Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
i love that Maddy just went ahead and drew a lovely picture of the
bat, instead of freaking out or crying or something.

i too would be interested in said t-shirt.  

quick story about grandmother: about a year ago i was hanging out with
her at her apartment, and all of a sudden she pulls this box down out
of her closet.  she says "Rudolph Valentino gave this to me."  it was a
formal kimono of black silk with actual GOLD thread woven into it.  i
just freaked out that it was sitting there in her closet all this time.
 this is a woman who after she retired from singing worked at Sears
for 20 ears.  life is really, really weird.

i'm watching old episodes of Davey and Goliath and laughing myself
silly.  right now i am learning the hard lesson that "only God can make
things that are alive."  see, Davey had this robot, and there was a
kitten and...oh forget it.  

-Adriana
  

    
I think my favorite part about being Christian was Veggie Tales. 
Those were the cutest little guys.  Computer animated vegtables that
sing and tell stories about the Bible.  Who could ask for anything
more?  I still watch em sometimes.  :)
  

    
>>We could have a contest--those who are inclined design shirts, and
we vote on the design we like best, and the design we all like best we
put up at cafepress and make shirts with them, and any profits can go
to the CBLDF.<<

Now that is a brilliant idea, altho... why stop at one T-Shirt? Make a
few, the more the better,... hrm. *thinks*

Y'know, I have a cafepress account I'm not using - I'd happily
contribute it to such a cause. And I think I'll go start designing
Thingie shirts, too,... (WhatsHisNameCurrentlyPlayingPiano actually
designed tshirts for companies, wayback,...)

Altho, personally, my vote right now would have to be: a black shirt,
with Maddys Lemon-Bat drawing on the front left breast area (probably
shrunk down), and on the back in nice wobbly writing, "Are You A
Thingie?" with perhaps smaller writing scattered all around in
swirling, Jill Thompson inspired letters, perhaps with favourite
phrases that have become pseuds ("et toi is french,..." etc), "The
Well", "Barking Mad and Not Going Anywhere" etc and etc,...

Hrm. I think I'm gonna go scribble ideas.  :-)
-Kelly
  

    
Oh yes, Lioness - I read your bit about moraines to Mars, and he
started bouncing around and babbling excitedly, and saying lots of
things - the one thing I did catch was this, in response to "scholars
believe it is the remnant of a vast sea that covered the entire state
seven million years ago." ...

"Yeah, a sea of ICE,..."

*chuckle*
-Kelly
  

    

I'd just like to say that not everyone who likes to think they're Barking
Mad identifies as a Thingie...

I like the quotes/psueds idea, though. It should end with Neil's claim that
we're all barking mad.
  

    
What was that big long thing about Neil and how sexy he is?  The post
that almost made me pee my pants?  Maybe some of that stuff could go on
the shirt!!

Angelina.
  

    
Alien Maddy is my new guru.

Angelina: My all-time favorite is Larry singing the “Listen to the
Cucumber” song in Authentic Argentinian Garb.  However, “No Hair for my
Hairbrush” runs a close second.

DanGuy: Identity shift is fun!  

Ninave:  YAY!!!  Thanks so much for the lemony bat story!  There’s
just too much going on now for me to go look for it, so you’re my
Thanksgiving Hero.

<Lioness>  HAHAHAHAH!!!  I LOVE the tee-shirts idea, and the Perpetual
World Tour.  (On a personal note re: the Dells.  I guess they inspire
different people differently, since family lore has it that they
inspired, well, umm... my existence.)

And Tara beat me to the idea of doing the shirts for CBLDF.   

Kelly: I think it would be GREAT to use Maddy’s bat drawing. 

Is it still extant, somewhere, Neil?  Or would she be willing to do a
new one for the cause?

If Cafepress doesn't do black shirts, that might be a problem, though.
 Since black does seem to be the intuitive choice for Neildom.

I personally like the idea of Maddy’s drawing front & center, below
the large-print words: ABSOLUTELY BARKING MAD on the front.  And then
maybe, the Gaiman Mob World Tour on the back, with whatever pseuds,
topics, quotes, Thingie-dom, etc. seem right to everybody.

