![]() |
Daily scribbles on writing and living. How to get rid of cobwebs in my brain. CLOSED. |
I am over the moon with joy this morning, as I got an anonymous gift from a co-writer on WdC. I can set up a blog for the coming three months since someone paid for an upgrade. If you ever read this Anonymous One, thank you so much! Many thanks to "Request An Upgrade From RAOK" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I have to think about this for a moment. Don't want to rush it, don't want to solely vent or underestimate the value of a daily blog for my writing. So I will carefully try to explore what it will bring me. “All my life, my heart has sought a thing I cannot name. Remembered line from a long-forgotten poem” ― Hunter S. Thompson, Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga When I was a teenager, my little brother stole my journal out of my bedroom and read it. I was so disappointed and mad about his action, I destroyed my writing and have been struggling with the concept of conveying my inner thoughts ever since. So, I will send my daily scribbles to the world. On How to get rid of cobwebs in my brain. To let in some air and rejoice. For another clumsy attempt at writing, check out "All fingers and thumbs " ![]() I am a Rising Star from ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Comments, scribbles, and notes welcome! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Thanks, 🌕 HuntersMoon ![]() Note ▼ |
![]() Pain is a good thing to the body because it warns you that something is amiss. It is a warning system that without one could be very harmful and even kill you. So although it is perceived as negative it is a positive thing to prepare yourself as a human being to the dangers of the outside world, or to the notion something has to be addressed to inside your body. ![]() I am not sure to which news this is referring to, but if it refers to the new President of the USA, then I don’t tell my characters the news in as much it has no bearing on the story. Normally my stories are a-political so it lays out in a non-political setting. If it is a political write, then of course, my characters need to know the changes that are in place at the moment. It depends on what type of plot and character if there is activism, future sfi, a wilderness, or closed environment in which the action takes place. ![]() ![]() |
![]() World Hello Day has begun in 1973 by saying hello to people in order to bring peace and understanding through communication. I think it’s a lovely attempt to bring some joy in these dark times. I found ten quotes on peace that are worth reflecting on. Happy Hello Day to all! ![]() ![]() |
![]()
in
![]() ![]() |
![]() It is the phrase used when celebrities or semi-celebrities in television shows show their bedrooms. They don’t want to use the word sex on the air so they are disguising their referral to this phrase. The magic being the magical time in bed with their spouse, other half or one night stands, depending on the situation. I think real celebs that are that because they have done something important are less willing to show their intimate quarters to the public, but the has-beens and would-be celebs show it with great enthusiasm. I am not sure why because it is of no importance to me to look at another person’s bed. I am not very interested in those things. A lot of so-called celebs have money but no taste when it comes to decorating their houses. A lot look alike since it is done by the same interior decorators in the same style. And a bed is just a bed! ![]() I agree with the first quote. Universal truths are hard to find. What’s the truth to one person is just an opinion to another. It all depends on perspective, history, and place in time. There are however things a lot of societies hold dear like: thou shalt not kill. But at the same time, there are a lot of wars, murders, and killings by governments so people break that rule all the time. I am an adept of postmodernism with great skeptics towards ideology and absolute truths. I think people and societies use narratives with their own interpretation, context, and constructs. ![]() Of course this is meant to be funny, and it is. I am also a skeptic to astrology, but I find it amusing sometimes to look at the horoscope and see what the day has in store for me, a Leo: ![]() ![]() |
![]()
![]() Fritz the Cat (1965-1972). Fritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "super city" of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focuses on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently goes on wild adventures that sometimes involve sexual escapades. It had somewhat of a cult status in my teens. ![]() Fear and the self. If it is rescuing someone else from a house on fire you have to put aside your fear of getting burned yourself. In all other cases involving bravery, the self is mostly the factor that stands in your way. You have to be able to put someone else’s life or well-being before your own. In normal everyday life that is not something that is taught, in the military, though, they still have those values of honor and courage and bravery. ![]() We call a story Dickensian when the emphasis is still on the poor social conditions. Tiny Tim in 2016? Dickens did not explicitly say what Tiny Tim's illness was. A possibility is rickets, a disease of children caused by vitamin D deficiency, characterized by imperfect calcification, softening, and distortion of the bones typically resulting in bow legs. Appropriate supplementation with calcium and vitamin D will lead to healing of the bony defects within days to months. Severe bowing, seen in longer-standing cases of rickets, may also resolve over a number years without requiring surgical intervention. ![]() ![]() |
