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 |   A terminal for all blogs coming in or going out. A view into my life. |
Started July 1st 2019 for contests, etc. as other blogs are filling up and have other purposes.  I'm starting a new blog because
I'll be linking to
I've started an appendix (I no longer have one personally) to keep track of my Space Cadet journals for Space Blog. It's a work constantly under construction. Mind the mess.
I needed to start a folder for contests as there are so many deadlines and details to remember.
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 14 59 at 9-ish... which sounds better than it is. Little air flow in my room even with window open, fan on, and door ajar. 85 degrees at 3. I've only spoken to Billie Jo today while eating my spiced up mac&cheese. Back in 2016 I wrote about myself: "Born in the Eastern Great Lakes, a lover of gardens, a student of biology, a graduate of Kansas... where his hidden heart still beats. A lyrical voice struggling to capture in poetry and prose his sojourn in Costa Rica, his escape from the workforce, resurrection in Oklahoma. Drawn to Montana like Russian thistle, a global traveler in search of a place to call home." Reviewing my poetry/prose. Must find two to enter to contests today. But... it's proving to be an amusing read! Methodically going through blogs: "L'aura del Campo"  : "Anatomy of a pochette [50]" An ovi... maybe for Trad Poetry?"Cherries before chores [48]" was rejected without comment. Not very strong, so no loss."One beat [47]" a likeable drabble... nowhere to send it. "Fruits of inaction [46]" could still enter in Shadows, maybe TYP."Starbucks, Anytown, USA [32]" not quite an ovi... but sunny in a way... Humor?"A dog in Uvalde [179.24]" serious 8 lines. Which contest? "Static [22] " promising but would need edit."'22 Dew Drop #13 Nature... "Paid for with your arrogance"" not bad, but..."'22 Dew Drop #9 "Oh. No." [18]" one-side of a convo... attitude showing.  "Hoarfrosts from Hell" : "Still Swedish" Great flow, could be turned into a poem for Shadows!"Enga mellom fjella" : "he must've left his leg somewhere else [56]" dialogue, short, could it be part of something bigger... horror? "Stranger in a stranger's land" entered in SoundVision."Dancing in the Earthlight [53]" I must've entered this... somewhere. The Big One?"Along the Po [52] [~530 words]" a bit vampish  flash... horror?"Moonpies on Mars" with an edit could easily be entered somewhere."Teeth-of-the-lions [49] ~275 words" july entry to Schnujo."A dog with violet eyes [41] 285 words" no love *sad* could be edited and worked with"The hand that threw the brick stopped the train [38] 275w" ditto"For the love of a button [35] (284 words)" I really like this!  So... submitted: "[to the arm] L4" to TYP and "Still Swedish" to Shadows.To Beholden re his entry "Greyhound" : "Well written. I met some real characters on buses and trains. Planes? Not as often as people tend to want to be left alone.They also tend to be poor. And the poor have stories beyond matching designer luggage. It's why I stay in hostels rather than hotels. The people I meet when alive will have memories of me long after my passing." 13  Market Day. 70 this morning. I need to take a shower and go. A bit listless. Goal: find something for Shadows&Light. Where are my notes... Snews: Rushdie... mixed emotions. 1. I think "Satanic Verses" was worse than a poor choice of words. 2. The fatwa was extreme, but an historically consistent reaction (see Tahirih). 3. Crossing international borders can create an international crisis. USA does this often. 4. Chautauqua Institute is a very peaceful place and it's disturbing for me personally as I've been there. 5. There is no excuse for the level of violence used against Rushdie. 11 am. I'm stuck to my chair. Huckleberry danish from Irina. Cricket-flour pumpkin-spice cookie from Ann  .Chocolate-lavender shake and coffee at BH. I felt much better after a great discussion with Charles. 5 pm. 91°F with 22% humidity. Not too bad. I'm home. A good travel article (family of 6): https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/how-to-plan-a-trip-to-europe/ar-AAZeK2I... Noe Kurtz on fb: "Don't be the bacon in someone's vegan soup." Posted. No response.  Days are getting noticeably shorter. Forgot that Vice-Versa posts on Saturday. Watching episode 5 (winter white). It snows in Thailand... Tonight's meal was one potato... a big one. I commented to Jim: "In May '99 I met someone who unlocked my Muse. A magical moment in Michigan. Don't think I've ever been back except for a flight connection. I suspect something else was let loose as well. The next three years were turbulent. Not quite like your story... but magical moments never are." 12  62 degrees at 8-ish. 65 @ 9. 