It was a Dark and Stormy NIght...

Good morning, Bloggers.

It's that time of year again. Ghosts, clowns, vampires and lame versions of The Joker costumes have begun to make their annual appearances. Yup, it's almost Hallowe'en. So, to get you in the mood...

1. Follow the link below to read any short stories on the site. After reading it, comment on my blog post to let me know whether or not you found it effective and why.
www.ghostsandstories.com

2. Believe it or not, there is a writing contest that awards authors who pen the worst opening lines for an imagined novel. Read the info, courtesy our friends at Wikipedia:


"It was a dark and stormy night" is an infamous phrase written by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton at the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford.[1] The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest uses the phrase as a signifier of purple prose. The original opening sentence of Paul Clifford is an example:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest was formed to "celebrate" the worst extremes in this style. The contest, sponsored by the English Department of San Jose State University, recognizes the worst examples of "dark and stormy night" writing.

That's right: cash prizes for really bad writing. You can check out some of the samples at http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/lyttony.htm

What I want you to do? Write your own brutal paragraph or sentence opening to a story. Make it awful. Painful to read. Simply "Level One" material. Keep spelling correct, but aim to use cliches, awkward comparisons, bizarre imagery. Have fun.

3. Once you've completed the above, please write one blog entry for today AND comment on at least one classmate's blog. Choose any of his or her posts to read and respond to. Your blog topic for today? Read it below or come up with your own topic.
Suggested topic: Things that make you go: YIKES! What scares you? I mean, really scares you--heights, spiders, clowns, irrational fears? Maybe you have one of these phobias-look them up; some are funny-- Arachibutyrophobia? Papaphobia? In any case, recall a time where you were genuinely frightened and tell us the story. You can make it all up if you like! Boo.

Don't Judge by the Pic...

Good Morning, Bloggers!
Two blog entries are assigned for today. You'll have to hold off commenting on others' blogs until you are at home or during our next blogging session, as I'm not here to fix the computer setting that allows you to do so. Sorry!

Blog 1: Your choice
Blog 2: Today, folks, you're going to post about one of your pet peeves. You know, something that really gets your goat, drives you around the bend, makes you want to scream. Maybe it's cliches...

In my case, what summons the violent urges from my otherwise Ghandi-loving self is horking. That's right. Whenever I hear the raw, throat-scraping, mucus suction sound I want to push the offender into a non-hygenic pit of his or her own phlegm. I used to hear people horking in the parking lot outside my apartment building when I lived in Russia--and this is when I was tucked away in bed in my room on the third floor! Closing my windows was torture in colder months as the building's heat was always at about 85 degrees.. So, I slept with a fan on to kill the sound.



Now, I get it: we all have times when, due to the common cold or allergies, we need to breathe. Excreting the offending liquid sludge is the easiest way to afford temporary relief. Heck, according to the film Titanic, sharing one's spit tossing skills can even be the subject for romance. But, come on, people! This is the real world. Most women don't dig guys who gross them out and vice versa.

I have to say that I recall far too many occasions where I felt the need to dodge someone while innocently walking down the streets of Moscow last year. Whether the offending substance was air-borne or slightly aged and stuck to the ground, it caused me much trauma. Many of the Russian folks, mostly men from what I saw, seem to think of tossing lugies to be as natural as breathing. The day I looked at the pavement to realize that no, it had not been raining, but that I was merely looking at an obstacle course of splotches of human bacteria that had recently been spat onto my path, was the day I realized I had to take passive-aggressive action, if only to make myself feel morally superior. Whenever I encountered a stranger making the nauseating wretching sound followed by the not-so-graceful launch of his spit, I screamed "THAT'S GROSS!" in English at him and hurried on my way. The fact that he had no idea what I was saying didn't matter: I had claimed hygenic victory in my own mind. Yeah, I know, I'm tough.

So, now it's your turn. Tell us about what irritates you beyond belief.

Reminders:
Use a pic to accompany each post.
Aim for at least 200 words.
Use paragraphs.
Have a creative title.
Keep it school appropriate.
Have fun!

Good morning, bloggers!

Happy Friday and Happy Birthday to Me!
Yup, that's right. I'm the ripe old age of 25 today, so be nice and work hard to make me happy on this oh-so-special day.
And no, I'm not playing hooky because it's the wonderful anniversary of the day I graced this world; I'm in Stratford for some amazing Drama and English workshops. I look forward to bringing back some interesting activities to try with you.

Okay, now finally back to YOU:
Please post TWO blogs today. Use my prompt below for your first one, even if you don't like it. For your second, write about anything that inspires, disgusts, titillates, nauseates or interests you. In other words, choose your own topic.

REMEMBER: To comment on each other's blogs (WHICH I EXPECT YOU TO DO EACH TIME WE POST--READ AND RESPOND TO AT LEAST ONE PERSON'S BLOG EACH TIME) you will need to download Firefox on your computer today. In fact, why not do that right now. Go on, get typing!

See you next week and Happy Blogging!
Feicky


Today's Prompt:
Let's Do the Timewarp...Again!

Choose an age from your childhood which you would like to revisit for one day. What would you do? How would you spend the day? What would you eat, play, watch, say? Perhaps you'd prefer to imagine yourself as a child now, in 2011. What age would you be and what would your day entail? Whatever your angle, you'll be giving yourself the chance to relive your childhood for one day.

Remember: Creative title, an image, and at least 200 words are expected for every blog post. Paragraphs and proper grammar and spelling are your friends!