Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!usc!samsung!uunet!shelby!csli!cphoenix From: cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU (Chris Phoenix) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: WARNING Keywords: Touch Message-ID: <13075@csli.Stanford.EDU> Date: 12 Apr 90 02:31:23 GMT References: <15156@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <14660@reed.UUCP> <13045@csli.Stanford.EDU> <79103@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Sender: cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU (Chris Phoenix) Reply-To: cphoenix@csli.stanford.edu (Chris Phoenix) Organization: Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford U. Lines: 28 In article <79103@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Thenomain writes: >Excuse the sarcasm, but a whole several days? [I'll explain if I get yelled >at for that remark. :)] Well, I'm not yelling, but I wouldn't mind an explanation. Yes, I know that people often go for much longer periods without being touched. I know I don't have much to complain about on a global scale. But I find it rather disturbing that even someone who wants to be touched is touched only a few times a week... I just remembered another thing that I heard Long Ago: if you aren't touched enough, your spinal cord starts to atrophy. >I'd think it interesting to note that not everyone is comfortable with the >touch factor. I, for one, jump or feel very, very nervous when people get/ >stand/whatnot too close to me. Call me silly, but I have no idea what they >expect, or if they expect anything. I won't call you silly. In this world, you have every right to be nervous. But shouldn't there be some way for people to get the physical contact that they need? (I hope you won't disagree that we all need it, and that most of us don't get enough of it...) To restate something Jilara said: Why can't we all be like kittens? -- Chris Phoenix | "I've spent the last nine years structuring my cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU | life so that this couldn't happen." ...And I only kiss your shadow, I cannot see your hand, you're a stranger now unto me, lost in the dangling conversation, and the superficial sighs... Path: mit-eddie!mit-amt!snorkelwacker!apple!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!jls139 From: JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu (Abaddon) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Games Message-ID: <90101.202552JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu> Date: 12 Apr 90 00:25:52 GMT Organization: Penn State University Lines: 34 Organization: Penn State University Date: Wednesday, 11 Apr 1990 20:00:21 EDT From: Abaddon Message-ID: <90101.200021JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu> Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: conrners^n References: <79109@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> > Thenomain sighs a mock sigh and notices still that there are only two people >here for the Poker game. "I think they're right, Hilda. I think your >enterance bounced higher than a superball on steroids, or one of my checks. >But, while you're here now, you in for poker or not? Two more people and we >could manage euchre. It's the Official Card Game of the State of Ohio, by >the way. My, aren't we a fun state?" > >-=- Abaddon shows up from SOMEwhere, Mountain Dew in hand. "Euchre! Well I thought that was only the official game of my old MI company - the Silent Warriors. Count me in. I could use a distraction from the everyday workload." A few side notes as long as I'm here: Taldin, sounds good so far. At least it caught my attention. And I've been a little too busy lately to have much of an attention span. :-) Orion, you're welcome! Chris, > "To memory, both a curse and a blessing!" I'll drink to that! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: : jeff stine......Abaddon : : : : "fiery the angels fell..." : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!dptg!pegasus!psrc From: psrc@pegasus.ATT.COM (Paul S. R. Chisholm) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Hello, did any one hear me? Summary: it's a little tough to stand out in *this* crowd! Message-ID: <4601@pegasus.ATT.COM> Date: 12 Apr 90 04:30:57 GMT References: <11551@encore.Encore.COM> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 39 In article <11551@encore.Encore.COM>, terryk@pinocchio (Terence Kelleher) writes: > "Am I missing some inside jokes or something? Other than a couple > generic hellos, no one seems to want to answer me. . . . > I've grown accustomed and even accepted the fact that if I'm not > loud I'm not noticeable. But here at Callahan's I thought it would > be different. Do you realize how closed you sound to outsiders > looking in? I watched for a while before I spoke up and even then > it wasted the breath I used. I'm not flashily dressed, nor do I use > magics to stand out. I'm comfortable the way I am and if being > regular in here is unacceptable. . . ." (Not even a virtual drink tonight, please, Mike. I spend the morning retching, and I only logged in because I'm restless from spending the whole day in bed. I apologize in advance if I'm less coherent than usual.) Hildy, if it