To the merriment - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Eomer of the Rohirrim · 02-26-2005, 08:44 AM

I think there's a place for this thread. It shall be somewhere we can all come to reminisce; to salute those times in Barrowdowns history which have made us laugh. Let us speak about those moments of comedy, and remind ourselves of a major reason why we give so much of our time to the forum.

One of my favourites is when Estelyn tried to chase a newcomer called pug of crydee all over the boards in an attempt to tell him that this isn't a chatroom. I don't think anyone else ever found out how the story resolved, but the exasperation emanating from the always-gentle words of Esty was highly apparent, and very funny to the lazy onlooker.

Or Saucepan Man's now famous self-provided image of himself involuntarily spitting a mouthful of coffee all over his computer screen when faced with a not-too-accurate description of himself in the How do you imagine other BDers thread. This was definitely a fall-out-of-your-seat-laughing moment.

My final example is what I consider the funniest post I have ever read: SamwiseGamgee's retelling of a fight to the death between a Warg and a Yeti which really kickstarted The Warg and Warg Rider Appreciation Thread. It is either a damning indictment of my work ethic, or a marvellous testament to the post, that my most vivid memory of second-year University was the disruption caused to a computer room full of students by my uncontrollable giggling at that wonderful tale.

Please share your merry memories of the Downs.

Peace.

mark12_30 · 02-26-2005, 09:50 AM

I have searched and searched for it, all to no avail. Perhaps when the boards were moved, the thread was (GASP) deleted. But long ago in the shadowy past, when Fellowship was getting its Oscar-Snub, Lush was retelling her story of Oscar Night. Lush had gotten over the snub and moved on, and was merrily revelling in Ewan MacGregor. "When I saw that he was wearing eyeliner I nearly licked the screen, " quoth she.

I laughed so hysterically that my dog sat up and watched me with her head tipped to one side. Three years later it STILL makes me laugh out loud. Roggie of Morgoth owes his flame-proof eyeliner to this very moment-- to Ewan MacGregor, seen through the eyes of Lush.

HerenIstarion · 02-26-2005, 10:23 AM

I remember funny debate between Spellcheck Man, Da Abbreviator and Typo Girl (inspired and impersonated, no doubt, by some of the mods, Mr. Underhill most likely, or maybe BW himself). It was part of the first campaign for good English and reasonable writing skills on the Downs. Or maybe it was the first among numerous campaigns of the kind I had a chance to be an eye witness of

Original thread haven't survived the Great Migration, but scraps of it lingered as part of Rimbaud's (SP?) The Phantom Menace, (post #57)

PS So don't get surprised at recent visits of registered Inktomi Spiders - it is an age old tradition of administration around here, to have theatricals (with a moral), it seems

Estelyn Telcontar · 02-26-2005, 02:45 PM

I chuckle when I remember a thread Lush posted three years ago, where she told the story of meeting Viggo Mortensen while shopping one evening. Only after quite a few astonished and envious reactions did people realize that it was April 1st!

Feanor of the Peredhil · 02-26-2005, 04:01 PM

Having had a vague memory, I made to track down and old war of sorts... and I then got pulled into rereading an entire six page thread. On my way from the initial post linking to a hilarious quiz that Lush created while bored in Durham, all the way to the end, I discovered a few half-forgotten laughs.

Lush's inadvertant proposal to Heren Istarion and his subsequent agreement, so long as there were not too many festivities and formalities involved.

Eomer of the Rohirrim's kind explanation of the genetics involved with the inborn pinkie (ie: little finger) extension observed during British Beverage-Imbibing.

The origin of my official imaginings of Eomer in a kilt, brought on initially by Saraphim's refusal of a marriage proposal that Eomer was unaware he had made, followed by his determination to win us all over. This is possibly where his terrifyingly large fan club originated.

Continuing through the thread, another laugh was brought on by Saraphim's declaration of war between the Uber-Dorks and the Cheeky Brits. At the very first, it was not an official war... until Eomer declared it so himself. Page Four is where the war really kicks off, seeing as how this is where whipped cream and argyle come into play. The war continues to crack me up as the phantom pops in just long enough to make the offer of the winner becoming his secretary. After a record set for number of pages allowed to continue off-topic, Lush tries really hard to steer us back on course. It uh... doesn't actually work. And then, after Gil-galad's final post suggesting that everybody stalk him... the thread dies.

