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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: "Do you tend to be skeptical or trusting when meeting new people? Is your first impression of someone generally accurate, or does their true character surprise you?" I don't trust people like I used to. That said, I talk to almost everyone. and can usually rely on the kindness of strangers. But there's a difference in chatting and trusting. First impressions? Mark  Immediate connection the day I met him when I was 14. Still kind and friendly 40 years later when I last saw him. Kevin  Again, a connection. I was 26 and ill in South Carolina. I trusted him, and rightly so, for 24 years. No longer in touch though.  Gary  I was dazzled the first day I saw him 20 years ago. I made the decision to trust him years ago. We're still in touch. Others? When I met Lee in 1978 we did not like each other. Two wounded people and very different personalities. By working together we became friends until she died a couple years ago. First impressions were totally wrong in this case. I've definitely made mistakes. I took in refugees and people-in-need for years. Of the 30 or so, only a couple created minor problems. But one ... turned out to be a social psychopath. Very dangerous. I'm only safe because he doesn't know where I live. Chances are he is in prison or dead. So what's my score? I dunno. I tend to attract nice people. I leave Tuesday for Taiwan. I'll meet up with friends and meet dozens of new people, mostly travelers. Almost all will be trustworthy. 1007 |
| 30DBC: What are some of the routines you follow in your daily life? Do you typically stick to your routine, or do you prefer more spontaneity? I love to be spontaneous, but I'm not. "Routines" is just a fancy word for "ruts". When I travel I'm in too many situations to develop routines. At home it takes a while to settle into a rhythm and every time I travel the rhythm changes when I return. I drink coffee. I shower. I write. I take photos or edit or I read. But none of this is guaranteed on a daily basis. For years I tried to write something every day. Well... that didn't happen this past year. I haven't had a schedule imposed on me since 2007. I'm used to that now. But even when I worked my day wasn't defined by routines. 998 |
| 30 DBC: What are some of your favorite foods? Comfort food, ethnic food, meal, beverage, fruit, protein, unique food combination, etc - make us hungry! I could sip you with a straw, slurp you in a cup, guzzle you by the mug-full, melt you in my hands ... or not, mix you with a shot of cayenne, pulverize you with garlic ... and serve you on chicken, eat you with a touch of added mint, inhale you with two drops of orange, dark you, milky you, bittersweet you, even white you. As far as I'm concerned, YOU cover most anything and everything I'll ever want. O Friend, Thy Name is Chocolate. 995 |
| 30DBC: "Share a story from your childhood when you did something you weren’t supposed to. Did you get caught?" Of course I did! Parents have multi-faceted eyes and ears on all sides of their head. My parents were no exception. I don't think I did it trying not to get caught. I don't even know how old I was. We lived on an oval so we could ride or walk around the block to our hearts content. Crossing the street was another issue, not strictly forbidden as we grew older, but still frowned on and therefore ill advised. And I loved flowers. We had very few in our factory-workers neighborhood. The ground was poor draining clay that held the snow melt until it dried out like a brick come June. People planted grass and a few trees that grew poorly. We lived next to abandoned strawberry fields and cattail marshes. There were mostly young couples with children that all moved in at the same time. Many moved on but most were there for a generation. My family still is, 69 years later. The Burns were a bit older and didn't have children. I didn't know them well. They didn't have much of a yard but they planted some flowers out front. I relieved them of a couple. I don't remember how this all worked out. But later, when I had my own gardens, I understood. 990 |
| What skill (craft, instrument, sport, art, etc) do you wish you could do but can’t? What’s stopping you from learning? I wish I could sing. I watch various shows like Voice Australia on-line. I'm amazed at the talent. As a child I was a soprano and only developed a bit of a voice when I was around 11. I sang "Stille Nacht" in German that year. In junior high I joined the chorus. Our teacher was great but there were about 100 of us. He demanded that we learn difficult music... so we did. I still remember Vivaldi's "Domine fili unigenite". By then I was singing bass. I'm more of a baritone. I was never a tenor or alto. That said, I still regret not practicing "Deep River". I was too shy to perform solo. What keeps me from singing now? My voice can't seem to properly hit the notes. And... I know when I hit them wrong. Very sad. I'd need a patient coach who would work on stretching my voice and smoothing it out where it breaks. I rarely sing along to anything. I would like to. At this point I'm mostly happy to know a great performance when I hear one. And a great voice? Those need developing, no matter how naturally talented the singer. I'm focused now on traveling, taking photographs and writing. I won't make time for singing lessons. This is from Utah. They actually do well with the "bounciness". Syncopation can be taught... but in a group the maestro must demand it. The local adult choir in Missoula was "flat". Other snews: I forgot to post yesterday's blog! Just as well. It wasn't a good one. And I think I had this poem hidden when I posted it and only realized after the judging. "Long after the fight (24 syllables)"  It's fairly good, imho. ridinghhood-p.boutilier  won the challenge and I liked what she submitted; so, it's all good. I wrote this flash fiction tonight after 8 pm. Posted it at 8:56? Anyhoo about 4 minutes before the deadline. Whew...
