Paul&#39;s Journal

And it's a real shame, too, because I would far prefer to be embedded in ice. :-)

From:

unseelie23.livejournal.com

You will be sucked dry by a leech. I'd stay away
from swimming holes, and stick to good old
cement. Even if it does hurt like hell when
your toe scrapes the bottom.

(http://quizilla.com/users/redshoecult/quizzes/What%20horrible%20Edward%20Gorey%20Death%20will%20you%20die%3F/)

From:

tshuma

I had mixed messages depending on which answer I gave to one difficult (*ahem*) question:

You showed me yours, now I'll show you mine!

From:

And, uh, which question was giving you difficulty?

From:

neverjaunty.livejournal.com

You will swallow some tacks. You are a little
weird, maybe not so much in a good way. Buy a
yellow tie and wear it on your head.

(http://quizilla.com/users/redshoecult/quizzes/What%20horrible%20Edward%20Gorey%20Death%20will%20you%20die%3F/)

From:

monicat.livejournal.com

You will sink in a mire. You like to think you're normal, but deep down you really just want to strip off your clothes and roll around in chicken fat.

Um...no comment

From:

Even some people you DON'T know - it's irresistible! Apparently I am doomed to sink in a mire. (As for the chicken fat - no comment!) :-)

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Well, may I be the first to congratulate you on your ignominious demise!

And out of curiosity how did you stumble over here? Do we know someone in common? Or random link?

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It was through

mertuil's post regarding Afro-Celt Sound System. I'm a friend of

ag_unicorn, and found her post through him, saw your comment and was curious - you sounded interesting (anyone that determined to dance sounds good to me, even though I am severely lacking in the grace/co-ordination department myself).

When the first thing I saw was an Edward Gorey quiz, how could I resist having a look?

Hope you don't mind.

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Ah, got it. No, of course I don't mind!

ag_unicorn isn't someone I know, but lots and lots of people have

mertuil in common.

mertuil and I are both part of a fairly extended Bay Area dance community, and like her I'm bound and determined to die dancin'.

As for Gorey, I'm afraid I'm not nearly the fan that some of my friends are. There are, however, some pictures of a couple of Gorey-themed parties we had available at my friend's page (scroll down a bit to see 'em). Actually, that's where this b&w one I use as my lj icon comes from! :-)

Hmmmm, Brit expat. Nice!

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Ok, I just spent WAY too much time at your friend's page. Great pictures! Those looked like some pretty out there parties. Do you always have that much fun?

I'm not a major Gorey fan, but what I've seen of his stuff I've really enjoyed. Gorey-themed parties - marvellous! And the resulting icon isn't too shabby, either... ;-)

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Do you always have that much fun?

Well, um.... yes. I'm blessed with a very cool and creative circle of friends. And most of those folks at the Gorey parties aren't even dancers!

And the resulting icon isn't too shabby, either... ;-)

Why thank you, ma'am!

From:

Not dancers? Say it ain't so!

But they look like so much fun, I'm sure you can forgive them that minor failing. ;-)

I hope you don't mind my saying so, but I'm really enjoying talking (?) to you. Would you mind if I added you to my friends list? (A bit presumptuous, I know - sorry!).

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Not dancers? Say it ain't so!

But they look like so much fun, I'm sure you can forgive them that minor failing. ;-)

I'm afraid it is so. They are mostly the people I game with. My dancer friends have websites with pictures of them in entirely different costumes: Regency, Renaissance, Empire, Dickens, etc. :-)

I hope you don't mind my saying so, but I'm really enjoying talking (?) to you. Would you mind if I added you to my friends list? (A bit presumptuous, I know - sorry!).

No, of course I wouldn't mind! That would make you my first official "random person in 'net-land" to lj-friend me.

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Well, there had to be a first. Shame it wasn't a dancer, but there will be more - you can work your way up, given time.

*smirk*

And the deed is done!

From:

(Well, a friend of

ag_unicorn on lj, haven't met him, so that might have been a bit misleading. Sorry!

You might want to check out his journal sometime - he's an absolute gem. A complete and utter reprobate, in the best possible way! He found me through a mutual friend of ours and added me to his friends list. Very kind of him! :-)

From:

You will be sucked dry by a leech. I'd stay away
from swimming holes, and stick to good old
cement. Even if it does hurt like hell when
your toe scrapes the bottom.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

From:

(Ignore that other one. Forgot to log in on my own username.)

You know, there's something about this thread that brings people I don't know out of the woodwork. Not that I mind, it's kind of nice to have an audience of random strangers...

...that live in Palo Alto...

...waitaminute...

*quickly researches*

Oh! A friend of

phoenixrisen! Now the connection makes sense!

From:

Zhaneel, isn't that the female gryfalcon in the Mercedies Lackey series Black Gryphon?

Anyway, yes, I'm a friend of Phoenix's, she'd told me about the test and your Gorey parties. I loved the pictures!

I used to live in the Mountain View/Palo Alto area, but don't any more. While I was there though I used to Contra Dance at the YWCA, there on Alma, so I'm sorry to hear they're closing up! I hope you guys find some place else soon! Who knows, maybe I'll even show up! *gryn*

From:

One of my SOs forgot to logout after she used my computer. Yes, that login is one she uses just about everywhere, and you've pegged the reference exactly.

