Friday, October 22, 2010
A Flash Of Inspiration!
Another week of 250 Word Wonderfulness is Up. The theme is "long lines", and my story, "Outbound", is here.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
100 Word Challenge: Within You Without You
The 100 Word Challenge, Same As It Ever Was, Can Be Found Here
This Week's Word Is "Within".
My Entry Is Called "Within You Without You".
(No, I Don't Know Why I Decided To Capitalize Everything)
This Week's Word Is "Within".
My Entry Is Called "Within You Without You".
(No, I Don't Know Why I Decided To Capitalize Everything)
“What was that song called?,” she asked. “The one on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’?“
I chuckled, looking at her head, bald from chemotherapy and radiation. “You’ll have to be a little more specific.”
“The one with the Indian instruments.”
“Ah. The sitar. You must be thinking of ‘Within You Without You’.”
“I was just thinking about the words. When he sings, ‘life flows on within you and without you’? At the end?”
“Yes?”
“Scary.”
“It scares me, too.” Scares me in ways I can’t describe.
“I hate the thought of things still happening when I’m dead.”
“We all do,” I assured her.
I chuckled, looking at her head, bald from chemotherapy and radiation. “You’ll have to be a little more specific.”
“The one with the Indian instruments.”
“Ah. The sitar. You must be thinking of ‘Within You Without You’.”
“I was just thinking about the words. When he sings, ‘life flows on within you and without you’? At the end?”
“Yes?”
“Scary.”
“It scares me, too.” Scares me in ways I can’t describe.
“I hate the thought of things still happening when I’m dead.”
“We all do,” I assured her.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday With The Wickedness Witch Of The West
Janera's journey into the world of wierdness takes us inside the occasionally functional mind of Tea Partier and US Senate candidate from Delaware Christine O'Donnell. Find the questions here if you dare.
1. On why she's anti masturbation: "If he already knows what pleases him and he can please himself, then why am I in the picture?"Have you ever heard a stupider statement? If yes, when?
That one is hard to beat. "Major combat operations in Iraq are over" might top it, though. Or "Nobody could have predicted that the levees would fail".
2. “Physics put people in spiritual harm the way pimps put people in physical harm.”
Do you believe that prostitution should be legalized?
Pretty much, yes. It's an awful thing for someone to have to do, but if you honestly want to do it, you should be able to. That said, if it's illegal, it's illegal for both parties- convicting the woman and letting the man go free is reprehensible.
3. “We took the Bible out of public schools. Now we're having weekly shootings. We had the 60s sexual revolution and now people are dying from aids.”What benefits do you think the 60s' sexual revolution has given us?
I think the Sixties more broadly gave us the idea that you didn't have to be someone you didn't want to be- not every woman has to be, or wants to be, a housewife. Sexually speaking, I think the notion that women can have sex for pleasure is a good thing, but both sexes need to take sex more seriously.
4. “The Bible says that lust in your heart in committing adultery.”Do you think having a sexual fantasy when you're married or part of a couple is wrong?
If having fantasies is wrong, I don't want to be right. It's normal and natural. The Bible also says that menstruating women are unclean.
5. On co-ed dorms: “What's next? Orgy rooms? Menage-trois rooms? Coedness is like a radical agenda forced on college students.”Have you ever been asked to participate in other than a one on one sexual experience?
Whenever I read something like this, I think that I must have just run with a dull crowd.
No, never.
6. “Creationism, in essence, is believing that the world began as the Bible in Genesis says, that God created the earth in six days, six 24 hour periods. And there is just as much, if not more, evidence supporting that.”What is your favorite dinosaur? Why?
This is a good contender for Question #1, as the most foolish statement I have ever read.
I have always been fond of Triceratops and Brontosaurus.
7. “I dabbled in witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up."What's the strangest thing that you “dabbled” in?
Dungeons and Dragons, I guess. Tabletop baseball, too-except I've been "dabbling" in that for more than 20 years.
8. "I am not a clone of Sarah Palin. I have my own thoughts."How different is Sarah Palin's political agenda from your own?
I'm not entirely sure what Ms. Palin believes in, truth be told-she keeps saying one thing and doing something else. But, knowing nothing about an issue, if Ms. Palin favors A, I am pretty certainly going to be leaning towards B.
9. "American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains."What animal would you like your brain cross breed with?
A Siberian Husky. They have always fascinated me.
10. "[H]omosexuals [are] getting away with nudity! They're getting away with lasciviousness! They're getting away with perversion!"Have nude homosexuals ever interfered with your day?
Oh, constantly.
No, of course not. What a homosexual does or doesn't do is of absolutely no business of mine.
