Abyssopelagic

Welcome

Hello Abyssopelagic, and Welcome to Wikipedia!

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If you have any questions, feel free to ask me at my talk page — I'm happy to help. Or, you can ask your question at the New contributors' help page.

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Abyssopelagic, good luck, and have fun. --Aboutmovies (talk) 08:49, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Some cookies to welcome you!

Welcome to Wikipedia, Abyssopelagic! Thank you for your contributions. I am Gareth Griffith-Jones and I have been editing Wikipedia for some time, so if you have any questions feel free to leave me a message on my talk page.

Please note that the novel is the source. We never add references/citations to a Plot summary ... never.

Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Introduction
• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• How to edit a page
• Help pages
• How to write a great article

Also, when you post on talk pages you should sign your name using four tildes (~~~~); that will automatically produce your username and the date. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!  –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 12:32, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Post script: Good work today. Thank you.  –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 19:28, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Diolch yn fawr, Gareth! ...Ouch. I had no idea I had missed some important reading - That is to say, I had read quite a lot of the rules and policies before I dared to begin editing, but I missed this. Since the rule seems counterintuitive to me, I am grateful that you took the time and effort to point to the pages which I need to learn (cyn pen dim!). I promise not to make this mistake again.

But I do remember making some changes to Watership Down a few weeks ago, in which I also cited page numbers. I'll have to check that. Thank you again for spending your own valuable time! You've been a real friend, and I won't forget it. - Abyssopelagic 09:37, 14 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic 09:28, 14 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Post script: Thank you for a plate of cookies! You are kind. If you had attached a photo of, loike, puppies and horses crying, I'd have learned the lesson through trauma. No worries, I've learned my lesson. Rydych yn ysgolhaig, syr! Diolch i chi unwaith eto. Abyssopelagic 09:37, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Abyssopelagic, Helo a iechyd da! Diolch i chi am eich sylwadau graslon. A yw'r Gymraeg ardderchog i ddiddanu mi neu a ydych yn Gymraeg? 13:32, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Post script: Noticed that you have 'fixed-the-disambig' below ... I put this useful template {{done}} on mine when I've seen to them –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 13:41, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, I understand "this useful template {{done}}" - I copied that to my Word document for WP edits and will remember it ('fixed-the-disambig') and wrth gwrs, neu, yn sicr, I should clean up my own mess.

[Here, I imagine a ceffyl.. stondin ceffylau? ... glanhau - tail ...]

Bore da! Ydw i'n Gymraeg? Na, yn anffodus, yr wyf yn Iwerddon. Gwyddelig-Americanaidd. Nid wyf yn brenhinol! Rydych yn brenhinol, a eich bod yn smart. Diolch i chi unwaith eto.

(I am learning... iaith Gymraeg. Please tell me when I make mistakes!)

Mae'r Gymraeg yn iaith hyfryd. Abyssopelagic 10:12, 16 February 2013 (UTC)Abyssopelagic 15:12, 14 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Thank you for that last comment. I agree, though many would not. Your humour is welcome too.
I have taken the liberty of adjusting your indenting to the 'preferred' style—hope you don't object –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 16:12, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

I am always grateful for your corrections! Please feel free to fix them or, better, to tell me how to fix my mistakes. I hope I won't make many more.

Gymraeg yn sicr yn iaith hyfryd! We can thank the popularity of authors such as Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, Arthur Machen, Gwyn Jones and Alan Garner for grooming a lot of young readers, all over the world, to love Wales. (Wrth gwrs, Tolkien taught millions of us to love languages, too.) When I was a child, my parents had a friend who began teaching me to speak Welsh: "sut wyt ti?", "diolch"; "croeso"; "Hoffwn gwin gwyn" neu "Mae'n well gen gwin gwyn" (his favorite phrases, I believe, as well as "Oes gennych chi wisgi Scotch?"). He slept on our couch when I was young, and then one day he was gone. I don't mean that he fled the country! I just never knew where he traveled to, after visiting my family.

Is this a Welsh Buzzard? <http://www.barrywales.co.uk/hawkingcentre/buzzard.htm>

Diolch, again. Yr wyf yn anfon cofleidio. (Did I write that correctly?)

