Ode to the overuse of boldface font

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear all,


I have broken out of my norms, and written a poem.
Roses are read, violets are blue,
They're sometimes annoying, the things that we do;
Like saying 'Your welcome' when really it's 'you're',
Or typing a 'which' when a 'that' is called for;
Or putting in Caps Every Word That We Say,
As if it were holier, typed out that way.
But what has to stand as the king of the wrongs--
A tendency noticed, and seen for too long,
Is putting odd words, as we will and we want,
In utterly dreadful and trite boldface font.
It's as though if exclaiming in bold what we mean
Our real intentions will leap of the screen;
But they don't: it's a fable, a myth and a lore,
And so tacky bold becomes bold underscore.
'Now everybody will know that I'm wise,
But just to be sure, I can italicise.'
It's horrid, it's woeful, this dreadful display;
I wish that the boldface would just go away.
A phrase that needs bold just to say what it means
Is a phrase that is not worth its space on the screen;
And a thought needing this is a thought that's said wrong--
All the bold in the world will not make it strong.
Real emphasis comes from the words that we say;
O boldface, italics: go far, far away!
Take with you your brother, that dread underscore,
We'll all do much better to see you no more.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Seda S.]

It is very nice
It is very wise
I'll try to follow
Your good advice.
And forgive me, please,
If I ever used
In my wretched posts
That disturbing means.

:) :)

Only do not say
That the smilies, too
Are disturbing you...

With love in the Lord,

S.

[Mary]

OOOOOOOHHH! I Totally Love It! Got more? =)

(Now I can add "annoyed Fr Matthew with my bold, underlined, Italicized, wrongly captialized words" to my confession list... :p)

Please Forgive me Fr Matthew.

I know I've bolded and underlined and italicized. I honestly didn't mean to annoy you. Can't you do away with them like you did the COLOR RED? or was it all colors?

But seriously, I really do like that poem. :)

Mary

[Mary]

I should've waited till I replied,
for I really like Seda's post too.
I'm poetically handicapped.
And as I found out,
men do not like smilies
as much as women do.
That was from my own personal experience,
I did not do a survey. :o

[Anthony]

Self-censored. Not sure I really want to show my lack of poetic talent on the internet. :)

[Rick H.]

On Volvo Drivers and Bow Tie Wearers


Roses are red and violets are blue,
if we were all made from the same cookie cutter,
then I'd be just like you!


But, OCD and all anxiety disorders put aside,
I ask you confidentially,
in you . . . may I confide?


Although at times we may find humor in ration,
my pet peeve I do wonder,
why would any choose a bow tie as their fashion?


Solid colored, striped, or polka-dotted,
all I can figure is he really wants to be spotted!


Or maybe it is the sign of a particular station,
or possibly shows a fondness for a kind of automation.


The questions are endless;
but the answers are few,
so for now, I bid you all a fond adieu.

________________________________________________

[Nina]

The first post of this thread rocks!!!

:) Sorry but I also had to take it out of my system since my conscience will not allow me to use those options again (unless I feel really, really smart one day and do not want you to miss my important words). To the joy of dear friend Mary :p who really loves that also I can't use red font any longer :D. Ewww this 'Big Grin' smiley makes my face look really ugly - can we get rid of this smiley also, please? 'Cause the teeth look either like 40 in number, or like skyscrapers in length. Also ppl here say green with envy. Since when is green equal to grin? And there is green Grinch who stole Christmas... Ok I have to go before I build a very strong case against the Big Grin.

[David Naess]

I ain't never made but one gramatical error in my life and I seen it when I done it and I taken it back!

[M.C. Steenberg]

:) :)

Only do not say
That the smilies, too
Are disturbing you...




