Michal is considering the viability of augmenting his mighty Fiction Corpus with a story about free printable calendars; cites fatigue
Posted:
I accept the soundness of using English as a universal standard. I don't trust in the prevailing technique by which the English tongue is presented for study.
Upgrading one's expertise with a language isn't like promoting a stronger mast. A language - a spoken language - isn't just a tool that you can teach yourself to manipulate with greater amounts of precision. A language can not be split from the shared logic of a group of people of which it is a description. A language isn't recited; it happens - and keeps happening as long as a circle of people keeps using it.
Teaching students to recite English is to deprive them of its cultural context. A capable educator has to create a strategy for introducing it; the smartest student ventures out to seek it.
A dictionary has the potential to be an influential tool. A decent dictionary will define a language based on a specific corpus, a set of writing of varying scope and consistency. Such a corpus might include everything from a book about literature to some real ghost stories. I watched many nights pass forging my "formidable" Fiction Corpus in order to form a specific kind of dictionary based on the ability of one man to tell a story in many different forms. It is a labor of love and listening.
I have molded a million words and I have classified them, reframing them - not just to teach a language but to be an advocate for the human spirit, and to coax that spirit or soul not just to recite but to happen.
A word can represent many things. First and foremost it represents a type of gesture. A specific way of speaking. A specific way of inscribing a mark. A specific way of moving your hand. To know one of these kinds of gestures is to know how to pronounce the word sky in some kind of way.
If you want to communicate an idea using the word sky, you will need to know what other people are made to think when you make the gesture. You will never have complete awareness of or control over the associations or identities that are invoked by a set of words, but you can know what was and what is a single word's jointly accepted definition, at least for a given place, thereby tracing a direction which will help you to understand what kinds of associations and identities are driving its use.
By using the word yourself, you enter into a long-standing albeit oftentimes unconscious debate over its definition, forever entangling yourself into the history of its use. The way you use it, and which other words you use it with carries weight.
The more you know about where the word sky is located in the fabric of a language, the better you will be at exploiting its cultural power.
Pronunciation of Sky
I have yet to publish a pronunciation for the word sky.
Video of me pronouncing "sky."
Definition of Sky
I have yet to publish the definition of sky.
I'm sure it won't take too long.
Common use of sky in illustrative example sentences
I have yet to come up with a third sentence using the word sky.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a fourth sentence using the word sky.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a fifth sentence using the word sky.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a sixth sentence using the word sky.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a seventh sentence using the word sky.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
Usage of Sky in Michal's Fiction Corpus
Michal's Fiction Corpus of Acceptance Literature (FiCAL) is presented under the Bare Bottom imprint. It is currently comprised of six bodies of work, each representing a different pillar of culture and incorporating a wide variety of writhing styles.
I have yet to make a morphological analysis of the word sky.
That doesn't mean it's not high on my list.
Table of Frequency for the Word "Sky."
This table lists in descending order the total number of times that the word skyand any of its morphological derivations appears in the Fiction Corpus, along with a breakdown of frequency by title, the respective rank of each word in the complete list of all words in the Corpus, as calculated both densely and competitively, as well as the percent increase in frequency of the word over the frequency of the next lowest rank in the complete list.
Percent Increase over next rank
RANK
WORD
Frequency
TOTAL # of occurences
MCDONALDS
JESUS
SEX
TSIGA
JACKSON
DINGBATS
dense
competitive
modern/sloppy
biblical/terse
poetic/high-brow
hard/fast
talky
mixed salad
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I have yet to publish the table of frequency for the word sky, but I will get to it shortly. -Michal
A story bible for a comic book series set in a post climate-change California narrated by eight characters who live through a natural disaster that sinks Los Angeles and triggers a war with an expansionist Mexican government covertly supported by China.
Frame #5025
the captains willing to give me fuel. but he thinks i should stay with him. i dont know whats more risky. i should take a look at the radar.
An experimental science fiction Christology that makes Jesus the hard boiled narrator of his own early years on a bizarro earth made dark by volcanic ash and informally ruled by a man from Mars who sells bottled air.
