Canada, Chronic Conditions, kindness

Making Friends with Shadows on my Wall

Posted on March 1, 2026 by D. Parker

Some days staring at the ceiling making
friends with shadows on my wall
Some nights hearing voices telling me
that I should get some sleep because tomorrow might be good for something. Hold on, feeling like I’m headed for a breakdown and I don’t know why (I might have a vague idea)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little unwell (a little???)
I know right now you can’t tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see
A different side of me (Sides?)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little impaired (repaired, scared, flared, despaired, prepared?) I know right now you don’t care
But soon enough you’re gonna think of me And how I used to be (somedays I don’t even remember how I used to be)

See me
Singing to myself in public
And dodging glances from my brain
I know, I know they’ve all been talking ’bout me
I can hear them whisper (you know, when folks do that cool exaggerated whisper which is actually much louder than the average voice) And it makes me think there must be something wrong (define wrong)
With me

Out of all the hours thinking (thinking, thinking, overthinking, thinking about chocolate, thinking some more, trying not to think then thinking about having a cup of tea and thinking a cookie would go well with, misthinking, watching some TV while trying not to think, misunderstanding my thinking, thinking about my thinkabilities with my thinkiest mind particles, unthinking then rethinking again, then back to overthinking, I think).
Somehow
I’ve lost my mind (of all the things I’ve lost I miss my mind the most)

I’ve been talking in my sleep (is my phone listening to that too?)
Pretty soon they’ll come to get me (they’ll have to find me first and I haven’t even found myself yet!)
Yeah, they’re taking me away (Oooh, nice, a vacation!)

Yeah, I miss how I used to be
How I used to be

You may be hearing this song by Rob Thomas/Matchbox 20, but I’m hearing it as Mad Monster Scientist from Season 13 of The Masked Singer...I won’t tell you who it really was (just sayin’, I guessed who it was, what can I say, I have music in my head 24/7 so I recognize a lot of the voices in my head, oh hello!!!), in case you haven’t watched, or want to watch. I wouldn’t want to do “spoilers”.

Anyway, this song has firmly stuck in my head and I decided the only way to remove it was to press it onto this page. Don’t blame me if it sticks to you next.

Struggling to read, sleep, find words, stand (and stay standing), sit, write, blog https://yadadarcyyada.com/2025/09/07/how-can-you-miss-me-if-i-wont-go-away/, well, anything, as usual, and now all the while watching the world spiral. I’m not sure if the world is crazy or just a little unwell, but right now, right now I can’t tell. Up is down and down is up, it’s distorted, distended, diseased, disgraced, disappointing, discouraging, dishonest, and frankly, mostly, distasteful. It feels as topsy-turvy as though I’m Alice down the rabbit hole, but without the cute dress. So here I am just trying to figure out if there’s anything left to figure out in the world.

There’s a bright side. I truly believe many people are still good. They still do good. I also believe more people waking up to reality isn’t bad, or as depressing as they think/thought. As weird, bad, and scary as things are: The Epstein Files; the economy; wars; tariffs; unaffordable and completely unaccessible housing; sky high grocery prices; crime; horrible, horrible, distracted drivers; loss; fear; chaos; endless ads, subscriptions, verification codes to distract us (seriously, companies need to invest in cybersecurity, why should I be your administrative assistant for free?); the rise of AI (seriously, look up what AI is doing, nothing intelligent about using it, it’s not worth it), https://yadadarcyyada.com/2024/02/21/i-am-not-a-robot/ and the list goes on and on…sometimes I feel like giving up, but then I remember, there’s still good, there’s still hope.

On the bright side, there’s no zombie apocalypse. The Walking Dead is kinda scary, no electricity, no internet, no indoor plumbing, and we’d run out of chocolate quickly!!! And sooooooooo much walking, I mean, it’s in the title!!! I really don’t think I could get passed the smell. Also, World War Z and 28 Days/Weeks/Years (28 Decades/Centuries?) Later “zombies” are way too fast.

No cloned dinosaurs are roaming on any island (there are much, much, much scarier things on certain islands).

No alien invasion, although at this point it might be a blessing. Of course, space has its own issues, Alien, Battlestar Galactica, The 100, Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Orville, Stargate, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, The Expanse, look at the Star Wars universe, though Andor was an amazing watch, highly recommend.

Was truth always over-rated? In a way, would it be better to not know what snowmen really do in summer?

Be kind. Stay kind. Do things for people who can’t do anything for you. Smile. Laugh. Care. Love. Hope. Dream. Watch what you want. Question. Share. Read what you want. Question. Eat the cake. Give. Renew. Refresh. Laugh some more, with people (not at them, resist the temptation, I know it seems too easy sometimes but what does that say about us, not them?). Sing. Question everything. Write. Explore. Discover. Delight. Dance like everyone is watching. Hug someone (like, not some random person, someone you know). Be kind again. Eat the cookie or the salad…is there cookie salad cause I want that. Learn lessons. Believe (I want to believe). Turn off your screens (right after you read and share this post!). Go outside. Spend time with family and friends. Make friends, some will become family. Hope some more. Dream some more. Care some more. Courage my friends, we are so much more than they think we are, especially together.

Christmas, Holidays, kindness

Have Yourself a Merry Little #Christmas

Posted on November 27, 2021November 29, 2025 by D. Parker

Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? Can’t we make the most wonderful time of the year any old time of the year? Does it have to be scheduled? Does it have to be a certain day? Why not wish each other well and treat each other well every single day in each and every single way?

1. Marathon your way through the season, which apparently now begins in January with brief visits from other holidays before bouncing back to Christmas again. Don’t limit yourself to Christmassy viewing, though if you’re in the mood…

“Get Back” to Let It be and Let it snow and Let it go, yeah yeah yeah, The Beatles won’t let you down as they wanna hold your hand down this long and winding road; spend some time back in time at “Downton Abbey”; go anywhere or anywhen with The Doctor in classic or modern “Doctor Who” (not “Doctor Who Flux”, flux, wait, is that because The Doctor is female now, hmmm, weird…);

don’t be sheepish, pop over to “Shetland”; immerse yourself in the Marvel Universe, or the Star Wars galaxy, or anywhere else you can imagine; revisit some “Friends”; fear the future of “The Handmaid’s Tale”; hope “Vera” only calls you “love” or “pet”, not “sunshine” (Dear Santa and Vera, I can explain…); see what is the deal with “Seinfeld” (It’s Festivus for the rest of us); be glad you’re not invited to a “Game of Thrones” Christmas party (you know nothing, Jon Let It Snow);

put on your Walkman, pull on your neon spandex and fanny packs to take a tour of the Upside Down in “Stranger Things”; watch cooking shows, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay (are you blaming the fish?!?), “Baking It” with Andy Samberg (can Lonely Island all host?), or “Breaking Bad“; or drop by “Yellowstone”; find out “What We Do in the Shadows” or in the “Shadow and Bone”; and/or see who survived on “The Walking Dead“. Or read your way through the snow, ho, ho, ho…

2. Use this as a time to catch up with family, friends, or new friends (just haven’t met you yet) who also are looking to hide away from the holidays, enjoy the holidays in a less commercial way…

3. Be bold, be brave, go on a holiday dating/companionship spree, even if it’s on Zoom. Eggnog your way through stories about his/her ex, mom, ex’s mom, work, football, baseball, hockey, fashion, cars…Who knows, maybe you’ll find a Christmas miracle, or become comfortably numb.

5. Fill your time, don’t just kill that time. Do something you wanted or needed to do but hadn’t quite gotten around to it yet. Read, write, craft, draw, paint, bake, blog, sing, play games, cook, knit, go to a museum or art gallery, walk, work, declutter (unclutter?), exercise, sleep, stream, meme, clean, dream…It’s all good.

6. Have a Single Christmas Party (not for singles, just you, be your own party). If you can’t enjoy your own company how do you expect others to enjoy it? This year, like last, we have some restrictions, but enjoy your time anyway.

7. It’s never too late (or early) to start a new tradition with yourself or others, hopefully one that doesn’t involve eating your feelings, spending future rent/mortgage payments, insulting others, and/or anything illegal.

8. Help others this season – the best way to keep your mind off your problems is to help others with their problems. It can also give you perspective if you’re in a woe-is-me-kinda-place.

9. Under no circumstances drink too heavily, that could lead to calling, texting, or emailing an ex, or blogging under the influence, or doing something else you may otherwise regret.

10. Look back, look inside, look around, look forward. See past the blinking lights, beyond the cha-ching of the cash register, and maybe read about my year of chronic change https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/08/23/seems-breakin-up-was-easier-in-the-90s/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/09/29/what-if/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/10/29/sweet-screams-are-made-of-this/

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, but generally, on all the days of the year, make a life for yourself that isn’t an escape room. A life where you’re not trying to get away, not trying to immerse yourself in the latest holiday…where each and every single day holds some tidings of simple comfort and joys, and some jolly.

This season is simple. It’s days, weeks, months like any other. It’s filled with what you want it to be filled with, well, mostly. Winston Churchill famously said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going”. Churchill means, when you’re struggling, push through, or you’ll get stuck in the struggle. I triple dog dare you, keep going, you never know what’s on the other side, isn’t that exciting?

And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas…and be kind, to yourself and others. Please. Thank you kindly.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~Charles Dickens

Christmas

Santa Should Be On The Naughty List

Posted on December 3, 2018November 23, 2025 by D. Parker

I don’t want a lot for Christmas. There’s just one thing I need. Don’t care about the presents, shopping, or a Christmas tree – could we unblur the lines between good and bad? Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is less celebration of Black Hats (or Red Hats with Fur Trim), more celebration of White Hats (and cookies, definitely cookies).

We cheer for serial killers, drug lords, mobsters; glamorize celebrities and corporate fat cats – I hear they can even become President.

We’re allegedly repulsed by the violence, greed, self-absorption yet…we’re mesmerized.

Look at Santa. Or should I say: Santa Claus, Pere Noel, Father Christmas, SinterKlaas, St. Nicholas, Dun Che Lao Ren, Kris Kringle? Secret Santa indeed…he needs many aliases, with all the break and enters; sure, he leaves gifts but also a lingering sense of unease.

Some poor child still sings about being traumatized when he saw his Mommy kissing ‘Santa Claus’ underneath the mistletoe one night; how about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer, huh, whose reindeer? Take a wild guess.

Santa only works one day a year, while keeping elves slaving all year-long, to make toys, for which he takes the credit (and cookies).

Santa’s all ‘thank u, next’, he only cared about Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer when he deemed Rudolph useful, not when the poor reindeer was bullied relentlessly (#BeBestSanta).

Only eight tiny reindeer? Really?!? For one cookie-stuffed man? Does that seem fair?

Santa leaves his reindeer out in the cold and snow while he goes into warm homes…and they say The Grinch treated Max poorly (he did/does!).

Elvis begged Santa to bring his ‘baby’ back to him…what other atrocities don’t we know about, is it just me or does Santa seem kinda, I dunno, elfish?

Santa tells children he’s watching them when they’re sleeping; knows if they’ve been bad or good. He browbeats children into behaving well, threatening to leave a toxic substance, a lump of coal, in their stocking – The Nice List, The Naughty List, more like The Blacklist.

What’s next, Santa?

Are you gonna lead The Sons of Santa motorcycle gang, Ho Ho SAMCRO?

Be President in The House of Christmas Cards?

Have a barbed wire baseball bat covered in with Christmas lights (P.S. You’ll poke your eye out with that thing; or someone else’s eye)?

Kill to sit on the Candy Cane Throne in the Game of Santa’s Village Thrones (you sit on a throne of lies)?

Go over to The Dark Side (they have Christmas cookies – Merry Sithmas!)?

Be known as He Who Must Not Be Named at The North Pole…Harry Potter and The Half-Eaten Gingerbread Man?

Breaking Bad Santa?

Supernatural Santa?

Rescue Me from Santa’s tyranny…Hmmm, maybe Santa should be on The Naughty List.

Santa baby, c’mon please make it right this Christmas, or at least make it wrong and interesting.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright and May All Your Dreams https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/12/18/twice-upon-a-christmas-carol/ Take Flight!

Autism, Books, Movies, Televison

Tra La La, Tra La La, La

Posted on April 15, 2018April 21, 2018 by D. Parker

Tra la la, tra la la, la
Tra la la, tra la la, la
Tra la la, tra la la, la

One banana, two banana, three banana, four
All bananas make a split, so do many more….

Flipping like a pancake, popping like a cork
Fleagle bingo drooper and snork

Tra la la, tra la la, la…We’re The Banana Splits, at least, we’re meant to be…meant to have more fun. I wonder, are we over thinking life? Always doing, having, wanting, needing, pushing, pulling, rushing, yearning, instead of just being.Maybe, just maybe, radical thinking alert here, we’re born, are intermittently happy, then leave this world, remembered or unremembered. We need to spend more time flipping like a pancake and popping like a cork. Making up a mess of fun instead of just a mess.More TraLaLaing, less brouhahaing. More Fleagle, bingo, drooper, and snork – less fighting, lingo, booper, and snark. The wise words of William Wordsworth are all too real now, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers…”.So today I’m just a girl, sitting in front of her computer, asking you to have fun with her.We can read books, talk, laugh, eat, blog, dance, sing, agree, disagree, watch shows/movies – I dunno, have fun…not to judge, nor praise, nor critique. Not to pick apart or speculate. Just to be.I’ll start…Couldn’t put down “The Girl Before” by JP Delaney, recommended (on Facebook) by my delightful British cuz, Penny (now there’s a woman who knows how to have fun), thank you, sweetie, it kept me page-turning long after I should been abed.

