AFriendlyFace

Well, I mostly disagree with your perspective personally, but whatever works for you At least you're more open-minded than most people.

So I'm sitting at work minding my own business, doing my mountains of paperwork and pondering which report I want to work on next when the phone rings: Me: "(Company name)" Guy: "Hi?" Me: "Hi" Guy: "Are you a recording?" Me: "Um, no" Guy: "Are you sure?" Me: "Yes, I'm sure." Guy: "Really?" Me: "Yeah, I'm a person." Guy: "Well you sound like a recording." I've never had to argue to convince someone I wasn't an automated message before. I'm kinda hoping I'm not in that situation again either.

I've read this a few times, and I'm having trouble tying the first and second stanzas in with the third and forth. Really, it's mostly the second stanza that confuses me. It's pretty, but it doesn't seem to "tell the story" the same way the other stanzas do. Actually, I completely misunderstood the poem until I got to the fourth stanza. I was actually thinking that Alfredo was a dog As if you understood waiting (Dog's know nothing of waiting; they live in the present) in the diner's back corners for coffee, eggs, (yeah, I was imagining a dog in the back of the diner waiting for scraps...the coffee shoulda tipped me off though ) or on Saturday mornings, in bed, lying in your imagined scent; (this part most of all made me think, "Oh it's a dog!") waiting after a sticky climax for indifference, (I was thinking the dog was obliviously sitting around while people had sex) I feel like a total idiot for this egregious misinterpretation, but after I read the fourth stanza it started to make sense and I then understood the third stanza in relation the fourth. I'm going to attribute my confusion to lack of sleep. Anyway, it's a good poem about two fundamentally different people who fell in love (wait, was Alfredo in love too or was he indifferent?), but still weren't able to make it work. That's very true to life. -Kevin

He was a 10 as far as I'm concerned

I hope everything works out okay with your family, Method. Regarding the abduction story, I'm just glad they're all okay -Kevin

I quite like it. It very nicely expresses the romance and excitement so present in new love Good job, Beasty! -Kevin

I bet you thought that since it had been over a year I'd never come up with anything thoughtful to say about this poem. Well, my thoughts might not make much sense or be of relevance, but as it happens I have come up with a few things I'd like to say. First off all, I find the rhythm and flow of his poem to be all but perfect (I would just go ahead and say perfect, but is anything ever really perfect?). The repetition of lines in just the right place beautifully accentuate the frustration that the narrator is feeling. the "tablecloth of hearts" and "shish kabob hearts", besides sounding lovely and melodious together, nicely represent the general "I can't possibly give you my heart, and your flirtations are stabbing it" sorta feeling I'm getting from this piece. I've read and enjoyed several of your pieces and look forward to reading more, but I can truthfully say that thus far this one is my favourite. It's just beautiful actually and a real pleasure to read. The imagery is rich and poetic and the emotions are well-expressed and easy to identify with. Awesome job! On another note, I'm impressed with the wide diversity your poems encapsulate! I definitely never know what to expect next when I click on one of your pieces, but I'm assured of a fascinating and thoughtful journey! -Kevin

Not really, no. The person below me needs to go grocery shopping.

Ohhh, We did this game a couple of years ago! It was one of my favourites! Hmm, I'll marry Bjork because she's the coolest. I'll sleep with Paris Hilton because she's the hottest. I'll throw George Bush off the cliff because....he's the only one left (hypothetically, if they were all still alive) Socrates Oscar Wilde Mark Twain

I've thought about this a lot over the years, and I ultimately don't think it really matters that it's silence. The only thing that matters is that it's something that a lot of GLBT people and their allies are all doing at the same time. It could be everyone wearing a rainbow bracelet on the same day, or everyone walking around with a big X on their cheeks. What matters is that it's something noticeable that other, non-supportive people wouldn't accidentally decide to do (for example everyone wearing a red shirt wouldn't work because it wouldn't be very noticeable and a lot of random, homophobic people might coincidentally do it too). That way it calls attention to the people and can rightly be identified for what it is. It's just a general opportunity to come out as GLBT/GLBT friendly and to do so with the solidarity of a large number of other people in the community. Silence is a good choice because it isn't something highly negative that could get you into trouble. Of course it could still get you into some trouble depending on the circumstances, but it isn't overly hostile or offensive, so it won't draw a lot of negative attention. It also works because there's a way to symbolically relate it to the struggles of GLBT people in general (however tenuous and irrelevant this relation may actually be). I think it's basically just a PR spin and a general justification for what action was chosen. As I said, it could be anything. In general though, it's probably helpful that it's something that's somewhat of a sacrifice and that requires some effort. It does demonstrate a certain level of dedication and resolve to pull it off. It also has the benefit of being something that almost anyone can participate in. It doesn't require money or any special talent. So silence is a decent choice simply because it's something and that something, when done by lots of people simultaneously, is a good way to highlight GLBT issues. It will get people talking about it and asking questions and looking for information. Ironically, silence is a good way to open dialogue in this case. One more thing, you guys should check out the GA Day of Silence Anthology. It was the second ever anthology and the one which kick started the events as regular, quarterly installments. Have a great day everyone! Kevin

