MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2319

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) ML Braiding / Rules of Thumb addy / horses
	by "Peter Allen" <minterra-+AT+-yahoo.com>
  2) RE: BRIGHTLY BURNING SPECULATION <WARNING-SPOILERS>
	by "L.E. Hales" <WINTERSONG-+AT+-prodigy.net>
  3) BB comments (hated parents, etc)
	by Tessa Raethen <Safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
  4) spelling & grammer & other such things.
	by "David H. Tiffany" <davidt-+AT+-cet.com>
  5) Re: Van/Ma'ar/etc (braided to death)
	by winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com
  6) Age and list rules of thumb.
	by "Jay Lee" <jay-+AT+-natureavenue.com>
  7) Starblade/Braiding
	by ShadowDreamer <shadskitty-+AT+-home.com>
  8) Weak Family Ties
	by "Sky Tigress" <skytigress-+AT+-hotmail.com>
  9) frustration, congrats and age
	by Laura Jean Rossier <lrossier-+AT+-ic.sunysb.edu>
 10) Re: Starblade/Braiding
	by winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com
 11) Re: Age and list rules of thumb.
	by "David H. Tiffany" <davidt-+AT+-cet.com>
 12) All Subjects (Braided to      )
	by Sara Peek <saddlefan-+AT+-yahoo.com>
 13) Genetics & Ages
	by troll-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk
 14) Re: BB comments (hated parents, etc)
	by "Victoria H." <wukolia-+AT+-hotmail.com>

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 02:33:06 -0400
From: "Peter Allen" <minterra-+AT+-yahoo.com>
To: <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: ML Braiding / Rules of Thumb addy / horses
Message-ID: <00c301bfd04b$472e3b40$0100a8c0-+AT+-Alex>

   Without sounding like a voice on high, I am pretty much going to restate
what Amy Trujillo stated in regards to the current problems that the list
has been experiencing with braiding and the like.

   Firstly, this list was created and run by the graciousness of Melanie
Harper (also called Auntie Mel). While discussion is very much promoted by
her and those that are on the list, because she is held responsible for the
content of said list, then she has asked that those contributing to the list
do so under certain guidelines. It is with respect that it's asked for us to
follow them, as much as respect that we talk to one another during our
conversations.

   In regards to braiding directly. It is a pain at times. At times, I would
very much like to reply to every single post on its own without having to
worry about who might or might not read it and the like. A few things about
this, though.

   As Amy stated, Vanyel just cannot handle the traffic that such a practice
promotes. Who is Vanyel? Vanyel is the computer that distributes mail for
Melanie Harper's corporation. If too much mail is processed by Vanyel, then
will at first become sluggish in the time it distributes mail, and then stop
altogether via crashing the system.

   This is not a personal computer it will happen to. She is trying to
conduct business at the same time. Without Vanyel, she cannot work, and we
cannot discuss as we would like to.

   Also pointed out by Amy, not everyone is able to receive e-mail the same
way that most of those in the United States are able to. Some places in the
world have extreeme difficulties receiving any internet access, so that
which they do receive they must pay dearly for.

   It is showing respect to the amount that people are indeed paying to talk
to us and discuss something that they enjoy that those of us that are
contributing to the list do so in a manner which helps these people the
most.

   Think of it this way: one e-mail message costs $.01 to read. So for this,
every time that you read one e-mail, put a penny in a jar on your desk.
Those pennies are coming out of your income, and so you want to read as few
as possible. What are your options?

   1. Don't subscribe to discussion groups - problem therein, no one will
discuss anything, and the list withers and dies away, or those who are
interested are kept away due to income difficulties.

   2. Select posts carefully and discard the rest - problem therein, subject
lines are at times not true to what is written in the body of the message.
Whole discussions can be lost in context due to continual replies under the
wrong subject heading.

   3. Decide upon digest mode for your subscription - problem therein, as
discussed by a few people, is that it is too lengthy of an article to read
all at once, and can become confusing.

   4. This is an option created by the author of a post - Braid your small
replies into one large reply. For most occurences, it will not be near as
long as a digest letter will be, and if written correctly, should be much
easier to follow.

   For those people that are not sure how to braid their replies, are having
difficulties in one manner or another (be it software, hardware, or user),
please e-mail one of the Councilors of Mist privately, and we will help you
to the best of our ability.

   For those that still choose not to, I direct you to Auntie Mel's Rules of
Thumbs regarding contributing to this list. It is located at:

http://www.herald.co.uk/local_info/rules_thumb.html

   Here you will find the guidelines that I spoke of above. They aren't
because Melanie Harper wants to give us a hard time. They're because they
actually create order and balance in what could prove to be a chaos of
e-mail posts otherwise.

