Last Week to Enter WRiTE CLUB (+ "Inspiring Blogger")

Aloha,

I really, really wanted to take a moment to mention "two things.”

Pheww. OK. Now that’s taken care of, ahhhhh, I feel so much better :)
 

Elsewhere, in our top story today, DL Hammons is hosting his third annual WRiTE CLUB.

There is still a week to email your 500-word (max) entry and all submissions remain anonymous.

(Which is awesome because I’m having the dickens of a time whether to submit my Victorian-era, Zombie-Slasher organic (yet romantic) poem using the alias of Morgan, DPK or Elise? :)

(what?)

PS… DL and the two previous winners of WRiTE CLUB, Tiana Smith and Mark Hough did a fantastic job of explaining the contest at no-hyperlink-needed Alex’s this past Friday.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Beverly Fox was very kind to recently award me a “Very Inspiring Blogger” Award.

Accordingly I am to reveal seven random things about ones self….

·         As a 17-year-old, I was arrested in Magaluf, Spain and spent at least five hours “communicating my desire” to not pay a $50 bribe (never mind being brave and not giving in to corruption - it was all the drinking money I had left!)

Upon my eventual “escape” (sans payment of any kind – score!) I eventually made it back to our hotel at 6 a.m...

...Where I *fully* expected each of my six mates to be busy coordinating pre-Internet emails called "faxes" (!) while working the phones to and from the Irish embassy - all in a valiant effort to secure my release. It was then very surprising to find our room empty and dark.

I was the first one home!

·         I adore the ocean (any of them) – or any wave-making lakes, (hello Michael Di CHICAGO :), but don’t need to do much *in* the water. Listening to the waves is enough.

·         My favorite number is 56 (I also have no clue why, but there you go…)

·         The only sport I truly, truly love is baseball. I’m a die-hard Angels fan who is currently on bended knee. I can’t *wait* for Spring Training 2014. (Have you seen the newest horror movie, Nightmare at Anaheim Stadium?)

·         My first real job as a growing lad in Dublin was “apprentice truck driver.” We used to drive all over Ireland to change/replace those old linen towel machines in toilets and restaurant kitchens.

One day, my driver/friend was teaching me how to drive (ahead of my road test) when I reversed into a stationary car. (It wasn't a Mercedes, but could have been a Hallmark.)

I was fired hours later.

·         However, if I had gotten my license, I would have happily settled in Dublin with some “young wan” and would *never* have asked my Da if it was OK to go live in Amsterdam with my Dutch Oma.

But, after the crash, Da said sure. Jobs were scarce in 1989, why not go live in Amsterdam (as a nineteen-year-old youngster) for a few months? (Place original yellow smiley face HERE.)

·         Thus, if I hadn’t of moved to Amsterdam, my Wanderlust gene might still be dormant – and I guarantee I wouldn’t be here in Hawaii with my beautiful family, twenty-three years later. (Thank you, Car Driver for parking where you did that day – and I’m sorry, again!)

 Normal rules of the Inspiring Blogger award dictate at least five nominees. I have only one, but if you’ve ever read Green Monkey Tales, you’ll know why...

Shannon, you are an amazing woman, wife, writer and mother.
You have my prayers and best wishes, and I only wish I had a hundredth of your will power and strength.

Hi! From Hawaii: HI2 - "Eat the Street"

Aloha,

Welcome to the second edition of my new (picturesque) series!

Eat The Street - and not a McDonalds in sight - I'm Lovin' It :)
 

Called Hi! from Hawaii or HI² for short, these posts are great for anyone seeking really bad travel tips.

You might think I’m joking, but honestly, whenever we get *there,* my three boys run amok like crazed banshee Leprechauns, so I tend to miss some (no, all) of the nuances of the place or event.

4 p.m. Setting up for Dinner at Eat the Street

Luckily, I’m not writing warm-and-fuzzy Nat Geo travel articles – and please know that HI² will always be a free community service. (This sentence sponsored, in part, by Acme Fans of Honolulu – We’re Easy When You’re Breezy!)

Trust locals - Where there is a line, Thar be Good Eats :)
 

The first HI²  was here at the Honolulu Zoo and someone suggested Hanauma Bay, so that’s coming up.

Other future posts will feature the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Bishop Museum and Downtown Honolulu and that Waikiki beach thing.

Speaking of which, anyone wanting a review of the Honolulu nightlife will, I’m afraid, have to wait donkey’s years.

