa$fa725740$70984cca@Monteith>

Nox here


>> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

I haven't seen one but could be convinced.



>> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

That I'm not as stupid as I look... If I was, I couldn't walk and breathe at
the same time...



> * 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.

Nox I've used for yonks on Pagan lists and thought it fitted in with Harry
Potter too. Nox is the Roman goddess of the night. NotteTorrente is Italian
for "night torrent". I am always wide awake at night (think nocturnal) and I
*love* storms, hence "night torrent" - NOT any other reasons which have been
suggested by my loving friends. "Silverdragon" is because I love silver and
dragons... I *bawled* when I was kid and asked mum if I could have one as a
pet when she told me dragons aren't real. Whaddya mean NOT REAL??



> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I love Shaun Hately's Dr Who quote. Gotta love the Doctor.. and I love the
username 'sarcasticmuppet'



> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Never thought about it...




> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
> you do for a living?

An artist of course! Very popular and very wealthy... Not to mention
talented...




>> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

My family happy and healthy.




> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Awful thing. Dead or injured kids or husband... <sob>




> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
> Patronus?

The day I got my first bass guitar and amp...



> * What form might your Patronus take?

Dragon. Silver, of course!



> * What might your animagus form be?

I'd like it to be the same as above...



> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
> a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by
> Tracy]

My 'poltergeist clown' toy...



> * 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]

Can't really remember....



> * 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 Dragon's made me a Slytherin. Couldn't get into the other one "Object not
found" error message...



> * 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

My result here said "Be afraid... Be very afraid..."



> * 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

Took it but it's too long for lazy ol' me to type out...



> * 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

Yay! I got the second Highest score for the day (58) and that was only
because of a deranged mouse finger - clicked where I didn't mean to... :-(


> We hope you have fun with this, and we wish everyone a very Happy
> and Hauntingly Harry Potter Halloween!

Back at ya!




From saitaina at wizzards.net  Fri Oct 31 14:09:49 2003
From: saitaina at wizzards.net (Saitaina)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 14:09:49 -0000
Subject: Samhain Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bntqfd+4j8o@eGroups.com>

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Yes and there's no particular reason, just belive in them.  It's one 
of those things I belive in almost unwaveringly (do I belive all 
hauntings are real?  Not a chance.)

* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

That such a cute face could be so evil?  I hear that one a lot.

* 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.

There was no other name to choose.  This is my pen name and it's been 
my handle since the begining of my time on the net.

* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

A. No one's, I'm quite happy with Saitaina.  B.  Er, again no one.

* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  Or A Victorian gown.

* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

I would be me and I would either work at the Ministry or be a Death 
Eater (I'm evil not prejudice)


* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Myself, loved.

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Myself, the side of me I don't allow others to see.

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
Patronus?

Umm, I know I have one...Probably something from when I was younger, 
before the world turned on me.

* What form might your Patronus take?

Cat

* What might your animagus form be?

Sadly..weasel.

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]

The only thing that scared me as a child was the dark...but that's 
because I was afraid of murders and kidnappers and fires.  Makes me 
wonder what happened in my past life to make me fear those from such 
a young age...

* 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 don't watch horror movies so I wouldn't know.  Although I've been a 
fan of Freddy for quite a while.

* 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:

No question, Slytherin.

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

60%...now if we could just have a Kim Possible obsessed quiz...

* Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms
to decorate your signature with at

I doubt my theories have acronyms so..no.

* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here
and let us know if you are savvy or sorry:

18 and my brain was asleep.

Saitaina




From morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 14:44:15 2003
From: morgan_d_yyh at yahoo.com (Morgan D.)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 06:44:15 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <1067589239.1555.59623.m18@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031031144415.89416.qmail@web11006.mail.yahoo.com>

> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

I neither believe nor disbelieve their existence. Never seen one. That
doesn't mean they're not out there.


> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

I write slash fanfiction since 1984. And I was a homophobic then. 
I can hardly get people who know me to believe one or the other
statement, but getting them to believe both... They're truth, though.


> * 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.

Morgan D. is the name I've been signing my fanfiction since 1998. It's
both a reference to "Mists of Avalon" and a horrible pun that only
makes sense in Portuguese. 

My yahoo ID (morgan_d_yyh) was the subdomain name of my site on the Yu
Yu Hakusho anime back when it was hosted by Geocities. 


> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Gail's "klyanthea" intrigues me. 


> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Yue. This is how he looks like:
http://www.solitudeofafallingstar.hpg.com.br/inevitable/art/anita4.jpg


> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
> you do for a living?

I'd be the author of "The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle"
comics.


> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Myself at seventy, and my parents beside me, looking healthy and happy.


> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

A ringing telephone.


> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?

The night when I was singing "I Will" to a boyfriend who was very
mindful of his macho faade; he asked me with a hoarse whisper,
"Please, don't do that. You'll make me cry." Best compliment I've ever
got.


> * What form might your Patronus take?

Yue, the Moon Guardian, with his magical arrow. ^__^


> * What might your animagus form be?

A nightingale.


> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, 
> a certain toy or household item)? 

A vase my parents got as their wedding gift. Once when I was a kid, I
was playing near the table where the vase was, and my mother told me,
rather vehemently, "Don't you dare break that vase, it's expensive!" My
mother was never the one to yell or fret about minor things, so I
became horribly afraid that something would ever happen to that vase. I
still fear it, as a matter of fact. I'm afrad to touch it, and I hide
it if there are children or notoriously clumsy people in the house. A
few years ago my mother told me the vase isn't expensive at all, and
that she really won't be that upset if it breaks, but I still fear the
damn thing as if the world would collapse the day I find a minor crack
in it.


> * What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, 
> tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. 

"Jaws". After seeing it, I spent a whole month fantasising that my bed
was a boat, and fearing I'd let a leg or arm slip off the matress in my
sleep and a shark would come swimming (through the floor?) and bite it
off. 

Talk about *irrational* childhood fears...


> * Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put 
> you? 

Every single "Sorting Hat" I've found in the web places me in
Ravenclaw. They actually laught at me if I suggest something else.


> * Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or 
> are you bordering on obsessive? 

41% obsessed
(Curiously, I remember going through the same text before and getting
only 27%; I guess it was before I started writing HP fanfiction.)


> * Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the 
> details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code. 

I wanted to create one, but their server seems to be temporarily down.


> * Finally, just how well do you know the canon? 

I took the Scholastic's Harry Potter Wizard Challenge in June, and I
got 286 points.


Morgan D.
Hogwarts Letters - http://destinystruth.net/hotgwarts

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/



From o_caipora at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 15:04:07 2003
From: o_caipora at yahoo.com (o_caipora)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 15:04:07 -0000
Subject: Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <bnteld+7jf5@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnttl7+qprg@eGroups.com>

Christian Stub? provided some amazingly detailed info on royalty, 
correcting several errors of mine:
> The son of King George V 
> was Edward, who became Edward VIII.  Edward VIII, however, had a 
love-
> interest considered at the time unsuitable for a Sovereign, the 
> American twice divorced Mrs Wallis Simpson, whom he had met and 
wooed 
> already in 1930, when she was still married to her second husband.  
> He eventually realised that he had to choose between the Crown and 
> Mrs Simpson, and executed an Instrument of Abdication December 10th 
> 1936; it took legal power December 11th, when Edward gave Royal 
> Assent to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act, by which 
> Edward VIII and any children he might have were excluded from 
> succession to the throne. In 1937, Edward was created Duke of 
Windsor 
> and married Wallis Simpson. 

Rowling's lawyers, Theodore Goddard, the ones who send "Cease and 
Desist" letters to fanfiction authors, used to have on their website 
the information that they had represented Mrs. Simpson and negociated 
the abdication of Edward VIII. 

Alas, they have since merged with someone else, and that Mrs. Simpson 
has departed from their website. 

I'm disappointed. I'd written them into a fanfiction and used that 
bit.

Query: is Rowling's failure to mention the Queen something Scottish? 
And exploiting the chance to be off-topic, in _On her Majesty's 
Secret Service_ James ("I will always be a Scottish peasant") Bond 
has occasion to visit the College of Arms. Why does the herald say 
that "Bond" means "churl" rather simply sending James off to the 
Scottish college?

