Sunday, August 8, 2021

Broken Old Broad Blogs Week in the Rearview - Sunday, August 8, 2021

Hiya Everybody,

I just wanted to let you know that I plan to post this blog on Sunday evenings (possibly Monday morning if I'm running late or family stuff comes up on Sunday…you know how it is.) and share it on my Twitter and Facebook pages. (Links at the bottom of the blog.) So if you follow me on social media, you can find the handy links to my blogs there.

As far as personal updates go, this week was quiet. I've been in editing mode, trying to get BOB Writes online as well as editing an upcoming project for Blaze next week. Busy, busy, busy. But it's joyful busy. 

I made a very loose interpretation of blueberry cobbler last week when Blaze came in from his daily walk with a bagful of blueberries he picked on a vacant lot near our neighborhood.  It was pretty good, but we decided we prefer folding the blueberries into vanilla pudding. All kinds of sweet berry goodness. 

Exciting, right? We haven't gotten back into the swing of things quite yet since the pandemic seems to be dicking us over again with more surges in cases. We are both vaccinated but are still wearing masks when we go out – because vaccinated people can still carry the virus and infect others. I would be incredibly upset if I ended up carrying Covid and giving it to someone else. Although at this point, everybody who's eligible should be vaccinated. I don't understand why people are taking such foolish chances with their health, other than the whole pandemic was politicized and most of the GOP misled whole swaths of the population down a dangerous, life-threatening path. But still. At this point I have zero sympathy for adults (who are eligible for the vaccine) who get sick because they refuse to get vaccinated or even wear a mask. And adults who don't get their children (who are eligible) vaccinated just confound me. Who takes chances with their children's health? Ugh. 

Okay, rant over.

I guess that's about it. It was a busy week but kinda dull for you guys to read.

 

The Laundry Experiment

I've been trying to whittle down my usage of appliances recently, a little experiment. I bought a little washboard and have been handwashing Blaze's and my clothes, sheets, towels, etc. The only thing I haven't tried yet is blankets. I do the washing in the kitchen sink (which in fact, in our studio apartment is a bar sink, though set in a counter) in our little galley kitchen, and wonder if I'd be able to manage a blanket.

Part of this experiment is simply to see if I can do without the machinery – so far so good. The other is that I'm disabled and dragging load after load of laundry upstairs to my landlord's kitchen where the machines are located is actually more work than washing out a few pieces of clothing each day after I do the morning dishes. The washboard is made of bamboo and is only about 8 inches wide. I also discovered Zote soap in bar form. I was concerned about whether it would bother my allergies, but it has a light citrussy scent that just smells clean. It lasts forever – I've been doing laundry by hand for about six or seven weeks now and have barely dented the bar.

I let clothes soak in hot water with OxyClean (undies overnight, shirts and pants for about half an hour), in a bucket. When the clothes are done soaking, I dump the bucket in the sink and rinse. I bought a cheap but wholly effective collapsible drying rack which I positioned in front of a small fan so that the clothes dry quicker. Takes 'em about 8 to 12 hours, depending on the thickness of the cloth.

I have managed to get stains out of some pieces of clothing that I thought were ruined. All in all it's been a good experience that I plan to continue permanently. 

As an added bonus, my arm muscles are toning up nicely.  😊  

Okay, on to the rest of the blog!

Writing project update – Terri

It's been a busy writing and editing week. I edited two upcoming projects for Blaze, and finished editing Broken Old Broad Writes and published it Saturday. Over a month ago I remember saying to Blaze, "Oh, I should have this edited and published in a week.  Yeah…right. I forgot the half dozen or so articles that needed finishing, and that the whole lot of them needed to be reformatted.

It turned into a 245+ page monster that kept growing.  Plus I did 4 complete edits to make sure I didn't miss any glitches, typos, or other screwups. I mean – it's a writing book.  I don't want to be laughed out of my profession.  On the bright side, I am a week earlier than the hard deadline a set for myself last week, so all is good. And having the bonus time means that I'll be able to start editing Broken Old Broad Scared Healthy a week early, and get that collection of articles and essays up early as well. Then I can focus on my novel, Diamond Lil and Gaslit Granny, which I hope to have completed by spring…emphasis on hope. If not, July 4th would be a good release date…it's sort of an independence kind of a book. At least for me. 

So new stuff of mine up on Amazon – woot! 

