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Callahan's May 2000 Bar Rag!"To Callahan's Warmth
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"A toast...... To All Callahan's Poets for Sharing the Beauty of the written word!!" ******SMASH****** -- Midustouch (MIDUSTOUCH) Submission Hi all.. We're committed! We should be committed? Whichever way you turn it, something great is going to happen in St. Louis, Missouri this fall. We're having a Gathering of Callahanians. All are welcome! As I write this, we have 18 people committed to being there, and almost as many saying, "Hopeful" or "Maybe." I am really looking forward to this Gathering of kindred spirits. I attended a Gathering in Sarasota a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the 20 or so people who turned up there. I'm really looking forward to this year's gathering! We'll announce the name of the hotel and its (discounted) rate in this space next month. See you there! Oh - and I notice in reading this month's edition that a another very important development in Callahans somehow hasn't been mentioned. So let me mention it. It was David's doing. At least he started the ball rolling. It gained momentum and before you knew it Cstar was named an official Callahan's Goddess with all the titles, privileges and offices (and cloud-like floating chair) that come with the designation. Congratulations Cstar! No one is more deserving..:)
And the beat goes on...! The big news this month is that we have FTP access to our 475 page website which means much less time will be needed to maintain the site. Ask Lou if he's happy about that! Because of this more time is being spent adding to and repairing the site. We concentrated on our Poetry Pages to begin with, and especially Poetry About Callahan's There are SEVEN new entries there! We also 'found' a lost Bar Rag from 1998 and posted it. Can you find it? David reported the following: Catfantastic started off April with *three* installments of Millennium's Eve her wonderful second-person narrative of an unsettling girl in a shifting, almost-familiar reality. I hope that your writing assignments allow you time to get back to this soon,Cat, to give us more, please? "You" haunts me... Robetherst (Robert) gifted us all with another glimpse into Mount Perry's wacky life, in The Highland Schlonk. MrsSouth (Helen) shared an adventure story for children: A Special Birthday, which she wrote back in high school -- Helen, you were an accomplished writer even then! There is an especially teasing kicker at the end of the thread, when we learn that it is based on fact. Helen May we know the made-up bits? What an experience! Hombre Verde's enchanted Why Coyote Howls is another story ostensibly for children (but I think ANYONE can benefit from reading it) based on the Native American "Trickster" legends. In this story, Coyote is given a taste of his own medicine, to the great satisfaction of all concerned -- wonderful stuff, Hombre! Suemo (Sue) gave us three stories in quick succession: I Love A Parade, Snakes Alive! Snakes Alive!, and An April Stroll Through the Woods. The first two are truly stirring accounts of Sue's early married life and show an indomitable spirit along with much humor and grace under pressure. And while the autobiographical "Parade" and "Snakes" are not overtly linked to "Stroll," they give us context for just who is sharing her awareness of the peaceful woods. Thank you, Sue. May we hope for more? Our very own Poetry 'tender, PHDesmond (Peter), got *published* with a week's worth of his day-to-day activities at the height of his busy tax season! See My Diary is posted on Slate for a link to this wonderful look into Peter's life. Congratulations again, Peter, and aren't you glad now that the tax crunch has passed? Peter also told us about the BBC short story contest which should give many of our writers an exciting opportunity. Check out the link! The deadline is June 30th. Griddlebone rounded out the month with a flurry of postings! In Paint the Sky inspired by a dream, she manages to celebrate life in the realm of death -- an apparent contradiction made to seem easy in her usual inimitable style. A Blurb on The Red Queen outlines an exciting new novel that we first heard ponderings about last month, as she was (Ta-Daaa!) *completing* the first draft! Well done, Griddlebone! After pondering about what is the Definition of "Published" we finally got to hear the end of the amazing serial story A Work of Art -- or is it the end? Griddlebone gave us all renewed hope for more of these characters we have grown to love; we promise to keep reading, if you promise to keep writing! We have LOTS of chocolate-chip cookies waiting to be baked, and milk to go with 'em.... Vickie sent us this report: SuemoSuemo finally took the plunge, after much discussion and advice, and discovered that joining the ranks of the Callahan's Redheads has it's own, distinct advantages. It's Red!!! was certainly an eye catcher in more ways than one! Advent gave us her ideas and Webster's definition on Friendship Vs. Acquaintance This prompted quite a lively