Abyssopelagic 10:12, 16 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

You did. Ha! Ha! And you get one back from me.
What a wonderful present – thank you! — A great link!
I mi, dim ond tri diodydd, yn y drefn hon ...
Cyntaf: du, coffi heb ei felysu a wnaed Cafetière yn unig
Nesaf: gwinoedd coch yn unig ...
Trydydd: wisgi ... o bryd i'w gilydd! —  – The WelshBuzzard – 10:49, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Is this clue?

Oceanic ..? Welsh Buzzard is curious. 13:51, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Is it a clue to my identity? Is that what you ask? I live near an ocean, but I am not a deep-sea diver! I prefer mountains. I love languages and I am fascinated by words derived from Greek (and the Brythonic languages). I can tell you why I chose to use "Abyssopelagic," but I want to be certain that I understand your question. Cheers! Abyssopelagic 09:05, 16 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Answer: "Yes"...
...and I would like you to tell me, please. However, if you prefer to keep your anonymity – and I suggest that you do maintain your privacy here on Wikipedia – please feel free to e-mail me via the Wikipedia link—see the "Toolbox" on my pages
← ← ← [over to the left]
I love mountains too, but then of course,most hawks do (!) —  – The WelshBuzzard10:08, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

No, wrong place for e-mailing. Click on E-mail this user when on my pages in the left-hand column.

• igloo | (launch)
• What links here
• Related changes
• User contributions
• Logs
• E-mail this user

I like helping "newbies" in different parts of the world. Never been to your's. Don't be alarmed at the buzzard moniker [British English] & [the hawk (U.S.)] — that was something last year in a different situation (I'll explain if you're interested) –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 11:00, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Hi again! You're still awake? I'm amazed that I'm still awake. Okay, Hawk, this is what I see on the left side of your page:

Toolbox

What links here

Related changes

User contributions

... and etc. before and after. Honestly, I don't see "E-mail this user"! And I'm being cautious because I'm (in a very, very minor way) a public personality. And I like hawks. I'll hang out a little while longer, if you're still up, but I've been awake for about 40 hours now and I'm fairly tired.

Okay... you must be on your own page, and you will not see the link because you have not made the request to allow e-mails by going to your 'preferences':-

Enable e-mail from other users This allows other registered users to send you an e-mail using "E-mail this user" link on the sidebar of your user page. Emails are sent using a web interface, and your e-mail address is not revealed to a sender (that is, unless you decide to reply by email).

— must go to the User page or Talk page of the person (me in this instance) and click on "E-mail this user"  –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 12:52, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Oh... Please excuse my displaying my ignorance! Hang fire for a moment.

Right. I'm at User talk:Gareth Griffith-Jones and I repeat that there is no "Email this User" option, so obviously I have to go to my own page. Hang fire.

...And now WP acknowledges that I have an e-address. Thanks, WP!

Hello, Abyssopelagic. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

 –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 13:16, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

I'll wait about another 10 minutes for you to write to me. Then I'm going to get Mikael Blomqvist on your ass. Come on, be a friend.

Computer problems

Gareth, sorry, I can't get into email at the moment. (I think I mentioned this has been a problem for a long time, though that was with a different account.) Er, I'm assuming it's you who's emailed me.

Briefly: A computer expert friend got me a new top-of-the-line Dell computer 2 years ago, all souped up. In November 2012, it died. Not coughed or swooned: died. Gary took it away to fix it, then told me that it was unfixable. 15 or more years of writing and correspondence are just... gone. He returned the old hard drive, and as an apology gave me a brand new computer at the beginning of January. Now this one is acting wonky. Two days ago it began suddenly going black, but restored itself. About 6 hours ago I lost Internet connectivity. By using Clydesdales and stubbornness, I hauled it back onto the Internet, but the IE page looks wrong (all white, no ads), I can't get the Google Toolbar to remain in place no matter how often I reboot, and I'm frustrated. The display doesn't even tell me what time it is, and I'm sort of OCD about watching the clock. So in case it was you who wrote to me, I'm writing here.

I hope you're having a better day, mate! Abyssopelagic 13:32, 17 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

And would you look at that: My computer suddenly shut down, when all I was doing was writing on a Word doc. It's a good thing I don't have violent tendencies. Now I'm just waiting until I can get Gary on the jack again. Not that you have a choice, but thank you for enduring my crap. Abyssopelagic 13:56, 17 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

That is appalling. You must be "beside yourself".
No, it was not from me. Last e-mail was on Saturday, 16 February 2013, at 14:58 hrs GMT — you e-mailed me after that –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 16:02, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

"Beside myself" - hee hee! If I had another Abyssopelagic here, no doubt I'd be the calm one, so it's just as well that I don't! (I don't actually know their music, but I'll give them a try!) (Some time I'll tell you what it's like living as a child of a university music professor known widely as "Dr. Rock." Briefly: it's cool!)

