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Review of The Gates of Eden  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (5.0)
Is this a poem, a story, or both? It is beautifully descriptive, and, though brief, a good characterization of cat, man, and woman. I am sucked into the scene and I watch, hoping the old scrawny cat and her kittens will find a home - again, at long last.
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (3.0)
Aside from the appallingly bad spelling, I think this might be a catchy, singable tune.

Corrections:

marrage = marriage (or was that a Freudian slip?)

title case = "It's a Two Thing"

C 2005 = has no legal meaning; you must use the c in a circle symbol: © or spell out the word "Copyright"

CHOR = I'd suggest spelling it out: CHORUS

,( = no comma needed before parentheses

Ya,Ya / Oh,Oh = you do need a space after commas

It,s = It's (I know, that's an accidental slip of the fingers)

verse = all caps, like CHORUS (VERSE) to set it off from the lyrics

At times your sweet = you're (contraction of "you are")

Then your sharp as a knif. = you're, knife

In your make belive world. = believe

Am I asking to much, = too much

From the girl I married. = married?

To try and talk clam, = is "talk clam" slang? I don't understand.

Lost in a daze,remember those days = space after comma

So now girl ,it's up to you. = girl, it's (space AFTER comma)

We'll we be one made out of two? = Will we be…

that its a two thing baby (Ya,Ya) = That it's a… (capitalize "That", apostrophe in "it's" – contraction of "it is")

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Review of A Friend  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (2.5)
Friend

Is this the title, only, or is it also the first line of the poem? If title only, make it bold and/or separate it from the body of the poem with a blank line.

Corrections (even in poetry, proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation count – you can only break the rules when you know them backwards and forwards, and break them with deliberate effect):

iI call a friend, someone whosewho's close to me just as a kin

Someone who hadhas my back

Don'tDoesn't make little-cracks [hyphen's not needed here]

Someone iI can depend on

going to help me succeddsucceed

a person that iI can trust

when times get outrageously rough

someone iI can tell ...everything too.


(Note: Only those portions of the poem necessary to illustrate corrections are reproduced here.)


This is a nice description of what friendship means to you, and many will agree. It has few of the qualities I look for in a poem (rhythm, rhyme, effective use of poetic devices such as metaphor and simile, etc.), and it is full of typos, but as a description of friendship it's not bad.

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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
I remember this! It's about time I run that contest again, too, don't you think?

A well-deserved honorable mention in "Invalid Item , I remember thinking The Critic wrote this? Just goes to show how versatile you are as a writer, and this humorous piece still makes me chuckle.

Good job!
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (4.5)
The short description just doesn't do this forum justice. That's as much a credit to the folks posting there as to the forum setup, but you did encourage them – subtly.

The forum header asks:

Is there a rhyme you HATE???
Is there a rhyme that makes you SICK???

The colors sure put me in the right mood. *Laugh*

For those of you who haven't stumbled in yet: Participants vie to outdo each other in writing one-star doggerel. Or they just rant about it, but someho If reaching rhyme and limping iambs are your passions (or you've simply reached a point where you can appreciate the humor in an intentional bit of bad poetry), drop by and share a laugh or two.

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Review of The Challenge  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (5.0)
A beautiful but humorous tale of God's creativity! I'm giving this a 5 – not because it's "perfect," but because it's vivid, visual, tastefully told, and funny. There are no noticeable mechanical errors, no confusing passages, no meandering from the topic at hand. It's just what you meant for it to be, I think, and I enjoyed it.


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Review of Got Any Twist?  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)
He wouldn’t be carolled in some battery farm…

Do you mean "corralled"?

“And stretch, two, three…come-on, people.

The hyphen is not needed: "come on"

Enterprise – Oh, yeah,

"Oh" should not be capitalized here; it's part of the same sentence.

Italicize book titles.

"Christ sake" should be "Christ's sake"

The End.

