In The Works

Next novel going through the publishing process at Create Space. Doing one last final edit and have just done a possible cover.

Sad

A few years ago I had a list of friends to visit on their blogs. I used to meet with two other guys in town that were fellow bloggers and have a dink in a bar once a month. We called ourselves the curmudgeons. My brother started getting everyone in the family blogging so we could keep in touch being scattered all over the place. I'm the last one in the family still on a blog. Bruce shut his down, bummer. I keep up with three blogs now when I used to be able to read blogs for hours. I'm going to shut down all my other blogs but Captain's Log. I still need to vent on some issues from time to time. Kind of sad in a way.

Man of Steel

Went to see the latest in the Superman franchise. First movie to view in 3d. Didn't want to wait three hours for a 2d showing. Not that impressed with 3d. Don't recommend it for fast paced action as it just blurs.
Of all the Superman movies this one has by far the best story line, top actors who give first rate performances instead of phoning it in. Then it devolves into smash and destroy without much redeeming value. I like a Man of Steel who struggles with self control.

Before Yellowstone Explodes

My fourth novel is nearly ready. It is my most ambitious project to date. This literary baby has been so far three years in gestation and the first novel to be multi-generational. I anticipate sending it off for publication by the end of summer. I'm going to try Amazon's Create Space for hard copy publication hoping to have a much better experience than I did with Publish America.

Please leave a comment if you think this is a book you would enjoy.

The novel is entitled The Fan Plan: Before Yellowstone Explodes

What happens when billions of people are hungry and there's no food?
How does humanity survive a volcanic winter without going back to the stone age?

A meteorite hits Northwestern Wyoming on April 1, 1965. The geology department of Trans Global Oil's computer predicts that the magma under Yellowstone will erupt in forty or fifty years caused by this impact. In geologic time from impact to explosion is a split second.
Realizing that when this super volcano explodes the shit is going to hit the fan and billions of people on this planet will die. The Chairman of the Board and President of TGO develop a plan to save civilization and our modern scientific and technological world.
The Fan Plan not only takes measures to ensure food, shelter and energy for the coming ten years of cold and darkness, but a Scientific Secret Police to protect all acquired knowledge, scientists and others from being blamed as the cause of God's wrath to keep humanity from going into another dark age.
Starting in the 1920's when Lyman Drake hits his first gusher in Breckenridge, Texas and creates Trans Global Oil to the 1950's when James Eastman marries Lyman's daughter, Sylvia, and becomes president of TGO to 1965 when the meteor strikes and the three of them develop the Fan Plan; up to 2010 when Patrick Eastman with his half-brothers and sisters with their children continue preparing for the Fan to hit in the predicted year of 2027. The Fan Plan covers the intricacies of an expanding family in an increasingly diverse society, the rise of technology over the last forty years that will aid the pending disaster as well as cultural and political upheavals along the way. 

Ironclad

I waited until it was on Netflix. I do have a thing about chain mail and head bashing. For a movie like this is does have an A-list cast. James Purejoy has been in a lot of things, but I recognize him more from HBO's Rome where he played a remarkable Marcus Antonius. Derek Jacobi is always in movies like this, but he's never been a top name since I Claudius in the 70's. Paul Giamatti gives his usual understated performance until he gives both barrels when its needed. A little irony here after he played John Adams arguing so forcefully on rebelling against the abuses of King George to giving a diatribe in support of Divine Right of Kings while chopping off hands and feet. Kate Mara is excellent eye candy to offset the blood and gore.
Blood and gore wise this is Braveheart on crack. Its the first time I've seen a movie show the result of a two handed sword cleaving a man from shoulder to waist. It does not pull any punches on the carnage bladed weapons wreck on the human body. The middle age version of Saving Private Ryan's opening minutes.
Okay that said I liked that this movie is about the actual reign of England's Bad King John. Hollywood loves to make movies like Robin Hood and Ivanhoe where King Richard comes home from being held for ransom and saves the day for England sparing them his terrible younger brother. The Lion In Winter gives a good idea of how this royal family was really really messed up.
The setting of this movie takes place after John was forced to sign the Magna Charta. He gets the Pope, not mentioned in the movie, but it was Innocent III, who nullified the Charta. He hires an army of Danes and starts tracking down all the Barons who forced him to sign the document and hang them. Much is made in the movie that the Knights Templar were instrumental in the rebellion, but that's nonsense. It gives the reason for Purejoy, who's a Knight's Templar to lead the fight along with the Duke of Albany against Bad King John by taking a hand full of men and defending a vital castle protecting London waiting for a French army to cross the channel and relieve them. There are numerous assaults and the movie shows just how brutal siege warfare is.

The historian side of me laments what this movie leaves out of a crucial and fascinating time in history that is very often overlooked. High school and even college history texts which is what most of the population knows of history; mention the Barons forcing Bad King John to sign the Magna Charta, but nothing about the fight to keep it valid. This movie attempts it, but is too simplistic. So history teacher decides to set the record straight in a simplified summation.

• Yes the Pope nullifies the Magna Charta and John does raise an army.
• The Barons appeal to King Phillip who sends an army.
• While the fighting is going on John's baggage train with all the crown jewels is caught in a flood while crossing a river and washed into the North Sea, only a couple of items have ever been recovered. When you go to the Tower of London and view the crown jewels they all start from the reign of Henry III.
• John dies. This is where the movie ends and the crown jewels are mentioned, but not the flood.
• John's Queen, Isabella rallies the English people around the infant Henry III against the Barons and the French. She declares that her son will honor the Magna Charta.
• Phillip of France, who the barons would put on the throne of England states openly that there is no way he would abide by the Charta. Big irony here that the barons who forced John to sign the Charta are now fighting against it.
• Phillip decides that the little island isn't worth the cost and pulls his men home. The barons left alive leave for France.

And that is how the Magna Charta becomes the bedrock document of England's and our Constitution.
So remember there are three GOOD things that come from the reign of Bad King John:

1. He loses all land in France uniting the crown with the island. From William the Conqueror through Richard the Lion Heart they are all buried in France, not England. You will find all kings of England from this time buried on the island.
2. Trying to retake his lost lands on the mainland he creates the English navy. Hard to think that Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves starts with John.
3. The Magna Charta, he was so bad that the barons forced him to sign a document placing the crown under the rule of law and not above it.

footnote: Richard's queen Berengaria, is the only queen of England that never in her lifetime set foot on the island.
Sometimes good thing come from failures. Don't get me started about Cardinal Wolsey.

Family safe

Brother and his family that live in Oklahoma are all safe. Living South of Oklahoma City the storms seem to pass above them. I can remember going to my neice's wedding and she was rather upset when everyone left her reception early due to a tornado warning. We stayed in the hotel on the tenth floor that night. Contrary to what that asshole televangelist is saying believe me WE PRAYED THAT NIGHT.
Forty years ago I was exiled to Texas for five years going to college in Plainview and a year in Fort Worth. In those years I came to learn what real weather was like. Albuquerque's weather is so mild by comparison that it was a rather rude awakening my first years away. After enduring the constant 30-40 mile an hour winds of West Texas, the humidity of East Texas, instant weather changes, ice storms, dust storms, thunder storms where the booms can shatter glass and spending nights in storm shelters or riding out the warnings and watches praying the bit one misses you I was glad to get back to the relatively safe Rio Grande Valley where Sandia Mountain acts as a weather buffer. Now if it would only rain a little! Guess you can't have everything.

