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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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| I posted this for the newsfeed. I try to encourage writers. Cubby made me write and write and write! So I share it here for everyone.Cubby: As for quality... I wish. I just (poorly) wrote and submitted something late last night. Not happy at all with it. Needs fixing but don't know whether I have the time. I believe in vomiting with pen in hand or fingers tapping. I surprise myself sometimes. I think that I can't write to the prompt and 20 minutes later I have something... messy... but messes can be cleaned up. It's not like when I was a boy smudging the pencil across the paper as a left-hander or making mistakes that needed to be erased. Both were a major minor sin mishap. Now? Thankfully spellcheck catches most typos.  But it doesn't fill the blank page. I'm not a natural story teller which is why I write short fictions. You've liked a couple and for that I've thankful. Even I've liked a couple things I've written! I'm more at home with poetry. As in short poetry; yet, a couple of my blog rants could be cleaned up and turned into something resembling an essay. The key? Write. Edit later. Reedit. But don't sit waiting for the next inspiration. Find a prompt, a pen, a piece of paper (notice the alliteration and rhythm? trochaic pentameter...) and start baring your soul, your anger, your dreams... whatever needs to be regurgitated. Sing it or croak it. Either will do. I'm always amazed by the response I get. I've won contests with something I was unsure about (whether it even fit the rules of the contest... or worse... that it would offend). I've also had other excellent pieces (in my mind  ) totally ignored. Thank Rachel for the "Second Time Around ~ Birthday Special"  She dispenses bandages for wounded Muses.  Although with 36 entries and counting she may need a new medical kit. Open and due by July 14th by-the-way. That said... some pieces are just mediocre (I'm trying to be kind). Cure? Write another, and another, and another. Mediocrity never stopped me! It's the only way I learned how to write better. I'm thrilled to have competition too. Tileira just finished "Journalistic Intentions" and Andy is sooo close. Multiple entry contests are challenging. I'm better with one-and-done. So congrats to all who stuck with it. You made Stik's day. Contests are lots of work. I support contests by entering.  Which reminds me that I have a half-baked story in the oven I need to check on. Laters...Already 84 degress at 11:11. Should go over 100. I'm going to add this to "The Bard's Hall Contest" ... because I can.  New flash: 1st place with a purty noo bloo ribbon:
Finished:
I only missed one contest. I wanted to write a letter from my father to his father circa 1942 from the warzone in North Africa. My father was part of the Signal Corps out of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. I remember he had Moroccan coins. But... he seldom talked about the war. Couldn't remember his voice... you know... what he would've written about. |
Another oldie posted for a contest. There weren't many contests back in the day.
I intend to be almost caught up by the end of the day. Tuesday... I'm not doing well. Even with the fan on didn't sleep well. Nightmares. Better to get up fairly early. 68 degrees at 8 a.m. My thoughts wander. How 'democracy' can stifle the voices of the most creative, the most marginalized people. Even here at WdC. If White women are the main demographic and the main judges and owners of contests then it shouldn't be a surprise if works have a slant in that direction. How many poems or stories deal with being Black or Hindu or Lesbian? And yes, you can be all three. How will these stories be read if they are not written? Once written will they be understood? Many interactions are universal. But a story placed in Mumbai or Durban may not connect with a suburban middle-American, even if the protagonist is middle class, blessed with a son and daughter who are giving her grey hairs. And when they move to Biloxi, Mississippi? She'll still be Black, Hindu and Lesbian but in a foreign culture with new rules to navigate. I think people at WdC try to understand but I've had comments that indicate to me that my 6th grade level writing (I seldom write at higher levels) uses vocabulary that is regional or class-based. I'm sure some have to look up a word or two. But... much writing here avoids flavor in writing style, vocabulary, theme or setting. Whether it's fantasy or fiction it's firmly based in an Anglo-world of monolingual anglophones with a terminal case of anglophilia. At some level we write what we know and if all we know is bound by a life that goes round and round like the roads of Pleasantville... then that's all we know. So what about me? How complicit am I? Do I write about what I've personally gone through, sharing a 'memory' in a blog or fictionalizing it for a poem or story? I share more than I realize but less than I could. My traumas are tricky; it's like negotiating Michigan potholes in March. My life-long risk aversion sets off alarms every time I come close to "revealing too much". Personally I'm not doing well. And I have no one to share that with that I trust. My best friend ghosted me 18 years ago. It's been a long drawn-out death rattle since. And that's what most of my writing is. A death rattle. I told Max Griffin 🏳️🌈  : My first reaction was sh*t... I didn't expect this. Then tears flowed because it's been a rough couple of days. Even good news is too much to bear. I should just bow and say thank-you. I entered the contest because I'm not a natural story teller and want to improve. I like the way the contest is set up with a different focus each time with awesome guidance as to what that is. I do hope to enter again. I bow. Thank-you, K (as in Cory) This is why: First Place, June 2021 Cross Timbers Contest to
Also: ![Merit Badge in Max Excellence
[Click For More Info]
First Place, June 2021 Cross Timbers Contest](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Max_Excellence-1795672_10.gif) Finished and posted: "Before Fed-Ex Delivery" It reads more like guided meditation.  Posted: "When a moment lasts a lifetime" Posted: "As Seen On TV" Posted: "In the Lands of Saint Mother Teresa [96]" Not happy with it.4665 |
| 97 degrees at 5 p.m. The fan is swirling...   Yep. Monte gave me two fans. He offered an 110 air conditioner but the way my rooms are set up? Better a fan. Meatloaf today. I am drinking as much liquid as possible... some of it is brown and warm. Finished:
I'm working on others. Need to make progress tonight. I decided to enter an old set of poems in the Trad Poetry contest.
