Introductions and Welcomes Showing 201-250 of 2,568

[rabbitprincess]

*pokes head into kitchen*

Hello there! I just joined the group, so I thought I'd mosey over to the introductions thread. I'm Bunxena, Rabbit Princess, but you may call me Rabbit or R.P. (Just don't call me late for dinner! Ha ha.)

Anyway, about me: I shall be graduating from university very soon, armed with a translation degree and a vicious editorial streak. I correct misspellings and grammatical errors in the paper and take Sharpies to similarly incorrect posters. I know the difference between "good" and "well", and I literally scream in agony at the sight of a wrong "its" or "it's". (I am not misusing "literally" here; I do actually scream out loud.)

Looking forward to discussing language and grammar with all of you!

[Ken, Moderator]

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit (it's the first thing you say the first of each month for good luck). Hi, Bunx. Love the nom de poste. And I can tell you're hailing from a British (or former British) outpost by those periods and commas wiggling outside the closing quotation mark (a very un-American thing to do... like voting for George Bush).

Anyway, welcome to the kitchen and open the fridge all you want. While you're in there, maybe you can explain why there's a "d" in "fridge" but not in "refrigerator."

[rabbitprincess]

Thanks, Newengland! I did not know that about saying "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" at the first of the month. I shall have to remember that. :)

And indeed, I am from a former British outpost: Canada, where we are deprived of legal ways to watch Doctor Who. (Thank heavens for YouTube!) My friends also think I act very British at times. If drinking lots of tea, having a dry wit, and using Britishisms such as "bugger off" on a regular basis makes one a Brit, then I'm guilty as charged.

Perhaps there is a "d" in "fridge" to aid in pronunciation; if it were spelled "frige", people might be tempted to pronounce it "fry-je" (where the "je" sounds like French). That's just a guess, though.

*discovers missing "d" in refrigerator, finds it is past its sell-by date and chucks it out*

*raids pantry for Bulk Barn candy*

[Ruth]

explain why there's a "d" in "fridge" but not in "refrigerator."

Because then it might be spelled "frig," which is an entirely different catfight.

R

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Another Colonial!!! Hullo Bunny.....Britishisms rule (bloody buggery bollocks!!)
The d in fridge....hmmm. Why not have it in refrigerator as well, if it just about avoiding pronunciation confusions. Or MAYBE....we have ALL been pronouncing it wrongly and it should actually be refriggerator!!!!!

[rabbitprincess]

Hee hee. Nice one indeed, Ruth!

And Donna, I know! It is horrendous, the sufferings we Doctor Who fans in Canada must go through. CBC actually co-funds the show (or it did last season), so you'd think they'd have some clout and arrange for a timely airing schedule. Even Sci-Fi in the States is airing season 4, albeit three weeks behind. Oh well, that's what YouTube is for.

(*sigh* Oh, David Tennant...yeah, he is "my" Doctor, if only because I am completely infatuated with him. :P)

Hello there, Debbie my fellow colonial!! From reading previous posts in this thread, I gather you are in New Zealand! One of my co-workers is a Kiwi and he's occasionally loaned me NZ-related books: mainly Alan Duff, also Tu by Patricia somebody, and some short story collections. They were really good!

Maybe we have been pronouncing it wrong all along! My other theory for the "d" is that "frige" just looks weird and so people stuck in a "d" to make it look better.

[Sherry]

I think fridge is spelled the way it is because it's a shortening of the brand-name "Fridgedaire."

[rabbitprincess]

CBC recently developed two new digital channels, one of which, Bold, had a lot of Ninth Doctor clips in its adverts. Makes me suspicious that CBC will fob my beloved Ten off into the digital hinterland instead of putting it on basic cable where it deserves to be (and needs to be, because I'm cheap and not about to pay an extra two bucks a month for one show on one channel).

