Random Thread: March 2016

Flying Crooked
by Robert Graves

~
The butterfly, a cabbage-white,
(His honest idiocy of flight)
Will never now, it is too late,
Master the art of flying straight,
Yet has — who knows so well as I? —
A just sense of how not to fly:
He lurches here and here by guess
And God and hope and hopelessness.
Even the aerobatic swift
Has not his flying-crooked gift.

Date: February 29, 2016

Author: Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Categories: At the Top of the Blog, Random craziness

Comments RSS TrackBack 172 comments

1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in February 29th, 2016 @ 21:04

The March random thread and poem are open for business!

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oxlin

in February 29th, 2016 @ 21:12

Repeating this question from February: “I know Fiddlerâ€™s met all four GAPAs. Has anyone else? Iâ€™ve met Paul and Robert, so Iâ€™m halfway there!”

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2.1

KaiYves

in February 29th, 2016 @ 21:58

I’ve met Robert and Roseanne, I think.

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2.1.1

Midnight Fiddler

in February 29th, 2016 @ 22:17

Didn’t you meet Rebecca too? I thought she was there when we met with Pan and THF and Robert.

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2.1.1.1

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in March 1st, 2016 @ 17:58

Yes, I was there.

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KaiYves

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 00:55

Whoops, Rebecca, not Roseanne. I don’t sleep much.

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2.2

Rainbow*Storm

in March 1st, 2016 @ 13:38

I’ve known the GAPAs longer than any of my IRL friends and never met them. Internet’s a weird place.

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3

Midnight Fiddler

in February 29th, 2016 @ 21:48

Hello, hello! Speaking of kokonventions and meeting GAPAs, we got too caught up in everything going on to make a post, but I spent the weekend with Rebecca! Also in attendance was a friend I know through Paul, and one of Rebecca’s friends, John, who’s made guest appearances here on the blog as a bluegrass expert, I think. Fairly loosely kokon-ish, but the spirit of the thing, friendship, weirdness, and enthusiasm, was all very muserly. And I did wear my Mostly Harmless shirt on one of the days, at least!
We talked and laughed and played tons of music and ate good food and it was generally flamablamablous.

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3.1

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in March 1st, 2016 @ 18:17

Looks like a kokonvention to me.

Left to right: Lady Bunniful, Midnight Fiddler, and Gabriela the Ukulele Lady (emissary from Paul Baker)

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3.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 08:56

“The folks in the crowd/ Say ‘They’re laughing too loud,/ And they don’t look mostly harmless to me!'”

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3.2

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in March 1st, 2016 @ 18:28

The photo marked the end of 12 straight hours of playing music (or in my case, sketching the musicians and audience).

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3.3

Paul Baker (Administrator)

in March 3rd, 2016 @ 14:57

If I can’t be there, I like to send a loony by proxy.

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3.3.1

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in March 4th, 2016 @ 20:08

You chose well.

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3.3.2

Midnight Fiddler

in March 5th, 2016 @ 17:40

She’s a delightful one!

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3.3.2.1

Paul Baker (Administrator)

in March 7th, 2016 @ 08:52

I thought she might be appreciated.

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4

Lizzie

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 08:18

Today’s work agenda: Two morning kid’s shows (morning concerts are awful) involving 2000 kids in the audience playing recorder.

I don’t know what I did in a previous life, but I’m very very sorry for it.

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4.1

Paul Baker (Administrator)

in March 3rd, 2016 @ 15:00

At least they’re learning SOMETHING, even if the result is excruciating. And they might just come to more concerts.

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4.1.1

Midnight Fiddler

in March 5th, 2016 @ 17:41

You’re just partial to recorders.

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4.1.1.1

Paul Baker (Administrator)

in March 7th, 2016 @ 08:51

They have their place.

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4.2

YYS12

in March 6th, 2016 @ 19:51

I have sadly been a recordor kid.

All I remember musical wise on the recorder is figuring out how to play the first 3 notes of “Linus and Lucy”

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5

KaiYves

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 12:01

Scott Kelly has returned to Earth, but his headline was stolen by politicians.

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5.1

oxlin

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 12:13

What do you mean stolen by politicians? Did the politicians say something about him?

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5.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 12:22

I think KaiYves means that news of Kelly’s return was buried in an avalanche of headlines about people running for President.

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oxlin

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 12:25

Aha! Yeah, election cycles tend to take over the news in general, but I bet Scott Kelly had some headlines! It was a really cool study that he was doing.

