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Wow, I was doing some maintenance in my Portfolio and noticed one of my items last month "Dance of the Fairies"  got 220 views yet only one very short review, nobody else even bothered to rate it. Good or bad. That is not how things used to be on WdC. Yes, I know getting reviews has always been a challenge. However, folks used to leave a comment or two, even if it wasn't a full review. Over these last few years, I have been thinking that I have improved in our craft. Now I wonder. I try as much as I can to stay on the sidelines of the political fray, being mindful of my fellow writers' egos and feelings. I have even learned to show a little empathy for those who have not been blessed with the same luck as my household. Yet it seems the harder I work to grow and learn, the farther I slip into oblivion, or is it the abyss? Bowels of Sheol notwithstanding, I'd even welcome the disparaging remarks if it sparked a bit of passion. but I cannot seem to get even a heartfelt... "Joey you suck... go eat worms and die" So the question begs, is it me, am I so out of touch with my efforts that I can only garner attention if I spark the contempt and ire of the malcontents in our forum? If so, then perhaps I should reevaluate and look for greener pastures... (oh, see how low I am to be lazed into embracing the cliche?) |
| I don't care what people may say... Mage.space.com is pretty amazing. I typed in a prompt looking for an image to use with my quick contest entry, these are some of the images it provided... how can one's muse not be inspired |
S 🤦  - I will also add that The Velvet Sundown, a completely AI generated band, has 2 "albums" on Spotify and Spotify is forcing this "music" into playlists. Why? Because it costs Spotify even less than the minimal they pay now (Spotify is theft, stealing from musicians; if you use Spotify, I lose a little respect for you). So we are being force-fed generative AI "art" in the music realm. Humans in art will soon be as rare as integrity in politics. |
| S 🤦 - Hi Steven, So any artist who creates with his hands, an image on anything but a cave wall, with anything other than blood and feces, is cheating and no longer an artist? I say no! If technology has advanced beyond Pen and ink, then it is up to the artist to adapt and use a broader brush ... learn how to write better prompts. If I post an image I drew in the public domain, it is not theft if someone uses it, provided it is posted for their free consumption. But if someone sneaks into a gallery without paying the entrance fees or copies my image from something I have for sale without my permission, then that is different. Mage.space.com doesn't use copyrighted material and will not create images, such as "memes," featuring known personalities. (Although I understand there are other programs without these standards.) However, is it theft to ask the program to create a picture of my character (based on my written description) dancing on a stage, "like" Michael Jackson? Or is it theft if the program makes me an image of my imagined muse as a fairy sprite fluttering in an enchanted wood? (Again, the picture is of a character I created in my head.)  That said, I am not a fan of deepfakes and images created to convey a false narrative. And it is a completely different standard when someone is offering something for profit and fails to disclose the use of AI. However, I think it's wrong to say that any use of this technology is inherently bad and bordering on hubris. It would be like calling modern writers thieves or hacks if they use a computer instead of a quill pen and inkwell. I understand that some writers need the feel of paper and pen; it's part of their creative process. The late Elmore Leonard was one of those writers; he never used anything more technical than his Cross pen and a yellow legal pad, and he created over fifty best-selling stories and screenplays. He also never flew in planes. He rode trains; was that cheating, especially when compared to using a horse and buggy? Hee hee, though his idea for 3:10 to Yuma happened in a train station while he waited for his wife to return with their tickets. The series Justified came from him watching the news and seeing a picture of an FBI agent holding a shotgun on her hip. He used someone else's idea and imagery that had been posted on an evening news program owned by a corporation. Yet, I don't feel like he owed them anything. |
Joey's Summer Sparkle  - Thank you for misrepresenting what I said. Where do you think the programme gets images from if not scraping? It needs a basis to create. Even if given permission, that makes it a form of plagiarism. AI is a tool; I have seen some glorious art work done using Photoshop. But that was a person creating using the tool of a computer, some AI to clean up things, and their actual human imagination, not plugging in a prompt and letting an algorithm create for them. But you do you. |
