B&B, Hum, Renaissance!

Sorry to hear about your missed opportunity to hear Chris Hadfield speak, Don. I’d fork over the $100 in a heartbeat to hear him. Ah, the things we miss for family!

I was intrigued by your tune of greatness on behalf of Harlan Ellison. Out of curiosity, I checked out my favorite website for information, Wikipedia, and discovered a handful of did you know? Did you know Ellison was a tuna fisherman, a nitroglycerine truck driver, a hired gun, served in the Army as a Ranger, recorded audiobooks? I knew that he’d written "City on the Edge of Forever" and that Roddenberry changed it to better fit one of the first Star Trek episodes.  Ellison was not pleased. He has also been instrumental in Babylon 5 and wrote episodes for Twilight Zone. My better half met him some years back – apparently Ellison  is “colorful and eccentric.” I thought those were rather magnanimous words for someone who supplements  his income by suing others… I will admit, he is a great writer.

Our family B&B is now open. We’ve gone through our first wave of family and are now settled in with steady trickle of family members for the next few days. The upcoming weekend could see us camping in the yard to accommodate the family influx.

On Saturday, our grandchildren took us to the Renaissance Festival. We traveled by car guided by OnStar, rode a cushy shuttle and along with what felt like thousands of others, we crossed over the threshold of time into a space that OnStar could not have navigated. The grandkids got an eye-full from the jousting skills to scantily clad wenches, knights, a  Dr. Who skulking through the crowds. Grandson was put out by it all until he got a sword to go along with the shield he’d made, granddaughters (dressed as princesses) had no idea of what to expect or want so they wanted it all.

Me? I got to jump on the trampoline tethered to multicolored industrial sized rubber bands. What a rush! No flips or somersaults – just a magnificent bounce up, a moment of weightlessness, then the downward pull only to bounce up again. I am certain there were no such entertainment devices in the “olde days”, so I’m glad there was a comfortable time warp blend. I don’t think I’d fare as well in a blanket toss.

On Sundays, a low rumble hum invades my hearing. It occurs on bright sunny Sundays, usually in the afternoons and into the early evening. We traced it down to the high performance speedway that is about 20 miles from here. And luckily for us, it is just in the summer months. I bring this up, Don, because in Windsor, Ontario, it has been reported that there has been a low, mysterious hum that is driving people crazy! This same kind of hum has been heard in Taos, N.M., Bristol, England, and Bondi, Sydney, Australia. Apparently it sounds like a  diesel engine, a throbbing or rumbling, is worse at night, is heard only indoors in rural or suburban areas. Some other interesting points are that it is such a low frequency that only 2% of the population can hear it, most of them between the ages of 50 and 70, and no, these folks do not have tinnitus. The suggested solutions at this time are music, white noise, and maybe cognitive behavioral therapy. I was wondering if this has led to your addiction to music…

According to Marc Lallanilla, in his article “Mysterious Hum Driving People Around the World Crazy”, there are a number of speculations as to the cause: gas lines, electrical power lines, wireless communication devices, low-frequency electromagnetic radiation, seismic activity, low frequency earth tremors or we can just blame it all on the military.  Scientists are looking into it, but haven't found the answer yet.

 

On to the Riddle Cave! And yes! Clothes lines was the answer. I figured “a drying affair” would give it away. My guess for your is: compromise. Not totally confident about that answer, but…

Here’s my offering for this week:

Named backward to the event

Gods bowling

Strike light, rumble

Causer of great pain

 Advert:

Got the newest and latest Transport 23 up through Amazon and Amazon UK. Since you read about my writing of the story, for you readers who are interested in what I finally ended up doing, I have an introductory price of $.99 on it through August 2. Check it out, let me know what you think! One reader was a bit distresses by who I killed off! Who'd of thought!

