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Day-to-day musings and wonderings of an infected mind. |
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Zombeeluv's Mission Statement  I promise to be mildly coherent. I promise to post something when I have the time. I promise to tell bad jokes, share the word of the day/week, give antidotes of things that have happened in my life and poke fun at as many things as possible.It is my goal to not only be informative but also entertaining and somewhat annoying in my insistent use of bad zombie jokes, art and literature. Please NOTE: I wish I were better at blogging, communicating or multi-tasking, but I am not. I apologize for my absence, but not for doing what I need to. Peace, 
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| Hi, I hope this finds you well. This week's been a lot for us in America! Regardless of how anyone voted (and I am not asking nor do I want to know or talk about it) elections are always a lot. So to find my happy place, I pulled out a book that I really like called "Everybody Lies", if you haven't heard of it, and like me sometimes enjoy going down rabbit holes of human nature, it's a gem. It discusses that regardless of what people say or don't say, you can tell more about the state of what people are thinking by looking at Google searches. It's fascinating! To me, reading or listening to books like this, help me build more realistic characters. I think it's really important to get accurate reactions and I can't do that if I expect everyone to act like I do. Anyway enough of that! How is everyone's muse treating them? Mine is going through an evolution. I recently had an idea that I think is rather brilliant (probably only to me) and so I wrote the first chapter and posted it. "Chapter 1 - A Dragon's Fortune"  by ZombeeLuv  I work in cyber security and I woke up one morning thinking, why would a dragon need to hire a cyber security company. That started me down the rabbit hole of most of our economy has gone online and although dragons have large amounts of money and time, they might not know how to handle a security breach. I'm really interested in what people think of the concept and not too proud to beg for reviews so...  .So... What is everyone reading? How are you doing? Anyone have anything they'd really like someone to read? (Happy to trade stories!!!) I hope you all have an amazing, healing, fantastical, imaginative weekend. Peace, Love, and Strength Write On! C. L. Hammer “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” ~ Ernest Hemingway |
| "A New Star" by ZombeeLuv Byline - A flight to a new chance takes an unexpected turn. This was another entry in to "The Writer's Cramp" by Sophurky  . I love this contest because the stories truly can go anywhere, although one of the conditions of this entry were that it take place on a space station, so it was going to be a little scifi-y no matter what. I really was surprised that there were not more entries though. Also, I really want to shout out to those who commented on this story. The biggest compliment a writer can get is that the reader wants more. I enjoyed writing this, it was one of those stories that once the pieces started falling into place pretty much wrote its self. As I play with the sci-fi world I am creating, there seem to be stories there that are flowing naturally. So, about "A New Star" Who is Syd, aka Doctor Sydney Faulkes? Sydney has a doctorate degree in botany. Things on Earth were bad for an unexplained in the context of this story reason. She won a chance to leave and start life new on Proxima Centauri c, aka New Earth. What happened to the crew of the space station (that was never given a name because....I don't even know) They died because their pods failed to sustain them through the jump which lasted much longer than it should have. This is the thing right, flight is safer than car travel, however when it fails it is way more disastrous. Space flight will be more. There won't be forensics teams to figure out what happened. When we figure out how to get there, it will just be - did they arrive or not. Just like Google Maps taking you someplace you didn't mean to go, what happens if your ships navigation decides to take the long way? Who is Zed Zed is the android who connects with the ships Artificial Intelligence. So basically, they are the manifestation of the ship in an android. Who are the criminal and the teacher We haven't met them yet. Maybe their stories will come out later. I have ideas, but.... if you read this, and have read the story, what do you think? |
| "In the End" Byline - 150-years after aliens have come to save humanity, is there anything left to talk about. Who is Gigi? Gigi is a human on Earth in the year 2173. (One of the requirements of the story was that took place 150 years in the past or future.) Who is Tye? Tye is also human, who is looking forward to leaving and going to a Xanth paradise. Who are the Xanth? The Xanth is an alien species that landed on Earth with the intention of “saving the planet”. Why does Earth need saving? In the story, human beings were in the process of destroying the atmosphere with pollution due to food and agriculture, Transportation, and Industrialization. Why did Gigi think things might be better? There were increases in the forest and animals and it made her wonder if the Earth were still on a path of decimation, why these things were doing so well. What had the Xanth done? The Xanth removed the sources of the pollution by removing population, taking away the need to travel, and providing all food needs. Are the Xanth good or bad? For the context of this story, they are neither good nor bad. ***This story may or may not lead to additional stories in this world. I like the premise and the questions it evokes. A seemingly benevolent advanced group coming to us in our time of need. Would they accept us, farm us, build us up, treat us as equals even though we obviously were not as technically able, would they share their knowledge, or keep us as we were? Would we see them as monsters, teachers, a blessing, or gods? This story isn’t a new premise, but I feel like it evokes a thousand variations with lots of food for thought. |
