Wacky Wednesday...This Day in History, Joke of the Day, Silly Trivia

Here's another wacky Wednesday post:

Last time I wrote this sort of post I was up in Estes Park, Colorado and on vacation.  Today, I'm back home in Tucson and on-call for work.  So, heck, thought I'd make the time to catch up on my writing among other things.  And to make things easier for me to concentrate on writing is the fact that my parents are also out of town...Taking another vacation.

As I'm writing this post, I'm listening to my iPod and the song that came on is one of Bloodhound Gang's songs: Mope  Funny as all get out in it's own absurd way.

Some funny bumper stickers:

Editing is a rewording activity
Allow me to introduce my selves 
Chaos. Panic. Disorder. My work here is done

Cool fact: A cat has 32 muscles in each ear!!

On this day 1929:  The great stock market begins to crash and continues through October 29, 1929

On this day in 1945: The United Nations is created.

Birthdays

Bob Kane: Batman's creator

Kevin Kline: Actor

The presidential debates are over, unless there is another VP debate that I don't know about.  All that's left is election and that's in two weeks and then finally all the ads will be taken off the tv and the signage that litters our streets can be taken down (hope they do that quickly!).

Well, that's it for now!!

Gemstones, Herbs, Impossible Missions and Javelina

Well, it's that time again...another installment of the ABC's of my writing life.  Today we continue with the letters G, H, I and J.

I am using both gemstones and herbs in my writing for my healer in my fantasy stories.  It's some stuff that I know a fair amount on both topics, especially the use of gemstones.  As you may have read in my profile or my last post I'm a massage therapist by trade and have a huge interest in the healing arts beyond my career.  A lot of minerals that get named have this "ite" suffix to it's name.  For example look at the minerals Pyrite and Tanzanite.  Pyrite is named because of it's iron content and has a rust red (fire) and thusly named for it's fire and is commonly called "fools gold".  Tanzanite is a blue opaque gem that is mainly mined in Tanzania in Africa.  Other minerals are named after the people that discovered it or at least claimed discovery and recognized as such.  Adamite is one such stone that was named after a person, Gilbert-Joseph Adam, French mineralogist.  Adamite is an opaque light yellow crystal.  In my stories I think I'll have some of the most common crystals and minerals in it; such as Quartz, and Diamond.  The world we are working with also has gold, silver and copper.  So, with that being said I am going to be making up some of my own minerals and crystals to suit the book and be named after certain role playing characters.  If you know me from one of the games and see your name with an "ite" suffix, you should feel honored.

Tanzanite

Now, with herbs I think there are certain herbs that are in common every day use that would fit right into the story line, such as sage, oregano, salt, pepper, basil and garlic, but some will be more of a rare sort and will be made up as I write.  Many of these are named after gods and goddesses or named after what it's used for or for the magic the herbs contain.

Sweet Basil

Impossible missions.  Well, I think most books of fantasy or science fiction thrive on the characters having the threat of an impossible mission.  Dungeons with unspeakable monsters and traps galore.  Space farers flying to surely uninhabitable planets with enemies around every corner.  Ones where you send your lackey, the expendable ensign down to the surface only to discover his death and chalk it up to experience.  Eventually our intrepid adventurers mostly make it safely through to the end to reap their just rewards whatever they maybe and hey, maybe they save the world, the universe and get the guy or girl in the end!!!

And now for something completely different.  This isn't exactly about my books, but it did tickle my fancy.  Last week at about three in the morning we had a little visitation of the wildlife kind to our neighborhood.  For some reason I woke up and I'm not entirely sure why.  All I know is that as I'm laying there I'm smelling this strange smell.  I sniffed my pillow and around the bed and thought I might have been smelling the pungent smell of a skunk, but we have another animal out here in our fair desert called a Javelina, a Peccary.  While I was laying there I was hearing the sounds of the newspaper delivery folks dropping off the papers.  All of a sudden the sound of the car and papers plopping onto the driveways stopped close to our house and the smell of the Javelina was pretty intense by that time, figuring that they were also quite close to the house as well.  After maybe about another five or ten minutes the car moved on and the newspapers continued flying.  Somewhat soon after that the stench also dissipated.