 - Caipora




From annemehr at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 15:44:34 2003
From: annemehr at yahoo.com (annemehr)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 15:44:34 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnu012+qrjv@eGroups.com>

Great! A Halloween party!
::Annemehr drifts over to the bowl of Owl Treats, then decides she'll
pass::

> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
I don't know. I'd think there must be, but I *never* have *any*
supernatural experiences.

>  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?
My temper?  Ususally I am pretty easygoing but once in a while it
flares up!

>  
> * 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.
It's just my Yahoo email handle.  I made it out of my first name and
parts of my other names.  I had to try a few combinations before I
found one Yahoo said was available.

>  
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would 
> you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?
{b}: Amanita Muscaria.  At first I just thought it was a really cool
name, then I found out it was actually a mind-altering
plant/fungus/mushroom (dang -- I forget what exactly)!

Hey! Dicentra is a plant, too? (a post by Dicentra is a post I'm
guaranteed to read)

>  
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.
It probably sounds boring here, but -- a really good witch.  One who
looks powerful and wise, not the silly kind.

>  
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
> you do for a living?
That's hard to say.  Most likely, I'd be a Muggle (see answer to first
question), but I'd really like to be a witch who raises magical plants.

>  
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
I don't know, because I think if I actually looked, I'd be surprised.

>  
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?
One like Molly's.

>  
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?
The first time I won a prize in an art show (I'm not all *that* good,
though -- there were a lot of prizes).

>  
> * What form might your Patronus take?
Can it be a person?  My husband.

>  
> * What might your animagus form be?
A crow.  But I don't eat roadkill!


>  
> * What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example, 
> a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by 
> Tracy]
Sink drains, actually.  I used to dream about 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]
Well, my all-time favorite is "The Night of the Living Dead."  You
start out snickering at the fakey zombies, and end up wanting to board
up all the windows.  Heard they're planning a remake of one of those
(Dawn of the Dead?)  ::snort::  Yeah, right.

> 
> * 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 put me in Hufflepuff.
I couldn't get into Prof. MacFusty's either -- I'll try again later.
Personally, I think I'm a bit lazy for Hufflepuff -- I would have
thought Ravenclaw for me...

> 
> The Harry Potter Obsession Test: http://www.fuuko.com/hpquiz.html
I'm 43% obsessed: "Full time Potter fan. You're obsessed."
 
>  
> * Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the 
> details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code.
HPGCv1 a++ A39 R1 HPa HaP+++/LL++ FGW++ NL++ RL++ 

>  
> * Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms 
> to decorate your signature
Stoned!Harry

>  
> * 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
Gah, I gotta go -- I'll try this again later, too...

Thanks to OWL TREAT, and the orange color on the site is really cool!
 
Annemehr




From tahewitt at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 17:27:46 2003
From: tahewitt at yahoo.com (Tyler Hewitt)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:27:46 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <1067589239.1555.59623.m18@yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <20031031172746.69864.qmail@web14204.mail.yahoo.com>

MY MIXER ANSWERS
 
* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Not really, but I take an agnostic approach to them
and allow that they may be possible

 
* What things about you often come as a surprise to
others?

honestly,  I think my sexual orientation throws people
for a loop sometimes. I'm a far cry from a
stereotypical image of a gay man

 
* 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.

It's my name! I've just never bothered with finding
interesting names for my online presence, and I'm not
at all into hiding my identity or pretending to be
someone else.
 
* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU
boards {a} would you like to steal or {b} intrigues
you?

I'm happy with the one I have
 

* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

I don't buy the 'your favorite costume is a glimpse of
who you want to be' idea. I prefer homeade costumes
that are clever and done well. One of my favorites was
dressing up as a breakfast table a few years ago.

 
* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be,
and what would you do for a living?

I would be me, only a wizard. I would probably do what
I do now, namely be an artist (I'd love to take wizard
photos and make moving paintings).

 
* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

I'm going to copy Dumbledore's answer and see me with
warm socks, which I think is a polite way of saying
I'm not going to share information that personal.


 * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon
one?

I think my boggart's shape would have changed several
times over the years. Right now it would probably be
dead loved ones.

 
* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to
conjure up a Patronus?
Falling in love

* What form might your Patronus take?
I don't know...maybe a dragon?
 
* What might your animagus form be?
Probably a dog
 
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)? 

I was scared of a stuffed, wall mounted deer head my
father shot. When I was older, however, I hung it in
my room.
 
* What's your scariest moment from a film or
television show? 
Staying up late, alone, about 10 years old, channel
surfing and coming upon the movie 'Psycho"
 
tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite,
and why.
I really like Night of the Living Dead, it's scary and
a well-made film even though it had a miniscule budget
The Ed Wood films are also charming and endearing 


* Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting
Hat would put you? 
I'm pretty sure I'd be a Ravenclaw

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless
fun . . . or 
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

I scored a 30, which is the top score in the 'I have a
life' section (One point away from being fully
obsessed)

* 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:
 
I didn't bother with this, probably because I'm not
fully obsessed (see the answer above)

* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take
the quiz here 
and let us know if you are savvy or sorry

My guess is just about everyone on this list is savvy

Tyler

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/



From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 17:35:20 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:35:20 -0600
Subject: A quick question to the group.
Message-ID: <004201c39fd5$65424c40$6393aec7@rick>

Hello all... Iggy here.

I know this has been mentioned somewhere before, but can someone please list
the actual years each of the books in the HP series is supposed to take
place?

Thanks in advance

Iggy McSnurd









From fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 31 17:42:52 2003
From: fakeplastikcynic at hotmail.com (Martha)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 17:42:52 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer - this is so much fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnu6us+trvb@eGroups.com>

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

No. Too cynical. (Although I did believe in ghosts when I was 
younger, particularly ghosts of monks. Don't ask why monks.)

* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

People I meet these days are usually pretty surprised to find out 
that I was clinically depressed for a period of - well, a good few 
years - and that I'm a feminist, that my mother is Welsh/Italian, and 
that I have scarlet hair and a bunch of piercings and two of my 
favourite things are children's books and musicals.

* 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, I used to use a bunch of pseudonyms but now go by my real name -
 Martha - since I get sick of changing my name whenever I get into 
something else and then people don't know who I am. 
The "fakeplastikcheese"/"fakeplastikcynic" thing comes from the fact 
that I was a fairly obsessive Radiohead fan when I set up my Yahoo 
account.

* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I don't know - there are so many.

* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

I've always wanted to go as Edward Scissorhands - with that sort of 
bondage costume type thing he wears, big hair etc. That would involve 
far too much effort, though! In the past I've been to fancy dress 
things as the Wicked Queen from Snow White (there were 10 of us 
althogether which made seven dwarves, a Snow White, a prince and me), 
a bag of jellybeans, I'm being Tonks tonight and if I ever get around 
to going to "Sing-along-a-Sound-of-Music" I'm being a brown paper 
package tied up with string. What can I say? I love dressing up!

* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

I'd be a DADA teacher for a year (I mean, I couldn't for any longer, 
could I?) then maybe see if I could get a slot supporting the Weird 
Sisters on tour...

* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Well, socks, obviously. And me not having to worry about money, and 
with a PhD.

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

A giant moth with Ringo Starr's face and the theme music from Thomas 
the Tank Engine playing eerily from nowhere. (Actually, this is 
something that I have often wondered about - if you were most afraid 
of heights, like I am really, what would it turn into?) 

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
Patronus?

Ooh, I don't know. Maybe the first time my boyfriend kissed me (he 
wasn't my boyfriend at that point), stepping off the bus that took me 
far, far away from summer camp and into New York city, seeing the Foo 
Fighters at Reading Festival 2002...

* What form might your Patronus take?
* What might your animagus form be?

I've not really considered these before, although I have considered 
what my daemon would be if I were one of Philip Pullman's characters -
 and I reckon a bear, the sort that eats all day and lazes around. So 
maybe that could be my Animagus form too. I'm not so sure about the  
Patronus though, since I don't think I have a specific happy memory 
that's good enough.

* 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 moment - actually ghosts'n'guts horror movies don't bother 
me too much. I get much more distressed by films that feature extreme 
violence, particularly rape scenes. The film 28 Days Later scared me 
for a lot of reasons (not to say it isn't brilliant though). Best 
horror movie is The Others - very clever twist.

