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 |   When you really have nothing better to do. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Welcome to my blog on Writing.com Enjoy your visit |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Brother’s blog was created and posted on the website Writing.com. Started in August of 2011, and written under the handle, Brother Nature by Joel Spearman. The blog consists of 393 entries and has 13,126 views. The majority of the entries were posted to the blogging group, The 30 Day Blog Challenge Group. The 30 Day Blog Challenge Group on Writing.com is a group that challenges participants to write and post a blog entry each day of a calendar month for 30 consecutive days. Participants are provided a (blog prompt) to stimulate topic ideas, and are judged on: writing quality, relativity to the prompt, emotional impact, and timeliness. Brother’s blog has won 2nd pl. - 3rd pl. – and several honorable mentions, it also has received several site awards, ratings, and reviews. As writing.com provides paid for storage space, my goal in this blog project is to archive these blog entries, and other written content offsite in an effort to offset future writing costs and to preserve content. Every effort will be made to reproduce each entry as closely as possible to it’s original entry, working with-in the confines of various compatibility issues. My hope is to capture the improvement and development of my writing and blogging skills, as I gained experience, and benefited from purchasing upgraded and then premium services from the website. Also included in this effort will be a current blog entry which will reflect on, and compliment the reproduced entries. It’s pretty much a blog about blogging. Subsequent installments are forth coming. Enjoy! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Made in Canada  |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 13, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in which he said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." What do you think about that? Are there any other certainties in life? Just when I thought I figured it all out, I forgot what I was thinking about. I was about to write my blog entry for the day, when I was incapacitated with a self inflicted speech impediment. It all started when I thought about writing about the certainty of certainties, death and taxes, when my tongue blew a gasket, which caused my brain to flash the tilt lights. The little silver ball rolled into the gutter lane with no relief from the flippers. TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT TILT I watched (from the safety of my sofa) in horror as ISIS launched violent attacks in three locations in France Friday night, but all I could do was lisp. Thoughth of thertainties thuddenly dithlocated my comprehension retheptors, rendering me uthless. Stupid ITHITH - Thaturday night's a'ite for fighting, not Funny Friday! Tho, I can't pothibly write a blog entry in thith condithion. Brain = Broken Thertainly thome thort of defensth mechanism, for thure. Thee ya Thaturday! Thorry. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 12, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge The Wildcard Round! This week's winner from all eligible entries (chosen from the roll of the Virtual Dice) will receive 5000 Gift Points! Today's prompt, from the War Chest...List ten things that make you smile. Ten Things That Make You Me Smile 1. Doing things like, mixing up in a sentence, "what an asshole!" so people will think... all the words It's always good a smile. for at least 2. Babies, Children, Puppies, Kittens, Chimpanzees, etc. 3. Rainbows 4. My children, Leslie, The rest of my family and friends (most of the time) 5. This is harder than I thought it would be - Made me smile, then grimace. 6. Examples of perseverance... See how I did that? 7. People who "GET IT!" 8. This song started playing as part of a playlist I was listening to as I wrote this entry - It made me smile. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] 9. After awhile shutting that song off made me smile too. 10. Completing this list. One smile left - It's for you.  Subtract one smile from the virtual dice if I'm not chosen for the 5000 GP. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 11, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge War Chest Wednesday! Submitted by a previous participant... Convince us The Universe wants us to pay attention. Interpret 'The Universe' any way you like. Knock Knock Who's there? Interrupting cow Interrupting cow wh*Mooo ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 10, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Talk Tuesday! Do you prefer home remedies to doctors' office visits? Share some favorite tricks you try to pull off before making the trip to see a doctor. Although I live in the land of free health-care for all, I'm not one to patronize the medical services providers other than in urgent situations. Growing up, we never had the money for things like aspirin, cough syrup, disinfectants, bandages, or even vitamin supplements. Dental care is not covered by the government health-care program, so we never went to the dentist. (expect for Dr. Posner - My Grandfather's friend from the racetrack - I don't think he actually had a dentist's licence - There was never any other patients there, and every time we went there, he was sitting in the dental chair smoking a cigar and reading the racing form. He didn't even have a receptionist, and the place smelled old. I kicked him in the nuts once, but that's not about this.) We played rough, (my brothers and I) and took our lumps. Mom's default medical diagnosis was always, "You'll live" and Dad only got involved when he could do a little home surgery, like the time he removed a wood tick from my neck by lancing it with a heated sewing needle. So yeah, I've been taking care of myself ever since. It takes too long to get an appointment to see a doctor. When I'm sick I want to see a doctor now, not twenty to ninety days later, I'll be better by then. In the meanwhile, between myself and my brothers, we have come up with some effective home remedies to common ailments and non life threatening injuries. 