Nano story contest [Archive] - Literature Network Forums

Danik 2016

06-14-2017, 09:25 AM

Phyllis left Brian for Pablo one weekend, but Pablo had a girlfriend. So Phyllis ran into Brian. They’d spend the night. He’d remember Pablo. Each time, he’d swear off all women. “Never again!” But Brian kept running into Phyllis.

Marcia, without Pablo-issues, broke the chain.

Brian never saw Phyllis again.

Your story reminds me of this poem by Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Quadrilha – Carlos Drummond de Andrade
João amava Teresa que amava Raimundo
que amava Maria que amava Joaquim que amava Lili
que não amava ninguém.
João foi para os Estados Unidos, Teresa para o convento,
Raimundo morreu de desastre, Maria ficou para tia,
Joaquim suicidou-se e Lili casou com J. Pinto Fernandes
que não tinha entrado na história.

(Carlos Drummond de Andrade)

In a very rough translation:
Quadrille
João loved Teresa who loved Raimundo
who loved Maria who loved Joaquim who loved Lili
who didn´t love anybody.
João went to US, Teresa to the convent,
Raimundo died in an accident, Maria remained single,
Joaquim comited suicide and Lili married J. Pinto Fernandes
who wasn´t part of the story.

YesNo

06-14-2017, 09:31 AM

After putting that in Google Translate, the style does seem similar. Many characters but only 50 words to develop each of them.

Danik 2016

06-14-2017, 10:47 AM

I didn´t notice that the poem also had exactly 50 words.

YesNo

06-15-2017, 06:47 AM

I think the poem had 52 words based on a Google Docs count.

Danik 2016

06-15-2017, 06:52 AM

If you count "US" and "J. Pinto Fernandes" as one word that will make 49 or 50 I think. Anyway it is a funny coincidence. Anyway let`s hope for more stories.

Calidore

06-15-2017, 07:20 PM

I hope so too. You going to submit one, Danik?

YesNo, you can always tweak that one or submit another if you like.

Dangit, forgot to include a deadline. How about the end of June.

Funny, I didn't have any ideas for this topic myself, but after I posted, two popped into my head immediately. I'll put them up after the deadline.

YesNo

06-15-2017, 07:32 PM

Phyllis left Brian for Pablo one weekend. Pablo already had a girlfriend, but he didn’t think Phyllis needed to know until afterwards.

Now Phyllis eyes Brian from a distance and Brian eyes Phyllis from a distance.

Marcia, without Pablo-issues, broke the stalemate, but they still think about each other.

Danik 2016

06-15-2017, 10:15 PM

Lol! I prefer this version.

Danik 2016

06-15-2017, 10:17 PM

Yes, if I have a good idea.

YesNo

06-16-2017, 09:05 AM

Lol! I prefer this version.

I do also. There is nothing like a constraint to force one to revise. I am looking forward to yours, if you get that good idea.

Danik 2016

06-16-2017, 04:42 PM

Thanks, Yes/No!

Danik 2016

06-26-2017, 10:14 PM

Some of you might be interested in:
The Dark Flash Month
https://brokenwriterblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/dark-flash-month/

YesNo

06-27-2017, 07:42 AM

That sounds like an interesting blog. There is also https://everydayfiction.com/ You can post comments on stories as well as submit them.

Danik 2016

06-27-2017, 07:55 AM

Thanks Yes/No. The link I posted is from Meg´s blog. I don´t know if you are still following her.

Calidore

07-05-2017, 09:00 PM

Well, the deadline has well passed with only one entry. YesNo, while you're the winner by default, it was a fine story.

The contest was a nice idea, Danik; I'm sorry it hasn't gotten much response. I'm always hopeful the board activity will pick up again.

Here are the two ideas I had after suggesting the topic:

1) On the freeway the other night, I came upon the now ex-love of my life standing in my lane, waving her arms, disabled car off to the side. Another chance, thank you, Lord! I approached her slowly so she could see it was me, and waved. Then I floored it.

2) Three years ago, I gave the beloved dog I could no longer afford to a friend of a friend. Out walking today, I saw her, unmistakably her, with a feral pack, rooting in garbage. She growled with them when I came near, no longer knowing me. Or does she remember?

YesNo

07-06-2017, 09:14 AM

Both of those stories are good, Calidore. I suspect the dog remembers and flooring it was unexpected in the first one.

I might as well continue this contest to see how it goes. The new topic will be "summer" which hopefully doesn't restrict too much. The deadline will be in two weeks or until someone submits something if it goes longer than two weeks.

Danik 2016

07-06-2017, 11:02 AM

Excuse me for not participating in this round, Calidore and Yes/No, I had to meet a deadline. I will contribute to the next.

I liked both your stories Calidore, although in the first I was floored by the use of floored in this context. I looked the verb up, but it still isn´t clear to me if the narrator helped his ex or if he went away and forgot about it. As for the second, the mystery remains: it could be that the narrator took a similar looking dog for his own. I suppose dogs and even cats recognise their owner after years.

A remembrance (still the last topic, more than fifty words)

I once had a cat called Jeremias. He immediately disappeared, but was found asleep on the winter clothes. We tried to take Jeremias with us, when we moved, but he escaped.
Some times later, I was there. A now feral cat answered my call.
I never saw him again.

Calidore

07-06-2017, 09:41 PM

Thanks, Danik and YesNo.

Danik, in the context of driving, "flooring it" means to push the accelerator to the floor. The second chance he was thankful for was in fact getting another try at killing his ex. Getting just that story down to 50 words, plus trying to include the misdirection and foreshadowing in those same 50 words, made it the more difficult of the two to write by a considerable margin. Ideally, it still holds up on rereading.

The memory question in the second story was actually a last-minute change. The narrator's original dilemma was whether to have her picked up and hopefuly adopted again, saving her from a much harder and probably much shorter life as a street dog. But she's now in a pack, her natural social setting, and doesn't know that she can have it better, especially since her first two (at least) human masters abandoned her. So would he actually be helping her or just ruining her life yet again? I quickly found that there was no way I was getting that into 50 words.

Danik 2016

07-06-2017, 10:24 PM

Fifty words is very little indeed. If I find the 100 words thread, I will put it up again. I found it difficult to squeeze Jeremias into 50 and odd words.

Calidore

07-06-2017, 10:46 PM

I imagine it must be even harder when working in another language. In your story, replacing "jumped out of the van" with "escaped" will do it. :)

YesNo

07-06-2017, 11:04 PM

A remembrance should work with Calidore's suggestion, Danik.

Danik 2016

07-06-2017, 11:22 PM

Thank you both very much. I included the suggestion.

Danik 2016

07-18-2017, 01:19 PM

Submiting to the new topic.

Mildly Distopic

Two years ago their winter turned into summer, 50ºC shadow temperature. Fault of one of these naughty children, El Niño or La Niña.
Humans and animals sought desperately for water. There were deadly disputes around the smallest water puddles.
Until the insects took over, destroying all the rest.

YesNo

07-18-2017, 08:42 PM

Nice one for summer, Danik! It looks like two weeks is up for this contest, but I will extend this two more days to see if we can get another story on the subject of summer.

Danik 2016

07-18-2017, 09:45 PM

It´s about 8ºC now, Yes/No :cold:. According to the news this is the coldest winter day in the last four years. I had to adapt the theme.

Calidore

07-18-2017, 11:45 PM

I'm afraid that I've completely blanked on the topic of Summer, though I'm also preoccupied with my upcoming trip to San Diego to visit my dad, among other things.

I thought I had an idea for the hundred word contest thread, but it turns out that I misremembered the subject as a momentous rather than intriguing event, so my story isn't quite on topic. Next time I turn my computer on, I'll have to see if I've jotted down an intriguing event idea.

Danik 2016

07-19-2017, 09:55 AM

Maybe you can change your idea a bit to make the event intriguing. Looking forward to your contribution anyway.

YesNo

07-20-2017, 08:45 AM

I keep forgetting that in the southern hemisphere, it's winter. It was warm here and raining again.

It looks like time is up for this contest. Danik, you are the winner! Congratulations!

Danik 2016

07-20-2017, 10:06 AM

Thanks, Yes/No. Of course you don´t have to remember the differences of the seasons.

And our next subject will be "Dreams". Hoping for good entries.:lurk5:

YesNo

07-21-2017, 03:43 PM

Ah, dreams! A good topic.

YesNo

07-21-2017, 05:49 PM

How much misinformation does it take to turn reality into a dream?

Jason wondered about stuff like that.

He wanted to wake up. Every clue revealed more mysteries.

When he surrendered to Melinda she made him drink the tea of forgetfulness. This helped him sleep so he could freely dream.

Danik 2016

07-21-2017, 10:11 PM

Lol! Good story, Yes/No!

Let´s give it two weeks from now. Deadline August 4º.

YesNo

07-22-2017, 01:57 AM

Thanks, Danik!

desiresjab

08-10-2017, 05:38 PM

How may words is your deal?

Danik 2016

08-10-2017, 10:11 PM

This thread is up to 50 words, DJ. There are other ones of 100 or six words.

YesNo

08-11-2017, 10:30 AM

Welcome back, desiresjab! I hope you write a story for this.

Bluehound

08-31-2017, 02:28 AM

Feeling a bit rusty , not been on for a while so had a bit of a warm up go on this one ....

Dreams.

I'm too good at dreaming , seems to take over reality , to become solid but no one else can see. Tonight l drempt up a monster in our house. I swiftly attacked with the biggest kitchen knife , finaly it looks mortaly wounded , slumped.

If Mum can't see , why is she screaming?

Danik 2016

08-31-2017, 07:41 AM

A dramatic story, Bluehound!
And now that we have a contest, let´s extend the deadline to September, 1st.
Ladies and Gentlemen, share your dreams in 50 words!

YesNo

08-31-2017, 08:45 AM

Nice story, Bluehound! I am going to have to make sure I don't harm anyone even in my dreams.

Danik 2016

09-02-2017, 11:31 PM

Two stories where the dreams take over reality.

Yes/No - Jason broods about reality and dreams until he is able to sleep and dream freely. Love as oblivion and source of dreams.

Bluehound´s nightmare "Dreams", draws it´s effect from the perspective of the dreamer.

Congratulations to both. And the winner is Bluehound.

YesNo

09-03-2017, 09:20 AM

Congratulations, Bluehound!

Bluehound

09-08-2017, 06:39 PM

Thanks!

kiz_paws

09-08-2017, 07:34 PM

Congratulations on your winning entry, Bluehound. :)
All entries were exquisite I must say!

Danik 2016

09-08-2017, 09:49 PM

I'm curious about the next prompt, Bluehound!

YesNo

09-10-2017, 07:59 AM

Yes, we need a topic for the next round, Bluehound.

YesNo

09-19-2017, 06:58 PM

Here's a very short story I wrote last week. It had to be no more nor less that 81 words (excluding title) for the anthology "81 Words". When Chris Fielden gets 1000 stories he will publish it and hope it will win a Guiness Book of World Records for a collection with the most individual authors. I am just doing my part for a worthy cause. http://www.christopherfielden.com/writing-challenges/81words.php

I’m Rooting for the Ghost

After Michael saw the ghost he understood. What he understood he would not say. True knowledge should not be made so literal that any monkey could understand it.

Anne sympathized with him but she thought his deranged prefrontal whatchamacallit generated the ghost. Otherwise why was he locked up with her?

Michael told her she could escape with him through the skylight of the cell. Anne said she would consider it. That was the only reason Michael told the ghost to wait.

Danik 2016

09-20-2017, 07:52 PM

Interesting project, Yes/No. I´ll see if I manage to write a good story.
I read the story on your blog, but was a bit puzzled about it. I didn´t understand why the couple was in a cell.

I´ll PM Bluehound, but I don´t know if he is still participating.

YesNo

09-25-2017, 10:06 AM

They were in a mental institution. Michael's "deranged prefrontal whatchamacallit" was intended to suggest that.

I have been reading some of the other challenges that Christopher Fielden has on his sites. I am also reading the contest results from his 2016 To Hull and Back competition. He is hoping anyone that contributes will purchase an ebook or physical book of the final product which I don't mind doing. The profits go to charity. He doesn't sell many books. Also one of the good things is that he doesn't require first publication rights on submitted stories. So I can post them on my blog or here at the same time.

