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 |   A third attempt at this blogging business. |
 30-DAY BLOG CHALLENGE WINNER FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 AND APRIL 2012!!  BLOGGING CIRCLE OF FRIENDS "BLOGGER OF THE WEEK" MAY, SEPTEMBER, AND NOVEMBER 2013 JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND JUNE 2014 After 380 entries and over 17,600 views, it was time to retire "Who Do I Think I Am??"  . Expect more of the same shenanigans and troublemaking you've come to know and love from me over the last few years. Tell all your friends, warn your family and hide this from your neighbors...this isn't your average blog.   
Thanks for stopping by and showing your support!    THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED.
Continue along on my journey over at "Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am" . |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Write a minimum of five, but a maximum of however many you like, 6-word stories discussing your relationships with the people in your life (your significant other, coworker, kids, pets, parents, that stranger who cut in line at the supermarket). See this site for examples and more information: http://www.sixwordstories.net/" What's up everybody? Yesterday I recused myself from the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" partly because I missed a few days, knew I'd be missing a few more, and wasn't feeling inclined enough to continue participating. I felt more like dropping out was something I had to do than I really wanted to do. Yet as my luck would have it, today's "Creation Saturday" prompt seems more to be cajoling me into action rather than just mocking me into submission one way or the other. Plus it sounds like a pretty cool concept...which isn't to say I'd be any good at it, but I'm willing to bang a few QWERTY strokes in an effort to find out. Here goes somethin'... "Every sixth word is a sentence." "Throat-punched by looks, she won." "Slow down faster than you think." "Black was the new hot pink." "Her story holds charms. I'm clueless." "Told to stifle, I resisted apathetically." "My crooked wisdom came of age." "Never prepared, I rattlesnaked words feverishly." "Get your eyes examined. You're blind." "Crushed by silence, I bled confusion." "I devoured silent contempt in kilobytes." "Suffer my ignorance or suffer testimony." "He who laughs last laughs late." "Say no just to be wrong." "Fifteen items or less, Jell-O hoarder." "Tissues aren't optional after sneezing, buddy." "We're not buddies. Go screw yourself." "Keep calm and blow things up." "I make up what I'm unsure." "Please put your pants back on." "Stop talking to yourself, crazy person." "Never say you're sorry. Say whatever."And I'm done. I'm not gonna bother counting how many that is, but that's taken me roughly a half hour, and maybe only a few of them can be considered "story-esque" at best. Maybe I'm not as good at this game as I thought, but in terms of an actual writing exercise, it's almost the most fun I've had in a long time. BCF PROMPT: "Would you consider yourself 'musical'?" That's a really good question. There's obviously a huge chasm between "musical interests" and musical talents", and I, sadly, am not very musical in a sense that I can barely (if at all) read music or play music. My singing voice is questionable at best on a good day, and I can't play an instrument at all. I even tried teaming up once with a very talented person of musical inclination to set some of my song lyrics to guitar, and while I knew what I wanted to hear, I had a very hard time trying to communicate what I was feeling in a way that made sense to someone who actually knew what he was doing. Needless to say, I got frustrated with the project and gave up, thereby ending any dreams I had of being someone who would be singing that catchy little tune in your coffee shop while you suck down that jumbo sized, non-fat triple espresso mocha latte with caramel while chatting up your bestie beneath your sunglasses about the hot guy you puked on at the club last night after too many vodka/Red Bulls when he slipped you a fake phone number because, face it, you're so annoying even when you're not drunk. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. Am I musical? Well, I like a lot of music, and different kinds of genres and bands, but no, I'd only be musical once there becomes a way to have a song played when you walk in a room...not like how wrestlers have songs played before a match or baseball players have music blared when they come up to bat, but just a short little sound effect for things you do, like spreading condiments on a sandwich, walking a particular way, an extraordinary facial expression, or some other quirky little mechanism your functioning body undertakes. Perhaps when we're all enabled with a microchip-like soundboard of twenty or so preset noises/sound bytes that we can have audibly mixed into our routines of life by imagining them as we wish them to happen, then I'll truly be musical. Trust me, this idea sounds much better in my head than it looks on your computer screen or handheld device. MUSICAL BREAK!!  I did have a much more specific (and totally different) song in mind, but it was actually one word too long (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEVik1nJb68), so I went with this instead because it's a lot funnier than "You have the right to remain silent."  THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Since I'm not actually gonna write entirely as a contestant in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , the powers that be have agreed to let me come aboard as a guest judge for a week in July. I'm actually really excited by this...I usually read all of the 30DBC entries and comment on most of them anyway, so I may as well put that to some kind of use. I'm thankful for the opportunity to still be engaged in the blogging community in a more active way that also fits in my schedule, and I'm looking forward to my week of involvement. 2: Red Bulls consumed today (for the first time in probably years): a lemon-lime one and a cranberry one. And holy crap they're tasty...plus I don't have the usually crazy energy drink jitters either. Besides, what's an actual original Red Bull supposed to taste like? Strained sweat/water crap? The juice of a t-shirt rung out and stewed in an old hospital bedpan? A bloody cactus prick during an eight-hour hike barefoot through a desert? Really, what's the purpose of taste buds when pounding one of these things? At least the limited edition flavors have a drinkable feel to them. I'm sure I've got more things to say, but I six-word storied myself a little too deep into the time I have set aside today for diddling around on the internet. Hopefully it's not too hot when I get home, because I really need to lay off the ice cream cravings and this heat is doing nothing for that. Gonna go put my feet up and relax for the rest of the weekend. Peace, it gives you wings, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| Good afternoon folks...hope you still have all your fingers and toes left from yesterday's Independence Day festivities. I was lucky...I only heard a few fireworks go off. I was actually caught in a tremendous rain storm. I went to a nearby park to read and take in some of the sun...then a few drops of rain came down on my book, and by the time I looked up it was raining uncontrollably hard and fierce. I barely made it hobbling over to a tree, and that hardly offered much shelter from the deluge. I waited close to a half hour for it to stop raining enough to make it two blocks home. That must've been enough to cancel the local fireworks display. I don't really mind, because honestly, if you've seen on fireworks show you've seen them all. They're just more inconvenient noise to me, that's all. And don't get all Betsy Ross on me, saying I'm anti-patriotic 'cuz I don't give a damn about fireworks on the fourth of July.."rocket's red glare" in our national anthem didn't come from a roadside stand somewhere between Pennsylvania and the deep south with a "Made In China" sticker. Anyway. it's with great regret that I'm bowing out of July's official "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" round. I'll still be popping in with entries every now and then, but looking ahead this month, it seems like I'll be kinda busy in spurts and have less internet time as well. Plus there was some bad news this past week, not involving me but a lot of friends of friends, and my heart is a little heavier than usual...my thoughts go out to those affected by the loss of a dad, brother, friend, and son who meant a lot to those whose lives he touched the most, and may your soul rest in peace. It's not really my place to say any more about it at the present (or any) time.Having already missed a couple days of entries, and knowing I'll be missing a few more here and there, it's only right that if I can't fulfill the nature of the competition itself I should not be in it, to give those who are still writing day in and day out a fair chance and not waste anyone's time. I wish the best to everyone still participating...it looks like a great group, and I'm happy I was able to contribute even a little bit. Peace, fare thee well, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Do you know a second (or third, or fourth, etc...) language? Would you like to learn a new language? Why or why not? If yes, which would you like to learn?" Sup y'all? Before I dive headfirst into the shallow end of today's prompts, I'd like to bring you a message from our new sponsor.  