Which is one topic that you can write about effortlessly? Do you have any topic writing on which comes easily to you? Something you often write about?
I enjoy writing about my perspectives, opinions, and viewpoints about politics, religion, society, and current events, but posts on those topics are never written effortlessly. Sure, I have my opinions, and I think I can express them effectively, but I want to make sure that the information I’ve used to inform my opinions is reliable, and that requires checking multiple sources. In today’s world of biased sources and misinformation, that takes time and effort.
That said, once I feel confident in the veracity of my sources and data, the actual writing flows pretty smoothly.
I have cut back a little on political posts because the current state of politics in the U.S. is, well, depressing, so I’ve been responding to prompts by writing short flash fiction posts, which I really enjoy. I call these single-scene stories because they are short posts, anywhere from 150 to 300 words, and most of them take place in a single scene. I have a lot of fun writing those.
I will occasionally attempt to write a poem or two, but I’m not very good at poetry. Writing poetry is definitely not effortless for me and I admire those who can whip out engaging poetry so easily (or at least seemingly easily).
Why not? Because it’s too close to the inexplicable truth that most evangelical and fundamentalist Christians actually feel this way. Yet Donald Trump is one of most un-Christian-like human beings in America.
I would love for someone to explain to me how this makes any sense.
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. He invites us to participate in this cellphone photo prompt by creating our own CellPic Sunday post and linking it back to his.
The photo below was taken on my iPhone 5 back in January of 2013 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It’s the city’s east-facing waterfront that attracts a lot of tourists, with its finger piers, shops, restaurants, and views of San Francisco Bay.
In the background is the iconic clock tower of the Ferry Building and in the foreground on the left is a sculpture known as Cupid’s Span. It was commissioned by the founders of The Gap, Donald and Doris F. Fisher, depicts a partial bow and piece of an arrow.
The sculpture was designed by married artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, and was completed in 2002. Cupid’s Span has its roots from the mythological tale of Eros, the god of love, who shot his arrow into the earth, bringing fertility and life.
The designers hoped that by partially burying the arrowhead and the central part of the bow, the sculpture could take on a new life, brimming with symbolism and hidden meanings, as symbol of love and unity, a timeless representation of the city’s soul.
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has asked us to find a song that was based on true events, which was suggested by Nancy, aka The Sicilian Storyteller. There are a lot of great songs based upon true events, but I wanted to go with one that is unlikely to be picked by anyone else. That song is “Stagger Lee.” Also known as “Stagolee” and other variants, it is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by “Stag” Lee Shelton in 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, titled “Stack O’ Lee Blues.” The version I’m focusing on for this post was recorded by Lloyd Price. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the UK singles chart in 1959.
Texas-born Lee Shelton, nicknamed Stagger Lee, was a notorious pimp and gambler who made headlines when he shot and killed Billy Lyons on Christmas night in 1895. The friends were drinking at a St. Louis saloon when they broke into an argument over politics that led to Stagger Lee crushing Lyons’ hat. When Lyons confiscated Stagger’s Stetson and refused to return it, Stagger fatally shot him in the abdomen.
Stagger Lee Shelton was charged, tried, and convicted of the murder in 1897. He was paroled in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. He died incarcerated in 1912.
New Orleans pianist Leon Gross, known as Archibald, recorded the first mainstream hit rendition, the two-part “Stack-A-Lee,” in 1950 and reached number 10 on the R&B chart. Lloyd Price heard this version while he was serving in Korea after being drafted into the U.S. Army. After he was discharged in 1956, he formed the Kent Record Company with his old friend Harold Logan and released his first hit, “Just Because.” The following year, they rewrote the folk song “Stagger Lee” into the vengeful tale of two gamblers.
Interesting factoid: Dick Clark thought Price’s original version was too violent, so Price performed the tamer rendition that changed the shooting to an argument between two friends for his appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. There have been over 170 recorded versions of the song, including four by Taj Mahal and eight by Mississippi John Hurt, released over the past century.
Here are the lyrics to “Stagger Lee.”
The night was clear And the moon was yellow And the leaves came tumbling down
I was standing on the corner When I heard my bulldog bark He was barkin' at the two men who were gamblin' In the dark
It was Stagger Lee and Billy Two men who gambled late Stagger Lee threw seven Billy swore that he threw eight Stagger Lee (oh Stagger Lee) told Billy, (oh Stagger Lee) I can't (oh Stagger Lee) let you go with that (oh Stagger Lee) You have won all (oh Stagger Lee) my money and my brand new (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) Stetson hat (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee)
Stagger Lee (oh Stagger Lee) went home (oh Stagger Lee) And he got his forty-four (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) Said, I'm goin' to (oh Stagger Lee) the barroom just to pay that (oh Stagger Lee) Debt I owe (oh Stagger Lee)
Stagger Lee went to the barroom And he stood across the barroom door He said, nobody move and he pulled his Forty-four, Ooh
Stagger Lee, (oh Stagger Lee) cried Billy (oh Stagger Lee) Oh, please (oh Stagger Lee) don't take my life (oh Stagger Lee) I've got three little (oh Stagger Lee) children and a very (oh Stagger Lee) Sickly wife (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee)
Stagger Lee (oh Stagger Lee) shot Billy (oh Stagger Lee) Oh, he shot (oh Stagger Lee) that poor boy so bad (oh Stagger Lee) 'Till the bullet (oh Stagger Lee) came through Billy (oh Stagger Lee)and it broke the bar (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) Tender's glass (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee) (oh Stagger Lee)
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 “stalemate.”
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, ÿplease 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.
This, That, and the Other 