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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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| It's 22c outside. Which would be pleasant were it that cool inside. I'm overheated and uncomfortable. And cranky. Can't even finish "Sources of my anger. What do I fear?"  because I can't think straight. Dear Elle jumped the gun on promoting my forum "Blogville " . I was hoping to make it pretty first and open it early August. Oh well...She was right about this though: "Blogville is for sharing blog posts that discuss more adult or controversial topics, and to encourage commenting on those posts with a view to creating an interactive blogging community that isn't afraid to discuss such topics. Please note that it is rated XGC to allow for discussion of high-rated topics." I did get to Orange Food Farm to shop. Even bought liver and hotdogs. Highlight was chatting with John and Judy on the way there. Still not doing well. Time for another shower. Tuesday: liver and taco. Saw friends. Did get out. Did take a shower. Could use another before 4 p.m. and again before going to sleep. 90 degrees at 2 p.m. Tina has posted twice in my forum but no one else yet. Rewrote my entry. Makes more sense. Lifting a finger is almost too much effort at the moment. Have been watching "I promised you the Moon". 4736 |
| My personal blog entry today: "Overwhelm (heat doesn't help)" This blog title could lead to a rant... as in go forth from Europe and rape America and enslave people along the way so you can abuse the land and exterminate the passenger pidgeon ... just for fun ... And then claim that your notion of government wasn't influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy, because, y'know, that would be giving brown people credit. No... this blog isn't going to go there.  The Japanese Future Design Movement was based on the Native-Amercan notion of "unto the seventh generation..." by-the-way. But I digress. I made hummus. I'm drinking chilled blackberry-orange something. I'm keeping up my water intake and staying hydrated, peeing in a cup to check color and whether I need to be worried. I monitor my health in some small ways . I need to unclutter and clean because I promised Travis. I need to write because nothing on the contest list is exciting me much. That usually changes when I focus for 20 minutes. Focusing in the heat isn't that easy. At high-noon (1:32 p.m.) it's already 88 on it's way to 98. It's oppressive inside even with the fan going. "Puddled" covers some of that. So... I need to do something. When there's so much to do? Anything will suffice. Set up a blog forum. "Blogville " [XGC] It's XGC because that's what some blogs are rated. E entries are fine. It's 94 degrees at 7 p.m. I'm surviving. Went down to the bridge to take photos. 80 degrees now at 10 p.m. Only a few fireworks; although, I didn't appreciate the one that went off below my window. |
| Set up July's contest list yesterday. Need to edit before I open it. I could leave it 'for my eyes only' but it could be of use for someone else... not likely . Hale and Healthy in Hell Hale! Hale! Yoga class begins. Are you really sure? — Yes, I'm really sure! — Then surely I must be dead. [183] Contemplating whether to rethink this and post at 24 syllables...  Met Julian last evening. What a hoot! Travis visited and that helps. Bri gave me fresh basil so I added it to tomato soup Laxmi gave me. Dylan put up his photos. We had a rainstorm! Blew the heat out of my room.     Already 87 degrees at 2 p.m. Toasty. Sat with Jean for two hours catching up on a year of no-see while she was long-term visiting Taiwan. I am still on edge for many reasons. But at least I have a plan. I got a merit badge. ![Merit Badge in The Prompt Me Contest
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations on winning the best overall prompt for June 2021!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-The_Prompt_Me_Contest-2001646_14.gif) for the winning June prompt from The Prompt Me ContestI will need to promote the contest. Let it be said: I was a gardener because I gardened. I was a writer because I wrote. I was a traveler because I traveled. I'm not dead yet. |
| I posted this for the newsfeed. I try to encourage writers. Cubby made me write and write and write! So I share it here for everyone.Cubby: As for quality... I wish. I just (poorly) wrote and submitted something late last night. Not happy at all with it. Needs fixing but don't know whether I have the time. I believe in vomiting with pen in hand or fingers tapping. I surprise myself sometimes. I think that I can't write to the prompt and 20 minutes later I have something... messy... but messes can be cleaned up. It's not like when I was a boy smudging the pencil across the paper as a left-hander or making mistakes that needed to be erased. Both were a major minor sin mishap. Now? Thankfully spellcheck catches most typos.  But it doesn't fill the blank page. I'm not a natural story teller which is why I write short fictions. You've liked a couple and for that I've thankful. Even I've liked a couple things I've written! I'm more at home with poetry. As in short poetry; yet, a couple of my blog rants could be cleaned up and turned into something resembling an essay. The key? Write. Edit later. Reedit. But don't sit waiting for the next inspiration. Find a prompt, a pen, a piece of paper (notice the alliteration and rhythm? trochaic pentameter...) and start baring your soul, your anger, your dreams... whatever needs to be regurgitated. Sing it or croak it. Either will do. I'm always amazed by the response I get. I've won contests with something I was unsure about (whether it even fit the rules of the contest... or worse... that it would offend). I've also had other excellent pieces (in my mind  ) totally ignored. Thank Rachel for the "Second Time Around ~ Birthday Special" She dispenses bandages for wounded Muses.  Although with 36 entries and counting she may need a new medical kit. Open and due by July 14th by-the-way. That said... some pieces are just mediocre (I'm trying to be kind). Cure? Write another, and another, and another. Mediocrity never stopped me! It's the only way I learned how to write better. I'm thrilled to have competition too. Tileira just finished "Journalistic Intentions" and Andy is sooo close. Multiple entry contests are challenging. I'm better with one-and-done. So congrats to all who stuck with it. You made Stik's day. Contests are lots of work. I support contests by entering. Which reminds me that I have a half-baked story in the oven I need to check on. Laters...Already 84 degress at 11:11. Should go over 100. I'm going to add this to "The Bard's Hall Contest" ... because I can.  New flash: 1st place with a purty noo bloo ribbon:
Finished:
I only missed one contest. I wanted to write a letter from my father to his father circa 1942 from the warzone in North Africa. My father was part of the Signal Corps out of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. I remember he had Moroccan coins. But... he seldom talked about the war. Couldn't remember his voice... you know... what he would've written about. |
Another oldie posted for a contest. There weren't many contests back in the day.