And as I found out,
men do not like smilies
as much as women do.
That was from my own personal experience,
I did not do a survey. :o



That's an interesting observation, Mary. There may well be something to it. Personally, the whole 'smilie' phenomenon does, in fact, annoy me - so I fit your bill! But to each their own. However, since we're in the mood for 'poetic' expressions of pet-peeve posting formatting, here's one for the two of you:
The smilie, the smilie: a bracket and dots
In copyright yellow :) to stand for a thought;
They come with a frown :( and they come with a wink ;),
They come condescending :o, with tongues-out and pink :p.
They come wearing specs :cool:, bearing grins :D and confused :confused:;
They come looking mad :mad:, rolling eyes and bemused :rolleyes:.
They even say 'eek' :eek: at the end of the day;
The smilie, the smilie - it won't go away.
They come up in twos :):) or in threes time to time ;););),
They show up in combos, arrayed in a line :o:):rolleyes::cool::p.
Sometimes they crop up at the end of a thought: :rolleyes:,
Or :) sometimes ;) like :( spackle :o connecting :p the :D dots :mad:.
Leave us! Oh leave us, you cutsie-drawn dots:
Get back in your cage, or get back in your box
Or go back to wherever it is you came from!
(Is there a smilie to say that I'm done?)
INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Father David Moser]

My dear Deacon,

I am afraid that we can't do without our boldface, or our underline, or even our italic quite so easily in written communication. For when I ask you "Did you hear that?" without our friends you would know know whether I meant:
Did you hear that?
Did you hear that?
Did you hear that?
or
Did you hear that?

Since in fact you did not hear that or anything for that matter. Nor did you see the smile (or lack thereof) on my face. With written communication, I fear, that we must tolerate certain inconveniences for the sake of clarity and understanding (however, the man who made smilies must be found and shot as soon as possible before he invents something else even more annoying)


Fr David Moser

[Rick H.]

however, the man who made smilies must be found and shot as soon as possible before he invents something else even more annoying)




Even though I kind of like smilies myself, I'm always up for a good lynch mob--so count me in!

[M.C. Steenberg]

Alas, Fr David is of course quite right. But all things in moderation! (I almost used a smilie there. They're annoying, but compulsive...)

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[M.C. Steenberg]

And lest some didn't note the bit of tongue-in-cheek at the front of this thread: I've been known to use italics from time to time

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Rick H.]

And lest some didn't note the bit of tongue-in-cheek at the front of this thread: I've been known to use italics from time to time

INXC, Dcn Matthew


Italics?? You are one wild and crazy guy! Today seemed to lend itself to tounge-in-cheek writing for some reason. Possibly, it was the extra latte I consummed this afternoon (insert smiley of your choice, or not)?

[Michael Stickles]

Father David's correct; for the unadorned print
May leave others confused as to just what we meant.
Our three brothers of emphasis come to our aid
When a subtle (or unsubtle) point must be made.
Brothers underscore, boldface, italics: these three
Help us write so our readers can hear what they see.
But alas, while these friends are a quite useful band,
If not supervised closely they get out of hand
And assault our poor eyes with great visual noise
That no one (except maybe the writer) enjoys.
As some plants, in their place, are gay flowers indeed,
But in less suited places are bothersome weeds,
So each brother - italics, boldface, underscore -
Rightly used is a friend; wrongly, a dreadful boor.

Mike

[Nina]

Wow! Dcn Matthew has really the gift of poetry... and Seda... and Rick... and Mike! It is like the poetry club here.

What I wish I had right now was the gift to make my own smilies because these smilies are not the best smilies ever. Mary I do not like them so much either (because they should have a group with feminine smilies) but you and Paul kind of got me into the habit. :rolleyes::p

And David, I am better than you. I ----never---- (got to be inventive to emphasize my VIST = very important smart thoughts) made a grammatical error. :p Because I never found one.

I assume : :p = I am joking.

[Nina]

Question: I used the word axios in another thread just now and it has to be in italics according to what I have been taught. Is that ok?

[Olga]

It is a common literary convention when using a foreign word in English (one which has not become part of the English language, of course) to use italics for that word. So it is quite correct to use italics for axios, as this word has not become part of English (yet! ;))

...and I'm a lousy poet, so I won't even try....

[Olympiada]

Dear all,


I have broken out of my norms, and written a poem.
Roses are read, violets are blue,
They're sometimes annoying, the things that we do;
Like saying 'Your welcome' when really it's 'you're',
Or typing a 'which' when a 'that' is called for;
Or putting in Caps Every Word That We Say,
As if it were holier, typed out that way.
But what has to stand as the king of the wrongs--
A tendency noticed, and seen for too long,
Is putting odd words, as we will and we want,
In utterly dreadful and trite boldface font.
It's as though if exclaiming in bold what we mean
Our real intentions will leap of the screen;
But they don't: it's a fable, a myth and a lore,
And so tacky bold becomes bold underscore.
'Now everybody will know that I'm wise,
But just to be sure, I can italicise.'
It's horrid, it's woeful, this dreadful display;
I wish that the boldface would just go away.
A phrase that needs bold just to say what it means
Is a phrase that is not worth its space on the screen;
And a thought needing this is a thought that's said wrong--
All the bold in the world will not make it strong.
Real emphasis comes from the words that we say;
O boldface, italics: go far, far away!
Take with you your brother, that dread underscore,
We'll all do much better to see you no more.

