“Behind each woman rises the austere, sacred and mysterious face of Aphrodite.” – Nikos Kazantzakis
“I don’t take much from my own father, because he was a very austere, quiet, private man who would come home from work, go to his parlor and play Beethoven on his piano.” – John Mahoney
“I do believe that our modern English usage has become way too clipped and austere/ I have been reading excepts from the journals of 18th-century seafarers lately, and even the lowliest press-ganged deck-swabber turns a finer phrase than I do most days.” – Geraldine Brooks
“Well you know… I grew up in a post war Britain, where you were lucky to get anything to eat. People in America have absolutely no concept of how austere England was after the war. While you were all sort of eating butter and eggs, we were eating rabbit. That’s what there was in the butcher shop.” – Tim Curry
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – austere
Garner… there are James and Jennifer. A small town in Iowa that I had never heard of until tonight and of course it means to gather. And I really need to garner my thoughts. I am at a turning point in my life and things are going to change soon. I need strength and hope. I need courage and dreams. While some of my friends tell me I have those things, I still wonder about them, especially the strength.
But I have been in a much darker place than “normal” recently and I can not stay there, so I have to take measures to help protect my mental health. I am hoping these changes will not disrupt my regular life like this blog for example… if I am missing a day or two don’t worry, I will be back soon. As it is I am slowly starting to catch up a bit. At worst I was 15/16 days behind, now I am at the 4th so this being late on the 15th that would be 11 days behind. I am getting there, slowly but surely.
So, changes happen Friday if all goes as planned. Wish me luck. Now to try and squeeze in a couple more posts between now and then.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – garner
“There is no nonsense so gross, that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine of it and defend it with ever weapon of communal stupidity” – Robertson Davies
“Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.” – Immanuel Kant
“The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” – H. L. Mencken
“A doctrine serves no purpose in itself, but it is indispensable to have one if only to avoid being deceived by false doctrines” – Simone Weil
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – doctrine
Rue… regret. I have no regret, but he might. I am in a transition and will not be writing this weekend (which is why I am posting so much right now) I might have some time to read but that remains to be seen. Life is complicated and I need t simplify things for my own peace of mind. I promise to come back next week… I need to write and will be doing so over the weekend too as usual. I just won’t be at a place to post.
I hope everyone has a good weekend. May you all find the peace you need without a lot of trouble in the way. Thanks for sticking with me.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – rue
Yep, I am breaking the rules. I am jumping almost two weeks ahead… well not ahead, but to today. I haven’t done many of Fandango’s Who Won the Week challenges but I had to post today.
My winner for the week is the state of Iowa, specifically the city of Dyersville. After years of talk and planning and hoping… the first major league baseball game ever played in Iowa happened. But it wasn’t just a regular ballgame. This was a scene from a movie played out.
‘The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox met in the corn fields of Dyersville to play the Field of Dreams game. Old time uniforms, a audience of Iowan fans and a visit from the film’s star all made for a mgical night. No, I was not one of the lucky ones to get a ticket, but we did catch most of the end of the game on TV. It was so cool to see the homers disappear between the rows of corn.
Some of the best news was later on when I heard not only the game would be played again next year, but it was the highest watched ball game in the last 16 years on TV. So cool.
My winner for the week… the Field of Dreams.
Photo from Google and Travel Iowa
Written for Fandango’s Who Won the Week (FWWTW) – August 15
There are a million ways I could take this prompt but my youth will not let it die… all I can think of is the song, “Naughty, Naughty” by John Parr. A song straight out of the 80’s when hair bands ruled the airwaves and MTV (back when the M actually stood for Music). I hope you like this trip back more than 30 years ago!
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – naughty
Hello everyone… here I am stuck on another prompt. Well, I can’t exactly say I am stuck. I only have one thought in my head, and it just keeps repeating with no new direction I can run with it. So, here I am to tell you, I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “My karma ran over your dogma.” I know what you’re thinking, “But the word you should be working on is not dogma it is dogmatic. Can’t say that I have ever uttered a sentence with that word in it.
I could always take another route and mention the movie Dogma… but here again that is only the root word and I have only seen the movie once a LONG time ago. So much for idea number two!
Looking for quotes gave me a strike three and I am out… which reminds me. Did any of you watch the Field of Dreams baseball game this week? Pretty cool they way it all happened. Never thought I would hear a baseball game where the commentator said the ball went into the corn field. Never thought I would be able to watch (on TV only) a live MLB game from within the state.
Now that I have explained what I am not going to do. I will finish this and post it as I am nodding off writing it. I hope you go into the new week with positive thoughts and lots of hope.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – dogmatic
I have tried, I really have, and nothing but notes! I saw the word prompt and instantly thought of a song from the past about the past and I just keep coming back to it and it’s lyrics “… when a screw was a screw…”
So I surrender to the year 2004 and share this song. It is not one of my favorites, but I did think it was kind of cleverly written. As many country songs go it is kind of corny though. So listen with an open mind and just be warned, the song may haunt you 17 years in the future too. But first here are the lyrics…
Don’t you remember The fizz in a pepper Peanuts in a bottle At ten, two and four A fried bologna sandwich With mayo and tomato Sittin’ round the table Don’t happen much anymore
We got too complicated It’s all way over-rated I like the old and out-dated Way of life
Back when a hoe was a hoe Coke was a coke And crack’s what you were doing When you were cracking jokes Back when a screw was a screw The wind was all that blew And when you said I’m down with that Well it meant you had the flu I miss back when I miss back when I miss back when
I love my records Black, shiny vinyl Clicks and pops And white noise Man they sounded fine I had my favorite stations The ones that played them all Country, soul and rock-and-roll What happened to those times?
I’m readin’ Street Slang For Dummies Cause they put pop in my country I want more for my money The way it was back then
Back when a hoe was a hoe Coke was a coke And crack’s what you were doing When you were cracking jokes Back when a screw was a screw The wind was all that blew And when you said I’m down with that Well it meant you had the flu I miss back when I miss back when I miss back when
Give me a flat top for strumming I want the whole world to be humming Just keep it coming The way it was back then
Back when a hoe was a hoe Coke was a coke And crack’s what you were doing When you were cracking jokes Back when a screw was a screw The wind was all that blew
And when you said I’m down with that Well it meant you had the flu I miss back when I miss back when I miss back when
That is uptown-moley! I am over the moon with excitement. What a drag. There she goes, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. No, I haven’t lost my mind… I am just writing a few examples of colloquial language. Words and phrases you would use in an informal setting or writing. Not a formal form of English.
Ok, now that that is taken care of… sorry, best I could do for the word colloquial. I am sitting here trying to stay awake long enough to read another day of posts and get one more prompt taken care of. I have gained a little ground this weekend. I would LOVE to say I was actually writing for the month of August soon, but I am not putting any timetable on things.
As we start a new month and week, I hope you all find yourself in a good place. Things are kind of up in the air here, but I am making it through day by day or even minute by minute if need be. We are helping out a family member with a place to stay and it is not all sunshine and roses. I must be off to read more… sending out positive thoughts and lots of …
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – colloquial