That does sound pretty cool! One question though, I know this might be cynical, but was that guy really a "boyfriend" to the other frat president in the traditional sense of the word? I mean with dating, kissing, doing (non-sexual) things for each other, and generally considering him to be his boyfriend, or were they instead just regular partners for messing around? I ask because there's often a pretty big disparity in between how someone might view themselves in one situation versus the other. A lot of guys (who may or may not be homosexual or bisexual) may mess around with other guys, maybe even regularly, and not perceive themselves as homosexual. On the other hand, if he admitted (if only to himself and the other guy) that they were in an actual relationship and were "boyfriends" then it's a lot more deceptive and hypocritical if he was criticising gays. Yes, I was thinking that there was a national gay fraternity. That's certainly the only one I'd have ever had any interest in joining.

What's the point in even posting in this thread when James has already made all the good points? *Nods* Also very true. The best of all and totally my answer if I have to narrow it down! A great point, Kit! If I currently had a boyfriend I hope that would be my answer. Since I don't though, I will opt for my big gay family of friends We're as dysfunctional and all around nutty as any other family, but we do love each other and look after one another. Apart from the above stuff, my answer is basically the all encompassing "gay culture" as a whole. That includes the people, music, art, literature, organizations, values, ethics, perspectives, politics, clubs and bars, dating, fashion, and all around lifestyle. It permeates my life in ways both subtle and overt and I'm very grateful and delighted that it does. Indeed, my favourite gay thing: my life Take care all Kevin

Well, in the case of Hemingway, I hope what they have that he lacked is an ability to write in an interesting and compelling way on topics that won't bore the reader to tears. Anyway, regardless, they almost certainly would benefit from an editor. -Kevin (who would rather give up reading entirely than be forced to exclusively read the works of Hemingway) Edit: I'm glad other people are somehow (miraculously IMO) able to enjoy his writing though

I think that the majority of authors around here make a solid effort to make their writing teams feel valued and appreciated. That said, I will say that I think some authors are exemplary in this regard. CJ for example goes far above and beyond what is typical to give recognition and appreciation to anyone who has a hand in his stories. I know that speaking for myself there's a good chance most of what I post would never have been made public without Sharon's support and assistance. I think some extra form of recognition for these vital people is a great idea! I think that a Team Recognition Month would definitely be a nice thing to do. I think it's always going to fall to the authors just what they want to do to make their team feel special and needed, but perhaps setting aside a special time period would provide some of the impetus. To some extent, I also think it helps - in terms of recognition - when the team is also quite visible. For example if they comment on the stories and provide their own perspective then it quite clearly makes people more aware of their presence and also gives the author a great opportunity to once again publicly draw attention to their much needed efforts. I think it can even be the case that editor or other team member themselves can become highly visible and thereby gain more recognition for their work. For example I would speculate that everyone knows what tireless, dedicated editors Sharon and Jan are because they're so visible in general. I think there is a flip side of the coin though in that some team members might not be visible at all in the first place and are thereby harder to "recognize". For example there have been several excellent stories that I've read in which the author made it a point to thank their editor at the beginning and/or end of each chapter, yet I had never heard of that person before so it was just a name to me. Of course very often the author themselves is just a "name" until you get to know them on some level, but I think it's easier to get some type of feel on them from their stories. With the support team that's harder to do. Anyway, I definitely am in favour of doing more to show appreciation for the vital writing team -Kevin

