%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  Here's to bloggin' around the block--one word at a time. |
| …said the Spider to the Fly Okay. I can’t think of anything to write and it’s getting late. So here’s a silly poem I wrote for a poetry class. The lesson was Rhythm. ASSIGNMENT: Write 10 to 15 lines of poetry about one of your favorite pastimes. Push a button, the cards click-clack Wearing suits of red and black They jump across the bright green screen Land in nice, neat piles of ten Hold the mouse above one stack Slide a red ten ‘neath the jack Work until a whole row’s done Hear the “Ta Da” victory song But if you make too many moves Coo-coo scolds and then “You Lose” Start again, and if you win Fireworks pop across the screen Computer games are everywhere This one’s Spider Solitaire |
| Today is Wednesday, May 13. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. Hotels will sometimes omit numbering a floor 13. Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day since the 1880s. In Formula 1, no driver has had the number 13 on his car since 1976. There are traditionally 13 steps leading up to a gallows. Apollo 13 was the only unsuccessful mission by the United States of America intended to land humans on the moon. The explosion of an oxygen tank on April 13, 1970 sent the flight crew and ground crews into several days of intense survival mode. In Italy the number 13 is considered to be a lucky number. Thirteen is the number of loaves in a "baker's dozen." Thirteen original colonies formed the United States There are 13 players in a rugby league team. Basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain wore number 13. Colgate University considers 13 to be a good omen. They were founded in 1819 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles. The campus address is 13 Oak Drive in Hamilton, NY. In six days I will have been married to Jack for 13 years. That’s lucky! |
| an elephant from charging? Take away his credit cards. I'm reading the novel Water for Elephants right now and I can hardly put it down. I first heard of it from reading zwisis's blog and then alfred booth, wanbli ska  's. Because of them I grabbed it when I saw it at Half-Price Books the other day. (We've been making regular trips there to take in books to sell and never leave without buying at least one.) Thank you both!How do elephants find each other in the dark? Delightful |
| I don't have much time to write an entry tonight, but I want to keep the possibility of a blue month open. I'll be back tomorrow to read blogs and answer my email. Thanks for all your comments. Now I've got to hurry so I'll be ready to watch Medium! Priorities you know.  Happy Monday everyone. |
| …with Mother Goose What she said: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, She had so many children, she didn't know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread, She whipped them all soundly, and put them to bed. What she really meant: A Tongue Lashing The biggest shoe you think of might be Italy's boot, but in this rhyme it's the British Isles. The “old woman” was Parliament, who looked after her many colonial children in the far-flung British Empire. Parliament whipped her misbehaving children by appointing the much-hated James I to the throne. Even though James is bad-mouthed in this rhyme, he wasn't all bad. During his reign, a new version of the Bible was translated (yes, that one) and a group of colonial children named their New World settlement after him — Jamestown, Virginia. What we sang: Ring around the rosies, A pocket full of posies, A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down. (except we sang "ashes") What it really meant: A Rose Is a Rose Whenever children join hands in a circle, they sing this song of posies. The origin of this rose-colored ditty is something far more sinister — the Great Plague that swept through Europe in the 1600s. A rosy rash is the first symptom of the plague. The posies are herbs and spices carried to sweeten the air. The “a-tishoo” sneezing is another fatal symptom. (Later versions replace the sneezing with “ashes” from the cleansing bonfires.)When children fall down on the last line of this rhyme, they are unknowingly acting out their ancestors’ disease. If you want to learn more: http://www.rooneydesign.com/MotherGoose.htm Happy Mother’s Day |
Here’s a list of five movies I like that I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. I lifted all the “plot summaries” from IMDb.com 1. Perfect Stranger with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis – suspenseful and surprising. “A journalist goes undercover to ferret out businessman Harrison Hill as her best friend's killer. Posing as one of his temps, she enters into a game of online cat-and-mouse.” 2. Gothicka also with Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr. and Charles Dutton – a bit shocking. “Ghost story in which a repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the very asylum where she worked with no memory of why she is there and what she has done.” 3. Collateral with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise – Tom is the bad guy and it was good casting. There’s also some humor. “A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in LA. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.” 4. A History of Violence Viggo Mortenson and Ed Harris – based on a graphic novel. Directed by David Cronenberg. “A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.” 5. What Lies Beneath Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford – suspenseful (made in 2000) “The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost -- or that she's losing her mind.” Have you seen any of these? What's your favorite suspense or ghost movie? And don't forget to check out  |