![]()
Breath in, breath out: sitting in Zen on a cushion. Think of nothing else but your respiration. Live in this moment. Try not to get cramps! 139 characters. ![]() UNICORN. ![]() We in The Netherlands don’t have Black Friday, or Thanksgiving Day. We never say thank you or show our gratitude once a year like Americans do. I like the thought of a festivity surrounded by gratitude and the celebration of friends and family. It seems like a wonderful tradition. ![]() Although we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving Day I would like to express my gratitude for my life in general at the moment. I am a very happy person with lots to thank for at this moment in time. My health is reasonable, I have a few nice friends whom I see every now and then, my family is alright and my dog is old but healthy. I live in a nice cozy apartment and am blessed to live in a country without war, famine or any major trouble for decades now. Although the world is in turmoil and the future is uncertain with a lot of things going on at present I have hope things will turn out for the better. ![]() ![]() |
![]() Reading physical books instead of an e-reader; using my ordinary cell phone to make phone calls and text messages instead of an I-phone; doing the dishes by hand instead of a washing machine. Apart from the first one, I have an e-reader but don’t use it often; it all comes down to lack of money (I-phone) and space (washing machine). Secretly I enjoy being somewhat from the old school. ![]() Indeed magic exists. For me it all comes down to experiencing Nature. I can be touched by a spark in the sky when I see trees or watch the clouds or enjoy a stroll outside in the pouring rain with the light of day and the smells of wet grasses and mud. But also experiencing the behavior of my dog or feel the working existence of my Muse when I write. Magic is awesome, it is a sense of awe and wonder in a mundane world, it is that sudden realization that there is more to Life that meets the eye, that I am part of a bigger picture, that there is that unknown world of fantasy, mystery and belief out there letting me know that it is real. ![]() Perhaps the best way to approach Life is to let Life surprise you and then adjust to it. I’ve noticed that when I want to force things to happen it never does, but when I adapt to Life’s turn out and make the best of it then it works for me. I have to sort of go with the flow of things and don’t get in the way of what Life has in store for me. Life is the big picture; I am but a small part of it, a small wheel within wheels. If I make myself more important and think to take over I am in trouble. That doesn’t mean I can’t make decisions, but I have to listen to what Life wants from me first and fit my decision right in. That way everything runs smoothly and I can be happy no matter what happens. ![]() ![]() |
![]() From SB Musing ![]() I found a coin in front of the supermarket. It was right at the spot where homeless people sell their homeless newspaper to the public. I think it must have fallen out of the coat pocket of a homeless guy unnoticed. Sometimes I buy a newspaper from one of them, and paying something extra for it in order to support the homeless. Every year at Xmas time I give the guy or girl an extra bonus. One time I gave him 50 euro. I never saw him again after that. Lately, that spot in front of the supermarket is empty and I don’t see the girl with the newspapers anymore. Perhaps they found another, better spot to sell their newspaper, or perhaps she found a home and no longer needs to be there. I always feel sorry for the homeless. For some, it is a choice, but for most of them it is just sheer misfortune. It can happen to anybody. Lately, I read that also families with children have been put out on the streets because they couldn’t afford to pay their rent and lost their jobs. I think it’s awful that we as a society don’t take better care of our people. And with the autumn being cold and rainy I feel for those who have to roam the streets all day without any money. In my city, it is against the law to beg, but I try to give some money to those who ask for it because I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes. ![]() First of all I don’t think literature is highbrow. There is only a different set of people reading and critiquing. The masses have a different look towards what reading should be. It should be entertaining and fun first. Delving into the different themes and contemplating about what the author meant is not their priority. Because life and therefore literature is prone to populism and superficiality, with reading being internet surfing for a lot of people, with people reading less books I think yes, indeed, commercial fiction is taking over. You already see the trend of blurring literature and popular fiction today. This trend will only progress. ![]() ![]() |