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KaiYves

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 12:51

Yeah, I meant that I was hoping to see him on today’s front pages, but the Wall Street Journal had nothing and the New York Times was all election stuff above the fold (which was all I could see in the newspaper box, but there might have been something further down the front page.) Then again, they landed around 11:30 Eastern, and I don’t know if the morning papers were already printed by then. So maybe tomorrow if something bigger doesn’t happen. *knocks on wood*

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KaiYves

in March 2nd, 2016 @ 23:07

Wait… does Lapras have a horn because the “gargoyle head” photo that was supposed to show the Loch Ness Monster (but was really just a tree stump and creative image processing) showed it as having horns? I swear I never really thought about why the Pokemon would have a horn when plesiosaurs didn’t until today.

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bookgirl_me

in March 3rd, 2016 @ 13:34

I love this month’s poem!

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KaiYves

in March 4th, 2016 @ 13:31

The author of this book has managed to maintain suspense about who lived and who died for almost a hundred pages, but on Page 98, he says he interviewed two people after the events described, meaning we know they lived. Why break the suspense there?

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KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 01:03

My six-year-old self is jumping with joy because I just learned that a prototype amphibious motorcycle was unveiled back in the fall that can go 55 miles per hour on water and converts between land and water modes in five seconds. They say it’s production-ready, but there’s no announced price yet or timeframe for it to be sold.

But still! I think I’ve told this story a few times here, but back in first grade, we had an assignment where we were supposed to draw “your 21st century invention” (because it was going to be the 21st century in a few months and all that), and I said I wanted a motorcycle that turned into a jet ski.

So, six-year-old me predicted a real 21st century invention.

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9.1

oxlin

in March 7th, 2016 @ 01:06

In elementary school I predicted the smartphone! I drew a pocket computer that was also a telephone and camera.

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9.2

The Plaid Turtle

in March 7th, 2016 @ 01:14

You should contact the Department of Ideas. Randall Munroe tells me they do a good job.

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9.2.1

KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 01:28

Oh, I wouldn’t want any of the profits, in fact, I’ll donate money to the company if it means they can get it into production faster.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 7th, 2016 @ 05:46

Can you buy their stock?

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9.2.1.1.1

KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 12:56

I guess probably.

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KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 13:03

I have an idea for a fanfic for a canon where most of the main action of the plot is unknown to the public at large, except for a few events that are just considered mysterious. The story would be a fictional story written in-universe by a writer who was inspired by the “mysterious” events to write a story offering a fictional explanation– but of course, en doesn’t know any of the details of what really happened, so it’s very different from the real story. Would this be too much like original fiction to be a proper fanfic?

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10.1

Cat's Meow

in March 7th, 2016 @ 22:49

I wouldn’t worry too much about the distinction. A lot of good fanfic that becomes well-known is actually rather original fiction anyways. The concept sounds cool!

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11

KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 19:35

Robert, if I could trouble you for another scan from fin-de-siecle Science, I’m really curious about the rest of the letter “Facts About Tornadoes” that begins on page 269 of the issue for May 2, 1890.

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oxlin

in March 7th, 2016 @ 20:52

Hey Robert, Rebecca, Rosanne, Paul, and everyone else (in approximately that order. This probably won’t actually apply to Paul but I was on a GAPA-roll.)

Does anyone know anyone at the Museum of Math in NYC? Let me know if you do. Thanks!

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12.1

KaiYves

in March 7th, 2016 @ 22:36

It’s a quick walk to there from where I live, I could probably go and ask someone a specific question if you have one.

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12.1.1

oxlin

in March 7th, 2016 @ 22:57

Not exactly what I need, but thanks for offering.

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12.1.1.1

KaiYves

in March 8th, 2016 @ 17:23

I could also ask for contact info, tomorrow’s my day off.

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12.2

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 8th, 2016 @ 13:14

Oxlin,

Oddly, I seem not to know anyone currently at MoMath. I know people who know people there, but that’s all.

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12.2.1

oxlin

in March 13th, 2016 @ 22:38

I called them on Friday! HOpefully my message will get through.

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Cat's Meow

in March 7th, 2016 @ 22:57

Several more of my comments got consumed by the spam filter.

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13.1

YYS12

in March 8th, 2016 @ 05:22

Maybe your the Spam Filter’s meow!

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13.2

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 8th, 2016 @ 09:45

I have no idea why our spam filter keeps picking on you, Cat’s Meow. Sorry!

