Jibber Jabber - Q1 - 29

Hi, all,

I'm going to be MIA from now until July 1 - got a bunch of deadlines staring me in the face. When the blog post / press release comes out for the HMs, SHMs and semis, would someone please PM me?

Thanks!

Kary, PIC
(Procrastinator in Chief)

I DO!! I DO!! I have the receipt! And I bet my husband has the picture of the envelope too.

Hi, all,

I'm going to be MIA from now until July 1 - got a bunch of deadlines staring me in the face. When the blog post / press release comes out for the HMs, SHMs and semis, would someone please PM me?

Thanks!

Kary, PIC
(Procrastinator in Chief)

Bon chance--hope you fare better with your deadlines than I did with mine.

Thanks. Glad it brightens someone's day.

Your posts always make me giggle too. I like how you come on, leave a one liner, and go.

That's because 99% of the time, when I start writing a longer post, I eventually decide it's not worthwhile and delete it.

To quote Stewie Griffin, "I guess history's just whittled it down to the gems."

Jeremy,in which part of Texas are you currently residing? I'm not from Texas either but I'm quite happy to be here for the time being - way more writing support (by way of conferences and friends and writers in general) than Idaho!

So I'm still a bit unclear about exactly when the finalists found out - at least the ones that visit the forum. Names and dates, please. It's okay to brag a bit.

I'm way south in san antonio, where heat is a given and humidity determines good days from bad.

I got my call on saturday right after getting a call from work about stressful situations so i was taken completely by surprise when Joni called. Had no idea who I was talking to!

Thanks, Michael!

I'm from Fremont/Clyde region, about an hour east of Toledo. Went to school at BGSU (the first time -- well, technically second time)

Heh. And in other small world news... That best friend of mine who lived in Sylvania later moved to Bowling Green, where his wife, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law all taught.

That is a small world! And is the obscur *M*A*S*H* reference have to do with Clinger? All I know is he's a Toledo golfer and has his picture on Tony Packo's wall, but I don't know the details.

That is a small world! And is the obscur *M*A*S*H* reference have to do with Clinger? All I know is he's a Toledo golfer and has his picture on Tony Packo's wall, but I don't know the details.

Ah, you young'uns... No appreciation for the classics... Hang around here, you'll learn more M*A*SH references than you ever wanted to know! They have become -- quite unintentionally, mind you -- something of a signature trait in my posts here.

Jamie Farr's character, Maxwell Q. Klinger, started as a single episode joke. Like many a clever actor has done, Farr did his job well and then sold them on a recurring role. And being a Toledo native himself, he suggested back story for Klinger as a Toledoan with a strong affinity for his home town. I'm fairly sure that he himself suggested the many Tony Packo's references in the show. One episode involved him receiving a bunch of Packo's hot dogs as a gift.

Quick! Someone make a Kary Ribbon!

Martin, it might please you to know that my first favourite song was "Suicide Is Painless."

Not that I remember that.

Because it was in utero...

Apparently I ‘danced’ whenever it came on.

Martin, it might please you to know that my first favourite song was "Suicide Is Painless."

Not that I remember that.

Because it was in utero...

Apparently I ‘danced’ whenever it came on.

Young'uns! I swear...

Hey, Tina totally started this thread.

A sign?

Also, I wanted to say thanks to Tina's thanks. I only read the first five pages of your story, which I now regret not asking for the whole MS, but we were both going nuts with our entries at that time, so quick swaps were all we have time for. (Christmas, bah.)

Here's what I said in my crit to you on Dec 28th.
"So far, this story is simmering. Make it sizzle. An expression I use a lot is, punch me in the face..."

The advice itself is not sage, but what you did with it certainly must have been. Somewhere out there, DW is nursing a Tina inflicted face wound.

D

Jamie Farr's character, Maxwell Q. Klinger, started as a single episode joke. Like many a clever actor has done, Farr did his job well and then sold them on a recurring role. And being a Toledo native himself, he suggested back story for Klinger as a Toledoan with a strong affinity for his home town. I'm fairly sure that he himself suggested the many Tony Packo's references in the show. One episode involved him receiving a bunch of Packo's hot dogs as a gift.

I didn't know that hot dog joint has been around so long!

I'm not really a Toledoan, per say, more of a north-west Ohioan... and never a big fan of the show (sorry). though i did play Trapper John in the high school pay, if that counts for anything.

