Quote by Mendalla

In Canada that is. Was a bit of a long trip but saw some interesting stuff along the way. Favourite might be Gdansk, Poland, which kind of surprised me. We even visited the shipyard in Gdansk where Lech Walesa worked and Solidarity started. There's a big "European Solidarity Centre" there that traces the history and has some artifacts and recreations from the era. Gdansk also has a lovely medieval-Renaissance Old Town. And it is all in walking distance.

Talinn, Estonia and Lubeck, Germany (our shore trip when we docked in Kiel) are also nice, historic cities.

Anyhow, I am back. Putting on some Deathwish Dark Roast coffee. Teas are English Breakast and Twining Four Red Fruits (which I discovered at our hotel in Oslo after the cruise). Hot water is available for whatever other hot drinks you might wish. Washed the pitchers and made fresh iced tea and lemonade. Sodas are stocked up.

So how goes it?

Glad to have you back. That is quite a trip! I love Polish history.

Off to the brain scan today! To avoid vague-posting here, I am having some sort of weird progressive numbness, fro my feet all the way up to the top of my head. It’s not 100% numb, more like it’s been dialed back. It’s kind of disconcerting. Anyway, neuropathy is partly to blame, but that doesn’t explain everything. Thus, the brain scan.

Other than that things are peachy. Cool, overcast day out, which I quite like. I’m done with memoir for a bit, and sliding back into horror these days. Thus, the brain scan DEMON! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

I’d love some coffee!

Quote by DenimAngel

I get to see the Braves July 7th when they play the Dbacks and then again August 9th when they play the Rockies .

That rocks! I've seen SO MANY Mets/Braves games, I am actually writing about the 1999 playoffs, and the best baseball game I ever saw!

Back from acupuncture. Should be a chill day.

Hope everyone is well. I'd love a coffee!

These guys are paying 10 cents a word!

Ghoulish Tales
This magazine wants “short stories that fit our personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is “fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.” Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it’s not all we’re looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre. We want to have a perverted little smile across our face while reading. Make us slobber like idiots. Turn us into the Sickos.jpeg meme. We love body horror. We love weird shit. We love experimental, gutsy narratives. We love being ghoulish.” For the June open call, they are “only considering fiction and non-fiction from writers who have never been published before. We want to see work from new writers only. I suppose you could call this the New Ghouls issue.” They have detailed guidelines about eligibility for this issue, please read them carefully. Length guidelines are up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 2,000 words for nonfiction. Pay is $0.10/word. The deadline is 30 June 2024. Details here.

Hey there Ape, hey, Gill.

I hope the fathers and the single moms playing Dad and the cool uncles and anyone else celebrating enjoyed Fathers Day. I did. And the Mets won! Whe do you see the Braves, Sara?

Nothing big shaking today. I have a MRI on my brain this week. That should be fun. I am planning on writing a horror story about a demon in the MRI machine, so I will be sucking up the details.

Coffee and a cookie!

Hey everyone!

Coolish day today. Talia and I are meeting an old high school friend for dinner. Haven't seen him for decades! Should be fun. Also, I expect to be feted on Sunday.

Coffee and a cookie please!

crickets

Ditto from yesterday.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

It's a balmy 58 degrees F here on Mackinac Island. We've had a string of days where it barely reached 60, so I am hopeful the weather channel isn't lying about it hitting 69 this afternoon. We've been waiting for temps warm enough to enjoy a pool swim (heck, we've been waiting for weather warm enough to wear shorts and skip the sweatshirts).

I got up early to write, and the toddler was up and at 'em 5 minutes later. Fortunately, his dad woke up too and is taking him on a bike ride (thank goodness my son's foot has improved enough to ride his bike).

I've started a new story for this site, but I haven't had much time to write with the kids and grandkids being with us this week. That's okay. There will be time to write when the vacation is over.

Hope all y'all are doing well!

Sounds like great fun.

Not much going on over here. Coffee and the news and a blank page.

Hope everyone is well!

Quote by gillianleeza

I saw the trailers for Maxing and Beetlejuice; they both look good. I saw The Black Phone and thought Ethan Hawke was brilliantly creepy. I didn't know they were making a sequel. Bill Skarsgard seems like a great casting choice for Nosferatu.

Longlegs sounds like something I'd like.

A Quiet Place - Day One.

I saw Longlegs called the scariest movie of the decade. I wanna see all these movies. I’ve been staying away from the Maxxxine / Pearl / X franchise. Is it worth it?

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

I think I'm having a bit of an existential crisis, so to speak, over the Beatles cause I love Ringo 'n George...'n now John too.

...but one thing I will never, ever do is love Paul. Him's a bit too phony for my taste.

I’ve always been a John Lennon man. Go watch Get Back on Apple - hours and hours of documentary. It’s fascinating, though it is LOOOOONG.

Hot and sunny, thunderstorms in the afternoon - my kinda day. And the Mets are finally playing again, after all the traveling to London and back. So I can actually watch some (losing) baseball.

