h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Welcome to the Atelier! Here we have an In Crowd with no Out. This is the place to actually talk about life, the universe and everything, rather than, well, anything else. We are also the home of the world's weirdest birthday presents. If it's your first visit, please read our forum page at A304354 and learn about us and our customs.

Everyone should have a quick look, actually, because our newly crowned Poet Laureate, Greensleeves, has immortalized the salonistas in a wondrous poem which I have placed front and center on the forum page. (The original post is at #1805). I sent the bots out into the Magic Forest to find laurel, but they aren't very good at botany. This crown of , however, seems even more appropriate. *Chloe steps forward with a wreath woven from and offers it to Greensleeves* Er, you will let us know, won't you, if it has any interesting other, ah, properties? It ~is~ from the Magic Forest, after all.

A formal welcome to Metal Chicken, who unlurked and joined the conversation for the first time. Also, we welcome Slippery Ramparts, who joined us later in the conversation. It was great to see Ormondroyd, who popped his head round the door at Christmas, as did ltp. And we were overjoyed to witness the return of Chris "Professor" Tonks.

We are still hoping for Sporky to recover from all his illnesses and multiple surgeries.

Best quotes: "I would love to live in another country, but only if didn't involve leaving this one." - d'Elaphant
and
"I used to have a friend who insisted she had *never* farted in her life. I would have bought her a drink but I couldn't fetch her down from the ceiling..." -Br. Magwitch



And so -- let us now review 9DX.

First LED Roll of Honor:
Strangely Strange FTTF
Mrs. Zen
David B.
Phil
KerrAvon
Bluebottle
Metal Chicken
Kelli
Marv the Grate
GDZ
Santragenius
B'Elana
minichessemouse
Teuchter

Everyone Else:
Montana Redhead
Milla
Runescribe
Br. Magwitch
Mol
Amy Paper
Titania
Solnushka
Witty Moniker
FG
Dr. Zen
Lentilla
V
Vip
Beatrice
Mysterious Stranger
Wandering Albatross
Happy Nerd
imp of the perverse
lilAC
Hypatia
spacecadette
d'Elaphant
Bald Bloke
todaymueller
Agapanthus
Pedros_ecosse
The Thinker
Ottox
Taff
B4
gandalfstwin
Greensleeves 1805 - enjoy those blue mohairs!

As the conversation opened we were offering condolences on Hypatia's loss of her dog Annie. The idea of maintaining a separate thread for laboriously harvested links crashed into a wall labeled "Too Many Smileys". We never found out what the limit is.

Snow! Weather is a frequent and commonplace topic in the salon but in this conversation it seems to have snowed on EVERYONE except the Californians (we have no Antipodeans or Hawaiians at this time). Most impressive was the snowfall that blanketed England, turning many salonistas into telecommuters and sparking a protracted discussion about grit bins and snow shovelling laws. Mrs. Zen found this wonderful picture of Great Britain entirely covered with snow: http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2010007-0107/GreatBritain.A2010007.1150.1km.jpg .

Another notable link featured on the Front Page, A56598132, has embedded a video of Yellow Mountain narrated by Bea with music by 2Legs.

Topics of Discussion and Notable Happenings

Mixing careers and care-giving: the double standard
Christmas lights and carbon footprints
The color of 'vulgar'...
...and the history of Magenta
...and the origins of other dyes and pigments
Post 135 is modded, upsetting its author, imp (by which event he lost his Moderation Virginity).
the Pervy is instituted...
...and Aintree Lions = Aintree Iron (A Mondegreen)
a soundtrack for one's life
Nine best places to live
The goo spruce was brought in and decorated by all the salonistas
single malt whisky
what makes a house feel like a home?
return of the mutant sweater: http://pictureisunrelated.com/tag/sweater-mutant/
Winter Solstice and Christmas: menus and recipes abounding
holiday reading -- notably Joe Abercrombie and Stieg Larsson, Cherie Priest, Neal Stephenson, Ekaterina Sedina for steampunk... et al (check around post 900 for discussion)
steampunk redux
cold callers who show undue familiarity
What does "modernity" make you think of?
earliest memories
New Year's resolutions
terminal sedation
2010 arrived
book shelving as an art form
a new dog, a Sheltie, in the Little DooDah household
"Tell me about the last time you did something for the first time"
moving boxes and earth tremors
Pat Robertson and his pact with the devil...
...and "Gothic Sapphism" (thank you, Ag)
scruting Mrs. Zen...
...and snogging explained
...and first snogs and stair parties
...and best parties



And so here we are, looking at a freshly cleaned salon with just-baked mbougatses waiting for us at the butler's hatch. Let the conversation resume!

Only me around? Lovely notes Lil

*Matina brings Kelli an Irish coffee in a FTTF mug*

[]

[WM]

*slides into first LED* Whew!

*Back from the top of the thread.*

Lovely introduction and recap, Lil.

I agree, Witty. A recap doesn't have to be excessively wordy to get the information across. I can say this since I was one of the overly wordy scribes.

Wonderful Scribing Lil.

We are off to a pirate themed beach party tonight at 'The Union' (the 'other university's union) I am currently doing a passable impression of the small child in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AzpByR3MvI&feature=related Who is not in fact a small child at all .

mini

1st LED?

*Greensleeves arrives, rather surprised at herself, and looking woolly and robust in the mohair pants, which are of course now on the green side of aqua*

Laurels? For me? Oh how lovely!

Thank you Lil.

I'll have a please, if I may.

With respect to the Creation Museum, we're talking about a small subset of Evangelical Christians, the Cognitive Dissonance Conference. I mean, why do people who don't believe in science have telephones and light switches in their house?

This is a good article from the New York Times about a visit to the Creation Museum by a group of paleontologists:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/science/30muse.html?_r=1

Yeeha. First LED.

* goes back to peruse end of previous conversation and first few post of this one

*Rushes in, admires the scribing, waves, rushes out again. No manners at all, that young Agapanthus. Most distressing*

*Puts the v/_\3 on for a nice cup of

<BB<

Lil, I agree with the paleontologist who said it was frightening. The museum's creators have started with a conclusion and then manipulated information to support it. Science doesn't work that way. To even pretend that what they do is science is blasphemy.

So soon to be so late? Dash it all, I almost made it ~this~ time!

B4ifindmyREALrunningshoesinordertobeateveryone2theforum

And also referring back to the previous conversation, that was an interesting article about the coverage in Haiti, WA. I watched Matt Frei on BBC America's World News just last night. I'll have to pay more attention to his delivery next time.

Cognitive dissonance problems abound: my mother works for a local federally- and state-funded agency designed to help the elderly apply for Medicare or Medicaid, obtain caregivers, join book clubs or hiking clubs, basically a clearinghouse to help senior citizens with daily life. Yesterday, one of her clients, an elderly woman, had to tell my mother how she was so, so happy Republican Scott Brown won in the Massachusetts Senate race because he "would put a stop to Obama's socialism and government spending!" Okay, Gladys, and you're using public monies yourself...why?

Tax dollars, they're for me and not for thee!

Great summin-up, Lil
Following on from the last convo ...
...sorry to hear about t'Boy's wheezy episode, kelli. Our #3 was diagnosed asthmatic at about the same age but grew out of it in his early teens.
Mr T is still very sore after his op last week. We managed to get out for a special lunch today, to celebrate our wedding anniversary and are now going to go and put our feet up with a bottle of

Sympathy - and arnica ointment - to those with bumps and bruises.