Read, write, enjoy.

The Best of The Week

So I'm going to be a fictional character, but I'm not watching the Super Bowl.

While I'm not a huge American Football person, I pay it some attention. I regularly attended the local games when I was in high school and then university, so many years ago now. For decades, I did video promo for high school sports including, of course, football. One of my nieces married a varsity player. She also played varsity football, but of the other sort: what gets called "soccer" in North America. And I have historically watched the Super Bowl. Pop cultural touchstone, really. My housemate in the early 1990s would host parties. His wing sauce was legendary.

I make a pretty good chilli.

Arlene F. Marks isn't particularly involved with football (her husband follows the CFL).

She has, however, published numerous novels and short stories, mostly in the science fiction and mystery genres-- and co-authored some non-fiction books


we were pre-teen girls 

two dozen in number

Kamp Kiwani was a Girl Scout camp

it sat in the heart of Middle Tennessee

and we came to learn skills 

and earn merit badges

but middle of summer in Middle Tennessee

90 can feel like 103

so we ate s’mores and drank powdered iced tea 

we spent most of our time indoors

and a butch of a girl whose name was Elaine

taught us all about

I. You're both married to other people, to start with, heavily entangled on the quantum mechanical level with other humans (?) who could marshal considerable resources to rein you both back in. But there was that time at tapas where the tempranillo got flowing and there might have been non-ritual skin-to-skin contact? Twice? and you think about this while waiting for the squat machine to free up sometimes.

II. This other person is long dead and

News for Noders

February 1: Brevity Quest 2025 begins!

February 2: Happy birthday Auspice!

February 2: Happy birthday npecom!

February 5: Happy birthday wertperch!

February 8: Happy birthday to panamaus

February 15: Happy birthday Admin to the goo!

February 23: Happy birthday Samuel Pepys!

February 29: Happy birthday Browncoat!


If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.

January 1: Gregorian New Year.

January 16: National Nothing Day.

January 24: Happy Birthday Silverai_me!

January 26: Happy Birthday Segnbora-t!

January 30: Happy Birthday O-Swirl!


If you have something to add to the monthly news, /msg Tem42.

December 1: Iron Noder ends

December 9: Smallpox eradication day.

December 9: Grace Hopper's birthday.

December 12: Happy birthday to horacetheclown!

December 21: Winter solstice arrives 10:27 PM, EST.

December 23: Happy birthday to Nemosyn!

December 25: Hanukkah begins.

December 25: Merry Christmas!

December 29: HairQuest 2024 ends.


If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.

November 1: The IRON NODER CHALLENGE starts today and runs through December 1. It's never too late to sign up, and all writeups get rewards.

November 1: Happy Birthday Zephronias!

November 5: Bonfire Night in the UK.

November 11: Veterans Day in the US.

November 13: Everything2's Birthday.

November 27: Happy Birthday Estelore!

November 28: Thanksgiving in the US.

November 28: HairQuest 2024 begins!

If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.

October 1: Oh no! It's The Halloween Horrorquest!

October 17: Happy Birthday gnarl!

October 31: Something spooky will probably happen today. It usually does.

October 31: prepare yourselves for the XVIInd Iron Noder in November!



If you have an item for this calendar, /msg Tem42.