A distant crack - the sky shrieked. BOOM! came the sound.
"No," she said. "They're watching us." We looked up at the dusty, dirty sky. I growled, "They won't be able to know what I'm doing, not if I do it like this." Leaning my head down, I covered hers with mine. I tried to kiss her on the lips, but our teeth struck. Pulling back, I tried again. The second time was better; it deserved a third. Pulling back, I kissed her one more time; this time, we held it for a while. Your mother had very nice lips. They were big.
Those were not laughing days, child. In those days, there was much hardship. Sixty-eight years before I was born, Yellowstone exploded. Five thousand cubic kilometers of boiling magma came to blanket the Earth, kill mankind, terrorize his animals, and fell his favorite trees. Earth bled, and the sky grew dark. It rained blackness. The whole planet stank like a struck match: burning brimstone, like the Bible says - in other words, black clouds of sulfur: they came to suffocate, incinerate. In faraway places, water turned to steam: it boiled. Volcanic ash came tumbling down. The wind blew steam and hot rock. Millions died; the rest wept black tears.
A literature book narrated by a pair of siblings on either side of the Atlantic whose profoundly weird sexual experiences pose a serious challenge to their traditional understanding of mathematicians, marriage, gay young men and God.
After thanking her, I told Indiana I remembered giving Albert a CD for Christmas not so long ago. "Yes," she said, "the Rusalka. He really likes it. But I don't know where it is. I wish I had time to look for it." Sure enough, when I opened the carousel, there she was: Renée Fleming and the Czech Philharmonic. I cursed myself for not checking earlier. But then I had to brace myself, and prepare my fragile psyche to endure the back-to-back sounds of Dvořák, National Anthems of the World, and best of all, Soap Opera's Favorite Wedding Music - all in heavy rotation. By the end of that first day of painting, I was crazier than Indiana could ever be. I was singing to the moon, high up in the deep sky: mĕsíčku na nebi hlubokém, formez vos bataillons! marchons! marchons to the alter!
It was not a windy day for us, but up there high in the sky among the clouds it must have been very windy. There were only a few clouds and they were all very high up, so they must have been moving at tremendous speeds. They were almost as fast as the planes. In fact, as a jet plane would fly by overhead, its cloudy trail would start swinging behind it, as if the plane had been banking a curve instead of going straight.
– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 2, The Second Day, Part 1, Labor & Economic Reform, Section 17, Crossing Paths, Paragraph 3, Clauses 1-4
Soon we passed by the Treasury and saw the park in front of us. There was little conversation - but once inside its verdant border, we had to comment on the park's beauty. "It is beautiful," I said. And everyone agreed. We found a quiet and secluded place. We smoked some more. Then we just lay there on our backs, inspecting the sky.
– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 2, The Second Day, Part 1, Labor & Economic Reform, Section 17, Crossing Paths, Paragraph 2
One such trail somehow broke in two, and the segments began racing each other. But the force of wind which made them break also left them spinning: so, in the sky at that moment, there happened to be two trails of cloud spinning around in circles and racing each other. It was a most unexpected amusement. But then, the trails blew into each other, like two unfortunate sculls colliding, and the race was over. For a moment, they crossed themselves, forming a Latin cross of cloud, which then quickly spun itself into St. Andrew's. But the winds were so heavy, and the clouds were dissipating so fast, that the cross in the sky quickly withered away.
– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 2, The Second Day, Part 1, Labor & Economic Reform, Section 17, Crossing Paths, Paragraph 3, Clauses 7-14
There in my mind, I saw quiet corners, back alleys, by the harbor, ocean liners, the continents from space, looking through a thick glass, wildfire, trouble on the steppe, horsemen, going to horse shows, dressage tournaments, Austria, rich people, descendants of nobility, the peasantry, young people with no future, old people, the sky, phasing of the moon, smiling moon, fortune smiling, powerful people, success, happiness, envy, envy, envy.
