Cats are back. We are back. Everyone is fine.
Roland, how is Jefferson NOT on that list?
I know nothing of the Princess Di statue controversy, Pings, but I will say a) Di seemed like a sweet person, and b) that's a pretty terrible statue.
deGrom on the mound tonight. The Mets may be beginning their annual swoon to last place, but we still get to watch deGrom every five days.
I've abandoned my first idea for the comp. This is why I never enter them: I overthink the story when I do.
We have a liquor licence? I'd love a beer. The game's in an hour, let's get a tailgate party going!
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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).
How have I not seen this? I'm actually pretty ignorant of the anime flavors of Godzilla, other than Shin Godzilla. I'll jump into this.
Watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It's okay, but after the explosion of creativity with Loki and Wandavision and even Spiderman: Into the Multiverse, Winter Soldier seems a little lackluster.
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PUMMELLED! DESTROYED! DECIMATED! Sara's Braves put the Big Hurt on the Mets last night, 20-2. Yikes. At least since I watched it on delay I could skip through all the bloodbath. And the Nats are on a roll - only 2 games back, Elizabeth. Larry's Padre's are hanging tough in the West.
AND...it's Bobby Bonilla Day, the day the Mets pay Bobby a million dollars for his ridiculous mid-90s contract, every July 1st from 2011 until 2035. Sigh.
Taking the cats to the vet today, meaning the annual scramble of getting them all herded up and inside the cat carriers. And since they only let in one owner at a time, sit and read in the car (actually I'm looking forward to that part) until Talia and they return.
Another summer sun and thunderstorm day. I love this state.
Time to write. Coffee please, and a cookie!
AND...it's Bobby Bonilla Day, the day the Mets pay Bobby a million dollars for his ridiculous mid-90s contract, every July 1st from 2011 until 2035. Sigh.
Taking the cats to the vet today, meaning the annual scramble of getting them all herded up and inside the cat carriers. And since they only let in one owner at a time, sit and read in the car (actually I'm looking forward to that part) until Talia and they return.
Another summer sun and thunderstorm day. I love this state.
Time to write. Coffee please, and a cookie!
Kaiju-adjacent
Hey everyone!
Uh, oh. Where's Ping? We'd only had the One True Ping back for like two days! Dude, come back! Back away from the light!
Larry's Padres have won 9 out of 10. Tatis just might be MVP. Him or Schwarber or deGrom.
Roland, good to hear your wife is entering. I see Larry has an entry up. I'm gonna wait until mine is written to read any entries - I have a rough outline.
Man, nice sweets! And since I'm back to my fighting weight (I've lost weight since moving in with Talia), I'll take one of everything. Hey Sara, can I make another request? Space cookies! Planets and stars and comets!
Talia is at actual work today, so the cats and I are gonna get into some TROUBLE!
Coffee, a slice of pie, and one of every cookie!
Uh, oh. Where's Ping? We'd only had the One True Ping back for like two days! Dude, come back! Back away from the light!
Larry's Padres have won 9 out of 10. Tatis just might be MVP. Him or Schwarber or deGrom.
Roland, good to hear your wife is entering. I see Larry has an entry up. I'm gonna wait until mine is written to read any entries - I have a rough outline.
Man, nice sweets! And since I'm back to my fighting weight (I've lost weight since moving in with Talia), I'll take one of everything. Hey Sara, can I make another request? Space cookies! Planets and stars and comets!
Talia is at actual work today, so the cats and I are gonna get into some TROUBLE!
Coffee, a slice of pie, and one of every cookie!
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Mets got pummelled by the Nats last night. They might be getting pummelled now; it's a day game and I decided to skip the torture.
Schwarber is on fire! Congrats Elizabeth!
Not much else going on. Finished the weekly newsletter--https://jeffwood.substack.com/p/something-is-coming--and am about to start on the latest story. When that's done: the comp entry.
I hope everyone is well. A coffee and a cookie please.
Schwarber is on fire! Congrats Elizabeth!
Not much else going on. Finished the weekly newsletter--https://jeffwood.substack.com/p/something-is-coming--and am about to start on the latest story. When that's done: the comp entry.
I hope everyone is well. A coffee and a cookie please.
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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.
You've won 7 out of the last 10! We are playing each other in a one-game make-up today. I'll be listening during my walk this evening. The Mets finished their 3 double headers in a week, and are starting to get some injured guys back, so the schedule shouldn't be so daunting this week.
Good to see you hear again, Verity, and you're so prolific! I'll give yours a read soon - I gotta nail down what I'm gonna write for the comp first.
Sara - cookie requests!? How about pencils and pens and typewriters and letters?
