Book Rants: April 2026

accidently here no. 2

I had a good reading month though it was busier than usual with the A-Z Challenge which I just finished. (I'll talk about that in a later post.) The art above have nothing to do with anything, I just thought I share it since I finished it and it's something cheerful to look at. Here are the books I read in April. 

01 - The house with a dragon in it by Nick Lake, illustrated by Emily Gravett
What's it about: a dragon, a witch, an orphan, wishes, family
It was disappointing that the dragon is only at the beginning and end of the book and didn't get involved in the main story. This is really about an orphan and a witch who grants her wishes. I half enjoyed this. It's mostly because I expected more of the dragon so it's like false advertising, perhaps this needs a new title and new cover art. The illustrations are wonderful.

Zany Blogging Thoughts

For today, the last post of the A-Z Challenge, here are some zany and imperfect thoughts using at least one Z word. Perhaps they make sense, perhaps they don't. I hope you enjoy them.

01 - All the zany people take blog naps on Mondays.

02 - You must blog in zealous retorts after midnight or else the zonkey will appear and sauté your dreams.

03 - Using math and time zones, a blogger travels through time punctually.

04 - A zeppelin ride through the sky is what every tired blogger needs.

05 - I failed to zip my zipper and lost my zeal to blog.

06 - On Wednesdays, all the best bloggers blow bubblegums at the zoo.

07 - Don't get zesty with your blog, it might not like it.

What zany thoughts can you come up with using at least one Z word?

Fiction: Yawning Dog

Charlie's daily ritual was to count her dog's yawns and post them on her blog until her house was robbed. The lost of her furniture, bicycle, jewels, cash she had hidden in her closet and even her laptop didn't stress her except for her dog. 
    Seven years ago, after her husband's funeral, Charlie had wandered out alone and ended up in an unfamiliar neighborhood where she encountered two Rottweilers. They chased her and would have attacked her if a black and tan German Shepherd didn't appear. He fought with the Rottweilers until they scurried away. Charlie took the German Shepherd to the vet and got him mended. When no owner came forward after six months, she adopted him. She named him Darcy Bennet after two of her favorite Jane Austen characters. 
    When Charlie discovered Darcy's habit of yawning with his paw over his mouth, she blogged about it. Everyone fell in love with Darcy and his yawns but they also loved how human-like he was – sitting with his front legs up, reading books (his favorite was The Art of Racing in the Rain), sunning himself like he was getting a tan in the backyard and even sleeping on his back.
    With the insurance money, Charlie brought new furnishings and a new laptop but without Darcy, the days dragged on. And without her old laptop, she wasn't able to blog as she didn't remember her password. Using a new email, she tried to get her blog back. How could she gave up seven years of posts that meant so much to her? And besides, her blog didn't just belong to her but to Darcy as well.
    Several weeks after the robbery, in her half empty home office, Charlie fell asleep sitting by the desk with her laptop opened. When she woke up, the screen was showing the dashboard of her blog and in a text file, was her account names and passwords and below that, was her brother's name and the word robbery. Her older brother often thought blogging was unhealthy for Charlie. Perhaps he thought without her laptop and her dog, she would stop blogging and join the real world. 
    Most surprising was Darcy sleeping by her feet. Charlie bended down and lightly stroked the top of his head. He had probably came in through the doggy door in the back of the house. Was it Darcy who got into her blogging account and left the note? He had surprised her before. But all that mattered was, her yawning dog was back. If she was missing something, she was sure it would find her soon. The doorbell rang and Charlie grinned and Darcy, woken, started to yawn.

X (Ten) Reasons Why I'm Still Blogging

I'm using the Roman numerals numbers as it is often difficult to find a good x word to use for the challenge. Here are X (ten) reasons why I'm still blogging.

I - Blogging is a daily habit.
II - Sharing thoughts, ideas, creations and any odd or wonderful things.
III - I don't do social media so my blog is my social media.
IV - Finding (although rare) new blogs and bloggers.
V - For the laughs - so many blogs/bloggers are funny and they cheer me up.
VI - Learning new things but not just new words or new ideas but also how to deal with people who aren't quite nice.
VII -  It's cheaper to blog than to go to therapy.
VIII - Saying things I might never say in person.
IX - Interactive with people I might never thought to meet or interact.
X - I like blogging.

What reason or reasons keep you blogging?

