Michal is mulling over the concept of boosting his extravagant Fiction Corpus with a history of the performing arts; cites fatigue

Posted:⚒ 30༚♐²⁶/₂₄♀

I have faith in the concept of exercising English as a common language for the world. I don't have faith in the demoralizing steps through which the English tongue is taught.

Enriching a person's handiness with a language isn't like promoting a cleaner piece of coal. A language - a common language - is not just an instrument that you can learn to wield with a greater amount of precision. A language can't be dissociated from the philosophical currents of a tribe 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.

To make a person recite English is to strip him of its cultural context. A proper teacher has to create a strategy for introducing it; the prudent student ventures out to seek it.

A dictionary has the potential to be an influential tool. The best dictionaries describe a language on the basis of a specific corpus, a set of writing of various size and consistency. Such a corpus could contain everything from a book about literature to a whole bunch of experimental fiction. I watched many nights pass creating my "trifling" Fiction Corpus to form a special class 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 drafted a million words and I have evaluated them, reformulating them - not merely to teach the English tongue but to defend the human spirit, and to goad that spirit or soul not just to recite but to happen.

Michal's Dictionary Navigation — whose
how
what
where
when
who
why
which
A Better Way to Define English: Grouped into Eight Types of Words
Type 6 Answers the Question, "Who?"
The 8 types of words can be associated with the days of the week in the Acceptance calendar. Friday, or Children's Day respresents the "Who"

I15264
he6948
you5633
she4659
her3560
me3378
they2919
we2017
him1743
them1158
us526
nobody167
everybody130
someone89
themselves86
anybody78
whom78
everyone64
whoever12
dey11

Previous title — whose
how
what
where
when
who
why
which
A Better Way to Define English: Grouped into Eight Types of Words
Type 6 Answers the Question, "Who?"
The 8 types of words can be associated with the days of the week in the Acceptance calendar. Friday, or Children's Day respresents the "Who"

I15264
he6948
you5633
she4659
her3560
me3378
they2919
we2017
him1743
them1158
us526
nobody167
everybody130
someone89
themselves86
anybody78
whom78
everyone64
whoever12
dey11

Samples of Fiction from Michal's 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.

If you're wondering...

How do I use this?

Just click on a title to see examples of "fiction" from a particular work. You'll stay on the same spot on the page, only the Table of Contents will disappear. To get back to the Table of Contents just click next to the image of the Bare Bottom imprint where it says "Back to Samples of Fiction: Table of Contents."“And...?”

In the case of common words, a Table of Frequency and a Table of Collocation provide numerical information about how many times a word appears in its original or modified form and with which words. It can help to give you an idea of how common words are used and in what contexts. Find them in the "Common Words of English" part of the Education section.“Ok.”

Why a Fiction Corpus?

The popular understanding of the word "fiction" and its complement "non-fiction" is a reflection of the cultural influence of a classification system. The Dewey Decimal System is responsible for separating "fiction" from all other work and categorizing it by author's name. This has influenced the popular idea of fiction as a narrative that tends to be "untrue" and the product of an individual's fantasy, a bias compounded by modern art's century-long obsession with abstraction, surrealism and self-expression.“So...?”

My idea of fiction rests on the idea that art doesn't have to be factual to be a true reflection of our existence. Adam and Eve didn't have to exist as two individuals 700 generations ago for them to be true portraits of two human beings trying to work together.“And...?”

The Bible is a Fiction Corpus. It is a body of writing that isn't overly concerned with facts and yet its words carry weight. It was written by many different authors living in different places with different audiences in mind, yet everyone gleans something from it.“Right...”

In preparing my fiction corpus, I have striven to see the world through the eyes of others. Through the eyes of my Adams and Eves I hope that you too will glean some truth about our existence. At the very least you will learn some more about how one man can use the English language.“Ok.”

Who are you, Michal?

I'm just a guy who makes art. And if you're interested in making a solid investment in an aesthetic that supports our present and future welfare, then I will help you look for something that you can buy.“How...?”

Everybody makes. Everybody sells. Some people know how to protect their interests. Some better than others. Few people know how to listen. Listening to somebody means considering their interests as if they were your own. Going out and doing something to satisfy another person's interest is how we build a strong economy. Without a strong economy, democracy collapses.“And...?”

Buying 4Occupy is buying for democracy. Don't give your money to somebody who's ruining it. There's no such thing as cheap democracy, quick democracy, or easy democracy. There's good, solid, complete democracy and the tyranny of feudalism. Let's not mix the two. Let's not buy everything on the cheap. Let's not create another tyrant and enslave ourselves because it was easier not to think about what we were doing. Let's protect our interests. Let's listen.“Ok.”

