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 |   A terminal for all blogs coming in or going out. A view into my life. |
Started July 1st 2019 for contests, etc. as other blogs are filling up and have other purposes.  I'm starting a new blog because
I'll be linking to
I've started an appendix (I no longer have one personally) to keep track of my Space Cadet journals for Space Blog. It's a work constantly under construction. Mind the mess.
I needed to start a folder for contests as there are so many deadlines and details to remember.
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| 30DBC: How much of your own life or the lives of people you know do you put into your writing? Do you mine your past for inspiration, or do you create wholly new places and characters? Depends... Many of my poems are for people or based on people. Some mildly fictionalized... The Zmitri poems are for my friend Gary. The idea is two individuals connected throughout time and the cosmos. Not very radical but most poets don't write about that. And not unique. When I watched "My Roommate is a Fairy Fox" (Chinese) I was gobsmacked on how they handled two characters still attached after 1,000 years. The theme of loyalty and forever being thankful uplifted me. It makes me want to edit my Zmitri poems and share them. My chapbook This and Every November is a collection of 22 poems written for specific individuals. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention my Latter-Day-Vampire Bawang. S/he is totally fiction... or so I thought... until I met Wesley/Catherine on a bus out of Boise. IMHO, regardless whether characters (or places) are fictional they will always resemble someone or some place. The trick is making the reader believe they are real. 1.097 |
| Today is a national holiday is the US: Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day. Dr King believed that fear was the ultimate cause of hatred, prejudice, and violence. Do you agree or disagree with his assessment? Give examples. I think fear is a factor, especially when it has been instill by generations. At some point the original cause for the fear may even be forgotten. Like traumas it enters the body and 'resides in the muscles, brain and bones'. I'm sure most people are not aware of the source of their prejudices. At times, even experiences to the contrary do not override their long-held hatreds and violent responses. This is learned of course. And can be unlearned, albeit with great effort. No child is inherently nativist, nationalistic, or racist. Children bond across all adult-perceived barriers. Since this is a national holiday let me share my two cents on the present leader: He is racist, nativist, nationalist, mean-spirited and cold-hearted. Why mention his name... you-all know who I'm talking about. Children could teach him lessons, but he seems to be beyond learning any. In the meantime he spouts lies and instigates hatred and the violence that follows. Those who support him should no longer deny this. 1.084 |
| 30DBC: Write about something ordinary that brought you unexpected joy. A hot bath... Odd choice? Yep. My mind is toast... fried... mush... It's rainy, foggy, chill, slippery. All I want to do is sit in a onsen and soak. I should take a hot shower before heading off. There is no bathtub here. There rarely are in hostels or even hotels. Nothing against showers... unless they are cold... don't like cold water. I remember the joy of finding a bathtub in a place I stayed in Alcobaça, Portugal about 5 years ago. There's something about steam, the fragrance, the muscles beginning to relax as heat seeks the core of my being. I soaked. At home I'll wait until the water cools, drain it, then refill it with hot water. I imagine I did that then as well. Along with the wisteria, the monastery, the side trip to Nazare and Sitio (eating percebes) that's what I remember most. Other times? Well, there was that onsen inside the hostel in Beppu and the walk-in tub in Fukuoka... but Japan is a culture of clean water and tubs of hot water. Maybe when I travel to Tainan (the old Japanese capital of Taiwan)? The place where I'll stay again has a tub.  |
| "It’s Show and Tell Day here at the 30DBC! Think of an item that is special to you (it may help if you are able to see your chosen item while you write your entry). Describe it in as much detail as possible. Then, tell us its story. How did it come to be in your life and what makes it important to you?" DAVID I'm not home so there's little to hold. But David is traveling with me. He's on my facebook page; some of you have met him. He's from Taiwan... so it's a home-coming. I met him one February night last year on the streets of Taipei the day after Bobo decided to move to China with Dawid and Mei. He seemed lonely so I took him with me. He's visited Costa Rica and Europe and in April may accompany me to Africa... He has some catching up to do. His soft brown eyes are staring at me now and his floppy ears need grooming. I'm not sure what he's thinking. He's never hungry or cold but I'm both. Ah... to be stuffed and plush... ... instead of old and cranky. |
