F - FLIM-FLAM!

The American Slang Dictionary
By: James Maitland
Chicago [1891]

Okay what you might not know about me, is I love books from pre-1900's and art... Below is 26 words using the letter "F" and I would like a comment from you that uses one of the them. Here or on my "F" post on my site, it might be fun or a flop.

What else is interesting that this book is over 100 years old and we still use some of the phrases/slang in our everyday language. Well at least I do and that ain't some flim-flam!
 
Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy
------------------------------------------------
Flicker, "let her flicker." Let her go.
Flies, (Am.), "no flies on him;" no nonsense about him.
Flim-flam (Old Eng.), nonsense; a stupid story.
Flimsy (Eng.), a Bank of England note.
Flimsy, copying paper used by reporters.
Fling, "to have one's" to indulge or dissipate.
Flip, fresh, fly, impudent.
Flip-flop, a dance or break-down ; a somersault.
Flipper, the hand. Sailor's slang.
Flit (Scotch and Old Eng.), to remove from one house to another.
Floater (Am.), a body found in the river or lake.
Floor (P. R.), to knock down.
Floored, beaten, knocked out.
Floorer, a knock-down blow.
Flop, to fall over suddenly, as one who faints.
Flop (Am.), in politics, to change front on a question.
Fluke (Eng.), an accidental shot at billiards, or indeed anything gained when not expected.
Flume (Am.), in the mining districts "flumes" are used to convey water for the purpose of washing out pay-dirt. A man who dies is said to have "gone up the flume."
Flummery, flattery, gammon, nonsense. The name is also given to a light pudding.
Flummoxed, perplexed. Sometimes pronounced "kerflummixed."
Flunk, to fail, to back out.
Flunkey (Eng.), a man servant or footman.
Flunky, frightened, timid.
Flush (Am.), having plenty of money.
Fogle (Old Cant), a silk handkerchief.
Fogle-faker, a pickpocket.

E: Must read---Every #AtoZChallenge Participant Deserves Visitors..and some MUST DONTs

A to Z Challenge is all about building community, so I would encourage all of you to go visit as many blogs as possible. That's the only reliable way to grow the audience of your blog. At the bottom of this post, I'm adding a few links that I think could do with more followers.


Now, the super-awesome Mina Lobo from my AZ team has volunteered a post on how best to go about giving and receiving comments, so I'll let her take over from here:
------

 MUST DON’Ts for the 2013 Blogging from #AtoZChallenge

Howdy, folks. I’m Mina Lobo, from Some Dark Romantic, and a helper to Ato Z co-host, Damyanti. As I go down the linky-list, checking up on my allotted group of A to Z-ers, I’m finding a lot of the jazz that drives the average blog reader le cray-cray. Please believe you’ll enjoy far greater blogtivity (blog-activity—it’s a technical term) if you heed these words and take prompt action to rectify any of the items below, should you find you’ve been guilty of them (whether by accident or design):

DON’T use Word Verification/CAPTCHA or any such beast on your blog. Those tiny, wavy, blurry letters and numbers are the work of The Evil One. If you insist on using this vile stuff, be warned: the Devil will drag you under by the sharp lapel of your checkered coat! (Props if you can name the showtune or musical from which hails that last bit.) Dunno how to rid yourself of this blight upon the blogosphere? Click here. CLICK HERE NOW!

DON’T fail to leave a link-back signature to your blog when you leave a comment! You’ve been kind enough to leave a note showing your appreciation/voicing your disagreement/requesting an order of fries with that Coke, which is super groovy of you to do. The blogger will, if s/he has a soul, wish to return the compliment by visiting your blog and doing the same. You’ll make it weh-heh-HAY easier for her/him to do so by providing a link-back signature. CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW.

DON’T bury your A to Z stuff all the way the heck at the bottom of that day’s post if you’re combining topics on a particular day (ESPECIALLY if that post has loads of pictures to scroll through). I can’t tell you how close I’ve come to tagging an A to Z participant as a non-participant because I had to scroll down to the very bowels of his/her blog to find the day’s A to Z post. Well, I guess I can tell you—I’ve come very close indeed. If you’re combining a bunch of topics for a day’s post, be sure to stick the A to Z part at the tippity-top of your post. The average individual doesn’t have the time or patience to do all that danged scrolling. (Trust me on this; if I had no sense of duty as an A to Z helper/minion/ninja, I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t.)

