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Four Line Fiction (2322)
Welcome to Four Line Fiction, a pix-to-prose challenge. Each Tuesday, at 9:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States) I will post an image I have captured myself, featured from another blog or plucked from one of the Interweb’s many royalty-free image sites. You as the writer are to use that image as a point of inspiration to craft a masterpiece of fiction in four lines.
This week’s image is a POV shot with the viewer standing in the basket looking up into a brightly coloured orange and yellow hot air balloon. A propane-fueled flame burns along the left edge of the image creating lift while the blue sky background fills the right third of the image.
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading the tales you spin. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their masterpieces.
Click here for full rules and guidelinesFive Word Weekly Challenge (2322)
Welcome to Five Word Weekly. Each Monday, I will post five random words to Greg’s Blog at 5:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States). Your task is to craft prose or poetry using any or all of the word prompts. How you participate is entirely up to you. Your work(s) can be a single piece, a series of stand-alone projects, or an epic serial. Let the words be the inspiration that takes you wherever your imagination leads.
Here are your prompt words for the week of May 29th, 2023:
shame | global | slipknot | machination | banter
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading what each of you conjures up. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their responses.
Click here for full rules and guidelines2321 – Sunday Digest: The Week in Review
2321 – Sunday Digest: The Week in Review
Baseball (and soccer) season is here. Not the pros, I mean for my kids.
Last weekend was spent following my daughter’s ‘Queens of the Diamond, tournament in Brantford. Man has she gotten good. Stellar defence and a beast (I’m sure she’d love the description) at the plate with four homers and a bunch of hits.
She makes me proud as both Team Ontario and Team Canada are scouting her to play for them. I don’t know how she does it. The time she spends practicing while maintaining grades in the high 90s.
Then there is my little guy. He is seven and plays t-ball and soccer. With my excellent guidance, he has the hardest and most accurate throw on the Cubs. Sometimes scarily so, it’s house league t-ball so there are a bunch of kids who have never played, can’t throw and can’t catch. When they are warming up or he’s making a throw to first I’m afraid he might maim one of them. Now if I could just get him to pay attention playing in the field. The dirt and gravel are like a magnet to little boys and girls and at any given moment 4 or 5 of the rugrats are playing in the dirt.
Between various kids sports, I managed to get my herbs planted and take a pile of garbage to the dump. The vegetable garden will have to wait until next week. The damned bushy-tailed rats a.k.a. squirrels have already dug up the parsley to bury nuts or something. They are a menace!
Another podcast listing week but I did find a great relaxation album to play at bed time. It includes the natural sounds of the great Dan Gibson. Gibson was a Canadian Environment Sound Recordist. His Solitudes series of recordings have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Some contain the pure sounds of nature and others include relaxation music with the sounds of the natural world. A naturalist who turned his passion into a very successful business.
The week in review…
Fine and Dandy
Susan at Sillyfrog’s Blog gives us a tale of a grandson who unwittingly ends up in the middle of a row between his grandparents.
How I Almost Skidded Off the Path of Dreams
A reflection on how life has an uncanny knack of putting us right where we need to be written by Rockstar Girl at Is It Real or Fantasy.
Elixer
A fantastical trip into the world of wolves and magic and wolf by Paula at Light Motifs II.
By the Beach
Sadje at Keep It Alive gives us a poem that is a beautiful manual for life.
Was It You?
Fandango at This, That and The Other passing gas for our reading amusement!
More highlights from Greg’s Blog…
T-Shirt Wisdom Wednesday | The bi-weekly feature poking fun at selective hearing this week.
Green Mountain Gold | Written for Chel Owens Terrible Poetry Contest for May 2023. Still one of my favourite WordPress challenges.
Around the Blogosphere…
Winner of the Terrible Poetry Contest | Lots of cheesy, and I mean that literally as this month’s theme was Vermont Cheddar, poetry hosted by Chel Owens.
Next week…
Five Word Weekly, Four Line Fiction are on tap plus the launch of a new monthly feature. Have a great week everyone,
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Green Mountain Gold
Green Mountain Gold
Vermont Cheddar, how could anything be terrible about that? The terroir and tang of regional cheeses with a great bottle of wine sound delightful. I’m in, who knows maybe too much wine will help with this month’s Terrible Poetry Contest! About that, Chel asks us to write a terrible limerick about this regional cheese. Two months ago I said let them eat cake, now I say let them eat cheese!!! on to the terribleness again…
From Vermont came a cheddar, behold
Legend has it, one heck of a mold
Big cheese curd not forstall
The coming Woodchuck brawl.
