Last updated: 2 October, 2011 with questions through 30 September, 2011 — I am finally caught up to the master list!

Warning! Proven able to write in volume (Too much volume! The end of the entry cut off. Questions from September 8th and earlier only available in screenshot form.)

 

 

30 September

 

Witchee, would you like anything from this particular Haunt update? May not be from this update, but the beeswax and buttermilk soap sounds awesome. The archeo skin gloss sounds interesting, too.

 

Who's interested in Halloween: Montreal? /raises hand in the air, flailing around just a little bit.

 

You get a package in the mail containing 3 things you have really wanted more than anything else you've mentioned so far in this thread. (they are all reasonably priced of course! ~$20 or less apiece). What are they? Let's see. I need a can of Citadel spray primer in black and a new set of really small brushes, so that takes care of two things. (I recently got my first pewter mini to paint and have discovered I was less prepared than I thought.) Oh, and I would like one of the gigantic boxes of Crayola crayons. The type that, in the kindergarten hierarchy based on "how many colors of crayons you own = your aristocratic status" would make me the God-Empress of Mankind.

 

how do you feel about hemp? jewelry, soap, etc? Hemp jewelry is not my style, but soap and things of that nature don't bother me.

 

 

 

29 September

 

What kind of purse do you prefer? Leather, cloth? over the shoulder or crossbody, or something that can do either? Do you like bold bright prints with fun things, or monochrome, solid colours? My go-to bag is actually made of a recycled truck tarp with something printed on it. It's a crossbody style and I love it; I've had it for like six years, but it's not very subtle. I have a black leather handbag, but not a brown one.

 

julep maven monthly boxes: I don't think I paint my nails often enough to make this worthwhile.

 

Like commercial socks? I'm okay on socks for right now.

 

What kind of bear is best? Panserbjorne! Iorek Byrnison is a certifiable badass in bear form.

 

Is anyone interested in reading The Night Circus? Yes, actually! I missed the ebook giveaway in the thread (or rather I didn't feel right claiming one for myself in a gifting thread) but I looked it up on Amazon and it sounds like it could be cool.

 

Hershey's Pumpkin Spice kisses? No thanks. I mostly like Almond kisses.

 

Do you drink wine? Rarely! I know that the Finger Lakes region of my state has some totally excellent vineyards, but somehow I turned out a mixed-drinks person.

 

Is it just me who is nervous at revealing herself to her witchee, and finding out who her witch is?! Haha, nope, I'm so totally nervous. I haven't decided if I'm going to reveal at the end of the round, since it's my first time to the party. If I feel like I've done myself proud as a witch, I probably will. My witch told me she usually reveals, too.

 

Witches, did you lament NOT getting one of the condom case/imp cases that got released with the courtesan series??? Not in particular. I do kind of want an imp case for when I'm traveling, but I wasn't mad about any of the courtesans specifically.

 

I recently saw candy corn in non-candy corn flavors like CHOCOLATE and CARAMEL APPLE. It's not a fancy brand, I just saw it in the drugstore, but who here would like something like that? I saw the caramel apple flavor at Wegmans this weekend and I totally want to try it. Chocolate sounds good too.

 

28 September

 

JONES SODA CO has LE soda packs for The Guild, Buffy, D&D, So Cute, etc. Would you be interested in these, Witchee? Probably not. I'm trying to drink less soda.

 

It's Banned Books Week! Are there any books on the list you'd be interested in checking out? … Okay, I have to have a really good laugh at the Hunger Games being deemed "sexually explicit." Did I read the wrong books somehow? Other than that, I can't say I'm too familiar with anything on the top ten for this year (except Brave New World, which I own already).

 

I have just been enlightened to THESE. Are these flavors relevant to your interests? Ooh, yess. Absinthe and Clove Cigarette sound especially good. So does the Salted Caramel.

 

 

27 September

 

What is something people are always surprised to learn about you?

 

So who else watched Babylon 5? Not me, sadly. Is it on Netflix? So many things to watch …

 

If you had to decide what your stripper name was, what would it be? Funny story. After a boyfriend (an ex, for reasons about to become quite evident) cheated on me with a coworker of his, one of the things that made me feel better was drawing up a list of guidelines for how "slutty" any given name was. Replacing "y" with "i" was worth some points, or needless elaboration / "creative spelling" of a more common name; and the old porn-star standbys or being named after any sort of alcohol had a pretty high base value too. Of course I don't believe this in my day-to-day life. By the way, I'd be Roxy Honey. Because why not.

 

Sooooo Witchees, have you ever taken that particular personality test? If so, are you an Analytical, a Driver, an Expressive or an Amiable? First time taking it. I got the Amiable. That seems about right.

 

Is anyone else afraid of or creepy out by dummies/puppets/Muppets/etc? Other things you're squicked/freaked by that's best left by the wayside? Ha ha … spiders. Scorpions. I am not an arachnid fan.

 

what level of contact were you hoping for? Probably medium or so. I've gotten a handwritten letter from my witch, and I think I like that better than ecard contact.

 

Your favorite restaurant or type of food to eat out. Would you use a restaurant.com voucher? Groupon? Thai food! Love it. I checked restaurant.com, and most of my local/favorite mainstays aren't on it. I've also never done groupon before.

 

Are there any local museums/attractions you keep never getting around to going to? We're a little sparse on the museum front in my hometown. I'm totally the killjoy who wants to spend all day at the museum on every vacation ever, though. =P I shouldn't say "killjoy." Anyone I vacation with now understands this and puts up with it quite admirably.

 

 

26 September

 

Is there any kind of international candy you love or would like to try? I had a lychee-flavored gummi candy once I liked but haven't found, since. It was Japanese, that's about all I remember. And though it's a drink, not a candy, I used to drink Bikkle when I was in Boston. I don't know how it would ship, though.

