I Have Moved!

Blogger has been good to me overall. This is the site where I started my blog and learned the ins and outs of this great form of communication.

Unfortunately, it has also been the site which had comments yanked at one point, was down for a while at another, has disallowed a couple of people trying to comment, and has given me spacing issues that would stump the problem-solving ability of Sherlock Holmes and Albert Einstein combined.

Thus, I have moved . . . to WordPress. My site is still www.julieglover.com. If you subscribe, however, you may need to change your subscription to my feed there, which is: http://julieglover.com/feed/.

Thanks to all! I'll be shutting this location down in a few days.

Are You a Believer or a Skeptic?

Skeptic: 1. a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual. 2. a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
from www.dictionary.com, based on Random House Dictionary

I have several author friends who have written compellingly about ghosts and hauntings. Stacy Green, Catie Rhodes, and Debora Dale all recently covered fascinating tales of paranormal activity.

Yet, I don't believe in ghosts.

I'm not a naysayer, but a true skeptic. I question the validity or authenticity of certain claims and maintain a doubting attitude. However, highly intelligent, reasonable people have drawn conclusions that are different from mine. In other words, I don't say that there are no ghosts, but I remain skeptical that there are.

In fact, I'm a skeptic about many legends and stories. For Deep-Fried Friday, let's take a look at six main ones, and I'll share my perspective. At the end of the post, I hope you'll share your views as well.


Ghosts. Ghost hunting is popular these days with shows and websites gathering evidence of hauntings. I have never seen a full episode of Ghost Hunters - only clips. However, I have researched the claims for ghosts. The evidence seems to include temperature, EMF fluctuations, photographic anomalies, and audio recordings with unusual sounds or vocalization. I wonder why we have attached these factors to ghosts. There are plenty of physical phenomena that we were unable to explain in the past that we can explain now. These unusual events may simply fall into that category. To be convinced by this evidence that ghosts exist, you must first accept the premise that EMF readings are evidence of a ghost and not merely some yet unexplained natural occurrence.

That said, I have seen odd things which I cannot account for. For instance, in Debora Dale's final post on The Ghosts of Gettysburg, the last video shows two shadows crossing without anything casting the shadow. Can I explain it? No. Does it make me believe that those are ghosts? Not yet. I am open to the possibility. And if I am ever personally haunted, I will eat all of these words - deep-fried and with a side of humble pie. But I remain skeptical.

My conclusion: I have yet to see a sufficient body of evidence that convinces me of the presence of non-living beings or paranormal energy in our midst.

Roswell UFO. In 1947, a pilot saw what he described as a flying object "moving like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water." The United States Army soon after recovered debris which it claimed was a weather balloon. Rumors, however, abounded that what had landed was an alien spacecraft and the government was covering up. Top secret documents from the 1940s were declassified in the 1990s, and the Air Force studied the evidence and issued "The Roswell Report: Fact Versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert." Indeed, the debris was not a weather balloon; it was most likely the remains of a top secret research program called Project MOGUL. The project's purpose "was to try to develop a way to monitor possible Soviet nuclear detonations with the use of low-frequency acoustic microphones placed at high altitudes." Sounds plausible to me.

My conclusion: The UFO debris recovered at Roswell was the remains of a government research program device. The flying object has now been identified.

Area 51 Aliens. According to believers, a secretive military base in Nevada is the site where the U.S. Government has stored extraterrestials and alien spacecraft. For decades, the government would not discuss the base with the public, thus fueling suspicion about its purpose and contents. Recently, however, the CIA has declassified top secret programs conducted at the base. During the years when UFOs were sighted in the area, the U.S. was developing and test-flying spy planes - which would appear as flashes of light in the sky.

My conclusion: The sightings at Area 51 were of top secret spy planes which the government refused to acknowledge at the time due to security reasons.

"Many a man has been hanged on
less evidence than there is for
the loch ness monster."
G.K. Chesterton

Loch Ness Monster. The Scottish lake, Loch Ness, is home to the legend of a sea monster affectionately called Nessie. Of all the legends I've looked into, this is the one I am most inclined to believe. There have been thousands of eyewitness accounts - and not merely from enthusiasts inclined to believe, but from people of all walks of life. The reports of a large 15-20 foot animal rolling and rising out of the lake go back for centuries. Guesses as to what Nessie actually is include a plesiosaur, an elephant, an eel, and more.

