Loose Ends: BOTB Results, Seven-Tag, Newsday, and More

Hey all!

Due to my always-hectic schedule, it was again looking like I was not going to get a new post made between my last Battle of the Bands (BOTB) post and the next one coming up in just a few days (September 1st), but I managed to squeeze in some time. 

And there are several quick things I want to offer you: 

Battle of the Bands Results

First is to summarize the results from my last BOTB post:

I admit I was at least a little bit surprised.  I really like the Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of "Higher Ground" and I was expecting a halfway decent showing for them in the voting.  But this ended up being a battle where the original by Stevie Wonder ran away with it.

I guess this is a case where the cover version is good, but not quite good enough.  But that's what I get for picking a Stevie Wonder song.  I mean, I love the RHCP's vibe, all the fun guitar parts added, and Flea does fabulous on the bass, but in the end, I have to agree with the vast majority:  Stevie Wonder's version is THE version of "Higher Ground."  There are very few artists who can top Stevie Wonder, and that's evident in this song:  Every note, every phrase, and every beat come together to make a fabulous recording, and with my vote Stevie ends up winning this battle by a dominant 9 votes to 1.

Come back on Labor Day Monday for my next BOTB post (it's already written and queued up) -- I'll reveal "the secret guitarist" in one of my favorite songs and ask you to choose what version is better. I'm interested to see if this next battle also ends up being a one-sided run-away. 

Tagged to Give Seven

I was tagged on Facebook by my buddy DL Hammons as one of seven writers. The task is to:

• Go to the seventh page of your current WIP

• Go to the seventh line on that page

• Take the seven lines beginning with that line and share them

Well, OK...  I have several WIPs at the moment, but the most recent thing I've worked on is a science-fiction short story that seems to think it wants to become a novel.  Here are the required seven lines:

=====
     "I realize you consider these negotiations as crucial," he said, "but you have to understand that you're gaining nothing with your impatience. You've just made a huge tactical error by presenting your offer too soon. Now it will take even longer for them to eventually accept it." 
     She glared at him. "But you don't understand. I don't have time for these games. I need these negotiations finished as soon as possible. You need to help me get this done. That is why you are here." 
     Corvan snorted. "No, Ambassador. I am here because my ship is in your cruiser's cargo bay and you're holding my crew prisoner."
=====


So there you go.  I was also asked to tag seven other writers, but I'm respectfully going to decline.  It's fun to take part, but this is one ripple I'm not sending downstream.  But if you're a writer and have an interest in taking part, you're free to consider this a blanket tag.

WRiTE Club

Speaking of DL Hammons, let me remind you all that his WRiTE Club 2014 is still underway and is nearing the point where the third-round winners are chosen.  If you have not voted in this contest of awesome anonymous writers, please do so! You have until Noon on Sunday August 31st to do so -- you can visit the nine bouts currently open for voting at DL's web site.  Nothing is required for you to vote other than to add a comment, and every vote counts! 

New Newsday Twist 

Finally -- since this supposed to be a blog about my creative output -- let me offer you a short writing snippet.

Over the course of this blog, I've done several "Newsday Two-Hundred" postings where I take an item in the news and generate a 200-word piece of writing about it. They're fun to do, and I'll probably do more in the future, but today, I decided to add a twist.

I still start with a recent news item, but I'll limit myself not to 200 hundred words, but to a word-count determined by the headline. For instance, if the headline has ten words, I'll write ten lines of ten words each; if the headline has six words, I'll only write six lines of six words each.  Also, the headline words will still be in each line, in the correct position. 

Get it?  Well, if not, maybe it will make more sense once I show you one.

HERE's the link to the news item I'm using for today's inspiration, which has the following headline:

"Human skull donated to Goodwill store in Texas"

Okay.  That's eight words, so I'll write eight lines of eight words, using those headline words in the proper order.  Oh -- and why not make it rhyme?  See what you think:

=====
Human beings can be very odd at times:
A skull discovered, but not left from crimes.

It was donated by someone no longer living;
Using another person to do the actual giving.

Not a product that Goodwill tends to carry,
although what's sold in each store does vary.

'Tis a sad case of charity in excess:
Someone was dying to be generous in Texas.
 =====

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!