WordRampage.com

We're taking a break...

2009-09-04T22:17:00.002-04:00

It seems to have been a busy summer for everyone at WordRampage. For this reason, the book club took a vacation for the months of August and September. We'll update soon with the selection for our next discussion.

July Book Discussion

2009-07-01T10:02:00.031-04:00

The July book selection is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. The picture to the left is from the original book cover that was published in the late 1990s. However, you are probably more familiar with the picture below it, which originated as a theatrical release poster when the book was made into a movie of the same name in 2005.

The book discussion will take place in the WR Beginner's Room on Saturday, July 18th at 9:00 a.m. EDT. If you let Marla, Anissa, Faith, Cross or Janet know ahead of time that you will be participating in the discussion, they will make sure you get a copy of the discussion questions prior to that date, but feel free to just stop in and join the conversation.

Here is an excerpt from the original book jacket:

Sayuri's story begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Through her eyes, we see the decadent heart of Gion--the geisha district of Kyoto--with its marvelous teahouses and theaters, narrow back alleys, ornate temples, and artists' streets. And we witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. But as World War II erupts and the geisha houses are forced to close, Sayuri, with little money and even less food, must reinvent herself all over again to find a rare kind of freedom on her own terms.

Author: Arthur Golden; Publisher: Random House, 1997; 320-448 pgs.

June Book Discussion

2009-06-15T19:10:00.011-04:00

The June book selection is Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The discussion will take place in the WordRampage Beginner's Room at 9:00 a.m. EDT (that's 11:00 p.m. for Cross) on Saturday, June 27th. Some consider this book merely a work of science fiction, while others see it as a social criticism warning against the dangers of censorship. It's a short book , so grab a copy to read then come share your view with your WR friends. If you are interested in participating, please either email or speak with Marla, Faith, Anissa, Cross or Janet (if she ever shows up!), and we will make sure you get a copy of the discussion questions prior to that day. Otherwise, feel free to just drop in and join the conversation.

Here is an excerpt from the book taken from the author's website:

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...
The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning ... along with the houses in which they were hidden.
Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames... never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.
Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think... and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

Author: Ray Bradbury; Publisher: Del Rey, 1953; 179 pages

May Book Discussion

2009-04-25T22:09:00.014-04:00

The May book selection is Not without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody. We will meet in the WR Beginner's Room at 9 a.m. EST on Saturday, May 23rd. An interesting discussion should ensue with both positive and negative opinions about the book, the story it tells, and relevant topics. If you are interested in participating, please either email or mention it to Marla, Faith, Anissa, Cross or Janet and we will make sure you get a copy of the discussion questions prior to that day. Otherwise, feel free to just drop in and join the conversation.

The following is a synoposis taken from the publisher's website:

Betty Mahmoody and her husband, Dr Sayyed Bozorg Mahmoody ('Moody'), came to Iran from the USA to meet Moody's family. With them was their four-year-old daughter, Mahtob. Appalled by the squalor of their living conditions, horrified by what she saw of a country where women are merely chattels and Westerners are despised, Betty soon became desperate to return to the States. But Moody, and his often vicious family, had other plans. Mother and daughter became prisoners of an alien culture, hostages of an increasingly tyrannical and violent man.

Betty began to try to arrange an escape. Evading Moody's sinister spy network, she secretly met sympathisers opposed to Khomeini's savage regime. But every scheme that was suggested to her meant leaving Mahtob behind forever...

Author: Betty Mahmoody, Publisher: Transworld Publishers, Ltd., 2004; 521 pages

Let's try that again...

2009-04-13T22:36:00.005-04:00

It seems several of the "regulars" didn't make it to Saturday's book discussion...either because they didn't read the book (Janet clears her throat), they forgot (Faith averts her eyes), they were busy (Donna checks her to-do list), or they were too tired (Cross pours another cup of coffee).

In any case, a second discussion has been arranged for Thursday, April 16, at 9:00 a.m EDT. Feel free to join us in the Beginner's Room, regardless of whether or not you read the book. We always have some very interesting conversations on topics loosely related to, but not necessarily specific to, the book in question. The next book selection will also be announced at that time. Everyone is invited!

Our First WR baby

2009-03-25T23:08:00.008-04:00

One of our newer friends has recently given birth to a beautiful new WordRampage baby. As far as we know, he is the first baby born to a "practicing Rampager" since the site originated in June 2008!

Maygan, who has been playing at WR for a few months, gave birth to baby Ryan on March 5th. He's an adorable little guy who entered the world at just 6 pounds 12 ounces and a smidgen under 19 inches.

We're so happy that Maygan was kind enough to share pictures of her little man with us. The first was taken the day after Ryan was born, and the second is at almost a week old. Congratulations, Maygan!

By the way, Ryan wouldn't happen to be your new son's middle name, would it? I'm thinking William Ryan or Walter Ryan or even Wesley Ryan would be nice. Anything that would give him the initials WR!

