quote: People here drive like lunatics. Maybe it’s just a southern thing or years of outrageous road rules that no sane person would invent. Your average Joe gets behind the wheel of a car and the switch is thrown to “vaudeville”. In a state of otherwise polite and friendly people, drivers are out for blood. Personally, I think it all comes down to the Hook Turn. Who would think of that? Turn Left from the right hand lane??!?! Or having to give way to turning traffic at T-intersections? It’s just this kind of wackiness that has given rise to the general mayhem on the roads here; with laws this bizarre anything must be allowed, right?
I remember the first day I arrived in town and nearly ran down pedestrians as they alighted from the trams that I suspect are the root cause of much of the mayhem. Ever tried driving on tram-tracks in wet weather? A nearly frictionless surface that’s not only wet, but almost exactly the same width as your wheel-base. Drivers are forced to drive either half in the lane next to them – or half in oncoming traffic. Which would explain why I’ve been in numerous traffic-jams where not one car lined up with any other – this seething mass of metal and bad tempers.
Two points for a guess with critique One point for a guess with rationale Five points for a correct guess with either Negative ten for any guess with neither
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Are we really scoring for EACH guess? Frankly, I'd argue that this artificially inflates the score of people who're just willing to guess straight down the list, which is the lowest form of guessing.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
This piece has a clearly Scopatzian feel to me. The pacing and the language both feel like him (although there is a certain lack of puns that leaves me a little uncertain.)
1. Gender can go both ways on this one, though I'd lean to male.
2.
quote: Maybe it’s just a southern thing
Bit of a give away that this has been or is a southern jatraquero. Since it would be a bit too obvious, I would guess someone that once lived there, or visited, but not any more.
posted
Hmph. I was going to guess Bob. If it's NOT Bob, it's someone who really admires Bob. So since you've already guessed Bob, I'll say Chris Bridges. *grin*
That said, while I like the piece, it's a bit histrionic to START a story; I think it'd play better after we've got some reason not to thump the narrator over the head.
posted
It sounds like a male somewhere between 20s and middle aged to me. And complaining about people's driving... I don't think it seems like Bob to me, because it just doesn't smack of "professional traffic accident analyser"
posted
I don't have time for an in-depth right now . . . students are coming.
But I think this person has his regions confused. I've lived in various parts of the South all of my life, and the first time I ever saw jug-handle left turns was on a visit to New Jersey. Or am I misunderstanding this person?
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Dec 2002
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To me this reads more like one of Chris Bridges' columns than like an excerpt from a novel. Unless it's one of those semi-new, semi-hip New Yorkian novels where the narrator works at an advertising agency and you believe the author does too. The personal touch with random amounts of question and exclamation marks together with the liberal use of italics suggests a sort diary tone to this piece which is fine if that's what the author intended, but which doesn't do much for me.
That as criticism. As for a rationale: the use of semi-colons and thought lines is typical of Tom Davidson. However, the sentences are not quite long enough and I don't think Tom could resist a slightly more advanced vocabulary.
I've already said that the piece reminds me of Chris' columns, so...
Chris Bridges.
Edit: OK, Tom stole my guess, so I'll put in another:
posted
Something about the word choices and the structure of the sentences makes this seem like the literary equivalent of trying to get out of the stadium parking lot after a home team win. Hurry, stop, go, dodge. Most times, this would be a train wreck, but, whether intentional or not, it works in this piece considering its subject matter.
My first thoughts of who it could be rested around the use of the word "trams", something that makes me think the person is originally British. That didn't fit well and then the only place I can remember someone talking about trams was at Disney World, so therefore, I'm thinking its a person from Florida... so my guess is Icarus .
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Heh...that's funny Tom--Chris was actually my first guess, but I noticed that he wasn't on the list of people to choose from, so I went with Bob instead.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Second, Icarus, you were scored for two guesses, one with critique and one with rationale. I agree that it doesn't seem fair that long and involved critiques don't score higher than one or two sentences of critique with each guess. So help me fix it.
I only introduced the points to encourage guessing when it looked like the game was dying way back in July, and it's not a well thought out system. Suggestions are welcome.
Third, the list was always up-to-date. It's just that I add anyone who sends me something, guesses, or is guessed. And sometimes when I'm adding those I might add an extra name or two, just to be confusing. So count Chris as on the list now, 'cause he will be soon.
posted
I think Ic should get at least 5 or 6 points for that long analysis -- it was the equivalent of 3 or so regular critiques.
A game where I get rewarded for talking too much . . .
As for the piece, I like it. But it is rather a rant. So I agree with Tom that it might not be the best beginning for a piece.
I think we have someone here who is trying to drag as many red herrings under our noses as possible. Therefore, I guess saxon75.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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You can only be scored once, for your highest-scoring post. Correct answers are worth five points, guesses with critique are worth three points, and guesses with rationale are worth one point. Simple guesses score nothing (unless, of course, they're right.)
This encourages critique, ensures that the person who gets it right wins the round (with potentially eight points, even), and means that people who just KEEP guessing, over and over, don't run away with the round by just cutting and pasting names out of an appropriate spreadsheet.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Although the tone sounds quite Scopatzian ( ) I think it's someone younger. It's someone not afraid to use conversational punctuation like ?!??! rather than being strictly literary, which is why there's no way it could have been Jon Boy.
But it is wry, and dry, and could work well in a conversationally toned piece.
I guess Caleb Varns.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
This is a fun, informal piece, but I really can't see it in a story. I'd definitely get rid of the "??!?!?" I think the last sentence would work a bit better if it were worded differently, without the dash, as well. Uhm... Troubadour.
