WARNING! Will definitely contain spoilers!
To spare MBers reading the “Recent Comments” column, please paste the following message in at the beginning of your posts:
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
(That’s long enough. Remember to include the period, though, for the benefit of the sidebar.)
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
this is my first Muse issue, because I was given a years subscription for my birthday, so I am expecting it to be fabulous…
*isexcited… very excited*
This is not a spoiler.
I am afraid that my dad mistook my request to renew my subscription to Muse magazine even though I clearly told him to renew it. The past two issues have not come. After 9 years, yes, NINE years receiving Muse, I am afraid to say that I may have been terminated. It ticks me off a lot. Can I stay on MB even if I don’t get Muse?
(2) Of course. You’re still a Muser.
#2: Gosh, that really sucks. *rolls eyes and says with grossly exaggerated sigh, parents*
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
My parents have got it, and they emailed me a copy of my article!!!!!! W00t!!!! I am so excited, this is so incredibly awesome, although I look dorky in all the pictures, and I’m really not impressed with my writing quality on it–it is so choppy, I feel I can write so much better. And just a note: Although I was 17 at the time the eagles came in, I am now 18, and, unfortunately, as the article says,a college freshie…..Not too thrilled aobut that right now, ahving just finished an assignment (on the first day of class for crying out loud!) for 53 math (algebra) problems for my analytical geom/calc course–taught by a guy with a really s trong russian or soemthing accent–and then in geog I have a teacher who is Chinese and barely speaks english
‘K, sorry, that got off topic, I just am r eallys tressed out. Anyways, I’ve been dying to mention my article for months. off to go read some bio/geog…..*cries*
5, what’s your one about?
6 – You can see a SPOILER on the “Muse still needs your writing!” thread.
7: You come here? creepy…. =)
8- Your artical was really cool. I just read it a few minutes ago.
That was a really cool article. I just finished it.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
We just got our Muse today, and it seems relatively fabulous.
It seems that the Bo’s Page factoids all have segues of some sort to each other. Although I find the actual little transitions perfect, I think they kind of undermine the Bo-ness of Bo’s Page. She’s the Muse of factoids, or random facts, right? So if all the factoids are connected, it seems that they’re not so random, even if the facts themselves are quite different. And also, 3 of the 5 facts continuing the first contain (in the first word or two) “speaking of”. If you’re going to write those little passageways from one factoid to another, at least make the… erm… conjunction thingy… whatever… At least make the passageway thingy original!
Speaking of Bo’s Page, I loved the false fact, and found myself wishing it was true.
I loved the molecular gastronomy article, not because it was a great article and not because it taught me about cooking eggs, but because I loved reading about people’s views on molecular gastronomy. It’s a field that I’ve always been confused about, but this article both cleared that up significantly and gave me a look at what the scientists think of it.
I’ve been staying at home all day and when I got to the tree article I decided that I had reached my sitting and staring limit, so I went outside, I hit a few ping pong balls against the propped-up table, that sort of thing, and haven’t read the article yet, but when I do, I’ll be sure to say what I think.
I saved Luna’s article for last (in this post, that is – I always read my Muse cover-to-cover).
Okay, first of all, Michelle, you look surprisingly like I imagined you. Second, the eagles look not-so-surprisingly like I imagined them. Furthermore/last of all, the text looks uncannily like I imagined it.
I actually love birds, and have always been amazed, disgusted, depressed, and plain fascinated by the fact that birds (and other animals) get totally destroyed by oil dumps and other stupid litter-type-stuff, and also by the amount of volunteers leaping to the job.
Okay, yeah, my grammar rocks.
Oh, sorry GAPAs that I didn’t include the spoiler warning… I just figured everything before the first period wasn’t a spoiler.
Dunno if I need this, but: SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
9: Thank you very much.
And 10, assuming you mean my article, thank you as well.
11. I look like you imagine, huh? That’s kind of scary…..”The text looks uncannily like I imagined it”? Didn’t you read it on the “Muse still needs your writing” page? Cuz, if so, obviously the text looks familiar… =)
13 – Yup, that musta been why it looked so familiar. : )
But no, you really do look somewhat like I had imagined. Unless you’re not the girl in the braids, in which case I was totally off.
Okay, I was going to read the rest of the magazine and say what I thought, but it seems Pan has taken it (as she should have, nothing against her).
Does this need a spoiler warning????? Hmmm, oh, what the heck: SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
If by girl with the braids you mean girl with long blonde braided hair in a black (I think it was black) t-shirt, then yes, that’s me–don’t think there was anyone else even remotely close to the right age….
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
14 (THF): Er…yeah. I took it. *innocent smile* And I’ve finished reading it, so now I shall review.
