When I received the IMPORTANT email, I rolled my eyes. Yeah, okay. One more virus warning from 10 years ago, I expected. It wasn't. It was a poll about whether or not "In God We Trust" should be taken off our money. I figured it was also old and no longer there but had to check anyway. Guess what? It's still there, and it turns out (not surprising, really) that most of us don't think it should be removed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

A headline I found while there has to be one of the funniest I've seen:

"Barack Obama talks character"

Character. Uh, so this morning when I heard his campaign on my radio again saying that McCain, like President Bush, would continue to give all the tax breaks to the rich while slamming the poor, and knowing it was an outright lie ... was that the character of which he is speaking?

President Bush has given more tax breaks to lower and middle income taxpayers than any Dem I've known. The rich still pay quite a hefty tax, actually. Make over 100,000 and 31% of it goes to the government (altered a bit with the sch. A and such). Make more than that and the rate goes higher. And lose your deductions. No school loan interest credit. No tuition credit. No child tax credit, even if you have 5-6 kids and are paying full tuition price because you also can get no college assistance. (From the POV of an ex-tax preparer who has seen it) The more you make, the more they take. Dems want to make that even worse. Some people sacrifice a heck of a lot to support their families, working 7 days a week and multiple jobs and such, and then have to hand 31% to the goverment, instead of the average of 10-12% for lower income families. That's getting all the breaks, is it?

What kind of "character" does it take to make it sound otherwise?

Do we know what "character" even is anymore? I have faith that some day, we will remember.

 

So the big Dem attack against McCain is that he owns 7 houses or so and isn't sure how many?

Are you kidding me? So what? I'm sure he paid/is paying for them. He's not letting them default and making the rest of us pay for them. What does it matter if he has 2 or 20? It puts him "out of touch"?

Let's get serious, here. It's been all over the news that his wife is a very successful business woman who comes from a family of successful business people. She has a 'good' income on top of his good income. What they do with that money that was made by working for it is their business, as long as it's not illegal. I'm quite sure Obama could buy 7 houses if he wanted to. It means nothing as to how either would be able to run a country. Isn't that supposed to be the point?

Who actually believes that the wealthy IL senator is "in touch" with the rest of us working people? How can he be? He's a rule maker. A "boss" if you will. He's not down there working in a factory any more than McCain is. He's never done time in the service so can't possibly be "in touch" with our military. He's admitted his children are "privileged," meaning wealthy. Not to mention that Illinois laws are among the worst in the nation, from what I've seen. It's quite crooked when those getting away with DUIs are the ones with money while those without can lose a license for 20 years for 1 DUI since they can't afford to pay off the lawmakers. It's well known that the dead can still vote in Chicago (explains a lot, really). I didn't see him helping the "common people" out in his own state, where most of the population is Republican but get stamped out during the electoral process with the Chicago Dem voting machine. Why should we think he can do better with the whole country? Owning one house instead of 7 makes him more able to be president?

I have to say if that's the best attack they have, they're in trouble.
 

When I was young
I walked through the grass in my bare feet
and grinned
when the blades tickled my toes.

When I was young
I sat in the dirt and made muddy cakes
and smiled
when they were accepted as gifts.

I watched butterflies and bluebirds,
admiring monarchs as gifts of the sky.

When I was young
The world was new.

And I learned
and grew and
The world lost sparkle
because I knew
more than when I was young.

Forever wasn't.
Loss was rampant.

Sensible shoes replaced grass between my toes.
I closed the drapes, looked within
instead
And I learned.
I doubted.

I questioned
monarchs and presidents and professors
and music wasn't only music
It was questions

The world was shadowed
As I fought against being young.

When I grew up
I walked through books and studied
and theorized
and love was a notion.

When I grew up
I pondered marriage and commitment
and shrugged it off.
It wasn't forever.

Too many didn't make it through.
Too many hurt by abandoned loyalty.

Then I shrugged
and sighed
and slipped out of the shoes
and walked through damp cool grass
with the blades slipping between my toes.

Closing the books and opening my eyes
I saw hand-in-hand couples
Smiling
Sighing

Some still make it.
Some still believe in faith and loyalty and respect
and honor.

And I planted flowers
filled the feeders
looked out the window

And the world is new
Now that I am young.

 

I've made it. I've joined the ranks of being an embarrassment to my son.

The other day he had band photos and I went to drop him off with the intention of walking in and asking how long he would be so I knew whether to wait or come back and he looked at me like I was diseased...

