I wish I had quantum cats who could go from one side of the venetian blinds to the other without breaking them.

Posted March 28, 2008 8:17 PM by Allan Beatty

Any comments on Amazon's grab for printing PODs?

It's certainly something I was hoping wouldn't occur after I became aware of this last year when they sent a letter to Double Dragon Publishing. Now I see they're intent on forcing this on all the POD publishers.

Posted March 28, 2008 8:20 PM by Dave Kuzminski

i loved china mountain zhang! & it should be noted, that quote there is not "the voice of the author."

Posted March 28, 2008 8:30 PM by miriam beetle

Strange thing. I can remember a time when I was completely disgusted by pictures of animals or little children with cutesy captions stuck on them. Lot of nerve, fancying that one was reading their mind and assigning words to their already eloquent physiognomies. So now I'm 50, and I chuckle over at least 10% of LOLcats. Must be creeping senescence.

I still laugh harder at the version Kurtzman did in MAD comics, starting off with kid pictures but soon switching to photos of Mickey Rooney and some prize fighter, giving them drooling baby talk captions. (The ancestor of the Python sketch where John Cleese's mum and her friend are treating him like an infant, although he is an accountant or some such, culminating in the memorable moment when Missus N explodes. "Don't be so sentimental, Mother. People explode every day.")(In an open thread, it's downright impossible to digress. Sign me up!)

Posted March 28, 2008 8:46 PM by Kip W

I published China Mountain Zhang and I concur with miriam. But it's a lovely provocative quote anyway.

Posted March 28, 2008 8:49 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Today is Blog Against Torture Day, and in honour of that, I submit a translation of a poem by the Cuban poet Roberto Fernández Retamar. Here's the original:

El Otro

Por Roberto Fernández Retamar

Nosotros, los sobrevivientes,

¿A quiénes debemos la sobrevida?

¿Quién se murió por mí en la ergástula,

Quién recibió la bala mía,

La para mí, en su corazón?

¿Sobre qué muerto estoy yo vivo,

Sus huesos quedando en los míos,

Los ojos que le arrancaron, viendo

Por la mirada de mi cara;

y la mano que no es su mano,

que no es ya tampoco la mía,

escribiendo palabras rotas

donde él no está, en la sobrevida?

1 de enero de 1959

The Other (1 January 1959)

We the survivors,

to whom do we owe our survival?

Who died for me in the torture cell,

who got my bullet, the one meant for me,

right in his heart?

On whose corpse do I stand living,

his bones remaining in mine,

the eyes they plucked seeing

with the vision of my face;

and the hand that is not his,

and is also no longer mine,

writing broken words,

where he is not

surviving?

Fernández Retamar wrote these words to celebrate the triumph of the Cuban revolution, the collapse of the Batista dictatorship that had killed and tortured his friends in the rebel student movement of the 1950s. I find a certain irony in the words given what the government of a republic that for more than two centuries has stood, or claimed to stand for the principles of liberty and human dignity is doing on the poet's native island right now.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:04 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Speaking of McHugh, who's editing this year's Best Poetry anthology? I knew it was someone I had an interest in but can't remember now. Actually looking it up feels like cheating, whereas simply asking other people is less so. My life as crossword.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:05 PM by Gursky

Re Best Poetry: Heather McHugh =/= Maureen McHugh. Oh, you knew that. Right, then.

I find the date on the Fernandez Retamar poem striking, since I was born a day later. 2 January 1959, by some accounts the day Castro entered Havana. Yes, I'm the age of the Cuban Revolution.

Age really does creep up on us. I remember the day I was gobsmacked to discover I was older than the newly-elected leader of the British Conservative Party. In this Presidential election, I may will wind up being older than the nominee of the Democratic Party. But all that pales next to the discovery that I'm older than every finalist for this year's Hugo Award for Best Novel. Good god, John Scalzi has barely left fetal development behind, no wonder all his author photographs look bald and lumpy. If you need me, I'll be gumming my medications in the sun room.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:29 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

PNH #8 At the time that poem was written I was a toddler. By the time Scalzi was born I'd already crossed the Atlantic three times (twice by ship, once by plane) and had already passed my first public examination. Ye gods, I'm ancient.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:46 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Fragano @6: That's a beautiful and compelling poem.

The feelings evoked inside me when I read it remind me of Pavel Friedman's poem, written in the Prague Ghetto, before he was deported to Terezin (Theresienstadt), and then to Auschwitz.

"The Butterfly"

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing

against a white stone. . . .

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly 'way up high.

It went away I'm sure because it wished to

kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I've lived in here,

Penned up inside this ghetto.

But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don't live in here,

in the ghetto.

Pavel Friedman 4.6.1942

(_I never saw another butterfly. Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944_ Edited by Hana Volavkova; revised and expanded by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. New York: Schocken Books, Inc. 1993.)

Posted March 28, 2008 9:53 PM by Ginger

New photos on making light and faces...

Avram Grumer

Jim Macdonald ( "Did I tell you of the time one EMT customer's head exploded?")

John M Ford (fellow fan of Jason King)

Paul A

Kip W (and his daughter)

Lance Weber (and his daughter)

Page One: http://pics.livejournal.com/serge_lj/gallery/000118yw

Page Two: http://pics.livejournal.com/serge_lj/gallery/000118yw?page=2

Page Three: http://pics.livejournal.com/serge_lj/gallery/000118yw?page=3

Yes, we're now starting Page Three. Unfortunately, Neil Willcox is all by himself right now.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:54 PM by Serge

Argh. The fellow fan of Jason King is Paul A, not Mike, although Mike may have been a fan too, but I don't know that and what's the use? I screwed up. Waugh!!!

Posted March 28, 2008 9:56 PM by Serge

Marx’s genius was in determining that social history was also governed by recognizable factors...

...but for you I'd make love to a crocodile.

Posted March 28, 2008 9:58 PM by Serge

Serge, you need to request a feature for LJ's gallery. Ask them to put a "next page" link at the bottom of the page as well as at the top. It's annoying to have to scroll back up to move forward to the following page.