Pan’s September 2008 Muse Review:
Front cover: It took me awhile to figure out what this was. At first, like the music nerd I am, I divided each of the lines/spaces the people were standing on and imagined it as a music staff. It didn’t create anything very melodically appealing, though while figuring that out, I noticed the buildings in the distance. And then I got it — it’s a bridge!!
Dear Muse Reader: Nice work, Nak! I have to say, though, I don’t think “Picker of dried cockroach poop off old pieces of paper” merits a four for Grossness Scale. I think two is plenty. Cockroach poop is just fine, and if it’s dried it’s even easier to work with.
Muse Contents: The ellipses take out “has been, and” of the quote. “The engineer has been, and is, a maker of history.” James Kip Finch.
Bo’s Page: I definitely agree with THF about how the facts aren’t random enough. Definitely not my favorite batch of facts, but they’re okay all the same. The “speaking of…blahblahblah…” parts were particularly annoying. I liked the false fact, though. Actually, I didn’t really like it all that much at first, but upon looking up the word “schnell” (German for Fast), I liked it a lot more. No idea why that one word made the whole fact a lot brighter, but it really did!
Muse Mail: (This includes parts one and two — it’s the only part of the magazine I don’t read strictly cover-to-cover, because sometimes the letters cross over to part 2 mid-letter, and I certainly couldn’t stop there….). The “red” letters were funny. Got ya!
Kokopelli & Company: Oh, Kokopelli and his flash drive. No doubt Chad helped him with that. I wonder whether he’s regretting that now…
A Bridge to the Past: This was an interesting article — I definitely learned a lot. I liked the history and care of the drawings, and I’m glad the some illustrations were included in the article. I like the big bridge on pages 14/15 the best. My favorite part of the article is the “Construction Conundrum” segement on page 13. Those poor caisson workers…
I’m glad the little biographical information/excerpt note at the end mentions more of the author’s work. I’ll definitely look for his other books at the library.
Q&A: Good questions, good answers. I like the illustration for the rubber ball question.
The Kooky Science of Molecular Gastronomy: My favorite parts of this article are the beginning and the end. The first two paragraphs are really fantastic — ” ‘For our experiments!’ he announces.” It’s a great hook for the article. I like the end because it closes off the information and steps back a little — going back to the mood of the beginning paragraphs. I like the Chad/Urania/Kokopelli side-comic-things throughout the article, as well. Staring at the egg. That’s hilarious. I would have never thought about the temperatures of cooking eggs, in terms of the protein and flavor and such, and that kind of “never thought of” article is exactly why I read Muse.
Sugar and Spice: I liked this article, though by this time I was quite tired of food. Two food articles in a row! I think putting a non-food-article between these two might have made for a more balanced cover-to-cover-readthrough. I remember chewing on sugar cane in Africa — it was absolutely delicious. All of the other village kids showed us how to hack some off of the stalk. They seemed very experienced.
Muserology- How to Clean an Eagle: Believe it or not, I actually didn’t read EP’s spoiler on the other thread, because I wanted to save the experience for the magazine. Great article, Michelle! That experience sounds like it was a lot of fun. One question: if the bird’s temperature is too low for washing, what do you do?
The Life Story of a Tree: I liked this article, too. I did know a lot of the information already, but the narrative about the horizontal/vertical tree was really interesting. I especially liked the side note about the Ents… “but you knew that already.”
Muse Contest- Tree Tales: I really like the prompt. Trees are flamablamablous.
Composition in Blue: Wow, that’s awesome! *skips over to YouTube to watch*
Overall: Overall, I think this was a good issue. It’s definitely way better than the July/August, no question. I liked the articles, learned something, and did further research on what I learned. That’s always a good sign.
Pan, if we had an eagle that did not have a stable temperature, it was returned to its crate (dog airline crate) in a smallish room that was being heated to a warm (I forget exactly how warm) temp, so that it would hopefully warm up. I think we only had one bird that was not at a stable temperature at the time we wanted to wash it–it was considered in “critical” condition, and died either the first night at the clinic, or shortly thereafter. Sorry, it’s been 7 months, so I’m a little sketchy on the details anymore….
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
About Bridge to the Past… I had trouble reading the first page (I had to read a bit, put it down, and come back after 5 minutes or so) because it made me dizzy. I wouldn’t change the setup if I were a reader and didn’t get dizzy, because I thought it was great, but it was hard for me.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Alice’s Muse Review
Cover: It’s a really cool picture, but the captions seemed rather forced, especially the first one. Aesthetically, the purple margin looks fine, but in my resistance to change both that and the slanty, colorful words bug me. But that’s not really a problem. It’s a very small cover. It saddens me.
