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Rewriting [message #13970]

Tue, 31 March 2009 19:21

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

Senior Member
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Rewriting

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #13971 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Tue, 31 March 2009 21:02

skating librarian
Messages: 570
Registered: October 2008
Location: Vermont

Senior Member

I would never ever complain about your daily blogging.

I had bad news about my favorite cat's health today and your blog helped to stop me thinking about it for awhile. She is such a wonderful cat, and if the diagnosis holds, the care taking is going to be intense.

Between leading me off to fantasy land and providing a community of lovely compassionate friends, you are doing me, and I suspect quite a few others, a great service.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #13973 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 10:02

southdowner
Messages: 981
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Moderator]

I realise I’ve got rather fond of it as the mythic Failed Novel. A romantic tragedy, like a bad love affair: desperately traumatic at the time but lending colour to the daily grind of the present.
how much nicer romantic tragedies are to contemplate with the distance of a few years intervening Razz

Let’s put this into a little perspective. I’ve been change ringing four and a half years. Niall has been ringing seventeen or eighteen years. Colin has been ringing forty. Daniel has been ringing fifty–and Daniel has been ringing handbells much of that time too. Colin admittedly is new to handbells, but he’s a very experienced tower captain, which means he’s used to keeping all the frelling lines in his head so if a bell goes wrong he can tell it how to go right. If I want to whinge a little and pounce on the pair of bells that have the easiest lines through the method, I’m allowed.
Most of the good ringers round here started as embryos; a few were foetuses (foetii?), and nearly all have relatives who ring/rang. It can be disheartening, but I concentrate on how much fun I'm having, and look for small improvements* Smile

(* I can stand my bell first time - mostly ... Yaay!!)

Someone says "pie" and we all go on alert, like meercats. "Pie? Where?" - Blackbear

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Re: Rewriting [message #13974 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 10:02

blondviolinist
Messages: 1067
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern United States

Senior Member

This blog should carry a warning: "Do not read at the library." Somewhere between "Gotterdammerung Whapdoodle Spliced Surprise" and "President Eleanor Singh revealing that she had been a regular at Charlie’s coffeehouse when she was doing grad work at City University in New Arcadia," I almost got myself kicked out yesterday.

One other thing: combining Wagner and change ringing? That's terrifying. I had nightmares last night Very Happy

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #13975 is a reply to message #13971 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 10:03

southdowner
Messages: 981
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Skating librarian I'm sending good wishes for you and your cat - I hope things improve for her and you

[Updated on: Wed, 01 April 2009 10:04]

Someone says "pie" and we all go on alert, like meercats. "Pie? Where?" - Blackbear

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Re: Rewriting [message #13978 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 10:53

Jeanne Marie
Messages: 320
Registered: October 2008
Location: Kansas City

Senior Member

whether what I write is ever worth anything to anybody but me^ and the closest it gets to performance is/are a few animated exchanges on the forum. And poor Oisin, of course.

YES, what you write is worthwhile...everything positive that we do do positively impacts the universe! So, you are building up the universe with writing of all kinds!
Smiles,
Jeanne Marie

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Re: Rewriting [message #13984 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 12:05

Fake Frenchie
Messages: 506
Registered: November 2008
Location: France

Senior Member

"If I want to whinge a little and pounce on the pair of bells that have the easiest lines through the method, I’m allowed."

Of course you are! Wink

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Re: Rewriting [message #13986 is a reply to message #13971 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 12:07

Fake Frenchie
Messages: 506
Registered: November 2008
Location: France

Senior Member

skating librarian wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 03:02

I had bad news about my favorite cat's health today and your blog helped to stop me thinking about it for awhile. She is such a wonderful cat, and if the diagnosis holds, the care taking is going to be intense.

I hope your kitty gets better.

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Re: Rewriting [message #14000 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 14:01

AJLR
Messages: 2565
Registered: September 2008
Location: England, UK

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Quote:

But I wrote about this a little when I posted the first fragment: that if I start rewriting it then I have to stop posting it, because presumably I am trying to turn it into a publishable novel after all, instead of hoicking out the good bits for your delectation here. Arrrrrgh.