7-UP cures the flu. A hockey sock tied around your neck will sooth a sore throat. One from my mom, it's kind of a preventive thing, and I'm not sure why, but she says, "Never eat a banana before going to bed." A couple things I'll put out there with a warning of... DON'T TRY THIS are...1. don't try doing your own dentistry, and 2. Don't let a drunken lunatic with the shakes, poke a red hot sewing needle into your neck ... ever! Fortunately I've been blessed with relatively good health, and have very little need for the healthcare system, Sure glad we had it for the kids though. I don't get sick very often, and I try to keep myself fit. I know my own body pretty well, so I figure I'll know when the time comes I'll check myself in at EMERG at the nearest hospital to get whatever medical attention is needed. (Maybe I'll call 911, and arrive in style) Until then, "puff puff" Feeling better already! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 9, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Music Monday! Would you rather your favorite band or artist put out four or five of the greatest albums ever over a twenty year period and then call it quits, or have them put out a decent album every few years (and some terrible-to-ok ones also) while still touring and playing live into their 80's? As a matter of fact I was just thinking about that, but your question is flawed Mr. Prompter. You've asked me to choose one or the other, and I've already had both experiences. My favorite artists DID put out four or five of the greatest albums ever over a twenty year period and then called it quits. Led Zeppelin - (First album) (1969) Led Zeppelin - IV (1971) Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975) Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same (1976) Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door (1979) The news reports all read that, John Bonham (drummer for Led Zeppelin) was found dead on the morning of September 25th, 1980, at Page's house in Windsor Berkshire, after a day of drinking and rehearsing. According to the coroner's report, the drummer had the equivalent of 40 vodka shots in his system. Bonham had been drinking quadruple vodkas earlier in the day and was so inebriated he failed to wake up when his body began ejecting the alcohol. The band announced that they would not continue without John, so the members split off in their own directions. Then... Led Zeppelin - Coda (1982) Then... Led Zeppelin - Madison Square Garden - Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary (1988) And now... With Jason Bonham sitting in on drums for his late father, the band is back on tour. This is just one example of what I'm talking about. I could do the same sort of report on several of the bands I've been fond of over the years. Aerowsmith - from the stone age, still touring. AC/DC - dead singer - hasn't stopped them. Van Halen - Like the phoenix, they keep coming back from the dead. Pink Floyd - As if they never age, I just saw Roger Waters perform - amazing! The Rolling Stones - Some will argue as to which members are still alive or not, but they're still on tour! I could go on, but... A couple of my favorites did actually stop touring after they died, but some others are still supplying product to the market from beyond the grave. Jimmy Hendricks still makes a million dollars a year! Anyhow I guess it's true what they say, "If you want to make it big in 'Rock & Roll' you'll have to sell your soul to the devil, and play for the godless masses for all eternity. I must go and practice playing guitar now, there's still a chance for me to live out my rock star fantasy. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 8, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge The Sunday News! What kind of responsibility does social media have in breaking big, important news stories? I have no idea. I never considered the social media to be an identifiable entity. I've always thought that anybody with an internet connection and the ability to make words on a keyboard could become a news editor. Am I wrong? That's happened before! Social media is like the wild west, there's no law, no rules, no filter, no rhyme or reason, no responsibility. Write your piece - hit SEND - and walk away. Am I wrong? That's happened a lot, before. Are we supposed to talk about the different kinds of responsibilities? There's only one kind of responsibility. If you do well - You take credit. If you screw things up - You take responsibility. I feel old today. Peace out. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 7, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Creation Saturday! If you could fix any problem facing the world today, how would you do it? K... I don't have much time, read fast! I haven't said a word about the recent Federal election held here in Canada, or about the Republican nomination process going on in the USA. It's a good thing too, because both processes are absolutely ridiculous. Here we had an openly dishonest Prime-minister, and his cabinet of criminally charged senators, who campaigned on a promise to; continue with the same corrupt process of government; become a larger contributor to the destruction of our planet; put our foot down and end freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression rights in the country; then fix the economy; while keeping us safe from terrorists posing as destitute refugees looking for a safe home to raise their children in. It was either this, they told us, or pick whats behind door number two, and then be beheaded by ISIS for choosing poorly. In the USA there is Donald Trump running for the Republican nomination. Nuff said. Crack smoking, drunk & violent ranting, former mayor of Toronto, turned dying of