Maybe Ninave, Michelle, or someone should ask the gang over at
alt.Thingie for their votes?  (I’d do it, but I don’t think they really
know who I am, there, since I post infrequently.)  And isn’t there
somewhere else, too?  Like an old Genie place?  Rick, didn’t you say
you were from there?  (Just trying to up the sales numbers.)  But maybe
we should just announce those after we’ve decided, or it could become
total anarchy and never reach a concensus.

Anyway...

HAPPY, HAPPY HARVEST FESTIVAL PIGGING OUT TO EVERONE!  May you never
gain an ounce, may you smile through the family dysfunction and may you
have many, many things to be thankful for.

Hugs,

;-P
(who just realized that she can sign herself the way she always has
online, with the –P, and add a dose of impudence, all at the same time)
  

    
I have this dim recollection of a rumor that the Flash Girls might be
at Boskone this year.  Has anyone else here heard that?  There's no
indication of it on the Boskone website or the Flash Girls website, so
I'm thinking maybe I imagined the whole thing.

And this whole Tshirt conversation is making me want to drip lemon
extract on my stuffed bat.  Mmmm...
  

    
Imagine, if you will, especially those with kids...

A fifteen month period of a washer that would only run hot water, so
that you had to switch the "hot" and "cold" water pipes going into it,
which meant that now, you only had cold...
And, three months later, ALL of the rinse cycles cease to function, so
that you agitate with soap (cold water), then agitate, soak, drain
(repeating three times to get the soap off), then turn it to drain,
baby-sitting the entire process...

So having set that up, you can understand how getting our christmas
present early from the in-laws, a new front loading GE washer, is
absolutely thrilling to me.

Just had to say, now back to bed with the flu or whatever.

Oh yeah, just heard the washer changing cycles all by itself.
Sweet.
  

    
Mab?  How could I have forgotten Mab?  <Slaps forehead>  I'd forgotten
how many there were...when I saw the names of a couple I was like,
"duh!" but there are some really great "new" names for me to research -
and obviously I need a refresher course on the old ones.  Thanks a
bunch!!!!! 

JaNell:  I am all on that!!!  We had a cistern for the longest time,
so we couldn't have an automatic washer, we used a ringer washer.  So,
I know how you feel!  (And, congratulations!)

Rick - I know!  And they're so silent!  Aren't they cool?  We have a
few that hang around, and I went out early one morning, and disturbed
them from where they were sleeping in the trees above...they moved over
my head with just a whisper of sound - which is odd because they're
kinda big.  And when a storm's coming, you can hear them gobble, and
one winter I saw them settle in the trees in the twilight, in the trees
across the road, the hill behind them white so I could see them settle
down.  Um...I'm sorry, I just...um....like wild turkeys.  Hopefully,
in light of tomorrow, that does not make me a hypocrite...

AND, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a happy one.  If not, I
wish you an extraordinarily nice Thursday.  You ought to go get
yourself something nice and fattening to eat....just to make me feel
better about the nine pies I ended up co-baking today.

Boy, I'm effusive today.  

Tale care!

Ninave
  

    
Pamela - well, I believe that GEnie has ceased to exist in any
meaningful sense (though a quick search turns up something with that
name operated by the same people who last owned the online service, but
now concentrating on database search technology or somesuch).

Sorry, there's no longer a there there, if you know what I mean :)

Angelina - Welcome back!  You were missed - the place isn't the same
without the only authentic velvet_raisin.

Ninave - I believe your wild turkey experiences far outweight mine.  I
just had a small group fly over my car last year, and a solitary one
walk in front of it on a different occasion.  They are shockingly large
things to see actually flying, in any case.

A happy Thanksgiving/TurkeyDay/Thursday to all - I'll be spending it
with my boss' (The Greatest Boss in the World (TM)) family, since the
inlaws' place would be touch uncomfortable under current circumstances.
  

    
Pamela - That would be World Fantasy Con next year. Bunches of people
are going to be there. And a respectful handful of thingies are saving
up to go too.

<madman> - (re: 733) Bingo! That's what it's called! And under no
circumstances do you go into a round with Brust unless your well
rehearsed at it, or have lots of money you're willing to fork over to
him. :)

Elise & BillBill - Yay! More geology geeks! 'Course, it's been so long
since I've taken a course in it and actually applied any knowledge I
had, but I still find the topic fascinating. Ever been to Giant's
Causeway? That would be one of the better days of that particular
vacation. mmm... rocks.

