fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
NASA Maps Show California’s Lighting Complex Fires
By: J. Bradley Chen
Tags: Environment, Maps, NASA, California, Wildfires

On the morning of August 29 there were no hotspots. Of course this doesn’t mean the fire is out, however, as this cool video from CALFIRECZU shows:

On August 30, satellite captures at 2:24 AM, 3:12 AM and 4:00 AM Pacific did not detect fire in the CZU Complex. On August 31 they detected two hotspots, one north of Butano State Park at 2:54 AM and another at 3:42 AM between N. Escape Road and Big Basin Way. No hotspots were detected the morning of September 1, with satellite captures at 2:36 AM and 3:24 AM. One hotspot north of Butano was captured at 1:54 PM Pacific.

On September 2 it appears that no hotspots were captured in either the CZU or the SCU incidents, with satellites capturing a hotspot east of Livermore at 3:06 AM. Similarly the satellites passed with no hotspots detected on September 3 or September 4. On September 5, the impact of warmer weather was visible with two hotspots, one in Big Basin and one near Gazos Creek Rd, captured at 3 AM Pacific. They did not appear on daytime satellite captures. Satellites did capture one hotspot at 2 PM on September 6, north of Butano State Park. There were no detections on September 7, but on September 8 there was a hotspot between 236 and N. Escape Road, captured at 2:54 AM Pacific.

No hotspots were captured on 9, 10 or 11 September, but on 12 September the VIIRS system captured a hotspot at 3:18AM Pacific near the intersection of Empire Grade and Alba Road.

Thank you, firefighters, and everybody who finds a way to help our community through this disaster.

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Series 1. CZU Lightning Complex, Near Real-Time view with default settings
August Prompt #2: Maps and Guidance
By: J.A. Taylor
Tags: Fiction, Maps, Prompt, Fantasy, Pubprompt

Get lost. It’s something all of us do at least once in our lives. Often it’s unintentional, sometimes it’s on purpose. The mental compass in our brain has a tendency to magnetize toward unimportant things which end up disorienting us in our life journey. At some point, everyone needs guidance to find their destination, even if they didn’t realize what they were looking for. Other people can leave us trails, offer riddles or deliver rebukes that can change our paths in life. Everyone follows something.

Enough of the philosophical talk. Determine your own path by writing a story which includes a map or some form of guidance. It could be as simple as a dwarf carrying a glowing, hardened ash tablet in his pouch he uses to navigate sulfur mines. It could be a hero hiking his way “Northward” dragging his sword across plains of ice to mark his path. It might even be the captain of a sea-faring vessel consulting his traverse board to reach an unknown land. Whatever type of navigation you choose, make sure it’s not a GPS. That kind of tech belongs over in Sci-Fi Shorts.

If these ideas don’t get your mind cranking, here are a few words and phrases that might conjure up just the right image to get the writing inspiration flowing. Feel free to adapt one of these lines or ideas to use in your story!

He consulted the ragged cloth in his pocket, working to convince himself it wasn’t a lie.

The vague outlines on the frayed drawing could lead her to untold wealth. Once she found it, she’d never need to go back to him. She tucked the sketch into her satchel and left behind everything she knew. She didn’t even bother closing the door.

The faint moonlight glinted off the azure ice walls. As the clouds parted, trails of orange traced the glacier, illuminating the path to what he had spent his entire life searching for.

“You’re looking in the wrong place,” the old hag muttered. “What you seek lies closer than you think. It sleeps next to you every night.”

As always, if you’re new to writing for Fantasy Shorts, make sure you are familiar with the realm by consulting our submission guidelines and tips for writing “Flantasy” (fantasy flash fiction) — a unique term coined by the wordsmith, Holly Jahangiri.

Now, go map out that story, or discover it along the way. We can’t wait to go on the journey with you!
Choose Maps for Equity
By: Heather Krause
Tags: Native Land, Equity, Maps, Data, We All Count

by Heather Krause

A map isn’t just a map.

The work of alternate cartographer Denis Wood often reminds me that maps are equal parts poetry and science. They can also be some of the most insidious and powerful tools of cultural oppression.

