[COMPLETE][Short Stories]The Black Cat Vol. 02 No. 2 November 1896 - kit

Solo or group recordings that are finished and fully available for listeners
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

smithjeanb wrote: March 23rd, 2021, 1:31 pmWhew!! That was a long one. I hope it's acceptable. I had to record it in separate chunks, and some days were better than others. I accept all criticism.
https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_1_various_128kb.mp3 42:32 minutes
wow, Jean, thank you so much. This was such a great story, I really enjoyed the mystery and the wonderful conclusion of it all. :9: I had a bit of a different idea about how it would come about, but this lovely endeavour to help people is actually much better.

Lovely reading too and yes, one does hear a bit of a different tone in the new sessions, but that doesn't disturb at all. Once the first sentence is over the listeners will simply go with the new tone of voice. It's not a drama.

I did find a few small things to edit though, if you would like to have a look at the following:

> at 11:42: (p. 6) "and at three a.m." – you say "eight". Luckily the man didn't need quite so much time as that :lol: also he mentions "the next morning" in the following sentence, so this needs to have happened in the night

> at 17:45: (p. 9) equals 1,500,000 dollars – this is "one million five hundred thousand"; you only say "one thousand five hundred"

> at 18:45: (p. 10) "wrote a few pages" – you say "words" ("pages" makes more sense with the verb "destroyed" which comes after)

> at 20:46: (p. 11) "dear Sil." – you say "Sid", but E. keeps calling him by his real name

> at 30:22: (p. 16) stumble and repeat "therefore I had it constructed" – can be cut once

all in all, for a text as huge as that, it was a great job. Thanks !

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
smithjeanb
Posts: 121
Joined: September 10th, 2020, 4:05 pm

Post by smithjeanb »

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_1_various_128kb.mp3 42:32 minutes

All fixed! Not the ending I was expecting, either...
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

smithjeanb wrote: March 26th, 2021, 3:30 pmhttps://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_1_various_128kb.mp3 42:32 minutes
All fixed! Not the ending I was expecting, either...
excellent corrections all, thank you, Jean. This is PL ok now.

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Books
Posts: 6
Joined: February 24th, 2021, 11:27 am

Post by Books »

I have section 3 finished. I would love any feedback you have on ways that I can improve.

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_3_various_128kb.mp3
22:02, you can list me as Amy Hodges

Also, I left out a few sentences on purpose. I felt that they were racist and I didn't want to read them. They were off hand comments that detracted from the story rather than add to it, so I felt leaving them out was best.
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

Books wrote: March 29th, 2021, 12:33 pmAlso, I left out a few sentences on purpose. I felt that they were racist and I didn't want to read them. They were off hand comments that detracted from the story rather than add to it, so I felt leaving them out was best.
oh, I am sorry, but it is not our procedure at all to censure any texts or edit or modernize them in any way. We "read what the author wrote", that includes all the sentences, even if to the modern ear they may seem racist or sexist or outdated. Consider it was a different time then and we are reading old texts after all, therefore, as you proceed, it is advisable to be reading the texts before claiming them to make sure you are comfortable reading it.

So before I PL, could you please insert the sentences and reupload the full text version, then I'll check the complete version. If you do feel too uncomfortable with the text, to the point that you cannot read it at all, then there is unfortunately only the option of giving the section back, but you put so much effort into already, it would be a pity. :(

Please let me know your decision before I proceed with PLing.

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Books
Posts: 6
Joined: February 24th, 2021, 11:27 am

Post by Books »

Kitty wrote: March 29th, 2021, 11:40 pm
Books wrote: March 29th, 2021, 12:33 pmAlso, I left out a few sentences on purpose. I felt that they were racist and I didn't want to read them. They were off hand comments that detracted from the story rather than add to it, so I felt leaving them out was best.
oh, I am sorry, but it is not our procedure at all to censure any texts or edit or modernize them in any way. We "read what the author wrote", that includes all the sentences, even if to the modern ear they may seem racist or sexist or outdated. Consider it was a different time then and we are reading old texts after all, therefore, as you proceed, it is advisable to be reading the texts before claiming them to make sure you are comfortable reading it.

So before I PL, could you please insert the sentences and reupload the full text version, then I'll check the complete version. If you do feel too uncomfortable with the text, to the point that you cannot read it at all, then there is unfortunately only the option of giving the section back, but you put so much effort into already, it would be a pity. :(

Please let me know your decision before I proceed with PLing.

