Friday's Odds and Ends

  

A student in a Dallas suburban school didn't like the assignment he was given, so he mouthed off to the teacher, and now the teacher is on administrative leave, while school officials cleared the student of any wrong-doing. What is wrong with that picture?

Apparently the video of the rant by Jeff Bliss, an 18-year old sophomore, has gone viral on the Internet, and some people are calling him a hero, because part of his rant was to point out what is wrong with education.

I'm sorry. A kid that disrespects his teacher like that is no hero. I don't care if there might have been one valid point contained in the harangue. And there is also the question of what went on that caused the teacher to kick him out of class in the first place. It was that action that led to his now-famous parting remarks.

Sarah Anderson raised an interesting point in a recent column that was published in The Dallas Morning News on the topic of salaries for CEOs. She wrote, "The current tax code lets corporations deduct from their income taxes unlimited amounts of executive compensation, as long as they say this pay is based on 'performance.' As a result, huge companies like BlackRock have an incentive to dole out massive stock options and other so-called performance bonuses."

Her column was in response to the ad by Laurence Fink, who is the CEO of BlackRock, where he is calling for raising the retirement age to 70. According to Fink, people should wait before collecting social security because "most of us have jobs where we just sit around."

That might be true for Fink, but most of the folks I know who are approaching retirement age are not sitting around in their jobs, raking in the big bucks. And if Fink is so worried about the solvency of the social security system, he could just decline his benefits when he retires and live off his accumulated wealth.

Now for some fun from the comic strips. This first one is from Bizarro. by Dan Piraro. A unicorn gets on an elevator and asks the man next to the control panel for the thirteenth floor. The man says there's no such thing.

Here's one from the classic, Peanuts. Charlie Brown is sitting at his desk at school. He says, "A spelling bee? They're going to have a city-wide spelling bee?"

In the next panel he considers, "I should enter it... That's the sort of thing I need to do to gain self-confidence."

Then he smile. "I think I'll raise my hand and volunteer. It'll be good for me... I think I'll just raise my hand and volunteer...."

In the next panel Charlie Brown says,"My hand won't go up. It's smarter than I am."

Today's Literary Lesson comes from 10lb. Penalty by Dick Francis. A character is reflecting on the political process, "Votes are won by laughter and lost by dogma."

Not Your Ordinary Dentist

Here is yet another bit of humor from our friend, Slim Randles. Enjoy....

Those of us who call this little valley home have a unique blessing in the form of Perry, our dentist. Yes, when we go to get the fangs fixed up at O’Dontall Dental, down in the old brick building near the office of the Valley Weekly Miracle, the grinding and scraping and numbing and lip shaking is accompanied by  … well … acting. 

You see, Perry worked his way through dental school by treading the boards … acting on stage, that is. When all was said and done and he received his final mouth mirror, he’d become a darn fine dentist, and could quote Shakespeare and others at the drop of a hat. And he’d even drop the hat for you. 

It was like that for Dud recently, when he went in for his six-month check-up and polish job. 

“Ah, Dudley,” Perry said, peering into his mouth, “the years have favored you kindly in the mouth department. Very little cleaning to do.” 

“Ahhhks,” Dud said. 

“You’re welcome. Here’s a scraper on number six, however. I can only say, as I scrape … out, out damned spot! Leave and take with thee the spectre of decay! Begone and tarry no more to add to the misery of my boon companion!” 

Dr. O’Dontall sometimes uses his native Irish accent to emphasize things, as well. 

“’Tis brushing after every meal you be, Dudley, my eyes tell me true…” 

“Errrrrt” 

“That’s right fine, lad, right fine. And thanking you kindly for years to come your mouth will be, for efforts now lead to years of chewing free …” 

“Ahhhks,” Dud mumbled. 

“You’re welcome.” 

Perry doesn’t even charge extra for this.

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Brought to you by the award-winning book Home Country, available at http://nmsantos.com/Books/Home/Home.html.

Monday Morning Musings

Yesterday was a grand day. Since it was Mother's Day I got to do whatever I wanted to, which included doing some gardening. For many years that was the day that I got a lot of bedding plants and put color all around my house. I don't do that much any more as I have a lot of perennials that come up every year, so in more recent years I just do some re-potting and mulching and feeding. The rest of the day yesterday was spent watching movies, eating popcorn, talking to my kids, working on a new jigsaw puzzle, and just have a relaxing day with my husband.