Dear Muse Reader: Huh. I don’t know. This one isn’t very good, but it’s not dreadful.
Bo’s Page: I like the way they’re all connected, but the “speaking of” becomes really repetitive. I really never would have guessed which fact was false.
Muse Mail (parts 1 and 2): I really don’t like it when they cut a letter in half. Other than that, I agree with Samz. She summed it up wonderfully.
Koko and Co.: I don’t really have anything to say. It wasn’t exceptional, but it was good. Except I don’t understand why Chad would help Koko make pies. I mean, come on!
A Bridge to the Past: I dunno, it didn’t fascinate me, but the drawings were beautiful. It annoyed me that it was another book excerpt, though.
Q&A: Nice work, Ruth and Andy! This is fast becoming my favorite part of the magazine, in these tremulous times.
The Kooky Science of Molecular Gastronomy: This was my favorite article this issue, by far. I was extremely pleased and beginning to be more hopeful, when I came to the end and noticed that it had been written for Discover. That’s even worse than book excerpts… I think, however, there may be something in this. The articles written for magazines tend to be better than the articles excerpted from books, maybe because magazine articles have a great deal of information compressed into a small space, while books have the entire book to tell you what they’re trying to tell you. Maybe the editors can use this to Muse‘s advantage.
Sugar and Spice: I really don’t think I got anything out of this. It wasn’t that I knew everything in the article, because I didn’t (although I did know quite a bit). It’s just that they didn’t go deep enough into the stuff that I didn’t know to make it interesting.
How to Clean an Eagle: I would have appreciated it being considerably longer, but I understand that it couldn’t be. Good work, Luna the Lovely!
The Life Story of a Tree: I can’t even remember what I read in this article.
Muse Contest: Meh. I don’t think that this part is deteriorating, really. I just think I’m growing out of it.
Last Page: That’s really interesting. I liked it.
SPOILER.
Wow, these are such detailed reviews! Thanks for all the feedback.
I have a question for Alice (19). Why do you say that having an reprint from a magazine is “even worse than” a book reprint? You say yourself that the molecular gastronomy article was your favorite, and note that the pacing of a magazine article is quite different from the pacing of a book. So (this is not a rhetorical question)…what’s the problem?
SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER. SPOILER.
I loved the Brooklyn Bridge article! I think that this issue was better than a lot of the recent ones. I agree with Alice that the comic was odd.
I always try to predict the contest based on the articles, and I thought that the contest should have been about writing a futuristic recipe or finding plans for some sort of construction. The tree article was good, but not a large enough part of the issue to be the topic of the contest.
When AEIOU says no attachments, does that mean that we can’t send pictures in our e-mailed articles? If so, how do you get the pictures?
19: My series of emails were, I think, a fair bit longer–but, of course, it had to be edited down so that it fit in the mag…..perhaps, if I have a chance, I’ll post a little of the extra detail that was present in my emails….
20: Become addicted to MB, have you, Elizabeth? *laughsmanicaclly* It’s a plot, it’s all a plot to take over the world. Mwahahaha
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
18 (THF): I noticed that about Bridge to the Past, too! The background color of the first pages made it extremely difficult to read. I basically skimmed those first few paragraphs just to get away from that page. I don’t really see why any reader should be subject to a headache, no matter how interesting the page looks.
19 (Alice): What’s wrong with Discover? If the article is interesting and well written, why does it matter where it was first published?
Question about the cover: Why is the Tastefulness article “NEW TO MUSE”?
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
In my opinion, this wasn’t the best Muse I’ve read, but it was ok.
This isn’t exactly a spoiler
spoiler regarding September Muse.
I didn’t realize the front cover was people on a bridge until just now. A few years ago (summer 2006?) there was a cover with a chessboard and I just thought it was a grid like that one.
23- I think it was supposed to be a joke- like, the magazine isn’t usually tasteful…
It’s okay, all-seeing editors, I thought it was funny.
It still bothers me that the Front Page is now Dear Muse Reader. I preferred when it was just random. Molasses-flinging-machine sounds like a fun thing to work.
I hope the Large Hadron Collider does create an Earth-devouring black hole. That would be an AWESOME way to die, even if you didn’t know it.
Agreed that there was too much segue-ing in Bo’s Page.
(unrelated: I found an old Muse in my basement recently that had Muse News instead. It was kind of a shock, but a pleasant one.)
Why are the margin Muses twice as big suddenly? I feel like it’s taking up space that could be used for another article, while I am glad that they exist.
The Brooklyn Bridge article was cool. I still like the Tacoma Narrows bridge more and want an article on it.