| Oh, goodness, upon us all, I pray! I was just writing my response to "Question of the Day!" . Today's query concerns our experiences with striving for perfection. I penned my answer, but on further consideration, I thought it something to share for those who never dare to answer the "Questions of the day." Here's mine: I believe there is no such thing as perfection... as an Engineer, I learned early on that we cannot create it at any level of existence. Then I learned the secret to life and making things from my grandfather... "Tolerance." One cannot push a shaft of exactly one inch in diameter through a hole that also measures exactly one inch in diameter. There must be a difference in the sizes of the two items. But the difference needed is determined by the environment of existence. Everything affects the outcome: temperature, gravity, input force, alignment, the speed necessity, and a dozen other physical factors and considerations. The ease of accomplishing any goal is dictated by the distance we are from perfection. In my younger days, I briefly interned at a tool and die company. At an industry convention, our CEO boasted about our product line, touting our 0.003-inch drill bit. (three-thousandths of an inch) A few weeks later, a competitor sent us one of our bits with a 0.001 (one-thousandth of an inch) hole drilled through the end of our bit! For those who are not engineers or mathematicians, a human hair, on average, is about 70 microns in diameter, which is 0.0028 inches So the drill bit we worked so hard to make was about the size of a human hair, our competitor sent us our drill bit back with a hole one third of the diameter of that human hair. It was a humbling experience and a valuable lesson about striving for perfection.. |
| Oh, for the love of the blessed rules...I wrote a story for "The Writer's Cramp" . The prompt ..." Write a story or poem about what happens when a group of space-traveling elves crash land on Earth and approach us peacefully. How are they received? What do they want? Use Fantasy as one of your genres. I forgot to post it until the last minute and didn't include the word count. But then that's what happens when one doesn't pay closer attention. So, just to say I did here is my disqualified entry:
My wife liked it, but then she is prejudice. |
| So, yet another June is passing... and I asked Rainey, my muse, for inspiration... an idea for a new July handle. I wanted something that would make a red-blooded young fellow stand up and take notice of the season... She sent me this image: She sure knows how to provide the sparkle, don't you think? |
| I've added a new entry to my book, ""Oh, Really, Joey, you can't say that!"" : Okay, it’s time for my daily practice for my BLOG. I should note there is a bit of a fourth wall issue with this start, but you deserve an explanation for the shortcomings of this effect. I am trying to improve enough to not be laughed at by the pros I have been showing my work to. And yes, today’s norms in the industry are replete with multiple example images and tall columns. Using these formatting options here on WdC is possible, but since fewer than three or four people will ever look at this page, adding columns and owned or licensed images is just too difficult to master, especially in HTML. Hence, the return on investment is very low. But still, I practice as I must. Below are today’s thoughts and attempts to sound like someone with some knowledge… or at least someone who has learned how to research and write without using “Chat GPT.” Note to others, I do not consider “Grammarly” cheating, it is a tool to help me get the commas just a bit like they are meant to be. But the rest is my humble attempts at being informative.  |
| Joey's Summer Sparkle - It's not that I have sympathy for the electronics industry. Or that I'm worried we won't be able to use our devices for a while (well, I am; I'm here using one, but that's mostly an inconvenience). It's all the other disruptions: GPS down, shipping grinds to a halt, economy tanks. We can't sustain our current population without electricity: food harvesting and distribution, for starters; even though a large segment of the world population doesn't personally have electricity, most of us depend on it in one way or another. |
Robert Waltz  - I’m not too worried, as a boomer, I learned “Cursive” and have even been known to scribble print legibly on pre-printed forms. If the crayons are sharp. |
| Carrington event has long been in my notebook to write a short story set in our times. Not yet, good reminder. Nicely written. |
Ha, I just remembered to post my entry in S 🤦  's "Horror Writing Contest" . I wrote it last week and waited to do some editing, and almost forgot about it. The contest has what appears to be five solid entries... Oh, Steven, how fun for you to now have to pick a winner.
There are still a few hours left... So, how about let's make Steven's job as a judge even harder... or one could think of it as supporting our friend who is on and contributing every day, and doing so from the bottom of the world... although according to many astrologers, they say there is no top or bottom to our universe and that it is just human arrogance that decided north is up. The truth is that Canada could be the butt of the world instead of its hat. |
So as may nears its end... I am anticipating the call of Summer... I woke my Muse asking her to inspire... and so she did!
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My entry for the "The Writer's Cramp" is complete, five and a half hours later!