* 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:

Ravenclaw all the way. I reckon that's about right actually - I'm not 
brave and noble enough for Gryffindor, not hard-working enough for 
Hufflepuff and definitely not enough of a high-class bitch to be in 
Slytherin - but I am aiming to be a full-on underpaid academic.

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

62% - and I'm disappointed by such a low result. Is that weird?

* 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:

OK, my code is: a21 e++ z* A15 R1 HP3 S+ Mo- SS++ SB+++/RL+++ TheD+ 
SB& O++ht Sl++ sfF sfD

Have I done it right?

One last Halloween-related thing - while I was filling this in, I was 
attacked by a specially-designed Halloween popup advertising free 
Thomas the Tank Engine stuff - and in the supermarket the woman in 
front of me was given ?6.66 in change, I kid ye not. Spooky! 
Wooooohhh!

~ Martha, off to make her own-recipe Butterbeer, which would perhaps 
be better named Buttervodka




From hedwigstalons at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 17:54:20 2003
From: hedwigstalons at yahoo.com (hedwigstalons)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 17:54:20 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnu7kc+lhvr@eGroups.com>

  
* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
No, because I don't think the dead are anywhere but waiting until the 
end of time. Then, at the end of time, the great sorting will occur 
and the choice we made while we were living about what happens to us 
in the Afterlife will come to fruition.
I do think there are spirits who take many shapes and forms, but they 
are angels  - the good and/or the fallen; not our actual loved ones 
or the souls of the dead.
* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?
That I can be a very loud person. That I like Metallica and country 
music.

* 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.
Hedwig is my favorite animal character and I wanted a name with her 
name in it, but not just Hedwig15 or something. So, I thought of 
adding talons and there you go!

 * 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 
anyone's! But, there are a bunch that intrigue me!  Caius Marcius 
(especially impressed cuz Caius writes SO many filks!!), the granny's 
(Granny Witch and Granny Bat), augustinapeach, Iggy McSnurd,, Kneasy. 

 * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume. 
Well, a gypsy, sort of based on Sybil Trelawney, complete with 
crystal ball!!
 
 * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would 
you do for a living? 
I'd want to be at Hogwarts, teaching Herbology. I enjoy gardening and 
plants, so when Sprout's ready to retire, here I am!

* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? 
Myself living in a house with a big yard, two dogs, cats, and a tiny 
orchard. (And all of our school loans paid off!)
  
* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one? Being 
buried in debt and never able to come out from under it.
  
* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
Patronus?  
 
* What form might your Patronus take? 
A tiger.  

* What might your animagus form be? 
Probably a bird of some sort. I love to watch the birds at their 
feeders!  
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] Never like clowns too much, is that from watching Poltergeist 
when I was 7?

* What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or, 
tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why. I 
don't like horror movies too much suspense, too much yelling at the 
screen "Don't open the door!" "Don't run BACK into the house you 
idiot!" "Run, dammit, run!"   

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: 
On all the sites I've tried, I'm either placed in Hufflepuff or 
Ravenclaw.   

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or 
are you bordering on obsessive? 21% obssessed   

* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here 
and let us know if you are savvy or sorry: 
a mix, depending on the order of the questions!  




From Ali at zymurgy.org  Fri Oct 31 17:54:43 2003
From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 17:54:43 -0000
Subject: A quick question to the group.
In-Reply-To: <004201c39fd5$65424c40$6393aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnu7l3+vlov@eGroups.com>

Iggy wrote:-
 
> I know this has been mentioned somewhere before, but can someone 
please list the actual years each of the books in the HP series is 
supposed to take place?

Ali replies:

We don't know for sure. Numbers and dates aren't JKR's strong 
points, and I sometimes wonder whether she really meant to pinpoint 
the events to an exact timeframe. However, in CoS, Nearly Headless 
Nick celebrates the 500th anniversary of his Deathday, which was in 
1492. From this date, Harry begins his Hogwarts adventures in 1991 
and should conclude them in the summer of 1998.

Ali




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 18:23:27 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 12:23:27 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
References: <bnu7kc+lhvr@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <005a01c39fdc$152b8120$6393aec7@rick>


> HedwigsTalons:

>
> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
> No, because I don't think the dead are anywhere but waiting until the
> end of time. Then, at the end of time, the great sorting will occur
> and the choice we made while we were living about what happens to us
> in the Afterlife will come to fruition.

Iggy here:

I like this.  It's nice to know that someone else out there, like me, feels
that each soul ultimately determines what Afterlife it will experience.
(Ok, granted, I don't think the dead must wait until the end of time, but
that's really only a minor difference when you look at the grander aspect
that we do agree on.)

Personally, I do believe in ghosts, but I also believe that it's an aspect
of the choice one makes when they die.  (For example, I believe that my
great grandfather chose to watch over me before he goes to his final reward
because he's concerned about me and wants to help now, when he couldn't
before.  When I die and move on to my next life, he will move on to his
final reward.)

> HedwigsTalons:.
> * 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
> anyone's! But, there are a bunch that intrigue me!  Caius Marcius
> (especially impressed cuz Caius writes SO many filks!!), the granny's
> (Granny Witch and Granny Bat), augustinapeach, Iggy McSnurd,, Kneasy.

Iggy here:

WOOHOO!!  My name intrigues someone!

*dances around for a bit before stopping and wondering if that's a good
thing...*


Iggy McSnurd






From rvotaw at i-55.com  Fri Oct 31 18:51:00 2003
From: rvotaw at i-55.com (rvotaw at i-55.com)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 12:51:00 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A quick question to the group.
Message-ID: <6874820.1067626260313.JavaMail.root@webmail.i-55.com>


> Ali replied to Iggy's question about dates:<BR>
> <BR>
> We don't know for sure. Numbers and dates aren't JKR's strong <BR>
> points, and I sometimes wonder whether she really meant to pinpoint <BR>
> the events to an exact timeframe. However, in CoS, Nearly Headless <BR>
> Nick celebrates the 500th anniversary of his Deathday, which was in <BR>
> 1492. From this date, Harry begins his Hogwarts adventures in 1991 <BR>
> and should conclude them in the summer of 1998.<BR>

Actually we do know for sure.  The 500th deathday was a starting point, and 
this was used on the timeline in the CoS DVD.  The timeline was confirmed by 
JKR, which means it's got to be right.

Richelle

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 31 19:01:03 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:01:03 -0000
Subject: A quick question to the group.
In-Reply-To: <004201c39fd5$65424c40$6393aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnubhf+tfnf@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Hello all... Iggy here.
> 
> I know this has been mentioned somewhere before, but can someone 
please list
> the actual years each of the books in the HP series is supposed to 
take
> place?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

Iggy - your first stop should be the Lexicon.  There are very well 
researched timelines not just for the action of the books but for 
virtually the whole of wizarding history.  The best thing is it will 
flag up any known problems and controversies.  As far as I can 
recall, year 7 should be in 1998.  

I write fic so I find once I get to a certain point in planning the 
story, I need my own timeline to work with.  So far, the Lexicon has 
supplied all the guidance I have needed (and no one has picked up on 
any timings I have written...).

June




From zanelupin at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 19:47:31 2003
From: zanelupin at yahoo.com (KathyK)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:47:31 -0000
Subject: Halloween Mixer
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnue8j+kblu@eGroups.com>

Hi all,

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Although I haven't seen one myself, I do believe some form of 
spirits exist.  Funny things have happened that my mother attributes 
to my deceased aunt.  I don't want to get too into it because it's 
personal but I can't think of any explanation that beats my Aunt 
Barbara is letting us know she's here with us.  So yes to ghosts.

* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

I am *huge* chocolate lover. So it always comes as a surprise that I 
hate chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake. 

And for people who don't know me very well and only get nice Kathy, 
it always comes as a complete shock when they discover how bitter 
and sarcastic I can be.  

* 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.

KathyK is pretty easy to figure.  My name is Kathy and K is my last 
initial.  My yahoo id of zanelupin is a combination of my father's 
first name because I think I was going through a phase where I was 
particularly missing him when I set up my yahoo account and Lupin is 
my favorite HP character, even if he did kill my other favorite 
character, Sirius. ;-)


* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Don't wanna steal from anyone.  A lot of them are interesting but I 
can't think of any in particular off the top of my head.

* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

A Kathy with no car troubles, no debt, and a basement that doesn't 
flood living in a spider-free world.

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

I saw some serial killer on America's Most Wanted once when I was 
younger.  He still scares the living daylights out of me just 
thinking on him.  

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
Patronus?

I'm an easy person to please and generally happy.  I can't think of 
a specific memory where I was particularly happy, so I'd have to go 
with anytime I get to see a friend or family member I haven't seen 
in a long time.  That makes me very happy.

* What form might your Patronus take?

Cat, just because I like 'em

* What might your animagus form be?

Cat, for the same reason

* What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
a certain toy or household item)? [Question originally posted by
Tracy]

Well besides Creepy Santa, I'll add my childhood best friend's 
father.  He's a really nice guy but for some reason he was very 
scary to me when I was little.  Maybe just because he wasn't as 
friendly as his wife who was like a second mother.

* 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]

Don't really watch scary movies, so I'll have to jump on the 
Jurassic Park bandwagon and say the raptors in the kitchen scene 
jangled my nerves pretty badly.  My stomach was still fluttering 
when I left the theater.

* 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: 

Hufflepuff, no surprise there.  No courage, no ambition, a little 
intelligence but not enough to put me in Ravenclaw.  
I'm a hard worker, generally, and quite loyal.

Professor MacFusty's Sorting Hat: 

Couldn't get there, either.

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

56% obsessed, I think it would be higher if I had more time to get 
back into some of the things I've dropped like fan fiction that I 
just can't keep up with anymore save for 1 or 2 that I've been 
reading since their beginnings.

* Passionate about HPfGU's myriad of theories? Pick up some acronyms
to decorate your signature with at

FoxyDoxy and I are still tweaking Killer!Lupin, my very favorite 
theory <g>.  I also like the MD and ESE!Lupin.  Stoned!Harry is very 
interesting as well.  

* Finally, just how well do you know the canon? Take the quiz here
and let us know if you are savvy or sorry:

My highest so far is 33, but I'm a little compulsive about trivia so 
there's no doubt I will now be spending too much time there 
improving my score.


Anyways, Happy Halloween.  I'm being Hermione this year if I can get 
my curl-resistant hair to cooperate!

KathyK (who had a nightmare last night about her flooding basement 
which turned into a leaking swimming pool in a backyard being 
invaded by Amanda's Skrewt Spiders.  Ugh!!)




From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 19:42:31 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 13:42:31 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A quick question to the group.
References: <bnubhf+tfnf@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001201c39fe7$20aa4f80$cbe779a5@rick>


>June:
>
> Iggy - your first stop should be the Lexicon.  There are very well
> researched timelines not just for the action of the books but for
> virtually the whole of wizarding history.  The best thing is it will
> flag up any known problems and controversies.  As far as I can
> recall, year 7 should be in 1998.
>

Iggy here:

*nod* I recently registered it into my brain (read as "about 5 minutes after
I wrote in the original question") that the Lexicon would be a good source
site for this.


>
> June:
> I write fic so I find once I get to a certain point in planning the
> story, I need my own timeline to work with.  So far, the Lexicon has
> supplied all the guidance I have needed (and no one has picked up on
> any timings I have written...).
>

Iggy here:

Actually, that's exactly why I wanted that info.  *grin*

I'm starting to write a rather long and involved fan-fic, and I want things
to be as close to accurate as possible.

Which also leads me to another question...

Can anyone here (and this will probably spark a certain amount of debate)
give an American who has never been to London the best description of how to
get from Heath Row Airport to the Leaky Cauldron, and then from there to
King's Cross Airport?  This is a concern for me because I am wondering how,
for example, a muggle from Glasgow get to Diagon Alley (through the Leaky
Cauldron) and then to the Hogwarts express using only muggle transport...

Iggy McSnurd









From june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk  Fri Oct 31 19:57:46 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:57:46 -0000
Subject: A quick question to the group.
In-Reply-To: <001201c39fe7$20aa4f80$cbe779a5@rick>
Message-ID: <bnuerq+4q8b@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> 
>  
> Iggy here:
> 
> Actually, that's exactly why I wanted that info.  *grin*
> 
> I'm starting to write a rather long and involved fan-fic, and I 
want things
> to be as close to accurate as possible.
> 
> Which also leads me to another question...
> 
> Can anyone here (and this will probably spark a certain amount of 
debate)
> give an American who has never been to London the best description 
of how to
> get from Heath Row Airport to the Leaky Cauldron, and then from 
there to
> King's Cross Airport?  This is a concern for me because I am 
wondering how,
> for example, a muggle from Glasgow get to Diagon Alley (through 
the Leaky
> Cauldron) and then to the Hogwarts express using only muggle 
transport...
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

Firstly - where do YOU believe the Leaky Cauldron is - it is 
somewhat open to debate.

Heathrow Airport to Kings Cross STATION (no airport at Kings Cross 
and I suspect that you slipped on the keyboard here) - via  the 
Piccadilly Line on the London Underground - straight through no 
changes.  Advise where you want the Leaky Cauldron to be and I'll 
tell you the public transport options for that too.  

Glasgow - Heathrow (plane) about 1 hour.  
Heathrow - Leaky Cauldron - underground about 45 minutes depending 
on any changes in the line.
Leaky Cauldron - Kings Cross - about half an hour underground.  

Tell me where the Leaky Cauldron is going to be (Lovely Lexicon has 
possibilities) choose your option and I can plot it for you via 
public transport -though Muggle buses may be a problem.  Underground 
is easier.

June





From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 20:24:13 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 14:24:13 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: A quick question to the group.
References: <bnuerq+4q8b@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001b01c39fec$f9305b60$cbe779a5@rick>

>June:
>
> Firstly - where do YOU believe the Leaky Cauldron is - it is
> somewhat open to debate.

Iggy here:

I'm going to rely on what is apparently the most common consensus (and is
also on the Lexicon site as the location) of being somewhere on Charing
Cross Rd.

If you can plot everything for me using that location, and traveling around
London both by the underground, and by taxi, I think I can have something to
work with.

Thanks in advance

Iggy McSnurd






From hebrideanblack at earthlink.net  Fri Oct 31 20:56:52 2003
From: hebrideanblack at earthlink.net (Impersonating Gail B)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 20:56:52 -0000
Subject: Gail's Answers to the Halloween Mixer
Message-ID: <bnuiak+5oof@eGroups.com>

Gail is away from her computer this weekend - she's in Salem, MA, 
enjoying Halloween dressed as a can-can dancer (think Moulin Rouge). 
So she asked me to post these answers to the Mixer questions for 
her, so she could join in the fun here, as well. Some people have 
all the luck. <g>

So . . . here are Gail's answers to the questions:


* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

I've read about ghost sightings, I've heard first-hand accounts of 
people who have seen ghosts, I would like to believe in ghosts, but 
until I see one with my very own eyes, I'll remain skeptical. 


* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

Erm...can't think of anything off the top of my head.


* 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.

Gail B....short for Bohacek...my real name. Pretty straightforward 
that.


* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

a) To steal: Constance Vigalance b) intrigues: lucky_kari


* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

A Marie Antoinette court dress that would look something like this, 
except I'd want it to be cream-colored: 
http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/pics/1779_1.shtml 


* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

I'd teach History at Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Heck, I'm kinda torn about what my heart's desire would be...there 
are so many things. I sure would like to be thinner, that's for 
sure. I'd also like to be filthy rich. Hmmmmm...perhaps I would see 
a skinny version of myself holding a multi-million dollar winning 
lottery ticket.? Yeah, that sounds about right.


* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

That's a toughie, because the thing I really fear is being in a 
situation where I will be trapped in some excrusiating pain, whether 
it be tourture or a degenerating illness or whatever. I wonder how a 
Boggart would pull that one off? 


* What form might your Patronus take?

A whole flock of butterflies which would shoot out of my wand and 
fly enmasse towards the Dementor 


* What might your animagus form be?

I dig catbirds the most, so I think I'd like to become one of those. 
Being able to fly would be so cool. 


* What basically harmless things scared you as a child (for example,
a certain toy or household item)?

