Mid-Atlanteans: Are we meeting in September?

[LibraryLady]

You know who you are. :)

This weekend is Labor Day, so I'm assuming most people have plans. I'm out of town the next weekend, and the weekend of the 23rd is Rosh Hashanah. Other than that I'm available Saturdays after 5pm and Sundays any time. Of course, it's not mandatory that I be available, and if anyone wants to go ahead on those dates, not a problem. :cry1

Whatcha think? Shall we do September, or wait until October?

[bluess]

The 16th or 23rd would work best for me - so how about the 16th, since its ALL about me and the LL?

How about the rest of the folks in this area? BPSCG? WebFusion? IllegalArgument? Rikzilla? Maddog?

Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

(This musical interlude from '1776' brought to you by Bluess, and if you promise to show up, I promise to NOT sing at you.)

[BPSCG]

The 16th or 23rd would work best for me - so how about the 16th, since its ALL about me and the LL?

How about the rest of the folks in this area? BPSCG? WebFusion? IllegalArgument? Rikzilla? Maddog?

Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

(This musical interlude from '1776' brought to you by Bluess, and if you promise to show up, I promise to NOT sing at you.)(Jefferson): "Once again you stand between me and my lovely bride.
Mister Adams, you are driving me to homicide."

(Franklin, Livingston, Sherman, singing): "Homicide! Homicide!"
(Adams): "SHUT UP!!!"

[LibraryLady]

Well, that's all very nice, Beeps, but you're not answering the question.

[bluess]

Oh, dear.

You mean we have a musical in common, BPSCG?

Oh, is everyone else in trouble.

[BPSCG]

Well, that's all very nice, Beeps, but you're not answering the question.
That's 'cuz I haven't had a chance to look at the calendar yet. Alexandria Symphony and Virginia Opera season are hard upon us.

And where are we planning to meet?
Oh, dear.

You mean we have a musical in common, BPSCG?

Oh, is everyone else in trouble.John: "Saltpeter, John."
Abigail: "Pins, Abigail."

Can't explain my peculiar fondness for this show, 'cuz, frankly, the music is not particularly distinguished (though it's a lot better than most of the tripe that comes out of Broadway these days). The history is pretty accurate, though.

[bluess]

Well, its not the music so much as the words and attitude.

I do like that John Adams' musical reference to fireworks was taken from a letter he wrote, as were many of the bits back and forth with Abigail.

IllegalArgument says he in. Perhaps we should just do Columbia, MD again? Clyde's seemed to have a menu that pleased everyone.

How about 5 pm on the 16th at Clyde's in Columbia?

Bluess

[bluess]

Hey - if we can do this on the 16th Garrette may be able to attend as well - he'll be in the area.

[Garrette]

Not only that, but I played Lighthorse Harry Lee in the musical.

And (no joke) a good rendition of Mama, Look Sharp brings me to tears.

[LibraryLady]

I'm working until 5pm on the 16th, but I can come after work. If we do it at Clyde's, it's only about 20-30 minutes for me.

[bluess]

One of the most touching songs ever written.

One of the fastest ways I can get my friends to tell me to shut up is when I start on '1776'. I know way too much of the libretto. And having one person try to do all of the parts of the opening act is ... um... dreadful.

[Garrette]

I'll be doing business until about 5, also, and will be in the Riverdale Park area (right by the University of Maryland).

I've no idea where Clydes, or any place else is, but I'll have wheels so with directions I can get there.

This is all tentative, though. Strongly tentative, but tentative nonetheless.

[bluess]

5:30 then!

[Garrette]

I take it Clydes is within 30 minutes of the UofM?

[bluess]

Yippers

[Garrette]

A bit more specificity would not be amiss.

I found Clyde's home page, but they list a lot of locations which, if you don't know the area, could all be right next door to me or across the bleeping Potomac.

Give a whiner a break, wouldja?

[bluess]

Did you ask for directions? Naw, I didn't think so.

I'll work out best directions for you this weekend when I'm in that area.

