Issue # 4 - Wednesday, May 23, 2001

Welcome to the ‘Dallas Hodder Franklin Newsletter’!

This newsletter is published every Wednesday.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Editorial
2. Trivia/Facts
3. Writing Websites for Writers
4. Riddles
5. Potpourri of Websites
6. Other Writers Websites
7. Worthy Notations
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1. EDITORIAL:

Another week behind us and a new one begins! The last newsletter introduced the new Riddles section and it created an overwhelming response. I’m not the only person who loves a good riddle to solve. And judging from the answers I received there are a lot of smart cookies out there!*~;) But before we get into the juicy parts of the newsletter, let me offer a great suggestion for a cleanser we just recently found and it’s chemical FREE! Not only is it chemical free, but it is one of the best cleansers I’ve ever bought. It’s called Pumie Scouring Stick and can be bought at any hardware store. It is 100% pure pumice and it has miraculous cleansing ability. It’ll remove baked-on foods and grease, water and acid stains, rock-hard mineral deposits, paint, rust, lime and other substances from hard surfaces. Safe for hands, and safe for children. I love finding products that are environmentally safe and an alternative to our habitual top brand name consumer mindset. So let’s break this damaging cycle and do our part to heal Mother Earth. If you have anything you’d like to share in this regard, please let me know so I can share with everyone.
Now let’s continue to other deLIGHTS!

Blessings!
Dallas Hodder Franklin
http://www.authorsden.com/dallasfranklin
http://Dallas.scriptmania.com/
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2. TRIVIA/FACTS:

Did You Know? If the number 111,111,111 is multiplied by itself, the result is all of the digits in ascending to descending order, or 12,345,678,987,654,321.

Did You Know? The winds inside cumulonimbus clouds may reach a speed of 124 miles per hour, as fast as many express trains.

Did You Know? The game that would become Scrabble was created by an unemployed architect, Alfred Mosher Butts in the early 1930s. He called it Lexiko, then Criss Cross Words and then sold the rights to James Brunot. In 1948 it was renamed Scrabble and was manufactured in a converted school house in Connecticut. Bruno sold the game to Selchow and Righter, who were bought out by Coleco in 1987, and in 1989 Milton Bradley bought it. More than 100 million Scrabble games have been sold worldwide.

Did You Know? In the fifteenth century, the handkerchief was, for a time, allowed only to the nobility; special laws were made to enforce this. The classical heritage was rediscovered during the Renaissance.

Did You Know? Living creatures create tiny weather systems called microclimates in their nests and burrows. For instance, bees fan their wings at the hive entrance during hot weather. This makes a cooling draft blow through the hive.

Source: http://www.uselessknowledge.com/
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3. WRITING WEBSITES FOR WRITERS:

http://www.novalearn.com/wol/
Here you will find fresh market listings and other up-to-the-minute advice and services to help you market your writing. We hope that our latest newsletter offering quickens your pulse, inspires your typing fingers, and entices your Muse back from vacation.

http://www.writers.net/
WritersNet is the Internet directory of writers, editors, publishers and literary agents. We bring together the elements of literary success in one place. Search our directory for the help you need or tell us, and our visitors, what you have to offer the writing world. Add yourself to our ever-growing directories of talent and services. Join others discussing and exchanging ideas about the writing life and the business of writing. Share your expertise and experience or benefit from the expertise and experience of others.

http://www.silcom.com/~jonlemon/B&Wsiteindex.htm#short
The purpose of Put It In Black & White is to assist fiction writers in using the resources of the Internet. The site also contains a series of links to short stories and essays published on the Internet by famous American and English authors.

http://www.opencity.org/
Open City, a literary magazine, has been an innovative and highly-respected presence in the literary and art worlds since its launch in 1990. Over the past ten years, the magazine has published a dynamic mix of the famous and the unknown, and has launched the careers of many young writers. Open City is dedicated to publishing today's best new fiction, poetry, essays by writers whose bold voices may be too daring and cutting-edge for mainstream publishing. Open City only accepts submissions via U.S. mail. Please send short stories (one at a time, under 5,000 words) or poetry (up to 5 at a time) accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please allow us up to five months to respond. Await a response before sending a new submission. Simultaneous submissions are okay; please notfiy us in writing (email or mail) if your story is accepted elsewhere. {They do NOT accept submissions between June 1-August 31}