Danik 2016

09-26-2017, 08:21 AM

I think, having one book for oneself, family and friends will be nice. One only must be a bit carefull, some of these publishers devise funny ways to make money out of these contributions.

I once wrote a poem and sent it, because they offered an literary analysis on my poetic potential. Oh, well I thought, it is free. Well, the poem was published on their site, but then it wandered from anthology to anthology because I didn´t pay for me. They offered me to sell all things you can imagine: a cup or a plate with the poem on it, paid conferences (a kind of fake laureating), etc.

As you have several nano stories already, it could be a nice idea, creating and publishing your own anthology, if that is not too expensive,

YesNo

09-26-2017, 09:02 PM

Yes, I've heard of those publishers. This one seems different. It is more of a humor site, but I am still getting used to it. There is no requirement to buy a copy of the book. There is another place I am looking at: https://www.indiesunlimited.com/

I might as well start a new nano contest. The theme will be "fairy glens". The deadline: one week after the first entry is posted. Word count: under 250 words, but the shorter the better since this is a "nano" thread.

YesNo

10-15-2017, 05:15 PM

The nano contest is still going on, but to keep this thread active I'll post some of my stories here.

The following story I'm writing for Chris Fielden's Colossal Cliché Writing Challenge: http://www.christopherfielden.com/writing-challenges/cliche-writing-challenge.php He doesn't require first rights to enter his challenge and so I can publish the story here that I plan to submit later this coming week. The story has a max of 150 words and requires cliche phrases and character stereotypes. I am still fine-tuning this trying to increase the number of cliches and make sure it is appropriate for school children to read (another requirement).

-----------------------------

Patience

Robert Roketscienski blamed his time machine’s failure on not having an adequate extension cord. He blamed the failure to dump his consciousness into an innocent computer on not having enough consciousness to dump, but he was strong. He would persevere. He would follow his star wherever its dark matter led.

The universe, however, was stronger. Patricia Payninbut, Head, Department of Decoherence, stepped into his office dressed in high heels, miniskirt and enhanced body parts twinkling her baby blues.

“Don’t sit there.”

She sat there and Robert lost it. He jumped on her. She giggled. She only started screaming when she realized he was dragging her outside and bolting the door.

Now what? Should he tell Patricia that a wormhole in a parallel universe collapsed its wave function as she sat on it? Why would anyone believe something like that? No. He would be patient. Nature loves to take its course.

Danik 2016

10-15-2017, 05:57 PM

Enjoyed that story, Yes/No. Certain kind of impulses may retard the development of the universe.;)

Sorry, I totally forgot about this thread. 250 is a good number. I'll think of something.

YesNo

10-16-2017, 09:52 AM

I forgot about it also. That's why I posted something. The nano contest is still going on.

While waiting for some one to enter the contest, I revised the story for Fielden's Cliche Writing Challenge, adding more cliches including one in the title.

--------------------------

Keeping His Cool

Robert Roketscienski’s luck was running out. His students accused him of trying to dump their consciousness into an innocent computer. He told them they didn’t have any consciousness to dump. That’s why nothing happened, but he’ll follow his star wherever its dark matter leads.

The universe, however, had other plans. Patricia Payninbut, Head of the Decoherence Department, waltzed into his office dressed to kill in high heels, miniskirt and enhanced body parts twinkling her baby blues.

“Don’t sit there.”

She sat there and Robert lost it. He jumped at her and she giggled. She only started screaming when she realized he was dragging her outside and bolting the door.

Now what? Should he tell Patricia the truth, that a wormhole in a parallel universe collapsed its wave function when she sat on it? Who would believe something like that? No. He'll keep his cool. Nature loves to run its course.

YesNo

11-03-2017, 10:01 AM

The contest is still going on. The theme is "fairy glens".

While waiting for entries, here is one of mine:

The Porch as Chair

He used the floor of the cabin’s open porch as a chair dangling his legs. The chickens were safe. The dog was safe.

He figured if he couldn’t see it, it wasn’t there. No fairies. No unicorns. The trees weren’t watching. The sun didn’t care. He was safe.

Then he saw her walk up his long path. She was watching him for some time and decided to make her move. She needed a place to stay. After they spoke his understanding of safety expanded to include her.

Now they both sat on the porch. He promised to make chairs.

Danik 2016

11-03-2017, 09:34 PM

This story made me think. On one hand I liked very much the idea of including someone else in one´s safety glen.

On the other hand it is a safety that´s based uniquely in what the narrator sees. It may be an illusory safety like when one decides not to read the newspaper so as not to get the bad news.

I have one idea for a nano story, but it doesn´t fit the proposed theme.

YesNo

11-04-2017, 12:13 AM

This guy living in the cabin probably doesn't get the newspaper. You're right about his idea of safety being illusory, but it is safety that works for the most part. So he is generous, but his view of reality is limited.

Since no one has submitted yet, I'll change the theme to "fairy glen or anything else you want to write about". Fairy glens are a little odd.

Danik 2016

11-04-2017, 07:32 AM

Fairy glens are cute, but my story isn´t. I´ll post it as soon as Ive written it.

YesNo

11-04-2017, 01:10 PM

Great! Those fairy glens can be too cute although I haven't seen any, cute or otherwise.

YesNo

11-10-2017, 02:13 PM

The contest is still going on!

Here's another story.

The Funeral

Senor Nanjo Castille sat alone in the church except for his bodyguards. No one else dared attend. They crossed the line this time.

As the Mass for the Dead progressed his business adversary’s money laundering restaurant was destroyed. Twelve dead. The warehouse was next. Fourteen dead. Then the offices. One hundred dead.

In his adversary’s desperation the expected fight around the church began. It lasted ten minutes.

When the service ended Senor Castille walked behind the caskets outside the church and viewed the mess in the street. Then he went to the cemetery to bury his wife and daughter.

Danik 2016

11-10-2017, 10:10 PM

Good story, Yes/No! It seems that only Señor Castille survived the fight.

YesNo

11-11-2017, 12:38 AM

He and his team survived. His adversary was completely ruined. At least that is the simplistic way my imagination saw the story. Of course, he lost his family. Thanks, Danik!

Danik 2016

11-11-2017, 02:19 PM

There is my story:

The Invasion

At first, nobody noticed them. Maybe there was slightly more dust than usual.

The invisible enemies attacked by night. First, they came in small groups, but the groups multiplied.

Their warriors infested heads, bodies; they hid in cupboards and clothes. Once they were there, there was not getting rid of them.

They feasted on the blood of beasts and humans. They were resisted every attempt of extermination.
Their victims died one by one out of panic.
But what the mites didn´t know: once their food hosts disappeared…

YesNo

11-13-2017, 02:24 PM

Nice one, Danik! Too much victory leads to defeat.

Now that there is one entry, I will wait a week to see if any one else wants to add a story to this contest. The winner gets to set a new theme (or leave it open) and judge the next contest.

Deadline: Monday evening, November 20th.

YesNo

11-21-2017, 10:51 AM

The deadline has arrived. Congratulations, Danik! You won!

Danik 2016

11-21-2017, 11:27 AM

Lol! Rather a melancholy victory.

Well, anyway, let´s put up a new promp.

The next theme is "Thanksgiving".

YesNo

11-21-2017, 06:39 PM

Dr Roquetscienski made the final tweak to his program that would send him back into time to get even for the scorn his peers indelicately expressed with smirks and silence. He sat at the control panel in his basement. He took a deep breath and pressed Enter.

“Are you sure?” appeared on the monitor.

He pressed the Yes button and waited. The machined hummed. The lights blinked. Nothing happened. What convinced him the experiment failed, again, was hearing Martha calling from the kitchen. “Oh, Bobbie! Bobbie! It’s garbage day! Time to take out the garbage. Give me a G! G! Give me an A! A! Give me an R! R! Give me a--uh?--B! B! Give me an A! A! Give me a G! G! Give me an E! E! What’s that spell? Garbage! What’s that spell? Garbage!”

Robert turned off the machine and walked up the basement stairs. He looked into his wife’s blue-green eyes and realized two things.

First, in spite of everything, Martha had no contempt for him. He wondered about her sanity because of that.

Second, one thing he could do right, right now, was take out the garbage and so he did.

Coming back inside he was thankful for a third thing. He was glad his machine didn’t work. If it had, the damage to Martha would have been unpredictable.

Danik 2016

11-21-2017, 08:58 PM

Good story, specially as the reasons for thankfulness aren´t so usual. This is not the first time Dr Roquetscienski succors the short story threads.

YesNo

11-22-2017, 09:40 AM

Thanks, Danik! I've used Robert Roquetscienski and his wife Martha before even having him tinkering in the basement. This is the first time he's shown much empathy toward her.

YesNo

01-12-2018, 04:16 PM

As a way to keep the thread active, here is my story accepted as story 035 of Christopher Fielden's "Ville's Preposterously Placed Prepositions Writing Challenge": http://www.christopherfielden.com/writing-challenges/preposition-challenge.php

-------------------------------

Two Guys Who Wouldn’t Settle Down

Aliens beamed Paul up. He wondered why they left his girlfriend below? She’ll find another. Then warp speed kicked in. It always kicked something in.

Elsewhere Jack’s time machine was acting up. He watched the locals gather around. They never saw a human before. Besides something tasty doesn’t pop into one’s universe every day and that was all they were thinking of.

Paul’s girlfriend, to her credit, but against her good judgment, reported him “beamed up”.

Jack hadn’t had a decent girlfriend in a dozen gravitational entanglements to worry about. So no one bothered wasting any space-time getting him back.

--------------------------------

The challenge had some requirements. (1) Maximum word count: 100 (2) Sentences should end with prepositions.

Danik 2016

01-13-2018, 01:16 PM

Lol!Nice story about not so nice fates!I like this kind of challenge. I´l try to make up a story myself.

One only has to be if they start offering books, cups with your story on it, writer certificates and so on...against payment of course.

YesNo

01-13-2018, 10:56 PM

Thanks, Danik! Fielden's challenges are ways for writers to get a publication credit if they are interested in that. He does plan to publish all of these in book form once he gets enough entries. He also publishes lists of competitions for fiction and writing advice: http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/

I like the humor in his stories.

Danik 2016

01-14-2018, 11:32 AM

I love the stories of Charli from Carrot Ranch. He published your story about Fred. But I don´t think he intends to publish a book. Seems to be a guy that wanders around with his dogs and settles down in nature (even in winter).

YesNo

01-14-2018, 04:15 PM

Charli Mills is a female writer. She published an anthology of their 99-word stories although I only recently started submitted stories there. If they do another anthology next year, I might have a chance of getting in that one. She is more selective than Christopher Fielden so I might not make it. All you have to do for Fielden's challenges is follow the rules and he will accept the story. He does have a real competition called "To Hull and Back" which is very selective. Getting in that anthology would be nice.

Danik 2016

01-14-2018, 04:53 PM

I thought it was a man, because she likes roughing it. I like her own texts very much and what always wins me over is empathy for the animal world.

Anyway, if I was you I should try some new themes. You have got your sense of humor too. And two different challenges at hand now.

YesNo

02-23-2018, 10:19 AM

Empathy is good. Animals seem to be better at this than we are or maybe we are not as aware of our own empathy.

Here's a story I wrote for Charli Mill's current prompt word, "unicorn" with a requirement that it be exactly 99 words in length excluding the title. I post the story in the comments. Here's the link for anyone who might want to participate. https://carrotranch.com/2018/02/22/february-22-flash-fiction-challenge/

---------------------------------

Unicorn

Generally two of something balance better aesthetically and provide depth of experience, but I only had one horn growing out of the top of my head.

I wasn’t disabled or anything, but who would hire me? If you didn’t look at the horn, which was hard not to, I actually looked pretty good.

Kids bullied me because of the horn. I fought back. I did that a lot. I got real good at it. I mean it was fun. They sent me to the Riverland State Detention Facility and cut off my horn.

So, yeah, I was a unicorn.

Danik 2016

02-24-2018, 12:34 AM

Good story, though poor unicorn! I saw it in Carrot Ranch. There is also the prospect of a book.

YesNo

03-01-2018, 01:56 AM

They started compiling anthologies. It is too bad for that unicorn.