INXC, Dcn Matthew
LOL! I love it! More!

[M.C. Steenberg]

Question: I used the word axios in another thread just now and it has to be in italics according to what I have been taught.

Dear Nina,

The normal pattern (in academic English, at least) is that foreign words transliterated into English from another alphabet are provided in italicised font without inverted commas - precisely as you've said. So one would normally see ousia, axios, etc. The same tends also to be the case for Latin, even though it's the same alphabet: hence persona and historia, and so forth. Modern foreign languages are normally not in italics, but are surrounded by inverted commas: hence 'esprit' and 'joie de vivre'.

Those are foreign language conventions. The main point with using boldface font for emphasis (or other formatting for the same reason - whether italics, underlining, etc.) is precisely as Mike has said: it has a valid and useful place, and there are the odd moments when it is needed; but it very easily gets out of control. Generally speaking, if there's more than just the occasional use of it in a given text, it tends to lose its effect altogether: a lot of boldfacing draws one away from the point, not to it.

Just some thoughts.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Nina]

Dear Nina,

The normal pattern (in academic English, at least)
INXC, Dcn Matthew

In other languages as well. There is even Italian with italic Latin words. :)

[Mary]

In other languages as well. There is even Italian with italic Latin words.

Interesting. I thought Italian would have to Always be in Italics!

I found some more, most expressive yellow heads. But it seems I need the special permission from the administrator to post all of them at once. I could just do six at time and prolong the agony... (to those who don't really love smilies as much as I do...http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/21.gif)

Fr Matthew, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your Poem about smilies!! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/41.gif

(Is there a smilie to say that I'm done?)

How about this one: http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/18.gif

A few feminine yellow heads for Nina: http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/5.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/105.gif

That's me and Nina on the phone - everything else has to wait while we talk for one more minute... http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/100.gif Good thing we don't talk everyday, or even every week, eh!? =)

[Mary]

Oh, they actually move! How totally delightful!! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/69.gif

I love Monachos and I love my cyberfriends here! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/8.gif

I miss Paul C. He would've enjoyed this thread! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/2.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/20.gif

I wonder if we can keep it going till he gets back? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/39.gif

Oh dear! Six smilies, are just not enough to say everything I want to say! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/14.gif

[Nina]

Interesting. I thought Italian would have to Always be in Italics!



Giggles... Yes, that is the heart of it! I mean look at the boot, it looks tilted like Italic (the opposite direction though).

Thank you for all the smilies and can you find some feminine ones with hair please?

Of course we can revive the thread when Paul comes back (loved the crying cryliey). But I would like you to find more smilies when you can, and also all the poets here to post some more of their beautiful verses. I loved them too and it was a pleasant surprise to read them all.

[Nina]

That's me and Nina on the phone - everything else has to wait while we talk for one more minute... http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/100.gif Good thing we don't talk everyday, or even every week, eh!? =)

Giggles... Of course! We cherish our phone time! Giggles...

[Mary]

We definitely could do with more Poems. Another unsurveyed observation: Men seem to be better at coming up with good on-the-spot poems. That could either mean that men are better poets or that all the good women poets don't join online forums... Or, it could mean nothing at all.

Nina - hair will spoil a perfectly round yellow head. Don't you know, that God only made so many perfect heads, and the rest, He covered up with hair? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gif


How about some Orthodox Yellow Heads?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/11.gif - Greet one another with a holy kiss

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/63.gif - Pray without ceasing

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/77.gif - When's Great Lent? Isn't it time for some prostrations?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/42.gif Honest, I didn't eat any meat, not even dairy!

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/24.gif "Laughter is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" (Ecc 2:2)

[M.C. Steenberg]

Gracious. This is an agony beyond words...

[Nina]

We definitely could do with more Poems. Another unsurveyed observation: Men seem to be better at coming up with good on-the-spot poems. That could either mean that men are better poets or that all the good women poets don't join online forums... Or, it could mean nothing at all.