I intend to be almost caught up by the end of the day. Tuesday... I'm not doing well. Even with the fan on didn't sleep well. Nightmares. Better to get up fairly early. 68 degrees at 8 a.m. My thoughts wander. How 'democracy' can stifle the voices of the most creative, the most marginalized people. Even here at WdC. If White women are the main demographic and the main judges and owners of contests then it shouldn't be a surprise if works have a slant in that direction. How many poems or stories deal with being Black or Hindu or Lesbian? And yes, you can be all three. How will these stories be read if they are not written? Once written will they be understood? Many interactions are universal. But a story placed in Mumbai or Durban may not connect with a suburban middle-American, even if the protagonist is middle class, blessed with a son and daughter who are giving her grey hairs. And when they move to Biloxi, Mississippi? She'll still be Black, Hindu and Lesbian but in a foreign culture with new rules to navigate. I think people at WdC try to understand but I've had comments that indicate to me that my 6th grade level writing (I seldom write at higher levels) uses vocabulary that is regional or class-based. I'm sure some have to look up a word or two. But... much writing here avoids flavor in writing style, vocabulary, theme or setting. Whether it's fantasy or fiction it's firmly based in an Anglo-world of monolingual anglophones with a terminal case of anglophilia. At some level we write what we know and if all we know is bound by a life that goes round and round like the roads of Pleasantville... then that's all we know. So what about me? How complicit am I? Do I write about what I've personally gone through, sharing a 'memory' in a blog or fictionalizing it for a poem or story? I share more than I realize but less than I could. My traumas are tricky; it's like negotiating Michigan potholes in March. My life-long risk aversion sets off alarms every time I come close to "revealing too much". Personally I'm not doing well. And I have no one to share that with that I trust. My best friend ghosted me 18 years ago. It's been a long drawn-out death rattle since. And that's what most of my writing is. A death rattle. I told Max Griffin 🏳️🌈  : My first reaction was sh*t... I didn't expect this. Then tears flowed because it's been a rough couple of days. Even good news is too much to bear. I should just bow and say thank-you. I entered the contest because I'm not a natural story teller and want to improve. I like the way the contest is set up with a different focus each time with awesome guidance as to what that is. I do hope to enter again. I bow. Thank-you, K (as in Cory) This is why: First Place, June 2021 Cross Timbers Contest to
Also: ![Merit Badge in Max Excellence
[Click For More Info]
First Place, June 2021 Cross Timbers Contest](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Max_Excellence-1795672_10.gif) Finished and posted: "Before Fed-Ex Delivery" It reads more like guided meditation. Posted: "When a moment lasts a lifetime" Posted: "As Seen On TV" Posted: "In the Lands of Saint Mother Teresa [96]" Not happy with it.4665 |
| 97 degrees at 5 p.m. The fan is swirling...  Yep. Monte gave me two fans. He offered an 110 air conditioner but the way my rooms are set up? Better a fan. Meatloaf today. I am drinking as much liquid as possible... some of it is brown and warm. Finished:
I'm working on others. Need to make progress tonight. I decided to enter an old set of poems in the Trad Poetry contest.
