Tales on Tuesday - My Favorite Martian

I have put Mr. Linky below if you wrote a story for this week. I still have not had a chance to read last week's stories and I have not written one this week. I have not even checked most of my emails in forever. My apologizes all around.

No matter how I wish it otherwise, there are only so many hours a day for me in this place and time. If I were orbiting the earth, I might gain a few one thousandths of a second but I doubt that extra time would help me much.

Friday I begin a vacation of nine days. I have not taken an actual week's vacation in about ten years. I will be staying home, except for short trips and visits, indulging myself with no place in particular to be. 

Please bear with me. I miss you all.

~ Tales on Tuesday Link ~

The theme for Tuesday, May 4, 2010 will be "Leave It To Beaver."

Do you have a TV show theme to suggest for future Tuesdays? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Here's Mr. Linky. 

Sign in if you wrote a story for today's theme "My Favorite Martian."

Be sure to link right to your story.

      

Tales on Tuesday – All in the Family

Serial killers fascinate me. Not what they do or their modus operandi; not who they kill or why. While I feel for their victims and the victims’ families, I am interested in the perpetrators. Who they were as children, who their families were and how they interacted.

To me, evil has always been cloaked in the ordinary. Monsters are not ugly, with misshapen toes or boils upon their noses. Monsters speak softly and beguile you with a smile. They are not crazy lunatics wrapped in faded and dirty blankets self talking as they walk down the street. They comb their hair and iron their shirts. They befriend your parents or hand out papers for the teacher, then do bad things in the woods.

Eddie raped and killed seven girls by the time he was caught at age nineteen. If he hadn’t been caught in the act on victim number seven, no one would have believed it. Eddie stood five feet four, had short brown hair cut trim. He wore button up dress shirts and creased his pants. He spoke quietly and never got excited.

There were several missing girls who the authorities believed were Eddie’s victims and very little evidence in the cases, so a deal was cut. The authorities allowed a plea of guilty due to insanity (Eddie couldn’t remember his deeds) and Eddie agreed to undergo psychiatric treatment and participate in a serial killer study. Eddie agreed to take sodium thiopental so the bodies of the six other victims (if there really were any, as Eddie would say) could be found and the families could have closure.

Serving a twenty to thirty year sentence in a psychiatric prison, Eddie underwent many hours of interviews. He was questioned about his past which he said was normal. He showed the doctors pictures of a close knit family: father, mother, two sisters and Eddie between the two girls. He did well in school. He went to church every Sunday with his family. His father was a lector. His mother helped with charities.

The doctors spoke Eddie’s parents. They were shocked that Eddie was accused of these things and had a hard time believing it. He was such an ordinary child. They stood behind their son in spirit and in body at all of his trials. They prayed for him. They never found any dead animals when he was little. He never fought them over any of the rules and they considered themselves fairly strict. Eddie was very punctual.

Eddie’s mother would not speak to anyone except her husband about Eddie. When the doctors first requested a dialogue to see if there was anything in Eddie’s past that might have led his parents to think something might be wrong with Eddie, husband and wife tried to recall any incidents that might have been clues. They decided nothing about him rang any warning bells. Mother did tell Father there was that one time that Younger Sister told Mother that Eddie had forced her to have sex with him, but they were sure that was just something boys did.

~ Tales on Tuesday Link ~

The theme for Tuesday, April 27, 2010 will be My Favorite Martian.

Do you have a TV show theme to suggest for future Tuesdays? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Here's Mr. Linky. 

Sign in if you wrote a story for today's theme "All in the Family." 

Be sure to link right to your story.

 

      

Still Orbiting Like the Space Shuttle

Like the space shuttle, I will remain in orbit until the weather clears.

Tomorrow is Tales on Tuesday. I will have a story to post. I hope you do, too.


It will be my mother's 76th birthday and the theme for Tuesday, April 20, 2010, will be "All in the Family." 
Suggested by Weirsdo.

      

Tales on Tuesday - Invisible Man - Intrusion Alert

I don’t even know what day it is. Well, I do now, but I didn’t then, which is why you do not see my story for Tales on Tuesday.

If you did write a story, here is Mr. Linky. I am not sure when I will be able to read your story but I will eventually.

I finally posted the limerick winner. No, I will not tell you here. If you want to know, go to Poetry Playing. I consider the first ever poetry contest test a success. Thanks everyone who participated either by submitting a limerick and/or by voting. If you have any suggestions for future contests, please let me know.

I will be around when I can. All is well. Just too much for now.

