The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Evelyn Browne:

Have you seen the Phelps-a-thon? You can pledge money to various social justice causes for every minute that the Phelpses picket a selected site. Brilliant.

21, with a lot of wild-ass guessing.

21, with a lot of wild-ass guessing.

#53 Nancy:

If you don't mind, do you have any idea why you feel that way? I've got a similar reaction, and it's from being Jewish.

I think my reaction springs from similar experiences to yours; I grew up the village atheist in a very small Midwestern town.

#27 Susan:

When I watch him speak on video, my reaction ranges from baffled incomprehension of all the fuss to actual gut-level aversion. It is, in fact, similar to my reaction to people who preach religion at me - I see a kind of magical thinking that I just don't get, and which actively repels me when pushed too hard.

Yes. That.

I don't know how to argue against magical thinking; there doesn't seem to be a way to do it except to be magical oneself-- to have charisma. I feel more comfortable with cynical allies who hold cynical positions, whether I agree with them or not, because I trust my ability to argue my case with them. Magical thinkers unnerve me even when I agree with them, because I have no charisma of my own, no way to get at the roots of their beliefs, and no recourse if those beliefs change into something dangerous to me.

I distrust charisma, because at some level I'm convinced that if my neighbors are ever united, with sincere emotion and conviction, in any endeavor, eventually they'll get bored with their original purpose and pick up pitchforks and torches and come after me.

I am aware that this is not a rational response, and I try not to let it influence my voting unduly. I did vote for Obama today. But I have to turn the radio off when his sound bites come on; I can't listen to any effective political rhetoric without feeling threatened.

And, apropos of #148-- It's a pity that Paulum sacerdotis doesn't scan better.

This thread just does not stop being awesome.

Chris @148: That's wonderful.
Mikael @108: 2 is "Qvr ubryyr Enpur xbpug vz zrvarz Uregmra"

And I didn't know the author of Patrick's additions, but Google informs me it's Yneel Avira-- "Arire guebj fuvg ng na nezrq zna" naq "Arire fgnaq arkg gb fbzrbar guebjvat fuvg ng na nezrq zna."

1. gur Yvgnal Ntnvafg Srne, sebz Qhar
2. gur gvghyne cbrz sebz Gur Yrsg Unaq bs Qnexarff
3. gur Fgne Gerx vageb
4. bar bs Zrabyyl'f fbatf sebz Qentbafbat (Gur yvggyr dhrra nyy tbyqra / syrj uvffvat ng gur frn)
5. "Gur Sbepr tvirf gur Wrv gurve cbjre..." sebz Fgne Jnef, boi.
6. "Gur Ebnq Tbrf Rire Rire Ba" (Ovyob'f irefvba sebz gur Ybat-Rkcrpgrq Cnegl)
7. "Vg vf nyjnlf gur cerebtngvir bs puvyqera naq unys-jvgf gb cbvag bhg gung gur rzcrebe unf ab pybgurf..." Qernz, sebz Fnaqzna
8. gur bar guvat urer V unira'g ernq; zl Yngva-ungvat ebbzzngr gryyf zr vg'f sebz Gur Ynfg Havpbea (juvpu V fgnegrq bapr, gjb lrnef ntb, naq unq gb chg qbja unysjnl guebhtu orsber V guerj vg npebff gur ebbz; gur pbafgnag, ivbyrag ertvfgre fuvsgf veevgngrq gur uryy bhg bs zr.)
9. "Gur rarzl'f tngr vf qbja," sebz Raqre'f Tnzr
10. "Ybir. Lbh pna xabj nyy gur zngu va gur 'Irefr..." sebz gur raq bs Freravgl.

Lois #48, Paul #50--

Thanks! But I wouldn't swear to the accuracy of any of it; those are strictly rough-and-ready sight translations, and parts of it I really ought to have looked up.

Jim #34-- Well, the scop was reciting actual OE. Grendel and his mother were speaking some sort of cracked-out Anglo-Danish macronics with only the vaguest gesture in the direction of case endings and a heckuva lot of anachronistic words (I think I might have flinched as hard on 'boy' as I did on 'Geats.')