I also enjoyed the molecular gastronomy articles.
Luna’s article was good (too short), but I don’t like the Muserology articles as a substitute for the Math Page. I want someone to keep writing Math Pages, even if Ivars Peterson can’t. Which doesn’t mean that I want the Muserology pages to go away.
Trees don’t interest me. At all. That’s just me, though.
I very much liked the Last Page (Composition in Blue) and would have appreciated more detail.
The magazine should have been longer. I still miss the extra eight pages. I know Muse can’t be one of the hundred pages long advertising-supported magazines, but this issue only had four articles, and they seem like they’re getting shorter.
SPOILER SPOILER MUSE SEPTEMBER 2008 SPOILER.
19- RE: KOKO & COMPANY: Probably blackmail…
I’m getting tired of these non-themed issues. And all the excerpts/reprints. Sections of books just weren’t meant to be put in as articles. I realize that it’s probably cheaper to get excerpts, but I don’t think Muse should sacrifice quality for price. Although I like being able to see Larry’s art better, I also agree that the margin Muses should revert back to their normal size. And Ivars should come back. I don’t care how dang busy he is. He’s a Muser first and a Director of Publications for Journals and Communications at the Mathematical Association of America in Washington, D.C. second. Muse isn’t the same anymore. It’s not the Muse I fell in love with all those years ago. The winds, they are a-changin’. I’m worried my days as a subscriber are numbered. Goodbye, fair Muse. We knew ye well.
Longer (and possibly less depressed/depressing) review to come later (e.g. tomorrow or Sunday). Off to practice organ.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Welcome back, folks, to Cat’s Meow’s September 2008 Muse Review! -applause-
Front Cover: I had no idea what is what, although I didn’t exactly look at it closely until I finished the issue. It’s very interesting, though. The caption thingies were odd, but overall I liked the cover. Oh, and the blue space around it was a little bothersome, but I didn’t notice that until just now, so it probably didn’t matter much.
Dear Muse Reader: I actually liked this, particularly the descriptions of the “scale” categories. UUULLLLLLLAAAaa! (Has died.)
Does Oprah want to schedule me on her show now?
Contents: Was not amazing, but, then again, I don’t like the new, super-complicated contents pages anyways. It was okay, I guess.
Bo’s Page: I seriously thought the turtle one was real!
I was reading it aloud to my mom and brother when my brother pointed out that it was probably the fake fact. -dumb- I didn’t like the transitions from fact to fact much. The facts themselves were nice, and I really loved the rocket car one (I read that aloud too, after checking that there weren’t two fake facts) but I like them better when they’re independant of each other and completely random.
Muse Mail: I like it best when Page 1 of Muse Mail has a set of complete letters, instead of continuing one on Page 2, but I understand that that’s not completely possible. I think it would have helped, though, particularly in this case where the picture that accompanied the letter was on the other page. I really did like Muse Mail this time, though, and I was cracking up at the number of people that wrote in about the “URatandeinpositionmyteurea..” string of letters. Oh, and the “Got ya!” thing was hilarious, and had me groaning at the same time.
Kokopelli & Company: I don’t think this was the best K&C ever, but I liked the punchline. I actually didn’t understand it until the second time I read it, but I’m in a rather spacy mood today and am having a tendency to skim. Don’t mind me.
A Bridge to the Past: It wasn’t horrible fasinating, but I like the idea. And the drawings are beautiful.
The Kooky Science of Molecular Gastronomy: This was something I hadn’t ever thought of before, which I guess was sort of the point. I did like it, because it had never occurred to me to think about how an egg gets hard-boiled, and the explanation was neat.
Sugar and Spice: It didn’t really say anything new, and it confused me that it talked about how many tastes we had and then only focused on two. I expected it to go a little longer. And, yeah, I kind of wish that the two food articles hadn’t been put right next to each other.
How To Clean An Eagle: Yay, Luna! Great job!
I really think that the Muserology thing is a great idea, and not only because I’ve submitted an article to it. I think the editors just need to make sure that the articles are interesting and relevant, and not just picked because there’s nothing better.
The Life Story of a Tree: The anecdote was cool, but the article was a little dry. It sems like most of the stories in this issue were about stuff – eggs, sugar, trees – and I’d sort of like to have a people story somewhere in there. I don’t know what I mean, but…yeah. OH! And photographs are awesome, because there seemed to be an awful lot of clip art-like stuff.
Contest Winners: YAY! HPB!
That was the only one I actually read, though, because I couldn’t read the text of the two handwritten ones, and…I dunno. I told you, I have a short attention span today. School will do that to me.
