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Fray Saturday 22 October 05
Fray is on hiatus Fray began in September, 1996, with one simple idea: That the web was the ultimate conduit for personal storytelling. We saw a future web full of personal voices, where everyone has the power to tell their stories. Nine years later, that's the web we have. Personal sites, homepages, and blogs are blooming like flowers on every topic imaginable. From the sublime to the silly, the beautiful to the banal, there are more personal voices on the web today than anyone ever could have imagined. Maybe we can take a tiny bit of credit for that. But it's been a long haul. Fray's never made any money, and the stress of balancing this labor of love with the rest of work and life has taken its toll. I just don't have the time to keep the project moving forward anymore. Plus, Fray was born in the early days of the web. Each story has been hand crafted and the technology that powers the posting is woefully out of date. To do Fray right means creating a whole new community framework, and that takes time. So Fray is going on hiatus. There will be no new stories or events for a while, but the current site will remain accessible as an archive. Thanks to everyone who's contributed a story here over the years. We still believe in the power of the personal story, and you can bet that Fray will be reborn to honor those stories again in the future. Until then, thanks for fraying with us. And whatever you do, keep telling your stories. Sunday 13 February 05
Happy Valentine's Day It's Valentine's Day day again, so check out a few stories about love in Fray: The Things We Do for Love: Special Group Story: 10 stories of what we do for love and what love does for us. Things Given: Susan Kath's history of gifts from lovers. What have you been given? Chagrin and the Men I have Loved: Whenever Margaret Berry has had something to blush about, the men she's loved have always been there. And elsewhere: We love this video story from Zefrank and these fabulous crush stories. Saturday 25 December 04
Merry Christmas "The funniest piece of mail I get arrives in the first week in December." Enjoy these classic Fray Christmas stories: Kathy's Annual Ladies Luncheon by Beth Lisick and The Tree by yours truly. Merry Christmas from the Fray! Tuesday 7 December 04
Happy Chanukah Chanukah begins tonight, and what better way to celebrate than with a retelling of the classic holiday Fray story, The Tree. What's your favorite holiday story? Wednesday 1 December 04
World AIDS Day "It's December first again. Another December without a cure. Another December without Robert." Day Without Fray is our annual World AIDS Day story. How has your life been touched by AIDS? Wednesday 24 November 04
Giving Thanks It's Thanksgiving, which means it's time to highlight our annual turkey day story: Giving Thanks. What are you thankful for this year? Friday 12 November 04
Fray Day Continues Fray Day 8 continues this weekend in San Francisco, California, Dallas, Texas, and New Haven, Connecticut. Next up: Washington DC on Nov. 17 and Fredericksburg, Virginia on Nov. 20. And there's more coming in December! If there's a Fray Day near you, don't miss it. Monday 1 November 04
Tuesday! Tuesday! Tuesday! So Tuesday's the big election in America. Perhaps the biggest election of our lives. Are you ready? If not, this might help: Take a trip down memory lane with us. In 1996, we posted a story about voting and solicited your voting stories. In 2000, we posted a fantastic set of 14 stories about voting, from a personal, not political, perspective. Those stories were years ago, but many of them still ring true today. Thursday 28 October 04
Boo! It's almost Halloween! In the spirit yet? Perhaps this scary story from our archives will help. Check out A Little Black Death by Lance Arthur. Saturday 23 October 04
Fray Day 8 is On!
Tuesday 12 October 04
Party Like it's 1999 Thanks to the folks at Cool Site of the Day for selecting Fray as their cool site for today, October 13, 2004. Welcome new visitors! Wondering what Fray is? Step right this way.... Wednesday 11 August 04
Follow the links A nice mention of Fray in this NY Times story: A Last Look at Web Destinations. The article is a treasure trove of great links. Collect 'em all! Friday 16 July 04
New in {fray}: Wrestling with an Angel If all goes as planned, exactly 48 hours from the moment I post this, Heather and I will be married. And what better way to celebrate than a new Fray story? I hope you enjoy Wrestling with an Angel. And when you're done, be sure to tell us your story of doubt and certainty.
Contribute! We're always looking for great personal stories to link to from Storyblog. Read one lately? Send us the link! Saturday 3 July 04
New in {fray}: Fireworks July Fourth brings many revelations. For some, it's all about beer and hot dogs. For others, it's a reminder of the ideals of America. For Jon Pnim, it's two days after he met a woman in the E.R. who left him shaking. Read his story, Fireworks, and then tell us: Do you believe? Thursday 20 May 04
The worm turns If you enjoyed Vincent Eaton's story, The Worm Within, be sure to drop by the posting area for more tales of unwelcome bodily guests. And then be sure to tell your story: What's lived in you? Wednesday 12 May 04
We won!
