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

I have been enjoying your input on the various Justin threads. So I just thought I'd pop by and say so.

az

Thanks, Az. It is mutual.

I was beginning to enjoy Member's postings, too, until he started with the anti-women cr@p. I understand people have personal opinion about that, but it sort of undermines his position on what Justin says.

I was watching something on TV today http://www.hellhousemovie.com/ about Hell House, a Christian "scare tactic" theatre which has been on the rise. They franchise their "theatre" all over the US and Canada in order to scare kids into "being saved". In the States, it culminates in a strong-arm into conversion (in Canada, this is toned down somewhat).

http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/2555/fqm25.html

Landover Baptist's "Hell House" article: http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1099/hellhouse.html

http://www.srcog.org/hhoutreach.htm "(sorry, photo not available for heaven at this time)"

I added this (post 47) and then unsubscribed: F91415?thread=350521&latest=1

Our friend Justin fits the profile to T, doesn't he?

Holy smoke, that stuff is really creepy! Flying in dead Turkish bodies??? Shudder! Buncha f*ckin whackos.

Yes, I read your posting. Why unsubscribe?

As for Member, he keeps coming back with a new nickname but it never takes long to suss out who he is. I like him a lot, though perhaps it didn't seem so after we both got ranting and raving over his aburd ideas about women. Also, he does have a bit of a nasty streak in that he can be very cutting and insulting (sometimes even more so than Justin!) when he wants to be.

Well, perhaps you have better things to do than listen to Justin, a sad deluded case with his head firmly buried in the sand. I mostly like the responses as some of them are quite intelligent as well as funny.

Anyhow, have to go to work now . . .

az

"The Landover Baptist" site is a satire of real Baptisit sites. Actually, there is a movement afoot by Christian zealots to bring down the Landover site as promoting "religious intolerance". Imagine that..... Right-wing Christians complaining about religious intolerance.

Yes, the Landover sight is quite good - it reminds me of a satire Christian site that Member (under another name) once posted, but now I can't remember what it's called.

Have you seen this one?

http://www.wewantyoursoul.com


az

That was very good. I have passed it along to a number of my friends.

Well, I think it was *you* that I got the snowflakes site from. One day I was lurking around on Yukon Wolf's site (I think he has disappeared) and saw a thread about these snowflakes. I am really hooked now! And have created a few other snowflake addicts as well.

Really, it's been years since I've seen snow but I'm quite looking forward to Christmas even though I'll probably just be spending it on my own with the cats. And no doubt with any other hootoo LOSERS who are also spending Christmas alone

Things are looking up though. Last year I didn't know about hootoo and I didn't have broadband!



az

Yes... it must have been my post where you got the snowflakes. I make snowflakes every year for Christmas (3d ones not virtual). The virtual ones, I must say are easier on your fingers and if you make a mistake you can correct it.

Unfortunately, the Flash bogs my computer down and 1/3 of the way through the first one, my mouse slows to a crawl. Very frustrating.

I have been trying out making little pictures in them and I made some pretty neat ones which I have on my photo site. If you go to my "space" and use the first link (Artsy-fartsy photo) you can find my album of snowflakes. I still have some to add and somewhere lost a couple of my favorites, one of a fish and the head of a man with glasses and amoustache (quite funny) when I emailed them to myself from work.... drat.

My mother is going to Toronto for Christmas and wanted me to go, too. However, I spent one day at my sister-in-laws with my two nephews, one of which is ADHD.... It was like a visit to a lunatic asylum. I don't want to spend a week having a disfuntional family Christmas.

I usually spend Christmas morning at my sister's house with my niecie-pie Gabrielle. Not having any kids, myself, it is nice to have something of a tradition. I will be having dinner with my friend and her family. I have known her since we met in college back in 1987 and her family treats me like I was one of them (I stayed at the hospital when her son was born 14 years ago), so that is always nice. She lives in my co-op, just along the street, so she is very close. My sister lives across town.

Since my cat, Benjamin, isn't very sociable, even with me, it would be pretty dull just spending it with him. (I am sort of picturing me, alone, sitting in my armchair, wearing a paper hat from a party cracker, watching the Queen's speech, with the cat glaring at me from his perch on his "tree".)

Well then,

Perhaps we will see each other here on Christmas Day!

I used to do a bit of a 'Christmas Orphan' dinner here, for all ex-pats from wherever who found themselves in Seville without family and friends to spend Christmas with. Well, I did this until I realized that most of them didn't give a flying f**k that it was Christmas - they were just interested in the free meal.

So I don't do that anymore.