S

[BPSCG]

Directions to Clyde's in Columbia, MD, from their website (http://www.clydes.com/main/Find_Us.cfm?Section=Cl_Columbia_95_North):


Take 95 North to 175 West (Exit 41). Follow 175 West approximately 5 miles to downtown Columbia. The Columbia mall entrance will be on your right and Exxon will be on your left. Take your next left into Wincopin Circle and park. We are located in the bottom of the Columbia association building facing the lakefront.


Park in the parking garage. It's not obvious where the restaurant is. You need to walk down to the lake across from the garage; there's a whole bunch of restaurants that face the lake, in a rough semicircle. Clyde's is on the left, as you're standing in the lake.

Or on the right, as you're facing it.

Looks like I can make it.

[Garrette]

Lovely. Driving Route 1 and then 95N at 5. Sigh....

Ah, well. At least there's no home game at the UofM; it takes 45 minutes to drive two miles when there is.

Where I'll be is actually closer to the BW Parkway (295?). Could/should I take it up North before hitting the Columbia exit (I've been to Columbia once, so I have a rough idea where it is).

And, most importantly, as a non-Atlantean, need I fear physical harm at this meeting?

I'm still just a probably and not a definite.

[LibraryLady]

And, most importantly, as a non-Atlantean, need I fear physical harm at this meeting?

I'm still just a probably and not a definite.

Not physical harm. :eye-poppi

[Garrette]

Then I guess I'm safe. To suffer mental harm, I'd need a brain. For emotional harm, I'd have to care.

Lay on, McDuff!

[bluess]

What should McDuff lay on? Or lie on?

Attendee update - Rikzilla has to work that evening, and won't attend. IllegalArgument thinks he can be there.

So that makes Bluess, LibraryLady, BPSCG (& Mrs.?), Garrette, IllegalArgument.

Has anyone heard from Maddog, Webfusion, any other of the local denizens?

[BPSCG]

BPSCG (& Mrs.?), Probably not Mrs.

[bluess]

Probably not Mrs.


Dang.

We'll miss her.

[Garrette]

What should McDuff lay on? Or lie on?Someone else, preferably.

[Garrette]

Probably not Mrs.
I can see it now. I'll be the only one there, where my Hoosiers t-shirt, saying "Go Atlanteans!"

[LibraryLady]

I can see it now. I'll be the only one there, where my Hoosiers t-shirt, saying "Go Atlanteans!"

Yes, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be the only one there wearing a Hoosiers t-shirt. ;)

[Garrette]

Yes, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be the only one there wearing a Hoosiers t-shirt. ;)
Don't get all high and mighty with me, little miss bookmark, just because you can spell "wear" correctly and I can't.

I might send you into cognitive dissonance by waring my Hoosiers t-shirt simultaneously with my U of Louisville cap.

And then I'll ask you what "Hoosiers" means. That'll larn ya.

Edited to correct the spelling of weir

[BPSCG]

Bump.

This Saturday, September 16, 5:30 pm, at Clyde's in Columbia.

[Garrette]

I'll be there, though I may be a bit late; I don't fully control my schedule that day.

[bluess]

I'll be there. IllegalArgument says he'll be there (barring attacks by ninja squirrels).

[LibraryLady]

I'll be there. IllegalArgument says he'll be there (barring attacks by ninja squirrels).

I'll send the Budgie of Doom TM over to protect him.

Bluess, could you please make the reservation? I'm a little snowed under.

[bluess]

Sure thing:

LL, Bluess, BPSCG, Garrette, IllegalArgument ...

Anyone heard from WebFusion or Maddog or any others? And BPSCG, Mrs. is not attending, correct?

I'll start with 6.

[BPSCG]

Anyone heard from WebFusion or Maddog or any others? And BPSCG, Mrs. is not attending, correct?Has a day-long Blue Ridge Ski Council meeting she has to go to, so, no, er, correct.

ETA: She suggested I "sign your name, get out of there, and hurry home to me."

[bluess]

Only if I get to sing "Saltpeter, John!".

[slipknotmcfadden]

Is my timing so bad that I decided to introduce myself on the JREF forums 2 measly days after a get-together in the area I live in?

