Who do I still think I am??

This one's about a caption and changes.

30DBC PROMPT: "Write a caption, paragraph, short story, poem, or memory jogged by the following picture:"

** Image ID #1939428 Unavailable **

What's up y'all? On the tail end of some controversial whiny less than positive criticism levied at the beginning of June in regards to prompts that weren't really prompts but just poorly rendered digital images that people were just supposed to "guess" as a component disguised as a blog entry (and not always told if they were right, wrong, or what the scrambled photograph really was), what did I do? I think what I did was post a picture as a part of a prompt, with a sense of direction as far as what to do with it. In other words, I did it right.

I'm sorry. I don't mean that to sound like pretentious boasting. I swore I'd never bring up the idea of image prompts and what they do to normal, well-adjusted people again. But I couldn't resist. I do think image prompts have a place if done correctly...if they're meant to encourage creativity. Blogging isn't a game where you match up part a with part b to get an answer. It's not "color by numbers". It's more like playing with Legos. You get a bunch of bricks in different sizes and colors, with a simple set of schematics, and you build something...only instead of various bricks you've got your words, and the prompt is your diagram of what you're intending to build. And instead of making a house or a car or a Lego replica of a robot, you're piecing together a blog, and you don't have to care if it looks like the picture on the box or not, because you see the pieces not for what others want you to make, but for how many different ways you can possibly put them all together to make something entirely unique.

Wow...talk about getting totally off-topic. I think I just wrote another Editor's Note for the "Invalid Item" .

So anyway, yeah. I know awhile ago there was some kind of "caption contest" that some of you may have been involved in. I thought about looking into it but didn't really want to spend a lot of time dwelling on a picture that may or may not completely resonate with me. I think that's a fair rationalization (not that you need one from me). I wouldn't mind seeing an image or two every now and again in the official months of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  (and I'll accept credits on the three prompts I'm supposed to email every official month I enter if this is an option that's chosen ).

That said, here's a caption for the picture:

Mr. Burns: "Ahhh yes, here is our room of monkeys chained to typewriters."
Homer: "What are they typing?"
Mr. Burns: "I'm not really sure yet. But I've been offered a million dollars to hand over the first monkey that types two consecutive words on one page."
Homer: "A million dollars? Who would pay a million dollars for two words typed by monkeys?"
Mr. Burns: "Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. They're having problems naming their baby."

What's funny is I just made that up, even though I posted the picture last night. By the time I got home an hour later, I had totally forgotten what I had even thought up for as a prompt. Damn you, head injuries from years passed and the short-term memory loss I get from time to time!

BCF PROMPT: "Can people change? (Did you change; views, philosophies, routines, countries etc.)"

Well, most certainly, people can change. Views, philosophies and routines are always susceptible to change. Countries? Not unheard of, but very less likely, so I'm gonna steer clear of that. (Shakes head, )

You've heard me say it a billion times one way or another. Change is a necessary part of life. Adaption makes us suitable to succeed in whatever environment we're put in. It's what killed the dinosaurs and made humans evolve. But there are deeper meanings to "change" beyond ordinary behavior modifications that we're conditioned to be used to and react to.

Just as human beings went from Cro-Magnon cave dwellers to Wall Street scumbag share-traders by changing a multiple amount of factors around them, it's important to recognize that change also can happen in a sort of reverse order. And sometimes, it doesn't take much more than one or two factors to crumble a person's entire fortunes.

A fire. A theft. A job loss. A left turn instead of a right turn. Sometimes, you're only one decision away from being the person donating to your favorite charity (or mocking those less fortunate) to asking that charity to support you in a dire time of need. Too many times, we focus on the "feel good" stories of people like Dickens' Scrooge in A Christmas Carol...characters and people who go from being merciless pricks to loveable do-gooders because they went through some "miraculous change" or epiphany or whatever. Only when it's too late do people tend to notice or care that tragedy has befallen a neighbor or otherwise average nobody, and even then, what can be done? The change has already occurred, and perhaps reversal isn't an option anymore. All you can do is comfort them, and hope for the best.

Personally, I know people can change. Not just morally in a fairy tale sense or physically for health reasons or otherwise, but everything deep within. The foundations people spend entire lives building upon can be redesigned from bottom to top. Whole sets of ideas and ideals can be amended in order to expand one's growth to stay in step with an ever-changing society. One only has to look at the difference in attitudes toward human rights and equality in 1850, 1930, 1975, and 2013.

Not many people like or easily embrace change. But the reality of change, no matter where or how it is initiated, is that after all is said and done, it's a lot easier having been through it than it once seemed.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

Say what you want about Kanye and his marriage and his eccentric behavior and whatever (and I'm no fan of anything Kardashian), but you can't deny some of his talent.

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

What's the moral value of a dime these days? Ten cents. What's it worth? I was at a gas station last week, waiting in line. The guy behind me was counting his money, and I heard him say to himself he was gonna be a dime short. I don't know what he was buying, and I didn't care, but I knew what was coming next. He asked me if he could borrow a dime. I fished around in my pocket and all I had was a quarter. I gave it to him, and he told me if he saw me around he'd pay me back. I wasn't expecting to ever see him again, so I said, "No worries", checked out and left. It's a quarter. By itself it doesn't do much good for anything these days anyway. Yesterday, after I'd finished typing up the day's entry, I was staring at my laptop with my headphones plugged in, immersed in whatever I was reading. I looked up to notice a man sitting in front of me, holding a quarter in the air. It was the same guy from the gas station last week. I had totally forgotten about him and the money. But he sought me out specifically to repay me, when not only did he not have to, but it wouldn't have made much difference financially if he did or didn't. I think it was a pretty neat gesture though. It showed me that not everybody wants nothing more than to just take a handout, and some decent people still exist.

Anybody else find it funny or ironic that Kanye West made headlines by walking into a "Wrong Way" sign last month? http://www.vibe.com/article/watch-kanye-west-walks-street-sign

300: Given WDC's limitation on book lengths that I recently rammed my head against ran into, 300 is a reasonable amount of anticipated entries for this blog. It's not a personal goal or limit or anything. But seeing as I started my last blog as "just a blog" first and before it morphed into 30DBC and BCF depositories, along with added links and embedded videos and images, 380 entries doesn't seem likely anymore. I wonder how short and meaningless entries would have to be in order to hit the maximum of 750 entries without first rubbing up against the 2 MB (megabyte?) limit? And by no means am I slighting those who write short entries...I admire those people who can say a lot by saying a little. Me? I take the long, scenic route with less stops I guess.

Well, I think I'm gonna tie everything up here I guess and see how many mistakes I've made in this entry before I carry on with the rest of my day. Peace, put your quarter up, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!