An excellent Haiku message.
This is my response to RonovanWrites weekly haiku challenge.
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Month: January 2015
I tried to do a Thought for Sunday.
Tried to write a thought for today. Was interrupted too much to do so. Every time I began, and I mean every single time I actually tried to type a thought, I was interrupted.
So that’s what you call an old fashioned blog entry. I hope you have a great day and have a better chance at writing then I have had.
If you get bored and haven’t checked out some of my work from this past week:
Try to take my joy. This was the first take I had on my Haiku challenge this week.
The L.A.W. in London: Yeah, Baby. This was a continuation of a story Hugh of Hugh’s Views and News and I have been doing for months now.
My Lips, Your Curves. A Haiku. Another Haiku I wrote for my challenge. It’s, um, a little different.
Disabled, Disgruntled and Disenchanted-The WordPress Stats Page I had been suffering through the changes to the Stats page but had been kind of making do with being able to click to the link near the top of the new page to go to the old page. Then this week happened.
Tips to Increase Followers and Views. Some ideas that I have been thinking of that are a bit outside the normal way of seeing things. But then that’s kind of how I am.
The continuation of disenchantment. Well, I think you might get where this is going by the title. Yeah, another change that is just making it more and more difficult for me to fight my way to get past the 24/7 migraines and everything else. Just imagine having a migraine every second of your life and showing up and your blog world is more frustrating when it has no reason to be.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
The continuation of disenchantment.
As I attempt to go through my Notifications of the nice people that have liked, commented and reblogged my posts here on Ronovan Writes and other blogs I have, I find that WordPress has made yet another change. Yes, it has been one they have tinkered with for a split second as they, I imagine, tested and then reverted to the Notifications we have known in recent times, read as for at least the time I’ve been blogging.
Now instead of seeing a straight forward notification where I am able to click and the item pop out to the side, now it is a new, how best may I describe it? A new Notification window maybe comes up and then I must now click on the Notification icon at the top to close then click again to open. Now with as large a view of the Notification entries along with but a brief few words of the comments made I see less Notifications at one time. Also the View All Notifications is now missing. That might have made it easier, but perhaps because they have removed the, as I will call it, side out option, as oppose to a drop down option when you click something, yes, a side out option when you choose something is what we had, but with it gone I cannot even try to use that to make my life and hands and arms easier.
Now my disenchantment includes:
- The new Stats Page and no ability to select a desired default of old or new version
- A less user friendly Notifications
One thing I do want to say is that considering this is a free blogging platform I am not unappreciative of being able to blog without having to pay, yet. I may go premium at some point if I ever find the finances to do so. I would like that I think. However, we bloggers, the free bloggers are what make WordPress the huge success and leader it is in the blogging world.
To any WordPress employee that might read this I have some things to say. Change is not always good. I had not heard of anyone unhappy with the various things you have been changing. For people that are really into blogging, it’s not about the cool or the pretty, it’s about seeing what we need to see and being able to easily connect to those who connect with us. You’ve made that more difficult.
As for me, with my difficulty using my hands you are making it more and more difficult for me to use your platform. I love the WordPress community and will continue here for as long as possible, but if I can’t blog then I can’t blog.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Tips to Increase Followers and Views.
Followers and Views, two different aspects of blogging that go hand in hand but at times do so in ways that you may not think about.
People like that Follower number to grow even if they don’t like to admit it. But not all of that number View your posts. Many did at one point but over time things happen and blogs slip through the cracks. That’s one reason I try to Follow the ones I really, really can’t miss by email. That being said, I don’t WANT to miss anyone’s posts, but I have developed some relationships that have been good for me that I don’t want to let slip away for certain. If you are new here, I have retro grade amnesia and short term memory problems so I have to do certain things to make it easy on me. I just didn’t want anyone to take what I was saying the wrong way.
Here is an article which touches on our subject today.
Blogger Psychology: Views vs. Likes, Which Satisfies you?
We will start with Followers.
A big place for a blog to initially get Followers is through their blog’s platform. I will be referring to the WordPress platform for the purpose of this article as that is the platform I have this blog on.
WordPress has a Reader. This is where the In House Readers or IHR as I call them come from. You can use the Reader to see the blogs of the people you follow or you can select a Tag to see and read anyone that comes up with that Tag attached to their post describing what their post is about, even if you don’t Follow them. I can put in the Tag Haiku and see all of those posts with that Tag. Even if the post/article is about jelly beans they can put Haiku as a Tag and it will show up under Haiku.