April Book Discussion

2009-03-14T10:34:00.042-04:00

The Handmaid's Tale led to interesting conversation on topics from conformity to suffrage to religion at today's book club meeting. For April, Marla has chosen The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. This book was originally written in Portuguese but has since won the Guinness World Record for the most translated book by a living author, having been translated into 67 languages! The discussion for this book will be on Saturday, April 11, at 9:00 a.m. EST. If you are interested in participating, please speak with Anissa, Cross, Faith, Janet or Marla so you can be sent a copy of the discussion questions via email prior to the meeting.

This is a synopsis taken from the Reading Group Guides website:

Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, has a dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. A gypsy woman and an old man claiming to be a mysterious king advise him to pursue it. "To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation," the old man tells him. "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

This story, timeless and entertaining, exotic yet simple, breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical. It is about the faith, power, and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a Personal Legend, a path charted by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions. Santiago shows how along the way we learn to trust our hearts, read the seemingly inconspicuous signs, and understand that as we look to fulfill a dream, it looks to find us, if we let it.

Author: Paulo Coelho; Publisher: HarperCollins, 1993; 197 pages

Limericks

2009-03-02T22:43:00.020-05:00

We have a talented new member of the family here at WordRampage. Mad Giraffe had been boggling at another site for a couple of weeks. Then, about a week ago, Marla invited her to join us at WR. She's been hooked ever since...and why not? We're pretty much irresistible! During a conversation earlier this week, Marla and MLO encouraged Mad Giraffe to write a limerick about her experience here. She did such a great job, we just had to share it with everyone!

There once was a sane giraffe
Who boggled just for a laugh
Many a 3-letter word
She found quite absurd
And now her poor brain's split in half

My life now just isn't the same
And boggling takes all the blame
I'm in a huge rut
Husband thinks I'm a nut
But I just can't stop playing the game

Vern is apparently an aspiring poet as well. The parents of each student in his daughter's third-grade class were asked to write a limerick about their child. Here's what our clever WR member wrote.

A glass-slippered princess named Allison
Had a pumpkin to ride to the palace in
But it didn't suffice
'Cause her cats ate the mice
So she rode in the car that her pal was in

March Book Discussion

2009-02-16T19:44:00.038-05:00

Please double-check the date. It has changed since the original post.

It was decided last month that we would take turns choosing the book for our monthly discussions. For our March selection, Anissa has picked The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. The discussion for this book will be on Saturday, March 14, at 9:00 a.m. EST. If you would like to join us, please let Anissa, Cross, Donna, Faith, Janet or Marla know so you can receive a copy of the discussion questions via email prior to the meeting.

Here is a synopsis of the book from the Random House/Anchor site:

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.

Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

Author: Margaret Atwood; Publisher: Anchor, March 1998; 325 pages

THE RAMPETTES THEME SONG

2009-02-13T19:17:00.024-05:00

Created by Janet and Dorrit
(to The Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song tune)

Come and listen to a story ‘bout Mike and JB
Made a website and found Leap, then there was three
First thing you know they was tootin' their own horn
Within the first month, the Rampettes were born

Gals, they is...classy ones...fast typin'

The word soon went out all over the ‘Net

They came from Australia, New York and Tibet

They formed them a bond as strong as any glue

And now they chat and play...it's what the Rampettes do

Multitask...chewin' the fat...'n bogglin'

The words bubble out from a grid of sixteen
Those Rampettes sure seem nice, but they play really mean
I've heard it said they're the best Bogglers around
And they talk themselves to death, but they never make a sound

Brainy gals...quiet too…ceptin’ their keyboards

February Book Discussion

2009-01-15T02:05:00.011-05:00

We had such a great discussion about January's book selection, Nineteen Minutes, that we are planning to meet in the Beginner's Room again this Saturday morning, January 17, to continue our conversation. We have also chosen the book for our February discussion. The next book we will be reading is An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Redfield Jamison. The discussion will be on Saturday, February 7, at 9:00 a.m. EST. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Anissa, Cross, Donna, Faith, Janet or Marla to be added to the list of those who will receive the discussion questions via email prior to the meeting.

The following is a synopsis of the book:

For years, Kay Redfield Jamison led a double life. An international authority on manic-depressive illness, and one of the few women who have achieved the status of full professor of medicine at an American university, Jamison was harboring a secret: she herself suffered from manic-depression. In her memoir, An Unquiet Mind, Jamison tells of her battle with the illness: the joy of the manic highs, which gave her an omnipotent feeling of cosmic connectedness, and the terrifying depressions, when she wanted only to die. [The author] used her zeal and intensity, and her impressive intellectual gifts, to bring the complexities of manic-depressive illness to the world's attention. Her work has helped save countless lives.

Author:Kay Redfield Jamison; Publisher:Picador, May 1997; 240 pages

HAPPY JANUARY BIRTHDAYS!

2008-12-31T11:14:00.002-05:00

HAPPY JANUARY BIRTHDAYS!

Happy Birthday to Janet who celebrates her special day on January 19th! May your day be wonderful and most of all, may there be many, many more!

Update to January book discussion!

2008-12-31T11:03:00.005-05:00

UPDATE TO JANUARY BOOK DISCUSSION!