Posted March 28, 2008 10:02 PM by Linkmeister

Ginger #10: It's a lot better than some of his more propagandistic poems of the 60s ('With the same hands that caress you I am building a school').

That is a wonderfully evocative piece about the butterfly.

Posted March 28, 2008 10:04 PM by Fragano Ledgister

I'd love to work up to a good pun around schroedinger's cats and heisenbugs... but it's been much, much too long of a week for that degree of uncertainty.

Posted March 28, 2008 10:10 PM by xeger

@Dave, #2

Sorry, I would love to comment but I have no idea what you're talking about.

Although DD certainly looks..."interesting."

Yellow Fever is perhaps the best title for a novel about a kick-a$$ Asian heroine ever.

On an unrelated note, I am soon going to be in the Chicago area and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good used bookstore. The mustier the better.

Cheers!

Posted March 28, 2008 10:16 PM by Jim

Serge #12: 'Waugh'? Would that be Evelyn, Alec or Auberon?

Posted March 28, 2008 10:18 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Quantum Kitten originally appeared here, along with a number of other physics cats.

Posted March 28, 2008 10:22 PM by lighthill

Fragano @ 15: Ugh..propaganda and poems just don't mix well. Just look at all the Soviet propaganda written during the phase of "Socialist Realism" (i.e., the award-winning book, _Cement_ -- or any of the poems of Vladimir Mayakovsky.) Better yet, don't look.

The Friedman poem has an alternate translation that refers to the "white chestnut candles", which I think is more poetical. For some reason that isn't the official translation of his poem.

Posted March 28, 2008 10:23 PM by Ginger

Fragano @ 18... Nope. It's Lucy van Pelt's Waugh!!!

Posted March 28, 2008 10:47 PM by Serge

Linkmeister @ 14... I agree. Why they thought the next page didn't need to be displayed at the top and at the bottom, I know not. I've also been annoyed at their making it impossible to freeze the order in which we want things to appear on the page displaying all galleries. Now, if only I could figure out how to request new features from LiveJournal...

Posted March 28, 2008 10:51 PM by Serge

Nice to see the 'Making Faces' photos, but I think I'll stick to anonymity, as I've mentioned discussing bullies & such some time back, I'm still cautious after bad experiences. There's a bunch of Epacris images online, but few are mine, like these.

Does anyone else expect Niall McAuley to break into either a scientific dissertation on biology, ecology or geology, or something learned on Bronze Age lifestyles — though perhaps less learned-sounding, in a Tony Robinson style?

Posted March 28, 2008 10:54 PM by Epacris

Fragano @18, or Steve & Mark, the Waugh twins? (Mark is also said to be called 'Afghanistan, the forgotten Waugh')

Posted March 28, 2008 11:01 PM by Epacris

xeger @ 16:

Heisenbugs? These are bugs that you can either see or hear but never both at the same time?

Well, we all know Schroedinger's cat will catch them...maybe.

Posted March 28, 2008 11:06 PM by Ginger

Allan Beatty, this?

see more crazy cat pics

There's also one where the kitten tried to jump and went 'through' the raising and lowering cord and got caught amidships (right where hips meet body) and someeone took a picture before releasing it.

Posted March 28, 2008 11:08 PM by Paula Helm Murray

Random Thought: You'd never be able to get a quantum kitty to move from the doorway. ("In or out, cat? In or out?" "Yes")

Posted March 28, 2008 11:10 PM by Ginger

Ginger @27 ...

Wouldn't you expect a quantum kitty to simply walk through walls?

Posted March 28, 2008 11:32 PM by xeger

Ginger @27

And that differs from any other cat in a doorway how?

I suppose if they are all quantum cats, it may explain a lot.

Posted March 28, 2008 11:35 PM by Elyse Grasso

Squee!

Posted March 28, 2008 11:43 PM by Serge

In addition to exhibiting quantum characteristics, I firmly believe qats and qittens can actually perceive quantum states. Just because you can't see what a qitty is batting at in the air, or when it seems to be chasing something unseen, doesn't mean something might or might not be there...

Posted March 28, 2008 11:47 PM by Lance Weber

Dave Harmon: The Ruling in the Tulsa case was 4-1 on the appeal of the dismissal by a lower court. So five judges (out of six) have read the law as not providing the protection.

Posted March 28, 2008 11:54 PM by Terry Karney

Patrick at #8:

Do you know the song "Older'n Everybody" by Lou and Peter Berryman? It expresses exactly what you're feeling.

Jim at #17:

Been a while since I went bookstore-crawling.

Try O'Gara and Wilson on 57th Street, who, I am surprised to discover, have a blog.

On the blog are pointers to a bunch of other Chicago used bookstores, notably the local branch of Powell's, which is on the same street.

They're at 1448 E 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637.

This is a few blocks from the Museum of Science and Industry and the University of Chicago. The University bookstore and the Seminary Co-Op bookstore are nearby if you have any money left over for new-type books.

There used to be clusters of bookstores on the north side of the city, but I'm more out of date on those, especially since Alice Bentley closed The Stars Our Destination. Been trying to cut down, and maybe read some of the books I purchased in my thirties and forties at Powell's, O'Gara's, etc...

Posted March 28, 2008 11:55 PM by Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey

It's been snowing on and off here in the Seattle area for the past two days. Such a bizarre way to begin spring break. Seemed like it should have been the winter break instead.

Posted March 29, 2008 12:08 AM by Alan Yee

Ginger #20: Ugh, try looking at anything created during the socialist realism era...have you ever seen any of the movies? Yee-ikes.

Posted March 29, 2008 12:09 AM by ethan

ethan @ 35... I rather liked Siberiade.

