Day: April 2, 2023

Sadje’s Sunday Poser — Logical or Emotional

Fandango5 Comments

For today’s Sunday Poser, Sadje wants to know…

Are you a person with a logical way of thinking or an emotional one?

My parents used to call me a “cold potato” because I didn’t show much in the way of emotions or even affection when I was a kid. My wife often tells me she wishes I’d lead with the heart more than with my head. But that’s just not me. That’s not the way I’m wired, I guess. That’s why my wife and I are a good couple. She’s emotional. I’m relatively unemotional. We’re complementary.

I’m more of a thinker than a feeler. I’m practical, pragmatic, rational, reasoned, logical, mindful. Those are the adjectives I’d used to describe my characteristics. And you know what? I’m okay with that!

Cellpic Sunday — 4/2/23

Fandango7 Comments

John Steiner, the blogger behind Journeys With Johnbo, has this prompt he calls Cellpic Sunday in which he asks us to post a photo that was taken with a cellphone, tablet, or another mobile device. I thought this might be fun so I decided to join in.

I may be breaking the rules for this prompt because this wasn’t originally taken with a cellphone. It was actually part of a video that was captured by my Ring security camera above my garage door yesterday afternoon at around 4:00 pm when a little squirrel scurried across my driveway.

I was more intrigued by the shadows of my neighbor’s trees that the late afternoon sun cast across my driveway than I was about the squirrel. So I replayed the video, waited until after the squirrel had crossed the driveway and was out of view, and then took a screenshot of the scene with my iPhone.

So I’ll let John be the judge about whether this week’s entry, which was actually captured by a stationary, motion-detecting Ring camera and not a mobile device, qualifies as a cell pick for Cellpic Sunday.

If you wish to participate in this fun cellphone photo prompt, please click on the link to John’s post at the top of my post to see his photo and to read his instructions.

The Garden Dawdler — 04/02/23

Fandango10 Comments

Rory, the king of questions, also known as the Autistic Composter, has come up with a new series of questions that he calls “The Garden Dawdler.” Rory is posing “nine questions once a week for your leisure or pleasure.”

Here are Rory’s nine Dawdler questions today.

What do you find yourself splurging on the most?

I don’t splurge on much, but if come across something I think my grandkids might like, I may splurge on that.

What is your top writing tip?

When you get an idea in your head or see something interesting that is worth sharing, jot it down somewhere so you can use it as inspiration for a post at some point.

Are you a regular recycler, and if so, what are five of your top recycling tips?

Yes, I am a regular recycler. I will put into the blue recycle bin anything that has been identified as recyclable. I will put in the green compost bin anything that has been designated as compostable. And I will only put in the black ground fill (trash) bin those items that are neither recyclable nor compostable.

Are you someone that wants to be or needs to be heard and seen, or are you content to be found behind the scenes?

Back in the day, I was a seen and heard type, but now, in my so-called “golden years,” I’m fine with being low-keyed, laid-back, and behind the scenes.

How approachable do you think you are in real life and away from the keyboard, and do others feel the same way about you?

I think I’m reasonably approachable as long as the person who is approaching me isn’t trying to sell me something or has a hidden agenda. As to whether or not others feel the same way, how the fuck would I know? Ask them.

Do you sit more on the fence or the edge of the knife?

Neither. I prefer a nice, comfy, well-cushioned seat.

What do you remember the most about your grandparents?

They were old and now they’re dead.

How important to you is validation from your readers to your written content – do you need acknowledgement from others to create?

It’s nice to have readers acknowledge my posts and like and comment on them. Do I need such acknowledgment or validation in order to write? No. But it does help keep me motivated.

What is it you would have liked to have been asked about your life but have yet to be?

Nothing. I’m fine with people minding their own business instead of prying into mine.


Spam Comment of the Week — Week 13 2023

Fandango15 Comments

I get some interesting spam comments on my blog, most of which are captured by Akismet, WordPress’ spam blocker. I generally do a mass delete of all of my spam comments after checking to see if any legitimate comments got caught up in Akismet’s spam-catching net.

