Oncology - gymnastic

Got bored of current metal or something so kickin' it old school. Today's band du jour is British heavy metal stalwarts Iron Maiden. Founded in 1975 and still at it in 2023.

Ontarians right now (smoke from wildfires)

"Smoke gets in your eyes," goes the old song. Sadly, that's the weather forecast here in Ontario thanks to a spate of wildfires in Northeastern Ontario and Quebec. 🙁

But there's still coffee a brewin' and tea a steepin'. Got some nice Nicaraguan dark roast in the coffee pot. Irish Breakfast and Black Currant teas are also ready. Cold beverage pitchers are washed and refilled.

Later.

(Oh, I am completely at sea on my comp entries now and dealing with some home stuff so whatever I enter is going to be last minute, I think)

Ape is up early. Those cookies look mighty good. We need some rain here so I will eat a couple raindrops and see if that works some kind of magic.

Meanwhile, I have Jamaican Blue Mountain in the coffee pot. Teapots have Sunday Tea and English Breakfast. The pitchers of iced tea and lemonade are washed and refilled.

Have a nice one, folks! I have an out of town meeting today so won't check in again until later in the day.

It's Monday! Are you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for another thrilling week?!

Groans and sound of things being thrown

Maybe some coffee or tea will "perk" you up.😁

More groans and things being thrown

Coffee du jour is a dark roast from Brazil. Teas are Red Rose and Cream of Earl Grey. There's fresh batches of iced tea and lemonade in the fridge along with sodas.

Later, alligators!

Quote by JamesPBear

Well, so far I'm up to about 400 words – and with a strong suspicion that I'll finish closer to 1,000 words than 10,000!

Well, at least that will make it easier for the judges, right?

Yeah, but how many different stories do you have? Huh?

Okay, that's probably nothing to be proud of. I am just flailing from idea to idea and none of them are sticking. This should be my dream comp and instead I am struggling. Go figure.

Quiet in here. Everyone must be out enjoying the good weather. Well, assuming their weather is as good as mine. Sunny but a bit on the hot side. Got the lawn done this morning before things got too steamy.

Putting on a pot of Nicaraguan medium from Las Chicas for the coffee set. Teas are English Breakfast and Earl Grey. Iced tea and lemonade are mixed up in the fridge. Oh, and I've been busy in the kitchen.

Right now, my number two metal band after Nightwish is German power metal band Blind Guardian. They play fast and heavy with songs based heavily on literature (Tolkien is a favourite). And lead vocalist and lyricist Hansi Kursch packs a terrific metal voice. He's no Pavarotti but he's perfect for power metal, capable of good, lyrical clean vocals mixed with some terrific screams.

Performance is from 2016, but the song is the title cut from their 1995 album Imaginations From the Other Side.

Ape is makin' coffee. Hot weather here, but not too muggy at least. Still, we fired up the AC a couple days ago.

Coffee is a Costa Rican dark roast. Teas are Assam and English Breakfast. Pitchers of iced tea and lemonade are washed and refilled. Soda stock looks good.

Later.

Good evening. Okay, my three-day management course is over so I might get back on track with both the forum and with my comp entry. I've got weird monsters in Toronto Harbour (who are not members of the Ford family) and that's about as far as it's gone.

Kitty Zoomies and a sun cookie.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Remember Annette Olzon? Briefly with Nightwish, particularly for the album and movie, Imaginaerum.

Oh, do I ever. I've really been loving her recent work. Between The Dark Element, Allen/Olzon, her solo album, and various guest appearances like this one, Anette is really hitting on all cylinders right now. I am actually hoping she's going to shed the "ex-Nightwish" label at some point and just have them as a line on a very long resume. After all, she's now done as many albums with each of The Dark Element and Allen/Olzon as she did with Nightwish.

New Concrete Castles is pretty dark as their stuff goes. Audra as a killer with the guys as her cleanup crew. They do alt-rock and even border on metal at times so it's not totally surprising, but it is kind of new for them.

