Kitty Kat Kaption Kontest

Happy Hump Day

And a very Happy Fourth of July!

This is probably a day off for many of you so it's not a hump day at all, but I've got these great cat pictures just begging for captions so I've decided to do a caption contest.

You know the rules.  Leave me caption for one or more of the five pictures below and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a book from a list of titles.  One chance for each caption.   

U.S. and Canada blogging friends only please.

Okay, lets see those captons!

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Weren't those great pictures?  I received them in an e-mail so I'm afraid I can't credit the source.

No, I didn't forget your "awwww".

Here it is.

Come on.  You know you said it.

Since we are busy celebrating today, I'll keep the the contest open until Monday night (July 9) and announce the winner next Wednesday.

Have a great Fourth!

Church Bulletin Bloopers: (gotta love the church ladies)

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?"  Come early and listen to our choir practice.

The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

And the answer to Monday's trivia question - as several of you guessed...

All were dyslexic.

Caption Contest Winner and a New Batch of Sillies

Wednesday: Happy Hump Day!

Before we get to today's sillies...

Congratulations to the winner of last Wednesday's Caption Contest: Angela Brown. 

I'll be contacting Angela by e-mail so she can select her prize.

Also, if you get a minute, hop back to last Wednesday's blog and check out the last comment I added.  A couple of my grandkids offered up their caption ideas and I promised I'd post them.

Okay, on with this week's Happy Hump Day.

First - well, this one sort of speaks for itself.

This one ties in with the t-shirts I shared a couple weeks ago.  Be careful of the quiet ones.

Well, it's about time - a Windows improvement we can actually use.

You know you've felt this way.  Come on, admit it. 

Now this takes the pressure off.  Forget about that stupid diet.

And you know I wouldn't leave you without your "awwww".

That should do it.  Got you over the hump and on the downhill slope to the weekend.

No need to thank me.

Well, a comment is always nice.

See you on Friday.

Groaner of the Day:  It's well known that some species of fish on the coral reef have adapted to be able to survive the poisonous sea anemone's sting, which gives them a safe place to hide from predators.

What isn't so well known is the story of the single fish that decided to be different. One day he swam away from his protective anemone, in search of some other hiding place.

A first, he swam into a small crevace in the rock, but he very quickly swam out of there, chased by an eel. Then he decided he could hide inside a shell, so he found a nice big one that he liked, but had to retreat from the crab that had got there before him.

Finally, exhaused, he swam into the coral beds, and hid among the brilliant coloured fern-like fronds of the corals.

The next day, when he hadn't come back to the anemone, some of the other fish decided to go out and look for him. The hunted everywhere for him, but they couldn't find him. Eventually, just as they had given up, they heard him calling to them. They looked around, but they couldn't see him anywhere - he was perfectly hidden by the coral.

Finally, he showed himself, and they tried to persuade him to come back home, but he refused - the coral was too good a hiding place to leave.

"After all," he said, "with fronds like these, who needs anemones?"

Caption Contest

Wednesday: Happy Hump Day!

I am so glad it's Wednesday.  Last Friday's post was troubling and Monday's was somber (befitting the occasion).  But today it's time for some fun.  And to celebrate, we're having a...

Hump Day Caption Contest

I haven't done one of these for awhile so let's go over the rules.  Below are five funny pictures.  Give me your best caption for one or more of them.  For each caption you leave in your comment, I'll add your name to the drawing: five captions = five chances to win.   

The winner gets a free book selected from a list (assorted genres) I will e-mail to him/her after the drawing. U.S. and Canadian entries only, please. I can't afford the postage for my friends across the pond (any of the ponds). And make sure to leave your e-mail address.

Ready?  Let see those captions.

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(Please ignor the caption already on this on. I know you can do better.)

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5. 

Lord, that last one cracks me up.

Okay, did you come up with some good ones?  I love to do this because your captions are the best part of the post.  Hope you enjoy it, too.

You have until midnight on Saturday, June 2, to enter your comments.

