And that is what many of us across the U.S. did today. We did it with family, or friends, or friends who have become family or both. All manner of national and local and family traditions were observed today. Huzzahs! all around!

One of the great things about Thanksgiving is that is is a National, Secular holiday. I don't have to worry overly much if somebody is going to get upset with me for celebrating the holiday, it has no religious attachment to it. Anyone can pause, reflect and be thankful. Doesn't matter what faith, if any you observe or don't. And, it is about reconnecting with family, with friends, and food. Lots of food.

And for our dinner we devoured the better part of a smoked turkey. They're great in that they taste like ham. They come cooked, just heat 'em and eat 'em. What could be easier, right? And then there is my favorite holiday dish and that is Green Jell-O. It has lime jell-o, cottage cheese, nuts, pineapple all mixed up together. Sounds weird, tastes great.

Elaine made what she called her mother's dressing. Corn bread, biscuits, onions, sage and I don't know what all were in there. Now, there's one serving left. Just enough for my lunch tomorrow. :-)

I baked bread. Okay, I cheated. I used a box mix and a bread machine. But, I didn't let Elaine fill the thing up and push the button, so I baked bread. That, my friends, is my story and I am sticking to it. (Sourdough was one loaf, and European Herbs and Cheese was the other)

And we had Egg Nog, complete with brandy. And pumpkin pie that Elaine baked from scratch (poor scratch) last night. Cranberries, and Cranberry Festival type stuff...with goodies inside.

And we gave thanks for many things today. Homes, jobs, friends, healthy stupid cats, friends, our health, and so forth and so on. It was a wonderful day. Even if we had nothing at all with bacon involved...

It undoubtedly would have to be when I singlehandedly saved the world from total destruction by staving off a massive invasion of the Interstellar Menace, the Ain T'real.

Quick thinking, a radio tuned to Bob & Tom convinced them this planet had nothing but idiots with marshmallow stuffing between their ears and a 50 pound bag of sweet potatoes...I would have had them listen to Rush Limbaugh, but I didn't want them thinking we were crazy AND stupid....

Too bad it's a secret and I can't tell anyone...

It has become a grind.  The giddy feelings of the first couple of days have been replaced with the knowledge that getting ahead in the word count is short-lived.  As quickly as that happens and you rest on your laurels, you can get behind and playing catch up isn't nearly as fun or exhilarating as being ahead of the curve. 

And this is one of those writing exercises where the goal is quantity.   No other motives for writing than pounding out a big ol' pile of words that resemble a story.  I have a strong desire to create something I can work with in revision when this is all over, so that makes this more workmanlike that I had originally envisioned.

On the plus side, using 'Scrivener' has been a real bonus.  Being able to work on different parts of the overall project and not write in sequential order has allowed me to adjust the flow of the plot or the overall plot in general on the fly without sacrificing anything I've created.  In other words, I get to have 'better ideas' after I've penned something and still use what is already there.

Naturally, I have now created some serious plot discrepancies or internal continuity issues.  Mainly to do with timing of events, but the overall flow makes more logical sense.  At least to me.  And having notes in the Scrivener file/binder has been very useful.  AND, as an added bonus, by being a NaNo winner, I'll be able to buy the program for a discount.  Since this has turned to be a practical writing tool, I'm excited about this.  And it gives me a bit more incentive to actually slam out more words.

The story is coming along, and I can already see benefits of this project.  I may not actually do anything with this, even after revision, but at the least it has given me an appreciation of the work that goes into a novel, that ideas keep coming even after you start with a fair idea of where you are going and that this is not a bad thing.

Onward!

I am CRAZY!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/517902

I have decided, after discussion with Elaine, to try to do this insane thing.

I still need to come up with a plot, characters, and how to use a Special Needs Groundhog in the narrative somewhere....

But, other than that, I'm ready to go!

(I am out of my bloody mind, I am)

Mine own.   Consisting of Bacon-y goodness and Peanut Butter-y protein!

Plus, other stuff like eggs, and toast and oatmeal and steak on the grill and salad and the occasional trip to the local Chinese place (that is as close to real Chinese as Taco Bell is to Mexican) and...oh yeah!  Gyro's and Falafel's and other yummy goodness.

Like these terrific Weight Watcher's pancakes Elaine found a recipe for that were fantastical and really good to eat and stuff.

http://picturespoetryprose.blogspot.com/2009/07/decay.html


I took the photo being used for the prompt on Pictures, Poetry and Prose.

I'd write more about how talented I am, but my arm is really hurting from patting myself on the back.  ;-)

This has Pop Up Video beat three ways to next Thursday...



This is almost as funny....but not quite.

She was hot

                   for haiku.

