"Flying Tadpole" wrote
After a post like that, one can almost feel sorry for the poor
souls, . . . it could almost be tragic, the true nature of the bunyip

Scout wrote:

Taddy,
Perhaps you will take pity on his tormented soul, actualizing Bunyimpotent's
greatest fantasy, while gaining a major allegorical device for your opera.
When you're famous, his name will live on with all the other greats in his
stratum: Moby Dick, Pilgrim's Progress, The Scarlet Letter, and now Bertie
the Bunyimpotent!



No (insert perfunctory apology of your choice here).

You will note I used the word "almost", twice. Whether tragedy or
comedy, the audience has to feel or be brought to feel a degree
of empathy with the major characters, even the minor ones,
otherwise there's no real meeting, and one might as well sink
into a permanent playing of "space invaders" and its tedious
descendants.

Often, the more one knows of a character, or a person, one cannot
help but develop a bit of empathy. "To know him is to love him"
is an overstatement, particularly when the "him" is a Stalin or
Mao, but generally, some empathy develops as one comes to
understand. But in the case of Bertie and his mindless minions,
the more one learns and understand, the less empathy remains, and
he reduces to a cardboard cut-out. How can even towering genius
work with such material? Or put it another way: I suppose I could
work with such material, but why bother when there's far, far
better material just about everywhere, ready to hand?

BTW, I feel we need a better collective name for the Bunyippies.
Bunyippie, itself a wonderful word creation, deals beautifully
with the general mindlessness that goes with yippies. I can't
help but feel, though, that it carries too many connotations of
joy or delight, even if emptyheaded. Neither joy nor delight can
possibly exist in the closed, grey, leaden existences which show
through the dull, encrusted and cracked windows to their souls
which the Bunyippies uninvitingly open to us via their posts.


--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com

Flying Tadpole wrote in
:

"Flying Tadpole" wrote
After a post like that, one can almost feel sorry for the poor
souls, . . . it could almost be tragic, the true nature of the
bunyip

Scout wrote:

Taddy,
Perhaps you will take pity on his tormented soul, actualizing
Bunyimpotent's greatest fantasy, while gaining a major allegorical
device for your opera. When you're famous, his name will live on with
all the other greats in his stratum: Moby Dick, Pilgrim's Progress,
The Scarlet Letter, and now Bertie the Bunyimpotent!



No (insert perfunctory apology of your choice here).

You will note I used the word "almost", twice. Whether tragedy or
comedy, the audience has to feel or be brought to feel a degree
of empathy with the major characters, even the minor ones,
otherwise there's no real meeting, and one might as well sink
into a permanent playing of "space invaders" and its tedious
descendants.

Often, the more one knows of a character, or a person, one cannot
help but develop a bit of empathy. "To know him is to love him"
is an overstatement, particularly when the "him" is a Stalin or
Mao, but generally, some empathy develops as one comes to
understand. But in the case of Bertie and his mindless minions,
the more one learns and understand, the less empathy remains, and
he reduces to a cardboard cut-out. How can even towering genius
work with such material? Or put it another way: I suppose I could
work with such material, but why bother when there's far, far
better material just about everywhere, ready to hand?

You're not as dumb as you look1



BTW, I feel we need a better collective name for the Bunyippies.
Bunyippie, itself a wonderful word creation, deals beautifully
with the general mindlessness that goes with yippies. I can't
help but feel, though, that it carries too many connotations of
joy or delight, even if emptyheaded. Neither joy nor delight can
possibly exist in the closed, grey, leaden existences which show
through the dull, encrusted and cracked windows to their souls
which the Bunyippies uninvitingly open to us via their posts.

snort!

I still win..



