I completely forgot but posting anyways end of semester feedback

I'm glad I decided to take this course, I can say I definetly say I set the bar higher on a personal level compared to the writing I've done previously, in terms of length and story itself. I've mostly written just poetry and music related, so most of what I've written in the past didn't include so many different characters and scenes. I really enjoyed the reading we had in the last class I think it was amazing listening to everyone and being listened to aswell. Some stories gave me goosebumps by how great they were, I think what fueled the fire in these stories also were the authors reading them. It's like I could feel it in myself reading my story but witnessed it in everyone else also as they read. All of sudden these characters that we've all been sitting with for so long got to be brought to life. We pictured them in our minds and all but during the reading it's like we were acting them out live. So it was awesome to observe that change . I felt like I knew my character even more in that moment.The whole Class I was doing my best to truly listen to everything . The change in pitch and tone that we all do as we read, sing, conversate in the moment. The emphasis placed on certain sentences, dialogues, or even words. I even began to close my eyes at certain times as I do with music, honing in onto one of my "senses". Some of my classmates tapped me thinking I was sleeping, only to find me really into a story someone was reading. My plans for this summer are to write songs. I also plan on performing music at various open mics, bars, subways  and really just anywhere. I will focus on performance and creating original work. I will probably do poetry readings aswell. I think everyone's stories were amazing although unfortunately I wasn't able to listen to the last one, I'm sure it was great aswell. In moments like that I look around the room and find us all creators, it's like I was eager to hear what everyone had to say, aswell as honored to share what I had, we all contributed something to each other it felt like.

Saying goodbye

Our last class was bittersweet it was a real eye opener for me of how talented our class was as a whole with creativity. I really enjoyed eating and enjoying stories it was one our best class meetings yet, even though I was tremendously nervous to read my story knowing that I shared dark story ideas with my fellow classmates made it really easy. Taking this class was a real and amazing experience. I really enjoyed the story that a female classmate wrote I'm sorry I forgot her name but she wrote a story with two different endings which I really enjoyed its nice that she did a alternative ending to give the different types of readers an ending they might like it was amazing. This semester I really learned to open my creativity and expand my thinking process I really enjoyed some of the reading and it gave me ideas of how to write my own stories, I believe it made me a better writer.

Sayonara

I will have from this English class good memories that will last forever. All the stories that were read the last day of class were amazing. All of them came from our own inspiration. I want to Thank you Professor Talbird for helping us to bring out our abilities and your encouragement. I might not remember all the names of all the classmates of English class 221 Spring 2016 but I will remember your faces. I might still see a few of you around the hallways in the fall 2016 here in Queensborough. For those that are graduating I wish you good luck in your future endeavors . I wish you all a healthy and happy summer.

So long

These past few months have been better than I could've asked for. When I picked this class onlinr I thought to myself,  "I have no idea how this class is going to be. Will I even like it?" well now i can honestly say this was my favorite class. As for my original group of Charles, and Christian, I give you guys credit for being able to deal with me. Gotta give credit to the professor for being the Matchmaker lmao. I apologize again for the 20 minute reading. It was a longer 5 minutes than I thought 😁. Professor you have some great teaching techniques. Since day 1 you've proved to love your job here. Love you all. Hopefully we'll run into each other people.
P.S.
     RIP Isaiah

Nice Job to All from the last class & party

I will start from the beginning with the obvious...

Messi Gatorade by
Mr Abraham, excellent story, excellent use of props; wearing the shirt as well as the audio/video presentation!!!  You set the bar pretty high!!!  Nice job dude!  Your opening forward dedicating to your group, thanking the class and the professor or spoken like a true gentleman!

Christian "Quinn's Journey"...
It's always good for us to check in on Quinn in our little group in the corner with me you and Eddie as the original three… Although Quinn has seen better days but for you Christian the best is yet to come!

The Angel, named Love
"All Angels have a Real Name"
Beautifully Written & Presented!!!

Christian
"War Hero" You impressed me bro!!! Hard work does pay off!!!

The Strength of a Survivor Story
Rose, Beautiful, poignant and inspirational... Keep in touch

Nods to:

Ruth's waitress and the customer
Catchin a Rap & making a date

Western Body Eastern Mind
Ravi

"I would kill to stay alive"...
Please Stop killing Mermaids

Let's shoot the "Booger Goblin" with a "Snot Rocket"

Daphne's Bloodlust continues?
A poignant survivor story, attention grabbing and well written but surprisingly less deaths from Daphne, LOL

Pam
Never let a man see you cry...
which Annie song was that again?

Ingrid
"There is no such thing as a hopeless situation"

Kadija silent offering
The trouble ... ??
Where to blow it" How does that African saying go again?

N.O.W.
EDDIE
The story with only 3 letters but 18+pages, read in only 5 minutes...?  I want to work in a hotel in the hospital business but now I wonder if it safe?

     As I finish the last of the treats from the party and my last cupcake (thank you Pam & Fam) I realize that I had a Great Semester with my English Crew!!!
     You guys and Gals not only work hard but you poured out your hearts in the stories that you shared!!!  Thank you classmates!
      This class made me read, but not by force.  This class made me write, so much I stayed up many a night.
       Other classes claimed to be "writing intensive" by sneaking in a paper at the midterm or the final.   None of them compare in comparison to this course.
       None of this is a complaint, my gratitude is because I was able to empty my mind and pour out my heart without restraint.  I don't know if I could do it again, but from the semester I know I benefited in the end.

Thank you Professor Talbird!
 Thank you fellow classmates!
 It was an honor to share the semester with you all!
 Sincerely,
Charles
PS I invite you all to keep in touch if you are on Facebook, either please follow me or friend request me:  Chuck Kellerman "I am Iron Man"

A professor to remember

Despite my dislike for writing, this class helped me prove that I'm not as bad of a writer as I thought.  My grammar still needs a lot of work and we know I love run on sentences.  I want to thank you Professor for finding a talent in me that I haven't explored.  This class was amazing.  After taking such an extremely long break from school this class made getting back into the swing of things enjoyable.  I've stepped outside of my comfort zone, attended a book reading, had my story distributed to the class as part of a lesson and shared my opinions of stories on a public blog site.  I would have never done any of these things without you telling me my grade depended on it. lol.  But, thank you for helping me grow as a person.  By the way I got accepted into Queens College and may take another writing class as an elective.

A sweet fairwell

I just want to thank everyone for this experience.  It has been a pleasure to meet every single classmate.  I always find it amazing when people of all different cultures and characteristics meet.  The laughs the experience will not be forgotten.

"Bitter Sweet" Goodbye...?

     This class was the "surprise class" of this semester that I didn't know that I needed to graduate and had no idea I would be able to handle and enjoy as well. 


     I can NOT believe how much reading and writing was accomplished... 
I don't know how you (Professor Talbird feel about us) or others in the class feel about themselves but I can say that I exceeded my own expectations by not only keeping pace with the courses' workload but also liking it!!!... except for that one story..."The Fugue"... Maybe I will give it another chance over the Summer (after the Summer Session in June).

To my fellow classmates and Professor Talbird,

     Thank you for a Great Class and a Great Semester!
Good Luck on Finals, Have a Great Summer!
Best Wishes to you all in your Future Endeavors!!!

Sincerely Yours,
Charles


PS I will be "graduating" in June but not going to Graduation as I booked a Last Minute Cruise :-)
That's a prophecy fulfilled as I have been writing about cruises all semester, LOL.  "I'll be back" just in time for Summer Session I and will be taking Acting I (AM) and Intro to Social Work (PM) to finish up my Associates Degree "officially" June 30, 2016.  The "plan" is to transfer to Queens College... more needs to be worked out as far as "majors" or careers are concerned...
If you keep in touch, I will keep you posted...

Story and film

I mentioned that I liked the last class. But I also liked the class before the last one. When I was following up through the story while it was being read I didn't quite get the whole story. I felt like it was cut into sections like chapters. I don't know if I heard wrong or if that's how it was kind of written. But when I heard so many I injuries going on including the graveyard and the baby rabbits that were killed and just the language of the characters made me sound that the story was trying to give a dark perspective. Their conversations sounded irregular and I asked myself where was the author going with this. But when I saw the film and everything was played out, I had exactly no idea that all of that was being described in the story. Yes the words were being said exactly like the one in the text but the characters were humorous and not gothic like, like the one in the story.