Groaner of the Day:  One day, a man decided to learn some new sports. He spent time finding out what was available and after a few months, he called some of his friends to watch him try out some of his ideas.

They all followed him up to the top of a local cliff. Not a big cliff, but still they were puzzled about why he had taken them there.

"Let me show you," he said, and produced from a cage a small yellow bird. He held the bird by the feet, and proceeded to jump off the cliff. 

His friends were obviously worried, but he was fine, albeit slightly bruised, and returned to the top of the cliff.

"Well, " he said, after a pause, "I don't think much of this budgie-jumping."

So, then he revealed that he had also brought a chicken with him. His friends were forced to watch an almost identical sequence of events all over again.

Once again, he hit the sand at the bottom of the cliff, trudged back to the top, and said to his by now growing audience, "Hen-gliding doesn't seem to work for me either."

Finally, he tried once more. This time, it was a parrot. Again, he leapt off the cliff holding the unfortunate bird by the feet. This time though, as he jumped, he pulled out a hand gun, and shot the bird as he fell.

The end results were pretty much the same, though, and he arrived at the top of the cliff with yet more bruises.

The crowd waited to hear what he would say this time.

He paused, scratched his head, and opened his mouth.

The crowd hushed....

Finally, he said: "And that's the last time I try parrot-shooting too."

(Hey, what are complaining about?  That was three groans for the price of one.)

Happy Hump Day Caption Contest

Happy Hump Day.  It's time for another Hump Day Caption Contest.  You know how it works - give me a caption for one or more of the five pictures below and your name goes into the hat (one time for each caption) for a drawing to win a free book.  The winner gets to chose from a list of titles. 

We've had some great captions in past contests. Let's see if we can top them.

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Ready, set, go!

And don't forget to leave me your e-mail address so I can contact the winner.

Groaner of the Day: This piece of string walks into a bar. Before he gets halfway to the bar, the bartender calls out "Hey! String! We don't serve your sort in here."

Not to be deterred, the string tries to order a drink, but when the bartender pulls a pair of scissors out from behind the bar, the piece of string decides to leave, running for the door.

Hours later, the piece of string is still frustrated at not being able to get a drink anywhere. He's all twisted up and his ends are coming loose from being thrown out of so many bars.

Before going into the last bar, the piece of string ruffles his ends up even more and contorts himself even more.

As he goes into the last bar, the bartender calls out "Hey! You!" Looking carefully, he asks "Are you a piece of string?"

Feigning ignorance, the piece of string says "No, I'm a frayed knot."

Hump Day Caption Contest Time

Happy Hump Day.  It's time for another Caption Contest.

I'm playing with the rules a little this week.  Since I love reading your captions, your name will go into the drawing one time for each picture you caption.  One caption, one entry.  Caption all five and you've got five entries. So put on those thinking caps and let's see some great captions.

Captions will be accepted until midnight on Saturday, Oct. 8.  The winner will select a book from a list of at least six titles.  Don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

Here are this week's pictures.

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Okay, have at it.  Hope this helps you over the hump and you're on an easy coast to the weekend.  See you Friday.

Groaner of the Day: Ten Thousand years ago the first humans came to North America by crossing over from Russia to Alaska. They hadn't actually intended to do this. They got lost and couldn't get their Berings Strait.

Happy Hump Day - Caption Contest

Happy Hump Day!  Although for many of us, it's a short work week this week so we're getting over the hump a little sooner than usual. Still, I feel like doing something I haven't done for a while - a CAPTION CONTEST.

The rules are simple. Leave me a comment with your best caption for one or more of the pictures below (aw, come on, do all five) and your e-mail address.  Deadline is Saturday at midnight.  I'll throw everyone's name in a hat and draw a winner.  The prize is a book of the winner's choice picked from a selection of titles I'll send to the winner.

Ready, set, caption:

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Did you think of some good ones?  I can't wait to read them.

Groaner of the Day:  A young man was in love with two women and could not decide which of them to marry. Finally he went to a marriage counselor. When asked to describe his two loves, he noted that one was a great poet and the other made delicious pancakes.