Mary, for us who are deficient in creating verses, there is always internet. My fiance wrote a poem for his father's birthday with the help of a rhyme website. It was very beautiful and all other parents went home after the party and started complaining to their children about their lack of poetry skills and creativity. They resented that they never received a poem as dedication from their children.



Nina - hair will spoil a perfectly round yellow head. Don't you know, that God only made so many perfect heads, and the rest, He covered up with hair? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gifMy mom had the most beautiful hair ever. And of course the shape of her head was very beautiful also. This was obvious, but when she lost her hair from chemo, it was obvious even more. Although I always lamented the lost beautiful hair of my mom... I guess that's why lately I have developed a distaste for bald smilies...


http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/24.gif "Laughter is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" (Ecc 2:2)Ok. That's why I tried to make this post sad.

[Rick H.]

Additional tongue-in-cheek . . .
(if you know who Andy Rooney from 60 Mins. is, try to hear his voice as you read this)


Why do people seem to always get annoyed so easily these days? That really annoys me. I mean come on now, a manual of style or a monachos styleguide? Will we be graded next on our posts? Will we have to have our parents come in for conferences now? Or come to think of it why stop there? Let's shoot the works with this and go where no discussion community has gone before. Let's all vote on the proper way to speak when we write. For example, if I would ask the question why did the chicken cross the road we would get a variety of responses based on a persons background, culture, training, and experience . . . right? But, they can't all be right can they? Don't all of them except one have to be wrong? Maybe If I would ask Deacon Matthew why the chicken crossed the road he would respond by saying:

"The confluence of events in the cultural gestalt necessitated that individual chickens cross roads at this historical juncture, and therefore synchronicitously brought such occurrences into being."

and who could argue with that? Or, possibly another member would say:

"Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road I am now against it!"

Or, possibly Father Raphael would weigh in on this and share:

"Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference."

Or, Owen J.:

"To die. In the rain."

Or, Andreas;

"In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken had crossed the road, and that was good enough for us."

Or, Herman:

The question is not "Why did the chicken cross the road?" but is rather "Who was crossing the road at the same time whom we overlooked in our haste to observe the chicken crossing?"

Or, Jetavan:

"Because if you gaze too long across the road, the road gazes also across you."

Or, maybe even me:

"It didn't cross the road; it transcended the road (and this dualistic way of thinking.)"

And, if we asked a question like this then we could all vote on which style annoys us the least. And, then we could all try to write in accordance with that one style. And, if everything goes just right, in the end at least some of us would not have to be annoyed as much as we are now, and it seems like this would have to make the world a better place! Yes, as John Lennon said, Imagine all the people living for today . . . ahh, nevermind, this whole idea is starting to annoy me.


PS If interested in more options to answer the question why did the chicken cross the road search under:' why did the chicken quotes.' You may find a better one there which represents your own personal style.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dn. M.C. Steenberg dared write:




Our real intentions will leap of the screen;

That should be leap off the screen.

Humphh. Cant evin spell write.

:rolleyes:

[Nina]

Dn. M.C. Steenberg dared write:





That should be leap off the screen.

Humphh. Cant evin spell write.

:rolleyes:

I do not usually LOL, however from this post and some words from Rick's.... LOL.

Qs to Rick: Did the chicken really cross the road? How did the chicken escape from the farm? Where is the farmer? Did he tend to the fence? Is the chicken Orthodox? I mean does it belong to an Orthodox farmer? Is he on monachos? Mary are there more questions left so we can analyze the case even further? Now I have to go because my course 'Problems in Evidence' is starting soon.

[M.C. Steenberg]

That should be leap off the screen.

Aha, caught out!

[Mary]

LOL! Looks like we're gearing up for a really long weekend, and the fun has already begun. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/34.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/36.gif



Gracious. This is an agony beyond words...

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/25.gif Should I quite while I'm a head?
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/19.gif Or should I continue to torment our Gracious Host?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/40.gif Making decisions is the hardest thing for me to do...

And I usually make the wrong choices. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/106.gif

[Michael Stickles]

For example, if I would ask the question why did the chicken cross the road we would get a variety of responses based on a persons background, culture, training, and experience . . . right?

