JamesSavik

Boo sends his regards. :geek:

My muse shows up drunk at 2 in the morning. He slaps me around and then leaves again abruptly before anything useful can be accomplished. Apparently, I have a dysfunctional relationship with my muse. :x Oh well. Look for my new short story soon. I think Blind Spot is going to be my best in quite a while. -JS :geek:

Welcome Lex! I'll try to read it soon but I'm in gradual scool and I'm working...gradually :oops: :geek:

Now I KNOW that I'm not the only person who loved these stories, teared up at these stories and thought to myself damn- I was like there Dude. Canterbury was so real I could feel it. From KC and the Sunshine Band to bell bottoms, it really took me back to that special time and place. If you are too young to remember the seventies, the closest you'll ever get to being there, short of a time-machine, is reading Freethinker's work. And yes we were hippies dammit but everybody was unless you were a square-head. I've always loved Freethinker's work. Having neglected to read these stories because of the titles unfortunate allusion to a traumatic event in senior English, I was delighted to discover that Freethinker's Canterbury Tales are as delightful as his other work if not even more. Freethinker- YOU ROCK! :headbang: -JS :geek:

Now this is what I like about Elecivil's writing. You are winding your way through his story and BLAM- you step right into a :sign5: .

Welcome Scotty! :toothy2: You picked a great time to arrive. Woo-hoo- the Angels are back! :angel9: :geek:

I wonder what Frau Phelps position on cats and lesbians is? :?:

I don't think you've got any reason to panic until you get to the adult diaper stage.

Graeme: I like it because I think that you've got the formula for short stories nailed. Short stories can't lumber out of the gate and wander for a few thousand words like a novel. By their very nature, thy have to pack as much punch as possible in a small package which I believe is a strong suite of yours. Another very good example of what I think makes a good (great) short story is Dog by WBS or Ambush by you. This short story was a bit of a departure from your past efforts as it takes place in several scenes with protracted periods of time in between. The transitions are done well, easily understood and are natural and not forced. Don't think that I didn't notice the symbolism behind the interactions between the black swans and the townspeople. Rain: Until you work for Doubleday or Ballentine and are making the big buck$, don't sweat it. Editing is much more an art than science or some Java-head would have written a program (that I couldn't afford) to do the job of editor. The task of editing means different things to different writers. I need an editor to help me round up stray commas, semicolons, adjectives and adverbs. Other writers may want other types of suggestions and criticisms of things like characterization, transitions, plot and dialogue. The key to a good writer/editor relationship is to find the spot on the editorial spectrum that you are both comfortable with. For a person new to the task of editing, you did a fine job. Just understand that editing is a lot like writing- there is always more to learn.

When you first came around GA, I encouraged you to write. I figured that if you could hack Chinese, English would be a snap.

Little Buddah- Didn't I tell you you had what it takes? :D -JS

Here are a few links on the subject: National Geographic: Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate Wikipedia:Non-human animal sexuality:Homosexuality

Baa-Haa- That's great Codey. :laughing4:

There's a new chapter posted! :D

Ever need a database but its just too rigid, a spreadsheet just won't do and a word processor isn't right either? I've discovered a sweet little program called TaoNotes Pro. I am using the freeware version but I plan on buying the whole product. The best way that I can define TaoNotes is that it is a free-form database capable of being flexible enough to store books, cds, notes, dvds, names, numbers, images- whatever. It's very simple to use and rivals expensive personal information managers and specialty academic software. Nota Bene and XYwrite have many of these database and note-taking features but they cost ~$500. TaoNotes can export data in MS-Office and HTML formats. TaoNotes can perform the functions of a lot of different pieces of expensive software- contact management, personal dbms, bibliography, research notes, etc. I would call it a Swiss army knife for words and information. Actitrend Software

The Craft of Research 2nd edition Booth, Colomb & Williams Univ of Chicago, 2003. Students are often asked to write a research paper in senior English. That exercise is usually not very enlightening. Form is emphasized, footnotes, the right number of reference cards, footnotes and other rubbish. The Form is taught but the point is missed. How is research really done? How do you pose a research question? How do you design a research project? How do you decide is a topic is worth your time and effort? Is your research pure or applied? How has the advent of the Internet affected research, is that contribution positive or does it just muddy the waters? What is a reliable source? What do you do when reliable sources contradict each other? Any student or professional researcher can benefit from the content of this book. Of course form is important but this book focuses on something the others miss: the function of research. If you are looking for a manual of form and style, this ain't it. If you want to learn how to do research that is more than gather data in a large pile, then this is the book for you. Table of Contents: Part I Research, researchers and Readers Chap. 1. Thinking in print: The uses of research, public and private Chap. 2. Connecting with your Reader Part II Asking Questions, Finding Answers Chap. 3 From topics to questions Chap. 4 From questions to problems Chap. 5 From problems to sources Chap. 6 Using Sources Part III Making a claim and supporting it Chap. 7 making good arguments Chap. 8 Claims Chap. 9 Reasons and Evidence Chap. 10 Acknowledgments and responses Chap. 11 Warrants Part IV Preparing to draft, drafting and revising Chap. 12 Planning and drafting Chap. 13 Revising your organization and argument Chap. 14 Introductions and conclusions Chap. 15 Communicating evidence visually Chap. 16 Revising style: telling your story clearly Part V Some Last Considerations Link to Amazon

This is Nipper waiting for me to throw him something to chase. Nipper likes to be brushed. In fact, he brings his own brush. BTW- I use photobucket

I'll second that. Happy birthday Blue! :bigsmurf: That depends on which hill you're talking about. -JS :geek:

This evening my friend Nipper (the Aussie shepherd from across the street) came prancing up to me with a present: He was carrying a bottle of Crown Royal in one of those cool little blue bags that they come in in his teeth. He put it down at my feet and said woof. :dog: While I appreciate the sentiment, I returned the Crown his owner. It had been sitting on his patio where they were grilling some chicken when Nipper grabbed it and ran. I got some chicken for my trouble. :D So far he's brought me sticks, frisbees, tennis balls, a hair brush and now a bottle of Crown. That's a good doggie!

I finally got to read the story as re-posted and I liked it a lot. One of the traditional problems for English speaking people is that we have one word for love. The Greeks had six or more and any idiot can tell you that there are all sorts of love. Kyle's discovery of the difference between romantic love and brotherly love was poingient and very well handled. Well done Ryan. This is a good story. -JS

I want to encourage ya'll to check out the Purge at JOSEPH MEN'S POETRY AND STORY SITE. It's a new story but it is off to an exciting start. -JS :geek:

Codey- That was great! I can't wait to see the rest. :thumbright: You and Blue make a great team. -JS :geek:

Welcome to Awesomedude Ryan! :cheers: A raunchy sex scene doesn't make a story good. Nor do tired old cliches. Imagination, characters, plot and good execution do. -JS

Twisted plot bunnies? :albino: :D I like that. Much better than those damned muses that only show up for me a 3am, drunk and abusive.

I enjoyed this story at Nifty before it was complete. It sure took a turn I wasn't expecting. :(