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A new blog to contain answers to prompts |
Since my old blog "Everyday Canvas "  became overfilled, here's a new one. This new blog item will continue answering prompts, the same as the old one. Cool water cascading to low ground
To spread good will and hope all around.  |
| Prompt: Enthusiasm "Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity." Robert Foster Bennett About which things are you enthusiastic? ------------- Nowadays, I am enthusiastic about books, reading, and writing. During my earlier years, I admit, I had much more enthusiasm for many other things. I guess I've lost enthusiasm for things I cannot do acceptably enough. The prompt says, "Enthusiasm is excitement..." Yes, there is a part in it that has to do with excitement but it is more than that. And the prompt adds those as "... "inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity." I doubt though that excitement comes first. I mean how can I be excited about something I am not inspired to do, and something I lack the creativity and motivation? I think excitement comes after the inspiration and not before. Then, motivation adds persistence, pushing me forward my goal even when challenges arise. With creativity, a rare occasion nowadays, comes innovation, as it allows me to approach tasks with new ideas and unique insights. Then and only then, enthusiasm has the power to turn an ordinary moment or an idea into an extraordinary one. As the result, the amount of work that is needed feels like an adventure. Usually, as I've noticed, enthusiastic people not only uplift themselves but also they may inspire those around them. This way enthusiasm becomes a purpose-driven energy, pushing them (and me) toward enjoying life by making it more meaningful. May we never lose the enthusiasm for things we enjoy and care about! |
| Prompt: Learning "Learning should be a joy and full of excitement. It is life's greatest adventure; it is an illustrated excursion into the minds of the noble and the learned." Taylor Caldwell What is learning to you? Should it be a lifetime effort? ----------- On learning, Wikipedia's too-long article starts with: "Learning is the process of acquiring a new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learning in certain plants." Wow! That means everything learns! That means learning is the essential part of all existence. How silly of me that I once thought only humans and animals could learn! Although recently some new technological aids have been in the picture, also. Come to think of it, maybe I should be panicking. Should I though? With or without the help up technology, if I wanted to stay alive on this planet, I had already found out the importance of learning, a long time ago. But now, the tech and its machinery and such have entered into the picture as well. Wow, again! Learning, very shoddily, meant at one time "acquiring facts." And not only to me but to the entire school systems and to most teachers. Still, much earlier in my life, say during my grade-school years, I figured out learning also meant adaptation. If I didn't adapt, I didn't get the praises or the goods. But was that enough? I now think learning goes far beyond acquiring facts and adaptation. It also involves developing critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to apply knowledge in personal experiences and real-world situations. And then some. Our wish for learning stimulates curiosity and creativity, enriching life with new skills, hobbies, and perspectives. It keeps the mind active and engaged, which can contribute to mental well-being. Then, of course, learning has to be lifelong. Inherently, it already is, but if we pay even more special attention to it, we can reap more benefits out of it. This is because learning encourages curiosity and creativity, enriching life with new skills, hobbies, and perspectives. It keeps the mind active and engaged, which can contribute to our mental well-being. That is why I feel I am rather fortunate to live in this time and age for there are many more resources for learning like that of the internet, even if, at times, I get worried and suspicious of such new forms of intelligence, in case they might mess up our well-being and the way of life; however, so far, aside from being a buttinsky, any newest technology has only been helpful. So, I'll say, power to learning, in any way and with anything that helps us along while we are alive. |
Prompt: "There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by. " William Cullen Bryant Let this quote inspire your entry today. --------- So, here comes the way our human perception works. I gather this is about how natural beauty is seen, understood, and then philosophized by us, nature's creations on two feet. Anyway, by us, I really mean here the American poet, William Cullen Bryant. That is to say, I'm not as perceptive as he was. I guess my reality is more objective than his words, and in my first reading of the quote, I thought he might be challenging the objective reality of nature. Yet, he isn't making a statement about physical existence, but he's exploring nature in its further subtlety. I got that when I thought about this more. I now think Bryant has explored how his consciousness (or maybe ours, too} creates meaning from what we see. In other words, insight from sight. When Bryant