A collection of stories featuring a sexy Parisian ghost, a spooky Moon base full of vagina-faced aliens, a policeman with an Irish name, a truck full of watermelons, a flautist, and a man who has to see another man about a diseased horse.
Tatum watched the rockets blow. A cloud of dust mushroomed around them. Moon rocks scattered. The ship climbed. The flames cut out. The thrusters sputtered into action. Up in the airless sky, the small, white box slipped through the peaks of eternal light. The sun glistened off its surface. Tatum followed it for as long as she could-until the darkness of the lunar night swallowed it.
A man came down the ramp. He looked up. "My God," he cried. "It's beautiful." Tae nodded. A luminous nebula stretched above them. It filled more than half the sky. "I thought I was warm from the de-freezing process," said the man. "I doubt it ever gets completely dark around here."
"There are four stars," said Tae. "I checked the computer."
The Magi were eager to hear Gog's story. He described to them the origin of the three swords. He explained his quest. They agreed that the holy disc of the wintering sun had escaped the Scorpion's claws. In heading towards the woman of the sky, it had placed all the descendents of Japheth in danger.
Junior seized those hands. He gazed into the woman's eyes. He whispered, "Don't you know?" Nyota shook her head. Junior smiled. He jerked his head toward the sky. Nyota looked up. A blimp was passing over the roof of the grandstand.
"Your price is worth far more than rubies," said Junior, "or a company, or even the Belmont's million-dollar prize."
Ferrari left her without saying a word. He went to recline on the day bed in the garden. The skylarks bombarded him with noisy twittering-nature's version of men shooting crossbows and hand cannons. Ferrari thought of how angry he had been with his stepmother. When she showed up with food, the feeling dissipated. She sat on the edge of the bed. Ferrari stared at her bosom. He wanted to unlace her brown bodice and reach inside. "Boy or girl?" he asked.
A real play. With drama in it. Talk fast. It takes two hours. Set in a guest house. In a small community. After a murder. Lots of suspicion. The characters learn to listen to each other. It's funny.
FLETCHER: Trouble. The Tahitians were already upset. They hadn't been given any land when the island was divided, not to mention the fact that some of them were being beaten. Naturally, they started plotting. What they didn't take into account was the fact that To-ofa-iti, the blacksmith's new wife, was not complaining. The blacksmith was important. That made her important. She started singing a song, the words of which went, "Why does black man sharpen axe? To kill white man." When Fletcher Christian heard that song, he grabbed his musket, ran to the Tahitians, charged them with their crime, and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired. Two of the men ran; the rest protested their innocence. They begged for a chance to take care of it. They decided they should try to poison To-ofa-iti's husband. He didn't fall for it. He was too smart. Ultimately, one of the Tahitian men pulled a pistol on him in the presence of his wife. Again, the gun misfired. The two of them started grappling on the ground. Who knows who would've won? To-ofa-iti, however, was not about to take chances. She picked up the pistol with her own two hands and bopped her husband squarely on the head.
ALICE: She killed him?
FLETCHER: Eventually. Things were deceptively quiet for a few weeks. It didn't take long for judgment to fall upon the poor blacksmith. The Tahitians shot him down like a pig. Ironically, that's what the other mutineers thought they were doing. Being scattered all over the island, each man heard the shots and naturally assumed that somebody was hunting. Most of them found out too late that they were the prey.
ALICE: How many of them were killed?
FLETCHER: On that day, now known as Massacre Day, five of the original nine mutineers were fatally shot. Fletcher Christian was next. He was standing in his garden. Both of his hands were on his spade. He looked up at the sky and smiled. He never saw it coming. They shot him right through the heart.
ALICE: How did the others survive?
FLETCHER: Jackson was shot through the neck but he lived.
ALICE: Incredible.
FLETCHER: It's a miracle. Ned Young slept through the whole thing. The women didn't want to wake him. They all liked him and they didn't want to see him get hurt, so they stood around his hut and guarded him. Eventually, though, even he had to get his hands dirty. The women wanted revenge on the Tahitians for killing their husbands. After Ned's consort chopped off the ringleader's head with an axe, he was made to go and shoot the last remaining rebel. That was the end of the bloodshed - not counting when he and Jackson got Quintal drunk and murdered him.
