Day: July 28, 2018

All Dressed Up and No Place to Go

Fandango27 Comments

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I probably shouldn’t do this. It’s against my better judgment. After all, my philosophy is “you do you and I’ll do me.” So I’d be better off just keeping my mouth shut and minding my own business.

I also suggest, should you decide to take a moment and continue reading this post, that you lower your expectations, since I have no special qualifications or knowledge on the subject matter. I am merely expressing my opinion.

So what, exactly, is the subject matter? No biggie. Just the purpose of life is all.

I read a blog post earlier today in which the blogger wrote, “the reason for life is for God to know me, love me, and serve me.” Then the blogger said that our life’s purpose, our mission, is “to know, love, and serve God in this life so we will be happy with Him in Eternity.”

Now I’m not being critical of this blogger for her beliefs. Hey, whatever floats your boat, you know. But what she wrote did confuse me. The two statements seem contradictory to me. Is the purpose of life to let God know, love, and serve us? Or is it for us to know, love, and serve God? Which is it? Or is it both?

The blogger also can’t understand why anyone would fear death, because death is what allows us to be happy with God for eternity. Death, the blogger contends, is life changed, not life taken away.

I think the blogger has a point. Why bother fearing death if the sole purpose of life is to “be happy with God for eternity” and death brings you closer to it?

You see, this is why I’m an atheist. I believe that death is the end, that there is no afterlife, no eternity to be spent at the right hand of God. So I want to live my life to the fullest because death, I believe, is life taken away.

The blogger ended her post by writing, “The atheist reasoning best explained from an epitaph etched on a gravestone. ‘All dressed up and no place to go.’”

Yes, I agree with that. When it comes to death, the end is not a new beginning. It’s just the end and there is no place else to go.

Written for today’s Your Daily Word Prompt, “qualification,” for the Word of the Day Challenge, “expectation,” and for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “moment.”

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Fandango9 Comments

CE92936B-A089-4F9A-A1DC-797BD4F7DCFDA lot of us libtards are being accused by Trump and his supporters of suffering from something called Trump Derangement Syndrome.

According to medical professionals, Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a mental condition in which people have been “driven effectively insane due to their dislike of Donald Trump, to the point at which they will abandon all logic and reason.”

Fortunately, the pharmaceutical industry has come up with a new drug that will help relieve these symptoms and help to restore sanity and better mental health. And no, I’m not talking about marijuana, although I can tell you that pot does provide temporary relief.

I found out about this new drug while watching the Jimmy Kimmel show. Help is on the way. So, as a public service, I am sharing this with all of you.

Friday Funday Challenge On a Saturday Morning

Fandango16 Comments

23f77db0-ed24-401b-9095-9477ca462c7a.jpegSo this Friday Funday Challenge thing apparently originated with A Guy Called Bloke. Here are the rules to play:

  1. Thank the nominator — Thank you Kristian
  2. Answer Q1 – Q19 — See below
  3. Nominate three bloggers of your choice and notify them. — At the end of this post
  4. Each selected blogger MUST answer 16 of the asked 19 questions, but also insert 3 new questions to make up the 19 complement. Every time a new blogger is selected, he or she MUST only answer 16 of the asked 19 questions as well as answer their own 3 new questions. And then they should choose 3 new bloggers.
  5. Questions 14 and 20 must always remain intact.

Below are the 19 questions that Kristian included in the post in which he tagged me, along with my answers. Based upon the nature of most of the questions, that Bloke guy and Kristian seem to be preoccupied with detectives, crime, murder, and some kinda macabre stuff.

1] If you were facing the death penalty what would be your last meal choice?

Oysters on the half shell, miso/soy glazed Chilean sea bass, and key lime pie. Yum!

2] Have you ever whispered Candyman five times in front of a mirror?

No, but I did say “Beetlejuice” three times and then I clicked the heels of my ruby slippers three times and said, “There’s no place like home.”

3] Have you ever had your tarot read?

Nope. No tarot cards, no crystal balls, no tea leaves, no Ouija boards, no palm readings, no gypsy fortune tellers, no magic 8-balls, no soothsayers of any sort.

4] What unsolved murder unsettled you the most?

The one in the movie “A Fish Called Wanda.” Oh wait, that was a heist, not a murder. Sorry, my bad.

5] Would you sleep inside a coffin underground for a night?

Sure, if someone paid me a million dollars and I was able to keep my iPhone with me.

6] What is your best detective series?

I’m showing my age, but I loved “The Rockford Files” with James Garner and “Columbo” with Peter Falk.