All images downloaded from Google Images

 Fig.   - Babylon 5 Wall paper retrieved from hdwdb.com

Fig.    - B&B Theatres on Twitter retrieved from Twitter.com

Fig.   – Renaissance festival jousting retrieved from barretthonors.asu.edu

Fig.   – eD speedway Drift Racing retrieved from www.appszoom.com

 

A Gadfly Revisited ( Part Uno ) and a Fly Guy Missed

Hi Carolyn,

 

 

Well... this qualifies as another  " Ratz!!" scenario. Unbeknownst to me while I was out on the summer family reconnect circuit last week, it was announced back here in Owen Sound that in September there would be a speaker at the auditorium of my old school ( the one I taught at - not the one I attended as a student ) giving an evening presentation as a fundraiser for  area hospitals. I found out about this shortly after my return but the $100  tickets were all sold out. I would not have hesitated to pony up the pesos for my better  half and I to attend since the speaker in question was Chris Hadfield !!

I'm half tempted to hang out at the door on that night just to see if something is being scalped. Even at out of this world inflated prices that would still be a great experience.

 

 

 

 So this is another look at one of the folks at the head table of my sci-fi writers banquet that I allude to from time to time - although he wouldn’t be sitting too close since he is a fractious SOB ( he probably has a couple of intellectual property law firms on permanent retainer since he has a well-known penchant for litigation ) He’s got reason to be so though. The man has produced prodigiously from the first, and in a number of areas other than straight-on speculative fiction.  I always thought Asimov was and endless fount of material but I’m  sure that Ellison has him bested handily in that regard.








I first ran into Harlan Ellison when I was gangly,  young and impressionable and most full of that proverbial piss and vinegar.  ( i.e. late teens and early twenties ) Through his Dangerous Visions series and then the Glass Teat stuff he was leading the choir singing the same tunes I was. And what's better, he was " out there in the real world " railing against those things I was only beginning to feel suspect about.  Long before I became a media studies instructor I think it was he especially who instilled that idea that the media had to be treated at arms length and with a whole shaker full of salt.

 



I do so love those who fling the language around  superbly and make it do scintillating things. Ellison, for me, is one of those.
I can see, in my own simple efforts, many examples  of his influence.


Mr. Ellison does with words what Schumacher, Andretti or Stirling Moss do with race cars and Woods, Palmer and Nicklaus do with golf balls.


His agility, ability and facility with the language ranges from the spectacularly vulgar to the beautifully eloquent and all shades in between. Am I still an Ellison fanboy ??  You bet!  Would I like to hang out with him?   Well.... more on that one next time.

 
Actually it's interesting that you mentioned typewriters in your last blog, Carolyn, since the guy I'm currently waxing on psuedo-eloquently about prides himself still on the fact that he smacks out his prodigious offerings on a typewriter. There'll be more on this later since I'm realizing that dealing with the biggies like Kubrick and Ellison cannot be accomplished justifiably in one entry.

I too had an early and long relationship with the clickety-clack machine.

I got my first typewriter while still in high school for a couple of reasons. One - my penmanship was atrocious to the point that a number of my teachers simply returned my stuff unmarked with the "I cannot read this " stamp all over them. Two - I read that Harlan Ellison did all of his work on an Olympia typewriter. So, I  quite simply had to have one too. I think it cost me about a month's wages from my part-time job at A&P, at the time. It saw me thru my undergrad stuff and my law school and teachers college journeys as well and was only pushed to the side when this thing called a Commodore 64 came along attached to a dot matrix printer.  The good ole' days indeed.





Okay, enough sentimental goo for now. Time for a shot of " riddlin'


  Right again, Carolyn, my last offering was a clothespin. I think I made it too easy with the " clothing hangup" thing. Well rest assured I shall not be as kind-hearted next time  ( insert evil laugh here ... )

I believe your riddle this time around is, or are, those clothes on the line held up by the very pins of which we just spoke. It's been rainy recently in these here parts and there's been a fair amount of that hastily put away activity happening.

