Toonbots message board: BoxJam Boards

mouse Wed Mar 27 15:57:56 2002 Re: BoxJam Boards > Heh, Burke whipped out a good one on the Boxjam boards: > "To be fair, I'm not cool because I got it [the comic] ... I'm cool > because I read Toonbots" > BURKE'S A LURKER BURKE'S A LURKER BURKE'S A LURKER! > Hey, I'm cool TOO! *runs around going WEEEE!* Oh wait... that wasn't up to > cool standards, I suppose. hey - you're cool, therefore whatever you do is cool. (although it helps if you where cool shades when you run around yelling "WEEE"). or you could start yelling "LURK'S A BURKER", which is cool because it has all sorts of connections to things that you have to be cool to get. yeah, i saw that - so, burke, when are you going to start posting here?....or have you already been posting....say, as ALEX TREBE(C)K???

Brother Emsworth Fri Mar 29 00:55:41 2002 Re: BoxJam Boards > or you could start yelling "LURK'S A BURKER", which is cool > because it has all sorts of connections to things that you have to be cool > to get. "If a body needs a body, just call Burke and Hare!" (Really wish I'd bought the radio colllection which featured an episode of "Crime Classics" with that title.) > yeah, i saw that - so, burke, when are you going to start posting > here?....or have you already been posting....say, as ALEX TREBE(C)K??? Well, M. Burke hasn't posted in awhile, but he certainly has posted in the past. Never received a title (though he did complain about the lack of one once, while failing to specify a title), but was on the roster for a good several months at the very least. Slightly doubtful that that particular Boxjam post is indicative of Burke's current presence as a lurker on this forum, so much as it indicates Burke's memory of the slogan (which is not so surprising, given its constant presence on the main page as well as the fact that Michael uses it in his signature on the Keen boards.)

mouse Fri Mar 29 16:26:58 2002 Re: BoxJam Boards > "If a body needs a body, just call Burke and Hare!" you know, it's just a trifle frightening that you and i connect on the level of serial killers -- but that being said, can i be the evil psychic twin?

Emsworth Thu Apr 4 21:53:45 2002 Re: BoxJam Boards > you know, it's just a trifle frightening that you and i connect on the > level of serial killers -- but that being said, can i be the evil psychic > twin? Well, I prefer to think of them as pioneers who advanced medical science by providing further information about the the human body. And yes, you can be the evil twin.

Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969

mouse Sat Apr 6 14:34:29 2002 vanishing twins > Well, I prefer to think of them as pioneers who advanced medical science > by providing further information about the the human body. And yes, you > can be the evil twin. you know, i could swear i posted a response here yesterday, rejoicing at finally achieving evil twin status....but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared... not that i'm paranoid or anything... as the saying goes, you aren't paranoid if they really are out to get you.

Brother Emsworth Sat Apr 6 18:42:40 2002 Re: vanishing twins > you know, i could swear i posted a response here yesterday, rejoicing at > finally achieving evil twin status....but it seems to have mysteriously > disappeared... > not that i'm paranoid or anything... as the saying goes, you aren't > paranoid if they really are out to get you. Not sure if this message will go through, but will e-mail Michael shortly about it. Hard-drive problem again, probably needs to reap off more of the older messages or just clear up some space on his machine or whatnot. Until then, I suspect "Message 277" will continue to disappear, whenver it occurs.

Emsworth Sat Apr 6 18:45:40 2002 Regarding absence of malevolont geminus... Hmm. Surprisingly, the post went through this time. Attempts to respond to a 277th post had failed on two previous days. (A reply by Tirdun regarding Perl and gerbils also vanished in a similar manner.) Perhaps Michael noticed it himself and the problem took care of itself. Or else this message may just disappear likewise.

mouse Sun Apr 7 14:04:01 2002 ah! magic 277! > Hmm. Surprisingly, the post went through this time. Attempts to respond to > a 277th post had failed on two previous days. (A reply by Tirdun regarding > Perl and gerbils also vanished in a similar manner.) Perhaps Michael > noticed it himself and the problem took care of itself. Or else this > message may just disappear likewise. _that's_ what you meant. come to think of it, my original post was probably a 277 too - never thought of that. rats - and perls+gerbils - hope tirdun posts it again.

