Combatwords, March 4, 2011: Randomness

Combatwords, March 4, 2011: Randomness

Some of you probably believe in fate, but it often seems that things in life happen randomly. Someone caught a bullet in Germany, someone else got hit by a car crossing the street and ended up marrying the driver. Elsewhere, an elderly couple wins the lottery jackpot, after playing every week for twenty years, while their neighbours lose yet again. The topic for this week's combat is randomness, chance and how it plays out in life. Were you late and missed the terrorist attack? Or did you get off the bus one stop early and found a tenner? It's all random.

-Anton Gourman wrote this week's Combatwords topic, as is the prerogative of the winner of the prior combat.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 3/7/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 3/9/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST, 3/4/2011, +1 if posted by 12am PST 3/5/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 3/7/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 3/7/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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Combatwords, February 25, 2011: Friendship. Friendship?

Combatwords, February 25, 2011: Friendship. Friendship?

We pour into friends a portion of our identities. We also receive some of their identities. In so doing, we are transformed and preserved at the same time. We have dear, but awkward friends; secret friends—some have no friends and are internally sterile and stagnant. Are we social animals, in need of this exchange, or can you really be an island if you want to be one?

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 2/28/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 3/2/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST, 2/25/2011, +1 if posted by 12am PST 2/26/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 2/28/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 2/28/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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Combatwords, February 18, 2011: Adventure, Chance, and Risk

Combatwords, February 18, 2011: Adventure, Chance, and Risk

I crave adventure in my bones, but I receive it in my mind. I am safer and less traveled as a result. I'm extremely wary of a single expedition causing my total ruin, but I take little risks. We all do don't we? To live is to risk. The best we can hope for is to manage our risk. When we increase our risk, we're taking a chance; for risk is exposure to the odds of negative contingency. While I may want to take a road trip to discover something novel, I have far stronger urges to stay with what I know: a job, a news poem... whatever. So I adventure in my mind; I use paper, computer, or even a vista. I have a favorite place in San Francisco; I can see most of the city. I imagine when the hill was born and what animal first appreciated the view. I consider the first humans who watched the Pacific pass through the Golden Gate and then the Spaniards who wandered to the wrong side of the peninsula. Finally, I consider the first American to look out from that vista. There are so many stories to explore in each of these thoughts—and the vista is so fine that it's an adventure for my eyes—I do not feel a genuine need for adventure. I can roam with my mind and leave others with the risks.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 2/21/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 2/23/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: **New** +1 for 1st post, +1 for post with the most individual comments, +2 if posted by 7pm PST, 2/18/2011, +1 if posted by 2am PST 2/19/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 2/21/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 2/21/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords February 11, 2011: Sales, Commerce and the People Who Love Them

CombatWords February 11, 2011: Sales, Commerce and the People Who Love Them

A salesman is an it that stinks excuse, right? Nobody likes 'em, but everybody buys from them. Makes one rather suspicious of whether people dislike transacting as much as they say they do, doesn't it? I for one can't help but think that were it not for the liars, sales would be one of the most esteemed professions—at least in America. Would I be going too far if I said, 'fuck your anti-sales attitude?' Maybe not. Look around. You love your bookseller, your wine shop (YUPPIE!)... and yes, you love your lawyer if s/he kicks ass. Same with your accountant. Society's material nature conforms to the way we allocate the fruits of our labors. I think of it as a Kantian proposition: you universalize your values—if the world is cluttered with commerce, it is only because you are cluttered with commerce.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 2/14/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 2/16/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 8pm PST, 2/11/2011, +1 if posted by 2am PST 2/12/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 2/14/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 2/14/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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Combatwords, February 4, 2011: Mischief

Combatwords, February 4, 2011: Mischief

Mischief seems to connote some minor form of playful antagonism. Yet the word also connotes evil and devilishness, so it's a term rooted in worldview. To the Devil, all mortals are trifles—little playthings to be damned and discarded. It's a label used on children—what, to imply that they're little devils? So embedded in the word is a whole worldview.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 2/7/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 2/9/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +3 if posted by 6pm PST, 2/4/2011, +2 if posted by 10pm PST 2/4/2011, +1 if posted by 2am PST 2/5/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 2/7/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 2/7/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html




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Combatwords, January 28, 2011: Waiting For Better Options