Rereading poems, mostly serenades. I have a lot. Lots sighing, but many with rhyme. I could edit a few for future contests. Still need to finish a dialogue, start a story if I have time, I'm so worn out. It's only 9:45 and the sun has just set. Twilight and 84 degrees. |
| It's 9:09 and 68 degrees. It will heat up by noon. I'm worried about the heat. They are still talking about temps of 105 this week. The all time record high is 107. My nerves can't take this. My place barely cools down at night. 3rd floor, no a/c, poor air circulation. I'm not ready to just hop on a plane. I should be. One week away might help. I've looked into Albania, Greece, Mexico. There are few reasonable options. Fairbanks Alaska is $500+. My nerves are shattering for other reasons as well. I need to write a fiction drawing on all this angst and releasing it. I have the opening line. "I always knew that the answer was suicide. It was just a matter of when it would be convenient." Decided to submit it to Cubby's contest. However, there is much to be done today and tackling some of those issues might help. My mouth is very dry and my pee was darker yesterday so I'll be drinking more liquids than usual. Dehydration kills. A pretty new ribbon for 2nd place:
Finished and posted:
"Windows I have yet to look through [168] JI#8" means I'm finished with "Journalistic Intentions" .Response to Czechia 2:0 Netherlands. Bob Moss: The future is bright, it just isn't orange. Posted at newsfeed regarding rules: "This is very important when doing WdC contests. I reread rules and still make mistakes. That said: Owners of contests can make rules simple, clear and concise. No one is entering if there are 50 rules (hyperbole but some contests really need to trim their sails). Rules that are important should be together and stand out due to color, font, size, bold. They should also be near the top. I read top down and I dare say most people here do as well. If something is absolutely verboten then that should be stated clearly. If someone has broken a rule (most are unintentional) then kindly pointing it out is better than blame-and-shame. Deletion without an explanation is poor form. There are unmentioned rules in writing. 1. friends publish friends. 2. you wll be shunned by someone without any explanation. 3. "poetry", "story", yada yada have different definitions and at times neither the contest owner nor other writers agree what they are. "I'm looking for cutting-edge ____." Means Nothing! 4. everyone 'assumes'... making you-know-what out of you-know-who. So I read rules. I try hard to follow them. My anxiety rages however when those rules are not clear. Someone who has never run a contest or entered one has a lot to learn and listening to the suggestions of oldies and newbies is part of that." It's 89 degrees at 7:36. Forecast now has 100 degrees this week instead of 105. |
| I skipped a day... on purpose, but it's 10 pm. here and that's Midnight in Philadelphia. Finished and posted:
To determine ease of reading and grade level I use: https://datayze.com/readability-analyzer I did write another serenade. If worse comes to worse I can use my serenades to enter 2 or 3 contests. Wrote, edited and posted: "Strawberry moonlight [165] Serenade #...?" Finished and posted: "Flora circa 1888 [109]" "Water [167]" "Zen dirigible [166] JI#7" Did you know: ᛝ = ng as ᛝvar. Or Eᛝland or Eᛝa. Odd thoughts I had scribbled elsewhere: Do I rage about T wrapping himself in a flag? Like tough rooster meat wrapped in bacon? Would that be too political... crowing day after day, the neighbors with their hatchets hope he stretches his scrawny neck their way You probably think this tail is about you... don't you? Mrs. Wong made faces at Donald, the neighbor's rooster. "Nice feet. Are you sure you want to keep them?" "It's awfully quiet this morning. What's for lunch?" "Birthday fricassee. I started stewing yesterday at sunset." I went to market and bought harissa, sheep curds, salad turnips. I ate ham-cheese at Break Espresso. I've finished some writings. It's only 4:26 and 87 degrees but I'm worn out for some reason. Regarding rhyme: "The part that irks me the most is tortured syntax, dear Yoda. The other aspect is insisting on perfect rhyme when it tortures the meaning. I have enough torture in my life as is. One solution is free verse where the rhymes need not occur at the end. Also, most people write in a linear manner and get to the second rhyme and... botch the entire poem. The second rhyme should be the natural one. Switch lines or words or even find two new words that express something. Since poetry is not a legal brief or an essay or a story or non-fiction journalism it need not read like one. Degas said,"with words not ideas" and William Carlos Williams, "No ideas, but in things." |
| Lilli wrote me regarding her answer to my poll, "What I selected today will likely be different when I'm in a different mood, lol. I selected the one I did because it immediately created a scene in my head, a snapshot. I might have to write something too!" Now... that's a useful response! Everyone may be different but if I can see a story revealing itself before me I have to dream or write it. I daydream a lot. Today's small victories: It's a 70 pleasant degrees at 10:47. I don't want to go out because I have too much to do but I should. New-to-me words: democide, democracide, doomscrolling Last night's serenade posted: "A dance in peach and puce [163] Serenade #...?" Finished, copied, edited and posted as a bitem:
Written and posted: "The weight of rice and tea [164] JI#6" I responded to entry "Invalid Entry" by Rhymer Reisen  The cat analogy at the end is spot on. I write poems to Zmitri. I have a particular person in mind. It's basically a cosmic love affair with all the predictable ups and downs. At times his face melts into others I have met along life's journey, but one face will get me going every time. I have so much I want to share with him. But time and a healthy distance get in the way. It provides the friction necessary for my writings to move forward in the real world and not just be dreams floating in the ether never to cover up the horror of the blank page. I'm writing serenades. Every sunset is the same sun but the view is never the same. I think of Zmitri and write to him as if he were here. It just dawned on me that maybe I'm confusing Muse with Talisman... but the results are similar and as long as it works I'm satisfied. |
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. That's good, right? Or did you just list those checked? 
Shadows and light "
Second time prose June 15 - 7/14 "
July Fantasy for "
Griffin for "
Essay non-fiction "
Bard's Hall "
