Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Ether Breather


Ether Breather (1939) is the first published science fiction story of Theodore Sturgeon. You can read it online here or here. It begins,
It was "The Seashell." It would have to be "The Seashell." I wrote it first as a short story, and it was turned down. Then I made a novelette nut of if and then a novel. Then a short short. Then a three-line gag. And it still wouldn't sell. It got to be a fetish with me, rewriting that "Seashell." After a while editors got so used to it that they turned it down on sight. I had enough rejection slips from that number alone to paper every room in the house of tomorrow. So when it sold -well, it was like the death of a friend. It hit me. I hated to see it go.

It was a play by that time, but I hadn't changed it much. Still the same pastel, froo-froo old "Seashell" story, about two children who grew up and met each other only three times as the years went on, and a little seashell that changed hands each time they met. The plot, if any, doesn't matter. The dialogue was -well, pastel. Naive. Unsophisticated. Very pretty, and practically salesproof. But it just happened to ring the bell with an earnest, young reader for Associated Television, Inc., who was looking for something about that length that could be dubbed "artistic"; something that would not require too much cerebration on the part of an audience, so that said audience could relax and appreciate the new polychrome technique of television transmission. You know; pastel.

As I leaned back in my old relic of an armchair that night, and watched the streamlined version of my slow-moving brainchild, I had to admire the way they put it over. In spots it was almost good, that "Seashell." Well suited for the occasion, too. It was a full-hour program given free to a perfume house by Associated, to try out the new color transmission as an advertising medium. I liked the first two acts, if I do say so as shouldn't. It was at the half-hour mark that I got my first kick on the chin. It was a two-minute skit for the advertising plug.

A tall and elegant couple were seen standing on marble steps in an elaborate theater lobby. Says she to he:

"And how do you like the play, Mr. Robinson?"

Says he to she: "It stinks."

Just like that. Like any radio-television listener, I was used to paying little, if any, attention to a plug. That certainly snapped me up in my chair. After all, it was my play, even if it was "The Seashell." They couldn't do that to me.
*******

I've been enjoying looking for short stories to read online as I try to spend less money on books, and I always have a cup of coffee in hand:


as I sit with my patio view, raining here:


and do my googling.

Please join me as I visit the folks who participate in the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

21 comments:

  1. Your patio looks quite seasonal & inviting. Do you keep the pumpkin as is or do you cut up for the beasties to munch on? Right now I cannot see my patio for all that white stuff that has fallen way too early (in my opinion).

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    1. I keep the pumpkin as is until after Thanksgiving. Our patio is small and it takes too long for creatures to finish it off, and it makes such a mess close to the door.

      We got snow lol! I had to go outside and look towards the light to see it, and it didn't accumulate, but still... We got snow, and I saw it falling. Quite exciting :)

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  2. I think I will enjoy reading more of this. Enjoy your coffee and the patio view. Happy T Day, Valerie

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  3. I always enjoy short stories too! Your cuppa looks lovely, the mug has such an autumnal feel to it 😁. So nice to sit overlooking your patio, I'm loving that pumpkin 😉. Wishing you a very happy T Tuesday! Hugs, Jo x

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  4. Thanks for sharing this story, I have back to reading allot more. I love your patio views-enjoy-Happy T wishes Kathy

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  5. Our rainy season went very late this year, but I think the rains are finally done. Our temperatures are in the 50s to high 70s. Lovely weather.

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

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  6. The beginning of that short story made me chuckle a little. And I didn't realize the term "froo-froo" dated that far back. I use it sometimes, but I don't remember when/where I picked it up. I like your coffee mug. Your patio looks nice, even if it is raining. (It was raining where I am in Connecticut, with some snow flurries tossed in at the end.)

    As an FYI, Amazon offers some Kindle books for free from time to time. I think at any given time, they offer a certain number of them for free. I've been picking a bunch of free Kindle books that way. You can read them online inside Amazon while you're logged in. You don't need a Kindle or an App to read them. (The screen format only shows a few paragraphs at a time in the viewing area, which is a little annoying, but if you're okay with that, you can add books without having to spend money. I'm on a limited budget, so I'm going the freebie route.)