All right, folks; if you need to, go fix your stuff. If you don’t, rock on! And if you’ve got any Lindt or Guylian chocolates in need of a good home, Tweet me.

-----

Now that you know how to give and receive comments, make sure to drop by the following blogs and spread some love, in order to receive some love in return:

-->

1.     http://www.sandysanderellasmusings.blogspot.sg/

2.     http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in

3.     http://reviewsfrommyfirstreadsshelf.blogspot.sg

4.     http://thenovabug-blog.blogspot.sg

5.     http://precari0us.wordpress.com

6.     http://homelesschroniclesintampa.blogspot.sg

7.     http://dailyblessings-luann.blogspot.sg

8.     http://cherylsrandomthoughts.blogspot.sg

9.     http://zainabuf.blogspot.sg

10. http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.sg/

11. http://stfu4abetterrelationship.wordpress.com

If you want to access all the posts tagged #AtoZChallenge across a lot of different social media check this out: http://tagboard.com/AtoZChallenge

Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Enjoy day 5 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge, and may you all get as many comments as our Ninja Captain, Alex J Cavanaugh!

D is for Determination

Determination! 

That's what this Challenge is going to take. We are just a few days in, but the newness may have lost a bit of it's shine, you may be feeling discouraged for any number of reasons.

Not getting as many comments as you expected?

~ are you visiting a lot of blogs?

~ are you acknowledging the comments you've gotten?

Finding dead links?

~ please report them to me, Tina, through the info@ email or my personal email, both found under the CONTACT US tab. Please know we are continually combing the list for ads, dead links, and non-participants. Our assistants are out there in the trenches spending a LOT of their Challenge time doing that. So are the co-hosts. We welcome ANY help you can give.

Having trouble writing your posts?

~ these aren't works of art, perfect specimens of your very best writing, or masterpieces of any kind. They are short and sweet and meant to get you in the habit of blogging daily. Or if you're a perfectionist like me, hitting publish even though you could spend hours still editing. This is NOT the time to be trying that. Write it. Push publish.

Still feeling discouraged?

~ go hang out with your blogging buddies. Maybe you've all decided that for the Challenge you're going to visit others, but maybe you need a dose of that favorite blog you usually start your day with. That's OK. I wouldn't make you skip your coffee in the morning...

Above all, this is supposed to be FUN! Now go out there and have some FUN and don't worry so much. (Advice this girl needs to take a dose of herself...)

~Tina

C: Commenting Your Way through the #atozchallenge

As we've said time and again, the main purpose of A to Z Challenge is building a community of bloggers, and the way to do that is through Comments!

Commenting on a post is to reward the blogger for the effort he or she put in to writing the post, and it is also perhaps one of the best ways of ensuring that your posts get comments.

Here are a few blogs I came across while doing my challenge visits that I thought could do with more follows and comments. Please hop on across and show them some love. I'm sure they'll love you and your blog back!

1.     www.uberrandom.com

2.     http://saniaheba.blogspot.in

3.     http://designsbyrow.blogspot.sg

4.      http://stephcb.blogspot.in

5.     http://me-anders.blogspot.sg/

6.     http://pullupatoadstool.blogspot.sg/

7.     http://sonniajkemmer.blogspot.sg

8.     http://i-got-sidetracked.blogspot.sg

9.     http://goingvegan1.blogspot.sg/

10.  http://laura-hyde.blogspot.sg

 

Bring It On! #atozchallenge

 
    Are we off to a great start or what!    The sign-up list closed out at #1969 which is up from all previous years.   This event just keeps getting BIGGER.

         Keep in mind that the numbers will change as we continue to eliminate non-participants and other bad links from the list.   Watch your number as there is a good possibility that your positioning might go up a notch or two or more.  If you're telling others where to find you, make sure that number hasn't changed.

