Day: November 28, 2018

Take a Hike

Fandango6 Comments

209A5B54-4223-4D8E-B9A9-ECFB14DC4B5B“So here’s what I’m thinking,” Jason said. “Let’s plan a hike along the Appalachian Trail. Imagine the camaraderie we’d experience if we spent two weeks hiking and camping out in the wilderness.”

“How did you come up with this little bit of brilliance?” Stan asked.

“Oh come on, Stan,” Bill said. “Not only will it be invigorating as we commune with nature, we’ll be able to learn more about the Appalachian culture.”

“The Appalachian culture?” Mark said. “Seriously, dude. All I can picture is that movie ‘Deliverance,’ with Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty.”

“Well count me out,” said Stan. “No way I want to spend two weeks sleeping on the hard ground, swatting giant mosquitoes, fending off rattlesnakes, and dealing with hillbillies when I can stay home in my nice, air conditioned apartment, sleeping in my own bed, and with a Starbucks on every corner.”

“You are such a wuss, Stan,” Jason said.

“Cut him some slack,” Mark said. “It’s not like doing this is mandatory.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Bill said. “So, really, there are no Starbucks along the Appalachian Trail? That could be a dealbreaker for me, guys.”

“Hmm,” Jason said. “Okay, guys, how about two weeks lounging on the white sand beaches of Bermuda?”

Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (trail), Word of the Day Challenge (camaraderie), Ragtag Daily Promot (brilliance), Scotts Daily Prompt (cultural), and Your Daily Word Prompt (mandatory).

Eleven Brand New Questions

Fandango19 Comments

034BE707-F913-4B24-B811-9C09AB076DA0Sadje, over at Keep It Alive, was nominated for her fourth Sunshine Blogger Award. As is custom, she responded to the eleven questions the person who nominated her, Ruby, asked her. And as is also custom, Sadje nominated eleven other bloggers to answer the same questions. And it happens that I am one of the eleven. So thank you for that, Sadje.

Here goes.

If you had to choose to be on a reality show, which one would it be?

I am not a fan of reality shows. In fact, I hate them. The only “reality” show I watch is “The Voice.” So I suppose I’d choose to be on that one. But I’m actually too old to compete and I can’t sing for shit.ED173509-F7D8-490B-8E69-6648CD5E0310

2. If you could change your name, what would it be?

If you’re asking about my real name, I wouldn’t change it. After all these decades I can’t imagine having any other name. As to my blogger name, Fandango, I selected it and I think it’s great, so no way I’d change it.

3. How long have you been blogging?

I started this blog, Fivedotoh, in May 2017, but I started my first blog on October 10, 2005. If you’re so inclined, you can read about it here.

4. How frequently do you blog?

These days I usually post between three and five times a day.

5. Share the link to a favorite post of yours, why is this your favorite?

I think I’ve answered this question before. I’ve published more than 2,000 posts on this blog and I can’t just pick out one as my favorite. But this is my most viewed post to-date: Better Than Sex.

6. Do you check your stats for the countries that have ‘visited’ your blog?

Occasionally. Here are my top 10 countries so far this year:204A926D-A395-4A1C-AACD-004290EF0CA3

7. Which countries are you missing from your WordPress globe and would really like to see filled in on your map?

Greenland. Does anyone actually live in Greenland? But I am surprised that Trinidad & Tabago made my top 10.A3BE7871-B8C1-49A7-8B31-37B724A2BC25

8. Are you a ‘crafty’ person? (knit, sew, paint, macrame … ?)

I don’t knit, sew, paint, or do macrame. As to the other definition of “crafty” — someone skillful in underhand or evil schemes; cunning; deceitful; sly — I plead the fifth.

9. Assuming that you celebrate, do you shop in advance for Christmas or do you leave everything to the last minute?

I don’t really celebrate Christmas, but most of my family and friends do celebrate either Christmas or Hanukkah. I am a last minute kind of a guy, but my wife is a well-in-advance person, so she does the planning and I execute her plan.

10. Do you participate in sports?

Not anymore. But I watch sports on TV.

11. Are you a sweet or savory person?

Is this about whether I prefer to eat sweet food or savory food, or if my personality is sweet or savory? Relative to food, I actually like both sweet and savory. A nice, flavorful main course followed by a sweet dessert. Yum.

As to personality, I wouldn’t say that I’m a particularly sweet guy. But if you ask my wife, by the end of an active day, I can be pretty savory.

Now here’s where I depart from custom. I’m not going to nominate eleven other bloggers. I’m going to nominate all other bloggers to answer these very same questions.

Page 7, Line 5

Fandango8 Comments

74611A2E-DD46-4568-B37F-01CAB3EEFF43Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith, has this challenge where she tells you to grab your closest book, turn to a specified page, scroll down to a specified line, and use that line as inspiration for a post. In this case, it’s page 7, line 5.

Since I no longer own any physical books, I decided to use one of the books that I downloaded to the Kindle app on my iPhone. The book I chose was “Tales From the Haunted Wordmith” by Teresa Grabs. You may be familiar with that author. Anyway, here is the fifth line on the 7th page of the Kindle for iPhone edition.

“where her car was parked. In fact, she wasn’t”

Sally couldn’t remember where her car was parked. In fact, she wasn’t able to remember much of anything these days. Not since her doctor adjusted her dosage for the medications she was taking to manage her bipolar disorder.

Her husband told her to get her act together or he’d take the kids and leave her. He called her an unfit mother and said that she was a danger to herself and the children. So she started seeing a shrink about four months ago. He was always tinkering with her meds and she felt kind of like a guinea pig.

But this latest adjustment made her feel numb. Yes, it lowered the frequency and intensity of her manic episodes. And she didn’t get as deeply depressed as she used to. But her mind felt muddled and she didn’t like that. If someone asked her how her day went or even what she had for lunch the day before, she would stare back at them, a blank expression on her face, unable to remember.

And now, standing in the parking lot, she felt like she was missing something, but she couldn’t remember what. Oh wait. Her car. Where was her car?

Sally couldn’t remember where her car was parked. In fact, she wasn’t able to remember much of anything these days.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #3

Fandango20 Comments

FPQEach week I will pose what I think is a provocative question. By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

So without further delay, this week’s provocative question is:

“Is morality objective or is it subjective? If you believe it’s objective, what is its source? If you believe it’s subjective, how do you know whose concept of morality is correct?”

If you choose to participate, write a post with your response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ 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 most important, have fun.

FOWC with Fandango — Trail

Fandango33 Comments

FOWCWelcome to November 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 “trail.”

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.