Brother Emsworth Sun Apr 7 14:32:49 2002 Re: ah! magic 277! > _that's_ what you meant. come to think of it, my original post was > probably a 277 too - never thought of that. It *was* 277. I checked, as after it vanished, the post count wnet back to 276. Tirdun's comment, as far as I can recall, referred to having a poster which showed gerbilw heels producing Perl, and I think he may have said that certain individuals actually believed that was how it was done or something like that. Personally, I initially held the belief that perl was actually produced by well-fed middle-aged armadillos trained for that purpose in Belgian research facilities. But I could be wrong.

mouse Sun Apr 7 23:11:13 2002 Re: ah! magic 277! > It *was* 277. I checked, as after it vanished, the post count wnet back to > 276. > Tirdun's comment, as far as I can recall, referred to having a poster > which showed gerbilw heels producing Perl, and I think he may have said > that certain individuals actually believed that was how it was done or > something like that. Personally, I initially held the belief that perl was > actually produced by well-fed middle-aged armadillos trained for that > purpose in Belgian research facilities. But I could be wrong. yeah - it's coming back to me now. (and here _i_ thought oysters produced perl - never even suspected the international connection)(not that i would recognize perl if it came up and bit me)

mouse Sun Apr 7 14:18:59 2002 Re: Regarding absence of malevolont geminus... > Hmm. Surprisingly, the post went through this time. Attempts to respond to > a 277th post had failed on two previous days. (A reply by Tirdun regarding > Perl and gerbils also vanished in a similar manner.) Perhaps Michael > noticed it himself and the problem took care of itself. Or else this > message may just disappear likewise. you know, i actually remember _reading_ a response by tirdun to my post about the gerbil-computer (although i mostly remember him talking about the VAX, and nothing on perl) - that's _really_ getting weird. (either that, or my memory is off doing things without me)

mouse Sun Apr 7 13:59:48 2002 Re: vanishing twins > Not sure if this message will go through, but will e-mail Michael shortly > about it. Hard-drive problem again, probably needs to reap off more of the > older messages or just clear up some space on his machine or whatnot. > Until then, I suspect "Message 277" will continue to disappear, > whenver it occurs. message 277? what's that? my memory is my original post seemed to go up as normal, and i thought it was there when i went back to the forum - but then, memory is a tricky thing.

Emsworth Sun Apr 7 14:42:06 2002 Re: vanishing twins > message 277? what's that? my memory is my original post seemed to go up as > normal, and i thought it was there when i went back to the forum - but > then, memory is a tricky thing. No, no, I mean that there are actually two problems associated with the hard-drive situation. One is that messages (or in the few instances I'v noticed, usually one isolated message) are posted but later disappear. The other problem, which in the last couple days existed for me while the two now absent messages were still present, is that whenever one attempts to post a reply, it fails to go through. Napoleon and I both had a similar difficulty back around July or August, and the last message I posted before that problem arose disappear when it was corrected.

spinclad Sun Apr 7 15:07:44 2002 Re: vanishing twins > message 277? what's that? my memory is my original post seemed to go up as > normal, and i thought it was there when i went back to the forum - but > then, memory is a tricky thing. i remember seeing it too, but that's probably just the penguins talking... Oh, no. Not possible: i'm using lower case. What's with that, anyway -- are they stuck with ASR33's to do their typing on? (At least that way they don't have to hold down the shift key with their flipper too often)

Brother Emsworth Sun Apr 7 22:50:24 2002 Re: vanishing twins > i remember seeing it too, but that's probably just the penguins talking... Constant blame of minute points on penguins like television on honyemoon... unnecessary. As has already been mentioned in other messages, the post *did* go up but later disappeared. I was referring to two seperate problems, disappearing posts and the inability to post messages (usually while that post, in both of the last two cases the 277th message, is still present.)

