FT219

[kirmildew]

Personally all the recent Most Haunted- esque ghosthunting and the ghost coverage in FT bores me as much as the UFO stuff. Enough already... Till someone catches an alien by the tentacle or traps a ghost in a big jam jar, can we close the door on all the 'moving lights' and dodgy photos of ghostly faces which are really stains on the wallpaper?

 

[realtegan]

Arrived in Seattle yesterday. We're still well behind you folks, but subscribers still get it faster than folks waiting for it to show on newsstands out here.

 

[Anonymous]

Arrived in Seattle yesterday. We're still well behind you folks, but subscribers still get it faster than folks waiting for it to show on newsstands out here.

FT #219?

We're up to #372 - the time travel special! #371 was a good one - all about misplaced and vanishing objects. But I've lost my copy.

 

[Graylien]

The article on Victorian spiritualism was well written but covered very well worn ground without really bringing a fresh perspective to the subject. It would have been fine in a Sunday newspaper supplement, but I think its safe to assume that people who read the Fortean Times are already over-familiar with certain topics and would prefer something fresh.

There are only so many articles you want to read about Victorian mediums, or the Loch Ness monster photos, or the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, or Borley Rectory. Sites like The Anomalist are proof that there is no shortage of high strangeness nowadays, easily available at the click of the button to even the most casual researcher. (Look - mysterious Goat Deaths in Bali!)

Personally I'd much rather read about witchcraft and spiritualism in modern-day Africa or Brazil than about the Great Men of Victorian spiritualism.

Incidentally, I notice that Nick Real-Life-Fox-Mulder Pope has now been subjected to ridicule for three issues in a row. I'm not complaining. Just noticing.

 

[Stormkhan]

He's also done an interview in Beyond magazine. Again, touted as Britains "Fox Mulder".

 

[Patrick_Hudson]

I had to roll my eyes at the "pussy" connection in the cat virus piece. Is there any evidence for woman-only beaver cults?

Patrick H

 

[Graylien]

He's also done an interview in Beyond magazine. Again, touted as Britains "Fox Mulder".

Yeah, I glanced through that in WHSmiths. He mentioned in it that he would like a cameo in Torchwood. He also claims here that "some media have... dubbed the project I ran The Real Torchwood." He'll be calling himself The Real Dr Who or The Real Captain Kirk next, I dare say.

 

[owenwhiteoak]

Warm furry things

I had to roll my eyes at the "pussy" connection in the cat virus piece. Is there any evidence for woman-only beaver cults?

Patrick H

I did think twice about letting that through when subbing the piece, but, since the Forum is a personal, "have your own say", section, I let it pass.

According to James MacDonald's ever-entertaining "Dictionary of Obscenity, Taboo & Euphemism" (Time Warner, 1988) (so it MUST be true!), the term "pussy" originally meant "rabbit" (and "rabbit" meant "baby rabbit") - but it still had the ribald anatomical second meaning. Which does kind of shoot down the viral connection.

EDIT: Actually, there's more - "coney" (pronounced "cunny") was the standard word for rabbit, but the original pronunciation was later euphemised to the more common modern one, as it made the ribald second meaning a bit too blatant... So, NY's Coney Island ought really to be pronounced "cunny island". But I'm betting it won't be.

 

[gordonrutter]

He's also done an interview in Beyond magazine. Again, touted as Britains "Fox Mulder".

Yeah, I glanced through that in WHSmiths. He mentioned in it that he would like a cameo in Torchwood. He also claims here that "some media have... dubbed the project I ran The Real Torchwood." He'll be calling himself The Real Dr Who or The Real Captain Kirk next, I dare say.

This would be touted as Britain's Fox Mulder by himself and "some media have... dubbed the project I ran The Real Torchwood." Presumably the bits fo the media he actually wrote himself.

