My trip reports for HOTT.BOB, posted Aug 16, Aug 22, and Aug 25: Report#1: Things I brought home from HOTT.BOB From ----------------------------------- ------------ Official HOTT.BOB T-shirt Anvil Graphics Official HOTT.BOB Cup Crisper and HWRNMNBSOL Newt plaque[1] pendant Eric Scheirer Articulated newt pendant Paul Egli Pendant with rune meaning "cycles"[2] Also Paul Egli Translucent spherical object billbill. Of course. The correct pronounciation of "Szmagaj"[3] billbill. So take it with a grain of salt. Nathan Torkington and Sam Bushell New Zealand and Australia, respectively A slight sore throat Too much talking and not enough sleep Large bruise on right thigh Cooperative effort between the edge of a table and a bottle of tequila. I think. Four Twinkies[TM] Mark Cleary About 1/4 pound of Sumatran coffee Brett "Caffeine or Perish" Summers A camera and sunglasses Brett "Oops" Summers Motivation to get back into community Pope Clifton, and all the theatre nice people who applauded and laughed at the right times Slack-jawed appreciation of non-text-based Everyone who played music, talents everyone in the play, everyone who cooked chili or pancakes; hell, practically everyone. Amazing memories of an incredible weekend HOTT.BOB [1] Yes, we all know what you first read this as, so don't bother posting it, ok? [2] Why yes, I do. [3] You'll never guess. I sure didn't. [TM] This is a trademark, not a footnote, stupid. -- Report #2 This is probably more entertaining if sung to the tune of "El Paso". Down near the southwestern town of Las Vegas, There was a gath'ring of Talk dot Bizarre. Huge and Outdoorsy, this Outrageous Blowout Drew in the cave newts from near and from far. We got to HOTT.BOB at nearly eleven, People were waving and shouting our names. I spent the evening just talking and laughing, Drinking tequila and playing weird games. JJ awoke us at seven o'clock To go on the bicycle riiiiiiiiiiiiide Exhausted and muddy, and just a bit bloody, We rode into Taos around dinnertime. Jade wedded Crisper at two in the morning I toasted the couple and stumbled to bed. (The wedding continued until nearly daybreak I thought it better to get sleep instead.) 8 am breakfast burritos were yummy, [1] Grabbed ropes and harness to go climb a wall Cave newts are known for their soft sticky toe pads But still use belay gear in case of a fall. Then we had chili and then it was time To do A Midsummer Night's Dreeeeeeeeeeeam Gooley was Bottom, and laughs, he sure got 'em [2] We all oohed and aahed at the fireworks display. Hilary, Pete and I went to the hot spring [3] Hispanic drunkards brought cultural flair. [4] Back at the campfire folks made some strange music When we came back I just pulled up a chair. Went to bed late, and I woke up too early What did I care, I was still feeling high. Helped with the clean-up and hugged lots of people, One final kiss -- and -- then -- HOTT.BOB -- good-bye. Ilana [1] Or was that the pancake day? I don't remember now. [2] If you think this rhyme is terrible, don't listen to the original song. "I picked a good one, it looked like he could run"? Jeez. [3] Brett came too but I couldn't fit his name into the verse. [4] "Yo soy el rey de la sangre de la tierra." -- Report #3 Thomas Colthurst, in his HOTT.BOB report, suggested that the only worthwhile reports are those that "describe the attending personages". So here goes. Kinda long, sorry. I'll start with Thomas, then, because he suggested it. I ran around frantically Monday morning introducing myself to a whole bunch of people I hadn't really met yet at that point, and he was one; despite that, he spent the next fifteen minutes or so assisting me with my van, which means that he's very nice. He threw me at first by introducing himself as "Tommassy" which took me a moment to parse into "thomasc" and thence into Thomas Colthurst. Some people were much as I expected, and some people were completely different from what I expected. Neither of which is necessarily good or bad. People who were much as I expected: Billbill (yes yes yes yes yes yes). Tall and skinny and beautiful and surreal. This is how religions get started. Kaite, every bit as luminous in person. She made me think of butterflies and gauze veils. I'm not sure her feet actually touch the ground when she walks. Rone is indeed a tight ball of angst. Morrisa. No wonder the goddesses all call her Mom. Zvi. Why didn't I spend every bit of time with him I possibly could? Gentle, piercing. Like coffee, the sweet and the sharp, and you don't realize you're addicted until later. Gary Heston, mountain man. I knew exactly who it was when I saw him. He looks like half the men in Boulder, bearded, quiet, competent. People who were nothing like I expected: Scott Dorsey. Even though I'd seen his picture, I was expecting someone more bulky, less delicate. He whines very prettily. Paul Egli. The opposite of Scott -- I imagined him rail-thin, dark, quiet, delicate, egligant. But Paul is broad-faced and long-haired, cheery and enthusiastic. Paul Vader. For a while on t.b I'd been confusing Paul Vader and Gary Heston. Somehow, I expected Paul to look like Gary. He doesn't. Paul Lord. Hell, while I'm going through the Pauls, I might as well admit that I thought he'd be tall, severe and dark, not Puckish and radiant, with raspberry hair and a quick grin. He talks fast and thinks faster. (The only photo of him I'd seen didn't include anything above the waist.) Speaking of Paul Lord: In the talk.bizarre comic strip of my mind, Paul is Calvin and Lance is Hobbes. Starcap'n Ra. If you haven't met him yet, I won't spoil it for you. CJ used to have a picture on her Web page with very short hair and the comment that her hair was longer now. I expected merely shoulder length. I was wrong. Not AjDhair, but getting there. Derrick. In person he is older and much less geeky than the self-deprecating impression he gives in his posts. There were of course lots of other wonderful people at HOTT.BOB. If your name isn't on this list, it's just because I hadn't formed a mental image of you before I met you. Mental images come from not only postings, but from people I know with the same name, rumors, photos (j.j had showed me lots of previous.bob pictures), and so on. I liked everyone I met. I didn't meet everyone I'd have liked. Another short list of impressions and comments: kEvin cheerily erased my road-trip-hell-zombie-ism shortly after my arrival at the site. I dreamed about Mary Friday night. There were many cute but frighteningly young guys, several of whom had interesting accents. Eileen gave me serious bicep envy. I never saw Yong-mi when she wasn't smiling.