Day: December 23, 2020

Reading and Writing

Fandango8 Comments

Rory, A Guy Called Bloke, wants to know about our reading and writing habits lately. Let’s see what he wants to know.

1] How real do you need your reality reading or fiction reading to be?

I enjoy reading science fiction (e.g., Asimov), fantasy (e.g., Tolkien), and horror (e.g., King), where I know, going in, that I need to suspend disbelief. But I also like detective novels, suspense, intrigue, and even multigenerational sagas, and for those kinds of novels, the characters and storylines must be realistic or at least plausible.

2] Have you knowingly noticed over the last 9 months and since the arrival of Covid – 19 your writing style has altered?

My writing style, no. My topics, yes. I write a lot about the devastation and destruction due to the pandemic. I also write about the devastation and destruction due to Donald Trump and his GOP goodies.

3] Have you noticed any changes in the way that you personally blog – for instance your overall outlook and positivity reflects upon you differently now?

I’ve noticed that I personally blog about more things that are devastating and destructive in our world in 2020. And as to outlook and positivity? I’m afraid that’s been M.I.A. this year.

The Audit

Fandango9 Comments

“I can’t believe how you are persecuting me,” Jonathan said. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to selflessly caring for others, and yet here I am, faced with a flood of criticism and accusations. I’m a man of the cloth.”

“Yes, Reverend Jamison, I understand that,” the IRS auditor said, “but in reviewing your personal income tax filings, we have found a number of irregularities.”

“What did you say your name is?” Jonathan asked the auditor.

“Charles Bancroft,” the auditor responded.

“Let me ask you, Mr. Bancroft — Charles — are you married?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, God bless you and your marriage, Charles. And since you are married, you surely understand how this works,” Jonathan said. “My wife loves to go shopping. She loves leather jackets, purses, and, of course, shoes. She likes jewelry that has some glitter to it. She has to get her hair done once a week to look her very best for the cameras. You know how it is. Happy wife, happy life.”

“But Mr. Jamison,” the auditor said, “you claimed all of that spending as business expenses for your ministry.”

“Charles, you have to understand that I’m a spiritual leader and my wife is an important aspect in attracting new members to my megachurch,” Jonathan said. “She’s a beautiful woman who could have been in the movies, and I’m lucky to have her by my side. She helps with bringing in the lovely jingle jangle of coins, if you get my drift.”

“Be that as it may, Reverend Jamison,” the auditor said, “You can’t claim your trophy wife’s extravagant clothing and accessories as legitimate church business expenses. I’m disallowing them. You’ll be receiving a notification from the Internal Revenue Service within a few weeks that will itemize the penalty and interest due. Failure to comply will result in your arrest and imprisonment.”

Written for these daily prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (dedicated), Ragtag Daily Prompt (caring/glitter), The Daily Spur (flood/hair), MMA Storytime (shopping/movies), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (leather/lucky), and Word of the Day Challenge (jingle).

One-Liner Wednesday — Throwing in the Towel

Fandango11 Comments

“There comes a time when you have to realize that, despite your best efforts, you’ve been unsuccessful.”

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn

As Donald Trump still desperately battles to attempt to overturn his presidential election loss to Joe Biden and to stay in power, even some of his staunches GOP allies are admitting that it’s time for Trump to throw in the towel and accept his defeat.

Of course, he’s Donald Trump, so he won’t.

Written for the One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill. Drawing by Grace Orwen at The Daily Nebraskan

Fandango’s Provocative Question #101

Fandango19 Comments

FPQWelcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

In my FPQ post a few weeks ago I asked “What do you think are the three most pressing issues facing us today?” Many of you included climate change among the most pressing issues. Marilyn Armstrong suggested we take a deeper dive on climate change. She wanted to know, with initiatives like reducing carbon emissions, cleaning up the the oceans, rivers, streams, and lakes, finding a more realistic way to deal with recycling, moving to clean energy like solar and wind, etc., where do we start when it comes to addressing climate issues?

Since this is an issue that could affect the future of humanity…

Where do you think we should start with respect to climate change? What role should governments play? What can we, as individuals do to help? What steps are you, as an individual, taking? Or do you think climate change is a hoax?

If you choose to participate, write a post with your response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ 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. But remember to check to confirm that your pingback or your link shows up in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Leather

Fandango20 Comments

FOWCWelcome to December 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 “leather.”

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.