Checking In

Just showing Blogs to Killernashville.

set adrift

Sorry gang,

This blog is being set adrift. Work and Writing is taking up too much of my time to give a blog the attention it needs to grow, or at least not die.

A new blog, work related is coming soon.
It will relate, for those who need and care, technology tips for the rest of us.
We all see tips show up that involve either for the latest and greatest mega buck technology tools, or the ones that, after the first sentence, descend into "tech-greek" that only binary babies understand.

I'm going to try something else.

Check back. I'll post a link here.

pencils and first drafts

The February AW Blogchain was/is on the subject of "balance". Somewhere during reading
Miss Colby's post in the chain my mind churned up this:

On a new pencil, the lead side is 6 1/2 inches long. The eraser is only 1/4 inch.

Something about those numbers, I think, means that pencils were designed for first drafts.

Balance in the face of a Saint

---

OK, granted. You can't blame St. Valentine, or even Cupid. We (meaning people) did it to ourselves. Pick a store, any store. It's been there since before New Year's Eve. You know what I mean. The Valentine's chocolate aisle.

Flowers die. Diamonds carry a guilt all their own. Chocolate? Goes with every outfit. Every outfit but that pesky swimsuit, right? So, how to keep the weight plan in balance in the face overwhelming marketing?

Ya' got me.

What? You thought I had answers? Heck no, I'm just glad this is only the third season of chocolate.