For a chance to taste Green Mountain gold.
And I’m off to make some nachos with melted cheese (and maybe chili!)
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T-Shirt Wisdom Wednesday (2321)
Welcome to another edition of T-Shirt Wisdom Wednesday for May 24th, 2023. This hump day feature is exactly what it sounds like. Every other Wednesday (bi-weekly) I will post a graphic that is funny, poignant, witty, honest, crude, toothsome, with bite, or just plain old ridiculous. Some I’ll have plagiarized directly from a chest near you. Others may not have been spotted in the wild but they probably should be out there.
My wife thinks I made this one specifically for her!
Suggestions are always welcome. If you come across something you think is worthy of being pasted across someone’s chest and paraded around publicly jot it down and send me a message. If it makes the cut I will whip up a graphic design template and use it in a future post. Any suggestions used will include a shout-out and link to your blog on the week it posts.
Credits and Additional Information
Four Line Fiction (2321)
Welcome to Four Line Fiction, a pix-to-prose challenge. Each Tuesday, at 9:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States) I will post an image I have captured myself, featured from another blog or plucked from one of the Interweb’s many royalty-free image sites. You as the writer are to use that image as a point of inspiration to craft a masterpiece of fiction in four lines.
This week’s Image comes from King Charles III’s coronation. It is a sea of military officers marching from top left to bottom right all wearing the red tunic and bearskin helmets best known in popular culture as the uniform worn by the Royal (or alternatively King’s) Guard outside Buckingham Palace.
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading the tales you spin. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their masterpieces.
Click here for full rules and guidelinesFive Word Weekly Challenge (2321)
Welcome to Five Word Weekly. Each Monday, I will post five random words to Greg’s Blog at 5:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States). Your task is to craft prose or poetry using any or all of the word prompts. How you participate is entirely up to you. Your work(s) can be a single piece, a series of stand-alone projects, or an epic serial. Let the words be the inspiration that takes you wherever your imagination leads.
Here are your prompt words for the week of May 22nd, 2023:
method | valley | surprise | skiff | cliché
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading what each of you conjures up. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their responses.
Click here for full rules and guidelines2320 – Sunday Digest: The Week in Review
2320 – Sunday Digest: The Week in Review
As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I have been watching the drama at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) unfold. Kyle Dubas the General Manager is out it what appears to be an ill-advised and poorly executed grab at power gone awry.
If you believe the story as masterfully woven by team President and former player Brendan Shanahan it might have been the worst play, much like the team’s feeble on-ice powerplay during the playoffs. With a newly negotiated contract all but done, except for the signatures, Dubas held his year-end press conference against Shanny’s better advice. During that presser, Dubas whose contract was set to expire July 1st revealed that he might not be interested in returning to Toronto (or anywhere else) for family reasons. It was a real tear-jerker where he outlined how it had been a difficult year and the pressures of the Leaf’s GM job were weighing heavily on his family’s shoulders. That would turn out to be his first mistake, publicly sowing the seed of doubt as to his commitment to the job and organization. It certainly had Shanny raising a Spockian eyebrow from his perch in the President’s office.
Strike two came after two days of radio silence when Dubas’ agent delivered a new proposal that significantly altered the all-but-finalized deal Shanny and the Leaf brass believed was in place. More power, more money, or both – nothing has been fully confirmed but there is no doubt it was some combination of the two that clearly made the Monday press conference look like a powerplay where Dubas used his family as pawns in his high-stakes plan. Shanny and the MLSE board of directors would certainly have some decisions to make.
In the mids of that process, Dubas once again reached out to the Leafs, presumably realizing the gaff he and his agent had made and sent Shanahan an email saying he was ready to sign the original deal and get back to work as the Leafs GM. Later that morning Shanny drove out to Dubas’ office at the Leafs training center in Etobicoke and informed Dubas the MLSE had decided to move in a different direction.
And just like that the Dubas era was over in Toronto. Shanahan feeling as though the unknown guy from the Soo Greyhounds he took a flyer on nine years earlier had knifed him in the back. The fans who wanted blood were partially appeased after an embarrassing second-round exit from the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Still, the structural problem Dubas leaves behind because of the dollars being spent on the “Core 4” (Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander) will be an albatross for anyone new stepping into the position.
