I'm very much in agreement with that sentiment, roger.
Now to try and refresh my memory as to the original purpose of this thread.
We are all at sea without the proper porpoise...to speak and porpoise not...ok, I speak without porpoise, I shoal shut up...'twas a fine porpoise proposed, I believe, until it became unbrailled...
Believe it or not, Beth, I read the whole schmear yesterday, and I don't recall the purpose either. Somehow, it puts me in mind of something I once posted in "Jokes." I'll present it again. Let me know if you agree.
Remember the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"? Well, here's an example offered by an English professor at an American University.
"Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. One of you will then write the first paragraph of a short story. The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back and forth. Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking and anything you wish to say must be written on the paper. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."
The following was actually turned in by two of my English students Rebecca - last name deleted, and Gary - last name deleted.
-------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: (first paragraph by Rebecca)
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for
lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.
-----------------------------------------------
(second paragraph by Gary)
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year o. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17, he said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off, a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.
--------------------------------
(Rebecca)
He bumped his head and died almost immediately but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspapers to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.
-----------------------------------------------
(Gary)
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President in his top-secret Mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid, Laurie and 85 million other Americans. The President slammed his fist on the conference table. "We can't allow this! I'm going to veto that treaty! Let's blow 'em out of the sky!"
---------------------------------------------------------
(Rebecca)
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semiliterate adolescent.
---------------
(Gary)
Yeah? Well, you're a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F*CKING TEA??? Oh no, I'm such
an airheaded bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels."
--------------------------------------------------------
(Rebecca)
Asshole.
--------------------------------------------------------
(Gary)
Bitch.
----------------------------------------------------------
(Rebecca)
Wanker.
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(Gary)
Slut.
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(Rebecca)
Get f*cked.
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(Gary)
Eat ****.
--------------------------------------------
(Rebecca)
F*CK YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!!
----------------------------
(Gary) Go drink some tea - whore.
**********************************************
(Teacher) A+ - I really liked this one.
That one gave rise to a whole thread here, Roger, that continues!
here is the url:
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=570&highlight=
And the crowd rises up as one, applauding and cheering ...
"Woowwwweeeee. Yazzza, that's it... THAT's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Yahoooeeeey."
(ahem) jk, jk... Good work, Roger! Oh, and thanks, I'll have some of that chamomile tea.
You can all laugh, but I am still waiting for my apology from Plainoldme. I take personal insults very seriously when they are delivered in the form of a public discussion.
It's easier to demand apology for percieved insult while refraining from reciprocating in kind.
I'm not sure I was ever very clear on the purpose of this thread.
WE were talking about how we remember the fun times in college (for those of us who are out of college) when we sat around talking and debating. I remember it very well when I visit my daughter in college, I stay with her at her apartment and her friends come over and they all talk about literature, psychology, philosophy and politics...........now that I think about it, it's what we do here. But somehow, it's very special when you're in college and feeling young and hopeful. I love to visit her too because they treat me like I'm their mascot.........and I get to join into the debates.
Thats nice Lola.
Larry, chill out man.
I agree that Plainoldme was out of order and you probably do deserve an apology. If you don't get one thats more a reflection on her than it is on you, which is evident to all here.
Most of us here I suspect have several degrees, I myself have a Bachelor honours and two masters, one an MBA. If someone said I didn't - well thats their problem, I KNOW I have.
So get over yourself fella, we know you have intellect, show us you are a man.
I remember when I went to NYU in the late 1950's. We would go down to one of the coffee shops in Greenwich Village, and talk about "life", philosopy and literature.
Egads, we were so young- bright eyed and bushy tailed- and we thought that we had the answers to EVERYTHING!
Questioning the status quo has always been the perogative of the very young. It seems to me that they see the world with fresh eyes, unsullied by the realities of making a living, and raising a family. And so it needs to be. The young need to mold their world in THEIR image, as it is they who will be running it soon.
I still am bright and bushy tailed, (age shall not wither them,) its all in the mind phoenix-pass my zimmer frame.
I continue on my ramblings glassy-eyed and bushy haired. It is spring, I have allergies <achoo> (excuse me), it's humid and I can't decide what to read next - Rats, Lice and History by Hans Zinsser - Driving over lemons by Chris Stewart - or, The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh (ahhh shaddup, it's not a German children's staple).
The days of discussing philosophy and the world over cups of tea or bottles of beer (or rolled objects attached to paper clips) were amazing. There was a time I couldn't believe I allowed myself to be convinced to graduate and leave that behind. Of course, being faced with an adult academic who has no real life experience causes serious eye-rolling now.
I think one of the best things about being very young is that you have TIME to talk for hours about life, philosophy, art, the world, etc. When you get older time seems to run shorter. In college especially there is no time pressure (except maybe during exams) so you can discus things for hours with your chums. It is wonderful and it's a shame it doesn't last into later life!
Please! No more talk of bushy tails. One of my sensitive points, don'cha know?
larry r - your post mentioning the very young really 'clicked' for me. my mother (mrs. hamburger) often mentions seeing me and a group of my friends standing at the end of the driveway talking for hours. We'd stop there on the way home from school and sometimes still be there after sunset. We talked about politics, writing, theatre (we sometimes went for long walks, talking, and singing show tunes), and the indifference of grown-ups to important things. We all vowed to be more involved in life when we grew up - we were going to make a difference. I like to think I have, in my think globally, act globally approach to life, but i sometimes worry that I'm letting the youngehBeth down.
larry richette- That is why I LOVE the computer, and especially A2K so much. It's not like sitting around in a coffee house, with the smoky ambience, but it sure is the next best thing. There are ALWAYS people to talk with, 24/7, and if we tire of one discussion, we can click it off, and go on to the next!
The other great thing Phoenix is no one knows how old you are or what you look like, so there is no ageism, and other isms.
I love it.
I agree wit you Larry , I used to spend many all nighters discussing the latest plays, films, philiosophy. A2k reminds me a bit of that and all the better for it. I agree with you on Joyce by the way, was just pulling your leg a little.
what are you nominations for say the best 10 books of all time, I think the following would be in there somewhere: -
Miguel de Cervantes' - Don Quixote
Jane Austen -Persuasion
James Joyce -Ulysses
George Eliot - Middlemarch
Charles Dickens- Great Expectations
Nathaniel Hawthorn- The Scarlet Letter
Henry James-Portrait of a Lady
Edith Warton-The custom of the Country
Gustave Flaubert- Madame Bovary
Fyodor Dostoevsky-Crime and Punishment
Hiama,
I just read through this thread. I was called an airhead and accused of writing things which never appeared here. Am I angry? Am I demanding an apology? No.