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13.2.1

Cat's Meow

in March 9th, 2016 @ 02:54

I wonder if it has something to do with the very old email address that I’m still using for posting because it’s the one I’ve always used here. I checked that account last night, and it turns out someone who speaks Indonesian created a [social media] account using my email two years ago – and I use that account infrequently enough that I never noticed. Oops. I wonder if they were doing nefarious things else-Internet that somehow got my email blacklisted.

I’m logging in now to see if that helps.

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KaiYves

in March 8th, 2016 @ 22:41

Who else is watching a livestream of the solar eclipse from one of the areas in the shadow-path?

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14.1

KaiYves

in March 9th, 2016 @ 10:47

It was really cool! The totality was shorter than I expected, but it was still so pretty (and I was playing Brian Eno’s “Ascent- An Ending”, which really fit well). The hosts reminded me that next August will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the US mainland in almost 40 years, so I really want to take a trip with my family next summer…

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Cat's Meow

in March 10th, 2016 @ 02:01

My astrophysicist boyfriend’s birthday is August 24th, so he’s already told me that we’re taking a road trip to southern Illinois next summer to see it. Maybe you and I will both end up there!

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14.1.1.1

Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in March 10th, 2016 @ 23:48

I am so excited for that one!! I’m hopefully going to be visiting my parents so we’ll be able to see it!

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14.1.2

KaiYves

in March 11th, 2016 @ 00:30

Eclipse Kokon?

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Catwings

in March 9th, 2016 @ 18:59

I am writing a first-person story about this person who is basically two people in one. They have two different minds inside them, yet both minds speak individually. Is this possible in first person? How would the format be for dialogue between the two if they are both one person speaking from a first person perspective?

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The Plaid Turtle

in March 9th, 2016 @ 19:38

Like Smaegul in the first person? Hey, I like that idea. I think you could definitely do it, but you would need to characterize the different tones, and separating by chapter would help distinguished them too. Good luck!

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The Plaid Turtle

in March 9th, 2016 @ 19:40

Oops, sorry. SMEAGOL.

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15.2

KaiYves

in March 9th, 2016 @ 20:28

Maybe write the different “voices” in different fonts? Like one in italics and one in standard text? Or bold?

“We need to get home right away.”

*”No, we can stay a little longer.”*

“No, we can’t.”

*”Yes, we can. I’m in control right now and I say we stay.”*

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KaiYves

in March 9th, 2016 @ 21:54

Is there an Internet law to describe how the comments in any discussion of Ellen McArthur justify wanting to spend a few months alone on a boat yourself just to get away from the idiocy?

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16.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 10th, 2016 @ 09:28

That’s how I usually end up feeling when I visit the Internet outside MuseBlog. No wonder we named part of this place the Oasis.

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16.1.1

KaiYves

in March 10th, 2016 @ 19:13

I just don’t understand how she earns so much ire simply for being a woman and a very good sailor.

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in March 10th, 2016 @ 17:41

Finished binge-watching season 4 of House of Cards. Not quite in one sitting, but almost (over a few days). Does anyone else follow this series?

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KaiYves

in March 10th, 2016 @ 20:27

Would it be offensive if I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on External Blogging Site by posting about record-setting space things and called it “Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Guinness (World Records)”?

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 11th, 2016 @ 03:06

I don’t see why it would be, especially as the brewing company created the books.

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18.1.1

KaiYves

in March 11th, 2016 @ 11:57

Well, I don’t want to seem like I’m reinforcing the “Irish people are alcoholics” stereotype.

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18.1.1.1

The Plaid Turtle

in March 11th, 2016 @ 13:38

I think that stereotype has been reinforcing itself, actually.

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Jadestone

in March 11th, 2016 @ 18:02

believe me, in Ireland, no one was happier about the “Irish drink so much” sterotype as every single irish person I befriended

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YYS12

in March 13th, 2016 @ 17:52

Pi day tommorow! I have made a shirt. And maybe decorated old jeans.

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oxlin

in March 13th, 2016 @ 22:58

Nice! Will you have any pi(e)?

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oxlin

in March 13th, 2016 @ 22:38

Hey GAPAs, does anyone know anything about Quanta Magazine? It seems neat. In any case, I recommend it. It has a bunch of math articles online, as well as other science-related articles!

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KaiYves

in March 14th, 2016 @ 00:03

Are they related to a certain Australian airline?

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oxlin

in March 14th, 2016 @ 00:42

I doubt it.

