Betsy, loads of cool and calm~ma to you, with a bonus side order of collected~ma, as well. I hope everything is okay.

Oh, it's good nervous, not bad nervous. Thanks.

Oh, I'm so glad it is good nervous.

calm & cool-ma for Betsy.

Also? I can't see any obvious French or German influence where I am, but the words are in my vocab.

Mmm...I think maybe my blind acceptance of a Blader Runnerish future made me not even think twice about the Asian influence in FF. I don't even question it. When I read William Gibson, he drops international tech names left and right (e.g. Zeiss lenses) which, although I don't know first hand, assume that they're the cream that has risen to the global technology top. I don't really question its use because it simply "is" for me, if the story is well written and the culture/tech stuff seemlessly incorporated.

Susan, I know you didn't have much luck with your church-based mom group but have you checked for the Seattle group of punkymoms? A friend of mine in Dallas is a member and she recommended them to me.

if the story is well written

This, of course, being the clincher, and I didn't think Firefly was well-written. Everything about it felt clunky and awkward to me, which is obviously a rather vast mileage variance from most of the rest of the board.

Calm~ma to Betsy.

Susan, I know you didn't have much luck with your church-based mom group but have you checked for the Seattle group of punkymoms? A friend of mine in Dallas is a member and she recommended them to me.

Hmm. My assumption would be that I'm not punky enough, though with their website down for construction, I can't really get a feel for the group's personality.

Hmm. My assumption would be that I'm not punky enough, though with their website down for construction, I can't really get a feel for the group's personality.

They have separate meetup.com sites where you can peruse the individual members of your own city's group. Just from the four members in my city, I get the feeling that's it's only "loosely" punky. More progressive than anything else. But then, I'm in the Midwest (although my group's founder moved back here from Portland, so I'll know when I meet them).

This, of course, being the clincher, and I didn't think Firefly was well-written. Everything about it felt clunky and awkward to me, which is obviously a rather vast mileage variance from most of the rest of the board.

I only felt some clunkiness--and it was only on a few episodes. I don't know if I gave it a pass because it was Joss or because I love sci-fi. I will admit, because of the episode shuffle, I didn't feel the immediate FF love. But after watching the better eps, I fell hard.

Cashmere is me in regards to the Firefly love. The love wasn't immediate but rather a slow burn with a sudden blazing bonfire for a few select episodes.

Calm~ma to Betsy and very good to know that Anne made it safely to her new home.

Happy belated birthdays to Gris and Eddie.

Jacqueline, I'm so sorry for your loss. Tania sounds like a piece of work, and I can understand why you're appalled.

vw, I agree that talking to your prof is the way to go on the protfolio, but if you can't get a resolutiuon from him, I would just put a letter in the front of the portfolio saying, "This folder is missing the following pieces because they have not yet been returned to me by professor X." I'm sure he knows he has them.

very good to know that Anne made it safely to her new home.

And it's so good to be here! I'll post in more detail later, but right now, I have to get some stupid administrative trivia stuff done. Plus, all the unpacking.