A story book full of short fiction stories. An interesting bedtime mystery. A fairy tale. Science fiction romance. Adult life. Uninspiring gay fiction. Horror.
Pfizer wandered around the ground floor for a while. Aimless and distracted. He thought about hopping into a suit and swimming through the sky. In a few years it wouldn't be possible. The atmosphere was getting less dense. Pfizer hit himself in the head. Trivialities. It was the phosphane lions he had to worry about. Their habitat was disappearing. If he couldn't prove their indigenous nature they would never survive. Only his samples would remain. As long as some unscrupulous administrator didn't toss them out. Along with Pfizer's career.
A quiet corner. A back alley. By the harbor. An ocean liner. The continents from space. Looking through a glass of water. A wildfire. A man on horseback. Surrounded by horses. Galloping. Going to a horse show. Dressage. Austria. Rich people. Descendants of nobility. Peasantry. Young people. Their future. Uncertainty. Old folks. The sky. The phasing of the moon. A crescent. Smiling fortune. Powerful people. Success. Happiness. Envy.
My comrade and I descend. The man on the road is tired. He is looking up into the sky. He is wincing in pain. We get closer and closer. His mouth is agape. He is breathing us in. We penetrate his heart.
A man climbs to the roof to replace the shingles. He is calling my name. A boy appears beside him. Their work is long and tedious. The man must pause. He removes his hat to wipe his brow. My comrade and I shudder. The man is our son. His head bald as a goose's egg. His face wan as the moon. Our gasps of terror send us hurtling into the sky.
It must be easy for men like Jeff and Matt to get rid of love. To move on. Their torches must be tiny. I couldn't do it. I would burn for love brighter than a billion arrows. I would rip this rubber shell right off my soul. But I can't do it on a chance. It's too risky.
This table lists in descending order of frequency a selection of word pairs that appear in the Fiction Corpus and groups them according to the morphological derivation of the word sky that appears in the pair.
Type
WORD
Frequency
TOTAL # of occurences
MCDONALDS
JESUS
SEX
TSIGA
JACKSON
DINGBATS
modern/sloppy
biblical/terse
poetic/high-brow
hard/fast
talky
mixed salad
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I have yet to perform a collocation analysis of "sky." I hope I can get it done sometime soon. -Michal
If a 45-year-old businesswoman and hard working mother of three kids is going to pose nude for a calendar, it's gonna have to be a good one. Margo didn't start a coffee shop called the Vagina Cafe to win her favors from the establishment. Even as she dishes out prizes to the 20 women who placed last in the twentienth anniversary run of her town's biggest road race, her business, unlike everyone else, doesn't get mentioned. She was an official sponsor for Christ's sake! But the announcer just couldn't swallow his patriarchy and get the words "Vagina Cafe" out of his mouth. That's not something a proper gentleman would say in front of a crowd of humble God-fearing "ladies" who cherish their modesty! And a Body Acceptance Calendar is certainly not what a humble God-fearing book-seller like a Barnes and Noble would put on their shelves! So how do I expect to sell this in the mainstream? Maybe if you download the free versions a thousand billion times it might help. Start downloading.
Help maintain the "Sky" page alive...
If you love women and art...
Michal is importing art...is he crackers?
Michal's Sales Pitch Lot 1: Silesian Handicrafts
T-shirt fundraiser for sale
Last T-Shirt with the logo that I designed.
From a set of, I believe, twenty produced by Margo and given out to a portion of the last 20 women to finish the 20th anniversary Fiat Road Race in Bielsko-Biała, cf. the movie. This is the last one left in it's original packaging and my supporters - like the poor women of Bielsko - are going to have to fight for it. Whoever invests the most money with me, and who lets me borrow it to invest in the next lot, will not only be rewarded with some beautiful piece of art, but will get this priceless t-shirt as a reward for being my top supporter. $1000.00 or best offer. Remember to authorize me to hold the sum as credit against a future purchase and to authorize me to borrow against it.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #1 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Felt handbag for sale
Felt bag by Dorota.