Danik 2016

03-01-2018, 07:54 AM

Congrats! I just got the link with the published stories.

By the way: I am going to send your page with the birds waiting for summer to a German acquaintance. They are freezing over there with -16º C or less. I hope you don´t mind.

YesNo

03-01-2018, 03:18 PM

I am glad you liked that page, Danik! The weather is perfect where I am. Who knows how long that will last.

There is another prompt at Carrot Ranch for an exactly 99-word story. There's one every week. The theme is "raven". https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/01/march-1-flash-fiction-challenge/

Here's my entry for this week.

---------------------------
Raven Down

There are plenty of explanations for the same data but what Randy wanted was to understand it at all.

He watched a bunch of crows tussling in the air and got out his phone. When he realized that one of the crows was being picked on lethally he switched the app to record video.

Aren’t birds supposed to be peaceful at least toward members of their own kind?

A select handful pecked the target repeatedly making sure its body could no longer move. Others flew about apparently guarding and watching.

Then it was over. Those who remained living departed.

YesNo

03-09-2018, 06:28 PM

Here's my entry for this week's 99-word Carrot Ranch prompt, balloon. https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/09/march-8-flash-fiction-challenge/

-------------------------------------
BALLOON

He held his breath. What he thought would happen did not. The enemy came instead from the rear.

If he were alone he wouldn’t mind so much, but he mispositioned the others.

Were they the good guys he wouldn’t mind so much either, but he doubted if there were any good guys in this battle. This was alien home territory. They weren’t supposed to be there.

The others understood all this, too, as the fighting started.

His world was like a balloon. He wished it were yellow or blue. He wished he had steered it better.

Then it popped.

Danik 2016

03-09-2018, 10:50 PM

Good story, you manage well as usually that final twist which is meant to surprise or shock the reader. "The raven" was published, seems you are now a regular at Carrot Ranch. One thing that makes me think: you are usually optimistic in your poems but you give a pessimist turn to your nano stories.

YesNo

03-10-2018, 06:47 PM

I think stories call for some negativity to get a dramatic set up going, but I also think you are right that a positive approach can be taken and may be more pleasing to the reader. I've missed many of the Carrot Ranch prompts. Maybe longer stories can come out of them. I'll try to make the next one positive.

Danik 2016

03-10-2018, 07:43 PM

This was just a comment, Yes/No. I like positive stories but very often I feel that to be real and convincing a story has to take a negative turn. Think, for example of the impact of a story like "A rose for Emily" by Faulkner.

YesNo

03-16-2018, 02:09 AM

I haven't read that Faulkner story. I found it online.

The prompt this week is "carrot cake". https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/16/march-15-flash-fiction-challenge/

----------------------------------------

Carrot Cake

He reminded her of the strudel she used to make. He wanted to make it himself but he didn’t know how. Could she teach him?

She asked him about that girl he liked. He said her name was Shirley. “What happened to her?”

“There she is.”

“Ah! She’s grown!”

“And we have children. Look.” He pointed to two girls too old for innocence, too young to be on their own in the doorway.

“How beautiful! I don’t know if I remember how to make that carrot cake.”

“That’s alright.”

“What was that girl’s name again?”

“It’s Shirley.”

“How beautiful!”

Danik 2016

03-16-2018, 10:26 PM

Nice story, Yes/No. One of your stories I like most is the one about the family strudel. But I think it has got more than 99 words.

YesNo

03-18-2018, 07:12 PM

Yes, that one was a bit longer and a haibun. Thanks, Danik!

YesNo

03-23-2018, 12:42 PM

The theme this week for the exactly 99-word stories excluding title at Carrot Ranch is "follow your dreams". https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/23/march-22-flash-fiction-challenge/

____________________

Follow Your Dreams

Scorn them with your thoughts. It’s safe. No one knows.

No one believes thoughts can kill. No one believes empaths exist. No one thinks they can know another’s hate. If their hearts break, it’s their own hearts’ failure. If they can no longer forgive, that’s better.

Janet’s dream guardians told her to follow them, “Smile. Sit tall. Take deep, slow breaths. Play your dream songs.”

Janet put on her headphones. She set the player to keep repeating the sacred love songs.

When the hate came, the empath and her dreams were ready. Until they fell, they mirrored love back.

Danik 2016

03-26-2018, 01:01 AM

Interesting story. Where is Janet?Is she an ET or Android?

YesNo

03-26-2018, 04:58 PM

Janet is a human with an exceptionally high level of empathy. The "empath" does suggest a science fiction or fantasy character I suppose.

Danik 2016

03-26-2018, 11:24 PM

Janet is a human with an exceptionally high level of empathy. The "empath" does suggest a science fiction or fantasy character I suppose.

Oh, I see. An empath is an empathic character.I am not familiar with science fiction.

YesNo

03-30-2018, 09:01 AM

There are weekly prompts at Carrot Ranch. This week it is about "fingers that fly": https://carrotranch.com/2018/03/30/march-29-flash-fiction-challenge/

----------------------------------

Flying Fingers

Faster than drawing a gun his fingers peppered the keyboard and hit “Enter”. Later he will wish he thought more, but now, oh, the rush! It was the perfect point, typos and grammar and all, and he wanted to make it before someone else did.

Later, second thoughts like snail mail arrived. Then third-thought packages containing arguments he should have considered punched him It occurred to him maybe someone else should have made that idiotic point.

Then it happened. Just when he thought it wouldn’t ever be over, it was over. No one cared anymore and neither did he.

Danik 2016

03-30-2018, 09:22 AM

YesNo

03-30-2018, 09:20 PM

Thanks, Danik! What's over is whatever the guy was worried about. No one cared about the "point" he made anymore. Interest in it was "over".

Danik 2016

03-30-2018, 10:11 PM

Then I was right. I thought it might be something more sinister.

YesNo

04-06-2018, 12:37 PM

Another Carrot Ranch prompt is up. The theme is "sun silly" or "spring fever". https://carrotranch.com/2018/04/05/april-5-flash-fiction/

-----------------------------------------
Sun Silly

“Wake up, kid! It’s that time of year when spring fever makes them run. They’ll soon all be sun silly. We don’t want to miss it.”

“Why do they run, Pa? There must be some scientific explanation for it. Don’t they have brains in their heads?”

“I don’t know why they run. They run. They’re stupid.”

“Yeah, but if we knew why they ran maybe we could encourage them to run more often?”

“Why would we want to do that?”

“So we don’t have to get up so early? So we can harvest them more than once a year?”

Danik 2016

04-06-2018, 04:26 PM

Who are they, Yes/No?

It´s nice that you are now participating regularly at Carrot Ranch. I follow them but didn´t have the time to write anything yet.
If I could change the name of this thread I would call it Writing Laboratory or something like that. It´s what it is now and you are keeping it alive.

YesNo

04-13-2018, 09:02 PM

"Writing Laboratory" sounds like a good name. I imagined the characters in my story to be aliens or demons hunting us while we were experiencing spring fever and having a good time. Based on the comments I received no one made that connection, which is fine. It doesn't make much sense.

Anyway, a new prompt came out yesterday: "bat" or "bat cave". Here's my new story. Hopefully it is not as confusing.

---------------------------

BAT CAVE

“You look like someone kicked you out of your bat cave.”

“Me?” Brian was used to it.

“You look like you’d make sense if you had a brain in your bat head.”

Brian repositioned George to avoid bed sores. George was tired of making points that didn’t matter.

“Could you open the window and let in some bats?”

“Sure.” Brian went to the window and opened it wide enough for some imaginary bats to get through.

Talking to one of the them, George observed, “Brian isn’t as bad as he thinks he is.”

“You’re not half bad yourself, Georgie.”

Danik 2016

04-17-2018, 10:10 PM

Is George a toy?

Sometimes I get a bit confused too, Yes/No. You seem to take some things for granted. For example, in this case, that your reader knows, who George is or in some other story, that someone was mad. I think one of the difficulty of telling a story, specially a very short one is to know how much one must explain and how much imply.

YesNo

04-20-2018, 12:43 AM

George is an invalid and Brian is taking care of him. George's world is limited and he is bugging Brian about bats (because that is the Carrot Ranch prompt). I can see how it is confusing.

It's Thursday evening and a new Carrot Ranch prompt is up. This time it is Sinrin Yoku or "forest bathing" which is taking a walk in the forest to improve one's health mentally as well as physically. https://carrotranch.com/2018/04/19/april-19-flash-fiction-challenge/

------------------------------------

Shinrin Yoku

While forest bathing Michael saw her. He would say she wasn’t there except she was and then his breath grew deeper. He didn’t understand why he walked for almost a mile angry on this beautiful trail, in this mysterious quiet. The traffic had long ago turned to a hum and then it turned completely off. Why was he angry?

She said her name was Diana. She knew he didn’t understand what she meant. He was one of the smart ones caught in his head where robots were more real than people. And so she spoke more slowly, “Goddess Diana.”

Danik 2016

04-20-2018, 10:43 PM

The relationship between Brian and George wasn´t clear to me before your explanation. I thought it was a boy with an animal toy or something.
This last story is much clearer. I only don´t understand why the protagonist is angry.

YesNo

04-28-2018, 09:15 PM

Neither do I. He's caught in his mind somewhere. That's sort of how I am too when walking and distracted. I spent the afternoon in the botanic garden since the day was nice.

Here's a story for this week's Carrot Ranch prompt: fish tale. https://carrotranch.com/2018/04/26/april-26-flash-fiction-challenge/

-----------------------------------

Fish Tale

He wondered if a mermaid was a fish or if he’d catch anything today or if the soldiers would spot him.

Once he was robbed. They almost killed him with the beating. He didn’t mind dying, but he had to bring fish home to Martha and Peter.

He was too delirious from the bombings and hiding to catch food. He slept till she woke him handing him more fish than he’d ever expect to see. “For Martha and Peter. And you.”

As she turned to dive into the water he thought he heard her say, “I’m not a fish.”

Danik 2016

04-28-2018, 10:21 PM

I liked this story best of all. It is very fluid. One understands everything and there is still enough space for working of the imagination of the reader. And you aren´t killing of all your protagonists any more to produce an final shock.Following these weekly prompts seems to be a good writing practice.

YesNo

05-08-2018, 08:41 PM

I am glad you liked this one, Danik. They are good writing practice since they are only 99 words. If I can think of something to say, I'm usually done with a first draft in a few minutes. This past week I was too busy with other things to write something for the Carrot Ranch prompt and I couldn't think of anything to say for the "line" theme. I will have to wait for the new prompt on Friday.

YesNo

05-17-2018, 09:41 AM

The new prompt, "property values", is in at Carrot Ranch for 99-word stories (not counting words in the title): . https://carrotranch.com/2018/05/17/may-17-flash-fiction-challenge/

Here's mine.

--------------------------

Property Values

Tim’s intuition played tricks on him. What he thought would turn a profit didn’t. What he gave up on suddenly succeeded.

He didn’t want the Langford place, but Jennifer loved its enchanted forest. So they bought it. They also bought the Stevens property. Its value rose, as did their taxes, but this year they sold it for a loss.

Jennifer walked with him through the Langford woods. She pointed out, “We could build a home near the fairies if we keep it small.”

Tim felt his intuition smile at Jennifer’s innocence. They built that home and kept it small.

Danik 2016

05-17-2018, 10:37 AM

Cute and wise!

I am sorry I missed the crane prompt.

YesNo

05-17-2018, 10:02 PM

I missed the last two Carrot Ranch prompts. I could use the excuse that there was too much going on, but these stories don't take long to write. The problem is I couldn't think of anything to say. Days went by and then the desire to procrastinate grew stronger.

I'm glad you like this story, Danik!

Danik 2016

05-17-2018, 11:14 PM

You are right. I´m procrastinating since I began to follow the blog.

YesNo

06-04-2018, 01:12 PM

The new prompt is "warrior women" at Carrot Ranch for 99-word stories. Here's mine:

---------------------------------------------

Wanda

Silvia walked into Benny’s Diner. Sharon told Benny to deal with her or she’d quit. Benny shuffled to the bar.

“Morning, Silvia.”

“I want a real waitress serving me.”

Benny glanced at Sharon. “She’s busy.”

“She’s just standing there.”

“How about some pancakes?”

“Are they gluten-free?”