Maps are a very special kind of data visualization because they frame the way we see the world around us. They are fundamental to how we understand our own geographical and social reality. In so much of my work as a data scientist, I am adding layers to maps while automatically accepting (and entrenching) the underlying divisions, boundaries and place names. I can get so deep in the world of zip codes, state lines and city limits that I don’t pause to question my unthinking adoption of these structures and reinforcement of colonial and industrial paradigms.

No map of people is ‘the right one’. Alternative maps which move the locus of power to a place that rebalances injustice and offers a voice to muffled perspectives need to be used. When I saw the maps curated and maintained by Native Land Digital, I was absolutely floored, not only by the evident amount of work and collaboration but by the immediate and powerful message it conveyed. It was a rejection of a power dynamic that had no regard for its perspective. It inserted its voice against a cultural dominance so pervasive that I can sometimes forget it’s there.

More than just beautiful, these maps are extremely useful.

Instead of waiting for ‘traditional’ map makers and data scientists to reform their systems and become literate in a map culture other than their own, the team at Native Land have generously come to them: they’ve shared this information in a way that the very people who often ignore it will find the most useful.

The Native Land maps are crowdsourced, curated maps that show boundaries of Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages. Just one glance at the maps gives me an immediate understanding of how different the world looks through these lenses. Native Land Digital is maintained, owned and governed by an Indigenous Team and Board of Directors and funding is provided by individual donors and supporters. Their digital site offers an open API that can be used to access their data to make your own maps. No more excuses.

To make this even easier for people and teams with less technical knowledge, We All Count has linked the Native Land Digital data into a set of Tableau workbooks and a dashboard. It’s free to download and use here. Please acknowledge and link to Native Land Digital in any projects that take advantage of this extremely valuable data equity tool.
Swisstopo vector tiles development
Tags: Maptiler, GIS, Maps, Vector Tiles, Switzerland

We are happy to announce our collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo. After a successful kick-off earlier this year, we now support the swisstopo cartography team in building the next generation of swisstopo maps, powered by the technology of vector tiles. Their first goal is to provide a new light base map, a backdrop map optimized to overlay thematic layers of the Federal Spatial Data Infrastructure FSDI and many other data.

Swisstopo maps are both beautiful and accurate while being renowned for their unique visual style. Our challenge is to introduce as much “Swissness” as possible in the new vector styles while making the maps fast and keeping the datasets aligned with the high standards set by swisstopo cartographers.

It has long been a personal dream of mine, to be able to contribute to the field of Swiss cartography with the innovations developed by MapTiler.

Swiss map style proof-of-concept

As a first step, we created a demonstration with the goal of reproducing the Swiss National Map color and style. We generated basic vector tiles from sample swisstopo data extracts using MapTiler Desktop and uploaded these to the web infrastructure. From there, we used the Advanced Editor to refine the style of the maps with color codes, fonts, and symbols inspired by official Swiss cartography.

Preview of the prototype

Along with customization, vector tiles allow the users to interact with the data, rotating and tilting the maps, while ensuring crystal clear details are visible on every screen — even on your mobile devices.

This proof-of-concept was a precursor to our ongoing collaboration with swisstopo, for whom the MapTiler team is developing a new vector tiles pipeline.

Vector tiles pipeline

This new software, powered by our open-source technology, is intended to process a massive amount of FSDI data directly from PostGIS. The tool will generate ready-to-use vector tilesets while enabling easy automated updates. Our OpenMapTiles schema is being extended to include features specific to swisstopo and prepare these to match the high standards of Swiss cartography. The FSDI data covering Switzerland is inserted into a weekly updated clipped version of OpenMapTiles data to provide worldwide coverage.

A variety of vector data comes into play, including daily updated official addresses, public transportation stops, road and rail networks, detailed landcover and landuse, points of interest, and contour lines. The raster data being processed encompasses handmade relief shading (a Swiss tradition), rock features, scree, and glacial forms.

Here are two previews of the light base map prototype styling with swisstopo terrain, but still with OMT vector data overlayed. The production version will contain the vector data from swisstopo.
Remember When Going Viral Was a Bad Thing?
By: Jordan Mendiola
Tags: Map, Fiction, Satire, This Happened To Me, Viral

SATIRE

Remember When Going Viral Was a Bad Thing?

Now it’s all the hype

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

People love attention, especially me.

It’s incredible to feel important and loved for something you do or say.