Who's really behind this site?

Have you ever been to one of those post-it-yourself retail websites where there's a really attractive top-seller ready to give you tips on how you can be a top-seller too?“Uh...”

Have you ever been to a "job" interview where you sit in a line, walk through one door, get hired as a contractor and walk out another door, so that the other applicants don't realize that everyone's getting "hired" to work in the same market?“Maybe...”

The internet is full of people who are ready to exploit your ignorance. They are people who want to make money at the expense of our economy. They are cheats.“And...?”

I, Michal, am behind this site. Not some fat plutocrat exploiting my image. I like to do things the right way. I like to work with people who take the time to do things right.“Why...?”

I used to work for a company that didn't do things the right way. My labor was exploited because of mismanagement. That company was the United States Postal Service, an independent agency of the United States Government that is ultimately controlled by Congress. I'm mad because if the Federal Government can exploit labor, who is going to stop every other cheat from doing it?“Labor Unions...?”

Don't say labor unions. I went to my labor union and they did nothing. They ignored me because labor unions aren't democracies. Holding a free and fair election for a "representative" once in a blue moon does not equal people ruling. Democracy means open government. It means we the public need to accept the hard work. It's the only way to secure liberty and equality.“Ok.”

What's the difference between use and usage?

Definition-wise, not much. But the -age suffix is ultimately French in origin and with most things French, at least in American eyes, the immediate thought is that of something precious and arcane whose value should be judged very carefully. This is in contrast to the word France, which is associated with a beautiful place. Thus people in France or from France are beautiful, warm, kind people. Generous even. Unlike French people who suck. Unless you're frenching, in which case you're only sometimes sucking.“And...?”

Along those lines, usage means you're in bed. Use means you're just heavy petting. Also notice that common people, like common words, get used...whereas "proper" things make "appearances." Whether or not you are being exploited is a different story. Exploitation is what happens when somebody uses you or your property without listening to you. Listening is what happens when you consider another person's needs as if they were your own. You don't have to satisfy those needs. All you need to do is consider them. So many of us can't even do that.“So...?”

Help stop exploitation. Buy 4occupy. Buy a better world. Whether or not you feel you can afford to buy art, consider joining my protest. I want to guarantee every working man and every working mother on this planet a 15-day universal holiday. But I can't. Only we can do that. We have to work together. We have to accept the idea that everyone deserves time for himself and we need to build that time into a new kind of calendar. We have to give peace it's own day. We have to make love something you can't avoid. We have to make even the most miserly cold-hearted capitalist among us say that he cashed his check on Love Your Neighbor Day. There won't be any other way to say it once the Acceptance Calendar is widely adopted.“Ok.”

Back to Usage of Who: Table of Contents

Usage of Who in Death to McDonalds

An aerial view of Dodger Stadium in the foreground, with an imaginary partially submerged Los Angeles behind — 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 #4646

i got halfway through painting the new name when i realized im gonna have to give the whole hull a new coat. why am i doing the name.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

11 October, 9:20 AM

Frame #2684

maybe asking expedia to stake out the pier isnt a bad idea. a whole week is paid up for the bed and boat. why let it go to waste.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

25 August, 6:44 PM

Frame #4728

if mcdonalds fired the shots that killed nordstrom. why. what did he gain. and if he didnt cross the street. who killed chase. and why.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

11 October, 1:41 PM

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Usage of Who in The Gospel of Jesus H.

A picture of the planet Mars — 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.

"I was told," continued Sapper, "that after we passed Wroclaw, we would exchange places - but no: he was too proud. And you know what? The windshield vents must have been broken or something: I had to wipe the vapor off with a towel every five minutes. When the towel was soaked, I used up all the tissues; then, toilet paper. It was ridiculous. In the morning, I noticed that there was a defrost button; I don't think my grandfather even knows it's there. If I had seen it, I would've turned it on - or at least, I would've tried to - but the night was pitch black! And the windshield was soaked: halfway through the trip, I ran out of paper. My grandfather had to use his hand. He took off his glasses 'cause he couldn't see! Leaning forward, he was squinting out of his one good eye. It was just about the scariest thing I've ever had to live through: tractor-trailers, one after the other, squeezing us, passing us. When they went in the opposite direction, they would blow us so much wind, I thought we would tip over: the whole car would shudder.