http://www.ScribeQuill.com/markets.html
Welcome to Scribe & Quill's new page for listing paying freelance markets. This page will be under construction all the time. Each month S & Q will feature a new paying freelance market. New links will be added monthly, and the list will continue to grow and become updated as we feature markets. We are looking for good stories, well-told. Fiction in most genres is acceptable. In the area of non-fiction, we will only consider essays, memoirs, and personal experience. Pieces should be 1,000-10,000 words in English only. No erotica, pornography, extreme violence, gratuitous sex, or poetry will be accepted. Simultaneous submissions will be accepted when so noted. Reprints are welcomed but must be accompanied by the title and date of publications in which they previously appeared. {More details available at their site.}

http://www.writersdigest.com/hotlist/index.htm
Getting your article published is not a space shuttle launch, but it can seem just as complicated. We've got the perfect tool to streamline the process: the Top 100 Markets for freelance nonfiction. We've ranked magazines according to factors such as number of manuscripts purchased, pay scale, time of payment and overall treatment of writers. Freelancers earned a raise in the new millennium—most publications are offering more money than last year.
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4. RIDDLES:

Last Week’s Riddles and Answers:
1. Before the days of motor cars, a man rode into town on his horse. He arrived on Friday, spent three days in town, and left on Friday. How is that possible?
ANSWER: The horse’s name is Friday. *~:)
2. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?
ANSWER: Mount Everest
3. What question can you never answer "yes" to?
ANSWER: Are you asleep? {There were a couple answers given which was not this one, but were acceptable as well}
4. What kind of nut has no shell?
ANSWER: Doughnut *~:) {Again, there were a couple of different answers which were acceptable as well}
5. Three men were fishing. The boat flipped over and the three men fell into the water. Two of the men got their hair wet. Why didn't the third man's hair get wet?
ANSWER: The third man was bald. *~:)

Here are the winners! {And a website some would like to share*~:)

Tracey Holliday – http://www.shareyourworld.com/Arty7
Marilyn Hodder – {My smart sister!}*~:)
Judith Flynn – http://www.marinelifemag.com/ {Look for her name under ‘authors’}
Janine Ferrell – {My online sister of spirit!*~:)
Rose Moss – http://www.writtenbyme.com/userprofile.php?name=isolde
CONGRATULATIONS!

THIS WEEK’S RIDDLES:

1. A barrel of water weighs 20 pounds. What must you add to it to make it weigh 12 pounds?
2. A man builds a house with all 4 sides facing south. A bear walks past the house. What color is the bear?
3. A railroad crossing, look for the cars; Can you spell all that without any R's?
4. A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. What am I?
5. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?

Know any of these answers? Send me an email if you do!
Ericdbread@pdq.net
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5. POTPOURRI OF WEBSITES:

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~noelh/
Planet Earth is encountering extremes of both negativity but also positivity at this time. There are increases in chaos and fear, and a severe clash of low and high vibrations, leading to the anticipated division within our species of those who will align with the incrementing evolutionary energies and those who will choose not to go with the changes. From the scientific standpoint, until these energies are directly sensed by the evolving perceptions of the individual, via the right brain, inner-conscious, intuitive faculties, scientists will never grasp the true workings of the universe's ubiquitous computer system.

http://www.mygrocerychecklist.com/
Would you like to make a grocery list with a click of a mouse? Just sit down, relax, and think of things you do not have in your house! Scan through the items for the ones you want to pick, and soon you will have your name on a list with no special tricks! Can't remember what ingredients you need to get for dinner tonight? Search our recipe database or you can add your own recipes!

http://www.4women.gov/
Welcome to the National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC), a service of the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. The NWHIC provides a gateway to the vast array of Federal and other women's health information resources. Our site on the World Wide Web can help you link to, read, and download a wide variety of women's health-related material developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, other Federal agencies, and private sector resources.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/
Have you ever dreamed of exploring the pyramids of Egypt? If so, enter here, wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were built. You can also follow the 1997 field season of a team of archaeologists as they excavated the bakery that fed the pyramid builders.

