The following exercise was inspired by Bryan Alexander's presentation at ELI 2009, Chaotic Fiction, Alternate Reality Games, and the World’s Cheapest MMOG: Web 2.0 Storytelling in Education. The goal here is to simply collaborate with other users to create a story based on a single image ... Feel free to pick any image below to get started or find your own on Flickr's Creative Commons web site. To get things started, I'll add a title and a single sentence below each image--feel free to modify, delete, or expand on these or write your own and invite others to do the same!

STORY 1: Lost Cause



Jessup Adams had returned from the war a desperate and angry man.Two years later, while others had begun to turn their thoughts from that Late Unpleasantness, he was faced with yet another lost cause at home.

We keep the red ribbon fresh every year on her death date. The power of memory and traditions is strong in the family. We have only an old daugerotype photo of Fanny and the promise made to a still-grieving great-grandmother that the family would not forget.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STORY 2: Snack Pump



They say things are bigger in Texas, and he was out to prove it with his newly patented Snack Inflation Pump--bigger cheese balls, bigger Twinkies, bigger everything! And then everything changed.
The snacks started getting attention: first on Facebook, then on CNN, then on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Trying to remind myself of portion control concerns, I've posted this on my fridge, my cabinets, etc. Shame that the color of the cheese ball clashes with my kitchen decor! Maybe I should remove it?
Putting the picture in PhotoShop, I quickly changed the color story to match my fridge.
Che gioia! Adesso tutto va bene!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STORY 3: Voodoo Chile



What first began as a harmless collection of strange-looking dolls turned to something more sinister.

I thought I was choosing a compassionate pediatric dentist for my three year old's first visit. I had to take Jake to counseling after he saw these when we walked into the exam room!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STORY 4: Lost in the Italian Alps


















Here I was, lost in the Italian Alps, and I didn't speak a lick of Italian.

I was really looking for "gondolas" Gotta get bifocals before the next trip!