He made a harp of her breast-bone,
Whose sounds would melt a heart of stone.
The strings he framed of her yellow hair,
Whose notes made sad the listening ear.
— Child 10C, “The Twa Sisters”
Just about everything that can happen in folklore happens in the Child Ballads, a set of 305 songs collected by Francis J. Child in the late 1800s and compiled in his book English and Scottish Popular Ballads. They’re about true love and intense cruelty, loyalty and betrayal, riddles and disguises and transformations. They’re full of strange, arresting imagery: a river of blood and a harp made of a dead girl’s bones, a man who sings songs to the fairies to save his true love and a woman cursed to be pregnant for years without ever giving birth. The knight a boy meets on the way to school turns out to be the devil; a monster who eats a king’s horse and hounds becomes a beautiful woman. Some stories end happily and some don’t. Sometimes it depends who the teller is. They come from oral tradition and from single authors; they’re magic, mythic, mundane. The Child Ballads, like all the best fairytales, reassure and terrify, wound and enchant.
They’ve been reinterpreted over and over by academics and musicians and novelists and poets. Francis Child is—in my mind at least—a figure on par with the Grimms, all the more because unlike them he recorded stories genuinely as he found them, without rewrites and with the goal of making existing sources more widely available. His collection wasn’t comprehensive (loads of my favorite English folksongs aren’t there), and it wasn’t the first of its kind (though it was among the first to take such a scholarly approach to these particular sources), but it is a remarkable achievement and, generally, kind of the best thing ever. I love it.
(I have many, many favorites, but I have special love for Tam-Lin, Edward, Thomas Rhymer, King Henry, Riddles Wisely Expounded, The False Knight on the Road, and The Twa Sisters. The illustration on this post is from “Sir Patrick Spens,” as illustrated by Peter Nevins.)
—ZNZ
KaiYves from the last thread; do you mind if I slap you for continuously getting ‘purple people eater’ stuck in my head?
No, go ahead. I’m sorry for doing that, you can slap me if you want. Try to replace it with some other song.
Happy November, everyone! I had a leftover taco for breakfast and am now writing some words.
YAY NOVEMBER! THE MONTH OF NOVEL WRITING AND MY BIRTHDAY!
I started writing at midnight, slept for a while, and just hit today’s word goal (1,675). November 2015 seems to be shaping up to be a good month.
Okay, so someone just tried to inspire me, but they just made me sad all over again! Their inspiring story was about the person who won the contest I entered not long ago who got their story published. No, I’m not inspired because nobody(except you guys pretty much)knows about how much trouble I went through to finish that story the best I could… I’m not gonna give up… I gotta keep entering contests! Eventually I may become an author too!
So with my reduced 1,000 word per day goal, but also having refurnished my account on the official site (which has set me up with a 50k goal), I’m feeling conflicted. Should I try to go for 50k anyway? I’ll feel so bad if my word count isn’t met. [frets over graphs because those graphs are important to me]
Also, continuing the novel I started writing this spring is proving to be somewhat of a challenge in terms of making plot ends meet and such. Alas! I’ll probably get off the ground soon enough.
If you think about it, 600 words more isn’t that much… It depends on how fast you write, but I’d say go for it. At least at first, because even if you just go for 30k, aiming for more at first will give you a buffer for later, in case you need it.
I think I’ll try to aim for 1600 a day until the story ends, and then reevaluate.
It’s All Soul’s today, which at home is a national holiday, and I’m deeply bitter about having to go to class. I’m not a Catholic, but lemme tell you, living in a majority Catholic country had some major advantages.
Everybody always talks about how podcasts about unsolved crimes and mysteries are so spooky and serious and then there’s Thinking Sideways.
“In the water between Cuba and Florida, what do you find a lot of?”
“Water.”
Aldfhalsjdhkspschhdahidkdksxhaofj. New Star Trek tv show starting in 2017!!!!
I got my copy of Zoombinis a few days ago, and I’ve been a little obsessed with it. The new artwork is really nice, but they kept almost all of the original sound effects, which means that I’m practically squeeing every time I play the pizza puzzle.
Did my post about Thinking Sideways disappear? (Mysteriously?) [Fixed! -Mod]
Ooooh! Now do Amelia Earhart!
I have been imortolized in a stick figure. It’s a very long story, but it also made me realize 5 little important words: I have the weirdest life.
Something weird happened… I thought it was snowing, but it was still 59 degrees out… And then a huge white cloud rose up from the ground and billowed in the sky. After that, at least 20 ravens were flying around like crazy! Turns out, it’s powdered cement from the construction sight because the workers did something stupid while fixing the retention pond at the corner of the coldesac.
(Also, I finally learned where “Wibbly wobbly timey wimey” comes from!)
[And, my sister’s crush paid too much attention to me last night so now I have to do something childish and unattractive to keep him from choosing me instead of her.]
[While I would generally encourage fledgling attempts at mind-control to further the Kokonspiracy, achieve world domination, defeat the
s, I think you’re missing the point. If your sister’s crush chose to pay attention to you, that’s his prerogative. You’re not responsible for policing some boy’s attraction (or lack thereof). Steer him back towards your sister if the situation makes you uncomfortable. But you don’t need put yourself down to build someone else up.]
Oh jeez am I getting old. I meant the
, not pies. Nothing wrong with 
. Pies are quite wonderful, in fact. The pink is bad. Not that they’re around anymore, those bunnies. Totally gone. Vanished, vamoosed. Nothing left and they surely are not it any way returning or anything. Nah, that’s silly. Ho hum, I guess I’ll just move along now…
*sings* Though our heart she’s badly bruising
in another suitor choosing
let’s pretend it’s most amusing
let’s pretend it’s most amusing
Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha, tantara, tantara…
*was a Peer*
So my friend bought a copy of “The Ring” online and the seller called to say it would arrive in “Seven to ten business daaaaays. Offer void in Canada and Alaska.”
(This is a joke. This did not really happen.)
I got accepted into UNC-Greensboro! Yay!
I did something awesome today! No, I didn’t become a stick figure, watch my teachers be chased by cockroaches, win a QB match (although we won Monday’s match). I took a tour of the university of SC’s book collection. That. Was. Cool.
I saw a giant book (in French) that had sketches and notes by Napoleon’s men of Egypt. I saw a book a little larger then my thumb. I saw a first edition of “the great Gatsby”. I saw an illuminated manuscript. As in, a person held it in front of my face. I TOUCHED an old peice of music. There was also a bunch of first editions of quite modern books. The cool thing was, it wasn’t in a glass case. A librarian held it, and turned the pages.
Also, I spent some time at the State Library. The Kokospirancy has spread! While I waited for my mom to pick up an order of a box of bookmarks for the Aiken Library system, I looked at an art display. On a shelf next to it, there was a Kokopelli statue.
I LOVE special collections at university libraries. I took one course where our professor took us to special collections to look at early, often hand-illustrated editions of the books we had just read in class, and that was such a cool experience. I’m glad you got to experience that!
Guys! I just signed up for Zooniverse! Citizen science! Biology! Space! Yeah!
I did Snapshot Safari for a while, but I think that one’s done now.
couldn’t remember what my migraine pills were called so went through my med cabinet until I found something that didn’t say what it was for / I didn’t recognize and took that
hashtag adulting
GUESS WHO’S GOING TO EUROPE FOR WINTER BREAK
and spending several days by herself
HINT IT IS ME.
aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh
Cool! Europe’s big, where are you visiting?
I land in Amsterdam, so I’ll definitely be going there, and I have overnight layovers both to and from Amsterdam in Helsinki, so I’ll step out of the airport to explore a couple mornings as well. But beyond that? I was thinking Prague, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Brussels, and generally Central Europe. I have already been to London, Barcelona, South of France, Italy (Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, etc.) so those are not really on the list. Might stop by Switzerland as I have family there, but I don’t know them very well (and it’ll be cold) so it’s undecided.
Do you have any suggestions? I’ll be there for about 3 weeks, 2 of them with a friend and 1 alone. The 1 alone will include Christmas and New Year’s, so I was thinking of going somewhere where there will be actual celebrations (Vienna and Prague, maybe?). I’ve only bought the SFO-AMS plane tickets as of now, so I am very flexible.
Also, not really sure whether Germany is a good idea due to the migrant crisis, so insight on that would be helpful.
What’s the problem with migrants in Germany?
In short: Syria is currently (and has been since about 2011) going through an extremely violent civil war, verging on genocide, and the refugees are flooding Europe. People are very angry about what to do with them because there are so many.