      

Poetry Playing: Poem-a-Day # 11

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: Write about things you see or a visual poem.

Here’s my poem:

 

 In the Moment 

blue skies shine on the other side of that rain

grass greened in the warmth of a sun burst

dogwood blossoms blushing a charming pink

lavender growing plump and well, lavender

lilac getting heavy with clustered flowers

but right now I must enjoy the rain 

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing. Find out who won the Limerick Contest.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

      

Internet in Your Neck of the Woods

I get really agitated when my internet connection is down. I go on the internet to post on my blog, to visit my bloggie friends, do research and even to write in bits and pieces from the various places I spend my day. I also use it to communicate with my family. It has brought me even closer with my daughter and nieces and I have even been contacted by old friends whom I haven’t seen or spoken to in many, many years.

I can’t even imagine what it would be like without internet service  even though just ten years ago I had no clue. In other words, reliable internet service is a must. I’d die of old age before my time and of stress related diseases if I had to use dial-up. I do not have Wild Blue Satellite Internet service myself. They say on their web site that 9 out of 10 subscribers would recommend WildBlue to a friend or neighbor. There are many reviews on the internet so be sure to use whatever service you currently have to shop wisely.

If you currently have slow dial up service or you live somewhere that has no service wild blue satellite internet could be an option for you. They say they reach virtually everywhere in the continental US. Their installation fee is currently being waved, meaning free, and their packages start at $39.95.

Poetry Playing: Poem-a-Day # 10

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. ~ Virgil A. Kraft

Here’s my poem:

 

with bursts of flowering trees

ushering me to and from work

I am reminded that God gives

us his best to lighten our burdens

brighten our minds and put

smiles on our faces

You still have several hours to VOTE ON THE SIX LIMERICKS.

For those of you who are nice, “Please go vote and help make the first poetry contest a real match.”

For those of you who need some gentle persuasion, bear in mind I have a black silk whip. Now with that thought in mind, please go vote.

For the rest of you, GO VOTE, NOW!!!

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

      

Poetry Playing: Poem-a-Day #9 – Happy Birthday, Charlie!

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: Spring forward fall back.

This poem is dedicated to Charlie, who has a birthday today. Wish him a happy one.

Here’s my poem: A Birthday Ode to Amoeba

 

Life spring’s you forward

to another day older

but I think no less bolder

Your hair may fall back

and as an earlier riser

you seem more wiser

now take Quilly to the movies.

 

(Not my best effort, I grant, but the wishes are real.)

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing. 

Vote on the Six Limericks.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

      

Get Paid to Shop

Do you like to shop? If you do, would you like to get money back for shopping? You can Get Paid To Shop by signing up at Market America which is free. Then when you buy their products or the products of their partners, you can get 2% back. They have 3,000+ Partner stores with over 35 million products available for purchase covering five countries. By shopping at home you save gas and avoid annoying crowds, both of which I consider bonuses.

You can get gift cards for Market America and such partners as Barnes & Noble dot com, Fandango and travelocity. Other partners include the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic.

They seem to have a huge selection of items. I did a search for Sharpe’s Peril, a DVD I want and I found it. Just looking around, I saw a cool messenger bag and a very reasonable pack-n-play to keep at my house for my grandson. Not all items they sell are eligible for cash back so you need to watch for their logo.

Each time you buy something, the cash back amount gets put in your account. You can use this money any time towards future purchases or once your account reaches $50 you can have the money sent to you.
They have a referral program too so you can earn additional cash back amounts.

Vote, Vote, Vote

Come vote on the SIX LIMERICKS and help me test the process.
(Picture a boo-boo face and begging.)

The poems are posted in a randomly selected order (by a random number generator) and they are listed anonymously so you can choose based on the work and not the author. One vote per person and you may vote even if you did not write a poem. I am abstaining from the vote since I know the authors. Voting is open for two days, today and tomorrow. Comments are open, too. Suggestions are welcome.

Life has me a bit behind right now. I will catch up with everyone by the end of the weekend.

      

Flash 55 – A Very Happy Easter

Don’t look at the beer cans. Ignore the wine glasses and half empty bottles. We should get points for the lack of cigarette butts. Look at the adorable fire truck Easter basket. Forget the fact that the child’s toy is surrounded by alcohol. We caught him before he drank too much.

~ please don’t call child protective services ~ the child never really drank any alcohol ~

 Hosted by G-Man @ Mr. KnowItAll – Click Here

Write a story in exactly 55 words.