White Noise

 

National White Noise

• Anyone else getting tired of the Republican Sound Machine ratcheting up and inventing scandals to scream about? I mean, give Bengazi a rest already. It has long since stopped being four Americans who gave their lives and should be remembered with dignity. They do seem to be getting sloppy when it comes out they used false e-mails to stir up this fussing point. Maybe the American Public will get wise to this garbage and tune it out.
• Maybe it's me, but targeting the Tea Baggers was a good idea and Obama should have praised those who had the guts to put those assholes on the hot seat.

Local White Noise

• The golf course closest to where I live recently planted seed to replace winter kill. They now have the fattest pigeons in the city. A real shame if they could get grass to grow there it would be a great course, but with the alkali in the soil and this drought it's not very playable.
• City is going through its anual maximum stress quotient for drivers. You can't go anywhere that isn't under construction.

Mother's Day Golf

 For Mother's Day Paako Ridge, which is on the East side of Sandia Mountain, let mother's play for free. When we drove up there was this vintage Bentley on display and it made for a great picture.

 Grinnygranny and I booked a tee time and did a wonderful 9 holes. Wifey doesn't play much golf over the winter and is starting to get into playing shape. Still riding 9 holes at Paako is equal to walking 18 on any of the municipals in Albuquerque. The area is gorgeous, there were clouds keeping it cool most of the time we were out on the course. We stopped in the snack bar afterwards for Green Chile Cheeseburgers and watched Sergio Garcia hit two straight balls into the water hazzard to ruin 70 good holes in the Player's Championship and a tie up to that point with Tiger Woods for first place dropping him way down the leaderboard. Over all we had a really great day and GG is getting the golfing bug back so we'll be hitting the links together more over the summer. In a few months we'll hit their senior's rate and they let you play for free on your birth month if you're on their e-mail list so we'll be going back to Paako a number of times this season.

How do you steal Social Security?

Paul Krugman has a good summary of the economic theories in play during the Great Recession. It's an interesting read if you haven't been following him since Enron collapsed like I have.
One of the many things he's said consistently is: Some of them see the crisis as an opportunity to dismantle the social safety net. And just about everyone in the policy elite takes cues from a wealthy minority that isn’t actually feeling much pain.
I'm going to refer to those who want to dismantle the social safety net using a phrase from Jim Hightower, the title to his book Thieves In High Places or TIHP's for short.
So how do you take down the social safety net? Okay social security works on the principle that those working contribute which pays for those receiving and when you retire the younger ones keep the program going. As long as there are a substancial number of workers more than retired the trust account keeps growing. THIP's started drooling over the Social Security trust the day it was created and about to grab all that wonderful cash. To the greedy there is never enough money. So what plan did they come up with? I'm not an insider but this is one way it could be done:

• Control the Media. This can't be done if there are owners of News Broadcasts, radio stations and newspapers who let Woodwards and Bernsteins run amok. Reagan deregulated the media and the limit on how many stations and newspapers one person or corporation could own and soon all our news was in the hands the TIHP's. Spin everything the way the Billionares want it and the zombies watching their televisions will believe it. Remember Citizen Kane? Wife: Really, the things you say in your editorials, what will people think?  Kane: What I tell them.
• Buy all the politicians. Citizens United may have paved the way lately for unlimited contributions by the rich, but the cost of campaigning since 1948 with the introduction of television turned all of our politicians local, state and national into money whores. Since TIHP's own all the propaganda outlets this lets them buy politicians so they can use their product so what you give with one hand is given back to the other. A nice closed system.
•  Dehumanization. As with all things you want to destroy it has to be dehumanized. Ronald Reagan started it with his Welfare Queens feeding the lie that all those getting foodstamps don't need them. This led to Bill Clinton "Changing welfare as we know it." A neat trick when you can get both political parties to do your dirty work for you.
• Fear tactics. Tell the Big Lie over and over again until everyone knows it's true. The baby boom will use up all the money in the social security trust. We can't afford universal health coverage. Illegal immigrants are ruining this country. These lies strike at the pillars of the safety net. It makes people doubt their future, while reducing the number of workers paying into the system to keep it working.
• Ruin the economy. The social safety net after all isn't anyone's concern if there's only a few unfortunates using it and what money is spent on it is relatively small. Well Reagan launched the attack by deregulating the Savings and Loans. A few at the top partied hardy wiping out over a Trillion Dollars of tax payer money, but the elite took some hits. Keating and some others went to prison even. The agencies then in place shut down the institutions in trouble, reorganized them, stabilized the industry recovering much of what was lost. What FDR put in place worked, but for the TIHP's it worked too well, so they again reached out to Good Old Boy Bill Clinton who signed the bill ending the Glass-Steagal act. This was the bill that as Paul Krugman and others said kept banking boring. I cost the tax payers 800 billion dollars that the banks have been sitting on like a dragon watching over it's pile of gold for the last six years.  If our economy doesn't recover to the pre-2008 level until 2020, how much money that would have gone into the social security trust under a normal economy is lost? We are looking at an economic lost generation. A generation the social security trust depends on for its continuence. This alone explains why the stimulus was labeled by the media as a failure the minute it was passed and austerity has been the accepted economic policy ever since, even after five years of dismal failure to revive the economy. If your'e going to raid social security you have to starve it first.
• Fight expensive, futile and needless wars. Trillions of dollars spent with no end in sight running up a huge national debt with nothing to gain. Both King George I and his idiot son bragged about winning, but what did they win? To win there has to be something that was better before the war than after it and that hasn't happened.
• Tax cuts for the wealthy, tax increases for the middle class. Before Dubbya stole the 2000 election when it came time to figure my income taxes I didn't need to pay, and didn't get a refund. My tax preparer did a good job of keeping a ballance between what was owed and what we earned. After Bush's tax cuts we had a rude awakening because the tax code raised the deduction percentage to income so high that even with a mortgage and medical bills we never reached that percentage resulting in a $1,500 to 2,500 increase in taxes all eight years of his miserable reign. Obama has settled things down again. Those whose income was under $250,000 did not get a tax cut instead they paid more, but no one in the media ever pointed this out. The middle class was also hit with higher property taxes, sales taxes, and governmental fees while getting few pay raises.
• Kill the unions. Good Old Uncle Ronny started this by busting the Air Traffic Controllers Union and non-stop union bashing by every Republican over the last fifty years. Transferring jobs overseas has effictively destroyed the unions in the private sector and now they are focusing on Police, Firefighers, civil workers, state workers, teachers. Anyting goes wrong blame the unions.
• Privatize everything. Schools, prisons, road repair, motor vehicle liscensing and registration, redlight and speeding tickets with cameras where the private corporations gets most of the money. This destorys one of the mainstays of the middle class: government workers with good salaries, benefits, and job security and turning it over to minimum wage drones.
• Make the sick and elderly an economic burden. Didn't Ebinezer Scrooge when told that there are poor and sick who may die say it best? "Then it will decrease the surplus population" Never let there be universal health care, affordable nursing care for the disabled and elderly. Why should octogenarians and older keep drawing their social security checks. Cut off all medical care and bury them. Only the rich should live this long and have the luxury of decent doctors and facilities. It looks bad when minimum wage drones live longer than Billionares. What else explains all the lies, screaming and caterwallering about the National Health Care Act? Of course even to get this sickly and weak national health coverage it was purposely turned into a poison pill for the unemployed and minimum wage workers.
• Raid the Social Security Trust Fund. It started again under Reagan. The screaming that the roof was going to cave in and something had to be done. He fixed it by raising what is withheld from our of pay checks. No one likes a pay cut. It didn't need to be fixed, but this started everyone being worried, and then the news media starts telling everyone going to college that by the time they retire there won't be a social security. Then with the new media telling everyone something needs to be done again, the TIHP's come up with a plan to turn the trust over to Wall Street. Maybe they were a little too obvious with this, because when Dubbya after stealing the 2004 election tried to sell it he hit a brick wall. Oops maybe their lies didn't have everyone that scared yet. Now they've shifted to a voucher system.