A mere 1000 words—oh, how hard it was to trim/cut the word count from the 3000 it was after the first draft. but I hope it still makes sense? |
| FEVER ALERT Caitlin Clark drops a 20-PT TRIPLE-DOUBLE (20p/10r/10a) in her season opener, leading @IndianaFever to a 93-58 rout over the Sky! Historic start for CC and a statement win for Indy! #WNBA #FeverRising |
| I have never been into basketball. Occasionally I have watched brief glimpses of it on television but it never hooked me. Until I saw Caitlin play, that is. I saw a few clips of her best moments and was astounded at the skill she displayed. She did things that I had never seen before. And, as a result, she is the only basketball player whose name I know. And a year ago I would not have believed that I would ever be persuaded to sit and watch the game for its own sake. The lady is a wonderment. |
| I've added a new entry to my book, ""Oh, Really, Joey, you can't say that!"" : I have shared that I am taking a few more courses on writing. My assignment for last week is late, as usual for me... I am not looking for editing, but after three days and a thousand rewrites, I am not sure I am close to what my instructor asks for. So if a few of you old English teachers and multi-media influencers could take a look, give me your reactions. Maybe a grade from the gut, hoping it's not an "F", Please take a look at the assignment, too (link below), and let me know if I am meeting my instructor's expectations.  I copied her instructions in a port item:
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| Ever Wonder Why Some Politicians Seem Way Too Confident? It’s not a red-state or blue-state issue—it’s a human one. Meet the Dunning-Kruger effect: that quirky cognitive bias where people overestimate their know-how, and suddenly, everyone’s a genius (or so they think). In my latest blog, we’re diving into how this plays out in politics, and trust me, it’s an equal-opportunity offender. I spotlight names like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert. Why them? They’re household names, not punching bags. I picked these widely known figures to clarify the point, not to call anyone out. (No partisan shade here!) So, what’s at stake? Overconfidence can fuel shaky policies, frayed trust, and gridlock that drives us all up the wall. But don’t fret—this isn’t a rant. It’s a fun, eye-opening look at how confidence and competence collide, with a dash of humor to keep it real. Curious to see this bias in action and what it means for us? Flip the page—let’s get started! "The Dunning-Kruger Effect in Politics: A Bipartisan Problem" |
| The DK Effect has 3 phases. Those who know nothing, realise they know nothing. Those who know a little over-estimate their knowledge. Those who know a lot realise there is little they know and underestimate their ability. Some of the names you mention are not DK effect people, but delusional or pathological liars. They know nothing and yet make everything up to appear smart (e.g. belief in Jewish Space Lasers). Lying is not a part of DK; false extrapolation, improper or mistaken concept ideation, and misunderstanding of fundamentals exemplify DK people. Making sh*t up and trying to convince people it is real is a mental pathology, part of sociopathy. |
| S 🤦 -Oh, Steven, you are very correct in your observations. Still, we need to discuss the issues at hand to make progress. I chose a middle-of-the-road approach to the day’s topic, hoping to engage both sides of the problem. But today’s truth is. If the person is in politics, they are stupid, easily manipulated, or criminals who entered the realm to scam money, as almost everyone in Washington has done without regard to which side of the aisle they sit on. Americans must stop believing what our flavor-of-the-moment person is preaching, do more research, and start voting with some level of fact-based knowledge. Currently, the populaces votes with their emotions instead of their brains, which is why everything goes Tits-up. Human lust is only valuable for making babies; to allow the exuberant passions of our balls into politics has failed in every human civilization throughout history, there are no exceptions, at least none I can find. |
| Interesting topic, and well written. Also interesting exchange with S 🤦 . Thoughts on whether this is a recent, maybe driven or facilitated by mass media? What if you stuck only with presidents, how would they fall on this spectrum? |
| After getting a few reviews for this little poem, I did more editing, hoping to add the polish I am told it lacked. But now I have reached an impasse. I don't know where to go, how to improve it, or the story it holds. So, how about one or two of your poetry gurus look and help me see where I am missing the boat? Yes, I know it is simplistic, an ABAB poem in its form, but what good is it to practice more complex formatting if I can't compose the simple?
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A fter installing May's WdC inspiration in my latest handle, I realized not everyone might know my muse, Rainey. So I penned a short story of our meeting... Perhaps it can explain why a fellow like me ... has a young red-haired fairy in his portfolio handle.
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A word of note for those who might see this post, our dear Angelica jumped right in and added her voice to the review column. Which I deeply appreciated. But so as not to offend my fellow writers here on WdC... I was lamenting, wallowing in a bit of despair, not trolling for reviews.
As I mentioned in my reply to her review, it took me four days to write this, and after seeing the responses-or lack thereof-I had a sudden case of "Woe is me." When I thought about the return on the investment, hence my self-indulgence pity party.
The point is, every time I've been back, separated by those hiatuses... hiati? Anyway, every time, I encounter less interaction than the last. I'm not doing serious business this time, I'm just pursuing a hobby. Odd-numbered days I review, even-numbered days, I write. I give a monthly AwardIcon for my favorite story of the previous month, and feature 5-star stories on my bio page, and yet as of this writing, I have given 110 reviews while receiving 34.
But if you're going out in search of greener pastures, there aren't any. I know. I looked. Some sites like Smashwords and WattPad let visitors see their chat logs, and they're just full of people asking how they can attract more readers. So, that's a given. The reason I stay with WdC is that, so far at least, I haven't had my lineage, humanity, or right to keep wasting air challenged by trolls here. That may be because of the admins' policing, but regardless, this is a place I can come to enjoy conversations that generally don't end in death threats. That's worth something.
Tell you what. I'll scan your port for my review subject today. Let me know if there's anything you'd specifically like eyes on, and if it's in my comfort zone, I'll make it that. I generally choose my reviews from the Please Review page, so if you drop something there now and then, I'll find it. Never let it be said that the riverboat gambler ignores distress signals! ... Jack
1) I get less abuse than I used to
2) I get less views than I used to
3) My own participation in WdC has no bearing on views I get.
For the record, I don't care if I get reviews or not - I just feel happy when people read my stuff. Unless I ask for reviews... which, I must say, have been harder to get. I have one I want to submit, but, well, you know the drill...
On that, I'm not sure if I've reviewed you or not... Need to hit your port, I think...