Gordon

 

[JamesWhitehead]

Re: Warm furry things

I had to roll my eyes at the "pussy" connection in the cat virus piece. Is there any evidence for woman-only beaver cults?

Patrick H

I did think twice about letting that through when subbing the piece, but, since the Forum is a personal, "have your own say", section, I let it pass.

According to James MacDonald's ever-entertaining "Dictionary of Obscenity, Taboo & Euphemism" (Time Warner, 1988) (so it MUST be true!), the term "pussy" originally meant "rabbit" (and "rabbit" meant "baby rabbit") - but it still had the ribald anatomical second meaning. Which does kind of shoot down the viral connection.

EDIT: Actually, there's more - "coney" (pronounced "cunny") was the standard word for rabbit, but the original pronunciation was later euphemised to the more common modern one, as it made the ribald second meaning a bit too blatant... So, NY's Coney Island ought really to be pronounced "cunny island". But I'm betting it won't be.

The books I have to hand are equally unhelpful. Polly-Nussy, Black English, a disguised form of Pussy, saith the Wordsworth Book of Euphemisms, from a 1983 US publication. Partridge, Dictionary of Slang, 5th Edition, 1969 does not have it, only Puss as low English for female pudend, 17th-20th Century.

It all seems a lot of beating about the bush to me. I'd assumed it was simple rhyming-slang. Pussy-cat = Twat! :miaow:

 

[owenwhiteoak]

Re: Warm furry things

I had to roll my eyes at the "pussy" connection in the cat virus piece. Is there any evidence for woman-only beaver cults?

Patrick H

I did think twice about letting that through when subbing the piece, but, since the Forum is a personal, "have your own say", section, I let it pass.

According to James MacDonald's ever-entertaining "Dictionary of Obscenity, Taboo & Euphemism" (Time Warner, 1988) (so it MUST be true!), the term "pussy" originally meant "rabbit" (and "rabbit" meant "baby rabbit") - but it still had the ribald anatomical second meaning. Which does kind of shoot down the viral connection.

EDIT: Actually, there's more - "coney" (pronounced "cunny") was the standard word for rabbit, but the original pronunciation was later euphemised to the more common modern one, as it made the ribald second meaning a bit too blatant... So, NY's Coney Island ought really to be pronounced "cunny island". But I'm betting it won't be.

The books I have to hand are equally unhelpful. Polly-Nussy, Black English, a disguised form of Pussy, saith the Wordsworth Book of Euphemisms, from a 1983 US publication. Partridge, Dictionary of Slang, 5th Edition, 1969 does not have it, only Puss as low English for female pudend, 17th-20th Century.

It all seems a lot of beating about the bush to me. I'd assumed it was simple rhyming-slang. Pussy-cat = Twat! :miaow:

At the risk of perpetrating a major thread-jack, I'd always been led to believe that "twat" ought, strictly, to be pronounced "twot". Though it seldom is (or used in its literal sense much, any more).

 

[Patrick_Hudson]

Re: Warm furry things

At the risk of perpetrating a major thread-jack, I'd always been led to believe that "twat" ought, strictly, to be pronounced "twot". Though it seldom is (or used in its literal sense much, any more).

Yeah, that's how I used to pronounce it before I arrived in the UK and people gave me funny looks. It sounds a bit plummy, whereas the flat a has a juicy obscene sound, like all the best expletives.

In terms of the origins of these things I tend to feel that overly-literal explanations are likely wrong - pussy seems too obvious (affectionate pet name for something furry) to need further elaboration.

Anyway, back to the magazine. How about all those cats adopting other animals - I do love it when the magazine features pictures of lots of lovely pussies.

Patrick H

 

[evilsprout]

This would be touted as Britain's Fox Mulder by himself and "some media have... dubbed the project I ran The Real Torchwood." Presumably the bits fo the media he actually wrote himself.

Does that mean he used to flounce around in a posh coat, swear gratuitously, and everyone in the office had a same-sex kiss for no apparent reason?