Combatwords, January 28, 2011: Waiting For Better Options

I was in the bank today (what, you think poets are banned from entering?) and there was a cute late 20something woman opening an account. She had dyed red hair and a black Oaksterdam University sweatshirt. She took a few looks at me when I wasn't looking & I did the same. When it was my turn, I got the cute teller; a recent college grad. A lithe 1st generation American of Russian origin. We started flirting too. I was terrible today. Anyhow, being the neurotic piece of shit that I am, when she asked me what I was doing this weekend, I said I was working (true, true) and didn't ask her out as she expected. She even fanned out her fingers a few times, as if to prove she wasn't engaged or married. I thought, 'this nice young woman has no clue what a maniac I am, it wouldn't work out between us.' So I kept flirting with her, but really wanted to hit on the stoner redhead. BUT the redhead left before I was done with my transaction. I figured, 'if she really likes me, she'll slowly walk down the street and I might be able to catch up to her and say hi after I leave the bank.' No such luck. Or maybe it's perfect luck, since I am a neurotic mess. So instead of taking the simple and obvious option of having some fun this weekend with some ex-teenage ballerina type, I waited for the weirder, freakier option that never came. But hey, it's ok! The world's overpopulated anyhow; and besides, somebody has to run Combatwords!

So yeah, write about waiting for better options.

ps: or if you prefer, write about your own pathetic dating/luv life.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 1/31/2011

*NEW* Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 2/2/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 10pm PST, 1/28/2011, +1 if posted by 3am PST 1/29/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 1/31/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 1/31/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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Combatwords January 21, 2011: Simpletons

Combatwords January 21, 2011: Simpletons

Not all simpletons are stupidtons. I know this because I'm a connoisseur of genius. I enjoy the scatterbrains, hardasses, high performing genius, but actually despise one category: the simpletons. These are the people who run cutting edge research labs, dominate business in your area, teach school to children—simpletons aren't inherently dangerous, but when society uses them improperly, disaster is not far away. Life is complicated, but they seek to apply Occam's Razor like it was the latest Gospel of Jesus. So pick a simpleton, write about one, their origins; whatever.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 1/24/2011

*NEW* Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 1/26/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 9pm PST, 1/21/2011, +1 if posted by 12am PST 1/22/2011, -1 if posted by 6am PST 1/24/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 1/24/2011.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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Combatwords, Friday January 14, 2011: Identity and Reality

Combatwords, Friday January 14, 2011: Identity and Reality

We take many shapes and forms. There is the known self, the unknown self; the self others see in us and the identity we see in the other. Philip K Dick was concerned that real wasn't as real as it used to be (rather, that he was not as sane as he used to be...). If we can't know our selves, then how can we know others, much less the reality that surrounds us all?

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 1/17/2011
Critique Expiration: 12pm PST, 1/18/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 7pm PST 1/14/2011, +1 if posted by 2am PST 1/15/2011, -1 if posted by 6am 1/17/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm 1/17/2011.
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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CombatWords, January 7, 2011: Splitting Hairs

CombatWords, January 7, 2011: Splitting Hairs

I think the whole notion is ludicrous. When I'm accused of splitting hairs, I just take it to mean that my accuser can't keep up and fails to see the significance of the proffered posit. But maybe s/he's not an idiot and maybe I'm wrong and maybe—just maybe—I attach too much meaning to subtlety.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 1/10/2011
Critique Expiration: 12pm PST, 1/11/2011
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 1/7/2011, +1 if posted by 2am PST 1/8/2011, -1 if posted by 6am 1/10/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm 1/10/2011.
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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Combatwords, December 31, 2010: New Year, Old Year

Combatwords, December 31, 2010: New Year, Old Year

Hey man, did you know that time, is like, arbitrary? We're like all here right now. There's no tomorrow, there's no yesterday, there's like, just today man. Like, time is just a human invention dude. Could you do me a favor and pass me the bong again?

Combat Expiration: 12am PST 1/3/2011

Critique Expiration: 12am PST 1/4/2011

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 5pm PST 12/31/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST 1/1/2011; -1 if posted by 6am 1/3/2011, -2 if posted by 12pm 1/3/2011

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

ps: Everybody has been slacking on the score lately—self included. I'm going to aggressively score this week's combat, so you'd better too, unless you want my taste to determine the winner.