 

What is something totally random (yes, that thing that just popped into your head) that hasn't been covered by any previous questions? (Of course, Bikkle makes me think of Gibson's Pattern Recognition, which I've always liked. Not least because, hey, internet-fostered friendships!) Right! I like do do a lot of my art digitally. Thought about picking up Topaz Clean. Have not.

 

Is there any cheesy/non-cheesy Canadian stuff you'd be interested in? God help me, the only thing I can think of right now are ketchup chips. Which I don't even like.

 

If you were to go here and create your very own chocolate bar, what might it have in it? When I saw this link, I think my initial reaction was to say to the boyfriend, "God help us all." I usually like my chocolate with only one or two things, and I like it dark. So the dark base, and then with diced ginger, or with banana chips and coconut, or with any one of the herbs and spices (I'm especially curious about the lavender and love sea salt), or toffee or peppermint. Or bacon. You get the idea.

 

 

Say you stumbled into Camp Half Blood (or whatever the Roman camp ends up being named <bounces in anticipation>), which god claims you? I had to look this up, and the wiki I found wasn't very clear — if Eris is there, obviously I'm one of hers. Otherwise, maybe Dionysus?

 

25 September

 

Stuff you've been meaning to do: Laundry, lol. Wash all my linens to switch out for winter. Other than that, prep for my new job (starts Monday), a bunch of housework (house is on the market) et mundane cetera.

 

Would you be interested in regional jams, jellies, or other preserves? Absolutely! I love fruit preserves with crusty bread.

 

Do you have any bedtime rituals? Is there any particular product you have to apply or a certain shirt you wear or an act you perform to get you in the "bedtime" mood? I'll usually read for about an hour before bed, but that's about the extent of my "rituals."

 

Are you interested in today's/any recent Tee Fury shirts? Not really … most of the TeeFury prints have been pop-culture related lately.

 

Princess Bride? Yay or nay? Yay! I had the book in paperback but I don't know where it's gone, and I love to watch the movie whenever it's on TV.

 

What's your favorite classic fairytale, witches? Hmm … I really like "Fair, Brown, and Trembling," which was like the Irish Cinderella.

 

 

 

24 September

 

how do you feel about ethical animal fiber, i.e. wool and the like? I'm not vegan or anything, so I'm not opposed at all, but I don't tend toward wearing very much wool myself.

 

What about little wee creatures for your desk or mantel? No thanks — I don't really have anywhere to put them.

 

Look down. What are you wearing, right now? Pyjamas. It's 1:30 in the morning =P

 

Kerchiefs? Not really my thing.

 

It's the weekend, and you find yourself without a single chore or responsibility for a few hours. Right this very moment, what's the one thing you would do if you could do anything? Probably doodle or color in Photoshop. Tomorrow I don't have big plans so I'm gonna make chocolate chip cookies

 

 

23 September

 

Is there anything you'd like from the Mütter Museum Store? Of course I'd like to try both of the BPAL perfumes they stock (especially Victorian Garden). I like the Absinthe poster, too.

 

what's your favorite kind of pizza? Local favorite Avicolli's does an excellent margherita, but if I want toppings, I order from Twin Trees instead and usually go italian sausage and mushrooms.

 

Are there any food items you're craving/aren't able to find around your area? Carr's makes a ginger cookie with lemon creme filling that my Wegmans doesn't carry. I've ordered it off Amazon before.

 

September 22nd

 

Would you like a photo collage based around your interests/favorite colors/favorite themes? That would probably be neat, especially if it was framed or at least frame-able.

 

Colors! What are your favorite colors and what colors do you not like? Pictures and links, people! I answered this a little more in depth in my response to the letter I got. The only color I don't really like is yellow, but I do like warm, golden-yellows, and I think some sports cars actually look good in yellow.

 

What is your favorite word? Susurrus. It's a great onomatopoeia, and you really can't help but whisper it.

 

What are the feelings on arm warmers? Color, style, texture, length? I'd probably like them, since I have a lot of tee shirts I love to wear but it's often way too cold for that. Stripes are always cute, or solid neutral colors.

 

Do you like tarts? tealights? jar candles? votives? I am, alas, not a big candles person.

 

What's your favorite flavor? Sour, sweet, bitter, salty? Apparently, it's salty, given how much/often I like to add it to everything else, from sweet to savory.

 

So, are there any online gaming witchees who covet purchasable in-game items or other gamer-y stuff? Lol … yes. I play World of Warcraft, and I collect the mini pets on my paladin. The only one from the Blizzard store I have is the Cenarion Hatchling; a friend got me one when they were being sold for tsunami relief in Japan. I have both of the mounts from the store, but I don't have any mounts or pets from the trading card game. And not that I'm expecting an in-game witching, but I play on Moon Guard (US), just in case.

 

Anyone doing anything cool for Mabon (or the start of fall, if you aren't pagan? My big fall tradition is going to the apple orchards on Columbus Day weekend … though I did break down and buy some hard apple cider already.

 

What is your favorite coffee blend at Starbucks? If you don't have one, what is your favorite roast of coffee? I'm not a big coffee connoisseur, so I don't really have a "favorite roast." I do love a Starbucks caramel machiatto, though (and I just started a job that's the overnight shift, so enabling my caffeine needs is always a plus).

 

21 September

 

Cthulhu: yay or nay? I've never been into Lovecraft. One of my best friends just started reading his work, and I'm not really opposed, but it's so far down my list, I have to recognize I'll never get to it.

 

Is there something that you wish you could do, but you keep putting it off? Take belly-dancing lessons. My old job and school schedule wouldn't allow me to go. I don't think that'll be a problem anymore, but I'm still too shy/self-conscious to start.

