Monday Meet and Greet

TBAT have set aside this thread for an online meet and greet party. Some of our readers have been around for years and some have just found us. Some people have never posted, some people have posted occasionally and some people have posted so often that they just assume that everyone "out there" already knows what who they are and what they think.

So we ask everyone (and especially those who feel a little nervous about sticking their head over the parapet for the first time) to say hi and answer a few ice-breaking questions.

1) How did you find us?

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

Rules of the game. No flaming. No nuking. Just have fun.


__________________________________________________________________________________

The Board Administration Team
(hapax, Kit Whitfield and mmy)

Comments

[zigforas]

Wow. First?

1) I found Fred Clark's old blog during my sophomore year of college (six years ago?), when a friend directed me to LB Fridays.

2) I enjoy reading about people sharing about their religious practices/spiritual experiences, and posts about QUILTBAG people and issues.

3) I am a recently graduated Master of Social Work student who is excited about her job working at a drop-in center for QUILTBAG teens.

[zigforas]

....Even though awesome drop-in center job requires another part-time job in fast food to make ends meet, and I'll be absent from the thread most of the day working my fast food job. :)

[Nicolae Carpathia]

1. I don't even remember. I think I was Google searching for something unrelated, but I can't remember what. It was a long time ago; I was lurking for years before I decided to start posting.

2. I am a geek, and I love posts about geekery. And recipes. And... pretty much everything except flame wars.

3. Evil incarnate, I suppose.

[MercuryBlue]

1) Damned if I know.

2) The ones that make me think. And the ones that make me laugh.

3) I'm a fannish type studying to be a paralegal, since that takes a similar skillset, and I'm a jewelry maker (click my name) who's thinking about branching out into soap, candles, and goods baked to order.

[Froborr]

1) How did you find us?

Linked to LB Fridays by my friend Benabik... who as far as I know, has never posted here..?

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

Very much depends on my mood. Sometimes it's a really well-crafted takedown of a stupid, toxic, evil statement (that's what brought me here in the first place, with the LB Fridays and all), sometimes it's silly Doctor Who speculation, or anything else in between.

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

Run-on.

[Coleslaw]

I found one of the Left Behind posts, but I'm not sure how.

I don't think there is a particular kind of post I like. Sometimes things just resonate and I don't know why.

I'm the kind of person you turn to for first aid, but not sympathy.

[Baron Scarpia]

1) LB Fridays!

2) Scholarly ones - ones where I actually learn something. Though LB parodies also score highly (such as Fitzhugh and Buck plotting to take down Carpathia before the Israel treaty was signed)

3) Bisexual gnu-atheist philosopher. (At least, that'll do as an introduction)

[Brin (not Meir)]

1) I don't remember where I got the Left Behind link from. I've read quite a few sporkings and anti-fundie sites. Any one of them could have done it, really.

2) Almost anything non-flamewar, from religion to Doctor Who to how to make chocolate cream pie*.

3) Something as complex and awe-inspiring as a mind could never be reduced to words, especially only one sentence, and I have no idea how other beings (who are presumably just as complex and awe-inspiring, if obscured by the use of non-telepathic communication) create such sentences.
(You asked me to describe myself in one sentence. The only two options are pomposity about the irreducible nature of the self, or "Um..."
(The fact that these are the only two options I can think of also says something about me. Perfectionism, maybe.))

*For extra yumminess, use a chocolate graham cracker crust. It might be possible to make it yourself if you're so inclined (I've never tried), but they're readily available at every grocery store I've looked for them in.

[MercuryBlue]

Froborr: Hee.

Brin: Oooh chocolate graham cracker crust on chocolate cream pie sounds delicious.

Hey, thing I'd like smart people's thoughts on. It occurred to me that everything I currently sell or am thinking about selling is a traditionally feminine thing. (Well, the baked goods would have universal appeal, but.) How might I expand my potential customer base without playing into the gender-binary dynamic?

