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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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| Almost midnight. I don't know whether to force myself to stay awake or lay down again. 42 dry calm degrees that will be wet and windy and still cold come afternoon. My mind isn't clear enough to write or read. I don't want to take a bath or shower until later. I have a bandage on my right arm but no pain, no red, no swelling, nothing. Did come up with an idea for one of the silkpunk stories. One of the fish-and-dragon 魚和龍 (Yú hé lóng) boats 船 (chuán) has mechanical problems (valve?) and they (Chok or Poh or both) come down in a rice paddy. Well... the poisonous krait lives in rice paddies. Is one of them bitten? How bad? A krait-bite can kill in 2-5 hours? It adds to the tension of the relationship of Chok and Poh and may threaten their espionage. What part does Hoan play in this? Hmm... Note: I think 飛船 fēichuán (dirigible) would be used because of the rigid bamboo framework; 飛艇 fēitǐng (blimp) 飛魚 fēiyú (flying fish) ... so ... maybe 飛魚和龍 fēiyú hé lóng (flying fish and dragon) Might be a nice way to start in the middle. Certain themes would immediately be established. Just tired thoughts. at 12:22 a.m. Krait bites: "This may help in species identification if the snake has not been seen. The few symptoms of the bite include: tightening of the facial muscles in one to two hours of the bite; inability of the bite victim to see or talk, and, if left untreated, the patient may die from respiratory paralysis within four to five hours." 36 grey degrees at 7:25. I'd normally be in bed at this hour but too much napping and it feels nice to be sitting up in a chair. Down again, up again. 39 degrees at 10:46 and not going to get much warmer. Can't wait until the winds begin to blow!  Whatever.  Cooking up rice with tuna, cilantro, onion, lemon. We'll soon see how that works out! I decided on rice instead of pasta. Doesn't really matter. I only cook for myself. I joked with Billie Jo about making pizza for everyone (she has a proper pan) and she laughed...  she's doing so much better than even just a year ago.  Finished a piece for my silkpunk offering. "Krait Bite or Bright Kite? [71]"  And a poem as dreary as I am. "Napping my world" I did brighten up but still only 41 breezy degrees at 5:05. A White Wind blows at 7. Wrote: "DEW #9 A sympathetic roomba [37]" and "DEW #10 Madonna in my mind [38]" So I'm caught up with the Dew Drop Inn. Both prompts were abstractions or artifacts. I'm better off with concrete items and nature. 9:02. 32 and dropping. No need to go out tonight. Slight fever earlier. 98.9 (my normal temp is 97.6) |
| Today is the day they stab jab me with J&J, since I don't drink that's better than B&B. 35 degrees at 20 to midnight. There's very little say other than getting ready: ID and other stuff. Still no Medicare number. But I should be okay. Laid out clothes. Ready to take a shower. Alarms set for 9:00 and 9:20. Appt. at 11:00. Should be fine should I leave by 10. *ack* I've had no schedule in so long... Clear and calm and 29 degrees at 9:42. Took a shower. I'm drying off before heading out. Don't want to turn into a popsicle.  50 happy smiley degrees at 2:29. I got J&J jabbed. No problem. Becky is good. 3 hours later? No worries. Sat and talked with Bill who was in the military 22 years, 4 of them in Italy. His kids speak Italian. We talked about how some people never leave their comfort zone while living in another country. Picked up mail. Stopped in at Butterfly Herbs for a Fire&Ice (chocolate-cayenne milkshake). Negotiated the bridge to & fro. I hadn't taken a bus in a year.  I need to wait 2 weeks so ... On Monday the 19th (day 10 of my zombie life) I will do something low-risk. That week I may do a wash (after many months of hand-washing) or have my hair cut (after 16 months). The week of the 26th I should be good-to-go, doing whatever I want albeit carefully. By the 33rd I should be able to travel. I could buy refundable tickets now ... but where to? So: 1. Make travel plans. 2. Buy new computer. My Lenovo chromebook is excellent for traveling. I wanna do photo-editing and video. A laptop like the Lenovo Yoga should be adequate. A desk top with a gigantic monitor would be another option. 