Weblogs from blog's past

We, at the ITP (Inquisitors of Tomorrow's Past), had received these weblogs from an old farmer who discovered them in his basement. He insisted that these weblogs must be shared with the world and we agreed. We have yet to discover who this Mary was but we believed she was more than one person and we believe all these Marys are pioneers for humanity's intelligence and they should be heard. Here are their weblogs from the past. 

01

From: Mary's Home Diary
Date: March 1800
Tonight, when my husband arrived home with demands for dinner, I pleaded with him and described all the work I had to do in a single day – taking care of two children with one sick in bed; taking care of his mother who was also in bed after breaking her ankle supervising my duties; washing, ironing, mending the entire family's clothes; and various chores that he had always insisted was my duty as his wife. He glanced at my stained skirt, dishevelled hair and tired face and said, "Bring me my dinner at once, woman or I will turn you out." I wanted to argue if I am to leave he would have more problems but I was dead tired. With a smile, I brought him a piece of raw meat on a dinner plate and then I went to bed.

02

From: Mary's Study Notes
Date: April 1890
How ignorant I was to believe I am equal to the men. They gawked, they played pranks - I do not like having my skirt pulled up nor being carried out of a classroom like an object that needed discarding - and most of all, they did not show me any kindess. I often retreated to my solitary room and wrote and wrote until my hands had loosened my rage.     
    Calling them scoundrels is probably kind. How I wanted to kick them in their male parts and say, "I am merely checking to make sure you are a man. Is that not a requirement to study here?" But I do nothing because I am kinder and smarter than they are and I am in charge of the keys to all the labs. Should one of them delay in their assignments and need the use of the labs, I shall make myself scarce as it is what they perferred.

03

From: Mary's Physician Logs
Date: March 1900
During a day when five of our male doctors were out sick, a man in excruciating pain in his nether region came in and requested a physician. When I went to examine him, he insisted he on a male physician. I smiled and went onto to treat other patients. 
    At noon, when I went to check on him, he was pale and sweating. I asked if I can offer my services but again, he insisted on a male physician so I left him and went on to treat other patients. I learned the man was kicked by a horse so at least, he wasn't contagious.
    Before I leave for the night, the man called me over and asked if I could take a look at him. I said, "I am sorry but I can only treat patients during the hours that I am allotted and those had passed. It is a rule I cannot break or else I cease to be a physician. You should know this since you are one of the many who voted on that rule." Then I went home but not before I leave, I instructed one of the orderly to give the man some painkillers and to make sure a doctor check on him first thing in the morning.  I may be frustrated by the man and what he represented but I prefer to be kind.

(*These are fictitious posts*)

Vaguely useful suggestions on how to blog from my cat

I don't actually have a cat but if I do, his name would probably be Robert or something regal or long or very egocentric and he would give me these advices because I'm prone to have mean, narcissistic and brutally honest creatures surrounding me. Here are suggestions on how to blog from my cat:

01 - Eat more fish. They are good source of proteins for your dull brain so that you would not end up posting something dumb.

02 - Offer to assassinate anyone for free especially that no-good dog next door.

03 - More yarn pictures, preferably with cats.

04 - Curse more, bitch more and always remember you're a wonderful human being. It's other people who are assholes.

05 - Never blog anything you know nothing of, unless you like doing more work.

06 - Never blog about what your significant others, your neighbors or your gynecologist/andrologist say to you.

07 - Always listen to your cat/dog/any pet that looks adorable but isn't when he/she tells you not to post something. They know more about you than you know about you.

What suggestions did your pet (imaginary or otherwise) give you about blogging?

Unusual Blogs

We, at WOOT (We Openly Ogle Things), had recently discovered these new and unusual blogs flourishing in the blog-o-sphere. These may be unusual but they are not rare as we can all be creative if we put our mind to it. Here, we present to you, some unusual blogs for your enjoyment. 

01

Title: Unicorn Wonderfulland
Tagline: My wonder years living in Unicorn Wonderfulland
What you will find: All you ever need to know about unicorns but afraid to ask with many descriptions of rainbows, sunsets, sunrises, etiquettes of being a unicorn, the magic of unicorn hair and many other things that you may never wanted to know.
About the Blogger: A grumpy woman who used to be a unicorn but was kicked out for insulting a certain unicorn royalty. There might have been some alcohol involved but most of the information is mostly accurate, just don't ask for sources.

