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

Notes for 8EXth Conversation at Lil's

Welcome to the Atelier, a place where, as George Will once put it, we like digging deeply into the surface of things. Serious discussion with smiley faces. We get intense about pizza toppings. If this is your first visit, please have a look at our main forum page, A304354. Here we lay out our raisons d'etre and offer links to offsite places that tell and show more about us, the salonistas.

Hypatia made my job as your hostess very easy, except for the outlandish word processor that she used. Extension .odt indeed! She will be able to confirm whether the rendition that Chloe has copied out onto parchment for me to read is in fact what she, Hypatia, actually said. Chloe, the award, please. *Chloe steps forward bearing a quill pen set in a base of milky onyx, the feather being all the colors of an opalescent rainbow. Inset in gold on the base is the simple legend '8EX'*

Hypatia, Madame President, Ambassador to HooToo, we thank you for your work as scribe.

*Lil unrolls the parchment scroll and begins to read Hypatia's report on Conversation 8EX*

First, welcome back j`au-aemne, whom we haven't seen for a while and Irving Washington who reappeared after a very, very long coffee break! Also, welcome to hermoine1 and Sir Peeb. Sporky and Lady C celebrated birthdays and Kelli celebrated her 6th Hootooversary.

We had some interesting conversation topics, as always, for Conversation 8EX. We naturally discussed the weather. That is a given. And what weather we had! Record rainfall in much of Britain and the US resulted in some very nasty flooding. We also had the normal summer heatwave in the South and Midwest while it turned unseasonably cold in Blighty, just to offer a contrast. Then there was the forest fire in Montana.

Our other perennial topic, food, turned into a real smörgåsbord. We learned that at one time or another, salonistas have eaten dead frogs, snails, alligator, rattlesnake, iguana, turtle, guinea pig, elk, moose, antelope and kangaroo. We also discussed Scotch pies, strawberries with balsamic vinegar, shared recipes for a “dirty girl scout”, fair food, pizza toppings, hamburgers, pasta sauce and tomatoes – we either hate them or love them.

There was also a host of other topics.

*Egon sported a quiff for a 50's theme party, which led to a discussion of hairdos from our youth
*Saturation coverage of news events
*Etymology of the word “berk”
*The Tour de France Prologue
*Breast feeding in public
*Christian fiction
*Atlas Shrugged which led to collective responsibility which led to Africa
*Political correctness in the book trade, “Tintin in the Congo”, censorship and parental responsibility
*HP7
*Prosthetics and sporting competitions, disabled athletes and performance-enhancing drugs
*Netflix vs. cable
*Ethical shopping
*Music – what we're listening to now
*Family backgrounds – some of us are posh and some of us aren't
*Birdwatching, kingfishers and the relative merits of various binoculars – also the return of the dreaded BINK BINK bird
*Traditional values – will the real England please stand up
*Real estate – owning vs. renting
*Culture clashes – Czech cowgirl bands, American Renfests and British country line dancers
*Traffic tickets
*Over the hill entertainers
*New York City delis
*Folding bicycles

In the “What's up with Salonistas” category, we unfortunately had several of our members suffering health problems. Librarian Pear had several tests to monitor her heart valve replacement. Agapanthus finally got a surgery date and had a successful procedure. Teuchter started a new treatment for RA. Sporky had strep throat. Kelli had tonsillitis. Mr. D got food poisoning from sun dried tomatoes. Lil had a throat lurgy. Lentilla had a MRI. And Tod lost a filling. Ouch.

In other salonista news:

*Sol went back to teaching and discovered she was no longer allowed to call a trainee a trainee
*Z (with Timmy) moved to Blackpool and became a landlord
*Beatrice got a new job to begin in September and a new bike.
*Ag had a visit from her brother-in-law
*Lil got to operate an ancient acequia
*Sol's choir, of which Scrumpf is also a member, gave a concert
*Rosemary picked out the pattern and fabric for her wedding dress and planted a container garden
*GDZ got a new car and is celebrating one year without cigarettes
*Marv's paintball team won a competition
*Little Miss Nicky moved to new lodgings and got a 2.1 in her degree.
*Lentilla's bathroom ceiling fell in
*Birdie disappeared for over a week, but thankfully returned.
*MR finished her summer course lectures and redecorated D's room
*Mr. D is learning to speak Gaelic
*FG won 3 ribbons at the Western Montana Fair
*tartaronne got a job as the manager of a radio station
*Amy P is finally moving out of her apartment so it can be remodeled