Had some more Boo Radley moments with “To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper Lee) then “Benny and Joon” (one thing always leads to another in my head).
Joined Ellen Berry on Rosemary Lane and Miss Marple in the library, with the body, through the mind of Agatha Christie https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/21/how-to-get-your-book-published/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/05/25/crapathy/
Was “Dreaming in Chocolate” (like always), but this time thanks to Susan Bishop Crispell; how apt for me.
Meandered down the rabbit hole filled with zombies, as Gena Showalter left Alice and friends/foes in the final book (oh no!) of the “Alice in Zombieland” chronicles, “A Mad Zombie Party”…we’re all mad here!!! And more! I would include some indie books in this list, but no one has sent me any lately (hint hint), those I would review, honestly, as I do everything.
Speaking of zombies (were we?), plenty of heartbreak, wisdom, and triumph on “The Walking Dead” and hopefully “Fear The Walking Dead” https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/11/why-zombies-wont-rule/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/11/why-zombies-will-rule/ I really keep learning, sometimes, despite our best efforts, that’s how it’s gotta be, while still believing, trying to keep believing, it’s still gotta mean something.
So while I try to believe…and try to patiently await holds at the library and, more…“The Handmaid’s Tale” https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/05/13/the-mother-of-all-blogs/, “Westworld”, “Game of Thrones”, “Psych” reboot (please, please, I need a happy place), “The Orville” https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/09/28/we-were-on-a-break/, and on the big screen (finally)…”Deadpool 2″, “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, “Incredibles 2”, “The House With The Clock In Its Walls” (family-friendly goth mystery based on one of my fav childhood books by John Bellairs), “Marvel’s Avengers Infinity War”, and more, more, more – while I wait, I split (with bananas?) to the ‘good old days’ when life was simple (or was it?): Doris Day, James Stewart, The Marx Brothers, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly (can’t think of any more Kellys right now), Ingrid Bergman, Fred Astaire, James Dean, Rock Hudson,Judy Garland, Mae West. Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/10/25/arsenic-and-old-lace/, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn (I’m out of Hepburns), Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Myrna Loy, Joan Fontaine, Alfred Hitchcock, Tim Burton, er, classics, right?
I traveled through time with “The Crossing”…remember when we could do that with “Doctor Who”?
Went on adventures (burp) with “Rick and Morty”, aww geez, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, but I still love cartoons https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/08/09/i-miss-saturday-morning-cartoons/
Revisited the Conner household with the return of “Roseanne” (still love Laurie Metcalf, almost as much as on “The Big Bang Theory” and “3rd Rock From The Sun”) – you don’t have to like her, her voice, her politics, or watch, life is filled with infinite choices, ordering coffee and from Amazon has taught us that.
Had more “Supernatural” fun with the Winchester boys and “The X-Files” folks https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/10/26/my-big-fat-supernatural-life/.
Another Series of Unfortunate Events https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/16/you-cant-handle-the-blogging-truth/, this time with Nathan Fillion https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/04/28/well-cream-you-with-our-tim-hortons-donuts-you-hosers/ – sigh.
Wandered back to Stars Hollow to visit the “Gilmore Girls” and company – I can’t seem to stay away https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/01/06/im-not-inclined-to-resign-to-maturity/
Went from “LA > Vegas” with little turbulence but lots of laughs.
Was “Barry” pleased to watch Bill Hader (“SNL”, “Trainwreck”) as he makes life and death comedy (no, not the ongoing saga of Trump, you might need to watch “Wag The Dog” https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/09/15/wag-the-dog/ for that, ‘Mission Accomplished’? Really? Wow) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/05/06/nothings-gonna-stop-us-now/
Got “Lost In Space” (Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, Parker Posey – this show has a nice amount of Parkers), the only ‘Danger, Will Robinson’, is binge-watching on Netflix.
In the “Here and Now” here and there. Played games. Worked. Visited blogs. Organized. Got distracted. Pondered the meaning of life…
April gives us some interesting times: #AutismAwareness (I’m aware everyday) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/03/20/take-your-time-hurry-up/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/04/21/dancing-in-the-dark/ Friday the 13th https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/03/13/its-friday-the-13th-do-you-know-where-your-serial-killer-is/ and Earth Day (everyday) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/04/22/all-the-ways-im-told-im-stupid-everyday/
April can also be the cruelest month, as T.S. Eliot told us, and it took, way, way too soon, a beloved Uncle, a true gentleman whose dry wit and kindness were always present as he tried to help people. And is giving us a historic ice storm, but, I remain hopeful that Spring is lurking, somewhere, waiting to make me Capri-happy and carefree.I’m not saying life is all about fun, but if we had a more Banana Splits (the show, The Dickies version of the song, and the tasty treat) attitude, maybe we wouldn’t fall prey to lies, scams, machinations; we might enjoy our time in this life, not to make the most money or power or to make a name for ourselves, just to be. Be happy. Be silly. Be kind to each other. Be grateful. Be here. Why not? Tra la la, tra la la, la Tra la la, tra la la, la Tra la la, tra la la, la Tra la la, tra la la, la

Uncategorized

Twice Upon A Christmas Carol

Posted on December 18, 2017December 24, 2025 by D. Parker

I had too much to dream last night…again.
I feel like I’m suffering from a dream hangover.
I woke from my confusing, at times, exhilarating Dickens’ A Christmas Carol -like dream (with Muppets), and again, filled with revelations. I was visited once again by Donald Trump who told me 3 others (the best 3 others) would visit that night. It was terrifying, he still wore the chains of greed, intolerance, and suffering he’d forged link by link…it seemed like there was more of the hairspray than grave about him.

When Colin Firth showed up as my Ghost of Christmas Past in the white shirt from Pride and Prejudice (you know the one, ladies and gents), I thought, bring it on, this dream just got X-tra special. He reminded me that all things past are actually always still with us…

My Ghost of Christmas Present (what a gift) turned out to be my own insecurities, about: writing, parenting, weight (with all that weight I fear I may have lost my sense of humour…), and blogging mostly because WordPress gave me a gift for my blog anniversary/Christmas – less than half of you who asked for notifications to my posts are getting them and I’m not receiving a lot of yours either – oops; “Likes” aren’t staying Liked; and they ‘Unfollowed’ a bunch of you that I Follow – I think I have you all back, I hope. Don’t take anything personally and please, look out for my posts on social media –
Where I’m a complete twit: https://twitter.com/yadadarcyyada
Where I’m endlessly baffled by humanity: https://www.facebook.com/yadadarcyyada
The desert where I wander: http://www.pinterest.com/dpark2/
I am here!
I am here!
I am here!
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/12/18/these-arent-the-gifts-youre-looking-for/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/11/22/how-to-get-away-with-christmas/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/11/30/hello-its-me/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/04/10/im-hooked-on-a-feeling/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/08/27/message-in-a-bottle/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/12/08/dear-santa-i-can-explain/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/12/02/elf/

1. Christmas songs play everywhere but we need more Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsman. Peace on Earth, goodwill, and about how even the worst of enemies can put aside their differences, if only for a little while…we sure need more of that.

2. Even on a crummy morning a gingerbread man still makes his bed with cookie sheets.

3. Christmas is about giving. Though broke and obscure I still believe in giving to others and weirdly, sometimes you get stuff back.

4. Not waiting in line for some guy in a red suit to make me promises, I’ll make some to myself and try to keep them.

My Ghost of Christmas Future was Norman Reedus, well, actually Daryl Dixon, (because it’s my dream and it gets better, he’s holding a cat reminding us to Shop Cruelty Free https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/ – that goes for people as well, cruelty-free)…and he showed me…

5. Christmas could be a little late this year, instead of making toys, Santa and the elves are already lined up to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi (I haven’t seen it, but I’m guessing it has to do with a Jedi).

6. The Christmas feeling could be there, even without the gifts, the lights, the decorations, chocolate (this one is iffy), turkey and toys, even without the Christmas.

7. Ordinary rules of time and space don’t apply to Santa or The Doctor (Doctor Who Twice Upon A Time – I’m not ready for Peter Capaldi to go and I’m still missing David Tennant), but they do apply to us, we only have so much time in this world.

Happiness and success can be measured by the joy and comfort we bring to others. Remember the good times, the fun times, the laughter, the kindness, the little moments.

If you don’t see me around here for a bit, I’ve checked myself into Clementine rehab (I can quit anytime I want) – one day at a ‘clementime’.

Merry Christmas to all and sweet dreams!

Chocolate, halloween

My Big Fat Supernatural Life

Posted on October 26, 2017March 8, 2018 by D. Parker

I’m haunted.
Maybe haunted isn’t the right word, um, spooked, creeped out, ok, maybe just confused.
I’ve tried to lead a normal life, really I have, but I’m afraid my attempts have been astonishingly less than successful.

Everywhere I turn, so-called supernatural forces invade my peace and quiet.
Ghouls, goblins, trolls, clowns, demons, ghosts, poltergeist (Theeeeey’rrrre here!), killers (#JFKFiles, or a version of them are being ‘released’, but my conspiracy theory stands – it was aliens, so in love with Marilyn Monroe they took her to their planet and they also took John F. Kennedy because he was having her death investigated…and now you also know my theory on how Monroe ‘died’)…Serial killers, serials killers who kill serial killers (Thank you?), vampires, zombies, dragons, zombie dragons, monsters, witches, warlocks, werewolves, wizards, whatchamacallits (why am I suddenly craving chocolate?)…I admit, I’m no Stephen King, but I’m not blameless in this, I’ve invited some of them in, even if metaphysically, er, unwittingly?
How was I to know it would be an ongoing supernatural thing?
Something wicked this way comes, really, kinda busy double double toiling and troubling here…