discussion on the meaning of friendship, especially the on line variety. Advent also went on to have a long Philosophical Conversation between A & B which ended up with just about all the philosophical minds analysing Descartes declaration "I think, therefore I am!" With a title like Need Some Help Bill Merritt CUMP, had all Callahanians curious. It turned out that he had decided to be cremated on his demise…..hopefully in the far distant future. What he was looking for was help in selecting a suitably irreverent inscription! Needless to say, that’s exactly what he got! Jo/Purr dropped in one breakfast time, in Good Morning Babble to let us know what she'd been up to. It ended up with her sneaking up and super gluing the Greylensman's Bunny suit, zipper shut fast. I'm still not quite sure how she managed it, but if you find out, would you let me know? The beach party is still going on with dinner about to be served in Kicking Sand ..another fun day in the lives of the gang from Callahan's!! (It started in March and is still going!) Grey started people thinking with his discussion on Creepy Careers. Just how does it make you feel when you learn that the person you've just shaken hands with, has an occupation that disgusts you? What are those jobs that make us queasy? Go take a look! Elizabeth Kate sent us this update. As of April 30, we became one of the first 6 forums to participate in the Inter-board Poetry Contest (IBPC) which will continue to run on a monthly basis. Any poem posted on the message board which hasn't already been published or submitted for publication will automatically be considered as a candidate for entry. (Poets will be asked for their permission, *before* the poem is sent to the IBPC judge, however.) For other contest rules, and more information about participating forums, please feel free to visit the IBPC site. April's entries have already been sent to the judge. And it will come as no surprise to anyone that the Poets O'Callahan's have held their own! If you haven't already read them, check out this month's entries: House Tour by Peter Desmond PHDESMOND, How I Once Loved Her by Bacchus BRETADDISON, Wine: Ply and Reply by Mikel PEWTERPOT, The Offering by Vickie MIDUSTOUCH, and Rite of Purification by Elizabeth Kate ELIZABETHKAT. Cstar gave us the following update: What have Callahanians been up to this past month? We've been down a rabbit hole, kicking sand on the beach, joining an Inter-Board poetry contest, talking about Elian Gonzales, cloning, gay marriage and civil unions, spring, telling poems, puns, and Tall Tales! The Tallest Tale told this month, has to be Elizabeth Kate's Down the Rabbit Hole at Cal's It all started as a dream…. A very well cast, dream, too. I envision all of us shrunk to first grader size (but with the smart mouths we have now!) poor Lizkat directing this production of Alice in Wonderland, David stage managing, Peg assisting him. The Cast: Everyone, The Crew: Everyone Else, as Pegasus' poster proclaims. Peter and Allan sharing a role (Caterpillar) and a hooka, Catfantastic has been cast as Alice, Jo (with Greylensman standing in!) as the White Rabbit, bits as the Red Queen, Cstar as the Queen of Hearts, and Lou as her king. Walt plays a dual role, as the Knave of Hearts, and the White Knight, Bob Hall IS the Mad Hatter, and Moby hosts a tea as the March Hare. Bright and Midus are brilliant as the Cook and the Duchess, and Suemo… well, what can we say about Bill the Lizard? Er…or did we finally decide it was Bill the skink? Bill the Skank? Bill of the blue tail, at any rate. I'm looking forward to when rehearsals actually begin! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! If I was back in school, I'd want Bob Hall as my science teacher. Anyone who can make genetic coding understandable, is definite teacher material, as far as I'm concerned. In Is a Cell a Human Being, Bob explains how Dolly, the cloned sheep, was actually four years old (genetically) when she was born. Stem cells, "are the type of cells that are as-yet-undifferentiated. There are several stages of development between the stem cell, and the cells that will eventually become a human being, but these stem cells may be at the center of the cloning controversy." Bob says, "It will be many cell-generations before they become specialized into their eventual form, as skin cells, muscle cells, brain cells, whatever. Stem cells will eventually be made to express into replacement hearts, kidneys, eyeballs... all kindsa stuff. But, since they are *potentially* human beings, should they be protected? " I urge you to read this thread to learn more from Bob, Notlaugh, bits, and the others. It's not very often that a thread jumps out at me on the first post, and I know it's going to be a good conversation. Such was the case, however, with Mitzi's The Civil Union Bill. The State of Vermont has enacted a bill that gives same-sex couples the same rights as married couples have. How will such a union be dissolved? How well-adjusted are the children raised in such a union? Join Mitzi, Moby, Cortland, Bill, Suzy, Pegasus… heck, almost