Congratulations to all the Fray contributors, posters, performers, and volunteers who have lived in the Fray with us over the last seven and a half years. And, of course, thank you for being here. Fray is what we've made it. Together. Sunday 9 May 04
Happy Mother's Day Celebrate Mother's Day with two Fray stories - one from way back in 1997, and one from just last month! Celebrating Mom by Susan Paulsen: "That day, torn from my history, has never made me stop and think. Until now." Making Leta by Heather Armstrong: "Children can be so cruel. I know, I'm about to have one." Thursday 6 May 04
Last day to vote! Friday is the last day to vote for Fray in the Webby People's Voice Awards. If you like Fray, please take a moment to show your support!
New in {fray}: The Worm Within Back in November of last year, when we had our first event in Cardiff, Wales, one of the most unforgettable stories of the evening came from Vincent Eaton. After the show I told him, "I've heard a lot of stories told at Fray events over the years, but I've never heard that." Vincent has written down his story from that night, and we put it to some fantastic illustrations by the ever-talented Chris Bishop. We hope you enjoy our new story, The Worm Within. And tell us: What's lived in you? Thursday 22 April 04
Webby Award Nominee We're thrilled to be a nominee for a Webby Award in the Print & Zines category. As you may know, every Webby category has two awards: one that's picked by judges, and a People's Voice Award which is chosen by you. So please register and vote for us! You can even post loving accolades there as well. Pretty please? Sunday 18 April 04
Making Stories It's been a week since we posted our newest story, Making Leta, and the stories you've told in return have been just fantastic. Give 'em a read and then tell us: How have you made a family? Sunday 11 April 04
New in {fray}: Making Leta Families aren't born, they're made. And, for most of us, we'll never know the minute-by-minute experience of what it was like when we arrived. But Leta Armstrong will, because her mom took notes. Please enjoy the newest story in the fray: Making Leta by Heather Armstrong with illustrations by Claire Robertson. Then tell us: How have you made a family, traditional or otherwise? Friday 13 February 04
Happy Valentine's Day To celebrate Valentine's Day, we're featuring a few stories about love: the good, the bad, and everything in between. Here's hoping your February 14th is no Friday the 13th. The Things We Do for Love: Special Group Story: 10 stories of what we do for love and what love does for us. Things Given: Susan Kath's history of gifts from lovers. What have youy been given? Burnt Popcorn: Gregory Alkaitis-Carafelli's story of love and everything that happens after. Valentine's Day: Drue Miller's is bittersweet about the day. Chagrin and the Men I have Loved: Whenever Margaret Berry has had something to blush about, the men she's loved have always been there. Recklessness: Traci Vogel's bittersweet meditation on relationships and risk. Strange Beds: Janelle Brown's memories of her lovers' beds are often more vivid than the memories of the lovers themselves. Interesting: Working for a porn website made Alex Massie interesting. The Lesson: Vincent Farquharson loved her, too. Sunday 1 February 04
New in {fray}: Skidmarks Insight can come at inconvenient times. One minute you're just doing your job, and the next, you're hovering over a disemboweled dummy with a lesson to teach. Well, maybe that's never happened to you, but it has to Zach Edwards, and he's shared it with the Fray. Read Skidmarks and then tell us: What has your job taught you? Wednesday 28 January 04
Fray in the Apple Store Attention all you iTunes users! Our two original Fray recordings (Fray Day 5 and Fray Cafe 3) are both now available in the Apple iTunes Music Store: Fray Day 5 and Fray Cafe 3. Buy and enjoy! And just don't tell Apple you can listen to all that and more in the Fray Audio Archive. Monday 5 January 04
The Fray 2003 Year in Review If you missed it when it was on the front page, be sure to check out The Fray 2003 Year in Review for a look at the last 10 stories to appear in Fray, as well as some choice photos from events and words for the future. Then post your own 2003 stories and hopes for 2004! Thursday 25 December 03
New in {fray}: Ladies Luncheon When Beth Lisick took the stage at Fray Day 7 San Francisco and told a hysterical story about her family's annual Christmas gathering, and how it went very, very wrong one year, I knew we had to get it on the site. So today we have a special Christmas treat for you - a shiny new Fray story to unwrap. Please enjoy Beth's story: Kathy's Annual Ladies Luncheon. And then tell us: Have you ever had a harrowing holiday? Friday 19 December 03
