http://toylit.blogspot.com/2012/03/toylit-for-march-30-2012-2-poems-some.html
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FIE! FIE? Combatwords has moved.
Go to Toylit for the game:
http://toylit.blogspot.com/2012/03/toylit-for-march-30-2012-2-poems-some.html
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http://toylit.blogspot.com/2012/03/toylit-for-march-30-2012-2-poems-some.html
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Friday, February 24, 2012
CombatWords, February 24, 2012: Framing
CombatWords, February 24, 2012: Framing
Multiple Choice, True/False, or
Narrative? In the framing of the question, I express a preference.
Likewise, the way we think about problems in the world can often be
expressed as Multiple Choice, True/False, or Narrative. I suppose you
could argue that we are culturally programmed to think that way, but
I don't really care about the why, so much as the what—and the what
entails the methods of epistemology. Positivists and rejectionists
locked in their fact-based deathmatch of derivability versus
negation; schools of thought versus schools of thought versus schools
of hard knocks—even the storyteller imposes a framework upon the
various modes and datapoints—all of them frame the haecceity (the
'thisness') of phenomena.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST, February
27, 2012
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, February
29, 2012 with a 24 hour rolling extension for in-depth critiques.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted before
9pm PST, February 24, 2012; +1 if posted before 12am PST, February
25, 2012; -1 if posted by 6am PST, February 27, 2012; -2 if posted by
12pm February 27, 2012
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Friday, February 10, 2012
(Im)Patience [Combatwords Feb 10, 2012]
(Im)Patience [Combatwords Feb 10, 2012]
“Fools rush in,” as a wise man once
said. The element of surprise too soon exhausts itself; ambusher
becomes ambushee. Impatience is even celebrated as a virtue! What a
madhouse (get me out of here!)! It is impatience that sabotages my
best efforts. Impatience is the enemy of permanence. It is only
through discipline and patience that we become our best selves.
Furthermore, impatience is often used as an antonym to complacency.
“The authorities tell us that the people need patience...” 'No!
We won't be patient!' Say the mob of sixteen to twenty five year old
males. Have you ever tried to ask a mob to be rational? Ha! So in the
spirit of revolution, the middle classes adopt the nihilistic
rejectionism of young men who want all or nothing. It leads to the
cozy radicalism.
Combat Expiration: 2/13/2012, 12am PST
Critique Expiration: 2/15/2012, 12am
PST with a 24 hour rolling extension for in-depth critiques.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted before
9pm PST, February 10, 2012; +1 if posted before 12am PST, February
11, 2012; -1 if posted by 6am PST, February 13, 2012; -2 if posted by
12pm February 13, 2012
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Friday, February 3, 2012
Fate or Intersection? [Combatwords, February 3, 2012]
Fate or Intersection? [Combatwords, February 3, 2012]
From even before the time you were born, the means to dispose of you was being devised, revised and deployed. Am I allergic to wasp stings? I won't know until I'm in anaphylactic shock. That's an easy one. What about the little deaths? I mean those nemeses in cashmere sweaters and worsted wool suits who kill you with commands—how long have they been brewing? I know, I'm so morbid. I could have started out by asking you about your first love, except that we all die and not all of us love (some of you are real sick fucks...). Therefore, you can write all about kismet, serendipity or any other airy-fairy frippery. I don't care. Just write and fight each other if you can.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST, February 6, 2012
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, February 8, 2012 with a 24 hour rolling extension for in-depth critiques. Come on people, this side of the combat is underutilized, but is probably the most important feature of Combatwords. Don't be chicken. Critique.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted before 9pm PST, February 3, 2012; +1 if posted before 12am PST, February 4, 2012; -1 if posted by 6am PST, February 6, 2012; -2 if posted by 12pm February 6, 2012
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.htmlSubscribe in a reader
From even before the time you were born, the means to dispose of you was being devised, revised and deployed. Am I allergic to wasp stings? I won't know until I'm in anaphylactic shock. That's an easy one. What about the little deaths? I mean those nemeses in cashmere sweaters and worsted wool suits who kill you with commands—how long have they been brewing? I know, I'm so morbid. I could have started out by asking you about your first love, except that we all die and not all of us love (some of you are real sick fucks...). Therefore, you can write all about kismet, serendipity or any other airy-fairy frippery. I don't care. Just write and fight each other if you can.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST, February 6, 2012
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, February 8, 2012 with a 24 hour rolling extension for in-depth critiques. Come on people, this side of the combat is underutilized, but is probably the most important feature of Combatwords. Don't be chicken. Critique.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted before 9pm PST, February 3, 2012; +1 if posted before 12am PST, February 4, 2012; -1 if posted by 6am PST, February 6, 2012; -2 if posted by 12pm February 6, 2012
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Combatwords, December 16, 2011: New Year?
Combatwords, December 16, 2011: New Year?
I invoke my broken recall
and
Summon every binding seam,
the
Sorties of the calendars,
to
Narrate—that is, weave the fabric—
this
Deadline (due-date, past-its-prime,
or
Starting line) of next times.
So you rode with graffiti
like
Orpheus, delving away from the sunlight
to
Find that the end of the line
is
Master: a rectangle mirror
gone
Blue in the sunlight—for sunlight is nothing
The color of yellow is nothing,
While blue is just air, just the residue
Bent from the substance of breath.
It is just like a year, or this year or your year;
else
Last year, or days—for we ask ourselves
'What is a year'—and perhaps this year
will
Be the first year you realize that the next time
is
Simply the same time.