Angelina - yay! You're back. Best of luck on the crap-drama front. I'm
personally sick of it to a point of not bothering with it any more. If
people want to think that about me and my ex's current girlfriend (I
mean it happened, but not the way they *think* it did), then so be it.
The people who know me know better. Drama sucks, but batties make it
all better. or was it monkeys?

Adriana - The more I hear about your grandmother, the more I sit in
stunned awe (is that redundant?).

Rick - Several months ago, someone put up a big "THERE" banner on the
flagpole atop the Oakland Tribune building. Took me a minute, but it
was one of the cooler simple experiences I've had all year.

re: t-shirts - Not to be segregationalistic (yes, I'm making up words,
what of it?), but Thingies really are a separate lot from WELLpersons.
And maybe not all of us here are down with the odd connotations of
Thingiedom. Just a thought. There really are a lot of in-jokes that are
individual to each group. You'd probably be better off with 2 designs.
That said, the thingies already have an old shirt floating around here
and there (looking for website... I think this one works -
http://www.geocities.com/jigoku_neko/Thingie/T-shirt/NEIL-TEE-tn.jpg ),
but it's probably time for a new one, as most of the in-jokes on the
back of that one are pretty much only known to 10% of current afn-g
posters. I really love the idea of Maddy's drawing as a logo for an
inkWELL shirt. :)

squeaks, who blames Neil for her current bat obsession
  

    
    Johanna -- the Flash Girls are indeed expected to be at Boskone. 
(This is from a NESFA internal communication, so it isn't a rumor.)  I
don't know what kind of instrumentalizing shape Emma is in at present,
though there's nothing wrong with her voice.
  

    
*bows head in shame* I'm a latecomer, with no knowledge of the
distinction between being Thingie and Barking Mad, which obviously
relegated me to the Barking Mad category, as I was here for that
coining. 

So, instead I'll just stick with Alien Maddy drawing suggestions.  ;-)

I saw Amelie. And remembered just how much I love my husband,...
-Kelly
  

    
126 New Responses, and it seemed like i only turned my back for a
moment.

Ninave, welcome. The stuck-bats phenomenon only occurred twice. No
bats so far this year...

Lioness, does Atlantis in Wisconsin say anthing about the mysterious
copper mines up north?

Johanna, the Flash Girls will be at Boskone, although I think it's a
50/50 thing as to whether Emma will be playing guitar or not. They may
have to get PNH or Steve Brust or someone as an honorary flash girl.
Oops. Mike got there first.

Angelina -- welcome back. It's not a good thing to have people
impersonate you. (The saddest e-mail I ever had to reply to was the one
from the girl who had been carrying on an intense relationship with me
ever since she figured out it was me in a chat room somewhere. And
then I had stopped replying to her, and she got hold of my e-mail from
somewhere and wrote and told me about it. And I had to write back and
explain I'd never been into a chat room, and whoever she'd been talking
to for 6 months, it wasn't me...)

Alas, I have no idea where Maddy's Bat drawing might be. But she'd do
another at the drop of a hat. She drew Kit & Kaboodle, her favourite
rock band, today.

...

Stayed out at the cabin all night and finished the Moebius story. No
idea if it's any good or not. It ends on a sort of a minor key, which
is okay for a short story, but it means that some of the other short
stories are going to need trumpets.

And any questions or anythings I've missed, let me know and I'll try
and answer.

...

Kelly -- the thingies are the people on the newsgroup. The Well people
are the people on the well. Some people are both.
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
Kelly it's not a big deal, the difference between Thingie and
Wellians. You have to be bright to be either.

Mousie, You're right we do need a new shirt.....hmmmmmmmmm :sound of
long abandoned wheels girnding:

JaNell, you are a Thiingie,....you just don't know it yet.....:sounds
of evil laughter:

I am so excited about being able to see the Flash Girls,.....My
BosKone registration is my Christmas present from my mother this year.
As well as the hotel,...she actually understands about
Thingies,...which is good considering how many have slept on my floor.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Jinxie who is watching the parade and wondering when skipping rope
became a dance thing
  

    
Happy dances of joy!
As if Boskone wasn't going to be wonderful enough already...
(Taking my baby sister to her very first con should be a lot of fun. 
Ok, she's 18, but she's still my baby sister.)