says, "There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye," he suggests that beauty isn't just a quality waiting to be discovered, but rather something that comes alive through appreciation. Also, a star may emit light for billions of years, but its "glory" or its ability to inspire wonder and awe exists in a conscious mind that appreciates it. The way I see it, that "loving eye" does all the work here. His reference to fragrance in the second sentence also needs human perception and, through that perception, human joy. As living things breathe so do Bryant's words; they 'breathe with joy.' Now that I've so clumsily analyzed this quote, I thought about me and nature. What makes me 'breathe with joy' is not a standing-still flower or a tree or a motionless star in the night sky. I think I like motion a lot more than any still beauty. In other words, while Bryant appreciates beauty, I appreciate motion more. Such as clouds rolling by in the sky, trees dancing with the breeze, birds flying in flocks, a cat playing with a ball, a friend smiling at me with understanding. To each his own, as they say, and I guess, with me, motion begets emotion. |
| Prompt: Okay, bloggers what books are you reading? Are any of the books you're reading on the list that msn posted? https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/people-are-shari... ------------------ Unfortunately, I couldn't open that link. I don't know why. It could be because my computer has all the Norton stuff and Norton sometimes is a pain. Anyhow, I don't read books from others' lists. Not that my picks are so great but they are my picks.  I just started on Margaret Atwood's Writing with Intent. It says in the beginning of it, "Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose: 1983-2005. I bought this book in hardcover, black and thick, all because I like Margaret Atwood a lot. Since I just started reading this book last night, I only read the introduction and after the introduction, the two pages in which Atwood talks about herself and her background. The next chapter is her review of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick. I haven't read that review, yet, but a long time ago, I read Updike's books, including The Witches of Eastwick. So, I'm looking forward to see what she has to say about that book. Atwood’s fiction and nonfiction have always seemed as great accomplishments to me. This is because, especially with non-fiction, she sticks to her subjects and doesn't butt in with her views. To other reviewers and writers of non-fiction, her style should be an example. Concerning this very topic, she points out in her introduction about reviews and such, this: "There's a legal echo here--assault with intent to injure comes to mind--and a tricky assumption, too, about the difference between the kind of writing and say, fiction or poetry, which might thus be defined as writing without intent, thus free of instigated designs upon the reader." She certainly hasn't injured anyone to the best of my understanding despite the amount of her writing and reading. She tells, however, the truth. At the end of the next two pages, in which she talks about her background, family, and her work, her last paragraph talks about her feelings about the world in 1989, which impressed me greatly, if only because it mirrored the way I had felt then. Here is the last paragraph: "How euphoric we felt for a short time, in 1989. How dazed by the spectacle of the impossible made real. No more cold war! Now, surely, peace and prosperity could become possible for all. How wrong we were about the brave new world we were about to enter." Not only Atwood's talent in fiction, but also her work as a thinker, teacher, and reviewer is impressive as she published close to 40 books that show how wide-ranging her knowledge is. I can hardly wait to read the rest of this book, but I don't know how to contain myself from reading all of it at one sitting, yet I won't. This is because: first, my eyesight isn't so great with print books, but more importantly, I decided to read it one chapter at a time to get all the benefits from Atwood's wisdom. |
| Prompt: You have to have a past before you can have a future. Write about this in your Blog Entry today. ----------- Donning a philosophical, analytical cap that is way too big for my head, I believe this quote digs deeper than the first thought that jumped into my mind: "Time moves forward." Yes, time does move forward, and in addition, our past is our foundation--not that I think we are all built from stone and wood like a house. As human beings, however, our every experience, every mistake, every triumph builds us up. Without those, without a past, we'd end up becoming unthinking, unfeeling, useless organisms. In the same vein, isn't it a hoot the way some of us try to escape from our pasts! Our pasts, as beautiful or as rotten as they may be, aren't just collections of memories. They are our teachers, and they are our blueprints and compasses to show us the way to the future to shape us into who we may become. From this angle, the quote isn't saying we're trapped by our past, but quite the opposite. Don't we all remember an embarrassing situation that happened to us in school or in a crowded place? The relationships that didn't work out quite right? Our parents whom we thought of as sub-par? They taught us resilience and they became springboards that forced us to move or jump ahead. In other words, we have earned every scar for a reason: to face and be able to live in the future. After all, our pasts should not weigh us down but give us the power and push to soar into the future. |
