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 |  Well let's just try this AGAIN! |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I thought this was tough to start the first time....Don't worry I'll get it right SOME day.  Always there are nay-sayers. Just stick to your ideals. Hold fast to those dreams. Don't let go. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I attempted, today, to give a lecture to someone much shorter than I on *gasp* animal abuse. Yes my friends it is true. I stood helplessly by while this very short person abused a ... *sob* ... a TIGER! I couldn't believe it either! I stared at the offender with eyes that were filled with shock and dismay. "What are you doing to that TIGER?" I asked. .....no reply..... "How would you feel if someone did that to YOU?" .....no reply, small grin breaking out..... "Oh sure you think this is funny. Well I assure you that if someone spun you around - by your TAIL - this wouldn't be so funny then would it?" .....grin fully functional plus small giggle erupted..... Yes, a classic case of animal abuse, of the stuffed variety. The villain - a two-year-old child. The victim - a well worn, much handled white stuffed tiger. "What is your tiger's name? You do know that don't you?" .....another giggle..... "Okay let's start with something a bit easier. What is YOUR name?" .....face gets hidden in mommy's tummy...... It was, at best a totally frustrating conversation - completely one-sided. Abused victim had gone from being twirled about relentlessly by his very dirty tail to being squished in tormentors arms. I am sure you have all read The Velveteen Rabbit as I have. If you haven't please don't tell me about it but go out find a copy and read it immediately. This book is all about *gasp* animal abuse and its final sad results. (SHHHH don't ruin this for those who haven't read it either!) Currently I have my Teddy Dragon sitting on my printer watching me type. He alternates between fearful glances at the two puppies who eye him way too lovingly and myself. Sitting in my closet - way way up high - is Harold. Now Harold is unique. He is solid black, likes his own space - hence his demand for the top shelf of my closet, and detests being handled. Harry is a >sigh< well Harold is a duck. He will go rapid on you if you ever call him "Harry" as his dignity is impinged upon and if you so much as caress his soft down he spits on you. Reminds me of Louie the Llama actually with that spitting. I wanted to remind all of you that stuffed animals do have feelings. Please please keep this in mind. If you do witness the torture, mistreatment, or neglect of any of them please call 1+800+TOY-ABUSE. This hot line is manned twenty-four hours a day by specialists from all over the Toy Globe. There are rumors that Santa has a list of offenders as well - so please use the tip line with caution. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Let me make this as painful as possible for you all. Hence the font color. Yeah yeah yeah - I have been TUGGED List of stuff to do when tugged: 1. Link to your tugger and post these rules. 2. List 8 (yes 8 – the horror of it all ) random facts about yourself. 3. At the end tug 8 other people. 4. Let them know in their blog comments they’ve been tugged. Let me begin with number - UNO - Voxxylady  did this to me. Yup she did! After all I have done for her - how could she? Is nothing sacred anymore?ZWEI - Do I have to list them in English? Can I use Chinese? How about pig Latin? No? hm....okay >sigh< eight little known (this should be easy) 'facts' about me, embellished for your reading pleasure (liking the font color aren't you all?). A. I speak, read and can write German. Why? Because they didn't teach Russian in my high school. My Grandmother was from Russia and only spoke her native tongue, German, Yiddish and Babushka. I adored her and wanted to be able to talk to her in a language she was comfortable in. She died before I could do this. B. You all know I'm short (5 feet) have dark long hair, green eyes [from the Irish half], and am sassy to the 99th power so that isn't news. I know - I have 70% hearing loss in my left ear and 30% loss in my right. All together I must be deaf! I do know how to read lips, can use sign language but not well. WOW - something I didn't know about me! I know more languages than I thought! WHOO HOOO...okay back on track now.... C. I am a hit woman for the mob. My favorite method of killing is using a garrot. KIDDING - sheesh. I never exaggerate - ever. D. I was adopted at the age of one, was suffering from rickets, pneumonia, and severe malnutrition. Due to my malnutrition doctors figure my height would only reach 5' even. I beat the odds and went 3/4 of an inch over. (come on - like a doctor could know that?) E. Haven't I hit 8 yet? Isn't "E" the eighth letter of the alphabet? No? What is..hang on let me count on my fingers - a =1 b=2 c=3 d=4 e=...FIVE? damn. I am proficient at higher maths; algebra, trig, calculus, but have no ability to do arithmetic. I almost failed my advanced Accounting class due to this. My prof told me he knew my problem with just adding so let me use a calculator. I mean I got straight A's in math and can't add, subtract, multiply and that other one I really dislike. F. I love computers, learned binary and all the other number based systems very easily which considering I suck at arithmetic is weird huh? The closer to 'machine language' a program is the better I can code it. Now this means very little to most of you, so let's just move on to number eight - finally. WHAT? There are HOW many more? TWO MORE? Sheesh. G. [g-r-r] I have never been 'in love' and am not looking to do it in the future. HEY it's a little know fact! Short fact, but little known! H. My best friends are as wacky as I am. Some are wackier. Some should be institutionalized. Nah - kidding again - about the institutionalizing thing. I love wacky people. They make me laugh. So that makes this my EIGHTH little known fact. You win me over if you can make me laugh. TA - DA CZTERY - what you thought I'd cut you some slack on the color? P-F-F-F-T! At the end tug 8 other people - now this is where my ultimate strangeness shall come forth and shine in all its glory. I intend to tug people's blogs who have UNDER 50 entries. Let's do our part to drive new Bloggers NUTSO shall we? Okay the victims will be........ Kåre Enga in Montana  --- heehee that'll teach him to start a new blog! Another one bites the dust. lrosemaunt January Jumper  destinydances *hey this is getting easier and easier - pwnslic tagged this one...moving on now...jadedusk *mutters to herself about KEN stealing one of her blogs...Well I am NOT getting another one I'll tell ya that much! rlwilkerson Thomas mollys_lips27 Okay then my work here is done! I did my best and even ADDED Tor to my list so P-F-F-T QUATTRO: ko off to comment in these poor people's blogs and give them the BAD news! Lynch parties are forbidden on WdC aren't they? Huh? Why couldn't we have just played HIDE-N-SEEK? WARNING: I will NOT respond to any more TUGS. out of respect for lil Bugzy's eye ball situation I am giving in and re-coloring my blog entry - darn her.... |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** SCRIIITTTCHH...SCRITCH.... What? OH - me? What am I doing? I'm using one of my most magical items in my pen box of course. This is my Magical Eraser. Yup it is. M.E. meet everyone. Now don't be shy wave at the nice peop's. Oh well sorry - he just lays there blushing. Silly M.E. Want to know what I'm doing with M.E. hm? Well you see it's like this. When I get all scrunched up inside my head, and the Grey Aukkie Stress comes crawling around (yes, G.A.S.) I pull out my trusty tool box - since I'm a writer make that my trusty pen box - and grab M.E. and get to work. M.E. and I have tons of fun. I just reach in and pull out the worst of the G.A.S., slap it down on the desk and he goes to town a scrubbing away until the G.A.S. is - P*O*O*F - gone. Lately all my G.A.S. has been in direct relation to the upcoming month. Yes, yes I know you will get so sick of reading of my tribbles and tralulations regarding NaNo - but if you don't try it don't judge my G.A.S. okay? Just today I pulled a massive G.A.S out and looked at it, even wondering if I could use it during November. I mean it won't be all sweetness and light giving birth to 50,000 kids! A friend compared it to giving birth so let's stick with that analogy. And NO I don't want after birth described by ANYONE! Hear me? Good. I named that G.A.S. I pulled out today. Yup, named it Gertie. Gertie G.A.S. Now Gertie is rather special and actually her or one of her 6,000 twins have been with me a long long time. Gertie is my A.R.T. No not like that. It stands for Anal Retentive Traits. For instance, say someone (not naming names here now) wanted me to create something special for someone they loved. A pressie. Simple yet loving gift they desire. They want me to create it. O-K-A-Y here comes Gertie or Gertie Jr. or Gertie IV or...well you get the idea. Gertie looks up at me with those BIG BROWN EYES and bats her eyelashless lids and says: "If you create 100 different things the odds are much better that ONE of them will be acceptable." Oh, okay then. Let me sit pouring over my 'puter making 100 different gifts for SOMEONE ELSE! No problem. Actually it isn't and I totally lose myself in projects like that. The problem comes when I finish, look around, realize that was my day off and I did NOTHING but sit at that computer being A.R.T.-ful. Well that's my story and of course I'm stuck with it. Now if you don't mind I have to get back to M.E. Seems there is some G.A.S. I overlooked regarding bills coming due or being over due? Whatever. Say! You all have M.E.'s? Awww COOLNESS. What do you do with them? Fill me in okay? KO...gotta run...Wave bye bye M.E. - sheesh again with the blushing.... |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the forest call; Tomorrow they may form and go. O hushed October morning mild, Begin the hours of this day slow. Make the day seem to us less brief. Hearts not averse to being beguiled, Beguile us in the way you know. Release one leaf at break of day; At noon release another leaf; One from our trees, one far away. - Robert Frost, October   Autumn memories are something special. It's a slow down time of the year. Everything, including nature just seems to begin moving slower. The air, while crisp, seems to take on a thickness, the prelude to winter I suppose. Leaves falling lazily down in slow motion. Watch them sometime, you can see them dithering in a decision on where they should even land! There was a "special place" I loved as a young person. It was a pond formed from a tiny stream - an off-shoot of one of the lakes in the area by where I lived. The pond was surrounded by natural vegetation (trees, bushes etc.) but it was lined with rocks smoothed by the Hands of Time. The street lights were old fashioned iron-worked lights and fit the ambiance perfectly. The water flowed softly over rocks and pebbles in the pond and it was near this bubbling input that I would love to sit and meditate. During one particular autumn, while leaves floated down onto the water and the light was broken by the gently twirling leaves and twigs I was sitting on my favorite rock mesmerized by the patterns Nature was providing for free. Suddenly I heard the rustle of branches from the bushes behind where I sat, twigs snapped and I was disappointed. Someone was going to interfere with my privacy. I sat as quietly as possible, hoping the intruder was just walking by, although why they weren't taking the path and cutting through all the wooded area was a tad confusing. My luck was in that night. The person struggled through more bushes, then peace and quiet once more reigned. I remained in my special spot for a while longer, then got up and walked back home. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" You could smell the fear in the room. It seems a predator was lurking about in the area where my special spot was. Someone had reported his presence to the police and everyone who knew me, knew where I went for solace. My friends had called my house asking if I was home and flipped out when they found out I wasn't. Seems a search party was about to go looking for me. It gave me shivers to know that perhaps that stumbling, crashing about in the woods was someone I did not want to see or get anywhere near. They never caught the man responsible for the rapes and beatings of the females in the area though. Whoever he was, wherever he went he never destroyed my special place. I refused to let him. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** October has so many memories for me. Some good, some bad, some I need to pull out and throw away or shred or something. Since this is considered the down-slide into winter months, plus that scary holiday time, I am going to tell you some frightening memories!  Where I grew up would be considered by today's 'standards' a burb. Housing developers had gone nuts to build homes for small families with two bedrooms, one story boring look alike houses. Nothing to write home about if you get the picture. One morning I awoke to grand commotion from the adult factor. It seems that during the night one of those "tract" housing units had burnt to the ground. Okay, fire to a kid is interesting. I listened to the story as related by outraged, shocked adults. Some relatives had been visiting and left their two children, ages one and three with the thirteen year old who also was in charge of her siblings aged five and six months. The two sets of parents had gone out to dinner etc. During the wee early hours, before the parents got home, a fire started in that tiny house. All the children died. One child, the six month old was found outside the bedroom window where they figure the thirteen year old had dropped him, then went back for the others. He died from smoke inhalation as well. I remember going across the street to my best friend's house and asking her what she had heard. She filled in a bit more. She heard that the parents couldn't be reached or found for the longest time. The police had no idea where they had gone out to. They finally found them, when their car pulled up to the area where the burning house was. Hysterics all around. I wanted to go see this shell of a house that had held so much young death yet I was terrified at the same time. Death just wasn't as "cool" as young people find it today, what with those games they now play. Death was dead, adults crying, church services, kids left out of the loop on understanding. I do know that with my very very vivid imagination I had a terror of dying in a fire for a very long long time. I could picture the girl, just a few years older than I was at the time, attempting to save the children, and dying in her attempts. I imagined the flames, the smoke, the living hell she must have gone through and finally failing to save anyone at all. The reports stated most of the children died in their sleep. The house was torn down, what was left of it, and nothing else was built on that spot. Maybe by now they have though. People have short memories right? So I wonder, if there is another house there, is that haunted by the thirteen year old girl? Does her spirit hopelessly try to save those babies over and over and over again? What a horrible way to spend eternity. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Have you ever walked down a deserted street, in the dark of a moonless night, and known you were being watched? The shadows keeping track of every move you make, the wind catching your every breath and stealing away the next one. Movement of any sort sends chills running over your body until you can feel each individual hair stand on end. It's October you know. Halloween is coming. Leaves skitter about on the ground sounding like brittle bones being rubbed together. Trees with branches almost leafless now, shiver in the cold autumn winds. They know winter is upon us. This is the season for Ghost Stories. So let me tell you one, from my past. Days end so early in Autumn in the Midwest that it seems as if we lived in unending twilight. The dampness of the day extended its cruel arms and held us tightly at night time. Walking about in this gloom, a girlfriend and I happened upon a street we had not traveled before. "See that house?" She asked me. Looking across I saw the two-story house which appeared to be uninhabited and neglected as well. The windows were all dark and no signs of life were discernible in the evening's descent. The yard was an overgrown jungle of indifference. "Yes, I see it. So?" I turned and looked at her. She stood there, staring at the house as if mesmerized. Finally she turned her head and told me the following story. "This is a haunted house. It all started with the death of course. All hauntings start that way don't they?" Goosebumps popped up all over my body and I shivered in the cold, damp air. I nodded agreement, but really had no idea what she was talking about. "A family lived there - once. Mother, father, child - all living there. I heard they were a happy family too. Until that day, the day of the death of the small boy. It seems he had been out playing in the back yard when a storm suddenly struck and he got drenched. Got a bad cold from that and it developed into pneumonia. To make matters worse, the father had to travel a lot for his job. He was away when the boy became ill. His mother was frantic and had to use a taxi to take the boy to a doctor. Oh the doctor gave her medicine and told her to keep her son warm and in the house. He scoffed at her fears of how ill her son really was. The doctor was wrong you see. The boy continued to worsen despite all medication and treatments from the mother. She contacted her husband and told him she needed him to come home. He tried to make it but a storm kept him away and the boy died before the