This is an invitation to all of you poets (or potential poets, which is all of you) out there to join me in a new collaborative series I’m calling “Get Your Golden Shovel”. Here is how it works.
Each Saturday in February (as an initial experiment and then I’ll decide whether to continue), will be Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll post a prompt consisting of one or two lines from a well known poem on Saturday, then we all will create a new poem using the Golden Shovel form and share it with each other. I think it will be very interesting to see how different each of our pieces are despite pulling from the same source of material.
What is the Golden Shovel form, you ask? The Golden Shovel form was created by the poet Terrance Hayes, whose poem “Golden Shovel” (from his 2010 collection Lighthead) is based on Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” which references the phrase “Golden Shovel”. Check out the “rules” here. There is also an example provided.
If you missed the earlier prompts, check out all the contributions from the community in the Week 1 Round-Up and Week 2 Round-Up. Feel free to contribute yours anytime. They were great poem line prompts with lots of creative potential.
You can either post on your own blog and link to the prompt post so that we can all see it and further share, include it in the prompt post’s comments section, or post on twitter and tag me (@montyvern).
While there is not a hard deadline, the intention is to share your Golden Shovel poem during the prompt week before the following Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll target posting my own poem along with some of yours with links in a round-up post ahead of the following week’s prompt.
That’s it! I’m looking forward to seeing what we all come up. It should be a bit challenging, but hopefully fun.
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Last Saturday I posted the second “Get Your Golden Shovel” prompt as a collaborative project for our writing community. In this round-up, I share my golden shovel poem as well as those that were contributed by the community.
What’s a golden shovel poem? It’s a poetic form originally created by Terrance Hayes. Check out the rules here.
I want to give a big thanks to each of you that were willing to give this week’s challenge a try:
I found this line both challenging and inspiring. I love what we all did with these colorful words. Once again the diversity is amazing, which is my favorite reason for doing creative collaborations. You all inspire me. Thank you!
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Paul, over at the Captain’s Speech hosted the first ever blogger games last year during the Summer Olympics. It was a fun time. The competition was fierce and although I made the podium once during the five week games, I didn’t place in the end. Well, the time is nigh for that to change. Peckapalooza from The Confusing Middle, one of my fellow contestants in the first games, has negotiated organizing rights with Paul and is hosting The Blogger Games II just in time to coincide with the winter games.
So last week I took a bold turn on my strategy by guessing against my intuition on every question. How did this work out? Not so well. I got only 4/10 correct, just slightly ahead of random chance and slightly worse relative to the first week. My KPI for the strategy was minimum 6 correct answers. So back to the strategic drawing board.
As soon as I saw this week’s questions (all about preferences) and that they were somewhat consistent with first Blogger Games hosted by Paul, which Peckapalooza also played, I knew that I needed to make a critical decision. How to best use this data? Here’s the thing, I think it’s human nature to assume that other peoples preferences are the same as ours if we like them (and different if we don’t like them). So, if Peckapalooza likes Paul, I should choose the same/similar answers that Peckapalooza chose for Paul in the original games. If he hates Paul, then I should go with the opposite answer. Make sense? Of course, Peckapalooza could be indifferent or indecisive about liking Paul, but where is the fun in thinking that?
My answer: Paul is Peckapalooza’s best (virtual) bud.
Why? Because Paul is so darn likable! Nuff’ said!
THE 10 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Which way does Peckapalooza like the toilet paper roll to hang? A) Over B) Under
Answer: A) Over. Peckapalooza guessed (wrongly) that Paul prefers over, so that is what I’m going with. I got this one wrong about Paul too. This could be a tough one as some, like me, don’t really have a strong preference. I don’t care how it hangs myself as long as it’s there when I need it.
2. Sandwiches taste better when they are…? A) Not Cut B) Cut Diagonally
Answer: B) Cut Diagonally. Peckapalooza and I both guess this correctly for Paul and frankly there is no other right answer anyway.
