Ring around the rosey . . .
Christine Malcom
In article <5drjjc$3...@chass.utoronto.ca>,
Susan Carroll-Clark <scl...@chass.utoronto.ca> wrote:
>Bryan mentioned the...
>>Great Plague of London in 1664-65
>
>I've never heard the 17th century plague referred to as "the Great Plague",
>or even the "Great Plague of London". When someone refers to the
>"Great Plague", the usual meaning is to the 1348-51 epidemic, and in fact
>I've had folks insist that THIS occurance, not the 1665-6 one (did it actually
>start in 1664? I can't find my copy of Pepys to confirm) is the one the
>rhyme supposedly refers to.
The 5th edition of the Oxford Companion to English Literature (ISBN
0198661304, copyright 1985) has an entry for Defoe's _Journal of the
Plague Year_:
It purports to be the narrative of a resident in London during 1664-5, the
year of the Great Plague.
In article <moo-120297...@sl24.midtown.net>,
Bryan Cowan <m...@midtown.net> wrote:
>In article <5dtfpo$4k7$2...@news.fas.harvard.edu>,
>imu...@login3.fas.harvard.edu (Ian Munro) wrote:
>> abiga...@aol.com wrote:
>>
>> : "Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down", also has two meanings. The first "ashes"
>> : is symbolic of the bodies being burned. The second "ashes" is symbolic of
>> : the houses of the deceased being burned, also the "we all fall down"
>> : refers to the houses.
>>
>> As for the second point, as far as I know plague victims were not
>> cremated. Buried in shallow mass graves, yes, but not cremated (I'd
>> appreciate any cites to the contrary). Nor (again, as far as I know) was
>> the burning of houses a common response to infection. Given the extreme
>> danger that fire presented in crowded Medieval and Renaissance cities,
>> city officials would have to have been insane to pursue such a policy.
The entry for _A Journal of the Plague Year_ goes on to say:
It tells of...the burials in mass graves...The _Journal_ embodied
information from various sources, including official documents.
Not exactly irrefutable support, but since Defoe was striving for
historically accurate fiction and into vivid images, it would have been
odd for him to make up a new means of disposing of the dead, especially
since immolation such a purty image.
>I don't have any firm cites, but I did see a movie once in which a little
>English girl is sent to live with her relatives in England after her
>parents succumb to a plague in India. In this movie (I can't remember the
>name) they show people going around setting fire to bodies and anything
>else they can get their hands on in order to stop the plague. Also, Pancho
Sounds like _The Secret Garden_ by Frances Hodgson Burnett (ISBN
0440477069). I haven't seen any of the film versions (I know there was
one made in the 40's and another in 93 or so), but in the book, the
complaint is cholera and there's no mention of burning anything.
Though even if it did, a different manner of 'plague,' half a world away
in the 19th century, being dealt with by burning is an awfully tenuous
link.
Christine Malcom-Dept. of Anthropology (cm...@kimbark.uchicago.edu)
____________________________________________________________________________
"Let the wild Rumpus start!" - Maurice Sendak
<-- space included to defeat automailers
In article <infinity_8-12...@169.137.2.62>,
infin...@nospam.com (brian jones) wrote:
> In article <3301C9...@nrtpq01.rtp.nt.com>, Melonie Edwards
> <Melonie...@nrtpq01.rtp.nt.com> wrote:
>
> > You might try a few books by Kate Greenaway.
> > The illustrations are also excellent.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Although I must point out that it's more polite to include them in the
> headers, I just want to say I think it's mighty generous of Melonie to
> include a troll alert in her posting.
>
> Brian "how many will miss it?" Jones
She did. See below:
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.0 (X11; I; HP-UX A.09.03 9000/712)
Subtle.
+--------------------------------------+
| Hugh Gibbons <hgib...@stic.net> |
+--------------------------------------+
<-- space included to defeat automailers
In article <19970212065...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
abiga...@aol.com wrote:
> In article <hgibbons-100...@sa8-212.stic.net>, hgibbons@
> stic.net <-- space included to defeat automailers (Hugh Gibbons) writes:
>
> >
> >I would say not. Any hidden meaning would have been elucidated by
> >folklorists
> >at that time. My supposition is that it refers only to a child's game,
> >running around in circles and falling or sitting down. When I was a
> >child we played several games of that sort. Possibly, children always
> >played this game, with different rhymes or songs.
>
> Sorry, but you are wrong. The "Ring around the posies..." rhyme is a
> referrence to the black plague in europe. I took a class in college
> "Child's Story-telling", which explained many of the popular childrens
> stories, heres the explaination of "Ring..."
...details deleted ...
> I don't have any sources to quote, but I'll see if I can find my old class
> book and then repost the sources.
And now, for our entertainment, abigail will produce documentation for
her claim. She will show that this rhyme originated more than 300 years
ago. She will dig up a verifiable source showing that the rhyme originated
in a more ancient, more explicit description of the plague or was at least
considered by people of the time to refer to the plague.
Larry Preuss
In article <moo-120297...@sl24.midtown.net>, m...@midtown.net (Bryan
Cowan) wrote:
> I don't have any firm cites, but I did see a movie once in which a little
> English girl is sent to live with her relatives in England after her
> parents succumb to a plague in India. In this movie (I can't remember the
> name) they show people going around setting fire to bodies and anything
> else they can get their hands on in order to stop the plague. Also, Pancho
> Villa's army during the revolutions in Mexico in the early 1900s commonly
> burned bodies after a battle to prevent the spread of disease. So in some
> plague situations, yes bodies were burned, and it's possible that the
> houses of the victims or even whole villages were burned too. As I noted,
> plagues were a constant menace in Europe for many centuries, and it's
> possible that burning was resorted to in some cases.
"I don't have any firm cites...I did see a movie once...I can't remember
the name...commonly...it's possible...it's possible...in some cases."
Is this an official entry?
Larry
--
Lee Rudolph
cm...@midway.uchicago.edu (Christine Malcom) writes:
>It purports to be the narrative of a resident in London during 1664-5, the
>year of the Great Plague.
I was told we wouldn't have to talk about dental hyqiene in this chat room.
ObUL: Fluoridation is a nevil commynist plot.
Lee "where I work, in Worcester, MA, a `protect freedom of choice'
bumper sticker denotes support of the recent anti-fluoridation
ballot initiative--which passed" Rudolph
Ian Munro
Indeed. Charming though _The Secret Garden_ is, it's applicability to the
question at hand is minimal. Ditto Revolutionary Mexico. Perhaps I
didn't make my point clear enough: I've read a fair bit about the plague,
and in everything I've read the standard disposal method for plague
vicitms *in Medieval and Renaissance Europe* was burial. If anyone has any
evidence that people on that continent in those centuries burnt plague
victims or their houses, I'd love to see it.
Ian "are we getting through to you at all, Bryan?" Munro
--
"It was a mix of aerobics and broadly representational gestures. Sort of
Suzanne Sommers Does Mime."--Madeleine Page
Public Service Telecommunications Consortium
13 February, 1997
The "ring" item plagued (pun intended) alt.folklore.urban for
much of last year. I thought it had been put mercifully to
death and retired to the FAQ. However, it seems to have
several lives; it recently popped up, with all its
misconceptions, on <science.sceptic>. I sent the following,
which I had sent to AFU, to it. May I offer again what I
submitted some time ago.
PREVIOUS SUBMISSION BEGINS:
I've followed the "Ring Around..." item for months that seem
like years. To my surprise, I've not yet seen (doesn't mean
it hasn't happened, only _I've_ not yet seen) anyone quote
from "The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes," edited by Iona
and Peter Opie, first published 1951, my edition 1985.
Here goes: (Pages 364-365):
"Ring-a-ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
"The words of this little ring-song seem to be becoming
standardized although this was not so fifty years ago when
Lady Gomme was collecting (ante 1898). Of the twelve versions
she gathered only one was similar to the above. Although
'Ring-a-ring o' roses' is now one of the most popular nursery
games - the song which instantly rises from the lips of small
children whenever they join hands in a circle - the words were
not known to Halliwell, and have not been found in children's
literature before 1881. Newell, however, says that,
"Ring a ring a rosie
A bottle full of posie,
All the girls in our town,
Ring for little Josie,
"was current to the familiar tune in New Bedford,
Massachusetts, about 1790. The 'A-tishoo' is notably absent
here, as it is also in other versions he gives, in which the
players squat or stoop rather than fall down:
"Round the ring of roses,
Posts full of posies,
The one who stoops last
Shall tell whom she loves best.
"The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English
versions has given would-be origin finders the opportunity to
say that the rhyme dates back to the days of the Great Plague.
A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies
of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final
fatal symptom, and 'all fall down' was exactly what happened.
It would be more delightful to recall the old belief that
gifted children had the power to laugh roses (Grimm's
'Deutsche Mythologie'). The foreign and nineteenth-century
versions seemed to show that the fall was originally a curtsy
or other gracious bending movement of a dramatic singing-game,
and the present writers have on several occasions gathered
from oral tradition a sequel rhyme for the players to rise on
their feet again,
"The cows are in the meadow
Lying fast asleep,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all get up again.
Lines similar to these are also known to the Irish Celts."
There's more...a full half-page of tiny, tiny print more. I
heartily commend it to those who have a taste for Shropshire,
Sheffield, German, Austrian, French, Swiss, County Donegal and
Gaelic versions. Suffice it to say, neither the plague (nor
anything equally unpleasant) enters into any of these.
PREVIOUS SUBMISSION ENDS
Bert (for whom the bells ring) Cowlan
Christine Gazak
>In article <moo-100297...@sl30.midtown.net>,
>m...@midtown.net (Bryan Cowan) wrote:
>> Well, without the plague interpretation, the words don't make a whole lot
>> of sense. I think that the rhyme symbolizes SOMETHING and that you can't
>> take the words at face value, because if they do it doesn't make any
>> sense.
Must it? Could you please interpret "There was a Old Lady who
Swallowed a Fly" for me then? Is it about the all-consuming maw of
capitalism, that endlessly stuffs itself until it is finally killed in
the middle of an unspeakable act of gluttony when it attempts to eat
the hard-working masses? After all, Old Lady could be a thinly veiled
reference to the State, i.e. the Motherland. And what kills "her"? A
horse, which, as everyone knows from "Animal Farm," is really a symbol
for the People. Is this some kind of commie-indoctrination rhyme for
children? Should we move to ban it in our schools?
Is "Georgie-Worgie Pudding and Pie" about King George (as evidenced by
worgie, which rhymes with gorgie, meaning he gorged himself on
puddings and pies while everyone was starving? Proof? Well, kings
*were* fat back then, look at Henry the VIII. Then, King George
proceeded to rape the countryside ("kissed" the girls) until halted by
mass, popular uprisings, e.g. the boys coming out to "play" in a show
of force against him.
On the other hand, could it be that children love nonsense rhymes
general sillness, and words in general, or is that too simple?