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| 30DBC: Write about something that makes you squeamish. What is icky, gross, or just plain “yuck!” Is there anything that makes other people shiver with disgust that doesn’t bother you? I don't think there's much out there that's icky, gross or yucky to everyone. Maybe seeing someone's decapitated head flying off in one direction, guts coming right at you... maybe that would bother everyone.... but even then someone would be whooping and hollering in glee. Squeamish me: 1. Having blood taken. Screamed as a child. Now I just grit my teeth and bear it. It's the anticipation of pain; there's rarely any pain. 2. Walking along a precipice. Fear. Outright fear. I have very bad vertigo.... that makes me feel like I'm falling off the edge. 3. Roller-coasters. I've had motion sickness since I was little. I get queasy; chocolate helps. 4. Uni urchin roe. I've eaten it and will say yes if that's necessary to be polite but otherwise... no. It's the texture/taste for some reason. *shrugs* I don't mind caviar. 5. I have strong moral views about considering everyone human. Don't ask me to hurt someone. I may turn on you. 6. Probably more 'angry/frightened' me: Being forced to join an activity I don't want to be a part of. Makes me very uneasy. Like swimming or eating crushed pineapple. I'll probably say no... forcefully. Squeamish you: 1. Mondongo! I like tripe. You don't? More for me. Other foods that I like that you may not: squid, octopus, head-cheese, liver, heart. And ...  ... bologna, cheese and peanut butter sandwiches. 2. Food touching. I don't necessarily mix and stir but a chocolate cake touching my mac-and-cheese doesn't bother me. Bothers lots of people though. 3. Vomit and s***. I don't like them and can find them disgusting. but I deal with it. I check my bowel movements for health reasons. Don't you? 4. A dead body. Thought this would bother me but I worked in a nursing home when I was young. I was fine with death, less fine with dying. But if the person is young I'll freak out for other emotional reasons. 5. Vegans can be quite moralistic about certain foods. I'm not. 6. Probably more 'angry/frightened you': having a stranger, like me, talk to you. squeamish: 1. easily made to feel sick, faint, or disgusted, especially by unpleasant images, such as the sight of blood. 2. having strong moral views; scrupulous. Came across this today, Susan Boyle from 1999 before she was known outside her home town. 967 |
What music makes you want to dance?  ""Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Easy answer that came to mind immediately. I cannot sit still when I hear it. I have difficulty sitting still regardless. I tell my friends that I don't dance... but I do move to music... many types. Now the tune has gotten into my head... I won't post a link because most everyone knows the song and I know of no covers that are better than the original. Maybe someone else does... For me personally, the 80s was the dance decade. 1. the popular music included lots of dance tunes. 2. it was disco, Baby! 3. I had lunch break at 01:30 and only bars were open. I was self-conscience and I didn't drink and still don't; but, the music made me... lose weight and look GOOD! Then, not now.  I should dance. 954 |
I commented to Lorem Ipsum, Perhaps?  : "When I started [here at WDC] I was just so glad that I found a place to put what I was working on. When people actually began reading my blog... I was hooked. But looking ahead? By 2010, Blogville was Ghosttown as many went to Open Salon or Spacebook and then Tweeter. But Open Salon closed down and Spacebook was never set up for writers, more for Me-me-me and then became Click-Meme and Fakebook. Tweeter became infamous s***-Fling. So who knows about 2030... no way to know. By then I [may] be traveling to Mars or pushing up mutant mushrooms in the Nuclear-Wasteland formerly know as Montana." I post this because ... it seemed to flow! Oh how I can wax poetic when it doesn't matter! I've entered a couple contests. Silly me... in two weeks I'll be in Taiwan. So before I leave, I need