Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

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jwhouk
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

I watched as the gentleman came tumbling into the room from the portal. Greg and Ari had taken the chili into the kitchen to argue with Opus over its contents and whatnot.

"Uh, hello - here for the Wapsi Anonymous meeting?" I asked.

"Yes - and coffee?"

"Well, it just so happens we brought some of Tina's finest from the shop. I hope we have a working coffee maker somewhere in the place."
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by Opus the Poet »

jwhouk wrote:The image of Opus wandering through with chili caught the three of us by surprise. Before any one of us could say anything, the portal behind him VORPED shut.

"Well... thanks for the chili, but we're gonna be here a while. It appears that portal you just came through is one-way. For some reason, the portal's 'send' mode got shut down."

"Ooh, chili!" Ari said. "Is it spicy? Greg's stuff here always seems a bit bland for me."

Not chili, I'm bringing the fixin's for my own style of beans and brown rice, all super healthy as long as you aren't too sensitive to capsaicin. I lived on this all summer when Mrs. the Poet had a sick niece with several kids who needed caring for in Upstate. And I have a fresh container of a brand of cayenne I refer to as powdered Mace, so we can crank this up as hot as you want it. If I make it too hot for Mrs. the Poet I can kinda taste it. If I make it hot enough for me the EPA makes me dispose of the leftovers as toxic waste. It's still against the law in New Jersey, but they have allowed me back in the state again. :mrgreen:
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by TazManiac »

Stan climbed behind the wheel of the vintage auto, although he didn't think of it as an old car. The interior had been kept in decent shape, mostly having spent the past few decades hidden from the Sun when not in use. The aroma of all the different materials made for a fine perfume as he reached his key into the ignition.

Turning the motor over, he inadvertently smiled to himself. Even had he been aware it was happening, he probably couldn't have stopped it .

Backing out and getting going, he turned a few corners and noticed the pedestrians walking about, including a trio of people strolling in conversation down the sidewalk. Never one to feel false modesty related to noticing the wonder that was women-folk, Stan couldn't help but wonder why, of the three people that had caught his attention, the two ladies seem to move in perpetual shadow, while their gentleman friend did not.

His bemused smile melted into a thin line of concern. He wasn't quite sure what the passing glance had afforded him, but he'd known it was something.

Before too long he'd arrived back at the Garage he'd been renting to allow him elbow room to work on his projects. The garage door opener working as planned, now that he'd gotten his own special recipe of Analog Signal and Digital Data encryption worked out. It meant the thing was pretty well hack-proof without insider knowledge, but it had taken a few versions to keep it as simple as possible yet still be reliable.

He pulled the car over to the curb, but facing the wrong direction, only to then back the car into the now open garage. Inside, as the main door closed, Stan climbed out of the car.

Walking away, he glanced back like he always did, a smile back on his face as he lingered over the sculpted lines and the less common Navy Blue color the previous owner had had it painted during it's last restoration.

Easing outside, and locking the door behind him, he started back towards the Coffee Shop.

He was very curious about the not-so-empty room he'd stuck his head in...
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

Ari was arguing loudly with Greg and Opus over chili - so loud that then didn't notice that a head had poked in through the portal, then disappeared.

I, however, saw it - and saw who it was.

"STAN!" I yelled - just as the potral VORPed back into the shape of the wall frame.
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"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

I dove for the wall just as it closed - smacking into it with a "OOF."

"Oh great," I grumbled after checking to see that I was still intact. "That at least confirms that it's one way, I guess."

"Everything okay?" Ari poked her head out of the kitchen. I could hear Greg and Opus still "discussing" their chili recipes in the background.

"The portal opened up for a moment," I explained, checking my glasses to see that I hadn't bent the frames. "You know Tina's beau, Stan? Looks like he poked his head in for a moment, then backed out."

"You think we could take advantage of that?" Ari asked.

"Well, truth is, you know more about the portal system than we do - or, at least, you used to."

"I think there's something about one-way portals that..." She stopped, scrunching up her face in a pained expression. "I'm sorry..."

"That's okay, I didn't expect you to remember." I turned and looked at the portal. "I guess we're just going to have to keep watch over the thing, and try to prevent anyone else from coming through - or try to stop them mid-stream."

"If we could get a message across, I'm pretty sure Sterling or even Al might be able to port us out of here," Ari explained.

"Or our half-elf sister duo." I thought for a moment. "You saw that Emereauld made seed cake?"

"Ooh! I love her stuff! I gotta check on that before Sarge and Opus get at it." She looked at me. "Can you keep an eye on the portal? I'll be right back with a slice!"

