Comments on: Flurb #7

By: tooticky

tooticky — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:39:01 +0000

Since I loved Guffey’s recent story “Ticks” so much, I just had to go back and re-read “The Initiation”. The strange imagery is truly compelling. More Guffey please!!!

By: Ernest Hogan

Ernest Hogan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:17:35 +0000

Kadrey’s “Trembling Blue Stars” makes me want to put on my Yuri Gagarian T-shirt.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:50:16 +0000

HAL-1707. In a word, no. I format all the FLURB contributions to a common shared format, aiming for something that’s pleasing to the eye and readable on the screen. Typewriter and ASCII art and whitespace flowsnakes can be interesting, sure, but those aren’t things that lie within the range that FLURB has staked out: short or medium length SF stories with something odd and literary about them, with an occasional SF poem thrown in—and once in a while an image.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:44:31 +0000

Fiskus, I only have the right to post my authors’ contributions on FLURB, and I don’t own translation rights. If you’re interested in that, you would need to take it up with the authors individually.

By: HAL-1701

HAL-1701 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:55:47 +0000

 

frozen-desert isle.  antarctica.

um: 
a question re whitespace and using monospace (fixed width) font... :

can a Flurb story use a monospace font?  i think that would give auteurs the big choice between Courier and CourierNew, but, it then enables typewriter poetry and ascii art aspects of a story.  i mean, it opens up another synergistic aspect to the author involving the actual alignment of words, and whether a word gets put on the next line, and all kinds of things like that... the difference between a generic 'car' (that has four wheels) and a volkswagen 1963 van with a custom built interior.

can a Flurb story have whitespace kept intact as created?   it matters what words get separated and put on the next line, and what the rivulets of spaces down the page actually look like!  it's a whole aspect of writing.  the more i tried to write about this, the more i realized what a huge and deep issue this is...  similar to seeing "handwritten" fonts where every 'e' looks the same...  as if aliens were manifesting stuff for us to read, and they don't care about anything but the literal words...

and i can't see what THIS will look like when it gets posted.  so basically all i am writing is a long string that gets folded into a paragraph... and i get to space twice between paragraphs.

"LCD screen":  (lowest common denominator) 

 it's sort of a turing test thing :  
  does your story make it through intact if it is printed out and read on a teletype ?
   or, conversely, is your story so amazing that it requires control of typesetting etc etc?

   ... but at least teletypes had fixed-width spacing !

By: fiskus_boulder

fiskus_boulder — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:35:57 +0000

Hello. What you say about translating some stories into other language, russian for example?
Of course, with publishing links and authors. Maybe I shall email?

And just a small note: you have wrong link to blog at “All hangy”-page.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:29:36 +0000

FLURB reminder: I’m starting to plan issue #8 of my webzine FLURB. Issue #7 received over 50,000 visits.

If you want to send me a piece for consideration, send it as an RTF file attached to an email with FLURB SUBMISSION as email subject line, and send it anytime from now (mid August, 2009) to early September, 2009. You can find my email address from the “Email Rudy” link on my blog page near the top right.

I prefer short pieces (1,000 to 4,000) words, with an artistic, modern, literary, engaged quality, and with a reasonably strong SFictional element. I tend to avoid parody or hypertext. I only rarely publish poetry. I prefer not to use previously published work.

Terms: FLURB does not pay contributors. You keep copyright and all rights. FLURB leaves your story online indefinitely, unless you want it removed.

As of September 2, 2009, Flurb #8 is full! Thanks to all who sent in such great submissions. I’ll be posting the issue by Sept 15.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:43:56 +0000

HAL-1701, good stuff! I enjoy your comments, even though I don’t usually have the time to mention that.

By: HAL-1701

HAL-1701 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:02:21 +0000

“Sir, the movie is sentient. We can stop trying to ride it now. It is asking to talk with you.”

— from a scene in the metamovie ‘BIZAR’, being made at this moment in memoryville.

R.U.Squared and his old friend SirYes just happened to be in the refectory at that instant, pitching ‘Enlightentertainment’ (or ’3-EN’), an immersive low-mental-gravity ultrakarmic hybrid-media-ride… and this meant bringing, and drinking, the kool-aid.

The CFO of McDisney (“Michael Eisner”) put down his plastic mug and closed his eyes,
then began realizing they had never paid Mickey anything, no stock options or residuals… not even one weekend with Minnie at the village on Catalina Island. Nothing!

By: Zenbob96

Zenbob96 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:24:51 +0000

Finely crafted study in the nature of human “separateness” that dooms or damages most relationships. Keen insights and fascinating concepts with finely honed humor — dark but not entirely bleak. I appreciated the details and the pacing…I felt I was actually at the cafe…almost eavesdropping into the relationship. The point of all of us being some form of alien to others — cut off emotionally or having partitions for our emotions and selves was beautifully expressed. What’s ironic and tragic, is that even as these tings are happening with us, we regret and wish they were not–but they are nearly unbreakable rules of self protection — survival instincts from the deepest most reptilian parts of our natures. We yearn to connect, to love and be loved, but we fear losing what little we have that represents the “who” of who we are.

Maybe we are at one time, too intellectual and too ancient and reptilian at the same time. We yearn for unity but we are consumed by the fear of disappearing into a sea of impersonal bliss or someone else’s bliss. There is a great short story by R.A. Lafferty entitled, “Other Foot Forgot” or some such. Entertaining and interesting expression of the same stype of fear and alienation.

Thanks for making this available for others to enjoy and share!

Zenbob