And a Pirate without a Treasure Is Like a Monkey without a Spatula

I'll spin you a yarn - or at least some juicy information.  I was being silly with that because of "Blackbeard, Bluebeard, & Redbeard" by Eric Herman.

Anyway, most of you know that I make my money by writing and monetizing websites and such.

So, I write for Yahoo! Voices, which is in the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

If you'd like to write for them, you can do that by clicking here.

I also write for Bukisa, but something seems to be wrong with the site.  It says that I don't have any articles there.  Then, I write for List My Five, TextBroker, oDesk, and ContentCurrent.

If these have referral links, I will update with them later.  I am trying to relax tonight and looking at the computer screen all the time and searching for links is not exactly relaxing.

Cash Crate

My mom is not doing well.  I am trying to get my life, for me, started more right now.  Of course I worry about my mother and want her to have the best care she can get.  However, this is not the time or the place to write about it at the moment.  It can be the place later, but not now.

Anyway, with trying to get my life started and get money, I joined Cash Crate.

It would be good for both me and you for you to join Cash Crate, too!

You can join Cash Crate by clicking on the link in this sentence.

Art and Entertainment

Ricci Milan, one of the founders of Feet Don't Fail Me Now, has me thinking today. This required a serious blog post. He asked, "What is the difference between art and entertainment?"

I can take this at face value.

If I go to Merriam-Webster, art, as a noun, has six distinct definitions.

1) skill acquired by experience, study, or observation
2) a branch of learning; one of the humanities
3) an occupation requiring knowledge or skill
4) the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also works so produced; ibe of the fine arts; a graphic art
5) a skillful plan; the quality or state of being artful
6) decorative or illustrative elements in printed manner


Then, entertainment has three distinct definitions.

1) The act of entertaining
2) maintenance; provision; employment
3) amusement or diversion provided especially by performers; something diverting or engaging as a public performance or a usually light comic or adventure novel.

It seems that, if trying to take the question literally, it only causes more confusion.

Ricci is a tap dancer. Is tap dancing an art? Is tap dancing entertainment?

I love tap dancing. I don't know how to do it, but I love it. I love watching tappers perform, what I consider, to be an art. Is is entertainment? The fact that I enjoy watching it would make it entertainment to me. However, it is not entertainment to somebody that does not enjoy tap dancing.

I still haven't answered the original question and I don't know if I'd ever be able to answer the original question.
v I enjoy writing. Writing is known as an art. It is somebody creating something for an enjoyment and usually for others to enjoy. However, is writing entertainment? The fact that I enjoy writing does make it entertainment for myself. Sure, it is not fun for people to sit and watch me write. However, my writing is an art. Is my writing "a performance?"

My first answer would be that it is not. Then, I could expand my thinking to the fact that people read my writing. If I included the act of reading in my writing, perhaps it could be a performance because my work was created for others to enjoy.

So, overall, I guess art is the action of creating and entertainment is the result of art. Yet, it still leaves large gaping hole of confusion because it may not be exactly those things. The definitions seem to overlap. How do we decided what is art and what is entertainment?

Discuss.

Medical and Finanacial Problems

I'm sorry about this, but this blog is going to have to be on a hiatus until my sister and I can work out the financial and medical problems with our mother.  She is still being obstinate and she NEEDS help and we NEED financial help!  I'm at my wits end with her, so if you know ANYTHING, any help is appreciated!

This Blog is Still Alive

This blog is still alive.  However, due to having a few family emergencies this week, I need to focus on writing for profit.  Hopefully by next Monday this blog will be back in normal function to have entries appearing no more than with two days between them and preferably entries every day.

I need to make money, though, and this blog doesn't do it.  Therefore, hopefully, a week on hiatus.

For Want of a Fridge

Our refrigerator badly needed replacing.  This might not have been an issue if the electricity had not gone out while we were in the hotels waiting for our air conditioner to be fixed.  It may have been an issue, but I don't know.