3. Buy a phone (no plan, good for pictures) 4. Check into prices of light weight luggage. 5. Recheck travel costs. I did a quick guestimate of 8 months travel and 4 months home. Plan A is 2 months travel, one at home per season. Plan B is 1 month alternating with 2 weeks home, 8 times/year. Plan B is more expensive but may be easier on my body and emotions. I can afford both A & B for a maximum of two years. I'm thinking about it. I'll never be younger so it's tempting. Prince Phillip died today (1921-2021) at age 99. He lived a good and very long life. Married over 70 years! I suspect Queen Elizabeth can now retire if she so chooses. She deserves a rest. Her mother lived to the ripe old age of 101 though, so we'll see. Drowsy, so I'm going to take a nap.  I didn't sleep well last night. 53 now at 7:45. Still light out. Alpenglow on the mountains. Still lethargic but that's my normal level of no-energy. Ate some of Bri's peach cobbler with fresh basil. 41 degrees at 11. I laid myself down again. I'm just fuzzy. My temp was 98.1 earlier. Ate peanut butter sandwich dunked in milk. Something... not much. Not really in a mood to cook. It should be damp and dreary come morning and then a cool dry week. Glad I got out today. |
| Will it snow? It's still 49 degrees just before midnight. The temp is sliding and rain is forecast. Really put work into "Riding the water dragon (silkpunk): intro-excerpt. [70ab]" Silkpunk... shoot me now said the cow. 39 damp and breezy degrees at 1:30. I had to close the window. Too chilly for me to sit there and work on silkpunk. "Silkpunk task #2" Blimprider sent a note, in response to my post, about appealing to an American WDC audience. Well... I guess I'm toast! He makes a very valid point. WDC is mostly limited to writers from Britain and the Colonies. They are mostly anglophiles (What country do you want to visit? 30dbc bloggers: England!). I don't fit in here at WDC even though I've been here 15 years. But not to worry. I didn't fit into Baptist Oklahoma, Drunk Homeless Shelter, We-love-mountains Montana, Rust Belt Blue-Collar Factory, Kansas 4 Croppers, Anal-Boulder, Paranoic-Portland, Government-by-Mafia, Greater Germania. So not fitting in with British Empire Loyalists is okay. I'm used to not fitting in. Exposure to the multi-cultural universe over a lifetime has helped me become less snooty and more tolerant ... to an extent. But... I fear that I can't write to a middle-aged, middle-class, mono-cultural, mostly-Christian audience. So ... I'm not going to waste my time trying to. I'm never going to please a mid-America-market. I know full well that some niche markets thrive on You-Tube while others don't. BL does well and my offering will have that as a plot or subplot. Folks here at WDC won't get it (it may be outside of their comfort zone) but imho opinion the website has become Whiter and more midstream as marginalized people abandon any effort to reach out as no one reaches back. I stay here because it's comfortable. But it's foolish to think that I'll ever be understood. The solution may be to continue writing and posting here (not necessarily for public viewing) while pursuing other places to try to connect to a broader audience or a particular niche. That takes effort. I wrote back to Blimrider: You make valid points. So, I'm not going to try to appeal to a WDC audience. Part of the frustration of blogging has been the narrow interests of fellow bloggers. It's a revelation how small their comfort zones are and how unwilling many are to expand them. On the surface I have little in common with them. My saving grace is that I've had a lifetime of being the odd duck swimming among swans. Fortunately for me, there is a large Eurasian population out there (not here) that has feet planted firmly in both East and West. This is obvious on Youtube. I'd make them my audience if I knew how. I'm not good at marketing. As for hand-holding ... there are ways of saying the same thing in different ways or exlaining them. In the Thai BL "He's Coming to Me" one character has been out of circulation for 20 years (he's a ghost) and things like cell-phones and laptops, paying without cash, bing su (Korean shaved ice) have to be explained to him. I learned a lot about Thai culture! Similarly the Taiwanese characters could explain many