Ron

Just read the damn books, for crying out loud. Without reading and understanding the books there is bound to be trouble. I would even read the prequel books by the son, Brian Herbert and his co-author, Kevin J. Anderson as I have--that would add context and a deeper understanding as to the why-and-what-for of Frank Herbert's classics, with Dune being the subject here.

I’ve read three reviews of the movie and all seem to agree so far that Dune (part 1) is big and grand but lacking in feeling, or the important facet of making a connection with the viewer. Hans Zimmerman is responsible for The Dune Sketchbook (Music From the Soundtrack), and if you’ve listened to Zimmerman’s music for The Dark Knight Rises you will know that music is all deep base and excitement with drive, but whilst the Dune music has some deeper base underpinning it, it is a much slower work with faint choral voices that while providing texture don’t add a whole lot of meaning to the music—background stuff for sure—and after listening to the first three songs (nearly fifty minutes) I was not moved. I hope that Dune won’t turn out to be just another action flick of a movie, lacking depth.

I read this blog entry, but I didn't know anything about @Geron Kees and so I sort-of glossed over the interview, sorry. Then today on Thursday, I happened to read something on Nifty.org called Thrift Shop Nation dated from 2016 and I liked it, a lot. I thought the story would be perfect for GA, and I saw the authors name and I did a search for it here -- just in case. Low and behold, the first result was this blog entry. Was this just coincidence? That's likely. A touch of serendipity? I'm all for it! I'll be looking at your writings with interest, Geron Kees.

This piqued my interest and I checked with my 6 year old Windows 10 PC with the latest update - Google Chrome latest iteration, iPad Pro 10.5" - Safari and Chrome latest iterations, and iPhone X - Safari and Chrome latest iterations and I had no issues with loading Stellar's profile. The Stories page for Stellar popped up instantly as well.

I would like to add a favorite author's works in their entirety: Don H(anratty) authored some stories that contain some of the most likeable (I dare to say decent) characters you're likely to find. His most recent story at sixty-nine chapters is incomplete do to his death but it remains worth a reader's time and your likely emotional attachment to his characters (I dare you to try not to become attached). The three-part Working It Out series was completed before the big site switchover years ago and will provide considerable enjoyment to anyone who can appreciate multi-book stories. His chapters are not short on word count, but they are quickly digested. A highly recommended body of work.

I had a celery joke ready, but someone was quicker at the chopping board...

I went and looked up the chant from the Laverne & Shirley show. I found this on a message board by someone called flem-ish: “A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup, a shlemazl is the person the soup lands on.” flem-ish at least gets the gist right.

A roseate spoonbill was recently sighted in Washington D.C. which is far from its natural range.

But the cat still says, “No.”

Look, if you’re going to make critical story remarks in comments then you best have a somewhat thick skin in case you receive a proportionate (in which case you may be embarrassed) or disproportionate (in which case your jaw may drop in stunned disbelief) reply to your criticism, and not only from the author. There are more of us with experiences just like the individual that you quoted than you might expect, myself included. In my case, I moved on and learned a little bit about navigating egos—still not a professional ego navigator—and I learned that some word choices might be triggers. You have a ego; I have a ego; sometimes egos are easily bruised. This is why I previously stated that criticism, whether constructive (which criticism should be) or otherwise, should be made in PM’s or emails, as the case may be, to the author directly and NOT in the public domain… unless you have established a good rapport with the author and you know you can get away with snarky comments.

To add: W_L did recommend Alpha Heat to me, and the Xan character is worth fleshing out/reading about if it’s as well written as the initial book in the series—probably why the author chose to do so—especially with how this character must inhabit this universe what with his emotional and personal proclivity. This will have to wait, I’m woefully behind on my reading list. But, you should read ahead if you’re moved by the first book, which I highly recommend!

I would add that Jason comes from an upper-class family and is highly educated, more so than is the average for this world, and because of this it does account for the intelligent way he responds to situations while still betraying his youthful age emotionally. I thought this point came across well. Otherwise, I think, it is no strange stretch of the imagination to accept the pseudo-downfall of an entire people from a highly proficient technology to one that must begin anew. One can imagine what our situation might evolve toward should the entire female population suddenly die off. It would be utter chaos and the total collapse of current level technology; it would be lost as a result. I had no problem seeing this possibility as I read the book. I do agree that the ending wrapped up too neatly, despite the drama just prior to that ending. Overall, I found your summation of the story quite good and your personal incites were interesting. Though if this was meant to be a review you gave a lot more away than I would prefer, I'm glad I read the book before reading.

@SnowBear A train wreck or a scary movie are ridiculously hard to ignore, you see it happening and you want to turn away, but you just can't help but to keep watching and sometimes calling out. I find that a friendly PM to the author is the best way to nicely offer constructive criticism if the spirit moves you. And if the author blows you off in a bad way you can chuck that author right into the trash bin. Don't forget that you can always give a story an honest review even if you don't make comments.

You have my sympathy, Steve. I'm sorry for your loss.

Congratulations on your success @Mrsgnomie

It's sad to learn of Wayne's death and my sincere condolence goes out to those who knew him well and to those who were touched by his life in some way.

I’ma tellin’ you that amative skipped sum sections of the profile update ‘cause I didn’ care fur ‘em an I hadn’ nuttin ta say witout thinkin’ to hard ‘bout the ansers.

This word would be a good one to use in a science fiction story about a race that breads itself out of room on its home planet, uses up all of its natural resources and has to flee to the stars in order to save themselves.

I went to the Blue Bijou in Cleveland, Ohio a few times and there was nothing elegant about the gay porno movies they showed on the big screen, or on the smaller screens in the back rooms. Although I dare say the facilities were highly prized by the attendees.

“Ha-ha, you said flapdoodle.” - Nelson

Jacob was a man of the street but what with the wiggle in his strut the neighbors all twittered behind fluttering hands that Jacob was more of a flaneuse than a flaneur.

Prodigy, you say! You either got it in abundance, only got a portion of it or you got no talent (which means you must learn it the hard way [like most of us]).

Memorial Day is a poignant reminder to those whose loved ones have died and are missed. No bonus for me but it is a nice word choice for the day!

This is not a glamorous word, but I will note that my family always said styptic pencil.

I got nothin’. 🙃