I gave 4 books, a boxed art set, CDs and DVDs, plants and composed a poem.

I received the framed original letter from my Grandfather (R.I.P.)
written to me from over 30 years ago, a bottle of scotch and good
times with friends.

What did you do?

Me?

I gave 4 books (that I had nicked from the Library), a 1 ounce box of
heart-shaped chocolates, CDs and DVDs, and several dozen cannabis
plants. I also composed an orchestral symphony for 300 Harps.

During a séance, I received a visitation from my Grandfather (R.I.P.)
who said that he considered me obnoxious and wished that DNA Testing
had been available when I was born over 30 years ago.

I also received six bottles of sparkly and enjoyed some good times
with family (other than my Grandfather) and friends.

Too funny Bryan. Can't stop laughing

I wrote a Christmas letter telling everyone in our family that we've
all been flossing regularly and they should stop worrying about us.

I wanted broken china for Christmas but I didn't get it. 

I do a kind of mosaic sculpture called 'piccassiette' where you smash
up old patterned china and glue/grout it on to various objects to make
new 'objets d'art'. The whole part about smashing up the china is
EXTREMELY rewarding, but it's a policy of mine never to destroy
something that is not already damaged, unsellable or so keetchie that
no one would ever buy it anyway.

I was given perfectly good flowered cups and saucers and I can't bring
myself to take a hammer to them!  They are only verging on keetchie. 
What's an artiste to do?

ts

TS,

Have you mosaiced your motorcycle? Did Bryan pinch the books from your library?

Haven't seen anyone fitting the description here on The Rock lately .
. . he must be travelling incognito . . .

If I had a motorcycle, I couldn't think of a better use for it!

Smithsonian Institute, here I come!

What a smashing idea!

ts

Hi Silver...

What a great question !!
I sincerely hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas...

Hmmm....lets see.... I gave my grown kids and their spouses gift
certificates for everything from gasoline, car wahes, movie passes,
Walmart, restaurants, etc. They loved it and want the same next
year!~!

I got diamond earrings from my sweety, a mahogany jewelery box, bath
stuff, a gift certificate to Walmart, flannel pj's and jewelery from
my family.

You crack me up Bryan....you really, really do :)

TS: Broken china eh??? So sorry to hear you got unbroken china cups :-). 
Keep an eye out for Bryan though. You never know what he is up to....

Steph53

Hiya Phil,
 
Why do you wanna know?

AM

I got a DVD player, a lovely boxed set of "The Return of the King,"
some earrings, and a red fleece hunter's vest that will keep me from
being shot when I go to Wal-Mart.

I gave a super-duper rechargeable flashlight, a Talking Heads DVD, two
opera DVDs, and a DVD of one of the greatest movies of all time,
Robert Altman's "Nashville."

In case anyone wonders, the Talking Heads DVD and the opera DVDs did
not go to the same person. I'm the only member of my family who enjoys
much diversity in musical matters. I once attended a Devo concert
while wearing a sweatshirt with a picture of Antonin Dvorák on it. Or
was it Antonin Devorák?

Hiya AM777,

I don't believe we have met.

All questions have a purpose, not revealed upon the surface.

Silver777

hiya Phil,

No, we haven't met. 
I am mostly interested what is underneath the surface, the intentions
and motivations of people are far more interesting dont ya think?

AM

okay, Pink . . . 

Dvorák or Devorák . . . what I really want to know is how do you get
that little 'accent grav' over your a's?  Or is it 'accent a droit?'  
(never could keep those straight)   I had to copy and past yours ...
and, see, I couldn't do it just then . . .  :(

Also, I forgot to say what I gave 
(too caught up venting about my dilemma):

I gave gift certificates to:
The Guitar Center
a local specialty tool shop
an independant bookstore (yay!)

I put each certificate in a box with loose rocks just for effect
(shaking sound . . . see, I thought it would be a good joke, since I
myself was expecting BROKEN china . . . didn't go over all that well)

plus a lot of Paperwhites and locally made goat's milk soap     :)

but I want one of those special mall-crawler's hunter's vests!
and a pair of Google Goggles . . .

next Christmas, I guess . . .

ts

ts,

To get a lowercase letter á (with an acute accent):

Press and hold the 'Alt' key

Type 0225 on your numeric keypad

Release the 'Alt' key, and here you have it: á

~pf

And as Bryan says .. we have eyes everywhere
                                        
                                       ? ?
                                        "
                                        ~

? ?
 "
 ~

Hey, that ain't an eye. That's a phi.