I have been away?

Well, yes, I have been away.  Answering my own question.  The past several weeks have been a tough one.  I lost three people that were in my life.  One was a high school friend of mine that was tragically murdered.  The second was somebody I worked with and had committed suicide.  The third was a classmate of mine from massage school and she had a pulminary ambulism.  All of them happened with in a week of each other.  Then work hasn't been the hottest thing recently and I had been dealing with health issues (mine and the stress of a relatives).  So, with that being said it's been hard to concentrate on writing these days.  It'll get better.  I am getting better.  I'll do more writing now that I am in a better space.  I guess that's all for now.

The Alphabet Game Part Two...C,D,E,F

Well, here it is: Part two of my series on the Alphabet Game:

Starting right off with C is for Cat.  I am a cat fanatic to some degree, not that you'd know it by looking at my room or the house.  Granted our cats are spoiled (and I think they know it too), with toys lying all about.  Cats of course also come into my writing for my fantasy novel (s).  There is a bit of a progression with my cat Bast of how she ended up her name.  I have a thing for Egyptian mythology, so, obviously that attracted me to the name Bast and is short for the Bastet, the cat goddess and has the ancient town Bubastis named in her honor.  Bast is sometimes linked in triune with Isis and Sehkmet.  She represents luck, love, healing and fertility.

With that attraction of Bast the goddess came my next manifestation of Bast and came about through a role playing game or MUD (multi user dungeon) online that I played called Cosrin.  In Cosrin, there are elves and elfdogs.  Elves in Cosrin are pretty much like most typical elves in role playing games.  Elfdogs are basically roaming creatures with no real personality and are just dogs with elf like ears.  So, I decided to create Bast an half elf-cat, half demon (and that's another story to be told in another blog).  As an elf-cat she is most like an elf (bi-pedal) with cat features, fur, tail, ears and nose.  So, combine also the personality type of an elf with a personality type of cat, what do you get?  Lots of things, that's what, but that's what became the Kefferlings in Mel Chesley's and my stories and you'll have to read about that some in more blog posts or in my book when it is done being written.

Then of course came my cat Bast which of course was taken from the Egyptian mythos and she lives up to her namesake.  I've had Bast for 13 years now and she is a love bug and still a playful kitten in many ways.  She's actually a pretty social cat unlike how they've been made out to be.  I've not had a better cat than Bast.

D is for desert, or should it be dessert, I could for some of that right now, but no....Desert.  I live in Tucson, Arizona.  It is a desert city surrounded by mountains.  They are not mountains like what I was use to in Colorado or the Alps in Europe.

Before we moved to Tucson as kid we thought of the Sahara desert of North Africa.  We believed that we'd be seeing sand dunes all over the place and no vegetation in sight.  So, when my parents came back from their job search and house hunting they had shown me pictures of the Tucson area we were pleasantly surprised.   Tucson is a thriving metropolis.  It is actually quite beautiful with vegetation like no other in the world.  It has trees, but not the pine trees or or trees like elm.  We have palo verdes and mesquite trees.  We have lots of cactus and other small plants.  Pretty cool if you ask me!  In the mountains they have a sub-alpine landscape that include those pine trees, cottonwoods and aspen.  The wildlife is incredible to....We have a huge variety of birds.  Yes, we do have coyotes and road runners, but we have much, much more.  We have seen mountain lions and bobcats to boot.  It's pretty exciting really.

E is for entertainment.  What more can I say.  Sometimes the most simplest things can entertain me.  In the Society for Creative Anachronism small things that are amusing and draw the attention of folks were called Dwarf Toy's.  It was often something sparkly and playful that bemused even the hard suit/heavy fighters.  Yes, I too played for a number of years in the SCA.  The SCA is a Medieval/Renaissance recreation group.  It's not the same as Renaissance Faires as they are all about the show and is choreographed.  The SCA tries to be as authentic as they can be.  If you are interested in finding out more about the SCA, the website is www.sca.org.

