Smiley

Bats This is very timely: the latest newsletter from The Texas Gardener' Seeds said: "Put up a bat house to encourage the presence of these shy animals. Bats consume 3,000 or more mosquitoes and other insects nightly, and bats are less likely to be rabid than dogs are. Need another reason? Bats are responsible for up to 95 percent of the seed dispersal essential to the regeneration of forests. Our planet is populated with plenty of bizarre and astonishing creatures. Here are three from the Bat Family .... without the need for resorting to fiction. Sucker-footed Bat Red-Winged Fruit Bat Left-Winged Ding Bat So 2 out 3 Bats have a useful purpose!"

Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in the Hagar strip.

Happy Birthday, Dash

i can't take credit for it; a nice Lady from New York sent it to the Koach.com email site where I get readers corner stufrf.

Sent in to Koach.com by someone with a sense of humor: Did I read that sign right? TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW In a Laundromat: AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT In a London department store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS In an office: WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN In an office: AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD Outside a second hand shop: WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN? Notice in health food shop window: CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS Spotted in a safari park:(I sure hope so) ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR Seen during a conference: FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next day. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers Now that's taking things a bit far! ------------------------------ ----------------------------- Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over What a guy! ------------------------------ ------------------------------ --- Miners Refuse to Work after Death Good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's! ------------------------------ ------------------------ Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant See if that works any better than a fair trial! ------------------------------ ---------------------------- If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile Ya think?! ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------- Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures Who would have thought! ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ---- Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge He probably IS the battery charge! ------------------------------ ---------------- New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group Weren't they fat enough?! ------------------------------ ----------------- Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft That's what he gets for eating those beans! ---------------- ------------------------------ --- Kids Make Nutritious Snacks Do they taste like chicken? ****************************** ********** Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half Chainsaw Massacre all over again! ****************************** ********************* Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors Boy, are they tall! ****************************** ************* And the winner is.... Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead Did I read that right? ****************************** ********************* Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to .....(maybe even a chuckle). We all need a good laugh, at least once a day!

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 29th, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), April 30th], for a discussion of The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Mayberry. Following the overall approval rating of the last story we discussed, I have located another tale, similar but different, in another anthology edited by Joseph Adams. An on-line book report describes the story as: "(Military Fantasy) In desperation, an aging warrior and his son seek help from ancient witches to protect a mountain pass against an enormous invasion force. A damned good read. (7,200 words) The story apeared in "Operation Arcana", published on February 16, 2015 by Baen Books."1 Rather than attempt to give you the flavor of the story without spoiling it, I will just post this quote from the epigraph to the anthology. It sums up what you might expect from the stories in the collection: "Arrows thick as the rain came whistling over the battlements, and fell clinking and glancing on the stones. Some found a mark. The assault on Helm’s Deep had begun, but no sound or challenge was heard within; no answering arrows came. The assailing hosts halted, foiled by the silent menace of rock and wall. Ever and again the lightning tore aside the darkness. Then the Orcs screamed, waving spear and sword, and shooting a cloud of arrows at any that stood revealed upon the battlements; and the men of the Mark amazed looked out as it seemed to them, upon a great field of dark corn, tossed by a tempest of war, and every ear glinted with barbed light." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings The story is available for free from Baen Books.com: http://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781476780368/9781476780368.htm Click on the link to chapter 3 in the left frame, or if you are set for frameless viewing of web sites, simply navigate thru the contents link at the upper right hand corner of the cover page/epigraph. Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner If you liked our last story you should enjoy this one as well. I hope to see you all for the chat. Don't forget to bring a friend. 1 http://www.rocketstackrank.com/search/label/Ratings

ANZAC Day is the 25th.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on April 22, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), April 23rd, one hour earlier than normal for those not yet on daylight savings time] for a discussion of The Bad Hour by Christopher Golden . This story was published in an anthology of horror stories, What the #@&% Is That? edited by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen. The anthology is a collection of some of the best "scary" short stories from the recent past (it was published in November of 2016. This particular story was a finalist for the prestigious Stoker Award. This story brings to mind Great Black Wave by David Tallerman which we discussed in July of 2016. Those of you who were at that discussion may recall the story as dealing with the horrors of combat in a unusual supernatural manner. This story might be describing the survivors of the patrol involved in the Tallerman story. I think you will find it an interesting one, and one that will give us ample subject material to talk about at our next meeting. The story is available at: http://www.johnjosephadams.com/wtf/free-reads/bad-hour-christopher-golden/ Our meeting place remains: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all for the chat. Don't forget to bring a friend.