In the basement of our house, in the laudry room (which was 
seperated from the rest of the basement where we as kids would play) 
the boiler would make this horrible noise and it used to scare the 
living daylights out of me. It didn't help that mom would tell us 
kids that we were not allowed into that room, so my imagination took 
over and I really thought there was this monster living in there who 
would kill us all if we opened the door. I can still remember when 
my brothers and I finally got up the nerve to peek...heh.


* 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 Moment: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"...at the end where 
you see the dog with the man's face...that always wigged me out.


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 consider myself an alumni of Durmstrang, however, if I *must* pick 
a Hogwarts House, then I believe I'd be sorted into Gryffindor, but 
I'd go reluctantly. Why reluctantly? Because *everybody* digs 
Gryffindor, it's cool to be a Gryff (unless you are in the Slyth 
crowd). Everybody knows that Puffs are for duffers and Claws are 
brainy (which would disqualify me from going there). I once had a 
long discussion on this subject with one of my HP buddies and we 
came to the conclusion that I would be best suited for Gryffindor.


* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? 

er...I'm somewhere in between, I'd say. 


Madame Gail Bohacek
(Sent out by Wendy, who is not having fun in Salem ::pouts::) <g>




From bboy_mn at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 20:59:41 2003
From: bboy_mn at yahoo.com (Steve)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 20:59:41 -0000
Subject: New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>

Wow, and I mean WOW! You guys really have some impressive knowledge of
the royal family; at least, I'm very impressed by it.

A couple of new questions-

When Charles becomes king, I am led to believe he is likely to take
the name George; King George the ###?. How likely is that, and what
number will he be; King George the 7th? I was under the impression
that previous King Charles's were not well liked by the people; hence
the reason for becoming King George instead.

Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William take over?

When Charles becomes king, do some of his titles automatically
transfer over to William? For example, when Charles becomes king, is
he still the Prince of Wales, or does William then become Prince of Wales?

How old was the recent Queen Mother who died? I was vaguely under the
impression that she was close to or possible over 100? 

How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

Just a thought. ...and thanks to all.

bboy_mn




From jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 21:09:31 2003
From: jkusalavagemd at yahoo.com (Haggridd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:09:31 -0000
Subject: Is this a trick question? WAS Re: A quick question to the group.
In-Reply-To: <004201c39fd5$65424c40$6393aec7@rick>
Message-ID: <bnuj2b+74gg@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" 
<coyoteschild at p...> wrote:
> Hello all... Iggy here.
> 
> I know this has been mentioned somewhere before, but can someone 
please list
> the actual years each of the books in the HP series is supposed to 
take
> place?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Iggy McSnurd

The books are each depicting a year in Hary's life.  Harry was born 
July 31st, 1980.  PS/SS is 1991, CoS is 1992, PoA is 1993, Gof is 
1994 and OoP is 1995.

If you want a reference for timelines and much other goodies, go to 
Steve Van de Ark's HP Lexicon:

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/

It is a sister group of hpfgu, and it is listed on the home page.

Haggridd




From o_caipora at yahoo.com  Fri Oct 31 21:26:23 2003
From: o_caipora at yahoo.com (o_caipora)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:26:23 -0000
Subject: New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnuk1v+95o6@eGroups.com>

"Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:

> I was under the impression that previous King Charles's 
> were not well liked by the people; hence
> the reason for becoming King George instead.

I think it's a little harsh to say King Charles II was "not well 
liked", merely because the people liked him better a head shorter.

> Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William 
take over?

Well, his great-uncle did something similar.

> How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

Charles's wife would have eventually been Queen Mother when William 
ascended the throne, but I think she died in a car accident or 
something. 

 - Caipora




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct 31 21:25:16 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 08:25:16 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
References: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA36DEC.1549.2DE3F3E@localhost>

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.
> 
> A couple of new questions-
> 
> When Charles becomes king, I am led to believe he is likely to take
> the name George; King George the ###?. How likely is that, and what
> number will he be; King George the 7th? I was under the impression
> that previous King Charles's were not well liked by the people; hence
> the reason for becoming King George instead

It's possible - quite a few Kings have taken a different name on accession from 
the one they were christened with - that's quite routine. Of the last four kings, two 
have done so (both were named Albert, and I have heard, though I cannot confirm 
from my books, that they changed their names partly out of respect to Queen 
Victoria's wish that no King would ever have the name of her husband. He should 
be 'first among Alberts'.

As for the previous King Charles being unpopular - well, Parliament chopped off 
Charles I head. Charles II wasn't quite as unpopular as his father (-8
 
> Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William take over?

Legally, yes. But it's probably fairly unlikely. Abdication is anathema to the British 
Royal family. It's happened once, and that's still in recent enough memory for 
there to be a fair amount of ill feeling about the idea.

*Maybe* if Charles was very old and unable to be King for health reasons - but 
frankly, I don't think Charles would do that to William. While it's now more or less 
accepted that William will do his duty and take the throne, it's also more or less 
understood that he wants to have as much of a private life as possible first. I think 
Charles will take the throne until death, if for no other reason than to give his son 
that chance.

> When Charles becomes king, do some of his titles automatically
> transfer over to William? For example, when Charles becomes king, is
> he still the Prince of Wales, or does William then become Prince of Wales?

William will virtually certainly become Prince of Wales when Charles becomes 
King - it's the traditional title held by the Heir Apparent. However, it isn't quite 
automatic - he will have to be created Prince of Wales and invested with the title. 
The current Prince of Wales became Heir Apparent with his mother's accession to 
the throne in 1952, but was not created Prince of Wales until 1958 and not 
invested until 1969.

Prince Charles is also Duke of Cornwall, and that title will pass to William 
automatically when Charles becomes King - that title is automatically held by the 
Heir Apparent provided they are the son of the reigning Monarch.
 
> How old was the recent Queen Mother who died? I was vaguely under the
> impression that she was close to or possible over 100? 

101. (August 4, 1900 - March 30, 2002)
 
> How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

There isn't.


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  Fri Oct 31 21:44:48 2003
From: june.diamanti at blueyonder.co.uk (junediamanti)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:44:48 -0000
Subject: New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnul4g+2j0u@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> 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.
> 
> A couple of new questions-
> 
> When Charles becomes king, I am led to believe he is likely to take
> the name George; King George the ###?. How likely is that, and what
> number will he be; King George the 7th? I was under the impression
> that previous King Charles's were not well liked by the people; 
hence
> the reason for becoming King George instead.

June:
No I think this is very unlikely - there are only a couple of 
traditional no-no's for royal names and they are as follows:

1.  John.  No and no.  King John had a terrible reputation.  
Unfairly won of course, but why let the facts get in the way of a 
good story.

2.  Richard.  Same thing - Richard III and all due to the set of 
slanders that the Tudors had written about him.  No - he probably 
didn't bump off his nephews, no he wasn't horrific to  look at and 
no he probably wasn't some sociopathic mass murderer.  He was an 
able soldier, loyal to his elder brother and halved the crown taxes 
for the poor.

3.  Albert.  There was only one Albert - the husband of Queen 
Victoria - it is felt that he did much to ensure the enduring 
popularity of the Royal Family by making them more accountable in 
their behaviour (the Hanoverians who preceded were a bit naughty and 
silly).

Re the Charles thing - Charles I was executed for high treason in 
1649.  His son Charles II restored the Monarchy after the Death of 
Oliver Cromwell and the collapse of the Commonwealth - our only 
excursion into republicanism.
> 
> Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William 
take over?

June:
Yes but as someone has already posted this is unlikely.  The 
abdication of Edward VIII caused a good deal of bitterness in the 
Royal Family - Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was known to have 
believed that the fact that her husband (George VI) took over may 
have hastened his death.
> 
> When Charles becomes king, do some of his titles automatically
> transfer over to William? For example, when Charles becomes king, 
is
> he still the Prince of Wales, or does William then become Prince 
of Wales?

June:
The heir (provided it is male) to the British Throne AND provided he 
is son of the reigning monarch tends to be the Prince of Wales.  
This was begun in the 13th Century by King Edward I who defeated the 
Welsh in a series of battles.  Their own royal line had become 
extinct by this point.  Legend has it that the tribal chieftains of 
Wales petitioned Edward to give them a prince of their own who was 
born in Wales and "spoke no English" he therefore presented them his 
two day old son who had been born in the Castle of Carnaervon and of 
course spoke no language at all, let alone English.