| 30DBC: Use the following words in your entry today: tumultuous, navigate, journey, and gargantuan. We all have been on a journey all our lives. Like insects we go though instars from toddler to child to youth to maturity... molting our old existence at each step... some of us are then fortunate to experience old age. Along the Way we find out that our personal truths are not universal. Do we ever find ourselves? It is said that we are stardust yet we navigate by following the routes liquids take. We are truly ugly bags of mostly water. But we look up to the firmament and wonder at how gargantuan it is, then look into a puddle and realize we are small. Do we stop to see the beauty of it all? At least I try to ... Yes, there is beauty all around us. Even through tumultuous times, those roller-coaster moments when we find ourselves tossed and turned upside down, we are surrounded by Beauty ... should we choose to breathe in its fragrance. May we all breathe deeply. May we acknowledge that each individual's journey has merit. May we be the best dust and water we can be. 1.052 |
| What are you waiting for? "There are so many ways to answer this question, both light and heavy, so I look forward to reading where you go with it!" Stop noodging me. I don't like being noodged. Now that we straightened out that the English don't speak English... or is it that WE don't. I grew up with French, German, and some Yiddish terms. I may have been meshugene but I wasn't a dummkopf... playing dumb was not my forte... pronounced fortay because I'm not a prescriptionist. The town I grew up in has a name derived from Seneca. I'm definitely Americano... cuando hablo castellano tambien. I use Old Spanish terms they no longer use in Spain (going there in March... by-the-way). WHAT AM I WAITING FOR? The taxi. The bus. The metro. The train. The #$%^&* plane. It was a looooong trip (four flights MSO>SLC>PDX>NRT>TPE). Mostly I'm waiting for a call or a hug or something that I may never get... Here's to breathing while I'm waiting. 1.042 |
| 30DBC: Write your entry today about commitment. Committing to an activity, craft, person, way of being, etc. Consider the concepts of diligence, honesty, and responsibility. What does commitment look like to you? There are so many ways for me to answer this. I signed up for this blog challenge knowing I was going to travel. And, in fact, I'm in Taipei. Will I continue to blog? To be honest... I'm a bit tired of daily blogging to a prompt... no matter how good they are. But I hope to get through with the month. That said... 1. I may be commenting less. I have been an advocate of leaving comments and promoting a sense of community and will continue to do so; however, I'm not just sitting in my room 'behind my geraniums' looking out at the snow. It's 10:00 here already and I need to go do some things. I intend to be 'busy' for the next month. 2. I promised my self I would write daily and take pictures daily and post daily. I will be posting in my travel blog. Much of what I write will have a photo. That's easier done at facebook than here. I am at facebook... just look for my name or use my email (enga@ymail.com). If you want to add me as a friend just send a note to jog my memory (...and some names there are not the same here). 3. I promised myself that I would send postcards like I did from my last trip to Europe. It's easy and cheap to send from Taiwan and some of the postcards here are quirky! If someone would like a postcard just send me your address. I have many addresses (bought an address book) of my old WDC friends... but not so many of my new friends. I may send a note, a writing, a mix. Am I diligent? Not always... far from it! But I've done okay here at WDC. Am I honest? Not always, at times I have 'big eyes small tummy' syndrome. I need to be honest with myself first. Am I responsible? Not very. I get easily distracted. See that fish ... how it jumps ... see that flower ... What does commitment look like to me? A bit like a jail cell. So here's from the hostel in Taipei ... CHEERS. From my t-log today: "Go fish (Taipei)"  1.038 |
| Just wanted everyone to know that I'm leaving for Taiwan Tuesday, tomorrow, morning. I may not be able to blog on a daily basis. Also, may not have time to comment like I usually do. 1033 |
| 30DBC In your entry today, write about games! Board games, video games, card games, sports games, mind games, etc... Share a memorable story. I used to play a nasty game of canasty.  I grew up playing, hearts and rummy and later euchre, spades, and even a couple games of bridge (which is anxiety producing). I did not like Monopoly. I preferred Clue. I like Sudoku but not crossword puzzles. I follow sports at a distance having kept book for basketball and baseball in high school but not since. Video games are too addictive. Memorable stories? Only as a child when playing hearts in the driveway. We all avoided getting any... so Marlene got them all and won. We were shocked. Marlene was never the brightest although even now, way-over 60, she's probably still the most beautiful. Lesson learned? Never discount anyone. 1028 |
| Describe a time when you exhibited bravery. What's being brave? I'll be amused to see how others handle this prompt. Some of my friends and family think I'm brave to travel around the world. I don't think so. Was working and living in inner city neighborhoods brave? Nyet. Not in my book. Going to school away from home and then going further and finally living in another country when I was 21? Nope. Stupid maybe (because I wasn't prepared) but it wasn't brave. Maybe when I picked up a hitch-hiker in the city. He put a gun to my head... well that's what he said. I stalled and drove into a driveway and honked my horn. He asked why. I told him the truth... it was the police station. He bolted out of there as fast as he could. Another time I was being forced to drive towards a dark and lonely place... once again I stopped at the Cop Shop and got someone out of my car. The guy wanted to rough me up. But... he decided to run off. Two incidences over many years. Was I brave? No. Just level headed... a rare trait for me. 1013 |
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