| Prompt: You have to have a past before you can have a future. Write about this in your Blog Entry today. ----------- Donning a philosophical, analytical cap that is way too big for my head, I believe this quote digs deeper than the first thought that jumped into my mind: "Time moves forward." Yes, time does move forward, and in addition, our past is our foundation--not that I think we are all built from stone and wood like a house. As human beings, however, our every experience, every mistake, every triumph builds us up. Without those, without a past, we'd end up becoming unthinking, unfeeling, useless organisms. In the same vein, isn't it a hoot the way some of us try to escape from our pasts! Our pasts, as beautiful or as rotten as they may be, aren't just collections of memories. They are our teachers, and they are our blueprints and compasses to show us the way to the future to shape us into who we may become. From this angle, the quote isn't saying we're trapped by our past, but quite the opposite. Don't we all remember an embarrassing situation that happened to us in school or in a crowded place? The relationships that didn't work out quite right? Our parents whom we thought of as sub-par? They taught us resilience and they became springboards that forced us to move or jump ahead. In other words, we have earned every scar for a reason: to face and be able to live in the future. After all, our pasts should not weigh us down but give us the power and push to soar into the future. |
| Prompt: "The season, the air, were all favorable to tenderness and sentiment." Jane Austen Write about this quote in your Blog Entry today. ------- I might be too old to chew the fat for Austen's sentimental quote. So instead, I wrote a short story, using the quote. First Kiss The season, the air, were all so favorable to tenderness and sentiment. Spring had painted the world in soft pinks and yellows bleeding into the evening sky. Cherry blossoms drifted like snow, collecting in Sarah's dark hair as she walked beside me. We'd known each other since oh well, I'd say first grade. We had lived through twelve years of friendship and homework and shared lunches and movie flicks. But something shifted that evening, like a photo coming into focus. She stopped walking and turned to face me. A petal caught on her eyelash, and without thinking, I reached out to brush it away. My hand lingered longer than it should have. Her breath caught – a small sound that seemed to echo through the empty street. "David," she whispered, and in that moment, I understood why poets wrote about spring... I suddenly knew why they filled pages with words about awakening love and renewal. The kiss, it came then, all on its own, and it tasted like possibility. |
| Prompt: “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Frances Hodgson Burnett Do you think life can be a garden, and if so, do you like flowers? Which ones? --------------------- Oh, who doesn't love a garden! Once upon a time, I had a huge garden, in which I raised many kinds of plants and flowers. Now what I have, in a different state and house, is lawn that other people take care of, but this is okay, too. In this quote from The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett talks about the power of seeing what's been dealt to us with optimism, and not only looking without understanding. The key phrase here is "If you look the right way." This phrase points to the way we see and experience life. A person who appreciates life notices with hope the beauty in everyday life. Such a person's internal view will be of flowers, alive, colorful, and beautiful, instead of dirt and weeds, unlike the internal view of a person who only focuses on the negative. This goes to show that even in difficult circumstances, we have the opportunity of transformation just like a garden that flourishes under the care, attention, and patience of its gardener. In fact, this quote is a reminder of the fact that the way we look at things shapes our reality. If we can be smart enough to choose hope, potential, and beauty, life will reflect that back to us. In my own imaginary garden, therefore, I would like all kinds of flowers, especially roses, violets, asters, daisies, orchids, lilacs, and even weeds, which have powers little-known by us, with which they enrich the soil; however, I would never let the weeds take over the garden, but I would only use them here and there for learning from negative experiences. |