– Verse 212 from the chapter called Adolescence

In the third grade, we kept singing, "This Land is Your Land." The choir was rehearsing for some kind of stupid assembly. There was an older boy there who kept saying that we were singing the goofy lyrics: the stupid lyrics made for children. He wanted to sing the real words. The teacher said these were the real words and we should be quiet. Your father asked him how he knew that these were fake. He said his older brother had told him. I asked him if he actually knew the real words. He said yes. The teacher got very angry with us and gave us both red cards.

– Verse 110 from the chapter called Childhood

On his way out, Jesus said, "Whose graves are these?" They were made of black marble; their names were effaced.

– Verse 243 from the chapter called Adolescence

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Usage of Who in Sex for Children

A drawing of a man between a woman's legs in front of another man in a hospital bed — 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.

NIKE: Alright: well most people credit the man for beginning the fall of Communism, seeing as how the secret denunciation of Stalin's 'cult of personality' was by no means secret for long, and such frankness on the part of someone who actually participated in purges and liquidations, and the current leader of the party no less: it came as a shock to most people, no matter how incompletely or euphemistically the terror was described.

– Title 2, Regarding the Romaniac, Part 1, Section 27, Penetration, Paragraph 99, Clause 1

Now I understand that you may be unaware of certain conditions. And I also understand that you may be superstitiously afraid of discussing a situation that is not only beyond your direct control but upon which your own feelings and desires precariously hinge. But how do you expect me to help you when you neglect to mention your own involvement? Considering what you have told me, don't you think it's important to mention everything else? I have to hear it from our mother? who, of course, has to hear it from Indiana? Did you honestly think it wouldn't reach me? How can you be so childish? You were obviously well aware that I knew nothing about it; I would have chastised you immediately. Liszt! Of all people, you decide to play Liszt! You know how twisted that is.

– Title 2, Regarding the Romaniac, Part 1, Section 2, Finding Yourself in A Situation, Paragraph 2

I enjoyed his cleverness, but I tried hard not to show it. "Let me reassure you," I said, very sternly. "It will be a very long time before I 'lay myself open' to anyone else in the future, be it artistically, emotionally, or physically." And I swore that boy to secrecy, which, I trust, he kept - although I suppose I am now eager for you to verify this. As far as I know, he was the only person who knew about that incident; I received his oath in exchange for my explanation.

– Title 2, Regarding the Romaniac, Part 1, Section 30, Presenting Oneself to a Potential Husband, Paragraph 23

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Usage of Who in Tsiga Tsiga Tsiga

Bullets whizzing by a statue of Nikola Tesla — 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.

Clark jerked his head. He knit his eyebrows. Turning to Pepsi, he asked, quite seriously, "Is that why we're here?"

– from “Two Dudes and a Chinese Desert,” a friendship story featuring a man who thinks he has a pair

To expedite their affairs, the two borrowed codewords from golf. 'Scotch foursome' meant they would alternate women. If Junior yelled, "Greensome," he was keeping his own. 'Scrambling' involved sharing one girl. As a matter of courtesy, she would have to attend the other player's flagstick. If there were very little green, a 'flop shot' would be called, which Junior enjoyed watching land either on the face or on the back.

– from “A Horse Named Clutch Bag,” an inspiring story featuring a man who finally grew up

Shephard straightened up. It was going to be close. The humvee was barreling towards him. He squeezed the clutch. He placed his foot on the gear pedal. He pushed all the way down. He twisted the throttle. He curved his lips into a slight smile. Whoever was behind that wheel, he was trying to run him over. Shephard remembered his time at the Pentagon. He had written a press release once about a drunk-driving marine. His humvee had left skid marks for twenty yards at that speed. If this man wanted to avoid a collision, he would have to hit the brakes now. He didn't. Shephard released the clutch. His tire screeched. Like a mad march hare, he leapt towards the dunes. The humvee careened to a halt. It paused only for a moment. It turned west. It burst into the sand.

– from “Two Dudes and a Chinese Desert,” a friendship story featuring a bunch of camels

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Usage of Who in Sorry Ms. Jackson

Chiseled letters from an ancient stone tablet hanging on a wall — 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.

KOKOMO: I don't.

GREY GOOSE: You love it. You enjoy every minute of it.

KOKOMO: Like hell I do.

GREY GOOSE: You were born for it.

KOKOMO: That's a lie.

GREY GOOSE: You've said so yourself, haven't you? The day you popped out of your mother's hairy, little cunt, you realized you had to work for a living: you had to cry.

KOKOMO: You are an abomination.

