[Milton-L] (For U.S. members): Utterly un-Miltonic w/a bit of Milton trivia

Wed May 21 16:37:16 EDT 2008

Mr. Hodges is right: Nancy Charlton's well-meaning warning is mostly 
irrelevant.

A definitive source for debunking this repeated misinformation about 
cell-phone vulnerability to rabid telemarketers (hey, what would Milton 
have called them?) is SNOPES.COM, which has a thorough and lucid 
treatment of the matter. (In fact, Snopes is invaluable for almost any 
sort of widespread web rumor.)

Your cellphone number is safe, unless you choose to make it public. See 
Snopes or Urban Legends.

Cheers,

Mario

Horace Jeffery Hodges wrote:
> This sounded a bit like an urban legend to me, so I checked:
>  
> http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/business/a/cell_directory.htm
> The information is "Mostly false" (says the linked article) but not 
> entirely. Read at the link before doing any calling.
>  
> Jeffery Hodges
> 
> */Nancy Charlton <pastorale55 at yahoo.com>/* wrote:
> 
>     Yes, this is very helpful.  In such spirit I'd like to send along
>     the text of an email that came in May 8. I tried the number, and it
>     is on the level.
> 
>         Cell  phone numbers going public tomorrow
> 
>         REMINDER....all  cell phone numbers are being released to
>         telemarketing companies  tomorrow and you will start to receive
>         sale calls.
> 
>         ....YOU WILL  BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
> 
>         To prevent this, call the following  number from your cell phone:
> 
>         888-382-1222.
> 
>         It is   the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a
>         minute of your time 
>         It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from
>         the  cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call
>         from a  different phone number.
> 
>         HELP OTHERS BY  PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
>         It  take about 20  seconds.
> 
> 
>     This is Miltonic, however:
> 
>     Bobby Wolff, author of the newspaper column "Aces on Bridge," wears
>     his erudition lightly, and today delighted as well as taught with
>     this from L'Allegro as epigraph:
> 
>     Right against the eastern gate, 	
>     Where the great Sun begins his state,
> 
> 
>     The bridge hand in question had East holding a few critical cards. 
>     Declarer South (it's always South) guessed--i.e. reasoned--right and
>     made three overtricks on his vulnerable spade game, whereas at other
>     tables declarer just made game or went down by one.
> 
>     This works beautifully as epigraph even though it's not a sentence
>     replete with verb, and raises a chuckle by the time you've finished
>     the column. Just a few lines earlier we saw "Sport that wrinkled
>     Care derides/ And laughter holding both his sides." I love to quote
>     this when people kvetch about Milton being somber and dour and,
>     well, puritannical. I also like to refer them to Book IV passim but
>     especially lines 300-320.
> 
>     And if I recall right, in the Prolusions JM devotes a lot of
>     attention to sport and play. We know that he could fence and ride
>     acceptably, and he walked in the garden 3 or 4 hours every afternoon
>     while writing PL, but is there any other evidence that he enjoyed
>     sports and games? 
> 
>     Nancy Charlton
> 
>      */James Rovira <jamesrovira at gmail.com>/* wrote:
> 
>         Bless you, Carol.
> 
>         I did a quick check on the site and the information seems accurate.
>         Yesterday while driving around I looked for the lowest prices
>         and the
>         prices/locations shown on the website match what I observed
>         yesterday
>         for my area.
> 
>         Jim R\
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     Nancy Charlton
>     http://groups.google.com/group/paradiselostdaily
>     Hail universal Lord, be bounteous still
>     To give us only good; and if the night
>     Have gatherd aught of evil or conceald
>     Disperse it, as now light dispells the dark. (V.205-209)
>     _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> University Degrees:
> 
> Ph.D., History, U.C. Berkeley
> (Doctoral Thesis: "Food as Synecdoche in John's Gospel and Gnostic Texts")
> M.A., History of Science, U.C. Berkeley
> B.A., English Language and Literature, Baylor University
> 
> Email Address:
> 
> jefferyhodges at yahoo.com
> 
> Blog:
> 
> http://gypsyscholarship.blogspot.com/
> 
> Office Address:
> 
> Assistant Professor Horace Jeffery Hodges
> School of English, Kyung Hee University
> 1 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu
> Seoul, 130-701
> South Korea
> 
> Home Address:
> 
> Dr. Sun-Ae Hwang and Dr. Horace Jeffery Hodges
> Gunyoung Apt. 102-204
> Sangbong-dong 1
> Jungnang-gu
> Seoul 131-771
> South Korea
> 
> 
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-- 
Mario A. Di Cesare
Distinguished Professor (emeritus), SUNY
Founder & Director, Medieval & Renaissance Texts
      & Studies (MRTS) & Pegasus Paperbooks (1978-1996)
Director, Pegasus Press (1996-1998; 2002-2004)
Member, College for Seniors, University of North Carolina
      Center for Creative Retirement at UNC Asheville

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