Please god, don't let them flog the poor dead horse any more.
oh and Chris, why are you so stunned that no one stands up for Misti when she writes poetry that attacks each and every one of us?
We don't stand up for her because she'd never do the same for us.
Nor you for that matter.
why can one be angry at family? because they love you enough to forgive
All right I'm TIRED OF THIS. I don't care what side you're on. Stop griping already. Everyone wants the last word. Take it to email. You know what? Way worse that whatever Misti said or did not say in some poem or some comment or whatever Chris and Misti said in some loving manner about their lives and certain people don't care about -- it all seems to have been said, and more space has been "wasted" talking about this than necessary. Take it to email. Get a hotmail address. CC all your anonymous friends. Whatever. Do like Terry. Do like Toklas. Both great examples of trying to get back to romance and poetry.
ROMANCE RELATED Question: I have a question. Age old question, with many variations. Can men and women just be friends? Can a man and a woman just be friends when one or the other is attracted (wants to sleep with) to the other? Can a man and a woman just be friends when one of them is in love with the other? Can a man and a woman just be friends when they both love each the other and have been attracted to each other in the past?
Hopefully this starts a firestorm of debate...A good one of stuff I want to read..
And please don't drag out the anonymous foolishness...
"The time for action has passed. Now is the time for senseless bickering."
Micheal, No. I don't think they can. It never gets past the tension.
Madi, Good luck tomorrow... or is it today???
Deevaa - Probably should've sent this via email, but it's 6 in the morning and my brain's governor hasn't fired up yet, ha. He'll be here when I get home tomorrow night and we should be at the beach by the weekend (hoping to rent a sailboat). After that we'll hit some art museums, coffee shop poetry readings, music gigs, bike rides, windsurfing, country drives, food! - ha. there won't be enough minutes in the day or enough days in the week. :)
What a laugh. How painfully pathetic can we be around here. Maybe the guppy is wrong. I don't think we are any better than this.
EVERYBODYYYYYYY!!
What do you think you're DOING???!!
<font color="RED"><BOLD><FONT SIZE=+3><I>PLEASSSEEEE!!</font size></font color></i>
I really respect everone in this site. You've bee there from Day One for me!! No, you WONT'T know who I am but I want to keep my name out of this!
Please.
Ww
UGH!!
I guess my futile attempt at HTML has proven me as no art-eest!!
:)
(sorry)
Ww
Well Michael dear...
You are correct...email WAS the place for this mess...but it was not used. And since Mojave has known my email addy for more than a year, I have to assume he had his own reasons for not using it in the first place...but more on that later.
This might be a little hard to remember, but this started out with a request on my part that we not bicker. For which I was personally slammed no less than three times by Mr. Mojave. (I could have cut and pasted each one, but that's a bit tacky. Those who care to count can scroll back and see if I am accurate.) This was not a general snarl by any means. I was named a self righteous so and so in each instance. Now Kirk, I guess you can snip this as personal---but since the insults were posted here, I am hoping you will permit me to have my say. I promise to not respond again, no matter what ill mannered drivel is laid on my doorstep or name as a result. Please respect that fact that I did not participate in the nonsense---and the ISP's can prove it. I was not an nameless, or anonymous poster.
I initially meant what I said about a vacation. My life has been too goddamned stressful of late to give me a whole lot of patience for nonsense. I defy Mr. Mojave or his blushing bride to point out any part of my remark that addressed them personally. But it was sure taken that way.
I have never taken shots at Mrs. Mojave...though there were plenty of chances to do so. I bore her no ill will, nor him for that matter. They were one of the Blender couples I named and congratulated in the piece I did on weddings.
What toasted my cookies was the whole "Gala this and Gala That" when Gala never did what she was accused of.
I don't frankly care what your "opinion" of my action was,
you rude jerk. But I digress. If Mr. Mojave was upset, he could have mailed me...or maybe even re-read what I posted before going off like cheap chinese fireworks. Instead, he used this forum to try and embarass me. Poor form, Mr. Mojave.
Last Spring, you and I used to talk via email...mostly about poetry. But one day, I got a troubling note from you. All was not well with complicated goddess. You two had broken up for the thirtieth time in as many days or something. But that time, it felt serious to you. So you wrote to me. Now considering what has been posted in the last 48 hours, the whole Blender community might well assume I blasted the future Mrs. Mojave.
But that was not what I said, was it? If memory serves, I think I told you that I was not close to Misti---knew her mainly from her writing, and posting here. But that since she met you---there was a new tone, and attitude I had never seen before. That I believed she really did love you---and it probably scared her a bit. But that you should hang in there. And I wished you both well.