happy birthday

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 8th, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), April 9th], for a discussion of Trick or Treat by Jeffery Deaver. Deaver is a prolific writer who specializes in crime fiction. He is best known for a series of crime novels starring the character "Lincoln Rhymes. This story was published in the digital edition of Parade Magazine, October 26, 2008, and is available at https://parade.com/48345/parade/trick-or-treat/ The story is an easy, entertaining read and, as is typical of crime fiction, involves a bad guy doing bad things and good guys trying to stop him. There is enough of a twist in the plot to make the ending somewhat of a surprise. Oh, I must mention that there is no discernable symbolism or reference to classical mythology in the story...although many of our readers_corner members enjoy looking for deeper levels of meaning in our stories. Our meeting place remains: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope you can all make the chat. Despite the lack of classical references, I think we will find ample material for a productive and enjoyable discussion.

The attached mp3 is made as my offering to all the Australians and New Zealanders in honor, --I won't say celebration-- of ANZAC Day. The song tells the story of the tragic deployment of the Australian and New Zealand forces supporting the British invasion of Turkey in 1914 / 1915. I met my first Australian soldiers 55 years later, during my and their deployment to another terrible place and time, Vietnam. The song was written in the 1970's, and I believe the writer intended to honor the veterans of VN war as well. The Australians I met there proved to be strong allies as well as good friends. I have since met many more Australians, some in my travels around the world and some of them here in chat. So mates here's to all of you, and I'll get a six pack of Fosters to drink in your honor on the evening of 24th (that's daytime on the 25th in Australian time). Band Played Waltzing Matilda.mp3

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EDST) on April 1st, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), April 2nd], for a discussion of Le Peu Verte by Caitlan R. Kiernan. This story was first published in 2005 in "To Charles Fort, With Love", a collection of short stories by the author. It is available on line in the March 2017 edition of Lightspeed Magazine. The author was born in Ireland and immigrated to the U.S. as a young girl. Wikipedia indicates that: Much of her childhood was spent in the small town of Leeds, Alabama, and her early interests included herpetology, paleontology, and fiction writing. As a teenager, she lived in Trussville, Alabama, and, in high school, began doing volunteer work at the Red Mountain Museum in Birmingham, Alabama and spending summers on her first archaeological and paleontological digs. Kiernan attended college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying geology and vertebrate paleontology, and she held both museum and teaching positions before finally turning to fiction writing in 1992...Between 1996 and 1997, Kiernan also fronted an Athens, Georgia-based "goth-folk-blues band," Death's Little Sister leaving that group when her writing career caught fire allowing her to give up her night job. Kiernan has been classified as a Fantasy and/or Science Fiction writer. She has received many awards and has been compared to Poe and Lovecraft for her abiilty to construct weird stories. According to WIkipedia: "Kiernan is transsexual, lesbian, and an atheist pagan. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her partner, photographer and doll maker Kathryn A. Pollnac." I feel certain that you will find this story interesting and well written, I can't guarantee that you will like it, but I think you will appreciate it. If you have the time to do a bit of side research you might investigate the themes of green goddesses and the mythical use of the stag as a personification of divinity (including in Christian mythology). The story is available at: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/la-peau-verte/ Our meeting place remains: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope you can all make the chat, it promises to be a good one.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on March 25, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), March 26th, one hour earlier than normal for those not yet on daylight savings time] for a discussion of The Whole Truth by Colin Farstad. This story was originally published by the now inactive on-line literary magazine "Split Infinitive" but is still available on the remnants of that magazines web site. This story is quite different than our last discussion. As opposed to a somewhat disjointed tale of miscreant young men whose sole desire is to grow up and become real gangsters, it tells the poignant story of a young man still deeply in love with his estranged wife. I am sure you will find the story interesting, and I am certain we will have fun discussing it. The story is available at: http://www.spiltinfinitive.com/the-whole-truth/#.WM75hzsrImK (please note: the story is apparently stored on a Google historical web page. Another sysop and I have tested the website with chrome and firefox and it works...but we can't comment on whether Edge or an older computer using IE can locate it.) The author has lived in both Portland, Oregon and Brooklyn, New York, suggesting that this story might be (at least in part) autobiographical. On his website1 he posted the following comment: "I made an editor cry. I didn't mean to make her cry, but it wasn't the first time my essay The Whole Truth has done that. I cried myself while I was writing it, after I finished writing it and again when I laid on a motel bed in a campsite near Crater Lake, curled up in a ball, my body shaking with the kind of crying you see happen to seven year olds. I had spent the day sitting by the lake, the pages printed out, pen in hand, reading and editing the darkness on the page while happy families swam in the lake and the misquotes buzzed my ears. It wasn't until I thought it was finished, after I made the edits in my computer and read it out loud, my voice filling the empty room late in the night, long after all the families and tourists had gone to bed, that I cried like a seven year old." Our meeting place remains: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all for the chat. Don't forget to bring a friend. 1: http://colinfarstad.com/