"I'll ask."
"You're going to come all the way back out just to let me know?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to die of embarrassment if I walk in? Do the other boys not have moms or do I have something in my teeth?"
Rolling eyes.
"Fine, go find out and let me know. I wouldn't want you to be forever scarred by having your hideous, embarrassing mother walk anywhere near your band room."
Rolling eyes.

This morning I dropped him off to go to a band activity and one of his friends headed to the car. The boy bolted from the door and got away from me as fast as possible. So much for "thanks for the ride" or heaven forbid an "I love you." The earth would swallow him, I'm sure, if his friends thought he thought it was okay to have a mom. I'm quite sure he doesn't do the same when his dad drops him off on the Harley. *sigh*

But he was fine and dandy with my mentioning his name in the article coming out. I guess when it comes to 15 minutes of local fame, it might be worth admitting to having a mom.

I didn't have this with my daughter. She would grab my arm and walk me up to her friends to introduce me, no matter what age. I get to pay my dues now, as though I haven't paid enough dues with the boy. Because he's never embarrassing.

Well ... I suppose in time he'll think I'm not so embarrassing. Maybe. Unless his friends see my blue doors.
 

I've been painting my doors today.

I suppose that could be used as a metaphor, but I only mean I've been painting my doors ... my front doors. They were an old deep magenta. Now they're blue. Why does a color never look the way it does on the card? They're brighter than I expected. Of course it's a first coat and not completely dry so maybe they'll deepen closer to the way it looks on the card. But still, it does add a nice life to it. As I was painting and thoughts ran through my mind about possible raised eyebrows at bright -- deep bright, not vivid bright -- blue doors, I had to wonder what the difference was between red doors (which have been highly in vogue) and blue doors.

In Ireland, I couldn't help grinning about all of the gorgeous colors of houses. Some of their streets were like rainbows: yellows, greens, blues, purples, pinks... it was so cheery. Here, white houses have either black or rust shutters. Yellow houses are very pale yellow with either dark green or rust shutters. Gray houses have.. typically rust/burgundy/magenta doors/shutters. That's pretty much it. Why?

Not mine. At the last house, when I painted to make it not black shutters on a white ranch, I stuck with a deep red. I had to keep selling in mind. I wanted cheery but not odd. Odd is interesting but not easily salable. Now that I don't plan to sell until we're too old to take care of it, I have more free reign, other than being tamed a bit by my less odd husband. My flower scheme is blue and purple. I want my house to match. Okay, it's not as odd-looking as it might sound. At the moment it is because the shutters are still deep magenta/burdundy/whatever. But it won't be. I think it won't be.

Obviously I have nothing interesting to talk about today, so guess it's back to work!

Does anyone else tend to think in musical phrases?

Today's mission was to be simple enough:
-- Meet with the lady writing the article for one of our local papers to be sure all sounded right.
-- Stop and pick up the desk I bought the day before that wouldn't fit in my car.
-- Run into the post office to send "Asking for Murder" to Dr. Preston-Dillon for her to read now that I finished the review.
-- And, go to the bookstore in town to see if they would consider carrying my books.

I did actually accomplish all of it. The bookstore owner was quite happy to have me stop in. I was rather surprised to find she carries several indie/small press books by local authors (meaning a 60 mile radius). We chatted for some time about the business and how it's nice for readers to have more variety because of indie publishing. She carries mainly used book and her clientelle is mainly looking for cheap reads, so she wasn't trying to get my hopes up. Trust me, at this point, I know better. I told her I completely understood but it was worth a try, agreed to a small commission if anything sells, and left a copy of each book there.

While I was leaving, a customer came in not knowing what she wanted, just something to fill time during an office wait, and the owner introduced me. That was very kind, and the customer was quite interested in Rehearsal, but didn't have quite enough cash on hand. She said she would return to get it.

On the way out, she stopped me to ask how local I was and said she does a radio show nearby. I gave her my phone number on the back of my bookmark.

I admit it -- I had a bit of a jittery feeling getting back into the truck (glad I wasn't driving). Promoting yourself can be overwhelming. However, no one can promote you like you can. Take a deep breath, smile, and just say it: "I'm ______ and I'm an author."

When I got home and checked my email, I found one from my publisher:

CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR BOOK IS PUBLISHED!

So ... finally ... Rehearsal: The Highest Aim is available.

I couldn't find the phone fast enough to put my first order in. I should have them in about 10 days. The list price on my publisher's site [http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/resource.aspx?id=1370] is $25.95 (590 pages, trade paperback) but my pre-order price of $20 including shipping is still on my site and comes personally signed [http://www.elucidations.us/store.htm].

There are reviews for my first two books on the publisher's site, also.