Rereading poems, mostly serenades. I have a lot. Lots sighing, but many with rhyme. I could edit a few for future contests. Still need to finish a dialogue, start a story if I have time, I'm so worn out. It's only 9:45 and the sun has just set. Twilight and 84 degrees. |
| It's 9:09 and 68 degrees. It will heat up by noon. I'm worried about the heat. They are still talking about temps of 105 this week. The all time record high is 107. My nerves can't take this. My place barely cools down at night. 3rd floor, no a/c, poor air circulation. I'm not ready to just hop on a plane. I should be. One week away might help. I've looked into Albania, Greece, Mexico. There are few reasonable options. Fairbanks Alaska is $500+. My nerves are shattering for other reasons as well. I need to write a fiction drawing on all this angst and releasing it. I have the opening line. "I always knew that the answer was suicide. It was just a matter of when it would be convenient." Decided to submit it to Cubby's contest. However, there is much to be done today and tackling some of those issues might help. My mouth is very dry and my pee was darker yesterday so I'll be drinking more liquids than usual. Dehydration kills. A pretty new ribbon for 2nd place:
Finished and posted:
"Windows I have yet to look through [168] JI#8" means I'm finished with "Journalistic Intentions" .Response to Czechia 2:0 Netherlands. Bob Moss: The future is bright, it just isn't orange. Posted at newsfeed regarding rules: "This is very important when doing WdC contests. I reread rules and still make mistakes. That said: Owners of contests can make rules simple, clear and concise. No one is entering if there are 50 rules (hyperbole but some contests really need to trim their sails). Rules that are important should be together and stand out due to color, font, size, bold. They should also be near the top. I read top down and I dare say most people here do as well. If something is absolutely verboten then that should be stated clearly. If someone has broken a rule (most are unintentional) then kindly pointing it out is better than blame-and-shame. Deletion without an explanation is poor form. There are unmentioned rules in writing. 1. friends publish friends. 2. you wll be shunned by someone without any explanation. 3. "poetry", "story", yada yada have different definitions and at times neither the contest owner nor other writers agree what they are. "I'm looking for cutting-edge ____." Means Nothing! 4. everyone 'assumes'... making you-know-what out of you-know-who. So I read rules. I try hard to follow them. My anxiety rages however when those rules are not clear. Someone who has never run a contest or entered one has a lot to learn and listening to the suggestions of oldies and newbies is part of that." It's 89 degrees at 7:36. Forecast now has 100 degrees this week instead of 105. |
| I skipped a day... on purpose, but it's 10 pm. here and that's Midnight in Philadelphia. Finished and posted:
To determine ease of reading and grade level I use: https://datayze.com/readability-analyzer I did write another serenade. If worse comes to worse I can use my serenades to enter 2 or 3 contests. Wrote, edited and posted: "Strawberry moonlight [165] Serenade #...?" Finished and posted: "Flora circa 1888 [109]" "Water [167]" "Zen dirigible [166] JI#7" Did you know: ᛝ = ng as ᛝvar. Or Eᛝland or Eᛝa. Odd thoughts I had scribbled elsewhere: Do I rage about T wrapping himself in a flag? Like tough rooster meat wrapped in bacon? Would that be too political... crowing day after day, the neighbors with their hatchets hope he stretches his scrawny neck their way You probably think this tail is about you... don't you? Mrs. Wong made faces at Donald, the neighbor's rooster. "Nice feet. Are you sure you want to keep them?" "It's awfully quiet this morning. What's for lunch?" "Birthday fricassee. I started stewing yesterday at sunset." I went to market and bought harissa, sheep curds, salad turnips. I ate ham-cheese at Break Espresso. I've finished some writings. It's only 4:26 and 87 degrees but I'm worn out for some reason. Regarding rhyme: "The part that irks me the most is tortured syntax, dear Yoda. The other aspect is insisting on perfect rhyme when it tortures the meaning. I have enough torture in my life as is. One solution is free verse where the rhymes need not occur at the end. Also, most people write in a linear manner and get to the second rhyme and... botch the entire poem. The second rhyme should be the natural one. Switch lines or words or even find two new words that express something. Since poetry is not a legal brief or an essay or a story or non-fiction journalism it need not read like one. Degas said,"with words not ideas" and William Carlos Williams, "No ideas, but in things." |
