Ryagas.me

The Nursery Rhyme Challenge

Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe in the middle of the night
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fine fiddle, and a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there’s none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

This is an interesting one because it’s not entirely clear exactly which king, with the name Cole, this is referring to. I see 3 contenders listed here:

Old King Cole Rhyme

The origins of the Nursery rhyme lyrics of Old King Cole are based in history dating back to 3rd century. There is considerable confusion regarding the origins of Old King Cole as there are three possible contenders who were Celtic Kings of Britain, all who share the name Coel (which is the Celtic word for the English word Cole). Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1110-1155) refers to a King Cole as a king of the Britons.

My interpretation is that, whichever king this was, he was a king who liked to party, and late into the nights pretty often. Whoever created this rhyme was likely a witness to at least some of the festivities, likely a servant of some kind. That’s just my best guess, as I have no particular expertise in this field of history.

Prompt: The Nursery Rhyme Challenge

The News and Paper Challenge

One of the richest men in the world now has God as his personal assistant.

Source: [Mashable]

I like how the article says that it’s unclear if Freeman was paid. Yeah, I think he got paid, and probably handsomely. That’s definitely a good choice of voice for a personal assistant. I was using the Waze voice for quite a while. I would also consider Susan Bennett (the voice of Siri) as well. Knowing that Susan was only paid for her initial recording sessions (before Apple acquired that company), and no royalties, I doubt it’ll be anything beyond his recording fee.

We’ll probably never know for sure.

Prompt: The News and Paper Challenge

An Intention For 2017

Stipula fountain pen — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stipula_fountain_pen.jpg

It’s a simple intention that I post here, but a habit I hope to keep up. I intend to post something, anything, every single Monday in 2017. I further intend it specifically to be here, on my personal space online. For now, I’ll have it be for #MicroblogMondays since I’ve got a reminder set to remind me. Soon enough, I want it to just be a habit.

More: MicroblogMondays 121: Post in Your Own Space

In

If I am at a loss for words during our stroll, I’ll try and remember and recite this poem

As I got off the telephone with her, I imagined showing her this dusk I’d seen a few times while strolling along the shore next to the old fence. She accepted the invitation so easily, and that made me feel less nervous, for the time being. If I am at a loss for words during our stroll, I’ll try and remember and recite this poem, and hope it doesn’t spook her:

In,
search of skin,
color no matter,
brighter or darker,
tell no one,
I will take someone,
Ssssshhhhh!
– ghost, me!

We’ll see how this goes!

Prompt: IBMC #06: The Mass Media Challenge

Questions, Questions

She’s gorgeous, I think to myself, wondering what I should do besides intently stare into her brown eyes. She’s saying something about a movie we’ve both seen, although not so recently for myself. I am confused at times. Should I sound? Should I echo? There’s a jumble of thoughts in my head.

“I like broken hero types, like Elliot in Mr. Robot,” I say, trying to relate the movie to a show I’d recently gotten into. He’s completely unlike the typical hero type she’s excited about in the movie, but she isn’t taking my troll lightly.

“What’s he got going for him, huh? Broken in what way?” She hasn’t seen much of the show, so I need to explain a bit more. “Well?”

I try to think quickly, temporarily distracted by a flash of her eyes in their sudden intensity. Ugh! Thoughts – they do what we don’t ask for! I laugh a bit, out of nervousness, struggling to answer.

“You need not answer all the questions! You can just laugh and laugh again,” she smiles mischievously.

“You’ve got pretty brown eyes, you know,” I stall. It’s true, but I’m not sure yet how to explain what I mean still. I knew it! That I don’t know! I still have to try, though.

“You’re just stalling now,” she teases.

“Well, this is tough, since I haven’t seen much of the show yet. I’m still trying to get a feel for the main characters.” This was true, only having seen the first 2 episodes.

“It’s true!” I plead. “I was trying to think of something about the show when you flashed your eyes. At times, we pretend to think on one and actually think everything else!”

“Alright, we’ll come back to this later. I want to see if you still feel that way after a few more episodes,” she grins. “Thanks for the compliment. You better have meant it.” She gives my hand a squeeze.

“Oh, I did.” I squeeze her hand back.

Prompt: IBMC #05: The Not So Quite Quote Challenge