Rigel
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Posts posted by Rigel
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You want yodelling?
Try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_KomqNtKY.
(Hint: it's someone you've probably never thought as a yodeller before.)
--Rigel
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Where you are from doesn't determine how intelligent you are.
Guess what all of these Universities have in Common- besides being in "red" states:
Tulane
Tennessee
Ole Miss
University of Texas
Auburn
Vanderbilt
Texas A&M
Southern Methodist
Brigham Young University
Ohio State
Penn State
Michigan
Michigan State
Georgia Tech
Stanford
University of Houston
Rice
Notre Dame
California
University of Kansas
Baylor
Florida
New Mexico
Utah
Arizona
USC
Pittsburgh
Big time football?
No. They produced Nobel prize winners.
There's a problem with this list of "red state" institutions. California is decidedly not a red state. Scratch Stanford, California, and USC from the list. New Mexico is still a blue state. Scratch New Mexico. Pennsylvania is a blue state. Scratch Penn State and Pittsburgh. As is Michigan--scratch Michigan and Michigan State. We can quibble about Ohio (Ohio State), but the list still looks like it was composed during an attack of color-blindness.
--Rigel (though I like the initial advice which began the thread--if you select a mate for superficial reasons, you're likely to wind up with a superficial mate)
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An absolutely amazing story! My eyes are teary with admiration for love so beautifully expressed. Of course, when I got to the end, I needed to re-read the entire story with different eyes.
--Rigel
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"curb strip" in southern Connecticut, although only big cities like Bridgeport or New Haven had them--not suburban towns like the one where I grew up, which was quite devoid of sidewalks.
--Rigel
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Wow and double wow! I'm amazed by the most recent chapter, with Andy's photograph becoming a metaphor reflecting the parallel psychological conundrums of so many of the characters.
Not only is the book one amazing read, but I'm beginning to realize that further plot developments are likely to be dependent on the character of the characters we know. I'm still trying to figure out how the various talents of Todd, Andy, Geoff, Mr. Mortensen, and Mr. McCluskey (and perhaps Monica) will be used to protect our crew against the horrible wiles of Vic Harper. That's not a level of involvement I achieve with most novels.
Thank you, Cole, for writing this.
--Rigel
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The amazing thing to me is declaring the inerrancy of the King James translation. After all, the original books are in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament).
There's an old truism: "Translations are like women: they are beautiful but unfaithful, or they are faithful but ugly." The KJV is too beautiful to be accurate.
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Updating the discussion with a resolution to the situation:
NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 13 (UPI) -- A New Haven, Conn., honor student who was suspended for buying a bag of skittles on school grounds has had the punishment expunged.Sheridan Communications and Technology Middle School Principal Eleanor Turner said she agreed during a meeting with Michael Sheridan's parents to erase the student's suspension record and reinstate him as Student Council vice president, the New Haven (Conn.) Register reported Thursday.
"In looking back over this incident, I warned the students repeatedly, but I should have reinforced it in writing to parents, that the district does not allow buying and selling candy at school," Turner said in a statement released by the district. "My intention throughout was -- and still is -- to maintain a safe and orderly building. I am sorry that this has happened. My hope is that we can get back to the normal school routine, especially since we are in the middle of taking the Connecticut Mastery Test."
The student who sold Sheridan the $1 bag of candy has also had his suspension expunged.
Turner said the policy banning candy sales will continue at the school.
"When students are allowed to break school rules like this, it does lead to problems," she said.
--Rigel (former New Haven resident)
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Could I suggested putting the dates back?
Story Name chapter 4 (7-12)
I'll second the motion, for what it's worth.
The dates were an easy indicator to see if a story had been updated since my last visit here.
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The Post Express, my local free rag distributed to commuters in the morning, has a brief article about this with the wonderful headline:
"Anti-Gay or Anti-Munchkin?"
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Part 4, chapter 15 has been posted at iomfats.
http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grass...end-pt4-15.html
Now I've got to go read it.--Rigel
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The beachball riot reminded of a game that used to be played on Yale University's Old Campus called "Bladderball." There were no rules, only a series of teams , each of which anarchically decided what its own objectives would be. Perhaps the best summary of the game was "a formal confrontation with the absurd." A nice history of the game can be found at http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=14884.
