quote:

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I hereby nominate Kalleh and Morgan to the positions of Ladies-in-Waiting (so bring a book)...

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Will Mrs. Byrne's do?

[This message was edited by Morgan on Mon Dec 23rd, 2002 at 19:28.]

quote:

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Originally posted by C J Strolin:

Bob Hale as the Official-I-left-him-out-of-the-last-competition-standings-and-he-complained-so-let's-find-him-something-decent-here,-maybe-Ambassador-to-the-other-moons. !

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I accept. What's the salary ?

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

I don't accept. I want something more glamorous than "lady-in-waiting", sitting there with a book! Sheeesh!

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I don't accept. I want something more glamorous than "lady-in-waiting", sitting there with a book! Sheeesh!

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OK then, how about a promotion to "Lady-in-Wading"? You can be the Secretary of the Department of Skinny-Dipping but, seeing as how water is in such short supply, ankle deep is about as far into the H2O as anyone gets. Very glamorous position and guaranteed to earn you a lot of attention.

(And yes, before everyone jumps up screaming about the distance from the sun, the Kingdom of Strolinia [catchy name, yes?] is blessed with ample geothermal power which heats the moon to the temperature of a Hawaiian springtime year-round. Or maybe it's magical pixie dust; I neither know nor care. It's my moon and my rules and heat is not a problem.)

B.H., your starting salary is a full 3% of the Kingdom's total annual GNP which, at this point, is small to the point of non-existence. Great growth potential, though.

Morgan, you are also promoted. (You and Kalleh were actually "ladies-in-waiting-for-a-better-position") You are now High Exhaulted Librarian of Strolinia, the head censor of all books, films, and television programming. Your main duty will be to protect our young from the evils of pornography which, under local standards, involves any graphic or gratuitous portrayal of war, aggression, or other sorts of violence. Acts of lovemaking in any of its varied forms are, of course, not only suitable for all audiences but encouraged viewing and reading material for our young. It's all a matter of what we want our kids to grow up to be.

No response from R.E. so I think I'll promote him to the position of Prince of Pop-Ups. Primary duties will include weeding out all the most worthless and annoying computer pop-ups and ensuring that those which remain are interesting and applicable to their receivers. Plus he's in charge of displaying the Official Flag. He can sell Royces on his off time.

The King of Strolinia has Spoken!!

Sounds like my kinda job!

quote:

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the evils of pornography which, under local standards, involves any graphic or gratuitous portrayal of war, aggression, or other sorts of violence. Acts of lovemaking are, of course, not only suitable for all audiences but encouraged viewing and reading material for our young.

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Interestingly, that's precisely the etymological meaning of the word obscene.

Thus in ancient Greek drama, such violence as murders and battles did not occur on the stage; rather, a messenger would arrive on-stage bringing report of the death or battle to those assembled. The actual violence was "off-scene"; hence 'obscene'. The word applied to violence, not to sexuality.

This is my recollection; I've been unable to exactly confirm it in an etymology source. Oxford Dictionary of Etymology takes 'obscene' only as far back as latin obscenus, = "ill-omened, abominable, disgusting, indecent, orig. a term of augury". However, it confirms elsewhere that

• the meanings of latin 'ob-' included "against", converting into "inversely; in the opposite direction"
• latin scena, scaena = 'stage', lending to our word 'scene' in the theatrical sense.

CJ, have you ever thought of writing a children's book? I am not kidding--they'd love it. Sounds like the Harry Potter books to me!

And, yes, I will accept "Lady in Wading"--it is much more glamorous. I do hate the name "Strolinia", though. Doesn't "Kallinia" sound much more soothing to the ear?

quote:

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Originally posted by C J Strolin:
...Tinman to Court Researcher Extraordinaire...

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I humbly accept...but drop the "Extraordinaire".

There are some conditions. Strolinia, as a new country, will be autocratic. It must strive toward a socialistic democracy as quickly as possible. All inhabitants must be treated fairly and equally, and with respect. In due time a constitution must be drawn up by the people and laws must be established. Laws must be reasonable, fair, just, and unbiased. No bigots will be allowed to enter the kingdom of Strolinia. They must remain on Earth. The people of Strolinia will be known as "Strolinites" and will speak "Strolinese". There will be no official language; all languages will be accepted.

