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 |   Second blog -- answers to an ocean of prompts |
 "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." CHARLIE CHAPLIN  Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. David Whyte        This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts. |
| Prompt: Since Megan raised the question yesterday about the organization in the kitchen, I'm going to take it one step further. Are your husbands, boyfriends, roommates helpful or a hindrance when it comes to the organization overall? Do you split the rooms, tasks? How do you make it work? ================ Hindrance is more like it. No, there’s no job distribution either. I do just about everything or sometimes, or rather more so, do nothing.  Hubby is a great guy but he’s older than me, which I use as his forever pardon. And rather than chewing the cud on the subject, I’ll tell you a story. Use it as an analogy.Diogenes of Sinope, a.k.a Diogenes the Cynic, lived as a beggar on the streets and made a virtue of extreme poverty. He taught contempt for all human achievements, social values, and institutions. This story is attributed to him as if a legend. According to ancient people, one day, Alexander the Great came to visit Diogenes. It was a sunny day and Diogenes, having scanty clothing, was warming himself up in the sunlight. Alexander stood up in front of Diogenes and asked him what he desired and how he, Alexander, could be of help to the philosopher. Diogenes replied, "Just don’t block my sunlight. I don’t need any other gift.” This goes for me, too. No gift, no help, nothing. Moreover, I have been doing things that he used to do that have nothing to do with housekeeping. It is a miracle or a grace of God that I find the time to do anything else.  |
| Prompt: How do you keep your kitchen organized? ============ Organized? Forget it! I’m barely managing to survive in an odd-shaped kitchen in which the top cupboards are so high that I have to get on a stepstool to pluck anything because the original builder must have had an amazon woman as his mate. I am 5’ 3”, which should be low average height, and moreover, despite the large bedrooms, huge living area, and four big bathrooms in our house, the kitchen is a long corridor with only a walkway for one person in between its two flanks. I bet the builder’s Amazon woman never cooked because that long walkway in between the two sides is much narrower than an alley at which bowlers throw their bowling balls.On the other hand, the bright side is, when I am cooking, I shoo others away since there’s only room for one person to move up and down. Also, I made it so that the things I mostly use are in the middle of the kitchen’s long galley way, which reminds me of a very long bedroom closet, and not a walk-in one, and it has counters, oven, stove, fridge, drawers, and cupboards on its two sides; therefore, while I am cooking, I can reach to what I want if I pivot on my heels only. Another thing I do while I cook is, I clean as I go along, which also involves washing the dishes and pots and pans that I have just used. I never leave dishes in the sink or dirty anything or food outside, the simple reason being that we live in Florida, the heaven for all kinds of critters. I won’t go into the kinds of critters we encounter here, but I’ll only say that they’ve managed to heighten my screaming pitch. So, if I mop the kitchen floor every night and then several times during the day, it isn’t because I’m clean-crazy; it is because I am critter-weary. |
| Prompt: What do you think it means when someone says: "They have done it all and been everywhere?" Just curious about what others think about this. ============= Those words only remind me of a Johnny Cash song. Other than that, I’d revert to logic and question that someone about what he or she is saying. Who are “they”? What do you mean by “all” as no one can do everything that there is, and where is everywhere? Does that everywhere include the other star systems and galaxies for example? Truth is, this saying is a hyperbole, which means it is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally. In other words, don’t pay attention or look for meaning in that person’s speech. If the statement would be in the first person as “I have done it all and been everywhere,” then, I’d think the person saying it was suffering from exaggerated false pride. As it is, the statement is just a manner of speaking in a gossipy, exaggerated fashion. To find meaning in it, one has to know the other sentences around it or the topic of discussion.  ----------------Something Possibly Usable: Looking through an old flash drive, I found a few notes in a word file. A long time ago someone must have sent me these 10 most important scenes to include in a novel. Not that original and I’ve never used this before; plus I am not sure who it was that did the sending. (C.S. Lakin maybe?) Since I want to keep the information as a reference, as formulaic as it is, I am posting it here. #1: The hook and opening setup (first scenes) #2: The disturbance or opportunity (10% mark) that starts the new direction. #3: First Pinch Point: usually introduces the force of the opposition (33%, also called “First plot point”) and pushes the character along. #4: Twist #1. Complication before the midpoint that impacts protagonist’s path toward his goal (which is locked in around the 25% mark). #5: Midpoint. Character balancing on the knife’s edge—going forward now means no going back. #6: Pinch Point #2. The opposition comes full force. New developments add tension and complications #7: Twist # 2: big complication that will lead to scene 8. Usually some reversal, betrayal, unforeseen complication. #8: Dark night of soul (turning point #4). Utter hopelessness. Biggest danger and belief she will fail. #9: The big climax moment when hero reaches her goal and realizes her true essence. #10: the end and resolution that wraps it all up and shows the results of reaching (or not) the goal. |