My week has been spent in training at work. It has left me sore and aching all over. This out-of-shape guy is getting too old for that kind of physical stuff. I did certify for another three years so that part is good. And I did get a couple of new posts up as well. Woohoo!
This week wasn’t a music week. I spent most of my listening credits catching up on my favourite podcasts including Ologies, Startalk, The Bob McCown Podcast, The Gibby Show and Hidden Brain. As for music, I heard Louis and Ella singing Dream A Little Dream at Starbucks the other day. What a dynamic duo they made.
The week in review…
A Mother’s Fortune
A touching story of the joy our children bring us by Susan at Sillyfrog’s Blog.
Simply
A poem of reflection written by ve poem written by Rebecca at Is It Real or Fantasy.
Took Us Long Enough
A continued exploration of love in Rockstar Girl’s Love Part 2 series posted at Where Stories Can Spark Their Magic.
He’s My Brother
The family you are stuck with as demonstrated by Fandango at This, That and the Other
Buzzkill
The silence of missing bees creates quite a buzz in Paula at Light Motifs II story.
Unveiling the Power of Simplicity
A reminder of how effective simplicity can be in our lives by Pankaj Kumar at The Inkwell.
Good News
Sadje at Keep It Alive captures the anxiety of an old techie looking for work in a young person’s game.
William the Ant
A bad day for William and his fellow colonists written by Echoes of the Soul at My Tales Within.
The Big Swim
Paula at Light Motifs reminds us of what it was like to swim across the pool on our own for the very first time.
They Ignored the Warnings
Fandango gives us a dose of reality if we don’t act to stop or even reverse the warming trend we’ve brought upon our world.
More highlights from Greg’s Blog…
Contextus Indignus | Written for Girlie On the Edge’s Six Sentence Stories and Fandango’s One Word Challenge.
Bowdlerizing-Is-Censorship | Written for Fandango’s Provocative Question.
Around the Blogosphere…
Ummm…
Next week…
Five Word Weekly, Four Line Fiction and T-Shirt Wisdom are on tap plus hopefully some new original content.
In other news, I am considering launching a new monthly challenge in June or July. Something to allow the writer freedom to explore and develop longer stories. Stay tuned.
Have a great week everyone,
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Bowdlerizing is Censorship
Bowdlerizing is Censorship
Every week Fandango over at This, That and the Other posts a provocative question. This week’s question is…
“Do you think that the metrics the Academy Awards will start applying in 2024 regarding the composition of at least 30% of the cast and crew by under-represented groups in order for a film to even qualify for the Best Picture Oscar nomination is appropriate? Or, do you share Richard Dreyfuss’ opinion that because filmmaking is an art form, imposing such criteria in order for a film to even be considered for an Oscar is inappropriate?“
It is as ridiculous as the publishing world rewriting books to conform to today’s politically correct woke-driven standards. It is a form of censorship that we cannot allow to happen. I believe the best people applying for the position should be employed. I’m not naive, I fully understand that there are bigoted factions in society and sometimes affirmative action initiatives are appropriate. There are other ways to ensure a representative workforce. Stifling art is not the place it should be applied.
Art must be judged on its merit, not on a headcount of arbitrarily delineated categories of people. Salman Rushdie said it best of the literary world at the 2023 British Book Awards when he was talking about publishers re-writing works by authors such as Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl. “Books have to come to us from their time and be of their time, and if that’s difficult to take, don’t read them. Read another book, but don’t try and remake yesterday’s work in the light of today’s attitudes.”
While Hollywood may not be re-editing or updating older works there is a push to rewrite the screenplays of the stories Rushdie talks about to conform to today’s rules. I point to the example of The Aeronauts, a fictional film based on the true history of scientists James Glaisher and Henry Tracy Coxwell. When the screenplay was being written and the cast chosen there was a conscious effort to replace Henry Tracy Coxwell with the fictional Amelia Wren (the name of the character, no doubt chosen to mimic that of female heroine Amelia Earheart, only serving to further muddle the true history) to make the film more inclusive. Essentially rewriting the past for public consumption and to an audience that will take it as a fact and never consider looking up the real history.
While I believe that all people who are qualified should be able to apply and work in the film industry (or any industry) I suspect the new rules the Academy will impose only encourage more bowdlerizing of art and history and that is a form of censorship that cannot be tolerated.
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Greg's Blog 