Christine "Now "Pop Goes the Weas....mmmfph!" Gazak
NOTE: The address in my return header is useless. Please use *cga...@dfpm.utah.edu* when responding to mail I post.
Steve Boon
A ring, a ring of roses
A pocket full of posies
A tissue, a tissue
We all fall down.
English version, a tissue should be pronounced as in a sneeze,
don't/can't work out the spelling.
English explanation;
Yes it was The Plague (also known as the Black Death).
Roses and posies supposed to be used as nosegays because of the stench
of rotten human carcasses.
A tissue sound was supposed to be an early symptom of the plague.
We all fall down is self evident.
Incedently there are several 'plague churchs' in England. These are
churchs were there is no local village/community. These were created by
either whole villages being erradicated by the plague or (more often)
where a large proportion of the community were killed and the rest fled
for fear of catching the plague.
Regards Steve.
//*** BEGIN BID *************************
01001010100111110010101010000010100001110
1010100001111?010010001111101010101001011
01000111010001110001010100100011110010101
//*** END BID ***************************
http://www.boonie.demon.co.uk
(British Lead to British Standards)
Joe Boswell
In article <5dtfpo$4k7$2...@news.fas.harvard.edu>, Ian Munro <imunro@login3
.fas.harvard.edu> writes
>city officials would have to have been insane to pursue such a policy.
Which must make it near enough certain they would do it.
--
Joe Boswell * If I cannot be free, I'll be cheap.
Susan Carroll-Clark
Greetings!
I just wonder whether the popular conception relating fire as a way to
get rid of the plague *does* have anything to do with the occurance of the
Great Fire soon after the Great Plague of London (thanks for the cite
on that usage, BTW). From what I remember, the plague had largely subsided
by the Great Fire (in September of 1666), but pretty much disappeared
altogether after the Fire. (Go figure. 4/5 of the city was
destroyed, including lots of rickety old buildings and raw sewage,
and it probably didn't do much for the rats who carried the disease,
either).
I know more about the Plague in its earlier incarnation (the 1348-51 one),
and to my knowledge, cremation was not the usual method of burial; in
fact, it was barely practiced at all in the 14th century. As someone
else pointed out, shallow graves, sure; irregular burial, yes; but there
was a LOT of emphasis placed on being buried in consecrated ground if
one were to obtain salvation in the hereafter. Likewise, most of the
"Dances of Death" seen in art around this period usually depict coffins,
not anything that would allude to cremation--which you would expect if this
were the normal way of disposing of the bodies of victims.
Susan "Bring out yer Dead" Carroll-Clark
scl...@chass.utoronto.ca
Lynn and Wayne Sabin
It is with great trepidation I post to this thread, but curiosity
has overcome my fear.
At the nursery school my daughter attends, after the children "all
fall down", they chant
"Cows in the meadow
Eating buttercups
Thunder! Lightning!
We all jump UP!"
I have never heard this anywhere before-- I would like to know how
widespread it is. Gee-- you don't suppose it could be part of a
Satanic ritual, do you?
Lynn "next time I'll bite my tongue harder, I promise" Sabin
Michele Tepper
In article <Hg+99SAS...@boonie.demon.co.uk>,
Steve Boon <Phat...@boonie.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>English explanation;
>Yes it was The Plague (also known as the Black Death).
AFU explanation: please do not post to a thread without reading at least
part of what has gone before, and preferably the entire thread. You would
have been directed to <<http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~imunro/ring.html>>,
Ian Munro's excellent mini-FAQ on exactly this question, and have found
that your "English explanation" doesn't hold the slightest bit of water
with well-informed English people.
Michele "Harvard's crimson colors come from the shade of red people turned
while dying of The Really Big Plague" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "Suggestions: (a) you each buy large, heavy dictionaries;
mte...@panix.com (b) you look it up; (c) you take turns whacking each
other over the head with said dictionaries for having
ever believed anything so silly." -- Ian Munro
Andrew Arnold
On 15 Feb 1997, Lynn and Wayne Sabin wrote:
> It is with great trepidation I post to this thread, but curiosity
> has overcome my fear.
> At the nursery school my daughter attends, after the children "all
> fall down", they chant
>
> "Cows in the meadow
> Eating buttercups
> Thunder! Lightning!
> We all jump UP!"
>
> I have never heard this anywhere before-- I would like to know how
> widespread it is. Gee-- you don't suppose it could be part of a
> Satanic ritual, do you?
Never heard it before... but it certainly lends itself to the opinion that
in fact nonsense rhymes are just that...
Now if I were a Jungian psychologist I might say that this reflects our
ancient common heritage... But I'm not.
I am quite sure it's a Satanic Ritual. Alert their parents. No, wait,
don't. Contact Noam Chomsky instead.
Andrew "Candyman Candyman Candyman" Arnold
JoAnne Schmitz
wsa...@clark.net (Lynn and Wayne Sabin) wrote:
> It is with great trepidation I post to this thread, but curiosity
>has overcome my fear.
> At the nursery school my daughter attends, after the children "all
>fall down", they chant
>
> "Cows in the meadow
> Eating buttercups
> Thunder! Lightning!
> We all jump UP!"
>I have never heard this anywhere before-- I would like to know how
>widespread it is. Gee-- you don't suppose it could be part of a
>Satanic ritual, do you?
Very unlikely. I'd be more inclined to think (if it means anything
religious at all) that it is a late addition to the rhyme which is an
allusion to a part of the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John the
Divine, especially as it might be understood by your typical
well-meaning evangelistic elementary education teacher.
Four beasts are seen before the throne of God. The second holy beast
was like a calf (cows eating buttercups). Each of the four beasts
announces a Horseman of the Apocalypse while the Lamb breaks the
associated seals one through four, accompanied by thunder (thunder,
lightning). Then the martyrs of God are brought forth via seal five
(we all jump up), asking, when will our deaths be avenged?
I would suspect your nursery school teachers or their sources to be
Fundamentalist Christians rather than Satanists, if there is any
religious meaning to it, which isn't likely.
Another possibility -- isn't there some cry of the Power Rangers about
thunder and lightning? This would make more sense than the above.
JoAnne "the Satanists have all the best nursery rhymes but I can't
divulge them" Schmitz
"JoAnne Schmitz, on the other hand, has on occasion struck me as
shrill, opinionated, boorish and dogmatic beyond reason. This
seems to be another episode."
--Tony Sweeney, on alt.folklore.urban
Terry Smith
> From: m...@midtown.net (Bryan Cowan)
> Well, without the plague interpretation, the words don't make a
> whole lot of sense. I think that the rhyme symbolizes SOMETHING and
Even with it, your post made less. Why not accept that the posies are
flowering grass-stems, and the `atishoo' is a corruption of the sound of
the saucer taking off. That'd make more sense, as some people would pay to
read and believe the stories.
Terry
--
|Fidonet: Terry Smith 3:800/846.23
|Internet: Te...@gastro.apana.org.au
|
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
Ian Munro
Susan Carroll-Clark (scl...@chass.utoronto.ca) wrote:
: I just wonder whether the popular conception relating fire as a way to
: get rid of the plague *does* have anything to do with the occurance of the
: Great Fire soon after the Great Plague of London (thanks for the cite
: on that usage, BTW). From what I remember, the plague had largely subsided
: by the Great Fire (in September of 1666), but pretty much disappeared
: altogether after the Fire.
Yeah, I suspect a connection, too. Perhaps the fact that this was the
last substantial plague visitation in London contributes to the idea that
fire stops the plague (the Great Fire may well have stopped that
particular epidemic, of course, but it was hardly the reason that plague
never came back--not that the real reason(s) are known).
: I know more about the Plague in its earlier incarnation (the 1348-51 one),
: and to my knowledge, cremation was not the usual method of burial; in
: fact, it was barely practiced at all in the 14th century. As someone
: else pointed out, shallow graves, sure; irregular burial, yes; but there
: was a LOT of emphasis placed on being buried in consecrated ground if
: one were to obtain salvation in the hereafter.
Everything I've read about the 16th and 17th century plagues indicates
similar concerns. I don't know much about where the modern practice of
cremation comes from, but it seems that in the Renaissance it was only
practiced on those village girls who were making the milk go sour.
Ian "speaking of which, anyone want to come over
and help me in alt.religion.wicca on this topic?" Munro
--
"The glass is falling hour by hour, the glass will fall forever,
But if you break the bloody glass, you won't hold up the weather."
--Louis MacNeice
Ian Munro
Lynn and Wayne Sabin (wsa...@clark.net) wrote:
: At the nursery school my daughter attends, after the children "all
: fall down", they chant
:
: "Cows in the meadow
: Eating buttercups
: Thunder! Lightning!
: We all jump UP!"
Look at <http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~imunro/versions.html>>. This is
similar to a Gaelic version cited by the Opies in the _Oxford Dictionary
of Nursery Rhymes_, and to a version once posted to AFU by someone from
Australia.
Ian "obviously eating buttercups was a cure for the plague" Munro
--
"Myles, you've screwed up the attributions again. It's my *mother* who's
corrosive. I turn base metal into gold."--Maggie Newman
L. Shelton Bumgarner
cga...@dfpm.utah.edu (Christine Gazak) wrote:
>>In article <moo-100297...@sl30.midtown.net>,
>>m...@midtown.net (Bryan Cowan) wrote:
>>> Well, without the plague interpretation, the words don't make a whole lot
>>> of sense. I think that the rhyme symbolizes SOMETHING and that you can't
>>> take the words at face value, because if they do it doesn't make any
>>> sense.
>Must it? Could you please interpret "There was a Old Lady who
>Swallowed a Fly" for me then? Is it about the all-consuming maw of
>capitalism, that endlessly stuffs itself until it is finally killed in
>the middle of an unspeakable act of gluttony when it attempts to eat
>the hard-working masses? After all, Old Lady could be a thinly veiled
>reference to the State, i.e. the Motherland. And what kills "her"? A
>horse, which, as everyone knows from "Animal Farm," is really a symbol
>for the People. Is this some kind of commie-indoctrination rhyme for
>children? Should we move to ban it in our schools?
<snip>
>On the other hand, could it be that children love nonsense rhymes
>general sillness, and words in general, or is that too simple?
Yes. But. I'm facinated by how children pick up stuff like rhymes and
why. (A prime example of something smiler is how if one were to bring
little kids from all over the US to one spot they would likely all
know the same games.)
bum
--
L. Shelton Bumgarner
Keeper of the Great Renaming FAQ
Apologies in advance for errors and incoherencies -- $.02
[e-mailed copies of responses to my postings are welcomed]
Mike Holmans
scl...@chass.utoronto.ca (Susan Carroll-Clark) treated us to:
>Greetings!
>I just wonder whether the popular conception relating fire as a way to
>get rid of the plague *does* have anything to do with the occurance of the
>Great Fire soon after the Great Plague of London (thanks for the cite
>on that usage, BTW). From what I remember, the plague had largely subsided
>by the Great Fire (in September of 1666), but pretty much disappeared
>altogether after the Fire. (Go figure. 4/5 of the city was
>destroyed, including lots of rickety old buildings and raw sewage,
>and it probably didn't do much for the rats who carried the disease,
>either).
