My awards for awarding the awardable and unawardable alike

How many times have you said “I’ll do it when I get around to it!”  Well, here you are.  Your very own Round Tuit. And the only thing you have to do to claim it is answer a few questions, either here in the comments or somewhere else and link to it.

5 things you said you’d do when you got a roundtuit
5 things from your bucket list
5 true but little known facts about yourself
5 favorites, of your interpretation

Have fun!

And yet another award…this one is for awarding those “special” people.  You know…the ones you want to slap, but you’re above all that.

The Story Of The Hertz Donut

A snotty rich man came to a car dealership, picking and arguing and generally dismissing every car the harried salesman could show him.  Finally, having had enough, the salesman sighed, theatrically, and shook his head.  ”I don’t know…only thing I can think of is the new Hertz Donut…but you wouldn’t be interested in that. Here, let’s go look at this one.”

The rich man was intrigued, and as he walked behind the salesman, he stated “Enough!  I want to see the Hertz Donut!”  The salesman stopped, and looked back with a surprised look.  ”You do?  It’s pretty expensive…”  ”I can afford it…I can afford anything I want!” sniffed the rich man.  ”Now show me, or I’ll buy this miserable place just so I can fire you.”

The salesman turned away so that the man couldn’t see the gleam in his eyes, and nodded.  ”Alright then…I guess I’ll have to show you.  We keep it around back…”  He began walking around the building, the rich man close on his heels.  They approached a small locked shed, which the salesman unlocked and gestured the rich man to come forward, to look.

As he moved forward, the salesman moved back, making sure he was out of sight of the security camera’s…and as the rich man was peering into the dark shed, the salesman reared back and delivered a strong kick right at the rich mans richly trousered rear end.  He tumbled forward, scrambled up with an outraged look on his face.  ”What in the hell was that for?”

The salesman just grinned, standing there, hands in his pocket, as he said… “Hurts, don’t it?”

So, yeah.  To claim this award there are a few questions to answer.  You can either answer them here in the comments or somewhere else and link to it.

5 attitudes you hate/dislike
5 pet peeves
5 annoying quirks
5 people/types of people you’d like to Gibbs-slap*
( *pop on the back of the head with an open hand )

 

Have fun, and happy awarding!

 

KC

Feeling accomplished and frustrated at the same time.

Well, I’ve finally made the first dent in the process of getting “Bones of Ash, Heart of Glass” turned into an e-book…I found quite a few sites that offer free software to make/publish your own e-book.  And since I’ve decided that it should be free, in order to reach more people, and thus do more toward our ultimate goal of  raising awareness of/for abuse victims of all ages and sexes, using a free service to publish it makes sense to me.

I believe I’ll be ready within the week to start collecting submissions by email, after I write up submission guidelines and rules.  I need to make a cover image…unfortunately, I can’t draw, paint or otherwise create visually.  I can describe perfectly what I want it to look like…but that’s not helpful.  ;)

 

Also, I visited/read around 400 posts today, as things had built up from my having to skip several days because of my hands cramping.  Still not sure what that was about, but since it seems to be over for now, not worrying about it.

 

And got another 1,000 words done on Blue and Grey…that makes 4,500 and some, now.  Officially the most I’ve written on any one project, ever.  *laughs* I’m considering, if it looks like I can get it done under 7,000, making it a short story instead.  It all depends on where the story goes from here.

 

The frustration comes from the overly emotional way I’ve been reacting to people’s posts/creations on the subject of abuse.  I suppose it’s mostly due to my not even knowing that this was National Abuse Awareness Month or whatever.  When I started working on “Bones”, it was a singular project, one I could feel good about imagining into life…and now it’s turned into just another attempt to cash in on the month (and bring awareness, as well, mind you) like so many others.  It’s not, really…none of them are…but my frustration at having my personal idea taken away once again…*grumbles*

It’s a perpetual problem for me.  It feels like I must be some sort of unconscious predictor of trends…every time I get a look or style or hobby or music or book series or obscure-but-awesome movie…it suddenly, usually within weeks, bursts into a “phenomenon” and everyone just assumes I’m following the trend.  Meh and Bleah.

