Delegate Jennifer McClellan - You Go Girl!

This is 12 minutes long, but Virginia Delegate Jennifer McClellan explains in detail why government should stay out of women's health care. This is well worth watching.

I take all of this very personally. These dumbasses in Richmond and all over the nation are trying to criminalize health care that saved my life and the lives of countless other women. This is not about their pathetic little visions of women skipping off to the abortion clinic after a wild night of sex. This is about women who are married, who want children, who have miscarriages and infertility issues. This is about ectopic pregnancy, about birth defects, and a myriad other serious and heart-wrenching decisions that women have to make. Government has absolutely no damn business legislating what goes on between anyone, male or female, and their doctor.

Tell me, Republicans, how is not okay to require people to buy health insurance, which only affects the pocketbook, but it is okay to force women to DIE?


PASS THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT NOW!

Books: Fractured Facade

Fractured Facade
By Elena DeRosa
Copyright 2011
E-book

The author of this book is a personal friend. We met through our blogs and we are a member of the same organization, the Roanoke Valley chapter of the National League of American Pen Women. Full disclosure and all of that. However, she did not ask me to read or review her book and she does not know I am putting this review on my blog.

Her blog is Ms. Elenaeous Rants & Raves. Her author page is located here.

I bought the book when Elena put it up as an e-book back in October or November, but because I was in school and working on my thesis, I was not able to read it then. I did want to support her, though, with the purchase. It is, to date, the only author-published (I believe Elena uses the term "indie" published) book I have purchased on my Nook. Actually, it's the only book I have purchased on my Nook. I'm afraid I have not yet taken to the e-readers.

Fractured Facade is billed as a novel told as memoir. I think Elena has struggled to find the proper genre for the story, and after reading it, I wonder if she has considered the True Crime genre. I don't read those, but it seems like it might work there.

The story, told in the first person, gives us a heroine, Marie, whose father has passed away. The book then details Marie's journey to New York to find out what happened to her dad. Her father, who was widowed, was seeing a very strange woman, and Marie unfortunately inherits the girlfriend.

Alas, the world is full of gold diggers who will take advantage of people. The strange girlfriend is one of them, and dealing with her takes all of the fortitude that Marie can muster.

The book goes into detail about problems with the girlfriend, the police department, the medical examiner's office, and the court system. The story is an important one, for it points out the problems older folks run into, particularly when family members are not close by or checking up on them every single day. It begs the question - at what point do the children become the caretakers? Of course, that differs in every family, and it is a very hard thing to figure out when and how to do.

It also demonstrates out how important it is to have your affairs in order. We never know when it will be our time to go. The people you leave behind may have to deal with all sorts of trouble if things are not as they should be. Marie sheds many tears because she must work through governmental systems that care little for her pain. It is hard to do these things when you are grieving the loss of a loved one.

This book has many lessons in it. It is definitely a cautionary tale. The writing is quite emotional at times, so be prepared for a bumpy ride. However, it is very true to life - I suspect more truth than fiction here - and the author does a good job of carrying the story forward.

I am very proud of Elena for moving forward with her project. It takes guts to venture out into the world with your baby (i.e., the story). She has also undertaken some interesting and different marketing techniques here locally. I have been watching her activities with curiosity and admiration, and it has been quite an adventure for her.

I congratulate her on her accomplishment.

More on the War on Women

Here are a couple of pieces about current legislation and the strange and disturbing conversations taking place in the media with regard to women:

http://confessions-of-a-thinking-woman.blogspot.com/2012/02/grievances-against-gop-from-former.html?showComment=1329749882826#c514318211943895953

The above link takes you to an excellent argument as to why current activities around the nature are just morally wrong, particularly as they pertain to women.


http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/02/virginia_ultrasound_law_women_who_want_an_abortion_will_be_forcibly_penetrated_for_no_medical_reason.html

This explains the issues in Virginia with regard to the requirement forcing ultrasound upon women who are seeking abortions.

http://www.newsleader.com/article/20120219/OPINION01/202190314/Virginia-abortion-bills-denigrate-all-women


An op-ed about the Virginia issues of ultrasound and personhood.

O What a Beautiful Morning!

The sun comes up and casts a faint pink hue upon the snow . . .

The mountains reflect the golden orb . . .

A day of promise and beauty . . .

New beginnings . . .

Loveliness . . .

Joy.

 

And then the first snow came

On a weekend when a volunteer pansy bloomed in my fence row . . .

And the daffodils were ready to bud out . . .

The snow began to fall . . .

Even the deer came out to see . .

Soon the ground was covered . . .

It snowed . . . and snowed . . .

Until everything was white.

Comments

Dear Gentle Readers,

As you may have noticed, suddenly you have to type in a captcha code to leave a comment.

Added: *I think I have fixed the issue but if not someone please tell me!*

I didn't do this. Google did. Bad Google. Bad.

I don't have security settings on my account but I can't figure out how to make the captcha code go away. I don't like and I don't want it. I hate the things myself.