Composition in Blue: That was interesting. I especially like that it brought it back around, pointing out that the composer himself might have had the same disease.
Overall: Much better then they have been lately. The two things I miss, though, are more photographs and stories about humans (as I said earlier) and themed issues. We’ve been told that we’ll get one of those come October, though, so I’m being verrrry patient!
Score: 8/10
SPOILER MUSE SPOILER.
I was reading the Contest Winners page and got to the entry with the HPB in it. I read the discription, and was very surprised that Kierstyn S. was not afraid of the HPB she was studying. Then, since I was just reading parts 1 and 2 of the BA thread it hit me– People who don’t MuseBlog don’t know that HPBs are evil! Weird!
20- As an article, it’s much better. But it’s even less original. It’s like publishing reprints. Imagine, for example, that I frequently read Discover (even though I don’t). Then I will see the exact same article. Which would be miserable. I mean, an excerpt is one thing. But you wouldn’t print the entirety of the book, would you?
23- There’s nothing wrong with Discover! See above.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Front Cover: Caught my attention, very interesting!
Dear Muse Reader: I LOVED this as always! HILARIOUS!
Contents: Very colorful!
Bo’s Page: Very interesting facts as always! (So far, so good!)
Muse Mail: I always love Muse-Mail, but the letters are getting just a tiny bit more boring to read.
Kokopelli & Company: Flamablamablous! Loved the punchline, but it seemed a bit short.
A Bridge to the Past (this is where it gets worse): I lost interest half-way through, though I kept reading, knowing it will get better. How wrong I was.
The Kooky Science of Molecular Gastronomy: Not the best topic ever. It was written awesomely, but the topic is pretty boring if you ask me. Chad and Urania staring at the egg were more interesting than it was.
Sugar and Spice: It was ok. Not the best, kinda confuzzling at times. A better topic than Molecular Gastronomy was.
How To Clean An Eagle: I loved it! I think it was a great idea to put in the article by readers! It was great!
The Life Story of a Tree: It might have been a better topic for me, but that’s because I’m a tree hugger. I loved how it looked, and the little facts at the side about trees, the intro got my attention, but it wasn’t awesomly awesome, just , good.
Contest Winners: Yay! Wow, those are great drawings *sees HPBs* OMIGOD!!!!!!!!! *calms down* it’s just a picture. Just a picture….
Composition in Blue: Um, wait, what was that again? Hm? It looked boring, I read it, it was boring, and than I forgot it. Sorry. I swear I have ADHD, I can’t sit still, and I’m not patient at all.
Overall: At least it was better than the last one. Not really good though. Boring topics, great writing.
Score: 5.9999999/10
I’m sorry Muse, I expected more than that. First you were FLAMABLAMABLOUS and than you were ok. And than the FLAMABLAMABLOUS made the OK look like NO WAY.
*is a harsh critic*
POSSIBLE SPOILER.
Beatlesrockr–thank you, thank you–I am very glad you like my article! For a harsh critic (as you call yourself) to be so enthusiastic over it is high praise indeed.
And thank you as well, Cat’s Meow and Dodecahedron (and anyone else who said they like my article that I may have forgotten/missed)!
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Front Cover: Um… pretty good, I guess. I like it better when the picture takes up the entire cover, but I realize that was impossible with this picture. As for the previews, they seemed a bit forced. Sort of overtheatrical. And why does it say NEW TO MUSE next to Tastefulness? Is this article going to reappear several times, each time with new spices? If so, I guess that’s all right. Just don’t overdo it.
Dear Muse Reader: The ratings really don’t seem to match the job. It just seems like whatever was more “important” was given a higher (lower?) rating. Definitely not one of my favorites.
Contents: I really don’t like these new contents pages. It’s too confusing. When I look at the contents page, I just want to know what articles they have, and on which page they are. I shouldn’t have to search to find them. And they really should put the credits back on the far left. It’s too unorganized in its current state.
Bo’s Page: Pretty good facts this time. I don’t like the transitions, though. I think each fact should stand on its own two feet. The picture-to-fact ration seemed low. Oh, well.
Muse Mail: Wow. They actually let people complain about Muse this time. A lot of people are synesthetes. The “Got ya!” prank was the first time I laughed out loud while reading Muse in a very long time. At first, I didn’t see the “t”, so I was trying to figure out what “Goya!” meant, but then I spotted it. I agree with Samz (pg. 37).
Kokopelli & Company: Pretty good, best in a while. Took me a couple of tries to understand it, but once I got it, it was funny. Does Koko’s hair seem shorter to anyone else? Maybe it’s just me.
