Bad Taste

[KillerMuffin]

I'm sorry but I have not yet read any of your other stories.

I wonder if they'll come as a surprise to you.

 

[Dillinger]

I have to log in here on the "side" of Madame Pandora, Whisper Secret, Feisty1, Deborah and others...

I'm not saying you can't ever tell something about someone based on something they wrote. You could also just as easily come to the completely wrong conclusion. Writers do at times draw from their lives. At other times they just make the shit up.

Umberto Eco was once asked what motivated his writing of "In the Name of the Rose" --- his response was: "I felt like poisoning a monk." Shall we take that at face value? Does he mean he really killed a monk and then wrote about it? Would he kill a monk given half a chance? Has he thought about killing a monk? Well, I guess he did since he wrote the book and made that comment. Does that tell us what kind of person he is? Does that tell us what kind of person he always is? Maybe that's the kind of person he was at a moment in time? Maybe he's a different person now. Maybe I'm just making a bunch of assumptions and don't know what the fuck I'm talking about.

And maybe when people generalize they're just making a bunch of assumptions and don't know what the fuck they're talking about?

[Edited by Dillinger on 01-27-2001 at 03:56 PM]

 

[Feisty1]

Tony,

I know you are, but what am I? LMFAO

It is just too easy to prove you stupid and get you befuddled.

Dillinger,

I agree with you (but not because you agree with me)...I am currently undertaking "Foucault's Pendulum" (although now that my classes have started I am really concerned I won't get a chance to finish it)...Eco seems like a veritable BOX of surprises. Until now this book has been in the same category as James Joyce's Ulysses...the "I'll get to it later" category.

James Joyce was the first male author in Western culture to write about a woman getting her period...since he wrote about it I wonder if that means he got to ride the red pony as well? LOL (sorry for the crass comment, but I figure at 12:30 AM all the kiddies have been put to bed).

Ciao

 

[Never]

KillerMuffin:
"My name is KillerMuffin. I wrote a story about rape featuring an assassin. Can you read anything into that about my personality?"

*Ll*
Hey, I want to play.
My name is Never. I haven't written any stories.
What's my personality?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This meaningless post brought to you by a heavy load.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Originally posted by KillerMuffin
My name is KillerMuffin. I wrote a story about rape featuring an assassin. Can you read anything into that about my personality?

Your name implies, to me, a woman who is strong, cunning and intelligent. I have always enjoyed your GB threads and posts. I have read, and enjoyed, 'Stalking Tango' and I believe it matches my personality of you.

I'm sorry but I have not yet read any of your other stories.

Wait a minute. I just went back and read Tango again.

So I'm a cold-blooded critter that doesn't mind killing and hurting other people? Based on Tango and KillerMuffin, one could infer that I was a manhating bitch who enjoyed raping men by using plastic 9mm weapons.

I always thought of myself sort of like, well, Mon-Chi-Chi, oh so soft and cud-dle-ee.

 

[Siren]

Let me try Never.......!!!!

 

[naudiz]

Wait a minute. I just went back and read Tango again.

So I'm a cold-blooded critter that doesn't mind killing and hurting other people? Based on Tango and KillerMuffin, one could infer that I was a manhating bitch who enjoyed raping men by using plastic 9mm weapons.

I always thought of myself sort of like, well, Mon-Chi-Chi, oh so soft and cud-dle-ee.

I am now haunted by images of a Mon-Chi-Chi packing heat.

 

[Skibum]

I have stories in several different categories, and they have very diverse themes. One is a non-consent story, one is in humor and satire, and a long series is in group sex. And the themes of the stories are very different. I'd like to know how they would fair under the categoizations that Ambrosious has mentioned. Am I "dark" because I wrote a non consent story? "Airy" for the tropical setting inmy group sex series? Or just plain juvenile because my Humor and satire is based on a comic book?

 

[Guest]

The proof is in the pootang.

