pnemonic devices
Stephen M O'Shaughnessy
Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
things. My favorite is the planets from the sun to pluto
(Yes, I know, the sun is not a planet).
Shirley MacLaine Vomits Every Morning. Jimmy Stewart Usually
Never Pukes
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Laura A. Miller
> From: Stephen M O'Shaughnessy <smo...@most.fw.hac.com>
>
> Do you have a favorite mnemonic device?
Well, yes. I like it because it reminds me of junior high:
Kowal Puts Children On Fabulously Great Suspensions.
(Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)
Mr. Kowal was our assistant principal. But getting suspended wasn't all
that fabulous. So I'm told.
-Laura
Wendy Chatley Green
smo...@most.fw.hac.com (Stephen M O'Shaughnessy) wrote:
:Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
[The Pedantic Woman inhales quickly from shock at the above-quoted
line. This reaction forces several droplets of 'Foglifter' coffee
into her windpipe, which triggers a coughing fit. After she recovers,
she puts fingers to keyboard:]
My dear Mr. O'Shaughnessy,
Although it may be a word in another language, 'pnemonic' is
not a English word. The English word that most closely matches this
collection of letters is 'pneumatic,' an adjective meaning 'of or
relating to air or wind.' This word derives from the Greek word
'pneuma,' which means spirit, breath, or air.
From the context of your post, I gather that the word that you
did want to use is 'mnemonic.' This is the correct English name of a
device to aid the memory. It derives from 'mnemon,' the Greek word
for memory.
As mnemonic aids, remember that 'air stinks' (pneumatic
contains a 'P' and a 'U') and remember that both memory and mnemonic
start with a 'M.'
[The Pedantic Woman returns to her knitting]
--
The Pedantic Woman
wcg...@cris.com
Leon Schwarzbaum
Wendy Chatley Green pedantically replied, correcting the original poster
who she thinks meant "mnemonic" device.
I ignored the original post, but read Wendy's because I am a wendyphile.
The reason I didn't open the original was its inherent fault.
I didn't want to enter a thread on pneumatic devices, inflatable dolls,
silicone implants and penile pumps.
The only mnemonic device I ever memorized was ISHCTIWCY.
"If Sherman's horse can take it why can't you?"
--
Leon
words...@worldnet.att.net
AliJules
My favorite is: "On old Olympus's towering top, a fat-assed German viewed
a hop."
"What," you ask, eyes shining brightly, "could that possibly stand for?"
"Why," I answer, eyes shining equally brightly, "the twelve cranial
nerves, natch."
(olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial,
acoustic, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal)
Ali "Hey--I have no life!" Jules
Jerry Kindall
In article <32656a38.2058094@news>, tlh...@inav.net wrote:
>smo...@most.fw.hac.com (Stephen M O'Shaughnessy) wrote:
>
>>Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
>>Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
>>things. My favorite is the planets from the sun to pluto
>>(Yes, I know, the sun is not a planet).
Ah, how about Mother Very Easily Makes Jelly Sandwiches Using No Peanuts,
Mayonnaise, or Glue? That's also for the planets, except it's from Robert
Anton Wilson's "Schrodinger's Cat" trilogy, where they've discovered two
more planets, and named them Mickey and Goofy. (I imagine he probably
also used it in his earlier Illuminatus! trilogy, but I haven't read
that.)
--
Jerry Kindall <kin...@manual.com>
Manual Labor <http://www.manual.com/>
Technical Writing; Internet & WWW Consulting
Tom Hise
smo...@most.fw.hac.com (Stephen M O'Shaughnessy) wrote:
>Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
>Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
>things. My favorite is the planets from the sun to pluto
>(Yes, I know, the sun is not a planet).
>
>Shirley MacLaine Vomits Every Morning. Jimmy Stewart Usually
>Never Pukes
>
>Sun
> Mercury
> Venus
> Earth
> Mars
> Jupiter
> Saturn
> Uranus
>Neptune
> Pluto
>
Let's see... There is the famous ROY G. BIV for the colors of the
spectrum. (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indego Violet).
I always liked the one for remembering the Harvard Spectral Sequence
Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now Sugar, but I suppose that is
considered rather sexist these days. In my EE classes we always
used:
Twinkle twinkle little star
Power equals I squared R
of course I always remembered it as
Little star up in the sky
Power equals R squared I
Mnemonics and immagination don't mix!
--Tom
Registered Lurker #4,450,241
---
Common sense is what tells you the earth is flat
Dorothy J Heydt
Well, there are a few used by medical students:
On old Olympus' towering top
A Finn and German viewed a hop,
which stands for olfactory, optic, oculomotor, and I forget the
rest, but they're the twelve cranial nerves.
and
Never lower Tillie's pants; mamma might come home,
which is a way of remembering the names of the eight little
carpal bones in your wrist (all I know is "p" is for "pisiform,"
"pea-shaped," which is the one I broke in 1981).
Mostly I don't use mnemonics... it's easier to remember the real
sequence than the mnemonic.
Dorothy J. Heydt
djh...@uclink.berkeley.edu
University of California
Berkeley
Dick Harper
Stephen M O'Shaughnessy committed a perfect misc.writing wizardry of
keys and bits
>Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
>Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
>things.
If MW weren't politically correct, I could mention the formerly useful
device to keep wire colors straight in a loom:
"Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly"
Dick (not doing any wiring anymore) Harper
Stan (The Man)
AliJules wrote:
> My favorite is: "On old Olympus's towering top, a fat-assed German viewed
> a hop." <snip>
"the twelve cranial
> nerves, natch."
>
> (olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial,
> acoustic, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal)
>
> Ali "Hey--I have no life!" Jules
Oh, please! If I hear one more mnemonic for the twelve cranial nerves
I'll scream.
Stan
chris mclaughlin
alij...@aol.com (AliJules) wrote:
>Ali "Hey--I have no life!" Jules
Yes you do girlfriend.
After all, you're a member of the clique!
(The name of which I will no longer even attempt to spell)
Chris
Dorothy J Heydt
AliJules provided a variant on the cranial-nerves rhyme:
> "On old Olympus's towering top, a fat-assed German viewed a hop."
OK, the initial letters are the same...
but you don't suppose they would've taught me that one in a
high-school biology class? in the 1950s? in Orange County,
California? never happen....
(Orange County is where old conservatives go to retire...
particularly if they're too conservative for the rest of the
country.)
BrilloSand
Is it possible to purchase a notebook size word processor? I don't need a
notebood size computor, just the word processor. Sand Magnuson
Bill Price
On 17 Oct 1996, BrilloSand wrote:
> Is it possible to purchase a notebook size word processor? I don't need a
> notebood size computor, just the word processor. Sand Magnuson
>
>
the only ones i've seen were a panasonic, which has surely been
discontinued by now, and sold for about $300, and the smith-corona pwp
8000 or 9000, which can be bought with or without a printer, and sells
(without) for about $400. Both are bastards, give you ascii, (perhaps
one gives you a wp5.1 file) and cost more than the 8088 laptop you can
buy (an old zenith with a 10 meg hard drive) for $125 or less, or the
$250-$350 you'd spend on a decent 286 laptop as I'm presently using.
use a dos-based wprd processor, then you can use 640k and a 10meg drive
easily. always put your files on floppies, not on C; sooner or later,
it's a habit you'll adopt.
best
-bp
Bill Price
ps - forgot to say in orig reply that smith corona is at least in chapter
11, perhaps worse. that means you may find a real deal, but should not
expect support. i'd still go with a low-end laptop or notebook -
cheaper, faster, and can use your favorite (non-windows) wp
-bp
Sam Lopez
Yes, Brother (that's the company that makes typewriters) makes one for
around 200-300 dollars (US).
If you look at newspaper classifieds you can find a real laptop computer
for about the same price and probably with a word proc. included as software.
You can find old 486sx 25 Mhz for around that price range. You would also
be getting more storage capabilities then the "Brother."
Another idea, if your community has an advertiser type newsprint booklet
distributed, is to put a small ad (sometimes free) saying you are looking
for a used laptop. Then you can sit back and choose the best deal since
they are coming to you!
Best wishes.
BrilloSand (brill...@aol.com) wrote:
: Is it possible to purchase a notebook size word processor? I don't need a
: notebood size computor, just the word processor. Sand Magnuson
--
+**************************************************+
* "There are only two ways to live your life. *
* One is as though nothing is a miracle. *
* The other is as though everything is a miracle." *
* - Albert Einstein - *
+**************************************************+
Samuel Lopez De Victoria
d009...@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us
m m ii a m m ii
mm mm ii a a mm mm ii
m m m m ii a a a m m m m ii
m m m ii a a a a m m m ii
RooPal
Ali,
You beat me to it! Only in my anatomy class it was
On Old Olympus' Towering Top A Finn And German Viewed Some Heiny.
Yeah, I started out as a biology major.
RooPal
Man Friday
Fiddle de dum, fiddle de dee,
A ring round the moon is pi times D.
If a hole in your sock you want repaired,
use the formula pi r-squared.
(first one = circumpherence, second line = area).
The time of a pendulum you see,
is 2 pi root l over g
(period of a pendulum)
Sohcahtoa (pron Sock-a-to-er)
Trigonometry ratios. Sine = opposite over hypotenuse, etc.
