There was a young man from York,
who slipped and fell on a fork.
A drop of blood,
became a flood
and now he's as lifeless as a cork.
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Circle_Something
Over 90 days ago
United Kingdom
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Quote by DirtyMartiniQuote by Circle_Something
I've used my phone to type stories, poems, musings. When I can't' be arsed to pick up my laptop or I'm out and about, and an idea hits me, I just whip out the phone and type away. My typing is a bit slow, but error rate is also low. I don't mind touch screens.
Actually, for that sort of activity I don't have a problem with touch screens...I think they're fine for taking notes, or posting Facebook comments, or whatever...
What I've been seeing more and more of lately though, is people who own only a tablet and/or phone with a touch screen, and nothing else...no regular laptop, or real computer...and for a guy like me who does do some real writing now and then...and yeah, I know it's hard to tell lately...that does not work for me...
I can't even imagine writing a story using a touch screen...to me it would be a form of torture...though people do it...
Admittedly, there's a learning curve, but as long as one has a decent, non-evil keyboard, that doesn't want to correct stuff like "Rupert" to "Robbie ate his face off", then you're jamming.
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I've used my phone to type stories, poems, musings. When I can't' be arsed to pick up my laptop or I'm out and about, and an idea hits me, I just whip out the phone and type away. My typing is a bit slow, but error rate is also low. I don't mind touch screens.
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I really hope so, but the way this world is going, I'm not sure if it'll happen any time soon. I see it so often where I live. There are two rival football teams, Rangers and Celtic, both based in Glasgow. The supporters of one are mainly Catholic and the other are mainly Protestant. When they have a match, they're called the Old Firm. I've said it time and again, sport should be about sport, nothing more. When you bring religion, race, creed, politics into it, it ceases to be about the game, and about two sets of bigoted arsehole supporters, who want hardly anything to do with the game itself and more to do with simply causing a ruckus, over something that should be completely inconsequential.
Wow, that was a good wee ramble. Do you enjoy having a ramble, either with words, or walking?
Wow, that was a good wee ramble. Do you enjoy having a ramble, either with words, or walking?
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"Oftener". It doesn't sound like it's a word, but it is, according to OED http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/often it's a cool archaism, which I may find myself using in a story or poem at some juncture.
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Macavity: The Mystery Cat
by T S Eliot
Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw—
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air—
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!
Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square—
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!
He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!
And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair—
But it's useless to investigate—Macavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
It must have been Macavity!'—but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumb;
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place—MACAVITY WASN'T THERE !
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!
by T S Eliot
Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw—
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air—
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!
Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square—
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!
He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!
And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair—
But it's useless to investigate—Macavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
It must have been Macavity!'—but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumb;
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place—MACAVITY WASN'T THERE !
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!
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Great choice, Gypsy. Now here's some rock music to wake y'all up:
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Quote by gypsyQuote by Circle_Something
Why won't anyone take me on? My CV isn't that bad, my experience is pretty effing good. I just want a bloody job, for Christ sake!
I wish I had a job to hire you for, Andrew, and hope that someone will do just that soon.
I hope so, too. Self employment just isn't for me at the moment.
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I've just re-written my CV (resume) from the ground up and gotten rid of all the boring, formal language. It is written in my own, inimitable style, and that's the way it is staying. I don't do formal. I don't talk in a formal style, I don't write very formally, I'm not in the habit of wearing formal-wear, so why bother being all formal on a CV? All I want is a job where I sit at a desk, away from the general public, key in a bunch of data, have banter with my colleagues, and make enough money to get me through the week with a bit left over to save up to meet Aria. Is that too much to ask? I'm not a bad worker, I don't start fights, insight hatred or do much of anything, other than work. Yes, I occasionally step over the line with my colleagues, but who doesn't? I apologise for my mistakes, have a solid work ethic, though a much better play ethic and actually want to do one of those crappy jobs. Why won't anyone take me on? My CV isn't that bad, my experience is pretty effing good. I just want a bloody job, for Christ sake!
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Quote by gypsy
What, if any, was the most memorable book you read in 2014?
Go Ask Alice. I started reading it, but haven't finished it yet, so I'm not sure if it counts. It was cool how I came to read it, though. As the old flooring was all messed up, we'd bought new stuff, and it was being laid. In order to lay it, we had to move everything in the room. My mum has a lot of books just in the living room, and Go Ask Alice was one of them. As I couldn't use the television or play any games, I started looking through my mum's books, and that was the one she recommended to me. I started reading it and wasn't immediately impressed, but it became apparent that it had potential. I really should start reading it again.
How many books do you have in the reading pile at the moment?
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Vodka, vodka,
get in my bodka.
Kaboom will go my taste buds
and your flavours will flow like floods.
If you don't like voddie,
I'll kill you
and dump the body.
get in my bodka.
Kaboom will go my taste buds
and your flavours will flow like floods.
If you don't like voddie,
I'll kill you
and dump the body.
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Toasty Parody of The Grand Old Duke of York
Oh, the grand old Duke of Toast,
he had ten thousand loaves,
he toasted them all nice and brown,
then he munched them down his throat.
And when they were white they were white,
and when they were brown, they were brown,
and when they were only halfway toasted,
they were neither white nor brown!
Oh, the grand old Duke of Toast,
he had ten thousand loaves,
he toasted them all nice and brown,
then he munched them down his throat.
And when they were white they were white,
and when they were brown, they were brown,
and when they were only halfway toasted,
they were neither white nor brown!
Oh, I know, it isn't perfect, but I think it's funny.
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Quote by LoveAffairs
I love my son,
I love the simplicity of this
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A hug and a flamethrower, just in case she needs it to smokey-smite her enemies.