A for-instance…my pink-and-black look.  I started it because I wanted something to go with/match my ears, and the colors looked good together, and on me.  A week or so later, when I went to the Mall, it’d become the new “fad” with the younger/teen set.  *sighs*  Oh, well, at least it makes it easy to shop for!  ;)

 

Heh…yay ego.  I’ll get over it.  Just wanted to say, as that’s most likely what’s been causing all the delay on working on the book.

 

Thanks for listening, and if you have any advice or questions, don’t hesitate to comment!

 

KC

Baboons can learn reading skills

Reblogged from Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff):

Dan the baboon sits in front of a computer screen. The letters BRRU pop up. With a quick and almost dismissive tap, the monkey signals it's not a word. Correct. Next comes, ITCS. Again, not a word. Finally KITE comes up.

He pauses and hits a green oval to show it's a word. In the space of just a few seconds, Dan has demonstrated a mastery of what some experts say is a form of pre-reading and walks away rewarded with a treat of dried wheat.

Read more… 424 more words

Neat! I used to follow KoKo, the gorilla who knew sign language...and this is just as neat! I'll have to find the one about the Orangutans at the Smithsonian and their "school"... ;)

Blue and Grey 3

The Mall was bustling, now that noon was almost here…runners tramped back and forth between stores, their overflowing backpacks and hip-nets glinting with hidden possibilities. Sifters perched before their mountains of plunder, quick hands flying as they sorted out the trash from the treasure…handing the trash to the crafters, for a final sorting and possible rebuilding, and the treasure to the sales crew, setting up their spaces down the center court. Smells and sounds drifted like smoke above the tiled floor, and Blue hurried down toward her spot trying not to pay too much attention to either.

Passing banks of collected aroma, she wove her way between them with only a quick glance to scout out possibilities…the Gap crew seemed to’ve picked up some coffee somewhere, or at least something with a passable imitation of its smell…the Hotties had their usual day olds, and what looked like a pile of excrement but was most likely whatever topping they’d concocted today. Blue’s sensitive nose twitched, and caught the scents of cinnamon, brown sugar, and some other spice, as she hurried past.

Hey, Blue…the voice was soft and hoarse at the same time, and the small sifter that stepped out of the shadow of a column and into her path was a study in contradictions as well. His face was slow and expressionless, but his hands and eyes twitched rapidly, almost in unison, enough to make the light of the tiny hand-rolled he sucked on look like a laser-toy. Hey…just wanted t’say…better not let Big Rob catch y’all letting that cat in here, y’know? I mean, far as I’m concerned, cats gotta have shelter just like the rest of us…but you know how he is.

She carefully controlled her voice as she tilted her head at him, a fake confused expression on her face. Cat? Billy-G, what -are- you talking about? We ain’t got no cat. You think Jamie and Spike’d let a dirty ol’animal get inta their precious stuff? I -don’t- think. She chuckled, dismissingly…

Uh-huh. Whatever…just wanted t’say. He turned away, the tiny point of light inscribing whorls and spins of light in the shadowy areas between the columns. Just sayin…geez. His voice trailed off as he slipped back to his pile…and Blue carefully didn’t let the shaking start until she was safely out of his sight and headed down toward her own pile.

Sev looked up with a hassled look on his face as she approached, nodding to the little runner at his side. Ok, ok, I got it…tell Spike we’re gonna be on time, no matter what -some- people think… He bit his lip in a habitual gesture as the kid took off past Blue, and hollered after him. And -grab- something on the way back…you think we live on charity? Then he turned his scowling eyes on Blue, and shook his head. And you…you ready to do some sales this time, or you gonna pass out like last time? I haveta take over for you -one- more time…

Blue shook her head, confidently. I’m on it, Sev…really. What’ve we got today? Anything good? She moved forward toward the right hand pile, going gracefully to her knees to hover her hand over the contents…not -quite- daring to touch until the sifter’d given permission. But even from back here she could see that her group had done their usual good job…the glint of shiny plastics and sturdy metals could be seen through the grime, and even the bundled cloth looked like it held surprises of the positive kind.