Last class

I thought that the last class was great. We all got to eat great food and great snacks. I listened to everyone's stories. There were some that were quite long that I lost myself in the process and I would try to get myself back up again to listen. All stories I heard were really great and creative. There was one about some guy that worked in some kind of job which I forgot what it was about but I found it quite funny because of the artist's saying he was referring about. I pretty much remembered all the really long stories. Not word for word obviously but because they were so long. I also like the mermaid story that one made me laugh when all of sudden she says that they're Mexican. Comes up with a Hispanic name. It was unexpected and funny. I also liked the story about the Angel. The way how erverything was being described was unbelievable and so touchy, and artistic in a way. But I thought everyone did good with their stories and participation. Not one did bad.

Last Post on Blogger... Maybe.

I am actually kind of sad that we won't be seeing each other Tuesday nights anymore. I honestly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I was kind of nervous the first few days when I saw how well a few people wrote. But we all did learn how to improve our writing. Some definitely gotten really better. 

During our last class readings, it was interesting to see how many people wrote about a similar topic or issue. I definitely thought it was nice to read our own writings. 

As for the summer; well I'll probably just pick up an extra summer job and try to work on my paintings. I am looking forward to reading a few books that my classmates had told me about. Next semester is going to be my last at QCC. So i'm pretty excited.

Other than that I wish everyone well and good luck for your finals! 

Lets stay in touch!

Maybe we shall revisit this blog if it's still around. :) 

Thanks professor for everything!  

Reflection

This was one of my most memorable classes till date. Despite the tremendous amount of writing that was required, it has helped us to create stories, get feedback from our classmates and explore our writing skills. Last night's class was bitter sweet. Having a farewell party was wonderful. Thank you Professor. Congrats to everyone that read last evening, I know that we all feel delighted to share what we wrote for others to hear.

The reading started off inspiring with the clip that Abraham Spiegel played for us.

Followed by one of Christian McKinzie’s story, I loved the picture he painted for us, the descriptions were excellent. His story was suspenseful. I personally liked how he wrote the story and the conversation between the characters; Quinn and the doctor. It was really cool for him to also add that Quinn got upset with the doctor as if he wanted to blame someone, it added good real content to the story. I had a conversation once with Daphne and I knew that she took great pride in perfecting her stories. She always explores and go beyond the simple expectations and tap into challenging twists and turns, sure enough she presented us with a story that had two different point of views. Her description of physical abuse seemed professional as if she was at the level of writing for a TV series. Ruth stories are always impeccable as well. Cristian Ramirez’s writing skills reminded me of stories in BASS.

I liked the books we read, we started off light and then got to the long stories. The “rawness” of the words in the stories gave us the liberty to say what we wanted in ours. I am not sure what book I will be reading this summer, but it might be The Law of Attraction after being reminded of how great the book is in Ingrid’s story.

Thank you classmates and most of all Professor for making us brighter. 

My thought on the class

Honestly I got a lot more out of the class then I thought I would. I had a great time sharing stories with out her class mates. The project was an amazing idea! I plan on going back to the KGB bar very soon. I got o see a creative side of myself that rarely gets exposed. I feel like I have a little bit more courage to share my ideas in an open forms.

Over I ajourd the class and would recommend it to anyone interested in opening your mind.

Video Clip intro for reading presentation today for the ones who miss it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtLlmL-mxaI

Hope you had the time of your life

Well today was the last day and I'm saddened that some of you i wont be seeing again. This class has giving me so much life and rekindled my creative spark i lost a few years ago.  To be quite honest when Tuesday rolled around i knew that i was looking forword to fiction writing class.  My writing has improved and it's still getting better ; with time i can get closer to my goal of being a sportswriter. There are a few people i want to thank First to professor Talbird for being our captain on this voyage sailing the sea of creativity in fiction. finally, Cristian, Ravi, And Perla for being great motivators and helping me along through this class also being honest not holding back . Today's reading was at times comical, sweet, moody and weird. The story that really impressed me a lot was Needles by Ingrid ; i felt the story was realistic and hard. My interpretation of the story is no matter what life throws at you ;  you fight, fight fight and fight more and never give up hope. Hope is a strong force it can give you strength to move along the path of discovery. The part that really got to me was when Liz wrote a note and left it inside the book named the secret and says "Mom this book help me to get back on track now it's your turn". in the moment i said to myself that is very deep and emotional. Everyone it was an honor and a pleasure to be alongside you guys and hope down the road to see you soon. Adios

I want to challenge the class with their interesting and great work.  Last week when we saw specifics from a book be presented almost verbatim in a movie that was viewed by so many people.  It was a perfect inspiration for the professor to bring the rationale to the class that writers' work does get published, read, reread, shared and sometimes turned into film.  Maybe it is you in this class whom will have your finished work produced for the screen.  Good luck in your future endeavors.

In our evening's readings there were a few of them that were written very graphically.  It was perfectly ok and done in a way in which it made the reader have empathy for the victims.  I had only in the past had experience with those stories as myself as the reader.  It seemed to be so much more dramatic when it was read by the author.  The stories although with different characters and plots reminded me of the story the Color Purple.  In that play the audience is moved and influenced by the violence that is portrayed on especially one particular woman.  These stories are so necessary to be written and read, not every household and human is peaceful and through these writings a perpetrator may one day change his behavior.

Finishing Up...

As we finish up, I'd like you to take stock of what you've learned this semester and think about what you'd like to keep working on regarding your reading and writing skills. You may post whatever you'd like here about the class, about your experience(s) in the class, about what you've learned, what you'd like to continue to learn, about the books we've read, the activities we've participated in, etc. I'd also like you to respond to your classmates' readings on Tues 5/17. Which readings did you particularly like and why? Feel free to share anything else w/ us that you'd like (summer plans, what classes you're registering for next, books you hope to read this summer, etc.).

Thanks for your participation on the blog and in class this term.

best,

jt

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden

This story was a little hard to read. It jumped around so frequently that I eventually put down the book and came back several times over. I tried thinking of ways that I would find it more interesting and though of other books or even short stories that would make me want to continue reading. I thought of  The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, which happens to be a favorite.  Now the illustrated man was never something I found hard to read, but I had read certain stories in a different order to see if it changed the way I read it. I used this on the Sea Maiden and found that it did change the way the story came across. Initially I thought that he was severely depressed and bitter about the short comings in his career. after rearranging the piece and reading it several times, I have come to the conclusion that he is actually very much content in what he is doing. and that he is perhaps only dissatisfied with his inability to want more. and I mean want more in the general sense  like more from work, relationships; more for himself. If I could describe him in very little words. it would be a man without much to complain about. but I can also say that when you don't have much to complain about you always do seem able to find something that makes it the slightest bit dissatisfying.

About my aunt.

The opening of About my aunt describes a woman, Kiki, That had essentially left her family for a man in Istanbul. there, she seemed happy and had seemed very likely to stay there. She had been described somewhat rebellious and aloof, and her family had been described as individuals that were supportive though highly opinionated about every little thing.  eventually we find that Kiki and her niece are two of a kind. Both were equally satisfied with their lives and openly judgmental of the way each lived their lives. The beginning and end of this particular story were closely linked in the comparison between Kiki and her Niece. They both were what you'd consider rebellious, private and stubborn. They make there own decisions regardless of the views of their family; for better or worse. and they plan to make the best of it. I think, this is why they seem so content with the specifics of their lives.  they have lived in almost the same way but in two completely separate eras. I think the differences are too vast for them to see.  Personally I  think there is far more to the story. Something larger, or maybe even a little more surprising? I felt that in the end the story was missing something.

In the two stories About My Aunt and The Largess of the Sea Maiden, I feel the endings couldn't have been more extreme opposite.  I think the text clearly leads me to believe the aunt and niece are happy in their own settled way.  I feel the man in the Maiden is very sad and unhappy.  He speaks of the necessary distraction he needs in his bedroom to have the television going just so the being awake in the bedroom does not allow him or his wife to acknowledge there maybe something else a husband and wife may do in that situation.