Posted March 29, 2008 12:34 AM by Serge

[in passing]

Dave Kuzminski, #2: "In the past few days news has emerged that Internet book-selling giant Amazon.com has been pressuring small publishing houses who use print-on-demand services like Lightning Source (owned by Ingram), Lulu, and PublishAmerica to switch to Amazon's own in-house POD service or have their 'buy' button removed." *

Posted March 29, 2008 12:43 AM by Randolph Fritz

I returned from Minicon on Tuesday, but have only tonight caught up with ML. I had a good time, got lots of old WashPosts read so I'm only two weeks behind now, and Elise gave me Mike's kidney pin. I'm starting to chronicle the con by day in my LJ.

Posted March 29, 2008 1:06 AM by Marilee

Serge #36: I haven't seen that movie (yet), but I didn't mean that all of Soviet film was bad...some of my favorite movies ever (The Cranes Are Flying, f'rexampe, or the original Solaris) are Soviet. It's the ones from the period when filmmakers had to stick entirely to socialist realist conventions that are unwatchable (end of the thirties into the early fifties, if I remember right...the latter end of the Stalin years).

Posted March 29, 2008 1:07 AM by ethan

The opening post of this thread makes me want to strongly recommend Paul Ford's Love Lost to the Ylem to all of you. So, I do. It's short, quantum, and deals with the vagaries of the human heart.

Posted March 29, 2008 1:21 AM by JoXn Costello

Ethan: Rublyev. That's a kick ass movie.

Posted March 29, 2008 1:24 AM by Terry Karney

Re: Soviet propaganda: The People's Mario parody comes to mind. (Warning: animated violence)

Posted March 29, 2008 2:56 AM by Michael Martin

Fragano @ #18: 'Waugh'? Would that be Evelyn, Alec or Auberon?

And, if Evelyn Waugh, would that be Evelyn Waugh or Evelyn Waugh's spouse Evelyn Waugh?

(The writer Evelyn Waugh's wife was also named Evelyn.)

Posted March 29, 2008 3:09 AM by Tim Walters

In #888 of Open Thread 103, R. M. Koske writes of Lichtenberg Figures:

That was exceedingly cool. It also makes me curious about the processes of discovery that led up to such a seemingly unlikely activity.

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg discovered them in 1777 playing around with a pointy electrode and powdered sulfur.

The dry ice seems to be the part that blows my mind the most, though it may be more logical and self-evident than putting slabs of acrylic into the particle accelerator in the first place.

You have to whack the slab with a shockwave-- typically, a hammer and nail-- thereby creating a discharge point. This must be done fairly soon after the electrons have been trapped; I gather that an hour or two is usual. I presume this was learned from trial and error. The plastic is not a perfect insulator, so the electrons will gradually leak out and dissipate the charge.

So in reasoning "why do they leak out?" one realizes that it depends upon the resistivity of the acrylic. Turns out that the resistivity increases sharply at low temperatures. Chilling the slabs on dry ice before exposing them to the electron beam allowed Todd Johnson to take a bunch home, in a cooler, and whack the slabs one by one over the course of a week, each time with great fanfare. He did one at the cafeteria lunch table, as you saw, one at a local restaurant, one at the opening of the Fermilab employees' exhibition at our art gallery, and one for kids at a "Lab Rats" gathering at the Scitech museum in Aurora. He became a very popular guy that week.

I'm guessing the resulting figures are actually useful artifacts for study in their own right? Or are they mostly a pretty novelty resulting from a studiable moment?

Mostly a novelty. Bert Hickman of Stoneridge Engineering (motto: " Wreaking Havoc with Electrons for over Forty Years." I kid you not.) seems to be the leading practitioner. He peddles LFs to Edmund Scientific, and also offers them on his Web site, next to the shrunken quarters. They're quite lovely, especially when displayed on an illuminated base.

Mind you, understanding what happens when insulators break down and current flows is pretty important in several kinds of engineering. So there is a considerable literature that touches on these things.

Theo Gray recently wrote a column in Popular Science about Lichtenberg Figures. He's a colorful character himself.

(This will probably wind up in moderation-purgatory. I put in a lot of URLs.)

Posted March 29, 2008 3:30 AM by Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey

I have amended the post to clarify that Zhang is speaking.

Posted March 29, 2008 4:39 AM by abi

Hey Serge -

thanks so much for that "Making Light and Faces" collection - I've always been terminally curious about what the people round here looked like. Now I am... enlightened. Which is only appropriate.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:36 AM by Steve Taylor

ethan @ 39... stick entirely to socialist realist conventions that are unwatchable

I somehow managed to avoid those. As for Siberiade, I haven't seen it since the mid-1980s. It is a long movie. Then again, it was a Soviet movie. Then again again it was about Siberia throughtout the 20th Century, and I found it quite entertaining.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:06 AM by Serge

Steve Taylor @ 46... I've always been terminally curious

"The Grail is in the Castle of Arrrgggggh!!!"

Thanks, I do hope that the Gallery doesn't really cause the demise of those who gaze upon it. I have recently added Ginger the invertebrate punster, and Marilee doing some advertising for Peeps. What about your portrait?

Posted March 29, 2008 7:10 AM by Serge

Looking at the photographs....

Grouch Marx on Star Trek?

Well, not quite, but...

Posted March 29, 2008 7:44 AM by Dave Bell

Dave Bell @ 49 Groucho Marx on Star Trek?

" Space...The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Its mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out wine, women and song."

Posted March 29, 2008 7:58 AM by Serge

Serge at #48 writes:

> What about your portrait?

But I already *know* what I look like!

Oh. I see. I look a bit like:

http://teapot7.com/who_me.jpg

Posted March 29, 2008 8:37 AM by Steve Taylor

Serge @11 Unfortunately, Neil Willcox is all by himself right now.

I had a witty, erudite, amusing and informative reply to that, but no one could hear me. Hello! (I note that I have now been joined by some other W surnames)

From Open Thread 103, the reason I noted that Serge looked very serious in his photos is that I always imagine him grinning (and occasionally chortling to himself) as he types.

