[Poll] Vote: July '14 Flash Fiction Contest

[Lester Curtis]

Sounds like somebody's work left a bad taste in Rick's mouths . . .

[Lester Curtis]

Nuts. I missed the voting deadline.

Anyway, congrats, Michele--you beat the dog, and that ain't easy! And sixty bucks will buy a lot of Bud.

Too bad this turned into a shit-slinging contest; you all ought to know better.

[Lester Curtis]

Oh, and Mark--among the list

Comments made about the story entry (during the voting process).

you failed to include your own (titled, "In Defense"), which was posted more than an hour before the deadline--and in which you clearly identified the story as yours. This doesn't excuse any of the bad behavior exhibited here, but you broke the very rule you're demanding to have enforced.

I'm not going to join you in calling for that rule, either. I've made it my own policy to never comment on the stories until the vote is completed, and I don't think anyone else should either, but I like the unmoderated atmosphere at Aphelion. I've seen too many sites that give the impression of having as many stick-wielding mods as members.

Further, I think John is trying to run this fairly. He recently sent out a survey about the flash challenge asking for comment, so he does care. It's a tough job, though, and nobody's perfect.

[Lester Curtis]

John,
Just a bit of trivia, but Marla Joy is a registered user here, for more than a year.

[Lipinski]

Am 'I' Real?

I carved up Jews for fun, even used some of their skin for wallets and lamp shades
I killed Jesus, not for fun but because he threatened the riches of the Temple
I stood besides Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he was killed and now remember his words about the dream
I was the first black president and said, "I will bring change."

Boiling down the history; down to the common broth of love and hate
tearing apart the words
and just looking at this contest
I see love and hate.

Valerie showed her love for her husband Mark, (she even baked me a cake for a contest and if 'Mark' wrote the card as her, he
has feminine handwriting)
rick tornello sounds like he is angry which often leads to hate
Mark wrote a story for a contest where a reader can read or choose not to read
Eddie was great to say, "This back and forth leads to nothing further productive. Let it end."
but that still does not answer the question, Am 'I' Real?

Of course I am as the hate inside wants me to write something hateful
the love inside tells me to ask for forgiveness
and other side wants ice cream with fresh strawberries.

[Lipinski]

To whom it may concern:

A writing contest with only a few submissions and read by only a few people and a documented trail of comments starting with one person, much like one match starting a forest fire.

Writers in the United States are blessed with the opportunity to write as they see fit, comment as they see fit, and express as they see fit. For example, I could write about anal probing by aliens or how Jesus loves us all, both would offend 'somebody', 'somehow'... but (always that caveat, 'but') in a contest where there are rules, rules are to be followed.

The moderator of this contest has the power (by following the rules) to admit or reject stories. The stories themselves have rules and guidelines, this contest was no different.

The stories submitted that I read were just that, stories. These stories were allowed by the moderator and were to be voted upon but, (there is that 'but' again) a match was struck that started a commentary fire.

So, who is write/right and who is wrong? We all are, but that is too deep for most people to understand so in simple terms, it all started to fall apart when the particular rules of this contest were broken.

Mark's story apparently offended some, others liked it (I did) and others could care less and were probably thinking about sex and currently still are. What is sad is the attacks and the upholding of pride exhibited by fellow writers, very sad indeed.

Yes, I know Mark through his writing and his wife did send me a nice card and home-cooked pastry for some writing I did. Marla and I engage in challenge writing (definitely not Marks style) and from my perspective he is trying to open up his creativity and expression. I don't know his goldfish or cat but highly doubt they can type on a computer.

If any fault or blame is to be made here pertaining to this contest and this contest only and that is the moderator allowing the fire to grow. If as the moderator said, there were grounds for Marks writing to not be accepted than he should have rejected it, end-of -story...But (crap, 'but' again) it was allowed, therefore the moderator should have extinguished rick's comment right after it was said, again, end-of-story...But ( I give up) it continued into a drama much better than the content of any of the stories submitted for the contest. And, (I like 'and' better than 'but') what should not and never occur is a moderator challenging the writer and speaking of things better said in private between a moderator and writer, not in public so voyeurs like me can watch...

Apologies? Okay, I apologize if I offended anyone with this post and my overuse of the word, 'but'. See moderator, that's how in a world of rules it all works.

Now, I have a headache and ate too much ice cream.

Peace.

