reapersharvest

I'm glad to hear that you've gained a renewed sense of identity, I know that's hard to maintain. It's especially good that you know you can be honest about yourself and that you don't have to fit into a box just because of your sexuality, religion, or whatever. It's interesting just how much I can relate to you when it's also obvious we couldn't be more different from one another.

Interesting question (with disturbing visuals). That is not by any means the point of what I want to do. I plan to make it quite clear, though not in a giant mood-killing font, that this is an interactive story. I will have a premise, ie, a kid with an issue. He gushes the issue (totally non-autobiographical) through the blog, and asks for advice. Should he recieve advice from a reader, he shall choose whether or not to act upon it. From there the plot develops. The appeal to the reader in this sense would not so much be that of the convenional narrative, which would be overcoming conflicts, but rather seeing what happens next. I'm making a digital paper doll, and I shall do with him what I will. However, I forgot to touch upon the main point of this post, which would be what other new ways of writing are you trying out? Whether it be a conventional style to which you are unaccustomed or a way to take advantage of having literature on the internet, I'd love to hear some other thoughts..

anyway, here's a thought: I've always had a desire not only to create an intriguing narrative, but a narative that is intriguing. Being online authors presents us with many opportunities, aside rom the genres Nifty provides. For example, I have a project in mind: I want to create a character, give him issues, etc. Focusing on the charatcer. Then, on Blogger or Crazylife or one of those, create a ficticious blog, where he talk about his friends, maybe I'll make blogs for his freinds. Then I'll be presenting multiple views on the same events. They'll get free email accounts so there can be contact, and the reader will have their coments taken seriously and have an input on his decisions, making the plotline mildly open-ended. From this, assuming it can be done under a pseudonym, I want iMixes, Podcasts, forum memberships, the works. What's next in this online life? Friendster? Myspace? Flickr if photos become involved? Now, I don't plan on commiting actual identity theft, any service that requires a credit card is right out, but this character will be more lifelike than any other literary figure I've created. Not to mention, it will be a brilliant social commentary on the anonymity of the internet. Anybody here seen Simone? This idea came to me watching an improv performance. In theater, it's easy to do this sort of thing, the audience is right there, but thanks to the internet, it is here too. Meaning the old pattern of literature can evolve to take advantage of it.

Despite straight men's aversion to coordination in fashion and interiors, they do like some things to 'match'. Fathers have a weird macho thing that their sons have to emulate them in 'that way'. At least, is why the custom continues here in future generations, but where it started, I can't be sure. Most do say it's for hygiene, but hasn't laziness in the US reached fever pitch when you're cutting off body parts to avoid cleaning?

I have to make a show at the east village parade, so I'm thinking Red Death.

my responses: No, you're not a meanie. In fact, you are quite considerate to have gone through so much trouble not to laugh at his face. You are not a stalker either. You're merely at a loss as to which is the best way to feed your insatiable curiosity for Hot Track Guy.

I found an album of these amazing dance remixes of "Pure Imagination" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ford, which I cannot stop listening to and love. They're haunting in a way, it would be great runway music. Also in the techno world is the extended remix of "Filthy/Goregous" by the Scissor Sisters possibly my favorite song ever, and "electrobix" also by them, both of which I love. I've also been downloading more Le Tigre, my latest being "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" very good. There's also a new Ladytron, and "Destroy Everything you touch" is a good one from them.

I had a case of what I thought was "wishdar" with this guy I know. He was famously promiscuous so every female within arm's reach of me testified to his hetero sexuality. Turns out, it's now a tacitly aknowledged fact that he's secret lovers with another guy I know, who is not out, but at that phase I like to call "Insulting everyone's intelligence." And I got to say 'I told you so!'

Oh my. Good luck to you, enjoy the cheesecake. Yes, well, I'm convinced foie gras is cat food.

I get my ideas from everywhere, conversations with friends, news articles, and my own experiences are all inspirations of mine. Once I have been graced with an idea, I usually spend more time thinking about it than actually writing. For example, when I heard about the Helen Hayes awards for high school plays in Westchester, I first came up with a Christopher Guest- type story line, but it gradually evolved into two boys working backstage at the school musical whose lives begin to coincide with the events in the musical (I was thinking Les Mis). Another I got from a conversation wth my own dad. A college grad is unceremoniously flung into the underground fine art trade after his inheritance from his father forces him to visit all his old contacts in the upper and lower tiers of the cultural world in New York in his attempt to wade through the task of selling it all according to his father's last wishes, expressed in a letter given to him by the family lawyer. Not a lot of romance in it, but sounds stylish. My own current obsession with fashion magazines, Willy Wonka, and club kids/glam rockers and their eras have given me a whole new concept. A story of an It boy, maybe a spin-off about his growing up, and the adventures he has wth his best friend through the fashion subculture of NYC, portrayed in the surrealistic, childish way the past generations of youth viewed their spiral into drug-induced demise. What makes this one special from Devil Wears Prada, or anything by Candace Bushnell, is that it will be a daily updated tracker of all the latest news in sthis subculture. Actual events and parties will make the plotline, so it will hopefully become a source to some as a gossip rag of sorts. Anyway, like I said, more thinking than writitng.

