[GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

16 posts · Jun 16 2010 to Jun 18 2010

From: Michael Blair <amfortas@h...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:41:19 -0700 (PDT)

Subject: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lI think the
term 'ginger it up' comes from selling an old or ailing horse. You inserted
some ginger below it's tail to make it act up a bit and seem more vigorous
than it was. Â I know this and I am still partial to a nice ginger beer, the
best in the UK is as far as I know Old Jamaican – though I am keen to be
proven wrong. Some of the supermarket own brand ones are interesting in a bad
way. Â Pumas seem to have far more names than is really necessary, presumably
because they were so widely distributed over the Americas, again a place that
had an abundance of language groups.   Michael  "It is by my order and for
the good of the state that the bearer has done what has been done." Cardinal
Richelieu, in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

________________________________
From: "gzg-l-request@mail.csua.berkeley.edu"
<gzg-l-request@mail.csua.berkeley.edu>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Sent: Tue, 15 June, 2010 22:43:21
Subject: Gzg-l Digest, Vol 34, Issue 7

Send Gzg-l mailing list submissions to
    gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
    http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-l
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
    gzg-l-request@mail.csua.berkeley.edu

You can reach the person managing the list at
    gzg-l-owner@mail.csua.berkeley.edu

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Gzg-l digest..."

Today's Topics:

  1. Re:  GZG official news - we've moved premises! (Allan Goodall)
  2. Re:  GZG official news - we've moved premises!
   (emu2020@comcast.net)
  3. Re:  GZG official news - we've moved premises! (Oerjan Ariander)
  4. Re:  GZG official news - we've moved premises! (Robert Mayberry)
  5. Re:  GZG official news - we've moved premises! (Allan Goodall)
  6.  Language Use - was Re: GZG official news - we've moved
   premises! (Tom B)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:39:49 -0500
From: Allan Goodall <agoodall@hyperbear.com>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [GZG] GZG official news - we've moved premises!
Message-ID:
    <AANLkTimcfeo-fwtg14_Tyv829eHvWfZFbYVue8JzijqB@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 12:51 PM, Indy <indy.kochte@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've seen the "pyjamas" spelling before but not offen. Prolly it be
Down here, in the South, it's "pajamas". It was the subject of much heated
debate between Logan and me.

But growing up -- born in Scotland, my parents are Scottish -- it was
always
"pyjamas". In fact, my dad would jokingly call them "PIE-jams".

> From what I've found online, "pyjamas" is the British spelling. What's

According to Wikipedia, "pajamas" is common in the U.S. and Canada. I have
Canadian spelling turned on in Firefox, and it's flagging "pajamas" as the
atrocity that it is. (*chuckle and duck*). How do the other Canadians spell
it? I don't think I was ever asked in school, or if I did I didn't get it
wrong.

--
Allan Goodall            http://www.hyperbear.com
awgoodall@gmail.com agoodall@hyperbear.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL:
<http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/private/gzg-l/attachments/20
100615/7fb0a1bd/attachment-0001.html>

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:57:27 +0000 (UTC)
From: emu2020@comcast.net
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [GZG] GZG official news - we've moved premises!
Message-ID:
   <1528636786.4060431276631847645.JavaMail.root@sz0048a.emeryville.ca.mail
.comcast.net> Â Â Â
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

I find it neat that there are so many ways within a single nation to name the
same thing.

Did she ask for a "rubber?"

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL:
<http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/private/gzg-l/attachments/20
100615/78a29ba4/attachment-0001.html>

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:59:09 +0200
From: Oerjan Ariander <orjan.ariander1@comhem.se>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [GZG] GZG official news - we've moved premises!
Message-ID: <mailman.539.1276638201.973.gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

> Roger B-W wrote:

> >PS As long as I'm using Brit versions of the mother tongue, can

...but that *is* downright nasty, considering what you do to him to
make him more active/energetic X-(

/Oerjan

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:49:27 -0400
From: Robert Mayberry <robert.mayberry@gmail.com>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [GZG] GZG official news - we've moved premises!
Message-ID:
    <AANLkTimT636DH4nu36znzPcYz_Ie4FCQrOHjlrtYruoD@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I asked an indian friend of mine and he confirms that the original
pronounciation in India was "pyjamas".

