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Where my head is at right now. Thanks, nephews!
Get it? You see…. Nah, just play the game or find someone who does. Pokémon Sword or Shield.
*The guy on the left is a decent depiction of a teenage me.
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So, I must be rather bored to be even looking at the streaming pile of crap news put on these home pages for search engines. And, I keep a wee eye out for news about my favorite blonde songstress, Tay Swift. So, I see a blip about her and Kim K. making a public statement about something Kanye West texted/said? And, I go hmm….
Annoyed by the pop-up bits…. No, I don’t want a cookie. Even if I use a mouse.
Kanye wrote WHAT about Tay in his latest flop? As if! The horror. And, sure Tay takes it in stride. Be the bigger woman about it. If that was me, I’d be a lil irked. Sure, it all boils down to context. But, seriously, Kanye? Not necessary. Wouldn’t I want to write something like that in a song I wrote? Well, sure, I’d be tempted. I mean…it’s Tay! I adore the gal. I would be lying if I didn’t have fantasy moments. I write my own Capital One commercials. 😛 But, in a song I am going to sell and sing at some event? NOT COOL! No way I could make that part of my routine unless she was, in fact, my lover.
SO, there; I said my piece. Two cents out.
22
Mar
20
Happy Birthday, Constance Wu!
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Normally, I’d take a recent pic/photo and whip up an e-card. But, not this year.
I do, however, have an ample supply of smiling balloons and chocolate cake (for everyone).
And, until some crazy rich director or co-star steals you away, you still WU me. 😀
[Send me an email!]
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Hey, China, you’re making it harder for me to love you.
When I think of all the beautiful things to come from China (and Japan and a number of other Far-Eastern nations), I crumble; I melt. I imagine going to China and exploding from the sight of too many beautiful women. The mere thought of that experience is like catnip to me; I want to curl up in a ball and roll around on a plush rug. I have been infatuated if not in love with the Far East since I was a teenager.
Then, not too long ago, Japan went and had a nuclear disaster which kinda spoiled my eagerness to travel there…just when I was considering making plans to take that big adventure. I have heard about SARS for some years and found that both discouraging and disappointing. And, how long ago was bird flu a thing? I met some reaaaaally paranoid people about that one, who had a shelter, supplies and high-tech breathing masks ready. Now….this…this new contagion that sounds like one dangerous alcoholic beverage, a cocktail of death. And, it came from you, China?
I just have to ask…
Who hurt you?
I mean, I know the USA hasn’t been kind. They’ve been demanding and making you do their homework for so long. But, there has to be more. Who else is to blame?
You’re hurt, and you’re taking the pain out on the rest of the world. But, you’re hurting your own people, too. You’re hurting the world. And, as I said, it’s making loving you more difficult.
Don’t ruin my love for you, your people, mythology, astrology, landscape and culture.
Take back your biological weapon and show mercy to your enemies. Work this out some other way. It’s not too late.
Or, are we all doomed to be wiped off the planet? Are you taking god-directed action to wipe out all mankind once and for all? Are you Death? Or, Fate?
Oh, China. You just seem like a wounded cat right now. And, it pains me to see you lash out this way. I will not live in fear of your biological weapons. But, if this continues, I will eventually have a broken heart that cannot be repaired. And, that is the worst of it. It would be the worst if I lost my love for you.
Sincerely,
Writingbolt
P.S. If you are NOT to blame for the crisis that is still unfolding, if someone dropped this bomb on your territory, just point me in the direction of the culprit; and I will unleash my fury upon them.
21
Feb
20
Happy Untied Day 2020
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What is Untied Day? [Click the link to visit my 2018 explanation and find more art featuring my custom logo.]
If you’re “single and looking,” put a loose scarf or tie around your neck and represent yourself. This is the day (I’ve stamped) for singles who don’t quite know how to feel about Valentine’s Day/Dragobete. You’re not “locked down.” And, maybe, it’s because you’re not the best at expressing your feelings. So, show your colors and save the words for the date.
