WHAT, I’M A BRAND NOW? Miss Alister was a 2007 realization, an idea, a test of my mettle and reason for existing. There I was at the crossroads, with nothing to lose and courage for once. Miss A played the online role of the tortured writer with a drinking problem. But she was at once warrior, thinker, siren. Now she’s a savoury cool vintage, an emblem of a roaring era, and always a possibility.
A BIT ABOUT ME: Raised in the USA, in New England, with dreams of big cities and Dixie, of salt water and beaches. So I hit the bottom of the Bible Belt and ended up spending the majority of my years there working up a sweat—working menial jobs, working out, working on a college degree, and finally, working a big three telecom career. After an eight year period spent in the UK dabbling in the publishing biz, I’m back in the USA still with a finger on the publishing pulse and two WIPs in progress.
The Essence of a Thing 
in a bit about me — i see a little jane fonde lurking around the edges – so good to have an image to put with the dynamite words!!!
danni: Yeah, I can see the Jane, too, now that you mention it! That’s the beauty of photography—a person can look different in every picture. Now that I’ve gotten more comfortable here in Blogworld and am not so obscure anymore, I’ll load a photo that’s more me, less obscure :-)
DY – NO – MITE!!!!! — what a cute pooch — and the dawg is darlin’, too!!! — jokes aside, miss a , you are lookin’ real tiny and delicate – almost an elfin aura about you – which has been completely belied to me by the powerhouse of your composition and comments – funny how we get an “image” of people in our minds – for me they are often inaccurate – i.e. – in this case!!! – lookin’ at this one, i see shades of audrey hepburn at a very young age – karma chameleon, miss a — a la voyageur incognito!!!!!
Thanks for the beautiful response to the poem. I was…touched.
Thommy G! Hi! Thank you, for you inspired it. That you came by here to let me know, is touched, squared : )
You asked where these ideas come from and I honestly don’t know sometimes. I don’t question it, either. A great fear – the greatest – is to wake up one day and not know how to write. That would be super-bad, since it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do.
And like you, I toil – writing for a newspaper – hoping to make the big time. My goal for 2009? Get at least two stories published in literary journals. We’ll see what happens next.
And thank YOU for stopping by my little corner of the universe.
Hi ThomG! You’re wise. Questioning’s not even for the birds, not for the circling crows that exist in timelessness, fearlessness, in the spontaneity of just being. On a good day I’d tell you I know that’s the same place you go, that anybody who comes up with a flock of good words goes. On a bad day I’d say I only suspect it’s the same place. Either way, something in your writing draws out something in me that feels like a question that leaves me both upended and inspired. This is a good thing, means to me there’s no doubt that Super-good will rule your corner of the universe for many decades : )
You set off the predictable firestorm with your Tarot Card fun. Always neat to watch…
HELLO, MRS ALISTER! WELCOME! I AM MR ZEROSUMGAMES, KING OF BLOGGING! I AM HAPPY TO BE HEAR AND TO BE TELLING YOU HOW MUCH AM I ENJOYING YOUR BLOGGING! CAN YOU TELL ME, ARE YOU A BLOG OF NOTE AND IF NOT DO YOU PLAN TO BE. I AM VERY MUCH WANTING TO KNOW THE “secret” OF BEING A KING OF BLOGGING. DO YOU THINK THAT RHONDA WILL KNW THE ANSER TO THIS VERY IMPRTNAT DREAM OF MINE FOR THE WORLD AND HUMANSKIND?
ALSO, DO YOU HAVE FOLOWRS, AND CAN i BE ONE, OR IS THAT STALKING. BELIEVE ME, I AM NOT INTERNET BULLY, I AM JUST A BIG WICHITA LINEMAN FOR THE COUNTY, SEARCHIN IN THE SUN FOR HOW TO BE BLOG OF NOTE AND KING OF BLOGGING.
WISHING YOU THE VERY BEST, YOURS ZEROSUM, KING OF BLOGGING!!!
MR. ZEROSUMGAMES
Welcome, indeed, oh once and future king of blogging! I am Miss A’s assistant, Miss Z. Miss A is so popular she can’t come to the site to answer you. She’s on the phone with Kenny, I think, talking smack. In my opinion, they’re both victims, caught in the same social trap. But some people have to learn the hard way, you know? In the meantime, I would tell you three things: first, that you already have Rhonda’s deal down, you’re already calling yourself the king of blogging, so just remain zealous, envisioning being king and exactly how that will be in great detail; second, off the islands and across the pond we consider all capitals as yelling so you might want to use both upper and lower case, or just lower; and third, oh yes, please do continue to visit because we, I mean Miss A will be watching for you, but if you really want to know who’s king now, and you really want to follow a blog of note, visit Murat11. That dude rocks, and I don’t mean maybe.
thank you for the welcome welcome, miss alister, who i will already esteem as a Blog of Nate (i am whispering), i am honored to be honored. at your bidding, i will be sure and check out future unking of blogging, miss murat11. i have many rocks in my collection, too, assured you must rest…
From a David Hajdu piece on the King of Pop (not that crazed King a few comments up) in The New Republic:
“Michael Jackson was a great many things, as we’ve been reminded in innumerable encomia since his death, and his special place in pop-culture history has to do not only with the multitude of his qualities, but also with his elemental thingness.”
All props to the departed KOP, but do these NewPublicans not know that the Duchess is the thing?