I find this all highly dubious.
The Great Fire started in a bakery, in Pudding Lane. It was a mistake.
An accident. Plague wasn't involved at all. It was a coincidence,
nothing more, nothing epidemiological about it whatsoever.
Mike "I opened the window and in flew Enza" Holmans
I left El Sig in San Francisco. Which was good, because I got three
seats to myself on the way home. Though he thinks he'll be back by the
weekend, more's the pity.
Cindy Kandolf
Public Service Telecommunications Consortium <ps...@igc.apc.org> writes:
| The foreign and nineteenth-century
| versions seemed to show that the fall was originally a curtsy
| or other gracious bending movement of a dramatic singing-game,
| and the present writers have on several occasions gathered
| from oral tradition a sequel rhyme for the players to rise on
| their feet again,
|
| "The cows are in the meadow
| Lying fast asleep,
| A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
| We all get up again.
At Kenneth's playschool, the children sing such "getting up" verses,
like so:
"Ring a ring of roses,
A pocket full of posies.
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down!
Fishes in the water,
Fishes in the sea.
We all jump up
With a one-two-three!
(Third verse, same as the first[1])
Cows in the meadow
Eating all the grass,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
Who's up last?"
Most of the children and mothers who come to the group are British,
FWIW. We never sang any "getting up" verses, but we also sang the
third line as "Pussycat, pussycat", so i suppose we lived in a
folkloric backwater or something.
- Cindy Kandolf, certified language mechanic, mamma flodnak
flodmail: ci...@nvg.ntnu.no flodhome: Trondheim, Norway
flodweb: http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/
[1] Yes, i am well aware of the song that some of you now have running
through your heads. Neener neener.
Chris Grace
L. Shelton Bumgarner (bum...@infi.net) wrote:
: Yes. But. I'm facinated by how children pick up stuff like rhymes and
: why. (A prime example of something smiler is how if one were to bring
: little kids from all over the US to one spot they would likely all
: know the same games.)
: bum
ON a related topic, does anyone know the full lyrics to the traditional
English song "All the nice girls love a candle"?
The last line is "Wick Ahoy! Wick Ahoy!", but I've forgotten the rest of
the last verse.
You can e-mail it if you're embarassed, or if the words are as bad as I
think they might be...
--
Chris 'fufas' Grace Thinnker, Philosopher, Sensualist, Bon Vivant
Skydiver, Mensa USA (186* since you asked), MasterOfTheUnixVerse!!!
[*]only seven points lower than Bob OBob's & 185 higher than George
Roger Douglas
m...@midtown.net (Bryan Cowan) expostulated:
>In article <5dm6si$t...@agate.berkeley.edu>, j...@condor.cchem.berkeley.edu
>(Justin D. Bukowski) wrote:
>> In article <01bc16d0$318d8c60$2da6...@fastlane.net>,
>> Leslie Sowell <serfe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
[fairly standard re-hash of discussion]
>I believe people here in afu have presented evidence that destroys both
>the Black Death and Great Plague explanations. It is possible that the
>rhyme lasted for 200 years before being written down; very few people were
>literate until about 100 years ago, so it could be about the Great Plague.
>Does anybody know anything about the GP's symptoms or possible folk cures
>used? If what's described in the rhyme doesn't match the GP, it's still
>possible that the rhyme describes some other plague that was forgotten
>long ago except for the rhyme. Plagues were epidemic in the Western world
>for centuries until the return of widespread sanitation around 1900.
There's some decent information about "the plague" on the Web. Start from:
http://ccme-mac4.bsd.uchicago.edu/CCMEDocs/Plague
I can find no evidence for either the supposed "red rash" or sneezing as
symptoms of bubonic plague.
BTW, there is a "Centre for Disease Control" plague information page -
http://www.cdc.gov/diseases/plague.html - which used to be very informative,
but now consists of two FTP links which don't work. This is a pity. Has the
CDC had its funds cut or something?
--R.
Susan Carroll-Clark
Greetings!
>The Great Fire started in a bakery, in Pudding Lane. It was a mistake.
>An accident. Plague wasn't involved at all. It was a coincidence,
>nothing more, nothing epidemiological about it whatsoever.
Let me clarify. There were two large-scale nasties in the 1660's in London.
One was an outbreak of the plague which peaked in 1665 and had calmed
down considerably by 1666, although cases were still being reported
here and there. The second was the Great Fire of September, 1666. I was
not suggesting that the Plague led to the Great Fire, but rather that
in the _popular_ conception, the fact that the Great Fire followed immediately
upon the heels of the Plague, and that few (if any) cases were
reported in London after the Fire might lead to a perceived connection between
fire and driving out the plague. I doubt whether anyone in 1666 would
have seen this connection, but it's the type of supposition people
might make in retrospect.
I have heard it vectored a number of times, in fact, and outside the "Ring"
explanation, that the bodies of plague victims were cremated so as to "stop
the spread of the disease." I think part of this is that it "makes sense"--
people assume that there were lots of bodies laying around as a result
of the plague, and that they had to be disposed of; also, cremation would
mean less to attract rats, etc. The problem is that Western society through
the medieval and early modern period did not practice cremation to any great
extent, and I have never seen any evidence of this little factoid that many
people seem to "know".
(Of course, to the insistent, telling folks that cremation was rare usually
leads to "Oh, then "Ashes, ashes..." refers to the funeral liturgy..."Ashes
to ashes, dust to dust.".)
Susan "the Fire was a papist plot, anyway..." Carroll-Clark
scl...@chass.utoronto.ca
Elisabeth Orr
Chris Grace wrote:
>
> L. Shelton Bumgarner (bum...@infi.net) wrote:
>
> : Yes. But. I'm facinated by how children pick up stuff like rhymes and
> : why. (A prime example of something smiler is how if one were to bring
> : little kids from all over the US to one spot they would likely all
> : know the same games.)
Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
of mine who grew up in NJ (I'm from Ohio) failed to see the humour in
the "serial head-bopper at large" cartoon I taped to my wall.
Then again, maybe she was just weird, cos I find it hard to believe that
such a sick parody of "kiddie" material wouldn't appeal to kids
nationwide...
Oh yeah, for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about;
"little bunny foo-foo" is a rabbit who likes to bash in field mice's
skulls. he is caught at this pasttime by a good fairy, who gives him 3
chances, all of which he fails due to his addiction to rodent
head-bopping. After his last chance the good fairy either bashes in HIS
head or (and this is the parent-sanctioned version) turns him into a
goon, thus allowing the story to have the ending "hare today, goon
tomorrow." Ha ha?
Peace,
E
--
"Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t
help them, at least don’t hurt them." - Dalai Lama
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Elisabeth Orr - moving in at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/lofts/1388
Michele Tepper
Elisabeth Orr <ej...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>
>Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
> of mine who grew up in NJ (I'm from Ohio) failed to see the humour in
>the "serial head-bopper at large" cartoon I taped to my wall.
Oh my God. After, what is it, three years? The Return of the Foo-Foo.
Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
Michele "Jane, you ignorant slut" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "When bad techs happen to good cultures," Lentz said.
mte...@panix.com "When bad cultures happen to good machines," I insisted.
--Richard Powers, _Galatea 2.2_
Duquette et al
Elisabeth Orr <ej...@wam.umd.edu> wrote in article
<331849...@wam.umd.edu>...<snip>
> Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
> of mine who grew up in NJ (I'm from Ohio) failed to see the humour in
> the "serial head-bopper at large" cartoon I taped to my wall.
I didn't here 'little bunny foo-foo' till I was almost an adult. I heard it
from a boyfriend. The boyfriend and I were both born in the same hospital,
and grew up and still live in the same town. Only difference is i went to
a different elementary school than he did. Personally I thought it was
hilarious when he taught it to me, and so do my kids, especially the ones
that are old enough to get the joke at the end.
On the other note. My 5 yr old's homework assignment for tuesday is to
bring in a copy of his favorite nursery rymne. He picked Ring Around the
Rosie. This has led to a disagreement between my boyfriend and myself.
Wether to use "Ashes Ashes", "Husha Husha", or "Achoo Achoo" in it. He
learned it "Ashes" I learned it "Husha" and I'd also heard it "Achoo" while
I was little. The other problem is that I've typed it out on my word
processor in a nice big font, and need to add a pretty graphic for it. I
guess plauge pics are right out <g>. Maybe somebody sneezing? Dont no.
minmei
Guy Daugherty
> > : Yes. But. I'm facinated by how children pick up stuff like rhymes and
> > : why. (A prime example of something smiler is how if one were to bring
> > : little kids from all over the US to one spot they would likely all
> > : know the same games.)
>
> of mine who grew up in NJ (I'm from Ohio) failed to see the humour in
> the "serial head-bopper at large" cartoon I taped to my wall.
I have a general inquiry- anyone else here remember the Hopi-Taw?
It was a rubber disc, probably about 3" diameter, 1/4" thick, made for
playing hopscotch or its own version of the same game. One side had
a diagram of the game "field", the other a number of concentric rings
(kind of like a stove element) with a center flat spot that said HOPI
TAW on it. In the SF Bay Area of the early sixties, everyone seemed to
have a few, but now I never find anyone who remembers them. One of the
very best things they were good for was rolling across the schoolyard.
Harry MF Teasley
Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
> Oh my God. After, what is it, three years? The Return of the Foo-Foo.
> Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
Foo" and you know it. I know all about your sick plot and it's NOT GONNA
HAPPEN.
You think you know a person after a while, you think you've come to some
sort of understanding, a friendship, even, and then you turn around and
find out they're nothing but a demented imp who has been laying in wait
for three years before trying to leap out at the first opportunity and
bury the knife in your back. This utterly reprehensible action on
Michele's part is indicative of poor diet, sub-optimal upbringing, and a
lackadaisical attitude towards being part of a stable, wholesome society.
Harry "your sad devotion to this ancient religion hasn't helped you
conjure up the stolen data tapes" Teasley
--
"The possibility that you guys are going to fuck up is non-zero." -HETJr
DaveHatunen
In article <5f9miv$e...@panix2.panix.com>,
Michele Tepper <mte...@panix.com> wrote:
>Elisabeth Orr <ej...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
>> of mine who grew up in NJ (I'm from Ohio) failed to see the humour in
>>the "serial head-bopper at large" cartoon I taped to my wall.
>
>
>Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
Sigh...
Little +Bunny+ Foo-Foo....
--
********** DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@netcom.com) **********
* Daly City California *
* Between San Francisco and South San Francisco *
*******************************************************
Paul Tomblin
In a previous article, hat...@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) said:
>In article <5f9miv$e...@panix2.panix.com>,
>Michele Tepper <mte...@panix.com> wrote:
>>Elisabeth Orr <ej...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>>>Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
>
>Sigh...
>
>Little +Bunny+ Foo-Foo....