I speak English. I write in English. I took Spanish for five years in school, but I barely remember any of it besides random curse words and phrases, and how to buy a beer. Although my teacher the majority of those years could be a little on the strict side, I have to think she enjoyed having me in her class more often than not...even when she failed me on a practice essay version of a final exam when I incorporated dialogue with a character swearing at another speaking English. Yeah, that sly little maneuver didn't go over too well. But that was a long time ago, and I probably ordered my last cerveza on foreign land many years ago during a cruise to the Bahamas. If I recall correctly, there were Coronas immediately after breakfast...or were they for breakfast? I don't remember. Should I? At this point in life, I don't have any desire to learn another language. I'm still getting used to bastardizing the one I currently speak. On top of that, I believe I am capable of teaching Sarcasm as a second language, or SSL in your local school's Continuing Education course catalog. However, the pay's terrible and the students leave little to be desired, so it's not really worth my time, but the arrogance attained is a lovely perk I could retire comfortably on. I hate to sound all patriotic and whatnot, but I live in America and I shouldn't have to press "1" to hear a telephone menu in English. I get it that America's this giant melting pot of culture, and I personally accept all kinds of people, but there's gotta be a basis somewhere...a starting point, or maybe a calibration point, where it's just accepted that you have a basic command of the language if you're gonna do any kind of business in these parts. If I were to go to another country, I'd have to learn the gist of their prevailing language if I wanted to do any of the things taken for granted domestically, wouldn't I? You can't go through life pretending everything everywhere is a Chinese restaurant, getting by just by pointing at pictures and circling numbers. So that's my mini-rant on language. When in Rome, do it like the Romans do...and in the US, do it like all us fat, lazy, unmotivated 'Mericans do. BCF PROMPT: "Who did you idolize growing up?" Have you ever heard someone preface a story they're about to tell with the classic listener's opt-out phrase, "Stop me if you've heard this before..."? Well, I'm tellin' ya now...I've heard this prompt before. Sure, maybe it hasn't been put as bluntly, but in some manifestation it's been cast upon us me in the past. Maybe that means I've been doing this prompt-based stuff for too long, and I really have seen it all. Cue the hundred monkeys typing in a room, hoping for Shakespeare...I'm sure one of them has already typed the rest of this entry for me once or eight times before. I think it's kinda lame to have idols from a world that is largely unattainable. It's ok to like and admire, but idolatry is a much stronger concept. Does it really make sense to want to be like someone else so strongly that it dominates your own persona? All you're really doing is compromising yourself and setting yourself up for failure and disappointment when you realize you can't throw a perfect spiral or carry a tune in a lunch pail. It's more important to realize your potential within than to pander to external impossibilities. There's something I've been told several times about myself. I have a tendency to sell myself short. Why is that statement so pertinent? Because it shows I've got a lot of work to do as a person, and to the one guy that means the most to me...me. If I can't impress myself, then who else am I gonna impress, and more importantly, who's gonna be impressed with me? I don't mean that to sound pretentious in any kind of way, but I guess it is, in a way. Life itself is a shaky balance...you're always told to look out for yourself, but you're also encouraged to do unto others. You're told to take care of yourself, but then you're chided for being selfish. One man's ceiling is another man's floor. It's so high you can't get over it, and so low you can't get under it. No matter what you do, you're never gonna make everyone happy, so you may as well start with yourself. Easy for me to say, I guess. I'd love to apologize for going on with a seemingly pointless tangent, but I'm not gonna do that. I'm not in the idol-bashing business, and I'm trying to cut back on the amount of times I wind up proverbially pissing on my feet. The point is this...idols are eventually going to let you down or disappoint you somehow. You're stronger in the long run by being the person you were meant to be, rather than hoping you're somebody else. And you're an even better person than me if you've got that all figured out. MUSICAL BREAK!!  I know I've probably shared this video before, but it kinda makes sense in an awkward way today.  THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Normally I'm skeptical about downloading free music...but I was pleasantly surprised I was able to take advantage of this and have it seamlessly integrate with my iTunes library. 3: The number of servings in one 3oz. bag of Jack Link's BBQ Pork Jerky. It's ridiculously delicious and I ate the whole damn thing while composing this entry.  And if you really had the stones to ask... Well folks, I wish I had more important things to share with you today, but I'm fresh out. Come back tomorrow, when I attempt to make things seem even more interesting than they already are. Peace, you do it to yourself, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "You get a piece of magical chalk. Anything you draw comes to life. Either describe what you will do with the chalk or create a list of rules for using the magical chalk." Good morning folks, and a Happy Canada Day to all of my friends north of the United States border. It's July first, marking the start of an official month of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , so naturally I'm a little excited. I know I had made mention earlier in June about maybe trying my hand at judging entries for a week, but in the end the lure of competition is still too strong for me to pass up. I'm like that ballplayer that just doesn't know when to give up the game and thinks he's still got something left in the tank. And what better way to start off a month than by thinking that I have no business trying to write about this prompt? Let's just say that I'm not quite as "in love" with it as Emily  is. If y'all been comin' 'round my way long enough, y'all know how I feel about blogversating potential works of fiction...I'm not exactly a fan of it. (And yes, I realize that I just made up the word "blogversating"...get used to it.) Luckily, there's a slight caveat tucked into the prompt today that allows me a bit of license to tangle up the puppet strings and make something I can live with. Here's a little game I like to call "The Rules For Playing With My Magic Chalk".THE RULES, WARNINGS, AND EXCLUSIONS: 1) This item is for adult external use only. 2) Words are not considered drawings and will not come to life. 3) Be careful what you wish for. 4) Drawing more magic chalk won't get you more magic chalk. 5) Drawing with wet chalk could potentially cause your fingers to run off your hand. 6) In the event of accidental inhalation of chalk dust, your lungs may breathe on their own. 7) In the event of non-accidental inhalation of chalk dust, you'll probably enjoy it while talking really fast and in a higher pitch, become anxious and twitchy, hear constant drumbeats, get super hungry, and possibly pass out on a stranger's lawn next to a garden gnome. 8) This item is non-transferable. 9) A $2 surcharge will be billed if chalk is not used after 90 days, but not to exceed $7.56 in any given 366-day period. 