Ginger @27 ("In or out, cat? In or out?" "Yes") - Last year when I was catsitting some house cats, one of them had forced it's way into the cat-lock, and when I opened the door one inch, whizzed through. Her sister, who has been officially diagnosed stupid, was standing there clearly unable to make up her mind; race for freedom or um... not?

Posted March 29, 2008 8:41 AM by Neil Willcox

Neill Willcox @ 52... I do grin a lot, especially when I'm here. That unfortunately doesn't come across well in photographs thus my showing restraint in such cases. I guess I could try a Bwahahahah!!! portrait one of these days. I have a gladius, a little dog, a cat genius, and a Dalek. I should be able to do something with all that.

Posted March 29, 2008 9:56 AM by Serge

Thanks for putting my picture up, Serge. I should note, it's more than 20 years old. My niece, the future doctor, is about to graduate from college and has already been accepted to med school. I haven't changed much, though.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:41 AM by Mary Aileen

Serge, I suppose my default userpic from LJ is as good a picture as any for the gallery:

http://www.livejournal.com/allpics.bml?user=rikibeth

Although people have also recognized me from the cartoon one labeled "Bandanagirl." I spent a lot of time with the icon-maker and a pocket mirror, making the features match.

Or I could e-mail you some others, most of which would be me all gothed up for dancing.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:42 AM by Rikibeth

Steve Taylor @ 51... You're now part of the Exhibition. (So is Mary Aileen.) I hope the blurb is ok. If not, I can change it. In some cases, I've made it up. Really. Teresa doesn't really have an army of mutant hamsters ready to do her bidding. (Or does she?) I made a suggestion to Sajia, which was ok with her, although I was tempted to use her alternative about Foglio's Bangladesh Dupree. As for Bill Higgins, yes, there really was a Weird 20% sign at that bookstore.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:44 AM by Serge

You're welcome, Mary Aileen.

The LiveJournal icon would work, Rikibeth, but do email those other photos. Of course, I would never choose the one likely to result in the most atrocious blurb joke.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:50 AM by Serge

Ginger #20: Well, he was (still is I think, he was still alive when last I checked)a sincere revolutionary, and back in my twenties I found a love poem that celebrated going out into the country to build a school for the peasants less incongruous ('I wore what I thought were work clothes, but they still called me señor'). It is difficult to get the Muse and Cause into harness, it seems.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:01 AM by Fragano Ledgister

Serge #18: I was hoping for some sort of scoop, but I'll have to put out more flags before I reach my island in the sun. You seem to have closed the circle by pulling away the ball.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:10 AM by Fragano Ledgister

Terry Karney #41: The Tarkovsky movie, or something I've never heard of? Despite my Tarkovsky fanboyism, I haven't gotten to that one yet, although it's been next-on-the-list for a few years now.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:11 AM by ethan

Tim Walters #43: That must have led to some confusing telephone conversations.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:15 AM by Fragano Ledgister

serge, here's a picture of me in a characteristic attitude. (The wirehaired mini-dachshund in my lap, Schnitzel, is also in a characteristic attitude.)

Posted March 29, 2008 11:31 AM by Lila

The problem with Solaris is that it's impossible to talk about or recommend without sounding a bit insane.

"So there's this shot of grass, right, and this farmhouse, and a long sequence of Moscow highway and then little people and madmen and enormous sea-babies, in space of course, and you're given a sour taste of happiness and gag on it again and again, and all of it is hypnotizing and effective as hell. Plus, more grass."

Why won't anyone just trust me?

Posted March 29, 2008 12:08 PM by Gursky

Also I'm here.

Posted March 29, 2008 12:13 PM by Gursky

Serge, here's one of Scraps and me, if you'd like lurkers/occasional posters: http://www.well.com/~wren/tour6.jpg

Posted March 29, 2008 12:25 PM by Velma

xeger, Elise, Neil:

I have found that non-quantum cats respond very well to reverse psychology, so I've always not chased them, and not held the door for them. Worked great for years.

Now all my cats are indoors only, thus by definition they cannot be Heisenbergian or quantum, although I have one who is a domestic commando (you can't see him until he moves).

Posted March 29, 2008 12:50 PM by Ginger

Gursky #63: By long sequence of Moscow highway, surely you mean extremely long, long, long, very long, very, very long, long sequence of Moscow highway?

Posted March 29, 2008 1:04 PM by ethan

I have a question for the collective wisdom of Making Light.

In late April I need to get from Madison, WI to Waltham, MA for a Saturday event. I have very little money to do this, and I also don't want to inconvenience too many other people.

My first thought was to fly from Madison to Boston, but I would have to fly out Friday and back on Sunday or Monday to get a decent flight, which would mean more overnight stays *somewhere* and depending on where I was staying, more difficulty getting to and from the airport. (Plus TSA fun.)

Then I started considering Amtrak which would cost a but less and would only require one overnight stay in MA, and which would also make getting to and from the station fairly easy. The catch is that I have to leave Chicago on the Thursday and have two overnights on the train on the way there (in coach seating) and one on the way back. Some friends are tellng me that is completely crazy.

So my question for those of you who have traveled in the US: plane or train?

Posted March 29, 2008 3:10 PM by Kayjayoh

kayjayoh @68: My vote's for the train. "Coach" on a train is still more legroom than on a plane, and they don't keep you from getting up to walk around during the trip. Even with the new regulations, I'd bet that there's still less hassle getting on a train.

Posted March 29, 2008 3:16 PM by Ginger

Serge@11 - So that's what you all look like..

Posted March 29, 2008 3:18 PM by dave hutchinson

Kayjayoh,

The Chicago to NYC/Boston train (it splits into 2 sections in Albany, NY), which I pick up in Buffalo to go to NYC, is usually late into Buffalo, in either direction, to the point that trains which are scheduled to leave later than it leave before it.

It's possible to sleep in coach; I've done it. And I prefer train travel to plane travel when I can; the lack of security theater, the ability to move around and watch the scenery makes me happy.

Posted March 29, 2008 3:22 PM by Nancy C. Mittens

The Chicago to NYC/Boston train

From what I can tell, my trip would be Chicago to DC, DC to Boston.

