Day: August 23, 2020

Bottle Rocket

Fandango21 Comments

“Isn’t shooting off a bottle rocket illegal?” Tim asked his older brother.

“Absolutely,” Evan said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

“I’m going to tell Mom. You’ll be in real trouble then,” Tim said.

“Oh big deal,” Evan laughed. “What’s the worst that can happen? She’ll call me on the carpet. Being scolded by mom is no big deal.”

“No big deal you say,” the boys’ Mom said when she heard the commotion in the backyard. “Here you are doing something both illegal and dangerous while standing in the middle of my prized rose garden. This intrusion into my sanctuary is unacceptable and you are grounded for two weeks. No TV, no computer, no phone. That’s it, mister. Next time you think being called in the carpet by your mother is no big deal, remember this day.”

“Yes ma’am,” Evan said.

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (rocket), The Daily Spur (illegal), Jibber Jabber (absolutely), Ragtag Daily Prompt (carpet), Word of the Day Challenge (garden), and Your Daily Word Prompt (intrusion)

Who Won The Week? 08/23/2020

Fandango14 Comments

10CC3057-4EEA-4C80-B8C1-700C0FC6C906It’s time for another Who Won the Week prompt. The idea behind Who Won the Week is for you to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.

I will be posting this prompt on Sunday mornings (my time). If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.

It probably won’t surprise you that, political junkie that I am, I watched the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on TV this week. All four nights of it. This year’s DNC was very different than it’s ever been in the past. Due to COVID-19, the convention was virtual. There were no huge crowds of delegates, punctuating (and elongating) every speech with raucous applause. No balloons dropping from the rafters.

Instead, it was tailor made for the “small” screen (whether a TV like my 65 inch high def screen or the 6.5 inch screen of my iPhone 8 Plus). Most people who watch these conventions do so on their TVs at home, so why not offer interested viewers a show with punchy, well-edited videos and with interviews of all sorts of regular people? It was must-see TV. Which is why I’m designating this week’s Democratic National Convention as the Who Won the Week winner.

Sure, one could say that the convention was a four-day-long infomercial for the Democratic nominee Joe Biden, but in essence, that’s what political conventions are and what this coming week’s Republican National Convention will be for Donald Trump.

The DNC show was informative, entertaining, optimistic, poignant, forward looking, and, at times, funny. It presented a sharp contrast to the dark, divisive days in America since Trump took center stage. It will be interesting to see how the RNC will attempt to sell Trump’s abysmal failure as Commander-in-Chief to the American people.

Now it’s your turn, folks. Who (or what) do you think won the week?

Fandango’s Dog Days of August #23

Fandango11 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 “create a character.” Create an interesting character and describe him or her? Tell us a little something about your character. Share a story, a poem, a photo, a drawing, some music, or whatever you wish to share about the character you created.

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.

Song Lyric Sunday — Atlantis

Fandango12 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has given us “above,” “below,” and “between” for our theme. My choice for this week comes from way down below the ocean. It’s “Atlantis” by Donovan.

“Atlantis” was written and recorded by Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan Leitch. Released as a single in 1968, it became a worldwide hit. The song was not deemed likely to be a hit in the U.S. because of its length and the fact that the first third of the song is spoken prose and was, therefore, not “radio-friendly,” which is why it was demoted to B-side status to “To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting.” However, the song was quite successful, reaching number 7 on the Billboard charts, and it became an anthem of the hippie movement. Interestingly, the only sung line in the song are Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be.

The song begins as a long narrative poem in which Donovan tells of the legendary island of Atlantis. Exotic and mythological images were on the minds of many hippies in the ’60s, and Atlantis was the symbol of the conterculture moment with the hope that, if true love is found, Atlantis will be reached.

Here are the lyrics to “Atlantis.”

The continent of Atlantis was an island
Which lay before the great flood
In the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
So great an area of land,
That from her western shores
Those beautiful sailors journeyed
To the South and the North Americas with ease,
In their ships with painted sails.
To the East Africa was a neighbour, 
Across a short strait of sea miles. 
The great Egyptian age is 

But a remnant of The Atlantian culture.
The antediluvian kings colonised the world
All the Gods who play in the mythological dramas
In all legends from all lands were from far Atlantis.

Knowing her fate,
Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth.
On board were the Twelve: 

The poet, the physician, The farmer, the scientist,
The magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends.
Though Gods they were –
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind 
Let us rejoice 
And let us sing 
And dance and ring in the new Hail Atlantis!

Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be.
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be.
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah,
I wanna see you some day
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah,
My antediluvian baby, 
My antediluvian baby, I love you, girl,
Girl, I wanna see you some day. 
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah
I wanna see you some day, oh My antediluvian baby.
My antediluvian baby, I wanna see you
My antediluvian baby, gotta tell me where she gone
I wanna see you some day Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up,
oh yeah Oh club club, down down, yeah
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah

FOWC with Fandango — Rocket

Fandango19 Comments

FOWCWelcome to August 23, 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 “rocket.”

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.