adblue

A belated happy birthday, Kitty. All the best.

KyleWayne, You are asking two different questions. 1. Is a poem true and about the poet? Or is a poem fiction, a story told as poetry? * A poem can be fiction. The writer can make up a story and tell it in poetic form. * A poem can be true and about the poet, about how he or she thinks and feels. * But a poem can also be true and about someone else, or for someone else. There is always something of the writer's thoughts and feelings in any kind of writing, whether it is a poem or a story, but particularly in poetry. The writer may even write the opposite of what he/she believes, in the way a character behaves. 2. Should you tell your friend you saw his poem and talk to him? His poem was in the first person, and it was very sad. It is good to talk to your friend about how he feels. But let him tell you how he feels and what is bothering him. That will show you how to talk further with him. If he has a serious problem, then he needs your support, and it will take time. -- Don't assume you know what is going on, or how he feels, or how to "fix" things. * Some poems are about a certain feeling at one time, and the poet works out what is bothering him by writing it down. * Some poems are a way of talking to someone else about the other person's feelings. * Some poems are fiction. * Some poems are about exactly how the writer feels. Would it offend your friend if you tell him you saw his poem? -- If he knows you are concerned for him, he will be more likely not to get mad, if the poem was supposed to be private. ----- My best advice is to be a friend, talk to your friend, and take it from there.

I had guessed it was Dutch also. Good to know I was right. It's a great video. -- Since Dutch is very closely related to English, even though it may not sound like it, if you listen closely, you may catch several of the words. OK, I did, but I'm unusual in that...I guess.

Very nice story, y'all. Hope you're enjoying the new city now, Kevin. Best wishes!

Thank You, Viv! For and from people like me, and friends of mine, who are a little more different, in one way or another. ----- P.S. -- That's one of my favorite songs. I haven't seen that video before.

Now there's a guy who likes to contribute! Heheh, congratulations, Nick!

^ what he said. :chuckles: good answer.

:grins: Yes, I know "Lady Marmalade"...er, the song, the song! -- Aw, and I was just filling in for anybody who might *not* know. Hmm, but I'm sadly uninformed regarding "Call Any Vegetable," though I may have heard it and just don't recall. But I will find it. Heheh, I'm in the mood for something in the weird and funky vein of Frank Zappa. :grins: at the other comments. ...And for those who don't get it, that last bit can be read as "US" = "youse." :laughs:

Codey's World - at http://www.codeysworld.com/ - is a new site and forum by Codey, a poet and author whose writing has been available at AwesomeDude.com for a year now. I am the web designer, following his ideas for the site. The site offers poetry, stories, and non-fiction by Codey and other authors he has invited. All hosted writing focuses on relationships, not on sex. Hosted stories are suitable for everyone. The site is intended for gay, straight, in-between, and not-sure people. You're welcome if you're GLBT or friendly. You are also welcome, regardless of skintone/culture or physical ability. The site is brand new. Codey's poetry and stories are there. I'm among the authors who will be hosted. Several authors are linked from the new site. We will be adding and updating as we go. A few things could move around, too. Please come visit the site. Your suggestions and comments are appreciated. (If you have feedback about the site design, navigation, and so on, please send to both Codey and myself, so we can better serve you.) See you there!

Aww, :hugs: Kitty, just because. Shoot, I'll hug all you Louisiana folks. (Texan, here.)

