Last I heard, compounds in attributive use are hyphenated.

There you go offending the anti-hyphenation crowd (though for the record, you are, of course, correct).

On a related note, I found this amusing quote at askoxford.com:

"Hyphenation in English is highly variable, and in many contexts, it really doesn't matter. The Fowler brothers, first editors of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, wrote in their preface to the 1911 edition:

"We have also to admit that after trying hard at an early stage to arrive at some principle that should teach us when to separate, when to hyphen, and when to unite the parts of compound words, we had to abandon the attempt as hopeless, and welter in the prevailing chaos."

Blake

However, it is on a sub-domain (probably way down on the food chain), his religion is Eastern Orthodox, and he didn't rant on and on or anything. He just expressed his religious opinion and he tried to be a little bit humorous as he did it.

I'm Eastern Orthodox too (Antiochian) and find nothing offensive in the RJ books. What's more, I appreciate the pro-life stance in "Buckets" and "Foet". There's nothing inherently anti-Catholic (Orthodox or Roman) in any of Paul's works that I have noticed.

And you won't. I'm expecting some radical Muslim to put a fatwa on my head any day now. That, and I don't particularly want my ex-wife looking for my name and finding that weblog. OTOH, fair's fair; I do allow comments using unverified identities.

For what it's worth, I'd like to post a general reply to this thread. Since this seems to be where the more vigorous discussion is, if FPW doesn't mind me putting it here, I will. If he doesn't want to risk me using his forum as my own soapbox when I already have my own, that's OK too. Either way, it will have to be after I get some sleep.

Maybe you are getting too caught up on this "Otherness" moniker. In our Orthodox liturgy, we are told to set aside "all Earthly cares"; yet that does not make us part of the "Otherness" to which Jack refers. Also, the alternate reality of fiction (especially science fiction and fantasy) need not correlate to our "reality" to be both entertaining and instructive. You may characterize Paul's work as "non-Christian" if you wish, but I think "anti-Christian' is a reach. I think you need to meet Paul before you make that assessment.

... we had to abandon the attempt as hopeless, and welter in the prevailing chaos."

Oooh, weltering in chaos - very Other-y.

Religion and politics. The truly committed won't change their minds, whether they are rational or not. Plus, whoever is talking probably thinks they are "right."

Of course, I'm right.

[QUOTE=fpw] We have a recurrent troll we keep around as a sort of amusing pet -- because most regulars block his posts, very few even know he's around.

QUOTE]

So who is the troll?

We have a recurrent troll we keep around as a sort of amusing pet -- because most regulars block his posts, very few even know he's around.

So who is the troll?

Not worth naming.

Not worth naming.

Oh no! You might be offending the troll because you don't view him/her as a significant person. /mock horror

Stephanie

Oooh, weltering in chaos - very Other-y.

Good thing I covered my keyboard with Saran Wrap.

Ken V.

Maybe you are getting too caught up on this "Otherness" moniker. In our Orthodox liturgy, we are told to set aside "all Earthly cares"; yet that does not make us part of the "Otherness" to which Jack refers. Also, the alternate reality of fiction (especially science fiction and fantasy) need not correlate to our "reality" to be both entertaining and instructive. You may characterize Paul's work as "non-Christian" if you wish, but I think "anti-Christian' is a reach. I think you need to meet Paul before you make that assessment.

The mythology of the works seems to imply that there is a war going on which has no place for God. That is the "Ally" and the "Otherness" warring for and over Earth. Some might argue where is God in all of this? If God is your thing that's cool, but fiction is about suspension of disbelief. Fiction is designed to create an alternate reality where the story as presented has context and meaning. I can't imagine thinking that a fiction author is anti-anything that he writes about in his books, and especially against a particular religion just because the mythology as presented does not have God being involved. Horror fiction especially often has the bad guys win, and terrible things happen without the intervention of God and may even openly repudiate Him, but even in those scenarios I would not take it as that author was promoting an "anti-" stance, just setting the stage for his work.