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Steven Adamson

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Posts posted by Steven Adamson

  1. Just read this.

    Tons of fun, but you never lost the feeling that there was genuine danger for the characters from the start.

    Great dialogue which is a great way to feel like you're in a story. And the imagery worked well too.

    Anyone else cheer like crazy in their heads when Captain America showed up?

  2. Wow, I always enjoy stories I think of as 'new mythology' and this is a premier example of the idea. Fresh but classic. It makes me want to hear fleshed out versions of the story of the moon and the four ants.

  3. Changing people's last names.

    Changing people's hair (straight v. curly)

    Oh, and I left out an entire scene.

    Apologies to Mike for having to change it and to readers who were thinking wtf??

    No, no, no!

    You can't ever apologize for this stuff. You see, you have to incorporate it into the subtext of the novel. Meaning is created in the space between the reader and the page. You need to trust your reader to construct what happened using the materials you gave them and they'll quickly realise that somewhere between scenes your characters got

    a) a deed poll

    b) a perm

    c) selective amnesia

    And they'll congratulate themselves for their cleverness and keep reading. Trust me on this, I'm a literary academic.

    impostor.png

    (comic from xkcd.com)

  4. Curiously, while looking at related videos at youtube, I found out that this same school district was highlighted for positive action during the GLSEN awards of 2010. Mostly it was the doing of the students and they met significant opposition from fellow students, but the district administration seemed to have welcomed them:

    Not sure what to make of that in relation to the bullying incident, but I shows that nothing changes overnight, though it does change.

  5. We should be careful calling for an expulsion immediately or as a blanket solution.

    (Granted this case looks extreme enough that an expulsion may be warranted, but I'm taking a more general, future-looking view)

    The problem is that expulsions and suspensions often end up being badges of honor for the perpetrators and zero-tolerance policies for violence often fail for not addressing the root cause of violence. I keep thinking to a story I read here at Awesomedude just the other day: where one kid got beat up by his best friend after the kid revealed he was gay, but the violence came from a place of frustration and pressure that the attacker was not able to funnel, but once he could, ultimately the two boys were able to reconcile. (Can't remember the name of that story! Someone please help me.) Violence is not always based in malice or other clear cut sources, so the solution cannot be clear cut.

    Sadly, a lasting solution would require a deep commitment on the part of the school to educating students about differences and the limits of a free society (i.e. It's OK not to accept homosexuality as moral, but you can't use harrassment/intimidation/violence to make your point.) Most schools take one of the two inexpensive, politically expedient options: either do nothing/little as in this case, or zero-tolerance expulsions/suspensions.

  6. You sure he's talking about coming out when he says that gay adults in public life need to stand up? Could it just mean speaking up about the problem whether you reveal you're gay or not?

    I remember the early X-men comics where Professor Xavier passed for regular human while speaking out against anti-mutant discrimination. Seems like he was doing something worthwhile.

    I do similar stuff from time to time when I see a kid under my care be anti gay, I give a talk without pulling out the "I'm gay" card.

  7. Don't sweat it.

    Republicans, Democrats, Whatever. Doesn't matter who's in charge, really. The pace of change is mostly dependent on the attitudes of the people, not the other way around. And the attitudes of the people is getting much better, especially the younger people. Gay marriage is close to 50% support nationwide, but that number is mcuh much higher among young people.

    We got NY! We'll get CA soon (for good this time) We haven't actually lost New Hampshire.

    Overall and longterm, I'm happy with the direction of things on this issue.

  8. Cole,

    Sent the e-mail owl with the story last night. Lemme know if there were any problems with receiving it.

    That earlier bit about UPS and DHL was actually directed at Merkin. I saw him poking his nose in and figured he was volunteering to do some editing.

    Merkin: Offer still stands.

    -------------------------------------

    Addendum: I read an article a while back that UPS men in their brown suits had become sex symbols. Also that the Other deliverymen (USPS, FedEx etc) had not, because it was the brown outfit that made the difference.

    Any responses?

  9. Hello, dear Editors.

    Got an idea for a horror story in a dream a few nights ago and decided to try completing it for Halloween.

    The Dude says I need to have the finished product to him by this Friday to guarantee it's on the site by Oct 30. I'm expecting to finish the first draft later today (Monday 24th).

    What I need is someone who's willing to take up 2000 words right away and get them back to me by Wed 26th, so I can finish a second draft in time for the deadline.

    I'm looking for basic spelling/grammar/typo proof reading as well as spotting any mis-characterization, plot holes, issues with style etc.

    Any takers?

    -Steven

    PS Sorry to drop all this in my first post. I promise I'll do a proper introduction later. Suffice to say I'm a longtime lurker and fan at Awesomedude.

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