Broken Old Broad Writes

https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Broad-Writes-Terri-DelCampo-ebook/dp/B09C43QK3W/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=broken+old+broad+writes+terri+delcampo&qid=1628463965&sr=8-2

Writing project update – Blaze

We re-released Blaze's novel '68 Buick recently, so if you didn't catch it the first time around, here it is: 

https://www.amazon.com/68-Buick-Blaze-McRob-ebook/dp/B01KPAYEK6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=68+buick+blaze+mcrob&qid=1628464101&s=books&sr=1-1

Quote of the week: 

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self." – Ernest Hemingway

QOTW Honorable Mention:

I'm reading The Great Shark Hunt – Gonzo Papers Volume 1 by Hunter S. Thompson which is a collection of articles that includes his coverage of Watergate. As everything was going down and Nixon was getting ready to resign in disgrace, Thompson described it as "watching Nixon sink deeper and deeper in the quicksand of his own excrement." 

A big, satisfied smile crossed my face as I read that, because I drew a lot of parallels between Nixon and Scump. (Scump is far, far worse than Nixon ever was…but that's another blog.) With Scump's band of thugs being investigated and charged and going to court, and knowing that the Justice Department is only scraping the surface so far, I thought this quote was apt. And, like I said, an extremely satisfying comparison.

Book(s) I read this week: 

They Say – Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West Davidson

She spoke the truth with a "pungent pen", to quote the papers of her day.  While she was a teacher, activist, and journalist, Ida (Iola – penname) Wells' main mission in life was to draw attention to and in turn see lynching (which ran rampant in the late 1800s especially) eradicated. Horrific tortures, followed by hangings and burnings were public events – postcards were even made of these despicable horror shows. 

Ida B. Wells was a determined, brilliant, gutsy woman who risked her life to publish the truth and fight with her pen for justice and equality for her race. 

I highly recommend you read this educational and thought-provoking book and perhaps several that the author lists in his bibliography.

I was dismayed to read this book and realize just how racist my country still is more than a century later. Most of it is spurred by sheer ignorance with a shovel full of meanness that often incites violence. Education is the key to calming that violence and learning to step into the future as one people, celebrating all the cultures of our country, both indigenous and immigrant. We might have started off on the wrong foot, but that doesn't mean we can't make things right.

Movie(s) I watched this week:

The Dressmaker – So many plot twists and surprises! Excellent film that I really liked. It made me laugh, it made me cry – a lot on both counts. The characters were textured and gritty. The entire cast gave stellar performances, especially Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Sarah Snook and Liam Hemsworth. If you're looking for small-town drama and mysterious circumstances, this is your film. 

Product I recommend this week:

I just got the Bissell Pet Stain Eraser cleaner. To preface this, Blaze and I have a tiny apartment that's only one-third carpeted. There is a high traffic spot in the middle of that carpeting that was positively disgusting. (We live in a large bonus room off the garage on a wooded lot, so vacuuming is a daily thing.) Plus the carpeting is taupe. Between limited storage space and not really needing a large machine to do this relatively small job I went on Amazon. I started looking for the Bissell that's like an upright vacuum size, and then saw this little hand-held model. Sold. It worked great, even taking up stains that were in the carpet for the past couple of years (I know, gross…but I never said I was a flawless housekeeper). I used the fluid that came with the cleaner, but I went online to see if there was any commentary about variations. One woman said you can use any cleaner you want in it, including vinegar and water. She recommended using very hot water with the cleaning fluid of choice).  I think when I do the next area (I'm disabled and any task that requires bending over I do in small increments, so I don't further cripple myself) I'm going to dissolve Oxyclean into hot water, add a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap. Also, I've read that if you put shaving cream on a rug and scrub it into a stain a bit and let it sit for an hour then clean it up, it cleans well without saturating the carpet. But the BPSE is like a little wet vac, and really pulled up the moisture on the first patch I did.

All in all, I give this appliance a big thumbs up. 

Recipe of the week: 

I wouldn't say recipe, so much and a throw-together thingy because Farmer Blaze came into the kitchen with his first banana peppers. I wanted to stuff them but didn't have much to do that with. And there were only three of them. I looked in the cupboard and spied a can of spicy refried beans and smiled.  I mixed refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese together, split the peppers lengthwise (saving the seeds for Farmer Blaze to plant) and stuffed 'em. Popped 'em in the oven until the cheese melted and the filling browned a bit. They were YUM!  Can't wait for more.  Thanks Farmer Blaze!

YouTube:

I watch a lot of YouTube both for research purposes as well as entertainment.  There are some I watch every night (like Beau of the Fifth Column, Dr. Ramani, TED Talks, and Stand Up comedy), some I watch as frequently as they drop videos, (like Bailey Sarian and Caitlin Doughty) and some I watch less often. I try to watch at least one lengthier interview so I can do a Jigidi.com puzzle (or two) guilt free because I'm still getting research done.  Heh, heh, heh. 