My aunt

This is one of the coolest Aunts I've ever heard about. The way she lived her life was almost an inspirational path. I would have loved to meet a person that could make such life changing  so easily  The stories she sent from Istanbul kept her family in constant wonder. The way she ended her marriage seemed so care free. I could only imagine how the family felt when her adventure with here middle eastern sultan ended so abruptly.      

About My Aunt. in class

In the beginning when the narrator mentioned about how pretty fast her aunt settled in with a stranger she met, I kind of already knew that she wasn't going to make it long enough in the relationship. I thought that she was the type of women that if she ever broke up with someone she would be able to move on pretty quickly and go out with someone new. But she ended up being alone, dedicating more time to her job. Even though it was a housekeeping job, she felt comfortable. I'm guessing with the age she had at the end which wasn't specific, the narrator just said that she was getting old, will probably never have the responsibility of a mother because not every time, she accepted to take care of her great nephew or have him come over with his mother.

About My Aunt

At first I wasn't able to connect the dots between the title of the story and what happened to be going on in the beginning of the story. In some way i guess i was expecting the story to be mainly about the aunt. However i felt like both the narrator and the aunt were very similar. The scene in the ending, "each of us feeling sorry for each other. In our separate ways. How could we not?" I can get that throughout the story, her and the aunt both live these lonely lives. The narrator just uses the boyfriend to cover up her void inside. It almost felt like the misery needs company, they both feel empty. its like there lives are so similar but, they can see it as so different. the way she speaks of her aunt justifying her lack of a good life, versus hers. At least she has the boyfriend.                                            

My aunt

As I read the story it actually engaged me more than I really thought. One of the reasons why I knew it would especially attract my attention because of its title. Being a aunt myself I totally got my mind ready to hear a story of course of someones aunt. This story hit home with me a sense because of my relationship with my very own aunt, aunts always play out as so many roles to their nephew or niece. I always find myself playing the role of aunt,big sister, the one barking out orders,giving advice like a best friend or just showing them examples of what they should and shouldn't do. So as she talks about her aunt in this way I can see how she looks at her aunt in all her may ways. It was also really great reading a book that was located in my surroundings especially a place Ive been before, this story showed the side of NY (Rikers Island) that I haven't read about,

Just wanted the class to check out the short fictions on the WCNY website.

In the short story About My Aunt, I couldn't help but to enjoy the lifestyle and attitude of the aunt.  She was truly bucking the system of what was considered the norm and living her life as she chose.  The story showed how the aunt was thoroughly in touch with what did and didn't work for her. She wasn't caught up in continuing on in scenarios that didn't please her regardless of where that left others.  To some degree she was self-centered.  The niece on the other hand was the polar opposite of her aunt.  She seemed to be a settler of what life handed her without her taking the bull by the horns and looking ahead to see what would work best for her or what she may like best.  Her child it seemed arrived out of one of those scenarios where he came along before she knew herself what she was doing.  The two of them were just barely getting by with one example being she ended up in the leftover apartment of a former lover.  Again another example that there was no rhyme or reason to her life.  A more stark example of her being someone who is just settling is the acceptance of a boyfriend who he also has no plan and is just living life by the seat of his pants.  She takes her time that she will never get back and spends that time with a boyfriend who marginally cares for her.  This time that she is willing to sacrifice is precious time away from her child that she will never get back and what is she doing with this time, taking a long monotonous bus ride to see "her" boyfriend who she may very well be one in his collection of a few.

About my Aunt

The opening and the ending seems to be about the beginning of an relationship, in the beginning its about the aunt kiki whom stays in Greece with the man she met and fell in love with, in the end its about her niece who is in a relationship with a guy name Boyd and is excited. the beginning is about kiki taking a risk by staying in an unfamiliar country because of a guy whom she meets. the ending is her niece and her having lunch and i don't think kiki approves of her choice in men she wants her to be more cultured and knowledgeable of things, be more worldly. Kiki is more laid back and humble than her niece. The ending seems to be leaving the story of the aunt and going to the niece. The beginning was setting the tone and platform for the story.

about my aunt

              The beginning seems to be nothing but admiration about the aunt.  Going into description about the aunts younger years and finding a man that is attracted to this foreign woman that is completely out of his element but it seems to be exactly what he needs.  Towards the end the aunt and niece sit at a table (assuming across from each other) with the lack of maturity not being the only difference between them.  Both of their me seem not to be by their sides but it would matter to the niece because the message from he man sends her into a young puppy love mode.

About My Aunt

About My Aunt

At the end of About My Aunt This is a judgmental moment where the ego imposes the ideal of how people are supposed to live versus how they are actually living labels.  The Aunt is in many ways either (using labels) a free spirit or a woman of very low insecurity. 

If she is insecure it is displayed when she goes on vacation and stays there with a man because he shows her some attention.  She marries him and doesn’t express loving him in a way that justifies marrying him, nor he loving her either. 

If she is just simply a free spirit, that is represented by her being able to just happen to be on vacation and not being inhibited and enjoying herself whilst exploring a potential love.

About my Aunt

The narrator begging the story about how been in another place far where we where born.When people travel to another countries with different cultures.Sometimes people feel distance from their land but if you are a friendly person no matter where you go you make friends and this helps a lot to enjoy the trip or at least have a good time.I believe that any culture or country always there is something good to learn an take from their for example try a new food.

About My Aunt

The opening seems to be setting the tone for the rest of the story. The opening and the ending seem to be closely related as well. In the opening the author seems to be discussing a relationship. However, it doesn't seem as if the relationship is going to be a permanent one. Towards the end, it seems as if the relationship is between the niece and a man. The beginning and the end seem to be discussing a relationship, in that way they both connect. The beginning is about a relationship not always being permanent, however towards the end Kiki is a relationship that doesn't seem to be working very well because she feels as if she has her "Own life to live." The relationship towards the end doesn't seem to be permanent either. 

About My Aunt

I love the usage of sensory imagery, I am hoping to get to that point in my writing. I love the vision the writer created as she was heading to Rikers Island to visit her boyfriend. The girl combing her hair, and the term "lipstick myself" was new to me, however I was able to pictured what the writer meant. Aunt Kiki sure was a risk taker. As a New Yorker I found it exciting to read about places I am familiar with.
I wish I knew more about Kiki's parents and siblings.

The largesse of the Sea Maiden


Many stories in one is like a memory collection of life.Involves a lot of confusion and regret.The author point out many cities but he makes more emphasis in New York City. Finally he decides to end his life living in Denver

Mr. Voice and Unsafe at Any Speed

For Unsafe at Any Speed, this story takes place in Florida, where this state is known for having retired old people or a place where couples raise their families. At often times become repetitive and stay within it's norm. So it was really funny how they used the quiet state and added this little bonnie and cylde story in the mix of it all. I thought this story was completely hilarious because of the two main characters. Well mostly Theo. I loved his character because within a few hours, he became a different person due to his interaction with Stacey. 

The "Mr. Voice" story was also kind of funny. I was a little intrigued by it due to how emotionally connected I felt towards it due to Tanya's mother. The setting plays a role because it's another story made within a small town. 

In comparison, these two stories both take place in a very quiet small town where many things do not often happen. I believe that the setting is what makes the story very humorous because you wouldn't expect such events happening in small towns but rather in metropolitan cities.  At least that is what I would think. The setting was a great place to tell us readers of character changes and how the characters are influenced by the small state. 

Silber, Johnson, and BASS

1) "About My Aunt" does well a lot of what we've celebrated in fiction this term:

• It opens strong and it's opening is juxtaposed well against the closing.
• It puts in conflict two very different people. 
• It's got a strong narrative voice; the narrator strikes me as pretty self-reflective and reliable.

What specifics did you notice about the story, either any of the things I mention above or any other aspects that you noticed?

 2) "The Largess of the Sea Maiden": As opposed to Silber's story, Denis Johnson's story is very untraditional. In fact, I wonder: Is it even a story? He writes in his autobiographical statement that the first section was a vignette that he wrote in a creative writing class he was teaching. What makes this a story rather than a series of vignettes connected only by the same narrator?