I'd say "The End" isn't necessary; then again, I've got a few short stories that are complete as they are, and people keep asking when I'm going to finish them – I suppose this is one way to ensure that they don't make that mistake.


A good story. You held my attention, and I enjoyed your writing style. I could visualize everything. You tried to make me believe this was something other than what it was, and I almost did – right up to where he reaches behind the bricks. And then I knew, even before you showed me. But that's okay.

Shades of Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, but in a shorter, tighter package. Good job!

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Review of To liver  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 18+ | (5.0)
*Laugh*

Oh, Lord - an ode to LIVER. Firmly tongue-in-cheek. I don't think you're obscure at all; your childhood experiences with the stuff sound much the same as mine. I can tolerate chicken liver now, but only boiled, salted, and peppered. Never fried. "Luscious leather," indeed. *Laugh*

You almost triggered my gag reflex, but it's only a testament to how effectively you made me visualize what might have passed for dinner.

My husband and I had a pre-nup: Neither of us would ever cook liver for dinner and expect the other to EAT it.

I have NO suggestions; this is well-written and clever.
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (4.0)
Oooh, subtle. I thought this was going to be one of those "inspirational" stories, but as I read to the end, I wonder if it's about Natalie's death so much as it is about the death of Melanie's spirit and a statement on the need of siblings not to be overlooked and ignored during times of crisis and illness in a family.

The dialogue's a bit stiff and stilted, too carefully-crafted to be fully believable. The characters could shine through, if only their words were more natural. Consider, also, showing more of the relationship between Natalie and other members of the family - not just her mother.

This is quite good, if you really were trying to make the point I saw in it.
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Review of Hidden  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (4.0)
Don't you wish such scenes could always be resolved so calmly, so simply, with so little unnecessary drama?

My first thought is, this needs more drama.
My second thought is, why?? I kind of like it the way it is.

If it's a story, it needs more. More story, that is.
If it's non-fiction, it's just about perfect the way it is.

It's like my mom said, years ago, when I asked why Disney movies always featured dead mothers, wicked step-mothers, and ineffectual, bumbling, or dead fathers. "Honey, if those heroines in Disney movies had had good, strong mothers to look out for them, there wouldn't have been a story. They would never have gotten themselves into so much trouble in the first place!"

That said, you have some solid writing ability. I dug around in your port, and having read your bio, I'd say you have the foundation to become a very skilled, professional writer, should you choose to follow that path. You're young yet, you love to read, you choose challenging and entertaining books, and you write well.

A few observations about your writing:

- No glaring mechanical errors.
- Nice, careful presentation.
- Engaging writing style.
- Good variety in sentence length and structure.
- Dialogue is relevant and moves the story forward; it isn't overly real (full of "uh, well, like, um...") but it isn't unnatural and stilted.
- Use of action and character description instead of overusing dialogue tags is effective.

I'd like to see a more fully developed short story from you - one with all the elements of a short story.
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Review of NO ONE ELSE  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (2.0)
This needs work. A lot of work. That said, if I'm understanding the central idea correctly, it is a good topic and this puts a positive slant on it. It's not very original, but with personal or specific, real-life examples and an overall tightening of the organization of this article, could be a nice, inspirational filler.

Mechanical errors:

can't

How come (colloquial; consider "why did he have")

iI

MYy ambitions, my goals, and my aims

all lie waste ("lie wasted" or "are laid to waste")

and iI had better

tThis is

our lifves.

We just give up (Whoa – who's this "we" pardner? One minute, you're talking about "I" and "me" and now you're dragging ME into it? Might make me feel less prickly if you preface this with "Too often, we just…" This isn't an absolute. Speaking for myself, I'm not a quitter; if you didn't make this personal, though, I can relate to the feeling of futility born of injustice and unexpected setbacks.)

surprise.We (add an "r" to "surprise"; add a space after the period)

people we less expected accomplish (I'm assuming you mean "people we least expected to outshine us" or something like that – it's "least expected to" [what?] – as is, it's an incomplete thought.)

cherished aims

by family members,; they are mocked

stick to such judgment.?

tThe number of times the inventors tried before succeeding. (What?? That's an incomplete sentence and I have no idea what point you're trying to make here. What about the number of times inventors tried before succeeding?)