Never eat Shredded Wheat
(points of the compass, clockwise)
May her rest be long and placid,
she added water to the acid.
But this girl did what she oughter,
she added acid to the water.
(Chemist's safety - how to avoid acid burns)
And so on.... (how do you think I passed exams?). They may not be true
mnemonics, but they work for me.
----------------------------
Man Friday Oooo.
( )
) /
(_/
http://www.devce.demon.co.uk
(c) Copyright reserved, especially from Compuserve and AOL.
Henning Bergh
"Stan (The Man)" <veri...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>AliJules wrote:
>
>> My favorite is: "On old Olympus's towering top,
>> a fat-assed German viewed a hop."
>>
>> (olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial,
>> acoustic, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal)
>>
>> Ali "Hey--I have no life!" Jules
>Oh, please! If I hear one more mnemonic for the twelve cranial nerves
>I'll scream.
>Stan
"Oh, oh, oh, to touch and feel a girl's vagina and hymen".
Are you screaming yet?
BTW, I didn't make that one up, a dental student taught it to me.
--Henning--
D. Citron
BrilloSand (brill...@aol.com) wrote:
: Is it possible to purchase a notebook size word processor? I don't need a
: notebood size computor, just the word processor. Sand Magnuson
Look for these full-page ads in Computer Shopper (every month):
Electrified Discounters and Tredex. (They have an advertiser index.)
They always have interesting stuff, like very obsolete printers & laptop
computers. Cheap.
I've never seen anything I could use in their ads, but they're
always interesting to read.
Posted as a public service by .............................. D. Citron
"The very purpose of the First Amendment is to foreclose public
authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind. ... In this
field every person must be his own watchman for the truth, because the
forefathers did not trust any government to separate the truth from
the false for us."
...Thomas v Collins, 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
Chas400
In article <Pine.OSF.3.91.961017...@osf1.gmu.edu>, Bill
Price <wpr...@osf1.gmu.edu> writes:
>use a dos-based wprd processor, then you can use 640k and a 10meg drive
>easily. always put your files on floppies, not on C; sooner or later,
>it's a habit you'll adopt.
>
>best
>-bp
Having retired just such a machine not too long ago, one more piece of
advice:
when you put your files on floppies, always, ALWAYS save twice to two
different floppies. Through the years I've seen a lot of floppies suddeny
get bad tracks, or have physical problems so they won't load properly.
But, the original post asked about "notebook" size -- not even laptop.
"Notebooks" are generally considered to be no bigger than about 7 pounds.
Other than things like the Tandy/Radio Shack 100 (very limited), I don't
think there was much that small till HP brought out a model with most
software in ROM -- might still find some of those around too, probably
386sx class machine, or Toshiba's early on machine with a single floppy
(that was, I think, a 286). Biggest problem buying old and used is that
screens were often lousy, dim and squashed looking, and battery life
sucked big time. (Watch out for batteries on older machines -- some can
be really hard to replace.) Add in generally lousy keyboards, and
horrendous cost of repair, and the reason for the low selling price of
such machines is more obvious.
If you look around, 486/25 and such machines in the 7 lb class are still
around, new with warranty and nice screens, for a grand or so. If that is
too much, same things used can be $600 or so. Much more versatile and
useful in so many ways than a dedicated word processor (which will work
very differently than any PC program you've ever seen). There's a good
reason that market has died with the advent of low priced PCs.
Best of luck,
Charlie
Charlie Hahn
// Tell me if I've run out of things to say. Interrupt -- you'll have
to. \\
The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)
I say, wasn't that "Leon Schwarzbaum" <words...@worldnet.att.net>
who wrote:
>Wendy Chatley Green pedantically replied, correcting the original poster
>who she thinks meant "mnemonic" device.
>I ignored the original post, but read Wendy's because I am a wendyphile.
Aren't we all!
>The reason I didn't open the original was its inherent fault.
>I didn't want to enter a thread on pneumatic devices, inflatable dolls,
>silicone implants and penile pumps.
>The only mnemonic device I ever memorized was ISHCTIWCY.
>"If Sherman's horse can take it why can't you?"
You've got me there... what does it stand for?
I always remember the 1st grade one:
HOMES - for the great lakes:
Hurion
Ontario
Michigan
Erie
Superior
But in the Jewish orthodox religious schools, they changed it to
MOSHE.
Davida (whatever gets you through the class) Chazan
****
De chocolate non est disputandum!
****
J & S Finnegan
On Thu, 17 Oct 1996 12:53:56 GMT, rbha...@together.net (Dick Harper)
wrote:
I learned the cleaned up version of this:
"Bad boys race our young girls, but Violent generally wins."
Suzanne (also not doing any wiring) Finnegan
----------------------------------------------------
+They were having a harvest festival, Tom gathered.+
+ +
----------------------------------------------------
cc1...@cdsnet.net
smo...@most.fw.hac.com (Stephen M O'Shaughnessy) wrote:
>Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
>Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
>things.
Sure. Here's one for sine, cosine, tangent, and flip it for the
others:
Sally Can't Tell Oscar Has A Hat On Always.
S=O/H
C=A/H
T=O/A
Regards,
Stoney
Mark Rajesh Das
Stephen M O'Shaughnessy (smo...@most.fw.hac.com) wrote:
: Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
: Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
: Shirley MacLaine Vomits Every Morning. Jimmy Stewart Usually
: Never Pukes
: Sun
: Mercury
: Venus
: Earth
: Mars
: Jupiter
: Saturn
: Uranus
: Neptune
: Pluto
If I'm right, the eccectricity of Pluto makes it closer to the sun than
Neptune, at least till 2048 or something like that.
Anyways, the ones I used were.
king play chess on fine gold sets -- (kingdom, phylum, class, order,
family, genus, species)
and Oscar Had A Heap Of Apples. Susie Carried them.
O
_ = S
H
A
- = C
H
O
- = T
A
Spat.
"TM"
Tim Patterson
BrilloSand wrote:
>
> Is it possible to purchase a notebook size word processor? I don't need a
> notebood size computor, just the word processor. Sand Magnuson
Try the Psion range - about the size of large wallets.
Not very good for fast typing as the keyboard is small,
but you can do all sorts of things with them (link to
PC's, modems, printers, etc.) and they fit inside your
jacket pocket.
Tim
--
Dr.Feelgood's Amazing And Marvellous Poetic Panacea
Guaranteed To Cure All Ailments Of The Soul
NO REFUNDS
http://condor.lpl.arizona.edu/~tim/
cc1...@cdsnet.net
finn...@netdoor.com (J & S Finnegan) wrote:
>On Thu, 17 Oct 1996 12:53:56 GMT, rbha...@together.net (Dick Harper)
>wrote:
>>Stephen M O'Shaughnessy committed a perfect misc.writing wizardry of
>>keys and bits
>>
>>>Do you have a favorite pnemonic device?
>>>Rhymes, songs or sayings that help us remember lists of
>>>things.
>>
>>If MW weren't politically correct, I could mention the formerly useful
>>device to keep wire colors straight in a loom:
>>
>> "Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly"
>>
>>Dick (not doing any wiring anymore) Harper
>I learned the cleaned up version of this:
>
> "Bad boys race our young girls, but Violent generally wins."
That's the cleanest version of this I've ever seen.
>Suzanne (also not doing any wiring) Finnegan
>----------------------------------------------------
>+They were having a harvest festival, Tom gathered.+
>+ +
>----------------------------------------------------
Regards,
Stoney
Stephen M O'Shaughnessy
In article <326689...@ix.netcom.com>, veri...@ix.netcom.com
says...
>
>AliJules wrote:
>
>
>
>Oh, please! If I hear one more mnemonic for the twelve cranial
nerves
>I'll scream.
>
>Stan
So don't listen! I think this is great, keep'em coming.
bill balint
You want 'em, you got 'em:
King Phillip's class of funny girl scouts
Kingdom phylum class order family genus species
Bad boys rape young girls but Violet gives willingly
Black brown red yellow green blue violet grey white (I think; it's been
awhile)
the order of colors on resistors--not a terribly nice mnemonic, I know,
but it's useful for engineers
An obscure one:
Old maids never wed and have babies.
The train stops of the Paoli local (main line) out of Philadelphia:
Overbrook, Merion, Narbeth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr
Jerry Kindall
In article <32762C...@mathworks.com>, bill balint
<bal...@mathworks.com> wrote:
>The train stops of the Paoli local (main line) out of Philadelphia:
>Overbrook, Merion, Narbeth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr
"Spring along gaily through the broad stately town."
Some of the major east-west streets in downtown Columbus, OH, from north
to south: Spring, Long, Gay, Broad, State, Town. (A local rock 'n' roll
station has its studio on the corner of Gay and High.)
Dorothy J Heydt
>
>Overbrook, Merion, Narbeth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr
Oh, if you want to get *obscure*--here's one by Tom Lehrer, as
reported by Isaac Asimov for 1954:
"H is for my alma mater, Harvard.
C is Central, next stop on the line,
K is for the cosy Kendall Station, and
C is Charles that overlooks the brine.
P is Park Street, busy Boston center,
W is Washington, you see,
Put them all together, they spell HCKC-PW
Which is just about what Boston means to me."
