Letter Play - My Malnourished A to Z Metamorphosis in the Making

The following blog photos for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge are brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Letter Play - Where DIY activities, cinema and life offline collide!

While I've had fun coming up with craft projects for the Letter Play Friday Fun Time series, I just unfortunately don't have the time to devote to continuing those tutorials on a frequent basis. A craft tutorial may be posted every now and then if the mood or inspiration strikes me. For now, however, the format of Letter Play is evolving to include photos that A to Z Challenge participants can use on their blogs during April. 

It is important that all of you understand that these photos are to be used for A to Z Challenge posts ONLY and they are not to be confused with the official A to Z Challenge banners or related graphics. The purpose of these photos are to help busy or non-techie A to Z participants add images to their posts without having to search around online for royalty free images and without having to take their own photos or whatever. 

Having blogged for a few years now, I know firsthand how image searches tend to take up so much time that it interferes with writing, blogging and related online activities. This is where Letter Play comes in -- if sometime during the month of April, you are participating in the A to Z Challenge and suddenly need a photo for a particular letter, just come to the A to Z Blog and search for this Letter Play series to find a photo to use in your blog post. They are still my photos and I reserve all rights to them with the exception of granting permission for bloggers to use them in any and all A to Z Challenge blog posts published in April.

Although you do not have to give me a credit, caption or byline or link to my blog if you use one of my photos, you are more than welcome to add a credit with my name and/or blog if you're so inclined to do so. Now that the introduction to this new format of Letter Play is out of the way, let's get on to playing with letters. 

Last weekend, a stray cat ran across the street in front of the car I was riding in, causing my grandmother to hit her brakes. My cousin, who was riding in the car started talking about all of the stray cats running around near her apartment building after former tenants abandon them upon moving out. I told my cousin that the cat that ran through traffic looked malnourished, which brings me to the inspiration behind today's Letter M post.

For three years or so, I participated in Blog Action Day, a worldwide online event that brings awareness to one particular cause or subject, every October. Food was the subject for 2011, so I wrote about food waste -- particularly how many of us might be surprised at how much food we waste when there are millions of people around the world who lack access to nutritious food.

After trying to figure out what to take photos of for Letter M, I decided to play with food items that are either stale, expired, rarely used or all of these things combined -- so long as they have one thing in common: Flexibility for use in a fun manner. Here are three photos of cereal, hot cocoa mix and mustard shaped into Letter M for your A to Z Blogging pleasure.

M made of Cereal

The box of Cheerios that I've had this summer are still good according to the box but not when they're actually eaten. I took a few out to snack on and noticed that they were very stale. Yuck! Good thing that there is only about a teaspoon or so left in the box...doesn't make me hesitate to throw it in the garbage.



M made of Cocoa Mix

The cocoa mix that I had has expired earlier this month. Wanna know how I found that out? Well, I was craving a cup and set out to make it, only to notice that my plans of a tasty up were shot to pieces thanks to the expiration date. I got over it though....you know something's fishy when the top of the box starts collecting dust, right?!!!



M made of Mustard

The store brand bottle of mustard is still good but you'd think it would have expired by now, since I have no idea when the last time that I used it was. Better to have than have not, I suppose.

By the way, I promise the the next Letter Play post won't be this long. I just had to at least explain why today's post featured photos and no craft instructions, right? RIGHT! So, there you have it :)

Happy Friday, everybody!

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!

NICOLE
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

J.C Martin blog tour: Oracle

Please give a warm A-Z welcome to our guest author today, J.C Martin! Her name probably sounds familiar because her book, Oracle, was listed in the post Damyanti did of her book recommendations by our friends atgoodreads. I promised you she'd be here, and tada! She is. Let's show her our love and attention with lots of comments like we always do our special friends who visit.

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn't need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they've got one anyway.

Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter's disability.

Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims.

One of whom could be his own daughter.

Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer's only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.

Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

J.C. Martin is a butt-kicking bookworm: when she isn’t reading or writing, she teaches martial arts and self-defence to adults and children. 

After working in pharmaceutical research, then in education as a schoolteacher, she decided to put the following to good use: one, her 2nd degree black belt in Wing Chun kung fu; and two, her overwhelming need to write dark mysteries and gripping thrillers with a psychological slant. 

Her short stories have won various prizes and have been published in several anthologies. Oracle is her first novel.

Born and raised in Malaysia, J.C. now lives in south London with her husband and three dogs.

Contact: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Any questions, just give me a shout!

Thanks so much again for all your help guys! I just can’t thank you all enough! 

 

J.C. Martin

Website: http://jc-martin.com  

Blog: http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/ 

Alphabet Remix - Mystery Mavens in the Making

These blogging prompts are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post…

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

In the short film ‘Batman: Puppet Master,’ a movie character by the name of Edward Nigma is asked how to catch the Batman. He replies: “Batman is a mystery. You cannot catch a mystery. You have to solve it.” This was one of, if not my most favorite lines of dialogue in that movie.

Today, Letter M is for 'Mystery' and here are some ways that you can write about this particular topic during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Mysterious Men of Mythology

Blog about the men in mythology whom you think are the most mysterious mythical figures. You can just name them for a quick and simple blog post but another way to make your post a little meatier would be to explain the reasons WHY you selected these men. Add a sentence or two (or three…whatever length helps you get your point across) that tells visitors to your blog what makes these particular men stand out among all of the other mythical figures.

Mystery Madness

Try your hand at writing a mystery and then challenge people who visit your blog to solve it. Wait until the following day in the A to Z Challenge, or at the end of the challenge, to reveal what happened in the story that you wrote. If you’re interested in creating a Mystery theme for the entire month of April, you could write one or a few lines per alphabet letter, creating anticipation for people who return to your blog and want to find out what happen next. The theme could be centered on one story or 26 very short mysteries – one for each letter. The choice is yours!

Modern Mysteries

Has any mysterious happenings been reported in your town? Have you, your friends or family ever had a mysterious experience that is difficult to explain or even comprehend for yourselves? If the answer to any of the previous two questions are ‘YES,’ then use the Blogging from A to Z Challenge as your opportunity to share some real-life mysteries with people who read your blog. These modern day mysteries can be your way of adding something different to the mix of blog posts written by the rest of the hundreds, or thousands fellow A to Z Challenge participants.

Now on to other Friday Fun Time business…

At the time of this writing, it looks like no one played last week’s Movie Monster-themed Alphabet Soup game – so there is no new winner and Marta Szemik remains the current Alphabet Wizard. As such, she will be able to continue to select a new letter to be featured on the next Alphabet Soup.

Happy Friday Everybody!

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!
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NICOLE 
@MadlabPost on Twitter