70 @ 10. Sweat all night. Miserable for sleeping. Shower before bedtime; shower when I get up. I should be happy that I'm losing a bit of 'water' weight. I keep hydrated. --- Willow watches as hot winds brush her long tresses, two blackbirds squawking at passersby, where stunted cattails stand stoic in defiance to this drought. Do yesterday's sorrows predict tomorrow's triumphs or more trials that erode our soul's grip on life's earthly plane, as eyes blink and lashes brush away its dying tears. [60] To Petra: "I cringed as the dishes winked at me... Cooked a pork roast in vinegar last night in spite of the 33 degree heat... a spicy lazy-man's sauerbraten.  I cleaned up the dishes this morning." Maybe I should've written "I removed the evidence this morning." Sat with Merry for lunch; chatted with Jamie. Scored: white rice, brown rice, a box of farina. To Holly: "Well, Fox and Fascist both begin with F as does fake, faux and another four letter word." Only 90 degrees, just before 4. Toxic drama? Be boring. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/try-the-gray-rock-method-a-foolproof-t... 83 at 5 with a 15 NW mph  . Quite refreshing. There have been a few stray drops. Empty promises/threats imho. 70 degrees at 21:30. To Stik re WDC activity: "It's been 7 TROUBLESOME years since Dave wrote these two wondrous lines: With petulant pout, some flatulent lout blew riveting rhapsody through his rectal flute. A response to some of your points: 1. Quite a few popular contests (like Taboo) are on hiatus due to lack of entries. Neither "Second Time Around" nor "Dark Dreamscape" are very narrow in scope. But many contests are as you note. Too narrow isn't good imho. Also: responsible hosts can make a huge difference. 2. My blog experience: 6002 views as of August 12 '22 5508 views as of January 1 '22 Less than 500 views in over 7 months, or about 2 views/day. 4908 on Aug 12 '21 3517 on Jan 1 '21 Almost 1,400 views in the same period, or about 6 views/day 2020 = 2,600/year or 7/day. 2008 (Different blog: August 13th 7204 - January 2nd 1587) = 5600 over a similar period as 2020/2021 or about 25/day. Blogging at WDC was very different in 2008. 3. Post-covid activity may be a factor as I noted on January 15th 2022. I wrote: My thoughts... I need to get out more and reconnect face-to-face. It looks like covid-omicron will become endemic like the flu. Very contagious but not so lethal. As the world comes to terms with that I suspect countries will open up. I will need to dream about traveling, do research, makes plans. Go! I have unfinished writing projects. I have unfinished business in my personal life. My on-line addiction has gotten in the way of living. It helped during the shutdown, but 2 years is far too long. I'm getting old in many ways and if movement = life, then I've been comatose. 2021 was the first year since 2006 that I didn't travel. This is only sustainable if I'm making funeral arrangements. 4. I'm not a fan of 'fun and games' but there's a very strong and active group that is. To me, that's not a focus on writing... just my opinion. " 11  70 degrees at 10 and warming. Little relief for some of us. My room is stuffy. Billie Jo kept her door ajar last night; it cooled off some but no air flow. Now 74 at 10:40 and 54% humidity. Tie me to a tree till I turn yellow, admire my slick hard topaz, stroke soft shades of mellow... Became a very bitter poem: "Draft of '72 [58]" 91 at four o'clock. Hopefully no warmer. 103 in the forecast... again. Mostly sat alone with my taco salad and chocolate cake today. I have cooking to do... but in this heat? Pork roast is in the oven. It's only 92 outside. Learning: "Truyên Kiêu," or the "Tale of Kiêu." This masterpiece, ranking with the greatest achievements of Asian and world literature, was written by Nguyen Du in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Link: https://johnpavlovitz.com/2022/04/10/a-funeral-for-my-christianity-2/?utm_campai... "It isn’t the Gospel. It isn’t Good News for the poor and marginalized. It isn’t the Prince of Peace. It isn’t the perfect love that casts out fear. It isn’t Jesus by any measure. It’s a toxic cocktail of power, control, fear, nationalism, and white privilege—and it looks much more like the bloated opulence of Rome than the early Church that resisted it. People have said that the MAGA Evangelical movement has hijacked Jesus but I don’t believe that’s true. They have hijacked the word Christian. Jesus is of no use to them." Reworking the lament of John Pavlovitz: The Church of Amerikkka: It isn't the Gospel. It isn’t Good News for the poor and marginalized. It isn’t the Prince of Peace. It isn’t the perfect love that casts out fear. It isn’t Jesus by any measure. It’s a toxic cocktail of power, control, fear, nationalism, and white privilege. And it's the platform we see in DeSantis' vision for Florida and the CMTA. Rain slashes the window panes.  