(They're the subway stations leading into Boston from Harvard.)
To which Asimov appends,
"And what killed me was that when he came to HCKC-PW, he
pronounced it quite well enough by clearing his throat and
pretending to spit." [_In Joy Still Felt_, p. 15]
JMingo
Did anybody mention the poem for remembering pi to 30-some places? Count
the letters of each word, and don't forget the decimal.
"Now I will a rhyme construct
By chosen words the young instruct
Cleverly devised endeavor
See it and remember ever
Widths in circles here you see
Sketched out in strange obscurity."
I think I remember that right. Okay, now all I need is a mathematician to
tell me that the 23rd place, or whatever, is the wrong number, and a
wordsmithian to tell me this isn't technically a pneumatic device.
Jack (got the rockin' pnemonic and the boogie woogie flu) Mingo
AliJules
Just when you thought we couldn't come up with any more obscure mnemonics:
*Poor Queen Victoria eats crow at Christmas (the seven hills of Rome:
Palatine, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Capitoline)
Plus a bonus mnemonic:
*See the dog jump in a circle; leave her home to entertain editors (the
names of the departments in the President's cabinet: State, treas,
defense, justice, interior, ag., commerce, labor, health & human serv.,
HUD, trans., energy, ed.)
*whew*!
Ali "not as useful, of course, as the cranial nerves one(s)" Jules
Stan (the Man)
Stephen M O'Shaughnessy wrote:
>
> In article <326689...@ix.netcom.com>, veri...@ix.netcom.com
> says...
> >
> >AliJules wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >Oh, please! If I hear one more mnemonic for the twelve cranial
> nerves
> >I'll scream.
> >
> >Stan
>
> So don't listen! I think this is great, keep'em coming.
Uh...it was a joke. You know...irony? Never mind.
Stan
AliJules
Stephen wrote:
>>AliJules wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>Oh, please! If I hear one more mnemonic for the twelve cranial
nerves
>>I'll scream.
>>
>>Stan
>So don't listen! I think this is great, keep'em coming.
I did not! Did not! Count the arrows! I, for one, am quite fond of the
"cranial nerves" acronyms; you never quite know when they'll come in
handy.
Ali "of course, they haven't yet, but that doesn't mean they won't" Jules
SJTowse
JMingo <jmi...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Did anybody mention the poem for remembering pi to 30-some places?
> Count the letters of each word, and don't forget the decimal.
>
> "Now I will a rhyme construct
> By chosen words the young instruct
> Cleverly devised endeavor
> See it and remember ever
> Widths in circles here you see
> Sketched out in strange obscurity."
>
> I think I remember that right. Okay, now all I need is a mathematician
> to tell me that the 23rd place, or whatever, is the wrong number, and
> a wordsmithian to tell me this isn't technically a pneumatic device.
By some weird quirk of fate and a doting older brother who found it
amusing one afternoon to teach his eight-year-old sister pi out to
twenty-two places, I was able to be oh-so-helpful and point out some
flaws in Mr. Mingo's pneumatic device.
To whit:
3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26 < still there after thirty-six years >
Mr. Mingo's device scans as
3.14159 26535 88783 23846 27
A collaborative rework effort results in the following:
> "Now I will a rhyme construct
> By chosen words the young instruct
> Cunningly devised endeavour <note: the proper Br. spelling>
> See it and remember ever
> Widths in circle here you see
> Sketched out in strange obscurity."
3. 14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209
and further points east are easily available on the 'net.
You are all welcome to take this further.
Thirty places is far enough for me,
Sal
Chris Hooley
The resistor color codings in electronics. 0=black, 1=brown,
etc.) Beautiful Breasts Revealed On Young Girls Bear Vigorous
Genetic Watchfulness. Each field engineer created their own
pnemonic for it.
Of course, this dates from a more ignorant and innocent
decade!
Chris
Lorrill Buyens
Man Friday <Man.F...@devce.demon.co.uk>, while summoning a demon, chanted:
>Sohcahtoa (pron Sock-a-to-er)
> Trigonometry ratios. Sine = opposite over hypotenuse, etc.
Sex On Holidays Can Advance Happiness To Outrageous Amplitudes
>And so on.... (how do you think I passed exams?). They may not be true
>mnemonics, but they work for me.
Yes, but what if you need a mnemonic for the mnemonic? ;-)
Lorrill (Every Good Boy Does Fine) Buyens
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Doctor Fraud |Always believe six|
|Mad Inventor & Purveyor of Pseudopsychology |impossible things |
| Weird Science at Bargain Rates |before breakfast. |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
|"Where did Robinson Crusoe go | "On a double |
| with Friday on Saturday night?" - Al Jolson | date?" - Me |
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wendy Chatley Green
"Jenn V." <je...@brisnet.org.au> signed herself:
:Jenn V.
:Another Pedantic Woman.
Jill recently asked if I were training a replacement in case
some cataclysmic catastrophe should befall me. Jenn V. sounds as if
she might be a willing victi^H^H^H^H^Hvolunteer.
Jenn--are you interested in undergoing a full course of
ancient languages?
Can you spend several people's income as you amass an eclectic
collection of reference books?
How about finding several people dumb enough to let you spend
their incomes on reference books?
Have you sufficient inertia to read all of these reference
books and the cranial capacity to hold their contents?
Can you take the most inane of posts and tease a Latin
reference from it?
Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
Can you be formal without stooping to pomposity? Can you be
erudite without condescension? Are you willing to instruct all who
ask without questioning their motives or needs? Can you handle the
pressure of almost impossibly high expectations and still research and
produce timely and exactingly correct answers?
And, this being the most important of all the required
qualities and qualifications--can you knit?
If so, have I got a deal for you!!!
--
Wendy (Don't mind me--)
Chatley (I always grin like this)
Green -- wcg...@cris.com
elliemk
Ahem...maybe she could be a gopher for you, Wendy, or an apprentice. :)
No one could ever take your place, gal...you are special.
Ellie (now do I get those cosies you promised me?) ;) heehee
--
Ellie Kuykendall
Freelance Writer, Editor & Researcher
Also Associate Editor for U.S. of:
Pure Fiction: best selling novels and how to write them...
WEB: http://www.purefiction.com
Jenn V.
Speaking of mnemonics..
Does anyone else see this thread and read 'pneumonic' (as in pneumonia
and other related fluid-based words?)
Mnemosyne, Greek muse of memory: mnemonic, memory, etc.
I'm not sure what the origin of the pneumon- words is, but its a
separate family. :)
Jenn V.
Another Pedantic Woman.
--
Do Wa Diddy, and all that.
Jenn Vesperman je...@brisnet.org.au http://www.brisnet.org.au/~jenn
Stan (the Man)
Wendy Chatley Green wrote:
>
> vinc...@wfu.edu (Kathy Vincent) wrote:
>
> :Wendy Chatley Green (wcg...@cris.com) wrote in a post that might
> :be subtitled, "Advice to an Up-and-Coming Pedantic Woman":
>
> <thirteen lines of periodic sentence snipped>
> :
> :Brilliant, Wendy! Applause all 'round.
> :
> :In fact, the only person I know who might o'er match your
> :prodigious periodic is ... moi. <s>
>
> Is this a hint? Shall we have a go at it?
>
> --
> Wendy Chatley Green -- wcg...@cris.com
Stand back, boys. I think there's a-gonna be some shootin'. Someone git
the sherrif.
Stan
Bill Price
Sorry, boys--I'm afraid the sherrif's tied up in the pasture with his
best girl.
Bill ("Wait fer me, Mr. Dillon") Price
Stan (the Man)
Bill Price wrote:
> Sorry, boys--I'm afraid the sherrif's tied up in the pasture with his
> best girl.
>
> Bill ("Wait fer me, Mr. Dillon") Price
Uh-oh! More trouble! Put yer specs on, Bill. That's Mingo's girl!!!
Stan
Bill Price
On 14 Nov 1996, Kathy Vincent wrote:
> Wendy Chatley Green (wcg...@cris.com) wrote in a post that might
> be subtitled, "Advice to an Up-and-Coming Pedantic Woman":
> ...
> : Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
> : periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
> : lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
> : of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
> : competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
> : periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
> : which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
> : that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
> : reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
> : indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
> : the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
> : the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
> : periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
> ...
>
> Brilliant, Wendy! Applause all 'round.
>
> In fact, the only person I know who might o'er match your
> prodigious periodic is ... moi. <s>
>
> --
> Kathy Vincent
> vinc...@wfu.edu | vin...@rbdc.rbdc.com
>
>
Hey--K-Mart has some nice ones for $3.99. I just got a really pretty one
for my wife--it has a nice gold-tone chain and a pretty thing that hangs
around her neck and...
oh. Pedant.
Bill (nevermind) Latella
Alma
In article <328f1276...@news.concentric.net>, wcg...@cris.com
says...
>
>re. training a replacementPedantic Woman:
Don't know about Jenn, Wendy, but in answer to your questions:
>are you interested in undergoing a full course of
>ancient languages?
