[Write the Story] A Creature Feature in Present Day
Prompt: A Creature Feature in Present Day
Words: werewolf, barge, caramel, housefly, awesome, simmer, analogy, gulf, femur, amber
Story
“Do we really have to…?
“Have candy with our popcorn? We absolutely are.†Mark handed the ticket taker the two tickets and ushered Cathy through the door. He took in a deep breath of the vintage theater. The smell of popcorn oil permeated through every molecule of the gilded wood interior. “So, butter or no butter?â€
“Caramel or nougat?†Cathy countered.
Mark let his joy simmer. He couldn’t believe the luck. They made their way into the single-screen theater and let the wide gulf of velvet seating spread out before them. They settled in with their amber yellow popcorn, drinks, and chocolate.
“So, tell me why this is so great,†Cathy said.
Mark leaned back and balanced the tub on his femur. “Come on! How can a movie about a werewolf versus a nuclear housefly not be awesome?â€
“There’s got to be more to it than that.â€
“It’s a puerile analogy of the simmering violence of our modern culture.
Mark blinked. It was his thought but not his voice. They both turned. A large, hairy man sat right behind them. “Sorry, didn’t mean to barge in on your conversation. I just really love this film.â€
“Why? Are you in it?â€
The man grinned in a, well, wolfish way. “It’s my story. And now it’s yours.â€
Word Count: 215
Written: 8/6/2020
Note: For Mark and Cathy
[Pen/Pencil Review] The Graphite Pencil + Paper Summer Subscription Box
This is the unboxing video (take 2 because I am NOT a videographer) of the Graphite Pencil + Paper Summer subscription box.
The Blackwing Volume 840 is for the 1902 surf icon Duke Kahanamoku.
[Write the Story] Last Call at a Bar in a Big City
Prompt: Last Call at a Bar in a Big City
Words: doppelganger, platypus, jazz, alienated, bikini, constitution, batter, temper, basin, rift
Story
Lois sat in the back corner table of the bar and watched the place empty out. She nursed her third drink as the jazz trio finished their set. There wasn’t much time. She pushed back form the table and headed to the ladies room and leaned against the basin, taking long, slow breaths. She just pushed back when the door flew open an a very drunk blonde stumbled in, giggling.
“Did you see the platypus in the bikini out there? Such a cute tail!â€
“Um, no…†Lois eased past the blonde. “but that sounds amazing. I’m going to go look.â€
Back in the bar, Lois heard the bell for last call. Any minutes now. A flash o flight behind the small stage. That would be the rift opening. She slipped closer. She could see her universe and her doppelganger on the other side. Was she covered in cake batter? Is it possible she alienated everyone in the day she was in Lois’s world?
“Come on. Let’s do this.†Lois held on to her temper. And with a nod to each other, they passed each other in the rift. Lois was home and it felt so good.
“Your mission? How’d it go?â€
Lois smiled as she pulled a tube out of her waistband. “The new Constitution. Right here, Clark. We can put everything right.â€
Word Count: 223
Written: 7/30/2020
[Pen/Pencil Review] A Lovely Trip to Graphite Pencil + Paper
Apologies for the late date – it’s been a weird week. This weekend we took a fully masked and socially distanced trip to McKinny to see our friends at Carpe Diem Comics and to make the trek over to Graphic Pencil + Paper. The Summer subscription box is in the mail – and apparently taking the slow route. So hopefully there will be an unboxing video next week.
I picked up two notebooks, two more of the highlighter pencils from Caran D’Ache in yellow and green plus one each in silver and gold from the metallics collection. There’s also a wooden pencil from the Musgrave Pencil Company in Tennessee. These run $1.50 – $3.00
The soft cover is a hand-bound book from Tim “the Captain” Black of Stardrake Books — a good friend and excellent artisan. This one can $10, but he has all ranges of prices and designs. I love his stuff.
The other journal is an old repurposed book. The cool thing about these, is the person who makes them (and I didn’t get his name) leaves part of the original book incorporated in the journal – and doesn’t just use the covers. There were several the that I wanted, but the “Storybook for Girls” jumped out at me. These are more expensive – $32 for this one. But so cool.
I’m not going to do the bronze pencils on this one – because it’s an overview of what’s been picked up. We’ll see how they get used and then maybe we’ll see. The books can only be bought in the store – I don’t see them on line. So if you’re in North Dallas and masked up, go see them!