And ewwe loose hope

by the sight of ("at" the sight of?)

tThe first obstacle we come across, which probably might be a stepping stone for another person (How so? Give an example of an obstacle that can be seen as a stepping stone. Specifics! Consider breaking this into two or more sentences, also. "Probably might be" just has to go – that's awkward and illogical. Which is it: "probably is," "probably would be," or "might be"?)

in prevent you ("is preventing you"? Could you make that "may be preventing you"?)

let go of today? I (add a space after "today?")

each day.Those (add a space after "day.")

who had climbbed the ladder of success

never had it easy if we are to listen to thieeir challenges, thieeir hardships and the moments that they had wanted to give up (This sentence is awkward; Consider: "Those who climbed the ladder of success never had it easy. They struggled with hardships and challenges; they often thought of giving up.")

it's only amazing ("It's only amazing"? You mean, it's not really astoundingly amazing? Just…amazing?)

on. It's (add a space after "on.")

it's what made them think (What are you saying here? That these great inventors kept at it for the power?)

Think of immpossibilities and dreams are sharttered,. (End this sentence here.)

aAims and goals may be flawed, but let someone shout the words, "iIt's possible!" and opportunities spring up from nowhere and thusto help you accomplish your aims. (Consider rewriting; this is just one suggestion.)

HOow happy

we develope

our friends and our relatives but when we give up on them nobody hears ("nobody" is one word; it's singular, so the verb is "hears")

So go on ahead and give up on this one aim because no one else apart from you can achieve that. (Oh, now you're telling me to give up? Are you being inspirational or sarcastic here? Okay, fine – if you're going to say this, be specific. What's this "one aim" I'm supposed to be giving up? I'm so confused now.)

And whiles you give up

the obstacle you are facing which when analysed critically can be turned into a stambling block (What else would an obstacle be but a stumbling block?? Why do I have to analyze it critically to see that? Don't you mean that I should analyze the obstacle to see if it is truly an opportunity in disguise? I thought that was the point you were trying to make.)

bear in mind that time is never your friend (Let's stick to obstacles and opportunities. You dragging time into it is just depressing me.)

today. A story (Add a space after "today.")

that entails your dreams, your aims, or your goals

make sure that story is completed on the same note that it (What?? On the same note that it was?)

was. I (add a space after "was.")

had a dream and iI accomplished it with the help of the obstacles iI faced! (Again, could you be specific? What was the dream? How did the obstacles help?)


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Review of Gaijin  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (4.0)
On a positive note, this poem is full of specific, concrete images and metaphor that bring it to life, visually and emotionally. I feel the sense of need, neglect, and isolation.

However, I'm not seeing the connection between place and isolation. This could be a transplanted rose just about anywhere, if it weren't spelled out. From the title and the first line, I know that you're describing what it's like to be a foreigner in Japan. But I'm not seeing the cultural clash. Yes, a rose is unfamiliar - but that's it. The line "Foreign is exploited yet unwanted" could be explored in more depth. It's an interesting observation. The rose is an interesting curiosity, yes? But not really welcome in the family garden, perhaps. Not what's truly wanted in the overall landscaping. The novelty wears off. (Perhaps a Panda bear in a New York zoo could relate.)

I think you have a good start here. You need more lines like:

A rose in the land of the rising sun
Potted in concrete and pollution


and fewer like:

Thoughtless thoughts of thoughtfulness
A constant ray of insanity


(That strikes me as melodrama without specificity, and the alliterative "thoughtless thoughts of thoughtfulness" is jarring in its repetitiveness, more than it is pleasing to the ear and tongue.)