The one thing I know about the TIHP's is they never give up and they hold all the cards as long as people keep electing their lap dogs.

Oh My!

Wife called this morning, someone at work picked up an abandoned dog and wanted to know if anyone wanted it. We have a persnickety cat and a German Shephard that's two years old and still very much puppy. We'd talked just this morning before heading out to work that the mutt needed a companion to help settle him down. So I said yes.
A little later a guy called and I gave him directions to the office. He showed up with an adorable looks like a mix between a small fox terrior and a border collie. Wife wanted me to drive up to her office and he was fine sitting in the seat next to me on the way up. All the ladies in her office had to hold  him and pet him, he just ate it up. On the way back he insisted on sitting in my lap. I don't know why people spoil small dogs like this because it's not easy trying to drive that way. Son came up and took him home now the debate is on over the name. I keep telling everyone to wait until we get home and can discuss it, but they keep texting me with suggestions. Evidently he's getting on with the other mutt, not too sure about the cat.

My client took me out to lunch today for Administrative Assistant day. I've never thought of myself as a secretary, (more of a gloried gofer) and since I bill him and am not an employee it caught me by surprise. It was a nice lunch.

Catch up

• I'm still working on the story Bona Dea which is about bringing the Good Goddess back to life who starts a religion of Love and Happiness to restore and rehibilitate all the damage that's been done on the planet by evil forces that destroy everything to make money. Whew! Got all that out in one sentence. It's not only complicated in trying to write from a New Age point of view, but I've chosen to write all the narrative in present or future tense. At 33,000 words after dusting off a short story to turn it into a novel in November it's proceeding slowly, but I feel my writing improve in this process.
• Novels Fan Plan, Stephanus, and others in the works are on hold right now, but that's the good thing about having more than one iron in the fire. When I get blocked on one story I turn to another work on it a bit and pick up where I left off on the other story with fresh eyes.
• Last week I did a lot of driving between the office down to the courthouses in Los Lunas and Bernalillo. Part of me wishes this screwy case will finally close so I don't have to drive so much, but the other part kind of likes cashing the checks this case is putting into my bank account. The week before I did get a lot of writing done, but generated no income. Still nice to have a place where I can sit and write undisturbed.
• Taking daughter down to Los Cruces Friday. She's going to the State Democratic Convention meeting on Saturday. While she's rubbing shoulders with all the politicians wooing her vote I'm hoping to get a round of golf in on a course I haven't played before.

Even A Blind Squirrel

The Legend of Bagger Vance: Walter Hagan says, "Even a blind suirrel gets an acorn everyone once in a while."

Got up early today to walk the Dam Nine at Arroyo Del Oso. I felt like beating the heat and wind of the afternoon and tomorrow another storm is set to hit. It was nice with no one ahead of me so I set a good pace and comfortable rythem which always makes for a good round. I parred the two par threes, which is good, but nothing spectacular. I don't want to think about what happened on #7, but it's about the hardest par 4 in the state. Then came #8. Now I'm not a long bomber so I usually reach the green on my third or fourth shot and settle for a bogey or double bogey. Average for someone with a 29 USGA handicap. I hit my usual drive just barely getting over the arroyo of pebble size granite and around a 170 yards from green. I hit a left fading right second shot with my five wood which landed a good thirty yards short of the green. I was anticipating a pitch and maybe a putt or normal 2 putt for par or bogey. The closer I got to the green I couldn't find my ball and slowly it dawned on me it rolled up onto the green about ten feet from the red flag pin. Miracle of miracles I sank the putt for a birdie. I've been playing on this course for over ten years and a par on this hole is difficult. Needless to say the biggest problem was the fact I played alone and where's the fun in having a great score on a hard hole and no one to share it with. So before putting I took a picture of where my second ball landed as partial proof that I actually did it. By the way I parred the last hole, which I very seldom do as well.

 

 

 

 

Prayers and Sympathy

Prayers and sympathy to all those injured in this senseless bombing of the Boston Marathon and also to the families of those who lost loved ones. May those who committed this crime be swiftly brought to justice.

Tiger Woods Compromise

Tiger Woods had a bad 15th hole on day two of the Masters. The best I can figure this is what happened: His approach shot hit the flag stick and bounced into a water hazzard. He then had three choices A. hit from the drop zone B. rehit from his original spot or C. In a straight line from where the ball entered the water on the other side of the hazzard he could drop as far back as he wants. He didn't like the drop zone saying the grain of the grass was against him and it was soggy, so he dropped a couple of yards behind the drop zone.
He suffered a bogey on the hole and no one whether tournament officials or news commentators thought anything was wrong with his drop. He finished the round, signed his scorecard and by end of play the officials verified all scores as official and that should have been the end of it. In my humble opinion.
Enter some pinhead who calls the tournament officials overnight to basically say Tiger couldn't, according to the rules, drop from behind the drop zone and that when he signed the scorecard without a 2 stroke penalty the card is inaccurate and he should be disqualified.
Purists would say the rules are the rules and that's that. Well there are loopholes for every rule in golf. Or should I say compromise rules.
I'm a different kind of purist which says the rules should be overseen by officials in real time like just about every other sport. Some pinhead watching on TV may see a guy throw the first punch which starts a fight in a football game or basketball game, but the official only saw the retaliation and player 2 gets the flag or foul. You don't after the game is over and score is official then say oops someone watching the game on TV says that was a penalty on the other team and they should lose the game. There would be riots in the streets of the team shafted by such a ruling.
So there are two sides here: Side A says he broke a rule and should be penalized even if it is over twelve hours since play ended and the card was ruled official by end of play. Side B says once all scores are ruled official they're set in stone and can't be changed even if some pinhead using HDTV and a pause button is technically correct.
Enter the compromise HDTV rule, which says Tiger is not disqualified, but does have to accept the two stroke penalty. That turns hole 15 from a bogey to a triple bogey. That's tough, but better than being disqualified and losing whatever money he's going to collect at the end of the tournament.
Side A fusses because he should be disqualified for signing an inaccurate scorecard.
Side B fusses because the score was ruled official by the end of play and should stay as recorded, no delayed penalty.
As with all compromises both sides get a little of what they want and aren't happy because they didn't get all that they want. But it is a practical solution to stop the argument and get on with playing the game.

On a later broadcast the information I had was incorrect (surprise surprise) Tiger took a drop at the original spot saying he stepped back two yards. On picture evidence using divot marks he was only a few inches off from the original mark- so the two stroke penalty was assessed because he opened up his big mouth and shot it off without thinking.