Here comes a problem. If you have a very short post, Images or a Haiku poem for example, people can see that in the Reader and simply click Like from there without ever having made it to your blog and registering as a View. For a blogger who often writes Haiku that can really take a chunk out of the potential Views even if I get 50 Likes for a Haiku from the Reader.
If people go to your blog you have a better chance of them Following you and of course you get the Views. For me, well I suppose it’s the Views that show me people are interested in what I do, not just Likes.
Likes are nice but Views make news.
But to be honest when I see certain people Liking my Haiku and the Views are not matching up, I don’t freak out. I know they are reading and I know they didn’t just click Like because they click Like on every person they see. There are people that do that in hopes of having people Follow them or in hopes of keeping Followers.
Increasing Followers and Views go hand in hand. Someone has to Follow something somewhere in order to get to your Blog. It could be a Tweet on Twitter or a link in someone’s blog post. I can’t talk about Views without some reference to Follows. That’s why I went into all of that.
Here’s a checklist of things you might want to keep in mind.
- Make your posts longer-That sounds opposite coming from someone who wrote an article called Short and Sweet Keeps Them in Their Seats. Well, in this case you want posts to be longer so the WordPress.com Reader cuts them off and thus makes the reader need to click to your blog. I don’t mean way long though. This is not something I actively do, but something I am pointing out to you so you are aware of it. With a Haiku or image you can see everything on the Reader and no one need visit your blog. But you say you don’t want to do that. So what should you do? Well if you are writing an article make the opening lines count. I don’t normally have short articles but if I want people to click on something that might say 1,275 more words at the end of the cut off point in the Reader, I best make those first words count.
- Writing counts-Make certain you are putting quality out there. Regardless of what it is, make it the best writing you can do.
- Subject matter-You will have visitors from your other social networks but you want to go for the IHR. One way IHR find you is according to the Tags you use. We know tagging is important. I’ve discussed it many times. I even have an article Tag So You’re It. But let’s move on from there. What are you writing about? Are you turning off your current Followers and Viewers with a sudden change in interest? I recently became passionate about the plight of a Blogger who is imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. Since that day my Views have dropped big time. Perhaps I offended someone. Well more than some ONE. But as I have said, I will write what I write and whatever happens happens. So that’s a decision for you to make. But I write honestly. I don’t write popularly.
- Social networking activity-Usually the more involved you are the more likely you will have increased Blog activity.
The key to more Followers and Views?
The secret all Bloggers want to know?
Time
- Time as in effort you put in regarding the quality of work you do.
- Time you put in for social networking activity.
- Time in waiting for the Followers and Views to find you after you have worked on the first two Times. The Three Ts.
But honestly you need to do a little of all three to get the job done. And one of those you MUST do. Quality.
For more articles on Increasing Views and Followers:
Why Isn’t Anyone Reading My Articles?
3 Ways to Increase Views And Make Your Life Easier
Blogging Tips: 3 More Ways to Increase Your View . . . The Easy Way
5 Image Things To Know For SEO
How To Increase Your #SEO Results And Get Your #Blog Noticed
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Disabled, Disgruntled and Disenchanted-The WordPress Stats Page
Thank you WordPress for making it more difficult for me to see my stats with this new stats page. You asked for my feedback and I explained how with my hands how scrolling is difficult and is actually becoming more and more difficult as time goes by.
Now you have made it so the View Old Stats Page option is at the very bottom of the screen. I am not as interested in my stats as I once was but I do look at them to see how things are at times and to do research for blog posts and blog tips.
I guess there will be less posts of that nature after the current one I am working on. Perhaps you just wish for some of us to stop posting all together. Some of us use voice to text software just to do posts in the first place. Yes, you have disabled people using your platform. Or you have had. Maybe you will have fewer as time goes by.
Sincerely,
Ronovan Writes
My Lips, Your Curves. A Haiku.
Freedom for me is
My lips and your every curve,
Bring the greatest joy.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
The L.A.W. in London: Yeah, Baby.
In the last episode of The L.A.W. & Ronovan who met Ms. Marzapan and Hugh in a skytower or something like that, um, there was like this zombie dance troop and the L.A.W. and Ronovan, I mean me, I mean I discovered that Cyril Bussiere had created all these mind altering things to get rid of like all the Hugh’s of the world. I secretly think it’s because he is jealous of Hugh’s, well I won’t tell that now. Just wait. I just hope we catch him before that housekeeper that he left behind without a job does. Oh, and the Doctor showed up to give us a ride to London.