| Prompt: “A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing." William James What do you make of this quote? ============= Common sense is something that arises from wisdom. Wisdom is giving each thing, event, or feeling its reasonable place in life. Humor helps this process flow more smoothly. When we meet challenges with a sense of humor, we are better able to see new possibilities and options. Otherwise, we would run the risk of seeing the darker or grayer areas in everything. As an example, why do people dance in weddings? A wedding, in its essence, is the celebration of a serious affair, a marriage, which is two people tying up the knot or rather themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. When you think of the repercussions of the seriousness involved here, nobody would dare get married, but the fun part of it, the wedding, makes this very serious idea easier to handle. The wedding and the dancing emphasize the good-work or good-relationship idea in the serious business of marriage through fun and laughter. A sense of humor has the same spirit-lifting and lightening effect on wisdom and its offspring, common sense. |
| Prompt: “One of the most persistent narrative patterns in literature, including journalism, is the manner in which a curse can become a blessing and a blessing can become a curse.” John Casey, Beyond the First Draft What do you think about this quote and what about real life? Can you pinpoint instances in life, yours or in the life of someone you know, when a blessing and a curse exchanged places? ================ Sometimes a curse-- in other words a tragedy-- can bring people together and unite a fragmented family or group. In this way, that curse can become a blessing. Then, while a person is trying to deal with a curse, he or she can discover the strengths hidden inside him or her. Unfortunately, most of the time, we dwell on the negatives and cannot see the positives that may be hiding inside those negatives. Surely, a blessing can be a curse, too. A charge card for example that gives a young person some freedom in getting the things he or she wants, but if she or he isn’t careful with the spending, his or her future will signal a risk of bankruptcy. Then if a windfall can open a person to the criminals’ activities, due to his or her enriched status, that blessing of a windfall can easily turn into a curse to threaten even his or her life. All religious thought believes that God can turn curses into blessings for those who heed God’s word. Whether we trust in any one form of religion or not, I believe our deep sense of caring should push us to be better people. If our reactions are based on what is positive for everyone concerned, all curses may easily turn into blessings on their own or through God’s hand if you are a believer. I have witnessed this happening in my life and in the lives of the people I am close to. If, for example, we hadn't moved to Florida, our son wouldn't have met our daughter-in-law, who is a wonderful person. We moved to Florida because I grew highly allergic to ragweed, developing serious asthma. At first, I came here alone during the ragweed season. Then, when my husband retired, we moved altogether. Our older son had already moved out of the house, then. He opted to stay in NY, but the younger one came with us. The move was a blessing for the three of us, I think. At least, we don't have a 300 feet of snow to shovel several times every winter. |
| Prompt: How do you respond under pressure...deadlines, due dates, tests, etc.? ======== First, I try not to panic. Then I make the time, get to work, and do the best that I can. If my output doesn’t live up my or anyone else’s expectation, so be it. I have worked with tight deadlines in the past and I was okay with that, but I wouldn’t like to be pushed around again, in my later years. Some people need and crave deadlines; otherwise, they procrastinate. That isn’t me. I’d rather have some kind of a time limit but a flexible one.  Prompt: You've been given diplomatic immunity. Would you break any laws knowing you'd never get prosecuted for it? If so, which ones? To start with, I try not to break any laws, diplomatic immunity or not. Let me think of a situation, though. If someone is hurt in some way and I can do something about it, I will. I am not going to stop and ask, “Are you a criminal, an illegal alien, or running away from the law in some way?” I might still ask those things, but after I’ve given a person any help that I can give. Prompt: Maybe it's just the lack of sunlight, the weather itself but I've been in a dark place emotionally. What about you? Does the weather impact your moods? Sorry, you aren’t feeling up to par.  The weather itself doesn’t affect me. I am adaptable with that. Yet, the results of what the weather causes can make me upset, like what happens after a hurricane, the mess I have to clean up and the people I need to find to fix the broken parts of the house. In cold, icy, snowy weather, when we had the 300 feet driveway and I had to shovel when others couldn’t, that used to make me upset. If I lived in California, which I wouldn’t want to for many reasons, I wouldn’t like to go through what those people are going through with the earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. Just watching them on the news makes me upset. |