 

Put your current mp3player (I am the anti-apple, so no ipod ), winamp playlist, what have you, on shuffle, list the first 10 songs:

• "Chicken With its Head Cut Off" // Magnetic Fields // 69 Love Songs

• "13 Angels Standing Guard Round the Side of Your Bed" // A Silver Mt. Zion // He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms …

• "Heart of Gold" // Neil Young // Harvest

• "Everything We Know Is Wrong" // Apoptygma Berzerk // Welcome to Earth

• "Violent Ceasefire" // Yoshitaka Suzuki // Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

• "Hey Luno" // the Aquabats // Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures Vol. 2

• "Jellybelly" // the Smashing Pumpkins // Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

• "The Last Thing You Should Do (featuring Robert Smith)" // David Bowie // Earthling

• "Red Bats with Teeth" // Angelo Badalamenti // Lost Highway

• "Deep Blue Day" // Brian Eno // Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks

 

Witchee, have you made (or are you planning to make) any Lab or Trading post orders soon? And if you did (or plan to), you should share what you're getting. I'm in decant circles for both! Here are my orders:

The Lab

Decants of:

Blood Moon 2011

Autumn Cider

Le Revenant

October 2011

Samhain 2011

Samhainophobia 2011

Golden Apple of the Sun

The Night Hag Visiting the Lapland Witches

The Triumph of Death

Half-bottles of:

An Incubus Leaving Two Sleeping Women

Sonnet d'Automne

and one imp of Le Lethe

 

The Post

A half-bar of Samhain soap

3 oz of Inquisitor's Bile

3 oz of Tears of the Seraphim

a goblin squirt of Unspeakably Evil Temple

a bar of Xmvlzencab.

 

Do you have any interest in rocks? Not like, polished colorful stones.. but like... rocks. With geologic significance! Generally, no, but my astronomer friend recently got a fragment of a meteorite, and I thought that was pretty cool.

 

Do you like/own/wear/want fairy wings or something of the like? I think they're cute, but I'd never wear a set.

 

How do you feel about terrariums? I like them. I'm not very good with plants, but if they were particularly hardy, I might like to have one since the weather around here is so bad for so long.

 

What's your favorite horror movie? Probably 28 Days Later. Does that count? Can it count, please? It has zombies in it, so it should totally count. I'm kind of a wuss about horror movies, but I really enjoyed that movie. I haven't watched the sequel; I heard it wasn't worth it.

 

If your witch was the practical type and wanted to include one or more of your everyday essentials, what would those include? I'm talking about the bath products, lotions, face lotions, teas, food, etc that you really use every day. Nutella. Goes on everything. My "everyday" tea is Rishi's tangerine ginger blend.

 

Jane Austen .. Yay or Nay? Nay. I threw a Brontë novel on my Amazon wishlist recently, but to be honest, it was more for the woodcut illustrations than any burning desire to actually read Wuthering Heights.

 

Do you like period or period-styled paraphernalia? Stuff like postcards, notecards, jewelry, office supplies, what-have-you? Oh yes! I like victoriana for that sort of thing.

 

If you like manga, comics, and/or graphic novels, what is it about them that you like, in general? The story, the art/style, etc? I read a lot of manga in my early adolescence, and I liked the bubbly illustration style in a lot of shoujo manga. Now I read a lot of webcomics that have no single unifying factor. My favorite comics penciler is Jim Steranko, because … yeah.

 

if you could have a salon scent made, based on any artwork(s) what would it be? After some contemplation, I've decided to go with Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse by Joshua Reynolds. Not only because it's so different from the portraits of Sarah Siddons painted by Reynolds' contemporaries (which were, of course, stunning in their own right; I'm a fan of the Gainsborough), but because it's so moody and evocative … and because it seems like something Beth would actually do and I'll probably jump for joy and buy three bottles if it ever happens.

 

Are you scientifically curious and/or process-oriented? Would you like a project-type gift that allowed you do do something like make soap from scratch, take and (nontoxic-ly) develop photographs using a pinhole camera, use plant dyes on yarn or fabric, etc.? YES. YESYESYEYSYEYYEYYEY. I would looooove the soap thing and the pinhole camera especially. I like doing stuff.

 

What's 'your' song/your theme song? Wellll, my top two most-played songs in iTunes are "Women's Realm" by Belle and Sebastian and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" by Talking Heads. Hard to argue with either one of those.

 

What would be your superpower? Flight would be cool, or the ability to project a "somebody else's problem" field so as to pass unnoticed/functionally invisible to people.

 

Witchee, would you like a gently used BPAL tshirt? Yes, I think the art on them is really well-done and wearable. I liked the Phoenix Steamworks launch shirt especially, but just wasn't sure about the metallic inks (they can be kind of stiff in my experience).

 

Do you like homemade snack mixes? I love trail mix. Usually when I make it, it's terribly unhealthy, with cocoa-flavored granola, nuts (usually cashews), dried cranberries, and M&Ms. Coconut flakes sounds awesome too.

 

Do you like charm bracelets? If you had a bracelet, what sort of charms would you want on it? Favorite hobbies, symbols, whatever? No, I'd worry too much about breaking it.

 

20 September

Would you like any ecotools makeup brushes? They're kinda one of my favorite things ever, and they're animal-friendly and the handles are bamboo. And to top it all off, they work really well for applying makeup. I don't generally wear much makeup, in part because of the significant initial investment in brushes and such.

 

Do you like Legos? Especially mini-fig key chains, Lego block keychains, small Lego sets, etc? LEGO were more my brother's things than mine, but I do like those kooky "alternative" LEGO people who are painted up like leather daddies and such. It's just funny.