10) Rules are meant to be broken. Please break accordingly. I believe these rules were actually taken from the International Federation Of Magic Chalk (trademark), which is located somewhere in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Chalk BCF PROMPT: "What's your opinion on vampire fiction?" Again with the fiction, courtesy of the "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" . I may upset some people here, but I really don't give a fang about vampire fiction. I think it's crap. But then again, I think a lot of far-fetched fiction is crap. And you don't need me to give you an entire entry devoted to my empirical crap-based opinion of crap.Look, I get it. Take a rugged, teenyboppin' Hollywood bro, mix him up with some pasty, waifish twig, throw some glitter and smoke on 'em, and call it the "Vampire Craze For The Modern Era", and watch it sell bajillions of books, movie tickets and assorted paraphernalia. Cool beans for those who enjoy it, I guess. Here's where I'd normally go into my "this shit's so fake and whatever" rant that I've probably rehashed too many times. I just don't get it. I can't. I won't. I don't wanna, and I don't hafta. Hell, I worked in a bookstore at the height of the Twilight craze, and I still don't get it. These little barely-teen girls were goin' apeshit over these books, and parents would ask me if they were appropriate for their 12-year-olds. And I'd say, "Sure, if you want your 12-year-old poppin' out little vampire babies...'cuz they're gonna wanna do it with a blood-sucking freak of the undead (or whatever class of fake human literature vampires fall into) when they're done with the series. " And in the end, it didn't matter what my recommendation was, because these soccer moms were all too happy to buy the stupid books anyway. I could've replaced the jackets on all the books with a warning that said "This book will impregnate your unborn child" and we still would've had people climbing our gate every time one of these books or something like it was released. It was like crack you could get in page form. Hey, to each their own, I suppose. But I have a Mr. Bram Stoker holding on line 1, and he thinks he's owed some royalties for being the OG (original gangsta) of the vamp-lit scene. And I would agree with him, if I actually gave a feasting fang about it. MUSICAL BREAK!!  In honour of Canada Day, I present one of the greatest Canadian bands performing one of the most amazing poems set to music I've ever heard. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Today marks my 12th account anniversary on WDC. And no, my account won't be one of those snotty vampire-lovin' teenagers. It will be a typical kid, just like me.  4: The amount of approximate hours (distractions included) it took me to go to and from a park and read an entire copy of Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. And no, I didn't like it and I don't recommend it...I read it because my therapist thought it'd be a good idea, and it wasn't. I get to tell him that in a few hours this afternoon. Listen, I'm not trying to trivialize or minimize what the author had to go through, but let's just say that if he wasn't a doctor, there wouldn't have been a book to write, because he wouldn't have lived long enough to deceive his way through not being executed to have written these outdated theories. Four is also the amount apparently required by me in hours spent in and out of sun to obtain a pretty decent sunburn. While I'm glad I wore a shirt with cut-down sleeves, I wish I would've turned my arms inward a little more.  Not only do I hate it when doctors have to cancel appointments on you, but you're running out of meds so you call the nurse practitioner to re-up your script...only she calls it into the wrong pharmacy...on the one day you don't have your insurance card on you. I need a SMDH emoticon for this. Bela Lugosi probably had a heart attack in his grave when he saw the Twilight movies.  And even though I could care less about the books or movies, I will cop to purchasing the soundtrack for the New Moon movie. Sure, I'll claim that I bought it for my ex anytime someone looks at my iTunes library, but damn, there's some sweet tunes on it. For reals, yo.Ok folks, time to grab a bite to eat and deal with the rest of my day. Peace, it's the rules, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "If you were allowed to go and commit one crime without fear of punishment, what would you do?" Happy Saturday, y'all! Wow...this is kind of an exciting set of prompts today! I get to test my chops a little bit. My fingers can feel the anticipation! Oh, where to go, where to go! As probably one of the few bloggers on WDC to experience life from the inside of a jail cell [Ed. note: it was a traffic violation gone horribly and comedically wrong], I think it's pretty safe to assume that my insight on the legal system offers me no real benefit for today's "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" prompt. However, having been born and raised in Western New York, I have a significant advantage at my disposal for today's "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" portion of this entry. Ye writing gods haveth doth smiled uponeth me, or somethin'.I could get this over with in a hurry and say I'd like to rob a bank or some otherwise simple shit, but nawwwww man, that's too easy. And I don't wanna kill or hurt nobody. Besides the basic crimes of theft and murder, what else is there? [Ed. note: the events listed in this entry are not meant to insinuate any of the portrayed actions...I ain't actually doin' any of this!] Most illegal activity breaks down in essence to one of those two categories. I guess that would paint me as a thief. I can live with that. But it wouldn't involve guns or violence (ok, well, perhaps a minimal amount of violence). There'd have to be lots of deceit involved. Computer hacking, fraud, malfeasance, chicanery, offshore bank accounts, the whole nine. And since we're sinning, let's throw in some cussing and adultery while we're at it. It'd be something like the plots of Arrested Development and Dirty Sexy Money combined with the computer program used to skim fractions of pennies from transacted dollars in the movie Office Space. I'd have to flip the money somehow. Maybe start some businesses or buy some property. Turn bad money into good. I believe they call it "laundering", but that's another crime for another time. I'll need another "get out of jail free" card for that. The only real crime being committed right now, however, is me not having a solid plan for how I would try to pull off the heist of the millennium. That's not really my style anyway. And why should I give myself you any ideas, anyway? Who's to say I really don't have a plan to upend the government, treasury and other sources of potentially ill-gotten income? Besides giving you my word that I don't, that is. Awww hell, I couldn't do it anyway. If my guilty conscience didn't get to me first, I wouldn't be able to resist posting some sort of incriminating evidential link to myself about it on Facebook anyway. I'd make a horrible big-time bandit. BCF PROMPT: "Have you ever been in a snowball fight? Were they good experiences or bad ones?" A curious prompt to say the least for the end of June. Temperatures are going to be in the upper 70's and low 80's for the next week in Central NY...and I'm seeing that places like Las Vegas, Nevada could see highs around 119 degrees! Heat like that shouldn't be legal. But anyway, drawing on my vast experience with snow, there are pretty much two kinds of snowball fights...the ones you have as a kid, and the ones you have as an adult. Allow me to explain. The kid ones are broken down into the random, "I'mma throw a snowball at you 'cuz I can" fights, and the epic, snowstorm-enabled, territorial backyard battles. The latter requires a large amount of snow that can be firmly packed. Each side takes great care in sculpting a protective fort from snow, in which to hide in and store copious amounts of ammo (snowballs). It helps to have a large, open plot of land in this scenario. These wars can take all day, and have a classic "us versus them" element to them almost like a team sport. They usually end when all the snow is used up, someone gets hurt, or it's just too damn cold to continue (as typically determined by a parent wielding mugs of hot cocoa). The adult snowball fights are probably the most fun though, because of the unpredictability of their nature. One winter evening a long time ago, Verno, my sis and I went to Perkins for coffee...we went there a lot just to hang out. During our time there it had snowed a lot. A heavy, wet snow. We were too busy conversing and having coffee to really pay much attention to it until we went to settle up the bill. As we left and made our way to the car, I caught