the last person to post here wins

Times are hard,
As the money men say,
Things are goning to get tight,
Belts pulled in a notch,
Just so you get through.

Though really,
When was it ever so different,
To those lower down the scale,
But they always say,
There is worse at sea.

So pick yourself up,
And don't feel so sad,
Because you will still find,
There's joy out there to be found.

=

Shelagh wrote:

thehairymob wrote:

He was a very confused escapee,
Running from the sheep like that,
Lucky for us,
He was quickly caught,
And now finds himself,
On the Isle of White.

He should have gone to confused.com, or should that be confused.con?

Must have been a black sheep if he ended up on the Isle of White. Do they have sheep on the Isle of Wight? There's another prison! Maybe he was feeling home sick.

repost from elsewhere

Quote :

Is "dailylife" the same as "real life"?

"...not really..." replied the goblin, continuing "...as I see it, "real life" is as opposed to ones "virtual reality", whereas "dailylife" is opposed to the part of one that sees it for the distraction it is, simply one could be just as sheeplike in "real life" as in "virtual reality", but being aware of dailylife is perhaps what separates one from being a sheep then..."


73

repost from elsewhere,

Quote :

what do I win

"...and what prize would you want, for what could equate to being able to post..." mentioned the goblin who would rather be able to post anything under the sun than have some mere prize then, "...besides, a prize means that it is over, and hopefully no one wants this to be over so soon, it would be nice it this was a mega thread then..." the goblin's imagination stretched to the horizon and beyond


73

Your story is getting a bit woolly. This is a writing exercise, right?

("..true, that one can be replaced by another then, something more serious perhaps..." mentioned the goblin who just liked the picture)

opening the writing box filled with all the letters mostly from his mother, the goblin knew that she had never written anything of depth since she hadn't taken much time in writing them, that they were simply her way of saying "thinking of you" or used a way to air out any particular problem she was facing at the moment, that is, with some anecdotal snapshots of village life mixed in, so the goblin didn't care to reread them at this point but, like a book one wants to keep on the bookshelf, he had kept each one albeit in a somewhat discarded fashion in this writing box till now, today though, knowing that there would be no more of them, he had readied a folder expressly to which he had scribbled down the title "Mum's and auntie's letters" while the writing box itself would probably go empty now, if not used for something else then, "...well anyway, who writes letters these days..." the goblin asked to himself


73

("...goodnight..." went the goblin)

repost from elsewhere, in reply to that same old barb

Quote :

I don't read your stuff

"...so I guess you're not reading this either..." ventured the goblin adding "...besides, if one actually makes a list of everything and everyone who doesn't read my posts, starting from basic inanimate objects like chairs, tables, doors, etc., perhaps leading on to animals like dogs, cats, chimps, etc., on to certain humans into facebook, twitter, or MTV, together with other humans who are either too young, stupid, illiterate, or senile, on up to you now, one soon sees just how great a loss that actually is to me..." in fact, the goblin never minded who didn't read his posts and ignored him, no he cared for those not on that list then

Quote :

This is a writing exercise, right?

(nah, the goblin was more trying to conquer forumland with his pen, saying "...for me, the object of the exercise remains always to create posts in reaction to what was offered, we feed each other then...")

the goblin's nights where were those of an insomniac's and a zombie's, it just depended on how late it was


11

Conquer forumland? I thought this wasn't about winning. Ah, well, as long as it continues, I'll join in.

("...ah now, conquering forumland is winning too, where whatever one posts here wins anyway, so one then has to ask oneself a question from there, that question being "well if I win anyway with what shall I win this with now" in that a live writer is known by his posts is he not, nothing more, nor less, than than by his posts..." replied the goblin, seeing why that idea ruffled the feathers of some who thought that there had to be preconditions, but here was forumland where there were only personas)

repost from elsewhere

the goblin reminded himself of something, saying "...members come and go..." but the goblin himself didn't mind who came or went or stayed, or whatever, no, for him only "content" mattered, "...selfish perhaps but as long as I am alive I will try for "content" as each post is proof of how I relate to my life..." explained the goblin, continuing "...but let's see it for what it really is, in that each one of us is actually alone on the Internet with this unspoken tally known only to ourselves of what one has done against what time one has had to do it in, so now, how does one other member here, or a million other members for that matter, change this simple equation in some way, no, this tally just remains constant as some "benchmark of self" does it not, simply, in life one may be "whatever", OK true, ah but here on this Internet, one is what one posts, that's all..."


