Standing Into Danger

Friday, June 3, 2022

Rain's Thursday Art Date: Pretty in Pink ~ June 3, 2022

No heavy quantum mechanics, philosophy, or national tragedies this Friday.
Today I'm sharing some Pretty in Pink photos for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date.

Her theme is Colourful June: Pink for June 2, 2022.

And, thanks to Valery-Jael, one of the very talented TAD regulars,

jogging my brain with her vibrant piece Dance to the Song of the Sea,

I remembered that I have one framed piece of my art hung in my home,

and it has pink in it.

I'm excited to share it!

I'll start with my photos which were taken during two trips to Honolulu this winter.

Anthurium

International Market Place

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

March 6, 2022

Snoopy and Lucy

International Market Place

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 2, 2022

A Standout in Pink!

Waikiki Aquarium

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 2, 2022

Another Standout in Pink!

Royal Hawaiian Center

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 2, 2022

And Another!

Store Window on Waikiki

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 19, 2022

Pretty in Pink

Store Window on Waikiki

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 29, 2022

NOT So Pretty in Pink!

(But Strutting with Attitude)

Outdoor Restaurant on Waikiki

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 1, 2022

Sunset Over Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

February 2, 2022

Pretty in Pink

Royal Hawaiian

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 29, 2022

Pretty in Pink

Siam Square Restaurant on Waikiki

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 29, 2022

So here's my art piece. I've always thought of it as Fish and Coral.

It doesn't have an official name.

Fish and Coral by Louise MacBeath Barbour ~ 1986

This is a piece of Scratch Art which I created

during a required course for my elementary teaching degree.

I remember doing scratch art as a child.

I loved the elements of mystery and surprise as I scratched the black paper

and revealed the vibrant colors under the black wash.

Scratch Art was the inspiration behind the black background on my blog,

because I love the pop that a black background gives to displayed photographs.

I usually had my school kiddos do a scratch art project every year.

It's fun for Halloween, and it's awesome if you're teaching students

about Southwest Native Americans and petroglyphs.

An idea would pop in my head,

and I'd race to the art room and ask our fabulous art teacher Preston,

"What's that recipe for scratch art again?"

He'd patiently say, "A few drops of liquid dish soap in a quart of black tempera paint.

Remember, have the kids press their crayons hard as they apply them to the paper."

Then he'd usually give me a bottle of the paint, and I'd dash back to my classroom.

Away we'd go!

At the end of the day 25 or 30 drying blank black pieces festooned the classroom.

The next morning I'd arrive with a big box of toothpicks for the kiddos to scratch with,

and soon delighted squeals broke around the room as wonders emerged.

I still have those sponge wash brushes I bought for my classroom.

.
Modern scratch art, more formally known as Scratchboard or Scraperboard,

originated in 19th century Britain and France.

It became a popular medium for reproduction in engraving,

because it replaced wood, metal, and linoleum engraving.

If you're interested, you can find more information here: Wikipedia.

Rain's Thursday Art Date is all about creating.

She invites artists to showcase their paintings, drawings,

photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever they like!

Artists can follow the weekly themes or post any art they like!

Stay colorful and creative!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Friday, June 30, 2022

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

IWSG Day Wednesday, June 1, 2022 ~ Can You Find Your Groove Again and Another Great Book by Another Great IWSG Author

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Joylene Nowell Butler, and, Jacqui Murray!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.

I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If you have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy June, Everyone!

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well.

All is well here, and it's nice to see some of my neighbors out and about.

A Neighbor Enjoying the Sunshine

Before a Surprise Snowstorm

Aurora, Colorado USA

May 19, 2021

Twenty-four Hours Later

During a Surprise Snowstorm

Aurora, Colorado USA

May 20, 2021

This month's question is one that I think about more than a little,

because I have abandoned writing at various times over the years.

I didn't keep writing to the end of a number of things.

A lot of the writing I did complete, I finished

because I had a deadline and the piece had to be completed.

It was a responsibility in some important area of my life.

Over and over, if I had to make a choice

between the pressing requirements of life and career or writing,

I would choose responsibility and duty in my life.

I can't regret it.

Those decisions weren't made lightly.

I am comfortable with my decisions.

Sometimes I indulge in the "What Ifs... ."

But I am who I am, and if I could do it all over again,

I'd likely make the same choices.

I thought I'd accomplish more writing than I have so far in retirement.

I certainly didn't factor in pandemics, political upheavals in my country,

the upending of the western world order that I have known all my life,

and challenging medical issues for my husband and me.

I am the definition for optimism!

I was taking it all for granted on some level,

almost sleepwalking in my false sense of comfort and security.

