The Winter Adventure of a Cushion-dog - #FridayFlash

I'm cheating this week and reposting one of my very first stories for this week's #FridayFlash. I'd love to have some feedback on this one; It's very different from what I've been posting lately, and I'm curious as to your opinion. :)

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The Winter Adventure of a Cushion-Dog

On my first winter in this new land the family was finally gathered together again. How merry I was!

For the first time I tasted snow, sniffed the chilling wind, and ran free on motionless crops and mild streams. I wasn’t alone of course; my beloved seemed as pleased as I was with the surroundings. The beaming smile that I cherished the most, lately so scarce, blossomed in her peaceful countenance.

It suddenly broadened to a playful grin as she signaled a dash on the frosted grass. I needn’t a second stimulus; sprinting uphill I – what? Didn’t find the other side but a stony fall onto itchy leaves and rounded rocks. The cold water below was another unexpected sensation, but the familiarity of the beloved’s worried cries calmed me down. I smiled up to appease her, and shouted back so she could appreciate that I wanted to rejoin her as soon as possible.

She is a smart human, my beloved, smarter than anyone else! At once she understood my need and studying the vines that had held me moments before, climbed down, urging the brown-black intruder to remain far from us, where it belonged.

The intruder is a most aggravating creature that entered our lives not long ago, indicating the firm intent of residing with us permanently. Not even my best efforts seemed enough to cast her away once she planted her malign seed in the second beloved’s heart. I only tolerate it for fear of displeasing beloveds first and second. They must pity the wretched thing; that’s the only possible explanation!

Indeed, whereas she ensured that I was unharmed and the intruder had not followed, we exulted in our reunion and walked upstream for a short while, accompanied from above, sadly, by the anxious brownish.

An enlightened glance flashed in beloved’s honeyed-coloured eyes when she spotted a larger ivy vine, but I’m embarrassed to admit that her physical strength is not as grand as her mind, as she was unable to pull us up. I even daresay that the effort of reassuring the intruder might have played a decisive part in her rescuing efforts.

A few bruises, a ripped coat and another flash away, she was holding me again, lifting me up to salvation. But how could I abandon beloved? How could I leave her to her doom, and worse, to once again meet my abhorrent foe? No, I would not leave her. Besides, she had raised me so high to help me up that I didn’t feel as nearly safe as in her arms!

“You damned dog, go! Go that I’ll follow suit!”

I knew she was a tad upset with me, but I was firm in my purpose of not abandoning her to death. I’m certain she could read this in my eyes!

“You coward! I’ll be right there with you!” Her arms trembled with the exertion. “I can’t carry you up, don’t you understand?”

Oh, my beloved’s warm embrace is inestimable! I was presently adjusting myself to her chest’s shape when she put me down, clutching her own knees. She is so pretty when flushed, you should see it! But once again the intruder called out, diverting her attention from my grateful wagging.

She then found a clear branch on the thorny vegetation to rest, as the twilight threatened to fall upon us. For a few moments her respiration accelerated when noticing the darkening sky, but did I mention how clever the beloved is? Deep breaths prevented desperation and another flash led us farther upstream, where she spotted a clearing and a lowering of the fringe right ahead.

At this point the water was too cold, so I found lodge on a small ravine. She called out, but my paws were much better placed (and warmer) on the sand than in the icy stream. I was once again lifted and carried safely to the dry margin, where the blackish intruder manically wagged us welcome.

*

Moira’s misfortunes may have been a grand adventure for her and Iris (the “intruder”, which is actually my other lovely dog), but from where I stand it was not so. Only a hot shower could prevent an onset of the flu. These cushion-dogs can be so troublesome…

Below you can take peek at her amusement, a season later, when revisiting the site.

Random Cool Things #9 - Pixels

Tetris rules! haha

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Caricato da onemoreprod. - Animazioni e video artistici

I hope this levels up the mood in here, after the latest dark twist of the troll serial. ;)

Random Cool Things #6 - I Like Turtles

Yeah, the zombiness contaminated even the cool # series.

Keeping up with the Zombie Luv Contest, we've got 15 entries you can read by clicking on the links on the side bar. :) There's only one more week to go, so gather your words and kill them!

Obviously you'll want to relive them by any means you can, so they'll become properly zombified, heh.

Now, if you're still with me, watch something amusing. I've wondered if this kid is the real thing... O_o

Uh, oh! Randomities is Dead!

I was celebrating having received the first entry to the Zombie Luv Flash Fic Contest that I missed Randomities' lack of reaction.