“You know they’re not.”

Silvia ordered pancakes as usual. While she dripped corn syrup over margarine the dreaded alien invasion began. Silvia looked at Benny and Sharon. She ripped off her street clothes revealing her secret identity as Warrior Wanda. It was time to show these wretched Earthlings how high maintenance kicks butt.

YesNo

06-09-2018, 12:08 PM

The new prompt at Carrot Ranch for 99-word stories is "man glisten". It is apparently about putting glitter in a beard. https://carrotranch.com/2018/06/08/june-7-flash-fiction-challenge/

Anyway, this is my take on it.

--------------------------------

Man Glisten

Peter’s daughter laughed. She could see the glitter in his hair. Not much, but enough to sparkle.

“You still got it!” She said.

“You gave it to me,” Peter responded.

“You’re glis...glistening?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you let me glisten for a while.”

Peter really was glad. It was not easy for her to throw that glitter on him last week. She showed unexpected initiative. In case showering removed too much of it, he retouched his hair to make sure she would see some before he guided her wheelchair to the kitchen table for breakfast.

What a sparkling day!

Danik 2016

06-09-2018, 02:51 PM

Danik 2016

06-09-2018, 02:57 PM

YesNo

06-15-2018, 08:11 PM

I am glad you liked that, Danik. With only 99 words almost everything has to be left out, but I kind of like leaving things out.

The new prompt went up yesterday. It is "bouquet". https://carrotranch.com/2018/06/15/june-14-flash-fiction-challenge/

------------------------
Finally Blooming

That was the spring Alice turned the lawn into a big bouquet of flowers. It surprised Joe but looking at her face looking at the former lawn with a gentle smile she rarely showed him anymore made him grateful.

The neighborhood wives thought her odd for years. Her newfound gardening energy did not impress them. Alice’s view of them wasn’t pretty either.

That winter Alice died.

Joe kept her bouquet of former lawn going for the next decade as long as his life allowed. He received help especially towards the end and gifts of plants from the neighborhood wives.

Danik 2016

06-15-2018, 10:13 PM

I liked this one too. But something I feel about your figures is that the name doesn´t matter very much: Alice could be Mary or Ann or Lucy or whoever. The same with Joe. Have you ever tried describing a figure?That might individualize it more. But then I don´t know if you want to individualize them. And 99 words is limiting.

YesNo

07-05-2018, 10:30 AM

Your right about those names. I don't think about them much except to pick common, but different ones. The name should help to describe the figure and "Joe" suggests just about every male.

There's a new challenge at Carrot Ranch. I missed the last two because I couldn't think of anything to write. The theme is "buttons" and they have to be exactly 99 words excluding the title: https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/05/july-5-flash-fiction-challenge/

---------------------------
Buttons

Ryan held the hand-carved applewood buttons. They each had four tiny holes like real buttons.

“Your Uncle Thomas made them for me.” Ryan returned the buttons to his great aunt. He couldn’t see why anyone would have made them.

“He made my wedding dress as well.” Ryan thought that was as odd as those buttons.

“We bought a cake and two rings. I had flowers for my hair.” He heard the story before.

“I forgave him.” Ryan listened. He hadn’t heard that part.

“For dying so young.” He had heard that part.

“I feel him visit me every day.”

Danik 2016

07-05-2018, 08:04 PM

Congrats, Yes/No. An small object as reminder of a love story. At each tale it seems you are more master of the 99 words form.

YesNo

07-13-2018, 12:18 PM

One interesting thing about requiring exactly 99 words (excluding title) is it forces one to focus.

There is a new challenge at Carrot Ranch with the prompt "broken fence". https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/12/july-12-flash-fiction-challenge/ I also noticed it is Friday the Thirteenth today. Here's my story.

---------------------------

Broken Fence

The Fredericks bought Adkins Estate with farmhouse, barn and sheds. The farm maintained itself from land rentals to local farmers. There was also a notorious fence separating it from ancient Indian burial grounds.

That’s why they bought it. They planned to rent rooms to people wanting to spend the night in a haunted house.

They repaired the buildings but broke the fence to make it look spookier. They called their website “Visit Fredericks’ Freaky Ghost House”.

Many rented rooms and left five-star reviews until it became known that after changes to the fence, the ghosts no longer felt welcome.

Danik 2016

07-14-2018, 08:27 PM

I think these prompts are very helpfull for getting ideas on different topics. Another positiv thing; You manage now the surprising twist at the end of the nano story without killing all your characters!

YesNo

07-20-2018, 12:53 PM

I agree that it is good not to kill off the characters.

The new prompt arrived yesterday and is about someone who was lost and could not be found. They named the lake Fanny Hooe after her. Here is the prompt: https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/19/july-19-flash-fiction-challenge/

----------------------------
Fannie Hooe

Fannie disappeared and they searched for her around the lake. Jake went missing as well, but he often went missing. He would pop up again later. No one cared.

Fannie was someone special. She smiled at you and made you glad you were alive.

They searched for days until her sister told her good neighbors to stop. She declared that Fannie was gone.

Fannie never returned except as mythic remembrance. It took them over two months to wonder why Jake hadn’t turned up either. Fannie’s sister suspected why but she let her silence give them a chance to escape.

Danik 2016

07-29-2018, 11:03 PM

A nice story too. I really prefer to think of Fanny Hoe having gone away with Jack. It has already been published and this time Carrol Ranch got your name right.

YesNo

08-03-2018, 05:58 AM

I prefer seeing her having a happy life especially since the real events could have been more tragic.

I missed last week's story, but the new prompt Carrot Ranch came out recently. It is "yellow tent". https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/03/august-2-flash-fiction-challenge/

------------------------

Yellow Tent

Perhaps it was the sunshine yellow that attracted the bear or the food or curiosity. Bill had a camper over his Ford pickup truck, but he could not stand up in it and so he bought the tent.

He thinned naturally grown trees on clear-cut paper company land. This kept him alone in the woods for a week at a time or until the project finished.

He thought the tent was perfect until the bear came. It pushed its nose into the fabric deeply breathing. Bill swatted it and it ran off.

After that they left each other alone.

desiresjab

08-03-2018, 07:51 PM

Fannie raped and killed Jack, then devoured the evidence like a good cannibal. I thought that was pretty obvious. And don't think her innocent kid sister didn't enjoy some of those steaks. I hear she likes 'em breaded.

YesNo

08-17-2018, 11:30 PM

Sounds tasty, desiresjab.

Another prompt this week. The theme is "comet". Restrictions: 99-words, no more, no less, excluding title. You don't need a blog to submit, just place the story in a comment. https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/16/august-16-flash-fiction-challenge/

Here's my story for this week:

-------------------------

Comet

There are stars out, but that doesn’t mean anyone notices. However, the comet was special. People pointed it out proving how smart they were being able to see what others told them about.

Charles didn’t care. He looked at Anne’s eyes.

Sure, they were told about the comet, the rare comet that comes once in a million years. “You better look while you have the chance!” “You may never see something like that again!” “Don’t miss it!”

They looked, but they were not sure they saw anything particularly remarkable out there. They were more interested in each other’s eyes.

Danik 2016

08-18-2018, 04:22 PM

Nice story, Yes/No, but maybe there could be a special reason,why Charles and Anne weren´t interested in the comet, besides their being in love. It would enhance the story.

YesNo

08-24-2018, 12:16 PM

I agree, Danik, and I might have been able to squeeze that in even with 99 words.

At Carrot Ranch they are preparing what they call the "rodeo" which starts in October and has some preliminaries in September: https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/22/are-you-ready-to-rodeo/ I started posting there during their last rodeo, so it kind of marks my first anniversary of reading Carrot Ranch.

The prompt this week is "magic". Again, the story must be 99 words exactly (excluding title). https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/24/august-23-flash-fiction-challenge/

Here's the story I just posted.

------------------------------

Magic

On a blue planet people believed in nothing that they couldn’t see. No ghosts. No gods. No angels.

There were natural laws. That magic was powerful. The more it worked, the more they believed. Those who doubted were educated until they believed or in extreme cases there were prisons. In really extreme cases there were nuclear options.

The people on the blue planet made a lot of money except for those who didn’t and so everyone who counted was happy.

Things went very well until the “fay-rees”, as they became known after The Event, had their fill of it.

Danik 2016

08-29-2018, 11:03 PM

I´m a bit puzzled by the end of the story, Yes/No. What was The Event?

YesNo

08-31-2018, 02:45 PM

"The Event" was meant to be something ominous, but unspecified. I was thinking I should have used a different name, perhaps, "world war".

There's another prompt. This time it is "bottleneck": https://carrotranch.com/2018/08/31/august-30-flash-fiction-challenge/

Here's what I posted on that site:

-------------------

Bottleneck

Some say your real brains are in your gut. Bill knew his wasn’t in his brain. Sharon doubted he had any in his gut either.

That’s when she got pregnant and started worrying.

That’s when they had to move to a smaller apartment.

That’s when it looked like he would lose his job.

That’s also when he didn’t lose his job, but got an indirect promotion.

That’s also when they realized they loved that new apartment.

That’s when he held her and told her he was glad she was pregnant.

That’s when she changed her mind about his brains.

Danik 2016

09-01-2018, 10:29 PM

"The Event" sounds really unspecific, unless your reader already knows what you are talking about.

I like the form of "Bottleneck", first constructing bottlenecks and then deconstructing them.

Danik 2016

09-08-2018, 10:24 PM

This is Yes/No´s new nano story. He has been unable to publish it directly, because of continuous technical problems.

"Epic Workplace

Eric was a loner. That’s why he liked people. They were rare like deer or bear in the distance. He took a break from thinning paper company land with brush saw holstered on his back and his head lost in his helmet.

He saw the hikers coming. One of them asked him if they were still on the Appalachian Trail. “Yes! Keep going. It’s right over there.” The trail wasn’t easy to see.

Eric wondered why people walked that trail, but he was glad to see them. He was glad he could give someone good directions on their way."

And I am glad posting worked this time. I tried to put the title in bold, but when I tried to edit the text it was not visible any more.

To Admin. and Mods:
I am afraid regular Litneters are disapearing beause of an unability to post their texts on the site. I hope someone does something about it.

Bluehound

01-24-2019, 04:33 AM

Hi guys , I am so sorry I wandered off without giving you a prompt - nearly 2 years ago ! How can that be? Would love to get back into writing if these prompt sessions are still happening ?

Secret III

07-31-2019, 10:35 PM

My wife and I were walking up a beach in the late evening sunset when a man who appeared to be running for his life fell flat on his face into the sand near me. His shoe flew off his foot. He sprung to his feet and continued running, leaving his shoe behind. My wife said, "Hey mister, what about your shoe!" He scrame back, "I can't or I will be late for a LitNet writing contest!"

Danik 2016

08-01-2019, 06:52 AM

UaU! Nice revival of this thead! Welcome Secret III!

Secret III

08-01-2019, 10:23 PM

UaU! Nice revival of this thead! Welcome Secret III!

Good to see you again. :)

Danik 2016

08-18-2019, 09:02 AM

Anyone wants good news? Forum capcha isn´t working any more.

Secret III

08-20-2019, 03:31 PM

Anyone wants good news? Forum capcha isn´t working any more.

And that's good, because?

Secret III

08-20-2019, 03:32 PM

Yet another duplicate post. I only posted once but the message board responded twice.

Danik 2016

08-20-2019, 04:07 PM

I was just being ironic, Secret.

MANICHAEAN

08-29-2019, 02:24 PM

Bababa

Danik 2016

08-29-2019, 11:27 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvhMeZ2PlY

tailor STATELY

08-31-2019, 02:38 PM

Do Not Go So Gently... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRec3VbH3w

They left, one by one,
most bereft of tears...
Most indifferent, too

I am prone to be lachrymose -
enduring to the end;
my burden, my lot
After all that's been said and done
who will stay to turn off the lights
when all the others have gone

Who will reap the revenue of ad clicks...
click... click... click... click...
Shelob stalking in the dark
through web and ruin ?

A wasteland ? No, not so
A garden for capricious minds;
agile, fertile minds
who will forever roar as one
with Ozymandias:
"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"

8/31/2019

nano version:

They left, one by one

I am prone to be lachrymose -
enduring to the end;
after all, who turns off the lights
when all the others have gone ?