makes you feel any better, I had the same problem, and I've been around alt.callahan's for about as long as it's been around. I never saw any feedback, until someone thanked a whole list of people for feedback he (?) had gotten. I've felt much more a part of the crowd "talking in the corners" (exchanging e-mail) with some of the others here. Like you, I "dress in mundanes" when I stop by the Place. If I have a trademark, it's my usual drink, half a glass of ale. (That's what I usually drink at home. I don't drink very much at all, and a whole bottle usually has more of an impact than it used to.) You have a problem I don't: the name you go by, Hildy, is very similar to the handle, Hildebaby, of a old-time former (?) regular. Which is *not* to say that you need a new name! (Nice story about the ambulance, by the way.) > Hildy (Terence Kelleher), terryk@encore.com Paul S. R. Chisholm, the guy with half an ale att!pegasus!psrc, psrc@pegasus.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking from my heart. Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!yale!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu From: goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Story Poker (was Re: Hello, did any one hear me?) Message-ID: <35460@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: 12 Apr 90 12:46:17 GMT References: <11551@encore.Encore.COM> <79081@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: goldfarb@ocf.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) Organization: ucb Lines: 58 In article <79081@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Thenomain writes: )Standing up, Thenomain clears his throat and puts the backpack down. )"People! A game of Story Poker is starting up here at Table 15b! If you )wish to join, bring yourselves and your drink. No substitutions for )yourselves or your drinks will be accepted! These are the ONLY prerequisites. )The objective of this game is to... to... well, to play poker AND tell )stories at the same time!" ) )He sits back down at the table and nods to Hildy. "See, no magic, no flashy )clothes." He smiles and waits for people to arive. ) Zach peers in the door. He's barely recovered from delivering the Ultimate Accolade--his nose is still red. (For those who like descriptions, BTW, he's 5'8", short dark hair, oval-shaped face, glasses, and a scraggly mustache.) In he walks. "Hey, deal me in," he says. "I'm not much good at poker-- I'm always trying to bluff when I shouldn't, and I never fold when I should-- but I've got a story that wants telling." He lays two singles on the bar, telling the big Irishman, "I'll need two of the usual--one to drink while playing, one to toast with." Mike draws two glasses of milk, chilled to just 5 degrees C., from a tap and lays them on the bar. Zach takes one up and takes a long drink. "Ahh. I needed that; screaming always makes me thirsty." Walking to the chalk line, he cries, "To cultural clashes!" finishes the drink, and pitches the glass into the fireplace. Taking the other, Zach sits himself at the table. "This happened to a friend of a friend of mine. It's a true story." He glances at Brandi, smiling. "And no, Ms. Fuzzy-elf, it may be an FoaF, but it is *not* an Urban Myth in any way, shape, or form. The friend I got it from is *very* reliable in such matters. If you don't believe me, just ask the Rev. Mom whether Debbie Notkin would knowingly transmit one without labeling it as such." Clearing his throat, he continues. "Debbie told me the man's name, but my lousy memory for names has dropped it. At any rate, her friend (we'll call him Doug) had studied Japanese for some years before he and his wife visited the country. They searched Tokyo to find a restaurant with *no* tourists, where they could put his Japanese to use. At last they found one, and sat down to eat. But they had miscalculated; the menu proved to be rather daunting. "So they looked around them, and noticed an elderly couple sitting nearby, eating what looked like an appetizing dish. When the waiter arrived to take their order, Doug pointed and told him, 'We'll have what they're having.' The waiter looked puzzled, and asked him to repeat it. Figuring that he had mispronounced something, Doug repeated, speaking very slowly and carefully, 'We'll -- have -- what -- *they're* -- having.' "So the waiter, still looking puzzled, walked to the elderly cou- ple's table, carefully took their plates, and brought them over to Doug and his wife! "After that, as you might expect, confusion reigned for some time. They finally wound up buying the Japanese couple another dinner, but it took quite a bit of apologizing to get to that point!" Zach grins, sits back, and waits for his cards to be dealt. )Kent "Lance 'Thenomain' Peterson" Jenkins / I don't believe in aliases... David Goldfarb goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (Insert standard disclaimer) "Sacrilege. Such... such a senseless waste of... chocolate syrup!" -- Steve Strassmann Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!reed!mojo From: mojo@reed.bitnet (Morpheus) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Story Poker (formerly Re: Hello, did any one hear me?) Message-ID: <14675@reed.UUCP> Date: 11 Apr 90 15:12:04 GMT