Anyway - Greetings, my name is Carey, and I live in Frederick, MD. I'm planning on attending my first TAM this January, and I wanted to meet some people on the forums beforehand so I'd know people when I get there. Little did I know (or rather, little did I spend time thinking about it) that there was a group in the area that I could get to know, in actual person, before TAM 5. How cool is that?

No really, how cool is it? I'm insecure about these things and I need to know.

I was told by CriticalThanking in another thread that if I can karaoke 1776, you will ignore any (other) faults I may have.

[BPSCG]

I was told by CriticalThanking in another thread that if I can karaoke 1776, you will ignore any (other) faults I may have.That depends on the nature of your other faults.

If they include any or all of the following...

Persistent attempts to convert other MidAtlanteans to Mormonism;
Babbling nonstop about how really terrific the last Adam Sandler movie was;
Groping private parts (either yours or other persons', doesn't matter);
Talking on your cell phone in a restaurant or at the wheel of your car;
Saying "irregardless";
Stiffing the rest of the group for your part of the restaurant tab;
Spitting tobacco juice...then we will be unlikely to overlook them, no matter how well you sing.

We haven't set up an October meet yet, but figure on Bluess and/or LibraryLady to get the ball rolling, probably in a few weeks (they're women, they're better organized, they have a greater need for socialization than hunter-gatherer males). Just watch this space.

And welcome to the forum!

[LibraryLady]

Is my timing so bad that I decided to introduce myself on the JREF forums 2 measly days after a get-together in the area I live in?

Anyway - Greetings, my name is Carey, and I live in Frederick, MD. I'm planning on attending my first TAM this January, and I wanted to meet some people on the forums beforehand so I'd know people when I get there. Little did I know (or rather, little did I spend time thinking about it) that there was a group in the area that I could get to know, in actual person, before TAM 5. How cool is that?

No really, how cool is it? I'm insecure about these things and I need to know.

I was told by CriticalThanking in another thread that if I can karaoke 1776, you will ignore any (other) faults I may have.

Only for certain members of the group and then only during a new moon.

Fear not! We're doing this once a month, and I have something up my sleeve for October. Maybe. Sort of. Mid-Atlanteans usually appears in the subject heading, so watch for that.

We had a great time on Saturday, but it was extremely noisy and I had worked all day. :( Beeps was in great form and IllegalArgument was miraculously cured and joined us.

And we got to meet Garrette, who's a great guy and likes paeons.

[Garrette]

That depends on the nature of your other faults.

If they include any or all of the following...

Persistent attempts to convert other MidAtlanteans to Mormonism;
Babbling nonstop about how really terrific the last Adam Sandler movie was;
Groping private parts (either yours or other persons', doesn't matter);
Talking on your cell phone in a restaurant or at the wheel of your car;
Saying "irregardless";
Stiffing the rest of the group for your part of the restaurant tab;
Spitting tobacco juice...then we will be unlikely to overlook them, no matter how well you sing.

We haven't set up an October meet yet, but figure on Bluess and/or LibraryLady to get the ball rolling, probably in a few weeks (they're women, they're better organized, they have a greater need for socialization than hunter-gatherer males). Just watch this space.

And welcome to the forum!If you don't remove the third bullet I shall never darken your meetings' door again.

[BPSCG]

If you don't remove the third bullet I shall never darken your meetings' door again.Sorry, two hour limit on editing posts.

It was nice knowing you... :o

[Garrette]

It was nice knowing you... :oI'd complain except I know you're lying...

[slipknotmcfadden]

That depends on the nature of your other faults.

If they include any or all of the following...

Persistent attempts to convert other MidAtlanteans to Mormonism;
Babbling nonstop about how really terrific the last Adam Sandler movie was;
Groping private parts (either yours or other persons', doesn't matter);
Talking on your cell phone in a restaurant or at the wheel of your car;
Saying "irregardless";
Stiffing the rest of the group for your part of the restaurant tab;
Spitting tobacco juice...then we will be unlikely to overlook them, no matter how well you sing.