myself marveling at the amount of snow that had fallen over a short period of time. Verno used this opportunity to start walloping us with snowballs, and an all-out, every man and woman for his or her own self snow battle broke out, right in the parking lot. Picture a gunfight in the nastiest of 'hoods erupting, only with snow. And just three people. If the parking lot were one of those shakable snow globes, imagine it tumbling in a washing machine. That's how much snow was being processed by us in the atmosphere. We were using other peoples' cars for cover. It was guerilla warfare. It reached a point where we were no longer making rounded balls of snow...we just started scooping up whatever we could find and heaving it the best we could in the general direction of any face we saw. It lasted maybe about an hour or so, but we looked like we ran a marathon by the time we all called a truce. We were soaked from sweat and snow...not an ideal combination. But for someone who hates pretty much everything to do with snow, it may have been the most fun I've ever had in cold weather. I'll tell you what though...nowadays, you hit me with a snowball and I'll do anything within my power to turn you into a permanent snowman. MUSICAL BREAK!! I had to go old school with it today. They say the best way to catch a crook is to think like one. But this is just poetry. THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I'd be curious to see how these turn out the next time it gets crazy hot in your vicinity. 12.27: According to this website, http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/14052/amount-of-chocolate-chips-in-a-..., that's the average amount of chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie. But you'll have to fight through the most ridiculous and unhelpful answers possibly ever assembled in that all-knowing bastion of internet knowledge, the open forum. Well, I've provided enough insight for one day. Time to head off and do life in a way that won't require bail money. Or, as us hardened criminals like to say, "have a quiet weekend". Peace, stick 'em up, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "If you made any New Years resolutions in 2013, tell us how you've made out so far." Hey folks...happy last-Friday-in-June to everyone, and happy last-of-my-prompts-this-month also! I think the only thing I despise more than a bad prompt that doesn't lend itself to a fruitful entry is actually having to come up with a prompt. I'll be the first to tell you that even I have no business whatsoever trying to answer this prompt, because I didn't bother to make any New Years resolutions this year, or for the last several years. The only reason I came up with it is because Monday will be July 1st, meaning a full six months will have passed since you promised yourself something you likely didn't follow through with. Or, depending on your outlook, you've got six more months to come up with a rock-solid head start on actually formulating a resolution you can stick to. It's all in how you see things. I just happen to know myself too well. Often enough I have good intentions, but I'm too moody and get sidetracked too easily to stick to the discipline necessary to uphold a resolution. I'm also a realist and a non-completest. I realize sometimes life has bigger plans and gets in the way of things you want to accomplish, so sometimes projects get started and never quite make it to the finish line...in the meantime, we find ways to adapt to something that doesn't function as intended. Maybe you've gotten used to sitting at a table where one leg is shorter than the other by just enough to cause the slightest wobble, or you learned to live with that little hum the tv makes, or resigned to walking with a limp because your body's decided it's done enough healing in one lifetime. The acceptance becomes easier than the fix, even though repair is more beneficial in the long run. As creatures of habit, the short cut tends to be the norm. Having said that, there's also the emotional factor of disappointment. What's the purpose of setting a goal if you're just gonna look at it a month later and be like, "Nah, it's not happenin' this year" and carry on as if you didn't spend four weeks trying to lose ten pounds and think a dozen chicken wings are gonna erase the memory of the attempt? That's being pretty heartless to yourself. Maybe it's just me, but whenever I'd make a promise like that to myself (about anything related to a resolution, at any given time of the year and regarding anything) and I failed, I took it personally. It was like letting myself down. That's just how I'm wired. Then I realized that the best way not to make myself feel like that was to not set myself up for failure in the first place. I lessened my own emotional burden. And it worked...I found myself with better things to worry about. I'm not saying that'll work for you. And if you did manage to keep your resolutions, hey, good for you. That's great. But if you didn't, that's still ok too. You look good with a few extra pounds, everybody lets a few choice cusswords slip out now and then, nobody likes a quitter, and maybe that journal will write itself. It's not the resolution you need to stay true to...it's the person making them that you need to think about. BCF PROMPT: "What historical events happened the year you were born?" Here's another prompt which really doesn't require any kind of writing talent. All you need is a general working knowledge of the internet, which makes today's prompt about 1% more challenging than yesterday's multiple choice/best of two answers skills puzzler. Let no one be confused by the notion that I've recently taken up sarcasm as a second language...I was born there and speak it fluently. Just for the sake of being a good team player, I Googled "Historical Events 1975". Much to my chagrin, an image copy of my birth certificate did not show up. 1975 was just another year, it seems. Nothing tremendously earth-shattering or noteworthy. Things happened, much like they happen every other year, but nothing that you could really look back on and start a sentence with, "Well, I remember back in '75 when..." Allow me to explain my standing on the topic with the use of bullet points. In 1975 (according to http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1975.html): Bill Gates and Paul Allen create the company Microsoft. Sony introduces Betamax videotapes and Matsushita/JVC introduce VHS. BIC launches the first disposable razor. Jimmy Hoffa (ex-Teamsters boss) disappears, never to be seen again. Indira Gandhi, India Prime Minister, is found guilty of electoral corruption. The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon and South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally. The IRA murders Ross McWhirter, the co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records. The first ever strike by doctors in the US causes hospitals to reduce services.And my favorite...not because of the technological advances made since these inventions, but mainly for the way this particular website headed up this section of the article: Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country (or attributed to First Use)Personal Computer (USA, Microsoft) The Digital Camera (Steven Sasson and Kodak Company) Laser Printer (USA) Sure, there's some cool little things there, but you could probably substitute a couple proper names, situations, and adjectives out and have virtually any other year in history. Wars always happen, people always die, governments always make some crazy assumption or mistake, and new stuff always gets "invented by inventors inventing new inventions". That's the way it's always been, and, save for the random "big story" every few years or so, the way it's always gonna be. MUSICAL BREAK!! According to this list (http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/top-100-songs-of-the-year/?year=1975), this was the Billboard #1 hit of 1975. Thankfully, VH1 has not asked me to appear on a special episode dedicated to this era of music entitled "We Are 1975".  THE DAILY BOX SCORE: 14: My favorite song out of Billboard's Top 20 for 1975. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUkGIsKvn0  When history looks back upon 2013, the defeat of DOMA will surely be remembered. Hopefully by then nobody will care that gays can be married and receive equal treatment as such, but that love between any two people is way more important than all the time and effort it takes to keep people who truly love each other apart.  Activity time!! Google "gay" and see what happens. Don't ask; just do it. Bonus activity!! I Googled Chuck Norris, and this screen came up: http://www.nochucknorris.com/ Why, when I want to know anything about anything, do I use Google? It's easy.  