There does not seem to be a consensus among the experts, since according to ChickenJoke.com (http://www.chickenjoke.com/), Louis Armstrong said "If you have to ask why chickens cross roads you'll never know", while Gene Roddenberry said "To boldly go where no chicken has gone before"; however, according to the chicken page (http://philosophy.eserver.org/chicken.txt) at eserver.com, Karl Marx said "It was an historical inevitability", though Plato says it did so "for the greater good"; on the other hand, at Ms. Effie's Lifesavers (http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/index.html), we read that David Hume claimed it was "out of custom and habit" while Epicurus claimed it was "for fun". There are still other and different opinions on these pages, plus similar varieties of opinion to be found at the chicken pages on Weirdity.com (http://www.weirdity.com/jokes/chicken.shtml), Baetzler.de (http://baetzler.de/humor/classic_chicken.html), and the blog Al-Ajawid (http://www.fbihacker.com/blog/2006/09/why-did-chicken-cross-road.html). Finally, I have not been able to find any official Orthodox position on this question.

In humor,
Mike

[Celinda Grace]

HELP My husband has been torturing my poor humor impaired brain all morning with this thread and now I am being forced to listen to endless chicken jokes from every conceivable web site in existence. :eek:

[Seda S.]

LOL! Looks like we're gearing up for a really long weekend, and the fun has already begun. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/34.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/36.gif




http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/25.gif Should I quite while I'm a head?
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/19.gif Or should I continue to torment our Gracious Host?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/40.gif Making decisions is the hardest thing for me to do...

And I usually make the wrong choices. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/106.gif


When I first entered this community, I thought 'Monachos' should have been changed into 'Theologos'. Then I started to think that I was the most unsuitable and unserious person here. Now I wonder why the womankind is permitted to enter this community at all.

[Mary]

LOL =)

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/45.gif - Celinda's humorless brain

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/78.gif - Mike and Rick enjoying Chicken jokes

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/23.gif - Fr Raphael looking for spelling mistakes.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/71.gif - one more hairless female head for Nina for whenever she needs to write 'giggles'

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/7.gif - Me - totally out of ideas before I've run out of Yellow Heads

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/102.gif - Fr Dcn Matthew thinking it's time to expel me from Monachos

[Nina]

LOL =)

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/45.gif - Celinda's humorless brain

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/78.gif - Mike and Rick enjoying Chicken jokes

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/23.gif - Fr Raphael looking for spelling mistakes.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/71.gif - one more hairless female head for Nina for whenever she needs to write 'giggles'

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/7.gif - Me - totally out of ideas before I've run out of Yellow Heads

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/102.gif - Fr Dcn Matthew thinking it's time to expel me from Monachos

Laughing but not out loud...

And you Mary give the hair to Dcn. M to waste them because of you, and you do not give them to me???

Also what is up with the giggle smiley? She looks more like she is trembling than giggling; and so timid!

I am joking. You are the best for such funny yellow heads you are providing.

[Nina]

Seda, learn to live with womankind on monachos. And in fact you were the one who asked for the smilies not to be disabled. :p

Anthony? Where are you? I liked your giggle smiley better. You need to help Mary.

[Mary]

When I first entered this community, I thought 'Monachos' should have been changed into 'Theologos'. Then I started to think that I was the most unsuitable and unserious person here. Now I wonder why the womankind is permitted to enter this community at all.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/30.gif - Excuse me, Seda. But "Mary" is officially part of womankind.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/29.gif - Seda, wondering why womankind has been permitted to enter this community

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/76.gif - Am I talking too much?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/107.gif - Is the visual noise becoming unbearable?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/103.gif - Ok. Bye.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/17.gif - I hope I'm still a member when I come back later!

[Rick H.]

HELP My husband has been torturing my poor humor impaired brain all morning with this thread and now I am being forced to listen to endless chicken jokes from every conceivable web site in existence. :eek:



Umm . . . Celinda, I guess you didn't get the memo about BOLD FACE TYPE!!!

Nina, you make a good point about the fence. That poor farmer is going to have an empty coop if he is not careful!

And, as for you Mike, and your social graces around the house . . . Keep up the good work! ;)

We must be approaching the holidays!

Joy in Christ,
Rick

[Seda S.]

Seda, learn to live with womankind on monachos. And in fact you were the one who asked for the smilies not to be disabled. :p


Are you proving by these your words how I was right when asking for that? Because in my post at 08:16 PM I didn't use any smilie....