Bertie

Taddy,
I assure you, my previous proposal was completely facetious! I would be more
than a little disappointed in you if the impotent one was given more than a
mention. I do feel, however, that it would be harsh of you not to at least
mention his name. It could be done appropriately if not tastefully (ugh).
For instance, I once vomited while out at sea, and this is what it sounded
like: bUnn' yip (with accent on first syl, and a heavily aspirated p); the
next sound was my breakfast splashing into the green Atlantic. Here is an
excerpt from a short story I wrote about 10 years ago. It's about a man who
should never have traveled by sea, yet there he is. I've adapted it for
relevance to our discussion.

"Another blast of fumes swirled around him, induced by the eddy
currents that had formed as the wind wrapped around the cabin. He staggered
against the gunnel once more, leaning far enough over the side to catch a
brief glimpse of his reflection in the sea water. He was unsure if the
green tint highlighting his nauseated features was his own coloring, or if
the sickly hue had been superimposed by the water itself. He could no
longer fight the dizziness that raced from head to stomach and back again,
and when the exhaust ports belched their foul mist once more into his
grimaced face, he took firm hold of a wet cleat, leaned out a bit further,
and returned the sentiments to the sea with a gut wrenching bUnn yip!"

Ok, enough of that. Onward to the naming of the horde. I'll tell you why I
like Bunyippies, but I am of course, open to suggestions. Bunyippies does
conjure images of fun, (bunnies), or shouts of joy (Yippeee!) etc., but I
went for verbal irony, and sarcasm is best served brief. They want to be
evil, but achieve only ugliness, so I gave them a cute name. I chose a
harmless sounding name, because I see them as essentially innocuous
creatures, albeit misled. Kittens would be better, or perhaps ducklings,
since they have firmly imprinted to our 'hero', but for that same reason, I
wanted them to have his surname. Bunyippies does this and still sounds
benign, very close to puppies. And fittingly so, as they are his bitches,
his everything. I see them simply as mangy curs.
Some writer once said that nothing perfect was ever written, only rewritten.
So I'll keep an open mind, and if I think of, or hear from you or others,
something that fits with a click, I'll be the first to say Yay!
Scout



"Flying Tadpole" wrote in message
...
"Flying Tadpole" wrote
After a post like that, one can almost feel sorry for the poor
souls, . . . it could almost be tragic, the true nature of the bunyip

Scout wrote:

Taddy,
Perhaps you will take pity on his tormented soul, actualizing
Bunyimpotent's
greatest fantasy, while gaining a major allegorical device for your
opera.
When you're famous, his name will live on with all the other greats in
his
stratum: Moby Dick, Pilgrim's Progress, The Scarlet Letter, and now
Bertie
the Bunyimpotent!



No (insert perfunctory apology of your choice here).

You will note I used the word "almost", twice. Whether tragedy or
comedy, the audience has to feel or be brought to feel a degree
of empathy with the major characters, even the minor ones,
otherwise there's no real meeting, and one might as well sink
into a permanent playing of "space invaders" and its tedious
descendants.

Often, the more one knows of a character, or a person, one cannot
help but develop a bit of empathy. "To know him is to love him"
is an overstatement, particularly when the "him" is a Stalin or
Mao, but generally, some empathy develops as one comes to
understand. But in the case of Bertie and his mindless minions,
the more one learns and understand, the less empathy remains, and
he reduces to a cardboard cut-out. How can even towering genius
work with such material? Or put it another way: I suppose I could
work with such material, but why bother when there's far, far
better material just about everywhere, ready to hand?

BTW, I feel we need a better collective name for the Bunyippies.
Bunyippie, itself a wonderful word creation, deals beautifully
with the general mindlessness that goes with yippies. I can't
help but feel, though, that it carries too many connotations of
joy or delight, even if emptyheaded. Neither joy nor delight can
possibly exist in the closed, grey, leaden existences which show
through the dull, encrusted and cracked windows to their souls
which the Bunyippies uninvitingly open to us via their posts.