Your Linguistic Profile: 70% General American English 20% Dixie 5% Yankee 0% Midwestern 0% Upper Midwestern What Kind of American English Do You Speak? http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofameric...hdoyouspeakquiz ----- Very cool topic! I'm from a big city in Texas. In my state, the accent is as much Southern as Southwestern, or even its own distinct accent. I say "y'all," except with formal spoken or written English. I also say, "you guys," though that can include women and girls. A carbonated beverage is a Coke, even if it's a Pepsi or a Sprite or a Dr. Pepper. "Soda" appears to be gaining ground. -- Cherry tomato. If the tomato talked back, I'd be...concerned...for a great many reasons. -- Kurt, I've never heard it called a "bubbler," but I like that, it's neat. -- PiscesRising, Compaq, and other Louisianans -- hey, neighbors! -- get down / d

But, but...I *like* the original series episodes the way they were. I grew up on those. *waaah*

bored? board. I was going to do a whole spiel of tree-related puns, but I realized that'd quickly get into too much innuendo for you...or too much for me, at any rate. Wind Dancer, relax. If you're just the ordinary kind of bored, that'll solve itself. If it's something more, then two bits of advice for you. (Disclaimer: free advice is worth what you pay for it. Think about that one, it's meant at least two ways.) 1. Don't discount your current friends. Give them a chance. Give yourself a chance to be their friend, too. 2. If you sit at home and don't do anything, yeah, you're gonna be bored. So find something to do, both projects you're interested in and fun activities. Find ways to make friends and go out and do things. But, but, but, I don't understand? -- There are ways around it, even in personal circumstances that would surprise you. Yes, it may require really rethinking things and forcing yourself, if you're in an unusual situation. Or it just might be a matter of making one or two little changes, if it's a regular kind of bored. Chances are, it's no biggie, and you're not bored today, when you read this. But if you are, then try out the advice, huh? ...Or you could try to think up bad puns about boards and wood byproducts....

AFriendlyFace -- That's an odd error. A couple of suggestions. * Have you cleared your browser cache recently? * Have you deleted your cookie(s) for GayAuthors.org and logged back in to the forums? * Contact the forum admin by PM or email with the following info: ~ OS platform and version: (WinXP, Mac OS X, Linux, etc.) ~ Browser and version: (MSIE 6, Firefox 1.5, etc.) ~ Do you use AOL or some other web provider's software? Those should help diagnose what's going on. -- It sounds like you're getting an incompatibility or an old file that's messing you up.

OK, that was abstract. -- Down to earth, the object is for readers to be able to read stories, safely and privately, and as long as it's fair use, I doubt any author would have a problem with that. Hey, there's a gay radio program in my city. Very literally, they have listeners who sit there with headphones or in the closet or bathroom. Heck, one of the hosts said he used to hang out his window (on a ledge or in the bushes) to listen, years ago when it first came on and he was a teen. No, no kidding. Most of us know that there are readers who have to read fiction or look for factual information and, for whatever reason, they are not free or comfortable to just take it easy and read right then. They deserve support too.

OPINION: Regarding saving files to your computer for later reading: Your browser saves a temporary copy anyway, while you're browsing. If you are only saving the files so you can later read them, then you are not doing anything wrong. This is no different in principle from waiting until later to read a book or watch a video or listen to a disc. If you are not publishing those stories on a website or in some other form, or trying to pass them off as your own, or selling them, or duplicating them, then you are not violating the spirit of the copyright. If you are passing the printouts or a disc with the saved files along to another person, but not selling them or recopying them, then that is like loaning a book or disc to a friend. A group, such as a GSA, might do that. If you quote passages or use audio-video clips elsewhere, then you must give credit to the original author or artist, and you cannot profit from it, without obtaining permission from the publisher. For one thing, it shows who came up with the idea and did the work, and gives them credit. That's why there are references, footnotes, and credits in publications. The whole idea behind the copyright laws is to give fair credit and payment to the author and the publisher of an intellectual work, in whatever medium or format. The author (and usually the publisher) alone have the rights to republish, make more copies and sell them, unless they grant permission and are paid for republishing. It is generally not a big issue, when you are saving the files for later reading. If someone makes copies and passes them around, that's a no-no. Technically, you're not supposed to do that, although, in practice, (for an older example) a photocopy of an article is sometimes passed around. Generally, that's not done in mass quantities and it's not for profit, which is why it's ignored. It is an issue for debate (and disagreement) if someone posts a copy somewhere, such as the dreaded filesharing. -- You're not supposed to do that. That's a form of republishing, even though it's free. The analogy would be that a library loans out already-published copies, and the author and publisher were already reimbursed. But making new copies competes with the current publishing contract and doesn't reimburse the author/artist. That's the intended reasoning. This isn't a debate on the merits of filesharing versus paying for files. That would be way off-topic for this thread. Please don't go into that here. Note: No, I'm not an expert on copyright, redistribution, and fair-use issues. If there's something I've misstated, then by all means, correct me, other editors and writers.

