Cheers Alex J. Cavanaugh

Today is the last day for the blogfest celebrating Alex J. Cavanagh, so I thought I would do a continuation from Monday's post and give you a list of all the bloggers participating in the nonsense... er... fun.

Obviously, I did not read the rules that had specific questions we were to answer about Alex, such as what he looks like - does anyone know? - and who might play him in a documentary. Some names that have been tossed out include, Jimmy Stewart - sorry, he's dead,  Tom Cruise - he's busy right now trying to be Jack Reacher, and Ralphie. Hmmm, that has possibilities.

Anyway, this has been a blast. I've read a number of the blog entries and they are all creative and some are laugh-out-loud funny. If you have a bit of time to spare, visit a few and get your chuckle for the day. 

Genre Favorites Blogfest

This is another blogfest from Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Thanks so much for putting this together, Alex. 

For this blogest, we are to list our favorite genre of Music, Movies, and books. Then share a guilty pleasure from any of the three categories.

My favorite music is Country. Not the newest Country Rock, but the old classics like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, Glen Campbell, and Patsy Cline.

Running a close second is folk and Americana. Among my favorite folk singers are Pete Seger, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Simon and Garfunkel. Their song, "The Sound of Silence" was written in 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. (Note: I can sing every Peter Paul and Mary song on their greatest-hits album. Not as well as they do, but I've got heart.)

While on the subject of folk music, I'd like to introduce my readers to a terrific duo who also happen to be good friends of mine, Adler & Hearne. They live in my little corner of the world, when not touring, and they have some terrific songs. One of the songs Lynn wrote, "A Hundred Years From Now" has won several awards and has a terrific social message. (NOTE: I will be taking voice lessons from Lynn Adler. I'll never sing like her, or Mary Travers, but my goal is not to be a professional.)

My favorite movies are dramas that not only tell a great story but make me stop and think about life and social issues: "The Shawshank Redemption" "The Green Mile" "Philadelphia" "Sophie's Choice".  I think I see a pattern here. I really like stories, whether they be movies, songs, or books that say something significant.

I also love the classic black and white films: "Casablanca", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Maltese Falcon", "It's a Wonderful Life" "A Farewell to Arms".  (Captain Alex will note there is not a sci-fi movie listed. Sorry guy.)

While I do enjoy books that delve into social issues, my favorite genre to read just for fun is mystery and thriller. I first started reading Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner, then moved on to John D. McDonald, and Ed McBain.  (for a long time I did not know that Ed McBain was a pen name for Evan Hunter.) It was the 87th Precinct series that first stirred my interest in police procedural mysteries and the primary reason that I write them. 

My guilty pleasure is related to police procedural mysteries with continuing ensemble casts, and that is my addiction to the Law & Order series. All of them. I can waste an afternoon watching reruns of the earliest seasons. They don't stir my intellect and my consciousness the way some of my other favorites do, but it is always fun to see justice win out in the end. Well, almost always.

Visit Alex's Blog to see his favorites and get a list of all the bloggers participating in the blog fest.

A Different Kind of Sunday Post

In lieu of my usual Sunday book review, I am offering a bit of humor from the comics. I love to share the strips that make me smile and sometimes laugh out loud. This one from Sherman's Lagoon did make me laugh. Maybe because it is so true.

Sherman's son asks, "Daddy, what are these blunder games I keep hearing about?"

"Well son, Each lagoon picks once resident to represent it. Then, all the representatives have a big free-or-all battle where everything goes."

The son says, "So it's like congress."

"Except something actually gets decided."

If you would like to read a good book review, you can find one here at my friend, Kevin Tipple's blog. He has been reviewing books, especially mysteries, for some time and is quite good at presenting a balanced opinion.

Lastly, tomorrow is the "What's Your Chocolate" blogfest created by Laura Eno, Brinda Berry, Ciara Knight and M. Pax.

Please come by and discover the millions of ways people love chocolate.

What Was Your Childhood Monster?

Today I have a lot of guests on my blog. I am taking part in a fun blog fest, What was Your Childhood Monster?, started by Christine Rains. Christine is an author, and her latest book, a  paranormal romance novella, Fearless was  released yesterday. She came up with the idea of having lots of other folks write about the monsters of their childhood as a fun way to promote her book.  She says on her website that one of her favorite parts of writing the story was creating monsters spawned from children's imaginations. Some of them are silly, but there's no rhyme or reason to a child's fears.

There are 49 authors participating in the blog fest, and the stories are varied. The blog fest started yesterday and will conclude tomorrow. If you have time over the next few days, visit a few of the other blogs to see what monsters frightened some of my author friends. A full list of the blogs is at the conclusion of this post.

My childhood monster always came to me in a dream that recurred frequently over a period of about a year or so when I was about 7 or 8 years old. This was a human monster who chased me from the field on the corner of my street, brandishing an ax. In my dream I would always slip and fall on the gravel driveway leading to the house and would have blood seeping out of the scrapes as I ran into the house.

There I saw my mother at the stove so I called to her, "A man is chasing me with an ax. Don't tell him where I have gone."

Then I would run and hide deep in the closet that ran under the staircase, listening as the man burst into the house. I heard him say, "Where is the girl?"

"Under the stair case."

I would always wake up just as the man pushed clothes aside and found me, which was a good thing. Some experts at interpreting dreams say that if you die in a dream, you actually do die. I wonder if that is true?

Now that I am all grown up - well, maybe - I have forgiven my mother for the betrayal, although I always did wonder why she was so cavalier in giving away my hiding place. In my dream she always just kept stirring the pot on the stove and nodded toward the hall leading to the bedroom and the closet.  I asked her once and she just told me to stop being silly. In some ways I'm glad I didn't listen to her.

So what is the monster from your childhood? We'd love to know so you can share your story in a comment here or any of the other blogs. Have fun!