I couldn't let a blog go without a mention of the rubbish that is celebrity big brother. Celebrity heh, now that is an oxymoron if I ever saw one. How many of the people in the house can actually call themselves a celebrity. I could count them on one finger I think!
I should point out now that I do not watch this rubbish. The other half does, usually to my snorts of ‘watch what you l[...] Read more » IceQueen's Castle
Posted by callie28: was a bit angry at some of the responses on this one untill i thought about it,your doing exactly what you wanted to and stirred the pot,looking forward to the next one,i say kick the hornets nest and see what happens...
Excactly. The controversy as promised by IQA, is delivered in the form of amscafeaus.
IceQueenAce did you create a dummy (no pun intended) profile for amscafeaus, to bash your own blog? In that case: cool...
It would explain the few posts he has, conveniently popping up to bash your blog...
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United States
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 37
Not controversial at all IceQueenAce. I think your writing shows little substance. It is however, indicative of the current social media culture in which our society is immersed. Your entire post is about what is wrong with everyone else, including painfully enough the characters on a reality television show. Why not use your forum to tell a good story? One that has meaning, humor, insight or relevance to some gaming issue. This is after all a gaming site. I mean what is novel about grousing? Writers seek an audience, to find one you have to have the ability to say something. Look for something to say. Being "controversial" is not a subject. Besides if that is all you seek look to Miley Cyrus, Lady GaGa or perhaps a young Madonna. They sort of defined the action plan for that tired line of publicity mongering. Your object ought to be to entertain. Get to work.
------------ That last bit was an indictment of the vast majority of current "writing." Predominantly the kind found on the internet. It was not specifically aimed at IceQueenAce. I was giving voice to my frustration with the kind of stream on consciousness style that blogging and instant publishing have created.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United States
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 37
I "came back" to read the subsequent comments and clarify my posting. I honestly don't wish you anything but the best. Writing well on a consistent basis is one the the hardest things on the planet to do. I would love for your blog to do great things. I have found however that someone's honest evaluation of one's work is an incredibly useful thing to receive. What you do with it is up to you. But I mean you no malice. Take some suggestion or don't, just realize that feedback is a good thing. You rarely learn anything of worth from praise.
Joined: Feb '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 2372
that's the thing. you haven't given me any feedback.
sure, you have used a lot of big words. but essentially all you say is 'it isn't very good'.
You haven't told me what you think is WRONG in my post. I don't have any idea which bits you disagree with. Do you think gary isn't being bullied? Do you think dee isn't a sponger? Do you even have any idea what I am talking about?
and if I don't know what you think is wrong, how can I even attempt to change anything?
And its not my 'work'. I am not trying to write well. I am putting down my thoughts, that some people may, or do, find interesting.
I just find it ironic that you are hammering my blog for having no substance, yet your replies have no substance, even though I spent the time quoting each part of your reply and and what I thought about what YOU had said. I infact have spent more time giving you substantial answers than you have bothered with.
Using big words to say not much at all like you have isn't big and it isn't clever and I see right through it. You see, I am English, I grew up with Tony Blair and David Cameron
Joined: Oct '08
Location: Canada
Age: 66 (M)
Posts: 2423
I have to admit, for someone that doesn't watch the show, you seem to know a lot about the players in it,i don't watch these kind of shows either,and i couldn't even tell you one name in them., but again a good blog entryIQA, so keep up the good work, looking forward to reading more.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United States
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 37
How about Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Coleridge? You are English after all. Very specifically what I find to be wrong with your piece is exactly what was readily apparent in my previous posts. It's vapid. It has no substantive matter as its subject. The matter you have chosen for your subject is petty, your commentary on that subject matter is self-obsessed, derogatory, and once again uninteresting, lacking any fresh insight and completely without humor. So, "SPECIFICALLY" my suggestions are: find some subjects that will interest and entertain your readers, look for humor to add some levity and entertainment value to your words and finally seek to express yourself verbally in a tighter more succinct style. Beyond that what I mean to convey to you is any writing that comes across as negative or caustic without substantial humor largely gets tiresome rapidly. I can not think of anyone who enjoys perusing a litany of complaints real or imagined without some kind of payoff at the end. Once again, good luck IceQueenAce. Writing is hard work. Being a humorous writer is nigh on impossible work.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 5712
I have watched (but not contributed to) this thread over the previous days and find myself thoroughly entertained and pleased, yet also saddened at the same time. Why? Allow me to explain.