Money Saving Tips

For the past two weeks, I’ve been watching our local utility company put solar panels on street poles. I think they will be using them to power street lamps as they put up new lights, too. I’ve always wanted solar panels on my house and this got me thinking about saving energy at home. And as things usually go, just this week I received this offer to write a sponsored post for the web site Microsoft ® Holm™. Energy saving hints and suggestions are a big thing right now and this website says it gives you help to cut your energy costs. It is brought to us by the Microsoft ® you are used to for your computer programming needs.

The first thing I noticed to cut home energy costs were the little hints flashing in the bottom right corner. A couple they mentioned were saving up to 10% on your water bills just by sealing up water drips or save up to $75.00 a year on energy costs by using your computer’s hibernate setting while you sleep. There are tips for your home appliances like turning the temperature of your water heater from 140 degrees to 120 degrees to save 10% a year or save $100 a year by hanging clothes on the line instead of using your drier.

This is a BETA program which means it is being tested and it is free. I signed in using my Windows Live account. There’s a tab that lists energy saving tips and as you follow the suggestions you check them off and see how much money and CO₂ you save annually.

My local energy provider is not currently partnered with Holm so they can’t evaluate my gas and electric bill directly with the company. I did find lots of articles and links that tell how to do various energy saving things so for a free website it’s worth a visit.

Poetry Playing: Poem-a-Day # 8 and # 2

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: One flower does not bring spring.

Here’s my poem:

The first flower peeking its petals into the chilly air heralds the royal precession to follow. Like a scout in enemy territory, it bravely reconnoiters the terrain, negotiating any danger it may encounter, even giving its life up to frosty sentinels.

 

The prompt for April 2, 2010: feeling free

Here’s my poem:

 

fail

feel free to fall flat on your face

come in last

get it wrong

stumble across the dance floor

step on toes

miss a beat

put dirty fingerprints on the glass

spill the milk

burn the water

scribble in the fine white margins

spell it bad

two, two, five

color outside of the established lines

sky is pink

grass is plaid

don’t be afraid to make a mistake

journey

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

Thursday 13 – How Do You Write Your 13’s?

You might need to know one day. Never can tell.


thirteen
13
XIII
baker’s dozen
(French): treize
(German): Dreizehn
(Russian): тринадцать
(Chinese):
(Greek): δέκα τρία
(binary): 1101₂
(octal): 15₈
(duodecimal): 11₁₂
(hexadeciaml): D₁₆

 For More Thursday 13’s Click Here.

Join the Fray

There's still time to join. Help me test my new poetry blog contest. Send in your limerick in celebration of Poetry Month at 

Poetry Playing. We has six so far.

Write a limerick using the following as the first line: There was an Old Man of Limerick

Email me your contest submission by Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Deadline 11 PM eastern standard time. Do not post it on your blog. Submissions are anonymous.

Email address: poetryplaying at gmail dot com

Voting will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10, 2010. Deadline 11 PM eastern standard time on the 10th. You don't have to play to vote. The winner will be announced Sunday, April 11, 2010.

And there’s no entry fee. 

Poetry Playing: Poem-a-Day # 7 and # 3

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  ~ Robin Williams

Here’s my poem:

   

The prompt for April 3, 2010: a lover’s triangle

Here’s my poem:

 

There was one piece of apple pie left.

The crust, buttery and light, fell softly to the plate in golden brown flakes atop juicy sweet fruit and brown sugar cinnamon gooey goodness.

We both sat staring at it wishing the other would make the offer.

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

Sensational Haiku Wednesday - Decisions

I hate decisions

my head is buried in sand

don’t ask me questions

Hosted by Jenn @ You Know…that blog? 

There’s Still Time

Help me test my new poetry blog contest. Send in your limerick in celebration of Poetry Month at Poetry Playing.

Write a limerick using the following as the first line: There was an Old Man of Limerick

Email me your contest submission by Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Deadline 11 PM eastern standard time. Do not post it on your blog. Submissions are anonymous.

Email address: poetryplaying at gmail dot com

Voting will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10, 2010. Deadline 11 PM eastern standard time on the 10th. You don't have to play to vote. The winner will be announced Sunday, April 11, 2010.

And there’s no entry fee.

Tales on Tuesday - Golden Girls

Sorry I am late. Technical and hormonal difficulties.
I wrote a fairy tale this week.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Senisa.

Senisa led a happy life - for awhile.

His father took him on hunting trips and let him train with the soldiers. His mother stitched him fine garments and let him sit between his parents at the high table.

Then, his father died. His mother was heartbroken, but being the king’s cousin, she had to remarry.