Did you notice the change in its color? O_O

Randomities died, and it's my fault! *sob*

My body parts keep falling on the keyboard and it contaminated the computer, and now Randomities too. Poor thing!

*nose falls, catches it and glues back at once*

Err, I hope it all goes back to normal after July 10th, the contest's deadline, but in the mean time, let me present you: *drumroll*

Zombie-Randomities

Zombie-Randomities is proud to showcase the entries to the #ZombieLuv Contest -- by order of submission -- on the sidebar, just below the contest's logo. Enjoy the reading! :)

And there's more! Every week until the end of the contest the cool # series will be zombified as well. Keep your living eyes open that new zombie funninesses are coming your way!

But hey, keep these yummy eyes away from me. Too yummy. *licks lips* Just saying, heh. :P

Psst, click on the link for the guidelines .

Edited to add: Click here to find out how Randomities got unzombified. ;)

Random Cool Things #5 - Winnie the Pooh et Le Crocodile

See this little French girl's fantastic tale. Cute awesomeness! :D

Changing Mood

Whew! The last two weeks were pretty intense here at Randomities. I had much fun experimenting with zombies and other stuff, but I think it's time to switch back to the usual cheerfulness, don't you agree? (Well, at least for a while. Randomities is not random and erratic for nothing, heh.)

So, for starters, do have a laugh. ;)

Ok, a chuckle.

Oh, well, at least tell me this is not annoying! (heh)

Ok, this quickie I'm sure will make you smile. ;P

Uh, oh! Randomities Won a Creative-Creepy Blog Award!

Not that this is a creepy award by itself, but who awarded me is a horror writer, Jodi MacArthur. She gave it a chilly reading that was rather entertaining, so I decided to play along.

Thank you Jodi, for this fun award, and the twisted idea for theme, heh. ;D

Here are some facts about me that I'm supposed to share. This time I seriously doubt you'll guess what is true and what's not, but go ahead and give it a try.

1. I have a gremlin. Not one of those cute fur balls, I'm talking about the post-water midnight thing.
2. Do you know the movie Paranormal Experiences? Yeah.
3. I have an insect-eating carnivorous pet that is not a pony, but it's creepy all the same. (Just to clarify, Jodi's Pony doesn't feed on insects. Well, that depends of one's point of view, really.)
4. I've met vampires. Yes, I did use the plural here on purpose. I'm sorry to say that I didn't meet cool mermaids or fairies or unicorns, but the old cliché. I'm a bit worried after these encounters, as lately I've been less garlic-tolerant, the light hurts my eyes, and I feel sleepy in daylight. Should you fear meeting me in person?
5. My skin is marked forever. It's blackened.
6. I hear voices. They tell me to do bad things to people.
7. I've once had a vision. A few weeks later it became true.

Now to the fun part. I'm going by the rules when I nominate seven bloggers for this award, but I'd like to propose a challenge of the sorts, hereby changing said rules just a bit. (see original below)

I dare the following bloggers to spread the chill. Make your lies and truths the more scary, ugly, grotesque as you can. Of course you don't have to, but I do dare you to, heh. ;P

>> Anne Tyler Lord, at Don't Fence Me In

>> Marisa Birns, of Out of Order Alice

>> Sam, of Future Nostalgic

>> Laura Eno, of A Shift In Dimensions

>> Jemi Fraser, of Just Jemi

>> Karen Quah, of ModernDayStoryTeller

>> Brian, of The New Author

Finally, the dreaded and mostly disrespected rules (at least by me, heh):

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth – or – switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie.
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

Happy Bunny! Ops, Easter!

I'm not a religious person at all, but I found this Muppets' video on Twitter that is somehow related to the holiday (since it has bunnies on it, heh) I thought of sharing it with you.

As the tweep who first showed it to me said, it's slightly disturbing, which makes the video all the more funny, heh. ;)

Enjoy!

Note: If you're a religious person, please forgive me if you think this is inappropriate. I've never meant to offend anyone. :)

Calvin, the Academic

Fantastic, haha!

Uh, oh! Randomities Won Another Blog Award!

There are people who are used to winning blog awards.

See the creator of this cool one, Lesa Holstine, from the Lesa's Book Critiques, and Jemi Fraser, from the (rightly so) popular Just Jemi, who passed it on to me. Thanks Jemi! :D

I'm not used to it, (yet? heh) so I'm totally *doing crazy dance*. Since you can't actually see me, I'm not blushing, no sir!

So, I'm supposed to tell you five outrageous lies and one outrageous truth about myself. Let's see...