Okay, I do want to chat again, really, but I'd better find out who DID write to me. Oi, cripes, I hope I haven't made another error!

Quickly - that reminds me - you said we must not hotlink to terms inside of quotations, right? Did I understand you correctly? Because I saw that in "Reception" of the film No (2012 film) and in House of Cards (U.S. TV series) - but I admit that I have not run back to see precisely what we said in that chat.

I just want to do what's right!

Thanks again for being so kind, and now I'll run to see who did write to my Talk page. Cheerios! Later! Abyssopelagic 17:35, 17 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Just a thought ... I gave up on IE nearly a year ago. Down-loaded (free, no hidden snags or costs) Mozilla Firefox

This user prefers Mozilla Firefox.

and have never returned to IE. Everything is available, Google et cetera, and it is so much friendlier, faster and offers far more. Hope you approve of my posh description
Re- your question above – yes, you have remembered correctly—  – The WelshBuzzard07:10, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

And you aren't the only one who's recommended Mozilla Firefox to me. I did try it out, but... I suppose it was going wonky because I was using a computer that was itself wonky. Okay, I trust you, and I trust my other friends - I'll try it again!

Sorry that I didn't write to you earlier. I was thinking about my friend A.J. (Algis Budrys) and saw that his wonderful novel, Rogue Moon, had almost nothing written about it. So I've been doing that.

Gareth, since you're a good guy and knowledgeable, can you explain to me what EXACTLY the WP editors mean by OR? As I'm a professional literary critic, it seems second nature to write about obvious things which are NOT "original research." Well, (1) anyone who starts to write a new article about anything, but let's say a book or a movie, is going to start by saying his or her experience of the book or novel. I don't mean "This is how I felt about it," I mean, "This is what happened."

And (2) if we rely only on published works, we're relying on some fairly poorly-written sources, in many cases.

I want to contribute a New Article about an author, Tony Kenrick. In fact, I'm amazed it hasn't been done already, because he's a much beloved author, even though the film adaptations of his works were very poorly executed. ("Sucked.") About a decade ago, I published an article about his life, his works; I love this man; I live in fear every day that I'll hear about his death.

Because my computer hard drive DIED, I no longer have the best essay that anyone has ever written about Tony Kenrick, but I would try really hard to replace all that information -

But what's the point, if all I can point to is my own work, when I can't even remember where it was published?

Can you advise me, please? I probably know more about Kenrick than anyone except his immediate family. Everything written about him at the IMDb was written by me. Hell, I would have begged you to be a mentor for me, if only I'd known 2 months ago that I was going to lose everything on my computer!

Okay, that's me being selfish. Now, let me ask about YOU: How are you today, honey? What are you working on? Are you happy and healthy?

Here's a chat idea: Tonight I'm going to make salmon, rice, beans, and half a sweet potato for dinner. What will you be doing? - Later - I've spent another sleepless night and want to have a nap for a bit. Oh, and I'll tell you about the story I've been writing. If you remind me to.

Still not able to e-mail? I have a !funny! story that all happened today. Big love, Gareth 20:34, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
PS Could not reply earlier, 'cos I've only just got home. G. 20:39, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Abyss returns to sunshine

[Imagine a wonderful Welsh sheepdog here.]

Gareth, I want to start over without an indent.
And then we can start there (aesthetically) again, if you don't mind, okay? Sut wyt ti, heddiw?

I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner than now. I'll explain why, if you want, if you care, which you probably don't, as it's boring and (by now) old news.

Because you seem to be wise AND a darling, I've downloaded Mozilla Firefox and have used it to search, to see how I like it.

A few hours ago, I used it to search for some info about The Buzzcocks, a band I liked back in the 1970s, and to provide some requested info to the WP page.

So far I have no problems with Firefox, but also, because I've used it so little, I don't see why I should prefer it over Internet Explorer. Besides, of course, the fact that it has a sexy, lurid, alluring name. Giggles in the Abyss

But also: You wrote:

I have a !funny! story that all happened today.

