artm123
Fort Smith
joined:
In some states, poker is not gambling, it is a "game of skill".
Last game
Arrrrrrggggggh
I am totally frustrated with this blogging set up. I sat down three separate times today to write a post, and each time it was wiped out before I could actually post it. There is no way to save your entry without publishing it. If anyone knows that last statement to be untrue, PLEASE tell me how. Otherwise, I think I will simply quit posting here.
New friends - new ideas
I have recently met a couple of people here that are now my "friends". I shared the fact that I am a "half-assed" writer, and found that they also wrote. I read some things each had written, and found them to be fairly good. The IDEAS were superb, but the technical delivery was a bit ragged...BUT (and this is a big but), the content was excellent.
I then read comments that people had left for them. I was amazed at the number of mean, non-constructive comments people make about other people's writing. Most totally ignored the content of the pieces (which, after all, is the reason for writing), and immediately zoomed in on the way the material was presented. I feel sad for those people, as they are missing out on a wealth of interesting stories, information, and thought-provoking ideas.
THEN, I sat back for a bit and thought about that situation. After doing so, I came to the realization that this is not limited to this site or to critiquing writing, but that it is now a basis of our society. People are not trying to focus on ideas and what matters, but want to show others that they may not have an original idea in their head, but they can certainly post criticisms with good basic (very basic) grammar and spelling. Personally, I would take one good idea delivered poorly over 10,000 mindless, stupid criticisms of that idea that are all written "properly".
A Few new Events
A couple of significant events in my life.
1. My "significant other" and I actually married in early November. She was diagnosed with stage iv colon cancer in October, and after much discussion, she finally gave in and agreed to marry me. Yes, it will help (tremendously) with the medical bills. But no, it wasn't because of that - although I had an extremely difficult time convincing her of that truism. We actually had been married once before when we were both very young and because I was not really ready to be married it didn't work out. After years apart, we finally got together again, and have lived together for over 6 years. My children are OUR children which makes it even better. We always got along, but the marriage was not what either of us really needed. Now it is.
2. I have sold my first novel (not the first I have written, but the first that has been accepted by a publisher).
I will let my friends know more about the book as things are finalized.
Last comments on this issue
The woman whose profile page I have been posting about has pointed out several things that I had wrong in my previous posts, so I feel I need to correct them.
1. She did NOT ask people for money or for them to spend money at the "for profit" porn site she had in her profile - the fact remains, she is linking people to the "for profit" web site and NOT to her own personal web page. Also, I did NOT say that any of HER photos were offensive in any way. I DID say (and still say) that having that link on her profile is totally inappropriate for this site.
2. I said she told the "men" to check out her photos. That was incorrect. She directed her comments to the whole table, which just happened to be made up of men. I am sorry for not making that distinction clear. Also, she never said whether HER photos were sexually explicit - she just had the link in her profile to the for pay site and said to "search for her".
3. She has privately called ME a prude. Believe me, nothing could be farther from the truth. I am NOT upset at the content of her photos (I haven't even seen them), but I DO feel that having a link to a for profit porno site is inappropriate for this site. If she had put the same (regardless of how explicit or hard core) photos up in her OWN web page not linked to a for profit one, I would not have had a single concern and would have gone there to view them.
4. I want to note that I have NOT mentioned her name or ID and I have NOT reported anything at all to Game Desire. I just wanted to comment, not on the content of her photos, but on the fact that links to for profit websites (especially where minors can be involved) are not appropriate here.
Lastly, I am NOT trying to make this person look like some sort of "undesirable" - I DON 'T THINK SHE IS. I am just commenting on her linking to a site that is trying its best to take people's money.
In all fairness, I am deleting my post that said she solicited money while at the table.
A bit of a revision to my last post
It was pointed out to me that she didn't DIRECTLY solicit money for photos. She DID, however, include a link to the Porn site on her Game Desire profile and tell the men at the table to go there. It is a fine distinction, but to be fair, that distinction should be made. Perhaps I was too harsh in my last post. Also, I was careful NOT to disclose the person's name.