A wasteland ? No
A garden for capricious minds
who will roar
with Ozymandias:
"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

08-31-2019, 03:22 PM

Only now I read the beautiful poem by Dylan Thomas, which inspired yours.

Forgive me my silly answer, tailor. I wanted to answer something and well, I never was good at poetry.

Danik 2016

08-31-2019, 03:25 PM

double

tailor STATELY

08-31-2019, 04:59 PM

Only now I read the beautiful poem by Dylan Thomas, which inspired yours.

Forgive me my silly answer, tailor. I wanted to answer something and well, I never was good at poetry.

Not at all. My offering was in response to your "Wasteland" linked poem and some breadcrumbs left elsewhere recently by you (and others). Be well.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

08-31-2019, 07:19 PM

Thanks, tailor, you too. And you and cacian are right. Let´s use these last hours to exchange our own texts and others.

So here goes:

"“They’ve taken over our section,” Irene said. The knitting had reeled off from her hands and the yarn ran back toward the door and disappeared under it. When she saw that the balls of yarn were on the other side, she dropped the knitting without looking at it.

“Did you have time to bring anything?” I asked hopelessly.

“No, Nothing.” We had what we had on. I remembered fifteen thousand pesos in the wardrobe in my bedroom. Too late now. I still had my wristwatch on and saw that it was 11 P.M.. I took Irene around the waist (I think she was crying) and that was how we went into the street. Before we left, I felt terrible; I locked the front door up tight and tossed the key down the sewer. It wouldn’t do to have some poor devil decide to go in and rob the house, at that hour and the difference with the house taken over.
https://www.shortstoryproject.com/story/house-taken-over/

tailor STATELY

09-01-2019, 12:43 AM

Enjoyed the story link... gave me pause.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-01-2019, 12:24 PM

Thanks, tailor. So let's go on with Frederico García Lorca

Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias

1. Cogida and death (first part of the lament)

At five in the afternoon.
It was exactly five in the afternoon.
A boy brought the white sheet
at five in the afternoon.
A frail of lime ready prepared
at five in the afternoon.
The rest was death, and death alone.

The wind carried away the cottonwool
at five in the afternoon.
And the oxide scattered crystal and nickel
at five in the afternoon.
Now the dove and the leopard wrestle
at five in the afternoon.
And a thigh with a desolated horn
at five in the afternoon.
The bass-string struck up
at five in the afternoon.
Arsenic bells and smoke
at five in the afternoon.
Groups of silence in the corners
at five in the afternoon.
And the bull alone with a high heart!
At five in the afternoon.
When the sweat of snow was coming
at five in the afternoon,
when the bull ring was covered with iodine
at five in the afternoon.
Death laid eggs in the wound
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
At five o'clock in the afternoon.

A coffin on wheels is his bed
at five in the afternoon.
Bones and flutes resound in his ears
at five in the afternoon.
Now the bull was bellowing through his forehead
at five in the afternoon.
The room was iridiscent with agony
at five in the afternoon.
In the distance the gangrene now comes
at five in the afternoon.
Horn of the lily through green groins
at five in the afternoon.
The wounds were burning like suns
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon!
It was five by all the clocks!
It was five in the shade of the afternoon!

http://boppin.com/lorca/lament.html

tailor STATELY

09-02-2019, 04:54 AM

Quite poignant... the droning of time accentuates the tension. I'm thinking a bull fight fatality before I click the link...

Ignacio must have been an important bull fighter, at least to the writer, to receive such praise and lament. Back in the late '60's my father would watch bullfighting on the telly and I would watch with him sometimes. The sport was majestic to watch, gore not withstanding. One gets a grand feel of place, and time, through the descriptive devices of the writer. Enjoyed this offering very much.

Two of my favorite short stories by the master Poe: The Tell Tale Heart...
TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.... https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the_tell-tale_heart_0.pdf

and The Cask of Amontillado...
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong....
https://archive.org/stream/thecaskofamontil01063gut/1063.txt

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-02-2019, 08:13 AM

Personally I hate bullfights and am frankly on the bulls side. Here is some more information on Sanches Mejias.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_S%C3%A1nchez_Mej%C3%ADas
But the poem as such is impressive.
Thanks for the Poe stories, very fitting for this LitNet moment:

I found a tale by Horácio Quiroga:

La Insolación / Sunstroke

“La Insolación / Sunstroke”

Old, the puppy, went out through the door and crossed the patio with a slow and upright gait. He stopped at the edge of the field, stretched out on the hill, his eyes half-closed, wiggled his nose, and laid down calmly. He looked out at the monotonous plains of Chaco that switched between fields and hills, hills and fields colorless besides the cream white of the grass and the black of the bush. Some two hundred meters out, the hill cut off the horizon on all three sides by the corn fields. Towards the west, the fields widened and extended out into the valley, framed by the inescapable shadowed line in the distance."

Danik 2016

09-02-2019, 08:37 AM

Oooops! I forgot the link to the stories!
https://quirogatranslated.wordpress.com/2015/09/02/la-insolacion-sunstroke/

tailor STATELY

09-02-2019, 06:10 PM

Fascinating wiki. Agree, bullfighting is anathema nowadays, Mexico & Spain notwithstanding - where I imagine it is still quite a spectacle.

“There are so many thorns.”... "At midnight they heard his steps and the thud of his two boots on the floorboards before the light came on. The dogs could then feel the change of owner closing in on them. Alone, at the foot of the sleeping house, they began to cry."

An interesting perspective. To think dogs/cats/etc might have a heightened sense of imminent death is an intriguing notion. Here's one account of cats: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7129952/Cat-predicts-50-deaths-in-RI-nursing-home.html

I'll try to come up with a story later tonight... grand-daughter coming over for help with her homework (college math) in a minute and FHE tonight :) )

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-02-2019, 07:17 PM

Enjoy the visit of your granddaughter! If you prefer to post a poem, that will be fine, too. I've read more stories than poems.
Thanks for sharing the link on cats.

Danik 2016

09-02-2019, 07:23 PM

Enjoy the visit of your granddaughter! If you prefer to post a poem, that will be fine, too. I've read more stories than poems.
Thanks for sharing the link on Oskar. Someone actually wrote a short story based on him. The thread is buried somewhere in the forum.

tailor STATELY

09-03-2019, 02:26 AM

An old favorite poem of mine is by Don Marquis. Here's a taste followed by a link to the poem
... it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty...
https://followingpulitzer.wordpress.com/tag/don-marquis/

Also staying with the theme of cats Don Marquis' song of mehitabel...
this is the song of mehitabel
of mehitabel the alley cat
as i wrote you before boss
mehitabel is a believer
in the pythagorean
theory of the transmigration
of the soul and she claims
that formerly her spirit
was incarnated in the body
of cleopatra...
https://www.blueridgejournal.com/poems/dm

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-03-2019, 06:06 AM

To be sure:

it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
https://followingpulitzer.wordpress.com/tag/don-marquis/

and

do you think that i would change
my present freedom to range
for a castle or moated grange
wotthehell wotthehell
do you think that i would change
my present freedom to range
for a castle or moated grange
wotthehell wotthehell

Lol! Particularely liked the "wotthehells"

Danik 2016

09-03-2019, 06:40 AM

A cat tragedy

Eight times emerging from the flood
She mewed to every watery god,
Some speedy aid to send.
No dolphin came, no Nereid stirred;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard;
A Favourite has no friend!
https://interestingliterature.com/2017/11/07/a-short-analysis-of-thomas-grays-ode-on-the-death-of-a-favourite-cat-drowned-in-a-tub-of-goldfishes/

tailor STATELY

09-03-2019, 02:41 PM

Loved the pretension of the poem and the moral ending:
From hence, ye beauties, undeceived,
Know, one false step is ne’er retrieved,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;
Nor all that glisters, gold

Some more cat poems from some of my favorite poets; some of which I had never read before!? including:

Le Chat (The Cat) by Charles Baudelaire...
Come, superb cat, to my amorous heart;
Hold back the talons of your paws,
Let me gaze into your beautiful eyes
Of metal and agate.

I particularly like Baudelaire's poem because he brings to mind my dear departed Odie who had a cream coloured coat and the most amazing gold flecked-coloured eyes

https://lithub.com/15-great-cat-poems-not-written-by-cats/

And a poem I penned and posted on LitNet 6-years ago:

My Kitties Gone Home 2013

Beloved SnoBall, Tai, my dearest Pi
Gone home to rest unto the eternities
So tired my tears, so tried my fears
For Doodles and Odie, my remaining kitties
O' heaven's bright beam, make this a dream
Let me awaken to better days gone past
Where is the justice? Why all the fuss?
For three departed kitties sorely missed

9/10/2013

As I said Odie has since passed on. Taffydoodles (Doodles/TD/fuzzy-butt/Taffy) is quite old now (15?+); we also have Rosie and Tinker Bell in the family now, although Rosie is now relegated to being outdoors for being a bad kitty (she unpotty-trained herself after 5-years!).

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-03-2019, 03:13 PM

Loved both poems. Read a Baudelaire poem on cats before, but it wasn´t this one. Only cat lovers know the sadness of losing a cat. Fortunately you have three. That about Rosie is strange, if it was a male cat it might be marking the territory. But a female,? Have you talked to the vet about it?

Muier
By William Carlos Williams

Oh, black Persian cat!
Was not your life
already cursed with offspring?
We took you for rest to that old
Yankee farm, — so lonely
and with so many field mice
in the long grass —
and you return to us
in this condition —!

Oh, black Persian cat.

(This time I couldn´t edit it)

tailor STATELY

09-03-2019, 04:31 PM

(lol) I love WCW's poems. No, I hadn't thought of taking Rosie to the vet at all... she all of a sudden started bolting outdoors anytime the door was opened in addition to her bad-kittyness. I thought she had just received the call of the wild; now we have to worry about her being preyed upon (foxes/mountain lions/bobcats/martins/bears/skunks/etc)... as well as her preying on the California quail, and other birds, I love.

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-call-of-the-wild/

One more: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-cat-with-wings/#content

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-03-2019, 10:33 PM

Thanks for the poems, I'll post something tomorrow when I'm on the PC again. On tablet( Android) things are a bit more difficult, for example I couldn't open poem hunter.
Meanwhile a link that might be useful:
https://www.quora.com/My-cat-was-potty-trained-but-now-after-two-years-its-urinating-and-defecating-all-over-the-house-what-do-I-do
Both my cats lived in the garden before I adopted them and I was astonished how automatically they took to the litter box. Only my male cat sprayed around before he was neutered.

Danik 2016

09-03-2019, 10:33 PM

So now, with silvery tab reminding me of my silver cat:

"And then the vision that I had
Of Tabbie soaring through the night,
Quick vanished, and I felt so sad
For that poor pussy's piteous plight.
For though frustration has it stings,
Its mockeries in Hope's despite,
The hell of hells is to have wings
Yet be denied the bliss of flight."

"So now, with silvery tab reminding me of my silver cat:
"And then the vision that I had
Of Tabbie soaring through the night,
Quick vanished, and I felt so sad
For that poor pussy's piteous plight.
For though frustration has it stings,
Its mockeries in Hope's despite,
The hell of hells is to have wings
Yet be denied the bliss of flight."

Beautiful poems, specially the call of the wild

Danik 2016

09-04-2019, 07:13 AM

'5.Cats in a Gale

Lingle lingle lang tang Cats hae tails
Tae tie roon trees
Fin wins blaw gales
Gin tails brakk aff awa they flee
A flicht o cats abeen Dundee"
Scots cats

tailor STATELY

09-04-2019, 09:02 PM

"Lingle lingle lang tang"...Love the Scot poem.

Thank you for the Quora link. Most likely it is our latest addition (Tinker Bell) that is causing Rosie's distress; she is in otherwise excellent health. When Tinker Bell was a bit bigger than ball of fluff we thought he was a girl (Tinker Belle). It was only when we wanted him spayed that we were made aware of our error. He has since grown into a huge male black/sable kitty with the most delightful mew, but prolly too rambunctious for dear Rosie.

