Blogophilia 34.16: WRITER’S CHOICE!!! Peace Baby!

Marvin Martian‘s message: Hello dear Blogophilians!! It is WRITER’S CHOICE WEEK – YOU pick the topics, YOU pick the bonus prompts, and you have the freedom to use the picture provided, or choose your own! Happy Writing!

Blogophilia group on Facebook and blog topic parameters here on WordPress

Hard Bonus: WRITER’S CHOICE Incorporate a line from the movie Purgatory

Easy Bonus: WRITER’S CHOICE Use a line from U2’s song Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Peaces of Chalk

Remember when kids used to use chalk on the sidewalks to either do hopscotch or pictures? I wasn’t allowed, but had fun at those who did. It’s too bad the short chalk pieces didn’t get used to make a peace sign… back when we were relatively worry free. It was easy to tell people Peace, Baby!

As an adult, I feel like often peace obligates protest. And it’s not just for the young people who are college aged. While teenage angst is what movies depict most, I think there’s a lot more going on when we grow up, especially if we struggle to make ends meet, and it’s greater when we have children. Even when we go ask for help, we don’t necessarily get it, because there are limited resources with growing population who need the help… So, sometimes, when we are told to go here or there & we’ve already been, I want to say, “I don’t want his help! He didn’t help Melanie and he didn’t help me. Look at me! I wanted to be a lawyer, because I believed in justice. Ha! That’s a laugh. Does this look like justice to you? Oh!” – Purgatory 1988 film

I get it that we will never agree fully with political stances… there are a wide range of beliefs. yet I feel like the right keeps moving to insane measures, and the left has been also… There seems to me no middle ground anymore where the opposite sides can agree, even if it’s limited… Though seriously, I don’t get it as to why free (healthy) lunches for students, Medicare for all, and affordable higher education are so whacky to some people… Which is why it baffles me that conservatives, who always want to be “fiscally responsible” voted for a clown… I’d like to quote U2’s Sunday, Bloody Sunday

I can’t believe the news today
Oh, I can’t close my eyes and make it go away

And the battle’s just begun
There’s many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

No, I will not compromise equity for people of color, LGBT, women, disabled, etc. just for saving pennies in the store and gas pumps, except that look, the grocery prices have gone up more than gas prices have come down. The clown was voted in to discriminate without helping the economy…

Blogophilia Week 33.16 – The Red Queen Effect

Martien Ecrits (aka Marvin Martian) says Hello dear Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 33 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! This week it’s all hearts and flowers – Happy Valentine’s Day to all! ❤

We have our Blogophilia group on Facebook. Blog topic parameters & how it works here on WordPress.

Hard Bonus: Include a line from the movie “Pretty in Pink”

Easy Bonus: Mention your favorite candy

Tree of Hearts

In high school, one of my science teachers mentioned that “change is the only constant”. At face value, it doesn’t make much sense, but it’s true… As we age, our bodies & minds go through changes. The economy, social norms, life’s happenstances, etc… Nothing stays the same. So, the concept that organisms (humans included, maybe even business practices, too) must constantly adapt and evolve their current position in an environment where their competitors are evolving is The Red Queen Effect. As living beings, we want to be relevant somehow. Even when we look in nature, with schools of fish, flock of birds, even like trees growing near each other, we want to belong & count somehow. Yet, long gone are the days of generational farmers, or starting a job at 18 and staying until retirement… And when our income doesn’t meet up with our bills, it seems as if working a full-time & part-time job is no longer feasible, especially since once upon a time, 1 income supported a family, so if a part-time job was had, that was for extras, not just to survive. I’m trying to reinvent myself to have gig work as a musician to keep up with everything.

And talking about changes… “Principal (to Andie): “If you put out signals that you don’t want to belong, people are going to see that you don’t.” I was always one that liked to people watch, and didn’t like to be the center of attention. Being in a larger concert band, I could blend in with the other musicians. Yet I’ve been good at public speaking, and in college, kept getting asked to take leadership positions… So I’m not sure if the principle is correct – I didn’t really belong when I was in Japan, being the only American kid in school, but then didn’t fit in here, being the only Japanese kid… it was strange. Yet, there I was, with multiple officer positions with the International Student Organization, Multi-cultural co-chair & chair of Women’s Issues committees with student government…

Now I need some candy… but I can’t choose right now between Snickers, KitKat, peanut M&Ms, Twix, Reese’s peanut butter cups, ugh, so many choices!

