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Callahan's April 2000 Bar Rag!"To Callahan's Warmth
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"To all good folk willing to accept and nurture others!"
******SMASH****** -- Cessa (CESSA_DM): Alter Ego. Hi all.. Our big news this month is the announcement that our Callahanian 2000 Clan Gathering will be held in St. Louis over the September 16, 2000 weekend. Vickie MIDUSTOUCH will be our hostess as we assemble in our first bio-space Gathering in years. I'm really looking forward to the event and to meeting many new friends. In fact, I have already applied for vacation time, and started pricing airline tickets. Vickie is flying in from Australia for the event and I'm pretty sure she'll win the "Farthest Traveled To Get Here" award..:) Please join me in thanking Vickie for hosting and handling the Gathering details - and also CarrieO who offered to host the event, too. I am very grateful. We will be providing details on the hotel and events here in the Bar Rag (and on the message board) as they become available.. I hope to meet *many* of you there!
And the beat goes on...!
Ken (our fearless Conference Manager) sent us the following: St Patty's day went off without a hitch - Hosted by Lou and Cstar for the majority of the evening...I came in and took over about 11:00 pm and continued to host until close to 4:00 am. A grand time was had by all. Lots of demons bit the dust... and lots of dust bit the demons. Our current conference schedule: Sunday - JP starts your week off right with his hijinks and fun ways in "Sunday Funnies" Monday - Brigitte puts a little magic in your Monday and serves up your drinks cold or hot in "Monday Magic" Tuesday - Grab your clothespins and peanuts and prepare for war with "Punday Night" with Nanc, Moby, GreyLensman! Wednesday - Kick back and relax with a long time favorite, as Mitzi helps you celebrate the fact that the week is over half over in "Late Night with Mitzi" Thursday - Things get started every week with KenWa as he hosts "Something or Other" each and every week. Also on alternate Thursdays - Peter passes time with rhyme (and reason) in our almost famous Poetry Night Friday - A pick me up night - where ya never know who's going to be hosting, but you know you'll have a good time Saturday - Drop by to have a blast with Cstar and the gang...hunt some demons and just relax knowing that you're among friends in "Quiet Little Corner of the World." Cstar sent in the following Conference Report: March 4th we had an impromptu "Roses and Brandy" night at the bar. Cstar, inspired by the discovery of an old steamer trunk pulled from a long-forgotten storeroom, dressed the ladies with the bounty found in the trunk. Comfy tuxes (there are too!) were conjured for the gents, a rose pinned in their lapels. Walt was a vision in his black silk tux. JP, although initially reluctant to give up his Bushmills for a brandy, waltzed the night away with the ladies... once he remembered how to waltz. Suzy SUZYQ was resplendent in a cream colored cashmere gown, a matching rose in her hair, and a sapphire choker someone would kill for. Ursa (THEMORRIGU) wore pink, and Marthann was our yellow rose... well, not of Texas, but certainly a belle of the south. Momma Mackie began the evening in white taffeta, but adopted black velvet as her new style after a brief battle with demons. Sure to startle the staunchest of school principals, her six foot string of pearls had to be looped again and again around her delicate throat. Lynn (LYNNM4) dressed all in crimson and diamonds. She had a bit of trouble with the tiara, but it was soon pinned firmly in place. Brigitte joined us in her emerald satin gown... with matching jewels, of course. The "bits" pulled a midnight blue silk number, tea length with a handkerchief hem from the trunk. Roses, brandy, grace and sophistication abounded.... right up until SuzyQ explained to Carol(LADYLAUGHING) where her pearl bracelet came from:
> SUZQPUBLIC:SuzyQ> i suppose everyone knows how pearls get made?
If you had a great time in one of our conferences,
tell us about it!
We want to hear your thoughts!
Cstar reported the following:
A bar with a name like Callahan's ought to be "Irish" all
month! Well, we have been! Ireland, fairies, red hair, Irish literature,
information about St. Patrick, we've tried to include a bit of it all..
I started teasing Suemo about dying her hair red in one
thread, and before you knew it, she'd started another thread,
Red Hair where all the redheads, and redhead wannabes
spoke up. We also heard lots about purple hair, spikes, tattoos, and
piercings in places I don't even want to know about!
Believe me, ladies.. if you want to know true redhead lovers (er, I
mean men who love redheads, er, red hair) then you need to meet some of
the guys in Callahan's. I've often wondered if Callahan's has a larger
percentage of redheads, or folks of Irish descent than other places.