Well, Dave, you just lost all credibility with me. Everybody knows it's
"Little *R*A*B*B*I*T* Foo-Foo". You want cites? Just pick up any "Sharon,
Lois and Bram" album and read the lyric sheet. As for voracity, this is
Sharon, Lois and Bram we're talking about here - it doesn't get much more
voracious than that!
--
Paul Tomblin (ptom...@xcski.com), Rochester Flying Club
<a href="http://www.servtech.com/public/ptomblin/rfc/">RFC Web Page</a>
RFC is selling two of our PA28-181 Piper Archer IIs. See web page for details.
DaveHatunen
In article <E6F75...@xcski.com>, Paul Tomblin <ptom...@xcski.com> wrote:
>In a previous article, hat...@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) said:
>>In article <5f9miv$e...@panix2.panix.com>,
>>Michele Tepper <mte...@panix.com> wrote:
>>>Elisabeth Orr <ej...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>>>>Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
>>>Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
>>
>>Sigh...
>>
>>Little +Bunny+ Foo-Foo....
>
>Well, Dave, you just lost all credibility with me. Everybody knows it's
>"Little *R*A*B*B*I*T* Foo-Foo". You want cites? Just pick up any "Sharon,
>Lois and Bram" album and read the lyric sheet. As for voracity, this is
>Sharon, Lois and Bram we're talking about here - it doesn't get much more
>voracious than that!
Are you telling me my daughters weren't completely voracious when they
were in elementary school?? You cad!
Ian A. York
Paul Tomblin <ptom...@xcski.com> wrote:
>hat...@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) said:
>>In article <5f9miv$e...@panix2.panix.com>,
>>>>Not necessarily. "little bunny foo-foo" is a classic to me, but a friend
>>>Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
>"Little *R*A*B*B*I*T* Foo-Foo".
Tomblin, you cretinous gullible buck-toothed pocket-protector-wearing
wanker, you wouldn't know authentic poetry from a Manilow lyric. Sharon,
Lois, and Bram, eh? Censorious tools of the capitalist oppressor, say I,
grinding the impressionable minds of innocent youth under the leather boot
of their rabbit foo-foo. I'm not surprised your senile neurons caved in
to the goosestepping regimentation of their rabbit propaganda, but at
least try to understand that there are those with the mental stature, the
fortitude, the determination to prevail against creeping foofooism. Long
live the glorious revolution! Bunny Foo-Foo forever! Sharon, Lois, and
Bram will be first against the wall on the Day of Wrath when the bunny
underground arises in righteous fury to throw off the conquering rabbit
yoke!
It's little Bunny Foo-Foo.
Ian "bunny, bunny, BUNNY!" York
--
Ian York (iay...@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England
Michele Tepper
Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
>
>> Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
>
>Foo" and you know it.
"Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
I grew up in Brooklyn, Harry, so I know the truth.
> This utterly reprehensible action on
>Michele's part is indicative of poor diet, sub-optimal upbringing, and a
>lackadaisical attitude towards being part of a stable, wholesome society.
Your pathetic personal attacks are precisely the sort of obfuscatory
measures I'd expect from a pencil-necked, lily-livered, spineless,
no-hoper would-be advocate of the "bunny" brigade. The forces of
righteous rabbitosity will crush you under our heels like the trash you so
clearly are.
>Harry "your sad devotion to this ancient religion hasn't helped you
>conjure up the stolen data tapes" Teasley
Michele "the Force is with me" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "Other than this egregious lapse in your already shockingly
mte...@panix.com low standards of online propriety, honesty, and moral
rectitude, though, I love you and you're still my best
mate." -- Clay Shirky to Harry Teasley (who else?)
Paul Tomblin
In a previous article, iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) said:
>Tomblin, you cretinous gullible buck-toothed pocket-protector-wearing
>wanker, you wouldn't know authentic poetry from a Manilow lyric. Sharon,
I do *not* wear a pocket protector!
--
Paul "rabbit" Tomblin (ptom...@xcski.com), Rochester Flying Club
Emily Kelly
Michele Tepper <mte...@panix.com> wrote:
>Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>>Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
>>
>>> Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
>>
>>The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
>>Foo" and you know it.
>
>"Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
Misha, I'm deeply saddened and bewildered. I never would have taken you
for an Updike fan, and if you must be one, you might quote him correctly.
Moreover, in re Rabbit vs. Bunny, I am appalled to find a professed
"student" of "literature" such as yourself standing so dogmatically with
the misguided Rabbitists. Any true lyricist's ear cannot fail to hear
how "Rabbit"'s harsh final plosive, crashing inelegantly into the "F" of
"Foo-Foo", betrays the gentle in/egal promised by the song's melody, so
reminiscent of the French Baroque. "Bunny", in contrast, shares the
hypnotic consonant-vowel syllabic pattern of "Foo-Foo", and so becomes
a fully participatory member of the incantation, providing a heightened
rhythmic urgency which contrasts sharply with the near-Debussian
non-directionality (and, not coincidentally, rhythmic ambiguity) of the
Fairy's appearance. I might also mention the subtle foreshadowing
created by initial alliteration between "Bunny" and "bopping": a "Little
Rabbit Foo-Foo" simply cannot bop.
Your pathetic ad hominem attacks cannot stop art. Under the banner
of Reason and Art, the Bunnies of the world will prevail.
Emily "prepare to be bopped, you snivelling Rabbitist worm" Kelly
--
Emily Harrison Kelly "When you're falling through the sky you don't have a
eke...@acpub.duke.edu lot of choice about things really." --andrew welsh
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
For the AFU FAQ: http://www.urbanlegends.com/afu.faq/
Hugh Gibbons
> Paul Tomblin <ptom...@xcski.com> wrote:
> >hat...@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) said:
> Tomblin, you cretinous gullible buck-toothed pocket-protector-wearing
> wanker, you wouldn't know authentic poetry from a Manilow lyric. Sharon,
> Lois, and Bram, eh? Censorious tools of the capitalist oppressor, say I,
> grinding the impressionable minds of innocent youth under the leather boot
> of their rabbit foo-foo. I'm not surprised your senile neurons caved in
> to the goosestepping regimentation of their rabbit propaganda, but at
> least try to understand that there are those with the mental stature, the
> fortitude, the determination to prevail against creeping foofooism. Long
> live the glorious revolution! Bunny Foo-Foo forever! Sharon, Lois, and
> Bram will be first against the wall on the Day of Wrath when the bunny
> underground arises in righteous fury to throw off the conquering rabbit
> yoke!
>
Ian it totally on the mark here. "Little rabbit Foo-Foo" absolutely
does not scan! Even the youngest gradeschoolchildren would immediately
spot the error and substitute "bunny."
But you guys are totally ignoring the *real*issue* here. Which shows
that you are part of the international UN conspiracy to distract us from
what's really going on as you hegemonise the world power structure so
you can deprive us all of our sacred God-given rights!
WHAT WERE THE FIELD MICE DOING IN THE FOREST AND WHY WAS
THE CAPITALIST-OPPRESSOR/BUNNY BOPPING THEM ON THE HEAD?
And what is the fairy's agenda?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
hgib...@stic.com "Hugh Gibbons"
Junk emailings to this address will be forwarded to your postmaster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
David Lesher
ptom...@xcski.com (Paul Tomblin) writes:
>In a previous article, iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) said:
>>Tomblin, you cretinous gullible buck-toothed pocket-protector-wearing
>>wanker, you wouldn't know authentic poetry from a Manilow lyric. Sharon,
>I do *not* wear a pocket protector!
Binky chewed it up....
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
John Varela
In <E6Fty...@xcski.com>, ptom...@xcski.com (Paul Tomblin) writes:
>In a previous article, iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) said:
>>Tomblin, you cretinous gullible buck-toothed pocket-protector-wearing
>>wanker, you wouldn't know authentic poetry from a Manilow lyric. Sharon,
>
>I do *not* wear a pocket protector!
So what's wrong with pocket protectors?
John Varela
Harry MF Teasley
Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
> Your pathetic personal attacks are precisely the sort of obfuscatory
> measures I'd expect from a pencil-necked, lily-livered, spineless,
> no-hoper would-be advocate of the "bunny" brigade. The forces of
> righteous rabbitosity will crush you under our heels like the trash you so
> clearly are.
Your jingoism only reveals the depths of your depravity. Your obvious
malfeasance and reckless regard for the truth demonstrate not only that
you can't be trusted to conduct yourself as befits a civilised person in a
cultured society, but that given the opportunity you will most assuredly
fall back into your wretched ways faster than a newly-reformed alcoholic
locked up in a liquor store.
As for your juvenile attempt to string together some words that can only
be casually described as a "flame", let me remind you who you are dealing
with, you two-faced arrogant trashy rabid venal asinine untrustworthy
talking-with-your-mouth-full-of-your-own-feet foo-foo-twisting unrepentant
disrespectful scrofulous barbaric brane-ded malnourished-intellect
children's-song-mangling vituperative weak-willed outlandish cockamamie
nakedly-evil abuse-deserving rabbit-espousing lyric-wrecking foul-mouthed
corporate-suck-up the-zenith-of-your-cultural-knowledge-doesn't-reach-
the-nadir-of-my-aesthetic-weltanshauung clue-lacking morose vapid
staggeringly-vile insidious beavis-brained Shirky-quoting vicious-
malefactor probable-Manilow-listening-and-bad-coffee-drinking muck-sucking
so-twisted-you-can-hide-at-will-behind-a-spiral-staircase crayola-mind
English-Lit-grad-student poopy-headed Brooklyn-accent-talking gutless
poetry-blind righteousness-scorning Dark-Side-of-the-Force-tempting
coercive child-corrupting bad-influence lie-peddling amoral old-hat-
wearing scandalous bilious disgusting foul cheap-shot-taking illogical
lobotomized tragic wheedling cowardly prevaricating post-modernist. You,
of all people, should have known better.
Harry "so there, fascist" Teasley
Doug Reade
Michele Tepper wrote:
>
> Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
> >Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
> >
> >> Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
> >
> >The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
> >Foo" and you know it.
>
> "Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
>
>
And so you should; I'm surprised you don't.
Evidence newly gathered by the FBI (the documents haven't been released
to the public yet; I'll post them when they are) shows that "Bunny" Fufoo
is actually a cony, and part of the infamous Con(e)y Island Fufoo family.
She's the daughter of "Cappy" Bara Fufoo, who made his money smuggling
turnips and carrots during Prohibition (now you know the real reason the
Government was trying to close down the illegal stills. The stuff tasted
awful.) "Rabbit" Fufoo, with whom you've apparently confused "Bunny", is
a second cousin to the family, and a lowly, but locally feared, street
soldier.
There is evidence linking "Cappy" with the Clinton White House in Little
Rock (he is obviously no pika at courting influence), and one of the
Fufoo soldiers apparently physically attacked Jimmy Carter during his
administration, but was beaten off by the President. There is also
evidence of a massive Fufoo presence in Australia, although that's out of
the scope of the present FBI investigation.