I’ll be contacting their lawyers, licketysplit…
PASCHAL
LOL! This is great. “…his elemental thingness.” I like it, really like it! MJ can have it, but of course I’m curious how their highfalutin lawyers phrased “get stuffed” to you ; )
Anyway, for me it can be “her incidental thingness.” That’s comfy : )
No incidence about it, girl: you the Queen of Thang.
The Queen of Thang
Just wanted a rang
A big ol’ thang
That caused double takes
In the marketplace
And sideways glances
From fancy-pantses
The Queen of Thang
Just needs some blang
A big ol’ thang
Or two, like some shoes
Red, glittering shoes
To kick the scarecrow past
The lion’s yellow ass
Most excellent, QOT.
Last line of this ditty?
And throw off these Queen of Thang blues.
(Appropriate bluesifying by the Jersey Kid in back- and fore-ground.)
(Hocka-dee-dar bringing in the harmonizin’.)
What is all of this fun you’re having without me?!
Queen of Thang! Lovin’ that. Kickin’ the scarecrow. I could use that in a song. Kinda like Steely Dan “Chasing the Dragon”.
Nice new digs Your Royal Thangness! Of all the highlighter colors, orange was always my favorite. This is working for me.
PASCHAL
What to do with you?
MICHAEL O
Yeah, well, fun’s all there is that’s left to do…do ya know what I’m sayin’, really sayin’? That QOT stuff’s the professor’s thang. He owns it. I don’t know what to do with it or with him. I’m just breathing through right now. Hey, but you can have the scarecrow line. I hope you do use it, it’d be fun to see what all you do with that. And yeah, the orange is…is quite orange…is quite…urgent, yes, urgent. And urgent is working for me right now for sure.
Posh new digs, QOT. I’m with Michael: I likes the orange, and not because I did grad school at UT-Austin. It’s a most excellent second chakra color, calling out all those creative juices.
PASCHAL
QOT…pfffft!
The chakra business sounds good, though. I read about it here : )
i effing never looked at this before!!
slap me silly.
QUIN
Well, Ms. Q, better late than never is my mantra. It has to be, since I’m almost always late for life in general ; ) Do you still need to be slapped? Or are you over it?
Oh, and about the changes here. I like the Best of MA and Also-Rans summaries. But my favorite is the Also-Rans photo! Not only does it show your goofy sense of humor, it’s just down right adorable. :)
MICHAEL O
And you, Mister, are so darling you’ll get yourself into all kinds of trouble! And you know I’m just waiting to dish it out ; )
Of course you got the drift of that fun photo, being as in tune as you are! Yes, the pun was int—
There are a bunch of those photos. I call them The Halloween Series. They were taken with an old Minolta XG-A at night in regular room lighting with 400-speed film and no flash. They were for a website that never was. And yass, as evidenced by the Also Rans photo, toward the end of that shoot I’d gotten tired of filet mignon and had switched to ham :-D
Oh! And hey music man! I forgot to mention: if you see any pieces on the lists that you think should be moved from one category to the other or ditched altogether, let me know. Or if you know of a piece that you think should have made one of the lists, I’m all ears. As always. And write a song for me while you’re at it, yeah : )
I likes the new mission statement. Long way from the Rhonda letters, eh? But, for godsake, put on your wellies before you go in there and start shootin up the place. And you don’t want the weasel lickin them boots. Here’s to Track 29, ham and eggs, satin and lace. Fire it up, girl.
You of all people know how erratic I’ve been for the past year. I’m here, I disappear for dead, I pop back up… I’m already thinking about this year’s evaluation, and it ain’t purty or comfy, those thoughts. All I needed this year was a pair of flip-flops. But it’ll be alright. You already know that…
MissA you’re too alive to be half-dead and you know more about writing than your conscious mind allows you to see. In essence this is a great site with a sparkling vital talent behind it, the only thing you have to lose is your inhibition.
Thank you, good sir. Along with Paschal, you’ve been one of my greatest inspirations. You’re one of those natural-born writers, no question. It’s your time. And I can barely wait to read your novel early next year!
Inhibition schmition ; )
So very nice to meet you, Miss Alister. The mark of a fine person is one who encourages others. I love seeing your comments all over the place. You’re a thoughtful reader and a generous writer. I like what I see here and will add you to my reading list. Love your photos, glamour girl.
Well thank you, Ms Pamila. You’ve inspired me yet again with your visit.
The tender heart’s a difficult thing. It can seem ruined one day and saved the next. To be on both ends of genuine encouragement makes all the difference.
Funny thing you mentioning those crazy photos… For the past couple of days I’ve been thinking of going minimalist with the blog theme. There’s just been no time, so it turns out you caught them in time. Lucky you ; )
I like the header photo, A. Many trips through the DC Metro, have I. Can’t wait for my next trip!
Yeah, it caught my eye, and I thought it a good fit for this limbo feeling I’ve got lately. As soon as a spark of inspiration hits me, I’ll ditch this lackluster look for something snazzier : D
Hmm, like the vintage feel of the redesigned website :) You’ve been quiet far too long…
Hey Drumster! Yeah. I did pipe up at the end of January, though. On Paul Brazill’s site. A little ditty ’bout Psycho Liza called “Thursdays in Dulville, GA.” It’s at the top of my Best of Miss A links. Or here, click on this. I think you’ll like it like crazy! So good to hear from you, Mister : )
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wull …. yer funny … ks
Hey! Here’s hoping you pick up a copy of LAST KISS and join the discussion over on Goodreads. LAST KISS is our October 2016 Book of the Month and I am leading the discussion. Find us at botm.blackdogebooks.com
Cheers!
Jim in MT 😎 aka Adam James / Jim Crocker