The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
Front-Ranger:
Wow, I'm in awe! Regarding my idea, I would have no intention of actually submitting it, but it's just a nice thing to think about.
So, here's my idea. You know those recipe blogs on the Internet? You google something like "blueberry cake" and click on the first thing that pops up. So there's a catchy title and a scrumptious photo of mouth-watering cake with blueberry filling oozing out. Then, the first paragraph tempts you with the recipe's best features: only one pan to clean up! Cooks in 30 minutes! You can substitute any kind of berry! Followed by a close-up of a fork going in to the fluffy cake.
Then follows a rhapsodic account of the author's memories of blueberry picking on a summer morning in Michigan, followed by a photo of a pail full of blueberries.
Then follows a ... you get the idea. If I were to follow the usual formula, it might include the author sculpting the head of Napoleon completely in blueberries, or something like that.
At the bottom, instead of the recipe there is an alert saying "message clipped."
serious crayons:
That's a great idea! Personally I hate those long musing essays on memories of the food -- I just want to get to the recipe, so I usually scroll through them. I'm sure some people like them. In any case, they'd be a great target for satire, and I haven't seen a S&M on that topic.
If you write it, it only has to be about 500-750 words. Try writing a quick draft and see where it takes you! If you like it, you could polish it up and send it off. Mine came from a Facebook post that I wrote quickly off the top of my head and then later realized I could expand.
The actual online submission process is very easy. Getting it accepted is probably close to impossible if you don't have an agent. But there are at least a couple of other places to try. I also submitted mine to a literary contest on Dec. 31 (the deadline of the contest) so I'll let you know if I win.
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on February 05, 2021, 02:34:01 pm ---I'm reading Luke Mogelson's article now.
--- End quote ---
Your thoughts?
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on February 05, 2021, 02:34:01 pm ---I'm reading Luke Mogelson's article now.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on February 07, 2021, 12:37:02 pm ---Your thoughts?
--- End quote ---
Be afraid. Be very afraid. And I ain't jokin'.
I was discussing the situation, not the article, with a friend yesterday, and I wondered, How many Timothy McVeaghs are out there now?
serious crayons:
Did you hear about the guy, a reformed QAnon member apparently, who apologized to Anderson Cooper for having once thought Cooper ate babies? I mean, I don't know if that particular guy has a high school diploma but it's hard to imagine graduating from elementary school and believing some of those things. At least without plenty of evidence. I'm still not sure I even believe Armie Hammer practices cannibalism, and didn't that come straight from him?
(I saw a headline in some respectable outlet saying "Armie Hammer rumors are offensive to ethical cannibals" or something like that. I didn't read the article and now wish I had -- what would constitute ethical cannibalism for those who haven't survived a plane crash in the Andes?)
Our local newspaper cartoonist just did one about ... well, why explain it in words?
BTW, Jeff, it was from you I first heard of Occam's Razor, back in probably 2006. Or at least the first time I heard it outside a college classroom. Now I use it a lot.
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