Here's an excerpt from a short story about another large black cat by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / The Brazilian Cat:
... In the centre of this room, lying in the middle of a golden patch of sunlight, there was stretched a huge creature, as large as a tiger, but as black and sleek as ebony. It was simply a very enormous and very well-kept black cat, and it cuddled up and basked in that yellow pool of light exactly as a cat would do. It was so graceful, so sinewy, and so gently and smoothly diabolical, that I could not take my eyes from the opening.

"Isn't he splendid" said my host, enthusiastically.

"Glorious! I never saw such a noble creature."

"Some people call it a black puma, but really it is not a puma at all. That fellow is nearly eleven feet from tail to tip. Four years ago he was a little ball of black fluff, with two yellow eyes staring out of it.... http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/BraCat.shtml

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-05-2019, 10:11 AM

Interesting story, tailor. Did some research about Brazilian cats, found out that black is not an usual color here. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/11/27/a-brazilian-wild-cat-is-actually-two-separate-species/
Also wondered where Conan Doyle heard about Pernambuco, as he probably never visited Brazil. I am always a bit amused when I notice how wild and dangerous Brazil appears in the European Literature of the 19C.

Now might that be Rosies point of view?

https://www.letras.mus.br/chico-buarque/85973/ I hope you enjoy the music too.

tailor STATELY

09-05-2019, 09:37 PM

(lol) Loved the music.
Story of a Cat Chico Buarque Feeded Me Caressed Me Enlisted Me Accustomed Me My world was the flat Detefon, cushion and treat Every day filet mignon Or even a good cat filet They told me, every time Stay home, don't take wind But It's hard to stay in your house When in the moonlight So many cats on the street Singing all night We cats are born poor But we're born free Lord, lady or landlord Feline won't you recognize We cats are born poor But already born free Lord, lady or landlord Feline, you will not recognize In the morning I came home I was barred at the concierge No fillet and no pillow Because of the singing But now my daily life Is in the middle of the catwalk Down the street turning can I I'm more me, more cat In a crazy serenade Who goes out singing at night We cats are born poor But we are born free Lord, lady or landlord Feline, you will not recognize We cats are born poor But no more ascend free Lord, lady or landlord Feline, you will not recognize

The tigrina is a beuatiful little wildcat, and two distict species for North and South! More cats of South America: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-10-species-of-wild-cats-of-south-america.html

Either Sir Arthur was playing fast and loose with his black coated cougar, or going with the legendary/mythical "black cougar of death" (quite fitting for the story - and he was a spiritualist), or possibly a black jaguar (a true black coated kitty) is speculative without further research; ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther

To further muddy the waters: https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=QNFR4xHHIegC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=Arthur+Conan+Doyle+in+Brazil+%3F&source=bl&ots=HvDWgQm1V1&sig=ACfU3U3cEukAw3jjFEkFCj69VHVXrQImDQ&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Arthur%20Conan%20Doyle%20in%20Brazil%20%3F&f=false

As far as Sir Arthur's travels he did go to the United States, New Zealand, and Australia; this paragraph about his trip to Australia reveals a lot about the man:
Conan Doyle was amused by "a dear little possum which got under the back of my coat, and would not come out." He saw a blue headed wren, kangaroos, wallabies, lizards, an eagle and "noisy mina birds which fly ahead and warn the game against the hunter. Good noisy little mina!" He urged the local authorities to ensure the place remained protected. "Do this, and your grandchildren will extol your wisdom. Don't do it, and in ten years it will be too late." Happily, they followed his advice. Humbug Scrub remains a wildlife sanctuary to this day.... https://www.abc.net.au/religion/a-spiritualist-abroad-sir-arthur-conan-doyles-adventures-in-the-/10099536

Sir Arthur's wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle

Hard to fathom Rosie's point of view; perhaps...

A short story; starts:
Gummitch was a superkitten, as he knew very well, with an I.Q. of about 160. Of course, he didn't talk. But everybody knows that I.Q. tests based on language ability are very one-sided. Besides, he would talk as soon as they started setting a place for him at table and pouring him coffee. Ashurbanipal and Cleopatra ate horsemeat from pans on the floor and they didn't talk. Baby dined in his crib on milk from a bottle and he didn't talk. Sissy sat at table but they didn't pour her coffee and she didn't talk—not one word. Father and Mother (whom Gummitch had nicknamed Old Horsemeat and Kitty-Come-Here) sat at table and poured each other coffee and they did talk. Q.E.D.... https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781625791207/9781625791207___2.htm

AND some more music for you to enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xqdOfONd34

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-06-2019, 09:55 AM

This post is sequence to #186

THE CAT-HOOD OF MAURICE

TO have your hair cut is not painful, nor does it hurt to have your whiskers trimmed. But round wooden shoes, shaped like bowls, are not comfortable wear, however much it may amuse the onlooker to see you try to walk in them. If you have a nice fur coat like a company promoter's, it is most annoying to be made to swim in it. And if you had a tail, surely it would be solely your own affair; that any one should tie a tin can to it would strike you as an unwarrantable impertinence-to say the least.

http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/ff8/mworld.htm

Danik 2016

09-06-2019, 09:57 AM

Thanks, tailor, your last post is quite a banquet!Have learnt quite a lot, until now Conan Doyle was for me only the inventor of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Interesting to know that the "Brazilian cat' was subject of an article. I think Brazil stands here for the unknown, dangerous and the fatal place. As for the color of the animal it was fitting, as you said, for this story. And here in Brazil there is much prejudice against black cats.

Some solutions sound funny in the Google translation, but it is not its fault, it was only being literal. For example "don't take wind" I would translate perhaps as "keep out of the draught", "I'm more me" ="I'm more myself", but on the whole I think you got the idea. The song is part of a musical written on The Bremen Town Musicians by the Grimm Brothers

Very amusing story, the story of Gummitch. I was astonished to learn that the author was American because of his German name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Leiber

As for Rosie, in spite of abundant fillets and petting maybe she thinks herself "The black sheep of the family>

With our rock lady, Rita Lee:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyveLQfO9XA

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/ovelha-negra-black-sheep.html

tailor STATELY

09-07-2019, 06:18 AM

A simple acrostic poem of sorts I posted on LitNet nearly 4-years ago:

Cat of Black

She stalks her quarry: this huntress who
walks upon padded feet; calculates
in perfect control, 'cept whisker's twitch
Beauty, lithe; nearby a ravaged clew
like death's chosen cat's paw - understates
the familiar: a flash of tail which
night brings her prey to mortal peril

10/19/2015
:tailor

Leiber: a fascinating life, and a poet!

Rita Lee: "When the band reformed in 2006, she refused to join, calling the reunion an attempt to "earn cash to pay for geriatry"... (lol). Also had a Gilberto Gill and Paulo Coelho connection. It is sad to know that the music of the 60's & 70's in Brasil was at times ostrasized if it wasn't PC; also happened here in my country to a small degree. A very accomplished artist.

Thanks for the lyrics translation... also found this youtube offering of Ovelha Negra "Black Sheep" with Brasilian & English subtitles (with some other songs and artists off to the side)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AcrXDVTauQ&list=PLe3xeVoKYgqyttvGtRRMfU5v7eYJE-RYu&index=20&t=0s Great sound (love the guitars especially :) )

I would have loved to hear Rita Lee in the psychedelic music period of her life... will look for a vid later.

The Cat-Hood of Maurice: Interesting twist
'Oh, I can't bear it, I can't,' cried poor Maurice, in a heartrending meaow that echoed through the house. He leaped from the bed and tore through the door and down the stairs, and behind him came the most terrible thing in the world. People might call it a sardine-tin, but he knew better. It was the soul of all the fear that ever had been or ever could be. It rattled.

Eine Kleine KatzenMusik ?... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeoT66v4EHg&feature=youtu.be

The Cat That Walked By Himself by Rudyard Kipling... begins
EAR and attend and listen; for this befell and behappened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The Dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild--as wild as wild could be--and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him...
http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/cat.htm

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-07-2019, 02:52 PM

Cat of Black-Enjoyed the images of the poem. Reminded me of my black cat which was a very good hunter and sometimes brought me "presents" which I had to rescue if they were still alive.
A find:Young Rita Lee singing Beatles songs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEd2YPl8VFA

Kleine Katzenmusik is fine but the cats themselves don´t seem very happy.

The Cat That Walked By Himself-Fine story about the relation between pets and humans.

"The city of the cats and the city of the people lie one within the other, but they are not the same city. Only few cats remember the times when there was no difference: the streets and the squares of the people were also streets and squares of the cats, and the lawns, the courtyards, the balconies and the fountains: one could live in a wide and various space. But, already for many generations now, the domestic felines are prisoners of an unlivable city: the streets are uninterruptedly raced by the deadly traffic of the cat-crushing automobiles; in every square meter of ground where a garden or a clear area or the remnants of an old demolition were opened, now tower apartment buildings and shiny new skyscrapers; each sidewalk is crowded by parked automobiles; the courtyards are - one by one - paved and transformed in garages, cinemas, warehouses or offices."
http://www.ruanyifeng.com/calvino/2006/08/the_garden_of_the_stubborn_cat_en.html

From the Cats Musical:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-L6rEm0rnY (saw it when I was in NY).

tailor STATELY

09-08-2019, 03:06 AM

Funny, sad little story.

Love the musical play Cats.

For some reason I couldn't get sound for Rita Lee's songs, something is buggy (others are playing)!? Will try again later.

Rossini's Cat Duet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5bJJviAX0c&list=RDO5bJJviAX0c&start_radio=1&t=3

A fairytale: https://fairytalez.com/the-poor-millers-boy-and-the-cat/

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-08-2019, 07:43 AM

Unblocked Autoplay. Test please if it is still soundless:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEd2YPl8VFA
If yes it may be that the video is not allowed in US, because of autoral rights. That often happens now.

Danik 2016

09-08-2019, 07:44 AM

tailor STATELY

09-09-2019, 07:09 AM

Finally got Rita Lee's link to play. After fussing with all my laptop audio settings I finally noticed that Youtube actually auto-muted the video in the Opera Browser tab (not the video window) and I hadn't noticed (too many tabs opened as usual). Her voice adds an elegance to the lyrics and the Latin beat accompanies her very nicely.

Found another early Rita Lee video from her "psychedelic era": Os Mutantes- Panis Et Circensis & Bat Macumba (Complete French TV-1969)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxwQhrfTEc8

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-09-2019, 06:56 PM

I'm having posting, login and log out difficulties since yesterday! Will try to answer from PC.

Danik 2016

09-09-2019, 07:21 PM

Lol! Loved the Rossini duet, specially the second cat! Found another very funny version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvBZ_nPNOQI

Interesting. Your fairy tale seems a kind of female Puss in the boots.

Loved this little story and Beatrix Potters drawings. Good to share with grandchildren if they are the right age:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2-IV0bxMgg

tailor STATELY

09-10-2019, 08:35 PM

(lol) loved the other Rossini rendition too... Hard to believe Rossini treated this piece as a serious work. Started watching the Beatrix Potter video and it put me to sleep (lol-again); well produced. My grandkids/great-grandchild are either too old or too young 22/18/11/ & almost 1 but I'll keep it in mind when my g-gc gets older.

Poem by T.S. Eliot you might recognize: The Ad-Dressing of Cats... https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/14/best-cat-stories-1953-t-s-eliot/

I was surprised that the Broadway Play "Cats" was based on T.S. Eliot's children's book: "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" and includes the above poem in its musical repertoir.

“Fugue in G Minor” by Domenico Scarlatti (“The Cat’s Fugue”)...
https://youtu.be/N1-xjCCBQjI

A short story: Tobermorey starts -
It was a chill, rain-washed afternoon of a late August day, that indefinite season when partridges are still in security or cold storage, and there is nothing to hunt - unless one is bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, in which case one may lawfully gallop after fat red stags. http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Tob.shtml

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-11-2019, 06:47 AM

Lol!Beatrix Potter wasn t meant as sleeping pill. I didn´t know you had so many grandchildren and one still a baby!

http://www.english-for-students.com/The-Cat-and-The-Fox.html

Love TS Elliots book and the musical Cats which is a fond memory from New York, specially because I watched it with a free card!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywFbpDjpZno

Lovely cat fugue

Tobermorey- An interesting story, but meaning that speech sometimes creates a lot of havoc. And there were no social nets yet.

