"To good friends old and new
I thank you
For new friends not yet met
I thank you too
This place will make such friendships true"
*** Smash! ***
- Bee LADYGEEZA March 21, 2002
Manager's Corner
Hi all..
March was an interesting month. We've had some
discussion about the purpose of our R.I.P. folder
and I'd like to share some of my thoughts about it
here.
One of our posting guidelines at Callahans is that
disrespect for any person is not allowed.
The emphasis is on showing respect for all
people, not simply to each other as patrons
and friends.
So - if you have NO respect for this or that
politician or public figure, why do we expect you
to speak of that person with respect?
It's simple. Because the stranger (or friend) reading
your post may admire that same person. And
it's very disrespectful to denigrate a person your
friend may admire.
This doesn't mean policies or ideas shouldn't be
challenged. It simply means people should
not be personally attacked. Doing so makes the
attacker look petty, dilutes any valid argument that
might be presented about a policy or idea, and shows
great disrespect for the reader in general.
I look around proudly at Callahans, knowing that
those of you who become longtime patrons and friends
understand this concept well..:)
Lou
Website News
We've added several
Poems About Callahans this month.. They come
from Cortland, bits and Tad..
Thanks to Serenity Sue, we have several new
entries on our
Bizarre (and Unusual) Facts page and its
related
Animal Facts page..:)
And one of our message board threads has led to an update of
our previously lame
Pick Up Lines page..:)
Also, Tim has been prolific this month..:) He composed tunes for
bits,
Peter and for
Tad Tending.
Conference News
From Carol:
Thermopolis did a great job with his first ever conference
hosting. The night of March 22nd took off with a discussion
of "The Guy with the Eyes," Spider Robinson's first
Callahans short story. Therm lead in the discussion by
explaining the traditions of both the stories and *this*
Callahans.
Toasting was a favorite as one person then the next stepped
to the chalk line to make a toast. After talking about the
seven foot guy in the odd suit everyone decided that Love,
Compassion and Friendship was the key to the human race and
Callahan's Place.
/act Steps to the line
To Therm.... Thank You !!
******** SMASH *********
Message Board News
From bits:
We continued our "Cultures of the World" motif by
focusing on India and Pakistan during March of 2002.
Lou began a conversation in the RIP Folder this way:
"Buddhism - Hi all.. Pssst..What's up with that?"
To which Bob (BooBooBob) responded: "The sound of one
hand clapping, and a solitary tree falling in a forest
with no one around to hear it, Lou."
Cstar began a thread about "Indian Musicians" in
the "Books, Movies, and Music Folder" Tim
(BRUNOTIM) chimed in with this: "Guess where the
majority of soundtrack music for films comes from?
Hollywood? Nope. London? Not even close. India!" You
will also find a verse by Cortland and photos from the
Barbary Coaster's Mini-Gathering in this thread......
Bits started the "Just So...Kipling" thread in the
"Book, Movies, & Music" folder. She discovered
plenty of other folks who enjoy Kipling. Catlaughing
responded first. KaptainKate still remembers the poem "
If" from when she recited it for a music festival when
she was in 8th grade. Cortland recalled his time in an
English Prep School, Saint Piran's, when he found an
ungroomed wooded thicket:"It was strictly off limits,
but was a place of cool natural wonder for those of us
less than five feet tall. Perhaps the Headmaster had
Kipling in mind when he left it there." Chis (EMETTMAN)
thinks Kipling was much more observant and honest than
the caricature of an "imperialist" writer he
is often called. One of Chris’ favorites is Tommy, and
another... very timely poem...
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."
Bob Hall (Weredragon) says "Mowgli and I are one."
He also mentioned his youthful days of going barefoot, read
the thread to find out who else runs without shoes. Walt
(WWW3) contributed a pun, and Sylphidine (LIBRARYLION) says
her favorite is "The Man Who Would be King."
MommaMackie dearly loves Kipling; "He is one of the most
emotionally complex, yet readable authors I've ever come
across." She also mentions a collection of essays by
SF writers that illustrate how Kipling influenced their
writing.
Lou, Chris and Greymaus veered off on a discussion about how
certain words fall from favor, comparing Kipling to Twain,
and Dick Goerne (ERUMELIA) reminded us that Great Britain
and the USSR could probably teach the US something about
the Afghans, who created chess.
A newcomer to Callahans, Brat (LLADY1) started a
collaborative story thread in the Creative Writing folder
this month. So far, 8 other patrons have added chapters
to it. Lou plans to
update the story weekly on our website.