| Prompt: What are negative experiences and adversities good for? And do you know how to protect and look after yourself when facing an adversity? ---------- None of us ever opts for a negative experience, do we? Some of us, however, climb mountains or go on safaris, but even those people are doing it for kicks and excitement. Throughout history, our kind has dealt with ice ages, hunger and starvation, wild animals like phytons, wolves, or saber-toothed tigers, and plagues. And humanity has come out AOK. In fact, we've multiplied so much that, now, we've become the plague of the planet. No wonder nature sent us that Covid thing! This resilience of ours shows that we humans have a knack for survival. Maybe because unsavory events present an opportunity to reflect and learn from the bad stuff, even though we may not consciously seek negative experiences. Case in point, when a negative anything happens, it forces us to reflect on why it happened. This activates our thinking in-depth, even while we are grieving over that loss, and it brings about some looking inside ourselves to see if and how we could have prevented that loss, and if we couldn't have prevented it, could there be a reason behind it, even though that reason may be beyond our reach. In short, we try to understand the meaning behind the pain, which brings its own kind of sense and reflection into our lives, gluing together happy events with sadder ones, turning our scattered encounters into a whole, unique, and more mature life experience. This all shows that finding meaning in life isn't only about happy experiences. It can also come from insights into our lives that may take the form of enhanced meaning, for now we can understand more how any negative event fits into our fight for survival and search for happiness. As for me, I am not sure I can always look after and protect myself while facing intense bad experiences. So far, though, I've lived through quite a bit of sad and disconcerting life events and losses, and I'm still surviving. I find that, when such a negative thing happens, instead of any rushed or long-term plans, living through the exact hour, minute, and day -as well as I can- helps the most. Then, later on, when I am calmer, looking back into that unwanted and unwelcome experience helps me to accept it and deal with it much better. |
| Prompt: This Moment Omar Khayyam said, “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." How difficult or easy it is to really live in the immediate exact moment, even while knowing it is a happy one? ----------- Happy feelings have a way of putting a person in the present. But then, the mind wanders. For example, I used to say to myself, "This is great! But what about so and so or a family member having a bad time these days? What about that nasty look my neighbor gave me? What about the world situation?" Then, at the same time, I might be worrying about that beautiful moment's quick departure. A beautiful moment, even if something ordinary or extraordinary that flees by--such as laughter with family and friends, the warmth of my sons' smiles and hugs, a lovely sunset, or watching how the salamanders dash across the driveway--brings about an awareness of joy. But also, this very awareness can make me or anyone anxious about its passing. It took me a long time to learn to quiet my hyperactive mind so I could be just in one special moment, be it a moment of joy or of sorrow. So nowadays, at least some moments feel immersive with no effort needed. I can now get lost in writing, music, cooking, and deep conversations. Now, I can be fully present and stay inside a moment. All this is because I took a simple notebook and found some questions on the web involving Jung's shadow work and wrote longhand, answering those questions, plus adding to their answers anything of my own. This practice became some form of a meditation or an exercise of mindfulness. So now, without my mind jumping around, I can trust and be fully inside a moment rather than worrying about its flight or trying to capture it to make it stay. As a reward, my good moments often linger a lot longer.  |
| Write about what you see out the window today. Give us enough details it feels like we're looking out the window with you. --------- Exactly from where I am sitting now, on my computer chair, I can see the outside, since I face the large window at the wall across. Out there, the golf course is like a painted landscape. Two golf carts stand side by side by the seventh hole. While four people are watching like a hawk the golfer whose turn it is to putt, the golfer takes his time and possibly gives his full attention to his possible aim. Yet, I can't see any of his facial expressions. This seventh hole is too far from the house. Even those golfers are just tiny figures from here, but their stances and arm and head gestures tell stories. Then, closer to the house, a flock of white ibises sweep down on the freshly mown grass, indifferent only to the "golfers only" status of the green. The ground is sort of wavy and hilly, unlike the more flattened golf courses I knew when we lived up north. Such undulations of the ground can turn a simple putt into a humbling experience, as it is doing right now. Funny isn't it that here in Florida, where most surfaces are flattened, we'd end up watching a wavy ground for a golf course! Although these grounds and this scene is sculpted, maintained, and manicured into an idealized version for the golfers' eyes, nature here always butts in, like those flocks of birds, a small rabbit, or a hawk sweeping down on a tiny squirrel. In this golf course's case, for years, it was the property of Club Med. Then, it was sold to our town. Our town being so astute(!) put up huge trees here and there, despite their hurricane hazard to our surrounding houses around the course. Their aim and reason for those trees was to attract tourist golfers from North, although the trees are not South Florida trees but belong originally to the more northern regions. Then, a few years ago, lightning hit one of those huge trees, taking off some of its trunk and bark. Now, from here, I can also see that maimed tree with its barkless side and its slanted form, still alive. This may be because the ground crew takes good care of everything. Right this minute, since it is Saturday today, there are now several more golfers on the green, their sizes seem to be two inches or so from where I am sitting, and I hope, the bright sunshine shimmering on the dark green lawn brings luck to their swings and putts. |