The old refrigerator currently has maggots and gnats in it.  Of course, it is not plugged in right now.  However, we had those when it was plugged in, too.

My sister and I suspect that gnats were flying up the ice maker and water dispenser.  It was a more expensive fridge and we got it when we had a bit of money that we had to spend from my Daddy's insurance as some of it was supposed to be spent to take care of us right off and then the rest needed to be invested.

Anyway, now, we didn't have the money for a fancy fridge, but we didn't really want one, either.

My mother insisted on first trying to go to C and C Audio, Video, and Appliance.  It was not open an dis not open on Sundays.  She then went to Home Depot.  I said that it was a place that might have refrigerators.  They reneged on their promise of delivery and haul away service if a fridge was bought in store.

I looked online at some of their stuff in their store and there was nothing that was as good as the fridge we had found.  I was ready to pay, even for a warranty, if they would deliver and haul away the fridge.

They had promised to do this, but the guy who had "placed" the order was an idiot.  He wasn't supposed to even "place" the order on their website.  Then, they said that the model was discontinued!  I finally got them to cancel the order.

I suggested going to Lowe's, but my mother refused to go there.  I told her that I just wanted to go home.  I have no idea what her problem was, but she wanted to stay out longer (she had been gone since 8:45am and it was now past 3pm).  She finally dropped me off at home and Briana came in the house with me to look at refrigerators.

I later checked on the Internet to find prices and a lot were not great.

I finally found one that said it was at Lowe's.  It turns out that this model was not at Lowe's, but the guy on the phone was extremely helpful.  He said that he didn't have that type of refrigerator, but he had a similar model. I asked the price, and he told me.   I asked if they would still do the delivery and haul away service, and he said that he had to check.  However, he came back, and in a reasonable amount of time, and told me they would do it.

Briana and I headed off to Lowe's and we bought that model fridge.  I even got the four year extended warranty that starts after one year warranty.  I know that American Home Shield is supposed to cover refrigerators (as far as I know), but why bother taking the chance that they won't when we can have good coverage from Whirlpool and Lowe's?

I think the fridge was a 9.7 cubic feet and is considered "an apartment fridge,"  However, being we are all 5r' or under, we needed a smaller fridge.  We can easily reach the top of this fridge by standing on a step stool.

It also doesn't have any external ice dispenser or water dispenser. This means that no gnats or other bugs can fly into the fridge or freezer unless the door has been opened.  There may be some bugs, but there shouldn't be that many  bugs.  They should be easily cleaned from the fridge if it they get into it.

I have no idea what my mom and Briana refused to go to Lowe's in the first place.  I told them that Lowe's was nice.

I am happy that the fridge will come on Thursday afternoon.

Trivia Answer

Yesterday I asked, "In the 1970s, a certain type of shoe was a fad.   Consumer Reports rated them as a health hazard, but that did not keep them from being a fad and being worn by people who were young during the 1970s.  What was the type of shoe?"

Nobody answered.

The correct answer is "Platform" or "Platform Shoes."

Trivia

In the 1970s, a certain type of shoe was a fad.   Consumer Reports rated them as a health hazard, but that did not keep them from being a fad and being worn by people who were young during the 1970s.  What was the type of shoe?

The Future

I am 30 years old. I did not think this is where I would be when I was 30.  For a bit, I thought maybe I didn't belong in Lake Charles. I love Youth Ministry and did tons of interviews where they flew me to different places.  None of them were much to my liking, other than Edmond, OK.  It seemed a lot like Lake Charles, minus the really good food.  However, there were still the main restaurant chains there.

I really do like Lake Charles.  I don't like the heat in the summers and I don't like when the winters are gray, but the cooking and the friendly people can't be beat.  If I went anywhere else, I'd definitely want to be in the south or up in Minneapolis where there are tons of Lutherans.  However, I think I'll take the south as I couldn't handle shoveling snow.