*checks website* Yes, they DO have it on there, the sneaky little sneaks. AND, to add insult to injury, it's relegated to midnight on Wednesdays. *Is cross* Oh CBC, remind me just why I support you again?

*rummages in pantry for tea fixings, fixes a nice cuppa because she needs it*

[[deleted user]]

i'm leaning towards the refridgerator
i.e. the d stayed in fridge
but got lost in refridge

[Sherry]

Actually, I think we both are wrong. It's "Frigidaire."
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/pr...

So that doesn't help things much, does it? There sure a lot of misspellings on the Internet having to do with refrigerators and Frigidaires. Just Google and see.

[Ruth]

"Frigidaire." But you will notice the entymology, from the root word "frig, verb, transitive." As in to frig the potato salad.

R

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Frig is a......no!!!!!! I thought it was an exclamation of frustration....and you say it is the opposite! ;-)

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

As in ..."Where is the frigging shovel?"

[Ken, Moderator]

"Frig" means to have sexual relations with someone? This is a news flash to me! "Frigid" means not to have sexual relations with someone, I know, but its nickname is the other side of the saucy coin?

Maybe it's another Brit thing (they're always up to something since Cornwallis sailed ignominiously into the sunrise).

And I agree, Debbie, this long riff on "fridge" vs. "refrigerator" is frigging entertaining!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Pretty sure it's not a Brit thing.......and I have a vague memory of having read somewhere before that fridge is a contraction of Frigidaire (spot on Ruth!) and had a 'd' inserted so there was no confusion about what it should rhyme with...like ridge and midge and bridge and....and....!!!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Where's my friggin' pen....no rude connotations here....I have said it in class! Should I stop!!! Or take up bowdling.....

[Ruth]

s delicately as I can, I must point out that frig is a word meaning to have sexual relations with. Frigere is the root word meaning to be cold.

I know that, Donna. Permit me some punning slack.

[Ken, Moderator]

Guess I'm out man out on frig. Is it a verb? A noun? As in, years ago, I frigged with Diana. Or, years ago, I had a frig with Diana. Or maybe both work. Don't tell me it's interchangeable with its more well-known Anglo-Saxon f-relative. OK. Tell me.

[Ruth]

Consider yourself told.

R

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Sounds like a verb....and here was I thinking it was an adjective all these years!!!

[Ken, Moderator]

<sotto voce> Apparently more fun as a verb...sotto voce>


**************************************

And we now have 176 members. Clearly there are a LOT of strangers milling about eating canapés and not introducing themselves. Do I have to start handing out these stickers that say, "HI, MY NAME IS _____" or what? Please tell me, or what!

I'd prefer that we all act like responsible adults, step up to the kitchen sink, rap the tap with the silverware (well, stainless or what have you) and give a quick shout-out, "Yo! Mi nombre es _______ et yo enjoy language and eating other people's food and liquor!" Then we can clap you on the back and get on with life...

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Maybe we should start a lurkers group where everybody lurks and nobody posts!!!!

[Sherry]

Well, I've posted, but I don't know if I've introduced myself. I'm Sherry, a friend of Ruth's and I have a hard time keeping up with this group. Many threads here remain "unread" but I try to keep abreast of this one. I spend most of my time over in Constant Reader, where I'm the moderator.

[Ruth]

Sherry and I are friends from way back. We met on Constant Reader about 12 years ago, and now are friends in the real world, too.

Oh, wait, maybe this is the real world. It's not, is it? Or is it? Oh, surely not or I'd be here all the time. Wait a minute, I am.

Oh, don't confuse me.

R

[[deleted user]]

Ruth,
You are where you believe you are. And where you do not believe, your aren't.

That was my lifetime allotment of existential philosophy. Whew! I'm glad I got that out of my system!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Is that all it takes?! Then I believe I am in Tuscany at sunset, on a terrace dripping with fragrant blooms and the most attentive, romantic man is offering me a drink......*sigh*!
I do NOT believe that I am at home in my old dressing gown, delaying a trip into school to prepare for the new term by visiting my virtual friends.

