Just, hello everybody!
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Just, hello everybody!
Hi -- I'm a newbie. There, I said it. Now that that's out of the way, I just discovered the forum and I'm excited to find a place to talk with others of similar interests. My Bachelor of Arts degree is in English Lit, and my favorite period was the Romantic. Big fan of Byron, also Shelly & Keats, as well as Mary Shelly, who wrote 'Frankenstein' after a nigh of ghost stories. The original purpose of the story was a meditation on what it is to be human, but it makes a very good scary story, as well.
About me. I have been around a lot. Born in North Carolina, I was raised in Houton, Texas, and consider myself a Texan. Military at seventeen, stationed at the big US Navy Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, then with the US Air Force in France, Italy, the Florida panhandle, Washington state and finally, Vietnam. My military job was photojournalist, so my experience in Vietnam was quite different from most. I was good at what I did, and after a few months, my boss knew I had no fear of going out to tricky places and situations to find and develop a story, so he let me operate pretty much on my own. I got into some very nasty situations, but I always knew I could get out on the next helicopter, which gave me more bravery than was smart. After eighteen months, tho, I didn't even get a hangnail. It's all a matter of luck, and mine has always been good. Although I was enlisted, everybody wanted to be friends with the newspaper guy, in hopes of getting their name in the paper. I did a lot of flying (right seat, for those of you who know) and wore a flight suit with no rank insignia but my air crew member wings, and was usually entertained in the Officer's Club with the pilots I flew with.
After the military, I began college right away, finishing my BA in English in three years, then spending another semester to convert a minor in Art to a major, and finished a BFA at three and a half years, total. My art specialty was photography, and in my first semester of taking a photography class, when my professor found I was the only one who knew how to use the darkroom equipment, he left the class to me, and I taught it for a year as a teaching assistant. That was my senior year. In my junior year, i was a teaching assistant in what we called Dumbell English, a class for those who were accepted to the University, but pretty much lacked the ability to write a simple, declarative sentence in English, or, presumably, in any other language, as well.
Graduating, I tried to find a job in Journalism, but was completely unable to, despite my experience. I drifted around for a while, even worked in a convenience store, midnight shift, in Key West. Three years out of college, though, I got a good job with a major corporation, Dun & Bradstreet. I'm sure most of you have never heard of them and that's fine, but they are a Fortune 200 company. After a year with them, I was selected as a Management Candidate, and after two years altogether, was promoted to District Manager in Minnepolis, Minnesota. Eighteen months there, and I was transferred to Los Angeles, California. I met and married my wife in Minnesota, and we lived in LA for the next sixteen years. She began doing well with her company, and we were transferred to New Jersey for three years, Norfolk, Virginia (about my favorite place to live) for only one year, Hartford, Connecticut for seven l o n g years, and since April, we have lived in Phoenix, Arizona.
Well, I love to fly, although i have never taken lessons or gotten a license, many of the pilots I flew with in the service gave me tips, and let me fly the aircraft on my own for a while. I have been taught to do aerobatics (trick flying) in some of what were then the hottest aircraft in the world.
I still love photography, altho with the digital age, everything is different. Well, the basics of framing a picture and what makes a good one are the same, but the process is totally different, and it doesn't matter that I know how to use the darkroom now. I can't yet afford Photoshop, so I'm kinda stuck. I have figured a work-around, but I won't go into all that here.
I guess that's it. On a personal note, I have been married to my lovely wife for 28 years tomorrow, and this was the best of three marriages I've had. I'm anxious to make friends and correspond with whomever might be interested. Back to literature for a moment, in modern stuff I love Steven King. I was entrhralled for years by his 'Gunslinger' series, and also Gore Vidal. Currently on my nightstand are 'The Portable Faulkner,' a Penguin Classics collection of his works, 'The best Poems of the English Language,' which I dip into for one or two whenever the mood hits me, 'Salt, A World History,' about a spice which I overuse, and I find it fascinating. Deep breath. "Lady MacBeth,' a fictional history of the woman at the evil heart of one of Shakespeare's finest (well, weren't they all?), 'Into Thick Air' an account of a man who bicycled to the lowest point on six continents. That's Death Valley in the US at 282 feet below sea level, and the shore of the Dead Sea in the Middle East, at l,350 feet below, the lowest place on earth. I am ashamed to admit it, but I am not sure what country that's in, and I haven't gotten to that section in the book yet to learn. Last but not least, 'The Cactus Eaters,' an account of a couple who hiked the Pacific Coast Trail from Mexico to Canada. I am reading all of these, and pick one as the spirit strikes me.
