Dave G

Thanks. I have done some writing aimed at an upper middle grade audience, drawing on my long experience as a middle school teacher. An interesting age group to work with and write for! Happy writing to you as well.

Congrats! Do you mind if I — as a fellow chessplayer interested in creative writing — ask what type[s] of writing you’re focusing on? (I’m considering an MFA program.)

I haven’t read Karamazov, but here are my thoughts about when you should read the other three:

Jane Eyre — immediately

Count of Monte Cristo — when you have nothing else to do for a few months

Wuthering Heights — never

A Limerick-Off sounds like a blast!

While I’ve written scant few limericks, a silly one I jotted in my ancient college days has somehow stuck with me:

When he was eleven, Noam Chomsky
Accepted (with all due aplombsky)
A prize for his antics
In English semantics
Then ran home to brag to his momsky.

Hm! Don’t know that one, but perhaps my wife the clarinetist does.

Glad it amused you. 🙂

(BTW, if you read it with a British accent, perhaps it more-or-less rhymes??)

I’m stuck in a dab of a quandary,
Feeling struck by your jab of misandry;
For although I’m a man,
When it comes to my clan
I do ninety percent of the laundry!

(I know, I know, but I think some of Shakespeare’s rhymes were also imperfect.) 🙃

Some guy named Harper has also been doing ok.

I wonder if the Phils are the first team ever to win consecutive games where the winning run was scored by catcher interference.

YouTube video by Nathaniel Barlam Song For Sharon Illustrated

Joni Mitchell’s “Song for Sharon”, a sprawling 8-minute-plus epic rumination on love and yearning and despair and much more:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UX...

A half gallon of orange juice is often 59 ounces these days.

Makes me think of Sam pondering a dead Southron [enemy] soldier:

“He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace”

I bake (and eat) pumpkin bread year round, infusing each day with a savory-sweet hint of autumn.

Same here, but it’s *if* I grow up.

“Do you know much about bikes?” James asked.

I replied: “Oh, I’ve seen tires, and I’ve seen chains …”

I’m glad you already knew the rule: You Don’t Mess Around with Jim.

“They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum

And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see ‘em”

If you like Charlotte’s _Jane Eyre_, I recommend her sister Anne’s similarly emotional epic _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_. Not always cheery, but an engrossing and rewarding read that will keep your mind off the disaster(s) for a while.

What are your biggest peeves, regarding words that aren’t accepted by the #NYTspellingbee?

Mine: INLINE and TAPPET.

#spellingbee

I once attended a meditation retreat led by Thich Nhat Hanh. He radiated caring, awareness, and peace — a great role model. Thanks for sharing his insights here.

Second straight day I got #Wordle in 2. If only that luck carried over into other areas…

Wordle 1,470 2/6

🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Changed my worldview, in a good way. I hope it does the same for you.

In case you’re interested, I made a Spotify playlist called “Mellower LOTR,” which omits the war scenes:

open.spotify.com/playlist/7c5...

Brilliant quote, and sadly applicable.

Which one? (There have been many.)

From the Lord of the Rings movies: Merry, Pippin, and Bill the Pony

Post a trio of awesomeness ✨

Air Jane Page 3 by hankinstein on DeviantArt

NOTE: For some reason, the link from page 2 to page 3 doesn’t work right. Use the following link to reach page 3 (after which you can go from page to page again):

www.deviantart.com/hankinstein/...

Tips for reading it:

1. To zoom in for easier reading, click on the page image.

2. After you finish each page, scroll below and look along the left edge for "NEXT PAGE: [link]". Click on "[link]".

3. On a small screen, click “Show Full Description” to reach the link to the next page.

Air Jane Page 1 by hankinstein on DeviantArt

Many writers have retold the Jane Eyre story, but you may not have seen my favorite #JaneEyre tribute.

“Air Jane” is a colorful, vibrant, hilarious — and surprisingly faithful — comic-style tale of Jane as a basketball-crazy, wisecracking governess. See it here:

www.deviantart.com/hankinstein/...

If you like Charlotte’s book Jane Eyre, try her sister Anne’s similarly sprawling and ahead-of-its-time novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.