Posted March 29, 2008 3:33 PM by Kayjayoh

Lila @ #62, where can I get a desktop tower with ears, like the one you've got?

Posted March 29, 2008 3:57 PM by Linkmeister

ethan @ 67

Oh, no, much longer than that. And they took away the exit signs, so you have no idea if you're there yet.

Serge

That's the Tom Mix "Whoa!"

dave hutchinson @ 70

No, that's what I hypnotized you to think I look like.

And again, Serge, thanks for putting those photos up. If you're wondering why I look so solemn in mine, I was contemplating the lawn all covered with kids; that was my younger son's wedding, and now I'm all out of unmarried children.

Posted March 29, 2008 3:57 PM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

Pictures emailed to Serge. I'm loving the gallery! Will be good to be able to recognize you if I ever see any of you wandering the streets of Bloomington, Illinois...

Or perhaps more likely, if I ever make it out of this god-forsaken town and fulfill my dream of living in a country where things like universal health care and vacation time and paternity leave are considered important. /returns to plotting escape plan

Posted March 29, 2008 4:03 PM by EClaire

"I'll take Soviet Realist Filmmaking for $400, Alex"

"'This is our socialist life and death, mother!'"

What is the question?

Posted March 29, 2008 4:05 PM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

Latest arrivals to the Exhibition... EClaire, Gursky, Lila, Rikibeth, and Velma with Scraps... No blurbs, alas, although I was tempted to put "Squee!" under EClaire's picture. I also had a pun in mind, re Rikibeth, but it was so lame, even by my paltry standards, that I decided to abstain. ("And there was much rejoicing. Yay!")

Posted March 29, 2008 4:19 PM by Serge

Serge, where would one email a photo?

Posted March 29, 2008 4:25 PM by Kayjayoh

Bruce Cohen @ 74... I was contemplating the lawn all covered with kids

The horror! The horror!

Posted March 29, 2008 4:26 PM by Serge

I look slightly manic in my photo only because I discovered that if I smile as if the most exciting thing ever has just happened (Bush impeached? Ice cream named most important food group?) then I can avoid the eyes-half-closed, slightly drugged look that is otherwise inevitable when the flash goes off. The super new cameras that have red-eye reduction flashes are unflattering to those of us with blinky eyes.

And I was on Mt. Rainier, which is certainly worth a "Squee!" anyway.

Posted March 29, 2008 5:07 PM by EClaire

Kayjayoh @ 68: I'd agree the train is nice if you have more time than money. It's less hassle over all, and sleeping in coach is no worse than sleeping in an armchair.

On the other hand, Amtrak is often late. Passenger trains don't have priority and the crew have maximum shift times, so if they miss a windows it's all over. So if you're going for an event, leave plenty of time...

Serge: Don't know if I'm worthy of gallery inclusion, but there's a small photo here I can dig up a larger copy if you like. The best portrait of me is this one but I don't know how BY-SA interacts with photo collections. Probably best to ask if you want to use it.

Posted March 29, 2008 5:17 PM by Ralph Giles

#44, Bill Higgins -

Many thanks for the extra details. Very neat stuff.

Posted March 29, 2008 5:49 PM by R. M. Koske

Kayjayoh @ 68: how good a sleeper are you? will your event be ruined by 1-2 nights of so-so sleep?

If the answer to the latter question is 'no', I'd train it. But do bring along whatever you'll need to sleep well: I did the DC-Boston overnight, and I would have killed for a pillow and earplugs.

There are very few people on the DC-Boston leg, so you'll be able to spread out some. Don't know if the same is true of Chicago-DC, but (based on my one time doing it 7 years ago) I'd guess no.

Washroom facilities on coach are pretty basic, so, after 2 days on the train, you'll end up copping a shower from someone in MA.

Posted March 29, 2008 5:53 PM by Ronit

Ralph Giles @ 82... Don't know if I'm worthy of gallery inclusion

I thought it was ML people who were doing me an honor, not the other way around. That being said, I like the small photo best, but if you can easily find and email me the larger version, go for it.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:31 PM by Serge

Kayjayoh @ 78... Use the address in "view all by". By the way, it is not necessary for anybody to ask if I'd be interested. Just send the photo and up it'll go.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:33 PM by Serge

Terry @#32: Grrr... Sigh.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:36 PM by David Harmon

EClaire @ 80... Ice cream named most important food group?

I second the motion.

I should probably try the happy thought, when I am photographed. As Neil Willcox pointed out, I take the opposite approach when I'm about to be photographed, looking as serious as possible. (On the other hand, I thought I was smiling in the gallery's photo of me in that rowboat.)

Posted March 29, 2008 6:41 PM by Serge

Kayjayoh @ 68:

I had to check to make sure, and indeed there is a better train route for a Chicago-Boston trip. The Lake Shore Limited runs through Cleveland and New York State, breaking for Boston at Albany. It looks like you depart Chicago at 10pm and arrive in Framingham at 9pm the next day for about $80.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:48 PM by Lance Weber

Serge at #56 writes:

> Steve Taylor @ 51... You're now part of the Exhibition.

Thanks Serge.

> God is NOT happy with Steve.

That's not the hand of God though - it's my four year old daughter. One is the supreme being who controls my world, and the other is, well, God.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:51 PM by Steve Taylor

I was 12 when I learned to smile well for photographs.

That was when I went to the local swimming pool to get a membership card, and came back with a very good one. Since most pictures of me were stiff and zombie-like&dagger, my mother asked me how they had managed to get such a good shot.

(inaudible mutter)

"What?"

"They told me to say pbpxfhpxre*."

"Well, that was clever."

Until the next round of small children were old enough to repeat things, my family did not say "cheese" for group photos. Instead, my mother would command, brightly, "OK, everyone say zbgureshpxre," and suddenly we'd get a picture of people with genuine smiles on their faces.

I still think of it, when I can't find any other reason to laugh just as the shutter goes.

