W_L

I was wondering if anyone has made a thread about the Simpsons, just as a general topic in the Soapbox or Lounge, but it doesn't seem to be here. (Only the Simpsons movie made an appearance, but it was brief) I've been watching the show since I was a kid, actually caught on to it around 1996-97. I sort of liked the show from that time, more than the later episodes, but I still watch it. I mean the Halloween episodes sort of suck now, the old one with 3D Homer and Bart were fun (this was back in the day when 3D was still a novelty and Beast Wars had just started). I remember "Who Shot Mr. Burns" really well, I can even remember the lines of dialogue from that episode (No, I didn't guess it was Maggie, I thought it was Smithers like everyone else.) I'm going to turn 25 in June and I just realized that the Simpsons have been around for as long as I have; it has been the mirror into American culture, history, and trends for four decades (80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's), if not more with flashbacks. The show started back in 1987 as short cartoons, but it has become much more over time. The writing and animation in that show were cool and way ahead of their time, I've just noticed more stuff as I got older and started watching the show on DVD (Yes, I am one of those nerds who listen to commentary as well). My Top 5 Simpsons Episodes: 1. Who Shot Mr. Burns pt. 1 2. Homer Phobia (Just cause, you know we're all reaching for the rainbow ) 3. Bart After Dark (I love the ending song so much, there's nothing wrong with a Burlesque house) 4. Treehouse of Horror (1-8, you got to serve man, the Shining, and pre-"Butterfly effect" parodies, seriously the Simpsons made fun of Ashton Kutcher before he got famous) 5. Last Exit to Springfield (Surrealistic and lot of little jokes, not to mention the funny scenes in the Dentist office and Homer's runs ) As honorable mentions go: Sideshow Bob Roberts, the one where Bob wins like Richard Nixon (He got 100% of the freakin votes, he didn't need to commit fraud) Bart the General, "Haha" Nelson Muntz impression Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show, yes I like it when writers go metaphysical and talk about TV shows within TV shows,. "Worst Episode Ever" Itchy and Scratchy Land, it's a parody of National lampoon and Jurassic Park Anyone want to comment about their Simpson's memories and top 5 episodes after 25 years

As all you know I have a Asus Transformer Prime, Tablet + keyboard = Best of both worlds, it can work like an iPad or a regular laptop. Also with the USB and microSD slot, I 've got options for memory or an external drive.

I have written the first act of a play with a lot of issues, technical and structural, and i am not sure if i should post it or not for the spring anthology. It isn't controversial or experimental like my usual short or long stories. However to me, it is definitely different, I've never done a play or written lines like these. I am picking up the idea and central issues of this play around a handful of news stories that got me thinking. It's a decent idea for a play, but i know at my current abilities as a writer i have not done it justice.

My first attempt at writing a play. Lots of conflict, characters issues, and even a Faustian influence (What can I say, I like my Devil's bargain)

Look Away Dickie By W.L Background: Erik and Bastian have enjoyed the greatest joys in life. They were best friends in school and became lovers as they got older. They might not have been married in the eyes of others, but they were happy with their lives. Erik was a pediatrician at Winchester Medical Center, while Bastian was a high school history teacher. They had adopted two boys. Bobby, age 16, was adopted 4 years ago and Dickie, age 13, adopted exactly 1 year ago. Bobby had been pimped

Yes, it's not politics or some hot guy, but it is just really fun. I hope I am not the only one into it. I've been playing the Beta for Sins of the Solar Empire: Rebellion and it is just so addictive.I can't enough of the huge space battles or the new ship classes that they came up with. It's an awesome game on its own, but this new addition makes it even more. I don't know how to describe it. For those, who don't follow the game, Sins of a Solar Empire is a massive space based strategy game with 3D graphics and immense strategic and tactical management.

I'm sticking to my google Android OS tablet with ice cream sandwich Asus transformer Primes is now probably my favorite hybrid of touch screen and keyboard functionality. If you want to turn it into a laptop, it has a USB port and microSD, so I am all set with storage or video with a small external DVD. I think Microsoft is moving far too slowly on this front and they are just not competitive against Apple or Google with tablet functionality, Microsoft is still dominant in server based operating systems, which neither competitors can chew through either.

Things enjoy about the show: 1. The premise is refreshing and very interesting, what is reality? what is family? what is love? 2. Interesting drama and interesting issues that pop up about a person with either a severe psychological break or a parallel consciousness. Jason Isaacs' character is a father and a husband, but he cannot be both, he's split in half. (For Harry Potter Fans, you will remember him as Lucius Malfoy ) I think the show has a lot of great potential, it is not heavy handed or overly dramatic, but it touches on humanity on many levels of contrast, which is probably what the show intended. Also, BD Wong is in this (gay asian actor famous for Law and Order SVU and Oz), but I kind of feel bad that he's typecast as the psychologist again. SVU was great, but he has so much range, I saw him in Oz and he was amazing. It might not be a story set in space with star ships named "Enterprise" (I can't find good sci-fi anymore), but it is a good series that is both entertaining and provocative. What does everyone else thinks?

Wow, Congrats! Great to hear that you are now published Do you know where it will get distributed? Boston probably might have a few bookstores that will carry it. (I am still writing as a hobbyist, but I am so glad you took it to the next level.)

