M.J. Compton's Blog, page 44
June 21, 2017
Happy First Day of Summer!
Summer is my favorite season. I like being warm. I also like songs about summer. Here are some of my favorite summer songs, in no particular order: “Summer in the City” (Lovin’ Spoonful) “Boys of Summer” (Don Henley) “Summertime” (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong) “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran) “In the Summertime” (Mungo Jerry) “Under the Boardwalk” (The […]
June 18, 2017
Bingo!
A couple members of my local RWA Chapter came up with an idea to prompt members into reading outside their comfort zones. Bingo! Each member was given a card with 25 categories, along with the rules and an explanation of each category. All books read (except for one) must be a new-to-you book. Books and authors […]
June 14, 2017
I’m In the Wrong Body
I am a short woman. And, like the famous teapot, I am also stout. I’m built like a fireplug. A keg. I purchase most of my clothes on line or from catalogs, for a variety of reasons (but that’s another blog post). But many plus-size catalogs are meant for Amazon women, not teapots. My sense of style […]
June 11, 2017
Make Life Beautiful
Today is National Make Life Beautiful Day. What a wonderful idea. A random act of kindness. Smiling at a stranger. Laughing with friends. Come on! You can do it. It’s your little corner of the world. Make it beautiful.
June 7, 2017
The Sound Of Silence
Shakespeare wrote: “It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing.” Paul Simon wrote: “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls And whispered in the sounds of silence.” Thomas Carlyle wrote: “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves.” We, […]
June 4, 2017
Old Maids
Old Maids–spinsters–were one of the favorite tropes in the Gothic romances I read in my youth. Women too poor, too unattractive, or too socially unacceptable were labeled old maids and “put on the shelf.” If they were rich. If they were poor, they became paid companions or governesses, or burdens on their families. Or they were locked […]
May 31, 2017
Nat’l Speak in Complete Sentences Day: Catch of the Day
One of my favorite fictional heroes rarely says a word. Complete sentences? Pul-ease. Kristan Higgin’s Rita-Award winning Catch of the Day features “Maloner the Loner,” a lobster man who proves the cliche “actions speak louder than words.” Malone doesn’t need to talk to show us he’s a hero. The heroine, Maggie, is nearly talked to death by her […]
May 28, 2017
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N…In the Summer Time
As we approach summer vacation time in the USA, I hear people making travel plans, bemoaning their lack of funds to do up a trip “right”, etc. Many younger people act as if it is their God-given right to get away from it all, where they spend too much money and too much energy trying […]
May 24, 2017
“I’m Sorry”
Women tend to say, “I’m sorry.” A lot. I know I say it when I haven’t heard something someone’s said to me. I also tend to preface many statements of opinion with the phrase. Or when I disagree with someone. I periodically make an attempt to cut those two words from by vocabulary, but have […]
May 21, 2017
Theater Etitquette
I remember the first time I went to a real movie theater (instead of the drive-in). My cousins’ aunt took us on a city bus to see some Disney movie…maybe Bambi. I remember my father telling me, “No talking during the movie or they’ll throw you out on your ear.” I spent an awfully long […]