"Oh," said the counselor, "I see what the problem is. You can't decide whether to marry for batter or verse."

Cliffhangers and Sequels - Part Two

Continuing on the subject of cliffhangers (if you missed Part One, click here)... 

{SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS WEEK'S CASTLE YET, STOP READING NOW AND COME BACK AFTER YOU'VE SEEN IT.}



Since I wrote part one of this post, I've watched the season finales of three network TV shows.  All three ended in serious cliffhangers, including my favorite, Castle, which ended with the classic: Beckett shot and possibily dying in Castle's arms.

ARGH!!

But today I want to talk about books.  I love a book series. It fun to start a book already knowing the main character(s), like catching up with an old friend.  Series allow for deeper development of characters and relationships than would be possibile in a single book.  I also enjoy story arcs that run over several books or loose ends/questions that will carry over into a sequel.  But cliffhangers...when the next book won't be out for months or years or possibly (gasp!) ever!  Please don't do that to me.

So where's the line?  What's a sequel setup and what's a chiffhanger?  I tried looking up definitions and there's a lot of gray area on this one, so in lieu of a definitive answer, I'm going to give my opinion.  And ask for yours.

First, the obvious - leaving a main character in immediate danger is a cliffhanger.  Seriously injured, trapped in a burning building, in a car speeding down the hill with no brakes, held hostage, or with the bad guy sneaking in the back door while our hero/heroine waits unsuspectingly.  Definite cliffhangers.  Non-violent versions?  The main character on the verge of a life changing decision (when the choice is not a foregone conclusion for the reader).  A whodunit that ends with "I know who the killer is."

Sequel setups for me are more along the line of unanswered questions or possibilities.  Relationships that may grow or change, problems not completely resolved, a main character heading off on a new adventure, even the classic - the body of the villain that was supposed to be dead is missing. 

Sometimes it's a very fine line.  Say you're at the end of a cop drama.  Crime solved. Bad guy caught. Sadly, the cop's partner was killed in the line of duty.  Final scene, cop is talking to his Captain and hears someone come into the room behind him. Captain says "I want you to meet your new partner."  Final lines:

It was going to be hard; Joe and I were partners a long time.  But he was gone.  I turned around and extended my hand.

It was going to be hard; Joe and I were partners a long time. But he was gone. I turned around and my jaw hit the floor.

To me, the first is a sequel setup. the second is a cliffhanger.

Okay, let's hear from you.  What do you think the difference is between a cliffhanger and a sequel setup?  How do you feel about both or either? 

Special note: Congratulations to Cathy Pegau who won last Friday's Caption Contest.  Cathy selected as her prize, BOOKMARKED FOR DEATH by Lorna Barrett.  Thanks to everyone who played.  You came up with some really great captions.

I'm currently enjoying: Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

Groaner of the Day:   A man walked into a haunted house wanting to get a picture of a ghost with his camera. After a couple hours, he finally saw one. It was a friendly ghost who actually posed for the picture.

The man took the picture, but it turned out too dark. So the ghost posed for another one, and the picture again turned out dark.

The ghost had to leave so the man did not get a picture.

Another case of - the spirit was willing but the flash was weak.

Friday Caption Contest

Happy Friday!

If Blogger is feeling more cooperative now, it's time for another Fun Friday Caption Contest.

You know the rules.  Give me your best caption for one or more of the pitchers below (more is merrier) and you'll be included in a drawing for a free book - your choice from assorted titles, some print, some e-books.

Don't forget to include your e-mail address in your comment.

Ready?  Let's caption!

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Did you come up with some good ones?

I've got some writing, some gardening, and several grandkids' lacrosse games on my agenda for the weekend.  What's on yours?


I'm currently enjoying: Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

Groaner of the Day: A young man was in love with two women and could not decide which of them to marry. Finally he went to a marriage counselor. When asked to describe his two loves, he noted that one was a great poet and the other made delicious pancakes.

"Oh" said the counselor, "I see what the problem is. You can't decide whether to marry for batter or verse."
(all together now...grooooaaan)