WHich ones, exactly? The three I currently speak are modern, to be
sure, but I understand the bulk of the Ancient Slav dialect that forms
the basis of the liturgy of some branches of the Eastern Orthodox
church. I'd love to know more, but _caveat emptor_ notwithstanding I
find it all I can do too keep talking as fast as I can in the
polyglottic manner that I am...
> Can you spend several people's income as you amass an eclectic
>collection of reference books?
With my eyes closed.
> How about finding several people dumb enough to let you spend
>their incomes on reference books?
I've done it for years.
> Have you sufficient inertia to read all of these reference
>books and the cranial capacity to hold their contents?
I have the most prodigious memory for irrelevant detail that you could
possibly imagine - is that what you were asking?
> Can you take the most inane of posts and tease a Latin
>reference from it?
<g> I think I just did, above - sic transit gloria!
> Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
>periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
>lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
>of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
>competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
>periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
>which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
>that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
>reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
>indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
>the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
>the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
>periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
Well, I was once present at an occasion where my Head of Department
gathered together his honours students to tell them how NOT to write a
thesis, and the first thing that he said (looking straight at me, I
might add) was, "please keep your sentences short" - even then I had a
reputation for prolixity which I have worked really hard, not
altogether successfully, to shed, although I do feel I am getting there
- writing this sentence, for example, is beginning to feel distinctly
like a game of one-upmanship which I think I am probably losing...
(pause to draw breath...)
> Can you be formal without stooping to pomposity? Can you be
>erudite without condescension? Are you willing to instruct all who
>ask without questioning their motives or needs? Can you handle the
>pressure of almost impossibly high expectations and still research and
>produce timely and exactingly correct answers?
So I have been told, on the first two counts. I lack a smidge of
patience to be a really good teacher, although I'll explain anything to
anybody ONCE. ANd yes to the third. I do it all day every day at work.
> And, this being the most important of all the required
>qualities and qualifications--can you knit?
YES! (but does it have to be well? I'm better at embroidery, but I do
have at least 3 sweaters knitted by my own fair hands which would
probably pass muster...)
> If so, have I got a deal for you!!!
What is it?
lsc...@esslink.com
Dear Wendy, In all seriousness, this would make the basis of a great humerous article. You're good!
Louise Scharrenberg [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
lsc...@esslink.com
OK! I sent it out without proof-reading! HUMOROUS Louise S.
Douglas Horn
lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
[snip]
> Louise Scharrenberg
> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
writing.
Do all writers do this?
Douglas Horn
Stephanie Mesler-Evans
: Do all writers do this?
No.
Randy Carmine
No, just you.
> Douglas Horn
ACTUALLY...everything I tend to tag onto I always plan on usuing at
some time. Not really that big on PBS, but I get wrapped in Discovery
and A&E. Though I bitch and moan about religious flakes, and their
apparent need for a crutch...no...I'm NOT going to start...I really like
to watch Ancient Mysteries, and Mysteries of the Bible (on A&E). Most of
the time I like to watch shows or read info about Greek, Roman, and
Egyptian mythology and civilization. Now, as of yet, I haven't written a
period story, but I've used what little I know of those three as
foundations for both characters and future civilizations. Give `em a
little twist, splash some water on them, and poof (yes, that WAS a
"poof")! History and mythology can be fun, I'm surprised they don't
package it and sell it at Toys "R" Us.
R. Carmine
Wendy Chatley Green
lsc...@esslink.com[Louise Scharrenberg] wrote:
:Dear Wendy, In all seriousness, this would make the basis of a great humerous
:article. You're good!
Thank you. If I knew more about bones, I might write it.
: Louise Scharrenberg
: [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
--
Wendy (hoping that your friend also called you)
Chatley ("kind to people who make puns from her mispellings")
Green -- wcg...@cris.com
Bill Price
In article <328E4B...@halcyon.com>, Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com> wrote:
>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
>every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
>a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
>writing.
>
>Do all writers do this?
>
I know *I* do, and I seem to gravitate toward those who do. I often find that
people whom I consider to be of above average intelligence lean toward trivia.
I guess that implies that I think of myself having above average
intelligence, but then I consider myself svelte and handsome, too.
Bill (oh, the anonymity of the keyboard) Price
Alex
I am not sure where the classification of trivia starts. What may
seem trivial to me, may be important to someone else. I am an
extremely curious person. I like to find out about anything and
everything. I have friends who when confronted with a new situation
or find themselves in a new environment simply ignore it and go away.
I can't do that. I have to know what makes it go. I don't always
understand it, and I may not remember everything. However, I will
explore it.
I think that writers tend to be a curious lot, and that we see things
from a different viewpoint than most people.
Jerry Kindall
>In article <328E4B...@halcyon.com>, Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com> wrote:
>>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>>
>>[snip]
>>
>>> Louise Scharrenberg
>>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>>
>>I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
>>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>>always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
>>every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
>>a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
>>writing.
>>
>>Do all writers do this?
>>
>> Douglas Horn
>
>I know *I* do, and I seem to gravitate toward those who do. I often find that
>people whom I consider to be of above average intelligence lean toward trivia.
It's not that people lean toward trivia. It's just that, having heard a
factoid, we just can't forget it. People with higher intelligence tend to
have better memory. I have a very good memory for facts of all kinds, but
I usually can't remember where I read a particular fact or who told me.
S Downs
Douglas Horn wrote:
><snip>
> Do all writers do this?
> Douglas Horn
Count me in. My house is full of useless trivia. My office is bulging
over with disorganized clip files on subjects like "the Laplanders Ice
Hotel." Geez, even my spouse is full of useless trivia! But it makes
great article fodder.
And I *always* won in Trivial Pursuit (despite that damned Sports &
Leisure category) when it was in style. <G>
Ray Dittmeier
Funny thing... I seem to have a good head for trivia, but I'm not
very confident about it. I'll tear you up in a game of Trivial
Pursuit, but well over half my answers fall into the SWAG category
(Scientific, Wild-Assed Guess). It's like I know this stuff, but I
don't know that I know it.
Hmmm... Well, I don't seem to be very coherent here, so I'll shut up.
Jonathan W. Hendry
Alex wrote:
>
> I am not sure where the classification of trivia starts. What may
> seem trivial to me, may be important to someone else.
For the general public, the average grad student's research
must seem awfully trivial. "We excavated an 18th century
privy and found coins, bottles, and several sets of
dentures." That sort of thing...
--
Jonathan W. Hendry President, Steel Driving Software, Inc.
OpenStep, Delphi, and Java Consulting in Cincinnati
http://www.steeldriving.com
DNRC Lord High Minister Of Binder Buffing
Jonathan W. Hendry
Douglas Horn wrote:
>
> lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > Louise Scharrenberg
> > [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
> I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
> information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
> always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
> every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
> a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
> writing.
>
I'm not a writer, yet, but I do *so* love the bargain books
section of Barnes & Noble. They have all those rather odd
books on obscure topics, including lots of old reprints. That's
where I picked up my copy of a reprint of 'Olde Time Punishments'
- all about things like the finger pillory, the stocks, the brank,
the ducking stool, etc. The first edition came out in 1881.
There's even a chapter on "Punishing Authors And Burning Books".
elliemk
Douglas Horn wrote:
>
> lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > Louise Scharrenberg
> > [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
> I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
> information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
> always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia > of every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial > trait for a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of > details for our writing.
>
> Do all writers do this?
all sorts of things. Writers have to know details, or at least know
where to research them, in certain instances. My current challenge is
one of short term memory due to my sleep disorder. I find that I have
to write things down so I don't forget them. It's frustrating. On the
other hand, I've never had a good mind for remember historical dates and
names (except for a few). When it comes to other things, like science
trivia or architectural trivia or any one of a number of other different
topics, though, I remember the strangest things!!
Thanks again for another great discussion thread.
Ellie (where did I put that pad...)
Kuykendall (that I wrote those things down on?) :)
Dick Harper
Douglas Horn eloquently queried the experts in misc.writing
>Do all writers do this?
Anne says yes.
William T. Quick
Jerry Kindall <kin...@manual.com> wrote in article
<kindall-1711...@news.sojourn.com>...
> It's not that people lean toward trivia. It's just that, having heard a
> factoid, we just can't forget it. People with higher intelligence tend
to
> have better memory. I have a very good memory for facts of all kinds,
but
> I usually can't remember where I read a particular fact or who told me.
Um hm. Things I *know* I heard or read somewhere, stuck like a burr in my
brain, and I have no clue where they came from. Then somebody tells me I'm
full of shit, and I can never find the original source to prove them wrong.
Drives me crazy.
Best,
Bill
--
W. T. Quick | Iceberg Productions | ice...@iw3p.com
Science Fiction Writers of America | The Authors Guild
http://www.iw3p.com
Douglas Horn
elliemk wrote:
> Great topic, Doug! I do tend to glom onto details and look carefully at
> all sorts of things. Writers have to know details, or at least know
> where to research them, in certain instances. My current challenge is
> one of short term memory due to my sleep disorder. I find that I have
> to write things down so I don't forget them. It's frustrating. On the
> other hand, I've never had a good mind for remember historical dates and
> names (except for a few). When it comes to other things, like science
> trivia or architectural trivia or any one of a number of other different
> topics, though, I remember the strangest things!!
>
> Thanks again for another great discussion thread.