I changed from embedded to pop out *and then to full page* but I don't think this fixed the issue.

If you know how to fix this, please endure the captcha code and leave a comment so I can try to get rid of these things.

Of course, if the captcha code has vanished, it'd be nice to know that, too.

Thank you!

Anita aka CountryDew

Books: Paladin of Souls

Paladin of Souls
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Copyright 2003
470 pages

This book won the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Awards for Best Novel in 2004.

It is a sequel, sort of, to The Curse of Chalion, which I have not read.

However, you do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

Ista is a 40-year-old woman of royalty who has spent years in madness, courtesy of the gods. She has been released from that and, after the death of her mother, most of her other duties. Her children now rule the land.

The dowager was a minor character in The Curse of Chalion and the author does a splendid job of painting the land and offering up back story. The book really stands on its own.

Ista sets out on a pilgrimage, mostly to get away from the castle where she has spent most of her life, and her keepers who are intent on keeping her safe and watching her.

The pilgrimage quickly goes sour when she is taken captive and then rescued by a loyal fellow who owns part of the lands in the borderlands.

Once safe in his castle, she discovers that nothing is at it seems, the Bastard God has determined she will do his bidding and make things right.

I really enjoyed reading about a heroine who was an older character. Ista is a wonderful heroine, full of spunk and curiosity, yet wise because of her years. She is soft from too much castle living, but she soon overcomes that. I appreciated the details of her inner life, which were very well done.

If you like fantasy with strong characterization, this book is highly recommended.

The War on Women

Apparently, this spring the Republicans determined that, just as they did last year with unions, this would be the time to put all of us horrible females in our place.

You know, barefoot and pregnant. Answering to the menfolk. Hell, let's throw uneducated in there, while we're at it, since they're undermining the educational system, too.

Now, if you believe that is how it should be, then I suggest you turn away from this blog entry.

Because I think it fucking sucks.

Earlier this week, Democratic congresswomen objected to, and then left, an all-guy hearing on contraception. The GOP chairman of the committee refused to let women testify at a hearing to talk about women's health care.

Because we don't know what we're talking about when it comes to taking care of ourselves, obviously.

Meanwhile, one of Santorum's top goons said that women should just stick an aspirin between their knees for a contraceptive.

But none of that beats what the idiotic legislators in Virginia are doing.

They're taking us back to the dark ages with their personhood amendments and a bill that allows the state to force inanimate object rape upon women.

HB462, which has already passed the House of Delegates and is headed for Senate confirmation before being passed on to the governor, will force women who seek abortions to have an ultrasound.

Here's the summary of the bill from the legislative page:

Requires that, as a component of informed consent to an abortion, to determine gestation age, every pregnant female shall undergo ultrasound imaging and be given an opportunity to view the ultrasound image of her fetus prior to the abortion. The medical professional performing the ultrasound must obtain written certification from the woman that the opportunity was offered and whether the woman availed herself of the opportunity to see the ultrasound image or hear the fetal heartbeat. A copy of the ultrasound and the written certification shall be maintained in the woman's medical records at the facility where the abortion is to be performed.

Essentially, this is state-sponsored rape and torture. And if you think otherwise, go say it elsewhere. I don't want to hear your sorry excuses for this gross violation, because there is absolutely nothing you can say to defend this that will make sense. So keep your stupid to yourself if you agree that this procedure should be FORCED upon women, regardless of the reason for it.

I have had this ultrasound done. It was performed on me a couple of times, actually, when I was trying to have a child.

It is a gross violation of your person. If this were being done in any setting other an a medical one, it would be considered rape with an inanimate object, and the person holding the wand would go to jail. For a very long time.

This procedure traumatized me, and I wasn't having an abortion, I was doing the opposite.

This is akin to the eugenics movement of the early 20th century. For a long time the State of Virginia allowed its social services to remove the reproductive organs of mentally ill patients. They finally stopped the practice and eventually apologized for their stupidity.

This is about the same damn thing.

How is this not a gross violation of a woman's rights? How this is not rape if you force this procedure upon someone?

If you want to read more about this, check out these links:

http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2012/02/16/war-on-women-reaching-some-kind-of-fever-pitch/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57380002/uproar-over-santorum-backer-contraception-quote/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/virginia-ultrasound-bill-republican-abortion-lifestyle-convenience_n_1276799.html

http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=13470

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/house-senate-approve-abortion-related-bills/2012/02/14/gIQAb5rmDR_blog.html


If you would like to write to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell you can do so at this link:

https://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm


If you're a regular reader and this entry surprises you, please take a look around at what is happening. If you are a woman, to many of the people in charge, you are nothing more than chattel. If you're happy with that, then be on your merry way.

If you think you're a person, and you matter, then please stand up for your rights.

Because if they can force this one segment of our female sisters, who knows what they will force upon the rest of us.

Thursday Thirteen

Today's Thursday Thirteen is brought to you by the letter "D," as in, damnation, dang it, and darn.