The eldest son of the future King William V (should he accede) will 
not automatically become the Prince of Wales (though he will be 
styled such) but will have the title formally conferred on him by 
ceremony when he comes of age.


June 





From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct 31 21:44:26 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 08:44:26 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Combining Brit Royalty and Wizards...?
In-Reply-To: <3FA2B8D3.14437.1ABC19@localhost>
References: <bnt0s4+uh7q@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA3726A.25973.2EFCFA6@localhost>

On 31 Oct 2003 at 19:32, Shaun Hately wrote:

> Under normal circumstances, if Hermione married Prince William, she would 
> become Queen. There is no circumstance under which she could take over as 
> Queen in her own right 

I was thinking about this, this morning and it may not *quite* be true, though it 
would be an incredibly unlikely situation.

I'm thinking of the precedent of William and Mary - (King William III, Queen Mary 
II)

Mary was the Heir Presumptive to the throne (she was the eldest living child of 
James II). She refused to take the throne unless her husband, William of Orange, 
was made King. Parliament agreed. As a result of this, Britain had two monarchs 
ruling simultaneously - rather than a Monarch and their consort. When Mary died, 
William continued as Monarch by himself.

So legally speaking, if William asked Parliament to make Hermione Queen 
Regnan and joint Monarch, rather than simply marry her and make her Queen 
Consort, then on King William's death, she could continue as sole monarch in her 
own right.

This is an *incredibly* unlikely scenario (Parliament only agreed to the William 
and Mary situation for very particular reasons), but I wasn't quite correct in saying 
there is *no* circumstance under which she could take over as Queen in her own 
right. There is a precedent.

I suppose... being incredibly hypothetical here... if the knowledge of the Wizarding 
World became public, and such a mechanism was a way of uniting the Wizarding 
World with the Muggle World, you might have a situation sufficiently complicated 
to create such circumstances.


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 Ali at zymurgy.org  Fri Oct 31 21:57:03 2003
From: Ali at zymurgy.org (Ali)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:57:03 -0000
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
In-Reply-To: <bnrj70+oh15@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnulrf+hpkl@eGroups.com>

> * Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Yes. For years after my Great Grandad died, my sister and I had to 
share his old room when we stayed at our grandparents. It got to the 
stage when my parents decided I was too big to sleep on the campbed 
and I had to sleep in the bed in which he died. That night I woke up 
and was sure I saw him at the foot of my bed - I was terrified.

I know that could have just been because I was so scared. But, about 
10 years ago when I was stressed at work, I did think I saw my 
grandad. It was just a fleeting sighting, but somehow left me 
feeling very positive. This was several years after his death, so I 
don't think it could have been a kind of grief induced vision. When 
I told my Mum, she told me that both my sister and my cousin had 
told her that they thought they had seen my grandad. When my cousin 
died, my sister and my aunt both experienced several "sightings" of 
her - although I can see why people would say that this was grief 
induced.
>  
> * What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

That I'm a Harry Potter erm fan (read for that fanatical!). I think 
it also surprises people that I write like an upside down spider and 
my writing is actually very neat - I never learned to join up and am 
left-handed.
>  
> * 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.

Very boring, it didn't occur to me to choose a handle on Yahoo. I 
couldn't have "Ali" as that had gone, so I took "Al" which I'm also 
called a lot. "Zymurgy" is my brother-in-laws server. He choose it 
as he thought it would be right at the end of the alphabet. He 
hadn't thought that people would choose ZZZ! Zymurgy is the 
fermentation process- says she sipping a glass of wine.
>  
> * Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} 
would you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I wouldn't like to steal any. Several intrigue me and I miss seeing 
loads of them. Come back Flying Ford Anglia!
>  
> * Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.


I'm a real party pooper. I'm too self conscious to enjoy dressing 
up. I would love to have a dark red ball gown - and have an 
opportunity to wear it. But, I've only ever worn a couple of 
costumes - black bin liners for a Rocky Horror evening and 50's 
clothes.
>  
> * If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what 
would you do for a living?

Dunno. I do live there already and I don't have a living at the 
moment - do wizards have HR consultants?
>  
> * What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Again, I don't know. It would change according to my mood. I have a 
load of Utopian ideals, so no starvation, no wars, no global warming 
etc etc. In terms of myself, it would be not having to move to 
Exeter and staying happily where we live now with good jobs, happy 
kids and enough money so that we haven't run out by about the 20th 
of every month!
>  
> * What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

Probably a rapist/ Jack the Ripper sort of character, or Maggie 
Thatcher. I also really hate snakes and wasps so it could keep 
changing and have be terrified.
>  
> * What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a 
> Patronus?

This might sound sad, but it would either be the feeling immediately 
after I'd had my kids (ie before I realised I was still in pain) or 
the euphoria I felt in the days after I got married.
>  
> * What form might your Patronus take?

My favourite animal is the elephant, so perhaps that.
>  
> * What might your animagus form be?

A cat, I think.
  

> * 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 hate horror films. I can remember loads of disgusting details of 
the ones that I watched and opened my eyes in the wrong section. 
But, as a Brit growing up in the 1970s, I share with my generation 
the childhood habit of hiding behind the sofa when Doctor Who was on 
the tele. I think that the "Green Death" was probably one of the 
scariest, but the Sea Monsters, Cyber Men and Darleks were also 
pretty bad.
  
  
> * 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 normally get sorted into Gryffindor. That could be because I 
anticipate the questions. If I wasn't so lazy though, I'd say I have 
some Hufflepuff traits as well. I did a pyschological test which 
also assessed my character as Gryffindor, perhaps that was a fix as 
well!
> 
> * 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 

I only got 57% which I found very reassuring. I think it would have 
been much higher, but I'm saved from total embarassment by the fact 
that I'm not into Fanfic. Everyone who knows about my HP obsession, 
knows how bad it is! I've finished my 8th read of OoP to give a 
little indication.

>> * 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 

I only got 62. The last one I got wrong I knew, but was a bit 
trigger happy. I didn't know what colour the Merpeople were though. 
Shame on me!
>  
> We hope you have fun with this, and we wish everyone a very Happy 
> and Hauntingly Harry Potter Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Ali







From coyoteschild at peoplepc.com  Fri Oct 31 22:19:10 2003
From: coyoteschild at peoplepc.com (Iggy McSnurd)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 16:19:10 -0600
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
References: <bnulrf+hpkl@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <001501c39ffd$03b2d620$1885aec7@rick>


> > * 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:
>


Iggy here:

You see, this one ends up as an interesting one for me since, as I noted
before, 7 Dragons site keeps placing me in Hufflepuff no matter what.  But,
as with a lot of other people, I'm too physically lazy for that house.  I
have a lot more mental energy and intellectual inquisitiveness, as well as
insight, that would lead me to believe Ravenclaw would be best for me.  (Not
to mention that my Spirit Guide is Coyote, and Raven is a close associate of
his as a trickster spirit.)

The only think I can see as a problem with me in Ravenclaw is that I tend to
also be philosophical and esoteric a lot of times... I don't know really if
Ravenclaw specifically wanted intellectuals... or if it's people with quick
minds, inquisitiveness, and an innate intelligence and desire for knowledge.
(If it's the latter of the two, I'd fit in well there...)

If not, then I'd have to stick with my idea of starting House Latrans... an
American house who's symbol is the Coyote.


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)





From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Fri Oct 31 22:26:29 2003
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 22:26:29 -0000
Subject: New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <bnunim+4tue@eGroups.com>

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter, "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.
> 
> A couple of new questions-
> 
> When Charles becomes king, I am led to believe he is likely to take
> the name George; King George the ###?. How likely is that, and what
> number will he be; King George the 7th? I was under the impression
> that previous King Charles's were not well liked by the people; 
hence
> the reason for becoming King George instead.

Nobody will know for certain until the day comes, I believe.  There 
have been rumours to that effect, and it is not without precedent 
that a King ascending the throne has taken another name as Sovereign 
than the name underwhich he was commonly known as heir - but it would 
be a name he already has.  Prince Charles' full name is Charles 
Philip Arthur George, so the two likely options are that he will 
become King Charles III or King George VII - I don't think the public 
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.  
Like the Prince of Wales, his younger brothers, the Duke of York and 
the Earl of Wessex, have a number of first names, giving them options 
in that regards, the former being  Andrew Albert Christian Edward, 
and the latter Edward Antony Richard Louis.  