Slip - Slit

Hey there! It's Mooooooooooooooonday!!! No, I'm not really that perky, just hoping that sounding like it will eventually make me perkier. Bit tired and achy after spending yesterday in the sun assembling a new gas BBQ for the deck at home. I will be scarce the next few days due to a workshop for work so you might be stuck with verb's Costco coffee.

Coffee for today, though, is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Fresh and hot, in the pot. Teas are English Breakfast and Sunday Tea (black tea with Bourbon Vanilla). Iced tea and lemonade are mixed and in the fridge awaiting those who need a cold drink.

So, how's things, Inspirations? Have a good one!

Clop - Clip

Serendipity - Typographical

Terrance - Ezekiel

And a Sirenia original that came out with the album on Friday.

Trivia: Emmanuelle has been lead singer since 2016 but prior to that she sang as part of the band's chorus for over a decade.

Listening to the new album 1977 by Sirenia last night. The band is currently a duo (Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Morten Veland and French mezzo Emmanuelle Zoldan) with two other musicians who join them for live performances. This is a cover of a song that I quite liked back when it came out from Tanita Tikaram and it's a heck of a good cover, too. The shipboard footage is from the band's appearance on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise in January.

Coffee is on for those so inclined. It's a Brazilian dark roast. Teas are Assam and Lemon black teas. There's fresh pitchers of unsweet iced tea and lemonade in the fridge. Pop supply is checked and restocked, as are the various condiments and add-ons.

New weekend, new story. Yep, I am on to my fourth comp idea. This one seems like it might stick. Bit of kaiju, bit of horror, bit of dark fantasy, maybe even a pinch of Lovecraft. Yeah, might go serious weird. And I'm destroying Toronto which is always good for lulz, at least if you're not from Toronto (we Canadians tend to pick on our largest city for some reason).

Plop - Poop

Altogether - ergot (Hi, Elizabeth!)

Here comes coffee

Here comes tea

Lots of caffeine for you and me.

(No, that's the beginning of my entry for a future poetry comp. Well, unless the theme is making people's eyes open. 😀)

There's also the usual cold beverages but I haven't got a poem for them, yet. Stand by, though. (watches room clear out)

Quote by Molly

We have the latest version of the Cover Editor and we are asking a few of you to please try it out via this link and let us know how it works. Thanks to those of you that do.

https://www.storiesspace.com/cover-editor

First run, it looks pretty good. Finicky at times but I expect that of a web app unless I'm on an absolutely crystal clear connection. I'll play more tonight. Will save me some time spent in Paint 3D for sure. 😊

Quote by verbal
Mets lost again. Tonight we try to avoid being swept by the lowly Cubs.

😋

Quote by Molly

We have our first story:

Swindonbloke: https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/fantasy/wiglaf-the-greatest-hero-of-them-all-2

Ape scurries in and scrambles to put things on

Coffee pot is full of ... oh crap, grabbed verbal's Costco stuff. Oh well. He likes it, at least. Teas are Red Rose and Earl Grey. Iced tea and lemonade are chillin'.

Wrestling a bit with how my comp story should end but will probably just start writing and see where it wants to go. I have enough figured out to get started.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

The first solo single from Dianne van Giersbergen of Ex-Libris and previously Xandria.

After the Storm

And a damn fine one, too. Will be interesting to see where she goes with her solo album but this song is a good sign.

Not much to say about the late Tina Turner that hasn't already been said elsewhere by others. This song, recently covered by Ghost, was part of her eighties revival and also tied to her role as the antagonist in Beyond Thunderdome, the third Mad Max movie. RIP, Tina.

Hey, monsters don't need to be scary. They usually are, but they don't need to be. Think Shrek. Think Beauty & the Beast.

(says the guy who's targeting dark fantasy as the genre for his current idea)

Quote by verbal
Finished the tadpole story and I think I like it now. I also finished a story about a sinister form of Creeping Phlox. It's pretty weird.

Eager anticipating the third movie in the universe, Tadpole vs Phlox. Coming in 2024!