If you agree to these conditions, I would be pleased to serve to the best of my ability.

Strolinia will need some cities. I submit some names for your consideration:

Proposed name - (suggested pronunciation)

Strolinilorts (Stro-lin-nil-'lorts; Stro-'lin-il-'lorts)
Inhabitants would be "Strolinilortskis"?

Cjilnorst (Jil-'norst or 'Jil-nurst; See-'yil-'norst or See-'yil-nurst)
Silent "c"; alternatively, you could pronounce the "c" as a "y", which would make it "See-yil-norst". In that case, "j" at the beginnining of a syllable would be pronounced "y", as in "you", while the "j" at the end of syllables wouId be as in "just".

Jorlincst (Jor-'linkst; Yor-'linkst)
The "k" is not silent!

Lincjorst (Link-'jorst or 'Link-jurst; Link-'yorst or 'link-yurst)

Jorclinst (Jor-'clinst or 'Jor-clinst; Yor-'clinst or 'Yor-clinst)

Rilncjost (Riln-'jost; Riln-'yost)
Silent "c", long "o".

Clorjinst (Clor-'jinst or 'Clor-jinst; Clor-'yinst or 'Clor-yinst)

Strinjcol ('Stringe-col; Stringe-yol)
"Stringe" as in astringent; "col" as in collander)

Strincjol (Strink-'jole or 'Strink-jole; Strink-
'yole or 'Strink-yole)

Clitsjorn ('Clits-'jorn; 'Clits-'yorn)
I figured Asa might want to make his headquarters here. The inhabitants would officially be known as "jornites", and unofficially as "horny jornies" (pronounced "horny yornies", if you adopt the "y" sound for "j"). Their particular brand of slang, dialect, or whatever you want to call it, would be "jornese".

I trust some of these will meet with your approval. I thought "Strolinilorts" would be a great name for your Capitol, but I'm having a hard time trying to pronounce it. I have submitted two possible pronunciations for your consideration.

These are but suggestions. The final determination of names and pronunciations are yours. You must, however, give just consideration to all suggestions from the citizens of Strolinia.

Your obedient servant,

Tinman

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
CJ, have you ever thought of writing a children's book?

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Years ago I attempted to enter that field with a story warning young ones about the dangers of drugs entitled "Harry's a Pothead and the Sorcerer's Stoned." Someone got ahold of it, changed it all around, and I never saw a penny!

Ah, life can be cruel...

And Note to Tinman: Jeeze, and I thought that I spent a lot of time mulling over the insignificant! There is a leader of one of the former Soviet bloc countries who recently renamed the months of the year, some of which he named for himself. I would like to avoid a similar appearance of rampant ego so place names will be allowed be form naturally by consensus of the inhabitants. If you want to influence the outcome, feel free to bring as many friends and family members with you to your Official Quarters.

And yes, bigotry will not be tolerated. All thoughts and views will be welcomed as part of an ongoing free national discussion. (I am considering a ban on English beer, though.)

Lastly, thanks for that excellent info regarding the background of the word "obscene"

[This message was edited by C J Strolin on Sat Dec 21st, 2002 at 8:12.]

That's probably very wise since it might lead to an uncontrollable outbreak of reasonableness and an undesirable appreciation amongst the populace of the better things of life.

Make them stick to B*dw**s*r and their brains will remain as numb and unappreciative as their taste buds.

Richard English

Sorry R.E., but English beer leads to an "uncontrollable outbreak of reasonableness"?? I suspect that several hordes of soccer hooligans would disagree.

quote:

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Originally posted by C J Strolin:
Sorry R.E., but English beer leads to an "uncontrollable outbreak of reasonableness"?? I suspect that several hordes of soccer hooligans would disagree.