Life of Pi

Finally watched the movie Life of Pi. I found it interesting and have some ideas about it, but would welcome instead a discussion with others who've seen it. If you would like to comment your thoughts I would welcome all who wish to discuss the movie.

Trips to the Round Insane House.

Third trip in two weeks up to Santa Fe while the Educational Retirement Board changes are beforeethe House (bill 64) and Senate (bill 115). They love to play games up there. First trip was a general joint session on both the PERA (governement workers) changes and the ERB (Educational Retirement Board). Second trip was the House Finances and Labor relations committee which is where the Republcan tried to add a poison pill amendment which would keep current retirees from getting a cost of living increase for the next 20 years. It was tabled. Last Wednesday the House Education committee had Bill 64 way down on the docket so most of the stakeholders didn't attend knowing they wouldn't get to it. They moved it to the top of the docket, fortunately with a 5 to 4 vote along party lines the amendment was tabled again.
Today I went up to the Senate Education committee hearing and they didn't get to it. It's hard to know when to go up and when not to go up. The meetings are at 0800 which means leaving Albuquerque by 0630. It's important that retirees be there for these meetings to be heard, but when they play games on when what bill will be discussed when and where it makes it very difficult.

Catch up

• Taking Mom up to Santa Fe to lobby for the two bills making changes to our educational retirement board (ERB). It's going to be a challenge to keep it intact and not messed with by legilators intent on ruining it. One poison pill amendment was tabled in the house last week, but there's still many more committee hearings and floor debate as well as a hostile governor before we can breathe easily. It's going to be a long 60 day session.
• Amazon's Create Space is holding a contest and a novel needed to be submitted by Jan 27. I submitted mine on the 26th. I've been working on it for a couple of years so it didn't take but two weeks to get it ready. The first round is based on the pitch, second round will be on the excerpt and third round will be ont he total novel. If I'm chosen then they will help with the editing and publish it. The ten thousand dollar prize would be nice too. Crossing fingers I get past the first round.
• The weather and my health improved and I got to take a nice walk spoiled by a litte white ball. Didn't do too badly for not making it out to the course in six weeks.
• Good news. Writers2writers the West side writing group I've coordinated for the past three years found it difficult to meet where we've been meeting and I've spent the last two years trying to find a better venue. I gave up after the November meeting where we were meeting refused to turn off the music for our meeting and actually turned it up. I took the hint. We don't meet in December and still not finding a place canceled the January meeting. Other members of the group tried valiantly to find us a place, but they're all on the East side and that defeats the purpose for West side writers who want to meet close to home. If found us a place and the Feb. meeting is back on.
• A fellow writer new to blogging is Jonathan Miller aka the Rattlesnake Lawyer. He told me about Southwest Writers Workshop at one of his book signings and from that I found out about Publish America which led to getting Optimus: Praetorian Guard published in 2006. He's spoken numerous times at Writers2writers. I've read a number of his novels and he has a new one Rattlesnake Wedding coming out on Valentine's day. His blog is about the trauma of waiting for the big day. Check it out, but if you buy and read his books without buying and reading mine I'll be really pissed.

Crony Capitalism or Political Bribery

Excerpt from James A. Michener's The Source: Twilight of an Empire
Kaimakam Tabari had one simple rule of administration, and it was understood by all his subjects: In Tobariyeh positively everythingw was for sale. If an Arab youth was summoned for military service it was obvious that there was no possiblility for escape; but if his father paid the kamakam enough, he could escape.... For the issuance of the simplest government paper, an established scale of bribes was in force, and in either the civil court of the qadi or the religious court of the mufti, any decision that was wanted could be had by the paying of the proper baksheesh to the kaimakam....
As a result of this constant drain on the people of Tubariyeh, there was no money left for schools, or sewers, or water supply, or a jail in which a human being could survive. There were no hospitals, no adequate policing, no fire fighting, and no roads.

Is America devolving to a country of corruption and bribery? Do our elected officials charge for every service required like in 1880 Palestine?
We have a different form of baksheesh, more modern and sophisticated: Election campaign warchests. Every representative who is elected either to the national or state legislatures spends 18 months out of the 24 months in office raising the money for re-election. Is it any wonder the Republicans openly disdain the masses who contribute little and fight only for the wealthy and corporations who contribute much? Or that the Democrats talk about helping the middle class, but accomplish so little? Elections have become a way of circulating all that campaign money into a closed set. Corporations give the money to the politicians who then give it to advertising agencies who buy time and space from the media. The corporations who give the money own the agencies and media outlets where the money goes so just like water it gets boiled, evaporates and rains back down. Little of all this money reaches the masses who are brainwashed into buying the political product sold to them.
Since Ronald Reagan became president and forty years of trickle down economics many of the signs Michener mentions showing the cost of corruption are prevalent.

• Our public schools are being starved of qualified teachers, proper rooms and materials for learning so political cronies can make a fortune coming up with standarized tests that prove absolutely nothing about the state of learning in America. Private schools are not held to this testing standard, but when their test scores are compared with public schools they show little to no improvement. Paul Krugman told Bill Moyers in an interview that replacing the hundreds of thousands of teaching positions lost since 2008 would add an extra 200 billion dollars to the economy which would help out with housing, automobile sales, retail sales, insurance premiums, and increased tax revenue across the economic spectrum. I really wish our politicians would fight as hard about closing schools as they do about closing military bases. The same economic principle applies.
• Amost all cities are faced with aging sewer systems and waste disposal plants that contaminate our shorelines, our underwater aquifers, land and are repaired only when they break. Add to this polluted air from factories, lakes and rivers from fertilizer runoff, fracking for oil and natural gas and chemical discharges and toxic waste in land fills we are truly soiling our own long term nest for short term profits. The polluting corporations can bribe scientists to refute all claims that they are doing harm or export the toxins to third world countries so their populations are poisoned as well as buy the votes they need to keep sane regulations being placed on them. 
• Privatized prisons are filled with non-violent offenders mostly on marijuana charges in substandard facilities that are poorly staffed due to low wages with little training. The corporations pay the baksheesh to the congress critters and rake in the money with little accountability.
• The most fought over issue for fifty years is health care and even after the passing of the Affordable Health Care Act in the next twenty years the ever growing poor population (due to austerity measures by the government) millions will die due to lack of being able to get proper medical care until it is too late. Who cares about the millions of people finally getting health care and are not denied because of a pre-existing condition, but horrors of all horrors insurers will have to pay for birth control, the morning after pill and abortions. Employers who pay for this insurance are appalled that their employees want to control thier own bodies without permission.
• It's a no brainer that when the economy goes down and there are few jobs crime rises. So at a time of more criminals; states, towns and cities facing budget problems are laying off police and fire fighters. Neighborhoods are forced to pay extra for fire protection and if a homeowner doesn't pay then the fire fighters stand by and watch it burn down. Baksheesh in action. The entire criminal justice system is swamped because all the money is being siphoned into the profits of private security firms and prisons. Maybe city hall should open up a line for bank robbers. Walk up, hand in a note demanding money, get arrested, plead guilty to the judge sitting next to the clerk and police officer, get sentenced to prison so you don't have to sleep under a bridge in sub-zero temperatures. Isn't that the way corporations like to make everyting an assembly line? Maybe if we create enough prisoners from our surplus population there will be enough money in transporting them to the moon to work as slave laborers extracting minerals for the corporations to invest in such a transportation system. After all there are no more places on earth to set up penal colonies.
• When America's corporations paid taxes instead getting subsidies, and all citizens paid taxes, not just those who make less than a hundred grand a year, and thanks to the GI Bill college was affordable, the schools that are crumbling today were built, the sewer systems that are breaking were dug, the interstate highway system was stretched all across the continent and this led to high employment, a growing middle class, and the highest standard of living in world history with a small prison population. Schools could afford athletics from elementary through high school with large bands to play and perform at games. Teachers taught their curriculum, not how to take a test with high graduation rates. We were able to pay for the space race, Vietnam war, and create Medicare and Medicaid plus food stamps from the taxes raised from this standard of living. In the last forty years of regressive instead of progressive taxation, deregulation of industry, and outsourcing of employment that produces goods instead of services everything we built is falling apart and crumblind like our roads and highways. What good will all the new fancy cars with fantastic sound systems, hybrid engines, and all the other fancy gadgets imaginable be if the drivers are stalled in traffic because a sewer line burst, roads are being patched intead of repaired ruining suspension systems or you're forced to drive a hundred miles our of your way because a bridge collapsed between Dallas and Denver? Is a toll road from Brownsville, Tx to Minneapolis where every driver has to throw money into a booth every twenty or thirty miles really better than maitaining I-35?
• Was life ideal, no, before Title IX there was little opportunity for women in athletics outside of cheerleading and pep squads; little was done for the handicapped or mentally impaired; inner city was just as crime ridden and the schools suffered not to mention the problems of segregation and racism but the burst of prosperity led to correcting those problems even if they haven't been eradicated. The future I grew up in was a hell of a lot better than the future my children and grandchildren face today with a shrinking middle class and a policital system sucking all the money out of the economy to enrich .01% of the population. Would it be so hard for the Walton family to take a smaller cut from the profits of Wal-Mart and Sam's club so the employees could make enough money to not need food stamps, medicaid, and be able to rent a two bedroom apartment and buy a decent used car? Not to pick on just the Waltons as the same could be said of almost all international food and retail stores.