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CombatWords, December 24, 2010: Holiday

CombatWords, December 24, 2010: Holiday

Here's a funny one I heard on Twitter: "Happy Holidays!" "Fuck you, we don't celebrate 'holiday' in America. Merry Christmas!" Pick a holiday—it doesn't have to be Christmas.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 12/27/2010
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 12/29/2010
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 10pm PST 12/24/2010, +1 if posted by 3am PST 12/25/2010, -1 if posted by 6am PST 12/27/2010, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 12/27/2010
Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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Combatwords December 17, 2010: It's For Your Own Good

Combatwords December 17, 2010: It's For Your Own Good

Because you do not know what is good for you and because I am feeling tremendous compassion for you, I'm going to trick you and lie to you and I don't care if you'll hate me forever when you find out it was me—it's for your own good.

Because you do not understand that those new business partners are sharks and vampires who are going to drain your blood and make you the patsy for their scam, I am going to sabotage your work and secretly undermine you to mask your delicious scent.

Because you do not understand the power of images and symbols, because you do not understand how they compel you, because you do not see the difference between you and your God, I'm going to bully you into proper conduct.

Why? Because it's all for your own good. I don't care about what's good for me. I am filled with agape with you as my center. I understand that by interfering, I become a focus of blame—if not scapegoat. Although the price is expensive, I do these things because I love you—and true love is difficult and sometimes unrequited. And I don't really want your love anyhow you idiot. Look at everything I have to do for your own good!

Combat Expiration: 12am PST 12/20/2010

Critique Expiration: 12am PST 12/21/2010 with 24 hour grace period for critique rebuttals.

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 12/17/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST 12/18/2010; -1 if posted by 6am PST 12/20/2010, -2 if posted by 12pm PST 12/20/2010

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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Combatwords, December 10, 2010: Logos and Karma

Combatwords, December 10, 2010: Logos and Karma

Is there such a thing as cosmic justice? I don't mean from a theistic perspective (but you can choose that), rather from a deistic or atheistic angle. Do actions matter on an ontological level? If so, don't thoughts and ideas matter too? Or is everything self-referential? Our meaning is meaningful to us alone? I think it's possible to be an atheist and still believe there's an unseen meta-structure to the universe. But the idea of cosmic justice is compelling, isn't it? I think karma is probably bs, but maybe it's real and there's some complex set of rules behind it. After all, some jerks never get their comeuppance. That's a shame. Hell, that's probably the cause of thwarted rage—which as we all know results in violence, thus making a whole new generation of jerks. Maybe there's some cosmic explanation? Play around with the theme, I don't really have an exact notion.

Combat Expiration: 12/13/2010 12am PST

Critique Expiration: 12/14/2010 12am PST

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 12/10/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST 12/11/2010, -1 if posted by 6am 12/13/2010, -2 if posted by 12pm 12/13/2010

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords, December 3, 2010: Degeneracy

CombatWords, December 3, 2010: Degeneracy

We're all in decline. We're dying. We're losing our value. Maybe we speed up the process. Let's hear about that. Booze and pills for the sloppiest of Joes and bad decisions for the prudes. Even those at peaks decline. Those in pits decline as well.

Combat Expiration: 12/6/2010, 12am PST
Critique Expiration: 12/7/2010, 12am PST. Grace period of 12 hrs for counter-critiques, to allow for rebuttals to last minute comments.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 8pm PST 12/3/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST, 12/4/2010, -1 if posted by 6am 12/6/2010, -2 if posted by 12pm 12/6/2010.

http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords, November 26, 2010: News and Politics

CombatWords, November 26, 2010: News and Politics

The muses have many strange means of transmitting their will to the writer. Rhyme and meter is one way; life experience and the will to write is another. For Robert Frost or Stanley Kunitz, nature might serve as muse; for me—among other things—I'm inspired by politics and news. Many writers try to avoid these subjects, but the topics encode all sorts of aspects of our psyches. Politics and news are NARRATIVE; sheer story—but a specific kind of story: one that claims to be 'real.' I want you to engage the news or politics from any angle you wish. These are primal topics, but that's okay—I want a primal combat. Freestyle if you wish.

Combat Expiration: 11/29/2010, 12am PST
Critique Expiration: 11/30/2010, 12am PST. Grace period of 12 hrs for counter-critiques, to allow for rebuttals to last minute comments.
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 8pm PST 11/26/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST, 11/27/2010, -1 if posted by 6am 11/29/2010, -2 if posted by 12pm 11/29/2010.
The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords, November 19, 2010: The Future!

CombatWords, November 19, 2010: The Future!