18
Feb
20
Fear and Humor, My Neighbors
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Fear and Humor are neighbors of mine. I write stories about them. But, I never enjoy inviting them into my home. They just find ways of barging in and making themselves comfortable. Fear is like George Costanza. And, Humor is like Cosmo Kramer. I suppose that makes Lustful Notions Elaine Benes (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and Annoyance Newman.
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A wise man once said…
Fear is a reluctance to accept and learn from a possibility.
[This shall be a pooling place of thoughts and/or philosophy on the concept(s) of fear.]
Unlike denial, which is an absolute resistance to something being a possibility, fear acknowledges the possibility and responds with a frown of disapproval. If allowed to fester and grow, fear becomes a vile mold or weed that feeds off the energy that keeps its host active; it saps motivation and ambition. Some can dismiss nightmares in a short span of time; others remain troubled by them. And, still others may repeat the nightmare (in what is known as a “recurring nightmare”), similar to deja vu and a difficult reincarnation; some might say this is karma or learning a hard lesson while others would judge it as a reluctance to let go of a figment of the imagination. None of it is real…except to the one who experiences it and, perhaps, those who’ve already had the same or a similar experience.
In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker is told Darth Vader is his father, he scowls and squeals as he says this cannot be true. He is genuinely afraid of the possibility he does not want to accept. If Luke was purely brave, ignorant and/or unafraid, he would have kept a straight face and told Darth Vader to go stick his red lightsaber where the sun doesn’t shine. And, it wasn’t “the force” making Luke afraid, either, even if Darth Vader, with his oddly skull-like mask, can be a bit intimidating.
Some fears are common, easier to share and accept as real, fears of the dark, deadly creatures, clowns, heights, cramped spaces, etc. Others are more particular and personal, fears of threatening people we’ve met, fears of dogs after being attacked by one, fears of eating a certain food after someone tricked you with a tainted sample, fears of trusting certain merchants after being duped into buying something, fears of rape after being a victim.
In regards to the last example, a fear of rape may be common, experienced by many, but every individual experiences it a little differently based upon the type of person who assaulted them. Someone first raped by a family member will not be as wary of a stranger while the one raped on the street will not be as concerned about family assaulting them. Thus, one victim may not always be able to “relate” with another; there may be resistance to comforting each other from a shade of difference.
Some say fear is good; they claim you cannot know or feel courage without knowing fear. But, how courageous are they who are programmed to fear a “common enemy” and/or follow the orders of a commander without question? Are all soldiers brave? Are they not also afraid? Are some not more afraid than brave? Are the ones who are more brave than afraid also naive? How many truly know the enemy and the reasons to be afraid and/or brave? [Gee. That’s a lot of questions I just asked.]
Fear is often, not always, broken by experience. You’ll fear cutting yourself less once you’ve cut yourself enough times and learned how to tend the wounds…and you’ll eventually, hopefully, become wise enough to avoid repeating the mistakes.
[Let me just pause right there to mention……I am not talking about “cutter” cutting. I don’t mean people who cut themselves to bleed out the pain they think this act will relieve. That is a different psychological puzzle with traces of will in the mix. A person who cuts him or her self while tackling a task, cutting wood, working with metal, etc., may be cut and learn from the experience. An emotional and troubled “cutter” ignores the lesson in favor of a sensory experience, similar to how some people use sex for pleasure and forget the emotional relationship aspect which often translates into “making love.”]
Similarly, we become less afraid of monsters and “things that go bump in the night” when we walk enough dark corridors, get tired of mysterious sounds in the dark and watch enough scary movies to make us laugh at what some deem horror. There’s a word for that, a word some may have a tough time spelling. Fear loses its strength the more we become numb to it. And, once we are numb enough to the fear, we can and must then rise above it.