1. On why she's anti masturbation: "If he already knows what pleases him and he can please himself, then why am I in the picture?"Have you ever heard a stupider statement? If yes, when?
That one is hard to beat. "Major combat operations in Iraq are over" might top it, though. Or "Nobody could have predicted that the levees would fail".
2. “Physics put people in spiritual harm the way pimps put people in physical harm.”
Do you believe that prostitution should be legalized?
Pretty much, yes. It's an awful thing for someone to have to do, but if you honestly want to do it, you should be able to. That said, if it's illegal, it's illegal for both parties- convicting the woman and letting the man go free is reprehensible.
3. “We took the Bible out of public schools. Now we're having weekly shootings. We had the 60s sexual revolution and now people are dying from aids.”What benefits do you think the 60s' sexual revolution has given us?
I think the Sixties more broadly gave us the idea that you didn't have to be someone you didn't want to be- not every woman has to be, or wants to be, a housewife. Sexually speaking, I think the notion that women can have sex for pleasure is a good thing, but both sexes need to take sex more seriously.
4. “The Bible says that lust in your heart in committing adultery.”Do you think having a sexual fantasy when you're married or part of a couple is wrong?
If having fantasies is wrong, I don't want to be right. It's normal and natural. The Bible also says that menstruating women are unclean.
5. On co-ed dorms: “What's next? Orgy rooms? Menage-trois rooms? Coedness is like a radical agenda forced on college students.”Have you ever been asked to participate in other than a one on one sexual experience?
Whenever I read something like this, I think that I must have just run with a dull crowd.
No, never.
6. “Creationism, in essence, is believing that the world began as the Bible in Genesis says, that God created the earth in six days, six 24 hour periods. And there is just as much, if not more, evidence supporting that.”What is your favorite dinosaur? Why?
This is a good contender for Question #1, as the most foolish statement I have ever read.
I have always been fond of Triceratops and Brontosaurus.
7. “I dabbled in witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up."What's the strangest thing that you “dabbled” in?
Dungeons and Dragons, I guess. Tabletop baseball, too-except I've been "dabbling" in that for more than 20 years.
8. "I am not a clone of Sarah Palin. I have my own thoughts."How different is Sarah Palin's political agenda from your own?
I'm not entirely sure what Ms. Palin believes in, truth be told-she keeps saying one thing and doing something else. But, knowing nothing about an issue, if Ms. Palin favors A, I am pretty certainly going to be leaning towards B.
9. "American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains."What animal would you like your brain cross breed with?
A Siberian Husky. They have always fascinated me.
10. "[H]omosexuals [are] getting away with nudity! They're getting away with lasciviousness! They're getting away with perversion!"Have nude homosexuals ever interfered with your day?
Oh, constantly.
No, of course not. What a homosexual does or doesn't do is of absolutely no business of mine.
Accessories After The Fact
I have always been more of a baseball and basketball fan than a football fan. Even so, I still follow football pretty closely, playing fantasy and all that jazz. Much ink has been spilled, and electrons spent, on the series of vicious hits dealt out this weekend during the NFL games.
Two of the more devastating were the ones on Eagle DeSean Jackson and Raven Todd Heap, as shown here:
The Jackson hit:
The Heap hit:
The argument seems to go in a circle-it's a game predicated on violence, that at the same time punishes its employees when they exert TOO MUCH violence. With the speed and skill of today's athletes, it seems impossible to ask a player like Meriwether or Robinson to notice, within fractions of a second, that the pass that was thrown is no longer playable, and thus they must pull back and not exert themselves. And at the same time, if Jackson or Heap catches the ball, it seems that almost any violence is acceptable, since, of course, any other action endangers the team's chances of winning.
I don't know how to solve this-how do you legislate split second decisions like this? And how do you support a sport, a for profit enterprise, which thrives on the systematic crippling of its employees?
Two of the more devastating were the ones on Eagle DeSean Jackson and Raven Todd Heap, as shown here:
The Jackson hit:
The Heap hit:
The argument seems to go in a circle-it's a game predicated on violence, that at the same time punishes its employees when they exert TOO MUCH violence. With the speed and skill of today's athletes, it seems impossible to ask a player like Meriwether or Robinson to notice, within fractions of a second, that the pass that was thrown is no longer playable, and thus they must pull back and not exert themselves. And at the same time, if Jackson or Heap catches the ball, it seems that almost any violence is acceptable, since, of course, any other action endangers the team's chances of winning.
I don't know how to solve this-how do you legislate split second decisions like this? And how do you support a sport, a for profit enterprise, which thrives on the systematic crippling of its employees?