Rapping, rapping, rapping at my door? Let me guess, the government wanting more, more, more.
No, it’s not what goes bump in the night that terrifies me, but those in the light, pretending they want my thoughts to be free.
It’s not a corpse risen from its grave, nor a black cat (look how cute they are, how could something that cute be bad luck, oh wait, just had a flashback of some past dates, cute can equal creepy)…
What scares me the most doesn’t claw from the ground, nor fly down and drag me to its lair – no, it’s the lies, the lies, oh the lies, lies, lies! We’re spending our precious time on this planet…listening, worse, accepting lies – from politicians, corporations, anyone – we want to believe (ok, lapsed into X-Files there, who am I kidding, it’s playing in my brain right now). How can we trust if we’ve become toilet paper, waiting to be used or always taking crap from folks?
I feel like shouting, Beware! Beware! there and everywhere, Grim Reapers Heffalump or Woozle, I’m very confusel. And it isn’t honey they’re after, they’d have to let the bees live for that, no, Winnie the Pooh and all of us should know, it’s all been very sly-sly-sly…Power and money is what they covet and if they so love it, they’ll guzzle up and muzzle up everything you prize.
Who needs horror movies anymore? https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/03/20/25-ways-to-stay-alive-in-a-horror-movie/ This is where the magic happens. Online. They put a spell on us and now we’re theirs. It’s all a bunch of hocus pocus. We need to cut through, maybe with a jigsaw…or break through, open our minds – Aparecium! Reveal the truth (yes, it’s still alive, just been badly wounded). I’m should drown my sorrows in Butterbeer, yup, you guessed it, I’m rereading the Harry Potter series for Halloween.
The Nightmare Before Christmas? Holidays seem more like The Nightmare of Christmas and Black Friday, CyberMonday, Halloween (The Great Pumpkin will be here soon, right and David S. Pumpkins, please tell me it’s David Pumpkins – “Any Questions?”) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/10/14/the-glorious-chaos/ Also, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day/Veterans Day https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/11/02/christmas-comes-after-remembrance-day/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/11/03/lest-we-forget-to-shop/ Sadly, people seem way more concerned about who’s saying ‘Merry Christmas’ versus ‘Happy Holidays’ than if anyone is either merry or happy…and of course all the important parts of the holidays: peace, love, kindness, hope, caring, compassion https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/02/20/compassion-never-goes-out-of-style/ – I’m kidding, I mean important things like: shopping, pumpkin spice, decorations, presents, phones, cars, vacations, clothes…
This isn’t your Grinch’s consumerism, it’s so much worse. I don’t even enjoy entertainment (as much), I’m getting (more?) grossed out: books, TV, music, phones, video games, apps, sports, fashion, movies – what we spend on entertainment could be feeding people, giving them healthcare, education, shelter, security – the budget of the new Star Wars movie alone could feed a nation or six (The Last Jedi? Nothing like spoilers – now release the fans!).
We’re so afraid of being alone or being left out, we’re so desperate to be accepted, to get approval, we’re willing to believe just about anything – we believe gossip is real, innuendo is truth, and rumour is fact. Who says we don’t get enough exercise, have you been on the internet, we get plenty of exercise, jumping to conclusions. Instead of feeling connected and informed, I’m feeling tortured (and not in a starving artist kind of way). Smoke and mirrors, why bother, just plop whatever BS on the internet and suddenly, for many people, it’s magically true. Getting news from Facebook and Twitter? Really? That drives me batty! Seriously, the internet, enter at your own risk https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/10/28/enter-at-your-own-risk/
In a world of choices, we have less and less choice every single day. You think zombies, Negan, and The Saviors are scary in The Walking Dead?Ple-eeease, that’s nothing, you want to get terrified, look up: child pornography, sexual harassment, rape culture (#MeToo isn’t just a hashtag, it’s past time – listen), child abuse, racism (clowns now emboldened to wash off their make-up and take their show on the road), poverty, net neutrality https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/06/02/net-neutrality-i-hardly-knew-you/, opioid epidemic (let me guess, this crisis will now be ‘fixed’, for profit, by those who caused the problems, for profit)… cashless society (some folks must really love having their everything tracked), stock market manipulation, business amalgamation, human trafficking, scams, women’s (real) equality, chemicals (everywhere) in our environment, war profiteering, civil (and not so civil) rights, human (and not so human) rights, multi-level marketing, tax loopholes/evasion, sponsored reviews, wealth abyss, or want to get freaky, gasp, food waste.
The real darkness seems to be oozing from deep inside us as we hyper-focus on the trivial and ignore anything of consequence – arguing, fussing, fighting, whining, name-calling, complaining – we’ve become mentally Pennywise and pound foolish. We wear wireless masks, hiding in costumes of anonymity and anger, our candy the pain we can inflict or watch or both. We all float down here in the internet sewer because here, everything you’re afraid of, every nightmare you ever had can be found with the click of a button, and I guess, we want more of Wi-Fi IT.
It’s all so devilishly clever – we’re snapping selfies while they charge us hidden fees for digging our own graves.
If only we could focus on kindness instead anger, helping instead of hurting, and sticking together instead of tearing each other apart. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but stranger things (2)… https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/10/14/the-glorious-chaos/
Education, formal or otherwise is the answer, the more you learn the less you’ll be burned. Click on learn, not Clickbait. Who cares what celebrities are doing? Care about those who need, not those who greed. Seriously, what are we looking for anyway?
Maybe this year for Halloween, Rick Ghastly can sing an updated version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, because even if we find out cellphones are causing cancer or controlling our minds, they’ll have to pry these smartphones out of our cold, dead hands!!!
I can’t think about this anymore, it’s all trick and no treat, I have too much crapathy https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/05/25/crapathy/ Or maybe I need yet another break https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/09/28/we-were-on-a-break/
Or maybe this can be helped by cake https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/09/16/you-had-me-at-cake/ – which, like the internet gives your brain a scrupulous high, but too much can leave you wondering why, why, why, why?
So I’ll try to rise up above the noise and confusion, carry on to see past all illusions. I’ll lay my weary head to rest (only 3 days without sleep, I’m fine) and wait for Halloween candy to go sale…because, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore...
Even Dean and Sam Winchester boys couldn’t help us out of the hellish pit of petulance we’ve fallen into, but I’d love to see them try. The Fall of the House of Us…sure. Happy Halloween!

Blogs, Canada, Chocolate, Food, Music

You Had Me At Cake…

Posted on September 16, 2016January 20, 2017 by D. Parker

Humans are capable of greatness, but too often it’s just us saying we’re great. With all reverence, I’ll paraphrase the magnificent R.E.M.: In the eye of a hurricane, feeling your insides churning as you hear the pain. Bored of people only mis-serving, wanting to believe, can’t perceive their own needs.

Change the world, stop being fed up, instead follow through and follow-up.
Shriek after shriek, holler after holler, anyone will do anything to worship at the dollar, Bumbling, stumbling, perfectly baffled, trumped…

Tethered, biased on all sides, “winning” in a tournament of lies; chopped, cropped, plopped in front of another scream, another screen…

Another moment too obscene. Vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light. Feel like turning it all off and only watching Psych (you know that’s right)

It’s the end of the world as we know it (had some time alone). It’s the end of the world as we know it (in a media cone). It’s once again the end of the world as we know it…and I feel behind.

It’s been a stuffy, screeching, spooky, sweltering summer abundant with the bafflings of humanity and nature alike. Here I am, an oldening woman who blogs alone in a skiff in the Blog Stream trying to find the ‘best words’ and had gone sixty odd days now without blogging a post. Whether I shall turn out to be the heroine of my own life, or whether that prodigious station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a blogger, despite being in a break, cannot in good conscience ignore her blog birthday, a wonderful opportunity to thank her dear readers, who stick with her through ups and downs and even the not hanging around. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely (ok, Summer 2013) – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on TV, I thought to blog about a little and see the bloggery part of the world.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. At any given time it can seem like the worst of times, but is it? There’s no world war. No Inquisition. No Ice Age. No plague. No killer bees. No asteroids hurdling toward the Earth (no worries, Bruce Willis will save us anyway).

No hoards, Attila the Hun, saber tooth tigers, or Genghis Khan. No cannibal galaxies hungering for galactic flesh (not to be confused with cannabis galaxies hungering for galactic munchies). No cat overlords, er, well, maybe a few cat overlords. No alien invaders (although there is that signal from HD164595, no worries, Will Smith will save us).

Last I checked, no zombie apocalypse, unless you count the overabundance of movies/TV shows about zombies and of course, smartphone users.

That’s not to say everything is wonderful. How could we not have problems? Over seven billion humans trying to coexist with each other, as well as animals, insects, fish, birds, and of course, Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster (Hi Nessie!), Yeti, elves, golems, El Chupacabra, dragons, Kala Bandar, vampires, werewolves, and all manner of magical beasts.

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I struggle with first impressions. My instincts, often right, are second, third and fiftieth guessed. As I get older, I’m trying to listen to those first instincts; Maya Angelou was so right, “When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”

It’s sooooo easy to sit around a kitchen, coffee shop, newsroom, living-room, bar, boardroom, online and fix all the world’s problems, but as Edward R. Murrow warned us: “Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn’t mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.”

Cooking competitions, game shows, reality shows, sports – all answers are easy unless you’re actually doing it.

Lies are seductive, there’s no need to prove them, they just float out there in our new Fact-Free World. WTF (What The Fact).

Options? Just believe what we want to believe because we like who says it or how they say it. Forget the facts, it’s all about the feels. We feel like something is true, so now it is. I feel like I’m watching The Blair Witch Project instead of an election and as we know, what we feel is more important than the facts.

The biggest feels, fear…but if Star Wars and Yoda have taught us anything, it’s this, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

And it’s been announced Trump is going to write, direct, and star in the next Star Wars film, Star Wars VIII: Make The Empire Great Again.

Oh la la Politics and the Public, seems like a Bad Romance. Elections, like watching children scuffle over a toy in a sandbox, caring less about the toy itself, but the prize of winning it. Divisive politics, like passing gas, it sure feels good, a relief to get it out there. Then what? The stench, the disgust of others…Passing gas is a necessity of life, although the reasons for more gas can be avoided.

I don’t like gossip, rumour, innuendo, speculation, tittle-tattle, lies, hyberbole. I like facts. I miss when the news was news, actual facts and events, not just guesses, conjecture, speculation, and supposition. Taglines, soundbites, and slogans – more important than substance, service, and civility; mocking has become an acceptable form of communication…

Blindly following anyone or anything, without questioning, doubting, challenging, like it or not, no matter what you call it, you’re in a cult…or a mob…or a joke.

When I paused my blogging I felt so far behind I didn’t even know who shot J.R…yes, that far behind!

Now I feel a little better, more caught up.
I’ve been writing a book, well, an outline and a chapter.
I’ve been reading. Resting. Visiting. Appointmenting. Decompressing. Researching. Regenerating.

Sadly, I was viciously attacked by migraines, but some downtime hooked up to an IV gave me time for deep thought…just kidding, I was thinking the doctor, McDreamy might fall in love with me, Grey’s Anatomy style (preferably with less whining). Also thinking a hospital would be a bad place to be during a zombie outbreak, but with a lot of potential weapons. I also wrote this post in my head, so it might be a bit scatty. Revisiting aspects of my life, including my wardrobe, still going for comfortable, but maybe hobochic. What do you think, dear readers?

What else have I been up to? Planning. Playing. Re-watching a few things, the newer Battlestar Galactica (So Say We All) and Warehouse 13 – thank you dear Teagan https://teagansbooks.com/ for making me want to revisit The Warehouse; I’m always happy there. It reminds me that the biggest adventure, is life itself, and that the spirit of The Warehouse is inside us all, the spirit of endless wonder.

I even know who Gossip Girl is (I’ll never tell xo xo). Caught up on John Oliver back despite popular demand, funny and truth, can’t get enough of that. Almost lapsed into a cheesy made-for-TV movie coma with never-to-be classics such as but not limited to: TV adaptations of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen murder mysteries https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/05/25/crapathy/ Murder, She Baked (where ex-soap stars drop by for a cookie break; Cookie Monster should make a guest appearance!).

It seems the reports of my blogdeath have been greatly exaggerated https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/07/08/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish/ but despite all these words, I still don’t know if I have the best words. What do I know? I know I was sad to hear about the passing of Gene Wilder. The first thing I thought was, “Put… the…candle…back!” https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/28/young-frankenstein-2/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/07/20/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-turns-50/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/06/03/happy-40th-anniversary-blazing-saddles/ Thank you, Mr. Wilder, for the joy, you’ll keep us laughing for years to come.

I know my heart was heavy and uplifted as The Tragically Hip sang a very public goodbye, a final gift of music to everyone they love: fans, band members, family, friends, hometown of Kingston, Ontario and Canada…I alternated between singing and crying, sometimes both at the same time.

I know I’m thankful to everyone who continues to support my blog – my wonderful readers, fellow bloggers, also, the lovely ladies at #BloggersPitStop for all the support. I know I’m grateful you could stop by for my belated blog birthday bash. Enjoy the party games – watch out, you don’t know what will be pinned where these days!!! Enjoy the virtual cake (as always, you have me at cake) – even chocolate has no calories!

Feel free to visit, we’ll pretend we’re under the sea in an octopus’s garden – that’s where I’d like to be, under the sea, in an octopus’s garden in the shade.

So maybe the best words are…please, be kind, what the hell do you have to lose?

Blogs, Books, Cats, Chocolate

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish

Posted on July 8, 2016April 29, 2019 by D. Parker

It’s never easy to say goodbye. Ok, that’s not true, sometimes it’s super easy to say goodbye, in fact, you wished could’ve said goodbye much, much earlier. You’re with someone, they’re annoying you, but it’s impolite to leave, or you feel you should or have to stay. Or when you’re at a party, function, event, etc. and some guests are driving you up a wall. There are times when you’re screaming goodbye in your head, measuring how many steps it would take to get to the door, or wondering if anyone will notice if you were to dive out of the window, full-on Die Hard – hmm, was that what Shakespeare was picturing when he said, ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow, wait to jump out that window till the morrow’? Something like that.

We love to tell stories, we’re natural born storytellers. Over 7 billion of us on the planet, telling our stories. So many stories. While we’re telling those stories, or hearing those stories, we’re not going to agree on everything all the time or be pleased all the time, but could we put all the hate, bullying, vitriol, name-calling, hyperbole, lies, persecution, injustice on the shelf? Maybe we could strive to disagree respectfully. There are many ways to tell stories, from many perspectives.

A long-awaited specialist appointment (now waiting for more, er, stuff and trying new, er, stuff) opened and reopened my eyes. No worries, it’s not fatal, to the best of my knowledge, it just feels like it’s killing me…

1) I need to take a break and focus on my health.

2) I need to write, not just blog posts, but my book, and maybe try to make more money to pay for my dirty habit…to clarify, it’s my chocolate habit, but it can be dirty; dark chocolate especially leaves terrible stains and smears everywhere.

3) It’s with a heavy heart that I write This Is Where I Leave You…actually, I didn’t write that, Jonathan Tropper did and it was delightfully flawed, if a little clever-clever, but I appreciate the exertion. Plots and characters somewhat transparent yet quite engaging. His authentically muddled and intriguingly idiosyncratic style keeps me reading. Hollywood made a valiant attempt to adequately adapt it to the screen with: Tina Fey (SNL, Mean Girls, 30 Rock, Spongebob Squarepants, Simpsons, Sisters, Muppets, etc.), Jason Bateman (*Arrested Development, Z**ootopia, Juno, Paul, Little* House on the Prairie, Knight Rider, etc.),

Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Girls, J. Edgar, Lincoln, The Unusuals, etc. ), Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood, Justified, Catch and Release, Live Free or Die Hard, The Mindy Project, The Office, Hitman, Call of Duty), Dax Shepard (Robot Chicken, Idiocracy, Parenthood, and endless odd Samsung commercials with wife, Kristen Bell who will always be Veronica Mars to me, also great in Deadwood), Jane Fonda (*The Newsroom, Barbarella, On Golden Pond, Sunday in New York, Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, The Butler, Georgia Rule, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Klute, Coming Ho**me, The China Syndrome, The Morning After,* and you may know her from her activism and/or groovy exercise videos).

