Saturday, February 06, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival XXXVII
NOTE: Another re-post of an old carnival, so I can't guarantee links.
Welcome to the thirty-seventh Storyblogging Carnival, a collection of storytelling in blog format from around the blogosphere.
I was a bit worried when Thursday rolled around and I only had I only had three entries, including my own, but my fellow bloggers rallied to my help (which is a euphemism for saying that they gave in to my whining), and we have a total of nine stories this week.
Not Being
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 290 word brief story rated G.
I hope Kafka would have liked it.
[With only 144 words, it's hard to say much without giving it away. But it's possibly the most surreal thing Goemagog's ever written, and my new favorite of his. -DSC]
Dr. Tundra Forsakes the Flying Spaghetti Monster
by Mark Rayner of The Skwib
A 450 word brief story rated PG-13.
This is a humorous sequal to the alternate history tale Dr. Tundra in the Dock, following the misguided doctor's time in the "Reeducation Retreat". Some sexual content.
Ink Magic (Part 7) (Beginning)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The latest 1,202 words of a 14,538 word short story in progress rated PG.
Our hero learns to use the graviscope to spy on the demonic entities that are spying on him.
[Ooh, old computers and odd devices are always fun. Plus there's a really freaky revelation. -DSC]
Rampage in a Spa
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
A 1,963 word short story rated PG-13.
James Frey set the standard; all I did was follow it in this poignant and rivetting but completely emotionally true account of my first (and probably last) visit to a hot-springs spa with a companion who was not entirely of my own choice.
[This story rocked! It was funny and ridiculous and completely true, emotionally. It continues Doc's series on his adventures in Morocco. -DSC]
Benoni , Part One
by Adam Graham of Adam's Blog
A 2,234 word short story rated PG.
A man plunges into despair and bitterness after September 11th. Two years, as his wife lays on an operating table, he must come to terms with his feelings and faith.
[This time it's Adam, not Andrea, who's sharing a story at Adam's Blog. It's a different story, and quite powerful. -DSC]
A Sad Tale from Skuddledump
by Lyn Perry of Bloggin' Outloud
A 2,630 word short story rated G.
A retelling of the Garden of Eden.
[This is a delightful story, the Garden of Eden as a modern high rise apartment building. I liked it. -DSC]
Part 3, Chapters 14 and 15 of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The latest 4,385 words of a 117,858 word novel in progress rated PG-13.
During the report at the end of their second day of scouting in the enemy's fortress, Stone recounts a very eventful day - explaining his nasty shiner among other things - as well as shedding just a touch of murky light on his own dark past in this deepest dungeon.
Chapters 21 and 22 of Britannia Revived (The Whole Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 7,794 words of a continuing story rated R.
The story of an EU dystopia continues.
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Welcome to the thirty-seventh Storyblogging Carnival, a collection of storytelling in blog format from around the blogosphere.
I was a bit worried when Thursday rolled around and I only had I only had three entries, including my own, but my fellow bloggers rallied to my help (which is a euphemism for saying that they gave in to my whining), and we have a total of nine stories this week.
Not Being
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 290 word brief story rated G.
I hope Kafka would have liked it.
[With only 144 words, it's hard to say much without giving it away. But it's possibly the most surreal thing Goemagog's ever written, and my new favorite of his. -DSC]
Dr. Tundra Forsakes the Flying Spaghetti Monster
by Mark Rayner of The Skwib
A 450 word brief story rated PG-13.
This is a humorous sequal to the alternate history tale Dr. Tundra in the Dock, following the misguided doctor's time in the "Reeducation Retreat". Some sexual content.
Ink Magic (Part 7) (Beginning)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The latest 1,202 words of a 14,538 word short story in progress rated PG.
Our hero learns to use the graviscope to spy on the demonic entities that are spying on him.
[Ooh, old computers and odd devices are always fun. Plus there's a really freaky revelation. -DSC]
Rampage in a Spa
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
A 1,963 word short story rated PG-13.
James Frey set the standard; all I did was follow it in this poignant and rivetting but completely emotionally true account of my first (and probably last) visit to a hot-springs spa with a companion who was not entirely of my own choice.
[This story rocked! It was funny and ridiculous and completely true, emotionally. It continues Doc's series on his adventures in Morocco. -DSC]
Benoni , Part One
by Adam Graham of Adam's Blog
A 2,234 word short story rated PG.
