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Mutterings, musings and general brain flatulence. |
Here be mushrooms 
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| There are chopsticks on the floor all around, a sari draped over a pair of chairs and my mother-in-law is cooking on the floor with my three-year-old nephew. They've been camping. "We need to collect sticks from the forest, Josef." "Let's take the sticks back to our tent, Josef." "Now we build a fire and cook our dinner, Josef." Josef is having the time of his life. Granny looks after him once a week, every week (in fact, twice this week, he was here yesterday too) - but it's still an adventure. A few props and plenty of attention and he's in clover. I've been really struggling lately (with a number of silly things, nothing serious!) and as such writing's taken a back seat. I think I got about five days in to the 30-Day Blogging Challenge (way to go me!) and I've got a stack of editing I've been putting off and putting off. Yet listening to Josef playing this morning has given me motivation to delve back into my imagination and take a wonder through some of my worlds. Hopefully even this short blog entry will limber up a few writing muscles and act as a warm-up stretch. And if I don't get anywhere, well then I might just climb under the sari-tent and go camping with a three-year-old.     |
| Creation Saturday; You're in charge of building the ideal robot- the robot science fiction has been telling us for decades is eventually gonna exist. What is it going to look like, how is it going to function, and what role will it play in your day-to-day existence...complementary, or otherwise? Well firstly, no self-respecting anyone is going to put me in charge of building a robot. I've already suggested to S.O. that we convert the retaining wall of our new build into a climbing wall, have a moat and put in a portcullis. If he's not going to go along with these quite reasonable modifications, the idea of letting me run amok with technology and science are hardly likely.   The single biggest sci-fi invention I'm waiting to see become reality is the teleport; think of the time saved on commuting or going out (and no fear of being the designed driver ever again!). As someone who loves far-flung destinations, but seriously begrudges the travel time just getting to the airport (my nearest semi-decent one is over three hours away and Heathrow is probably an entire day, even by car let alone public transport) I often wish I could just be zapped somewhere else. Lunch at Copacabana and dinner in New York? Quick dip off the Maldives followed by a roaring fire in an alpine ski lodge? Yes please. So forget The Jetsons or Forbidden Planet; my ideal robot would be a floor pad with a panel for inputting GPS co-ordinates, preferably with a 'get changed & do make up en route' function too.  |
| Fun Fact Friday: On this day in 1981, the second scheduled flight of the space shuttle Columbia was halted with only 31 seconds left in the countdown. Has there ever been a situation that you went through a lot of trouble trying to pull off (or really looked forward to) only to see it cancelled at the last minute? How did you feel about it, and was it, in retrospect, a good or bad decision? As you might have guessed from the entry title, this is a bit of a topical sore point for me right now. A couple of things in Real Life have been cancelled or put off recently (including something this morning actually); but the biggie at the moment is my sister not coming for a visit in August. She lives several hours away (which in the UK is something we do make a big deal about as an hour's drive is considered arduous to most Brits*). She had been intending to come down for a week with her partner (who never tries more than about 50miles from home) & his family, and catch up with lots and lots of people - our family on both sides and my meet my partner's family. Massive plans had been made for a huge family get together with all four sides plus my dad's new wife and step-son. And about ten days before the holiday, she rings to drop the bombshell that she and bf of seven years have broken up. Torn between 'yay you finally got rid of the lump' and 'oh hell, chick, you sure you're okay?' the were a lot of phone calls back and forth over the next few weeks, as you can imagine. For numerous reasons, now ex-bf and his family still came down for their holiday leaving sis behind. And they holiday park they stayed at? Run by my bf's family.... Awkward. Sis is now completely separate from ex-bf and is dating a guy she met online. And on Monday I'm driving her to the airport so she can move out to N.Carolina to live with him........ And I thought a six hour drive was bad. Not sure I have any words left.  *an American friend once pointed out '100 years is a long time to an American, 100 miles is a long way for a Englishman.' |