3. When it comes to watching shows on TV, does Peckapalooza like to watch them…? A) Week to Week B) Binged All At Once
Answer: B) Binged All At Once. This question varies from the original where Peckapalooza guessed “Later (recorded)” correctly about Paul. I didn’t. I was thinking about sports and assuming Paul would want to watch them live, but I should have focused on “shows”. Anyway, I figure Binged is the closest answer here to “Later”.
4. Is Peckapalooza a…? A) Night Owl B) Morning Person
Answer: A) Night Owl. Peckapalooza got this right about Paul and I got it wrong (what does that say about whether I like Paul?! I suggest, let’s not overanalyze this strategy!). I myself like to wake up early (5am everyday). I’m a serious morning person.
5. Which fries does Peckapalooza like more? A) McDonald’s B) Burger King
Answer: A) McDonalds. Almost everyone got this wrong about Paul. Probably because Paul got this one wrong himself. Now, Peckapalooza switched out Wendy’s with Burger King on this question, which would hint at the fact that Burger King might be the correct answer, but I think it’s a red herring and I’m sticking with MickyD’s (because it’s the right answer whether it’s correct or not!).
6. Peckapalooza likes to sleep on his…? A) Side B) Back
Answer: A) Side. This question almost threw me as it wasn’t binary in the original games, but I did some extra digging and confirmed Peckapalooza guessed (wrongly) side for this one. Personally, I’m most often on my stomach (like Paul).
7. When ordering a beverage at a restaurant does Peckapalooza…? A) Use a Straw B) Drink from the Glass
Answer: B) Drink from the Glass. Peckapalooza and I both guess this wrong for Paul. Paul had framed this question around drinking from a small milk carton…Paul is still a kid at heart and we weren’t thinking straight. Who even still drinks from milk cartons after grade school? I prefer drinking from the glass to avoid the “plasticy” flavor of the straw.
8: Peckapalooza would rather be…? A) Hot B) Cold
Answer: B) Cold. Ok, so this one wasn’t on the original set of questions so I’m flying blind on this one. I’ll take my 50/50 chances. I personally prefer to be cold because there is something that I can do about it (put on more layers), but there are only so many layers that I can take off before I become an indecent exposure, so…
9. Peckapalooza would rather live…? A) On a Lake B) At the Beach
Answer: A) On a Lake. This is another new question so I’m projecting my own preference here. If there was an option to live on a rocky ocean shore I would have gone with that as I love the waves, but I’m not a fan of sand.
10) Which young adult book series does Peckapalooza like more? A) Percy Jackson B) Harry Potter
Answer: B) Harry Potter. Another new question and another projection of my personal preferences. Harry Potter is a much better crafted world/story than Percy Jackson.
I’ve shared my own preferences in most of the questions above, so I’ll just jump to predictions. This week I fully expect to score 7/10 correctly (considering that some of the questions were new and I wasn’t able to directly apply my strategy). Let’s see how this works out!
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
This is an invitation to all of you poets (or potential poets, which is all of you) out there to join me in a new collaborative series I’m calling “Get Your Golden Shovel”. Here is how it works.
Each Saturday in February (as an initial experiment and then I’ll decide whether to continue), will be Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll post a prompt consisting of one or two lines from a well known poem on Saturday, then we all will create a new poem using the Golden Shovel form and share it with each other. I think it will be very interesting to see how different each of our pieces are despite pulling from the same source of material.
What is the Golden Shovel form, you ask? The Golden Shovel form was created by the poet Terrance Hayes, whose poem “Golden Shovel” (from his 2010 collection Lighthead) is based on Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” which references the phrase “Golden Shovel”. Check out the “rules” here. There is also an example provided.
If you missed the first prompt, check out all the contributions from the community in the Week 1 Round-Up. Feel free to contribute yours anytime. It was a great poem line prompt with lots of creative potential.
You can either post on your own blog and link to the prompt post so that we can all see it and further share, include it in the prompt post’s comments section, or post on twitter and tag me (@montyvern).
