Quote by Rumple_deWriter
en re: Larry's CT scan report.

WAHOO!!! (please pardon those last to ungrammatical exclaimation points -- I just couldn't resit, honest.;)

Yesterday was the birthday of Carl/Fuzzy) while Larry/Survivor got that great CT report. To celebrate both events, here's a little sports news from their neck of the woods.

Sports tidbit: Two high school baseball players from the stomping grounds of Larry, and Carl, who had been signed by my LSU Tigers, were drafted by their hometown team, the Kansas City Royals in the early rounds of the MLB draft. And while it is true that the school's cheerleaders are perky and and the Golden Girl dancers are most alluring money is money, especially when there's a gob of it available for going pro. Here's hoping they both make it to the majors and have great careers.

I was gonna brag on the slugger from Verbal's beloved Mets winning his second straight home run derby yesterday, but I forgot his name. (the hitter, not Verbal)

Thanks for the coffee, Larry. and big hugs for Sarah on account of her cookies. Think I'll take some of both and slip over to the corner table. And since I remembered to bring my rain hat, I'll sit under the leaky window A/c and ponder the imponderable, or at least the implausable.

Later, Inspirators.

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal
So today I begin to write a horror fairytale, which I don't think is even a genre.

Some of Tanith Lee's stuff kind of went there. And Gaiman at times. Charles de Lint got pretty dark at times. And a few others. I'm not sure it has ever been named as a genre, but it certainly exists though a lot of it tends to get tagged as "urban fantasy" rather than "horror".

Quote by Ping
Well, got my wish. Awesome drama at Euro. Poor England. I thought they showed magnificent ball control (Verbie The Love Bug is tittering), but alas, they lost 3-2 in penalties. So much pressure. So much history. Love it.

Speaking of history, now there are three active tennis greats with 20 major championship victories. Unbelievable. US Open will possibly break the tie.

Next Up: The Open Championship. The pandemic cancelled last year’s event. This one will be emotional. Great tournament, as always. And then, I think I’m done with sports for a while. The Olympics, unless something absolutely astounding happens, will be a lessor event. The Olympics is about bringing people from around the world together to celebrate athletic achievements. It should have been postponed one more year. But that’s the old sports and recreation administrator in me talking. The other voices in my head have no opinion on the matter. One says get some limoncello. A couple say cold brew coffee. And yet another says get the chainsaw and hockey mask and scare the neighbours later this evening.

All three sound pretty good.

McLarry of the family Green, my daughter starts her acting/dancing/singing camp tomorrow. Ballet is done for the year. Decided none over the summer. So, her musical camp will be her sole focus. I know you appreciate those that participate in the performance arts. She’s also a little sketchy, and by sketchy, I mean artist.

Last night, the neighbours had a party and kept us up to around two. Long story. I’m still pissed. Even after I yelled at them at the top of my lungs to shut the f’n music off. They tried to apologize this morning. I said I can’t hear you.

Anyway, while being kept awake, my daughter drew this amazing scene with multiple winged demons descending upon their home. I wish I could post it to show you, but she reminded me that that would be a copyright infringement.

Sheesh. Who’s raising this kid? 🤣🤣🤣

Quote by Mendalla
Eleven, count'em, eleven days left to get your story in. Mine is just about there. Just trying to stick the landing. Who else is going to join our wonderful trio of Verity, Survivor, and AnnaMayZing?

Quote by elizabethblack

Quote by verbal
THE COOKIE BANDIT IS RIGHT HERE!!!

Finished writer's critique group today, and for once I did NOT feel like an imposter! So that's an excellent way to start the day.

20 days to get a comp entry in, right? Sigh. I promise to read all of them, but not before I get an idea - I almost slole Larry's by accident!

The rest of today: edit the geese story. Grill. Watch the Mets double header (playing the hapless Pirates). Roland, sorry about your Cubbies. They lost 11 in a row and look to be on the cusp of a fire sale. I'm guessing we'll end up with Bryant. And his contract.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Coffee please. And ALL THE COOKIES! HAHAHAHAHHA!!! (That was a maniacal laugh.)

I may be too late to help with the goose story, but found a couple:

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal
This one has robotic geese. Really.

How much worse than the real thing can they possibly be? (Unpatriotic Canadian aside: Canada Geese are the more horrible nuisance animals alive.)

Quote by Survivor



Good morning. The place is looking nice and clean. Fresh coffee is here for your pleasure, as is the teakettle.

Nice day outside. It is perfect weather. Not hot at all. I expect it will get much hotter later, however.

You folks all take care, ya hear?

Quote by Ping
Anyone use Audacity for adding audio to a story? I have. Used this stuff. Now look what it does. Bad company. Bad.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/audacity-is-being-called-spyware-after-privacy-policy-update

There is something called, Storiespace - note there is only one ‘s’ in the middle. It is adware.

***

Rump, hugs and understanding sent your way. Darkness is dancing demon of deception. Sometimes we need to ignore the sock hop rules and wear steel-toed boots.

***

First nipples, now four letter words with self-censoring asterick letter replacements. Oh that verbs. Shame. Shame. Shame.