And to be honest, I probably only have one somewhat close friend here. The other ones, that I can count on one hand, live in other countries.

But I think it is somewhat an age thing. I don't know how old you are but I will be 47 (yikes!) in January and I find it just gets harder and harder to meet friends. Perhaps it's because one's standards are set a bit higher, but it is also because most people my age are already set into their lives, usually with kids and a partner, and I am a bit like a stray cat that they sometimes let in for a meal.

I still maintain a hopelessly romantic notions that - one day! - I may meet a man to share my life with. Well, I have had three husbands thus far . . . none of those experiences have been terribly romantic. But you never know.

Part of me feels a bit sad that I will once again be spending Christmas with just the cats. Having said that, I spent last Christmas with a couple I met here, Americans, very nice people. But it ended up not feeling Christmassy at all. It was just like having dinner. Nothing special. Though I made a wonderful dinner here. Ho hum. They didn't seem to care at all that it was Christmas. So perhaps I am better off on my own making a big fuss over the cats and preparing a nice brunch and cracking open a bottle of cava and . . .

Well, no doubt I will check out hootoo for other lost Christmas waifs like myself. And then call my family in Canada to say the usual stuff to each other. Gosh, doesn't sound terribly festive, does it?

Though I remain quite a Christmas fool. I just love it all somehow.



az

Gee! You and I are contempraries! I turned 47 (yikes!) in September. I've been married once and my mother and I are now sharing abodes. Neither wants it to be said that we "live with" their mother/daughter.

It was just convenience, really. Mom had a heart attack just before my marriage broke up. She had been living in the country with my sister and her husband, but the whole family was concerned that it was quite a distance to the hospital and that she was alone a lot of the time. She drives all over and was spending a huge amount of money coming into town every day anyway. Since every place I looked at within my price-range was too small and too horrible to contemplate living in.

My friend told me that there was a place in the co-op coming up if I could move immediately.... perfect! So it just worked out all round for us. There are times when we would probably like to throw the other person down the front stairs, but all-in-all, it has worked out well. We even bought a car together this spring.

Mom is 79, and a real goer. We bought the car May 15 and she has, almost single-handedly, put 36,000 km on the dial!

Where do you live? I think you said, but I can't recall. I am in Ottawa.

I miss the big family Christmas. Even after I got married, my ex and I had a small Christmas. His family was the 1 person-1 gift sort and he was taken aback the first Xmas when I got a whole lot of things for him plus a stocking.

The thing I miss most about the family Xmas is having a real tree. With just the two of us and in a small apartment, it wasn't really an option, and since Mom is away for most of the holiday, there isn't much point, now. Of course, having a real tree entails taking it down, and I don't miss that.

Mom started a tradition which we had for about 10 years. Every year, she threw a "Tree Untrimming Party", inviting friends, neighbours and family to help remove the decorations, they even swept the floor! She served lots of terrific food and goodies, wine and punch, and everyone got a little gift of a Christmas decoration (bought for the occassion, not off the tree). People were really sad that, when she sold the house, the party would no longer happen. They really looked forward to it. I think it was one of the best traditios we had.

Our family always had "waifs and strays" over for the holidays, either Christmas dinner or for Christmas morning, then again at new Years. I was forever dragging someone home when I was in college. I always check to see that someone who wasn't sure they were doing anything over the holiday isn't still at loose ends. Even if it is just the two of us, it is better than having someone going it alone.

Well, you can count on me dropping in here for some Xmas cheer.

I posted this elsewhere, but have a look at my sister's photos from her trip to China. It took me 4 hours to load them up to the website.... http://public.fotki.com/Mudhooks/shirins_photos-1/

HAd just a very quick glance through the photos - will look again later, but I have a student coming in about fifteen minutes so I a bit short on time right now.

But just a quick response to you. Okay - we have a date for sometime on Christmas day. I always used to put up a tree, even a little one, until I got cats. Now there is just no way. I shudder to think what they would end up doing to something with dangling baubles, and one of my cats has a passion for asparagus, so he might also decide to EAT the tree. However, am thinking of getting some pointsettas this year to put up on the highest shelf of my bookcase.

I live in Seville. A long way from Winterpeg.

gotta

az

Seville.... Not the "Shady Lady from Seville"? (Victor/Victoria).

Wow... Must be beautiful!

I am with you on the cats/trees issue. We alway had Benjamin trying to climb the little table-top one we had. Never failed. No sonner had I put all the deorations back after one CATastrophe, but there would be another crash from the living room. Benjamin would have this "Jeez, Ma.... How'd THAT happened?" look.

