Enga mellom fjella

Polling for the Bard... Oh My!

FORUM

The Bard's Hall Contest  (13+) APRIL: Flash Fiction, 500 word limit. #981150 by StephBee - House Targaryen

Polls can be simple. Do you like pineapple? 1. Yes. 2. No. My answer used to be simple. NO! But now that I've experienced fresh pineapple and dried pineapple a yes/no choice doesn't suffice. Since I see nuances I seldom like yes/no choices.

Writing.com polls allow for 9 answers. That more than covers yes/no/maybe/no-opinion. But even that is b.o.r.i.n.g. If you ask people any question you'll end up with many answers; but, they will tend to come down to 5. Running a pre-poll would be a great idea. I don't have the resources or time. So... I try to come up with those 5 myself. In my puppy poll I looked on-line for popular breeds and added a mutt.

POLL

Your favorite puppy? Kitty wants to know  (E) What's your puppy? Labrador? Terrier? Boxer? A loveable mutt? #1376347 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

In my cat poll I would've been better to focus on behaviour. Like: the one who sleeps on my head all night... or wakes me up at the break of dawn. Cats.

POLL

Your favorite kitty? Fido wants to know.  (E) Siamese, black, manx, calico, abyssinian, the one in your lap? #1376352 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

As you can see, the two polls go together along with "Your favorite interaction with a bird?"  These two are also companion polls: "Which Disney female is most evil? Part 1"  and "Which Disney male is most evil? Part 2" 

I once wrote a funny poll about a WdC member, Partyof5. It received thousands of off-site views. I ended up closing it. But humor is not a bad idea. I wrote a story poll. Silly worked well. I hope the readers got a chuckle. They definitely voted!

No Pi on Earth on day after Thanksgiving  (18+) What does ˚π˚ mean? This poll is a story and you answer that question. #1621663 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

One can ask serious questions, but the answers needed to be a bit lighter in this:"How long will you live?"  And in this. "Placenta and rutabaga stew" 

This poll was even more serious. It was based on newspaper coverage of a trans friend of mine who was hit by a train. The local outrage was immediate.

Hermaphrodite exposed at death.  (18+) Does gender, sex identity, preference, genetics belong in the news when someone dies? #1145118 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

And with 7211 views and 103 votes it reflects that. Interestingly, no one thought it was an example of good journalism. Unfortunately, there need to be 10 recent WdC views to provide demographics. Here at WdC we can check views, votes and even demographics as with last week's poll.

POLL

Speaking about that Old Pond...   (13+) A poll asking readers to choose between 9 prompts based on 'pond'. #2251731 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

It has received 20 views from WdC members: 15 females, 5 males. The average reader so far is: "Married Female, age 40-49, with College Degree education." Most found it through the newsfeed, not my blog.

WHICH BRINGS US TO TODAY'S POLL:

POLL

Oh, Hummingbird! Sing it.  (13+) A poll based on the prompt "hummingbird". Romance? Murder? Dumbo? A hummingvamp? #2252014 by Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

HUMMINGBIRD is the prompt. I came up with 13 answers so I chose 9:

1. Dumbo came in to have his ears adjusted. They were stuck in reverse. "Can you make them go in all directions? I want to hover like a hummingbird."

2. At the Dawn of Understanding you visit us and give us hope. Enjoy the nectar of the day. Oh Hummingbird, don't fly away.

3. A shimmer streaked across the yard from a patch of hollyhocks to poke its beak into a trumpet flower vining over the backyard gate. Patches meowed. Is that you, Anna or is it Rufous? Ruby at the hummingbird feeder wants to know.

4. "Yes, I impaled him. Yes, I sucked all the blood out of him." Interviewing Vlad's pet hummingbird was proving to be interesting.

5. It happened at Hummingbird and Hollyhock. Spot and Tiger got into a spat... until Officer Pete the showed up and shooed them away. "Nothing to see here folks." He folded his irridescent violet wings to take notes. Anna, the local hummer, appeared to be in shock. Ruby was dead.

6. Adam laughed. "I want to float like a hummingbird and sting like a bee." Mabel snorted. "You can start by getting your fat ass off the couch and bring me a..."

7. The vesper bells announced the hour as four o'clocks spread their frilly skirts, flashing red and gold at each client passing by. Fred kept watch. Louis, the local bad-ass saberwing, was sure to show up.

8. He embroidered each throat in ruby red, each wing in irridescent green. He had promised his sister a shawl of one hundred hummingbirds. They twittered too late, too late, too late.

9. Ruby Lee told Ruby Mae that Ruby Grace had gone missing... and the hollyhocks too! The Hummingbird Society was shocked. They called Inspector Rufous James to investigate.

Vote here: "Oh, Hummingbird! Sing it." 

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