| Prompt: "Your first observations can be done simply by learning to drift gently through a wood, a naturalist in hurry never learns anything of value." -- Gerald Durrell Write about this quote in your Blog entry today ---------- I had to stop for a few seconds and think about this one. After all, you never know what a naturalist or an environmentalist is hinting at.  What this quote states is simple but deceptive. I took it as if Gerald Durrell is talking not about just nature-watching but life itself. So I imagined myself walking along a trail, eyes forward, thinking about my destination. Then, what if I might have lost my way, instead? What if I was moving through the trees in imagined fears and with no place to go? On the other hand, what he has mentioned is learning to drift gently. This 'drifting gently', in fact, would be something like an unhurried presence. A naturalist, who knows what he is doing but he has little time, might check the species he encounters a snaps photos, especially because he is in a rush. Yet, has he stopped and watched a spider weaving its web or did he listen to how the calls of birds changed when a hawk loitered nearby? No, he didn't have the time for details and he missed the real story of the woods. Like this naturalist and the woods, our real understanding of life comes from our careful observation of it by taking time with things, especially relationships of all kinds. So, "Drift gently" in the quote may not only refer to anyone's walking speed but their movements inspired by their curiosity and wonder and not their agenda. We now live speedy lives in a speed-obsessed world because we have convinced ourselves that speed is better, Surely, I am the first one to admit to this fault. Even as I am now writing about this quote, the things waiting for me to be done during the rest of the day are urging me on from the back of my mind. Surely, too much slowness can be equated with sloth, but what about receiving gently and thoughtfully what the world offers us? This is why I think Gerald Durrell is scolding us, however charitably, with his kind words for letting ourselves melt in this culture of immediacy and torrent of speed. What he says is a reminder that before we can analyze, categorize, or study something, we must--first--simply be with it, letting it reveal itself to us through its own time and ways. |
| Prompt: Secrets "We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows." –Robert Frost, The Secret Sits What do you think about secrets and secret-keeping? Can you keep a secret well? ------------- Yes, I can keep secrets very well, but if people ask me, “Can you keep a secret?” I might say, "No, because it's possible, I might forget and blurt it out.” I might say this because holding a secret can be a burden on me or any other person. A secret is heavy for it might need extra mental or physical energy. Then, if asked directly about that secret, I could be made to lie and say, "I know nothing about it," which would disturb me even more. This also depends on the kind of a secret. For example, if I am an employee in a business or company and the place has rules, methods, and operations privy only to me and a few others, then when asked about it, I can say, "Sorry, I can't answer that. It is company policy." In this case, I don't have to lie. In the prompt's quote, Robert Frost says, "the secret sits in the middle and knows." Yes, it does stay there inside the mind knowing, while the person who is trusted with the secret tries to suppress their thoughts about it. This is because the mind would drift to the secret and to the feeling of the guilt for keeping something from others and not being authentic and open. Then, why do people share secrets in the first place? Some people may feel if they show trust in a person, they might win them over to become close friends. Then, for the person who is trusted with the secret, if they don't share it with spouses, close family members and friends, or parents, a sense of unease or being not trustworthy could develop. Therefore, both keeping and sharing others' secrets can put a person in a difficult position. So, for me, it is best to tell someone upfront that I do not want to keep their secret in the first place. I believe my approach would work, at least for me. |