And that, my friends, is one of my favorite public forum experiences. Mind you, some of the insane PM encounters leave me giggling to no end.

And so to end this very linked post... Great thread idea, Eomer. I'd rep you, but I can't for awhile.

Fea

Lhunardawen · 02-26-2005, 09:49 PM

Who could ever forget the famous gauntlet Fordim slapped Mithalwen with in the CbC thread for "Strider"? It led to an untimely comparison of Faramir and Aragorn which ended tragically. Well, not really...just with Esty's reprimand.

Bêthberry · 12-06-2005, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark12_30

I have searched and searched for it, all to no avail. Perhaps when the boards were moved, the thread was (GASP) deleted. But long ago in the shadowy past, when Fellowship was getting its Oscar-Snub, Lush was retelling her story of Oscar Night. Lush had gotten over the snub and moved on, and was merrily revelling in Ewan MacGregor. "When I saw that he was wearing eyeliner I nearly licked the screen, " quoth she.

I laughed so hysterically that my dog sat up and watched me with her head tipped to one side. Three years later it STILL makes me laugh out loud. Roggie of Morgoth owes his flame-proof eyeliner to this very moment-- to Ewan MacGregor, seen through the eyes of Lush.

Helen, consider this substitute as my Christmas present to you:

Helen on balrogs and eyeliners

Lush's screen affair

And, well, as this fits in so well with Eomer's wonderful thread idea, I shall link to the entire thread, which has given me wonderful laughs all over again just now. Ou sont les éclats de rire d'autan?

An idea about the "fangirl" problem we've been having

Lalwendë · 12-06-2005, 02:28 PM

Jesse's Jokes

This week I 'ave mostly been laughing at smut from davem

One of the threads that's had me doubled up with laughter has been snow angels, especially when, considering that at my age I should really know better and get some dignity, I found myself getting carried away and playing with pudding and action figures. Not only that but I provided everyone with hard evidence of my deeply silly sense of humour.

The Squatter of Amon Rûdh · 12-07-2005, 10:55 AM

I seem to remember that we had a lot of fun at the beginning of Lush's thread 101 Things Barrow-Downers Would Never Post. However, the most fun I've had outside of the Entish Bow saga exists now only as a broken link in Estelyn's defence of my reputation (post #225).

The thread was called Gaudeamus igitur: Lupercalia est! and was an abortive attempt by yours truly to satirise a spate of 'happy festival' threads that had been cropping up for some months. Somehow it turned into a wide-ranging and utterly inconsequential conversation between a number of now rather senior members who ought to have known better. We succeeded in moving Mithadan to verse, Turambar to a defence of Wordsworth and Lush to another of her proposals of marriage, but, sadly, nobody to anything Tolkien related. I think that the whole fiasco was deleted in the May 2003 spring clean.

There are some fun posts that are still part of the forum. In the fifty-seventh post of littlemanpoet's thread The wrong kind of details: the components of wonder (aka lmp's rant), Kuruharan proposed a rather unusual mythic pairing, which cracked up both me and the discussion. Then there was the creation of a legend, when Mister Underhill, whose keyboard has been the fount of much classic comedy, first suggested the idea behind the indispensible instrument of Tolkienology which he later christened 'the Travest-o-meter™', in a thread called A curious evening in Oxford. Bêthberry has thoughtfully indexed the creative process at post 62.

***Mister Underhill*** · 12-08-2005, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squatter

Mister Underhill, whose keyboard has been the fount of much classic comedy

Flatterer. I can only return the compliment: besides the post to start off the "Curious Evening" thread -- which is a strong contender for best post, ever, anywhere on the Downs -- you had at least as big a hand in the development of Travest-o-technology™ as I did. Also, you proved again that brevity is the soul of wit with a short but exceptionally funny post in Sport in Middle-earth that makes me chuckle out loud to this day.