I do have a bowl of Valentine color themed M&M's. AND, my Mom said that holiday candy has no calories. Always mind your Mom.


~~~~~

This entry is part of the AW February Blogchain. You'll find all of their blogs listed below. All of them are worth the mouse clicks.

One quick "shout out": Harriet the Spy? Will you be my Valentine? You're the first one to echo my own feelings about balance. Being out of balance motivates me. Out of balance doesn't mean life on the edge, just life on the move.

THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT IN THE BLOGCHAIN-O'VERSE:

Up next on the hit parade is actually the Lady Marianne, My Path to Publication.



Check 'em all out, won't you?

Balance and the art of making time

I've volunteered to be a part of the AW February Blog Chain. The subject is "Balance".

My turn is coming up in a few, in the meantime, Make some time for a word or two from these nice folks?

The Unfocused Life

Auria Cortes

Spontaneous Derivation

Organized Chaos

The Writer's Round-About

Spynotes

Williebee

Even in a Little Thing

Spittin' (out words) Like a Llama

A Thoughtful Life

Life in Scribbletown

My Path to Publication

For the First Time

Green Diva

Polenth's Quill

The Power (and speed) of the Public Voice

Regardless of which side of the ballot you march on, March.
Vote. Be Heard.
The primaries are just that, primary. The campaigns are a long way from over.

Above and beyond that, consider this, please:



Then consider this: The speech was given on January 8th.
The song and the video were produced and hit the streets in less than a month.
Less than a week later it has been seen by more than a million people.

For more information on the creation and publication of yeswecan, go see Slate, or the artist who made it happen, Will.I.am

What happens next? Well, that's up to you and me.

Howver, I'm not talking about your politics, or mine, with this post. I'm not talking about this candidate, or that one.

I'm thinking about the power of the "public voice" -- one technology-enhanced voice,-- any voice, in public, and the same power and technology that can, in turn, give a public one voice.

What good's my card, then?

--

The Republican Debate this week was interesting, if only for the backdrop. Did you know that Ronald Reagan's Presidential Library has a plane in it?

Turns out, yeah. President Reagan had Air Force One completely remodeled while he was in office, and then took it home with him. Now it's on display at his library.




They wouldn't let me check it out, though.

But turning in the inter-library loan request was fun.

Lost in the Fifties tonight...

Technology today continues to scream along at light speed, bouncing through one prism after another, each new beam racing away to find a prism of it's own to multiply and fracture itself through.

I was trying to find an example of just how far and how fast personal computing technology has evolved and came across this:



It's from Weezer's "Buddy Holly" video.

(Yeah, I could have embedded it here in the blog, but the posting on You Tube said that the posting, by Universal Media Group, was "embedding was disabled by request." I figured the least we could do was honor that.)









Not quite 15 years ago, this video shipped with Microsoft's Windows 95.

A video that intentionally evoked the fifties, that came with an operating system that now feels like it came from the fifties. I wonder if anybody at Microsoft realized just how many ways this video would "date" the operating system?

And, now that I've given some of you the itch? You can watch the video on You Tube, here.

Go ahead, I won't tell.

Jonny Man & the Sand People

---
Some times dreams just offer a peek at the story waiting around the bend...

“There’s no truth to the rumors that Rounder Jon escaped from the clutches of the Sand People,” I said loudly. I’d been listening to the three men at the bar argue and debate the stories and rumors that surrounded the old tide runner for over an hour.

“What was that?” The youngest and loudest of them assaulted me with his question. Bad enough that a simple bartender would put himself into the middle of their important business. But, to dismiss the whole purpose of their conversation?

“What would you know about it.. friend?” He demanded.

“I said, There’s no truth to it. The Jonny Man never escaped from the Sand People.” I turned my attention to ragging off a bit of spilled beer farther down the bar. “I should know," I said. "I was there, and saw the whole thing.”

I worked my rag in a circle across the dark red grain of the old wood surface. It didn’t take long. The three of them rearranged themselves into new positions, coming to rest in front of me.

The gent I judged to be the elder statesman of the group was in the center now. He looked side to side, at his companions, and then his gaze settled on mine.

Not taking my eyes from his, I listened to the soft thump and subtle ring of a gold piece as it was pinned between the wood and his meaty palm.

“Another round for the three of us, and one for yourself, if you’re a’mind,” he said. I could see a faint spark of humor in his eyes.

“And, you can keep the change if you’ll tell us your tale.”

A Tale of Rounder Jon... (with no idea where it's going next.)

I'll let you know when it takes me somewhere.

Willie and Frank --

---

Join me in some light reading?

EldonHughes has a new story running over at
I Found A Knife:

Willie & Frank -- Shakespeare and Chemistry.

I also spent part of the week going back to the old school; Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep". It's one of Time's all time 100 Novels, written in 1939.

Are you into Film Noir? Open this book, pick any paragraph and read aloud.

"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be."

Classic stuff.

-------------------

Elsewhere -- Ever wonder what happens when you google "Google"?

Besides another tiny rip in the Space Time Continuum I mean? (Click on the link if you really want to. It just makes my head hurt.)

Well today I tried it, and got a story on Microsoft. How the crap does that happen?

Oh yeah... that tiny rip thingy....

Jesus wished me a Merry Christmas

---

Some of the local churches (some, not all are invited...) did a light show in the park again this year. Some of the displays included live animals and people.

They depict the scene at the inn, (Joseph and Mary outside the inn. Mary is riding a donkey. A friend of mine provides some of the animals. I think he does it just so he can drive by this scene and say, "Hey you. Get off my ass.")

There's also the manger scene, then they skip right past the crucifixion and then there is a scene at the cave, with the stone rolled back and a young man wearing a fake beard and moustache, waving to the people driving by. We waved back and Jesus wished me a Merry Christmas. I yelled back Happy Birthday. He yelled back, "It was last month, but thanks!"

Hope you all had a cool yule. Let's make it a great new year, eh?

Making the List. Checking it Twice. Yup. Still there.

--
Jen, who is most definitely a Chic Chick has chucked the mouse my way,
so here we go...


The AW December Blog chain is almost halfway gone, as is the month of December,
("Christmas times a'comin', Christmas times a'comin'!")

I wanted to take the topic back to the top, with lists.

But only because I wanted to pass on something that happened this last weekend.

I was reading Christmas stories to kids over at the local library Saturday morning. As part of the session, I asked kids, while their parents could stand in the background and hear what was mentioned, just what was on their christmas lists this year.