         And whatever you do, don't be a BAD LINK.   Keep your posts up to date as best you can.  We will be patrolling the list and removing non-participants.  If you are having a posting problem please make a note of it on your blog so we don't remove you.  Let us know if you need any assistance.

        The Challenge just keeps getting BETTER and we want to make it fun and rewarding for everyone.  Try your best to visit back to those who have commented on your blog.  Try to go through the list at least five a day starting with the blogs immediately below yours.  Be nice.   Follow the blogs you enjoy.  And try to leave a comment at each blog you visit.  Remember--in order to get comments it helps when you give comments.  This is social networking so let's be social.

         April is underway now so BRING IT ON!    Have a great Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

Arlee Bird

ADVENTURE!

As the A to Z Challenge kicks off, prepare for adventure!

You will be challenged to write a daily blog post corresponding with that day’s letter.

You will find new bloggers and make friends.

You will stretch your blogging skills.

You will learn new things.

You will emerge on the other side a different person.

Most of all, you will have fun on this adventure. Go and enjoy.

You are now free to move about the A to Z Challenge list!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

#atozchallenge: About Arlee Bird

   

Arlee Bird's First Birthday

Arlee Bird many years later

     Since I didn't do my about me post yet, I thought I'd slip in quietly on this Easter day and do my quick little turn at a few of the questions.

"Where do you hail from?" (D.G. Hudson)  -- I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where I lived for the first seven years of my life.   But I feel like East Tennessee is my home.

 

"Have you ever wanted to be a rock star?" (Alex J. Cavanaugh) -- Oh of course!  I've fantasized about this since high school and still imagine it now and then, though now I think more country than rock.

"Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship?" (L.G. Keltner) --  Since I have a bit of a fear of water and don't take too well to being out in open water, I'll probably go with the spaceship.  Although I guess being in airless space is a somewhat scary thought as well.  It is kind of exciting to imagine though.  My ship would be named "Imagination".

"Favorite childhood memory" (Tina) -- I had such a great childhood that it's really difficult to single out any favorite childhood memory.  I guess this is why I like writing memoir--I like remembering and telling the fun stories.   My favorite memories would probably be related to fun times at home and with family.

"How do you use those HTML tags .. and I've yet to learn about the signature line too .." (Hilary Melton-Butcher)   -- I've been a huge proponent for the signature link and the HTML tags.  They are so handy to direct people to specific links I want them to see and to my own blog.  It's so much quicker to visit blogs if I have a link that takes me right there.  I just hate that WordPress, other systems, and often the other bloggers mistake a link in a comment or the signature link to think the comment is spam.  I really have a strong distaste for spam and spammers.

"Describe the last Halloween costume you wore." (Nicole) --- Many years ago when my kids were still in school and before I got remarried, I dressed in old green coveralls, sprayed my hair green, and put on green make-up and went out with my kids.  When people asked what I was supposed to be, I answered, "Broccoli".   Why do some people find broccoli to be so scary?

"What's more important, space exploration, or under-sea exploration?" (Matt Conlon) -- That's kind of a tough one as they are both fascinating frontiers.   I love the idea of forging on into the outer reaches of the universe as well as a concentrated study of our own solar system.  So much adventure!  But on the practical side of what could be more immediately useful and accessible to us I'd have to put the priority on sea exploration.  It will be probably be easier to access the resources of the sea before what's in space.  I hope we don't give up on either.

Coke or Pepsi?" (Mina Lobo) -- Funny how things can change.  In the 80's I had a clear preference for Pepsi, then somewhere along the line I started preferring Coke.  Maybe they had the better sales?  

"If you could sing any song with the artist who wrote/performed it, what would it be and with whom?" (Tracy Bermeo-A2Z Mommy) -- What a strange experience this would be!  I'll go with "Living for the City" with Stevie Wonder and I'd want to do a bluegrass arrangement of the song.  I wonder if Stevie would approve?