A man plunges into despair and bitterness after September 11th. Two years, as his wife lays on an operating table, he must come to terms with his feelings and faith.
[This time it's Adam, not Andrea, who's sharing a story at Adam's Blog. It's a different story, and quite powerful. -DSC]
A Sad Tale from Skuddledump
by Lyn Perry of Bloggin' Outloud
A 2,630 word short story rated G.
A retelling of the Garden of Eden.
[This is a delightful story, the Garden of Eden as a modern high rise apartment building. I liked it. -DSC]
Part 3, Chapters 14 and 15 of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The latest 4,385 words of a 117,858 word novel in progress rated PG-13.
During the report at the end of their second day of scouting in the enemy's fortress, Stone recounts a very eventful day - explaining his nasty shiner among other things - as well as shedding just a touch of murky light on his own dark past in this deepest dungeon.
Chapters 21 and 22 of Britannia Revived (The Whole Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 7,794 words of a continuing story rated R.
The story of an EU dystopia continues.
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Friday, February 05, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival XXXVI
The latest Storyblogging Carnival, number thirty-six, is up at Doc Rampage. More carnivals can be found in the Storyblogging Carnival category.
The next Carnival will be hosted here at Back of the Envelope on January 31st.
The next Carnival will be hosted here at Back of the Envelope on January 31st.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival XXXV
Welcome to the latest Storyblogging Carnival, a collection of storytelling in blog format from around the blogosphere. This week we have nine stories from familiar writers. Some of these stories have a Christmas theme, while some don't, but I hope you'll enjoy them all.
Thag do art!
by Mark Rayner of The Skwib
A 220 word brief story rated PG-13.
The continuing adventures of Thag; this story examines the nature of artists.
[I like Thag, even if he is an artist. -DSC]
Rising Up
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 599 word brief story rated G.
Balloons! Monkey free.
[A story by Goemagog without monkeys? That's rare. -DSC]
Ink Magic (Part 6) (Beginning)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The latest 1,048 words of a 13,336 word short story rated PG.
Steven goes back to have a chat with the old guy that sic'ed the demon on him in the first place. Secrets are revealed. Plots thicken.
[I finally got a chance to get caught up on Doc's story, which I'd kind of fallen behind on since the last time I hosted. It's good, but I'm sure Doc will understand if I notice some small similarity between it and my story. -DSC]
Father of Mine
by J. Fielek of Quibbles-n-Bits
A 1,800 word short story rated PG.
Sometimes you never know what you left behind.
[A Christmas story, of sorts. Nice, but not without sexual themes. -DSC]
The Forgotten, Part Four (Beginning)
by Andrea Graham of Adam's Blog
The latest 2,710 words of a continuing short story rated PG.
Blinded while protecting his flocks from a lion, Josiah Bar Natan is forced to seek refuge with his Uncle Benjamin in Jerusalem during the days of Christ's ministry. His uncle's servant girl, Rachel, is assigned the daunting duty of convincing a proud Josiah to accept her help and his condition, as Josiah has vowed to fast and pray until the Lord restores his sight.
[Another story I just recently got caught up on, and I'm glad it did. I particularly like the character of Rachel. -DSC]
Part 3, Chapters 8 and 9 of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The latest 4,998 words of a 104,743 word novel in progress rated PG.
Solitary is not so solitary when you aren't alone. And Forest and James get their encounter with Logan, king of the fighters.
[Okay, I'll admit that I still haven't quite caught up to the most recent chapter of The Child. Sheya just writes too fast! -DSC]
Chapters 17 and 18 of Britannia Revived (The Whole Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 6,720 word of a continuing story rated R.
The story of an EU dystopia continues.
Faded Glory
by Josh Cohen of The New D-42
An 11,000 word short story rated NC-17.
The story of a guy who goes to his high school reunion, intercut with stuff from his past.
[This is a part of Josh's Little Infidelities series, about people who almost, but not quite, ruin their relationships. This is one of those where it seems like the infidelity isn't so little. -DSC]
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Thag do art!
by Mark Rayner of The Skwib
A 220 word brief story rated PG-13.
The continuing adventures of Thag; this story examines the nature of artists.
[I like Thag, even if he is an artist. -DSC]
Rising Up
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 599 word brief story rated G.
Balloons! Monkey free.
[A story by Goemagog without monkeys? That's rare. -DSC]
Ink Magic (Part 6) (Beginning)
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The latest 1,048 words of a 13,336 word short story rated PG.
