Super weird dreams are the default for me (ask about the "14 swords" sometime, if you want to hear more), but two changes since starting this have pushed me back to the college days. Just going full bore on everything, and sleeping little or none during most nights. And analyzing everything again, from the film angles in commercials to the word choices in speeches.
Although that nightmare was followed up the next night by a dream about an absolutely exquisite saxophone rendition of "Christmastime Is Here," so go figure...
As I said elsewhere about my dreams: since we started the journey I've been dreaming more than previously, or at least more aware of how much I've been dreaming. As for "super weird," I don't know. As a psychoanalyst I don't think that many dreams are weird, or maybe I think they're all weird. Either way, listening to other people's dreams is part of how I make my living.
Marian - Should moderators have access to the dashboard? When I sign in, I'm dropped right into the All Categories page. I can pull up recent activity up at the top (and I do see some ... unpronounceable collections of random letters listed as 'recently joined').
If this is strictly an "Even More Helpful Helpers" thing, then never mind!
Are you guys able to see the dashboard using those direct links?
Moderators on vanilla generally have those privileges, but I've given moderators a number of extra privileges that I thought were useful. I presumed that some of those privileges came with the ability to see the dashboard, but didn't take time to test it, being in a hurry. My bad.
I have no moderating help to offer, but I had a dream the other night that my late mother was trying really hard to convince me to listen to her new favorite CD, which was Blossom Dearie's cover of "Berserker."
What struck me most when I woke up was the implausibility, since if ANYONE told me that Blossom Dearie had covered "Berserker" I'd want to listen to it IMMEDIATELY, with no need for any convincing.
I'm finally back online after a week of interviews and family matters (not the old TV show).
Thanks for the links, Daniel. Those will be super helpful.
Also, no weird dreams, but I did have a dream of Calliope where she was treated nicely by a writer but it was heart-breaking because she loved him but he didn't know if he loved her or loved the fact that she provided him beautiful stories. In the end he released her as his muse so that he could figure out what his feelings were, but she couldn't stay in this world so she went back without finding out if he loved her back.
I'm leaving the two mail.ru accounts in there for now, while they are suspect, they aren't on any blacklists yet, and haven't done anything wrong yet. (could be two people from the same public ip point.)
I'm back home...and holy cow, there's lots to catch up on! I think I'm at least mostly caught up on the reading, but there are so many comments, everyone has been busy! I will now get to reading...
Deleted a post from danpowell70. It was gibberish that ended in French "when starting a new project". The rest would not translate and had a lot of random special characters.
How aggressive do we want to be in deleting accounts? So far, I've only been going after users with emails that are known spammers. Do we want to care about IP addresses as well?
I'm keeping a log of accounts i've deleted, so we can see if any particular ip is a problem, or if we need to trace what happened. I could post it/send it, but i figure it's just a bunch of noise until there's actually a problem.
oh, and thanks for mentioning that you deleted a bunch of the suspicious ones - I saw the user list from the last two day drop, and had a "uh-oh - what happened, and was it my fault?" moment
Hello guys! I've been checking in despite being quiet; you guys are all too fast, everything's taken care of before I arrive. That's pretty awesome.
Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo for April, but that that won't be keeping me from checking in daily, probably several times a day. Ironically, as my habitual writing output increases, this may help me to actually post MORE.
My trip is ALMOST OVER and I'll be back with lots and lots of thoughts and tending and maintenance for the site on Monday/Tuesday. Thank you so much for keeping the discussion moving. As always, I had even less time for work than I imagined while traveling (why does the delusion persist that I can get anything done at all?).
Your help has been invaluable. Let's have another tea party hangout when I'm back home!
It's WORLD'S END WEEK! And a number of people have privately contacted me to let me know they're trailing out and falling behind. Which I anticipated.
I knew this would happen (especially after I took off for three weeks, this is how my whole world works, falling apart as soon as I start moving). But it also always comes about toward the end of a project like this.