“Well that certainly was a bumpy landing,” the Doctor said.
“Indeed,” Elena said. She had taken on a British accent for some reason. Actually all of the L.A.W. had. I feared that if music started to play they would tell me what they want what they really, really want. But the door opened just in time.
We apparently had come to rest in some type of store.
“Ow!” Cat said.
I looked and she had an Oreo stuck to her head. “What the—,”
“Uh uh, Kate, none of that language,” Jenna said. “Hey, look!”
We all turned to follow her very excited finger. “Ruby slippers!” Kate said. She dove for them but they disappeared as her hands grasped nothing but empty air. Stinky empty air.
“What is that awful smell?” Amira asked.
“Smells like Troll feet,” I said.
“That’s because that is precisely what it was. Internet Troll feet,” the Doctor said.
“Oh, Doctor, I am so glad you came,” a woman said. We all turned.
“No way!” Jenna said.
“Yes way!” Amanda said.
“No, really no whey,” Jenna said looking at the case behind Amanda. “I love yogurt without whey in it. It’s a great substitute for sour cream and things like that. Lot less fat and calories. Yum!”
I looked at the Doctor. He looked at me. He went into the blue box thing. And then, gone. I couldn’t blame him.
“You know I so don’t blam—,”
I didn’t get the words out of my mouth before I found myself being tackled to the ground by several tough women. One that looked like a train. And one with a—Rudolph nose?
Screeching tires and the smell of burning rubber assaulted our senses. “Yeah, baby,” we heard. “I say, I didn’t see any rockin’ so I came a knockin’.”
We all stared at the man with the thick glasses, mop top hair and extremely tight pants. “It can’t be,” I said.
“Oh but it can, baby. Well, you’re not a baby, that’s just one of my catch phrases. Unless, wait you’re not a man!” Suddenly the insane1960s reject was trying to pull off my shirt and my hair.
“Austin Powers, get off of him,” Ms. Maple said.
Powers looked up and squinted at Ms. Maple. “Honey?” He asked. “Honey Maple, is that you?”
“Austin, I told you never to call me that in front of people,” Ms. Maple said. I had only seen her on Skype but I didn’t think the red flushed complexion was her natural look.
Powers got up and was at her side in a flash. “Groovy, baby. And I do mean baby,” he said. “At least I didn’t tell them why I call you Honey.”
Ms. Maple giggled like a school girl.
I looked at the others and saw various reactions from the rolling of eyes to dry heaving. There was even a reindeer being used as a gag to not laugh. I just hope it had not been tried on for a fitting.
“Should we ask him why he is here?” I asked.
“I say no,” Amira said.
“Agreed,” everyone else said in unison.
“Jenna,” Amanda said. “What did you find out in El Waco?”
For some reason none of us corrected her. It was like we had entered a Twilight Zone and decided we would just go with the flow. “Cyril Bussiere is behind it all, or at least he’s a top gun. Oh, I sooo loved that movie. And the songs. Oh, Take My Breath Away was sooo good. And then You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. I just melt every time Ronovan si—,”
“Ahem,” I said.
“Oopsie,” Jenna said. Her smile flashed.
I shook my head. “You really need to explain to them someday that you have a friend named Ronovan or this could all get really weird.”
“For sure, right?” she said.
Face palm.
“Okay, as she was saying. French Texan blogger Cyril Bussiere, also author of The World Might available on Amazon at a reasonable price and can be followed on Twitter at @CyrilBussiere, came up with a special formula that looks and tastes just like—,”
“Yes?” Kate asked.
“You were there, Kate, you know,” Elena said. “You told us what it was.”
“Oh, right. Healthy Oreo cream,” Kate said.
“Not so healthy,” I said.
“Mind altering.”
Amira was right. “And, we found blueprints,” I said.
“For what, a death ray?” Amanda asked.
“No.”
“A sting ray?” Eloise asked.
“No.”
“A blu ray?” Cat asked.
“Cat!” the rest of the L.A.W said.
“I got caught up, alright?”
“Mind controlling helmets that look like bowl cut hairstyles,” I said.
Amanda’s eyes got bigger than ever. I swear I saw photos of Thailand. “The royal family.”
“Exactly,” I said. “And possibly Rhianna and Miley Cyrus. Just saying.”
