Day: November 10, 2018

Mister MITOO

Fandango30 Comments

The way Republicans, Fox News, and, especially, the MITOO (moron in the Oval Office), manufacture fear and loathing among Trump’s gullible followers makes me seethe with rage.

For example, the so-called migrant “caravan” (or what Fox News and Trump call an “invasion by a hostile force”) slowly heading north toward the US/Mexico border was the red meat Trump was throwing to his base. But as of today, this caravan is still hundreds of miles from the U.S. border. And that means those people seeking asylum are still weeks away from even the nearest US border crossing.

Now that the midterm elections are over, though, when was the last time you heard Donald Trump and his sycophants going nuts over this manufacturered invasion? The bogus, partisan crisis has apparently passed, due to the apparent failure of this scare tactic to motivate enough diehard Trumpsters to vote enough Republican candidates into the House of Representatives to maintain a GOP majority.

Democrats need a muse to inspire them, and while they did pretty well on Tuesday, they must figure out how to guide this victory into a path toward saving the American democracy.

And I also need a muse to figure out how fit the word tactile into this post. Oh wait. I just added this photo I found on Google Images. I think it is illustrative of tactile, don’t you?7AEEC518-3FC6-4B42-9D89-DD944E5CF100

Written for these one word prompts: Scotts Daily Prompt (manufacture), Ragtag Daily Prompt (seethe), Your Daily Word Prompt (nearest), Daily Addictions (muse), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (guide), and Word of the Day Challenge (tactile).

Wildfires

Fandango29 Comments

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The Northern California “Camp Fire” has, so far, claimed the lives of at least nine people and devastated the Butte County town of Paradise. The fire has grown to 90,000 acres and destroyed 6,713 structures — nearly all homes in its path — making it the most destructive fire in California history.

The fire is about 140 miles northeast of San Francisco, but its effects are being felt all across the Bay Area, with smoky skies and an air quality index that is “unhealthy.” It’s so bad, in fact, that many flights were canceled at San Francisco International Airport and Bay Area residents have been advised to stay indoors. But as a dog owner whose dog expects to be walked three or four times a day, I can’t really stay indoors.

The Camp Fire is only about five percent contained and there is no rain in the forecast. But at least the winds have died down, so maybe that will help firefighters get this thing under control.

The photo at the top of this post was taken yesterday afternoon at around 3:00 and shows the sun partially obscured by the smoky haze. And the colors are unfiltered. That’s the actual color of the afternoon sky.

Guilty Reader Extra Credit

Fandango12 Comments

Set of different books on a white backgroundIn this post from Marilyn Armstrong, she wrote that “Fandango plucked these from the blog of Melanie who picked them up from Teresa. Interesting book questions for those of us who read.”

Well, the truth is that Marilyn gave me credit for something I didn’t actually do. I know that Melanie got the questions from Teresa, but no one got them from me because I never “plucked” these questions from anyone nor answered them.

However, since Marilyn was kind enough to credit me for having plucked them, and since I am a reader, I have decided to pluck them from her and answer them now.

1-Have you ever re-gifted a book that you’ve been gifted?

I once received a coffee table book as a gift, but I never really liked it. So I gave it to someone from work at an office Secret Santa thingie. I don’t remember what book it was.

2-Have you ever claimed to have read a book when you haven’t?

At the risk of sounding like the now former Attorney General, I can’t recall making such a claim.

3-Have you ever borrowed a book and not returned it?

Once again, I don’t recall having done so. And these days, virtually all of my books are ebooks contained within the Kindle app on my iPhone, so it’s kind of a moot question.

4-Have you ever read a series out-of-order?

Not intentionally, but I remember starting a book and I didn’t realize when I started reading it that it was the second book of a trilogy. Once I figured that out about a quarter of the way through the book, I stopped reading it and then started reading the first book in the series.

5-Have you ever spoiled a book for someone?

No, I don’t think so. At least not intentionally.

6-Have you ever skipped a chapter or a section of a book?

Yes. I’ve read most of James Michener’s books and if you’re familiar with his novels, you know he spends a lot of time and many pages at the beginning of some of his books going into great detail about the history relevant to the locale, like the ancient geological formations of islands or the evolution of horses in a particular part of the world. I admit to having skimmed (or skipped) some of those early chapters in several of Michener’s books.

7-Have you ever bad-mouthed a book you actually liked?

No! Why would anyone badmouth a book they liked?

SoCS — A Means to an End

Fandango11 Comments

20C6073F-F930-4AEA-9243-02C86A0F48B2“It’s just a means to an end, that’s all,” Ed said aloud, but more to himself than to his wife, who was sitting next to him on the sofa.

“You always use that expression and I don’t really know what you mean,” Karen responded.

“What are you, stupid or something?” Ed lashed out.

Tears began to form in Karen’s eyes. “Why do you have to say mean things like that, Ed?”

“You’re right,” Ed said softly. “I’m sorry, babe. That was a mean thing for me to say.”

“Thanks, I accept your apology,” Karen said. “Now tell me, what does a means to an end mean?”

“It means it’s something you do only to produce or achieve a desired result,” Ed explained. “It’s like when you have to work at a job you hate, but you have to do it in order to put food on the table. The job is the means and the end is that you have enough to eat.”

“Okay, I understand that, but what were you referring to just now when you said it?”

Ed sighed. “Sometimes, Karen, you gotta do what you gotta do and the end justifies the means.”

“So does that mean that a positive outcome excuses or justifies any wrongs committed in order to attain it?” Karen asked, as a concerned expression appeared on her face.

“Don’t worry, babe,” Ed said. “I’m not planning to do anything unethical, immoral, or technically illegal.”

“Then what is this means you are talking about,” Karen asked, “and to what end.”

“Well, babe, it was going to be a surprise,” Ed said, “but since you can’t seem to let this go, I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me what, Ed?”

Ed leaned in close to Karen and whispered in her ear.

Karen jumped back. “Oh my God, Ed, no!”

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. We are asked to use the word “mean(s)” with or without the “s,” any way we’d like.

FOWC with Fandango — Guide

Fandango30 Comments

FOWCWelcome to November 10, 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 “guide.”

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.