Well, it's been fun trippin' down memory lane through a time I don't exactly remember (wait, was that 1975 or my mid-twenties?), but I'm gonna get outta here while there's still daylight (and plenty of it) to waste. Peace, Google it, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Tell me something great to do in your location that only a local would know about." What's up everybody? Nothin' sadder on an overcast day than when two separate blogging-themed groups have to scrape at the bottoms of their respective barrels to come up with some kind of serviceable prompts. Must be close to the end of the month. I'm only mocking this "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" prompt because it's better than knocking a town that can't even defend itself. Oh sure, I could take the easy way out and talk about all the cool shit going down this and every summer in the Western New York area, but trust me, it's a lot more fun talking about what there isn't to do in Cortland (located in non-descript Central New York). And I say that not just because I'm a miserable prick with limited opportunities and capabilities, but because really, there's nothin' goin' on around here unless you've got kids or enjoy all kinds of Redneck Olympic events.It's not for lack of effort, mind you. It's just that I don't find trips to Wal-Mart, CVS or Guns-R-Us all that enjoyable. And I'm known in some circles as actually being a fun-loving person! This craphole on the map is severely damaging my social reputation by the minute. Every day is just another day where I fade into the sidewalk as the crazy guy with the green bag, the funny hat and the limp. The only halfway friendly people are usually the mentally unstable ones, and they don't know you from one day to the next anyway. Everybody else just seems inconvenienced or preoccupied. So screw 'em. It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. The nice thing about this town sucking is that I don't have to worry about having to decide what events to attend in favor of others that I'll wind up missing for another year. I'm not spending money on mediocrity or disappointment. I'm avoiding large crowds and unsightly guests. I don't have to worry about being polite or discreet. I don't owe this place anything, and I don't have to care. All of that makes it feel kinda beautiful to be here in a way. If anything, after trying to fit in wherever I could and failing, being here has taught me how to better appreciate getting along with myself in a limited environment. I've learned a lot by having only me to rely on more than ever. That's something even the coolest of cool places full of bells, whistles, vices and charms can't teach you. There's nothing else to hide from or get lost in, and even less to regret later. If I'm not happy with that, it's on me and only me. I'm completely ok with that. BCF PROMPT: "Do you prefer showering or bathing?" And then there's this nugget of personal hygiene from the "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" . Allow me to be blunt for the first time in a few minutes, please...this prompt reeks of "OMG, I can't think of anything to use as a prompt" while staring at a computer screen for over a half hour rerunning the word "prompt" over and over through the brain hoping something witty, challenging and useful will come of it. But that never works. How do I know? I went on Twitter today for the first time in probably a month because I actually thought of something kinda funny to tweet, but couldn't think of a proper hashtag to finish the tweet with. And if you know anything about Twitter, you know that the hashtag is nearly as important as the tweet itself. That's the bow on the present; the cherry on the sundae. A tweet without a hash tag is just a Facebook status...and even Facebook now encourages hashtagging, which is kinda like your grandparents rockin' a def pair of Chuck Taylors because "that's what all the cool kids wear these days". Only, they don't, and it's just a paltry attempt at relevance. You're not just late to the party there, Facebook...you just RSVP'd yourself to a party that nobody wanted you at anyway and nobody said anything once you showed up 'cuz you brought Doritos and you used to be fun, but now you're just kinda there ridin' on your name in the past with your collar popped like it's 1986 and playin' the wall like the last gummy bear in the bag on a hot day.Uhhhhh, what were we talkin' about again? Oh yeah. My bathroom self-cleansing preferences. Because that's something to talk about.  I wish I would've seen this prompt last night, so I could've meditated upon it while I was in the middle of my daily cleaning process. I think it's a pretty universal fact that most people do the majority of their thinking while alone in a bathroom. I know I do. What I do physically while the water's running is just a routine forged from muscle memory and requires no thought; I need to conserve all the brain power I can for things I need to know throughout the coming hours I'm still awake and functional. Places I need to go, things I need to do, what I'm gonna eat, all that "to-do list" stuff. That all gets sorted out in the privacy of washing myself. And nothing- I mean nothing- is worse than having your me-time interrupted, for any reason. All it takes is one idiot knocking on the door. "Hey! Are you in the bathroom?" And you know they full well know you're in the damn bathroom, and not in any position to be asked or answering any kind of question. You're at the height of vulnerability. Your only focus is on the task you're in the middle of. Not what you want for dinner, or what that catty broad from work told you, or if the trash got taken out, or if you're almost done. Nothing else matters...just you and your thoughts and your mission. The rest of the house could be on fire, and there's a million and a half dollars waiting for you just for vacating the premises, but you don't care because you ain't goin' nowhere until all your thoughts are thunk, and besides, you won't burn anyway because you're surrounded by water, so you don't care...you'll leave when you're damn good and ready. Oh, by the way...the answer to the question is "showering". Bathing is just sitting in a tub full of water that becomes a liquefied version of your own filth, no matter how bubbly you make it. But that's just a simple male perspective. I don't have to worry about shaving my sexy legs, so I don't have any insight as to whether or not it's easier to do that from a seated position (though I imagine it is, infinitesimally). Maybe tomorrow we can discuss shaving with electric razors versus non-electric razors, or boxers versus briefs. Maybe apples and oranges? Pens/pencils/markers? Rock Paper Scissors? Favorite games? Just don't ask me to decide anything...that isn't one of my favorite things to do. MUSICAL BREAK!!  This is about as appropriate as it gets today.  THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  I haven't done the research yet, but I'm in favor of a Peanut Butter and Jelly-flavored ice cream. Maybe vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirls and strawberry chunks. I'm all about it. You can't tell me the thought of saying this hasn't crossed your diseased little minds pretty little heads:  And the end result of the infamous minutes-long staredown I had with Twitter this afternoon: 9: The number of apps needing an upgrade when I powered up the Blackberry today. Nothing had been upgraded since, oh, I don't know when. Took me almost two hours because they only load one at a time. And the battery was dead- totally. It wouldn't even turn on at first without being plugged in. Technology's stupid. And I'm done with today. Gonna figure out what life means for a little bit and once I do, I'll meet ya there. 