The 3 Worst Chinese Tortures

A young man was lost wandering in a forest, when he came upon a small house. He knocked on the door and was greeted by an ancient Chinese man with a long, grey beard. “I’m lost,” said the man. “Can you put me up for the night?”

The 3 Worst Chinese Tortures, drawing by Alexandre Greghi“Certainly,” the Chinese man said, “but on one condition. If you so much as lay a finger on my daughter, I will inflict upon you the three worst Chinese tortures known to man.”

“Ok,” said the man, thinking that the daughter must be pretty old as well, and entered the house.

Before dinner, the daughter came down the stairs. She was young, beautiful, and had a fantastic figure. She was obviously attracted to the young man since she couldn’t keep her eyes off him during the meal. Remembering the old man’s warning, he ignored her and went up to bed alone. But during he night, he could bear it no longer, and sneaked into her room for a night of passion. He was careful to keep everything quiet so the old man wouldn’t hear. Near dawn he crept back to his room, exhausted, but happy.

He woke to feel a pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes he saw a large rock on his chest with a note on it that read, “Chinese Torture 1: Large rock on chest.”

“Well, that’s pretty crappy,” he thought. “If that’s the best the old man can do then I don’t have much to worry about.” He picked the boulder up, walked over to the window and threw the boulder out. As he did so he noticed another note on it that read: “Chinese Torture 2: Rock tied to left testicle.” In a panic he glanced down and saw the rope that was already getting close to the end. Figuring that a few broken bones was better than castration, he jumped out of the window after the boulder.

As he plummeted downward he saw a large sign on the ground that read, “Chinese Torture 3: Right testicle tied to bedpost.”

Two Sentences

I just came across this website and the task is as follows:
1. write two sentences.
2. create tension between them.
3. define “tension” any way you want.

Below are a few examples of user-submitted sentences. I have naturally selected those that have made some kind of impression on me.

The peaceful lake stretched out before him like glass.
The cool water closed in around him as he sank.

By Grumblebee

Kitty had a habit of dying.
This was her seventh time doing it.

By Guh3

Life consists of two things, Pain and Will.
The pain to strengthen our will and the will to go through the pain.

By Shea

He saw me staring at him, and came up to me to ask if I had a lighter.
He was gorgeous but I didn’t smoke.

By JP2

They were drawn together, deeply and forever.
She was married, so was he.

By BenjiBones

She took a sip of coffee.
I swallowed.

By BoboBox

She felt the hand move up her back.
Surely it was a hand.

By Grumblebee

Addendum, December 27th 2008: The website used to be at twosentences.com, but it seems it is gone now. Pity.

Addendum, March 16th 2008: I have now added the comments box, so if the above examples have inspired you, feel free to make your own contribution! After all, it was a great idea. Perhaps, this way, we can keep it alive.

A Blond MAN Joke

Here is a joke about a blond man, just for the sake of balance in the universe…

 
A blond man jokeThree business men were sitting in a bar, drinking and discussing how stupid their wives were.

The first says, “I tell you, my wife is so stupid. Last week she went to the supermarket and bought $300 worth of meat because it was on sale, and we don’t even have a fridge big enough to keep it in!”

 

The second agrees that she sounds pretty thick, but says his wife is thicker. “Just last week, she went out and spent $17000 on a new car,” he complains, “and she doesn’t even know how to drive!”

 

The third, a blond male, nods sagely and agrees that these two women sounds like they both walked through the stupid forest and got hit by every branch. However, he still thinks his wife is dumber. “I have to laugh when I think about it,” he chuckles. “Last week my wife left on a vacation to Greece. I watched her pack her bags and she must have taken at least five boxes of condoms with her. She doesn’t even have a penis!!”
 

Love in the 90s

Love in the 90s

Photos taken by Keri Pickett.

 
These photos are in the mean time available in a book called “Love in the 90s: B.B. and Jo – The Story of a Lifelong Love”. A tribute to a real-life romance and love story that spans across 70 years, about the author’s grandparents Bernard Blakey and Josie Walker.
 
Book overview:
In 1928 Josie Lou Lydia Walker was thirty-two years old. Everyone assumed she would be a spinster. She had grown up poor in Oklahoma, worked her way through college, and been ordained as a minister, traveling from Oklahoma to Kentucky to Missouri setting up religious education programs. World War I veteran B. B. Blakey, co-owner of a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hardware store, was thirty-three and had broken off an engagement with a local beauty. Having second thoughts, he went to Enid, Oklahoma, to see her at the home of friends – and one Josie Walker opened the door. B.B. and Josie would write over seven hundred letters to each other over the next year and a half as they fell deeply in love. As Josie traveled through a more innocent America, B.B.’s letters marked “Personal” and “Special Delivery” found her in small towns and train stops. Now this wonderful exchange of writing, so filled with the joy of discovering each other, is collected here by B.B. and Jo’s granddaughter, award-winning photographer Keri Pickett. Along with their commentary on love, marriage, and family, she shows us a relationship most people only dream about – and to which all of us aspire.
 
The story of Bernard Blakey and Josie Walker begins in 1928, when Jo, trying to deflect the attention of a suitor, asks B.B. to write to her pretending to be her beau. This innocent request began an exchange of 700 courtship letters that formed their relationship and led to their marriage in 1929. 60 photos.