Tag Archives: Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

June 7, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Older Books More People Should Read

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A black woman with a large Afro is sitting on the ledge of a window in a dark room. Light is pouring into the room around her as she holds up a hardback book to the light and reads. My questions for this week’s prompt are how far back are people going to go when selecting older books and how many of us will have already read what other folks recommend?

I wish I could peek at everyone’s answers ahead of time to see what you’re all picking and when they were published.

Here are two books I’d add to this list. Their publication years are in parentheses.

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (1976)

Why: You don’t often seen both dystopian and utopian futures described in the same novel. I like the ambiguity of the main character’s connection to these futures as well as the idea that nothing is set in stone.

 

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (1993)

Why: Other Canadians may have already heard of this book, but it doesn’t seem to be as well known elsewhere. This is a literary fiction novel about Daisy, a bitter woman who was born in 1905 and lived a long, hard life. You are not always going to like her (or at least I sure didn’t), but her journey was well written and explained why she was so angry with the world when she grew old. There’s something to be said for books that explore the lives of unlikeable characters and show why they behave the way they do.

 

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May 31, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Someplace I’d Love to Visit Someday

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

So here’s the thing: I dislike travelling.

Therefore, I’m going to add a mild science fiction spin to this week’s prompt and pretend like Long and Short Reviews has figured out a way to make Star Trek transporter technology an option for those of us who would rather skip the cramped seats, germs, long hours of sitting still, noisy fellow passengers, and anxiety-inducing security guards that are currently necessary for most forms of international travel.

A photo of a side view of a puffin’s head. The puffin is standing next to some yellow flowers and looking ahead at something we the viewers cannot see. If I could hop into a transporter and instantly be sent anywhere, I’d pick Iceland and Tanzania.

Why? Well, Iceland has a cool, mild climate which I generally prefer to hot, humid ones. I find it easier to warm up than to cool down, and I have some medical reasons to limit my exposure to sunlight as well.

Iceland also has a lot of beautiful natural areas to hike through and explore. Imagine the amazing photos you could take and all of the adventures that could be had while walking through those areas.

Best of all, it has puffins!

I would never touch a puffin, of course, but I also wouldn’t complain if one found me interesting and walked over to get a closer view of me. They’re such fascinating little creatures.

 

Three adult wildebeests standing on a grassy plain and looking ahead the viewer. The grass is dry and yellow, and the wildebeests brown boasts are shining in the sunlight. Tanzania would be another cool place to visit once I’d made sure I still had my sun hat and plenty of sunscreen to keep my dermatologist happy. (Ha!)

I’d go to Serengeti National Park in January or February during calving season to hopefully see a lot of adorable newborn wildebeests and whatever other animals might be wandering around there.

Lions and giraffes would be neat to see in person, but I’d keep an open mind and be happy with whatever I found there.

I’ve heard there are some nice hiking trails in Tanzania as well, so obviously I’d have to check out one of them for myself.

And, of course, trying the local cuisine would also be high on my to-do list for both countries. With all of that walking and exploring, I’d be bound to build up quite the appetite.

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May 24, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favourite YouTube Video

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A round light brown rabbit sitting peacefully while perched up on it’s back paws while it’s front paws are neatly placed between the back paws on a patch of dark green grass.

This isn’t Champis, but it does look a lot like him. (The actual photos of him can be found in the links in this post).

This video was created by a Finnish farmer, but it doesn’t matter whether or not you can speak that language.

About 11 years ago, Champis was a rabbit who lived on a quiet farm in Finland. One day Champis decided to start herding sheep, and his humans soon made a video about his adventures in the sheep pen: Champis – den vallande kaninen*

(YouTube wouldn’t let me embed the video, but the link above should take you to it. The video is about five minutes long).

Nobody trained Champis to behave this way, and it’s not typical behaviour for a rabbit.  His humans were just as surprised as the rest of the world was.

What makes it even funnier is that Champis’ son, Champis Junior, eventually became a sheep herder as well.