--Rigel
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And Chapter 14 is ready:
http://members.gayauthors.org/littlebuddha...tw/SOOTB14.html
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I'm not sure how much of a departure from his previous writing "Fallow's Creek" is. Grasshopper already tried one murder mystery--"Dreamchasers"--and this one has even more matured writing, a more developed tone that revels in the contradictions and foibles of human behavior--
"I peed, brushed my teeth, fake-yawned widely and pulled on my old threadbare sweatpants, the ones I wore when I wanted to feel ugly. Ash watched me from his side of the bed, not commenting on the sweats, but knowing that I was silently telling him to keep away."
I await further developments with eager breathing.
--Rigel
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Another new story begin by Grasshopper, "Fallow's Creek," just begun (13 March 2006) at http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grass.../fallow/01.html
Further chapters and other stories can be accessed at the slightly more general URL of http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grasshopper/
--Rigel
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Is there a guitar part?
Or maybe a tune, unless it's a talking blues?
Seems like it's meant to be performed...
--Rigel
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The "cowboy story coming on" mentioned by Grasshopper above has been written, and it's one of the best things Grasshopper has written (and given the other things he's written, that's high praise indeed!). An amazing gloss/variation on Annie Proulx's story, set 40 years later, written from the heart, and less tragic.
The story (9 chapters plus epiogue) is called "Promises to Keep" and is available at:
http://www.iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grasshopper/
--Rigel
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There's a fascinating essay by Lee Harris (http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=011606D), which launches off of a discussion of Brokeback Mountain and the characters of Ennis DelMar and Jack Twist to question the very validity of labels such as "gay" or "straight," "homosexual" or "heterosexual."
An excerpt: "What the two cowboys of Brokeback Mountain were rebelling against was not being forced into normal marriage by society, but against being forced to define their humanity in accordance with other people?s ideas of what they should call themselves. They simply wanted to be treated and looked upon like men -- not as queers or homosexuals or gays -- but simply men. "
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Great story, and thanks for posting all of it. But you've got to replace that photo of the Beaux Arts bandstand in the middle of some big city with a photo of a nice Victorian bandstand in the middle of a park in a small town. Maple trees in a regular pattern, large Victorian houses with at least a little space between them on the streets on the other side of the park... The story is great, but the setting in that small town of Clarkesville is what makes it.
--Rigel
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Well, I saw the film today. (We tried to go last night, but every showing on all three screens was sold out. So we got tickets for today. Can you believe that even the Sunday morning and early matinee shows got sold out?!) Then I spent part of the afternoon rereading the short story. The film is quite faithful to the printed story, but conveys a lot of its information cinematically. Heath Ledger deserves all sorts of awards for his performance as a man of few words, who conveys as much by what he doesn't say as by what he does.
There are a lot of great reviews and articles generated by the movie.
Roger Ebert's review ( http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...S/51019006/1001 ) does a fine job of discussing the motivation of the characters. And the New York Times has a great piece on the difficulties of being an actual gay cowboiy in Wyoming today ( http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/fashion/...LhGDFEE+WIT06CA ). The one person I'd really love to see personal reflections on all this from is Grasshopper (Jamie), who now lives on a ranch in the American West. Another person with experiences of local expertise I'd love to contact is a high school classmate who now lives and teaches school in a small town in Wyoming. They're probably in places where seeing the movie at a reasonable location isn't going to be a possibility for a while, though there are plans to expand it to more and more cities in the next couple of weeks. It's probably going to take some Academy Award nominations to get it into theatres in small-town America, but the film is good enough that it's not just a hopeless dream for that to happen.
--Rigel
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http://www.planetjh.com/testa_2005_12_07_proulx.html
is a link to an interview with Annie Proulx in a Jackson Hole, Wyoming newspaper. She talks a lot about the story and how she came to write it, the myths and realities of Wyoming, Matthew Shepard, the conversion of the short story into a screenplay, and the genre of Western literature. An excerpt or two from the piece:
Planet Jackson Hole: How did you come to write "Brokeback Mountain"? What inspired the story?
Annie Proulx: "Brokeback Mountain" was/is one of a number of stories examining rural Western social situations. I was trained as an historian . . . I watch for the historical skew between what people have hoped for and who they thought they were and what befell them.
PJH: I think it's clear to anyone who reads "Brokeback Mountain" that above all it's a wrenching, starcrossed love story. It is about two cowboys, but it seems inaccurate to call it gay literature. How do you feel about the film being assailed as gay agitprop emerging from liberal Hollywood? Did you ever intend for the story to be controversial?
