My 100 Word Response

by Diane Carlisle

I've enjoyed responding to the fun challenges from Florida Writer's Conference Blog! Here's their latest challenge and my response.

To all the guys (and some of the women) reading this, let’s pretend this picture isn’t about the first thing you thought when you saw it. After all, not everything revolves around that.

Pretending then, that the woman in this picture isn’t in the throes of connubial bliss, in 100 words or fewer, what’s happening in this picture. One thing that might make it more interesting is what could be a foot and a pantleg in the background. So what’s happening here?

Figure it out. One hundred words or less in 20 minutes.

My response:

The holy water strikes her and slits an open wound across her thighs.

“He commands you exit.” The priest hovers the crucifix above her belly.

“It burns!” she screams, but her voice is muffled with a low growl, then laughter.

“He commands you exit the body, He commands it!”

The holy water boils and spills over the top of the bottle and onto the woman’s stomach.

Father Crest is thrust into the desk and his crucifix plunges deep into his right eye.

He falls to the floor, dead.

The woman is fully consumed. The demon gets up and walks away.

5 Annoying Features On Your Blog

by Diane Carlisle

I’m begging you! Please, please do these things to make your blog more user friendly with the more interactive crowd. I follow many blogs and my commenting and responsiveness relies upon very easy access and quick feedback.

1. Please turn off the captchas. I understand there's spam out there, but if you haven't monetized your blog or posted it up in some of the sites that broadcast to mass marketers, then you really shouldn't need captchas. Only use them when you've discovered spam abuse in your comments. Chances are you will never run across abuse in comments on your personal blogs. You may even discover an increase in the number of responses to your articles. It would be nice if blogging software would allow you to pose a test question to be answered rather than use of the captchas. At least that would make your blog ADA compliant.

2. Please don't change your blog theme as often as the weather changes in Florida. Think about Microsoft and Google and how long they've been around. They still look the same, right? On occasion, Google will change their Logo to accommodate our holidays, whether it's Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, or Valentine's Day. However, they always revert back to what looks familiar to us. Come up with your theme and stick to it. It’s the concept behind branding.

3. Please be sensitive to your audience when selecting font size and color. I've seen font colors that are so difficult to read it may as well be white text on a white background. Also, since I'm getting older and my eyes are getting weaker, I don't want to struggle to read what may otherwise be a very clever and entertaining article. I hate it that I have to by-pass an article because the font isn't big enough for me to read. I'm not going to change the zoom on my screen for one article with small font when I can simply go to the next blog.

4. Please turn off comment moderation. If you want, there's an option that will keep anonymous visitors from posting comments to your blog. Seriously, I'm an instant gratification type person. That means I like to experience things in real time. I want to see my comment published as soon as I click the "post comment" button. It gives me a warm fuzzy to see my posted words on your site, in your theme and all it's beautiful colors and fonts!

5. Please use the spelling and grammar checking tools bundled with your word processing software. There have been a ton of blogs that I've visited and re-visited where I'd find the occasional typo and/or misplaced word (I've done it myself). The fewer there are, the more likely I will visit your site again just to give you kudos and leave comments because I like what I'm seeing.

If I’m coming back and commenting on your blog and you have these dreaded features enabled, then you have an awesome blog because I feel compelled to visit despite them!

So, tell me. What features out there in the blog-o-sphere have you flustered? Share them here. I do make subtle changes on mine, all coming as suggestions by readers who visit. The one thing I refuse to change is my white text on a dark background (...and never say never. Oops!). I was raised on the internet playing MUDs and it is an absolute must for me.

My Guy Mitt

by Diane Carlisle

My fellow blogger, Under Cover Waitress, posted about paying taxes on tips and because I am thoroughly entertained by her posts, I pay particular attention to every word. So, you can imagine my angst when she calls out my guy, Mitt Romney, for only paying 15% in taxes as revealed by the release of his tax return. You know I have to defend my guy. After all, I voted for him! Go Florida! By the way, I'm so happy to have been a part of the republican primaries, and the volunteers had an awesome display of goodies to feed us voters.

Back to my rival blogger. She is correct; Romney only paid 15% of his income. He is not currently employed though, so his only income comes in as capital gains, and 15% is the going rate. He invests his money. Why...that BASTARD!

Listen, if all these rich guys didn't invest their money and instead put it all in a safe in their houses, where do you think we'd be in this economy now? Sure, they wouldn't make any money on it, but they wouldn't be risking the "loss" of it either, especially with the economy as volatile as it is these days.