IQA has decided to take the brave step of writing a blog. She makes some interesting and discussion worthy observations. Some people like it, some people don't. Then we have a resident of the USA pop along and create a thread all about his dislike and critique (?) of the blog and it's comments.
All of this is fine, until the point where it starts to get personal. (I'm sure Amscafeaus will say he is not being personal, but he is.). What makes his comments even more disingenuous is when he starts to refer to great British writers as an example of great literature that, inter alia, interests others!
Well, for me, Amscafeaus appears extremely interested in the comments in this blog; why else would he spend so much time making comments (unless he just wanted to personally attack the views of IQA), which ironically flys totally in the face of what he would assert that he is trying to achieve.
In the modern world, people are blessed with the right of free speech; (yes, both of you) however this should be free from personal attack. What perhaps would have been more constructive would have been for Amscafeaus to do a counter blog of his opinions and values to seek to balance the observations of IQA, and not the personal attack on style, content and substance that he has.
Maybe Amscafeaus, you should start blogging for BRM!
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United States
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 37
Ok, now this is getting silly. She ASKED ME FOR SPECIFIC CRITICISM! It's right there in her posting. Go on....READ IT. I did her the courtesy of responding specifically. WHICH SHE ASKED ME TO DO! I was not attempting to personally impugn her in any way. This was a specific response to a request. All of which is a normal part of being literary I might add. No author goes without being critiqued. She also was the one to draw my attention to the verbal styling of some English statesmen. I chose to mention some English and Irish men to her who possessed far more eloquence than her two choices. In conclusion I have spent a grand total of 25 minutes composing my work here. An inconsequential amount of time really, but I was hoping encourage IceQueenAce to aim a little higher with her work. I am done with this posting unless someone has something of merit to continue to discuss with me. I will give you one last piece of "English" literary prose to consider here. It might be the best of the lot; "Brevity is the soul of wit." Have a great week end!
I hope you really were "hoping encourage IceQueenAce to aim a little higher". To be fair, there was no personal attack. There was however a value judgement on something that is obviously significant in a personal way to someone that puts herself "out there" by writing a blog.
Is there an absolute standard that one has to meet, to write a blog? If so, what is it, and who sets it? If IQA "had aimed a little higher", you would not have commented, so you must know what that standard is, in order to be able to determine that she has not met it.
I think a blog justifies it's existence, as long as there is an audience willing to read it. I, for one, am reading IQA's blog as long as I keep enjoying it.
Joined: Feb '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 2372
I said I was giving up because you just don't understand what I am saying (or chosing not to). But here goes...
Posted by amscafeaus: Ok, now this is getting silly. She ASKED ME FOR SPECIFIC CRITICISM! It's right there in her posting. Go on....READ IT. I did her the courtesy of responding specifically. WHICH SHE ASKED ME TO DO! I was not attempting to personally impugn her in any way. This was a specific response to a request.
I did indeed. And I want specific criticism. But you haven't given me any. You haven't said one single thing that says that something in my original blog is wrong. I believe all the 'information' is correct (infact, it is being proven correct, of the things I said about the celebrities, they themselves are now saying). All you keep saying is 'its not funny' and using big words to repeat that fact.
How about you quote my original blog like I am doing with your posts, and tell me which bit are wrong?
Or maybe, as I suspect, you don't actually know anything about what I am discussing and it means nothing to you. I can't help that, I can't write a blog that EVERY person finds interesting, nor do I intend to. You may not find the topic of big brother interesting at all, but others way well do. And with this programme it certainly appears that people either love it or hate it. Which suggests to me it is a good topic rather than a bad one.
They are my thoughts, some people may find them interesting and read them, others may find them boring and ignore them. That is fine. I do the same, there are certain blogs I read and certain ones I don't. Its a choice thing.
Posted by amscafeaus:All of which is a normal part of being literary I might add. No author goes without being critiqued.
I don't mind being critiqued. I welcome it. But your critique needs to have some substance. I am not seeing any.
Posted by amscafeaus:She also was the one to draw my attention to the verbal styling of some English statesmen. I chose to mention some English and Irish men to her who possessed far more eloquence than her two choices.
Maybe this was lost in translation. I wasn't being complimentary to the two politicians, I was saying that they (as it feels in your posts), say lots of things using big words without saying much at all. But then, I am not a fan of politicians at all.
Maybe I will do a blog on them in the future. But I have breast-feeding and terrorism to get through first!
