Charles Yallowitz shares some information about the interesting axolotl, and some pictures and videos.
So, what are some axolotl facts?
What is interesting about you that we didn’t know? Let us know in the comments.
Feel free to share with your friends. Please link back to my blog if you do.
Some hilarious thoughts on biblical personnel, courtesy of Bluebird of Bitterness.
Pastoral Search Committee Report
The committee thanks everyone who suggested candidates for this position. We have followed up on each one. Here is our report:
Adam: Good man but has problems with his wife.
Noah: Prone to unrealistic building projects.
Joseph: Obnoxious braggart with a prison record.
Moses: Has a speech impediment and a bad temper. Rumored to have left an earlier position over a murder charge.
David: Had an affair with a married woman, then had her husband bumped off and used the power of his office to avoid charges.
Solomon: Good preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.
Elijah: Bad temper, prone to depression and occasional suicidal tendencies.
Hosea: Good man, but our people could never handle his wife’s profession.
Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things.
Isaiah: Claims to have seen angels in church.
Jonah: Refused God’s call until after he’d been swallowed…
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Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
I have just watched this video (click on the link to view) and decided to share it with you all.
I have been thinking things along these lines for a long time now. We have treated our planet very badly since the Industrial Revolution, exploiting its riches for financial gain.
For thousands of years, people worked with the natural world. They might not have had loads of concrete goods, but they respected nature. Animals were not considered to be something inferior to be exploited, or destroyed if they came into conflict with us. Nor considered expendable if we needed their land.
The message given in the Old Testament from the story of the Creation has helped to create this situation. There, we are told that humanity was given dominion over the other animals. This has led us to believe that we are something other than those animals; separate and special.
We are NOT.
The way we are going on, and exploiting everything on the planet, will bring about not only the demise of other living things, but also our own. Yes, Climate Change is something we need to sort out. It is dangerous to life on the planet, but it’s not the only thing. The entire way we live is the danger, and I don’t see how we can sort that.
The only way is to change our whole idea of economics. Can you see that happening? I can’t.
Please type your thoughts in the comments box. It will give me great pleasure to hear what you have to say.
Some thoughts from Aurora Jane Alexander.
The quote applies to everything, though, not just writing, although Aurora talks specifically about writing.
When I read this quote, I remembered all these people telling me about their plans and dreams to become an author ‘one day’.
When they find out I’m an author, I suddenly hear: “Oh, I ALWAYS wanted to write a book if I only had more time!” My reply usually is: “Well, it needs a bit more than only time to write a book… like a plan, a plot, an outline, character sheets, character voices, character development, knowing the craft, editing, an editor, a cover designer, a publisher, networking… AND TALENT!” The regular reaction to this bravery is generally a more or less polite excuse and the welcome departure of my conversation partner.
But there are a few people I met who dream of becoming an author and have the time but not the courage to write that book. and to them, I’d like to show…
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I love Henri the French Cat. Here’s a wonderful piece, courtesy of Bluebird.
This series is well worth a read. Mind you, if you don’t like swearing or some violence, I suggest this probably isn’t the series for you.
In my opinion, it is one of the best series I’ve read in a long time.
The entire Echo series—Echo 1, 2, 3, 4—is FREE on Kindle for three days! (2/1-2/3) #Kindle #KindleUnlimited #writingcommunity #writer #booktok #writerscommunity #writing
Get A Door into Evermoor here: A Door into Evermoor. Get Kor’Thank here: Kor’Thank: Barbarian Valley Girl. Get Echo Vol. 1 on Kindle here: Vol. 1 on Kindle. Vol. 2 on Kindle here: Vol.2 on Kindle Vol. 3 on Kindle here: Vol. 3 on Kindle Vol.4 on Kindle here: Vol. 4 on Kindle Echo Omnibus here: Echo Omnibus Echo Vol. 1 & 2 Combined Edition here: Combined Edition Musings, Volume 1 is available here: Musings, Volume 1 Here’s the miscellaneous gear that I use to try and become an uber-human: Optimization! 
I am pleased to tell you about this new book by David Kummer. David is a talented young writer who has been publishing books since he was in High School.
I have been telling people about him for a few years, now. I’ve not yet read this book, but if his others are anything to go by, it will be well worth a read. I especially enjoyed She and the sequel, She Waits.
Other books by David include Everything Somewhere and Until We Burn.
I suggest investigating his books on Amazon.
I’m so excited to finally share this new novel with you, coming in July 2023. This book is a lot. It begins a 3-part series. It deals with a traditional “haunted house” in a very different way. There are twists, turns, secrets, and surprises. Romances, family bonds, trauma, tragedy. It has everything. The Misery House promises to keep you on the edge of your seat while pulling at your heartstrings. It’s a book that all of us, after everything we’ve been through, can relate to.
The abandoned house. A town with a dark history.
You’ve never known a haunted house like this.
New Haven hasn’t seen tragedy like this for centuries. In the rural farming community, a local store burns to the ground with two bodies inside. A newly-wed couple with their own secrets goes missing. This is quickly…
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My mother told me of my reaction to seeing a Christmas tree at my Grandmother’s house. Here is a little poem about it. Of course, I don’t remember it!
A little girl, not yet quite three
Saw her very first Christmas tree.
The shining baubles, tinsel around
The branches, from the top right to the ground.
Her eyes did gleam, emotions fizz.
She said, in wonder, “What it is?”
If you like my poem, please laeve a comment in the comments box, and feel free to share it with your friends, but please acknowledge my authorship.
OVERVIEW:
I hadn’t read any of the Windrush books, but I will certainly be reading more. Mr Archibald has created a character that one wants to know more about.
The book is full of excitement and action, and the story holds the reader, wanting to know what happens next and how Jack can escape from the predicaments he finds himself in.
I read it in 3 sittings and found it hard to put down when I needed to do something.
BLURB
Burmese War, 1852. Unable to join the famous Royal Malverns, Jack Windrush is commissioned into the despised 113th Foot.
Determined to rise in the ranks and make a name for himself, he is sent with the 113th to join the British expedition. But when they get involved in the attack of Rangoon, Jack realizes that war on the fringes of the Empire is not as honourable and glorious as he expected.
After a chance meeting with a renegade British soldier, Jack witnesses the true terrors of war, and begins to question the whole framework in which he has grown up.
CHARACTERS
The main character, Jack Windrush, is going to join the Royal Malverns like his father and grandfather before him. He has dreams of glorious warfare and winning honour. But things go against his dream and he finds himself in Burma with the despised 113th foot and discovers that war is dirty and frightening.
Through the book, Jack has doubts and fears but he grows and becomes a true leader.
Wells is a sergeant in the 113th. He is well-drawn by Mr Archibald. We can truly believe he is what he is portrayed to be, a hard-bitten career soldier. But why did he decide to stay in Burma and not return to England with his regiment? And why has he volunteered to join the 113th?
There is sensitive writing of the only female character in the Burma part of the story. Her name is Myat and she is something of a mysterious character, but she has an important role in Jack’s development.
The other characters are mainly officers who are hidebound and unbending. I suspect a lot of Victorian officers were like this.
Even the despised soldiers of the 113th have their own growth arcs.
WRITING
The writing gripped me. I could feel the heat and humidity and the biting insects in the forest, and hear the drums of the natives.
I felt Jack’s suppressed fear, as he went into battle for the first time, and his determination not to show it. It would not be gentleman-like, nor officer-like.
There were one or two typos that had got through, but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the story.
I give it 5*
My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.
5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable. Not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.
4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.
3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.
2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.
1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 