Or, they probably understand why you do NOT put your full name on-line.
Fred Mills said:And how about Luke and John?
Both Mathew and Mark, don't see fit to use their full names, so I imagine they both have something drastic to hide......probably some shady past, or ashamed of themselves and their families.....
I was just Matthew for the longest time. Then, long ago, when the board was yellow, the Bach-Man waved his hat, and technical advice was offered and appreciated, there were other “Matthew” posters … so I added the (OV) for “Original Version” (and … hey… TOC and TAC were already taken…) Later we found out there was a popular piece of Rio Grande MOW equipment that carried that moniker, and as a Narrow Gauge guy it seemed a propos.
And like Dave says, I try not to post stuff that attracts spam and other unsavory things in the various forae. Anyone who’s communicated with me over the years knows the other name, and who I am; it’s not hidden, it’s just not shouted from the rooftops.
And … ask anyone… that IS my real picture 
Somehow this is all Deja Vu, though … very little has changed from the last time it came up. Ah well.
I’m not a fan of pseudonyms. In this day and age with a few key strokes we can find just about anybody and where they live. I like to think that we all would know each others true name, just as we were face to face. My 2 cents.
Vic is right, someone spouted somewhere in some conservative news outlet that the series was preaching Socialisim to our kids. So I started watching the episodes with my kids. Interestingly enough, I quicly learned that each story/episode works to the following ideals:
a: The needs of the State of Sodor are always above the needs of an individual engine or the like
b: Each character’s value to Sodor society is determined by their usefulness to the State, nothing else. (Useful engines get promoted) The most important virtue one can have is usefulness to the ideals of Sodor and nothing else.
c: The best thing to do is work harder and harder just for the satisfaction of knowing you are being useful to the Sodor state.
d: There is no privately owned transportation (cars/busses) with the exception of the wealthy (The Fat Controller) and powerful.
e: All of the online industries all have Sodor in the name.
f: They have way more trackage and kept steam longer than anyplace else.
g: Much of the labor by the humans is done by hand with limited technology or tools. Steam locos wiped down, stones moved by hand, etc to provide employment to those on Sodor.
Typically, socialism goes to the economy or to the state (which we see) but then Communism goes farther into operations of society within the state. In this case, we see a push by The Fat Controller (benevolent dictator) on society (the characters) into a level playing field without social inequality, to supply the (Socialist) Sodor state. This is to the point of a loss of individuality or rights within Sodor society, hence the opinion of Socialisim was close…almost to a closer definition of a Communist society.
This is to assume the idea that Communism defines a society, and while a “state” cannot be Communist a state can be Socialistic.
Fred Mills said:Padre,
Both Mathew and Mark, don't see fit to use their full names, so I imagine they both have something drastic to hide......probably some shady past, or ashamed of themselves and their families.....
Far from it, unless you mean their diplomat’s passports which note “Delegate from Sodor”.
Emily, Mavis, Rosie, Daisey, Lady, Belle, Mollie - I think that is all of them.
Bob C.
I’m still puzzling over horsefeathers…
The only reason I like trains today, or have ever liked them, is because of Thomas the Tank Engine and the late Reverand’s stories. If i was never introduced to them, I would have no passion for real railroads or trains in anyway. The Reverand’s stories are not made to be “up to date and full of modern political correctness”, as they were written in the 1940’s. The world was a different place back then, I was not there, as I am only a teenage boy, but I have listened to many of my grandparents stories. You cannot blame the late Reverand for what HiT chooses to put in their shows, such as Diesel, the black engine, as the article put it, being “discriminated” against by the colorful steam engines.
Steve Featherkile said:Horse Feathers 1932 Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo) and Thelma Todd?
I'm still puzzling over horsefeathers...
Meaning
Rubbish, nonsense.
Origin
Horsefeathers, which is said by J. E. Lighter’s Historical Dictionary of American Slang to be a euphemism for horse-shit, is reported as being coined by the comic-strip artist and writer, William Morgan “Billy” de Beck. The authoritative journal ‘American Speech’ printed this in their December 1928 issue:
"Mr. William De Beck, the comic-strip comedian responsible for 'Barney Google,' assumes credit for the first actual use of the word horsefeathers".
American etymologist Leonard Zwilling published an annotated dictionary of the work of the cartoonist T. A. Dorgan (a.k.a. TAD) - A TAD Lexicon. In part 46 of that work, published in 1927, we have the first citation of horsefeathers in print:
"The cashier's department - Bah - Horsefeathers. He wouldn't give you a ticket to see Halley’s Comet."
It seems most likely that it began either as a bowdlerised variant of horseshit or as an expression of the view that something is highly unlikely, about as probable as that pigs might fly … or that horses might have feathers.
More than you wanted to know?
And doesn’t diesel get ‘discriminated’ against because he was originally nasty, caused trouble, and wanted steam engines scrapped, not because he’s painted black?