   If you have the time and haven't read the Rules of Thumb lately or at
all, I urge you to do so, even if you are not in the braiding debate at this
time.

   Now, if you've gotten this far in my letter, then you each receive mint-,
chocolate-, and raspberry-flavored sheep cookies that can also sing
lullabies when dipped in milk ;).

   I ~want~ there to be discussion on the list as much as there has been
recently, even if I can't get to it every day as I used to. It was a boring
place before when the list was barely active. It's nice to see everyone up
and smiling and posting once more. It's also ~very~ nice to see new ideas
brought to the table.

   Everyone has had valid ideas brought forth. This whole long message is
just to ask that it be done in a proper way. Again, please privately e-mail
if you have difficulties.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

   ObMisty: I know that I've got to get back on the genetics discussion, and
this one might be lame, but . . . it's the AM hours and my mind's been
asleep for a bit *chuckle*. I thought the idea of steeds being able to
change into cars in the Elven books was pretty neat, but I wonder what
happens when the steed has an illness . . . engine problem?

Bright be thy day,
   Wintershard
   Councilor of Mist
   Demon of Crappy Weather


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

Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:43:38 -0700
From: "L.E. Hales" <WINTERSONG-+AT+-prodigy.net>
To: <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: RE: BRIGHTLY BURNING SPECULATION <WARNING-SPOILERS>
Message-ID: <NDBBLNJHCLJKAKDBMNHAEEFKCAAA.WINTERSONG-+AT+-prodigy.net>

Ok, it's short... and given all the hype about "braiding" and one liners,
I'll probably get flamed for this...

First off... for the person who made the wise crack about spell check...
some people do have learning disabilities that effect spelling.  This could
very well be the case for the person whose spelling bothers you so.
Patience, my listsib, never hurt anyone, and spelling errors are hardly
bringing you harm. This isn't an English class.

End rant

Shadow, your thought that Van's aunt came back as a companion is coorect.
However, she is Savil, Herald- Captain Kerowyn's Companion and not Lan's.
:-)

obmisty...

Gee, I had one and it seemed to have fled from my dim head into daylight...

I had an interesting thought about symmentry in LHM series.  In Magic's
Pawn, Tylendel is the one obsessed by revenge.. In MPrice, Van is.  Steph/
Tylendel is the one trying to balance Van's anger and quasi-obessesion.
(Ducks as the Van Fans shoot flames in my direction).

In one of her book,s it is mentioned that one of the lifebonded is usually
depressed and/or has problems (can't remember which- was it in the Arrows
triology?) and the other one is stable and serves to balance.  In the case
of Tylendel/ Vanyel... neither were particularly stable.  Van was
emotionally abused and certainly confused, unable to trust adults, and
Tylendel obviously had difficulties of his own.  COuld this be part of why
Tylendel's act of revenge was possible?  Another factor.. his lifebond
couldn't support him?

wintersong
-----Original Message-----
From: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
[mailto:mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk]On Behalf Of
XShadowXBladeIX-+AT+-aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2000 4:22 PM
To: wintersong-+AT+-prodigy.net
Subject: Re: BRIGHTLY BURNING SPECULATION <WARNING-SPOILERS>


I was thinking after reading Wintersongs post...Could it have been Van's
aint
that come back as a companion? She did know Tylendel every close as he was
her pordigy, and she would know about his feelings and what happen up intill
his death and maybe after from Van.

Shadow


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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:09:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tessa Raethen <Safaenya-+AT+-excite.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: BB comments (hated parents, etc)
Message-ID: <11484156.960361745904.JavaMail.imail-+AT+-scorch.excite.com>

Bright the Day, everyone (too bright for my taste, it's been so hot where I
live!)

Before we come to the main bulk of this post, I'll quickly answer the age
question that's been going around (so sorry I can't remember who started it;
I have 10 days of school left and my brain is little more than tapioca
pudding at the moment).  I'm 17, and I can drive pretty well thank you very
much (uh, as long as I'm not driving stick shift - you can email me for
horror stories if you're interested).

Brightly Burning Spoiler:




















Still with me?  Excellent... :)

Pam writes:
<<I can't help feeling like she's got caught in the "I-hate-my-parents"
writing syndrome that makes most adults out to be intolerant, or just plain
stupid.>> 

I think I agree with you there; Vanyel, Talia, and now Lan - my goodness,
doesn't anyone have anything but dysfunctional families now?  I hate to put
this over as plain laziness on her part, but I think it must be a lot easier
to justify a young adolescent abandoning their previous lives and moving to
the Collegium if their family ties were rather tenuous to begin with.  I
would love to see her write a book in which the central character was happy
and well adjusted when a Companion came for him/her, and then had to deal
with the trauma of breaking strong familial ties in order to take on a
Herald's life and responsibilities.  Or, even more interesting, what if
someone was chosen, but didn't want to leave their family and previous life?
I know Companions avoid choosing those who cannot afford to leave, but what
if a new Chosen just considered their family a greater priority than the
Collegium?  Would they be allowed to refuse the Companion bond and live with
an untrained gift?  It seems that you would just be begging for another
situation such as Vanyel's, or something similar, especially if the Gift(s)
was unusually strong. This would touch on the sketchier ethics of Choosing
and Chosen; what are the responsibilities of a Chosen, and what exactly do
they owe to Crown and Country?

