Your Autobiography in Six Words - Give it a Try! - Greetings from L.A.!
ah - just came back from the most fabulous Chinese dinner out in Alhambra - full suckling piggy courses and then some - nine of us decimated the food - i love L.A. - well, i'm unveiling the below today before i'm off to Encinitas to stay with our friend, Joe - who has come and visited us in New Zealand almost every year we've been there already
i'm thinking about one myself - i've been stewing over this for a while - and i'll put mine in sometime in the next week - so keep a lookout!
i would like to read yours!
post 'em in the replies:)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-smith5feb05,0,2717069,full.story
February 5, 2008
Everyone has a story. That's the tag on the masthead of SMITH, our online magazine. Yet until we asked the world to send us six-word memoirs, even we had no idea how true it was.
We took a page from Ernest Hemingway. According to legend, he was challenged to write a novel in only six words and came up with "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." We posed the same challenge online, but we asked for true-life stories -- in just half a dozen well-chosen words.
To launch the challenge, we posted examples from names we figured most readers would know, such as "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert ("Me see world! Me write stories!"; she naturally e-mailed hers in from an airport runway in Indonesia) and celebrity chef Mario Batali (he sent seven, each enlightening but none as pitch-perfect as "Brought it to a boil, often").
More than 15,000 (and counting) submissions later, we arecontinually struck by what proves possible in just six words.
The short, short life stories keep coming in. As we type this, a quick glance reveals that Emily Hambridge "wanted to write but feared failure." With half a dozen words and a few clicks of the keyboard, she's just rewritten the story of her life.
What's yours?
Ex-wife and contractor now have house.
-- Drew Peck
Wasn't born a redhead; fixed that.
-- Andie Grace
Chinese immigrant loathing drama in Anaheim.
-- Eric Wong
Can't tonight, watching "Law & Order."
-- Rory Evans
Found true love, married someone else.
-- Bjorn Stromberg
Fifteen years since last professional haircut.
-- Dave Eggers
One tooth, one cavity, life's cruel.
-- John Bettencourt
Must remember: people, gadgets. That order.
-- Brian Lam
Made a mess. Cleaned it up.
-- Amy Anderson
Hockey is not just for boys.
-- Alexandra Duplin
Put whole self in, shook about.
-- Melissa Delzio
My second-grade teacher was right.
-- Janelle Brown
Well, I thought it was funny.
-- Stephen Colbert
Where the hell are my keys?
-- Brady Udall
Dad wore leather pants in Reno.
-- John Falk
Secret of life: Marry an Italian.
-- Nora Ephron
Little bit Lucy, tempered by Ethel.
--Tami Maus
I think, therefore I am bald.
-- Dickie Widjaja
Took scenic route, got in late.
-- Will Blythe
Being a monk stunk. Better gay.
-- Bob Redman
Became my mother. Please shoot me.
-- Cynthia Kaplan
Should not have eaten those mushrooms.
-- Emilie Raguso
Was father, boys died, still sad.
-- Ronald Zalewski
ABCs MTV SATs THC IRA NPR.
-- Jancee Dunn
It's pretty high. You go first.
-- Alan Eagle
Me: consistently avoiding death since 1978!
-- Daniel Fowlkes
New Jersey to California. Thank God.
-- Ayelet Waldman
I still make coffee for two.
-- Zak Nelson
It was embarrassing, so don't ask.
-- Alex Lindquist
Larry Smith, founder of the online magazine SMITH, and Rachel Fershleiser are the co-editors of "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure." Read/submit memoirs at smithmag.net.
i'm thinking about one myself - i've been stewing over this for a while - and i'll put mine in sometime in the next week - so keep a lookout!
i would like to read yours!
post 'em in the replies:)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-smith5feb05,0,2717069,full.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Short on words, deep in meaning
When SMITH magazine asked readers for their six-word memoirs, the miniature life stories had huge impact.
By Larry Smith and Rachel FershleiserFebruary 5, 2008
Everyone has a story. That's the tag on the masthead of SMITH, our online magazine. Yet until we asked the world to send us six-word memoirs, even we had no idea how true it was.
We took a page from Ernest Hemingway. According to legend, he was challenged to write a novel in only six words and came up with "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." We posed the same challenge online, but we asked for true-life stories -- in just half a dozen well-chosen words.
To launch the challenge, we posted examples from names we figured most readers would know, such as "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert ("Me see world! Me write stories!"; she naturally e-mailed hers in from an airport runway in Indonesia) and celebrity chef Mario Batali (he sent seven, each enlightening but none as pitch-perfect as "Brought it to a boil, often").
More than 15,000 (and counting) submissions later, we arecontinually struck by what proves possible in just six words.