So, I proffer this riddle gauntlet  for this meeting.

I surrender suspicion

in my dealings with you

on the assumption

you'll do it too

Don




Images sourced from Google Images:

Fig. 1 - cantsaytoomuch.com
Fig. 2 - fantasticfiction. co. uk
Fig. 3 - mosaia. com
Fig. 4 -m techdigest.tv



　

Moon Day, Science and Family

Family events! Outstanding! Don, I admire that you took on both your wife’s family and your own! Heroic! I get to do this next weekend. My son and his wife, from Bosnia on their way to China, and my daughter and her family (the grand kids) will all be here for a family reunion. Never in my adult-after-the-kids-left life did I imagine that all seven of them would be staying at my house at the same time. Where to put everyone! This will be an adventure! We are also close to closing the negotiations on whether or not our 13 year old granddaughter stays a week with us. We have finally gotten all the logistics taken care of, now we’re down to whether or not she wants to come.

Before I move on, I want to say that the picture of the young woman, her mother, grandmother is striking! Well done!

I’ve been reminded that today, Saturday, is Moon Day – July 20^th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and  Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon. I came home from a date and sat and watched this mind shattering event on our small black and white TV in the back room. I remember being amazed, thrilled and scared all at the same time. One of Wormhole’s authors, Ariel Cinii, has suggested that July 20th should, by all accounts, be made a holiday – maybe even an international holiday. I agree. The science that enabled us to walk on the moon has changed our lives. Why not celebrate the crowning event?

The science that got us to the moon gave us Velcro, microchips, corning ware, flu shots, and eventually led to many of our current necessities – the cell phone, the computer, kevlar. Did you know that the simple calculators we use to add and subtract on have more capability than the first computer that put man on the moon? Most of the math was done on slip sticks, also known as a slide rule. My dad had several, and taught me how to do basic multiplication, division, fractions and decimals. I’d like to say “those were the days”, and they were. Would I trade them? Probably not.

I’ve been plagued with computer problems again this week, (Ariel tells me Mercury Retrograde which fouls up technology, ended early this morning) and I got to thinking about the “good old days”. Typewriters – I always wanted a Selectra that would go back and correct the misspellings without having to use liquid white out. I also remember all those times I looked and looked and searched, thought I had corrected all the problems, took the paper out of the typewriter and low and behold – there was another mistake and I’ve have to type the page again. It was better than having to write the paper by hand, but it was just as frustrating.

Remember “erasable ink”? I thought that was a mile stone in human advancement!

 I’ve got the next Transport ezine, Transport 23, ready for publication and the web developers. It goes up the first Friday in August. Spent most of yesterday on it. This one includes one of my stories – Tracker – The Invitation. It also has the 4^th episode of Touching Lands Dance – the episode that leads up to the big finale (which will be in September’s Transport ezine). I’m excited because we also showcase Colby Elliott and one of his audio books. Our web developers figured out how to put an audio sample on the website. To some of you that sounds rather elementary , but the website host is rather archaic. Time to find a different host and how to migrate what we have has been very limited.

To the Riddle cave: The riddle this week was picnic table. I imagine you’ve sat at one or two over the last week, Don.

My guess for yours is: clothes pin

And back to you:

Flapping in the breeze

Harbinger of dryer things to come

Hastily put away when it rains

 

Well, time to move on to house cleaning and laundry – the never ending have-to’s of life.

 

Have a great week everyone!

 

Carolyn

 

 

All figures downloaded from google images:

Fig.1 – Footprint on moon - milnusblog.wordpress.com

Fig. 2 –  Cell phone / superhero cape - www.picturesof.net

Fig. 3 Velcro myth - www.todayifoundout.com

Fig. 4 –  Slide Rule - www.joernuetjens.de

Fig. 5 – smiling cat

 

 

 

 

Who I Are and Why

Hi Carolyn,




Even though it's only been a week since I was here last, I feel like an epoch has passed. I mentioned before I left last time that I was going on the road to catch up with family of mine and of my LSBH ( Long Suffering Better Half ) in the interim.  Well, we did and here I am finally back again and feeling not unlike Marty in Back to the Future when he pops out of the DeLorean after his major adventure and its only been a short segment in present time since he left.