"How old were you when you realized your passion for writing?"   "Who inspired you to write in the very beginning?"    "Who inspires you now?" (Magical Mystical MiMi)--  My mother inspired me to tell stories when I was perhaps five or so and my father inspired me to write when I was about eight.  Writing and reading have been passions since I was young.  Now my writing inspirations are Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, and many great bloggers out there.

         Happy Easter to all!   And now let the Challenge begin!

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Blogging is a VERB

And then we blog…

We write. We edit. We post.

And then we blog…

We socialize, network and engage in the community.

Blogging in a bubble is like cooking without eating the meal.

And then we blog…

We read other blogs, meet and get to know other bloggers, join and participate in blog hops.

See what I mean? We blog.

Dishes can wait. We’re blogging. Blogging is a verb – an action word that requires participation.

Making it hard for active bloggers to comment on your blog is like doing the dishes when you’re entertaining company. Sure, you can get away with it, but why would you be so rude to your guests?

On that note, here’s a brief list explaining why some people might not comment on your blog…

• It takes too long to find your post. As serious as I am about blogging, there’s one thing I know to be true. Blogs are blogs. When I get to your page, I don’t want to click another link to read your post. I’m sure it will be very interesting and all that, but reading your post isn’t about giving you page views. It’s about reading what you wrote on your blog.

• You wrote a friggin’ novel! Again, it’s a blog…especially when we’re all hopping around like flying trapeze artists, hoping not to miss any step (or blog) along the way during some of these gigantic blog hops. Save it for your ebook already, and post a blog post, without apologies for writing more words than I could write in a week. (And I write a lot of words every week too!)

• Avoid misleading your audience by title or post. If your title promises to give a how-to on peeling oranges, I’m probably not going to want to read about dealing with grumpy co-workers. I’m certainly not expecting to anyway.

• Check your ego at the post. Um, I’m sure your post will be great, but I’m not coming back to see what you wrote about something in two or three days, just because you were too busy to write your post for today’s blog hop. As much as you want me to appreciate your busy blogging schedule, it would be nice if you would appreciate mine too. Remember, blogging is a verb.

• Skip the hoops already and make it easy for people to comment on your blog. I’ve commented on your blog time and time again. Yet I still have to fill out my name, email and website every time I visit you. At what point will you acknowledge my effort to leave you nice comments? I spent several minutes reading your post and now I can’t find where to leave a comment. Make it easy. Put the “Post a comment” at the bottom of the post (along with sharing tabs), just in case you said something my friends might want to read too. Captcha – think I said it all in this post on the subject.

It’s only a few days til we’re all in a mad rush to post and comment on well over 1,000 blogs in the A – Z Challenge blog hop. Hey, we’re all in this together and blogging is a verb!

Here’s to a successful A – Z Challenge for all!

M. J.

Photo credits:  Blog – commentskkkkk; Cortega9, CCA; blog iconoiiiiiii, Cortega9, CCA; Blog (1), Cortega9, CCA

Do I Have to talk about myself?: Co-host Damyanti

As a writer, I always thought I could hide, stay incognito, but the current publishing scenario won't stand for it. I've been blogging a few years now, but I usually try to keep writing and reading at the forefront and myself in the background. So, I'll take this post as practice, and try to talk about 'myself', my least favorite subject of conversation.

1."Where do you hail from?"
India.

2."When writing, do you prefer to compose your first-draft by hand, on your computer, or using Morse Code?" 
 By hand, if it is a short story, on the computer if it is a novel.

3."Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?"
  Pick up an absorbing book.

4. "Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship?"
 Spaceship. I've been on ships and haven't liked them much. If the spaceship resembles those in Star Trek, all the better.

5. "Name a book that didn't meet your expectations."
 Solar by Ian McEwan

6. "What makes life worth living?"
 Life itself. Only thing worth living for.

7. "Do you know how to 'Gangnam Style?'"
 Nope, and I hope never to have to learn.

8."What items could you typically have in your pockets?" 
 Keys, Phone.

9."Cake or pie?"
 Pie, sometimes. I like soups and salads, and all manner of healthy cuisine.

10."Coke or Pepsi?" 

 Neither. Water, every time.