4) I might need to cut back on TV, way too many shows are just ads in disguise. ie. Ride with Norman Reedus should actually be titled: American Tourism, Ducati, BMW, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha Pay For Ride with Norman Reedus. And it’s weird how he wanders around never opening his wallet, it’s like he’s still on The Walking Dead, I guess there’s no need for money during the zombie apocalypse – the Daryl Dixon Discount.

Gorgeous bikes, scenery, people (well, mostly), but obviously one long commercial. Don’t know if I’m now more or less inclined to be sad if Negan chooses Daryl. Just sayin’.

I’ll forgive AMC, after all, they also gave us: Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Talking Dead, Hell On Wheels, Mad Men, Fear The Walking Dead, Turn: Washington’s Spies, The American West, Into The Badlands, and now, Preacher, a gruesomely heartening supernatural tale of good vs evil, or more like good vs itself.

5) I need to find new ways to de-stress. Stress is everywhere these days. Even dogs and cats are under pressure to perform, and not just in endless and often demeaning internet videos, gifs, memes, etc. (see above, but how cute is that?); just look at their food – it has to be high in fiber, promote lean muscle, keep them at a healthy weight, all so they can be adorably frisky and playful, for our amusement. Amusement seems more important now than ever. We need to be constantly amused, entertained, busy. Is it a latent, twisted version of hunting and gathering, we now hunt and gather entertainment?

We even amuse ourselves with foodporn, I mean, food now…

6) I’m crushing on teacup pigs, some call them pocket pigs, or micro pigs, but I worry about their popularity, they could get bought up by someone like Bill Gates and we’ll have to buy endless crappy versions of them – Microsoft pigs.

7) I need to catch up on my reading. Numerous library books await my attention, with due dates, apparently some others have the nerve to want to use my the public library.

Life is all about the journey, not the destination, and sometimes that journey takes you not where you meant to go but where you’re meant to be. Reading takes you anywhere you want to go and while some books may not change the world, they could change your world.

My books to review basket is also overflowing. I almost missed out on a great murder mystery, These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly in the bookflood https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1415718938 And I’ve enjoyed indie works – hidden treasures, like the ones previously mentioned here https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/01/29/always-on-my-mind-blog-party/ and so many more. Luckily I can’t physically see the Netgalley books unless I log on, so I’m pretending I forgot my password (psssh, I know you remember your password). Books have many purposes: entertainment, distraction, learning, companionship, dreaming, but really, like pop culture they’re a way of examining life, a form of philosophy. Long time readers of this blog know I have an ongoing love affair with books, including Open Court’s …and Philosophy series, but there are so many of them, how can I read and review them all? I can’t, but I sure can try. If not on here, then on Goodreads. ie. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1677400824

8) I wish The Newsroom (stunning cast of: Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Emily Mortimer, Jane Fonda, Alison Pill, John Gallagher, Jr., Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Messina, Kat Dennings, David Harbour, Hope Davis, Kelen Coleman, Grace Gummer, Constance Zimmer, B. J. Novak, etc.) was still on and that more people watched it.

Aaron Sorkin is a master at presenting all sides of, well, everything, logically, rationally, especially politics. We need more of that. Smart, well-balanced writing. To me, Sorkin is the ultimate optimist, an anti-cynic, after all, who else would keep monologuing, writing epic, inspiring speeches and broadcasting them in the hopes he’s actually reaching people, not just cleverly preaching to the converted.

9) So…Politics…That happened. I feel all Alice Through The Looking Glass, what if it’s all a dream? Maybe I went through a mirror, fell down a rabbit hole, opened a door, magically traveled through a wall to Platform 9 3/4, opened a portal, a Stargate, a paratime machine, a window, a crack? I keep hoping I’m in some alternate reality, some parallel Universe and I’ll wake up. Are we BrainDead (funny show, but making me a tad paranoid of the ants that keep invading my place)? Have aliens taken over politicians? Naah, too obvious. As Alexander Hamilton said: “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”? Hmmm, how about stand for something with even a hint of logic, intelligence, integrity, or sanity?

Donald Trump, #Brexit, bogus indignation, lies, corruption, murder, abuse, war, poverty, disease, starvation, terrorism (of course, we’ve always got a new foe, it’s important to keep us scared, worried, after all, we buy more that way). Imagine what we could accomplish if we focused on what mattered and would help all people, not just a select few.

It’s too easy to long for a simpler times. Watching Brooklyn (https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/01/08/stand-by-me/) it seems like life was simpler, less complex, less contentious, and it’s true in many ways. But we can’t live in the past. Can’t go back. Can’t unring bells that have been rung. With technology ruling our lives, we have to find ways to somehow enjoy the benefits of here and now without being consumed and overwhelmed by the here and now.

As for Brooklyn the film? It’s a nicely unpretentious offering about the choices we make and those that are made for us. Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Hanna, City of Ember, The Host, The Lovely Bones, The Grand Budapest Hotel https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/09/20/if-i-had-a-million-dollars/) is, as always, astonishing, With the depth of her performance you’d think she was 102 instead of 22; she expresses so much, so perfectly, sort of an anti-Kristen Stewart. Rounded out by the talented: Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter, Paddington, Bridget Jones’s Diary https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/12/19/bridget-joness-diary/ and a million others), Julie Walters (Calendar Girls, Harry Potter, Mama Mia!, Brave, and at least a million others), Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoake in Arrow), Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Force Awakens https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/11/05/go-home-star-wars-youre-drunk/ Harry Potter, The Revenant, etc.

10) I’ve thought a lot about why the world more closely resembles the last days of Roman Empire and that line Gena Rowlands uses to chide/teach her moviedaughter, Sandra Bullock in the romcom Hope Floats, “It’s the worst kind of extravagance the way you spend your chances”. What if this applies to the whole world now? We need to stop spending our chances.

We need to stop settling. Stop lowering our expectations. Go out there, spend your chances wisely. We may live in a world supercharged by social media, where we dramatize each problem, instead of looking for solutions. Where gossip, blame, fighting, arguing, cool cynicism, magical thinking, phony outrage, lowest common denominator pandering, digital degrees of The Butter Battle Book, The Lorax, and The Cat in the Hat combined (Dr. Seuss would be so proud) rule the day. Where intelligence is mocked, sensationalism screams loudest, bits and soundbites of information, right or wrong, reign supreme. In fact, it would be really funny, if it wasn’t such a sad mess…

It doesn’t mean we have to buy into it. We can be more. Rise above. Care. Have character, loyalty, integrity, even if it’s not cool to do so. Choose courage. Choose love. Choose hope. Caveat emptor, lest we drown in the muck. You’ll find true power in being kind.

I write this with tears in my eyes and the words to Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) playing over and over in my head: “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” I do, I hope you had the time of your life, I certainly did.

I can’t thank those of you who have supported me enough! Thanks for following, sharing, reblogging, commenting, visiting. I’m not ruling out coming back at some point, I’m just not well enough to continue now.

I’ll still visit my blogging family and friends regularly. Still take part in some parties, social media stuff, etc. Blogging is addictive. When you first do it, you feel like you’re standing naked (sorry for the visual), exposed, and then you start to love it. You have to silence your inner critic (she’s just jealous).

My posts stay here, so please, visit my vaults whenever you’d like, comment, share, I’ll still be here, after all, almost 3 years of blogging later there’s close to 600 posts, like these:

I’m not ruling out returning to this blog or another blog, or bookstores near you (she wrote wistfully). Some time away might recharge my batteries and I will regenerate (I could be the new Doctor in Doctor Who, I think it’s time for a female Doctor). Until then, so long and thanks for all the fish…come on, you think I’d leave without something to do with Douglas Adams, he’s at least partially responsible for my brain. I might be down now, but there’s no time limit on getting back up. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, I’ll get up, dust off, and be back, one way or another!

Blogs, Books, Chocolate, Family, Food, Internet, Movies, Music, Parenting, Star Wars, Televison, Uncategorized

Ex’s and Oh’s

Posted on February 26, 2016February 28, 2016 by D. Parker

Dear Readers, how are you today? Happy, I hope.
Lately I’ve been in a shall we say, reflective mood, thinking of the highs and lows, cons and pros of being human.
I know, like so many things, it’s complicated.

Let’s start with the Pros:

1. We’re amusing.
I never understand why people go to the zoo when they can watch people instead, such as, on public transit. In one ride I saw: a guy with a bag full of copper wires sucking down a giant blue slurpee who collected paper transfers from the bus floor, tore two apart, licked them, put them together then showed ‘it’ to the driver; another guy was reading a scientific magazine, upside down; a photoshopped woman talking loudly and graphically about her knotty/naughty love life via cellphone; an older gentleman wearing PJs, cool, I did that too, in high school, the top one day, bottoms another, but as I get older I just think, sure, that looks comfy, you could get off the bus and right into bed. Who needs The Oscars? Hop on a bus, be awarded.

2. We’re ingenious.
Really, we came up with all kinds of stuff, like: flying, fire, medicine, books, family, duct tape, technology, chocolate, the internet, music, blogging, swimming inside in the winter, batteries, politicians, money, cake, saunas, friendships, trains, Johnny Depp as a pirate, pool noodle under fitted sheet so a child doesn’t roll out of bed (wish I’d known this when my son was young), driving, driving with dogs on our laps, wait, someone needs to explain this one to me, does the dog think he’s driving, does he even comprehend what driving is, I doubt he passed a driving test, I mean, how did he fill out all the forms, reach the pedals with his paws, not bite the instructor?

3. We’re endlessly curious.
We ask questions such as, but not limited to: “How bad can it be?” (very bad); “Could it get any worse?” (yes); “How stupid can you be?” (have you heard some politicians?).

4. We’re brave.
We live on a planet where the earth shakes, volcanoes spew lava, mountains of snow grow, and storms make us remember there’s no place like home…and then invite tourists, cause it’s that awesome.

5. We fall in love and out of love.
Love can go from oh’s to ex’s…ex’s to oh’s or so I’ve heard…at least, in song. Our hearts can stay, stray, delay, relay, live to love another day. Don’t think my ex’s or oh’s haunt me, but I’d like to think someday my Prince Charming will ride in on his baggage cart and sweep me into his manly arms, yes, apparently in my flight of fancy I’m dainty and light as a feather, his bronzed flesh glowing, huh, glowing? Too much of the X-Files reboot? But I digress…he’ll have room on his baggage cart for my baggage too and we’ll be off, into the sunset (Risky Business-style sunglasses firmly in place), hopefully not ending up like Thelma and Louise, Romeo and Juliet, or Butch and Sundance…

6. We yearn.
For more, for other worlds and explore them through books, movies, TV…finally saw Star Wars The Force Awakens aka A-New-Hope-revisited when I took my son to a movie marathon for his birthday. It was great, but I have to wonder, what is it with people dropping children off on desert planets? Do they think it’s desert daycare? Do they think the children might go all Home Alone on the scum of these wretched hives of villainy? At what point should we just admit they’re bad parents?

7. We all want to be heroes or funny anti-heroes.
Yeah, I saw Deadpool and laughed so hard my sides hurt. I’m having a bit of a Ryan Reynolds week (how often can you say that?), saw Woman In Gold too, how does Helen Mirren do it? But we don’t have to wear a cape, or a mask, have mutant powers, or fancy gadgets…just be good to one another. But if you get a chance to be be Batman and drive the Batmobile, do that too. Kindness is true heroics.

The Cons? Maybe another time, or…all of the above? Anything you want to add?

Blogs, Books, Canada, Chocolate, Jane Austen, Movies, Star Wars, Televison, Uncategorized, Zombies

Always On My Mind Blog Party

Posted on January 29, 2016April 11, 2016 by D. Parker

Decisions. The average person now makes more decisions in a day than most did in weeks, months, even years. Decisions can engulf us. Haunt us. Overwhelm us. Interrupt us. Even stalk us in our dreams, ummm, a Nightmare on Choice Street? Choices are great, but too many can make it difficult, or almost impossible to make and trust decisions. Then comes the morning after, littered with “Did I make the right choice?”, “What did I do?”, “Can I return this?”, “What was I thinking?”.

Even in blogging there are so many decisions. At first, it felt frightening, like I was that boy in Jurassic Park, when Dr. Grant was explaining how Velociraptors kill.

Now I’m more like Chris Pratt, on a motorcycle, riding with the Velociraptors in Jurassic World, which for me was an all-out, action-packed cheesefest (in a good way), but a noticeable lack of Jeff Goldblum.

And yes, we’ve all made the wrong decisions, like someone thinking it was a good idea to make a certain theme park ride that shall remain nameless, ok, Tomorrowland, into a movie. It had its moments, mainly involving George Clooney and Hugh Laurie – I do so enjoy when Laurie’s given a chance to rant.

Even after years of blogging I still have trouble making some decisions, and have more blank-I-just-can’t-make-this-decision-moments than would seem humanly possible..but mostly it’s much, much more like It’s A Small World After All.