1. The denouement is the final resolution of a work, such as a play or a novel. It is the wrap-up of the piece. For example, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the denouement is the last few pages that wrap up the mopping up after Harry kills Vlodemort.

2. To diddle is to waste time, as in, to diddle around until the cows come home (talk about cliche!). The word also has a vulgar meaning which I shall not repeat here (and frankly did not know until I just looked up the word). Additionally, it is a nickname my brother gave himself when he first learned to talk. He was trying to say "tickle" but it came out "diddle" and stuck with him forever.

3. To be in danger means you are susceptible to harm. To live dangerously means to put yourself in harm's way, such as by parachuting from a plane. It might also mean stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something you might not normally do.

4. Being deceitful means you're being fraudulent or false. May politicians are deceitful in that they say one thing so that you will vote for them, but then do something other than what they said. Virginia is full of politicians like that.

5. Decriminalization is legislation that makes something legal that once was against the law. In the United States, you most often hear about it in terms of marijuana use, but politicians have managed to decriminalize many other things, mostly dealing with corporations and banks, giving them leeway to screw over the population with high interest rates, fees, and other methods to part you from your money.

6. Deer are those cute four-hooved animals that eat up my rose bushes and destroy the alfalfa field by eating the grass. On any given night, I can see a dozen of them.

7. To deify is to give someone or something a position of the highest order; to make them god or godlike. Americans like to deify movie stars and other celebrities, though we don't call it that. It is what we do, though. Otherwise I cannot account for this fascination with glamour and money.

8. A democracy is government where rule is by the people or their elected representatives. In a democracy, everyone has an equal say. Do you feel that is still true in the United States? Or are some people - or corporations - much more equal than others these days? Or does your financial status, gender, or race determine exactly how equal you are?

9. A diary is a personal journal or written record of your day or life. It might also be something that records the weather. A Diary of Anne Frank is a famous diary that was turned into a book.

10. I have a dilly-dally problem in that I constantly put things off. Dilly-dally means to procrastinate. Or lollygag.

11. A dissertation is a formal, elaborate argument or discourse that puts forth some discussion or research. I am writing a thesis, which is a little different, for my masters degree (and I'm almost done with it).

12. A doctorate is one of the highest degrees one can obtain from a university. It generally takes three to five more years of school to obtain. I daresay I will not obtain this degree at this late stage of my life.

13. A draught is a dose of medicine, usually liquid. It's also a serving of alcohol. It's not a common word; I usually see it in historical novels.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 229th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Stephanie Plum Comes to Life

Sunday, for an early Valentine's Day, my husband took me to see the movie One for the Money.

He sort of wanted to see it, too. He has listened to enough of Janet Evanovich's books - I have heard almost all of them, as I listen to them in the car - to have a good feel for the characters. I think my hubby is a secret fan of the characters.

The show received terrible reviews, and while I wouldn't put the movie in the "really terrible" column, I certainly would not recommend that everyone rush out to see it. Especially at the cost of a theater ticket today. It is not the worst movie I've ever seen, but even Sex and the City 2 has this beat, and that was a pretty bad movie.

One for the Money stayed fairly true to the book, which I had to read this fall for my Detectives in Fiction class at Hollins University. So I was very familiar with the story the movie is based upon.

In this instance, the book is much better than the movie. That is often the case, though not always.

The basic story line? Stephanie Plum is an out-of-work lingerie sales girl. She goes to work for her cousin, Vinnie Plum, at his bail bond agency. She decides to bring in Joe Morelli, a former lover and a cop who has shot someone and then skipped out on his bail.

She is tutored in the fine art of bounty hunting by Ranger, a Latin man who knows how to handle a weapon.

In the film, Stephanie has this unnamed friend (or maybe she was supposed to be Stephanie's sister - she does have a sister in later books), whom we see only briefly. Stephanie calls her I think maybe three times. It is a rather odd device for the movie, and I'm not sure what it's purpose was, except for extra dialogue and explanation to the viewer. If you must resort to that to carry the script along, it is time for a rewrite.

The problem wasn't really the script, though. The problem was the total lack of chemistry of these actors between themselves and with the screen. You know how some actors just ooze personality across the air waves? There is none of that here.

Katherine Heigl looks as I might have envisioned Stephanie Plum, but that's about it. She is pretty wooden in her efforts to portray the spunky Stephanie.

The fellow playing Joe Morelli looks Irish, not Italian, and there was absolutely no chemistry between him and Heigl. None. Zip. Nada.

The guy playing Ranger did a little better in the hottie department, but still, I didn't feel the vibes between Stephanie and Ranger like I do in the books.

And Debbie Reynolds was completely miscast as Grandma Mazur.

I suspect many of Evanovich's fans will be disappointed with this rather ho-hum effort. The characters in the book are very rich in detail and personality, and there is much to be mined there. It's a shame that this first effort will prove such a disappointment.

