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

Hm ... I was just considering making an entry on the life and death of stars, only to discover that we've already got one: A42426993

Pity. I was going to compare the tug-of-war between gravity and nuclear fusion to that one animation from Monty Python And The Holy Grail. "STAYYYYY UP! ... *CRASH* STAYYYYY UP! ... *CRASH*"

This thread got away from me too, but even though it is NaJo time etc, I'm reading this evening as a break from writing

Heya, not been in for a while as it's been rather busy in that "offline" life. The brewery's doing well, in fact I've sold out of beer!
We're brewing to capacity at the moment purely to try and build up some stock again!

*a tawny owl flaps in, as unobtrusively as possible, and settles on the back of an armchair*

*it has been years since he was last here, so for now, he just blinks, looks around and listens*

A mammoth wanders in as well.

Hello everyone - I was seeing Lil's paintings that she posted from our art competition many years ago, so thought I'd drop in.

I have missed the Salon, and I am glad to see some old-timers return

I miss the quality of the debates we had here. We don't 'get that on Facebook or twitter.

No-one else will ever sink to our level

<BB<

I am not a lot in-favour of FaceBook chatter - when it compares to things and places like the Atelier. It is all a little empty and cold.

Here, I offer some fresh baked pastries for the Christmas season (my bride is very adept with baking), and also a couple of "Brown Betty's" of tea that comes from England and Scotland. (I have friends in the very best places)

Facebook is like a place where you can have inane offline chat with people you know, or know through someone.

Here you can talk randomly with random people.

And yes, I'm still here

And they don't come much more random than us lot.
Curry washed down with Spitfire this evening. Nothing on telly till' Fargo at ten so I am listening to some Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk on youtube. On the one hand it's great you can listen to music you may not have listened to otherwise if it wasn't for free. But on the other it diminishes it somehow by making it easy and disposable.

*floats in unobtrusively, followed by Matina, who is pushing the tea tray obtrusively*

Mbougatses, anyone?

Ahem. I have an announcement, and this is what it is:

Those of you on Facebook and among my friends know that I have been displaying a retrospective of the Artrage Challenge I held here, back in 2005. It was fun, and we're going to do it again.

We don't have graphics capability here, so I'm asking salonistas and associates to post their work on Facebook. Think of it as cross-pollination.

I have more extensive instructions and links to some cool free art apps here: http://www.lilatladera.com/blog/artrage2.html

*snags a cup of tea and a mbougatse, and relaxes into one of the Lazy Bastard chairs, wondering if that could really, possibly have been Beeblefish she saw*

YAY!!! An excuse for me to do some drawing again!

[RNick]

Oh I have *missed* the conversation here. Are we going to decorate the tree?

Something strange happened when we decorated our real-life tree at home this year. I've taken to buying a new decoration when we go on holiday or an outing (which is why our tree has a daffodil (Wales) and a giraffe (London Zoo) on it). Anyway, as the 'holidays' decorations go onto the tree, we remember the particular holiday associated with each one.

And then there was a painted china bird. I have no recollection of even seeing it before, let alone being on a holiday and buying it. And neither does anybody else. What's more, it was in the box of decorations, which means it must have arrived in the family before we packed everything away on 6 January 2015, which means we must have hung it on the tree last year.

But nobody remembers it.

I'm wondering if it arrived in our box of decorations through a wormhole in the time-space continuum or something. I mean, all those Christmas memories, packed close together, perhaps they can Do Stuff.

Mol

Pastey, I'm counting on you to participate.

And Bruce is right over there by the hot tub. Remember, he decided not to be shipped back to the Magic Forest last year, so decorate away.

So Mol, I suppose the word "eclectic" might fit your tree? I like your tradition.

My only Christmas decoration is this tacky USB-powered color changing tree about the size of my hand. Just about the maximum festivity I can deal with as far as my own apartment is concerned ...

I always spend Christmas with family, anyway.