spinclad Tue Apr 9 12:52:33 2002 Re: vanishing twins > Constant blame of minute points on penguins like television on > honyemoon... unnecessary. As has already been mentioned in other messages, > the post *did* go up but later disappeared. I was referring to two > seperate problems, disappearing posts and the inability to post messages > (usually while that post, in both of the last two cases the 277th message, > is still present.) These are excellent points... If i may, let us draw the proportion you give: Constant blame of minute points : penguins :: television : honeymoon As this shows, the important part is the hunt for penguins. One may be sure of one's quest _even without_ any such trivialities as the dust of evidence. When, however, in one's intensity of purpose one catches the scent of a distant connection it is natural to clear the third nostril of stereosmia to joyously track, trace by trace, one's prey to its cryptic haunts. One is reminded of one's joy in the transliteration of nakht, on a previous long and distant search for the hidden truth of things. Quick, Sancho! My lance! The hunt is a foot!

spinclad again Tue Apr 9 12:59:17 2002 Re: vanishing twins > Constant blame of minute points : penguins :: television : honeymoon I must object to this distortion of two quite distinct senses of `on' here. > Quick, Sancho! My lance! The hunt is a foot! Huh! my twin can't even remember a simple quote: it's `game'.

mouse Tue Apr 9 14:30:11 2002 Re: vanishing twins > Huh! my twin can't even remember a simple quote: it's `game'. and it's 'afoot'.

both spinclads as one Tue Apr 9 23:59:28 2002 Re: vanishing twins > and it's 'afoot'. well, now, that's the difference between misremembering and misquoting...

Brother Emsworth Tue Apr 9 14:09:58 2002 Querulous quibbles over quests... > Quick, Sancho! My lance! The hunt is a foot! I had assumed it was a small intestine, actually. Not sure if this is the appropriate time to break into a chorus of the show-stopping number from "Chan of La Mancha," though. ::wolverines devour all penguins and all paranoia concerning penguins, with mint jelly and a glass of dry sherry:: ::Except of course for those, like Otu, who are under age::

mouse Tue Apr 9 15:06:59 2002 appetizing antarctic edibles > ::wolverines devour all penguins and all paranoia concerning penguins, > with mint jelly and a glass of dry sherry:: ::Except of course for those, > like Otu, who are under age:: does mint jelly actually go with penguins? i had assumed they would have a - well, fishy flavor, which might better be complimented by the citrus tang of an orange marmalade (but perhaps the dry sherry takes care of that). i, by the way, was snapped out my paranoia by the fear that i had inadvertently lead to the demise of todd and penguin (see, i just can't follow through properly to be really evil) - although now that that has been revealed as a cruel joke....

Brother Emsworth Tue Apr 9 18:58:47 2002 Concerning creative culinary criticism... > does mint jelly actually go with penguins? i had assumed they would have a > - well, fishy flavor, which might better be complimented by the citrus > tang of an orange marmalade (but perhaps the dry sherry takes care of > that). There's no accounting for the taste of others, including wolverines. However, they do tend to make do with what they have, and in a hurry can be satisfied with the nearest available condiment. With more preparation time, however, orange marmalade would go well, yes. And probably red wine over sherry.

sphinglad Wed Apr 10 00:23:40 2002 Re: Concerning creative culinary criticism... > There's no accounting for the taste of others, including wolverines. > However, they do tend to make do with what they have, and in a hurry can > be satisfied with the nearest available condiment. With more preparation > time, however, orange marmalade would go well, yes. And probably red wine > over sherry. i myself will happily lay to rest the remains of the penguin-quest, in a bed of herring and well-aged marmalade and a quantitative excess of dry sherry. if fact the latter all by tself will cover over quite a phethora of sins, i fyou care to take my meanig ::Otu manages a minor high gnawing the glaze off the platter toward evening's end:: ::well, who was watching? i was barely coherent with myself by then::