And it has been shocking to be rousted out of my illusions.

But I'm done with beating myself up over what I haven't achieved in writing so far.

I'm taking pride instead in the writing I have accomplished, especially since I retired:

my blog Standing Into Danger, my journals, my letters,

my short story "Dare Double Dare" in the IWSG Anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost,

and the progress I have made on my memoir.

And I have several other writing projects in the works.

After flailing and floundering about with erratic writing

during the last two long years, I'm writing daily now.

Steroids are temporarily decreasing the double vision my eyes,

so I'm in a much better place.

I won't say I'm back in my groove, but I'm getting there.

I'd say I'm writing to the end,

but I don't want to tempt the universe to toss something else my way.

Fingers crossed! I have a superstitious bent.

Beginning and end: this stylus will perpetually repeat its spiral journey from outer rim to inner groove, extracting music all along. A tribute to the classic record player.

Wikimedia Commons

And in a complete change of direction!

Another Awesome Book

Another Awesome IWSG Author

Kiss of the Assassin

Joylene Nowell Butler

Amazon

While I was in Hawaii during the late winter,

I had a chance to read a draft of Joylene's latest novel, Kiss of the Assassin,

before it was released by her publisher, The Wild Rose Press, Inc., on March 23, 2022.

I had previously read Joylene's painful, suspenseful, murder mystery

Matowak: Woman Who Cries,

so I knew I was in for a good read.

I was impressed then with Joylene's ability to create a crime novel that felt authentic,

as if she had served in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and had solved crimes herself.

In Kiss of the Assassin, Joylene does it again,

writing an international political thriller that feels authentic, real.

I know that Joylene is a Canadian Métis,

but I'd swear she'd done a tour of duty in Vietnam during the '70s after reading it.

Imagine meeting the love of your life in Cambodia as enemies

on the opposite sides of the tragic war that was Vietnam!

Can Marina, a Soviet-trained assassin charged with killing

American Marine Sargeant Mateo Arcusa, forge a lasting romantic relationship with him?

They crisscross the world, running into each other

over and over again on dangerous missions for their countries.

Are they going to survive their missions?

Will one assassinate the other?

How can they possibly fall in love and find a way to be together?

Questions like these grabbed me from the beginning

and kept me reading long into the night.

Marina is such a compelling character.

On the one hand, she is an unsympathetic professional killer

who murders coolly and efficiently.

On the other, she is the sympathetic survivor of a tragic childhood

in which she had no choice but to become a skillful killer

for the ambitious, manipulative, and ruthless KGB Chairman Vladimir Kurenkov.

I don't want to give any hint of how this all turns out.

I'll only say that the story is impossible to forget.

Twitter.com

Here is an excerpt from the the novel

when Marina learns how truly manipulative and evil Kurenkov is,

this guardian who may ultimately order her death.

“Malyshka …child…there’s no easy way of saying this apart from being honest and direct. I hope you can forgive me, but your father died.”

Marina’s eyes instantly watered, which seemed to surprise Kurenkov. He looked sympathetic.

“When?” The thought that he lived beyond that night and she hadn’t seen him made her ability to keep calm unbearable.

Kurenkov shrugged and admired his cuticles. “You were so young. I was afraid if I told you the truth, you would blame yourself.”

“Why would I—”

“Your father died the night your mother stabbed him. He has been dead for fifteen years.”

“I…I don’t understand, why would I—”

“You were so despondent. Your father asked for your help before he died. What could you do? You were a mere child. I kept the truth from you because I couldn’t bear you taking on all the blame. I knew you would. That night you had already blamed yourself. You told me your papa asked for help and you hadn’t helped him. I’m sure he didn’t mean to abandon you, not as my father abandoned me. Please, Malyshka, please forgive me for shielding you from the truth. I did it to protect[…]"

It was fun to see Joylene's evolution as a writer.

Her writing flows and is so readable.

It pulls you forward page after page.

Her plotting is tight, and her ability to turn good research into great narrative is a given.

I certainly hope you have a chance to read Joylene's book!

KISS OF THE ASSASSIN by Joylene Nowell Butler

The Wild Rose Press, Inc (March 23, 2022)

Paperback: 424 pages, ASIN: B09P7T1ZRS

mcbooktours

Joylene is the author of the suspense novels Dead Witness, Maski: Broken But Not Dead, Break Time, Matowak: Woman Who Cries. Dead Witness was a finalist in the 2012 Global ebook Awards, and Broken But Not Dead won a silver medal in the 2012 IPPY Awards in New York.

For more on Joylene and her writing, visit her website and blog, as well as connect with her on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.

Happy writing in June!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, June 3, 2022.