The Wildcard Round;  What makes you feel lucky?   Yesterday my friend, Muriel, posted a picture of her and her daughter standing under an umbrella inside with a caption saying how her daughter had carefully opened the umbrella after peeking in and claiming 'it's okay, there is no bad luck inside!' According to Muriel, it is difficult to explain the concept of bad luck to a lucky three year old.      How do you define luck? I often find myself particularly lucky after praying; y'know, just sayin' maybe there's a correlation....    I did scour YouTube for a clip of either Rimmer or Lister 'suffering' from the Luck Virus, but there doesn't seem to be any. So in second place (contentious only if you've never watched Red Dwarf) here is a bit of Frank Sinatra and the Bellagio fountains - Luck Be A Lady: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=I_8RQzFuwVw&list=RDI_8RQzFuwVw#t=62  |
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Evelyn Beatrice Hall War Chest Wednesday; What is the difference between 'judging' someone and simply 'disagreeing' with someone? Is it possible to let someone know you disagree with them without judging them? I've spent most of the day mulling over this question; unfortunately I mis-remembered it as disagreeing and arguing (i.e. having a full-blown fight). I even came up with (what I at least think is) a great little analogy about disagreeing being like aching after the gym (if I never do another AMRAP slam-ball again.... ) and fighting being like recovering from the flu..... Oh well.Still, in my opinion, judging is even more unpleasant. It's not just telling a person you differ in opinion, it's telling them that in someway or another you think they are actually inferior. Disagreeing about things can be healthy; it shows independent thinking and, hopefully, still allows for respect of the other person. A difference in opinion can lead to compromise or 'agreeing to disagree'; judging doesn't allow for either. For instance, the S.O. is currently building us a house (*shrieks, dances up and down, shrieks for joy some more*) and we have hugely differing tastes. Give me a 200yr old farmhouse with two-foot thick granite walls, books in every room* and at least three random species of animal roaming free. S.O. prefers steel-and-glass everywhere, stark white walls, books with a stratospheric photo-to-word ratio. And pets happen to other people. Thankfully whenever we've sat down to discuss things there is always a middle ground where, whilst never our first choices, neither of us is unhappy - he gets his white paint and I'm having a library.** But if we started judging each other.... Judging is visceral. Yes it's possible to judge favourably, but it's also less common. Judging is emotional and so often hurtful. Disagreeing allows for acceptance of another's opinion, if it is opinions that are in question, or logical discussion, if it a subject with a definitive answer (e.g. maths). I could go on, but frankly my shoulders are killing me; tempting though it is to judge Coach Ted as evil, sadistic, and misbegotten, I shall try and go with simple disagreement; he thinks I can do 50 slam-balls without throwing up. I don't. *except the bathroom; books and steam don't mix well. ** okay, it's a box room given over to bookshelves. I'm calling it a library, because I can. |
| Day One: 30-Day Bloggers Group challenge. Talk Tuesday: With Christmas right around the corner (there are only eight more Fridays 'til then!)...do you pick up gifts here and there throughout the year, do you try to get as much as you can in as few trips as possible, or are you a last-minute shopper? And if you don't celebrate Christmas, tell us about your favorite gift-giving occasion.  So, today I took delivery of six unicorns. Or, more precisely, two unicorn-shaped lip balms, two unicorn-shaped tape dispensers (the rainbow coloured tape makes the tail  ) and two shower caps vaguely resembling the LSD taking lovechild of a white pony and a rhinoceros. All stocking fillers for my sisters (aged 29 and 25. What of it?).I love buying things - for me, for others. Who cares (apart from my bank card?), but I do hate, hate, hate Christmas shopping. Mostly because that many people crammed into overheated shops, bratty kids with sticky fingers breaking stuff, and the general spirit of no-cheer. Throw into the mix that December is the busiest month of the year at work (I'm a pharmacist and woe-betide the chemist that dare close for a full two days) and I get a bit cranky. So hooray for Amazon and horses with spikes sticking out of their heads.  PS The StoryMaster   isn't it time we had a unicorn emoji?  |
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