Robin McKinley's Web Site .:. Robin McKinley's Blog

Robin McKinley

Official Web Forum

Members

Help

Home

Home » Discussion Forums » Blog Post Discussion » Look what arrived in the post today

Show: Today's Messages :: Show Polls :: Message Navigator

Look what arrived in the post today [message #25587]

Thu, 28 January 2010 20:10

jmeadows
Messages: 3149
Registered: September 2008
Location: Virginia, USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Look what arrived in the post today.

Smooshes!

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25588 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Thu, 28 January 2010 20:19

Melissa Mead
Messages: 991
Registered: October 2008
Location: Albany, NY, USA

Senior Member

Here's your Alcott quote: http://www.idaholibraries.org/node/183

Member of Carpe Libris: http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25590 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Thu, 28 January 2010 20:47

blondviolinist
Messages: 1071
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern United States

Senior Member

I have, however, got the wind up badly about pegasus merchandise.

Uh-oh. This could be bad. One of the downsides to being a violin teacher is that people assume you want music-related kitsch. Little badly-made statue heads of famous composers? Been gifted it. Faux Precious Moments angel playing a violin? Yep, been gifted it. Fiddle-toting Father Christmas with fiber-optic glowing robe and beard? Yep, been gifted it. People somehow expect that I will deeply appreciate any random artifact decorated with violins or treble-clefs. Sigh.

I disengaged with unicorns decades ago as a result of unicorn merchandise.

It's not the unicorns' fault! (But yes. Ick and double-ick.)

Although with the new electronic berserker screens all the delivery services have now that you scrabble at with a plastic sylus, neither legible nor identifiable is an issue any more.

Snerk. True.

"Purity of heart is to will one thing." Kirkegaard

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25593 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Thu, 28 January 2010 22:23

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Is anyone still reading her thrillers?

I was one who rushed to purchase A Long Fatal Love Chase when it came out some years ago. (For the uninitiated, this was one of Alcott's early works, unpublished until 1995.) Oh my lord, what a potboiler! I particularly love that the title really tells you everything you need to know about it before you even crack the spine: It's painfully long. It's a chase, involving love. And it Ends Badly For Someone. Smile

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25594 is a reply to message #25593 ]

Thu, 28 January 2010 22:33

Stephanie
Messages: 89
Registered: October 2008
Location: Batavia, Ohio, USA

Member

like "Snakes on a Plane".

No more information needed.

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25598 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 00:56

Quill
Messages: 17
Registered: June 2009

Junior Member

Re: merchandise-- http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/Precious-Maggots-23476787

It was a hit, much to the artist's chagrin.

[Updated on: Fri, 29 January 2010 00:57]

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25601 is a reply to message #25590 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 02:32

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

blondviolinist wrote on Thu, 28 January 2010 19:47

Uh-oh. This could be bad. One of the downsides to being a violin teacher is that people assume you want music-related kitsch. Little badly-made statue heads of famous composers? Been gifted it. Faux Precious Moments angel playing a violin? Yep, been gifted it. Fiddle-toting Father Christmas with fiber-optic glowing robe and beard? Yep, been gifted it. People somehow expect that I will deeply appreciate any random artifact decorated with violins or treble-clefs. Sigh.

We have had a similar experience with dog stuff. Generally Great Danes, although some people weren't quite sure what a Dane looks like and didn't guess right. We have donated quite a few items to club raffles because we thought they were too awful to look at, but there was always someone who wanted them. Chacun a son gout, as they say. Smile

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25602 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 02:55

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Nifty notebook indeed. I also like the Erasmus-quoting tote and would happily add it to my quite excessive collection of canvas bags.

I've never steeled myself to read any of Louisa May's penny-dreadfuls. But Little Women holds up, and doesn't get swamped by the sentimentality or authorial moral-pointing that comes into it. (And there's less of that than someone who's never read it would expect.)

Fedex’s delivery hours are any time from 8:30 to 6. Isn’t that lovely? Isn’t that charming?

Frankly, it stinks. They KNOW their drivers' routes; they ought to be able to narrow the time slot considerably. I really hated this type of (non)scheduling when I had to take time off work and the delivery people wouldn't even break it down into morning or afternoon.

I’ve done a little work on my choral masterpiece A Pox Upon Their Heads this week, but not really enough to be worth showing.

Ah, a piece suitable for many occasions! Text please? Smile

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25604 is a reply to message #25590 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 09:14

Mrs Redboots
Messages: 943
Registered: October 2008
Location: London, UK

Senior Member

blondviolinist wrote on Fri, 29 January 2010 01:47

[color=deeppink] One of the downsides to being a violin teacher is that people assume you want music-related kitsch.