'Til then #peace, #outtahere, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Sometimes, we unknowingly follow superstitions even if we don't believe in them. Are there any such superstitions or rituals that you follow?" Good morning y'all...at least, it's morning here right now, and knowing full well that I'm an occasional rambler, it'll probably be afternoonish by the time I get around to finishing my babble for the day. The only thing that's saving this entry today is the pressure to get this done in kind of a hurry...I'm hungry and I won't have internet for the rest of the day after 2pm. I don't know if I'm superstitious anymore, or just one of those OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) types. It seems like whenever I think about getting some neurological explanations in my life regarding the hows and whys of certain things I do, I can never seem to get a straight answer (and no, more prescription medications do not qualify to me as a medically approved "straight answer"). Sure, I had some superstitions when I was younger, but they mostly centered around sports...putting equipment on a certain way, doing specific pregame or pre-match rituals, different training routines. When I'd play goalie in hockey I'd tap my pads with my stick in a specific pattern before each period. I don't know why exactly I did it, but I just kept doing it. Now, I don't have too many quirks I'd categorize as superstition. On nights when I have to set an alarm to wake up in the morning, I triple-check it before I go to bed because I'm paranoid I'll have forgotten to make sure it's set properly and wind up oversleeping. If I get one hand wet I have to get the other hand wet before I dry them. It's a similar thing with shoelaces...if one shoe becomes untied, I have to retie both. I don't know why, but it just aggravates me when things aren't even in a particular way. I also have a weird tendency to count things. When I would stock shelves for instance, I'd count the items as I'd put them into place. Even when I'd have no reason to keep track. Bizarre, I know. Maybe it was just a way of keeping my mind occupied during a mundane task. But outside of the old cliché superstitions (black cats are bad luck, broken mirrors are seven years of bad luck, don't walk under a ladder, the number 13, etc.), I don't really follow anything else I can't attach a tangible explanation to (whether it makes actual sense or not). I figure that kind of stuff to me is similar to watching a movie with a far-fetched plot...I'm too grounded in reality to deal with mystical, somewhat made-up nonsense. It's not from lack of imagination, I assure you. It's just how I am, explanations be damned. Now, after you comment on this, copy and paste it to your email and forward it to 18 of your closest friends and you will receive ultimate happiness. If you do not, you will suffer eleventy-thirty decades of humbling silence while watching animated versions of every blog entry I've ever written. Act now! BCF PROMPT: "Describe a memory or encounter in which you considered your faith, religion, spirituality — or lack of — for the first time." Whew. I'm let off the hook there a little bit with the qualifying phrase "lack of". And you thought I'd say "memory" in the hope that mine would've failed me. Well, sometimes my memory works better than I wish it would, and not for the right reasons. If you've been reading the words I type on a screen for any substantial length of time, you don't have to be a genius to figure out I'm not religious. And to catch up those who are new to this segment of the great unwashed internet population, I'm not exactly very spiritual either...other than my thinking that there's some kind of higher power (that is a woman in nature), I don't really believe in much. I was forced into born Catholic, but at an early age questioned it. I was told the church didn't like sinners, and sinners included people from divorce, people who used birth control, drinkers and smokers, pro-choice advocates, and basically everyone who wasn't blonde, blue-eyed, chaste, straight and clean. I learned hypocrisy at an early age. In my teens I met a girl and learned about the Southern Baptist ways. It was eye-opening, both in good ways and bad. Sure, they were looser and more open and accepting than Catholics. But they were twice as likely to stab you in the back as well. The smaller the congregation, the more everyone knew about you...and if they had a predisposition toward not liking you, they just made stuff up as they went along. In my experiences, what I've learned is that for every denomination, there is at least one hole in their belief system that can shoot down the entire foundation just by questioning any of the tenets in any number of ways. Why should anyone believe fully in something that they constantly find themselves asking questions about and not coming up with satisfactory answers? Or even worse, answers that only seem to apply to some people and not others, or are just backwards and hypocritical at best? Everyone who believes in something preaches faith...but has that faith ever let you down? Has it not come through the way it was laid out for you in the manner you were taught to believe exactly in it and behaved accordingly to? I'm not saying, "Dear God, give me a million bucks and an Xbox and some cool friends"; I'm talking about the teachings and prayers and legitimate stuff your spirituality says is gonna come through for you, but only if you believe. Hey, listen, I'm sure a lot of you don't agree with me, and that's fine. Maybe you're offended by what I wrote. That's nothing new or surprising. Maybe you're sad and want to pray for me...hey, whatever gets you through the night. I'm not gonna apologize for my life or my opinions. We're all different and have seen the world through different experiences. Just because we don't share the same opinions doesn't mean we can't respect each other. And if you're still actually reading this, I wrote something last autumn about a situation I was going through with a few people. It's not a religious item, per se, but it does touch on spirituality and the human aspect...some people choose to believe what they want to believe, whether it's right or not. And that could be pretty much about anything, and not just religion. "Selective Emotional Spirituality" Now say three Hail Marys, five Our Fathers, eight Kum Ba Yahs and a partridge in a pear tree, and all will be forgiven. MUSICAL BREAK!! As individuals, I think what life in the modern era boils down to for everyone is this. As sad and unfortunate as it is.  THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Here's one final thought about religion. It shouldn't define us as people any bit more than anything else we do or believe in. There are just some things I was always told weren't up for discussion: politics, religion, and a woman's weight and age. 4: The amount of servings in one pint of ice cream, as recommended by whoever concedes all the information on the packaging of a pint of ice cream. Those foolish "recommended daily allowance" people...shame on them! Don't they know it's so much easier to eat an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting than it is to wonder how big small four little ounces are? To prove my point, I had a pint of ice cream for breakfast and other in the evening. Once you get started, there's no stopping! And just like that, I've written myself flush outta time. Hopefully tomorrow we'll have something a little more fascinating and less offensive for your eyes and my writing to collaborate with. Peace, and also with you, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Tell us about your talents. Perhaps one we may not know about." Good afternoon, everyone! This prompt comes to you courtesy of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , and in a rare bit of internal silence, I have barely a clue as far as how to approach it. I'm afraid that when it comes to talents, basically what I've got is what you're lookin' at. And I can assure you, it's not payin' the rent. Maybe it's the complex I have about not wishing to be one of those boastful types, so I overlook things I'm supposedly good at. Or maybe it's more likely that the things in life I'm actually really good at are rather inconsequential or generic. Could be. But what is actually happening here is a little phenomenon I'd like to share with you today. It's called "The Christmas Present Theory". Ironically, we're six months away from Christmas Day. How fitting. I'm sure at least once in your life you've been asked this question, or some variation: "What would you like for Christmas/birthday/anniversary/not sucking at life?" And I'm sure 99.3% of the time, that question blindsides you because you didn't see it coming, so you go with stock modesty and say, "Pshawww, you don't have to get me anything!! Just having you around is the only present I need."  There are two things wrong with that answer. 