I am not entirely sure how I ended up digressing into the SCA, but all the same, it is one form of interest of mine and is in a way entertaining.

F is for Fluoride.

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream. 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: [very nervous] Lord, Jack. 
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began? 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack. 
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen... tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: [somewhat embarassed] Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love. 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm. 
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm. 
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake. 
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No. 
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence. 

Even though, I took this set of quotes from Dr. Strangelove and took it for it's humor, it also has a significance in the grand debate of the value of fluoride.  I believe overall that fluoride is bad for you.  I believe that it does not need to be added to our water or any other sources, but from what we get naturally and maybe early on in child's development in toothpaste for healthy teeth.  At what age do we stop needing fluoride I do not know.  If it at the age of 10, 12, 14, 16, I don't know.  Who knows....it's all part of the debate I suppose.  I don't think there is any sort of conspiracy though...If it was a conspiracy I think it'd be in everything we ingest, including ice cream.

Well, that's it for this edition of the blog.

The Alphabet Game

Hiyas everyone,

I don't actually have a lot of time to write this afternoon, but I at least wanted to post something.  So, here's something. :P  I've been thinking for a couple of days now of what I'd like to post on my next few blogs and I thought I'd write something along the lines of the Alphabet Game.  A is for apple and so on...you get the idea, but instead of it being as simple as that each letter will have something to do with my writing or something out of my life.

So, the first two letters:

A is for animals.  The other day I was heading off for work and before I left the house, I saw four hawks hitting the wind currents.  They soared above the house and I rushed back into the house calling out for my parents to come witness this spectacle.  When we returned we could also hear the hawks crying out to their mates near them.  We watched for as long as we could and soon they had reached such height as to be barely visible to the naked eye.  It was an awesome sight to behold.  Seeing them grouped together like that is one thing around Tucson that can't be beat any time soon.  It did make me go into my world though and think about a possible scene to be played out in my writing.

B is for busy.  In my last post I had mentioned something about being in Colorado for vacation.  I have not had a day with my just being home the whole time since at least a couple of days before the trip and next Wednesday is probably the next time I'll have that chance in the future.  In few minutes in fact, I'll be heading up to Phoenix for a meeting.  I would love to have a moment of down time sooner than Wednesday, but t'ain't gonna happen.

Wacky Wednesday post

Well, here I am finally in Camp Kukamonga....Ok, ok, actually, just on vacation up in Estes Park, CO. and having a blast.  I use to live up here and have a huge connection to Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Lake on the west side of the park. So, a lot of fond memories have been shared with my parents and I!!!  It's been busy here, but also before getting here with work.  Anyhow, tomorrow is going to be our easy going, no planned day and I'll probably write some.  There will be a couple of more days on this trip that I'll also have a chance to write.  When I have more of a chance I'll write another post on the topic of writing.  Not sure what it'll be yet and probably won't decide that until I get to writing it.  So, with that being said I am dedicating tonight's post to wacky stuff and trivia!!!

1. Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California!!!
2. This day in history, 1948 is the founding of the Republic of South Korea and is known as Gwangbokjeol day.
3. This day is also the day in 1969 when the Woodstock Music and Art Festival.
4. Napoleon was born in 1769, Julia Child in 1912 and Ben Affleck in 1972 on this day.

Joke of the day:  Men are like pillows.  Eventually, even the best ones get soft and lumpy.

Ok, here's one that's a true story, a bit funny and yet sad.  There are a ton of elk that live in Estes Park.  One of the male elk has a strand of Christmas lights dangling from his huge rack of horns.  We're not sure how long they have been wrapped around them, but he wanders the town with them.