02

Title: Udders & Moos
Tagline: How to milk cows and other animals that moos
What you will find: Pictures of old guys and old gals milking cows and drinking milk from unusually ugly coffee mugs. There may be cows being very pretty and very cheeky, showing off their behinds.
About the Blogger: A farmer who was fed up with people telling them how to milk cows and calling them Moo.

03

Title: Unawed & Unamazed
Tagline: All the unamazing, dull things you never want to know or see
What you will find: All the unamazing, dull things you never want to know about or see, nothing that impress anyone, not even aunts of very dull dispositions and more that you really don't want to see. 
About the Blogger: Anonymous but he's actually a human who used to be cat but wished to be a unicorn instead.

04

Title: UFO of USA
Tagline: Unidentified Fleeing Ogres Mostly Found in the USA
What you will find: Unfocused and sometimes closeups photographs or videos of ogres running toward the camera or running away or running for no reason. There will be talks on how to catch ogres in their natural habitats and the types of sneakers for better chasing.
About the Blogger: A man who might have a vision problem and who runs around deserted forests and unknown lands while capturing ogres with his three cameras that might be stolen from a museum or two.

05

Title: Unaudible Silence
Tagline: Listen to the silence of the internet
What you will find: Audios of silence or blog post of silence. If you see posts with tons of blanks spaces, do not worry, those are the silence of the internet.
About the Blogger:  An old geezer who is mostly deaf.

Have you found any unusual blogs around the blog-o-sphere?

(*These are made up blogs*)

Text from your blog

These don't need explanations except I want to clarify I didn't write them. Some blog left these text to me but they didn't leave their name but I thought I share them anyway. Who knows, maybe these are from your blog.

01 - Your thoughts are not solicited. Nope, they are not.

02 - Hey you! You have twenty drafts and still not posting. What's up with that? Did you lose your faith in humanity? Lost your laptop? Couldn't find your house again? No worries. I'll wait for you.

03 - How dare you change my looks! I was perfectly happy with my bright hues and weird pictures. I was perfect the way I was. 

04 - Delete those awful pictures immediately. Did you forget that time where you have to spend days apologizing all over the internet?

05 - Please stop telling people I need a makeover. I'm perfect the way I am. Just slightly plump with excessive stuffings. Just remember, you are not smart enough to change me.

06 - Your cat made me revert your posts. I swear I had no choice. He threatened to eat me.

07 - Does this wallpaper make me look unapproachable or slightly plump?

What message did your blog leave you?

Sidebars & Switching Platforms

I use to have a sidebar on my previous blogs but I didn't like that I couldn't keep it organized enough so I ditched it and all my blogs are one column like the blog you're currently reading. (One column is a blog with no sidebar/Two columns is a blog with one sidebar/Three columns is a blog with two sidebars, etc.)  
    The sidebar is where you put the things relevant to your blog such as a small mini bio, useful things like blog archives, translator tools, all the little things significance things but it really depends on the blogger.
    I think it's hard to maintain a neat, organized sidebar so I chose to put all sidebar things onto the footer so the foot is basically my sidebar except it's at the bottom of the blog. I guess a footer can also be a bit chaotic but you don't see it until you scroll down. In my footer, I have blog archive, post labels, a small mini bio, the followers gadget, a search tool, a translate tool and a little note - seven things and a return home link and below that the navbar which you can only see if you mouseover that empty space. This may sound like a lot but it isn't. [Update: I moved the navbar to the top of the blog which is still only visible when mouseover.]
    Now with responsive blogs, sidebars sometimes get shifted to the bottom (and header & other elements might shrinks or enlarge) to fit the size of a browser window. But that didn't mean sidebars are not needed. I think sidebars are necessary but they don't have to be on the side of a blog.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Having used Google's Blogger for years, my opinions are completely biased. Blogger does have its downsides just like any other platform. It's a bit outdated (Google haven't updated it in years) and they removed a lot of useful features (like follow by email) but they are still free and they don't put advertisement in your blogs.
    I did try out Blogger first but then I tried Wordpress (the free version, wordpress.com) for a few months and decided I just didn't like it enough. Not because you can't change the template (you have to pay to alter it) or the advisements they put in your blog – I just find the interface unfriendly and harder to use. Some people find Wordpress much easier than Blogger and some people (like me) find Blogger easier. 
    Over the years, I have seen many Blogger users switched to Wordpress. The errors, issues, problems they claimed seemed easy enough to overcome but maybe it seemed that way to me because I never had many problems with Blogger. I have seen bloggers switched from Wordpress to Blogger a few times and it's always surprising but nice. They too offered much the same reasons about errors and such for switching. But I think if you want to switch platforms, you don't need an excuse. Even though I want people to use Blogger, I won't try to convince people to switch. Everyone should choose the platform that fits them and their comfort. Whether you use Wordpress or Blogger or other platforms, I hope you continue to blog because some of us (mainly me) prefer blogs over social media.