We lack conclusive evidence, though. Sonar scans have indicated the presence of something, but several expeditions have failed to find bones or the Loch Ness Monster itself. Of course, if a single monster still exists, there must have been a breeding population, so we should see evidence of aquatic beasts in the lake. Then again, the lake feeds into the Atlantic Ocean through an adjoining river. Could the creatures swim in and out? Perhaps. Also, there are caverns within the lake where a creature could hide. Still, I have to wonder why there aren't any bones.

My conclusion: There may have been a strange sea creature in the lake at one time, but probably not now.

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch. Bigfoot is a creature that is something between ape and man and roams the cold climate, wilderness areas of North America. Tracks, scat, hairs, and brief sightings comprise the primary body of evidence. Photographic evidence has been demonstrated to be suspect, if not an outright hoax.

Is it possible, however, that Bigfoot exists and we simply haven't found him? Maybe. New species are discovered and classified every year. Then again, I have a feeling that if Jeff Corwin wanted to find Bigfoot, he could. So I wonder why all the Bigfoot enthusiasts haven't tracked him down yet.

My conclusion: The sightings may be a variation of ape or other primate, but not likely a beast-man as we picture Bigfoot.

El Chupacabra. El Chupacabra has mostly been seen in Central and South America, although some sightings have been reported in the Southern United States. It is described as an animal with strange eyes, fangs, and claws which can travel on two or four feet. It attacks livestock and drains the animals of their blood. The word "chupacabra" means "goat sucker." Sightings have been rare, photographic evidence is nonexistent, and when someone has caught a chupacabra, it turns out to be a sick or deformed animal instead. I don't buy into this vampire tale. However, El Chupacabra is an interesting legend.

My conclusion: El Chupacabra sightings are likely due to mistaking predatory animals as vampiric creatures instead.

So what do you think? Are you a believer or a skeptic? Which legends are real and which are fake? What is your supporting evidence for what you believe? Have you had a personal experience with any of these?

Sources: UFOs? Aliens? Area 51 Revealed, ABC News; How Chupacabras Work, How Stuff Works; Nessie of Loch Ness, The Museum of Unnatural Mystery; Roswell - The Final Declassification, Rense.com; Roswell: Anatomy of a Myth, Roswell Files; The Roswell Incident and Project Mogul, The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry; Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization; International Institute for Species Exploration; The Shady Science of Ghost Hunting, Live Science; The Legend of Loch Ness, Nova; Rogue Nessie, StrangeMag.com.

Poetry You Actually Like

After my Limericks post, I realized how true it is that people who swear they don't like poetry actually might. Plenty of people enjoy limericks, and that's poetry.

What other poetry masquerades as something fun rather than something you must study for that one stupid unit in English class? For Amaze-ing Words Wednesday, let's look at some children's poets who appeal to kids and grownups alike.

Shel Silverstein

Poet Shel Silverstein authored 12 books. Some of his most popular were A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Giving Tree. He wrote about silly stuff but also stuff to which we relate. He described feelings that we all have with words that entertain. For instance, here's the beginning of "Sick" from Where the Sidewalk Ends:




"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry.
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more - that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?"

The poem continues with all of Peggy Ann McKay's reasons for not going to school - which we can relate to as a student or a parent.

Here's a silly one from Shel Silverstein made into a video:

Dr. Seuss
You've heard of him, right? Theodor Geisel, or pen name Dr. Seuss, wrote 47 children's books. I don't know any adults who don't enjoy Dr. Seuss as well. Geisel was great at playing with language, but he also taught some important concepts in his poems. For instance, in Yertle the Turtle, an arrogant turtle king turns his fellow pond dwellers into minions who must serve his desire to gain more and more power. That is, until one particular turtle speaks out on behalf of everyone:

That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack
Decided he’d taken enough. And he had.
And that plain little lad got a little bit mad
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.
He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king.

reprinted from www.seussville.com

It's about a bunch of turtles, but also about equality and fair treatment in society.

My own favorite from Dr. Seuss, however, is Horton Hatches the Egg. Merrie Melodies did a version of the tale in 1942. It's enjoyable to watch, but I'll give you advance notice that it is almost 10 minutes long.

