WARNING! Will definitely contain spoilers!
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SPOILER JANUARY MUSE SPOILER SPOILER.
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Has anyone gotten it yet? How is it? What’s it about?
nope. i hope its coming soon. i could use some decent reading material.
1, 2-Second. Or third. I hope it comes before Jan. 2!
I got it, but I wouldn’t get it this early ordinarily… I got six special early issues for a reason which I’m not allowed to talk about ’til… ah… I’ll make the date Jan 2. *dances excitedly*
4- I assume you got a Muserology published? If so, congratulations!
I’m writing one and sending it soon…until then, muserology is still one of my favorite articles!
4-Whoa, six issues? Lucky you….
Who are you? Sorry, I’ve been really confused about stuff like this since the Welcome thread was closed… Are you Cat’s Meow with a name change, or what?
5-Didn’t EP say that the Jan. Muserology wasn’t written by an MBer? Unless Cat’s Eye wasn’t around in October…. *extremely confused and hoping nobody will take offense by it*
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Cover: Intriguing. Somewhat cliche, (I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…) but it gets better the more I stare at it.
Dear Muse Reader: There is nothing true I can say about NaK that has not already been said. I would greatly like to meet this woman someday.
Muse Contents: Not much you can say about a table of contents. The mystery quote was quite funny, though.
Bo’s Facts: A typical Bo’s page, and I did manage to guess the false fact, which I may add does not happen too often. But Dick Cheney? Really? XD
Muse Mail (both pages): I liked the poems and songs for the Muses (because no praise is ever enough, despite Koko’s already bloated head), and the letter which mentioned Unraveling Bolero was interesting. But seriously, the letters asking about Pwt Pwns and red/yellow/colored letters are getting a LITTLE ANNOYING. Please, just let the colors DROP. They are making my brain ache. And as for the Pwt Pwns ignorance… Well, I suppose I can’t blame the askers. I couldn’t even get the Muses right when I first subscribed, and it’s got to be wierd reading all these vague references to PWT PWNS and MILTON RUUUUPPINES (though he hasn’t been mentioned recently…) Anyway, moving on! This has turned into a far-too-long rant.
-see description for Dear Muse Reader, inserting “Larry Gonick” and “man” in NaK and “woman”‘s places.
Koko & Co.:
Chuck Close Up Close: This was fascinating, to me at least. The whole cliche “overcoming obstacles to become a great and respected person in world community” was maybe a little overplayed, but overall I thought his paintings, and methods were cool.
The Future is Here: Eh. Robots. It was an okay article, but I didn’t really jump for it. But it’s not the article’s fault, I just can’t get that excited about robots in general, unless they are imaginary and being animated by Pixar.
Reading the OED: Here is a true Muserly article. Big fancy words, LOL-worthy images,
nerdywordy topic, the whole shebang. I shall have to memorize most of those words to use in daily conversation some time.Correct. You have no pants.
Here today, Gone Tomorrow: Again… cliche. Goodness, I had not realized how cliche this issue was until I started writing this review… Save the Saolas, anyway!
Q & A: W-w-wh-what? R-r-rob-robert C-coontz? Whoever is this mad creature to have taken over my normal Q&A column? *pauses* Wait… I remember something! *insert deja vu & flashbacks here*
Contest: Interesting. I liked the acrostic-poem type thing, by Emily M…
Not Just a Patch of Grass: Very intriguing! Yet another mystery by the mysterious Mr. Da Vinci.
Additional notes: There were a lot of those classical MUSE-rly side-notes and links in this one! The Muses were VARY FUNNY, as well!
Overall: I… don’t know why I like(d?) it as much as I do (did?). I feel like I’ve seen some variant of most of the articles somewhere, whether it’s about overcoming obstacles, robots, or impending extinctions. The best parts were actually the mini monthly regulars- Dear MUSE reader, Koko&Co, the Last Page… Though I have to say, I didn’t think about it that way while I was doing the reading. g_g Maybe I am overanalyzing too much and making the experience less enjoyable? I dunno. I’ll wait and see what other Musers say.