References: <11551@encore.Encore.COM> <79081@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Sender: news@reed.UUCP Reply-To: mojo@reed.bitnet (Morpheus) Organization: Earth Coincidence Control Office Lines: 65 In article <79081@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Thenomain writes: >Standing up, Thenomain clears his throat and puts the backpack down. >"People! A game of Story Poker is starting up here at Table 15b! If you >wish to join, bring yourselves and your drink. No substitutions for >yourselves or your drinks will be accepted! These are the ONLY prerequisites. >The objective of this game is to... to... well, to play poker AND tell >stories at the same time!" Looking slightly amused, Morpheus rises, holding the usual glass of ridiculously dark beer... >clothes." He smiles and waits for people to arive. ...smiles and arrives. "First: Hildy, let me be the n'th person from Reed (for a large integral value of n) to welcome you, and to comment that I don't think your earlier article made it through. Virtual reality occasionally runs afoul of the sea of holes. "And you brought up something I've been thinking about. Why are so many of us polymorphing, acquiring blue skin and sound effects, entering and leaving by physically impossible means? "In part, I think it's an effective shield. A room full of people being open with one another at first sight is *scary* if you're not used to it; often even if you are. Vulnerability does strange things; so it feels a little safer to hide behind a fantastic persona, even if not an idealized one. I'm not sure whether there's anything wrong with that; it may bring people in more easily than otherwise. I don't think I would have dared to stop lurking if I'd had to present Myself As I Am (TM); nor would I know how to do that in text. "Enough pontificating. I owe an ante, here, I expect. A story, then. Be warned: I don't know what it means. It appeared on the business end of my pen about four hours ago, born of dreams and sleeplessness. Fitting enough, I suppose." He sits, more or less opposite Thenomain and Hildy. "On a small and isolated island there were two fledgling civilizations: loose tribes of hunters and gatherers who scraped out a living from the inhospitable mountains, and villages of people who had settled in the fertile valleys and cultivated the land. The latter group captured and enslaved individuals from the former, setting them to work in the fields and mills and kitchens, in order that the villagers might eat. "Since the two groups were physically indistinguishable, slaves from the mountains were marked with a symbol on their foreheads---an emblem which, by decree, could be used for no other purpose. "In due course the slaves revolted; and to avoid bloodshed a truce was quickly agreed upon, whereby the device on the foreheads of the slaves could now be placed only on the villagers, and only by the people of the mountains. "So the people of the mountains worked in the fields and mills and kitchens, secure in the knowledge that their slaves would eat all they produces, so their labour would never be fruitless." -- "A ginger beer plant is sort of like Azathoth." -James Robinson, Amorphous Mass and drummer extraordinaire Nathan Tenny ...tektronix!reed!mojo mojo@reed.{UUCP, BITNET, probably EDU} or {backbone}!tektronix!robin.WV.TEK.COM!nathant as a last resort Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!reed!thalen From: thalen@reed.UUCP (Not bad but damn unlucky...) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: "Look out world, here I come." Summary: Various n' sundry. Keywords: A lot. Message-ID: <14683@reed.UUCP> Date: 12 Apr 90 06:08:56 GMT References: <9004101359.AA09379@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> Reply-To: thalen@reed.UUCP (Not bad but damn unlucky...) Organization: Reed College, Portland OR Lines: 154 Thalen stands, again, and walks around the room. "So many things to reply to, that I have finally had to get organized and deal with them all at one time. Never thought it would happen. Oh, well..." The first thing I want to deal with is a technical one. Jonathan, shudders do not pass through Callahan, not even occasional ones. The first person Thalen approaches is Rob. "Whoa. All I can say is I feel sorry for you. Sounds like you really got the short end of the stick here... I would like to ask you one thing, though. Do you really believe that "it always has to end"? I'm not sure, myself, but I'd like to think not. Next, Thalen walks to the chalk line. "Alex, for your situation, I would like to repeat in public a post I made in private. Here's to our darker sides, without which we would have no lighter sides." He lobbs his empty glass into the fireplace, making sure not to spill a drop of the dreaded liquid, and then approaches Alex's table. "Hey, anytime you need an extra arm, person attached at no extra cost, just ask... Oh, yes. One more thing, " this to the room at large, "I have also read _The Tangled Lands_, and I also give it my highest recommendations. It bears ... interestingly ... on the question of the Place's existance..." Thalen's next visit is to Diana. "Hello, welcome back, and let me say that I missed you. May you be able to stay here. Your insights