>
> Ellie (where did I put that pad...)
> Kuykendall (that I wrote those things down on?) :)
Yes, for me hard and fast facts are not the things I try to remember, rather I like
to get an idea how things are done. When an electrician wires a house, what's the
_first_ thing he does? What was the real cause of the Opium Wars? What kind of
cadence do cockneys use when they speak? That sort of thing rather than what date
was the Treaty of Versalles signed, and who had the most RBIs in the American
League West in 1953? (To me, memorizing sports stats are the biggest waste of
neurons ever invented by man or beast.)
Douglas Horn
mk...@aol.com
>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> Louise Scharrenberg
>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
>I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
>every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
>a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
>writing.
>
>Do all writers do this?
>
> Douglas Horn
>
>
yes some of us do. That's why we can win at trivial pursuit!
mk (another repository of useless knowledge)
did you know that Vulcans have green blood? or
why greek goddess artemis' dress had only one arm? or
how many angels really dance on the heads of pins?
(okay, this one i don't know the answer to)
**********
for writers-
"When you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from many,
it's research."
Mizner
**********
Anita&Paul
Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com> wrote:
>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> Louise Scharrenberg
>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
>I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
>every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
>a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
>writing.
>
>Do all writers do this?
I've always thought it was the other way around; people *become*
writers in order to do something productive with the "vast warehouses
of useless knowledge". The kind of mind that absorbs, catalogs and
cross-references trivia is the kind of mind that enjoys sifting
through these facts for details of a character's background or neat
plot twists, etc.
Here's one I collected recently from Lou Boyd's column:
"On the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, the traditional greeting
of male Negritos is a ritualistic tight embrace wherein one man sits
on another's lap for several minutes."
Aloha (go ahead, work that into your protagonist's background <g>)
Anita
> Douglas Horn
Douglas Horn
William T. Quick wrote:
> Um hm. Things I *know* I heard or read somewhere, stuck like a burr in my
> brain, and I have no clue where they came from. Then somebody tells me I'm
> full of shit, and I can never find the original source to prove them wrong.
>
> Drives me crazy.
I _definately_ have this problem. Only, for me, it's compounded by the fact that
I love to pull people's legs about stuff. The result is, people tend to believe
me when I'm yanking their chains and think I'm lying when I'm telling the truth.
Makes life interesting.
Douglas Horn
d a v e
On Sun, 17 Nov 1996, Jerry Kindall wrote:
> It's not that people lean toward trivia. It's just that, having heard a
> factoid, we just can't forget it. People with higher intelligence tend to
> have better memory. I have a very good memory for facts of all kinds, but
> I usually can't remember where I read a particular fact or who told me.
Where as I can remember who told me, but I can't, for the life of me,
remember the fact....
dave milloway
****************************************************************************
Hey! Check out my new comic strip called THE BASICS at:
http://www.uncg.edu/~dgmillow (Comments appreciated)
****************************************************************************
Peter Hickman
Douglas Horn wrote:
>
> lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > Louise Scharrenberg
> > [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
> I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
> information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
> always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
> every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
> a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
> writing.
>
> Do all writers do this?
>
I had a few disconnected thoughts on this interesting
topic:
First disconnected thought (and the non-sequiturs that follow
are connected only by sequence):
How does some knowledge get defined as useless? It seems it
must have had some kind of use somewhere or somehow. Do different types
of uselessness happen in different ways? How is useless knowledge
transmitted from useful point to useless use? What is marked by this
transition or virtual non-transmittal?
Second: Does the accumulation of useless knowledge by writers
(and similar accumulations of useless photographs, diagrams and odds and
ends by all the painters and sculptors I know) have a constructive
function such as both showing and illustrating, but, at the same time
repairing cultural fragmentation?
Third: are writers really so unusual in this or do they share
this with thoughtful people in general? And if so, do different people
do this same accumulating in different ways? And what are these ways?
--
Yours, Peter Hickman
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
*******************************************
This in no way represents the views of Glaxo-Wellcome Inc.
Randy Carmine
Douglas Horn wrote:
>
> I love to pull people's legs about stuff. The result is, people tend to believe
> me when I'm yanking their chains and think I'm lying when I'm telling the truth.
>
> Makes life interesting.
>
> Douglas Horn
So it ISNT just me that does this?! Whew.
R. Carmine
Hound of Cullen
In article <3290F9...@halcyon.com>, Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com> wrote:
:William T. Quick wrote:
:
:> Um hm. Things I *know* I heard or read somewhere, stuck like a burr in my
:> brain, and I have no clue where they came from. Then somebody tells me I'm
:> full of shit, and I can never find the original source to prove them wrong.
:>
:> Drives me crazy.
:
:I _definately_ have this problem. Only, for me, it's compounded by the
fact that
:I love to pull people's legs about stuff. The result is, people tend to
believe
:me when I'm yanking their chains and think I'm lying when I'm telling the
truth.
A good friend of mine is a research chemist. He practices relating the
most outlandish information in a perfectly deadpan manner, just to see who
will believe him. He's convinced that people will think he's telling the
truth simply because he's a scientist (which he refers to as "lab-coat
gullability").
Hound
--
The man who never alters his opinion is like the stagnant water and breeds
Reptiles of the mind.
--William Blake "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"
Jan S.
In article <19961118110...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, mk...@aol.com
says...
>>
>>[snip]
>>
>>> Louise Scharrenberg
>>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>>
>>
>> Douglas Horn
>>
>
>
>mk (another repository of useless knowledge)
>
Repository of useless knowledge. Yes. Present and accounted for.
Ooh. So I must have been running with the wrong crowd a lot, eh? When I've
said to acquaintances that "I have a mind packed with trivia" the unvarying
response is "Yes, Jan, you do have a trivial mind." Or could they have just
been jealous that I won so often* at Trivial Pursuit(tm)?
--jan (but I rarely get the Beatles questions correct)
*often? So often, in fact, that I've been accused of mind reading, which is
then called 'cheating'. Go figure.
Jerry Kindall
>Repository of useless knowledge. Yes. Present and accounted for.
Actually, I think we remember things because they are important to _us_.
I know all sorts of things no one else seems to care about, but _I_ care.
>--jan (but I rarely get the Beatles questions correct)
This is an example of something you (and I, for that matter) care almost
nothing about. But I can tell you _all_ about Tangerine Dream...
rha007.tco...@ohsu.edu
In article <19961118110...@ladder01.news.aol.com> mk...@aol.com writes:
>From: mk...@aol.com
>Subject: Re: Writers & useless knowledge (was: We're looking for a few good
>Pedants)
>Date: 18 Nov 1996 10:58:34 GMT
>In article <328E4B...@halcyon.com>, Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com>
>writes:
>>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>>
>>[snip]
>>
>>> Louise Scharrenberg
>>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>>
>>I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
>>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>>always loved trivia -- watching PBS, trying to understand the minutia of
>>every process, job, or lifestyle. I think this is a beneficial trait for
>>a writer, as it allows us access to a huge databank of details for our
>>writing.
>>
>>Do all writers do this?
>>
>> Douglas Horn
>>
>>
>yes some of us do. That's why we can win at trivial pursuit!
>mk (another repository of useless knowledge)
>did you know that Vulcans have green blood?
Yes, tho Spock's blood has impurities that have to be strained out for
transfusions.
or
>why greek goddess artemis' dress had only one arm? or
The bow arm is always bare.
>how many angels really dance on the heads of pins?
> (okay, this one i don't know the answer to)
As many as you think can - you won't believe any other answer.
Patricia
bornt...@aol.com
Try memory associations with difficult to remember data.
If we relate a particular memory with an association, when
we attempt to call up the difficult, the not so complex association
will aid recollection.
For Instance: "Flash Cards Of The Brain".
If I strain my pea brain to remember the artwork; color and layout
of a book cover, then more than likely I recall the title of the book.
Summoning links from another memory location produces new flashes
upon each recollection. Until we've create a series of "Flash cards in our
brain. Old Storage Input is waiting for access and more data to compute.
Recycling date and associations keeps our memories fresh and alert.
<lol> So get with the program. <g>
Real Example: Remembering names.
Your name is Bill, actually William T Quick.
(1.) I've remember your name considering I see your name frequently in
mw. I have plugged memorandums to my brain; a.) you are Bill the
William, b.) "You are Quick Like Nestle's (sp) Quick.
a.) is common knowledge; Bill is sometimes short for William
b.) acts as my new association.
c.) unknown but a good guess would be that I may think of Bill Quick
and Nestle's Quick while mixing a glass of chocolate milk.
<g> or if I notice Nestle's Product.
And because there are Two Bill's in this group I must memorize
Who is Bill "Quick' and who is Bill "Price". It's only fair. Not to
confuse
"Quick" "Price" Unless we have a Liquidation Sale.
(2.) Bill Price associated memorandums are: a.) First name Bill like the
dollar "bill." b.)Every thing has a Price, Price is Bill's last name .
c.) a second phase "...price of tea in china"
d.) The Bill Quick flash card, If I pull a "bill" out to pay for an item,
or think about Price and Cost, I might think for a moment: Bill Price.
Now do you understand?
Names and Dates are the most difficult for me.
Numbers are the easiest.
I remember numbers in pairs, triplets and quads.