 

What would you do if you found a $50 bill on the ground and a nagging voice in the back of your mind told you that you HAD to spend it on BPAL or else face Death. Also, say they had free shipping (LOL) so don't factor that in. What would you get? And spend it all! Or as close to $50 as you can get. Last Unicorn Imp Packs. Yep!

 

Are there any characters that you love or identify with? Commissar Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium !!! When I was a kid, I loved Batman. I really liked Cayce Pollard from William Gibson's Pattern Recognition.

 

A question! If you are crafty, what's your personal art style? I'm not talking just about what art you like to look at, but what kind of art do you like creating? Do you have a "process" while you're creating beauty? Most of what I've done lately has been character illustrations, which have gone roughly as follows — preliminary sketches in the sketchbook; trace it off either with backlight or tracing paper onto smooth bristol (or illo board), ink with Micron pens. Sometimes I'm done there; Bristol often gets scanned and painted up in Photoshop (do flats, then do shadows and highlights by color group, though I want to try a more "traditional" approach with doing a grisaille "underpainting" and then glazing colors over it). Illo board gets watercolor washes for base colors and then elaborated with coloured pencil.

 

Are there any Arcana Weenies that you MUST HAVE? Since I haven't looked, apparently not. =P

 

So what say you? IS an "unexpected" visit/in-person witching OK? The thought makes me wince, if "unexpected" means "completely unannounced." If my Witch told me she was in the area and wanted to get coffee or whatever I would totally be down for that. But please do not just show up at my house.

 

19 September

What strange misc. items would you love to receive that you just haven't gotten for yourself?:

 

How do you feel about franken polish? Are you okay with all chemicals, or would you prefer 3 free? Would you want glitter or holographic glitter? What colors would interest you? I've actually never done the "frankenpolish" thing. You'd think it would have occurred to me. =P I like metallics, but I'm not that big into glitter. Cool colors and, actually, gunmetal gray would probably be most to my taste.

 

Dear witchee, how do you feel about lip balm? Favorite style (twist up tube, pot, tube with wand, etc.)? Favorite flavors? Flavors to avoid? Favorite brand? Do you need more right now or are you set? Are you one of those people who could never have enough lip balm even though you have a bowl on your dresser overflowing with them and 10 in your purse and an order for more on the way? Winter is coming. I'm going to need as much lip balm as I can get. Most of what I use is the twist-up-tube style, but I've really enjoyed some pot-style glosses in the past. I like fruity or coconut-flavored balms; I don't really like mint.

 

Would you be interested in getting fountain pen inks or art supplies via JetPens and or DickBlick? Art supplies are always a yes. Whenever me and my school friends play "misery dick" about the cost of textbooks, I remind them that at least they can ostensibly sell their books back to the store / Amazon / another student at the end of the semester, and it's just not possible to do that with art supplies. I have appended a cursory wishlist to the bottom of this post. Some of it's a little pie-in-the-sky.

 

-For those interested in watercolors, how would you feel about getting a palette filled with paint from my watercolor tubes but not getting the paint tube itself? I'd probably love it. I don't have any good watercolors right now and I'm not really sure where to start.

 

How do you feel about getting art supplies in general? (copic markers, watercolor, brushes, paint, sketchbooks etc.) I would die of happiness. Again. Wishlist at the bottom.

 

How do you feel about Threadless tshirts? Overwhelmingly positive. A regular artist at Threadless I like is Alice Zhang. I wear a ladies XL, and i just got a couple of their boatneck tees from their last $10 sale and love them.

 

If you were turned loose in a basic drug store (CVS, Walgreens - a pharmacy with attached mini-mart, basically!) with a $20 bill, what would you pick up? Probably a new hair brush, some lip gloss, and the rest on candy/cinnamon-flavored gum.

 

Darling Witchee, would you enjoy farmer's market pickled veggies (green beans, garlic, asparagus, etc) or fresh canned peaches or something of that nature? Canned fruit, jellies/jams/marmalades, and pickles would all be lovely.

 

Do you prefer color or white photographs? Nature or abstract? I'm actually more of an art prints person than photography person, but I like b/w architectural photos.

 

would you be interested in something like this? https://lostcrates.com/how-it-works That seems really fun! I'd love to get a box or two of it.

 

Amigurumi, yes or no? I've never heard of it! It's kind of cute.

 

I have a question! What are some of your favorite paintings? (famous or undiscovered?) Feel free to link to examples! I think I blathered on and on about this in the first couple of days of questions, but I'll mention a couple of other (non-Judith; non-Judgment) pieces here — Dalì's Hallucinogenic Toreador, and when I was last in Boston, I saw a preliminary painting of Astarte by John Singer Sargent at the Gardner.

 

If you could have an image painted for you - sky is the limit - what would it be? Probably a self-portrait in similar style to Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni (warning, effing huge). Is that vain? It might be a little vain.

 

Name your 3 favorite scents for candles: I'm not a big "candles" person. I'd probably go for cinnamon or pine, but that's about it.

 

Name your 3 favorite types/flavors of tea: I love masala chai. Love love love. There's a particular blend of tangerine-ginger loose herbal tea I like (especially in winter, gogo vitamin C), and to round it out, I know bagged tea isn't as high quality, but my grandmother always made Bigelow's Constant COmment tea when I would visit, and I still harbor a great fondness for it.

 

18 September

 

Do you wear t-shirts? Are there particular things you like on them? Would you like one designed by your Witch? And, if you don't mind saying, what size t-shirt do you wear? I wear a lot of tee shirts. I don't like brand logos, but I do like pretty art; my big places I go to shop are shirt.woot, Threadless, teefury, and DesignByHümans and you can get a sense of what sort of shirts I like from my teetrade wishlist below. Anything by jimiyo or tolagunestro is probably a definite buy for me; anything by ramyB I won't buy — it's an ethics issue, even when it's not a stylistic one. If my witch wants to design me a tee, I'd probably love it. Most tee sites use American Apparel blanks; I wear a ladies XL or a men's medium.

