Two Questions

Socializing and general posts on wide-ranging topics. Remember, it's Poststructural!
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Jerry Freeman
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Post by Jerry Freeman »

How many square dancers does it take to change a lightbulb?


















(Eight, but you have to walk them through it first.)
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Post by Bloomfield »

elendil wrote:Well, that sure ruined it for me! But what the hell's a Vogon? Is that some Trekkie deal?


Aaaah. If you have to ask, you'll never know.

And by the way, the best way to get a drink out of a Vogon is to stick your finger down his throat. :)
/Bloomfield
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Post by Jerry Freeman »

Why did the chicken cross the road?



















(To prove to the possum it could be done.)
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Post by Jerry Freeman »

elendil
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Post by elendil »

They generally become bureaucrats in the galactic government. Their unpleasant demeanour makes them ideally suited to such employment.
Thanks, Jerry. Looks like I may be a Vogon of sorts.

However, I'm amazed that all the Corbett and Anderson devotees haven't been storming this thread. Go figger.
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Post by The Weekenders »

He's not Bloomie!!! :o

This is the guy who never uses the same name twice in a row on Chat, but never his real name. Whadda fusspot!

How about Blooie?
How do you prepare for the end of the world?
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Post by elendil »

I have to say, I'm really surprised that nobody seems to have heard of Jim Corbett--I mean "Jungle" Jim Corbett, rather than "Gentleman" Jim Corbett. He was born and raised in Kumaon, which is in the foothills of the the Himalayas, on the NW corner of Nepal. He's famous for his books about hunting man eating tigers and leopards in India during the days of the British Raj (Man Eaters of Kumaon was a Book of the Month selection in 1956, I believe). But he was far more than a hunter of man eaters: he was a pioneering naturalist with a profound knowledge of the flora and fauna of India. In fact, probably the best known tiger reserve in India is named after him. National Geographic did a made for TV flick about him, and now I see there's another movie out, which the reviews say mostly focus on the tigers--Corbett would have preferred that. Anyway, I grew up reading these books and still love them.

http://www.nwf.org/productions/indiatiger/corbett.html

http://www.nwf.org/productions/indiatiger/corbett.html
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Post by Jerry Freeman »

I'm with you on this one, Elendil.

Not about Jim Corbett, of whom I've never heard, either, but about how disappointing it is when no one seems to know about some very important personage that it's difficult to imagine civilization without. In my case, I'm just stunned at the fact that only a couple of people here seem to be aware of the importance of Daniel Pinkwater in the world of profound philosophical and scientific thought.

It's very sad.

Best wishes,
Jerry
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Post by elendil »

Earth to Jerry! You're needed over on the "Special Interests" thread! They're gangin' up on me, but I'm fightin' back! :wink:

But do yourself a favor--even skip the "Special Interests" thread if you have to--and check out Corbett's books. You'll probably find them in most any public library. Great reads.
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Post by Jerry Freeman »

Thanks for the tip, El. They sound like I would enjoy them a lot.

I think Jim and Rando are watching your back over at the "Special Interests" thread. Looks like it's a fairly even give and take.

Best wishes,
Jerry
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Post by elendil »

True, but for the paranoid "even" is never good enough. :D
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Post by Darwin »

elendil wrote:IMan Eaters of Kumaon was a Book of the Month selection in 1956, I believe).
Oh, I read that--probably when it was first published--but had forgotten his name. Was that the book that told about an elephant that looped around off the trail and around through the jungle and ambushed him?

I loved books like that when I was a teenager. Also Osa & Martin Johnson's old books, and everything Raymond Ditmars ever wrote. Later, it was Gerald Durrell (Lawrence's little brother). The modern equivalents, to me, are books like "The Beak of the Finch" and "Conversations with Neil's Brain".
Mike Wright

"When an idea is wanting, a word can always be found to take its place."
 --Goethe
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Post by elendil »

Darwin wrote:
Was that the book that told about an elephant that looped around off the trail and around through the jungle and ambushed him?
No, that story is from a book by Kenneth Anderson--the other fellow I mentioned. Anderson lived in Bangalore back when it was still a somewhat sleepy town. Now, of course, it's the hub of India's huge software sector. Like Corbett but not nearly to the same extent, Anderson was something of a naturalist, but also a bit of an amateur ethnographer among the aboriginal tribes of southern India.

I make a practice of going back and rereading some of my favorite "escapist" books now and then. The idea of "the hunter hunted" is perennielly fascinating. I read the Johnson books when I was a kid, too. I was sure that lots of people on the board would have read at least Corbett's books, since they're still so widely held in libraries and are regularly reprinted. I'm still a little puzzled that you're the only one to pick up on them.

I'll have to check out a few of your favorites. Hey, Ivan T. Sanderson had some good ones, too.
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Post by jim stone »

I was a fan of Jim Corbett as a child;
especially appealing was 'Flesh-eaters of
Hoboken,' principally about a tiger than escaped from
the Bronx zoo, made it to the Palisades
where it lived in the forest, except for junkets
to Hoboken to catch and eat Hasidic Jews
and also some members of the Russian Orthodox
Church (though the tiger preferred the former,
Corbett wrote). JC crept up upon the
tiger in the night--this was spine tingling--
and, to his amazement, recognized his
Aunt Esther in a tiger suit.

'My God, Esther' he said. 'Why are you wreaking
havoc in Hoboken on undeserving
minorities in a tiger suit, no less?'

'They aren't in a tiger suit' she responded.
They wear black, mostly. I'm the one in the tiger suit.'

'For heaven's sake, answer my question!'

'Your mother, God rest her soul, said that
structural ambiguities would be your undoing.
She is looking down from heaven right now,
wringing her hands, moaning 'Why
can't he parse? Why must he leave out the
commas?'

'Esther, please, I've been trying for months
to find a way to search for the flesheater of Hoboken without
success!'

'Small wonder you've had so much trouble!'

This book transformed me to the very fiber
of my being. And it was just one of
a series, you know. I still haven't recovered from
'The Duodenum Muncher of Great Neck,' but I'd
best leave that for another night....
Last edited by jim stone on Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by elendil »

Hmmm, missed those stories, but Anderson has a couple about sadhus who were thought to or claimed to turn into leopards and eat human flesh. :o
elendil
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