# the eternal question (forum version)



## A. Mann (Dec 9, 2008)

He clicked the "New Thread" button then poised his fingers over the keys, but almost as quickly pulled them back.

"Damn, I hate these things" he though. "You either come off sounding ponderous or glib, but always forced. How the hell do you say hello to a bunch of people you've never met without coming off as if you're trying to say something smart, or purposely trying not to and achieving the same end."

He sat staring at the empty message box for what seemed ages wondering if its even possible to be genuine while trying so hard to sound genuine.

He typed "Hi."


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## Tatiiii (Dec 9, 2008)

Lol :] nice intro
And welcome! Enjoy your stay! ^^


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## Nickie (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi there, and welcome to the forum!


Nickie


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## No Brakes (Dec 9, 2008)

Hello and welcome to the forum!


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## Tiamat (Dec 9, 2008)

Lol, that might be my favorite intro ever!  Welcome, A. Mann.  I can already tell you'll fit in rather well here.


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## Foxee (Dec 9, 2008)

She deeply considered the reply box. Should she use 'Quick Reply' or would that seem overeager? Or would a simple 'Reply' to someone so obviously introspective be more appropriate? Which would show the proper level of greeting?

The questions tore at her, the 'indecision' a difficult word to spell.

Finally, she gave up. There was no good answer to this. She laid her head on her keyboard and wrote, "lk,kij"


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## mushroomgirl (Dec 9, 2008)

Oooh, nicely done. Makes my intro seem blaaaaaand by comparison.
Kudos. And welcome.


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## wacker (Dec 9, 2008)

A hearty welcome to the forum

wacker


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## exocoetidae (Dec 9, 2008)

*A ponderous and glib "Hi"*

<i>hi I said hi I will Hi...</i>

<blockquote>"yes would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."

--Molly's reply to Leopold from the Penelope episode of James Joyce's Ulysses</blockquote>

It seems I must explain in reference to your "eternal question" how a high school teacher had to say to a classmate, "I can't force you to read and I can't force you to write. I'll still give you a grade, which you may not like; that's just because I won't try to give you a grade for not trying."

So, later, when I struggled with James Joyce or authors like him who had worked so hard with perfecting their work, just so they could say the appropriate thing within the confines of their content, I had to step away, step back, step out of the daunting "ponderous or glib" to remember my teacher's grave message, and remember that "there had to be something in it for me" if only I could find it.

That something was about the very core of writing's intent, rather like Rodney Dangerfield in "Back to School" after a reading of the Ulysses excerpt, where his character, Thornton, blurts out, "YES! YES!" <b><i>Find the attraction1</i></i>

Joyce noted in a 1921 letter that "[t]he last word (human, all too human) is left to Penelope." The episode both begins and ends with "yes," a word that Joyce described as "the female word" and that he said indicated "acquiescence and the end of all resistance."

So yes hi I mean hi yes Hi... the Japanese fans of Joyce are giggling at us all now.


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## alanmt (Dec 9, 2008)

howdy


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## moderan (Dec 9, 2008)

Greetings.


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## lilacstarflower (Dec 9, 2008)

I liked the introduction - very nice. I hope the forums are everything you expect and more!


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## A. Mann (Dec 9, 2008)

exocoetidae said:


> So yes hi I mean hi yes Hi... the Japanese fans of Joyce are giggling at us all now.



all but Mishima who with trembling digit scribes はい (Hai) boldly on the floor in his own blood, determined to make his damn point even if it kills him.

:smile: Thanks so much to all for the warm welcome!


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## Shinn (Dec 9, 2008)

Hey there


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## AliceWilde (Dec 10, 2008)

You don't just come off as smart. I'm fairly certain you are smart. Hi.


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