A Bridge to the Past: Probably my favorite article in recent months. The margin Muses are too big, though. But the story and the way it was written was good, even if it was an excerpt. And there was finally a sidebar! Thank all that is tender and flaky for sidebars!
Q&A-Good, as always. I never would have wondered why rubber bounced. It seems obvious now, but I’ve never thought about it. Same way with the bats. Keep up the good work, Andy, Ruth, and Slug!
The Kooky Science of Molecular Gastronomy: My response: Eh. Not great. Heard it all before. I don’t like the first-person narrative type of article. Doesn’t pull me in or make me want to read it. I could do away with this article.
Sugar and Spice: At first, I thought, “Oh, great. Whoop-de-doo. This should be ‘fun.'” But then I started to read about sugar, and I was hooked. I hope my hypothesis is correct and they will have more spices in future issues.
How To Clean An Eagle: Well, I’m a bit wary of this section and the fact that it’s replacing Ivars’ page, but I think it was a promising start. Fascinating story. Great job, Luna!
The Life Story of a Tree: Ugh. Couldn’t even finish this article. So dang boring. Almost as boring as the cowboy one. In articles, please break it into sections, like you did in the bridge article. It makes it much easier to read, and much more interesting. And please, NO MORE EXCERPTS, or, at least, only one per issue. I can’t remember the last time Muse actually wrote an article. It’s all just reprints and excerpts. What happened to the thought-provoking and controversial articles? The origin of language? Vegetarianism? Damascus swords? Mirror neurons? Please, more history, less trees. This isn’t Global Warming Monthly, it’s Muse, about all topics. Especially brand-new science.
Contest Winners: Neutral. Contests don’t interest me much anymore. But two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old? That’s good. It’s usually just a couple of 9-year-olds. Not that there’s anything wrong with younger readers. It’s just nice to see some older ones as well. As for the HPB, I’ve got a funny story. As some of you may know, Halloween is getting “near,”
at least in corporate America’s eyes. So today I received a catalog for Halloween costumes, and leafed through it for no reason. But, when I turned to the second-to-last page, I nearly screamed. For there, staring back at me, was a baby in… A HPB COSTUME! What is our society coming to? Our youth are being corrupted from the time they are born! Brainwashing, I tell you! Brainwashing!
Composition in Blue: Not bad, not great. The parallel between the artist and the composer was cool. The description was a bit muddled, though. Sort of disorganized, I guess. I’m probably just being picky.
Overall: A small ray of hope in a seemingly unending night of not-so-good issues. Granted, it still has a long way to go, but I think the new management is starting to catch on. Can’t wait ’til next month’s issue. However, all of the October issues are themed, so it may be a false hope. Well, any port in a storm. Yeah, Muse!
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
“I think it was a promising start. Fascinating story. Great job, Luna!” Much appreciated, Piggy–for if my article was a promising start to replacing Ivars’ math page, you must have thought it very good indeed–for no one and nothing could ever replace him and his intriguing (if occasionally confusing) math page!
Oh, and all you who were confused about the cover, I see what you mean now (I just got my mag today!!!!!)–it is rather confuzzling–I only knew it was a bridge, cuz when I was talking to my sister on the phone the other day, I asked her what the mag was about (she had no clue), then asked her what was on the cover, and she told me it was a bridge. So, I had an unfair advantage, I believe…..
Spoiler maybe for September muse Spoiler.
25 – I disagree. If Ivars Peterson isn’t going to write the Math Page, it won’t be the same. The great thing about the Math Page was the style/mood/something-like-that of it.
Of course we all want the magazine to be longer and bigger, at least as big as it was when they were still with Smithsonian. But, as the editors have said, that just isn’t possible. Unless, of course, we would rather cut it down to only 8, or 5, or 2 issues per year.
I agree with everyone, fewer excerpts would be nice. I like them, but sometimes I want an article that is actually written to be an article. Sometimes it has a different effect.
Okay, I really need to get off the computer.
I’ll give a more detailed review of the article eventually.
NOT A SPOILER AT ALL.
32 – I want a HPB Halloween costume!!!!!!!!!!!
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Dear Muse Reader: mildly amusing, but I’m not the fondest of this format–I much preferred it when the first page was a random spoof, not always “Dear Muse Reader”. However, I did rather like the whole “Fish-guts-and-fish-slime truck driver” thing, for obvious reasons…..
Muse Contents: Gosh, I wonder, what could the mystery quote possibly be from?????? hehehe
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Bo’s Page: firstly, the segue’s really irritated me–and i mean really. AS someone said, they’re supposed to be random facts–and, actually, even if they were the same facts, just minus the segues, it wouldn’t have bothered me much, if at all. And the LHC might be allowed, when it could (possibly) create a black hole is just a bit disturbing….