Photos and audio from Cardiff
Wednesday 26 November 03
New in {fray}: Pet Stories We've got one heckuva new story up now! Check out Pet Stories, a special group story featuring contributions by Fray regulars like Lance Arthur, Ben Brown, Heather Champ, Jessica Donohoe, Maggie Powers, and yours truly, plus newcomers Heather Armstrong (of the fabulous Dooce) and Susan McNeece, who first performed the story of the horny rabbit at Fray Day 7 San Francisco. And rounding it all out is a fantastic set of illustrations by the mysterious Goopymart. If you like his work, you should definitely visit his site and say hello from us. These group stories always take a lot of work, but this one was a doozy. So I'd like to especially thank Heather Champ for doing all the organizing, Maggie Powers for all the editing, and of course Goopymart for the fantastic illustrations. I hope you enjoy the pet stories and take a moment to share your own! Tuesday 25 November 03
Fast Food Stories If you checked out Skot Kurruk's tale of fast food craziness, Chicken Tenderfoot, when it first went up, be sure to check out the posted stories again - they're great. The most recent page includes stories from behind the counter of KFC, McDonalds, Hardee's, and the dreaded Tapioca Express. Also: We're having our first Fray event in the UK this sunday! If you're nearby, don't miss Fray Cafe Cardiff. Saturday 1 November 03
New in {fray}: Chicken Tenderfoot If you've ever had the pleasure of being that kid behind the counter, punching the clock and passing the time, in a place that always smells of bleach or grease, where the bathroom mirror yells at you in all caps to wash your hands in three languages, all for minimum wage ... then you might be able to relate to this new Fray story. Please welcome Fray's newest author, Skot Kurruk, and his tale of fast food hell: Chicken Tenderfoot. And for more from Skot, visit his site, Izzle Pfaff. Saturday 25 October 03
Cheshire Dave's Story Cheshire Dave has posted the story he told at Fray Day 7 San Francisco, as well as a little pre-story about his adventure just making it to the stage. For the record, I am really glad he came back - I just can't resist a punchline. Sunday 5 October 03
Fray Day ends Fray Day 7 has come and gone, from LA to DC, San Francisco to Copenhagen. We're all working hard behind the scenes to get photos, remembrances, and other story stuff online, so keep your eyes peeled on the Event News pages for the latest. Thanks for fraying with us. Thursday 2 October 03
Fray Day begins! Fray Day 7 officially begins tonight in Central Florida. Good luck to Andy and his crew! If you're in the Sunshine State, I hope you'll come check it out! Also, tonight is day two of Storyfest in Los Angeles, with Fray Day LA kicking off tomorrow, along with Fray Days in New Haven and DC! Tuesday 23 September 03
Fray on the radio Invisible Ink calls itself a "radio zine." Does that mean a radio show about zines, or a zine on the radio? Yes, exactly. And last week I sat down with its creator, Roman Mars, for a chat. He turned that into a half hour show all about Fray! It aired on Sunday on KALW and featured stories by frayers Lance Arthur, Kevin Smokler, and Jish Mukerji, as well as myself. Missed it? Fear not. You can tune in online (listen now). Thanks, Roman! Wednesday 17 September 03
Fray loves Creative Commons The new Fray Audio Archive is the Featured Content of the Week over at Creative Commons. We've made all the audio available under a Creative Commons license. That means people can copy it, use it in their own work, and pass it along, so long as it's attributed and noncommercial. It just makes sense to share the audio with the community, since it came from the community. Enjoy! Sunday 14 September 03
New in Fray: Event Audio We've compiled almost all the audio we have from past Fray events on to one handy page. Check it out for over 18 hours of stories, with more to come! Special thanks to the cool cats at the Internet Archive for hosting all the audio! Saturday 6 September 03
New in {fray}: Joshua Tree Blooms Burning Man. Arcosanti. The desert calls dreamers. If you were one of the 30,000 people with me in Black Rock City last weekend, then you'll need no explanation of why Joshua Tree Blooms, Liz's tale of overcoming writer's block in the desert, seemed like the perfect story to come home to. And if you weren't, well, I bet there's a place out there where you learned something about yourself. Read Liz's story and tell your own. Saturday 23 August 03
Fray Cafe 3 CD Available Now!
