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Our department here at Oxford has just received word from one of the control rooms at CERN. Beam has now successfully travelled all the way around the LHC[*]. If you are reading this, I presume that you will not be surprised to learn that the world has not been destroyed[**,***].
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I hereby announce two invitations! Alas, geographical concerns mean that they will probably only be of interest to that fraction of my f-list who is based in the UK.
Invitation the First: One week from today,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat will finally have the long awaited surgery on her knee. This is absolutely vital to the recovery of her full mobility... and we have every reason to believe that she will quickly regain flexibility once the procedure is performed. In the immediate aftermath of the operation, however, she will need some time to convalesce. Thus, we are planning to spend the whole of next weekend at Skullcrusher Mountain, in Oxford[****], rather than trekking about to somewhere else. Company will be more than welcome -- on both Sat Sep 20 and Sun Sep 21 -- if anyone wants to drop in on us for games, conversation, movies, or whatever. There are also Super Sekrit plans to whip up a batch of homemade ice cream! Come and join the fun!!!
This is not a formal party, so there are no official start or end times. Just let me know if you plan to swing by at any point in that weekend to grace us with the pleasure of your company. Crash space is available for anyone coming in from outside Oxford.
Invitation the Second: This invite is of even less broad interest -- it will probably only appeal to those on my f-list who are based in the UK and identify as some flavour of Pagan.
In about a month and a half, it will be Samhain. Late on the evening of this sabbat (which falls on a Friday this year),cheshcat and I will be running our traditional Samhain rituals: The preparation of a feast for the ancestors, followed by a small circle in which we toast to the beloved dead. We have been performing this ritual for well over a decade now, in a variety of different settings -- with our coven, with our poly family, by ourselves, et cetera. This year, we would like to invite our local[*****] Pagan friends to join us.
Please be cautioned: The ancestor toast is not a particularly happy fluffy ritual -- it tends to be quite personal, heavy, and cathartic. It also tends to be very powerful and moving. Out of all the rituals that we repeat annually -- Beltane, Lammas, Yule, etc. -- I find this ritual to be the most intense.
If you are interested in attending, please let me know via a comment (or any other means that you prefer). I have screened comments to this entry for those who do not wish to publicly come out of the broom closet. Given the nature of the ritual, participation will be limited to a number thatcheshcat and I have not yet determined. Once again, for those travelling from outside of Oxford, crash space will be available.
Well, it appears that the world is still here... which means that I had best get back to work! Assuming that we all don't disappear in a puff of logic, I look forward to seeing many of you soon!
[*] Indeed, I have even seen pictures of the first events from the ATLAS detector! Exciting!
[**] This means that you can stop hitting the walls now. Really. You know who you are...
[***] Now if only the same people who made such a fuss about the LHC would take the very real threat of environmental devastation seriously.
[****] Which will be the first full weekend spent in Oxford since late May. Not that anyone but me cares about these things, but...
[*****] For whatever definition of "local" suits you.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I hereby announce two invitations! Alas, geographical concerns mean that they will probably only be of interest to that fraction of my f-list who is based in the UK.
Invitation the First: One week from today,
cheshcat will finally have the long awaited surgery on her knee. This is absolutely vital to the recovery of her full mobility... and we have every reason to believe that she will quickly regain flexibility once the procedure is performed. In the immediate aftermath of the operation, however, she will need some time to convalesce. Thus, we are planning to spend the whole of next weekend at Skullcrusher Mountain, in Oxford[****], rather than trekking about to somewhere else. Company will be more than welcome -- on both Sat Sep 20 and Sun Sep 21 -- if anyone wants to drop in on us for games, conversation, movies, or whatever. There are also Super Sekrit plans to whip up a batch of homemade ice cream! Come and join the fun!!!This is not a formal party, so there are no official start or end times. Just let me know if you plan to swing by at any point in that weekend to grace us with the pleasure of your company. Crash space is available for anyone coming in from outside Oxford.
Invitation the Second: This invite is of even less broad interest -- it will probably only appeal to those on my f-list who are based in the UK and identify as some flavour of Pagan.
In about a month and a half, it will be Samhain. Late on the evening of this sabbat (which falls on a Friday this year),
cheshcat and I will be running our traditional Samhain rituals: The preparation of a feast for the ancestors, followed by a small circle in which we toast to the beloved dead. We have been performing this ritual for well over a decade now, in a variety of different settings -- with our coven, with our poly family, by ourselves, et cetera. This year, we would like to invite our local[*****] Pagan friends to join us. Please be cautioned: The ancestor toast is not a particularly happy fluffy ritual -- it tends to be quite personal, heavy, and cathartic. It also tends to be very powerful and moving. Out of all the rituals that we repeat annually -- Beltane, Lammas, Yule, etc. -- I find this ritual to be the most intense.
If you are interested in attending, please let me know via a comment (or any other means that you prefer). I have screened comments to this entry for those who do not wish to publicly come out of the broom closet. Given the nature of the ritual, participation will be limited to a number that
cheshcat and I have not yet determined. Once again, for those travelling from outside of Oxford, crash space will be available.Well, it appears that the world is still here... which means that I had best get back to work! Assuming that we all don't disappear in a puff of logic, I look forward to seeing many of you soon!
[*] Indeed, I have even seen pictures of the first events from the ATLAS detector! Exciting!
[**] This means that you can stop hitting the walls now. Really. You know who you are...
[***] Now if only the same people who made such a fuss about the LHC would take the very real threat of environmental devastation seriously.
[****] Which will be the first full weekend spent in Oxford since late May. Not that anyone but me cares about these things, but...
[*****] For whatever definition of "local" suits you.