We had a lot of coming and going this conversation!
*Teuchter and Kelli both went to the Hampton Court Flower Show
*Teuchter and her mother also visited Sissinghurst castle, Great Dixter and Rosemoor Gardens.
*FG went to a PowWow on the Flathead Reservation and camping to Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park
*The Dreadfuls went on holiday to Scotland
*Wilma went to Lebanon
*d'E returned from Italy
*Santra went to Sweden, then to Ireland
*Phil went to the Tatton Flower Show and then to the WOMAD Festival in Wiltshire
*WA went to Portugal
*tartaronne went to visit her mother
*Marv went to Las Vegas for DEFCON 15
*Rosemary went to Cornwall
*Beatrice went to London
*Bald Bloke went camping in Dorset
*Teuchter went to Scotland
*Kelli went to Scotland
*Beatrice went to Scotland
*Egon is off to New York City

*Lil looks up from the parchment scroll* As the conversation wrapped, after Hypatia had finished these notes, we had found a little website that bestowed surreal aristocratic titles and weird fortune cookies, at http://www.masquerademaskarts.com/memes/peculiartitle.php , and, thanks to Strangely's birding habits we were onto the matter of squirrels, red, gray, tufted and ingenious.
*returns to parchment and reads on, as Chloe moves forward with a whole tray of small orange gift boxes. Evidently Hypatia shopped with great forethought during her last trip to England, and made a number of purchases in Diagon Ally. Each box is labelled "Compliments of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" and is tied with a simple purple ribbon*

There are a lot of awards, anniversaries and special recognitions this conversation.

*As Lil reads off the awards from Hypatia's list, Chloe holds out the tray for the winner to choose a box*

The FTTF mug was won by Titania, Post 42 was snapped up by LTP, and the furry blue trousers go to HMH.

The award for the “Most Bizarre Medical Event” goes to Agapanthus. Her irony chip blew up. Fortunately, it was restored during her surgery.

The “Smart Kitty Award” goes to Cliquot who taught herself how to tinkle in the toilet. Good kitty!

The “Strange Shopper Award” goes to Solnushka, who went in search of a camel for B's anniversary gift.

The “Best New Insult Award” goes to FG for 'you Calvinist/Congregationalist with a little Anabaptist thrown in screwball!'

FG also wins the “Coolest Event” award for her appearance on Antiques Roadshow.

The “Farthest Trip Award” goes to Little Miss Nicky who visited China.

The “Best Quote” goes to David B for “Kafka's 'The Trial' is probably best read when drunk.”

The “Most Unwelcome Guest Award” goes to Hypatia for the raccoon in her bedroom at 3:30 am.

The “Best New Literary Term” goes to 'teuchter-noir', from Teuchter, of course.

The “Best Animal Sighting” goes to Lil for a herd of elk.

Lil also wins the “Coolest Job Award” for her new position as a Park Ranger.

And the “Best Calling Card Award” goes to Lentilla for her inventive hypercube.



And so we find ourselves on the threshold of a new conversation. What will happen? Which salonistas will distinguish themselves in fame or notoriety? What sorts of foods still haven't been discussed?

With all the talk of royalty that went on in the last thread, I have decided to announce an Honors' List shortly. Longevity is much to be admired and Hootoo elders deserve respect. But I would like to take a moment or two here to recognise another kind of royalty, those who contribute their time and talent to this place. Accordingly, there will be investiture celebrations as soon as everyone has had a chance to get into their fancy clothes and as soon as the jeweller shows up with the new stuff.

So. Please make yourselves at home!

Pheww what a sprint just after lunch

Ooh! So close!

*enters with dignity, already being the proud owner of several FTTF mugs* First LED is good enough for me

Not too close please Mr D what with all that Creepy Fetish Elfing stuff.

[p] dropping by. Currently in the middle of lots of work as it's nearly a new year (academic) and everything needs to be done for then...

Ooo... a gift? *chooses among the small boxes and finally decides on one and picks it up* Thank you!

Almost made it! Ah, well, at least my silk sheets are now in one piece again

Shouldn't have spent so much time on reading the resume first .

But a very good one it was.

This was unexpected. I'll go read the backlog now.

<>



Mortals... always so nervous...

*in a meeting *

I haven't made the first LED in ages.

T, I haven't seen (or read) Marley and Me - from what I can tell the movie won't be out until next year http://imdb.com/title/tt0822832/
I probably should take a look a the book.

*Matina brings Hypatia an Irish coffee in an FTTF mug*

Drat! Too late again!

Gratefully accepts the FTTF mug. This is the first one in two years, I believe. Or is it three? I haven't gotten one in a very long time, is all I know.

Good notes, Hyp! Now we need a scribe for the new thread.

i'm just glad to be on the first LED again.

tonight for supper is tomato/mozzarella/basil salad and some sausage on the grill . that's really the only thing that's keeping me going today

*looks wistfully at the clock reading 9:39 am*