Siv Unplugged

A couple of days ago I challenged myself to unplug from technology for a day. What started out as a test of endurance and a way to measure my addiction taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes we have to unplug ourselves in order reconnect not only with ourselves but with others. I turned off my computer; put away my cell phone, and resisted Kindle and the TV for little over 30 hours. Not only did I survive without these things, but to my surprise I actually had a wonderful day.

Instead of eating my lunch in front of my computer, I enjoyed a beautiful picnic by the sea. Larvik is amazing this time of year. The changing bright colors of the autumn leaves glow in the sun, and cast their reflection in the water. Later on in the day I made friends again with my notebook and pen. The smell of paper and ink were familiar and comforting. I spent more time with my family then I have for a long time, and when the evening stars came out I spent time with them as well.

On top of Larvik

So my friends, I highly recommend to unplug and reboot yourself back into your life. Have a wonderful week-end and try to have your eyes glued elsewhere for awhile.

TURN IT ALL OFF

Can you live without it?

I question myself, really I do. Can you live one day without a computer or cell phone? Some of you may have a job that depends on it, but when you get home, is the computer the first thing you turn on? How many times a day do you check Facebook or your e-mail, how often do you type away in a word document, and do you even remember how to write with a pen and paper? Do you have your cell phone constantly glued to your side? Well I am going to test myself and try to go a whole day without my computer or cell phone. Sound interesting? Do you think you can do it?  Honestly I am not sure I can do it. Well here you go people, I have a challenge for you! Pick a day, any day and see if you can do it. My day is the 29^th of September. I will not turn on my computer or cell phone on that day. I am very curious to see if any of you can do the same. Are we really addicts to this technology? I think not and I am making a stand. Let’s see who among you are brave and even dare to try.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION

My Brother Michael Di Gesu, in timely fashion as always, has put together a blogfest in celebration of summer. What did you do on your summer vacation? Is summer really over already? I guess I am in denial even as I hear the sound of the fire in our wood stove.

So I will tell you what I did this summer and you are not going to believe the vacation I had! I went on a heart and mind trip like no other. I won the most wonderful trip to what could have been an episode of “This is your life.”  I spent my summer getting to know a son that I thought was lost to me at birth. He found me 34 years after I had given him up for adoption, so I traveled through cyber space with the help of Facebook and Skype. I also got to watch my daughter meet her brother and her sister for the first time. You can read about that here. Not your typical vacation I agree. No airplane tickets or packing required, no hotels or vacation resort, no money was spent. I can tell you though that this has been a summer that I will never forget, a vacation that was unlike any other, and I can truly say that I had the time of my life and I believe in miracles!

What Happened to Fur-Gum?

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 Here we go people with the finished story of Fur-Gum...Find out what happened to him!

No one told Fur-Gum to slide behind the couch and hide. Rats and tiny peasants with rubber band weapons patrolled the floor looking for another ticket or something good to chew on. Fur-Gum watched as they....  

Paused briefly and their motley commander said, “I smell something good to chew on.” He called to this fellow peasants and little rat friends seeking volunteers to scout ahead and report back with their findings.... Fur gum broke out in a cold sweat and held its breath...

He knew they were after his mother and ex-wife--The Avenger!

Suddenly a flock of moths took flight around him and the rats turned in his direction.

A strange light surrounded Fur-Gum and an odd whistling sound caused a vibration to rattle his ear drums. The rats began to shrink. The food disappeared with not more than a single crumb visible. Fur-Gum blinked. The light and noise vanished. Fur-Gum had joined the giants and was still growing.

His head rose above the clouds and bumped the moon. Little aliens spilled onto him and ran toward his underwear. Fur Gum wiggled and itched but his hands became numb. The aliens used laser guns to stun him still. Fur Gum wondered what would happen next. His day started out strange and it was ending just as weird.

To his dismay the aliens began to shave all the fur off of him. He shrieked and goose bumps rose all over his hairless body. The aliens collected the fur and began to spin it into yarn creating warm coats to slip into to escape the icy cold. Uncontrollably shivering Fur Gum felt humiliated and heat bumps now blotched his body ...

turning him once again into a small hairless piece of gum. Not knowing what gum was the aliens threw him back into space, until he finally landed in the middle of a rats open mouth.

Please excuse any small changes that I made in order to keep the grammar and sentences flowing. I did however let the change in reference from “it” to “him” stand. My wonderful friends and fellow members of C.P.S.W.A that contributed to this little story are as follows, and please note that I put myself in red, and each paragraph is a new writer in the following order:

Stranger in a Strange Land

Elisabeth Hirsch

Alex J. Cavanaugh

N. R. Williams

shelly

Michael Di Gesu

If you have not taken your award and still want one do so now.

Have a great week-end everyone and speak Gibberish as often as you can!