Jack Prelutsky
Jack Prelutsky was the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate, named by the Poetry Foundation in 2006. However, Prelutsky said, "There was a time when I couldn't stand poetry! In grade school, I had a teacher who left me with the impression that poetry was the literary equivalent of liver. I was told that it was good for me, but I wasn't convinced" (from Scholastic). As a young man, he enjoyed drawing and started adding a poem to each of his pictures. Now, he has written more than 50 poetry collections for children. Here's a sample:

Ma! Don't throw that shirt out,
It's my all-time favorite shirt!
I admit it smells peculiar,
and is stained with grease and dirt,
that it's missing half its buttons,
and has got so many holes
that it might have been infested
by a regiment of moles.

Yes! I know that I've outgrown it,
that it's faded and it's torn,
I can see the sleeves are frazzled,
I'm aware the collar's worn,
but I've had that shirt forever,
and I swear that I'll be hurt
if you dare to throw that shirt out --
IT'S MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE SHIRT!

reprinted from www.jackprelutsky.com

I missed Halloween by quite a few days, but here's another, spookier one called The Ghoul:

So what do you think of poetry? Do you enjoy children's poetry? Who are your favorite children's poets or favorite children's poems?

What Would You Put in Your Fiction Museum?

I have probably mentioned before - maybe a dozen times by now - that Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my favorite films. (Ignore all sequels; by comparison, they suck.) In Raiders, an object takes center stage as archaeologists and villains compete to be the ones in possession of the ancient and powerful Ark of the Covenant.

I started thinking of books in which an object is a central part of setting or a symbol for the character. What fictional objects do I wish were real and I could see and touch?

So for Deep-Fried Friday, I am opening my own museum.

Welcome to Julie's Novelties of Novels!

Enter inside and see what is featured in today's exhibit.

Sherlock Holmes's Pipe

While Sherlock Holmes is best known for smoking a Callabash pipe, this type is not mentioned in the short stories or novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. Instead, the most commonly referenced pipe is a churchwarden, which Sherlock smoked often when contemplating problems and solutions.

Image: pipetobacco.com

Source: PipesMagazine.com

  

The Hatter's Top Hat

Lewis Carroll never referred to him as the "Mad Hatter," although we all know him as such from the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Instead, he was merely The Hatter. His tea parties were quite the event, so why shouldn't one look dapper wearing a Victorian top hat?

Sources: Several, including Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site

Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak

This item is heavily guarded due to its magical powers. Used by Harry Potter and friends in the series by J.K. Rowling, invisibility can come in quite handy from time to time.

Image from thlog.com

The Wardrobe to Narnia

Although we often picture a rather ornate wardrobe for the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis only specified that it was big and had a looking glass in it. This Victorian wardrobe is the portal into the land of Narnia where animals talk and a lion rules.

Image from antiques-atlas.com

 Sleeping Beauty's Spinning Wheel
First told in the 17th century, the tale of Sleeping Beauty involves jealousy, an evil woman with a spinning wheel, and a curious young woman who cannot resist this fascinating gadget. Prick, sleep, and wait for a handsome prince. Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky each told the story in their own way.
Image from The Canterbury Auction Galleries

One Ring to Rule Them All

"One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."
Thus is the inscription in Black Speech on the ring featured in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. The volcano ash has been polished off the ring for its display here.
Image by Marios Tziortzis

The Cat's Hat
The mischief maker from The Cat in the Hat maintained his distinctive look with this red-and-white hat which towered above his devious feline mind. Dr. Seuss's tale has been a beloved one since its printing in 1957.
Image from Okie Book Woman's Blog (cute Seuss stuff)

Now it's your turn: What would you put in your fiction museum? What items stand out to you in stories, books, television, or movies?

Lining Up at the Movies

What primarily fascinates me about language is how by simply choosing and ordering words, we can convey something meaningful to someone else. That fact is the foundation of speaking and writing. Sometimes, however, what's said moves beyond meaningful and becomes memorable.

On Amaze-ing Words Wednesday, there's probably no better place to consider this than with memorable lines from movies. The best quotations work their way into our collective colloquy and represent concepts or a shared understanding.

Below are my votes for the MOST MEMORABLE lines from movies. (Where I could reasonably determine the specific author of the line, I have cited it.)

“Here's looking at you, kid.” - Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Casablanca (1942). This line was improvised by Humphrey Bogart. He apparently used it while playing poker in between takes and then brought it to the screen.

“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” - Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), Gone with the Wind (1939). The line is often misquoted as having "Scarlett" in it; however, Rhett did not say her name. The line was written by author Margaret Mitchell in the novel without the word “frankly."

“I coulda been a contender.” - Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), On the Waterfront (1954). The line came from screenwriter Budd Schulberg. Brando certainly was a contender, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance.