Chill weekend. Repotted the tomato and the basil (his name is Basil), built the last bookcase, watched all of Loki so far (great show).
Off to drink coffee and write. Peace everyone.
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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.
I'll be in, but it'll be a later entry - I'm just a slow writer.
We are replanting our little tomato and peppers plants today. They've been in a temporary plastic pot, getting strong, but today is the day to make the big move. Even the plants seem excited.
Watched about a million hours of baseball yesterday. Talia was really tired, went to bed early, so I cued up the Mets double-header and didn't move for 5 hours. The result? One win, one loss.
Coffee and cookie please.
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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.
The Nats woke up last week! I think the NL East is gonna turn into a tight threeway (heh) race: Nats, Mets. Braves. I love this time of year, when the blush is off the season and it's the long 162 game slog that decides who wins.
No game tonight though. My evening: assembling the bookshelf. Luckily, I love that crap.
If I may be allowed to crow a tiny bit: I sold a story I REALLY like to Dark Moon Digest - it'll be out next month. AND a story I wrote a year ago is going to be reprinted in an anthology. I'd sold nothing all year long, and then BOOM! two in one week.
Talia says hi. She's wearing her lil Friends tee shirt now. She looks SO cute!
Coffee and three cookies please.
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Thanks for the set-up Larry.
Talia is physically at work again. Sigh. Just me and the cats.
I have an idea for the comp. Don't know if it's a good idea or not. I'll try to flesh it out during my walk today.
Not much going on. The Mets have so many injuries right now they are literally calling up new guys from AAA to pitch every day. Still in first place, but not, I fear, for long.
The Supreme Court just decided that teenagers can drop the f-bomb on Tik Tok. Works for me.
A coffee please, and ALL THE COOKIES! Okay, leave one for Sara and one for that cute lil monkey. NO COOKIES FOR PING!!!
Talia is physically at work again. Sigh. Just me and the cats.
I have an idea for the comp. Don't know if it's a good idea or not. I'll try to flesh it out during my walk today.
Not much going on. The Mets have so many injuries right now they are literally calling up new guys from AAA to pitch every day. Still in first place, but not, I fear, for long.
The Supreme Court just decided that teenagers can drop the f-bomb on Tik Tok. Works for me.
A coffee please, and ALL THE COOKIES! Okay, leave one for Sara and one for that cute lil monkey. NO COOKIES FOR PING!!!
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Hey everyone.
It's a gorgeous day here. I'm feeling lazy, but plan to caffeinate my way out of it. Gotta write, gotta run errands, gotta tske my walk, gotta keep Talia and the cats entertained and happy! It's so stressful!
We went on an assemble-it-yourself furniture spree on Amazon - I've assembled a dresser and a coat-rack in the last few days. I love following the little pictures, making sure you have the right pieces, in the right arrangement. AND A BOOKCASE JUST SHOWED UP!!!
Clearly, I have work to do. A coffee and a ...wait, WHO STOLE ALL THE COOKIES!?
It's a gorgeous day here. I'm feeling lazy, but plan to caffeinate my way out of it. Gotta write, gotta run errands, gotta tske my walk, gotta keep Talia and the cats entertained and happy! It's so stressful!
We went on an assemble-it-yourself furniture spree on Amazon - I've assembled a dresser and a coat-rack in the last few days. I love following the little pictures, making sure you have the right pieces, in the right arrangement. AND A BOOKCASE JUST SHOWED UP!!!
Clearly, I have work to do. A coffee and a ...wait, WHO STOLE ALL THE COOKIES!?
Kaiju-adjacent
Quote by DenimAngel
A beautiful but yucky hot day today
A large iced tea sounds good
Not a much going.
Went to the store for bananas and they were all out
Then went to the library and picked up a couple of TV shows and a movie collection
Not much going on today
Might get some writing tidied up and ready to submit.
*peeking in the cookie jars* we are in good shape..
. Where are the cookie bandits??
* Giving the adorable critters that hang out here fresh water and treats*
Hope everyone is having a great day!
The cookie bandit JUST STOLE ALL THE COOKIES!!!
Sorry the Mets beat the Braves in the first game today. I'm waiting to watch the second game tonight.
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Quote by elizabethblack
I am still stunned. Stunned, I say. The Nats beat the Mets 3 out of 4 games in the series. I must not scream and jump around, but this was a real baseball game today with so much excitement. It may even move us from the bottom of the standings (for a short while).
Your Nats REALLY pummelled my boys this weekend! And they have to play a double header today! Elizabeth, I think the Nats are finally beginning to wake up! Only 5 games out of first!
