Friday, 10 February 2012

I'm Hearing Voices blogfest - part 3 (+ I'll Tumble 4 Ya blogfest)




Yep, I've doubled up and have two blogfests to answer to today! Skip to the bottom of this post if you want to see my entry for the I'll Tumble 4 Ya blogfest - and if you're interested in finding out who my 80s crushes were! hehehehe

But first, here is my piece of flash fiction (249 words in Scrivener), for the third and final I'm Hearing Voices installment. I'll say now that it's been a great blogfest, and I have read some awesome entries for the first 2 parts. Next I shall be reading your entries for the 3rd part, of course, but for now...here's mine (again from the point of view of my character Mason, whose first name is actually Anthony, but moving on...):


          One thing I’ve learned since the world turned to crap is that laughter is the best medicine.
          Back in the days of TLC (when I truly believed love is all you need), I worked for the wrongest team in the history of wrong teams. I spouted all sorts of bullcrap and pissed people off (I rocked at it).
          Then, the Apocalypse, and I was suddenly eating all those words I used to spout. Sort of like how mobsters eat bullets, ya know? (Not necessarily by choice). Tender Loving Crap turned to wit-shattering terror. I even pissed my pants. But slowly the numbness descended, and I took to the streets, searching for sharp edges: Understanding. Acceptance. Direction.
          I just found anger
          And a new family (not in that order).
          These people started stalking me, out in the open—(My initial assessment? Morons). But they wanted me to see them.
          To…lead them.
          Cue righteous indignation (or entitled prickdom). ‘Cause Like I need MORE problems, right? But they stared at me with their big, scared eyes, and I caved.
          That was when anger washed out and laughter washed in. Yep, I started laughing. ‘Cause sometimes it’s all you can do. No time to fall down crying. So just laugh.
          It is good medicine. I’ll stand by that one till the day I die.
          But listen, that’s all I’ve got time for. We’re going grocery shopping. ‘Cause Misovic needs more batteries (and a sense of humour).
          Aw come on. That’s funny.


And now, for the big reveal of my 80s crush(es):


This is no joke. While I did love the cartoon, my crush on the heroes in a half shell only got going for realz when the first feature film came out (incidentally, I still adore the soundtrack for that movie - I even own it on CD!). It was really cool when I was in year 5 and 6 to draw the TMNT characters. But I was never any good at it (I'm still inclined to believe because I can't draw guys for crap - not even turtle guys).

I'll also admit to a tiny little crush on Australian musical icon John Farnham in the Whispering Jack era (hey, sue me, I was 6 when it was released! hehehe):

56 comments:

  1. There is so much character in your post, it's brilliant! Excellent work!

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  2. A+ for originality! The first cartoon character crush. My son was a HUGE TMNT fan. :)

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    1. Is it bad to say I still AM a huge fan? hehe, well even if it is I'm still going to own it! ;)

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  3. Ninja Turtles - now that's a new one! I agree with DL - A+ for originality!

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  4. Your flash piece is excellent!

    LOL about the heroes in a half-shell, what a fun choice. Great post! :)

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  5. Enjoyed your voice in your flash fiction piece.
    And BTW, Leonardo was a crush of mine. Gotta love TNMT!

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    1. I'm pretty sure Leo was my favourite too. In later years though, I had a thing for "bad boy" Raph. hehehe

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  6. Ah, if we're talking cartoons... He-Man, anyone? He had the power!

    But technically, my original choice - Morten Harket - still stands, because he cartooned himself in a couple of videos!

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    1. I've never heard of Morten Harket - unless I'm forgetting something I used to know! - and He-Man, hahaha he sure did have the power. ;)

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  7. Teenage turtles! YAY! they were so weirdly awesome.

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  8. You know what? I'll back you up on those turtles exuding a sexy kinda charm. Of course, later, I also had a bit of a crush on Hopper from Bug's Life, so...yeah, my opinion may not mean a whole lot. ;P

    I enjoyed your piece on laughter - an original take. Thanks so much for doubling up & including Tumble 4 Ya in your hopping. :)

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    1. LOL. I haven't seen A BUG'S LIFE ... but yeah, turtles. Especially the (original) movie ones! ;)

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  9. Like the Outlaw Josey Wales advised, "Anger will see you through when you ought to die!" My last HEARING VOICES entry is fitting ... the last day of the universe, but which one? Roland

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  10. I love your use of 'wrongest'. Great passage.

    Excellent on the turtles.

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  11. regret and self pity and insanity =)
    great ride of emotions!

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  12. Ah, apocalypticy goodness. I love it!
    I haven't seen the original TMNT movies, just the most recent one, which I liked. I heard a lot of people didn't, though....c'est la vie.

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    1. I haven't seen THAT one - only the old ones. Is the latest one with real puppets, or a cartoon? I can't remember... I love the one with puppets ;)

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  13. Ha! I loved the TMNT too. My cartoon heart belonged to G.I.Joe, though.