Okay, I just realized what the date is!
Crap, I have a deadline in 10 days and I'm not ready!
Man, you guys are a bad influence! or just a distraction? (well, distraction at worst, certainly not a bad influence. -- except for the procrastinator... who was that again?)

I'll be in and out but mostly out for a while. THANKS again for welcoming me into the Water Bufflao Lodge and I'll be back sporatically.

Jeremy

Hey, Tina totally started this thread.

A sign?

Also, I wanted to say thanks to Tina's thanks. I only read the first five pages of your story, which I now regret not asking for the whole MS, but we were both going nuts with our entries at that time, so quick swaps were all we have time for. (Christmas, bah.)

Here's what I said in my crit to you on Dec 28th.
"So far, this story is simmering. Make it sizzle. An expression I use a lot is, punch me in the face..."

The advice itself is not sage, but what you did with it certainly must have been. Somewhere out there, DW is nursing a Tina inflicted face wound.

D

No worries, Dustin. I was just having trouble with the first few pages.

Yep, I basically took your advice and RAN with it (and I totally agreed with it, my uncle, a huge science fiction fan, who said the same thing). You critiqued the first 700 or 1k pages and I held back on that first page because of a variety of reasons and when you said you'd read Meghan's entry and it was as "frenetic as she was" and I could go much crazier. I took that as permission to write the way I usually do, but I'd been holding back on the contest. Each entry I'd been dulling down my entries out of fear that I was getting rejections because of my writing style.

HEAR THAT EVERYONE: Write how you write. Don't try to "guess" what the judge wants. Tell the story, make sure you polish with all the things Dave is writing about in his Daily Kicks and you'll feel much better to have a story that is truly yours up on that list. I think I did send you the new opening and you said "YES! Exactly!" -- your instincts were right on I'm so glad I listened to you. Everything else stayed the same, but I needed to nail that opening.

This thread makes my pacifist neohippy heart proud... *wipes a tear*

This thread makes my pacifist neohippy heart proud... *wipes a tear*

When do we sit around the camp fire and sing and pass around life stories?

ETA: I totally have to share this story. I had a roommate in college who *hated* that I came from a Dairy and Future Husband from a beef ranch. She was a vegetarian and sometimes vegan. I was making a roast one night and she cried while telling me it hurt her feelings to see me cook meat in the kitchen (this was in the beginning). I never cooked meat in there again because it was a simple request to fulfill (after all Future Husband lived a block away) but I also never pointed out that the bag of marshmallows she was snacking on were made with gelatin and gelatin had crushed up animal bones in it..... Evil Tina? Perhaps.

This thread makes my pacifist neohippy heart proud... *wipes a tear*

When do we sit around the camp fire and sing and pass around life stories?

I don't know, but mine's dull as hell so maybe we can skip that part.

(Also I'm allergic to outside.)

HEAR THAT EVERYONE: Write how you write. Don't try to "guess" what the judge wants. Tell the story, make sure you polish with all the things Dave is writing about in his Daily Kicks and you'll feel much better to have a story that is truly yours up on that list.

This thread makes my pacifist neohippy heart proud... *wipes a tear*

When do we sit around the camp fire and sing and pass around life stories?

I don't know, but mine's dull as hell so maybe we can skip that part.

(Also I'm allergic to outside.)

Then you'll be no fun on our virtual camp out.

ETA: I totally have to share this story. I had a roommate in college who *hated* that I came from a Dairy and Future Husband from a beef ranch. She was a vegetarian and sometimes vegan. I was making a roast one night and she cried while telling me it hurt her feelings to see me cook meat in the kitchen (this was in the beginning). I never cooked meat in there again because it was a simple request to fulfill (after all Future Husband lived a block away) but I also never pointed out that the bag of marshmallows she was snacking on were made with gelatin and gelatin had crushed up animal bones in it..... Evil Tina? Perhaps.

We (my fencing club and I) corrupted a lifetime vegetarian once. Oh, he went into it voluntarily; but we got him to eat meat for the first time in his 25-ish years existence! He was very wise about it, taking only small quantities at first so his digestion could adapt. But now he's a carnivore!

ETA: I totally have to share this story. I had a roommate in college who *hated* that I came from a Dairy and Future Husband from a beef ranch. She was a vegetarian and sometimes vegan. I was making a roast one night and she cried while telling me it hurt her feelings to see me cook meat in the kitchen (this was in the beginning). I never cooked meat in there again because it was a simple request to fulfill (after all Future Husband lived a block away) but I also never pointed out that the bag of marshmallows she was snacking on were made with gelatin and gelatin had crushed up animal bones in it..... Evil Tina? Perhaps.