NEW TIME & DATE: SAT. JANUARY 10, 9 A.M. EST

Janet would like everyone to know that the book discussions are open to everyone - please let Janet, Faith or Marla know if you're interested in attending as I believe there may be discussion topics emailed to folks before the 10th!

Just as a refresher the book is: 19 minutes by Jodi Picoult.

I've read it and it's an excellent book as most of hers are. You can't go wrong reading something by Jodi Picoult!

Happy New Year to all and may the book discussion be lively and well attended!

2008-12-06T23:29:00.003-05:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Word Rampage has so many visitors from all over the world and while we are a diverse community, there's come to be a friendship and strong bond between many members.

Keeping that in mind I'd like to wish all of our friends, visitors and their families a very happy holiday season! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Diwali or something different ~ may your celebrations be happy and may there also be many, many more!

BOOK CLUB NEWS!

2008-12-06T23:20:00.001-05:00

Book Discussion News!

Word is that the WR book discussion went well this Saturday, but will also be held again on December 10 at 8 a.m. EST so that some other members can attend. Just as a refresher the book being discussed is EAt, Laugh, Pray.

January's book will be:

19 Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

It is a novel about a teenager who endures years of bullying by schoolmates before going on a shooting rampage at his high school. This book will lead to discussions about many topics including bullying, peer pressure, school violence and prevention, and other moral and social issues.

Initial discussion for this book is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 3, at 9:00 a.m. EST.

(Note from Leap: I have read this book and most by Jodi Picoult and it is a great book! Would highly recommend it!)

Janet, thanks for the update and ladies, I hope a good time was had by all!

HAPPY NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS!

2008-11-22T17:56:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI, MLO & Rebeccacdm!!!

We have 3 November birthdays!

Lori's birthday is Nov. 23rd ~~ happiest returns to you with many more!

MLO's birthday is Nov. 24th ~~ blessed day to you & many more!

Rebeccacdm's birthday is Nov. 26th ~~ happy birthday & here's to lots more!

P.S. Apologizes from the blog mistress for mistakenly forgetting to add MLO's birthday at first. Sorry my friend!

P.P.S. Thanks to MLO for informing me about Rebeccacdm's special day also!

Change to book discussion date!

2008-10-31T20:55:00.001-04:00

The first book discussion has been changed to Saturday, Dec. 6 at 10 AM EST. Thanks all!

Marla's great idea!

2008-10-22T20:42:00.002-04:00

Marla's grrrrreat idea!

Marla had this awesome idea that maybe we could put a google-earth type map on the blog with a marker for people's locations! How cool is that? We can just glance and see people's lives that we've touched all over the world! It also might interest others in joining our little community.

So if you want your marker placed on the map please let one of us know. Marla is keeping a list and if you'd rather email, contact me: leapfrog0202@msn.com

Thanks ~~ and let's keep those great ideas coming!

Breaking news ~ 1st WordRampagers Meeting!

2008-10-17T01:31:00.008-04:00

1st IRL WordRampagers Meeting took place on 10/15/08!

Lots of excitement on the WR site lately as Anissa, Marla and Faith have recently met each other IRL (in real life in Leap/web shorthand). These 3 Rampagers were said to have had a great time together!

We're hoping this sets a precedent & many more IRL meetings are in our futures ~ shoot, Cross, Chr & our other non-USA located friends should start planning trips right now!

Book Discussion Group Anyone?

2008-10-02T01:35:00.003-04:00

Attention all readers!

Faith, Marla, Cross & Janet (mentioned in no particular order) were thinking of starting a book discussion group so if anyone is interested please continue reading!

This idea is still being tossed around but since I'm just the messenger I will let Faith's email to me do the "talking":

We would choose a book & on the first of every month, we would 'meet' at a prearranged time (we discussed 9 am est since we represent a wide range of time zones & that is just a time that Janet, Marla, Cross & I could make it fairly predictably - we are open to other ideas on time). We thought that others might want to join us. We would use the beginners room so we wouldn't annoy anyone who was playing the game.

The first book we want to read & discuss is

EAt, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Anyone interested please let Janet, Cross, Marla or Faith know. Or you can email me at: leapfrog0202@msn.com and I will pass along the message!

If this becomes something that is popular we can certainly find another "place" to have the discussions ~ more of a "chat" room so we don't use all WR's bandwidth, but this is a good starting place for now. Please come join the fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-01T02:05:00.002-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OCTOBER PLAYERS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASKED AVENGER! - 10/1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY L7 - 10/7

Hope you all enjoy your special days and thanks for joining our community here!

CALLING ALL WORDRAMPAGE FANS!

2008-09-21T00:18:00.002-04:00

CALLING ALL WORD RAMPAGE FANS!

This is Leap putting out a missing person's report, an APB & an Amber Alert ~~ please pay close attention as this is very important!

Missing Person: Mike - aka Cabana Boy aka Wordguy aka Bartender

Last Seen: August, 2008???

Description: Rather cute, middle-aged guy with brown hair & slow typing fingers.