Hi, Wind Dancer. Ben, huh? Good name, not that I'm partial for any reason. Heh, no problem about the links, you're still learning the ropes. I'll need to read through them before I can really comment. I did notice two things, looking at Last Light. First, make sure you have chapters 2 and 3 linked in right. Currently, the third chapter shows a 2 in front of it, and chapter 2 isn't showing up, only chapter 3. Second, be sure to put either a blank line between paragraphs or indent the first line of each paragraph, so it's clear where they are. Dio's advice is good and friendly, Wind Dancer. ...Every writer starts somewhere, brand new. If you have a knack for it, it'll show.

Fran

Yes, go light on the phonetics for dialect. An occasional reminder of what dialect the character has (time and place) with a few choice words here and there will do what you need as a writer. Exceptions: If a character's dialect is very different from the other people in the story, then you'd highlight it more. If it's important to capture how the characters sound, as local color, so the readers don't imagine standard English, then you'd use as much respelling as you need to get your point across. A little goes a long way. I happen to like language and dialects, but as an editor and reader, I know that many other people have trouble with it. That has to do with language ability, and not with dyslexia, but yes, dyslexia would aggravate it. If you're thinking of a story where they all speak in an unusual accent, you have a couple of ways to go. One is that if everyone speaks that way, you only need to show a few key words or pronunciations that wouldn't be usual elsewhere. The other is to show more of the accent, but even then, not to overdo it. Accent shows a person's place, time, education, and cultural background, and it varies a little over time. Some people pick up accents easily. Others won't ever change their accent, even if they live somewhere else most of their lives. Heh, and a "country" or "ghetto" accent doesn't necessarily mean someone isn't smart, though they may mask or unlearn their original accent. Likewise, if someone is from a big city, they aren't likely to have a thick regional accent, although it doesn't rule it out. I've read about half of Desert Dropping so far, and it's mostly excellent. -- So I know that you do really well with dialogue and characterization. I'd say you already have a good feel for when to show accents, and you'll find what's comfortable for you to write.

Phobic cow? What about phobic bulls? That'd explain blinky milk too.... To carry the tangent further, a friend says that yes, there are homosexual horses and cows. No, I don't know whether to cheer or groan either. Put it in the "weird factoids" drawer.

I'd be surprised if they need Flash much here. Yes, for dialup users, Flash and other audio-video content or large files are somewhere between glacially slow and impossible. I now have broadband at home, but that's recent, and if I'm elsewhere, it's more likely to be diaup. I use both a desktop and a laptop. It's very important for the site and forums to be viewable on MSIE and Firefox, Windows or Macintosh or Linux. It's also important to be accessible. That means it's usable for people with varying physical abilities and various devices for browsing or adding functionality. -- I'm trying to find data on this, myself, and not having as much luck as I'd like. ----- All of those are technical. There's something more important that we've almost forgotten, probably because it's too obvious. -- Many visitors to any GLBT-friendly site will want to print or save stories to read later, offline, where they can feel free to read in peace. That includes ppl who don't have ready access to a computer of their own. -- It's important that the technology doesn't get in the way of that kind of usability.

The new grouping makes better sense to me, including having an Authors forum with subforums for each author. Thanks for the new layout.

Happy 20th, EC, and may you find all the best. Keep us laughing and thinking, with those words. Thanks.

Hi from adblue. -- Actually, blue at AwesomeDude, but "blue" is already taken here, it seems, which is slightly disconcerting.