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Tuesday, December 24, 2013 65 comments

50 States Of Pray: Don't Look Back - Pay It Forward

Aloha,
My sincere thanks to everyone who helped promote and/or participates in 50 States of Pray today.
I'm representing the great state of Hawaii and wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Courtesy: thefw.com
They say to give peace a chance, but I'm just one guy - and that seems like a lot to ask in this crazy world of ours.

But, imagine our planet, this pint-sized world that could, and how it would change - for the better - if we shared a little more love and respect with family, friends and community.

 
 

Here’s my sincere wish for anyone needing a spiritual boost this Christmas: Don’t look back – it won’t change the past.
Courtesy: MotivationalTwist.com
 
 
 
   Instead, pay it forward.

 
 
 

Some will say I’m naïve, but I truly believe in the power of giving.
It doesn’t take a lot, we all know that. All that's needed is an open heart and a willingness to share of our time, talents and/or treasures.
Courtesy: thefw.com
 


Share a positive moment with someone.
 
 
 


Help comfort a crying baby on a busy airplane, buy a Sailor a sandwich or simply hold open a heavy door.
These random acts of kindness happened recently to our family, and I’ll always appreciate the generosity of those strangers who expected no reward.
There was, however, a return of investment :)
 

Courtesy: Melissa Maygrove

50 States of Pray was my idea – but you’ve  embraced the concept. Who knows the lives that may be touched by today's posts as they ripple out like a stone dropped in a calm lake.
 

Why not pray for a friend? Forgive a wrong-doing?
Thank a teacher, cop, firefighter or anyone who does the work you could never do.
 Give a compliment - or a seat.
The list is endless, and I believe each “share” will leave a piece of you behind.
 
Courtesy: Sharelifeny.org

Robert Louis Stephenson once wrote: Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
So, perhaps… after all... all we need do is take a chance and give a piece...
 
Courtesy: pif1day.com
 
 
Thanks again, and may God bless you all. 
 
 
 
Friday, December 20, 2013 23 comments

Met my First Blogger Buddy & Finished Last Marathon

Aloha,

Some fun news to share: I finally met one of my/our Blogger Buddies.

...whispers: You're real. You're really real :)

In February, I posted about a free writer's conference (called W.R.I.T.E) that I planned to host during the first week of December.

Although the event was eventually cancelled, (it's hard to get over here - I understand!) I had the pleasure to meet Nancy LaRonda Johnson, and her sister who travelled to O'ahu for a vacation this past week.

I met the sisters at the airport and we hung out for a little bit before I drove them downtown to their hotel.

Nancy and some bald dude with a cool T-shirt

The sisters apparently had a great time while on the island and the picture above is of Nancy and I throwing some shakas down near Waikiki Beach.

Thanks for the memories, Nancy, and for the signed copy of your latest book, SALTED WITH FIRE. I really appreciate it :)

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Speaking of memories, I did - BOSTON STRONG, baby - complete my tenth and (perhaps) final marathon last weekend, too.

Thank goodness it wasn't my first - as my race number (2571) and associated time chip - did *not* register, so there is no official record of me in the system !!!

There is, however, photographic evidence, but as I am way too cheap to spend $70 on a half-dozen pictures, the link is here.

(If the link doesn't send you direct, type "Koopmans"; "2571" and "Honolulu" as needed.)

(If you want a real laugh - and see my best impression of a Walking Dead extra - enlarge Photo 146561714 (first picture on the third row.)

That one still cracks me up :)

PS: My time is somewhere between 6:05:00 and 6:11:00, so I'm going with my "official" time of 6:08:00 :)

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Finally, I'm so looking forward to 50 States of Pray.

I can't believe Christmas Eve is only four days from now, so have a great weekend everyone - don't forget those last minute gifts and "see" you Tuesday :)

Here's a Bing Crosby version of a Christmas classic - and no, it's not that song!