I keep thinking back to a TV movie I’ve watched a few times, Merlin. In that movie, the grand wizard-in-training dismisses his enemy by ignoring her, depriving her of the response and attention she demands. He says she will be forgotten when and if people turn away from her. How peaceful and poetic is that justice? He didn’t lay a hand on her. He didn’t fight her. He just walked away from the fight and let “the powers that be” sort everything out. Now, sure, if the gods were cruel, his enemy could have stabbed him in the back or moved the sorceress in front of him in a way that would make her a constant pest to his senses. But, that wasn’t how the story ended. In any case, Merlin’s example sheds light on how we must get past our fears…but only once we’ve conquered them. Without having a firm grip on ourselves and proving a fear no longer can hurt us, it remains with us like a difficult infection or disease.
From personal experience, I’ve been living with a number of fears. Some come with/from a lack of experience; I acknowledge that. Others come from experiences I refuse to repeat, even if a harsh higher power puts me right back in the pit with the troublemakers. Some would say I need to go to the sources of my fears, face them and get over the feelings. But, there are some “sources” facing would only agitate the feelings. And, yet, I am sure facing even those sources would have some positive effect, a thickening of the skin as all repeat experiences should have. [To each their own path to recovery.]
Just imagine having a fear for more than a decade…for more than a few decades…for as long as one has been a legal adult or even longer, in some cases.
As a kid, I had a fear of the dark. It wasn’t so tragic that I needed a light on at all times or a hand to guide me to the bathroom. But, it pecked at me for a while. Then, I stubbed my toes a few times and confronted shadows; I spent more and more time sitting in dark places when I didn’t want to face scary company my parents kept and when I didn’t want to put up with guests who smoked, drank and spoke aggressively. I grew a thick skin that still has a slight fear of what lurks in the dark; I still shudder, occasionally, when I let a possibility enter my mind.
The best remedy I can give for this sort of fear is to accept whatever comes; if you are meant to die from what troubles you in the dark, you will. And, you cannot avoid it. Luckily, I’d hope, anything lurking in the dark won’t have an effect on more important matters like personal long-term finances. So, you might get assaulted and robbed of SOME wealth; but you’ll live to bank another day.
I’ve also been a victim of bullies most of my life. Pick a decade, and I can describe a few pests who have jabbed me with needles of ridicule and intimidation. I can cover one hand with the number I’ve stared down and repelled by my own defiance. The other hand holds those who eluded my seemingly limited influence. I cannot deny the possibility another won’t appear. I must accept this and be prepared for it. I should not be or have to be troubled by the possibility, at my age. But, such is life, and, so far, life keeps throwing me rockheads. [Maybe that’s why I become so fascinated with Geodude in Pokemon games. It’s a sort of therapy for dealing with bullies.]
[This ties a bit into how I feel about “supporting the troops.” I hear countless pleas for donations and support for forces taking it upon themselves to root out “evil,” “enemies,” “disease” and “threats.” But, from my experiences with bullies–and my fair share of ailments–it’s hard for me to buy “bully insurance.” I recall some TV shows of my youth that offered such remedies; victims would be asked by brave bigger kids to pay for the services of a protector. But, what guarantee does this provide? The brave bigger kid is not always around when a bully decides to strike; he cannot be everywhere at once and has his own life to maintain. Just as soldiers have families and friends and duties placed upon them by their governments; they cannot spend all of their time and energy on confronting things that may go boom in the night.
A soldier, in my opinion, is called upon to deal with a warring threat. War calls, and the soldier answers. If there is no war–only a fear of war or violence–the soldier is facing a vague enemy and at risk of paranoia and its ugly cousins. A soldier riddled with fear and doubt is open to sneak attacks and confusion. A soldier with a set goal in mind and the preparation to deal with anything that crosses his/her path is more likely to succeed in his/her mission.
And, as a supporter of said soldier, if the objective of the soldier in need is not clear, donated resources are at risk of waste, just as some buy groceries to satisfy a possible need but then let the food rot as they become involved in other preoccupations.]
Now, I have spilled quite a load from my busy brain. I don’t know how to conclude. So, I will leave things as they lay and let readers do with my notions what they will. Discuss.