| OMFG – On My Freaking Gallbladder, I didn’t mean to be gone for so long. So, we had a pandemic. (I’m just going to let that stay there and not comment any further.) I completed my bachelor’s degree and got a new job. There were a lot of things. It was not an easy time. I hope you, whoever you are reading this, are good. I, despite it all, am. Oh and in 2019 I won Nanowrimo….I still need to go back and edit my story because who completes Nanowrimo and doesn’t need to edit it. LMAO. I will start posting chapters for reviews and comments once I am ready to do things like that.  But that day is not today.I’ve been lurking around here a long time, but I know I am basically new. Just know, I have seen a lot of writing, I have reviewed and read a lot of stories. My hints to you: - Find a safe place to store all your writing. You never know when an old idea will spark a new one. I have lost more stories…my lost children break my heart. - Take all the grammar hints you can get. If you stick with this artform, you will get better. - Participate. Stephen King has been quoted as saying “Writer’s write!” And to that I add, creativity is a muscle, if you don’t use it, it atrophies. Everyday you should try to do something creative. It doesn’t have to be writing, but it does have to push you…doodle, water paint, woodwork, create a mural, do something in paint, crochet, knit, sketch out an idea, write a poem, a song, outline a novel…do anything creative. This will help your brain, and then… - Do something with your non-dominate hand: practice writing your name, write the alphabet, or draw fifty cats. It really doesn’t matter. What you are doing is pushing connections between your right brain and left. You are trying to connect logic and creativity. So, this year, I am doing "I Write in 2024" , and since many of the contests are very short stories, I thought I would put surrounding story thoughts here. Happy Holidays, I really wish you all a really good year. Lets all be creative together. Love and Peace, ZombeeLuv Zombee Hint of the Day: Being dumb, won’t save your brains. Write On! C. L. Hammer “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” ~ Ernest Hemingway |
| In America, we are getting ready to come upon an interesting election. On the one hand, we have the first woman President – which if you think about it is weird, because most first world countries have already had a woman leader. On the other hand, we have Donald Trump. I don’t know if Hillary Clinton is the best woman for the job. I do know that because of her my daughter had the tools necessary to go to school and graduate with a high school diploma (there are no provisions for her in college though). I feel that Hillary was instrumental in making fair wages and medical insurance for all a reality (not that anyone appreciates it – insurance companies have taken advantage of the fact that people have to buy their services and forcing minimum wage to climb causes small businesses to fail). Here is my problem with the whole situation. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump have served the military, however we are going to place them in charge of the United States Armed Forces. Donald has actually bragged about how he got out of serving and how he knows more that the generals do. Hillary at least respects the fact that we are fighting a war against an enemy that isn’t playing by conventional rules, although I don’t think even she really understand it. People who support Donald Trump will say that the “crooked media” is spreading lies. However, let’s get a few facts straight: Donald Trump avoided the Vietnam daft five times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html?_r=... Trump wants to trash any progress we have made toward women’s rights. He wants to ban abortion. Now I know what you might think. This goes against your religion. But let’s think about this rationally for just a moment. You have a right to say what happens to your body when you are dead. You have a right to say what happens to your body when you are alive. Why is it that you have no rights to say what happens to your body when you are pregnant? I am not going to debate if a fetus is alive or not. I have five children because I am pro-choice and I chose to have them. But I feel that if a fetus cannot live on its own outside the womb then it is up the mother to decide whether or not she can carry it. And it isn’t anyone else’s business. Trump wants to repeal affordable care. Trump wants to close Planned Parenthood which provided low and no cost health care, not just for family planning but for cancer screenings, for millions of Americans each year. Trump and Mike Pence want to reverse Roe VS Wade. Once again infringing on women’s rights. Hillary Clinton has been involved with politics long before she married Bill Clinton. And I know that isn’t always a selling point. But, Trump’s involvement in politics is buying politicians so he can get something done. How is that experience with national concerns? How is he going to “Make American great again?” By repealing rights? By building walls? By causing hate? Personally, Trump wants to take away my rights. My right to decide what happens to my body. My right to marry my partner. My son’s rights as FTM. My rights as a Jew. My fiancés families rights as immigrants. America is a melting pot. Very few of us are First Nation, most of us have a family history of immigration – Donald is only first generation, my parents are both fourth or fifth. We are comprised of many different ideas, morals, ideologies and belief structures. That is what makes America Great, not some pompous jerk who thinks he knows better than anyone else. Right now is a scary time. There is a threat out there using a new weapon and we haven’t figured out how to stop it. But scaring people and intimidating them isn’t the way. We have to give each other hope and remind each other that we are better that what we are seeing on TV. News is news because it makes a headline. For every scary story, there are a hundred good ones that will never hit CNN or Fox News. I am not saying that bad news isn't important. It absolutely is. But good news is important too. Peace, ZombeeLuv ** Image ID #2088141 Unavailable ** |