----

† Just a figure of speech, Caroline.

* Not having access to Rot-13, I had to say it in the clear.

Posted March 29, 2008 6:52 PM by abi

On a much happier note, In the last few days I've been to three excellent programs at the Virginia Festival Of The Book.

First was Jeffrey Cohen speaking about parenting a kid with Asperger['s] Syndrome (he consistently drops the possessive, which I find odd, but whatever). Seems the guy writes mystery novels too, -- he's slipped in a few autistic characters by way of public-awareness. Nice guy, and... well, the subtitle to his parenting book is "... and keep your sense of humor." Friendly crowd too -- we were at the Virginia Center for Autism, which turns out to be a school for kids with "core" autism.

Then was "Alternative Worlds", with L.E. Modesitt, David Coe, and Steven Wright. All were personable, friendly, and witty, and now I have my first signed novels (in the latter two cases, new-bought).

And today was "Graphics at Gravity: Comics and Novels" with Peter David and Colleen Doran. Also friendly and personable, with many "inside" stories to tell. Sadly, I didn't dare buy their graphic novels, as those and comics were formerly an even more expensive addiction than "regular" books. P.D. had actually scored his best line the night before (attending the SF program), where he ruefully admitted that he'd learned the hard way: never use a book title that sounds like a speech defect.

And then I was off to the local library system's books sale, where I scored a big stack of CDs for $3 apiece. Whee! (Now playing: Salt'N'Pepa, Very Necessary).

Altogether a very fun week. There's still one more I want to get to tomorrow, about care and repair of books, with Lindsey Mears (Any of the bookbinders here know her?) I'm tempted to bring one of my remaining bunny-victims, just to horrify them. ;-) I do also have some candidates that are only slightly damaged....

Posted March 29, 2008 7:06 PM by David Harmon

Lance @ 88, there are trains that would get me with fewer overnights. However, part of my object was to arrive early Saturday morning, so as not to have to find lodging for two nights. It seems that the only way to do that is to take the Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning train.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:10 PM by Kayjayoh

abi @ 90... Adults really told kids to say either of those things? Must have been a Berkeley thing.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:17 PM by Serge

Serge @93:

The swim club photographer was about 17. My mother just is herself, bless her.

But confess: you'd be laughing too if your mother told you to say that. Out of embarrassment, probably, but the camera doesn't know that.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:22 PM by abi

abi @ 94... If my mother said any of these words, I'd drop dead. Or I'd think I had accidentally crossed over to the Evil Universe.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:29 PM by Serge

David Harmon @91:

That sounds like a fantastic festival.

I haven't heard of Lindsay Mears beyond "I know the name; she's a book artist". No reputation tag attached, but then I'm on the wrong side of the Pond to know much about the American binding scene.

You should post another note after the day's activities, and tell us how it went.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:34 PM by abi

EClaire... Do you like the blurb that now goes with your photo?

Posted March 29, 2008 7:35 PM by Serge

The camp counselors taking group shots used to encourage us to say "bullshit." *Slightly* more socially acceptable, but it still got a bunch of pre-teens to laugh.

Posted March 29, 2008 7:50 PM by Rikibeth

My family, when instructed to say "cheese" for a group photo, would all chime in with "Camembert!" "cheddar!" "Swiss!" and so forth, more or less in unison. The silliness made us giggle, so that worked.

Posted March 29, 2008 8:12 PM by Mary Aileen

Jim at #17: I have not been to Chicago in many years but the Seminary Coop seems to still exist (www.semcoop.com). It had the entire Loeb classical collection on the shelf, which must be pretty rare. In the mid-90's, at least, there were also excellent mustier used bookstores right next to it. (I mean the Hyde Park location -- they appear to now have others.)

Posted March 29, 2008 8:19 PM by Dave MB

Dave @ 100 and Bill @ 33,

Thankee muchly!

Those look like some mighty fine places. I'm so excited, I haven't been to a good used bookstore in ages! Oddly enough, they don't seem to have many English language books at the used shops in rural Japan...

Posted March 29, 2008 10:02 PM by Jim

Hee! Yes! Seriously, though, folks. Ice cream. It's where it's at.

I just got back from taking my dad out for his 68th birthday. He still gets carded when he asks for a senior discount. We should all grow up to be so lucky.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:17 PM by EClaire

I have to admit to being rather fascinated to find people (this thread reminding me) that -really- need to know what the folk they're communicating with look like. I'm left to wonder if there's a link to a strong visual sense, or if there's some particulars around communication style that require this...

Posted March 29, 2008 10:27 PM by xeger

I don't know that I really "need" to know what people look like, but for the people that have a strong voice, it helps me imagine them talking. So now I can picture their face when I read their comment, and so the comments become more individual. Names tend to run together for me, so it helps if I can picture a face, rather than a name. It's a problem with books too. I can never remember a character's name unless the series is at least 3 books long.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:35 PM by EClaire

Do any of you know of any good writing that has been done on the subject of how we identify, when reading novels, with the author and with the narrator? I have been identifying very strongly with Orhan Pamuk over the last several months of reading his books, and with his narrators and characters as well. (This is not the first time I have felt this way about an author but is, perhaps, the first time I've really stated it consciously.) So now I'm interested to find out if any criticism has been written that explores this process -- thought some people here might know if anyone would. If you're interested, my notes on Pamuk are archived here.

Posted March 29, 2008 10:44 PM by The Modesto Kid

Kayjayoh, #68, as you can see by the picture Serge put up, I'm a very large woman. I'm also disabled. I took Amtrak, sleeping in my seat in coach, the first two times I went from DC to Mpls for Minicon and back. I didn't have any problem with that. (I would have liked to be able to walk around some, but I'm not stable enough, and the walk from one line to the other in Chicago almost killed me, but I don't walk well.) The first trip to Mpls, I made this. I made the earrings and bracelet on the way home.

abi, #94, if my mother had said that, I'd be checking her for a stroke.