to write a "Dear Me" letter for the WDC contest. It will start: "Dearest, You're dead. You'll only be remembered for what connections outlive your flesh... so make them now. Yes, I know you've tried. Make more. Not just awards and acclamations... those are cheap. The real gold is to be found in those postcards you sent from faraway places, the poems you wrote for someone, the hugs you gave when they were needed..." And so on. My familial expiration date is 2034, but recently I've doubted that. My depression can overwhelm and I've neglected my health; and well... time wears away bones and all good intentions. This is my second blog entry for today... Stuck it here because there was no better place to stick it! |
| What books and/or movies are on your list to read/watch this year? What are your “go to” genres? The first part is easy! Nothing. I don't have TV at home. I don't enjoy going to the movies. I'll watch something on the planes when I fly. Maybe catch something on the internet if I remember. Books? Whatever's available when I'm home because I don't take any with me when I travel. The second part: I like light reading. YA is fine (because it's usually well written). I prefer sci-fi, fantasy, mysteries. Anything that takes me somewhere else. I no longer make time for tedious series of 1,000 page tomes. I read slow; I hear what I read. I've read romances and westerns but they aren't my preference. I should read a biography... but not my style. Self-help? Not likely. I do read poetry. Mostly, it could be said that I don't read books for information. I use the internet for that. I read news and blogs and opinion pieces. I also don't read to critique. I'm no literature major trying to dissect a dead novel. I seek connection in the real world not arguments over grammar. I'm more of a linguist, noting what IS, not what someone says it should be. Plus, I create literature. I'm an artist, not a scholar. The list for this prompt is blank. 944 |
Make a list of 20 random things (nouns). Try as hard as you can to make each item on your list as unrelated to the other items as possible. If your muse moves you, you’re welcome to add whatever commentary you like.  acorn bandersnatch (it came to mind, but no idea what it meant until I looked it up) crust doily evidence fumarole glitch hypericum (saint john's wort; we called our bush this as a child) idol killdeer (I thought of the peep-peep-peep of my childhood) latch mycelium navel oat pnyx (a word I learned a long time ago... seldom used) quorn (a recent new word for me) rust sapo (toad in Spanish) thoughts (my first word for this list) underwear valium wanker (feels negative, different from the rest in that respect) x (it marks the spot... okay, so it's cliché... sue me) yodel These were just random thoughts. I have no idea why I chose most of these words. In other snews: Re my flash fictions, A thank-you to Angus  : "Thanks for all your encouragement. I do want more readers though. I could put this on the review page. I've done that in the past. For me... it's just one more chore... and I'm uncertain whether that's what I want or need. Travels distract me from focusing on my writing and with less than two weeks before I fly away that's another issue. I want to write more. I want to travel more. I want to do more. I WANT A NEW BODY! Age is creeping up on me and I'm worried about my health (and wondering whether I should share that with anyone...). As for the contest ... I wish it generated more reviews even though I detest doing reviews myself. I would love to see it have a 'best of the month' option at the end (awardicon? merit badge? gps?). BUT, that's a lot of work for someone and may be asking too much. If I could place top 3 or 5 (honorable mentions?) in that I'd feel like I've finally written something of worth (there must be around 100 entries every month). Regardless, I plug away because it's like an addiction when I'm not traveling. But sometimes I'm clueless as to what works and why. Flash for the day: "Petty (243 words)" 24 syllables; "Like a sapid fig " |
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