I certainly wouldn't give up on this, though. It's much better than average and it's an intriguing theme, which is why I'm being nitpicky. I'd like to see what you can really do with it.
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Review of The Key  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (3.5)
All in all, I find it sad to see that so many people believe men and women can never be "just friends," or that stronger feelings and the hope of "something more" eventually preclude "friendship." My mother advised me to "marry your best friend," and I think that was sound advice. I can't imagine growing old with someone I didn't consider a friend, perhaps above all else that comes with a loving relationship. That said, I understand the pain that can come from feeling more than friendship, when that something more isn't returned. Each person faces a choice at that point: let go of certain hopes for something more, or let go of the friend. And if one can't be happy for a friend when the friend finds that something more with someone else, perhaps that's not friendship at all.

Typos:

“Friendship." (Needs closing quotation mark)

I maymight never have touched the door

Never having to worry about others finding out. (Why would the narrator have had to worry about others finding out? Is there a secret here?)

Wasn’tWeren't

I knew this could go no further…

The paragraph above sounds like the description of someone struggling very hard not to become a stalker. At the same time, it sounds like someone trying to gain sympathy because the obsessive/compulsive behaviors and feelings were motivated by friendship and love. In this case, cutting ties is the safest, wisest, mentally healthiest course of action. So I suppose this little tale has a happy ending for both parties, even though it sounds a little sad.

I found the tone of this piece a little melodramatic; off-putting in the sense that I would have preferred more character development and a demonstration, rather than a telling, of how friendship can morph into something unbalanced and unhealthy, necessitating such a choice.

Otherwise, it's not bad for such a short piece.


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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Actually, I think this makes a lot of sense. It's well-organized and articulated, and it's something a lot of folks with bipolar disorder (maybe even ANY chronic medical ailment) can probably relate to, especially when it comes to your struggle to find balance between medical expertise and trusting your own instincts. Communication is so important, and sometimes so very difficult. Without communication, there can be no trust.

I'm sure you're aware that antidepressants alone can exacerbate bipolar disorder - and can, in fact, be quite dangerous?

Zyprexa seems helpful without inducing a zombie-like state.

I think it's important to stay on the meds or withdraw from them slowly, under someone's watchful eye, if possible. Considering that bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance, it wouldn't do to cause a worse one. Having a trusted observer is generally helpful - provided you're willing to listen and to TRUST. As you point out, it's hard to recognize cycles from the inside.

Why don't you indent the last three paragraphs like the others? (Oh, I had to throw in a little constructive writing critique, didn't I? *Bigsmile*)

Maybe writing will help you to recognize the cycles and the triggers before they happen or as they happen, and not after the fact.

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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)
Good for you, raising awareness of this disorder.

However, these aren't "opinions" so much as "how much experience have you had with people who have bipolar disorder." Opinions might include:

- volatile, but extremely creative and productive when manic

- unpredictable and frightening, maybe a little dangerous

- just like everyone else, most of the time

- too moody/temperamental, too much drama

- fun to be around (sometimes)

- exciting to be with (when manic); a real downer (when depressed)

- scary to be with (when manic); okay (when depressed)

- no experience with bipolar; no opinion

- no experience with bipolar, but there's definitely a stigma

- no experience with bipolar, but it wouldn't matter

I don't know that there's much of a stigma. Seems to be almost "trendy" these days to say "I think I'm bipolar," whether diagnosed or not. It's not as much of a blessing as the lists of notables (like your "Noteworthy Bipolars [13+]) suffering bipolar disorder would imply, but neither does it surprise me that any of these brilliant, creative individuals had bipolar disorder. It's a double-edged sword, and a matter of degree, isn't it? Bipolar disorder is a "spectrum" disorder, the same way autism is. When articles first came out extolling the "up-side" of autism, and all the extremely bright people who are autistic, others felt excluded and isolated - "that's not MY experience with it - it's HORRIBLE, and you make it sound like a GOOD thing."
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Review of Tears And Rain  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (4.5)
The only real bumps I see here - the only things I'd change, given the deeply personal nature of the poem - are "biblical" to "Biblical"; "an Army's day's rations" to "a day's Army rations"; "Army issued gun" to "Army-issued gun".