However here in the south, at least in Atlanta, when you ask for a Coke you
get a Coke. If you ask for a Pepsi, you get shot. Or, if you're lucky, a weird
look and a Coke. Dr.Pepper made it down here, but only recently; his less
educated counterpart Mr.Pibb reigned instead.

Rob

On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 3:39 PM, Allan Goodall <agoodall@hyperbear.com> wrote:

> Down here, in the South, it's "pajamas". It was the subject of much

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:39:30 -0500
From: Allan Goodall <agoodall@hyperbear.com>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [GZG] GZG official news - we've moved premises!
Message-ID:
   <AANLkTilgX6QsE1yFMerYelCsPfCnkFL3ufsjM9X1czbK@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 2:49 PM, Robert Mayberry
<robert.mayberry@gmail.com>wrote:

> However here in the south, at least in Atlanta, when you ask for a
Pepsi (which, for the record, I detest, at least in it's Diet form) is also
southern. The birth place of Pepsi is New Bern, North Carolina. I was there in
2006 installing a system for a client just north of there. It was almost
impossible to find Coke in a restaurant outside of fast food places.

By contrast, though Coke was born in Atlanta, it was first bottled in
Vicksburg, MS. The bottler -- and the first person to heavily advertise
the
product -- was Joseph A. Biedenharn, who moved from Vicksburg to Monroe,
Louisiana (where I work).

That's why when you're in the Deep South (Louisiana to Georgia) you *will*hear
this exchange without anyone in the conversation sounding the least bit
confused:

"Do you want a coke?" "Sure! I'll have a Dr.Pepper."
--
Allan Goodall            http://www.hyperbear.com
awgoodall@gmail.com agoodall@hyperbear.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL:
<http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/private/gzg-l/attachments/20
100615/4567e4af/attachment-0001.html>

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:45:33 -0400
From: Tom B <kaladorn@gmail.com>
To: gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: [GZG] Language Use - was Re: GZG official news - we've moved
   premises!
Message-ID:
    <AANLkTinCM3yM8-M_RiB-UBJjgrolFa0ImFuWIU3seo_I@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I hear you Englanders have broken down and formed an Institute to conserve and
protect the English Language. I was listening to the lady behind the movement,
inspired it seems by the institutes in Spain and France.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lovely lot to conserve of English history, but
before anyone speaking the King or Queen's English is allowed to become
curator of the amorphous nature of English, I think the English have to
'splain some things to us poor colonials...

Listening to BBC radio (which I love for the most part), I am left to wonder
whether the people who originated the language have forgotten how to speak it!

I am left wondering:

Do you have privets in your mlitary as a rank?

Reason: BBC commentators pronounce privacy as 'priv-ah-see' rather than
'prive-ah-see'... and since it has the same root as the word private,
why would you pronounce it with a 'priv' which sounds like 'shiv'? Do you also
then say 'reg-you-late-or-ee' when you pronounce 'regulatory?'?

Why did the BBC decide that 'Drug War' and 'Drug Lord' needed replaced by
'Drugs War' and 'Drugs Lord'? That's probably strictly a usage decision and
therefore not an error, but it sounds very odd to my ears.

Also, what is with 'Drink Driving'? Was there something wrong with 'Drunk
Driving' - as in driving while drunk/intoxicated? That too sounds very
funny to my ears. And if Drugs War is plural, shouldn't Drinks be plural here?
Should it not be 'Drinks Driving'? (Which also sounds barking mad to my ears!)

----

As to Gingers: Term is common enough I've heard it mentioned. There was a
'kick a ginger' day if I recall. The Aussies and Brits probably use it more
than us former colonials in North America, but if you haven't heard it, you
should listen to a bit more world news!:0)

As to Pop/Soda/Coke: Everywhere I've travelled in Canada, Pop seems to
be understood. Soda would be as well. If you asked for a Coke though, you'll
get at least a cola, if not a Coke. And when I say Coke, I mean
Coca-Cola(TM) not some blasted Pepsi(TM) (aka crap) product.

Now, there are funny bits to all linguistic groups. I recall visiting Mike
Sarno and company in Towanda, PA. We went for a late dinner and some drinks
and at about 9 or 10 pm, Mike said they (the Americans) were all really
impressed. I was puzzled and inquired. I'd been there for 4-5 hours and
they hadn't heard me use 'eh?' once. They'd been watching for it.

