Daniel was too engrossed sifting through the popcorn to hear him the first time.

The hologram of the old man, hovering next to him, waited for Daniel to lift his gaze from the bowl. “Another movie, sir?” he repeated when he was convinced of his full attention.

But it did not have Daniel’s full attention. Not that it mattered. Daniel grunted and mumbled: “Yea, yea,” waving his hand, thus relieving the old man from checking in on him.

“And more popcorn!” he shouted to the empty room.

A room for one, just as he liked it.

The red velvet chair…

It has become a constant comment at work “He/She is a nice person, but not too bright/doesn’t know what to do/other reasons.” And I am tired of hearing it.

I would need the hands of a few others to finger count how many times I have heard someone praising another for being nice, but never once for being competent. And that is a shame.

To be a nice person helps with the social aspect of life, but would it not be great to be also competent? …

A hangnail: that is how Valerie felt. She could have said she felt like a third wheel or even an elephant playing the saxophone, but she was never one for following rules. And Valerie did not know how to play the saxophone. Also, she was not an elephant.

A hangnail it was.

She was somehow attached to the events, her being the next in line at the donut shop, but she was also an outsider, still waiting for her turn. Valerie was not a patient person. She knew that about herself and tried to make amends.

Count to ten, to…

Darryl slid three quarters into the vending machine and weighed his options.

He could go for the low-calorie chocolate bar at 15F, but that would not taste good, he told himself. As far as he was concerned, nothing with low-calorie written on it ever tasted good. One would be lucky if it tasted remotely acceptable.

The soda at 4D looked promising, but that was more expensive, and he didn’t have more quarters on him. And besides, he told Martha he would quit fizzy drinks. “If the fizz stays in the drink, the fizz stays in you,” he imagined her saying…

I have recently received an e-mail regarding a photo contest.

Entries now open, it said, and ended with the request of sharing the information with whoever might be interested. That is why I’m writing this.

Some say sharing is caring.

The idea for World Landscape Photographer

Have you heard about Nigel Danson?

Nigel is a professional landscape photographer and has a YouTube channel where he talks about his craft. In his videos, he also analyzes his photos and shares his thought process behind the shots.

Nigel started World Landscape Photographer in 2020. He wanted to do something to help others, so this idea emerged.

“I wanted…

We are told from an early age not to play with our food. Some of us listen, and some do not.

I am from the latter category.

I took the above picture after the first time I made mochi. You can see in the photo that I have not tucked the ends securely underneath the mochi pieces. Also, the upper mochi piece has an uneven texture, which is not necessarily appetizing. They look raw, made by an amateur. Which is what they were. But what they lacked in aspect, they made up for in taste.

In my defense, it was…