Anyway, in my opinion, some of the best videos In the Rearview this week were: 

Beau of the Fifth Column:

BEAU OF THE FIFTH COLUMN – LET'S TALK ABOUT REPUBLICANS REJECTING DEMOCRACY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx2JD5TR6VU

The most chilling Beau link of the week, saying that 67 % of the GOP think voting is a privilege rather than a right, and therefore are abandoning the fundamental principles of our country and democracy. They are setting the stage for an autocracy. 

Bailey Sarian:

Dark History Podcast – The Dark History of Lobotomy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feHnfZ7Tsyc

I love Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery, and Makeup on Monday nights, and the Dark History podcasts on Thursdays are equally fascinating. I recommend both. If you're just discovering Bailey Sarian's stuff, she has a lot that will keep you glued to your screen for weeks. She's gaining lots of followers, and I'm genuinely happy for her success.

A word about my social pages – particularly Facebook:

My personal page is listed below, and then I have subpages:

Oh Say Can You See – This page is for my commentary, posts, blogs and links of a political nature. Mainly because I wanted to keep my personal page light. I'm an extremely opinionated Broken Old Broad, as you have undoubtedly discovered if you've read my blogs – or social page comments – and especially during the Scump era I decided it would be healthier and happier to compartmentalize my Facebook account.

Terri DelCampo, Author – Same deal. Not that I don't share the daylights out of my books and blogs on my personal page, but I tend to keep the writing stuff corralled on my author page.  Then writer and publisher friends don't have to wade through Simon the Cat videos, my cousins' wedding pics, dozens of recipes, snarky GIFs, mushy GIFs (to Farmer Blaze, only), and other various non-literary twaddle.

Owl's Eye View Magazine – I started this page years ago when OEV was going full steam. I have published all 104 existing issues both separately and in a bundle for enthusiasts. I think there will be more activity on this page before the end of the year, as I am tossing around an idea for an new OEV project.

 

Terri DelCampo Sites and Contact Information:

Blazing Owl Press (Founding Partner/writer/editor):

http://www.blazingowlpress.blogspot.com/

Twitter Page:

https://twitter.com/terridelcampo

 

Broken Old Broad Blogs (Personal update blog):

http://terridelcampo.blogspot.com/

 

Facebook: Personal Page:

https://www.facebook.com/terri.delcampo

Facebook: Owl's Eye View Magazine Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Owls-Eye-View-Magazine-296740517101/?fref=ts

 

Facebook: Blazing Owl Press Page:

https://www.facebook.com/BlazingOwlPress?ref=hl

 

Facebook: Oh Say Can You See Page (Op-Ed/Political):

https://www.facebook.com/Oh-Say-Can-You-See-115986311782935/?ref=pages_you_manage

 

 

More Terri DelCampo Titles:

 

NOVELS

 

Reflection

Into the Mist

Holy Terrors

MEDS

Parliament

True Crime Shelf

James Reborn

 

NOVELLAS

 

Tooth for a Tooth

Screech

Carnival / Carnival Battle

Night Ops

 

NOVELETTE

 

Ides of March

 

SHORT STORY SINGLE

 

Food Truck Fair

 

BLAZING OWL SHORT HORROR STORIES

 

Shonk

Joinings

Flash In the Pan

And He Screamed

 

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

 

Assbiters from Hell (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Happy Bloody Whatever (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Romantic Shadows (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Blazin' Toybox (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Silver Hells (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Blood Spatter (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Chills (Holiday Horror)

 

ANTHOLOGIES

 

Morbid Metamorphosis (Published by Lycan Valley Press)

Grey Matter Monsters (Published by Lycan Valley Press)

 

LITERARY PERIODICALS

 

Owl's Eye View Magazine – Dark Fiction Individual Issues 1 - 104

Owl's Eye View Magazine – 1-104 Issue Bundle

 

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

 

The Tales of Princess Rosie & Joey Owl

The Adventures of Kid Joey

Team RoJo & Friends

 

POETRY COLLECTIONS

 

Scumpericks (Satirical Limericks)

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Love Poems: 1969 – 2021

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Ho – Po (Horror Poems)

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Op - Po (Opinion Poetry)

 

 

NON-FICTION

 

Terri's Bookshelf – Intriguing Authors I Read in 2015

Broken Old Broad Writes

Broken Old Broad Scared Healthy

Stomach-Roiling Articles & Poems (2016-2021)

 

 

DISCLAIMERS:

MEDICAL:

Any medical information within my articles is my own, and applies to only myself. It is not intended as advice for anyone else. Before making any changes to your own health regimen, you should absolutely talk it over with your healthcare professional first, just to be safe.

FICTION:

My horror and other fictional works are just that – fiction. I made the whole thing up.

**

©Copyright

Copyright 2021 by Terri DelCampo. All rights reserved.  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property.  If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting Blazing Owl Press or the author directly.  Thank you for your support of the author's rights.

 

 

 

 

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