I thought it might be fun to select a particularly interesting or unique or outrageous spam comment and highlight it each week.

This week I’m going to feature another AI-like spam comment. This one came in from Frances Jones and was in response this post of mine, which featured a Cat Stevens song that was about how progress and technology have destroyed much of our environment by building over and cementing our children’s play areas in cities.

I can’t believe I only just now heard of this song! I love it! I especially love how it speaks to the issue of environmental pollution. It’s so sad that we’re still dealing with this problem 40 years after the song was released.

I thought this had to be a real person, someone who actually read my post, to have crafted this comment. It can’t have been created by an AI chatbot, right? It was a direct and very appropriate response to what I wrote in my post.

So I decided to send an email to Frances Jones. The subject line of that email was, “Are you a bot?” Here’s what I received around 30 minutes later:

Seems that Frances didn’t give a valid email address when he left his comment. And the site that Frances claimed, outlookindia.com, just doesn’t seem to be the kind of site where people would be reading and commenting on my posts. But, wow, that comment was really relevant to my post upon which the comment was left. If it was written by an AI chatbot, it’s really good.

What about you? Have you read some catchy spam comments that you’d like to share with us? If so, put them in the comments or create your own post and tag it #FSCW.

Song Lyric Sunday — Alternative

Fandango10 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams has given us “alternative rock” songs. Jim explains that alternative rock is a subgenre of rock that developed between the 1970s and the 1990s. He also explains that what makes alternative rock alternative is that it’s far more abstract lyrically. Oh, okay.

I googled “Alternative rock bands” and was surprised to recognize quite a few of them, I suppose because my daughter was really into alternative rock in the nineties. One of her favorite alternative rock bands was The Killers and she persuaded my wife to go with her to see The Killers perform live. After that, my wife became a fan of that band and her favorite Killers song was “Somebody Told Me.”

“Somebody Told Me” was by the American alternative rock band The Killers. It was released as the second official single from the group’s 2004 debut studio album Hot Fuss. The song was written by band members Brandon Flowers, Mark Stoermer, Dave Keuning, and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.

The song had been released twice in slightly different forms. The first, with the pink background cover, is the rarer version of the single as it was their first release of it; due to poor sales, not as many were produced. When re-released, the cover art sported a blue background color and is the more common version of the single.

The single peaked at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it charted at number 28 upon its first release in March 2004, becoming the band’s first hit in the Top 40, and when it was re-released in January 2005, it reached number 3.

Brandon Flowers explained that the song is a look inside the mind of a young man laden with testosterone and libido. He said, “We were going out to clubs a lot at the time and the song speaks to a young man’s frustration, the difficulty of picking up girls.”

Bender magazine asserted that the single is a superb blaze of synthesizers and guitars that builds to the year’s best one-liner: “Somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend I had in February of last year.” Some have suggested from that line, that the singer seems to be accusing his girl of cheating on him with another woman.

Here are the lyrics to “Somebody Told Me.”

Breakin' my back just to know your name
Seventeen tracks and I've had it with this game
A breakin' my back just to know your name
But Heaven ain't close in a place like this
Anything goes but don't blink, you might miss
'Cause Heaven ain't close in a place like this
I said Heaven ain't close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight (hoo hoo)
Never thought I'd let a rumor ruin my moonlight

Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential, I've got potential

Ready let's roll onto something new
Takin' it's toll then I'm leaving without you
'Cause Heaven ain't close in a place like this
I said Heaven ain't close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight (hoo hoo)
Never thought I'd let a rumor ruin my moonlight

Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential, I've got potential

A rushing, rushing around

Pace yourself for me (for me)
I said maybe, baby, please (please)
But I just don't know now (baby, baby)
When all I want to do is try

Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential, I've got potential

A rushing, rushing around

Now somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential, I've got potential

A rushing, rushing around

Somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential, I've got potential

A rushing, rushing around