Wow...that turned out to be a lot longer than I meant it to be.  Guess I'm
just desperate to avoid going back to my biology project (due in two
days...urg).

What kind of sheep-related thing shall I bequeath to all my list-sibs today?
How about sugar-spun sheep candies?  I could really use a good sugar-kick
right now.

~Julia~





_______________________________________________________
Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite
Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp


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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 07:12:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: "David H. Tiffany" <davidt-+AT+-cet.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: spelling & grammer & other such things.
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000607064734.190A-100000-+AT+-davidt>



On Wed, 7 Jun 2000, L.E. Hales wrote:

> First off... for the person who made the wise crack about spell check...
> some people do have learning disabilities that effect spelling.  This could
> very well be the case for the person whose spelling bothers you so.
> Patience, my listsib, never hurt anyone, and spelling errors are hardly
> bringing you harm. This isn't an English class.

Possible, but hardly likely, that there is a disability involved but 
even so, spell checking is a courtesy. Personally, I deleted the posts
in question unread as I don't have the time to attempt to decipher
such a confusing mess. Running a spell checker over your message, and
trying to apply some of the more general rules of grammar, are basic
to the process of communication which is, after all is said and done,
what we are attempting to do here isn't it? I'm not saying every 
finicky little rule of grammar is important, and I realize that "grammar
checker" programs are mostly trash due to the complexity of English
grammar, but correct use of basic rules is part of being understood
by those who read your post.

And while I'm on my high horse, I also delete unread most messages from
people who never hit return which wind up looking something like 
                                             this on my screen as my,
admittedly old-fashioned, mail reader tries
                                  to cope. 

Please hit "return" every 70 spaces or so. Just because your editor
wraps lines around doesn't mean all readers do. And then there are
the posts which come in all in one long line, and the HTML garbage
that some people send, and, uhmm, I'll stop now.

OBMisty: Ma'ar spread his seed, both in his original life and in each
subsequent return, as widely as possible (textev is in Winds trilogy
somewhere) so, after several hundred years there would be a lot of 
his descendants around. It's entirely possible that most people in the 
section of Velgrath where the majority of the stories take place are
indeed in receipt of some Ma'ar DNA, including Vanyel. His genes have
even made it into an insular group like the Shin'a'in and someone in 
a more open society like Valdemar would be, it seems to be at least,
far more likely to be "contaminated."
 

David H Tiffany, Git of dypos


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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 10:18:48 -0600
From: winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Van/Ma'ar/etc (braided to death)
Message-ID: <20000607.104903.-414167.37.Winged_Wolf-+AT+-juno.com>

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:14:08 +0100 (BST) XShadowXBladeIX-+AT+-aol.com writes:
> I wasjust reading everything that everyone has written and I was 
> thinking. 
> Even if ma'ar was spreeding his seed where ever he could, it 
> wouldn't really 
> be his Genetics he was spreeding. It would be the person that he had 
> tooken 
> over. For not even magic can change the genetics of someone.
> 
> Shadow

Well, the "bloodline" was what created the link that allowed him to take
someone over--his genes were passed on in part to his descendents.  They
diluted over time, of course, but the purpose of the kind of magic he was
doing that wouldn't have mattered.  So all the children he produced after
he took a person over would be in Ma'ar's bloodline.

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:16:33 +0100 (BST) XShadowXBladeIX-+AT+-aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 6/5/00 11:59:10 AM Central Daylight Time, 
> winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com writes:
> 
> << They are one and the same--Ma'ar only inhabited his descendents, 
> and
>  those descendents carry his genes. >>
> 
> 
> Yes but genes change with every person down the line. 

Dominant characteristics tend to remain, and of course the line is
diluted over time, but for his purposes it was enough.  They were all
descendents of Ma'ar, every one of them.

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 01:30:35 +0100 (BST) troll-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk writes:
> On 06/07/00 00:12:48 XShadowXBladeIX-+AT+-aol.com wrote:
> >(snip)
> >For not even magic can change the genetics of someone.

> Whether
> magic *in Velgarth* can affect genetics, we don't know as yet, until 
> Misty
> says one way or the other.

