Microfiction Monday - 20100726

Welcome to Microfiction Monday, 
where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.

 

How is it that I am chosen among so many?  What will the future hold?  What wonders to behold!

I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to His word.

(Luke 1:26-38)

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Your Turn!  

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About Microfiction Monday

Microfiction means the shortest of short stories. Think Aesop's fables, comic strips, or even jokes: complete stories that can be told in under a minute. For this game, the limit is a tweetable 140 characters or fewer. 

Hate counting letters and spaces? Try Design 215's character counter, which will count for you as you type. Microsoft Word will count for you too, of course, as part of its word count feature under the 'Review' tab.

Photos will be from my own archives; illustrations are from Dover Publications' free clipart sample newsletter.

And finally, why 140? A whole new fiction market has arisen via mobile phone texting and Twitter, who limits 'tweets' to 140 characters including spaces and punctuation. It's fast, it's fiction, it's fun. 

I joined this meme thread from a fellow parent dealing with an Autistic child: Susan @ Stony River: a writing life

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Wednesday Wickedness - 20100721

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Wickedness. We are like other memes in that we will ask you ten questions each and every Wednesday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a famous person and pick ten of their quotes. Each of our questions will be based on the quotes. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!

Today we picked Ellen Degeneres. Here's Wednesday Wickedness!

1. "I was coming home from kindergarten--well they told me it was kindergarten. I found out later I had been working in a factory for ten years. It's good for a kid to know how to make gloves." How old were you when you started working and what was your first job?

I was 14 or 15.  I started delivery newspapers with my dog, a Welsh Corgi.  Man i loved that job.  Early in the morning, no one around to bother you.  It didn't last though because i absolutely hated having to go around and collect the money.  I don't remember caring about the paychecks... not sure if that is really the case though.  I also remember recruiting my friends to help me out when we pulled all-nighters.

2. "My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the hell she is." Tell us about your grandparents.

I didn't really know my biological grand mothers very well.  My Maternal Grandmother passed away when i was 2ish.  My Paternal Grandmother was divorced from my Paternal Grandfather who was a Sailor in World War II. After the Navy he worked with Chemicals.  After he retired from Dupont, he became a Chef.  Pretty cool in my opinion.  My Maternal Grandfather enlisted in Army Air Corp during WW II.  He was an excellent musician (so i am told).  He outlived two wives that he has been married to for over 25 years each.  My Maternal GF was a "complicated" man, but God used him to witness to me in various ways.

3. "Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off." Do you procrastinate or are you on top of the situations?

I try and force myself to take care of whatever matters i can as soon as possible.  Why?  Because if i don't i then put it off, and put it off, and put it off... you get the idea.  I was once employed to send out a company's summer sales flier.  They had them printed, all i needed to do was put the addresses on them, sort them, and get the to the post office.  I waited until the morning they absolutely had to be in the mail by.  That about "killed" me.

4. "Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others." What would others say about you?

LOL, Um... doesn't this defeat the purpose of the question?  I am pretty sure whatever i think is tainted by personal bias.  To be honest i am not inclined to care too much what other think about me.  Which is odd... because i really take it personally when someone disagrees with me... So, anyone who has read this blog and/or knows me in real life... please feel free to answer this question.

5. "The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble" Do you believe in life on other planets?

No, not really.  While i am open to be wrong about this one, i am not convinced of intelligent life on other planets.  My Beloved does not agree with me on this one.  Life as defined by science though... amoebas, molds, maybe.  

6. "I'm a godmother, that's a great thing to be, a godmother. She calls me god for short, that's cute, I taught her that." Do you have a godchild?

Not that i am aware of... but i know my Beloved is on a lot of emergency contact lists.  To be honest, i am not real familiar with the whole Godparent deal.

7. "I don't understand the sizes anymore. There's a size zero, which I didn't even know that they had. It must stand for: 'Ohhh my God, you're thin.'" When was the last time that you were called too thin?

It had to be Jr. High.  I did not weigh over 100 pounds until i was 13 or 14.  It didn't help that i joined Cross Country in High School either.

8. "I have the worst memory ever so no matter who comes up to me - they're just, like, 'I can't believe you don't remember me!" I'm like, 'Oh Dad I'm sorry!'" Who was the last person that you should have recognized but didn't?

Thursday night.  I was out with a couple of friends and ran into a couple from the 'old' church i used to go to here in town.  I know them, they are nice people, but my brain could just not lock on to what their names where. 