AP: Excuse me, but it is NOT a story about "two cowboys." It is a story about two inarticulate, confused Wyoming ranch kids in 1963 who have left home and who find themselves in a personal sexual situation they did not expect, understand nor can manage. The only work they find is herding sheep for a summer ? some cowboys! Yet both are beguiled by the cowboy myth, as are most people who live in the state, and Ennis tries to be one but never gets beyond ranch hand work; Jack settles on rodeo as an expression of the Western ideal. It more or less works for him until he becomes a tractor salesman. Their relationship endures for 20 years, never resolved, never faced up to, always haunted by fear and confusion. How different readers take the story is a reflection of their own personal values, attitudes, hang-ups. It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her life experience, prejudices, world view and thoughts. Far from being "liberal," Hollywood was afraid of the script as were many actors and agents. Of course I knew the story would be seen as controversial. I doubted it would even be published, and was pleased when The New Yorker very quickly accepted it. In the years since the story was published in 1997 I have received many letters from gay and straight men, not a few Wyoming-born. Some said, "You told my story," some said "That is why I left Wyoming," and a number, from fathers, said "Now I understand the hell my son went through." I still get these heart breaking letters.
More of the interview at the Planet Jackson Hole website (link above).
--Rigel
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"Brokeback Mountain," the original story by Annie Proulx, on which the movie is based, has been posted:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/a...212fr_archive01
Read it! One of the great gay romances, set in Wyoming, published the year before Matthew Shepard was found crucified on a fence near Laramie.
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A most excellent conclusion. It's wonderful that elements from earlier chapters (from juggling to moron theory to ants) come back in a way that unify all 13 chapters into a tight story.
Even the forward-looking actions following the conclusion of the story are hinted at enough. For example, I can imagine the scene the next day between Cam and Mr. Hall without EleCivil needing to write it out. The only thing missing (though it's there in my own head) is a gratuitous camera-pan backward though the street performers at the park.
--Rigel
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I'm sad to see Jamie's letter, though a more careful reading of it makes it seem more like a hiatus than a forever goodbye; at least we can hope so.
"Just HIt Send" may well be my favorite net fiction (certainly of authors not resident here at Awesome Dude)--a story which is not only well written, interestingly plotted, and motivationally consistent, but also filled with insights about the nature of love and the human condition. Other tales have entertained me, but "Just Hit Send" moved me and affected me profoundly. While not "finished" in the sense that Jamie reserves the right to revisit his characters, the story has reached a stasis; most of the plot uncertainties have been resolved, and we're left with no great unresolved issues. It's just that the characters are so well developed that we want to check in on them occasionally and find out what's happening in their lives, the way we do with old friends in the real world.
The displaced youth is one of the mainstays of coming-of-age fiction. A teenager comes to grips with a new set of friends in a strange place (or an existing group must deal with a new teenager placed into their midst). Jamie now gets to live out the displacement in his real life. Fortunately, he seems excited by the opportunity, and we can only imagine that since he goes into the move with a positive attitude, he will store up his ideas and feelings, and on the day he finds time to write again, he will distill all the insights gained through actual experience into new and wonderful writings.
We can wish him the best, and hope that he finds happiness on the ranch. And with some selfishness, we can hope he reports back from time to time to let us know things are going, and perhaps even, one day, have time to write about it in a story. ("Happy trails to you until we meet again, etc.")
--Rigel
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The once was a writer named Dave
Who fell in a rage or a rave:
"Delete all my stuff
'Cause I'm feeling gruff
And there's nothing of mine you should save."
Scan to donate
The Woodlake House by Chris James
in Readers Rule!
Posted
It's a good story--I just read this week's installment. (Kudos to Chris!) However, as a former resident of White Oak, I'm pretty sure that Chris James has made up a lot of the geography. While the river seems loosely based on Northwest Branch (with perhaps a bit of Paint Branch tossed in for good measure--and "branch" is a local term for river or creek--it's actually the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River)--there are no lakes in the area. The mill is possibly a romanticization of the Burnt Mills that used to stand on the Northwest Branch near where Colesville Road crosses it, but the Parsons farm is a complete creation of Chris James's wonderful imagination. The other fascinating architectural thing the area has going for it is the Polychrome Historic District (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychrome_Historic_District) --five houses built out of prestressed concrete in the 1930s, a technique later used on big office buildings, but rarely used in home construction. The concrete had brightly colored aggregate embedded in the concrete, and with their art deco design, they are wonders to behold, although obscure to the world that lives beyond the immediate neighborhood.
--Rigel