Posted by amscafeaus:In conclusion I have spent a grand total of 25 minutes composing my work here. An inconsequential amount of time really, but I was hoping encourage IceQueenAce to aim a little higher with her work. I am done with this posting unless someone has something of merit to continue to discuss with me. I will give you one last piece of "English" literary prose to consider here. It might be the best of the lot; "Brevity is the soul of wit." Have a great week end!
And that is the thing. Whilst I of course want to get better and address readers better, I am not that bothered about aiming higher.
Its not 'my work'. Its not 'academic'. It is just a few thoughts jotted down on paper. You seem to want a piece of writing I can have scrutinised by a professor and that ain't ever gonna happen. It is just a bit of fun.
I thought I would quote this bit too, seeing as it does try and give something constructive...
Posted by amscafeaus: It has no substantive matter as its subject. The matter you have chosen for your subject is petty,
You think bullying is petty? You think constantly laughing at others is petty? You think standing up as a hero to fat kids, whilst having as much plastic surgery as possible is petty? That children watch this and think this is the way to act? That society gets weaker and weaker with each generation?
Posted by amscafeaus:your commentary on that subject matter is self-obsessed, derogatory, and once again uninteresting, lacking any fresh insight and completely without humor.
Blogs are by definition self-obsessed, they are the thoughts of the person writing them and I am not sure I ever said it was meant to be a funny.
Posted by amscafeaus:So, "SPECIFICALLY" my suggestions are: find some subjects that will interest and entertain your readers,
Impossible. You won't ever find ANY piece of writing that entertains everyone. I have written two blogs. The first one was about personal responsibility and was well receieved. The second one about 'celebrities' and has gained a lot of responses. And people are still reading this thread, which would suggest than some people do find it interesting.
Just because YOU don't find it interesting, doesn't mean others wouldn't. Like the 3 million people who sit at home and watch it every night, or the 3 million partners of people who watch it that hate it!
Posted by amscafeaus:look for humor to add some levity and entertainment value to your words and finally seek to express yourself verbally in a tighter more succinct style.
I don't intend to try and be funny. I suck at jokes. Watch...
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the idiots house.
Knock knock. Whose there? The chicken.
See!
------------ For the absolute I don't for one second feel you mean to personally attack me and I don't see it as that.
I just totally disagree with your thinking and I don't feel you understand what a blog really is about. That's all.
Joined: Jan '14
Location: Netherlands
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 508
Posted by IceQueenAce: I said I was giving up because you just don't understand what I am saying (or chosing not to). But here goes...
Posted by amscafeaus: Ok, now this is getting silly. She ASKED ME FOR SPECIFIC CRITICISM! It's right there in her posting. Go on....READ IT. I did her the courtesy of responding specifically. WHICH SHE ASKED ME TO DO! I was not attempting to personally impugn her in any way. This was a specific response to a request.
I did indeed. And I want specific criticism. But you haven't given me any. You haven't said one single thing that says that something in my original blog is wrong. I believe all the 'information' is correct (infact, it is being proven correct, of the things I said about the celebrities, they themselves are now saying). All you keep saying is 'its not funny' and using big words to repeat that fact.
How about you quote my original blog like I am doing with your posts, and tell me which bit are wrong?
Or maybe, as I suspect, you don't actually know anything about what I am discussing and it means nothing to you. I can't help that, I can't write a blog that EVERY person finds interesting, nor do I intend to. You may not find the topic of big brother interesting at all, but others way well do. And with this programme it certainly appears that people either love it or hate it. Which suggests to me it is a good topic rather than a bad one.
They are my thoughts, some people may find them interesting and read them, others may find them boring and ignore them. That is fine. I do the same, there are certain blogs I read and certain ones I don't. Its a choice thing.
Posted by amscafeaus:All of which is a normal part of being literary I might add. No author goes without being critiqued.
I don't mind being critiqued. I welcome it. But your critique needs to have some substance. I am not seeing any.
Posted by amscafeaus:She also was the one to draw my attention to the verbal styling of some English statesmen. I chose to mention some English and Irish men to her who possessed far more eloquence than her two choices.
Maybe this was lost in translation. I wasn't being complimentary to the two politicians, I was saying that they (as it feels in your posts), say lots of things using big words without saying much at all. But then, I am not a fan of politicians at all.
Maybe I will do a blog on them in the future. But I have breast-feeding and terrorism to get through first!