http://www.ediblebrain.com/pageone.htm
Edible Brain is a site dedicated to the advancement of thought and alternative ways to view our universe. Edible Brain endeavors to increase awareness of science, spirituality, philosophy, art, and humanity. Keep an open mind but remain skeptical. Investigate, explore, question, and think.

http://www.almanac.com/
SINCE 1792, The Old Farmer's Almanac has published useful information for people in all walks of life. There are tide tables for those who live near the ocean; sunrise tables and planting charts for those who live on the farm; recipes for those who live in the kitchen; and forecasts for those who don't like the question of weather left up in the air. Our operation is based in Dublin, New Hampshire. The words of the Almanac's founder, Robert B. Thomas, guide us still: "Our main endeavour is to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humour."
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6. OTHER WRITERS WEBSITES:

http://www.marinelifemag.com/
Nan Jacobs writes contemporary and paranormal romance and enjoys dabbling with short stories, humorous 'monologue', run-on sentences, and light verse. Her short story THE HOOK received first place honors in Coffeehouse for Writers 2000 Short Story Contest. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, two refugee cats, and assorted tow trucks. Just click on ‘Authors’ and you’ll find Nan Jacobs listed along with her wonderful writes.

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorID=3072
Nellie Sonido Feng - I am Mother to two Precious Kids and Wife to a Husband with a Great Heart. I am a Filipino - Chinese residing in Cebu, Philippines.Roman Catholic by birth and by choice. The articles I write are my humble offerings to glorify a truly awesome God who gently manifested His unmistakable presence and reality to me when I was searching for truth and understanding. I write solely for God’s greater glory. It is my sincere hope that my writings will reach those who need them when they need to be re-assured the God loved them first and that he really, really cares for them.

http://www.teenseenitall.com/
Kimberly Ripley is a freelance writer, published author, and editor of TeenSeenItAll.com. Her articles and short stories have been published in magazines and newspapers across the country and on the Internet. Her book on the humorous aspects of parenting teens is the catalyst behind this site. Her expertise is derived from her five children, and most of her survival tactics have been jointly implemented with the help of her best friend and confidante, otherwise known as her husband. See under ‘Worthy Notations’ for a link to getting her ‘Freelancing Later in Life’ book now on sale!

http://jlevack.homestead.com/index.html
Jean Levack is a recent transplant to the Retirement Community of Elliot Lake, Ontario. Retired Accountant, Property Manager, Horticulture Judge, presently servant to two parrots. Interests: Computers, reading, writing, gardening, & cross-stitch. Jean’s website is full of her inspirational, biographical and humourous writings. Her life challenges will inspire you and leave you reflecting upon your own life as well as hers.


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7. WORTHY NOTATIONS:

Inspiration:

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a
speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question. "Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?" The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child." Then, he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning." In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, "Shay run home!" Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world."
And now, a footnote to the story. We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail everyday without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too often suppressed in school and the workplace. If you are thinking about forwarding this message, you are probably thinking about which people on your address list aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. The person who sent this to you believes that we can all make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present up with a choice: Do we pass along a spark of the Divine? Or do we pass up that opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the process? You have two choices now:
1. Delete this.
2. Forward it to the people you care about.
You know the choice I made. Remember, KEEP SMILING!
Scott Johnston @ Elcoma Barrier Free Products
sjohnsto@glen-net.ca


I also added three poems at Authors Den. PLEASE take two minutes and choose one to read, rate and comment. They are:

Cycles of Life: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewpoetry.asp?AuthorID=2883&id=1262
Future Memories: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewpoetry.asp?AuthorID=2883&id=1263
The Distance: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewpoetry.asp?AuthorID=2883&id=1261

I’ve also added new links to my personal Website, TimeLass Writes. If you aren’t in the links, please send me an email with the necessary information and I’ll gladly add you!
http://Dallas.scriptmania.com/

KIM RIPLEY has a new e-book ''Freelancing Later in Life'' and it’s now up and on sale at Booklocker.com.
Take a peek at http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/kimberlyripley02.html

If you have any Suggestions, Comments, or Feedback please feel free to contact me. Or, if you have other Web Sites you would like to see in upcoming issues of this Newsletter, send me an email and it'll be considered! Thanks!

May Blessings rain down upon you and may you enjoy a WonderFilled week!
Namaste!
Email me!
ericdbread@pdq.net

©2001 Dallas Hodder Franklin