Keen pleasure and a wonderful static display await you

[sovay]

My weekend was in many ways comprised of parties and it was delightful. The one on Saturday night was for Cinco de Mayo: at first I didn't have much to do except stand around the kitchen and not know anyone besides derspatchel and a pair of actors I'd seen in two productions and then all of a sudden one of the host's housemates needed someone to keep a pan of olive oil and chicken from burning while he chopped some peppers and the next thing I knew we were making two batches of extremely spicy stir-fried chicken with jalapeño and habanero and curry spices when we ran out of Mexican ones (and the inevitable moment of facepalm when we were told the first batch was too hot for most people who weren't us, so at the last moment with the second we diced in some fresh tomatoes to tone it down and then received disappointed comments about how it wasn't even hotter) and that is a terrific way to spend a party by me. My co-chef made me a drink with rum, honey, and lime. I have this memory of singing musical theater with Rob and no one caring or noticing except insofar as we were between them and the refrigerator, which was rather charming. After midnight, we moved on to a coming-home party for one of his friends who had been serving in Afghanistan; his girlfriend turned out to be interested in weird cocktails and he talked to me animatedly about Greek epic until Rob and I were the only people left, so I think it went well. We went home and slept. Abbie the Cat has decided he likes me well enough that he can be inconvenient about choosing me as a nap site. Yay?

And Sunday was Somerville Open Studios, so we actually got inside the former Masonic temple on College Ave., the Museum of Modern Renaissance. It's as astonishing as it looks from the photographs: densely iconographic, full of myths from a dozen different traditions all kaleidoscoped together; it could be hodgepodge and it's awe-inspiring. Fortune spins the threads of fate from her wheel with the signs of the zodiac between the spokes. There is a figure that looks for all the world like Paul Bunyan if he were a bogatyr. I saw a mermaid I want on my wall, darkly green-armored, her hair rising in spines. rose_lemberg, there are several different kinds of firebird. When we left for Blues Jam, we passed some members of Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band playing klezmer ("Fun Tashlikh"!) in Davis Square. And I finished up the evening at Tea at sen_no_ongaku and sigerson's, where I saw two of the people from last night's second party and a very welcome schreibergasse, who has been only a ghost-presence in my life for months. He had made Moustachio's man-portable fusion pie. Someone else had brought homebrewed mulberry port. I made very enthusiastic recommendations for Lackdaisy. I have a copy of Mike's incidental music for The Winter's Tale and so should you.

(My post title is from none of these events; it is from an awful humorous story in the October 1917 issue of Popular Mechanics, which is a lot like reading World War I-era MetaFilter. I was just looking for information about the Gotha G.V, but Rob and I lost hours off our lives. Just the advertisements are entertaining. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

And now I am about to be late for my afternoon, so I am leaving this computer. Have some links.

1. Courtesy of shirei_shibolim: Every Major's Terrible. It is a thing of beauty. Also, it scans better in places than the original.

2. Courtesy of asakiyume: Kickstarter a documentary about Lloyd Alexander. I have written before about how much he mattered to me. I am glad someone's doing this.

3. Tom Edden impressed the hell out of me as Alfie in One Man, Two Guvnors. Pleasingly, the New York Times seems to feel the same way. (Marty Feldman! I said so!)

4. Norman Bel Geddes took tabletop gaming seriously.

5. When we go back to New York.

Comments

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Twas good to bump into you and derspatchel. It always helps to put a face to the name, as it were :-)

[sovay]

It always helps to put a face to the name, as it were

Nice to run into you as well!

. . . Is my reputation preceding me?

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

*grin and chuckle* No. Just, when somebody adds me on LJ and I haven't seen them before... simple statement of fact, in other words :-) So what is this reputation of yours? I clearly have much to learn about you. Hey Spatch...

In related news, after the current show is done, my household would like to have you and Spatch over to supper some Friday night in the near future, night TBD. We do live a very long ways away (Medford) but I hope you'll both say Yes.

[sovay]

So what is this reputation of yours? I clearly have much to learn about you.

I read dead languages, but I write a lot in English.

—I should use that as my bio.

I used to have a pocket self-description, but now I suspect I would tell you that my professional training is in classical philology and my interests tend to be fairly obvious from my journal; I have had a number of short stories and poems published in various venues and collected at this point in three books and I should really make some kind of links-post as to the online publications one of these days. My livejournal handle is from a British folksong and my most accurate icon is really the one with Metropolis and the Dresden Dolls. I like weird.

In related news, after the current show is done, my household would like to have you and Spatch over to supper some Friday night in the near future, night TBD. We do live a very long ways away (Medford) but I hope you'll both say Yes.