into my problem have been most valuable." Again to everyone, "With me, the emotions *are* the problem, at least during the winter. And her insight hits home here, because, as she indirectly said, when there is a glandular source of pain, it can draw from a pretty deep well, meaning that often pain shared is pain shared, and not halved, but constant. However... I don't think that there is anything that can be done about glandular depression, short of anti-depressants, which I am scared stiff to take, for reasons that will eventually work their way on here. So... the little help that Callahan's may give me over the next winter will be infinitely better than the none I got this winter..." Finally, Thalen wanders over to Taldin. "Well, I thank you for bringing this up... I was going to soon, if you hadn't. I guess it's true what they say about great minds..." Grin. " But seriously... Taldin said, earlier: >Looking back at Alex >"Hi there. I've heard Jilara's story before, as I date back in >a.c. as long as she does, and I'd wonder if there's more to >that alter-ego of yours than meets the eye. As Thalen over >there says, "people have to have a darker side to match their >lighter one.." but perhaps you can answer me this-- I've >run into quite a few people now, that if the world does something >to them that they don't like, they decide to take revenge on it >, actively trying to hurt people.. WHAT IS THIS THAT MAKES PEOPLE >DO THIS?" The last is not a shout, so much as an empathic >broadcast of puzzlement and despair. Taldin's voice never >goes up in volume. Yelling only wastes hot air. "I don't >see why people shut down their feelings once they've been >hurt, and go out and hurt other people's feelings. 'Make the >world pay..' because of something in your life that caused you >pain.. so you go out and inflict pain on other innocent people, >and one or more of them does the same and.." > >(he pauses, his gaze sweeping the room, stopping here and there..) > >"..And the world dies. We'll all be dead of broken hearts." Thalen looks truly aggrieved. "This is surely so. I have noticed it less here, because it happens less here, than it did at my highschool, where it happened less than at my grade school. Or perhaps I merely notice it less, because it isn't directed at me..." "I had a roommate last semester. A more mismatched pair is hard to imagine; I was the only freshman to request the computer dorm, he was shoved into it. I am a singer and fencer and hacker, with many of the stereotypical personality traits of each, he is a wrestler, and a good one at that. Yet we got along well enough. And then he moved to a single room on the other side of the wall from me. And decided not to like me any more. Which is fine with me, although I consider it a shame." Thalen looks slightly sad... "Now, he also aquired a girlfriend. If I was being petty and vicious, I would say that he aquired her with the room. But I'm not, and besides, I like her, and still like him, a bit... So anyway, they have a tendancy to get carried away, and kick the (thin) wall between us. Hard enough to knock things off of my bookshelf and onto me in the middle of the night. Now, I can understand this, and would have understood if he hadn't stopped when I asked, but he did. However, I made the mistake of telling him why I asked, and, one day when he was pissed off at his math teacher (for telling him that he has missed too many classes) he kicked the wall between our rooms, while I wasn't there, enough times and hard enough to knock *EVERY SINGLE BOOK* off my shelves. And smash one of my favorite tapes. And neatly pop the door off of my CD player. Luckily I was able to fix that one." "However, this isn't quite what you were describing. He was getting out his agressions on someone he disliked. I can't understand this, either, but it is saner than something on a smaller scale that happened a few days after. My former roommate was out for the day, so I can't blame this on him..." "I had this styrofoam thing taped to my door. It a part of the packing material of my Mac IIcx, and it was up there to tack messages to, and because it looked like a tooth and had "FRONT UPPER" printed on it. It at this point had two messages and a photograph on it. (The photograph was of a parking space in front of a fence with a cemetery behind it, with a sign saying "customer parking only". Not a bad one...) Anyway, for no apparent reason, it was torn off of the door, and shredded into chunks about the size of my littlest thumbnail. I guess I should be grateful that the picture wasn't also, since that is my only copy and I have lost the negatives... It makes me want to take everything in and not show it to anyone, because it will just be ripped apart anyway..." Thalen is nursing a sorrowful expression. "Now, most of the people I have remarked about this to have said 'Well, what did you expect?' My answer: I expected people not to tear things off of my door. Was I being naive? Apparently. Begins to look like a character from a book I once read was right when he said "Common courtesy? Pfagh! Rely on it if you want to die young, says I." (A drink to the first person who can identify this.) > >"I portray a Unicorn here in Callahans because Unicorns