Those will do nicely. But if you ever see me in a karaoke bar, stop me from singing that old standard, "Did You See the One Where Adam Sandler Stiffed the Bill, Gripped the Stiff, Spit the Skoal, Stole the Call, Tried to Convert Us All to Mormonism and Kept Saying Irregardless Completely At Random?". It's sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", but I usually can't finish the first verse. It has to be sung very breathily, and I pass out. :relieved:

[LibraryLady]

Those will do nicely. But if you ever see me in a karaoke bar, stop me from singing that old standard, "Did You See the One Where Adam Sandler Stiffed the Bill, Gripped the Stiff, Spit the Skoal, Stole the Call, Tried to Convert Us All to Mormonism and Kept Saying Irregardless Completely At Random?". It's sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", but I usually can't finish the first verse. It has to be sung very breathily, and I pass out. :relieved:

I think I'm in love. :lovestruck:

[slipknotmcfadden]

I think I'm in love. :lovestruck:

And after only two posts! If only I could use this power for good... :degrin:

[LibraryLady]

And after only two posts! If only I could use this power for good... :degrin:

Actually, if you'll notice, I didn't say with whom I am in love. ;)

[bluess]

We may need to have an early October meeting to bring the new lamb into the fold.

And then we can see if anyone at JREF will front bail money after we get kicked out of a restaurant for singing loudly and badly.

[webfusion]

Wishing you all a Sweet New Year 5767 ---- (that's 5767 lunar years counting from the Genesis of the Heavens and Earth) --- I'm skeptical about the accuracy of this figure, as you might imagine, but this is a holiday when we get to eat slices of apples dipped in honey and enjoy other wonderful traditional dishes, so I'll quietly play along and have my (honey) cake and eat it too.

BTW, the first two weekends of October are further jewish holidays, which I will be participating with family & friends in some way, shape or form...

After that, I'm good to go.

[NobbyNobbs]

Ah, see I saw the title of this thread and misread it to mean that it was a meeting of those from the middle of Atlantis.


Guess I'll have to start my own group.....

[LibraryLady]

Ah, see I saw the title of this thread and misread it to mean that it was a meeting of those from the middle of Atlantis.


Guess I'll have to start my own group.....

Which, of course, is what I intended. You are simply the first to get it. :D

[LibraryLady]

Wishing you all a Sweet New Year 5767 ---- (that's 5767 lunar years counting from the Genesis of the Heavens and Earth) --- I'm skeptical about the accuracy of this figure, as you might imagine, but this is a holiday when we get to eat slices of apples dipped in honey and enjoy other wonderful traditional dishes, so I'll quietly play along and have my (honey) cake and eat it too.

BTW, the first two weekends of October are further jewish holidays, which I will be participating with family & friends in some way, shape or form...

After that, I'm good to go.


And l'Shana Tovah to you too.

[BPSCG]

We may need to have an early October meeting to bring lead the new lamb into the fold to the slaughter.
Fixed it for you. Who's bringing the ritual sacrificial knife?

[LibraryLady]

Fixed it for you. Who's bringing the ritual sacrificial knife?

Actually, I do have a cunning plan for our October get-together, but I need a volunteer. I need a volunteer whose DVD player is not in her bedroom where there's only one chair and a very territorial budgie.

I have purchased the DVD of "The Real Da Vinci Code," a documentary by Tony Robinson, better known to many of us as Baldrick. I saw it on the Discovery Channel, and it's a winner. I am not proposing a public showing, since that would violate more copyright laws than I care to think about. :eek: I propose a few friends get together, order some pizza, and watch it.

If no one else has a suitable habitat for showing, I will throw open my bedroom and a cover over the budgie.

Er....let me rephrase that. :boxedin:

[BPSCG]

Our DVD player's in our rec room. Let me check with my appointments secretary sorry, boss wife to see what dates would be good.

[IllegalArgument]

Our DVD player's in our rec room. Let me check with my appointments secretary sorry, boss wife to see what dates would be good.

The DVD player is my living room, but it's only an average sized TV.

[zizzybaluba]

I've got a big screen in my (finished) basement and an easily portable DVD player (actually a PS2).

Unfortunatly, I moved in rather recently and my basement has no furniture in it yet... (the big screen came with the house; the previous owner couldn't figure out how to get it up the stairs without breaking them like he did when he brought it in :) )

[IllegalArgument]

I've got a big screen in my (finished) basement and an easily portable DVD player (actually a PS2).