That’s why all the Tik Tok kids make endless content, hoping for the day they go viral.

Some authors write waiting for the day their story finally goes viral.

Pause!!!

Don’t you remember when viral was a bad thing?

Influenza was a gruesome flu pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people in 1918.

Since its emergence in the 1980s, HIV has infected 60 million people and caused an estimated 30 million deaths.

It’s shocking how these fatal diseases were attached to “viral” having a negative connotation.

But now everyone wants to be just that, viral and all over the place.

I’m not mad, I just find it funny how the v-word can signify being both deadly and famous.

2020 has been a strange year and this thought popped into my head at a very weird time.

Hopefully my writing goes viral and spreads peace, love, and positivity — not a fatal disease of headassery.
MapTiler Desktop Next Generation
Tags: Maptiler, Maps, Georeference, Gdal, Qt

We designed the MapTiler Desktop to be the most user-friendly geodata processing tool. For the upcoming version, we are asking you, the community of users, to give us your feedback.

The vision

Since the very beginning, MapTiler Desktop was created to help turn files into zoomable maps. The simple user interface allows everyone, even creative people with no technical background, to process anything you drop into it — and create map layers and overlays on existing world maps.

Being the most user-friendly geodata processing tool for converting maps-data into a web and mobile-ready form.

Assigning location information to images or plans was always easy — with visual georeferencing — or powerful with other methods available for power users.

Raster tiles were recently complemented with vector tiles rendering functionality.

This all is the “good old stuff” we want to keep and improve. But what should be added next?

Make MapTiler Desktop more visual & interactive

One of the biggest news will be an ability to preview geodata files on your computer before you start to render.

Any kind of data can be viewed, including raster TIFF/GeoTIFF, MrSID, ECW, JPEG2000/GeoJP2, Erdas HFA, NOAA BSB/KAP, Ozi Explorer OZF2/OZFx3, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF with RGB color model, or vector GeoPDF, ESRI Shapefile, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, KML, and GPX.

The new version of MapTiler Desktop will also allow preview input files before rendering.

Interaction redesigned from the ground-up

The most visible improvement will be the brand new UI. The idea is to keep the simplicity and preserve workflows you are used to. We welcome your feedback on the functionality you are using the most — to make it even more visible.

All design elements, including icons, will be unified to respect the look&feel of our website and other products.

Brand new UX for vector tiles rendering

Rendering of vector tiles, which was added quite recently, will get a brand new well-thought-out interface. This UX will be started from scratch and allow much more functionality.

New dialogs for the main functionality

The navigation will be more clear because each step of the rendering wizard will have its name displayed in the top right corner.

Together with the navigation, the terminology will be adjusted, e.g. input files vs output files, input coordinate system vs output coordinate system, …

Powered by new components

The upcoming version of MapTiler Desktop will use the latest system components.

The graphical user interface will be written in Qt5, which uses a faster WebKit rendering engine. The newest WebKit also allows visual georeferencing using any modern web map service, including Google Maps.

Qt5 adds new possibilities and is available on all modern systems, including Windows 10, macOS 10.15, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Help us improve — give your feedback

To build the “most user-friendly geodata processing tool for converting data”, we need your feedback!

Check the roadmap, decide what to build next, and vote on submitted ideas!
I Earned Two Top Writer Badges, Now What?
By: Jordan Mendiola
Tags: Writing, Map, Fiction, Advice, This Happened To Me

SATIRE

I Earned Two Top Writer Badges, Now What?

Is there an induction ceremony?

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

My high school English teachers would probably poop their pants if I told them I’m a top writer in two categories.

As a kid who hated writing English papers and felt like school ruined reading and writing for him, I achieved the improbable.

This isn’t some sort of bragging — it’s more so a shock. I remember going to my profile page to make sure my story was published and noticed a top writer badge on investing and inspiration.

The first thing that comes to my mind is — how? I never get curated in either of those topics, yet the Medium Gods deem me worthy of the titles?

Apparently, if you write for long enough, they’ll draw names from a hat and pick a few lucky winners!

Is there some sort of company retreat in the Bahamas that I get to attend now? Will a Medium company tee arrive at my home soon? What’s the big deal?

Gaining a little credibility on my profile with the top writer's badges is an honor.

