I would have to have a cause that I really, seriously believed to commit that kind of energy and time. Never say never, but I don't really see myself doing it.

WYE make a large contribution/investment to a project to get your name on it (assuming you had the cash)?

Footnote: Arguably, Wondercafe2, the site I admin, is charitable, not in a legal sense but in that it is volunteer-run and funded by donations. It is not a huge effort, though, and doesn't have the tax and accounting issues that being a legal charity brings.

Quote by Cora

Maybe sitting out on "Beyond the Veil" is the best thing for you. Even though you initially wrote two poems, you have been struggling with the comp since it began, it seems. It also seems you are in a good place now, focusing on your longer fictional pieces. Life often takes us by surprise; you may very well be inspired to write a poem sometime before Sept. 6.

That's kind of where I am right now. Just leaving the comp well enough alone and hoping my muse comes back from vacation. That said, we are coming down to the wire. At least there's a long weekend before the deadline so I have some time if I do get something going.

And I just realized that in rejigging a character in the story I am working on, I inadvertantly turned him into Will from my story The Bat. Some differences in the details, but his name is Will and he is haunted by an act of violence he committed as a teen protecting a girl was in love with. But I think I am okay with the reprise in this case because this version of Will is on a different trajectory.

That version was a time travel story where Will got to rewind his life and change the past. But here I can focus on him dealing with the consequences in the here and now, particularly how it affects his relationship with the female protagonist (it's basically a romance but might end up with thriller elements as I piece this together).

Saw cuts deep through wood.

Fine - File

Collection of shorts, I think. Seem to lack the focus for longer pieces right now.

Shop in person or online?

Good morning!!! How are you all this fine day? 😊

Got some nice Dark Roast Costa Rican coffee waiting for you. There's also Darjeeling and Buddha's Blend teas. Washed the pitchers and made up fresh iced tea and lemonade. Sodas are stocked up.

Into some lovely and, yes, cooler, drier weather. I actually did not look like I had walked through a rainstorm after mowing the lawn yesterday. Will warm up again by the weekend but how bad it gets really depends on where the humidity goes.

Quote by JamesPBear
It's weird.

You say that like it's a bad thing, Mr. Bear. 😉 The world needs more weird (that kind, not the Trump/Vance kind).

Thanks for getting the coffee going. Sorry I am kind of neglecting this place.

I am completely at sea with this comp. Nothing's coming to me, nothing I've tried has stuck. OTOH, my two longer fiction works are moving along well right now. Not fast, but the stories are coming together. Expecting these to be at least novella length based on progress so far.

Quote by Mendalla

Video is now announced for August 13 (this coming Tuesday) and the audio is back on YouTube.

And now the official video. Very well made and tied to the theme of the song. Lead singer Floor Jansen cracked a joke about needing some lotion for her dry skin.😋

If I was buying it myself, paperback. But I used to get the hardcovers as gifts. These days, more likely hardback. Easier to hold open than paperback spines. But I mostly tend to e-books now for the ability to adjust the display to suit my eyesight.

A "serious" book (non-fiction or a "literary" novel) or something light and entertaining (romance, space opera, humour, whatever turns your crank)?

Quote by gillianleeza
Trying to navigate Medicare and get the services my parents need has me pulling my hair out. Why does the government make it so hard?

Our system can be similar so you have my sympathies. It's just with us it's for everyone, not just seniors.

Back to summer after some cooler weather. 28-29C the next couple days, then rain on the weekend.

Coffee du jour is Lavazza. Teas are English Breakfast and Raspberry Royale. Looking good on the cold drinks.

No more Olympics until 2026 and then it's the (brrrrrrrr) Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (joint hosts, an Olympic first). Paris put on a pretty good show. Some hiccups but no disasters. Canada's athletes done good. Best showing in a non-boycotted Summer Games with 27 medals, 9 of them gold. And a few firsts, too, esp. in athletics.

Poetry is just not happening with me right now and I am not sure why. Used to just crack off poems spontaneously. Now, I'm struggling to come up with one. Still 3+ weeks so not out of the running, yet, just struggling in the preliminaries. (Have I been watching too much Olympics?)

Coffee is Jamaican Blue Mountain. Teas are Orange Pekoe and Earl Grey. Washed the pitchers and made fresh lemonade and iced tea. Stocked up the sodas. Looks like we are in business.

Been working away at the sequel to Night of the Wind. It is taking shape. Definitely going to be my longest single story (vs. a series like Chronicles of Tana). Already at 3 chapters and still going.

Debating whether there should be a romance element or not. It would help expand the characters a bit but could also be a distraction. This is already framed as a dark fantasy adventure type of story (monster lurking in the woods is the basic scenario but it's more complicated than that) so maybe I should stick to some hints and flirting for now. Save the romance for a future adventure where I can put it more front and center.

Quote by Mendalla
so far no video to go with it and the audio seems to have vanished from YouTube as well now

Video is now announced for August 13 (this coming Tuesday) and the audio is back on YouTube.

Presence of food triggers hunger.