| Prompt: What is something that a lot of people are obsessed with but you don't get the point of? ------------- “Let me count the ways…” But I can’t. There isn’t enough time and space. So it is meeny, miny, mo. Twitter following stresses, body image, bitcoin…Well, okay, among all those, I think I’ll talk about the one I least know about. Okay, bitcoin it is. It is a currency. I get that. It is made for online usage. I half get that, and I don’t mind a currency to be used online, only. That could work. Just maybe. But now, that bitcoin and digital assets idea have gotten out of hand. Don’t we have enough currencies in the world and enough black markets for them, already? I mean, go back a few decades, some countries didn’t let their citizens take out a lot of cash to use in their travels or business. Guess what? Those citizens bought foreign money, usually the almighty dollar, from black markets. Later on, Euro became just as usable as the dollar, but there are still countries in the world that don’t let their money flow out of their boundaries. True, bitcoin may ease this situation, but can you find a merchant to accept it for the things you most need, if you were, for example, visiting among the Sherpas? If bitcoin was such a great invention, why would its inventor opt to get a fake name and remain anonymous? His alias is Satoshi Nakamoto, a Japanese name. My paranoid writer’s mind has come up with a few stories about this. • He is really Japanese and wants to take revenge on the world for Nagasaki. • He’s a terrorist of unknown origin (or you put in a country of your choice) who wants to mess up with the world’s money systems. In fact, my choice is that he is from North Korea and is a close associate of the rocket man, but I digress. • He is an investor in some byzantine, electronically-complicated scheme, waiting for this currency to rise to the skies. Then he’ll do something to make it crash bigtime. • Or he is a fourteen-year-old who went over his head. Any other guesses? Prompt: Chocolate is perfect food. It's wholesome and delicious. A beneficent restorer of exhausted energy. What are your feelings on chocolate? Write anything you want about this. If candies were up for a beauty contest, chocolate, as weird looking as it is, would win hands down or maybe hands stretched out to get more of it. The way I and my friends collectively go for any piece of chocolate, you’d think we’re practicing candy monogamy. How can we not? Chocolate, as plain as it looks, manages to dress in a variety of outfits and shapeshifts, such as the colorful M&Ms, Butterfingers, Twix, cute Dove pieces wrapped in sparkles, Snickers, Hershey’s Mini’s, Nestle’s any kind, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate…etc. Sigh! Fortunately, if I deplete my stash, I can always delve into the bag of chocolate chips for baking. Nothing will make me be without chocolate. I bet chocolate is responsible, in its insidious fashion, for the crime of half my wardrobe items shrinking in size each year, but what’s a little bourgeois sin when the taste is kingly? I forgive it, and now that my mind concentrated so much on it, I think I’ll get a bowlful of chocolate pieces. Yum! |
| Prompt: If you could eliminate one weakness or limitation in your life or in the life of someone you know or even a story character, what would it be? ============= Only one weakness? I should count the ways. Instead, I’ll generalize it and pick the main one. My weakness is gluttony, and not only with food, either. My worst gluttony aims at books. Books have a charm, a kind of an enchanting magic, which I cannot resist. My house can pass up as a mini library, with books and bookshelves stashed everywhere, even though I supposedly eliminated some of the books I already read, but then, whenever I eliminate one book, I get at least four more. Since the e-readers, Kindles, and Nook showed up, my buying paper books has somewhat lessened, but now, in my Kindles and in Amazon, I have around 4000 e-books, waiting to be read, which I do, but I’ll never get to all of them, even if I were Methusaleh. No life is that long. I need at least ten lives, and I need Amazon, B&N, and my house to store and keep my books all through those lives. I don’t know how I could eliminate this weakness, but chances are I would never want to. Unless someone comes up with a creative solution. How about a brain chip that reads a book, any book, in a few seconds. Probably advanced computers can do that. Why can’t I!   *temper-tantrum*prompt: Isabel Allende says in her novel, Maya, “Our demons lose their power when we pull them out of the depths where they hide and look them in the face in broad daylight.” What do you think of those things Allende calls demons? Are there any such demons you can think of that are hiding deep inside you or in someone you know that could inspire a story, novel, or poem? How? ================ Too bad we all don’t have our personal Yodas to teach us how to use the lightsaber or fix the stuff in between our ears. Neither do we have Harry Potter’s gall to face the dementors. Still, I believe we can do something about them. If we can’t succeed to eliminate them immediately and for good, we can still use them to our advantage. Demons usually hide in our insides, and every once in a while, when we least expect them, they make their presence felt. If the demons are the pulling-down kind, one way to evade them is to concentrate on something happy. That could be a memory or a present-day occasion. Once we laugh or find something to be happy about, the demon will tire or walk away or get back into hiding in their shell. One thing about demons, they don’t like fighters. If we fight them, they retreat. They may show up again dressed in different garbs, but eventually, they will lose their power. I don’t know of any inner demon anyone was successful to hack in one day. So, we have to take our time with them. My demons have to do with past experiences so far away in my life that even their memories have become strangers by now, but they had been quite powerful at times. They sometimes showed up as anger, sometimes as sadness, and sometimes they caused me to clam up. Since when it is fight or flight, I usually choose the flight option, which is my modus operandi, but I always did something about them or to them even when I was fleeing. That something had to do with the arts of any kind. Then I began to address them, ask them questions, and argue with their viewpoints. I found that as harsh and cruel as they seemed, they were there to train me. Once I began dealing with them, they shapeshifted like mighty dragons turning into earthworms to cultivate the soil. Could I eliminate them? Absolutely not, but I use them. I use them in understanding others; I use them analytically and as examples and analogies; then, I use them in my writing. Our lives belong to ourselves with their demons and angels. If we don’t use them, who is going to? Prompt: It's one week into January...what do you make of people who still have their Christmas decorations up? I still have the wreath on the front door. You tell me what you make of me. |
| Prompt: Woohoo, it's the first Saturday of the new year. What cartoons as a child did you watch on Saturday morning? Do you ever get tempted to watch cartoons now? At first, my mother didn’t like to have a TV in the house. Since I learned reading before I was four, books enchanted me a lot and I skipped the TV's lure. Then my grandmother wanted a TV. Since she was living with us, we got a small one in black and white. I vaguely recall watching Looney Tunes characters and Fred Flintstone. I didn’t like the cartoons in black and white, then, but I loved them in the movies, at the children’s matinee. Later on, when I was a bit bigger, I fell in love with Casper the Friendly Ghost. If I am not making this up, I think it was called Harveytoons. I still recall Casper’s kind and funny character and smile and I did love the recurring theme of good overcoming evil. Nowadays, cartoons annoy me, especially the so-called adult cartoons, but I did watch cartoons with my children, especially the Charlie Brown’s gang and their adventures. Those we all enjoyed.  Prompt: "Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand" How does it make you feel? Elton John was so young then. I barely recognized him. I am not too crazy about his piano playing. Needlessly harsh fingering, here. The lyrics are okay, though. On the other hand, I feel like wanting to run away, and then, put on Ravel’s Bolero or something or, at least, some Simon and Garfunkel. My old ears, you know! Prompt: "How beautiful thy frosty morn when brilliants gem each feathery thorn! Write anything you want about this. “Thy frosty morn” is lovely, when I watch it from afar, on the TV screen, since that image hides the dead birds, lying under broken branches, not much of “brilliant gems” and I imagine how those feathers must have felt like thorns while they were freezing solid, and then, I worry about much larger beings on city streets, living in cardboard boxes, shivering, with eyes closed, which makes me wonder why each beautiful thing is also cruel enough to carry its own special venom. Sorry! I am not a lover of winter, and it is cold even here in South Florida. Extreme weather of any kind makes me irritable. |
| Kitchen Utensil Prompt: What is the one kitchen utensil you could not cook without? I have a big Ginsu knife, which I use the most. Then, I have tongs for picking hot things out of the pots and pans. Those two I love, although I could do without them if push came to shove.   2017-2018 Prompt: I’ll never forget 2017 because…. And I’m looking forward to 2018 because… 2017 with all its ups and down showed me the true character or rather the favoritism and predisposition of human beings, how they can blindly defend an indefensible person of their own persuasion, gender, or whatever. I hadn’t quite realized, earlier, as species, we could be as stupid. Then, I learned a few things about myself. Things I thought I couldn’t do, I found out I could and with extras if I pushed very hard. 2018 is just a baby. I can’t detect which direction it is going to bend and pull us along with it; however, I am looking forward to it, to whatever it will bring and which lessons I’ll learn from it. Frankly, I have no alternative either. There is no going back. Productivity—January 2, 2018 Prompt: “True productivity is not about volume of work. It is about doing what matters on demand, without the pressure of external deadlines or forces.” Nicholas Erik, from The Writer’s Productivity Crash Course What does productivity mean to you--in writing, in personal life, or in general? I somewhat agree with the quote, but only with