April showers, bring May flowers... is sometimes more an expression of hope than fact but whatever. It's April and I am getting showers.

Good morning! There a pot of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee ready if that's your thing. Teas are Russian Caravan and Irish Breakfast with an urn of hot water out for making other teas from our collection as well as hot chocolate. Washed and refilled the cold drink pitchers so there's fresh lemonade and iced tea. Sugar, cream, non-dairy creamer and whatever else is available.

Here's one for you writer-ly types:

So I'm writing a story about a young woman experiencing a dramatic change in her life circumstances. She was abandoned as a baby, raised in foster care, now living hand-to-mouth on part-time work while trying to do a degree. Then she inherits a big house and a chunk of money from the mother who originally abandoned her and then later married a wealthy local businessman.

Do I start with her living in her new house and trying to sort out this new life, and then tell the story of how she got there in flashback? Or do I tell the whole story from the start with her as an impoverished student and then dealing with the revelation that she's inheriting this wealth? Current draft does the latter.

Also not sure where this ends up. I've thought of everything from a romance/rivalry with another possible heir to a ghost story about the deceased family returning to haunt the house.

Did you know film director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code, World of Warcraft) is Bowie's son, once known as Zowie Bowie (it's actually his second given name)?

Yep, it's a new month so there's a new list of themed calls. And, as usual, it's a mixed bag. Anthologies about the Sun and Moon from Flame Tree (a spec fic publisher), weird horror, war and geopolitical violence (this one takes non-fic too), s-f humour, climate, and more. There's themed comps at the end, too.

» 38 Themed Submission Calls and Contests for April 2024 (authorspublish.com)

Seems strange to think that a year ago I had somehow never heard of Laufey (pronounced Lay-vey). It was my trip to her homeland of Iceland last summer that introduced me to the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (cello, guitar, piano). Since then, she's put out her second studio album, Bewitched, and well, it bewitched me. Now she's got an expanded "Goddess Edition" of that album coming in three weeks. This song is the "Goddess" part of that, a powerful heartrending ballad that is one of her best, IMHO. It is one of the four new songs added for this release.

Quote by verbal
there are some counties in Texas declaring themselves disaster areas because they are expecting so many people.

Niagara Region here in Ontario did that. They are a huge tourist area already (Niagara Falls, the Niagara wine belt) so you'd think they'd be more up for it than some places. A bit of Eastern Ontario is near the path of totality, too (actually, including where you crossed the border in Continental Drift I think), but I have not heard anything from out there yet.

Mint - Mist

Cop. Though oddly, thief was a favourite class in D&D.

Lions or Tigers? (Your call on whether this is animals or sports)

Grow and flourish we must!

Oh, maybe. I'd probably still be recognized by anyone who was still awake after the first few chapters (my life isn't exactly scintillating).

WYE buy or lease a new car just to have a new one even though your old one was perfectly serviceable?

Quote by verbal

Anyone alive who doesn’t host at least a tiny crush on David Bowie has a heart of stone.

I admire him as a songwriter and performer and have for a very long time but not sure I'd say I ever crushed on him, even being somewhat bi.

Good morning! Lovely day here with a week to go until a dragon eats the sun. We only get a partial where I am and I haven't seen a forecast that far out yet. This being Spring in Ontario, it's probably 50-50 at best as to whether we'll see anything.

Coffee is Deathwish Dark. Teas are English Breakfast and Duke of Earl (Vanilla Earl Grey). Kettle is boiled for other teas and hot chocolate.

Later, alligators.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic
I think I fell for David Bowie without really realizing it.

At least you have good taste in rock stars. 😋

A good cover should both capture the essence of the original and also bring something of the cover artist to it. I think this acoustic cover of "Noise" by Nightwish nails it. While singer Melanie Mau is not up to Floor Jansen's powerhouse belts and operatic singing from the original, the band knows that and instead takes the song in a direction suited to her own quite excellent voice.

Era can be many years.

Sane - Sine

Oh boy, watch out rock stars. 😉

Good morning! Kind of mixed day here. Cloudy but it's light cloud and supposed to be a mix of sun and cloud. A bit warmer, too.

Coffee pot is filled up with some Nicaraguan dark roast. Teas are Black Currant and Assam, with others available. Hot water is ready for those other teas and hot chocolate.

And Happy Easter!!!

Quote by gillianleeza
T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher is a fairly big name in horror and fantasy nowadays. She's actually a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon, who has had a raft of awards and nominations under both names.

Been reading Verbal's series about hitchhiking through Ontario in the early 80s. Nice memoir.

Android. Not fond of Apple for a number of reasons.

E-reader or tablet for reading?

No. I don't even like having medically necessary surgery, let alone doing it for purely aesthetic reasons. Maybe to cover a horrible burn scar or something, though.

WYE skip out on a tour group to do your own thing?

Quote by gillianleeza
pistachio butter

Hmm. I like pistachios (got a bag in the cupboard for snacking) but never come across pistachio butter before. Interesting. I actually use peanut butter as dip since I have cereal for breakfast most days.

Wintersun has kind of become the farm team for Nightwish, with drummer Kai Hahto and bassist Jukka Koskinen both moving from Wintersun to Nightwish in the past decade. Another member is now in American thrash band Megadeth.

But the band, led by vocalist Jari Maenpaa, has done some interesting work over the years, even if their output has been sporadic. In 2012 they put out Time I, originally the first part of an album to be called Time. 12 years later, they are finally releasing Time II. They actually put out another whole album in between. To be fair, Time I itself took six years (2006-2012) to get out.

From 2018 in Toronto, the title track of Time I.

The bearded giant on our left for the first half is Jukka. By 2018 Kai was in Nightwish so I'm not sure who is on drums.

Riders in the Storm - The Doors

VHS was usually cheaper and easier to get in the day, though I know Beta was better quality overall. Hm. Beta, I think, though I always had VHS.

Plug-in hybrid or full-on EV?

Them is a great band. (pardon the hillybilly grammar)

Vase - Vane

Hey, it's Sara! How's things? Any progress on the new Scamp stories?

Good afternoon. A bit grey here but we didn't get the showers the forecast was threatening (yet, anyhow).

Ever had part of a story all worked out in your head including where it might take the story as whole, then written something quite different when you actually sat down to write? I mean, seriously, it's like my fingers and my brain are fighting over where to go with it. Will maybe say more in a thread in Tips, Trouble, and Technique.

I would hope so but I am not the bravest of people and have never really been tested

WYE cook a meal for people you didn't know well?

Heaven Can Wait

Ape cheers!

Pangolin

Gooooood morning on Good Friday!

Sunny here but cool (8C high) so early Spring weather as it should be. I hear Alberta is getting kicked hard by some lingering gasps of Winter, though.

It's a long weekend so I'll fire things up and see if anyone is around.

Coffee is Tobermory Flowerpot Island. Teas are Original Earl Grey and English Breakfast. Fresh pitchers of lemonade and iced tea are in the fridge and the hot chocolate and marshmallows are stocked up.

See ya' round.

Quote by verbal

My Back Pages. Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton & George Harrison. I was there!

I was so much older then, I'm younger then than now.

I have seen that performance before. Amazing. I love the song and the performance is just perfect.