Heradel
Bill Peters
Autarch
Posts: 2620
Part-Time Psychopomp.
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« on: August 27, 2009, 09:33:06 pm » |
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PC067: Kissing Frogs
by Jaye Lawrence.
Read by Phoebe Harris. We met near a pond, of course.
“I loved your ad,” I said after we’d finished our introductions. Sharon, meet Jerry. Frog, meet human. ”But I have to admit I wasn’t expecting an actual amphibian.Rated PG. for narratives that play with the Grimm.
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stePH
Actually has enough cowbell.
Hipparch
Posts: 3124
L, do you know, gods of death love apples?
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« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2009, 09:19:19 am » |
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Planning to listen this afternoon on train; hope it's not another "frog is metaphor for penis" story like the last one.
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God masturbates every time you kill a kitten.
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Gia
Palmer
Posts: 37
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« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2009, 01:27:55 pm » |
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I didn't find the story or the narration engaging at all. I think that the tone was supposed to reflect the awkwardness of a first date, but it didn't work for me.
I thought that turning into an animal to reflect one's self-esteem was a good metaphor, but it didn't carry through to after the kiss. The frog got his self-esteem boost without a change in form, but Steve did get a change and didn't feel any better about herself(?) until afterward.
Steve's appearance was too sudden. Besides on or two ambiguous words earlier in the story, the revelation came out of nowhere. At first I though that it was done just so that his/her transformation could be used as an obligatory fantasy element and that if Sharon had gone home and perceived herself as more beautiful because the frog was so nice to her them the story wouldn't have lost much besides said obligatory fantasy element. Looking back, I guess that the author is implying that Steve really is the frog's princess, but I still can't get over how Steve came up at the last minute.
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the_true_morg
Extern
Posts: 12
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« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2009, 04:42:43 pm » |
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i do disagree with Gia that the story was super engaging. This felt like a fantastic fairy tale that i read about on craigslist. having taken a date or two off a place like that i could totally imagine a frog or "not as advertised". it is very realistic in being honest like that turning out to be literal...way to literal.
i loved that it was a fairy tale given to our modern world, and that the author gave away just enough of hints to keep me interested. it kept with the story telling fantasy of something magical happening at the end. it was also a moral play of parables in the way because Sharon/steve acquired the opposite of a mastectomy on his/ her road to becoming a woman. also on a second listen (only the 2nd time i have re listened to a podcastle episode) i wondered if they were sole mates because they really did have so much in common. this thickens how much i liked it because perhaps they were meant for each other but tragically focusing on what they thought they wanted did not allow them to see they were sole mates. who says that the frogs magic would not have completely transformed Sharon into a woman and lived happily ever after.
loved this story and will keep listening just in case i hear one that speaks so much to me. (the story not wanting to change my sex)
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"My own Duschebaggary is a killing word. Will it be a healing word as well?"
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MacBean
Palmer
Posts: 22
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« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2009, 11:12:56 pm » |
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Steve's appearance was too sudden. Besides on or two ambiguous words earlier in the story, the revelation came out of nowhere.
Seriously? I thought the only way the author could have been more blatant would have been to include a footnote in all caps that read "ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THE POV CHARACTER IS TRANS!" |
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~Bean
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eytanz
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« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2009, 09:56:48 am » |
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I enjoyed this one a lot. Unlike "Foam on the Water", the updated fairy tale here fit perfectly to the themes of the story. I may not share either of the characters' particular issues, but I could still relate to both. And I did enjoy the reading a lot, unlike Gia above - I felt it was perfect for the story and carried the emotions through very well. (And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3  ) |
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« Last Edit: August 31, 2009, 09:58:43 am by eytanz »
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DKT
Friendly Neighborhood
Moderator
Posts: 2518
PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
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« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2009, 10:18:40 am » |
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(And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3 ) D'oh! I'm sorry, eytanz. Will correct next time around  |
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suzume234
Extern
Posts: 1
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« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2009, 03:30:20 pm » |
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I'm having trouble getting around the voice... @_@ I feel bad, but it's irritating me to no end!
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kibitzer
Purveyor of Unsolicited Opinions
Hipparch
Posts: 608
Kibitzer: A meddler who offers unwanted advice
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« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2009, 05:54:08 pm » |
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Hmm. This one didn't do much for me. I'm not really "modern" updates on classic fairy tales. Cute ending, though.
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Black magic. It's all I can think of to explain Shattner's popularity.