Someone more knowledgeable on the topic than I can fill in the gaps.
Well, know about the migrant crisis itself. What I was wondering is why you were specifically worried about Germany. From what I know, the officials are welcoming the migrants into the country. There might be some Germans opposed to that, but I was under the impression that most were friendly towards the newcomers. Plus, Germany is kind of awesome. I was just asking why you would write off such a great country because of a crisis that isn’t actually even much of a problem there. I wouldn’t go to Hungary, though.
It is a really big problem, no pun intended. But the issue is not that people are opposed to migrants in general: the sheer quantity of them is causing the outrage. However, that doesn’t mean people are going to take it out on the immigrants personally. It’s not their fault that their country is embroiled in a terrible war, or that the EU is dropping the ball and not instituting a quota.
For example, I’m strongly opposed to the way officials are handling the crisis and I most empathetically don’t want so many immigrants to stay in Austria. But letting these people starve in the streets will accomplish nothing, so I’ll support charities to help shelter and feed them until a better solution is found. While raging at politicians to institute a d*** quota to distribute the refugees across Europe since some countries don’t have the resources to deal with so many broke, unemployable people.
*speaks subliminally through Intelligent Air network*
Big problem… MBer looking for something to do… Hmm…
I’m sure we have room to host quite a few families at Muse Academy.
Just musing. If you’re looking for something to study or do, noticing a big problem that needs to be solved is a reasonable way to start.
The problem is that Merkel (the German president-equivalent) made an announcement sometime last summer that all refugees from Syria will be granted safe haven in Germany. So of course refugees started pouring in until the country was completely swamped. Then Merkel suddenly closed the borders and tried to backpaddle, stranding the rest of the refugees in places like Austria.
Austria is a country of 8.4 million people. While I’m sure everyone feels terrible for the refugees, we don’t have the resources to take in half of Syria (which has a population of 22.85 million). That’s one thing making people furious. Another is some general anti-EU sentiment: while the EU is wonderful for developing poorer countries in the EU, Austria has suffered ridiculous inflation, spiraled into debt and lost control of its’ previously stricter (and ihmo better) immigration policy. This is just the tip of the iceberg for many people. Not to mention that the EU is sticking us with a ridiculous amount of the immigrants: I think Britain has accepted something like 300 people? During the height of the crisis in september, we had roughly 10 000 pouring in every day.
It’s kind of hard to write about this without flying off the handle. The problem is (at least from an Austrian perspective) that there are very few of us, so preserving our culture and our heritage in face of such a large influx of migrants is pretty impossible. Not to mention that adding our former East-Block neighbors to the EU has caused a huge spike in crime. Vienna is even starting to develop ghettos. It’s also bitter because of Austria’s history- the pride of Austria is having transformed itself from the poor “leftovers” of Austria-Hungary into what a former pope once referred to as an “Isle of the blessed”- low crime, relatively low income disparity between poor/rich, low poverty, high social mobility, free and excellent education from primary school up to and including college, free healthcare,… Anyhow, that system is only sustainable with a controlled system of immigration like we used to have- in a nutshell: only a certain amount of asylum seekers were accepted, and otherwise only immigrants with specific skills/professions under-represented in Austria (and their families) were recruited. That way the age-ing of the population was compensated, the immigrants had a guaranteed job (without “taking away” positions from Austrians) and were few enough to be well integrated into society. But that system goes against EU laws for immigration, which don’t freaking work, but *ahrg*
Still, it’s not like we’re lynching each-other in the streets or anything- both Austria and Germany are still fine to visit.
I mean, I didn’t think people were lynching each other in the streets or anything, but if there’s social unrest or the possibility of riots then I would consider avoiding the area. Seems like that’s not really likely though, so I guess I’ll visit those areas
Thanks for the insight. The problem seems very complex.
Okay, see, this is when I regret saying things like this…
It is a lot easier to preserve culture and heritage when there is no threat of death and you have somewhere to live without fear of being killed. I’m sure the refugees want to preserve their own heritage and culture in a safe place where they’re not being killed.
Do you realize how this post comes across in wake of the events happening in Paris?
I feel for the refugees, I honestly do. But just accepting everyone who comes streaming across our borders illegally isn’t going to work. If we just let all the refugees stay in our country permanently, it will completely deplete our resources and eradicate our culture.
If that isn’t a politically correct way to feel, fine. It’s always easy to moralize coming from a country that has accepted less refugees in four years than we have in an hour. It’s not your city that now has a much higher risk of terrorism and has seen a big spike in crime. It’s not your culture and values and language that are threatened. It’s not the systems of free healthcare, education, pensions etc… that you and your compatriots have paid into for years that will now collapse. It’s not your home and your friends and family who are now have to face a much larger threat of terrorism.
Yes, I am in favor of helping the refugees. But the way the “system” is now doesn’t work. I also hope that there will be no retaliations of any sort, since the vast majority of them are obviously innocent. Still, we need to control this flood. We need security screenings, for example.
And the timing of your post in the wake of an attack that really hit close to home? For you, this is a lovely textbook situation. I have to live the crisis. And yes, when I was in Vienna I saw the effects everywhere. This is something that’s happening to me and all the people I hold dear. An attack in Paris to me is like something happening in a neighboring state to you. I have friends there and I’m really glad and lucky that they’re okay. Not to mention that any attack happening there can easily happen again in Vienna.
Please spare me your sanctimonious cake. If you really feel that way, do something. Lobby your government to take in refugees, for example. But don’t preach to me.
I’m not sure what your negative feelings about refugees have to do with the attacks in Paris specifically. Everything I’ve read has pointed to the attacks being not by refugees, but by the people the refugees are fleeing from.
I understand that you’re frustrated with the way the refugee crisis has been dealt with in your country. And I understand that Paris feels closer to you than to people an ocean away. (Though I’ve seen comparisons to 9/11, and Paris is a sister city of New York, and I am frightened as well.) But to be honest, your post seems needlessly antagonistic. I don’t mean to tone police, so I will clarify: I feel that oxlin wasn’t preaching, and you’re drawing associations between refugees and attacks that are unwarranted and bordering on racist. I hope that you can consider why you feel the way you do, and even if you don’t change your mind, that you can express your feelings in ways that don’t attempt to start fights with others.
It is true that the attackers were those that the refugees are fleeing from, but if they are posing as refugees to get into Western countries and commit acts of violence and hatred, then there is a whole other can of worms in play. I think bookgirl’s sentiments echo most of Europe’s and should not be dismissed. Poland, for example, has been fiercely demonstrating and protesting the acceptance of refugees in their country.
The US should absolutely start accepting more refugees, and Europe should absolutely reconsider its immigration policies so as not to overwhelm countries accepting refugees. Though there is currently a humanitarian crisis in Syria, it won’t help anyone if the overflow from the crisis only leads to more violence on a more global scale.
Folks, this discussion is threatening to spiral out of control, Ã la the rest of the Internet. Let’s dial it down, please.
Or at least take it to Hot Topics.
The current (2013) version of Hot Topics, by the way, is here:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=12920
That sounds amazing! I don’t know if I can recommend any other travel destinations, as I’ve only been to Italy and Vatican City, and the island of Menorca. (I tried to go to Barcelona by plane when I was there, but it didn’t work out.) I did go to London once, but it was when I was four, so I’m not in a position to offer travel advice about it.
Barcelona is wonderful! I would highly recommend going once you have the chance.
My friend and I bought tickets with a budget airline and made hotel reservations, but she got sick the night before we were supposed to leave. Next time, for sure!
Do Vienna before/during Christmas! The whole first district will be decorated, there are all sorts of events and the whole atmosphere is very festive. Depending on what you’re interested in and how long you stay, there’s plenty of museums, concerts and misc. cultural stuff. Also just walking around the inner city/ring for an afternoon when all the decorations are out and checking out some Christmas markets is already a don’t-miss-it holiday activity. If the weather the weather’s warm enough for the city to be ice/sludge free, you can also rent free bikes with CityBike to cut down on transport costs.
Oh, that sounds beautiful! Do all the decorations come down after Christmas?
Some stay for New Years, but the markets all close, the events end and the mood changes: for Austrians, the days after Christmas before New Years are meant to be spent with family, on ski vacation or going on ski vacation with family. So the city’s pretty dead until Jan 31st, which is a sort of friends-drinking-partying thing that I personally don’t much care for.