| Prompt: Storytelling "You’re never going to kill storytelling because it’s built into the human plan. We come with it.” Margaret Atwood Do you like telling stories in any shape or form? --------------- I love stories, though reading them much more than telling my own. Even as a child, I pestered the adults around me by always asking them to tell me a story. This may be partly because my mother was a great story-teller. She not only embellished the most common stories but also added or changed something about them each time she told any one story. I asked her, once or twice, if she was lying each time she came up with one of her concoctions. My cousin, on the other hand, dwelled on those changes. She said she liked my mother's embellishments much more than the story itself. No wonder my mother was more willing to tell us a story when my cousin was visiting! Or maybe it was because when she and I were together, we usually got into mischief. In the long run, storytelling is inescapable. It doesn't matter if the story is real or imaginary. The quote's phrase "built into the human plan" suggests that storytelling is not merely cultural but it is something deeply embedded in our psychology and evolution. We tell stories to share knowledge, preserve history, and evoke emotions. Then, in spite of the technological advances that affect storytelling mediums, the essence of storytelling has stayed untouched. After all, it has come down to us from cave paintings and oral traditions. Who cares if a story is being told in a movie, a book, or on the internet! A story is precious. Yet, our very own stories we hide inside us are the most precious. We may or may not dare to share them with others. This doesn't matter. They are there for us to learn from and to enjoy. However, even if we keep quiet about our own stories, we can't stop others' stories, can we! Plus, most likely, we want to hear them. Especially the real-life ones...Real-life ones involving others and our own families. Consequently, when we are telling stories involving our own families, we need to pay attention to a few important considerations. The top one is how the other family members would feel having their stories told by someone who only knows its half-truths. We need to ask for their consent especially if they are alive or guess what they would want to be remembered by if they've passed on. Then, most family stories may involve multiple viewpoints. Understanding and respecting different perspectives could avoid harm. This is because family stories can bring up different emotions and impact relationships, especially when they are about conflicts, loss, or trauma. Also, we must be careful and conscious of why we are telling any particular family story. Is it for satisfying our own emotional needs or is it for any other reason? When we tell family stories with respect and care for others' feelings, they may reward us with deeper connections, wisdom, and even healing. As the quote says, enjoying stories and storytelling "is built into the human plan. We come with it.” May all our stories have positive endings! ################### Humor poetry contest online no entry fee required: Prizes: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate ; $500 ; $250 Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each Deadline: April 1 https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/wergle-flomp-humor-poetry-contest-free?u... |
| Prompt: Journalism "Journalists claim to be hearing 'both sides' as though a binary opposition had been set down by some disinterested god. But it is the journalists themselves who are playing god--it is the journalists who decide which sides are legitimate and which are not." Ta Nehisi Coates, The Message What do you think about the validity of the journalism today? Are today's journalists doing their work well enough? ------------------- Unfortunately for companies, events, and even private citizens, the destructive or constructive role today's journalists play is at best iffy, especially at this time in our civilization. Case in point, my son showed me an article he picked up from the web, written by a quite well-known journalist. The article was about an old and serious company that isn't going under but somewhat struggling. Now, in this article, the use of language and the presentation were excellent, but this journalist manipulated his information so deftly that many customers may stop buying from the stores of this company. I'm quite sure of that. Did this journalist have the right to do this to a business? I don't think so. His article wasn't a few paragraphs of offhand writing, but it was long and full of the images of ratios, charts, the company's financial stuff, and other things that could make a reader or even an investor believe him. The problem I have with the journalist and this article is, it wasn't written for a investment journal but for some popular online publication. Regardless of the fame of that publication, such an article should not be for the eyes of the public, especially when the company is doing its utmost to pick up the pieces. Worse yet, being so adept with language, this journalist put up the facts first, as if in favor of the company, then kept asking questions like, "Yet, is this really true..." I'll now dare to quote exactly from some of his sentences by naming the company XYZ but without naming the journalist: "...the real reason XYZ and (its sector...) is dying is because of a failure to enforce antitrust laws against unfair business methods and illegal mergers..." "XYZ eventually came back with its tail between its legs an signed a deal with ..." "You'd think XYZ would be doing fine. But it is not." "The trends for XYZ aren't good. It has closed stores since 2018, and plans to shut more this year. And if you look at the gross operating income of the US retail segment, XYZ is collapsing." I am not opposing his facts or his charts or what not, but this article by this journalist may cause XYZ not recover at all and to go under faster, since the article is published in a public forum. You may ask, "What's wrong with informing the public or with