GREY GOOSE: Who taught you to use big words like that?

KOKOMO: Certainly not you.

GREY GOOSE: You've been reading the bible. Get in there.

– ACT I, lines 861-870

LESBIAN: I can put this one back. No one can accuse me of stealing it. I just borrowed it to show that some things in life are more important than others. Whom am I kidding? I took it to get into my landlady's panties. I'm a terrible human being. There have been worse than me - like the person who stabbed that poor girl sixty-two times: the first murderer this island has had to fear in more than one hundred and fifty years. Both suspect and victim were like me: alien to this place. Why did we come? What did we hope to find? Peace? We scared her off. Happiness? Satisfaction? Understanding? Why here? Why do we trespass on other people's land? It stands in our way - but of what? There's nothing beyond what's right in front of us at any given time. There's no way of knowing that unless you trespass. All that one can hope to do is make as little damage as possible along the way. We are all criminals, whether we like it or not. Though some of us are big and some of us small, we are all cut from the same dough. That's not the easiest thing to believe when one man robs or kills another man. What was my crime? Why am I punished? Why am I the only one who's alone? Or is it just my imagination? Are there others out there who can see me? Who know me? Who can feel my pain? If there are, I salute you. I would kiss you if I could. I can't, so I just say, 'Thank you.'

– ACT II, line 583

(MS. JACKSON exits.)

KOKOMO: You should've washed.

FLETCHER: What difference would that have made? I wore my suit yesterday. Nobody cared - except for me. It was killing me. No, Mother: that prosecutor took one look at me and old man Menzies and that was it. We were out of there. Thank you kindly.

KOKOMO: Did it take long?

FLETCHER: Long enough to waste my time.

MS. JACKSON: (off) Why would he not want you?

FLETCHER: Who knows? Perhaps the prosecution thinks I'm immature.

KOKOMO: You're not?

FLETCHER: No.

MS. JACKSON: (off) It's because you're unpredictable, like an old man.

– ACT I, lines 8-16

FLETCHER: Next you'll say my mother.

ALICE: Why not Kokomo?

FLETCHER: Our cook?

ALICE: She's pretty.

FLETCHER: That's not the point.

ALICE: I think she's beautiful.

FLETCHER: You like boys: strapping young men, who know how to treat a woman right.

ALICE: Stop it.

FLETCHER: You like it when they stroke your arm and your back.

ALICE: Stop.

– ACT I, lines 672-681

FLETCHER: You assume I lied about that.

MS. JACKSON: I've never heard you accused of anything.

FLETCHER: No one's ever gossiped to you about me or what I do or whom I see?

MS. JACKSON: Why are you being so contrary?

FLETCHER: I'm just surprised you didn't hear anything about me and Mrs. Menzies making out behind St. Barnabas. I guess the McCoy brothers kept their end of the bargain. They extorted five hundred and fifty-two dollars from me in exchange for promising to keep quiet. Cash, by the way, is very hard to come by on this island. What could I do? I couldn't have the usual gossip substantiated by solid testimony from a pair of young, sweet, innocent-looking boys, could I?

– ACT I, lines 122-126

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Usage of Who in Miscellaneous Dingbats

The title of the book at the end of a string of miscellaneous dingbats — A story book full of short fiction stories. An interesting bedtime mystery. A fairy tale. Science fiction romance. Adult life. Uninspiring gay fiction. Horror.

"Listen to me," said Orbitz Número Dos. "Stay aft of the bulkhead by the mizzenmast. On the side of the sauna. That chunk of the ship gets blown into the tesseract. It'll be spinning so fast you'll be knocked out. There's nothing else you have to do. The tesseract gets nudged by the explosion. It drifts on its own back into the singularity."

"What happened the first time? Was I just lucky?"

– from “The Death and Life of Captain Orbitz,” a science fiction romance in the tradition of Stanislaw Lem, if you know who that is

"No," said Sara Lee.

– from “The Death and Life of Captain Orbitz,” a science fiction romance in the spirit of Stanislaw Lem, if you know who that is

"I'm lying," said Orbitz Nombre Trois. "I used to do that to myself all the time. I know exactly which way I came. I tried to beat myself. I got stopped for questioning on the cruise ship. There was no way around it. Just like there's no way around the gas giant. You're going to fail."

"I can't know that for sure," said Orbitz Número Dos. "As far as I know you and the other one are hallucinations."

– from “The Death and Life of Captain Orbitz,” a science fiction romance in the spirit of Stanislaw Lem, if you know who that is