I see thanks for the tip. I have drafted a rough itinerary of Berlin (2 days), Prague (2 days), Vienna (2 days), Zurich (2 days including Christmas), Luxembourg (1 day), Brussels (1-2 days), and Amsterdam (3 days including New Year’s), not including journeys between cities (to which I am allotting a full day).
Amsterdam for New Year’s should be… interesting. I’m really looking forward to it!
Kokonilly – I live in Geneva, if you happen to be passing by!
Geneva is kind of out of the way, so it’s not on the list right now. But I’ll definitely let you know when I’m in Switzerland or if I’m near!
A Geneva Kokonvention? This must happen!
Haha! If I can squeeze in Geneva I most certainly will to make this happen. Maybe night trains/buses…
If you wore insulated gloves, could you take out an apple that had been in liquid nitrogen and pitch it like a baseball so that it shattered a against a wall?
I cannot spell today.
T-O-D-A-Y
Ha!
Maybe without gloves…
https : // www . youtube . com/watch?v=qj3ZsE0Bx4A
Ah, the Leidenfrost effect. I wouldn’t trust it.
Yes, I don’t think you could get a very good grip or aim very well in the brief time it would be safe to hold it. Maybe fingerless gloves would be okay once you were experienced, but I don’t think I’d try it barehanded.
With insulated gloves, definitely. Even just a pair of heavy work gloves would be sufficient as long as you moved it out of the nitrogen with tongs, grabbed it, and then threw it. Getting enough force to get a real “shatter” effect would be the tricker part I think.
We used liquid nitrogen every day in my molecular botany labs, for grinding up the plant tissue for DNA/RNA extraction. I only ever wore latex gloves and was always quite close to it, either reaching in briefly, pouring it around, or using it with a mortar + pestle. It’d splash on me pretty frequently, but as long as you don’t get much trapped against your skin, it really does evaporate super fast. To get rid of excess we’d just spill it on the floor, it makes really spinny little beads of nitrogen until they fog away.
As a very last minute addressing of something mentioned months ago with slim chances, POSOC – any chance you’re still in Berkeley like you suggested you would be around this time? I’m passing through tomorrow.
Seems worth a shot, at least.
Yes! Let’s exchange emails through the admins or something.
Oh, wonderful! I suppose I’ll leave the next step to them.
I sent them an email. Hopefully we’ll be in touch tomorrow so we can plan a meeting.
Today I went to Evolution Nature Store in SoHo. It’s a modern “curiosity shop” that sells natural-history related items like fossils, candy with bugs inside, imported sea shells, weird rocks and crystals, bones for anatomy class, and taxidermied animals. As a kid, I probably would have found it creepy, but as an adult, I thought it was pretty cool. I bought a keychain with a shiny beetle preserved inside, two magnets, and a little tiny piece of sand turned to glass by a lightning strike.
They also have a giant cave bear skeleton right when you come in.
I want to go to there.
Much do I have to show you in New York once we finally kokonvene, young Padawan.
Candy with real bugs inside?
Yup!
Christmas has started way to early. I just turned on the radio, and instead of the usual 80’s and occasional pop (both annoying but I like background noise) I hear CHRISTMAS music. And instead of “The most music, the best variety” as their little in between slogan, I hear “The most holiday music, the best Christmas variety” then they play Linus and Lucy. I don’t even think that’s a holiday song. That’s from a Halloween special. AND ITS NOT EVEN NOVEMBER 10nth.
As you can see I have great passion for Christmas music.
Ugh tell me about it – we’re playing Messiah next week and thus begins our month and a half of christmas music, including ten concerts of the christmas spectacular show (everyone’s been telling me about the dancing santas and I am afraid).
I agree. I love Halloween, and I love Christmas, but I would rather not start celebrating Halloween in August and Christmas in October. (External Blogging Site is especially bad about this.)
I wish November could be Preparing for Thankgiving and Appreciating Fall for it’s Own Sake After Spending the Last Month Preparing for Halloween, not Preparing for The Winter Holidays Part 1.
there is no such thing as too-early Christmas
ALL CHRISTMAS, ALL THE TIME.
(in the Philippines, Christmas music begins playing Sept. 1. It is glorious)
Linus and Lucy is from the Christmas special, not the Halloween one. But still, I agree with you. Wait until after Thanksgiving at the very least, people.
Halloween is growing in popularity in Australia (trick and treating isn’t much of a thing at least in my area, but you see some decorations and people throw costume parties), and I’ve seen a suggestion or two that we should encourage this so as to stave off the Christmas stuff.
It seems that this won’t be enough.
I am despretly in search of a new radio station on preset #1. If you rule the variety- I mean Christmas station out, that leaves NPR, a hip hop station (no) a gospel station (even though I’m Presbyterian, I’ve never liked modern gospel, so no) like 5 country stations (no, no, no, no, and no) a pop music station (maybe… But it has really bad frequency) then there’s ANOTHER variety station, but it has a certain fondness for Taylor Swift, so no) That leaves… Nothing.
I guess 2 months of Winter wonderland, Feliz Naveda (Am I spelling that right?), Jingle Bells, and (worst of all) Santa Baby (and I mean the Madonna version, the Carrie Underwood version, and the Eartha Kitt version)
What’s the matter with NPR?
For some reason I thought this was a lead-in to a punchline.
Nothing, radio waves are energy.
Ow! Ow! Those apples are hard! You’re supposed to throw soft mushy tomatoes!
I would listen to it, but it has have a REALLY bad connection (believe me, I’ve tried).
A LEGO Master Builder from the company’s US office was speaking at the Union Square Barnes and Nobel today! I also played with some robots they had on display, including this little buglike one that rolls along a trail you drawn on paper with a marker. Very cool!
It happened! Pictorial evidence will probably be forthcoming tomorrow since Gimanator is presently attending a concert.
Spirit of the Century sounds like the most fun RPG ever, I only wish I actually knew people who played tabletop RPGs…
I’m a novice at actually running the FATE system but I downloaded the core rules a while back. I’ll add it to the Hypothetical Kokonvention Activities…
I’ll write up a sheet for my character idea just in case.
Is there such a thing as a cliché storm in Pulp or is that kind of the point?
Pulp is where most (modern American) pop culture clichés came from. Go wild.
Austrian character who is a mountain climber, was a shepherd as a kid, and has fought proto-Nazis and a gang who wore Krampus masks. Too clichéd?
Let’s ask our Austria expert. Bookgirl?
Mmm… if he’s from one of the mountain states, climbing and some sort of animal herding is almost a given, though I’d change the sheep to cows or goats. For some reason, we have ridiculous amounts of cows in Austria but fewer sheep, though that might be a recent development. Goats are fairly popular too, on a smaller scale.
I’m not sure about the proto-Nazis: you do know that the NSDAP was illegal in pre-Anschluss Austria, right? First there was a republic, which was a bit controversial but at least a democracy. They figured that these radical Nazi people were bad news and banned them (I kid you not). Then there was a civil war between two entirely different fractions, the winners set up a dictatorship and threw all the other politicians into prison. I think some of the assassination attempts on the first of these dictators were organized by the Nazis. But anyway, all Nazi organizations were illegal in Austria until fairly shortly before the Anschluss. You could have your guy working for the dictatorship at the time, though it still is a controversial topic. Some historians argue that the Ständestaat was just the well-intentioned effort to have a strong government to stand against Germany and keep the country from another civil war, others point out that they overthrew the democratically elected government and imprisoned their political opponents.
As for a gang that wore Krampus masks, that would depend on where that gang was operating. Overseas sure, but here we’re used to those devils- they wouldn’t scare an adult, just look ridiculous. So they’d be a bit weird on a local gang.
“MuseBlog: Promoting Accuracy in Pulp Fiction Since 2005.”
Thank you very much, I apologize if any of the cliches crossed the line into being annoying or offensive.
The basic idea for my character was that he would be a mountain climber (because it’s a game set in the 20s and I’ve read a lot about the early British expeditions to Everest), and I realized I’d never seen any player-made Centurions (people born on the first day of the century with incredible skills and abilities who will become Pulp Heroes and Villains, the basis of the game) from the WWI Central Powers who weren’t Shadows (villains), so I thought that instead of being British, I could modify a character based on the 50s climber Toni Egger who I’d created for another project.
And the animal herding but came from the fact that the game requires each character to have “aspects” that describe who they are and can be both positive and negative, and in the sample games I’d seen online, variations on “rural background, unfamiliar with high society” was a good one for making interesting stories. So I looked up agriculture in Austria and saw that in mountain regions, there was more herding than farming.