Actually, we DO know--and the answer is a resounding "yes".  Remember
Urtho?  He used his magic to create new living things, including the
Gryphons and the Hertasi, and probably the Kyree, Tervardi, Dyheli, and
others.  Gryphons and Hertasi breed true--therefore, he used magic to
manipulate genetics, no question about it.  Ma'ar likewise used magic to
create the Makar, and probably the wyrsa.
 
> Yet another reminder: can people(no names)please braid? There's no 
> need
> to get a whole stack of four-line posts from the same person in one 
> evening.

This happens when a person downloads a bunch of mail at once--replying to
dozens of different threads.  The problem with braiding is that it mixes
the conversations together and doesn't allow people who are uninterested
in certain topics to skip them.

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:19:03 +0100 (BST) XShadowXBladeIX-+AT+-aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 6/5/00 12:04:25 PM Central Daylight Time, 
> winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com writes:
> 
> << Actually, not--because Firesong was protected by a Vail and all 
> the mages
>  within it, and Elspeth was chosen before she began trying to use 
> her Mage
>  powers.  So they simply were not vulnerable. >>
> 
> 
> But in WoFF wasn't Darkwinds father some what tooken over by Ma'ar 
> to stop 
> Darkwind from using his magic???

No, he wasn't taken over by him--he was mind-controlled by him, after
Ma'ar managed to seperate Starblade from the Vale.  Ma'ar already had
taken over An'desha's body, by then.  In fact, were Elspeth or Darkwind
even born yet when that happened?

Oh, just got to read "Brightly Burning"...very interesting.  I think one
of the more interesting implications was that in this book, it was not a
matter of Companions manipulating events--in this one, both Lavan and his
Companion were manipulated in order to achieve the end result.  His
Companion was actually remarkably innocent, and I'd even surmise that
she'd been someone who hadn't seen much action, or who died young, in her
prevous life as a Herald.

Also, I wouldn't say "The Black Swan" was weak--I thought it was an
excellent fairy tale, but it has to be taken as a fairy tale in order to
be fully enjoyed.  It was definitely aimed at a younger audience than
many other of her books, and that means that the concepts had to be more
simplistic and presented more clearly, and the morals also had to be
unambiguous in order to fit with the fairy-tale theme.


On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 05:09:20 +0100 (BST) Amy Trujillo
<trujillo-+AT+-southwind.net> writes:
> Heyla listsibs,

> 2. Small multiple posts can be hard on the list server Vanyel, who 
> is a
> cantankerous old thing at the best of times.  Everyone wants the 
> list up and
> running.  I'm not saying that your posts alone would do it but if 
> everyone
> started multiple small postings Vanyel might up and die and there 
> would be no
> Misty list till Auntie Mel got it running again.

Yikes, I'd recommend using egroups or some other listserv that can handle
more traffic--AND that has a "digest" option for those who want all the
posts in one.  If this listserv is likely to die from too many e-mails,
then braiding won't solve the problem once the number of people on the
list grows too large.
You may find your list activity outgrows your listserv's capacity to
handle it, in spite of short-term solutions like braiding.
Also, keep in mind that not everything can be braided.  If you check your
e-mail many times per day (as I do), and reply each of those times,
you've already sent your replies to the posts that came the first time
you checked it.
Most e-mail programs make braiding inconvenient if you don't look through
all of your mail from a single source at once.  That will result in
people who simply don't post at all, because it's too much trouble. 
Where's the benefit in that?

--Winged Wolf
http://www.crosswinds.net/~wingedwolf/index.html
"Pardon me while I burst into flames...I've had enough of the world and
its' peoples' mindless games.
So pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame, pardon me, pardon
me...don't ever be the same..."
                           --Incubus

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 10:02:39 -0700
From: "Jay Lee" <jay-+AT+-natureavenue.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Age and list rules of thumb.
Message-ID: <393e802f.167.0-+AT+-lookscool.com>

>Kat wrote: >Out of curiousity... how old is everyone???? 
28 been a Misty fan for 8 yrs now.

>Possible, but hardly likely, that there is a disability involved >but even
so,
 spell checking is a courtesy. Personally, I deleted >the posts in question
unread
 as I don't have the time to attempt to >decipher such a confusing mess. 

TO the person who wrote the above [bad delete finger]Do you have a learning

 difficulty? Do you have expert knowledge of ALL learning dificulty? If not
how in
 the HADES can you say the above? Having worked with people with learning
 difficulties, and having just finished my exam on abnormal and bio psychology,
I
 have one thing to say.
DONT make statements unless you can prove them! A list sib has stated that they
have a
 learning disorder, are you trying to tell them that they haven't?
I have just opened my mail box to find over 70 messages, I still had the curtesy
to
 read the mails that had typos. Everyone here has a voice, are you saying those
with
 learning dificulties have to leave the list b/c you haven't got the decency
to allow
 leeway for people with difficulties you can't understand.