65 degrees at 9 pm. 74 at 9:35. Temp rebounded a bit but it should cool off tonight... I hope.  10 74 degrees at 9-ish. Never cooled down. Miserable night for sleeping. AQ outside is good; dust inside is troublesome. Am I having an epiphany? An interesting approach about letting go of a relationship that will never be. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/erika-ettin-let-sleeping-ghosts-lie/ar-AA10woR... Pork roast, tuna and bologna were on 'sale'. Tuna casserole for lunch. Sat with Laxmi, Dalton, Willie, Monte. 84 and muggy at 2 pm. I understand how DJT feels violated. But the GOP's response is troubling. More concern about a white-man's property than a woman's right to her body. Only 76 at 7-ish... still 76 at 8-ish. Rain? I haven't seen any drops. 72 at 10 on-the-dot. That's midnight WDC time. No news. No rain. 09 64 degrees at 9, but a hot day forecast. Each day a day of ennui. But slowly... much better than last year when I was listless. 90 at 2 with 17% humididy... okay in the shade if you make like a sloth and don't move. Otherwise... 97 at 5. May not go triple digits! Did get up to 99 but falling now after 6. Saw Kathy, Bill, Don, Kathi, Dalton... chicken was tender today and so were the brussel sprouts. I brought my half-banana home. Do I trust the FBI? Not really. Do I trust Trump? Not really. Donald may have met his match. The FBI will not play his childish games. To QotD: "My mind is scattered. Which moment were you referring to? I'm commenting to Kittiara right now. I referred her to QotD as I feel that this website has been comatose. Frankly? I'm dreading the Birthday Bash. What I need is more writers willing to interact with reviews or comments. Merit badges have become almost meaningless in the last 2 years. I feel like I'm watching Oprah '97 at times... "and you get a car and you get a car and you..." But my needs =/= other writer's needs. My rant includes all case-colors. Lots of blue and purple cases that seldom interact. Why would a lowly black-case newbie bother when folks with brighter colors and 4 numbers after their name don't? And... what encouraged folks 15 years ago may be a barrier nowadays. Just like Elle told Kittiara... things have shifted. And although that's to be expected it's cause for concern for those of us who wonder "who moved my cheese". If I were a mod I'd be asking questions and seeking solutions...but I'm not and never will be. I can't take drama and as a marginalized minority am used to being on the outside looking in and having my suggestions pooh-poohed. Perhaps the SMs could do a real-life survey of young writers and find out what their needs are. Personally, I have no clue. But all social-media platforms have issues as demographics and priorities shift." It's not cooling down. 08 67°F 19°C at 10:30. Very pleasant. Will get windy later but not as hot as originally forecast (we hope). That said... if anyone starts a fire it'll burn the whole town down. To Schnujo: I suspect what you say about articles [selling products] is true. Maybe I should write something to prove the point... but good Regency Romance writers do it all the time. My poem (a cento woven from other poems) "Once in Iceland [169.105]" and short story "Á Ragnvadr (Ragnvadr's River)" take me and the reader to Iceland. I've never been there (except for the airport). Fortunately, I'm not selling anything. Even when I write about my travels I have nothing for sale. Which brings me to "The Best 10 places to ______." Usually based on party-hard, smooze with the glitteratti, least discomfort (crime, brown-skinned-people, don't-speak-English, restrictive laws); places everyone goes to or dreams about: London, Paris, Rome plus 7 more (including 2 "newly-found" places with excellent tourist bureaus). It's all very White-Middle-Class oriented... and tiresome. For products we used Consumer Reports growing up. For travel I use various guide-books. Then I decide for myself and share my experiences. Must've gone to bed early as I woke up early but didn't get up. I don't sleep well at home. I lay back down, but must say that my waking-dream was very pleasant and not to be shared here. "Strawberry Down" is all I'll mention. Strawberry Shortcake ▼ Brewed a mix of Kona and Ethiopian this morning. I'll go to God's Waiting Room for biscuits-and-gravy and ask whether anyone checked out over the weekend. Not likely, but one should be polite. A must-read: "Invalid Item" A toasty 86 at 2 pm. Sat with Merry and Ron, Charles and Laxmi. Nobody died over the weekend... that we know of. A note found while 'cleaning': De espanha: nem bom vento; nem bom casamento. 92 at 6 pm. Not moving much. Don't care much either. 91 at 7 and falling? 22 past the hour, my dears. My favorite time, any day, any hour. But, I've misplaced my glasses and can't be bothered to decipher your twitterings. Frankly, my dears, until I find my glasses I don't give a ____. 5989 |
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. That's good, right? Or did you just list those checked? 