Indictments are expected against the entire family soon, although the
worst charges that can be levelled against "Bunny" are that she
apparently ran a shakedown operation against some young children.
It's possible that this whole sordid story found its way into a
children's rhyme, and was in this manner passed around the country.
And now you know the rest of the story.
Doug "(criminal)ties up all the loose ends" Reade
Sig is ditching his lucky rabbit's foot, lest it turn out to be evidence.
Lee Rudolph
Shirah Winicur
In article <hgibbons-020...@sa12-337.stic.net>,
hgib...@stic.net (Hugh Gibbons) wrote:
> Ian it totally on the mark here. "Little rabbit Foo-Foo" absolutely
> does not scan! Even the youngest gradeschoolchildren would immediately
> spot the error and substitute "bunny."
>
> But you guys are totally ignoring the *real*issue* here. Which shows
> that you are part of the international UN conspiracy to distract us from
> what's really going on as you hegemonise the world power structure so
> you can deprive us all of our sacred God-given rights!
I agree completely up to this point, but you are totally mistaken on what
the *real* issue is:
It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
Shirah "So says Brownie Troop #330 of Terre Haute, Indiana, circa 1974" Winicur
--
Shirah Winicur, Graduate Secretary
Department of Psychology
University of Colorado, Boulder
swin...@psych.colorado.edu O-
Guy Daugherty
> Moreover, in re Rabbit vs. Bunny, I am appalled to find a professed
> "student" of "literature" such as yourself standing so dogmatically with
> the misguided Rabbitists. Any true lyricist's ear cannot fail to hear
> how "Rabbit"'s harsh final plosive, crashing inelegantly into the "F" of
> "Foo-Foo", betrays the gentle in/egal promised by the song's melody, so
> reminiscent of the French Baroque. "Bunny", in contrast, shares the
> hypnotic consonant-vowel syllabic pattern of "Foo-Foo", and so becomes
> a fully participatory member of the incantation, providing a heightened
> rhythmic urgency which contrasts sharply with the near-Debussian
> non-directionality (and, not coincidentally, rhythmic ambiguity) of the
> Fairy's appearance. I might also mention the subtle foreshadowing
> created by initial alliteration between "Bunny" and "bopping": a "Little
> Rabbit Foo-Foo" simply cannot bop.
Wow. You musta done really good in college.
Guy "anyone have a shovel to help with this?" Daugherty.
Bob Hiebert
>As for your juvenile attempt to string together some words that can only
>be casually described as a "flame", let me remind you who you are dealing
>with, you two-faced arrogant trashy rabid venal asinine untrustworthy
>talking-with-your-mouth-full-of-your-own-feet foo-foo-twisting unrepentant
>disrespectful scrofulous barbaric brane-ded malnourished-intellect
>children's-song-mangling vituperative weak-willed outlandish cockamamie
>nakedly-evil abuse-deserving rabbit-espousing lyric-wrecking foul-mouthed
>corporate-suck-up the-zenith-of-your-cultural-knowledge-doesn't-reach-
>the-nadir-of-my-aesthetic-weltanshauung clue-lacking morose vapid
>staggeringly-vile insidious beavis-brained Shirky-quoting vicious-
>malefactor probable-Manilow-listening-and-bad-coffee-drinking muck-sucking
>so-twisted-you-can-hide-at-will-behind-a-spiral-staircase crayola-mind
>English-Lit-grad-student poopy-headed Brooklyn-accent-talking gutless
>poetry-blind righteousness-scorning Dark-Side-of-the-Force-tempting
>coercive child-corrupting bad-influence lie-peddling amoral old-hat-
>wearing scandalous bilious disgusting foul cheap-shot-taking illogical
>lobotomized tragic wheedling cowardly prevaricating post-modernist. You,
>of all people, should have known better.
>
>Harry "so there, fascist" Teasley
Not bad, but "Weltanshauung" is supposed to be capitalized. That's a
0.5 deduction. There is also a 0.2 penalty for capitalizing manilow,
but this is offset by extra style points for bringing back "poopy-headed"
after way to long an absence.
My score: 9.5
Considering how out of practice you are, that was a pretty good exhibition.
Bob Hiebert can't flame, and can't even teach it, so he became a judge.
Will Wheeler
In article <5fcou4$a...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
says:
>Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>>
>>The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
>>Foo" and you know it.
>"Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
>I grew up in Brooklyn, Harry, so I know the truth.
Michele, it is clear that the tedium and hopelessness of being a graduate
student in the humanities has finally driven the last shred of sanity
from your fevered, overworked mind. I hope that you get the hope that
you so clearly and desperately need.
>Your pathetic personal attacks are precisely the sort of obfuscatory
>measures I'd expect from a pencil-necked, lily-livered, spineless,
>no-hoper would-be advocate of the "bunny" brigade. The forces of
>righteous rabbitosity will crush you under our heels like the trash you so
>clearly are.
Know this, Tepper, if you value the blue sky you will not stand before
us. If you choose to, you will fall. We will flay you with whips of bunny
fury, perforate you with spears of bunny glory, and turn you into fucking
Pez dispensers with swords of bunny righteousness.
Will "prepare to enter Hell" Wheeler
Penn State University "You know, Will may be pathetic, but he's
wj...@psuvm.psu.edu not *that* dumb."
whe...@po.aers.psu.edu ---The nicest thing Michele Tepper
http://www.personal.psu.edu/wjw2 has ever said about me.
Paul Tomblin
In a previous article, Will Wheeler <WJ...@psuvm.psu.edu> said:
>In article <5fcou4$a...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
>says:
>>Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>>>The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
>>>Foo" and you know it.
>
>>"Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
>>I grew up in Brooklyn, Harry, so I know the truth.
>
>Michele, it is clear that the tedium and hopelessness of being a graduate
>student in the humanities has finally driven the last shred of sanity
>from your fevered, overworked mind. I hope that you get the hope that
>you so clearly and desperately need.
Will, Will, Will. You just don't get it, do you?
When you think of "bunnies", do you think of mayhem and destruction? Of
course not! You think of cuteness, and wiggly noses and innocence. And when
you think of "rabbits", you obviously think of the environmental damage that
rabbits have wreaked on places like Easter Island. So it's obvious that the
creature who is wantonly scooping up field mice and assaulting them for no
apparant reason can't be a bunny. No, for a cute fuzzy little bunny to be
bopping smaller rodents on the head is a leap of logic that is inconceivable.
It has to be, and always has been, a rabbit. To whit, Little Rabbit Foo-Foo.
QED.
--
Paul Tomblin (ptom...@xcski.com), Rochester Flying Club
Andrew Arnold
On Tue, 4 Mar 1997, Paul Tomblin wrote:
> In a previous article, Will Wheeler <WJ...@psuvm.psu.edu> said:
> >In article <5fcou4$a...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
> >says:
> >>Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
> >>>The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
> >>>Foo" and you know it.
> >
> >>"Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
> >>I grew up in Brooklyn, Harry, so I know the truth.
> >
> >Michele, it is clear that the tedium and hopelessness of being a graduate
> >student in the humanities has finally driven the last shred of sanity
> >from your fevered, overworked mind. I hope that you get the hope that
> >you so clearly and desperately need.
>
> Will, Will, Will. You just don't get it, do you?
>
> When you think of "bunnies", do you think of mayhem and destruction? Of
> course not! You think of cuteness, and wiggly noses and innocence. And when
> you think of "rabbits", you obviously think of the environmental damage that
> rabbits have wreaked on places like Easter Island. So it's obvious that the
> creature who is wantonly scooping up field mice and assaulting them for no
> apparant reason can't be a bunny. No, for a cute fuzzy little bunny to be
> bopping smaller rodents on the head is a leap of logic that is inconceivable.
> It has to be, and always has been, a rabbit. To whit, Little Rabbit Foo-Foo.
You have isolated exactly why it is Little Bunny Foo-Foo and not the
Rabbit you so foolishly continue to believe.
Bunnies, as you correctly say, are innocent, cute and harmless creatures.
It is the rabbits that bring to mind evil and megolomaniacal plots of
world domination.
It is good to remember at this time that the appreciation of Little Bunny
Foo-Foo is not only in its delightful rhyme scheme (which would be
derelict and wholely unenjoyable with 'rabbit') but in its irony - the
source of enjoyment is the sense of the ridiculous proceeding from
knowledge that bunnies are innocent and cute and would never do such a
thing. Except the one Little Bunny Foo-Foo.
Rabbits are known to go around through forests, torturing and generally
bullying other fuzzy little forest friends. There is nothing unusual about
the behavior of a rabbit in the regard displayed in Little Bunny Foo-Foo.
If it is, as you claim, a rabbit, there is no reason to make a rhyme about
it.
Andrew "What it really is, however, is an interesting learning device for
children - that they not behave in this way, lest they (innocent bunnies)
become evil rabbits" Arnold
arn...@ukans.edu
Ülo Melton
Ahfertheluvvajesuswhattabuncha...
Listen up, you cretinous rabbit-lovers and moronic bunny-huggers,
because I'm only going to say this once:
Little Hare Foo-Foo.
Now, aren't you all ashamed of your pathetic ignorance?
Ülo "everybody kiss and make up" Melton
melt...@u.washington.edu
Elisabeth Orr
Andrew Arnold wrote:
<Fascinating and oh-so-pertinent post snipped>
look. I'm the original poster, giving me the privilige of being the
final word on this topic. And that word is; "It's bunny, dammit!"
whY? Well, first off, I learned it that way. second,as several have
pointed out, the idea of a fuzzy bunny bopping field mice is much more
amusing than that of a "rabbit' doing the same. You eat *rabbits*, and
it's the easter *bunny*. I trust the sensitive and distinguished readers
of AFU will see the distinction. Third, the cartoon which inspired me to
mention the thing in the 1st place, Dave Coverly's *Speed Bump* from
2/24, uses "bunny". His e-mail is in there. I would write & ask for a
source, except his handwriting is very hard to read, and I wouldn't want
Rush Limbaugh or someone to get a message about bunnies (Rush'd prolly
take it as some hunting thing).
Peace,
Elisabeth "bunny, dammit!" Orr
Michele Tepper
Harry MF Teasley (he...@panix.com) wrote:
>Your jingoism only reveals the depths of your depravity. Your obvious
>malfeasance and reckless regard for the truth
That's right, Harry, I do have a reckless regard for the truth. And that
is why all your so-called-best efforts to silence me will always come to
naught.
>As for your juvenile attempt to string together some words that can only
>be casually described as a "flame", let me remind you who you are dealing
>with
Sigh. You know, Harry, there was a time when we thought you really had a
gift. It's so sad to see a young flamer with so much promise just piss it
all away, repeating what was once fresh and innovative in his aesthetic
until itŐs just so much hackwork.