independent journalism?" I'd say, nothing is wrong for allowing diverse perspectives, but I am concerned about the spread of unverified and biased information. General public doesn't take the time to fact-check or verify the credibility of an article's sources. Then, some media leans toward sensationalism that generates clicks and produces income from ads, over fair and objective reporting. Others in the media may select articles according to a journalist's reputation or his particular political or ideological stance. Still others may be hired by the rivals of a company to badmouth a company like XYZ. And even if a company like XYZ is really struggling, does anyone have a right to beat it up in the worst way possible and make its comeback impossible? Luckily enough, many journalists today, at least try to stick to ethical reporting. I'd say, investigative reporters especially have to be very careful with how much information they can make public. Still, although journalism is being challenged greatly today, it is the cornerstone of any free society. Therefore, reputable journalists have to be alert for misinformation, media bias, the rush for speed, and sensationalism over accuracy. This is because their work is essential for transparency, accountability, and our civilization. |
| Prompt: Have fun with these words: mathematician, birthday, oddity, clutter, papers, eccentric, quirks, sailing, and promiscuous. Take a guess on what these clues also will tell you about this person on their birthday. ---------------- The Mathematician’s Birthday the *mathematician has a *birthday today lost in thoughts, numbers, and fractions at play his *papers, his mess, in random sprawl, and *clutter and numbers, his mind holds them all *quirks, equations, his *eccentric delight an *oddity *sailing, well into the night still, he pines and wonders over an old affair *promiscuous maybe, but no, he could swear on theorems, graphs, angles forever anew he's just bound and chained to only one view the mathematician turned sixty today thinking of an old love and fractions at play |
| Prompt: Play is our favorite way of learning. Write about this in your Blog entry today. -------------- Play? What do you think we are all doing here, in Writing.com? If this isn't play, I don't know what is. As such, learning through play is basic and natural for children and adults. This is because play is much more than entertainment. It is a tool for education and happier living. We writers, just like children, can lose ourselves in imaginative play, participate in group projects, and further develop our critical thinking and social skills. After all, storytelling must have been built into our genes. I am quite sure most of us also play outdoors, just like children. If we do not get excited with hide-and-seek, we may be gardening, walking, and even running. One of my sons, at 50 years of age, took up mountain biking, among his other several activities, but then, he was also the most playful one in the family since birth. It is a fact that people learn best when they are actively involved in meaningful experiences. Just don't tell me to run long-distance or take up mountain climbing. Yes, those can be meaningful for some, but not for me. What is meaningful for each person can be different from what is meaningful to others. Instead of running or biking, especially at my age, I like reading, writing, word puzzles, taking short walks, listening to music, and watching nature such as the flocks of birds, especially white ibises, coming down on the golf course and then rising up like a cloud overhead. Some of my friends engage in theater, yoga, video games, music and dancing. At one time, especially during my young adult years, I used to play the piano, paint and draw, but those hobbies played out their course as well as my excessive gardening at one time in my life. It doesn't matter how old we become or how young we are. We can all learn from play, be it with friends or alone, as play is a lifelong tool for happiness, mental health, and learning. |
| Prompt: "Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace." Randy Armstrong Write about this quote in your Blog entry today. ----------- This prompt hit the nail on the head. One of my friends worries so much that she has become incompetent in most things she used to be good at. Of course, today's from-day-to-day changes in technology don't help her and they don't help me, either. Case in point, last night neither of my two Amazon pads worked. My cell, however, was working. Then, I received a notice that Amazon was going through some change or fix or something. This morning, both pads are working. Then, when I tried to turn on the computer, it wouldn't accept my password. It said something like a "challenge phrase," which I had never heard of. Now, I have Norton on everything and our connection has extra security. What was happening? I started to worry. My worry was mostly about not getting into WdC. Lol! Luckily for me, my older son from New York is visiting at this time, and he fixed the whole thing in a jiffy. If it weren't for him, putting together last night's events with the Amazon tablets and my HP laptop's antics together, I would have worried myself sick. I guess an occasional worry is a part of life but excessive worry can have serious negative effects on mental and physical health. If only the companies and their techies could