I did take a break now and then from all that relaxing to take care of the animals, brush the horse, walk the dog and pick a few berries. Thought I'd mention that lest you think I'm a slug.

The Sunday comics section of the paper celebrated Mother's Day in a big way on some of my favorite strips. On Baby Blues, Darryl and the kids buy Wanda a goldfish and a fish bowl for Mother's Day. Several panels show them shopping, wrapping, then presenting the present with a great flourish. When Wanda opens the present, the fish is dead. Darryl says, "Well, happy Mother's Day anyway."

Hammie says, "Can I flush the body."

To which Zoe replies, "It's Mom's special day. Let her do it."

In Pickles, Earl walks up to Opal and hands her a flower and says, "Happy Mother's Day, Opal. I don't say this very often, but you are a great mother and grandmother. And you deserve a much better husband than me."

Opal sniffs the flower and says, "You make a good point. But your trade-in value is shot, so I think I'll just have to keep you."

Then of course there was my favorite from Mallard Fillmore that I put in my blog yesterday.

Here is a picture of one of my Mother's Day gifts. The wooden horse, not the cat. Harry, the cat, thought it was great fun to try to get the horse to play. When it refused, he jumped down and attacked the kittens.

For those of you who like cozy mysteries there is a new one out, The Cat, The Mill and the Murder by Leann Sweeney.  You can meet one of the central characters and read all about the book at Dru's Book Musings.  And if you leave a comment on the blog you will be entered to win a copy of the book. I might even enter. Who can resist a story with a cat, or a dog, or a horse?

Over at The Blood Red Pencil there is a discussion about using cliches when writing. Some new writers think that they are okay because people use them all the time. I've even had some clients who were willing to take them out of narrative, but insist that they should stay in the dialogue. No, no, no. Give a reader something new and fresh to delight over.

For Mother's Day

First, I want to wish all the moms a very happy Mother's Day. I hope your day is filled with lots of love and laughter and special times with your families.

 There's no denying the bond we have with our mothers, no matter what the relationship has been like. I wrote about that in my blog for Venture Galleries that posted the other day, and my blogger friend, Susan Fleet Swiderski had a nice post about mothers on her blog, I Think, Therefore I Yam. And no matter what the relationship has been, we do owe them for our lives, even if they have disappointed us in many other ways.

That is one of the things that the author of The Woman in the Photograph comes to understand. This is a memoir from Mani Feniger, relating her quest to find out more about her mother, a German Jew who left Germany just before the Jews were rounded up and sent to death camps during the Holocaust. Mani finds a photograph of her mother taken years ago that shows a happy, carefree young woman who appears so different from the aloof, cynical mother Mani grew up with.

As Mani researches her mother's life from her beginnings in Leipzig, Germany to her life in New York, she comes to understand the hardships that molded her mother and so many other German Jews who left their home country, as well as most of their treasures.

This was an interesting story and offered a glimpse of a part of that history that many of us were not as aware of as we are the victims of the concentration camps. The story also points out the importance of looking at the issues in our relationships with a different perspective and perhaps finding some peace.

The book is written in the narrative nonfiction style that makes a memoir read like a novel and can pull one into the story. Most of the time that worked quite well, but there were a few places where the imagined scenes between her mother and others went on a bit too long and included details that just seemed to bog the story down.

Some time ago, the author offered the ebook free for Kindle and I got my copy then. Now it is priced at $8.99, which I think is too high for an ebook, but if you don't think so, you might give it a try.

 

As a special Mother's Day treat, I am offering my historical mystery, Boxes For Beds free today. The
story is set in Arkansas in 1961 when the mob still ruled Hot Springs, and a young woman who has left New York to find some peace in the quiet little town of Pine Hollow gets caught up in kidnappings and murder.

I was just reading the Sunday comics and laughed out loud when I read Mallard Fillmore. The picture is a gray-haired lady in a comfy plush chair reading a card that says, Dear Mom, Thanks for loving me, taking care of me, and for not putting our family in a reality TV show.

Amen to that.