father reached home. A young five year old died from complications. The mother was so distraught they ended up hospitalizing her and she died within a year. See that window on the second floor? To your left - see it? That was his room. If you stand here long enough, you'll see it." My friend paused. "See wha-at?" I stammered as each hair on the back of my neck vied for standing more upright than the others. "You'll see the light in the window. They say, adults that is, that the light is from the mother. She stayed at her son's side throughout his illness and always kept one light on to assure him he wasn't alone." At this point in her story telling I felt that fear of the unknown crawling around inside me like a snake pit. I was sweating and it was cold out. I knew one thing for certain - I was not going to stand there staring until I saw that light. I ran. I ran and ran until I reached my house whose lit windows welcomed me back. Ghosts - scary stuff. Do you believe? |
| Yup it has finally happened folks. We messed around with science W-A-A-A-Y too long. After all the advancements humans have made to find ways to save us all time and energy it has been done. Scientists have held this experiment in the dark now for over ten years. They knew how to do it. They just didn't want us to know they knew. It is true. SHADOWS HAVE A LIFE OF THEIR OWN! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Unfortunately, this one doesn't seem too happy with his freedom. Perhaps he is just working out. What do you think is up with the SHADOW MAN? Whose shadow is this from anyway? Anyone familiar? Work all day into the night - CANNOT wait to see what you all come up with for THIS one.  |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I know this subject is one that the media has covered. I realize people talk about this a lot. I just wanted to go over the bare facts again. In today's society - WHO THE HECK are the HEROES? Can't look to sports can we? If sports figures aren't beating someone up, being arrested for drunk driving they are running dog fighting rings. Okay, I admit not all sports figures are doing this. Or not all have been caught yet. See? I'm cynical. Where have all the good men gone And where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? How can we say an actor is a hero? They are just pretending - I believe that is what acting is defined as - correct? No heroes there either. Dare I mention politics? Who in our political system can we tag as a Hero? Come on now, there aren't any are there? Isn't there a white knight upon a firey steed? Late at night I toss and I turn And I dream of what I need I need a hero What is a Hero anyway? Good old Webster aside - what do people mean when they say "We need more heroes!"? We have had involuntary heroes haven't we? The fireman and police and rescue folks during 911 - they were tagged as heroes. I do so appreciate what they did or attempted to do and died trying to do but what about the alive hero? Where are they? Who are they? What do they have to do to become heroes? What does modern society require of them? “Many people feel there is an advantage to doing nothing. It is rather comfortable, you do not have to exert yourself physically or mentally. You can accept all of the privileges that come to you, and have no responsibilities. You are to be envied if your conscience lets you do it!" X-box, Play Station, Game Boy are just video games folks. They are even lower on the hero-for-real-scale than actors. Why do the young people look up to them then? Who is there that inspires young folks, drives their dreams, their hopes, their futures? I'm holding out for a hero til the end of the night He's gotta be strong And he's gotta be fast And he's gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I'm holding out for a hero til the morning night He's gotta be sure And it's gotta be soon And he's gotta be larger than life Up where the mountains meet the heavens above Out where the lightning splits the sea I could swear there is someone somewhere watching me We all need heroes. Where are they now? Don't even start with me about a Hero having to be a male either! Women can be and are heroes! That quote above was one from a speech Eleanor Roosevelt gave. P-F-F-T All those I claim are my heroes are dead and gone. I look around and can find no one alive to fit my idea of a hero. I admire many and respect a lot of men and women, but hero - no. Do you have a hero and are they living? What makes them YOUR hero? How long have they been your hero? Where are all the heroes? |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Forget about taking me out to the ballgame, take me to the fair! I LOVE state fairs. Don't you? Here's the funny thing however, I love them just as I did when I was a child. Most people who are adults look at fairs through the eyes of their children. Since I haven't that option, I look at it as though I am still a child who has gained some interesting wisdom along the way! When I first get to the fair and see the hordes of people pouring into the grounds, I get all nervous and tense. I want to say to whomever I'm with, "HURRY UP! All the rides will have long lines, there won't be any cotton candy left and I want to win that HUGE white teddy bear this year! SO MOVE IT!" It is not a good place to go and let me drive. I have no idea where the vehicle is once we leave it behind. My eyes are fixed on the lights of the rides (best time to go is at night of course), my ears hear the faint screams, the music and I'm in that space reserved for the innocent. "FAIR MODE - do not disturb" Inside the grounds I easily fore go looking at the smelly animals, seeing who won the jam/jelly/whatever for the year and head to the ticket stall. Now this is a problem. How many tickets will I need? Doesn't matter how much money I brought, I'll panhandle for more should the need arise. HEY - people respond when you tell them the money is going for rides and games at THE STATE FAIR! I love the