Skins, wedgies, goggles of geese

[jack]

I could never remember what the third collective terms for geese was (regardless of which two I thought of first), but looking it up we find:

Gaggle: on water
Flock: on land
Skein: when flying
Chevron: In V formation

But while some people draw these distinctions some people don't. I don't know if they're particularly used by people who talk about geese, or historically, or were just decided by someone who wrote an influential book. Everyone agrees about flying, it's flock and gaggle which get switched in most places.

OTOH, I came across http://www.birdnature.com/groupnames.html. Regardless of how many are really used, *all* the names are beautiful. Picked completely at random:

cauldron of raptors
charm of finches
company of parrots
convocation of eagles
exaltation of larks
raft of ducks
paddling of ducks

I want to be a bird now!

In other news, Dovescape is really cool. This is a magic card that turns any non-summoning spell into doves. How do you come up with that[1]? You'd never think of it, but it's so RIGHT. Can't you just imagine the magician casting, the lights and sounds going off, and then fwoom! A room full of doves in proportion to how powerful the spell was? This is how to make good rules (consider a magic card somewhere between a fluxx card and a penultima rule) -- you never think of it, but go "Ooh!" as soon as you see, and don't have to strain your brian to work out what it's going to do.

[1] Horses mouth

Comments

[atreic.livejournal.com]

convocation of eagles
exaltation of larks

Those two at least I know, and have probably used at some point.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

The last one is a book (so I discovered). Do you use them in a "Look! Larks!" way or a "Ooh! Ooh! I can use an unusual and beautiful collective noun" way? I want to encourage as many as possible to stay/become the first as well as the second[1].

[1] And, ok, vice versa.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

you could always settle for pulling a bird or two...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Bzzzt! Repetition![1]

[1] Insofar as everyone in the world who isn't me is a gestalt entity playing Just a Minute to my Parsons.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*slaps Jack*

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes baby! Harder!

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*spanks the naughty boy*

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

*behaves innapropriately*

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*finds the latex tape*

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

*behaves innapropriately*

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*binds Jack firmly*
*blindfolds Jack*

Now, behave while I have lunch

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

*is lunch*

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

Dessert

With strawberries

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

So, I'm the table plate?

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*eyebrows*

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Why did I suddenly take that as a verb?

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

because that was how it was used...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Doh! I mean, "Why did I suddenly take that verb as transitive?" :)

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

/me has got her transitivesand intransitives muddled.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Don't get your transitives in a knot! I inferred you meant "eyebrow(i)" as in "Raise my eyebrow". I implied you meant "eyebrow(t)" as in "Caress me with your eyebrow"

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

literally or metaphorically

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

hehehe

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

There's a reason I'm so aggravating

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

maybe you should be a lecherer then

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I am, sometimes. Not everyone is as letch-worthy or as letch-appreciating as you are to me :)

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*blushes*

I'm lech-worthy?! hehehe

Thanks

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

You look nice when you blush. But you know this. Our problem was never attractiveness, was it?

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

*laughs*

I ought to make a new icon of one of those photos...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Uh, which?

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

emailed

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

LOL. I was expecting something non-work-safe somehow. (And a smaller file :)) You do indeed look very nice.

Though your current icon seems to work well -- completely casual, completely modest, but completely beautiful. Matthew works a camera well.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

mmmm. It's my favourite photo of self. The one emailed is also safe, but ... different somehow?

Ooops. Sorry 'bout the file size.

And he works a lot of things well. Seeing him friday! (cue ecstatic bouncy angels)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's a good description. There's nothing explicit, but there's definitely, well, eyebrows, as it were. An indefinite aura of flirtation, which the icon doesn't have.

(Don't worry about it, I have lots of room, I was just surprised.)

ROFL. I hope the time goes quickly. Also, ooh, plural angels.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm working on cloning...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Matthew and I could have a few dozen each. Think of how much you'd write if you could collaberate with yourself.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

Think how many people I'd kill if I could conspire with myself.

"It wasn't me, it was that clone. DNA proves it."

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Probably could. Replication erros. But fingerprints is the easiest way :)

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

:)

And I think Matthew might be scrapping with you to have the clones...

[simont]

Bah. If there are different collective terms for geese on earth, on water and in air, then clearly the fourth collective term ought to be for when they're on fire!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes! I'm sure we could write a whole sketch about that.

"A hiss of geese" perhaps?

[simont]

xraycb points out that a close enough approximation to "on fire" might be "being cooked for Christmas dinner". Given that, I wonder if a crackling of geese might have roughly the right connotations?

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that works. Or maybe it should be time-dependant: a crackling only in decemeber. If there's one flaw in the three element system it's that once you understand it, you understand it, it doesn't all go grue-shaped in n000 years time.

[senji.livejournal.com]

The eagles have pulled out!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

...

Does that have anything to with convoke, or is just a coming pun?