FanStory wrote to Amicus: Congratulations! The September winner of the Recognized Writer reward.
    Writingfundimension: What a wonderful acknowledgement of all that you offer to your fellow site members. Well deserved! Bev -
    Pili Pubul: Congratulations Amicus, I will start reading your work now , I never had the pleasure. -
    Bayberry: I was so happy to read of your recognition for quality writing. It is truly well-deserved. :> -
    starkat: Congratulations Amicus! It's wonderful to see you recognized in this fashion. Fantastic! ;o) Art -
    pixiemillie: Congratulations, Amicus. Well-deserved. -
    IndianaIrish: Warmest congratulations and woo hoo to you, Amicus! You're so worthy of this wonderful honor :>) -
    dbmccarter: I had read some of your work but not all. I went back and read more. I can see why you won the award. Congratulations. -
    leesm: Very very well deserved my friend. Congratulations. -
    writer c: A proper congrats would be in good haiku form, but accept my warmest woohoo for this honor anyway!!! -
    HighKu: Do your end zone dance! Then back to work! Congratulations for a well deserved recognition.
    All the Best to You! -
    Amicus: What a nice surprise...Thank you all for your warm well wishes. -
    mountainwriter49: Congratulations! I'm very proud of you and so pleased you have been recognized for your exceptional writing. -ray -
    adewpearl: A well-earned win, my friend :-)
    Make sure Ben knows he has reason to be proud ;-) -
    Belinda: Hi, Amicus, congratulations. I agree fully with the Committee for this right choice. Belinda -
    Lois Delaney: Congratulations, Amicus. What an honour is must be, but a well-deserved one at that. -
    flygirl254: My Wahoooooo!!! to you, my friend, with extra "oo"s included.

    You have done so much to help James and I learn. I believe you are so deserved of this award, and I am one who thanks you profusely for being you!!! -
    easyeverett: Couldn't happen to a
    more deserving writer
    my friend. easy
    -
    another jim: This is terrific news, Amicus...well done, my very poetic friend! -
    Quire's Gal: Congrats my friend on a well deserved honor!
    -
    BarnCat: Amicus -- so well deserved! Congratulations my friend! -


Amicus: Way to go, Cuomo! I am proud to be a New Yorker today :>)
    MacNizzle: Yay! I am very happy for New York! I wish California would get its act together :/ -
    another jim: I'll ditto Amicus's sentiments on New York State's decision to recognize gay marriage! Amazing what a little bipartisanship can accomplish.

    One of the Republican state senators who changed his mind and voted in favor of this new law was from my neck of the woods. Of course, the state's Conservative Party went ballistic and essentially disowned him, so now I'm hoping that his constituents will re-elect him anyways for representing THEIR interests instead of those of some homophobic political ideologues... -
    Bayberry: Hearty CONGRATULATIONS on the success of your Nature Haiku entry! -


Amicus: Happy Bloomsday!
    another jim: Yeah, I'll 'fess up: I googled it! James Joyce has his own holiday? Who knew? (Not I...but that's what I get for majoring in psychology.)

    Read "Ulysses" in high school. IMHO, there should be a holiday for those who understood it! LOL! -
    Amicus: Wow...must have been an advanced high school...most folks read The Dubliners...I read it first as an honors English Lit. student in a third year novel course...and have loved it ever since. :>) -
    adewpearl: My husband was a huge Joyce fan. Every year he went to a Bloomsday celebration. Some years he would just go to the Philly one closeby and sometimes he'd go all out and go to the one in NYC. Folks would read from Ulysses all day long. :-) -
    another jim: Woodstock it ain't, but it does have a certain charm, I guess...

    ;-D -


Amicus: LOL...before you get hung up on the relationship of your value as a writer and the FanStory star rating and ranking system, consider this. I posted a rather dumb/silly poem late the other night in the Comment Only category that I always post in but the site somehow released it for star ratings. Before I noticed this the next morning and had Tom change it, the poem had received 10 five star ratings and I received notice that once I posted a second poem (presumable for star rating) I would receive a rank. At the same time even though I had never posted a poem for rating this year let alone two, I was given the rank now displayed beside my name. When I asked Tom to remove this he said "Sorry it is automatic" and told me only if I dismantle the poem will the meaningless rank disappear. I have not yet dismantled because the poem was still receiving comments under promotion and entered in a site contest still undecided. So this morning, I received notice in a congratulatory automatic ego building canned message style from the site that the poem had been "Recognized" due to the excellent reviews it received (translation: it got 10 unsolicited computer error star reviews and 6 other comments which tripped a confused automatic faux ego boost back slap hurrah feature somewhere). So, computer error has lifted me from an unranked (presumably sub 978 ranked poet, as that is the last ranked one)to #540 and gained me "Recognition" both of which will be gone forever, hopefully, once I dismantle (which I will do when the contest in which this poem is entered is decided.) Why some folks take this nonsense seriously and pump cash money into promoting highly, hoping, I assume from some of the venomous replies made in response to less than five star reviews, to attract positive reviews, rank and recognition truly escapes me and seems a sad thing.
    Jotting Pen: Darn, and I thought all those stasts meant I was good...
    lol. -
    tamarap2: Maybe if all poems were posted with the same member dollars reward, we would have a ranking based more on talent than purchase, but I guess the site has to make money and this is how. -
    Larrypic11: Congrats. Your haiku was beautiful. Larry -


Amicus: I posted my last poem for Comments Only as I always do but for some reason I am getting star ratings ... this is a FanStory glitch as I double checked to see if I had posted in the category I normally do and I had. So, please don't think I am not walking my talk...I am just a helpless victim of the SYSTEM and have asked to have the matter remedied ASAP.


Amicus: VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE...VOTE
    adewpearl: I tried to vote, vote, vote, vote, but after the first time, they turned me away! :-) -
    another jim: We have elections every year, BR, for one thing or another.

    This year we're voting for Members of Congress (Federal legislative Representatives and Senators), our State Governors, State legislators, a variety of judges, local government officials, etc. In other words, just about everything but President! (Not sure if the UK has the equivalent of "states"...districts, maybe?)

    These elections vary by individual state, and some of them are "staggered" (so we don't vote out/in our entire U.S. Senate all at once, for example).

    For political junkies like me, it's a bigger holiday than Christmas! Though I do miss the presents...LOL!

    Now, aren't you glad you asked? ;-D -
    Border Reiver: Thanks Jim, we only have local, general (national) and European elections, each every four years if I remember correctly, or perhaps local and EU ones are every 2 years. I'm not 100 sure. We certainly don't have them every year. -
    adewpearl: Every blooming person I voted for lost - I have to work on that multiple vote technique for next time! -
    Writingfundimension: Congratulations on your well-deserved win with senryu (forced to lay off staff). It was superb. Best wishes. Bev -


Amicus: LOL...forgot to hit the comments only button on this week's Aha posting when I first posted and so ended up on the front page... looking hypocritical, I am sure...no, I have not given up my desire to avoid ranking and rating, I just had some brain fatigue and forgot to post in the right category. :>)
    adewpearl: Next you'll be blaming it on the fairies! ;-) -
    jadapenn: I have brain fatigue syndrome. I fail to write much and it's not from lack of muses. I have 4 of them and counting. lol. Oh, what's ranking and rating again???? :) -