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Heradel
Bill Peters
Autarch
Posts: 2620
Part-Time Psychopomp.
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« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2009, 06:33:39 pm » |
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I'm having trouble getting around the voice... @_@ I feel bad, but it's irritating me to no end!
As in the audio narrator or the style in which the prose is written? |
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kibitzer
Purveyor of Unsolicited Opinions
Hipparch
Posts: 608
Kibitzer: A meddler who offers unwanted advice
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« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2009, 07:39:09 pm » |
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(And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3 ) For those of us who don't know... how then? |
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Black magic. It's all I can think of to explain Shattner's popularity.
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Heradel
Bill Peters
Autarch
Posts: 2620
Part-Time Psychopomp.
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« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2009, 10:53:24 pm » |
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(And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3 ) For those of us who don't know... how then? If I'm remembering correctly, Eytan is an alternate english spelling of the hebrew name Ethan, with, I assume, similar pronunciation. |
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eytanz
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« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2009, 11:29:06 pm » |
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(And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3 ) For those of us who don't know... how then? If I'm remembering correctly, Eytan is an alternate english spelling of the hebrew name Ethan, with, I assume, similar pronunciation. I'm sort of sorry I brought this up if this is going to be a discussion topic in the thread, but - I'm Israeli, my name is Hebrew. It's pronounced sort of like "eight-un" (rhymes with "run"). I wouldn't spell my name Ethan because that's normally pronounced "ee-thun", as in the actor's name Ethan Hawke. |
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kibitzer
Purveyor of Unsolicited Opinions
Hipparch
Posts: 608
Kibitzer: A meddler who offers unwanted advice
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« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2009, 05:27:33 am » |
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thx for letting me know
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Black magic. It's all I can think of to explain Shattner's popularity.
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l33tminion
Extern
Posts: 12
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« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2009, 05:35:23 pm » |
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The last sentence really marred the ending of the story for me with its redundancy. The ending is clever, but not that confusing, there's no need to spell it out.
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stePH
Actually has enough cowbell.
Hipparch
Posts: 3124
L, do you know, gods of death love apples?
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« Reply #15 on: September 03, 2009, 06:17:16 pm » |
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(And now, I can up the count of people mispronouncing my name on EA productions to 3 ) And again in this weeks Podcastle ("Heretic by Degrees"). |
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God masturbates every time you kill a kitten.
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Listener
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« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2009, 07:47:30 am » |
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Steve's appearance was too sudden. Besides on or two ambiguous words earlier in the story, the revelation came out of nowhere.
Seriously? I thought the only way the author could have been more blatant would have been to include a footnote in all caps that read "ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THE POV CHARACTER IS TRANS!" I figured it out based on the author and reader information. |
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Listener
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« Reply #17 on: September 04, 2009, 07:53:20 am » |
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Audio was too low on the story.
I liked that the story took place in a single location -- I'm a big fan of conversation stories -- but I felt it devolved too quickly into a "I'm sad because I'm CD waiting to transition from M to F" and "I'm sad because I'm a frog". I did like the turnaround where the prince became a princess, but I don't think the story was about Sharon. I think it was about the frog. I would've really liked more insight into a world where a man can become a frog just because his wife makes him feel bad.
I also think there was a little too much attention paid to the coffee -- is Starbucks vanilla latte the drink of choice for transsexuals? Or is that just the author's favorite drink?
I don't think this one will stick with me. Interesting concepts but ultimately not my cup of coffee.
See what I did there?
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stePH
Actually has enough cowbell.
Hipparch
Posts: 3124
L, do you know, gods of death love apples?
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« Reply #18 on: September 04, 2009, 08:34:21 am » |
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Seriously? I thought the only way the author could have been more blatant would have been to include a footnote in all caps that read "ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THE POV CHARACTER IS TRANS!"
I figured it out based on the author and reader information. How? Are the author and/or the reader transsexual? |
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God masturbates every time you kill a kitten.
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Rachel Swirsky
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« Reply #19 on: September 04, 2009, 11:47:57 am » |
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Phoebe Harris is a trans woman. She mentioned in her bio that she fathered two children in a previous life and is now living with her wife in what's turning out to be a never-ending adventure. She's also a writer. Here's a link to one of her short stories (which I haven't read, so I can't say anything good or bad about): http://expandedhorizons.net/magazine/?page_id=39You shouldn't assume that stories narrated by trans people will have trans characters, though. We will not be sticking to that formula in the future. |
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