Day: November 9, 2018

Name Three Things

Fandango9 Comments

453082F4-6449-4B88-B4F6-ADA0942B0938In a series of questions, Rory, over at A Guy Called Bloke, has challenged us to “name three things“ one might do in various scenarios. So, since I’m always up for a challenge, here are my three things…

that I can dunk in tea or coffee?

Doughnut, bagel, biscotti, but only in coffee. I don’t drink tea.

that I can enjoy at a carnival?

Funnel cake, cotton candy, rides.

that I can’t enjoy when it’s windy?

Depends upon how windy, but I’m going with tropical storm windy, in which case I’d say sailing, flying a kite, and skydiving. Actually, I wouldn’t even skydive were the wind speed at zero!

that my body can’t do?

My old body can’t run a marathon, bench press 300 pounds, or dance the night away. Okay, to be honest, my young body couldn’t do any of those three things either.

that I didn’t learn at school?

If we’re talking about pre-college, the my three things would be Spanish, calculus, or much of anything practical.

that I can put onto a pizza?

mushrooms, pepperoni, and onions.

that I can eat with?

My wife, my kids, and my friends. Or, alternatively, a knife, a fork, and a spoon.

that I don’t suggest doing these at home blindfolded?

Play darts, throw knives, and cook dinner.

that are important to me?

My wife, my kids, my dog and cat.

that I love to do at the beach?

Swim, read a book, play with my dog in the surf.

that I do in the morning?

Pee, check my iPhone, and drink a cup of coffee while reading the morning newspaper.

that I do every time I log in to my blog?

Check my stats, respond to comments on my posts, and read new posts in my reader. Eventually I get around to drafting some new posts.

First Line Friday — The Funeral

Fandango8 Comments

530B9F2C-2B28-46F1-A265-5AE69916356FThe funeral went by in a waltz of shiny cars, black suits, and choreographed tears. The procession reached the cemetery and pulled forward to the burial location. As people got out of their cars and made their way to the gravesite, the family members and closest friends took the seats while the rest of those in attendance formed a large oval around the plot.

Hank, a friend of a friend of the daughter of the deceased, was standing in the row of people farthest from the grave. Without warning, he let out a long, loud, juicy fart. Everyone in the crowd, including the pastor in the middle of his sermon, turned to see who it was who do rudely disrupted the service. Once those standing near Hank got a whiff of his flatulence, they moved away from him, leaving him standing by himself, all eyes glaring at him.

Using every communication skill he possessed, Hank said, “Please accept my apology for disrupting this funeral service, but the sudden death my friend’s father has so traumatized me that I was experiencing a mosaic of emotions and I momentarily lost control of my bodily functions. I hope all of you will find it feasible to forgive me my trespasses and return your attention to paying homage to the deceased and his family.”

A mass rolling of eyes, clicking tongues, and a collective sigh preceded the resumption of the funeral service as Hank slowly slunk away from the cemetery.

Written for the First Line Friday prompt from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, where the first line is, “The funeral went by in a waltz of shiny cars, black suits, and choreographed tears.” Also for these one-word prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (farthest), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (disrupt), Word of the Day Challenge (whiff), Ragtag Daily Prompt (skull), Scotts Daily Prompt (mosaic), and Daily Addictions (feasible).

Friday Follies #3 — Adulthood

Fandango15 Comments

A blogging buddy of mine over at Proscenium has started this thing called “Friday Follies.” He’s looking for “any kind of sign, flyer, ad, etc., that you may see posted or printed or whatever/wherever; that would, might or might not be, intentional or unintentionally, a mistake, or could be interpreted the wrong way, misspelled, be a double entendre, or just outright hilarious.”

I don’t know if the picture of the sign I’m posting here meets any of the noted criteria, but I found it quite witty. I probably won’t win the weekly Friday Follies prize, but oh well.1583368B-A083-4877-81EF-76D873821870This sign sits right outside of a coffee shop that I pass every morning while walking my dog. And not that I’m clumsy or anything, but I have, I admit, occasionally screwed up step 2 of the Adulthood 101 instructions.

The Future Is Now

Fandango14 Comments

On Wednesday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, shared a video showing CNN’s Jim Acosta struggling with a White House intern to hold onto a microphone during a contentious exchange with Donald Trump. The video appears to have been doctored to make Acosta look more aggressive than he was during the exchange

Fact-checkers and other experts say the video, which was first shared by Paul Joseph Watson, a conspiracy theorist associated with the far-right website InfoWars, was deliberately sped up to make it look like Acosta chopped the woman’s arm with his hand. Authentic versions of the video that weren’t manipulated showed him slowly raising his hand, appearing to gesture to the president. The White House pulled Acosta’s press pass Wednesday, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeting that the White House will “not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video.”

In July I wrote a post about something called deepfakes. Deepfakes are videos that use a sophisticated type of software that makes it possible to superimpose one person’s face onto another’s body and manipulate voice recordings, creating fake videos that look and sound real.

“When you see video, you still think that you are peering into reality,” David Ryan Polgar, a tech ethicist, said. “The struggle now is that we are blurring the lines between reality and fiction. That’s extremely dangerous for our notions of truth, what happened, and what didn’t.”

It’s very telling that the American government is now disseminating doctored videos to spread its propaganda and to justify the president’s lies and abhorrent behavior. Authoritarian governments have a history of manipulating images and releasing propaganda films. But now it appears that our very own government, in the age of Trump, continues to deliberately create and promote false realities.

What Makes a Good Post?

Fandango20 Comments

007D5DE2-094F-489A-8453-A7CEC24B8B6BA popular blogger I follow, Di, at Pensitivity101, wrote this post asking what makes a “good post.” And at the end of her post, which was a very good post, she asked these questions:

  • What do you think makes a good post on your blog?
  • Do you have a favorite?
  • What do you prefer to write about?
  • What do you like to read on other people’s blogs?
  • What attracts you to follow a blogger?

Since Di said that she was interested to know what we think, I thought I’d tell her…and you.

What do I think makes a good post on my blog?

Well, all modesty aside, I like to think every post I write is a “good” post. However, I guess it depends upon how you define “good.” If good means a post that gets the most views — which I don’t actually believe is what defines a “good post” — then my “goodest” post since I started this blog would be this post, titled “Better Than Sex,” although it’s really about blogging and not about sex.

Do I have a favorite?

I’ve published more than 1,900 posts in the almost 18 months I’ve had this blog and it’s nearly impossible for me to pick out one specific post that is my favorite. So I asked my wife and she thought my post about manscaping was her favorite.

What do I prefer to write about?

As my tag line states, my post is about “random musings on life, society, and politics.” But I also really enjoy writing flash fiction and responding, often with flash fiction, to word and photo prompts.

What do I like to read on other people’s blogs?

Pretty much the same things I write about on my blog. I like to see the different ways in which other bloggers have interpreted the same photo and word prompts that I respond to. There are so many truly creative bloggers out there and I’m so impressed with what they write. And, of course, I enjoy hearing how other bloggers perceive what is going on in the world that we all share.

What attracts me to follow a blogger?

I like to be entertained, informed, stimulated, and distracted. I like bloggers who are witty, who are articulate, who use proper grammar and punctuation, who know the difference between fact and opinion, and who have something to say.

I currently follow about 150 blogs and I try to read as many as I have time to read each day. If I had more time, I’d follow more.