Another fun(ny) thing that has come out of this trip.  This week is the week that one of my mom's ex-bosses is retiring from being the head of a private charter school and we've been up here to celebrate with him at the school.  One of the topics of conversation that has gone on is about my parents reconnecting.  My parents had been married for 20 years and then divorced for 25 years or so.  Now they have been back together for a year.  One of my mom's co-workers commented on the fact that it's kind of PC and said that their being a couple again is like recycling and thus has become a green relationship!!!

Strayer Blackhawk, the most unlucky thief

Well, a couple of days go by.  Busier than I thought I'd be.  So, here I am.  As promised, finally.

Strayer Blackhawk was a thief in the land of Perenia.  He left home with a partially filled backpack and two throwing axes.  He met up with a band of the most unlikely of characters, an amazon, a viking berserker type, a fastidiously clean elven poof and a healer.

One of the first things that happened was while trying to recover this locked treasure box he released a poison needle trap that nearly killed him.  If it weren't for the healer being nearby he'd have died.  That was the first time he'd trigger a trap, but it certainly wasn't his last.

Then at one point his party was running quite low on food.  Sustenance we need they said, so sustenance is what he sought for the group.  In traipsing through the forest he spotted a couple of squirrels nearby to each other.  He had his axes at the ready.  He squinted his eyes and took aim letting the axes fly.  Boy did the axes fly, they flew fast and right on target.  Would the axes hit blunt or blade that was the question?  Well, upon eyes wide open the blades hit them both and made mince meat out of the squirrels, rendering them inedible to say the least.

Lastly, they came upon this town that happened to be infested by ghouls that an evil mage had unleashed against it's citizens.  After a time of battling these monsters they discovered the source that controlled these undead creatures and it was through this ruby that was in the mages possession.  They steal the ruby but the fun keeps happening....er, the ghouls keeps coming.  It took awhile to figure out that the ruby must be destroyed, but by touching it bare-handed the ghouls find their way back to it.  Strayer actually is the one to discover this, but it's too late as the healer sets it off again.  Strayer isn't able to get to the healer or the ruby in time.

Does the case of the ruby fed ghouls spell the end of our intrepid heros?  Find out...sometime!!!

What gets the juices flowing

Hiyas again,

Yesterday, I went up to Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains, just outside of Tucson, Arizona, near where I live.  I have a couple of favorite places that I like to go up to if it's right to do so.  One is just past Summer Haven and a couple of places lower down towards the base that my best friend and I use to go to (if it's not too hot).  I found a new spot that is kind of in between.  It was nice and cool in the shade with plenty of trees and mountain side.  It's a picnic area and may have been created during the times of the CCC as a lot of places in the area have been built by them back in the 30's.  It has several rock walls that provide enclosures for picnic tables as well as retarding erosion.  It got me thinking about my book that I'm working on and the ruins that I'm going to be writing about.  It allowed me to describe how I saw the ruins in terms of terrain and what sort of animals lived there.  Are there any places that you go to to find inspiration?  Also what sorts of other things get your juices flowing to be able to sit down and write?  I know for me while I am at home I like to listen to certain music.  And depending on what I'm writing about, I'll watch certain movies or tv programs or I'll play certain games.  I'll do this especially if I am writing either fantasy or science fiction.

Well, guess that's all for now.  Tomorrow or sometime within the next couple of days I'll write about Strayer, the most unluckiest of theives.

P.s. In haste, I didn't do a very good job writing and editing this post...So, I'm actually going to do some editing this morning.

Much to do about....Blogging

Hiyas everyone,


Well, this is my first post.  I've never done one of these before, so, obviously this is a new one for me.  I can thank my best friend Mel, http://caledonialass.blogspot.com,for turning me onto this.  When I have time I'll write a little bit more about what my blogs will be about.  Suffice it to say that most of the blogs will have to do with my writing, but I also have various other interests beyond just writing.  In fact, I think I'll need the support of my friends and my readers to keep me on track with my writing.  Well, anyhow, we shall see where this all takes us.