reservations because sometimes, the volume helps the outcome; for example, writing everyday helps the ease of writing. Doing effectively only what matters is of course important and it is a short cut, but there is that learning phase of effective action in anything we do. Also, one’s direction matters, too. What one likes doing, where he or she wants to end up eventually, what the road to the end will be like or if that person can bear the hardships of that road are all important things to consider. This has to do with focus, too, as one’s focus needs to be trained, so the action one takes is effective as the result. Part of productivity has to do with good planning in advance for any possibility; that is, without going overboard. Some people work well by setting goals. I don’t. If I set a goal or a new year’s resolution, I’d end up beating myself on the head while working and that is not healthy. I don’t mind small goals or easier deadlines but a long-term, difficult goal would do me in; for example, I’m going to become a state senator (!) and change the world, lol! On the other hand, I give myself goals I can do. For example, I am a big reader. I probably read 50-100 books a year, if not more. I don't usually set goals of reading this many books in this short a time. Goodreads, on the other hand, wants us to do just that. I was evading them. This year, they kept writing to me and wanted me, for their weird reasons, to pick a number. So, I said 30 books, which I knew I would read very easily. The extras will be a bonus. Then yesterday, they e-mailed again, saying "You read two books already," which is correct because I read in bed regularly at least for half an hour each night. Daytime reading is extra, also. On top of asking to commit to reading a certain amount of books, if they told their readers how many books they read during the course of the year past might help, too. As much as I don’t like long-term goal-setting, I do like building good habits and encouraging positive mindsets in me. Those things matter the most, in the long run. Productivity has also something to do with energy management. I neither need nor want to deplete what little energy my mind and body has. So I try to do different things throughout the course of a day, hoping that varied undertakings would be less taxing on my constitution. Energy Level --Dec 31 Prompt: Does your energy level or your relationship to your body change during certain seasons? Does your body feel, act, or respond differently in the winter? Summer? ======== If my body responds to seasons, I haven’t noticed it. I lived in NY and other places and also in FL. I didn’t notice any change in my mindset. Now, what the seasons brought according to location is another matter. In NY, I had terrible allergies in fall and spring. Then, cold weather triggers the asthma, too, but my energy level or mood has been more or less the same. |
| Prompt: As the year closes, one of the most courageous decisions you’ll ever make is to finally let go of what is hurting your heart and soul. Can you make the changes needed to begin the new year with a fresh start? Or is it safer to stay with what feels safe or familiar? ============ I don’t much dwell on the past. Most of the time, when something hurtful takes place, I try to deal with it there and at that time. If I can’t, then I focus on the present. Actually, I always focus on the present. That’s one reason most of my work is unrevised, btw. For me, every day is a fresh start. I don’t do new year’s resolutions or such stuff, either. That would be living in the future. If I did and couldn’t live up to my standards, I’d feel the hurt. That’s why I stay away from long-term goals. In short, I try to protect myself from hurts that come either from the outside or the inside. On the other hand, I don’t stay with what feels safe or familiar either. I like new challenges and new ventures, as long as something catches my interest, and I tend to it at that moment, but I don’t push myself around by planning. For example, I don't say I’ll write 10 novels in the next year or I’ll redo my kitchen eight months later. That isn’t going to happen because I won’t start writing or attempting anything unless something catches my interest at the moment. If a hurt has set its tentacles in a person and he or she has let the years pass and hasn’t done anything about it, it might be very difficult to erase its pain. The best way, then, might be to still focus on the present and let the hurt take its course in fading away.  Dec. 28 Prompt: Sky Country. Anywhere that isn't a city, where you can see a blue sky, mountains and woods. Write what you want about this. ============= If I could touch the sky, feel the softness of clouds, embrace a mountain, inhale the green of the woods, would I be infused with infinity? But then, why would I, the created, attempt big things? That charming wholeness is not a person, but the loss of a person, so, I’m letting go of my radical imagination to just concentrate on doing the dishes. |
| Prompt; What do you hope happens in 2018? =========== To begin with, I hope everything good becomes better or doesn’t change and nothing bad happens. Then, I hope for world peace, understanding among all nations, people, friends, families, couples, parents and children. I hope cancer and all the other rotten diseases become history. I hope people read more and are more interested in the welfare of others. And in my case, I hope the best for my family and friends and that I get for more free time for all the good stuff I like doing. Also, someone coming up with a gadget or tool for making the houses self-cleaning would be greatly appreciated.  |