 

How do you feel about pumpkin scented things? Not perfume related, but soap, candles, etc.... I'm actually not that jazzed about it. My pick for fall scents runs closer to campfires or wood stoves.

 

Has anyone else heard of or does anyone else love Glamourkin? They're cute, but not something I'd really wear.

 

If you had an international witch, is there anything you would like from the UK? (Or Australia, Belgium, France any other country we have witches from.

 

Dear witchee, if you answered 'Mac' to the Mac/PC question previously issued by another participant, please tell me what kind of computer you have, what peripherals you own (like the wireless trackpad, wireless vs/wired keyboard and mouse), and whether you're interested in Apple-related items (stickers, keychains, other things with the logo, etc). I am indeed a Mac user. Right now I'm rocking a mid-2006 MacBook I use mostly for web browsing and email, and a 2009 or 2010 Mac Mini I do more serious computing and gaming on. They both have their own 20" monitors, but I share the apple wired keyboard and a Logitech MX Revolution wireless mouse between them with a KVM switch. I like the stickers that come with the hardware, but don't own much of the other paraphernalia. I like the old "rainbow" logo better than the white one they use currently.

 

SOCK PREFERENCES? I'm gonna skip this because my sock preferences are really boring.

 

17 September

Are you looking for a certain kind of DVDs to spruce up your collection right now? I have Netflix right now, so my DVD purchases have gone down quite a bit. Most of the oens I buy are show collections — I lost my Arrested Development and Firefly DVDs in a previous breakup, and still kind of regret that.

 

Does anyone like postcards? Is anyone willing to be a Nacho witch for postcards? I love getting mail of all kinds!

 

Anyone going to see any good concerts this fall? Probably not — I usually have to go to Albany or Buffalo (or down to NYC) to catch any major concerts, and haven't had much money to travel. I'd kind of like to see Radiohead, but obviously that's not going to happen two days from now. (I'd also like to see Bruce Springsteen, but he's not touring.)

 

Do you like Star Trek? Original TV series, films, spinoff series, etc? Favorite characters? I've never watched the original series, which I know is a crime, but hey, it's on Netflix now, so the chances I'll get to just shot up an order of magnitude. And I did see the movie a couple summers ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have seen almost every episode of TNG, however, and several of Voyager. Picard is of course my favorite Captain (my brother's is Janeway, which, what?), and I love most of the TNG bridge Crew (especially Riker, Worf, and Data). But my favorite character, I think, is Q — but not Impish Asshole Q, more like Cosmic Asshole Mentor Q, who may be asinine, but is at least aiding the crew in their journeys of discovery, whether that's external or internal truth they're discovering. When I was younger, I also really liked Wesley Crusher, probably because I was also young and hopelessly nerdy, but I do understand the fan complaints.

 

Witchee, would you like a framed photograph and of what? Probably black-and-white architectural photography — I'm thinking Cathedrals. Maybe statuary.

 

16 September

Are you more prone to order out or cook at home? Would you be interested in cookbooks, kitchen utensils, and the like? If so, anything specific? I cook at home pretty often; I maybe order in or go out to eat once a week. I'd probably adore all manner of kitchen gadgets — cookbooks are big, too, of course.

 

New question: How do you feel about maple syrup? Love it. On everything. Especially sausages. My family thinks this is weird. I think they're the weird ones for continuing to put fake-maple syrup on their waffles.

 

How do people feel about little pocket shrines, maybe something inspirational/motivational to keep in their purses/backpacks/whatever? I've never heard of these before! They're kind of adorably kitschy and I may love them a little bit.

 

Do you like Star Wars? Original Trilogy? Prequels? Spin-offs? Favorite characters? I was raised on Star Wars. I was still very young when the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy were shown in theatres, and my whole family went to see them. I loved it; couldn't get enough. I remember picking up Shadows of the Empire in paperback at the grocery store not long after. The Prequel Trilogy disappointed me; how could it not? The version of events you make up in your head is always superior to everyone else's version. Almost always, anyway. The point is, by the time the movies were made, everyone already had convinced themselves of how it should have happen; how it did happen for them. So it took me several years (too many years) to play Knights of the Old Republic, which I loved, and its sequel The Sith Lords, which I really loved. I've never read the Old Republic-era comics — never read any of the comics, in fact, and the only parts of the Expanded Universe I've had any interest in were the Mandalorians and their genetic and cultural descendants in the Clone Troopers, though not really enough to read Karen Traviss' novels. Yet.

 

Do you like beef jerky, I know some may be vegatarian, but where I live beef is a staple and beef jerky abounds. If so do you it really thin, hard and crunchy or thicker and softer. I've actually been having a beef jerky craving lately; I like mine a little thicker-cut and chewier.

 

Also do you like or racier ecards from time to time and do you need to be warned if something may be not safe to open at work. I don't check my email at work.

 

Doctor Who? Yay or nay? (please don't make me cry by saying nay) It's not that I actively dislike Doctor Who — I've seen some of the old ones on PBS, but I haven't been watching the new series at all. I would, if I knew where to start!

 

Anyone love Buffy/Angel? I like other Joss Whedon stuff (mostly Firefly), so I've been meaning to give Buffy a fair shake. Maybe now that I'm almost done with Scrubs, I'll start.

 

How would you feel about gummies? Like, gummy bears? Gummy werewolves? Gummy vampires? Gummies are okay, but I like sour things better (Sour Patch Kids, for example).