everyone is in on this one. Take a look. Looking for a good book? Here's what we're reading these days. Amazing how many of us have multiple books 'working' at the same time. Have one to share with us? Please, feel free! I don't often talk about the threads in the Solace folder, as they're sometimes intensely personal, and usually pretty immediate. This is where joy and pain are shared, and hugs, pats on the back, and occasional kicks in the butt are freely dispensed. Sometimes, though, an issue is so important, that it needs to be brought to everyone's attention. In Warning Explicit Life Vickie tells us about a child abuse case brought into her hospital, that ended in the little boy's death. This is something that everyone needs to read about, if only to help keep awareness high. Kris (TRAUMAMAMA) told us about an abuse case that was brought into her hospital the next week, also resulting in death. It helps to talk about it it's essential we all know about it. The Grab Bag doesn't get mentioned very often in here either. The Grab Bag is our limited access folder. If you would like to gain access, write to me at Cstar, state that you are both an adult, and not easily offended. I'll give you access, and then you can see an eye-stopping poem by Elizabeth Kate, Rite of Purification. This one is an award winner of the future. Peter shared the following with us. April was poetry month in the U.S., and Callahan's message board had a bumper crop. Along the way, some interesting questions arose: if your poem is based on a fairy tale, does the reader have to know the original story in order to appreciate it? And what's the best way to punctuate a poem and lay it out on the page? Another topic of interest was the brand new Interboard Poetry Contest, in which Callahan's and four other poetry web sites are contenders. Read about it here: The fortnightly poetry chats continued to draw regulars and newcomers. Check out the next events in this series on May 11 and 25 at 10 pm Eastern time. GreyLensman sent us this: April saw a smash-up finish to a thread that was rejuvenated just a few months ago. I want to congratulate everyone who took part in the Demon Hunt, which reached an epic conclusion in spectacular Callahan's fashion! Special mention goes to Midustouch, who "organized" the latest hunt, and kept things moving. It was especially fun to see the different, innovative means people used to fight demons in their own style. Thanks to the following warriors: Kirwand and Bob for ther engineering assistance, and Kirwand's RBH's... Bits and Doug for their aerial support... bits middle school kids for their help... SuzyQ/Cupcake for her laser fire and humor... MommaMackie for cleaning up the tails outside... Pegasus for the delicious stew, and her expertise flinging frying pans... Elizabeth Kate for the cookies, as always, and for her bravery and support... David for NOT ripping me to shreds at having him vanish so Mouse could rescue EK... Cessa for her expertise with the yeast gun, and the loan of her mystic Steed when needed most... Cstar for mixing Jell-O, serving stew, keeping us armed, tendering moral support, and swinging a mean broom... Catfantastic for her timely placement of the cauldron (where DID she find that???)... Moby for his additional observations from the surf of The Sound (full of Sound, and furious!)... Midustouch (again!) for her blessing power, and willingness to do what needed to be done despite the cost... Lou for repairing all the damage (and not BILLING us!!!)... Have something you would like to say about our message board? Drop me a line and let us know. Staff Birthday Greetings were heartily extended to:
Sherry CAFEPHILOSOPH was the first correct solver of our April Riddle 2000 riddle! Mikel and Alton NOTLAUGH were 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 May 2000 Riddle for your chance to win a Spider Robinson book from our bookstore! How to Photograph a New Puppy
1. Remove film from box and load camera. Poem of the Month - "The Offering"
I offered it to him
I gathered it up
Next time he called -- Midustouch 4/16/2000 Nancy sent in this report First change is that for the summer the regular "staff" of Punday are taking a break every other week. What this means is that; Regular Punday Night Contests will be held every other week for the Summer. The alternate weeks we will be holding Alt Punday Chat. This will be a regular Chat room. People may still Pun if they wish, but there will be no appointed Pun Ref, and no contest. Chat on subjects other than Puns will be encouraged. The regular, weekly Punday Schedule will resume after the Gathering in the Fall. For the first week of May our Punday Night will be Refed by Walt. With him will be Guest Pun Ref Ned (Nedrock). "There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice." -- Mark Twain It was another exciting month at Callahans! Thank you for joining us and helping to make this one of the best places there is. 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 newsletter, or if you wish to be added to or removed from our Bar Rag mailing list, simply send us a note. |