    Happy T-Day!

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    1. I had no idea about the Kindle books. I'll definitely check that out. I'm always signed in when I go on their site, because I use their Amazon Smiles donation program. Thanks!

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  7. This reminds me of my English teacher. I am German, it was the third year learning the English language, our teacher was from Great Britain.
    He said (in German): "Now, this is the very last time I will speak German with you. Missing word? Describe. If grammar ain´t too bad, I´ll not interrupt you."
    Instead of the boring school books he got us short stories (also), "surprising stories", at lab no school books section to translate but Rock Music!

    I think we all read the short stories "secretly" at home already, we wanted to know what the surprise was!
    Sadly the only clever teacher I had...

    Sunflowers were my Dad´s favorite flowers, happy T-Day to you!

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    1. That teacher had a golden touch :) Creative :)

      Sunflowers are my favorite, too :) I love having these fall-blooming ones on the patio, and I use that mug special in the fall.

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  8. Always a good time to enjoy a good read along with a warm cuppa! Your patio still looks inviting. Just had to finally pull all the flowers from the pots and baskets that died in the recent frost. Longest I ever was able to keep them though:) My patio looks bare, but on a decent day even if just for 15 minutes I like to sit out and watch the birds at the feeders. Won't be long til most of us will be watching from inside... happy T day!
    PS- are you still making ATCs?

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    1. All my supplies are in my floor space by my bed, where I work on them, but I haven't made a single one since the exchange. So weird. The time change got me, or something :(

      I'm leaving my asparagus fern outside to see how it does. It's so messy inside that if it dies I won't cry over it, but maybe it'll live... And I'm also leaving out one of my mother-in-law tongues. It's a protected, enclosed patio, and I'm just curious about how tough they really are lol

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  9. This story sounds intriguing. I may try to find time to read it as winter sets in and the TV shows revert to either Christmas crap or reruns.

    Your coffee looks good and your mug is beautiful. I'll say it again, I don't like cleaning a French Press, so I'm glad it's yours and not mine (grin). Hows your new computer running?

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    1. "Clean" may mean a different to me than it means to you ;) I rinse it into the garbage disposal. It's as easy as the single cup pour-over only I don't have to mess with the filter. I'm greedily eyeing stove-top "espresso" makers lol

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  10. Your patio looks a lovely spot to sit with your beautiful mug and a coffee or tea of course.
    My DIL bought me a book called the Silent Patient, I thought it wouldn’t be something I would enjoy but I really couldn’t put it down it was so intriguing and I would never have guessed the ending.
    Have a lovely T Day, Jan x

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  11. You patio looks pretty good for November. All my potted plants are packed away for the winter and temperatures are dipping fast! What's left in the garden will be gone by Thursday. How nice to sit and look out and watch the rain! Hope it was a super T day. hugs-Erika

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  12. Your patio looks lovely and a restful place if the weather was good for you to enjoy it there.
    I'm sorry to say I prefer a long book to read, the short stories are to quickly over and seem to lack in substance. Only my opinion, its a good thing we all don't think the same way.
    Belated T day wishes.
    Yvonne xx

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  13. I unfortunately have no time for the story at the mo, but might read it tonight.
    Like you, I can't afford to spend much money on books. I get my free books from thefussylibrarian.com which shows you free books. I get a mail every day. The one I use mostly is Bookbub.com. It is an amazon thing and has most books at 0.99 cents but there are always 3 or 4 free ones. You can tell them what sort of books you like and they will show you a few out of each category.
    Sorry for being so late again. I'm never home on Tuesday and Wednesday is a very busy day, so usually I don't get to comment until Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
    Happy belated T-Day,
    Hugs,
    Lisca

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    1. I'll check out those book sources, thanks!

      There's no such thing as "late" on blog comments ;) That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it lol

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  14. I'm lucky to have quite a number of books that I still have on my shelves to read! We have been so busy packing things up at our caravan and then finding places to either take them or give away that I haven't picked a book up for a whole week! A very belated Happy T day! Chrisx

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    1. Yes, it's a comfort to have unread books on the shelves :) so I feel I won't run out lol

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