Blogging has taken me to places I might never have gone:

1. Magical places…
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/03/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this/

2. Hopeful places…
Thank you, Mary Smith http://www.marysmith.co.uk/ for your riveting novel, No More Mulberries and equally entrancing non-fiction offering, Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni: Real Stories of Afghan Women. Reminding us that so much of the stereotypes, drama, and propaganda are fabrications – to sell products, news, and government policies; that strength, compassion, and hope still blossoms, especially in the hearts of the oppressed.

3. Intriguing places…
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/09/you-may-say-im-a-dreamer/

4. Complex places…
Ever wonder what happened after? You know, after Darcy and Elizabeth, after Jane Eyre and Rochester? Some authors take up the challenge and continue the classic stories. It’s awfully daring, foolhardy, or just cashing in. In the case of Luccia Gray http://lucciagray.com/ – I’m going with daring. As a reader, I didn’t feel this was just to piggyback on the fame, but because Gray loves the enigmatic character, and wanted to continue Eyre’s story through her Eyre Hall Trilogy. The first book, All Hallows at Eyre Hall draws you in, and by the second, Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall you’re on tenterhooks, awaiting more.

5. Spacey places…
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/12/18/these-arent-the-gifts-youre-looking-for/

6. Even racey places…
Not in a tangible sense, but maybe that’s me, because my idea of a romantic Valentine’s Day is the return of The Walking Dead. Who knows? Love is a mystery.
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/11/why-zombies-will-rule/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/11/why-zombies-wont-rule/

If you’re a writer, film, art, whatever, contact me at: iwanttobelieve@rogers.com I do reviews, honest opinions only.

One way or another, we’re all busy.
Finding blogs we enjoy is challenging enough, but making time to read them is daunting.
Why not put all the awesome blogs in one place?
I promised you a blog party https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/01/24/take-it-easy/

Here it is!
1. Mix and mingle, refreshments to your left beside the archives (what do you think of the new theme?).
2. Please leave your blog link or post link in the comment box below along with any introductions. One link per comment, but come back as often as you’d like.
3. Please reblog to spread the word or like, share on Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, etc. Like, share, reblog, tell your family, friends and blogneighbours.
4. I will visit and respond asap (at the snail’s pace I’m moving these days, the next Star Wars film could be out before my asap…kidding ).
5. Have fun, it’s a great way to find bloggers and have them find you.

Thank you for coming to the party and for supporting my blog…You’ve made blogging a decision I’ll never regret.

Where I’m a complete twit: https://twitter.com/yadadarcyyada
Where I’m baffled by humanity: https://www.facebook.com/yadadarcyyada
The dark hole where I lose hours of my life: http://www.pinterest.com/dpark2/
Where I google (seriously, not nearly as fun as it sounds): https://plus.google.com/112672588892199127381/posts
Another place to BlogLove: https://www.bloglovin.com/people/donnaparker10-6312637

Maybe I didn’t blog love
Quite as often as I could
Maybe I didn’t treat posts
Quite as good as I should
If you felt like second best
Sorry, it’s just lack of time
You were always on my mind
(you were always on my mind)
You were always on my mind

Blogs, Canada, Cats, Chocolate, Doctor Who, Movies, Star Wars, Televison, Uncategorized

Take it Easy

Posted on January 24, 2016January 24, 2016 by D. Parker

Well I’m a-runnin’
(ok, walking quickly)
down the road,
tryin’ to loosen
my load
I’ve got seven
million things
on my mind
Four million that want to own me, two that want to stone me, one that could be a friend of mine.
Take it easy, take it easy.
Don’t let the sound of your own words drive you crazy. Lighten up while you still can. Don’t even try to understand. Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy…

Whether in blogging, work, love, parenting, friendship…The Eagles (goodbye Glenn Fry) had it right – take it easy.
The sound of your own wheels (the ones turning in your brain) aka the sound of your own words – spoken, written, or even in your head can drive you crazy.
Instead, I want to Take It Easy, to celebrate – despite the war and strife, the Canadian dollar sinking faster than the Titanic (the ship, not the movie)…

rising food prices (wait, how many were going to eat cauliflower in January anyway? Eat in season, or frozen), Star Wars mania, lack of affordable housing and healthcare, loss, illness…but at least there’s no zombies, and I still have all of you – my readers and other bloggers!

You make me happy when skies are grey, you’ll never know, dears, how much I love you – thank you, thank you, thank you for being here!

Friday January 29th we’re going to beat the January blahs, the winter ennui, the snow woes with a knockout blog party!

I was trying to get it together for this week, but seriously, The X-Files is returning, my hold of Season 3 of Orphan Black came in at the library, my son has a Pokemon thingie, schoolwork, housework, workwork, lifework, adulting, decisions, snow, cold, snow, cold (repeat)…I think I’m catching a cold, oh, and did I mention The X-Files is returning?

And some of you may have noticed I’ve been trying out new themes. Turns out choices are limited for mobile-friendly themes in the ‘Free’ category on WordPress, but I will choose in time to expose it (oh my!) for the celebration!!!

Come back Friday January 29th and join in the fun! It’s easy, leave your blog link or a link to an old post, new post, red post, blue post in the comment box (one link per comment, but come back as often as you like).
Introduce yourself, wander around, eat some cake, be astonished at the size of my archives (oh my!), and mingle with the other bloggers. There will be virtual cake, blogging advice, and who knows what else! It may take awhile, but I promise I’ll read, visit, and reply to everyone!

One thing I’ve yet to regret (but the day is young) is blogging. I’ve virtually met some words-cannot-express-how-awesome people here who’ve welcomed me with open arms into their blogging family.

And I get swag! Really, my mail carrier randomly hands me treats! Like books (my drug of choice), or chocolates from Chicago I won from the enchanting Cher https://thechicagofiles.wordpress.com/ a delightful friend, blogger, and ex-pat Canadian. Yes, I got a box of chocolates delivered to my door just for reading a blog post! I love blogging! Those poor chocolates didn’t make it through the night – next of kin was notified…then eaten.

It may seem like the internet is a giant virtual haystack and we’re just tiny needles, but we can find each other with blogging parties and thanks to the tireless efforts of amazing and generous bloggers like:

Suzie, creator and hostess of the trending #SundayBlogShare on Twitter speaks at http://suzie81speaks.com/
Jason/OM shares and helps us share at http://aopinionatedman.com/
Danny is a blog dream-maker at http://dreambigdreamoften.co/
Vicky let’s us Weekend Blog Share every weekend
http://www.singlemotherahoy.com/
Elena throws weekly off-the-hook linky shares #BlogShareLearn http://www.livingwithbatman.com/
Janice offers us a place to pause at Blogger’s Pit Stop http://mostlyblogging.com/
Angie helps food addicts (I prefer devotee or aficionado) at Fiesta Friday http://fiestafriday.net/2016/01/08/best-fiesta-friday-100/

And so, so many more!

Please come back on Friday January 29th, 2016, in this case, size matters, the more the merrier!

Let’s be that lovely bit of blue sky in each others day!

Cats, Chocolate, Christmas, Family, Movies, Star Wars, Uncategorized

These Aren’t The Gifts You’re Looking For

Posted on December 18, 2015December 5, 2019 by D. Parker

Twas the week before Christmas
(almost two till my birthday)…

When all through the blogosphere…
not a blogger was stirring…
ok, some are stirring, but mostly cocktails…

Yet posts were still flying out with hopes that readers might give them a shout!

Christmas isn’t the most wonderful time of the year for bloggers, readers and many bloggers are off prepping for the big day, partying, waiting in line for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and of course, searching for perfect gifts.

Here are some, er, helpful last-minute gift ideas for those hard to buy for folks:

1. O Christmas tree! As a cautionary note, unlike in the movies, apparently it’s ‘frowned upon’, some might even say illegal, to just randomly cut trees down. Who knew?

2. Draw happy faces on all their socks/nylons so they’ll feel happy as they start each day. Or sneak into their house or room and draw a happy face on their wall, or mirror in red lipstick or paint. Wait, is that creepy? Nah, it’ll be a fun surprise.

3. Fix something for them: TV, car, fridge, cellphone, alarm system, computer, appliances, sewing machine, etc. Even if none were broken (but might be after), it’s the thought that counts.

4. Donate to a cause in their name or better yet, start a foundation in their name, I’m sure it won’t affect their taxes…much.

5. Sing them a song, but only if your voice doesn’t resemble fingernails on a chalkboard, mastodons dying in a tar pit, Bridget Jones singing, or my Mom singing (love you, please don’t sing).

6. Indie books. Mass-produced can be good, but a steady diet can leave you feeling flat. Best thing about indie, less cookie cutter, same goes for everything. Like indie author/blogger, A.H. Browne who kindly beamed aliens into my email. As they scurried around my brain, I was laughingly sucked into space to cavort (hey, I can cavort with the best of them) through the Saloon at the Edge of Everywhere. That sounds familiar, did I spend time there in my youth, next to CBGB, right? Book One of The Otherwhere Chronicles made me reluctant to return to Earth, like when you’re at a party, it’s past time to go home, but you think, just a few minutes more. If you’re feeling brave and in need of some fun, visit Arthur at http://pouringmyartout.com/ – don’t say I didn’t warn you! Any indie authors reading this, please add links in the comment box below where your work can be found (heck, it’s Christmas, anyone add links).

And here’s more indie talent (and keep checking the comments for indie author links):
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/03/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/09/you-may-say-im-a-dreamer/

7. Taco ties, socks, and hats. Also available in: lasagna, kung pao, pizza, chocolate, wine, beer, hamburger, and curry flavours. Hungry? Bored? Clothes never tasted so good!

**8. Make a sculpture, coat, hat, scarf, or quilt out of your hair and nail clippings – natural, organic, and very, very personal.**

9. Lint kittens and puppies. Easy to keep – no walks, no food, soft and cuddly, and simple to house train. Do not expose to water.

10. Honesty – they may not appreciate it at first, but it might be the best gift ever, someday.

So, these aren’t the gifts you’re looking for (except the indie books), in the end, the best gift of all is still…you!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

All the best in 2016!

Cats, Christmas, Doctor Who, Family, Holidays, Jane Austen, Movies, Music, Star Wars, Televison, Uncategorized, Zombies

The Christmas Carol Awakens

Posted on December 11, 2015December 20, 2025 by D. Parker

I had too much to dream last night.
I feel like I have a dream hangover.
I woke from my confusing, at times,
exhilarating Dickens’
A Christmas Carol-like dream
(unfortunately no Muppets), but
filled with revelations.

First, I was visited by Donald Trump who told me 3 others would visit that night. It was terrifying, he wore the chains of greed, intolerance, and suffering he’d forged link by link…it seemed like there was more of the hairspray than grave about him.

Then Colin Firth showed up as my Ghost of Christmas Past in the white shirt from Pride and Prejudice (you know the one ladies). This dream just got a whole lot better. He reminded me that all things past are actually always still with us…

1. Christmas songs are playing everywhere yet I rarely hear Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsman. It’s my all-time fav, it’s about peace on Earth, goodwill, and about how even the worst of enemies can put aside their differences, if only for a little while…we sure need more of that.

2. Dean Cain and many others we haven’t seen in a while do still have careers, kinda, hey, I like Christmas movies.

3. And even on a crummy morning a gingerbread man still makes his bed with cookie sheets.

Then Taylor Kinney (without fiancée, Lady Gaga…hey, it’s my dream) floated in as my Ghost of Christmas Present (subconscious you’re so good to me) dressed as Fireman and reminded me that despite the season, it’s getting hot in here. Whether it was just a hot flash or I’m watching too much Chicago Fire (is that possible?), I woke up in a sweat. Back to my dream, rescue me.

4. Christmas is about giving. Though I’m broke and obscure I still believe in giving to others and weirdly, sometimes you get stuff back. For example, by donating, I won a month gym membership and a few other goodies. So now I can be buff like Arnold, though I’m saying this in Schwarzeneggar accent, the buff part seems unlikely.

5. I’ve noticed my Mom (a senior) and my son (a teen with Autism) have a much fuller social life than I do, I need to work on that. And the only action I’m getting is from my latest mammogram.

6. I don’t have to wait in line for some guy in a red suit to make me promises, I’ll make some to myself.

My Ghost of Christmas Future was Norman Reedus, well, actually Daryl Dixon (my dream, so he’s holding a cat reminding us to Shop Cruelty Free https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/ – I’d like to add, that goes for people as well), who showed me that…

7. Christmas could be a little late this year, instead of making toys, Santa and the elves are already lined up to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

8. The Christmas feeling could be there, even without the gifts, the lights, the decorations, chocolate (this one is iffy), turkey and toys, even without the Christmas.

9. Ordinary rules of time and space don’t apply to Santa or The Doctor (Hello Sweetie, Doctor Who Christmas Special on almost Boxing Day – Christmas but late, can’t wait, but it’s times like these I miss David Tennant), but they do apply to us, we only have so much time in this world.

Can happiness or success be measured by what we have instead of the joy and comfort we bring to others? Do we really think in the end, we’ll care about how much we shopped, what car we drove, how big our home was, if we had the latest iPhone, or what we were wearing? Or will we remember the good times, the fun times, the laughter, the kindness, the little moments.