“Oh dear,” Amanda said.
“We can only stop all of this one way,” I said.
“How?” Seven female voices asked in harmony.
I just so hoped they didn’t discover they all loved ABBA. Mama Mia. “We go back in time.”
“What? How?” Eloise asked.
Amanda smiled, tilted her head to the right and gave her trademark look. “I know,” she said and pointed.
We all turned to follow her obviously mommy finger. The psychedelic painted Mini Cooper.
“No way,” said Jenna.
“Oh yeah, baby,” Amanda said.
“All aboard,” Eloise said.
I just had time to turn before Amanda ripped the onesie off.
“Oh dear,” Eloise said. “Thank goodness for this Batman onesie I had on underneath.”
I hung my head and just hoped that this would all be over soon. I had no idea crossing the ocean meant crossing into insanity. And here I always thought British women were hot. Maybe it was Australian women I was thinking of. Where was Olivia Newton John from again?
“Everyone in,” Elena said. “Ronovan, you first, backseat. Pile on the Ronovan time.” Okay maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. Wait, where was Hugh?
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Try to take my joy.
Try to take my joy,
You will fail every attempt,
To deny freedom.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
When Ronovan Met Miss Maple (on Skype) – Part 6
Read it, and get caught up, cause the next episode is coming at you very soon. How soon? Like real soon, like so soon I am almost finished writing it now and might would have finished it if I wasn’t explaining how close to being finished I was. But then if I didn’t explain it then you wouldn’t know how soon it would be. Okay, all of that should tell you the mood I am in as I am writing the story. Just be warned Internet Troll, the Doctor is coming for you and your little dog too. Wait. And your Rudolph thong too.
RonovanWrites Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt Challenge #27 Joy&Freedom
The 27th Haiku Prompt Challenge!
Badge provided by Me for this season.
Haiku is simple and simply addictive. So be warned now. Once you start it’s difficult to stop. Here are two things to know:
- Haiku can be broken into two sentences with the middle line of the three lines being the commonly used part, meaning 1&2 and 2&3 making sentences. That’s Haiku.
- Opposite meanings in the first and last sentences. That’s Haiku.
For a full refresher or How to write Haiku in English click here. But you can use whatever Haiku style you want to. As long as you, do a Haiku.
For Tips and Guidelines refreshers click here.
If you have a Twitter and your handle has not appeared in a ReCap of a previous challenge, please let me know what it is so when I Tweet the ReCap on Sundays I may include it.
This weeks two words to use in some form, meaning you can use another word that means the same thing are:
Joy&Freedom
My Example
Take my joy away,
Then I will fight more fiercely,
To gain my freedom.
DEADLINE: Noon on Sunday New York Time.
(I hate doing deadlines, but it takes quite a while to complete the ReCap.)
There are TWO “A RONOVAN’S CHOICE!” recipients each week. One for Humor and one for something more Serious. The Haiku are quite good each week and I am having to turn to the structure guidelines of a Haiku at times to help determine my selection.
Really each Haiku is a choice of mine, and I’m not just saying that, so I feel a bit odd even having something called A RONOVAN’S CHOICE, but hey, it’s a thing, right? And it does make it kind of fun.
2015 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com.
Write a Leader for Freedom. #BloggersForFreedom
I wrote in My Sunday Thoughts about Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian blogger who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, 50 each week for 20 weeks, plus about US $266,631.
50 of those lashes were just given in a public square after people had finished their prayer time. It was an example being set, Talk about us and we don’t like it and we’ll imprison you and beat you.
His wife was forced into a divorce and was able to leave the country with their three children, so are free in Canada now.
I also wrote a post about doing a hashtag campaign using #BloggersForRaifBadawi and #BloggersForFreedom.
Not much response to that, but it’s only been a short time. It may go somewhere.
The U.S. State Department posted this on January 8. There site is here.
“We are greatly concerned by reports that human rights activist Raif Badawi will start facing the inhumane punishment of a 1,000 lashes, in addition to serving a 10-year sentence in prison for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and religion. The United States Government calls on Saudi authorities to cancel this brutal punishment and to review Badawi’s case and sentence. The United States strongly opposes laws, including apostasy laws, that restrict the exercise of these freedoms, and urges all countries to uphold these rights in practice.”
The lashings took place. I wonder what the U.S. government will do now.
Amnesty International has been involved as well. Article here.