You might consider "bends a knee," rather than "takes a knee," because the first thought I had was "takes one in the knee" - as in a bullet, or something. Having seen the pictures, I think I know what you really mean to say.

You've got a nice, strong conclusion here.

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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (4.0)
I love the ideas expressed in this poem. This longing to write with the "splendor" of the writers we most admire (a feeling shared by artists, musicians, and others with imagination and creative talents not quite honed to perfection, no doubt). My grandmother used to say she thought she had no talent, until she discovered she had the greatest talent of all: being able to appreciate the talents of others.

You've worked hard on this poem! And that may be its greatest flaw. (I don't mean to suggest that you shouldn't have worked so hard, but rather that the strain is showing in some places. *Smile*) Certain turns of phrase seem stiff and forced into shape. For example:

Seemingly on the very edge of the brink

My tongue trips over this, and I think you could tighten it up. "Weak" adjectives, like seemingly and very, usually add little to poetry. edge of the brink is almost redundant, if you think about it.

Where do such men, as poets, like Keats,

Slightly awkward. I want to force the words back into their more usual order: "men, such as" but Where do men, such as poets, like Keats, doesn't quite sound right, either. Maybe if you changed "as poets" to "the poets"? What about the women? Why not "where do such poets, like Browning or Keats"...?

The pens ink of all the others

Interesting. If you keep this unchanged, it needs to be pens' ink (possessive plural of pens belonging to all the others). But what other ink...? Okay, maybe quill, typewriter, or printer ink. Does it matter?

Then left still to listen for hours more
Becoming ravaged by the visions
Of which the words spill


To listen? To...the voices of the poets (in your head)?
Ravaged by the visions of which the words spill? Or ravaged by the visions spilled forth from or with the words?

Personal nit here: I'd rather you didn't go from unrhymed to rhymed lines. Your poem picks up a rhythm it doesn't have at the start, and becomes kind of catchy and sing-sony towards the end, by virtue of your suddenly deciding to end lines with rhyming words. Either set up a regular pattern of rhyming lines, or don't - but don't mix and match.

That I just as soon be scribbling in sand

I really like this line and the one above it. (You're wrong, of course, but I like these two lines together.) Change "I just" to "I'd just" - that's all.

The last two lines sum up the idea nicely. That said, they're not the strongest lines in the poem and they seem kind of abrupt. Still, I understand where you're going and I like the concept, overall.

Jessie

P.S. This is my 1000th review on Writing.com! Where does the time fly? *Laugh*
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (2.0)
It occurs to me that throughout the ages, every religion has had its beautiful tales. Greek and Roman mythology have given us a rich literary heritage. Some myths are more credible and intuitive than others. Some are sensational, highly entertaining, and enduring - regardless of whether the faith that birthed them has any followers or enemies whatsoever in modern times. We could argue the rightness and wrongness of these tales quite passionately without ever convincing or converting anyone to our beliefs. Or we could argue persuasively and convince those who've not thought deeply enough on their own beliefs of just about anything at all.

The only thing I can rightfully rate or comment on, here, not knowing enough about Mormon doctrine to confirm or refute anything you've claimed, is the persuasiveness and credibility of your article. It simply doesn't work for me.

It's blessedly short, but that leaves little room for you to present evidence, cite sources, or even to present your own credentials. You immediately cast suspicion on Mormonism by claiming that "they try to hide the real facts from potential converts" and insist that we believe you simply because you claim "I am here to tell you the truth of what they believe." Who are you to do that? Are you a long-time scholar of theology? A disgruntled ex-Mormon, perhaps? A near-miss convert?

This is all very entertaining and sensational. If I believed half of it, I'd be appalled. (Why, I don't know - half of what I know of many established religions appalls me, and at least you're not claiming that Mormons eat their young. *Laugh*)

But... you write:

If you are lucky enough to view the Mormon temple ritual you will be sworn to secrecy the penalty for telling is death.

