Saturday, February 27, 2010

Play AAO's Speed Skate Challenge

Apolo Anton Ohno's Speed Skate Challenge Just a fun thing, AAO tweeted to all of us, his followers. I got a Gold Medal on second try ;)

I have 12K left to edit and taking a break now to watch my Editor, yes famed Chicago mobster DD, dance! Then I will finish this pass by March 2 in remembrance of Phil's Phasing Out of this Dimension on 3.2.82

Don't worry if this makes NO sense, I'll clean it up later for my THREE readers ;)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Intrusion

Wow, the email post really stirred it up. Most reactions I've had in ages! Now, another topic to broach is the "too big to fly" controversy. I see it more as intrusion. Don't rush to judgement-- big can mean lots of things; linebacker big, 6'8" pro B-ball big, or just XXL. I'm not biased on how "big" someone is (other than close friends who I simply worry for their health. Of course, there are many lifestyle choices, too. Those who drink, do drugs, smoke! yech!) What I do care about is intrusion. I don't want a stranger's bod on my seat, or intruding into my space. I don't intend to fly any time soon, for a host of reasons. But, this isn't just limited to body size or flying.
I don't want someone picking their nose in close proximity, or sneezing, coughing on me, or touching me with their germs. I'm getting like Howie Mandel. I basically don't want to be confined to any tiny space with strangers, especially if they are encroaching on my space. So go on, y'all. Have a field day with that one...
And, sure. I'll debate here and in the public on any of these topics!

PS -- next up: Buddhism (as in Tiger's Woods proclamation.)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

do we care?

Had a very interesting discussion today with some professionals, working folk, about the emails they receive. When they open email and find anywhere from 50 to 100 emails a day they have to sort through them, because for business people time is money, and emails could mean a job or important contact. The Government Gal says same thing. She dreads opening email anymore to find not only messages from her boss and workers, but friends and family sending anything they happened to find cute, interesting, latest family news (SueSue had a boo boo), who's dating who, and the worst: what do you think of this? Her point was 1) it places a demand on her to read all the "junk" and 2) she feels rude if she doesn't respond to her friends and family. But here's the best comment of all: email, like talk, has become cheap.

What does that mean? This gal said before email people didn't send ten letters a day with every errant whim they could think of. No, because you would have to get paper, write your crazy thought (several times if you wanted to send it to each family member and friend), get stamps and then mail it. Her point is that we were more discriminating about what we wrote in letters and snail mail cards. Now, every time we chuckle or smile, we think the whole world cares. Clearly they don't!

Playing devil's advocate, I said, "I know a prolific emailer who says well then, just delete them. I'm not going to censor my behavior." I can't type her response in polite company, but essentially she says it's not that easy. To delete them, she still must read and sift through the tens or hundreds of emails received (biz and personal) to know what can be deleted. Her primary point: people sending all these links, jokes and pics are thoughtless and have no respect for other people's time. "I have my own life and priorities," she says. "Do email-aholics think I care about every whim that strikes them as interesting? Must read, my ass."

Driving home I thought about the many emails I send and receive. I don't send or forward jokes, but because I type fast, I can dash off an email that the guys said can take them quite awhile to read, and then formulate a response, especially when they have many other things to think about. It is rude of me and I'm going to slow down and think about what I send out from now on. I won't send my blog link. Those who want it know how to find it and read it. Those who want my tweets and errant thoughts, will get them that way. Perhaps all Persons of Leisure should give a bit more thought to our email impact on others.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Green Tea, honestly!

Sorry to harp on this again, but really. After catching part of Palin's "gag me" keynote in Nashville, I can't refrain from begging for Al Gore to keynote a Green Tea Party Convention. She revs up the crowd with name-calling: those "godless elitists" running the country, and encourages her fantatical followers by assuring them that they are the Patriots, the Mavericks and the Faithful.
The Tea party had one solid platform before tonight -- fiscal responsibility. But, now that the tea baggers wrapped themselves in the flag and claim God for themselves, and yet are blatantly racist, they need to go down with the old Boston harbor ships. (see more ranting in my update on the original Tea Party plea below.)