50

Unfortunately, what one posts does not reflect oneself. Readers read posts according to their own mood. The English language is very ambiguous. Here's a simple, recent example of the use of a comma making a sentence mean either one thing or the opposite. I received a friend request on Facebook. I added the friend and left a reply on his wall: "Thanks for the add!"

He replied:"No, thank you!"

I smiled; I understood his meaning. He wondered if I would misinterpret his post. He added another reply: "I didn't mean no thank you, I meant No, don't thank me, I thank you."

I replied: "I got it the first time. It was grammatically correct! LOL!"

Just three words and a comma -- remove the comma and it means the opposite!

When forum posters make elementary mistakes, they create a great deal of ambiguity. To those who know the rules of grammar, that is! For those who don't, the written word is interpreted as they see fit. What we write, therefore, is not necessarily what is interpreted by the reader.

On the Internet, one is not what one posts, at all. Often, on the 'net, one is not what one is perceived to be.

What would happen if one eliminated all commas? Would it require more care in writing to be understood?

(the goblin hid himself behind a lax grammer usage, saying "...no, it's always "what one posts of oneself to oneself" here, as I very much doubt those readers are ever going understand one perfectly anyway, if only because you're right, words are representations now, but that's the joy of "live writing" on random threads for me, one corrects the originals in the reposts across forumland now...")

repost form elsewhere, the goblin was guilty of everything then

the goblin knew that writing was never easy, "...too few adjectives and the story seems colorless and monotone whereas each adjective one adds to the storyline is a parameter that one is then tied to, so writers have to keep thinking back to earlier parts of the story to avoid contradiction and confusion on the part of the reader..." mentioned the goblin adding "...think of it like rocks under the flowing story, the other rocks are misspelling, ambiguity, writing style, and length ...", at which point the goblin was thinking that all these rocks are forgivable if they were only a few and if the story is deep enough to draw the reader over them thought, where not, the work breaks up on them so to speak and the reader then flounders..."



26

repost from elsewhere, the "what are you doing" thread

the goblin, at this point, is spinning around a planet that goes slowly going round a sun in an ever expanding universe, that is, while seated typing at his desk with his ever faithful coffee, which rests beside his "Internet access portal" laptop, "...you see, like you, I was traveling through space in dailylife..." mused the goblin, whose thoughts now seemed to carry him across the ether of the Internet like this, adding "...ah, but this is just so much more faster..."



28

Abe F. March wrote:

What would happen if one eliminated all commas? Would it require more care in writing to be understood?

Those who do not know the rules of grammar would not even notice. The goblin is writing the same posts on a number of forums. The responses to his posts vary because his writing is full of ambiguity. The reaction he receives is very much a reflection of what's on the minds of those reading his posts, and not ideas that he is trying to convey. It's quite an interesting exercise and he should be learning a great deal!

His posts also inspire,
Those that look between the line,
Or see a glimmer,
Of something not quite there.

A Word or two,
That can change a direction,
In a thought in a mind,
Of a loony like me.

Abe F. March wrote:

What would happen if one eliminated all commas?

"...those ruby shoes would click together and whisk you to facebook central..." replied the goblin

... and I stimulated that response.

fleamailman wrote:

"...those ruby shoes would click together and whisk you to facebook central..." replied the goblin

Where a large audience awaits...

Quote :

... and I stimulated that response.

("...yes you did..." replied the goblin, knowing queenbot was very smart and had somehow guessed it, so the goblin simply thanked scot for a good prose again, saying "...members post, writers write, but live writers are real cheats, they just feed...")

the goblin felt it only fair to tell the truth and explain then, that queen bot, alias shelagh here, doesn't in fact do her own housework, she has a couple of dark Nubian topless manservants to attend to her each and every whim as they take it in turns to gently rub in those delicate scented oils before she dips naked into that deep hot Roman bath while the blindfolded soprano sings to her of her unrivaled beauty, "...I am sorry o great queen but I just thought that all this pretense to being an dud ordinary housewife had to end somewhere, otherwise Pinocchio could create a forest from it, but I know that your friends, will still love you even now, and love you no less for having graced their simple lives with your refined but licentious exquisite divinity here..." said the goblin, only the queen's welfare at heart now

MM ... I wish!

I am SO SICK of looking at tits hanging out everywhere, all the time.

Just sayin'.

... but Marilyn made a fortune out of them. So did Jordan (who is now a best selling author!).

They write their tales,
Through a wisp of smoke,
Something science says,
Is truly not there.

These famous people,
Claim more funds,
To live the life,
Few can more than dream of.

Filling their lives,
With the fantasy they sell,
By paying another for the words,
Put down by a ghost.