Oh, I also have music in process for the book trailer. A young harpist who has won awards and is attending Julliard has agreed to provide a short instrumental piece. Now to start building the trailer!

When I was growing, Grandma's house was the center of our entertainment. Set in the center of a state in the center of the country in the midst of cornfields and cows and understated houses, we rarely went to the theater or to dinner or the mall. All of those were largely unaffordable luxuries. For entertainment, we gathered -- my 3 siblings, 7 cousins and several aunts and uncles, my parents and I -- into my grandparents' house for family dinners.

The center of the dining room, which was technically combined with the living room (the separation apparent only because of the furnishings), held a long heavy wood table that became longer with the addition of three worn leaves. I can't begin to know how often we helped pull the table apart, set the leaves in, push it back together, and pull folding chairs from the closet to set around. No one was ever asked to do it. We knew it needed to be done and several of us simply jumped in. It felt like a privilege. We felt a part of everything.

The highlight of the table was always a deep red old high chair used by whichever of us was the right age for it. All of us granchildren used it. I believe my mom and her siblings may have, also. There was no tray on the chair. It was a simple wooden thing that didn't look like much, but it had a place of honor. The baby sat there. Who got to sit by the baby was sometimes discussed and sometimes grabbed by the first able to get there. Sometimes the baby decided; some of us were more particular than others and demanded assistance by certain adults/teens.

Baby of the moment was tied into the chair with long towels that also served as a catch-all for dropped food. Of course it didn't catch everything, but Grandma was always fairly unconcerned about carpet stains. The kids were first. Carpet was just carpet. She bought a variegated one that hid stuff well.

Today, my daughter and I had some time to spend while my son was getting band photos taken for yearbook. So today was the day I finally went into a little antique store I've been meaning to visit since we moved here. I stopped in my tracks when I saw an exact replica of that little high chair. It is hideously painted, but it's the same chair. I had to have it. Our next stop was to get paint remover (the environmentally friendly, non-toxic type) and tung oil. It will be my son's job to refinish it. I'm so anxious to see how it looks.

I hope eventually it will also be used by the baby of the moment.

 

Increasingly, Americans are watching video when they want to, and on the screen that suits them at the time. And more programming is from new sources that threaten to unlock Hollywood's domination of content.

From "Is Internet Finally Killing TV?"
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/IsInternetFinallyKillingTV....

I read this headline and rolled my eyes. No, what's killing TV is the lack of decent programming combined with the high price of watching TV. Bad combination. Yes, many of the younger generations will switch to watching online and such, but many of us in the over 40 crowd won't. The technology is never as easy to use as it sounds like it is, and it just keeps getting more expensive. It's not worth paying a base amount of $50 a month, plus fees for every additional receiver, etc., especially when we have such limited garbage from which to choose. I would be just as glad if they would return my ability to have 3-4 channels for free, as we used to, and give us more "stories" to watch instead of all the reality/games.

I've even considered watching Dancing (yeah, so it's a reality/game, but it's art/dance and it's beautiful to watch non-dancers become, or try to become, dancers) this season on the computer instead of bothering to subscribe to some TV supplier again. That's really all I want to watch live. There are DVDs for everything else. I rarely take the time for anything else, anyway.

Except, just as I prefer to take a printed book to bed with me, or on the front porch, instead of reading on computer or buying an ebook reader, when I do take the time to relax with my show, I want to be in my easy chair in front of the TV screen where there's room for the kids to join me if they wish, not in my computer chair back in the den. I don't want to TIVO it or hook some new-fangled box up that lets me watch whenever I please. I won't ever get around to it that way. I want it scheduled. The schedule forces me to take that break once a week (well, twice since it's Monday and Tuesday) and sit down right then.

Schedules are good. They set boundaries. I think we could use more boundaries again instead of fewer.

Of course, unlocking "Hollywood's domination of content," or of anything else, would be a good thing, indeed. It would do for the television industry what indie musicians are doing for the music industry and what indie publishing is doing for the book industry -- opening doors to lesser known artists with something worth saying.

 

Carbs affect the brain the way cigarettes affect the lungs???

Apparently, carb overdose can contribute to loss of mental agility, related to alzheimers. Ohh, that is SO not good!

Yes, I'm a carb addict. *sigh* I've been cutting back, though, really, I have. I switched from milk chocolate to dark chocolate, mostly. I switched from white bread to whole wheat bread as much as possible. I've cut down on the sugar in my coffee and on sweet things in general. I mix whole wheat pasta in with my regular pasta, even though I don't like it as well.

