I had my short story published in Demon Minds. Granted, this isn't the Atlantic or anything, but it is a start, and I am honored to be chosen for publication.
http://www.demonminds.com/tales/buried.html
I mentioned many times in this blog that Hollywood sucks, and is dying. Revenues are down, and no one is going to see a movie. Take away the point that most movies out right now suck, and DVDs, but there is also another reason. The wackiness of those Hollywood types.
What a diva needs, a diva needs. Last year, amid legal action over the "Basic Instinct" sequel that fell apart - but later came back together again and went into production -- Sharon Stone's needs list for doing the movie came to light and was put on line by The Smoking Gun. The perks demanded were numerous enough to take up five pages, and included three nannies, two assistants, first class travel (if a private jet was unavailable), presidential suite, chef, deluxe motor home with all the amenities including VCR and cellular fax machine. She would need Pilates equipment, a chauffeured car plus a convertible sedan for herself. She would keep all wardrobe and jewelry worn in the flick that wasn't rented. And, of course, a $3,500 per week per diem for bodyguards.
Aren't these the same people who chastize us for driving cars and using too much oil? Why can they live like pigs, but insist we are bad for it?
Katherine-Baker-Knoll, our troll-like Lt. Governor crashed a marine funeral and tried to get the anti-war votes.
She sat down next to a Goodrich family member and, during the distribution of communion, said, "Who are you?" Then she handed the family member one of her business cards, which Goodrich said she still has."Knoll felt this was an appropriate time to campaign and impose her will on us," Goodrich said. "I am amazed and disgusted Knoll finds a Marine funeral a prime place to campaign."
Goodrich said she is positive that Knoll was not invited to the funeral, which was jammed with Marines in dress uniform and police officers, because the fallen Marine had been a policeman in McKeesport and Indiana County.
"Our family deserves an apology," Rhonda Goodrich said. "Here you have a soldier who was killed -- dying for his country -- in a church full of grieving family members and she shows up uninvited. It made a mockery of Joey's death."
What really upset the family, Goodrich said, is that Knoll said, 'I want you to know our government is against this war,' " Goodrich said.
What a bitch.
I changed my font from a Sans-Serif font, to a more readble Serif font. The font I chose is Caslon. It is based on the same font invented by Ben Franklin for his Poor Richard's Almanac
I've written a very short story. The idea came to me while I was just sitting there, and after some working and reworking, I present it to you. It is only 5 pages long, and somewhat creepy.
Enjoy at your own risk.
I saw this on Nightline last week. It is a story of Dave Shaw, a diver who died diving Bushman's hole is South Africa. On a previous dive he found the body of a diver who died 10 years earlier.
Very compelling. Give it a read
Here is a good review to a book on writing that may seem controversal. It's not an MLA manual or anything, but it's still good know that you need to burn your journal.
I like the idea of gossiping more as the book outlines. Though when I gossip a lot I tend to have dreams that my teeth fall out. My wife said that means I gossip too much.
For those of you who still owe your soul to the comapny store, the store just got a lot more complicated.
This story tells about the new minimum requirements
If you have a high balance on your credit cards, you may be in for a shock when the next bill comes.Within the next month, Bank of America, MBNA and Citigroup will raise minimum monthly payments on their cards from 2 percent of the balance to up to 4 percent, not including interest. Other card issuers are expected to make similar changes by the end of the year.
The good news is that the time it takes to pay off a balance will take much less time -- if you have the money to make the minimum payments.
"On the good side of that, they will get out of debt faster, but on the down side, it's gonna be a squeeze," Greg Burgess, of Compass of Carolina, told WYFF News 4's Tim Waller.
Credit card companies are under mounting pressure by the government to raise the minimum monthly payments to help Americans get out of debt more quickly. If you can't afford the increase, experts recommend that you contact your credit card company and try to negotiate a lower interest rate, which could offer some relief.
"Get help, stop and look. Because, basically, it's a hole that's being dug at the point, and it just gets deeper and deeper," Burgess said.
I also found out that credit card companies don't regularly update their credit records of you unless you ask, or if there is a problem. Odds are you can lower your interest by just asking. I did, and they cut mine in half because a few months ago Sears sent my small bill to the wrong address for 3 months and it effed up my credit. They resolved it, and fixed my credit, but my other cards already screwed me. Just call em, and they'll fix it.
Hollywood is no longer the magical place it was. Why IS that? Well, there are a lot of theories, and this one in particular also shows that the DVD industry is due to fall a bit.
I agree with that one pretty well, but this one also makes sense too. Are we shunning Hollywood because of all the wacky libs?
Meanwhile, a kids book about a wizzard makes its author 36 million in one day.
BTW. I am reading the book, and so far it is excellent.
But, I think the suburban sprawl has gone too far. The area where I grew up and went to high school is unrecognizable. The long thoroughfare through the suburban landscape of my youth is changed. Gone is the drive in where I spent many steam summers. Gone are the mom and pop stores and restaurants there were highlights. Everybody knew your name.
