Category: Nonrandom Craziness

Though this be madness, yet there’s method in it.

October 2016: Retro Incredible Morphing Chameleon Thread

Since the responses on the Random thread seemed positive, I decided to reboot these threads.

Shiny new rule: No nesties! The conversation will meander from topic to topic anyhow. Also, it adds to the retro vibe.

octorandom02

The last October Incredible Morphing Chameleon thread I found was from 2008. So I purloined the image and the first topic from that month’s random thread. Incidentally, this was also the month I first stumbled upon MuseBlog.

Unlike the random thread, this discussion thread stays on topic until the topic changes or the month ends.

Newcomers should read The Rules and The Guide before plunging in.

Current topic:
Online media: Post-truth cesspit or literal hellhole?
The election and its aftermath
Halloween

Suggested topics: 

Have fun!

Kokonventions!

Photo on 2014-10-13 at 16.28

tumblr_ndefvfctFy1ru78bpo1_500

 

Fiddler: In celebration of Fireh and Fiddler kokonvening, here is a picture to prove that it happened and (as evidenced by our big smiles) is great fun! ((Also proof that the both of us are Real Human Beings as opposed to robotic music nerds spamming the lot of you from somewhere in the cybernets-fireh))

And for those dying to know the itinerary of this kokon, it was a meet up at the Chocolate Lounge last night, and then attending one of Fiddler’s classes (Appalachian Music and Dance, appropriately). Next up: anything goes. Probably involving food and giggling.

 

Fireh: Last night meeting Fiddler for the first time was awesome; she was easy to spot as she was wearing bright orange shorts in the Muserly tradition of being unique and mildly eccentric. She got a Pumpkin Spice Creme Brule (SP? I don’t really care) ((Fiddler: “IT HAS TWO Es”)) and I of course made the obligatory comment about blowtorches and the appropriate white-girl-stereotype jokes. I got a cold chocolate drink with coconut milk, which was awesome. Like hot chocolate, but NOT! My chalumeau/pocket clarinet got here right before I left TN, so I had the entire car ride to mess with it and play with it so of course I figured out how to play “What Do You Do With An Errant Muser” as sung by the massive Kokon of a few years ago in preparation for this. I played it for Fiddler. It was glorious.

 

Fiddler: Also, it’s SUPER DUPER FUN explaining “hello this is my friend from the internet” to your roommates and professors. I’m not sure what it says about me that I’m fairly used to it by now though. (I think it means that MB is the best and I’m very lucky. We’ll go with that one.)

Tom Swifties

As Wikipedia explains it, “A Tom Swifty (or Tom Swiftie) is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed.” It was named after the Tom Swift book series which began in 1910.

A few examples may be the best way to explain the format:

  • “It’s freezing”, Tom muttered icily.
  • “I might as well be dead,” Tom croaked.
  • “I don’t have any more flowers,” Tom said lackadaisically.
  • “Pass me the shellfish,” said Tom crabbily.

“Let’s see some more Tom Swifties!” Piggy promptly exclaimed.

Attention, Writers and Artists!

Muse‘s editor, Elizabeth Preston, alerts us to this Round-Robin ‘Riting over at the official Muse site. We’re not sure how many MBers are now technically Musers, so we’ll leave to your discretion whether you feel overqualified for this activity.

Continue reading “Attention, Writers and Artists!”

Harry Potter’s Chess Game

As mentioned on the August 2013 random thread (and in Robert’s article “Harry Potter’s Chess Teacher” in the September 2002 issue of Muse), here is the game finale that international master Jeremy Silman composed for the movie “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

Harry is the bishop on a3, Ron is the knight on g5, and Hermione is the rook on f8. Ron sacrifices himself on h3 so that Harry can win the game and keep pursuing the villain.