3) The "best": Some of these stories, like "Unsafe at Any Speed" and "Motherlode" are awesome, I think. Some, like "Sea Maiden," leave something to be desired (and there are a few others in the anthology that I didn't assign). Sometimes I wonder about what makes something "the best." Denis Johnson is one of my favorite writers and he's well-regarded in the world of letters, even winning the National Book Award. But I wonder: An editor for The New Yorker publishes a Johnson story b/c it's by Johnson and then TC Boyle chooses this story b/c it's by Johnson. Or maybe this is a case of taste? I know that a lot of you didn't think that "Motherlode" or "The Fugue" were as strong as I did and a few others thought. What makes something "the best"? Is this just a matter of taste and if you're TC Boyle (who's been in this anthology himself a few times), then you get to decide for a year? Which stories did you think were great and which wanting?

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden

      This to me felt like a very poignant story. It kind of moved from place to place and from time to time in his life kind of like his internal dialogue was writing in his diary.   It bothered me that he was cataloging his life from event to event and from accomplishment accomplishment but not with any great victories or celebrations.

        I hope never to go through chunks of my life without remembering things in a positive way.    If he did remember things in a positive way, it didn't seem like it.  Whitman did not seem to love his job at any point in his life.    After 25 years or so of marriage, he didn't seem to enjoy life being married nor love his wife in the way that you would hope to love or be loved.  

          He did seem to enjoy the simple life simple walks appreciate peaceful times on solo exploration missions in new places are towns that he hadn't been in.    Or if he had been there, he would see it in a different perspective at night, in the rain, in the snow less crowded or completely congested.   I don't know, that's kind of nice… But I want more!

How Great was MR.Voice story ?

Mr. Voice deffinetly is one of my favorite stories from this book. I loved the different changes that I felt while reading the book, and the depth of emotions that it brings out. The narrator takes us from her earliest childhood memories into many years later. Also I guess how the author doesn't really give you what you want at certain moments of the text but creates something that is just so real. Like her almost getting raped, and her having the crush on Brian who turned out to be gay. Just pictured a young girl with all those fantasies in her head about Brian but then when she finds out the news it's almost like she just had to keep going with the flow of things. Certain themes stuck out to me through story and I can see the author wrapping it up towards the conclusion. About identity and being yourself how nobody can tell you who you are. It's crazy how we carry so many of or parents traits within us. I notice things in my dad and then I see it in my grandma. So having those moments were I consciously see my self reacting the same way my father does is a liberating feeling, like in that split moment I realize what's going on. So we carry a lot of beliefs and habits from our conditioning. When claude stepped in he began to dis identify her from her mother. I believe he was the only one who told her otherwise. About her looking like her mother, it seems throughout the story she always wanted to be different. I guess it's like something her mom left her with cause even when she notices the daughter similarity to the mother she feels as though she has to step in. Story seems pretty fucked up on how her mother just bailed out on her and left her with a man who was not blood related, and how her father stares at her in the face says it's crazy that she has a little bit of him, after her mom just died he walks out of her life forever.(excuse my language ) Everything was for her best though, Claude seemed like a great father to her. It was nice how the author was able to capture so much history, and important scenes, and moments in a short story. Like when her and Brian stared at each other smiling when his husband told the daughter you look like her, and using that moment to lead into the mothers death. It seems to keep us on this path of important moments , meanings, and messages, of the story. The story was also great written with many visual aspects felt like Going through a film.

So, I cant really get Mr. Voice out of my head. I find that many girls go through a faze of wanting to look like their mothers. Constantly torn between wanting to be like them and simultaneously nothing like them. I Recently read a poem that had a line "you look exactly like your mother, and you look nothing like your mother" I feel, that Mr. Voice is written from the point of view of a a girl that had been relatively resentful of her mother until she knew she had died. Even the almost rape seemed to be surrounded by the question of whether or not she was too much like her mother.
 I would love to know more about her and the way she felt about her mother. As direct as the piece was in stating that she had in the end let go. And happily moved on. I think that there might have been more to explore.

About my aunt

About my aunt
     The turning point for me was when she was in the jail visiting her boyfriend Boyd. At the moment he revealed that his ex-girlfriend Lynette had been coming for visits in the past and planning to come again, I saw a similarity between her and her aunt Kiki.
     They must've been women with lower self-esteem and self-worth and I would desire in a mate or expect from myself or my friends and family.  Maybe that's just what happens when you love somebody else more than you love yourself or you're just "comfortable" in the situation?

About My Aunt

When I first read the title of this story I thought it was going to be a judge mental one. I thought it was going to be a niece judging the actions of her aunt. I guessed right that the narrator was a niece. Who knew that after being away for so long the chnaces were that the aunt was going to be more closer to the narrator. Towards the end I really like one particular quite that said "I was perfectly aware... That some part of my life with Boyd was not entirely real, that if I pushed it too hard a whole other feeling would show itself" (Boyle 290). It was the perfect way to say it. It looks like you won't get it but then you do. And I especially like when she says "I knew how I looked, too girly, too jacked up over crumbs Boyd threw my way" (Boyle 290). It's funny because I was picturing her doing that. And I also liked it because she realized and looked back at how stupid she must have been. From these words I can tell that they probably broke up since he seemed to never change. But I liked how in the end she said how both her aunt and her were sort of lost now.

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden

I found this story inspirational and alarming. For some reason I was almost able to connect with the narrator when he was describing that he was walking alone in many places of New York City and around his clam neighborhood in San Diego. That would be me on someway. I'm the type of person that likes to walk alone and discover new places especially when I'm stressed out about everyday things. I really liked his description starting in the part where he introduced a character by the name of Tony Fido. I believed that his exotic paintings influenced him to write that way at the moment. I really liked how he was describing the feelings he felt about twists and untwists and so on but didn't get it at the same time. When he said that he believed he lived more things in the past than he will live in the future and that he's not looking forward to do anything else anymore made me think about how valuable life should be taken and that time flies quickly. I should learn to invest more time in enjoying life, become more influenced now before old age but even still I feel bad that the narrator is not happy with his accomplishments. Through in his eyes he doesn't see he did much, through others' he did.

Both stories were raw with the use of the English language; Ernie's spoke freely and the description of Claude's sex acts were not held back. Both authors provided us with twist to their stories, it had me engaged at all times. For Unsafe at Any Speed we or at least me really didn't think that Theo was going to cheat on his wife. 

For Mr. Voice the author could of gone any way with Claude's character, when Tanya came to live with him, and he had to use the intercom all the time, a part of me thought, what if he sexually abuses her, then he spoke about his bedroom life, who would of thought later down the line he would of be such a great man to Tanya. 

Unsafe at any speed

When i read the story last night i figured it's just another story ; until now unsafe at any speed reminds me of the Broadway play turned into a motion picture. Glengarry glen Ross but a comedic version of it while the motion picture and broadway play was more serious. There are similarities between the story and glengarry glen ross it takes place in a office scenery. Ernie is the comedic version of Al Pacino's character Ricky Roma the hotshot douchebag of the office. While Theo reminds me of  a character of James lingk played by british actor Johnathan Pryce . Both Theo and Ernie are in a dialogue in the story ; same as in the movie. I feel that this is a homage to glengarry glen ross.

Mr Voice vs Unsafe at any speed

Humor is used in Unsafe at any speed, as a way of actually experiencing what the character was going through in his mediocre struggled life.  He works for a horrible boss, in a job he doesn't really love.  He is not really doing well at his job as his sales are low.  That being said his commissions are low. 

            Driving a caravan is not always a bad thing nowadays.  They are made better and more modernized.  Back in the day, whether 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s the vehicles were not as enjoyable to drive or even sit in.  Their interiors were not very inviting.  At any time period even today though, similar to our main characters struggle, if your vehicle is more than 10-15 years old, you are bound to be miserable.  That misery was expressed throughout by various comments of everyone else’s vehicle(s) in the family.  What they are driving, how much better it is than what he has and why he got the short end of the stick. 

            Mr. Voice was funny as our female lead has her own struggles as a young girl with a new stepfather.  This has happened after a seemingly long period of time when her mother was less then virtuous.  Her Mother now married and faithful (we hope) to her new stepfather, she is blessed with daily performances of bedroom theatrics.  Acting, drama, sound effects and all until her new step brother saves her by bringing her into his sanctuary in order to distort or totally drown out the sounds that a young girl should not experience of her parents (at any age).

            

Unsafe at any speed

I really enjoyed this story due to the fact that this is a man who throughout his entire life he was depicted to the one in the family who continually drew the short end of the stick, but at the end ends up having one of the coolest stories ever.  He gets the girl and car.

