Day: August 5, 2019

Share Your World — Grim World Edition

Fandango13 Comments

Monday means Melanie’s Share Your World prompt, and, as usual, she has given us some provocative questions for us to expose our inner selves to all of you. She did give us a warning, though, that in view of recent events, this week’s Share Your World is rather grim. Let’s see if we can turn some lemons into lemonade. Here we go.

Does life have a reason (meaning)?

I’m going to answer this question with a post I wrote in July 2017, which featured this screenshot from my iPhone.81AC1071-CD21-42C7-BC83-7B15DB976F97

Will the world come to an end by human hands (man’s actions)?

Yes, but not so much due to man’s actions, but more as a result of man’s inaction on climate change.

Will stricter laws make a better world?  Would less strict law make it better?

It’s not a matter of more or less strict laws. It’s about better laws that are more equally enforced, without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, or financial status.

If death is inevitable, why bother doing anything?

Yes, death is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t live the best life we can during the finite time we are alive. 

Are thoughts and prayers useful or a sop for people who wish to pay respect but interact through a virtual venue? Yea or nay – please explain your viewpoint (without rancor) if you would.

I’m sorry for reverting again within the same Share Your World response to a post I previously published, but this recent post of mine pretty much answers this question. And as a visual representation, here’s an image from Rob Israel that sums up my feelings about thought and prayers.8F2CB876-4DCF-4A3D-8EBF-AA62288C76A4

 

The Odd Couple

Fandango4 Comments

1677E2EC-DE06-4816-8C15-A80AF6694DBBJust like every Leo, she always had to be the center of attention. But as an Aries, I, too, can be passionate, confident, and very direct. So yes, we did clash quite a bit. But that’s to be expected, isn’t it? We are, after all, both fire signs and are each strong willed, so a certain amount of discordance shouldn’t be a surprise.

Sometime we collide about minor things, like whether to go to Disneyland or to Magic Mountain for a vacation. Or that she loves to soak in a tub for hours, while I am in and out of the shower within three minutes. At other times our whole orientation is in conflict, like her being more of a home body who would be happy spending the evening sipping wine in front of the fireplace, while my preference would be to live a more nomadic life, driving around the country visiting scenic national parks in an RV.

The truth is, though, that I find her to be a totally bewitching woman and she finds me to be an extraordinarily fascinating man. And while we are occasionally at each other’s throats, there is nothing that anyone can do to chip away at our love. We may seem to be an odd couple, but together, we have zero tolerance for anyone who would dare to try to tear us apart.

Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie First Line Friday prompt, where the first line is, “Just like every Leo, she always had to be the center of attention.” Also for Paula Light’s Three Things Challenge, where the three things are “Disneyland,” “fireplace,” and “zero.” And for these daily prompts: Daily Addictions (Mountain), The Daily Spur (shower), Nova’s Daily Random Word (nomadic), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (bewitching), and Word of the Day Challenge (chip).

Do People Really Believe This Shit?

Fandango77 Comments

11be17e7-5c6f-467c-be9c-e0d133e972cd.jpegAfter more than 30 people were killed in two deadly shootings this weekend, Ohio state Rep. Candice Keller, in a Facebook post, complained that Democrats play “the blame game” after every mass shooting.

She wrote that the real blame should be on the “breakdown of the traditional American family” and “acceptance of recreational marijuana.” Keller also blamed the gun violence on homosexual marriage, drag queen advocates, violent video games, open borders, kneeling athletes, and ignoring the importance of God and the church.

Interestingly, there was no mention of the proliferation of guns nor of high-capacity, semiautomatic, military-style killing machines.

And, oh yes, she also blames the “snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected President.” Sheesh.

Here is her full Facebook post:

“The breakdown of the traditional American family (thank you, transgender, homosexual marriage, and drag queen advocates); fatherlessness, a subject no one discuses or believes is relevant; the ignoring of violent video games; the relaxing of laws against criminals (open borders); the acceptance of recreational marijuana; failed school policies (hello parents who defend misbehaving students); disrespect to law enforcement (thank you, Obama); hatred of our veterans (thank you, professional athletes who hate our flag and National Anthem); the Dem Congress, many members whom are open anti-Semitic; the culture, which totally ignores the importance of God and the church (until they elect a President); state officeholders, who have no interest whatsoever in learning about our Constitution and the Second Amendement; and snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected President.”

If our elected representatives really believe this shit, we, my fellow Americans, are in deep doo doo.

Weekly Song Challenge — Tributes, Animals, and Resonates

Fandango14 Comments

60A25535-5237-4C1A-8A60-109A5196E9B9For this week’s Weekly Song Challenge, Laura has asked us to post three videos — a tribute song, a song about an animal, and a song that resonates with us.

Her rules are:

  • Copy rules and add to our own post, pinging back to her post.
  • Post music videos for our answers to the musical questions.
  • Tag two people anyone who wants to participate!

So here goes.

1. Post a video of an artist singing a song by another artist as tribute.

This song by Don McLean is a tribute to early rock and roll performers Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens who died in a plane crash in 1959.

2. Post a video of a song about an animal or has the word animal in it.

3. Post a video of a song that resonates with you.

Okay, now it’s your turn.

9D556121-5A3F-4C86-9803-C16CFD8FDEDF

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #25

Fandango15 Comments

FFFCWelcome to “Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.” Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenge bloggers to write a relatively short flash fiction piece inspired by the photo. While there are no definitive style or word limits, I suggest trying to keep your posts to under 300 words.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has participated in these challenges so far. Your posts have been very creative. I hope this week’s image will also generate some great posts as well.

So now it’s time for this week’s Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge. The image below is from jplenio at pixabay.com.7C2C363D-E7F3-4B59-9C2D-84ED84FA7337If this picture inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post.

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.

Please take a few minutes to read some of the other responses to this photo challenge. And most important, have fun.9D556121-5A3F-4C86-9803-C16CFD8FDEDF