They are all being replaced with Wegmans, Best Buys, Targets. In a 4 mile stretch of my old hometown is a K-Mart, Wal~Mart supercenter, 3 major food stores, 2 McDonald's, Lowes, Home Depot, Citcut City, Petco, Petsmart, and others I can't remember.
They are now building a Wegmans, Target, BestBuy, and a few other stores.
When is enough enough. This isn't a large town. This is a 4 mile stretch of road. I'm all for the taxes brought in, jobs created, and money for the economy. But do we really need all this shit?
Jeez.
Here's a story about it.
In a frightening development, Disney has started to require ALL visitors to their theme parks to put their index and middle fingers into a device for scanning.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The addition of finger scanning technology at the entrances of Walt Disney World theme parks for all visitors has caused concern among privacy advocates, according to a Local 6 News report.I think it's a step in the wrong direction," Civil Liberties Union spokesman George Crossley said. "I think it is a step toward collection personal information on people regardless of what Disney says.
Tourists visiting Disney theme parks in Central Florida must now provide their index and middle fingers to be scanned before entering the front gates.The scans were formerly for season pass holders but now everyone must provide their fingers, Local 6 News reported. They have reportedly been phased in for all ticket holders during the past six months, according to a report.
This is quite frightening if you ask me. I like technology and all, but I don't think anyone has the right to ask you for fingerprint. It's bad enough they ask for your social security number when you so much as buy a glass of water, and fingerprinting is one step too far.
The next Harry Potter book, The Half Blood Prince comes out tomorrow. I have my copy on order from Amazon, and it should arrive tomorrow. Can't wait to read about Harry and Hermione and Ron. Should be fun.
I should be careful, though, because Pope Ratzinger believes that Harry Potter is evil. Not quite as evil as Freeemasonry, but evil nontheless.
But I say the Pope is the evil one.
Just look at this side by side of him and Darth Sidius.
Creepy huh?
I don't have a whole lot to say today. Except pose a question.
Doesn't NASA suck? The space shuttle was supposed to triumphantly return this week, only a stuck gas gauge halted the shuttle.
Isn't it about time we just scrapped the shuttle program?
Morgan Spurlock, the same filmmaker who made the anti-McDonald's documentary Supersize Me is out with a new show on FX called 30 Days.
Covering such topics such as religion, homosexuality, minimun wage, and the environment, this show is definately liberaly bent. In some shows devout Christians have to live 30 days as a Muslim, a conservative "homophobe" has to live in San Fransisco, and a bunch of "typical Americans" have to live "off the grid".
Read the synopsis of that episode and see the liberal bias dripping from the words:
Two 30-year-old professionals who are friends and typical Americans—i.e., ravenous consumers of fossil fuels such as gas and electricity—go ‘back to the future’ and learn to live without the natural resources that will be depleted from our earth in the not-too-distant future. To do this they’ll uproot themselves and move to an ‘eco village’ in Missouri to live 100% OFF THE GRID. As they set up house in a former 3,000 bushel grain bin, they will sustain themselves on a clean power such as solar and wind, recycle all their waste (both food and human), live in a car-free culture, grow and eat only organic foods and conserve their water use with solar showers and rain-catch systems. Can these fossil fuel addicts wean themselves from their consumptive habits without their lives falling apart? Will they thrive in a community that is the total opposite their New Jersey neighborhood? And will the ecological solutions they learn stick once their Thirty Days are up?
That write-up takes makes a lot of assumptions.
How about showing a Liberal having to live the life of a Conservative. Move a Left Coast liberal to rural America, make then get a job, go to church, attend a rally for America. Then we'll see who the fish out of water is.
Michele Malkin has a link to a story about anarchists who beat up a cop in San Fransisco.
Are these the same people who were present at the death of a Philly cop
A MATTER of seconds, protest chants fell silent and cops' stone-faced glares faded.Suddenly, it wasn't about power and activism or who was right or wrong outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center yesterday afternoon.
It was about one man, a cop of 19 years, who crumpled to the street and died apparently of a heart attack after a standoff between a blue line of cops and a corps of drum-banging idealists fighting the biotech industry came to a head.
Paris Williams, 52, who worked in the Civil Affairs Unit, lay motionless on asphalt as cops bent over him on Arch Street and performed CPR, trying desperately to save his life. Those protesting the biotech industry convention held at the center bunched together outside and moved towards the fallen cop.
They pushed forward, forming a human barricade. Some cops swung their bikes at demonstrators to move them away from the fallen officer, hitting some people.
Ian Cox, 16, of Moorestown, N.J., said he was standing taking pictures. "One cop turned and just punched me in the gut," he said.
"It's a shame," said Eileen Nathanson, 66, a protester forced back on the sidewalk on Arch Street near 12th. "They're all nice kids... I think it was a miscommunication."
Williams, a father of two, was rushed to nearby Hahnemann University Hospital, where doctors said his heart had already stopped.
Shortly after he was pronounced dead at 1:12 p.m., the mood on Arch Street turned solemn. The protesters walked to the Convention Center steps on Arch facing a line of cops gripping nightsticks.