While there is not any hard deadline, the intention is to share your Golden Shovel poem during the prompt week before the following Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll target posting my own poem along with some of yours with links in a round-up post ahead of the following week’s prompt.
That’s it! I’m looking forward to seeing what we all come up. It should be a bit challenging, but hopefully fun.
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Last Saturday I posted the first “Get Your Golden Shovel” prompt as a collaborative project for our writing community. In this round-up, I share my golden shovel poem as well as those that were contributed by the community.
What’s a golden shovel poem? It’s a poetic form originally created by Terrance Hayes. Check out the rules here.
I want to give a big thanks to each of you that were willing to give this first experiment a try:
How cool was that! I love seeing all of the different takes on this. If you want to give this line a try feel free to leave your poem in the comments below (or link your post to this one).
Thanks again to each of the guest contributors. Stay tuned for next prompt coming soon. Everyone is welcome to join in.
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Paul, over at the Captain’s Speech hosted the first ever blogger games last year during the Summer Olympics. It was a fun time. The competition was fierce and although I made the podium once during the five week games, I didn’t place in the end. Well, the time is nigh for that to change. Peckapalooza from The Confusing Middle, one of my fellow contestants in the first games, has negotiated organizing rights with Paul and is hosting The Blogger Games II just in time to coincide with the winter games.
Before we begin, I must remark that last week’s bronze medal showing was a disappointment. I know, I know, I should be grateful for a medal. But scoring only three points out of a total ten points available was a bit of a shock to my system. Not only that, but I was shaken to my core with the discovery that Peckapalooza puts mayo on his hot dogs! How can I be confident in any answer moving forward knowing that Peckapalooza isn’t like any other human I’ve ever known? But after thinking about it for awhile, I figured out my new strategy. I’m going to guess against my intuition on every question this week. Given that my intuition only yielded my three points last week. I’m expecting this strategy to earn me at least six points. Let’s see how this works out.
THE 10 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Why was Peckapalooza not allowed to participate in intramural flag football in college? A) He had asthma B) He was a dropper C) He was too slow
Answer: A) He had asthma. So the most logical answer here is that he had asthma, but obviously the answer can’t be that logical so it must be one of others (probably he was a dropper). But going with my new strategy I’m back to he had asthma.
2. What position did Peckapalooza play in 7th grade baseball? A) Short Stop B) Catcher C) Right Field
Answer: A) Short Stop. My intuition is that the correct answer is right field (same position I played in 7th grade baseball by the way and I was a terrible baseball player). So again using my strategy, I’ve got either short stop or catcher left as options. I usually would opt for B since the last answer was A to avoid repeated answers, so I’m going with A.
3. What injury did Peckapalooza sustain on New Year’s Eve, 1999 while roller skating? A) Dislocated Shoulder B) Sprained Ankle C) Broken Tailbone
Answer: A) Dislocated Shouler. I’d normally have selected broken tailbone here as it would have allowed me to make a bad joke about Peckapalooza breaking his ass, but alas my strategy will not allow this. So it’s once again “A” – that makes three in a row.
4. Where did Peckapalooza attend his first Major League Baseball game? A) Fenway Park B) Yankee Stadium C) Camden Yards
Answer: C) Camden Yards. I’d love to think it was Fenway Park which is where I saw my first MLB game. Perhaps even the same game vs. the Seattle Mariners when Boston lost the game 9-1 (I was being a little contrarian brat and routing for the Mariners). It was bat day too so I went home with a little souvenir to commemorate the Red Socks stinking performance on that day. So, I’m going with NOT Fenway Park.
5. What is Peckapalooza’s favorite movie about baseball? A) A League of Their Own B) Field of Dreams C) Bull Durham
Answer: C) Bull Durham. All of these were excellent movies, but I would rank order them from best to least as 1st Field of Dreams, 2nd A League of Their Own, and 3rd Bull Durham. So I’m going with Bull Durham.