That's it. Now you can say you know me.
But wait, there's more . . .
Reply to cute little car. As to your concern over sentences ending with prepositions, Winsoton Churchill was called on that in a news conference during the war. He quickly reponded that he "didn't care for criticism on that level, that it was the sort of thing up with which he would not put." Good come back, huh? To the best of my knowledge, he didn't copyright that phrase, so be sure to use it to any critics you might encounter.
Bye.
Thanks, Symphony
From looking around on this page, I see I need a better user name and a much better avatar. Work, work . . .
To be continued . . .
Hey there! I'm Ryan and this would be my first post on what seems to be a beautifully-made forum about a thing I love; literature. Thus, the name, right. Well anyway, I love to write and I kind of like to read.(only on a good day) I'm a big Vonnegut fan. I like his style and his books are hilariously demented. So, let's clap it up for KV. See you guys on my next post.
It seems only right that my first post be in the introductory thread, so here it is. I'll be seeing you all around. :)
Greetings my new anonymous online community. Thank you for the warm welcome. I stumbled upon this site while doing a bit of informal research for a unit I am teaching later in the year. This is my third year teaching seventh grade English at an early college secondary school in Flushing, Queens, NY. We have a partnership with Queens College, a city university located in the community. Our goal is to give students who normally wouldn't attend college the opportunity to succeed in academia. By the time my students graduate twelfth grade, they will have had the potential to earn 60 college credits. We look to take struggling students, special education students, the first generation that speaks English in their family, and accelerate them so that they take their first college course in ninth grade. We are currently in our fourth year of existence, so the school is sixth grade through ninth; we add a grade each year. I write all my own curriculum and have almost full autonomy in my classroom.
The internet is a great idea for seed ideas. After coming across a lesson on the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame's website comparing Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" and Pink Floyd's The Wall, I developed that unit to include a number of original ideas. The last addition was Jean-Paul Sartre's short story, "The Wall". Now that I will be teaching the unit for a third time, I want to continue to expand the unit. This is where I take this post to another thread because I need some suggestions.
Take it slow,
Barry
This is my first posting - I love books and reading - especially poetry. I don't know how active I will be but I wanted to get started.
Hi!
I'm new, reaching here from reading first SF, then more general reading after discovering Women's Press at a book sale. My favorite writers so far include P K Dick, Disch, le Guin, Russ, Maltzberg, Piercy, Dreher, Atwood, Winton, Amos and Firth.
The last two don't write books, as far as I know; Tori Amos makes music and David Firth makes Flash animations. Both are great sources of intricately-crafted original content, which to me is what "literature" is all about :-)
Most of what I read, was written since the 1950s... it's seldom I've read older works by choice; exceptions have been Olive Shriener and Virginia Woolf.
A huge greetings to all We covet that you could spend more time on the forum.Many thanks.
Hello everyone! I stumbled across this website while searching for a specific book that I've yet to find...but no matter; I haven't had a chance to look around much but I do enjoy literature, both reading and writing it, so this seems like a good place to be!
Nice to hear that!Quote:
Originally Posted by Terraforcejenny
Welcome then;)
My name is Martin White I am the author of Living the Simple Life and Simple Life Poety. I am also the publisher of Poetic Monthly Magazine.
I enjoy joining forums and reading others poetry.
Hello everyone,
I just registered and enjoyed reading all these messages.
My name is Athanase, I am greek, I live in Athens, I am Electronics Engineer graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique of Lausanne, Switzerland. I shall very much like to find someone among you speaking french.
Hello All! I'm looking foreward to browsing all these 'great read' ideas.
A big hello to all.
My name is Erliza L. Matacot, from Philippines. To be honest, I'm an English teacher in one of the private schools in our city. I love literature very much and I am so happy that I saw this site.
Hi!
I am destiny's Child....
I aspire to own a book store.....
Currently working on the plan for that....
Hoping to get lots and lots of support from everyone out here.....