This season, remember a date on a calendar is just that, but life, life is for living, every day.

Oh yes, and if you don’t see me around here for a bit, I’ve checked myself into Clementine rehab.

I can quit anytime I want.

Just…one…more.

Cats, Christmas, Cooking, Holidays

How To Get Away With Christmas

Posted on November 22, 2015November 18, 2025 by D. Parker

Christmas is a time of cheer…right?

Yet during the
holiday season
we’re bombarded
with images of
social wealth.

Everything from: Family dinners, parties, drinks with friends, hugging, skating in pairs, walking together looking at lights, Secret Santa and gift exchanges, spontaneous snowballs fights, eating roasted chestnuts, and of course, people running into the arms of loved ones at airports…

But what if those things aren’t in your life?
The social media holiday barrage, Christmas FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), anticipointment (trademark?), Facebook, Instagram, TV, Google+, Twitter, MySpace (kidding, just wanted to see if you were paying attention) – all bursting with shiny images of happy people enjoying the holidays together. It can be overwhelming yet it’s only a day, like any other.

So if you find yourself less-than-surrounded by family and friends during the holidays, try to:

1. Marathon your way through the season, which apparently now begins in July with brief visits from other holidays. Don’t limit yourself to Christmassy stuff…be glad you’re not invited to a Game of Thrones Christmas party; see who survived (Christmas) on The Walking Dead; try to figure out what they’re cooking on Breaking Bad; or catch up with Mrs. Brown’s Boys (Dear Santa, I can explain…). Soon it will be January (sorry, I skipped ahead, was I wrong in assuming you don’t have anyone for New Year’s Eve either?), then you’ll have a few weeks to recover before the Valentine’s Day trauma begins, maybe.

2. Gently ‘add’ yourself to someone else’s Christmas or add someone to yours.

3. Find dating sites/apps and go on a holiday dating spree. Eggnog your way through stories about his/her ex, mom, ex’s mom, work, football, baseball, hockey, fashion, cars…Who knows, maybe you’ll find a Christmas miracle.

4. Adjust your expectations. Social media is one long high school reunion. Everyone is wearing their best outfit, just lost weight, and sharing only highlights of their life.

5. Read, write, blog, sing, bake, work, clean, declutter, exercise, sleep, go to a movie…flashback to the 70s – dance, wear turtlenecks, bellbottoms, ponchos, and go see Star Wars (or not). It’s all good.

6. Have a Single Christmas Party (not for singles, just you, be your own party).

7. Ignore the season, the gaudy decorations, the commercialism, multiple Santas in multiple malls (unless you work there, try to stay out of the malls altogether) and create a Michael-Bublé-Bing-Crosby-Burl-Ives-free #safespace.

8. Start a new tradition with yourself or others, hopefully one that doesn’t involve eating your feelings (and don’t forget legal).

9. Help others this season – the best way to keep your mind off your problems is to help others with their problems.

10. Under no circumstances drink too heavily, that could lead to calling, texting, or emailing an ex, or watching other people having family time, especially through their windows. Though oddly specific, it’s good advice.

It’s not about what you have, what you get, or even who you’re with, this season is about anything being possible.

Want to know how to get away with Christmas? Simple, enjoy the season and each day, not the way everyone tells you is enjoyable, but the way you enjoy it.

I triple dog dare you.

Blogs, Books, Canada, Food, Movies, Music, Star Wars, Televison, Uncategorized

Go Home Star Wars You’re Drunk

Posted on November 5, 2015November 21, 2015 by D. Parker

Regrets
I’ve had a few,
then again
too few
to mention.

So what if
my life is riddled
with plot holes
and logical gaps?

I have flaws and quirks (I say adorable, some may beg to differ).
I’m thoughtful and thoughtless.
Brilliant and oh so dumb, sometimes astonishingly, at the same time.
I’m a gloriously human jumble.

So why do we expect our entertainment to be perfect when we aren’t? As humans, we get caught up in things, even now, computers are galactically buzzing about the new Star Wars, loving it, trashing it, or both, and it hasn’t even hit theaters yet. I admit, my unease intensifies as The Force Awakens.

There were times, I’m sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew-ie and I didn’t want to become blaster fodder. And Disney buying Star Wars made my complicated relationship go full Death Star explosion (scared of it I am). But Star Wars On Trial looked interesting, so I let the tractor beam pull me in (that’s no moon, that’s a blog post!).

I consider myself an intelligent viewer (is that an oxymoron?), so I selected the 8th charge against the accused iconic franchise, The Plot Holes and Logical Gaps in Star Wars Make It Ill-Suited for An Intelligent Viewer.

I agree, sometimes watching these movies, I just want to say, go home Star Wars you’re drunk, but I believe those who consume the story are culpable, not the storyteller.

Upon first review of the charges, perhaps it does seem like only morons would enjoy movies like Star Wars – I’m paraphrasing, the witnesses for prosecution, Nick Mamatas and defense, Don DeBrandt were actually quite witty and eloquent. Star Wars certainly did it all and not in a shy way, oh no, let the record show George Lucas took the blows, and did it his way.

I’ll state my case, of which I’m sorta certain, the details of the story aren’t nearly as important as the story itself. Why? Because we are the story.

We are Yoda, who trained Luke (more or less), but once said Anakin was too old to train, back in the days of surplus Jedi.
We are Obi-Wan Kenobi, I mean, Ben Kenobi hiding Luke Skywalker in plain sight, on a barren planet where most everything wants to kill him – guess we know who the favoured child was.

We are Darth Vader (really, you didn’t recognize your own kids?), Han Solo, Amidala, Picard, The Avengers, The Doctor, Sherlock, Buffy, Leia, Luke (ewww, dude, you kissed your sister), The Lorax, Bugs Bunny, Scarlett O’Hara, Rick Grimes (You think it’s a plot hole, but it ain’t!), Rocky, Capt. Jack, Batman, Frodo, C-3PO, Scully, Mulder, Scrooge, Kirk, James Bond, Edward Scissorhands, Simpsons, Reddington (The Blacklist is a logical gap, who cares, watching James Spader read menus would be entertaining),

Chewie, Daryl Dixon, Darcy, Katniss, Joker, Boo Radley (having a moment), The Griffins, Keyser Söze, Willy Wonka, Don Draper, Bridget Jones, Charlie Brown, Harry Potter, Walter White, Spock, R2-D2 (the real hero of SW) and more…

No spoilers, I enjoyed all the sci-fi and fantasy authors, including, but not limited to David Brin and Matthew Woodring Stover who diligently prosecuted and defended the idolized, intriguing, yet infuriating series while the Droid Judge (This isn’t the Droid Judge you’re looking for) attempted to keep order.

Star Wars, innocent, guilty, or just in the wrong place at the right time, you decide, vote at http://www.smartpopbooks.com/star-wars-verdict/ or www.BenBellaBooks.com

And enter to win a free copy of Star Wars on Trial from BenBella Books (Canada or U.S only). In the comment box below, tell me your most hated or loved plot hole or logical gap (any book, movie, TV show, or life). Notification via droid (or me) November 15, 2015 – all contact will be confidential.

I would say life isn’t logical. How could it be when we live it on a baffling blue ball twirling in space like a tattered ballerina in a vintage music box?

Stories are told by humans and therefore, delightfully flawed.

Think of it like extra cheese on lasagna, yes, it’s irrelevant, but does that mean it shouldn’t have happened? Life is messy. Take a bite.

And Star Wars has Muppets…isn’t that enough?

Your true destiny? To always…do it your way.

May The Force Be With You

Blogs, Canada, Chocolate, Family, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized, Zombies

Monster Meet and Greet Mash

Posted on October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 by D. Parker

I was working
on my blog,
late one night
When my eyes
beheld
an eerie sight
For my post
from its slab,
began to rise
And suddenly
to my surprise
It did the mash,
it did the Monster Meet and Greet Mash!
A monster blogger mash, it was a graveyard smash!
It did the mash, it caught on in a flash…
It did the mash, it did the monster blog mash!
The zombies and bloggers were having fun,
The blog party had just begun…
The scene was rockin’, we were digging the shares,
Some were commenting, well, those who dared
So add your link and des-crypt-ion, girls and guys,
Then suddenly to your surprise…
You can mash, you can monster blogger mash!

While I often say the best part of blogging is ‘meeting’ other bloggers, readers, etc., it’s been too long since we hung together, so welcome to the party, please, feel free to leave your blog name, a link to your blog or favourite post(s), and a des-crypt-ion. And pass it on: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, Google+, LinkIn, or reblog, so others can dig it too…

For some special treats, drop by some of the other blogs and Suzie’s Blog Party on Halloween http://suzie81speaks.com (fabulous British blogger and creator of Twitter’s popular #SundayBlogShare). I’ll check back, enjoy the snacks, but I have some busy times ahead, including preparing something completely different…Hopefully I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew-ie and end up as blaster fodder. May The Force be with me.

Yes, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
People dressing as ghosts, goblins, and ghouls,
Celebrities, minions, villains, and fools
Filled with fun, food, and fear
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With trick or treat greetings and candy meetings
Friends and strangers coming to call
It’s the hap-happiest season of all

My happiness project is kinda sputtering, as it turns out, a year is a really, really loooong time. Here’s where it all began: https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/03/dont-worry-be-happy/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/09/to-blog-or-not-to-blog/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/15/rock-me-amadeus/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/25/in-my-life-i-loved-them-all/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/07/03/how-to-be-good-to-one-another/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/09/20/if-i-had-a-million-dollars/

And more…Week 18
I don’t have to keep track of every little thing to be happy.

Week 19
I finally fully understand more but better…maybe.

Week 20
Too tired to decide if actually happy, or merely exhaustedly happy.

Week 21
September gone? October started? I want a recount.

Week 22
Internally screaming could become real screaming if I keep hearing about how many weeks until Christmas, before we’ve had Halloween and in Canada, Remembrance Day! Aaaarrrggh! https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/11/02/christmas-comes-after-remembrance-day/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/11/03/lest-we-forget-to-shop/

Week 23
Annual library book sale! Books! My precious! They sold you to me!

Week 24
You think the storm will never pass, but it does. Until then, enjoy the show.

Week 25
1. Turns out, weight loss isn’t one size fits all.

2. Still waiting for my own epic-everytime-I-enter-a-room-music-a-la-John-Williams.

3. Rewatched Edward Scissorhands https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/10/31/edward-scissorhands/ and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/10/29/stuff-i-learned-from-its-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown/
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/10/19/religion-politics-and-the-great-pumpkin/ Now that’s entertainment.

4. Black cat crossed my path. Way too adorable to be bad luck, um, right?

5. Since Christmas is bleeding into Halloween anyway, why not combine the music – Carol of the Hells?

6. Maybe I’ll dress up as an author for Halloween. Treat or trick, publish my book! 😉

7. Halloween over for another year, you know what that means…chocolate on sale!

Keep calm and blog on…

Blogs, Books, Food, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized, Zombies

Rock Me Amadeus

Posted on June 15, 2015June 17, 2015 by D. Parker

No one ever talked or did stuff like they did in 80’s movies. Ever.

In the future, they’ll probably dig up 80’s movies and come to conclusions like: Ferris Bueller was a god, aliens could phone home from Earth, “wax on, wax off” was a common phrase, and paternity results were only told to your child in space, after you cut off their hand. They’re going to think the 80’s were even more messed up than they were.

And what was with romance in the 80’s?
Why sit on a table with a birthday cake and a cute boy? I can think of much better things to do…with that cake.
Everyone was dancing – dirty dancing, flashdancing, Kevin Bacon dancing (don’t know what else to call it).
A guy with a boom box and a trench coat outside your house…nowadays, restraining order, or it would go viral, or both.

Officers, gentlemen, risky business, funny business.
Adventures, in space or babysitting, as long as they were most excellent, dude.
Supernatural, psycho, science, time travel – sometimes all at once.
Where’d they get all the gremlins, goonies, vampires, muppets, and aliens?
Actually, that all sounds like the soundtrack to my 80’s.

Know what also ruled in the 80’s? Political incorrectness. Who could worry about offending anyone when girls just wanted to have fun and boys wanted girls to have fun, especially with them?

I kind of miss it. Sure, political correctness is good in theory, don’t say unto others what you don’t want said to you, but has the correctness over-corrected? I don’t know if you can change human nature, people just say weird stuff.

“That’s the best kind of cancer to have.” Let’s review that sentence. Nope, still looks weird. The best kind of cancer is no cancer.
“Don’t worry.” Why are they telling me not to worry, is it because they know I should be worried and they don’t want me to panic?
“Do you have a bathroom?” Did you mean to ask if you can use my bathroom, because yes, I have a bathroom, I don’t ‘go’ in the yard.

“Money won’t make you happy.” I think money and I would be very happy together, we’d make the perfect couple (couple of million).
“Time heals all wounds.” Not true. Time doesn’t heal anything, it just passes.
“If you get lost in the woods, don’t panic.” Of course I’m going to panic! I’m lost, in the woods!!! Surrounded by bears, badgers, and bugs, maybe zombies in the dark (when I picture being lost in the woods, it’s always dark), and with my luck, zombie bears, badgers and bugs (note to self, pitch a spin-off to AMC, working title, The Walking Bears, Badgers, and Bugs™ ).

