(It’s that time of year where I repost the Top 5 of the previous year. Always fun to see which posts got the most attention. As usual, I only picked from the ones that were posted for the first time last year. Older posts still get a lot of attention. Now, let’s get to the fun with #5, which was posted on May 29, 2022.)
So, today is the National Pink Flamingo Day, which is about these guys:
Not Real Flamingos
I thought it would be more interesting to do a post about the real thing. After all, flamingos are one of the most identifiable and popular birds around. Their pink coloration, long necks, and how they stand on one leg are practically iconic in the animal kingdom. They’re also filter feeders and eat by straining food from mud, which involves eating with their heads upside down. Really cool.
Also, none of the 6 species are endangered. That means, we can dive right into the pictures (all found with Google Image Search) and videos.
Greater Flamingo
This is the Greater Flamingo, which has the greatest range. It’s also the largest. They’re found in Africa, Southern Europe, and South/Southwest Asia.
Lesser Flamingo
The Lesser Flamingo is found in Sub-Saharan Africa and western India. These are actually the smallest flamingo species.
Chilean Flamingo
Found in South America, the Chilean Flamingo is considered near threatened. This is because they live in salt lagoons and soda lakes, which are at risk of pollution. Some have been introduced to the Netherlands.
James’s Flamingo
The James’s Flamingo has more yellow in its beak than other species. The live in the higher altitude plateaus of the Andes like in Peru and Bolivia. They were thought to be extinct until a colony was found in 1956.
Andean Flamingo
The Andean Flamingo is closely related to the James’s Flamingo. They live in the same region too. You can see in the pictures that they differ in beak color. This one also has a deeper mandible than other species. Mining has made this species vulnerable.
American Flamingo
The American or Caribbean Flamingo is the only one that inhabits North America, but it isn’t exclusive to the continent. It can be found in the Caribbean, Florida, Belize, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezula.
Sitting here trying to think of the best way to do this post. Kind of tired and had a little to drink. Looked back at last year and it was just a list. Was maybe half successful due to what happened in 2022. The publishing stuff really didn’t pan out. Let’s hope we do better this time around.
Write at least 2 more Tales of the Slumberlord books.
Try to start publishing Tales of the Slumberlord series. Depends on editing speed and cover art situation.
Help my son do great in school.
Keep having fun at work.
Maintain eating fruit for work lunch instead of junk food.
Reduce fast food intake.
Try to increase water intake, but it has improved.
Take more time to relax and refocus.
Puzzles!
Finish the notebook stage of ‘Phi Beta Files’.
Father/son trip during the summer. Not sure where.
See ‘The Super Mario Movie’ for my birthday.
Get back into a real exercise regime.
Hopefully some of these add up to me losing weight.
Geez . . . This was a whirlwind week. I think. Might have just been the last few days that fostered some mayhem. So, how did things go?
It was Holiday Break, which meant I didn’t have work. At least the teaching job because I tried to put my author hat back on. My goal was to get the first 5 chapters of Darwin & the Demon Game done. It looks like I’m only going to get 4.25 done before I have to go back to work. Not bad, especially since I might still be able to get the chapter count up to 6 next weekend. That would complete 1/3 of the entire book as long as I don’t delete or add any chapters. Not looking possible considering how much I combed over the outline and already do some merges, deletions, and additions. Spent a whole weekend examining the outline, so I’m confident there.
I’m not entirely confident on some other things. A subplot popped up out of nowhere within chapter 2 and 3. I always intended for this character to slowly change and become more ‘human’. It’s an affect that I established why back in Legends of Windemere when it came to demons. This isn’t a spoiler. The bizarre thing is that the change intended up happening almost immediately upon Darwin and this demon meeting up. I thought it was iffy, but then the demon started questioning why he is actually stranger than usual. I kind of want to see how this plays out because I know there’s a big scene that explains this even though I haven’t decided on the details yet. My confidence is shaky here because I can’t tell if this is genius or it’s being caused by imagination rust.
With my friends being busy during Christmas, I didn’t do more than writing and re-watching ‘My Hero Academia’. Didn’t even leave the house since it was freezing cold and stores weren’t really open. Made sure to get some lunches to make at home and had a lot of hot chocolate to keep me warm.