The problem with the preceding kings by the name of Charles is that 
they were of a little-liked dynasty - the first one managed to get 
into a civil war with Parliament, and lost his head, with England 
being a republic in the 11 years following (not certain just what 
Scotland's status was at the time).  Nevertheless, I think it is 
likely that the Prince of Wales will ascend the throne as King 
Charles III - he is so wellknown as Prince Charles that it would feel 
strange for the public to suddenly think of him as King George.  In 
the case of Prince Albert, who became King George VI, he was known 
generally as the Duke of York, and also held a low profile, so it 
wouldn't be so much of a change for the public at large.

> Can Charles step down as king before his death, and let William
> take over?

He can - Edward VIII did, after all.  It is, however, not a "done 
thing" - the incident with Edward VIII was quite harmful to the 
British monarchy, and the Queen, who remembers this personally, 
certainly is very opposed to it.

> When Charles becomes king, do some of his titles automatically
> transfer over to William? For example, when Charles becomes king, is
> he still the Prince of Wales, or does William then become Prince of 
Wales?

Not all the titles are transferred automatically.  Prince Charles' 
titles today are Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, 
Earl of Carrick, Lord of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great 
Steward of Scotland, and Earl of Chester.  As far as I can determine, 
the titles that are automatically transferred are Duke of Cornwall, 
Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of Renfrew, Lord of the 
Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.  There is a 
significance to each of these titles, but I am not familiar with all.

There is no automatic succession to the title Prince of Wales - at 
every vacancy it is merged with the Crown, and it is renewed at the 
discretion of the Sovereign.  The title may be possessed only by an 
eldest son of the ruling Sovereign, and is also exclusive to male 
heirs, the title Princess of Wales referring only to the wife of the 
Prince of Wales.
Very detailed information can be found at:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page391.asp

The Duchy of Cornwall was, under a charter by King Edward III of 
England in 1337, raised from earldom to dukedom, and founding charter 
included the of estates spread around England.  It was stated in the 
charter that the Duchy should be in the stewardship of the Heir 
Apparent, to provide the Heir Apparent with a source of income 
independent of the Sovereign or the State.  The properties of the 
Duchy of Cornwall are well maintained and run, and in the fiscal year 
ending March 31 2002 the Duchy yielded a net surplus of ? 7,827,000 
(US$ 13,270,664), ofwhich the Prince of Wales voluntarily pays income-
tax (for the period in question 40%).   The Duchy itself is tax 
exempt.  The income the Prince of Wales receives as Duke of Cornwall 
must meet the costs of all aspects of his public and private 
commitments, and those of Prince William and Prince Harry; unlike hte 
other active members of the Royal Family he receives no money from 
the state.  He is obliged to pass the estate on intact, so that it 
may go on to serve as a source of income for future Dukes of 
Cornwall, and is not entitled to any proceeds from disposal of 
assets; essentially he is a trustee. 

The title Duke of Rothesay seems to have tradition as a title 
associated with the Heir Apparent to the throne of Scotland.

The title Earl of Carrick is likewise very old.  Robert the Bruce, 
who was chosen in 1306 to be the King of Scots, and lead the fight 
for a free Scotland, was born in 1274 as the son of Robert Bruce, 
Earl of Carrick, and the Lordship of Carrick is recorded as early as 
1186, it being raised to Earldom in 1230; I am given to understand 
the title has remained with the title of King of Scotland since then.

The title "Lord of the Isles" originally was associated with the clan 
MacDonald, and the Isles encompass the Hebrides as well as the West 
coast of Scotland.  The Lords of the Isles rules as nearly 
independent rulers, until the titles and estates of John MacDonald 
were forfeited to King James IV of Scotland in 1494 (King James VI of 
Scotland became James I of England); the title was thereafter 
associated with the Heir to the trone of Scotland.  

The hereditary Great Stewardship of Scotland was created in 1157s; 
the Great (or High) Stewards were the agents of the Kings of 
Scotland, acting on their behalf, and handling many matters of 
government.  As the office was hereditary, the family in possession 
eventually took its anme from the office, and the family became knwon 
as Steward, later re-spelled Stuart; by prudent intermarriage with 
the Royal family, Robert Steward was the Heir Presumptive upon the 
1371 death of David II, and the Stuart dynasty lasted until 1714.   
Charles, the Prince of Wales, is High Steward of Scotland as the 
female-line descendant of Walter Fitz Alan, first holder of the 
office.

The title Earl of Chester seems to have been connected with the 
British Royal Family since the time of Edward I, but I found no more 
information about it.

The terms Heir Apparent and Heir Presumptive may seem diffuse.  The 
term Heir Apparent refers to an immediate Heir which can not be 
displaced by the birth of another person.  The term Heir Presumptive 
refers to an immediate Heir which *can* be displaced by the birth of 
another person.  In Britain, for instance, Queen Elizabeth was Heir 
Presumptive and not Heir apparent, because if her parents had had a 
legitimate son, she would have been displaced in the line of 
succession by that boy, because male Heirs take precedence in 
Britain.  Likewise Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) 
was Heir Presumptive to King Edward VIII when the latter was still 
king, as he would have been displaced in the line of succession if 
Edward VIII had a legitimate son.  Prince Charles, on the other hand, 
cannot be displaced by the birth of another person, and so is Heir 
Apparent.

> How old was the recent Queen Mother who died? I was vaguely under 
the
> impression that she was close to or possible over 100? 

HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was 101 when she passed away - 4 
August 1900-30 March 2002.  In Britain, btw, all persons who 
celebtrate their 100th receive a congratulatory telegram from HM the 
Queen; apparently the Queen Mother looked forward to this telegram 
more than any other aspect of her birthday.  On the birthday itself 
there was a parade, including military bands, soldiers of the Queen 
Mother's regiments, and other branches of government, the last 
element in the parade being the van of the Royal Mail delivering the 
telegram.  As it happened, the Queen Mother had some difficulty in 
opening the telegram, so her Equerry had to use his officer's sword 
to open it.

> How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

Queen Elizabeth only had one mother.

Best regards
Christian Stub?




From drednort at alphalink.com.au  Fri Oct 31 22:29:48 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:29:48 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <3FA36DEC.1549.2DE3F3E@localhost>
References: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA37D0C.13123.31958AD@localhost>

On 1 Nov 2003 at 8:25, Shaun Hately wrote:

> Prince Charles is also Duke of Cornwall, and that title will pass to William 
> automatically when Charles becomes King - that title is automatically held by the 
> Heir Apparent provided they are the son of the reigning Monarch.

In addition (had to check this) on Charles taking the Throne, William will also 
become automatically Duke of Rothesay (title held by the Heir Apparent to the 
Throne of Scotland) and I think he will become Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, 
Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland (these look like they are 
conferred automatically on the Heir Apparent) based on when Prince Charles got 
them, when Edward VIII took them, and George V took them, but I can't actually 
confirm that.


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 Oct 31 22:53:32 2003
From: drednort at alphalink.com.au (Shaun Hately)
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:53:32 +1100
Subject: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: New Question:  Brit Royalty ...?
In-Reply-To: <bnunim+4tue@eGroups.com>
References: <bnuift+mco9@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <3FA3829C.25446.32F1530@localhost>

On 31 Oct 2003 at 22:26, pengolodh_sc wrote:

> The title Earl of Chester seems to have been connected with the 
> British Royal Family since the time of Edward I, but I found no more 
> information about it.

It's a Palatine Earldom, and is traditionally conferred at the same time as the title 
Prince of Wales. Edward I was the first to be given it at the same time as 
becoming Prince of Wales, and since the 14th Century has only been conferred 
on the Prince of Wales.


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 eloiseherisson at aol.com  Fri Oct 31 23:06:50 2003
From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 18:06:50 EST
Subject: New Question: Brit Royalty ...? 
Message-ID: <c.1b292709.2cd4450a@aol.com>

Steve:
>How old is the remaining Queen Mother, if there is one?

Well, as you know by now there isn't one. But in fact this isn't a 
particularly traditional title in the UK and is by no means the automatic title for the 
monarch's mother.

