Quill & Claw/Pen & Paw

Ignore the ".com" there, folks, I just liked the picture for what I was writing!! You’d think with me being totally into Zen mastery and Eastern philosophy, the wonders of sushi would have a special place in my heart. And judging by my shape, you’d think I’d so enjoy eating those flavorful morsels would bring me another step close to Nirvana, ya know. Yep. That you’d think. So, after deep meditation, I have to come to another personal truth. I don’t like sushi. In these trying times, money can be issue. And, well, if you saw my size, girth and height, you’d realize, sushi doesn’t really fill me up. If it were to do so, it would take a few hundred pieces to get me started. And since sushi is such a labor intensive work of culinary art, it takes specialized chefs to make them. And they are paid very well. So a sushi meal for this old RooBear means a few hundred bucks… …only to be hungry again a few hours later. However, let’s look at the reality. Sushi tastes fan...

I’ve long pointed out that the movies, heck art-in-general, have two purposes going for it: one, to enlighten and another, two, to entertain. And it seems that the summer months are all about entertainment, which may or may not be a good thing. When I sit and see movies like “Transformers 2,” it seems like the decline of Western civilization is right in our faces. We have the same characters, explosions, thin waistlines (I don’t know many who look like my movies stars, really, outside of my own husOtter who poses like a soap actor when he sleeps…but that’s for the other blog), and noise. The concept of ‘entertain’ is piled high without real thought about the audience and it becomes something of a mess. The result? Earaches and a feeling like you’ve just eaten a bowl of rice: full for now but wanting more in an hour or two more. Paramount rushed the summer gates with the first Iron Man movie, releasing it bright and early in May. This gave me the sense that they weren’t sure what t...

We are programmed to seek our heroes in popular culture. Makes sense that our society wants us to be the best, so our immediate sources for entertainment should circle around those kinds of heroes who are direct (and most likely, American and have a large gun) and have substantial things that you don’t have. That way, you have to continuously work and contribute to those who make money without ever reaching those lofty goals. I think of John Wayne, who is frequently painted as a hero by those who define themselves as “Boomers.” But ask yourself, outside of defining himself and very, very manly, what did he do for society, other than to recommend you shoot things too? He donated money? Most likely. Did he save a busload of kiddies from falling off of a cliff? No, I can’t think of much outside of that. Sometimes, you can find a hero built outside of the constructions of popular existence. If you look to history, you can find those people who encouraged you without actually seeking t...

Mrs. Oquendo has her couch moved to the curb. Why? (prompt)  This story is unedited---I had to write 1000 words, that's all, after getting the prompt. Stew stirred his coffee slowly, wondering if he should treat himself to a ride down to the corner store something that tasted better. He normally would have had his coffee black, but the swill his grandmother kept in her cupboard, a cheap brand that she could afford, was just not cutting it, even after several adds of sugar and milk. He hated milk, but could not deny it was saving him from this flavor hell. He cracked his back and looked out the front windows. His grandmother’s windows always impressed him. For years, he had grown used to the smaller panes of glass that modern windows have, but here, like most grandmother visits, was a step back in time. A large pane, three feet by two feet, gave a view on the street. The glass itself was not without flaws, a result of natural glassblowing. It had a warp in the upper left hand...

If you could have any view from your home, what would it be of? A few years ago, my buddies over at Disney had a great promotion—who the heck remembers the name of it, but I do remember it had something to do with these ‘Magical Moments’ where they have these Cast Members with random gifts stand in certain spots and, if you were there, puft, you got a gift. Some of them, well, most of them were zero skin off of Disney’s nose, and basically giving you the overpriced crap they bought for 30 cents from Oriental Trading years ago and couldn’t get rid of. Some was just a cup of soda pop; maybe the occasional pair of ears. Husotter and I won as well, getting a free “Fast Pass” for all of the rides in the park for one day and then getting a lanyard with a collectable pin on it. Okay, those were pretty cool gifts, moments, whatever have you. We danced and sang when they handed it to us. But there was a huge, huge, huge prize. Something we only saw reported on the nightly news. It was ...