Michael Tue Apr 16 23:28:21 2002 Re: Concerning creative culinary criticism... > i was barely coherent with > myself by then:: Hee, hee.

mouse Wed Apr 10 14:51:09 2002 Re: Concerning creative culinary criticism... > There's no accounting for the taste of others, including wolverines. > However, they do tend to make do with what they have, and in a hurry can > be satisfied with the nearest available condiment. With more preparation > time, however, orange marmalade would go well, yes. And probably red wine > over sherry. ask them what goes with dictionary - i'm going to go home and eat one, to see if that helps in my quest for alliterations. (do you know how long it took me to come up with a 3-word one? - and then _you_ come back with a 4-word one with an internal suballiterative scheme) *sigh* and i would suggest sticking with the dry sherry - i think you will find that it best counters the inherent oilyness of penguin, while retaining sufficient character to stand up to dark-meat poultry.

Michael Sun Apr 14 23:12:05 2002 Re: vanishing twins > Not sure if this message will go through, but will e-mail Michael shortly > about it. Hard-drive problem again, probably needs to reap off more of the > older messages or just clear up some space on his machine or whatnot. > Until then, I suspect "Message 277" will continue to disappear, > whenver it occurs. Actually, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the size of the message board, which is vanishing in comparison to some six months' worth of spam from 6000 users of Despammed.com. I have been in the process of rebuilding the spamtrap, which has consumed far too much of my time in the last week or two. (That and being sicker than I've been in a year or more, starting with a fever of 102.4 on Monday and running the gamut of viral symptoms thereafter -- a real knockdown drag-out Grand Cold such as I haven't had in, oh, decades.)

spinclad Sat Apr 6 23:04:06 2002 Re: vanishing twins > you know, i could swear i posted a response here yesterday, rejoicing at > finally achieving evil twin status....but it seems to have mysteriously > disappeared... another clue for the penguin hunt. i suspect too much herring in the disk drives, causing bit rot. a good flossing might do a world of good.

Emsworth Sun Apr 7 00:00:58 2002 Aimless accusations of arctic avains... > another clue for the penguin hunt. i suspect too much herring in the disk > drives, causing bit rot. a good flossing might do a world of good. Ahem. To debunk any paranoid conspiracy theories, disk space had been a problem long before "The Penguins" arrived. Such problems as disappearing messages or inability to post anything can be attributed to that cause, and this will probably happen again. This often seems to happen whenever the forum fills past a certain capacity and threads aren't being reaped, but since I've gathered the old threads, while currently inaccessible as archived threads, are still saved somewhere, that may not make much difference. Regardless, flightless arctic fowl have nothing to do with it. Oh, and remembered my original response to mouse's elation at evil twin status, which I was unable to post at the time. How long have you harbored this desire to be an evil twin? A somewhat unorthodox career goal, and not an easy field to break into. The simple matter of genetics, and actually being born one of a set of twins, or else separated at birth by bohemian greengrocers or whatnot. Then there's the union requirements and all that red tape, of coutse.

mouse Sun Apr 7 13:54:38 2002 why can't i think of a good alliteration when... i need one? > Oh, and remembered my original response to mouse's elation at evil twin > status, which I was unable to post at the time. How long have you harbored > this desire to be an evil twin? A somewhat unorthodox career goal, and not > an easy field to break into. The simple matter of genetics, and actually > being born one of a set of twins, or else separated at birth by bohemian > greengrocers or whatnot. Then there's the union requirements and all that > red tape, of coutse. well, doctor, i think it goes back to my early childhood. you see, i am an older sibling, which forced on me the position of "the responsible one". you know, the one who was supposed to _know_ better, to set a good example - in short, to be a goodie-two-shoes. i yearned for the freedom to be irresponsible, wild, free, impulsive - yes, even evil. and to have a _twin_ - a ready-made scapegoat! (as my younger sibling is of the opposite sex, it was difficult to persuade others that _he_ was actually the one they saw doing whatever) (plus he had those big innocent blue eyes). but with a twin - imagine the power! one can do anything, and yet have plausible deniability. (and while that thing about dressing alike could increase one's impulses toward evil, it does make it so much easier to get away with it) (as long as your mom doesn't put your name on the front of your shirt, or anything). but, as you say, it is a difficult field to get into - especially when you don't actually realize the benefit of having a twin until you are 4 or 5 yrs old - bit late to acquire one then. (i did make every effort to be seperated from my brother at his birth - but my parents said the hospital had a "no returns" policy)(they probably just lost the receipt). but this psychic twin thing - a whole new world of opportunity! no one can see me behind this keyboard - all i have to do is quote woodhouse and know arcane details about serial killers, and i will have you all fooled! (well, and use capitals). now i just have to figure out how that will help me gain control of the universe - or at least my finances. and now that i think about it, do i really _want_ to be in control of the universe? i mean, talk about red tape....and people always whining about how hard things are, and of course you could blast them into non-existance, but then it would probably turn out that was the like, the only competant plumber, and then where would you be? man, this evil stuff is harder than it looks....