 

Since this is a Halloween round, what's your Creepy threshold? Are you a cartoon bats and smiley pumpkins person or a skulls-and-bones the-dead-are-rising kind of person? Are your fairytales dark or Disney? I don't love gore, but I do dig creepy skulls and monsters and things. My boyfriend loves old monster movies (mostly Godzilla, but also the Lon Cheney flicks), so I expect I'll be watching quite a few of those in the next several weeks as well.

 

Are your ears pierced, Witchee? Do you have any other piercings? Would you like to receive any items of jewelry for these piercings? My ears are my only piercing and I don't wear earrings very often.

 

How do you all feel about Whoopie Pies? They are tasty.

 

 

15 September

 

interested in anything from Lush? Offhand, I know I've wanted to try the "Honey I Washed the Kids"-scented everything. The chai-scented shower gel also makes me happy. I've never tried solid shampoo before, but several of them sound really interesting: Dr. Peppermint, Jumping Juniper, and Trichomania. Not all at once, obviously.

 

Do you blog? Would you like a header for your blog, a layout, etc? I don't have a blog, and haven't for several years.

 

Would you be interested in a handmade bookmark? Yes! I saw some cute ones a while back that slip over the corner of a page, and I really liked that idea.

 

do you like chex puppy chow or muddie buddies (ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate chips, PB, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, chex cereal)? would you want to get some from your witch / nacho witch? I absolutely adore it. We usually only make it around Christmastime in my house, but it's one of the first things to get gone.

 

How would you feel about receiving a Groupon deal for something in your local area? I've never done/used Groupon before.

 

do you like real sugar skulls? Things with sugar skull designs? I like the design, and I have a tee that's at least somewhat inspired by La Catrina, but I've never been too involved with Day of the Dead celebrations.

 

Who here adores meringue? /raises hand

 

14 September

 

Can you sum yourself (whether it be personality, life's goals, ethics, whatever) in 10 words or less?

 

How about little bottles of booze? Ya wanna? What kind? Yessss. Mostly things I don't use often but sometimes like to cook with, like Kahlua or Bailey's, triple sec, maybe some kind of cinnamon schnapps so I can spike my apple cider. Oh, and St. Germain — I've been curious about it because of the beautiful bottle design, but I don't know what I'd use it for/in and would like to try it.

 

What are your views on fudge and brownies? Yes and double-yes, though I probably couldn't eat a whole lot of either one.

 

Also, what about mochi? Love it, hate it, baffled by it? I only had mochi once, and it was about six years ago by now, but I remember liking it.

 

Anything from the update ya'll are liking? BPTP UPDATE I got in on a "decant" circle for most of what I was after, but I didn't pick up any of the hair glosses, which I regret a little bit.

 

Does anyone like kimchi? I'll pass, than you.

 

Would you be interested in a sample box(from somewhere like Birchbox or loosebutton)? This would probably be great, since I'm not very knowledgeable about most etailers.

 

You have to place a Lab and Trading Post order. Right fuckin' now. No spending limits. What do you buy? All the things, clearly. I'd love a bottle of Antikythera Mechanism, and probably to get at least imps of the RPG scents I don't already have, plus the Gaimans, the Last Unicorn scents …

 

Paintbox Soapworks - anything you're interested in, in general or from the latest update? The Cicada and Guy Fawkes soaps seem particularly interesting.

 

Do you guys have any sports that you follow obsessively? How about favorite teams and/or athletes? Not much for sports, I'm afraid.

 

How do you feel about notebooks/journals/stationery? Anything you need or particularly like? Sketchbooks, you say? Why, I'd love one. Ring-bound and hard-cover would be best; the one I run around with most often is 8"x10". I like my sketchbook paper with a little bit of tooth to it, and I've been looking all over for one that's natural brown, or one of medium grey charcoal paper.

 

Does confetti/glitter make you angry or fill you with glee? I loathe glitter. Deeply. Sorry!

 

Fabulous witches and witchees, perhaps you all could note of you've received MeiLin's goodies? Or if you want? I have not, I'm afraid.

 

How do you feel about stuffed animals/plushies/general soft, cuddly things? If you like them, what kind of animals would you be interested in? The things I like as plushies should probably not be plushies; I used to have a large, stuffed lobster from a trip to the shore of New Hampshire. On my Amazon wishlist is a Boba Fett plushie. At my latest round of tabletop gaming, our Storm Lords Librarian showed me this. I want it desperately. Even though it's an Ultramarine.

 

How interested would you be on somewhat personalized bottle cap labels? I'd probably adore them, though I don't have too many bottles, so they're not hard to organize.

 

When you're miserably sick (*sniffle, cough!*) what are the things that comfort you the most? Chicken noodle soup and trashy novels. The Price is Right used to be de rigeur as well, but without Bob Barker hosting any more, I usually hope for Match Game reruns on GSN or something.

 

What do you really NOT want? This is a tough question; I mean, ultimately I'm happy knowing there's someone out there who doesn't know me that well, but is still thinking of me from time to time in hopes of making my day brighter. I obviously don't want glitter — but most of the other things I can think of I wouldn't really want as gifts are more something I'd expect from a clueless aunt (clothes that aren't my style, etc). I guess I can say I don't want sports paraphernalia, as that's not where my interest lies, I don't want Twilight merchandise (unless you want to get me the "Mark Reads Twilight" ebooks), and I mostly don't want little tchotchkes that just sit on the shelf.

 

13 September

How would you feel about kitchen towels and other similar household objects, if they are pretty or a souvenir? If I were living by myself, I would probably love them, but as of this moment I have a surplus of most linen-type things.

 

How did you dress up for your last party or compulsory-formal-dress occasion? I strongly suspect I wore black linen capris and a matching suitjacket with a white shirt and black heels, but I rarely get to dress up.