We may know some folks in common. I'm a ceili dancer, and I'm friends with lots of English country dancers and Morris dancers, so there's got to be some crossover with the Contra community somewhere. :-)

From:

and you've pegged the reference exactly.

Yay *gryn* I wasn't sure, but I thought so.

We may, but it has been a Loooooooooong time since I've done any contra dancing.. and as for morris dancing, the closest I've done to that is attend the May Day sunrise event in Palo Alto.

So what exactly is ceili dancing?

From:

I have several friends that ensure the sun rises on May Day. I'm glad they're out there doing it, because I certainly wouldn't be able to help!

Irish ceili dancing is the Irish version of English or Scottish country dancing. A ceili is a barn dance. It's an energetic, flirtatious style of dance. People dance in sets of four, six, or eight people, or sometimes communal dances in a great long line or circle, and move in choreographed patterns. The footwork looks a little tiny bit like you see in Riverdance.

Oh, and the music. The music! Traditional Irish reels, jigs, hornpipes and waltzes. The music is the best part.... *sigh*

Actually, I'll be out dancing tonight. Many of us dance every single Monday at a greasy little pub in Berkeley called the Starry Plough, where there are lessons for beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers from 7-9PM then open dancing from 9-11. Lots and lots of fun!

From:

That sounds absolutely delightful!

Ceili wouldn't happen to be pronounced "kay-leigh" would it? If so, I've done a tiny bit of that.. not enough to ensure I don't trip on my own feet, but enough to be gracefully pushed in the right direction *gryn*

In fact I've done some improv jigs and reels with my father last St. Patrick's day part I attended, in Palo Alto.

*laughs* Now look what you've done - I haven't danced in years and now you've got me all bubbling and excited!

From:

Ceili wouldn't happen to be pronounced "kay-leigh" would it? If so, I've done a tiny bit of that.. not enough to ensure I don't trip on my own feet, but enough to be gracefully pushed in the right direction *gryn*

Yes, that's the correct pronunciation, just like the Marillion song from the '80's. I know there was a group that was doing it at the YWCA, but I don't know if they're still there. I haven't met them.

*laughs* Now look what you've done - I haven't danced in years and now you've got me all bubbling and excited!

Well, c'mon down to the Plough tonight or some other Monday if you'd like to give it a whirl. Matt and I are there most Mondays. First-timers are always welcome!

From:

I've never done any ceili at the YWCA, it has always been more impromptu, at dance weekends or parties. In fact, I'm mostly a raw beginner at most forms of folk dancing (I can belly dance though). I've done some Isreli, Turkish, used to preform Polish folk dancing.. dome some Baltic area stuff.. Some American, some Contra, some Ceili.

Well, c'mon down to the Plough tonight or some other Monday if you'd like to give it a whirl.

I just may have to do that. If not this Monday, maybe next!

From:

I just may have to do that. If not this Monday, maybe next!

I'll give you a couple of other incentives. I just looked at your userinfo page and it looks like our circles are connected. [Bad username or site: <bikerscum @ livejournal.com] is friends with some Ploughfolk. I just met

the_ogre a couple of days ago at an event organized by

mertuil (Mertuil is one of my co-organizers at the Plough).

And lastly, I noticed you're subscribed to the LJ polyamory group. The Plough (on Mondays) is a quiet little hotbed of polyamory; many of the dancers are poly, and everyone's poly-friendly.

From:

*grynz delightedly* This is getting more and more irrisistable!

I only just met

bikerscum on Saturday night, and

dawnd and

akienm's Poly Pool Party. I've known

the_ogre for a while, in fact he was the one who introduced me to most of the poly people I know! Before that I thought I was just some wierd little person who wasn't interested in monogamy, but didn't really know what poly was! The closest I knew of was having an "open relationship."

Where exactly is this Plough?

From:

Huh. I wonder how many folks we know in common?

The Starry Plough is at 3101 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, just a block from the Ashby BART station. A brief web search found this page with links to maps and such.

Lessons start promptly at 7PM, and we ask for a $5 donation -- there's no cover charge or drink minimum, all ages welcome. If you do come by, please say hi to me! Today I'm wearing a stretchy grey shirt w/ 3/4 sleeves, and some faded blue jeans; I'll probably be sitting on the sidelines reading during lessons. I'll also be co-MC on the mic once the open dancing gets rolling around 9PM.

From:

Huh. I wonder how many folks we know in common?

*grynz* Well, take a look at my friends list, if any of those names rings a bell, then we probably have them in common. I've only been in the community for a year, and not terribly actively, due to health issues. I hope to be much more social in the future (the future starting now! *smile*)

If I am able to make it by tonight, I will most certainly say hello! Perhaps we can even manage a dance, some time throughout the evening.

From:

If I am able to make it by tonight, I will most certainly say hello! Perhaps we can even manage a dance, some time throughout the evening.

I'd be delighted! Hope to see you there!

From:

I'm sorry I won't be making it tonight. I've been off my feed this past week, and while I hoped to be feeling up to going out tonight, it just wasn't going to happen.

Perhaps next Monday.

From: