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Needs (1) more entry to award 2nd Place, (3) more entries for 3rd! Contest ends tomorrow night at 11:59 p.m. (Feb. 25th) |
Thanks for the plug, my friend.  |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Anyone know if this has happened yet? |
That's hilarious, but congratulations on having so many folks reviewing for you! That speaks well of your novel, otherwise they'd all be making up excuses not to after the 1st chapter.  Once it's done, if you are interested, let me know and I'll give it a read for consideration for nominating it for a Quill. No promises that I'll nominate it, but if I like it, I will.  That category is always lacking, so I know they'd appreciate any worthwhile entries.  |
Just got an email from Shortform!  "Thank you for your interest in joining Shortform. Your experience and interests look like a good match, and I'm excited to move forward with the application process." So now I've read the entire introductory packet. I'm tasked to write summaries of three articles as a display of my writing skill and critical thinking abilities. The summaries will become anonymous and graded against all other applicants. The job pays $20-$25/hr, is totally remote, and they encourage 36+ hours a week. So, here's to dumping this call center job in the ditch on the side of the road! Wow, it makes me feel pretty good that I got in the door on my very first attempt. I may not get this job, but that's a good sign for the future!  |
| I just applied to my first freelance writing position. We'll see what happens. Got to get out of that call center! It drains the very spirit of my artistry, minute-by-minute. Wish me luck!  https://www.shortform.com/ |
| Just discovered THE HU band from Mongolia! This is what I love about music. The blending of culture into something totally original while using a recognizable media like rock music, which seems to be universal. Take a look at this clip if you have the time! https://youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hu |
| I would not normally follow a link to "rock" music. Something you wrote intrigued me. So I checked out the song listed about the Ancestors. There were subtitles so I could read the lyrics. I found the instruments fascinating. The sound is similar to it's original but not so far off to be annoying. I liked the words about So strange. So Strange. Their singing tones were low and guttural but still pleasant to hear. I don't think I'd buy the album. Thank you for sharing this. On a side note, years ago I was in Palm Springs, CA and heard a street performer dressed in what I'd term now as Steampunk. He played an electric cello. His instrument was featured on a high end car commercial not long after I saw him. I can't remember his name. I did by a CD(in a box somewhere now) that I enjoyed listening to. |
I've totally forgotten how to use WritingML!   I also noticed that may emails were at 1,276% over limit. |
Mandy and I just ran into a major hitch in our plans to return. We just recently moved off the beaten path where we have no fiber optic, broadband connection. It was a huge drama just to get satellite internet coverage out here, and we are only allowed 60GB a month. We had been under that plan for the last (10) days, noticing that we were using only about a gig a day of usage. Well, we've been cruising the site now for a full day and half, and we literally used 12.5 gigs just YESTERDAY!  Not sure why, but it must be the constant loading of pages.  We'll have to get back to you when we know more. |
| I suggest you use your cellphone for surfing the web and use your main computer for posting your work here, paying bills, etc. That will allow your data to last longer and be a little easier to manage until you find a better service plan. |
| My husband and I share 24 gigs for all our devices. We haven't gone over it. YouTube takes up a load of data, but haven't noticed that being on here does. I'm pretty sure that I did the image limiting thingy that SM was mentioning. |
| Thanks for all the advice. We'll just have to wait a bit and see what happens to our usage after a few more days. Unfortunately we dropped from 500 to 60 GB with our move, and we have to be a lot more careful not to run out. Patrick uses the computer for homeschooling the boys, so we have to make sure there's plenty of usage to last the month. We have been monitoring the usage and found that a couple of youtube shows put it up more dramatically, but general surfing/websites didn't scratch the surface. We were really disappointed to see that the usage went up so much after only one day on WDC. As SM said, it could just be the images. Thanks again for the information -- it's interesting to know that you all get by for the month with the little gigs that you have. Limitations are annoying |
| As responded to in "Note: So I have just noticed that [Link To User gobble..." Okay, this will be the only message I give to all the wonderful people that we dropped and left behind. To be honest, I am not interested in returning to this site because of a falling out I had with SM. Mutual respect was lost, and I don't see it coming back. I still wish him and his wife, his children, and his community the best of everything ... but the magic for me was critically severed. This is simply between SM and myself. I have not and will not elaborate on the issue for anyone's entertainment. Mandy and I have moved on with our writing and other responsibilities. For instance, Mandy now works full time, and I have channeled all of my talents and creativity into creating an awesome homeschool for all three of our children. Although they are not the reasons we left, none of these more worthwhile things that we are doing now would have been possible with our projects on WDC. I logged in today to get some of my writing. I haven't logged on for many months before today. I have gotten none of your emails because my email is over quota. I got a few trickle in right after I left, but I stuck to the logic that I could not (and did not want to) answer everyone, so I answered no one. I also did not want to spread a fire in a community I had already relocated from. So, please understand that Mandy and I miss our activities, we miss our friends ... but it's not enough. Bridges that were important to us have been obliterated beyond repair. Thank you for your concern, though. I ask for your forgiveness in dropping the many balls I juggled. But hey, what else was I supposed to do? That type of commitment required I care ... a lot. All of that was lost in one short (24)-hour period. As I have said before, I don't do anything half-assed. It's always been all of nothing when it comes to my creativity. <more> |
God, I can't believe I'm going to respond to this ... gardengirl you are exactly right. And here is where I begin speaking for myself only, not Mandy. My ego did get too big (and perhaps it still is). And that's the problem. I got sick of trying to live up to that every day. I'm nowhere near as "perfect" a person as I tried to be every day here. In the end, it is all on me. As a critical person in this drama said to me, I didn't take on "the responsibility of what happened" that day. Well, I'll take it now. In the end, this is all of my doing, no one else's. I have to move on because I just don't know how to move through in front of all of you. I don't even know where to start. I'm a very emotional person in real life, and I still feel ashamed. Now, I promise I will not be tainting the community any further with this discussion. I promise this wasn't my intention when I logged on yesterday.  Thank you GG for the courage to say what I knew everyone thought anyway. It's hard to admit that for yourself. It's so much easier to have someone else say it and just agree. I wish love, happiness, and success to everyone on the site. I can't imagine that this will be the last you ever see of me. But it won't be any time soon, and it won't be who I was. And to The StoryMaster  , here is my public apology for any hassle you had to endure when we left. After it all happened, I tried to think of the best way to stop it all with the least amount of upheaval, and the best I could do was just not be here at all. |
| Remember Patrick, when you posted this: "It's not all bad, you know. That community image that nearly gave me a stroke every day maintaining is blown to smithereens. It's nice to just be Patrick. Time will tell if the community will find him as valuable." I, for one, would like to see 'just be Patrick' stay on this site. You don't have to show off anymore, because we know what you can do. You've taken the first step into admitting you were mostly at fault, that you have a big ego. You've publicly apologized to the The StoryMaster , now all you have to do is stay on and see where it goes. Think about it ... |
| Hey Patrick! I wish you the very best and hope you'll be great at whatever you decide to do. But Patrick, you could stay too, you know - not for the people, or the community, but for the writing. You don't have to continue with Symposium or any other of your projects. You could just be a normal member - participating in raffles and writing reviews and dropping a helpful hint or two whenever you feel like it. Most of us are like that. If, however, you don't stay, just know that you'll be missed. A lot. I'll always remember you as one of the best writers and reviewers on the site. More importantly, I'll remember you as one of best people on WDC. I'd love to still be able to keep in touch with you but I understand if you want to move on. Take care, Patrick. And convey my regards to Mandy. Love, Literary Demon  |
So, what's new? Nothing much here. I apologize for the fall-out, but I really do want everyone to try to move on from this drama-filled day. Thank you all for your emails and comments. We intend on staying on, and who knows where that will go? I do have a sincere favor to ask, both for myself and the health of the community vibe. I would implore any members who feel like taking cheap shots at me to go easy. I already feel bad enough. I waived the white flag hours ago, but somehow the shots are still being fired from some surprising quarters. I'm not quite sure I understand the purpose of that.  Wow, from respected and valuable leader to pariah in twelve hours. I don't do anything half-ass, do I? A truly epic demise. It's not all bad, you know. That community image that nearly gave me a stroke every day maintaining is blown to smithereens. It's nice to just be Patrick. Time will tell if the community will find him as valuable. |
| I met you as " Just Patrick." I knew from our very first email exchange that you were a Rock Star. You're still a Rock Star in my book and in my cyber life and in my heart. I trust you, and I value your opinion, your input, and your advice. EPIC, by the way, means: Exceptional Passionate Inspiring and Caring! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! |
| Well, well, well. Okay, after careful consideration, I have decided that "I'm holding on too tight. I've lost the edge." ~Cougar, Top Gun is appropriate for this moment. How long can Patrick keep it going? How many newsletters will he publish in a row before he stops? Well, as it turns out, it's this one: "Invalid Entry" Guys, I have to be honest with each and every one of you -- friend, foe, black case to red case. I've had enough. Truly. The selfish complaints, the members who don't think or thank, the very small pocket of haters who have made it clear in not-so-subtle ways that they'd wish Mandy and I would just go away ... many of you out there know this does not apply to you at all. But a handful of you can rejoice in the feeling that you have literally brought down The Art of Criticism Project and all its many facets, a feat almost as impressive as the work it has taken me to create it. You win. I lose. So be it. I'm human after all ... I always knew I was, although I may have tried to be more from time to time. I was on my way to bed tonight when I clicked on my email. If I hadn't done that, this would have all happened twelve hours from now. Maybe it would have turned out differently, but probably not. I couldn't imagine feeling any differently about this situation then. I want it known to everyone that my plan for the next few hours was to send out the new Symposium topic, begin working with this issue's feature writer on her story, and get ready to close "Invalid Item" . Work that I have done every two week for nearly a year and a half. But this one email ... it forced me into a situation that led to a crystal-clear question in my mind: why? And the answer was equally clear: no more. I just cannot justify using my time on this project any longer. The bad apples have spoiled the bunch for me, and I'm at the end of my ability to be patient. Effective immediately, I am dropping every obligation I have signed up for, and I will be closing down every aspect of the project. Funds will be redistributed in a fair and equitable manner, and I will make every effort to make sure earned rewards are honored. It will take me a few days to do this -- closing does not mean abandonment. My goal then is to reboot and re-evaluate my new role in this community. |
| Patrick and Mandy -- I don't know all the particulars; I don't swim in this pool much anymore. I will say that it appears to me your problems here are indicative of why I chose to find other options elsewhere. When the inmates run the asylum -- as is the case here -- it's probably time to start packing. Look around...there ARE other options. Whatever the both of you decide, I know you are/were a hell of an asset to WdC, and I wish you nothing but the best. Jeff |
PatrickB  - thank you for all you did for this community, the hard work that we can imagine, and the grueling work we can't. Do whatever you gotta do for yourself to reset and re-evaluate. I'll support you, no matter what you choose. |
| I'm sorry things turned out this way. Thank you for all you've done and for all your work. I leave you with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzQqToPchM. Thanks again Patrick. |
un: 
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on the bright side.. nothing ended only resolved.