It seemed like a distant achievement I could only see with a telescope, but now it’s right in my face — well next to my face on the profile.

They’re playing the “wrap it up music” so I’ll keep this short.

Thank you Medium for deeming me worthy of your sexy top writer badges!

Getting into this elite group won’t change me. I’ll still continue to pass gas and talk to my dog like she’s a real person.
Dear Medium, I’m Not Mad You Didn’t Save My Work
By: Jordan Mendiola
Tags: Writing, Map, Fiction, Advice, This Happened To Me

SATIRE

Dear Medium, I’m Not Mad You Didn’t Save My Work

A Letter to Medium

Photo by William Carlson on Unsplash

Dear Medium,

I just spent the past hour writing a very meaningful piece to me about friendships I’ve made in the military. It’s about how after deployment, I’m not going to see the same people for a bit, and things feel weird.

I’m not sure if you’re tracking, but when I closed out of the page after it “saved,” I returned to it moments later to add a photo and poof! It was gone.

No, I’m not mad. I’m not going crazy or feeling frustrated that a lot of my hard work was deleted. No, no, no.

Instead, I’m actually relieved. I rewrote the entire thing and had a lot more insightful information I was able to add. Is it the way I wanted things to go? No, not really, but it worked out anyway.

A fellow friend of mine, Ryan Fan, recently wrote a piece that also didn’t have all his work saved either. But we’re not mad, just a little disappointed.

I couldn’t imagine being someone who wrote a fifteen-minute “ultimate guide” piece on programming and had it all disappear. Now that would be a nightmare. But I’m not surprised if it’s happened before.

In the future, I’ll save a draft onto Google docs or my notes so that I don’t lose everything again. Though this may seem like a rant, it’s not. I’m totally fine! We’re fine, see?

Anyways, I love your platform still and will continue to write on it because of its lovely aesthetics. Plus, the people here are super genuine and smart.

I hope it all saves next time. Wish me luck!

Jordan Mendiola :)
Making My Mid-2015 Macbook Pro Great Again!
By: Kabir, Ko-Bir
Tags: Other World Computing, Apple, Owc, Hometech, MacBook Pro

Sorry for the pun! I love my Macbook Pros at home and work. Last MacBook Pro (MBP) that I purchased was about four years ago for home use. My MBP at work is over five years old. I had recently explored if I should upgrade them, but sadly Apple’s latest offering of MBP line is very disappointing — so I am going to hold off on a new purchase for at least a year or so. However, recently, I found myself needing to upgrade due to some image and video processing needs.

A recent Europe trip resulted in an about one terabyte of photos and videos that were shot at 21-megapixel raw mode and 4K at 60 frames respectively. There was no way for me to process all these photos and videos without needing external SSD drives. I bought a 2TB Samsung SSD drive for the trip and working with it is okay but never the same as using Apple’s internal PCIe based drive.

Working with large image and video files at 700–800 MB/s is what I am used to since 2014. Now working with an external USB 3 interfaced drive at 1/3 to 1/2 speed is painful. So I needed a fast upgrade!

Luckily, my favorite Apple compatible hardware vendor — Other World Computing (OWC) came to the rescue! They offered an upgrade for my MBP from 2015 that I couldn’t refuse — OWC Aura Pro X2.

OWC Aura Pro X2

This is a beast of an upgrade for MacBook Pro with retina display from late 2013–2015. The two terabyte, NVMe — PCIe 3.1, storage card has an impressive Read/Write speed of 3192/2488 MB/s. WOW!

OWC Aura Pro X2

I decided to go for their 2TB kit, which included the cool OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure that can be used for the displaced original Apple storage card. In another word, I get to upgrade the internal storage card to two terabytes — the maximum allowed at this time and at the same time I get to keep my old original equipment as an external drive. Sweet!

After receiving the kit, it took five minutes to change the card in my MBP. I decided to completely rebuild the system using the new disk using Apple’s famous Internet-based OS reinstallation process. I was up and running with a super-fast system in less than one hour!

