Porthole

March going out like a lion here

Today will be cold. 42 degrees and falling just before midnight. Windy and raining.

Written just before midnight and posted: "Before I leave [12]" 

I'm so thrilled that there's only one more day left in the 30 day blog challenge. Will any continue to blog? A couple maybe. Except for Robert and Neva there are few bloggers here at WDC. Anyhoo, I survived without a major meltdown. I often find the prompts triggering.

There's more diversity than immediately meets the eye ... but there's also less, much much less, than there could be. The prompts seem bland, as if to not upset the Global White Middle Class and the spawn of English Colonialism. Real issues are avoided while the pain that personal questions elicit are seemingly okay. No, it's not okay to ask me to bare my soul so you can tear me apart with misplaced pity. I was able to get around a couple of them; a couple brought out my fangs, so I tried blunt and curt.

I kept most of my responses short regardless. I ramble in these personal entries that anyone of them could read ... but don't. At least there were more comments back and forth this time and that's a good sign. A couple really have a gift with words; great story-tellers. I could be jealous but I'm not a story-teller and some of the prompts left me gasping for air.

New suggested prompts? Puppies and kitties ... because that's safe? I should've suggested a prompt about the weather; like, "what's an interesting weather event you've experienced or would like to share?" which would be less triggering than, "name a weather event that killed friends or family ... and almost killed you!" I see no need to emulate those TV s***-flinging shows where people come on to attack each other for the bucks, f***s and drama.

Tomorrow I expect the last question to be "what was your favorite prompt". I'll find three. But I'll also suggest that going forward that every day there should be two, preferably three prompts to choose from with only one uber-personal one among them. I would also suggest that an occasional current event be noted as an option, like maybe the Insurrection or Election or Abortion and Voting Legislation or the Daily Shooting. Heaven help us if any of us should share any insight or have an opinion.

Thankfully the challenge isn't held in December. I cringe around the Christian Holy Days when folks ask "what is your fav Christmas morning memory?" or trying to be more 'secular' "what special foods are you eating during the holidays" (as if not mentioning that you mean "White European Christian" makes it somehow okay).

What's nice about Blogville being a Ghost Town? I can rant and expect absolutely no comments.

Snowing heavily at 3:05 a.m. 32 degrees.

32 windy chill degrees at 1:25 p.m.

Saw a stray flake. It must've got lost on the way down from the Bitterroots.

NCAA Basketball:

Three surprises, all from the Pac 12. Quite a few upsets to get to this point. Gonzaga still undefeated but USC cannot be taken lightly.

Houston (2) v Oregon St. (12)
Baylor (1) v Arkansas (3)
Gonzaga (1) v USC (6)
Michigan (1) v UCLA (11)

Texas is the mild surprise here with their upset over Maryland. There have been very few exciting games but that should change. These teams are the creme de la creme.

UConn (1) v Baylor (2)
Arizona (3) v Indiana (4)
S. Carolina (1) v Texas (6)
Stanford (1) v Louisville (2)

Baylor is still in the running to capture both titles. Only Connecticut did that in the past (twice! 2004 and 2014).

A response I made to the parallels of Q-conspiracy (2020) and Anti-Masons (1820) to Holly:

"The Vatican is historically secretive and exclusionary. The LDS can be secretive and certain rites like marriage are exclusionary. The Supreme Court has 6 Catholics and 8 graduates of Harvard/Yale, 4 each. When a group is perceived as homogenous or elite and tends towards secrecy then it's hard to debunk false narratives. The 'cure' is transparency. The 'smoke-filled back rooms' of Congress is a case in point. Televised public hearings has helped (grand-standing is another issue however... Sen. Cruz...)."

31 degrees at 8:40 p.m.

Never did warm up but watch out come Wednesday!

New poem: "On Naw Ruz " 

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