Monday, October 18, 2010
The yearly ritual: Once more, from the top...
"Yesterday it was my birthday/
I hung one more year on the line/
I should be depressed/
My life's a mess/
But I'm having a good time-"
Paul Simon, "Have A Good Time"
I hung one more year on the line/
I should be depressed/
My life's a mess/
But I'm having a good time-"
Paul Simon, "Have A Good Time"
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Speed The Meme
Over at Sunday Stealing, there are always questions to answer for your amusement. And since you folks just can't get enough of me, here are some answers.
26. Do you like someone?
I had better.
27. The last song you listened to?
Metallica, "The Ecstasy Of Gold"
28. What time of day were you born?
I don't know. I was very young at the time.
29. What’s your favorite number?
24. It was my favorite baseball player's number, plus when I was in fifth grade, we all got numbers, and mine was 24. (The numbers, as I recall, were used to determine little privileges like who got to clap erasers, stuff like that, or to divide the class into teams for spelling bees.)
30. Where did you live in 1987?
Suburban Massachusetts.
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
Anyone who seems to be handling things better than me-which means everybody.
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
I can't imagine how or why.
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
At the doctor. I was in the parking lot of a grocery store when the second plane hit.
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
Conclude I probably didn't need that item anyway.
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Yes. Kind of strange.
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Probably my upper arm.
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Spanish would be useful, but I have always enjoyed French.
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
I did.
39. Are you touchy feely?
I guess so. What does that mean, exactly?
40. What’s your life motto?
"You pay for your satisfaction/Somewhere along the line-" (Billy Joel, "Somewhere Along The Line")
41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Wallet, keys, phone
42. What’s your favourite town/city?
"Oh, I love that dirty water/Oh, Boston you're my home-"
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
A toll to go across the Burlington-Bristol Bridge.
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
I wrote one yesterday and mailed it this morning.
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
If I have $24.95, I can. By myself? No.
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
That she's getting married.
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
I have seen a family tree that traces ancestry back to a privateer during the Revolutionary War. I only personally know back to my grandparents.
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
It might be, I'm ashamed to say, my sister in law's wedding.
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
My abs hurt. I did EA Sports Active yesterday, and all that stretching did a number on me. Plus my toe, which the foot doctor operated on on Friday, hurts as well.
50. Have you been burned by love?
Hasn't everyone?
100 Words: The Contrast Of White On White
The 100 Word Challenge is a challenge. It usually involves 100 Words. You can find it here. This week's starting point is the word "vague". My entry is called "The Contrast Of White on White", which is cribbed from a Counting Crows lyric.
I was moving the grocery bags into my car in the October sun. She was holding a cell phone to her ear, windows down, her hands gesturing, plum colored nails flashing.
“No, you don’t get it. No!”
I was listening- pitying whoever was on the other end of the call. She was pretty, with warm skin, brilliant eyes, and fire red lipstick. Her white earrings sparkled.
“I know she’s your wife! I matter, too! No more vague promises! When are you going to leave her?”
I watched her berate him, sliding through this fragment of her life like a ghost.
“No, you don’t get it. No!”
I was listening- pitying whoever was on the other end of the call. She was pretty, with warm skin, brilliant eyes, and fire red lipstick. Her white earrings sparkled.
“I know she’s your wife! I matter, too! No more vague promises! When are you going to leave her?”
I watched her berate him, sliding through this fragment of her life like a ghost.
Monkeys!
I asked my nephew Simon yesterday what today was, and he said "Monkeys". That seems like as good an answer as any. Monkeys it is.
Kelly over at Ordinary Art keeps knocking it out of the park, post after post after post. I think she is marvelously talented, much as she tries to deny it. Check her out.
The baseball playoffs, despite the glaring absence of my personal favorite team, are progressing. The Phillies lost the NLCS opener, 4-3 to the San Francisco Gigantes, though they should still win the series, while the Walker Texas Rangers exposed the MFY's Achilles heel, starting pitching, tying the ALCS 1-1. My hope, of course, is that the Rangers expunge the Yankee season, then fall to the Phillies in the Series.
Kelly over at Ordinary Art keeps knocking it out of the park, post after post after post. I think she is marvelously talented, much as she tries to deny it. Check her out.
The baseball playoffs, despite the glaring absence of my personal favorite team, are progressing. The Phillies lost the NLCS opener, 4-3 to the San Francisco Gigantes, though they should still win the series, while the Walker Texas Rangers exposed the MFY's Achilles heel, starting pitching, tying the ALCS 1-1. My hope, of course, is that the Rangers expunge the Yankee season, then fall to the Phillies in the Series.
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