That's very interesting - does the re-writing rather creep up on you, or do you suddenly feel the story come alive and want to go off in a particular direction?

Quote:

It had become the perfect opportunity to beat my breast and tear my pixels and not have to do anything.

Somebody from the Story Council has obviously been watching you, and thinking 'She doesn't have enough to fill her days, poor thing, let's allow a few more ideas through...'. Smile

Very best of luck with it, whichever way it goes.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14001 is a reply to message #14000 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 14:28

Guest

"mythic Failed Novel"

I have several Failed Novels packed upstairs in my unreinforced attic. The way the floor wobbles up there, they may come crashing down on top of my couch someday. Just wondering - what must one do to make them classify as 'mythic'? Smile

Skating Librarian, all the best to you and your cat.

[Updated on: Wed, 01 April 2009 14:33] by Moderator

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Re: Rewriting [message #14006 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 15:15

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Quote:

††† In June. I think it’s too late to organise a book tour so I can be out of the country.

Want to bet? I'll need an IV of coffee, a spreadsheet, and Google Maps. Possibly an airline website, though I'm working on a tesseract for you.

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14013 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 16:03

b_twin_1
Messages: 2594
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
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Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that in THE BELLS OF MAZAHAN, which is one of the Third Damar Novels on the official active list

Yes you have.
.......

Tease.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14014 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 16:13

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

A romantic tragedy, like a bad love affair: desperately traumatic at the time but lending colour to the daily grind of the present.

I love this. I picture you looking a bit like one of those Edward Gorey illustrations, the lady with the back of her hand pressed limply against her forehead, moaning "Oh, FailedThirdDamarNovel--would that things had been different!"

I think we need film of you all ringing buckets on Colin's setup.

So yesterday there was a message on my phone machine at the cottage from Niall saying (brightly) that Colin had talked Daniel into coming early to ring handbells so he–Niall–would swing by to pick me up an hour early.

Oh, man. I hate it when there's an eleventh hour change of plans like this; I don't shift gears smoothly, and someone showing up an hour early for ANYTHING would cause my metaphorical transmission to drop out.

scale models of Machu Picchu made out of matchsticks

There's a guy here in Indiana who has a lifesize stagecoach made of toothpicks. I've never seen it, but I hear it's... impressive.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14031 is a reply to message #14006 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 19:34

Robin
Messages: 6000
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

jmeadows wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 15:15

Quote:

††† In June. I think it’s too late to organise a book tour so I can be out of the country.

Want to bet? I'll need an IV of coffee, a spreadsheet, and Google Maps. Possibly an airline website, though I'm working on a tesseract for you.

You need to start with the EXPENSE ACCOUNT.

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Re: Rewriting [message #14032 is a reply to message #14031 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 19:35

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

Senior Member
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Robin wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 19:34

You need to start with the EXPENSE ACCOUNT.

You mean my winning smile and upbeat attitude isn't going to cut it?

Well, there goes that idea. *siiiiigh*

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14033 is a reply to message #14014 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 19:36

Robin
Messages: 6000
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Black Bear wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 16:13

Yep. Widow's weeds to accentuate Interesting Paleness.

There are all KINDS of things we could have film for if I could figure out (a) filming (b) LOADING video on the blog. I still have the bell ringing snippet Cormac took A YEAR AGO that I've never used. I unearth the disc occasionally. Arrrrgh.

Is ALL of Indiana insane, or just the parts you talk about?!?

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Re: Rewriting [message #14034 is a reply to message #14032 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 19:37

Robin
Messages: 6000
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

jmeadows wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 19:35

Robin wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 19:34

You need to start with the EXPENSE ACCOUNT.

You mean my winning smile and upbeat attitude isn't going to cut it?

Well, there goes that idea. *siiiiigh*

Try it on an airline and let me know. :)

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Re: Rewriting [message #14053 is a reply to message #14033 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 22:02

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Yeah, Jodi, the tesseract idea might be cheaper in the long run, though there's an upfront R&D cost...