“The decision to sentence Raif Badawi to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes is outrageous. He is a prisoner of conscience who is guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for discussion and peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression. The authorities must overturn his conviction and release him immediately and unconditionally,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International. ~From the article at amnesty.org.
I thought these Tweets from UN Watch were telling:
But if a political machine doesn’t think it will lose votes by doing nothing, then guess what it won’t do. That’s right, it won’t do something. I am not for the U.S. to act like it is the protector of the world but I would appreciate them making a stand where a stand needs to be made. The truth is we don’t need Saudi Arabia for anything. By that I mean the leadership. Just like you can’t judge Americans by our leadership, I’m not judging the Saudi people by theirs.
But we as citizens can do something. We can make noise. We can make it constantly. Americans on average get fired up about something and then that fire dies off after a while and everyone knows it. Time to change that.
Write your congressman. How often? That’s up to you.
I’m not going to tell you how to say something. I personally will likely speak to the inhumanity of what is happening. Laws of a nation are different wherever you go. So I don’t plan to speak to laws but I do plan to speak to inhumanity and a desire for our nation to place sanctions on Saudi Arabia unless the lashings discontinue.
I don’t think we should all be carbon copies of each other. Speak in a personal way to each Congressman. You are a voter that helps get them there or not. You didn’t vote for them? I don’t care. This isn’t about a political party. This is about humanity.
I don’t agree with his imprisonment either, but being in prison is one thing. 1,000 lashes with 50 per week I just cannot fathom even the idea of who comes up with punishments like that. If he had not listened to a judge and not appealed it would have been 7 years and 600 lashes I believe.
So you want to write a letter to your congressman? The link below will give you advice on how to form a letter. The same is for email or snail mail.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
Not sure who your Senator is? The link below will help you out.
https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Don’t know who your Representative is? Try the link below. Just need to know your zip code.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
As bloggers we should be angry about imprisonment over something like discussions about politics and society even if they belittle leaders. Imagine if that were a law in the U.S., there would be some serious overcrowding of the prison system.
But as people we all should be angry. Some may point to other cases in the world that could equally be spoken of but this is the one that jumped out at me. This is the one that was placed in front of my eyes and I decided to speak about it.
Now will you do anything about it? Are you in another country? You can write to your leaders too. Sorry I cannot do a list for every nation in the world of how to find your leaders and write to them. Well I could but it would take a while.
This is the next step I thought of in what to do. I will keep thinking but you think as well and start something. Like write your local and regional papers. Write to the White House. Start up whatever it is you need to start up. Set up a network to be used not just this once, but for the future as well. That’s the great thing about blogging. We’re all connected around the world. And we could do so much if we all just united to do it. I don’t know who could organize that. I would likely forget about something by the end of the week if not for my blog content to remind me. But let’s start something. #BloggersForFreedom
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
#BloggersForRaifBadawi #BloggersForFreedom begins now.
I don’t know how to start a Hashtag Trend. But I am going to start a Hashtag or two and see what happens. I am really upset about the cruel treatment of the Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi. I wrote about in my Sunday Thought, 50 Lashes Against Freedom. Read it and see. I am too angry to write coherently right now about it again. Links to what is going on to him are there as well.
The hashtags I want to use are #BloggersForRaifBadawi and #BloggersForFreedom I don’t know if either will catch on but I am going to begin using them every day in some way. Join me if you like. You don’t have to but this is the only way I knew to really let people know what I want to do. Seriously, you do not have to join in and I will not think any less of any of my friends for not doing it. It’s just something I feel convicted to do.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
RonovanWrites Week 26 Haiku Prompt Challenge Review
The 26th Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge Review. And they said it wouldn’t last. I don’t know who they are but I am certain someone said it somewhere.
First to the finish line this week!
TA Wyatt and Broken Mind. Visit Finale to an Entrance to read this Haiku that is almost about me or a once me. The Broken Mind is definitely me. Remember T.A. is another of our resident authors so check out books available at Amazon here. @FinaletoEntranc
Battered Wife seeking Better Life wrote Ready, Set Go. She wasn’t thrilled with it but I think it works. I do half of what she says but the other half not so much. @BWseekingBL
Crisisalive with Storm of Ideas. Oh how I feel this one. Well I use a laptop though.