I've never really defined any criteria, I judge on a case by case basis. There are so many 'species' as well, like preppy, frat, club kid, executive, etc. Who knows? I do know a lot of it comes through in their clothes, and not in the obvious way. Maybe it's just because I'm a bit of a fashionista that what some may see as two identitcal wall street types are in fact labelled distinctly by shoe or shirt choice. There are two different kinds of Urban Outfitters, for example. Dont think I'm stereotyping either, I've gotten this down to a science.

Wow, I actually kind of found myself rooting for the donkey. Weird.

I have a few favorite songs. I like "Filthy/Gorgeous" by the Scissor Sisters just becauseit makes me happier than most other songs, but "Take Your Mama" and "Laura" are my favorites of theirs. Also there's "Teenage Dope Fiend" by Flickerstick which I just enjoy, and "Montserrat" by Orquestra del Plata which I heard on a Kahlua ad. I find "It's You" by PJ Harvey to be delightfully haunting, "Caramel" by Suzanne Vega is good for any rainy day. "Slow Hands" by Interpol really lifts me up for some reason, and "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu" from the Desert Sessions album is among the sexier songs I've ever heard. "AA XXX" by Peaches is the best runway music I've ever heard, and "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas is just sounds so good to me. Not to mention "Not if you were the last Junkie on Earth" and "Bohemian Like You" by the Dandy Warhols. Also, "Love in a Trashcan" by the Raveonettes is so stylish and reminiscent of pulp films to me. "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, though the new version by Ceasars is good too. "The Good Ones" by the Kills and anything by Le Tigre. And, one that I always love listening to, "The Whole Shebang" by Grant Lee Bffalo. Wow, that's really a lot more than I meant to put down.

Happy Birthday! commence random emoticons: :2hands: :ranger: :pickaxe:

I can't tell where one ends and the other begins. This warrants a "What the F***?"

Happy Birthday!

I love so many aspects of this story. Thanks for sharing, these sorts of things are fun to hear.

Great, the one chat application that doesn't work on my comp for some irritating reason.

I don't like going straight into a huge descriptive paragraph, because I inevitably put too much exposition in the first chapter, thus effectively killing the story's energy. I try to begin with a typical, non-plot worthy scene in the character's life and peppering bits of description throughout as they react to simple events. Before anything ground-breaking happens in a story, there has to be some ground to break, which is why I try to start out with the mundane, while still having it be a story. I also try using more descriptive terms than simply eye or hair color and numerical height. Each charatcer's look conveys a mood, or is at least reflective of them as a person, and I find it paints a more vivid picture when the "logic" behind the way a charatcer looks is presented (subtly, of course). Here's an example of how I used dialogue between two characters to segue into a more physical description. "This conversation was typical of Derrick. One wouldn't think that, inside his tall, lithe form, topped off with dark hair and eyes that pierced, lived such a calculating mind. Carrie was his counterpoint, while Derrick seemed to absorb life, Carrie exuded it." I never liked charatcer pics in stories, and I usually ignored specific numbers. The image readers have of characters is based on more than that. So I don't reference specific colors or numbers, but I still create a certain look, granitng the reader some leeway.

The Holy Trinity of Com is the Cafe, the Library, and the Shack (VoyForums), as I understand it. I don't know if that's your question, but the links are on his GA page. I'd place my bets on the Shack, under "Forums" on the site.

Fine, switching back.... Anyway, you're right about the lack of good sci-fi, and Firefly was during FOX's nasty phase in which it cancelled a bunch of shows without closure. For example, John Doe, which I loved, and Boston Public, which I loved more, both disappeared off the face of the earth. With their new fall lineup I expect that another few will go MIA. Oh no, I did it again.

I know that after Silence of the Lambs, very few have artistic murders anymore. Saw came close, but there were no characters.

Try hearing a conversation between your father and his friend in which he is asked what sex with a pregant woman (my mother) was like and he responds, "It's like getting lost in a balloon factory." The worst part is that before responding, he hesitated and said to me, "I guess you're old enough to hear this." (any doubts I may have had about my sexuality were put to rest, on the bright side). Anyway, don't think I'm insensitive, humor is how I handle these things.

Who can stay mad at you when you obviously always know the right thing to say?