Reports from some people at the scene report that the protestors kicked the police officer when he fell from his heart attack.
And these guys claim they are in the mainstream?
I thought this was pretty interesting. Amazon.com is 10 years old In 1995 Jeff Bezos opened "Earth's biggest bookstore", and 10 years later it is the place to go to not only buy books, but damned near anything that can be bought.
To see what their 1995 web-site looked like (and I remember shopping there back then) go here
| My thoughts arnd prayers are with the great people of England and particularly London this morning after the terrorists in a cowardly act attacked hospitals, buses, and public transportation. |
Helen has a first-hand account
The Religion of Peace is at it again.
LONDON — A series of explosions struck London's public transportation system Thursday in what Prime Minister Tony Blair (search) called a coordinated series of "barbaric" terrorist attacks, most likely to coincide with the opening of the G-8 summit in nearby Scotland.After several hours during which public officials cautioned against reaching conclusions about what caused at least seven blasts on subways and buses, Blair gave a brief televised address where he concluded it was a terrorist action.
When will the world wake up and see that it's not just America that is at war with these barbarians?
As I always say. If I had a time machine I would travel back in time and slit the throat of Mohammed in his bed. That would solve the problem we are facing now.
No Islam, no terrorism.
I have a hobby I recently picked up after watching a biopic on David McCullough, author of best selling books such as John Adams and 1776. In this piece I saw on television Mr. McCullough was typing on a 60 year old Royal Standard typewriter. I found it interesting in this day and age that such a prolific writer such as McCullough would still use a machine that by all accounts time has passed by.
 | I then became interested in the old bangers. They were beautiful and somewhat romantic. It reminds me of a time in fedora hat wearing detectives searching for a priceless gem colored bird. Then my wife gave me an Underwood #5 from about 1946. It works well, and after a quick cleaning, it looks nearly new. |
This past weekend I picked up 3 more typewriters. A Smith Corona quiet portable from about 1950 or so in somewhat poor shape. Luckily it was a freebie. I got a 1940s Royal Quiet Deluxe for $60. After a quick cleaning and turning of the ribbon, I was typing "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country", like any good typing student. The other one that I got was the crown jewel of my collection so far. For $10, I am getting a mint Royal Portable Touch Control, circa 1936. This one came with everything original, including box, instructions, carrying case and dust cover. Call me strange. My wife has already threatened to divorce me due to this strange hobby. And it is something strange. But everyone collects things that appeal to him or her. My wife collects Mary Moo Moos; and though I think they are pretty, they aren't my cup of tea. A commenter at Design Observer said it well, that the people who seem most enthralled with these throwbacks to the era of Hemmingway and Kerouac are people like me and younger who really haven't had the experience of typing "unplugged". Sure, my first typing experiences in middle school were on a typewriter, but an electric typewriter with memory and spell check hardly compares to an old Underwood. And that was before I could touch-type and had to rely on the hunt and peck method. I was taught to type the "proper" way in high school on the school's brand new IBM 386s. Before windows and clickable interface, these machines were basically typewriters that had TV screens. Nothing compared to what we are all familiar with now. | 
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There is something esthetically pleasing about banging the keys on an old manual typewriter, even if it is just for fun. You press the letter, a hinge swings the plate forward, it makes contact with the ribbon and paper, and you have a letter. You are actually creating the words from your own fingers, through might of muscle, instead of creating an electric response inside the transistors of a machine. This is more akin to sculpting, and is probably why so many professional writers and wanna-be professional writers still use manuals today.
So, as I prepare to write the all American Novel, or at least just practice typing, I add to my collection of these large items. Whole shelves in my office will now be adorned with these antique implements of writing. There to remind me of times gone when people didn't have auto spell checkers or cut and paste, and if I'm luckily they will be my muse, and help me channel Hemmingway through my Royals or Kerouac through my Underwood.
Well, I do see some similarities to Vietnam with our war in Iraq. And it comes down to this. The way many on the left are treating our war effort and trying to make our troops look bad.
One thing that happened in Vietnam was the left who was against the war started to disparage to troops by calling them baby killers. We see it today, with the way the troops are protrayed as Nazis (as Dick Durbin called them). It is the first step in making the war effort seem wrong in the eyes of Americans.
Well, I say that America DOES support our troops. One way you can do it is by visiting America Supports You. It has many great resources on how you can support and show support for the boys over there.
Well, it's the first of the month. Did you say White Rabbit when you woke up? If you didn't you are in violation of an old wive's tale that says, that you should say Rabbit or White Rabbit the first thing in the morning when you wake up on the first day of a new month.
Other variations of the superstition include saying Rabbit, Rabbit Rabbit before going to bed on the last day of a month, and then when you wake up you say Hare, Hare, Hare
Historians believe the legend goes back to England, where many rabbits were to be found. People saw the fruitfulness of the bouncy animals and decided they were lucky. I guess they forgot to mention that the reason they are fruitful is that most of them get eaten alive by hawks and owls.
So much for a lucky rabbit.