The default starting year for the game is 1922, so the Civil War and dictatorship would still be in the future. My idea with the character’s conflicts with proto-Nazis would be that they were kind of small-scale and more verbal than physical. I was imagining him as clashing with right-wing newspapers and the like that tried to use his exploits as proof of Germanic superiority. (The book “Fallen Giants” talked a lot about how mountaineering in the interwar German-speaking world was glamorized in newspapers and cinema as kind of an expression of regional character and strength, sort of like the Western genre in the US, and that as the 30s went on, the overtones got darker in the way you would imagine.) But at the time of the game, I think it would just be stuff like him protesting that he’s getting too much praise over his foreign colleagues in the German-language press. (“Our fine local boy saved two incompetent Brits and a Frenchman from a plunge into a deadly crevice.” “Actually, it was Pierre who saved ME.”)
The idea with the Krampus gang was that they would be wearing the masks for camouflage, not intimidation– they were committing robberies close to Christmas and then blending in with people celebrating.
You should also try Adventure! (The exclamation mark is part of the name. It is one of a series of games. Others are Abberant and, uh, forgot the third.)
I’m pained by my current phase… I know I’m human, I know that for a fact… Or at least I think I know that… But currently I feel as though I’m not human but perhaps something else entirely… I don’t know what though… Wolf? Vampire? Elf? Unknown species of alien where I’m the last of my kind? It’s difficult for me… My imagination is getting the best of me… Does anyone understand how I feel or has anyone gone through this same phase?
So this is kinda how I was when I was your age and younger – for me it turns out that people/human socialization didn’t ever make a whole lot of sense to me so I kinda became absorbed in fantasy worlds because that was waaayyy easier than figuring out how to people properly. I still have difficulty people-ing properly – turns out I’m probably on the autism spectrum which explains the not being able to figure out people thing. So I’m not a werewolf of anything, I’ve just got a bit of brainweird that I’m learning to work with!
Yes, absolutely. I think often people — especially young people — who feel isolated and unable to relate to the people around them end up identifying with beings from fiction, myth, or imagination. Even though it’s not true, it’s a very powerful idea.
I think you’re also at a time of life when people are really eager to fit in, and part of that is shunning the people who don’t or can’t conform, and treating them like they’re not really human. It really sucks to be on the receiving end of that. It is important to remember that human beings are more weird and varied than you can imagine, and that there are real people who are going through the same things you are, even if they don’t feel comfortable talking about it.
I agree with what those above have said.
I would also like to add that as long as you maintain a firewall between what’s real and what isn’t, imagination can be a powerful tool for metaphorically understanding and dealing with the feeling of alienation and with one’s other problems (as well as an inspiration for art)– i.e. “I am a princess, and as a princess, I know I must be brave in this situation”, “I am an alien sent to study Earth culture and socialization and therefore I know Headquarters will be mad if I don’t try to make conversation and learn about those folks over there”, “I am a secret agent, I’ve faced horrible deathtraps, a dentist’s drill is no big deal!”, “I am a wizard, how am I ever going to learn to cast spells if I don’t study?”
Kind of like the “cure” Ms. Piggle-Wiggle used in the first chapter of her first book to get the kids to enjoy chores– role-playing as confidence-booster.
Kai has good words here! I definitely used (and still use) fantasy as a way of dealing with real-life things – I used to make up a fantasy world and story for myself where I was a fairy or some kind of animal to distract my mind so I could go to sleep easier. And I still sometimes make up stories for myself to keep me motivated if, say, I’m on a long hike and I’m getting tired and I need a way to keep my legs moving – I imagine an exciting and important journey that I’m on, like delivering an important message to the Queen of the realm or something like that. (I probably stayed immersed in fantasy-world as a kid longer than most people?)
Hi Museblog! I can’t remember the last time I posted, but I’m glad you’re all still here. I’m here today because I just met a young muser! I work at a natural history museum, and this afternoon one of my homeschool students walked in to class with her nose buried in — yep, you guessed it — Muse magazine! I didn’t know the design changed; when did that happen? She said she missed the old muses but liked the new comic. ((How Can You Have Muse Magazine Without Muses??)) An especially fitting experience because yesterday I was watching old home movies with my family, and we found our pumpkin drop footage! Good times (but I had forgotten how cold and rainy it was!).
Anyway, hello everyone!
Hello, Pan! Good to see you, as always.
Hi Pan! Good to see you around! Did you two chat about Muse for a bit?
Hey, math people! I learned a trick question today! Here it is:
If 10 people polled in a survey liked red, and 10 people like blue, and 6 people liked both, how many people were polled?
I wanna see if anyone knows:
10? Because it only mentions that 10 were polled?
Either that or 26.
Nope…
Or 14 because the six that liked both were included in the ten from red and blue.
(I’m not a fan of this kind of question, mostly because my family is really bad about seeing this kind of logic in every statement you make and the doryphoric qualities rub off on me and I hate it.)
Fourteen? I’m counting fourteen.
4 people liked exclusively red, 4 people liked exclusively blue, and 6 people liked both, so — 14?
8
No wait 14.
20?
20, since the people in the “liked red” groups and the “liked blue” groups were not stated as being mutually exclusive?
Is the answer 14? Add the two tens and subtract the 6 because some of each set of ten liked both?
If six of the first ten people liked both, then that would be six people who like blue, and to make ten, you would add four, so… 14 people, minimum?
14 people?
At least 14, depending on whether there were also people who liked neither. (My first thought as I started reading the question was “hmm, and how many liked neither? Not sure what that says about my experiences with real-world polls…)
14 is correct.
Look at that, it’s November 11. One whole year on MuseBlog. Is it just me, or did that go by really fast? Wow.
We’re very glad to have you here, stick around!
I second what Kai said!
Okay, so I know this isn’t at all important, but… I watched Doctor Who for a full week now. A week isn’t very long. However, today, to celebrate my persistence, I have bought a 6 foot long scarf modeled after the one that the 4th doctor wears even though I have only watched the 9th and 10th doctor so far. ^^ Oh! I also got a cute T-shirt of the 10th 11th and 12th doctor taking a selfie together. X3
Woo! May your fan status last for many years.
…you watched 2-4 seasons in a week?? impressive
I’m on season 4 now, but my sister refuses to watch with me because I’m sick again so it will be awhile until I can watch more because I don’t want to watch alone.
It’s fun to watch with other people! That’s how I met my best friend in college: he was watching Doctor Who and I insisted on watching Blink with him. As the seasons went on I watched more and more with him until we watched every episode together! Then we moved on to Torchwood and had a blast there too.
I like that Blink was a paradox. Paradoxes always interest me. Because, it’s cool how something from the future can go and influence something from the past.
Somebody go to the Star Wars exhibit at Discovery Times Square with me.
Okay.
Okay, put your hand on the screen and take mine and I’ll pull you through.
I bought tickets to see Star Wars in Prague! (Subtitled. Definitely not dubbed, that would be very confusing.)
I’ve just read that an astronaut has been playing bagpipes on board the International Space Station.
Worst. Roommate. Ever.
I recently found my old NaNoWriMo Novel from 2009 and reread it for the first time in 5 years or so. Whoa. It’s a strange experience, especially since (for the first ten pages or so) I intended it to be a Muse/Kokonspiracy fanfiction. I gave up in that notion pretty quickly, but the one of the main characters still shows strong signs of being a me-expy, or more precisely what-I-at-thirteen-thought-would-be-a-good-if-slightly-sueified-adult-me-expy. Weirdness ensues:
-Expy me leaves Europe in 2014 instead of 2012 as I planned at that time. This is much closer to the year I actually moved away (2015). I have no idea what Expy did for college, though in 2019 she has already taken at least one postgrad course so I guess she might’ve gone to college in the states while working for the Kokonspiracy?
-Expy is a sort of administrator for Kokonar Enterprises, which is a front for the Kokonspiracy. Her job description then is freakishly close to my job now. Except for the secret spy stuff.
-There’s Expy me and five-years-into-the-future Expy me; one is very 2012-me and the other is very 2015-me. Sadly, future Expy isn’t very fleshed out, but her negative mindset stemming from living in a bunny-ruled dystopia is strikingly similar to my mindset in college.
-There’s this chapter which could totally be out of “Little Brother” except that I didn’t read that book until 4 years later.
