Peredhil

choir - Although it phonetically sounds as if the "i" should be first, it actually is an "oi" vowel combination. disappointing - Only one "s" in disappointing. You'd think the "i" would be made a long "i" when followed by the single "s" and a vowel, but it's another of those cases where exceptions apply in English. noticeable - In this case, the "e" is required. English is such an odd language. I love these rants. Keep up the good work! (That was a nifty encapsulation X-Sabre). More seriously, I suppose much of this depends on what you want from the Pen community. I've always envisioned the Pen as a place for starting writers and poets, a place where highly intelligence and creative people, who in my experience tend to become extremely wounded by the rest of the world, could come together, associate, and heal - with the excuse of writing. So my feedback needs are met by simple acknowledgements such as the ones you hate. Having had highly educated parents, and numerous college classes on the subjects, it has only been Cyril who has managed to give me an insight on one of my works which I hadn't already considered - as an over-intellectualized personality, I tend to seek a rawer form in my poetry. While I recognize that many, including Wyvern from his beginning with us, have wanted a far more qualitative feedback system and higher standards, one of the things that has always set the Pen apart in my mind is its emphasis on heart over head - acknowledging and respecting the validity of a person's feelings over the rules of spelling and grammar. I'll not argue that spelling and grammar are irrelevant, citing such greats as e. e. cummings and other who've ignored spelling and grammar to produce genius. For one thing - they were masters who knew the rules so well that they knew how and when to break them. There is a need for spelling, grammar, and yes, more qualitative feedback on the skills and construction of words. And there are many many sites out there that provide those skills. There are a number of writing places where for pay or for free, you can post a word and have it dissected letter by letter in myriad ways. Feel free to explore them, and bring back the techniques that you find there to share with the Pen. But do try to leave the egos, the viciousness, and the rest of the odd mental games which so frequently crop up in those sites behind. Like I say - this is just my view on the issue, again. Wyvern, Yui, Zool, Jechum, Cyril - the list of those who have spoken for high writing standards, and try to set the example on the issue just reels on and on (somewhat like this post! ) That to which it really comes down is what the voting membership votes into being. Which is why Wyvern suggested moving this. The problem isn't that there aren't threads (as you've pointed out). The problem is that either the voting membership is apathetic - or that they like it the way it is and are ignoring a very vocal minority. Without discussion, it is really impossible to tell. Unlike the responsible Elders who've spoken, I have no vote, and so feel free to write endlessly whereever I find something to spark my interest. Geriatrically ramblingly Ancient, Peredhil

Aaargh! Stomps pouts upset steam-rising-from-ears Ended up going in and helping my wife stock her yogurt account, and so missed the whole thing. Ah well, family before pleasure last time I check my priority lists. Did anyone get a recording???? -The person behind Peredhil

*disclaimer: These were sent to me by a blonde niece, who collects blonde jokes. If blonde jokes offend you, feel free to substitute the media's last safe target as demonstrated by TV Sit-Coms: Males, most particularly Fathers.* ~~~~ A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, "Can you tell me how long it'll take to fly from San Francisco to New York City?" The agent replies, "Just a minute..." "Thank you," the blonde says, and hangs up. _________________________________________ The investigation of Martha Stewart continues. Her recipe for chicken casserole is quite efficient. First you boil the chicken in water. And then you dump the stock. ____________________________________________ This guy has been sitting in a bar all night, staring at a blonde wearing the tightest pants he's ever seen. Finally his curiosity gets the best of him, so he walks over and asks, "How do you get into those pants?" The young woman looks him over and replies, "Well, you could start by buying me a drink." __________________________________________ Moe: "My wife got me to believe in religion." Joe: "Really?" Moe: "Yeah. Until I married her I didn't believe in hell." ____________________________________________ A man is recovering from genital surgery when a nurse asks him how he is feeling. "I'm O.K. but I didn't like the four-letter-word the doctor used in surgery, he answered. "What did he say," asked the nurse. "OOPS!" ____________________________________________ While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and I passed a display of bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying a bathing suit, so I sought my husband's advice. "What do you think?" I asked. "Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?" "Better get a bikini," he replied. "You'd never get it all in one." ____________________________________________ Grandpa was driving with his 9 year old granddaughter and beeped the horn by mistake. She turned and looked at him for an explanation. He said, "I did that by accident." She! replied, "I know that, Grandpa." He replied, "How did you know?" She said, "Because you didn't say any bad words after it!" ____________________________________________ If there were 4 potatoes in a room, which one would be the prostitute? The one that's labeled "IDAHO" ____________________________________________ Along that line (since I'm originally from Idaho) Congress recently disapproved splitting Washington, Idaho, the US of A's fifth largest state into three parts, which plan was designed to better represent the different climates and cultural groups in the state by merging the split pieces with their counterparts in Washington State and Utah. The groupings would've kept central Idaho as Idaho, and western Washington as Washington. The plan fell through on hearing the new state names. The northern panhandle of Idaho would've been merged with eastern Washington to create Washaho, while southern Idaho would've merged with Utah to form Utaho. Idaho, Utah, Washaho were deemed too much like whorehouse conversation. __________________________________________