Good Reads for the New Year

      

 Looking for a good read this new year. Here's a couple of e-books for only a buck each at Amazon, I-books, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords

And don't forget my science fiction novel also only a buck.

A proposito

In the ancient world some marvelous structures were built. Of the seven chosen at the wonders of the world only one is still standing: the pyramids of Egypt. There was a beautiful temple named one of these wonders. It was the temple of Artemis in Ephesus built in 550BC. In 356BC it was burned down. The arsonist was arrested and tried. He plead guilty explaining that he was a person who would never be remembered after his death and this was his way of having his name in the history books. He was naturally sentenced to death and the judge ruled his name to be stricken from all records so his name would not go down in history, thus depriving him of the one thing he committed the crime for.
Now no one died in this arson, and you might ask "So What?"
Well it seems to me that today's serial killers and mass murderers have a parallel motive. Serial killings and mass murders are done by nobodies. Nameless and faceless non-entities living lives of quiet desperation. With over 300 million people in this country the overall vast majority of our citizens fit into this catagory. A great many seem to derive some meaning vicariously by identifying with Royal families, athletes, actors, actresses, celebrities famous for being famous. The paparazzi make a fortune invading the privacy of the aforementioned to feed the appetite of nameless, faceless nobodies who look at and read in a frenzy everytime Kate Middleton or Kim Kardassian sneeze.

• Add to this equation our high stress environment. This economic downturn is making the young adults work longer and harder for fewer rewards. The number of 20 somethings and 30 somethings unable to buy a decent car or afford an apartment, much less buy a house is very discouraging. Frustration breeds thoughts of violence.
• The American dream has always been a white American fantasy sometimes achieved by minorities, but pretty much taken as for granted by WASPS. The dream is now a nightmare. Getting married, stay at home Mom, buying a house, two cars and having 2.5 kids with dogs, cats, goldfish and hampsters comprises less than 7% of the general population and shrinking fast. So much for Family Values.
• Factor in a polarized political climate each of which demonize the other ramping up the nastiness like putting rifle scope crosshairs over the other party's candidate and speaking of 2nd ammendment solutions.
• Include religious loudmouths blaming every bad thing happening on God's wrath changing the Love of Christ to the Hate of Christ.
• Include the cheapness and ease of access to high powered firearms with mega magazines and their scare tactics blaming Democrats of wanting to ban guns in order to sell sell sell sell. Remember in 2009-11 the bullet shortage? This creates a perfect storm for a lone gunman or a few friends deciding to go out like Butch and Sundance or Thelma and Louise.
• The deciding factor is that everytime a serial killer is caught comes fame and their names forever placed in the history books. The same for mass shooters. Does anyone remember outside of friends and family members the names of those killed at Columbine? At Fort Hood? The Murrah Building? But we all know or can read the names of the killers in the numerous books and articles written about them. Sure it all pseudo psychological or sociological analysis of why the did what they did, blah blah blah.

Alright what can be done?

1. Sensible gun control, not the banning of guns, but good God regulate who buys and who can keep lethal force. Don't give me a silly argument that knives are just as deadly. Yes they are, but the magnitude of destruction is not the same as an assault rifle with a 30 round clip.
2. Stop glorifying mad dog killers. The media's wringing every last drop of grief for the victims is appropriate, but even saying the killer's name or why he did what he did shoud face silence on airwaves and newspapers. There needs to be an agreement not to glorify or contribute to the notoriety of someone who would committ such an act to get 15 minutes of fame.

Will this stop the violence? No, but it might reduce the carnage if those living lives of quiet desperation know thy won't get what they seek this way.
Did it work in 356BC? No Herostratus is the arsonist, but it takes someone really wanting to dig deep to find that name.

That Season Again.

A merry Christmas or Winter Solstice, or or or...

May this time with family and friends be joyous and the memories last a lifetime.

Favorite Christmas Songs

So I was a little Scroogy in my last post. Yes, Virginia I do have some Christmas songs I dearly love.
So here are my top Christmas songs with some of my favorite performers who sing them.
Drum roll.....
1. O Holy Night -- Michael Crawford's version is spectacular.
2. What Child Is This -- Barbara Mandrell really belts this one out.
3. Snoopy's Christmas -- The Royal Guardsmen may be mostly remembered for Snoopy and the Red Baron, but this song, woefully underplayed on radio, goes past satire and explains the German Yule of giving gifts and celebrating Winter Soltice with their enemies. "Christmas bells those Christmas bells ringing through the land..."
4. Pas De Deux from The Nutcracker. Last year I recorded five different showings of this ballet off Ovation channel just to watch the five different ways this song was performed. I never tire of yearing this song or watching the dance. It's beautiful.
5. Blue Christmas -- Beach Boys version is best, wife love's Elvis.
6. O Tannenbaum -- Nat King Cole, makes your heart melt.
7. Carol of the Bells -- It's snappy