A certain author with numerous stories who is also a rather well known BB persona has written a story under a pseudonym which is on the "New" list. That story can be found on the "New" list for either yesterday 1/26 or today 1/27.

Certainly someone who understands this alleged correlation between an author's personality reflected by his/her stories to that author's BB personality can easily determine which story it is and who is the author.

ROLFLMFAO! Go figure.

Who is the mystery author?

 

[Deborah]

I have a hunch about this one.

If you notice that in the New Stories for 1/26 there are two stories, "Madonna: The REAL Girlie Show Ch. 2" by Alexander Tzara and "So, You Wanna Be a Porn Star?" by Roger Simian. Both damn good stories, BTW, I gave both of them a 5.

Now, this here Alexander dude also wrote a story "Sally's Embarrassing Moment" which is one of those 100 words or less stories and got almost all 1's. Also, not that I would accuse anyone of having multiple identities or anything, but rumor has it that Roger/Alexander is also author Rachel Picabia.

My point? I think Roger Simian is squirrel bait. Totally nuts. The way I figure it, he probably wrote another story which I No What is talking about. I bet Roger really dumbed down and wrote a cutesy little fuck story where he played the girlie once again.

I'll expose his (her?) sorry ass as soon as I figure out which story it is.

 

[R Nitelight]

Deborah

Another 53 posts and you get to pick a title. Might I make a suggestion?

Torquemada


You're probably flattered. This was not my intent.

 

[Countess DeWinter]

Be forewarned...if you give an OPINION I will probably ask you to support it with actual facts. Brutal and cruel, I know, but true.

I have a solution to this unsavory debacle. All it requires is one simple realization.

Opinions are like noses. Everybody has them. Everybody has a right to have them. They are intrinsically "right" in that they are the property of the owner. The word opinion is NOT interchangable with the word FACT. Nor do they require "backing up" with facts.
My opinion is based on a feeling I have about several writers I've studied (Johanna Lindsay, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, John Saul, Robin Cook). Lots of my opinions are based on feelings.

I have read countless posts where people celebrate the "right" to say what they have to say straight up, no bullshit, no lying. Apparently this means that we all have the right to attack someone who doesn't share our opinion?

Ambro stated his opinion. It's his. Some people share it. Some people don't. All well and good. Does anyone feel like they convinced anyone else that their OPINION is right? I learned that there are some people who are going to come out with their teeth bared if I say something they don't like. Is it any wonder why I rarely do anything other than flirt?

 

[Gingersnap]

Playing with the big kids can be rough!!

Well then you won't mind more opinions then will you Countess. I have no problem with agreeing to disagree. However that is not what Abro did. He pointed out flaws and when the people involved asked him to qualify the statements he fled. He is the one who has repeatedly made the point that he is selling his work. What is up with not helping others by some constructive craft advice.
I know DCL sells things too as have a number of other authors on the board. No one else seems to have made this perhaps unkind assumption before or if they did realized it was just a shallow thought.
This board has as Laurel pointed out many times something for everyone. What it does have too are people unwilling to blow sunshine up your ass when you are dead wrong or full of shit.

And I mean that in the sweetest possible way too!!

 

[Countess DeWinter]

First, we should all get naked...it's devilishly hard to argue in a mean-spirited way if everyone's naked

Now, I went back and reread Ambro's first post on this thread. Then I went over to the story index to do a little counting. Perhaps his real crime (if you can call it that) is letting the blanket fall a little too wide? My philosophy teacher drilled into me many years ago that blanket generalizations are inherently false. By not qualifying his statements with "some" of the fun people or "some" of the sour ones rather than letting the reader believe that "all" was implied.

 

[Whispersecret]

Feisty1 said, “I hear where you're coming from, WS. Your point, however, supports my point...if he LIKES it, he's in no position to throw stones at people he considers "dark." And if he writes about something that is NOT a part of his personality, then his original "discovery" is wrong - a person can therefore not assume or deduce things about an author from her/his stories. I couldn't care less either way if Ambro is all about feet or not; I just thought it would have been interesting to hear his explanation.