In other news, FINALLY sold a story this year! It's a satire of the Nextdoor app, and I'm really proud of it. It'll be in next month's Dark Moon Digest!
I hope everyone had a good Father's Day.
Good to see you back as Ping, Ping! Looking forward to reading your story.
Cold day here today. A hot coffee would be swell.
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The One True Ping!
"A friend of mine became a father last night / when he spoke, in his voice, I could hear the light / of the sky in the river, the timberwolf in the pine / and that great jukebox out on route 39" - Bruce Springsteen
Happy Father's Day Dad, amd to all the Dads out there.
"A friend of mine became a father last night / when he spoke, in his voice, I could hear the light / of the sky in the river, the timberwolf in the pine / and that great jukebox out on route 39" - Bruce Springsteen
Happy Father's Day Dad, amd to all the Dads out there.
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Not that I can write micros for sh1t, ut I'd agree with Verity that the last line is the place to start. Good micros seem to all be really tightly structured: plot, plot, plot. You gotta know what you're gonna do before you get in.
Flash--which I like to think I'm pretty good at--are a different beast. The key, for me, is finding a tiny plot point, a small change in a character's attitude or situation, and focus entirely on it. If the plot of a novel goes from A to Z, the plot of a flash is from A to B - just one small step.
Flash--which I like to think I'm pretty good at--are a different beast. The key, for me, is finding a tiny plot point, a small change in a character's attitude or situation, and focus entirely on it. If the plot of a novel goes from A to Z, the plot of a flash is from A to B - just one small step.
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Scott, good luck on the micro thing - I think writing micros would GIVE me writer's block, since I find them so frustrating. I did find writing a flash a week, writing the Shards--anyone remember the Shards anymore?--and it really got me into a good rhythm. But I couldn't do it with micros.
Finished a story for the Site That Must Not Be Named. A light edit over the weekend and send it off. They are clamoring for your presence over there, Ping: join us, join us....
Starting a new one today, about a bucolic children's park in the middle of a wholesome, suburban neighborhood. But wait - are those geese by the pond looking at us strangely?
Talia is at physical work today - so it's just me and the cats again. Let's get into some trouble!
Someone pour me a coffee and fling me a frisbee shaped cookie. Wait, they're all frisbee shaped!
Finished a story for the Site That Must Not Be Named. A light edit over the weekend and send it off. They are clamoring for your presence over there, Ping: join us, join us....
Starting a new one today, about a bucolic children's park in the middle of a wholesome, suburban neighborhood. But wait - are those geese by the pond looking at us strangely?
Talia is at physical work today - so it's just me and the cats again. Let's get into some trouble!
Someone pour me a coffee and fling me a frisbee shaped cookie. Wait, they're all frisbee shaped!
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Mets win again, but deGrom left the game after three innings. MUCH rather we'd lost and he was healthy.
Finished a story for another site. Quite a departure from earlier stuff. I may or may not post.
Scott, maybe figure out what makes that first bit so good, and center a smaller story around that. I've taken good bits from bad stories and turned them into flash before.
Tired. Coffee and a cookie would be excellent.
Finished a story for another site. Quite a departure from earlier stuff. I may or may not post.
Scott, maybe figure out what makes that first bit so good, and center a smaller story around that. I've taken good bits from bad stories and turned them into flash before.
Tired. Coffee and a cookie would be excellent.
Kaiju-adjacent
Quote by MendallaQuote by Dreamcatcher
The Natural
Major League
For the Love of the Game
Field of Dreams
Bull Durham
Trivia: Field of Dreams is based on Shoeless Joe by the late W. P. Kinsella, one of my country's literary greats.
He's a great writer. He wrote a book called The Great Iowa Baseball Confederacy that blew me away.
And the guy who wrote For the Love of the Game wrote a Civil War novel that's in my all-time top 10 faves of books: The Killer Angels. Astonishingly good. Haven't seen the Love of the Game movie though.
Kaiju-adjacent
Quote by gillianleeza
It is great news that the site can remain and all its features and data saved.
I usually try to be positive and rarely vent my anger, but I am making an exception, and I don't care if anyone thinks it doesn't belong in this thread.
I was appalled at the behavior and public airing of grievances and behind the scene communications. It was all ugly.
Think what you want about the site and the people who run it, but none of us deserve some of the things said and done.
I'm taking a break for a while. I have enough stress in my life that I don't need it here. This was the one place I could come to relax and feel welcome.
I wish everyone well and hope everyone can act like adults going forward.
I agree Gill, and I hope I didn't cause offense.
Can I buy you a coffee?