In fact, that timeless thing rules when it comes to family gatherings. If there's one experience that will remind you that you are not an entirely unique individual, or  the result of a spontaneous genetic crap shoot - it's a major family reunion event. It really gives you a front row seat on why you are who you are and how you got to be that way. I just finished an A-List event that unfolded over almost a week with my better half's family " up home". I also managed to combine a day and a bit with my own family so it was a familial double-header. Frankly, I'm family-ed out for now.




In some ways these events are not  comforting  reality checks. Reconnecting with relatives after a time away can really drive home  the  inexorable march of time and the relentless effects of aging and disease on those who came before us. On the other hand there are the latest offspring, from those barely able to walk to those barely able to tolerate being with stuffy starch collar adults,  there to remind one that the best shot we all have at physical immortality is through our genes - just like the best shot that we have at intellectual immortality is through our imaginations and what they produce.




 Okay, I admit that I did have more than a couple of those young'uns fix me with the " it's just some weird old uncle or something blabbing on " look.  Their parents instilled a healthy dose of  politeness in them, so they don't  roll their eyes and say " whatever ". But they think it! So would I have when I was in their shoes. Their turns in mine await.




 Oh yeah,  there were serendipitous moments. A rural teen cousin had parked his pimped up pickup close to the main event, and left the music on full tilt.  At an appropriate point it was blasting out Alice Cooper's " I'm Eighteen " That was my, as Jon Stewart calls it, " moment of zen " for that whole event, and I dug it immensely!




 Now I'm losing the deep and philosophical robes and gravitating towards matters  more ephemeral. In fact, gravity is the item du jour here .

I'm with you on the whole gravity thing, Carolyn. It's like electricity. It's there but I couldn't tell you in specifics what it is or how it actually works.  I do know that it's pretty desolate around most of Hudson Bay so it might be a pretty fierce tradeoff for anyone who wants to lose weight just by hanging out there. I'm sure the caribou and polar bears would be most appreciative of the new lighter you.

  Moving now to the riddle reunion. the last one I unleashed here actually came to me while cutting the lawn on a windy day. A particularly strong gust grabbed my cheapo plastic watering can and sent it bumping and bouncing away - I have since been leaving it partially full to avoid hiking down the road to fetch it again.  So the official answer would be a watering can and more specifically a crappy plastic one. Behold to your left a mug shot of the offending vessel.

 Did you know you can get an official " Haws" copper watering can like the ones used by the British Royal Groundskeepers for only about $120.00? Yikes. 







I am going to do something I quite hate having to do here - cry " Uncle" on your last riddle. I haven't had much time with it since I was out of touch with those of cyberspace for most of the time that I was "up home" so I just got my hands on this one a short bit ago. I have ideas but they all fall to the ground when the part about multiple elbows is factored into the mix.


I offer the following riddle for this time around:

 

Works in a pinch and with one

Springs into action and holds up well

A classic clothing hangup situation




Don

 

 

If I go to Hudson Bay, will I weigh less?

 I don’t know, but an interesting program on PBS stirred my curiosity about gravity. I found a great article on “How can parts of Canada be missing gravity?” It talked about the convection of the mantle and how the tectonic plates help fuel the molten mass of the Earth’s core which lowers the mass of an area. But what I found most interesting was that the Laurentide Ice Sheet compressed the Hudson Bay area with an ice sheet that was over 2 miles thick. It quite literally squished earth out to the sides. Even though the earth is rebounding at about ½ inch a year, it will take around 5,000 years for the crust to spring back fully from the 650 feet it was compressed. Since gravity is proportional to mass, and the earth has been pushed aside, there is less mass, hence there is less gravity. Whoa!