Brother Emsworth Sun Apr 7 23:13:56 2002 Discourse on desirability of doubles... > i need one? > well, doctor, i think it goes back to my early childhood. you see, i am an > older sibling, which forced on me the position of "the responsible > one". you know, the one who was supposed to _know_ better, to set a > good example - in short, to be a goodie-two-shoes. i yearned for the > freedom to be irresponsible, wild, free, impulsive - yes, even evil. and > to have a _twin_ - a ready-made scapegoat! (as my younger sibling is of > the opposite sex, it was difficult to persuade others that _he_ was > actually the one they saw doing whatever) (plus he had those big innocent > blue eyes). but with a twin - imagine the power! one can do anything, and > yet have plausible deniability. (and while that thing about dressing alike > could increase one's impulses toward evil, it does make it so much easier > to get away with it) (as long as your mom doesn't put your name on the > front of your shirt, or anything). Was a younger sibling myself, with no one below me, though I can't say that I can ever recall thinking about making anyone a scapegoat or desirous of being evil. Betty and I wound up blaming things on each other now and then, no doubt, such is the nature of childhood, but I doubt whether either of us thought much about it or took active pleasure in it. And of course, what price the other twin choosing to expose you or behave in a similar manner, seeing that their reputation has already been sullied by you? > but this psychic twin thing - a whole new world of opportunity! no one can > see me behind this keyboard - all i have to do is quote woodhouse and know > arcane details about serial killers, and i will have you all fooled! > (well, and use capitals). Ahem. Learning to spell the famed English humorist's name accurately ("Wodehouse") would also prove helpful, as would the ability to identify what his initials "P. G." stood for.

mouse Mon Apr 8 00:21:16 2002 Re: Discourse on desirability of doubles... > Was a younger sibling myself, with no one below me, though I can't say > that I can ever recall thinking about making anyone a scapegoat or > desirous of being evil. see, that's because you're the _younger_ one - it's us older sibs who have this whole load of resentment, replacement anxiety, etc, to deal with, thus the evil desires and need of scapegoats. although in reality i probably wasn't organized enough to work all that out during the hard-core sibling rivalry years. sibling relations are quite odd - well, i guess any close relationship is - i think people are able to make you nuts in direct proportion to how close to you they are. and even when my brother made me craziest, i didn't have truly _evil_ intentions. (ok, i used to bite him - but that's not really evil) but you gotta admit - there is a certain freedom to being evil that sometimes is appealing. i amuse myself when driving by deciding what curse i would put on various idiot drivers i encounter, had i the power to cast spells - some of them would probably be classed as evil by an unbiased observer. i like to imagine the havoc my curses would cause - but if i could really do it?...probably not. (altho the twit in the explorer who almost ran me over would be a real close call). > Ahem. Learning to spell the famed English humorist's name accurately > ("Wodehouse") would also prove helpful, as would the ability to > identify what his initials "P. G." stood for. you know, i _knew_ that looked wrong...and: pelham grenville (sir, even). 'course, it's been a couple years since i read much wodehouse - would have to do some research.