[SetUp “1”]
[FEN “5r1k/1pN1R1pp/1Pb5/n1r1P1n1/7N/b2p4/7P/1R1Q2K1 w – – 0 1”]
[CBBWhiteId “*”]
[CBBBlackId “*”]
[Result “0-1”]
1.Qxd3 Rc3 2.Qxc3 Nh3 3.Qxh3 Bc5+ 4.Qe3 Bxe3++

And here’s the alternative scenario that Ron rejected: one in which he could sacrifice Harry and win the game himself:

[SetUp “1”]
[FEN “5r1k/1pN1R1pp/1Pb5/n1r1P1n1/7N/b2p4/7P/1R1Q2K1 w – – 0 1”]
[CBBWhiteId “*”]
[CBBBlackId “*”]
[Result “0-1”]
1.Qxd3 Rc3 2.Qxc3 Bc5+ 3.Qxc5 Nh3++

Thank You, Kind Friends

Robert writes:

I haven’t mentioned it on the blog until now, but apparently word got out through other channels that my father died on January 26. Much to my surprise — well, no; very little that MuseBloggers do surprises me anymore. But I was touched and moved to receive by email a sympathy card that several of you jointly designed and created.

I’ll tell you more about my father soon and will try to post Time Capsules of some of his proto-proto-Muserly boyhood papers. Although Dad probably never saw MuseBlog (he developed dementia and stopped using computers about the time I started experimenting with WordPress), he contributed to it in important ways, both by helping to make me the person I am and by inventing some of the cornerstones of MB culture. For example, the useful gender-neutral pronoun “en” was his idea, and he would have been delighted to see how it has taken root and flourished on our threads.

I’ll paste in the card itself after the jump. Spoiler alert: it involves space squids. For a naval captain who loved science-fiction, I can think of no more fitting totem animal to guide him on his final voyage.

Continue reading “Thank You, Kind Friends”

Rear-View Mirror

Or perhaps “Back to the Future”?

Requested by KaiYves, who described it thus:

dedicated to our discoveries of older MB posts that take on a new meaning, comic, sad, or otherwise, in light of later events (Robert’s prediction that Michael Jackson would be president, me writing an essay similar to “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” before it was published, etc.).

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Pie Skirmish, 2013

Sometimes a little mayhem is just the thing to clear away the cobwebs and banish the winter doldrums. And to put you in the mood, Robert has written a new marching song to a tune we’re sure you all know:

Can you hear the music swell with a quasi-martial sound?
Hear the shouting and the laughter as the Musers rally ‘round?
When the sloshing in your guts echoes the splatting of our tins,
There will be chaos on the blog when the fight begins!

You must agree the world can see how sick to death you are
Of endless woes on Rants and Plaints and maudlin R&R,
So join our ranks and bid your angst au revoir!

In our stain-resistant suits, with our weapons raised on high,
We are indomitable warriors who are not afraid to pie!
See the ballistic pastry soar, hear how it whistles as it spins –
There will be filling everywhere when the fight begins!

[reprise]
We are fairly well-behaved and convinced that war is wrong,
But we know that we’ll go crazy if we put it off too long.
Though it makes a royal mess, and it’s hard to say who wins,
It will be such a big relief when the fight begins!

Robert’s Time Capsule: Adventures in Space

Robert writes:

Last week, astronomers discovered a planet orbiting the star closest to Earth, Alpha Centauri. With an orbital period of three days, it’s much too hot to support life, but astronomers plan to take a closer look at the star in hope of finding a planet in its habitable zone.

In fact, I happen to know that there is such a planet. Not only does it support life, but it is home to an advanced civilization.

Continue reading “Robert’s Time Capsule: Adventures in Space”

Muse Academy Halloween Ball, 2012

Welcome to the mid-semester madness — Muse Academy at its most Hogwartsian. Please remember to observe the Academy’s rules of decorum and the standard laws of physics. Beyond that, anything goes!

The seasonally decorated rooftop garden is also open to anyone needing a change of scenery or a breath of fresh air.