just ignore and let this one die

Of course I know that "none" can be singular or plural; if you read one of my responses to Scylla you would have seen that I said so.

As you may or may not have noticed, I like to engender a certain dramatic stress in my writing, and I enjoy the apparent conflict that can be generated by subordinate clauses that offer surprises, especially to casual readers. The "Pep Parentheses" exemplify this intent and over the years have served to distinguish me from run of the mill posters.

In this case I chose to follow the archaic original form of the saying, which as I keep explaining is perfectly correct grammatically - even if unexpected - partly because it satisfied my desire to deliver an emphatic message, and partly because it avoided being gender-specific, as I presume was the intention of the originator of the phrase. That Eli and then you have risen to the bait is a bonus I was not expecting. Thanks for the entertainment on behalf of all my readers.

Pep (And the more you resist it, the more you make yourself look ridiculous; you have provided no cogent argument for your standpoint, despite numerous opportunities to do so - and now you are abandoning it. )

Oh yea...forgot about him also

Although I'm not convinced that Pep is Pip...he claims he's not. Until something shows up to prove otherwise, I believe him

I am neither Pip nor Cato. The former is overtly antagonistic to me and I may be many things, but masochistic I am not. The latter's antics amuse me, (and I have been known to make recommendations to him on posts he might find of interest) but I prefer to test the limits of systems rather than attempt (vainly, it seems to me) to enforce them.

Pep (I *am* Pie, although I have forgotten his password; it's recorded somewhere so he may return at some point.)

No doubt.

Are you all right? That doesn't sound like your normal self.

Pep (No four letter words, no death wishes, no hysterical perverted perceptions . . . have you sobered up perhaps, or have you taken your meds today?)

Feeling well and business is steady. Thanks for asking.

And yourself?

BRAVO! bwa ha ha ha ha you made me laugh out loud. truly. i so love the way you insist it's grammatically correct, then come up with bizarre manipulations to support that belief. continue defending, puppet. you are a classic cartoon. bwa ha ha ha ha

i couldn't resist this final acknowledgment of your transparency. i am jovial today, so enjoying the humor. but back to the facts at hand. within the same sentence, plural none can not combine with singular is, and singular none accompanied by singular is cannot combine with plural those and still be grammatically correct - no matter who said it however many years ago. it's was wrong then, and it's wrong now. that doesn't make it any less a cliche or viable quote with its intended meaning... but it's poor sentence structure and you are supporting it. carry on my wayward son. there'll be peace when you are done.... but no, really.... i'm out this time.

we'd all believe you, if not for the time you accidentally got caught signing as Pep and didnt realize you were signed in as Cato.


bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha liar liar pants on fire

Rhonda finds Pep contemptible and despicable and is happy to verbalize it in a colourful way.

He pushed her buttons to get that post, so don't forget that as he acts all sanctimonious with his pretend shock.

Her post can be read as so much poison, but let's all not forget who elicited it. And how he went about getting it.

With Rhonda you know where you stand.

With Pep, it's all dishonest trolling. Provocation.

Epic Burn.

Try another demonstration of its grammatically correct structure:

"No one on the forums is as bereft of common sense as the members of the 3Ring-Eli pairing."

Pep (I'll keep giving examples as long as you keep denying the obvious.)

Heh, I saw something very much like that a while ago, but didn't think to capture it before it was edited.

If you remember at about that time quite a few people were posting as me and Cato thought it would be amusing to join the fun. I berated him suitably for it in private, and laughed about it secretly.

Pep (It doesn't take much to wind you up, does it?)

you must always capture. i have a Pip one too, but i think it's in my other flickr account. if i feel like it, and remember, i'll dig it up after work today.

bwa ha ha ha ha ha

LMAO! LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMME! nice try peptard. you are so outed. bwa ha ha ha ha ha keep dancing, my little marionette. the more you defend yourself, the deeper you dig your hole and the more often you slip. i left you a sturdy shovel yesterday. you might wanna go grab it now, to make things a little easier on yourself.

ONWARD HO!

Are you *really* suggesting that comments likening an avatar's thighs to that of a linebacker justifies wishing cancer on me?

Pep (It's a question of disproportionate response, typical of over-emotional, hysterical out-of-control "females".)

I'm leaving too and I just got here. Should have chose another thread for first reading like the sex with horses thread. Would have been far less upsetting than this.

Rhonda: As someone who's had huge family losses to ugly cancer deaths, (my husbands sisters, all 5 of them, and their mom, in a matter of a few years) it took my breath away, not in a good way to read what you wrote to Pep. Maybe I just have never hated anyone that much, to wish something so horrible on them, and I don't know how you feel. I can accept that. But if I ever DO understand how a person could allow such to come off their keyboard, I pray that somehow I will be able to control it and not allow it to ever hit the air. I hope I can just not respond, or go away, or something. Tears popped into my eyes and I cringed reading what you wrote. Not because it's Pep in particular, he's made me look like an idiot plenty of times. But because it was directed at a human being, no matter the cause. Cancer is a horrible, ugly death. There's nobody that I know I'd wish it on. I hope to keep it that way. I couldn't live with myself otherwise. Pep's needling and niggling about his opinion about how somebody's avatar looks just isn't worth a real life wish like this. I need to stop writing now because I am babbling. Sorry I just can't take this.

Well, it's just 10 am here, and this is already not feeling like a very happy day.

First, I want to extend my condolences to my American friends here over the Fort Hood shootings. The Canadian papers pretty much all seem to have run with a front page picture of an utterly overwrought woman clutching a cell phone, and unable to contact her husband on the base. It's absolutely heart-rending. Whatever the "reasons" behind the tragedy, your loss is our loss. I am so very very sorry for it.

Secondly . . . I think I am going to take a bit of a hiatus from this thread. I'll still poke my head in once in a while to say hi, or contribute a vanity shot, or something equally frivolous, but I can't handle the venom that is being doled out here, on all sides. The nastiness would be marginally more palatable if it were in the service of something, or sponsored by passionate beliefs in something that mattered . . . but it isn't. It's almost purely personal: it's just about hurting someone else as much as possible. Life is too short, and I am, as I am well aware, far too susceptible to feeling personally upset about this kind of thing.

This is a very odd thread, really. When I first started contributing, what attracted me to it was that this thread, unlike any other I've seen, has developed a sense of community. Where else in the forums can I get served a lovely breakfast every morning by Mo? People pop in just to wave hello, and others provide little insights into their everyday triumphs and tragedies.

That part of it is beautiful; please keep it up! But, while I love you all, for now I will be watching from a discreet distance.

i'm sorry.

and i'm done.

You can believe what you want.

Pep (I know the truth.)

Meh... "truth" is a four letter word.

Liar.

Nice spin there.

You should be . . .

Pep ( . . . and you have been.)

You even lie to yourself.