Unfortunatly, I moved in rather recently and my basement has no furniture in it yet... (the big screen came with the house; the previous owner couldn't figure out how to get it up the stairs without breaking them like he did when he brought it in :) )

Ah another PS2 used as a DVD player, love it. It's makes a great DVD player.

[slipknotmcfadden]

I'd gladly offer my big screen, and I'd make some chili for us, but I only have enough seating for myself and 4 others. :crowded: It's a cozy apartment at about 350 sq ft.

Plus, I live far away from our mean geographic center.

Then again, some people are willing to make sacrifices for chili and a big screen.

[BPSCG]

Mrs. BPSCG and I can host October 21 (Alexandria, VA, just inside the Beltway). That's the only weekend that's good for us. We have a big-screen TV that is not in our bedroom.

LL, since it was your idea, you get veto power.

[LibraryLady]

Mrs. BPSCG and I can host October 21 (Alexandria, VA, just inside the Beltway). That's the only weekend that's good for us. We have a big-screen TV that is not in our bedroom.

LL, since it was your idea, you get veto power.

Unfortunately, I work that day. :(

I could drive down in the evening, but it would be an awfully long day for me. Any other alternatives? The weekend days I am available are:

Sunday, October 1
Saturday, October 7
Sunday, October 15
Sunday, October 22
Saturday, October 28

Sorry my schedule is so....well...scheduled.

[BPSCG]

Any other alternatives? The weekend days I am available are:

Sunday, October 1
Saturday, October 7
Sunday, October 15
Sunday, October 22
Saturday, October 28I think Sunday the 22nd would work for us as well. We have family coming to visit two weekends in October, so our schedule is pretty scheduled, too. Lemme check with the boss and get back.

[BPSCG]

Okay, we can host on Sunday, October 22. Does the usual 5:30 work for people?

Anyone who wants to join the JREF Mid-Atlanteans for a private screening of The Real da Vinci Code, with pizza, in historic Alexandria, Virginia, just blocks from where Zaccarais Mousaoui got tried, please PM me for directions. Guaranteed to see the Virgin Mary in your pepperoni and cheese or double your money back.*

*Money back offer void inside DC Beltway.

[slipknotmcfadden]

Eeexcellent...

[bluess]

Probably not - currently planning on being in FL. However, my schedule is typed in erasable font, so don't count ol'Blue out just yet.

[Buckaroo]

Ooooh, I'm in!

[BPSCG]

Probably not - currently planning on being in FL. However, my schedule is typed in erasable font, so don't count ol'Blue out just yet.Look, it's fading already! :yahoo

[bluess]

Beeps, you are really silly.

:)

[IllegalArgument]

Look, it's fading already! :yahoo

Simple but clever, I like it.

[LibraryLady]

Beeps, you are really silly.

:)

He just wants to hear your speeding story one more time!

[bluess]

He just wants to hear your speeding story one more time!

If y'all are lucky, I'll tell you the dead tag story.

If y'all are luckier, I won't. :)

[webfusion]

Did someone mention pizza?

[LibraryLady]

Did someone mention pizza?

That was I, but if you'd prefer something else....

[webfusion]

Pixxa is fine for me!

I have the directions and will be there -- along with the "Unbending A Spine" file tucked under my arm.

[LibraryLady]

Actually, Beeps, I need directions. Why don't you pm them to those who say they're attending?

[Buckaroo]

Got your IM, Ellie -- add me to the head count. (I might already be there, since I got directions from BPSCG.)

[bluess]

Looks like we will be making our planned trip to FL ... so I expect an essay from everyone attending on the quality of the pizza.

[BPSCG]

Actually, Beeps, I need directions. Why don't you pm them to those who say they're attending?I've PM'd everyone who asked.

So now that you ask...

[BPSCG]

Looks like we will be making our planned trip to FL ... so I expect an essay from everyone attending on the quality of the pizza.We'll miss you. :(

But OTOH, more pizza for me! :D

[bluess]

Then again, maybe not. Did I say I write my schedule in erasable font? Beeps, please PM directions, just in case.

And no fair sending me bogus directions to prevent me from getting at the pizza.