End rant

Question of why Darkwinds father was susseptible to Falconsbane, He was tampered
with
 outside of the Vale. His new bondbird was a link to Falconsbane, and once back
in
 the Vale he had been tampering with the Heartstone.

Jay
  
OIB
Champion of the Ladies in Green
http://www.geocities.com/savagedsoul/
_______________________________________________________________
Get Your Lifetime, Free Web Address at http://www.lookscool.com

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 11:59:33 -0600
From: ShadowDreamer <shadskitty-+AT+-home.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Starblade/Braiding
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20000607115933.0074b500-+AT+-mail>

Winged Wolf writes (about Starblade)
>No, he wasn't taken over by him--he was mind-controlled by him, after
>Ma'ar managed to seperate Starblade from the Vale.  Ma'ar already had
>taken over An'desha's body, by then.  In fact, were Elspeth or Darkwind
>even born yet when that happened?

Yes, Darkwind was around when Starblade was taken by Falconsbane.  It's
relatively obvious from his memories of the past relationship he'd had with
his father, before Karry was killed (hence before his father was taken by
Falconsbane).  What I mean, for example, is that his father would wear the
outfits Darkwind designed for him, but then no longer did so, when he was
intentionally pushing Darkwind away for his own good.

Winged Wolf also writes:
>Most e-mail programs make braiding inconvenient if you don't look through
>all of your mail from a single source at once.  That will result in
>people who simply don't post at all, because it's too much trouble. 
>Where's the benefit in that?

Actually, braiding is not difficult at all.  Some mail programs (such as
Eudora) work quite well with it on their own.  Others, as long as you can
cut/paste, it can be done easily with the help of notepad or other .txt
file editor.  Just copy the text you want to quote, paste it with quotation
marks around it into the text editor, add yours, rinse, repeat.  When
you've finished reading all your mail, open a new message, address it to
the list, give it a subject, and then paste your .txt file into the body.
Hope that helps, and if you use a specific e-mail client and want help, I
as well as many other people are available to assist you.  Just e-mail us!


Wind to your wings!

Known to one and all as ShadowDreamer, formerly MorningStar
Mindmate to the tawny eagle Ryia!
Original Member of the Order of Unsung Heros
(http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/oouh/)
shadskitty-+AT+-home.com
morningstar-+AT+-poetic.com
Web page is moving...watch this spot for updates!

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 11:26:54 PDT
From: "Sky Tigress" <skytigress-+AT+-hotmail.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Weak Family Ties
Message-ID: <20000607182654.76618.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com>

Heyla,

[Note: OBMistys below this, I'd just skip this first part.]

First off, I'd like to apologize for anyone who became irritated
with _my_ frequent and belated posts over the last few days.  I was
away for almost 2 weeks and came back to over 100 posts (Not that
bad, actually, except for the really long ones that I mostly just
skimmed over).  I tried to contain myself as far as responses to
the oldest, but there were some that I just had to reply to to get
the itch out of my fingers. ~g~

Second, could we please drop the complaining about braiding?  We
all understand now, about what it does, and I'm personally tired of
all the msgs about it.  I subscribed for discussion about Mercedes
Lackey, not to be and read about others being berrated.  If it's
really such a problem, perhaps we could have ONE person acting as
offical "Braiding Warner" if you will ~grins~ who could warn a
person privately when they were being too... exuberant?  Anyways,
by including this, I have become what I loathe, so won't mind any
flames sent my way cuz I know _I_ can't stand ppl like me so how
could others?



                  And FINALLY...
                 ~Trumpets hail~


OBMisty:
 >>...what if someone was chosen, but didn't want to leave their
family and previous life?<<
There have been many posts speculating about what would happen if a
person refuted their Choosen.  Might I suggest reading the short
story ~runs to her book collection and returns waving the remembered
volume~ "A Child's Adventures" by Janni Lee Simner found in _Sword
of Ice_?  It's basically about what we are talking about here.  I
won't say more, bacause that would spoil the effect of the story.

Also within this short story collection is "Choice" by Michelle
West.  A story I was speaking of earlier as to why some people are
Chosen and some aren't (aka DarkWind).  As a whole, it's a very good
selection to get your hands on.