| Prompt: It's a miserable night weather wise when a man and a woman clearly pregnant appear at your door seeking shelter, what will you do? -------------- OMG! This is a tough one in this day and age. I would probably ask them in, feed them and make a bed for the night. But my hubby, my son, and my daughter-in-law would go nuts over my actions, as something kind of related to this idea really happened once. It was on a night when my son and his wife were staying with us. A man who did some yard work for us during that day knocked on the door at 2:30 in the morning and asked to borrow 20 dollars gas money. He said his mother in law got sick in the next town and he didn’t have gas in his car to go to her, and he had no money with him. We had paid him cash during the day, but he said he didn’t have that money anymore. I told him to wait at the door. I got a 20 and gave it to him. He said he’d do some more yard work for it when we call him again, and then, seeing all the cars around, he asked if all those people lived with us. I said they did. Now, I may be gullible but I believed him in essence. Everyone else thought he had a drug problem, and I was stupid opening the door to him in the middle of the night. Then, my family members gave it to me full blast. The thing is, I am a light sleeper and they were all in deep sleep, so I went to the door. He told me his name and I recognized him through the peephole. We never called that guy again, and he never called us and never showed up. My family might have been right, but I might have been, too. I can sense the Mary and Joseph allusion in this prompt, but maybe it is a better idea to call the police and ask for their help. According to statistics, home invasions are facts, especially for gullible old people. I just wish ours was a much better world and no one could feel the need to lock their doors against others. Christmas Prompt: Megan asked us to write anything about Christmas. Here is mine: --------- “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!” Hamilton Wright Mabie One of the good deeds of Christmas I can personally recall is a painter who was my friend although he was in his eighties and I was in my thirties. He constructed a nativity scene from balsa wood for his neighbor to cheer the family up because, a month ago, the father of the family had suddenly passed away as the result of a car accident. Then, a neighbor of ours always took some blankets, clothes, food, and gifts that he collected from the area to the homeless shelter on Christmas Eve. When caroling was considered the norm and not a weird thing, a family used to keep mugs of hot chocolate warm for the carolers. I’m privileged to have known that family very well. I think Christmas or any other holiday belonging to whichever nation or race is only memorable because of the acts of the people, and not because of the rituals, beliefs, or material things. |
| Prompt: “A character is what he does, yes — but even more, a character is what he means to do.” Orson Scott Card What a character means to do and doesn’t or does, did you ever consider that option in your stories? And doesn’t the same apply to us humans as to what we mean to do? What do you think? ================ Shakespeare’s characters, if they intend something, they usually carry it out. For example, in Act 2, Scene 1 of Othello, we find Iago putting together a plan to drive Othello mad because he notes Cassio’s courteous behavior toward Desdemona. Who else but through one’s wife could a villain get to a hero? But even before that, in the first act, Iago shows his hatred of Othello because Othello didn’t make him his lieutenant but chose Cassio instead. It is also possible that Iago couldn’t stand anyone higher in rank than himself, including Othello. In today’s fiction, intentions need not be carried out exactly as they are intended as long as they are shown as part of a character to influence his or her actions in different ways. It is not a good idea to point out only what the character means to do and leave that idea hanging, though. A character’s intentions need to be evident in some way. When we show that a character means to do something--for example, he dreams of putting a knife in someone’s heart--we must follow through with some similar action, internal or external. He may, for example, cause someone else do the dirty deed for him or maybe try to do something bad to someone else and make sure his intended victim gets blamed for it. Intentions show us who we are. Other people’s intentions also show us who they are. Intentions may show character, but ultimately, intentions won't really matter if they only exist inside a person. Isn’t it true that, in some ways, we are all Mother Theresas? I am quite sure many people would love to do what Mother Theresa could do, and possibly several women and men are doing just that, while the rest of us just keep it inside us. If intentions are only comforting or distressing illusions, what good are they if they are not shown through some kind of an action! |