Here is my current read/write speed test using the excellent and free Blackmagic Disk Speed test tool.
Sick and Tired of lousy Whole-home WiFi? Forget WiFi 6, powerline, mesh networking. The solution is sweet and simple!
By: Kabir, Ko-Bir
Tags: Home Automation, Hometech, Wifi, Moca, Coaxial Cable

Do you have a whole-house WiFi range problem? Have you tried a few mega-size WiFi routers, mesh networking, and ethernet over power lines? I tried all these options and still got a fraction of my incoming bandwidth throughout the house. It seems like there is always some form of barrier getting in the way of WiFi signals. It could be too many walls, metals, or many other factors. In my case, it was some ornate wallpapers that had metal beads on them, which turned a few rooms into Faraday’s cages! But the wallpapers are my wife’s pride and joy. They must stay if I want to avoid budget cuts in my future home automation projects!

The idea of wiring the entire house for ethernet was daunting. So, I procrastinated for a few years and hoped for a super-duper WiFi 6 router to be the miracle! The one-gigabit miracle came from the existing coax cable network used for cable television and the internet! How? One word — MoCA!

Enter MoCA!

MoCA — Multimedia over Coax Alliance — is a home networking technology that uses existing coax cable wiring found in nearly all modern US homes. Using MoCA 2.x network adapters that came out in 2010, we can transfer about one Gbps throughput! This is a fantastic technology, and I can’t believe I didn’t hear about this sooner! So, I decided to put this to the test immediately.

How it Works

Connect the MoCA adapter to your existing router via ethernet cable. Then connect the same adapter to the nearest coaxial cable jack. The MoCA adapter will send ethernet packets over your coax cable throughout the home!

Now go to a room where you had weak WiFi before installing a MoCA adapter to the coax jack in the room. Then connect your laptop, game console, or even a WiFi router via an ethernet cable to the same adapter. Bingo! You just hardwired your room to your internet capacity!
My Little Friend
By: Dana Sanford
Tags: One Line, Harmony, Chalkboard, Poetry, Love

We do not speak the same words

or in the same tone

but we are gentle to each other

in harmony.

For Chalkboard prompt: Harmonious from Francine Fallara

Thanks to Kathy Jacobs, Harper Thorpe, and the whole Chalkboard team.
Heart Beat
Tags: One Line, My Life, Heartbeat, Poetry, Love

Thank you to Francine Fallara for this week’s beautiful One Line Poem Prompt!

Also, thank you so much to Kathy Jacobs, Harper Thorpe, and the entire Chalkboard team!
To Have Known Harmony
By: Samantha Lazar
Tags: One Line, Music, Poetry, Love, Life

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Let’s Duet
By: Harper Thorpe
Tags: One Line, Satire, Music, Poetry, Humor

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Family portrait
By: Georgia Lewitt
Tags: One Line, Writing, Fiction, Poetry, Life

Copyright © 2020 by Georgiana Petec. All rights reserved.

Thank you so much for reading. Happy Holidays with peace, joyful moments and mountains of love! 🙏🎊🎍

And thank you so much Francine Fallara for this week’s theme:
Harmony
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Dance, Poetry, Love, Nature

Take my hand,

follow me

The wind

is humming

our song

Dance with me;

Move

to the rhythm

Let us dance

till we forget

the presence

of everything else
Just Perfect
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Relationships, Harmony, Poetry

In response to Francine’s lovely prompt.

The ultimate harmonious relationship

Free from dissent, always in tune

Hard to find, yet once you have it

Don’t let go, for that love is true!
Advent 2020 With A Difference
By: Sylvia Wohlfarth
Tags: One Line, Covid 19, Hope, Poetry, Christmas

I’m a bit late with your timely prompt, Advent, Kathy Jacobs but as it’s not Christmas yet, I thought I might still give it a go.

Thank you, Kathy, Harper Thorpe and all the Chalkboard team for keeping us inspired and creative.
Cycle Of Life
By: Somsubhra Banerjee
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Poetry, Thoughts, Life

The shore of Ganges reminisce footsteps,

his grandfather and him, enjoying the winds.