So I want to give people some time to catch up, and I want to build toward something at the end.
So we'll work on Vol. III for two weeks and then get back on schedule. I'll open a normal discussion thread as well for World's End, but I'll be focusing my energy on the storytelling circle, and I hope you will too! Even if you're not caught up -- share a story. I will be inviting all our members to jump in with something, whether or not they read up to this point, and I think something very special might evolve.
You are more than welcome to link us to the story you want to tell if you've already written it somewhere, or make a video of yourself telling the story (faster than writing!) or link to a piece someone else made if that's the story you would share.
Here's the assignment:
"We are all at the World's End. We have been waylaid and disrupted on our daily journeys from here to there, and we have wound up at a pub together -- exactly the kind of roadhouse where you would love to spend some time with strangers, if only you hadn't been in a hurry to get somewhere.
We have to sit and wait for days, with no phones, no devices, no books, nothing but one another and our imaginations to pass the time. Thankfully the beverages are good and the place is hopping. But it is strange to be stuck somewhere at the edge of the universe, in a blizzard or windstorm perhaps, with no one who knows our histories. We can all be anything and we can say anything.
We each have a story to share. And you have to share one. It's your turn. It can be true -- it can be false -- it can be fiction -- it can be hearsay -- it can be from someone else (with attribution). It can be a link or a picture or a comic that you feel tells the story you want to tell. But let it be the kind of strange experience you don't often confess, or the source of the mystery nagging at the back of your mind, or the unresolved curiosity you nurture and what sparked it.
Or, perhaps, you break down and insist (like Charlene) that you have no story.
All responses are valid as long as you don't steal a story that's not yours (attribute attribute attribute). But the talking stick has passed to you, and everyone has a fresh drink and a comfy seat by the fire, and it's your turn to speak.
Just wanted to say, sorry for not being as active the last few weeks. I had some health issues that were causing me problems (namely, teeth that needed fillings, were poked at, and triggered migraines on and off for nearly 3 weeks - looking at a computer screen was hard. I checked in from time to time but didn't feel up to writing posts). On the plus side, I'm on the mend, so I hope to be on here a lot more! And I'm excited to catch up on the reading as well (only a little bit behind, luckily). Woo story time!
No worries Becky! A slump in activity was sort of inevitable at this point -- it's no problem. Now the fun will be trying to rev ourselves up for a strong finish.
May I encourage you to jump in on our story circle? I've read everything there and it's wonderful. Would love some posts from more of this crowd, even if it's just a link to a story or storyteller that you like!
Thanks a lot guys! To cut down on the administrative duties, I have closed registration now except by invitation from an admin or moderator. So we shouldn't have any more spam posts, unless we've had a sleeper spam account already here for months.
Thank you guys so much for all your help!
****ANNOUNCEMENT***
There is talk of one last Google hangout over tea, open to everyone regardless of whether they finished all the books -- we're looking at Saturday May 31st, late morning on the West Coast, early afternoon on the East Coast, evening in Europe.
If you're interested in having tea and just saying hello, and maybe bringing a little closure to the Book Club, meet me over in the Tea and Crumpets thread. We'll post the times and hangout links there.
And if you came *this close* to finishing, that gives you another week or so in case you want to persist to the end! "The Wake" just slays me, it's worth it.
Thank you all, moderators. Thank you for your optimism and openness, for your desire to be here. I am happy the world is full of you people.
Comments
"14 swords," eh? Very specific number, isn't it?
Dreams are so much fun to play with.
Can any of you see the dashboard at the upper left? You have all these privileges as Moderators that lead me to think you should be able to...
Moderators on vanilla generally have those privileges, but I've given moderators a number of extra privileges that I thought were useful. I presumed that some of those privileges came with the ability to see the dashboard, but didn't take time to test it, being in a hurry. My bad.