things to the 'visitors' Kago, Walker & Kwong (from Japan, Britain and Hong Kong). And why? Li&Chen are business women. As merchants, language and culture are merely obstacles to be dealt with. Chok-Poh, their younger brothers, are young and that means universal themes of growing up and taking risks. The 'romance' aspect can be brought to the fore or fade to a side-story. The story will have to be written first though. No need to decide now. If it falls into shenmo-BL-detective-drama with a silkpunk overlay so be it (with a sprinkling of pirates... real or imagined... piracy was frequently a concern on trade routes). What it won't focus on: the military or violence, be it Britain-rules-the-World (that racism you mention is for real... also classism and religious saints-versus-heathens) or Cowboys-versus-Indians. There's enough tension navigating change. I'm not going to tell a War story, a conquest, or typical teen emo-story about abusive family. The applicable Chinese color for both change and stabilty is yellow. The story starts in winter (black) and moves into spring (blue-green). This will be expressed in many ways like clues in an Agatha Christie mystery. I've written more earlier today and now need to flesh out my characters as once I know them I'll know what obstacles to place in their way. The silkpunk-steampunk will make the story seem other-wordly but the characters and situations must be concrete and real. Even if the Gods and Immortals intervene it's still about my main characters and how they navigate the world. 44 degrees at 3:33. I need to write a poem! I don't care for what I wrote but 'it is what it is'. Neither is very poetic. "Gifts of the graves [35]" "My name is Kåre [34]" 40 degrees at 8:09. |
| 39 degrees at 11:04 and struggling to write something for Blimprider. I have some ideas. Drama? with a bit of romance in a silkpunked 1892? Alt-history, nautical, pirate, spy-fi, picaresque, caper, cozy? (gaslamp) shenmo?, biopunk, noir, yaoi/BL, travel... I dunno. 41 sunshiny degrees at 10:18. Morning by any other name ... 早上好. Black coffee this Wednesday, Market Day. Dull rumbling of whatever they are doing on the bridge. I'm working on these: "Kryptid [31]" "Topaz [33]" "Don't be mad; I'm way less sad [32]" 66 at 2:02. Research on Taiwan: Bai Zu Shen ... goddess or black/white venemous krait (snake)? Kraits are found in Taiwan. (rice paddy, swimmer, 2 hours till...) Amis/Payuma were/are matriarchal. https://islandfolklore.com/matriarch/ Mazu (媽祖) Goddess of the Sea. "Mazu caught a cold, went south and took a nap." What are the four sacred animals of Chinese mythology? These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, including "Four Guardians", "Four Gods", and "Four Auspicious Beasts". They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise (also called "Black Warrior") of the North. mô-sîn-á (neighbors?) are mischievous and—according to Taiwan’s tales—interactions with them often do not end well for mortals. "Their airboats rising like one of Pinxi lanterns. A blue/green flying-fish out of water, a blue-green sea dragon soaring." Bamboo frame, coevered with silk, helium/hydrogen to rise. A release valve to slowly descend, a parachute of woven silk (mandatory equipment in case it crashed), shaped like a cigar, a baffled "tube" running though it from mouth to anus to control speed, a ridge to right it, feet and flippers of fish and dragons to steer it. Just a toy-for-boys, of no real use. Chok and Poh found another use... and intended to blackmail a pirate... They rose in Poh's three-seater, tethered to a pole like a kite. It was past midnight, an hour when no one notices. Calm by moonlight, no one suspecting. If anyone were up andout they would only see a blue-green dragon and swear that they needed to cut back on the sake. |