Sure seem to be a lot of us around here.
Our favorite "Irish" lass (by way of Texas),
Selena, stopped in to say "hi" one day, boy
have we missed her! Pewter came back, after too long
of a hiatus, bringing
Modern Artifacts and DarkEyes also returned, and
brought a
new sonnet!
Finally, one of the highlights of the month, has been
Brigitte and Chris telling us about their
trip to Ireland last summer. Their commentaries on
the trip are hilarious, as only those of a married couple can be. The
photographs are incredible, and I'm looking forward to the next
installments, as they continue on their trip!
Delphi's been dealing us all fits this past month or so. I just want to
tell you all, how much we appreciate your loyalty, your dogged
determination, and your cheerful attitude towards all the Delphi Demons
that plague us on a daily basis. I have to believe that it will get
better one day.. Stick around, and help us remain not only the best bar
on the web, but the busiest one too!
Kestrel sent in the next report:
It was a rather quiet month in Political Activism... folks must be saving
up for the upcoming US elections. There were some interesting
conversations, however. Here are a few highlights:
Catfantastic's post of an
Essay-in-progress for a sociology class
turned into a discussion of economics and guitars. One of the delightful
things about our message board is how any subject can branch out in so
many diverse directions. (Well, it sounds better than saying we can't
stick to the subject.)
Cstar's poll on
Answering the US census showed overwhelmingly that
we Callahanians don't shirk our civic responsibilities...assuming we
get the short form, anyway.
Midustouch gave us this report:
March has been an interesting month..The
Quilting be in Patch Work
seems to be well underway, with many beautiful squares being added by
many members. No sewing is required, so anyone can contribute.
David shared a memory of role reversal.
Walt brought in a beautiful blue *thing*.
Suemo shared a romantic interlude and Jo
a bitter sweet memory of a snowy night-time stroll.
Borderwolf expressed his joy at being able to vote. So
many others too, have left a square.the fabric of their lives. Bring
your own square along..there's lots of room!
Elizabeth Kate shared this report:
What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's month at Callahan's than by
a visit from the man who created the Callahan's ideals? In General
Discussion's
Spider Said Hi, Jo was nice enough
to pass along greetings from Spider Robinson himself!
They're reprinted here, in case someone managed to miss 'em!
"Do please give all those folks my very warmest wishes, next time
you're there, and tell them I love them all. Is there such a thing as a
humble pride, or a proud humility? That's how they make me feel. They
have taken a goofy notion of mine, and given it more reality than I
could ever have dreamed."
Vickie (MIDUSTOUCH) gifted us with her own tribute to
shared joy and pain in her thread (which quickly became *our* thread),
Patch Work, and Allan [TUT RA]
introduced a bit of the Fae when he gave us the histories of the various
Faerie families in
Where's The Dividing?
Besides the raucous celebration of things Irish, we settled into some
serious conversations this month. Woody (WOODFRED), a
relatively new face galvanized the board when he asked,
What is 'God' To You? and Sue (SUEMO)
similarly played the part of catalyst when she posted,
Is The Devil Real?
David sent in this great report:
Creative Writing has had an accidental theme this month, that of showing
pieces of works in progress -- and what works! Jo (Purr)
re-posted
Train and expanded on it wonderfully later in the
Grab Bag. This started as a writing exercise, and
has blossomed! The pieces we've seen taste like more.
Rozalyn gave us a look at the first two chapters of
The Great Unicycle Race, her and
Michael's novel for young people, which I have read all
of, elsewhere -- it's great!
Rozalyn also showed us Iyana's Dragon
story
short form concept and
long form, outlining a far-reaching tale related to
the "Help Send My Sister to Mars" thread, earlier.
The Secret Valley, Chapter 1 begins this journey.
We've been promised a look at some more chapters -- soon. We're all
looking forward to it!
Griddlebone let us all into her creative mind to watch
her ongoing work, with
Writing Funny, an examination of humor in writing
with an example from her own work -- I want to see more of that piece!
That fascinating process continued with
blathering/thinking 'out loud' which took us with
Griddlebone as she pondered plot points for a very
thrilling piece of which we get only tantalizing glimpses -- tease! The
Grab Bag holds some of these glimpses, under
Soso (*warning* -- incest) and
Soso Meets the Devil (*warning*) Thankfully, all
this creativity hasn't completely stolen Griddlebone
away from
A Work of Art, with which we are delighted to read
more episodes!