Well, I don't watch TV at all and haven't for...well about 8 years. No, it wasn't American Idol which turned me off completely. That time simply coincided with a busy point in my life in general as well as a growing preference to spend my free time online instead. Anyway, that's not to say that I haven't seen a few episodes of things here and there at friends' houses. In fact I used to have weekly plans with a bunch of friends to get together and watch Intervention, which would of course also be reality TV. As a matter of fact I did enjoy that show quite a bit. Regarding American Idol I'm more conflicted. I've seen a lot of single song performances, mostly on YouTube, and a few bits and pieces here and there when other people had it on. All in all I'd say that it isn't something I'd classify as worth spending my time watching (but as is evidenced by my lack of TV viewing there are very few shows I consider worth spending time watching); however, it would not be an unpleasant way to spend my time. Theoretically, if I didn't have anything better to do I'd be fine watching American Idol; however, I've pretty much always got something better to do. In general, as a genre, I don't like reality TV. Nor do I like the ever popular crime dramas like CSI or the court TV like Judge Judy. The same goes for Medical dramas, talk shows, and soap operas. Those sorts of shows actively disgust me and put me off in most cases. Actually, the only type of TV genre I can say that like is the SitCom. I generally find SitComs to be at least pleasant to watch and like American Idol most of them are such that if I didn't have anything better to do I'd be content to watch them. There are really only a few television shows that I actually consider worth my time and the majority of them are SitComs (Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace). Then there is the random drama that I consider worth my time (Queer as Folk), and yes, even the random reality show (like Intervention). For the most part though I'm very happy that I don't watch TV and plan to avoid it as much as possible for the remainder of my life. If something is really funny or really emotionally compelling then I'm happy to watch it, but if - like the majority of TV - it's just a big, mindless time drain then NO THANKS. -Kevin

I'm reading: "Boy Crazy" by Michael Shelton And "The Riddle of Gender" by Deborah Rudacille Excellent books

What an excellent post Billy has made! I agree and disagree with him quite strongly on certain points, and so I'll offer my own thoughts. I think that it's fine to write stories which purposefully employ these fun little tricks. I also think it's fine to tell the readers about them later, and I do think it adds an extra layer to the piece and makes it a bit better. What it doesn't do though is justify writing a piece that no one will be able to enjoy, understand, or identify with without coming up with (or reading) that specific interpretation or understanding the literary tools employed. For my own writing, my favourite literary tool is parallelism. I like to use it throughout chapters and I particularly like to parallel one early scene with a later one, giving it of course a completely different spin. I also like to employ symbolism and purposely make a character or scene represent something else. Truth be told, I don't think I would enjoy writing nearly as much if I didn't have these things in mind while I was writing. I don't think that these objectives give me the right to neglect basic character and plot elements however, and regardless my readers must be able to appreciate my work on a surface level. It certainly is frustrating when people don't appreciate what you were going for. To use my own writing as an example, my favourite short story to date is The Most Dangerous Place which I wrote for the Ghosts Anthology. I have a ton of parallelism and symbolism in it, I wrote it for the purpose of reflecting some of my characters as personifications for the worst aspects of other characters, I was attempting to make statements about love and acceptance and the circle of life, and I wrote it with a very deliberate eye toward word usage. All in all, I've never enjoyed writing a short story half as much as I enjoyed writing that one. So yes, I'd have been thoroughly delighted if people had sat down and picked it apart and commented on the themes I was going for. Instead, most people who commented focused on the surface aspects of the story and their general reaction to the story as a whole (which is of course the most common way to evaluate to story). I still appreciated that they took their time to do this and I'm delighted that people bothered to read it at all, but yes, I'd have definitely preferred a deeper analysis of style and themes. Conversely, it seems that my most popular short story to date is If No One Notices, which I definitely enjoyed writing and value a great deal. I certainly put a lot emotion into it, but it doesn't really have a lot of extra layers in it. That is an excellent point! I completely disagree with this though. I really and truly appreciated your analysis for us a lot, Jovian. In fact I love it when authors do this. When I was studying literature I adored sitting around discussing the deeper symbolism, style, and themes in the piece. It was a whole lot of fun. I wish we had more discussions like that around here. I do think that doing so too early can squelch discussion since you more or less tell the readers everything you had in mind and there's not a lot of point in them looking for more or debating the merits of different analyses. However, once it's become clear that the majority of the deep discussion is over I think it's fine, even preferable, for the author to come in and do some interpreting. I think it makes people think about the piece more and see it from new angles. It certainly did for me in this case. Now I definitely don't think an author should say, "No, you're wrong, this is what that really meant..." For one thing, I don't think that's true. I think once someone puts forth any sort of art it does become open to interpretation, and its personal meaning to the one who perceive it is just as valid as its intended meaning. I think this is true of literature, art, music, dance, etc. HOWEVER, I still like to know what was intended by the artist, and I enjoy looking at the piece from that angle. I don't feel threatened by it, and it doesn't make me feel like my own interpretation is invalid, but for me at least, it adds another layer of enjoyment. I think a good piece of art will inherently contain elements which can be interpreted any number of ways, regardless of what the artist had in mind. Excellent point on this! And on this! Not much more I can say except that I agree. That must indeed by very gratifying! I'll try to check it out Eh, my reaction to this is yes and no. I've already stated my approval and preference for the author to at some point weigh in with his/her intentions for the work. I can see the valid feeling a reader might get of being condescended to or told, "No, you're wrong." However, I think that to some degree that implies a defensive reader. I also think it does depend on the way the author handles it. "No, that's not right. This is what I meant..." is always wrong. "Interesting observations! I'd love to hear more, I hadn't even thought of some of that myself. Here's what I had in mind when I was writing it though..." is generally a pretty good approach, and wouldn't make me feel offended as a reader. I also think it helps for the author to explicitly say something to the effect of "All interpretations that are reasonably grounded are valid, and I hope my work can mean different things to different people." Anyway, basically I didn't feel spoken down to and I was grateful for the further interpretation of what you originally had in mind. That's very true! So is this I will make one final comment on the piece. One thing I personally didn't like was the overabundance of Christian religious symbolism. It's a very personal reaction though. I just have a lot of exposure and experience with this sort of imagery and frankly I'm downright tired of it. That's just me though, some people who have a background that isn't as steeped in it, or who might enjoy it because it is familiar, will obviously feel differently. Take care all and have a good day Kevin