-Some Expy character flaws are pretty good, others completely off. For instance, once a character accuses Expy of portraying herself as selfless for sacrificing so much for the Kokonspiracy, while actually she just throws herself into work because she utterly lacks direction and passion in life and couldn’t imagine what she would to without the Kokonspiracy. There’s also a mention of Expy never crying in public of from physical pain, but breaking down over work one night because she’s stressed, overburdened and the reality of her dream of what she wanted to do with her life has turned out to be a nightmare. That actually happened to me five years after writing the scene.
Others are completely off- Expy has OCD-ish tendencies related to her possessions and personal space as a reaction to her unresolved issues regarding her broken family, has gotten more blunt and bossy over time instead of less and is a remorseless habitual liar.
-I totally killed off my favorite character (not me) and her boyfriend by forgetting about them and letting the building around them blow up. Geez, I can’t believe I did that. Also, I remember really struggling with trying to write a credible romance. Upon reading it now, my favorite R&R part is that the scenes between two of my characters totally read like one of them has this unrequited crush on the other one. That totally wasn’t on purpose.
-Expy me has weirdly fluctuating tech/computer skills. Further regarding tech, in 2024, the new invention of note will be holographic tvs. Oh, and time travel machines that work as teleporters.
-Wherever Muse Academy is, it offers field hockey.
It’s funny though- I remember rereading the novel and being incredibly disappointed, but it’s much better than I remember. Some parts are genuinely funny. Others completely terrible. But the plot isn’t that bad, all things considered. It makes me want to write again…
By the way, happy Friday the Thirteenth, everybody!
went to yoga this morning
it turned out to be an unholy conflation of yoga, pilates, and barre
I may never move again
We’re planning a vacation to Europe! Yay!
Me too, when/where are you going?
Holy freaking [expletive] what the [expletive] is even happening in Paris. Death toll may exceed 120??? When I first checked it was 20 and then that whole hostage situation unfolded.
Absolutely terrifying. Paris will bounce back, they always have, but this is so shocking and sad.
I’m sure we’re all feeling stunned tonight.
I definitely feel for Parisians right now. What an upsetting night.
Homo homini lupus est… But perhaps that is an insult to the wolves.
To quote Sergeant Angua, “I know. And our family motto is Homo Homini Lupus. ‘A man is a wolf to other men’! How stupid. Do you think they mean that men are shy and retiring and loyal and kill only to eat? Of course not! They mean that men act like men toward other men, and the worse they are, the more they think they’re really being like wolves!”
I wanted to post that, but my copy of Fifth Elephant is a thousand miles away. Thank you.
(It’s been strange, going about my day like nothing’s wrong even when I know that people are suffering and dying. And then I think that, well, I do that every day without even realizing it. And that’s even stranger.)
Same.
I notice that what feels to me like quite frequently.
I’m pegging part of it on- well, as an example- the infamous vegan crowd I’ve been hanging out with and ideas I’ve absorbed from them, I don’t look at food in the way I did a year or two ago. And in similar ways, I think about bad things happening to humans that I didn’t used to.
I also have it on the personal level. My dad drives himself to and from chemo every three weeks (The things that affect his getting around on foot don’t apply much to driving. He’s still a better driver than, say, me. The adverse affects of chemo take at least half a day to show up), and I’ll be doing whatever during the day and completely forget he’s not just doing normal things, then he’ll call me and I’ll remember and feel a little bad.
Yet even finding it easy to remember that there’s orders of magnitude more suffering and dying that are routine, the availability of events like that means they affect me proportionately more.
Here is what George Takei wrote last night:
One of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced is when your minding your own business, listening to the radio, and then the commercials are interrupted with “This is an iheartradio breaking news story” and gives you the news.
Prayers for Paris.
I found a lovely sweat shirt at khohl’s today with a yin yang on it. Some people say “you are what you eat” but I prefer “you are what you wear”
Regarding post 18.1.1.1.1.2.2 etc:
Oxlin, I’m sorry if my post attacked you personally or caused you any emotional distress. It was never my intention to do so; I so strongly moved in wake of the Paris attacks that I posted in a harsher tone than is usually seen here.
I don’t mean for this argument to escalate further or hijack the Random Thread. So I’ll post my response to Dodeca on the Hot Topics thread, and I kindly ask any other posts related to the matter to move there as well.
So unless there’s anything else, let us consider the matter resolved* and carry on with our regularly scheduled programming
((*apart from some fisticuffs in the dark alley known as “hot topics”))
And I’m sorry if my post caused you distress too! I realize that the phrasing of “a safe place” could be taken poorly in light of the Paris attacks, though I originally wrote it so soon after the Paris attacks that they hadn’t yet permeated my conciousness as an event that I should be considering in any way other than worry for Parisians and refugees.
Apology accepted and I’m sorry for adding to distress.
Weird observation of my brain:
MINOR SPOILER FOR SEASON 3 OF STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
This happened in late October, but eh. I was watching way too much Star Trek for one night, and was putting on a third episode. The summary for the next one was Life Support: Bashir uses questionable methods to keep Vedek Bareil alive long enough to conclude important peace talks. * And I thought something that promptly got verbalised as “Yay, bioethics!†accompanied by a deranged grin.
But then I remembered. I watched quite a bit of Star Trek (various series. I think we actually got in something from all of them, not counting TAS.), with my mum, and in particular we watched Enterprise in summer, 2013. For all of what one might term the “moral dilemma” episodes, I felt rather uncomfortable. Partly because I was being observed, and while I was scared of expressing a different opinion on anything less cut-and-dried than Newtonian physics, she was extra scary. And part of it is I like a lot darker things now than I did then. But this was new.
But this tolerance comes with emotional dissociation. I felt quite chilled after episodes like the Enterprise one with the clone of Trip, whereas I didn’t feel much different after this one. As opposed to being wrapped up in the story and consciously suspending disbelief, I’ve become a lot more critical as I watch things. It used to detract from my enjoyment, but now I actually like it. I don’t even consciously apply that it as a defence mechanism like I used to, it’s just become my default.
It seems to be a lot stronger with that type of episode, though. In the final scene Bareil’s going to be Killed Off For Real, and Kira is talking to his unconscious form, and in a different kind of story that would have made tears threaten. She said one thing that made me think the phrase “I feel you”, but I didn’t actually feel much.
On the other hand, the resolution felt quite shoehorned to me, because there was an option the characters didn’t seem to have a good reason for dismissing. So maybe it was just the writing. Must watch more Star Trek to confirm.
*It sounds from that like the episode’s referring to end-of-life care and suchlike. I have no idea what that even looked like 20 years ago! But it brings a few things together, some of which are pretty fantastical. So the situation stands on its own.
Me: “I need to think about something other than this midterm stress.”
Me: “Oh, here’s an article about a solo sailor who went mad and committed suicide. Fascinating…”
I’m writing a paper for class on trends in Cinderella picture books!
JE N’AI PAS PEUR
C’ÉTAIT POUR CETTE QUE JE SUIS NÉE
(what are your favorite Cinderellas? If you have a favorite Cinderella picture book there’s a good chance I’m either using it or considered it, I checked out basically everything the public library had. Although I couldn’t find my old favorite, Cinderella Penguin.)
when I was in 4th grade we read a book that was basically Cinderella type stories from all around the world/all different cultures. I don’t know how many of them were historical stories or made up for the book, but I enjoyed it!
Did the book include a Native American story called The Hidden One?
I reread the picture book “The Egyption Cinderella” so many times, but have missplaced it. Not sure if it’s still in print.
Doing random writer’s brainstorming in the shower last night (as I do):
“A Mod-dressing British mad scientist android girl… Wait, there’s probably already a Doctor Who character like that who people would say I was copying.”
My, it gets quiet around here during NaNoWriMo.
I haven’t written much. Just about 11,000 words. Though I don’t do NaNoWriMo anyways so I guess it doesn’t matter. Plus, it’s 7 different stories.
Hey, that’s still something!
plus lots of us are students, and Thanksgiving break is coming up — big assignments tend to cluster around breaks, and I’m assuming I’m not the only one in deadline hell.
I closed on a house yesterday!! Once it records today, I will officially be a homeowner!!
Congratulations, Luna! Does it have a guest room?
Three bedroom 2 bath. And I plan to leave bough room in one of the extra bedrooms for it to be a guest room. Prob just an air mattress to start, then one day inthe future maybe get a real guest bed. But it is lower down on the list if purchases. Washing machine is at the top
Awesome! Congrats!
Dang, I haven’t been here in a bit.