PLEASE NOTE: His accomplice/web guru, JB has gone missing also. LE fear there is a conspiracy afoot to deprive addicted WordRampage fans of their updated website & the great fun enjoyed by all when these 2 guys with great personalities are missing from the very popular WR website.

Reward: None so far ~ updates as donations become available

Contact Number: 1-800-RAMPAGE

Please join our search team ~ we're planning to scour the web & those in the DC area will be scouring the clubs too! Contact Leap if you'd like to volunteer for web or club duty!

Happy Birthday!

2008-09-11T20:34:00.006-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAITH - 9/11 - 29 (again - shhhh)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERN - 9/11 - 40
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNA - 9/13 - 29 (see above! shhh)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CROSSEYED - 9/22 - 29 (+ 1 or 2 we think)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WORDMOMMA - 9/25 - 21 (or so we were told)

We'd like to start a birthday of the month club here so if anyone would like to be included, please email: leapfrog0202@msn.com and I'll add you!

We've become a rather tightknit community here and I think it would be fun to recognize each other's special days.

Thanks go to Mike for trusting me enough to give me access to the blog and to Cross for giving us a heads up about the birthdays.

CHR......YOU ARE IN OUR THOUGHTS!

2008-09-02T11:16:00.003-04:00

Leap reports that during the recent hurricane, CHR's brother had taken ill and is still in the hospital. Both Leap and Crosseyed asked that everyone keep CHR's brother in your prayers and they wrote the following. If anyone from Wordrampage.com would like to comment, I'm sure CHR would appreciate it.

From Leap (MaryAnn)

Chr,

Just wanted to let you know that I was very sorry to hear about your brother. I'm keeping him in my thoughts and prayers in hopes that he will recover soon and can come home from the hospital quickly.

I also have been thinking of you with the hurricaine coming through there and I hope no one in your family or you yourself sustained much damage. They're such terrible things and to come around the same time as your brother's problems.

I'm sorry I've been missing you when you've been here, but please always know we're your friends and are all thinking of you.

*hugs*
MaryAnn

From CROSSEYED

Chr,

Even though we have not met in person you have become part of a large network of people.
Through Wordrampage many of us have become close and have formed an extended chain of friends from all over the world.
Our online friendships are warm and we all look out for one another, with no thought of creed colour or race.
I want you to know that at this time you are in my thoughts and prayers.
I pray that your brother makes a speedy recovery and your heart is filled with the warmth of our friendship and our prayers.
We are here if you should need an ear
We are never far away
May peace and love surround you
With the dawning of the day
Just come on line my Rampette friend
relax your friends are there
And know that we pray for you
and we sincerely care.
With Warm Hugs
CROSSEYED

BREAKING NEWS*

2008-08-04T18:00:00.002-04:00

Ok, I just walked in to my office, looked at the board just to see how many people were playing wordrampage.com. As I'm ready to walk to walk out the door, I glance down at the last game results and see something I have never seen before......No, its not Crosseyed being funny, that obviously couldn't have happened!!! But, what I saw was a score of score of 194 points!!!!! And on only 94 different words!!! So, next time you see...............dorrit, make sure you congratulate her.

If anyone tops 195, write me a short email at mike@wordrampage.com and I'll put it on the blog!

Way to go dorrit!!!!

Here's Joni!!!

2008-08-03T15:39:00.003-04:00

She loves playing on wordrampage.com. We all love seeing her play here too. So, here's Joni!

Name: Joan (Joni)
Age: 63
City: Lisle, IL (Chicago suburb)
Married: 25 yr
Kids: Many nieces and nephews from age 6 to 36.
Grandkids: One great nephew Brody approaching 2 years. Love to visit with him
and his family in New York.
Interests: Word games and puzzles, sudoku
Travel - will visit India this fall to hike in Himalayas
Foreign languages and words in general.
Favorite things to do: Exercise classes at the health club and bicycling or hiking in the
forest preserves.
Reading- belong to 3 book clubs and love to relax reading mysteries
Photography - especially travel & nature. I've also done some
weddings for my family--a lot of work!!!!
Films - like the "art" ones best
I like to watch Tiger golf and enjoy the big tennis tournaments on TV.
Quote:
Make the most of yourself...for that is all there is of you (RW Emerson)
Anything else you would like to add?
Had a career in computer software. The first computer I worked with
had 4K of memory -- that is kilobytes!!!

You've Had Fun Playing Against Her, Except for Scott When He Loses to Her. Here's Catbelo!!

2008-08-03T00:58:00.010-04:00

OK, Cathy wants to join in the fun now, so here's catbelo:

Name: Cathy (aka Catbelo)
City: South Riding, VA
Married: yes, to JB!

Kids: Addison Claire (Addy)

Favorite things to do: Mommyhood, Spending time with JB (aka Superman) and Addy (and Chloe, of course!), my latest hobby photography (I love it so much I'm starting a business!), ...and playing wordrampage.com of course! (although Janet, Leap and CROSSEYED, you guys are ridiculously good! Thank God JB added the beginners room!)

Things to come...