1. I hate dogs. They're ugly, smelly, and not friendly at all!
2. I'm normal; I like normal.
3. I was once married to a Chinese man who made me tie my feet in order not to sell me away. We split up because my feet are too big and I couldn't bare the pain. He didn't get to sell me though, and at least I got to visit China!
4. When I was a a drooling teenager, I chocked with my food and got rescued by Johnny Depp. He even kissed me, but I'm not telling where!
5. I look way younger than I am; probably because I'm still an obnoxious brat.
6. I have more than 30 books published under a pen name because I'm too shy to make shameless self promotion. I'm also astonishingly rich, but I won't share a single penny with anyone; not even for good causes.

Now to the fun part: I'm passing on the Liar, ops, Creative Writer Award to Peter H. Fogdal, form the hilarious Danish Accent. Hey Peter, you're gonna have to come to Italy to get your award! heh

Psst! Don't miss his first novel translated to English.

Edited to add:

Holly mole, I must be a big fat liar indeed! The sweet Anne Tyler Lord, from the great Don't Fence Me In, has just sent away another Creative Writer Blog Award. Thanks so much Anne! :D

I know that as a writer I should be able to play with words at will, but I'm too stunned. So I'll jump straight to the fun part, and nominate the super cool Angie Capozello, from the fun Techtigger's Soapbox.

Also, you'll want to check out her serial fiction project The Penny Dreadful. I love it!

And I could never miss sending fun things to Kristi Thompson, from the humorous How Did You Get There, which has just been through a major aesthetic change that you must check out. (The content is even better, of course. ;)

Finally, since I've got two of the same award (not that I'm complaining! heh) you might want a double dose of lying? If yes, please tell me so and I'll be pleased to comply. ;)

On the other hand, if you think I'm deadly boring go ahead and visit the people mentioned up there. You won't regret it!

Venice Carnival: Pink-Headed Girls and Clowns

It all started with a clown.

You see how he's enveloping me, with his busy hands working his magic?

It worked.

Well, it must have, because I became clown-obsessed.

I started to follow them.

See the fuzzy first photo? Now picture me running like a mad woman, pass the normal people, to take the second shot. (uh)

After my success with clowns I decided to stalk other interesting people, who were wearing the most stunning costumes.

You know what?

They actually liked it.

Not the stalking part, but the (nicely) asking to take a picture.

Some were proud, some were gentle, but they all smiled, even behind their masked faces.

So I got bolder.

I started stalking whole foreign families, splendidly well dressed, -- man, are they tall or what? -- and even little girls!

But hey, I promise their feline (really) mother allowed me to, and they liked it! Check out their faces.

But then -- there's always something, isn't there?

Can you spot something, err, foreign, to this picture?

Oh, yes, the pink-headed girl started showing up in all my photos.

Psst! Check out Cinderela's step sisters. Hilarious, no? heh

After hours of strolling around Venice I got a bit tired.

So I decided to try a pizzetta (a small pizza) from a peculiar bar I'd never been to.

Guess who was there?

But I kept firm on my intent, recording all wonderful things I saw there, for your very own delight:

In case you're feeling confused, this is exactly what it looks like: three people with -- literally -- brilliant costumes, and small bluish lights hanging on their backs.

My hand is not very firm, I know, but the final effect came out quite nice, no? :)

It was night when I finally decided to confront the pink girl.

Note: This is the Grand Canal, seen from the Rialto Bridge. Well, part of it anyway.

We were tired and it was time to go home.

So, who's the pink girl after all?

She's my sister, and we had a blast together in Venice's Carnival!

*

I hope you had fun joining me on this dream-like day.

Please feel free to shout out your opinion on the comments. I'd love to hear it. :)

Wait, I'm not done yet!

Instead of making shameless self promotion, I want to promote this fantastic-al event, of which I could enjoy very little; although you saw how worthy it was. ;)

Obviously, the Italian carnival is not dying. Here's an interesting (and recent) article about it, published on Time magazine.

And if you like to know the origin of things, here's some interesting historical information about it.

Finally, here are some of the many events of Carnivale di Venezia that called my ludicrous attention:

Circus San Polo, telling the most intriguing tales for kids. (like me?)

And an escargot slurring itself in the middle of Piazza San Marco. (eh?)

So, why don't you tell me some experience of yours in Venice? Maybe you have an amusing tale as well? If it has to do with the carnival, even better!

Also, do feel free to link up to your travel blog, your personal blog or webpage on the comments. Let's share our experiences, shall we?

Final note: Please be courteous and tease us before sharing your link, if it's the case, ok? Thanks!

The Intruder Has Settled In

So, I've got some lovely comments on the cushion-dog story (not here, but on the site I originally posted it) - thanks everyone!