Wow! There's a lot going on in this poem. I like the general feeling of searching and the way that you've managed to indicate that the opinion of friends and family is not the ultimate good. Yet, your mention of them also speaks of the inherent influence that they do wield in our lives. The punctuation and general flow of the poem is very experimental and dynamic. I almost had a tough time keeping up with it in that it moved so quickly that it kept me on my toes. Is this a parallel attempt to express the quickly changing, dynamic searching of youth? The end both seems to "fit" really well with the overall tone of the poem yet almost catches the casual reader by surprise. Excellent job, Anthony! I really enjoyed this piece -Kevin

I'm really glad you found a way to post these; they really complete the saga and bring the whole thing full circle. As with the others, they are very moving and emotionally powerful. Excellent job! -Kevin

Hmm, I'm a bit confused by this poem. My original interpretation was that the narrator's interest in the beloved had put him off. Upon a deeper reading though I wonder if it was the narrator's lack of overt interest which put the beloved off. I think one of the hallmarks of a good poem is that it lends itself to multiple interpretations, and this one certainly does

I actually didn't realize this poem was about rape/molestation until about the third stanza. Prior to then I was thinking "No one can really take away someone's inner glow."' Then when I read that I began to consider things from a completely different angle. This is indeed a very evocative and thought-provoking piece. Certainly nothing can take away one's innocence more quickly and completely that the events described in this poem. -Kevin

Hmm, I've pondered this carefully, and I've concluded that my reading of it is that it implies that love begets more love in a sort of positive, never-ending cycle. Is this an accurate reading?

This is a very intense poem. I wonder if the obvious interpretation, that of an alcoholic becoming addicted, is the correct way to read the poem. Almost certainly it could be read with regard to any addiction or overwhelming desire. I agree that the whole "you chose your life; I chose mine" theme is extremely moving and all around powerful. All in all a very great poem! -Kevin

This reminds me very much of the old saying that life ends not with a bang, but with a whimper. I think this poem does an excellent job in capturing the feelings one experiences as they look back on their their life, and their time with another person, and see all the regrets and missed opportunities, all the mistakes. I think such feelings are unavoidable. However, I also think that the other side of the coin is being forgiving of oneself and one's lover and realizing that in the end people are only human and life is not perfect. This poem gives me a lot to think about with regards to humanity and the nature of relationships. Thanks for sharing it with us! -Kevin