Daily Writing Prompt: What is one word that describes you?
Princess Marsi Thai Surrealist
In a word, I am macabre.
The Snake Charmer (French: La Charmeuse de Serpents)
Henri Rousseau
Just One Little Word
Daily Post 2023
The Bookshelf
Daily Prompt: What makes you most anxious?
I have a shelf full of unread books in my living room.
Un.
Read.
Books.
I am so ashamed of myself and that shelf.
In the past I have neglected my health. I neglected doing things I enjoy like cooking and ha, ha, ha, drawing and photography.
Point of clarification. I suck at drawing and photography but I never let my lack of talent stop me from doing those things because I enjoy them.
But no matter how bad things got in my life, I never stopped writing and I never stopped reading. And then in the last couple of years I sort of crashed. I kept
writing but I dropped a lot of other things and that has stressed me out – a lot.
Well guess what baby. I’m back. I started my Goodread challenge back up and I’m reading my first book of the year. I am committed to reading a hundred books.
According to the challenge, I’m 17 books behind. Seriously. That made me laugh. But hey Goodreads, challenge accepted.
In my bones I know I’ll nail the challenge this year. Actually I’ve never done that. But when you say your going to read 100 books half that total is pretty cool. I
think the point is to read and fill your brain with tasty morsels, so watch my Goodreads icon on my blog and let’s see how it goes.
amm
“Who is This Who Is Coming?
Born Montague Rhodes James
1 August 1862
Goodnestone, Kent, England
Died 12 June 1936 (aged 73)
Eton, Buckinghamshire, England
One of my favorite stories by M.R. James is a ghost story called, ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’
In the story a Cambridge professor named Parkins discovers and uses a bronze whistle that summons up a malevolent spirit and let’s just say that the ghost is not exactly happy with Parkins.
In various adaptations Jame’s whistle takes the shape of a Wedding Ring in the ” Father Brown Mysteries ” the whistle is made of bone- that one is my favorite.
My takeaway from this story is this, if you find a whistle made of bone or you find a bronze whistle hidden in ancient ruins that are probably cursed I think it’s best not to try it out. Call me overly cautious and I will admit I’ve read a few too many stories about resurrectionist but I don’t think anything good can come of it.
Illustration by James McBryde for M. R. James’s story “Oh, Whistle, And I’ll Come To You, My Lad”, first published “All Hallows Eve 1904”.
Jame’s story came out in 1904.
In 1995 in a cave in Northwestern Slovenia archeologists discovered the world oldest musical instrument. Some call it a bone flute, others may call it a whistle, someone claims they learned to play it in a dream and others say they’re not convinced it was intended to play music but what everyone agrees on is one thing-
it’s made of bone.
Divje Babe flute (alleged Late Pleistocene flute) National Museum of Slovenia.