Leslie(DR. Brain Child)BornTowrit
Now working on _Catchin' Stars_ *
~.|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|~.
~.|^ * ^|~.
~.|^ * __SettingCloud__ ^|~.
~.|^ ( .~o . watching ^|~.
~.|^ * ~ * \/ falling & rising ^|~.
~.|^ ~~~~ *~~Y-Y~~ stars. ^|~.
~.|^ . ^|~.
~.|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|~.
.Born Creative and Still Living.
Just to let you know, SettingCloud and other's come in a rug version too?
And there are T-shirts and Sweat Shirts and Paintings and Words.
I guess that about covers it; Except: "Am I on the Album Yet" -->
<-- that's a Tape. Leslie. Original Material. BornT...@aol.com
In article <01bbd50a$d04b36c0$39c5abcf@default>, "William T. Quick"
<ice...@iw3p.com> writes:
>> It's not that people lean toward trivia. It's just that, having heard
a
>> faceted, we just can't forget it. People with higher intelligence tend
>to
>> have better memory. I have a very good memory for facts of all kinds,
>but
>> I usually can't remember where I read a particular fact or who told me.
>
>Um ham. Things I *know* I heard or read somewhere, stuck like a burr in
my
>brain, and I have no clue where they came from. Then somebody tells me
I'm
>full of shit, and I can never find the original source to prove them
wrong.
>
>Drives me crazy.
>
>Best,
>
>Bill
bornt...@aol.com
>Thanks again for another great discussion thread.
>
>Ellie (where did I put that pad...)
>Kuykendall (that I wrote those things down on?) :)
>
>--
>Ellie Kuykendall
>Freelance Writer, Editor & Researcher
>
>Also Associate Editor for U.S. of:
>Pure Fiction: best selling novels and how to write them...
> WEB: http://www.purefiction.com
>
>
Right under your cup of tea, Ellie
Leslie.
Dick Harper
bill balint wrote:
>Old maids never wed and have babies.
>The train stops of the Paoli local (main line) out of Philadelphia:
>Overbrook, Merion, Narbeth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr
From the Lecturn . . .
and after Bryn Mawr . . . Rosemont, Villanova, Radner, St. Davids,
Wayne, Strafford, Berwyn, Daylesford, Paoli. Go west, young man.
==========
My Excellent Western Grub Lands Within Dorf's Garage, Located
Conveniently Where Overweight Nincompoops Wobble.
The West Chester (2 words, with a proper space) local . . . Media,
Elwyn, Williamson School, Glen Riddle, Lenni, Wawa, Darlington, Glen
Mills, Locksley, Cheyney, Westtown, Oakbourne, Nields Street & West
Chester. Other folk might call it the Media Local, but they have to
travel the other way.
Dick (who notes that NARBERTH normally contains 2 Rs) Harper
Man Friday
In article <zisbo-ya02318000...@info-server.bbn.com>, Hound
of Cullen <zi...@aol.com> writes
>In article <3290F9...@halcyon.com>, Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com> wrote:
>
>:William T. Quick wrote:
>:
>:> brain, and I have no clue where they came from. Then somebody tells me I'm
>:> full of shit, and I can never find the original source to prove them wrong.
>:>
>:> Drives me crazy.
>:I _definately_ have this problem. Only, for me, it's compounded by the
>fact that
>:I love to pull people's legs about stuff. The result is, people tend to
>believe
>:me when I'm yanking their chains and think I'm lying when I'm telling the
>truth.
>
>A good friend of mine is a research chemist. He practices relating the
>most outlandish information in a perfectly deadpan manner, just to see who
>will believe him. He's convinced that people will think he's telling the
>truth simply because he's a scientist (which he refers to as "lab-coat
>gullability").
>
>Hound
>
funny is to tell the truth in a slightly leg-pull fashion. When the
listener later finds out that I _was_ telling the truth, the payback is
excellent (what the French call 'laughing in church' - only they use it
for people who are slow to get the punchline).
On the other hand, I did tell my nephew about the big yellow one-eyed
Yorkshire tigers (they close one eye so you can't tell which way they're
facing). Poor lad had nightmares, refused to sleep alone, and showed me
the paw-prints on his bedroom window the next morning.
His mum thanked me as well as you might expect.
----------------------------
Paul (Man) Friday
http://www.devce.demon.co.uk
(c) Copyright reserved. This message and any attachments is not
the copyright of any Internet service bearer or provider.
William T. Quick
bornt...@aol.com wrote in article
<19961125033...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
> Try memory associations with difficult to remember data.
<snip>
> d.) The Bill Quick flash card, If I pull a "bill" out to pay for an item,
> or think about Price and Cost, I might think for a moment: Bill Price.
>
> Now do you understand?
But see, if I tried that, I'd end up remembering I had something to do at
the Price/Costco.
Groceries, probably.
Jensen
In article <329c6f6...@news.mel.aone.net.au>, power...@powercor.com.au wrote:
>I'm still amazed at how many Australians didn't realise that the
>humble haggis is actually a small, furry quadruped which inhabits the
>Highlands of Scotland. And hardly any of them know why the haggis has
>longer legs on one side of it's body than the other!
>
Probably for the same reason the Rocky Mountain sidewinder does.
jen
=============
Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler.
Samuel Johnson
Wendy Chatley Green
Jenn Vesperman <je...@brisnet.org.au> wrote:
:Wendy Chatley Green wrote:
:>
:> Jenn--are you interested in undergoing a full course of
:> ancient languages?
:
:Do modern languages count?
:if (this==so) i=can_list(several);
:this(is(not(a major feat))
:V(x;x E{programmer};x=trained)
:
:(ok, ok, some of those played fast and loose with syntax.)
Computer languages do not count as ancient languages. If they
did, I, as a former programmer/analyst who knows dozens of flavors of
ancient computer languages such as Basic, Algol, Fortran, and CoBOL,
would have counted them.
:
:> Can you spend several people's income as you amass an eclectic
:> collection of reference books?
:
:A quick look around the room:
: Oxford english dictionary.
: Complete works of Lewis Carrol
: 1994 world almanac
: Numerous programmer's books
: A big book on mysticism and magic (a neo-pagan's reference,
: not a junk book) (ok, matter of opinion)
: A cat who wants to be fed.
: A star atlas
: Several high school math, physics and english texts
: (not ones I used)
: Several high school texts I used
: A 'legends of australia' book
: A 'languages of australia' book
: Complete works of Bram Stoker
: A 1950s encyclopedia
: A book on hairdressing
: A book on martial arts (japanese)
: Gray's Anatomy
: Several cookbooks
:
:Is that eclectic enough? <grin>
Eclectic? Yes--but is it amassed? Does your library require
more than several bookcases to contain it?
<snip>
:> Can you take the most inane of posts and tease a Latin
:> reference from it?
:
:V(x;x E{inane
:posts};reference(x)=loosely-contrived-math;reference(x)!=latin)
I mentioned above that computer languages do not fulfill the
requirements.
:> Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
:> periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
:> lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
:> of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
:> competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
:> periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
:> which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
:> that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
:> reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
:> indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
:> the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
:> the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
:> periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
:
:
: Should one require hours to compose sentances of elegance and
:convoluted simplicity, one might consider spending a great deal of time
:studying the works of Bach whose musical canons and fugues quite ably
:demonstrated the art of self-reference, which is the art of referring
:back to that which is doing the referring in the same manner in which
:this sentence refers to itself in this clause; indeed, Bach's canons are
:simply one of the more elegant examples of this kind as Escher did the
:same extremely well, his 'Hand Drawing Hand' is a classic of the type
:and might I add, most delicately shaded which is usually required in one
:form or another if one is being self-referential, as is often required
:in math or in programming, although in such fields the form is called
:'recursion' and is the mathematical term for an equation which refers to
:itself and which can happen eternally if not given a clause in the
:equation which signals an end point.
<*sigh*> This one is often the stumbling block. A semicolon
unites two sentences. These sentences may be closely linked in their
purpose and subject but they are not the same sentence.
Another error is found in the eighth line. Mere punctuation
cannot hide the new thought that begins with "his 'Hand Drawing Hand'.
. . ." Perhaps you meant ". . . which is the art of referring
back to that which is doing the referring in the same manner in which
this sentence refers to itself with the same subtle artistry as is
demonstrated by Bach in his canons, which are simply one of the more
elegant examples of this kind as Escher did the same extremely well,
the example of this being his 'Hand Drawing Hand,' which is a classic.
. . ."
:> Can you be formal without stooping to pomposity? Can you be
:> erudite without condescension? Are you willing to instruct all who
:> ask without questioning their motives or needs? Can you handle the
:> pressure of almost impossibly high expectations and still research and
:> produce timely and exactingly correct answers?
:
:Unsure, sometimes, maybe and <laugh!>
Practically Perfect Pedants are always certain.
:
:> And, this being the most important of all the required
:> qualities and qualifications--can you knit?
:
:Yes, although I prefer embroidery.
This will be adequate. Send all further information and
apprise me of your progress on your Latin and Greek.