However, some people were really surprised by Moira's strong wording when talking about the intruder, who I had mentioned being my mother's adorable dog, Iris, and whose picture you can see at the end of this post.

Indeed, at first Moira was hard on the newcomer; but soon they settled to a peaceful sociability.

But you see, now... Well, here's how they're doing together:

Moira will never admit (heh), but she does love Iris. Don't they look gorgeous together? :-)

Steampunk Hilarities

When I was a little girl (please bear with me) 90% of my friends wanted to be ballerinas when they grew up. Do you know which were my aspirations for the adulthood? Well, I wanted to be either an astronomer, to watch the stars, or a mad scientist, muahahah!

No, I was not a deranged child who wanted to conquer the world or something; I wanted to invent cool things, like Gyro Gearloose's, from the Disney’s Duck Tales.

Well, imagine my reaction when a witch friend of mine (or former witch if you will) recommended me a steampunk on line comic? Er, I actually scorned at it, as back then I was prejudiced about stuff published on line, and freely distributed no less.

I was so wrong! When I decided to take a look, at the Girl Genius Comics I couldn’t stop chuckling! (I wasn't laughing out loud and rolling on the floor, only because it was past 2 a.m. and this is not a reasonable hour to make noise.)

Seriously, the comic is so good that it had me literally clapping hands at some point. Plus, they won the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Novel (or Graphic Story, as they call), which is huge!

Right, you already know what steampunk is, you read and love Girl Genius Comics, and you're bored to death... Wait! Here's an extremely cool site you may like (former-witch friend found through Neil Gaiman, no less); you can read some steampunk stories here; there are some awesome steampunk gadgets here; and here's the site of a steampunk workshop! I hope these caught your attention. :-)

Now, if you, on the other hand, had never heard of this steam-thing, here's some interesting (and concise) info:

Steampunk is a genre of speculative fiction usually set in an alternative Victorian or Erwardian world, frequently filled with fantastic elements, where advanced technology is steam powered.

Satisfied? But there's more!

Clockpunk is a steampunk subgenre in which highly technological stuff are based on clockwork mechanisms in pre-Industrial Revolution settings. They generally exclude steam power; so extreme Da Vinci's inventions would make a good picture of it.

Dieselpunk is also a steampunk subgenre in which ultra technological things are powered by diesel and eventually nuclear power, in a 1920's to 1950's setting.

Finally, if you got interested in this steampunk thing, here are some suggestions of readings, "watchings", "playings", and (believe me) "listenings" on the genre:

Some books, starting with the classics (always!):

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Vernes;

• The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells;

• Necronomicon, by H. P. Lovecraft, who is on Twitter, despite having passed in 1937;

• The Difference Engine, by William Gibson;

• A Nomad of the Time Streams, by Michael Moorcock;

• Finch, by Jeff Vandermeer;

• Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest;

• The Steampunk Trilogy, by Paul Di Filippo;

• The Etched City, by K. J. Bishop;

• The Newton's Cannon and A Cauculus of Angels, by J. Gregory Keyes.

Never forget the comics: (If you've scrolled till down here, open your mind, will you?)

• The League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore;

• Hellboy, by Mike Mignola;

and obviously

• Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio.

Steampunk-ish animations:

• Steamboy, by Katsuhiro Otomo (the creator of the revolutionary Akira);

• Howl's Moving Castle, directed by the absurdly fantastic Hayao Miyazaki (for the record, I'm not drooling - in this very moment that is, heh);

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, also directed by Hayao Miyazaki (sorry, but the guy made lots of wonderful films; and I'm not biased!);

• Metropolis, by Osamu Tezuka (aka The God of Manga);

• Full Metal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa (There are two sets of series; the second is called "Full Metal Brotherhood" and is on the screens right now. I highly recommend both.)

I'm not into games, but was told that these are good:

• Bioshock;

• Arcanum.

Did you know that there are steampunk bands out there? Me neither; just found out about them:

• Vernian Process (very steampunk-ish; listening to their radio at this very moment);

• Abney Park (seems like heavy rock'n roll with steampunk looks; nice).

To wrap all up, here's an extensive list of steampunk works I found on "master" Wiki.

But hey, if you now some other good steampunk thing you'd like to recommend, please do so! I do want to increase my reading, watching and listening lists! :)

Note: No, I did not forget to give proper credit for the wonderful pictures you saw up there. The first one, with the couple, is from Kyle Cassidy; the second, with the hot guy, is from Nadya Lev. They're both spectacular photographers, so why don't you go pay them a visit? ;-) Ah, of course all Girl Genius illustrations came from free stuff of their website.