[Lester Curtis]

Just a reminder to everyone--in the future, try to remember that we have tools for dealing with offensive post content:

grab.jpg (6.06 KiB) Viewed 14586 times

Not all of you can see all of these buttons, but they're at the top of every post. See that little triangle with the red exclamation point in it? That's the one that should have been used first, by Rick, and it's available to everyone. And maybe one of us with the capability should have used the one with the little X in it, or maybe the bottom one, shown below:

grab2.jpg (18.94 KiB) Viewed 14586 times

There's a further alternative: PM messages, which would have kept all this contention out of public view (some of it, at least). Mark, keep that in mind the next time you feel like telling us how this sort of display will chase away potential members--remember, you gave a whole section to that in your "In Defense" post.

[Robert_Moriyama]

I think Mark should look up Mayor Rob Ford and his responses to the (usually proven by photo and / or video and / or wiretap evidence) reports of his bad behavior. Methinks he doth protest too much. Mark does not take criticism well, although he learned to pretend that he did after blasting me for not finding some of his submissions particularly funny (and full of mechanical writing errors). Like Rob Ford, he says that any complaints about him or his work are unfair and biased and freely insults his critics while claiming nobility. His comparison of his story with "Inglourious Basterds" is a red herring -- the only major female character in that movie is heroic, dying while trying to give the Basterds time to carry out their plot to kill Hitler, NOT a victim of grotesque experiments to enhance(?) her sexuality. Even the chief Nazi villain is charming, highly intelligent, and (in his own way) polite (a psychopath, but polite). I criticized Mark in the past for his tireless self-promotion, and I see he has not changed.

Okay, Mark, time for you to oh-so-nobly defend yourself by shouting that I am not qualified to judge your brilliance...

[Robert_Moriyama]

I think Mark should look up Mayor Rob Ford and his responses to the (usually proven by photo and / or video and / or wiretap evidence) reports of his bad behavior. Methinks he doth protest too much. Mark does not take criticism well, although he learned to pretend that he did after blasting me for not finding some of his submissions particularly funny (and full of mechanical writing errors). Like Rob Ford, he says that any complaints about him or his work are unfair and biased and freely insults his critics while claiming nobility. His comparison of his story with "Inglourious Basterds" is a red herring -- the only major female character in that movie is heroic, dying while trying to give the Basterds time to carry out their plot to kill Hitler, NOT a victim of grotesque experiments to enhance(?) her sexuality. Even the chief Nazi villain is charming, highly intelligent, and (in his own way) polite (a psychopath, but polite). I criticized Mark in the past for his tireless self-promotion, and I see he has not changed.

Okay, Mark, time for you to oh-so-nobly defend yourself by shouting that I am not qualified to judge your brilliance...

Your entitled to your opinion of me, which has been fleshed out for some time now. My story was 'inspired' by Quentin Tarantino's movie, which framed the Nazis subject matter, but it wasn't a take off on it. I had other influences like Machette Kills and it was filled with that kind of gore.

But I counter you on your personal opinion's of some of my previous stories. You said of my story, "My Personal Affair With Marilyn Monroe" in your words, "Now that's funny!" And you contributed to my cannibal story as co writer, building up some of the humor to your way of thinking, which was fine.

I've had some good ones.

As far as being noble, I protested the call for my story to be withdrawn on the first day of voting. I would not have cared if the reaction had been the same, I just wanted it "after" the voting was completed, that was my complaint.

There are members who said they liked it.

I just wanted a fair shake during the voting period...that was all.

You essentially used "Inglourious Basterds" as a point of comparison to justify the things that several readers found to be objectionable -- but the things they found objectionable were not in that movie. Funny Nazis have been around since Charlie Chaplin ("The Great Dictator" was a Hitler spoof) and "Hogan's Heroes" (which Mad Magazine suggested would be followed up by a version set in a death camp); exploitation of women is a common B-movie trope from Roger Corman through Rodrigues, although more recent films tend to lean toward brief exploitation followed by bloody revenge. In your story, women are exploited, but have to be avenged by men. Tarantino would probably have had the experimental subjects use their, er, enhancements to avenge themselves. Do you really think that the premature condemnation actually changed anybody's opinions? Would those who have expressed outrage after the fact have felt differently without Rick's and bd's comments? I don't think so. Claiming that they would is just more sophistry on your part.

[Lester Curtis]

Mark, having the courage to create something controversial is one thing, but when it puts you in an indefensible position, as this did, you should have the courage to admit that it failed and back away. The harder you try to excuse or defend it, the worse it makes you look; this is just human nature.

Own the failure (it's how we learn, after all), apologize for any offense it caused, and go on to something else. That's grace, and grace comes from strength. Embarrassing? Sure, but no one ever died from embarrassment, and humility (a product of humiliation) makes you more careful. Failure can be a gift if you can accept it that way.