Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest

According to the dictionary a ninja is a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan who specialized in unorthodox warfare. His aresenal included assassination, espionage, infiltration and sabotage. My definition of a ninja is a man who fought for his dream and now selflessly encourages others to do the same. Who always has time for the legions he has gathered to him, a writing warrior with boundless energy and spirit, a man whose heart knows no limits. Today we are celebrating that ninja, the Captain Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Organized by the super cool Morgan Shamy, the awesome David Powers King, the incredible Stephen Tremp and the magnificent Mark Koopmans, this is a way for our blogging community to celebrate the friend who has been there for us all. To check out all the festivities and the amazing participants, click here. Alex himself is going to read these posts and there will be two exceedlingly stupendous prizes.

So, what does Alex look like? To me Alex is unassuming, a jeans and tee shirt man who blends well with his surroundings and you'll only know he's there when he's ready to reveal himself. Like a true ninja.

Who would play Alex in a documentary? Johnny Depp. As handsome as he is, Johnny is a master at blending into a part. Again like a true ninja.

Who does Alex remind you of? I know I said he's unassuming, but with his personality and wit, Alex reminds me of Captain Mal Reynolds. He always figures out a way, even if it means trouble first. Always keeps his humor about him and never fails to help those in need.

Flash Fiction 100 words or less, using Cavanaugh, Cosbolt, Guitar, IWSG and Ninja

"Get to the Cosbolt NOW," Cavanaugh roared as laser fire erupted inside the old IWSG club. Damn those Ninja Terrans and their blood feud. He waited a heartbeat, then ran, dodging crossfire as he rushed to the stage. There was no way he was leaving without his prized guitar. He'd die first and take a few of those bastards with him.

And now a word for my superhero, Wonder Woman aka Alex's wife.

Thank you, thank you. You are a wondrous, generous woman and I can't begin to express my gratitude to you as you share the Captain Ninja with his Army each week. Peace, joy and many blessings to you both.

Thanks for dropping by to celebrate Alex today. This was a great way to start my week as my Bears got humiliated and there is no Walking Dead until February. Ugh!

I'm On Team Prison And Dancing

This weekend rocked for Yours Truly, oh yes it did. My Fighting Irish are playing for the National Championship for the first time since 1988. As a long suffering Irish fan who has had to endure jeers and smears this season, it is vindication. Who's undefeated now, bitches? I did the happy dance all night Saturday and all day yesterday. And continued into last night because my Bears laid the smackdown on the Vikings. Booyah!

Now, on to Team Prison...

SPOILERS AHOY!

The Walking Dead was incredible last night. Glenn rose to the occasion and is truly one badass mo fo. Zombie kill of the week for damn sure. I knew he would not be giving up the group. And poor Mags, she tried to hold out, but the Governor really is one giant bag of psycho dick. I want Michonne to emasculate him with her katana after he threatened Maggie with rape, making her strip like that. And Merle...Daryl needs to cut off his brother's other hand and feed him to the walkers after what he did to Glenn. But I have a feeling after seeing Glenn stare after Merle and the Governor, they really are dead men. Oh he was comforting Maggie, but he was plotting.

I thought Milton was a crazy bastard, but I've given him more thought. He's a shifty eyed dork totally out of his element.  I told a fellow fan that he's Burke from Aliens. He would shoot his mother in the knee and leave her for the walkers ala Shane if he thought that would save his life. Hope he gets to be walker nuggets soon, too.

Next week's midseason finale is going to be epic. Team Prison is off to confront Team Woodbury and I sure as hell hope we get a Daryl-Merle battle royal. I am not looking forward to the drought, though.

SPOILERS OVER

Tomorrow I will be having a guest post here by a great guy, Mind of Mine. He'll be talking about my favorite subject, kick ass girls. I am on a serious deadline so I won't be around this week. Forgive my absence, my friends, but I have got to get this story done. Be well and thanks for always being there. :)

Oh Happy Day And A Bitch Slap

It's Monday and what is usually a pit of a day is looking pretty great. Kansas State got killed by Baylor and Stanford prevailed over Oregon so that means that my Fighting Irish are Number One, Numero Uno, the Kings of the Hill...At least for now. I'm not counting any poultry just yet. There's lots of eggs that could hatch and wipe out my national title fantasies. So I'm sticking with my voo doo and my other rituals. They've been working for the blue and gold crew. My Bears...Oy Vey! I cringe just thinking about our QB situation. Damn those Texans! Ahem...

On to the Bitch Slap

SPOILERS, AHOY!!

I want to start by saying The Walking Dead was pure awesomeness this week. Daryl and Merle...That is going to be one rocking confrontation and I can't wait. Rick is losing it... Big Time. Carl, you're gonna be a big brother/daddy LOL BUT... ANDREA!!! Oh where the hell do I begin? This woman, who showed some spark last season, has been reduced to a silly ho. She needs a freakin' bitch slap along with the writers and I will deliver it gladly. I don't care how it is in the comics.