That led me to another article in the July/August 2013 Discover magazine. On the very last page, it has “20 Thing You Didn’t Know About Gravity” by Bill Andrews. Gravity is the “weakest of the four fundamental forces” (Andrews, 2013, 96). A small magnet is more powerful than gravity, that’s why I can stick things to my fridge. And there is no “zero gravity”! It all has to do with falling at the same rate as the environment around you. Mass, which has gravity, warps space-time. It distorts the fabric of the Universe and, depending on the mass, can distort light.  Now this makes for some interesting science fiction plots!

Quantum mechanics has changed science in the last 10 years. But what I didn’t know was that gravity doesn’t fit into the equation. Just when we think we have a handle on the science of the cosmos, gravity mucks it up. And Don, did you know that when either of us moves, we create gravitational waves? Exactly what that means is far beyond my neophyte mind. I got lost with the explanation on why a magnet is stronger than gravity.

My editors and readers got back to me about my newest Tracker story. Not bad, but as one editor/mentor said, the characters aren’t suffering enough to grow – kill someone off. What? Oh, and the cat partner Tren is “god like” – make him fallible. It’s been a long couple of days of rewriting. I’ve got most of it done, and the character to kill off bravely stood up and announced he was the one to go. That I had other plans for him in another story didn’t seem to matter. All I have left to do is clean up the consequences. I have to admit, I’m not really that sorry to see the character go – he was getting on my nerves. As for Tren being “god like”, I’m toning it down a bit – but I still want the miracle of the team to be established as I have several episodes where “god like” won’t be good enough. Can’t wait to get started on the next story! And yes, gravity will be important in one of the upcoming episodes! Curiosity and writing – what a way to go!

Riddle Cave! And it is dark in here this week. Don, I’ve thought about mosquitoes, empty plastic bags, (one is caught in the high branches of one of our trees), but I’ve not hit on the exact solution. Capturing life’s essence and rolling away in a bumpy fashion just don’t seem to work together for anything I’ve thought of. Uncle!

For you:

Found deep in forests, back yards and decks

Laden with delight for the pallet

Sturdy enough for multiple elbows

Birth place of splinters

 

Have a great week everyone!

Carolyn

 

 

Reference:

Andrews, B. (Ju/Aug 2013). 20 things you didn’t know about gravity. Discover: Science, Technology, and the Future.

All figures retrieved from Google Images

Fig. 1 – Young woman weighing herself retrieved from www.illustrationsource.com

Fig. 2 – Gravity Wells  5181XP7mnFL._SL175_.jpg retrieved from www.audible.com

Fig. 3 – How does zero gravity work? / eHow retrieved from www.eHow.com

Fig. 4 – Why can’t anything go faster than the speed of? Retrieved from zidbits.com

Fig. 5 – Why were cats the main animals in Egypt? Retrieved from pets.thenest.com

 

 

 

 

Shine On

Hi Carolyn,


I must admit I truly appreciated your input on the neophyte storywriter item I put up last week. I'd be lying if I said the whole process wasn't bugging me just a bit less than a lot.


I like the " a couple of lines " part since I had set two lines as my limit from the start.


I was a bit spooked by stuff like George Harrison's getting nicked for My Sweet  Lord.   The whole intellectual property thing seems so arbitrary, that I didn’t know where to go if I was gonna stick something out there where it would be accessible everywhere at once.
 

 

As far as characters following me about,  oddly enough a fair amount of it happens while I’m cutting the lawn.  It's a good stretch of time where my brain is freed up in a number  of ways.  A full grass haircut and trim about the place takes about two hours and a bit and its pretty minimal brain-involving activity.   The survival instinct stuff says ya  just don’t stick your feet underneath that area where all the grass is flying out . You have to go way out of your way to mangle anything - although I’ll bet the Darwin Award people might have a story or two about such activities!




