Open Forum Discussions and Debate

Jeb, the raconteurs have been supplanted by the post-menopausal.

Pots, Kettles, Pegs and wives, how many were going to St. Ives?

All legitimate rationalizations for goring those sacred cows wandering about at all hours.

Pots and kettles and pegs, oh my!

I'm not post-menopausal.... not yet anyway... have you heard of male menopause?

It's called grumpy old men....

Now I've just finished my napjerk and what do I find a nailage going on. I don't want to tangentalize too much as I only like to scanter the pages at my leisure... but I don't dallywaddle like I used to. We need a bit of tentaculating on the site...

(in 42 pt type set) Bravo André!

You are absolutely correct Suzy, and Walter Matthou has always been my guiding light. Don't forget the latin phrase in all of us.

Grumpy old men for sure Suzy. We can tentaculte all we want. Arguments on the site are fun. Personal attacks and deliberate snideness directed at individual posters while having these 'polite' arguements (scru u) are hurtful to the poster. Controversy on the site is welcomed by many, and makes the site more exciting and fun, and we all like to partake in it (okay, a challenge!), but without the cutting personal remarks that have been posted in the past (and still continue to be) directed at specific individuals. Everyone comes to the site to enjoy. Why ruin their enjoyment when they may not be as witty or knowlegable as the person who posts a comment without thinking of its impact on the person they direct it at? Live and let live.

I want to be a grumpy old woman. Then I might e-mail chewing gum manufacurers about the irresponsible new packaging instead of griping about it to my kids and husband; I might dob in friends and neighbours who cheat on water restrictions instead of pretending I haven't noticed; I might even complain when sold inferior goods....

Just for you Suzy:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

Here Here Jeb!!

scrubbing up my tentacules...gone a bit grotty...

When I was in my twenties I was a little bit more 'grumpy'. I was an engineer working in a factory with a stupid dress code for engineers - suits and ties for men, equivalent for women. Anyone who has ever worked in a factory knows how dangerous wearing a tie can be, and skirts when climbing over pumps or onto platforms made of open framework??? I used to wear mismatching clothes, individually acceptable, but together really really bad, and I used to wear my steel caps to work. They look really good with skirts! It was my way of protesting a standard that was actually hazardous. Backfired on me one day when I was called to head office for a meeting and didn't have my high heel shoes with me!!

You didn't say it... I was expecting to learn that Stacy London and Clinton Kelly were waiting for you in the office to show you the proper attire so you could look your best and still do what you had to do.

lol jeb! No, I just looked really silly at head office with steel toed boots covered in paper booties to protect the carpet. Put my nice shoes in the car from then on.... So only a little bit grumpy and a little susceptible to pressure...

Where were your creative engineering juices taking the day off? What an opportunity to create an entirely new paradigm in plant floor/executive office formal and liesure attire. Just imaging your logo on rack after rack of clothing in every Target across the globe. You would be the hero of every engineer who was ever called on the carpet.

billy - soak your tentacules in prune juice, makes for an interesting soup, pureed (sp?) with garfu ice-cream for that extra clout! I can hear the ecnalubma coming to get me...

second thoughts don't eat the soup its making me feel abit earpy...

ecnalubma don't like the whiff of garfu André - therefore, smother yourself in it...you feel earpy...I feel positively blodzil x

Zreszta wiesz ja jutro bede blodzil po hilltown i zobacze.

Don't hold back Pana... having a bit of trouble pronouncing a few words but I'll get there no worries...

Couldn't leave it alone André. The cryptic reference to that cultural icon 'blodzil' had me all astir.

Pana has a good point andré, zobacze is an extremely painful affliction, and I too would be weiszing my jutro if feeling blodzil for longer than an hour...and now jebbles is all astir...this could snowball into an epidemic of schpootens. God help us all if that happens...

Pana's time has come and gone. A mere flash in the pan, a sodden fuse, a fallen leaf. The long term impact of his strength of character is yet to be seen, however. Senseless fussbudgeting over pre-vernal epizoodiques only creates panicked flee or fight reactions in those least able to grasp thier import. A sneerful reduction of chcesz to powiedz may emeliorate those who suffer in quiet hysteria.

OH!!!!..uhmmm, sigh, a pity I missed the special classes for foreign languages!....

I just googled 'quiet hysteria' jeb, sure looks like a grand place to live, out on the islands of lalalostmymarbles...

We ought to hang Pana in effigy, which is a small town outside New York City.

Dangerous talk there, Ian. Look at the trouble Kelly Tilghman got into mentioning that specific tactic. She was back on the air at Torrey Pines yesterday and seemed quite subdued after a two week suspension. Effigys have rights too you know. All it took was for the ACLU to notice that they were getting lynched willy nilly with no one to advocate for them. I have to look over my shoulder now, every time I replace my laundered clothing on its proper suspension device.

Save the endangered skeet~!

And Free the Indianapolis 500!

Victimhood flourishes where ever you look. The rare and curious haggis population is thaking a thorough drubbing.

Unfortunately, haggis is not as rare as it ought to be.

Someone I know has just arrived back from Scotland tonight... haggis has taken over, its even on sale at the airport... should we be worried? I've donned my steel vest in case there's a coo...

coo = coup d'état, well its Friday and its late!!

Jane, my wife has been an educator in public schools for 35 years. We first started seeing this in the mid 70's when some misguided administrator decided that the Junior Hight School needed to change to Middle School and that every student in that school was a "Winner". Excuse me, but everybody is not a winner. You and I are really good at something and likewise are really bad at something else. School yard games were taken away from children because not everybody could win. What kind of message does that send? With that kind of mentality, every player in the NFL should get a Super Bowl ring because we don't want any player to feel left out. It would scar their little psychies.

