Poem: "Fears You Didn't Know Existed"

This poem came out of the January 3, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from gingicat and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "panic" square in my 1-1-17 card for the Dark Fantasy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by the general fund, based on an audience poll. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.

Warning: This poem contains some touchy topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It features a lost toddler and a panicking mother. Everything turns out fine. However, parents or people with navigational challenges may find this stressful. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Hard Things

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do?

New verses in "Essential for Human Survival"

Based on an audience poll, the general fund has sponsored 8 new verses in "Essential for Human Survival."  Cassandra and Groundhog arrive at the Kwan Yin House of Compassion.

Figure Skating

callibr8 tipped me to an article and a video about figure skating that are just gorgeous.  This reminded us both about Terramagne.

2017 Rose & Bay Awards

The winners for the 2017 Rose and Bay Awards are:

Art: "Nature Adores Diversity" by Capriuni
Fiction: FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction by Justina Ireland, Troy L. Wiggins, et al.
Poetry: "The Purpose of Power" by ysabetwordsmith
Webcomic: "Oglaf" by Trudy Cooper and Doug Bayne
Other Project: tie
Patron: Glenn Stone aka Technoshaman, patron of the Poetry Fishbowl

The Other Project category currently has a three-way tie:
"Captain Awkward" by Captain Awkward
"Letters of Apology" by siliconshaman
"Letter to a Super-Hurrah" by Alatefeline

You can vote to break the tie in the runoff poll, open March 1-14.  The winner will be announced on March 15.

Amputee Humor

Some of these are funny, others are kind of sick.  But ... It's Your Body, you can laugh if you want to.

Disability Bingo Card 3-1-17

Here is my card for the Disability Bingo Fest, in honor of March being Disability Awareness Month.  This fest will run from March 1st through March 31.  It focuses on the role of handicaps in storytelling.  (See all my 2017 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out.  I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far.  This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.


Underlined prompts have been filled.

DISABILITY BINGO CARD

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome	Seeing from a Different Perspective	Determination	Formidable Handicapped Villain	Family Support Makes a Difference
Invisible Handicaps	Asthma	Handicapped Heroes	Involuntary Healing	Depression
All-Disabled Heroic Team	Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome	WILD CARD	Intentional Neighboring	Stop Treating Me Like a Child
Creative Solutions to Limits	Amputation	Magical Disability	Pain	Anxiety
Autism or Asperger's Syndrome	Service Animals	Out of Spoons (Energy Limitations)	Adaptive Equipment	Lifestyle Changes