Whew, that's 10 questions answered, all done and dusted! 

I can now go back to being A to Z challenge co-host, and ask you to make sure you stick to the AZ calendar, comment on as many posts as you can, turn off the captcha, and share your A to Z Challenge posts on all manner of social media. The A to Z Challenge is three days away, and I wish you all a fun and productive month of blogging in April!

April … WhenThe Following Should Be Easy

       It's "ASK ARLEE" day at TOSSING IT OUT, but I was given one question that seemed better addressed at the A to Z Blog.   Since the question primarily concerns the WordPress blogging platform which I am not too familiar with, I turned to one of my A to Z Ambassadors who blogs at WordPress.  In this post Judy from Raising the Curtain will address the topic of following blogs.

Let's Be Friends

The start of the Challenge is just around the corner and you’re ready. Your posts are prepared or well under control and you can’t wait to start the interaction.  You start scoping out a few of the blogs in the Challenge sign up list, get excited when you find a few quality ones and decide to follow them so you can keep up with their Challenge posts.  But hang on, these blogs are on a different blogging platform to your own and despite searching high and low on the site you can’t locate an easy follow mechanism. So you leave feeling slightly dejected, promising faithfully to come back manually to the blog… and you never do.

Sounds familiar?

One of the cornerstones of the Challenge is interaction and you want to make it easy for your readers to follow you, no matter on what platform they blog. Don’t let that follow slip through your fingers, especially after you have done the hard part with quality content.

Following Blogger to Blogger is easy through Google Friends Connect and the internal blogger follow mechanism. Following WordPress to WordPress is also easy through the internal WordPress follow button.

But what about following WordPress to Blogger or Blogger to WordPress?

Here’s a few suggestionsthat might help you capture that inter-platform follow.

For Blogger Users:

1.       Make sure you have a prominent RSS feed subscription feed button. WordPress users can import your blog’s URL into their WordPress reader.

2.       Even through you may not like to receive blog posts by email, others might. It’s my preferred blog capturing mechanism and a lot of the time blogs don’t have an email subscription capability. You might want to consider adding that capability.

3.       As Google Friends Connect can no longer be accessed by WordPress.com users consider linking your blog to one or more alternative follow platforms, such as Networked Blogs (http://www.networkedblogs.com) or Linky Followers (http://www.linkyfollowers.com/login/default.aspx). Each of these sites acts as an intermediary between blogs and their followers, a sort of blog clearing house. Networked blogs has a Facebook interface and can also be linked to your blog’s Facebook page if you have one. If you decide to use one of these, make sure the platform’s follow badge is placed in a prominent position on your blog.

4.       An alternative to Google Friends Connect is Google +. If you have a Google + blog page or a personal page, make sure your Google + follow badges are placed on a prominent position on your blog and that your blog posts are posted to your Google + page.

For WordPress Users:

1.       All of the above applies to you too, except for Google Friends Connect which has now been discontinued and in any event the script was not permitted on WordPress.com.

2.       Make sure that you have the grey WordPress Follow Me button option turned on. It will allow readers to follow you through an email subscription no matter what page of your blog they are on. Mine appears at the bottom right of the screen and jumps around with each page.

The Challenge is a great opportunity to break out of the confines of your blogging platform and invite other bloggers into your world. You never know, they might even stay for dinner the follow.

Good luck to all the Challenge participants and may you all have a fulfilling and followsome April!

Judy

http://raisingthecurtain.net/

        Thank you, Judy!  Please be sure to stop by Judy's blog to visit, comment, and by all means follow.

         Are there any other follow methods that you might suggest?

This post entered by Arlee Bird 

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Quick Note to A-to-Z Participants

Hi there!

In order to insure that everyone gets to come along on equal footing during the A-to-Z Challenge, and to make sure you have someone specific to go to should you have any questions, each co-host is assigned a certain number of blogs to attend to.  Now, we all try to visit everyone, but this way, each person will get visited by at least one co-host and will be able to contact their co-host directly in case of questions.

We want to be sure you know who to go to, so you will receive a single email from your co-host at the beginning of the challenge.  It will just be an introduction and welcome, along with your co-host's contact information.