Robin wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 19:36

Is ALL of Indiana insane, or just the parts you talk about?!?

I do tend to focus on the eccentric, since you mention it. Like attracts like, after all! But I bet most other states could go weird-for-weird against Indiana, with a little work. Hell, Diane's right up near the Twine Ball Monument...

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14058 is a reply to message #14053 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 23:16

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

Senior Member
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Black Bear wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 22:02

And I have Foamhenge.

Never forget.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2091/1627279576_48502929bc.jpg?v=0

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14060 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Wed, 01 April 2009 23:38

blondviolinist
Messages: 1067
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern United States

Senior Member

Not quite as kitschy, but my nearby sightseeing wonders are the Field of Dreams and the Herbert Hoover museum. (And not too far away: the Corn Palace.)

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14064 is a reply to message #13971 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 01:54

Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

skating librarian wrote on Tue, 31 March 2009 20:02

I'm sorry to hear you've had distressing news about your friend and hope the proposed diagnosis fades away. ::candle lit::

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14065 is a reply to message #14014 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:02

Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Black Bear wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 15:13

There's a guy here in Indiana who has a lifesize stagecoach made of toothpicks. I've never seen it, but I hear it's... impressive.

And they don't have a sign on the interstate telling you how to get there??? Talk about missing a bet . . . Smile

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14066 is a reply to message #14053 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:12

Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Black Bear wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 21:02

Thank you for this link. I knew it was here in Minnesota, but have never made the pilgrimage to go see it. In fact I was going to mention it in connection with the toothpick stagecoach. We have the Spam Museum, too, and when something like that is located in a place that features life-sized butter sculptures at the State Fair, it is too scary to contemplate for very long.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14067 is a reply to message #14058 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:19

Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

jmeadows wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 22:16

And I have Foamhenge.

Never forget.

And there is Carhenge in Nebraska, too.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14069 is a reply to message #14067 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:33

Fake Frenchie
Messages: 506
Registered: November 2008
Location: France

Senior Member

Diane in MN wrote on Thu, 02 April 2009 08:19

jmeadows wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 22:16

And I have Foamhenge.

Never forget.

And there is Carhenge in Nebraska, too.

What we Americans lack in history, we make up for in ingenuity. Smile

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Re: Rewriting [message #14070 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:43

Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

I evidently can’t strain the old copy through my eyes to my fingers without . . . jerking it around a little. The point was supposed to be that I could.

I find it so hard not to rewrite, sometimes for content, sometimes for expression. Even if the bulk of a piece of work is right, and I'm sure of it, there's always some naggy bit that isn't right enough and wants to be reworked every time it comes to the surface. I can sympathize with those poets--is it Auden I'm thinking about as an example?--whose work looks a little different every time a new edition comes out.

The implication being that those of us who do are sad, obsessive control freak nutters

Meaning that there's some OTHER way to be ? Smile

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14071 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 02:46

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

Senior Member

Well, I reread this entry several times, as I could occasionally gain entrance to the blog, but then when I tried to go to the discussion forum I would get the message about the internets not cooperating. And every reread, when I got to the juxtaposition of the words Gotterdammerung and Whapdoodle I burst out laughing AGAIN!

Forewarned is forearmed, however, and after the first reading I was intelligent enough to set my cup of coffee on the table before reading. That first time, though I missed the keyboard, I did have to cease my procrastination about changing the sheets, and do a load of laundry, coffee being incompatible with bedding. I know, I know, reading a laptop in bed with food and drink to hand is asking for trouble. But I usually do just fine. Robin, you are evil. Gotterdammerung Whapdoodle Spliced Surprise -- how do you ever come up with these things?

Abigail

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Re: Rewriting [message #14100 is a reply to message #14067 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 14:25

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Diane in MN wrote on Thu, 02 April 2009 02:19

And there is Carhenge in Nebraska, too.

That's pretty awesome!

