Hmm. Seventies folk-pop eh. I like both about the same, but probably Carly in a pinch.

Creepy, spooky ghost story or brutal, gory "splatter" horror?

Quote by gillianleeza
I have COVID-19 again

Oh crap, how many times is this now? Hope you get through it okay this round. Take care and enjoy your holiday.

And I kind of forgot to wish our American friends a Happy July 4th this morning. Have a great holiday, y'all!!!!

Up to a dozen by my count. This is ticking along nicely. As Kis said, "More." But being Canadian and therefore extraordinarily polite, I'll add a "please." 😇

(Canadian muggers say, "Hand me your wallet, please." They still beat the crap out of you if you refuse, but apologize afterwards.)

Kong : Skull Island

I actually use a stationary bike right now at home but of those, I'd use a treadmill. I've tried ellipticals in gyms while on vacation and never quite got the hang of them. Wife likes them, though.

Rock/pop concert: Arena/stadium show or festival?

It's MORNING!!! Time for COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFEE!!!

So we've got some Deathwish Dark Roast brewing.

For the tea crowd, there's Scottish Breakfast and Cream of Earl Grey.

Cold drinks are ready and waiting in the fridge. Hot water is on standby.

How's it going??

I've been realizing that I have two stories fermenting that are basically the same story. One is a sequel to Night of the Wind and one is a sequel to Spirits of Tan Maldrin, so one in each of my fantasy worlds. This happens from time to time and is basically a good sign that I have a good idea, just need to decide which of my casts of characters get to live it. I think I can tweak the latter to make it different enough so right now, looks like it will be the former, though I'm also changing the direction of it a bit.

I have also realized that Niomi Shen, from Night..., is evolving to be a bit too much like Nalia in Spirits... as I move her into the protagonist role in the sequel . Still not sure how I'll deal with that. Both priestesses, both with magical elements, both involved or potentially involved with soldiers. Niomi is older and more experienced with some tragedy in her backstory (home village destroyed in a war) so that might become the differentiator.

(The) Iron Giant

I think it's more the specific candy than the type for me. I have both hard and soft that I like. I do like sucking on a hard candy sometimes, though. Lasts longer than soft.

Running/walking or biking for exercise?

Oo, nice. Both holidays in one yummy bundle. takes an "eh" maple leaf and a star

Gorgo (the British answer to Godzilla)

Quote by verbal
Buying burgers and brats today for a small cookout tomorrow

Brats can be a problem but cooking them seems like a desperate solution. 😲

😉

Okay, I know you mean bratwursts or something like that but it was too good to pass up.

First week of a new month, so time for the themed calls list. And there's the usual eclectic mix. We got demagogues (timely, eh), mafia horror, pirate horror, holidays as a parent, false memories, and more. At the end are some themed comps, too. Have a look and see what might work for your stories.

» 35 Themed Submissions Calls and Contests for July 2024 (authorspublish.com)

My thoughts? I admire her savvy and success. The way she stuck it to Scooter Braun after the fight over the masters of her early albums was nothing short of brilliant. Short version: She wanted them, he was fighting hard to make her pay through the nose. Then Taylor realized that she owned the rights to the songs, just not the recordings, so she just re-recorded them all, appending "Taylor's Version" to the titles. And the re-recorded versions were hits all over again, even as she was also putting out new material in parallel with them.

But her music? Not my cuppa. I've tried. Thought her "folklore" acoustic album might be the ticket but even it did not quite click. And she's a great performer on stage but her voice is kind of average for a modern pop singer, certainly not in the same league as any of my favourites. Solid songwriter, though, and I might yet come to appreciate her music from that standpoint.

Started in country but now mainly a pop artist, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is easily the biggest thing to hit music this century. She is now on the Forbes list of billionaires and the film of her current tour is a popular stream on Disney+ even as the tour grinds on. Her relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce gets more attention than his work on the field sometimes. She's got multiple Grammies and seems to drop new or remixed albums annually or more.

So what do you think of this musical juggernaut? Fan? Hater? Indifferent?

Enemy Mine

Time for COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Or TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEA!

In the coffee pot we've got a dark roast from Costa Rica. For teas, we're doing Irish Breakfast and Russian Caravan. Washed the pitchers and mixed up fresh iced tea and lemonade. Pop is stocked up. Hot water is boiled for other hot beverages.

What's up, folks?

And one day until the big day South of me. Any plans, my American friends/neighbours?

Nowadays, watch at home. Theaters around here are horribly expensive nowadays. Maybe for something on the scale of Avatar, I would still hit a theater.

Graphic novel or text novel?

Loved Dire Straits. "Sultans of Swing" hooked me from the first time I heard it. And Mark's done some interesting work on his own, too.

