Alex Carrick’s Blog

Twitter has a quaint tradition known as Follow Friday. This is the commendable practice, carried out during the last workday of each week, of recommending fellow tweeters for following.

The means is to list names (the @ avatars) along with an accompanying hashtag description (#fridayfollow).

The problem is that a mere listing of names quickly turns bland. In fairly short order, it seemed desirable to spice up the exercise by inserting a more colorful phrase, such as “Authorized to investigate Twitter’s suspicious crop circles” or “Driving responsibly in Twitter’s bumper cars.” Rotating through several of these each week kept my interest alive.  

But before I could say, “Why am I doing this?” I found myself adopting a particular theme each week.

Hence, there was Beatles week (“With Long Tall Sally on Twitter’s Yellow Submarine” etc.) and Gilligan’s Island week (“Tweet-wrecked with Gilligan, May Ann & the Howells” etc.)

So far so good. The process may have been evolving like Godzilla, but that was yet to be fully revealed.

However,  now I’ve really gone off the rails. I’ve started writing mini-short stories.

The first couple consisted of eight tweets that flowed into a continuous whole, but there is no fixed rule as to length – or subject matter.

Below is the material I’ve written so far.

There’s no guarantee I’ll stick with this practice, but if I do, the latest effort will always be placed at the top for easier access by readers.

There’s a reason for the skinniness of each line. Remember that each has to add on about five recommended individuals or organizations to follow. That quickly fills up the 140 allowable spaces.

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November 12, 2010 – Yo-yo Impresario

(1) Electronic games are all the rage

(2) but think back to a long gone age

(3) when toy mechanical devices

(4) brought a smile and did suffice us.

(5) Trick yo-yos and hip hula hoops

(6) if you could master, here’s the scoop,

(7) the other kids thought you were royalty

(8) and pledged eternal awestruck loyalty.

**

November 5, 2010 – Balloon Follies

(1) From on high in a gondola

(2) held by web below dirigible

(3) enjoying caviar and canned cola

(4) these revelers are responsible

(5) for scattering twitter glitter

(6) to waft on zephyr breeze

(7) but to avoid pill that’s bitter

(8) please float above nasty trees.

**

October 15, 2010 – The Ark between Hearths

(1) Held in Starship Noah’s embrace

(2) remnant heroes prepare to face

(3) uncertain futures as they leave

(4) a damaged earth come under siege.

(5) Sunspot showers turn home forlorn

(6) in inky void, next generations born

(7) a thousand parsecs mark the way

(8) to Planet Dove where all will play.

**

October 8, 2010 – Electronic Route 66

(1) Working outdoors in inclement weather

(2) hard hats perched on experienced faces

(3) safety boots, jackhammers and graders

(4) help pour asphalt over digital spaces,

(5) these are the skilled workers

(6) being paid overtime virtual wages

(7) to construct Twitter’s highway

(8) to the clouds, in measured stages.

** 

October 1, 2010 – Over the Cyberspace Rainbow

(1) Dorothy, Toto, lion and scarecrow

(2) follow the inter-locking brick road

(3) seeking the wonderful Tweeter of Oz

(4) because because because because

(5) of all the marvelous Tweets he does

(6) only to eventually discover

(7) the reward is in the companionship

(8) and tornadoes will make you dizzy

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September 17, 2010 – Twitter’s Pot of Gold

(1) Some Twitter #followfriday friends

(2) bought a treasure map on e-Bay but

(3) it was missing a crucial piece

(4) making it hard to follow the clues.

(5) Many gave up the search

(6) except for just a few who

(7) struck it rich when

(8) a Google search found the “X.”

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Looping back to the beginning of my poetry phase yields Ode to Canada’s National Game (no, not hockey).

Or, you might prefer to jump into the Carrick family chronicles, as in My Wife Can Read My Mind.

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For my first book, “Two Scoops” Is Just Right, please click here for the paperback version and here for the Kindle e-book version.

For the sequel, “Three Scoops” Is A Blast! (with the award-winning “Size of the Skip”) click here for paperback and here for Kindle.

For “Four Scoops” Is Over The Top (containing Hemingway short-listed “Caboose Follies”) click here for paperback and here for Kindle.

And finally, for my latest book, “Five Scoops” Is An Addiction!, please click here for the paperback and here for the Kindle digital version.

Also, I would love it if you joined me on Twitter (Alex_Carrick), Facebook and/or LinkedIn.