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14101 is a reply to message #14071 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 14:27

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

Senior Member
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abigailmm wrote on Thu, 02 April 2009 02:46

Yes, unfortunately the server was having major hiccups the other night. It should be fixed now, but if you notice any more problems, email Blogmom with the time and error message you got. Hopefully it won't happen again!

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14103 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 15:04

Catlady
Messages: 230
Registered: December 2008
Location: Aurora, Colorado

Senior Member

One of my favorite songs in the world is a barbershop quartet piece based on the premise that they're rehearsing for a Christmas show and halfway through the first phrase, their music slides off the music stand and goes everywhere. The rest of the song consists of them picking up various sheets and each one singing what he's looking at -- the Second and Fifth Days of Christmas going opposite Little Town of Bethlehem -- this sheet is upside down, so they flip it right side up and sing a different chord -- etc, etc. It is brilliant, and, I would imagine, almost impossibly difficult to sing. I would give lots of money for the sheet music -- the real sheet music. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name, only the last line -- tumbling to the end of the Twelve Days, "And a partridge in a pear tree…" they finish in awkward silence and one of them concludes with "And a duck."

So, too, is this now one of the great literary sentences: fairy smiths make the best charms against the really bad Others who are all Northerners, of course, and President Eleanor Singh revealing that she had been a regular at Charlie’s coffeehouse when she was doing grad work at City University in New Arcadia.

Apparently I'm on a words-as-music kick.

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Re: Rewriting [message #14109 is a reply to message #14103 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 16:09

ravenclawgirl
Messages: 75
Registered: February 2009
Location: Ohio

Member

Could this be what you're thinking of, Catlady? It doesn't seem to fit your description exactly, but it's what I could find after a little googling...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28GUU1YbP_E

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Re: Rewriting [message #14111 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 17:05

Erika in Colorado
Messages: 226
Registered: October 2008
Location: Colorado

Senior Member

OK, if we're looking for insane but amusing landmarks for each of the states, try this one for Colorado: the Swetsville Zoo which is sort of like going to see dinosaurs at the museum, but everything is made from scrap metal etc. and is outside.

Erika in Colorado

"A person who's happy will make others happy; a person who has courage and faith will never die in misery!" -Anne Frank

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Re: Rewriting [message #14139 is a reply to message #14071 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 20:20

Robin
Messages: 6000
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Bad genes. *Really* bad genes. :)

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Re: Rewriting [message #14140 is a reply to message #14101 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 20:31

Robin
Messages: 6000
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Wrong. It's just happened to me. I've emailed Blogmom. Anyone else?

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Re: Rewriting [message #14141 is a reply to message #14140 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 20:32

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Yeah, I got an error message for about 2 minutes. I emailed the error to Blogmom.

[Updated on: Thu, 02 April 2009 20:33]

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14142 is a reply to message #14140 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 20:34

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

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Me too. I also emailed.

(Poor Blogmom. Deluge of emails.)

Smooshes!

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Re: Rewriting [message #14148 is a reply to message #14060 ]

Thu, 02 April 2009 21:00

Melissa Mead
Messages: 990
Registered: October 2008
Location: Albany, NY, USA

Senior Member

blondviolinist wrote on Wed, 01 April 2009 23:38

Not quite as kitschy, but my nearby sightseeing wonders are the Field of Dreams and the Herbert Hoover museum. (And not too far away: the Corn Palace.)

Hey, I remember the Corn Palace! I was there on a scorchingly hot day about 25 years ago (eep!), and I wondered what it would take for the Palace to start popping.

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

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Re: Rewriting [message #14176 is a reply to message #13970 ]

Fri, 03 April 2009 14:49

Catlady
Messages: 230
Registered: December 2008
Location: Aurora, Colorado

Senior Member

Thanks, Ravenclawgirl -- that's not the one I was thinking of, but that one's great!

Also, if you happen to be in Colorado and the Swetsville Zoo is not tacky enough for you, there's also the Mayfield Museum of the Tropics -- a trailer filled with bug display cases near (and far inferior to) Cave of the Winds.

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