Posts: 4292 | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
The use of "Trams" is interesting and I'm uncertain as to where in the South "trams" are used. (maybe some southerners can enlighten me?) The South of England? Perhaps. There are other semi- colloquialisms like the "hook turn" that might be used more there.
It is a bit more rambly than her normal style but there is power behind the writing, road rage and an interesting use of italics.
I'm going with a hunch to guess Mackillian
AJ
(P.S. I realize my score was inflated by multiple guesses in the last round. I think that if it was the "same" rationale for each guess like there was with two of them, only one counts. However if someone comes up with a new and creative rational for a different guess than points should be awarded.)
posted
It has a definate male voice in my opinion. A couple people have already said it sounds like something Chris would put in his column, which I have really enjoyed reading,and I agree but since he has been guessed already I'll make a different guess. I still don't know the individaul voices and writing styles of the people here so I am making a random guess - Dan Raven.
Even though this is a bit of a rant piece, which can be anoying if not handled well, I enjoyed it. I liked the intro, "people here drive like lunatics" It was interesting enough for me to continue on and I even found myself nodding in agreement to some of the ridiculous road laws that can be found. Insightful to the silliness of many traffic laws and humurous.
I like Tom's suggsted rules changes, but I think I'm going to modify them a bit. I'll figure it out by tonight. Next round will be up tomorrow morning.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Darn it, I didn't even get a chance to guess. Oh well, I wouldn't have gotten it right anyway, since I was thinking "southern" indicated "Southern California."
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
That's not fair! I didn't even get to read it before it was guessed! Oh well! There's always next round.
Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I searched for hook turns and the trams thing and found they're both common in Australia. I didn't think EG would write something like this, and enjeeo hasn't posted since July, so Troubs it was.
quote: Maybe it’s just a southern thing or years of outrageous road rules that no sane person would invent.
I wasn't sure if the narrator was southern or the bad driving. I also immediately thought of New Jersey for bad driving and jughandles.
Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Yes, reform the point system. A correct guess in the same post as a critique gets 5 points. A correct guess without a critique, or on a second or third or fourth guess, gets three points.
A critique with a wrong guess gets 2 points. You can get scored for your first two critiques. A wrong guess with a rationale gets 1 point for the first rationale, then no points thereafter (unless you have the correct guess, which yields 3 points).
A critique should cover the whole passage somehow, whether line by line or overall. Critiques of one line or idea in the passage should be scored as rationales (although differentiated because you can score for your first two critiques).
Hmph. This is why I didn't study math. I'm sure you'll devise a fine system by yourself, dkw.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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One point for each guess accompanied by a rationale that relates to the excerpt. “I think the author is Australian, therefore I guess Troubador” does not count. “I think the author is Australian, because I’ve never heard anyone from the US use the terms “tram” and “hook turn”, and therefore I guess Troubador” counts.
Subsequent guesses based on the same rationale do not score, but are eligible to win. Please state when a guess is based on something you posted earlier, so I’ll know not to growl at you.
From zero to three points will be awarded to each player at the end of the round, based on the total critique provided during the round, whether in one or multiple posts. I won’t base it on whether I think the critique is “right,” only on the amount. (Not word count, you get no bonus for being verbose.) I realize this is subjective, but anyone who disagrees with his or her score is welcome to appeal it.
Five points for guessing the correct author, with a reason given for the guess, based on critique of the writing or any other rationale.
Random guessing, with neither critique nor rationale, gets you tarred and feathered.
posted
Would it be possible for people to get points for critiques even after the author is figured out? That way people who didn't get a chance to guess can still get points and the author can still get a feel for what people think about their writing. Just a suggestion.
Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
What's funny is that I was seriously trying to come up with a good scoring system. What I came up with needs a few extra dimensions just to diagram. Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
So, let me see if I get this new scoring system.
Joe Bloggs reads the excerpt and thinks about it for a while. He posts an exceptional critique, quite impressing everyone who reads it, and includes a random guess: Alice. (3 points)
Reading the excerpt a second time, he notices that the author seems to have focused on some stereotypically male themes. His previous guess having been incorrect, he states his revelation and guesses Bob. (1 point)
However, Bob didn't write it, so, continuing with his previous rationale, Joe guesses Carl. (0 points).
Much to his frustration, Carl didn't write it either, so he re-reads it yet again. He's surprised he missed it, but he notices that the prose is a little clumsy and uses a lot of over-flowery language. Joe thinks, "Aha, it's a young writer." He states this new discovery and guesses Dennis. (1 point?)
But Joe's just not very lucky today; it wasn't Dennis. However, looking over his trusty spreadsheet, he notes that only one young, male author has not been guessed: Edmund. He guesses Edmund, and, lo, he is correct! (5 points)
So at the end of the round does Joe have 5 points, 8 points, 9 points, or 10 points?
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Right now though the winner of the round does not necessarily get maxium points on the round. An idea to correct that problem: You can get a maximum of 4 points according to the previous criteria but, if you do get the writer correct, you bump up to five. This doesn't limit your guesses, just puts a points cap on, to make it fair for the winner who may only guess once and get it right the first time.
posted
I don't think so. They could guess right by noticing something simple like word choice where others spend the time to analyze the piece for literary merit.
Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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So since you've already guessed Bob, I'll say Chris Bridges. *grin*![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
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I also immediately thought of New Jersey for bad driving and jughandles.
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I wonder why you say that.