However, I fully expect that One for the Money will become one of those that find a good home on the movie channels, where it will play endlessly and become a fan favorite simply through familiarity.

Sorting Through the Roses

Sorting Through the Roses
A Sestina
By Anita Firebaugh

Leaves sway as winds blow the grass. 
Your flower bed dances with roses.
Buds fill the arbor, ache to bloom.
Showers of brightness move in the sun.
Aphrodite's roses raised in the sea
cannot match the grandeur of your garden. 

A circus of colors parades in your garden.

Highlighted, accented by alfalfa grass,

white, yellow, red waves rippling like the sea.
Misplaced carnations masquerade as pink roses,
fade against climbers reaching for sun.
Your summer rainbow, ready to bloom. 

You stand among roses watching them bloom.

With scissors you take a bouquet from your garden.
White Knights burst forth, iridescent in sun.
Crimson Glories--elegant, above the grass.
You smell the fragrance of musky roses--
down by the fence grow buds you can't see. 

But like Aphrodite who sprang from the sea

you lose your Adonis in summertime's blooms.
Yet the King's Ransom could not buy your roses--
Paradise is tangled, alive in your garden.
Your feet feel the earth, sympathize with the grass.
The Crown of your head tries to draw in the sun. 

You brush against bushes as you walk in the sun.

Thorns prick at your clothing.  Still you can't see
First Love flowering low in the grasses
or the sulky black roses waiting to bloom.
Orange and red blossoms overtake the garden.
They overwhelm when you stand in the roses. 

You cut only the best of the roses,

trim every stem, take the buds from the sun,
examine the leaves of each bush in your garden,
pull Aphrodite from the foam of the sea.
Scissors snip, you catch the best bloom.
You lay all your prizes in line on the grass. 

When the sun leaves your garden, you ache for the grass.

Each summer you ride on the wave of the bloom.
The roses return, like the foam of the sea.
You know the best rose grows here in your garden.
You stand back, watch the buds dance in sun
You have gathered your bouquet of roses.

****

A sestina is a structured poem. The last word of each line of the first stanza is repeated throughout, but rotated in a set pattern.

My sestina is a little off in that the last verse of six lines should really be a verse of three lines. So this is not a true sestina; it is a variation of the form.

The structure of the lines is this:

1. ABCDEF
2. FAEBDC
3. CFDABE
4. ECBFAD
5. DEACFB
6. BDFECA
7. (envoi) ECA or ACE

Additionally, in a true sestina, the last three lines will have the words from BDF within the final three lines so that all the words appear in the ending.

This is not a new poem; I wrote it several years ago and ran across it the other day. For those who may not know, many of the words used in this poem are actually the names of roses - Adonis, Aphrodite, King's Ransom, White Knights. I chose the names because they also evoke other images.

I have always loved form poetry and may have to try my hand at it again.

The Deer Whisperer

I thought I'd like some company this morning, so I sent out the secret signals to call the wild things.

The eight-point buck was the first to answer the call. He did not stay long, though, and vanished like grey smoke into the trees.

This doe arrived next.

I thought she might venture onto the deck

 and come visit me.

 She stood but 10 feet away

 while I snapped photos

 through the french door window.

She hung around for quite a while,

 but was not interested in close-up beauty shots.

Next I saw some does

 out the side window in the garage.

 I started to open the back door

 but realized I had yet another close visitor.

She was eating my bush.

 I have plastic fencing around my roses

 to keep the deer away;

 you can see it in the picture.

She liked the open corner

 of that part of the yard.

 No mesh fencing there

 to keep her from something tasty.

Yummy! Thank you, Deer Whisperer
 for planting this lovely bush.

I opened the garage door

 and she trotted about 20 feet away.

What did I do?

She said after I shooed her off.

Nothing, my dear.

 You just answered the Deer Whisperer's call!

Books: Body Surfing

Body Surfing
By Anita Shreve
Copyright 2008
Audiobook Version
Read by Lolita Davidovich
7.5 hours

Sydney has had a rough life. Before she is 30, she has been divorced and widowed.

Now she is spending the summer helping a developmentally slow 18-year-old girl, Julie, learn what she must to get into college.

She does this at the Edwards' summer house. And then Julie's brothers, Ben and Jeff, show up.

Jeff charms her. They fall in love. She moves in with him and they live together in Boston.

He asks her to marry him. Things go wrong. Sydney will not be a bride a third time. Will she live happily ever after, though?

This book is set at Fortune's Rock, though it is never explicitly spelled out. Shreve readers will know that this is the locale for The Pilot's Wife and Sea Glass.

Anita Shreve is a solid writer. Her books have strong characterization, good setting, and interesting plot. This book was not quite as strong as some of the others - I thought part of the ending was a little weak - but it was a worthy read.

Full Snow Moon, February 7, 2012 (evening)

Thursday Thirteen

Today I thought I'd list 13 things way to go about NOT being a successful writer. (I am writing this with a bad headache so I hope it makes sense.)