Arbitrator \ar'-bi-tray-ter\: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's. Avoidable \uh-voy'-duh-buhl\: What a bullfighter tries to do. Baloney \buh-lo'-nee\: Where some hemlines fall. Bernadette \burn'-a-det\: The act of torching a mortgage. Burglarize \bur'-gler-ize\: What a crook sees with. Control \kon-trol'\: A short, ugly inmate. Counterfeiters \kown-ter-fit-ers: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets. Eclipse \i-klips'\: What an English barber does for a living. Eyedropper \i'-drop-ur\: A clumsy ophthalmologist. Heroes \hee'-rhos\: What a guy in a boat does. Left Bank : What the robber did when his bag was full of loot. Misty \mis'-tee\: How golfers create divots. Paradox \par'-u-doks\: Two physicians. Parasites \par'-uh-sites\: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Pharmacist \farm'-uh-sist\: A helper on the farm. Polarize \po'-lur-ize\: What penguins see with. Relief \ree-leef'\: What trees do in the spring. Rubberneck \rub'-er-nek\: What you do to relax your wife. Seamstress \seem'-stres\: Describes 200 pounds in a size two. Selfish \sel'-fish\: What the owner of a seafood store does. Subdued \sub-dood'\: A guy that works on one of those submarines. Sudafed \sood'-a-fed\: Bringing litigation against a government official

She's 41, entering her 42nd year

1) A Unit of Time - Eon 2) Name of a City - albuquerque 3) Name of a River - Nile 4) A location - Between the ears and 1.5 inches behind the nose 5) Adjective - pleural 6) Plural noun- Bengal Tigers 7) Verb Ending in "ing" - hopping Adjective - geriatric 9) Type of Family Relative - Black Sheep of the Family Tree 10) Noun - Butcher 11) Plural Noun - Mad Cows 12) Name of a Street - Lyre on Fellings Street 13) An emotion - copesetic 14) Verb in past tense - thudded 15) Three Initials (example: ABB) - EDW 16) Type of Animal - Reptile 17) Plural Noun - Choo-choos 18) A Junkfood - Onion Rings 19) Adjective - fusty 20) A Liquid - mercury

As the others. From search results of "view new posts", clicking on the Poll link, received, Possible cause: "themigh" instead of "themightypen" in URL.

A thoughtful friend Who fixes tea And sits so quietly Next to me. Shares woes of children Headaches not a few Geriatric pair make we two. May your 42nd year show growth beyond what you've already achieved. People are like trees, they should continue to grow through life. Although as they age, the rings are left in the bathtub and their bite is worse than the bark. hugs -P

You should boldly post more. -P in haste

Hugs I like your poetry. Don't forget the URL. PM me the URL of the place at which you normally write please. -P

Huh. I read it and immediately thought of Jesus the Christ.