9. "I gotta work out. I keep saying it all the time. I keep saying I gotta start working out. It's been about two months since I've worked out. And I just don't have the time. Which uh..is odd. Because I have the time to go out to dinner. And uh..and watch tv. And get a bone density test. And uh.. try to figure out what my phone number spells in words." Do you work out? Have you ever joined a gym and quit almost immediately?

I am not currently working out, even though i really want and need to.  I have joined both a Tae Kwon Do gym, and a health center, but i didn't quit either immediately.  I enjoy it too much.  A local gym near me has a cardio room that runs movies 24x7... i would love that... i just need to make the rest of my life revolve around my workout schedule.  An important lesson i learned once... you will find time for the things that are important to you (and free time never schedules itself).

10. 'We use 10 percent of our brains. Imagine how much we could accomplish if we used the other 60 percent." Do you feel that you utilize all your intelligence in every situation?

No, not always.  I once asked my Drill Sergeant is opinion of me.  He told me that i tended to slack off when i thought no one was looking.  That would include both physical and mental tasks.

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Random Tuesday Thoughts

One of the things i struggle with as a writer is the process of proof reading and editing.  Both when others are helping me, and when i try and do it myself.  I know if you want to do quality work it is a vital part of the process, and yet i find myself being impatient.  Yeve Eeffoc has been a WWW acquaintance who has been an incredible encouragement and help in this area.  But, she has a life of her own and sometimes my stories get lost in the shuffle, etc.  Well last week i finished up my commentary (from a Christian "samurai" perspective) of Miyamota Musashi's The Way of Walking Alone.  I asked seven friends to give it a look over and get back to me if there is anything that needs to be corrected.  It's been four and a half days!  LOL  See what i mean about not being very patient.  One person is on vacation this week, four of them i "dropped" it on them, and the other two were aware i was sending it (and so did the one going on vacation), but like i said before... they all have lives.  But i really am anxious to know what they think...

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34, ESV)

Over the weekend i finished a personal project.  It was a small woodshed to store firewood for the winter.  When i mean small, i mean that is only a 1/2 cord of wood in there.  I am really happy with it...proud might be a better word.  I built it with the scraps from the deck project, with the only additional materials needed were some lag screws and a sheet of plywood for the roof.  It's a really simple project, and most anyone in the world can, and do, do much bigger and complex projects, so i am not really sure why i am so 'puffed up' over this.

The movie TRON is not due out for 4 months 27 days and 16 hours (as of when this blog post will post), and i am still really looking forward to it.  I know it is just a movie, and i am not like a giddy school girl waiting for the Beatles to come, but i am also aware that there is a very good possibility that it is not going to be as good as the hype.  But i am interested in a lot of the press releases and all.  but i think that a lot of my facebook friends are thinking i am over doing it.  But this is what i do... when i am interested in something i like to learn as much as i can, and even share it on facebook.  I know the movie is also only going to be 90 minute movie, and i also know it is only a movie... so... am i doing something wrong?  I did this with The Book of Eli, and The Hobbit Movie, and my interests in Shadowrun, Flair, MouseHunt, etc.... I think i am beginning to understand why people block me on facebook... I don't really care if people like what i like, i am not trying to make them like those things, i am not trying to annoy anyone, i am not trying to boast somehow... i am only trying to share my interests... i am just being... well... me.  Is that wrong?

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Music Monday - 20100719

In a way, this entry probably should have preceded my Music Monday from last Thursday, but this song is a wonderful compliment to that post.  As God is leading me through a "growing season" my finite selfish mind leads me to believe that God has forsaken me instead of actually helping me along the path He has for me.  

I want to say that God has forsaken me during these times of "trial", but the truth is i will NEVER be left alone like Christ experienced on the cross ~ suffering the wrath i deserved.  But because He did allow Himself to be suspended in my place, i can know that "[He] will never leave [me] nor forsake[me]" (Hebrews 13:5).  Words cannot adequately express how wonderful that promise is to me.

Never Alone
Barlow Girl

I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen You
Are You still there?

[Chorus:]
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I"m never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life

We cannot separate
'Cause You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

[Chorus]

We cannot separate
You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

[Chorus]

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Microfiction Monday - 20100719

Welcome to Microfiction Monday, 
where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.

 

I think that fern back there was sprayed with some kind of pesticide.  Whatever happen to going organic!?!