![]() My father was a keen collector of books. I watched his library grow over the years. When I was a child I always read the books he had on his bookshelves. I watched him read a lot. I’ve inherited that love of books and reading. In my other house, I had a great library, but I’ve sold a lot of books in recent years. When I came to live in my recent place I started over, collecting books. Now I have two cupboards full of books in my living room but I made myself the promise not to buy that many books. Lately, I bought a few books again and I had to buy a trolley only today for my study so that the latest collection would fit somewhere. My father died eleven months ago, but today he was there watching me put together that book trolley and give the new books their rightful place in my home. I think he was smiling! ![]() The fear of not being able to cope with what happens in your life has actually come true eleven years ago. I was too overwhelmed with the violence and the death threats from clients I had a nervous breakdown because of that. I always thought that I would be able to manage my life events, but the fear of losing it became reality then. Because of that, I am always on guard, avoiding stress and hoping that I will never ever have to face a period like that again. It also made me a very cautious person, meaning that I cannot trust myself completely. I’ve lost it once; will I lose it another time? That fear has fortunately somewhat diminished in recent years but I am never totally free of that fear. ![]() She danced a reckless zebra dance in her castle, put music on and was busy for hours with glitter and glamor. Afterward, she made dinner with veggies and one onion in a grinder. She had to cry but laughed a lot too, in silence, though, because she was no screamer. During the night she visited bars, being a cougar celebrating with men half her age. When she woke up she could not sleep again that night. The strangest dream! ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]()
![]() I can be very short about this one. Russia is a dictatorship so I am not surprised. Putin likes to keep his citizens uninformed and prone to state propaganda and censorship so access to LinkedIn and Google is not what he wants for his citizens. I think in the free world people should always have access to the websites they want to visit. Internet is a blessing to the free world although there is a lot of rubbish on it. It should eventually self-regulate. ![]() I think personality traits are so completely personal, it sticks like glue so there is no way you can disassociate traits from your personality. I wouldn’t like it either if traits become tradeable and go to the highest bidder or something, it would devalue the traits. So I am not for it and would not want part of this. ![]() ![]() |
![]() In my youth, there was a Dutch television series TiTaTovenaar (translation: WiWaWizard). In it featured a so-called Grobbebol. It was a stuffed puppet made by colored threads. I remember getting a package one day for making one grobbebol. Mine was green as I recall. I just called it Grobbebol. It had no past since it was created out of woolen threads. WiWaWizard was a story about a young girl living with her father the inventor in a cloud castle. She had Grobbebolls as friends. They look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52w0RyUDOjI. It’s in Dutch, but you can see what the stuffed puppets look like. I have absolutely no recollection of what happened with the stuffed puppet. I think it got thrown in the trash. ![]() Chicken Soup for the Soul Day. ![]() That reminds me of my past in my youth as an ultra-left wing radical who was very busy with a group called The World Shop, trying to change the world with politics, non-governmental actions and a place where we met with like-minded folks. We were demonstrating a lot in those early years in the late seventies, early eighties of the last century. We were against the bomb and against nuclear power; pro third world and we were very busy ventilating our opinions. In those years we were sure the government had a list of left wing protesters we were on. We knew that they knew about us. Somewhere in the system, our names were on a list, we were sure about that. We didn’t care one way or the other since we made sure we were not acting against the law. After those turbulent years, we got disappointed since nothing changed. I began writing poetry and was busy with art and growing up. I left the scene and became more of a law-abiding citizen! ![]() ![]() |