You all know how much I love rabbits. I have all sorts of videos, gifs, and photos of rabbits doing interesting things tucked away for when I need something to make me smile. This is one of my all-time favourites.

*Kaninen means rabbit in Finnish. Online translation pages haven’t been able to tell me what den vallande means, so please share if you know of a good translation for it.

 

Edit: Thank you to Judy Thomas for sharing this translation: “Vallande translates to herding, I found… so probably, Champis, the herding rabbit.”

 

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May 17, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Non-Bookish Hobbies

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A row of black dumbbells lined up neatly and orderly on a white floor. The wall behind them is white as well. I’ve answered similar questions here in the past, so some of this may be a repeat for those of you who have read my blog for a while.

My non-bookish hobbies include:

1) Weightlifting

It’s one of my favourite forms of exercise.

2) Practicing Spanish

Now I can speak like a fluent toddler! Hehe. Pronunciation is tough, though, so I need to keep working on stuff like rolling my r’s and remembering which letters are generally silent or pronounced differently in Spanish.

 

3) Long, Rambling Walks

I will begin them with a general destination in mind like park X, or beach Y, or neighbourhood Z and then see what’s interesting there today.

One day that might mean walking up and down the beach until my legs are worn out by the sand. The next walk might involve browsing in all sorts of cool little shops along the way in a certain neighbourhood or it trying out a new trail at a park that I haven’t fully explored yet.

Some walks are brisk, athletic, and involve hills. Others are more like meandering strolls that aren’t exercise-y at all. I love all of them.

 

4) Card Games

Fast-paced card games like Dutch Blitz as well as calmer ones like Uno are both fun. I need to find some folks here in Ontario to play with me.

 

5) Swimming

It’s not something I get to do very often, but I relish it when I do.

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May 10, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Story About My First Crush

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Two shiny metal reflective hearts sitting on a brown grainy surface. One is larger than the other, and you can see where the smaller heart was cut out of the larger one. I have only occasionally developed crushes throughout my life, so I had to dig deeply for this post.

My first crush was a boy named Jonathan, and I think I was somewhere between the ages of three and five when it happened.

He was probably someone I went to church with as I had a stay-at-home mom who was just beginning to (or maybe would soon begin to?) homeschool me. Therefore, there was no daycare or public school for me to meet new people at during this stage in life.

The only memory I have about Jonathan or my crush on him involves my parents scolding me for calling him my boyfriend and telling me I was too young for such things as I stared up at the bare tree branches and chilly, grey sky overhead, inwardly sighed in exasperation at my parents who I thought were being really silly about the whole thing, and outwardly obeyed them. (Or at least I think I obeyed them?)

If only I remembered more about it. I assure you that the rest of my childhood was far less dramatic than that brief moment of parent-child conflict, so maybe that’s why it stuck around in my memory so firmly?

As far as crushes I fully remember goes, that honour goes to two characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I thought that Deanna Troi:

Photo of Marina Sirtis playing Deanna Troi on Star Trek:Deep Space Nine. She is wearing a teal Star Trek uniform and looking ahead of her seriously.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12543302

 

and

Photo of LeVar Burton playing Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is wearing a yellow Star Trek uniform and his visor and looking ahead of himself with a serious expression on his face.

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12048284

 

Geordi La Forge

 

were both good-looking, kind, and interesting people, and I wanted to follow them around all day and ask them dozens of questions about themselves and life in the twenty-fourth century as they performed their duties on such a fancy spaceship.

I’ve been attracted to all sorts of different types of people, and I don’t really have a type. Having a good character and a pleasant personality are such important factors in attraction, too.

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May 3, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: My Thoughts on Small Talk

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Two blue tits sitting on the edge of a birdbath that is sitting next to a large tree. The birdbath is filled with water and is nearly perfectly still. The bird on the right is looking at the bird on the left and opening its beak as if it’s about to chirp. Its right leg is lifted up as well. The bird on the left looks a little disgruntled but keeps both legs firmly clasping to the edge of the bird bath.