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bookgirl_me

in March 14th, 2016 @ 08:31

I just started reading it now- looks interesting!

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 14th, 2016 @ 09:32

Quanta’s writers are some of the best in the business. I heartily second Oxlin’s recommendation.

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oxlin

in March 14th, 2016 @ 13:22

I was excited to see a high proportion of math articles!

Any other magazines you’d recommend?

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Cat's Meow

in March 14th, 2016 @ 13:37

Have you ever read Smithsonian magazine? It reminds me a lot of adult Muse, with a wide variety of science, history, and culture articles, written for an educated general audience.

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oxlin

in March 14th, 2016 @ 14:07

I’ve picked up a couple of them, on the theory that it would be adult Muse given that they were one of the influencers of Muse! It was pretty good. I’m looking for stuff online though.

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KaiYves

in March 16th, 2016 @ 18:46

Smithsonian is very good, albeit somewhat less humorous than Muse. (There is some humor sometimes, especially in clever turns of phrase, but not as much as in Muse.)

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 14th, 2016 @ 13:39

How about a blog? Some excellent people write for “The Last Word on Nothing” (www . lastwordonnothing . com).

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oxlin

in March 14th, 2016 @ 14:07

I’ll check it out, thanks!

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 16th, 2016 @ 18:01

Oxlin,

Another recently launched online science magazine worth investigating is Undark (undark. org) (@undarkmag). Again, some fine writers are working for it.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 14th, 2016 @ 11:15

Happy Pi Day, everybody! How are you celebrating? (I’m planning to do it in the obvious, delightful way.)

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KaiYves

in March 14th, 2016 @ 12:46

J.’s college girlfriend just got home and will be staying with us for Spring Break. Once they get back from seeing the town, we will all go out together for pie.

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KaiYves

in March 14th, 2016 @ 20:39

The pie was very good, we drew a Pi symbol on it in red food coloring and played some Pi-themed songs.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 14th, 2016 @ 20:58

Pi-themed songs? Like “I Get Around” and “Circle Game”?

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KaiYves

in March 14th, 2016 @ 21:55

No, just two songs that were the digits sung to different beats.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 15th, 2016 @ 09:57

I wonder whether any songs start with words containing the number of letters in each successive digit of pi. Maybe I’ll have to write one. Hm… “How I love a happy basketful of snakes…”

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KaiYves

in March 15th, 2016 @ 11:29

Rhyming could be hard, but a non-rhyming poem with that pattern would be interesting.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 15th, 2016 @ 12:21

Come on, it’s a song. It ain’t worth a dime if it ain’t got that rhyme.

The real challenge will be fitting in all those eight- and nine-letter words.

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Jadestone

in March 15th, 2016 @ 13:06

Come now! Surely I am not the only one who remembers our history with Caediac Cadenza?

“Poe, E.
Near A Raven

Midnights so dreary, tired and weary,
Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.
During my rather long nap–the weirdest tap!
An ominous vibrating sound disturbing my chamber’s antedoor.
‘This,’ I whispered quietly, ‘I ignore.'”

Also: snakes ♥

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 15th, 2016 @ 13:48

Wow, ten years ago. That’s ancient history!

“Near a Raven” has been reprinted on MuseBlog several times, but you were the first:

https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=224#comment-19385

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Jadestone

in March 15th, 2016 @ 21:37

oh now I feel old D: And 10 years since that post specifically, I hope at least it wasn’t in the mag TOO long before then or I’ll really feel the cruel press of time…

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Midnight Fiddler

in March 14th, 2016 @ 19:27

Happy Pi day! I unfortunately don’t have any pie, but I did get some cream puffs from the bakery so my parents and I can continue to be the worst vegans on record.

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Kittymine, OSW

in March 14th, 2016 @ 21:39

Before the day is over, I must get these in:

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Lizzie

in March 15th, 2016 @ 09:56

beware!

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 15th, 2016 @ 10:01

Thanks for the warning, Lizzie! But the GAPA shall forth. The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Robert, they are vanished.

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Kittymine, OSW

in March 15th, 2016 @ 10:11

Currently enjoying flashbacks to 9th grade English class, where our teacher had us act out scenes, but stopped us right at “Speak hands for me”, because she did not want us to act out the murder of Caesar. I think the girl playing Caesar was rather relieved.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 15th, 2016 @ 10:27

When I played Caesar, I got to skip the assassination scene, too.

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KaiYves

in March 15th, 2016 @ 11:42

Who else heard that in The Box Ghost’s voice?