6. Who was the home team at the only NHL game Peckapalooza has ever attended? A) Washington Capitals B) Philadelphia Flyers C) Carolina Hurricanes.
Answer: C) Carolina Hurricanes. It’s time to go with another C to make three in a row. My first NHL game was NY Rangers (home) vs. NJ Devils and it was crazy at Madison Square Garden. Before that I’d seen some practice games by the Islanders. Overall, I’ve probably seen about 8 games, including one NHL pre-season game that was played in Shanghai a few years ago, but I don’t recall the teams.
7. Whichcollege athlete did Peckapalooza often run transactions for while working as a bank teller? A) Russell Wilson B) Andrew Luck C) Robert Griffen III
Answer: C) Robert Griffen III. Breaking the threesome with a fourth “C” answers. I was tempted to break strategy and make some joke about Wilson, the volleyball, but alas I’ve got to stick to this scientific experiment to ensure I can interpret the results correctly for next round.
8: What local bowling alley did Peckapalooza bowl at in his Saturday morning youth league? A) All-Star Lanes B) Lee-Hi Lanes C) Hilltop Lanes
Answer: C) Hilltop Lanes. Another “C” answer but this time its just happenstance. Obviously you can’t have a bowling alley on a hilltop, so the answer can’t possibly be Hilltop Lanes (so therefor it must be).
9. Which sport would Peckapalooza support in becoming an Olympic sport? A) Ultimate Frisbee B) Calvinball C) Competitive Cup Stacking
Answer: B) Calvinball. What the heck is Calvinball? I’ve got absolutely no intuition on this one so a pure guess.
10) Why did Peckapalooza attend every Girls’ JV Soccer home game as a freshman in high school? A) His cousin was on the team and was his ride B) He had a crush on a girl on the team C) His earth science teacher was the coach and gave her students extra credit for attending
Answer: B) He had a crush on a girl on the team. My intuition is he was going for extra credit so…
Monty’s Turn:
Last week I veered off from the specific questions Peckapalooza raised so in keeping with the spirit of my strategy this week, I’ll address each question straight on:
Did you play any sports when growing up?I mostly played soccer (indoor and outdoor) competitively. I also tried one season each of basketball, baseball, and cross-country skiing.
What did you like/dislike about gym class? My favorite activity in gym was floor hockey by far. My least favorite was line-dancing.
Which sports do you like to watch/follow? My most preferred sport to watch live is ice hockey. American football is the best for tv viewing. I’m not following any sports to closely these days as I’m on the wrong side of the world for the sports I’m interested in.
Have you ever gotten hurt playing sports? My only broken bone was an injury while playing football at recess during the 8th grade. It was a hairline fracture of the wrist which I landed on after failing to make a catch.
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
This is an invitation to all of you poets (or potential poets, which is all of you) out there to join me in a new collaborative series I’m calling “Get Your Golden Shovel”. Here is how it will work.
Each Saturday in February (as an initial experiment and then I’ll decide whether to continue), will be Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll post a prompt consisting of one or two lines from a well known poem on Saturday, then we all will create a new poem using the Golden Shovel technique and share it with each other. I think it will be very interesting to see how different each of our pieces are despite pulling from the same source of material.
What is the Golden Shovel technique, you ask? It’s a poetic form originally created by the poet, Terrance Hayes. Check out the “rules” here. There is also an example provided.
You can either post on your own blog and link to the prompt post so that we can all see it and further share or include it in the prompt post’s comments section.
While there is not any hard deadlines, the intention is to share your Golden Shovel poem during the prompt week before the following Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll target posting my own poem along with some of yours with links in a recap post ahead of the following weeks.
That’s it. Today’s the the first prompt. Feel free to give it a try with the prompt line above if you want to get your feet wet.
I’m looking forward to seeing what develops from this. It should be fun!