But anyway, I’ve been thinking of joining my school’s marching band as part of the color guard, since I can’t play an instrument. And I’m not very athletic/flexible (which I know can be improved upon) and it might be difficult socially, but I think I genuinely really want to try it. Does anyone have any advice or anything?
I played an instrument, and had a close friend from middle school going into high school band (although I mostly didn’t know people), but I’m also not terribly athletic and at the time was pretty shy.
Joining marching band was the single best decision I have made in my life up to this point. In high school, it made me more confident, more disciplined, and brought out the leader in me. In college, it’s made me realize that it’s okay to chill out more, given me an outlet for being goofy, and given me traditions, friends, and a home.
I don’t have time to write more right now, so I’ll come back to this later if I can. Whether or not band is right for you depends on you and the band and so many other things–I’m not going to say it’s the exact right thing for everyone.
But after high school, it was the thing I missed the most. After college, I know it will be. It’s been pretty much everything, for me. So I’d say to go for it.
I did color guard in high school! Great decision — got to branch out and try something new (I’m not a very artsy or athletic person at all. at ALL. I am so inflexible it is actually kind of sad), made some new friends and got closer with preexisting friends, and knowing how to twirl a flag is a skill that looks really cool, though it’s almost completely useless.
I miss it! Pity there isn’t a colorguard here at Stanford. I was more into the flag-twirling than the dance part, and there are plenty of dance groups, but no flag-twirling groups.
Another flag-twirler here! I still have my flag. I loved the whole experience—which was quite outside my usual sphere—and even now, from time to time, I twirl umbrellas or bamboo poles or any random suitable object to entertain myself. So the skill has some use. Sort of.
Hmmm… maybe it would be useful for a glass blower?
It’s also useful in certain martial arts. A former drum major in my tai chi class incorporates some very impressive baton moves into her bamboo-staff routine.
Marching band was the most important thing I’ve done in high school. You learn about the importance of respect, tradition, dedication, and teamwork. It taught me to be a follower and a leader and a hard worker.
I don’t know how big your school’s band is or what the color guard requirements are (ours used to require previous dance experience), but you should definitely try out! It’s an excellent experience.
I would advise you to talk to the guard captain or another guard member! They’ll be able to tell you what is expected of guard members, what sort of things you’ll be doing, etc.
I signed up for a session for it (where we all go to different classes to see if it might be a class we want to take next year) and they’ll probably give more info there. But until then, I’ll try to learn more on my own. And if I don’t make it, at least I will have tried. Thanks for all your replies!
I feel stuck. And confused. It’s a long story, and I need help.
One of the boys on QB has a crush on me. At practice he said that I had a fly in my hair, or something weird like that. The room exploded in laughter, and I laughed along. So yesterday one of the students was retelling the story during a class taught by the QB instructor noticed I was blushing. So, everyone started teasing me. I thought it would pass over, but… Our instructor has been teasing me. He asked my friend to “investigate”. I want the topic to brush over, but it won’t. I know I sound like a shallow, teenage girl, but I don’t want to be remembered for this.
It will blow over – people will get bored pretty quickly, especially if you don’t reciprocate this guy’s crush. Either way, you’d be completely within your rights to go to the instructor and be like “Hey the thing about me and x is making me really uncomfortable, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring it up again.”
Thanks for the advice, Lizzie. Just wondering, (since you seem a lot more ‘wordly’ then me) what am I supposed to do if someone stops at me locker asks me? I know I’m not supposed to yell “I TOTALLY HATE HIM! JUST FORGET IT, AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!” and I know I’m not supposed to burst out into love poetry, but how do I casually say “I have no romantic interest” without a) blushing (Blushing is the how the whole thing started. I blushed during the reenactment because I appreciate the fact that someone likes me, but I don’t want to like them back, just that the sense of being appreciated was nice, and that I was the center of attention. I also have natural red cheeks from allergies) and b) seeming super dramatic. Thanksgiving break starts on Wednesday. Hopefully the turkey and gravy will get to people’s heads. Thanks again. I really hope my airhead teenage girl faze ends soon. I’m kinda clueless about relationships.
Hey, we all started somewhere. I know you might feel from the context of our posts like an airhead teenage girl, but the fact is that for most of us, middle school (you are in middle school, right?) was a long time ago. And the great thing is, people change and mature and it’s very likely that a very short few years from now your friend group won’t push you into silly “boycrush girlcrush drama” et cetera. I started posting on the MB when I was about your age, and I can definitely relate to where you’ve been! Middle school is confusing- you feel like everyone is ganging up on you and trying to embarrass you. I did a good enough job of that myself, haha (the threads in question are locked up forever so you can’t find evidence of my middle school crushes muahahah no one must ever know.) But the point is, I’m a senior in high school and I’m well below the age curve on this site. “Boycrush girlcrush” is something a lot of us have been through and can relate to, and I for one- and I know I’m not alone in this- am happy to dispense advice.
You’re not a petty teenage girl for wondering how to deal with unwanted attention. It can be extremely uncomfortable to not reciprocate feelings for someone who publicly shows interest in you.
Yelling “I HATE HIM” is, you’re right, probably a bit extreme and only likely to make things worse. And trying not to blush (or giggle or cry) involuntarily is a tricky art to master. But in a best-case scenario, try to play it cool and just say “Hey, I don’t actually care about [the guy] in a romantic way at all. Can we just leave me alone and talk about something else?”
And if worst comes to worse and you end up blushing and stammering (which can be normal regardless of whether or not you reciprocate feelings for someone!), well, you’re completely right. The whole thing will look much better from the other side of Thanksgiving. No one will remember you any the worse for it- it may seem monumental now, but in a few weeks (or maybe months) you’ll be able to laugh it off.
Also, your QB instructor should be the last one to instigate any drama between you and your peers. He’s trying to poke some good-natured fun at you, but if you tell him something is making you uncomfortable he’ll stop straight away.
((p.s. sometimes a mean thing middle schoolers do is tell you a boy has a crush on you but really he doesn’t and they’re just trying to embarrass you. i pray it never happens to you but the way to prevent this is to not do relationships at all til you’re well into high school. which i recommend anyway because middle school relationships usually amount to nothing.))
SFTDP: Aaaaaand I realized I just stepped all over Lizzie right there. Sorry, Lizzie! I just had to add my own two cents
Thanks. I’m worried about Monday’s practice, since we all will be on the same room at the same time. Supposedly, according to a potstirrer on again off again friend, our Kokopelli like teacher told another class something along the lines of “You know how X likes Yin? I think Yin likes him back”. I’m not sure how to react to his announcement during Monday’s practice. He likes to poke fun at me (Drawing my vampire stick figure double on the board, imitating me, predicting my future as a Disney villan) which I don’t mind, but is OK to be offended by this? He also teased another girl, but she’s on the other end of her relationship, as in she has the crush, not being crushed on. I’ve always thought Middle school relationships were… Ditzy, but it is all ANYONE ever thinks about, practically. I don’t have any love intrest at all, which is another problem, since I’m not sure how to tell X that I don’t like him. Also, how do I tell my History teacher/QB instructor to stop. (The last time I tried was more lighthearted. I asked him in front of the whole class to NOT add on to the stick figure, and just to erase it. He did, but it was replaced with a circle figure) How do I say this without a) blushing b) crying c) soundy weak and whiny?
Just get there early before class or stick around after class and talk to him. It doesn’t matter how you sound or if you blush or cry – he’s the adult in the situation and it’s his job to be professional about it, not yours.
If he’s gossiping about students to other students, I have to say he’s not acting very much like an adult. But presumably he’s not aware that he’s bothering anyone, so he needs to be told.
I just got an apology email from the girl who started the teacher gossip rumor. She said she’s sorry and is sending an apology email to our teacher and will be possibly serving time with the guidance counselor for “false mocking of staff”. I’m relieved, since this is one of my favorite teachers yet, even though he may tease me.
I think in general my approach would be to make the issue appear as non-newsworthy / engage as little as possible (also my approach to Dramatic Situations during the 10% of time I’m not feeling confrontational). Basically, their ideal situation is to get some kind of reaction out of you because that makes it more entertaining. So probably what I’d do would be some variation of “He seems like a nice guy, I guess, but eh I dunno” shrug / face scrunch as appropriate IMMEDIATELY followed up with “How about you? You got your eye on anyone?” The key is to keep your tone of voice etc as neutral and bored as possible, as if discussing a nice but somewhat cloudy spring day.