“I am The Boooooox Ghost! Beware the Ides of Maaaaarch! They have nothing to do with boooooxes, but… beware!”

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KaiYves

in March 15th, 2016 @ 22:10

The subtitles on External Video Site (The Near-Universal One) are bad enough in English, but the translated ones are really something else entirely… Trying to watch documentaries in French is an exercise in frustration.

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25.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 16th, 2016 @ 14:17

You know, I’d been thinking about relaxing MuseBlog’s hoary taboo about mentioning YouTube, Facebook, etc., but I’ve changed my mind. The euphemisms you all come up with are too entertaining.

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25.1.1

Rainbow*Storm

in March 16th, 2016 @ 16:46

If I’ve been on any social network long enough I eventually just call it ï»¿the [Website Color] Hellscape.

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25.1.1.1

KaiYves

in March 16th, 2016 @ 18:43

That must get confusing, given that so many of them are blue.

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25.1.2

fireh

in March 22nd, 2016 @ 16:55

I think my personal favorite is when I started calling FB the “Voldemort Site” (the Site-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named).

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 23rd, 2016 @ 07:45

Or “Voldynet,” as it came to be called.

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KaiYves

in March 19th, 2016 @ 11:46

For most of the past week, I’ve been drawing up characters for a story about an international sporting event. I never realized just how many cliches and pitfalls there are to avoid in such a story… so far, the American is the quiet one, the Canadian is the aggressive one, and the strongest athlete is French and the favorite to win but not a Condescending Jerk Competitor.

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Catwings

in March 20th, 2016 @ 10:17

I just changed my art style. I feel like a new person.

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27.1

KaiYves

in March 20th, 2016 @ 16:02

What was it like before and what is it like now?

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27.1.1

Catwings

in March 20th, 2016 @ 18:18

Before it was kinda more anime-ish. At least that’s what I was going for. But then I found out that more of a cartoony Disney style was more fun to work with and it looked better.

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KaiYves

in March 21st, 2016 @ 10:48

I had a kind of disorganized style until a few years ago, it got’s gotten much nicer-looking since I read a how-to-draw book on retro cartoons and added a lot of elements from there.

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27.1.1.1.1

ibcf

in March 21st, 2016 @ 20:21

Old cartoons are the best cartoons! I think one of the best ways to learn is to copy drawings of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and the like.

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27.1.1.1.1.1

KaiYves

in March 22nd, 2016 @ 06:59

This is more of an angular style than the Disney style, which is “lollipop art”, but I agree.

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ibcf

in March 21st, 2016 @ 14:42

Hey does anyone here know anything about fuzzy logic? I’m doing an animation for a fuzzy logic conference, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to visualize the process in a way that can be universally understood.

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28.1

KaiYves

in March 21st, 2016 @ 19:04

The logic quite a few popular figures use to make their conclusions seems a bit fuzzy to me, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

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28.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 21st, 2016 @ 19:30

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 21st, 2016 @ 22:08

A few old-timers might remember that fuzzy logic was part of the curriculum at Muse Academy. It was discussed briefly but amusingly on the December 2010 random thread. I’ll bet some of the participants know a lot more about it now.

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28.1.2.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 24th, 2016 @ 14:24

(By the way, the random-thread discussion inspired a pie-winning Stupid Senseless Smiley Story at https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=6391#comment-393719 .)

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KaiYves

in March 22nd, 2016 @ 19:35

“Schoolwork? What is schoolwork? Some silly little distraction from applying for internships and grants?” -Parents

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YYS12

in March 23rd, 2016 @ 18:08

I saw someone wearing a Hot Pink Bunny sweatshirt at a QB tournament.
Just out if curiosity, did the editors at Muse come up with the design of the HPB, or did they use a stock image or clip art or something of that nature?

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30.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 24th, 2016 @ 08:58

YYS12, the bunnies originally came from an obscure Japanese font that I’ve never been able to install. But the Muse editors turned them pink. Did the T-shirt look like any of the designs in our Cafe Press store (http://www.cafepress.com/musery/2071581)?

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30.1.1

YYS12

in March 24th, 2016 @ 15:24

Yes it did!
Thanks for the info!
Another question: Why bunnies? And why hot pink?

