From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V15 #147 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Sunday, June 25 2006 Volume 15 : Number 147 Today's Subjects: ----------------- reaps [Eb ] Re: aw hell ["Stewart Russell" ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #146 [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #146 [2fs ] Stevie and/or Al [Jeff Dwarf ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 11:36:34 -0700 From: Eb Subject: reaps Patsy (mother of JonBenet) Ramsey, and the marriage of Ahmet Zappa and Selma Blair. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 16:52:14 -0700 From: "Stewart Russell" Subject: Re: aw hell And a very happy birthday to you too, Jill! We're in Ottawa, and it was fun to walk across to Quebec, where they're having a major holiday. Go Jean Baptiste! Cheers, Stewart On 6/23/06, Jill Brand wrote: > I don't think that I'll make it till midnight, so I'm going to write this > a little prematurely.... > > HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEWART!! > > Jill > - -- http://scruss.com/blog/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:42:19 +1200 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #146 >Possibly more to the point, why the hell do different bird species warrant >so many differing and esoteric collective names, whereas most other animals >are just "bunches" or "groups" or "herds"? I mean, sure, you have your pods >of whales, your prides of lions, etc., but that's not nearly so roccoco (for >example, most fish groups are schools, which, although a little odd, doesn't >vary by species). Where'd this whole convention come from? quiver of cobras, crash of rhinos, dazzles of zebra, shrewdness of apes, band of gorillas, skulk of fozes, span of mules, army of frogs, business of ferrets, float of crocodiles, sleuth of bears, clowder of cats... but you seem to be right about fish, though you can talk about a catch, draught, fray, haul, run, or school of fish, depending on different circumstances. It seems to be a flight of flying fish, though. James - -- James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.- =-.-=-.-=-.- You talk to me as if from a distance .-=-.-=-.-=-. -=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time .-=- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:15:20 -0500 From: 2fs Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #146 On 6/24/06, grutness@slingshot.co.nz wrote: > > >Possibly more to the point, why the hell do different bird species > warrant > >so many differing and esoteric collective names, whereas most other > animals > >are just "bunches" or "groups" or "herds"? I mean, sure, you have your > pods > >of whales, your prides of lions, etc., but that's not nearly so roccoco > (for > >example, most fish groups are schools, which, although a little odd, > doesn't > >vary by species). Where'd this whole convention come from? > > quiver of cobras, crash of rhinos, dazzles of zebra, shrewdness of > apes, band of gorillas, skulk of fozes, span of mules, army of frogs, > business of ferrets, float of crocodiles, sleuth of bears, clowder of > cats... but you seem to be right about fish, though you can talk > about a catch, draught, fray, haul, run, or school of fish, depending > on different circumstances. It seems to be a flight of flying fish, > though. 'Course, you didn't actually answer the question: where does this convention come from? Even if it does apply to beasts other than birds. Some of these are in common usage (gorillas), some are well known (rhinos, shrewdness, skulk, clowder), while others are pretty much obscure. And I rather suspect that few of them are enforced in edited prose: if someone wrote "we spotted a herd of zebra on the horizon," I think only the most persnickety copy editor would insist on "dazzle." How about "a singularity of hapax legomena" as the group plural? - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:29:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Stevie and/or Al "A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer." -- Mitch Hedberg "For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk. And we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together. To build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking. And it's greatest failures by NOT talking. It doesn't have to be like this! Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking. -- Stephen W. Hawking . Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V15 #147 ********************************