Catfantastic's
For My Portfolio is a haunting and reality-bending
glimpse at our familiar world seen from a truly unique perspective...
and it will draw you in until you're not quite sure whether your own
perspective is valid. In keeping with this month's accidental theme, we
have not seen all of this work, but I certainly hope we'll see more. We
got another look (but still not enough, Cat; more, please?) in
Millennium's Eve.
Bucking the trend, three writers showed us ALL of their stories! (Thank
goodness; my fingers are getting tired, hanging onto these cliffs!)
Cameron (HHMCAMERON) gave us his
untitled story in several cliff-hanger episodes,
while Jo introduced us to,
Robert Herst, a new member over in
cushion who kept us all entertained with his many charming stories of
rural life with a Neder guard-cat.
And finally, we had a special treat from Moby, in
The Coming of Winter. Here, Moby
links us to his website to read a startlingly truthful (in the sense of
"telling a recognizable Higher Truth") story of the ending of a
relationship, and how its seeds were ever present throughout.
Peter (PHDESMOND) shared information as follows:
In March dozens of poets posted scores of poems on the message board,
ranging from the sublime to the silly (check the thread "Two-word
poems.") JP, David, and LizKat served as
pinch hitters for me at the March 2 Poetry night conference. Both poetry
events in March were well attended.
Birthday Greetings were heartily extended to:
Ilyana returned to her winning ways by being first to
solve our
March Riddle 2000 riddle! Sherry and Beth solved it
second and third. Congratulations to all!
It's a lot easier to create a riddle than to solve one. We're always
on the lookout for help with content here so
send us your riddle creations
today!
And see
our April 2000 Riddle for your chance to win a Spider Robinson
book from our bookstore!
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal
and a bottle of wine they laid down for the night and went to sleep. Some
hours later, Holmes woke up and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson,
look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there
are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce
that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can
see that God is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What does it tell you?"
"Watson, you moron. Some bastard has stolen our tent."
Griddlebone LGRIDDLEBONE - The Art Of Observation
Poem of the Month - "To A Poor Space Alien"
The featured poem this month, written by Kestrel (Chad), was a response
to the thread "No space aliens, please, we're poets."
To A Poor Space Alien
A sadness large as space infects your soul. -- Kestrel (Chad) March 2000
One day, a bank teller named Patricia Wack had a frog come up to her
wicket. The frog jumped up on the counter and said, "Hello, my
name is Kermit Jagger and I'd like a loan." Miss Wack thought it
was a joke but decided to play along. She said, "Well, do you have
an account with us?" Kermit replied, "No, but my dad is Mick
Jagger and I know the bank manager."
Miss Wack said, "Do you have any collateral?" Kermit pulled a
small pink elephant out of his pocket and said, "Yes, this is my
collateral." Miss Wack asked him to wait while she checked with the
bank manager. She went into the managers office, held up the elephant
and said, "There's a frog out there who says he's Mick Jaggers son,
he wants a loan and all he has for collateral is this...thing!"
The bank manager replied,
"It's a knick knack, Patty Wack, give the frog a loan. His old man's
a Rolling Stone."
:Sherry (CAFEPHILOSPH): 3/21/00
All shall be PUNished
Nanc sent word, that March was a problem filled month. The traditional
Monthly Book Night was not held due to various rounds of sickness and
demons. We shall try to do two book nights in April. However, this is
still undecided.
She also sent this message:
*** Ron (Southron2) **** , the winner of last weeks first round; stepped
to the rescue last Punday Night. He volunteered to be Guest Pun Ref for
Round 2; Walt's normal spot, while Walt was away. Ron did a Wonderful
job considering I drafted him during the first round. We hope Ron will
consent to be drafted again.
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing
in the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment."
-- Dorothy Nevill
Each month as I put together the Bar Rag, I am reminded of all the people
who make it possible. I can not express the fun and enjoyment I receive
from doing this monthly. To all of you that make it possible for me, I
express my deep and heartfelt thanks.
If you would like to submit information, just email me. This is your
"Bar Rag."
Until next month, walk in beauty.
We hope you find the Bar Rag entertaining and informative. We can
always use good pieces and writers here. If you have something you
would like to submit, or have a comment, good or bad, about the
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