Humor

"Humour is for them the all-consoling and (mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence, it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame. If a man simply lets others pay for him, he is 'mean,' but if he boasts of it in a jocular manner and twits his fellows with having been scored off, he is no longer 'mean' but a comical fellow. Mere cowardice is shameful; cowardice boasted of with humourous exaggerations and grotesque gestures can be passed off as funny. Cruelty is shameful -- unless the cruel man can represent it as a practical joke. A thousand bawdy, or even blasphemous, jokes do not help towards a man's damnation so much as his discovery that almost anything he wants to do can be done, not only without the disapproval but with the admiration of his fellows, if only it can get itself treated as a Joke."

adjusts reading glasses...

... peers over them enthusiastically around table, folds hands and begins brightly:


well hello boys! I'm so glad to see that Taylor Coleman has joined us today and -


checks notes, furrows brow


- Leon ... Willabee.


Conrad wriggles in seat with delight, jabs at Taylor with elbow - Taylor attempts to subtly distance himself with long, contemplative sip of coffee.


I'm pretty sure I've already laid out this blog for at least Taylor, if not both of you.


Conrad yawns noisily. Ali glares, corrects herself, resumes with strained cheer


Basically, it's a practical manifestation of an idea sparked by Conrad's hypothetical scenario of "communal living with a positive purpose," and fueled by the creative energy generated while sharing and discussing projects with Taylor.


Taylor beams. Conrad flicks paperclip at Ali's glasses.

What I had in mind for the tortoise was a place where we can share

• Inspiration: anything which sparks you - passage, quote, article, link, photograph, art, artist, author, concept, anything
• Ideas: whether a broad, general creative idea or an idea for a very specific project
• Projects: sharing the progress of a project, the actual project-in-progress, or the completed product

Basically, a creative catch-all: somewhere where we can not only archive our own inspirations, ideas, and creations, but where we can also open them to others and receive/generate thoughtful feedback.

Every post will automatically have the author's name at the bottom and, if we all use the same labels when creating a post [e.g. IDEA, INSPIRATION, or CREATION] then we can quickly find everything within a given category using the label module on the home page's right hand.

Any thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Concerns?

Ali looks up - realizes Taylor is texting and Conrad has quietly slipped under the table to nap on his backpack. Rubs bridge of nose wearily, sighs.

Beginning of "A Long Walk"

Three faces suspended within the panes of three unwashed windows looked out upon a burning hayfield. The flames crept nearer to the quaint home. Smoke billowed high, blotting out all but mere remnants of the sun.

A mass of gnats hummed over a pool of stagnant water to the left of the doomed structure. The dog, an old, shaggy, golden lab, drank from the puddle and retreated beneath the porch while the barn cat lept from branch to branch in the uppermost regions of a stand of trees behind the house. The youngest of the three children in the home, Benjamin, stared wide-eyed as the flames grew closer, consuming the dry alfalfa. He bit his lower lip to stifle his sobs. Tears rolled gently down his smooth, sun burned cheeks and he quickly hid his face from his older brother to his left who looked on defiantly at the rapidly approaching fire.

The boy's sister, Hope, sat patiently and looked at the back door suggestively, drawing their gaze away from the fire. They all rose slowly, painfully, and walked quietly out of the house. The dog followed faithfully as the flames weakened and swallowed the comfort of their home...