I would like to hear it, if you want to tell me.
I treat all friends, including those online, as though you are all journalistic "sources" (we're getting back to Stieg Larsson in a way):
I value privacy above all, confidentiality next, and then common sense. So if you tell me this story, I will never, ever repeat it aloud. Or refer to it except to anyone but you.
(You could ask my boyfriend, the writer Tim Sullivan. (IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0838375/?ref_=fn_al_nm_4)) He would tell you that after a decade together, I rarely tell him gossip. (I think it frustrates him, because we know so many of the same writers and movie folk, but I don't tell stories.) He loves to tell stories, but he also has a good sense of justice ... Oh, this is amazing, I just realized that I'm dating Mikael Blomqvist.
Sullivan (Sully), like me, is politically Left-ist, but not a crusader. He's not malicious. He tells me about actors and movies of the 1930s and 1940s, and about the horrible Hollywood BlackListings. And I learn so much from him. This is why I've always loved older men, to my younger sister's dismay. <requisite LOL, I suppose>
Gareth, man, I'm sounding as though I'm being paranoid for your sake. No, I'm just exhausted, still having insomnia and interrupted sleep. And I'm having a beer, knowing that all I need to do now is relax, take a shower, and go to bed. But I repeat that I've missed you, and sorry that I didn't respond earlier! I wasn't at my computer, that's all. Hugs from the warm climate I'm in; wishing it could be cooler! Abyssopelagic 17:40, 25 February 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

New message

Hello, Abyssopelagic. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

 – Gareth Griffith-Jones – The WelshBuzzard – 11:50, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Happy Easter! Noticed your User Page popped up on my Watchlist. Did you receive my e-mail?
Cheers!
— Gareth Griffith-Jones – The WelshBuzzard – 08:38, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

Hi there! No, sir, I have to report that I've had trouble with that email account, so a few days ago I created a new one (named after one of my two cats and Mystery Science Theater 3000). I'll see whether I can get into that old account. Meanwhile, I'm very happy to hear from you, and I hope you're happy and healthy! As usual, I've been up all night, sporadically working on a new story and mostly working on this Elijah Wood movie. I'm not particularly interested in it, despite the hours I've put in, but I'm an Elijah fan.

It really is a pleasure to hear from you. Going to send this now because my other cat (Boris, he's 3yo today, yay for Boris the Totally Black Wonder Cat) is requesting my presence outside my office door.

The not-rec'd. e-mail is dated March 13.
I have copied it and re-sent it to you. Let me know if it works please!
I have missed you
Sincerely,
— Gareth Griffith-Jones – The WelshBuzzard – 09:11, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

Hi again! Sorry for the many hours of silence. If I don't answer you right away, PLEASE don't take it as an insult. It's just that I live with chronic pain, and sometimes I try to ignore the pain by spending my time editing WP, which is easy, rather than answering and talking with people, which is harder. It doesn't mean that I don't love you!

I did open my email just now, and, frustratingly, AOL is displaying the letter from you in a way that I want to say (in a whining tone, she laughed) "is just weird." By which I mean that I can see part of your message, but it's overhung by an advertisement on one side and a very badly designed AOL drop-down at the top.

I can read this: ... "... to be the last post there ... I cannot imagine how my Watchlist let me down. Abyss returns to sunshine. Where are you? I thought you lived in Ireland."

Since, in all these weeks, you haven't been at all creepy-stalker (I didn't think you would be, but I've had that experience), I'll return the email, if I can, and tell you who I am. Hang fire.

Disambiguation link notification for April 4

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited The Nerd, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Smart aleck (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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 Done by friendly (talk page stalker) –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 19:05, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! Don't know how I missed that. I appreciate it. Now, how do I boldface my signature, like yours? Talk to you later; we have a repairman coming in a few hours and I need to get a little sleep. Abyssopelagic 05:59, 9 April 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

I am looking forward to it.
Have done your signature, Abs

Go to Preferences ( → top of this page, next to Watchlist → it will open on User profile) → Signature → Copy 'n' paste all of this next line:-

 – Abyssopelagic |Abyssopelagic's Talk|

Nota bene: need to be on edit page to do this!

→ into the editing box.

Check that this box is ticked! "Treat the above as wiki markup" ... when checked, the above markup will be used for your name when you sign with the four tildes ~~~~.
Hope this is clear. Speak to you soon. Gareth Buzzard — 07:55, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Thank you so much! I'll be really happy to work on this, a little later (when I am not so sleep-deprived); as is common when I'm tired - though not "tired and emotional" <g> - I'll spend some time doing minor edits that I can practically do in my sleep. Librarian background, an' all that. Many people think of us librarians as being close to computer programmers, which I am emphatically not, and what you sent (you darling!) looks too much like needing care, when actually I'm on the edge of sleep. But I'll get to it this afternoon, if I can possibly sleep; insomnia is my unending, daily horror.