Steven goes back to have a chat with the old guy that sic'ed the demon on him in the first place. Secrets are revealed. Plots thicken.
[I finally got a chance to get caught up on Doc's story, which I'd kind of fallen behind on since the last time I hosted. It's good, but I'm sure Doc will understand if I notice some small similarity between it and my story. -DSC]
Father of Mine
by J. Fielek of Quibbles-n-Bits
A 1,800 word short story rated PG.
Sometimes you never know what you left behind.
[A Christmas story, of sorts. Nice, but not without sexual themes. -DSC]
The Forgotten, Part Four (Beginning)
by Andrea Graham of Adam's Blog
The latest 2,710 words of a continuing short story rated PG.
Blinded while protecting his flocks from a lion, Josiah Bar Natan is forced to seek refuge with his Uncle Benjamin in Jerusalem during the days of Christ's ministry. His uncle's servant girl, Rachel, is assigned the daunting duty of convincing a proud Josiah to accept her help and his condition, as Josiah has vowed to fast and pray until the Lord restores his sight.
[Another story I just recently got caught up on, and I'm glad it did. I particularly like the character of Rachel. -DSC]
Part 3, Chapters 8 and 9 of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The latest 4,998 words of a 104,743 word novel in progress rated PG.
Solitary is not so solitary when you aren't alone. And Forest and James get their encounter with Logan, king of the fighters.
[Okay, I'll admit that I still haven't quite caught up to the most recent chapter of The Child. Sheya just writes too fast! -DSC]
Chapters 17 and 18 of Britannia Revived (The Whole Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 6,720 word of a continuing story rated R.
The story of an EU dystopia continues.
Faded Glory
by Josh Cohen of The New D-42
An 11,000 word short story rated NC-17.
The story of a guy who goes to his high school reunion, intercut with stuff from his past.
[This is a part of Josh's Little Infidelities series, about people who almost, but not quite, ruin their relationships. This is one of those where it seems like the infidelity isn't so little. -DSC]
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival XXXIII
The latest Storyblogging Carnival is up at Tales by Sheya. With a whopping fourteen stories, it's our biggest yet. Go check it out.
I'll be hosting the next Storyblogging Carnival right here at Back of the Envelope. Look for the announcement next Monday.
I'll be hosting the next Storyblogging Carnival right here at Back of the Envelope. Look for the announcement next Monday.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival XXXII
It's early, too! Mark Rayner got the Thirty-second Storyblogging Carnival up last night. He divided it into three sections: fiction, non-fiction, and audio, just like a book store!
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Monday, February 01, 2010
Storyblogging Carnival CVI
For once, this is not an old Storyblogging Carnival. It's a brand new, up-to-date, carnival, which due to the fact that I'm doing a new carnival while still re-posting the old ones, is going to appear somewhere in the mirror. At some point I'll re-organize it... probably. All those Carnivals can be found on this page. Anyway, let's get started.
49 BC
by Marco Kaufman at The Big Book of Grievances
A 108 word brief story rated PG.
A Roman general makes an historic decision.
And Glory
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 198 word excerpt rated PG.
The selling paragraph for Andrew's novel.
Vintage Wisdom
by Madeleine Begun Kane of Vintage Wisdom
A 525 brief story rated PG-13.
Humorous (and true) tale of a pre-wedding wine tasting.
Sailing
by Angie Miller of the greatest of these
A 608 word brief story rated PG.
The story of a family sailing outing and the challenges of taking young children along.
The Adventure Sentimentale
by Elisha Webster Emerson of My Inconvenient Body
A 923 word brief story rated G.
A story about a bottle, a plastic chili, some puffins and zero humans.
This concludes the one hundred and fourth Storyblogging Carnival.
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
49 BC
by Marco Kaufman at The Big Book of Grievances
A 108 word brief story rated PG.
A Roman general makes an historic decision.
And Glory
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
A 198 word excerpt rated PG.
The selling paragraph for Andrew's novel.
Vintage Wisdom
by Madeleine Begun Kane of Vintage Wisdom
A 525 brief story rated PG-13.
Humorous (and true) tale of a pre-wedding wine tasting.
Sailing
by Angie Miller of the greatest of these
A 608 word brief story rated PG.
The story of a family sailing outing and the challenges of taking young children along.