Sue from Daily Echo. Bedlam. Just go check out this one. I SO LOVE THE IMAGE!!!! Joy! @SCVincent is one of our resident authors so check out books available at Amazon here. The Sword of Destiny in England looks cool and The Osiriad based in Egypt very awesome. And don’t get me started on that whole Doomsday series of books co-authored with Stuart France, who doesn’t like a series?
Elizabeth brought Emptiness from Tea&Paper. This definitely defines this first day of the first full week of the new year. @teandpaper
Serins of Serins Sphere wrote Chaos Bleeds for us this week. Hugh wants Photoshop tips and there is something about vampire fan fic in there. Both are evident in the piece this week. @SerinsSphere
Becca from On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea returns with Empty Bedlam. A good description of mental fatigue. @rgbickerstaff
Cyril of Cyril Bussiere: My Secret Bedlam. A Haiku that I feel at times. More than a few times. I wish we all could have Freedom from these thoughts. Cyril, of course, is one of our resident authors, even having been interviewed before I created my LWI site. I will need to interview him again for his next book and have a real interview now that I have a few more under my belt. Check his work on Amazon here. @CyrilBussiere
Mira of To Wear a Rainbow: Soul . . . less. Somber but honest. Sad yet joyful depending on your side of the words and imagery. @BediMona
Claudette from To Search and to Find Happiness in Every Day brought us Mad House. A Haiku that I would put as the next chapter after Cyril’s if I were making a book out of these Haiku.
Meredith and Martha bringing their 2×2 from Meredith’s Musings. The ladies have created their own challenge where YOU must guess who wrote which Haiku. It’s more difficult than you think. @Meredithlbl
Faith Unlocked: Restored by Grace. Excellent message. Goes along with my Year of Renewal message. @FaithUnlocked
Carolyn of Reviews & Recommendations: Young Nest. Something you don’t think about but really is common these days.
Colleen of Silver Threading wrote My Vacant Heart. I believe Colleen had to stretch out for this one. Her with a vacant heart? @ColleenCheseboro
Marigold of Versus Bulb: Jellyfish Bedlam. A bit sad. I was thinking this was going another place but then was surprised. Marigold Deidre Dicer is one of the RW Haiku Challenge resident authors. Check out her work on Amazon here. @MarigoldDicer
AC Elliott has returned. Bedlam is on File Cabinet Ramblings. I mean the Haiku not actual chaos and stuff is occurring on his site. Well it might be. A definite writer’s mind wrote this. A writer’s mind with a writer’s problem. Check it out. @Elliott_ac
Florence of Rambling On rejoins with Creating Bedlam. I think we, well a lot of us might connect with this one. @FTThum
Maniparna from Scattered Thoughts wrote Memories. You walk in and things just come to you sometimes for good or ill they happen. They can bring happiness or sadness. A good one. @Maniparna
Melissa of This, Right Now with Bedlam. A true contrast here, not only in sentences but even in elemental meanings. Excellent.
Canaf over at Faithful Devotionals: Peace. An interesting way to do it and an excellent message.
Cindy of Dreams in Alaska. I’m still not telling you where she lives. She wrote Empty Illusions. I get it. I have bedlam, at least I think I do. @cindyburrill
this week goes to:
Sue from Daily Echo. Bedlam. If you don’t know why, then you haven’t visited the Haiku yet. @SCVincent
this week:
A tie. That’s right. I simply am not going to agonize over this one. Two poems spoke to me on a personal level in different ways.
Cyril of Cyril Bussiere: My Secret Bedlam. @CyrilBussiere
AC Elliott has returned. Bedlam is on File Cabinet Ramblings. @Elliott_ac
My offering this week was a timely one titled Back to School. I am not often so much proud of a Haiku I do but I was very happy with this one for once.
And now for our closing Haiku for this week:
Though pens are empty,
May your minds be full of thoughts,
Lest fear bring bedlam.
As for Challenge #27 Prompt Words? You can always wait until tomorrow or find them hidden in this Review.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
My Sunday Thought: 50 Lashes against Freedom
Stepping on toes, insulting people, getting in someone’s face. Those aren’t things I tend to do.
Saudi blogger receives first 50 lashes of sentence for ‘insulting Islam’
You know I saw that article heading and some things jumped out at me.
Blogger
50 Lashes
Insulting Islam
I’m an honest guy so I am going to be honest. None of it surprised me from what I see in the news. Aren’t we all accustomed to seeing it? Received this many lashes for this or that reason. Put to death because of insulting this or that. It’s almost like we are desensitized to it all. I mean I KNOW not all of Islam is like that. We ALL have Muslim friends here through Blog World. I just never think of them as Muslim friends. I just think friends. The Muslim part never comes to mind nor does any other label you might put on someone.