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Ah, now here I have to jump in before RE does. I'm just as keen on Real Ale as he is though perhaps not as vociferous about it in this forum. The hordes of soccer hooligans are an entirely different breed to either of us. The way that they select their beer is usually simply by the alcohol content with the intention of becoming drunk and belligerent as quickly as possible. Their preferred drinks are cans of Special Brew or Tennant's Extra and where these are unavailable they will drink almost anything else as long as it does the job quickly and does not have too much body or flavour as these things tend to slow down the drinking process.

Incidentally while I personally am not a sports fan I would also point out that they have as much love of football as they do of beer. Their aim is to cause trouble and they are often very good at it.

The pub that I drink in has a rotating selection of twelve Real Ales and a rotating selection of customers including little old men, businessmen in suits, young families with small children and Hell's Angels. I have never once seen the slightest hint of trouble there and all is bonhomie and good fellowship which rather demonstrates RE's point.

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

Funnily enough, while I was sitting in my bath (yes, we have central heating here, too) I wondered whether CJ in his ignorance about beer would raise the spectre of football hooliganism. He didn't let me down!

Of course, everything that Bob says is quite correct and I would add just one thing.

If you want to see drunkenness (though why one should I can't imagine) don't go to a Real Ale festival. At the Great British Beer Festival (usually around 500 UK real ales and probably a similar number of imported ones) I have never yet seen drunkenness and I've been going to it for around 20 years.

Richard English

Just remember, Richard, that not all of us in the U.S. agree with CJ regarding American beers. However, I imagine that both countries have similar rates of drunkeness with beer.

CJ & Tinman, you really need to work this thread up and publish it as a kid's story. Great work, guys!

And, wordnerd, I agree with CJ--what a wonderful post about the derivation of "obscene". I am wondering how we could try to verify this?

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard English:
Funnily enough, while I was sitting in my bath (yes, we have central heating here, too) I wondered whether CJ in his ignorance about beer would raise the spectre of football hooliganism. He didn't let me down!

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OK, first off I don't understand the cheap shot (Why wouldn't I think you had baths and central heating? You're not barbarians.) (Not most of you, anyway.) but I'll let that pass.

Secondly, I'd never let you down, R.E. To do so I'd have to pick you up first and there's not enough beer in the world, English or otherwise, to make that a likely prospect!

Lastly, I stand corrected. Along with probably 95% of the rest of the world, I didn't know that soccer hooliganism was generally restricted to certain types of beer. While I can't say that any offense was completely unintended (heh, heh!) I do now freely admit that it was misplaced. I have no reason to doubt B.H.'s and R.E.'s accounts on this subject and so now duly apologize to any and all who may have been bruised by, yes, my "ignorance" on this topic.

I do, however, stand by my firm belief that Germany is the place to go if you want primo suds. And Kalleh, I agree with R.E. about most US beers. Aside from many new types found only in micro-breweries, they are an embarrassment. By way of attempting to make nice with all fellow Wordcrafters, English beers of B.H.'s and R.E.'s choosing will be imported to Strolinia. No hooligans, though.

AND! One last question. This thread started out as a welcome to the new people registering on this site. I see now that we have yet another new brother or sister but WHERE ARE THE POSTS! As an enticement, I hereby offer any new Wordcrafter the position of his/her choice in the Kingdom of Strolinia (assuming it's not already filled - no coups, please!) as a reward for sharing with us your views on any subject. (Come to think of it, no beer, though. As my grandfather used to say, "Enough is too much!")

Welcome to the board. Wipe your feet. Play nice.

My house doesn't have central heating.
I do however have my computer in a small room with an effective plug in electrical heater which probably explains why I spend so much damned time on these boards. Maybe I should move the computer to a colder room.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

quote:

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Originally posted by C J Strolin:
I would like to avoid a similar appearance of rampant ego...

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What!!! You're turning over a new leaf? In respect for your newfound humility, I withdraw my suggestions.

quote:

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Lastly, thanks for that excellent info regarding the background of the word "obscene"

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That information was from Wordnerd, not me.

Tinman

Germany produces some excellent beers. However, as even they will concede, they have fewer different types than does the UK.

Furthermore, in spite of oft-quoted comments about the quality of German beers because of the "Rheinheitsgebot" (the purity laws that allow only water, malt and hops to be used in brewing beer) these laws apply in the State of Bavaria, not the whole of Germany.