Posted by amscafeaus:In conclusion I have spent a grand total of 25 minutes composing my work here. An inconsequential amount of time really, but I was hoping encourage IceQueenAce to aim a little higher with her work. I am done with this posting unless someone has something of merit to continue to discuss with me. I will give you one last piece of "English" literary prose to consider here. It might be the best of the lot; "Brevity is the soul of wit." Have a great week end!
And that is the thing. Whilst I of course want to get better and address readers better, I am not that bothered about aiming higher.
Its not 'my work'. Its not 'academic'. It is just a few thoughts jotted down on paper. You seem to want a piece of writing I can have scrutinised by a professor and that ain't ever gonna happen. It is just a bit of fun.
I thought I would quote this bit too, seeing as it does try and give something constructive...
Posted by amscafeaus: It has no substantive matter as its subject. The matter you have chosen for your subject is petty,
You think bullying is petty? You think constantly laughing at others is petty? You think standing up as a hero to fat kids, whilst having as much plastic surgery as possible is petty? That children watch this and think this is the way to act? That society gets weaker and weaker with each generation?
Posted by amscafeaus:your commentary on that subject matter is self-obsessed, derogatory, and once again uninteresting, lacking any fresh insight and completely without humor.
Blogs are by definition self-obsessed, they are the thoughts of the person writing them and I am not sure I ever said it was meant to be a funny.
Posted by amscafeaus:So, "SPECIFICALLY" my suggestions are: find some subjects that will interest and entertain your readers,
Impossible. You won't ever find ANY piece of writing that entertains everyone. I have written two blogs. The first one was about personal responsibility and was well receieved. The second one about 'celebrities' and has gained a lot of responses. And people are still reading this thread, which would suggest than some people do find it interesting.
Just because YOU don't find it interesting, doesn't mean others wouldn't. Like the 3 million people who sit at home and watch it every night, or the 3 million partners of people who watch it that hate it!
Posted by amscafeaus:look for humor to add some levity and entertainment value to your words and finally seek to express yourself verbally in a tighter more succinct style.
I don't intend to try and be funny. I suck at jokes. Watch...
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the idiots house.
Knock knock. Whose there? The chicken.
See!
------------ For the absolute I don't for one second feel you mean to personally attack me and I don't see it as that.
I just totally disagree with your thinking and I don't feel you understand what a blog really is about. That's all.
WOW... THAT IS THE LONGEST POST I HAVE EVER SEEN, NOT READ, JUST SEEN BUT STILL I THINK THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH FOR WRITING A COMMENT THOUGH, BUT I THINK I AM TYPING MUCH TOO LONG IN CAPITAL LETTERS, I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY BUT I JUST LOVE TO GO ON AND GO ON AND GO ON WHOLE THE TIME, WHOLE THE TIME GO ON AND GO ON AND GO ON!!!
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United States
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 37
IceQueenAce, you and I have agreed to disagree. This is not something I am overly worried about. Please by all means continue to write, blog, post. I would never try and stop someone from expressing themselves. You are correct that your readers will determine the success or failure of your postings. I will look in on your work and see how you do. I am on this site daily so it is a passing convenience for me. Perhaps in the future your work will resonate with me and rest assured that at that time I will definitely fire off a comment in support of your efforts. I wish you good luck!
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 2219
^ Mate, STFU your getting annoying now trying to ruin someones blog. Experience breeds better results so let her get on with it, especially since most of us enjoyed reading what she had to say. Just don't read it if it is not up to your expectations or maybe write your own so we can judge yours? That could be interesting.
Joined: Oct '08
Location: Canada
Age: 66 (M)
Posts: 2423
Posted by amscafeaus: IceQueenAce, you and I have agreed to disagree. This is not something I am overly worried about. Please by all means continue to write, blog, post. I would never try and stop someone from expressing themselves. You are correct that your readers will determine the success or failure of your postings. I will look in on your work and see how you do. I am on this site daily so it is a passing convenience for me. Perhaps in the future your work will resonate with me and rest assured that at that time I will definitely fire off a comment in support of your efforts. I wish you good luck!
I don't think she really cares if her work resonates with you. she is doing this because it is something she likes to do, and some of us enjoy reading things IQA has to say. and her blog does NOT have to be about poker, when she got hired by BRM , it was to write about anything she feels like writing about. Keep up the good work IQA
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Where are my encouraging messages? I'm writing a blog too.... How about BeMyATMplz... so is he. Then there's Pokershark, Whiskey.. TNTNS (or something like that), the guy who blogs about football (sorry, forgot your name).... there are many bloggers on here... Why no encouraging messages for us? Are we all so perfect that you deem it unnecessary to comment
