Friday, 29 March 2024

Category » Experiments

Look Before You Leap!

We’ve added something new to your comment forms: a “preview” button that lets you see in advance approximately what the comment will look like. If you don’t like it, don’t post it — just change it and preview it again.

The button should help you avoid typos, avatar slip-ups on the Alter Ego thread, and other bloggish “oops!” moments. Let us know how you like it and if it causes any problems. Otherwise, enjoy!


Writing Challenge II: “Nestlings”

The challenge is to write a story within the 10 levels of nesting. Sort of a Round-Robin ‘Riting in miniature. The term “story” may be interpreted loosely. Experimental fiction and prose poems are also acceptable.

The rules:

> If two (or more) people reply to the same entry at the same level, the story divides, and each comment may be built upon separately.

> The “tree” may branch where it will, except that the 10th nesting level must always close out that story line.

> You may copy a piece of one story to use as the beginning of a new story.

> More than one story may be in progress.

That should do to start us off. This is an experiment, so don’t be afraid to branch out have some fun with the format.


HTML Practice and Typographic Tricks, v. 2009.1

Spare the other threads; post your experiments here.

Continued from 2008.3.


501 comments

Our Windows on the World

Axa brought up the idea: “I always thought it’d be cool if we all took a picture of what the sky looked like outside our respective windows/houses (no scenery for the most part) but I think it’s be too much work for the GAPAs. And maybe boring? I dunno, I like stuff like that.”

Later in the conversation she added, “It sounds like windows are the window to the soul then, huh? haha. It’s definitely interesting to see things that are commonplace for someone else, how they perceive things.”

Why don’t we try it with verbal descriptions? You could even describe what you’d like to see. (But tell us about your real-world view first.)


Beads on a String

Oxlin's suggestion, from an idea she found on another website. See inside for the rules.

Oxlin’s suggestion, from an idea she found on another website, from which she copied the following rules.

1. Each person tells a true story from their own experience. (Obviously, we can’t tell if you’ve made things up. That is between you and your conscience.)
2. Keep it brief; we’re looking for vignettes and koans, not epics
3. Each story has to be linked to a previous anecdote by some shared concept, some common theme or element.
4. Cite the element you’ve used as a link. Try to go for solid links: physical objects, specific words (punning encouraged).
5. This is a multi-stranded string of pearls. A single story can spawn more than one successor, and an anecdote can combine more than one antecedent.
6. Poetry is, of course, encouraged
7. Do I need to mention that this is a non-political thread? If your story is political, try not to make it partisan.


Muse Academy Holiday Party Gift Tree

Place your presents under or on the gift tree. Note: this thread is only for posting anonymous gifts. All other comments or discussion should be on the Holiday Party thread. When it's time to reveal the contents, they will be posted here as well. Rules inside.

Place your presents under or on the gift tree for the Secret Gift Exchange.

Note: this thread is only for posting anonymous gifts. All other comments or discussion should be on the Holiday Party thread. When it’s time to reveal the contents, they will be posted here as well.

Post anonymously. (No need for a fancy alias, “Gift” would be sufficient. Items can be referred to elsewhere by comment number. Do make sure you remember which one is yours.)

Describe the outside appearance of your gift. (Wrapping paper, size, general shape, what it sounds like when shaken…however you’d like to describe it.)

Suggestion: for your own reference, find somewhere safe to keep a copy of your posted description along with the comment number when it appears and a description of the actual gift. That way you won’t risk forgetting what you gave.


Fetch

bookgirl invented this game, which she describes as follows:

One player states a quote from a blogger (who’s been blogging for at least 1 month). The blogger who guesses it first gets 1 MBSBB point (=Muse Blog’s “Big Brother”). The player who answered the question gets the next to ask the next one. The quotes have to give you a clue as to where they’ve been said (only active threads) and are not allowed to come from alter egos or masked balls e.t.c. . If a question isn’t answered in a week, we go to the next one.

Anybody game ?


120 comments

HTML Practice and Typographic Tricks, v. 2008.2

Time for another one of these. Continued from 2008.1.


HTML Practice and Typographic Tricks, v. 2008.1

New year, clean slate. Continued from 2007.4.


176 comments

HTML Practice and Typographic Tricks, v. 2007.4

Time for a new round. Continued from 2007.3.