ahem

It's been a bit amazing to me how, once I jump on this thing, I immediately forgo/forget all the previous little bits of information I've been intending to pass around. Or pass off. So be it.

But I've also been intending to get back to this blogspace -- yes, this is the cliched entry, the "I really really mean to write this time" post -- and frankly, it will or will not exist and devolve into that sort of realm. I haven't decided yet.

What do you get instead? Another digest post. Enjoy it. Deal with it.

• First off, I got the results from the short fiction challenge. Those of you who may have been following, essentially I got an honorable mention. It irks me. But it's probably correct. Considering the threat of power outage I was dealing with and the discomfort from the overall strictures of genre (Romance) and subject (Blindness), I did the best I could, but even realized it could have used another hour or two for re-reading. Here are the reviewer comments:
  
  

  ''ZATOICHI'' by Geoffery Metz - WHAT THE JUDGE(S) LIKED ABOUT YOUR SCRIPT - The narrative settles after the first four pages or so. All three characters here are well-rounded....A sad, realistic portrayal of unrequited love....I love the itemized, concrete inclusion of grocery items. This piece has a really great sense of narrative tone. Nice job relaying the backstory exposition for the origin of his blindness. There is some very unique use of language here that works quite well. Great concrete sensory elements. Nice, simplistic dialogue. I really like the off-beat characterizations here. Interesting ending. ...This story has a very strong narrative arc and excellent character development in Maxwell. I could absolutely feel his struggle and frustration, his thread of hope and his disappointment, they were quite well-drawn and well-executed. The descriptions of his tactile world were deftly handled, from grocery shopping to massaging Kaylia. I particularly liked the description of his neighborhood, the "olfactory gruel" that exists outside his window, how he is oppressed by the smells and sounds just beyond his sanctuary. These sensory details were all quite well done, and since this is a piece about a blind man, I think a careful realization of the sensory details makes all the difference. Good work..........................

  ......................................... WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK - The narrative bounces between run-on and fragmented sentences, and fails to maintain a consistent tense. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as "Monday nights was his night." The faces on bills aren't raised--it's one of the blind contingent's most common complaints about American money, that it isn't blind-accessible....This story could use a bit of tightening grammatically....Try to avoid derivational suffixes like "sugariness". A few punctuation errors, nothing major. Avoid passive usage like, "Kaylia would lie on the beach."...A word about writing numbers: the rule is as follows -- one through nine are always spelled out, while 10 and above are represented by numerals, unless they begin a sentence, or some other, rare exception. So, in your story, you'd have, "He was 15 when they gave up on his eyes," and "The apartment had been his for 13 years." In the first paragraph, it should be "... whom he knew..." Also in that paragraph, it should be, "the kiwi" rather than "kiwi fruits." (Saying "kiwi fruits" is redundant -- like 'apple fruits,' or 'orange fruits' .) Same paragraph -- "Her voice WAS inflected..." I didn't understand the following lines: "Because of the curry Maxwell had switched markets." and "But the smell no longer interfered with his shopping." I think you need to include some sort of clarification there. The following line should read, "Monday night was his night..." (Not plural.) On page three of your text, try, "The sounds of broken English gave way to no English..." On page five, the line should read, "The two of them had been trying to get pregnant..." On page six, I'd cut "the table," since you've already described the whole table setting. "Masseur" needs to be in italics every time. Finally, "superhero" is one word..........................

  
  Not that bad. Really, I was expecting worse, and it still means I finished in the top 3%, rusty chops and all.


• Second, and as some others of you fearless readers may know, I am both a) a person who has been coached while playing hockey in his time, and b) an enjoyer of the San Jose Sharks since their inception. What that means to me is that I enjoy a very large amount of schadenfreude (italics intentional) from knowing how they continually fuck up while parading as a top flight NHL team. So I don't know what to do with myself now: they could potentially win tonight (Saturday), and advance to the second round, in spite of their best wishes.
  
  Do I mourn, do I rejoice? And in there lies the rub.
  
  
• For anybody who has taken the time to weed through my little hockey moment (should be in italics), I have to recommend the letters from Saul Bellow, seen behind the link. Unfortunately, you need a subscription. Fortunately, you could just pick a copy of The New Yorker and enjoy it, regardless.
  
  The biggest issue with this is now I feel like I need to write letters. The secondary issue? I need to write more letters.
  
  
• And finally, kudos to the boys of South Park for making Muhammed a bleeped-out word. Shame on everybody involved otherwise, but Trey and Matt have more than Orgazmo and Cannibal: The Musical for me to talk about them as two Satirists Who I Like To Watch^TM. Bravo (If that can be said drolly).

Good night, kids.