[Michael Stickles]

Also what is up with the giggle smiley? She looks more like she is trembling than giggling; and so timid!

Looks like she's trying to hold back so she doesn't go from giggles to hysterics and wind up ROTFLSHMSHAICB (i.e., Rolling on the floor laughing so hard my sides hurt and I can't breathe).

[Nina]

:circle:

Ok I have to write

[Seda S.]

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/30.gif - Excuse me, Seda. But "Mary" is officially part of womankind.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/29.gif - Seda, wondering why womankind has been permitted to enter this community

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/76.gif - Am I talking too much?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/107.gif - Is the visual noise becoming unbearable?

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/103.gif - Ok. Bye.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/17.gif - I hope I'm still a member when I come back later!

Mary, I'm afraid when you come back later, you'll find that I have been cast out as the source of all this agony beyond words.

Nina, Mary, stop doing this. Don't forget, I'm a 'guest from another tradition' and my position is weak compared with that of yours. Have pity on me, pls...

[Mary]

Mary, I'm afraid when you come back later, you'll find that I have been cast out as the source of all this agony beyond words.

Nina, Mary, stop doing this. Don't forget, I'm a 'guest from another tradition' and my position is weak compared with that of yours. Have pity on me, pls...

Dear Seda,

you must ignore labels like "guest from another tradition", just like you should ignore feelings and intrusive thoughts while praying. When you're a member here, you're a full fledged member- good,http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/1.gif bad http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/35.gif and ugly, http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/31.gif. It's an all inclusive membership (although, those who contribute financially are probably more full fledged than a freeloader like myself.http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/32.gif )

And besides, this thread was entirely Fr Dcn Matthew's fault, since everyone was just going about their business trying to have really serious conversations, till this showed up...http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/65.gif


http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/52.gif - More chicken, anyone?

[Nina]

Nina, Mary, stop doing this. Don't forget, I'm a 'guest from another tradition' and my position is weak compared with that of yours. Have pity on me, pls...

Oh I did not mean it that way! I meant it you as a member of womankind. 66

[Nina]

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/52.gif - More chicken, anyone?

Giggles ... How do you say in English? Eat your heart out Mary? Not only I found smilies with hair but also with pink hair (look above).

67

[Tim Grass]

I don't think it's right to complain that because some people say they don't like bold, some Nazi state is being inforced........ pretty closed minded itself.

--tim

[Mary]

I don't think it's right to complain that because some people say they don't like bold, some Nazi state is being inforced........ pretty closed minded itself.

--tim

Hey! I caught a spilling mistake! Tim, did you do that on purpose? :p Shouldn't that be 'enforced'?

[Mary]

Giggles ... How do you say in English? Eat your heart out Mary? Not only I found smilies with hair but also with pink hair (look above).

67

Ok. You win. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/12.gif

[Nina]

If someone is complaining, they should look at all the fun we are having. We have a playground here and we need to keep the other threads as aesthetically looking as possible, and as user friendly as possible for the inquisitive minds who might stumble across monachos (like all of us) looking for Patristic thoughts and who do not need our clutter, our precious thoughts, or fun, our smilies, me etc.

[Nina]

Ok. You win. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/12.gif

Oh no, sweet friend! I was just teasing you. Do you want the address? It has really cool ones.

[Mary]

Oh no, sweet friend! I was just teasing you. Do you want the address? It has really cool ones.

No thanks. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/104.gif
I'll pass. I've had an overdose of smilies. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/43.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/9.gif
It's Fr Dcn Matthew's turn to laugh now. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/67.gif

Here's a big cyber hug for a Happy Thanksgiving, whether you celebrate it or not. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/6.gif They're best kind, 'cuz you don't have to touch me. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/103.gif

[Rick H.]

I must confess that in the end,
The spell checker is my good friend.
Without it I can get few words right,
But let those like me band together--
Poor spellers of the world untie!!!

[Anthony]

I must confess that in the end,
The spell checker is my good friend.


Who are you thinking of putting a spell on? :)

[Rick H.]

Who are you thinking of putting a spell on? :)


If I could, I would love to cast a spell on our football team, the Cincinnati Bengals. My intent would be to conjure up a defense as well as to try to keep at least half of the team out of jail this year! :)

[Anthony]

Maybe you could do something for Newcastle while you're at it.