[Ken, Moderator]

Hi Sherry (even though we've "met"). I've been in and out of "Constant Reader" but mostly am unable to "commit" to reading something during the school year. Plus my philosophy has evolved on reading groups.

Ruth, you've got it right (I mean, whatever you concluded there).

Sarah, I LOVE existentialism. Sartre and Ca-mooooooo, especially. Such a positive philosophy.

[Sherry]

What is your evolved philosophy on reading groups? I could always use some evolving.

[Ruth]

When my brother lived briefly in Virginia, on Camus Street, everybody there called it, you guessed it, Kay-muss Street.

[Ken, Moderator]

KAY-muss? Too funny. But no surprise. In Connecticut, we have a Thames River pronounced with a "Th" sound. In England, the same spelling for a river is pronounced with a simple "T" and silent "h." Lots of stuff like that. But Kay-muss takes the proverbial gateau.

Sherry, nothing earth-shattering. The last time I did a reading group, I made a point of participating every month and reading every book and drove myself into the ground getting the reading done and then participating. Turns out, I disliked about 1/2 of the books selected and -- as with presidential elections -- every candidate (in this case, book) I voted for beforehand LOST.

So now I tend to jump in only when it's a book I would want to read, anyway. The danger of THAT evolution is this: sometimes I actually liked books I would never have picked up on my own in a gazillion years.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. But I decided less participation works better for me. Plus, I can be a distraction in a book discussion because I talk too much. Would you be-LIEVE?

[Sherry]

Nothing like me. I don't talk at all. Ruth can attest to that.

[Ruth]

Right. Sherry says very little, and talks very slowly.


Not!

R

[Amy]

Well, now that I feel thoroughly chastised I will introduce myself. My name is Amy and I currently live in Idaho where I am just finishing up degrees in Linguistics and Literature. I am also studying American Sign Language and being the perpetual student that I am, I may continue and get a degree in that as well. I love almost anything having to do with linguistics and language, though I admit to having an aversion to prescriptivism. On the whole, I think it's much more interesting to examine someone's language rather than judge it though there are exceptions of course. Now that I've probably offended all the English teachers out there, what else? I'm single and I work as a pharmacy tech for my Dad because that's what you do with degrees in Linguistics and Literature, right? Well I love this group and reading what everyone has to say. Hope I can keep up!

[[deleted user]]

OK-- who chastised Amy? That's no way to welcome someone to the group :) 'Fess up now, I'm about to send invites for the next party and I simply won't stand for anyone to be uncomfortable-- she gets first dibs on the chaise lounge :) We're all glad you're here! Oh, and can you recommend anything for poison ivy? I've got a seriously itchy case!

[Sheila]

Ooooh Sarah, well, I can offer my sympathy. My son's also experiencing some sort of plant allergy reaction right now, and it is U-G-L-Y.

Hi Amy. And Elizabeth. :)

[[deleted user]]

Sorry, I didn't mean to miss out on welcoming you too Elizabeth :)

Sheila- thanks for the sympathy . . . I knew my son is allergic and warned him to stay FAR, FAR away when we cleared out the old planting bed around our oak tree (I put the fear of having a shot in him). I truly had no idea that I would experience such an extreme reaction myself. So, now I'm off for a shot myself . . . ANYTHING to stop this itching!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Hi Amy and Elizabeth! You like Black Russians? I can't nerember who did the chastising....was it....NO! I won't go down that track! Next party soon.....for my half-century! (Sounds like a cricket score).

[Ken, Moderator]

I mock chastised (like the mock turtle) any lurkers who make like Cheshire Cats and smirk from the Land of Lurk. Remember? Now I'm glad I have because Amy came out and tried to offend English teachers (I don't offend easily, however) and Elizabeth showed a hankering for my favorite pastime, killing time (here, when you should be working on a project, like my ELL final project which must be postmarked tomorrow... gack).