2008-08-02T14:18:00.004-04:00

Now that we finally got the site moved over to the new server, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some of the enhancements we are planning to add. Some of these are easier to do than others, but they are all definitely able to be done:

Word List - show all possible words for the previous board
Show words each player got/missed from the previous board
bigger chat box
New rooms with 5x5 boards
Single player option, just in case someone wants to play all by their lonesome!
Highlight the tiles on the board as a word is being typed in
Ability to click on the tiles instead of typing the words in

Help me prioritize them by voting in the poll over to the top right of the page!

If there is anything else you would like to see added, please send me an email to jb@wordrampage.com!

Meet Dorrit

2008-08-02T02:26:00.007-04:00

Profiles, profiles, profiles. Keep em coming and I keep putting them up! Our next profile. She wins a lot of games here at wordrampage.com. Just in case you want to know who is beating you....Here's Dorrit!!!

Name: Amy Dorrit (aka Dorrit - word game freak)
Age: born Feb 18, 1952 - you can figure it out.
City: The Queen City of the Great Lakes and western terminus of the Erie Canal (aka Buffalo, NY)
Married: yes, to my husband Phil, since 1985.

Kids: Jim who is 19 going on 16 and Susie who is 13 going on 23.
Grandkids: no human grandchildren as of yet. but do consider a beloved dog named Rusty and a cat named Thai to be little bundles of destructive joy.
Interests: Love Jesus and my job as Preschool Director and Music Teacher. Love to learn especially about Christianity, education, language and local history. Love to travel and see new places. Love to create art and music and educational materials.

Favorite things to do: Just sit back and take in the world. I like to play a good, loaded wordrampage.com board and to play a mean game of tennis once in a while. Like to watch pro tennis too, and pose with people dressed like tennis balls.
Quote: I have to find it first. Can I add it later?

Dorrit and brother at Rogers Cup in Toronto

Daughter Susie shops for chair

Son Jim - study in composure

If You Want Great Seats to a George Michael Concert....Meet Donna at Wordrampage.com!

2008-07-31T16:35:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure why I'm even going to add Donna's profile onto this blog! Maybe because...ohhhh...I don't...but....maybe.....SHE ORDERED ME TO DO IT!!!!! That is apparently what she likes to do...boss men around. In the beginning at wordrampage.com, we had a bartender. He was a good bartender too. He gave all the people drinks, and did what a bartender was supposed to do. Have you noticed the bartender is no longer on duty at wordrampage.com? Thats because of Donna. She kept bossing him around, spilling her wine. The guy just quit, and we haven't been able to replace him since! But, thats ok. We still let Donna play here. But, that is only because the next time George Michael is in town for a concert...Donna is taking everyone and getting us front row seats!!! So, if you want to go, you might want to....Meet Donna!

Name: Donna
Age: 40
City: New York

Married:

Let's just say that I have been there & done that.

Kids:

Joseph, Jessica, Justin & James

Interests:

Well, I am obviously obsessed with boggle. Oh yeah, Scrabble & Upwords too. I love reading, shopping & gossip. I do love red wine, a good red wine, that is. There's nothing like a good french wine! Well, I could name one or two things...lol

Favorite things to do:

Sitting on the beach with a good book. Having a great poker game with my friends. Laughing, outings with my kids & enjoying life to the fullest.

Anything else you would like to add?

I am currently the manager of a major trucking company. The reason I chose to work for a trucking company is because the majority of the people that drive trucks are men & quite frankly, I like to boss men around! Lol!

Top L to R going clockwise: Joseph, Justin,

Jessica (with Spike) & James (with Daisey)

Sometimes Images Do Just as Well. Meet Vern!

2008-07-31T16:04:00.002-04:00

If you don't want to put a picture on our site, you don't have to. But, you better be able to draw. And apparently Vern can do one thing, and not do one thing. He can certainly draw, but he can not play against Murray on Wordrampage.com. So here is Vern!

Name: "Vern"
Age: Rapidly approaching the big 4-0.
City: Indianapolis, IN
Married: To "Murray," who borrowed our former cat's name for her Boggle name.
Kids: (Ages) 2, ages 7 and 4

Anything else you would like to add?
Vern's name isn't really Vern, and the drawing shown here doesn't really resemble him a whole lot.

Of course, it's not supposed to. It does, however, look EXACTLY like "Vern," the comic strip character that he drew for his college comic strip way back in the late '80s.

He sometimes dreams of the day when their family gets another decent Mac so that he and Murray can finally play on-line Boggle against each other and find out who's better.

Janet, Will You Tell Everyone, Cross is Here!!!

2008-07-31T11:48:00.011-04:00

Ok, Ok, Don't say I didn't warn you. This is going to be a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG profile. I would suggest you save this to read while you are curled up and tucked away for the winter. But, wait, in Australia, it is winter! So, I guess thats why CROSSEYED was able to write such a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG profile.