Emsworth Mon Apr 8 21:54:10 2002 Bibliophilic babbling... > see, that's because you're the _younger_ one - it's us older sibs who have > this whole load of resentment, replacement anxiety, etc, to deal with, > thus the evil desires and need of scapegoats. As far as I know, my sister Betty never had any deep-seated resentment *or* evil desires (well, apart from teasing me constantly and chasing me with a butter knife on a few occasions.) >but you > gotta admit - there is a certain freedom to being evil that sometimes is > appealing. i amuse myself when driving by deciding what curse i would put > on various idiot drivers i encounter... Now you're scaring Otu. > you know, i _knew_ that looked wrong...and: pelham grenville (sir, even). > 'course, it's been a couple years since i read much wodehouse - would have > to do some research. What ho! I am indeed impressed, madame! On the off chance you are interested in reading more Wodehouse, however, feel free to e-mail me. Local used bookstore currently has a number of Wodehouse volumes and a couple omnibuses. Alternatively, Project Gutenberg has a handful of complete Wodehouse texts which have fallen out of copyright available for download, including the first Blandings novel, and a long-time favorite of mine, "Something Fresh" (available from Gutenberg under its American title, "Something New".) One conversation involving stomach lining never fails to amuse me, and I may post it here before long. Here's a link to the Gutenberg version of the book: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2042 Other online libraris and text resources also have it online, if you'd rather not download. Not the same thing as actually holding it in your hand, and you can't take the novel with you to the bathtub this way, but useful for works such as "Love Among the Chickens," which is currently out of print in the US, as far as I know.

mouse Tue Apr 9 14:24:35 2002 Re: Bibliophilic babbling... > As far as I know, my sister Betty never had any deep-seated resentment > *or* evil desires (well, apart from teasing me constantly and chasing me > with a butter knife on a few occasions.) that she _told_ you about.... > Now you're scaring Otu. there, there, otu - as long as you learn to drive _responsibly_, you have nothing to fear from me. (and resist the urge to buy oversized, overpriced, gas-guzzling road-hogging death-machine suburban assault vehicles, because they will eat your brain and devour all your good manners and sense and cause you to drive like a lunatic) > What ho! I am indeed impressed, madame! On the off chance you are > interested in reading more Wodehouse, however, feel free to e-mail me. thanks! i do like wodehouse - have a few volumes lying around the place, and if i ever get the bookshelves organized, i may actually be able to find them Alternatively, Project Gutenberg has a handful of > complete Wodehouse texts which have fallen out of copyright available for > download, including the first Blandings novel, and a long-time favorite of > mine, "Something Fresh" (available from Gutenberg under its > American title, "Something New".) DOUBLE thanks! - i hadn't encountered project gutenberg before (just what i need - another reason to spend time on the computer) - but a source of out-of-print books is just too good to pass up. what was the title of the first blandings novel? - that is a series i don't think i have read (mostly know wooster&jeeves, and some misc. short stories) > Not the same thing as actually holding it in your hand, and > you can't take the novel with you to the bathtub this way, but useful for > works such as "Love Among the Chickens," which is currently out > of print in the US, as far as I know. wodehouse did have a talent for titles. i could always print a copy out, i suppose (i will go back and carefully reread the "small print" first) - but must confess that e-books will never really appeal to me like real ones do, until they can be read in all the places real books can be (like the bath, and the patio (if the sun ever comes out), and standing in line). still, there is always the library, and alibris.