The Adventure Sentimentale
by Elisha Webster Emerson of My Inconvenient Body
A 923 word brief story rated G.
A story about a bottle, a plastic chili, some puffins and zero humans.
This concludes the one hundred and fourth Storyblogging Carnival.
If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. Other carnivals can be found here.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Heightist women?
A year ago, this would have depressed me (HT Instapundit):
I'm a 5'4" guy. I'm well below the 5th percentile--assuming a Gaussian distribution, I'm well below the 1st percentile. I'm also a reformed heightist. At one point, I preferred women who were shorter than I was. Unfortunately, most of those women were only interested in men taller than I. Eventually I realized that I was being silly--considering my height's the same as the average female height, I wasn't being fair to 50% of the female population. Granted, this wasn't a sudden change of heart--I just gradually expanded my ideal dating pool, to my height, and then to a little taller, etc. Fortunately, it was sometime after this that I met my 5'6" girlfriend, and height wasn't a deciding factor for her either.
One thing a lot of women in the comments to that article talk about is that being taller than the man is an issue for him. I can see that being the case when a guy's 5'9" and dating a 5'10" woman. Not that many women are taller than he is, and the few who are might seem intimidating. The thing is, that's a luxury a 5'4" guy doesn't have. If I were intimidated by taller women, I'd be intimidated by half of them.
So it doesn't depress me anymore--I just find it immature. I'm not about to say that there's something wrong with having a preference for taller men. But a preference and an absolute refusal to consider anyone the wrong height (and neither I nor my girlfriend ever stuck to absolutes in height considerations) is a recipe for heartache.
But the fact of the matter is that, for the most part, I go out with guys my height or taller. The shortest guy I ever went out with? 5’10”. The tallest? 6’6”. Lately, I’ve been wondering, does that make me a heightist?As if that wasn't depressing enough, read the comments, and all the women who say that they won't date anyone less than 6 feet (and especially the short women who won't date short men). I hate to disappoint those women who say that they'll only date 6' guys, but according to this chart, only about 25% of men are taller than 6 feet.
If I am, I’m not alone. A while back, I conducted a poll: “Would you go out with a guy who’s shorter than you?” Around 40 percent of the women who responded said: “Hell-to-the-no.” Another 32 percent or so indicated they’d date a guy the same height or a “teeny bit” shorter. How many women would go out with a significantly shorter man? Around 25 percent. In other words, most women are heightists.
I'm a 5'4" guy. I'm well below the 5th percentile--assuming a Gaussian distribution, I'm well below the 1st percentile. I'm also a reformed heightist. At one point, I preferred women who were shorter than I was. Unfortunately, most of those women were only interested in men taller than I. Eventually I realized that I was being silly--considering my height's the same as the average female height, I wasn't being fair to 50% of the female population. Granted, this wasn't a sudden change of heart--I just gradually expanded my ideal dating pool, to my height, and then to a little taller, etc. Fortunately, it was sometime after this that I met my 5'6" girlfriend, and height wasn't a deciding factor for her either.
One thing a lot of women in the comments to that article talk about is that being taller than the man is an issue for him. I can see that being the case when a guy's 5'9" and dating a 5'10" woman. Not that many women are taller than he is, and the few who are might seem intimidating. The thing is, that's a luxury a 5'4" guy doesn't have. If I were intimidated by taller women, I'd be intimidated by half of them.
So it doesn't depress me anymore--I just find it immature. I'm not about to say that there's something wrong with having a preference for taller men. But a preference and an absolute refusal to consider anyone the wrong height (and neither I nor my girlfriend ever stuck to absolutes in height considerations) is a recipe for heartache.
Labels: Relationships
Storyblogging Carnival XXXI
Welcome to the thirty-first Storyblogging Carnival. If you're not familiar with it, storyblogging is simply storytelling in blog format, usually but not always fiction. We have ten stories this time, and the longest and most disturbing one is non-fiction. More Carnivals can be found on this page. But for now, let's get on with this one:
The Gruntwerx Paradigm
by Mark A. Rayner of The Skwib
A 472 word brief story rated PG.
What happens when you are forced to be happy all the time? Bad things. Very bad things.
The Last Bus
by J. Fielek of Quibbles-n-Bits
A 514 brief story rated G.
An homage to a great person.
[A touching little story. -DSC]
What they don't tell you.
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 845 word brief story rated G.
MONKEYS!