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on March 18, 2017 [00:30 A.M. (GMT), March 19th], for a discussion of Sh1t for Brains by Frankie Neptune. This story is an offering of Short-story.me, a web site devoted to publishing short stories by aspiring writers. The site has some interesting material but is thin on "professional quality" works. Some of the stories are good enough to be published and many would be were they submitted to the loving hands and sharpened scalpel of a decent editor. This particular work fits into Short-story.me's arbitrary categorization as "mystery" story; but it might more comfortably fit into the site's list of "crime stories" which focus more on the actual crimes as opposed to the solving of them. The story should provide fertilizer for development of our discussion (pun intended). I am certain that we will enjoy our critique of the plot and mechanics as much as the inevitable digressions into the cooperation (or lack thereof) among the various law enforcement and law violating elements of society. The story is available on line at: http://short-story.me/mystery-stories/1025-****-for-brains.html Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all for the chat. Don't forget to bring a friend. Please note: The title of our next story offends the sensibilities of the forum dirty word filter, therefore the work arounds. Nb: Those in countries not yet switched to Daylight Savings Time will need to arrive an hour earlier than last week.

Blondie was a good friend and I will miss her. My condolences,

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on March 11, 2017 [01:30 A.M. (GMT), March 12th], for a discussion of Amos Abrams Dreams of VR Tenure by Daniel Torday. This story is an offering of the Cnet.com web site most familiar to most of us as a good place to download open source and shareware applications and programs, The story is a recent addition to Cnet's "technically literate" page that Cnet's editors hope can bridge the gap between the computer literate and those who are capable of understanding and appreciating the printed word. This is the third story from that site which we have considered, and I am confident that it will provide the same interesting and enjoyable grist for our chat millstones to grind upon as its two predecessors. According to the very brief biography of Daniel Tord offered: "Daniel Torday is the author of the novel "The Last Flight of Poxl West," winner of the 2015 National Jewish Book Award for fiction. Recent work has appeared in Tin House, the Paris Review Daily, and The New York Times Book Review. He teaches at Bryn Mawr." Like the other Cnet stories we have discussed, the on line version is illustrated with some imaginative graphics. They are cleverly tied to the story and I think you will enjoy them as well. The story is available on line at: https://www.cnet.com/news/amos-abrams-dreams-of-vr-tenure/ Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all for the chat. Don't forget to bring a friend. LOG ATTACHED: readers_corner03112017.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on March 4th, 2017 [01:30 A.M. (GMT), March 5th], for a discussion of Love Story for Marie, All High at Palomino's, by William Russell Wallace. This story was published in the Spring 2016 edition of Carve Magazine and is available on-line at the Carve website. The selection is a nostalgic look at a once and current love affair based on sex, drugs, and rock and roll, well--substitute pocket billiards for the rock and roll. It's an interesting change of pace for us, and I think we will have fun discussing it. The story is available on line at: https://www.carvezine.com/story/2016-spring-wallace The chat will be in our normal Readers' Corner chat room: Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all there. And don't forget to bring a friend. LOG ATTACHED: READERS LOG 03042017.txt Smiley

What is missing is the bottle of Texas Pete used to soak the pacifier when the young buckaroo is teething,