Well, i got one more email from Mr. Mojave after that---a very happy one, thanking me for my advice. And then no contact at all...till two days ago. Yeah Mr. Mojave, I can see where you'd think I was a total bitch, and had it out for you and the missus. And as for me trashing you? Don't need to. You did a fine job of that yourself.
So says Gala
PS: I hope all is well for Stands...and I apologize to those who feel this is "beating a dead horse". But it wasn't your name up there. It was mine.
Micheal~ I don't really think that that whole friendship thing would work out, if one of the party wants to be more than friends...Personally, I've tried it...and the results were not friendship...Now, the friendship thing may hold up for a while, but eventually, the true nature(or feelings)of the romantically inclined person will come out...
Love and smiles, Ali
For the record, the Blender-Keeper would probably remove a daily menu posted here ;-)
'Performance Art' like a romantic e-mail would be welcome as a submitted piece, be a good change of pace. On the board, though, it's like any other work (generally) a poem here- I'll probably leave it if it's short and I'm feeling lazy, other wise it goes...
WW, sorry, I put on an HTML filter. That goes back to this one experience I saw way back when where people didn't close up their tags in a forum someththing like this.
(At tufts, it was a program that searched for peoples personal homepages and made a page of links of them, and you could specify the caption to use. The caption could have HTML, and people would make their link REALLY BIG, but forget to close it so everything beneath was REALLY BIG too.) In fact you seem to have an unclosed <bold> (which should probably be <b> anyway), un-properly-nested <font> and <i> tags, and you don't have to say size and color when closing a font... Thus endeth HTML-101, but maybe you see why I elected not to go be free with the HTML (also, I wasn't smart enough to code up a way of detecting valid vs invalid HTML) On the other hand, I've always permitted it on submissions, both to allow more leeway and because it was unlikely to 'break' others works.
Way back when, I used to post to the board in italics, but realized that's not who I wanted to be on the board. And way back before that, I was just posting e-mail people sent me...
Dee,
Whatever.
Gala,
Uh...I thought I'd apologized to you and Kevin. Attributing motives to actions was a mistake. And I admitted that. The sum of point was that regulars should stand up to negativity
rather than run away from it. But I realize that not everyone handles things that way, and I should have left it as a personal observation between Misti and myself. And why all the Mojave stuff? I haven't used that in at least a year. Sorry I got you so upset.
To: Madison
From: Elizabeth
I enjoyed reading "birds of prey". Wonderful imagery!
Keep it up! I'm getting my muse back after many months
of writers block. Thanks again!
have been too busy to keep up with all of this - but there are things i want to comment on.
YES - men and women CAN be friends. As long as you are open and honest with your tension, should there be any, and deal with it like adults. i honestly believe that anyone can befriend anyone else. you just have to be mature about it.
and GALA and KEVIN:
I tune in as often as possible (crazy life of a college student) to read (and never comment on - this board feels less and less like a place to praise and more a place to bicker. I want little to do with such bad karma) poetry posted by people (several people. wonderful people. people too numerous to name, among which you two are included) who are very dear to me - people who were supportive in my time of need. and Gala - you have no idea how much it means to me that you posted "Della" on your site. it breaks my heart that you're leaving. even if my small - and often unheard - voice is the only one, I just want to say one thing to that: please don't. please be the wonderful expressive inspirational people that you have proven yourselves to be and please don't leave. please. i'm asking nicely. please stay.
slug
I hate to chime in after not talking for months, especially on such a volatile subject.... but I love coming here and reading, I am quiet - but I feel connected to the regulars, Gala and Dee and Terry (my special friend) and well to Misti and Chris - Misti writes so much that is the story of my life, and says the things that I want to say, My husband to be and I met online - and I love him - everyone of Misti's incredible journeys I too have travelled - it scares me. I don't want her to leave - I don't want anyones feelings to be hurt..
Thanks, Tara. I don't think Misti should leave, either. I don't think ANYONE should. The Blender is what we make it.
Thank you Chris...
And everyone---I said "vacation"---not abdictation. I was very serious. Gala is bone tired. Anyone reading my posts lately will have a small clue that I have not been personally happy. And a brand new shiny health crisis has not helped a bit...
It's boring. It's stressful. And it's life. But I will be back when I've had a chance to recharge...
One ray of sunshine...remember Nikki folks? Well we haven't heard from her in a while...but she's flying to Amsterdamn on Sunday, VIA NEWARK!