Expression in seventeen syllables
       (or thereabouts)
Iambic Pentameter
                 Left her cold
Sonnets made her snore
Limericks might make
her giggle
                 (but only the dirty ones)
But haiku?

Man.....

She was hot....for haiku.

Ok, so maybe I am...but not like these guys and gals....

There's this blog about nothing BUT bacon.  Bacon Unwrapped.  Greasy Goodness, none of the guilt.

Then, there's this guy.  Too much time on his hands, and help from his friend beer.  Oh, the possibilities....

Ok, so I like to write on this here space (which really isn't for rent).  But, I'll bet you wonder what I like to read when I'm not sharing my innermost thoughts and written spitballs and reading the musings of the Mighty Friends List, I do take a peek at blogs of people who are elsewhere on the Interwebs.

Here's a couple...

The Inkpot Files:  Inky has an amusing view of the world.  There be zombies galore, blood running in the street and a sense of humor.

The One-Minute Writer:  Provider of short writing prompts.  Most of the time they are more interesting than the Writer's Block glurge we've been subjected to here. 

moleskinerie:  Which, if you've been reading here for any length of time, you will know is a mild obsession of mine.

Stuff White People Like:  Because it's funny

Zugzwang:  I have no idea what a zug or a zwang is, but Chris covers things of interest to himself, hence they are interesting to me

Welcome to the Flamingo Cove Nightclub: My oldest friend in the entire Free World.  He updates erratically, but is always entertaining when he does...

And check out the great people on my Friend's List sometime.  Just click the 'Friends' button/link/whatever at the top of the page.

I got tagged.  I am now it.  I didn't even know we was playin' tag. Nobody tells me nuthin'....

This is ALL Clancy's fault (ghostofagypsy )  :-)

1. Post about something that made you happy today.
2. Repeat for eight days.  (ACK!!!)
3. Tag six people to do the same:  Hmmm. mardeen , reginaclarejane , joncwriter , k00kaburra , puckbunny87 , and last but certainly not least, themeindzeye 


I was happy I woke up and I hadn't soiled my sheets.  I managed to make through yet another night without messing the bed.  Been a regular occurrence since I was a wee (HA!), small lad.  Failure to do so would most likely mean I was pretty close to the grave, chronologically speaking.  A lack of incontinence is a wonderful thing.

Oh, and I was also happy that Rick Ankiel didn't break his face, neck or back after last nights face first collision with the Left-Center-Field wall last night.

I eat lots of bacon, so I figure I'm pretty well immune to the so-called "Swine Flu."

Seriously, if people take reasonable precautions, like washing hands, using Kleenex and such..I think we should be okay.  That there are still a high percentage of people who don't wash after going *ahem* "potty" means that we could be in for a whirl o' shit (pun intended).

I just hope it doesn't get to the point where I have to wear one of those masks.  Not because I am horribly selfish or anything...well, maybe so...but they are uncomfortable and hot.  Anyone got a line on an air-conditioned model?  

Sorrow upon sorrow
Grief multiplies
Washes in, through and under
Leaving me cleansed

======================


Random thoughts and dreams
Appear and suddenly vanish
Who knows where they go?


======

And for the ninja fan, moreamordani 



Silently they dart
Moving with stealth and grace
Ninja's on the prowl

The day dawned early, but I missed it because I was asleep.  I actually had a miserable night of sleep due to the weather.  It's not quite warm enough to turn on the A/C yet, but it is too warm not to do "something" to try and sleep.  Poorly circulating rooms make things worse and even the window being open doesn't help much.  Add in a ceiling fan that spins but does little and it's a stuffy night.

As it was, I woke up tired.  Yet, in a good mood.  Why?  Because last night when I got home, Elaine suggested that we go on a picnic today.  Which is exactly what we did.  And it was a grand time.  Even with the high winds.  They took poor Elaine's ball cap for a good little ride, but I got to play the hero and chase it down and save the day!  The fair Elaine gave her hero a peck on the cheek and some grapes.  Huzzah!

We cleaned up our mess and headed down to Jefferson City, our State Capital.  We drove right past the building and stopped at the comic shop there.  They also sell books, so I bought some more Perry Mason books and other ribald trashy mystery books.  And a western.  We chatted with Lance (the store owner) and then hopped into the car and pointed it West on U.S. Highway 50 to Sedalia.  That's the home of the State Fair (Our State Fair is a great state fair...don't miss it, don't even be late...). 

Highway 50 used to be a 2 lane highway, but has been expanded to the 4 lane divided type in many places.  In some ways, I sort of regret that we've become so used to getting someplace in "a hurry" that we are replacing all of our roads with Freeway type roads.  They are by and large, boring and impersonal.  Just a means to an end/destination.  Kind of sad.