[Will Wildman]

1) I was watching Supernatural when it took a sudden turn into Christian-flavoured mythology, and because impossible tasks intrigued me, I decided I wanted to find out what the original story about the self-proclaimed nemesis of a triple-omni god, so a spate of internet searching on Lucifer began. When I disocvered that the 'source material', so to speak, was highly variable in concepts and reinterpretations, I started looking into media representations to get a better image of how the concept had evolved. I think it was finally the TVTropes page on Left Behind that linked me to Fred's deconstructions. (Around the same time, I found Fundies Say The Darndest Things, which I read obsessively for a few days because I desperately hoped that maybe, on the next page, someone would say something that would make their perspective intelligible to me. I gave up on FSTDT; I embraced Slacktivist.)

2) Favourite posts tend to be analyses of media, like the LB-shreddings or The Kidd's data and commentary on gender in Dr Seuss. They tend to be both educational and entertaining. Similarly, while favourite comments come in all sorts of flavours, I can readily get into discussions about themes and interpretations in stories, such as last year's comparison of Doctor Who's The Beast Below with LeGuin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, or (still deeper geekery?) just what anyone was thinking putting Saruman in charge of the 'Istari special ops squad' in Lord of the Rings.

3) Loud, shy, thoroughly a geek,
Mediocre polymath, language freak,
Recovering Nice Guy (could have been worse),
Fan of the meta and superfluous verse.

[Lampdevil]

1) I can't remember exactly how I got here. Maybe a link on TV Tropes, pointing out the general crudditude of the Left Behind books? Or maybe someone else's blog lead back here? I came for the LB deconstruction, devoured the archives (I joined about halfway through book 1, I think?) with gusto, then started reading the non-LB posts.

2) My favorite posts to read are the ones with a focus on sharing religious beliefs, but I'm horrible at commenting on them. I'm much better at commenting on geeky things, or threads about pie. It's my home turf.

3) By day I'm a customer service superhero, while by night I'm a geek that helps organize local geekery, likes to cook, and has a half-dozen creative projects getting a little overcooked while they sit around on the back burner.

("Describe yourself in one sentence" always makes me anxious. The negative voice in the back of my brain speaks up and declares that I have nothing interesting to contribute. My hobbies are faintly embarassing and nothing special, my job is boring gruntwork, I'm rather unimpressive overall and how DARE I have the gaul to present myself as INTERESTING?! I'm a horrible example of a human being!!! So yeah, shut up, negative voice in the back of my brain. You don't know what you're talking about.)

[Mike Timonin]

1) I came for the Left Behind Fridays somewhere in the midst of the first book, ages and ages ago.

2) I stayed for the cogent thoughts on politics, theology, fandom, food, linguistics, activism and all the rest - both from Fred and from the commenterati. I'm trying very hard to keep up with comments here AND at Patheos, because I love you guys that much.

3) Based on reader reviews of the first chapter of my dissertation, probably in passive voice.

[Jon Maki]

1. A link I found at Enter The Jabberwock - where I would go to read dissections of Chick Tracts - in which he mentioned Fred's ongoing dissection of Left Behind. I was always interested in the Left Behind phenomenon, based on the sort of horrified fascination (which is what draws me to Chick Tracts in the first place) I have with what I now refer to as RTC culture, but was never willing to make the leap to actually reading the books, so this site was ideal. Over a weekend at work, I got up-to-date on all of the LB posts, and then started reading some of Fred's other posts and diving into the comments. I've pretty much made my way through all of the archived posts - even the ones back on Blogger - and most of the archived comments.

2. It's still a little early in the history of The Slacktiverse as it exists today to have a favorite type of post, I think (though if we go back to the "before time," obviously the LB posts were my favorite, and still are over at the other site), so I can't really say that I have one at this point. As for comments...hmm, I like the general geekiness, and obviously am partial to any comics-related comments. Not a gamer or a fan of Dr. Who, though, so my eyes kind of glaze over on those particular comments. To get back to posts, I do rather like the Blogaround. I am not at all a fan of flamewars.

3. I am a reclusive comic book geek and amateur artist who seldom smiles but can almost always find a reason to laugh.

Alternate answer to 3, using a description provided by my niece: I'm really smart with computers and stuff; it's ridiculous.