After almost five and a half months of non-stop participating on WdC and writing short stories, poems, and blogs and reviewing I am somewhat in a slump today. It is as if the spirit is less for a few days and I am slowing down. I think this is a natural process since it was a little bit hectic so far but I am a bit bewildered about my slowing down. Am I enjoying things less? Does my Muse? What’s going on? Or is it just my way of protecting myself from burnout? I don’t need stress so slowing down a bit looks like the most sensible thing to do. But it feels awkward. Things are going smoothly in the Rising Stars Program so far, I still am participating in the 6 reviews a week for Simply Positive and I have already participated in 5 contests this month I believe, for which I won one and came second in one so far. No need to feel scared in some form or other. It’s only 11 days into the month of November. Today I had lunch with co-workers for the last time. It was my goodbye lunch because I stop working and am concentrating on my writing full time from now on. Perhaps the feeling of having all that time 24/7 to dedicate to writing is a bit overwhelming, perhaps that is what’s causing this strange mood today. I have two writing projects waiting for me: The veil of death, the search for Bee and Pygmalion, a serial killer’s weblog. Both have one chapter and both need working on for further improvement. And there are still lots of reviews waiting to be of use in my editing the statics so far. I didn’t have time till now to read and edit but perhaps the time is now. I will start looking into it this weekend. I also found a poetry website where I can publish my poetry: allpoetry.com. It is a bit like writing.com but not nearly as much fun as this (of course). But promoting my poetry elsewhere as well is a good thing I believe. All and all a bit of a quiet period, I have to get used to that and adjust accordingly. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() YouTube is a video sharing service where users can watch, like, share and comment and upload their own videos. The video service can be accessed on PCs, laptops, tablets and via mobile phones. ![]() I just read the news on this newsfeed and was shocked: another one! I loved the music and especially the very idiosyncratic voice of Leonard Cohen. I have some CDs of him I am going to listen to today. I never read his poetry, apart from the song lyrics, but I am not surprised because he was a great singer-songwriter. A lot of people called his songs “suicide bombs” because his voice was so emotional and very distinct. He died at age 82. ![]() It’s not common in my country to remember let alone thank our veterans, although we have a Veterans Day as well. As a small country in Europe always looking outwards we are not very patriotic. For the USA that’s different. My nephew is an active military in the USA service his whole life. ![]() ![]() |
![]() Trading places (1983) Comedy where snobbish trade broker (Dan Ackroyd) got to swap places with beggar and conman (Eddy Murphy) by the hands of two millionaire brothers who place a bet of one dollar. In the end, the two become friends and millionaires and the millionaire brothers are broke. ![]() Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. Karl Barth. ![]() “Writing is a 24/7 job. You live it, eat it, breathe it... the pay can be pretty lousy, but you do it happily because you love it!!! Patti Roberts. ![]() ![]() |
I’ve stayed up all night to watch the election. As a non-American, I am shocked by what happened. I wish everybody lots of courage. I hope the voters for this President understand how much of a shock this is to a lot of people throughout the world. I think The USA is a great nation, I wish it all the best in the world. ![]() ![]() Only recently I found my fitting philosophy of life. I try to live up to it in order to stay happy and healthy. Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. William S. Burroughs I’ve chosen this quote because it helps me avoid stress situations. Stress is something I cannot deal with very well in life. So I have to protect myself. This quote about relaxing is doing that for me. It gives me time to reflect more on things before making up my mind and act. I need time, and it gives me all the time that’s necessary. ![]() I don’t think we are wired for music, it has to be taught. I for one don’t listen to music very often. I still am in the learning process of enjoying music more. But I do think our emotions are triggered because music can have a huge impact on the soul. It penetrates that deep and let us enjoy fully what beautiful tones there are in music. ![]() Memories can function as motion pictures set in the past. In order to benefit fully from them, you have to take memories back into the realm of the present. That way you can play with it and create something new from it. If you don’t set boundaries you will lose yourself in the past and that will not be the best thing. Living in the past will hinder your ability to live in the moment and enjoy life as it is. Memories don’t play an important role in my life since I tend to forget quickly. I have an ‘out of mind out of heart’ attitude. ![]() ![]() |
![]() As a global citizen, I am very concerned about the outcome of this American election. My greatest fear is that Donald Trump will be elected the next President of the USA and I am so afraid for the future if this happens. But I cannot believe the American people will vote en mass for him, I give them more credit than that. ![]() SCENE ONE ![]() Words have the power to create a feeling of bliss or of stress. I am not sure if this resonates at the level of genes, though, to me that seem a little too far-fetched to be true. But the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is NOT true. Words can hurt you, even to the point of hurting more than physical abuse. Bruises go away eventually; the echo of words can linger in your mind or soul for decades. ![]() ![]() |
