Day: July 21, 2019

Let There Be Sunshine

Fandango17 Comments

2D0211E6-B27F-425A-AA7B-5C4EAD83D813Sadje, at Keep It Alive, has nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. My blog is an award-free blog, but I really do appreciate when a blogger takes the time to recognize by blog. So thank you so much, Sadje.

There are a bunch of rules associated with blog awards, there are a bunch associated the Sunshine Blogger Award, but the only one I’m going to comply with is the rule that says I must answer the 10 questions asked by the blogger who nominated me. So here are Sadje’s questions and my answers.

1. What is the most important thing in life for you?

My wife, our kids, our dog, and our cat. Oh, and my blog.

2. Do your friends and family support you in blogging (or any other passion of yours)?

I would say that the operative word is “apathetic,” although I think my wife is happy that it keeps me occupied.

3. Which is your favorite flavor, in ice cream?

Ben & Jerry’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream.5ACBA63A-B886-41C8-ADB1-42AE815C7234

4. What would be your dream job?

The “job” I have now…being retired.

5. Who is your favorite actor, or author (if you don’t watch movies)?

Whatever actor is acting in the movie I’m watching.

6.What are your ambitions for the next year?

To survive.

7. How do you think the world is going to cope with environmental challenges?

Not well, given the leadership we now have. I don’t hold out much hope for human survival through the end of this century.

8. What would be your ideal holiday?

By holiday do you mean like Christmas or Thanksgiving or are you talking about a vacation? If the latter, I’d love to spend two weeks visiting Australia and New Zealand.

9. How has your way of thinking changed with age?

I am more analytical, more fiscally conservative, and more socially liberal.

10. Which season describes your personality?

Autumn. Crisp, clear, and getting ready for winter.

Anyone else want to take a shot at these questions from Sadje?

So Many Words

Fandango13 Comments

9670BE73-11FD-4242-AD7A-860EA68E3836As many of you who read my blog know, I try to incorporate four or five daily prompt words into a post each day. In addition to my Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, there’s the Word of the Day Challenge, the Ragtag Daily Prompt, the Your Daily Word Prompt, and, more recently, the Daily Spur.

Now two other bloggers have upped the ante. Roger Shipp has resurrected his popular Daily Addictions prompt and Nova has brought back her Nova’s Daily Random Word prompt.

So today we are offered seven daily words: productive, pollution, adversity, drive, puzzle, target, and youthful.

Okay, the gauntlet has been thrown and I’m going to pick it up now.

“Our nation is facing a serious crisis. Pollution of the air we breathe and the water we drink is bringing about a potential environmental catastrophe,” the candidate said.

“It is critical that we, as citizens, come together and target the crisis with productive approaches,” she continued. “This is not a puzzle that is unsolvable. We need to apply your youthful exuberance to drive this country toward cleaner air and water and to overcome the adversity that doing nothing will bring about. It’s your futures that are at stake. Thank you.”

The candidate for student council president received a standing ovation from Miss Brown’s first grade class.

Song Lyric Sunday — Diamond Girl

Fandango4 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams has given us the words Wedding, Marry, Diamond, Ring, and Cake to consider. The song I chose for this week’s theme is “Diamond Girl” by Seals & Crofts.

“Diamond Girl” was written by Jim Seals and Dash Crofts and was released in May 1973 as a single from the duo’s fifth studio album, Diamond Girl. It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Technically speaking, the song isn’t about weddings, marriage, rings, or cake. But it has the word “diamond” in the title and I’ve always been fond of the melodic harmonies of Seals & Crofts. The song is essentially depicting the love for a woman, although some believe they were singing about their commitment to God.

The singer-songwriters were deeply religious and committed to the Baha’i religion. Their radiant harmonies and always positive lyrics were a direct reflection of that commitment and their desire to advance the Baha’i faith through their music.

Until I did the research on the duo for this post, I never realized that their songs had any religious significance. I simply enjoyed the sound of their voices, their harmonies, and the music. It was always light, breezy, and positive.

Here are the lyrics to “Diamond Girl.”

Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Glad I found you – glad you’re mine
Oh my love you’re like a precious stone
Part of earth where heaven has rained on

Makes no difference where you are
Day or nighttime you’re like a shinin’ star
And how could I shine without you
When it’s about you that I am

Diamond Girl – roamin’ wild
Such a rare thing – radiant child
I could never find another one like you
Part of me is deep down inside you

Can’t you feel the whole world’s a-turnin’
We are real and we are a-burnin’
Diamond Girl now that I’ve found you
It’s around you that I am

Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine
Diamond Girl – you sure do shine

FOWC with Fandango — Productive

Fandango26 Comments

FOWCWelcome to July 21, 2019 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 “productive.”

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.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

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