May Not-So-Random Discussion Thread

Closed.

It’s incredible, it morphs, it’s chameleon-like — and yet for some reason we can’t go back to calling it the “incredible morphing chameleon thread.”

This forum tries to stay on topic longer than the random threads do. Newcomers should read The Rules and The Guide before plunging in.

Current topic: Games/Pastimes: Conkers for starters, but the discussion is bound to move on soon
Families
Disappearing bees
Historical restoration and re-enactment
Philosophy

Welcome, Newcomers! (May 2007 edition)

Closed, but fun while it lasted.

Clueless newbies, step right up! We’ll make you feel at home, with a hearty virtual handshake and a warm virtual pie smack-dab in the middle of your physiognomy. (Don’t ask why. It is our way.)

Please read The Rules. You might also glance at The HG2MB (Hitchhiker’s Guide to MuseBlog).

May 2007 “Happy Birthday” Thread

Known MuseBlogger birthdays this month:

05-01 Pentatonikk’s birthday (1992 – puce)
05-02 The AHHH!’s birthday (19__ – color=?)
05-07 Nancy Kangas’s birthday
05-09 Axa’s birthday (1992 – natural blues)
05-15 Qween Mae’s birthday (1992 – dusty pink)
05-15 SupremeMuser2000’s birthday (1994 – aquamarine)
05-18 Midnight Fiddler’s birthday (1992- blue/purple/green/brown)
05-23 Parmandiriel’s birthday (1989 – silver)
05-28 MemyselfandI’s birthday (1992 – blue)
05-28 Elizabeth’s birthday

You turn 5,000 days old this month if you were born between August 23 and September 22, 1993.
You turn 6,000 days old this month if you were born between November 27 and December 27, 1990.

Limited Edition MB Signature Shirts, Round 2

We’ve received several requests lately for a new edition of the ever popular MuseBlog signature shirt (which is, of course, still available at CaféPress). Many new bloggers have appeared and some old friends have returned since the original debuted last December, so we agree, it’s time. Instructions within.

Here’s how to participate:

1. Create your signature, using whatever “natural” or digital media you like.
2. Scan the results, if necessary (preferably at 200 or 300 dpi)
3. Send by email to gapa @ musefanpage.com (except without the spaces)
OR if you have no way of scanning your signature, you may send it by U.S. mail to Rebecca Lasley c/o P. O. Box 3, Jamestown NC 27282.

The deadline is end of blogging day, May 15 (that is, it should be there by the time we check the mail the next morning.)

No last names on the signatures, please–blognames and/or first name plus last initial only. Plain or embellished, as you prefer. Take a look at the first edition to get the idea (see comment #8 below).

You will also notice some show up better than others. Here are some tips:

LINE WIDTH: the graphics will print best if the lines are not too thin or light. For drawing with natural media, something at least as thick as a “fine” Sharpie (not “ultra fine”) is perfect, though you may have to write larger letters than you’re used to. Pencil and fine point pens will simply get lost, especially when reduced to fit on items smaller than shirts. For digital, use a medium or large brush (at least 5 pixels, 10 or more is better, for those programs which allow you to specify).

SIZE: make it big. Probably bigger than you think. There are so many variables, it’s hard to be specific, but if the file size is smaller than 80k, it’s likely too small. Most of those that proved easiest to work with last time ran from 150k up to 1 MB. No one has ever sent anything too big. It’s much easier for us to reduce a graphic cleanly than it is to enlarge one that is too small. If you can, print a copy to see how it looks.

FILE FORMAT: Most graphics programs will support the following: jpg, bmp, png, or gif. (When you save the file, look for “save as” or “export” in the file menu). If you use Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, Corel Painter, or Paint Shop Pro, you can send a file in its native format. PDFs are also fine. Ask if you have something else.

IF THESE INSTRUCTIONS DON’T MAKE SENSE TO YOU, DON’T WORRY. Just do what you can and send it in. We’ve learned a trick or two since last time and will find a way to make it work.

Washington, D.C., Kokonvention

Continued above.

Robert says:

I’ve had a request by e-mail for a more organized and, well, educational program for a D.C. Kokonvention. So far, all I’d been planning to do was a quickish tour of my magazine (Science). But I can add other things if there’s a demand for them. I have other science-writer friends who can give tours, and of course there are loads of museums and things in Washington. I’d need a bit of advance notice, though, and it probably wouldn’t be worth planning anything for a group of fewer than four people.

So assuming something is going to happen this summer, when will it happen, and who is likely to be there?

Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare!

In honor of his birth, the blog requests
That comments on this thread should be composed
In iambs, five per line — in other words,
Pentameter. (Don’t be afraid. It’s not
That hard. We’ll give some helpful hints below.)

In honor of his birth, the blog requests
That comments on this thread should be composed
In iambs, five per line — in other words,
Pentameter. (Don’t be afraid. It’s not
That hard. We’ll give some helpful hints below.)

An iamb is a pair of syllables,
One soft, one loud. It goes like this: ta-DAH!
Iambic words include po-LICE, ar-REST,
en-JOY, de-LIGHT, pa-RADE, a-LAS — got it?
Pentameter (pronounced “pen-TA-muh-tur”)
Means five of them are stuck together, thus:
Ta-DAH, ta-DAH, ta-DAH, ta-DAH, ta-DAH.
“De-NY thy FA-ther AND re-FUSE thy NAME,
Or IF thou WILT not, BE but SWORN my LOVE,
And I’LL no LONG-er BE a CAP-u-LET.”
(In practice, you’re allowed a little grace
To fudge the stresses. Some of Juliet’s
Strong “DAHs” are really weak. But that’s okay,
As long as all the syllables add up.)

An iamb, note, is not to be confused
With “DAH-da.” That’s a trochee. Trochees go
Like “CRU-el GA-pas TOR-ture BLOG-gers.” See?

Give it a try. It’s really not so hard,
Especially to anyone who has
An ear for music. Happy birthday, Will!