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Paul, over at the Captain’s Speech hosted the first ever blogger games last year during the Summer Olympics. It was a fun time. The competition was fierce and although I made the podium once during the five week games, I didn’t place in the end. Well, the time is nigh for that to change. Peckapalooza from The Confusing Middle, one of my fellow contestants in the first games, has negotiated organizing rights with Paul and is hosting The Blogger Games II just in time to coincide with the winter games. Enough said. Let’s play!
1. Which of the following foods will Peckapalooza refuse to eat under any circumstances? A) Chocolate B) Spinach C) Broccoli D) Peanut Butter
Answer: B) Spinach. I reject Peckapalooza’s claim to being a grown-up adult.
2. What is most frequently Peckapalooza’s go to bowl of cereal? A) Frosted Flakes B) Cinnamon Toast Crunch C) Rice Krispies D) Honey-Nut Cheerios
Answer: A. Frosted Flakes. It’s a toss-up between Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch so I went with my gut (and avoiding two B answers in a row). My personal go-to cereal is Cheerios (standard, but China’s variation on the cereal which is much more crunchy and robust. Vastly superior to the US version in my opinion).
3. Peckapalooza [claims] he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but which kind of pie does he consider the best? A) Apple B) Pumpkin C) Key Lime D) Lemon Merengue
Answer: C) Key Lime Pie. After Lemon Merengue, this is one of the worst pies in my opinion. Too sweet. That’s right! I’m throwing down and risking it all by challenging the judge. Just call me reckless. I’m a Pumpkin and Apple pie kinda guy.
4. What is the only drink Peckapalooza will order at Starbucks? A) Pumpkin Spice Latte B) Caramel Apple Spice C) Caramel Macchiato D) White Chocolate Mocha w/ Raspberry
Answer: D) White Chocolate Mocha w/ Raspberry.I’ve never even heard of this one, but it’s the least coffee-like drink on the list (and white chocolate isn’t really chocolate). Also since Peckapalooza is a monster and doesn’t prefer pumpkin or apple pie, that eliminated two of the other options. Oh, and who knew Raspberry had a “p” in it??? I certainly never did. When the red squiggle line came up I was convinced some one messed with the editor’s dictionary.
5. Which condiment would Peckapalooza never put on a hot dog? A) Mayonnaise B) Ketchup C) Mustard D) Chili
Answer: A) Mayonnaise. Because despite my contentious comments earlier I don’t believe Peckapalooza is a monster. Also Chili is a topping not a condiment in my book.
6. As a kid, when enjoying a glass of chocolate milk, what did Peckapalooza use to change the white milk to chocolate? A) Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup B) Ovaltine C) Nestle Quik D) Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix
Answer: C) Nestle Quik. Because Peckapalooza is a child of the 80’s. Would Swiss Miss even work in cold milk?
7. Which fast food chain did Peckapalooza avoid until his early teens because he mistakenly believed that, as a picky eater, he could not specially request what he wanted? A) Burger King B) Taco Bell C) Subway D) Wendy’s
Answer: A) Burger King. Because it’s reasonable as a kid to think you can’t make demands of a king. And while Peckapalooza’s food tastes are a bit unreasonable, he is actually a very reasonable guy.
8: What is Peckapalooza’s favorite flavor of Pop-Tart? A) Apple Cinnamon B) Grape C) Frosted Strawberry D) Unfrosted Strawberry
Answer: D) Unfrosted Strawberry. Because there has to be at least one instance that backs up Peckapalooza’s claim of not being a sweet-tooth.
9. What is Peckapalooza’s preferred salad dressing? A) Thousand Island B) Ranch C) Honey Mustard D) Italian
Answer: A) Thousand Island. Because it is the best at hiding the vegetables (a toss-up with Ranch to be honest).
10) Which of the following topping combinations does Peckapalooza like on his pizza? A) Chicken, Bacon, and Sausage B) Pepperoni and Mushrooms C) Ham and Pineapple D) Peppers, Onions, and Sausage
Answer: B) Pepperoni and Mushroom. A classic. And mushrooms are the least vegetable vegetable there is. Option A, which is all meat, is a red-herring.