The short, short life stories keep coming in. As we type this, a quick glance reveals that Emily Hambridge "wanted to write but feared failure." With half a dozen words and a few clicks of the keyboard, she's just rewritten the story of her life.
What's yours?
Ex-wife and contractor now have house.
-- Drew Peck
Wasn't born a redhead; fixed that.
-- Andie Grace
Chinese immigrant loathing drama in Anaheim.
-- Eric Wong
Can't tonight, watching "Law & Order."
-- Rory Evans
Found true love, married someone else.
-- Bjorn Stromberg
Fifteen years since last professional haircut.
-- Dave Eggers
One tooth, one cavity, life's cruel.
-- John Bettencourt
Must remember: people, gadgets. That order.
-- Brian Lam
Made a mess. Cleaned it up.
-- Amy Anderson
Hockey is not just for boys.
-- Alexandra Duplin
Put whole self in, shook about.
-- Melissa Delzio
My second-grade teacher was right.
-- Janelle Brown
Well, I thought it was funny.
-- Stephen Colbert
Where the hell are my keys?
-- Brady Udall
Dad wore leather pants in Reno.
-- John Falk
Secret of life: Marry an Italian.
-- Nora Ephron
Little bit Lucy, tempered by Ethel.
--Tami Maus
I think, therefore I am bald.
-- Dickie Widjaja
Took scenic route, got in late.
-- Will Blythe
Being a monk stunk. Better gay.
-- Bob Redman
Became my mother. Please shoot me.
-- Cynthia Kaplan
Should not have eaten those mushrooms.
-- Emilie Raguso
Was father, boys died, still sad.
-- Ronald Zalewski
ABCs MTV SATs THC IRA NPR.
-- Jancee Dunn
It's pretty high. You go first.
-- Alan Eagle
Me: consistently avoiding death since 1978!
-- Daniel Fowlkes
New Jersey to California. Thank God.
-- Ayelet Waldman
I still make coffee for two.
-- Zak Nelson
It was embarrassing, so don't ask.
-- Alex Lindquist
Larry Smith, founder of the online magazine SMITH, and Rachel Fershleiser are the co-editors of "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure." Read/submit memoirs at smithmag.net.
Comments
wonderful what one can convey in six words
in bed
with book
Was conned and saw the light!
That has multiple meanings .................
Kicked in the guts. Getting up!
By the way Paikea, I still can't get the image of piglet out of my head :-)
heh heh - excellent, Chezz:)
as for the piglet - that won't be happening any time again in the near future
Wow this is a hard one...only six words, yikes!
Calculated risks, soft center, happy endings!
Laughter and music: the bare necessities
Still trying to figure things out.
HEY !!! I jut got access to my home email for the first time in a week and got teh email about your post. It sounds like you're having a great time. Yum yum meal for sure !!!
oh, totally!
i think life would be rather boring if we had it all figured out, don't you?
because i made Pina Coladas with it!!
come have some!
hey LBeeeze:)
oh - the first course - i will never get over it - perfect crispy bbq skin on small puffy sweet rice bun with sauce - ahhhhh - sooo goood - i could have just eaten those! - similar to the first course in Peking Duck
yes, i am having a good time, actually
we're currently in Florida at Steven's parent's with his younger brother and his fiance - who is also of Indian decent - hee hee hee - poor Joan (my mother-in-law) - so looking forward to nice Jewish daughter-in-laws - so did not get them - i don't think she's too disappointed:)
*Grabs favorite Pina Colada glass and hurries over to Paikea's!*
That six word autobiography was not easy, lol!
Well I'm glad she's not dissapointed !! Glad to hear you're having such a great time.
That's so funny....I work with lots of people from Israel and India....the two cultures, although very different from each other, mix very well.
you can have some Lindt truffles, too - do you like the hazelnut ones?
hey Stephel -
we're here till Thurs - Hobe Sound - not that far from West Palm Beach - you're here or coming here too, right? next up is Boston for a couple of days and then home, which won't feel like home
without our Shitty Kitty - *sob*
he just died yesterday - sooner than we'd thought - he was old and has been sick - and we weren't there - the poor guy just couldn't hold on for one more week - we did talk to him over the phone - but we're kind of devastated - and Steven has never lost a pet before:(
a tribute page is in the works - he deserves one
hey:)
yeah, it's become increasingly clear to me that the cultures do mix well - they have some similar values i think - melding the two seem to work pretty well
So sad about your Kitty! *hug* I actually had something like that happen. I was actually in Sarasota 3 years ago and one of my gerbils got sick and died while I was gone. I know exactly how you feel. I was going home in a few days also. That always makes it worse
[this is yummy] Yeeeath!... *wipes drools*...Yes! Thank you :P***