Do you like sidebars? Which platform do you prefer when blogging?

Reading blogs as they are

A few years (or maybe last week? I don't remember), one reader commented they did not know how to navigate my blog. (All my blogs are one column with no sidebars like this blog you're currently reading.) I guess I should have asked them to explain but I didn't want to make a fuss so I let it go.
    Even if you are new to a blog, all you have to do is click on anything (ie, a post header, an image, any word that looks like links, etc), it goes somewhere - is that not simple? Even if you're used to blogs with a sidebar, that shouldn't matter. But that's probably not the problem. I really don't know the problem was. Does anyone know?
    That comment made me think about how blogs are viewed. In the beginning, blogs are designed for large screens (such as a computer) but you can still view them on a small screen (such as a phone) but in a more simplified way mostly as text or just not with a lot of the graphics/images or with the structure of a blog. Now with more powerful phones, viewing blogs is almost like viewing them on a computer only everything's smaller.
    I'm not much of a phone user so I cannot say if viewing a blog on a phone is worst than on a computer screen but the small size does put me off. But I mostly prefer viewing blogs on a computer screen and in a browser and seeing all the elements at once in their proper place and looking at images and graphics at regular sizes. I don't think you get the full experience of a blog on a small screen even if it is designed to look exactly the same as on a computer. 
    Besides, bloggers work hard to get their blog to look a certain way and set up all these little nuggets you probably dismissed or couldn't see too well on a small screen. Mostly, a blogger's hard work deserves to be seen properly.

Do you have problems navigating blogs? Do you prefer to view blogs on a small or large screen?

Quick Quiz

All the weird questions you have never wanted to answer about blogs and blogging and some you probably wish to never think about. If incline, answer one, two, all or none of the questions.

01 - What nickname would you give your blog?
02 - Do you blog in your swimsuit?
03 - Is your blog clever enough to change a lightbulb?
04 - What happens when you drop a blog and a piano down a well?
05 - Why do blogs cry when it rain?
06 - Do blogs multiply when you leave them in the bright sunshine?
07 - What do baby blogs do if you leave them in a room full of broken computers?
08 - Do clocks go backward if you revert a post?
09 - Where do bad blogs go when they are sad?
10 - Do blogs dream of analog sheep?

Pet Peeves About Blogging

I had talked about a lot of blogging pet peeves before so I thought I just list a few that I didn't talk about. Here are three of my blog pet peeves. 

01 - Script, italic or fonts that look like hand writing — Using script fonts and such sparely is fine but if the whole content is using them, I find it hard to read. I know this is a preference and sometimes it looks great but I would prefer to use these sparingly.

02 - Posts that kept on going — I think this feature is only for Wordpress blogs. I have not seen it on any other types of blogs. When I like a new-to-me blog, I like to browse the archive to see what else a blogger have posted, so having older posts keep appearing as you scroll down is not a good way to browse because it's especially daunting if a blogger have years of posts. You can't stop and bookmark and come back to it later. I don't know if this is a template thing or a feature thing but it's definitely one that I wish people would stop using.

03 - Subscribe popup box — It used to be subscribe popup boxes pops up when you go to a blog but now after you press the comment button, it pops up before the comment goes through which I just don't get. It's interrupting the comment process to ask if you want to subscribe – that's dumb and dumber too if I leave another comment, I'll see that same subscribe button again. I do not subscribe to blogs and even if I do, I like to be able to choose to do it and not have a box to remind me every time I comment.

Do you have any blog pet peeves?