But then it also would depend on what kind of person that you’re talking too. If they’re anything like me, “I dunno” would be the perfect chance to jump in and say some annoying comments about how “Oooooh so you DO like him” etc etc. I would be more inclined to just roll my eyes and kind of shake off the question (as long as he isn’t standing, like, right there. Believe me, speaking as a middle-school boy, it is not fun hearing about how the girl that you have a crush on can’t stand to think of you that way. So make sure this is between you two. And that she isn’t the person who can’t go a single second without passing every bit of information around the school. I know some people like that. But I also don’t really know what happens in middle-school girls’ heads, so feel free to totally disregard this entire message. And I’m going to stop talking now.)
the “i dunno” is where the facial expressions / tone of voice come in to imply that the speaker really doesn’t understand the attraction between the two.
honestly, middle school boys (and girls) are in for a lifetime of finding out that crushes don’t think of them that way, and the sooner they learn to deal with that gracefully the better.
Thanks. I’ll try that if someone asks at QB practice, since we’ll all be their together, I’ll use this technique. (See above for what I’m worried about)
I hated it when two books about the same subject that you haven’t read are the same price at the bookstore and you only have enough money to buy one.
So at the Strand the other day, I was looking at one of those cheapo “weird stories” books that had no citations or even an introduction or conclusion because I needed a laugh. When I got home, I looked up one of the more outlandish claims just to see if the author had entirely made it up out of thin air and found out that the book was on Google Books and that the last two paragraphs of the chapter in question were identical to paragraphs in an article on a ghost hunting website in 2001.
Is this worth making a stink over, and if so, how would I go about it?
You could email the author and let them know you know their work is not based in well-researched fact (and contains plagiarism).
I’d go the other route: Email the plagiarized authors, let them decide what to do about it. I don’t think it’s your responsibility as a consumer to raise a stink yourself, but it might be your responsibility to arm the people being injured in case they want to raise a stink.
Part of me feels that with a 14-year-old article and an 11-year-old book, someone else has probably pointed it out to them already.
yeah I don’t think it’s worth doing anything about – probably both of them plagiarized ti from some third source anyway
The ghost hunting article was prompted by the publication of a non-paranormal popular nonfiction book about the event in question (a yacht race around the world) that had been published in 2001 and mentioned the paranormal story (later owners of a boat that had belonged to a competitor who had committed suicide during the race saying they thought it was haunted), in two sentences. The wording of the online article is similar but not identical to this serious book, and the online article does reference this book. So not plagiarism from a third source, although that third source may be where the ghost story originated.
Not that feeling creeped out on a boat where you know someone went mad and committed suicide is especially paranormal to begin with…
yeah, ethics in paranormality journalism (sorry) is not a fight worth having.
Don’t you mean “paranormal” journalism?
More like normal parajournalism, if you ask me.
Parajournalism sounds like a word you would see in some incomprehensible literary essay in one of the new books at the college library.
well yes, and that’s what I would’ve said, but “ethics in [noun] journalism” is my way of doing a joke about “ethics in video game journalism.” (if you don’t recognize that phrase please please don’t google it, knowledge about this will not in any way enhance your life) (that’s why I apologized)
Reference acknowledged, and I concur.
I don’t know how much weight “your book is not based in well-researched fact” holds with a guy who wrote a book about sea serpents and ghosts…
Just a little question for those intelligent people here to see if I’ve got it right. You’ve all probably seen it before.
A + A + A = 9
A + B = 13
B – C = 4
A + B + C = ?
19?
I got 19, too (although I’m not much of a math whiz and haven’t seen that problem before.)
First equation 3A = 9
A=3
B = 10
C = 6
So the second equation 3 + B = 13
Now the third equation 10 – C = 4
So A + B + C = 3 + 10 + 6 = 19.
((Okay so maybe I’m not exactly the target demographic for this question but y’all should learn this in Math class at some point, and then you will look back and laugh at the triviality. And if not I’m happy to explain.))
Could the HTML GNOME help fix my equivalence arrows? I’m sorry, I’d forgotten that they vanish.
[Our pleasure.
]
19. I got it by looking at the first equation, which shows that 3A = 9, so A must = 3. If A=3, and A+B=13, then B = 10. If B – C = 4, that means 10-C = 4, so C must be 6. Add 3, 10, and 6 and you get 19.
So… I’m fretting over Monday’s confession zone practice. How should ai present myself to say: I have no romantic inrest. (This rides off the boy girl drama I’ve been in) confidence tips, bold-ness tips would be appreciated.
Just ask yourself, “What would Katniss do?”
Shoot the rebel president and have a mental breakdown?
…wait
Maybe later.
Not express her lack of interest, but instead ham it up for the large number of people watching, in the hopes of surviving a fight to the death?
Middle school can really suck, but I hope it’s not that bad…
Different situations require different flavors and levels of Katnissity. In this case, I was thinking more along the lines of “plunge in, stay calm, and prevail.”
Speaking of which, how did it go, YYS?
Funny story…. He didn’t show up, due to relatives in town. I overreacted. After school yesterday, a friend of mine, him, and I talked about the situation. He said he’s just as mad at our instructor as I am….
“Here we have our victors, that’s right, VICTORS!”
SOMEONE went to see Mockingjay II and isn’t having to take part in a family tradition of doing complex puzzles over the break and watching Night at the Museum with family. Again. (Puzzles are the tradition. Someone brought NATM, and that’s what we’re watching. As much as I love NATM (Really, I do), MJII is calling my name…)
I have to agree with what I’d heard online but previously never tested myself– the BBC Shipping Forecast is very relaxing to listen to.
How are things in Dogger, Fisher, German Bight, Scilly Automatic, and Finisterre?
Ahhh… It sure beats to heck that NOAA channel on my Red Cross radio with the robotic female voice reading off the same for my local area.
Upon reading this thread I’m pretty sure you’re talking about the type of ship that sails the seas, but that’s not what I was thinking when I saw Kai’s comment in the sidebar.
Yes, it’s the oceangoing type.
I hate to tell you, but Finisterre has been renamed Fitzroy. The estimable Captain Fitzroy amply deserves recognition, but they could have renamed South Utsire, or better, Southeast Iceland. Finisterre was lyrical.
Oh, that’s too bad. If I had known, I’d have circulated a petition to reinstate it: Finis Terrae, the end of the earth. It’s always sad when some of the poetry drains out of the world.
And Captain Fitzroy already has a very nice mountain in Patagonia named for him.
I realize that banks would like to prevent fraud, but it’s a bit of a pain to have to physically go into your bank branch to authorize online transfers to someone at another bank. I’m trying to send money to my friends so that they can pay their rent, and the bank is already closed, and it’s very frustrating.
Money is a headache.
Money makes the world go round,
Euro, penny, dollar, pound,
The clinking makes a silv’ry sound
When falling on the table!
Money is a headache!
(Errr, is that supposed to be the refrain?)
I just realized that if my mom had named me Betty, she could have referred to her children as P, B, and J.
Although, if K is Potassium and bananas have lots of Potassium, then aren’t we aleady a peanut, jelly, and banana sandwich?
I realized that since I call Dan Howell son, and I call Phil Lester father (in a not-super-weird just general fandom speak way), then that makes Phil Dan’s grandfather!
…imagine the fanfiction….
Home with my brothers. They are playing Fallout 4. J made a character who looks like David Beckham, so P. is narrating everything he does in a British accent.
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m super grateful for all of you, and this delightful entity of MB.
So say we all!
I’m thankful for all of you, too!
Happy Thanksgiving!
The date would normally pass unremarked in Blighty, but I have a niece who is a desperate Americophile, or whatever the appropriate term is. She holidays in Florida, and supports one of your imitation football teams, So tonight I’m going to a Thanksgiving Dinner, which is a profoundly bizarre experience. I wouldn’t be surpised to discover she’s found a pumpkin. I’m wondering if there is any curious etiquette of which I should be aware. Does one wear spats, or an eagle motif, or something?
Anyway, it’ll be good practice for Christmas, which I intend to celebrate in the first week of December .
It’s mostly feasting. I’m sure you can handle it. Good luck!
Nonsense, Thanksgiving is much more than “feasting”, as Robert puts it. Eagle motifs are encouraged, and it goes well with the annual tradition of crafting an outfit from a homemade American flag. (Yes, you first make the American flag and then make an outfit from it. Ingenuity is the American way.) You must speak in an American accent and then, instead of cheers, the entire table must say “America!” all at once. Optionally, it may be a slow-building cheer, such as “america… America… America! AMERICA! USA! USA! USA!” (but you may structure it however you like — after all, freedom is the American way!).