The new study (and no, I don't have the link but it should be easy to find) says we should have 1/3 carbs, 1/3 protein, & 1/3 fat. Wow, that seems like a lot of fat. Think it's okay to have less fat and more carbs? It makes me wonder, though, where the veggies fit into that. Hm, something seems off.

Well, maybe the next new study will have different findings. *shrug*

 

China told a 7 year old girl she wasn't cute enough to sing at the Olympics??? What a precedent.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26153578

I'm not following the Olympics. I won't support us being in China, as I protest so many things about the country -- the government, not its individual people. I do still support our athletes and hope for them to do their best with dignity and grace. This headline, however, pulled me in. They put the cute little prima donna with not much of a voice in the spotlight and tell the girl with a beautiful voice and humble attitude she's not cute enough for people to see. Wow. Sounds much like what we're doing with our celebs, doesn't it? *sigh*

I was asked to review a murder mystery ... not because of my writing/reviewing status, but because of my job as the network coordinator for a sandplay therapy center.

I don't read mysteries, not since my Hardy Boys days, although I think there was one since then I don't remember. So, I had to say I balked at being asked to read and review it. However, the author is also a psychologist with a Ph.D. and the book revolves around a sandplay therapist found in her apartment by a psychologist friend. She's been beaten. The mystery, of course, is "whodunit"?

Well, I needed to finish reading a book I'm reviewing for a friend first, so I didn't pick this one up until last night. And I stayed up too late reading. Right away, I thought I had it figured out, and then I started thinking I hadn't. ...

The rest of the review will come when I finish it. One of the ideas that caught me is how when there is an overwhelmingly negative experience in a family, other everyday problems can be ignored as insignificant. This is indeed detrimental to members of the family not allowed to rant about/solve their more "simple" problems on a daily basis. Because something is less significant than something else doesn't mean it is not important enough to deal with.

Anything that bothers us is significant. If we are yelled at by a nasty cashier and it brought us to tears for no apparent reason, it can't be pushed aside as nothing simply because on the same day, we find out a friend is dangerously sick. It still matters. Major flooding in one part of the country leading to many lost lives does not diminish one person's personal loss in another part. We have to get out of that mindframe.

I've seen it too often. I've felt it myself. When ranting about something small, I stop and think, "This is unimportant compared to [fill in the blank] and I'll look petty if I post it." Sometimes I don't. I think that's not all right. I think we still need to post it (or rant other ways). No, my little car breakdown issues are nothing, really, compared to so many other things going on. It does, however, affect me. The effect it has is generally part of larger things and feeds into general frustration from little things gathering or from a big thing I'm trying not to deal with. It all matters. We have to deal with the small things if we can expect to be able to deal with the big things.

They aren't the same, you know. Affirmative action, which means programs to give "minorities and women" special help to get ahead, is anything but equality.

As a woman, I want no special favors to get ahead. I want equality -- the same ability to get ahead if I work for it. I have that, thanks to many, many women who fought to give us that right. We have it. So does everyone else.

My accomplishments mean nothing if I push down someone equally as deserving of the chance only because I happen to be female. So what? This isn't a drawback. It doesn't entitle me to anything more than men are entitled to. It doesn't entitle me to less, but not to more, either. I'm quite able to hold my own and I won't let anyone tell me differently.

All legal residents of the U.S. have the same rights as the rest. Can we stop the nonsense of dividing us into "they can but we can't" already? That's only true if we, as individuals, want to believe we can't -- if we would rather play the victim in search for handouts. It is personal choice.

Now, politicians are talking about making it more "low income" opportunity instead of race/gender based. Yeah, so like the low income family who was given a house built by donations and free labor turning around and mortgaging/losing the thing, more handouts meant by the well-intentioned will be squandered by those to whom it is given. At least make them work for it. Seriously. Don't the rest of us?

There are always things that need to be done around our communities. I'm not against using the funds now used for affirmative action to be transferred to those willing to do whatever odd jobs our country needs to have done. At least it will be earned that way. Handouts don't work. We haven't learned that yet?

We will never have actual equality until handouts stop, until "special programs" for certain people end. It is divisive. It angers those who were "low income" for years and never got a bail-out because they were among the "wrong" group, or because they realized if they want something, it's their job to earn it. (No, I don't refer to physically or mentally handicapped people unable to work. I mean all of us who are able.)

Yes, I've blogged about this before, but I don't think it can be said too often. Do we want equality or do we not?

If you're gonna be embarrassed to have to remove or show your private piercings in the airport security line ... uh, take them off before getting to the airport.