Coffee and teas are out, cookies are in a silver platter. Enjoy the day.

Quote by Cora

I hope the best for your vacation and your parent’s health, gillianleeza. I am happy you will be spending some time with your children. I firmly believe everything will be okay; that you will have a great time with your children and your parents will rest easy.

I live my life by a quote from St. Pio, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Never have those words failed me.

Rest easy, wonderful gillianleeza. I hope that your vacation with your children will be fun and relaxing. I hope your parents will not undergo any difficulties, rather rest easy.

Hope is beautiful. ❤️

Ah, hope. True words, Cora. Here’s a little Emily for a Monday morning.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all - - E Dickinson

Cool and rainy here, with is welcome after a hot sunny week. We are heading to summer feeling hopeful. The cats and Talia and I are all still lazing in bed, but I am about to jump up and go make more coffee. Finishing up my writing about New York this week (The Oort Cloud, on Substack, if anyone cares). Today’s installment is musing on the deaths of a couple good friends, and the monster of addiction.

So, hope is a welcome thing to talk about this morning. Thanks, Cora and Emily,

Coffee and tea and cookies are in the usual places.

How goes the Girl and Bear book James?

Off to the coffee pot!

Yum! A coffee and a rocket cookie please!

We are seeing a free, outdoor production called 2 Gents, which is a 70 minute version of Two Gentleman of Verona, with 6 actors doing all the parts. Sounds weird, huh? But the price is right!

Tomorrow the Mets play IN LONDON! Woo-hoo!

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Hoo boy, crickets the last 24 hours.

Nothing new here. Hot and sunny, and new words on the horizon.

Costco coffee and sniffs some kinda tea here. Hope it’s still fresh. The cookies are amazing though, even if the tea is iffy.

Seize the carp!

Good morning all.

Hottest day of the year so far today - we'll hit 90. Getting dry out there.

Same old thing here. Write, walk, baseball, repeat. Watching an excellent show with Talia - Evil. Sort of an X-Files but with exorcisms. Really good.

Costco Coffee and Zoomy Kitty teas and travel cookies are out.

Quote by DenimAngel
Cafe du Monde dark roast

Well that sounds like just the ticket.

Back from acupuncture. I swear it takes me an hour to fully wake up after it - I just slip into DEEP relaxation.

So, here's how baseball is working this year. About an hour into the game I'll ask Talia to look up the score. If they are winning, or tied, OR if they are down by only a run, she tells me to watch. Otherwise, I skip it. That way, I'll PROBABLY see a win, but preserve the possibility of a loss, for the sake of suspense.

Does that make any sense?

It matters not, for it makes sense to me.

A Cafe du Monde and a passport cookie! Can we have rockets and satellites and stuff next cookie time, Sara? Please?

Everyone is traveling! I will try to sling coffee in your absence Ape, but I only have the same old Kitty Zoomies to offer.

Brooks and Dunn was awesome - really blew the doors off the place, and they’re OLD. Like, in their 70s. The newbie pick of the night was Earnest - really good country songwriter. Wrote a bunch of tunes for Morgan Wallen (not the tune that caused all the controversy though).

Back to writing today. The Mets are breaking my heart. They lose at the last possible second, in the worst possible way.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Congrats to all the podium winners, and everyone who entered! It was a strong crop of stories. It sure is fun to see comps over here - it’s exciting!

We are off to Denver to see Brooks and Dunn in a few hours! Should be big fun. We are seeing Dierks Bentley in August - this is the Summer of Country Music!

Okay, way too many exclamation marks so far. Calm down Jeff. In other news, asking Talia to look at the Mets score before I watch is working. They actually won a a game!

Coffee please, and a cookie! Things to do!

Quote by JamesPBear

.

Why do the Mets always suck? For the same reason that the Jays suck – ownership. When a team that should win loses for a season or two, you can blame the manager. When they lose for 5-10 years, blame the GM and President. When they lose for longer than that, blame the owners.

Ever since Labatt's, the original owner of the Jays, was taken over by a foreign brewery that didn't care about baseball, the Jays have struggled to be relevant, save for one short period when they had Alex Anthropolous as the GM.

Alas, Edward Rogers fired him (effectively) in a year when Anthropolous won GM of the Year, so he went to the Braves – which is a big reason the Braves are as good as they are.

It takes persistence, patience, and brains to win consistently. Neither the Mets nor the Jays have that.

And Mendalla, I would strongly suggest that you pick your battles. If you're getting ragged, skip a city or two, stay on the ship and relax. Most of those "10 cities in 11 days" cruises don't show you all that much since you're in each city for such a short time.

I hear ya. It’s a “we have to win now!” mentality that has them buying overpriced veterans well past their prime. Always have the inferiority complex comparing themselves to the Yankees. I’m now having Talia look at the score and let me know if the game s too depressing to watch.

We keep talking about taking a cruise. Talia has been on several; me, not a one. I think days at a time on ship reading and wandering around and looking at the water and sky sounds awesome.

Off to acupuncture. Then, I am submitting a story to Electric Lit. They’re my new white whale.