And a good thing, too, as I've met you!

Hey, I turn 48 on Sunday. Not bad, eh? Considering that most people don't make it to 10. I'm grateful for every shining or stupid day of my life. When's yours, then? I could send you something from the... well, hardly the Mysterious East, but possibly from the kitschy West!

Disambiguation link notification for April 13

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•  Done –
   – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard| 14:23, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

And again you clean up after me. All right, that's IT, Gareth! I've had ENOUGH of your cleaning up after me! I INSIST that I get to come visit you, cook some meals, clean up afters, and probably have a glass of beer and a movie or something. No, no: I don't want any complaints: you've brought this upon yourself!

Roight, later, I do have to run to the pharmacy (they won't open for another 67 minutes, damn their eyes, so I'm going to do a few more minor things here, I suppose.

Honestly, later, I'll tell you some of my news, which crowded in thick and fast in the past few days, hence, again, my silence. Just hang on, Abyss, do the errand, get some sleep, and get back to the darling buzzard.

Camouflage (novel)

I'm the one you are looking for! I have the book somewhere around here and I believe I wrote that part of the plot section. What's wrong with the "together again" part and why does the Booklist cite need checking? Viriditas (talk) 15:02, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

Shouldn't bother to reply as Viriditas (talk) has today received a one week block from editing –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard|— 22:17, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

Hello, Gareth, my gruff Griffith watchdog! Nice to talk to you again. But, hey, I'll speak to anyone. Parolees are still citizens, in my part of the world.

Viriditas, when I looked at what I'd written, I was ashamed: No need to be harsh when others have written in good faith!

(1) I have the book here in my lap, and I've read it 8 times now, so I'm confident of my facts. Oh, you created the page, so good for you! Are you friends with Joe, too, or a fan? (I suppose any fan who creates a page IS a friend.) I see what happened next.

(1a) You started out, perfectly correctly, on 17 January 2005, with "The mysterious find brings the "changeling" and the "chameleon" together to ponder the meaning of the object and their relationship to each other." Later that same day, you edited to "The mysterious find brings the two extraterrestrials - the "changeling" and the "chameleon" - together at last..." And I have no problem with that, either.

(1b) Minutes later, you edited to: "The mysterious find brings the two extraterrestrials - the "changeling" and the "chameleon" - together again, to ponder the meaning of the object and its relationship to each other."

(2) Re-read the novel (and enjoy it all over again!).

(2a) The changeling and the chameleon never knew each other. They were not certain, for millennia, that other creatures - as unlike humans as they themselves were - were walking around on Earth. In the 1948 chapter, we learn that they start searching for others who are different, and neither is sure that itself is extraterrestrial: only Very Different.

(2b) In Chapter 41, Jack the chameleon is practically gloating, because he knows that Rae must be an alien; but he merely wants to destroy the changeling.

(2c) At the climax, when chameleon and changeling fight, changeling urges, "Let's not fight, let's learn." Jack can't stand the idea; the chameleon, Joe H says over and over, is interested only in destruction.

(3) So there is and was never any togetherness.

(4) As for the Booklist citation, I noticed merely that the pages were given as "1913-1913", which is unnecessary; if the review appeared on only one page, 1913 will do; if on two, then I'll check that.

(5) As I'm about to add a massive increase of information to the page, I'll be checking everything; I can't help it, as I'm a librarian as well as a hungry science fiction reader! And you're certainly welcome to query anything I add to the page. I can't help but be friendly to someone else who loves this novel as much as I do.

It was a real pleasure to receive this on my Talk Page. I hope that both of you have a good day and I look forward to more chat. Abyssopelagic 10:14, 15 May 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Although I'm pretty tired, I'm going to add what I've written for the Plot. I'll have other sections to add later. And my section is long, but at least it has the advantage of being the full story; we don't withhold spoilers here. I'll edit again later, promise.