I am a freelance writer, and I know there is nothing wrong with that.  However, I would definitely like to do more with my life.  There's a few things that I can do now by bracing down and writing enough to have time to work on my children's books that I want to write myself and write with Briana - and then create my webpage to sell them.  I also need to make designs to put on my SpreadShirt shop so I can try to sell T-shirts.

Anyway, there are a few things I'd really like to do.

1) The MFA at McNeese. 
2) Teach English (at Sowela is fine and at McNeese would be awesome).
3) Write for Coastal Living (they are lacking in the area where I want to write).

Of course, I could never completely give up writing for Yahoo! Voices.  I do like putting writing there, having people be able to find my writing on the web, and then also the community of people that I've found from there.  I wouldn't know a lot of my friends if it wasn't for Voices (formerly Associated Content).  I know some people look at it as a "content mill," but I've seen ones that really are content mills, and they never were truly one since the time I found them.

Teaching English doesn't have to be completely an "English" class, either.  I'm not an SEO expert, but with my degree in Mass Communications from McNeese and writing for Yahoo! Voices (AC) for years, I've certainly learned about formatting, fonts, SEO, and web writing.

I'd love to teach a beginner class on that stuff.  I'm definitely not versed enough for anything advanced, but it would be really cool to teach that type of stuff at Sowela or McNeese.  My HTML class at McNeese was a joke.  The only thing I did in that class that I didn't know how to do was make a stupid pop up window, and really, who wants those?

So, I'm sure that my class would not be a joke.  I'd want people to learn and learn what tools are available to be used.

Trivia Answers

Yesterday I asked, "I am not a fan of soap operas.  However, I do like the show Hot in Cleveland.  Because of this, I know about Susan Lucci.  What was the name of the character Susan Lucci played on All My Children?"

Nobody answered.

The correct answer is, "Erica Kane."

Trivia

I am not a fan of soap operas.  However, I do like the show Hot in Cleveland.  Because of this, I know about Susan Lucci.  What was the name of the character Susan Lucci played on All My Children?

Hamburgers

I was trying to think of a topic for my next blog post, so I was also looking on the Internet for ideas.  I saw one that said "hamburgers."  I'm pretty sure that it meant for a whole blog, but why not write a post about hamburgers?  Specifically, I think I'll write about the hamburgers I can get at restaurants in Lake Charles.

Of course, there's always the fast food hamburgers.  There's McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Checker's, and more.  My favorite fast food hamburger is from Checker's.  I like the Cheese Champ, plain.   However, the best part of going to Checker's is the french fries.

I love Cotten's Famous Hamburgers.  When I want a good, thin, hamburger, I'll go get a cheeseburger, plain, from there.  Sometimes I'll get the bacon cheeseburger or an eggburger, but just the cheeseburger is good, though I like to put salt on it.

Of course, there's the hamburger at MacFarlane's Celtic Pub.  I like to get just a plain cheeseburger with the provolone.  Sometimes I'll get the Swiss (I think that's one of the other two cheese they have) when I want a hamburger.  That burger is very good and it is difficult for me to eat in one sitting!  I often have to bring half of it home or I'll bring part of it home for my mom to eat.   I love to get it on the sourdough bun.

There's a restaurant that is actually in Sulphur called "You Don't Know Jack" and the cheeseburger there is delicious.  Once again, I get it plain.

I get everything plain because I have an issue with cellulose intolerance and I'll admit that I can be picky.  However, lettuce is definitely one thing that I wish my stomach would tolerate.  I feel really bad and am running for the bathroom after I eat it, so it's better not to eat it.

The best places to get a hamburger in Lake Charles have changed since this article was written, but all of these places still have good hamburgers and good food.   That is, except for Backyard Burgers, because that place no longer exists in Lake Charles.  However, we now have a Five Guys.

The Best Places to Get a Hamburger in Lake Charles.

Trivia Answer

Yesterday I asked, "Jim Morrison was the front man for which band?"

Nobody answered the question.

The answer to this question is "The Doors."

Then, I also wrote, "Extra trivia: When this band performed on the Ed Sullivan show, what song was performed and what word were they not supposed to sing but sang anyway?"