| Dear Universe, I am done. I’m done with the torment you have inflicted upon me this year. Frankly it feels like you are simply having a huge laugh at my expense. You have given me many gifts this year…my son going to university, my other son coming home from Israel, my grandson being born healthy. But then there is the flip side of the coin…six relatives dying this year, my aunt having a heart attack after her son died, the garnishment that will not end although I have more than paid off the amount they said I owed, the cancellation of my wedding, my son being deported from England and separated from his wife and child three months after my grandson was born, my daughter being emotionally abused by her employer, the two cats dying less than a month apart, being told that my work contract is ending right before Thanksgiving, and the rock that was thrown through the rear window of my car this morning. There are other small infarctions that I could also relate, but at some point, it just begins to feel petty. So this is me, telling you…the universe, that enough is freaking enough. I am not going to give in so I suggest that you let up before I decide to Pinky and the Brain your punk ass and take over. It is time to start playing nice. Sincerely with love, Zombeeluv |
| OMG!!! It has been so long since I have blogged anything. *Sigh* My only excuse is that my life is chaotic and everything requires a lot of attention. But enough of my excuses. Last night Zombie and I were sitting outside and we heard something no one ever wants to hear, a dog being hit by a truck. Needless to say we ran out of the yard to find out how bad it was, what had happened, and if we could help. The person who hit the dog was seriously distressed, an older man who obviously felt traumatized over the event was panicking asking if it was our dog, did we know who it belonged to, where it had gone. Zombie and I played to our strengths…she handled him, I went looking for the dog. In our neighbor’s driveway (they are out of town), we found a young, scared, baby. She is sitting by my feet right now. She is beautiful, white with three big red spots, and sweet, she hasn’t barked or growled once even though she is obviously uncomfortable. She basically just wants to sit by my feet and accept whatever affection I am willing to give to her. Honestly, it is seriously humbling. I don’t know her story, I am looking for her owners, but if they don’t show up…and Zombie is honestly hoping they don’t cause it was pretty much love at first site for her, she has a home now. She has thrown up twice and both times it was trash…old bread, wrappers…things you would find on the side of the road – seriously consider what you throw outside of your car and don’t…find a trashcan. Today I bought her a collar, she didn’t have one, a leash and puppy food – she is only about six months old, she has her canines but not her adult molars. This afternoon Zombie is taking time off work to take her to the vet to have her examined and see if she has a microchip. There is a huge part of me that hopes she does. Not because I want her to go, but because I want her to have been loved. It is fine if she doesn’t, she doesn’t have to go anywhere. The vet will be looking to see if she has a dislocated or broken hip, make sure she doesn’t have worms…a big problem with strays…and treat her for whatever they find (her stomach contents seriously worry me and I can’t help but wonder what else she has eaten). To me, I would be heartbroken if this were a puppy that I had bought and it had escaped. But, I have had dogs that like to run when the door is opened. You find them and bring them home…I hope that she just ran too fast and that she was in a loving home, not dumped because someone didn’t want to take care of her. When she first came into the yard, her gums were white. This is a sign on extreme stress in a dog. They are starting to get some color now, but her nose is still dry and she has only eaten a handful of food. She has drank some water and gone pee once. I would imagine that she is still stressed and by the way she walks her leg or hip still hurts…it is at the minimum bruised if not dislocated…I am pretty sure it isn’t broken but only an x-ray will be able to tell for sure. She also looks like she has been bitten by another dog and scrapped her front elbow. But with all she has gone through, she is gentle and hasn’t nipped or growled at my little snot of a dachshund who has more attitude than any twelve pound dog should. And oddly enough, he isn’t being as big of a snot as I thought he would. Right now he is sitting outside on the deck, shade bathing and hunting flies. So why am I bringing this up? First, be responsible for your pets…get them licensed, neutered and microchipped – and register the microchip. Second, as a writer this brings us to where to start a story. Is it important that I know this dog’s backstory or is it just important how she affects our life now? Just something to think about. Zombie Tip of the Day: Run, run, run…and if you can’t run…pray or you will be prey. |