Sunday 17 August 03
New in {fray}: The Blackout Were you caught in the blackouts on Friday? Frayer Dori Mondon was, and she has a story to tell about it: The Blackout. Do you have a blackout story to share? Post away! Tuesday 12 August 03
Fray Day 5 CD in Tower Records Thanks to some smart moves by Derek Sivers at CD Baby, the Fray Day 5 CD is now available through Tower Records. This is so cool - I remember when Tower's site was the first place you could buy CDs online. (Of course, the CD is still cheaper on CD Baby.) Sunday 10 August 03
Hey San Franciscans! Speaking of San Francisco, there's only a week left to sign up for some swanky Fray Day cards. Get 'em while they're hot! Tuesday 5 August 03
Bugs in the System An unfortunate system message: If you sent us a comment or submission anytime in July, it's very likely that we never received it. I know, I know. The page said it worked. The page lied. Damn page. The bug has been corrected (knock on wood), so if you sent any communications in July, please accept our apologies and try again. Thanks!
Teaser Campaign Big things are afoot here in Fray HQ. I'll post more about it soon. For now, here's a little tease.
Saturday 2 August 03
Fray Day 5 CD: Last Chance! We've sold out of Fray Day 5 SF CDs! But if you wanted one, for a limited time, you can purchase the CD at CD Baby for just ten bucks! And if we sell enough this month, one of our stories could wind up on the CD Baby Sampler. So help the Fray by getting yours today! Sunday 27 July 03
Fray Day is Coming! With Fray Day 7 just a little over two months away, it's time to start spreading the word. And what better way to kickstart the campaign than a little orange. The best is yet to come. Tell a friend! Sunday 20 July 03
Stories from Sedona Got two and a half hours to kill? The audio from last month's Fray Cafe in Sedona is finally online! Tune in now. Friday 18 July 03
Fray in NY Times This here Storyblog is mentioned in the New York Times today. I get a quote or two in there, too! Also mentioned are two very interesting contribution-based story sites: Turnes and Random Access Memory. Sunday 13 July 03
New in {fray}: The Lesson This month's story is a heavy tale of life lessons learned the hard way, and there's is no easy answer at the end. A tall order for a thousand words, but Vincent pulls it off with grace and subtlety. Check out the newest Fray story: The Lesson. We've been working on the story behind the scenes here at Fray for over a year. Finding the right design to match story was a challenge. Then, a month ago, I found myself in a ghost town in Jerome, Arizona. The peeling paint of the broken down cars there proved the perfect inspiration. Thanks to Vincent for his patience. And if there are any other Fray submitters in the audience, have hope. You never know when we might ring you up. Speaking of, we've revised our submission process. If you've ever thought of submitting a Fray story, take a look! Wednesday 2 July 03
On the 4th of July In anticipation of July 4th, we're throwing a spotlight on Kevin Smokler's excellent independence day story: Counting Flags. Check it out and post your own family tradition story! This story was also performed live by Kevin at Fray Day 5 San Francisco back in 2001. Wanna hear? Just visit the FD5SF Audio page and click on Tape 3 Side A. Kevin's about 14 minutes in. Enjoy! Sunday 15 June 03
Here's to dad Today is Father's Day. My dad calls it a Hallmark holiday, but still appreciates the card. So, in that spirit, here are a few fray stories that feature fathers and grandfathers: Booze and Ghosts by Adam Rakunas, Chagrin by Margaret Berry, Counting Flags by Kevin Smokler, Circuit by Steven Champeon, Passages of the Rock River by Luke Seemann, and The Scar and The Nicest Person in San Francisco by yours truly. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! Monday 2 June 03
New in {fray}: The Scar When it comes to Fray performances, each one is like a dare. So when Fray Cafe 3 came around in March, I challenged myself to tell a revealing story. And what could be more revealing than standing up in a Texas bar and talking about your Bar Mitzvah? So that's what I did. (Wanna hear?) I got so much positive feedback on the story, I decided to add it to the fray. I hope you'll enjoy reading about how I got The Scar, and I hope you'll add your own story to the end. This story also welcomes a new illustrator into the fray: Witold Riedel. Wiltold's raw, emotional style in these pages captured the turmoil of those teenage years perfectly. Visit his site to see more of his work and read about doing these illustrations. And Rabbi? If you're out there, I've learned a lot since twelve. Saturday 24 May 03
Fray event photos New in Events: We've added a new photo section where you can see photos from the last few years of fray events. We've got everything from the recent Fray Cafe Austin 3 all the way back to the first Fray Day in 1998! Special thanks and mad props go out to Noel Jackson for creating and making available his swanky PhotoStack image organizer, which is powering our photo galleries now. Thursday 15 May 03
Updated Fray Is I've finally brought the Is section (aka "about the fray") up to speed with the rest of the design. For the first time, Fray has a page that actually attempts to explain what it is. (It only took six and a half years!) Also new is something I wrote to help explain how I write fray stories: How to Write a Fray Story. Read and enjoy! Tuesday 13 May 03