Call me Ishmael. And I would love a coffee.

Quote by Mendalla
Worried about upcoming vacay. 10 cities in 11 days (cruise). Not sure if my body will be up for that pace but we shall see. I have a few more days off after we get home to recuperate anyhow.

That's a lot of cities! I don't know I could handle a schedule like that. Off to get a haircut, and run a few errands - we are off to a Brooks and Dunn concert in Denver this weekend.

I'm taking a few days off from watching the Mets. It's just too depressing. Why do they ALWAYS suck?

A coffee and a flag cookie please.

Good morning all. Yay for ten entries in the comp!

Sorry about the headache Ape. Tired today as well. I didn't sleep well. Not much going on today, thankfully. And it's nice out, which might call me outside for a walk.

Double header today, playing the mighty Dodgers. We'll be lucky to avoid being swept.

A flag cookie and a PC Gourmet coffee please.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

You're actually the second person to tell me that, but no, I haven't seen it yet.

My thing is - what if the submarine was driven and co-piloted by the octopus and the walrus? And what if it was a killer submarine?

Thought of you yesterday - you HAVE to Google footage of Drew Carey enthusiastically praising the Phish concert at the LV Sphere during the After Midnight show. I think he had fun 😊 It's very funny.

Taking a break from yardwork all day. We dig lawnwork for the most part - I got to use the chainsaw today! Any day with a chainsaw is a good day.

Yay for 10 entries!

A cold lemonade please.

So, our house isn't sliding down the slope of the hill, so that we will all die in some crazy mudslide in the middle of the night. We just had a guy come out and confirm there's been no more slippage (we had to add 5 anchor points to the foundation of the house a couple years back, at MUCHO cost). So, yay to that!

Physical therapy today. See if we can't loosen up a few of the nerves in my neck to see if that helps things.

And, I will write, I will walk, and I will watch baseball. I'm nothing if not a creature of habit.

Coffee please. AND A COOKIE!

Morning all!

Gorgeous day here today. And today I should be able to make time to write and walk. Yay!

It's therapy day. Other than that, it's a pretty boring day.

Coffee and a fox cookie please.

Hey, looks like we've got some comp entries to read!

Today? Acupuncture and going out to eat with my daughter tonight. In the meantime I'm trying to ret-con a story about mind-controlling plants into a story about mind-controlling fungi, for an anthology call.

Gorgeous day today, but I sadly will not have time to take a walk OR watch the hapless Mets play.

I'll have some of the that kick-y coffee. AND WHERE ARE THE COOKIES?!?!

Hey I'll have some of that Las Chicas!

My LORD but the Mets suck. There's talk they'll break up the team and look to next year.

Got some nice love from the Internet yesterday about a recent publication. It felt good, and I needed it. Today, back to the salt mines.

Nice day outside, with dramatic thunderstorms tumbling over the mountains.

Coffee!!!

Hey, my memoir just got a shout out from Memoirland in a Best of the Web roundup! I’m pretty excited. https://memoirland.substack.com/p/a-bakers-dozen-of-great-personal-0a4

Nice to see a new batch of stories! Looking forward to reading them.

And congrats on the Girl and Bear book, James. I enjoyed those stories.

Not much new here. Critique group tonight, which means I am reading and critique most of the day. It does get in the way of a productive day.

Time to make the donuts. I’d love a coffee.

Morning all.

Have an appointment today I got last second with a new neurologist. Let's hope this one has a little more intellectual curiosity about what might be happening to me. I'm a little nervous.

Sold another story! That Weird Western (yes, it's a genre) I wrote was accepted! So that's a nice way to start the day.

I hope everyone is well.

Coffee and a cookie please.

Quote by redwriter

Pleased to hear you've come through your health problem, Verbal, --at least one of them!

Talking of movies, if I'm not too late, "Where the crawdad sings," is one of the best films I've ever seen on Netflix

I'll look for it, Red.

I can't believe I couldn't figure out how to start a new thread. Brain fart.

I have a bit of memoir coming out today. I won't post a link, but if you look up Split Lip Magazine, it's there.

Other than that, woke up too early, and so am kind of irritable. Hopefully that burns off - it looks to be a nice day.

In case I haven't mentioned it yet this year, the Mets again suck. Sorry Red.

Coffee please.

Hey, didn't we use to have a "movies" thread? I can't find it and can't figure out how to create a new thread.

Anyway, the movie "The Idea of You" is really good. Anne Hathaway is really good (and really hot), and the script is solid - real adults having real conversations. It's a movie about grown-ups (even if the male lead's character is a boy band). BIG recommend from Talia and I. AND it has the song "Dance Hall Days" at a crucial moment, and I love that song.

Whoo boy, just slept abut 10 hours, and am officially done with all this colonoscopy stuff for...three years. They found two polyps I love that word) meaning I can't do the every-10-years things.

But I am well-rested and about to be well-fed, so no complaints. Back--finally--to the old template: write, walk, watch baseball. Life is good.

Talia sez hi.

I'd love a coffee.