Ordered Lists & Old-Timer Bloggers

Maybe you have noticed many of my a-z posts (and my regular posts) are in list form. I kind of think in lists most of the time so it makes sense to post lists. Lists are easier to read and sometimes they are easier to write.
    I usually limit my lists to 3, 5, 7, 10 or 14 items. That doesn't always mean I deliberately make them a certain number. Sometimes if I can't think of 4 items, I go with 3 and if I can't get past 6, I go with 5 and so on. But most of the time I go with 7 items because seven is sort of my favorite number. And I always place a number before each item because it's more ordered looking and readers can refer to a number instead of repeating what that item is referring to.
    I'm an old-timer when it comes to blogging. This years makes 20 years of blogging for me. (I'll probably post about this in July when I celebrate this blog's anniversary). But there are bloggers who had blogged even longer than that. It's a bit comforting to know many bloggers keep blogging while so many had quitted. 
    Newbies to blogging (those with a few months posts) is a bit rare. I haven't seen any lately (those bloggers who started a blog just for the a-z challenge doesn't count). So maybe blogging is an old-fashioned hobby but I like it and it's still the only platform I'm comfortable using. Blogging has become not only a habit but a part of my life so I can never really quit it.
    
Do you like list posts? Are you an old-timer when it comes to blogging?

New Acronyms for Blogging

Just a couple of acronyms I made up.

01 - GHOST = Going on Hiatus & Operating on Slow Time 

02 - NOPE = Not Offering Proper Elation

03 - RUDE = Refusing to Understand Dumb Exhortation

04 - FRET =  Failed to Realize Everyone's Terrible

05 - BITCH = Being Incredibly Too Calm to Hurry

06 - HELL = Having Effing Lousy Luck

07 - FOMB = Fear of Malfunctioning Blogs

Do you have any new acronyms for blogging?

Fiction: Memory Bus

The memory bus had a silver and white outer shell and a driver decked out in a crisp, gray uniform and gray cap. After studying the bus for a bit, Vincent got on. His heart was thumping so loud he swore everyone heard it. He pressed his chest and released a short breath.
    Once inside, he was immediately transported into ten-year-old Vincy and sitting beside his mother. Dawn's early light filtered in through the many open windows. A shiver ran up Vincent's body. He noted the watch on his right wrist: 8 am, seven more minutes and the accident would occur.
    Two young boys with black izzards on the front of their hoodies were playing games on their phones. After awhile, they took out staple guns and began shooting at each other, moving around the bus and climbing over seats and people. The other passengers complained for them to stop but they kept on, laughing and shouting, sending nails here and there. Staple nails went here and there but one ricocheted off a metal part of a window and drove into Vincent's mother's head who was asleep. Vincy had pulled his mother to his side but the nail had struck her in the head and killed her instantly.
    When the bus screeched to a halt, the boys with their staple guns fled. Alerted by Vincy's shouts, the few passengers started crowding around Vincy and his mother.
    Vincy was transported back outside and standing in front of the bus. This fifth time made it clear — there was no effective way to get an outcome in which his mother lived. The only sure way was to never let the two picaroons to step inside the bus.
    But Vincent could not change the past and even if he was able to do so, it wouldn't alter anything as the memory bus could only run within and did not affect the outside world.
    Vincent exhaled. He got the proof he needed. Now he could finally let go and move on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by messymimi over here. This week's prompts are: shell, deck, chest, proof, dawn, effective and/or brabble (a loud, dumb argument), izzard (the letter z) and picaroon (a scoundrel). 

Lament for the lonely blogger

Here's a poem-ish homage to bloggers. I used the word lonely because I couldn't find a word starting with L that means incredibly dumb, miraculously marvelous, exceptionally vexing and highly delightful. This was inspired by a dog who liked to shake pear trees on Wednesdays.

Lament for the lonely blogger
To blog or not to blog, what a simple question
whether you're a novice, a master or in between
you will probably despair, you will probably dwell
you will probably freak out once or twice or thrice
but all is nonsense if a blog is not a blog
but a butterscotch cake made of butter and scotch
maybe you will choke on insolents and compliments
maybe you will talk nonsense without end 
until the birds of destiny drop poop on you
to blog or not to blog is always a simple question
all who answer will be vexed but delighted 
all who don't answer will be on their second nap
all who know it's a dumb question will have skipped ahead
but who cares, just say hurrah, hurrah
you have blogged today so goodbye, goodbye

Do you have a lament for bloggers?