Fair. I even love the people attending and working AT the Fair. I love the mood, the scents, the entire ambiance of the place. Carnies now, they are special aren't they? Have you ever known a carnie? I have and actually three were once friends of mine, one had his own booth at Fairs. They would advise me about being ripped off, pocket picking people, overpriced food and I would watch their mouths moving alright. I only heard, "Yes, I will take you tonight if you wish." Oh my gosh I so love Fairs! How awful not to be able to go then. I can't probably this year. I will be stuck at my jobs and so tired I won't have the energy to attend. >sigh< I am a curious Fair seeker and have gone out of my way to attend tiny town Fairs, HUGE Metropolitan Fairs (Chicago's), Farming Fairs (no rides just lots of critters, jelly, jams but the FOOD! oh yeah), Horse Fairs (Arabian horses especially interest me) and Science Fairs (no rides, no food, nothing - big disappointment there). Fairs are wonderful, magical, and even if you puke because of some ride, they have refreshments waiting when stomach settles down again. Everything can be found at the Fair. What do you like best? How does a Fair make you feel? Wanna take me?  |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I noticed something about blogs. Not just here in WdC either but all over the Web. Any entry that is deemed "controversial" gets an unbelievable number of responses. Why do you think that is? Bugsy birthday party probably messed with those statistics - but then again - Bugsy IS controversial!  Say a writer makes a sweeping statement about something he/she feels strongly about in their blog. This is their opinion correct? But where did that opinion come from? I believe that opinions are based on many factors: 1. Upbringing 2. Life experiences 3. Education 4. Environment 5. Memories Oh, there are many other factors that psychologists and sociologists will argue over but this is MY opinion. I get to make the rules here. It is my blog after all. When you look at that list logically, you could eliminate numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. Why? Because everything involving those is residing in number 5 - memory. This makes our memories pretty powerful doesn't it? We have so much stored in our brains, some helpful, useful, interesting and plenty of garbage. Can we make our memories subjective though? I mean, can we call up a memory, look at it as if it happened to someone else and evaluate it? For that matter, when we recall a memory is it accurate anymore? If we look back on our childhood or even teen years, call up a memory - isn't that shaded by our emotions? Do emotions then run things? I once wrote a paper for college stating that man was a creature of his emotions, not his intellect. Got in mucho trouble writing that! I read folks lives in their blogs and know its coming sometimes, maybe most times from their emotional state not their logic. Well, what fun is logic you ask? Hm, don't let your PC hear that one! Is it fair to assume that when someone says to you, "I remember exactly what you did!" that they don't - not really. When you tell someone, "I know what you said six years ago!" that you don't - not really.Where does this rambling digression go you may wonder. Well, I am trying to build a character outline. I read all this advice about how you should use your memories to build one from, using people you knew or know. Then I started wondering, questioning this type of advice. Our memories do not always "serve us well". Some memories seem to have the ability to destroy an entire life. Sometimes a painful memory can do just the opposite - it can assist a person to become like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. I think we need to be aware when memories use us. I think we need to be alert when we use a memory as an excuse. I think - I think I'm never going to get my characters built at this rate! >sigh< Go on now and have a wonderful day. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Well okay then - I signed up for this November thingie. I keep feeling out of control or events are spinning out of control. Can't have that. Knuckled down and began planning this 50,000 worded something which may or may not be a novel in some sordid fashion or other. I had to subscribe to a region for this site and do you know they don't have a region called State of Panic? They don't. Wrote and advised them to add it in. It would be global I think. No country or boundaries on that state. I think my panic comes not from an inability to hammer out those words in thirty days. I think it comes from a belief that if you claim to be a writer, you need to have respect for the language you choose to write your pieces in not just chug out garbage. No, that's not completely true either. My panic comes from the blockage I've lived inside of for so long. People say they believe in themselves. Ask anyone! Go on...[ waiting now for you to come back ]. Well what did I tell you? Oh sure you may have gotten those lukewarm responses, "I guess so. I guess I believe in me.", and even some who haven't a clue whether they believe in themselves or not. Overall people are going to assure you they do believe in themselves. Why not? Who is going to prove them wrong? Oh, yeah - our actions, our daily lives prove that don't they? I have to believe in me. I am my own best friend. (yeah yeah - worst enemy blah blah) I have to believe I can churn out the required wordage. If you run the distance but fall short the goal....hm. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I have been agonizing over not writing now for months. You all have seen me complain about this situation. Friends have gotten sick of hearing about the situation and enemies are even getting tired of gloating over the situation. Time to do something I figured. It wasn't me that read that blog by dragonfly~guess who's back? and commented that I was going to join the NaNoWriMo site and was filling in all the information as I typed her as well. It couldn't have been me! Okay it was me  .It had better have been me, because I got an email from the NaNoWriMo site telling me they love me. WHOA! They do not know me and yet they love me? Well better than hate mail I suppose. You either "love" me or "hate" me. Okay so far I guess I can deal with this. Their e-mail was about 18 pages long. This was one serious e-mail they sent! The part I loved the best in the e-mail, aside from the love of course, was the following statement: "...here's a quick overview of the three-and-a-half things we wish we had known for our first NaNoWriMo." You see the humor? I did. They actually listed 3.5 things as well. I am a tad confused on the 1/2 pointer however. What makes a comment 1/2 not a whole? (there I go again, asking questions!) You want to see what they send, go join in the NaNoWriMo site and get started now. Oh, that stands for National Novel Writing Month by the way. Acronyms are too cute aren't they?  Now the big news. I have nothing to write. I mean, I picture this huge white-board in my brain all ready for phrases, characters to be created, plot to be outlined and spiffy other things to research, delve into and begin - I got nuttin. I figure I have three choices. 1. Use the novel with 17 chapters I never finished which needs a revamp from Chapter 10 on. The plot twisted away from where it needed to go. 2. Use the 31 chapter finished novel which I absolutely hate, loathe and want nothing to do with. 3. Somehow, some way come up with a new idea for a novel. I have two huge ideas but I think it would need to be away from both those ideas as I want to do more research into both. What do you guys think I should do? No idea either hm? Gee, thanks a bunch. I don't know how much writing in my blog I will be able to do during the month of November however. I will endeavor to keep you updated, put up a total board or something for you all. Won't that be utterly depressing? I wanna puke. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "The key to wisdom is this -- constant and frequent questioning ... for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth." ~~Peter Abelard Okay then Pete my fine fellow here's my take on your wise quote regarding learning. What if you (a) run out of questions (b) people get tired of the questions you ask them all the time and / or (c) the answers just lead to more and more questions? I ask people questions all the time. "Why do you drive a bus? Is this something you have always wanted to do?" "When do I get MY lunch?" "Who was the guy who invented this piece of electronic garbage anyway? [ asked about our key pad for credit cards at work ] "Isn't there a warning about standing on the top step of a ladder that tall?" [ there was and after the electrician fell I checked - the ladder was laying on the ground at that point ] "How come my Winnie The Pooh toaster doesn't work? What if I take it apart? Can I get it to work again?" [ many vetoes on this project due to my ability to injure myself while doing mundane tasks ] "If we are selling our electricity and water to California, and they keep moving to Arizona - what is the point of selling it at all? Don't we need it now more than ever?" "Who decided to make Monday the night for big football games? What's wrong with Tuesday? Or Wednesday - Wednesday is the middle of the week. Wouldn't that have been a better night?" "Why is it that women are known to love to shop, by men, yet men get all upset that we don't keep a budget?" "If the sky is blue because of the wave length of light, then why is grass green in some states and blue in others?" "Why can't I write anymore? Where have all my ideas, words and wonderment gone?" Questions are the keys then. Answers must be the locks. I am going to study to be a locksmith >sigh< its the only option I have available I guess. “Beware of the door with too many keys” Portuguese Proverb quotes I am like that door, aren't I with all my questions. Anyone wonder why people run when they see a puzzled look on my face? |
| While its true I do not feel well - a mutant cross between body flu and a head cold - I must give you something fun for your day and mine. Thank you for your very sweet emails and caring sentiments! The photo made me laugh and I do hope it does the same for you. Credit for the photographer are listed, as always in the Art Folder and it did have a title on but I feel that here at WdC we can do better. Should I tell you what the original title on this photograph was? Nahhh...Let's see if you come up with something outrageously funny instead. No preconceived ideas for you my fine friends. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I'm off to work soon and due to a "MANDATORY" (three supervisors personally came up to me and told me this. Like I don't know what the word means!) meeting tonight, I won't be home until very very late. Hopefully I will see the outpouring of creativity from many of you. To those of you away from WdC for varied reasons - sorry! Next Sunday I hope to see your wondrous comments. Thanks to you all once again. |