[Nina]

No thanks.
I'll pass. I've had an overdose of smilies. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/43.gif
It's Fr Dcn Matthew's turn to laugh now. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/67.gif

Here's a big cyber hug for a Happy Thanksgiving, whether you celebrate it or not. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/6.gif They're best kind, 'cuz you don't have to touch me. http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/103.gif

Happy Thanksgiving to you too and to all!

6968 I promise, Mary, that I have pomegranate juice in my glass not alcohol.:p

What if I find a cyber hug where will you go because there will not be space in cyber space for you to hide?:p

[Mary]

I promise, Mary, that I have pomegranate juice in my glass not alcohol.:p

That's good, because, it seems we have the ability to get severely intoxicated without a single drop of alcohol! Perhaps the Eucharist has turned our blood into wine. :p

[Olga]

Maybe you could do something for Newcastle while you're at it.

... and for the England football team as well... :eek:

[Anthony]

Did you have to mention that, Olga? :(

[Nina]

This Thanksgiving group hug is for Mary:

70

[Nina]

This Thanksgiving group hug is for Mary:

70

And for Paul who is coming back soon! Yay! Mary, Paul is due back soon and he will tell us all the things he saw in Athos. Can't wait!

[Nina]

Ok when is Paul coming back??? It is 1 minute to 12AM on the 27th of Novemeber now and I can't wait! Mary, where are you? Are you going to keep this thread alive so our friend Paul can see it too, or not? Bad, bad Mary! I will tell Santa not to include you in the 'nice list'!

[Mary]

Ok when is Paul coming back??? It is 1 minute to 12AM on the 27th of Novemeber now and I can't wait! Mary, where are you? Are you going to keep this thread alive so our friend Paul can see it too, or not? Bad, bad Mary! I will tell Santa not to include you in the 'nice list'!


What ever made you think I might be good? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/19.gif

Has it ever occurred to you, that Paul, when he returns, will probably be a lot holier than when he left and would probably never be addicted to monachos again?! So, you'll be wasting your time counting all your minutes, because Paul may never be back! http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/13.gif That would be quite traumatic!!

BTW - there's no where in the Bible that tells us to be nice. In fact, Niceness is quite yucky. It's the same as being Politically Correct and that's quite twisted. Oh, but what was this thread about? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/106.gif

[Nina]

What ever made you think I might be good? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/19.gif

I thought you were just baptized!!!:confused: :p



Has it ever occurred to you, that Paul, when he returns, will probably be a lot holier than when he left and would probably never be addicted to monachos again?! So, you'll be wasting your time counting all your minutes, because Paul may never be back! That would be quite traumatic!!No it never occurred to me and you are mean for telling this to me and spoiling the purity of my mind.:p I thought that Paul will pity us all here and share some wisdom with us and not abandon us and think only for his own salvation.



BTW - there's no where in the Bible that tells us to be nice. In fact, Niceness is quite yucky. It's the same as being Politically Correct and that's quite twisted. Yes Madam! Sorry but I never quoted bad or nice from the Bible. Do not crucify me for playing a little (where is the trembling scared smiley?). If we count everything than Santa does not count too. Because he is St. Nikolas and he never comes for Christmas. In Greece he is St. Basil and he never comes for Christmas too. Because His saints give all the glory to Him and His birthday is only about Him. There you have it. Happy?!:cool:

P.S Because you asked: this thread was about the poetry of our wonderful poets here and about the overuse of smilies.

[Michael Stickles]

I'm normally not big on smileys, but I just ran across these ones and couldn't resist adding them to all the ones Mary shared with us here.

74 75

They were part of the sig lines for posters on another forum; they both claimed membership in "The One True Old Posters of the Genuine Ancient Way in Exile From Christian Forums Resistance in Communion with Baklavas Synod in Exile Abroad".

[M.C. Steenberg]

They were part of the sig lines for posters on another forum; they both claimed membership in "The One True Old Posters of the Genuine Ancient Way in Exile From Christian Forums Resistance in Communion with Baklavas Synod in Exile Abroad".

This comment is responsible for the fact that my keyboard is now covered in coffee. It is one of the best (and funniest) things I've seen all day.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Andreas Moran]

It is one of the best (and funniest) things I've seen all day.

All day??? You get more laughs in life than I do - this was one of the best (and funniest) things I've seen in a month!!