are the >healers, pure and true. I never want to hurt anyone, because >it is senseless and pain is not a thing one should ever have >to have in the place of love. I am an empath, and to cause >pain to another causes me pain. So that's why I don't. >Why must some of you find it in your hearts to take revenge >on those who do not deserve your rage?" "I don't portray a unicorn here, for the simple reason that I think of myself as, well, myself. However, if the cat is a part of my personality, and I turn into a cat, well... With your permission..." Thalen examines Taldin closely, from horn to tail, and then closes his eyes, and concentrates. His form starts to waver and shimmer, and then, standing in his place is a light grey unicorn, with a shimmering blue-silver horn, and a soft blue-white mane and tail. He blinks, and is abruptly his former self, complete with grey irises. "Yes, that form is very comfortable to me. I thank you with all of my heart, both for showing me this form, and for showing me that there is someone out there that thinks the way I do." > -Taldin The Blue Unicorn > _Defender Of Light_ "I would be honoured to be considered a fellow healer, and a fellow Defender of Light..." >"You are blue, Unicorn.. the Blue of clear, cloudless days where >everything seems like it's going right and nothing could go wrong.. >and the Blue of despair and lonliness." -The Raven > Taldin The Blue Unicorn in real life: jefyoung@pawl.rpi.edu Thalen, the "Grey" Mage Bard of the Light. Thalen looks around. "Well, if you've brought Elvis in, I can borrow a few friends of mine." Thalen waves his hands, and three people, evidently friends of Thalen's, appear. They whisper among themselves for a second, and, having apparently come to a decision, hum a barbershop chord, and they're off. (Now might be a good time for those of you with no taste to leave the room (sorry, just kidding. Really!) "Look out, WORLD! Hold on, TIGHT! The future is gonna be bright! Everything's gonna be just the way we want it to be tonight..." (feel free to join in...) ;-) Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!reed!thalen From: thalen@reed.UUCP (Not bad but damn unlucky...) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Preoccupied Summary: All right... Keywords: Deal, me, in,... Message-ID: <14684@reed.UUCP> Date: 12 Apr 90 06:19:44 GMT References: <79029@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <9060062@hpfcso.HP.COM> Reply-To: thalen@reed.UUCP (Adam A. Lang) Organization: Reed College, Portland OR Lines: 125 Thalen walks over to the poker table with a slightly mischievous look on his face. "All right... I knew this would happen sometime. The eternal editor joins the game." He looks somewhat embarrassed as he says "Yep. I am usually a lousy writer- inspiration comes to me only once in a great while. When it does, well, I can write well. But when it doesn't, watch out. I make a great editor at those times; just don't read my writing. Well, I don't know if this is inspired yet, but it is a true story..." Thalen draws his cards. As he looks at them, his grin doesn't change at all; it's not a poker face, he just doesn't care whether he wins or loses. He stands again, and begins his story. "Well, I currently attend Reed college. For those of you who have never heard of it, this is a small LIBERAL liberal arts school in Portland, OR. Sort of a nifty place... Anyway, I got in to all of the colleges I applied to, so I went visiting to find out which one to attend. U. Chicago was expensive and slightly (excuse me) stuffy, although the archetecture was nice. Bates was nice, in a sort of a non-exceptional way. Carleton, well, I missed my chance to visit there because of a rematch with the Mono I had had earlier in the year. And Reed... I like to tell myself that I came to Reed because of the teachers, because of the friendly way the students treated me, because it provides a great amount of achedemic freedom while still guaranteeing a good education, even because of the mandatory senior thesis (which I think is a FABULOUS idea). But, on some level, the sad truth may be that I was swayed by an INTERESTING... um... encounter... that I had as a prospie." Thalen sits on a table, stares off into the distance (or at least the wall, which precludes him staring off into any reasonably distant distance), and smiles. "It was the end of April. I had gotten here the day before, for breakfast, which is totally beside the point, and scrounged breakfast, which is also beside the point, although hilariously funny to anyone who knows about Reed's... unique...practice of "scrounging". Anyway, I took a tour of the campus and diddled around for most of that day, and stayed the night with my dorm host. I had to get up earlier than he did, because of a "class" at 8:00, so I left his room (on the way to the bathroom) without making a sound. I noticed, as I walked, that the entire dorm was either asleep, or faking it rather well, and that I was the first one out and about. NOW, you have to remember that although I had stayed in a dorm once before, while touring U Chicago, it was the conservative dorm from hell, so that didn't help me with my experience here. What experience? Well... you'll see. "SO. I walked down to