When rich people invest money, they earn money. Isn't earning money a good thing? Or has America become a country that doesn't believe that people should earn money? Besides, he was already taxed on the money he earned, which he now invests. The more you invest, the more you earn, and therefore, the more you pay taxes. Who's getting screwed here? And the guy still paid millions of dollars to charities and 10% of his income to his church.

Earning money is something we all strive to do. Some of us do it smarter and some of us don't. The person who sits at home collecting unemployment because the pay is more than he'd get busting his ass making minimum wage is smart. Sure, he's pissing me off, because my tax dollar provided the program which allows this to happen. Now, my guy Mitt, he's making money off the money he already earned. Nobody's tax dollar is contributing to his ability to do that.

I'm no Mitt Romney, but I think he understands the consequences if he chooses not to work his assets as best for him and his family as he can. That means no wasted opportunities for growth. Don't you want someone like that looking out for America as a whole? Or would you rather the government take risks and gamble with our tax dollars and leave the mess behind for our kids to cleanup?

We need to stop electing people who want to spend our tax dollars "unwisely" and we need to stop worrying about "fair" distribution. Nothing is ever fair. It's not fair that someone in my family got back more taxes than they paid in. It's not fair that we have people going hungry every day, who have to go to soup kitchens that operate off charitable contributions made by people who earn money and pay taxes.


Middle class
$150,000.00 x 35% = $52,500.00 (thousands in taxes)

Wealthy class
$21,000,000.00 x 15% = $3,150,000.00 (millions in taxes)

How is that fair? But, he paid it, right? At least he didn't "forget to pay" his taxes like some politicians.

Let's discuss. Do you believe that top wage earners should be taxed a higher percentage rate? If so, why?

A Hero Because

by Diane Carlisle

My daughter wrote this poem about her dad. I see all the truth in it and I'm so touched by it that I wanted to share it with you. This is my family, and I know I'm blessed.

A hero because...

He has everything he could ever want,
Though growing up with absolutely nothing.
He tried his best to reach success,
In return is looked up to by many.
He is twice the father as most,
Because he knows the feeling of losing one.
He is there for me,
When no one else is.
He is the man who has my heart,
In doing so he has my love.
He tries his hardest to stay healthy,
In hopes of walking me down the aisle.
He is my Daddy,
The only man I can depend on.

I picked this photo out for a representation of the poem.

The Social Media Scrutiny

by Diane Carlisle


My husband and I had a discussion tonight about how social media has affected so many people, not just as a positive collaboration tool for the professional, but as a negative conduit into our personal lives. I thought this might be a perfect opportunity to reflect on how social media “should” be used and how you might want to consider your “brand” or self-product when presenting yourself to the world.

I’m not sure if you’ve had an opportunity to read about the police officer who posted a photograph of himself, posing with gun-toting, teenagers and an anti-Obama T-shirt. At first, I thought it ridiculous the scrutiny given by the Secret Service. But after further reflection, I realized that the police officer brought the scrutiny upon himself, didn’t he? I wanted to say to the police officer, “Where’s your judgment?” His lack of judgment is on display here, not any threat to the life of our President.

Another thing I’ve witnessed lately is the number of disgruntled workers who post about their “shitty” days at work. Um, do you know how many people are out of work who would love to have your job right now? Think about that for a moment.

Commenting about your dissatisfaction at work isn’t very appropriate, and Facebook and other social media are not the places to voice your dissatisfaction. Is it your right to speak your mind? Don’t you have the freedom to express yourself? Sure you do, but those whom you express your feelings toward have that same right, and their freedom of expression, accomplished through professional means, might not be helpful to you or your future.

If you have a problem with your employer, or even some personal issues that are making your life miserable, there’s nothing that screams you are a hazard to your work environment than a posted rant on Facebook.

If you’re feeling slighted at work for any reason, talk it over with a trusted co-worker or go home and sit down to a nice dinner and discuss these issues with someone who has your best interest at heart.

The fact that you have 500 friends on Facebook doesn’t mean that you have an Army ready to support your cause, whatever that might be. They won’t be standing by, ready to offer you a job when you are fired for calling your boss an asshole in your status. Do you remember that friend you added three years ago? She’s a friend of a friend’s mother whose daughter hangs out with your boss’s daughter.

I’m not saying to hide your true self. I encourage people to put their best selves in the public eye. If you feel that you have a great sense of humor and want to post pictures of yourself displaying your funniest faces, go for it! Just remember that your future, potential employers may be looking to hire someone a bit more serious.

Yes, you do have certain privacy rights. Social media is as private as you want it to be, such that the ultimate privacy is to not have an account at all.

Mine is just one, but I'd like to hear your opinions on social media's impact over what we believe to be our Constitutional Rights to freedom of speech.