 >>I think I agree with you there; Vanyel, Talia, and now Lan - my
goodness, doesn't anyone have anything but dysfunctional families
now?  I hate to put this over as plain laziness on her part, but I
think it must be a lot easier to justify a young adolescent
abandoning their previous lives and moving to the Collegium if
their family ties were rather tenuous to begin with.<<

To try to add to your (sorry, I forgot who wrote this) attempt to
explain Misty's reasoning, you have to remember she's doing this
for a living, and so trys to write what ppl want.  She had success
with Vanyel and Talia, and to quote an old euphorism, "If it's not
broke, don't fix it."  I must say, that as bad as it sounds, I sort
of identify with the young Talia and Vaynel.  It's probably a
teenager thing.  I often feel like I'd left out, no one understands
me, etc., etc., so on and so forth.  So to read about people that I
like to think I sympathize with, that I can pretend that I'm like,
put myself in their place in the begining, and then to have them grow
and become so much, it's sort of like a boost to my own self
conscience.  Like, "Hey!  If they can do it, and they were so much
worse off than I am, perhaps I can too..."  Or something along
those lines.

Anyways, this is turing into one of those really long posts that I
fall asleep during.  So, till next time I come across something to
rant and rave over ~blushes at the groans from those who realize just
how short a time span that will take~, Chocolate flavored, Pop Rock
filled Sheep to all :)

-SkyTigress
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a cat.
Email: SkyTigress-+AT+-hotmail.com
URL:  http://www.crosswinds.net/~skytigress/
             ___                      _
         _.-|   |                    ( (
        {   |   |       /\___/\      | |
         "-.|___|       \ o o / ___ _) )
          .__|_|_.     _(  Y  )  \. `O /
          |      |   _((_ `^-' _ /__<  \
        .+|______|_.-|__)`-' (((/   ((_d

________________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 14:50:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: Laura Jean Rossier <lrossier-+AT+-ic.sunysb.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: frustration, congrats and age
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.21.0006071435070.5567-100000-+AT+-sparky.ic.sunysb.edu>


Heyla all,

I know I'm mostly a lurker in this community but I do read every message
and worry when people start getting upset and frustrated.  I'd like to
help.  While I can't really understand what it's like to have a learning
disability I do know what it's like to have a lot of things to say and to
not want to forget them.  it helps to have the list in digest form.  Then
I just think of it as one really really long email to which i'm
replying.  Then you don't have to cut and paste and braiding happens with
very little effort.  See the website or email Auntie Mel to find out how
to do this.  Or if you don't want to do this then I find it useful to
either keep a wordproccessor like microsoft word open while I'm reading
(or more archaic, a pad of paper!) and jot down my ideas as i go and then
I have time to retype them later so that they make sense.  Also, i find
that while I have a lot to say if I just wait a bit someone else will
usually say the same thing that I meant.  So i get to enjoy the discussion
but not have to stress out about getting my two cents in unless I'm really
thinking differently.

anyways....congrats to all those who just had babies or puppies or got
engaged!!! i'm glad you allowed us to share in your happiness.  I hope
Mark takes care of himself in oregon and enjoys his work with the tax
system.  

And I'm in the process of reading Black Swan so hopefully I'll have
somethign to say about that soon and then I'll actually have an an obmisty
in my email for once!

Oh, and I'm 23 at the moment.  Nicole (and anyone else) don't feel
sheepish (even chocolate ones!) about being 13.  That's when I started
readign and I would have loved to have been on a list like this!  If it
makes you feel better I've really enjoyed your emails and the maturity of
your thoughts.  I never would have guessed your age.  So says "the elderly
woman" as my younger cousin now calls me.  =)  


sorry this was such a long post to a list getting many other long posts
lately.  many emails makes me less likely to reply but at the same time i
also enjoy the reading more!

one request...I'm having trouble distinquishing quoted message text
lately.  is there anyway that we can try to distinquish it from new text
or text evd. people are sharing?  mabye putting 4 asteriks before the
quoted persons name and then putting 4 dashes before your own words?  If
not then I'll just deal with it.  My parents tell me I'm a big girl
now.  ;-)

Laura


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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 12:50:26 -0600
From: winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Starblade/Braiding
Message-ID: <20000607.125553.-414167.53.Winged_Wolf-+AT+-juno.com>

On Wed, 7 Jun 2000 19:34:49 +0100 (BST) ShadowDreamer
<shadskitty-+AT+-home.com> writes:
> Winged Wolf writes (about Starblade)
> >No, he wasn't taken over by him--he was mind-controlled by him, 
> after
> >Ma'ar managed to seperate Starblade from the Vale.  Ma'ar already 
> had
> >taken over An'desha's body, by then.  In fact, were Elspeth or 
> Darkwind
> >even born yet when that happened?
> 
> Yes, Darkwind was around when Starblade was taken by Falconsbane.  

No, were Darkwind and Elspeth even born when Ma'ar took over An'desha's
body?  I don't think they were--I'm pretty sure they weren't.  Ma'ar has
to kill the old body before he can take over a new one.  So taking over
Darkwind or Elspeth wasn't an option.
 