Really, it's tragic. And while I could respond in kind, Harry, while I
could easily encourage your timid refusal to seek out new ideas by playing
your game and calling you -- oh, I don't know -- a low-life pockmarked
pondscum potty-mouthed rank vile disgusting drooling tick-infested
snotfaced bunny-blinded corrupting-of-the-youth-of-America hopeless
helpless clueless worthless so-dumb-we-have-to-water-you-twice-a-day-and-
keep-you-by-a-sunlit-window big-sellout tacky shingles-ravaged
foo-foo-abusing useless insipid pretensions-of-grandeur Southern-accented
revolting-human-egg fetid cowardly can't-even-buy-dress-shoes-for-your-own-
damn-wedding mocha-drinking running-on-your-intellectual-rims would-be-
literate friend-of-earthworms old-hat vicious foul irrational dull
plague-afflicted unable-to-piss-into-a-boot-without-printed-instructions
former-Baltimorean evil diseased noisome loathsome repellent malevolent
bet-you-need-a-dictionary-to-keep-up-with-me incoherent song-wrecking
fetid-brained amoral useless-as-a-chocolate-teapot-and-not-as-much-fun
death-to-taste-manners-and-civilized-living video-game-designing
can't-flame-without-your-thesaurus rollerblading ugly-dog-owning
underfed-in-infancy shameful affront-to-decency Etch-a-Sketch-brained
abuse-inviting rabbit-bashing party-pooping disgraceful lying vulgar
whining roadkill-on-life's-highway greasy no-good little runt who is such
a shame to his loved ones that they look on in this group like passing
drivers at a car crash, unable to change the brutal facts yet somehow
unwilling to tear their eyes away from the awful sight. I could say all
those things, but that wouldn't help you grow as an artist.
We're all here for you, Harry. Really.
Michele "and itŐs *rabbit*" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "I think all writing should be motivated by resentment
mte...@panix.com and the desire for revenge." -- David Futrelle
Bob Hiebert
In article <5fim1e$e...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper) wrote:
A 9.6. I have the Rabbits leading by 0.1
It was the "shingles-ravaged" that pulled you ahead on my card.
Bob Hiebert doesn't even know what the hell a bunny or rabbit foo-foo is,
but he always enjoys this thread.
Bob Hiebert
In article <E6Jtu...@xcski.com>, ptom...@xcski.com (Paul Tomblin) wrote:
>In a previous article, melt...@u.washington.edu (Ülo Melton) said:
>>Little Hare Foo-Foo.
>
>Hare Foo-Foo, Hare Rama, Foo-Foo Foo-Foo, Foo-Foo Rama.
>
This brought tears to my eyes. I have this mental image of a bald Energizer
bunny going through airports.
Bob "or is that Energizer Rabbit?" Hiebert
Bob Hiebert
In article <5fj1md$4...@news.duke.edu>, eke...@acpub.duke.edu (Emily Kelly) wrote:
>Bob Hiebert <Bob.H...@worldnet.att.netNOSPAM> wrote:
>>In article <5fim1e$e...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
> wrote:
>>
>>A 9.6. I have the Rabbits leading by 0.1
>>
>>It was the "shingles-ravaged" that pulled you ahead on my card.
>
>Appeal! Misha included both "fetid" and "fetid-brained" in the same
>onslaught. That's grounds for automatic disqualification, but I could
>live with merely a .5 point deduction.
It's a fair appeal. However, there is at least a small difference between
being stinky and having a stinky brain. I'll only deduct 0.1 and send it
into the tie-breaker round.
>Emily "bun-BUN-*BUNNY*" Kelly
Bob Hiebert thinks this is wonderfully silly but fears that this may be
exactly how the crusades got started.
Walter Eric Johnson
Jeffrey Nelson/ STILL AGIN' (jlne...@mole.uvm.edu) wrote:
: On 13 Feb 1997 hgib...@stic.net wrote:
: *> Brian "how many will miss it?" Jones
: *
: *She did. See below:
: *
: *>X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.0 (X11; I; HP-UX A.09.03 9000/712)
:
: Hunh?
Really snappy reply. You did your mother proud with that
one, Jeffrey.
Eric Johnson
Paul Tomblin
Hare Foo-Foo, Hare Rama, Foo-Foo Foo-Foo, Foo-Foo Rama.
Emily Kelly
In article <5fiv5s$j...@mtinsc05.worldnet.att.net>,
Bob Hiebert <Bob.H...@worldnet.att.netNOSPAM> wrote:
>In article <5fim1e$e...@panix2.panix.com>, mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper) wrote:
>
>A 9.6. I have the Rabbits leading by 0.1
>
>It was the "shingles-ravaged" that pulled you ahead on my card.
Appeal! Misha included both "fetid" and "fetid-brained" in the same
onslaught. That's grounds for automatic disqualification, but I could
live with merely a .5 point deduction.
Emily "bun-BUN-*BUNNY*" Kelly
Larry Doering
In article <swinicur-030...@psyc38.colorado.edu>,
Shirah Winicur <swin...@psych.colorado.edu> wrote:
<In article <hgibbons-020...@sa12-337.stic.net>,
<hgib...@stic.net (Hugh Gibbons) wrote:
<
<> Ian it totally on the mark here. "Little rabbit Foo-Foo" absolutely
<> does not scan! Even the youngest gradeschoolchildren would immediately
<> spot the error and substitute "bunny."
<>
<> But you guys are totally ignoring the *real*issue* here. Which shows
<> that you are part of the international UN conspiracy to distract us from
<> what's really going on as you hegemonise the world power structure so
<> you can deprive us all of our sacred God-given rights!
<
<I agree completely up to this point, but you are totally mistaken on what
<the *real* issue is:
<
<It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
<
<Shirah "So says Brownie Troop #330 of Terre Haute, Indiana, circa 1974" Winicur
Ha! At last the ideological bankruptcy of the so-called Bunnyist faction
manifests itself! Notice how these deluded individuals, not content
with desecrating the hallowed children's rhyme by substituting "bunny"
for "rabbit", now attempt to further coopt the poem for their own evil
ends by mangling poor Rabbit Foo-Foo's name!
Do not fear, proletarian heroes! These counterrevolutionary deviationists
will not prevail! Even now, their arguments collapse under the weight of
their own internal contradictions! The truly peace-loving peoples of
the world cry out as one in indignation at the invidious lies of the
Bunnyists!
The truth shall prevail! Death to the Bunnyist running dogs and their
imperialist field mouse puppet masters! Death to all those who oppose
the Shining Path of revolution! Workers of the world, raise high the
Red Banner of the Rabbitistas!
All glory to Little Rabbit Foo-Foo!
ljd
Bob Church
In article <E6Jtu...@xcski.com>
ptom...@xcski.com (Paul Tomblin) writes:
> In a previous article, melt...@u.washington.edu (Ülo Melton) said:
> >Little Hare Foo-Foo.
>
> Hare Foo-Foo, Hare Rama, Foo-Foo Foo-Foo, Foo-Foo Rama.
>
"A Mole! A Mole!"
Bob Church
Barbara Mikkelson
Sonofabitch. Michele breezes through here once, and the hyphen key
disappears off my keyboard. Clearly I have been taxed to support her
dirty habit.
Barbara "I'm sending Denverhas out after my hyphen key" Mikkelson
Barbara Mikkelson | So, just imagine Alexander II on a hopping, two legged
bmik...@best.com | horse, exploding. Melissa Jordan
View a random urban legend --> http://www.snopes.com/cgi/randomul.cgi
Barbara Mikkelson
Sonofabitch. Michele breezes through here once, and the hyphen key
disappears off my keyboard. Clearly I have been taxed to support her
dirty habit.
Barbara "I'm sending Denverhas out after my hyphen key" Mikkelson
Barbara Mikkelson | So, just imagine Alexander II on a hopping, two legged
bmik...@best.com | horse, exploding. Melissa Jordan
View a random urban legend > http://www.snopes.com/cgi/randomul.cgi
Paul Tomblin
>
>Hey, all you child-corrupters out there, you'd better start singing this
>right to your kids - it's "Little Bunny TWO-SHOES" !!
Obviously, if this genetic throwback in a family which obviously produces a
lot of genetic throwbacks[1] can't even be trusted to get the "Foo-Foo" right,
why would *anybody* believe her on any other point? Come on, the very fact
that this "two-shoes" weirdo supports "bunny" is a point in favour of the
righteous rabbitophiles.
[1] Although truth be told, Morag seemed normal.
Ian A. York
In article <swinicur-030...@psyc38.colorado.edu>,
Shirah Winicur <swin...@psych.colorado.edu> wrote:
>
>It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
I checked on this crucial point with my sister Chris, who taught me the
song (and as for voracity, this is my SISTER you're talking about) and
she, being of course a clean-living honest upstanding pillar of the
community and not one of those festering low-browed neandertal grunters of
the rabbit camp, agreed that it was "Little Bunny". But--my God and
Chairman Mao--we have a new splinter group!
---------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 22:42:59 -0500
To: "Ian A. York" <iay...@panix.com>
From: cy...@vir.com (Christine York)
Subject: Re: Important question!
>It's about a good fairy.
>
>I remember going on a camping trip, and you taught us a little song about
>a rabbit who bopped field mice on the head and got turned into a Goon for
>her pains by the good fairy. ("Hare today, goon tomorrow", as you so
>philosophically pointed out.)
>
>Here's my question: Was the nefarious lagomorph "Little Bunny Foo-Foo", or
>was she "Little Rabbit Foo-Foo"?
Hey, all you child-corrupters out there, you'd better start singing this
right to your kids - it's "Little Bunny TWO-SHOES" !!
Chris
---------------------------------------
Armed with the Bunny of righteousness, I am,
Ian of the Bunnies
--
Ian York (iay...@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England
Doug Reade
In article <swinicur-030...@psyc38.colorado.edu>,
Shirah Winicur <swin...@psych.colorado.edu> wrote:
>
>It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
>
All wrong! It's. . .(wait for it. . .). . .FURRFU!
Now not only have we reached the truth of the matter, but we've found the
perfect AFU Mascot.
Doug "and you didn't even know we were missing one, did you?" Reade
Sig has his own theories about the identity of this thread's central
character, all of which involve weasels of various temperatures.
DaveHatunen
In article <331DAF...@wolfenet.com>,
Doug Reade <read...@wolfenet.com> wrote:
>In article <swinicur-030...@psyc38.colorado.edu>,
> Shirah Winicur <swin...@psych.colorado.edu> wrote:
>
>>
>>It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
>>
>
>All wrong! It's. . .(wait for it. . .). . .FURRFU!
>
>Now not only have we reached the truth of the matter, but we've found the
>perfect AFU Mascot.
"Little Bunny FURRFU"...
Works for me.
Christine Gazak
Bob.H...@worldnet.att.netNOSPAM (Bob Hiebert ) wrote:
>In article <E6Jtu...@xcski.com>, ptom...@xcski.com (Paul Tomblin) wrote:
>>In a previous article, melt...@u.washington.edu (Ülo Melton) said:
>>>Little Hare Foo-Foo.
>>
>This brought tears to my eyes. I have this mental image of a bald Energizer
>bunny going through airports.