1. Don't write. This is easy enough, isn't it? Just leave the keyboard, pen, and pencil alone. Of course, you can still be a writer even if you don't write, but this is a good start if your goal is to not be a writer.

2. Kill the dream. And the daydreams. Don't do anything to feed that creative spark. That includes ditching all of the arts and crafts - put away the scrapbook and the crotchet. I suggest hours upon hours of reality TV. That'll kill creativity.

3. Don't read. Reading takes up a lot of time, anyway. Who wants to get ideas from other people's work? Because we all know everything we ever need to know, right? Let's not challenge ourselves by looking at other points of view, exploring fiction genres we might not have any affinity for, or reading biographies when all we want is a good fantasy. Don't ever stretch that intellect.

4. Read books about writing - and then don't remember anything you read. Or if you remember it, don't put it into practice. I mean, really, do we NEED capital letters at the beginning of sentences? Proper punctuation? Spelled out words? LOL! WCDYLI? (what century do you live in?)

5. If you do write, be sure to use extraneous phrases, cliches, and unoriginal wording. I mean, like, you know, who wants to read anything that they haven't already seen before?

6. Don't learn. It takes a little knowledge to be a writer - even with fiction there can be research involved. And you need a plot structure or characterization or something - and that requires a little thinking. If your thinker is atrophied, then it won't work well.

7. When you write something, write of things about which you you know nothing. If you live in the country, write about city life, and vice versa. If you have never been to Europe, be sure to set your character (who is completely different from you) down in the heart of some European metropolis. Who cares if there isn't a Plum Avenue in whatever town you choose?

8. Put a lot of porn and profanity in your pages. Never mind that most people don't like to read that - some do! Those folks might be pleased, even if there is no story line or plot. Being modern and footloose is all that matters.

9. Be sure you have imbibed of alcohol or some illegal substance when you sit down to do your best work. We all know how well that works, right?

10. Use big words, even if you don't know what they mean. And never mind if they are spelled properly (see #4).

11. Fake it. If you pretend you are a writer, someone might actually mistake you for one, even if you have absolutely nothing to indicate you write.

12. Don't listen to your editor. Even if that editor is another writer. Because remember, you know best, and know everything. So what can an editor possibly do for your work?

13. Give up. See #1. If you stop, and don't write, you'll never be a good writer. It takes practice and lots of work. It does not happen overnight.


Obviously, these should not be taken to heart at all. If anything, do the opposite! I was feeling, um, sarcastic and frustrated, I think. Writing is tough.

But never, ever give up the dream.


P.S. I consider anyone who wants to be a writer, deep down, a writer, even if they don't practice the craft. It is as much a state of mind as anything. The dream can be a great driving one, but terribly difficult to act upon. If this describes you, I hope you'll pick up a pen and paper, and see what comes out. Journals (or blogs) are good ways to start.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 228th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Moon Set Over North Mountain, February 7, 2012 (morning)

Bears and Elephants - This is a Dream

I saw the bear, standing on its hind legs, from a distance, and then it dropped to all fours and scrambled over the green grass along the ridge of the farm. I chased after it with my camera. I ran on foot, stopping every now and then to take a picture.

It was a small black bear, a cub. I did not see its mother. I kept running after it. It was hard to breathe!

The bear stopped, and I did too. Suddenly from around the tree came two baby elephants - and they were white! They lifted up their trunks and blew at me.

I turned around and the bear was coming toward me! But just as it reached me, it turned into an elephant, too, and it reached out with its trunk, and kissed me!

That was a very vivid dream. Yes, it was in color. My dreams are always in color.

I woke up feeling my cheek for the elephant kiss, but nothing was there.

I have on my desk a very small paperback book called The Book of Dreams: a guide to the mystic meaning of your dreams. On the front it also says abridged from Zadkiel's Book of Dreams and Fortune Telling, and it marked with a price of 35 cents. It is a Dell Purse Book and its copyright is 1972. I rather think I have probably had it that long, which means I bought it when I was nine years old.

According to my little guide, "If you dream of seeing a bear, expect great vexations, and that some enemy will injure you. If you travel, you will meet with hardships, but the journey's end and intent will be safely accomplished."

But, if you dream of elephants, this "signifies luck, health, strength, and association with respectable society."

Grass also denotes prosperity.

So I would say that, according to this dream and the book's, whatever the vexation, I will overcome the problem.

Now, Zolar's Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Dreams gives a different interpretation.

According to this book, seeing a bear cub means "a friendly hint will be given" or that there will be "great competition in every pursuit." That I saw the cub standing for a time means "insecurities toward your mother."

Seeing an elephant means I "will enjoy much independence and influential connections" and since there was more than one, my "remarkable memory will lead your prosperity."

The bear was black, and a black animal means "transformation of unconscious drives." The elephants were white, and seeing white means I will "erase all previous problems and begin again."