Christmas Music Overload

This is the time of year to hear carols everywhere you go. I do remember the day, many years ago when I too was one of those insufferable people walking through neighborhoods ringing doors with other of my kind singing to those who opened the door three or four songs written a hundred or more years before our births. A kinldy medical doctor joined us playing a saw like a violin. The fond memories of those times last a lot longer for the singers than for the poor souls scratching their heads wondering who the hell those idiots are.
On the radio whether XM or local they pull out the seasonal songs. All singers who want cheap royalties for life do a Christmas Album. Even well known Jews like Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond sang Ave Maria and O Holy Night then sing What A Friend We Have In Jesus while they cash their checks. Those albums have been out for over thirty years, but they're still played on the airwaves and downloaded from the internet. The estates of Gene Aurty, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Beryl Ives and on and on cash in on it, or I one would think, maybe the recording companies clean up on the old singers whose roayalties have played out. Talk about pure gravy! Would anyone remember Jose Feliciano if it wasn't for Feliz Navidad? Poor Trini Lopez, why didn't he do a catching latin Christmas song? Lemon Tree is only remembered if you really like watching The Dirty Dozen over and over again.
It seems with so many channels to choose from on satelite and cable half of them are doing some country singer's Christmas special. Wife made me watch Scotty McCreary's. Problem is he had everyone else singing and only sang one song. Not sure about that as she didn't collar me and force the torture on me until the opening part of the show was over, so he may have started the show with a song and then finished it. I like his voice even if it is Randy Travis coming from Opie Taylor.
I really avoid stores as much as possible because they blare seasonal Muzak. Most of it generic like Frosty the Snowman or Let It Snow Let it Snow. Is the song Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire where the term "Chestnut" for a stale joke originated?
I guess I get my aversion for some of these songs because I worked in department stores while in high school and college. I remember standing in the lobby of a Skaggs drug store behind a counter with cigarettes (yes back then they were in the open so all the customer had to do was grab a carton or package or two, hand it to me so I could ring it up, sack it and give change) candy (sounds silly today to be selling those side by side, but that's how they got the kids hooked on both vices) meanwhile back to the original train of thought. Standing there with the music blaring overhead for eight hours of looped holiday music 1) takes away all meaning from the songs, 2) destroys your ability to listen to songs in 3/4 or 4/4 time (that's walz and fox trot to you dancers) 3) and years later when you hear them it brings back all the memories of hurried and short tempered customers and why I was so grateful to spend most of my life trying to educate ungrateful children on the importance of knowing the difference between an noun and verb as well as the three branches of our government and the need for ballance of power between them.
Not all of my aversion to some music is about Christmas Music. Working at Skaggs the summer before going off to college I was tortured by the looped songs of Melany's I Have A Brand New Set of Roller Skates and You Have a Brand New Key followed by Jeannie C Riely's Harper Valley PTA.
Now you know why out of the huge collection of .45's collected while growing up I took none of them with me to college. I only took one lone album (lp) and that was what I tortured my mother with my senior year in high school, Iron Butterfly's Inagodadavida.

Story slowly coming along

Up to 20,000 words on story so I'm a little behind. Still doing paying work is more important.
Wednesday I pick up our Thanksgiving turkey. Last year we bought 3 turkeys. We ate one for Thanks, ate another one between holidays and had the third for Christmas. We haven't wanted turkey for a long time. This year we're only getting one. We used to get a smoked turkey at Powdrell's barbeque and they are absolutely fabulous, but the price kept going up and finally out of our reach. I mean when you can buy a 25lb turkey for $13.00 paying fifty for a smoked one seems silly, but that's what we're doing this year. If we're going to eat turkey again we decided it needs to be memberable for something other than fatigue. BTW, Mom's fixing a roast for Christsmas.

Confrontation

As people get older they seem to lose inhibitions. Mainly they say things that when they were younger they thought but kept to themselves or said privately.
A few weeks ago my mother, wife and I had dinner at a restaraunt. There was a woman and a small child around three or four years old. The child was screaming, not crying, just screaming to scream. It was very annoying. We were trying to have a nice conversation after we were through with dinner, but were forced to leave. Walking past the woman my mother made the comment that in her day parents didn't allow children to scream like that and then walked on. I paid the bill and the lady came out, kid still screaming and left. I thought that was the end of it, but the woman came back in by herself and started screaming at my mother. I positioned myself between them and in my strongly projected "teacher voice" told her to back away. I repeated my request three or four times until she left. We waited about ten minutes and the manager walked us out to the car, he was very supportive of us in the matter. That didn't stop the woman from driving past us and yelling some obscenities.
Is it just me or are parents today so afraid of being charged with child abuse that they have given up on trying to discipline their children?
Mom never beat us, but she did have a wicked pinch that got our attention and let us know to stop whatever behavior we were doing. Dad was fond of saying when we were in public, "Children should be seen and not heard!" I've read many child psychologists and other writers demonizing that statement, but we learned there was a line not to cross when in company and to respect our parents and other adults.
Today you can't go into a store or mall without the crying and screaming of kids that didn't happen thirty or forty years ago, but let a parent give the child a reason to cry and the full force of the law will hit like a ton of bricks.

Back to normal

At least that's what I'm hopin for. Drove all over creation today and didn't get much writing done. Since this month started I've been running around doing this that and the other. Tomorrow I golf and I have my van back from my daughter at least until my Mom gets back from her trip and wants her car back.
Daughter is done with the Obama campaign and now we're hoping this experience will get her into a full time job. This is the frist time she's put in long hours and kept at it.

National Bullying

A bi-partisan report using actual numbers showing that giving the rich tax breaks does NOT and I repeat NOT add jobs. Guess what the Bully Party has supressed the report. Or should it be called the Temper Tantrum Party. Jobs reports come out showing that things are improving and look at the way they scream at the messenger and since they are masters at skepticism concerning science and all things factual that don't support their pre-conceived ideas their rhetorical questions bombard non stop.
I loved it when the head of GM (remember the good old days of "I Like Ike" when what's good for GM is good for America?) said Romney the son of an auto CEO, is living in a paralell universe.
I don't know what it is, but most retired golfers seem to be republicans and I've decided that politics is not something to talk about, but yesterday the pure hatred expressed towards Obama and the local Senatorial candidate by most of the guys while waiting to tee off has made me decide not to golf with them anymore and go to other golf courses. If Obama wins I don't want to be anywhere near them as they wail and gnash their teeth and if Romney wins I also don't want to be around them when they gloat.
When the fundamentalists took over the SBC anyone who disagreed with their dogma was shouted down in Sunday School Class and shunned making anyone who actually tried to know what they believe keep their opinions to themselves or leave. Now in one of the most enjoyable forms of exercise I participate in I'm forced to do the same.
Goddamn those mutherfucking bullies that stifle a free flow of ideas. I'm tired of being the only one who exercises discretion and avoid agrument when they feel like they can say anything they want. I'm no longer enabling their bullshit.
Is it any wonder that assholes like this find ways of justifying rape?

Working on the book

I've completely redone my opening to Bona Dea and the main idea of the story. I realized that what I had was fine for a short erotic story, but it needed to be toned down and have a different message for a novel. I'm happy with it so far. Up to 12,000 words so I'm kind of jumping the gun for NaNoWriMo, but the whole idea is to get to 50,000 words. I'll be happy to get to that milestone by the end of the month, but it'll take a bit more time to get it up to 100,000 by the time its ready for publication.
I still have The Fan Plan to work on and someday I'm going to write that novel on the life of Matthew Fontaine Maury, not to mention the sequel to Optimus. Wow so much to write!