AM777,

Indeed interesting .. you are approaching the true purpose of the
question. Very insightful.

Now as you are using my name, do you have one also? Just a bit
intrigued as to how you derived that, considering this is the first
place you have posted, and no reference to my name was mentioned prior
to your first post.

Don't get me wrong .. just intrigued, as your intro sounded as though
I should know you.

S7

Miss Pink,

Only you of course would have picked that up so quickly. Would you
care for another packet of peanuts? I'll make it a big packet if you
can give me a list of those numbered entries to create the glyphs.

? ? ?  ?  ?  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? .. on the other hand, I'll just try random.

Phil

Phil,

Regarding the matter of composing a poem as a Christmas gift, I am
delighted to learn that I'm not the only one who did this.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours (or a small portion thereof).

~Pink

Pink,

.. ummmm .. well .. I'd be delighted to, but I guess I should not
refer to your poetry as the Pink Bits then.

I did not keep a copy of my poem in question, but I doctored up a
rough one for Timespacette if that will suffice. I'll go find it, back
in a minute.

Phil

Pink,

MOTORCYCLE SPACETTE .. (scroll to second last entry)

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=446357

I'll allow TS to explain it. 

Enough frivolity. I HAVE to go fishing. Bugger! Just as things were
starting to get fun again too.

Take care you lot, Phil

Thank you, Phil! Very cute!

My Christmas poem...

============================================================
 WARNING: Religious content ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
============================================================

I like to give my distant friends a poem instead of a gift at
Christmastime. Here's the story behind this poem.

On a bitterly cold night I baked ten loaves of fresh bread for
Christmas Eve communion services at a local homeless shelter. One of
those places that, when you have to go there, they have to take you
in. (They used to buy day-old Wonder Bread for this purpose, and I
volunteered to provide something more wholesome, more meaningful. And
cheaper.)

I took the warm bread to the Mission (and oh, it smelled good--it was
difficult not to eat it on the way!) There was a man named Ahmet with
whom I spoke briefly. He seemed to be pleased about Christmas. He was
a grubby, ragged man with bad teeth and body odor. I couldn't
understand much of what he said; he was too drunk. While we shared
Communion, using plain grape juice instead of wine (much to the
disappointment of the wino clientele,) this poem came to me, almost
intact. It's not the sort of thing that I can send to "The New Yorker"
for publication and pay. I decided to share it with friends in lieu of
a Christmas gift.

Ahmet is a real person. Unfortunately, I did not share the poem with
him (he can't read anyway.) And I will probably never see him again,
at least not until I pass through the doors beyond the grave.

-------

NIGHT VISITOR 

You're drunk at the Mission, and sad, and stinking,
You won't start bathing, you can't stop drinking;
Yet in your dark eyes shineth the everlasting light,
'Neath the hopes and fears of all the beers, Ahmet, in you, tonight.

The man is not attractive; his body smells of piss,
His sweat glands overactive... but quite despite all this,
When Ahmet looks into my eyes I see a mother pleading,
And Golgotha with brooding skies where perfect Love lies bleeding.
  "Inasmuch as ye do it unto the least
   Of one of my brethren, ye do it to me."
And Ahmet and I shall partake of the feast,
The juice of the grape and the savour of yeast,
And the One who has caused them to be.

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

~Pink

Pink, that is really wonderful!

hey, now that Phil's gone fishing, maybe we can come up with a pome for him . . . ?

(collectively, I mean...)

I'll start . . .

shamelessly plaigerising from John Prine:

Fish and whistle, whistle and fish
Eat everything that they put on yer dish . . .

what's next?

QUOTE:

I once attended a Devo concert while wearing a sweatshirt with a
picture of Antonin Dvorák on it. Or was it Antonin Devorák?

END QUOTE

Answers please!

Me? I don't know any of 'em: Devo, Antonin Dvorák or Antonin Devorák ...

Hiya Phil,

hmmm....well you didnt answer my question yet LOL. 
Sure, it is all about the true purpose, what thrives you and me to do
the things you or I do, or say, or feel...., and to be intrigued is a
wonderful reason to see what is underneath dont ya think?