I wonder why neither website mentions it, though.
Sorry to hear Emma may not be up to playing a set yet.  Hope she's
continuing to recover well.
  

    
Pamela- Yes, I seem to be partial to the Silly Songs myself.  "We Are
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" holds a very special place in my
heart, and I will always have the fondest of memories for the Hairbrush
song.  :)

JaNell- Wow.  I can only imagine the excitement when you received that
new washer.  Congratulations.  Someday I myself would like to live in
a world where the water pressure is strong enough that I don't have to
stand on my tippie toes to wash my hair.  I get excited at a steady
trickle.

Neil, Rick, Michelle- Thank you for the welcomes and the well wishes. 
The drama seems to have ceased for the time being...here's hoping that
its not the calm before the storm.

Angelina.
  

    
Oh, yes!  Happy Harvest Festival to everyone.  (Or whatever you wish
to call it.)  :)
  

    
Angelina, your "Weeeeeeeee!" pseud reminds me that yesterday I found myself
merrily singing, "gonads and strife, gonads and strife, gonads and strife,"
and one of the things I am thankful for is all the strange information and
delight that comes from you guys in this topic. Enriched my life, no doubt
about it.  Weeeeeeeee!

Neil, _Atlantis in Wisconsin_ says a great heaping unedited lot about the
mysterious copper mines up north, and about their relationship to Cahokia,
and furthermore insists that the reason the Bronze Age stopped and the Iron
Age started was that the sinking of Atlantis destroyed the flourishing
copper trade between old and new worlds. (I do confess that I am amused at
the idea that Wisconsin is responsible for making the Bronze Age what it was
in the first place. Haven't giggled that hard since I found out that the man
who with his wife Lucia popularized the California Decorative Style [think
Art Nouveau plus Pre-Raphaelite plus a certain lyrical devotion to light]
was born in my home town, which is a tiny tiny eensy beensy itty bitty town.
Am currently considering whether the hypothesis that my home town and home
state are responsible for everything of interest is a useful hypothesis for
the story under construction, or whether it's just self-indulgence of the
non-useful kind.)

Oh, and _Atlantis in Wisconsin_ explains that the pyramid builders of Mexico
were doing it because they were nostalgic for their old town in Wisconsin.
(I'm exaggerating, but not much.)

Geology geeking leads to amusing historical sidelights quite often, I find.
Is great fun. Like finding Easter eggs.
  

    
Jinx said, "JaNell, you are a Thiingie,....you just don't know it
yet.....:sounds
of evil laughter:"
In the words attributed to an ex-president (read "puppetmaster") with
whom I share a birthday:
"Nope, not gonna do it; wouldn't be prudent."
Besides, I promised...

Angelina~It's sad how thrilled I am; but I'm with ya on the water
pressure. For some reason, our downstairs shower has almost no
pressure, but our upstairs shower, which can't be used as we've not got
the glass blocks fitted into a window along the back of it yet, has
deep-tissue massage type pressure...

I currently have that song from the play in "Addams Family Values"
running through my head...

I like "Harvest Festival" best, having somewhat mixed feelings about
the whole Pilgrim fiasco. 

Elise~Oooohh, Easter Egg Hunts! I'm not Christian but I do the fun
stuff; one of the cool things about Cam's family is the annual Easter
Egg Hunt, adult participation allowed; actually, required, as my two
are the only people in the extended family under 26. Eggs are one of my
favorite shapes, and certainly my favorite three dimensional one. 
  

    
Happy day off of work for all those happy enough to be sleeping in and
spending time  with family and other loved ones today.

Neil... how sad for that girl... 
I just don't understand (I mean, I do.. but not in my heart) how
people can act with such a lack of understanding of how their actions
can impact others. It's bad enough in the meat world, but it's worse
online... where anonymity and facelessness breed a kind of
heartlessnes.

Did I mention I saw Amelie the other night. You all must go see it as
soon as possible. Harry Potter can wait. He'll be around in the
theatres longer. See Amelie now. Take a loved one, or one you'd like to
love, or just go alone. It doesn't really matter. I walked out of the
theater feeling happy and glowy and that's *something* that more people
need to feel.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>