Day: January 17, 2021

Sunday Writing Prompt — The Fists Began to Fly

Fandango14 Comments

“The problem is that his strategy all along was to do a snow job on the voters and now that he’s out of office, the snow he’s piled on will melt, and all the nut-brown mounds of shit he’s leaving behind will become visible,” Mick said.

“You’re wrong, Mick,” Jason said. “I’ve done a definitive analysis, and my concern lies in the blatant disregard of our government to address the critical needs of the citizens it’s supposed to serve.”

Mick got a smirk on his face. “Your conclusion, my friend,” he said, “is highly subjective. The blame lies in the president’s disregard for the rule of law and in the GOP’s failure check his abuse of power and to dissent to his outrageously corrupt acts.”

The tension in the room between the two friends was high. “It’s clear to me that our two minds are at loggerheads,” Jason said, “because of your ignorance.”

“And it’s clear to me,” Mick responded, “that you’re an asshole.”

That’s when the fists began to fly.

Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Sunday Writing Prompt about the phrase “two minds at loggerheads.” Also for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (strategy), Word of the Day Challenge (snow/smirk), Ragtag Daily Prompt (nut-brown/dissent), The Daily Spur (analysis/subjective), Your Daily Word Prompt (concern/blatant), MMA Storytime (government/tension), and Linda G. Hill’s Just Jot it January prompt (check).

Who Won the Week? 01/17/2021

Fandango20 Comments

FWWTWThe 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.

I have been a fan of the New England Patriots football team for many years and I have to give credit to the team’s head coach, Bill Belichick. He’s been the Patriots’ head coach since 2000 and has won six Super Bowls, a record for a head coach in the NFL. He’s also been a friend and supporter of Donald Trump, which has bothered me.

Then I read that Donald Trump was going to bestow upon Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And that was the last straw. If Belichick was going to accept that honor — which if given by any other president, would, indeed, be an honor — I would never again root for the Patriots or any other team Bill Belichick coached.

But then Belichick announced that he was declining the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he was scheduled to receive from Donald Trump this past Thursday. Belichick cited the tragic events of January 6th, when pro-Trump rioters laid siege to the U.S. Capitol. Five people died, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, and many were injured during the Trump-inspired chaos.

Belichick said he was flattered by the honor, but he ultimately chose to decline it, saying, “Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom, and democracy.”

So this week I am bestowing upon Bill Belichick the Fandango’s Who Won the Week award for telling Donald Trump precisely where he can stuff his Presidential Medal of Freedom.

What about you? Who (or what) do you think won the week?

Song Lyric Sunday — James Dean

Fandango14 Comments

For this week’s edition of Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has challenged us to pick a song with a title that starts with either the letter D or the letter J. I decided to go with a song that has both a D and a J in its title. It’s from one of my favorite bands, The Eagles, and it’s a song about a talented young movie star whose life was cut short in a tragic accident, “James Dean.”

“James Dean,” recorded by The Eagles for their 1974 album, On the Border, was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, and J. D. Souther. It was the second single released from that album, reaching number 77 on the U.S. pop singles chart.

The song is about American actor James Dean (1931–1955) who starred in such films as “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Giant,” and “East of Eden.” The lyrics, “too fast to live, too young to die” refer to the life and abrupt death of Dean in a car crash in 1955 while driving his Porsche Spyder 550, nicknamed “The Little Bastard.”

While the song played up Dean’s “live fast, die young” reputation, it wasn’t his “fast” lifestyle that killed him. His car accident was not caused by excessive speed as much as by very bad luck. In fact, not long before the fatal accident, Dean was stopped by a California Highway Patrolman for driving 65 mph in a 55 mph zone. So he was driving within the posted speed limit when another vehicle unexpectedly crossed the center line of the highway. Dean was unable to maneuver his car out of the way in time to avoid a head-on collision. He was only 24 when he died. The movie, “Rebel Without a Cause,” probably the one for which he is most remembered, was released a month after he died.

Here are the lyrics to “James Dean.”

James Dean, James Dean, I know just what you mean
James Dean, you said it all so clean
And I know my life would look alright
If I could see it on the silver screen

You were the low down rebel if there ever was
Even if you had no cause
James dean, you said it all so clean
And I know my life would look alright
If I could see it on the silver screen

We’ll talk about a low-down bad refrigerator
You were just too cool for school
Sock hop, soda pop, basketball and auto shop
The only thing that got you off was breakin’ all the rules

James Dean, James Dean, so hungry and so lean
James Dean, you said it all so clean
And I know my life would look alright
If I could see it on the silver screen

Little James Dean up on the screen
Wonderin’ who he might be.
Along came a spyder, picked up a rider
Took him down the road to eternity

James Dean, James Dean, you bought it sight unseen
James Dean, James Dean, you bought it sight unseen
You were too fast to live, too young to die, bye bye
You were too fast to live, too young to die, bye bye
Bye bye too fast to live too young to die
Bye bye too fast to live too young to die
Bye bye too fast to live too young to die
Bye bye too fast to live too young to die
Too fast to live too young to die
Oo-oo-oo-oo too fast to live too young to die
Bye bye too fast to live too young to die
Oh, James Dean too fast to live too young to die

FOWC with Fandango — Strategy

Fandango23 Comments

FOWCWelcome to January 17, 2021 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 “strategy.”

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.