Gah, forgot to close HTML! Could a GAPA fix it? Bold-isizing should end after “Chuck Close Up Close.” Many virtual choklits & hugs to you!!
Also, I forgot to say about the muserology article…
Muserology: Shakespeare! Interesting. A little short/abrupt, but the two-page limit cannot be helped, and I liked it.
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Well, the new one sounds all right. And what’s this about RoCoo in the Q&A column? Could he have returned?
SPOILER. I told you I was just taking a vacation.
SPOILER.
YAY! RoCoo is back! Praise Koko! *pies*
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10, 12- You’d better read the issue to find out!
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13- I would, but no one except you has it yet. Well, I think Cat’s Eye does, because of a Muserology, I assume. Oh, and it’s good to have you back, Robert. So, did you do both Q&As? Or just replace either Andy or Ruth?
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Lovely issue. Robert, I didn’t know you were a Jr.
The Robot seems like marvin.
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4 (Cat’s Eye) – You know, I can see how people might get our names confused.
Assuming that the Muserology article was yours, congratulations!
You know, as I read that article I was like, “Man, we’ve gotta find a way to get this person on MuseBlog!” and now POOF here you are!
Anyways, back to the subject?
Cover: This cover reminded me of the one thing a long long time ago where a guy was making portraits out of dominoes, so it got me wondering if i was going to be something like that. It took me several moments to figure out it was actually a guys face, though. The picture aside, I liked the little teaser things, alhough “Robot Uprising!” made me cringe because I was pretty sure there had been something like that before. And they did seem a little newspaper-headline-y, but that’s a small complaint.
Dear Muse Reader: This had me literally lol’ing, mostly because I think Emotobot (almost just typed Emobot!) sounds an awful lot like some middle schoolers I know.
Muse Contents: I didn’t really bother to look at it, but I guess it was all right.
Bo’s Facts: I was wondering why cavemen were considered more dangerous then Dick Cheney, but I suppose the researchers might have had different opinions. The seal was adorable, I’d already heard the fact about the cows, I got the fake fact right (mostly because for once I didn’t peek) and the page was good overall.
Muse Mail (both pages): Yeah, I’d agree that it’s just a wee bit exasperating for Muse oldbies to have people ask about Pwt Pwns/HPBs/Milton Rupines every three months or so, but what can you do? The song was nice, although I only know the tune for part of that song.
Koko & Co.: I like the social commentary. “Oh, I’d say these paint a prey clear picture…”
Chuck Close Up Close: I really liked the fingerprint painting, and a few of the other small things. All together it was above average, but not spectacular.
The Play’s the Thing: I really liked it! I wish my school had something like that, although maybe not at 7am.
The Future is Here: There are far too many articles about robots, or maybe it’s just my imagination. I think we all get that robots are learning to move – whoop-de-doo. Still not awful, but meh.
Reading the OED: This is one of my favorite articles in a longlong while. It had me wanting to jump out of my chair and order a copy of the OED and read it myself, because word entymology is one of those things for which I have a bizzare interest. And who could resist telling their friends to stop farding?
Here today, Gone Tomorrow: I’m all for saving endangered species’ but this article didn’t do a great job of telling me why I should care for this particular one. I found the “New to Whom?” section more interesting then the main article.
Q & A: Reminded me of the alternate history RRR we started ages ago. And it was written by Robert, too, which was an added plus!
Contest: I liked the acrostic one the best, mostly because of the reference to an infamous childhood time-passer. I also found it funny that honey and microwave-radios were considered “absolute neccesities”. I guess it’s all at how we look at things.
Not Just a Patch of Grass: Interesting. I knew they were doing this, but I didn’t know they were doing it by corresponding elements to colors.
Overall: It really, really feels like everyody is trying hard to make Muse better-then-ever. There were lots more of the little side-features then in the past few issues, and the OED article was chock-full of them in a lovely way. Some of the articles weren’t the best ever, but there’s bound to be a bad apple in every barrel. Overall, a good issue.
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Cover: Verrry cool. I liked it!
Dear Muse Reader: flamablamablous. ’nuff said.
Bo’s Page: Great! Good! I guessed the false fact. I agree with Raynpho-Dick Cheney?