You have to understand, here in the sticks the kids don't really see the jolly old fellow in advance. In a town where everyone knows everyone else, it doesn't work out so well. As one little girl whispered to me, so that her little sister couldn't hear, "That guy we saw wasn't the real Santa. He's the janitor at my school."

So, we discussed Christmas wish lists. There were the usual, Ipods, video games, dolls, bikes and such. And then one little girl said she wanted a remote control butterfly.

What a unique toy request, I said. Meanwhile my brain is cycling. Toys R Us? nope. K B Toys? nope. Best Buy? Penneys? Lowes? Sears- In the Craftsman aisle? Nope.

All the while I'm looking over the girl's shoulder at Mom, who is looking at the ceiling, shaking her head. I guess this wasn't a recent addition to the child's list.

The little girl's brother poked her in the arm and demanded, "I've never heard of a remote control butterfly. Do you even know what one looks like?"

She looked back at him, defiant. "Santa knows what they look like."

"Wow, no pressure there, Mom," I'm thinking to myself.

Which brings me to tonight. I just Googled "remote control butterfly" and came up with a list of them, for sale, at "adult novelty stores."

Maybe I misread Mom's expression.

How's this for a transition? Twisted Fantasies is next on the list.

---------------------------

Here's the entire list for the December Blogchain.
Check 'em out, and a Cool Yule to you all:

A Thoughtful Life
Gillian’s Food History
Getting Confused and Coming All Undone
Life in the Middle
So You Want to be a Chic Chick
Williebee
Twisted Fantasies
It Had To Be Said
Finding Boddie
Virtual Wordsmith
Random Acts of Unkindness
Chocolate for Your Brain
Virginia Lee: I Ain’t Dead Yet!

awchain

Did Mattel fold before China?

Check this out. Read a few paragraphs in.

Go find a few more stories on this. Check out the news stories on it.

Did Mattel just fold and put their manufacturer ahead of their customers?

Am I wrong on this? (hey, it's happened before....)

But if I'm right, Mattel's not getting another dime from me. It isn't just the patriotism issue, it's the practicality... the safety.

If they, as the customer, are willing to subjugate themselves to their vendor on this issue (and apparently pay them for the privilege) , what safety problems are they willing to pass on to their customers (us) next?

I don't want my family and friend's kids serving as their test lab, and I'm sure not willing to pay them for it.

Rant over. I will now go put my lead based paint covered soapbox away....

my brother's cousin's barber's carwasher told me....

---
When it comes to news in print (digital or old school) I tend to read the top three paragraphs or so of ongoing stories, and the last couple paragraphs of new ones.

With old or ongoing stories there's rarely anything new after the first few 'graphs. So, you can stay up to date just by reading the first couple paragraphs. The rest is regurgitated words from past stories, used to fill the space.

With new stories, talkradio, and TV have already given you the "fresh meat" of the story, as quickly and as many times an hour as they could. (And, some times, as accurately as they felt they could get away with.) So, when it comes to the print story, the fun stuff is the oddball things they have to come up with to fill the space.

This is pulled from this morning's USATODAY. Anybody who cares already knows the current High School Musical picture scandal story. You don't need to read that over again here. But this was filing space near the bottom:

"Michael Sands, a publicist whose clients have included the divorce attorney for Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline, said Hudgens should be commended for coming forward quickly and saying it was her pictures."

So, they felt that it was worth noting what Britney's EX husband's EX publicist thought.

Makes me wonder if Mr. Sands has a publicist of his own.

"Ooh, ooh. Tell them I said this!!!"

remember red wigglers?

---

There's one of those marquee signs on a trailer just south of town. It sits next to an open chain link gate.

It reads:

Henry's Gifts and Decor
WE HAVE LIVE WORMS

I don't have anything to add to this. You're on your own.

Dinner Impossible, The Final Episode

---
Dinner Impossible

Tonite's challenge --

You're on a beautiful, picturesque small island in the South Pacific.

You've got a box of vanilla wafers, two cans of spray whip creme and a 40 year old Hershey bar.

And here are your guests, 300 cannibals. Bon Apetit!

We are a weird species, take two

-- We've had decades of professional sports figures arrested or investigated (not always both, interestingly enough) for wife beating, drunk driving, dealing, distributing, using drugs, yadda, yadda.

A pro quarterback gets busted for dog fighting and the media goes nuts on it.

I mean, the only way this should have gotten this kind of press coverage is if he was actually fighting dogs. Lots of them. With a blindfold (him, not the dogs.) Now we're talking pay per view.

Of course I also think we should train and arm deer to fight back. Hey, it's working in Southern Illinois.

Writing news and an Elvis "Sighting"

--
Last week "Elvis" appeared at the local VFW.
It was big news in town. The local Walgreens was having a sale on cheesy "E" memorabilia. (What I want to see? A mashup of Elvis and Python memorabilia. Stuff like the "I'm not dead yet." t-shirt would take on a whole different meaning. OR! "I'm not dead yet." on the front, and on the back: "And I am NOT working at your K-Mart!"

Anyway, DB is checking out at the pharmacy/store and asks about all the knock off Elvis stuff. The nice lady behind the counter said she didn't know why they were selling it. Then she said,
"Did you hear that Elvis is playing at the V?"

And then she leaned in close and whispered, "It's not the real one. It's an impersonator!"

----

Work is coming along on the next book "That Dead Guy of Mine #2".
The next online story should start soon. (I have got to re-discipline myself.)
First book: Jazz and the Monkey Man is being pitched everywhere I can find. Currently two fulls, a partial, and a pitch out there. Keep your fingers crossed! (I can't, gotta write.)

Thanks, all!

Now available in the deluxe home game edition...

...
We had another episode of the monthly (or so) home refrigerator game--

Can You Guess What This Was?

As with all made up off the top of my head games, there are rules:

Rule 1) You must make your guess before whatever it was disappears down the garbage disposal.

Rule 2) You only get one look at whatever it was (while it's on its way to said disposal.)

Rule 3) The second person guessing is allowed to observe the facial expressions of the first guesser, and hear the gasps of disgust of all in attendance. The second guesser may use this information to help them come up with their guess.

Rule 4) You take turns being the first guesser, which also makes you the first smeller. You do not have to partake of the smelling, however, if you do, and you guess incorrectly, you will still get the points. So, take a big whiff. After all, you only live.... um, guess once.

Rule 5) Winner is the person with the most correct guesses, or the last person to pass out.

More News from Cornfield Township...

...

Mrs. Thomas, over to the Farm Bureau? You know, the one with 7 kids and a half dozen grandkids? She had hip replacement last week. She had the doctor put a bear trap in next to where her purse usually hangs. She says the kids still beg for money, but they're taking No a lot more seriously....