Here is our Top Ten List of Questions on the WordRampage.com site:

Number 10 - Who should be President of the US, McCain or Obama?
Number 9 - When is the price of gas and oil going to come down?
Number 8 - Is this country in a recession?
Number 7 - Will Brett Farve play football this year?
Number 6 - Who is Bill Clinton sleeping with now that Hilary has nowhere to go?
Number 5 - Did anybody see the Judge Judy video of the LA Earthquake on youtube.com? (Check it out)
Number 4 - How come whenever a problem comes up, Mike always says he is in marketing?
Number 3 - How exactly did Scott not win $1050 by not listening to his uncle?
Number 2 - Why does Mike believe Scott owes him $525 by not listening to him?
And the number one question on the wordrampage.com site is????
(drum roll please) Is CROSSEYED a man or a woman?

Alright, so now the truth is going to come out. The biggest question on our site, and what I would consider to be still open for debate is about to be answered. If you read this far, I was only trying to add some symmetry to the site considering how long Cross's profile is. And if anyone in the future asks if CROSSEYED is a man or woman, please don't tell them, just send them to the blog and make them endure this agony as much as you are!!! :) (One :) for all the above)

So, here is Cross!!!

Name: CROSSEYED (aka ~ Teresa)
1st Aussie Profile!

Age: VINTAGE.... I'm 42yrs

City: I was born and live Australia (and far away from Mike, thank goodness for that)

Married: Been with my husband Paul for 25years and married for 19years.
Looking forward to our retirement and travelling around Australia in our Motorhome!

Kids: I have two beautiful girls.....Sarah ~ 12yrs & Emily ~ 10yrs old

My two beautiful daughters, Sarah & Emily (must take after their father) with our two dogs, Conan the Staffy and Gypsy the Fox Terrier

Another photo of two of the most important people in my world.

Grandkids: Not just yet!!! and not for many years to come I hope.
Not that I don't want grandkids, but want my girls to enjoy life to the fullest before they
contemplate being a Mum!!

Interests: Number one on my Interest list lately is making life as hard as possible for Mike!!

I enjoy a number of interests.........Enjoying time with my family. I love word games obviously
if you hadn't already guessed, play tennis (okay so I go and make up the numbers for the
doubles set and stand on the court with a tennis racquet in my hand)!
Scrapbooking, reading (especially the dictionary lately),
drawing, spending quality time with my friends,
(yes Mike I do have friends, unlike you who has to ring Dial~a~friend)
I enjoy the Horse Racing, the theatre, and listening to all types of music!
I think that as time goes on my interests do change but the one thing that remains throughout is
smiling, laughing and trying not to take life too seriously (yes there are moments when that is necessary)
but I am of the opinion that Life is meant to be enjoyed,
you get one shot at it.........live for today, life is too short to be wasted!!

Favorite things to do: I love cold rainy days when I can curl up with a good book.
I love to walk along the beach paddling in the water and listen to the sound of the waves
and feel the sand between my toes.
I love to watch a heart wrenching movie in the comfort of my home, where,
if I want to cry like a baby out loud, I can!
I love to give Mike a hard time and know that his come backs are going to be pathetic!
I love to sit and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.
I love spending time with family and friends.
I love to Laugh! :)

Quote: "Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.
And we are never, ever the same."
(like the fact that I am now in therapy having met Mike!)

and this is for my new found boggle friends.........................

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."

Anything else you would like to add?
I was in the finance industry for many years until I stopped to start our family, I became a stay home Mum.
Paul started his own company about 2years ago and now I do the Books for the business and the general
office duties.....End of month statements, banking, debt collecting and the like.......
Official Title ~ Manager! Real Title ~ Major Dung Kicker!

The Flow of Profiles Continues!!! Meet Stepanie

2008-07-28T11:17:00.004-04:00

Here is our next wordrampage.com profile, Stephanie, who I believe plays under the name of Steph...except maybe when its late at night and she has to use a (Guest) name so her mother, Janet doesn't keep telling her to go to sleep! :) Just stay up all night and play wordrampage.com Steph! I'm sure you can find Scott talking your mother into just one more game in the wee hours of the morning!

So here is Stephanie!

Name: Stephanie
Age: 28
City: Baltimore, MD
Married: Not Married
Kids: No kids, just 2 cats - Tori and Pumpkin
Favorite things to do: Playing sports (I play softball and volleyball on local social leagues); Traveling; Watching movies and T.V.; reading murder mysteries
Quote: 2 of my favorite quotes - one is serious and one is just makes me laugh every time I hear it:

"Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of faith develops perseverance." -The Bible (James 1:2-3)

"I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!" - Dr. Evil in Austin Powers

Anything else you would like to add? After 9 long years of part-time college, I finally earned my Bachelor's Degree in May 2007 (I received my Associates in 2001). Then I passed my Human Resources certifications in December 2007. Oh yeah, member "Janet" is my mom. :)

Fort McHenry (where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner) in Baltimore, MD

My 2 cats Tori and Pumpkin.

We Are On A Roll!!! Meet Faith!

2008-07-28T10:49:00.004-04:00

Ok, you've seen her name. She's won a lot of games. She uses the name Faith on wordrampage.com, but her real name is.....Faith?

Thanks Faith for sending in your profile and pics. Its finally nice to have retired school psychologist. Now we have someone qualified who can tell Mike and CROSSEYED to play nice!!!

