Six Fourteenths of a Sonnet

Torture your brain for fun?

Free, from clipartpanda

We do it all the time, disregarding the danger of acquiring time-consuming, relationship-destroying addictions. (We prefer the euphemism “expert status”). What are we doing so recklessly? Crossword puzzles! Sudoku! Riddles! Cognitive-training games like Lumosity!  Some people even succumb to solving Rubik’s cubes, and playing chess!

It’s all well and good, because the general population seems to have given these types of activity the stamp of “normalcy.” Everyone sticks to the rules to solve the problems.

But what if you’re one of us subversive types whose game is to juggle words, secretly,

A Pain in the Butt: Redux

“A beggar dressed in rags, limping with the aid of a staff towards a village.” Etching, attr. Jacques Callot.  Wellcome Library, London.  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

I’m grateful for having received a lot of empathy, encouragement, good advice, and reassurance that I’m in plenty of good company, after my post on A Pain in the Butt and Other Life Lessons. Thank-you!

Now, I thought an update would be in order. This caveat still stands: anything I (simply a patient) mention here or in the previous post is for information only. For yourself, check with your healthcare provider to gear to your own situation. Everyone is different!

Since I’m different too, I’d better add another caveat to this post. Warning: Limericks Ahead!

This rhyming, inane, in my brain
When my nether parts wallow in pain
Has one main attraction:
Providing distraction
From feeling I’ve derailed my train!

“On the Fifth Day of Christmas…”

Fifth Day already? You mean we’re already almost halfway through the Twelve Days of Christmas? Well, then it’s past high time I gave heartfelt thanks to fellow writers who brightened the blogosphere with their festive images and words all this past month. Thank-you! I hope that all of you, readers and writers, enjoyed a time of love and peace in your own personal spheres!

C is for …

C is for Clutter Creativity

Can you have both clutter AND creativity at the same time, or do you have to choose between clutter OR creativity? Drive yourself crazy trying to find consensus in scientific or popular commentaries on the internet, then find out what’s right for you!

Old Mother Hubbard – Detail of Wikipedia image (Public Domain)

I concede that, as much as I cringe at the thought of filing papers, I complete more creative goals when my desks are clutter-free (once I’ve recovered from the awe-inspiring, bright sight of empty work surfaces, with my writing and painting tools handy in tidy containers).

Alluding publicly (on my “About” page, no less) to my lofty intention to “downsize clutter,” I must have wanted, subconsciously, to be held accountable for achieving that goal. (On the other hand, it’s also possible

Maui Ocean Center “Portrait” – Meet Roi!

Meet Cephalopolis Argus, a blue-spotted grouper fish, known in Hawai’i as “Roi”.  His many spots reminded a zoologist of the hundred eyes of the giant Argus in Greek mythology (whose watchful eyes ended up on the plumage of the peacock, thanks to Hera). And that’s how this guy got his legal name, plus argus grouper or peacock grouper, peacock hind and peacock rockcod.

A very serious-looking fish indeed, not to be trifled with. As I was closely watching him hiding out in the aquarium, I suddenly realized:

Cephalopolis Argus, Blue-spotted Grouper (At Maui Ocean Center)

Groping for Words

Groping for Words (An octopus in Maui Ocean Center)

Or, Checking the Internet to Avoid Duplicating a Clever Title

Here’s what I discovered:

My clever expressions: “clichés”!!
My mind has been mulling for days
        (ideas unshackling,
        my funny-bone crackling!)
just a mundane phrase in a maze…

“Back to the drawing board,” as they all say.

– – – – – – – – – – –

More about where my “writing buddy” (pictured above) lives:

Fault and Default

 

Thinking Hard – Yes, there’s a story coming some time this year

Somehow, two months slithered through this blog’s word processor in total silence, and froze there. It’s Febrrruary, and our cold temperatures have reached record lows. Cozy in my house, I’m thawing out some frozen chunks of writing starts, perhaps coming soon to a blog near you…  There’s a little piece describing a sunny flight over snowy southern Ontario in a Cessna 150. Some illustration efforts. Another chunk with fragments of deep thoughts inspired, but more eloquently expressed by other writers, photographers, artists and musicians.

Well, after all that, surely through no fault of its own, my brain simply defaulted to its favourite mindset for “when the going gets tough”: sheer silliness! If you dare, you can read some in the attached pdf below.