I suppose you’re right, Feisty1. Heh heh. I never thought about it that way. I don’t think we’re going to hear an explanation.

Tony Gam said, “If you want an example, here it is. There is a person 'Circe!' whose name alone gives me the image of someone who is into medieval fantasy. Since that is the image of her personality that I have created (right or wrong) and since I am not into fantasy, I normally avoid her stories. Do you understand that example?

Whispersecret, I have not read many of your posts so I do not have a 'personality' for you. But, I noticed that many of your stories have the word 'Hostile' in the title. Are you a hostile type of person?

I read one of Circe!’s stories and it was mythological, as I halfway expected from her handle. I actually sometimes let people’s handles influence my expectation too. When I see a story is written by someone with a name like, “Pussylicker” or “CandyCaneBustyBlonde,” I don’t get my hopes up for a great fictional experience. So, I understand your point. I think we’re all human in that respect. However, I like to think that I’m open to being proven wrong. People who have names I don’t like are certainly able to write good stories. However, they may have to come up with some crackerjack writing in order to overcome my slight prejudice.

For the record, you didn’t come across as condescending to me. However, it might have been the sentence, "Do you understand that example?" which might have made you seem condescending.

I certainly am not hostile offline. There are some here who would argue that I’m hostile here, I think. The reason my stories have the word “hostile” in the title is because they’re all really ONE story called “Hostile Takeover.” (Laurel posts the chapters of novellas separately.) It's a non-consent story about a man who, instead of taking over the company, buys the CEO's daughter for a week of "fun," hence the title.

I agree with Dillinger. Writers sometimes write from the heart and infuse a little of their own lives and personalities into their stories, as the Countess pointed out. And sometimes (quite often) we just “make shit up.” If the latter wasn’t true, we’d surely, eventually, run dry of inspiration. I’ve lead a pretty normal life, but I have this active imagination. I hope that drawing from both makes me an interesting writer.

 

[KillerMuffin]

What really irritates me about this whole thread is that it did bring up a really good point that would be interesting to discuss. However, it was couched in a negative way, casting negative aspersions against an unknown quantified group of 15 people who are sourpusses. Since I considered myself a sourpuss, I considered myself unfairly criticized and insulted by a vague generalization of authors and their writings. I read it as "if you post things on the board that I don't like, then your stories probably suck too, because your opinion makes you a bad writer. Since you're a sourpuss on the board, you write dark, hostile stories with no character development and no plot." Whether Ambro meant this or not is moot, this is what I read. I couched my request for more specifics in humor. Others, who apparently read it the same way I did, wanted to know outright, without bothering to "nice" it up.

Now we have the Ambro and Co. vs. the Dog Pound mucking up what could have been a really good discussion. Another case of board politics getting in the way of a good, serious thread.

I knew one of the "15" right off the bat, it's patently obvious it's Deborah because she is hostile on board and in her stories. But that's Deb. She was hostile before Ambro got here, before I got here. Her stories aren't to my liking, the hostility in them makes her more biting than I usually like. However, does that make her a bad author? I don't think so. I don't like Rober Heinlien either, but he's considered one of our better science fiction authors. I think Deborah as a very good writer. Her stories have nothing to do with how I view her.

Yes, Ambro fucked up by making a blanket statement about bad characters and no plot development. He was wrong, he'll never admit it, but he was. Arguing about it isn't going to make him admit he was wrong or retract his statement, probably because he thinks he was right in judging a book by it's cover. Unsupportable, sweeping generalizations tend to muck things up and put you into the position of defending the undefendable. There is no graceful way out of it.

