https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx39h-mWmde2NGNteWxoaXFsaGc/view?usp=sharing
MP3 sound file shared from Google Drive.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Mood. work
If you are in a bad mood, smile. "Research has shown that if people smile, even if it's forcefully and not supported by an emotional experience at first, their mood will improve," says Von Stumm. "Also, smiling will make you more likable, and smiling will make your voice sound more appealing."
If you are in a good mood, work. "Although the findings on the relationship between mood and cognitive performance are to date fragmentary and somewhat inconsistent, preliminary empirical evidence suggests that our brains work faster at times when we experience more positive affect. So next time you are in high spirits, don't head to the park or pub with your friends, but tackle that work project or textbook that usually seems too hard to take on."
If you go from high to low in minutes, stop and take a break. "Frequent and extreme mood swings are early signs for psychological imbalance that often results from poor sleep due to stress," notes Von Stumm. "It's easier said than done, but when you notice your mood becoming unstable, take a step back, try to identify the source of stress, and eliminate it. Sometimes it's enough to become aware that a situation is stressful for us to find our balance again."
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Two, 100 word stories. The CUE word was SCOOP.
Scoop. I think of a scoop of flour out of a wooden barrel. Mixed with eggs, yeast and salt, and baked to a golden brown. Slathered with butter, accompanied by a slice of Romano cheese or dipped into a big green salad, made with lots of tomatoes and cucumbers…drenched in olive oil and vinegar. The meal is finished with this and a tall glass of rich, red wine. After dinner, we go outside to play hopscotch with the rich, neighbor kids, and they wonder why we are giggling so much, and sometimes missing our toss or losing our lucky piece.
The Egyptians gave far more credence to the heart than the brain. The Egyptians believed that the heart, rather than the brain, was the source of human wisdom, as well as emotions, memory, the soul, and the personality itself. They scooped out the brain with a long, thin, hooked tool that they stuck up the nose. The brain was mushed around a bit, then extracted. It was mixed with some sweet berries and eaten by the scullery personnel. With today’s reliance on the brain for selling products and thrusting new pharmaceuticals on us, the brain is more exalted and prized.
~
The Egyptians gave far more credence to the heart than the brain. The Egyptians believed that the heart, rather than the brain, was the source of human wisdom, as well as emotions, memory, the soul, and the personality itself. They scooped out the brain with a long, thin, hooked tool that they stuck up the nose. The brain was mushed around a bit, then extracted. It was mixed with some sweet berries and eaten by the scullery personnel. With today’s reliance on the brain for selling products and thrusting new pharmaceuticals on us, the brain is more exalted and prized.
~
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
3 stories. The cue word, ADVENTURE
An adventure gone undone, or sloppily executed is an adventure gone to waste. My adventures are planned with care and deliberation. I consult with experts to plan the simplest adventure. A trip to the other end of the county calls for a check of the running gear on my vehicle, a packed lunch, and water and snacks for the pooch. It also calls for quick message to my personal assistant to remind her to look in on the dogs, check for open windows and doors, and to trigger interior lighting after sundown, including the bank of halogens on the garage.
Second
The reason for my performance-related panic is due to the fact that I suffer from severe, late onset, anxiety disorder, which makes simple adventures or interactions like strolling down the street a disproportionately tensile experience. One of the signifiers of social anxiety is a heightened sense of alertness. The sound of skateboard wheels whirring around the street corner creates a sliver of unease. A bike bell ringing behind me causes me to grit my teeth and raise my iron-tipped cane in order to ready myself for a strike across the rider’s brow, or a quick jab at the bikes spokes.
Third
Her mother named her Adventure. Adventura, formally, but shortened when she started middle school. She was a tomboy. Wearing low-top sneakers, a scraggly ponytail, and a baggy T-shirt—one of the many outfits in her tomboy oeuvre. She avoided tattoos and any piercings because of her ancestry, and her grandmother, who thought they were disfiguring, disgusting, dumb and dull. Adventure didn’t need anything to decorate her body but her shiny, spellbinding eyes, and her mysterious smile. To say the least, she was a tall, thin, knockout. All the boys loved her. The girls loved her, and the gods loved her.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Friday, September 11, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Flash Fiction
The cue word for this story was: W I N D
The wind
emanated from Grandma Lucy. Untethered by heavy clothing or undergarments, the winds drove across the dining room while we gathered for Christmas Dinner. Granny had been on a healing diet of rich,
Greek food, dates and exotic grains. The
cats left the room for the saving oxygen of the back yard, while we kept our
heads down, lighting more candles, and sipping wine to anesthetize ourselves
and burn off any flammable gases before they collected in the corners behind
the heavy furniture. Gran was unaware of her blistering discharges, and
continued with her special dinner. Merry Christmas, all.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Three, new, 100 word stories, given the assigned word: BUILDING as our cue:
The building was vacant a long
time. Squatters had taken over,
including a dozen meth zombies, heroin addicts, and retired circus clowns. The clowns were insidious, to such an extent
that the addicts left…no longer able to handle the insanity, vulgar antics and
games of the clown posse. One of their
favorite parlor games was to play “shoot twixt wind and water.” It involved a game between the male and
female clowns. My shyness and the propriety of this forum prevents further
description. The clowns also enjoyed demonstrating how to “have one’s corn
ground”, a popular game of the 1800’s.
Second
Building a strong coalition of
writers was her current goal. She put
the word out using social media, and via her BLOG. Soon, a dozen writers joined
her stable of regular contributors. She
helped them find venues for publishing, and lined up open mic nights for poets
and writers to read their work. She had
some rules. Some of them necessary, some
frivolous. Writers had to submit all work in the Comic Sans font, avoid French
derived verbs, never write in the first or second person nor take any manner or
stand on religious, political, artistic, or second amendment matters.
Third
Her build put the Dymaxion
structures of Buckminster Fuller to shame…built like a modular, fire-clay,
outdoor lavatory, she could sing and she could dance, but all she had to do was
make herself available for dates, and her future was assured. She started
dating a fellow that was very powerful and rich. Cranston was tired, and forty years her
senior. Laurie let him kiss her if he
used Lavoris and wiped his mouth. No
tongue, no lingering. He could touch her
on top, but not below. The old gent was grateful, and showered her with gifts
and a generous pre-nup.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
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