Anyway, a hearty welcome to all. Let's offend some more out of the bushes. (Someone start singing that Good Witch song, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" off key so the Munchkins come out with their little hands over their ears.)

"And Kansas they say is the name of the star..."

[M.D.]

I'm not sure if I've introduced myself in this group or not, so here goes... apologies if I repeat myself.

I'm a word lover in many languages, and people who know me sometimes think I have a strange, terminal disease. When I found this group, I was gratified to see that I'm not alone.

I was born in Montreal, Canada and was promptly whisked North to a 100% French-speaking town. Despite the isolation, I managed to learn a bit of English and fell in love with the differences. After that, I couldn't be stopped. Today, I also speak Spanish, and mumble my way through Italian and Portuguese. I now live in Ottawa, Canada, a city where multiculturalism is normal, which I love. I also have five years of Latin and one of ancient Greek under my belt, which has helped tremendously in understanding and deconstructing words.

Words and their structure have always fascinated me, although I'm definitely not imaginative when it comes to puns and the like. So it's a treat to have a taste of other people's whimsies and imagination through this group. Glad to be here.

[Amy]

Okay, maybe "chastised" is an exaggeration as is "offend." I tend to use hyperbole. But thank you for your welcomes. I just love language, grammar, etc. Next semester I have to write a grammar of an exotic language so if anyone has a suggestion let me know. And welcome to the other lurkers out there.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

A real language or a fantasy one Amy? Try Maori if it is the former!!

[Natalya]

Hi everyone! I decided to introduce myself as well :) - just to see whether I remember my English after the long one-week Easter holidays %)))
My name is Natalya, I'm from Ukraine, studying philology (English Language and Literature, Spanish, some German), planing to start teaching, but quite fond of translating. And kniting :) And good movies+ hot Latin rythms + folk music!
Though I may be not that active in commentaries, I keep an eye on everything what's going on here! ;)

[Ken, Moderator]

Dear Friends,

I am sponsoring Natalya and asking that she unlurk (in Ukrainian) and comment more because she's got some interesting stuff to say (like, about the Orthodox Easter bunny, and such). Despite the "rain" in Ukrainian, you sound like you have a wonderfully sunny disposition, Natalya.

Oh. What do you consider a "good" movie? I think they come only every 10 years, like locusts...

[rabbitprincess]

Yay, another knitter! :D I only just learned this week how to knit in the round and do cables, so I'm quite pleased with myself. What do you like to knit? So far my specialty is tea cosies (in keeping with my alleged Britishness...), but I do a pretty mean Doctor Who scarf as well. ;)

Anyway, hello and welcome to the kitchen! The snacks here are delicious. :) *pilfers bag of Marks and Spencer's shrimp crisps*

[Ruth]

All you knitters ought to look up Kaffe Fasset's designs. Beyond gorgeous.

R

[Ruth]

I knitted a lot of sweaters inspired by Kaffe Fasset. His basic patterns are simple, so you can just grab a lot of colors and knit away ad lib.

[Ken, Moderator]

Knit pickers unite! (I couldn't knit a cable or even identify the source of "a stitch in time saves nine" if my life depended on it, but I like to cheer the Kaffé Noir crowd on for the sake of team spirit.)

Tea cozies? I won't even ask because I know the answer will be ridiculous.

[rabbitprincess]

You didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway: Tea cosies are put over teapots to keep the tea warm. (How ridiculous is that? :P)

[[deleted user]]

I have found I can only handle one needle at a time- so crochet is my game. Baby blankets are my specialty because they are quick, though I am working through a basket weave stitch for my husband. It's only taken a year and a half so far :)

[Ruth]

I have never learned to crochet. And although I've done my share of knitting I like needlepoint better than knitting. If you make a mistake it's a lot easier to fix. Trouble with needlepoint is that unfortunately the number of pillows that can be absorbed by the world is finite.