We (my fencing club and I) corrupted a lifetime vegetarian once. Oh, he went into it voluntarily; but we got him to eat meat for the first time in his 25-ish years existence! He was very wise about it, taking only small quantities at first so his digestion could adapt. But now he's a carnivore!

Yes! Total win!

Also clarification:

I have no problem with not eating meat or dairy for any reason anyone may have, even if it is political in nature. Some of my best friends are vegan. I just can't stand hypocrisy.

I have no problem with not eating meat or dairy for any reason anyone may have, even if it is political in nature. Some of my best friends are vegan. I just can't stand hypocrisy.

We have no problem with it, either. We just like to be bad influences!

But even after 15 years, they have yet to get me drinking beer, so their record is imperfect...

I have no problem with not eating meat or dairy for any reason anyone may have, even if it is political in nature. Some of my best friends are vegan. I just can't stand hypocrisy.

We have no problem with it, either. We just like to be bad influences!

But even after 15 years, they have yet to get me drinking beer, so their record is imperfect...

Haha!

I like corrupting people too. I think that secret desire lives in us all.

I just went vegetarian in January--giving up marshmallows was hard, but you'd be surprised what else gelatin sneaks into.

Yoghurt? Why in the hell does yoghurt have gelatin in it!?

(Though I guess now I'm a "piscetarian," since I'm eating fish again--cutting out all meat is really hard when there's a family in the picture.)

I could never go vegan. I'm too much of a snacker.

Edit: I agree, though, about the aggravating hypocrisy thing (see also the wonderful McSweeney's Internet Tendency piece, Passive-Aggressive Vegan Grocery Cashier: A Day in the Life. ). And crying over cooked meat does seem a bit much.

Edit 2: The only thing I occasionally miss is bacon. Damn you, bacon.

I just went vegetarian in January--giving up marshmallows was hard, but you'd be surprised what else gelatin sneaks into.

Yoghurt? Why in the hell does yoghurt have gelatin in it!?

(Though I guess now I'm a "piscetarian," since I'm eating fish again--cutting out all meat is really hard when there's a family in the picture.)

I could never go vegan. I'm too much of a snacker.

And to be a vegan you pretty much have to snack all the time to get enough calories. My husband's entire office (over 20 people) went vegan about two summers ago on a bet (except for Tyler who stepped away from the bet because of what was at stake and we have the annual cattle drive at the beginning of every summer). It was kinda fun trying to make cookies that were vegan and even did a company retreat to a vegan resort. I couldn't do it long term. Two people in the office stuck with it. My brother is also vegetarian/vegan/piscetarian...he wavers between the three.

ETA: McSweeneys! love their stuff.

I don't eat prawns any more. Seriously, eating a prawn sandwich I felt like I was committing genocide. All those little pink bodies...

Of course, the Gator thinks I'm insane. But then she's a little bit evil.

Of course, now for me the wait is over. There's a second wait, mind you, but it's not the same. For around a dozen of you, though, the wait is still on. So it's a wonder you haven't all gone Evil on us!

After doing a little happy snappy dancing in celebration of the finalist announcements, my evil one has sunk to the bottom of the Swamp again. We're hoping for results tomorrow. I don't think she's surfacing again until we hear something. Or at least, for my sake, I hope she doesn't surface. Heaven knows what sort of mood she's in right now.

And to be a vegan you pretty much have to snack all the time to get enough calories.

The problem is more with what I tend to snack on... Vegan-friendly, it ain't. (Although if I cut out all the junk food, I'd probably be in better overall health.)

Caloric intake is a bit of a problem for me because I have a ridiculously overactive metabolism. I've actually been considering a resumption of carnivorous attitudes, because I'm hungry all the damn time now, almost. Probably not getting enough calories, alas.

(Yes, I'm one of those people who has a really hard time putting on weight--to a degree where it's actually a problem for me, almost. You can send your hatemail using the "email" box to the right. )

LOTS of familiar forum friends and names on this one! HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you ALL -- and best wishes for success to you all going forward!!!

(I emerge from my 101.2 fever delirium to write that, and now shall lapse back into delirium/future story ideas!!!)

Aw, thank you and feel better!

(Yes, I'm one of those people who has a really hard time putting on weight--to a degree where it's actually a problem for me, almost. You can send your hatemail using the "email" box to the right. )

Really? Me too! Course, in my case, it's accompanied by a rather childish appearance and frame--meaning on some days people mistake me for a fourteen-year-old.