| Prompt: “Having fewer toys can lead a young child to focus and engage in more creative, imaginative play,” says a study in child development. What are your thoughts on the subject? =================== I can see why too many toys can be a distraction. Adapt it to the adult scale and imagine having to live in and taking care of 30 houses and using 30 cars per person. Wouldn’t we be losing our minds? Taking care of just one house and one car is more than enough for me. However, if 20 to 30 people would be given 30 houses and 30 cars, they would be able to manage them just fine. To begin with, each toy needs to be examined and learned by its user, especially nowadays, when more and more toys are electronic or have electronic parts. Then the toys have to meet a child’s specific needs. Christmas and presents idea, on the other hand, has its own merit. Why we think all the Christmas gifts need to be toys is beyond me. What is wrong with other usable items like fun clothes and teaching gifts like an indoor-garden-starter kit, a microscope, a telescope, or a painting set? When I was a child, aeons ago, one of our neighbors who had a stationery store kept giving me notebooks with colorful coverings. To this day, I revel in their memory because they were my most favorite gifts. Children know what they want. I think it is a good idea to have them make a list and choose one or two toys from that list periodically than all the toys at one time. Thinking back to 40 years ago, the older of my two boys liked the video games and the computer (I think it was TI-99, then IBM XT), while the younger one had no interest in such things. He liked bikes, matchbox cars, a larger car that he could sit in and drive using foot pedals, etc. One thing they both liked were the large plush toys. So, I learned how to sew those on demand (Mom, I want an alligator, etc.), and they were much more enjoyed than the store-bought ones. Plus, we did build memories with them, as the photo shows.  |
| PROMPT: What do you consider to be, in your opinion, a holiday miracle? ===================== I trust any miracle depends on the people involved. In a large family, a holiday miracle could be the holiday truly becomes a joyous event without anyone stepping on anyone else’s toes, and with the cook in the family, who might not be the greatest cook there is, the holiday meals turn out to be perfect ones. Where a writer or an artist is concerned, an hour of solitude away from all the hullabaloo could be considered a holiday miracle. Believe me, I know! When a hypochondriac feels better and doesn’t bore the rest of the clan with his/her ailments, that is definitely a holiday miracle. When any kind of birth defect is not seen or addressed to as a person's shortcoming, that is a miracle. When the word justice isn't substituted for revenge, that will be a miracle. When people can overcome their prejudices and treat all issues fairly, that will be a miracle. When no one is homeless, cold, or hungry, which I hope will happen soon, that will be a miracle. When everyone truly wishes the best for everyone else--be it they are from a different tribe, nation, race, or species, which will mean peace and fairness on earth, which I doubt I’ll ever witness in what’s left of my lifetime--that will be the greatest miracle of all. |
| Prompt: Use these words to write in your blog in any way you want. Frazzle, dazzle, gossip, cocktail, blizzard and muggy. Have fun =============== Nostradamus Gives Bleak Predictions for 2018 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/man-who-predicted-brexit-and-trum... a possible gossip but our dear Nostradamus who might have sipped some muggy cocktail before he got frazzled by the rags of spirit spilling silly worry beads into the blizzard of his own icy predictions of murder, mayhem, and war and, hoping for his sightless miss, my vision is that of a lover of peace, joy, and good tidings, which will dazzle me in twenty eighteen |
| Gone with the Wind premiered on this day in history in 1939. It is the highest grossing movie in history. Did you see it? What is your favorite part of the movie? If you haven't seen it share with us your favorite movie and why. ================= Yes, I’ve seen Gone with the Wind several times. Because the story is so well written and it reflects on the troubles of the time and how they weighed on the specific characters, it is a very good movie. Talking for me, I didn’t like the characters. The characterization was excellent, but I just didn’t like the main characters as much who were, in my opinion, spoiled brats. I am not much for movies, lately. I’d rather read a book. But if I want to pick out a movie, I’d have to pick Casablanca. I liked Casablanca because all the characters in it were honorable people and they held higher ideals than their personal satisfaction. Also, I think the character change in Rick or rather the surfacing of his true character was done to perfection. As in good novels, character is the key for me. That I picked Casablanca doesn’t mean the films that came after it were any worse. It is just that the ones I saw didn’t impress me as much. On the other hand, another person who has seen all the movies in the world may come up with a better pick. Prompt: "The lights of the Christmas Tree rose higher and higher. She saw them as stars in Heaven." Hans Christian Anderson What are your thoughts about a beautiful Christmas Tree? ================ The most beautiful Christmas tree I have seen was knocked down by the family dog, which almost caused a fire. Speaking for me, I don’t like the idea of cutting live trees for whatever reason. Therefore, I’ll have to go with the second best. The family we bought a house from in Long Island had planted a Christmas tree to commemorate the birth of their daughter, and it was that tree they decorated. When we got the house, we