Because we stopped at the Dutch Store in Tipton along the way.  It's run by the Amish, a more stand offish bunch of people you'd be hard pressed to find.  At least at this store.  They aren't rude, but there IS a wall between us and Them.  They're happy to take our money, but they don't have to gush to us when they do it.

That said, I found some Liverwurst there.  I haven't had any of that since I was a boy.  My Dad used to buy it for us.  It was a real treat.  It's mostly fat, grease, goo and more goo.  I have no idea what's in it, I don't want to know, so nobody tell me.  All I know is that I like it.  We picked up a few other things, gave them our money and went on down the road.  By Tipton, it was back to a two lane wonderland.

Our reaon for going to Sedalia was to check out the rumors of The Wheel Inn reopening.  The Wheel Inn is a nationally known Hamburger Joint in the old tradition.  The old place used to offer curb service and the like.  It was an institution, not only in Sedalia, but around the area.  In fact, they were so well known, they made the list of places in Missouri to get a GREAT hamburger in the list in the back of the book, Hamburger Heaven.  I bought that book in the Gift Shop of the Henry Ford Museum because of that, and the other listing was for a hole in the wall pool hall here in Columbia called Booche's that serves the best burgers in town.

But, I digress...

We found that while the original owners had indeed closed up shop, sold out and retired, one of the day waitresses had reopened at a new location.  Which was the reason the original had closed in the first place.  It was situated at the corner of Highway's 50 and 65.  The intersection needed to be expanded due to truck traffic and this would seriously impede access to The Wheel Inn.  So, they closed.

The big deal at The Wheel Inn is the Gooberburger.  It's a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, salad dressing and peanut butter.  I got mine sans salad dressing.  Sounds gross, but DAMNATION are they good.  They are messy, so plenty of napkins are in order.  I also had a peanut butter milkshake which was also tremendous.

Elaine, not being at all a lover of peanut butter, opted not to partake of the culinary delight that is a Gooberburger, had one of their marvelous hamburgers with everything.  She had a banana shake which she quite enjoyed. 

On the way home, we listened to the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs on the radio.  Actually, the game was in St. Louis, but we listened to the game on the radio.  Albert Pujols hit a first pitch Grand Slam and it sounded to me like he'd been elected President with all the noise being made at Busch Stadium.  Not to be outdone, I scared some drivers around me by pounding on the car horn and shouting.  Elaine wasn't impressed.  I'm thinking she had the right idea on that one.

All in all, a nice day spent with my wife.  Tomorrow brings a chance of rain and a likelihood of laundry.  Dusting and vacumming also possible.

I wrote what I thought was an interesting Haiku earlier today. 

Lovers holding hands 
Optimists or Arrogant
A little of both

I shared it with a friend and his first question was, "Are they in public?  Or are they at home?"

I told him I felt it was obvious from the second line, but he felt I needed to be specific so as to avoid confusion.  My response was that in the Haiku framework, I didn't think I could convey that message, using those words "in public" and get the same sense.  He seemed to think it was a great writing exercise.

I've been thinking about this for hours since then, and frankly I'm stumped.  I am fairly pleased with the haiku the way I wrote it, but my friend is of above average intelligence and doesn't throw out many suggestions.  Any thoughts?

And have you ever stumbled across a sentence that you just fell in love with?  Something that almost haunts you, that you feel a strong urge to write down so you can carry it with you in your pocket, or close to your heart.  A sentence that is so extraordinary that it either sums up completely and perfectly what you were reading or so overshadows everything else that you recall nothing about the subject?

I did.  I wrote it down in my little notebook and have come back to it.  I've worked with in poetry and it just fell flat.  It's not the fault of the sentence, but maybe I'm just in awe of it yet.  Afraid to debase it or make it common by deigning to use it something as pedestrian as a mere poem or small essay.

I'd share it with you, but for now I'm guarding it like a jealous lover.  Caressing it in my mind, and rolling it over again and again in my writer's voice.   And trying to be worthy of it.  If for nobody else but myself.

My wife works for a couple of doctors in a OB/GYN clinic.

One of them is a He Doctor, the other is a She Doctor.  They are in a partnership arrangement.

She's been there for 10 years.  Recently her vacation was increased by one of the doctors.  The other doctor, who she doesn't do a lot for, doesn't even get half her salary from, didn't know about it.  When it was discovered, this doctor went ballistic, broadcasting it all over the office.  Very loud, obnoxious and unprofessional.

Whatever.

Today, my wife gets her pay advice, and all the vacation had been removed.  Without telling her.  Which means that some time she requested as vacation time wasn't there, making her paycheck short.  With No ADVANCE Warning!  None!  