Not a picture of a Fluorospheran, but still very fascinating -- a hand-made articulated dragonfly.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:20 PM by Marilee

Marilee @ 106... Wow. That is a neat dragonfly.

Posted March 29, 2008 11:53 PM by Serge

I don't need to know what people look like-- but if I met most of the people here, their physical selves would be completely separate from their textual selves. There's the text form, and the physical form, and they're not always very strongly associated with each other. I've seen this happen with friends-- I meet them, like them, start reading their Livejournals, and over time, they become their userpics in my head. The cloud of associated things labeled "FRIEND X" in my head has physical form in there, but it's not nearly as prominent as what the blog looks like or what username they have.

I do the same with my name, as I think I've mentioned before. All through the first Thursday Next book, I was caught by surprise by the Diatryma rumored to be in the woods. "That's me!" my brain said. I don't do that when I see the name Cassie.

I've gone through the galleries now, and I'm not surprised by what people look like so much as by the fact that they look like anything at all.

Posted March 30, 2008 12:04 AM by Diatryma

xeger @ 103... I'd say I'm in agreement with EClaire about ice cream and about the pictures.

I don't really need the visual link. After all, I've been hanging around ML for almost 3 years and have been conversing with people about whose appearance I had had no clue. But... I like knowing what people look like because I am a very visual person. It feels more complete.

By the way, it's been interesting to see how seldom my mental image of people matched their physical reality. And yet the latter feels more right. Good thing too since none of us are shapeshifters.

Posted March 30, 2008 12:05 AM by Serge

Serge @ #109...

Something to my amusement, I've now started associating you with "that cute calico kitten, twined around a monitor stand". I suppose that makes for a reasonable twist on our quantum kitty thread ;)

Posted March 30, 2008 12:39 AM by xeger

David Harmon at 91: Congratulations on your loot! Signed books are a wonderful thing, at least when they're signed for you. (Why, yes, I did commission a friend to get me a copy of The Execution Channel from SwanCon instead of picking one of the pre-signed ones up at Orbital.)

I have what I think is probably the single rarest signed copy of Neverwhere in existence - it's the first BBC edition, of which only 3000 were printed, and it's an ex-library copy, read by hundreds of people and then thrown away. (Still got the plastic slipcover and the unicorn's-head sticker on the spine.) The 'Withdrawn' stamp inside overlaps nicely with Neil Gaiman's 'Mind The Gap' speechbubble.

Incidentally, this is me.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:22 AM by Sam Kelly

Serge #109: none of us are shapeshifters.

Speak for yourself. That picture of me with the bones is me, and so is this.

Posted March 30, 2008 2:00 AM by ethan

Marilee, that's some nice beadwork.

Posted March 30, 2008 2:14 AM by Kayjayoh

Serge, I really like the gallery project. I don't need to know what people look like, and I'm not particularly visual, but there's something nice about seeing faces that go with all these fascinating thoughts. Here's a recent pic of me, if you'd like to add it to the collection.

Posted March 30, 2008 2:57 AM by Individ-ewe-al

xeger @ 110... Cute kitties and computers? Have you been talking to my cat genius Agatha? She keeps trying to use my computer to order stuff online. Luckily for my bank account, she has only mastered the keyboard's screen-print function. So far.

Posted March 30, 2008 6:49 AM by Serge

ethan @ 112... Really? I have to make a confession: this is what I really look like. Ask Abi.

Posted March 30, 2008 6:51 AM by Serge

New additions... Individ-ewe-al and Sam Kelly. Added last night were Carol Kimball, kayjayoh and Ralph Giles. Not many blurbs, I know.

Posted March 30, 2008 7:02 AM by Serge

Serge @116:

That was just until you got some coffee.

Posted March 30, 2008 7:07 AM by abi

Abi @ 118... After which I look like this.

Posted March 30, 2008 7:18 AM by Serge

Serge @ 115 ... So you have one of these too...

To my amused chagrin, it appears that she's also astoundingly good at finding the power button... and I'd still like to know the magic key combination that'll darken the screen (the keymapping's been played with, so it's not any of the usual ones)

Posted March 30, 2008 7:33 AM by xeger

xeger @120:

the keymapping's been played with

You'd best hope she doesn't figure out how to do that.

Posted March 30, 2008 7:45 AM by abi

xeger @ 120... abi @ 121... Mine is also into plumbing.

Posted March 30, 2008 7:58 AM by Serge

abi @ 121 ... I'm afraid it's too late for that. She's 'fixed' my keymappings a few times already.

Trying to look on the bright side, at least I know what to do when I suddenly lose all of my control keys (shift/alt/function/ctl), and how to deal with some random subset of keys having no apparent relationship to any keymapping I know be the only functioning keys...

Posted March 30, 2008 8:35 AM by xeger

ethan @ 67... Yes, that sequence of Solaris did go on quite a bit. It was interesting comparing my recollections of Tarkovsky's movie to the recent remake. I had problems with both versions, but my real bummer with the remake was that it took out the scene where Solaris creates rainfall inside the house. That was such a neat image.

Posted March 30, 2008 10:20 AM by Serge

Allan @1: Sounds like destructive interference. Have you tried spacing the slats half a cat-wavelength further apart?

BTW, not a totally bad picture of me.

Posted March 30, 2008 10:51 AM by NelC

A time or two lately I have found myself drifiting into Roy Batty mode. You know how it is. You catch yourself saying "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."

And, Spanish Inquisition mode = ON, there alwasy seems to be one more thing.

But should I count stuff I've only seen on TV?

Posted March 30, 2008 11:35 AM by Dave Bell

Last year, we started the tradition that I would draw a face on the top of each child's birthday cake.

It all started with a panda, because Alex's favorite cuddly toy is his panda bear. Fine. Black and white frosting, and a bit of bamboo for added realism. A six year old's dream.

This January, Fiona (turning 4) wanted the face of her doll Holly. So I did generic doll-face, and all were happy.

Now Alex will be seven, and has put in his request for this year's cake. "The one with the black glasses."