| 40 degrees going on 11 p.m. I'll close my windows as I don't want to chill the plants. Focusing more on poetry this month. 33 degrees at 9:22. It was 31 when I got up. Clear skies. It'll warmup nicely. The bridge is being worked on so there's a low rumble. We're at the corner of the south end. Did you know that yesterday was the 5th? It dawned on me that I should pay the rent. Tysdag er 'Tuesday' på engelsk. Watching reaction video to one of my favorite Thai BL series. It reminds me of what I felt and thought the first time I saw it ... one forgets. QOTD was about magical thinking. "Interesting article. Me? I think it helps my writing when I give inanimate objects a voice. On the other hand I don't find pleasure in parties. I think false associations are true. If you look like someone I care about or have the same name I'll start with a more positive feeling towards you. Among religious beliefs, rituals are magical. And in Christianity, Catholics and Mormons seemingly put more emphasis on the magical than Presbyterians." Wrote: "DEW #6 "April commandment" [30]" Still light out at 7:27 & 55 degrees. I should care but I don't. I binged watched a program I've watched before. Yes, I ate. Pasta/cheddar-soup/ricotta/spices. I'm full. Bri also brought me a mango. |
| I need to work on steampunk. For my eyes only "Tainan or Pittsburgh?" I need to work on getting the vaccine when I get up. 50 at 10 p.m. and waiting for the promised rains. I don't want to go to bed yet. I ate gnocchi about an hour ago. Tea? 49 at midnight... they say light showers? Looks dry to me. I'm finally sipping tea. 36 at 10:49 and rainy. It's chilly...but for just one day. Coffee. What to eat? Maybe refried beans. I'm not going anywhere today. Need to work on steampunk and poetry. 41 degrees at 1:41 I'm sitting by an open window that I want to keep open. The fresh air will keep the stuffiness of this place to a minimum. I can always put on more clothes. That said, I may not go out today. Nicer the next couple days, then snow in the forcast. I'm working on: "Being exact [29]" and "DEW #5 I don't mean to cause grief [28]" .43 degrees at 5:52. I called and arranged an appointment by phone in spite of the poor connection. 11 a.m. on Friday. J&J. Still not sure that it's done right, but... "A herd of hooves thundered through the WalMart parking lot." Tonight:   Gonzaga versus Baylor. Baylor wins easily, 86-70. 4237 |
| On the edge... I need to breathe. I've only been suicidal once in my life. It wasn't a cherished moment. I had a bad panic attack earlier. I should be able to work everything out by Monday. Regardless, I'm not well. It's impossible to explain that to anyone here. I may as well be dead to those that matter. I'm that invisible to anyone I care about. So I'll watch a sad movie, write a sad poem or story, drown in tears. It's better than being numb. I've been numb. I suspect that was a bit like being dead, but without the joy of actually having passed through that door. 55 degrees at 10:10 p.m. Late night gnocchi. 44 at 10:02 a.m. Yawning, but at least the water is boiling for coffee and it's bright and beautiful outside. Slept okay. I took a shower before I went to bed. 50 at 11:22. First  consumed.First poem, an etheree, written. "DEW #4a Rolling the stone away [26]" 64 degrees at 2:48. Another poem "DEW #4b "2:22 and thinking of you" [27]" A shower, more caffeine, then grab my camera. 61 degrees at 6:40. Rain coming in before midnight. Fotos of daffodils. I walked among the buttercups. Some biscuitroot in bloom. Said hello to a dog. Threw a frisbee twice. It felt good getting out. Remembered to buy 2 gallons of milk, still $7. At home I opened up a new jar of creamy peanut butter and dunked in milk laced with the last of the coffee. I'll open up a new jar of coffee tomorrow.  : Stanford beats Arizona 54-53. |
| 53 degrees at 10:10 p.m. I keep track of gasoline prices too: 2.69/gallon. I finished my book, Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo, which I enjoyed immensely. I need to make a few notes which may be useful in future writing. It's fiction but feels very real. A bit perceptive about tears in the fabric of American psyche. The reign of Don One is not predicted but the landscape of intolerance and fear is laid out. We're still cruising down that road by-the-way. Anyhoo, camera should be ready when the sun comes up whether I am or not. I should take pictures of daffodils.  NCAA women: Stanford (1) versus Arizona (3) in the final. Both games were good as Stanford won by 1 point over South Carolina (1) and Arizona upset UConn (1) by 10. In baseball the Orioles, my beloved basement huggers from Baltimore, beat Boston 3-0 to start the season on a win ... as I should mention to Fivesixer  .I wish I had the 'whatever' to watch a game. My nerves get overwhelmed. 