Oh, fun! I needed something else to procrastinate on my Yuletide story with :-).

1. 1. Nyy gung vf arrqshy gb zr ba Lhyr vf gjnva grrgu...
1. 2. B pbzr, lbh snvgushy, cebfcrebhf, naq ivpgbel-snfg...
1. 3. Gur svefg Abry vg jnf fhat gur ...fbzrguvat...

Uhu. V'z abg fher bs gur shyy yvar gurer.

1.4. Fnvq gur yvggyr ynzo gb gur furcureq obl, Urnerfg gubh gung juvpu V urne?
1.5. Sebfgl, gur fabj-puhey, jnf n tyrr-rntre, cebfcrebhf zna...
1.6. B ubyl avtug! Gur fgnef oevtugyl fuvar. Gur avtug vf gur ovegu bs bhe orybirq Fnivbe.
1.7. Va qnlf bs lber va Orguyrurz, fb fnlf gur ubyl [bar] nyjnlf (??), bs Znel n yvggyr obl-puvyq jnf obea ba Puevfgznf qnl...
1.8. Jr bs gur Rnfg-sbyx xvatf guerr tvsg-ornevat geniry sne...
1.9. Juvyr furcureqf thneqrq n ureq avtugyl, gurl nyy fng ba gur tebhaq...
1.10. Gur ubyyl naq gur vil, jura gurl ner shyyl tebja, bs nyy gerrf va gur jbbq, gur ubyyl ornef n pebja...

2.1: V fnj guerr fuvcf fnvyvat va, ba Puevfgznf qnl, ba Puevfgznf qnl...
2.2: Vp frnu zbqbe plffna Fnapg Avpynf …
V fnj zbgure xvff Fnvag Avpubynf...
2.3: Ba gur svefg qnlf (?) bs Puevfgznf, zl qneyvat frag zr...
2.4: Ebhaq-unat(?) gur unyy jvgu gjvtf bs ubyyl
Sn yn yn rgp
Vg vf gur gvzr gb or oyvgur
Sn yn yn rgp
2.5: Qvat qbat zreevyl ba uvtuarff; gur Lhyr oryyf fbhaq
2.6: Njnl va n ova, ab pevo sbe uvf orq,
Gur yvggyr Puevfg-ybeq qbja-ynl uvf fjrrg urnq
2.7: Wbl gb gur jbeyq; urer vf gur Ybeq;
Gur rnegu zhfg erprvir (tenfc?) vgf xvat.
2.8: Unex! Gur natry-zrffratref fvat; tybel gb gur arj-obea xvat.
2.9: V qernz bs juvgr Puevfgznf, jvgu rnpu ehar-fgnss bs Lhyr V pneir.
2.10: Natryf sebz gur xvatqbz bs jbaqre, syl lbhe nve-syvtug bire Zvqtneq

I have some vague memories of the 1980 elections, when I was not-quite-five, but they're very vague-- I don't remember the Iranian hostage crisis at all, for example, despite one of the hostages being a local. But then I wasn't in school yet.

After that, there's kind of a lacuna-- I don't remember Reagan's shooting at all. The next things in the wikipedia rundown that I remember having any awareness of at the time, instead of reading/hearing about well after the fact, are Princess Diana's wedding and Sandra Day O'Connor's appointment, in summer to fall of 1981.

255- And the pigment itself was called raddle or ruddle.

Xopher 117, folk 152--

My favorite deixis joke: Two linguists are walking down the street. Which one is the specialist in contextually indicated deixis and anaphoric reference resolution?

The other one.

Oh, dear. I should have rot-13ed that, shouldn't I?

1. nov, gur qbhoyr qnpgly
2. puevf l, gur ivyynaryyr
3. rguna, gur fbaarg
4. qropun, gur unvxh
5. Oehpr Pbura (FcrnxreGbZnantref), gur yvzrevpx

*waves to the VPX crowd*

Wish I could have been there. Eat a pancake for me!

Congratulations, Teresa! What a nifty endeavor.

Oh, I'm jealous. Have a fantastic time!

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