In Three Oaks, Michigan an artist named James Kuhn painted his face every day for 365 days and took pictures. Apparently plenty of people have done this kind of thing, but James definitely seems a unique soul. This driver for the elderly for the Council on Aging is a self described "artist, drag queen, former nudist, born-again Christian, average 46-year-old guy...well maybe not exactly average!" He uses food, animals and pop culture figures like Dracula and the whole Simpson family, bringing them to life -- with his face. Dolly Parton even shakes her … body. It’s hard to explain. You have to see it. It doesn’t take long. Let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhx6RC8omIM |
Seeing a murder on television... can help work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some. ~Alfred Hitchcock Since my flame out last year I’ve been watching a little more television than usual. We don’t have cable so the shows are scattered with irritating commercials. We mute them. Usual for me is about three shows a week, two of them on Friday night. (rarely the news and no “reality shows.” ) On Fridays we watch Ghost Whisperer ,wait and hour then watch Numb3rs. On Sunday I usually watch Cold Case . Jack stopped watching it with me and I may need to stop, too. I love the characters, but it leaves me feeling a little bit sad. I don’t think I need that. Lately we’ve started watching Medium and I think we may be hooked. Since we just started a couple of weeks ago we can watch the reruns this summer. I’ve watched The Mentalist a few times, too, and I kind of like that one. What do you watch? Every time I watch a well written show with characters I care about and a great plot twist or two, I think, “Gee I wish I had thought of that.” Between that and my voracious novel reading I’m still waiting to be inspired to write. Maybe all the good stories are taken. That's a good excuse, huh? Sex on television can't hurt you unless you fall off. ~Author Unknown |
Today is Orson Welles’ birthday. He was born in 1915. In 1938 Welles narrated and directed an hour long Mercury Theatre radio broadcast based on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The first two thirds of the special Halloween production was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, leading many listeners to believe an actual Martian invasion was in progress. The whole thing caused quite a stir. Have you seen that 2005 movie War of the Worlds ? I wasn’t too impressed. You can listen to the radio broadcast here. http://www.archive.org/details/WAROFTHEWORLDS2 I found that site by accident (the internet is such a great time waster, er… resource) and there are a lot of other old radio shows on there. You can also listen to Ray Bradbury’s Mars is Heaven And if you want to see if Mars is really heaven check this out. http://www.google.com/mars/ "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." -- Orson Welles Aren’t you glad I ended this entry? |
... that today is Slow Down Day? Today is the day to smell some flowers, watch the birds, take a walk ... be good to yourself. I've been trying to do that a lot lately -- staying in the moment and not worrying about things I can't control. It's not as easy as it sounds. I took an anxiety self test today, though, and was surprised to learn that: Anxiety Is My Friend Here's my results: You appear to have a healthy level of anxiety in your life. What does that mean? Worry and anxiety can be useful emotions in that they alert us to when something isn't right in our lives, and inspire us to make changes; however, excessive levels of anxiety can be harmful and counterproductive. You appear to allow anxiety and worry to do their job--inspire you to make healthy changes when necessary--but not cause undue stress. Good for you! This is a far cry from where I was a few months ago. In fact I would have answered some of the test questions quite differently then. I was really at my wit's end for awhile. I must be feeling much better now. It guess it happened when I wasn't paying attention. It seems that life has a way of coming at you, then ♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪ Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!... Lala how the life goes on... ♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪ Here's the quiz if you'd like to take it. At the end of the test there are some resources for dealing with anxiety, too. http://stress.about.com/library/anxiety/bl_anxiety_test.htm I hope you all had/have a nice relaxing day and evening. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
![Merit Badge in Genie
[Click For More Info]
The Genie of Inspiration will shine upon you ~ when you least expect it! Trust me!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Genie-2500.gif)
So glad to see your blog again, and I like the idea of a 'new' Clean Slate. I may just do that myself! I look forward to reading more from you! 