Smiling, as the tide of time sails,

his fingers now, holding his grandson’s,

leaving a new trail.
Precious Time
By: Joanna Vang
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Poetry, Precious Moments, Time

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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Timing
Tags: One Line, Eternity, One Line Poem, Poetry, Time

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
time flies
By: Rhonda Marrone
Tags: One Line, One Line Poetry Prompt, Poem, Chalkboard, Poetry

when we’re children

elders say

“the older you get

the faster time flies”

then you get older

elders pass on

that’s when we know

truer words

have never been spoken

Thanks to this one line prompt:
E Plurubus
By: A Love Supreme
Tags: One Line, Poema, Poetry, Summer

The sweet sublime

I wrote a line in the heat of the summertime that was nonsensical and without rhyme

It was of the time we met and i took a bet you would be surely and truly mine

And to admit I wasn’t fit to be a Romeo or a Hercules to deal with your shit

So here i sit, a worrisome dark snake and razor infested pit

Lying in a trap not meant to be escaped by quick words or wit

I’m a baby bird that made it through his first night

my wings are skinny and featherless, I have yet to learn to fly

I’m a tadpole in the water, but the supreme waits on land

I still have a tail and no legs, the greatest hurdle getting out of the sand

For a big fish, I am big bait reincarnated as a worm, then eaten and then reinstated as the blessed one, kissed by the sun , the harbinger of the supreme yet to come

Amongst the people who live by “ Out of Many one”

Well isn’t that dumb to be One of Many

Im Out

~ A Love The Supreme One
Heart Speaks
Tags: One Line, Poetry, Love, Beginning

Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Hands Of Time
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: One Line, Writing, Micropoetry, Poetry, Time

Hands Of Time

Photo by Heather Zabriskie on Unsplash

they fail to recognise me, I don’t blame them

it’s all because of hands of time.

thanks to Lee-Anne Hancock for the prompt tine

thanks to Kathy Jacobs Harper Thorpe and the entire Chalkboard Team
Appreciate The Time You Have
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Holidays, Poetry, Stress, Time

We all feel stressed at this time of year, why do we do that? Is there some rule that says we HAVE to decorate or spend all our money on a bunch of stuff people may or may not want anyway? I refuse to let it get to me this year, in fact, I have not even started decorating, and the only thing I’ve purchased is what needed to be shipped up north before it was too late.

I think (especially this year) we should all just take a breath and be happy we are still here to appreciate what we have, maybe spend some time with family, and not worry so much about what the media drills into all of us.
Seasons of Time
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, Seasons Of Life, Time, Love

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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Perfect Timing of Our Long Awaited Times
By: Francine Fallara
Tags: One Line, Relationships, Poetry, Love, Time

Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Drape
By: Barney Dinosaur
Tags: One Line, Celebrate Life, Theatre, Poetry, Celebration

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Hesitant Demeanour
By: Daniel A. Teo
Tags: One Line, Poem, Self, Life Lessons, Life

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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Advent(ure)
By: Harper Thorpe
Tags: One Line, Music, Life Lessons, Wisdom, Poetry

Advent(ure)

Photo by Roseanna Smith on Unsplash

The advent of new,

of things changing,

of life’s natural rearranging. Evolution or revolution,

understated or overrated.

The future’s uncertain,

but — Channel natural anxiety,

positivity maintained.

Nothing adventured,

nothing gained!

©2020 HHThorpe. All rights reserved.

Inspired by Kathy Jacobs’ introspective poem, “Beginning and Ending,” and prompt, “advent.” Thanks to our hosts, Kathy and the other guy (🙃), and all the talented editors at Chalkboard!
we begin
By: Rhonda Marrone
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Poetry, Poem

a one line poem

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

we begin

to see the end

of seasonal

upheaval

the end of this appalling year

the end of epidemic

the end of tyrant president

and we begin

to hope again

~~Rhonda Marrone 12/2020

This one line poem is for the prompt of Advent. I don’t know much about the Christian practice of Advent but I do know how I feel this year at this time. I feel like so much is ending and so much is beginning and so much is uncertain. Maybe that is what Advent and Christmas is all about, finding some hope.
A Classified For Muses
By: Cecilia Seiter
Tags: One Line, Poem, Poetry

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Journey of Life
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Couples, Poetry, Love, Marriage

There is

no one

in the world

that I would

rather have

along

for this journey

For I have

no need

of anyone else

when I have you

right here.
Spring is coming
By: Georgia Lewitt
Tags: One Line, Writing On Medium, Pandemic, Fiction, Poetry

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Calendar
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, Holidays, Advent, Motivation