I dont get you wrong....do you?

My name is Anne-Marie, AM for short.

I hope you enjoyed yourself fishing.........

AM

Hi Anne-Marie

May I ask you a personal question?

Oh well, here goes anyway ...

Are you and Phil related in some way?

The 777 content in your handle suggests maybe.

Me? I'm sometimes known as 077, after my Army Number. Any resemblance
to Pierce Brosnan or 007 is purely physical.

PB

LOL   
Hiya PB,

Arent we all related in some way?

AM

fish and whistle, whistle and fish
Eat everything that they put on yer dish . . .
why  should I do that, please tell me why
cuz a fish cant whistle and neither can I......

AM

Happy New Year everyone, and thanks to all of you ..

Back from fishing. Two redfins and two yabbies caught between four of
us, but plenty of fun anyway.

Bryan .. thanks for your undying wit and humour. Your grasp of the
Queen's English coupled with your sense of clarity is a talent to
which many surely aspire. If you were my high school teacher, learning
would have been lots of fun. (Not suggesting that you would have been
old enough to be my teacher!)

TS .. thanks for suggesting a composition just for me. I am most
humbled and look forward to the completed verse. Our deliberations
have always been fun. I do hope that you eventually find the closure
you seek. I learned through reading only today of your circumstance.
All the best in your search of the truth. 2005 may find it.

Steph .. thanks for your encouragement and contribution to my
questions. Thanks for the fun and advice along the way. Like a breath
of fresh air, you make this medium a great exchange of knowledge
through opinion and reference.

Pink .. thanks for your great answers and in always going the extra
mile. I especially enjoy your clever play on words. They are like the
dessert after a main meal.

Winsplit .. thanks for responding here. I know we have had a few good
yarns in our combined deliberations. Fun again. Keep it up.

Tryx .. if you get to read this .. Where are you? I miss your
thoughtful and fun contributions.

AM777 .. Anne-Marie .. what a delightful name. Thank you for your
fishing wishes. A pleasure it is to have met you in this medium. I
enjoyed and appreciate your contribution to my poem in composition.
Non-whistling fish huh! I like the way you think. Well thought out!
Looking forward to more.
You may care to visit the question as below. I would be keen to read
your ideas. You will find lots of fun here in time as you decide to
help appropriately on questions.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=444603


And of course to the collective .. the one word in common above has been FUN.

Fun in learning and helping others. What more could we ask?

Thanks for being you,

All the very best for 2005,

Kind regards, Phil

LOL
Hiya Phil,
Glad  you enjoy my small contribution.......BUT
LOL
what is appropriate help?
isnt it all about our perception ?
thanks for your best wishes ( 10 hours still to go to enter
2005.........what is it like? )
all the best to you too
AM

Anne-Marie,

My apologies in my over-use of adjectives. Please remove the word
"appropriate" from my habitual over explanation. I must learn from the
Probonic one to become more succint.

"Perception" however, is my favourite and oft over-used word. More on
that later, in time.

Yep, just entered 2005. Like any other day I guess, excepting for the
decreased road traffic.

-10 hours .. hhmm .. now that could be lots of places .. the Atlas is
about to get a look.

Happy 2005, Phil

PHIL,

ROFL

AM

Anne-Marie is very cryptic. No?

She says she lives in ROFL, which seems a bit of waffle.

There's NO SUCH PLACE!

My guess is that she lives in the Republic of Liberia.

Hiya Mike,

....with my mind travelling I can be anywhere.........

AM

There's somebody knocking at my door.

Could be Anne-Marie ...

Ahh .. the elusiveness of a cryptic woman. Magic.

Is Florida a Republic?

Barney,

..it is my wandering mind, wondering...
why your   #^&*+ doorbell isnt working.......

AM

oops...
sorry Bryan......
not Barney.....


AM

Phew what an experience!

I never expected to find Marie-Antoinette on the doorstep.

She'd brought me a cake.

'Eat it', she commanded.

She had some, too. Wow ... Now I'm quite disorientated. 

Please forgive me if I make a few mistakes.

Brayn

Hi Barney,

You mean to say that you have found the formula to being able to have
your cake and eat it too?

Commentors .. sorry .. Commoners .. let them eat peanuts I say! 

Fred, Wilma, Bam Bam and Pebbles

it's okay Napoleon......