Apologies to Mother Goose April 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Fun & Games, Humor, Poetry.Tags: Magic Mushrooms, Mother Goose, Pumpkins, WordPress, Zen
20 comments
Tired of pumpkin consumption, and running out of wives to fill the wells of all those empty shells, Peter longed for a substance with substance.
Something with less residue than an autumnal gourd.
When he found it . . . WOW!
Peter, Peter, Mushroom Eater
Wrote a poem with perfect meter
He put it on a WordPress site
And was Fresh Pressed that very night
What a trip!
Peter was flying high.
Not content to be a “one hit wonder,” Peter continued experimenting.
With poetry.
He longed to become the next Dr. Seuss.
Or Mother Goose.
The goose that laid the golden egg.
Then our “funny fungus” feeder
Wrote a poem that went still deeper
It blew our minds time and again
With wisdom from the depths of Zen
Mother Goose approved.
Dr. Seuss refrained from comment.
Aah . . . that’s better!
When You Have Something To Say November 2, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.Tags: Blog, Facebook, Humor, NaBloPoMo, NaNoWriMo, WordPress
46 comments
I forget where I saw it and exactly how she put it, but I read a comment recently bemoaning the fact that some bloggers choose to post daily.
The commenter contended that it is rare to find someone who has something worth saying every day.
I disagree. I follow bloggers who write consistently entertaining posts day after day after day.
Kate Shrewsday springs to mind. A laminated copy of her recent post, Toilet Zen: Henry VIII and Lavatory Reading, should be kept in everyone’s throne room. Kate’s writing is majestic.
Other bloggers share inspirational thoughts, words, photographs, art, recipes, and images on an equally consistent basis.
A visit to their blogs always feels like time well spent.
Perhaps our contentious commenter reads the wrong blogs? Or maybe she is annoyed that prolific bloggers have stolen “her” audience?
That said, WP’s recent post, NaBloPoMo is here! Need some inspiration?, rubbed me the wrong way when, with great exuberance, it cheered:
“It’s time to put your thinking cap on, fire up the computer, chug some extra coffee, and get a-postin’!”
Why? So that we can ALL boast that we posted something EVERY day in November in conjunction with the NaBloPoMo challenge?
Where’s the value in that?
I headed round to compare the NaBloPoMo challenge (write a blog post a day for a month) with the NaNoWriMo challenge (write a 50,000 word novel in a month).
Arriving at NaBloPoMo headquarters, I stared in horrified fascination at the site’s self-proclaimed theme . . . blogging for blogging’s sake.
Wow! That sounds a bit like talking just to hear yourself talk! At least WP encouraged us to put on our thinking caps BEFORE striking blindly away at the keys.
Blogging is a great way to say something . . . when we have something to say. It has far less value when we post just to say something.
For that, there’s Facebook.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Have you ever stopped following a blog because they seemed to be “blogging for blogging’s sake” . . . even when they had nothing to say?
Related posts: Why I Write (Janna T Writes) * Why I Write (The Water Witch’s Daughter) * Why Write? * Cooks cook. Dancers dance. Writers Write.
Don’t Wait To Be Freshly Pressed May 23, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board, Writing & Writers.Tags: Blogger, Bulletin Board, Freshly Pressed, WordPress
comments closed
Tired of waiting around to be discovered by the Freshly Pressed crew?
Here’s a new way to get noticed on WP . . . A Post for Your Thoughts!
WP recently added the “Submit a Topic” page to the Daily Post menu.
Via the “Submit a Topic” page, you can send WP suggestions for new posts or submit your story for any one of three new series:
* Why I Blog ~ what makes your blog tick?
* Blogger Profiles ~ recommend favorite bloggers who never cease to amaze you.
* My Morning Coffee ~ share your favorite blog stops with others.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: Success is sharing the best parts of yourself with the world.
The WP Blogging Time Warp May 9, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board, Music & Dance.Tags: Blog, Blogging, Comment, James Taylor, WordPress
comments closed
Ever since WP changed the default setting on the comment box (to encourage people to subscribe to ALL comment threads) . . . I’ve been experiencing a Blogging Time Warp.
I write a post. Someone comments. I see the comment ON the post itself and respond to it.
Twenty-four hours later (plus or minus), the comment travels through the WP Blogging Time Warp and arrives in my In-Box.
Déjà vu!
I expect that the change made by WP has caused any number of “Comment Jams” in cyber-space.
Comment Jams, like log jams and traffic jams, result when too many objects following the same path or trajectory arrive at the same place at the same time and end up going nowhere fast.
Maybe WP needs to rethink their decision to change the default setting.
What say you?
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related posts: Loco Subscription (Pocket Perspectives) * It’s Hard to Breathe Lighter When WP Goes Rogue (BreatheLighter)
Warning: Slow Load March 27, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Blogs & Blogging, Humor.Tags: Blog, Humor, Photographs, WordPress
66 comments
I unsubscribed from several blogs this week because they l~o~a~d s~o s~l~o~w that my computer gets distracted and drifts off to do something else.
Leaving me hanging . . .
Like a chad . . .
Twiddling my thumbs . . .
Waiting . . .
Still waiting . . .
Still waiting . . .
In each case, the bouncer at the front door would NOT let me leave without signing the guest registry . . . even though my computer was FROZEN in cyber space and unable to respond to commands.