At Jeb's suggestion, I have copied a comment I made on "easy" to this page.

Regarding the latest school shootings, I have a theory about these tragic occurrences. As you probably know - and for whatever reasons (hormonal, mental, emotional) - there has always been a fairly high rate of suicides among adolescents and young adults. Today, however, possibly because of the "me first" way many children are raised (much too much emphasis on "self" - as in "self-esteem"), when these troubled youths feel suicidal, they think they are entitled to take their perceived enemies out with them. Life is not fair. Not everyone wins. Not everyone deserves a trophy. Learning to accept the downs as well as the ups in life is part of growing up. Are we setting our younger generations up for this insane behaviour by teaching them that they are so special that they do not have to take responsibility for their actions? Obviously, something has to e done about the bullying issue in schools, but this goes far beyond that. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Here too in England jeb the need for 'equality' amongst peers has been put forward through the education system and is failing miserably. No playground climbing frames, no running, no playing ball, what challenges a child to reach that little bit further?... and then they enter the real world full of disappointments, targets that are sometimes unobtainable and they become disillusioned and then think they are failing in society, disillusionment brings anger against people and some with deep-rooted anxieties choose to do the things that are becoming all to common in the headline news, they hit out where it hurts the most... I'm not sure we can blame everything that happens on education but it sets up the notion that failure does not exist…

sorry Jane I posted at the same time as you so addressed in response to jeb's earlier posting.

WoW Jane....You have certainly hit on some of the very points that Sully and I were addressing as we talked about the senseless killings that seem to continue to escalate in this country. We also feel that as important as the 2nd amendment(to our constitution)may be, the silly idea that these high


powered. rapid firing, multiple bullet holding guns, were what our fore-fathers wanted us to be able to use for self protection is wrong headed. Although I personally don't like guns, I understand hunters and gun fanciers enjoyment and desire to own guns. I also understand those who feel they need to arm themselves for their own protection. Even thought I don't have the same interest or needs, I don't want them to lose their guns...I simply want the guns that are so easily assessable to our young people, and those of all ages who have mental issues, that are being used only to kill, be more difficult to manufacture and sold. The guns used in the city streets across this country, as well as in many of our schools that are killing and maiming scores of people everyday are not the type used for hunting or other legitimate uses...such as target shooting, skeet shooting, etc. Of course some of these guns are also misused, but not to the same degree. I guess my point about the guns is that while there are real reasons for the 2nd amendment, some changes need to be looked into as to accessibility, ownership and manufacturing of guns to try to address the high rate of murder, particularly in urban areas by those who should not have access to weapons, and the balanced legitimate gun uses. Responsibility,Stability and Common Sense need to be a part of gun use and ownership. I live near several cities that have been decimated by illegal, irresponsible gun use...our police are being outgunned by the young and the criminal population, but because I also live near a rural area that has long had a love affair with guns, and for the most part, have demonstrated responsible usage...there is no desire to bring about changes or even to think of alternate methods of gun protection....thus the sad events continue to escalate and illegal guns continue to prolifigate....sorry to go on so, but I am at my wits end trying to understand what it will take to protect the innocent folks being killed by these guns....there is an answer, but we the people need to search our hearts for an answer and then demand that our elected officials carry out a true solution! My heart goes out to all affected by this latest senseless murder spree. May 'peace' be found to be more than a word, but a movement taking place.

WoW Jane....You have certainly hit on some of the very points that Sully and I were addressing as we talked about the senseless killings that seem to continue to escalate in this country. We also feel that as important as the 2nd amendment(to our constitution)may be, the silly idea that these high More...


powered. rapid firing, multiple bullet holding guns, were what our fore-fathers wanted us to be able to use for self protection is wrong headed. Although I personally don't like guns, I understand hunters and gun fanciers enjoyment and desire to own guns. I also understand those who feel they need to arm themselves for their own protection. Even thought I don't have the same interest or needs, I don't want them to lose their guns...I simply want the guns that are so easily assessable to our young people, and those of all ages who have mental issues, that are being used only to kill, be more difficult to manufacture and sold. The guns used in the city streets across this country, as well as in many of our schools that are killing and maiming scores of people everyday are not the type used for hunting or other legitimate uses...such as target shooting, skeet shooting, etc. Of course some of these guns are also misused, but not to the same degree. I guess my point about the guns is that while there are real reasons for the 2nd amendment, some changes need to be looked into as to accessibility, ownership and manufacturing of guns to try to address the high rate of murder, particularly in urban areas by those who should not have access to weapons, and the balanced legitimate gun uses. Responsibility,Stability and Common Sense need to be a part of gun use and ownership. I live near several cities that have been decimated by illegal, irresponsible gun use...our police are being outgunned by the young and the criminal population, but because I also live near a rural area that has long had a love affair with guns, and for the most part, have demonstrated responsible usage...there is no desire to bring about changes or even to think of alternate methods of gun protection....thus the sad events continue to escalate and illegal guns continue to prolifigate....sorry to go on so, but I am at my wits end trying to understand what it will take to protect the innocent folks being killed by these guns....there is an answer, but we the people need to search our hearts for an answer and then demand that our elected officials carry out a true solution! My heart goes out to all affected by this latest senseless murder spree. May 'peace' be found to be more than a word, but a movement taking place.