[The author's blurb isn't very descriptive, but I'll just say that Goemagog continues to have a gift for the really, really bizarre. -DSC]
Mysterious Ways
by Stuart Wood at Pajama Pundits
A 1,286 word brief story rated PG.
A story pondering crime and religiosity entering politics.
Sleeping Dragon
by Eric Ashley of Tales of Tadeusz
A 1,404 short story rated R.
A Belmont Club commenter asked what would have happened if bin Laden had attacked Beijing with the airplanes rather than New York and Washington. This is one answer to that question.
Britannia 12 & 13 (The Rest of the Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 2,899 words of a continuing story rated PG.
It continues...
[I originally misplaced Andrew's e-mail and didn't find it until late last night, so I didn't have a chance to read Andrew's entry. My apologies. To show my contrition, I won't even complain that Andrew didn't send me the word count of the whole thing. -DSC]
Ink Magic
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The first 3,227 words of a short story rated PG.
Doc gives us a story for Halloween. There's sarcasm, cynicism, and scatological humor. Oh, and something about evil hoodoo.
[Doc didn't send a blurb this time, giving me the rare opportunity to make one up for him. That's always fun. -DSC]
Chapter Two and Chapter Three of Part III of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The next 4,644 words of her 90,917 word novel rated PG.
Now that the teams have scattered through the fortress to find Walker and the captives, some teams find the searching agonizingly slow...
...while for others, events begin to move at a pace that takes their breath away.
[Sheya's reorganized her story into fewer, but longer chapters. -DSC]
What not to do in China...
by Rory of What not to do in Australia
A 15,500 word short story rated R.
This is non fiction, yet the story is so incredible it could easily be fiction.
[This story's title should be taken very literally. -DSC]
And that's it for this carnival. If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. The next Carnival will be hosted by Mark Rayner at The Skwib.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
The Gruntwerx Paradigm
by Mark A. Rayner of The Skwib
A 472 word brief story rated PG.
What happens when you are forced to be happy all the time? Bad things. Very bad things.
The Last Bus
by J. Fielek of Quibbles-n-Bits
A 514 brief story rated G.
An homage to a great person.
[A touching little story. -DSC]
What they don't tell you.
by Goemagog of this space for sublet
A 845 word brief story rated G.
MONKEYS!
[The author's blurb isn't very descriptive, but I'll just say that Goemagog continues to have a gift for the really, really bizarre. -DSC]
Mysterious Ways
by Stuart Wood at Pajama Pundits
A 1,286 word brief story rated PG.
A story pondering crime and religiosity entering politics.
Sleeping Dragon
by Eric Ashley of Tales of Tadeusz
A 1,404 short story rated R.
A Belmont Club commenter asked what would have happened if bin Laden had attacked Beijing with the airplanes rather than New York and Washington. This is one answer to that question.
Britannia 12 & 13 (The Rest of the Story)
by Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium
The next 2,899 words of a continuing story rated PG.
It continues...
[I originally misplaced Andrew's e-mail and didn't find it until late last night, so I didn't have a chance to read Andrew's entry. My apologies. To show my contrition, I won't even complain that Andrew didn't send me the word count of the whole thing. -DSC]
Ink Magic
by Dave Gudeman of Doc Rampage
The first 3,227 words of a short story rated PG.
Doc gives us a story for Halloween. There's sarcasm, cynicism, and scatological humor. Oh, and something about evil hoodoo.
[Doc didn't send a blurb this time, giving me the rare opportunity to make one up for him. That's always fun. -DSC]
Chapter Two and Chapter Three of Part III of The Child (Beginning)
by Sheya Joie of Tales by Sheya
The next 4,644 words of her 90,917 word novel rated PG.
Now that the teams have scattered through the fortress to find Walker and the captives, some teams find the searching agonizingly slow...
...while for others, events begin to move at a pace that takes their breath away.
[Sheya's reorganized her story into fewer, but longer chapters. -DSC]
What not to do in China...
by Rory of What not to do in Australia
A 15,500 word short story rated R.
This is non fiction, yet the story is so incredible it could easily be fiction.
[This story's title should be taken very literally. -DSC]
And that's it for this carnival. If you'd like to take part in a future carnival, please contact me. I am also looking for hosts. The next Carnival will be hosted by Mark Rayner at The Skwib.
The Storyblogging Carnival can be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.
Labels: Storyblogging Carnival
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