--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
: "Mike" wrote in
: :
:
::
:: "two wheels" wrote in message
:: ...
::: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
::: Hash: SHA1
:::
::: On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 05:06:55 GMT, "Mike"
::: wrote:
:::
:::: I used to think was to rid the internet, or at least usenet, of idiots
:::: who messed up newsgroups. I actually thought he was pretty good at
:::: it, and kinda cheered him on. I thought of him like a crusader
:::: bunyip. Lately he seems like he may have a more sinister agenda? Did
:::: you guys **** him off?
:::
:::
:::
::: No. I think it's just alt.sailing.asa's turn to have digital colon
::: cancer. Either a surgeon(s) will show up with some big scalpels, or
::: alt.sailing.asa will just puke it's guts out and die.
:::
::: Calling Doctor Warren.... Calling Doctor Warren.....
:::
::: two wheels
:::
:::
:: you may very well be right.
:
:
: He might. It's seldom pretty but it often works.

in fact it sometimes can get quite ugly.
:
: bertie

--
Steve Leyland
mhm32x16 Smeeter#35
flower: three 6 four 9 five 8 eight 9
Alcatroll Labs Inc (bongwater maintenance dept)
http://www.insurgent.org/~alcatroll/

=^MEOW MEOW ARMY^=

Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer. - Oscar
Wilde

================================================== ====================
"Warning to all:
Steve Leyland is a trolling **** of the highest order. Killfile the muppet
now and move on. Even the briefest of searches on his past UseNet posts
will reveal the truth. You have been warned. *plonk*"

******* Bear, uk.rec.motorcycles
================================================== ====================
"This sig is an abomination of all that is good and right about usenet.
Do the entire world a favor and REMOVE YOURSELF FROM USENET ALTOGETHER,
DUMBASS."

miguel, soc.singles
================================================== ====================
"I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut
And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires."

William Blake.
================================================== ====================
"Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is
finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; until there is no longer
any first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; until the color of
a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; until
the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to
race -- until that day, the dreams of lasting peace and world citizenship
and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion,
to be pursued but never attained."

Haile Sellassie.
================================================== ====================
"First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I
wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't
speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that
time there was no one left to speak up for me."

Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
================================================== ====================
"When the Earth has been ravaged and the animals are dying, a tribe of
people from all races, creeds and colours shall put their faith in deeds,
not words, and make the land green again. They shall be known as Warriors
of the Rainbow, protectors of the environment."

Native American prophecy


|\ _.-'~~""'~`'~)
/, ~-,__,,,.'~ ,-;;--''
|,4) ./ ' ; ;/'
'-~~;'@ ( ; ;
_.--'' _.-_..' .;.'
(,_..----''' (,..--''

Meow

"Steve Leyland" wrote in
:

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
: "Mike" wrote in
: :
:
::
:: "two wheels" wrote in message
:: ...
::: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
::: Hash: SHA1
:::
::: On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 05:06:55 GMT, "Mike"
::: wrote:
:::
:::: I used to think was to rid the internet, or at least usenet, of
:::: idiots who messed up newsgroups. I actually thought he was
:::: pretty good at it, and kinda cheered him on. I thought of him
:::: like a crusader bunyip. Lately he seems like he may have a more
:::: sinister agenda? Did you guys **** him off?
:::
:::
:::
::: No. I think it's just alt.sailing.asa's turn to have digital colon
::: cancer. Either a surgeon(s) will show up with some big scalpels, or
::: alt.sailing.asa will just puke it's guts out and die.
:::
::: Calling Doctor Warren.... Calling Doctor Warren.....
:::
::: two wheels
:::
:::
:: you may very well be right.
:
:
: He might. It's seldom pretty but it often works.

in fact it sometimes can get quite ugly.
:

True, but it's got a funky kind of appeal at the same time.

Bertie

"John Cairns" wrote in
:

Well one good thing, they semed to have chased one of our most
obnoxious posters.

really?
who?

must of them seem far to dumb to actually quit, seemingly preferring to
blather on about how they won.