Is this what avian small talk looks like?

I have mixed feelings about small talk.

Typical small talk conversations are unlikely to offend anyone or to stir up difficult emotions for the majority of people.

Then again, you never know what someone might find hard to talk about. Asking someone about their job might be a painful conversational segue for someone who was recently laid off or who is in an awful work environment, for example. I used to think asking about family, food, and pets were fairly innocuous, too,  but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone.

Occasionally, people try to discuss sports, fashion, celebrity news, or makeup with me. I know so little about all of them that I won’t have much to add to those conversations which I think is a small risk of anything you might bring up with someone you’ve just met or who you’re trying to keep things light and fluffy with.  We don’t all share the same interests, after all, but plenty of other folks may leap at the chance to guess which sports-ball team will win this year or when celebrity X and celebrity Y are going to get married after they announced their engagement.

(I’m being a little silly there and mean no offence to anyone who loves sports or fluffy, harmless celebrity news. To each their own!)

Some of the safer topics I’ve discovered are the weather, music, books, that cool bird* I spotted while birdwatching a while back, tv shows, and weekend plans. They probably won’t step on anyone’s toes, and it’s easier for someone to steer the conversation into other directions if one of those things does touch on a sensitive issue for them for whatever reason.

*It was some sort of hawk, and it was glorious. I only wish it had flown close enough for me to better identify it!

The conversations they tend to generate can feel a little repetitive to me, but I also recognize the value of sticking to lighthearted and safe material with people you don’t know well yet or who you’d rather not discuss certain things with for whatever reason.

So I will happily participate in small talk for as long as is necessary. Sometimes that may be a permanent decision depending on who I’m interacting with and what our relationship is like, but I’m also secretly glad when I meet people who also share my interests and want to discuss anything from horror films to that great new dairy-free restaurant to much deeper and more personal stuff.

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April 26, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Films to Watch When You’re Having a Bad Day

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A clear glass bowl filled with popcorn is sitting on a white table. There is a clear glass filled with a dark soda sitting on a red and white checkered napkin on the left hand side of the popcorn bowl. On the right hand side, an opened bag of microwave popcorn is leaning on the glass bowl of popcorn and there are about two dozen pieces of popcorn spilled over the white table and red and white checkered napkin. If you like eating snacks while watching movies, go put your favourite snacks on your shopping list.

I generally don’t eat while watching films, but I might be tempted by this cola and popcorn!

I need lighthearted stories when I’m trying to get my brain to stop rehashing whatever happened earlier, so you won’t find anything serious or scary on today’s list.

Here are five films I’d rewatch when I’m having a bad day.

 

Film poster for the 2008 romantic comedy “Definitely, Maybe”. The poster shows Ryan Reynolds carrying Abigail Breslin on his shoulders. Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, and Isla Fisher(his three love interests in the film) are shown smiling, each in their own third of the poster as a cityscape, some yellow glowing lights, and a city forest scene complete the visual arrangement. The title is written at the bottom of the poster.

Definitely, Maybe (2008)

What It’s About: A father telling his ten-year-old daughter a story about the three women he dated 11+ years before while she tries to guess which woman he described was her mother. Sometimes he must make humorous detours to avoid sharing inappropriate details of his dating life with his kid. There are a few light mystery elements, but this is mostly about their warm father-daughter relationship and what the dad wishes he’d done differently in life.

Why I Recommend It: The storyline is sweet and funny. I liked seeing what happens to characters after they broke up and how they successfully coparented their child. You don’t see amicable breakups often in this genre, but it was handled gently and with a lot of humour. This otherwise followed most romantic comedy tropes, so that predictability was helpful as well.

 

Film poster for Just Wright. Image on poster shows Queen Latifah and Common playing their respective characters. She’s attempting to dribble a basketball while. He lovingly wraps his arms around her and tries to take the ball away. They are both grinning throughout this. She’s wearing a soft, dark blue sweater and jeans and he is wearing the same uniform he’d wear to play professional basketball.