“Go ahead, make my day.”- Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), Sudden Impact (1983), written by Joseph Stinson. This line, along with "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" from Dirty Harry, are the most memorable from Clint Eastwood.

“I'm ready for my close-up.” - Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), Sunset Boulevard (1950). This is one of my best films ever. Yet, when I hear this line, I still find myself picturing Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman as Desmond and Max. Can anyone relate?

“May the Force be with you.” - General Dodonna (Alex McCrindle) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977) and once in every Star Wars film thereafter, written by George Lucas. Since it was said in every film, we can argue who should be pictured here. It was a toss-up for me between Harrison and Obi-Wan (the younger Ewan McGregor), but I went for the original.

“Show me the money!” - Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Jerry MacGuire (1996), written by Cameron Crowe. This line is best said jumping up and down like a crazy person. At least, it worked for Gooding; he snagged the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

 

“I'll have what she's having.” - Older Woman Customer (Estelle Reiner),When Harry Met Sally (1989), written by Nora Ephron. If you guessed that it's all in the family, you are correct. Director Rob Reiner gave his mother, Estelle Reiner, perhaps the best line of the film.

“You're gonna need a bigger boat.” - Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), Jaws (1975). Often cited as "We're gonna need a bigger boat," it's actually "you." While I'm sure the writers would love to take credit, this movie line was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider.

“I'll be back.” - Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), The Terminator (1984), originally written in the script as “I'll come back.” Thus began the inside joke for all of Schwarzenegger's movies going forward, as he repeated this line over and over.

“I see dead people.” - Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), The Sixth Sense (1999), written by M. Night Shyamalan. I don't see dead people, and I haven't seen this movie. All I know is that people keep saying this line.

“I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” - Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), The Wizard of Oz (1939), written by L. Frank Baum. It was rumored that Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin were also considered for the part of Dorothy, but Judy Garland was destined to wear ruby red shoes and click them while saying another famous line: "There's no place like home."

Some of my faves are in the list above. However, I have other FAVORITES that may not be as memorable for others.

“Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria!” - Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ghostbusters (1984), written by Dan Aykroyd and/or Harold Ramis. This line is apparently what is meant by a disaster of "biblical proportions."

“You can't fight in here! This is the War Room.” - President Merkin Muffley (Peter Seller), Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Irony of all ironies. I just LOVE this line.

“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.” - Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Thomas Harris wrote in the original novel, “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone.” Do you know what Amarone is? I didn't. It's a red wine . . . you know, like chianti.

“Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance.” - Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), written by Fannie Flagg. Past-40, it's true: You just don't feel like getting pushed around anymore. Towanda, baby!

“The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy.” - Corey Flood (Lili Taylor), Say Anything (1989), written by Cameron Crowe. If only all of the high school boys I had dated had listened to Corey Flood. Then again, I found a man to marry, so who cares?

What are some of your favorite movie lines? What memorable lines would you add to my list?

Sources: American Film Institute, Internet Movie Database, AMC Filmsite, Wikipedia (as a starting point; I double-check any information I glean from Wikipedia).

Deep-Fried Friday Blog Awards & Tips

Way back on October 6, Jennette Marie Powell passed along the Versatile Blogger Award to me. I have not forgotten the kindness of her tipping her hat my way! If you have not checked out Jennette's blog, she writes great posts on My Town Monday and has fabulous time-management tips.

This award requires sharing seven things about myself. Rather than adding more random facts about me to this blog, I have decided to share seven tips for blogging.

I'm not a blogging or author platform expert, but a Virginia Slims advertisement from my childhood says it best:

I've come a long way, baby!

I'm learning as I write more and more and read others' blogs. Here are some tips which I don't see covered much, probably because they are minor. Sometimes, though, the small things add up.

1. Tell and show who you are. Include a bio somewhere on your blog. Many blogs have an About Me tab or box so that readers can learn a little about your background and what moves you to blog and write. Also having a photo helps readers to connect your words with an actual person.

2. Run a spell check. I have seen several misspellings on fabulous blogs. Now if you confuse “their” and “there” or leave out a word, stuff like that happens. Your blog posts need not be perfect. However, I am talking about a word like “writr” or “wrietr” where the blogger omitted a letter or inverted letters. Spell check will catch those, and it's just one click and one minute to remedy it.

3. Cite sources. My own rule is that if the information is all over the web like silly string at a birthday party, it is general knowledge and not worth pointing to any one source. But oftentimes, bloggers research topics online and need to credit an idea, information, quotation, or picture to another source. I would be happy for someone to use information found on my blog and cite it; that might direct more traffic my way.