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Anticipation
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Advent, Anticipation, Hope, Poetry

I’m sure I’m not the only one wishing to put this year behind me. The people I’ve loved and lost weigh heavy on my heart, the stress and discomfort this year has brought us all, with the virus and the disconnect of the entire nation, make me want to hide in a bottle or my bed until it’s all over. (But I don’t)

The passing of my last uncle on my mother’s side and my last aunt on my dad’s side in the space of two weeks has me feeling rather sad and melancholy, so I’m sorry if my message seems mixed. I’m actually feeling like their passing was a blessing, knowing they are not in pain or suffering anymore and have been reunited with the rest of the family in Heaven. I’m sad that their families are feeling lost without them though, and it’s harder when death comes at this time of year. (PS: They both passed from natural causes- not the virus by the way.)

Thankfully, we have the promise of the Lord’s everlasting love to get us through and this is the time of year I feel it the strongest.
Familial Celestial
By: Harper Thorpe
Tags: One Line, Satire, Music, Poetry, Humor

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The New Life
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: One Line, Writing, Pandemic, Masks, This Happened To Me

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Those Jasmines in The Moonlit Night
By: Somsubhra Banerjee
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard, Poetry, Love, Thoughts

This one-line poem is in response to Chalkboard’s new theme-Moon, initiated by Ana-Maria Schweitzer. Navigate below to read her beautiful piece:

Thanks a lot, Kathy Jacobs and Harper Thorpe for sheltering my poems, here at Chalkboard.
When Midnight Betides
By: Daniel A. Teo
Tags: One Line, Prose, Poetry, Writing

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I Love You to the Moon and Back
By: Kim Smyth
Tags: One Line, Poetry, Moon, Love

I wasn’t sure what to do with this one, but then I saw this image and the words just came to me. Not the greatest love poem in the world, but heartfelt just the same!

Thanks as always to Kathy, Harper, and the whole Chalkboard team. :)
Agate Moon
By: Roy Reichle
Tags: One Line, Agate, Poetry, Fall, Moon

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

A full October moon,

cheddar amber and round,

rises behind leafless trees,

peers through crooked limbs

and lightless streaks of clouds,

to balefully glare at me

through her great agate eye.
Hot Moon
By: Dana Sanford
Tags: One Line, Inspiration, Prompt, Poetry, Moon

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Mystery Walk
Tags: One Line, Self, Fiction, Poetry, Photography

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Goodbye
By: Georgia Lewitt
Tags: One Line, Writing On Medium, Fiction, Poetry, Life

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Live In Moments
By: Suntonu Bhadra
Tags: One Line, Poem, Chalkboard, Gratitude, Poetry

Live In Moments

Cover picture created by Canva (edit link)

Spectacles in surrounding beats

solitude in our life long synopsis

breathing air, living in the moment

inkless seconds continuously whisper

and my soul says in gratitude,

‘Thank you, Mother Gaya.’

Thanks to Sherry Kappel for this wonderful prompt:

And, of course to Kathy Jacobs, Harper Thorpe and the incredible Chalkboard team.
The Prez & The Dude
Tags: One Line, Trump, Hunger, Poetry, One Lined Poem

Like Harper Thorpe’s, my response to Sherry Kappel’s Gratitude prompt has a tragic undertone. People are unemployed, hungry, homeless, and many more will soon be homeless, but Trump and the Republican Senate do nothing. Trump doesn’t even address the problems in news briefings. He whines, stews, whimpers, blames, and sues about the election, but doesn’t care if Americans are going to bed hungry. My gratitude is for all those who donate to and work with the food banks to help desperate, hungry Americans.