Things were working pretty well until Wednesday when the insulation guys showed up and I had to leave my room. They weren’t the issue really. I still got some writing done before heading out to do errands. One of my son’s Nintendo Switch controllers broke and I needed to get some heavy cream for vodka sauce. Didn’t realize those two things would require a lot of driving. The controller was sold out at Walmart and Target, so I had to go to a mall (return day) to get to a Gamestop. I was lucky that they had a pre-owned. The heavy cream was just as bad with nothing at Walmart, Target, Stop & Shop, and Lidl. I finally found some at Stew Leonard’s and then grabbed Taco Bell to head home. By the time I ate and rested, I was barely able to get more writing done. I only got one more section done and that was it because my son was back Thursday morning.
I thought I could get some writing done if my son was doing other things, but it’s a big ‘father/son’ activity period. We watched the first Raimi ‘Spider-Man’ and keep playing video games. Got a bunch of Legos to build too. We also went to something called Lumino City:
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That was a spontaneous thing that I managed to get tickets for. I had around 140 pictures, which I put on Facebook. It was cold, but a lot of fun. Grabbed donuts on the way home and that was the end of day one of the ‘father/son’ part of the break. Jammed a lot into it, which is why I’m tired.
There is much else planned for the break since it’s still cold out. During the writing of this post, the speakers of my laptop are starting to crack really badly. Part of me wondered if moving it to the downstairs to work might have caused an issue. It’s been sitting on my computer acting like a desktop for years. Good thing I can’t afford a new one. I probably should have tried to get one during Black Friday, but this laptop worked fine beyond not being able to close without breaking the casing. Writing time might be delayed more if this gets worse. 2022 is really trying to get a final blow in, huh?
Given that I go back to work on Tuesday, I’m not going to come up with much in the way of plans. It’ll be the first full week of 2023. I don’t expect there to be any major changes beyond getting back into the working habits for me and school habits for my son. Let’s just allow everything to be a surprise.
(In Windemere, there is a day where it is eternal night. For 24 hours, there is no sunlight and undead are stronger. Those born on this day are thought to have a powerful destiny, which can be either good or bad. Of course, I had to do a poem on this event.)
*****
A full day
Of endless night
Covering
The entire world
As the four moons
Led by Vir
The red moon
Of purest evil
Suffocate the sun
Shadows
Once benign
Become pits of terror
As creatures
Of the breathing
And the breathless
Fearful of sun’s light
Gather
Their evil courage
Zombies stalk
The foolhardy wanderers
While Liches cast
Their spells and rituals
Demons
Summoned from
The chaotic void
Prepare to dine
On all they find
Few venture forth
And brave the day
Those that do
Are one of two
Some are brave
And overcome the darkness
Others are less able
Luckless fools
With a lack of sense
Well, I talked about my 2022 this past Monday. So . . . Let’s see how everyone else made out this year. Wait . . . I think I remember this going south a bit last year. No politics! Now for the questions.
Not even sure I have to go into details with this one. It’s a destroyer of egos and causes people to quit. Not only with writing, but with most adventures. This can birth doubt and keep it fed for as long as it’s around. One never knows when it will turn up. Even a barrage of uplifting platitudes can fail if this horseman strikes correctly. So, what is the last of the quartet?
Negativity
This can come from any source. An author may create it in their own minds and hearts because they don’t feel right about their path. They might have a frustrating story section that causes negativity and leads to doubt. Internal negativity is easier to shrug off, but it’s also the more likely one to remain if it goes unchecked for too long. Think of it as a chronic mental illness since getting it once doesn’t mean you’re immune. Negativity always leaves a little behind.
More commonly, we get this from outside influences. Negativity comes from every bad review, piece of criticism, and day without a sale. It’s lurking within the words of devil’s advocates who think they’re helping. Naysayers don’t even hide this horseman since it’s their main weapon to get you to quit. People may say that you just ignore it or cast those people away, but it’s not always possible. Some sources can’t be removed from your life because there are other connections. It’s really easy for someone outside of your life to tell you to get rid of people because they don’t have the emotional connection and won’t be the ones to suffer any backlash. As for the ignoring, that doesn’t work forever because even stone can get worn down by a constant trickle of water.
Something I want to add is a little bit of psychology that I read about a while back. If a person is constantly bombarded by negativity instead of positivity, their brains will change to treat that as the norm. This can lead to semi-permanent pessimism, anxiety when happy, and distrust of anyone offering to help. All attempts to be optimistic and positive are herculean because we’re fighting against our internal wiring. It’s not impossible, but it’s a path that can be ruined by even the smallest failure or criticism. This is where devil’s advocates end up being a problem too. They mean well and think they’re cheering you on, but they’re really reminding you that bad things can, and probably will, happen.
Question time!
How do you handle negativity?
Have you ever acted against your instincts due to negativity?