the bathroom, and, as I entered, my first thought was 'Wait. Is this the men's room?' However, I noticed the convienantly- placed urinals, and decided that it had to be, didn't it? And so, I prepared to take my morning shower. Now, to understand the following, you have to know the layout of this particular bathroom. It looked something like this, from above..." Thalen here draws a diagram on a napkin, which is quickly passed around... __________________ |c / | |- |-/|-/|-/| | |c |b |b |b | | |--------------- | |c | a a a a | |- | | |c \ \ | _____________ \__ "The 'a's represent sinks, the 'b's toilets, and the 'c's shower stalls. Everything else is either a wall [_-|] or a door [/\]." Thalen shifts slightly. "Now, I walked in the main door, lower right, and headed toward the shower stalls directly to my left. Surprise... the outside wall had big signs reading 'DO NOT ENTER!' and 'WRONG WAY!' on it. I looked inside, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with the showers. However, I figured better safe than sorry, and followed signs with arrows on them around to the other side, and the other two showers. Now, by this time I'm pretty confused, but I am also grimy, so I jump into the shower and start lathering. I knew that there was something odd here, but I wasn't sure exactly what, so I ignored it. And about five minutes later, I hear activity start: more people entering the bathroom. And the other three showers go on. Hmm, I think, well, obviously they work. I wonder why... nah. Never mind." "Now, I take LONG showers, but the person in the stall next to me matches me minute for minute, until about twenty minutes later, both showers go off. I shove the curtain aside, and step into the common part shared by both showers." Thalen's grin is threatening to jump off of his face about now, and you can see that his ears are turning just _slightly_ pink. "Well, I look toward the stall to the left of me, as one instinctively does in this type of situation, and it turns out that its occupant is stepping out at the same time I am. And it further turns out that its occupant is ... female. Very female. And *VERY* good-looking." "Well, naturally, the moment froze. Each of us is standing there, staring, and I assume my mouth was hanging open. I never really bothered to check. My brain was not being very helpful at the time, as it was busy going Ummmmm, uhhhhh, {choke, gasp}, and so forth. And, of course, as is usually the WRONG thing to do in this type of situation, I opened my mouth to say something. Well, my brain wasn't connected to my mouth at that point, it being busy with information overload, but something obviously was, as my comment was the PERFECT thing to say in this situation." Thalen sits back, savoring the anticipation, but not for long enough to become annoying. "What did I say? 'Hi! I'm Adam Lang, prospective Reedie!' And offered my hand...." She solemnly shook hands with me, then we both collapsed into possibly the best laughter I have ever had. We were quite literally rolling on the floor, no, not in the way you're thinking. And, finally, after we calmed down, some subconcious bit inside my brain had evidently been flipped, and, well, here I am..." Thalen waits for the laughter to subside, then continues. "The only postlude I have to this occurred later that same day. I was walking down a path on my way to some class or something, and I passed a girl. About five steps later, we both stopped, almost simultaneously, both turned around, and both cracked up for another few minutes. When we had finally finished, I, grinning like a mad man, said 'Oops, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.' This, of course, invited a new bout of laughter. I'll tell you, I had a sore stomach the next day... Anyway, that was my introduction to Reed." "Oh, yes, and one more thing: the signs were from a party that the dorm had had the previous Saturday night, when they had stored kegs in the showers and taken the central partition out. They wanted the line to enter one end and exit the other, and so...'DO NOT ENTER. WRONG WAY' Cute, eh?" "So, whaddaya think? Anyone have anything to bid on THAT? Gotta be true, and I only accept bets in the same coin, so it's gotta be funny..." Thalen, the Not Easily Embarrassed Any More Mage "Oh, yes," says the blond man quietly, "The moral of the story: Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Seeing the slightly dissappointed look, he frowns for a second, then brightens. "Or, maybe, "April "Show`er"s could bring two in the buff?" (Yes, it is a true story.) Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!armadillo.cis.ohio-state.edu!kent_a_jenkins From: kent_a_jenkins@armadillo.cis.ohio-state.edu Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: WARNING Keywords: Touch Message-ID: <79153@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Date: 12 Apr 90 13:50:17 GMT References: <15156@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <14660@reed.UUCP> <13045@csli.Stanford.EDU> <79103@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <13075@csli.Stanford.EDU> Sender: usenet_news@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Reply-To: Thenomain Organization: Ohio State University Computer and Information Science Lines: 53 In article <13075@csli.Stanford.EDU> cphoenix@csli.stanford.edu (Chris Phoenix) writes: >In article <79103@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Thenomain edu> writes: >>Excuse the sarcasm, but a whole several days? [I'll explain if I get yelled >>at for that remark. :)] > >Well, I'm not yelling, but I wouldn't mind an explanation. It's not something that I enjoy talking about, but the last girlfriend/date/ whatnot I had was a good year and some ago. And let's leave it at that. >But I find it rather disturbing that even someone who wants to be touched >is touched only a few times a week... Do tell. >I just remembered another thing that I heard Long Ago: if you aren't touched >enough, your spinal cord starts to atrophy. Ick. Stop that, you. >>I'd think it interesting to note that not everyone is comfortable with the >>touch factor. I, for one, jump or feel very, very nervous when people get/ >>stand/whatnot too close to me. Call me silly, but I have no idea what they >>expect, or if they expect anything. > >I won't call you silly. In this world, you have every right to be nervous. Thank you. (See, they ARE out to get me. :) Actually, I've never been that concerned with the physical in the first place. Several things have only heightened this. >But shouldn't there be some way for people to get the physical contact that >they need? (I hope you won't disagree that we all need it, and that most of >us don't get enough of it...) No, no... I don't disagree. Not at all. Unfortunately, this is a factor that I can't help with. Not with a whole lot of people, that is. The give/take of that is equal and simultanious and I really don't have that much of a chance to do anything about it. >To restate something Jilara said: Why can't we all be like kittens? Because then we would all want to be more like people. That and we'd buy more kitty litter than we could possibly need. -=- -- Thenomain -- Kent Jenkins -- "I'm a figment of my own -- -- jenkins@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu -- imagination, thank you." -Kaj -- -- kent-j@cis.ohio-state.edu -- Brainwave Turbulance, Inc. -- -- It's our lives, the U.S. Constitution! (Void where prohibited by Law) -- Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!xavier!quislet From: quislet@cs.swarthmore.edu (Alex) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Various and sundry stuff Message-ID: Date: 12 Apr 90 15:36:07 GMT Sender: news@xavier.swarthmore.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Crum Woods Lines: 100 Alex closes _Germany in the High Middle Ages_, steps up to the line, and with an tight, accurate throw pitches the book straight into the fireplace. With a satisfied look on his face, he says to the crowd at large, "Normally I don't agree with the whole _Fahrenheit_451_ philosophy, but that book was just too turgid to exist. To Medieval History; I'm glad I'm going into Comparative Literature instead!" He then looks down at the grubby t-shirt and jeans he's wearing, and says "No, no, wrong, this'll never do." He reaches into n-space, pulls out a glowing green disk ("I'll give it back in a second, Mirth!") and passes down himself. He's now in his favorite white blazer (sleeves rolled up), blue knit sweater, and white slacks. "Much better," he decides. He hands the disk back into n-space, saying "And it _still_ doesn't do julienne fries. Darn." "Thalen, that was one of the absolute funniest real stories I have heard in a long while. Wow." He smiles ruefully. "I've walked in on my roommates on occasion, but that is just..." He picks up the milkshake cup and walks over to Taldin. "Unicorn, let me reassure you - I really am okay. Truly. I'm in control of that dark guy now - as Thalen said, I think the dark side of us just might be necessary, but the key is to not let it get out of hand. I've been laughing again the past couple days, and it feels good. I've got this totally unfounded sense that despite Comprehensive exams, despite Grad school applications, despite graduation itself, everything will work out well. I'm having fun again, just enjoying the walk from my dorm to campus, playing the occasional game of pool down in the game room, and so on." He glances down at his attire. "I didn't pick these colors out of a hat, Taldin." "One thing some of you folk may find interesting - there is a version of TinyMUD running here at Swarthmore, called TinySWAT. (masada.cs. swarthmore.edu 4201) On this system, I am running a role-playing game with a twist. Instead of 6 or so people gathered around a table eating Doritos, rolling dice, and passing notes to the GM, we sit around a virtual table with virtual Doritos and virtual Steeleye Span on the virtual stereo, and have a real-time game where the PCs are in North Carolina, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. It works REALLY well, and we're having a fairly good time so far. You might consider the possibilty next time you want to game, but can't scrounge up enough people. Just advertise on any of the MUDs; you'll get players." "Paul brought up the issue of real appearance vs. "magic" and stuff. Just for the record, this _is_ what I really look like, ('cept that I'm not twins... :) ) I really do drink milkshakes