I nodded and pulled up a chair next to the portal - and watched.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by lake_wrangler »

Pouring plenty of maple syrup on some bread pudding, lake_wrangler was also eyeing the rest of the goodies, deciding what to put on next on the plate. Sitting back down, he asks, to no one in particular:

"So... While we're stuck here, and it's not such a bad place to be stuck in, I might add, can someone explain to me what it is, about coffee? I was told there were benefits to drinking coffee every day. Specifically, black coffee. I tried looking on the internet for such benefits, but could only find benefits to coffee in general, not black (and I forget what they are, now...) So I tried starting up on coffee. Sort of. I'm definitely not drinking it every day, either... I don't bother with black... I put either maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar (depending on what's available). And I still find the taste to be somewhat bitter (am I using the wrong brand? The wrong kind?) And I'm definitely not getting any kind of pick-me-up effect from it. And I'm not using decaf, either...

So all of you, who are used to coming to Tina's for coffee, can you explain 'coffee' to me?"
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

Ari looked at the oddly-dressed Quebecois.

"You had some of that Mechanicsburg blend, didn't you?" she asked.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by lake_wrangler »

Well, I certainly don't recall getting the kind of experience Vanamonde had, upon drinking some of Agatha's coffee, that's for sure...
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

(Nice going, you got me going back through an archive crawl after that one.)

---

Erza had almost dozed off under the shade of the umbrella on the beach of Monica's Island when a buzzing sound filled the air. He didn't notice it at first, of course; he could hear, but the sun and surf and warm weather had dulled his senses. It was the vibration of the source of the noise finally caught his attention.

He rolled his eyes, reached into a bag next to his chair, and pulled out the noisemaker - otherwise known as his pager. A cell phone was useless to him - what good is it for a mute to have a phone? - but this helped him keep in contact with his employer.

The text simply read, "BACK MONDAY. CHECK ROOM."

He nodded at the message, then put it back in the bag. He tried to get back to his nap when suddenly he was shocked wide awake.

THE ROOM!

He'd forgotten about THE ROOM!

He quickly disassembled his beach setup and made haste for the Library portal at Cafe U-296.

---

Nudge turned her head from the latest edition of the Weird Al Yankovic Fan Club newsletter to see that she'd received a text message on her phone.

The message was the same as the one Erza had received: "BACK MONDAY. CHECK ROOM."

She considered this. Good. That open spot in the Paranormal Times comic pages had been lacking for a while...

Suddenly, she sat bolt upright. The ROOM?

Hee hee hee... those people who got the first message were still down there... and I bet Molin forgot to turn on the two-way on the portal...
Last edited by jwhouk on Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by Atomic »

"... like that beautiful blue Alfa that passed us on the way here, for example. Styling is part of art and even a brick can have it's own cachet -- an aura if you will," he said, selecting one of the cinnamon buns from the display.

Suzi chose a blueberry muffin and Lilly went for a plain bagel. Some cream cheese, butter, sugar packs, and a small cream pot went on the tray with the napkins and utensils. Finally, a big pot of oolong tea arrived with cups to complete the afternoon repast.

"I can see your point. The late 50s and 60s Mercedes were pretty blocky, but they looked good," said Lilly.

"Exactly!" he replied, paying the cashier. "The details of proportion and accents can make or break the design. Consider the opposite end of the spectrum, the classic Land Rover. A utilitarian chunk if ever there was one, but... It works!"

"True, true -- I completely agree," smiled Suzi. "But here, our ways have to part, for, alas, nature calls and I must be off. Anon!" She waved as she headed for the ladies room.

"Write if you get work!" Lilly called after her. They all smiled. "So then, the veranda is over this way?"

"I think so. That must be the door." They began walking and he continued. "Of course it's easy to muck it up. Ever see Brutalist architecture? Absolute crap. They'd have done better using raw cinder blocks. At least those show the human element of construction."

"So you're saying the structure is overriding the form? The construction counteracts the intent?" asked Lilly.

"Basically, yes, unless the desire is to overwhelm any elegance to the whole with the degradation inherent in the parts." He paused a moment to think. "But it's not just the parts. The Nazca Plains figures were created by simply moving some rocks to one side over a very large area. The rocks themselves are organic, and neither good or bad, artistically. They stand on their own - shapes, color, form. But, as a whole -- look the result!"

Lilly stopped and pondered.

"And I'm not saying cinder blocks are per se trash. In the 1930s, during the depression, somebody made them with one textured side. If you could afford the extra couple pennies per pallet, your building could have a pleasant face. If you look around they are still there -- old gas stations, diners, and some office or markets."

They resumed walking toward the door again.

"Oh! I've seen some of those, now that I think of it. A weathered gray, some a bit mossy, but still looking decent after what -- 70 years plus?"

"Yes. A little effort to change a potential eye sore into a modest pleasantry. There's no reason utility has to sacrifice all style."

Lilly carried the teapot while he balanced the tray and held the door for Lilly. "Ladies first!"