1) It's a blatant lie, especially when you're in a mood that lends itself better to you being alone; and 2) Oh, you know there's something you want, but it's either too luxurious to ask for, or you simply forgot what it was because you were put on the spot. I believe more often than not we know what we want if someone were to pose the question to us, and up until that moment we're almost bursting at the seams waiting to be asked. And when that precious time comes, we clam up. We get performance anxiety. Our heads go into a giant vacuum and we stare blankly at the potential gifter, as if to say the only answer we should give is "Fill my mouth with words, please!" We don't know how to properly answer the question. That's kinda how I feel about my "talents". I could probably do a better job of telling you what I'm not good at, or step aside and let others tell you in their words what my best qualities are. My mind's drawing blanks at the moment...and the blanks are drawn so well they should be framed and hung up on the wall. I'm sure there'd be a decent amount of people that would have no problem offering up their opinions on what it is I do nicely enough for them...and twice as long a line of people wanting to stone me for everything I haven't done to their lofty expectations as well. And in a not-quite-so roundabout way, I think I've answered the prompt by bullshitting my way through another portion of an entry. Maybe I am good for something after all. BCF PROMPT: "'You're braver than you believe.' Do you believe this too? When was the last time you were brave?" It appears all of the kind words I had for yesterday's prompts have disappeared along with the original entry I lost on Monday. I just don't like where this prompt could go one bit. I know we're supposed to "push ourselves" and "be creative", but even when you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. It's true that we can only prepare ourselves so much for any given situation, and we don't really know how we'd truly react until we're actually faced with said situation. Everyone wants to be the hero, but there's also a strong likelihood that we're even more chickenshit than we believe ourselves to be as well. I would like to think I'm lucky, in that I haven't had many opportunities where my manhood's bravery has had to be called into action or be questioned. I've never been in a situation bigger than having to tell someone suspected of shoplifting in my store to "cut the crap" and leave. And even then, it was some crazy ass 80+ year-old guy who was stealing soap and deodorant by hiding it under the kiddie seat flap in his shopping cart. Way to put my meat and potatoes on the line there . Everything I've done "for the sake of bravery" in the end has been reclassified as "in the name of stupid". Getting into a fight with a bigger dude over a girl? Dumb. Proving at the age of 37 you've still got some athleticism in you by jumping over a small bonfire? Busted ankle = not smart. Asking out any of the five hottest girls you've seen in the last six months for a cup of coffee? Are you insane?!?! Yup. I don't need to grow a pair. I need to sprout more of an octet. But just once, I'd like to see how I'd react when there's more than a candy bar and a back rub on the line. I wanna save your kid from a burning building, or pull you from a fiery car crash, or dropkick the masked gunman at the bank. No, wait. Skip all that. Fast-forward to the part where I get the girl in the end. That's all I really want. MUSICAL BREAK!! Still in the talent-determining process. And the learning-to-walk-again process. Neither is an easy proposition right now. <insert jobless, semi-crippled emoticon here>THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Some words of wisdom on the subject of bravery... Among my many non-talents (in the "rated below XXX" category): money spending, nacho consumption, sleep-fighting, silly facial expression making, sandwich creating, irrationalization, and knuckle-cracking.10: Weeks since I've filed my NYS tax return. It's normally a 6-8 week turnaround. I did a Google search of "Where is my NY tax refund" and an interesting website pops up where you can find out by putting in your social security number and anticipated refund amount. The weird part...in order for this website to actually work, you hafta know what you think you're getting back. Which I did not when I tried to look into this yesterday. So I had to find a copy of my return, which I had, only I never finished filling it out to have a record of a dollar amount. I basically had to redo my state taxes last night just so I could track my return today. I inputted the figure necessary, and according to New York, "We received your return and it required further review. While most returns are reviewed within 4 weeks, it may take up to 6 weeks to complete our review." Great...so, a federal income tax return (short form) is one page, front and back, in fairly decent-sized print, and I get my return in 2-3 weeks no problem, but a state income tax return is 2 pages (front and back) in much smaller print with more lines, the refund is 1/5th the amount I got from the feds, and there's some sort of problem with it?? Are you kidding me? And NY wonders why people leave the state in droves. I </3 NY.  An updated list of much-needed WDC emoticons: broken heart, chains, ninja, smiley face of some kind with a halo over it, and a drum set. Pass this list along.Alrightey...while I figure out my current dilemma of staying seated in front of a fan or moving somewhere closer to an outlet so I can plug my dying laptop's battery in, y'all stay cool. Peace, ob-la-di, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "Smartphones." What's up y'all? Well, I've done it. Not even five entries into this blog and I've managed to lose an entire entry. 95% of the way done and I lost the whole thing because Windows decided it wanted to refresh every damn tab that I had open. So much for being in a good mood today. Normally I'd just be WTeffin' up and down Port Watson Street about my misfortune. I don't even remember everything I wrote. And I know I had this exchange the other day with an esteemed colleague regarding how we write, and using Wordpad versus just bangin' away in the WDC text box. I hate to admit it, but he was right. I should've used Wordpad. Anyway, two good prompts today from the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" and the "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" . I don't often agree with one word prompts, but for my sanity's sake I'll take it today.I miss my smartphone. More specifically, my Blackberry. Here's a simple point/counterpoint, or at least a snapshot of my cellular phone usage now (which has changed drastically in the last two years): I charged my no-nothing Samsung piece of crap phone last night for the first time in two or three weeks. Awesome battery life, you might say. Nae, say I, because I've barely turned the thing on over the same period of time. No Tweeting in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. No checking Facebook while waiting in line. No hearing of the "ding" when I have a new email. Nothing. Just calls and texts. Not even a camera, let alone internet. It's almost pointless, since I don't make or answer phone calls anyway. It's crazy to see not only how dependent we are on our smartphones, but how loyal we are to them as well. Once we find something we like, we stick to it because we don't like change. Apple users are Apple-driven. Android users have apps for everything. And the 10 other people in the world like me who love Blackberry will never give them up, even if it's been a good year and a half since developers came out with a decent app for Blackberry. And don't think I don't see all you people out there, waving your iPhones trying to get some face time with me so you can flaunt your precious Siri in front of me. I know you're twitching, dying to ask me why I have yet to convert. Well, I'll tell you why...it's really simple. When Apple comes out with a 160GB (that's 160...a 16 with a zero at the end) iPhone, and I can afford it, I'll consider it. I had a 120GB iPod once with over 14,000 songs on it (that was stolen during the great outdoor nap/electronics thievery fiasco of last summer), so what was the point of having another device that wouldn't do what I wanted it to do? When Apple can handle my music collection, I'll see about getting an iPhone. I had a Windows phone once...one of the last pre-Android models, with an awesome web browser. Blogging from it was great...it interfaced beautifully with WDC. That was about the only plus that phone had. I upgraded to the Blackberry flip phone because I got a great deal from the provider I was using at the time, and it was a nice phone (even if the browser kinda sucked). After that, I switched providers to get an even better deal, and got a better Blackberry flip phone with unlimited text, data, calling, and all that fun stuff. I hate touch screen phones, and flip phones prevent against butt-dialing, the bane of all mobile technology. If you've never answered a butt-dialed call, I'm convinced you're living in a third world nation. Plus, I already had the Blackberry software with my contacts and info installed on my computer. There was a seamless transition from previous phone to better phone with just an update on the operating system. I'm sure I made other points about smartphones. They're handy and