The Saving of Fur-Gum

Time for some Gibberish people, let's have some fun.

The rules are easy. Minnie starts a story line written in Gibberish and those that want to play continue on the storyline from the last comment posted, in the same style. If you decide to play along there is a certificate at the end as well as membership to my elite group called the Controlled Patriots of Standard Word Abuse. (CPSWA) If you don't understand or have not played this before you can click on the following link to see more about how the game is played. GIBBERISH a game for silly fun.

No one told Fur-Gum to slide behind the couch and hide. Rats and tiny peasants with rubber band weapons patrolled the floor looking for another ticket or something good to chew on. Fur-Gum watched as they.... 

 (Your Turn)

"Time to rattle those brains of yours. I did my part, lets see what you got!"

Completed story posted soon. How soon, depends on you guys.

Now on to some other news while I have your attention. As most of you know I will soon be traveling to the states. I leave on the 8th of October and before then I have so much to do. We also have carpenters here working every day so that this house project of ours will someday be finished. With travel plans and the constant sound of saws in my head there is not much room for the creative juices to flow. Not only that but half naked men running around in my garden are a bit distracting. My blogging brain is somewhat unstable for the time being. I will however be making the rounds and visiting as many of you as I can. Once I get on that plane and across that ocean you can be sure you will be hearing and seeing more from me. Don't forget, I have a traveling duck for a companion who I am sure will have lots to say as well.

For now have fun saving Fur-Gum, I am looking forward to see what my muses have in store.

Worst Movies Ever Blogfest

So Alex J. Cavanaugh has come up with another question for us on his blogfest . Name the worst movies you have ever seen. 

This has been a challenge for me because I actually do not watch bad movies. I am very picky when it comes to movies and if a movie is bad I almost always know before it starts that I will be wasting my time. However, there are a few occasions when I have been drawn in, maybe by star quality, director, producer, etc. to  watching a movie that I already knew was going to be bad from the get go. There is a certain fascination with morbid reality. Like watching a car crash, you cannot help but stop to look and watch. There are many books like that as well. You know the author, you love the work, but you are so lost in the history of that work that you deny the fact that your senses are telling you that you hate what you see, you hate what you read. Fiction as well as life is like that. So are the movies.

Now you need to know what I like to see and read in film before you can understand what will turn my popcorn to bile in my throat.  I read everything from Dr. Seuss to Stephen King. I love old and new movies, everything from Hitchcock to David Lean,  John Houston to Frank Capra. I love everything from musicals to science fiction. I still think Sean Connery, Michael Douglas and Robert Redford are sexy, I would love to have the chance to dance with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, and Jimmy Stewart would be my ideal father and Katherine Hepburn my mother. In todays world Ron Howard and Tom Hanks rule. That is why The Dilemma and The Lady Killers were such a disappointment to me, and Tom Hanks in the movie Larry Crowne with Julia Roberts was downright embarrassing. Another Actor who I had a lot of respect for is Nicolas Cage. Then he made movies like The Weather Man, Season of the Witch and Ghost Rider (they are making a sequel, yes they are.)

Well there you have my picks for just a few of the movies that I considered a waste of time, money and popcorn. Looking forward to seeing what you have on your list of movie nightmares.

Meet Frk. Reisende Duck

Translate her name to English and you have Ms. Traveling Duck.

We who know her call her by her first name which is Anne. Anne lives in Oslo with my niece and her husband, but even though she lives there she never unpacks her suitcase for long. You see, Anne loves to travel so whenever she gets the chance to hitch a ride with her friends on vacation she gets all excited. When she heard I was going to the states in a few weeks she started to make plans to come along. No one can say no to Anne and who would want to. She is the perfect travel companion. She never complains, she sleeps anywhere, and she doesn’t eat much. Here are some pictures from her last trip to Paris, sadly I was not with on this trip.

Anne loves to fly!

A little freshening up and she is ready for Paris!

What a view...ahh, Paris....

Hanging out with the locals

Site seeing 

New friends

Time for cafe visit

Anne will be making appearances from time to time on my blog telling about her travels. We will be leaving together for the USA on October 8^th, destination Denver, Colorado and Mpls. Minnesota. There will be stops along the way and plenty of adventure. We might even meet another blogger friend, who knows? Want to see Anne dressed up as a zombie at Denver’s Zombie crawl, or how about what she is wearing for a big Halloween party in Minnesota?

Anne is a little nervous about meeting my son and living with a wolf, but she is excited at the same time. She also gets to meet my daughter and grandchildren and is a little nervous about their pets as well, although a small dog and kitten are not as threatening as a big wolf. I am looking forward to this trip and to having Anne along for the ride. I hope you all are looking forward to reading about it, and yes there will be lots of pictures!

"Good-day Mates"...Anne has been to Australia as well and is having a bit of trouble getting rid of that accent.

Have a wonderful week-end everyone.