Sonia
I understand wanting to preserve them in their original form, but I don't see the point when it's not part of the story and just goes to perpetuate rude stereotypes. I picture my grandmother listening to stories like this without a modern filter and thinking that nothing is wrong with the language. In this respect I just don't see the value of adding these things in, it's not like Mark Twain where it was the point of the story. And to someone who was raised in a different time, like my grandmother, with outdated views, hearing small little offhand remarks about someone's race or religion further cements their wrong world view.

It says on the site that there can be up to 12 seconds of errors, I'm sure the words I left out are less than that. If it added to the story in any way I would re-record and add them in, but I can't see any harm in leaving them out and only further prejudice from putting them back in, so I'm going to pass. I will choose my next project more carefully and enjoyed practicing with this one.

I'm sorry for the confusion, I hope you find a new narrator quickly.
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

Books wrote:It says on the site that there can be up to 12 seconds of errors, I'm sure the words I left out are less than that.
The prooflistener of course tries to ensure that there are 0 seconds of errors, we always aim at the best possible, even if sometimes it doesn't work out that way. But if we find some errors, we should correct them.

And what is meant by this are inadvertent small errors in reading, a wrong word here or there, which doesn't change the meaning of the text. What is definitely not meant is purposeful censoring of the original texts, which is not what we do. So the text has to be complete, regardless of ideologies.

You can read more about this topic in our guidelines: (under "Librivox and sensitive topics" and "may I change the text")
https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Recording_%26_Text_Policies#LibriVox_and_.22Sensitive.22_Topics
I can't see any harm in leaving them out and only further prejudice
in my experience, people who are prejudiced will be, regardless what the text, and people who are tolerant will not become racist because of such words. ;) They are old texts and the readers will understand that the situations were different then.

But you are not forced to go against your feelings and so I will release your claim again. In fact Greg volunteered to take any orphans, so the section will immediately be snatched up again. Thank you for letting me know your decision so fast.

Good luck with your next project. I hope it will be more to your liking. :)

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

GregGiordano wrote: March 22nd, 2021, 4:25 amAbsolutely! You can always call on me!
Take care,
Greg
well here is your chance then Greg, Section 3 is all yours. Thank you for participating in yet another Black Cat 8-)

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
GregGiordano
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Joined: December 31st, 2012, 9:22 am
Location: New Port Richey, Florida

Post by GregGiordano »

Here is Section 3:

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_3_various_128kb.mp3

Run time is 22:50

Take care,

Greg
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

excellent job, Greg, and thank you for the fast turn-around :shock: What a funny story, though I had a hard time picturing these extremely long legs and how they worked :lol: It's totally PL ok.

And since we are only waiting for one last section, this is a go for the next issue:

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=86593

Now officially launched. Maybe I'll hear from some of you again in there. :9: There's even a promising title that could attract Todd :lol:

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
JulieB3
Posts: 186
Joined: December 12th, 2019, 4:59 pm

Post by JulieB3 »

Here it is. I don't think you'll like the ending much.

https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_4_various_128kb.mp3 12:17
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

JulieB3 wrote: April 6th, 2021, 10:56 amHere it is. I don't think you'll like the ending much.
https://librivox.org/uploads/kitty/blackcat0202nov1896_4_various_128kb.mp3 12:17
thank you Julie for another wonderful narrative. :9: Totally PL ok. And you are correct, the ending is way too sad for me. :( But the story, and the unusual point-of-view, was incredibly well written.

And with this we have reached the end of the project. 8-) A big thanks to all talented readers who made this issue so agreeable to listen to: Jean, Rachel, Greg, Julie and Todd. Hope to hear you in many more Black Cats to come.

Here are the teasers for this issue:
Silas F. Quigley - To Arrive: a puzzling letter incites Mr Quigley to explore an unusual way to secure a job
The Polar Magnet: discover the terrible technique a sculptor uses to create very life-like casts for his art
Fitzhugh: an untalented man tries his utmost to have his five minutes of fame, with an unexpected outcome
The Passionate Snake: how a snake learnt about the treachery of man
Professor Whirlwind: the shocking account of a man's experience inside a tornado
Cataloguing now...will post the link when it's done.

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Kitty
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Posts: 38921
Joined: March 28th, 2014, 5:57 am

Post by Kitty »

It went ultra-fast this time :)

This project is now complete! All audio files can now be found on the catalog page for this project https://librivox.org/black-cat-02-02-nov1896-by-various/

Moving to Completed now...

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
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