[brjun]

1) A friend recommended the Left Behind Fridays, so here I am.

2) I like to read about the things that people think about, and the experiences that they have had that I didn't. On the other hand, counting words in Dr Seuss was pretty brilliant. Is it bad if I say that I like all of them, except for the flame wars?

3) History geek watches too much sci-fi.

[Mmy]

1) How did you find us?

In 2003 I followed a link to Fred's first deconstruction piece Left Behind: Pretrib Porno which began:

The first words of Left Behind are "Rayford Steele," the protagonist's name.
It sounds like a porn star's name -- and in a sense it is.

And included the great quote:

Rayford Steele's mind was on a woman he had never touched. With his fully loaded 747 on autopilot ...

I kept returning to check to see if further posts lived up to the potential of that first one -- and they did.

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

Hmmm.....hard to answer. I love media deconstructions and articles that give me insight into something I either didn't understand or didn't even know existed.

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

My mother would describe me as "short and sharp" although she wasn't referring to stature or suggesting that I could be used to mince onions but rather than I have a limited fund of patience and tend to use logic/words and argument in a somewhat contentious fashion which I do when having conversations about my favourite things which include: reading, analyzing popular culture, reading, writing, reading, tennis, reading, debugging computer programs, reading, statistics and reading.

[Kit Whitfield]

Hello, delurkers!

1) How did you find us?

My husband pointed out the Left Behind posts as something I might like. I read them, then started lurking in the comment threads, then started posting under a fake name, then accidentally put my real name in and just went with it.

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

Hm. Insightful comments and analysis; personal stories from people whose lives are very different from mine; sympathetic perspectives on different ways of life. I am nosy that way. Also feats of courtesy and compassion that help people with their lives. And links to other interesting websites. And petitions for good causes I can sign. Social stuff.

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

Accidental science fiction author by trade; Not A Geek by preference; English by nationality; married with a 9-month-old son ... but if I start talking about how great he is, I'll need a whole lot more than one sentence. ;-)

--

So yeah, shut up, negative voice in the back of my brain. You don't know what you're talking about.

Bravo!

And yeah, negative voice, shut up.

[L. David Wheeler]

1. Several years back, I followed a link to one of Fred's Left Behind posts. Eventually, I realized that his LB takedown was only one part of a fascinating and thoughtful blog of cultural, spiritual and political observations. And eventually I realized that the community that had formed in and around the comments section was itself a fascinating and thoughtful collection of people with their own cultural, spiritual and political observations (and occasional pie recipe or bird pic), and started contributing every now and then myself. My posting patterns are irregular; nowhere near one of the regulars, I post (here and at Patheos) when I feel I have something to say that someone else isn't already saying better.

2. Really, anything that's thoughtful, that makes me think and/or laugh and/or search myself and/or learn about beliefs and practices outside my experience. Really, I'm up for anything.

3. Christian (even evangelical in the Fred-Clarkish sense of the term), journalist, biliophile; a bundle of contractions; the unreasonable voice of reason; the mercurial soul of serenity; and the guy who has this blog and its denizens to thank for recognizing what a tone argument is and how much I used to do it in years past.

[Laiima]

(1) I somehow ran across the LB posts c. 2005. It was another year before I worked up the nerve to start commenting.

(2) I don't think there is a sort of post here that I *don't* like. Even the flame wars have taught me things about conflict (including conflict resolution), and have helped improve my social skills, both online and off-line.

I would like to see more posts on gender issues, including anything where I learned more about QUILTBAG issues. Also more posts on people's religious beliefs and practices.

(3) Voracious reader who is always travelling and learning; Poet in n dimensions; dancer and meta-juggler; always seeking friends and allies; lover of this life, this place, and this moment.

[Arcaner]

1. Found Fred Clark's LBF, don't remember how. Stuck around through the transition will probably stay. However I tend not to comment, not my nature. I just read the RSS feed and think.

