One picture-Says it all....

Sarah Palin vs. A house

On the left Sarah Palin in one outfit from her $150,000. shopping spree. On the right is a four bedroom, two bath house in Ohio. This house cost less then Sarah's shopping spree. Under $150,000. (You can find this on Realtor.com. I love that site!) But John McCain says its okay because he plans to donate her clothes to charity.....
Can anyone tell me how this woman or her running mate could possibly understand how the average person in the USA has to struggle to pay a mortgage? And why does it make a difference that she's going to donate it after the campaign?
Sarah? You need to check out Walmart if you want to meet Joe Six Pack. He's not hiding in Nieman Marcus. (We call it Needless Mark-ups around here and I know Joe Six Pack personally!)
Come 'on Sarah! You can't even budget your campaign money (I'm assuming this expense was paid for by the people who donated to McCain's campaign?) how do you expect us to trust you with our tax dollars?
Maybe Sarah should get some advice from Michelle Obama? I hear she shops at Sears.

From Skinny Bitch to What to Eat

Moving on in the food category books we have my favorite: What To Eat by Marion Nestle. This book was recommended by my personal nutritionist. (Okay, its my daughter the nutrition student-but hey, works for me)
The way this book differs from Skinny Bitch is its more of a "just the facts" kinda book. I didn't feel preached at and there was no shocking language. This book lays it all out for a good diet. Sensible food choices, differences between organic and natural and it was written by a real nutritionist and not just a couple of models on a PETA rant. (Is lightening going to strike me for that last comment???)
Marion's website is here.
Check it out! I liked this book a lot.

The debate & Tina Fey

Hockey mom's speak out on Palin

Skinny Bitch ~almost....

My dd is a nutrition student and told me to get this book. It was a quick and easy read and I finished in in one day. Some of the language was a bit snarky. Almost preachy. "You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny. Alcohol- fat, bloated pig syndrome. Coffee is for pussies." In the beginning this kind of language was kind of funny but by the end of the book (don't be a cheap asshole) it was tiring. Believe me I'm no prude. I'm from NJ- we put the FU in Fun! But after awhile it was like they were trying to shock or be funny with the language and it just went overboard.
This book provided a lot of great information on healthy vegetarian eating. It explained what the chemicals in our food do to our bodies. What good food does for us. Which things we should avoid and which things we should eat were explained in detail. I really liked this information. It was well written and easy to understand.
Then we got to the part about meat and there was a whole horror chapter on the meat industry. In depth, gross details on what happens to an animal before it becomes food. Totally a PETA rant. It tells you to go to www.goveg.com. I was happy about this and went right to the site for more healthy eating information. I was disappointed because it looks like a PETA site.
I've been thinking about going vegetarian for awhile so the vegan concept isn't lost on me, but this kind of thing wasn't about the health of the vegan...it was about bashing the meat eaters.
I think I'd feel better as a vegetarian because I just can't stand looking at meat. Having to cook raw meat makes me gag and I refuse to touch it. Ever try to cook a turkey or make a meatloaf without actually touching the meat? My family laughs at my efforts.
Skinny Bitch also says that humans shouldn't naturally eat meat. Predatory animals have big teeth and claws to hunt their prey, humans don't so biologically shouldn't be predisposed to eat meat. However if that theory were true then we shouldn't eat wheat or any other grain. Because it can't be eaten without much processing with "tools" so going on the same train of thought we probably weren't predestined to eat it right? If we can't hunt (with tools) meat, then we can't process wheat? Right?
I don't think so.
Anyway it seemed this book started out as a great book about health and nutrition and then turned into a PETA flyer. It would have been a better and more inspirational for weight loss and diet if they left out the politics.