And now I have an image of Fuzzy "No Hair" Wuzzy Bear and Little
"Hare" Foo-Foo going head to head in some sleazy low-rent wrestling
arena in Altlantic City for a year's supply of Donald Trump hair
products.
Christine "" Gazak
Bob Church
In article <hatunenE...@netcom.com>
hat...@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) writes:
>
> "Little Bunny FURRFU"...
>
> Works for me.
Sounds like a Kathie Lee Gifford tie-in.
Bob Church
Christine Gazak
iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) wrote:
>>It's about a good fairy.
>>
>>I remember going on a camping trip, and you taught us a little song about
>>a rabbit who bopped field mice on the head and got turned into a Goon for
>>her pains by the good fairy. ("Hare today, goon tomorrow", as you so
>>philosophically pointed out.)
[SNIP]
Uh -oh. I learned it as "turned into goo" As in hare today, goo
tommorrow. I won't even touch the Bunny lovers vs. Rabbit debates,
Harry scares me.
This debate really recontextualizes the Ring Around the Rosey debates
for me...
Christine "From Foo, to goo"Gazak
Tae H Kim
Will Wheeler (WJ...@psuvm.psu.edu) wrote:
: Know this, Tepper, if you value the blue sky you will not stand before
: us. If you choose to, you will fall. We will flay you with whips of bunny
: fury, perforate you with spears of bunny glory, and turn you into fucking
: Pez dispensers with swords of bunny righteousness.
I'm naked. More.
- Tae
Bob Hiebert
Harry MF Teasley wrote a strong opening, a good middle game, but then
followed with this memorable combination:
>matchstick-flickering-to-my-
>volcano-erupting pebble-tossing-to-my-meteor-showering finger-pricking-to-
>my-head-chopping zephyr-wafting-to-my-tornado-blowing
Its a 10.0! It can't be beaten. I'm sorry Michele, but it would be like
denying Olga.
The bunnies have it in this round of competition, but there is always the
next olympiad. Remember, Olga looked amateurish by the time Natasha showed
up at the next event.
Bob Hiebert really thinks that Harry's reign will last more like George
Foreman's than Olga's.
Harry MF Teasley
As an aside, I asked Yatsze her opinion on the Bunny vs Rabbit debate (not
that anyone seriously gives the Rabbit side any credibility whatsoever,
and they're all lying bastards anyway), and she said, "In China, we don't
give names to our food. We just eat them." So much for that.
She does, of course, realise that those who mistakenly refer to a "Little
Rabbit Foo-Foo" are quite obviously deranged and in need of serious
psychological help. You can rest assured that our kids are going to grow
up filled with the holy fire to smash the Rabbit-mongers whenever they run
across one of the snivelling whiners.
Harry "she also says that in Cantonese we're talking about 'Little Bunny
Bitterness-Bitterness'" Teasley
--
"The possibility that you guys are going to fuck up is non-zero." -HETJr
danny burstein
alas, none of the stuff below was in the form of a question. So you lose.
In <5flpl0$b...@panix2.panix.com> he...@panix.com (Harry MF Teasley) writes:
>Michele Tepper (mte...@panix.com) wrote:
>> We're all here for you, Harry. Really.
>Michele, you word-reusing flame-mode-stealing bunny-denying smack-talking
>ad-hominem-rehashing rhyme-ruining poetry-misremembering notion-half-
>baking big-book-report-avoiding pale-imitation-making phrase-molesting
>truth-repelling nonsense-spouting lie-spreading rabbit-pushing in-the-
>Land-of-Ignorance-dwelling bunny-supressing debate-losing axe-grinding
>pond-scum-sucking Michelle-misspelling song-trashing style-not-having
>good-sense-lacking took-me-on-without-thinking brain-starving information-
>twisting mouth-breathing rumor-mongering diatribe-gushing clue-phone-
>ignoring vice-indulging no-quarter-getting patience-exhausting empty-
>words-screaming with-fire-playing for-Evita-crying caution-to-the-wind-
>throwing mistake-compounding virtue-vilifying matchstick-flickering-to-my-
>volcano-erupting pebble-tossing-to-my-meteor-showering finger-pricking-to-
>my-head-chopping zephyr-wafting-to-my-tornado-blowing attention-seeking
>field-mouse-bopping bad-music-buying child-misleading weak-flame-posting
>in-my-shadow-standing Uriah-Heeping best-mate-lurving-and-my-wedding-
>attending-but-no-mercy-receiving fly-weight-boxing thought-you-had-me-
>running knuckle-dragging eyelid-drooping tradition-disrespecting Tomblin-
>siding flecks-of-foam-sputtering lame-excuse-whinging assistant-teaching
>scenery-chewing outrageousness-blathering Kibo-worshipping key-pounding
>bandwidth-wasting water-on-the-brain-suffering ninny. Get a grip, it's
>not "rabbit", get over it.
>Harry "opposition-crushing bunny-championing" Teasley
>--
>"The possibility that you guys are going to fuck up is non-zero." -HETJr
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
Harry MF Teasley
Barbara Mikkelson
-0.5 for misspelling "rumour", Harry. But you earned it back for
"Tomblin-siding".
Barbara "that damned stuff warps as soon as you expose it to the elements"
Mikkelson
--
Barbara Mikkelson | I feel so cheap....next thing you're going to tell me
bmik...@best.com | is that you faked all those e-gasms. - Andrew Storms
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
View a random urban legend --> http://www.snopes.com/cgi/randomul.cgi
Michele Tepper
Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>
>Michele, you word-reusing flame-mode-stealing bunny-denying smack-talking
[etc]
Again, an estimable example of stylistic consolidation and control, but no
innovation, nothing unexpected, nothing surprising -- only the same thing
over again, but with more of it. I suppose this is what happens when one
allows Microsoft to buy part of one's soul^Wcompany, huh?
I'm not going to respond in kind again because Harry's most recent post
made me realize that I was enabling his disease rather than helping him
that way. I'm not even going to point out that "Tomblin-siding" sounds
like something Vicki should've had done to her house, nor correct the
several factual errors in this latest spew, because that might be seen as
my granting approval to his repetitive, fearful artistic practice.
Harry, honey, get help.
Michele "children, beware -- this is what happens when you start down the
bunny path" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "I'm fairly certain that I'm that sort of geek."
mte...@panix.com -- Will Wheeler
Phil Edwards
mte...@panix.com (Michele Tepper) wrote:
< appropriately virtuosic flamage snipped >
>We're all here for you, Harry. Really.
>
>Michele "and itŐs *rabbit*" Tepper
Little bunny what? Little rabbit who?
Sometimes I regret putting all you people in my watch list, I really
do.
Phil "off to talk to Ewan about a _Magpie_ thread" Edwards
--
Phil Edwards amr...@zetnet.co.uk
"Tea, tea and coffee
Get no sleep today" - Graham Coxon
Matthew Rabuzzi
Michele Tepper: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
Harry MF Teasley: It's "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and you know it.
Michele Tepper: "Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
You call yourself an Eng Lit grad student?
Lapin Lazuli's classic recension _Leporine Leapers_ lucidly labels
the "rabbit" variant as spurious, introduced by Sinclair Lewis and
furthered by John Updike. The original model was Glooscap,
the Trickster Hare of North American Indian myth, who became the
mischievous Bunny Foo-Foo of the poem and later Bugs Bunny of film fame.
Rabbitfurrfoo!
Matthew "no pika" Rabuzzi
Simon Slavin
> unable-to-piss-into-a-boot-without-printed-instructions
I was told we wouldn't have to deal with 37-letter words in this
group. Will this be in the test ?
Simon.
--
Simon Slavin -- Computer Contractor. | "Turn up your soundcard ...
http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk | and let's dance."
Check email address for spam-guard. | Sassy, in http://
Junk email not welcome at this site. | bbs.annex.com/relayer/pink.htm
Barry Traylor
DaveHatunen <hat...@netcom.com> wrote in article
<hatunenE...@netcom.com>...
>
> Works for me.
I sure hope you're not talking about JOEL Furrfu here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Here're some !s for you, Barbara)
Barry "afl's not afu" @ Tredyffrin
Paul Tomblin
In a previous article, bmik...@best.com (Barbara Mikkelson) said:
>-0.5 for misspelling "rumour", Harry. But you earned it back for
>"Tomblin-siding".
>
>Barbara "that damned stuff warps as soon as you expose it to the elements"
>Mikkelson
Actually, it was warped to begin with.
Nathan F Miller
>Bitterness-Bitterness'" Teasley
It mutated into "Little Bunny Heavy-Breathing" just before getting
to the Big Pond, then.
Nathan "multicuturism 'ya' us" Miller
Madelyn Boudreaux
I don't know where you guys are getting this junk! When I was growing
up, everyone knew it was:
Little lapin Boudreaux
Hoppin t'ru de bayou
Picking up mosquito
and boppin' 'em on le tet.
with Boudreaux and bayou mispronounced to better rhyme.
>Harry "she also says that in Cantonese we're talking about
>'Little Bunny Bitterness-Bitterness'" Teasley
Rabbit is usually stringy and gross, but bitter? Since when?
Madelyn "Did Beatrix Potter boil Petit Rabbit?" Boudreaux
Dave Wilton
> >
> >> Let me get the thread started off right: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
> >
> >The original poster was right, you degenerate. It's "Little Bunny Foo
> >Foo" and you know it.
>
>
There are definitely two separate literary traditions at work here.
According to the OED2, the earliest reference for Bunny/Rabbit Foo
Foo is Chaucer's _The Canterbury Tales_, "The Knight's Tale:"
"And in the grove, at tyme and place yset,
This bunnie Fewfew and this field maus be met.
To chaungen gan the colour in hir face;"
The next reference is from Shakespeare, in a sonnet believed
to have been written in 1609 (about the time he was hacking the
Bible):
"Clear wells spring not, sweet birds sing not,
Green plants bring not forth their dye.
Herd stands weeping, flocks all sleeping,
Nymphs back peeping fearfully,
For Rabbitt Foofoo hath killed a mouse."
H.L. Mencken's _History of the American Language_, however
cites a 1623 manuscript from the Plymouth colony that claims
John Alden sang a "lullabye about Bunnie Foofoo" to his
children.
From here, the trail disappears for several centuries. The OED2
cites a 1910 draft manuscript by B. Potter titled "Peter, Mopsy,
Flopsy, and Foo-Foo Rabbit."
Back on this side of the pond, the OED2 cites a 1925 letter by
Zelda Fitzgerald records that "Scott is quite upset because the
publisher elided a poem about Bunny Foo-Foo from _This Side of
Paradise_. Scott believed it to be essential to the narrative."
In the same year, Ernest Hemingway's journal records on 25 June
(cited in Random House Hist. Dic of Amer. Slang): "Had a long
argument with Joyce and Stein today. He recited some doggerel
about Little Rabbit Foo-Foo. Gertrude and I recalled it as
Bunny Foo-Foo. Became quite heated, and Joyce stiffed us by
leaving without paying the check. Bastard."
