Trifextra: Goin around, one last time.

Today’s Music: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – These Paths

And if you can, please click the pic under Give Merbear A Hand on the left and, well…give Merbear a hand.

After umpteen challenges and countless entries, I’ve gotten to read some incredible stuff. Despite only entering irregularly, it’s been an honor to be a member of the Trifecta Writing Challenge community.

After all the effort they’ve put in, and a great string of challenges either weekly or twice a week, the judges have decided to pack it in and leave before they lost their enthusiasm for it.
I wish them well, and to the rest of their writers, I look forward to seeing what you do next!

Here’s their Final Challenge:
we’re lovingly, and eagerly, placing the choice in your hands. There’s no topic, no word, just a free write. Go anywhere your mind wants to travel. Take us there too. Just make it count, leave your blood all over this page. Thirty-three words exactly.
Of course. We couldn’t end it any other way.

And here’s my last entry. Unless they start up again! (Thanks to polysyllabic profundities for getting me off my ass to contribute.)

Last Time Around
Thirty three…
How do you sum up something so rewarding so quickly?
Twenty one…
How do you thank and appreciate so concisely?
Eleven…
You write, and hope they understand how you feel.

Zero.

Thank you Trifecta. It was a pleasure.

Trifecta – Gladiators

Today’s Music: Hayley Sales – Just Pretend
Note on Today’s Music: Once again, John Phillips turned me on to something I’m really enjoying. Hope you do too.
Days Til Spring: 51

I don’t usually post so frequently. Feel free to blame Trifecta for this one, a request for 33 words on this picture:

Thomas Leuthard
Click image for original

Battle!
I saw her nearing the arena. This time I would be ready.
Her tennis whites gave an air of nonchalance. I cleared the table, stood.
“Checkers?” I asked.
She sat.
“To the death.”

And I thank you.

Trifecta: The first time I saw…

Today’s Music: Foreigner – Feels Like The First Time
Days Til Spring: 66

Another year, and new challenges from those wacky cats at Trifecta. And DJ Matticus, who reminded me of the challenge with his great response.
This week, they want 33 words to follow The first time I saw…
(Oh, and they should all be one syllable each.)

But I have 66! The same number of days til spring!
The first set is what came to mind first (since I’m a little bent).
The second set came to me because what’s a trifecta challenge if I don’t at least try to tweak the judges (since I’m probably more than a little bent)?

Vengeance is MINE!!!

The first time I saw
– from the first scream – from the time when the first shock made me wake, I knew my whole life would be in need to give a hard sharp slap back to that doc.

(and again…)
their tasks, mocks from a harsh team who hid in the depths of the ‘net, led me to spend my free time in search of them.
33 care worn words at a time.

Apologies in advance, but hey, it can’t all be Dostoyevsky.

Trifecta – Babu to Back

Today’s Music: The Beatles – Nowhere Man

Well, those wacky Trifectans have gotten even wackier!
This week, instead of giving us the third definition of a word, they’ve given us a buffet! Buffet, sadly, does not fall within the alphabetical range of Bab to Bac. But what does?
Why, the 99th page of the Oxford English dictionary!
And to be even wackier, this time they want exactly 99 words!


So even though I’m rarely mentioned for the challenge, I do want to assert myself as wackiest.
so here you go, and enjoy! (And while i’ve used several words in the piece, I did (in an even wackierest twist) actually try and use one correcly!)

Titleless(What? I used all 99 words in the story.)
“I got nothin’”
“What does that mean? You’ve got a whole dictionary page to work with. A whole page!”
“Did you even look at it?” came the rejoinder. “How the hell do I make ‘Babylon’ mean London? And ‘back’ is so amorphous it don’t mean fiddlesticks!”
The first poured himself a Bacardi. The second pulled out a steel shaft, toying with the bacilliform. “Who’s this?” he asked of the armored man under the ‘Merriam-Webster-Trifecta’ banner.
“He’s my bachelor”.
“Woah! I didn’t know you even went that way.”
The first man rolled his eyes. “Did you even read the dictionary?

*Note on today’s post: There’s a much longer version of this which has all the words on the Oxford page, but it was way over 99 so I couldn’t use it. You’re welcome.

Trifextra – Wheerrrrreeee Isssss Ittttt?!?

Today’s Music: KT Tunstall – Suddenly I See

When Trifecta goes topical, they don’t mess around.
The upcoming elections? Nope.
Government shutdown? Uhuh.
They’re channeling Halloween!

And I quote: “You’ve found some old books. On page 3 of one of the books, this illustration appears:
Give us the 33 words that follow this illustration. What happens next?”

Artist credit: Dan Duford
http://www.poisonedplayground.com

How could I resist?
Hoe you enjoy it.

We all knew that face, that mood, that pathos.
The blood curdling shrieks were familiar. The confusion, terror and anger would hover. He wouldn’t be relaxed again until he found his contact lens.