Although the Straight Way to many of the old threads has been lost, clever mariners can still navigate to the ancient shores, as in this link to the aforementioned battle between Spellcheck Man and his nemesis. Look here at lindil's Should all posts be polls? to laugh while you learn why polls are not generally accessible on the Downs.

I have more merry memories of times on the Downs than I can count. Most of the older ones involve half-joking, half-serious analyses with Sharkey, or impromptu iron poetry with the Wight, or the interpretation of the prophesies of Malbeth. Also, I miss Maril; she was always good for a laugh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lush

One of the more hilarious instances of newbies-gone-bad that I remember was a character named Zones...

"Zones for ops!"...

I haven't thought of that for years.

And speaking of, does anyone else remember -- I think his handle was Gimli son of Gloin? I'm sure that kid still holds the record for most bans and reinstatements, not to mention dramatic farewell-I'm-leaving-forever posts. There was one old thread in particular that gave me a few days of laughter, where I pretended that he was a character that I had created, but I can't seem to turn it up either here or at the old site. I think we lost more stuff in our periodic UBB corruptions than we realized at the time. Maybe that one was another victim.

02-26-2005, 08:44 AM	#1
Eomer of the Rohirrim Auspicious Wraith Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,859	To the merriment I think there's a place for this thread. It shall be somewhere we can all come to reminisce; to salute those times in Barrowdowns history which have made us laugh. Let us speak about those moments of comedy, and remind ourselves of a major reason why we give so much of our time to the forum. One of my favourites is when Estelyn tried to chase a newcomer called pug of crydee all over the boards in an attempt to tell him that this isn't a chatroom. I don't think anyone else ever found out how the story resolved, but the exasperation emanating from the always-gentle words of Esty was highly apparent, and very funny to the lazy onlooker. Or Saucepan Man's now famous self-provided image of himself involuntarily spitting a mouthful of coffee all over his computer screen when faced with a not-too-accurate description of himself in the How do you imagine other BDers thread. This was definitely a fall-out-of-your-seat-laughing moment. My final example is what I consider the funniest post I have ever read: SamwiseGamgee's retelling of a fight to the death between a Warg and a Yeti which really kickstarted The Warg and Warg Rider Appreciation Thread. It is either a damning indictment of my work ethic, or a marvellous testament to the post, that my most vivid memory of second-year University was the disruption caused to a computer room full of students by my uncontrollable giggling at that wonderful tale. Please share your merry memories of the Downs. Peace. __________________ Los Ingobernables de Harlond

02-26-2005, 10:23 AM	#3
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	I remember funny debate between Spellcheck Man, Da Abbreviator and Typo Girl (inspired and impersonated, no doubt, by some of the mods, Mr. Underhill most likely, or maybe BW himself). It was part of the first campaign for good English and reasonable writing skills on the Downs. Or maybe it was the first among numerous campaigns of the kind I had a chance to be an eye witness of Original thread haven't survived the Great Migration, but scraps of it lingered as part of Rimbaud's (SP?) The Phantom Menace, (post #57) PS So don't get surprised at recent visits of registered Inktomi Spiders - it is an age old tradition of administration around here, to have theatricals (with a moral), it seems __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

02-26-2005, 02:45 PM	#4
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	I chuckle when I remember a thread Lush posted three years ago, where she told the story of meeting Viggo Mortensen while shopping one evening. Only after quite a few astonished and envious reactions did people realize that it was April 1st! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

12-06-2005, 02:28 PM	#8
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Jesse's Jokes This week I 'ave mostly been laughing at smut from davem One of the threads that's had me doubled up with laughter has been snow angels, especially when, considering that at my age I should really know better and get some dignity, I found myself getting carried away and playing with pudding and action figures. Not only that but I provided everyone with hard evidence of my deeply silly sense of humour. __________________ Gordon's alive!