If any of you want me to relay news, hellos, or anything else...email me at Galadrial60@aol.com---will see that she gets them. She's got a seven hour layover...WOOOHOOOOO!
Gala
michael---a guy and girl being friends when one or the other wants more than that is tough to do...been on both sides of that one...it all depends on the one with the unrequited feelings and how much he or she chooses to torture him/herself by having it in his/her face...it's like the age-old pie in a bubble example...you're really hungry for a pie, and there is a pie present, but its floating in a magic helium-filled bubble with alligators underneath it...so, you stare and drool (making the pie feel most uncomfortable...i did mention this pie has feelings, didn't i?)...anyway, if you try to eat the pie, bad things are bound to happen...unless your an alligator...
age-old i tell you
man...i have to stop thinking before someone takes away my right to vote
out,
gup
because mispellings are impossible for me to admit to, a dog ate my fingers towards the end of my previous ramble.
gup
Chris:
Yes the blender is what we make it!! As long as you remain the arrogant ass that we've seen over the past 3 days it'll never get any better.
Dee, Kevin and Gala deserve more respect from you a half hearted oh sorry, and a roll of the eyes doesn't cut it.
Michael:
and your angry outburst was doing nothing more than fanning the flames, you should know better than that!
Get over it.
That was insightful.
I learnt something today:
The right answer to a fool is silence.
-- Afghan Proverb
So here goes.
dee
Harem~ Wow...your latest posts are great...I really loved 'Enigma'...I felt like I saw what you were seeing, and felt what you felt...really great job!
Love and peace, Ali
BK - where my triolet fell short, yours picked it up and ran! good job. :-)
So why don't we all put on black leotards for the bad guys and white for the good guys and do a Tag Team Wrestling slam www.blenderwrestling.com Thats about what we all have reduced this too. First one that can heave the other out of the ring wins...lol Maybe there could be a new tv game show called Blender Family Feud. But of course as somone else already mentioned we could all get on Springer and make some money and have a great week end in Chicago from this too. Maybe Oprah might bite...HA Think of the publicity..we could get a million hits in a week...LOL
Hey, everybody! These are just two quotes that I like, and I just wanted to share them...so, here you go:
The head never rules the heart, but just becomes its partner in crime. ~Mignon McLaughlin
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet Van Horne
Love and lilies, Ali
oops...I meant to say love and lily's...I don't think lilies is even a word...sigh...
Is it just me or is it not just the protagonists who delight in trying to have the last word?
my three favs:
We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are. ~ Anaïs Nin
Life is too important to take seriously. ~ Corky Siegel
Imagination is more important than knowledge. ~ Albert Einstein
. . . being blonde, I'm particularly fond of the last one :)
i dont often read the board, and i also dont really know whats going on, or what all the fighting is about, but i feel compelled to tell misti thjat she shouldnt leave the blender. i have been reading her posts since 97 (?) and very much enjoy what she has to say and the way she says it.
so please dont stop posting b/c you are having differences with a few people!
erin
.....*taking a deep breath*.....
OK, I'm not gonna comment on the recent barbs being back and forth, or state my opinion on who's right or who's wrong...because everybody sees things differently, right? I just want to ask that all this stops...Please, I'm pleading, here...This isn't what we're here for...we're not here to hurt eachother, and that's what is happening...it doesn't matter anymore, who's fault this is, or who started it, or who said what, when...I still maintain the fact that we should all just get along! Yes, I'm terribly naive, I know...
Love and hopes, Ali
BK and slug- good to see you try the triolet form!
both nice pieces. BK - you used the form exactly.
Slug, some people do vary the form in the last line- but the repetitions are fairly fixed.
In meter, many use even syllabic lines. I did not in mine.
Hope more of you give the form a go!
Ali, I just read your triolet also. Yes you did it right. Nice one!
I don't want the last word...lol I just want to be a smart ass and make you laugh.
Sometimes you don't realize how good or how bad things are, until you write it out on paper. Makes reality hit that much harder, when you can see it in print. "Love at the Waffle House" is a prime example of that. When I read and re-read my own words, it made reality hit me in the jaw, and made me realize things that I did not want to face.... This place is better than a psychiatrist, better than Al-Anon, better than shock treatment.... Ouch.....
*****
You will all be pleased to know that "the war" has now been taken to e-mail and to xanga.com - no doubt in more weblogs than mine or I have the time or inclination to check...