Entirely hand-sewn. Base: polyester felt, 100% PE. Motif: South American woolen yarn, dyed, 100% wool. Hand-worked with a needle. Unique and inimitable design. Inside: cotton fabric, closes with zipper, inside pocket. Available now for $220.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #2 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Decorative collar for sale
Decorative collar by Zuzanna.
Ethnic layered cloth jewelry constructed on a cotton base and adorned with ribbons, tassels, and a yellow fringe. Fastened on the side with 11 buttons, fitted entirely with a pleasant lining. The style is an Indo-Asian-African multinational color combination. The collar is very extravagant and an extraordinary addition to any clothing, guaranteed to attract attention. Just a simple dress and a unique image is ready. Dry-cleaning recommended. Available now for $200.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #3 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Seamless handbag for sale
Handbag by Sylwia.
Handmade from felted all-natural Australian and South American wool. Entirely felted, seamless. Finished with a white lining, inside is a small pocket. Lining is sewn and stitched in by hand. Available now for $180.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #4 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Patchwork quilt for sale
Patchwork quilt by Alicja.
Bedspread made of cotton and polyester material. Inserted with polyester lining. 90 by 70 cm. Available now for $120.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #5 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Nuno-felt shawl for sale
Shawl by Sylwia.
Scarf made with the nuno felting technique (wet felting fibre into a silk gauze) using South American wool. Two-sided scarf with latticework at the ends. Wholly in the colors red, black, green in an abstract pattern. Available now for $100.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #6 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Clara the doll for sale
Clara by Alicja.
Clara loves roses and greenery, adores tormenting spiders with long legs and sleeping soundly in the afternoon. Cuddly toy made of cotton and polyester, stuffed with polyester lining. Available now for $70.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #7 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Noah the doll for sale
Noah by Alicja.
Noah doesn't know what to like and what not to like but keeps wondering and thinking about it. Cuddly toy made of cotton and polyester, stuffed with polyester lining. Available now for $70.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #8 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Black suspenders for sale
Black suspenders by Zuzanna.
Two-sided suspenders from black material with a rose motif on one side and striped cotton on the other. Connected by a leather triangle. Adjustable length. Hand washing in cold water recommended. Available now for $50.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #9 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Orange suspenders for sale
Orange suspenders by Zuzanna.
Two-sided suspenders made of denim and orange material with a Polish floral folk design. Connected by a leather triangle. Adjustable length. Hand washing in cold water recommended. Available now for $50.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #10 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Green suspenders for sale
Green suspenders by Zuzanna.
Two-sided suspenders made of denim and green material with a mountain folk design. Connected by a leather triangle. Adjustable length. Hand washing in cold water recommended. Available now for $50.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #11 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Felt earrings for sale
Felt earrings by Dorota.
Material: South American woolen yarn, dyed, 100% wool. Hand-worked with a needle. Pendant of anti-allergenic metal. Available now for $40.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #12 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Round ceramic earrings for sale
Round ceramic earrings by Dorota.
Material: Glazed ceramics, hand-molded. Available now for $40.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #13 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
Oblong ceramic earrings for sale
Oblong ceramic earrings by Dorota.
Material: Glazed ceramics, hand-molded. Available now for $40.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #14 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
'Coral' necklace for sale
Corals by Sylwia.
Necklace made of cotton pieces with organdy and decorated with beads, suspended on cotton strings. Can be worn as a necklace, as a brooch or as a belt tied at the side. Available now for $40.00. Ships free of additional charge via USPS (uninsured) unless otherwise directed.
To purchase please mail a USPS money order in an envelope clearly marked Lot #1/Item #15 to M. Slaby at house number 201 on Ridge Road in the town of West Milford, in the state of New Jersey, one of the beautiful United States of America. The postal code is 07480-3112.
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