Hey! actually my subscription didn’t get cancelled- it came today!
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Muse Mail: I remember the ‘red’ in the one muse issue, but i didn’t remember there being an unintelligible string of words….wish i had my back issues here to go refer to…..I hope the red doesn’t go through out the mag on this one, and is just the “got ya!” on the fan mail page….
Koko and company: It’s koko and co.–nuf said.
A bridge to the past: Overall, pretty good–althought he author did tend to have so many intermediate (or whatever they’re called) clauses in the middle of his sentences that you easily got lost. Elizabeth’s “Construction Conundrum” was good–the description of how the bridge was built reminds me of somehing similar in a previous muse, but I can’t recall which, right off–but they were constructing part of a bridge or tunnel underwater….in england, mayhap? Oh, and I didn’t really notice the first two pages being difficult to read–they didn’t bother me….
Q&A: It’s not Robert and Rosanne–nuff said….I miss having you guys as the Q&A people!!!!!
The kooky science of molecular gastronomy: Intriguing, although I do not like my eggs at all liquidy–as they often are in european countries….not appealing, when you are used to firm, thoroughly cooked eggs….
sugar ad spice: pretty good, um, don’t really have anything special to say….
How to clean an eagle: Just want to say that the captions under the pictures were something the editors added…..
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
The life story of a tree: “a magnificent Douglas fir towers more trash 50 meters (160 ft) tall” Sorry, was that supposed to make sense? Do you mean “more than” (instead of “more trash”)?
“….and the oldest Ent is named Treebeard. But you knew that already.” Duh. and I much prefer the name Fangorn over Treebeard.
acorns….this makes me think of my biology prof going on and on about “It’s WW3 out there between the squirrels and the acorns. Oh, you think the squirrels are just so cute and harmelss, but I’m telling you, it’s WAR!” hehehe, he’s very amusing….
“the juniper tree”–I don’t remember which grimm fairy tale this one was right off? Would anybody care to refresh my memory?
anyways, overall, I though this article was pretty good, although the miniscule white letters o the purple background of pages 34-35 were a wee bit difficult to make out…..
Composition in Blue: wow, YouTube is now one of the acceptable sites for the magazine? cuz there is a lot of questionable material on you tube, and it doesn’t take any searching to wind up with one of the questionable clips in the “related videos” bar. whatever. am listening to it right now.
maybe spoiler September Muse.
34- Well, of course if the math page was written by anyone else I’d complain about how it wasn’t Ivars Peterson, but better that than no math in Muse at all.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
40- The Juniper Tree…
So there’s this kid, right, and he has an evil stepmother and a very sweet little stepsister whose name I can’t remember. The stepmother loves the little girl, but hates the boy. The girl and the boy behave like brother and sister ought, sometimes they love each other, other times they quarrel. Anyway, the stepmother has a nice trunk, which is full of apples. It also has a very sharp lid…
One day, Stepmother said to Boy, “I have a nice apple for you if you’ll just come with me,” and so Boy came with her, and…
Oh, never mind. Just find it and read it.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder also have a really wonderful version of The Juniper Tree on their CD “World Tales.” Also a really wonderful version of The White Bear.
42: Ah, yes, I think I remember now–and he gets turned into/turns himself into a tree, and stuff happens, and eventually the wicked stepmother ends up dead? Yup, just found it and read it online–it was what I was thinking of (although he was a birdie, not a tree, but whatever)
Thanks Alice!
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
I just finished reading it. This is my 1st Muse so I was very excited. It was good, but not outstanding. My favorite articles were The Kooky Science of Molecular gastronomy and The Life Story of a Tree. I also liked the Brooklyn Bridge article, but it wasn’t my favorite. A question to the GAPAs-are there copies of the articles online? Because I wanted to send my grandfather a copy of the Brooklyn Bridge one.
Where is it? Where is it!
Muse should be online.
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
Nope, it’s not online. But I hope it never goes online, because I like the paper version so much better. There was a discussion about that at the Kokonvention last year — during the conference call, someone mentioned putting the magazine online, and everyone started screaming “No! Paper!”
You can always photocopy and mail it, though. Or scan it.
.BUT I DON”T HAVE IT YET. WHY IS IT ALWAYS LATE!
35- Sorry, but the largest size they had was for 2-4 year olds. I guess we’ll all have to make our own.
47-Oh yeah, photocopying. Duh. Thanks!
48. That’s just the way it is. I never get my subscribed issue until about two weeks into the month it’s for. This month is no different (although, i did get my six free issues for my article several days before the month starte–that’s why, for the first time, i’ve read my mag before the month it’s for….something that will never happen again, i fear.)