So far from the international stage!

Beautiful Cluculz Lake in British Columbia, Canada

where Joylene still lives part time.

The Cluculz Lake Community Association

Friday, May 27, 2022

America, This Is Exactly Who We Are!

We are a nation that loves our guns more than we love our children.

Don't waste your time telling me that we are not.

Our inaction over gun violence since Columbine almost a generation ago

shows exactly what we value.

If we truly cared, we would have acted, made changes, addressed gun violence.

President Biden got it right when he addressed the nation

after the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School

in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022:

"As a nation, we have to ask:

When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?

When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?"

I remember only too well when this national horror and shame

burst into our consciousness:

Columbine. Colorado. April 20, 1999. Twenty-three years ago.

And the school mass shootings have piled up non-stop ever since.

Sandy Hook. Stoneman Douglas. Santa Fe. Red Lake.

We are a nation that is willing to endure too many of its citizens slaughtered

by gun violence, because we love our guns more.

I live in Colorado where fellow Coloradans have been slaughtered

in school and in church and at the grocery store and at the movie theater.

Aurora. Boulder. Littleton. Denver-Lakewood. Highland Ranch. Arvada.

All sites of some of the mass shootings in our Denver Metro area alone.

I can't keep track of them all. There have been too many.

We do not act to decrease gun violence and mass shootings.

We live with the risk because, as a nation, we love our guns more.

Almost five years ago, a mass shooter in Las Vegas fired a thousand rounds

from the 32nd story of the Mandalay Bay Hotel

on a large outdoor group of concert goers.

60 slaughtered. 411 wounded. Over 400 more injured in the ensuing panic.

Obviously the bodies weren't piled deep enough, because we have failed to act.

We, as a nation, love our guns more.

How many bodies from hated-based killings, homicides, drive by shootings,

roving killers, suicides, and deadly gun accidents

will it take to outweigh our love for guns.

Far, far more than anywhere else in the world.

Spare me your blather about thoughts and prayers and grief and God,

those of you who take money from the NRA for your political gain.

Those of you attending The National Rifle Association Conference

in Houston, Texas this weekend,

while the truly-grieving parents of Uvalde, Texas

are arranging funerals for their dead children shredded by an assault gun ~

the AR-15 style rifle, dubbed "America's rifle" by the NRA.

You love your guns more than you love our nation's children, citizens, and residents.

Your actions speak far louder than your blather,

as you hold your hands out for more gun money.

"America's rifle" is a rifle that was designed to shred human beings on the battlefield.

As President Biden said,

"Deer aren’t running through the forest with Kevlar vests on, for God’s sake."

Children are our hopes, our dreams, our futures.

They are precious to us.

They fill our lives with love and meaning.

Each one deserves to be cherished and loved and guided and protected.

The parents, the siblings, the extended families who have had children

slaughtered by guns will never be whole again.

That lost child will be missing from their lives for all the decades to come.

They are irreplaceable.

So much joy, happiness, love, and potential ripped from families in a heartbeat.

Gone. Forever. Irreplaceable.

What might the children have become, have done, if they had lived?

Today I quickly pulled random pictures from my extensive collection of photographs.

Most were taken by me. Some were not.

Most of these children are the ages of the Uvalde children who were slaughtered.

They come from around the world and from several generations.

Most are anonymous children who crossed paths with me in fleeting seconds,

children who touched my heart with their innocence, vulnerability, honesty,

their beauty, and sincerity.

Some are personal.

Because it is at the personal level that we can truly grasp the horror,

truly imagine the terrible loss of someone we love and could never replace.

Lost, not just in the moment, but in all the years of our future.

We could start to address gun violence by passing laws

that the majority of Americans support:

* actually providing more funding for mental health screening and treatment

* mandatory and universal background checks

* licensing for gun purchases

* a national "redflag" law.

We have to begin somewhere, somehow to reverse

the tide of gun violence that is drowning our nation.

Gun violence and mass shootings are complicated problems,

and finding solutions will not be easy.

But until we act we will continue to show the world that we are the nation

that loves its guns more than it loves its children.

We can't throw up our hands, give into despair, not act,

even with powerful industries, lobbies, and political forces arrayed against us.

We can't continue like this, huddling and hiding

in schools and stores and theaters and beauty spas.

We must demonstrate that we are a nation that loves its children more than guns.

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, June 3, 2022

Rain's Thursday Art Date: Pretty in Pink ~ June 3, 2022

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

IWSG Day Wednesday, June 1, 2022 ~ Can You Find Your Groove Again and Another Great Book by Another Great IWSG Author

Friday, May 27, 2022

America, This Is Exactly Who We Are!

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