Hope all goes well with the Dr.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on February 25th 2017 [01:30 A.M. (GMT), February 26th], for a discussion of the story Sherry at the Knights of Columbus by Steve Young. The tale is a humorous one, telling of the challenges and success of a talented young lady aspiring to be a professional musician. Her alternative future, a year at 'business' school and a job in a typing pool, seems a probability. . This story is a contemporary one. It originally appeared in the January 27, 2017 edition of the Saturday evening post. I`s a pleasant read; i turswt all of you will enjoy it. The story is available on-line at: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/01/27/post-fiction/contemporary-fiction-art-entertainment/sherry-knights-columbus.html Webchat address: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all for our chat. I think we will have a lot of fun discussing the story. Don't forget to bring a friend. Log Attached: readers 022252017.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on February 18th, 2017 [01:30 A.M. (GMT), February 19th], for a discussion of the story Dido, Retold by A. T. Greenblatt. This story is a recent offering from the online magazine Strange Horizons. The story tickled my fancy because of its basis in classic Roman literature (Five years studying Latin can twist your mind just enough to enjoy stories based in historical legends. Dido was the legendary founder and queen of the city of Carthage (various historians disagree about the dates of her reign, but tend to agree that ancient city-state was established as a Phoenician colonly sometime in the 8th or 9th century B.C.) Legend, reinforced by Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, has it that Aeneas (aka Aeneus), a Trojan hero fleeing Troy after the Greeks destroyed that city, sailed to North Africa where he and his crew of Trojan refugees remained for a time while he wooed, and bedded, Dido. Aeneas, driven by fate and the will of the gods, then continued his travels, eventually landing in Italy and founding the city of Rome. Dido was left behind where, according to many versions of her tale, she killed herself by falling on her sword atop her funeral pyre. This story gives a different slant on that story, one I think you will appreciate. I know I will have a lot of fun discussing this story, as well as the myths and legends surrounding that period of Mediterranean history. The story is available on line at: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/dido-retold/ The chat will be in our normal Readers' Corner chat room: Webchat: http://koach.com/chatlogin.php?chan=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner Special thanks to Stormy for hosting our last meeting. I will be back for this next one. I think we will have a really interesting discussion on this topic. Hope to see you all there.

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on February 11th, 2017 [01:30 A.M. (GMT)], August 14th, for a discussion of Hobnail by Crystal Arbogast. Stormy discovered this tale from the wealth of on -line short stories on eastoftheweb.com. It's a well told ghost story that I believe you will find rewarding. Arbogast is a native of Appalachia, and she tells tales based of things she learned or heard in her youth in that back woods area. This story is one (of many) stories told of haunted stretches of railroad track. I think every rural town in America has at least one haunted bridge, highway, train story (most sworn to by the majority of the locals). I think you will enjoy this one; it's always fun to talk about ghosts. The story is available on line at: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Hobn.shtml Webchat: http://koach.com/cha...=readers_corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I have a prior engagement, so Stormy will be filling in as host. Don't forget to bring a friend. reader votes.txt reader log 02-11-2017.txt

News report provided by a long time member: Teacher Arrested At Toronto Pearson Airport A high school teacher was arrested today at Toronto Pearson Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator. At a press conference, Premier Kathleen Wynne said she believes the man is a member of the notorious extremist Al-Gebra movement. She did not identify the man, who has been charged by the RCMP with carrying weapons of maths instruction. 'Al-Gebra is a problem for us', the Premier said. 'They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like "X" and "Y" and refer to themselves as "unknowns"; but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are three sides to every triangle."’ When asked to comment on the arrest, the Prime Minister said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of maths instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on February 4th, 2017 (01:30 A.M., February 5th (GMT)), for a discussion of Take Us to Y9ur Chief by Drew Hayden Taylor. The story is from today's edition of Strange Horizons (online edition). This week's selection deals, in a completely humorous manner, with the socio-political influences of an alien encounter on three native americans. I think you will appreciate its humor and suspect a few bonus lol's might sneak in while you are reading it. The story is available at: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/take-us-to-your-chief/ Meeting Place: Webchat: http://www.koach.com...#Readers_Corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all there, and don't forget...bring a friend. Log Attached: readers_corner20170204.txt

Please join us for our next chat in #readers_corner at 8:30 P.M. (EST) on January 21st, 2017 [01:30 A.M., January 22nd (GMT)], for a discussion of The Lady and the Tiger by Frank Stockton. First off, I must apologize for the late publication of this announcement, I have been under the weather and for a couple days was having difficulty staying awake, much less focusing of reading. I survived the chills, fever, and coughing associated with that little green glob on the mucinex commercials, so am now rushing to get the message out in a somewhat belated time. Stormy brought this story to my attention. We are all familiar with tales of ancient lands and puissant potentates in which a the grand vizier devises novel sentences for miscreants and entertaining methods of execution. This story is one of them, and a very good one at that. It might just provide us with material for an interesting analysis. The story is available for at: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml Meeting Place: Webchat: http://www.koach.com...#Readers_Corner mIRC Users: /server -m chat3.koach.com:6667 -j #readers_corner I hope to see you all there, and please drag a friend along. Log attached: readers log 01-21-2017.txt