Tales in the schoolyard

Think back...for some of you...way back. We're young, carefree and playing in the school yard with the neighborhood kids.
There's you-just out to have some good clean fun.
There's Joe-the kid you can count on, kind of quiet, brave and smart. He's the kid who will climb down the sewer after your ball just because he's a can-do kind of guy.
See Nancy over there? A bit outspoken but nice and really smart.
Barack-more mature but still seems to have all the right answers.
And then there's Johnny-the whiner who is always blaming everyone else in the yard and is the first to tattletale when something doesn't go his way.
We see Sarah standing off to the side, a sweet kid, kinda dumb but the one who is always trying to play with the big kids even though she's not old enough.

Return to 2008.
Johnny is blaming Nancy because his party voted the bailout down. Whining again that Barack must be at fault somehow. Out of what? 500 senators? It must come down to this one vote because it couldn't possibly be that maybe Johnny's joyride of political grandstanding to bring us the bailout failed, could it?
What does the wiser Barack do? He simply moves forward looking for solutions and doesn't waste his time whining like little Johnny.
Story over.

Debates over and...

Some call it a draw, some say Obama faired slightly better and, of course, Republican channel Fox news think McCain was sparkling. But lets go to the facts! Stretching of the truth sprinkled with a few white lies....Check out the facts here. Personally, I thought John was a bit long winded and it seemed strange that he never looked Obama in the eye. He kept staring straight ahead even after the moderator wanted them the talk to each other.
Now I can't wait for Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show's uptake on this one.
:)

Sad note; Paul Newman passed away this morning. One love of my life...gone. :(

McCain scared of a debate???

Why else would he back out? With all the congress peoples and senators we have in America why does he (someone who admitted to having very little experience with economic issues) have to rush back to Washington?
Buc, buc, buc, bugaawkk!
9 Houses, 13 Cars---Why would he worry about the economy?

What would you do for your art?

Everyone knows that writers and artists are flaky. What they don't know is that its a skill just like anything else. When they think we're not paying attention we're actually creating things in our mind. Whole worlds can begin and end as I day dream at work. When they see that small smile on my face they think I'm encouraging them to keep talking but really I just had a break through on my WIP and as soon as they go away I'm breaking out the note pad to get it down. Hell, half the time I don't wait for them to leave.

Emperor Sutoku (Japan-12th Century) was exiled for three years. He spent this time copying the Lankauarn Sutra (Buddist religious work) in red ink. This was a special red ink. He made it himself---his own blood! He wrote the 135 pages, 10,500 words in hopes that he would be rewarded by Buddha. (I wonder if he was a little dizzy when it was finished.)
It may have worked. Sutoku was returned to power and ruled for two decades!

So? What would you do? How far would you go for your work?
Thoughts?

Mr. Flip Flop

My Theory on World Peace

My theory:
I believe world peace will come to the earth when all races of the world are blended. When all the children can grow up and say they are part of every race then I believe all the fear and anger will subside and everyone will live in peace (at last).
Its like our little world has some growing to do. And with age comes knowledge and acceptance. When we are all truly blended- what's to fight about?
Forty years ago interracial marriage (meaning every race) was nearly unheard of or at least hidden.
Thirty years ago is was shocking.
Twenty years ago it was merely a curiosity.
Ten years ago? Nothing special. (Okay, I'm in the northeast and I know some of the more southern states haven't made it quiet so far yet.)
Today? No one cares as long as they are good neighbors.
So when we are all blended....Acceptance.

I've been SLAUGHTERED!

This book was so good I stayed up nights reading it. First thing in the morning while the dogs whined for their morning walk I'd have to finish just one more chapter.
And then the ending.....OMG! I sprang up out of bed at 2 a.m. shouting "NOOooooOOoooo!"

Have you ever read a book and get to one line that stands out as amazing. Like you have the wow, I wish I wrote that feeling.
There were many great lines in this book but my favorite was:

It had rained all night, a hard, heavy rain that tapped on their window like a witch trying to get in.

Love Karen Slaughter! Find her here.

Eye of the Beholder

This painting won second place at the county fair. (No, I didn't paint it-I wish!) But only won second place? Look carefully as all of God's world is in this painting. Every stroke has a meaning. from the tree branches to the valleys and fields. Look carefully and see the clouds in the eye and within the pupil you see the earth. The more you look the more you see. Amazing. How much thought went into this painting? Why the heck didn't this get first place? I would have definitely given it a first place + plus.

