Metablog to M: Renew your Passport

As we can see from this entirely scientological poll, the majority of responders want to see M sent far away.

The weakness of these polls is really illustrated in the "talk about him" or "don't talk him" choices. Are the "don't talk about him" people voting that way because they think it's the harsher punishment and he deserves it? because they think it's a softer punishment and maybe he'll pay for his conduct in other ways (if he's not been punished already)? or are they just sick of hearing and talking about M?

I could handle more M-talk, but frankly, I'm enjoying this lcp and Alpha A stuff we're getting more.

And Bob - what about Bob? We like him.

What happens with no kissing

This morning I read about the sixteen year old, who said she wouldn't kiss until she was married. By the way, her name was Bethany Patchin. She'd written this in a Christian magazine. The mag got 100 letters. A fellow contributor, Sam Torode, wrote a rebuttal, also published.

Referring to Patchin's desire to keep her bow tied, he wrote, "This sort of statement cannot help but drive young Christian men mad with desire. I can see the love letters pouring in now, from saps all over the country, proposing to poor Ms. Patchin. Never underestimate reverse psychology!"

He then quoted Flannery O'Connor: "She had never been kissed before and she was pleased to discover that it was an unexceptional experience and all a matter of the mind's control. Some people might enjoy drain water if they were told it was vodka."
I will have you know, within the year these two were married. Within one week of that, she was pregnant. And still only 19.

What now?

"What now?" the 5M asks. And so do I. Since my return from the Riviera, I have been suffering from an acute case of blog block.
She says she's "got us". I'm not sure what that means. I don't think she's got us anymore than we've got her.
Maybe we ESIs need to reconfigure ourselves as a breakup recovery team.

The Independent Observer's Summary from the past week

In the spirit of Agatha's update following the memorable Crisis Weekend, here's a precis of the last seven days:

1) After receiving the fateful e-mail, the 5M pored over the metablog last Monday morning. She seemed intrigued, flattered and, to her credit, only slightly defensive about the most critical comments. The Muse even suggested a meeting. The ESIs felt that was rushing things.

2) A meeting was convened to discuss the day's events. Coyote, 4th Dwarf, Conch Shell and the IO wished the Sixth Apostle a successful journey to the Vatican. It was noted that Agatha telegraphed a message from the Riviera inquiring about events.

3) The 5M continued to peruse the metablog archives and, understandably perhaps, felt the need to defend certain actions and comments. Much blogging ensued. But the tone was mutually respectful and at times playful (see the 6A's depiction of the 5M as a South Parkie).

4) A red flag went up for Conch Shell when the 5M mentioned she still loved M, sparking generous and fruitful discussion.

5) The 5M began engaging the ESIs not only through e-mails (how old are you guys? do you know me? were you the people in the back of the martini joint last night?), but by referring to the Elgin Streeters on her blog in a good-natured way and by posting directly to the metablog. Some of the 5M's regular posters and many of her lurkers (BlogAdmin figures about 100 people visit her site daily) stopped in to check out the metablog. Some posted, most just had a look and left.

6) In the midst of all this, 4th Dwarf took the wheel of the good ship ESI and reminded all of his preference for rough justice, while restraining his most piratical instincts -- so far. The one-legged scallywag also immediately brought a distinctive and (to my mind) most engaging nautical flair to the metablog visuals. What BlogAdmin will think of this I shudder to imagine.

7) The 5M turned the tables on the ESIs by commissioning her own poll (!) as to what she should write about in her blog. Thus, The True Eventual Story of the (l)ower (c)ase (p)oet began, and continues.

8) Our Muse also revealed that M had been in touch with the Trois-Rivieres chick, now known as J, against the 5M's wishes. Following a round of paw-pointing and much breathless banter among the ESIs, the 5M intervened to state that what really upset her was M had concealed from her these contacts (a phone call and some e-mails) with the 3R chick.

9) In other developments: the 5M has done some lava-dating, but now seems to be on hiatus; the Dude continues to hover platonically in the background; Minty is being her usual supportive self; the Muse has become more sensitive to the fact she is not so anonymous, hence the changes to her blog subtitle and declaration that it is all a work of fiction. Kind of like life, no?

A lot of crust

A theme! We coyotes like themes. They're something we can sink our fangs into. This one is about varieties of crust -- pizza and poetical.

I see that our Muse is a traditionalist in the way of yeast, using it as if it were live, rather than one of the quick varieties. I approve. Nuthin' like fresh yeasty pizza dough, straight outta the forno. We coyotes tend toward the home-ec-dropout, quick-rise cheat ourselves, but that's because if we don't have to punch it down, we don't get as many of those little dough balls stuck in our fur. As for toppings, I note that she leans heavily toward the vegetarian end of the scale, again with many traditional picks. I like bunnies, myself, but that's just me. It's really the crust, the sauce, and fresh ingredients that make a truly decent 'za, don'cha think?

The other variety of crust would be that depicted in the latest episode of the lcp story. Human politics often baffle me, but I will say this: the poet seems to have a talent for striking at a moment calculated to have the greatest effect on others. I'm not entirely sure if it's really subtle, or really blatant, but it's certainly well-practiced.

As for the eternal question of which type of crust is the cheesiest, well, that's why we have comment threads. Dig in!