> Winged Wolf also writes:
> >Most e-mail programs make braiding inconvenient if you don't look 
> through
> >all of your mail from a single source at once.  That will result in
> >people who simply don't post at all, because it's too much trouble. 
> 
> >Where's the benefit in that?
> 
> Actually, braiding is not difficult at all.  Some mail programs 
> (such as
> Eudora) work quite well with it on their own.  Others, as long as 
> you can
> cut/paste, it can be done easily with the help of notepad or other 
> .txt
> file editor.  

And that's not difficult??????  Beg to differ.  It's time-consuming, for
one thing, and many folks have enough trouble making time to answer all
their e-mail as it is.

> Hope that helps, and if you use a specific e-mail client and want 
> help, I
> as well as many other people are available to assist you.  Just 
> e-mail us!

I use Juno--braiding means I have to cut and paste each e-mail response
into a single message by retrieving the first reply from the outbox.
And that only works when I first download my e-mail every day, because as
you can see from this e-mail, I check my e-mail many times per day, and
respond as the messages hit my mailbox.
And it's still a mess, because all the threads become jumbled.
I say, move to egroups if the server can't handle the traffic, and use a
digest if you don't like multiple posts.  But hey, it's not my list, so
whatever the mod wants I guess.

--Winged Wolf
http://www.crosswinds.net/~wingedwolf/index.html
"Pardon me while I burst into flames...I've had enough of the world and
its' peoples' mindless games.
So pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame, pardon me, pardon
me...don't ever be the same..."
                           --Incubus

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 12:28:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: "David H. Tiffany" <davidt-+AT+-cet.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Age and list rules of thumb.
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000607121724.367A-100000-+AT+-davidt>



On Wed, 7 Jun 2000, Jay Lee wrote:


I wrote:
 
> >Possible, but hardly likely, that there is a disability involved >but even
> so,
>  spell checking is a courtesy. Personally, I deleted >the posts in question
> unread
>  as I don't have the time to attempt to >decipher such a confusing mess. 
> 
> TO the person who wrote the above [bad delete finger]Do you have a learning
> 
>  difficulty? Do you have expert knowledge of ALL learning dificulty? If not
> how in
>  the HADES can you say the above? 

Because it happens to be the truth. And what difference does my possession,
or lack of, a disability make?

> Having worked with people with learning
>  difficulties, and having just finished my exam on abnormal and bio psychology,
> I
>  have one thing to say.
> DONT make statements unless you can prove them! A list sib has stated that they
> have a
>  learning disorder, are you trying to tell them that they haven't?

WRONG!!!!! No one said they had a disorder, someone asked why somebody
else didn't use spell check and a 3rd party jumped in to excuse the 
first one on the basis of "maybe they have a disability."


> I have just opened my mail box to find over 70 messages, I still had the curtesy
> to
>  read the mails that had typos. Everyone here has a voice, are you saying those
> with
>  learning dificulties have to leave the list b/c you haven't got the decency
> to allow
>  leeway for people with difficulties you can't understand.

No. I'm saying people should use the tools they have available and that if
they can't be bothered to write coherently I'm not going to waste my time
trying to decipher their scrawl.

OBMisty: I wonder, does Valdemar have any significant foreign trade or
are they a hermit kingdom? Seems like any trade would have to go through
Hardorn (pre-Ancar) but that would only lead to the Empire which Our Heros
seem fairly uninformed upon, or via the difficult passes in the Coomb and
then through Rethwellan. Perhaps, now that they've remembered it and 
Sorrows is open, they could trade with the Northern tribes via the 
Lear'ath Route?

David H Tiffany, God of typos



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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 14:42:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sara Peek <saddlefan-+AT+-yahoo.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: All Subjects (Braided to      )
Message-ID: <20000607214217.1951.qmail-+AT+-web4604.mail.yahoo.com>


I had to look something up just now (my e-mail's at
the libary) and in the encylopedia there was an
article on Waldemar(Also called Valdemar)who was the
king of some country or other.  Wonder where I've
heard that name used?  

--- winged_wolf-+AT+-juno.com wrote:
Ma'ar has
> to      the old body before he can take over a new
> one.  So taking over
> Darkwind or Elspeth wasn't an option.

No text here, but in Winds of Change, Falconsbane
contemplates having a child and switching bodies
without dying. That's just what he usually does.

Rant Warning>

This list is not for arguments.  It's super annoying
to read arguments instead of Misty stuff.  If these
people would just explain themselves in one message
and be done with it many people would be much happier.
Please don't quote this!
<end rant>


I'm 14, and proud of it!  Even if I'm one of the
babies, I have still read all of the books and I can
type. *sticks out toungue*

Something else I would like to know:  Where does
everyone live?  If you're afraid of being stalked (or
visited by sheep-bearing Misty fans)*grins*, just put
something like "I live in southern Mississippi, in the
US of A" (which I do).  I keep wondering if the other
people on the library computers are sending me e-mail
with sheep attached! LOL!

