matchboximpala

Huge thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Idol polls! I made it through another round, and I'm now working on my 6-part portfolio project for the upcoming deadline. It's a lot of work, but I'm glad to still be here!

Now, here's something from Chuck Wendig. Chuck is an author who blogs a lot about books and heirloom apples and the writing process. He is also very anti-AI, not just AI as a substitute for creative endeavors but also because a lot of AI output is simply wrong. Here's his hilarious screed on the results of the simple question, does Chuck Wendig have a cat? Talk about a snowball effect!

halfshellvenus

AGAIN? Yesterday was 64^o, but winds were too gusty to ride outside. Every other day in the last 11 days has promised highs in the mid-upper 50s that instead becomes 48-53^o, which is too cold with the wind-chill you get from cycling.

I mean, I'm really enjoying Orphan Black, but I need Walking Dead levels of peril (every 5-10 minutes) to really make the time pass, and the show doesn't offer that.

But, in random GOOD news... Corey Booker got married to a lovely woman last week! I love Corey Booker—he's my presidential Dream Candidate. Probably not this upcoming election cycle, but someday, I hope?

halfshellvenus

Today is the last day to vote in the Idol polls for this week. We wrote two stories, and the two polls are HERE and HERE. All of the entries can be found off of those links. Thank you for your votes and your support!

I'm now at 10 consecutive days of garage-biking. Ulhhhh. I'm about to finish S2 of Orphan Black, which has been fun. I think my favorite characters are Cosima (the geeky imp) and the lost, feral Helena. Though I get a kick out of Alison too, because she's so unintentionally funny. :D

For family viewing, we may be adding S5 of Stranger Things next. OR, since we finished Life On Mars (what an ending!), we may dive into the Gene Genie 2.0 on Amazon, AKA Ashes To Ashes. No idea what to expect there, though I hope Gene stays true to form.

Bookwise, I finished In Other Lands last week. It was VERY hard to put down. Then I read When Among Crows (novella) and am now reading the sequel, To Clutch A Razor. Next up, Michael Connolly's new book, though none of his other characters have grabbed me the way Harry Bosch did.

I did most of my Xmas shopping last weekend, but wanted to mention something our daughter gave me for my birthday. Courtesy of Shutterfly, you can use one of your own photos to make a jigsaw puzzle! She chose a picture she took at the American River bike path, where we walk together. If you know a puzzler, that might be a nice option for them. :)

halfshellvenus

I hope those of you who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our daughter was home for it (yay!), and we relaxed and got a LOT more pictures up. All that's left is our bedroom, which requires committing to furniture placement. I would like the arrangement we had before, but that would put the armoire with the TV in an awkward spot as there is now a doorway where it used to be, and also a really inconveniently-placed light switch that cannot be moved. :(

I worked on two Idol entries over much of last week, though I'd hoped to spend more time putting stuff away (dating from the move-in a year ago). :O There are two polls this week, HERE and HERE, and you can read all of the stories off of those links. I appreciate your votes and support more than you know!

We were able to barbecue our turkey in a Weber kettle for the first time in 4 years. This is a different model than what we had before, which introduced some mystery. A little overdone on the skin, a little underdone at the core, despite what the meat thermometer indicated. Thank goodness for microwaves! I also wanted to post up our cranberry sauce recipe last week, but didn't have easy access to it. Worth sharing? It's reduced-calorie because it has less sugar than the can-log version, and it's just sweet enough with a little tartness. Love it!

HalfshellHusband and our son and I saw del Toro's Frankenstein, which we really liked. Very soulful, and the laboratory sets were swoon-worthy! We also re-watched Return To Me and The Fall Guy so our daughter could see them. The first... who knew David Duchovny could make a character be sweet as well as funny? The latter... is SUCH a fun movie. HSH is getting the DVD of it for Xmas, though he doesn't know it.

I also watched a lot of Orphan Black in the garage, since the foggy weather (and its accompanying cold) lasted all of last week. I thought I'd be biking outside that whole time, but no. Too miserable. :(

Started Xmas shopping yet?

halfshellvenus

The Three Trolls
LJ Idol Wheel Of Chaos | Week 16, #2 | 1812 words
There was only one bed

x-x-x-x-x

Once, there were three trolls who lived in a cave deep in the heart of the Winsome Woods. The trolls wore rough tunics and carried large clubs, and they terrorized many of the other inhabitants of the forest. When they were not bothering other wood-folk, they squabbled with each other over almost everything.

The cave had only one bed, which the three trolls shared. Some weeks, they argued about which of them had to sleep in the middle and get poked by pointy knees and elbows from both sides. In other weeks, they fought over which of them had to sleep at the edges and risk being pushed out of the bed.

They had arguments about whose turn it was to make dinner, and then the two who had not cooked complained about the menu. The tidiest of the trolls lamented the mess in the cave, while the other two fussed about the sterility and the lack of homeyness whenever the cave was clean.

The heart of it was that trolls were contrarians, and frequently that included being contrary with themselves as well as everyone else.

Trog was a great, hulking beast who longed to be delicate and dainty. He stomped up and down the countryside, scattering squirrels and bunny rabbits with the pounding of his footsteps. His voice was like thunder, its power stripping the leaves from the nearby trees.

Fernwick was smaller, and utterly envious of Trog's size. He was the most forgettable of the trolls, and he was all too aware of it. Piplet was the tiniest, with a screechy little voice that made dogs howl and birds lose their feathers. Piplet resented the world and everything in it with a fury exceeding that of the other two trolls put together.

They were a disagreeable bunch, and when they roved as a pack none dared to approach them.

( Read more... )

If you enjoyed this entry, please vote for it in the poll here.

halfshellvenus

This Lonely Highway
Idol Wheel of Chaos | Week 16, #1
Kako no ashoito (memories/events/influences from the past)

x-x-x-x-x

Wheeling through the dark,
light lost to the stars
and the city far behind us,
we travel the barren highway
toward a distant promise.
The moon gleams cold as ice.

On a looming hilltop,
a lone steer stands, starkly
black against the dimness behind it.
The unfenced land crowds close,
the highway an inky ribbon
stretching into the night.

Nothing thrives in this desert,
in this unforgiving land
along the road to somewhere else.
Time waits frozen, as unyielding
as the desolation
of this lonely, forgotten place.

Wakeful, I watch the hills unfold,
mark a field light's deathly glow.
Ghost songs on the radio
float up through the static
in this in-between nowhere
caught so very far from home.

--/--

If you enjoyed this entry, please vote for it in the poll here.

mrs_leary

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Thank you!

Fog Begone!

Last Day to Vote!

Post-Thanksgiving Update

LJ Idol Wheel of Chaos: "The Three Trolls"

LJ Idol Wheel of Chaos: "This Lonely Highway"

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April 2020

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