So here is Faith and her family!

Name: Faith (surprise!)
Age: 59
City: a tiny town south of Buffalo, NY, USA
Married: yep, to Lee for 36 years
Kids: Philip, 34, married and lives in California
Miranda, 31, married and lives in western NY (about 30 minutes from me)
Ben, 27, single and lives in Portland, Oregon
Grandkids:
4 grandbabies Zea, age 6, and Addie, age 2, live in California
Elspeth (aka Ellie), age 3, and Liam, age 5 months, live nearby

Interests:
kids, grandkids, reading, travel, Outer Banks and Cape Cod, church activities, friends, family
Favorite things to do:
spending time with the grandbabies (being the most fun gramma ever), reading a good book, planning a trip, laughing with friends, sunrise walks on the beach, emailing, watching TiVo (it's changed our TV watching) and movies, going to a baseball game or watching the Mets on TV, watching tennis, walks in the woods, being with my kids, and, obviously, playing Boggle. I'm also enjoying getting to know my fellow bogglers as we chat.
Quote:

Anything else you would like to add?
I'm retired from public education (school psychologist and special ed. administrator) and haven't been bored once since I retired. I still do some part time work and also keep an eye on my aging parents who live nearby.
I'm not computer literate, besides email and shopping,(I don't even know how to text on my phone)and chatting on boggle games has been my first foray into this sort of communication.

From L to R) Daughter-in-law Cindy, Addie, Miranda and baby Liam, Faith and Elspeth, and Philip with Zea in California strawberry fields

Lee and Faith at Haystack Rock on the northern Oregon coast

Ellie in front of Faith's house in the summer rain

Here's akaann!!!

2008-07-28T10:21:00.006-04:00

The Profiles Are Pouring In! Please be patient and I'll get yours up!! (hmmm, wonder if that will motivate people to send their profile in!!)

Ok, here's our second profile to be published. Thanks Bev......errrr....ann! :) Ok, so, here is the woman with NINE GRANDCHILDREN!!!!

Thanks again akaann!

Name: akaann (Bev)
Age: 63
City: Lincoln, NE
Married: 2 1/2 yrs
Kids: 1 Boy and 2 Girls

Grandkids: I have nine ankle biters. Five granddaughters and 4 grandsons, and love them all with a Grannies pride!!

Interests: Reading, playing word games, ( found out how poorly I play the game when I met Faith, Crosseyed, Janet and now Dorrit.) :) motorcycles, and many more things.

Favorite things to do: Jump on the Goldwing trike and with Jim (my hubby) sitting in the crow's nest, take off into the wind. Destination unknown, direction unknown until we hit the highway and only then do we decide on a direction. More fun that way and we have found some wonderful places and talked to some very interesting people with great stories to tell. :)

Spending time with my grandsons that live close to me. The other 6 live out state or out of state.

How Much Easier Can It Be?

2008-07-18T00:08:00.003-04:00

Well, the folks at WordRampage.com have made it soooooo easy for you to write up your own profile, even a caveman can do it. Why this is easier than getting 15 consonants and 1 vowel on the boggle board!

So, all you have to do is cut and paste the info below into an email. And send a pic or two to mike@wordrampage.com. We'll put it up on the blog and as you learn more about everyone, they can learn more about you.

Name:
Age:
City:
Married: (How Long?)
Kids: (Ages)

Grandkids:(Write as much as you want)

Interests:

Favorite things to do:

Quote:

Anything else you would like to add?

Our Very First Profile - leap

2008-07-17T23:24:00.006-04:00

Well, finally after begging some of you, I can now thank leap for being the first person to provide her profile. But, this is good having leap first, because she is the one who told a lot of you about wordrampage.com

Who's next? Come on, not everyone at once!!!

Here's a picture of leap's
Son-in-law Ken and Her Grandson Tyler

Name: MaryAnn
Age: 48
City: Albuquerque, NM
Married: Yes - 28 years
Kids: 2 married daughters - 1 is 27 and 1 is 26.
Grands: YES! The best little sweetie in the world! Born on my birthday in 2003 he lives in North Pole, Alaska with his mom and dad. Other daughter lives in Montana.
Interests: Word games and many others both on and offline, chatting online with friends and family, voracious reader of almost everything but Sci-Fi, Westerns and military - type war books.
Travel is another interest - thus my job that allows me to travel a lot! On my travels I've met about 10 people in real life that I've known from online and had nary a bad experience with that. It's lots of fun to see if the online personality jives with the "real" thing!
Big favorites: Being with our wonderful grandson and if not that, talking to him on the phone is a substitute, although not the best one. Curling up with a good book on a rainy day...bubble baths with a good book, a glass of iced tea and the phone nearby...trying new restaurants with Bill, one of the most patient men in the world...and just relaxing and being lazy.
Questions: Ask away - I'm pretty open and honest!

Thankfully leap continues to lead the pack in pics and profiles!

Here are few more pics of leap, (MaryAnn), and her husband Bill, and the rest of her family.

leap and her husband Bill in Sedona

Tyler at his Aunt Sky's wedding

leap's Family - Bill, Nicky, Ken with Tyler, Sky, and Aaron

Who Are JB and Mike?