Of course, having mentioned it to me, I inevitably could not stop saying it
for the rest of the weekend. It's sort of an all purpose punctuation, eh! We
like to add it to interrogative statements as well, eh? Sometimes it can be
just declarative, like saying "Yup, I'm Canadian, eh." I guess that's foreign
to most folks in America. It's nearest equivalent is the equally all
purpose surfer-term 'Dude'.... 'Dude, where's my car?' 'Cool, Dude!',
"Duuuuude!', etc.

I still want to hear the story about the eraser.

And it is 'Cougar' not mountain lion!:0)

T.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL:
<http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/private/gzg-l/attachments/20
100615/e3a8a737/attachment.html>

From: Doug Evans <devans@n...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:57:04 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

As I said, in this way madness lies...

Firstly, I'd have to say, in spite of my confusion, it's English, and am
perfectly willing to give deference to whatever the English come up with, in
spelling or pronunciation or usage.

Secondly, it's all really moot what a group of Brits, Oz, and North Americans
say about it. I'm pretty certain we comprise a small minority of English
speakers in the world.

The_Beast

PS Not to put a damper on your love, but the other bigoted derivation I
googled up for 'ginger' was the rhyming slang of 'ginger beer' for
'queer'.
I really was quite desperate for an alternative that would fit. Now, I'm just
trying to forget.

From: Richard and Emily Bell <rlbell@s...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:28:14 -0600

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

> Â Â Â <AANLkTinCM3yM8-M_RiB-UBJjgrolFa0ImFuWIU3seo_I@mail.gmail.com>

> This makes me think of something a friend of mine wrote:

People who go on about the purity of the English language amuse me. English
has all the purity of a cribhouse whore. It not only borrows words from other
languages, it lures small languages into dark alleys

From: Doug Evans <devans@n...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:54:40 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

I wish I could remember where I first saw this, but it ALWAYS cracks me up!

The_Beast

Richard Bell wrote on 06/16/2010 12:28:14 PM:

***snippage***

> This makes me think of something a friend of mine wrote:

From: Phillip Atcliffe <Phillip.Atcliffe@u...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:00:02 +0100

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

> Richard Bell wrote:
English has all the purity of a cribhouse whore. It not only borrows words
from other languages, it lures small languages into dark alleys and rolls them
for spare vocabulary.
> [quoted text omitted]
I believe the original quote was:

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English
is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on
occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways
to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." --

[Prof.?] James D. Nicoll

And it's true, too. English will, given the oppotunity, run utterly amok

(Malay word! <g>) in its desire to find new vocab.

Phil

From: Robert Mayberry <robert.mayberry@g...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:02:04 -0400

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

Or my favorite quote:

"English is the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up
Saxon barmaids and is no more legitimate than any of the other results." (H
Beam Piper)

From: Robert N Bryett <rbryett@g...>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:28:59 +1000

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

Three cheers for hybrid vigour! Inbreeding leads to physical deformity, mental
retardation, congenital disease, and French.

RNB.

> On 17/06/2010, at 04:02 , Robert Mayberry wrote:

> Or my favorite quote:

From: Mike Stanczyk <stanczyk@p...>

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:03:03 -0600 (MDT)

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

> On Wed, 16 Jun 2010, Phillip Atcliffe wrote:

> Richard Bell wrote:

> English has all the purity of a cribhouse whore. It not only borrows

> English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow

> On Wed, 16 Jun 2010, Robert Mayberry wrote:

> Or my favorite quote:

Sheesh.   I'm never playing "Who said it?" with ANY of you.   My
answer for all of these quotes was "Warren Ellis".

From: Doug Evans <devans@n...>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:06:02 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

I had to Google James Nicoll; first, wiki has him as Canadian. Hardly apropos
of the Commonwealth... (Okay, ancient history...)

The other thing was 'former RPG store owner'. BE STILL MY HEART!

The_Beast

Mike Stanczyk wrote on 06/16/2010 10:03:03 PM:

> Sheesh. I'm never playing "Who said it?" with ANY of you. My

From: Richard and Emily Bell <rlbell@s...>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:57:46 -0600

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

Imagine my shock when I made the five hour drive from my home to his store,
only to find that it had closed up (I admit that I was also
visiting friends in Kitchener-Waterloo).

