Saturday Wordzzle Challenge: Week 7

Well, I think I'm going to post on Friday evenings from now on because I realized that some of our participants are in time zones where it's already Saturday so I might as well give them a little more time - and it means people can post as soon as they are ready.

Since this is week 7 of our challenge, I'm going to just get right down to it without any introduction.

The words for this week's ten Word Challenge were: fruitcake, necromancer, gibberish, marshland, Lone Ranger, hog-wild, effluvia, plaintiff, phonograph, fern. And for the Mini Challenge: frozen, history, myrmidon, Shylock, incapacitated

Please remember to add your name to Mr. Linky down at the bottom of the post. Jay Simser sent me his wordzzle, but he also has it posted on his site, so I've added his name to Mr. Linky. You may have to hunt a little for it, but it's there and excellent as always. I do have one email megawordzzle contribution from my friend Dan. Dan doesn't have a blog, so he'll just have to check in here and if he chooses, share his email for any feedback. Here's his contribution:

It was New York City 1897, Dr. Rupert G. Rowens was seated in his office reviewing the previous week's paperwork. In the distance a faint sound of a phonograph played the latest Italian opera. Like a gust of wind the door shot open slightly ruffling the leaves of a nearby fern. There stood Sidney Lucas like some by product of a necromancer only to gallop in like the Lone Ranger from some distant marshland. Dr. Rowens sat there frozen in his chair, it only took a second to realize they were not alone. Sidney a fierce Shylock amongst his peers felt the need to bring along one of his goons, a mere myrmidon to Dr. Rowens. Effy (short for Effluvia due to the dogs offensive and untimely expels of gas) the doctor's faithful chihuahua came running to the scene. The doctor hurriedly quieted the dog from going hog-wild. Sidney was there to collect on a debt. In a recent court case the doctor had taken part in for a good friend he had offered to pay the minor debt for the plaintiff. Dr. Rowens invited them in and offered them some fruitcake and tea. The men sat rather abruptly and seemed on edge. The doctor spoke only for a few minutes before Sidney demanded his money. Dr. Rowens assured the men that he had the money and left the room to retrieve it. The doctor traveled up the stairs and into his private study. He proceeded to remove the history books from the shelf unmasking a wall safe. He removed 5000 dollars and replaced the books before making his way back down to Sidney and his goon. He sat at his desk and handed him the money he assured him that it was all there and implored him to count it so he did. Sidney and his goon decided it was time to leave but just before reaching the door they both became a bit peculiar and they looked back at the doctor, they tried to speak but gibberish is all that left their lips.The doctor said "Good fruitcake isn't it" Only seconds passed before they were on the floor and fully incapacitated. The doctor merely sat at his desk calmly and at ease. Mrs. Rowens walked in and said "Dammit Rupert, how do you expect me to keep this office clean when you keep leaving the cities scum around".

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I tried something different for this week's ten word challenge:

He was a lawyer extra-ordinaire
A hog-wild Lone Ranger
Defender of plaintiffs, terror of felons
So eloquent he could make gibberish sound grand
He called political speak effluvia and railed against it
He kept up with the times; he loved new things
But also mourned his old phonograph records
Lover of ferns and marshlands and all things wild
A fruitcake necromancer, amazing chef
Dark sorcerer who stole my heart
How will I live without him?

Here's my mini:

Shylock Jones had tried to trick the family "tradition" (aka curse) when he named his daughter Myrmidon. Horrible names were a family custom that dated back through generations of family history. Nobody knew how it started, but there was a superstition among his people that to betray the tradition would lead to disaster. Myrmidon had at least sounded pretty, he thought. Most people wouldn't know the word or it's meaning. He had never counted on her reaction, had not thought it would impact her the way it did. Now he stood beside her suicide's grave, frozen and incapacitated with grief, thinking that the only way to escape this pain would be to join her.

And my megawordzzle:

Sarah smith loved words more than anything - except maybe music... and history. History was pretty cool. But back to words. Words were music as far as she was concerned. Sometimes she would sing songs made up of the gibberish of her favorite words all strung together.... to the tune of the Lone Ranger's theme song and other tunes... marshlands, myrmidon, necromancer, fruitcake... and sing me a song of phonographs, effluvia and hog-wild ferns she would chant. Today she was reading Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and at the moment was circling the room reciting Shylock's famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Awesome she gasped, as she came to the end and stood frozen in her tracks. The plaintiff rests. Then with a theatrical gasp, she looked over at her cat Chaucer and sank with a dramatic thump onto her favorite chair. "Chaucer, my friend," she murmurred, "I am incapacitated by the power of these words. They are too beautiful. Let me rest a moment and then I will read you some more." As if he understood perfectly, Chaucer curled up next to her purring and waited quietly for her to begin again.

This week's vanity wordzzle (old stuff nobody will get to read unless I add it here) was created from the words: maelstrom, crab, totality, stucco, green tea, periphery, bookends, truncate, prioritize

Conrad sat in total stillness in the center of his Japanese garden, so deep in meditation that he remained oblivious to the maelstrom of activity around him. The garden was exquisite, designed with such a masterful eye for detail that although the many plants and trees were laid out in such a way as to keep the eye interested and moving, the totality was none-the-less calming to the senses. It was a masterpiece of beauty - from the crab shaped fountains that sat like bookends at each end of the walk, to the miniature cherry trees that lined the periphery and separated the glass-roofed garden from the stucco walls of the house which surrounded it. He had even planted seeds so that he could eventually harvest leaves for the tea ceremony - the special green tea had been ritually planted before anything else. The garden had become his obsession, his love and his solace. "We have to prioritize, Madge," he had told his gentle, long-suffering wife. And so they had truncated plans for her study and the pool for the kids and a few vacations. Even her return to school had been put on hold. So complete was Conrad's absorption in the garden that he did not hear the screaming twins or the three-month-old; he did not let the piles of dirty laundry or the sink full of dirty dishes distress him, but simply headed blissfully to his garden. Alas, he also failed, on this particular night, to see Madge, wild-eyed and totally mad, moving towards him with a long, sharp kitchen knife.

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE

Anyone who wants to emulate the amazing megawordzzlers can try merging both challenges and make another megawordzzle. It's fun. Do all three and triple your fun.

This weeks words are a mix of suggestions that came from Jay, The Pirate, Michael and Richard (check out his A to Z idea) - and I tossed a couple in myself. I would LOVE to have more suggestions for words/phrases from other participants. Also any advice/suggestions on how to make the process easier would me much appreciated. I'm new to the blogosphere and still clumsy at navigating it in some ways. I mixed their suggestions together just to make it more interesting.

Next Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: galaxy, delta, redecorate, dearth, offshoot, Uthar Pendragon, cordial, gingerbread, foretold, bonnet
And for the Mini Challenge: palliate, functionality, jungle, brass, asphyxiate

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR NAME TO
MR. LINKY!!!!!

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Just a reminder to everyone, when you are done with your wordzzles, take a minute to remember that this is Autism Awareness Month. The following blogs and posts offer an opportunity to put a human face and heart on something which for most of us is just something we have heard about but don't really understand.

These are the Days
Forks Off the Moment - We are All Unique
Mother of Shrek
Full Soul Ahead
Down River Drivel