How fucking irrational, unprofessional and juvenile is that?

Adults talk to each other, not play petty bullshit power trip games.

This is so not cool.

I dunno if you've seen the BK commercial that features Sir Mix-a-Lot spoofing his already goofy song, "Baby Got Back" or not.  The commercial is pretty amusing, in a nostalgic/goofy sort of way.

This full length video, however, is flat out funny...

--Dan Seals died last week.  If you don't know who Dan Seals is, that's not surprising.  He was the England Dan of England Dan & John Ford Coley who had a few hit records in the late 70's and early 80's.  Seals also had a string of Country hits in the mid to late 80's, including a great duet with Jenny Craig Spokes-Dieter, Marie Osmond called "Meet Me in Montana"

I've liked his music and voice for a long time and his passing saddened me.  He was only 61. 

Cancer sucks.

--A recent trip to the Drive Thru ATM at the bank brought a pleasant surprise.  There was a new ATM machine and there was no longer Braille on the keypad.  I'd always wondered why Braille keypads on Drive Thru ATM's was a good idea.  I also wondered if I would see Stevie Wonder or Ronnie Milsap in those drive thru's....

--Andy Hallet died of heart disease.  Unless you're a Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel fan, I doubt you know who Andy was.  He played a suave demon named Lorne.  He was quite the character in the series and you can hear him singing on the Angel: Live Fast, Die Never released a few years ago.  He was only 33. 

--Now that Jay Cutler has been traded to Da Bears, Chicago fans are already pencilling in trips to the Super Bowl.  I sure would like to have the concession on THAT Kool-Aid...

--Congrats to the Mizzou Basketball team for their so high above expectations season.  They left it all on the floor last weekend and have absolutley nothing to hang their head about.  And kudos to Coach Anderson for not leaving for the money and staying at Mizzou.  You've done us proud and done it The Right Way.

AND FINALLY, (saving the best and most important for last)

--I am married to Five Feet, Four and a Half Inches of Awesome.  My wife is quite simply the greatest.

For years, I've admired comics creator Tony Isabella.  He has taken stands about creators rights that have quite honestly cost him work in the comics community.  He won't back down, speaks his mind and is pretty brave about it all.  Kudos to him for that.

Tony lost a bucket of my respect recently.  On an Yahoo Group we both belonged to, somebody posted a link to a news article about Harlen Ellison suing Paramount over back pay for a Star Trek episode that aired 38 years ago.  Ellison is always suing somebody, and is a worthless fuck of a human being.  But, even worthless fucks of human beings deserve their day in court, and if Ellison enjoys litigation, more power to him and his lawyers.  (Ellison is a worthless sack of human skin because he groped Connie WIllis on stage during the 2006 Hugo awards.  What an ass-hat)

So, somebody unwisely posted something about this over on Tony's message board.  Not smart.  Why? Because they don't invite discussion on Tony's message board.  They invite agreement, they invite and promote their own agenda, they don't deal with dissent or opposing opinions well at all.  Which, to be fair, is pretty common around the internets. 

There isn't much room for intelligent discussion anymore.  Group owners, bloggers, message board managers, all want to exert some sort of control over what is said, and like that.  Outside of decorum issues, I think this is nuts.  Freedom of speech isn't the same as Freedom FROM speech.  And Tony crossed the line.

http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/tony/?read=194623

He tossed somebody who disagreed with him.  Came right out and said that pissing him off on his own board wasn't a good idea.  That disagreeing and arguing with him about this was not allowed.

He has, in short, become a censor. Big Brother.  A Nanny Message Board Owner.

The group we both belonged to?  He left.  After stating the could no longer read the venom and bile directed at Ellison and his Holy Crusade.   The sad thing here is that there wasn't any venom.  Nor bile.  Just some people asking questions.  All very civilized, as a matter of fact.  One person made a poor analogy, was called on it and he APOLOGIZED for it!  Copped to it and apologized!  Amazing for the internet...

Tony's parting shot at everyone before he hit 'send' and quit was that he was embarrassed and ashamed of us as comic fans.

Well, Tony...I am ashamed and disgusted with you.  I know you're on my Facebook Flist, and I believe that if you don't personally read this, someone from our mutual friends will point this out.  No attempt to talk nasty about you behind your back.

You don't combat ignorance with silence.  You don't combat a problem by turning your back.  You don't educate anyone with Censorship.  No matter how tired, cranky or close to the situation you are.  You were wrong in this, Tony.  100% totally wrong.

Shame on you.

(comments are open to non-LJ commentors.)

This one.



Any reason why not?