I didn't think so. Happy Birthday already, Abi!

Thanks, guys!

So, the real episode 1 poster says "Every Saga has a Beginning" at the top. We figure the fluorosphere could do better than that, but we had to come up with an alternative without you so we wouldn't spoil the surprise.

Now that we can ask, what'd'ya got?

Every ___________ has a ____________

"These are not the escape characters you're looking for."

(Will do that do, Mary?)

Beautiful work, Mary Dell, both posters. In answer to your question, "Every Year has a Beginning". Netter still, "Every Time has a Tester".

* With apologies for the gender-specific language.

Happy Birthday to abi! Breithlá shona duit!

(I think I may have used up my daily quota of !)

"Every reason has a rhyme"

(Happy (incipient) Birthday Abi!!!)

(HB, A!)

Happy Birthday, abi!

I'll go put the 16th on my calendar* as a day to celebrate. (And watch out with that light saber - its snow-melting properties wreak havoc on unsuspecting ski resorts... het Abiveld applied to the slopes rather boggles the minds...)

* which is hung in the traditional Dutch location for such things... ...occasionally horrifying and frequently amusing American visitors

And many happy returns of the day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABI!

(Which, now that I think of it is the inevitable outcome; you've leavened the world with such intense humor and humanity that the circles will spread until the end of time).

From one crazy Aquarius to another. :)

(Very cool poster!)

That super star destroyer/building is amazing. People did an absolutely amazing job with that poster.

Also: Wonderful poster, Mary Dell!

(be careful of trees. i have never been skiing & find the activity frightening.)

Mary Dell, spectacular work!

For the curious, here are the original images:

Abi,and Abi with Fiona (thanks, Martin)
Teresa (thanks, Patrick)
Yoda
Obi-Wan

Every shot of the The Flatiron building taken from the Empire State building makes it look like a star destroyer.

Dru Struzan's wonderful poster was, of course, the inspiration for the design.

*Firstly, really, because the post with all of the source image links is being held for review, so this will post first. I only put 7 in it! That's not so many! None of them were for prescriptions or physique enhancers...I think.

Happy Birthday abi!!

(And we'll now run away,
though there's more we could say,
for this poem, though heart-felt, is shabby.)

Thanks for the kudos, so glad you'all approve of the posters. Once Serge came up with his perfect puns, the rest of it was inevitable.

For the curious, here are the original images:

Abi,and Abi with Fiona (thanks, Martin)
Teresa (thanks, Patrick)

Every shot of the The Flatiron building taken from the Empire State building makes it look like a star destroyer.

Dru Struzan's wonderful poster was, of course, the inspiration for the design.

Tremble, you hapless weaklings! With these puns, I am unstoppable!!!

(I know I should stay away from any comic-book drawn by Jack Kirby. It has a bad influence on me.)

Many happy returns, Abi! (And if that includes reincarnations, all the better.)

I agree it's cute, but either the photo is deceptive or one of us has misunderstood what is meant by the term "flatiron building". (And, as is traditional, I don't think it's me.)

Yes, but I knew even as I wrote it that I could come up with something better if I had a bit of patience.

With delight, Making Light
hails Abi Sutherland:
book-binder, poet, and
coq malfaisant

Hail to you, abi, most
happybirthdayishly:
sit back, relax, and please
have a croissant!

http://glasssteelandstone.com/Images/US/GA/ATL/FlatironBuilding-001.jpg

That photo was from the Peachtree side. The link above shows it from the Broad Street side.

And here's another, from further up Peachtree:

http://www.homeandabroad.com/s/siteImages/46/51499_GaAtl_MF_FlatironBuilding_003.jpg

Huzzah!

Fragano @ #82: It's you, in this case...

If you say so; you have more direct experience than I do. But if I've been wrong all this time about "Flatiron Building" referring to the fact that the building is triangular, what does it refer to?

That's a nice one. Chicago also has its own Flatiron building up in Wicker Park, but it's eh compared to many cooler local buildings.

Ah, that explains it. Thank you.

See, for me Fragano's photo did make it look like a long, flat strip, so I thought "Well, it's not a triangle. Maybe he's calling it a Flatiron Building because it looks like it's been ironed flat?"

I think I can hear you warming up the Photoshop machine already...

Toronto has a nice example.

Wikipedia has a short list. There's a lot more than that, though, if you count non-skyscrapers (which the WP list does). Frex, the tall one in Chicago has a short one right opposite - it's at a multi-diagonal intersection.

Seems like, but here's Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland. Although it's not quite flatiron shaped, it's pretty nifty.

You're setting Cthulhu on Abi for her birthday?! Wow, no one ever got me a present like that!

(Happy happy Abi-Day!)

Habby, habby, Burfdae Abi!!!

And kudos to the graphic artists responsible for the image, too.

I am only just back, and have tons of things to do. But thank you, Mary Dell, Serge, Patrick, and all the sneaky sneaky people who arranged this. It was a fantastic sendoff.

Funniest moment of the ski trip, for me? Being in this bar, where everyone really does sing this song (loudly over beers), and having the DJ (prompted) announce that it was the birthday of "Abi aus Amsterdam, mit de† lekkere kontje*!" Many loud cheers and much laughter followed.

I managed to break no bones, either of mine or others. I did get a few bruises, and had to stop early because one of those bruises was making a tendon twinge warningly. I knocked over three fellow skiers - two in one go - but that was on the baby slopes on the first day, when a certain amount of clumsiness is expected.

There was much beauty, some of which will make it into prose or poetry, some into leather on books, and some just for keeping inside my head.

I also had a powerful mimetic cascade one sunny afternoon, which I will post here in a day or two for further discussion.

But now I am going to go to bed. Thank you, everyone, for the good wishes.
-----
† It should be "het", but he was speaking German, and what can you do?
* kontje does not mean the same as its English cognate. Much like fanny on the two sides of the Atlantic, it has migrated to the back and is a generally affectionate (if racy) term for one's bottom. It was a catchword of the weekend in many contexts, and is much less unreasonable in context than it sounds. Trust me; it was nothing but funny.

I MADE YOU A CAEK...BUT I EATED IT.

I'd also like to wish abi a belated welcome-back-I'm-glad-you-had-a-good-time.