WTF?! I should have known better, I really should have known this was coming considering the pheromones floating around her these last weeks, but I remained hopeful. To my huge disappointment, apparently. Andrea was finally showing some hint of being a badass, but along comes Governor Hot Khakis and she's giggling and shaking her tail feathers like a salivating Twilight fan. I was so furious. She reinforces the stereotype women like me have been railing against for years. That we're strong until a man comes along, then poof, there go our clothes, our brains and our self respect. And what is it with Andrea and the loons? She got all sweaty with batshit crazy Shane, too. I mean, at least that tango came after a dance with zombies, so I can excuse it. But with the Governor? And not only did she ride the Crazy Train once again, she did it after turning her back on the person who saved her. She should be shot and left for walker hors d'oeuvres. Damn Hollywood producers for once again taking a woman with any hint of backbone and reducing her to sex toy status.

SPOILERS OVER (Bitch Slap, too LOL)

I'll leave you with a laugh. As a blonde, I really love this song because it wickedly skewers all the stereotypes about us yellow-hairs. And it seems appropriate. It's Julie Brown's Cause I'm A Blond from Earth Girls Are Easy.

A Spotlight, Great News And Football Rituals

Yours Truly has the honor of being spotlighted by my great blog buddy and friend Maynard over at the wicked cool site Maynard Morrisey's Horror Movie Diary. He chose me as one of his Halloween Buddies (look at the cool graphic) and we did a short interview. Yay!! Thank you! You all can check me out here.

In other awesome news, my good friend Craig over at the hellabrilliant  site Let's Get Out Of Here has reached the 500 posts milestone. High fives and fist bumps! He is a movie and pop culture god in my book and you all should stop by and visit him. He is celebrating his favorite holiday (and mine) Halloween over there with some terrific posts on horror films, horror icons and other fun stuff. He's also a vast storehouse of knowledge about our fave super spy 007.

Dig metal and sci fi? Then check out super cool Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh guest post over at my incredible blog buddy, Jamie Gibbs' fantastic site Mithril Wisdom. Check it out here.

My Bears D dominated last night and we won our fourth straight to cruise into first place in NFC North. Hell yeah! And my Fighting Irish are 7-0. Holla! My little rituals appear to be working this year. You know the two different colored socks, the no beer after half time, cans crushed by right foot only, lucky jersey, lucky tee shirt, blue candles burning at the altar of the football gods... Hey now. it's only weird if it doesn't work and I'm working off a lot of calories doing my touchdown dance this season. I have  elements in there from Ricky Horror's Time Warp and since I am not quite ready for you all to see me shaking my tailfeathers, I will leave you with the Rocky Horror crew... Have a great day!

Happy Monday! A New Week & New Releases

Happy Monday! It's rainy and grey here, but that's fine by me, I'm not a big fan of the sun or temps above 65. I love the Fall and can't wait til we get some frost and I can see my breath. I come alive at this time of the year with its longer nights and cold weather. Plus, it's almost Halloween, one of my high holy days. Normally the start of the week is not great, but my Bears are battling the Lions tonight on Monday Night Football and you all know where I'll be so no phone calls. LOL

Today also rocks because we are celebrating the release of two awesome new stories.

First up is Laura Eno's Wish, The Awakening, a fantastic dark fantasy YA tale about a teenaged girl with Djinn powers. You can read all about it here. Isn't that a gorgeous cover? Congratulations, Laura!

Kyra Lennon is having a blogfest to celebrate the release of her terrific novella, If I Let You Go. Also in celebration it is free on Amazon. Check out the details here. I'm in love with this cover, too. Congratulations, Kyra!










How was your weekend? I dog sat for some good friends and watched some cheesy horror films, The Stuff and Night of the Lepus as well as some episodes of my favorite Star Trek series ever, Deep Space Nine. It was great to spend some time with Captain Sisko and the rest of the DS9 crew. Sadly, I do not own this series on DVD or Blu-ray. Dear Santa...

It's Friday, It's Football

It's Friday!! I know for those of us here in the States this was a short week because of the Labor Day Holiday, but man trying to cram 5 days worth of stuff into 4 is really a giant pain in my caboose. I did manage it, though. Yay! I also want to thank all of you who left a comment on my IWSG post on Wednesday. You left some awesome, encouraging words and some helpful advice. I was overjoyed to know that I was not alone in n this insecurity. I'll be responding to them shortly.

I want to share some really great news. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I got to meet one of my blog friends. Whoo Hoo!!  Michael De Gesu and I met for coffee at this nice place on Michigan Avenue. We shared hours of great conversation and laughs galore. I have a new friend for life. Michael is one of the nicest, most positive people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He is so supportive and energetic, simply an amazing spirit. I adore him.