cancer city councilor,Rob Ford, and his brother Doug held a fund-raiser (nothing like the Unofficial 30 Day Blogging Challenge "Fund It Challenge" coming in February 2016) for the incumbent Prime-minister. And he still lost! To ... get this! ... ... THE GUY WHO CAMPAIGNED ON THE PROMISE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA!... ... ...YEAH! Anyhow. ... pant ... pant ... pant ... whew ... Now we can all relax, and I can get on with MY idea to repair the problems facing the world today. (right after I smoke a big fatty) First I thought we could fix a lot of problems by employing the use of mass hypnosis delivered world wide through multiple media venues. This would change the way people think, and eliminate almost all of the world's problems in just days. Then I thought, no... ... Every township or village, every city, and district, every culture, and religious order, and every country in the world should have to have a hockey team. Then... every issue, every conflict, and every cause can be settled, or promoted on the ice - in a contest of hockey. Did you know that the game of hockey isn't just about playing a game on ice, skating, passing, scoring, and fighting? It's more about building character, loyalty, sportsmanship, compassion, and being part of a team and community. This would work because everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY would be playing hockey. If you happen to be a quadriplegic, blind, st-udder-er, with Tourette's Syndrome, you would play for the Ph Ph Ph Philidelfia FF FF FF Fucking Fl Fl Fl Fly Flyers. Probably be the goalie. Think about it, that's all I'm saying. In a world of legalized recreational drugs... things could look a whole lot differenter. Yep! Way differenter. What if... Donald Trump becomes president of the United States? I would go down to the local pot store and pick up a bag of 'Magically Mexican' to celebrate. We're definitely into some new shit here folks. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 6, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Fun Fact Friday! On this day (November 6th) in 1913, Mohandas K. Gandhi was arrested as he led a march of Indian miners in South Africa. Are you a peaceful protester, or...otherwise? If there were a cause you were willing to march for (personal, political, or completely made-up), what would it be? It doesn't surprise me that I am on Team Otherwise. (again  )I don't believe in the existence of peaceful protests. Not that I'm opposed to joining a mob; I'm just saying, "let's call it what it is." Even if it's just to sit quietly and peacefully on the grass, when a large group of people gather there is tension. Isolated incidences could grow and escalate into dangerous situations. A large group of people is disruptive, needful of resources, and damaging to the environment - There's nothing peaceful about it. There have been many demonstrations that started out as peaceful protests, people were even comfortable with letting their children attend, but things went bad, and the peaceful protest became a violent mob. To be peaceful, you need to be tolerant; show compassion; be understanding, and humble. To be peaceful and protest an issue, you need to engage in meaningful dialog, to come to a peaceful understanding. Letter writing campaigns are a good way to peacefully protest. Boycotting companies and products is a peaceful and effective form of protest. Having said all that... Sure, I would join a mob. I wouldn't even need a cause. MOB RULES! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** November 5, 2015 Today's prompt from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Wildcard Thursday! 5000 GPs to the random winner, chosen by Virtual Dice from all eligible entries. Pick three authors- two who have written books you've read, and one from WDC- and construct your idea of 'The Perfect Writer' compiled of your favorite traits of theirs. Okay, seems like a reasonable enough request. My three authors are: Dr. Seuss, Augusten Burroughs, and Pat ~ Rejoice always!   .Dr. Seuss I can remember the day when the first Dr. Seuss book was read aloud to my grade two school class. I was hooked after the first book: The Cat in the Hat. Dr. Seuss sparked my imagination and creativity, as well as my love of nonsense and poetry. Augusten Burroughs I discovered Augusten Burroughs, through reading a book written by his brother, John Elder Robinson (Look me in the Eye.) Augusten Burroughs's books, Running With Scissors and You Better Not Cry are probably a couple of my more enjoyable reads in recent years. I loved the narrative of his childhood memories in, "You Better Not Cry" But there was a time in the middle of the book, where I hated him and was sorry I ever started reading his book, because of how he turned out as an adult. As I read on he was able to come to terms with himself, and win back my admiration, I even gained a deeper understanding and respect for him. Pat ~ Rejoice always! Miss Pat is one of the first people I met on WDC. She has a passion for writing and language arts in general. I've been a student in her Punctuation class at the New Horizons Academy on three occasions. (Dropping out once, completing a term once, and being AWOL from my most recent attempt) I'm also a member of a group, which she's a leader of:
although I haven't written a review in over two years. Miss Pat has been, without a doubt, the most helpful person to positively influence the quality of my own writing. No wonder that the perfect writer is, me. (why not?) Brother Nature  I enjoy stories from real life experiences, which are what I most like to write and share. (Augusten Burroughs) I can write auto-biographically and make it rhyme. (Dr. Seuss) I can produce quality work (when I'm not being lazy) (Thanks to Miss. Pat) Stay tuned for my next book it will be released as a blog entry tomorrow in the world famous blog, Brother's Blog. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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