 

Do you enjoy puzzles/riddles? (Cryptograms, Sudoku, Crossword, Jigsaw, etc) I do enjoy sudoku and crosswords now and then, but it's not something I've spent a lot of time on.

 

12 September

Would you like to receive e-books? And if so, in what format? I have the Kindle app on my iPod Touch, so that's usually a go, but I also use Lexcycle Stanza, so I think I can handle just about every format there is. If it's illustration heavy (I use the Osprey Men-at-Arms books for armor/costume reference in my drawings often) a PDF would be better, or of course a physical copy. If the book has a lot of footnotes, I've found Stanza doesn't handle those well at all and again a PDF/physical copy would be preferred.

 

Would you be interested in a felted handbag? The ones linked in the thread were very cute, but I've had a Freitag shoulderbag I bought in 2004 or 2005 that has held up incredibly well, and my only thoughts toward replacing it have been if I get a laptop that won't fit in my current one (it's an F11 "Lassie" bag, so it's one of their smallest).

 

Are there are patterns, motifs, etc that you especially like? I'm a big fan of damasks, and I was pleasantly surprised when heraldry made its way into the zeitgeist of apparel design (mostly tee shirts) a couple of years ago — I've been known to do coats of arms for my fictional characters, as a fun sort of mental exercise.

 

Witchee, would you be interested in having a special tea cup/coffee mug/glass to drink out of? Winter is coming, and I loooove to drink chai and hot cocoa, so I'd absolutely adore a sturdy, extra-large size mug. Microwave-safe would be better. I also don't have a teapot, and would kind of like one since I've been drinking more tea and it feels a waste to make it a cup at a time.

 

If you're a tea drinker, is there any specific tea you would like to receive, not just the kind/flavor but also the type/packing--i.e., tea bags, loose tea, compressed, etc? I like herbal teas and chai, and I prefer loose teas to bags.

 

11 September

I am fond of the thrift. Do you mind lightly used goods? Please be specific! I don't like secondhand shoes, mostly because they're worn in to fit a foot that may be vastly different from my own. Secondhand books (especially with marginalia) are a treat, and I don't mind used CDs or DVDs.

 

Would a gift or a postcard from Disneyland make you squee with delight or puke into your mail box? It would probably mostly make me envious — I've only visited California once, and though we were in Anaheim for a convention (Blizzcon 2007 ) we didn't get to see Disneyland.

 

What are your favorite types of Halloween candy? Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who likes candy corn. I picked up a tub last week with my groceries. I also like those black walnut taffies, and there used to be a caramel/sour apple lollipop I loved.

 

Do you prefer soap or shower gel? Please give examples of your favorite scents or brands. Right now I'm mostly a shower-gel person — I share my bathroom with two other people who aren't always discerning about the soaps they use, so I've been trying to find some of those soap dishes that close up like one would take to Girl Scout camp so I can take my soaps with me once I'm done showering.

 

How do you like your chocolate? For example with nuts, mint, peanut butter, caramel? I really love dark chocolate — around 70% depending on what's in it. Some of my favorites have been sea salt, crystallized ginger pieces, and chili peppers. I haven't tried the bacon-chocolate phenomenon, but would like to.

 

Anyone here like caramels? Sea salted caramels?!?! That's yes in a big way.

 

Would you like a hand dyed or hand painted scarf or wrap or other item? If so, what colors/designs/fabrics do you like? I probably wouldn't wear it, as it's not much my style.

 

This was a question before, but does anyone here like stones? Just pretty polished stones for use in whatever purposes? I was actually thinking about my odd fondness for sea glass recently — I don't have any purpose in mind for it, but I do think it's awfully pretty.

 

10 September

What #1 actor, director, author and/or musician are you obsessed with? Again, I'll answer in parts:

• Actor — I don't much go in for the celebrity culture of Hollywood, but I'll kind of watch anything with Jeff Bridges in it (and I keep being surprised at what he is in).
  
• Director — My favorite director is Christopher Nolan, but Stanley Kubrick is a close second, though I haven't seen all of Kubrick's oeuvre.
  
• Author — William Gibson. Own all his books. Love … most of them, anyway.
  
• Musician — Trent Reznor! Also, David Bowie. Nine Inch Nails and Bowie were the soundtrack to my adolescence, and if these two men have nothing else in common, they're both incredibly talented and versatile musicians.
  

Are you interested in anything from the Villainness Bad Apples update? Oh, Discord, of course, but I've never gotten to try anything from Villainness, either, so if you want to look elsewhere for other soaps that would "go with" some of my favorite oils …

If you have a pet, would he/she/they like to receive a treat or a toy as a gift? Does your pet have any dietary restrictions or other preferences w.r.t. said treat? I'm sure D'arcy would love any sort of cat toy. She doesn't have any dietary restrictions, and loves catnip. She's not much interested in "people food," even foods her sister Onyx loved.

What are your top three "I want to try them but I think I'll never get to try them" (or, "I've tried them and I want moar moar moar, but I don't think I'll ever get any") scents/bath oils/sprays? BPAL-wise, my pipe-dreams are Skadi and Black Lace — I got a sniffy of the latter in a purchase from sarandipitee on these forums, and it smells divine, but there wasn't enough to test.

Is there a particular artist and piece that you would like a print of? If so, what is your max size that you could spare on your walls? I talk extensively about some of my favorite art and artists below in the "oil painting" question — my walls are mostly bare right now, so I could accommodate something up to, oh, four feet on its longer side. I really enjoy art nouveau as well and think that would make great wall art in my current room.

Do you like coffee or tea? Would you be interested in trying some different types? I like tea, and I'm slowly getting into loose teas. We recently got a Teavana near me, and I've tried their Peach Tranquility and Earl Grey Creme — the peach was a little weak for me even after prolonged steeping, but I love the Earl Grey. I've also been a big fan of orange/ginger blends in the past, and I absolutely love hot chai in wintertime. I'm less a coffee person, but I do treat myself to a Starbucks drink now and then (usually only if I'm driving a long way!).