Mr. Voice

 Mr.Voice was hilarious. Personally, I felt second hand embarrassment pretty strong. particularly because it reminded me of the one time I went to a sleep over with my best friend and her parents were going at it and we were forced to listen until around  6am. it was mortifying, and aggravating. I felt that without being inn her exact position, I felt that way all over again. Severely put out and aggravated by the particular events. I thoroughly agreed with Bryan the acting offended me more than the act of sex. what i did enjoy, was the idea that the event took place separate from the direct room of the narrator  while still impacting her directly.

Unsafe At Any Speed

The author made it funny in this story it’s almost like the author made the readers laugh at Theo’s expense by how miserable he is. Theo’s life is nowhere he wants it to be everyday he gets in a car he hates and goes to a job with a boss whom he secretly envy’s. Therefore the author makes it a funny story instead of a sad one because it could have easily been a depressing story. The author make his boss a very funny guy kind of the ice breaker.

Mr.Voice

Tanya's mother married to Claude. his age was about twenty years more than Tanya's mother.but she wanted to have her own family with her daughter. Claude has won son, name was Brian. he took care of his stepsister very kindly. So they had good relation. Tanya's mother stayed home, like house wife and Tanya could live with new family more comfortable. specially Claude was very generous man.and he had a big sprawling new rancher.

Mr voice

This story's comedy comes from the fact that it is so easy to relate to.  As a teenager its the most devastating & embarrassing thing in the world to imagine your parents having sex.  Although at the time I'm sure Tanya didn't find it funny as a reader you can imagine yourself caught in her shoes.  Tanya reacted just as I would, initially trying to drain out the sounds with a pillow feeling helpless at the thought of the actions.  When Brian saves her from the horrid noises that came through the walls he immediately  became her hero.  And like every other teenage girl she developed a childish crush

Unsafe At any speed

Unsafe at any speed. I found this story hilarious at certain points. The author takes us on this random joy ride adventure with Theo and Stacey. Write from the beginning of the story I felt like Theo was not completely there mentally. He almost seemed like a child, and so innocent. But then it seemed like he was living a normal adult life, working and making his own choices. His family treats him like a little kid. Daughter speaking to him in a tone as if he was death. It seemed like from the beginning of the story he was determined to get the corvair, then Stacey comes out of the blue dragging Theo into an adventure which through the context of the story seemed like this long journey, but in reality it was just a few hours. The author really brought the setting into this story and I enjoyed that. Constantly bringing up were on the highway they were, and the different changes in weather. I felt as if I was in Florida, so I guess that is something I think the author did a great job at. Really making the scenes come alive. Once Theo left Stacey at the bookstore I didn't think he would go back, and I was surprised when he turned back around. I think the way it ended and all almost seemed like those funny and climatic shows were so many things happen in a matter of 30 minutes and everything gets resolved by the end of the episode. In Theo's case it was getting the car.

Unsafe any speed and Mr. Voice

 In both stories the use of humor and  and place make the story come way more to life. The story seems to get comfortable with you while your reading it. Even though I am too familiar with Florida a little the story still gave me much more detail about places that I never been in "Unsafe at any Speed". In Mr.Voice I got much connected with the character Tanya because of how she told her story about her experience with her mother remarrying.
  In Unsafe at any speed the Florida seemed to unveil itself as he drove and explained not only the heat but the way the vines and trees looked to him as he drove. It also in a weird way made me feel hot as and agitated as he drove in his caravan. I felt the feeling of how he wished he was able to update his car and how bad he wanted to make the car auction.
  Mr. Voice used humor in so many ways to its advantage. For one the story coming from a young girl not even a teenager yet going through this actually in a way gave it a more lighter look from the story. Even though it was a serious moment for her(Tanya), the way she told (or was written) gave it the humor it needed to get intrigued in the story. For example when she has to hear her mother and Claude have sex it could have been told with much more seriousness but instead she added the scenes of what was said it made it more lighter, even though it was hard situation for her the style of the writer made it more bearable to understand that this ten year old girl is overhearing her mother have sex with a man who is old and twice her mom age.

Unsafe at Any Speed and Mr. Voice

     In Unsafe at Any Speed, I felt bad that the main character stayed with an old van while the rest of his family including his daughter had better cars. From what I know about the story, the main character doesn't have a job position where he is able to earn enough and buy the cars that his wife could afford. His wife is messed up and selfish. She should've at least helped him save up for a comfortable vehicle for him too. My opinion is that she doesn't love him but that she's with him because she has a daughter with him and she's probably not in the mood to do immature things anyways.

     In the passage that we just shared in Mr. Voice I would have felt the same way how the girl felt about Claude. He's someone who recently came into his mother's life and already making uncomfortable noises for her. She probably found him very annoying when he would mention hints for his mother in front of her. In the beginning she didn't mention much of the interaction between him and her. it made me think at first the Claude didn't pay attention to her as a stepdaughter. But towards the end she talks about Claude getting more closer to her and actually feeling so much care for her. He was even protective and I didn't expect that from the character of Claude in the beginning. I really thought that after the mother walked away and left her own daughter that he would leave her too, and that maybe he would say "she's not my responsibility anymore."

Unsafe at any speed

Unsafe at any speed pulled me to a different time in my life. The arrogance of Ernie reminded me of some many people I've encounter during my time in the real estate and mortgage industry. It's almost stereotypical character people like Erine play in many of our lives. I can remember a few times in the early part of that career that I was Theo. I feel like the humorous part is that this interaction is so normal.

At first he seems to be kind a douche but then you realize he try to help Theo by offering him a lead on a sale. I don't think Theo took it as a favor but i was a cool move by Ernie.  

Both stories are adventures.Mr voice behaves while at home meanwhile unsafe at any speed is a story of Theo as a salesman traveling to find this new customer at Palatka.

Unsafe at any speed

I think that the author for "Unsafe at any speed" used the the location where the story took place to his advantage. He frequently describes the heat and the roads he uses to travel which add depth to the story. The way he decribes the

Mr. Voice

This story was very funny with the foreplay that claude did with tanya's mom. i feel like they lived in a small house, and i think the mom was more discreet about it.
i think its pretty funny though listening to someone old still living their man hood , even though its hard to picture your mother or wouldn't even want to picture your mother doing those things.

Humor in Mr. Voice and Unsafe at any Speed

Both of these places in the story are very indeed funny but what really brings it home is the actual description of the places that are being described in the story. In "Unsafe at any Speed" the description of the wavy streets and how they string all along Florida, like veins in that piece of land that juts out towards the south atlantic is what really got me, and also what helped was the description of the situations which plays also well in both stories. You get pulled into the situations, like Theo's anger, that the humor is like a huge reprieve from that anger and you can't help but laugh along with what he is decribing Florida to be.

In "Mr. Voice", this works really well because it would be simple say his voice booming through the whole house, but why and then when they describe the home and how it felt open, that's when it hits you. You feel sorry for Claude but cannot help but laugh at the dialog of this situation that has lead up from the described place, o cringe but it does a great job of pulling you into that moment.

An additional point I would like to make in Unsafe At Any Speed, is how quickly a situation can get out of control and suddenly one finds themselves in a script that will undermine the life they lead whether that life is just a place where they are comfortable and living with or a place where life is great and before you know it things have been done that can not be undone but must be explained and hopefully forgiven.

Humor in "Unsafe at Any Speed" and "Mr. Voice"

Both of these stories (at least in these sections) have very different styles of humor.

"Unsafe at Any Speed"'s humor comes from the loneliness of the situation. Having to deal with an undeserving (at least in the eyes of Theo) boss whose 10 years your junior. The description we get of this ratty ass caravan as it slogs throughout the floridian heat is very juvenile and we get a sense of how mundane and unlucky Theo is. Humans commonly laugh at other people's pain, this just seems to fit as a version of that explanation. When it's read out loud, I can actually see, in almost perfect detail his situation as if I was watching a movie.

"Mr.Voice" has the humor of having wacky characters interacting with a real world situation. I mean having this radio host using his voice talents for the bedroom just puts me on tilt because then I actually imagine real life voice actors and actresses in their respective bedroom with their respective lovers and all I can imagine is them using some of my favorite roles of theirs while having sex, effectively ruining those characters for me.  Especially older voice actors, like can you imagine Casey Kasem using the Shaggy voice while he's intimate. I can and I really wish I couldn't.