New in {fray} We've got a new story in the {fray} today from one of our original contributors. Please enjoy My Superpower by Caterina Fake. Caterina is one of our original contributors from back in '96, so it's wonderful to have her back with a new story. I'm also thrilled to welcome Chris Bishop into the {fray}. Chris is an amazingly talented illustrator who designed and illustrated the new story. If you like what you see, you can find more on his site. Saturday 12 April 03
Marrying the org and the com As part of the ongoing fray redesign, we're retiring the ol' dot org. All new event stuff will be posted here on fray.com in our new events section. Back when we started having events, it made sense to separate the sites. The idea was simple: fray.com was about storytelling on the web, and fray.org was about storytelling in real life. Easy, right? Well, no one ever got that, and having two domains just confused everything. So fray.org is going away slowly, as we have time to move all the old stuff into the new site. As part of this change, the fray.org email list is being folded into the main fray.com list. So now our weekly email missives will contain a little event info in addition to the new story notifications. We still wont send more than one email a week, usually just a couple a month. The idea is just to mix it up a bit - to get the real life event folks into the stories on the site, and get the web folks out from behind their monitors. Wish us luck. And thanks for joining the fray! Friday 4 April 03
Bookends and stories I have to say, the posts to Bookends are really excellent. From 17 year-old Jenna looking back on the first gulf war when she was in grade school, to this brilliant story that just came in. I'm really stunned. If you haven't told your story yet, I urge you to spend some time thinking and then answer the question: Where have these bookends found you? Sunday 30 March 03
New in {fray} With all the war talk going on, I've been craving a place to talk about the personal aspects of what's happening. It's hard to remove the politics from war, but fray isn't about politics. It's about personal stories. So here's mine: Bookends. I hope you'll read it and post your own. Friday 14 March 03
Fray in Internet Magazine Internet Magazine is "the UK's finest publication for serious Net users" and they've selected this humble site as their site of the week. "In an online landscape busy with the chattering of a thousand weblogs, Fray's voice falls like a balm." Thanks! Sunday 2 March 03
Chmod me, baby If you're reading this, consider yourself propagated! The site has made its way to a new server this weekend, mostly unscathed. But if you bump into any unexpected boo-boos, do be a dear and let us know. Thanks! Friday 28 February 03
It's pay day! Well, it's the end of the month and you know what that means: pay day! So why not spend some of your heard-earned dough on a few quality {fray} products in our newly-relaunched store! All products are 100% guaranteed to actually exist. Saturday 22 February 03
Open call for war stories As everyone knows, we're on the brink of a second war in Iraq. So I think now would be a good time to tell some personal stories about war, to remind ourselves what's at stake. So this is an open call for submissions. If you have a story about how war has touched your life, please consider submitting it to {fray}. Please note, {fray} is not political - we're not looking for pro/anti-war debates. I just think now would be a good time for the personal stories of the realities of war to get out. The question at the end of the story will ask the readers to tell stories about how war has touched their lives. {fray} stories are personal stories. They can be about small moments that seen important in retrospect or big moments from personal angles. And they're always true. Stories submitted to {fray} are still owned and copyright their original authors. We just ask for a one-time non-exclusive right to publish them. We'll give the story a nice design, promote it online and on our mailing list, and open it up to stories posted from the audience. If you are pursuing a writing career, this can be a great way to get your name out there. Of course, we encourage everyone to tell their story, even if they don't consider themselves a "writer." Interested? Email your submission or any questions to submit@fray.com. And feel free to pass this call along to anyone you know, especially gulf war veterans. Thanks for your consideration. Saturday 15 February 03
45 in dog years It's been six and a half years since I sat down in Photoshop and whipped up the {fray} design. That was 1996. Before the boom. Before the bust. Before falling in and out of love again and again. And here we were, all these years later, with that same old design. I think fray.com could win an award for the longest-running, continuously-updated web magazine without a redesign. But that ends today. Welcome to the new {fray}, same as the old {fray}. This is just the beginning – we'll be spiffing the place up over the next few months. Don't worry, our devotion to true, personal stories won't change. Mostly we're adding stuff. In this space, starting soon, will be storyblog, a daily feed of links to interesting personal stories across the web. We'll also be giving our sister site, fray.org, a proper home here on the dotcom. And there's more in store. Thanks for coming along for the ride. |
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Fray Cafe 3
Fray Day 5
Fray Day 8
© Contents copyright 1996-2004 the {fray}. All rights reserved. Tell your stories.