Friday's Odds and Ends

The most talked about news story this week has been about the Cleveland kidnap victims Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michele Knight who were allegedly subjected to years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of suspect Ariel Castro. This happened in a populated area of the city, not in some remote rural area, and questions have been raised as to why the police were not on some kind of alert since Castro had been charged with abusing his wife in 1993 and had other run ins with police. People also wonder how the neighbors did not hear sounds of the horrible abuse the girls endured, and if they did, why didn't they call the police? If this were fiction, an editor would poke holes in the plot line. How could this have gone on for so many years and nobody heard the girls screaming or crying? Were the neighbors deaf? Did the man never leave the girls alone and give them an opportunity to escape? 

We won't know the whole story until the investigation is complete, but it is another example of "truth is stranger than fiction." (Pardon me for using the tired old cliche, but it is so appropriate.)

Residents of Mayflower, Arkansas who were victims of Exxon’s Good Friday tar sands spill that coated their neighborhood in toxic tar sands recently traveled to DC to hand-deliver a letter to Secretary Kerry asking that he reject Keystone XL. The members of the Remember Mayflower Coalition stood in front of the State Department to appeal to Secretary Kerry to consider the recent spill—and the subsequent devastation—and listen to the Vice President’s opinion on the pipeline as he makes his final analysis of Keystone XL.

Here is an excerpt from the letter they gave to Kerry: Before you issue your final evaluation of Keystone XL, we ask that you and your staff come to Mayflower to see what happens when a tar sands pipeline ruptures in your backyard. We ask that you observe the remnants of black tar, smell the toxic chemicals that are polluting our air, and ask yourselves whether you can in good conscience inflict this same devastation on families along Keystone XL’s route.

Now for some fun. This is from the strip Baby Blues. Hammie is on the couch with a notebook and pencil and Zoe climbs over the arm to check it out. "What are you writing?"

"Nothing"

"Come on, tell me." Zoe takes the notebook from him.

"It's a list of things to avoid this summer."

Zoe is reading the list. "I see 'thinking' topped the list again this year."

Hammie leans back on the sofa pillow with his hands behind his head. "Yeah. It's kind of a tradition with me."

Literary Lesson

This one didn't come from a book written by the author of the quote, but I read it in the book, The Woman in the Photograph,  a memoir written by Mani Feniger that I am currently reading. Then I saw it on Susan Swiderski's blog, I Think, Therefore I Yam.  I thought it was a neat coincidence to read the same quote in two places on the same day. Perhaps I needed the message, so, without further interruption, here is the quote: "We all possess certain talents and gifts that are unique to only us. You already have everything that you need to start living an extraordinary life. It's up to you to turn the switch and let your light shine."   [Randa Manning-Johnson]

Everybody, all together now, lets sing, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." 

One last note. My historical mystery, Boxes For Beds, will be free this weekend as a Mother's Day special. 

Interview with Author A.B. Whelan

Today's Wednesday's Guest is novelist, A.B. Whelan, who is currently on a short blog tour to let people know about her young adult novel. As part of her tour, she is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card and a goodie bag with a copy of the book, a necklace and a magnet. Visit the tour starting spot, I am a Reader Not a Writer, for all the details. Now, I'll let A.B. take the stage.

I'm so glad to have you as my guest today, A.B. Could you tell the readers just a bit about yourself before we get to the other questions? 

Thanks for having me here today, Maryann. I'm an author, reader, movie fanatic, and a soccer mom. I have a big mouth and a big heart. I speak Hungarian, English, German, some Spanish and a little Greek. I love adventure, challenge, cooking, and baking. I dislike shopping, being bored and junk food. My latest novel Fields of Elysium is a YA science-fiction romance, but I like to call it a romantic fantasy. I have written contemporary fiction, and I’m working on more YA books. But doesn’t matter in which genre I write, my stories always revolve around love and life-changing decisions.

Just for fun, what is your family's favorite story to tell on you?

As newlyweds my hubby and I bought a house near Tehachapi in a private mountain community. I’m a city girl so I had a hard time getting used to all kinds of creepy crawlies around the house. One night I was home alone with our newborn when a mouse crossed the bedroom floor. I freaked out and called my fireman husband at his station. He jokingly told me to call the police and I did (only the community one, though, but I know exactly what you’re thinking). Two officers showed up and searched the entire house to hunt down the intruder, barely able to conceal their amusement. After a few more encounters with spiders, snakes, and rodents, we sold the house and moved back to the city. I’m still listening to this story at every family gathering.