--
The Pedantic Woman
wcg...@cris.com
Wendy Chatley Green
power...@powercor.com.au (Mat Ward) wrote:
:I'm still amazed at how many Australians didn't realise that the
:humble haggis is actually a small, furry quadruped which inhabits the
:Highlands of Scotland. And hardly any of them know why the haggis has
:longer legs on one side of it's body than the other!
Stolen from alt.food.sushi (via alt.humor.best-of-usenet):
"Haggis....you can make your own. Just soak a shaved sheep in
Guiness, roll in a mixture of oatmeal and onion. Perform a simple
spatial inversion transformation with the origin in the sheep's major
stomach and then gently....
"Cook until done, discard hairy parts, hoofy parts, bony parts and
voila! Haggis a la americaine.
"Best done under the guise of a spatial relations mathematician.
"NB: Will not fit in a #16 Dutch Camp Oven no matter how many bony,
hairy, hoofy parts you discard.
"Also try Spam Musubi quite popular in Hawaii."
-
Wendy Chatley Green -- wcg...@cris.com
Ken Comer
Jenn Vesperman <je...@brisnet.org.au> wrote:
>Should one require hours to compose sentances of elegance and
>equation which signals an end point.
You mispled "sentences."
the spiegel
--
*=*=*=*=*=*=*+*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*+*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Ken Comer | http://www.metronet.com/~kcomer | aka spiegel
Mat Ward
Man Friday <Man.F...@devce.demon.co.uk> wrote:
<the phantom snipper was ere>
>On the other hand, I did tell my nephew about the big yellow one-eyed
>Yorkshire tigers (they close one eye so you can't tell which way they're
>facing). Poor lad had nightmares, refused to sleep alone, and showed me
>the paw-prints on his bedroom window the next morning.
>His mum thanked me as well as you might expect.
I'm still amazed at how many Australians didn't realise that the
humble haggis is actually a small, furry quadruped which inhabits the
Highlands of Scotland. And hardly any of them know why the haggis has
longer legs on one side of it's body than the other!
Mat
Gottagetasig
Jenn Vesperman
Jenn Vesperman wrote:
> Kathy, you get a preview...
>
> Should one require hours to compose sentances of elegance and
> convoluted simplicity, one might consider spending a great deal of
Ok. Forgive, if you will. That was -supposed- to be email-only.
Jenn V.
Pedants make errors too. Especially trainees.
--
Do Wa Diddy, and all that.
Jenn Vesperman je...@brisnet.org.au http://www.brisnet.org.au/~jenn
Jenn Vesperman
Wendy Chatley Green wrote:
>
> "Jenn V." <je...@brisnet.org.au> signed herself:
>
> :Jenn V.
> :Another Pedantic Woman.
>
> Jill recently asked if I were training a replacement in case
> some cataclysmic catastrophe should befall me. Jenn V. sounds as if
> she might be a willing victi^H^H^H^H^Hvolunteer.
Eeeek! Run away, run away, hide behind Jack Mingo!
>
> Jenn--are you interested in undergoing a full course of
> ancient languages?
Do modern languages count?
if (this==so) i=can_list(several);
this(is(not(a major feat))
V(x;x E{programmer};x=trained)
(ok, ok, some of those played fast and loose with syntax.)
> Can you spend several people's income as you amass an eclectic
> collection of reference books?
A quick look around the room:
Oxford english dictionary.
Complete works of Lewis Carrol
1994 world almanac
Numerous programmer's books
A big book on mysticism and magic (a neo-pagan's reference,
not a junk book) (ok, matter of opinion)
A cat who wants to be fed.
A star atlas
Several high school math, physics and english texts
(not ones I used)
Several high school texts I used
A 'legends of australia' book
A 'languages of australia' book
Complete works of Bram Stoker
A 1950s encyclopedia
A book on hairdressing
A book on martial arts (japanese)
Gray's Anatomy
Several cookbooks
Is that eclectic enough? <grin>
> How about finding several people dumb enough to let you spend
> their incomes on reference books?
Two sets of parents and a husband.
> Have you sufficient inertia to read all of these reference
> books and the cranial capacity to hold their contents?
I have read to some extent all but some of the high school books.
As for the cranial capacity.. well, that's more debatable. :)
No, I didn't read the cat. But I fed her.
> Can you take the most inane of posts and tease a Latin
> reference from it?
V(x;x E{inane
posts};reference(x)=loosely-contrived-math;reference(x)!=latin)
Although yes, Latin or Greek are on my learning list.
> Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
> periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
> lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
> of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
> competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
> periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
> which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
> that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
> reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
> indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
> the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
> the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
> periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
Should one require hours to compose sentances of elegance and
convoluted simplicity, one might consider spending a great deal of time
studying the works of Bach whose musical canons and fugues quite ably
demonstrated the art of self-reference, which is the art of referring
back to that which is doing the referring in the same manner in which
this sentence refers to itself in this clause; indeed, Bach's canons are
simply one of the more elegant examples of this kind as Escher did the
same extremely well, his 'Hand Drawing Hand' is a classic of the type
and might I add, most delicately shaded which is usually required in one
form or another if one is being self-referential, as is often required
in math or in programming, although in such fields the form is called
'recursion' and is the mathematical term for an equation which refers to
itself and which can happen eternally if not given a clause in the
equation which signals an end point.
> Can you be formal without stooping to pomposity? Can you be
> erudite without condescension? Are you willing to instruct all who
> ask without questioning their motives or needs? Can you handle the
> pressure of almost impossibly high expectations and still research and
> produce timely and exactingly correct answers?
Unsure, sometimes, maybe and <laugh!>
> And, this being the most important of all the required
> qualities and qualifications--can you knit?
Yes, although I prefer embroidery.
> If so, have I got a deal for you!!!
Have you? :)
> Wendy (Don't mind me--)
> Chatley (I always grin like this)
> Green -- wcg...@cris.com
Jenn (head for the hills, I'll cover you!) V.
Jenn Vesperman
Kathy Vincent wrote:
>
> Wendy Chatley Green (wcg...@cris.com) wrote in a post that might
> be subtitled, "Advice to an Up-and-Coming Pedantic Woman":
> ...
> : Are you willing to spend long hours in the composition of
> : periodic sentences, which are sentences that run on for lines and
> : lines--often for pages and pages--without once necessitating the use
> : of a full stop, which, as every one who has studied grammar under a
> : competent teacher of English knows, is the period that ends the
> : periodic sentence and signals the end of the theme of the sentence,
> : which theme is often the purpose of concocting a periodic sentence
> : that is designed from its conception to its completion to dazzle the
> : reader with its nested commas and other punctuation and its balance of
> : indicative and subjunctive moods as its dependent clauses depend from
> : the main clause in a structure so perfectly designed that it recalls
> : the beauty of a Calder mobile to the minds of all who read the
> : periodic sentence and are able to comprehend its elegance?
>
> Brilliant, Wendy! Applause all 'round.
>
> In fact, the only person I know who might o'er match your
> prodigious periodic is ... moi. <s>
>
> --
> Kathy Vincent
> vinc...@wfu.edu | vin...@rbdc.rbdc.com
Kathy, you get a preview...
Should one require hours to compose sentances of elegance and
convoluted simplicity, one might consider spending a great deal of time
studying the works of Bach whose musical canons and fugues quite ably
demonstrated the art of self-reference, which is the art of referring
back to that which is doing the referring in the same manner in which
this sentence refers to itself in this clause; indeed, Bach's canons are
simply one of the more elegant examples of this kind as Escher did the
same extremely well, his 'Hand Drawing Hand' is a classic of the type
and might I add, most delicately shaded which is usually required in one
form or another if one is being self-referential, as is often required
in math or in programming, although in such fields the form is called
'recursion' and is the mathematical term for an equation which refers to
itself and which can happen eternally if not given a clause in the
equation which signals an end point.
Jenn V.
Pedant in Training
Bill Price
In article <32992...@news.together.net>,
stop.
-bp
Hound of Cullen
In article <32dc7bf5....@news.concentric.net>, wcg...@cris.com wrote:
: Stolen from alt.food.sushi (via alt.humor.best-of-usenet):
:
:"Haggis....you can make your own. Just soak a shaved sheep in
:Guiness, roll in a mixture of oatmeal and onion. Perform a simple
:spatial inversion transformation with the origin in the sheep's major
:stomach and then gently....
:
:"Cook until done, discard hairy parts, hoofy parts, bony parts and
:voila! Haggis a la americaine.
:
:"Best done under the guise of a spatial relations mathematician.
:
:"NB: Will not fit in a #16 Dutch Camp Oven no matter how many bony,
:hairy, hoofy parts you discard.
:
:"Also try Spam Musubi quite popular in Hawaii."
:
:-
:Wendy Chatley Green -- wcg...@cris.com
I'm just thankful that there isn't more cross-cultural food exchange
between the Scots and the Japanese. Imagine Haggis Maki (small pieces of
haggis, rolled in oatmeal and wrapped in seaweed.) Makes Spam Musubi sound
downright appetizing.
Man Friday
In article <329c6f6...@news.mel.aone.net.au>, Mat Ward
<power...@powercor.com.au> writes
And how many people know what they're really eating when they suck on a
Kiwi fruit?