I'm for a Taos-based progressive Green Tea movement. It would be all about sustainable green energy sources, not "drill baby" BS. We would rally around conservation, not conservative, platforms. And, we could include legalizing the real "green" (banned plants) and recoup some revenue from those lost millions, and stop the border blood shed at the same time. Intelligence and innovation should be applauded not criticized with silly six-pack jokes. We already had eight miserable years of good ole boy politics. And, I'm sad to say Obama is a little late to realize how his administration was heading into the same rut.

I know Gore can't be the candidate, but nothing would energize a Green Tea Party like a rousing keynote from him. All the environmental rock stars could and should jump on this quickly and stop this Nazi-type nonsense from gaining any more momentum.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

that reclusive, salacious Salinger!

It makes me smile to read these few rare quotes from JD Salinger;

"Give me two hours in the dentist chair before I’ll spend another minute in a publisher’s office. All those insufferable literary types, thoroughly pleased with themselves, who haven’t read a line of Tolstoy since college."

or this one; “They (the publishers) offer up all these bright ideas. Unable to produce a single original line themselves, they’re bound and determined to put their stamp squarely on your work . . . Polite suggestions that I change this or that, put in more romance, take out more of that annoying ambiguity . . . slap some terribly clever illustration on the cover . . . forget it."

I hear you loud and clear, JD! Too bad he couldn't have tried print on demand and had the control to publish some of those piles of manuscripts that friends and family are pulling out of his vault. Of course, he's on record telling those closest to him not to publish posthumously, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. What do you think? If there's a Glass family stash, should they be published? In honor of his wishes, I'll find a 1964 maroon Bantam edition of Catcher in the Rye. That's the one he designed once he got the rights to his own book, not the ugly carousel horse cover he hated. The snobs can fight over those first editions. But, for now I'm not into Catcher at all. I'm totally immersed in the "Glass family saga." That's Salinger's collection of seemingly unrelated short stories that are said to have been the inspiration for the movie the Royal Tenenbaums. I'll post a comment below when I'm done. For now, I hope JD and Frank Baum and Phil are having a good laugh out there in the Twilight Zone!

Monday, February 1, 2010

ersatz errata

That could be a good blog name, IMHO! In no particular order and without rhyme nor reason, here are things clogging up my brain that are keeping me from novel writing this morning.
The Grammy's. Good grief! I watched all 3.5 hours of it last night. It was like a car wreck from which I could not divert my eyes (is that the proper English, gals?) Anyway, that silly off-key teen twit who took Album of the year... I am so tired of her. And to have her on stage ruining a performance by a legend like Stevie Nicks, I needed a barf bag. What does anyone see in her? Please, post a comment if you can explain that. I'm baffled. Now, on the opposing view of many, I actually enjoyed Pink's wild ass aerial antics. I was out of the room when it started and couldn't believe what I was seeing. So, thanks to DVR, I rewound and watched all of it. Then, I liked it so much I recorded it to DVD and watched it again. It improves with each viewing. What a bod and voice. I like her! And, I know the song she sang "Glitter in the Air" from her Funhouse CD. Lady GaGa, on the other hand, was a disappointment. I have enjoyed her flamboyance in the past, but dirty versions of her and Sir Elton (I mean dirty, literally-- streaked with coal dust or whatever that was) on their glitter didn't cut it for me. Too bad, and I didn't even know she won awards for best dance and trance records, both cuts off her famous "Fame" album. (yikes I started this mid morning, and realized late afternoon that I never posted.) OK, wrapping this up, Leon Russell, what a hoot to see him. I used to love him! That guy in the Zac Brown Band could sing. And, finally the tear-jerking comments from Prince Michael about his dad (MJ's) Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 3D "Earth Song" tribute to MJ was really why I watched.
Other Errata: Good grief, I'm simply horrified over the never-ending details emerging about John Edwards (sex tape? endless lying, disturbing comments about "when Elizabeth is gone!") I was very, very wrong about him. And, now it's hard to listen to Dave Matthews sing "You and Me" with those horrible images in my mind. There was more stuff, but I'm tired of pontificating (imagine that!) and should be novel writing.
Finally, check out that fun Shelfari thing-- just scroll UP a bit and glance over to the right. Thanks Mo, got if off that link you sent! I can promote my own novel there!