The year-round school thing is another item  you mentioned that caught my attention in a big way. Having grown up and spent a career teaching in areas where the summer was harvest season for a significant number and a chance for students seeking further education to bankroll some tuition money I guess I was conditioned otherwise. I did start to realize that in any 12 months you could get further along in your overall education if things were apportioned differently.

 

Okay, no more talking shop, here - although its amazing just how easy it is, even after half a decade, to slip right back into the groove and rhythm of pedagogy.

You were dead on about my last riddle , Carolyn, it was rain. We are looking for it here even though it's been inundating places all around us.



Your last riddle, I'm betting, is a candle.

Here is mine for this week

   Captures life’s essence and redistributes it at your command

Often seen lurking around rain barrels

Leave it exposed and empty on a windy day and

It will roll away in a bumpy fashion







So, now I'm off for a week of white line fever trying to catch a number of the far-flung relatives in this big-derriere province of Ontario.

Hope everything is cool when you get back to school.

Don

The wild side of urban life and Vacation is over

Good afternoon, Don. Glad to see that your computer problems have been overcome. I’ve spent the better part of this week in a fit of ARGH because my computer was acting up. Thankfully, I have a spouse who intercedes on my computer’s behalf when I get too emotionally wrapped up in the problems. My computer is much better now.

Sheds are not part of the inside so spiders are safe there; we don’t have a garage. I totally understand about Dickens! My folks used to have a cat named Tiger – he lived up to his name. Twenty-eight pounds, no claws, still climbed trees, weekly offered up a snake or a mouse just to show us how good a hunter he was. He jumped off the roof of the house one night and permanently dented the top of our car. The birds do not miss him. I’m sure he’s gone down in bird history as the monster parents tell their chicks about.

As far as other wild life is concerned, we have a rabbit family that seems to have taken up residence on Hobbit Hill, a hill that is in our front side yard. One of them sneaks into the backyard every morning only to sprint under the fence when the dog charges out the door. Silly rabbit. Reminds me of Peter Rabbit – I’m watching my vegetable container garden closely.

Sorry to hear that your story is in the still born stage. As far as copy right is concerned, we can check out how much of any one song you can use. If I remember right, you can use a couple of lines of each song without any problems, but I’ll check on it to be sure; everything has to be documented at the end – but that isn’t a problem. In the meantime, keep writing! Maybe after you get it roughed out, you and I can think of another way to do it if need be. I know, “it only works this way!” but sometimes things can change once the characters have had their way.

Isn’t it fun when characters show up and demand something then leave and you don’t really have any idea what they’re talking about? So how would you answer the question: Have any of your stories or characters in those stories followed to you bed, turned up in your dreams, taken a shower with you? What do you tell them to quiet their demands?

My vacation is almost over – one and a half more days, then I’m back to school. (The college I teach at is a year-round school.) I think back to when my break started. It looked like I had plenty of time to do everything my heart desired. Now that I’m at the end of my vacation, I look at my list and see what I haven’t finished yet. Is it because of lack of planning or because I had too much I wanted to do?

I can’t complain too loudly, I did read 3 books, took some pretty serious afternoon naps, managed to sleep until 7 am in the morning, visited with family, took walks. Plus, I got all the Wormhole stuff that needed to be done done. Actually, I realize I planned too much – my list was a 4-week to-do list to be accomplished in 2 ½ weeks. Without school, I have trouble prioritizing!

Back in the riddle cave, as a vegetarian, I’m having a bit of a problem with carnivorous robins and not being invited to the picnic. But I’ll hazard a guess: “rain”? Of course this answer eluded me until the rain storm we just had and now I’m watching robins go worming in our yard.

I knew I’d kick myself when you told me the answer to your riddle. “Shingle” was the word I was so frantically searching for and just could not wrap my brain around! And you’re right – lipstick is the answer to my riddle. I’m sure “Tell tale sign of kissing” gave it away. At least it was always the give-away in the old movies.