![]() I have a hard time believing in angels or demons, although I know there are people who believe in them. I am not sure whether they exist other than in stories. I do believe however that you can have difficulties in your life and call those demons. It’s more like a metaphor. But I don’t want to jinx anything by writing about them, in a way I am a superstitious person: If you talk about something a lot then you make that visible and therefore it can have bearing on your life and in a way it exists then. So by denying them the floor I deny that they have power. ![]() Three months ago I got a review back on a story I wrote in the first person singular. I was referring to a woman, being a female myself. But the reviewer, who was male, totally read this as being a male main character. It totally changed the perspective on the story. I thought that was rather cute. It reminded me to not fill in too many details so that readers can identify with the characters from their own perspective. Race is such a thing. If it has no relation to the plot I am not going to mention it so people of all races can identify. ![]() I think it means that Miller thinks writers are bound to tell the truth all the time and be faithful to the power they have or the power outside of them. I agree on the last take, but not the first. Writers are lying all the time, distorting and fixing reality, making things up as they go along. But I believe we have an obligation to be faithful and sincere about what we are doing. That’s totally another matter. For the witness reference, I think he is right: writers are witnesses to whatever is out there, whatever is happening and because we can write about it, we have an obligation to tell, talk, and write about what is going on in the world. “If you want to know the world, turn to poets and writers.” That is a quote by me. ![]() ![]() |
![]() https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/10/17/what-will-change-if-massachuse... Last month’s news item is about pros and cons of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. Since I am from the Netherlands we have legalized the use of marijuana for own purposes (but NOT to grow and harvest in big quantities, that’s still illegal) and are experimenting with the distribution of marijuana by the state for medical purposes. I agree with both since I think it will be better to legalize and keep the whole business out of the criminal circuit. ![]() ![]() |
I won Screams!! and saw TWO rainbows this morning! My weekend could not have started better. ![]() ![]() I would love to be the owner of the ideal robot. It would function as a housekeeper/cook/cleaner since I am not much of a housewife, to begin with. In the future, I would purchase such an ideal computerized mobile MPAD 2.0 with build in voice and voice recognizer for the prize of a second-hand car, say 1000 euros. Although money is tight in my household I would buy one immediately. It would go by all colors but I would like a black and silver gray one. He, I would call him Butler, would look like the droid R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo in the Star Wars sequel. A combination of a mechanized troll and a high-tech hoover with the possibility to enlarge so he could fit the countertop in my kitchen and do the dishes and clean windows without using stairs. I’ve always wanted a butler, and then I got one! ![]() In 1981 an old fisherman in the Netherlands without television or radio was interviewed. He didn’t believe the first man on the moon ever existed. It was all a scam, it never happened. To his view, if men were to ever set foot on the Moon he would freeze to death, if someone ever set foot on the Sun he would fry to death. It just was not possible. He firmly believed this. Men were not supposed to be in the sky, the birds were, men should stay on earth. It was featured across the country and everybody laughed at that silly old man. ![]() The Carina Nebula, a massive stellar nursery 7,500 light-years from Earth, reveal that new star births are destroying the very clouds of gas and dust from which they spawned. These Pillars of destruction look like giant ghostly stellar monsters to me with the changing shape of a science fiction like creature or a stellar bear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vq3HLw_4Ic . So it’s eating stars and shine in all different colors. I like the look of it. Perhaps it will be the beginning of a Sfi story about star ghosts in the galaxy eating away other stars end thereby creating little black holes in which everything in their path disappears, becomes non-matter. Of course, it would feature a human heroine or hero who would rescue the earth by changing the structure of the ghostly apparitions (How I don’t yet know) and save the Universe from disappearing and imploding in itself. ![]() ![]() |