Muse Mail: Fun to read, as always.
Koko. and Co: Started okay, I didn’t get the ending. Maybe it’s just because I’m sleep-deprived.
Chuck Close Up Close: Very interesting. The middle got boring, but it ended well.
Muserology: Loved it!! It was written very well. I think I really should try to write a Muserology.
The Future Is Here: Okay, so I guess robots just aren’t my thing. I read about half of it, but couldn’t finish. To be frank, I thought it was boring.
Reading the OED: YESSS!!!!!! Again, flamablamablous. My favorite article!!!! No critizism what-so-ever.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: I haven’t read it yet. I was getting fidgity. So I’ll post about it when I read it.
Q&A: Yay Robert!!! I liked this one, it was cool.
Contest: Meh. Nothing to exciting for me.
Not Just a Patch of Grass: Sweet!! I really liked it. Very interesting.
Overall: Good issue. Not as good as last month’s, but still good. Using Rainbowstar’s smiley rating system from last month’s Muse, I’d give it a
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Cover: Finally, a cover without a border. Me gusta.
Dear Muse Reader: I like that NaK is trying to make us want to read the issue, but I didn’t like this format. Maybe I’m just partial to spoofs.
Muse Contents: It’s just a table of contents. Both quotes were good, though. And I’ve heard the Edison quote hundreds of times. It’s the first time I’ve known the quote in the Editorial Staff section. Wait, Romana Prokopiw isn’t there! How long has she been gone?
Bo’s Facts: I sorta guessed the false fact, but good ones overall. Best I’ve seen in a while.
Muse Mail (both pages): Ugh. Terrible letters (no offense). All the questions have been asked before. Oh, and it should say “1337”, not “l337”.
Koko & Co.: Excellent. As usual.
Chuck Close Up Close: Incredible. Great article. And thank you for dividing it up.
The Play’s the Thing (Muserology): Pretty good. I’m liking the Muserology section more and more.
The Future is Here: Very good. I actually haven’t heard of any of those robots.
Reading the OED: YES! YES! YES! PWNAGE! Awesome article, now my… fifth favorite, ish. I’m going to have to use “onomatomania” a lot more.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Didn’t read it. Too much “save the whales” garbage in Muse lately. I know, I know, you’re just trying to help. I’m just getting tired of it.
Q & A: What can I say? It’s a classic. So, Robert, are you coming back, or are Ruth and Andy coming back?
Contest: I never really read these. Reminds me too much of Highlights for Children.
Not Just a Patch of Grass: Sweet.
Additional notes: Margin Muses were the right size! And witty! Thank you!
Overall: I’m very pleased. I’m not going to send the letter anymore. I don’t know if it was just RP, but this issue was Muserly again. Keep up the great work!
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Oh, I forgot something.
Math Page: Nonexistent. *sob wail cry*
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Has anyone else tried the link in the “The Future is Here” article and found that it doesn’t exist? When you enter it in you get a
“This page does not exist. Please contact whoever provided this link”. So here I am, saying that it should actually be (I believe) www . bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog.
Figured I’d let you all know.
I’ll comment more on the actuall issue once I’ve finished it, but I have to say that I can’t wait for the “OED”
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18 – Piggy, I almost just fell out of my chair.
20 – Oh dear, you’re right about the link. Darn typo gnomes! But the link from page 23 is still correct, and easier: if you just go to bostondynamics.com and click on “robotics,” you can see all the videos. I highly recommend the videos; RHex is my favorite.
Happy New Year!
JANUARY MUSE SPOILER (SORTA).
EP- So, when did Romana Prokopiw leave? Was it this month, or haven’t I been observant lately? Maybe it’s just a coincidence. No, wait, she wasn’t there in October either. And…. she was there in September. So it was fairly recent.
Yah, I wrote the Muserology. *blushes* Thanks for all the kind comments.
No, I’m not Cat’s Meow. Sorry for the confusion.
And no, I wasn’t here in October.
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Cover: Cool! If you stand back from it, it looks like a face, with a beard and glasses.
.
First page: Meh. There have been better ones.
Table of contents: The style is too flashy, with distracting patterns and random pictures floating around. But the fairy wings quote sounds funny out of context.