2. I've found all of it enjoyable.

3. Second-Shift Unitarian-Universalist Humanist with a sprinkling of Buddhism.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaargh]

1) TVTropes referred somewhere to this ongoing deconstruction of Left Behind. I soon found Fred's other posts also to be very fascinating--I think I skimmed through almost the whole archive about a year ago when I first arrived. They really summed up many of my feelings and beliefs as a post-fundamentalist, becoming-liberal-evangelical, and some gave me new food for thought.

2) I'm still most interested in discussions and deconstructions of faith (particularly Christian) and society, since that's what drew me here. But I also appreciate the broader direction that the site has taken since Fred's move to Patheos. (Broader in posts, that is, not in comment threads.)

3) Pomo-ish Anabaptist/Mennonite Canadian guitar/mandolin-playing and singing ethnomusicologist grad student, rendered epistemologically uncertain by the vagaries of post-structuralist thought but still devoted to Christ as one of perhaps multiple truths, a 50% partner in a wonderful egalitarian interracial marriage, inveterate reader of fantasy, sci-fi, graphic novels and popular theology, lover of cooking and baking, recently venturing into the exciting realm of homemade cheese (meant literally here but perhaps applicable more figuratively as well...). Sorry, that's not a proper sentence by any stretch, but I do what I can!

[Roland]

1) Something to do with Left Behind. Like others I found it via something else, did a huge archive binge when I first arrived (a year ago? Not sure, maybe more, maybe less), read the other posts and gradually got to know the place a little bit. Only posted comments a few times but like the place.

2) All sorts. I find religious debates interesting. I like the TBAT arrangement.

3) I try to do the right thing, but sometimes it's hard and often I'm wrong; hasn't stopped me though.

[Reverend Ref]

Well, why not . . . I'm currently sitting on the couch with my daughter. She's watching Moulin Rouge, my wife is organizing the grocery list, our exchange daughter is still asleep, and we might go to the boat race later this afternoon; so responding to this open thread seemed like a good idea.

1. How did I find the blog? Trying to remember when, but it must have been around 2003 when a seminary prof brought up Slacktivist and the LB deconstruction. I've been reading ever since, commenting occasionally, and often going, "Hmmm, why didn't/can't I think of that?"

2. What are your favorite posts or comments? Pretty much everything, but basically things that make me think -- which again is pretty much everything.

3. If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be? Just an average Episcopal priest, dad, husband and football (the U.S. version) official trying to get it right.

[redcrow]

1) Found a link in one lurker's lj. Spent almost two months reading LB-archives.

2) Commentfics. "Nicky/Everyone". In-jokes. DW-discussions (as long as they don't turn into flamewars). Books/anime/cartoons/fanfics recommendations. Poetry. Mika's visits, however infrequent.

[Lou Doench]

1) I wandered over here from a post on "Daylight Atheism", read up on all of the LB fridays, and have hung around for the fun.
2) I'll read anything Fred writes, even though I think he's mistaken about the Jesus and all that.
3)Charmingly iconoclastic I hope?

[Raj]

1.) YARRR, I were sailin' from Cape Horn to the Antarctic Peninsula when them Furious Fifties wrenched me schooner off course and shipwrecked me upon these 'ere shores of Slacktiv I had just finished reading the entire 14-part core series and the prequel trilogy of The World's Worst Books (TM), and started wondering whether there were others out there who found the theology, ethics, and writing in these books as appalling as I did. Little did I realize that my search would lead to some of the best friends I have ever had and membership in a truly remarkable community. I don't remember how long it took me to start commenting, but I had a fairly short Lurkerjahr*. I first thought of Slacktivist as "that Left Behind Fridays forum", but it didn't take me long to discover Fred's other great writings.

2.) ARRRRGH, pressure! Decisions! I can't handle it! It's like asking me what my favorite book or favorite Beatles song is (people ask me the latter all the time).

3.) I am an extremely intelligent but extremely insecure person who values, above all else, friendship and knowledge (in that order, although it is a close race).

*Okay, German language pedants, I know a bit of German too, and am quite aware that "Wanderjahr", which I have adapted to refer to a period of a month or so, literally means "Year of Wandering".