You should see the skating kitsch we get! Mind you, I do quite like skating-related Christmas cards, which is just as well, as the cards we get are evenly divided between skating ones and holy ones (some nice, some not to my taste)! And I do confess to having a fridge magnet that says "Ice dancers have lovely big curves!"

Glad to hear on Twitter that Pegasus arrived safely, leaving plenty of the day for hellhound-hurtling and other vital necessities.

Mrs Redboots
I love my computer because my friends live in it!

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25605 is a reply to message #25604 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 09:52

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Yeah, just because I own cats does not mean I consider them a suitable decorative motif. But this didn't stop me from getting cutesy country-cat-related gifts from various relatives for YEARS. Bleh.

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25607 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 12:07

caligula
Messages: 16
Registered: January 2010
Location: Pacific Northwest

Junior Member

"if Fedex doesn’t arrive till 6:05 I’ll be hanging from the ceiling and eating the wallpaper"

I'm sorry, but this made me laugh out loud. It reminds me of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but I think I like this version much better.

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25616 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 17:11

AJLR
Messages: 2566
Registered: September 2008
Location: England, UK

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Quote:

Maybe I could write a novel about warthogs.

If you write it, I'll guarantee to read it. Smile

Quote:

I’ve done a little work on my choral masterpiece A Pox Upon Their Heads this week, but not really enough to be worth showing.

There's just something about that title...
'And so to my Lord Oisin's house, where I did Practice upon him to the extent of his eventual saying, most agreeably, that my New Piece was like to take the Court by storm when sufficient polished. Then home, to bed.'
Smile

[Updated on: Fri, 29 January 2010 17:12]

_{"Never let a computer know you're in a hurry."}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25617 is a reply to message #25616 ]

Fri, 29 January 2010 17:24

abigailmm
Messages: 545
Registered: January 2009
Location: Texas, USA

Senior Member

AJLR wrote on Fri, 29 January 2010 16:11

Quote:

'And so to my Lord Oisin's house, where I did Practice upon him to the extent of his eventual saying, most agreeably, that my New Piece was like to take the Court by storm when sufficient polished. Then home, to bed.' Smile

Most Excellent!

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25630 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 02:08

Kim A
Messages: 117
Registered: August 2009
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Senior Member

Oh, please, please, please, write the choral work A Pox Upon Their Heads, and publish it so we all can get our choirs to sing it (and if we're not in choirs at the moment, we can form choirs for the specific purpose of premiering this work). I would give anything to be able to warble "A Pox Upon Their Heads" at the top of my singing voice.

(This suddenly brought to mind the marvelous choral spoof "Iphigenia in Brooklyn," the composer of which escapes me. I remember tears of laughter running down my face when I heard it.)

[Updated on: Sat, 30 January 2010 02:12]

It was the only lullaby she would ever sing, and it was sung in Hell. --Laini Taylor

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25660 is a reply to message #25590 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:01

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

I have a friend . . . no, wait, let's EMBARRASS her, I don't think she reads the forum . . . Tasmin, in fact, who thinks it's VERY FRELLING FUNNY to send me the occasional plastic unicorn. I can hardly *wait* for her to gear up properly for pegasi. . . .

Remind me to post a photo of my Whippet Angel. Who is adorable. (Who was also a gift from another friend.) I have my weaknesses. :)

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25661 is a reply to message #25593 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:03

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

They are . . . amazing, in a train wreck kind of way. And they have the great advantage of being (comparatively) SHORT. Unlike, say, WOMAN IN WHITE. I actually like Wilkie Collins a lot, but I feel that treating W in W reverentially as LITERATURE is . . . silly.

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25663 is a reply to message #25602 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:06

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

At the moment it chiefly goes, A pox upon their heads! A POX upon their heads! A POX! A POX! A POX upon their heads! --And then we move into the canon section. . . .

I really, really, REALLY need a better playback system. . . .

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25664 is a reply to message #25605 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:07

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

You need to train people to give you GOOD kitsch. I've been working on it. Some people are more trainable than others. :)

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25665 is a reply to message #25607 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:09

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Oh, the poor yellow wallpaper lady. Yes. I read that too young--and remember how frelling OLD I am, I was raised still to believe that a woman's chief role is to be SUPPORTIVE--and it scared the bejeezus out of me.

