Blogging

Sunday Poser — Exercising My Brain

Fandango9 Comments

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

What do you do to keep your brain active and engaged?

Probably not enough. I read the daily newspaper and whatever comes across my newsfeed on my iPhone. But that’s probably to keep myself informed, rather than to exercise my brain.

My primary mechanism for keeping my brain active and engaged is blogging. Whether it’s responding to prompts, researching and posting about politics, religion, or other current events, or creating short flash fiction pieces, I feel like I’m exercising my brain.

And even though I suck at poetry, I do attempt every now and then to stretch myself and craft a poem. No rhyme, no meter, but a poem nonetheless. The good news about my poetry is that the reader doesn’t have to analyze it and wonder what my meaning was. Neither I nor my poetry, is that deep.

Reading what other bloggers are posting is always interesting and makes me think. There are so many talented, articulate bloggers and I have learned a lot from reading their posts.

All I can say is I hope my blogging will keep my mind sharp at least until my body wears out.

Sunday Poser — What Brings Us Joy

Fandango4 Comments

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

What brings joy to your day? Do you create special moments that make you feel happy?

These days we either visit or are visited by our son, daughter-in-law, and our grandchildren two or three times a week. And there is nothing that brings me more joy than the time I spend with our almost four-year-old old grandson and almost two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter. They truly light up my life.

My blog comes in next. The joy of writing something, publishing it, and receiving almost instant feedback from people all around the globe is addicting.

Then there is our rescue dog that we brought home two years ago. We rescued her, but I sometimes feel like she rescued us by offering us her unconditional love.

And of course, there is my wife, Mrs. Fandango. Her love is far from unconditional, but at the risk of using a trite saying from the movie “Jerry McGuire,” she completes me. And that brings me immeasurable joy.

Weekend Writing Prompt — Retirement

Fandango13 Comments

Mark was worried about life after he retired. He had always identified himself by what he did, more so than who he was. Being retired, the “what” of his life was gone. Living alone with no spouse or children, Mark feared that retirement would lead to a vapid existence and maybe even to an early death.

Then he discovered blogging.

(Exactly 60 words)

Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where the challenge is “vapid” in exactly 60 words. Photo credit: pinterest.com.

WDP — What’s in a Name?

Fandango4 Comments
Bloganuary writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
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No, I’m not going to write about my first name. I’m not going to tell its meaning, significance, or etymology. I’m not being difficult, it’s just that I blog anonymously, so why would I reveal that kind of information here? That sorta runs counter to maintaining anonymity, doesn’t it?

Now if you want to know about my stage name, my pseudonym, my screen name, my handle, or whatever you want to call how I identify myself on my blog, that’s a different story. I’m happy to share that with you.

The name I use for my blog is Fandango. Where did I come up with that? Here’s the story. One of my favorite songs of all time is Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” There’s a stanza in that song that goes:

“I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro,
Magnifico-o-o-o-o.”

At first I though of using “Scaramouche” as my pseudonym, but every time I typed it, those squiggly red lines beneath the name showed up and autocorrect kept changing it to “scary mouse.” So I decided to go with “Fandango.”

I wanted to find an avatar to go with my chosen pseudonym, so I Googled “Fandango” and discovered that there was a computer adventure game from 1998 titled “Grim Fandango.”I’d never heard of nor played the game, but as soon as I saw the image of Fandango, I decided that I had found the perfect avatar for my blog.

And now you know everything.

WDP — Favorite Hobby or Pastime

Fandango10 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite hobby or pastime?
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I know that in the six years since I started This, That, and the Other, this question has been asked and answered in one way or the other numerous times and I always answer it the same way: with the exception of blogging, I have no other hobbies or pastimes.

I retired almost seven years ago. A while back I got a call from a former work associate who was about to retire. He asked me how I like being retired and what I do to pass the time. I said, “I love being retired and I blog.”

He asked, “But what do you do to pass the time?”

I said, “I told you. I blog.”

He asked, “Don’t you have any hobbies?”

I said, “I blog. That’s my hobby.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Well, I watch TV, I read, I play cards and backgammon and Yahtzee with my wife, I eat, I sleep, but mostly I blog.”

He said, “Hmm. What do you blog about?”

I said, “Oh, you know, this, that, and the other.”

Image from Bing Image Creator.