 

Here’s one back:

Flickering yellow

Releaser of darkness

Set in the window

A safe guide home

 

Just a note – saw the last episode of Dr. Who with Matt Smith. I was very surprised to see that a new Dr. is coming on board. Smith looked like he was having so much fun as the Dr! This new one could be a bit more serious! The dark side of the Dr?

Have a great week everyone!

Carolyn  

 

All images downloaded from google images.com

 

Fig. 1 – Computers can be a little pesky retrieved from lotusbandicoot.deviantart.com

 

Fig. 2 – Top Ten Ways to Protect Birds from Cats retrieved from www.birding.uk.com

Fig. 3 – Back to School retrieved from clipart

Fig. 4 – Robins retrieved from able2know.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

So... yer writin' a story, eh?

Hi Carolyn,


First of all I'm glad to hear that you've negotiated some kind of cease-fire arrangement with the spiders and snakes in your kingdom. Are sheds and garages considered part of the inside or the outside when it comes to the spiders? Also.
 " Bull snakes " ??  That sounds absolutely jungle-ish.

 I must admit that I can't even conceive of touching a snake without convulsing! We had a superficially domesticated barn cat named Dickens who ruled the roost in these here parts for almost 18 years. He was completely democratic when it came to predatory activity.  Snakes of all persuasions were as much fair game as anything else - I truly miss Dick!

 

Well, Carolyn, your Lunar Lunacy blog struck a dusty but primary chord with me - one that I hadn't played for about four months. The image of the author scribbling away in a speeding car ( I'm sure you weren't exceeding the limit ! ) was really vivid, for some reason.  It prompted me to go back and visit that stillborn story that I started longer ago than I care to admit. I really can't pin my reluctance to return to it prior to that to one thing. I'd reached a wall of sorts, to be sure. However, it seems to be more of a collection of small things than one glaring impasse that has put my story in limbo for now.

 

 

 

 Something we'd spoken about a few months back relating to copyright, etc., was probably the biggest single factor. The set-up of the story involves the use of short ( i.e. two lines or less ) hunks of lyrics from a number of classic rock songs  ( yeah, it has a lot to do with rock music - are you surprised ? ) in a fundamental manner. They`re not offhand references like those in a couple of Captain Jackson`s episodes.   The heroes quest that I want to set up can`t be done any other way than  by having the main character exposed to small snippets of these songs.  Given what I'm trying to do I can't see any other way to achieve it.

Oddly enough, those questions for Wormhole writers that  I forwarded to you awhile back came fundamentally from personal experience. I haven't lost contact with my characters at all - if anything I've had them appear on more than one occasion with the pointed question - " What the *&%$# are we doing?? " attached.
 

 

I simply didn't have a straight, detailed and author-itative  answer to give back at those times.
 

 

Okay, the confessional is hereby closed.
 

 

Let us slither over to the riddle cave, now. My last offering was " shingle " Perhaps this is a minor Canadianism or something not widely used in your parts but when professionals - particularly doctors or lawyers, began their private practises the process was sometimes referred to as hanging out a shingle. Truth be told, Carolyn, I thought " unmarried status pronounced by  drunkard " was gonna be the dead give away for this one. 

 

Your last riddle, I think, is lip-balm or lipstick ( or maybe a combo of the two?? I'm not a user of lip stuff of any kind so I'm sorta just giving it lip-service here!! )

 

I offer this one this time:

Brings out the carnivorous side of robins

Sometimes sought by prayer but

Not invited to the picnic

 

 

 Also, in a surprisingly serendipitous manner, two interviews with Harlan Ellison, whose two collections of TV and social comment columns from the Los Angeles Free Press in the  late sixties I am going back to revisit , appeared online just recently. It will be cool to see if he`s still singing any of the same tunes.

 

 

 

Enjoy your break.

 

Don

 

 

 

Fig. 2 sourced from Google Images - tvtropes.org