Oh Man, has anyone been following the second season, Vengeance? It's getting better and better. I don't know if life is imitating art or art is imitating life, but "Libertus" was simply spellbinding and it made me think of current issues sans blood. The first gay man on man kiss in the show (I didn't count the first season one, since they weren't main characters I actually was captivated by), and I hope maybe some guy-on-guy action soon

I wonder why can't Authors and screenwriters have artistic license to be producers, too? I'll pick up that book Graeme, sounds interesting.

Just remember guys, if any of our stories become movies, demand executive producer rights or else don't release any copyrights/movie rights. No joke on it, remember what happened to Martian Child, Hollywood butchered the plot and characters.

What if the plot is the character? (Trying to find the little door into John Malkovich's head.) I mean only a handful of authors write in stream of consciousness, but it is a style that mixes both together. It is a fun style to use and experiment with. If you have a plot centered on the character's observations, thoughts, and memories, wouldn't the plot also be the character?

An interesting quote from Shakespeare that spoke to me for some reason today: Shakespeare had a great way with words and concepts,

I wasn't really non-conforming in terms of gender, I think at least. I didn't really develop any distinctly gender traits, I preferred light blue and green over darker colors, but that's not gender based. I was not a fan of pink or purple. I did enjoy playing with dolls and play acting, like having them drive around in a little convertible. It kind of connected with my interest in drama later on in high school, which I dropped. I thought the 1 in 10 figure seems interesting and might mean that gender and sexuality studies are on similar wavelength.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/20/health/child-gender-nonconformity/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 I know with my luck this is going to be thrown over to the soapbox if flames flare over this issue. I just thought the article was interesting and also confirmed something from the early Kinsey Studies: However, it also poses an interesting question as to whether gender non-conformity and homosexuality/bisexuality are what the early studies of Kinsey and others had related? The study also adds in the sad truth that some gay kids have felt in their lives like teasing and abuse at home and school. I thought it would be an interesting article to share.

I've had my own share of depressing moments, You know as a kid, I wanted to be a doctor to help people and maybe create medicines to save the world or something. Today, I'm an accountant, who tell doctors to do the opposite. It's like every thing I do in my life just ends up being opposite of what I had wanted it to be. I'm not rich, but hell, I ain't poor either. I haven't been out on date in a almost a year, and let me just say that I am frustrated beyond belief. No matter how well you do in life in terms of career, what you want is some one by your side to give you purpose and reason for doing it. I don't even know why I go to work every day, I don't know why I do what I do except to fix this mess or make sure everyone gets paid on time. It's like I'm running on auto-pilot and there's no direction for me to go to. Yesterday, I went into my annual physical and my doctor gave me the bad news that I had gained 40 lbs in 8 months, I knew I got chubbier, but I didn't know it was that bad. He asked about my stress level and I told him about some stuff I deal with at work and my eating habits. I'll get a nutritionist and probably need to figure out some way to get my stress factors under control. I don't know if I am suffering from depression or not, but I just feel lost. While I give everyone else help and advice, I wish some one would give me some. Why do I need to do this? Why am I trapped in a world that is based around so much sadness? Why do I need to care, when all logic should be that I just give in? Well that's my rant

Depends on the story, I would say characters if the story has a rich setting and dynamic issues coming into play. For me a good story is based on character growth and plot outgrowth. As for the significance of death in fiction, it depends on what you want in your story. You can repeat the topic of death over and over again to add a psychological reference in your character. You can keep it in the back of your mind and the characters minds, eating away at them, until they snap or find peace with themselves over the death (I'm planning that right now). Plot stories are fun, but need to be grand and greater than life to work with weaker characters.

"Your lack of faith disturbs me" <Does a force throat grab on Bill> I'm a Trekkie, but I also saw all the movies and read most of the books.

Ate dinner at home, then began to write a little more before coming onto GA Can you describe yourself as an alcoholic drink?

Don't forget the Death Traps... I mean "Death Stars", they definitely are using substandard material if one littler star fighter can blow them up each time. Hmm...this makes me wonder if all storm troopers are clones, is the little one a "mini-me"? ( )

Lol! Well, I hope he's bought good life insurance, because the life of a storm trooper is pretty short, plus they can't shoot to save their lives

Good suggestions on new writers, Oddly enough after all the years of my writing, I have never been considered a promising writer Probably its due to my hiatuses of several months, whether it's due to unemployment slump after my first batch of stories, my break ups with boyfriends, or just my own stress level at my current job. I never quite developed a fan base for my writing; although some people do think it's unique and fun from time to time. PS: It also doesn't help that I chew through editors every other week, not because I am unbearable but they all leave the web permananelty after I have them edit: my first editor left due to losing his apartment, my 2nd left without telling me why, and so on until Dannsar left recently.

Seriously, he's in my head right now: I knew I should not have watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which actually was a good movie that was badly marketed. He's haunting my thoughts now. It also helps that he's the hottest Canadian alive close to my age, only 1 year younger (I'm not a teenage girl, so Justin Bieber doesn't count ) Yes, I have soft spot for dorky guys.

The other side of it is where will we meet? We can do a national monument, building, or something, but if enough of us shows up, we might have to register ourselves as one of the groups demonstrating in Washington I am fine with all the dates in June, but voted 16 and 17. Just remember if we meet up June 24th, someone owes me a birthday gift (I am partial to someone coming out of a cake )