I'm scratching my head over this one. I mean, I'm assuming you don't know this first-hand, else why would you risk your neck to tell us? Maybe you don't believe it, yourself. If you got this from someone who knows it first-hand, then aren't you afraid you're endangering them by writing it here? If you got it from someone who knows someone who knows a guy who told him that...well, never mind. You know where I'm going with that. Hooey.

Hmm. "...theoretically a cult"? A satanic one, at that. The "satanic bible," eh? Considering that it was written over 100 years after the foundation of the Mormon church, and supposedly condemns most Judeo-Christian religions as hypocritical, what's so shocking about your claim that it states "Mormonism is used as a name for the followers of Mormo, the god of the ghouls" or any other notion La Vey took it into his head to write? Is La Vey suddenly an authority on Mormonism, or some hitherto-unknown demonic entity known as "Mormo"? Could he have simply made it up to cast suspicion on Mormonism?

Many followers of various religions believe and aspire to attain some higher state of spiritual being, call it "gods and goddesses," "angels," "spirits," or whatever you will. Does that mean they believe or aspire to be God's equals or superiors? Does that mean they could? (Being the self-proclaimed "Goddess of Google" doesn't count, of course.)

Care to argue semantics? Care to argue familial relations of the spirit world? Son of... creation of... oh, let's not go there. Wars have been fought over this and less. I'm not even going to argue the existence of God, let alone whether Jesus was his son or Lucifer his creation - or simply an invention of those who would scare common folk into following the doctrines of Christianity centuries after Christ's death. I have a hard time imagining Mormons as a bunch of devil worshippers, but so long as you're not claiming they eat their young...

No, I happen to know they prefer Sanka.

The whole racial bit I do find disturbing. However, even if what you say is true, you have to consider the ignorance that was common among some people of Smith's era. How would Asians be explained? Or had Smith simply never run across any?

After reading all of this I hope that you think twice about becoming a Mormon.

I did that long before reading this. See, I don't like people dropping by for lunch without calling first, and I am not hypocrite enough to even pretend I could do without my caffeine. But the Mormons I've known have been, by and large, compassionate and sincere. I'm curious as to where you got your "facts" and why you are so opposed to them.

In conclusion, you haven't provided sufficient support for your arguments, nor have you established credibility or credentials to support your assertions. I'm just not persuaded. I'll be happy to reread and rerate, if you address these issues.
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Review of Music and Writing  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (5.0)
That's a good and relevant question! (And I was sitting here thinking "What a NaNoWriMo kind of question that is!" - a distraction in itself, disguised as research on writing techniques...then I noticed it was, indeed, created on 11/09/02! *Laugh*)

I find music distracting, most of the time. But soundtracks, like Jurassic Park, work pretty well. Vocals are okay, if it's music I've heard a thousand times before, and it fits my mood and the rhythm of my story at the time. Most of the time, though, I write best in silence and solitude. When I was younger, not much could distract me. I could've written in a train station or a crowded student union, while carrying on two different conversations. I just can't do that anymore.
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (5.0)
Even more stylish, contemporary, and cheerful virtual flower arrangements. Who doesn't like to get flowers in the mail? And these will never wilt! You can't display them on a countertop or a table, but you can keep them forever. Better yet, why not send some to a friend? Maybe me... *Laugh*

Lovely, as are all your cNotes.
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Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (5.0)
A collection of lovely, simple, stylish floral arrangements to send for any occasion (or none at all)! I like the crisp, clean graphics and transparent (or at least matched) backgrounds). There are no captions or pre-set messages, so they can be used for any occasion and personalized completely by the sender. The price is right - you won't find FTD sending flowers at such a bargain!
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Review of Water  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (4.0)
This is a poem based on a photo I wrote for my intro to Poetry class.

You wrote a photo for your Intro to Poetry class? That’s…how’d you do that? *Bigsmile*

I’d capitalize “intro,” too, unless you were writing the intro to a Poetry class you were teaching.