Art; it's all in the eye of the beholder. Perspective is everything.

Isn't this also true about writing? Its why one editor will love you and the other blows you off. I think this perspective is what keeps me writing. Knowing that one rejection (or twenty) does not mean that there isn't someone out there who will love it. Someone who's day will be made that much happier by reading what we wrote.

I wonder where Stephen King would be now if he hadn't found Bill Thompson. Would someone else have seen the potential of Carrie? Made it such a great best seller?

So we write on, curse the dark and hope for the future. Wait for someone with the perspective that will match our story. And hope they out there. Somewhere.

P.S. I didn't get this artist name, but if you're out there let me know and I'd be glad to post your name. You are an amazing artist.

How much you want for this?

Thinking of murder

I have a scene in the beginning of one of my manuscripts where the wife is thinking of murdering her husband. Her husband had been acting crazy for months. Obsessed with building a bomb shelter, pouring all their money into it. It so consumes him the wife is living in fear of his mania. My critique group thought it was a bit extreme to have the wife thinking of murder instead of..say...therapy.
My thoughts are that just sending him to therapy would be a boring book. And she doesn't actually kill him in the book. (that's taken care of by forces beyond her control) But how weird would your significant other have to get before you'd think of divorce? If your "other" started obsessing over something strange, drained your saving account and spent every waking hour on this obsession. Got so bad you could see something in his eyes that scared you.... What would you do? How long would you put up with it?
I'm not saying murder is the answer (we'll save that for the book) but what about divorce? Or just leaving? Kicking him out?
Thoughts?

Critique groups

I found a new critique group and I think its going to be fun. The people there were pretty good writers and had a good attitude about critiques.

I always go into a new critique group with a bit of trepidation. I've seen some pretty bad ones. How about a twenty minute discussion on whether the word fuck should be said by a man who gets lost? (forget about the man, I'd probably let that one slip under a lot less stress :) Or the one who literally tried to rewrite the story, change endings completely and then argue as to why their idea is better. Lots of arguing. These are the kind of groups we should never go back to. At least not if we want to keep our sanity.

But this group had some good people with open minds. A very important thing, those open minds. And they always ended on a positive note.

:)

Happy now!

Proud mama!

My daughter was chosen as one of the core singers for the Perry Awards!!!

:)

(A Perry Award is giving for the best of the best in NJ musical theater. The award ceremony is in September)

Raising Elvis

I try to raise him right. Give him good manners and morals. Good food (he demands to eat whatever we are eating), a nice house-er-cage (Graceland), love and affection and I wake up this morning to hear "YOU'RE A BRAT! BRAT! BRAT BRAT! HEY BRAT! Come 'mere."

Then he clucks like a chicken. . . "Buc, Buc, Buc, BaGawwwk!"

I've been trying to teach him "I love you" for years but he seems to have an aversion to expressing affection. He also refuses to say "thank you."

And he's no snitch either. Although he calls each of the dogs by name, (then laughs when they come running, "heh, heh, heh") he refuses to tell me who tore up the garbage and spread it all over the floor last night. He had to see it, most was right in front of Graceland.

And he calls me a Brat!

And then as I'm sweeping up the mess-he laughs, which is more like the cackle from the wicked witch of the west. Sometimes I feel like he thinks I'm the slave in this relationship and sometimes I'm afraid he may be right.

Second thoughts?

Ever push that piece of work out the door and then get stuck with all the ...maybe I should have's...?
Maybe I should have changed this, added that, was this part too shallow? Too deep? Too wordy?
>Sigh<
Then you worry, fret and stare at the email while trying to push your thoughts into it by osmosis? Which leads me to ask if a piece of art ever finished? Can you write and write and then put it down for a bit and go back and say it is definately complete? Ever?
Or do you start the rewrite process all over again?
Did Van Gogh know when to stop putting the last star in Starry Night? How did Monet know when the the last water lily was complete?
Now the waiting is painful. Excruciating.
So I come here to moan and vacillate over what could have been, what could be-what I could do if I went over it just one more time!