The traditional title, I believe is 'Queen Dowager'. It was Queen Elizabeth 
(the present Queen's mother) who adopted the title 'Queen Mother' for herself. 
She needed some title to distinguish herself from her daughter who, if it had 
been known that she would succeed to the throne, might have had a different 
name.

But normally the monarch's mother is just referred to by name, as was the 
case with Queen Mary, the wife of George V and mother of Edward VIII and George 
VI.

~Eloise
Who witnessed the Queen Mum's funeral procession and was interviewed by 
German TV on the occasion.    
    



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From eloiseherisson at aol.com  Fri Oct 31 23:30:44 2003
From: eloiseherisson at aol.com (eloiseherisson at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 18:30:44 EST
Subject: ADMIN: More Halloween Fun!
Message-ID: <11b.2a047c36.2cd44aa4@aol.com>

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Um...Pass.
Well, I think people witness them. But what they are...
I guess I do believe that some kind of imprint of emotional events of the 
past might get recorded, as it were, in various places. And I've seen some pretty 
convincing evidence of ghosts. But I've never realy witnessed anything myself 
and the idea of becoming a spirit, trapped on earth just freaks me out, so I 
try not to believe in them.

* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

Nothing. I'm very boring.
If I'm feeling vain, I'd say my age.

* 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.

Do I have to?

Eloise was a desperate choice as I realised I wanted to post something and 
didn't want to use my own name in this *vast* group of about 4000(!) members. It 
was a self effacing sort of Potterverse name. The surname came later whan I 
decided to create an email address for HPfGU use and relates to TBAY activities 
I used to get up to.

* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

Ooh!

Well, I've always thought that Constance Vigilance was a cool name and then 
of course, there's my good friend Porphyria.
There are so many great handles out there. I wish I had the originality.


* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

Not sure I can at short ntice. I'm a Brit. Don't go in for such things.

* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?
But it wouldn't be far from a certain dungeon...

* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
See above.

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

That is a very good question and one that has exercised me in the past.
As a mother, I think there's only one (or one of four) things it could be. 
I'd rather not think about it and how on earth you would make it funny, I don't 
know.

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
Patronus?

Again, I think it would have to be children. Probably the things my youngest 
does which make me laugh.

* What form might your Patronus take?

A horse

* What might your animagus form be?

A hedgehog!

~Eloise

Who doesn't watch scary movies.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




From pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no  Fri Oct 31 23:59:21 2003
From: pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no (pengolodh_sc)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 23:59:21 -0000
Subject: More on succession and styles of address
Message-ID: <bnut0p+r2s6@eGroups.com>

Greetings again

Here I come to bore you to tears with further thoughts on this topic.

Shaun is quite right about the special situation which concerned 
William IV and Mary II.  It is conceivable that in certain, very 
special situations, such a situation might again arise, but such a 
situation would be very special, and would, I believe, require 
setting aside the 1700 Act of Settlement.  Certainly, should such a 
situation arise, as Shaun sketched in his post, such a solution would 
legally only extend to the United Kingdom and to such nations of the 
Commonwealth which would accept having Hermione as a Queen Regnant.  

The above-mentioned Act of Settlement, introduced 1700 and originally 
named "An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown and better 
securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject", lays out the 
principles for succession, and some other principles.  For those who 
wish to read it, it can be read, among other places, here:
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/2295/aos1.html

The short version is that succession rights are given to descendants 
of Electress Sophia of Hannover (1630-1714) born in wedlock. Roman 
Catholic descendants and descendants who are married to a Roman 
Catholic are excluded from succession.  Males are given precedence 
over females in the line of succession.  The first 100 persons in the 
line of succession to the British throne can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/dagtho/succession.html

Am not certain this list is fully up to date - it was apparently last 
updated May 26th 2003, and I believe one of the Norwegian-Brazilians 
on the list has married a Roman-Catholic and herself converted since 
that date (Am thinking it was Victoria Lorentzen-Ribeiro, no. 66 on 
that list).  It can be read from the list that Princess Ragnhild, Mrs 
Lorentzen and Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner, both daughters of the late 
King Olav V of Norway, are heirs to the British throne, despite never 
having had a right of succession to the Norwegian throne.

I will give an example on how the line of succession is built.  
Essentially, it is a question of starting at the top, assuming the 
person at the top is dead, and then work out who is the next person.  
In the case of Britian, this is how it goes for the first 20 or so:

If HM the Queen dies, HRH PRince Charles, the Prince of Wales, is the 
next person to succeed, as he is the oldest son of the Queen (1).  If 
he were already dead, his oldest son, Prince William, would be next 
in line for the throne (2).  If Prince William also should die, then 
his place goes to his younger brother, Prince Henry (3).  If Prince 
Harry is also out of the picture, then there are no more descendants 
of Charles, and one moves on to the next person in line - skipping 
HRH the Princess Royal for now (because she is a woman), we go to 
Charles' brother, the Queens second-oldest son Prince Andrew, the 
Duke of York (4).  If he hasn't made it, then one goes to his oldest 
daughter (he has no sons), HRH Princess Beatrice of York (5), and 
then on to her younger sister, HRH Princess Eugenie of York (6).  

The Duke of York has no other descendants, and the next person in 
line is HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex (7).  The Earl and 
Countess of Wessex have not yet any children, and so the next person 
is the second-oldest child and only daughter of HM the Queen, HRH the 
Princess Royal (8).  From her dissolved first marriage she has a son, 
Peter Phillips (9), and a daughter, Zara Phillips (10), who both 
stand in the line of succession.  We have now run out of children and 
grandchildren of HM the Queen.  

To proceed, we must revert to any siblings HM the Queen might have, 
or have had.  As it is, her only sibling, HRH Princess Margaret, died 
two years ago.  She had, however, two children, from her 1978 
dissolved marriage with Mr Amrstrong-Jones (made Lord Snowdon and 
Viscount Linley in 1961).  David Albert Charles, Lord Linley (11), 
himself has two children, the Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones (12) and 
the Hon. Margarita Armstong-Jones (13).  Lord Linley's sister, Lady 
Sarah Frances Elizabeth (14), married Chatto, herself has two 
children:  Samuel Chatto (15) and Arthur Chatto (16).  

Now things start getting complicated.  We now have to move up to the 
siblings of HM the Queen's father, HM King George VI, whose older 
brother HRH the Duke of Windsor excluded himself and his descendants 
from the line of succession.  Therefore, what remains are the the 
younger brothers of King George VI.  Of these, the oldest was HRH 
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.  He died in 1974, however, and his 
oldest sun is now Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (17), with a 
son, Alexander, Earl of Ulster (18), and daughters Lady Davina 
Windsor (19) and Lady Rose Windsor (20).  

After them come the living issue of the youngest brother of King 
George V, the late Prince George, Duke of Kent, whose oldest son is 
Edward, present Duke of Kent (21).  With the Kents come the further 
complication that several of them, in no particular order at all, 
either have converted to Roman Catholicism, or else are married to 
Roman Catholics, and are thus excluded from the line of succession - 
this includes the Duke of Kent's brother, Prince Michael of Kent, as 
well as the Duke of Kent's oldest son, George, Earl of St. Andrews, 
and his oldest son, Edward, Baron Downpatrick.

On how Royalty is addressed, I believe the following is accurate:

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.

A Queen Consort, and a Queen Dowager, are adressed in the same manner.

A Prince Consort, as well as children of ruling sovereigns, living or 
dead, 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 female children of a ruling sovereign, this seems to not be 
the case, looking at the cases of the late Princess Margaret and the 
two marriages of HRH the Princess Royal.  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", and 
from "HRH The Duchess of York" to "Sarah, Duchess of York" for 
examples.

With the regards to granchildren of Sovereigns, they seem to be given 
the same style and accolade their fathers have.  Thus, in the case of 
the children of the late Princess Margaret and of HRH the Princess 
Royal, they are not styled "Royal Highness" (though I am given to 
understand that in the latter case, this was also ina ccordance with 
the wishes of the Princess Royal), but in the case of the children of 
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and of Prince George, Duke of Kent, 
they are.  The title of Prince/Princess is not carried by persons who 
are not either children or grandchildren (or spouses of such) of a 
Sovereign - the son and daughter of HRH Prince Michael of Kent will 
thus not receive the title of Prince or Princess, except if they 
happen to marry to such titles.