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25666 is a reply to message #25616 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:10

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

SNORK. So, do you want to supply the text to another verse? :)

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25667 is a reply to message #25666 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:14

AJLR
Messages: 2566
Registered: September 2008
Location: England, UK

Senior Member
[Moderator]

The title being the leitmotif? Smile

_{"Never let a computer know you're in a hurry."}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25670 is a reply to message #25667 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:20

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Yep. Go for it. :)

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25671 is a reply to message #25664 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:21

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Oh, I love kitsch! I'm not sure the kind of stuff I tend to get as gifts from elderly relatives even qualifies as that. Music boxes with china kittens batting at china butterflies atop. MUSIC BOXES?? KITTENS??? Dear lord. And then there was the cat tea kettle, where you poured the water out the top of the poor thing's head....

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25674 is a reply to message #25671 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:43

b_twin_1
Messages: 2596
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Black Bear wrote on Sat, 30 January 2010 18:21

And then there was the cat tea kettle, where you poured the water out the top of the poor thing's head....

There's a tea shop not too far away from here that not only has a gazillion varieties of Tea but also a mind-blowing array of Teapost and Teacups and Coffee pots, coffee mugs... Tea-related kitch. Oh my I could spend a *fortune* in there.... I have a fondness for the sheepy ones and the Border Collie ones. Funny that!

I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25677 is a reply to message #25671 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 18:47

Melissa Mead
Messages: 991
Registered: October 2008
Location: Albany, NY, USA

Senior Member

Black Bear wrote on Sat, 30 January 2010 18:21

We have a teakettle like that. I think it was a wedding present.

Member of Carpe Libris: http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25687 is a reply to message #25587 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 21:08

skating librarian
Messages: 571
Registered: October 2008
Location: Vermont

Senior Member

Oh dear, "pour kitty". I've seen a cute tea pot with a raised paw which forms the spout and a curled tail as the handle. Rather wish I'd bought it.

Went to see "Harry Potter, the exhibition" at the Museum of Science in Boston yesterday. The discussion of kitsch reminds me of Umbridge's office and it's wall of cat plates ... and the incredible details you probably never noticed in the film. Inlay on tables, carved furniture ...

Lockhart's office was a hoot. Framed pictures of him dressed as heros from classic films: Charles Lindberg, Indiana Jones, and Lawrence of Arabia (this with the top of the head scarf peaked like a wizard hat).

The costumes and props utterly knocked me out. The detail is amazing, with sly jokes everywhere. The fabrics and tailoring in the professor's garb ... cloaks lined with multi-colored taffeta ... Madame Hooch's purple turn of the century fitted jacket and slim skirt with an appliqued flower of a slightly different shade of purple.

I can highly recommend it, we were very lucky to be in a slot with no school classes. A handful of older kids and mainly middle aged adults were in our one o'clock cluster. Anyone who appreciates craftsmanship should try to see it, although being a fan of the books and films made it fun as well, given the choices they made (Neville's dancing shoes).

"Winning a war is like winning an earthquake" Jeanette Rankin

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25691 is a reply to message #25630 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 22:49

abigailmm
Messages: 545
Registered: January 2009
Location: Texas, USA

Senior Member

Kim A wrote on Sat, 30 January 2010 01:08

(This suddenly brought to mind the marvelous choral spoof "Iphigenia in Brooklyn," the composer of which escapes me. I remember tears of laughter running down my face when I heard it.)

P.D.Q. Bach, AKA Peter Schickele (or is that more properly expressed as Peter Schickele, AKA P.D.Q. Bach?)

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25692 is a reply to message #25663 ]

Sat, 30 January 2010 23:58

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Robin wrote on Sat, 30 January 2010 17:06

What can I say? This is a sentiment that so frequently bears repeating, after all! Smile

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25693 is a reply to message #25691 ]

Sun, 31 January 2010 00:04

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

abigailmm wrote on Sat, 30 January 2010 21:49

it.)

P.D.Q. Bach, AKA Peter Schickele (or is that more properly expressed as Peter Schickele, AKA P.D.Q. Bach?)[/quote]

Professor Pete would attribute Iphigenia to P.D.Q. Bach. Peter Schickele's proper work is catalogued under his own name. We are dealing with two distinct, if not different, personages here, after all. Smile

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

Report message to a moderator

Re: Look what arrived in the post today [message #25705 is a reply to message #25692 ]

Sun, 31 January 2010 08:42

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

I find it curiously satisfying as I sing along. :)

Report message to a moderator

Previous Topic:	Havoc, various and extreme
Next Topic:	Pegasus Friday

Goto Forum:

-=] Back to Top [=-

[ Generate printable PDF ]

Current Time: Fri May 24 18:23:03 EDT 2013

Total time taken to generate the page: 0.05126 seconds

.:: Contact :: Home ::.