Combat Expiration: Midnight PST, 12/19/2011
Critique Expiration: Midnight PST 12/19/2011 NOTE: FINISHES SAME TIME AS COMBAT
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 12/16/2011; +1 if posted by 2am PST 12/17/2011. -1 if posted by 6am PST 12/19/2011; -2 if posted by 12pm PST 12/19/2011.
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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I invoke my broken recall
and
Summon every binding seam,
the
Sorties of the calendars,
to
Narrate—that is, weave the fabric—
this
Deadline (due-date, past-its-prime,
or
Starting line) of next times.
So you rode with graffiti
like
Orpheus, delving away from the sunlight
to
Find that the end of the line
is
Master: a rectangle mirror
gone
Blue in the sunlight—for sunlight is nothing
The color of yellow is nothing,
While blue is just air, just the residue
Bent from the substance of breath.
It is just like a year, or this year or your year;
else
Last year, or days—for we ask ourselves
'What is a year'—and perhaps this year
will
Be the first year you realize that the next time
is
Simply the same time.
Combat Expiration: Midnight PST, 12/19/2011
Critique Expiration: Midnight PST 12/19/2011 NOTE: FINISHES SAME TIME AS COMBAT
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 12/16/2011; +1 if posted by 2am PST 12/17/2011. -1 if posted by 6am PST 12/19/2011; -2 if posted by 12pm PST 12/19/2011.
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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Friday, October 21, 2011
Combatwords, October 21, 2011: The Enemy Paradox
Combatwords, October 21, 2011: The Enemy Paradox
I got in an argument with a friend of mine about America copying the Fascist political economy to defeat the Nazis during WW2. He said I was wrong & that America is its own thing. I argued that when you compare the rates of state spending with both nations & their allocations/purposes that they are actually shockingly similar & merely differ in terms of national ideology. He's a great writer & a smart guy, but basically his argument was 'because America doesn't have death camps, it's not Nazi.' Well the Palestinians use a patina of Democracy to justify their governments & that in turn has spread across the Middle East. Likewise, the Israelis use religious and ethnic nationalism to justify their foreign & domestic policy. He who fights monsters, becomes monsters, etc. One seeks to destroy one's enemy and yet the act of destruction transforms one into one's enemy.
This principle is applicable in most circumstances I think. Battle it out.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST 10/24/2011
Critique Expiration: 12am PST 10/26/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 12am PST 10/22/2011, +1 if posted by 3am PST 10/22/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 10/24/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 10/24/2011
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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I got in an argument with a friend of mine about America copying the Fascist political economy to defeat the Nazis during WW2. He said I was wrong & that America is its own thing. I argued that when you compare the rates of state spending with both nations & their allocations/purposes that they are actually shockingly similar & merely differ in terms of national ideology. He's a great writer & a smart guy, but basically his argument was 'because America doesn't have death camps, it's not Nazi.' Well the Palestinians use a patina of Democracy to justify their governments & that in turn has spread across the Middle East. Likewise, the Israelis use religious and ethnic nationalism to justify their foreign & domestic policy. He who fights monsters, becomes monsters, etc. One seeks to destroy one's enemy and yet the act of destruction transforms one into one's enemy.
This principle is applicable in most circumstances I think. Battle it out.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST 10/24/2011
Critique Expiration: 12am PST 10/26/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 12am PST 10/22/2011, +1 if posted by 3am PST 10/22/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 10/24/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 10/24/2011
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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Friday, September 9, 2011
Combatwords September 9, 2011: Impracticality
Combatwords September 9, 2011: Impracticality
I was going to skip the game this week, but after a drink of vodka and a witty online exchange with Sean McCollum (http://twitter.com/#!/Syntaxidermist/status/112379794938802177) I will accept the Pepsi challenge and use armor nipples as an aspect of this week's topic. George RR Martin's favorite sarcastic medieval quip seems to focus around nipples on a breastplate (I know! Give me nipples on a breastplate—hold the plate!)(and make it singular, because multiple nipples suggest a Chernobyl hottie, else a witch). If only armor was mammalian, then perhaps there would be some use for aforementioned nipples. Now I have also been rereading Robert Browning after a decade long hiatus and let me tell you, I forgot how impractical the guy was. He makes me look like Nikola Tesla.
So what is the point of this week's CombatWords? To tell utilitarianism to fuck off. I think that's fair and if you don't, well, I need your opinion like a fish needs a bicycle.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 9/12/2011
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 9/14/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 12am PST 9/10/2011, +1 if posted by 3am PST 9/10/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 9/12/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 9/12/2011
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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I was going to skip the game this week, but after a drink of vodka and a witty online exchange with Sean McCollum (http://twitter.com/#!/Syntaxidermist/status/112379794938802177) I will accept the Pepsi challenge and use armor nipples as an aspect of this week's topic. George RR Martin's favorite sarcastic medieval quip seems to focus around nipples on a breastplate (I know! Give me nipples on a breastplate—hold the plate!)(and make it singular, because multiple nipples suggest a Chernobyl hottie, else a witch). If only armor was mammalian, then perhaps there would be some use for aforementioned nipples. Now I have also been rereading Robert Browning after a decade long hiatus and let me tell you, I forgot how impractical the guy was. He makes me look like Nikola Tesla.
So what is the point of this week's CombatWords? To tell utilitarianism to fuck off. I think that's fair and if you don't, well, I need your opinion like a fish needs a bicycle.
Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 9/12/2011
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 9/14/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 12am PST 9/10/2011, +1 if posted by 3am PST 9/10/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 9/12/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 9/12/2011
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html
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