Giving Tuesday is only a few days away. If you can, please donate to one of these food organizations or to a food bank in your area:

Feeding America

Meals on Wheels

World Central Kitchen

FarmLink

And, here is Sherry’s prompt:
Cherish
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Gratitude, Poetry, Love, Thanksgiving

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Small Gratitude
By: Rhonda Marrone
Tags: One Line, Poem, One Line Poetry Prompt, Chalkboard, Gratitude

A One Line Poem

Photo by author

gratitude is often difficult

when we’re alone in isolation

when our parents are gone

when our children

and grandchildren

are far away

lockdowns restrict travel

but there is always sunset

~~Rhonda Marrone 11/2020

Thanks to this One Line Poetry Prompt:
Again Someday
Tags: One Line, Memories, Loss, Gratitude, Love

In Response to Sherry Kappel’s One Line Poetry Prompt For November 25th

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Deeply grateful for each moment

We had while you were here

Holding on to precious memories

Until we can again be near.
Did You Get a Chance to Thank
By: Darshak Rana
Tags: One Line, Gratitude, Poetry, Life, Spirituality

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Wooden Wisdom
Tags: One Line, Gratitude, Poetry, Nature, Photography

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Half Full
By: Roy Reichle
Tags: One Line, Glass Half Full, Chalkboard, Gratitude, Hope

Photo by Marc Arias on Unsplash

Through the soot-stained

glass of my broken soul,

a gibbous Moon waxes

above the frost-bitten Earth,

but as darkness wanes

a bright gratitude builds

in the half-full light.
Gratitude’s No Platitude
By: Harper Thorpe
Tags: One Line, Music, Economy, Poetry, Thanksgiving

And now, James Taylor sings “Over The Rainbow,” a song (singer and version) I chose because it’s a beautiful and soothing melody, but as importantly, the lyrics describe thoughts of escaping to a place where there’s no trouble. Written for the Wizard of Oz, it’s a hopeful song, but there’s no guarantee we can get to that place without help from others — most with their own frailties: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and even the Wizard.
The Art of Gratitude
By: Elaine Hamilton
Tags: One Line, Family, Gratitude, Friendship, Thanksgiving

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Pandora’s Legacy
By: Dana Sanford
Tags: One Line, Mythology, Gratitude, Poetry, Thanksgiving

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Thank You for Being the Constant in My Life
By: Francine Fallara
Tags: One Line, Gratitude, Poetry, Nature, Spirituality

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Landscape
By: Georgia Lewitt
Tags: One Line, Poetry On Medium, Landscape, Gratitude, Poetry

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Cloudy Celebration
By: Joanna Vang
Tags: One Line, Celebration, Approach, Poetry

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The Things I Sought
By: Hudson Taylor
Tags: One Line, Chalkboard

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Less Amour
Tags: One Line, Life Lessons, Quotes, Poetry, Photography

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Stepping out of Shifting Sands
By: Francine Fallara
Tags: One Line, Self Improvement, Life Lessons, Poetry, Adaptation

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Ignition
By: Josie Elbiry
Tags: One Line, Poetry, Love, Abuse, Freedom

Ignition

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Adrenaline rush

from slamming fingers in the drawer

As she packs.

Turns the ignition, hits the gas.

On approach, the love looked good.

The hellish mountains were obscured by fog.

Josie ElBiry, 2020

Thank you to Samantha Lazar for the prompt “approach” and to Kathy Jacobs and the Chalkboard team!
Returning Home
Tags: One Line, Microfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Photography

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Approaching the Peak
By: Roy Reichle
Tags: One Line, Goals, Myopia, Approach, Poetry

Photo by David Vierkötter on Unsplash

From the valley precipice,

the granite point of my goal

stabs the sky with cornices

and its icy ridges, that razor

down mottled flanks,

but clarity faded

with every step

of my myopic approach.
Winter
Tags: One Line, One Line Poem, Chalkboard Espresso, Winter, Poetry

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Melting
By: Anna Rozwadowska
Tags: One Line, Approach, Poetry, Love, Kindred Spirit

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The Corridor
By: Fọlábòmí Àmọ Ó
Tags: One Line, Fear, Darkness, Monsters, Poetry

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Negotiate To Win If You Lose
By: Harper Thorpe
Tags: One Line, Satire, Music, Poetry, Humor

Negotiate To Win If You Lose

How can we be having an argument, … er, negotiation … if I never get to speak? (Image Credit)

Assume,

when negotiating,

your adversary is

smarter than you,

or your mistakes

will make it so.

If she’s your wife,

bet on losing,

to guarantee

you’ll win —

something.

You’re welcome!

©2020 HHThorpe. All rights reserved.

Inspired by Samantha Lazar’s poem, “The Approach” and prompt, “Approach.” Thanks to our hosts, Kathy Jacobs and me (🙃), and the rest of the talented Chalkboard team!