Titles Are Clear-Kut Innovations (aka TACKI)

For those of you who are fans of my Irregular column ‘Observations From The F.A.R.M. (Fresh Air and Room to Move)’ please check out my pal Jack Ramsay’s blog, The Down Under Dunder, or DUD. (Jack and I are masters at this game! GAG… DUD… The cunning we possess when coming up with titles for our creations is mind-boggling! Remember, it was Jack who wrote that excellent children's story about the circus cow who wowed audiences with her extraordinary juggling act. The title was, if I remember correctly, Balls on a Heifer. And of course, I am the best-selling author of the tale about the hirsute creator of custom-designed portable under-the bed toilets; Hairy Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Yeah… Jack and I? We know what we’re doing in the ‘title’ department!)

Some of you may remember the Scotsman from his guest appearances in my column and on Grumbles and Grins. But if you missed him (and I assume the ONLY reason you missed reading ‘Observations’ or GAG was due to a terrible, debilitating illness) then you have an opportunity to catch up, right now!

Please travel to Australia via the cyber-highway and spend a few moments with my pal, writer Jack Ramsay. You won’t be sorry.

He’s an idiot, but don’t take my word for it. Jack is the expert on idiocy, here. Go check him out.

Visiting (after sneaking up on) My Friend Down Under

It's Thanksgiving. An American holiday. Some people have taken the day off to rest and relax and eat themselves into oblivion. Perhaps that's what I should have done. But I'm a writer. I'm not content--my day isn't full--unless and until I've written something. A short story, a poem, a long letter to a friend.

Something.

But I had no inspiration for a story. I wrote a poem, 'The Urine Man', just two days ago. And the friends I usually write to are either too busy to read my meanderings, or resting up from a day of over-indulgence. And so...

Tonight, I wrote a blog entry. However, I snuck up on my pal Jack and posted it on Down Under Dunder, rather than here on GAG. When he sees it, he may delete it, for it's a bit bawdy. A bit 'Kazza'. And that's a chance I'm willing to take. Jack knows I won't get offended if he does. Not REALLY offended. And not for long!

So, my friends...if you want to read what I wrote on this Thanksgiving Day 2009, perhaps you'd better hurry over to DUD. If I did it correctly, all you have to do is click on the underlined 'Down Under Dunder', up above. If I DIDN'T do it right, then the link is posted over on the right-hand side. One way or another, I'll get you there.

And for the record, my husband took offense at my posted article. Mr. Grumbles thinks my perspective is WRONG, and that it could have happened to ANYONE. And I? I can't believe he'd admit that!

Happy Thanksgiving! And remember, there's still time to make plans to attend my comedy show for charity tomorrow night. Hope to see you there!

Down Under Dunder, Bullying and Kara Tamanini

Bullying is one of the themes in my YA novel, Grumble Bluff.

If you’ve ever been the victim of bullying, you know how debilitating and terrifying it can be. And if you’ve ever been a bully, perhaps you understand the phenomenon even better. Bullies and their victims…in my opinion, they both are deserving of some extra attention.

One of the followers to my new blog, Grumbles And Grins, is Kara Tamanini. She is a licensed child therapist, and she graciously agreed to write an article about bullying for my friend Jack Ramsay’s blog, Down Under Dunder. I encourage you all to visit Jack’s blog and check out Kara’s article as well as some others in the same vein. If we shine the spotlight on school bullying, maybe one day such despicable behavior will become atypical rather than the rule. Personally, I look forward to the day when it is ‘cooler’ to be kind and tolerant than it is to be a bully.