Busy Busy Busy

• I posted some pictures with different views of Sandia Mountain taken from three different golf courses at Captain's Log.
• Daughter is busy actually making money working in the campaign, too bad the pay check ends with the election, but hopefully this will give her enough experience to find meaningful employment. Keeping fingers crossed.
• Trying to keep two vehicles that are over ten years old running is proving very expensive lately, but still much cheaper than buying newer. With four drivers in the family going in different directions and only three vehicles is a logistics problem in itself, but when one of them is down it turns into a  nightmare.
• I'm turning a short story into a novel for National Novel Write Month (NaNoWriMo). I did this about six years ago and it resulted in Human Sacrifices. Now available at smashwords.com and on the provided link at Amazon for the very reasonable price of only 99 cents. Bona Dea, the one I'm working on is up to 10,000 words right now with half a month to reach 50,000. I'm not ready to post the opening yet, but will in a few days for my few loyal readers.

Math and Science

On last nights policital debate and the hype that this would be a game changer for Romeny. Come on, the only televised political debate that decided an election was in 1960 and that was because Nixon's face melted on TV, everyone who heard it on radio felt Nixon won. This election hinges not on debates but blind faith over reason and reality -- lies vs facts. Two thoughts to make my point:

1. On the morning news they showed Obama repeating Clinton's point that the Republican plan of further reductions in Billionaire taxes plus closing loopholes will ballance the budget, and the arithmatic doesn't add up. (Paul Krugman's been saying this ever since it came out)
2. Bruce has a post about Oklahoma Baptist University hiring as head of its religion department a guy who is a "Young Earth" theologian and the ongoing fight with religious right dunderheads who keep advocating Creation Science or Intellegent Design over Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Zoology, Antrhopology, Achaeology and a host of other ologies.

Christian fundamentalists have been fighting against science from the beginning. Charles Darwin's Origen of Species and Descent of Man and the theory of evolution started the war against science which is ongoing and will never cease as long as Christian fundamentalists continue in their idiotic insistence on a literal interpretation of books in the Bible like Genesis and Revelation that were purposely written metaphorically and symbolically.
Science is at its bedrock mathematics. All science is a numbers game, they simply add empiricism (scientific method) to their particular discipline. So why do so many Christian fundamentalists have a problem understanding that the Republican plan doesn't add up? They've been brainwashed by their preachers and professors and home schooled or private religious schools to be skeptical of math. They've been taught that Carbon 14 dating, which relies on the same math that produced the atomic bomb is wrong, so trust their preachers and what they say about the origens of the universe based on the Bible.  When Romney and the Republicans say "Trust me" they've been brainwashed to place their faith in God's political party instead of arithmatic. Their preachers said so.

The religious right does use math, and Blind Faith in their childish literal interpretation of the Bible to do great harm to education and our country. Why do these morons still insist that the universe is only 6,000 years old.  The basis for this is the computations of Bishop Ussher a17th century theologian who added up all the ages of the patriarchs listed in Genesis until Abraham. He then calculated back from the birth of Jesus and settled on creation happening in 4004 BC.
This theory of creation was refuted by many theologians but I like this one written in 1890 by Professor William Henry Green in his Biblioteca Sacra:
We conclude that the Scriptures furnish no data for a chronological computation prior to the life of Abraham; and that the Mosaic records do not fix and were not intended to fix the precise date either of the Flood or of the creation of the world.
For those who insist "God said, I believe it, that settles it" guess what, God never said he created the universe in 4004BC or that those ages added together meant anything; Bishop Ussher did. Do you believe God or Bishop Ussher?
There is no scriptural or common sense reasoning to support the mathematical calculations of Ussher that God created the universe only 6,000 years ago even if you believe as I do that He did. Many Christians believe both the Bible and science. To us evolution is how God did it and is continuing to work His creation. There is no conflict between faith and reality or between the Bible and science because we interpret the scriptures metaphorically and symbolically like the reasoning beings we are:
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. I Corinthian 13:1 NASV.
Only children and the feeble minded interpret everything litterally. Think of Abbot and Costello's classic comedy routine "Who's on first" why is it so funny? Because Costello can't get past his literal interpretation of the word 'who' to figure out that it's the players name.

Ultimately this war on science is doing irreparable harm.

• It weakens the message of Christ by limiting His power. Who are we to say He had to create the universe in only this way and at only this time?
• It limits the Bible to only one possible way to read it limiting the power of the Bible for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. II Timothy 3:16b NASV
• It separates all Christians in the eyes of our culture and country and weakens our witness about the saving power of Jesus to change people lives, because the lost see us as out of touch with reality.
• Insisting on adding creationism or intellegent design to public school curriculums paints all Christians as childish or stupid and anti-science, anti-education, and no sane person would believe a word any Christian says about salvation destroying our witness.
• It is making generations of our children intellectually retarded and unable to think for themselves.
• Fundamentalist Christians are being used by greedy preachers and politicians in an unholy alliance in the Republican party to squeeze more and more money out of our economy and because they have been brainwashed that evolution is evil and science is of the devil they have their minds made up so don't confuse them with facts.

Romney and Ryan can lie over and over again on the campaign trail, in their advertisements and in the debates and the Fundies will eat their words like cotton candy. Unfortunately if Romney gets elected all of us will get stuck with tooth decay.

Comment thought

From my friend in Oklahoma who works in the oil industry, his comment on the Cross of Gold Speaches:
I'm pretty conservative in a lot of things and really into free markets and call myself a Republican but I really don't recognize them anymore. They seem to be living in a fantasyland these days. The moderates and Democrats seem to be totally bumfoozled by the whole thing and totally don't seem to know how to respond.

Listen my children and you will get a history lesson:
The United States has never been a free market economy!
The first thing Congress did at the urging of then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton after the constitution was ratified and the government in place was to pass a tarrif on foreign goods. So much for a free market.
Slavery was the smokescreen for the Civil War. The first call for secession in the South was the Tarrif of Abomination when Andrew Jackson was president. Northern industries liked their unfree market place and didn't care that the exporting South was retaliated against by the countries the tarrif harmed.
A major contributing factor for the world wide Great Depression was tarrif's passed under the Cooledge administration.
What was one of the first acts of President George W. Bush? He passed a tarrif on steel from China.
If you really want a free market our government would have to:
suspend all farm subsidies. Every small farmer who receives a subsidy check should thank the Democrats.
suspend all corporate subsidies and tax credits
Face it corporations are buying the best government money can buy so they can still get their corporate welfare and have no regulations limiting their ability to slash salaries and benefits, increase hours for workers, gouge the public, and steal from the public coffers.

Optimus Is Back

I've finished revising Optimus and it is now available for only .99 when Publish America priced it at 27.95. pmprescottenterprises.com will also take you to all my other novels, anthologies and stories.
You can get it at smashwords.com and amazon.com.
There are still some used print copies at Amazon.

Cross of Gold

 Absolutely amazing how the Republican Party has dragged us back in the last thirty years of their trickle down economics and now wanting a return to the gold standard. A speech given in 1896 is still relevant to answer all the of what is on the Republican economic platform.

Free Round of Golf

On the Eastern side of Sandia Mountain is a beautiful golf course: Paako Ridge. It's in a national forrest with breathtaking views of Sandia Mountain and the others around it. Ranked one of the top 25 golf courses in the country open to the public. It is a bit expensive compared to the local Municipals. I got to play there with the Albuquerque Seniors at our set price, even had a nice boxed lunch.

