Machine Man

[RadioactiveMan]

The following is a project by a favourite author of mine, Max Barry. It's a very interesting thing that he's starting, so I'd like to introduce you to it. The idea is explained below or at the following link.

My recommendation is that you subscribe to the RSS feed for Machine Man and perhaps if it sparks your interest you could poke around maxbarry.com to see his books. Both that I have read were excellent.

http://www.maxbarry.com/2009/03/04/news.html

This is the something

I’ve never loved the idea of reading a novel online, because novels aren’t meant to be read that way: they are designed to envelop you. Anything I see on the web, by contrast, I give my attention for a maximum of eight seconds before checking Reddit for videos of laughing dogs. Don’t say that’s just me. It’s how the internet trains us.

So rather than trying to shoe-horn a novel into a web-friendly format, I thought I’d write you a real-time serial. That means a continuing story that turns up one tiny page at a time in your inbox. It is titled “Machine Man.”

I say “real-time” because I will write it as you read it. I’m warning you about this up-front because it’s going to be a little chaotic, and Hemingway was right. Also there is the possibility that it will go so badly I nuke this part of the web site and pretend it never happened. But it’s the web, right? So I will release early and release often.

Right now you can sign up for free. If it goes well, I’ll turn it into a subscriber thing where you can buy the whole thing for $6.95.

Pages start Wednesday March 18, 2009. You can find out more here.

I hope you like it.

P.S. I’m not sure if anyone’s done anything quite like this before. If they have, and it was a disaster, please don’t tell me.

P.P.S. Special thanks/blame to Ian for haranguing me into doing this.

For any readers with acute link-o-phobia, the first installment is pasted here:

One Tuesday afternoon my left leg was severed. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Well, it was. It was agonizing. There was a lot of screaming and flopping around and trying to tear my shirt into pieces to stem the bleeding. While I was busy with this, my co-workers stared through two-inch polycarbonate security glass and beat on the door. They couldn’t get in. It was sealed for their safety. I had to apply my own tourniquet and try not to pass out for eight minutes. While I lay there, waiting for the time-release, I could see the top of what used to be my leg poking out from between two thick slabs of steel, gently dripping blood to the floor. I felt sorry for it. My leg hadn’t asked for this. It had been a good leg. A faithful leg. And now look at it.

But in the weeks afterward, as I lay in my hospital bed, I came to see the bright side. I remembered that expression: A setback is just an opportunity in disguise. I decided that was true. Because while I was sad to lose my leg, now I could build a better one.

Edited:

I present myself with this award for posting in the wrong forum.


Dear:

[ ] Moron
[ ] Mal
[ ] Loser
[X] Ganker
[ ] 12 Year Old
[ ] Thread Hijacker
[ ] Troll
[ ] Noob
[ ] Whiner
[ ] Fruit of the Stupid Tree
[ ] Other

You are being flamed because:

[ ] You forgot to search.
[ ] You posted duplicate threads
[ ] You've created another military thread.
[ ] You posted another political thread.
[ ] You're just an idiot.
[X] You don't know which forum to post in.
[ ] You made a ridiculous claim.
[ ] I don't like your tone of voice.
[ ] You fell from "the tree."
[ ] You posted false information.
[ ] You just plain suck.
[ ] YOU POSTED A MESSAGE ALL WRITTEN IN CAPS.
[ ] The topic/content of your post is too obvious. Duh!
[ ] You are too stupid to argue with.
[ ] You created another “Good ol’ days” thread.

In punishment, you must:

[ ] Delete your forum ID.
[X] Apologize to [Justchil]
[ ] Apologize to everybody on this forum.
[ ] Never post again.
[ ] All of the above.

In closing, I'd like to say:

[ ] Your model brain is defective, leave until you have one that works.
[ ] Stop stinking up the gene pool.
[X] Go back to school and finish your education.
[ ] Get a life.
[ ] I've found more intelligent things floating in the toilet.
[ ] Learn to post correctly.
[ ] Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

[ ] A concerned friend.
[X] Your worst enemy.
[ ] A general passer-by.

[jung_adore_ALIZEE]

interesting indeed I think I shall be a subscriber

[jung_adore_ALIZEE]

has to be one of the greatest wrong forum posts of the year too