I mention this, or rather quote that, because my son and I are rewatching GoT. Well, I’m rewatching it. We are nearing the end of season five where Cersei does her nudy walk of shame. Just a few days ago, we were watching The Family Guy and in that episode, Peter did his naked walk of shame. I knew we were close to that scene in GoT, so I didn’t mention the connection. I’m hoping for a lovely déjà vu reaction. He blushes when he sees boobies. I’m loving’ it! Funny thing, watching GoT with him has bridged so many topics of discussion. GoT has been an excellent vehicle to discuss what is appropriate, inappropriate, and absolutely wrong, in addition to all the complicated grey zones of life, relationships, and society. Who freakin’ knew?

Stick ‘em with the pointy end.

***

Cold caffeine brew for the road, please.

Quote by Rumple_deWriter
It's another Moanday mourning inside the hallowed walls of Inspirations. The coffee pot has been prepared in an approved manner as has the tea kettle. You'll have to trust me on all that and the source for the coffee and water.

What Ping posted yesterday about voting and commenting I agree with, approximately 100%. For me, the voting scale runs: Five: okay, Four, may need work. Beyond that, 3 through 1 just don't exist. If a story deserves a vote that low, odds are I've stopped reading it long before finishing the poor thing.

And in closing, please accept my apologies for not keeping up with recent SS stories. It's nothing personal, honest. Not sure why I'm now that way, probably depression, but there it is. Sorry.

With a filled coffee mug in one hand and a bunch of Sarah's cookies in the other, I'll slink over to the corner table to wonder if everyone had a good 4th of July weekend

Later, Inspirators. .

Quote by rolandlytle

Quote by verbal
Don't leave us hanging! What movie did you rate a 10?

The only movie I have ever rated a 10.0 is a movie most people have never heard of, 'The Man of Earth.' It is a small independent film written by Jerome Bixby, who died in 1998. His son, Emerson, brought together a group of well-known co-star type of actors to film it in 2007 on a $200,000 budget over six days. It won a Saturn award that year and several other awards at various film festivals. It had a very limited release and was then released on DVD in 2007.

Its ratings are high on most sites, but due to its static nature and religious connotations, it did receive some low votes. It was filmed in and around a single rural house. Much as '12 Angry Men' was filmed in two rooms during a jury's deliberation.

IMDb's summary is, 'An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.'

I highly recommend it as my all-time favorite movie. I believe it is currently on Hulu for free.

Quote by Rumple_deWriter
Happy TGIF wishes along with pre Fourth of Julys salutes to all, especially those who plan on celebrating both events.

ET, don't call home, much less 911. The bars liquor license has come under official scrutiny. Apparently there's some question of its validity since it was issued by the Toad Suck Arkansas village council. Stay tuned.

Coffee's on and the tea kettle is doing its thing. Don't worry about the sources of the coffee and water. With enough of Sarah's cookies within easy reach, both coffee and tea should prove most potable.

BTW, y'all be nice to old Jeff. His beloved Mets wasted a 14 strikeout night by their stud young pitcher to lose to Sarah's Atlanta Braves.

Later, Inspirators.

Quote by Mendalla
Working my way through Godzilla Singular Point on Netflix. It's an anime that seriously reimagines the whole Japanese monsterverse. Rodan, in particular, gets a major makeover, becoming a species of large pterosaur instead of single giant bird (no spoiler there, this comes out right in the first episode). Huge flocks of them attack major cities all over the planet. I am generally enjoying it, though there is an odd amount of expository material building up a weird science origin for the monsters. The art work is a big strange, with the humans being rather typical cartoonish anime figures while the monsters, especially the rodans, are more artistically drawn. And there's nice little Easter eggs here and there for anime and kaiju fans (e.g. the look of a Mcguffin in this series is modelled on the Oxygen Destroyer from the Godzilla movies).

Quote by rolandlytle
I just finished 'Sweet Tooth.' It was entertaining and emotional. A rating of 8 of 10 for me. I have only rated one movie a ten. I am a tough scorer.

Quote by elizabethblack


Sara, I have been trying (not too hard) to not eat so many of your cookies, but the cheery cherry's are here, I'm lost. Sorry no one else will probably get any.

Watched baseball again. At least we finally won after two loses to Miami.

Weather was just hot and humid but okay. Rain is probably on it's way soon.

Quote by Survivor


It is morning on the plains and we got up late this morning. It has been raining on and off, with some stormes yesterday, all night, and continuing today. As everyone knows, Victor dislikes the rain, but we were able to get our duty fulfilled this morning.

I have the coffee brewing at this moment. Water is hot in the teakettle. We will be all set up quite soon.

Only one contest entry. Come, Inspirators, let's get those stories done. Miss Verity could simply win by default.

Quote by elizabethblack
Oh, forgot - the Nationals are currently doing very well. Played 2 games against the Phillies and both were nail biters, but we won them both. Todays game was so close that one of our outfielders was hit in the mouth and bleeding and they had no one left but an alternate catcher to replace him. So they left him in bleeding. But he ended up catching the fly ball that ended the game and gave us the win. Wow.

Now off to the Marlins. AND then the makeup game against the dreaded Mets.