Wind to thy Wings, and ice cream sheep to those who
live in toasty places like me!

Sara
Herald-Mage Rini, 
Chosen by Cinna

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints!
http://photos.yahoo.com

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 23:05:54 +0100 (BST)
From: troll-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Genetics & Ages
Message-ID: <20006723630441-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk>

ooooops, can't think how Urtho of all people slipped my mind when talking
about effects of magic on genetics! Whoever pointed that out was quite right.
That's what I get for writing emails after midnight ;) Also, the Kaled'a'in
and later Tayledras used magic in the breeding/improving of their bondbirds,
while the Shin'a'in declined to do the same with their warsteeds: one of
the reasons the clans split in the first place after Urtho's death and
Clan k'Leshya's "disappearance".

As far as ages, this troll is 25. Must be one of the oldest folk around...:)

Trollhugs and chocolate sheep,
Muranog Shadowbane


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

Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 15:47:12 PDT
From: "Victoria H." <wukolia-+AT+-hotmail.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: BB comments (hated parents, etc)
Message-ID: <20000607224712.5360.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com>


  Well, I just finished reading Brightly Burning, and I wanted to respond to 
some things posted about it... so I'll just leave some nice pretty spoiler 
space here...

~*~S

~*~P

~*~O

~*~I

~*~L

~*~E

~*~R

~*~S

~*~P

~*~A

~*~C

~*~E

  There, that takes care of things... now let's get on to the subject at 
hand...

  First of all, if you've read BB and haven't posted, please do so!  I'd 
like to hear what everyone thinks of Misty's latest accomplishment.
  Personally, I thought the book was okay... I mean, it was nicely written, 
and enjoyable, (and it did have a very exciting ending... bittersweet) but I 
wasn't that taken by certain parts of it.  For example, Lan being bonded to 
(of all things!) his Companion... it seemed a bit excessive!  Also, (like 
Julia Gray said, I think) Lan doesn't really mature much as a character... 
and I didn't really like that.  Now, on to the parents, and dealing with the 
fact that Lan's entire family, save his sister is completely 
dysfunctional...

>Pam writes:
><<I can't help feeling like she's got caught in the "I-hate-my-parents"
>writing syndrome that makes most adults out to be intolerant, or just plain
>stupid.>>

  I noticed this too... but, like Julia states in response to this same 
post, it does make things easier to deal with...

>I think I agree with you there; Vanyel, Talia, and now Lan - my goodness,
>doesn't anyone have anything but dysfunctional families now?  I hate to put
>this over as plain laziness on her part, but I think it must be a lot 
>easier
>to justify a young adolescent abandoning their previous lives and moving to
>the Collegium if their family ties were rather tenuous to begin with.

  Exactly!  That was put perfectly!  I mean, it does make things easier and 
less messy for her to deal with if the Chosen has nobody that he/she will 
miss, an no regrets about moving away.  That way, she doesn't have to write 
about the Chosen missing their parents, and having regrets about leaving 
home.

I
>would love to see her write a book in which the central character was happy
>and well adjusted when a Companion came for him/her, and then had to deal
>with the trauma of breaking strong familial ties in order to take on a
>Herald's life and responsibilities.  Or, even more interesting, what if
>someone was chosen, but didn't want to leave their family and previous 
>life?

  Now /that/ would make a great story!  What do you think the Companion 
would do if the Chosen flat out refused to leave?  It would certainly cause 
problems! (To say the least!)

>I know Companions avoid choosing those who cannot afford to leave, but what
>if a new Chosen just considered their family a greater priority than the
>Collegium?  Would they be allowed to refuse the Companion bond and live 
>with
>an untrained gift?  It seems that you would just be begging for another
>situation such as Vanyel's, or something similar, especially if the Gift(s)
>was unusually strong. This would touch on the sketchier ethics of Choosing
>and Chosen; what are the responsibilities of a Chosen, and what exactly do
>they owe to Crown and Country?

   Wow... that brings out some great topics... How do you think a Companion 
would feel if their Chosen refused to leave for Collegium (essentially 
refusing the bond - and refusing to be a Herald)?  I know that the people 
owe things to their Country, but still, it would be possible that someone 
would feel so strongly attached to home that it would damage them to be 
taken away from it... then what?

>Wow...that turned out to be a lot longer than I meant it to be.  Guess I'm
>just desperate to avoid going back to my biology project (due in two
>days...urg).

  Heh heh... know how you feel!  I've got finals starting Monday and I need 
to cram!!

  Well, I guess that's it for now!  Remember to tell me how you guys felt 
about Brightly Burning!

  Wind to thy Wings,

   Vicky

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

End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2319
**********************************