Day: September 2, 2019

Curses and Spells

Fandango37 Comments

8ECCA349-4791-493D-8664-44D23DBA63FCThis is truly bizarre to me. I read an article yesterday about a Catholic school in Tennessee has banned the “Harry Potter” series of books because a reverend at the school claimed they include both good and evil magic, as well as spells, which, if read by a human can conjure “evil spirits.”

I am not making this up. The reverend, apparently shortly after touching down from his magic carpet ride from heaven, claimed that there are curses and spells used in the books that are actual, real-life curses and spells. When read by a human being, these curses and spells can conjure evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.

Is that not something to marvel at? But wait! It seems that a number of Christian critics believe the Bible makes it clear that magic stems from demonic sources, and that “Harry Potter” books and movies may seduce children away from the religion and into occult practices.

Seriously?

The school’s pastor made the decision to ban the books after receiving a complaint from a parent. He then sent a letter to parents of the kids in the school warning them that if their children read the “Harry Potter” books, the parents may need to surmount an invasion of their home by evil spirits or migrants from Mexico and Central America.

Actually, that’s not true. I am making up the part about Mexican and Central American migrants. I was merely using some levity to offset the tension I’m sure you’re feeling if you have any “Harry Potter” books in your home, and your kids cast a spell on you.

But I was serious about the conjuring up of evil spirits. For what it’s worth, the Catholic Church does not have an official position on the magical book and movie series. Instead, each pastor has canonical authority to map out his parish school’s policies in such matters and to “act in that manner.”

You gotta love religious superstitions, don’t you?

Written for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (bizarre), The Daily Spur (carpet), Ragtag Daily Prompt (marvel), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (surmount), Your Daily Word Prompt (levity), and Daily Addictions (map).

Weekly Song Challenge — Happy Labor Day

Fandango8 Comments

Musical NotesFor this week’s Weekly Song Challenge, Laura has asked us to post three videos — songs that remind us of time off from work, of summer, and of work.

Her rules are:

  • Copy the rules and add them to our own post, pinging back to Laura’s 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 a song that makes you think of time off from work.

2. Post a video of a song that makes you think of summer.

3. Post a video of a song that is about working.

Over to you, folks. Happy Labor Day, America.

Share Your World — Cool and Hip Rainy Afternoons

Fandango12 Comments

Share Your WorldMondays mean Melanie’s Share Your World questions. Let’s get right to it.

When you’re 90 years old, what do you suppose will matter most to you?

Good health, enough money to live comfortably, and making it to 91.

What’s the best way to spend a rainy afternoon?

Staying dry.8FCE89C2-2027-46DD-B9E7-F052B86A1A5F

What is one thing you don’t understand about yourself?

Who I really am.7B717F8E-8C91-43DB-BBBC-F3A796322410

When was the last time you tried something to look ‘cool’ (hip), but it ended in utter embarrassment? Details?

It’s been a long time since I tried to look cool or hip. At my age, there’s little that I could to do to achieve being cool or hip, and I fear that any attempt to appear that way would end in embarrassment.

Share a picture, a story, or an event that shows your gratitude

One day after a gunman in Texas killed seven and wounded 21 others,Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, said on “Fox & Friends” that mass shootings are caused by “driving God from the public square,” and specifically by teaching kids about evolution. Why am I grateful for this? Because it illustrates, for the whole world to see, how moronic far-right, Christian conservatives are.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #30

Fandango9 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 Mike at Pexels.com.501A1201-3871-474F-943F-6A0F40BBB162If 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.

FOWC with Fandango — Surmount

Fandango23 Comments

FOWCWelcome to September 2, 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 “surmount.”

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.