As I said, there are some dreadful beers manufactured in Germany by the Fizz Factories, just as there are in the UK.

In fact, Real Ale is a minority drink in the UK. As is the case with fine wines, good whiskies and gourmet food, the dross is what most people consume; only the afficionados take the trouble to find out about, and consume, the best.

Richard English

When I was off travelling I spent several months in South America with a friend from Belgium. Good beer (from any nation) was hard to come by and each of us spent a long time attempting to convince the other of the superiority of his own nation's product. Of course with no samples to try this was a very theoretical discussion.
Eventually we found ourselves in Chile in Santiago and consulting our guide books found that there was a bar listed with a wide variety of imported bottled beers.
We went off to the bar for a drink.
Manu bought a bottle of a Belgian beer (I forget which one) and gave it to me. For my part I bought a bottle of Ruddles County and gave it to him. We both sat there for some minutes drinking our beers but not really enjoying them as much as we should.
Then, without any discussion but of one mind, we exchanged bottles and agreed to differ on the subject of superiority. For the rest of the evening he drank his way through the Belgian list and I through the English one. A splendid time was had by all.

I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere if we choose to look for it.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

I do think one of the differences between those of us in the U.S. and those in other countries (please--I don't mean to offend, really!) is that people in the U.S. more often admit our problems (i.e. guns & violence), lousy products (i.e. beer), foolish president, etc., more than people in other countries. You mention Belgian beer, Bob. My son is in college, in the U.S., with a guy from Belgium. You would think Belgium is utopia! From their beer....to their people..... to their living conditions, blah, blah, blah! He drives my poor son nuts. And, yet, I wonder--why doesn't he just go to college in Belgium, or Europe, if he hates it here so much. And, he is planning to stay in the U.S. after graduation!
Anyway, sorry for the rant! CJ, sorry if I misrepresented your views on American beer.

I suspect that you are not unique in that. Indeed, in the UK we are also guilty of this, unlike the Belgians and French who are chauvinistic to a fault about their countries.

If you look at the world news (the BBC's is just about the best - although few Britons will admit it) you will hear about "our crumbling public transport" and our "crime-ridden streets", not to mention, of course, our roads which come to a halt at the slightest fall of snow.

All nonsense, of course. Everthing is capable of improvement but on the whole the public transport works pretty well and is very safe; our streets are, in the main, safe and our roads are very rarely rendered impassable by snow (and bear in mind we get so little of it that it's not really sensible to invest billions of pounds in snow defences that might be needed once in ten years or so).

Now here's a thought that I've often had - have you noticed that the media use a different kind of English?

Trouble words like "chaos" and "horror". Insults like "love rat". Pleasure words like "joy" and "relief".

How often do we use such words in normal conversation?

"...She was filled with joy at having escaped the rail chaos following the horror near-miss..."

You just wouldn't, would you?

Richard English

Good point, Richard. I hadn't thought of it, but you are right. However, once again, I must show my ignorance by admitting to have never heard of "love rat". What is that? Speaking of rats, I used the word "bandicoot" in the Christmas romance thread. It is new to me, but I love it: "a humongous rat"!

Wordnerd, I am still intrigued about your "obscene" post. I checked OED to see if there were any references at all to Greek plays, but there were not. It could be a coincidence, I suppose. However, I think you may be right. Have you thought of contacting anyone at OED?

A "love rat" is a man who has cheated on his partner. It is commonly used by the tabloid press here when reporting the sexual peccadillos of minor celebrities or of their partners.

Richard English

Are there no female love rats?? Or do English wives never cheat on their husbands?

Sidenote: An anagram of "love rat" would be "a revolt," a likely consequence of the love-rattic activities in question.

Similarly, "bandicoot" anagramizes into "obtain cod." Fish-eaters, are they?

Assuredly they do, but the tabloid press does not call them "love rats". That expression is reserved for men.

Women whose sexual shenanigans are reported are usually given a more complimentary title - though why this should be I cannot conceive.