Depending on one's current condition and temperament; the future is either going to be awesome, horrible, or at least... something. Some people slather their futures with science myths to justify their current conditions. We've built the rockets, space stations, clones and computers that look like lovers, we're still looking for the next invention that will somehow give us insight into our purpose. Alternately, some see the future as some sort of projection of self. "I will live w, and marry x, have y kids and work as a z." To this frame of mind, changes in circumstance are unimaginable. Both models are pledged to a deep, yet essential aspect of irrationality.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 11/22/2010
Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 11/23/2010
Bonuses/Penalties: +2 for posts by 9pm PST, 11/19/2010, +1 for posts by 2am PST, 11/20/2010; -1 for posts by 6am PST 11/22/2010, -2 for posts by 12pm 11/22/2010

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html with optional Freestyle http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/11/combatwords-november-5-2010-freestyle.html



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CombatWords November 12, 2010: Getting It Wrong

CombatWords November 12, 2010: Getting It Wrong

We misapprehend, delude ourselves or just fuck up. Ah, but being aware of the fuck up—THAT is what's interesting. How do we even know we're wrong at all? Getting it wrong means completely misunderstanding. Writers try to understand and get things right, so writing about wrongness is more interesting.

I liked last week's freestyle so much, I'm gonna tack its rules on to this thread. If you're not interested in the combat theme, just wait for someone to write on something you prefer and riff off him/her.

Combat Expiration: 9am PST, 11/14/2010

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 11/16/2010

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 for posts posts by 7:30pm PST 11/12/2010, +1 for posts by 12am PST 11/13/2010. -1 for posts by 1:30pm PST 11/14/2010, -2 for posts by 6pm PST 11/14/2010

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords, November 5, 2010: Freestyle

CombatWords, November 5, 2010: Freestyle

The first posters to this thread set the tone for this Combat. You can write about anything, so long as you're first. After 4pm, late posters MUST riff off existing posts. This can go on indefinitely. Example: posters A, B & C post by 4pm. They all pick different topics. Poster D riffs off B's post after 4pm PST. Poster E will be able to riff off A-D. This should keep the combat fluid & personal. If I suspect you just posted canned writing, I'll just disqualify it.

Combat Expiration: 12pm PST, 11/7/2010

Critique Expiration: 12pm PST, 11/8/2010

Bonuses/Penalties: +3 for posts by 5pm PST, 11/5/2010; +2 for posts by 9pm PST 11/5/2010; +1 for posts by 2am PST 11/6/2010.

Penalties: -1 for posts by 8am PST 11/7/2010, -2 for posts made by 4pm PST 11/7/2010. Sorry I didn't announce this sooner.

Oh yeah, da rulez: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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CombatWords, October 29, 2010: Farce and Tragedy

CombatWords, October 29, 2010: Farce and Tragedy

The only thing funnier than pathetic setbacks are when those pathetic setbacks are memorialized in story. I avoided the normal pairing of Tragedy w/ Comedy, because Farce is directly related to Tragedy. Farce is Tragedy that fails to elicit sympathy and instead summons the audience's smug contempt. Really, I paired these two, because I'm hoping one of the combatants will successfully combine BOTH Farce AND Tragedy into a single composition.

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 10/31/2010

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 11/1/2010

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 if posted by 6pm PST 10/29/2010, +1 if posted by 12am PST, 10/30/2010.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html



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CombatWords, October 22, 2010: Vice, Virtue and Free Will

CombatWords, October 22, 2010: Vice, Virtue and Free Will

I usually keep a torn up copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius on my desk. To create order in a world that is full of inconstant people, he urges one to focus on knowing rightness (which he doesn't axiomatize) and then applying it, regardless of conditions around one. Bold philosophy, but I wonder how well it holds up in a cattle car filled with freezing, starving, dehydrated people on their way to a death factory? He would say that sticking to virtue, even when self-detrimental, is evidence of free will. I think I agree with that notion, having cooked up my own proof for free will before I even read MA: suicide & celibacy—two actions which contradict models of genetic determinism. Oh, but the cattle car, the cattle car! Maybe there are triggers that exist so deeply within us that most people don't encounter them even once in life? And jammed in a cattle car, must we return to our origins as meat circuitry?

Combat Expiration: 12am PST, 10/24/2010

Critique Expiration: 12am PST, 10/25/2010

Bonuses/Penalties: +2 by 8pm PST, 10/22/2010; +1 by 2am PST, 10/23/2010; -1 by 6am 10/25/2010, -2 by 12pm 10/25/2010

The rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html

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