Chris lashed out at me (yawn) and Misti has offered to stick around at The Blender (no comment).
I won't go into details or interpretations here, but anyone who's interested can catch a subsection of it at xanga.com/argyle if they wish... I could name other sites but that should be left to the discretion of the site owners I guess.
To steal someone's catchphrase (again)... "I stand by what I write".
(attempting to retreat again into the peanut gallery)
Harem: Not a lot that isn't better than shock treatment... nasty stuff from what I've seen it do to people...
a poetry "war" is much more fun. Kirk, since we do have people trying triolets- can we have a little fun contest?
Perhaps post the best of three at end of month??
For those of you who don't want to scroll forever- here is the definition:
A a poem or stanza of eight lines in which the first line is repeated as the fourth and seventh and the second line as the eighth with a rhyme scheme of ABaAabAB.
If you put "triolet" in your <edit Find> box on your browser menu, you will find some already posted in New Submissions.
If you do post one- be sure to put the word triolet in the description field so we can find your work easily.
Have fun! Smile!
Toklas: throw down that gauntlet, cuz i'm gonna pick it back up and RUN! yippie! blender contest!!!!!
Well, it wasn't an "excerpt" after all. I submitted the entire entry. I realize it wasn't a smart thing to do and I'll deal with the repercussions as they occur. I did not have Lisa's permission to submit the journal entry.
These past few days I have done a lot that I am not proud of. When I read the "lukewarm blah" poem it makes me sick. It was wrong of me to submit such an acerbic poem. And it was wrong of me to retaliate when "she devil" started submitting poems that were aimed at me.
Of all the poems and posts I have contributed to this site over the years I realize that my flaw was to invest too much emotion in the Blender and to reveal too much of myself. Nothing can be done about it now, but when I got home from work today and read Lisa's journal entry, I realized that I can't blame anyone. It is my fault for revealing too much of myself in this forum and for being offended when no one was impressed with what I had to offer. It's great that I've made the front page a few times and received lots of compliments from different people, but the greatest reward was always the friendship aspect of the Blender and I am saddened that for me that aspect has been lost.
...I'm not playing the victim and I do not expect sympathy. I'm just sorry it's come to this. It is not in my nature to fight like this. When people meet me in "real" life after reading my poems and posts here, they are shocked that I am an exceptionally sensitive introvert.
I owe it to myself and to Chris and to everyone here to leave the Blender for good. I would just like to request that the guys who told Lisa I "threw" myself at them reveal their identies. But I suspect I already know.
~Misti
Misti -- I've emailed you and other blenderites about how I feel.... I don't want you to leave the blender, thats far from the truth, I just asked you to treat the board/us with a little more respect.
Kirk, how about removing the poems that are offensive, 'luke warm blah' the stuff by she devil (I'm sure he/she won't argue) 'tissues' and the xanga posts and lets all quit jumping on each other.
dee
A question for all-
Why did you start writing poetry?
I started writing poetry because of something I once heard. I can't quote it as it has been too many years and I have forgotten who said it. But the thought stayed with me.
It was something to the effect that when you go down life's path, always ask of your words and deeds, what of Grace, Dignity and Beauty can be found in what you intend to do or say.
If I look in the mirror and repeat back to myself the words I have said or written, is their any of dignity, grace or beauty in the face before me?
Writing poetry always made me feel like my face was beautiful. Being human, some days I was less than beautiful when I measured my words and actions against the enormity of those three words.
Write more poetry:)
With great sadness I am withdrawing from the Blender. I love the place and all the people here way too much to stand by and see such damage being done day after day. It sickens my heart in ways I don't need right now. I have the email addresses of all my friends, and will continue to be in touch.
God bless you all, and may poetry and love find your hearts every day.
terry
Slug!! a duel!!! At twenty paces front and center!! LOL
I'm with deevaa...
One final thing though - One thing that wasn't posted on the submission board however was the date I wrote that in my weblog (URL above)... it was BEFORE Misti posted points 1 through 5... My attitude changed a little after reading them... just a little... not enough to make me actively hate anyone.
Cheers.
As for the way I referred to the blender, lets just say its somewhat out of chacter both for the historic content of my journal and for me personally to be visiting a place like this.
Reading blender submissions is a gift given to me by deevaa - its helped convert a self-confessed "block of concrete" into someone that she loves, and I love her for it.
I still however possess a rather boyish way of referring to things - hence the amused *smirk*.
Now all that remains for her is to teach me how to write a triolet... it sounds as mysterious as calculus was to me when I first bumped into it in school.