Apparently, I can't. I added thousands of words to the Camouflage page, and then my computer froze. Feeling the normal expected amount of frustration here, cussing quietly. All right, gentlemen, I'll try again later after I've rebooted and all that... Abyssopelagic 12:23, 15 May 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Good to "hear" from you. Just read your rewrite of the plot summary. Excellent. As ever
— Gareth Griffith-Jones|The Welsh Buzzard 07:45, 16 May 2013 (UTC)

Hey, sweetheart! How very kind of you! I think my Plot is still way too long, so I'll be happy if others want to come in and shorten. Otherwise, I need to gain a bit of distance from it. I once attended a lit & film seminar in Key West, when William Goldman was one of the stars. This must have been 1990, because he talked about scripting Misery. He said, "A few years ago, I did the impossible. I scripted my own novel, The Princess Bride. It's so hard to cut your own words, because they're all perfect! But this time, I was merely cutting the words of some little hack named Stephen King, and it was MUCH easier." Gosh, Gareth, I had a huge crush on Goldman for years, so it was heart-breaking that he had a cold, came and talked at his one Q&A, and then flew right out again. On the other hand, I also had a crush on the Miami Herald's film reviewer, the late great Bill Cosford, and he was there, too, so I had some consolation. I've always liked older men! And it's about time that I had a look at your own page, see the types of things you write about. Love ya, mate!

I love you too –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard|— 22:17, 16 May 2013 (UTC)

My Sandbox

Thank you! I am attempting a big project for my very first contribution: My subject is a real person, and he's a novelist, screenwriter, director, and actor, as well as being, like most of us, plugged into normal relationships with family and friends, and some of these overlap quite a lot.

But my main question is: how much is my sandbox my OWN? Can I hit "save" and walk away, or is it open to other people who might want to come in and mess around, as someone suggested to me a few weeks ago?

I have avoided the Sandbox because the very word sounds as though others can come and play in what I am focused on. (I have intense "word aversion" to the word sandbox, and since word aversion is a hot topic these days, I will watch with interest to see whether other folks agree, and then somebody might change some vocabulary-policies.)

It's awfully easy for me just to copy the whole body of work I've created right back into its Word file, after all. Which I think I'll do. Until someone convinces me that the sandbox is somehow better than using Word.

Honestly, folks, I'm as soft and easy-going as a kitten... a kitten with a sharp sense of reason, that is. And that right there tells you that I have a good sense of humor! I'll be very grateful to anyone who wants to spend time with the troublesome kitten who doesn't want to turn her sandbox into a litterbox. Abyssopelagic 19:26, 18 May 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Technically once it is on Wikipedia, anyone can edit it. See WP:OWN. That said, a certain leniency is granted for content in your WP:USERSPACE. Using the sandbox will grant you several advantages such as wikilinks, templates such as {{infobox}}, and to see how the article would appear in the main space. Be advised that once you create the article in the main space you should fully expect other editors to make changes to the article. If you disagree with the changes, you will need to talk it out and reach consensus, and not imply ownership over the article as the 'article creator' or main writer. Mkdw^talk 19:55, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Hi!
From my own experience, I would urge you to follow your instinct (above, here) and not use your Sandbox for this type of project. The Sandbox is available for all and sundry to examine. Best to keep it on Word ... or you could create a subpage of your own if you want to visualise it in Wikipedia. I shall answer your more detailed query by e-mail tomorrow. Also see this article
Cheers!
— Gareth Griffith-Jones|The Welsh Buzzard|—08:21, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
Thank you very much! You have clarified for me, exactly as I hoped. See you around!
Abyssopelagic 13:10, 20 May 2013 (UTC) Abyssopelagic
Just to let you know here ... The Welsh Buzzard is taking a holiday for the whole of June and may return to editing Wikipedia on Monday, July 1, 2013 at the very earliest ... I promise you that I shall e-mail soon. Cheers! –
 – Gareth Griffith-Jones |The Welsh Buzzard|— 08:35, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

---

Abys

Noticing your addition there I should be so grateful for contact. Sincerely, Gareth
— | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 10:32, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

Hello! My email did not work. (Ocelot tried too, bless her.) I want very much to talk with you, but I have had troubles being crippled and clumsy with pain. Please do not think I am ignoring you! I have a huge crush on you; I'm just boringly bed-bound, sometimes, because of the pain in my side. I was determined to email you just now and then couldn't find your e-address.

Gareth, I'm also dazed by and weeping because of the death of my favorite cat, who was struck by a car yesterday. Boris the Wonder Cat had a great personality and everyone in the neighborhood loved him.