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30.1.1.1

Kittymine, OSW

in March 24th, 2016 @ 21:53

Here’s the short-ish version:

Muse did two issues, one about dogs and one about cats. Immediately, the letters to the editor section was flooded with letters by readers professing their undying love for either felines or canines. It got to a point of such insanity that the editors instituted the practice of cutting out sentences like “Cats are sooooooo totally the very best, I love cats, why on earth would you like dogs, cats are clearly superior, etc.” and replace the sentences with hot pink bunny symbols. (This led, for a brief period, to the institution of several other symbols, such as the Eye of Sauron, to replace things/convey meaning, to the point that there was a key of symbols in the letters section. But that’s another story).
The Musebloggers of the time saw these hot pink bunnies and said, “Clearly something is very wrong. Bunnies the color of pepto bismol? That’s not natural.” The Musebloggers declared that these bunnies were clearly trying to take over, and so the creativity began. And this launched the terror of the Evil Hot Pink Bunnies, which shaped many a thread on this blog: Off With Their Heads – The Origins and Culture of HPBs, 5 parts; Bunny Melee; and of course Bunny Apocalypse and Bunny Apocalypse: The Next Generation.
Great fun was had by all, long after the hot pink bunnies disappeared from the pages of Muse. I was actually introduced to Museblog via Bunny Apocalypse (hence my avatar).

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30.1.1.1.1

Kittymine, OSW

in March 24th, 2016 @ 22:00

Oh, and Bunny Apocalypse Rebooted, but the Reboot fizzled relatively quickly.

Also, that should be “and replacing the sentences with hot pink bunny symbols” at the end of the 4th line in the 1st paragraph (currently says replaced).

Once an editor, always an editor.

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30.1.1.1.2

KaiYves

in March 24th, 2016 @ 22:40

HBPs are not the color of Pepto-Bismol, Pepto-Bismol is more pastel (the packaging is just a little bit paler but the tablets are several shades paler.)

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30.1.1.1.2.1

Kittymine, OSW

in March 27th, 2016 @ 22:14

Point (why do I remember peptol bismol being used as an adj?). A better descriptor would be magenta. Like magenta azaleas.

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30.1.1.1.3

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 25th, 2016 @ 06:30

There was nothing like Muse. *wistful*

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31

Agent Lightning

in March 23rd, 2016 @ 20:15

The school orchestra read my piece today! It was really cool! They said they liked playing it!

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31.1

KaiYves

in March 23rd, 2016 @ 20:24

Congrats, that’s great!

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31.2

Selenium the Quafflebird

in March 24th, 2016 @ 10:32

Exciting! Well done!

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32

KaiYves

in March 24th, 2016 @ 22:46

So there’s going to be a solo sailing race across the Atlantic from New York to France at the end of May! That’s after the dorms close, but before I leave for my dig, so I can hopefully come in and watch anyway, maybe with this kid who’s a friend of our family who really likes to sail. I don’t really know much about sailing, but I think it’s super-cool that these people will be going across the whole Atlantic all alone.

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33

bookgirl_me

in March 25th, 2016 @ 12:52

Aren’t thermostats naturally under the purview of fuzzy logic? Let cold=0, hot=1, scale according to the person who owns the house (or perhaps the climate zone, if you want to be social) and aim for half-true?

In random unrelated events, the Lesotho/SA border is remarkably easy to cross by accident. Twice. I think it’s something about Muse Academy’s irreverance of outside authorities…

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33.1

KaiYves

in March 25th, 2016 @ 21:40

Hopefully they didn’t give you any trouble for it if it was so easy to cross accidentally.

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33.1.1

bookgirl_me

in March 26th, 2016 @ 14:25

I ended up backtracking and clearing in/out like a normal person. It’s not hard to do it the proper way- I just realized that I could get away without it and then felt this itch…

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34

KaiYves

in March 25th, 2016 @ 21:43

Today I walked the whole length of the High Line. (I just wish it was a bit longer so that it could take you right to the Intrepid!)

Unfortunately, I was wearing my fancy-ish slip-ons that aren’t quite made for walking long distances and now I have a blister on my heel.

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35

KaiYves

in March 27th, 2016 @ 23:11

Errr, this is kind of an embarrassing question, but is Abu Dubai pronounced “Ah-boo Dah-bee” or “Ah-boo Dew-buy”? I swear I always heard the later growing up but now everyone seems to use the former pronunciation.

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35.1

Cat's Meow

in March 28th, 2016 @ 00:13

I think your confusion might be between two different cities. Abu Dhabi is pronounced “Ah-boo Dah-bee” while Dubai is pronounced “Doo-buy”. Both are cities in the United Arab Emirates.