Posted March 30, 2008 11:37 AM by abi

A photo of me, if you like. This is from last summer, taken by DD-B. (All the good recent photos of me are by David and taken that weekend.)

Posted March 30, 2008 11:52 AM by Vicki

You know, it just occurred to me that this is the place to ask.

Can someone give me a quick tutorial on Moveable Type, and/or a link to same? To give you an idea of the level of skill you're dealing with, I can make a widget set, but I have no clue how to make it go into an overall page template...

Posted March 30, 2008 12:17 PM by Carrie S.

I think China Mountain Zhang is a great two-thirds of a novel. I didn't like how one of the major plot threads ended va n tebhc uht vafgrnq bs univat n uneq fpvrapr svpgvba erfbyhgvba.

Posted March 30, 2008 12:20 PM by Earl Cooley III

Here's one of the few pics available of me. (I tend to stay on the backside of cameras.)

It's a few years old. I look even meaner and grumpier nowadays.

- - - - -

re Patrick's comment upthread about feeling old: AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) publishes a monthly magazine (titled, oddly, AARP MAGAZINE) whose cover policy is that the celebrity on the cover has to be a minimum of fifty years old.

The person featured on a recent issue was... Caroline Kennedy.

Oh, man-n-n-n-n... I just wanted to curl up into a ball and whimper. I was pretty young myself back in the Kennedy administration, but I always think of Caroline Kennedy as that little blonde-headed girl roaming the White House hallways and charming a nation.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:14 PM by Bruce Arthurs

OK, I'll give in to peer pressure and show you my pic. If you're found sitting at the computer, catatonic with your face permanently stuck in a scream of horror, don't blame me.

Somewhat older avatar picture.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:18 PM by Xopher

The photographer at our wedding had us say "Hi!" before the photos, claiming it produced more natural smiles. Not sure about that, but it's certainly become an entrenched family joke anytime any of us are together and someone gets a camera out.

A webcam shot of me is here. I apparently wasn't saying 'hi', but it's friendly enough anyway.

Xopher -- that's a great picture. You'll have to try a lot harder to horrify.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:21 PM by Debbie

xeger: There is a strong visual sense. I have a mental picture of everyone who is a more than occaisional poster. Just as I have a strong image of Spenser (Robert B. Parker), or Pickwick, or any other such person of whom I read.

It is, as ever, interesting to see how far from the reality my image is (with the possible exception of Serge, and sort of abi; not that I saw them as they are, but that as I saw them was more as they turn out to be than not).

Now, as for sense of person; Serge and abi are presently fixtures in ML to me. I feel as one of the bit players.

ML wouldn't be ML to me, were they (and Xopher and some others who don't immediately spring to mind, marilee, JESR, etc.) not here. They are the meat in the stew.

Voice is the thing, they have clear voices, regularly used. I have met some of the occaisonal posters (some of whom were once more active). Some of them I know so well I can hear them; as they are. The way they write is so specific to the way they speak as to be the same; in my head.

I have some of that sense for others, here, whom I've not met. Oddly, seeing the pictures breaks a little of that. I have to reconcile the picture in my head to the newly acquired image. (sometimes to include change of sex)

abi (re cakes): That's great. Idea tested by experiment, everything else is bookkeeping.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:25 PM by Terry Karney

Terry @134:

I feel as one of the bit players.

Did you just say that?

*snort*

Posted March 30, 2008 1:33 PM by abi

I join abi's snort, Terry. You're among other things the person I cite when having conversations about torture with dolts.

You may be "expendable" in a military sense, but you're NOT expendable here.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:40 PM by Xopher

abi: I did say that, and I meant it. We are, few of us, privileged to be, as Burns said, in possession of, "some Power the giftie gie us,

to see oursels as ithers see us!" (for which we can often be grateful).

In my head I know I'm not so minor as I feel (if nothing else I talk too much), and there are times when it comes home to me. Which is moving in a way hard to describe, but which I suspect is known to many (that gentle choking swell of emotion inepressible).

But the social nature of the place is strange; this is the place. There is no local to which we can retire. The closest we come is the ability to retire to another room (where by miracle of the modern age, the same people may be present, but the coversaation is different).

And I can still feel as I do in many parts of the outerworld, hanging on at the fringes; even when I'm not.

I think I've made as much hash out of that as it merits.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:53 PM by Terry Karney

Terry Karney @ 134... Serge and abi are presently fixtures in ML to me

Dare I say that we are light fixtures?

As for your being a bit player, that is a ridiculous assertion.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:56 PM by Serge

Serge #124: Wow, I'd forgotten about that image, which, considering how much I also love it, means that I'm definitely overdue for a rewatching. I definitely understand having problems with the older Solaris, though I have none myself, but the new one is definitely much better left undiscussed. Yeeuch.

Xopher #132: My eyes! My eyes! My...oh. Wait. Hey, you lied! Ain't nothin' scary about that picture. Hmph.

Posted March 30, 2008 1:59 PM by ethan

Xopher (as I continue this hash): One's merits as a reference (on anything) have nothing to do with any merit as a member of the community.

You could, I suspect, make those same references (to use me as the example) from other writings. It's possible that others who read my rantings elsewhere would make reference to them here.

I'd like to think the value of them is independant of any good feeling one has because of fondness for me.

Hell, if they aren't, then they are wortheless (also independant of any merit I might have as a member of the community).

I seem to have made a strange derailment of the open thread. I am not feeling unloved. What bucking up I may need isn't related to my standing here.

I was making a throwaway comment, inspired by my sense of time passing when Serge said he'd been around for three years. I've been hanging about for a bit more than that (with various periods of activity). I was feeling both old, and not. It wasn't, apparently, very clearly stated (or something. I am, perhaps, making false comparisons to the voices I see here, whom I feel in no way can I be measured against. That's a different sin, not a false modesty, but a failing of good introspection).

I think I need coffee, and some brekkie, lest I end up looking like the pre-caffienated