Wandering Massachusetts

I've been traveling. Right now I'm in Massachusetts. Rolling hills, deep green valleys and some really nice people. Old houses and buildings reminding me of a Mayberry. I keep looking for Andy and Opie. (who names a kid Opie, anyway?)

I love the farms here and wish I could live in a place like that. Lots of land to let the dogs run free, neighbors that are not right on top of me and fresh air.

Amazingly, I'm getting a lot of work done here. I've carved out time and hid in my room and pumped out quite a few pages. Its getting easier as I relax and I think that's a problem sometimes. Not the relaxing part but the things that prevent us from relaxing. My brain constantly multi-tasks. Pushing out the day to day stuff is sometimes hard, sometimes impossible. Up here I'm not staring at the house, the critters and the things that need to be done. It's easier to turn outside things off, so I can get the stories out.

So how do you get past the everyday to find your stories?

What could cause the dog with the loudest voice to bark at 2:30 a.m.? I've never had a dog with this big a voice. When Okalani barks it blots out all other sound in the house. In the middle of the night-everyone gets up. And what could cause Okalani to go off at this ungodly hour?
Two semi-adult (21 & 24) children trying to sneak in because they forgot their house keys.

Yawn. And I had such plans for today.

I'm into the (hopefully) final rewrite. I've got my index cards out. One chapter, one card. Just a few notes so I can "see" a timeline. It helps. Going through each page, checking grammar, punctuation and story flow. And hoping this is the last time I'm rewriting.

So, what's you're final rewrite strategy? Any hints? Tips?

PS: Okalani is over there, sacked out on her bed, sound asleep now...

J.A. Konrath does it again in FUZZY NAVAL

J.A.Konrath will shock you with the first chapter of FUZZY NAVAL. Took me completely unawares. This book moved along at such a quick pace that I couldn't put it down. Vivid descriptions, scary characters and a story that sucks you right in and scares the pants off of you.
And if I ever see Konrath I'm going to have a long talk with him about the ending. It left me wanting more!

What I learned at NJRWA today

I sat in for a speed pitch session today at our NJRWA meeting. The amazing Lois Winston led this group and I think she made it clearer then anything I've read on the subject so far. Check out her "Talk Gerty to Me"- its one of my favorite books!
Here's your pitch: Goal, Motivation Conflict.
So, if you're pitching a romance (I write suspense, mystery, thriller and romance-I'm eclectic! But I'm pushing a romantic suspense out the door right now.)
Heroine: What's her goal? What's her motivation? Where does the conflict come into play?
Now your Hero: What is his goal in the story? What motivates him to keep moving? Conflict?
And what's bringing them together?
Simple? Yes and No.
I think when we work on something long enough everything starts to blur. So maybe we need a fill in the blanks:
She wants-xxx
Because-xxx
But look out for-xxx
He wants-xxx
And he has to do this because -xxx
But then-xxx-happens
And together they-xxxx

What do you think?
<"http://www.loiswinston.com/">

US Army Tortures Pigs!

I'm not a PETA person. Sometimes I think they are little extreme but here they are right. US Army Tortures Pigs

Today on Yahoo News it was reported that the US Army is using pigs for target practise. Well, actually they are just shooting them so they can patch them back up and then they'll know what its like to sew real living tissue back together.

I have to wonder why they chose pigs? Why not cows? or maybe dogs? Did they think pigs wouldn't be as objectionable?

I'm not a big fan of pigs but this is just wrong.

Where is the Humane Society? Why aren't they screaming about animal cruelty within the US Army?

Aside from the huge animal cruelty issue what about the soldiers who have to harm these animals for no reason. Okay, some may not have an issue with this but I'm sure there are many who do view this stunt as animal cruelty and will be emotionally scarred by this stunt.

So who can stop this? The US Army isn't listening. Can we write our congresmen? Senators?

Save the pigs!