And then there's The Dreamer's Dictionary, by Lady Stearn Robinson, et al, which tells me:

"To see wild animals in your dream is generally a good omen pertaining to business, but the interpretation depends on their attitude; if they were calm, your affairs will prosper, but if they attacked you you can expect some reverses."

The elephant means "an omen of great good luck."

Apparently I'm in for an interesting time of it, eh?

Thoughts on Pageantry

Yesterday, I noted in this blog entry that my 10-year-old niece had won a big state beauty pageant title.

As a liberal, educated woman, I have mixed feelings about any child's participation in these events, and those feelings are particularly keen when someone I love is involved.

I support my niece in what she wants to do - I must, for I love her and I want her to be happy. I am happy that she is successful in what she has chosen. She is learning a great deal about grace, body carriage, and how to look well, which are good skills to have that might take her far in life. She is enrolled in dance, and clogs for her talent - I saw a little skip in her step when she was on the runway yesterday that made me smile. You can't keep the jig out of the little Irish princess, I guess (yes, my father's family hails from the Emerald Isle).

She does seem to enjoy the activities; she loves the outfits, playing dress-up, learning to dance, etc. She has made many friends at these events, too.

My brother says that he has never witnessed the kind of monstrous child-screaming and parental shrieking that one sees on TV shows. He believes most of that is scripted. I imagine some of it is, though the little ones do get tired and irritable as the day wears on.

However, I am sure there are bad pageants, bad parents, and bad contestants. Bad things happen in everything so it is to be expected.

If you look up beauty pageants, you'll find discussion of the pros and cons. Most of the cons discuss price, time involved, and overbearing moms.

Those types of problems are not what concern me. I am concerned that beauty pageants teach these young women that all that matters is how they look. They have "interview" and "personality" components, but really, how much personality comes through in 1 minute soundbite? The child is being judged for something she has little control over - some kids are just born beautiful.

Others are not. And for that alone, they start out life in second place. For some of them, it is all downhill from there.

So perhaps my issues with beauty pageants are really more about the inherent unfairness of society, which judges you on a zillion things every day. Let's face it - the 20-year-old with the big bosom will get the job over the 40-year-old with experience, maybe not every time, but often enough for it to be a standard joke.

The Bible, which I am not fond of quoting but it does come in handy sometimes, says not to judge. Judge not lest ye be judged - Matthew 7. Or don't judge a book by its cover.

But we are a judgmental society. We judge people not only on looks, but actions. We judge on a smile, a frown, hair color, height, width, ethnicity, class, status, dress, vehicle, house, cell phone, sneaker manufacturer. We only judge on the whole person-package after we've taken time to know someone. And sometimes that takes a while.

I am as guilty as everyone else is, of course. We all make snap judgments based on what we see. We depend entirely too much on the visual cues and not enough on other things before we determine who is "good enough."

How long does it take to turn someone from an acquaintance into a friend, after all? A long time. Weeks, at least. Maybe months.

But there we are, judging beauty pageant queens and presidential candidates by the same standards - who smiles the best, who preens the best, who gives what we consider the right answers, whether or not we've thought through the questions.

Miss Ultimate

Yesterday my niece, who at the age of 10 is a veteran of the beauty pageant circuit, competed in a state competition held in Roanoke. The event was called Simply Gorgeous Girls. The winners go on to a national pageant held at Pigeon Forge, TN in April.

I went to watch. Most of these events take place far from here and I do not get to see my niece participate in them often.

Cameras were not allowed, so these pictures are not mine.

My brother took this shot yesterday with his cell phone.

I stole this one from my sister-in-law's FB page.

Stole this one, too. This is from a different pageant, though.

As you can see, my niece is quite lovely. In yesterday's event, she won most adorable, best dressed, interview, casual wear, and simply your choice wear in her age group. She also won the title of Ultimate Grand Supreme, which is to say she was the overall pageant winner.

Congratulations, Zoe!

I'm very proud!

Blue Ridge Sunrise, February 4, 2012

Thursday Thirteen

1. I'm most creative when I have done the research and I have the thing in front of me to write, or when the picture presents itself and cannot be ignored.

2. If I were a color, I'd be blue leaning toward purple. Blue is the color of the sky and the sea, purple means a little passion has been tossed in.

3. I often imagine myself as the heroine of a fantasy, fighting dragons with magic. I would love to be able to toss a lightning bolt at somebody, just every now and then.

4. I really wish I knew how to cook well. I can cook enough to feed us, but I would like to be able to cook like Julia Childs except in a healthy way. I don't want to give anybody diabetes.

5. I've love to spend a lazy Sunday visiting cemeteries in Scotland, with a big ol' castle looming nearby. Fog from moors and all that.

6. My secret talent is being able to answer many of the more obscure questions about authors and books on Jeopardy. I don't always get the popular culture ones, but ask a question about John Donne and I'm there.

7. When I am angry, I try to get over it quickly but sometimes it lingers. I am also slow to anger, but once I'm there, look out! You might as well get out of the way.