The point was too teach children positive values as they were taught in the late 40’S. I’m absolutly astounded what people read into it today. Some people take this WAY too seriously. What’s next? A diatribe against Pooh and all his male friends perpetrating a gay agenda? Don’t make me laugh please, I haven’t regained my breath with Facist / Communist Thomas.
I once remember watching an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. Bugs was in a hotel room.
On the back of the hotel room door was a list of rules. The one that caught my eye: No opium smoking !
Now I’m sure that went right over the head of the children at the time.
Myself, I got a good laugh out of it.
Ralph
Some may remember a college professor in the 60’s tried to find a political agenda in “The Wizard of Oz”. Seems nobody knew about it until he put it out there for discussion. Claimed the Wicked Witch of the West symbolized the money hungry railroad barons while the Wicked Witch of the East represented eastern bankers. (See, more train related history in this thread!). Most literary historians consider this to be “hogwash”. Having read all 14 books in the series I must agree.
Of course there are examples of “children’s” literature where political and religious agendas were deliberate…The Chronicles of Narnia and Animal Farm come to mind.
Mark V said:
Some may remember a college professor in the 60's tried to find a political agenda in "The Wizard of Oz". Seems nobody knew about it until he put it out there for discussion. Claimed the Wicked Witch of the West symbolized the money hungry railroad barons while the Wicked Witch of the East represented eastern bankers. (See, more train related history in this thread!). Most literary historians consider this to be "hogwash". Having read all 14 books in the series I must agree.Of course there are examples of “children’s” literature where political and religious agendas were deliberate…The Chronicles of Narnia and Animal Farm come to mind.
Oz is the abbreviation for ounce. The yellow brick road is the gold, the ruby slippers were silver in the book, Tinman, Strawman and the Cowardly Lion (England), represented nations.
"Oz as Allegory
Is Oz, however, merely a children’s story, as its author claimed? For a quarter of a century after its film debut, no one seemed to think otherwise. This view would change completely when an obscure high school teacher published an essay in American Quarterly claiming that Baum’s charming tale concealed a clever allegory on the Populist movement, the agrarian revolt that swept across the Midwest in the 1890s. In an ingenuous act of imaginative scholarship, Henry M. Littlefield linked the characters and the story line of the Oz tale to the political landscape of the Mauve Decade. The discovery was little less than astonishing: Baum’s children’s story was in fact a full-blown “parable on populism,” a “vibrant and ironic portrait” of America on the eve of the new century (Littlefield 1964, 50)."
http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/oz.html
Interesting especially if true.
Another possible application for “horsefeathers” is Pegasus. Pegasus is usually depicted with feathers on his wings; an improbable feat for a mammal, but not for a myth. So “horsefeathers” could also equal “mythical.” Anyway, the length of this thread seems to show that even us “big folks” have no small passion for the inhabitants of Sodor. My OO layout had locomotives named for the characters in the books. The Flying Scotsman was Gordon, one of the Pannier Tanks was Duck, the LMS Midland Compound was Edward, the autotank was Oliver, and so forth. The locomotives were not always the same color or class as in the stories, but my daughters did not seem to mind. Today my fantasy large scale railroad is the Brandywine & Gondor Railroad. Hey, I like The Lord of the Rings and trains, so why not combine both interests into a “what if” railroad. Creating cars can really be fun. The last photo shows the “Balrog catcher.”
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/davemeashey/BnGPriv02.jpg)
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/davemeashey/BnGPriv01.jpg)
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/davemeashey/2011Chal07.jpg)
Have fun, David Meashey
Middle Earth and a railroad…Now there’s using your imagination! Love the “Longbottom Leaf” car!
Mik said:Yup. That is pretty much a reccuring topic in both the TV series and the Railway Series. Diesels came to the Island, some were nice (Mavis, BoCo), some cam rude, but changed their ways (Daisy, Bear) and some were outright horrible and were sent away (Diesel, D199, D261).
And doesn't diesel get 'discriminated' against because he was originally nasty, caused trouble, and wanted steam engines scrapped, not because he's painted black?
Diesel was not “discriminated” against because he was black by the steam engines, who are all different colors 
I still remember most of it because Thomas the Tank Engine is a favorite of my little neighbors and when I babysit them, all they want to watch is Thomas, show them Thomas on the computer, or read them Thomas from the “big book of Thomas”, as they call it.
Horsefeathers, hogwash, cinders and ashes. I’m learning a whole new language, here! These are words that would make a sailor blush!
Personally, I think it’s all Bolshevik.
Animal Farm WAS a deliberately political book against totalitarianism and all the rhetoric despotic leaders use to justify themselves.
It seems to me that EVERYONE is missing the point… locomotives are technology… they are built for the sole purpose of serving humans, so whats the problem of making them to their jobs?
Ugh… I swore I wouldn’t get involved in one of these mindless debates… thanks guys, thanks alot! :-p
(For those that need it spelled out, that last line was meant in sarcasm’s most pure & refined form)