Baby Metal are an eclectic mix of J-pop (Japanese pop) and metal, fronted by three young women; lead singer Su-Metal, and dancers/backup vocalists Moametal and Momometal (there was also Yuimetal for a while). And while they are all the rage right now, currently hitting all the major European rock festivals, I've been a bit meh on them. Then this catchy teamup with German electronicore band Electric Callboy dropped. Yeah, I can't get this thing out of my head and it's joined my "Energize My day" playlist on Spotify.

Crash (your choice as to whether it is the Oscar-winning ensemble drama or David Cronenberg's somewhat porn-y J. G. Ballard adaptation)

Neither, really. Smoke irritates my respiratory system and I hate the smell. But bonfires can be fun, at least.

Acclaimed cinema or cheesy B-movie for an afternoon time-killer?

Quote by verbal
Woke up INSANELY early today, around 5, awakened by thunder.

Ugh. 5 is a bad time for me. I normally wake up c. 6-6:30 so waking up at 5 means I may not get back to sleep. So vibes. Take it easy.

Finally finishing the Once and Future graphic novel series by Kieron Gillen. Probably mentioned it upthread when I first started it but at the time, the story was not finished (I stopped at issue 18 and the comics went to 30 issues). Now the compilations for the remaining issues are long since out so I am finishing it.

Basic story is some batshit crazy UK Nazis summon King Arthur back to life. Except Arthur, being a Briton who tried to fight off the Saxons, is enraged to find the island ruled by descendents of the Saxons and starts a campaign to wipe the island clean. Against him are Bridgette, an eighty-year-old with long experience dealing with the supernatural, her grandson Duncan, who is the embodiment of the Arthurian knight Percival, and Rose, a young South Asian woman who is the embodiment of Gawain. Oh, and Bridgette's evil daughter/Duncan's mother, who embodies Nimue, Merlin's rival in some Arthurian stories.

It's a dark, bloody horror/dark fantasy story with a universe where stories can become embodied in reality. Besides Arthurian figures, we've had Beowulf and Grendel, a gorgon (from classical mythology and based in the Roman baths in Bath), and a giant going "Fee Fi Fo Fum" getting beaten by a guy named Jack.

And since Arthur is a figure with many different stories, we now have multiple Arthurs fighting over which is "real". So besides the British Dark Age Arthur, we have "romance Arthur" drawing on the continental Arthurian romances with Lancelot as one of his knights and Guinevere as his Queen and Lancelot's lover. And as I broke to go to bed last night, a third Arthur, whose identity I am not yet clear on, showed up.

The artwork by Dan Mora and colourist Tamra Bonvillain is incredible, too, capturing the grim mood of Gillen's story perfectly.

Quote by kistinspencil

There is the obvious assumption here that one has words enough for such leisure. If you have but 100 to cast, an adjective, carefully chosen and considered, is your soul mate.

Which is not to say I disagree when painting on an open canvas.

Yeah, that's kind of why I said it's a rule of thumb more than a hard rule. Even in Flash (100 to 1000 words) or comps and submissions with limits in the 2K-3K range, adjectives are helpful for avoiding tying up words in lengthy descriptive passages.

Quote by Cora
I hope you enjoyed Canada Day, Mendalla.

It was a beautiful day weather-wise so spent the afternoon working on the yard. Got lots done. Back hated me but whatever.

Putting on some Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica and some Raspberry and Oolong teas. Fridge looks good for today.

Seem to be pretty much blocked writing-wise but keep trying. Too bad, because I have lots of ideas floating around, just can't seem to get them to work on the screen.

O Caaaaaaanadaaaaaaa!

Good morning and Happy Canada Day!! For today, everyone is Canadian while they are here in the cafe.

We've Timmy's Dark Roast coffee, and Red Rose and Canadian Breakfast tea. Hot water is ready for other beverages. Iced tea and lemonade are mixed up fresh and waiting in the fridge. Boxes of Timbits are on the counter for your sugar fix.

Pistachio gelato sounds like something to die for.

Depends on what flavours are being offered, really. I mean, usually ice cream but a favourite sorbet might trump that in the right situation.

Hotel/Motel or camp out?

It's actually been a cool, damp weekend here so far. Not much rain today but lots yesterday. Very windy, though. Tomorrow looks nice, which will be good for the various Canada Day events and parties.

Like all "rules of writing" I think it needs to be taken more as a "rule of thumb" than a "hard rule". It's a best practice and there are times where it is okay to deviate. After all, adjectives do have their place in the language. But, yeah, in general I like this.

I am sure it will delight Anna to know that I am currently watching a livestream of Eivor's performance at Hellfest 2024.