What struck me most when I woke up was the implausibility, since if ANYONE told me that Blossom Dearie had covered "Berserker" I'd want to listen to it IMMEDIATELY, with no need for any convincing.
Oh boy, tonight begins the Vol. V discussion. Jump in sometime tomorrow when you get the chance! I will!
Marian
Thanks for catching those guys quickly! I came in to do it both times but it was already done.
What the heck are Mulberry bags? Sounds gross.
Your help has been invaluable. Let's have another tea party hangout when I'm back home!
I knew this would happen (especially after I took off for three weeks, this is how my whole world works, falling apart as soon as I start moving). But it also always comes about toward the end of a project like this.
So I want to give people some time to catch up, and I want to build toward something at the end.
So for the next two weeks, I'm doing something a little different. It's time for a storytelling circle at the World's End. See this thread: http://mariancall.com/vanilla/discussion/57/special-volume-viii-world039s-end-story-session
So we'll work on Vol. III for two weeks and then get back on schedule. I'll open a normal discussion thread as well for World's End, but I'll be focusing my energy on the storytelling circle, and I hope you will too! Even if you're not caught up -- share a story. I will be inviting all our members to jump in with something, whether or not they read up to this point, and I think something very special might evolve.
You are more than welcome to link us to the story you want to tell if you've already written it somewhere, or make a video of yourself telling the story (faster than writing!) or link to a piece someone else made if that's the story you would share.
Here's the assignment:
"We are all at the World's End. We have been waylaid and disrupted on
our daily journeys from here to there, and we have wound up at a pub
together -- exactly the kind of roadhouse where you would love to spend
some time with strangers, if only you hadn't been in a hurry to get
somewhere.
We have to sit and wait for days, with no phones, no
devices, no books, nothing but one another and our imaginations to pass
the time. Thankfully the beverages are good and the place is hopping.
But it is strange to be stuck somewhere at the edge of the universe, in a
blizzard or windstorm perhaps, with no one who knows our histories. We
can all be anything and we can say anything.
We each have a story to share. And you have to share one.
It's your turn. It can be true -- it can be false -- it can be fiction
-- it can be hearsay -- it can be from someone else (with
attribution). It can be a link or a picture or a comic that you feel
tells the story you want to tell. But let it be the kind of strange
experience you don't often confess, or the source of the mystery nagging
at the back of your mind, or the unresolved curiosity you nurture and
what sparked it.
Or, perhaps, you break down and insist (like Charlene) that you have no story.
All
responses are valid as long as you don't steal a story that's not yours
(attribute attribute attribute). But the talking stick has passed to
you, and everyone has a fresh drink and a comfy seat by the fire, and
it's your turn to speak.
Tell us your story, stranger."
wbcwoazam There are many dior outlet uk:
http://dioroutlet.danandsteve.co.ukmales
who are unhappy with their male organ?s size at the time of intidior bags uk:
http://dioroutlet.danandsteve.co.ukmacy
. Buying Overnight oil to increase erection size is an excellent choice for males. Nevertheless, it dior bags:
http://dioroutlet.danandsteve.co.ukis
essent
1:30AM Comment
May I encourage you to jump in on our story circle? I've read everything there and it's wonderful. Would love some posts from more of this crowd, even if it's just a link to a story or storyteller that you like!
Thank you guys so much for all your help!
****ANNOUNCEMENT***
There is talk of one last Google hangout over tea, open to everyone regardless of whether they finished all the books -- we're looking at Saturday May 31st, late morning on the West Coast, early afternoon on the East Coast, evening in Europe.
If you're interested in having tea and just saying hello, and maybe bringing a little closure to the Book Club, meet me over in the Tea and Crumpets thread. We'll post the times and hangout links there.
And if you came *this close* to finishing, that gives you another week or so in case you want to persist to the end! "The Wake" just slays me, it's worth it.
Thank you all, moderators. Thank you for your optimism and openness, for your desire to be here. I am happy the world is full of you people.