8. My college graduation is coming in May. It looks like it will happen - the thesis first draft was handed back to me with some red marks but nothing serious. A little rewriting and it will be done, I think. I am looking forward to the graduation, but I am also a little sad about it. I really enjoy school and learning.

9. My main goal in life has been, for quite some time, to be content and unfrazzled. I am thinking I need to aim for something else in my later years, though content and unfrazzled is nice.

10. I am pretty tired of people trying to foist their beliefs and values upon me and others. How did limited government also come to mean dictating who you marry, what you do with your own body, who you sleep with, and in what position you do the deed? Those just don't go together.

11. My husband has all of the love that I am capable of giving; I haven't looked at anyone else in the last 28 years and don't plan to look at anyone else ever again. Love is a strong, abiding emotion, love with friendshipo can withstand pretty much anything, I think.

12. Every morning I wake up, put on my robe, enter my office, switch on the computer, put my tea kettle on to boil, return to my office, check my email and Facebook, and then drink my tea. It's not a bad routine but I sometimes think I need to change it.

13. This Thursday Thirteen is the result of a combination of questions I saw asked of contributors to the February Oprah magazine and The Rainbow Meme, which does not exactly ask any of the last six things I wrote down but from which I took inspiration. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 227th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

February 1 Rainbow

That Damn Muse

When I was a young whippersnapper, one day in some English class, we had a discussion about writing novels and stories.

Crafted, the teacher said. Created with an outline. Every word chosen with care, knowing the significance of each and every nuance.

If an author puts in a work that it's a sailboat, not a steamboat, or that the sailor's eyes are yellow, there's a reason for that, said she.

What if they just want the eyes to be yellow? asked the whippersnapper.

No, they never just want them to be anything without it meaning something, said the teacher. If they want them to be yellow, it's to convey sickness or jealousy or some other emotion that we might connect with that color.

I think not, said the whippersnapper, whispering to herself.

Because I thought that stories were magic.

They sprang whole from the brains of the writer like Athena from the brain of Zeus, or a hobbit from the ground.

Sound. Complete. Finished. And most likely, they didn't realize half the time that when they made someone's eyes yellow, they meant for it to be dissected in an English class. They just meant for the eyes to be yellow, and if someone thought that meant the person was sick, well, so be it.

Sometime thereafter I learned about first, second, and third drafts, but that didn't sway me. Sure, they had to make changes. Nobody gets the commas right! Sometimes you get in a hurry when you're typing and you put a preposition at the end. You have to fix that stuff.

I believed in the call of the muse, I did. The whippersnapper thought the words danced around in the writer's head like music, each note a chime in the ear, a tickle on the brain, a taste of thyme on the tongue.

Just listen to that voice, thought the whippersnapper, and the words will flow.

And sometimes, that is how it happens. Sometimes the words do come falling out of the ether, tumbling into the mind like fluffy snowflakes from gray skies. Sometimes words just pour out like the waters of the Amazon, still one minute, rapid the next. It might wear you out to try to catch them.

But just as often, maybe more so, it's the craft that pulls the story along, not the waters flowing from the invisible fountain. It's the sitting and staring at the paper, ink pen at the ready, scribbling hither and yon, testing this word and that. Why not purple eyes, or blue? But then yellow ... no, that word is the best.

The whippersnapper and teacher both were right, I think. The muse speaks ... the craft guides the hand. The two work in tandem, one pushing the other.

But I lean too much on the muse. I wait too long for the whisper. I forget to steer the craft.

Because the darned boat will sink if I'm not careful, while I'm sitting there waiting on the muse to take up the oars.

For Local Writers

The Roanoke Regional Writers Conference has created a blog. I believe the intent is to foster a writer's community.

Writers can post events, book publishings, etc., on the blog, as well as, I suppose, have dialogue in the comments section.

5th Annual Roanoke Regional Writer's Conference

Yesterday I attended the 5th Annual Roanoke Regional Writers Conference at Hollins University.

While the event is held at the college, it was founded and apparently continues to be run by Dan Smith, who operates Valley Business Front. Dan has a blog, fromtheeditor, which will have other pictures about this event on it if you are interested.

Hollins University has in recent years taken a more active role in this event, but I am not clear as to what exactly its role in this writers conference is. President Nancy Gray gave a little welcoming speech Friday night, and Cathyrn Hankla, Director of Hollins Creative Writing MFA program, gave a talk and she attended the events on Saturday. I also saw Hollins professor Jeanne Larsen there. They may have been other from Hollins in attendance whom I do not know.

I did not attend the reception and opening events on Friday night, so I cannot comment on that.

The event is good for networking and for seeing old friends. Becky Mushko, a fellow blogger, was there, along with a number of other folks I know, including Beth Rossi, Brenda Isaacs, Elizabeth Jones, Bonnie Cranmer, Peggy Shifflett, the aforementioned Hollins professors, and others.