----------------------------
Paul (Man) Friday - the father of the beast.
http://www.devce.demon.co.uk
Janet Havens
Denise M. Jerrido wrote:
>
> Man Friday (Man.F...@devce.demon.co.uk) wrote:
> : >
> : >Gottagetasig
> : You've only to see them being caught to understand.
>
> : And how many people know what they're really eating when they suck on a
> : Kiwi fruit?
>
> you really eating when you suck on a Kiwi fruit? And since we're trading
> useless knowledge, how many people know the *real* definition of mountain
> oysters?
>
> In case you're wondering, I'm Denise, 32 (I think). After much
> agonizing, I sent my first magazine article out this week. I've been
> writing poetry, stories, articles, brochures (and anything else I could
> write) since I was about nine years old. This is the first time I've been
> brave enough to try to get paid for it, since those two horrible
> start-up experiences.
>
> --
> Denise Jerrido
> Yes, dad, writing. No, dad, poor. Yes, dad, I'm crazy.
Okay, I'll ask - Will you share your two horrible start-up experiences
with us?
- Janet (Enquiring minds want to know)
Denise M. Jerrido
George Cathcart
Denise M. Jerrido wrote:
>
> Man Friday (Man.F...@devce.demon.co.uk) wrote:
> : >
> : >Gottagetasig
> : You've only to see them being caught to understand.
>
> : And how many people know what they're really eating when they suck on a
> : Kiwi fruit?
>
how many people know the *real* definition of mountain
> oysters?
>
> In case you're wondering, I'm Denise, 32 (I think).
Hi, Denise, and welcome to the world of endless rejection.
Mountain oysters are buffalo balls, but with the scarcity of willing
buffalos, they are more often bull balls, or, even more specifically, as
long as we're being real here, the severed testicles of the little male
bovine that you will be having at McDonalds in a year or two.
Steer clear!
George
Anna Banana
Mat Ward wrote:
: I'm still amazed at how many Australians didn't realize that the
: humble haggis is actually a small, furry quadruped which inhabits the
: Highlands of Scotland. And hardly any of them know why the haggis has
: longer legs on one side of it's body than the other!
You're talking about Scottish haggi (plural), whose asymmetrical
limbs are the result of evolution. You probably already know that
their lopsided structure equips them to make huge and unexpected
leaps sideways. You probably also know that possessing this particular
faculty is essential for the survival of any small mammal who finds
itself living in Scotland.
Unfortunately, poor eyesight is common characteristic of
Scottish shepherds. One can only begin to imagine the
connection between sheep herding and blurry vision.
Fortunately, the haggii have an instinctive understanding of
that very connection.
Thus the evolution of this remarkable ability to sidestep.
Anna
One haggis. Two haggii. And in a group: a hurtle of haggii.
chris mclaughlin
ban...@gold.interlog.com (Anna Banana) wrote:
>You're talking about Scottish haggi (plural), whose asymmetrical
>limbs are the result of evolution.
And did you know as well that it's good luck for blonde
haggi to be the first to bound, sidewise, across your
threshold, on the first day of the new year?
I caught two when they tried to escape one of the
resident shepherds hereabouts. The guy was practically
blind and mistook the poor creatures for twin ewes,
quite the shepherd fantasy item. Anyway, they didn't even see
me, poor things. I think they need to have at least one eye
wander evolutionarily to the side of the head if they are going
to flounder about like this.
I'm going to steam them in pudding molds and douse them in bourbon
and put little sprigs of holly in their hair and send them to you
for the holidays. A gift of the haggi, you know.
Or is that a gift of the hag, I?
I get so confused.
Chris
and the pretty ones are called haggarti
Stan (the Man)
George Cathcart wrote:
> Hi, Denise, and welcome to the world of endless rejection.
>
> Mountain oysters are buffalo balls, but with the scarcity of willing
> buffalos, they are more often bull balls, or, even more specifically, as
> long as we're being real here, the severed testicles of the little male
> bovine that you will be having at McDonalds in a year or two.
>
> Steer clear!
>
> George
Which reminds me of a joke (if yoo've heard it don't read any further):
A fellow on vacation in Spain visits a local restaurant. On of the
chalkboard specials is "Mountain Oysters". He asks the waiter what they
are and the waiter replies, "Is very delicious, senor. They are the
testicles from the bull from today's bullfight." The fellow reluctantly
agrees to try them and is brought two very large mounds covered with a
sauce. He tastes them and finds them absolutely delicious as the waiter
predicted.
The next night he goes back to the same restaurant and orders the same
dish. The waiter brings a dish with two rather small mounds. The fellow
tells the waiter, "When I ordered these yesterday, I go two huge mounds
and tonight they're rather small. Why?" The waiter replies, "Senor, the
bull, he does not alway's lose."
Stan (Oh, be quiet! I can't hear your groans anyway!)
Lorrill Buyens
Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com>, while summoning a demon, chanted:
>lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>> Louise Scharrenberg
>> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
>information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>Do all writers do this?
I've always thought I'd make a good contestant for one of those shows
like Jeopardy!, if it answers your question... ;-)
Lorrill (I know the Portuguese for "clams," but not the names of people
I've been acquainted with for years <g>) Buyens
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Doctor Fraud |Always believe six|
|Mad Inventor & Purveyor of Pseudopsychology |impossible things |
| Weird Science at Bargain Rates |before breakfast. |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
|"Where did Robinson Crusoe go | "On a double |
| with Friday on Saturday night?" - Al Jolson | date?" - Me |
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mat Ward
wcg...@cris.com (Wendy Chatley Green) wrote:
> Stolen from alt.food.sushi (via alt.humor.best-of-usenet):
>
>"Haggis....you can make your own. Just soak a shaved sheep in
>Guiness, roll in a mixture of oatmeal and onion. Perform a simple
>spatial inversion transformation with the origin in the sheep's major
>stomach and then gently....
>
>"Cook until done, discard hairy parts, hoofy parts, bony parts and
>voila! Haggis a la americaine.
Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.
This is just a cover story, perpetuated by generations of Scottish
chefs! The real story was only uncovered back in the late '60s.
The Haggis is actually an extremely cute creature, very shy and about
the size of a large, fat cat.
They dwell in the Scottish Highlands where they roam round the hills
in small packs, foraging for their favourite food - the wild thistle.
As anyone who has visited the northern parts of Scotland will be able
to confirm, the hills in the Highlands tend to be exceptionally steep
and the Haggis has evolved a unique way of coping with this. The legs
on one side of the body are a lot longer than those on the other side.
This means they can run happily round the hills, at great speed,
without danger of rolling down. Naturally this means they can only run
round the hill in one direction, clockwise.
The natural speed and rounded shape of the Haggis makes it very
difficult to get hold of and so the Scots have developed a unique
method of catching them. A group of wily Clansmen gather at the bottom
of a Haggis hill holding a large net and wearing earplugs while a
volunteer carefully ascends the hill till he reaches the level of
optimum Haggis inhabitation. At this point he unleashes the Bagpipes.
The story of the Bagpipes is a long and sad one, I'll only mention
here that it was the only predator of the Haggis (before man came
along) and its eerie cry is the one thing that will cause a Haggis to
panic, lose all sense of direction and tumble down the hill into the
waiting nets. The Bagpipes was of course hunted to extinction
centuries ago, precisely because of its eerie cry which has been
successfully reproduced by the modern artificial version.
Rumours of the now legendary anti-clockwise Haggis still seem to be
growing strong, even though the last alleged sighting was over twenty
years ago.
Hope this helps to clear up the situation.
Mat (Save the Haggis) Ward
Gottagetasig
Bill Price
In article <57i0j8$o...@netnews.upenn.edu>,
jer...@mail.med.upenn.edu (Denise M. Jerrido) wrote:
>Man Friday (Man.F...@devce.demon.co.uk) wrote:
>: >
>: >Gottagetasig
>: You've only to see them being caught to understand.
>
>: And how many people know what they're really eating when they suck on a
>: Kiwi fruit?
>
>you really eating when you suck on a Kiwi fruit? And since we're trading
>oysters?
>
>In case you're wondering, I'm Denise, 32 (I think). After much
>agonizing, I sent my first magazine article out this week. I've been
>writing poetry, stories, articles, brochures (and anything else I could
>write) since I was about nine years old. This is the first time I've been
>brave enough to try to get paid for it, since those two horrible
>start-up experiences.
>
what mountain (or prarie, or rocky mountain) oysters are.
best,
-bp
Anthony Duggan
Chris wrote:
> A gift of the haggi, you know.
>
> Or is that a gift of the hag, I?
>
> I get so confused.
>
> Chris
> and the pretty ones are called haggarti
>
The study of haggis migration in the highlands is known as 'Hagiography'.
(not a lot of people know that)
Anthony
'No symbols where none intended' -Samuel Beckett
Andy Apel
Lorrill Buyens wrote:
>
> Douglas Horn <ho...@halcyon.com>, while summoning a demon, chanted:
>
> >lsc...@esslink.com[Louise, Scharrenberg] wrote:
>
> >> Louise Scharrenberg
> >> [once called by a friend "A vast warehouse of useless knowledge]
>
> >I've noticed that many writers tend to glom on to apparently useless
> >information (as if there could ever be such a thing). I know I have
>
> >Do all writers do this?
>
for them.
--Andy.