Bertie

John,

That's sort of like killing the bone marrow to save the patient.
Sure, it can be done, but is it really worth it.

"John Cairns" wrote in message
...
Well one good thing, they semed to have chased one of our most obnoxious
posters. If he can't be the center of attention, he goes of in a huff. A
radical solution, but it does seem to be working. And this person claims
to
be a sailor. Anyways, good to see you back and try to post some pics.
John Cairns
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I used to think was to rid the internet, or at least usenet, of idiots
who
messed up newsgroups. I actually thought he was pretty good at it, and
kinda cheered him on. I thought of him like a crusader bunyip. Lately
he
seems like he may have a more sinister agenda? Did you guys **** him
off?
Pardon me, I've been gone for a week or so bringing my "new" boat home
from
Ensenada, stopping off for a night in Avalon to marry my darling Lady
Sailor.
Will post again about the interesting passage, but the boat and wife are
safely home now.
Mike

not bad!
Scout

"two wheels" wrote
{snip}. . . the yips. . . {snip}

Flying Tadpole wrote in
:



Scout wrote:

Taddy,
I assure you, my previous proposal was completely facetious! I would
be more than a little disappointed in you if the impotent one was
given more than a mention. I do feel, however, that it would be harsh
of you not to at least mention his name.

Nah. Bertie arrived long after the high drama. And they've
already milked him for what he was worth in that kid's show.

Ok, enough of that. Onward to the naming of the horde. I'll tell you
why I like Bunyippies, but I am of course, open to suggestions.
Bunyippies does conjure images of fun, (bunnies), or shouts of joy
(Yippeee!) etc., but I went for verbal irony, and sarcasm is best
served brief. They want to be evil, but achieve only ugliness, so I
gave them a cute name.

I think it was CS Lewis who commented that true evil is most
characterised by its uninventiveness and its sheer dreariness (or
was he quoting)? I take your point, but "maters (sic) of the
universe" or something equally portentous might serve better.
Bunyippie is just too frolicsome, lending itself more to visions
of a prepubescent children's party thatn to irony. (Yes I know,
those who have had children are aware of the special hell a
children's party creates...)

I chose a
harmless sounding name, because I see them as essentially innocuous
creatures, albeit misled. Kittens would be better, or perhaps
ducklings, since they have firmly imprinted to our 'hero', but for
that same reason, I wanted them to have his surname. Bunyippies does
this and still sounds benign, very close to puppies. And fittingly
so, as they are his bitches, his everything. I see them simply as
mangy curs.

I have nothing better to replace the word with. Nor do I plan to
spend time thinking about one. I've enjoyed this conversation a
great deal, though, the more so as I was searching in Google for
something else, and discovered both the BUnyip and his Bunyippies
have had their snouts pressed despairingly to the window
throughout, their cries for notice lost on the cyberwinds.

snort!


Yeh.

Bertei

Second endings are all the rage in Hollywood these days.
FINALE: The singing is over. A pathetic looking character walks barefoot to
center stage, he wears a plain, dull, and overly worn sock on each hand, and
an equally pathetic but matching sock-hat on his head. They are an
accumulated set, and a large portion of his amassed fortune. The audience
can easily see that finding and matching all three, for him, is a crowning
achievement. He lifts his left hand to hide his lips in standard
ventriloquial form, but the smell of the putrid sock makes him retch. He
regains his composure and attempts to animate its mate. This time the sock
comes alive. And this is what it says to him: "You have ruined us, miserable
puppeteer!"
Years of knee-jerk replies leave him able to pull from his limited lexicon
the following, meaningless reply, "Fjckwit!"
He falls to his knees, covering eyes and nostrils with both hands, and
retches harder. He looks up to the audience for a sign of compassion, and
finding none, blurts into his socks, "bUnn yip!"
CURTAIN.
Scout

"Flying Tadpole" wrote
Nah. Bertie arrived long after the high drama.