I'm very excited because it is Opening Day for my Bears. Sing it with me now "Bear down, Chicago Bears, make every play pave the way for victory..." Okay, shutting up now. I don't want to be responsible for bleeding ears and nausea. LOL

Seriously, I am a football junkie and this is my season. My Sundays consist of rolling out of bed, pulling on my comfiest clothes and whatever Bears tee I can grab (lest you think I'm filthy, I shower before I hit the hay), then planting myself in front of the TV not to move for hours.Yes, it's football all day and all night. I don't answer the phone, I don't answer my door unless it's for food delivery. I vegetate and between beers, I yell at the screen and throw pieces of my Rip Apart Referee doll when things are not going well for my boys. The air grows quite blue from my degrading language as well. I de-volve into a Neanderthal.

I also have rituals that I adhere to like any superstitious fan. I won't share them all because you really will think I am a lunatic, but suffice it to say that I won't wear any orange shirt even though orange is part of the Bears colors. Bad things happen when I wear it. I was wearing my orange Bears shirt when Cutler broke his thumb and ruined our season. I got rid of it immediately.

In spite of appearances to the contrary, anyone who wants to watch football with me is more than welcome to do so. There are always goodies galore and the pizza place is on speed dial. And I do make good conversation on commercials. Plus, this season we can pause live TV (Whoo Hoo!) so the talking should be a lot more interesting and a bit more in-depth.

This is exactly how every Sunday right through the Super Bowl is spent. I have sent regrets for baby showers, wedding showers, birthday parties and other events because of football. And no, I refuse to record a game on DVR, I may pause, but all out recording is just dumb. I don't want to be one of those people running around going "No, don't tell me" until I can get home and watch. Screw that.  Most everyone knows not to bother me and still there are those who foolishly try. I do not budge or change when it comes to my football. I do the very same when I am in the throes of a story. Sign says Do Not Disturb. There are only two excuses I will accept for bothering me during writing/Bears games: Life or Death illness/injury and House on Fire. Otherwise, come back tomorrow. It's very simple.

So what are your plans for the weekend? Are you into football or another sport? What are your favorite teams? How do you keep people from bothering you when you write or watch your team play?

B Is For...

Basil and Bears, how appropriate for this post. I once had an encounter with a black bear. Yes, it was nearly B is for Bradley, assaulted by Bears.

I had gone camping with my best friend Brenda, in Michigan, near the shores of Lake Superior. A place that had black bears, which she assured me did not bother people. "Ive been coming here for years, Mel, and I haven't had a problem." To be honest, I had not thought much about the creatures, but had really been more concerned with escaped mental patients wanting to wear my skin for a dress. I'm a horror film addict, after all. So I took her at her word and relaxed enough to enjoy being surrounded by trees.

One night, after dinner she said to me, "The Northern Lights are sometimes visible this far south, you should hike out to the beach and see if you can catch the show. I saw them here last year." Now, I had always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis, so I was all excited to go.

I shrugged into my jacket and casually asked if she was coming. She said no, citing exhaustion. I parked my butt right back on the bed. "Come on Mel," she chided. "It's just down the path. You'll regret it if you don't go." Regret is one word I hate and she knew it. So in spite of the visions of gruesome death dancing in my head, I ventured forth. Alone into the dark.

You know, it's amazing how a flashlight that had seemed so powerful in my shadowed bedroom when I tested the batteries, offered no more illumination than candle light out there among the trees. Jason Voorhees and his big machete were going to get me for sure. Then like a vision from above, there was the beach. And miracle of miracles...Other people. Pause for the hallelujah effect.

I sat down on a big rock to enjoy the show. It was spectacular and I forgot all about trees, scary killers and other horrors. It was like Nature's fireworks display just for me.

After the dazzling lights, I went back down the path, convinced my earlier fears were ridiculous. I had made it here, hadn't I? I could handle these woods, why I was now Trixie Trailblazer, camper extraordinaire. The feeling lasted, oh, about five minutes into my walk. Then a warm coppery, meaty smell hit me. I flashed my light around and saw bits of blood and fur on the ground to my left. A grunting and crashing came from the trees.

In two seconds flat, I went from girl power camper to terrified chubby chick to Olympic sprinter. I ran so fast I don't recall that my feet ever hit the ground. I hurdled a fallen tree like it was a Lego block. Red Bull may give you wings, but raw terror will for sure. When I got to our cabin, I wasn't even out of breath. And I got winded running down the block for the bus. Brenda lurched off the bed. "My God, what happened? You're transparent." "B-Bear," I choked out and sat down on the bed. I did not move for hours, frozen in horror. The next morning, I discovered bruises in rather odd places and I was sore as hell for two days.

I have never ventured into the woods again. I'd rather face a gang banger right here on my ghetto streets. I know how to handle them.

Thank you so very much for visiting. On my sidebar at the top is the A to Z button to continue the challenge. Otherwise, for a complete list of all 800 plus participants go here.