Month: January 2021

Who Won the Week? 01/31/2021

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FWWTWThe idea behind Who Won the Week is for you to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.

I will be posting this prompt on Sunday mornings (my time). If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.

I thought we’d have a little fun this week. Fun with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, that is. Bernie was spotted at Joe Biden’s inauguration sitting down with some, well, interesting mittens on.BERJAYA
Of course, this set off a viral explosion on Twitter, where creative people took Bernie and his mittens and photoshopped him into some iconic scenes. All of these were found on Twitter.
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BERJAYAAnd in addition to these photoshopped pictures being laugh out loud funny, those wool mittens that Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration helped to raise $1.8 million in the last week for charitable organizations in Sanders’ home state of Vermont. The sum comes from the sale of merchandise with the Jan. 20 image of him sitting with his arms and legs crossed, clad in his brown parka and recycled wool mittens.

So who better than Bernie Sanders and his wool mittens to be declared this week’s Who Won the Week winner?

What about you? Who (or what) do you think won the week?

Song Lyric Sunday — Odd or Even

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For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt, Jim Adams gave us “even” or “odd” for our musical theme. I figured this would be a piece of cake, but for some reason I was struggling to find a song I liked. I searched Google for songs with “even” or “odd” in the lyrics and I couldn’t find a whole lot of songs that spoke to me. But I finally did come across a song I really like that has the word “even” hidden deep in the lyrics in the lines that go: Mark my word, I’ma make my mark, even when they start their Martial Law / Even when these Martians alienate, my mental state is still at heart. That song is “Radioactive” from Imagine Dragons.

“Radioactive” was recorded by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was written by the members of the Imagine Dragons band, primarily Dan Reynolds, and their producer Alex Da Kid. The song became a sleeper hit, peaking at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and was the band’s first top 10 single as well as being the third best selling song in the country in 2013. It became the Imagine Dragons’ most successful single to date and is one of the best selling singles of all time.

An electronic rock and alternative rock song, “Radioactive” contains cryptic lyrics of apocalyptic and revolutionist themes. The subject of the song was about embracing change. The lyrics depict a person who was behind bars for such a long duration that he was release from prison in an unfamiliar “new age.” Some interpret the song to be describing a futurist world, and a person experiencing this mystifying world for the very first time.

Reynolds said the song is about the realization that the world is becoming different and the need to break free by doing something new. He explained in an interview that, to him, “Radioactive” is a “very masculine, powerful-sounding song.” He said that the lyrics behind it were very personal to him. “It’s a song about having an awakening; kind of waking up one day and deciding to do something new, and to see life in a fresh way. A lot of people hear it in a dark way, but, I think it’s empowering, and so we wanted to display that in a way that the listener wouldn’t see normally.”

Reynolds added, “When I wrote Radioactive, we’d been a band for two and a half, maybe three years. We were at that point so many bands get to, where we’re playing small clubs and filling them, but to break out at that level is a difficult thing. I was questioning my own career choice. I really wanted to have a family at some point and be able to support them, and still do what I love. So it was a difficult time. I’m a really up and down person and I’ve struggled with depression. I was writing in the studio with Alex da Kid, our producer, and we knew we wanted something that was heavy. I’ve always loved songs that present a beautiful and sensitive subject in a heavy way. So we came up with this heavy beat and instrumental that just felt like an awakening. It expressed a feeling that was happening with me, so I started to write the lyrics and the melody. In truth, the song is about becoming self-empowered and saying, ‘I’m happy with who I am, happy with the choices I’m making.’ It’s about sweating off all the dust and grime of self-doubt and judgment, and embracing who you are.”

Here are the lyrics to “Radioactive.”

Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa

I’m waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
I’m breathing in the chemicals
I’m breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse, whoa

I’m waking up,
I feel it in my bones (enough) to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I’m radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh I’m radioactive, radioactive

I raise my flags, don my clothes
It’s a revolution, I suppose
We’ll paint it red to fit right in, whoa
I’m breaking in, shaping up, checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse, whoa

I’m waking up,
I feel it in my bones (enough) to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I’m radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh I’m radioactive, radioactive

All systems go, sun hasn’t died
Deep in my bones, straight from inside

I’m waking up,
I feel it in my bones (enough) to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I’m radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh I’m radioactive, radioactive

FOWC with Fandango — Plunge

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FOWCWelcome to January 31, 2021 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “plunge.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.

Who Doesn’t Fancy a Weekend Quickie?

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BERJAYA

Rory, A Guy Called Bloke, and the king of the quickies, wants to know:

When was the last time you wore a woolly hat and is it colored, patterned or plain?

For my birthday about 15 years ago, my wife knitted me a blue wool hat with the logo of my favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox. I still wear it on the occasional chilly days or nights we have around here in Northern California.BERJAYA

When was the last time you experienced a wardrobe malfunction – what was it and where were you?

The only wardrobe malfunction I can think of wais when I snagged a thread on a sweater I was wearing while walking and didn’t realize it. By the time I did notice it, the bottom third of my sweater had essentially unraveled. Other than the fact that it was one of my favorite sweaters, it was not a particularly embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.

Why do things become popular with people?

Well, maybe I’m oversimplifying the question, but it seems to me that things that people want, need, or like are the things that become popular with people. Am I missing some deep, hidden meaning to the question?

On a scale of 01 – 10 how angry are you right now for no other reason apart from you just are?

I’m pretty fucking angry at the GOP members of Congress who are, at best, ignoring or remaining silent on what Donald Trump has wrought and the MAGA-maniacs he has inspired to acts of violence and insurrection and who, at worst, are aiding and abetting them by giving them their support. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Please list three really funny films that have made you laugh out loud over the years?

Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall,” and a tie between two Marx Brothers movies, “Duck Soup” and “Night at the Opera.”

What are five of the biggest mistakes that people make with their lives in your opinion?

In no particular order:

  • Trying (or pretending) to be someone they are not
  • Valuing money over love
  • Being insincere and untrustworthy
  • Being petty
  • Trying to impose their will on others

SoCS — looking Back

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BERJAYAI suppose, in the end, looking back at it, it wasn’t all bad. Oh sure, it was pretty contentious at times. Most of the time, actually.

We fought a lot. And when we fought, we really fought. I mean knock down, drag out fights. Not physically, of course. We never hit or kicked or bit one another. Yeah, I do remember putting my fist through the wall that one time. And then there was the night you threw your wine glass at me. Fortunately I ducked just in time.

But the mind games we played were emotionally bruising. You said I was gaslighting you. I said you had me walking on eggshells. We threw verbal jabs at each other, each like the sting of a bee. And the resentment we each felt toward one another settled upon us like a thick fog that cast a pall over most of our marriage.

Face it, we are both very passionate people and it was our passion for life that brought us together, our passion for love that kept us together, and our passion in bed that had us soaring. For a while, anyway.

So that’s why I say it wasn’t all bad. At least in the beginning.

This post was written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Linda has commanded us to write about the beginning of something and the end of something. Bonus points if our first sentence contains “the end” and our last sentence contains “the beginning.”

FOWC with Fandango — Deteriorate

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FOWCWelcome to January 30, 2021 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “deteriorate.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.

Friday Fictioneers — The Service

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BERJAYA“Where is everyone?” John asked the pastor. “I’ve got everything ready. The printed programs are in the pews and on the chairs, the hymnals are placed in the seat backs. I’ve put bottled water strategically around the chapel. The service is scheduled to start in five minutes, but no one is here. What’s going on?”

“John, didn’t you get my email?” The pastor asked.

“I don’t recall seeing it,” John said.

“I see,” the pastor said. “The bishop felt that, given these new, more highly transmittable strains of the virus, we should resume virtual services again until further notice.”

(99 words)

Written for the Friday Fictioneers prompt from Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Photo credit: Marie Gail Stratford.

Fibbing Friday — This, That, and The Other

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BERJAYAFrank (aka PCGuy) and Di (aka Pensitivity101) alternate as host for Fibbing Friday, a silly little exercise where we are to write a post with our answers to the ten questions below. But as the title suggests, truth is not an option. The idea is to fib a little, a lot, tell whoppers, be inventive, silly, or even outrageous, in our responses. Today is Di’s turn to host and here are her questions.

1. What are florins, tanners, and bobs?

They are the nextdoor neighbors of wynkin, blynkin, and nod.

2. What is Dead Man’s Fingers?

First of all, Di, mind your grammar. The question should be “What are Dead Man’s Fingers?” Now that we have that out of the way, they are old, stale Lady Fingers that have turned bluish-black.BERJAYA
3. What killed the Triffids?

They ate way too many truffles.

4. What’s the difference between a buck and a quid?

A buck is a male and a quid is a female.

5. How much is an old crown worth?

That depends upon whether it’s made from gold, silver, porcelain, ceramics, zirconia, or composite.

6. What can be known as a ‘Little Gem’?

The tiny diamond in the wedding ring I gave my wife.

7. What is pearl barley?

It’s a pearl that can be found in an oyster harvested from underwater barely fields after they’ve been flooded.

8. Finish the sentence: ‘I came, I saw, I………………..’

…turned over and went to sleep.

9. Who said ‘Smile, it enhances your face value’?

My dentist, just after he gave me a quote for a full set of dentures.

10. Where on the human body is the zygomatic bone found?

Where the sun don’t shine.

MLMM First Line Friday — The Effete Snob

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BERJAYA“Leave me alone,” she snapped, juking around him on the sidewalk and hurrying away with a quick clack of heels.

This used to be such a jolly place, she thought as she picked up her pace heading toward her car. Now I’m being accosted by these self-righteous people who try to tell me that I need to find Jesus or be prepared to spend eternity in hell. Who the hell do they think they are? Just look at what has become of our beautiful city. It’s swarming with filth and populated by ugly, smelly, low-life, homeless people who mooch off of society. They shuck and jive their way through life with no accountability whatsoever for their actions.

She picked up her pace and reached her Porsche, got in, and started the powerful engine. That does it, she thought. I’m going to leave the city, drive home, take off my heels, change into my bikini, and walk to my private beach where I don’t have to deal with the riff-raff, the dregs of society, or the hoi-polloi for one-minute more.

Written for today’s First Line Friday prompt from Mindlovemisery Menagerie. The first line is: “Leave me alone,” she snapped, juking around him on the sidewalk and hurrying away with a quick clack of heels. Also written for these Daily Prompts: The Daily Spur (jolly), MMA Storytime (righteous), Word of the Day Challenge (mooch), Your Daily Word Prompt (jive), Ragtag Daily Prompt (accountability), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (drive), and Just Jot it January (beach).

Note from Fandango: I have neither sympathy nor empathy for the protagonist in this post. Her thoughts, words, and actions in no way reflect my personal perspectives. But as I looked at the prompt words and the opening line presented today, this is what came to mind.