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  14. It was all about Donatello. SWOON.

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  15. TMNT -- an incredibly original choice!

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  16. I loved TMNT - including the movies. And, to make you feel better about the crush of your six year old self, when I was six I crushed on Peter Criss of KISS - something about drummers, I guess. But definitely an embarrassment now.

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    1. Ohhhh, this did make me feel better - I Googled this guy and I'm sorry but I wound up snorting with laughter ;) Don't get me wrong, though... I have a certain sick fascination for KISS in general. I think they're kind of so gross they're sexy. Weird, eh? ;)

      I also have a thing for Glenn Danzig, and love checking out old pics of him. hehehe

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  17. Trisha--the VOICE is the emotion piece is dynamic!!! Amazingly so :) Wow, what a great job!

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  18. I agree with Angie... your voice is amazing! And this made me giggle and just love him! Great job :)

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  19. I remember John Farnham! He is/was (??) a great singer... wow another forgotten memory... what a great hop :)

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  20. You had a mullet, too... Cool..... ah the '80s... even though you were still a 'roo (hmmm...what are Aussie kids called:) for most of it!

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    1. I actually have no clue what baby kangaroos would be called. I could Google it but...naaah! Yep, I had a mullet at about age 9. hehehe. There's photographic evidence of it somewhere. It wasn't a huge mullet though.

      My DAD, on the other hand, had an infamous BACKWARDS mullet back in his day (when he was 17 or so).

      Yep, John Farnham's got an incredible voice, but I'm not a huge fan of his more recent work.

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  21. Stopping by from the bloghop. Wow, you did a really great job!! I could totally feel what the MC was feeling. Great job!

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  22. I love that you are a TMNT fan! My kids are into them now, so I get to see the cartoons all over again.

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    1. I have the movies (well, I & II) on DVD, but not the cartoons. I don't have a TV either so can't see any re-runs. I will get a TV at some point though ;)

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  23. Wow, such great voice in that excerpt! I loved the word usage, "wrongest" and that's a powerful opening sentence! Nice!

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  24. Seeing your crush on TMNT, I am feeling old.

    That is all. ;-)

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  25. You win surprise pick of the day. Great choice!

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  26. Trying to leave more comments, and I'm having yet another issue - this time leaving comments on my own blog!! (the 'reply' link seems to have stopped working. I'll get back to it if/when it starts working again ;)

    Meanwhile, thanks everyone for the comments - I really appreciate your stopping by!

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  27. Hilarious! I would never have guessed you were a TMNT fan. I hated those buggers but I worked daycare in the late 80s when they were big and got tired of telling little boys to quit kicking at each other. I don't think I know Farnham, but that's probably no big surprise since he's Australian. I knew one Australian singer when I was a kid... guess who? (Summer lovin' happened so fast...) But you think yours is bad? In the early 80s, I was a big (huge even!) Prince fan. It's a shameful secret I'll never cop to if you blab.

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    1. haha I can very much understand why you hated the turtles! They certainly brought more attention to the martial arts. ;) But yeah, I'm a big fan! :D I think John Farnham has done some stuff with Olivia Newton-John too, like tours together and stuff. ;)

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  28. Love the voice with this. That opening sentence...wow.

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  29. I think Raphael had to be my favorite Turtle. The movies were pretty cool :)

    Your MC does have great voice. Funny and serious both. I think there is bound to be a lot of drama and inensity in this novel, despite the humor. Sounds intriguing.

    ..........dhole

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    1. Yep, Raphael was awesome with his bad attitude ;)

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  30. Fun and quirky excerpt.
    As far as the Ninja Turtles, I used to live next door to the guy who played Raphael in the movie. He still had the costume, and used to periodically put it on and prance up and down the block, thrilling all of the neighborhood kids in the East Village (NYC). He told me that whenever he put the costume on for the movie, he'd lose about four pounds from sweating--the thing was thick rubber!

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    1. That's so cool! Sounds like he was a nice guy who wanted to entertain people!

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  31. Wonderful piece! LOL at "prickdom" haha.

    I love TNMT!!

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  32. Nothing wrong with crushing on turtles. Just don't CRUSH the turtles!

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    1. I've always been very careful not to crush any turtles ;)

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  33. I enjoyed the voice in your piece.

    I remember those turtles. They were buff. I believe my cartoon crush was Lance from Voltron.

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    1. I used to watch Voltron, but I can't even remember any of the characters!

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  34. Your piece was funny & had a great voice to it! Nice job.

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  35. You have incredibly voice in your writing, amazing!

    And I'll admit to having a tiny crush on animated He-Man :)

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    1. You're not the first to mention He-Man in these comments. hehehe

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  36. Ahhh the Ninja Turtles... I used to watch them....:) Hehe brings back good memories. Quite enjoyed your short writing piece... I could so read more of that... loved the voice.

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  37. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I think I was too old and didn't watch the cartoon, but my sister did.

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  38. The ninjas were cool to crush on....I watched them later with my younger cousins.

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