Seriously. We have to remove belts and shoes, and we have to be careful not to wear underwire bras if we don't want to be wanded (learned that the embarrassing way). Simple really: don't wear them through the airport. Or at least don't wear big gaudy ones. Never once have my earrings caused a beep. I have 5. Never an issue. *shrug*

I have two friends with metal body parts and I do feel for them because that wasn't a decorative choice. Those people choosing to add decorative metal to their bodies ... yeah, well. Remove it or get over yourself when you get pulled to prove you're not dangerous. It's your decision. Do you really have the right to throw a fit about your "personal" life being made public when you're causing a public scene none of us want to see or hear about?

I don't want to get pulled aside and wanded ... again. I wear wireless when I'm flying. TMI?
 

Tomorrow night, I'm book signing.

Today I was emailed by someone from the Chamber of Commerce asking if I would be interested in attending the local arts festival in February to do a signing there, as well.

*taking a deep breath and plunging in...*

I don't usually do this, but I have to with this one. I received this via email yesterday.

~~~~

I knew how to be a parent before I became one.

*sigh*

I guess that's true of everything, though. It looks easy until you try it yourself. "My kid isn't going to [fill in the blank]!" Uh huh. Sure.

Sure bet all-optimistic statements are only made by those who haven't been there. Sure, any of us could do something better than someone who's doing it in a way we don't approve of. Really? We only think so until we try ... and someone else complains about how we're doing it. Because someone will. It's not gonna be as easy or turn out as well as we think.

Can anyone recommend a good military school? 'Cause I gotta tell you, I think they do things more right than most -- the military, that is. The sparse need-based high-discipline hard-work based way of life -- there's something to that. More of us need more of it.

I finally finished the public view photo album from our trip to western Europe:

ID: 1448306   (Rated: E) Scotland, Ireland, England 2008  Photo Journal: a whirlwind tour in 12 days by Voxxylady

ID: 1458337   (Rated: 18+) The Water's Touch  based on the Rehearsal series: a young Scot burgeoning toward adulthood by Voxxylady

Like most, I have ups and downs ... times when my writing (and other stuff) is going great or at least well and times when it just isn't really going at all. I've been on the down slope for a while, but the up path is returning. This site is such a help with that, because of its creative, thoughtful people. I've been invited to a few social networking sites for writers recently and have checked them, but they don't 'fit' me well from what I see. This site fits.

Here is my most recent inspiration from the site:

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I have recently been looking at definitions of genres. I'm switching mine, at least what I call it. The term "literary" scares readers, many of them. And it sounds a bit pretentious, I suppose. What I do is more mainstream than literary, by definition ... but then, it depends which definition you read. They vary.

One site equalled mainstream novels to "blockbuster" fiction. Hm.

Mainstream, to me, equals "all of the rest of us" -- meaning, all of us not easily categorized and making lots of noise as to "what" we are. Genre fiction is like the term "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Activist" or "Hippie" or "Goth" or "Emo" or "Prep" or "Shy" or "Outgoing" or any other term that defines narrowly. Genre fiction is romance that has a basic plot with a happy ending. It's a mystery that is solved at the end. It's a horror that has more fear than understanding. Society's versions of genre fiction are the activists who yell to have no drilling of oil in our country, the goths who see everything as black and negative, the hippies who think no weapons is the only answer, the republicans who are all white and wealthy business people, the democrats who live in city apartments and fight for underdogs.

The problem with genres is that they are limited. They are important. They pick up the basic issues and expand on it. They choose an aspect and dig deeply into that one aspect. But, they are limited. There is always so much to the story that remains unseen.

They get the most attention. Those following labels and staying within the realm of their chosen aspect are louder, better seen, more vocal. But there is more.

Mainstream: all the rest of us who don't fit neatly.

We're the moderates. We're part shy and part outgoing. We're part prep and part emo. We don't focus enough on one thing that everything else is lost. We wander. We meander into different genres, using parts of several, expanding into other things, other paths, smelling the daisies along the highway, going to small-town parades just to hear the band. We have many interests and if you stick with us long enough, you're bound to enjoy the ride.

We're the backbone of fiction (Irving, Robinson, Hemingway) pointing out true life in all its shades. We're also the backbone of society, blending the genres, making little noise and pulling little attention, but standing stalwart and steady.

We're Mainstream -- in the middle of everything. We're opposite of Blockbuster, although some of us do stand out now and then. We aren't looking for quick and easy and get-rich-quick. We focus on the art of it, the gritty, unglamorous work of it. And we may be fairly silent, but we won't be silenced.

We have things to say. Listen closely and "see the wood through all the trees..."


"see the wood" lyrics from Come Alive by Simon Steadman ©2000


 

An interactive I found recently that is a great idea -- go play!

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