I am also surprised, though I should not really be, that his comment on the
purity of english has become well used and I apologise for only paraphrasing
it

> On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 6:06 AM, Doug Evans <devans@nebraska.edu> wrote:

From: Doug Evans <devans@n...>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:22:12 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

1) That wacky internet; is there anything it can't fix?

2) And I owe YOU an apology; when you said your 'friend' use to say, I assumed
it was just a case of a friend quoting a common phrase. I shall
doubt you no more. Truly, I am not worthy. ;->=

But that quote is, and so delightful in company with H Beam Piper's, no?

By the way, all, I'm about to hop a plane to Nashua, NH, USA. Is there
anything there to enjoy that might protect what little sanity I retain? And,
no, a quick run to Boston, or even closer outside the Nashua, is right out

The_Beast

Richard Bell wrote on 06/17/2010 02:57:46 PM:

> Imagine my shock when I made the five hour drive from my home to his

From: Allan Goodall <agoodall@a...>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:54:02 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn Thu, Jun 17,
2010 at 2:57 PM, Richard Bell <rlbell.nsuid@gmail.com>wrote:

> Imagine my shock when I made the five hour drive from my home to his
Wait, wait, wait!!!

Are you serious, that the James Nicoll who is quoted is the same James Nicoll
who ran Imperiums To Order?

Tell me this is just an in-joke.

From: Phillip Atcliffe <Phillip.Atcliffe@u...>

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:23:53 +0100

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

> Allan Goodall wrote:

> Nicoll who ran Imperiums To Order?
Not according to sites like Wikipedia, it isn't. James Davis Nicoll of the
"cribhouse whore" quote fame used to run a games shop. Dunno if it was
Imperiums To Order, but is it likely that there'd be 2 James Nicolls

running RPG shops so close by?

Phil, who was also stunned to realise that Robert's "friend" was the man

himself. Not sure why, in retrospect; utterers of famous sayings are not

restricted from having friends -- right, Jon? :-D

From: Allan Goodall <agoodall@a...>

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:09:23 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn Fri, Jun 18,
2010 at 3:23 AM, Phillip Atcliffe <atcliffe@ntlworld.com>wrote:

> Not according to sites like Wikipedia, it isn't. James Davis Nicoll of
Wow, that is way cool!

And, no, if there had been another game store, I would have known about it.
The only two in Kitchener were Imperiums to Order and Carry-On Comics,
across the street. (There was also an Atari computer dealer below Imperiums
for a number of years, which I also would visit in the days when I still used
my Atari 800 XL.)

James is a cool guy. I bought many, many games from him over the years. I
think a good chunk of my student loans went to him. :-)

For some reason, the quote I remember from him was when he and a friend saw
two movies back to back. He said, "We saw 'Loose Cannons', which proved

From: Richard and Emily Bell <rlbell@s...>

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:13:31 -0600

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

We once took pity on each other(sort of). He gave me 20% off to give me the
last push needed to make me pull AH's Longest Day off of his shelves. I
dropped a serious amount of money to buy Ah's Advanced Squad Leader and ADB's
Doomsday edition of Starfleet Battles.

We were both in the same amatuer theater company.

A less famous quote of his was "It is lonely being a moderate activist,
marching down the street by yourself, carrying a placard that reads
'Reasonable, informed discussion of the issues as soon as is feasible.'".

On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 9:09 AM, Allan Goodall <agoodall@hyperbear.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Phillip Atcliffe

From: Allan Goodall <agoodall@a...>

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:42:04 -0500

Subject: Re: [GZG] [OT] Re: Ginger

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn Fri, Jun 18,
2010 at 2:13 PM, Richard Bell <rlbell.nsuid@gmail.com>wrote:

> We once took pity on each other(sort of). He gave me 20% off to give
*You *bought *The Longest Day*! If I remember correctly, it was there for
ages. For some reason, I remember him mentioning that it finally sold.

This is just way too cool for school.

> A less famous quote of his was "It is lonely being a moderate
Ah, yes, I remember that one, now that you mentioned it...