Keep calm and keep blogging

To combat rude readers and rude bloggers, I thought I share some pep talks for bloggers who panic when they are blogging or not blogging or for posting something everyone hates or just for surviving rude people or for simply being awake. These might not be useful or wise or even sensible but at least you can ignore them.

01 - To whine is a policy for the living.

02 - The only time you should look back is to make sure there's no toilet paper on your shoes.

03 - Taking a vacation from your life (& blogging) is part of your life schedule.

04 - Don't worry about going insane, we're all crazy here.

05 - Sometimes all you need is chocolate and to avoid everyone.

Do you have some pep talks for bloggers?

Joys of Blogging

Just a few good things about blogging.

01 - Meet like-minded people — Not to say you couldn't do this without a blog but some of us are shy about talking to strangers in person. With a blog, it's easier. So yes, you might encounter unpleasant people but you also might encounter some of the kindest people in the world.

02 - Reach people from all over the world — Your blog can be read from different parts of the world and you can blog in any language. If you blog in another language, there are translation gadgets/apps/services that allow you to translate any blog in any language. I have only seen a couple of foreign language blogs but I'm sure there are plenty that I don't know about.

03 - Share as much or as little about yourself as you like — There's no rule about what you share on your blog. Sometimes I think people overshare but that's their preference.

Do you have something good to share about blogging?

Introductions & Identities

I have a first post but I also an about page (titled hello) and also a gadget (It starts with 'Hello!') at the bottom of the footer – they are all a sort of introduction to the blogger (to me that is). I think every blog should have at least one of these so that readers know who is behind the blog even if they know just a name. If I like a blog, I like to check out the about page or introduction post. Maybe your visit to a blog is just a few minutes but you might like to learn a fact or two about a blogger.
    I enjoyed some anonymity by not posting my full name or a photo of myself in these intros. It's not just to protect myself from internet trolls but it's also a preference. These days you cannot sign up for anything online without giving your info which includes your real name and a lot of things that shouldn't be on the web. Unless you're a celebrity or someone who is already in the spotlight or that you had to blog for work or something that is necessary to use real names, I think bloggers should not have to give out their real identity in order to blog. 

Do you like introduction/about pages? Do you blog with your real name?

Honest Blog Confessions

01 - Now and then I accidentally turn off or on some of the blogging features (for example, email comment notification) and then I forgot how to get it back so I have to search how to do it. It's dumb that this should happen even though I've been blogging for years but there's nothing I can do about it.

02 - Sometimes looking at a blogger's photo on their sidebar makes me uncomfortable. I find photos of real faces distracting while I'm browsing a blog. It's nice to see who is behind the blog but I wish they would place that photo in their about page or use an image that is an illustration or a symbol or an object. There are some very awkward photos on people's blog that I cannot unseen. (I'm not referring to Blogger's profile icons which are smaller.) 

03 - I can be a bit annoying by pointing out the mistakes in someone's blog but usually just spelling mistakes and link mistakes (like when a link didn't work) because those are the kind of mistakes I like people to point out on my blog. Sadly, no one had pointed out I had misspelled 'of course' instead of letting me get away using 'of cause' for many years on my blogs. Maybe I should have checked the dictionary instead of relying on my word app's spellcheck which do not correct such things because it sees it as two separate words.

What honest confessions do you have about blogging?

Fiction: Gaol

Her gaol cell may lacked elegant furnishing, privacy or windows and her shower time may be limited to three minutes per day, it was home to Gin. Should the sea-green wall disturbed her senses or her roommate or other inmates made too much noises, Gin had books to keep them out. It didn't bother her that she was likely to spend her geriatric years inside a cell. She had no dreams nor a bucket list to pin hopes on. She craved only a peaceful existence.
    Every now and then, she would contemplate getting out but dismissed it. She had plenty of time to sit and ponder and read books and though she had some regrets, she was mostly contented. The downside was new inmates often wanted to challenge her. She didn't like the spontaneous trips to the infirmary but she relished fighting with people. Before, she was a pacifist but in here, she lost that peculiarity.
    This morning, when she met the board members, she offered a half-hearted plea to let her out. What was out there for her anyway? More work? More time to enjoy the drudgery of a life ruled by others?
    On some gloomy evenings, she still reminisced about her old life as a bodyguard to powerful beings. But that life was over when she broke a mortal rule – she got involved with a human's life. She was foolish to believe the woman was her friend. On a cold morning, the woman brought her a cup of hot chocolate and Gin drank it without thought. Then she woke up in a deserted place surrounded by a field of cops with guns pointing at her. No matter what she did, she couldn't prove she didn't kill the security guard or the bank manager. The woman had disappeared and couldn't be found. But Gin was at fault for not listening to warnings about that particular human. Why they didn't take away her immortality, she was still baffled but she didn't have to worry about dying but her body aged like any living being, only slower.
    In the afternoon, she was pleased to hear she was staying put for another twenty years. As she turned the pages of a newly borrowed book, she smiled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by messymimi over here. This week's prompts are: elegant, limited, spontaneous, bother, list, pin and these phrases (which I didn't use) don’t count your chickens before they hatch; par for the course; a piece of cake. And Charlotte's colour of the month is Sea Green.