Blogophilia 32.16: Hike in the Woods

Marvin Martian says Hello dear Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 32 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! Time to get on those hiking boots and get moving!

Want to write? You can either join the Blogophilia group on Facebook or you can check out the blog topic parameters here on WordPress. If you don’t want your own blog account, it’s ok to leave your post as a comment below the posts or if on Facebook as it’s own post in the group.

Hard Bonus: Have a character “walk on fire” or include the phrase in your blog

Easy Bonus: Incorporate lightning

On the path to adventure

I miss the days of going to a cabin, lodge, campsite, etc. when I could Hike in the Woods! I’d always take the side turns, twists, etc. and find these spots to find frogs, wild berries, or something… I’m just glad that so far, I’ve never had to walk on fire, although I do love a good, natural light & sound show, and still have yet been able to capture lightening in a picture. I love a thunder & lightening storm with the rain coming down… I miss my covered porches so I can sit outside.

Blogophilia 31.16: Deliberately Lost

Martien Ecrits says: “Most of us have been lost or felt lost at one time or another in our life. Or maybe you have gotten DELIBERATELY lost, to escape from the world or your problems. (As for me, I have found myself lost in space a few times, HA!) Being lost can be a physical, mental or emotional thing. Do you ask for directions, or keep moving forward on a meandering path? Do you use GPS or other tools to find your way? Let’s hear your thoughts and experiences on being lost. We look forward to reading your amazing writes this week. Join us at Blogophilia, the place for blogging, fun and friendship for over 16 years!”

We have Blogophilia Facebook Group, as well as blog topic parameters here on WordPress, and how it works, also on WordPress. Please join us, the more the merrier. It’s ok if you don’t want to open your own blog or have facebook. Just comment under the blog topic parameters for your entry, if you’d like.

Hard Bonus: Include a Colorado ski town

Easy Bonus: Incorporate the word “fandango”

Winter Web

There have been several times in life that I’ve been mentally lost. What do I do next? Where do I go? How do I get to the next step? Survival mode can be nuts, and sometimes I’ve figured it out, other times just waited through it. Then there are the times that people said I’m getting them Deliberately Lost. Maybe, but not really. I like to explore, and don’t mind finding new things in a new environment. I’m just good at remembering certain markers when I make a turn, and find my way back. So, even part way through, when I get asked, “Do you know where you are” or “do you know where you’re going”? No, but we will find something – whether it’s the charming odds & ends store, or wild berries, whatever it is will be found. the point is the journey, not necessarily the destination, yet we will find it anyway. Even Purgatory Resort in the dead of snowy winter has hidden gems to find off the beaten path. Maybe there will be a dance hall where I’ll find a partner to dance the fandango with me while playing castanets while I dance with a tambourine.

February starts the music season again! I will be playing with the UW-Parkside Community Band, after a hiatus from rotator cuff surgery. I will continue to play with the Racine Concert Band as well as the Kenosha Pops Concert Band. I have a current birthday fundraiser for the Racine Concert Band on Facebook that ends on Valentine’s day. I have yet to donate to it, but will be closer to it’s end.

Blogophilia 30.16: When Crossing Time

Marvin Martian says: Hello dear Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 30 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – celebrating the accomplishments of one of the USA’s great civil rights leader!

Blogophilia group on Facebook HERE

Blog topic parameters Right Here and how it works Over Here on WordPress

You can write a post in a comment on the blog topic post or in the Facebook group, or start your own blog. Anyway you slice it, it’s all good!

Hard Bonus: Include the phrase “two wrongs don’t make a right”

Easy Bonus: Say a prayer

Crank Calling

When Crossing Time, do we pause aging in that moment, or do we get younger or older? I don’t know… Maybe it’s irrelevant when we break the space/time continuum. It would be nice if we could call the future to see what we can do now to get the best possible outcome possible, because I’d like to have a better future for our younger generations, and we can’t do that if we keep screwing up… We know two wrongs don’t make a right! Or maybe we need to say a prayer that the future can come back in time to fix the wrongs…

Like in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where Captain Kirk, Spock, and others came back to save the humpback whales, which was extinct in the future. The natural balance is important. Life depends on this, here on earth.