45 degrees at 10 a.m. The sun comes up behind the mountain... slowly. It's light outside long before the sun enters my windows. Sunrise: 7:09 AM. Sunset: 8:08 PM. Solar noon: 1:39 PM. Day length: 12:58:22 The sun doesn't hit my room till around 9 a.m. With twilight it won't be dark till after 8:30 this evening. See sunrise, sunset, and twilight informat 66 degrees at 3 p.m. 'Nuff said. Ever get stressed when you lay an egg? Well... at least very few people were noticing. In other snews ... there is no other snews... 58 degrees at 9 p.m. I never got out. Found a place/time that I can get my J&J vaccine but website wouldn't let me sign up! I went into panic mode. Bri knocked on the door. Fortunately. I'm barely holding on. Baylor trashes Houston and UCLA/Gonzaga goes into overtime. 4,227 |
| More like moon showers but it'll be another bright and sunny day! *sigh* Wish I had what it took to enjoy it. 50 degrees at 11:18 p.m. Wrote a poem for the Dew "DEW #2 "Et voilà!" [22]" The 500 word Dialogue only prompt this month is "meeting your werewolf neighbor". I can imagine that encounter, "What's with the beard and boobs, babe." Each werewolf has a mate. The mates are their destined soulmates and they chosen by the moon goddess (their god). Werewolves usually find their mate after their first shift which is usually between the age 16-17. Mates are very possessive of each other especially the male. I'm tempted to have fun. "Let me nibble on your neck, sweetheart." would be the appropriate response. Can you imagine the Moon having a chuckle and pairing an unlikely duo? May be a tad too cliche...Unhappy news: "Taiwan train crash kills 36 in deadliest rail tragedy in decades". Near Hualien. I've taken that train. It's a very dangerous route but reports are that a truck was improperly parked.  There's a very good chance that more have died. 55 degrees at 11:19 a.m. I woke up early but slept in a bit. I feel a bit limp in spite of 9 hours of rest. This is how it's been for me. I'm sipping bitter coffee at the moment. Wasn't sure what day it was, as in the 3rd? 2nd? Knew it was Friday. Normally today would be grand for an First Friday Art Walk and tomorrow Winter Market. Maybe by May it will be closer to normal. Covid cases aren't disappearing here in Missoula. 15 of 56 counties have no current cases but the two big university towns, Missoula and Bozeman, are hot spots. Nationally we are in the 4th Wave. There was hope that we'd be down to levels last seen in July, but nope. The follies of Spring Break, Holy Week and Easter Week will keep the numbers up. Conspiracy? Where there is "smoke" there isn't necessarily a fire. Not all haze is smoke; it can be mist or dust. It could be that you need to clean the lens to your glasses. Even if it's due to a fire the fire may be out. As in ... nothing to see here folks. It could be a barbecue out of control. Not everything is a 4 alarmer and not all fire is necessarily bad (the prairie is burned every year in Kansas). So. I'm not satisfied with the Vatican's account of the death of Pope John Paul I. I truly believe there was fear among conservative traditionalists that he would carry out the more radical ideas of Pope John XXIII. But fear doesn't always lead to revolt or murder (like The Insurrection on January 6th). It would be much easier to just accept that he was old and died naturally if it weren't for a history of murder and intrigue within the Church (power, money). Until Pope Benedikt XVI stepped down the church was stuck with their decisions until the pope died. Regardless, we don't know whether John Paul I would've made an historical difference theologically but John Paul II assuaged the conservatives while continuing the global outreach of Paul VI. Benedikt XVI reached back to a time of pompous glory. Pope Francis reached back to Francis of Xavier and Francis of Assisi to reassert the concepts of rationality and sheparding the flock. I don't know whether any conspiracy around John Paul I's death would prove anything. We know that the struggles within this religious institution are real and have consequences. Noon:45 (kvart over halv ett) and 62 degrees outside as I sit here finishing my morning coffee. I haven't eaten yet, so that's an idea! High Noon is around 1:45 here in Western Montana. We are at the western edge of the time zone, add that silly hour and there you have it! Voilà. Still an hour before the sun's at it's zenith. 