[LibraryLady]

Then again, maybe not. Did I say I write my schedule in erasable font? Beeps, please PM directions, just in case.

And no fair sending me bogus directions to prevent me from getting at the pizza.

You like keeping us in suspense, don't you Blue?

[bluess]

If I can't have drama in my life, I will manufacture it.

Wait, I have drama in my life. So I'll still manufacture some more.

MWA HA HA HA

[BPSCG]

If I can't have drama in my life, I will manufacture it.

Wait, I have drama in my life. So I'll still manufacture some more.

MWA HA HA HAHar. See how dramatic your life becomes when your directions to my house inexplicably put you in the middle of a goat pasture tended by Marquis de Carabas.

[Buckaroo]

Have we settled on 5:30?

[BPSCG]

Have we settled on 5:30?Yes, 5:30. Anyone who still needs directions, PM me.

[fuelair]

I suspect we are no longer talking about September 2006

[LibraryLady]

I suspect we are no longer talking about September 2006

What're you, some kind of skeptic?

[bluess]

Did every one have a good time? Can you prove it?

Did BPSCG eat all of the pizza, as the host's perogative?

[BPSCG]

Did every one have a good time? No. Bluto (the primary, alpha cat) and Samoa (the emergency backup cat) stormed off in a huff and didn't return until I assured them that "All the bad people are gone..."

The bipeds all seemed to have a good time. We didn't kill the newbies, SlipKnotMcFadden and Buckaroo; SKM had driven all the way from Frederick, MD, to Alexandria, so it would have been unsporting.

LibraryLady momentarily thought the DVD of The Real da Vinci Code was missing. She was much relieved to discover that I had simply been having sport at her expense. She came this close to slapping me, though.

Good debunking of the entire da Vinci code mythology. Despite the claim in the preface to Dan Brown's book, the Priory of Sion was not formed in 1099, but in 1956, by three Frenchmen looking to set up a scam. Lots of sarcastic remarks directed at the screen whenever some da Vinci code True Believer would say something particularly wooish. Biggest laugh of the evening (keep in mind that Monty Python and the Holy Grail was never too far from anyone's thoughts): When one lady was talking about how rich the Knights Templar were, she mentioned, with an utterly straight face and with no apparent sense of irony, that they had "huge tracts of land..." Hilarity ensued.

Can you prove it?STFU, Claus.

Did BPSCG eat all of the pizza, as the host's perogative?No, I shared. Wouldn't have been sporting to make everyone pay for it and then eat it all myself...

Webfusion brought some materials along regarding a possible JREF challenge. I'll let him write about that separately.

[LibraryLady]

The bipeds all seemed to have a good time. We didn't kill the newbies, SlipKnotMcFadden and Buckaroo; SKM had driven all the way from Frederick, MD, to Alexandria, so it would have been unsporting.

And nice gentlemen they are too. At least they were last night.

LibraryLady momentarily thought the DVD of The Real da Vinci Code was missing. She was much relieved to discover that I had simply been having sport at her expense. She came this close to slapping me, though.

Yeah, Beeps, that was the highlight of the evening for me too.

My favorite parts of the documentary:

Tony Robinson commenting on the San Greal/Sang Real mix up: "It's logical, plausible, and makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, it's rubbish"

Margaret Starbird explaining that she understood the position of Mary Magdalen, after she had prayed about it.

The long, long, loooooooong pauses, every time Robinson asked Baigent a simple question.

I had a really good time, especially since, aside from Mrs. Beeps, I was the only girl type there. Eat your heart out, Bluess!

[BPSCG]

The long, long, loooooooong pauses, every time Robinson asked Baigent a simple question.Heeheehee... You could almost see the gears grinding... "OMG, how do I explain this now...?"

Yeah, he was a piece of work, he was. It was wonderful how casually he would go from, "It's possible..." to "It must be..." Using the same logic, I must be the long-lost Dauphine, heir to the throne of France.

[slipknotmcfadden]

Looks like we will be making our planned trip to FL ... so I expect an essay from everyone attending on the quality of the pizza.