[Lila]

1. Many years ago, someone on Making Light linked to something here.

2. Everything from the silly in-jokes to the serious social justice stuff that makes it clear how very narrow my experience is. My favorite thing, however, is not the posts but the comments--and especially the commenters.

3. I'm a mother, a pet owner, a physical therapist assistant and a lifelong learner.

[Flowers]

1. I came here through a link to one of the LB-posts, years ago. Don't remember from where, but it might have been 'Uncertain Principles', a physicists blog. Read through the archives, just like everyone here it seems.

2. Anything funny and / or insightful. So that's about all of the posts and comments. I feel like I know you guys, but somehow can hardly ever find the right thing to say - or the right time to say it. Something to do with timezones, and maybe work.

3. Physics education and mathematical crochet. And singing.

[hapax]

1. After assembling a folder of websites on "Why Dan Brown is the Worst Writer in the World", I started to do the same with LaHaye / Jenkins. After that, what everybody else said.

2. My favourite thing in the world to read is something that lets me crawl into another person's head and look out at the world through their eyes. Also, slashfic.

3. Depending on whom you ask -- (my ex-boss:) "The designated Mouthy Broad"; (my children:) "The meanest mother in the universe"; (my library patrons:) "the one with the red hair, who is always pushing romance/sff/mysteries/comic books"; (my LJ, quoting archy the cockroach:) "you can add that i am shy and loathe publicity".

[Amaryllis]

1) I followed a link from somewhere I've forgotten, and never left.

2) hapax, are we really sisters under the skin?
My favourite thing in the world to read is something that lets me crawl into another person's head and look out at the world through their eyes.

Although, Also, slashfic? No, I guess not.

3) Um, indecisive?

[julie paradox]

(1) Pretty sure I found the site when roaming around eschatology links. I know I landed in the middle of Rayford pulling up outside New Hope Village Church, and had to backtrack a bit to catch up ;-)

(2) is a difficult one. I enjoy the threads where everyone chimes in with their own experiences (the first film one, for example). I also like to read about things I don't know much about, like pagan or hellenic beliefs and ritual.

(3) I overcome my lazy and selfish tendencies mainly because of my slightly scary dependence on approval.

[julie paradox]

hey hapax, I didn't realise you were a redhead! (we are taking over the world...)

Kit - I had it in my mind that you stopped being Praline when you became a Serious Published Author. Was that then sheer coincidence?

[Deird, who likes this post]

1) After seeing Fred mentioned all over the blogosphere, I finally followed a link from tv tropes. I still remember exactly which post I started with...

2) The snarky LB stuff, and people discussing religious ritual and faith.

3) I'm an Aussie, a Christian, an editor, a feminist, a geek, a writer, and an auntie.

[Dash]

1. Came out of a background where the Rapture was a Big Deal. Don't know where I heard about Fred's website, but this is the first I'd heard of an evangelical critique. Stayed for the wonderful discussions, and, when Fred moved to Patheos, have tried to keep up with both blogs.

2. Just about everything is likely to be interesting. I've learned a great deal both from blog posts and from comments. I'm not fond of the flamewars, but, like Laiima, I find it interesting to observe how arguments (i.e., patterns of argumentation) develop. What do I like best? Well, this blog, both before and after the Patheos migration, has been full of unexpected delights. I have, for example, just reread (reread!) MadGastronomer's deep and awe-filled post on the new/old Eleusinian mysteries, Thalia's painful and insightful post on bullying, and MercuryBlue's and TheKidd's careful analyses. But for favorites: humor, notably the interaction between commenters, and, as hapax said, things that let you see the world through someone else's eyes.

3. I'm an academic: I can't do anything in one sentence, let alone describe myself! (Oh, wait...)

[Literata]

1) Friend pointed me to LB deconstruction, and it was very timely after I was getting through a particular stage in my personal detox from an extremely fundie-RTC early upbringing. Stayed for pie and boobies.

2) Things that make me think and things that help me learn.