I want to be distracted by writing articles and I hope that you will help me. Are you familiar with Dick Francis? I have written some summaries of a couple of his books.

I hope we will talk again very soon. I thought of you fondly the other night during a TV program starring Lee Marvin.

Abyssopelagic 02:01, 27 November 2013 (UTC

Dear Abs, What dreadful news about Boris. So sorry for you.
I have read all of Dick Francis novels.
I did receive the two e-mails but they had no messages.
I replied telling you that. Did you receive my reply?
Should I reply to you here or by e-mail?
If you have lost my address you can still send me a Wikipedia E-mail. Remember this? Copy 'n' pasted from your Talk page …
… if you prefer to keep your anonymity – and I suggest that you do maintain your privacy here on Wikipedia – please feel free to e-mail me via the Wikipedia link—see the "Toolbox" on my pages
← ← ← [over to the left]
I love mountains too, but then of course,most hawks do (!) —  – The WelshBuzzard10:08, 16 February 2013 (UTC)
Click on E-mail this user when on my User page or Talk page in the left-hand column.

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  Please reply soon. I am missing you so much — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 21:15, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Christmas dinner

Machinima of Santa Claus's reindeer filmed in Second life

Imploring that Abys enjoys a sumptuous Christmas holiday and a naughty New Year! First play this → → →

Now play this!
I dare you to tell me that you did not smile.

Cheers!
— | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 02:24, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

Cherry picking

Regarding this paper you added, can you help us by giving the name of the author(s) or a PMID, DOI? Thank you, Ihaveacatonmydesk (talk) 11:35, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

Hi there, lucky person with a cat on your desk!

Um, I don't recognize this subject at all, and it is certainly not within my expertise. I am guessing that the friend who was sleeping on our couch for a week used my computer and decided to do his own editing, because I was logged in. This must be breaking all sorts of rules (I hope not!; but I live with anxiety), and I'm really sorry; but he's gone now, and I really don't know anything about the topic.

I guess that I had better log out when friends come over; though I am not expecting any more for a long time.

Honestly, I don't have enough information on the topic even to figure out what should be corrected. Would you be a darling and either delete those additions, or fix it for me?

I'm really very sorry for the hassle!

Abyssopelagic 21:33, 11 November 2014 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

The Firm; hi, Buzzard!

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Beam me up, Scotty, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page The Firm. Such links are almost always unintended...

Hello!
I would have sorted this for you but as there is a choice of three ...

• The Firm (hip hop group), an American hip hop supergroup active between 1996 and 1998
• The Firm (novelty band), best known for their hits "Star Trekkin'" and "Arthur Daley E's Alright"
• The Firm (rock band), a British rock supergroup active during the mid-1980s
  ... I cannot help.
  Email me please — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 15:22, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Gareth, darling, hello! back to you, too!

How sloppy of me, not to have realized that there are many musical groups with the same name. The answer is the second, novelty band. And I've fixed it; you do not have to clean up my messes! If ever I decide to become a Welsh house-maid, I'd be happy to clean up yours.

I'm having a fairly bad pain day, but I want to keep in touch with you. Oh, it's always great to get your messages!

I'll email you soon; tonight, I hope.

With warm affection, Abyssopelagic 21:51, 11 November 2014 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

And ever warmer back! Missing you, darling one ... — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 22:06, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Holiday cheer

Christmas dinner

Machinima of Santa Claus's reindeer filmed in Second life

Imploring that Abys enjoys a sumptuous Christmas holiday and a naughty New Year! First play this → → →

Now play this!
I dare you to tell me that you did not smile.

Cheers!
— | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 02:24, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

Wow; and auggh!

I waited too long, I suppose, because I cannot get it to play. "Curse my lot," as someone in Shakespeare said.

Actually, this means only that I need to update Java or one of those players; and as I'm already intending to get my friend Gary the Computer Wizard over to fix another spot of problem, I can have him do this, too.

You know, of course, that you make me smile anyway!

I haven't written any fiction in a long time -- I should say that I haven't finished any fiction in a long time -- but I made myself giggle today when I was thinking of the phrase by Andrew Marvell. Because I'm so tired of vampire fiction, I thought:

My vegetarian love should grow faster than vampires', and more quick

A hundred years are not enough for this chick

To tell each undead leech, each flea, "You're such a prick."

Well, when I thought of it this morning, it was closer to Marvell's, and the meter matched. Should have written it down then. (At least I can still alliterate.)