Two pizzas from an independent chain, "Bugsy Malone's" I believe, made their way to Beeps's house. They presented a classic false dichotomy: meat lover's and farmers market (aka "veggie lover's"). This placed us squarely into two camps, the carnivores and the vegetarians. I believe I saw Webfusion take pieces from both, which I guess makes him a flip-flopper, but Buckaroo, IllegalArgument and I stuck to our cavemen roots with the meat lover's pizza. I'm pretty sure Beeps and Mrs. Beeps went with vegetarian, but Library Lady definitely did; she performed warding gestures every time she approached the meat lover's pizza.

But, as with most conflicts, we were able to find common ground. In this case, it was in Mrs. Beeps's chocolate chip pumpkin bread, which was simply too decadent to keep us separated. Plus, at the end of the evening, I discovered a traitor in the vegetarian camp. Yes, LibraryLady, along with her accomplice Beeps, had smuggled green peppers off her farmers market pizza and passed them "under the table" to Beeps. I can no longer keep quiet about this vast conspiracy. The truth will out.

We also had a seance where Andrew Jackson showed up four times, when we were really hoping to speak with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Those silly spirits...

[LibraryLady]

We also had a seance where Andrew Jackson showed up four times, when we were really hoping to speak with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Those silly spirits...

You weren't supposed to tell about that part, Slipknot. Geez, so much for the vow of silence.

[BPSCG]

Two pizzas from an independent chain, "Bugsy Malone's" I believe, made their way to Beeps's house. They presented a classic false dichotomy: meat lover's and farmers market (aka "veggie lover's"). This placed us squarely into two camps, the carnivores and the vegetarians. I believe I saw Webfusion take pieces from both, which I guess makes him a flip-flopper, but Buckaroo, IllegalArgument and I stuck to our cavemen roots with the meat lover's pizza. I'm pretty sure Beeps and Mrs. Beeps went with vegetarian, but Library Lady definitely did; she performed warding gestures every time she approached the meat lover's pizza.Well, in my case, it was simply a matter of being a gracious host; I've observed that people in general tend to favor meat pizzas more than veggie ones, and men tend to favor them more than women do. So with five guys and two gals in the room, it wasn't hard to see that the meat would probably go first, and, being the considerate host that I am (I offered y'all Guinness Stout, ferpetesake! and got no takers!!!), I stuck to the veggie pizza.

Given my druthers, there would have been an entire dead pig on one pizza and a dead cow on the other.

[bluess]

Veggie pizza? Blech. We need as much cooked animal flesh as the crust will bear. (Ha ha ha)

[LibraryLady]

Veggie pizza? Blech. We need as much cooked animal flesh as the crust will bear. (Ha ha ha)

Bear meat on pizza? Don't think so.....

[bluess]

But we must definitely have bare meat on our pizza. The fur gets stuck in your teeth.

[LibraryLady]

Or we could have bears meet on our pizza.....





















....this is deteriorating rapidly.

[bluess]

I would prefer the bears to meet on the piazza.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

[BPSCG]

Veggie pizza? Blech. We need as much cooked animal flesh as the crust will bear. (Ha ha ha)People who prefer going to Florida to spending an evening with fellow Midlanticans don't get a vote.

[bluess]

And people who were going to go to Florida but ended up staying in Maryland doing all sorts of family things (Happy Diwali everyone, by the way) rather than spending an evening with fellow Midlanticans just better be happy with crumbs from the table, dagnabit!

[BPSCG]

And people who were going to go to Florida but ended up staying in Maryland doing all sorts of family things (Happy Diwali everyone, by the way) rather than spending an evening with fellow Midlanticans just better be happy with crumbs from the table, dagnabit!Um, I thought you were supposed to do better than just crumbs off the table for Diwali? Sweets and pastries and that kind of stuff? Sounds like your family's been giving you the short end of the stick...

[bluess]

Um, I meant crumbs from the Midlanticans table.

I celebrated with marzipan (yeah, I know its not Indian, but YUMMM), Indian sweets, and champagne. And rehabbing two rooms.

[slipknotmcfadden]

Just wanted to say that I'm officially registered for TAM5!

[LibraryLady]

Just wanted to say that I'm officially registered for TAM5!

That's right, rub it in. :boxedin: