Swing and a Miss

Well, the swinger’s party I was sure I was attending yesterday turned out to be nothing more than a birthday party. With kids! What happened to adults only on the invite? Regardless, I had another opportunity last night for some other adults only fun. I was headed to a concert last night as part of a reciprocal concert attendance agreement that a friend and I hammered out with the help of our attorneys and a board of arbiters.

The way it works is that my friend treats me to a concert that his wife does not want to attend, and then I will treat him to a concert that my wife will not attend. Both our wives are younger than us, so their musical tastes skew more recent.

That may just sound like going to a concert with a friend, but there is a subtle and important difference. The concert chooser pays for both tickets. That way, the concert guest can’t bitch about the price of the ticket to a concert that may not have been their first choice. It’s a good system.

Anyway, this concert promised an adults only time.

That’s right, Don McLean, the American Pie guy, was scheduled to give an adults only show. What did that mean? Lots of profanity? Gratuitous nudity? I saw an elderly Fee Waybill of The Tubes with his shirt off and pants down when they came to town at the end of 2023, and I didn’t want to see a similar show. Instead, we got Don McLean looking like the ghost of Roy Orbison who had eaten a few too many American pies.

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To Swing or Not to Swing

My wife and I are headed to a party Saturday night.

A playing card invitation? The ace of hearts? You know what that kind of an invitation means, don’t you?

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Spring Break in … St. Louis?

If you want, I don’t mind you nominating me for FOTY for taking my 15-year-old daughter to St. Louis for a working Spring Break last week. Maybe if I got her a t-shirt like this.

Although I probably want to continue to use that guy’s pic and not mine.

Anyway, I know you’re thinking, “Why didn’t I ever think of taking my family to the murder capital of the USA for some recreation AND forced work over Spring Break?” I can assure you that my daughter did get paid for her time, got to choose the restaurants we ate at, and got a company shirt out of the deal. (And we always felt safe.) She was happy, and that was before we even got to the attractions. First stop? The giant Union Station koi pond! Uh-oh.

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Mite Be Funny #312 – Happy Easter!

Just Another Saturday

Yesterday started as a Saturday like any other Saturday … until I woke up. My wife had been replaced by our 50 lb. poodle who was hogging most of the bed. The reason?

Yes, Kevin, a sub-10 lb. Shih-Tzu arrived on Friday and terrorized my wife and youngest daughter all night while I snoozed blissfully unaware. Here’s Kevin in action during the day.

That went on much of Friday and apparently into the night. I can’t confirm the latter. Zzzz.

That chaos continued on Saturday. Somehow, I snuck off on the pretense of biking to the bank and came home with this surprise. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart.

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I Made a New Friend … Literally

Working from home by myself has its advantages. There are the frequent naps, unlimited opportunities to beat my personal butter-eating record, and plenty of time to practice good personal hygiene, which I really don’t avail myself of enough. But it does get lonely. Sure, we have 2 dogs, but they tend to either be sleeping or barking their fool heads off at a squirrel out the window and waking me from my third nap of the day. So, I took matters into my own hands and made a new friend, with made as in constructed. Now, every time I use the bathroom, I get to interract with my new friend. I call him Scott.

Isn’t he Charmin’? I’m flushed with success at making a new friend. Scott’s not much on talking, but he’s a great listener. While I’m taking a tinkle, Scott and I catch up on how our days are going. I roll on and on in a steady stream of conversation, and he listens to the very last drop of my news. Scott doesn’t need to say a word about his day. I know he’s spent his day over the toilet staring out the window.

Sometimes I feel bad when I dump all over Scott. I worry he may be too soft for some of the crap I lay on him. But I’m not shitting you when I say that he doesn’t seem to mind. I know that with Scott’s help, I can clean up any mess I may have made that day. That is, unless he gets into the rubbing alcohol under the bathroom sink and winds up three sheets to the wind.

Okay, gotta go. I need to have a talk with Scott about an argument we had. I want to apologize and wipe the slate clean. I need to tell him, “I’m glad urine my life.”

The Science of Writing

I’ve been recently using writing contests to finish short stories. I’ve always got a dozen or so half-finished stories rattling around in my laptop. And yes, that is my hard drive, and I am happy to be writing.

Choosing a half-written story to enter into a contest is a great way to get some closure. I finished two short stories recently to enter into this contest I told you about. They were micro-fiction stories I wrote for an event at a local Chicagland public library. I was invited to write to some paintings as artistic prompts for the event. I wrote two micro-fiction stories and one poem. I liked the two mini-stories enough that I expanded them from micro-fiction to fuller stories, but I left both under 1000 words to fit the contest rules. And really, how much more can I write about talking peaches in one of the stories? I could only enter once, so I chose the talking peach story to enter. Duh! There’s still time for you to submit a story. Under 1000 words. Just sayin’.

Anyway, both stories are now in good shape to include in my next collection of short stories. But my first self-published collection of short stories remains unfinished in my mind. It has been only available in digital form and has never been printed. Well, I am determined that the second edition will be available in print. A writing acquaintance advised me that a print version is vital to the success of a book. So, I am re-editing all 16 stories prior to formatting for a printed second edition, including a fantasy story set in a dystopian future.

In parallel, I stumbled across this contest.

Yes, it is that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. Do I still want my fantasy story included in that collection? Yes, please. Take a look at over 2000 reasons.

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Musical Asian Dogs

About this time of the year, I’m getting emails about all sorts of summer concert announcements. This one caught my eye.

Not so much for Three Dog Night, but the supergroup Asia sounds interesting. But who is this John Payne? He wasn’t in Asia, was he? And with that question, I found myself down a rabbit hole chasing musical dogs in Asia (featuring John Payne). Come join me.

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I Need to Nose More About This

I must know, is this normal?

Asking for a friend.

The Right Price to Write, Right?

Zero dollars is a good price to pay to enter a writing contest with actual cash prizes.

Here’s the link to that page. Make sure to read the Submission Guidelines. There is a 1000 word maximum for the flash fiction contest. And you must be at least a free subscriber. One story per submitter per contest. I have two done. Decisions, decisions. Which to submit?

How many do you have written? None? Well, get writing. 1000 words is a piece of cake. In fact, I can write 1000 words about my last piece of cake. You have almost 3 weeks. I will offer free editing, time permitting. Just contact me.

Flies On Washington Walls #205 – Sad SOTU News

Writing Anxiety

I previously blogged about how anxious I get before submitting any of my written creations to anyone anywhere for any reason. Once I submit, I’m fine. In one recent instance, I became very anxious and agitated after I submitted to the January Storytwigs micro-fiction contest that I blogged about so you could enter. I supplied you a blogplanation of my writing faux pas as the source of my post-submission anxiety and a reason to have a good editor. Well, a reader alerted me that Storytwigs appears to be in a coma on life support. After resurrecting itself for a January contest, the Storytwigs needle appears to be stuck in the January groove. The relaunch may have failed. RIP Storytwigs … again. My apologies to anyone who took the time to write and submit, but it was only 100 words. Most of my grocery lists are longer.

Anyway, it was anxiety time for me again as I spotted this inexpensive contest.

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Flies On Washington Walls #204 – American Crime

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New Music for Old Rockers – Climate Change Edition

Today is a perfect day to roll out this new song by The Decemberists. It won’t be good for long as temperatures will plunge tonight by 50 degrees F from a high today of 72F/22C to 22F/-5.5C by tomorrow morning. But for the moment, as I type, my windows are open, and I just listened to this song that makes me recall the Beach Boys on a summer day.

What a pleasant new song release in February by The Decemberists that makes me think of June, while it feels like summer on this winter day. Ugh, I’m climately confused. Anyway, I especially like the addition of the jazzy trumpet coming in at the 2:40 mark.

In addition, this song has some importance to me politically and personally. No, I don’t wish Trump would find his way down into some burial ground, and yes, I lie sometimes. No, I am not thinking of my own death more often these days, and yes again, I lie sometimes. Read on because I’m dying to tell you more.

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Mall Recall

Yesterday I stepped back in time to the 80s and 90s, when giant indoor shopping malls were destinations that were for more than just shopping. We went there to meet friends, eat at the food court, see movies, entertain ourselves and our kids. Our local indoor mall closed over 6 years ago, so I took my 15-year-old daughter and her friend to the Yorktown Mall about 40 minutes from our house. Sure, some consider me a hero for doing that, like my wife who texted me this …

Well, I can’t argue with the first part of the text. As for the second part, I do need soap. I found these interesting scents in a mall store …

I don’t remember mall soap like that in the 80s and 90s. I was trying to decide which soap fit me best when my eyes wandered over to an old concert poster reproduction which stopped me in my tracks. I had to find a store manager to discuss this atrocity …

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Get Write To It!

Last year, I somehow took second place in a short story contest. The featured image on this post shows me hard at work on my winning story.

If you want to read my winning story, here’s a link to a previous post so you can read it.

Well, now it’s your turn. It’s short story contest time again. It only costs 5 bucks per story submitted, but this time the story has to be about this picture …

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I’m Shocked by Texas

I’m not surprised by many of the weird things that go on in Texas these days. However, I was totally shocked by this one.

I must clarify. I’m not surprised that a Texan is taking items that are for sale in a store and sticking them up his privates in public. I mean, it’s Texas, also known as Florida West. And who among us wouldn’t prefer trying something before buying? What shocks me is that Texas doesn’t have a law on the books prohibiting men from wearing kilts in public. Where are the pockets to carry his weapons? Oh, wait, maybe he carries the weapons another way.

Forgotten One-Hit Wonders – Praying for Prey

Last weekend, I was reminded of a forgotten pop gem from the mid-80s by an artist critical to the music scene in that decade. This song by Don Dixon may not be remembered by most, but his contributions as co-producer of REM’s first 2 albums can’t be forgotten. Those initial REM albums greatly influenced 80’s music.

This song by Dixon released as part of an album full of demos didn’t shape anything, but it sure is a fun tune.

My favorite lyrics from the song:

“She bit off his head so he would not feel the pain
She wanted his body so much she ate his brain”

Oh, to be desired that much. Despite my brain being pretty much gone at this point in my life, it was not because of anyone ever wanting my body.

Thanks to 93.1 WXRT for reminding me of this fun, clever song.

Cookie Redemption

Let’s face it. My recent attempt at cookies was a disaster and just a bit embarrassing. I found my opportunity for cookie redemption in the garbage, where I sometimes find a snack. My youngest daughter was supposed to build this house for Christmas.

It never got made, and my wife checked the expiration date …

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Cancer is Killing Me

Financially, not literally. Sorry about the clickbait headline, but it’s for a good cause to get your attention to talk about cancer. We just had World Cancer Awareness Day on the 4th of February. I was certainly aware of my cancer when my dermatologist cut out a big chunk of my back fat to keep a melanoma from spreading where it shouldn’t spread. Get checked regularly for cancer.

That’s one reason I reluctantly agreed to finally get a colonoscopy recently. The other reason is that I could make some money in the process. I was accepted into a clinical trial for a blood sample test to replace colonoscopies. My colonoscopy would be free thanks to good insurance, while the clinical trial would line my pockets with a couple hundred bucks. And then I got the bill …

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