Welcomes! Introductions! Party Tricks!

[Yvonne]

Hi, I'm Yvonne, from Northwest UK. I love to write and read and I am an amateur digital photographer. I'm interested in grammar because as a writer I do like to be sure my work is as good as it can be, though I am by no means an expert.

[Longhare]

Hey! I'm Janet from northern LA County in southern California. My two truths and a lie:
1. I have two dogs, two cats, two horses, two kids, but only one husband.
2. I make a living playing with words.
3. I am a burger master.

[Ken, Moderator]

A burger master? I'll choose that one.

Welcome, everyone. There are too many ones to count in the past few days, so if you're reading this, consider yourself welcomed!

[Longhare]

Bing! I never learned to cook meat properly. Married a a beefophobe.

[Ken, Moderator]

Vegan, eh? Vegetables have feelings, too. The local ranch farmer told me so....

[Longhare]

Not quite vegan. Fish and fowl still have reason to fear him. The upside is, I bake a mean potato.

[Joanne]

I don't carrot all about veggie feelings. I will beet them to a pulp.

[Longhare]

I don't know how the veggies are feelin' but I'm really craving some borsht now.

Joanne, you're a punster. My younger daughter loves puns--thinks they are hilarious. I have a friend who puns endlessly. I like a good pun, but they don't often pop into my head and I find them interesting in an amusing way rather than fall-down funny. I wonder why certain kinds of humor set off hilarity in some people. Is it genetic? Do puns brew in the left or the right side of the brain? I wonder, if all the people in this group chose sides and lined up story-first or style-first, if all the punsters would end up on Team Style.

[Joanne]

Longhare wrote: "I don't know how the veggies are feelin' but I'm really craving some borsht now.

Joanne, you're a punster. My younger daughter loves puns--thinks they are hilarious. I have a friend who puns endle..."
I don't pun endlessly, I was just hassling Newengland.
My father punned endlessly, so it's effortless, but I usually squelch the urge.
How old is your younger daughter?

[Longhare]

Seventeen. She loves wordplay. She may get her love of language from me, but the puns must be from her dad's side.

[Ken, Moderator]

I respect puns. Puns are Shakespearean. There. That ought to lend them some gravity (watching puns come down to earth)....

[Ken, Moderator]

Hi back.

[Alison]

Hi! Alison from Wollongong, Australia here (but originally from New Zealand).
1. I am allergic to rabbits.
2. I have 20 uncles and aunties.
3. I speak 3 languages.

My favourite joke: How do you reassure a sad Grammar Nazi? Pat them on the back and say 'There, their, they're, its OK.'

[Ken, Moderator]

You mean "It's OK."

(Sorry, I couldn't resist. And I'm not even a grammar fascist. Peace and love and hell with apostrophes.)

My guess is that #3 is the fib, unless Kiwi is its own language....

[Tytti]

Alison wrote: "
1. I am allergic to rabbits.
2. I have 20 uncles and aunties.
3. I speak 3 languages."

I think the second one. Or of course you can speak four languages.

[Ken, Moderator]

What's up, Ups?

[Katherine]

Hi everyone! I'm Katherine. I'm 32 and am really into reading. I'm in the process of publishing my first novel which is called Spellbrooke, and it's a fantasy novel. I'm from the UK. My book was a real challenge for me as I was born with the neurological disabilities of spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy , and hydrocephalus and I am registered blind .
I'm pleased to meet you all. I also love shopping, fashion and beauty and love cars and horses.

[Ken, Moderator]

Welcome, Katherine. And congrats on the new book!

[Bloodyhell]

Hello everyone! I'm Fong and I'm a student. I just can't resist joining a group of word lovers!

[Ken, Moderator]

Welcome, Fong of Finland!

[Katerina]

Hello everyone!
I am Katerina, living in Germany and just an avid reader!
I would like to improve my English and this group looks like the right place for me.

[Ken, Moderator]

Welcome, Katerina of Deutschland.

[Ken, Moderator]

Welcome, Melissa of Oh, Canada!