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* 

Your Turn!  

*

About Microfiction Monday

Microfiction means the shortest of short stories. Think Aesop's fables, comic strips, or even jokes: complete stories that can be told in under a minute. For this game, the limit is a tweetable 140 characters or fewer. 

Hate counting letters and spaces? Try Design 215's character counter, which will count for you as you type. Microsoft Word will count for you too, of course, as part of its word count feature under the 'Review' tab.

Photos will be from my own archives; illustrations are from Dover Publications' free clipart sample newsletter.

And finally, why 140? A whole new fiction market has arisen via mobile phone texting and Twitter, who limits 'tweets' to 140 characters including spaces and punctuation. It's fast, it's fiction, it's fun. 

I joined this meme thread from a fellow parent dealing with an Autistic child: Susan @ Stony River: a writing life

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Be afraid... be very, very afraid

While perusing some of the blogs i like to frequent i came a cross a link to a website that analyzes your writing style and tells you (supposedly) which published author you wrote like.  My interest peaked i pulled up the rough draft of my Eldar Ranger character and copied about 5 paragraphs into the block and checked it out.  The first result i got was for a gentlemen named Dan Brown.

I write like
Dan Brown

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Now, i am by no means a literary aficionado, but i have no clue as to who this guy is (my apologies to Mr. Brown, and the authors listed below as well).  So, i look him up on Amazon.com and learn he is the Author of The Da Vinci Code fame.  I am feeling a little sheepish now, but thinking that my writing was a little bit different more to the beginning of my tale i copied the first 3-5 paragrpahs of the story and pasted again. This time my result was Margaret Atwood.

I write like
Margaret Atwood

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Again, and my apologies to Ms. Atwood, no clue.  Even after browsing some of her works on Amazon.com i was not much closer to knowing her.

Then i thought... i know my bloggings are different than my story telling so i copied my last rambling blog, in its entirety, and came up with David Foster Wallace.Wow... three for three...

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

By name i am understanding why i had such a hard time in English classes, and i think i might even be a little schizophrenic. At least as a writer...

Last but not least, i took my latest Microfiction Monday post and was told i write like Chuck Palahniuk.

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Maybe this is a good thing... most famous writers were a little "touched"... that's right folks, better snatch up my works now while you can.  it's like buying stock in IBM back in the early 60's and holding on to it till today! 

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Music Monday - Thursday 20100715 edition

I've lost count how many times i've caught myself not really paying attention to my walk with the Lord.  Ever wonder where God went?  Ever thought that He has abandoned you?  I am going through a "stretching" period where God is helping me see some things that He is working on in me.  I don't know about you all, but those times feel pretty lonely, so when i heard my song for this week... it really bolstered and encouraged me.

By Your Side
Tenth Avenue North
Mike Donehey, Jason Ingram, Phillip LaRue

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching?
As if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run?
To where will you run?

I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands at my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life

Here at my side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

And I, I love you
And I want you to know
That I, I'll love you
I'll never let you go

2008 Essential Tunes / West Main Music / Formerly Music (SESAC) All rights admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC (SESAC). / Peertunes, Ltd. (SESAC) / Grange Hill Music (SESAC) / Windsor Way Music (SESAC). Grange Hill Music and Windsor Way Music administered by Peertunes, Ltd. / Phillip LaRue Publishing Designee (ASCAP)

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There are a couple of lines in "By Your Side" that to me really encapsulate the whole song. One is in the second verse that says, "Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching as if I?m not enough? To where will you go child? To where will you run?" And the last verse it says, "Look at these hands and my side, they swallowed the grave on that night, when I drank the world's sin so that I could carry you in and give you life." By Your Side is just a call to anyone who?s struggling or fighting against God thinking they have to work to earn it. It's calling them to stop looking for what you can do for God and fix your gaze upon what God has done for you. Let that motivate you. We love because He first loved us. -Mike

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To me this song is incredibly encouraging.  It speaks of His unfailing love, of his unfailing faithfulness.  The One who was offended is the faithful one, the one who never leaves me.

Father God, thank You for Your unfailing love.  Even when i wander and fail You... again, You are there to light my feet along the path.  Father God i ask that you continue to show me the way to go, help me to not look to myself, but to continually draw my eyes to You.  Lord God i ask this in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ's name, according to Your perfect will, and for His glory.  Amen.

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