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35.1.1

KaiYves

in March 28th, 2016 @ 02:01

Ah, I thought they were alternate names/transliterations-from-Arabic for the same city, perhaps with different pronunciations. Thank you, that clears things up.

(Like I said, a very embarrassing question.)

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35.1.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 28th, 2016 @ 03:16

Different places, different (though neighboring) emirates. In Arabic they start with different letters. Are you going there?

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35.1.1.1.1

KaiYves

in March 28th, 2016 @ 11:22

No, no, just hearing some people talk about them.

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36

KaiYves

in March 29th, 2016 @ 21:10

Someday I want to go to Gorangosa National Park in Mozambique.

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36.1

KaiYves

in March 29th, 2016 @ 21:11

*Gorongosa. And that one WAS a typo, not two separate places.

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37

Kittymine, OSW

in March 30th, 2016 @ 17:30

Note to self: next time you need to file taxes for the first time, do yourself a favor and DON’T MOVE STATES in middle of the year. Or have W-2s from three institutions.

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38

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 30th, 2016 @ 21:16

Attention, MBers! I’m on the road and won’t be able to do anything for April Fools’ Day this year. Any tomfoolery will be up to you. (Well, I could activate the Talk Like a Pirate Day plug-in if you think that would help set the mood.) Sorry!

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39

KaiYves

in March 30th, 2016 @ 23:29

I tried listening to 18.9 Hertz sound as an experiment after reading all of the articles about how it can cause you to freak out, feel uneasy, think you’re being haunted, etc. Just about two and a half minutes’ worth.

– Heard it when focusing
– Felt it slightly in the frontal bone of my skull
– A little dizzy, but this didn’t start until a several minutes after I stopped the recording, walking around and drinking some ginger ale helped

So I would say I felt some effect, but I don’t know how much of it was psychosomatic.

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40

Groundhog

in April 1st, 2016 @ 08:13

My parents visited recently, which was a lot of fun. We did lots of touristy stuff, like visiting museums, as well as a whole ton of baking (hamentaschen, cookie bars, and rolls).

Also, it’s a very nice feeling, showing your parents that you can adult. I did so by cooking them a nice meal the first weekend they were with us.

And then there’s Purim! We went to friends of ours for the festive meal, and enjoyed everyone else’s costumes (unfortunately, the Trekkie and I did not have costumes) One of our friends did a group costume where everyone dressed as a Pixar character, so we had Dad as Woody, Mom as Merida, their son as Dash, their daughter as Boo, and their infant daughter as Rex. Other costumes included an angel, a Scotsman, and a king and queen.

Much fun was had by all.

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41

Kittymine, OSW

in April 1st, 2016 @ 11:35

Arr, was hopin’ to discover some Space Squid this day. But how now, strange creat’rs be fallin’ from the heavens! Be they bugs, rodents, or strange Pokeman with wings and swords holdin’ thar WordPress symbol captive? Alack, so fast they fall, one cannot rightly see! Though dev’lishly tricksey they mus’ be, at least they are not PINK and furry.

Yet.

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41.1

Kittymine, OSW

in April 1st, 2016 @ 11:37

Or perhaps they be lemmings falling from the cliffs, only better prepared for their decent that is usual with lemmings.

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41.1.1

Kittymine, OSW

in April 1st, 2016 @ 11:37

*descent

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42

Cat's Meow

in April 1st, 2016 @ 12:30

I think the language filter might be affecting my ability to log into WordPress?

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42.1

Robert Coontz (Admin)

in April 1st, 2016 @ 13:25

So it appears. I can’t log in, either. Repairs might take a while, as I’m traveling with only an iPad, but I’ll do the best I can.

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43

Cat's Meow

in April 1st, 2016 @ 12:32

SFTDP but MOST EXCITING OF NEWS:
The consortium just released its fall course schedule, and Pitzer will be offering a “Doodling in Math Class” with the description “We will use Vi Hart’s video series ‘Doodling in Math Class’ to introduce a variety of interesting and fun mathematical ideas, including Spirals, Mobius bands, and Hexaflexagons. We will then explore these ideas further with our own doodles and activities.”

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43.1

oxlin

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 00:01

What is the Consortium? Is this a college class? Please take this and report back to us!

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43.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 04:10

Oxlin, the Claremont Colleges in Southern California are a consortium in which students at any of five colleges may take courses at any of the others. It’s a neat arrangement.