NOT REALLY A SPOILER.
49 – Darn it. I seriously want to be a HPB for Halloween this year.
49- HPB COSTUMES *dies*
53- Is that a good die or a bad die?
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
My favorite article was Composition in Blue. I found it cool and very slightly creppy that the person who wrote the symphony and the preson who did the picture for it had the same condition and that they were the same age, but that probibly has a lot to do with the fact that i like coincidences.
Oops! Forgot to put the spoiler warning on that last post.
*Looks embaresed*
WARNING THE POST ABOVE THIS ONE CONTAINS SPOILERS SORRY THIS IS LATE!
SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILERS.
I just got/read it! Mostly, I agree with everyone else.
– Cover was alright
– NaK is genius
– Bo’s facts should have been more random
– Contents served their purpose
– Muse Mail was nice. Got ya!
– Koko and Co. had a great punchline, but the rest was okay
– Bridge to the Past looked boring at first, but when I read it through, it was actually quite interesting.
– Q&A is good as always
– Molecular Gastronomy was PURE GENIUS. Possibly because I’m a rabid Good Eats watcher.
– Sugar and Spice was mildly interesting.
– How to Clean an Eagle was VERRYCOOL
– Life Story of a Tree was fairly boring, but the background pictures were BEAUTIFUL. I want that painted all over my room.
– Contest winners were alright. “Rabbits” was the best, obviously
– Composition in Blue was fascinating to the extreme
– Bigsized Muses were not pleasant.
THUS ends my rather condensed review of this month’s MUSE.
Also, did anyone notice that Bo’s page was arranged a bit differently? Obviously to go with the segue, but it was a little annoying to read in columns like that. I liked the nicely placed blocks of text better.
36- Now, let’s not get a bloated head here! *thinks* Nah, you deserve it. *heaps praise* Also, you look a little different than I thought. Actually, I would have thought you looked more like Evanna Lynch, but that’s obviously just because of your name.
I loved Composition in Blue. And I liked the tree article too, but I already knew most of the stuff in the article.
I got the “I got ya”, but I didn’t get the rest of the message? Did anyone understand that, and if so, will you tell me?
I got it!
58- Rest of message? What?
SPOILER SEPTEMBER MUSE SPOILER.
I was just looking at an old IM with my sister, back at the time I emailed muse with my eagle thing…..back before they decided to use it…..it’s so funny, cuz i was so wrong.
Luna the lovely: i got a reply from muse, finally
my sis: my fingers are dyslexic. yeah, what?
LtL: Dear Michelle,
Sorry we’ve been slow to respond to your emails. The person who was answering our mail left, and now the mail is piling up while we try to find someone new!
Thanks for sharing your bald eagle story. It’s amazing that such a small human action (backing up the fish truck) could have such a big ecological impact! We will certainly keep the subject in mind for future MUSE articles.
The BTLC sounds like a great place to volunteer. And it sounds like you’re really passionate about wildlife conservation; do you think you might pursue it as a career?
Best,
MUSE
LtL: that
sis: cool
LtL: doesn’t sound promising
sis: better than a no
LtL: they n ever say no
sis: i know
LtL: nto even to everybody bugging them about stupid articles
LtL: like anime
LtL: or even to those bugging about non stupid articles like HP
LtL: afterall, they did a LOTR one, an HP one is only fair
LtL: Otherwise, it would have been like doing the cat one without the dog one
sis: you mean about especially stupid areticles like hp
LtL: NUH-UH
sis: YUH UH
LtL: NUH UH
sis: YUH UH YUH UH
LtL: NUH UH NUH UH NUH UH
sis: you’re so dumb
LtL: am not
sis: are too. what do you want me to bring back from Europe?
as you can see, it quickly deteriorated (as do all our IMs), but so much for their not-so-promising email! Never expected the article after that…..
I wounder how many people responded to the “write to us about red” thing. I did.
62–I meant to, I just completely forgot, and then by the time I though about it, it was ridiculously long after the magazine had been published, so it didn’t seem worthwhile any longer.
62- 1,000,000. Give or take.
LtL – Actually, though we didn’t have a whole issue on HP, Kiki wrote an article and it got published.
Okay, I officially forget what I was planning to say on this thread. Hehe.
THF–yeah, i know we had some articles. Which was good–great, even. I just think that HP deserves a whole issue, seeing as LOTR had one…..Oh, well. I guess there are more important things in the world. Maybe.
Okay, just to get this off my chest, HOW COME MUSEROLOGY REPLACES THE MATH PAGE???????????
Sorry, didn’t read the current discussion
.