12-07-2005, 10:55 AM	#9
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh Spectre of Decay Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bar-en-Danwedh Posts: 2,178	Up memory lane without a paddle I seem to remember that we had a lot of fun at the beginning of Lush's thread 101 Things Barrow-Downers Would Never Post. However, the most fun I've had outside of the Entish Bow saga exists now only as a broken link in Estelyn's defence of my reputation (post #225). The thread was called Gaudeamus igitur: Lupercalia est! and was an abortive attempt by yours truly to satirise a spate of 'happy festival' threads that had been cropping up for some months. Somehow it turned into a wide-ranging and utterly inconsequential conversation between a number of now rather senior members who ought to have known better. We succeeded in moving Mithadan to verse, Turambar to a defence of Wordsworth and Lush to another of her proposals of marriage, but, sadly, nobody to anything Tolkien related. I think that the whole fiasco was deleted in the May 2003 spring clean. There are some fun posts that are still part of the forum. In the fifty-seventh post of littlemanpoet's thread The wrong kind of details: the components of wonder (aka lmp's rant), Kuruharan proposed a rather unusual mythic pairing, which cracked up both me and the discussion. Then there was the creation of a legend, when Mister Underhill, whose keyboard has been the fount of much classic comedy, first suggested the idea behind the indispensible instrument of Tolkienology which he later christened 'the Travest-o-meter™', in a thread called A curious evening in Oxford. Bêthberry has thoughtfully indexed the creative process at post 62. __________________ Man kenuva métim' andúne?

02-26-2005, 09:50 AM	#2
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	I have searched and searched for it, all to no avail. Perhaps when the boards were moved, the thread was (GASP) deleted. But long ago in the shadowy past, when Fellowship was getting its Oscar-Snub, Lush was retelling her story of Oscar Night. Lush had gotten over the snub and moved on, and was merrily revelling in Ewan MacGregor. "When I saw that he was wearing eyeliner I nearly licked the screen, " quoth she. I laughed so hysterically that my dog sat up and watched me with her head tipped to one side. Three years later it STILL makes me laugh out loud. Roggie of Morgoth owes his flame-proof eyeliner to this very moment-- to Ewan MacGregor, seen through the eyes of Lush. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

02-26-2005, 04:01 PM	#5
Feanor of the Peredhil La Belle Dame sans Merci Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: perpetual uncertainty Posts: 5,517	another giggle involving Lush Having had a vague memory, I made to track down and old war of sorts... and I then got pulled into rereading an entire six page thread. On my way from the initial post linking to a hilarious quiz that Lush created while bored in Durham, all the way to the end, I discovered a few half-forgotten laughs. Lush's inadvertant proposal to Heren Istarion and his subsequent agreement, so long as there were not too many festivities and formalities involved. Eomer of the Rohirrim's kind explanation of the genetics involved with the inborn pinkie (ie: little finger) extension observed during British Beverage-Imbibing. The origin of my official imaginings of Eomer in a kilt, brought on initially by Saraphim's refusal of a marriage proposal that Eomer was unaware he had made, followed by his determination to win us all over. This is possibly where his terrifyingly large fan club originated. Continuing through the thread, another laugh was brought on by Saraphim's declaration of war between the Uber-Dorks and the Cheeky Brits. At the very first, it was not an official war... until Eomer declared it so himself. Page Four is where the war really kicks off, seeing as how this is where whipped cream and argyle come into play. The war continues to crack me up as the phantom pops in just long enough to make the offer of the winner becoming his secretary. After a record set for number of pages allowed to continue off-topic, Lush tries really hard to steer us back on course. It uh... doesn't actually work. And then, after Gil-galad's final post suggesting that everybody stalk him... the thread dies. And that, my friends, is one of my favorite public forum experiences. Mind you, some of the insane PM encounters leave me giggling to no end. And so to end this very linked post... Great thread idea, Eomer. I'd rep you, but I can't for awhile. Fea __________________ peace

02-26-2005, 09:49 PM	#6
Lhunardawen Hauntress of the Havens Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IN it, but not OF it Posts: 2,538	Who could ever forget the famous gauntlet Fordim slapped Mithalwen with in the CbC thread for "Strider"? It led to an untimely comparison of Faramir and Aragorn which ended tragically. Well, not really...just with Esty's reprimand.