"Mr Voice"

In these two short stories "Unsafe at any speed" and "Mr Voice" they both portray a sense of humor. The author uses humor to help engage the reader. In the short Story "Mr Voice" the author decided to have a sense of humor when it came to the topic of sex. The jokes that the author was making helped keep the reader interesting. For myself especially as a reader, humor is a key aspect that would keep me interested and keep me reading. When the character in the story said "or that mother put head in "head cheerleader" definitely had me laughing hysterically. I was definitely engaged throughout the entire story.

In the stories Unsafe At Any Speed and Mr. Voice I couldn't help to notice how pitiful Mr. Bitner and Claude ended up being.  My hope that when boys are raised they are raised to be engaging and strong and not to become doormats and have their spirit so easily squashed.  Mr. Bitner seemed to be the low man on the totem pole in his household although he was out actively working and contributing.  It seemed that he was not consulted with family matters and was just expected to settle with whatever was doled out to him.  One example is that of the ending up with the shit vehicle of the household.  He was not respected.  I felt basically the same for Claude that he would allow himself to be a consolation prize by his wife who really wanted someone and something else but settles for him for the greater good.  I am always baffled by the men who will accept the partner who is expecting from him to deliver a lifestyle of money, goods and services with a repayment of resentment and obligatory sex by his trophy bride.  Claude took on the role of father, provider and homemaker and in return was given a good swift kick in the teeth.  Both guys lost or never had the self-esteem necessary to conduct a relationship on a level playing field where there was mutual admiration and reciprocity.

Mr. Voice

This story used humor when it came to sex, the author wanted to incorporate sex in the story but since its coming from a little girl the author made it with humor. The way the author describes the sex life of her stepfather and her mother is hilarious and you don’t feel uncomfortable for Tanya. also how she describes her mother whom by reading the story is a little bit if not a lot slutty and she says she never knew the men’s name she knew them by their career, the accountant the pilot and the firefighter just to name a few that concept was a little bit easier when reading the story since its coming from the perspective of a child. 

Mr. Voice
The narrator is describing life events of this couple and a girl named Meaghan.
Claude Almond was called Mr.Voice he was much older than her.He was a enterteinment person .He works a i a radio,TV commercials and many social events. Even though he was not the father of this girl .He loves her too. This couple besides their differences they stay together for ever.

unsafe at any speed

Theo Bitner is new to facebook .  Sherril his wife is more popular on facebook .She has more friends.They lived with Ashley their daugther  who has not job.Theo work for Ernie selling dental tools.He his not happy driving he old car. He has to travel to Palatka to meet a new customer.He admire Ernie for all his material possetions.

"Unsafe at Any Speed" and "Mr. Voice"

These two stories do similar things. They're both, in places, very funny. And they're also very site specific, FL for the former and Spokane, WA for the later. I'd like you to think about how they use humor and/or place to their advantage.

Unsafe at Any Speed

Narrator described how Theo lives with his family.  Theo, his mother, Sherrill, his wife, and  his daughter Ashley. Ernie owned distributorship for Dental equipments, Ernie is Theo boss. Ernie ordered Theo to see. Wain Wright. He’s got a dental practice in Palaka. Theo pictured the route-Palatka was at least an hour’s detour from the beeline he’d been planning to make to Lakeland. He was interesting about “Corvair” to go to see the car auction in Lakeland. In Palatka, but he  wouldn’t see him. The receptionist ask him give her ride. Her name is Stacey. Her age was around thrity,  She abused Theo, made her chauffeur in order to get her destination, Tampa for a thirty- five mile ride to Tampa, paid TGI Friday’s, paid for Romada Inn room too. He’d never been unfaithful to Sherrill.  Still Theo never cheated on his wife, had never even wanted to. Theo found seven thousand cash in Stacey’s handbag. She cheated Wainwright’s money. Stacey’s mother is staying for her at Tampa, they will leaving tonight, go back to Taxas,  where they were from. He headed back toward the Atlantic, the thick floating peninsula of La Florida left to cross. They would be hell to pay when he got home.

Stacey is almost half of theo’s age. Stacey lured Theo intensively. She  made him to persuade to go Tampa. She used her attractive qualities of her youth. Stacey is not honest, also thief. That particular day was Theo’s an lucky day.                  

 

Mr. Voice

This story started when Tanya was nine then, and Mother thirty- one.  Mother was a stunner, Tanya had never seen her father. My mother’s motto in 1974;” Come on Tanya no Dawdling.”   Mr. Voice was fifty then,  twenty years older than her mother. His name was Claude Almond. Her mother married him. Tanya met her stepbrother Brian. Brian made Tanya was happy with music. Tanya’s mother name was Linda. Claude worked to secure the rights to the books. He was not Mr. Voice anymore. Mother set up guitar lessons for Brian with Allen. But Allen dated Linda. Tanya was thirteen, Clay tried to rape her, last moment Claude came home from work and rescued her. Next year, Linda was killed.Linda’s two sisters offered to let Tanya come live with them, but Claude said. “Tell them you have a home.” Brian was gay but he was Tanya’s first lover. They met each other at Claude’s funeral. Tanya became a special-Ed teacher, then assistant principal, and now an principal of a middle school, had a good husband, had two daughters ,Joey and Meagan.but her own daughter Meaghan got the tattoos and piercings. But Tanya can’t say that she blamed her daughter.  Tanya looks like her mother, Meaghan look like Tanya. She can’t blame her daughter. Tanya always wanted to her girls to be their own people, not to think their fate was tied to bone structure.  

This is great story. Tanya was very lucky to had good father, Mr. Voice. Claude was really great person.  Tanya’s  mother were killed by accident, When Tanya was fourteen.  Claude knew immorality between her mother and Allen. But Mr. Voice took care of Tanya same as his own daughter.              

Mr. Voice

 Holy crap what a great story!
 Transitions were so well-written that she basically describe your whole life in different parts skipping around flashing back and jumping ahead and basically covering everything.

 I can't believe some of the things that happened and as they were happening I remember thinking I hope it doesn't happen and I was grateful when it didn't…

 In and around the tragic but triumphant attempted rape that she survived in escaped thanks to her "father" who really truly turned out to be her dad that I can't believe some of the things That I thought was going to happen that I was grateful did not happen.

 In the story all the tragedies that really happened as well as all the tragedies I thought we're going to happen overrule through the life the expression "shit happens" comes to mind. She became a strong girl who is truly loved by her stepdad who truly became an acted like a father.

 From her mother's daughter too young girl to a young lady to the daughter of her stepfather to a college student career woman and a mother herself burying her stepdad was an incredible progression story Of her entire life.

Mr. Voice

Sheesh, Tanya's life is a mess.  The best thing in her life is her step-father.  Her mother was unstable, the best thing her mother for her was moving in with Claude.  Eventually Tanya's mother abandoned her.  This annoyed me, I guess being a mother myself I couldn't imagine leaving my child.  At least Claude stepped up and took care of Tanya as best he could.  All while Tanya learned to adjust and deal with difficult situations.

Unsafe at any speed

The character in this story seems like he's miserable.  His wife and daughter are nags. The only time he enjoys any part of his life is when hes alone and driving.  It's almost like a secret life where no one can tell him anything.  Out side of that he gets pushed and bossed around by everyone from his boss to his family.  I want more for him more than a car and an affair.

Mr. Voice

Having Mr. Voice be another random man that the main character's mother has got with made me think hat he was going to be a rude and awkward person for her. Not for the mother of ,course since they got married to each other. Expect the unexpected, right? He actually turned out to be the opposite. Described as a better parent than her own mother. I felt some kind of intense connection with the main character because she turned out way differently than her mother and despite what she always saw, she didn't grow up to be like her mother and I'm proud of that. It's like my mother and hers. My grandmother was one of those mothers who liked to whip their children for no reason back in the day. Closer to the end I felt like the narrator was actually the author in real life. It almost made me feel like she was telling her own true story when she mentioned of her simple and happy life, social and career wise. But the last paragraphs, bringing it back to the past closed the story and protected it from sounding like she was giving her personal life to the public in case if it were really a true life experience she is currently living.