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43.1.2

Cat's Meow

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 16:22

Yep, what Robert said! The five colleges are right across the street from one another, so it’s extremely common to take classes at the other colleges, unlike what I’ve heard about some other consortiums that are a little farther away.

So, yes, I could get credit for a college course about doodling in math with Vi Hart. Very tempting!

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43.1.2.1

oxlin

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 17:52

Do itttt. At the very least, who is the professor? I want their syllabus!

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43.2

The Plaid Turtle

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 20:14

WOAAAH THAT’S SO COOL. I literally just got into her videos, and like TWO seconds ago I finished watching the second hexaflexagon one. That sounds like such an awesome class.

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44

Robert Coontz (Admin)

in April 1st, 2016 @ 13:10

Sorry, everybody! It seems one of the plug-ins I activated for April Fools’ Day is making logins impossible. I can’t get in, either. And as I’m traveling with only an iPad, repairs might take a while.

Robert

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44.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 1st, 2016 @ 20:22

Back in business now, I think/hope.

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44.1.1

Lizzie

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 08:49

I’m getting this weird thing where it lets me log in but then the only thing that comes up under comments view are the threads I created.

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44.1.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 11:31

How strange. I’ll look into it once I’m back with a real computer again.

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44.1.1.2

ZNZ

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 22:55

I’m having the same thing.

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44.1.1.2.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 10:08

Lizzie and ZNZ:

Any change now? Our role-defining plugin may be getting out of sync with the WordPress version. Or maybe it returned to its default settings after my post-April-First repairs. I’m working on it. Just let me know when you start seeing something different (and, with luck, better).

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44.1.1.2.1.1

Lizzie

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 12:51

nope, still the same for me

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44.1.1.2.1.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 22:10

Hmm… I’ll try something else tomorrow.

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44.1.1.2.1.1.1.1

ZNZ

in April 4th, 2016 @ 16:34

I can see everything now, but also I can edit everyone’s posts on every thread. So.

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44.2

Cat's Meow

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 16:32

Where are you traveling, Robert?

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44.2.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 17:35

From coastal Alabama back home to northern Virginia, by way of Georgia, Tennessee, and the Shenandoah Valley.

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44.3

The Plaid Turtle

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 20:09

It was all just a prank anyway, right?

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44.3.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 02:31

Not all of it, unfortunately.

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45

ibcf

in April 2nd, 2016 @ 16:17

Found this old bunny animation while cleaning up my files…reuploaded it in HD and changed a couple things. Are external links allowed now?

youtube . com/watch?v=WbqRxhLLexo

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45.1

Groundhog

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 08:40

I remember that one! I see you replaced the zombified people with more dancing bunnies…

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45.1.1

ibcf

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 13:57

Yeah, the zombies were hard to explain to people who aren’t familiar with the bunnies (and the stick figures looked pretty amateurish). I also added Rebecca Lasley and TNÃ– in the credits at the end.

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45.2

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in April 3rd, 2016 @ 09:11

Brilliant! For those who haven’t seen it, it’s well worth the minimal effort of pasting the URL into a browser and removing a couple of spaces.

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46

YYS12

in April 4th, 2016 @ 06:59

I just finished rereading The Chronicles of Prydain . I honestly feel that every modern YA author stole bits and pieces of Lloyd Alexander’s thunder.

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Random Thread: March 2016

Comments RSS TrackBack 172 comments

oxlin

KaiYves

Midnight Fiddler

KaiYves

Rainbow*Storm

Midnight Fiddler

Midnight Fiddler

Lizzie

Midnight Fiddler

YYS12

KaiYves

oxlin

oxlin

KaiYves

KaiYves

bookgirl_me

KaiYves

KaiYves

oxlin

The Plaid Turtle

KaiYves

KaiYves

KaiYves

Cat's Meow

KaiYves

oxlin

KaiYves

oxlin

KaiYves

oxlin

Cat's Meow

YYS12

Cat's Meow

KaiYves

KaiYves

Cat's Meow

Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

KaiYves

Catwings

The Plaid Turtle

The Plaid Turtle

KaiYves

KaiYves

KaiYves

Selenium the Quafflebird

KaiYves

KaiYves

The Plaid Turtle

Jadestone

YYS12

oxlin

oxlin

KaiYves

oxlin

bookgirl_me

oxlin

Cat's Meow

oxlin

KaiYves

oxlin

KaiYves

KaiYves

KaiYves

KaiYves

Jadestone

Jadestone

Midnight Fiddler

Kittymine, OSW

Lizzie

Kittymine, OSW

KaiYves