| Lilli wrote me regarding her answer to my poll, "What I selected today will likely be different when I'm in a different mood, lol. I selected the one I did because it immediately created a scene in my head, a snapshot. I might have to write something too!" Now... that's a useful response! Everyone may be different but if I can see a story revealing itself before me I have to dream or write it. I daydream a lot. Today's small victories: It's a 70 pleasant degrees at 10:47. I don't want to go out because I have too much to do but I should. New-to-me words: democide, democracide, doomscrolling Last night's serenade posted: "A dance in peach and puce [163] Serenade #...?" Finished, copied, edited and posted as a bitem:
Written and posted: "The weight of rice and tea [164] JI#6" I responded to entry "Invalid Entry" by Rhymer Reisen  The cat analogy at the end is spot on. I write poems to Zmitri. I have a particular person in mind. It's basically a cosmic love affair with all the predictable ups and downs. At times his face melts into others I have met along life's journey, but one face will get me going every time. I have so much I want to share with him. But time and a healthy distance get in the way. It provides the friction necessary for my writings to move forward in the real world and not just be dreams floating in the ether never to cover up the horror of the blank page. I'm writing serenades. Every sunset is the same sun but the view is never the same. I think of Zmitri and write to him as if he were here. It just dawned on me that maybe I'm confusing Muse with Talisman... but the results are similar and as long as it works I'm satisfied. |
| It was a glorious sunset as seen from our "Sunset Viewing Bridge". One photographer was set up with his tripod... plenty of room. We now have a 4 meter wide path to navigate instead of 1 meter. It's made a world of difference. It would be nice if there were a popcorn or ice-cream cart. I wrote a serenade... of course. "On the Sunset Viewing Bridge [161] Serenade #...? " Need to focus in spite of the heat. 68 degrees at midnight but no breeze to blow out the heat.  71 degrees at 9:14. May not get as hot as feared today... but come Sunday... "Finished" but not posted: "Lily [97]" "Bobby [162]" Finished and posted: "Navigating the shallows [105]" "Sunshine [160]" "Remember what? JI#5 " a rantA new poll:
Do I dare write a Ronsardian ode? As illustrated by Tinker  ?"The Ronsardian Ode is the creation of a deaf, French poet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585). He was known as the Prince of Poets, a "romance" poet. Ronsard's work is musical, sensuous and pagan. Interesting that he was a cleric in minor orders and yet his poems focused more on the beauties and sorrows of his loves than spiritual matters. The structure of this stanzaic form is specific, like the Keatsian Ode it follows a uniform stanzaic pattern. It is its unique pattern that sets it apart. The elements of the Ronsardian Ode are: stanzaic, written in any number of 9 line stanzas. syllabic, 10-4-10-4-10-10-4-4-8 syllables per line. rhymed, rhyme scheme ababccddc." If not this month... next? |
| I have written over 20 serenades in the last month. I may be caught up. I keep track of my writings by assigning catalog numbers. [year.###] I start at my New Year (spring equinox). I have a goal of 365/year or 90-100/season. I just edited and posted [178.158] I should be at 91. I'm ahead. That may be pertinent if I travel later this year. I miss days when I travel. I journal,take photos, visit with people... forget to write poems some days! It happens. I've gone over 1,000 some years. Not this year! Last year [177] I did at least 370. Not that this matters, but it's nice to feel like my writing's okay... when other aspects of my life aren't. Noise outside my window. 72 degrees at 10:20. Hopefully not a hot miserable day. Bacon! I scored bacon. And I bought a Mediterranean phrase book, faleminderit. 87 degrees at 3:40. A bit melty. Father prompts (2 sentence max): 1. Father, forgive me. For hours I have tried cleaning up the blood you spilled to no avail. 2. No, he's not my son. I've been called a muthuh a few times but never Father. 3. He could father a nation if he could figure out how to father one child who'd live. 4. Sister, go get Father. Mother Thomas just chopped off her finger. 5. He whipped them every time they made a mistake. They never called him father. 