A short moral fable: http://www.english-for-students.com/The-Cat-and-The-Fox.htmlhttps://poets.org/poem/kitten-and-falling-leaves

And a poem by Wordsworth https://poets.org/poem/kitten-and-falling-leaves

tailor STATELY

09-12-2019, 06:34 PM

Delighted to find that Rita Lee is on Amazon music and I can stream and listen to her on my Echo :)

A Moral Story : The Cat and The Fox - Good moral, but oh, how sad! Last night I spied a small family of 3-foxes capering about for a moment before they disappeared into the brush. Also reminded me about the joke where two friends meet a grizzly bear and one asks the other if they can outrun the bear and the other says: "All I know is that I just have to outrun you".

The Rum Tum Tugger (lol) The musical must have been a visual feast.

A problem with:
A short moral fable: http://www.english-for-students.com/...falling-leaves falling-leaves ? link seems to be broken (must have been a mashup between two of your links)...
I researched and found this list but it doesn't seem to be there... http://www.english-for-students.com/Moral-Stories.html ROFL... #119 !!!

With a tiger-leap half way, now she meets the coming prey,... Loved it: a tender, sweet poem.

Poem: The Galloping Cat by Stevie Smith:
http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/the-galloping-cat/
In her own voice: https://soundcloud.com/poetsreadingpoetry/stevie-smith-reads-the

A Hemingway short story Cat in the Rain (please pardon George); starts:
There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on
the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced
the public garden and the war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden. http://english.heacademy.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hemingway.pdf

And a chuckle or two... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h588nHfJ-CE&feature=youtu.be

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-13-2019, 03:49 PM

I am very glad you like our Rock Lady and that you can have her on streaming.

Do you believe that I never saw a real fox? Not even at the zoo, I think.

Sorry about the link confusion. Litnet was unstable for some days, I probably hurried to post in between the error messages.
Her is another fable, not so sad as the first:

http://www.english-for-students.com/Bell-The-Cat.html

The Galloping Cat by Stevie Smith: Poem ok, but did this poet like cats?

Cat in the Rain- A funny thing happened. I thought the story was really beginning, when it ended and went hunting for the missing pages but there were no missing pages. I think the story started well, a young bored couple, a young woman thirsting for something new in her life and then she gets the cat and The End. As it is the cat in the rain seems to represent the girl somehow, having to adapt in order not to get wet.

A poem:

To A Cat
Jorge Luis Borges

Mirrors are not more silent
nor the creeping dawn more secretive;
in the moonlight, you are that panther
we catch sight of from afar.
By the inexplicable workings of a divine law,
we look for you in vain;
More remote, even, than the Ganges or the setting sun,
yours is the solitude, yours the secret.
Your haunch allows the lingering
caress of my hand. You have accepted,
since that long forgotten past,
the love of the distrustful hand.
You belong to another time. You are lord
of a place bounded like a dream.

And:https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ariannarebolini/these-stories-prove-cats-are-truly-a-writers-best-friend

:hurray:Even editing is possible now!

tailor STATELY

09-14-2019, 12:00 PM

.....

tailor STATELY

09-14-2019, 12:08 PM

I guess editing and links are problematical at this point... I'll keep trying.

tailor STATELY

09-14-2019, 12:17 PM

.....

tailor STATELY

09-14-2019, 12:19 PM

(sigh)

tailor STATELY

09-14-2019, 12:28 PM

Belling the cat is a good morality fable; I had forgotten that it never did come up with a finished resolution - as media (cartoons for instance) of my/our era nearly always show the cat getting belled.

Stevie Smith evidently wrote several poems with cats in them, but I agree - I don't think she liked them at all. From a blog the Paris Review (in part):
Cats in Colour (or, Color, if you have the Viking edition) was part of a series of picture volumes published by Batsford, a press dedicated to genteel subjects like horticulture. It was doubtless intended as a pleasant gift book for cat fanciers: pretty pictures of fluffy kitties such as one might find nowadays on a wall calendar. Why Stevie Smith was approached about writing the book’s texts is one of the great publishing mysteries of the twentieth century, but the result is nothing short of brilliance. The introduction alone is worthy of cult status.

Here, the “game,” though not to my mind entirely removed from a hidden tartiness, is the game that human beings have been playing with the animal world since the first dog owned a human master and the first cat settled down upon a human hearth. It is we who have made these little catsy-watsies so sweet, have dressed them and set them up, in their cultivated coats and many markings, and thrown our own human love upon them and with it our own egocentricity and ambition.

This barely concealed contempt—for humanity, for the cats themselves—is present throughout the book, although the captions themselves range from the whimsical to the surreal to the unambiguously bizarre. What Smith has created here is really a hyperliterate form of proto–LOL Cat, playing perversely with notions of animal agency, ownership, and human identity. And ultimately, she is benign: as she ends her introduction, “It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point of folly, than not to love them at all.” https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/04/05/lol-cats/

The Singing Cat by Stevie Smith... https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bigreaders/the-singing-cat-by-stevie-smith-t1341.html

Google images (Mostly Stevie Smith, her line drawings, cats, etc)... https://www.google.com/search?q="stevie+smith"+about+cats&newwindow=1&safe=active&client=opera&hs=1kW&sxsrf=ACYBGNRch22JisCcbSVVdq9KolN4d0imKQ:156847077 1834&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-kMj5wNDkAhVsmK0KHS9pDJoQ_AUIEygD&biw=1205&bih=633

I liked Borges' poem. His use of the Ganges as remoteness is notable.

Loved the various writers take on their cats. I had a cat, Figaro, a gorgeous silky white female with black markings who loved to cuddle with me when I wrote poetry using my desktop computer (now rarely used); circa 2003. She was an indoor/outdoor kitty who wandered off one day and never returned (sigh).

If the photo shows up Figaro is the white with black kitty and Taffy-Doodles is the black with white kitty. 9900

Short story: Revisiting Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat, begins
FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul... https://poestories.com/read/blackcat

Music: Henry Mancini Something for Cat from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eddjmpfyPWQ

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-14-2019, 03:51 PM

...........

Danik 2016

09-14-2019, 04:33 PM

.....

Both are very cute, tailor. Are there any pics of Rosie and Bells?

tailor STATELY

09-15-2019, 02:23 AM

Rosie yes... I'll try to get some pix of Tinker Bell and post both... with maybe one of Odie if I can find one.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-15-2019, 03:03 PM

The Singing Cat- You´re right. This second poem makes the perverse light very plain in which the poet sees the relationship between humans and cats.

"The black cat" by Poe. I knew this story already but I don´t like it. Poe is one of the fathers of the short stories but I don´t like his short stories,they are all nightmares, specially this one.

If you want to read a story where there is humor added to some horror, there is Angela Carter´s "Puss in the Boots". I didn´t put the link here, because it´s rather large and it is in the collection, The Blood Chamber. The name of the cat is also Figaro, but it´s a male cat.

"The Cat and the Mouse
England

The cat and the mouse
Played in the malt-house.

The cat bit the mouse's tail off.

"Pray, puss, give me my tail."

"No," says the cat, "I'll not give you your tail, till you go to the cow, and fetch me some milk."

First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the cow, and thus began:

"Pray, cow, give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."

"No," said the cow, I will give you no milk, till you go to the farmer and get me some hay."

First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the farmer, and thus began:

"Pray, farmer, give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."

"No," says the farmer, I'll give you no hay, till you go to the butcher and fetch me some meat."

First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the butcher, and thus began:

"Pray, butcher, give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."

"No," says the butcher, "I'll give you no meat, till you go the baker and fetch me some bread."

First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the baker, and thus began:

Pray, baker, give me bread, that I may give butcher bread, that butcher may give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."

"Yes," says the baker, I'll give you some bread,
But if you eat my meal, I'll cut off your head.

Then the baker gave mouse bread, and mouse gave butcher bread, and butcher gave mouse meat, and mouse gave farmer meat, and farmer gave mouse hay, and mouse gave cow hay, and cow gave mouse milk, and mouse gave cat milk, and cat gave mouse her own tail again!"

Source: James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales: A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England (London: John Russell Smith, 1849), pp. 33-34.

Footnote by Halliwell-Phillipps: This tale has been traced back fifty years, but it is probably considerably older.

Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 2034.

An old poem by Joana Baillie:https://www.bartleby.com/291/82.html

Danik 2016

09-15-2019, 03:10 PM

Didn´t succeed with uploading cat pics. You must tell me your trick.

tailor STATELY

09-17-2019, 09:27 AM

Picture posting is hit or miss for me; Tony seems to have it down pat. Still working on my cat pix...

Joana Baillie's poem The Kitten is delightful; the ending quite tender.

A rather generic short short story: The Cat by Banjo Paterson; starts:
Most people think that the cat is an unintelligent animal, fond of ease, and caring little for anything but mice and milk. But a cat has really more character than most human beings, and gets a great deal more satisfaction out of life. Of all the animal kingdom, the cat has the most many-sided character...
https://americanliterature.com/author/banjo-paterson/short-story/the-cat

Music: One of the more bizarre pieces of classical? music ever performed "purrformed" by a cat: John Cage's 4'33"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZekJDrbvc (side note: the kitty looks like my kitty Precious from many years ago, only Precious did not have any brown at all)

Poem: Black Cat - by Rainer Maria Rilke... https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/
To the left of the page is a list of 50+ poems by many notable poets.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-18-2019, 07:57 AM

Picture posting has hitherto been a miss for me. Tony succeeds because he takes them from his site at flickr.

Starting with the Rock band The Cats, their songs have indeed, to my ear, a nostalgic meowy quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOy4T3jRIY

Enjoyed the generic story by Banjo Paterson. I am not fond of dark stories about cats, specially about black cats, because that increases the prejudice against them(here in Brazil it is still very strong), but here the cats have a special meaning and the story was written by a one time Litnetter, who got very involved with the site, the short time she was here. Do you remember Heartwing?
https://brokenwriterblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/17/schifosa/

The kitty in that music performance looks very unconfortable. It keeps smelling the ground because maybe it was trained with tit bits.

A poem by Shelley: http://shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/a-cat-in-distress#Transcript

I enjoyed the Rilke poem and am still reading the other.

California news -https://people.com/pets/mountain-lion-crashed-california-couple-tv-night/

tailor STATELY

09-19-2019, 01:05 AM

9902........... Odie & Rosie on Woodstove

9903........... Odie

9904...........Tinker Bell

9905...........Tinker Bell (again)

9906...........Rosie as a kitten

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

tailor STATELY

09-19-2019, 03:26 AM

A simpler time; I was still in High School when that song by The Cats came out (not that I recall it)... Nice vibrato from the lead singer though.

Heartwing rings a bell - ah, we crossed paths on the The LitNet Poetry Anthology – submit here thread back in '16... http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?85019-The-LitNet-Poetry-Anthology-%96-submit-here/page2

Enjoyed Ms. Heartwing's short story; her ending:
It’s been months now and I’m half crazed. To be honest, I hope to die.... as worthy as an O. Henry ending.

(lol) Yes, the cat is quite extraneous in the "music" piece I posted and definitely had to be bribed to stay.

Shelley's poem: noteworthy for it being his earliest surviving poem... interesting.

Your news item is amusing. Lots of mountain lions in these thar hills; neighbors posting about them on facebook every day. I hear them on occasion, but have yet to see more than a paw print.

Music: Al Stewart - Year of the Cat... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUmRNjv64Q

A short poem by Issa -

Arise from sleep, old cat,
and with great yawns and stretching
amble out for love

... and a Sad Cat Poem - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sad-cat-poem-_n_2590608

Short Story: "Cat Pictures Please" by NAOMI KRITZER — starts:
I don’t want to be evil.

I want to be helpful. But knowing the optimal way to be helpful can be very complicated. There are all these ethical flow charts—I guess the official technical jargon would be “moral codes”—one for each religion plus dozens more. I tried starting with those... http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-19-2019, 12:53 PM

9902........... Odie & Rosie on Woodstove

9903........... Odie

9904...........Tinker Bell

9905...........Tinker Bell (again)

9906...........Rosie as a kitten

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

AAAAAIIIIIII!A charming cat family you have/had there! And they are all very different from each other.