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Quote by MagnificentBastardQuote by verbal
Bull Durham is my fave ever, easily. Moneyball is good, a solid second. Field of Dreams a distant third - it's a little too touchy feely for me.
No, I wasn’t fortunate to be at the game. But at that time, I was a team manager for an athletics team. We traveled to TO and I arranged for the entire team to catch a game, beer, nuts, and all. It was magic.
Our top three are similar. Tougher question, what fills out your top five?
I’ll think on this but if Bad News Bears is on your list, you are dead to me. The Natural? So many others.
Funny isn’t it. For a guy who jokingly slams boreball, he sure does love baseball movies.
Just shook my jar of soaking coffee grounds. Twenty one hours to go.
If you can properly explain ‘scrapping pegs’ or some variation of that reference, I’ll give you the first taste of my Java elixir.
Shockingly, I've never seen Bad News Bears.
1) Eight Men Out
2) Bull Durham
3) The Natural
4) Moneyball
5) A League of Their Own
Glad the site is staying around. Perhaps we can get a liquor license now and celebrate in style!
I hope everyone is well.
The Big Man deGrom is on the mound tonight for the Mets.
I'd love a (spiked) coffee. And a frosted cookie!
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Quote by MendallaQuote by MagnificentBastard
Stop being so negative. Others offered to help. Like a dog with a rotting bone, you chose to go your own way. Don't take your frustration out on me or anyone else, ESPECIALLY in this thread.
If you really want to help, leave. Or at least start being constructive.
I think asking people to leave is over the top, and liable to jinx the project, or at least the good vibes and spirit of camaraderie associated with it.
Can we all chill out a little bit?
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Quote by MagnificentBastardQuote by verbalQuote by elizabethblack
Oh dear. No infighting here.
That's certainly fair. I'm just frustrated this cafe is going south just as it was getting fun. But Life is change, and perhaps the new cafe will be fun as well. My apologies.
3-0 Mets-Cubs in the 5th as I watch it on time delay. Roland, come talk baseball!
A decaf would hit the spot.
I’ll talk baseball. Joe Carter. Toronto Blue Jays. Back-to-back series champs. I saw them at the Skydome. It was awesome.
Moneyball is the BEST baseball movie ever. Bull Durham and Field of Dreams tie for second.
I watched EVERY PITCH of that 93 series! I loved that Phillies team--John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra. Mitch Williams gave up the losing run to Joe Carter AND HAD TO LEAVE TOWN! You were at the actual World Series games? Too cool.
Hot sunny day, and I'm on point to finish a new story, if I can get a little headwind behind me.
Mets are on a roll, baby.
Bull Durham is my fave ever, easily. Moneyball is good, a solid second. Field of Dreams a distant third - it's a little too touchy feely for me.
Coffee and cookies and lil monkey hugs please.
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Quote by elizabethblack
Oh dear. No infighting here.
That's certainly fair. I'm just frustrated this cafe is going south just as it was getting fun. But Life is change, and perhaps the new cafe will be fun as well. My apologies.
3-0 Mets-Cubs in the 5th as I watch it on time delay. Roland, come talk baseball!
A decaf would hit the spot.
Kaiju-adjacent
Quote by MendallaQuote by verbal
I see infighting is beginning to leak into the threads. I'd love to be able to find a lasting internet home again. A simple thead, people just talking about their day, and maybe talking about writing a little, without animosity or attention whoring.
Wouldn't that be this thread??
I was hoping so, yeah.
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The Padres really DID put a number on the Mets. Tatis and Pham are the real deal. On to the Cubbies.
I see infighting is beginning to leak into the threads. I'd love to be able to find a lasting internet home again. A simple thead, people just talking about their day, and maybe talking about writing a little, without animosity or attention whoring. It's exhausting.
Okay. On to the day. Editing the coyote story. I really like it, but it's kind of long and wooly right now. The ACTUAL coyotes I've not heard from in about a week. I think I scared them a few houses down, which is all I really wanted to do. Of course, now there is a family of raccoons in the back yard of the other house, where my daughter is currently living.
See ya tomorrow, everyone. A coffee and a cookie would be swell.
I see infighting is beginning to leak into the threads. I'd love to be able to find a lasting internet home again. A simple thead, people just talking about their day, and maybe talking about writing a little, without animosity or attention whoring. It's exhausting.
Okay. On to the day. Editing the coyote story. I really like it, but it's kind of long and wooly right now. The ACTUAL coyotes I've not heard from in about a week. I think I scared them a few houses down, which is all I really wanted to do. Of course, now there is a family of raccoons in the back yard of the other house, where my daughter is currently living.
See ya tomorrow, everyone. A coffee and a cookie would be swell.