Unsafe at any speed

I like how the narrator and a main character seem to be extremely observant but exaggerating and sarcastic in their descriptions of things going on as well as setting the scene and background.

   Obviously Theo wants a new vehicle.  He does not seem to be a big fan of his old caravan.  I understand what it's like not to have heat or AC in a vehicle but Theo seems to be just so defeated in the way he summons energy to curse his van.

     I'm glad he has a sense of humor and his descriptive ways of humorously tour thing himself while chastising his vehicle is funny and entertaining.

      I'm about at the halfway point in this reading and I'm hoping that the team doesn't turn to dark and tragic. My guard is up.

     In this story, if not an adulterer our "hero" gets the girl (but then he doesn't get the girl) and he gets the car, his "Eleanor" (Gone in 60 Seconds) but I kinda wanted him to get both.

PS the car part of the story is real:


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair#

Unsafe at Any Speed

Oh I love this juicy story, everything was so wrong but somehow played out perfect. Things got pretty intense real quick and they rented a room. She was nervous about the cop and that part had me thinking that they were gonna get caught because of her behavior, but she though ahead of the game

Seriously back to the fact that they had sex...it made the story even juicer...and well his wife did cheat to...doesn't make it ok...but.....
so many twist and turns......

 i couldn't put the book down..i was thrilled the entire time

The Voice


So much going on. The descriptive details for each scene is well written. Breaks us out of that thinking that life is always perfect. What a good man Cluade was, taking in Tanya after her mom left.
It entails what a good fiction story should have - conflict

Unsafe at any speed

The way how the main character was being described, I felt that he basically had no life and that he was a person that wanted to live that way. At the end when he does have an affair with someone else I found the whole scene uncomfortable and especially how everything went wrong for him afterwards especially with the rain, gray clouds and dampness. I would like to know why this man doesn't seem to try to make his life more gfnner and happier. He just allows his own wife and daughter to step on him and make him feel more worse and more of a boring person.

Madame Lazarus

The story Madame Lazrus I found Very interesting and it was a breeze to read through. I like how the author really incorporated  the setting of the book throughout many parts of the story. I feel like it's culture had a lot to do with the story itself. In the beginning I was a little confused trying to figure out the identity of the main character of the story wether it was a male or female. Like once the ex wife came into the picture I felt thrown off because I knew the main character is with James who is a male. So I was wondering if the character happened to be a female with an ex wife or gay male. I'm mostly conceived that the main character is a gay male just because all the comparisons of old age are tied to a male. Like when speaking of the girl in the vet saying how much older in comparison to the grandfather of that girl. Or the man outside the hospital bent over even "older than I was ". Another part was when speaking of the guy who he first loved. " I was still very young , and it was a shock, because it was the first time I knew who I was. He was older then I, and he understood also- I could see that."

The. I wondered why would this character then marry a women after. I liked how the author doesn't really tell you directly of the characters identity it sort of takes you away from these pre conceived notions you have going into a story, and brings you into the reality of a story and its intentions. James is interesting it's like he pops in and out of the story, and initially the dog was meant to take his place. So when the dog dies it's like the tie was completely broken. The character wonders if it meant the same for Desi the housekeeper. The story leaves you with a deeper poop of truth in it. Like the conclusion gets you.

 "Don't leave me", I say

Desi looks up, surprised. Her eyes are red. The taxi is waiting, impatient. I think I will say everything now, I will speak of everything. There is not so much time.

"Please don't leave," I say.

The dogs death brings in the realization of death and how there is only the present moment . Another significant death was the boy dying, the first lover. The main character never speaks of this death. I wonder if that's what's implied when saying I will speak of everything. I find it funny how even as I am  writing this I am pretty much certain the character is a male, but not completely convinced because I can see how I refrain from stating he or she that much. Maybe that's part of the emotion which the story brings across a mystery of this character and unspoken secrets and feelings. So maybe if the author would have told us directly the gender of the character it would have taken away the mystery which the text sort of gives. When the doctor says Madame Lazarus I remembered us speaking of titles in class and there importance when it pertains to the story. Lazarus is a man raised from the dead by Jesus. So the dog was revived by the main character, and it being a girl the doctor gave it Madame Lazarus. The dogs death was like loosing someone close, seemed just as real as the death of a human. Never having a dog I could still feel the emotions of the character that's how powerful the scene made everything. 

Motherlode

Motherlode I found pretty interesting, the story seems a bit random at times. I felt like I was sort of in a daze but it makes sense as the plot of the story. The character  David seems like his life has never really felt significant or meaningful. So he's intrigued at Rays persona and actually wants to uncover more as the story unfolds. He's innocent but curious. Dave goes against his natural impulse to do what's right just so he could explore and add something into his life with more excitement. Finding himself on the verge of going back to the same boring cycle within his life he then decides to join Morsel and Ray. I don't even think he knew exactly what kid of illegal things they were doing and he preferred not to know. He kept what he did know a secret as well like why he was going to California, or how he knew ray didn't just have one dime left . The ending of the story did get me by surprise I wonder if Ray was shot. "He didn't feel a thing". The author leaves us wondering.

madame lazarus

This story takes you on an emotional roller coaster.  Told from the first person perspective has the reader emotionally attached.  I understood the characters feeling of living a double life and always having that emptiness. He was unable as a child to be with his true love publicly unable to enjoy their lives together.  When he finally is able to the man dies.  He never truly loves again until the dog.  this story just leads me to the saying life is too short.

Motherlode

The beginning of this story was slow.  It was a struggle for me to get through the first few pages.  But it slowly picks up and becomes slightly enjoyable.  The introduction of these questionable characters was the most entertaining for me.  Ray being the compulsive liar its only fitting that he plays off of the curiosity of David.  That was ultimately the most intriguing to me.  David's curiosity and desire for quick money pushed his common sense to the back burner.  "Curiosity Killed the Cat" and I'm pretty sure he was killed even though Thomas doesn't offer us the luxury of saying so.

Repost

Public Fiction Project

Hey all:

To meet this requirement, you can go to a fiction reading. Here are some listings:

http://www.bookforum.com/events/

And check out the Center for Fiction in Midtown:

http://www.centerforfiction.org/

They have frequent readings and even a literary magazine that you can submit to.

If you'd rather submit your fiction to a publication, I'd suggest Newpages.com:

http://www.newpages.com/magazines/literary-magazines

or Poets &Writers:

http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines

Nowadays, many mags will allow you to submit your stories via the internet. We'll talk more about submitting your fiction, and I'd be happy to speak one-on-one w/ you about this too.

Class Collaboration

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman. She was the most beautiful woman in all the land. Her beautiful long blonde hair, and her eyes that were Caribbean blue. She never realized her beauty, but everyone across the land did. She lived with her sister, who wasn’t that much older than her. Their parents had died a long time ago, when she was about 7 and her sister was 9 at the time. Her parents died when a huge wave came and swept the boat off to sea. Everyone across the land didn’t know  if they were dead or not. Everyone assumed they were dead because they had been missing at sea for almost 2 weeks, when everyone realized that something was wrong when they didn’t come back. That left her and her sister to fend for themselves. Then the sisters decided that they would start to prepare a life without them they did all the grown up things such as cooking and cleaning and growing food. As time went on the sisters noticed that they weren’t coming back and decided that it’s best to keep a memorial in their honor. On the day of  graduation of their honor. They decided to bring all the people they knew. Some people barged in the graduation like if it were some random party. All of a sudden drinks were being brought and loud music was played. The original people that were invited to the ceremony were shocked and didn’t know how to throw them out so they decided to party along with them. Chips were being tossed all around and eventually a glass broke and everything had been great until the glass was in someone’s arm or leg or something. There was just blood everywhere. But some people were too drunk or too high to notice. Someone had the balls to call the police though. And the red and blue lights of the police cars and the ambulance cut through the atmosphere like cake.  Ah, cake.  I can remember having my first piece over the dead body of the joker.  Robin stood by me as I spilled the crumbs of pistachio mint chai on the soulless course of my would be killer.  Robins dog watch and licked up any remains left on the jokers face.  His makeup getting on the dog until finally the dog turned on us and laughed like the joker. It was THE MASK. 

I did not like this alter ego.  No longer sweet and loveable this dog actually seems arrogant and malicious.  I feel like this dog is about to attack me.