Danik 2016

09-19-2019, 01:05 PM

9908 Babalú

Danik 2016

09-19-2019, 01:18 PM

Sorry!Only succeeded in upload an image of my (former) black queen Babalú. Babalú disapeared after on year, I suspect someone stole her.

A bit of cat music Japanese Style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIGb1lfpBw

Lolsnif! I don´t believe that you unearthtened The LitNet Poetry Anthology that was to be. Yes that was it. Heartwing registered at the forum, just when this discussions were going on. It´s a pity it didn´t work, but Heartwing still can be found and followed on her WordPress blog.

I saw this doc at the movies, splendid. And I think the Turks were also talking about freedom and good neighborhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDzevFPOMjY

Guillaume Apollinaire | The Cat
In my house I want:
A reasonable woman,
A cat passing among the books,
And friends in every season,
Whom I cannot live without.

Loved the sad cat poem: "can you help me to be happy"

"Cat Pictures Please" - the most intelligent story about AI I ever read. That´s the future I think, only the AIs won´t necessarily be amiable.

The two cats- amoral tale https://shortstoriesshort.com/story/two-cats/moral tale

The poem cat- by Erica Jong

Danik 2016

09-19-2019, 10:14 PM

Just heard Year of the Cat, good Lyrics. Sorry for spreading and for not been able to take out the pictures with errors.

The poem cat- by Erica Jong
https://lyrics.lol/artist/42149-erica-jong/lyrics/130889-the-poem-cat
(This link I can edit, the link above not)

tailor STATELY

09-21-2019, 07:34 AM

Yes, I understand... the pictures I finally posted were time consuming; maybe having to do with size, etc,. Also noticed that links need to be managed in a different way ? I've come to start using the URL/URL coding rather than relying on LitNet picking them up in "raw" form. Anywho...

I'm so sorry about the loss/theft of your cat.

The photo of Babalú is wonderful (gorgeous cat)... I see some siamese in his/her facial features.

MitchiriNeko March: (lol) Quite whinsical.

Counter with "Postman Pat and His Black & White Cat" which I stumbled upon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFNt8nGffA... it's a BBC show evidently.

... and a Petula Clark short song from a bygone age - The Cat in the Window (The Birds in the Sky)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN5TPjDL8Rk

Two Cats moral tale: https://shortstoriesshort.com/story/two-cats/... cute story. I believe there is a typo in the ending: I would substitute "share" for "shan't" -
The poor cats were very hungry. But their roti was gone. They said, “We will not fight again. If we find some more food, we shall shan’t equally.” And they both went away to look for a mouse to eat.

Kedi: The cat video short looks interesting... may look up the film later. Nice to see a peoples respecting feral cats in society. Your point about society is well taken... a lyric by Rush from their song "Tom Sawyer": "What you say about his company / Is what you say about society."... full lyrics: https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/rush/tom-sawyer ... the entire song could be about cats (lol); (song video on same page).

Loved Apollinaire's short poem and The Poem Cat by Erica Jong; my first time reading Erica's work:

... the poem will get hungry
and come
just like a cat
coming home
when you least
expect her.

A tiny poem I wrote 5-years ago:

Of Being: Cats and Dogs

Dogs are
Cats is

2/25/2014

Short Story: The Boy Who Drew Cats — starts:
A LONG, long time ago, in a small country-village in Japan, there lived a poor farmer and his wife, who were very good people. They had a number of children, and found it very hard to feed them all. The elder son was strong enough when only fourteen years old to help his father; and the little girls learned to help their; mother almost as soon as they could walk...
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/japan/hearn/boydrewcats.html
... I have to admit that the moral or message is deeper than my understanding.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-22-2019, 04:31 PM

I am quite sure you are right about the pictures, tailor, but I didn´t grasp how you use an URL/URL coding. In the German forum, which has a similar layout as Litnet, there is no Problem at all as long as the pics are in the required formatting. Congrats, you must have spent some time over it!

Thanks, tailor, Babalú disappeared in 1996. It seems some lives ago now. I never tought about Siamese, but some people likened her to Egyptian cats.

A good singer Petula Clark, makes me nostalgic her style of singing. Postman Clark is cute!

A bit of rock for cats:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=160&v=kxELjU3f7Z4

and here is Maru:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uDuls5TyNE

I´m not sure I noticed the typo in the story Two Cats-These texts sometimes go through so many hands...

Loved your tiny poem: "Cats certainly is", any cat will agree with that.

A rather sad poem:https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/page-2/9703035/

The Boy Who Drew Cats-The tiny place where the boy slept suggested to me a modest beginning, as he was in a crossroads as to his future. He didn´t fall prey to ambition and eventually made his way. Anyway this is only the roaming of my imagination.

This story does little honor to the cat: https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/jftl/jftl12.htm

Cat Psychology:http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180724-the-complicated-truth-about-a-cats-purr

tailor STATELY

09-24-2019, 04:21 PM

An Acoustic Feast (Cashmere Cat)

harp; samba?

rubber chicken!

electronica... et

je ne sais quoi !!

9/24/2019

• Maru: LOL... simply precious.

• Like a Cheshire Cat: Yes, time does march on: "But now I’m left, a poor sad old feline, / Couldn’t even attract a porcupine."

• re: The Boy Who Drew Cats: I think you're spot on.

• re: The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog: Poor doggy; I know he became happy at Seth's home :)

Some cat poems by Francesco Marciuliano; narrated by Phil Lowe... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFLVuSLWMZc

... and only because having a cat on a keyboard was brought up in a poem (in the previous video by Francesco) - another poem I penned:

Regarding Cats & Earwax

While pondering earwax
and its fondness by cats
I recalled that one could
check one's keyboard
with a UV lamp
for signs of feline mist

4/16/2011

The Monkey and the Cat... an Aesop's fable, starts:
Once upon a time a Cat and a Monkey lived as pets in the same house. They were great friends and were constantly in all sorts of mischief together. What they seemed to think of more than anything else was to get something to eat, and it did not matter much to them how they got it... http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/milowinter/61.htm

My favorite Carl Sandburg poem:

Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Music: Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rOjt2h1Gr8

Just because: Grumpy Cat! (RIP)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnotF-QN3v8

From your psychology citation (the other link)"Your Cat is Controlling You!": http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141212-how-cats-can-control-our-minds

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-27-2019, 10:05 AM

Lol!Nice poem inspired by Cashmere cat! Some more eletronics:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=41&v=biZknQ-JuG4

re:Like a Cheshire Cat:cryin:
To a cat:https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/page-1/15298/

re:re: The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog: Poor doggy; I know he became happy at Seth's home. Yes, not a very favorable portrait of a cat.

Simply loved the poems by Marciulano. Very well presented. There are more of him in the net, but I think these are the best.

http://edelweiss-assets.abovethetreeline.com/CH/supplemental/AT_I%20Could%20Pee%20On%20This_2G.pdf

"I recalled that one could
check one's keyboard
with a UV lamp
for signs of feline mist" "Feline mist" Lol! I think cats would aprove the elegant expression.

The Monkey and the Cat...This time the disadvantage was with the cat.

Puss in the Boots by Angela Carter- Finally found the text. A bit long but very worth reading:

https://genius.com/Angela-carter-puss-in-boots-annotated

Just bookmarked uplifting Phenomenal Cat tohear it sometimes.

Well, here is a human cat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=kzYwz1_Imk8.

Absolutely loved old Grump. But is he riding on a toy or is it that room cleaning robot?

Colonel Meow (RIP):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYHcnpfkxqY

I just noticed we are building quite an Encyclopedia about all things cat. If you feel it is expanding too much or if you want to change the theme, just tell me.

tailor STATELY

09-29-2019, 02:15 AM

Electronica: Deadmau5 ! Love his work.

To a Cat... Loved it. The poem had me at word #1. A new favorite to add to the multitude: A lightsome poem not overwhelmed by its rhyme scheme - with a deftness added in L2 of each stanza.

abovethetreeline: A wonderful find! Francesco's poetry cracks me up:
"...I gaze into your two kind eyes
And wonder, “Who is that?”"... (lol)

Thank you for the text: Puss in the Boots by Angela Carter - I couldn't find it myself... Will give it a read soon.

Re: Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks - When I think of The Kinks this song does not come to mind at all... I do not think I have ever heard it before... quite a departure from their mainstream rock.

Ah, Sir Elton John... one of his best IMHO.

Grumpy Cat on a real robo-vacuum. He'll be missed :(

Colonel Meow's Diaries: A Rise to Power... (lol) his looks reminds me (for some unfathomable reason) of those monkeys in Japan that sit in the hotsprings in Jigokudani Monkey Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FzrsIOnIpo
.
.
.

:) You're prolly right... Just a few more then I will yield to sanity:

A short story “The Cat in the Mourning Hat” and review; begins:
A man had a little cat he loved dearly. He fed her at his table every day, on a diet of fish and rice... https://celebratingcats.com/lucinda-reviews-a-book-about-fairy-tale-cats

Why do cats like boxes?... https://www.inverse.com/article/38257-why-do-cats-like-boxes?link_uid=57&utm_campaign=inverse-daily-2019-09-24&utm_medium=inverse&utm_source=newsletter

Perhaps some nano stories ?

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

09-30-2019, 07:45 AM

A different kind of music (the talking bit is very short):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL8GfZ0B4HU

Long may you love your pensioner mouse,
Though one of a tribe that torment the house:
Nor dislike for her cruel sport the cat
Deadly foe both of mouse and rat;
Remember she follows the law of her kind,
And Instinct is neither wayward nor blind.
Then think of her beautiful gliding form,
Her tread that would scarcely crush a worm,
And her soothing song by the winter fire,
Soft as the dying throb of the lyre.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51926/loving-and-liking-irregular-verses-addressed-to-a-child

Enjoyed the apes with their private swimming pool. Now, what you would think of having this fellow in your garden?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpK1lZJmbJY

But boxes aren’t just for little kitties to enjoy. Big cats in wildlife reserves have also been known to enjoy sitting in boxes, bringing “if I fits, I sits” to a new level.LoL! Tino loved cardboard boxes, but he despised those out of unscratchable cardboard. By the way , who invented the cat first person conjugation?

Liked “The Cat in the Mourning Hat”. This time the cat comes out well.

https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/behavior-appearance/cat-tail-language

Now really! Nano stories in this thread!:wink5: Where did you get that idea!

tailor STATELY

10-02-2019, 07:30 AM

Two cool cats with some very soulfull music.

Enjoyed the poem; especially:
... Then think of her beautiful gliding form,
Her tread that would scarcely crush a worm,
And her soothing song by the winter fire,
Soft as the dying throb of the lyre.

... But likings come, and pass away;
’Tis love that remains till our latest day:
Our heavenward guide is holy love,
And will be our bliss with saints above.

The panda cub is adorable. :)

re: "who invented the cat first person conjugation?"... lol, a whimsy I believe on my part; googling other possibilities gave me hours of fun but no real answers (other than an i iz cat reference at https://www.iizcat.com/)

And lastly... more whimsy for those tense moments (including a nano story sneaked in at the end!)... https://thegrammarcat.com/tag/past-tense/ - with more helpful informative "stuff" on the side links (recht).

And my own nano attempt:

I fell in love with Figaro at first sight; a mewing ball of fluff castaway under our home. I retrieved her by getting her to cling to a broom head and drew her near. She became my constant companion as I crafted poetry on my old desktop... ofttimes whispurring suggestions.

10/2/2019

Lastly, some music - a genre I explore on occasion when the mood suits me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hxvULliUa0&list=RDu2RvqKCn7S4&index=5

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Danik 2016

10-03-2019, 03:12 PM

A bit more about cat first Person:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat

and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBG6agP2gKk

Loved the tense moments + nano story, very helpful in an English class.

Cute nano story about Figaro. Seems now we are going seriously into nano stories.

It would be good perhaps to establish a chalenge. A very usual one, 99 words,no more, nor less(title not included) so here is my attempt:

Babalú

When we found Babalú, she was 70% scabies and only 30% cat. The boy of the neighbors offered her some food, she raised her tired little head and ate. Even with scabies she was charismatic, people fell instantly in love with her. She received food and milk and a cardboard for sleeping. After medication, she developed into a beautiful silken black cat. When I invited her home, she inspected fastidiously every corner of the house. During three days, she forgot about the garden.

We had a good time together. Then, one day, she vanished for ever.