Your emails will be BCC'd, so your email will not be given out to your fellow participants.  Only your co-host will have that information.  In order to insure it doesn't turn into a spam-fest, be sure to reply only to the co-host if you have a question; don't hit "reply all."  However, do feel free to ask your co-host anything, and don't be afraid that you will be bothering us...you won't! 

Ultimately, we are here to support all of you.  This should be fun.  Yes, we're challenging ourselves, but if you take it too seriously, it just won't be fun at all.  Enjoy yourself, and ask your co-host if you have a question.  Let's make this the best A-to-Z yet!

May you find your Muse.

Shannon L.
The Warrior Muse

Spam Flattery and Mr. Anonymous Commenter

It starts out innocently enough. Spam Flattery delivers the line. It’s a simple, common, worn out line meant to make you smile and maybe even blush a little. You know the type. They’re the lines everybody uses when they want to flatter you just enough, that you become a tiny bit self-absorbed; those wonderful little things they say to make it easier to take advantage of you, without you even realizing what they’re doing.

You toss your hair back, smile at the screen in front of yourself, cock your head off to one side and read the most delightful comments posted on your blog for all to see. They’re shy, the poor devils. They always sign in as Mr. Anonymous; sometimes they leave their name at the end of the comment, along with a link so you can visit them in return.

Mr. Anonymous says things like, “Appreciate this post. Will try it out.” Or “I’m going to link this page and share it.” That always gets your attention, right? I mean, we bloggers live for page views, and people linking to your work is like finding gold at the end of the rainbow.

Except there isn’t a rainbow in sight, it hasn’t rained in days and that site they’re linking to is nothing more than an advertisement for Viagra, Accutane, hemorrhoid cures or some other product you don’t want to advertise in the comments on your blog.

Oh, they’re good, these unsolicited, sales marketing spammers! They’re really good! Check out this comment left on an unsuspecting, unprotected blog:

Ηello! Ι unԁerstand this iѕ somewhat off-topic however 
I had to ask. Does managing a well-estаblisheԁ wеbѕite 
like yourѕ rеquirе a lot of ωоrk?
I аm bгand new to running a blog but I do 
write in my diary on a daily basis. I'd like to start a blog so I can share my personal experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any kind of ideas or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

They close by leaving a link to their website. (Funny. They don’t have a clue about blogging, but they’ve managed to build a website!)

Whatever you do, don’t click on the link!

These Mr. Anonymous commenters are masters of deception! They draw you in and spit you out. Picture cookies, lots of them and viruses – well, I wouldn’t be surprised! Spyware, malware, Trojans – both kinds I’m afraid.

Trust me, you’re going to be getting tons of comments once the A – Z Challenge begins next month. The last thing you need to worry about is sorting through and finding the ones from Mr. Anonymous, and wasting time trying to delete them all. Not to mention the unsuspecting bloggers who might actually click on the links provided!

Take a minute right now. Go into your blog settings and turn off “Anonymous Comments.” Make your visitors own their identity, claim their name and document their source before they can leave a comment on your blog. This is standard practice in the world of blogging anyway. It eliminates a major percentage of spam from ever getting through…unlike the dreaded captcha that does absolutely nothing to protect your blog from anonymous spammers, and only serves to frustrate anyone trying to leave a comment on your blog – except the anonymous spammer, that is. They’ll jump through all the hoops they need to, just to sell a product or leave a malicious link on your blog!

Photo credit:  The Emblem of Anonymous, Kephir at English Wikipedia, Public Domain; No Spam, indolences, Public Domain; Blog-commentskkkkk, Cortega9, Creative Commons Attribution

©2013 All Rights Reserved

Contributed by M.J Joachim, find her at Lots of Crochet Stitches by M.J Joachim

Never On A Sunday...

I hope you all are relaxing, do you have a plan for the challenge?

I thought it might just be fun to sneak in on this Sunday. This cause their is something in the shadow of next Sunday.

Have a great day!
Jeremy [Retro]
Oh, No... Let's Go CRAZY!