As if this dog is just a killer in waiting. I wonder what has made this way. Bad time growing p at the pound? Not enough milk from his mama when he was born? Where could this creature have learned such two-faced behavior? It was as if I was facing a cartoon. How do you fight something that can flip an innocence switch and then bite my ankle I the same motion? I had to be strong. There had to be a way to be the good one and the bad one all at the same time. He needed to learn who was boss and I was going to teach him. I took him outside and pulled on his leash. He didn’t want to go by the tree, he wanted to go on the side of the pool. If you don’t want to obey I will throw you inside the pool. I tugged on his leash, we all knew I would never do that to him, it was a bluff. We walked to the front of the house where we came across a van that was never here before. Are they new in town? He started to bark toward the van, “ thay has a sense about these things”. I knew something was suspicious when we saw the curtain drawn back as soon as we laid eyes on the house. “ Well why do you send us the address so we can check the house ourselves said the missus”.” Madam I’m so sorry but you need  to be with an agent to see the house” said the agent. When she heard this her hopes were dashed. But then, driving home, she thought to herself: “What if I go back? What if I go back tonight when the moon is full, throw a brick through the window and climb in and slither across the floor, giving myself a tour. Do I really need an agent to show me the way?” And that’s what she did. When she arrived in the cute little suburban neighborhood, everyone seemed to be asleep at that time. She said I am going to explore this city at my own. She started walking and walking then  she saw that some houses still had left the light on in the rooms .She tough ‘if I get tired later on I am going to knock one of the house that still have the light on’’. She was remembering her pass  at the same time why she was thinking’’ why she was  doing that to be alone just to add more experiences in her life’’.

Exquisite Corpse (Christian's)

Once upon a time, there was a man, a painter, who the power to create living things from drawing them on a canvas. A few masterful strokes of his brush and birds would rip themselves from the canvas, taking flight towards the untouchable clouds, deer would gallop and grow and frogs would hop off and chase flies into the bushes beyond. This power caused the man to only want to draw animals, as man was the only creature so be selfish to make demands of him. “Draw this so may eat it.” “Draw this so we may ride it and use it.” Never wanting to use his power to gaze at their beauty naturally. They had to be used and that was something he couldn’t stand.

He couldn’t stand the fact that everyone could see what he could. He was selfish and greedy and he wanted them all for himself. Two beauties, their hair, skin, every curve of their silhouette. He yearned to have them all for himself. At any moment, for any reason, just all to himself. He had to do right and so this could not be. His powers has to be used for good and nothing else. He contemplated for a moment on what he could use his powers on in a good way that could get his revenge. Maybe I could burn down a forest to symbolize what man has done to the earth. Maybe flood the cities to so how we drown ourselves and society in tears we cause to each other. I know! I show my displeasure to man and now it must pay for its great offenses to the forest. The king of the forest made his displeasure known with humankind ; that he banished man and his descendants for all-time. But when the king wasn’t watching, humankind said, “That asshole, who died and made him king?” Well, actually, they didn’t all speak this in unison. One guy, Albert, said the words, and most of the rest of humankind nodded and harrumphed and said, “Yeah, that’s a good point.” After all, no one could remember how he came to be king. And the truth of the matter is that he signed up to be king on the internet and his first decree after the certificate arrived in the mail was to throw all his bad credential of been a bad student. He said what a waste of time . I wasted my own time. I have a future ahead of me, a future that I can only control. No one was going to control my future but me. So I decided to take a turn for the better. I wanted to be in control of my life and not waste my time. So I did. I changed my ways and at the moment my future was finally looking bright. Until, I came home one day and my mom said “You can’t make it, you’re just a waste of space.”  So I decided that I was tired of her judgement and would rather blow my brains out than to listen to her ridicule me at every turn. While having dinner she asked me “are you gay” I never herd that kind of question. I was so astonished. She think I am look like boy.? Just because I cut my hair short? Just because I like to wear sweatpants and hoodies? I clearly told her no. that was just my style. Then she looked at her plate and continued eating silently. I felt so uncomfortable that I had to leave the dinner table and marched into my room. I was not offended by the fact that she thought I was gay. I was just offended that she didn’t know me any better. It felt like I had slept through the knight so when I woke up and she was standing in my room I checked the clock. Only midnight. I had been asleep for about an hr.

 “what” I asked

She sighed, “look the truth is I was kind of hoping  you were gay because it would make this whole process easier”

“What process” she was confusing me.

“This whole coming out, that’s what you call it now right, coming out the closet”

“Im coming out, I want the world to know, I just can’t let go”

“Helen please if you stop now we can finally make it for breakfast at Mcdonalds”

“stop it Jeanine, you know it ends at 11am and we’ll never make it”

                No you idiot!!! McDonalds now has breakfast 24 hours a day!!!  Let’s go, I’m hungry…

I want my “sausage egg McMuffin” and my hash browns.

                After they ate, she admittedly thanked him saying that she was full and grateful that they ate.  Now fully rejuvenated they went on with their day.  It was a good thing that they were still able to get along so well.

  

Class Collaboration

Once upon a time there was a beautiful peasant girl name Sara whom longed for riches and beautiful things. She lived with her parents In a small cottage at the end of the village, she was the most beautiful girl in the village however she always dreamed of life outside the village with a handsome man unlike the ones she saw every day.one day her father left to go hunting and he never returned it has been some time now and the village decided to give him a burial. She always pictured her father still alive living happily with wealth and plenty food unlike what was available in the village. Sarah was a good girl she did all her chores and took care of her mother, she cooked she cleaned and she waited for better. One day a man on a horseback came riding into the village I feel very peaceful and wanted to run all over the village and picking up the flower and enjoy the grass smell, looking some birds and saw that they were relaxing in every branch of the trees. Until the quaking of the ground launched them into the sky. They shrieked and the children screamed in response. Mothers took off in the direction of the playground.   Come things had shifted and the slide had toppled over somewhere to the right a child could be heard calling for their mother, the play tube had been caved in by the rising dirt.  But then uncle billy came with his plane with that there uh thingy mah-jigga up on top of her spinning like a fancy wind blower with the blades ma used to put in front of grand papa to make the smell go away.

When he was younger he was such a powerful gentlemen.  It is a tragic shame to see him like this, in this condition.  I only wish he knew how we all felt about him.  We all held him in high esteem.  He was a great man and was very respected.  There is no dignity in his deteriorating health condition.  I wish there was more that I could do to make him more comfortable. It’s this helplessness that has me feeling constrained. I wish  I could just throw money at the problem but I haven’t even got the money to throw change into the fountain. I weigh the options. What options? What do I do? What do I say? He’s dying and yet everything I think of just turns to mush. I can’t go on. I won’t go on. Then it hits me. The potion is in my mother’s dungeon. She’s kept it locked up for years. Forbid me to go in there. But I had to save him and this was the only way. The potion contained water from the fountain of youth. It was discovered years ago by my great great great grandfather. When settlers discovered it, they began to kill people who went near it. When gold miners would stumble on the unholy land, the Indians would track down there camps to burn the flesh of the poor souls who walked the space. When the steel Mongols charging the plains like the brave warrior depicted in legends. How the world changed when brave warriors don’t any longer exist and the age of cowardice has arisen. Those were the days. Anyhoo, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Nowadays, we’re all wimps waiting around for some politician to cut our taxes and give us free education. Put I’ll tell you one thing: I never had nothing I didn’t work like a dog for. I remember working in the morning at the mayonnaise factory, getting in those big bins and scooping out the extra mayonnaise and putting it in those little paper cups you get at the fast food restaurants. They’d show up from White Castle every day before the lunch rush to get the little hamburger with onions only. The line was long that day and he tough “ I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT ON THIS LINE” He carried a gun just in case, but from one day to the next he became very dangerous with it. He grabbed the gun and held it to the cashier and said “I want my hamburgers and onion rings now!” he shouted. The woman started preparing his food. However little he knew that the people who worked in the back, used their cell phones to dial 9-1-1, the employees told them that there was a man with a gun and that there was no shots fired. But he is armed. The 9-1-1 operator sent police officers to the scene. When the police officers arrived to the scene the man was still armed. The police officers tried to approach him slowly but he then pointed the gun towards them. When the police officers finally got him to put the weapon down, they charged at him and put hand cuffs on him. The man was than arrested and incarcerated.