And then, after you give thanks for all of the intangible things in life, you then go out at 6 PM Thanksgiving Day and buy tons of tangible things.
I have to agree with Kokonilly on this one–and just wanted to remind everyone that the more eagle motifs you use (including actual eagle costumes), the more likely it is one of the Freedom Eagles will decide to visit your home and bless you with luck for an entire month! I don’t know if it’s ever been scientifically proven to help or not, but my family always puts a plate of all the raw turkey innards up on the roof to entice the Freedom Eagles closer.
And if you order your eagle costume now, Jadestone will throw in a form-fitting bespoke merman tail at half-price. Won’t you, Jade?
ABSOLUTELY!
There isn’t really any special attire for Thanksgiving, although some people do dress up a bit in fancy clothes to make a good impression on their relatives.
It’s basically a harvest feast that’s a bit focused on foods of the New World such as potatoes, yams, pumpkin, turkey, etc. You hang out with your family and friends and talk about the things you are thankful for.
Well, it came and went. I was relying on Hope to supply the cultural trappings. I don’t think we did very well. There were no eagles, no banners, spangled or otherwise, and no mention of any type of footballl, which really surprised me, because she and her boyfriend are avid supporters of the Blue Cardigans, or whatever they’re called.
There was lots of food, though. They both work in catering, so it was rather good. I got the distinct impression that celebrating Thanksgiving was merely an excuse to eat lots of food.
Never fear! If you listen to Jade and Kokonilly and get started right away, you’ll be more than ready when Thanksgiving rolls around next year. Considerably more. In fact, I guarantee that people will be talking about you for years.
Right then. I’d better pop down to Kingswinford tomorrow and see if I can get an eagle costume.
This whole conversation had my parents and me – I read it out loud – busting up laughing.
Thank you! As long as I don’t have to sing the Star Spangled Banner, I’ll be OK. I have enough trouble with our anthem. I really should stop after the first verse, like sensible folk.
Thanksgiving is more of a heritage holiday. Some people (unlike me) get really into football.
GO CAROLINA!!! AND CLEMSON! I’M CURRENTLY BEING FAUGHT OVER BY THE PEOPLE IN MY FAMILY WHO ATTENDED CLEMSON AND THE PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED CAROLINA!I don’t understand football, I’m just supporting both teams, just so the Clemson and the Carolina alumni don’t get into a fight…Happy Thanksgiving, MB!
I haven’t been posting much lately (whoops), but I’m spending Thanksgiving with a friend in Colorado. We have been awfully busy making pies and bread! I am getting nervous already for the drive home on sunday though. originally it wasn’t supposed to KEEP snowing through then. I don’t have snow tires/chains, and though they do a v good job of keeping Vail Pass plowed i hear, it’s still a bit worrying if it’s gonna be actually precipitating.
I miss my family today, as they are on the other side of the ocean. Thank goodness for Skype.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I played my first game of Magic: the Gathering today. I went with a group of friends to a shop that served as a sort of hub for fans of the game. My boyfriend lent me a deck and walked me through it. I won- I think because my deck was stronger.
It’s not the sort of thing I would get into on my own time, but having a group of friends that plays it- and they’re a great group- almost makes me want to become somewhat proficient, if it weren’t for the money it costs to get good decks of cards. It seems much more fun as a social conquest than as an individual pursuit.
Anyway, it was an experience! And another patch to add to my imaginary Nerd Scout sash. Not that that’s a real thing. If there were real nerd sashes and nerd patches, there would be huge debates over which activities, pursuits, interests, and pieces of media constitute “nerdy”. I personally use “nerd” as a loose, friendly term, but there are no clear imposed boundaries. And that’s a discourse I’d rather not witness. It would probably get messy.
Hey y’all, here’s a little update on my life
One more week of classes before finals and then break!!! Though one of my friends is going to be moving away so I’m not looking forward to that :/
I’ve been doing alright, I guess. My mental health and academic responsibilities don’t go particularly well together, though I’m trying to work through that. I’ve been going to student counseling which has been helping.
The college radio station has finally moved into our new studio, which has been really exciting. I recently recruited one of my new friends as a DJ (also: friends?! !!!)
Also as mentioned on the R&R thread: I have a date on Wednesday!
Night time…supposed to be a time of peace and rest, I turn it into a chance to cry since nobody can see me and tease me. I get very emotional at night. Tonight I am crying about my great grandmother who died almost a year ago. I only met her twice, may have offended her once by saying “bloody”, but I bet she was truly an amazing woman. Brave, kind, unafraid to live… She was almost 90 years old when she died. I remember the last time I saw her she was in a wheel chair because she was too weak to get around on her feet, that was at least four months before she died. But I didn’t know she was dying…she had this smile on her face; seeing me and my brother and sister almost grown up brought her joy. I never got to say goodbye…
Europe trip update, in case anyone cares:
– Current itinerary is Amsterdam – Berlin – Prague – Vienna – Zurich for Christmas – Luxembourg? – Brussels?? – Amsterdam for NYE. Not sure on the Brussels thing, keeping a close eye on the situation there. Could also go to Ghent or Antwerp instead. Luxembourg is a maybe because I don’t really have a compelling reason to go, I think it would just be neat. Sorry, Sel; Geneva is pretty far out of my way. Maybe we could meet midway?
– So far I’ve purchased a TON of cold-weather gear (layers, mostly, as well as a rain jacket, waterproof shoes, nice socks, and quick-dry underwear) and some other random necessities. (Shoutout goes to my parents for purchasing most of these things due to Minnesota’s lack of sales tax on clothing and their wanting to be supportive despite the evolving situation in Europe.) To buy: a proper travel backpack, a packable daypack, other random necessities (e.g. a clothesline).
That’s about it, I guess. I’ve been doing research in the background to see what I should expect. I also came home for Thanksgiving, so now I remember what 30F weather is like… layers will definitely be necessary!
Thanksgiving here was fine, but we put up Christmas decorations the day before because we are not much of a Thanksgiving family. The only Thanksgiving-y food we had was mashed potatoes; the rest was 100% authentic Filipino food — much yummier!
Not thrilled to be going back to California for finals and group projects, but I have 3 full days between my last final and my flight to Helsinki/Amsterdam, so I can obsess over packing for the entire time (which I fully plan on doing).
I’ve also been stalking Amazon’s sales to see if anything I need for my trip has gone on sale. So far I’ve gotten one base layer for 80% off or something. Mostly looking for the travel backpack to go on sale, because that’s $90 normally (yikes!).
If everything goes as planned, we are hopefully biking down the river Danube. Someone in my family just needs to learn German…,
Someone smart with a young, flexible, absorbent brain?
The free Duolingo app is good for learning languages. I’m currently 5% fluent in French on it!
Oh? I’m using a library program (Mango Languages), but I’ll definitely check it out
So… drawing tablets… do they really make your drawings look worse than if you had just done it with a mouse or is it just me?
(Yes I got my first drawing tablet today. Yay.)
From what I’ve heard they do take some getting used to. You might want to fiddle around with the sensitivity settings.
What kind do you have? Getting used to size and sensitivity both may take a little while, especially if you’re used to drawing on a much larger space. But keep drawing and it’ll begin to feel natural in a short time. It will really make a difference in your drawing. I still find some navigation is easier with the mouse, however. I use the tablet with my left hand and the mouse with my right.
POSOC, December and its random thread are fast approaching. Will you be ready with your text and picture for Peter S. Beagle?
Yes! Thanks for reminding me. I’ll draft it tomorrow.
Good! To help get in the spirit, I’ve just ordered myself a copy of Tamsin, which I’ve never read.
It’s drafted. Shall I post it, or wait for this one to be torn down?
Post away.
Kokonvention tonight! I’m excited. It’s been far too long since my last one.
I’m having supper with Kyra, Rosanne, and Rosanne’s mother. Great fun! We’re talking about you.
I had a great time! I’m glad we all were able to meet up!
So did, and are, we. MBers are the best company, hadronically as well as electronically.
Here are Rosanne and Kyra:
Wonderful!! Where did you all end up meeting, location-wise? I know you and Rosanne at least aren’t usually on the same half of the US!
In Washington, D.C., in a restaurant across the street from the building where I work. Rosanne’s mother lives nearby in Maryland, and they took the Metro into town.
Awesome! Wish I was there!