Monty’s Turn:
When Peckapalooza asks for a food story, you gotta deliver (in 30 minutes or less):
Ode to Soy
by Monty Vern (originally published in Monty’s Almanac 202x)
“Iron Sponge” – this is what you get when you source your tofu from a co-op’s bulk tofu barrel in Vermont during the 80’s and fry thick slabs of it seasoned only by the cast iron skillet.
“Iron Sponge”
Also known as “Torture by Tofu”, these healthy meals were a scaring introduction into the curdish world of soy.
“Tofu Patties” – this is what you turn to when you take an ethics class about animal rights during senior year in college and are too lazy to read the counterarguments.
“Tofu Pattie”
If not for the illicit juices infiltrating these babies from the tortured cow patties cooked on the very same cafeteria grill and heavy overdoses of condiments all squeezed between bouncy buns, these might have cured me of senioritis. But to this day I haven’t read the counterarguments…I’ve just “conveniently forgot” the arguments in the first place.
“Silk de le Soy” – this, my friends, is a spiritual awakening in tofu form. A delicate tapestry of flavors and textures that serenade one’s tongue. A gift from the Sun gods to the chosen people.
One shouldn’t complain or be too envious – they did after all give us Mario, Luigi, and magic mushrooms. For me, this tofu epiphany came presented in a humble miso soup prepared by the mama-san of the company dormitory. Perfection.
“Silk-de-la-Soy”
“Dofu Delicacies” – having been enlightened, it was time to move on to the OG of soy (and seemingly all culture as we know it). It doesn’t take long when your living in China to learn that a delicacy is more about delighting the spectators of the poor laowai struggling to keep their stomach from turning upside down than any sort of culinary pleasure. Dofu is no exception. What’s beautiful about the Chinese is that they don’t mess around with euphemisms , with names like “stinky dofu” from Zhejiang to “hairy dofu” from Anhui , you know exactly what you’re getting.
“Stinky Tofu”
So, there you have it. My life in tofu. Wherever you are in your tofu discovery journey, I raise my glass (or more accurately my bowl) of soymilk to you wishing you health and joy and ever’ soy.
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
This is an invitation to all of you poets (or potential poets, which is all of you) out there to join me in a new collaborative series I’m calling “Get Your Golden Shovel”. Here is how it will work.
Each Saturday in February (as an initial experiment and then I’ll decide whether to continue), will be Golden Shovel Saturday. I’ll post a prompt consisting of one or two lines from a well known poem on Saturday, then we all will create a new poem using the Golden Shovel form and share it with each other. I think it will be very interesting to see how different each of our pieces are despite pulling from the same source of material.
What is the Golden Shovel form, you ask? The Golden Shovel form was created by the poet Terrance Hayes, whose poem “Golden Shovel” (from his 2010 collection Lighthead) is based on Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” which references the phrase “Golden Shovel”. Here are the rules:
1) Take a line (or lines) from an existing poem (I’ll provide this as the prompt for the week)
2) Use each word in the line (or lines) as an end word in your poem.
3) Keep the end words in order.
4) The new poem does not have to be about the same subject as the poem that offers the end words.
5) Make sure to credit the poet who originally wrote the line (or lines)and link to my prompt post.
6. Have fun! If the rules are too rigid for what your muse is calling for then break them!
I’m only using my own poem as an example. The prompts will come from poems that I admire of find interesting in some way by other poets.
While there will not be any hard deadlines, the intention is to share your Golden Shovel poem during the prompt week before the following Golden Shovel Saturday.
You can either post on your own blog and link to the prompt post so that we can all see it and further share or include it in the prompt post’s comments section.
That’s it. We’ll be starting on Saturday, February 5th with the first prompt. Feel free to give it a try with the prompt line above if you want to get your feet wet.
I’m looking forward to seeing what develops from this. It should be fun!
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
Monty’s Blahg 