I'd be honored to accept; I live in Lexington, so I don't consider all things outside Camberville to be the Mountains of the Moon. (Okay, that would actually be highly entertaining, if confusing for several reasons.) Give me semi-reliable public transit and I'm cool.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Now you're making me blush about nattering about my sonnets on Saturday night.
I have no idea what you're talking about with weird, though. Dresden Dolls and Metropolis are both excellent. I've seen too little of each, it seems. Well, I have seen Dresden Dolls at an outdoor concert once, before they hit The Tonight Show. Fun stuff.

If transportation is the biggest issue, our household happens to be one of those that is Car EnabledTM. We used to be Cat EnabledTM as well, but that's a sad story for another time. Regardless, we are blessed with transportation that does not require multiple transfers, and getting you home at night would be easily done. All I'd need to do would be remove a car-seat or two.

[sovay]

Well, I have seen Dresden Dolls at an outdoor concert once, before they hit The Tonight Show. Fun stuff.

I discovered them because they opened for the Ig Nobels in 2002—I went home with "Good Day" stuck in my head and nothing to do about it because they didn't have any recordings I could get hold of until A Is for Accident came out and I realized I was somewhere in the crowd noise of the live version of "Christopher Lydon." I followed them when I could until they sort of ceased to exist; they were one of the first contemporary bands I paid any attention to. I can only claim to have gone to the same high school as Amanda Palmer, though. I think she graduated the year before I got there.

We used to be Cat EnabledTM as well, but that's a sad story for another time.

Still, I'm sorry to hear it.

Regardless, we are blessed with transportation that does not require multiple transfers, and getting you home at night would be easily done. All I'd need to do would be remove a car-seat or two.

I should talk to the other half of this invitation before we start to fine-tune transportation, but that's good to know.

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

She also named a Kuiper Belt object.

I don't generally serve as anybody's Boswell, but I always find that interesting.

She will, though, eat all your chocolate in order from lightest to darkest, and leave you at least one book you don't have and must read.

Weekends I hear she's involved with some transdimensional badassery requiring a recurve bow. Perhaps Saturdays are not the best. I'm sure if they're what works for your household, she'd put in a mild and friendly word with the spectral horde.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

She'd have some difficulty going through all our chocolate in a single sitting, unless she eats like Super Mario only with chocolate instead of mushrooms. And without the growth mushroom.

Friday should be easier to call Friday than Saturday :P I admit I'm curious about the work with a recurve bow. It's been ages since I wielded any weapon outside of a kitchen knife, but I do like watching good warriors show their prowess. Since you say "transdimensional" that makes me think it is not the SCA. Am I correct in my admittedly-shaky assumption?

[sovay]

She'd have some difficulty going through all our chocolate in a single sitting, unless she eats like Super Mario only with chocolate instead of mushrooms.

No, but if you have anything with ginger in the house, then you'll see cartoon principles in action.

Since you say "transdimensional" that makes me think it is not the SCA. Am I correct in my admittedly-shaky assumption?

I did Olympic archery for seven years, competitively; I was state champion for my age and gender in my division. I can still draw a forty-five-pound recurve. Selkie believes this is why I can pull her up off the couch freehand, but I really think it's just a basic application of Archimedes.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

We do have candied ginger, as well as commercial minced ginger and ginger tea. Be warned, you might have to fight a little lion for the candied ginger.
I'm not sure if we have any TJs chocolate-covered candied ginger pieces in the house. Those go comparatively quickly. Note To Self: get chocolate coated candied ginger in the house that week. You are not allowed to freebase my powdered ginger. I need that for the chicken.

... *scuffs big toe* I have to say, I'm feeling pretty unaccomplished next to you :-) This means nothing about you (aside from levels of awesomeness) and a good deal about me, I suspect. I'm still working on accomplishing things beyond a basic life of introspection, redheads, and sitting down to watch rather a lot of anime and news.

My dream job would be as a radio voice that would be the anti-Rish Limbaugh. I have a ways to go before I can do that.

[sovay]

We do have candied ginger, as well as commercial minced ginger and ginger tea. Be warned, you might have to fight a little lion for the candied ginger.

Hm. I should probably not scrap with my host's children on my first visit somewhere . . .

What is the composition of your household?

This means nothing about you (aside from levels of awesomeness) and a good deal about me, I suspect.

After furiously brushing Tiny Wittgenstein off my shoulder for something like an hour, I can say thanks. I have a lot of what I traditionally term useless talents, even though this probably isn't true; they're just specialized.

My dream job would be as a radio voice that would be the anti-Rush Limbaugh. I have a ways to go before I can do that.

Perhaps, but it's not a bad ambition.

[sovay]

The bit about the Kuiper belt object is also true.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I figured it was. I'm a trusting soul, I suppose; but more importantly, most people don't have any real reason to make up relatively obscure bits like that.
In this one particular way, I am very sorry to say,
I have to consider that you are still one of the most ;-)

(The rhyme came, I added slightly better scansion. I'm a little whimsical with words sometimes)