Just Wright (2010)

What It’s About: A no-nonsense physical therapist who is hired to help a basketball player recover from a career-threatening injury.

Why I Recommend It: I loved how opposite the two main characters were when we first meet them. I can’t say much about their personalities without giving away spoilers, but it made discovering the similarities between them more interesting in the later scenes. This more or less followed the typical plot for a romance which another reason why I liked it. Sometimes it’s nice to just relax and watch a storyline unfold without needing to solve any mysteries or trying to guess in advance how it will end.

 

Film poster for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. In it you see Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan standing in a swamp in a jungle that covers them up to their chins. They are all looking suspiciously around at the jungle to see what might sneak up on them.

By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2283362/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54174459

 

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

What It’s About: Four teenagers who are accidentally sucked into a video game, become the characters in it, and must find a way to win the game before they run out of lives and get stuck there forever.

Why I Recommend It: The characters are ridiculous and delightful. I loved the way the storyline poked fun (in a friendly way) at all sorts of video game tropes. This does not require any sort of analysis. It simply exists to entertain, and there’s something to be said for that some days!

 

Film poster for the Pixar film Coco. It shows a drawing of a large white guitar surrounded by several of the main characters of the film, including Miguel, his abuela, and three skeletons who are ancestors of Miguel’s family. They are standing in front of the Land of the Dead, and there is a small image of Miguel walking with his dog at the bottom of the image.

Coco (2017)

What It’s About: A 12-year-old boy named Miguel who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead and must find his way home again before morning.

Why I Recommend It: Miguel was such a sweet, kind, and brave kid. I also loved the subplots of this film that were related to Dia de los Muertos and Miguel’s relationships with various family members. There are a few minor mysteries to be solved if you want to, but it’s also completely possible to ignore the clues, focus on the main storyline, and still have a wonderful time.

Honestly, I highly recommend Pixar films in general. All of the ones I’ve seen so far have been well-written, creative, funny, and otherwise excellent distractions from a bad day whether you’re five years old or many decades older than that. They’re somehow written for people from every age group simultaneously which is quite the accomplishment.

 

Film poster for Spirited. Will Ferrell is on the left hand of the poster wearing a green suit and looking like he’s about to leap out of the poster. Ryan Reynolds is on the right hand of the poster wearing a red suit with white trim on it also looking like he’s about to leap out of the poster. They are both standing with wide leg stances and have their right arms bent at the elbow in front of them while their left arms are moving back for momentum. It’s like they’re skating or something!

Spirited (2022)

What It’s About: A modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This time, the selfish rich protagonist is someone who is aware of A Christmas Carol and has zero interest in listening to the spirits of past, present, and future or changing his ways.

Why I Recommend It: It was wickedly funny and an amazing homage to the original. I loved seeing how everything was updated for our era where everyone has a smartphone and does not take kindly to paranormal strangers breaking into their apartments in the middle of the night.

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April 19, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Piece of Advice I’ll Always Remember

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Closeup photo of about a dozen peaches that are sitting in a wicker basket. Warm sunlight is trickling through the holes in the basket and onto the warm, soft fruit. Normally, I have anecdotes, short or otherwise, to share in these posts to fill out some space and make them last longer. This time I do not.

I read this a few years ago and thought it was as accurate as it is funny:

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches.”  – Dita von Teese.

It’s so very true. Not all personalities will necessarily mix well in this world.

All I need to do is to be kind and polite to everyone and let the people who like peaches know that I’m around.

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April 12, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: My Best Home Remedy for the Common Cold

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Edited to add that I’m once again having trouble leaving comments on Blogspot blogs. It worked this morning and now it doesn’t. If I don’t comment on your post now or in the future, this is the reason why.

The small hand of a Caucasian adult is holding a blue and white bottle of Life Brand Sterile Saline Nasal Mist. My best home remedy for the common cold is something I first discovered a year or two ago that’s called a nasal saline spray or a sterile saline nasal mist.