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Quote by gypsy
This one's for Andrew - well, not just for him, but he channels Spike Milligan on a regular basis.
On the Ning Nang Nong
by Spike Milligan
On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!
Huge smile came on my face as soon as I saw this. This is one of my favourites!
And here's another silly, though quite profound, one from Spike Milligan:
Rain
There are holes in the sky
where the rain gets in,
but they're every so small
that's why rain in thin.
There are holes in the sky
where the rain gets in,
but they're every so small
that's why rain in thin.
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Quote by Rebellious_Soul
I am getting a head ache.
How many fights can you make?
Why don't we just eat cake.
I have some I hand baked.
Cake sounds nice
and much better than death.
I have some tea,
I shall share with thee.
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Quote by authorised1960Quote by AvrgBlkGrl
Every word should be necessary. Ask yourself why it is there. If you can remove it and it changes nothing, than remove it. It was a waste of energy to write and a waste of energy to be read.
This sort of unctuous pronouncement really galls me!
Every writer - be they a bestselling author or rank amateur - has a writing style or 'voice'. It's what defines them as a wordsmith. As someone who enjoys words and enjoys using them in my writing to read the sort of self-serving b.s. like the quote above reads as though my style of writing is somehow inferior because it does not conform to someone else's definition of what is 'right' or 'wrong' in writing. I'm sorry, but that sort of attitude is extraordinarily patronising!
If I was to edit my own work and cut out all the (so-called) extraneous words I have used not only would my works be considerably shorter, obviously, but they would also lose that special ingredient that made it MY work. I would, in effect, be losing my writing voice for the sake of a fashion statement by someone whose opinion doesn't really matter one way or another!
One of the big issues around being a writer is the deluge of (allegedly) helpful information out there for beginners. In my opinion most of it can be ditched along with the empty snack packet and chocolate bar wrapper, for that's about as much use it is. My personal advice would be to take and utilse the advice that best serves your needs. You cannot be all things to all people in life so not everybody is going to love what you write. You will, though, establish your own fan-base in time and it is to those readers and fans that your work should be addressed, not the smug, the pompous and the oh-so ful of themselves authors who seem to believe that they are God's gift to literature!
I think you've misunderstood the spirit of the quote. It isn't saying that you shouldn't write in your own style, but merely saying to remove unnecessary wastes of space. For example:
"The knife was dull, so he got out his sharpening stone and sharpened it" is an okay sentence, but it doesn't exactly grab you, and it does, in fact, trip over itself because of the repetition of the sound "sharp".
Consider "The man smiled as he listened to the sound of the sharpening stone on his favourite knife."
That's more interesting because I'm showing, rather than telling, that the knife is dull and needing sharpening. There are no wasted words there, no repetition of sounds, and gets the point across rather well, I think.
If you don't like some advice given, the simplest thing to do is to ignore it, not attack it. Those "oh-so ful of themselves authors who seem to believe that they are God's gift to literature!" have worked hard to get to where they are. They have the respect of their peers, publishers and readers. What do you have? Hypocrisy, is what you have. You're sitting there lambasting people for being full of themselves, yet you seem to think that your advice is the best advice in the world.
I'm not perfect, and I admit that in several musings and forum posts, but at least I don't go attacking fellow writers when they give advice.
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Isn't it funny how someone can alienate a bunch of people, and one of the effects of that is it can bring a community together?
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Cabin in the woods. So much more cosy and romantic.
House or apartment.
House or apartment.
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This might sound a bit weird, but I like mayonnaise on my toast. It's a pretty good alternative to butter.
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Quote by Rebellious_SoulQuote by Circle_SomethingQuote by Rebellious_Soul
Me and a friend started a business selling bottle necklaces with oils in it. Hehe
That sounds cool. Do you make the oils yourself?
We mix the different oils but we buy from some local shops. We make other types of necklaces as well. All hand made.
Apparently, it's easy to make oils, though I've not tried myself. I make jewellery, myself, but then I forget to try and sell it
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There was bedtime,
then there were snuggles,
then sweet dreams,
but after that it was all shattered.
Cold morning air hit me,
I grumbled,
the peace was gone.
Morning has broken
and so has my temper.
Don't look at me,
don't breathe,
don't do anything abrupt.
Morning, you heartless cow,
I don't like you.
I'd rather be in my bed,
snuggled with my Kitten.
then there were snuggles,
then sweet dreams,
but after that it was all shattered.
Cold morning air hit me,
I grumbled,
the peace was gone.
Morning has broken
and so has my temper.
Don't look at me,
don't breathe,
don't do anything abrupt.
Morning, you heartless cow,
I don't like you.
I'd rather be in my bed,
snuggled with my Kitten.
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Quote by Rebellious_Soul
Me and a friend started a business selling bottle necklaces with oils in it. Hehe
That sounds cool. Do you make the oils yourself?
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Quote by Rebellious_Soul
I think everyone should have a bottle necklace. I wonder which oils are good for having good feeling and dispelling bad ones?
Aromatic oils are good for that: Lavender and chamomile are two of the most obvious that spring to mind. For a wee energy boost, mint, particularly spearmint, is a good one. I find it gives me a kick, but gently. I also find that a small hematite balanced with amethyst, is a good combination. You get the energy from hematite and the relaxation from amethyst. For me, hematite gives a feeling of energy, but as the hematite is a very powerful stone, amethyst helps bring gentle, often healing, energy and also is great for warding off the evil eye, which people can give and receive without even realising it.
One of my friends sells little herb bottles with necklaces attached. He also does them in keyrings, and blends the herbs himself.
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It rather depends. If I'm in immediate danger, I'll run and save my arse. If I'm not, I'll probably stay until the danger becomes more pronounced, then run.
Rum or tequila?
Rum or tequila?