My only recourse? Sneak out the back door by closing my browser.
I’m not up to speed on all the things that slow down the speed of websites opening their drawbridges to allow visitors to cross over the cyber moat but one of the prime offenders is . . . over-sized red suspenders.
Or any other photograph that is larger than needed for web viewing.
Before uploading graphics to your WP post . . . cut them down to size.
Resizing won’t hurt them.
But it will make your cyber castle more accessible to peasants. Like me.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Still In The “Spammer Slammer” March 21, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board, Humor.Tags: Akismet, Blogs, Braveheart, Humor, Strawberries, WordPress
58 comments
Despite e-mails to WP and Akismet proclaiming my innocence (“I am NOT Spam”) . . . most sites are still swallowing anything I try to say whole.
Ha ha . . . joke’s on them!
They’ll probably end up with a bad case of indigestion.
A few blogs have allowed me to comment yesterday and today. Yay!
Swing by Rufus Food & Spirits to check out Greg and Katharine’s yummy post on all things strawberry ~ you’ll be drooling, no fooling!
On another fruity note, PiP needs a tip about what to do with her unusual pot ~ it’s unsuitable for forcing rhubarb, but might make a unique hat.
Mirth & Motivation welcomed Spring with FLOWERS!
Kate “unspammed” several of my comments yesterday. This morning, I joined Kate for a Chat Over Coffee . . . and my comment posted without first being relegated to the cyber dungeons.
Andra “unspammed” yesterday’s comment on MAXIM. Freed from cyber purgatory, I paid a visit to her latest post . . . The Attack of the Killer Boobs ~ definitely a good reminder to check the small print when ordering on-line.
Suzicate used her boundless Springtime Energy to travel through time and space . . . from Braveheart to Beach to Garden . . . in a single post.
So I know I’m not a Cyber Ghost.
Yet.
Photo Challenge ~ Contrast March 9, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Blogs & Blogging, Nature.Tags: Aquarium, Fish, Jellyfish, Photography, WordPress
44 comments
Walking into the library one sunny afternoon, I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye . . . the sharp contrast between plant, wall, and spiked shadow captured my attention:
A few days later, we attended a cocktail party for alumni of my alma mater at the Tampa Bay Aquarium. Most of the photos I shot through the glass ended up on the cutting room floor . . . but the contrast between dark water and these glow-in-the-dark jelly fish encouraged me to keep this one:
I also kept one depicting the contrast between slow waters . . . and fast fish:
And this rooftop shot depicting the contrast between night sky and night lights:
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related post: Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Contrast (WP Prompt)
A Secret Stash of Thinks & Thunks October 18, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Humor, Writing & Writers.Tags: Blogs, Humor, Virtual desktop, WordPress, Writing, Writing Journal
42 comments
How do you keep track of your writing ideas?
* In a folder or file?
* On the computer?
* In a bulging notebook?
* On lists littering your desktop?
* On a profusion of post-its?
A few years ago, I started stashing ideas in a private project I created on WEbook called Miscellaneous Musings ~ a writing journal full of ideas to implement down the road.
Each time an idea popped into my head, I’d create a new chapter, with snippets of this and that visible only to me.
Using a virtual cyber-screen allowed my half-baked ideas to incubate behind closed doors.
Image via Wikipedia
On occasion, a curious sort would knock and ask to be invited in to take a look around.
I’d point to the “Do Not Disturb” sign and keep writing.
“No blue aqui.” “Move along people, there’s nothing to see here.”
These days, I file Thinks and Thunks in draft posts on SLTW for later mining and refining.
If only Rumpelstiltskin (or the Keebler Elves) would transform my virtual dumping ground of Miscellaneous Musings into hidden gems worthy of excavation.
No rules . . . just write!
Quote: There is only one trait that marks the writer. He is always watching. It’s a kind of trick of the mind and he is born with it. ~ Morley Callahan
How about you? Do you have a secret stash of ideas stored in cyberspace?
Related posts: Premature Ejaculation * Blogging: A Waggish Waste of Time? * The Sting of the Bard * Exploring Mind Caves For Hidden Gems * Down The Blog Hole * Fun With Words: One Syllable Challenge * The Power of the Pen
Houston, We Have A Problem . . . September 26, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board.Tags: Blogs, Bulletin Board, Postaday2011, WordPress
55 comments
Is anyone else having issues with WP today?
All I’m getting is blank pages without links to new posts and comments.
No easy way to get from “here” to “there” since I can’t open my subscription links either.
Hopefully, it will be sorted out soon. Until then, may the force be with you.
Disabling The Default Comment Setting May 16, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board, Life Balance.Tags: Comment, Default, Tools, WordPress, WordPress.com
57 comments
After summarizing the experiment WP has been running for the past week or so, Beau Lebens explained the launch of the new default setting . . . AND how to disable it:
By default, posting a comment will now subscribe you to receive follow-up comments via email for that specific post, keeping you updated on the conversation.
This is indicated by the checked box in the comment form.
If you have a WordPress.com account, you now have a global setting to change this so that by default you will not be subscribed.
If you don’t have an account, then you can create one over here.
To read the whole article: Stay In The Conversation.
Then SAVE your changes.
What an EASY way to keep weeds out of our garden!
After changing the default setting, you can still follow comment threads on intriguing posts by checking the box when you post your comment.
Aah . . . that’s better!