Day: July 25, 2022

Blogging Insights — Waiting for Ideal

Fandango9 Comments

It’s Monday and Dr. Tanya is back with her weekly Blogging Insights prompt. She provides us with a quote about blogging or writing and asks us to express our opinion about said quote.

This week’s quote is from author E.B. White.

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.”

I think this quote can apply not just to writers but to virtually anyone. If you wait for ideal conditions to do just about any task or job, you’re unlikely to ever get the task or job done. But it’s a great excuse. “I’m sorry, I’d like to accommodate, but conditions are not ideal right now.”

When it comes to blogging, I almost never have “ideal” conditions. In fact, I’m not even sure how I’d define ideal conditions for me, but I’ve learned to shut out background noises and to focus on the task at hand. And since I do virtually all of my blogging on my iPhone, I suppose my “ideal” conditions are any place at any time.

Share Your World — 07/25/2022

Fandango14 Comments
Share Your World

Another Monday, the last Monday in July already. Can believe how fast this year is flying by? And Melanie has given us another Share Your World challenge. Let’s get to it.

What mythical creature would improve the world most if it existed? (If you don’t know, just choose something that you think would improve things.)

How about a benevolent genie who would grant three wishes? What would be my three wishes to improve the world that I would ask the genie to grant? I don’t know. Maybe Melanie can ask that question in a future edition of Share Your World.

Should the death penalty be re-instated? Why or why not?

Wait. The death penalty in the U.S. has already been reinstated. Back in 1972, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty in the United States, ruling that the punishment, as applied, was unconstitutional. But then, in 1976, the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.

Today, 24 states allow the death penalty. 23 states have abolished capital punishment altogether. Three states, California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, have governor-issued moratoriums in place, halting executions in the state.

How do I feel about the death penalty? I am not in favor of it. And what surprises me, but shouldn’t, is how many of those who say they’re pro-life are also pro-death penalty. I guess they feel that the life of a fetus is worth more than the life of a person.

Spontaneity or stability?

I think a well rounded person can experience both spontaneity and stability as the occasion and circumstances call for.

Can a dog/cat suffer? What about an ant? What about a plant? What about a bacteria cell? Why do some humans think we’re the only species that does suffer? Your thoughts?

I don’t know about ants, plants, or bacteria cells, but if you’ve ever seen a dog suffering during fireworks or thunderstorms, you know they suffer. Same with cats when in pain. Why do some humans think we’re the only species that does suffer? Because they are egotistical and probably believe every word in the Bible.

What are two things that have brightened your day today?

I’ll let you know as soon as they happen.

TMP — First World Peeve

Fandango19 Comments

Every Monday, Paula Light, with her The Monday Peeve prompt, gives us an opportunity to vent or rant about something that pisses us off. Today’s peeve is about streaming TV shows and it’s a real first world issue.

My wife and I like to binge-watch TV shows, especially when they span multiple seasons. We just don’t have the patience anymore for weekly episodes, so we prefer to watch an entire season of a show over three to five nights, depending upon how many episodes per season.

We are currently watching a British cop show called “Line of Duty.”

It’s a police procedural about an anti-corruption unit out to catch “bent coppers” (aka dirty cops). There are six seasons of “Line of Duty.” The first four seasons are available on FreeVee, an ad-supported video-on-demand streaming service owned by Amazon.

We finished watching the first four seasons on FreeVee and we were hooked. But what about seasons five and six? Well, season five is available on Amazon Prime Video, but at $2.99 an episode or $13.99 for the season. Seriously? Well, eight episodes at about an hour each comes to about $1.75 an episode, which, I suppose isn’t too bad. Plus, no commercials, like there are on FreeVee.

We’re half way through season five, but I just found out that season six is available only on BritBox, a $6.99 per month subscription streaming service. Are you freaking kidding me?

The good news is that you can get a seven-day free trial for BritBox. So once we finish season five, we’re going to subscribe to BritBox, and binge-watch the entire season six over three or four nights. Then I just have to remember to cancel my free trial before they start billing my credit card.

See, I told you. First world peeve.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #178

Fandango10 Comments

Welcome to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenging bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

The image below is from Kristine Robbie at Pinterest.com.

For the visually challenged writer, the photo shows three children playing. A girls and a younger boy are sitting in a toy car going down a hill very fast and another boy is being pulled behind them parallel to the ground.

If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post. I hope it will generate some great posts.

Please create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Counterproductive

Fandango17 Comments
FOWC

It’s July 25, 2022. Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “counterproductive.”

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. Show them some love.