“Everything happens for a reason.” Technically correct, but I’m not sure that’s how people mean it.
“I think therefore I am.” Not true for everyone, have you been on the internet?
“I know you are, but what am I?” This one is actually timeless.

Back to 2015, my Don’t Worry, Be Happy 365 day project enters Week 3, will I falter?
Week 1, amazing: https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/03/dont-worry-be-happy/
Week 2, a revelation: https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/09/to-blog-or-not-to-blog/

Week 3:

1. Remove 15 minutes or more per day of sitting time (replace with dancing, but with less enthusiasm to Falco’s Rock Me Amadeus, my knee will thank me).

2. Remove another 100 calories per day (Again, not veggies…perhaps cake, but not, like chocolate cake, right?).

3. Remove 15 minutes or more of screen time per day to read or research.

4. Do 1 thing I’ve put off doing.

5. Read a book I said I’d never read (doesn’t leave me the range you’d think it would).

6. Pay it forward, aka do something good and don’t tell anyone what I did.

7. Try a food I haven’t tried (I guess I can’t sneak cake in and pretend?).

Books, Chocolate, Family, Fibromyalgia, Holidays, Movies, Music, Political, Televison, Uncategorized

Come To The Dark Side, We Have Cookies

Posted on May 4, 2015May 4, 2015 by D. Parker

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes.”
Princess Leia Organa of Aldaraan, Senator

This is one of my favourite quotes from Star Wars, though it was never used in the movies. I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if one believes in fate, perhaps I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Each day is filled with choices, decisions, some huge, life-changing and others little, although who knows, they might be life changing as well.

Today is May the 4th, some may know it as Intergalactic Star Wars Day. For some, that’s everyday.
Nerds greet each other with, May the 4th Be With You. Posts, memes, parties, hash tags, sales, and news stories converge, in greater numbers.
Although this May 4th, the news is more about Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana than Princess Leia.
Tomorrow, to a lesser degree with Revenge of the Fifth, although I think Revenge of the Sixth makes more sense. Is that a thing?

An old nemesis has descended upon me this May the 4th – my Darth Vader, my Boba Fett, Jabba the Hut (probably rather have Pizza the Hut), Rancor (although it smells better), Greedo, or Count Dooku – I’ve loosely titled it, Stars Wars VIII: Return of the Back Pain. Luckily it doesn’t hurt as much when I sit…and if I go over to The Dark Side, I hear they have cookies.
I think I know what brought it on, an unusual activity (not nearly as exciting as it sounds).

It also brings back horrible memories of the car accident where the pain originated and I’m left to watch my back, like the aptly titled book, Watch Your Back! by Richard A. Deyo MD (Cornell University Press). I read this last time my back pain flared, hoping for some answers. It left me with more questions as it’s straightforward information shone a light on The Dark Side of the medical profession which offers people less and less, for more and more.

We don’t like to think that our pain is a business, but it’s big business.
This book won’t be popular, it points out that the medical profession, like politics and other systems, to paraphrase George Lucas, is like a great tree, able to withstand any external force, but rots from within. The lure of money, power, and prestige can overcome common sense and decency.
I understand the temptation of the magic fix, but realistically I know I have to do most of the figurative heavy lifting.
As patients we should be pushing for more treatments that are sensible, empowering, and give effective, long-term results for moderate costs.

I’m used to being in constant pain with Fibromyalgia, it waxes and wanes, but never actually ceases, but in a strange way pain can also be freeing. You see past the Jedi mind tricks or I guess more like Sith mind tricks…you see the truth.

What about you, dear readers, do you ever see The Dark Side of people when they think they can’t get anything from you?

Do you also see the power of The Force of goodness when some people like you just the way you are?
The latter is what I choose to believe in.

May the Fourth be with you.

Chocolate, Family, Food, Holidays, Uncategorized

12 Hours of CyberMonday

Posted on December 1, 2014November 22, 2017 by D. Parker

**In the first hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me a Star Wars Christmas Tree (The Christmas Force Awakens?).**

**In the second hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 2 Christmas sweaters (or jumpers, either way, not sure I’m that cold just yet).**

In the third hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 3 motion-activated candy dispensers (it says motion, that burns calories, right?).

In the fourth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 4 boxes of chocolates (aaaand, they’re gone!).

**In the fifth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 5 Lord of the Rings action figures (you had me at action).**

In the sixth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 6 personalized mix tape pillows (really, couldn’t even make me a real mixed tape?).

In the seventh hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 7 robotic vacuums (wait, is he saying my house is dirty?).

In the eighth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 8 paint your own rain boots kits (really, that’s a thing?).

In the ninth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 9 zombie survival kits (be nice, I’ll share).

In the tenth hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 10 Disney Frozen Sparkle Princess Elsa Dolls (any guesses what my donation to the toy drive will be this year?).

In the eleventh hour of CyberMonday my true love bought for me 11 live video camera drones (I love what you’ve done with your bedroom!).

In the twelfth hour of CyberMonday my true love…oops, his credit card was declined.

The shopping force is strong in people around this time of year.

Shop wisely, regrets can be expensive…

Books, Family, Holidays, Uncategorized

Thankful I know enough to be thankful

Posted on October 13, 2014 by D. Parker

Here in Canada we have Thanksgiving in October, weeks before Halloween…go figure.

A few things I know and things I’m thankful for, including but not limited to:

1. Happiness can be…a smile, a furry friend, snowflakes dancing against the darkness, absorbing books, family, friends, a movie that makes you laugh and cry, a TV show where you can’t wait for the next episode, a cozy bed, chocolate melting on your tongue, a slow dance, walking in the Fall and more.

2. Those who believe in fate or faith should never look both ways or check an expiry date.

3. Fear is more contagious than any disease and stronger than an army.

4. People make choices. How you feel about those choices or the consequences has little or no bearing. Really.

5. The Earth will still be here in one form or another after we’re gone.6. Everyone has their own window on the world, with it’s own screen. You can’t make someone see through your screen and it’s impossible to see through theirs.

7. You can’t walk away from yourself the way you walk away from other people. If you’re going to stay, play nice.

8. Truth can be painful and can take you places you may not wish to go. Go anyway.

9. Even the most basic beliefs about reality aren’t true alone, our thinking makes them true in our experience. Hopefully this isn’t true about zombies.

10. We forget. Our mind is designed to remember and to forget, but too often we forget when someone has been there for us or not. Don’t forget.

I’m thankful my son makes me laugh and vice versa.
Thankful for family, friends, and virtual friends.
Thankful for things that keep my weary mind amused.
Thankful for what I’ve had, what I’ve lost, what I might have.
Thankful I know enough to be thankful.

Books, Doctor Who, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

Dear Luke, We Need To Talk. Darth

Posted on September 8, 2014March 5, 2015 by D. Parker

Icebergs, henchmen, Fight Club, The Walking Dead, Friends, Twilight, Dora The Explorer, Jurassic Park, The Superbowl, Beastie Boys, Star Trek, Disney, The Grinch, Seinfeld, X-Files, B-52’s, Twilight Zone, Elton John, NASA, Harry Potter, Kurt Cobain, War Horse – no one is safe from John Moe’s satirical pop culture whimsical correspondence, and I’m so glad.

This book Dear Luke, We need to Talk. Dad Darth and other Pop Culture correspondences by John Moe (Three Rivers Press/Penguin) is hilarious, a remarkable, one might even say, noteworthy poke at pop culture. I love to laugh and when I saw the title on http://www.bloggingforbooks.org I knew I was going to have fun.

Some of my favs include, Bruce: A Shark’s Journal, which had me in giggles, especially the June 14 entry where Bruce fell off the wagon. Some of you may remember the eating issues Bruce had in Finding Nemo, now have that go Jaws.

Also, a letter from the Peanuts gang teacher regarding the lack of adults in Charlie Brown and his friends’ lives; also, how grateful she is to have a job considering her speech issues.

An explanation of what happened to Agents 001 through 006.

All of Jay Z’s 99 Problems.

Concerns about the overall direction the Doctor Who franchise is taking.

A letter to the island on Lost on how to promote tourism there.

Saul Hudson (Slash from Guns’N’Roses) as a Heavy Metal Editor, explaining to Axl Rose why Sweet Child O’Mine isn’t going to be a hit.

CIA report from Agent Gilligan from the Island Project – Gilligan’s Island goes to a dark place on April 21, 1973 when they ate The Howells (It was time)…

A Welp! review of Cheers, Rick’s Café, Bronto Burgers, Overlook Hotel, Bates Motel, etc. A funnier version of Yelp!, not just people whining about the their First World Problems with restaurants, here’s a hint, you can afford to go to restaurants.

Correspondence between Batman’s producer and Neal Hefti the writer of the 1966 Batman theme; this money man versus artist exchange pits artistic integrity against commercialism which explains why the theme ended up being, you know, Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Batman! and so on.

Muppet Studios Casting Office where we find out some of the reasons certain Muppets could not be included…

An Oral History of Pac-Man Ghosts (I think Inky had it the toughest). Wocka wocka wocka.

And some dysfunctionally tasty drink recipes from Mad Men:

Drapertini

4 ounces gin
1 ounce vermouth
3 olives
5 tears that I never shed as a boy

Shake, stir, then pour down the sink because those days can never return.

Draper Manhattan

2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce vermouth
2 ounces of aromatic bitters
3 dashes of bitterness about my own need to hurt everyone who loves me
2 scrapes of the grime from that apartment I had after Betty and I split
1 maraschino cherry
Pour contents over ice into a glass, catch a distorted reflection in the ice for a moment, and wonder who you are or who anyone is really, sit in chair.

There, it’ll all be ok now.

Books, Doctor Who, Environment, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

What Happens In Space Stays In Space

Posted on September 3, 2014May 21, 2015 by D. Parker

How did your space mission go?
Quiet as space itself, oh, except for being impregnated by an alien life force. Other than that, a-ok.

When I first heard about the CBS TV series Extant it sounded like it had it all.
Oscar-winner Halle Berry, amazing in everything.

Goran Visnjic who was the McDreamy of his day, in ER.

Grace Gummer, being the daughter of Meryl Streep, I see why she went into acting. Hiroyuki Sanada, guess he needed something to do while we wait forever for the next season of Helix. Camryn Manheim, why isn’t she in more?

Pierce Gagnon, only 9, but we’ll see a lot more of him. Michael O’Neill, who’s been in so much you’ll feel like you know him. And more. The cast is out of this world.
Producer, Steven Spielberg.

Space is vast, sometimes bringing it to Earth, for TV viewing, can be hit or miss.

Our fascination with space is insatiable, from Star Trek in all its various forms to Doctor Who,

Battlestar Galactica, Lost In Space, V,
Jetsons, Space: 1999, Farscape, Firefly,

Transformers, The 4400, Alien Nation,
Falling Skies, Star Wars, The X-Files,

Roswell, Lexx, G-Force, Superfriends, Andromeda, Stargate SG-1, Family Guy, The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy, Torchwood, Red Dwarf, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Earth 2, Crusade, Starhunter, Lexx, The Starlost, Cowboy Bebop, Space: Above and Beyond, Babylon 5, and more.

As a space fan I’m loathe to admit, maybe we should focus a bit more on how we’re destroying the earth and less on how to get away from the mess we’ve made.

Extant explores more than space, it attempts to explore human emotions, reactions, thought processes, even delving into what makes us human.

Is Extant full of new ideas? No.
Are the older ideas reprocessed and revisited in a way that makes them refreshing? So far, mostly.

This show isn’t really about aliens, androids, space, conspiracies, a futuristic Earth, it’s about people. It’s about how we act and interact. How we love, hate, fear, dream, hope, and dare to imagine. It’s about understanding that everything comes at a cost. Hopefully we learn that lesson before it’s too late.

Autism, Books, Christmas, Cooking, Environment, Family, Fibromyalgia, Food, Holidays, Internet, Jane Austen, Movies, Music, Parenting, Political, Televison, Uncategorized, Weight, Zombies

My 1 Year Blogaversary!

Posted on August 8, 2014February 27, 2015 by D. Parker

August 8, 2013 wow, that seems like a lifetime ago.

That blog post was, Fibromyalgia is a Four Letter Word (it still is).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/08/08/fibromyalgia-is-a-four-letter-word/

Since then I’ve made a lot of mistakes, did I say a lot I meant a ton, or perhaps a tad more; probably said a lot of things people don’t agree with; and had some wanting-to-pull-my-hair-out moments, no worries, it’s still there, more or less.

I’ve learned a lot. Had some revelations about people I thought would be supportive, turns they weren’t, and still aren’t.

I’ll take it as a life lesson.

Plenty more people have been extremely supportive.
Thank you to family and friends, those who have pressed like, or shared, or reblogged, or followed, or subscribed, tweeted and retweeted, given me awards, or a combination. It means more than you’ll ever know, really.

I have ‘virtually’ met some awesome people who are kind, supportive, funny, helpful, generous, hopeful, caring, and have mind-blowing things to say and they share it. Thank you.