2008-07-14T11:25:00.005-04:00

Well, we would like to say that we are internet tycoons, but that might be a bit premature. But, we did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night! Just not in the same room!

But seriously, hmmm, did I really say seriously!!! We have had a great time meeting everyone and playing boggle online with everyone, so thanks as always for playing at our site. We always talk about improving WordRampage and hopefully you have seen the changes. Many of the recommendations come from the different new friends we have met. We want to make WordRampage a fun community, that is exciting, competitive, and addictive.

So, we thought we would tell you a little about us.

If you want to tell some of the others about yourself, that would be great! If you want to post a picture of yourself and write a little about yourself, we'll be happy to add it to the blog. Just write it up and email it to Mike at mike@wordrampage.com. I'll cut and paste and add it to the blog! It will be fun to get to know more about everyone. I just don't check that email all the time, so mention to me that you sent it. You can add a few pictures if you want, and I'll give you your own blog post!

JB is 32, and a consultant who lives in South Riding, VA, which is in Fairfax, and is married to Cathy, who also plays wordrampage.com under the name Catbelo.

They have a daughter named Addy. Here's a picture of JB and Addy. Apparently Cathy must have been glued to the computer playing boggle online at wordrampage.com and couldn't be in this picture! :)

Mike is 49, and owns his own business. He lives in Lorton, VA,
also in Fairfax. He's single and has one son, Zach , who is 13.

He has corrupted his nephew, Scott, who is also friends with JB, into playing boggle at wordrampage.com You might also find his sister Marilyn playing here too.

Thats us! Send us your pic or pics, and write up and you can be the star of the next Wordrampage Blog!!! (Unless I beat you to it when something else comes to my mind that I need to write!)

Why WordRampage?

2008-07-04T08:13:00.002-04:00

After meeting with JB, and putting the "contract" napkin into my fireproof box, since I was sure all of the arsonists that JB hired were out to find my house to burn up that napkin and if my house went up, well that was too bad. As long as the napkin was gone, JB would be happy having full ownership to this online boggle site! :) Just kidding JB. I trust you implicitly. However I find myself moving at nights and sleeping by day just so you can't find me, just in case! LOL

Sorry for getting off on that tangent. Back to the night of our meeting. I spent some time that night coming up with some website names. Knowing something about trademark law, I knew we couldn't use Boggle in the name. But, I also knew that we really didn't want to use Boggle in our name. We wanted to create our own brand. We didn't want to limit our free, fun, exciting, competitive, addictive, and a way to end boredom site to just having a Boggle game. But, it had to have a .com ending. While wordrampage.com may not be the best, it was available as a .com name. And, it sounded good. And the definition of rampage sort of fit the dichotomy of what a game of boggle is like at times. Here are some definitions:

1.	violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive.

2.	a state of violent anger or agitation: The smallest mistake sends him into a rampage. The river has gone on a rampage and flooded the countryside.

–verb (used without object)

3.	to rush, move, or act furiously or violently: a bull elephant rampaging through the jungle.

Sure, you could argue that maybe a bull elephant rampaging through the jungle, has nothing to do with an online boggle game. And you probably would be arguing with yourself. Because I'm not going to be the devil's advocate and take that other side!!! But, here is a hint if anyone reads this other than maybe leap :) btw leap, thanks for the nice comment on my last entry! Anyway back to the bull elephant. Guess what, I checked all of the screen names, and THAT one is still available. So, I would suggest you register it while you can!!! It won't last forever, unless no-one reads this post! :) I guess even if the whole world, or every boggle playing addict read this site, that name still could last forever! :)

Below are a few other site names that I came up with that we didn't use. If you like any of these, feel free to get them.

Thanks for reading this and thanks for playing wordrampage.com!

wordslolam.com - This sort of describes the game pretty well. Definition of Slolam-

"any winding or zigzag course marked by obstacles or barriers"

threeminuteaddict.com

Some .net sites

How the heck did we come up with this crazy idea for an online boggle type game!

2008-07-03T12:34:00.002-04:00

So I feel that to start this blog, I should mention that I'm 49 and never played boggle until about 4 months ago. I don't know if that makes me a loser or a big loser! But, anyway, I have this nephew who was friends with this guy JB and I've known JB for years too and became friends by playing poker with him.

So, this one day around the beginning of June 2008, the three of us met for lunch and JB's talking about all these websites that he has, and how he can do almost anything. Now, I've owned my own business, which is a drycleaning chemical company, for more than ten years and marketing is my background, so after hearing about all of JB's websites which mostly seem to center around poker, (my favorite being his top ten women of poker site), I tell him I've been playing this game boggle. And I also mention that it is addicting! So, right there, JB and I sign a contract on a napkin at this chicken wing place and agree to start a word game site like boggle.

I can't remember if JB ever played boggle before then or not, or even knew what it was. But, he was about to find out fast!!! LOL

So that was the start of this crazy idea to start a free online boggle type of word game.