3) I'm the kind of person who has an iPad and a dip pen and inkwell on the same desk, along with a Zippo consecrated as a sacred flame of Brigid.

Julie Paradox and hapax: Redheads rule! Okay, well, at least one helps moderate extremely lightly based on community consensus, but that's not the point.

Raj: Lurkerjahr made me laugh and didn't rouse the sleeping pedant at all.

[MercuryBlue]

Heeey more redheads! Shiny!

[Lorien]

1) How did you find us?

I can't remember how, but I DO remember why. I was 14ish, in highschool, miserable and depressed and fighting with my parents about their religion, which is Roman Catholic, and therefore also fighting about birth control, bisexuality, the nature of my relationship, what sort of job I would eventually have, etc. (We've... Sort of worked it out now. As in, if I don't bring it up, they won't bring it up, and therefore we won't fight about it. It works fairly well, since I'm now 20 and live in Halifax to go to art school for 8 months out of the year.) My natural inclination when things are bothering me is to do research until I know the topic inside and out and can theoretically find a solution. Fred Clark taught me that not all christians were hateful soul/fun sucking jerks, and the commentary was so awesome that I stayed. :)

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

I love the deconstructions of stories and various types of media and/or stories. I can't remember who it was that posted a huuuuuge comment about how Old!Who tv episodes were using the grammar of radio and theatre, but that comment could have been fifty times as long and I would have held on to every word. Also, everything in the Platonic Ideals thread. (Most other posts are good too. Even though I rarely read the threads that are full of cthulu-speak due to spoilers, it makes me happy to know that they're happening. :) )

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH

[Pensnest]

1) I'm pretty sure I must have got here by way of Making Light. Can't remember when.

2) I never really know which posts are going to fascinate me. All sorts do.

3) I'm a procrastinator par excellence, a fan, and finding my third adolescence much more fun than the first one was.

[Brin (not Meir)]

I can't remember who it was that posted a huuuuuge comment about how Old!Who tv episodes were using the grammar of radio and theatre

I'm pretty sure it was Ross.

[Lorien]

I'm pretty sure it was Ross.

Now that you mention it, I think so too. :) Thanks for the post Ross! I'm pretty sure you taught me about as much in that one post about tv as a semester of film classes last year.

[Reverend Ref]

@Raj: 2.) ARRRRGH, pressure! Decisions! I can't handle it! It's like asking me what my favorite book or favorite Beatles song is

Yeah . . . although Eleanor Rigby, Here comes the sun and Nowhere man always seem to come to mind first. My guess would be either of those two and, "Whichever one is currently playing on the radio."

[Laiima]

I was born redheaded, but my hair darkened to brown by age 12. I dyed it red for many years as an adult, but let it go naturally brown and grey some years ago. I still have the pale Irish complexion with freckles, light eyes, and sun sensitivity.

I think of myself as a redhead, and then I'm surprised when other people don't recognize me as one.

[cjmr]

1) cjmr's husband sent me a link and said, "I think you'll like this blog." I commented first, so I got the better tagline. I think it was 2003, though it may have been early 2004. Sunshine Girl was a baby, but not a toddler yet.

2) Non-shouty posts/comments. I've been particularly enjoying (and lurking) on the links to the Twilight deconstructions.

3) A sentence with way too many clauses and semicolonses.

---
arg, it did the 'signed in UNTIL I tried to comment thing' again. I'm glad I've been checking.

[Heart, who should really post here and update my blog more often.]

1.) I'm not entirely sure how I got here. It was before I discovered TVtropes, I know that much, but exactly how I'm not sure. at first I tried to just go on a Left Behind binge, then realised that I was enjoying the other posts so went on a complete archive crawl, then realised that those thousand long comment convestations below were fun, and started reading those.

2.) I'm not really sure, to be honest. Depends how I am feeling at the time.

3.) An agnostic atheist asexual physicist who is trying to work out other people, gender issues and generally how the world works.

[BrokenBell]

Huh. I honestly expected this thread to be a little dull, but it's actually really interesting reading about everyone. Pleasantly surprising.