Thank you all who posted, it's an obscure read because it's me at a very naked write. Heh, whether fortunate or unfortunately, this is how a part of me *always* thinks - slowed and frozen into a point in time, thrice woven into a braid. I only wish I could've written what was in my mind when I awoke, for this is a pale shadow of such Wraithing thoughts. -P

He spun out from his electron orbits, an electric presence, now wave, now particle, depending on the observer's needs and eventually came back around spinning, spinor up, spinor down, orbital places, slung his back pack to the floor. And he said, I'm back it was interesting; they paid for my way; New books to read. New games to play. Their life was hell - They were very drained. They're getting married! My advice I explained. I gave them a breather; They were magnificent together, kicked out the evil, The storms they weather. I met some people, they were all so nice! I hope it was worth it to them... As she reached up and extracted the crimson pen of correction from the gold-with-silver-strands-peering-out hair, to mark the red smiley by an answer quite apt, she murmured, as he paused for breath at the last, What advice did you give? He spun to a halt and looked at her way, recalling he'd heard of a divorce in her past, and his mouth flapped windless as he tried to recall. For her question was not empty. He ran back and forth lithely and deft, spinning the plates on their rods with great speed, stepping on shards but ignoring the pain, catching a few and putting them back in their place, occasionally gaining the time to pick up and repair, intent in his focus. A phrase from her way catches his attention and as he runs, his words burble up. And he says, Despite the obvious differences that exist between you and I, I can't help thinking as I hear what you say, that there are similarities that lie underneath, if you will. The empathy you mention resonates deeply and did you mention kindness? I often listen well, and I'm thinking we're positive and really you see, I'm a likeable guy so apparently with all these things in common it's no wonder we write as friends and, (excuse while I catch this, pardon me while this shard mends,) where was I oh yes, I think you'll agree we have commonality, (back in a minute, over there is disaster!) He spins three more plates to give himself a chance to catch one on a foot and two in one hand, ignoring the increasingly shattered crockery at his feet. The steady rhythm and response from her side, as she patiently recites back her daughter's lines for the play, pauses for a moment, as she inquires, What do you see as our differences? Which leaves him frozen in an odd plate-bearing posture as he actually has to look at himself and contrast. The lights are out in the office but the eye he uses for life, the left eye that has visions of people as they could be, should be, is filled with rainbows and tingles and is so overflowing with light that he simply has to use the right eye, the cynical eye, which feeds the reality-threads it spies to the Other eye to be transformed like stained glass windows from dull reality greys into wonderous potential visions, but not today for it is overfull and so he turns the right eye into himself as he bends into fetal curls of resistance to the bleak realities he sees and he just can't help but to wonder. And he says, You know this really doesn't make sense, the world's an evil modern place filled with selfishness and stalkers and obsession and lusts willing to consume and own others with no regard for them (and as I tell so many I love) you shouldn't open yourself up to chance-met strangers because you're far too precious to risk your heart to someone like that; how can you know that when I say I'd never hurt you that I won't, for all liars start with lies of love and protection until they can eat your heart and identity away and leave you dependent on only their poison: addicted to come back for explanations of reality; and you should really beware. This, all this, doesn't make sense, for since I saw you laughing on the stair I haven't had any defenses against you and one of us should be realistic according to the right eye's view and retreat and defend because unreasonable Middle-Ages Romantic Love which exists in writings but not realities, consider: love just isn't prudent and far too vulnerable and while this whole thing could frighten me (if I were the type to listen to fear (it's just negative believing and believing creates realities you see and where was I before I digressed? Oh yes! Reality and stress and why you should be wary for you simply can't know what lies behind the masks that others will show you, although), I'm tough enough to survive; so you see it is really in your interests that this I say, you should consider why you take time in your life (which is full and abundant and really doesn't need me) and - She put a single finger to my lip (which fell silent immediately in astonishment for she never interrupts) and her lip curled in amusement. And she said, Why not?

Sighs and realizes he'll have to reveal the actual process It's easy. The names of everyone who can potentially be advanced is put into the Almost Dragonic Brand Promotizer which Wyvern gave the Pen to speed up the process. He guaranteed it as foolproof. Although, come to think of it, it was after we started using it that I was knocked from Elder to Ancient, and James went from Elder to Ancient to Herald... And our names weren't even put in!

Peredhil whisks in and sets up the Birthday room with streamers, balloons, and Hugs, all set to go off at midnight...