Or how about Star Trek: First Contact with the Next Generation crew, who battles the Borg to ensure that Zefram Cochrane actually builds his warp drive to make contact with Vulcans, so the future Federation of Planets can be. Except we still need to figure out how to stop being bigoted based on religion & stop with the xenophobia…

It’s too bad we’re not ready for this yet… Even if 2063 is 38 years from now… I think MLK Jr. and his dream for equality is needed right now, and if we can make that happen, we can move forward. Yet that seems impossible with a new president here in the USA who seems to be the opposite of what he stood for. I believe when we improve the bottom line for the lowliest of us, we improve for all – we all deserve that dream.

Blogophilia 29.16: Wine or Whine

From Marvin Martian: Hello dear Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 29 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! For those of you in California, we send our prayers for containment of the wildfires and hope that everyone is safe!

We also are very saddened to hear the news of our beloved Craig Fallon’s death last week. Craig aka “The Falcon” was with Blogophilia from the very beginning, over 16 years ago. His kindness, his talented writing, his sense of humor and his friendship will be forever treasured and missed by The Martian House, Blogophilia, and the entire writing community from Myspace to Facebook and beyond. We send our love and condolences to his beautiful wife and fellow Blogophilian Melissa Fallon. And now our dear Craig has become an Honored Blogophilian…. rest in peace, dear friend!

Facebook Blogophilia group Over Here

Blog topic parameters & how it works HERE

Hard Bonus: Recant or decant something

Easy Bonus: Mention a pet peeve

I hate when that happens…

I would like to whine about the loss of another Blogophilian. Craig was quite a good writer, and I’d like to send my condolences to Melissa, another talented writer. But whining won’t do us any good, so instead, I’d like to raise a glass of wine in memory of Craig & in honor of Melissa. Of course, we can’t decant from this bottle, so I’d like to use a better corkscrew to open it. So, when the choice is Wine or Whine, let’s pick the wine. I don’t like when the corkscrew is too short for the cork. How are we supposed to raise a nice, bold, 4 grape blend Merlot, if we can’t pour?

Sending love to the Fallon family as well as to our bloggers (past & present) in California and hope that all are as safe & sound as possible. I recant complaining about the cold weather… I can stay inside, and the worst we get is snow.

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 28.16: The Big Announcement

Marvin Martian aka Martien Ecrits says Hello dear Blogophilians!! Welcome to Week 28 of Year 16 in Blogophilia! Winter is kicking in with some Arctic cold and blizzards for many of you Earthlings – please stay warm and safe!

Blogophilia group on Facebook HERE, how blogophilia works Over Here, and blog topic parameters Right Here – to participate, you can create your own blogsite on WordPress, Blogger, or anywhere that is accessible to all readers without a subscription, make your own post on social media & post the link in the comment of the post or in the group, or just do your post in the group or comment below the post you’re doing the post for. There is no right or wrong way – let it be the way it is.

Hard Bonus: Use a Ringo Starr lyric or quote

Easy Bonus: Include some type of ceremony

On top of the mountain!

We just had a bunch of holidays in a row… Thanksgiving kicks off the season, and with so many different things to celebrate in between that and the New Year, I’ll tell you what… The Big Announcement is we have personal holidays coming up… later this month is Mike‘s birthday, next month is mine, and in March my Chad turns 25, so I’m gearing up to make that one a celebration! So we will be going light on our birthdays to accommodate property tax payments and to celebrate him.

One of the reasons to celebrate my son’s music, is I’ve corrupted him to what I like, and I’m also retro… so this sums it up. “I think the most exciting thing is that you expect people our age to know the music, but actually a lot of kids know the music, and if anything is left, we have left really good music, and that’s the important part, not the mop-tops or whatever.” Ringo Starr It’ll be a civil ceremony type birthday with jokes, food, and as many people as I can get to show up.