Bo’s Page: Interesting. I thought that the cow one was the false fact.
Letters (both pages): Aha! Now I know what “pwns” means! But the colored letters in that one on the second page were pretty annoying, as reeding this sentence must have been for you. Sorry.
Kokopelli and Company: I don’t get it.
Chuck Close Up Close: Interesting. I liked the portrait made of fingerprints.
The Play’s The Thing: Semi-interesting. I’m not really interested in drama, but the club sounds fun.
The Future Is Here: Again, semi-interesting. It was boring in parts, but it’s amazing what kind of things robots can do.
Reading The OED: Interesting. I liked the weird definitions. I’ve actually considered reading the whole dictionary, but I’ve never done it.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Kind of boring.
Q and A: Interesting, but I would have liked it to have two questions.
Contest: Boring. I think it was kind of a dull contest idea. But the new one is better.
Not Just A Patch Of Grass: Wow! I wonder if any paintings have secret messages in them? But who’s E.P.?
Overall: This issue was a mixed bag. Using my smiley rating system, I would give it a
Cool! Haha, My father works with Chuck Close, I just saw some of this most recent prints a few days ago.
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I absolutely loved that story about Chuck Close, his technique was really interesting. The robot story was also interesting, but as i sometimes steal and read popular mechanics (in absence of Muse) it was nothing new. However I loved this issue because of the OED story. I must have found four to five “latin moments” in that article and just reading about that sheer amount of knowledge confounded me. On the topic of Latin, here’s a good example. “Quomodocunquinze” is from the words Quomodo (by means of) and Pecunia (money). The word means, as you know from reading, to make money in any way possible. Hows that for cool?
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24- I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t understand Koko. and Co.
24- That’s the point of the cover, yes. And EP is Elizabeth Preston, the associate editor of Muse. You haven’t been around long, have you?
24/28- Yes, that face is Chuck Close, his self portrait.
28- One doesn’t need to know who the editors are to read the magazine, or the blog, on which the editors have even less publicity.
29- First, I’m aware that that is his self-portrait. And second, EP shows her face here on MuseBlog quite a bit, and has her name listed second on the Editors column. It just seems like fairly common knowledge. *sigh* I’m becoming quite a cranky oldbie, aren’t I? I apologize.
27- AE alert!
25- Holy wung buttons! *much jealousy ensues here*
24, 27- Hmm, really? … That’s odd, I-I can’t quite begin to explain it. Bu- but… it was funny! Really. At least, I thought so. For some obscure and unknowable reason.
28, 30- Well, EP, to the extent of my knowledge, rarely posts on thread other than the Muse discussion pages, and nobody outside of absolutely insane Muse-overanalyzing fanatics actally READS the editor’s column. So one couldn’t really say that her status in the MuseBlogosphere is quite “common knowledge”.
And, being as friendly as possible, there is no need to be condescending. Though you did apoligize. Hmm. Well, we’re all Musers here! *dodges pies*
31- *pelts Raynpho with pies aplenty*
hmmm. pies aplenty. well, *pelts Piggy with little stuffed squids* heh heh…*laughs maniacally*
*dodges pies and squid*
24, 28, etc.- Rainbowstar, don’t worry: knowing who’s behind the scenes is not a prerequisite for reading MUSE! But in general, if you see someone’s initials in any magazine, that persons is probably an editor.
*has existential moment: wonders who EP is*
mysterious. EP…
33- Woah! Let’s keep it to pies for now. And I didn’t pie Raynpho randomly. Read this definition from the HG2MB:
34- Feeling existential? Try the Philosophy thread.
*Is pied. Aplentily, it seems.*
I also seem to have spelled apologize incorrectly in my last post. Drat it all.
The website for the magazine mental_floss (which I’m sure many Musers would like) has a thingy about Chuck Close! And someone commented on it and mentioned Muse! Mwahaha. Now mental_floss readers will Google Muse and join Mostly Harmless.
Anyway, here’s the URL (take out the space before the double slash).
http: //www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22044#more-22044
EP is Elizabeth Preston, or (as some of us like to call her) Presto!