Mele Kalikimaka, and aloha :)


 
 
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 17 comments

Ashley Nixon's Cover Reveal of CUTLASS

Aarrgghh!!! and aloha,
Today is the Cover Reveal for Ashley Nixon's new book, CUTLASS.
But before we do the reveal, Ashley asked if we'd share a pirate-related joke :)

So here's one I thought was funnier than seven pieces of eight stolen by six men who ran down five flights of stairs only to escape through four doors aided by three accomplishes, two former security guards and a Jimmy Buffet Parrothead in a pear tree. (Is that a good hook?)

A pirate walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened, you look terrible!"

"What do you mean?" the pirate replies, "I'm fine."

The bartender says, "But what about that wooden leg? You didn't have that before."

"Well," says the pirate, "We were in a battle at sea and a cannon ball hit my leg but the surgeon fixed me up, and I'm fine, really."

"Yeah," says the bartender, "But what about that hook? Last time I saw you, you had both hands."

"Well," says the pirate, "We were in another battle and we boarded the enemy ship. I was in a sword fight and my hand was cut off but the surgeon fixed me up with this hook, and I feel great, really."

"Oh," says the bartender, "What about that eye patch? Last time you were in here you had both eyes."

"Well," says the pirate, "One day when we were at sea, some birds were flying over the ship. I looked up, and one of them pooped in my eye."

"So?" replied the bartender, "what happened? You couldn't have lost an eye just from some bird poop!"

"Well," says the pirate, "I really wasn't used to the hook yet."
(Posted by Dirk in Pirate Jokes)

 

CUTLASS COVER REVEAL (da dahhaarrgh:)
 

Publication Date: April 23, 2014
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Blurb:
 Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy's fiancé seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it. 


 Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancé to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard. 


 But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too.
As his strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.
 

Links:
Goodreads (book page): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18755539-cutlass
Website: http://ashley-nixon.com
Blog: http://ashley-nixon.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AshleymNixon
Tumblr: http://ashleynixon.tumblr.com
 
Rafflecopter Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Monday, December 16, 2013 18 comments

Bob Hope - Christmas With the Troops...

Aloha,

50 States of Pray is up to 41 42 States (total), and there's eight days left to find the final nine eight U.S. and/or foreign States.

The Linky List is here - and many, many thanks for all your support.

Speaking of support, if you know anyone who served in the U.S. military during the era of Bob Hope, here's a YouTube video I think they would love to see.

This 10-minute video clip is a wonderful tribute to the men and women who served, and it shows - especially in the last minute, which highlights a wonderful, inspiring rendition of Silent Night.

It also highlights some of Bob's greatest USO-sponsored Christmas shows, and if you ain't never seen a Bob Hope Christmas Special, you've missed out... until now :)

Merry Christmas, everyone :)





Friday, December 13, 2013 14 comments

50 States of Pray: 34 U.S. & 9 Foreign States signed on!

Aloha,

Hope everyone has recovered from the fun that was CheersFest, and don’t forget to tune in to Tossing It Out this coming Monday to see who Lee picks as his two winners. (I just hope that Elise is making a Brown Jacket that Mini Alex can wear :)
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Speaking of next week, the 50 States of Pray event is only eleven (shopping) days away, so here’s an update – as of Christmas Eve, 2013.

·         We have a total of seventy-six participants !!!

·         Thirty-four U.S. States are already represented

The “missing” eighteen seventeen sixteen States are:

·         Alabama

·         Arkansas

·         Idaho

·         Iowa

·         Kentucky

·         Maryland

·         Mississippi

·         Nebraska

·         New Mexico

·         North Dakota

·         Ohio

·         Oregon

·         Rhode Island

·         South Dakota

·         Tennessee

·         Vermont

·         Washington

·         Wyoming

 
So far, eight nine Foreign States are represented

·         Australia

·         Belgium

·         Canada

·         France

·         India

·         Jamaica

·         Mexico

·         Republic of South Africa

·         United Kingdom

 The U.S. States most represented, as of Friday morning, are California and Florida (both have four reps.)
The Foreign State most represented, as of Thursday, is the United Kingdom (four reps.)