But there are science fiction magazines who purchase 1,000-word stories, which is about the best I can do with such poor beginnings; and I might just try. Lord knows, Gareth, I have to return to writing somehow, and mosquito-bitten bare feet give as much a start on the road as expensive boots.

Sometime I will tell you how I have been literally squelching through my apartment; there was a flood; it was tiresome and not really much of a story.

And I should have emailed all of this; but among my other computer problems, I can't right now get into email. Later, I'll delete this, and write you a better letter.

Great wide-flung arms for a hug,

Abyssopelagic 03:02, 12 November 2014 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

Any contact is always most welcome. You write with such style and original humour. I love you. — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 10:49, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Check your email, fy cariad.

Attempted to fix disambiguation ... The title Coherence refers to a quantum state known as coherence, in which different versions of reality can still, temporally and spatially, interchange ... hope I am correct! Now to re-read and reply to your email. — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 10:26, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for November 13

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Coherence (film), you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Coherence. Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject. It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 10:00, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

 Done I hope. See above! — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 10:30, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Thank you, sugar! I am not as attentive as I should be to the Message Alerts, and I'll endeavor to do better. I think I seriously need a course of lessons from you, because some of my recent edits have been deleted or amputated almost at once. I've been a librarian and writer for such a long time that I feel as though I do understand what an Encyclopedia for the Interested Public ought to have. Plus, electrons are not in short supply. I am obviously missing something in the balance between "Be Bold" and "But Not Too Bold." I'm not really upset; I'm laughing at myself for displaying my ignorance for the world to see; but, naturally, I want to do it correctly and not waste other people's time. If I possibly can, I'll get into my mutinous email today. Hugs, Abyssopelagic 18:22, 21 November 2014 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

To my mind, you are perfect. With love, — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 18:29, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Snake edit

Hi, and thanks for asking. 'rm' is just 'remove', ce is 'copyedit', apologies for excessive brevity. I cut the bit from the blog as I wasn't sure it was reliable, and I trimmed the description to focus on the basic fact, that the snake is indeed used as food. The rest seemed really to be 'colour' which was not necessary in an encyclopedia entry. I'm glad you like the result, which I think is worth having. All the best, Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:43, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for November 28

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited David R. Slavitt, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Siege of Jerusalem. Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject. It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 08:58, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

 Done I hope. Is it Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)? ...
The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings"); in the Christian Old Testament it follows the Book of Jeremiah, as the prophet Jeremiah is its traditional author.
... I hope I am not interfering. — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 09:44, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Oh, my dear, how very kind of you! I am so remiss at noticing those alerts; this time it took me a couple of weeks to notice. I must attune myself to that color at that top of the page. Usually, I open a page, hit the down bar, and just don't see it. I probably owe you a dozen emails. Lots of distractions this week, plus interruptions of my trying to get email, or anything online, finished properly. Love ya, Gareth! Abyssopelagic 12:50, 4 December 2014 (UTC) Abyssopelagic

 Cheers! — Gareth Griffith-Jones The Welsh Buzzard: Cardiff born and bred  — 16:35, 4 December 2014 (UTC)

Let's wish for a great 2015

Throughout Great Britain there are many celebrations across the island, particularly in Scotland. London: thousands gather along the Embankment on the River Thames to watch the fireworks around the London Eye. The New Year officially starts when Big Ben strikes twelve. Scotland: there are many unique customs associated with the New Year. These form the Scottish celebration Hogmanay—the Scots name for New Year's Eve. The street party in Princes Street in Edinburgh is one famous example. Wales: Calennig is celebrated, with celebrations attracting thousands of people to the capital, Cardiff. Happy New Year! — | Gareth Griffith-Jones |The WelshBuzzard| — 21:01, 31 December 2014 (UTC)|}

Two years have passed since

Two years have passed since we last communicated here. I fear the worst and if anybody reading this knows please get in touch, either here or by email. — Gareth Griffith-Jones | The Welsh | Buzzard |  12:34, 10 December 2016 (UTC)

All the best for 2017!

Hello Abyssopelagic,
Enjoy the Winter Solstice and the Christmas and holiday season.
Thank you for all your good work during 2016 in maintaining, improving and expanding Wikipedia.
All the best for 2017! Cheers, — Gareth Griffith-Jones | The Welsh | Buzzard |  16:31, 19 December 2016 (UTC)