decorated that tree, also, but we had to be very careful with the outdoor lighting because of the winter weather. Prompt: Most people have at least one memory of a present-given or received that continues to glow in the mind like a good story. What are some of the best presents you have ever received? ================ I like presents when they are given at the spur of the moment and not like the gift-giver having to pay taxes on birthdays and special days; although I am civil enough to appreciate the effort and thank the people who give me gifts on special days. Some of the most memorable gifts are: a hand-sized doll my uncle bought for me from a street vendor while we were walking by when I was seven; the antique ring my grandmother was wearing and she took if off her finger and put it on mine; the blue sapphire necklace and the ring set my husband bought when we had gone into a jewelry shop to have the batteries in our watches changed; a music box with lighted flowers one of my sons gave me, which plays “You light up my life”; a jade elephant necklace my younger son gave me when he was six, which he got from the gift vending machine; then, the orchids given to me by my daughter-in-law; marbling paintings given to me by a noted marbling artist from Turkey. None of these gifts have been for a birthday or any other special day, and I will forever cherish them and their memories. |
| Prompt: Junk mail--What kind of junk mail do you receive? Have you ever thought of putting the junk mail to good use and creating something from what comes in your mailbox? If you haven’t, what do you think of junk mail in general and what do you do with it? ================ We receive all kinds of junk mail. The one junk mail that is terribly annoying comes from the realty brokerage firms who want to buy our house, which isn’t on sale and neither do we have any inclination to sell it. Of course, that junk mail offer is followed by a phone call more often than not. What these gals and guys don’t know is that I am writing down their names and the realty brokerage firms they represent. If I ever sell my house or if someone I know sells theirs, I’ll make sure these brokers who throw their weights around and bother people will not get my business or my friends’ if I can help it. Among the other kinds of junk mail are the charities who are asking for money or other donations, which I don’t mind. What I mind is any charity that sends me money, be it a two-dollar check, a dollar bill, or a coin of any denomination. If you are sending money haphazardly to just anyone on your mailing list, why do you think I am going to send money to someone who is used to throwing money around? Then, we get the Christmas cards every single year starting from August. You’d think I’d be writing Christmas cards to a billion people every year. Nowadays, card writing has become passé, and most people connect with one another on the net. While I used to get hundreds and hundreds of Christmas cards each year 30 to 40 years ago, nowadays I can count those on my fingers. Then, why waste the paper, Charities? Instead, just let me know what kind of a charity you are running. For your information, I usually donate to Salvation Army and I have never received any silly gift from them. The rest of the junk mail is offers or sales or catalogs etc., which I don’t mind at all. I don’t look through all of them because I am not too much into the coupon-clipping pastime, but from the offers and some of the ways they offer, I have written list poems and found poems, in the past. So, something can be said about the junk mail, too. What happens to my junk mail? Most of the junk mail goes right into the recycle bin. |
| Prompt: Can a legitimate worry motivate a person toward accomplishment? If yes, how? ============== I think, maybe, if there is something that can be done about the thing I may be worrying about; that is if the worry is truly a legitimate one. On this subject, I can only talk for myself. Worrying in itself is a useless act, but can we ever help not to do it? I don’t think so. Yet, if I worry enough but not too much, I prepare for the coming disaster or party or get together or the rule of an elected official I don’t like. As a Florida resident, I know well about preparedness. When Irma was about to hit us this year, I prepared the house as well as I could with all the information I had. The hurricane ended up sliding west somewhat and almost missed us. Most of my preparations were for nothing, but I am so thankful for that. I’d rather be prepared for anything than not. If I hadn’t worried just enough and had left everything to chance, the result would have been the same, but what if the hurricane hadn’t gone to the west? The thing is, with hurricanes, you never know. They can change course within hours while the preparation for them takes several days. A worry, if it leads to problem identification is a legitimate one. In the face of a problem, if we don’t take action, our anxiety level will rise higher. If I just worry and do nothing, that will be me standing still and twiddling my thumbs, but if I act on it, I am at least doing something about the situation. On the other hand, there are other kinds of worry--legitimate worries, too—that we can’t do much about. For example, if an asteroid hits my hometown suddenly, there is little to nothing I can do. This means, for the worry to work for a person’s favor, it has to have the time and knowledge on its side. |
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