Brother Emsworth Tue Apr 9 18:39:51 2002 Re: Bibliophilic babbling... > that she _told_ you about.... Harrumph. I will not have you impugning the character of my sister. I consider such actions inimical to good fellowship. > there, there, otu - as long as you learn to drive _responsibly_, you have > nothing to fear from me. (and resist the urge to buy oversized, > overpriced, gas-guzzling road-hogging death-machine suburban assault > vehicles, because they will eat your brain and devour all your good > manners and sense and cause you to drive like a lunatic) ::Otu cutely and adorably devours manners and sense:: >what was the title of the > first blandings novel? - that is a series i don't think i have read > (mostly know wooster&jeeves, and some misc. short stories) Honorable mouse like man who order napkins in French restaurant... misinterpret things. I meant to say that "Something Fresh" was the first Blandings novel *and* a personal favorite of mine. The first book introduced readers to stately Blandings Castle in Shropshire, and to Clarence, Ninth Earl of Emsworth; his son the Honorable Freddie Threepwood; and his secretary the Efficient Baxter. Lord Emsworth, incidentally, is mentioned in passing in the Jeeves story "The Coming of Jeeves," and Sir Roderick Glossop figured in both the Jeeves and Blandings sagas at various times. The most famous Blandings residents, beyond Lord Emsworth, is probably his prized pig, the Empress of Blandings, though she first appears in a slightly later short story and doesn't enter the novels until the third book. > wodehouse did have a talent for titles. That he did. Unfortunately, like other trans-Atlantic authors (Agatha Christie being the other chief example to come to mind at the moment), his works were often renamed for publication in the US, or when they were reprinted or whatnot. Thus Wodehouse's last Jeeves and Bertie Wooster book, originally titled "Aunts Aren't Gentleman," was changed to the more prosaic "The Catnappers," which admittedly reflects the crux of the plot (Bertie winds up stealing a cat), but doesn't have the same punch or charm. besides. Wodehouse seldom chose his titles to reflect his plots anyway. Usually the title might be mentioned in passing as an expression within the book, but rarely much more of a connection beyond that. I mean to say, he was trying to capture the spirit of the bally thing, what what?

mouse Wed Apr 10 14:42:08 2002 Re: Bibliophilic babbling... > Harrumph. I will not have you impugning the character of my sister. I > consider such actions inimical to good fellowship. i apologize for any insult to your sister - as an elder sister myself, i was perhaps too quick to assume her experience was similar to mine (which actually now makes my brother sound worse than he was - i could say 'character' rather than 'experience' but not sure that's quite right either - but you know, mostly i was just _teasing_) > Honorable mouse like man who order napkins in French restaurant... hey, i _meant_ to do that - trying to keep my fiber intake up. > The most famous Blandings residents, > beyond Lord Emsworth, is probably his prized pig, the Empress of > Blandings, though she first appears in a slightly later short story and > doesn't enter the novels until the third book. now i have to run them all down - i can't resist the appeal of a prized pig. > That he did. Unfortunately, like other trans-Atlantic authors (Agatha > Christie being the other chief example to come to mind at the moment), his > works were often renamed for publication in the US, or when they were > reprinted or whatnot. Thus Wodehouse's last Jeeves and Bertie Wooster > book, originally titled "Aunts Aren't Gentleman," was changed to > the more prosaic "The Catnappers," which admittedly reflects the > crux of the plot (Bertie winds up stealing a cat), but doesn't have the > same punch or charm. besides. Wodehouse seldom chose his titles to reflect > his plots anyway. Usually the title might be mentioned in passing as an > expression within the book, but rarely much more of a connection beyond > that. I mean to say, he was trying to capture the spirit of the bally > thing, what what? given wodehouse's style, it does seem unfortunate to try to pin his writing down with a prosaic, plot-related title (since the plots themselves are often so incidental to the actual story - definitely a case where getting there is most of the fun)

Brother Emsworth Tue Apr 9 18:41:32 2002 Particularly pointed Plum passage... "I might have had better luck while I was looking for a place," said Ashe. "I dare say you know how bad-tempered Mr. Peters is. He is dyspeptic." "So," responded Mr. Beach, "I have been informed." He brooded for a space. "I, too," he proceeded, "Suffer from My Stomach. I have a Weak Stomach. The Lining of My Stomach is not what I could wish the Lining of My Stomach to be." "Tell me," said Ashe gratefully, leaning forward in an attitude of attention, "all about the lining of your stomach." [Something Fresh (1915), by P. G. Wodehouse]