One year, 10 minutes after putting up the little twinlke-lights in the front window, Benjamin inspected them. I heard this CRUNCH.... he had bitten one of the lights and i had to grab him and get all the glass out of his mouth. Stupid cat!. Now I can't put up lights anywhere he has the least chance of reaching.

I really shouldn't eat and type... I always make terrific typos when I do!

Cats are so weird. One of mine likes to eat electrical cords so I can never leave anything plugged in when I'm not in the room. He's the same one who loves asparagus so this means I cannot have plants or cut flowers. But oh well. I'd much rather have to unplug stuff and live without plants, flowers and Christmas trees than live without the little beast.

Yes, Seville is gorgeous. They will be turning on the Christmas lights this weekend, so I'm really looking forward to that. My street is lined with orange trees and they put little white fairy lights in them which makes the whole street look so magical.

Hmmm, I also eat whilst typing. But that isn't nearly as hard as trying to type with a 15 pound fat cat on one's lap (which is what I am doing now). Yeah, I know, I could kick him off, but he is purring and looks so happy. Also, he's keeping my legs warm! (no central heating!)

az

I wish mine were lovey-dovey enough to sit on my lap. The only time he is really lovey-dovey is when he is sick.

Our Christmas tree lights went on "officially" last weekend. Unfortunately, because my camera is broken, I an without the opportunity to take photos of them. Wahhhhhh!

Most towns here now have at least one street where the residents (overwhelmingly male) try to outdo each other inoutdoor light displays. The main one in Ottawa is on Taffy Lane, in Orleans. http://image.pbase.com/u22/hilton/large/9979380.taffylanelights.jpg My niece refers to these as "monuments to testosterone".

The other is over on the Quebec side.... I don't exactly know where, but we drove by a couple of years ago and it was like being in a tanning booth with all the lights.

There is one house near my house which could rival Santa's Workshop with all the lit-up candy-canes, spiral trees, "icicle lights", etc., etc., etc.!

We used to have a rabbit that ate electrical cords. We narrowly missed having the house burn down once when he ate thu the cord of the hi-fi set in the basement. The cord was sitting on a pile of newspapers, and they had started smoldering. Luckily, my mother, as we were sitting in the car to go out for the day, remembered she hadn't taken clothes out of the washer to put in the dryer.... we all moaned, but she went in. The whole side of the stereo cabinet was smoldering. After that, cords were put well up out of reach.

Benjaimn used to chew cords, but I cured him of that by spraying him with water every time he went near one.

He still eats the plants, though. I know what you mean about not being able to have cut flowers. He goes nuts when I bring themin the house. Somethings, like Aloe Vera make him practially climb the walls to get at it.

I haven't let that stop me having plants, though, I have a lot of them. Hoever, he keeps the Spider Plant pretty well mowed down.

I couldn't open that link - it came up as a 'forbidden page'

This weekend I will be putting my few Christmas decorations around the living room. A small cardboard cut-out Christmas tree that sits on the bookshelf. Really, it's quite pretty, a Victorian style decorated tree. I put white fairy lights around the two balcony doors, some extra candles and a really eensy weensy ceramic nativity scene that someone once gave me as a give. That's it really. Well, and I may get a few small pointsetta plants to put on the top shelf of the living room bookshelf.

I discovered that Azar liked eating electrical cords one hot summer night when I was in bed with the electric fan going and it suddenly stopped! I saw Azar race out of the room and then saw the cord cut in half and all I could do for the next hour or so was hug Azar to my chest and keep saying over and over 'I'm so glad you're not dead!' I mean, saliva and a live electrical cord . . . well, also there is the fire hazzard.

Happily he doesn't go for the computer cords as they are thicker.

I had some small spider plants on top of a tiled partition in my bathroom and one day decided to put them out on the balcony for a bit of air and sun and forgot to close the balcony door . . . next time I looked there were just a few nubs of bits of leaves still sticking up from the soil. Azar had struck again!

az

I'm not quite sure why, but some people have trouble with the site. I think it might have something to do with the security settings on your computer. I will send it to one person and they can access it, but the person at the next computer, running off the same networks can't. Sorry... They are really good photos.

My camera is broken and I just found out last night how much it is going to cost to repair. $230.00 (acccckkkk!). However, since it is a terrific little camera and I love it, almost as much as I love my cat, I have no choice but to get it fixed.... I can only hope I will get it back before Christmas.

Apparently, the "Official" ceremony for turning on the lights on Parliament Hill was last night. I thought it had been a couple of weeks ago.

Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, a neighbour had their Christmas tree up.... Now THAT is crazy!

We have a little table-top tree that I bought in New York when my ex and I lived there. It looks like a real tree with burlap wrapped around the root ball. I usually put decorations on that. My Mom bought this little tree with fibre-optic lights. I wrap it in tulle and it looks so pretty. I also decorate my Norfolk Island Pine which is now about 3 feet tall (it is actually three little trees).

I spent a Christmas in a villa near Florence. We didn't have enough money to buy a lot of decorations. We bought a little tree in a pot. I made salt-dough decorations which I painted with watercolors. I made Christmas balls out of rose hips from the garden. We finally managed to find popcorn in the market in Florence, so I made popcorn garlands.

There were Cyprus trees out in the gardens, so I cut a number of branches and made a wreath, and garlands for the doors and the fireplace.

Christmas Eve, I went for a walk and it snowed a little. Over the hills, from the private chapel of the family that owned the villa, came the voices of a children's choir singing carols..... Oh, it was so beautiful.

New Years we went to Sienna. That, too, was really beautiful. Too bad the whoe holiday ended badly, but that is another story. It still lives as one of the most beautiful Christmases ever.

If I had the money, I would like to spend Christmas in Italy, again.

You must have some sort of amazing camera if it costs so much to repair! So you must be quite seriously into photography.

If you give me your email address I can send you a photo of ME! I have seen yours on your personal page and I think you have a lovely face. Interesting, intelligent and . . . I don't know why I say this, just a hunch, that you look like a very trustworthy sort of person. Very sure of yourself. I like that.

Confident people always make me feel secure with them.

Today it has been raining NON STOP and quite hard since about 5am this morning. I'm wondering about getting to the video shop to return the very silly dvd I took out yesterday evening. Caligula. Thing is, I am reading the Lindsey Davis series about her ancient Roman times 'detective' Falco and I am so addicted. It's a wonderful series of books. Since she is a serious scholar and historian of Ancient Rome it makes all that she writes smack of vermi. . . f*ck, too lazy to look that word up for the correct spelling. . . reality. Also a friend of mine has been lending me, bit by bit, the old BBC series I Claudius. So yesterday I thought I would watch Caligula to stay in the 'Roman mood'. But it was mostly pornographic. And quite silly. Quite a waste of the very good and talented actors that were employed, in my humble opinion.

Oh, you have been to Florence! I have three cities that I am dying to visit - Florence, Lisbon and Barcelona. Your Christmas there sounded quite magical. As well as the New Year in Sienna. Oh DO TELL about why that ended up badly! (curious cat, me)

In Toronto I used to make popcorn garlands with cranberries - really very pretty on the tree.

Holy moly - the skies have opened up once again - it is totally raining cats and dogs. I would hate to pay a late return charge on a rented film that I didn't even like! But so far it has been impossible to leave the house without getting totally drenched.

eek!



az

Az,

If you go to my Space, and click on the "email me here".
You can email me at that address (take out /hat/ in the middle of the address) and you can email me there. I will pick it up and email you from my main email address. Sort of a security precaution.

My camera is sort of a mid-range priced, digital camera. It is a Canon S-230. It originally cost $499. cdn (plus tax) and I bought it last year between Christmas and New Year, a Christmas gift to myself, and the first major purchase just for me in quite some time. So, it being a little less than a year old, it has been a bit traumatic not having it.

I took photography in high school (I was in an art program) and had hoped to go to Rochester Inst. of Tehcnology for photography. However, I lived a fairly sheltered life and was terrified of living so far from home. I finally decided between Sheridan College taking things like glassblowing and ceramics, and Ontario College of Art for Fine Art. I went to OCA and graduated in Sculpture. My decision hinged on the fact that Sheridan was one hour further away from home than Toronto, where OCA was. I really wish I had been more sure of myself back then and gone to Sheridan.

I love working with clay and would love to work with glass. I don't work full-time at my various artistic pursuits. I really only keep my hand in. I haven't had a space to call a studio since I graduated. However, now, there is space in the basement here, and i plan to get that organized into something resembling a studio.

I like to drag my camera around with me and tend to take a LOT of photos when I do have it with me. That is the beauty of a digital. You can take photos and immediately see whether you got the shot right. If you didn't, you can delete it and take it over. You don't have to pay for processing of film or prints (as long as you have a decent printer). You can take 100-300 photos without changing film (if you have a large enough chip) and if you do run out of room, it takes two seconds to switch chips, and off you go. You don't take a whole roll to be developed only to find it never went thru the camera.