WAZZUP???

Thought for the day:  Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.  [Janet Lane]

Yep, Ms. Lane was right about the importance of a pleasant expression, but right now, my face is probably looking like, "Whoa! Where the heck did April go...?"

That's okay. I enjoyed my month-long break, even if it was the fastest month in the history of mankind. How about you guys? What's new with you? For those of you who participated in the A-Z challenge, how'd it go? Did you enjoy it?

One of the fun things Smarticus and I did last month was visit the Renaissance Festival. First time we went in... ages.  No, that isn't us in that picture, but aren't those costumes neat? There were lots of people there in costume. Lots of fun shows. A joust, even. We got a little bit of sunburn and a lotta tired. But it was fun.

There were all kinds of dragons, gargoyles, and spiffy monsters around, too. This guy was one of my favorites. Except he kinda reminded me of my conscience, bugging me about why I was spending so darned much time having fun, and so little time working on my next book. (Hey! I've got a TITLE... that's gotta count for something...)

But I laugh (HA!HA!HA!) at the notion of that bully conscience trying to intimidate ME...

Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused. 

Life is to be lived as play.  [said that smart dude Plato]

Okay, it's good to be back, but what the heck am I gonna write about today? Let's see, how about if I ease myself back into it by writing about a couple news stories that caught my fancy over the past few weeks? Just a couple...

[Wikipedia Common]

The first story is about a real honest-to-goodness whiz kid. It seems 19-year-old Dallas Delyn had the urge to um... whiz... and well, gee, it wasn't his fault he and his buddies just happened to be walking past the Mt. Tabor Reservoir in Portland, Oregon at the time. And all the signs on the fence around the reservoir said was something along the lines of, This is your drinking water. Don't spit, throw, or toss anything into it.

See? Not a doggone word about peeing.

 Well, his actions may have given him some instant relief, but there's been little relief from the ripples of notoriety he's gained from the e-pee-sode. You see, his um... act... was captured on the security camera. And is now plastered all over Youtube. (His parents must be soooo proud!) I'm certainly not condoning what he did, but I sure am scratching my head over what the city is doing in response. Would you believe they're flushing the whole darned reservoir? Despite the fact that the reservoir was just drained and cleaned a couple weeks earlier, and despite the fact that the water tested perfectly clean after the late-night tinkle, they're still gonna flush... and waste... 38 million gallons of water. Their justification? According to a city spokesman, the city has plenty of water, and they didn't want to serve water that had been deliberately tainted. Even the teen, who likely faces a stiff fine, was taken aback by this questionable logic. Says he's seen dead birds and animals floating in the water before, for crying out loud. Not to mention how many critters deliberately taint the drinking supply every single day. If Dallas were my son, though, I know just what I'd say to him: "Boy, urine trouble!"

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Want to get away from it all? How'd ya like to own your very own 17-acre island in Italy's beautiful Venice lagoon? That's it out there in the picture. Dreamy setting, isn't it? And I'll betcha the price won't be too high, either. Italy is about to auction off a ninety-nine year lease for the diminutive island of Poveglia, and the only way to have a ghost of a chance of getting that lease is by entering a bid. There is a teensy drawback, though. That island is considered the most (Wooo-OOO-ooo) haunted place on earth.

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Its eerie history started in the 18th century, when a couple ships heading to Venice dumped plague-infected passengers there to die. Then, the island became a handy depository for people infected with all sorts of infectious diseases. Later on, it became a dumping ground for homeless oldsters, and from 1922 to 1968, the island was a notorious hospital/asylum for the mentally ill, spawning rampant stories about creepy doctors and botched lobotomies. Rumor has it that one of those doctors was so plagued by ghosts, he jumped from the top of that bell tower in the photo to get away from them.

Although the island, whose soil is allegedly comprised of 50% human ash,  has been uninhabited and virtually off-limits for four decades, some of the buildings remain, including a church, hospital, prison, bell-tower, and some housing and administration buildings. And a couple open-air plague pits. If you're curious, check out this site to see some really terrific... and haunting... photographs. Fascinating stuff. From a respectful distance, that is...
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[Wikimedia Common]

                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

P.S. Another short-time Goodreads giveaway contest for autographed copies of my book kicked off yesterday, and will end with a (ta DA!) drawing on Mothers' Day. Since most of the winners were on the other side of the world last time around, this contest is limited to the United States and Canada. As a follow-up, Amazon will be offering the e-version of my book from May 12th to the 18th for a measly ninety-nine cents. See? Can't lose!

[Thanks to icanhascheezburger.com for the use of those first two images.]