6 Sonny and Sissy, Mommy and ... Father. No one dared call him Daddy or Dad. 7. It doesn't matter who they say your father was. Genghis Khan's blood runs strong in you. 8. Father McKenzie recited the rosary by the coffin. No one had come to the funeral. 9. Donald would be the founding father of a great dynasty... if he lived long enough. 10. Is it God or your father at the door! No mom, it's Don Corleone. 11. He mothered his sister and fathered his brother. Who would hold him through the night? 12. His seed was spread throughout the galaxy. He was father-of-millions. 13. "Heavenly Father, we beseech thee to show us a sign." The bomb explosion left only pieces of flesh. 14. "Why do you laugh?" "I fathered three sons, none of them as bold as Annie." 15. There were few fathers in the gang. Life as a member of the triad was short. Naked without pearls. Margaret put on a basic black frock. It was wool for winter. "Hotel Ender" in July would be colder than January with the a/c on. The kebab would be sizzling. She put on her black gloves. Her white ones were still sulking in a bowl of Palmolive after they lost last night's struggle with a kosher hot dog. She looked well coifed in her wig. It was pure white. Better than her natural grey. She looked at her pink lips and smiled, remembering the ruby red smackers of her youth. Something was missing. Ah... her pearls. If she walked in without money, someone would surely pick up the tab. But she didn't dare go out her door without pearls. She chose the ones Alf had bought her in London... decades ago. She tried to remember his face but only his voice echoed in her mind, it's time to go Margaret. Grab your pearls or we're going to be late. Finished and posted: "Sit next to the fire, as close as you dare [99] Soltices" "Heat Haze [91] cinquino" "圣车 (Shèng chē) [159] JI#4: Holy Motors, Bard!" Finished not posted: ""Dazy Hell "[102]" |
| I have a bunch of serenades to edit and post. I should make progress on entries to contests as there's a maximum of 10 days left in June. I have now been stuck at home for 5 complete seasons. Serenades posted: "I told Sunset about you [149] Serenade #...?" "Let them know it was never about them [150] Serenade #...?" "[I must say...] [151] Serenade #...?" "Doing laundry at Sparkles [152]" not a serenade but weather"Kayakers surf [153] Serenade #...?" "Keep your word [154] Serenade #...?" "Complaints to the swallows [155] Serenade #...?" "O fiery Ball from Hell [156] Serenade #...?" "Good riddance [157] Serenade #...?" "Orange eye squinting, we worship the Moon [158] Serenade #" Wrote: "My five favorite friends (that's what I'd tell the Bard)" "Fearless [178.147] PPC#3" "Leather [148]" (edited from below)Weekly goals after the solstice:  1. finish posts for at least 5 contests. Achieved. 2. clean and unclutter before Travis visits Thursday. 3. get out every day regardless. 4. go through old food and use or toss. 5. make a list of what needs to be done before I travel:a... b... c... At home, reading, thinking after eating the meatloaf that Laxmi gave me. Need to work. Feeling okay. A pleasant 80 degrees outside after a cool morning but a hot week forecast. Anxiety? Depression? Lurking... but not a problem at the moment. After speaking with Jay... who said he's died more times than most people have lived... he has a pacemaker... at age 30 he's supposed to be dead. Leather Jay sat in his overstuffed chair. It was leather. It was his favorite. It moved with him each time he had to move... which over the last two hundred years had been often... too often. He read the obits like he did every Monday morning. "They got that wrong." "Why can't they ever get my middle name right?" "Finally got that right." "What the..." Jay frowned. His black-furred familiar looked up. Jay never frowned. Smirked? Yes, half-breed leprechauns were known to smirk. "Hmm..." Grumbles got up and stretched. No need to hang around when Jay began to plot. It usually got messy. "At least they were nicer than the last time I died." Jay was used to dying. Once a decade was enough though. This had been a quickie. Not enough time to get to know folks so they'd properly mourn. He'd have to check in with the Doc. Something might be wrong! Dying was natural. But this 'dying before his time' wasn't. Jay fingered his soft leather pouch. Maybe the gem hidden within was losing its power. He took out the worn stone, the color of Grumble's eyes, and peered closely. No new cracks, no new nicks, as dull as ever... to those who didn't know its secrets. He pressed it against his chest. His heart responded. "A steady thump." He slumped. "So it's not