He followed Lilly through, and was surprised to see someone holding her by the arm. The room smelled of coffee and maple syrup. Everybody was looking at them.

"This isn't the veranda?" he asked.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

"PRATT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "WAIT! DON'T..."

The portal behind the vampire and the other gentleman closed quickly after they had stepped into the room.

"DAMMIT!"
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"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO?" Pratt turned and looked at me, fangs bared. I just looked right into her eyes and pointed at the now blank wall where the portal once was.

Lily looked confused for a moment, then went over to the panel on the side of the portal.

"Doesn't work," I said before she put her hand on the controls. "Someone, somehow, set it in one-way mode."

"But that's silly," she said, turning to me - and her anger now subsided. "The only reason why they'd do that is to decommission the portal - and this place still gets used, right?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "Given that the reason why we're all here means this room is to remain open." I looked at her. "Where's Suzi?"

Lily looked at me, then at her companion - who was still holding the tray of goodies.

"She - she had to use the bathroom..."

Moments after she said that, a figure suddenly materialized in the portal - a redhead with spectacles and a half-eaten blueberry muffin in hand.

"Hey, Lil, you gotta check out the bathroom in this place!" she said breezily. "Little sombreros over the flush pipes!"

"SUZE, WAIT!" Lily said, attempting to dive back into the portal before it closed - and failing with a THUMP.

McBride looked down at her partner, now nursing her nose while prone on the floor.

"Drop something back there?" she asked, puzzled.

"Suzi," I said, clearing my throat a bit. "That portal is on one-way lockdown. We can't get out."

She shrugged and pulled out her sat-phone. "Not the first time we've had that happen..." Her face suddenly dropped when she saw the NO SIGNAL notification on the phone's display.

"WHAT THE FU..."
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"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by jwhouk »

The portal shimmered open before Suzi could finish her invective.

Out stepped a somewhat disheveled, very tall dwarf - wide-eyed from what appeared to be transition from bright sunlight to the darker room. He had sunblock on his odd-shaped nose, and was wearing nothing but swim trunks and flip-flops.

Shaking his head, he looked at the two FBI agents and the assorted gaggle of others who had joined the welcoming party. Somewhat surprised, he shrugged, then held up his hands for silence.

Lily and Suzi looked at each other as the troll turned and walked over to the panel next to the portal.

"It's on lockdown," Ari called out from the back of the room. "We haven't been able to get out, or make any phone calls, for about a week now!"

The dwarf made a "yeah-yeah" motion, then put his hand against the panel. He made a few tapping motions around his fingers, and in a short moment a panel opened behind his palmprint.

Smiling to himself, he opened it, then ceremoniously flicked the switch enclosed to the "up" position.

The portal began to shimmer, and was replaced by a glass window into what looked like a dark hallway.

Everyone in the room applauded. The troll took a bow, then motioned to the portal. Before anyone moved, though, they were startled by the figure that approached from the other end of the portal.

"OooOOOoooOOOOHHHHooohhhhhhhh!" it screamed.

There was a loud gasp among the audience - but exactly two people did not respond.

Namely, the tall dwarf - who I finally remembered was Erza, the Library janitor - and me.

"Knock it off, Nudge," I retorted.

"Aww, you never let me have any fun," the trickster said as she emerged into the room. "So - you all enjoy your vacation?"

Ari's talons were very visible - as were Lily and Suzi's canines - until suddenly everyone's cell phones came to life.

And every single one of them beeped with a text message:

COMIC'S UP!
Last edited by jwhouk on Mon Mar 19, 2018 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by lake_wrangler »

While it's nice to now have an exit, I am somewhat disappointed that I won't be learning what it is about coffee, this time around...
jwhouk wrote:suddenly everyone's cell phones came to life.

And every single one of them beeped with a text message:

COMIC'S UP!
So is the daily thread for the new comic.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by Atomic »

Loving the call-backs, cross-overs, in-jokes, and follow-ons! This is a HAPPY forum, and glad to be part of it!

But Brutalism still sucks.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by TazManiac »

Walking that last block towards Mucho Mocha, Stan was taken by the neighborhood. He'd mostly powered in with a car or a bike, intent on getting to the destination and very much not interested in the journey itself.

After all, Tina was usually there, and that was a very compelling and distracting motivation.

And they had a good cup'a Joe.

Still, this walk back had afforded him a slower pace, one that allowed him a moment of two of reflection, even a gestalt like soaking in of the environment. It was something he took for granted, but had become more aware of in his nature- that others didn't necessarily have the amount of detail or granularity he'd come to know as his normal.

He pushed the door open and was back inside, his autonomous musings shifting gears as more of his consciousness came to the fore. The sights and sounds where pretty much the same, but there was something different too.

