The Short Story Model

What is, or should be, the model short story?

What should be the form's goals? What objective are necessary to reach the goals?

I love classic stories. Contemporary stories are inferior. They're either too solipsistic, or weighed down by the perceived need to "write well" from a literary standpoint.

The short story is not about the writer, but the reader.

Happy New Year

I wouldn't say this was the hardest year I've been through, but it ranks right up there.

Quick Quiz

WHO would win a steel cage match between King Kong and Godzilla?
(Serious responses only.)