Category: Of Interest

Another Flash Fiction and Podcast

Alrighty, I’ve posted another original flash fiction in the Library and read it so it’s also a podcast. I guess this makes it episode 4. I’m still learning….I’ve got the podcasts connected to Spotify, Google Play and I think iTunes. That last one is weird because on the Podbean end it’s showing some activity from Apple, but yet I can’t get it to load my feed when I do it through my Apple ID. Something to do with image size, but I may try again tomorrow.

Besides the flash fiction and podcast reading of it, here’s a bonus feature – last Friday (March 27) I had a bit of a panic attack, and forced myself to read a description from The Anti-Nihilist trope description page from the TVTropes website and offer my thoughts on it and Existentialism, given the current COVID-19 pandemic. I read it on Facebook Live because – as I live alone – I needed someone to make me accountable to work through this freakout. So while it’s on my Facebook, here’s the YouTube video. Watch for me saying “absurdity” and the bird agreeing with a “raawwr!”

Podcasts! Get Yer Podcasts!

Okay. So I finally managed to figure out posting for podcasts and the software. Go to the Podcasts tab to see the latest. If you like what you see, click the Ko-fi button or on this link and tip what you can. My plan is to post a podcast – be it a story, commentary, what not on a weekly basis.

For all those people talking about putting out a podcast: while you have mentioned the effort and time needed, not a single one of you at ATB sessions or Calgary Public Library seminars or on Lynda.com training or online mentioned the sh!tshow that is all the technical side. Audacity, RSS, Google Play, Audible, iTunes, Podbean etc….[reaches for aspirin]

Metaphorically speaking it was like this:
Me: How do I drive this car?
– Automobiles drive on roads. Roads are flat surfaces that can be made of asphalt, concrete, gravel or even dirt.
Me: Sure. But how do I drive  this car?
– Automobiles can come in 2 to as many as 18 wheels, and are powered by an internal combustion engine, except for those who use hybrid or electricity.
Me: How. Do. I. Drive. THIS. Car?!
– Automobiles can be in various shapes and sizes
Me: [screams in frustration]

Left Foot, Right Foot – original science fiction story

Okay, go to Library of Stories to see the latest “new” science fiction by me –  Left Foot, Right Foot. This is a new version of an older story I wrote ten years ago.  I’m still working to get people following and reading and even legit commenting (I’m tired of spam in my comments…spam, spam, spaaaaaam, horrid spaaaaaaaaaaaaam!).

Also working on messing around in Audacity, and experimenting with attaching recordings to PowerPoint presentations to make short videos I can post to Instagram. Speaking of, Instagram is pissing me off. They want you to only post on your cell phone. But I sometimes need to edit images/ create images on my computer.  You can view, follow and comment through a browser window, but you can’t add. They had a desktop app which allowed posting even if it was a little temperamental. And then lately that’s not allowed. [rolls eyes] At times, I find myself quoting  Spaceballs: 
“Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!”

Thoughts on Mindfulness, ADHD and distraction

Last summer I did a video about my thoughts on mindfulness relating to ADHD and how cell phones distract us from the now. It’s available here and it weirdly enough covers a 4 Musketeers reference (hmm…maybe I should go a full goatee this coming summer instead of the break…either that or refresh my memory on fencing so I can embrace my swashbuckling side).

New Story – Future News Bulletins from 2050

Future News Bulletins from 2050: a  new story in pictures on the Multimedia tab! Similar to an earlier story of mine “Virtual Afterlife” it’s a story from the future told in pictures. Why? I was thinking of the whole piece in terms of Twitter blurbs/news aggregator websites and as I’m a writer and not a designer, this is the best I could do. I also had a bit of fun with the fake hyperlinks beneath each story.

I would like to add – you can probably guess the real life political family to which I refer. Growing up in Western Canada, I’ve found it amusing how some people easily demonized this family and from there I formed a “what if” scenario.  While I am a progressive thinker, what bothers me is the increasing hyper-partisanship among voters, politicians and talking heads. You see it on both sides of the spectrum – either the individual is “Great Leader” or “Great Satan”. Instead we should be looking at and judging the person and their actions – despite whatever attachment you have to him/her/them.
I’m also throwing these images up on my Instagram feed.

Random thoughts #23

Years ago, I had a T-shirt which, in big bold letters, stated “Have A Day” and included a neutral smiley face. I found it curious and funny how many people read “nice” into the words. Pattern recognition and pre-judging based on past experiences. But I loved it when I’d pass the random person on the street and they’d quietly giggle at my shirt. It’s the small things sometimes – noticing both sides of the reaction, and taking joy or amusement in it. But I’m also older and (hopefully) wiser to realize people sometimes are on auto-pilot due to things in their life, and what they’re doing at the moment. I’ve been on the clueless side too – once realizing 5 HOURS LATER that a guy may have been making a pass at me.

So I guess I’m saying, “Have a day – with the good, and the bad, learn, grow, don’t cling to pain, don’t expect happiness, accept reality as it is, breath in, breath out, be nice to one another if you can because we’re all going to end up as piles of dust eventually, so why not strive to get those pleasant fuzzy feelings in the meantime?”