Day: August 11, 2020

So Long Mike Pence

Fandango19 Comments

So here’s what I think is going to happen.

Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for President running against the incumbent Donald Trump, has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate — a choice I’m extremely happy with, by the way.11175D60-FD3A-49F4-9828-A151FBD0E87BNot only is Kamala Harris a very well qualified candidate for Vice President, she is the first black (her father was from Jamaica) and South Asian (her mother was from India) American woman chosen for national office by a major political party. And she is an accomplished woman, having served as San Francisco’s District Attorney, as the California Attorney General, and as a member of the U.S. Senate from California.

Harris’ selection will seal the deal with America’s black voters and will probably bring a lot of women voters with her who might otherwise not have voted for Biden.

So what is Trump’s play? In a last ditch effort to save his floundering campaign and to boost his chances to get re-elected, Donald Trump is going to dump current Vice President Mike Pence as his running mate and will select Nikki Haley to run with him in November.F69FFD85-E412-4E51-8B66-989D9E484258Nikki Haley is no slouch. She served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018. She was the first female governor of South Carolina and the first female Indian-American governor elected in the United States.

I have no doubt that Trump believes that replacing Pence with Haley as his running mate will help keep female voters, who might otherwise vote for a Biden-Harris ticket, in his fold. Pence can’t do that and, since Trump already has the evangelical and religious right voters sewn up, keeping Pence on the Republican ticket doesn’t add anything to the equation. Nikki Haley would.

So remember, folks, where you first heard this.

Truthful Tuesday — Artist

Fandango7 Comments

Truthful TuesdayFor this week’s Truthful Tuesday prompt, PCGuy wants to know…

Who is your favorite artist (painter, sculptor, illustrator, etc.), and why?

I actually already answered the question of who my favorite artist is in this post from June 2018. But I’m going to make it easy on you. You don’t need to link to that old post. I’m going to copy and paste it below.

As to why he’s my favorite, it’s simple. His work is mind blowing. He described his art as “mental imagery” often based on theoretical and mathematical premises. I will admit to you, if you promise not to tell anyone, that back in the day I used to get stoned and stare at his graphical prints for hours on end.

CD6D6261-3979-4AA1-921A-8159D948E531The image above, Hand with Reflecting Sphere, also known as Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror, is a lithograph print by Dutch artist M.C. Escher. First printed in January 1935, the piece depicts the artist’s hand holding a reflective sphere. In the reflection, most of the room around Escher can be seen.

I have always been a huge fan of M.C. Escher’s work. I have several coffee table books of his drawings in my home as well as a handful of his prints hanging on my walls.

Here are just a few of my favorite Escher works. Look at them closely.

1137D598-495B-45DD-B0C1-464109B9A2C0B2E060CE-F3CD-43B1-93BE-0A7655965F044F5B1B30-A637-4D5B-A423-C29B377803E690824F35-DE31-47C9-8735-4DBEADAFB94F70751B50-B2DA-440C-8739-0DF2910620E7

Ghosts and Ghouls

Fandango14 Comments

A2D71804-9D70-44BA-9A92-5DE7A3D34AAF“There’s something present in this old house besides us,” William said. “Don’t you feel its presence? It’s evil, malevolent.”

“Don’t be daft,” George responded. “There you go again with all of your paranormal codswallop. Can’t you use that space between your ears for something other than your claptrap about ghosts and ghouls?”

The sound of a crash from the next room set both boys on edge. “What the hell was that?” George asked.

“Are you sure this is all nonsense?” William whispered to George. After a brief interlude, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the room they were in caused the hairs on the back of both boys’ necks to stand on end. George felt warm liquid streaming down his leg. “Shit, I just peed myself. I’m getting outta here.” He started running toward the front door of the old house.

Before he could reach the door, he ran into a large entity blocking his exit. George let out a bloodcurdling scream. Then he heard the “thing” in front of him start laughing, while from behind him he heard the familiar sound of William’s laughter.

Confused, George looked up to see that the thing blocking the front door was Todd, an offensive lineman on the high school football team known as “Tank.” George turned and looked at William, who was laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks.

“You fuckers set me up, didn’t you?” George growled. William and Tank were still laughing hysterically. “The only evil, malevolent presences in this place are the two of you.”

Written for these daily prompts: jibber Jabber (present), Fandango’s One-World Challenge (paranormal), Word of the Day Challenge (codswallop), Ragtag Daily Prompt (space), The Daily Spur (crash), and Your Daily Word Prompt (interlude). Photo credit: Tommy-Noker at DeviantArt.com.

Fandango’s Dog Days of August #11

Fandango15 Comments

Fandango’s Dog Days of AugustDo you need a muse to get your creative juices flowing during these hot, sultry days of August? Try a dose of Fandango’s Dog Days of August prompt.

At 6:00 am Pacific time each day this month, I will be posting a new theme. Today’s theme is “your greatest fear.” Is it death? Disease? Ghosts? Someone? Something? Share a story, a poem, a photo, a drawing, some music, or whatever you wish to share about your greatest fear.

If you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FDDA, and create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.

And, of course, take some time to read the other responses to this prompt. See how other bloggers are coping with the dog days of August.

FOWC with Fandango — Paranormal

Fandango23 Comments

FOWCWelcome to August 11, 2020 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 “paranormal.”

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. Please 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.