2005 O.HENRY Judges
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2005 O.HENRY Judges
2005 JUDGES
Introducing the judges:
Stan Kegel
Dr. Stan Kegel didn't invent the Kegel exercises, but he does exercise his readers' laugh muscles while splitting their ribs and their funnybones with his daily humorous (or is that humerus?) E-mailings on punny and funny subjects. Recently retired from medicine but never to retire from mirth, our Stan is the Stan-dard by which...um, by whom all other pun-docs are measured. Stan, who's returning for his 6th year as a Pun-Off judge, was honored as Punster of the Year in 2000 by the International Save the Pun Foundation and is a well-loved member of the PUNY YahooGroup, though there's nothing puny about Stan's accomplishments. Even during his prestigious career as a pediatric cardiologist, (a heart job to beat), Stan devoted most of his "spare" time to his many email pun lists, including:
* "Puns": <puns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> (Essentially the same as "Groaners". Both include "Puns of the Day")
* "Puns of the Day": <puns-of-the-day-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
(Includes "Jest for Kids" & "Humerus News")
* "Shaggy Dogs Stories": <shaggydog-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> (For masochists only)
* "Jest For Kids": <jest4kids-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> (for children 6 to 14)
* "Humerus News": <punsinthenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> (just the current news)
For "Groaners" or "Puns", Stan recommends subscribing to the digest rather than individual mailings.
Stan up and cheer for Stan
Lenore Newsom
Lenore Newsom first won the Pun-Off only one month after moving to Austin in 1982. Currently retired from competition as 3-time winner in High-Lies & Low Puns, her place in history is secure as first woman to claim either of our prestigious titles. A former Michener Fellow, she holds a Master's degree in Creative Writing from UT. As a founding member of P.U.N.Y. she actually wrote the first draft of our Rules of Competition in 1990. Now married to her pun coach, Tommy, she happily resides in suburbia as the mother of Jake, owner of Bed & Biscuit Kennel and confines her writing to occasional witty and scathing letters to customer service people. I believe this is her 4thtime to sit on our judge panel. Her automobile license plate reads, "LV-2-PUN."
Shannon Sedwik
Shannon Sedwick is the "Mama" of Esther's Follies, the Capital City's most Austin-tatious nitespot. After many years on 6th Street the club still rocks weakly with raucous musical social satire and witty topical revues. No, we didn't say "tropical," though sometimes the material is too hot to (pan)handle. As a co-founder of the group nearly 30 years ago, Shannon found her calling and is happy the group has done far from founder. Though known for her Patsy Cline imitation, she's no patsy herself and brings her critical eye as a comedy producer to her return engagement (but no wedding ring) as our Pun-Off judge and "Comb-Humming Queen."
Norman Gilbert
For as long as anyone dares to recall, Norman has been an inveterate and unabashed punster and linguistic gamester. When John Crosbie, founder of The International Save the Pun Foundation, died in 1994, Norman negotiated with his family to continue John's wordwhile work in publishing the monthly newsletter, THE PUNDIT. Having travailed all the way from Canada, Norm is still a Pun-Off virgin. We trust his judgment, even though his scores may leave some contestants wondering what the judge meant. As the old saying goes, "Judge not, lest ye be conscripted to work at the Pun-Off." Norman is always quick to quote the ISTPF motto, "A day without puns is like a day without sunshine. There's gloom for improvement." This is Norman's first time in Austin so don't trip him up. He's got no place Toronto and no place to hide. |