helpful. They're distracting and dangerous. But to someone like me, who barely has use for communication most of the time, it really doesn't matter. Gimme two soup cans and a string and I'll still find a way to get a giggle outta ya somehow. And if you do try to call me, make sure you leave a message. If I actually check them, I'll call you back when I feel like it. BCF PROMPT: "Which are more important in the world: writers and thinkers or scientists and inventors?" Prompts. It seems like when it rains, it pours. Sometimes, we go through a string of mediocre, frozen sugar-water popsicle prompts, and then it's all-you-can-eat soft serve with every imaginable topping for a short spell. This week must be the Ben & Jerry's world tour (and I don't eat very much ice cream, but this is my absolute favorite if you must know: http://www.theicecreaminformant.com/2012/09/review-ben-jerrys-chubby-hubby.html) of prompts. This line of questioning can be filed among existential lines of thinking. Like "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" or "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's around, does it make a sound?". What makes a better hamburger, the beef patty or the bun? So many times, you can look at these kinds of thoughts and justify an answer, one way or the other. Then I come along to throw a stick in your bicycle tire. See, in my world, there's a place for both. You can't have one group without the other. Neither side is successful without the others' contributions. Most scientists and inventors started out with dreams and ideas...they were writers and thinkers who became doers with the right means. And some of the best writers and thinkers wouldn't have been able to see their dreams become reality without the mental mechanics of the scientists and inventors. Indulge me if you will, please. Writers put thoughts down into something tangible that can be studied and is unlike that of an average person. Science is a written knowledge of proven ideas and theories about why certain things are the way they are. Inventors take both what is written and what is known, and use their creativity to fill in the gaps with what is needed to bridge dreams with reality. It's really simple if you think about it...all four words can almost be interchangeable, if only metaphorically and if you allow yourself to see it as such. Each one plays an important role; without any one of the four components as a part of a larger process, nothing in the last 100, 200 or 500 years would have changed to make the world a better (or more convenient) place. Again, I know I made better points originally before the refresh button on the cloud somehow turned my long babbling into a blank screen, but I have one more anecdote I'd like to share along the lines of this particular prompt. It reminds me of something I wrote several years ago about my youngest brother. I hadn't seen him in awhile, so we made plans to get together and meet up one day when I got out of work. He lived on the opposite side of town, about a 45 minute walk away, and my store was about ten minutes from my house, but the store was the best meet-up spot in-between. Bro Mike skateboarded the entire way, even though the weather was crappy outside. He did it because he loved it and he wanted to hang out with me, even though I wasn't a big skater and I was 14 years older than him. It was then that I realized if you do what you love, no matter what, you'll always be happy. "Skateboards and Notebooks (for Mike)" MUSICAL BREAK!!  I (like many of you, I'm sure) live in and grew up in an amazingly exponential generation when it comes to communication. When I was a kid we had a rotary (dial) telephone. Then it was touch-tone. Answering machines with cassettes came along...then the cassettes got smaller. Eventually we put cordless phones in every room in the house, and everybody's pocket has a cell phone. Personally, I haven't had a land-line phone in at least 10 years. There's no longer a point (except for natural disasters, but even then there are work-arounds). As quickly as it seems this feature of communication became popular, so has it become obsolete.  THE DAILY BOX SCORE:  Like I said earlier about prompts, I missed a good one this weekend in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : "Write a letter to a teacher who gave you a hard time in high school or grade school." I'm not gonna write a letter, but I'll say this: I was probably the only kid in the 6th grade "Gifted & Talented" program to feel like he was in danger of failing that year. I didn't get good grades, and my teacher knew I could do better, which is probably why she didn't like me...and she wasn't even supposed to be my teacher! I started out lucky that year...I got the "cool" teacher everyone wanted, but after a week or two it was determined that classes were too big, so they created another class and pulled a handful of kids from each room to go to the new teacher's class. And wow...she was the meanest, coldest, nastiest woman. She made people openly and legitimately wonder why she chose teaching as her profession. I can still feel the roll of her eyes whenever I had a little sense of pride over getting a good grade, because she felt I should always have good grades. Her sense of sense was palpable like that, because she knew also who shouldn't get good grades and wasn't surprised. Her classroom is the only one I can remember exactly, because it was the only one that never changed throughout the course of the year. And that was over 25 years ago! I ran into her a few years back, while I was still working at Walgreens. I might not have recognized her, but her (lack of) hairdo hadn't changed and I saw her name on her credit card. Still as mean and curmudgeonly as ever...and she was old when I was a student! I was surprised she was even still alive (I know that sounds mean, but you don't know this woman the way I did). I think she made me write the definitions for both "homework" and "quiet" each well over a thousand times...if fingers have a certain amount of miles in them they're good for writing with over a hand's course of a lifetime, it's her fault I've needed new ones for a long time. And then there's this one, which I'll touch briefly on: "Tell us about the last book you read (Why did you choose it? Would you recommend it?)." I read in spurts. I don't read often, but when I do I read in bunches. I think over the winter the last book I read was Neil Young's biography. It was a new release and I was curious about his life story. As it turns out, it wasn't interesting at all. I love a lot of his work as a musician, but many chapters read like a long commercial for some of his other projects and interests. It wasn't even close to anything a rock 'n roll icon's life would be like. What I'm supposed to be reading now is Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. My therapist recommended it, but I haven't made enough time to want to get myself past the introduction yet. And it's due back at the library on July 1st...I've already renewed it once. I better get going on that.5 for 5 PowerAde is on sale at CVS this week... buy five 32oz bottles for $5, and you get a $2 coupon off your next purchase. It was so hot yesterday I drank four bottles (or more than twice what I usually take in). Yes, it's that hot. Have you seen this month's issue of the "Invalid Item" ? According to the editor, it's got a little something for everyone who's ever written or read a blog in their lifetime. Plus, this month's editor is a dashing chap...he's a Leo, likes long walks (when his ankle can handle them), and is world-renown for his unrenowned-ness. Please do give the newsletter a once- or twice-over! And I must offer a very special thank you to Princess Megan Rose 22 Years  for the brand new WDC Blogging merit badge! Not only is it a very cool honor, but it's about time Blogging got its own bit of recognition on WDC apart from "journaling". It means great strides have been made for our community, and it's another step in the right direction for the engagement of bloggers.Alright, now that I feel like I've typed two (or is it six...I've lost count) full entries, I'm heading out for the day. Gonna catch up on some reading here and maybe get some decent sleep (and that's been an issue for another time y'all). Peace, like Ma Bell I got the ill communication, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
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Also, I learn a lot of my random facts by being that one person who reads all those tiny little things especially in nature/science museums. So many awesomely amazing things, and some museums contradict their information and I'll call over an expert and be like... uhhh, contradiction?? 