66°F at 3:36. I'll soon finish Breakfast with Buddha. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Still sunny. Still not going anywhere. ... and there's the non-physical [person] that you love, that you can't touch, can't see, can't smell. 12 minutes past the vesper bells, still 66 degrees. I found my camera and the battery is charging. Wrote a poem: "Pomander [23]" I don't have an orange but I do have old apples... Not thrilled with it but the advantage of a challenge instead of competition is that I can post and not worry about ever reading it again or I can edit at leisure. I should look over the poems from other Aprils and make items of the best. I'm running out of steam early today! The 1/2 cinnamom bun may be to blame... and the cabbage mushroom pancit and the egg-salad sandwich earlier and... |
| Yesterday was the Null, today is the Fool. I've felt as numb as a null but I'm not wise enough to be a fool. 42 degrees at 10 p.m. Not supposed to go below freezing and it's going to warm up nicely in the afternoon. I'll be writing poetry, hope to do JI (lots of work, we'll see). It will hopefully be a month of opening up. 37 degrees and calm at midnight. Today's poetry prompt is "folly". I might go serious with it instead of humorous. Later, I guess. I have all day and the only other obligation is the market. 37 degrees at 10:10. Wokeup to a nice shiny ribbon in my inbox. This poem is from 2007! 3rd isn't bad for an old geezer.
66 degrees at 2:44 A scent of freesia ... from a jar of air freshener. A whiff is enough. Daffodils in bloom along with crocuses, chinodoxia. One week of warm weather will encourage other flowers. Road season has started. New white painted lanes on 5th street. And they've dug up the corner of 3rd and Higgins to put in the new ramp from the bridge. 70 degrees at 4:47. Will I have to get use to this? Gentle breeze and scents of spring. 4 warm days in the 60s followed by 4 cool days in the 50s. Maybe one morning of sprinkles. No storms. That's perfect for early April. I now have pansit from Bri. It's lavender and purple (cabbage). I put it in the fridge as Laxmi gifted me tuna salad earlier and I ate 1/4 of a lemon meringue pie. It was on sale...  Bri told me she's moving out tomorrow. I was quite upset until she told me she was joking. I don't joke so I didn't see it coming. I was surprised by my strong reaction. She's been a dear to everyone and one of the few people I get to talk with. For example ... today was the first day I put on normal clothes and stepped out of the building. Still 68 at 6:19 It was getting toasty inside but it'll cool to 40 tonight. A 30 degree difference high/low is very common in this high elevation (1.000 m) semi-desert valley. April Contest List: [FOREVER UNDER CONSTRUCTION]  2nd Shadows free verse "Shadows and Light Poetry Contest" : "April Shadows"  DNP 2nd Time SS "Second Time Around ~ Birthday Special" : "Cleaning up the mess [270] (211 words)"  HM 2nd Time P by 14th: "i am behind the camera [358]" Oriental by the 14/15th: "Invalid Item" : "Three views [43] (3 Kōel) " DNP Stormy by the 16th "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest" : "Transition [21]" DNP Traditional P by 30: "Regression"  3 Songs by 25th "Poetry Song Contest" : 2nd Dark Dreamscape by the 30th (Fool) "Invalid Item" : "Call us Boss" Senior "SENIOR CENTER FORUM" : Taboo SS "The Taboo Words Contest ~ On Hiatus" : DNP Taboo P "The Taboo Words Contest ~ On Hiatus" : "We are Yellow [42]" WDC essay "Journey Through Genres: Official Contest" : "A year playing dead [62]" "A year playing dead" 4 Kids "Writing 4 Kids Contest " : "What month am I? " Whatever "The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now" free verse Whatever "The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now" sestina "sestina for whatever " Sharmelle "Poetry Topic of the Month Contest~Closed" : Bard's (haiga) "The Bard's Hall Contest" : Humor SS "The Humorous Short Story Contest" : Dialog Werewolf "The Dialogue 500" : Mother Nature "Invalid Item" : Silkpunk Journal (Need 8) "Journalistic Intentions" : "Oink Oink Lane [73]" Musicology 12 SS due June 30 "Musicology Anthology" :4217 |
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