Stan crossed the floor to ask after the proprietress, only to see her emerge from the hallway that lead to her office, the restrooms, and the basement. She was backing through the doorway that he'd learned led from the place underneath, memories of cobwebs and 'stuff-in-the-corner' came, unbidden to his mind. ANd other thoughts as well, but beyound some slight intamcy, the Basement had never seemed the place to make out,,, and he was OK with that.

"Here, let me help with that...' as he took the box from her grasp. It was bulky but not that heavy, but his internal chivalry wouldn't allow her to carry big things in his presence. Tina still gave him 'that look' when he insisted on doing these seemingly archaic actions.

She understood it on the surface, but it continued to baffle her on some other level. Internally, the continuing debate about 'all things Stan' raged and pitched about the weather deck, ongoing and continuous. IT HAD INITIALLY BEEN SOMEWHAT CANTANKEROUS (oops, how'd the CAPs key get hit?...), but it had developed past the détente level, to one of good natured 'poke you with a stick' type ribbing that siblings settled into and took for granted.

'Stan' was just another thing the Gang used to interact with each other. On one hand he was just another thing.

But on some other, more recent way of perception, 'Stan' was something else altogether.

SO, they ignored that other thing by keeping to the same 'Who's On First' routine. It was fun, and it helped to pass the time.

Looking him in the eye, (not that it mattered), Tina asked him "Why did you walk back?, Did the 'new gal' leave you stranded, 'side the road?" Stan grinned at her further dig into his time-slicing his attention between her, and his other pursuits.

Since she discovered that she disliked his absence, not-that-she-was-in-love-with-him-or-anything, (not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-that), Tina had found her acting on motivations that caused her to act before a full reflection & consensus of committee. It always worked out more predictable when most all her parts agreed on something.

Stan caused an almost Internal Sea Change between the factions on a moment to moment basis. Factions and Alliances where formed and betrayed constantly and while it took her breath away, it also was very interesting, captivating almost- and it often led to a shortnes of breath.

But in a good way.

"Look here, Stan. The last time you where in her I was trying to have you notice the change inthe playing feild, so to speak. SO I'm going to make this as plain as possible:

Walk down the hallway.
Turn Left when you reach the end.
Grasp the handle, Turn it,
and walk through.

Stan was perplexed, and not for the first time, with Tina's 'demon-our', but it hadn't led him to disaster yet, so he played along...


He walked down the hallway, partly obscured by a pulled back curtain, advanced to the end, turned left,

and grasped the handle.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by TazManiac »

(Damn)

Before Stan could pull the door open, a whole gaggle of folks burst though the doorway, knocking him to the floor and nearly trampling him in his prostrate state.

It was very unexpected, but exciting nonetheless...
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by Dave »

Atomic wrote:Loving the call-backs, cross-overs, in-jokes, and follow-ons! This is a HAPPY forum, and glad to be part of it!

But Brutalism still sucks.
Just about a week ago, I saw the first piece of Brutalist architecture that I felt could honestly be described as beautiful in its own way.

It's the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Managua. Yes, it's built of concrete and has plenty of raw surfaces inside and out, so it has the characteristic Brutalist uglies.

It's redeemed in my eyes by two things:
  • The roof consists of a whole bunch of individual domes, each with its own windows. The inside of the main enclosure is thus well lit and has an open, airy feeling... not at all claustrophobic or stark.
  • It has a really beautiful side chapel.
I'll post a few photos once Gwen and I have them organized.

On the other hand, we saw some Brutalist apartment blocks in Romania a few years ago... and compelling people to live in them really should have qualified as a formal violation of human rights (one of the very many that Ceausescu committed). Horrible, horrible, horrible.
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by TazManiac »

Hey, frak'n Thread jack. I'm calling it, but

in the spirit of ignoring my own contentious and rebellious nature I will comment:

I just saw an initial Google search of 'Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Managua' and I find it both commendable and lacking in the extreme. I mean a very personal disagreement with the architect, not the potential experience I might have by actually being onsite and with it's embrace.

Trying to give it the benefit of the doubt doesn't mean though that the built-in architect I carry around within myself (along with the Engineers, Musicians, Gastroenteritis, oops I mean Gastronomists, & Artists of every other focus in there too) I calls it as I sees it.

It doesn't overcome the 'whole-of-the-parts aspect' that might otherwise save it from condemnation. What the frack?, And I say that while finding things I do like. despite the obvious.

huh.

It looks like I didn't ignore my own contentious and rebellious nature after all.

Heh!, stop thread-jacking with contentious and thought provoking 'other-items'!!! :)
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Re: Meanwhile, Elsewhere... (Mar 2018 Edition)

Post by Atomic »

Just hit up Bing Images for Immaculate Conception Cathedral Managua. Interesting to look at, but Ick. At least the interior is better you say.

I'll go for the Mucho Mocha adobe/mexicali theme any day by comparison.
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