| So, we have decided to postpone our wedding. Oddly I am not sad about it. I am not a huge one for weddings and I am not super excited to get married again. It isn’t the right time. When it is I will be flushed with excitement and in a hurry, not wondering how we will figure it all out and desperate to win the lottery because there is no other way to pay for it all. There is no real reason for Zombie and I to get married…it isn’t like one of us is pregnant or in need of the other’s health care. But this brings me to other subjects. Lately, I feel numb, not excited or anxious or bad, just numb. And I wonder why. I know I am going through menopause, is that part of it… I don’t know. I need to feel something -- passion, anger, fear, desire, need. I’m a writer, how is a writer supposed to convey emotions in their stories when they aren’t feeling anything themselves. You can always tell when a writers emotions are faked. What do you do? How to you become feeling again? Is there a way to fix it? I have been thinking about doing something truly altruistic. Volunteering or collecting coupons and using them for food banks. Anything to make me feel less Dorian Gray and more in touch with the world around me. Maybe I just need to exercise, get a therapist and seek acupuncture. In the meantime…Summer is coming. I have two family reunions, my son’s graduation for college with honors, my nephews graduation from high school, five birthdays, two or three pride festivals I’m committed to, Bumbershoot, and…sigh, how many weekends are there in summer? I think they are already filled. Zombie always wonders why I don’t want to go out with her and her Mom on there Saturday jaunts…well here is why. I have one season where every weekend is smashed full of events. And this is after we cancelled our wedding which was supposed to happen in the middle of all of this. Maybe we should have a winter wedding…she is an Aries and I am a Sagittarius…a nice December wedding might be just the thing. We could have small pine trees covered in lights and xmas decorations everywhere, it could be quite charming…hum…the more I think about it…the more I think that next December might be the perfect time…then we could say…”Winter is Coming” on our invites…LMAO. Zombie Tip of the Day Zombies freeze…lock them in a cooler every chance you get. |
| Have you ever noticed that there is a huge difference in how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you? Today, I was showing my mother pictures of where Zombie and I are getting married. I mentioned that although Zombie thought the food tables should go in one place, I felt they should go in another. She jumped on me (figuratively not literally) and told me that I should be careful and not try to take over the planning. I told her I wasn’t, she said…”yes you are, you are pushy.” *sigh* Once upon a time I was married and my ex had a lot of opinions about who I was. I noticed that because he reacted to things that happened in a certain way, it validated his perception of why I was responding the way I was. I will give you an example. He decided I didn’t like other women. He had seven affairs and frequently would go off with female co-workers leaving me home with the kids. I would get upset. Back to the wedding…. The area Zombie selected to have the food wouldn’t have any outlet for electrical and we would have to run really long extension cords to heat anything that needed it. Now we might not need electrical cords so it might be a moot point and the wedding isn’t until August. Zombie and I will work it out, we are excellent at negotiating with each other. But my mother… I love her, please don’t think I don’t. But it is hard to express yourself to someone who has misconceptions of who you are and how you deal with things. Zombie Survival Tip of the Day Graveyards are not good places for a picnic. |
| EMOTIONS So right now I am sick...I am getting over pneumonia. And today my electricity almost got turned off...yesterday it was water which did get turned off but was turned back on quickly and right now, I just want to curl into a ball and cry. Why? because we are emotional creatures and when stress pulls us down tears allow us to release emotions that threaten to overwhelm us. My daughter-in-law expressed one time that she felt tears were weakness...thus said the 21 year old who has never been desperate, hungry or frustrated beyond words. I try not be over-critical. It is hard though. Youth has a very different view on life, their emotions are more raw and they feel things differently. As I've aged I've become more stoic, more life will go on and nothing is so impossible. But I still get emotional. Have you ever read a story where the emotions that the characters were expressing were unrealistic? Why did they come off that way? I once commented to an author that the emotions his characters were showing didn't seem authentic. He came back with the characters were dragons and that their emotions weren't what human emotions would be. It was a valid response, but was it really? I watch a lot of animal planet. Baboons, monkeys, big cats, and elephants all express loss. They all show emotions when they have lost a baby. They show frustration, pain, playfulness and affection. They are not humans and don't show them they same way, but they are recognizable. When my cat lost her litter of kittens...she cried for days, trying to find them and mourning their absence. And when my dog does something he shouldn't...he definitely expresses shame. If animals express familiar emotions then why wouldn't whatever creature you are building in your story? In my opinion, emotions lend validity to your story. I don't think Avatar would have been as successful if we hadn't been able to relate. Can you have different societal norms? Absolutely, but emotions are primal, they come from that caveman place in our brain that tells us smile means happy, frown means sad. There is a challenge here...show that your character is expressing emotion with out saying..."He was sad." Body language, facial expression, actions and speech can all give us the clues we need to let us know that someone is happy, sad or angry. No one really looks at someone else and says...I am happy. People just look, understand and interpret that someone is feeling that way. So how do you show, not tell emotion in a story? Zombie Survival Tip of the Day: Don't die...the consequences aren't pretty. |
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