I'll break it down.

When The Doors performed on the Ed Sullivan show, what song did they perform?

The Doors performed, "Light My Fire."

So , when The Doors performed "Light My Fire" on the Ed Sullivan show, they were not supposed to sing one of the words in the song.  Jim Morrison promised that he would not sing the word, but he sang it anyway.  What was the word?

That word was "higher."

The reason he was not supposed to sing "higher" is because the producers said that it referenced drug use.

Jim Morrison gave the excuse that they had performed the song that way so many times that it slipped his mind.  However, he and The Doors still got in trouble and were banned from the Ed Sullivan show and told that they would never perform on the show again.  At that, he said, "So, we've already performed on The Ed Sullivan Show."

Trivia

Jim Morrison was the front man for which band?

Extra trivia: When this band performed on the Ed Sullivan show, what song was performed and what word were they not supposed to sing but sang anyway?

I'd only expect people to know the answer to the first question, but if you know the answer to the second, go ahead and put it - or even take a guess!

Messy Muffins

For years, I have been looking for a recipe called "Messy Muffins."  I know that there are plenty of recipes called "Messy Muffins."  However, this is a special recipe.  It is not one of the many found online (though it may be online somewhere).

When I was in third grade (I'm pretty sure it was third grade), I was sent home with a math worksheet about fractions.  In order to answer the questions, we had to figure out the things from the recipe.   The recipe was called "Messy Muffins."

We were not sure if the recipe would work, but in order to finish the worksheet, my mom and I made the muffins just like the recipe on the worksheet.

The muffin recipe worked.  In fact, the muffins were delicious!  I loved them.  My mom loved them.  My sister loved them.  My Daddy really loved them.  These muffins were gone very quickly.

I don't remember why at the time we didn't copy the recipe.  We probably thought that it would be easy to find in a math book or a recipe book later.  It turns out that we were wrong.

I know the math book was an orange Addison Wesley math book.   However, I don't think the recipe was actually in the book.  It was on a worksheet that went with the book.  I have not been able to find the recipe and I would love to make and taste those muffins again.

Do any teachers out there have this worksheet or recipe?

The book is the one that is at this Amazon link.

It looks like this:

If you can find the Messy Muffins recipe, I'll be forever thankful!

Trivia Answer

Yesterday I asked, "Here is hopefully an easy trivia question.

What is the only mammal that cannot jump?  It is also the only mammal that truly has four knees."

Rick answered correctly with "an elephant!"

Sorry that I don't have any prizes, but Rick can feel good about knowing the answer!

Trivia

Here is hopefully an easy trivia question.

What is the only mammal that cannot jump?  It is also the only mammal that truly has four knees.

Tough Noogies

This morning, Briana put Woofles on the bed where I have been sleeping in the hotel.  I was still tired because I couldn't get to sleep last night.  However, I did not want to be under any blankets, so I was just laying there.

Woofles started pawing at me because he was not under any blanket.  I told him that I was not going under a blanket, and then I told him "tough noogies!"

I know that I noogie is when a person makes a fist and rubs it on the head of another person or at least another being.  I started giving Woofles "tough noogies."

Of course, he enjoyed them.  He liked being "pet" in that way.  It was cute.  He'd put his head against my leg and want me to give him more noogies.  I think my knuckles would've wore down before Woofles got tired of getting "tough noogies."

I think I'll try to remember to use the phrase "tough noogies" more often with people.  I like that phrase.

Trivia Answer

Yesterday I asked, "Who voices Bart Simpson?  She also voiced Todd Darling in the cartoon 'The Replacements' and Rufus (the naked mole rat) in the cartoon 'Kim Possible.'"

Nobody tried to answer.

The correct answer is "Nancy Cartwright."

Trivia

Who voices Bart Simpson?  She also voiced Todd Darling in the cartoon "The Replacements" and Rufus (the naked mole rat) in the cartoon "Kim Possible."