 If you know anyone who’s interested in repping for one of the elusive sixteen, or to increase the nine overseas, please send them my way – or send them to the Linky list here!

(I'll continue to update this post as new states come in.)
Sincere thanks to everyone concerned for all your help in promoting and sharing information related to 50 States of Pray. This has been such a positive experience and I’m really looking forward to reading your posts.
 
See you on Christmas Eve :)

 
Santa & Mrs. Claus at the Honolulu City Lights
 
Monday, December 9, 2013 32 comments

Lee Bird *is* CheersFest - Let the Roasting Begin :)


Aloha,

Hosted again by Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King, Stephen Tremp and The Ninja Captain himself, it’s time for CheersFest 2.0 :)



This year’s recipient is Arlee “Lee” Bird.

In order to proper cheer (or roast) Lee, we suggested four questions to answer today, and all should be no longer than 20 words each:

“Let’s DO this!” (he said, in a deep Austrian voice)

·         Why did Lee come up with the A-Z Challenge?

I think Lee knew that five existing blogs wasn’t enough, and hey, this one should be easy to do.

·         If someone dreams about being a juggler, what does it mean?

It means earning enough money so Lee can buy a sexy ‘70s suede jacket (see below :)

·         Is a post by Mr. Bird worth two in the bush?

Any post by Lee is always worth reading (aaahhhh:), so I’ll go search for the ones in the bush, too… unless I find there’s bugs… or the missing DVD of A-CAV playing some Rush riffs on his Gibson!

·         Who could play Lee in a documentary? (Living or dead.)

Looking at this picture, I would go with Peter Falk (Columbo) or a young Kirk Douglas, who starred in the 1953 movie, The Juggler.



 
In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts:

·         Bird

·         Juggler

·         Challenge

·         Brown Jacket

·         Tossing
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The Interview and the Inventory

The Juggler entered the cluttered office and shook hands with the editor.

“Mr. Bird. Too early to call you Arlee?” said his prospective boss, who leaned back in his chair, with an appearance that gave unshaven and unkempt a bad name.

“I prefer Lee, if that’s OK,” he said, removing his beloved brown suede jacket. He laid it gently over a chair and used his suede travel brush to comb out six stray hairs.

“Leigh? Isn’t that a girl’s name, son? I know a writer called Leigh… or is it Abby? I can never tell.”

“L-E-E.”

“You a fan of Lee Majors, son? I loved me that Six Million Dollar Man. It was so realistic.”

Lee realized this was a challenge.

“Mr. Cavanaugh, why is there a wooden picture of a ninja guitar player on your desk?”

“Son, you got insecurities? You need to be tossing them out if you’re working for the Idaho Hoe Reporter.”

Lee made some chirping noises and pulled a darkened cell phone from his pocket.

“Sorry, Mr. Cavanaugh, but I’ll have to pass. There’s a dragon friend of mine who’s taking some time off, and we're going to go roast some of those really small marshmallows in Lucky Charms. I know farming equipment is important, so thanks, and I’m sorry I won’t have the chance to inventory your town’s hoes.”

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For Bonus Points:

·         In +/- 40 words, can you come up with a caption for Lee’s Facebook picture?
 

 
 
“Kids, don’t try this at home! It takes years of practice and a Tom Selleck moustache to be able to wear a sweet suede jacket such as mine.”






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Thanks to everyone who participated and Lee is scheduled to announce the two prize winners next Monday.
PS: Thanks to everyone who tweeted, texted or talled, er, called me Sunday as I ran/walked/zombied my way through the Honolulu Marathon.
I finished - PTL - and will post some pics once I get them:)

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For more information about Lee, talk to Blogman :)
Blogman is here :)

 
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