Velvet Verbosity

UPDATE!!  I have been swamped with family and work stuff and every time I sit down to write this week’s round-up post I get pulled away by something!  After midnight (which it is now) is simply not palatable to do the round-up because I like to get a chance to really read everyone’s submission a couple of times.  It takes me a good two hours at least to do the 100 word round-up.  I also need to quiet time to reflect on which book I will choose next.  (I feel like I’m standing someone up here!)  

It’s Wednesday, and I just wanted to post briefly that I will be back later tonight (or by tomorrow morning) with the roundup, the pick, and the new challenge.  My last two weeks have been brutally swamped with post-holiday stuff, and year end wrap up for work and I’ve been too exhausted to write much.  But I’m here, and I’ve been reading your 100 Word pieces (even if I haven’t yet commented).

Lou, your book is almost ready to go out and I hope to get it to you before you leave on your trip.  It’s not so much the mailing as that I’m working on designing a little write up that goes inside the book and haven’t had a chance to get to that yet.  But it’s sitting here right in front of me to remind me.

So, ciao for now!

The news just keeps getting weirder and weirder.  Every time I think it can’t get any more outrageous, I turn on the news, or go to a news website, and there it is.  I blink, thinking it must be an illusion, that I read wrong or heard wrong, but nope.  I then surf the net or the channels looking for signs of outrage to find little to none.  It is so mind boggling and crazy making that I’m just going to assume that I somehow passed into a parallel universe that looks just like the relatively normal one I used to be in, but here, everything is crazy.  This explanation keeps me from losing my mind.

So, did you hear that Larry Flint and his buddies are going to hit the govuhmint up for a sweet $5 billion? His reasoning?

“People are too depressed to be sexually active.  This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.”

Yes, you’re right Larry, because Hustler and internet porn is bringing people closer together everywhere.  In fact, wives all over the globe are incredibly thankful for the super hot techniques that their men are picking up from this type of porn.  Yeah, women totally love pretending to be porn stars while their sexual needs go unmet.  Pshhhhh.  Shut up Larry.

It wasn’t enough when Wall Street executives went on luxury business retreats with their bailout money.  No, the financial news just had to go and get weirder.  Either The Onion has bought up all the major news networks and is pulling the all time best nation-wide prank on all of us right now, or we have managed to hit an all time low as a nation.  Holy crap.

Update: Shout out to I,Rodius.   When I posted this story, I had a moment of hesitation as I looked at the picture of Mr. Flint’s face and realized what a bloated ego he is and how he’s probably sitting back watching the publicity fly, laughing all the way to the bank.  I hesitated because I don’t like to be part of such games.  I decided to post this anyway for a few reasons.  1) I wanted to post Bill Moyer’s piece, and these two stories intersected beautifully and this way I 2) myself could ride the shirt tails of LF’s publicity.  I see this post as part of an antidote, like when the last fairy came in to influence the curse on Sleeping Beauty.   Yeah, so this is me, waving my magic wand back at ya.  And 3) because I’ve observed my whole life the silence of women when it comes to issues of pornorgraphy/anti-pornography.  I never understood it very well, it was this huge enigma to me.  I could see it written all over their faces, in their body posture, and in their mouths that they wanted to speak how they really felt, but didn’t dare lest they be accused of being insecure, feminazi-ish, or a prude.  There was never a day, or a specific reason I made the decision, I just knew I was always going to say what these women were afraid to because of people who make posters like this:

Because they are the same kind of people that make posters like this one:

Sweet.

Here we are, a new year. Have you got yourself a resolution?  I wonder what the percentage is of resolutions that are actually upheld.  This year I resolved to get my entire life on track.  Single mothering, going back to college, living with two teenagers…things had gotten messy around here.  So instead of making one or two or ten resolutions, I resolved to commit to a daily bettering of myself and my life.   I am taking the gentle path approach, the idea that if every day I just try to be mindful about what I can be doing better, that surely some improvements will happen.

Tonight Alba and Poe heard there was going to be a snow and ice storm starting around midnight, so they decided to go to friend’s houses.  I suddenly found myself with some alone time, and since my new year’s resolve was in full gear I decided to take myself to a funny movie.  I went to see “Yes Man”.  It wasn’t that funny, but there were a few parts that had me laughing out loud and that was just what I needed.

Many years ago I used to take myself to the movies once a year or so. While for most people the idea of going to a movie alone is akin to going to the prom alone, I relish the opportunity.  I am one of those people that accomodates others, and worries too much about other people’s comfort or level of enjoyment, so going to the movies by myself is actually really fun for me.  I get to sit where I want, see what I want, and feel however I want to feel about the movie without having to defend myself during the post-movie discussions. Perfect.

I know you’re all dying to know who gets the first book.  I’ve decided to bestow that honor to Lceel.  Lceel has been my biggest fan all along, and so he is only deserving of the first “prize” from Velvet Verbosity (even if he doesn’t get to keep it).  That’s not the only reason I chose his piece.  It was also because, as much as I was intrigued to see the common theme of a metaphor about choices in life, Lceel’s piece was one of those that had a unique theme.  It was hard to choose this week as I had a few favorites.  I can’t wait to see what y’all do next week.   So Lceel, email me at velvetverbosity at velvetverbosity (dot) you know what.

Outside was pain and strife, cold and wet.
Inside was warm and quiet and the people were nice.
Outside was noisy and confusing and she didn’t know her way.
Inside was familiar and everything was in its place.
Outside was where she was supposed to be.
Inside was where she needed to be.
The Doctor wanted her to go outside.
Her voices wanted her to stay inside.
The Doctor said the voices were bad.
The Doctor said to leave the voices behind.
The Doctor said it would be easy.
All she had to do, was walk through that doorway.
Easy.

In other words…

• Is Rhoni Renee channeling the voice of God?
• And behind door number 157 is Patsy!
• New face Jozii adds to the mix.
• A ninja, a sweet baby girl, and flying cats.
• Mommycosm walks through a doorway into a new life.
• Husband on the threshold at Mary’s.
• Christa must go on.
• The Night Blogger mystifies with magical words.
• Finding courage at I, Rodius.

This week’s word comes from A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeliene L’Engle.  This was one of my favorites as a child, and I’ve reread all of the books on the adventures of the Wallace family.  If you haven’t read these, you really should.

March

This could be the month or the verb, you choose.  Just so you know, it is the month in the book.

With love,