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| What makes you laugh? Really - what makes you burst out in laughter and have tears running down your face and holding your stomach because you hurt - good hurt though! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Do you know how many types of humor there are? No? Well...heehee...let me start your lesson. Types of humor: Adviser: the comic adviser gives uncalled for advice in a Punch prototype. Ex: Advice to people who want to buy a puppy: Don't. Aside: a thought added as if something the speaker was saying reminded him of it. Banter: good-natured teasing back and forth; exchange of witty remarks. Blendword: blending two or three words to make a new word. Ex: smog for smoke and fog. Blue Humor: not appropriate for the public speaker. Humor based on easily offensive subjects like making love, body parts, and bodily functions. Blunder: wit based on a person who makes a mistake, which makes them appear foolish. Bull: a humorous statement that is based on an outrageous contradiction. Ex: "The best people have never had kids." Burlesque: a form of satire. Burlesque ridicules any basic style of speech or writing. (Parody makes fun of specific writings.) Caricature: exaggeration of a person’s mental, physical, or personality traits, in wisecrack form. The Catch Tale: a funny story that messes up the reader or listener by implying an awful ending but then stopping with a small declaration. Conundrum: a word puzzle that can’t be solved because the answer is a pun. Ex: why do cows wear bells? Their horns don’t work. Epigram: clever, short saying about a general group. Mostly satire about mankind. Two types, wordplay and thought play. Exaggerism: an exaggerated witticism that overstates the features, defects, or the strangeness of someone or something. Freudian Slip: a funny statement which seems to just pop out, but which actually comes from the person’s subconscious thoughts.  this happens to me ALL THE TIME!Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration. I NEVER exaggerate! NEVER Irony: a leading part of humor. Irony is using words to express something completely different from the literal meaning. Usually, someone says the opposite of what they mean and the listener believes the opposite of what they said. Joke: short story ending with a funny climactic twist. Usually I forget parts of the joke - like the punch line - why is everyone laughing? Nonsensism: inclusive of the epigram and the wisecrack, it is any kind of funny nonsense in speaking form. Nonsensism includes all kinds of absurdity without realistic logic and makes a general observation of absurd reference. Parody: humorous version of any well-known writing. Ex: Weird Al Yankovic’s "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi". Practical Joke: a joke put into action. You hear an oral joke, sees a printed joke, and feel the practical joke. The trick is played on another person and the humor comes from what happens. be careful with this one - it can backfire on you! Recovery: a combination of blunder and wit, where a person makes an error, and then saves himself with a fast correction. Repartee: includes clever replies and retorts. The most common form is the insult. Satire: wit that is critical humor. Satire is sarcasm that makes fun of something. wow I'm satirical! who knew? Situational Humor: this is comedy that comes from your own life. No one in your audience will have heard it and it can get a group used to you. This type of humor is based on a humorous situation that you have experienced. I don't think my situations are funny - others do - I dunno... Switching: a common form of switching is changing the main parts of the story, such as the setup or the punch line, and creating a new joke. Understatement: making something that is regular or large seem extremely smaller or less. Intentionally down- sizing a large object. so if someone tells you - you are the master of understatement - is this good or bad? Wisecrack: any clever remark about a particular person or thing. Wisecracks are quick wordplays about a person. I have this one down to an ART form! Wit: humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee. Wit is funny because of the sudden sharpness and quick perception. Wit can bite. Verbal wit is a type of humor known as Wordplay. So, if you accuse someone of being witless - you are telling them they aren't funny? Hm. There you have it. It may not be a definitive list, but it sure covers a lot of different types of humor. Which is your favorite? Which do you use most to make people laugh? What one or two or three make YOU laugh? When you write humor which do you use? How do you go about that exactly? I love to laugh. I try to get people to at least smile once in a while but usually my efforts fall short (NO HEIGHT REFERENCE INDICATED HERE). Eye cee ewe! |
| You know what I like about being an adult? I can be a Child and no one can tell me to stop. No one can say - "Don't do that!". There is no one in power to enforce bedtime, mealtime, bath time rules. I get to make them up for myself. Friends come over, everyone sitting around just chatting - normal stuff you know? I have a bag of balloons Not those little ones either. Nope! The fun ones that if you blew them up would be over three feet long. Do you know how much water one of those holds? Okay - stage set. Balloon gets filled at the kitchen sink while everyone sits in the living room chatting. Normal stuff you know? "HEY! What do you have there?" They noticed. "Um, anyone want to go outside. Play catch?" We all pile out to the sidewalk. Girls against boys. Rules are simple. All must catch the balloon. Everyone on each team must have one hand on it in every catch. The balloon is heavy! The water makes it feel so cold and the silly thing wants to slosh all its water to one end or the other, leaving a tiny piece of plastic in the middle. When will it break? Who will not catch it? Who will puncture it? The suspense is part of the game. The noise, the screams, the guys cussing when one of them grabs too hard - laughter - silliness. When the first balloon finally gives up the mistreatment from all of us, and the guys are wet, yet not completely soaked, time to get the next balloon and try again. Each team swearing the other team will get soaked this time! Our play is noticed. The small type children begin to pop out of their homes and slowly gather to watch. Parents stand in their patios wondering if their children are safe around us lunatics. More laughter, squeals of pretend fright, the balloon sags yet stays together for another toss. Older children show up, cheering us on, giving us all helpful hints, hoots of derision are heard and our small group keeps their focus where it belongs - on that water balloon. When the second one blows - the girls side is the recipient of the water burst this time. We are urged to do it again - do it again! Childhood. Laughter. Playing. Why give it up? Don't ever give this away. Ever. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I love Mother Nature. She has some serious artwork doesn't she? Most people love flowers and bushes that flower. When I was small(er) I fell in love with ferns. The names I heard intrigued me. There were the Osmunda cinnamomea -cinnamon fern; Matteuccia struthiopteris - the ostrich fern; Onoclea sensibilis - sensitive fern named because if anything brushes up against it, it will curl up. The names were as magical as the plants themselves. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Laying in the grass, close to the bank of the different ferns which grew on the south side of our house, I would pretend I was tiny tiny. The ferns were a magical hideaway and I could play hopscotch with the lady bugs that frequented the area. Interspersed with the ferns were other shady types of plants; lady slippers, bleeding hearts, and another of my favorite - tiny white bell shaped flowers hanging delicately off thin stalks. Their name won't come to me right now. I always thought the faeries that protected this side of the house used these flowers to make music. The flowers reminded me of bells. I would lie in the shade and watch the sun throw weak spears of light down through the ferns, turning the leaves almost transparent glass it seemed. I would hold my hand under a plant hoping that the green would stain my own skin. Having that color skin, being able to camouflage myself in that long patch of green - how wonderful that would have been. Of course my pretend would be interrupted. Because ferns love moisture and shade, another of its denizens was mosquitoes. Getting multiple bites was no treat. Mother Nature and her eye for detail - she could have left them out. I wish I could paint as some do. I would do a drawing, painting of that forest of ferns and flowers. Wild, untamed and beautiful - what more could help fuel a child's imagination? I am certain that if not for having to deal with the mosquitoes who frequent the damp dark areas where ferns thrive, I would search out a patch and once again lie amidst the fronds dreaming of a world beyond my own reality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I would like to use this entry to also thank those who voted for me in "Invalid Item"  by A Guest Visitor for Blogger of the Month. This came as a surprise to me and while I do not fully understand the why of the voters - I certainly want to tell them all thank you. Thanks to Scarlett for producing this newsletter and of course to all who have written so wonderfully in it. Again, thank you. |
| You walk into the main office and see this sweet young thing seated at the reception desk. Then you notice the BUCKET. Warning bells should go off at this point. This sweet young thing, with her perfectly groomed demeanor is actually Darth Vador's grumpy younger sister. "Excuse me. I have a three o'clock appointment with Mr. Stevenson." She ignores you standing there. Typing with the use of one perfectly manicured finger, she completely ignores you. You try again. "Excuse me? Hello?" Big mistake. The BUCKET gives her away. You all know her, have had to deal with her. It's the: VIXENODON This female will try the patience of a river worn stone. She looks good, yes, but there is nothing humane about her. She feels she is doing the world a favor by gracing the outer offices of whatever company she is employed at. Her talents are minimal. Her attitude is maximum. She won't help you, talk to you, assist you in any way unless you appear to be someone she can use. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Whoever crosses her path of boredom will surely suffer the consequences. This VIXENODON has the facial expressions of a plastic mask. When you see this BUCKET-HEAD you may as well turn and walk away. You will get no assistance and will never get in to see Mr. Stevenson. Whatever you do, when you walk away from her, do NOT mutter under your breath. Big mistake - big big mistake. This BUCKET-HEAD may appear bored and indifferent but she has the hearing of a rabid dog. She is quite capable of making your life miserable without dinging her manicure. |
| Last week my friend, Sam, who lives in Washington D.C. (bear with me now cuz there is no Sam who lives in Washington D.C. - well maybe there is but I don't know her) saw something she just had to share with me. She called and told me she was sending me a picture via her cell phone (yes they have that technology now! ) When I got the photo I was instantly confused. What was this? So I called her back and said: "Uh, Sam - what is this?" I asked. She told me that it seems the U.S.A. has acquired a new state! That's right we now have 51 states. When I asked her what the new state's name was, it seemed she didn't know. When I asked WHERE the state was, again, no knowledge of this either. I need some help here! You all know the name of the new state? Where is it? I can see from the picture the states symbol - which is a tad worrisome. Wonder what that state's motto is, or state animal or even the STATE SONG! So much confusion - please help!!!!! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** There it is. A picture of the license plate with the symbol embedded on it. What do you all think? Any and all information will be gratefully accepted, perhaps not acceptable to those in the White House but hey - I would appreciate it! Thanks all! Enjoy, and see your responses when I get home from work! |
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When we were first married we had an inner city apartment. It didn't matter how much you cleaned and tried to run them off. They just visited next door and came back when the fumes wore off. After nine months of doing battle with earth's oldest creatures we moved. Now that you've mentioned their love for warm and dark computer cases I have a whole new source for nightmares.