[Adriano]

Hello,

I am Adriano, but people call me Ade. I am a lover of Literature but also a but of a Philologist and Grammarian.

[Sharon]

Welcome Ade!

[Ken, Moderator]

...of Italia!

[s•u•n•s•h•i•n•e «§KENZ§»]

Hello, I'm Kenzie. I'm a musical theatre major hailing from the mid-west. I love writing and hope to be an editor in the future, while I pursue a career onstage. Honestly, I just love grammar so this is a positively wonderful find!

[Desiree]

Greetings! I'm a reader and book-lover (print & e) and have been in the publishing field for the majority of my working life. Language & Grammar are stock-in-trade for me; I'm happy to pitch in to discussions and generally lurk about.

[Stephen]

Welcome Desiree

[Ava Catherine]

Hello, I am Connie, and I live in the South (USA). After teaching Pre-AP English, I am now retired and tutoring Japanese students. I enjoy the book discussions on Goodreads.

[Ken, Moderator]

Hello, Connie. Congrats on your retirement! As is the case with all retirees, you inspire my jealousy, but don't take it personally. I'm just ready before my time, is all.

[Jenna]

Hello! I just joined because I met Newengland and Ruth in another (poetry-related) Goodreads group and decided to follow them over here for a lark. Also, I really like the barn owl logo of the group (although I'm more of a snowy owl person).

A bit about me:
-I'm a writer of poems, short stories, and Goodreads reviews (mostly of poetry books, old and new, American and international). Feel free to friend me if you want to compare thoughts on poetry books.
-I get frighteningly passionate about grammar.
-I pun constantly.
-I like playing word games more than you like playing word games. I was quoted in this controversy-mongering article about Boggle that appeared in the online magazine Slate last year: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ga...
-If you play Prolific (a Facebook app that's basically an online version of Boggle), you may have seen me around.
-Looking forward to getting to know other logophiles and grammar-lovers here!

[Ruth]

Jenna! Welcome.

[Carol]

Hey Jenna, nice to make your acquaintance, even though it is not face to face. I stumble my way through Words with Friends over at Facebook.

[Ken, Moderator]

Jenna -- Not only grammar, but word games! You ARE a match for L&G. Feel free to resuscitate (or start) threads in the Word Games category.

I'm not the best at them (except word association, which is a nice match for my non sequitur mind), but I try. Now and again. Especially when school is not in session. Which it is about to be. Again. Soon.

Arghh....

[Carol]

Down that lonesome highway eh..... NE!

[Ken, Moderator]

Repeat after me, Carol: "It is still summer... it is still summer... it is still summer..."

[Carol]

What would you do if you did retire? Travel, write, read , and get into mischief?

[Ken, Moderator]

All of the above, plus exercise, teach part-time (one course good enough, thank you), take piano and language lessons.

I would NOT be one of those "bored" or "Oh, what will I do with myself?" retirees.

[Carol]

Didn't think so. Ack, my Spanish is not blooming, I am not good at languages. You would think with all the Spanish around here I would pick it up by osmosis. I love living here, because it is so diverse. We have Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, and every other ethnic group you could think of. No need to travel the world for food and culture.

[Ruth]

One of the nicest things about immigrants is the wonderful food they bring with them.

[Boreal Elizabeth]

hello...do i get a door prize?

[Carol]

Hello, long time , no hear. How are things going?

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Now there's a blast from the past! Oh wait.......I probably am too......

[Ken, Moderator]

Yay, Boreal Elizabeth I (there's no II yet). Take the door, why don't you. We'll get another for when Prabha walks through it.

Good to see you! Can you give us the abridged version of where the hell you've been and what the devil you've been up to? We're all ears, waxing curious.

[[deleted user]]

I will send neither Willy nor Nilly a post; such posts are prohibited by the Group Rules. I'm Jon from New England.

[Carol]

Hi, Jon........nice to meet you.

[Sharon]

Where in New England, Jon? Welcome!

[[deleted user]]

Sharon, I used to live in Sharon MA (briefly) but now I'm in Western MA.

[Sharon]

Hah! I was born in downeast Maine. Now live in Colorado.