I don't like Deborah any less because she's doesn't mind telling everyone exactly like she sees it, even if she uses the worst possible way of doing it. I don't like Ambro any less because he doesn't mind doing the same thing. Doesn't matter if they are right or wrong. I just think that if you feel you can't defend what you say, or you don't like making "board enemies" for lack of a better term, then you shouldn't sling muck. <-- this is directed at everyone, not Ambro specifically.

 

[Whispersecret]

I don't think the topic was derailed by politics. I think that aside from the discussion about Ambro's fuck-up, it was generally decided that SOME similarities can be found between writers and their work, but that one's writing does not define the writer. We just had two conversations going on at the same time.

 

[Guest]

My point? I think Roger Simian is squirrel bait. Totally nuts. The way I figure it, he probably wrote another story which I No What is talking about. I bet Roger really dumbed down and wrote a cutesy little fuck story where he played the girlie once again.

I'll expose his (her?) sorry ass as soon as I figure out which story it is.

Don't worry too hard, Dvora, sweety. It's not posted yet.

 

[Andra_Jenny]

My $.02

I try to write a variety. My poetry sucks. I enjoy the dark side of life and describing it. I love Hesse, Grasse, and Dostoevski and hate Penthouse Forum stories. I do not see myself as sour and I think I am a fun person, but I do know one thing:

When I respond to a thread, it dies.

So,

Goodnight, sweet thread, I bid you fond farewell!

 

[Deborah]

Dagnabbit, Roger, I went and read every new story posted on 1/26 and 1/27 trying to uncover your scam. You made me miss the boring bowl. No wonder I couldn't figure it out. I was beginning to think my "powers" had diminished.

But you know what, I did find a new story I wrote which was posted on 1/27 under a pseudodym. I forget about it, you know, a blonde moment. It's a real happy-go-fucky sweet little story. For the life of me I can't understand why no one knew it was me, even members of this BB who sent me feedback.

 

[Guest]

I just read a few of the poems and stories done by people I know from the board. I discovered something, I think. The fun loving people here tell a great story with lots of description and good time sexual fun. The sour ones here tell dark stories with poor descriptions and poorly concieved plots centering around hatred and forcible sex, rape, pain, and humiliation.

Has anyone else ever associated a board persona to an author's persona? What did you discover?

At the risk of being flamed I think everyone missed an IMPORTANT part of the original post. He said I THINK. That is his opinion and he is entitled to it.

Then he asked [/b]"Has anyone else ever associated a board persona to an author's persona? What did you discover?"[/b]

Without answering the question people jumped in scratching and clawing at him, saying was it me, ho was it, you think I am dark try licking feet and crap like that.

Killermuffin was right this could have been a good thread. He stated his opinion then asked for yours.

(Now here comes my blanket statement of the day)
Most of the people responding to this thread have done so with attacks then went over to Todd's thread about If you dont like it here why dont you leave and played all nice and innocent. Get over the nasty crap and grow up this is an adult site, yet at times it reminds me of the playground at recess, He pushed me! He pulled my hair!

So come on everyone recess is over lets get this back on track and answer his question. Let's redeem this thread:

Has anyone else ever associated a board persona to an author's persona? What did you discover?

 

[Ambrosious]

Playground Director

I don't know who you are, but I thank you.

 

[CelestialBody]

Deborah

 

[Guest]

What do you do at the playground, Playground Director?
Spin things?

Deborah, was your story posted on 1/27 "Internet Boyfriend" by chance? Reason I guessed that one is because it is about an anally obsessed girl.

So which one do you think it is all knowing one (Ambrosious)?

If it's not the one I said, Deborah, how about some clues?

 

[Guest]

Re: My $.02

When I respond to a thread, it dies.

So,

Goodnight, sweet thread, I bid you fond farewell!

Hey, Andra, that's MY $.02. GIVE IT BACK!!!!

(BTW, I reread all the Hesse books I enjoyed when I was 17 or 18 recently. I still really liked 'Steppenwolf' and 'Siddhartha'. I've never got round to reading 'The Glass Bead Game', is it good?)