Then I read the headline again because it came to my attention from a friend of mine across social media land. Yeah, we’re connected like that. Word.
Stay focused today, Ronovan.
Since this friend posted it I had to look again. So I looked again and saw “50 lashes OF sentence”. There would be more? I had to read more, as I always do when this particular friend posts something like this with the passion in which it was done.
The blogger is a man named Raif Badawi, a once husband, his wife’s family had 
the courts put through a forced divorce, and father of three. The wife and kids were able to make it to Canada. He will now spend 10 years in prison and receive 1,000 lashes, 50 per week until completed. Each week he will be flogged. Before the wounds fully heal he will be lashed again. Why?
I also wonder will he again be transported from prison to the public square so those who have just went to prayer will witness it? Will it again last 15 minutes? Will the public lashing send the intended message to others not to do the same as he did? What did he do?
“According to Amnesty the charges against Badawi mention his failure to remove articles by other people on his website. He was also accused in court of ridiculing Saudi Arabia’s morality police.
In a statement after the flogging Amnesty called it a “vicious act of cruelty” and said Badawi’s “only ‘crime’ was to exercise his right to freedom of expression by setting up a website for public discussion”.
The US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the punishment an “inhumane” response to someone exercising his right to freedom of expression and religion.”~Associated Press Dubai as seen on TheGuardian.com site.
You know, for some this is only about Islam. For me it isn’t. It’s more than religion to me. Yes, I am a Christian. And this being my Sunday Thought spot where I discuss my faith I chose instead to discuss this matter. I think everyone that has roamed the site here knows that I am an unashamed Christian. That means I have no beef against anyone else. I love all people, no matter your faith or non-faith. I live my life and I pray and hope others will come to Christ because I believe in Jesus and what the Bible says. Part of what the Bible says, what Jesus says, is that if someone won’t listen to you then shake the dust of that place off your feet and move on. It doesn’t say flog them, lash them, imprison them or force them.
Yes, some idiots in the past have done all of those things and used the Bible and Jesus as an excuse for trying to be in control of things, but they fell from power.
Now that I have the religion faith part of the Sunday Thought done, let’s move on. Although really, all of this is me and my faith is me.
This today is specifically about freedoms and what is simply right to do . What is humane to do.
The U.S. reached out to Saudi Arabia and asked them not to do the lashings, sort of. Okay. What are they going to do now? They call it wrong. What are they going to do now?
Pardon me here for a moment as I may venture into some less than Ronovan like moments. The U.S. leadership on both sides of the line don’t have the . . . backbone . . . to make a serious stand about anything with a country that has something it needs. Sure, we can make a stand against Iran, North Korea but they really don’t have us in a place where they are in control or where we can’t live without them.
Saudi Arabia on the other hand has the fuel that dives the U.S.. I’m a bit sick of it myself. I won’t go into the politics of it all and where I see the failures in things. All I am saying is just as no one had the . . . backbone to stand up for Jesus, the U.S. doesn’t have it to stand up for this man nor any others who are flogged and murdered for offenses that aren’t offenses to anyone other than those who fear for their political power if an idea is allowed to spread.
Will I receive some backlash from readers or a drop in followers and views of my site for coming out against people who are gutless power tripping maniacs? If you are reading this, do you think I care?
Oh, but some are saying, “At least he wasn’t killed like those people in Paris for drawing cartoons.” You want to know why that happened? That happened because people haven’t made a stand for decades against things like what is happening to Raif Badawi. Those men in Paris and others have no fear of reprisals. They want to be martyrs. I don’t want Raif Badawi to be a martyr. Mankind already has the only martyr it needs.
Each country has a different set of laws. I don’t know the laws in Saudi Arabia. I do know this though, there is no law that can keep me from thinking, believing and caring what I want to.