Richard English

Boy, that's not the case here, Richard. Men "play around", while women are "sluts".

quote:

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Originally posted by C J Strolin (Dec. 18, 2002):
Is there any info on that site regarding how one might go about claiming one of those unnamed moons with an eye towards establishing a new country?

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Originally posted by C J Strolin (Dec. 19, 2002):
... the Kingdom of Strolinia ...

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Have you notified the Earth governments about your claim, C J? This guy did:

Has He Got a Deal for You

In 1980, Dennis Hope notified the govenments of the United States and other nations that he owned the Moon and other planets, including Mars and Venus.

"I said if they had any problem with it, let me know," Hope said. "I am still waiting to hear from them."

Hope staked his claim under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 which said no nation could claim ownership, sovereignty or control over the Moon or any of the planets of the solar system. The law left a loophole. It didn't prohibit ownership claims by individuals.

Since then, Hope, of Gardnerville, Nevada, has sold land on the Moon, Mars and Venus for $19.95 plus $1.51 "lunar tax." He says he's raked in about $6.25 million over the years. Those who send in money get a deed.

When asked about the legality of Hope's operation, the Nevada attorney general's office said it was none of their business.

"While some may believe otherwise, our jurisdiction does not extend to the Moon," says Tom Sargent of the state AG's office.

Sep 30, 2003, 06:33

Tinman

Ver-r-r-r-r-ry interesting!


I've just spent (wasted?) another hour surfing the net for more information. Among other tidbits, I discovered:

1.) In 1980, Dennis Hope did notifiy the U.S., the U.N., and the (at the time) Soviet Union of his claim to all major land masses in the solar system with the exceptions of the Earth and, for some reason, the sun.

2.) He trademarked the term "Lunar Embassy" and has sold some 15,000 deeds "for novelty use only" in 20+ years for far less than the $6.25 million he claims.

3.) Another exaggerated claim, found in his self-written bio which is sent out with every deed, describes Mr. Hope as "very bright, young and handsome. In one photo I found, he stands with three friends dressed in Star Trek uniforms aside a full-size cardboard photo of Data from that series. Hope himself appears to be overweight and pasty-faced but, to be fair, no assessment can be made from the photos regarding his level of intelligence, if any.

4.) His claim to extra-terrestrial bodies is described as "patently and comically ridiculous and filled with mistakes both legal and grammatical." (!!!)

4-A.) One of the items you receive when you send in your money is a "Lunar Sight Map." He obviously means "site map" yet, again to be fair, poor spelling is not always automatic proof of a crackpot idea.

4-B.) The core idea, however, may not be all that goofy. I read the UN document entitled "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" and, yes, the loophole referred to does exist. It doesn't say individuals can't make claims, only countries.

4-B-1.) This document states, among other things that "States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies." I take this to mean "No McDonald's franchises."

5.) "Lunar Embassy" is the largest business in Mr. Hope's tiny town of Rio Vista, California (the second largest is the town's sewage treatment plant) although he claims to have franchised his business to locations in Canada, Germany, and the U.K.

6.) Dennis Hope is described as "a former shoe saleman, amateur ventriloquist, and failed Hollywood actor." He refers to himself officially by the title "HEAD CHEESE" (the all caps is his idea).

7.) When I googled up "Dennis Hope moon" I came up with 194,000 hits (!!!) but, obviously, only brought up a small percentage of them.

8.) I did not check with Snopes. They're still on my sh*t list.

9.) Counting 21 moons that have been discovered in this year alone, Jupiter now is known to have 59 satelites (so that moron Hope can certainly spare one of them!) and Almathea, chosen simply because its name begins and ends with the letter "A" (feel free to recap the rest of this thread - I humbly believe it's one of our better efforts) is the FIFTH LARGEST! (Ha!!)


So... How might this effect the Kingdom of Strolinia? Seeing as how Mr. Hope's claims are as legally flawed as his spelling and grammar, I see no reason NOT to make a claim of my own. At present I am tied up with other more pressing business but I'll consider this an open issue and post more later.

If nothing else, maybe I can claim the sun and start sending out energy bills to you all.


Thanks much, Tinman, for the heads up!

[This message was edited by C J Strolin on Thu Oct 2nd, 2003 at 10:44.]