consider that! It is said that excessive worry can lead to anxiety disorders and even depression. It may start with restlessness, irritability, and difficulty making decisions. God knows what it will do over time. As to its physical health consequences, it weakens the immune system, causes digestive issues, and heart problems. Heck, I already have heart problems, thanks to family genes. Then, when a person is constantly worried it can affect their relationships with others due to their irritability. Not to mention that it minimizes their productibility and decision making. In short, too much worrying does a person in, with almost every aspect of life. Surely, when worry becomes a long-term problem, we must take measures against it, such as regular exercise and journaling. In extreme cases, professional help may be needed. So, it's good that I recognized from where my worries originate and heap up: Technology! Now, I think I want to go back to the living in caves with me chiseling on the cave wall with sharpened rocks. Just Kidding! In fact, I love technological advances. Except, most of the time, adapting to them does me in. |
| Prompt: Language Is language just a communication tool? Or is it more than that? What do you think about languages in general? -------- Anyone who can't find the exact word for what they mean to say would tell us how important language is. Language is, of course, a communication tool, but also, it is so much more than that. Above all, language shapes thoughts. There is a hypothesis called The Sapir-Whorf theory, a.k.a. linguistic relativity. It says "the structure of a language can shape its speakers' cognitive processes and world view." This may be quite true. Even Charlemagne said, way back when, "To have another language is to possess a second soul." After him, Ludwig Wittgenstein added, "The limits of my language means the limits of my world." Taking such quotes to heart, in my earliest of days, I became interested in languages and later on studied linguistics and its theories and such. So, it was easy to find out that speakers of different languages perceived and interpreted reality differently, based on the structure of their language. That is so true and I feel so thankful to have come into the acquaintance of several different languages, and even though I can or cannot speak some of them, luckily, I can read all of them. They teach me different concepts and different ways of thinking about the same things. Relatedly, for those who know only one language, their language becomes deeply tied to their cultural identity. It reflects their history, values, and traditions. Dialects, slang, and linguistic variations, therefore, often signal a sense of belonging to a specific social group. From the same corner, walks in the political rhetoric, propaganda, legal discourse, and media narratives to shape public opinion. So I ask, as much as the sense of belonging to a specific group or country is comforting, why not open our horizons to wider areas and thoughts? Still, the best use of language, in my opinion, is when language is used as a medium of art and emotion in literature, poetry and related subjects, as I bet most WdC members will agree. This is because these arts explore and enhance our everyday lives. As Oliver Wendell Holmes observed, “Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” This just shows how important language is as the cornerstone of our human experience. |
| Prompt: Shoes What are your views on the importance and use of shoes? I mean, why do we humans need shoes? Didn't we evolve feet capable of standing up on the ground like other animals? ------------ I think shoes are very important for keeping our feet and for keeping us mobile. Shoes come in all sizes and shapes, fancy colors, and varying heels. To choose the right kind of a shoe for one's feet is very important. This is because we are not made to go barefoot. As for me, I could never go barefoot since my soles aren't as thick as the soles of other mammals. And if I had ever known any better when I was much younger, I would never have worn those very high heels. But what is done is done.  And no, we didn't evolve feet like other animals, according to those who know. This is because other mammals' feet have adapted for climbing, digging, and speed. Our feet are specialized for upright walking and endurance running. It is also because we are not four-footed but bi-peds. Most mammals, including the apes, use all their four limbs for movement. No us! This is also because our feet are now broader and more rigid to provide stability when walking upright. For example, the big toes of the apes are for grasping branches. We might have had that capability but it seems we have lost it during the evolution. Instead, we developed arches for shock absorbance to reduce the strain of walking and running. Then, our feet bear the full weight of our bodies, whereas other mammals have their weight distributed on their four limbs. Still, as efficient as our feet are, wouldn't it be nice if we could peel a banana with our toes? Maybe, if we try harder, we could teach ourselves to do that. But why go through all that trouble when our hands can easily do the same job in a jiffy! Even now, in my old age, I'm grateful for the way my feet work, with arthritis and all. Without my feet in sneakers, where would I be! |
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