[Write the Story] An EMT Jinxes Him/Herself by Hoping for a Quiet Shift
Prompt: An EMT Jinxes His/Herself by Hoping for a Quiet Shift
Words: ambulance, hamster, schooner, cane, whiz, outdoors, euphoria, cylindrical crisp, painting
Story
Lindy leaned back in her seat and propped her feet on the gurney while slowly nibbling her way through a Whiz Pop. She savored every bit of the cylindrical, cherry-flavored Popsicle.
“You know we’re still on duty, right?â€
“Oh, pooh, Zeke, we’re having the best day. Just like I hoped for before we came on shift.â€
“Oh, Lindy, you didn’t? You didn’t…â€
Lindy waved her Popsicle. “A quiet shift!â€
And with that, the radio blared, and they were off on a call, flashing lights and siren wailing.
First it was the hamster in an…unpleasant place. Then it was the naked guy at the festival outdoors with drug-induced euphoria. Those cases were followed by the teenager drowning in the schooner of beer, and the elderly guy who knocked himself out with a crisp salute with his cane.
“The next time you wish for a quiet shift, do it with another partner,†Zeke said as they disinfected the ambulance after the last kid ended up painting it with her stomach contents.
“You don’t really believe in all of this?â€
“That’ you’re a jinx? We’ve had the worst day ever because you wished for a quiet day. WHO DOES THAT?†Zeke shouted and waved the cleaning wipes. “Every rookie knows that!â€
“Well, excuse me for being optimistic.â€
“Wishing for a quiet night is not optimistic it’s suicidal. Thanks so much.â€
Word Count: 227
Written: 7/23/2020
[Pen/Pencil Review] iPenStore Subscription Box – July 2020
I am still working out YouTube closed captions. So forgive me if that’s broken. Working on it.
This is the summer Subscription Box from iPenStore.com
[Write The Story] An Amateur Film Competition
Prompt: An Amateur Film Competition
Words: asteroid, multitude, bobsled, rodent, boysenberry, gut, reel, showtime, busy, spider
Story
“If you drip boysenberry jelly on my laptop, I will kill you.â€
“I have never dripped, Spider. Relax. We’ll get it ready before the competition tomorrow.â€
Spider glared at me. “We need to get busy. We have 24 hours until showtime, and we have a multitude of competition. I really want to win this.â€
“With rodents on a bobsled? Really?†I asked.
“Don’t forget the asteroid.â€
“Of course, how could I forget that?â€
By two a.m., I was giddy with exhaustion and too much caffeine, but we were making progress on the reel.
We made to the deadline. The film was to the judges. It was only a matter of time before the screenings and the results. The anticipation was a buoy to my flagging energy.
“We’re going to win this.†Spider was wired. “I know it. I feel it in my gut.â€
“I hope you innards are right, Spider. I know some of the other teams. They’re good.â€
“We’re better. They’re going to go pedestrian or artsy. NO one else is going summer blockbuster. We’re going to kill.â€
“I hope you don’t meant that literally.†When Spider snorted, I wasn’t sure how to take it. He was a wizard with 3D effects, but wasn’t sure if he’d made the leap to reality yet. We had lasers in our film. What could go wrong?
Word Count: 224
Written: 7/16/2020
[Pen/Pencil Review] Rotring 600 Drafting Pencil 0.5mm
One of the things that I love about my marriage is that Jimmy lets me know about interesting pencils. This time it’s the new line of Rotring 600 drafting pencils. He was debating between the Madder Red and the Iron Blue – and showed me the dark Camouflage Green…and it had to be done.
Rotring is a German company that’s been making drafting pencils for decades. The 600s are full brass bodies with a hex body and a machined knurled grip. The pencil is just over 5.5†long. It has a 4 mm fixed sleeve for a tip. It has a top cap push lead advancer that also holds the white eraser.
This is the 0.5mm – our favorite. There’s lead indicator right under the lead advance cap. It’s also knurled and you can twist it around for whatever hardness of lead you’re using. It comes with a solid HB lead. The clip is solid metal and fits snugly.
It’s a heavy but well-balanced pencil. It feels comfortable in the hand and has smooth advancement action on the lead. It’s a traditional mechanical pencil. You have to manually advance the lead – it’s not a knock or a shaker. It’s a workhorse pencil that can go a distance. But Rotring is not cheap. These run in the $30 range.
We got these on JetPens.com.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent. Has a good length and solid mechanism with good lead
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – The knurled grip prevents edges from digging in and some semblance of ergonomics, but it’s still a metal pencil.
3. Material – 1 It’s solid. A well-made metal pencil.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s classic and pretty and functional.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not a cheap back to school pencil – this is a professional drafting pencil and brass. So it’s not cheap. It runs about $30 on JetPens. It’s probably that on other sites as well. This is an investment pencil.
4.0 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Personal] Story Time
TL:DR — There are not blogs this week. Next week is a bit iffy. I’m having a medical procedure scheduled on Tuesday, the 14th, if the COVID test comes back negative.
The Longer Version:
In the realm of TMI, I (like 50% of American Women) have benign uterine fibroid tumors. I have 2 that are stable – I call them Bert and Ernie. One is largish with a smaller one growing off it inside my uterus that has to come out. It’s not causing a great deal of pain, but it does have a random series of other symptoms that have freaked me out from time to time, but has also been the impetus for getting off my duff and being an adult and going to doctors again. I have a great doctor who’s been with me the whole time and has chosen the safest procedure for me (because I have a gene that makes me more susceptible to blood clots) that isn’t a hysterectomy. I am confirmed menopausal so that wouldn’t have been a huge loss, but still don’t want to lose something unnecessarily.
HOWEVER… I have never had a medical procedure before, so I’m kinda freaked out by the whole idea. The pre-op procedure comes with a COVID test which is a Dang Schroedinger’s Cat of diseases. Until the test comes back you either do or you don’t have it. And this has been a bad allergy season for me along with hot flashes – so I have been playing a daily game of Pollen or Plague for the past month.
I’ll find out either tomorrow or Monday if we’re still a go for oh-dark thirty on Tuesday. I am on medical leave from work until the 20th so I have time to heal up and de-stress from the day job. Just hoping the labs they took – which included a chest x-ray and an EKG doesn’t show anything other than pollen-related allergy congestion and we can do this thing as scheduled. My brain could handle the delay for all the logical reasons, but my emotions couldn’t take it.
I’m a definite worrier. Health issues are one of my anxiety triggers. I am a professional creative – I am a World Freakin’ Class “What If-er”. And NO ONE wins the What If Game. My Day Job had already turned me into a stress ball, and add this on top of it. There’s been freaking out to the point my therapist told me to call my PCP and get a prescription for a few Xanax or Buspar because I “have been wigging out over my procedure”. I did that. I haven’t taken any yet because I am still hesitant, but it’s nice to know it’s an option.
So, until at least Tuesday, Jimmy and I are hermits in at home. And I’m looking forward to my recovery time to also decompress from the job and procedure.
[Write the Story] A Comedy of Errors
Took some time off last weekend and totally forgot to do a story. So here we go…even on the holiday weekend.
Prompt: A Comedy of Errors
Words: undead, shrink, quarrelsome, harpy, rickshaw, limbo, dusk, cricket, sunshine, whoops
Story
“Whoops.â€
“That is not a word anyone wants to hear ever.†Angie rolled her eyes and settled back in the rickshaw.
“Come on, Sunshine, don’t be quarrelsome. We’re all just making a living here.†Murphy smirked. “And this was faster than walking.â€
“We could’ve taken a taxi cab instead of a pedicab.â€
“Did you see the harpy driving it? No thanks.â€
Angie shook her head. “I’m…I have nothing. We’re going to make it, right? It’s almost dusk.â€
As the words left her, one of the tires blew out , tumbling them out on the sidewalk. As they untangled themselves, Angie choked. “I think I swallowed a cricket.â€
“That’s good luck. And protein.â€
“Murphy! Stop. When are you going to learn?â€
“When are you going to learn who you’re talking to?†Murphy pulled her to her feet. “There. Come on. We can make it in time.â€
“You know I’m going to tell my shink about this.†Angie got two steps before her heel broke.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.â€
Angie ditched her shoes as they headed out on foot. “I really wanted to win the limbo contest this year. We’re not even going to make it.â€
“Oh, then I’m actually doing you a favor. An undead team entered. You didn’t have a prayer.â€
“Can we repeal your law there, Murphy?â€
“Where would the fun be in that?â€
Word Count: 228
Written: 6/25/2020s