Mortret, brought with him two sons, Belial and Azazel and a bad attitude. Senisa’s mother was relegated to the solar and Senisa to mucking out the stables.

Caring for horses and outwitting older step-brothers makes a boy strong and cunning. Dodging blows from a mean step-father and planning ways to free a mother makes a young man burn with vengeance. Unfortunately, Senisa could not save his mother.

He knelt by his parents’ graves under the ancient apple tree, white petals fell like tears and two golden apples dropped like hail upon his head. He pocketed the yellow fruit. Eyes dry, he made his plans.

In the hall, he lifted his father’s sword and shield from the wall. Shaking from memories, his step-brothers surprised him, jumping him from behind. Senisa fought free and ran.

Senisa hid in the woods. He saw soldiers trying to protect two women from bandits. The soldiers were not doing well. Senisa jumped into the fray, killing several bandits and chasing the rest away. He looked around and saw his step-brothers coming after him. The soldiers reorganized themselves around the women, who boldly watched Senisa from their carriage. Dazzled by the golden girls, he nearly forgot he was running for his life. He bowed to the ladies and dashed into the forest.

Reaching the castle, he entered the grounds to find a celebration taking place. He tried to stay out of sight but the golden girls pointed at him while speaking to the king. Grabbed by guards and his weapons removed, he was brought before the royal party.

Mortret spoke in the king’s ear. Belial and Azazel stood on each side of the golden girls, the brothers cruelly grasping and squeezing the women’s wrists.

Mortret walked up to Senisa and punched him in the face.

“You dare come before the king and his daughters?”

Senisa fell to his knees, jaw broken, blood flowing from his mouth.

“Enough!” The king stepped forward. “You two, remove your hands from Avalon and Idunn.”

The princesses ran to their father.

“He is our cousin, Senisa,” said Avalon.

“He saved us from the bandits,” said Idunn.

“He stole arms from my hall,” said Mortret.

“He is but a stable boy,” said Belial.

“We saved your daughters,” said Azazel.

“No, father, he has our tokens.”

“Search him,” ordered the king.

Sensia was restored to his rightful place on his parents’ lands. He did not marry one of his cousins but they became good friends. They all lived happily ever after.

Mortret, Belial and Azazel were sent to work in the gold mines. They did not.

~ Tales on Tuesday Link ~

The theme for Tuesday, April 13, 2010 will be "Invisible Man." Suggested by Larry.

Do you have a TV show theme to suggest for future Tuesdays? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Here's Mr. Limky. Sign in if you wrote a story for today's theme "Golden Girls." 

Be sure to link right to your story.

Poetry Playing: poem-a-day # 6 and # 1

April is Poetry Month. Write a poem-a-day.

The prompt for today is: Spring rain, fall gold.

Here’s my poem:

spring rain falls softly upon my

window pane, tapping lightly

on the roof nightly while i

sleep and dream down deep

plowing the fertile soil

of my soul the lord to keep

the seeds of future wonder

growing wondrous deeds in

earth rich and ripe and ready

to burst brightly in colors like

lovers kisses from old in my

memory of fall gold drifting

down upon lifting currents

whirlpools of dancing fairies

lips dark as berries and sweet

as cream and spring rain

The prompt for April 1, 2010: beginnings

Here’s my poem:

 

it’s hard to start

i

move

in fits and

stumbles

a toe stubbed

a shin splint

or split

like a busted lip

or spit

the garbage into

the trash can

crumpled

paper

pick out bits

pieces

a broken tooth pick

a bent beer bottle cap

detoured vision

birds chirping

my

thoughts

asunder

i

thunder

it’s hard to start

April is poetry month.

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

 

April is Poetry Month: poem-a-day #5

The prompt for today is "Spring Chicken."

Here's mine:

I’m no spring chicken

and yes I’ve taken a lickin’

I keep on tickin’

I’m like the famous rabbit

and yes dagnabbit

Not giving up is a habit

Write a poem-a-day in April.

Visit Poetry Playing.

Tomorrow's prompt is up and you can catch up with the previous prompts.

MicroFiction Monday – The Bunny Trail

Susan’s Picture: 

My Story:

 Now that Easter nestled safely in the past, Cristopher and Peter hopped away to live free and express the love that dare not speak its name.

Hosted by Susan @ Stony River

Write a story in 140 characters using the picture she provides as inspiration.

Tomorrow:

~ What Are Tales on Tuesday? ~

Tomorrow’s theme:

"Golden Girls." Suggested by Thom.