The tentative conclusion must be that "Bunny" is the older,
but changed to "Rabbit" quite early on in Britain. In America,
the older form seems to have been preserved. So Americans that
use Rabbit Foo-Foo are following the British tradition.
--
Dave Wilton
dwi...@sprynet.com
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/dwilton/homepage.htm
sean...@aol.com
In article <5fjr6v$k...@panix.com>, iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) writes:
>>It's Little Bunny FRU-FRU, darnit!
>song (and as for voracity, this is my SISTER you're talking about) and
>she, being of course a clean-living honest upstanding pillar of the
>community and not one of those festering low-browed neandertal grunters of
>the rabbit camp, agreed that it was "Little Bunny". But--my God and
>Chairman Mao--we have a new splinter group!
I heard it as "Little Bunny Fru-Fru" myself. My source wasn't exactly an *absolute* authority, though.
Seanette
sean...@aol.com
Fidonet: 1:206/2735
Harry MF Teasley
> >Bitterness-Bitterness'" Teasley
> It mutated into "Little Bunny Heavy-Breathing" just before getting
> to the Big Pond, then.
She's not the most amazingly fluent speaker of Cantonese in the world,
but she says that she's never encountered "foo" as meaning "breath"
without being part of the phrase "foo kip". But I don't know, I'm just
taking her word for it, and she really enjoys making me feel foolish.
Forgive the lack of proper notation for the Cantonese syllables, as I
don't know them.
Harry "Say Bok Gway" Teasley
Andrew Lewis
Paul Tomblin wrote:
>
> In a previous article, iay...@panix.com (Ian A. York) said:
> >From: cy...@vir.com (Christine York)
> >
> [rabbit]
I just know I'm going to regret this in the morning...
I preface my remarks by saying that as I never at any time
during my long childhood learnt this pestilential rhyme in
any form I am partial to neither religion. But while the
squabbling has been going on I've been trying to dig up
another citation to go with the one (1) that Paul led off
with it seems so long ago which remains to this time the
only verifiably voracious mention made.
Here's another:
From ---, "The New Walker Bear, A Children's Treasury",
Walker Books, London, 1991.
pp. 82-83 "Little Rabbit Foo Foo" retold by Michael Rosen.
OK, it's "retold" but I am led to believe Michael Rosen
is well thought of in USAn children's literature circles.
Andrew "Rabbits 2, Bunnies 0 but inexplicably the match
appears to be continuing into extra time" Lewis
Bob Church
In article <331F32...@telluride.tomax.com>
Madelyn Boudreaux <made...@telluride.tomax.com> writes:
>
> Rabbit is usually stringy and gross, but bitter? Since when?
>
> Madelyn "Did Beatrix Potter boil Petit Rabbit?" Boudreaux
You're thinking of ground hog. Nature's own dental floss.
Bob Church
Madeleine Page
Madelyn Boudreaux, of whom I'm really rather fond, despite her consistent
mipsledding of her name, wrote:
: I don't know where you guys are getting this junk! When I was growing
: up, everyone knew it was:
: Little lapin Boudreaux
: Hoppin t'ru de bayou
: Picking up mosquito
: and boppin' 'em on le tet.
Which nicely deflects the Mother of All Bunny Wars. It's either Little
lapin Boudreaux, or Little Hairy Foo-Foo. Take your pick.
: Rabbit is usually stringy and gross...
For shame! Rabbit is *delicious* when properly cooked: slowly casseroled
with red wine and onions, with a square of baker's chocolate added to the
sauce just before serving to add that lovely glossiness.
: Madelyn "Did Beatrix Potter boil Petit Rabbit?" Boudreaux
Madeleine "my mother ate one of Mrs Tiggywinkle's cousins once" Page
--
Timothy A. McDaniel
This is just TERRIBE flaming! I mean everyone is being soo MEAN to
each other with HORRIBLE insults! And it's not really an important
thing anyway, right? In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "Can't
we just get along?". :-) :-) :-)
P.S. It's "bunny". :-) :-) :-)
--
Tim "Supplying liquid oxygen to Net flame wars since 1983" McDaniel
DaveHatunen
Not even a good try...
--
*********** DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@netcom.com) ***********
* In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king... *
* Until they find out he can see, then they kill him *
*********************************************************
Matthew Rabuzzi
: I asked Yatsze her opinion on the Bunny vs Rabbit debate ... she said,
to eat a rabbit, out of deference to the rabbit's compassion for *him*:
the rabbit, seeing how starved and emaciated the Buddha was, threw
himself onto the fire to present himself as a nice tasty roast.
(The precursor to Al Capp's Schmoos (Schmoon? I forget), no doubt.)
: Harry "she also says that in Cantonese we're talking about
: 'Little Bunny Bitterness-Bitterness'" Teasley
In some Brazilian dialect (I think -- my old botany notes don't cite
the word's provenance), 'Little Bunny Fufu' means 'Little Bunny Banana'.
Matthew "do you want some rabbit punch with that?" Rabuzzi
Joe Chew
> Little Bunny Bitterness-Bitterness
Marinade them overnight. Specialized game recipes and cooking
tips may be found in the back of most better cookbooks.
Joe "HTH" Chew
Nathan F Miller
Harry MF Teasley <he...@panix.com> wrote:
>Nathan F Miller (nfm...@pitt.edu) wrote:
>> It mutated into "Little Bunny Heavy-Breathing" just before getting
>> to the Big Pond, then.
>She's not the most amazingly fluent speaker of Cantonese in the world,
>but she says that she's never encountered "foo" as meaning "breath"
Er, my obscurity apparently attained opacity. I meant someplace more
northeast, and where the Sun is Sourced.
Nathan "don't they speak Cantonese is Switzerland?" Miller
Nathan F Miller
In article <33206E8B...@loc251.tandem.com>,
Matthew Rabuzzi <rabuzzi.....@loc251.tandem.com> wrote:
>
>Even the Buddha, in one of his self-mortifying phases, broke his fast
>to eat a rabbit, out of deference to the rabbit's compassion for *him*:
>the rabbit, seeing how starved and emaciated the Buddha was, threw
>himself onto the fire to present himself as a nice tasty roast.
Hmm. This is similar to a Japanese tale, in which the rabbit gives
himself up to be made into mochi (rice gluten 'cakes') by throuwing himself
onto the pot where the mochi is malletted.
The twist: for this noble act, he was rewarded by being made into
The Rabbit Making Mochi in the Moon. This, anyone can see. Look for a
rabbit/bunny boppin' away with a mallet, and you'll be pleasingly
surprised.
Nathan "and there's a little field mouse underneath" Miller
Michele Tepper
In article <331F23AD...@loc251.tandem.com>,
Matthew Rabuzzi <rabuzzi.....@loc251.tandem.com> wrote:
>Michele Tepper: It's "Little *Rabbit* Foo-Foo"!
>Harry MF Teasley: It's "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and you know it.
>Michele Tepper: "Rabbit Foo-Foo." Rabbit, rabbit, RABBIT!
>
>You call yourself an Eng Lit grad student?
Not unless required to for purposes of legal identification, no, not
generally.
>Lapin Lazuli's classic recension _Leporine Leapers_ lucidly labels
>the "rabbit" variant as spurious, introduced by Sinclair Lewis and
>furthered by John Updike. The original model was Glooscap,
>the Trickster Hare of North American Indian myth, who became the
>mischievous Bunny Foo-Foo of the poem and later Bugs Bunny of film fame.
You honestly expect me to believe the Lazuli book when he cites Mel Blanc
in the acknowledgements? I know scholarship for sale when I see it.
In addition to the two unimpeachable cites that have already been posted
which support the righteous rabbit cause, I would direct your attention to
the 1449 manuscript, now held at the Bodleian, of "Rabbits Leapyinge-Tale"
attributed to a poet of Suffolk, although the metric system -- so
reminiscent of the Scottish Chaucerians -- has led some to contest that
attribution of late. It's quite clear that the rabbit version is the
originary one, and the "bunny" tale a degraded variant. As to your
so-called "Trickster Hare," Lazuli's inability to name the Native nation
from which this so-called mythic figure arose, as well as the fact that
the story does not fit the standard trickster mythic pattern, has to cast
very grave doubts indeed on the standards of his scholarship.
You may ask why I said none of this to Mr Teasley. Well, knowing young
Harry as I do, I can tell you that he is a young man entirely deaf to the
sweet voice of reason. Delightful and well-brought-up, yes, but the only
way to get anything through his little skull is with a sledgehammer.
Michele "lament for the makaris" Tepper
--
Michele Tepper "Her books... may, and will, remain unread, but
mte...@panix.com Miss [Gertrude] Stein is going to make trouble for
us just the same." -- T.S. Eliot, 1928.
Harry MF Teasley
Andrew Lewis (and...@kraken.itc.gu.edu.au) wrote:
> Andrew "Rabbits 2, Bunnies 0 but inexplicably the match
> appears to be continuing into extra time" Lewis
http://www.stairway.org/kidsongs/l007.html
http://www.usscouts.org/songs/songbk1b.html
http://www.mswin.net/stargate/mommysongs.html#anchor64437
Final: Bunnies 3, Rabbits 2. The winning Bunny side counts among its
strengths being louder and more obnoxious than Rabbit folks, and of course
being right.
Thanks, everyone, for showing up. Come back in three years to watch the
Bunnies win again the next time this gets brought up.
Harry "but Misha, you're depraved and all, but you're still my Best Mate
and I lurve you" Teasley
Lee Rudolph
>Michele "lament for the makaris" Tepper
Ohboy, a J.I.M. Stewart thread!
Lee "hare sitting up" Rudolph
F. Douglas Wilson
On 7 Mar 1997 11:27:33 -0600 Timothy A. McDaniel (tm...@crl.com) wrote:
> This is just TERRIBE flaming! I mean everyone is being soo MEAN to
> each other with HORRIBLE insults! And it's not really an important
> thing anyway, right? In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "Can't
> we just get along?". :-) :-) :-)
Yes, but where did MLKJ get it?
> P.S. It's "bunny". :-) :-) :-)
Really enjoyed those ascii bunny tracks.
Doug "Hoppin' down the bunny trail" Wilson
--
====================================================
= Doug Wilson Newark, OH USA =
= f...@makaisoft.com =
= fidonet 1:226/1420 =
= Home page: http://www.infinet.com/~fdw =
= Kauai tour: http://www.infinet.com/~fdw/northsh =
====================================================
Maggie Newman
In article <5fssa1$s...@panix.com>, Lee Rudolph <lrud...@panix.com> wrote:
>
>Ohboy, a J.I.M. Stewart thread!
>
>Lee "hare sitting up" Rudolph
Sit back down. We don't want to resurrect Burpus and the Daffodil
Affair.
Maggie "he's Innes element now" Newman
Paul Tomblin
In a previous article, he...@panix.com (Harry MF Teasley) said:
>Final: Bunnies 3, Rabbits 2. The winning Bunny side counts among its
>strengths being louder and more obnoxious than Rabbit folks, and of course
>being right.
Well, you're half right.