1: As seems to be a running theme, it was Fred Clark's Left Behind criticism that led me here. I can't remember how, exactly... A link on TVTropes, maybe? I spent a good few weeks working through the archives before I thought, "Hey, this guy has an actual blog, here, maybe it'd be interesting to see what else he talks about". Even then, it was a while before I even thought to look at the comments, and it was only around the shift to Patheos that I actually started commenting myself. Funny how these things work out.

2: Deconstruction. It's one thing to be able to say that a book is bad, but dissecting all the little implications and motivations that may not be immediately obvious is an interesting and useful exercise in critical thinking. It can also be especially instructive when the overt or subconscious biases and prejudices are broken down and used as context for a discussion about how people think about and act towards each other. A good deconstruction is entertaining, and can even help someone become a better person.

3. "Describe yourself in one sentence". Talking about myself? Brevity? I didn't realise you could build a question out of kryptonite. I could pick out a few labels, if that'd help? Atheist, bisexual, biologically male, gender-flexible, under 21, British. Although, somehow that kind of answer doesn't seem to fit the question...

A sentence is the wrong thing to use, I think. It's not the right shape. Too thin, too long. You need to arrange the words in a way that's... Heavier, denser, deeper, if you want to describe a person. A sentence won't do, not on its own. Given the right context, it might be all you need, but here, it doesn't fit. Wrong tool for the job.

Still haven't answered the question, have I? Well... I think the only words I can really offer, in the situation, would be something like...

"An old heart." Mm. That'll do.

[Mike Timonin]

Literata: along with a Zippo consecrated as a sacred flame of Brigid.

Really? That's hella cool.

And the dip pen/ipad desk sharing thing too - that tweaks my inner steampunk a little. I recently located my fountain pen (from high school), and did some research. Fountain pens are tricky for lefties, and I didn't really find a solution, so I'm still using ballpoints. I assume a dip pen would be similarly problematic.

Lorien: If you mean Halifax, NS, I used to live across the bay from you in Dartmouth. For a while, I thought I wanted to go to Dalhousie. I think I was wrong.

[sofia]

I rarely post, but I'll delurk.

1. I think I found this blog in early 2009 when I was looking through the Left Behind section on Fanfiction.net. Someone in the comments of a story mentioned the deconstruction of the LB books. I read through the posts archive and I've stayed.

2. I like most of the posts, but I usually skip over topics I don't know anything about, like some shows, and topics in which I have no interest.

3. I'm a twenty-something bookworm, aspiring writer, nerd, and college student among other things.

[Akedhi]

1. I have no idea? I think my (now girl-)friend linked me to an LB post and, like so many others, I went on an archive trawl. I archive trawl everything.

2. Favorites are hard! I... like them all?

3. Former RTC homeschooler who wandered out into the real world, shyly discovering that she liked girls, was not so sure about the God thing, and that most of everything she learned at home was either completely or mostly untrue (though somehow she can't quite manage to be angry about that part, though there are plenty of other things), now working in childcare despite having maintained for years that she never would.

[Dash]

Mike Timonin, you might want to check out Fountain Pen Network (www.fountainpennetwork.com). They have quite a few left-handers there and talk a good bit about nibs for left-handers and faster-drying inks. There must be a substantial market for fountain pens among left-handers--Pelikan just came out with their Pelikano with left- and right-handed models, and that's very much a pen aimed at the popular, rather than specialist, market.

[Jason]

1) How did you find us?

TV Tropes, as I see a bunch of other people did also

2) What are your favourite types of posts or comments to read here?

Anything on religion or Doctor Who. Anything that helps me deal with how much more conservative than me most of my loved ones are.

3) If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

I suck at describing myself.

BTW, a bunch of friends and I watched Left Behind 2 on Netflix streaming this weekend. A good snarky time was had by all.

[Tonio]

1. I don't remember exactly how or when I found my way here. One of the first posts I remember reading was "Why doctors hate healthy people" from LB.

2. I've always liked the dissections of LB and the posts that tackle writing and social issues. The ones that deal more directly with theology were good but outside my field of expertise.

3. Different.