 If you go on their web site and sign in they'll send you a certificate for a free round the month of your birthday. So I got to play for free this month. It's not often I get to play here twice in one summer. It is closed from November to March due to being covered in snow.

 The course is long and rugged not many try to walk it. Even in a cart getting from the path to the greens is quite a hike and climb as most of them are elevated with two or three ridges.
The sky is much bluer than in Albuquerque. It's good to get out of the exhaust fumes.







I've found it best to go early in the morning on a weekday. Prices are better after 2pm, but thunderstorms that build up in the afternoons can ruin your round before you're finished.

Press Conference

Here's the video of Russ Sype's press conference last Saturday. It's well done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkvGgX30i18

Olympics, my thoughts

I watched quite a few hours of the Olympics this year. I'm not going to go into a lot of the different events because I never competed in any of them but two.
I ran the mile and three mile. (1500 meters and 3000 meters). Back in my day when I ran against Olympians like Eastern New Mexico's Kenyan Mike Boit (bronze medalist '72 in 800 and 4th in 1500) and Howard Pain's Ghanian Billy Forger (tripped Jim Ryan in '72) in college I naturally dreamed about peaking for the Montreal Olympics. Knee injury shattered the dream, not that it was within my reach. I remember while watching the Olympics in '76 a commentator mentioning that qualifying time for the mile was under 4 minutes and it was less than twenty years since the first sub 4 minute mile was run by Roger Banister. In 1974 Filbert Bayi broke Jim Ryan's world record of 3:51.1 with a time of 3:51.0 and later that year Scott Walker of New Zealand broke that record with a 3:49.08. Walker took gold in the '76 Olympics when Bayi was part of the African boycott.
I mention all this because while watching the 1500 meter race this year a commentator said something very similar to the one at Montreal. He said the average best time of the runners in the final was a 3:49 mile. Much was made of Sebastian Cole who set the world record for the mile three different times and Morroco's Hicham El Guerrouj 3:43.13 that has stood since 1999.
When it became the average for runners to break the 4 minute barrier much of the explaination was better training methods, equipment and running surfaces. Now what were times only one or two runners in the world could achieve is common place and average. I don't think training methods have improved that much. Diet is much better than it was then, but the real difference from the 1980's on is the age of the world record holders. In the '50's and '60's it was  college age runners or just past graduation. Sebastian Coe didn't reach world record times unitl he was 35. I haven't researched the ages of the other record holders, but the fact that top runners can continue to train and make a living till nearly 40 has to be a major contributing factor.

Sype for the General Welfare

The press conference at the Elegante motel was a resounding success. There were around 25 in attendence with a reporter from the Alibi. It was video taped and in a week or two I'll post the U-tube link.
Russell's main point is that government is charged with providing for the general welfare and if a high quality public eduaction isn't covered, What is? If quality health care for all citizens isn't, What is?
More to come.

Sype for President

 

William Russell Sype will announce his candidacy for President of the United States in the year of our Lord 2016 at the Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque, NM tomorrow August 9, 2012 at 10:30am. I've agreed to the honor of serving as his campaign manager. All who are in the neighborhood and wish to attend are more than welcome. We've been informed that the local media will attend.

Love Quotes

Movie 1776

In November of 1971 Mom and Dad had season tickets to what was then the Civic Light Opera and they couldn't attend one of the preformances and gave the tickets to me and my girlfriend at the time. It was 1776. I was blown away at the performance and could remember so many witty lines. When I was in college during out nations bi-centennial the play was performed, but I couldn't attend as I was married, didn't have the money and needed to work that night.
The movie came out in 1972, but it didn't come to Plainview so I never saw it on the big screen. One of the first items I bought with my first Summer school money was a VCR and on the 4th of July 1983 the movie was aired and it was the very first movie I taped. The following summer I taught American History in Summer school in a portable. On the other side of the partition was a math class. I showed the movie and the teacher came over after class:
Math teacher: I thought you're teaching America History.
Me: I am.
Math teacher: What did you show?
Me: The movie 1776.
Math teacher: It had singing and dancing.
Me: Yes, it's a broadway musical turned into movie.
Math teacher: How is that history?
Me: It lets the students know the positions of all the colonies prior to the vote on independence and what it took to get a unanimous vote. It's also pretty good at giving them an idea of how parliamentary proceedure works.
He wasn't convenced and didn't have much of an artistic understanding.
All the years I taught U.S. or American history I showed this movie buying a copy as soon as it was on sale at Blockbuster.
After Grinnygranny and I were married it was performed at Popejoy Hall. Mom and Dad got tickets and we went with them. So I've seen it twice performed on stage and a million times on video. Try watching it six times a day over numerous years.
It was with weeping and gnashing of teeth that I took all my video players to Goodwill and converted to Blue Ray. I bought the Restored Director's cut. There are a number of lines left out in the theatrical version and one song. In this version you get a better sense of Judge Wilson and why he made the decision for independence. I knew from seeing the play they cut out Cool Cool Considerate Men  and learned that it was at the request of Richard Nixon because he thought it put conservatives ie Republicans in a negatative light. It's actually John Dickenson's and the others who opposed independence victory song thinking they've won. A shame it was cut because in the middle of the song a dispatch from Gen. Washington comes in describing the British navy's surrounding of New York and using it as a staging area for moving on Philidelphia. In the rest of the movie they talk about the Redcoats being at their door without a decent explaination. But the real crime of the cut was omitting these crucial lines:
Dickenson asks John Hancock why he isn't on their side since he hates John Adams and is a man of property. Hancock replies, "Fortunately there are not enough men of property in America to dictate polity."
Dickenson then says, "Perhaps not, but most men with nothing would rather defend the possibility of being rich than face the reality of being poor."
This in a nutshell explains why so many hundreds of thousands of Confederate soldiers died defending slavery when they didn't own slaves and why today so many with so little still vote for the party that consistently raises their taxes while cutting them for the rich and gives corporations subsidies for outsourcing their jobs. After all they may hit the lottery and be rich someday even if they are living under a bridge or in their car after having their homes forclosed and can't find a job.
I could have used that line all those years I showed this movie, but Tricky Dick didn't like it.

I looked up most of the actors in the movie, hard to imagine it's been out 40 years now. William Daniels (John Adams) Ken Howard (Thomas Jefferson) Blythe Danner (Martha Jefferson) and John Cullum (Edmund Rutlidge) are still working. Howard Da Silva (Benjamin Franklin) was a black listed actor during the McCarthy era and many of his credits are in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. The role of Franklin on Broadway and the movie restarted his career. He died in 1986. Virginia Vestoff (Abigail Adams) died of cancer at age 42 in 1982. Donald Madden (John Dickenson) died in the 80's. Quite a few of the actors were soap stars with most of them coming from Dark Shadows.
Some of my favorite lines:
John Adams:
 I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, two become a law firm and three or more become a congress.
This is a revolution dammit we're going to have to offend somebody.

Benjamin Franklin:
Treason is the reason given by the winners in order to hang the losers.
Careful Mr. Dickenson those who give up their freedom for temporarty safety deserve neither freedom nor safety.
Revolutions come into the world like Bastard Children, half improvise and half compromise.
If we don't hang together we will most assuredly hang separately.

Stephen Hopkins (Old Grape and Guts from Rhode Island):
Well I tell you what, in all my born days I ain't ever seen, heard or smelled an issue that couldn't be talked about. Hell yes, I'm for debating anything.