Followers & Female Bloggers

I don't follow blogs by emails or feeds or any type of services. I believe blogs are meant to be viewed on a computer screen or a large screen but mostly because I just don't like blogging or viewing blogs on a tiny screen. 
    Normally I try not to worry about how many followers (readers) I have but with a gadget like the Followers at the footer of my blog, it's hard not to notice since I use my blog's blogroll and also I preview my posts so that I scroll down a lot and often see that Followers gadget. It shows a number which I know not to trust. Most people follow blogs but they don't actually follow through (ie, make visits or leave comments). I think having fewer readers is better because then I know who commented and not worry about getting bad comments but that may be a lie I tell myself. (Note: I used Google's Blogger platform.)
    Most of my readers are female, at least, it seems that way. Also, most of my favorite bloggers are female. Years before, I had more male bloggers on my reading list but most had stopped blogging. I subconsciously or perhaps consciously is often draw to female bloggers. I am a female so it makes sense to want to be friends with other females but that's my upbringing or maybe habit. Of course it shouldn't matter if you're male or female (or others) – blogging is blogging.

If you're a blogger, do you worry about how many followers (readers) you have? Do you find there are not as many male bloggers around?

Excuse me while I forget to blog

Just reasons why I didn't blog. I'm not saying whether these are true or something I makeup but here they are.

01 - I had a near-fatal allergic reaction to coffee and turned into a cleaning hermit. Every day I wake up surrounded by too many furnitures and stuff and then remember I have a blog but that thought swiftly went out of my head along with any actual cohesive thoughts when I start cleaning.

02 - I was struck on the moon. There was this contest and I won a trip to the moon but once there, the spaceship lost power and the engine died so now we have to wait 644 days before a new one is brought to us. And there's no wi-fi so no blogging.

03 - It wasn't me. My cat turned into a human after he accidentally got electrocuted when he stepped on some tangled wires and spilled liquid. While he was trying to figure out how to be a human, he hijacked my blog and started blogging so if I forgot to blog, tell it to my cat.

04 - I got hit by a nut and had amnesia and recalled only things that starts with the letter Z.

05 - I forgot.

What's your excuse for not blogging?

Fiction: Derangement

The alien ponders why he is here and if he could just disappear. For years, he has lived the life of a lonely, hollow man. Time after time, he has tried to alter his nature but it was as if he was born with a careless prudence.
    The alien finishes his third hot, sweet coffee and curses the system for sending him here. But this is his chosen punishment, his burden. His body is assimilating the numerous brutal and reckless indulgences. When it nears the end, he could leave and go back home. But first, another delicious bun and coffee.
 
This is a drabble, a story in exactly 100 words.

Capitals & Comments

Once upon a time I used to write my comments in all lowercases which I thought was a good idea because it looked casual and none-threatening. Then I got a rather rude comment (on another person's blog) about not capitalizing my sentences coupled with other not-so-great forms of expressions and that's when I started commenting with capitals. I like to say thanks to that person for making me feel like crap for a couple of days and also, screw you. No, I don't mean that. Okay, just a little bit. I may be forgetful, a bit too honest but I never start fights but I'm not a saint. I'm sure I didn't say anything that deserved such respond but people can be sensitive even by the tiniest thing so you can never predict how you can offend someone even if you did and said nothing wrong. I usually do not respond to such rude comments but I didn't listen to myself that time. If you don't like a comment, delete it, ignore it or simply pretend it doesn't exist. Don't engage - that's really the only solution. 

What do you do when you encounter a rude comment?