This year has opened up new portals for me.

I’m reading books I might never have read, learned things I didn’t know my brain could learn, but most of all it’s given me hope that maybe I can be more, it’s given me a glimpse of me, a me that I sometimes fear is gone forever.

So please join me for this virtual celebration of my 1st Blogaversary or Blogversary or maybe it’s a blogbirthday!

Drop by and say hi, read some of my older posts, apparently there are like 450 of them, hey, I did warn you with the tagline, Vague Meanderings of the Broke and Obscure.

Have a slice of virtual cake, wear a silly hat and join me for another year of who knows what!!!

Books, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

Posted on May 4, 2014May 2, 2015 by D. Parker

Some call this Intergalactic Star Wars Day, but really, isn’t that every day?

Yet this one has an added feature, we now have a date, December 18, 2015, of the next Star Wars movie, as I’m calling it, Star Wars VII: An Old Hope.

Also, cast announcements. The latter has brought a torrent of indignation from many fans.

I think this is unfair in many ways to the new cast.

Of course any comparison can’t be helped and it’s not likely to be favourable.

Many of us grew up with the original cast and still think of Star Wars IV: A New Hope as the first SW movie.

In 1977 Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill weren’t even known.

Carrie Fisher hadn’t said, Help me Obi Wan Kenobi you’re my only hope or aren’t you a little short for a storm trooper?

Mark Hamill hadn’t inadvertently kissed his sister, stood in the iconic pose against the twin suns, lost his hand, and screamed his famous nooooo!!!

Harrison Ford had never swaggered about the Millennium Falcon, said I know to Leila’s I love you, been encased in carbonite…

Alec Guiness hadn’t uttered the now famous, That’s no moon, that’s a space station, or said Use the Force Luke or become a cool ghost.

We had never seen or heard the rasping menace of Darth Vader or the twisted malevolence of the Emperor…no Chewie or R2 or C3PO or Jabba or Lando or Boba-Fett.

Some days staring at the ceiling makingfriends with shadows on my wallSome nights hearing voices telling methat I should get some sleep because tomorrow might be good for something. Hold on, feeling like I’m headed for a breakdown and I don’t know why (I might have a vague idea)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little unwell (a little???)I know right now you can’t tellBut stay awhile and maybe then you’ll seeA different side of me (Sides?)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little impaired (repaired, scared, flared, despaired, prepared?) I know right now you don’t careBut soon enough you’re gonna think of me And how I used to be (somedays I don’t even remember how I used to be)

I’ve been talking in my sleep (is my phone listening to that too?)Pretty soon they’ll come to get me (they’ll have to find me first and I haven’t even found myself yet!)Yeah, they’re taking me away (Oooh, nice, a vacation!)

Yeah, I miss how I used to beHow I used to be

Anyway, this song has firmly stuck in my head and I decided the only way to remove it was to press it onto this page. Don’t blame me if it sticks to you next.

No cloned dinosaurs are roaming on any island (there are much, much, much scarier things on certain islands).

Was truth always over-rated? In a way, would it be better to not know what snowmen really do in summer?

Pull up a chair and please share!

The message is drummed into us in every seasonal day, in every seasonal way, that if you’re not involved in a holiday social barrage then you’ll be unhappy, that you’ll be sad, that you’ll be lonely, you’ll miss out on the perfect Christmas. It’s CFOMO – Christmas Fear of Missing Out.

It can be overwhelming, yet it’s one day, sure it’s been stretched into like, months because of the hype, the marketing as we’re viciously bombarded with images of physical and social wealth that are unattainable for many. Blink. Relax. Enjoy it your way.

1. Marathon your way through the season, which apparently now begins in January with brief visits from other holidays before bouncing back to Christmas again. Don’t limit yourself to Christmassy viewing, though if you’re in the mood…

2. Use this as a time to catch up with family, friends, or new friends (just haven’t met you yet) who also are looking to hide away from the holidays, enjoy the holidays in a less commercial way…

3. Be bold, be brave, go on a holiday dating/companionship spree, even if it’s on Zoom. Eggnog your way through stories about his/her ex, mom, ex’s mom, work, football, baseball, hockey, fashion, cars…Who knows, maybe you’ll find a Christmas miracle, or become comfortably numb.

4. Adjust your expectations. Social media is not reality. Say that to yourself every time you go online. This is not life, it’s one long high school reunion. Everyone is wearing their best outfit, just lost weight, and sharing the highlights of their life.

6. Have a Single Christmas Party (not for singles, just you, be your own party). If you can’t enjoy your own company how do you expect others to enjoy it? This year, like last, we have some restrictions, but enjoy your time anyway.

7. It’s never too late (or early) to start a new tradition with yourself or others, hopefully one that doesn’t involve eating your feelings, spending future rent/mortgage payments, insulting others, and/or anything illegal.

8. Help others this season – the best way to keep your mind off your problems is to help others with their problems. It can also give you perspective if you’re in a woe-is-me-kinda-place.

9. Under no circumstances drink too heavily, that could lead to calling, texting, or emailing an ex, or blogging under the influence, or doing something else you may otherwise regret.

And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas…and be kind, to yourself and others. Please. Thank you kindly.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~Charles Dickens

Pull up a chair and please share!

We cheer for serial killers, drug lords, mobsters; glamorize celebrities and corporate fat cats – I hear they can even become President.

We’re allegedly repulsed by the violence, greed, self-absorption yet…we’re mesmerized.

Look at Santa. Or should I say: Santa Claus, Pere Noel, Father Christmas, SinterKlaas, St. Nicholas, Dun Che Lao Ren, Kris Kringle? Secret Santa indeed…he needs many aliases, with all the break and enters; sure, he leaves gifts but also a lingering sense of unease.

Some poor child still sings about being traumatized when he saw his Mommy kissing ‘Santa Claus’ underneath the mistletoe one night; how about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer, huh, whose reindeer? Take a wild guess.

Santa only works one day a year, while keeping elves slaving all year-long, to make toys, for which he takes the credit (and cookies).

Santa’s all ‘thank u, next’, he only cared about Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer when he deemed Rudolph useful, not when the poor reindeer was bullied relentlessly (#BeBestSanta).

Only eight tiny reindeer? Really?!? For one cookie-stuffed man? Does that seem fair?

Santa leaves his reindeer out in the cold and snow while he goes into warm homes…and they say The Grinch treated Max poorly (he did/does!).

Elvis begged Santa to bring his ‘baby’ back to him…what other atrocities don’t we know about, is it just me or does Santa seem kinda, I dunno, elfish?

Santa tells children he’s watching them when they’re sleeping; knows if they’ve been bad or good. He browbeats children into behaving well, threatening to leave a toxic substance, a lump of coal, in their stocking – The Nice List, The Naughty List, more like The Blacklist.

What’s next, Santa?

Are you gonna lead The Sons of Santa motorcycle gang, Ho Ho SAMCRO?

Be President in The House of Christmas Cards?

Have a barbed wire baseball bat covered in with Christmas lights (P.S. You’ll poke your eye out with that thing; or someone else’s eye)?

Kill to sit on the Candy Cane Throne in the Game of Santa’s Village Thrones (you sit on a throne of lies)?

Go over to The Dark Side (they have Christmas cookies – Merry Sithmas!)?

Be known as He Who Must Not Be Named at The North Pole…Harry Potter and The Half-Eaten Gingerbread Man?

Breaking Bad Santa?

Supernatural Santa?

Rescue Me from Santa’s tyranny…Hmmm, maybe Santa should be on The Naughty List.

Santa baby, c’mon please make it right this Christmas, or at least make it wrong and interesting.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright and May All Your Dreams https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/12/18/twice-upon-a-christmas-carol/ Take Flight!

Pull up a chair and please share!

Tra la la, tra la la, la Tra la la, tra la la, la Tra la la, tra la la, la

One banana, two banana, three banana, four All bananas make a split, so do many more….

Flipping like a pancake, popping like a cork Fleagle bingo drooper and snork

Had some more Boo Radley moments with “To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper Lee) then “Benny and Joon” (one thing always leads to another in my head).

Joined Ellen Berry on Rosemary Lane and Miss Marple in the library, with the body, through the mind of Agatha Christie https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/21/how-to-get-your-book-published/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/05/25/crapathy/

Was “Dreaming in Chocolate” (like always), but this time thanks to Susan Bishop Crispell; how apt for me.

I traveled through time with “The Crossing”…remember when we could do that with “Doctor Who”?

Went on adventures (burp) with “Rick and Morty”, aww geez, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, but I still love cartoons https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/08/09/i-miss-saturday-morning-cartoons/

Had more “Supernatural” fun with the Winchester boys and “The X-Files” folks https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/10/26/my-big-fat-supernatural-life/.

Another Series of Unfortunate Events https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/10/16/you-cant-handle-the-blogging-truth/, this time with Nathan Fillion https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/04/28/well-cream-you-with-our-tim-hortons-donuts-you-hosers/ – sigh.

Wandered back to Stars Hollow to visit the “Gilmore Girls” and company – I can’t seem to stay away https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/01/06/im-not-inclined-to-resign-to-maturity/

Went from “LA > Vegas” with little turbulence but lots of laughs.

Got “Lost In Space” (Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, Parker Posey – this show has a nice amount of Parkers), the only ‘Danger, Will Robinson’, is binge-watching on Netflix.

In the “Here and Now” here and there. Played games. Worked. Visited blogs. Organized. Got distracted. Pondered the meaning of life…

Pull up a chair and please share!

When Colin Firth showed up as my Ghost of Christmas Past in the white shirt from Pride and Prejudice (you know the one, ladies and gents), I thought, bring it on, this dream just got X-tra special. He reminded me that all things past are actually always still with us…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/12/02/elf/

1. Christmas songs play everywhere but we need more Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsman. Peace on Earth, goodwill, and about how even the worst of enemies can put aside their differences, if only for a little while…we sure need more of that.

2. Even on a crummy morning a gingerbread man still makes his bed with cookie sheets.

3. Christmas is about giving. Though broke and obscure I still believe in giving to others and weirdly, sometimes you get stuff back.

4. Not waiting in line for some guy in a red suit to make me promises, I’ll make some to myself and try to keep them.

My Ghost of Christmas Future was Norman Reedus, well, actually Daryl Dixon, (because it’s my dream and it gets better, he’s holding a cat reminding us to Shop Cruelty Free https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/ – that goes for people as well, cruelty-free)…and he showed me…

5. Christmas could be a little late this year, instead of making toys, Santa and the elves are already lined up to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi (I haven’t seen it, but I’m guessing it has to do with a Jedi).

6. The Christmas feeling could be there, even without the gifts, the lights, the decorations, chocolate (this one is iffy), turkey and toys, even without the Christmas.

7. Ordinary rules of time and space don’t apply to Santa or The Doctor (Doctor Who Twice Upon A Time – I’m not ready for Peter Capaldi to go and I’m still missing David Tennant), but they do apply to us, we only have so much time in this world.

Happiness and success can be measured by the joy and comfort we bring to others. Remember the good times, the fun times, the laughter, the kindness, the little moments.

If you don’t see me around here for a bit, I’ve checked myself into Clementine rehab (I can quit anytime I want) – one day at a ‘clementime’.

Merry Christmas to all and sweet dreams!

Pull up a chair and please share!

I’m haunted. Maybe haunted isn’t the right word, um, spooked, creeped out, ok, maybe just confused. I’ve tried to lead a normal life, really I have, but I’m afraid my attempts have been astonishingly less than successful.

Everywhere I turn, so-called supernatural forces invade my peace and quiet.

How was I to know it would be an ongoing supernatural thing?

Something wicked this way comes, really, kinda busy double double toiling and troubling here…

Rapping, rapping, rapping at my door? Let me guess, the government wanting more, more, more.

No, it’s not what goes bump in the night that terrifies me, but those in the light, pretending they want my thoughts to be free.

Some days staring at the ceiling making
friends with shadows on my wall
Some nights hearing voices telling me
that I should get some sleep because tomorrow might be good for something. Hold on, feeling like I’m headed for a breakdown and I don’t know why (I might have a vague idea)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little unwell (a little???)
I know right now you can’t tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see
A different side of me (Sides?)

I’m not crazy I’m just a little impaired (repaired, scared, flared, despaired, prepared?) I know right now you don’t care
But soon enough you’re gonna think of me And how I used to be (somedays I don’t even remember how I used to be)

I’ve been talking in my sleep (is my phone listening to that too?)
Pretty soon they’ll come to get me (they’ll have to find me first and I haven’t even found myself yet!)
Yeah, they’re taking me away (Oooh, nice, a vacation!)

Yeah, I miss how I used to be
How I used to be

Tra la la, tra la la, la
Tra la la, tra la la, la
Tra la la, tra la la, la

One banana, two banana, three banana, four
All bananas make a split, so do many more….

Flipping like a pancake, popping like a cork
Fleagle bingo drooper and snork

I’m haunted.
Maybe haunted isn’t the right word, um, spooked, creeped out, ok, maybe just confused.
I’ve tried to lead a normal life, really I have, but I’m afraid my attempts have been astonishingly less than successful.