Have Grill - Will Cook - 'Sall good :)

(As mentioned, I go to all these places with the kids and/or the missus, so the posts are meant for a family friendly, PG-6 readership :)

Here's a Smart Chef who gets Show not Tell :)

This week’s HI² adventure was at a free event called Eat the Street, which is like one of those “Taste Of …” foodie festivals – only here most of the vendors are Hawaiian Food Trucks so the monthly event is billed as “Hawaii’s Food Truck and Street Food Rally”.

Specially Made for a Dude Called Alex...

 

Organized by the folks over at Streetgrindz.com, Eat The Street takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. on the last Friday of the month.

More than forty trucks park on the outskirts of a closed parking lot (and if we weren’t close to downtown, you could almost (sort of…maybe, if you nearly closed your eyes and squinted a little to the left) get a sense of what life was like for the folks in the Wild West when they stopped to circle the wagons.

"Hey Hank, is this Utah? Are we there yet?"

 Each month is themed and each vendor comes up with their own twist. (Garlic was the flavor for May – garlic popsicle anyone?)

Garlic Popsicles 86'd by 5:30 p.m. ...wow :)



Cheese is the theme for June (that's "fromage" to you, Elise:) and I’ve heard there’ll be a cheese carving contest, which sounds like fun, especially if your name is Jerry or Mickey.)

These ROCKED - well worth the 15-min wait !!!

It *is* awesome seeing (and smelling) dozens of local, regional and international food selections – but you have to be strong-willed to walk the perimeter at least once before buying *anything.*

6 p.m.: Now you know why we brought the baby gate :)

There’s also a DJ on-site, several artists selling their wares, an information booth and even a few porta-potties and washbasins – so you don’t waste valuable eating time :)

The next Eat the Street is June 28 and the address is 555 South Street – if you’re in town.

My rating: 4 out of 5 flower leis

(stars are sooo 1990s, brah.)

Koopmans even snags a sunset picture. Score!

 

 

Happy Father's Day - Be Courageous, Men!

Aloha,


To all the Men who are, I say: Happy Father's Day

To all the Men who want to be, I say: Happy Father's Day

 

To all the Men who positively influence a young person in their life, I say: Happy Father's Day.

And, to all the Men who, for whatever reason have chosen not to be a father in their child's life, I say:

...It is never too late to be the Father you were meant to be.

 

 

 

Men: Be Courageous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Bloggers! Don't Quit - Keep Writing - Followers Ahead!

Aloha,

All this week, I tried valiantly – but unsuccessfully – to personally respond to the 171 comments stemming from my recent D-Day post.

I ground to a halt and my mindset shifted gears when Lily Eva Blake replied to my comments and said she was “honored” that I stopped by to comment on her “baby blog.”

While I appreciated her very kind words, it shouldn’t be an honor to receive a comment and a new blog is only a Alex J. Cavanaugh-type blog in waiting.

My point is that I am no one special and there no magic tricks to the (perceived) success of my blog, so anyone starting off needs not to feel worry, but excitement.

I wrote my first post on 9/11/11 – but only because I’d been struggling to find a topic to write about.

And on the 10^th anniversary of the worst attacks on our soil, I knew I felt passionate enough to share my feelings.

I wrote, rewrote, edited, sat on it, rewrote it and sat back with a satisfied sigh.

I garnered one comment – from my pastor.

Point: I didn’t know what to write about – and I still don’t sometimes – just look at my labels, but the point is to be just YOU.

It cracks me up no end to see all the different direction I have gone with this blog and that’s fine.

MY point is your online “voice” has to be the same as your real voice. As in real life, we all have a unique voice, so have a conversation with us – don’t share your thesis.

These days, my “writing” blog seems to be much more about Parenting and Patriotism than Prose and Parenthesis, and again that’s OK. It’s working for me.

PS. And, be patient – pay your dues.

I’ve been blogging nearly three years and have just recently finished WIP#1.

I have no agent and my book isn’t published – but boy what a wonderful internship I’ve had here in what I jokingly call the Blogisfear.

So, comment on other blogs, promote a cover reveal, enter a bloghop or tweet a new release. Keep doing things like this, and we will find you ;)

Finally, never, EVER give up.

IF writing is your dream – don’t quit – there is no age limit to being a published author.

Remember… Failure is not an option – it’s a choice.

Can anyone add to what I’ve mentioned and share any other tips with new bloggers?