Category: Fun

Them Tasty Mushroom Burgers

What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?

How appropriate that as the U.S.A.’s July 4th celebration rapidly approaches, I put up a post about burgers.

Actually, not about burgers in general. Mushroom burgers, specifically, and how they changed my mind about mushrooms.

You see, as a kid, I hated mushrooms. I didn’t want anything to do with them, and they certainly shouldn’t go in my mouth. I, a boy whose age wasn’t even in the double digits, confidently declared that I wouldn’t eat a mushroom until I was 50 years old.

I didn’t last that long.

You see, from what I can recall, I gave in to the savory deliciousness of mushrooms around the time that my dad started taking me to the local Red Robin burger restaurant. It was a tradition. We’d go see the latest blockbuster on a Saturday morning, and afterwards we’d go to Red Robin for lunch. For some reason, one day I ordered the mushroom burger and realized that mushrooms are really, really tasty.

I like mushrooms now. I like them on sandwiches, I like them in salads, I like them every which way, because they are, in fact, not as bad as 8-year-old me thought they were. Which will teach 8-year-old me to make bold lifelong declarations before he has all the facts.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

In Praise of Reading

Reading is a truly wonderful invention. What do great writers of history have to say about it? Let’s find out.

I’m old-fashioned and think that reading books is the most glorious pastime that humankind has yet devised.

Wisława Szymborska

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Joseph Brodsky

Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

E.B. White

And let us not forget these eternal words of wisdom from the novel Don Quixote:

Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

A love of reading is the best sort of crazy (but do try to get plenty of sleep).

To Colonize the Red Planet

“I am going to colonize Mars!”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Because it’s there!”

“Yes, it is there. It’s very, very far over there.”

I don’t think we’ll ever colonize Mars. And being a stick-in-the-mud, I also feel the need to ask the question: Why?

We already have a perfectly habitable planet right here. And before anyone says anything about climate change, overpopulation, wars and various other sundry problems that plague the human species, let me remind you that Earth remains habitable without having to put on a space suit to walk outside, whereas Mars … doesn’t.

Besides, if we colonize Mars, who’s to say we won’t just bring said issues with us?

It doesn’t sound like a good time. Colonists would be living in sealed rooms for the rest of their lives. You can’t go outside and play. The solar radiation is deadly, the dust storms are deadly, the air is deadly and how long can you last before cabin fever sets in? Or you want to strangle your roommate who lives within a hundred feet of you every day?

The idea is romantic, I confess. A big, bold step for mankind, just like the moon landings were. But it seems … excessive. Indulgent. Something more suitable for speculative fiction. We haven’t even gotten around to colonizing the moon. Aren’t we skipping a step by making a beeline for Mars?

Or maybe sixty years from now, I’ll read this blog and laugh at my pessimism. But, for now, I say with confidence: We aren’t going to colonize Mars.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Meeting Mister Fox

So I’m walking down the street in the early dawn

And who should I meet but a cocky fox sitting on a lawn.

I ask him what he’s doing there, carefree as can be

And he replies, “I belong. This is my territory.”

I smile and shrug and wave goodbye and carry on my way.

Maybe I’ll see him again sometime, if meet him again I may.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life. Sometimes, I dabble in poetry.

Five Happy Things

Five things that make me feel happy every day:

  1. The sound of songbirds in early morning
  2. The sight of squirrels running up a telephone pole
  3. The taste of cold water after a hard workout
  4. The feel of a warm shirt fresh out of the dryer
  5. The smell of fresh rain hitting the ground

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Reading Discworld

What book could you read over and over again?

Any entry from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Pratchett had a rare talent for molding words into the most fascinating and enticing sentences and using them as the building blocks for a fun world and enjoyable, interesting and likeable characters.

It’s a hard thing to precisely describe the style of certain authors. The truly gifted have a fully developed voice that is recognizable as their own and no one else’s.

I read through the whole series over the course of several years. I could very well do it again, and love every minute of it.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Everyologist

When I was little, I wanted to be an “everyologist.” I would be an expert in everything – history and science and books and everything.

Little kids can be experts in everything, because everything is within easy reach.

I got older, and couldn’t do everything, so I decided I should focus on “most things.”

Then I got a bit more older, and decided I should focus on “the most important things.”

But I still dabble in everyology on the side.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Tattoos are Not For Me

Tattoos are not for me, and though I admire their artistry

My body would not make for a good tapestry

Colorful patterns, curving lines and creatures

Would look poorly on my shape

Good tattoos depend on anatomy most fine

And limbs and torsos that gracefully align

For if the body should expand after the tattoo is drawn

The artistry would be a mocking jape

Tattoos, as well, involve a modicum of pain

Coming in for sharp sessions again and again

I am averse to such things and not partial to needles

So why endure something I hate?

And now you can see

Why tattoos are not for me.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

On the Topic of My Middle Name

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning or significance?

The title of my blog is Jake W. Powell. What is that W doing there? The letter is a somewhat exotic middle initial in English, sounding rather like something found in the name of a quirky character from a 1940s comedy. It’s short for Wesley, and it has no special significance whatsoever.

My parents liked the sound of it. I’m not named after anyone called Wesley or in homage to anything. It just sounds nice.

Although, perhaps it does carry a certain amount of meaning in that it serve a purpose. My parents made a point to ensure my initials didn’t spell anything. Some parents don’t consider this when naming their kids, and you end up with gaffes like O.L.D. and B.A.G. and Z.A.P. My parents decided to spare me any potential embarrassment and give me the neutral J.W.P.

I guess it does having meaning, after a fashion.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Once Upon a Time, I Broke the Law

Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?

Yes. I cut off a police officer’s vehicle while driving. It was an unfortunate incident, one of those galling moments that ambushes and commandeers an otherwise perfectly fine day.

I was driving home from dinner with some friends. So far, so good. It was after dark, and I was driving back from a part of town I hadn’t been to before, so navigation was a touch difficult. And, since I know some of you are already thinking it, no, I wasn’t drunk. I don’t drink. Anyway, I missed a turn and my sense of direction went topsy-turvy. I pulled into a parking lot to get my bearings, realized I was only a mile from home, and, in my eagerness to reach said home, quickly turned left out into the street.

As these things tend to go, that was the same moment a police officer was driving along. I didn’t see her, and I cut her off. I’ll never know how close it actually was because I didn’t spot her car, but I did spot the flashing lights and pulled over.

The officer also thought I might be drunk. I replied in the negative, she wrote out my ticket, and then, since this was the first (and so far only) driving infraction I had received, she very generously informed me that I could go to the county courthouse and pay to have the ticket removed from my record. And because I am not in the habit of desiring bad things to show on my permanent record, I did so ASAP.

…

…

What? Were you expecting explosions and gunfire? I broke the law, I never said it was a scene out of John Wick. I cut off a police officer, got a ticket, paid the ticket off. The end. Always remember to pay attention when you’re driving.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“