constantly, etc. Only my special effects are 'unreal'. I am also myself on TinySWAT. I simply found that I wasn't _comfortable_ being anyone but myself in these situations. I guess I just want people to trust me for myself, or something; masks get in the way for me, rather than helping me open up. In fact..." glancing about the room, and focusing on the conscious but silent Alex In Black, "Come on over here." No special effects, no big flash of light or blowing of trumpets, they just... merge, that's all. "Anyway, as I was saying, this is just me, a muddled human bean, enjoying himself." "Since a couple of you liked the last filk, I decided to dredge up the one I wrote a ways back. Also super-hero related. Those not interested, time to hit 'n'... The Comic-Book Reader's Complaint -- to the tune of "Little Boxes" Superheroes on the hillside, Superheroes fighting super-crooks And they all wear funny costumes And they all look just the same. There's a Norse god and a Moon god And a mutant and an alien, And they all wear funny costumes And they all look just the same. And the villains that the heroes fight, Oh, they all want to rule the world And they all have mental problems And they all act just the same. They use robots, and some monsters, And a Super-Ultra-Cosmic Mutagen, But they overlook something crucial And they all fail just the same. And the publishers of the comics All want to boost their readership, And they all have plans to do this And the plans are all the same. There's a _Crisis_ and _Inferno_ And an "In this book an X-Man dies!" And they kill off half the heroes But the plans are just the same. Alex takes a drink. "900 Welsh ancestors, and I have to get the musical sensibilities of my Saxon forebears," he mutters. He sits down, listening intently to the general conversation. He decides practising skeet archery in the Place would be a bad idea, so instead of his recurve bow, he pulls his juggling bags out of his backpack instead. The two buttons on the backpack read, "Camelot University, Class of 549" and "1.79 x 10 ^ 12 furlongs per fortnight - it's not just a good idea, it's the law." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ sawx90@swarthmr "Come on, turtles! The Fate of the sawx90@campus.swarthmore.edu World is in OUR HANDS!" "Don't you wish _you_ could Alex Weirich, Resident Anarchronism deliver lines like that?" Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA -- Leonardo and Raphael ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Path: mit-eddie!bu.edu!bucsf.bu.edu!austin From: austin@bucsf.bu.edu (Austin H. Ziegler, III) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Rebuttal? Message-ID: Date: 12 Apr 90 17:13:01 GMT Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu Organization: Boston University College of Engineering Lines: 42 Austin stands. "Jilara, I understand if you are angry with me about some statements I've made, but saying that I should know better is not the answer. Yes, Callahans *is* real. It is real for me, for you, for just about everyone in here. What I was questioning is the fact that we should not lose touch with who we are in the real world and that I've left once before because of that. Yes, I like reading alt.callahans every day that I can. I just have problems with keeping that image up every day because I am not necessarily the techmage (Tarkennon is the name if you ask), nor am I Magyk. They are merely extensions of me. I cannot say any more than that except that when it boils down to it, I am Austin Herbert Ziegler, III. I'm slightly arrogant, whether I like it or not, I have problems, whether I like it or not. I cannot perform any of the magic that I present here. I am human. "I'm sorry, Jilara, but you just hit a nerve of mine. I appreciate Callahan's a lot. It has been a good forum of people who listen. I mean really listen. But I can't say that I'm any more real in Callahan's than I am in real life. I can't say that I've got it nearly as bad as some people do, I can't even say that I've got it that bad at all. Yes, I've got my problems, but they are mine. I came here for understanding. I may be playing a devil's advocate of sorts at the moment, but that's what I am. I question just about everything. I mean *everything*. That's who I am, Jilara. That's who I am." I look around the room. "Yes, this place is real. But it isn't my life. It isn't my business if it is yours or not, but it isn't mine. My life includes Callahan's, but it is not Callahan's. There is a song that fits this season and the way we all ought to treat each other. It is by the Christian group Silverwind. It is called 'Forgiven' and is about the third criminal--the one who came to Christ's defense on the cross. It is really powerful, but I'm not able to recall the words. I am willing to forgive anyone now. For anything. We all should. We all should. "To all the Christians here: Happy Easter. To all the Jews here: Happy Passover. (I guess...may it be good anyway.) To the rest: I don't know your religion, but may you have a great Easter weekend anyway." austin -- austin@buengf.bu.edu *** NOTE: the address is not @bucsf anymore *** 700 Commonwealth Box 2094, Boston, MA 02215 (617) 375-8272 BUENG '93 "I feel much better now..." -- HAL, _2001_