7] Is there a horror movie you simply could NEVER watch because of the advertising hype?

These days, I don’t go to see horror movies anymore. I get my fill of horror by watching the news.

8] What is the worst nightmare you have ever experienced? – Describe.

This is the first of the three questions I’m going to drop in favor of this question:
8] What did the president know and when did he know it?

He knew it all and he knew it from even before he announced his candidacy. He’s guilty of collusion, of obstruction of justice, of treason, and of high crimes and misdemeanors.

9] Are you afraid of clowns?

I’m ambivalent when it comes to clowns. I can take ‘em or leave ‘em.

10] Would you agree to take part in a seance?

I don’t believe in an afterlife, so it’s all a bunch of crap in my opinion. But maybe, for shits and giggles, I’d sit in on one.

11] Of all the ways a person could commit murder which do you think is the worst? Why?

Death by a thousand cuts (i.e., a slow and painful death). Do I really need to explain why?

12] If you were a detective investigating a murder, what would your first steps be at the scene of a brutal death?

My first step would be to see if I could find some good fodder for a post or two for my blog.

13] Hanging, Injection, guilotine or firing squad what would you prefer?

That’s a hell of a choice. I would prefer not to have to make that choice, but if I had to make it, I guess lethal injection would be like going to sleep…for a long, long time.

14] Which 3 questions will you be deleting to add your own in?

Questions 8, 18, and 19.

15] What time of the day is the best time to commit a murder?

Upon a midnight dreary.

16] Do you look guilty?

Only when I feel guilty.

17] Uh oh, you have witnessed a murder, and you think the killer may have seen you but you are not sure, what would you do?

I would fake my own death, then skip town, change my appearance, and assume a new identity. Easy peasy.

18] You are a suspect in a murder enquiry that you “know about,” what is your alibi to throw them off your scent?

This is the second of the three questions I’m going to drop in favor of this question:
18] Are you religious? If so, how religious and why? If not, why not?

Oh, right, I have to answer this. Me? Religious? Ha! I’m a pragmatist who believes in logic, reason, and rationality. That said, I believe each to his or her own, and if religion helps people and works for them, that’s great for them. Just not for me.

19] While gardening, the body of a neighbor is discovered in your back yard that everyone knows you had a feud with, what are you going to do to prove your innocence or?

This is the third of the three questions I’m going to drop in favor of this question:
19] What is your favorite way to spend your discretionary time, and why?

Okay, as a retiree, I have an overabundance of discretionary time. I spend it eating, sleeping, walking my dog, reading, and writing and reading blog posts. I lead a very exciting life.

20] The three bloggers you are nominating are:

  1. Jim Adams at A Unique Title for Me
  2. Michael at Afterwards
  3. Michael at Morpethroad

Guys, participation is optional. If you don’t have the time or the interest, feel free to pass. Or tag someone else in your stead.

SoCS — T-Time

Fandango10 Comments

A7E5037A-1000-44BB-ABD0-44A2A812CC67“So I was able to get us a tee time for 8:00 tomorrow morning,” Robert said. “Does that work for you, James?”

“Sure,” James responded. “Suits me to a T,” he added.

“What exactly does the expression ‘suits me to a T’ mean?” Robert asked. “That’s kind of an odd turn of phrase, don’t you think?”

“You know,” said James, “I wondered about that myself, so I asked Greg Stevens, the language professor at the university. Of course, as he is wont to do, he made me buy him a cup of tea before he’d answer me.”

“Yeah, that’s so like him,” Robert said. “Did he eventually get around to answering your question?”

“Sort of,” James said. “He admitted that no one knows for sure, but the most likely answer is that it is derived from an earlier expression ‘to a tittle.’ A tittle means the tiniest amount. It’s actually found, he told me, in the Bible in Matthew 2:18.”

“I didn’t know that,” Robert said.

“Well that’s what the professor said,” James responded. “Something about ‘one jot or one tittle.’”

“So, if something suits you to a T,” Robert said, “it suits you to a tittle, or down to the tiniest detail.”

“I guess that’s right,” James said. “You know what would suit me to a T right about now? What say we head over to Dunkin’ for a cup of coffee and a doughnut?”

“Sounds good,” Robert agreed, “ but I think I’d prefer a cup of tea.”

Written for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt from Linda G. Hill. Our challenge is to use “T,” “tea,” and/or “tee” in our post.

FOWC with Fandango — Moment

Fandango27 Comments

FOWCWelcome to July 28, 2018 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “moment.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.