It’s a gentle purified solution of salt and water that is not habit forming. There are no drugs or preservatives in it, therefore I’m hoping that most of you will be able to give it a try if you’re interested.

Here’s a photo of my current bottle. Its ingredients are identical to the name brand version so far as I can tell, so don’t waste your money on the fancy stuff unless you really want to. It all works exactly the same. You can even make it at home if you prefer that option.

When I have a cold, it feels like 90% of my body is comprised of mucous. My cheeks, sinuses, and nose become sore and uncomfortable, and that can trigger a nasty headache and other painful reactions in nearby body parts as well.

Squirting nasal saline spray into my nostrils helps to clear them out and reduce the pain and inflammation that can be part of the common cold. This makes it easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep.

It works better and lasts longer than inhaling warm, moist air from, say, running the shower and sitting in the bathroom. That was the trick I used for many years before I discovered this product, and it’s still a great option to use in conjunction with this or instead of it if you can’t use saline solutions. Close-up photo of a digital thermometer, an analogue thermometer, and about ten little pills sitting on a white table. The pills are of various sizes and colours, from blue to pink to yellow to orange. A few are large, a few are small, and most are average sized.

I’ll use my spray a few times a day when I’m sick depending on how much my sinuses are hurting and how congested I am. It’s especially nice to do right before bed as I can then breathe through my nose more easily as I fall asleep.

Common colds are never going to be fun, but nasal saline spray makes them a lot easier to deal with.

I look forward to reading everyone else’s responses to this prompt and will be taking notes for the next time I get sick.

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April 5, 2023 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Sports I’ve Tried and What I Thought of Them

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A few of my comments on Blogspot blogs went through last week. This week, none of them are going through even if I switch browsers. I will keep trying, but that is why I’m not commenting on some sites.

A photograph of a basketball net against a dark night sky. The photo is positioned so that it looks like the full moon in the sky is about to swish through the basketball net.

Physical education class was where I was first seriously introduced to playing sports as is probably also true for many other folks. Every year we played football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball as the seasons turned. Sometimes the teacher would mix things up a little by having us play hockey or kickball indoors or play tennis or run around the track outside when the weather was nice.

While there are people out there who learned to love those sports and exercise in general through their experiences in gym class, I was not one of them. I wasn’t a naturally athletic kid or teen, and competition squelches my interest in exercise instead of encouraging it.

I’m sorry to say that I loathed every single one of these sports. Other than tossing a baseball around with my oldest nephew a few times, I have steadfastly and purposefully avoided even the slightest whiff of all of them as an adult.

The sports I like generally have a few things in common:

1) It’s easy to participate in them non-competitively,

2) They can be done alone or with a small group of people,

3) They do not involve pain, balls, or running. (I sustained numerous injuries in gym class over the years. Even though they were minor things like sprains or bruises, having so many of them happen year after year gave me what seems to be a lifelong aversion to sports that involve these things).

4) You can do them at your own pace and with modifications if certain moves hurt or if I can’t yet do them.

So, for example, I love swimming, nature walks, yoga, bicycling, light hiking*, dancing, and weightlifting. I used to love canoeing, too, although I haven’t done it since I was a kid.  Rollerskating is also fun if I’m on a smooth surface, am wearing appropriate safety gear, and can move at my own pace.

*e.g. I’ll explore a trail for an hour or two (or much longer than that if the weather is mild and the terrain is fairly flat), but then I want to go home, rest my feet, drink lots of water, and maybe eat a banana.

Basically, I don’t mind pushing myself in reasonable ways to see how my body reacts, but I never want to wake up the next day too sore or bruised to function.

If any gym teachers end up reading this, I hope contemporary gym classes are much more useful, practical, and encouraging than the ones I had. The idea of teaching kids to get into the habit of exercising early in life is a great one, but that class was useless for me at best.

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