  

What is the most unusual or interesting research you have done for your books?

I’m reading Adolf Hitler’s biography for City of Shame (Fields of Elysium, #3). In that installment I’ll introduce the Terraka emperor and I need him to be a despicable human being.

What gives you the most pleasure in writing?

When I read a five-star review. Then I know that there are other like-minded people out there, and I know I’m not alone.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

Staying within yourself and not trying to change to suit everybody. It’s very easy to lose your voice when your head is filled with criticism.

What other creative things do you do?

I used to be a marketing director in a shopping mall in Hungary, and whenever I organize a party or bake a cake, I decorate to impress. I actually learned how to frost cakes professionally by watching videos on YouTube.

Where do your stories begin? With character or plot?

With the character, an approach some readers find boring but if you don’t get to know the main character why would you care about her struggles or triumphs? I don’t like books or movies that start out with a very hyper scene and then slow down tremendously.

Do you have a pet?

Yes. We have a dog. We got her from a shelter in Crete and she is the most amazing and obedient and loving animal ever.

Here is a short excerpt from the book to whet your reading appetite. This is from chapter ten. 

"I began falling rapidly in full consciousness, my eyes open. A black growth under me drew frighteningly closer, while the world seemed to slow down around me. Astonishingly, I understood that I was going to die in a matter of seconds. Dying without pain sounded better than being ripped to pieces.

When I was only yards away from the black plants, I could clearly see that they were enormous mushrooms, towering above the ground. Thousands of long, skinny and curvy stems supported colossal umbrella heads, creating an immense fungus carpet. The most bizarre image I’ve ever seen.

Once I dropped on the edge of a mushroom’s head, I smashed my face onto the spongy matter. It cushioned my landing but the stem collapsed under my weight and lowered me. A fine black powder started to spread from the nearby mushrooms and soon I could hardly breathe. As I desperately struggled for air, the top of the mushroom tilted. I rolled off and crashed down onto a shorter mushroom. Then hit another. And another. Until I reached the ground. Squirming in anguish, I gasped and coughed, and finally blacked out. After all the pain and anxiety I was finally at peace."

Monday Morning Musings

It's Monday morning and I haven't a clue what to write about. This doesn't happen very often, as those of you who follow my blog know. I am usually able to find something in the news that warrants a comment or two, but I have been rather disconnected from the news the past few days.

Friday I was at a library most of the day for a Meet the Author event, and that was a lot of fun. I met some authors new to me, and also met a number of readers, also new to me. One of the highlights was the librarian's mother who was the hostess for the day, providing drinks and snacks to make us all feel welcome.

In addition to being a wonderful hostess, Virginia was a delight to visit with. She loves books - she works as a circulation and cataloging aide at the library and also volunteers when she has used up her paid hours. Every now and then she would stop by my table to share about another books she enjoys. She is a intrigued by crime and forensics and the process of catching the bad guys, so we have a lot in common.

I wish I would have thought to have a picture taken of us together, but we were always so engrossed in conversation, a picture was the last thing on my mind. If you would like to meet her, here is a link to her Facebook page.

Saturday was spent getting two new kittens and setting them up with a place away from the other cats until they can all get along. It could happen. (smile)

Here are our latest additions. We intended to only get one kitten, but they are litter mates, so it was impossible to resist bringing them both home. They do play so well together and I think it makes it easier for them to acclimate.

Lily - age about 8 weeks

Sammy - age 8 weeks. He has the prettiest blue eyes.

Our oldest feline resident, Misty, ignores the kittens, unless they come to close to her. Then she hisses and swats at them. Hermoine, one of the black cats we got a year and a half ago, has not come out to meet the kittens at all. She is our scardy cat and hides in our bedroom whenever anybody or anything scares her in the main part of the house.

However, Harry, Hermoine's brother, thinks the new kittens are quite interesting. He follows them around and has attempted to play with them. Since he is so much bigger, the kittens are a bit hesitant, so Harry just sits back and watches.

Anyone who thinks cats are all the same, has obviously not spent much time watching them. They all have distinct personalities and behavioral quirks, and we are constantly surprised by them.