Are there any CDs/Albums you've been wanting but haven't bought yet? What format do you prefer? (i.e. mp3, actual cd, record, etc) I do prefer actual CDs to mp3 downloads just so that I also have the physical backup. I really like the treatment of CDs from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and associated projects — I already have all of GY!BE's music, but don't yet have Kollaps Tradixionales by sister-project Thee Silver Mount Zion or anything from HṚṢṬA, Fly Pan-Am or Set Fire to Flames.

Are you going away for any part of this round? Nope! My winter sidebar to Arizona to visit my boyfriend and remind myself what the sun looks like is slated for the new year.

Would you like to receive a mix-CD from your Witch? YES. Even if my witch doesn't necessarily share my music tastes, if sie wants to make a CD of songs sie thinks I'd like, I love discovering new music that way.

If your witch were going somewhere on a vacation during the round, would you want a little souvenir? Probably — or just send me a postcard.

 

 

 

9 September

Is there a particular myth/folktale/legend/fairytale/godstory that you're drawn to? Yesterday I mentioned I was a Discordian, but I haven't elaborated on what that is here or in the questionnaire. Discordianism was created by Gregory Hill — known as Malaclypse the Younger (or Mal-2) to Discordians — and both he and it were both later fictionalized in the Illuminatus! trilogy. It's almost a pastiche of the Zen sentiment that gained popularity in the US later, relying on what read like koans and self-subverting humor. People regard it as a joke religion, including most Discordians, but humor is just the vehicle used to relate the core philosophies of Discordianism. The Principia Discordia, the main holy text of the religion, isn't very long and is freely available under "copyleft" all over the internet. The patron goddess, Eris (Discordia to the Romans), and her sister Aneris (or Concordia, "Harmony") are in a constant struggle over "apparent order" and "apparent disorder" of the universe, which Discordians believe are just distinctions drawn between a deeper level of chaos. I talk about the Judgement of Paris below, which is causally related to what Discordians refer to as the "Original Snub" — Eris was not invited to a wedding, so she came and threw a golden apple with the inscription "Kallisti" — "For the fairest." Paris was chosen to judge which of the goddesses the apple should be awarded: Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite. Each offered a bribe; Aphrodite's bribe was the love of the most beautiful woman in the world (Helen of Troy). The Trojan War and the exile laid the groundwork for Aeneas, then to Ascanius, Alba Longa, and from there to Romulus — so slighting a goddess of Chaos actually led (in legend, at least) to the founding of Rome. It's a very good story, if it's nothing else.

 

If you RP, tabletop, forum, or otherwise... Do you have any original characters you'd like to see art of? If so, please give information! Even if it's a link to a web page or a profile or picture! Yes, yes, oh my god yes! I would love to get art of almost any of my Warcraft characters (I have descriptions written up for each of them). I can put together a précis on my WoW characters, my Dark Heresy character, and my retired Shadowrun character. I'll come back and edit with links once I have.

 

If you could see anything, what would it be? Can be a person, an event, a landmark or monument, an object, etc. And it doesn't have to be on this planet, or in this time period, or in this reality! I would actually really like to visit a Roman bath. In even-less-likely scenarios, I'd like to tool around in the Los Angeles of Blade Runner or the Sprawl of Neuromancer.

 

When you are having a really rough day, what do you like to do/have to make it a little brighter? I like to make myself a cup of hot cocoa and draw or, more often, color. Coloring is a great de-stress activity for me. Sometimes I'll read or watch a show on Netflix instead to take my mind off whatever's bothering me.

 

What are your thoughts on comics? Any you like? Any you have been wanting to try? Favorite characters? I answered a lot of this under the comic-strip heading, so I'll give a shorter breakdown here — my favorite DC supe is Batman; my favorite Marvel supe is Captain America. I've really loved a lot of the new superhero movies (I didn't see Superman Returns, and probably won't because I don't generally care about Superman — Red Son, where he crash-lands in Russia instead, was a really good read, though). I haven't picked up any of the DC "New 52" because I don't know where to start, but I loved Watchmen, naturally, and I'm a big Warren Ellis fan (and Neil Gaiman of course!).

 

Are you musical? Do you play an instrument, and if so, what? If not, what do you wish you could play or do? I like to sing/do karaoke, but as far as music goes I'm woefully untalented. I thought about picking up ukelele because I'd convinced myself it was easier than guitar, but still haven't done either. One of my RP characters is a singer and I like to record songs for her, but I have a ahrd time finding someone to do the instrumental accompaniment.

 

Does anyone garden? And if you do, what do you grow? If not, would a starter garden kit be something you'd be interested in? We had a very small herb garden this summer and some tomatoes, not very much and it didn't really turn out that well. I'd like to garden more, but it's not something most of my family members are interested in or knowledgable about. Just remember, I live in Upstate NY, where it looooves to snow and be cold.

 

Do you decorate for Halloween? Is your decorating taste elegant, kitschy and fun, or scary? Not as much as we used to, sadly.

 

Witchee, do you have any symbols or totems that have special meaning for you? Crows/ravens are a big one; my initial interest was in my early teenage years, and it's remained somewhat constant (hell, in 40K fandom my favorite Space Marine legion is the Raven Guard, so …).

 

Is anyone fond of programs like Adopt a Tree/Highway/Library/Manatee/Acre of Rainforest/etc?: My environmental activism club in high school would make an annual trip up to Farm Sanctuary usually in October, and each year we'd adopt an animal, usually a turkey or another small animal, but I haven't done much like it since.

 

 

8 September and earlier

 

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