4. Check your links. After posting, it's worth taking a minute or two to click through your links and make sure they work. I recently uploaded a music video that looked fine in my blog's preview window, but when the post went live, the audio had disappeared. I'm glad I checked the broken link, or I would not have known to go back and replace it.

5. Have your links open in a new window. There are differing opinions on this one. However, I think it frustrates most readers to have to click back and forth if they want to check out a link and return to your blog. I don't know how this is done with WordPress or Networked Blogs, but for Blogger I found an answer here.

6. Have easy-to-find buttons for RSS Feed and other social media connections. If you want readers to stalk you, make it easy for them. Don't be shy: Wave to the paparazzi and shout, “Here I am!” If you want fun buttons, I recently found some cool ones from marketing and social media consultant Justin Parks.

7. Pay attention to legibility. Your blog should be readable. There is an author who writes quite well, and I would love to read this author's blog. But my middle-aged eyes struggle with the busy background and bright text on top, so I rarely finish any of the posts. Perhaps it's boring, but basic is better where text is concerned – black or gray on white or cream, like a résumé. The rest of the site can be a veritable feast of psychedelic colors and images, but legibility of text matters if your point is for people to read what you write.

Thanks again to Jennette Powell for the fabulous award!

What tips do you have for blogging? What have you learned along the way? What do you as a reader want to see in a blog? (Did I misspell anything?)

Limericks: There Once Was a Blogger from Texas

It’s another Amaze-ing Words Wednesday with a fun with language post! Who doesn’t love a good limerick?

Leprechauns in the
City of Limerick, Ireland

Limericks are five-lined poems with the aabba rhyme scheme in which the 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines are longer and the 3rd and 4th lines form a rhymed couplet. Although poetry with this meter and rhyme appeared centuries earlier, it wasn’t until the late 19th century that such poems were referred to as limericks.

How they got they got the name limerick is a debated issue. Some suggest that it hails from the tavern song, “Will You Come Up to Limerick?” in which drinkers/drunkards made up their own verses, most with bawdy lyrics. However, Arthur Deex, editor of the Limerick Special Interest Group newsletter, makes a better case that the nonsense poems were adopted by Irish taverns, in particular the ones in the town of Limerick. By the late 1800’s, the name stuck to the poems themselves. (See The Assent of the Limerick.)

Edward Lear is the most famous purveyor of the limerick. His Book of Nonsense published in 1861 included 112 limericks, although he did not use that term. Here are a couple of examples of his children’s poetry in limerick form:

There was a Young Lady whose chin,

Resembled the point of a pin;

So she had it made sharp,

And purchased a harp,

And played several tunes with her chin.

There was an Old Person of Berlin,

Whose form was uncommonly thin;

Till he once, by mistake,

Was mixed up in a cake,

So they baked that Old Man of Berlin.

Lear’s limericks usually began with a person from a place, and that format has been followed by most. (Poor Nantucket.)

Of course, most of us don’t think of children’s poetry when we imagine a limerick. (Once again, poor Nantucket.) Limericks are often a vehicle for suggestive or even offensive poetry (such as the few I found from science fiction author Isaac Asimov). Since I try to keep this blog a mostly PG place, I am going to leave you to hunt down the most shocking limericks yourself if you wish. But here are two examples, the first featuring a military trumpeter:

There was a young bandsman of Dee,

Tried to play with a girl on his knee

But the point of the joke

Is he struck the wrong note

And the wedding’s on Thursday at 3.

There was a young girl named Bianca

Asleep on a ship whilst at anchor,

But awoke with dismay,

When she heard the mate say,

“Let’s hoist up the main sheet and spank her.”

(Source: limericks.org)

Frankly, if you ask most people whether they like poetry, they would say no. But ask if they enjoy a good limerick, and you might get a different response. There is something about the rhythm of the limerick and ease of the beginning “There once was . . .” that endears it to most. It’s easy to hear the beats of the poem and find something interesting to say.

In fact, the limerick lends itself to many topics. I’ll give it a shot:

There once was a storyteller

Who wrote and wrote in her cellar

Though at times it was weary

She sent query after query

And now she's a multi-bestseller

Do you enjoy limericks? Do you know any that you could share without blushing? Can you come up with your own limerick below? Have you ever been to Limerick, Ireland and sung a drinking song in a pub?