Lord,
Thank you for giving us the freedom to think as we wish and make the choices as we wish. I pray that those in power will have the strength to follow what is right over what is self serving. As you have been a servant to this world I ask that those in Saudi Arabia become servants as well, servants to those who look to them for leadership and example, those in the U.S. to do the same. I pray that all those who read this are blessed by you with a desire to better the world with love and not lashes. All of this I ask in the name of Jesus who you gave all power in heaven and on earth, Amen.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
My Video Welcome
Just letting people know there is a new addition to the sidebar. No, the other sidebar. The one on the left. It’s a video welcome. It’s just a first try but I thought why not put it out there so you can all get an idea of the man behind the myth. I am a little nervous so excuse what most of it looks and sounds like. I am actually better spoken than this. Well I hope I am.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Together All Ways
I logged in to write something, anything. Then I got upset and was going to rant, but then I remembered that this is The Year Of Renewal. So, pardon my language a moment, screw the upset. Listened to a song right after writing that bit of paragraph and a lyric poem came to mind. No, nothing to do with that first part. Just to show you a moment does have to color your entire day. Well that and I was just feeling it.
I know that, I’m growing old
But my heart, feels eighteen
Your love is, growing cold
No that’s not, what I mean
Words come out wrong, but I say them anyway
The pain is so strong, it gets worse every day
I can’t tell you
How,
I want to be with you in every breath of every day,
I want to be with you in every thought in every way,
Take this beating heart keep with you to stay,
Because we,
Be
long
To
gether
All ways
I can’t tell you how,
I want to be with you in every breath of every day,
I want to be with you in every thought in every way,
Take this beating heart keep with you to stay,
Because we,
Be
long
To
gether
All ways
They say you, are just a dream
You can’t be, that for real
But I know, you’re all you seem
You’re more than, sex appeal
I say that I love you, you stay anyway,
You keep running farther, coming back every day
Oh let me tell you
How,
I want to be with you in every breath of every day,
I want to be with you in every thought in every way,
Take this beating heart keep with you, to stay,
Because we,
Be
long
To
gether
All ways
Yes,
We
Be
long
To
gether
Always
So lady
you
know
That
I
know
We’re
guaranteed
Yes,
We
Be
long
To
gether
All ways
To
gether
Always
Dedicated to . . .
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Nonsense makes sense to me. Eggplant.
Sometimes you just love a song. You love the music and the way the words sound and flow. You don’t even care what they mean. And sometimes it’s even a song where you can understand the lyrics but you still just don’t know what in the world the guys were thinking when they wrote.
Eggplant by Train is one of those songs. I have always called it Eggplant and Caviar. Why? I just think it sounds cool. And, well that’s part of the lyrics.
If you look around you don’t really find an explanation of this song by the boys in the band. And some people have just looked at the lyrics and nonsense. Being that I love nonsensical things at times, or at least writing it, I get the song.
Egglant and Caviar for you. One of the lines, a repetitive line. The repetitive line. Exotic things that many consider, at least young people consider to be expensive and of a higher taste of foods. Fancy if you want to get downright common about it.
When I think of this song I think there is obviously someone this guy just really loved and felt so into in that moment while writing the song that the words just flowed. This is poetry, pure and simple. Words like that aren’t made up. They. Just. Happen. Trust me on this one.
I see the imagery created by the pairing of words to be one completing the other or giving the other purpose. Each one is the reason for the existence of the other and the purpose of each. It’s all in there.
Call me crazy but, I. Just. Get. It.
Guys, if you are in love for real. Listen to this and you’ll get it. Ladies, you will to and this is the stupidness we want to say but are to self conscious to do so because we know it just sounds out there.
Train has a lot of great songs. But I think this one is my favorite. It’s funky. It’s out there. But it says it all.
Scarlet your eyes, cover your face
If I could dance, or stay in this place
I would be King and you would be mine
I would be day and you would be time
Eggplant and Caviar for you
For you for you for you
Eggplant and Caviar for you
Hold up my wings cause you are the sky
Paint me by numbers and don’t ask me why
Cause I am in bloom and you are perfume
And you are perfume and you are
Eggplant and Caviar for you
For you for you for you
Eggplant and Caviar for you
For you for you for you – ah
Apple Pie or Apple seed,
All the mouths that I must feed
Cold sheets or Tumble weed
All the ones that I must need
I would be King and you would be mine
I would be nine and you would be Mother Time
Eggplant and Caviar for you, for you, for you
Apple Pie or Apple seed,
All the mouths that I must feed
Cold sheets or Tumble weed
All the ones that I must need
All the ones that I must need
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Back to School
Empty days bring peace,
As routines return to norm,
The classroom, bedlam.
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
Introduction: Part 1
Brand New Blog
Go Check it out and Follow from the Beginning. Welcome a new WordPress family member.
ronovanwrites 