Tralla - try hitting shift+refresh. The page could be cached on your ISP rather than your machine. Orlan - REALLY good job.

Peredhil walks by and stops to talk with Door for a bit. On hearing that Melba is out of the room, he frowns, but his face clears when he hears Ayshela has provided for snacks. On hearing that Wyvern hasn't been seen since he received a brochure on "Flamingos, Lawn Gnomes, and YOU", Peredhil sets off to find the wayward Elder.

LOL... Jechum made the very same mistake when he created the Ezboard site(s).

Good to see you posting again. The italics echo an attitude I've heard on buses and Metro trains all too well. Good "summation" of what seems to be the majority attitude of a generation. I'm glad there are exceptions!

A good tribute to friendship in my opinion. I like the final stanza - allowing friends to move out and grow, and then bring the new strength back in the confidence of being accepted again, is one of the most obvious differences between friendship and co-dependency to my mind. Like one of my friends told me when I was much younger, as I pointed out how far apart we'd grown on our different paths in life, "Oh shut up; It's too late for us now, we chose to be friends before all that." I like that definition. Well done.

Oh! Thank you Falcon! Hugs There's no growth without guidance!

From the FAQ. I really don't know what the current standards are. Ancient fits me all too well of late, and I have to admit, my reading of posts is somewhat scattered and random - I haven't read anything by NTraveler2 lately, but that isn't trying to say that you haven't been posting. I'm gonna made a few observations though. Whether any of these apply to your case, I haven't a clue. 1) posting activity. Not just posting your own works, but posting on others. 2) respect. One of the cultural foundations of the Pen is respect for others, even when disagreeing. I'd suggest debating thoughts, not people, and always remember that even if someone can't love themself fixes a wry eye on X-Sabre, it doesn't mean you have to agree and validate their poor self-esteem. Setting an example of tolerance, and proving words with actions and consistency are a great way to get along with others. 3) It might not be "fair", but the Pen *IS* an elitest organization - we want people who are willing to grow as writers. It's a writing community. So like the FAQ says, you do have to prove yourself. Not just in skill, but ability to contribute to the community as well as receive from it. Those who are "receive only" do well to complain. 4) Fairs are what come to town with Ferris Wheels. Life is not fair. 5) It might not be you at all. It could be that those running this place have full time jobs, or don't have jobs and are trying to contribute while looking for a job, or full time students, or get sick, or are just fallable human beings who made a mistake. By assuming the fault was perceived in you, and taking the martyr's role, you assign the role of attacker to them. Attack leads to defense - and so the battle lines are drawn. Never assume malice when human fallability is possible. It allows others to change or grow, to admit mistakes in a non-hostile atmosphere, rather than separating people into armed camps of agreement or disagreement. 6) Don't compare yourself to what others have and you don't. One of the other cultural foundations is that everyone here is unique - just like all the rest. Just some thoughts from a tired Ancient, with little time. Rough, unpolished, but meant well. Some may fit you or your situation, some might not. I really don't know. But you sounded upset, and THAT I wanted to acknowledge as real. -A senile Ancient

Peredhil is lured in by the topic in hopes of something positive... Yay! I like this. Easy rhymes, positive perceptions, the importance of imagination - It's very easy for me to be negative and take for granted the things I have or have had - after all, when something goes well, that's the standard - why appreciate that? But this is a lovely "Reality Check" Thank you for having the courage to post something simple, fun, and which improved my day by at least 47%.

You're braver than I was... I didn't ever ask the one who took my breath away on a date. It's the sort of thing that will haunt you through the years. I'd advise courage - in its worse case, the pain will be immediate and survivable, as opposed to regrets which erode over the years.

Gratz... You Quill-Bearers... shakes a cane at them and uses his firmest creaky Ancient voice I expect y'all to really tighten up on spelling and grammar, to set an example for impressionable young Initiates! wanders off muttering, "when I was a spry Quill Bearer... the first the Pen had! ... why, Ozymandias would make me use Starving Peasants for troops for every mispelled word! QBs nowadays.... Luxury! (Congrats)