The Roanoke Regional Writers Conference is essentially a lineup of 45 minute mini-classes, ranging in topic from "Advice from Literary Agents" to "The Memoir." There were 23 different classes to choose from throughout the day, and each is only offered one time. So you have to pick what you want for every particular hour and hope you get a good one.

Here are the classes I attended:

The Last Redoubt: Writing Short Stories for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Markets

Mike Allen, a reporter for The Roanoke Times and a science fiction writer, offered up great information about writing for this genre, including lots of links to various websites that all sound interesting. He discussed story length, submission times, and how to figure out if you're writing fantasy, horror, science fiction, or something else. He did a good job with the time he had, handling it well and continually moving the conversation forward. He introduced me to a new term, "Steampunk," which was not something I had heard of before.

Anytime I learn something, I am happy. I thought this was a good seminar.

Structuring Your (Nonfiction) Storytelling

Unfortunately, the person offering this seminar (I won't name names when it was bad) did not handle his time well. He was unable to make it through his handout (which he in fact did not hand out but I managed to snag a copy on my way out the door). He also stumbled through much of what he did talk about. I was quite disappointed.

His points (greatly parred down from his outline)
1. Outline
2. Learn the five-step writing process (idea, collect information, refocus, draft, polish).
3. How would you tell a friend this story in a hurry?
4. Use unorthodox sources (journals, emails, etc)
5. Use scenes (show don't tell - that's my note, not his)
6. Beginnings and endings
7. Rewrite, make it shorter
8. Think of it as a one-act play
9. Use sidebars and graphics
10. Consider multimedia

To me, even those points seem rather scattered, really. Perhaps he should have focused on the items in his #2 and left the rest alone.

Notice What You Notice: How to Find, Recognize and Hunt Down Story Ideas

Beth Macy, who is, hands down, the best writer The Roanoke Times has, wowed everyone with her talk about how to find stories and ideas.

When I was an undergraduate at Hollins, Beth and I were in several classes together. She was in the MA program, working on her creative writing degree, so we were students there at the same time though I was a lowly bachelor degree candidate. I have admired her work for some time; she has grown as a writer and a journalist to a great degree. We're about the same age, so I try to keep the envy down to a minimum. But it would be easy to be envious of her work. (You can read one of her stories in today's paper here.)

My notes from her talk go like this:

Be honest about the good and the bad
Reserve judgment
Figure out your own life theme

That's it. There is nothing magic about that, but it was a great talk and very inspiring.

Playing with Words: What Poetry Can Teach the Prose Writer About Metaphors and Word Play

Some of these folks need to work on their seminar titles, don't they? Anyway, Jim Minnick, a Radford University professor and author of The Blueberry Years, (full disclosure: I reviewed his book) led the seminar-attendees in an exercise about metaphor. He admonished us to "see beyond what's there" to find something new and exciting.

He also cautioned against using cliche, and said that all good writing is actually writing against cliche.

This was a fun and interactive 45 minutes.

Sources for Research

Hollins librarian Maryke Barber once again offered up very useful and terrific information for researchers and knowledge-seekers of all kinds. I have attended her seminars before, and worked with her a little while working on this masters degree, and she is fantastic.

Some of the websites she gave that I hope to look at soon:

http://www.doaj.org
http://www.europeana.eu
http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/small/vhp
http://www.worldcat.org
http://www.zuula.com
http://www.wolframalpha.com

And many others that I think will be fun to look at.

Very informative!

The Memoir

Since I am, for all intents and purposes, writing a memoir as my thesis, I thought this seminar would be worthwhile. I was right! Peggy Shifflett, a retired Radford University professor and author of The Living Room Bed and two other memoirs, gave a great presentation on writing memoir.

Full disclosure: I edited The Living Room Bed for her.

I took lots of notes in this seminar:

She suggested two books on memoir writing: How to Write a Memoir, by William Zinssar, and Your Life as a Story, by Tristin Ranior.

What's the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? A memoir is a memory from your life. An autobiography is the story of your life.

A formal memoir has a message. But a memoir can also be an informal family history, an oral history, or a combination of history and memory mixed. This blog you are reading is a memoir.

Do not dodge the traumatic or neglect the enjoyable.

Go ahead and have your own catharsis while you're writing your memoir. Your readers might have their own catharsis, too.

Start out with something important.

Use all of your senses when you're writing.

Build your writing muscle and write as often as you can.

Peggy, who is a friend, did a great job with this seminar. I hope she asked to return.

Final Thoughts

This wasn't a seminar, this is me summing up the day! I left after The Memoir; there was a panel discussion at the end but when I last attended in 2010 I found that to be a downer so I didn't go. I left on a high note and thus have warm and fuzzies from the event, even with the one clunker seminar in the early hours.

Writing is something that I will always do, and I can't imagine not doing it. But sometimes it is a challenge, and trying to make a living at it in recent years has gone beyond challenge into gut-wrenching and blood-letting. It is no wonder I have felt burned out.

This writer's conference, though, was very uplifting and I feel bouyed by the sense of community and by the conversations I had with others at the event.

Nice job!