Rind - Find

I am stalled/blocked right now but there's more than three weeks to go so definitely will get something in by the deadline. If nothing else, I can polish the first one I started and use it. Just not really happy with it.

New Nightwish song, the second single from the upcoming album Yesterwynde, yesterday but so far no video to go with it and the audio seems to have vanished from YouTube as well now. Maybe the official video is coming soon? Anyhow, it is a very different song for them, even if elements of band songwriter Tuomas Holopainen's usual playbook are definitely there. Arguably, not even metal, with strong 80s-esque synth riffs and some other atypical elements. I have listened multiple times on Spotify and definitely like the piece, but it's seeming disappearance from YouTube (not for the first time) has me wondering what's up. I will add the video if/when it comes. Meanwhile, I will add a link to the track on Spotify for those who can hear it there.

https://open.spotify.com/track/20w340h37XvpPjiO591XCg?si=-aaIbGJiRAKmDBLXWsBt-Q

I really need my muse to strike me with inspiration. Right now, she just seems to be on strike. No poem for the comp yet. Not happy with the two I have but nothing else is coming to me. Depression has set in for reasons i am still unsure of, so that's definitely a factor. I just deleted an unfinished 5000 (so far) word story as well, just feeling it was feeding the mood rather than helping it.

Anyhow, I'll put on some Tobermory Grotto coffee. For teas, let's go with Assam and Raspberry Royale. Washed the pitchers and made fresh iced tea and lemonade, too.

Have a good Friday and weekend, folks!!

Something with a bit of a personal connection. Norwegian folk ensemble Gate recorded a new video in Akershus Castle in Oslo where I just happen to have been when I was in Oslo after my cruise in June. Beautiful old castle well worth the visit. And the room where this was shot is especially gorgeous.

I'm easy. Rhymes can add something but are sometimes kind of clunky if the poet resorts to awkward phrasing or word choices to make the rhyme. But most of what I read is either blank verse or based more on metre than rhyme.

Use VPN or other techniques to sneak a peek at a new song before it hits your time zone on streaming OR (im)patiently wait? (yes, this is relevant to my life right now)

Quote by verbal
I’m just sitting here writing and playing No Man’s Sky.

that could be misread as you writing No Man's Sky. Though I imagine writing for videogames is pretty lucrative. I know the Malaysian-born author Cassandra Khaw does, or at least used to do, that at Ubisoft Montreal. Haven't checked into her latest work so not sure what she's up to. Might be writing fiction fulltime now.

Globalization has even affected music. Here we have Mexican power trio The Warning teaming with Japanese rockers Band-Maid. Damn, this track rocks. The bands have been teasing it for what feels like weeks but the hype was justified.

Quote by gillianleeza
Although 7-11 announced a pumpkin spice slurpee, which I won't be trying.

😒 No sick smiley, so unamused will have to do. Pumpkin spice belongs in pumpkin desserts. Period.

Quote by gillianleeza
I'm making a blueberry cheesecake and a peach blueberry cobbler.

This, on the other hand ... ❤️😊

Outside of family (my son has one of my cars more or less permanently), not likely.

WYE help a family member buy, or buy for them, a big ticket item like a home or vehicle?

Hey, someone got the setup done. notes white hairs on the counter, glances over

It's James! Hello there, amigo! I'm wrestling a bit. Have two poems on the go and neither is really doing it for me even though both are quite on point for the comp. Will keep at it.

takes an Earl and joins the Bear

Oo, another fine female singer I follow dropped a new single. Swiss singer Melissa Bonny has been in four bands so far in her career (five if you count a local cover band where she got started). She also does guest appearances with other bands on a fairly regular basis. This is, however, one of her less common solo releases and leans more into a pop sound vs. the metal that is her usual. Nice song, though, and I wonder if this means we'll be hearing more solo work from Melissa.

St. Vincent is one of those artists who manages to be good a so many things. Singer, songwriter, guitarist and now producer of her latest album, All Born Screaming. This song is from All Born Screaming.

Was out working in the yard this morning. Mowed the lawn, did some weeding and other cleanup, packed up yard waste for pickup later in the week. Now sweaty as all heck. Not too hot today yet but quite muggy still. There's a lingering chance of showers today but nothing yet. Given that we are having water problems in my office (not just the building, my actual office), less rain would be welcome for now. We are certainly getting more than enough to keep things green.

I'll throw on a pot of Deathwish Dark Roast. For tea, let's try Darjeeling and Raspberry Royale.

Later, alligators.

Good morning/afternoon depending on where you are! How's things?

Belated pot of dark roast Costa Rican is on. There's Earl Grey and Buddha's Blend in the teapots. Pitchers are washed and filled up with unsweet iced tea and lemonade.

Working on my comp entry. Poetry can be incredibly easy or like pulling teeth for me. There does not seem to be a middle ground.

Quote by OpheliaTusk

Woo Poetry! I have written two poems already for this theme, the trouble will be deciding which poem will be the contest candidate and which will not.

I have a couple, too, but I think the first one is out. The second one feels better to me. May hold on to the first for a post-comp release.