We hope you enjoy it..:)
Birthdays Last Month
Birthday Greetings were heartily extended to:
| Borderwolf |
|
BORDERWOLF |
|
March 01 |
| Tee |
|
TERRYTEE2000 |
|
March 01 |
| BlueSteel |
|
BLUESTEEL14 |
|
March 07 |
| Ken |
|
DRANGD |
|
March 08 |
| Rona |
|
RONA6 |
|
March 09 |
| Amsads |
|
AMSADS |
|
March 11 |
| Jo |
|
NOONE13 |
|
March 13 |
| Darkmoon |
|
Dark999MOON |
|
March 15 |
| GreyMaus |
|
GREYMAUS |
|
March 16 |
| Rich |
|
HENAMANA |
|
March 16 |
| Peter |
|
TAX_HOMBRE |
|
March 17 |
| Bones |
|
BONES_10 |
|
March 23 |
| Cstar |
|
CSTAR1 |
|
March 24 |
| Trooper |
|
TOLEDOTRPR |
|
March 25 |
| Tracey |
|
DOVE1 |
|
March 27 |
| Roberta |
|
RWEINGARTEN |
|
March 30 |
Calliversaries Last Month
| KC KCADIEU |
|
March 01, 2001 |
| David DGBREWER |
|
March 03, 1999 |
| Griddlebone GRIDDLEBONE |
|
March 14, 1998 |
| Cat CATFANTASTIC |
|
March 21, 1998 |
| Marci MARCI2001 |
|
March 29, 2001 |
Joke of The Month
This Sign Was Posted At A Local Golf Course:
1. Back straight, knees bent, feet shoulder width apart.
2. Form a loose grip.
3. Keep your head down.
4. Avoid a quick back swing.
5. Stay out of the water.
6. Try not to hit anyone.
7. If you are taking too long, please let others go ahead of you.
8. Don't stand directly in front of others.
9. Quiet please... while others are preparing to go.
10. Don't take extra strokes.
Well done. Now flush the urinal, go outside, and tee off!
- Mallie MALLIE March 23, 2002
Pun of the Month
Some of you may know that I am an amateur historian and like
to research the Old West. I ran across some stuff the other
day that was absolutely fascinating.
In a nutshell, the stories of the Lone Ranger and Tonto are
true. And I found one that has never been published, so let
me share it with you.
It seems that the Lone Ranger and Tonto had camped in a grove
of trees one day, when a large flock of birds descended on
Silver. They started trying to pluck out the hairs of his mane
to make nests, and some even decided to nest directly in the
mane. Needless to say, Silver wasn't pleased with this and got
a little rowdy until Tonto came up with the sourdough break
makings and rubbed it into his mane.
The birds immediately flew away, and the Lone Ranger was
flabbergasted. "Tonto, how did you know to do that?",
he asked. And Tonto replied, "Ah, Kemo Sabe. You not
know old Indian proverb? "
"Yeast is yeast and nest is nest and never the mane
shall tweet!"
- CLOTHAHUMP March 24, 2002
Poem of the Month -
"Just Another Maria"
Little did I know that James waited for me
Inside Barnes & Noble
That rainy Saturday afternoon.
I entered for shelter.
He stood there thickly collected.
My eyes were cast to the bottom.
When I looked up,
There he was in gray tones,
I reached for his face.
His words lay heavy on my hand.
I opened him randomly
To see what he would offer.
"Words For Maria",
Destiny.
I took him home
That evening,
The night lamp was our only witness.
(Inspired by: Collected Poems of James Merrill
- Knoph Publisher)
- Didi Menendez (LABOHEMIA) March 6, 2002
Closing Quote
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
"
- Aesop
Editor's Note
We hope you find the Bar Rag entertaining and informative.
We can always use good pieces and writers here. If you
have something you would like to submit, or have a comment,
good or bad, about the newsletter, simply send us a note.
If you wish to receive the Bar Rag each month via email,
simply send
us a note Your email address will not be made visible
to others who receive the Bar Rag. The Bar rag will, of
course, continue to be available on our Web site..:)
And a reminder: we urge everyone to use
our website as a gateway into Callahans on Delphi
Forums. You will find prominent links to our (Delphi)
Message Board and Conference rooms there but also if we
ever have technical trouble at Delphi, we can easily let
you know and redirect you to a backup site if
the trouble is truly serious. And besides - our website
itself is special..:)