You’ve taken a fairly cliché subject and done some fairly original work with it. Ripples on water are kind of overdone, both in poetry and photography (and yet, for some reason, they never seem to stop fascinating us). Instead of saying “ripple,” you say “shatter,” and right there I know you mean business. You liken the water to flesh, and give it an incarnation.

I had a little difficulty with this line:

like the ice reaching their fingers

out to touch you

ice – their fingers? Huh?

Oooh, you even drag Chaos Theory into this, and suggest a possibility beyond the simple ripple effect. Here’s a thought: Instead of “some distant city” try something specific – pick a city and name it. Bring more concrete images to mind.

That business of throwing yourself in – that would have bordered on the ordinary, had it not been for the “muffled cries of seals.” I could hear them, and in hearing them allowed myself to sink into the water with you, for just a moment. It was a too-deliberate surrender, though.

Likewise, the whole “spit me out” bit borders on melodramatic, until you draw in the “glaciers that long to be you” – I’d end there with a question mark, though, not a cliff-hanging, unfinished lack of punctuation.

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Review of Golden  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: ASR | (3.5)
Jerry, this tiny scene packs an emotional punch, and it’s just too sad. I suppose it tells all it needs to tell, in order to “solely capture a moment in time,” but I’m left feeling empty. I haven’t had time to get to know these people, with their fifty years of life together and all its ups and downs. You’re relying on me to take your word for it all – a glance, a word, a sigh, a touch – and poof! Blow out the candles.

For its length and supposed purpose, it’s enough. In light of current events, I’m having trouble not seeing this as politically motivated, though I’m reasonably sure it’s not. I’m not even sure how I feel about it these days, but this doesn’t help me figure that out, either. The characters’ motives are clear, but it’s not deep enough to convince me of the rightness or wrongness of it – or even make me feel much for them. Again, I have to simply take your word (and theirs) for how it ought to end. You haven’t given me enough substance, or that one emotionally-charged, power-packed word or phrase, to allow me to form my own opinions beyond those that were formed long before I read this.

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Review of test pooem  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: E | (2.5)
By Jove, I think you got it!

I’m not sure whether I should review this or not, but the test was over some four hours ago, and it’s still here, so…

“test pooem”? I saw “dad” in your handle and thought maybe this was going to be a little scatological, with kids as the target audience. You did drag gas and eggs into it, but no – no poo poem here!

Typos. Lots and lots of typos. I realize this is “just a test,” but that might have been clearer had you typed in real dummy text, such as “asdfasdf;kj fhaifl; iasif8 flooglephlumph.” Since you took the time to compose a pooem, I’m going to take time to edit it (omitting all but the words necessary to help you locate the errors):

iI’m sitting

where do iI want to go [Let me guess: It’s a Microsoft operating system. “Where do YOU want to go today?”]

poetry and meI are like gas in an egg ommelet,

might be hot,, but not good [Unusual imagery here!]

what life experiaence do iI use to create

or should iI use something else,, news, or

the sencses.

easy to do when ,, was young.

the past was,, or seemed to be ,

so here iI sit like a tree, waiting to become a pincel, so iI can write poetry.

eggs, gas, and tree's,, what

Unless you are ee cummings, I suggest you use proper capitalization and punctuation, even in poetry. It’s fine to ignore those things if there’s a larger purpose in it (though some would argue that cummings, himself, probably had no such justification). Those visual cues, like capital letters and commas and things, do enhance and deepen communication.

You weren’t really going for “deep” here, though, were you? *Bigsmile*

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Review of Lost and Found  
Review by Holly Jahangiri
Rated: 13+ | (5.0)
Both darkly disturbing and hopeful. This is a departure from your usual style that serves to demonstrate your versatility. It seems to be describing the tortured sleep of nightmares, the courage of lucid dreaming, and the power of faith and hope to relieve the sleeper of those images that torment him/her when all attempts to control them on the sleeper's part fail.
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