that." He glanced at his obit again. Nothing else unusual. Except... "Wait a minute. They say I died in a three-car-wreck on Friday. Who else..." He checked the obits, the death notices. Went to find a copy of Sunday's paper. And there was the answer. A familiar face stared back at him. "How dare she." Grumbles crouched in a dark corner. The fireworks were about to begin. © Copyright 2021 Kåre Enga [178.148] (21.juni.2021) To be continued... Flesch Reading Ease: 91.66 (easy) Gunning Fog Scale Level: 4.44 (readable) Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 1.89 (?) SMOG Grade: 6.3 (?) [imho the articles about SMOG are gobblygook] Dale-Chall Score: 6.1 (7th grade) 5 easy tips to lower your Flesch-Kincaid readability Score: 1. Write about one idea at a time. 2. Keep your sentences short. The fewer words between periods the lower your score. ... 3. Five sentences per paragraph is a good amount. ... 4. Use words with as few syllables as possible. ... 5. Include dialogue in your writing when possible. |
| ... because I can... kinda... sorta... When I speak up. When I say what I think needs to be said... As in when... Anyhoo... it seems to allow others to speak up. Brian, Charlie, Gervac, Miranda, Stik, even Elle  ... I can feel visible and understood. As an Old Ghost, used to being invisible, that can be stressful. Finished and posted: "Pineapple upside down cake [147]" " Mute [145]" "PPC#2 When a moment lasts a lifetime [146]" "Peter and the Honda" A response to Elle (from NZ) who responded to some of my non-PC-non-American-prompts: "Thank-you for having fun with these. I knew you were a Q-ally but I didn't know to what extent through personal experience! Still... Some notes: 1. It's hard for people to imagine what they would do in a circumstance that they've never been faced with. Or that they refuse to talk about. Talking about Q-issues is verboten by many. It's against their religion (in the US that's Conservative Christian) and absolutely XXX rated. At WdC there are writers who do not wish to speak about anything they cannot share in front of 10 year olds... even if their 13 year has already been there and done that. 2. I put in the fish&chips question because many of the WdC prompts are American... and fish and chips is NOT American! I mean... what th'elle are mushy peas? Not a political issue but Americans really don't travel and are perplexed that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily want to live like us. They think that "what do you put on your hamburger" is a universal prompt and "do you prefer cod or herring, eel or duck noodles, yellowbells or camas, morels or shiitake, jasmine rice or sticky rice, burek me djathë ose burek me mish" are silly questions. And "are you vegan or vegetarian" works in some places... like Missoula... but "how do you want your steak done" is better most places. I wouldn't ask "do you want pork sausage or bacon" in the Middle-East. 3. Guns and anti-vaxxers are news here in the good old US of A. Not in places where folks don't have guns. Not only do they carry them here, they brandish them here. Huge issue. Ditto with anti-vaxxers. We have states here where 14.5% have had covid. (NZ = 0.5%) Counties in Montana where 3% of those infected died. NZ has had fewer cases than my county in Western Montana. Vermont is 80% vaxxed. McCone County here is 22% vaxxed. I guess what I'm saying is that reality 'on the ground' can be very different. These prompts would be considered too political or religious for many Americans. We actually shoot and kill people over them and I'm not sure that there's even a consensus that that's bad. 4. Same with noise laws. But... at least 'noise' is universal to greater or lesser extent. Loud mufflers are more than tolerated here. It's a sign of aggressive machismo. However... some urban areas are death on that juvenile nonsense. (See my attitude and bias sneaking in?) Many people here could answer the question but 1. they don't get drunk everywhere in the world and 2. some cultures are uber-respectful regarding others. Some cultures don't have laws because they don't need them. A westerner might be appalled that children-labor laws aren't universal; but, other cultures would be appalled that they were even necessary!" I guess what I'm getting at is that 1. many prompts are culturally biased. 2. many topics are taboo. 3. we do not speak the same language. 4. an attitude of cultural superiority excludes others. 5. minorities have no voice. 64 cooling breezy east-wind degrees at 9:27. The sun sets on the solstice at 9:34. |
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