Last night sucked. Today things are looking better. Also, Tom turkeys are very loud when they stand under your bedroom window and gobble at first light in the morning.

A friend on facebook cheered me up this morning by sharing the new Birz Hetalia comic introducing Russia and Lithuania. I think it's the best one published by Birz so far because there are moments like this:



And what's this? Dark Aura/Raep Face Lithuania?



Actually, in the previous panel Russia grew very quiet to something Lithuania said, which makes Lithuania concerned over what Russia might do next.

So that was a nice distraction. Then we discussed the new story I'm writing based on a book I read about the Grand Duchy when it was still a pagan nation. It's a fascinating book, and I wish I could own a copy of it, but it costs $137. Thank goodness there are things called libraries. I read the book cover to cover and took lots of notes. Now that summer is here I'm looking forward to more time writing. I do have a deadline for some things in the near future.

I also planted some of these around the house.



My grandmother decided she wanted the front side of the house, which is the side with all of the windows facing south. I thought it might look cool to have some very large, four meter tall sunflowers planted out there too - provided the deer don't eat them all.

I found out yesterday making a simple statement of fact that would have made any English teacher proud was the fuel for more wank. Considering the community I posted this in, I'm not surprised. As lame as Tiny Tim.

Said is Dead

The subject came up one day in our discussion group about how to coax students into writing with more interesting words and phrases. Isobel shared a list of words that she had developed, with the help of Avis and Marcia, that could replace the word "said" in the students' writing. I'm sure you'll find many here that you could share with your own students! A good idea is to put the words up on a poster in your room so that students may refer to it while they are writing. Bob, Marcia and Isobel also added words that could describe HOW something is said. Those words/phrases are included at the end of the list. Helen thought of a few more "all too common" words that she would like to see abolished. Those words, and ideas for catchy titles may also be found below.



A

accused added ad-libbed admitted advised affirmed agreed alleged announced answered argued articulated asked asserted assumed assured attacked averred

B

babbled balked bantered barked bawled beckoned begged bellowed blabbed blasted blubbered blurted boasted boomed bragged brayed breathed bubbled

C

cackled called chanted chattered chimed chirped chortled chuckled choked commanded commented complained consoled continued cooed corrected cracked cried crowed

D

dared debated declared declined decried deduced defended deferred delivered demanded denied denounced described dictated directed divulged drawled

E

echoed emitted emphasized encouraged enunciated exclaimed exhorted explained exploded expressed

G

gabbed gasped giggled gossiped grinned groaned growled grumbled grunted

H

hesitated hinted hissed hollered howled hummed

I

imparted implied indicated insisted instructed interjected interrupted invited

J

jawed joked joshed justified

L

laughed lied lamented

M

maintained mentioned mimicked moaned mouthed mumbled muttered

N

nagged niggled noted

O

objected observed ordered

P

panted pattered persisted persuaded phrased pipedpleaded positioned prattled preached predicted proclaimed pronounced proposed protested puffed

Q

queried questioned quipped quizzed quoted

R

ranted reasoned recalled recited refused related relayed reflected remarked reminded repeated replied reported responded restated retorted roared

S

scoffed scolded screamed screeched shouted shrieked sighed snapped snarled snickered sniffed snorted sobbed sounded specified speculated spewed spieled spoke sputtered squawked squeaked squealed stammered stated stressed stuttered submitted suggested

T

tattled teased testified thanked thought thundered told

U

urged uttered

W

wailed warbled wept whimpered whined whispered whistled wondered

V

verbalized vocalized voiced vowed

Y

yapped yawned yelled yelped



Okay, now that we know HOW to say SAID, how do we say it better? Try adding a few of these to your writing:

with great vigor carefully hospitably
behind her back furtively responsibly
despairingly abusively worriedly
wearily morosely dismissively
enthusiastically timidly amiably
hoarsely honestly slowly
lovingly reasonably gently
pleasantly quickly sharply
turning around softly unreasonably
with mouth full angrily under her breath

Don't forget these "over-used" words!

VERY and FUN

How about "Bury Very" and "Fun is Done" for titles?

Look at all those verbs that can be used instead of said. Considering the attack came from a group supposedly for WRITERS you would think there would be a bit more tolerance and encouragement from peers to fully use language in our writing. Nope, these people are an irony unto themselves - they insist on being so tolerant they become the intolerant ones. Since I refuse to get into perfect lockstep with them I accept with pride and happiness I will never be part of their inner circle of PC bigotry. In other words, fuck em. YMMV

There is no better season than the election season. It's like an extended Christmas in slow motion, a 33 1/3 RPM long playing record of gifts and merriment. Not just here in the United States either! Other nations enjoy election goodness with high entertainment value for anyone interested in tuning in.

The land that birthed Democracy - Greece - recently had an election; two parties won, but neither has a clear majority. The chances of a coalition are slim because the two parties that won the most votes happen to be the hard-line Communist party, and the Greek flavor of Fascism. Welp, that's 3000 years of history down the shitter. Should be a fun filled holiday for all to see how this pans out. Another fun fact about the Greek election: Over fifty percent of the police force voted for the Fascists! How about that? They really are a bunch of PIIGS after all!

Another country that had a fun-filled election with a surprising result is France. Friend to high finance and big business Nicolas Sarkozy is out! The new president who will assume office is Francois Hollande, a member of the left-of-center Socialist party. France has had Socialist presidents before so they are not too worried about this change in political party and ideology. After all, France is about 1.7 trillion euros in debt, and Italy was 1.9 trillion in debt when they had to accept austerity measures from the European Union's economic council to get a bail out. Generally, people in France are happy with the result and hope it will bring change to a worsening economic situation. The people who seem more concerned about France's sudden shift to left of center is the good ole U S of A. You see, Americans have this knee-jerk reaction to anything labeled socialist, because 40 years of cold war public education has instilled the universal understanding that if it's socialist, it must be Communist, and Communist is the great Satan. In other words, if you thought "freedon fries" was bad, the switch from calling Frogs wine-swillin' surrender monkeys to no good godless red commie bastards should start in 3...2...

Then of course, it is off the eastern part of Europe, which the western part of Europe tries very hard to pretend isn't part of Europe. Only a few days before Victory Day, that glorious day when Mother Russia reminds the rest of the world they won the fucking war in Europe on May 9, 1945, Vladimir Vladinovich Putin was sworn in as President of Russia again. Rejoice! The hard line, glassy stare of a teddy bear president is remembered for being a hard ass, offering a French journalist castration by one of the fine doctors in Moscow, and playing badmitten with now prime minister teddy bear Dima Dimanovich Medvedev. What's not to love? Build up of defensive weapons in Kalinigrad, that's what. It's looking like a good old fashion cold war may be building again, except NATO insists it isn't we promise just don't cut off our oil, okay? Should be interesting to see what happens next.

Yes, the election season has been a whirlwind of fun and laughter across the globe, I for one can't wait until November when we Americans show the rest of the planet how it's really done!

I lived in Idaho for four years and enjoyed it; desert climate is very comfortable to live in once you get used to the lack of water issue. Humans are extremely adaptable to their surroundings and find what they need to stay alive. Once they manage that, all of the other bullshit humans living comfortably waste their time on also become part of their surroundings.

Like religion. And Politics. And hating people not exactly like them.

There are parts of the United States where certain religious beliefs predominate. Idaho is the other Utah, so is Nevada and Arizona to a degree. Do I have to say the M word for you to understand which religion holds sway in this part of the country?

Rachel Maddow last night had a very informative broadcast that sums up what many of the people in the Western U.S. are like.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

J T Ready - Anti Immigration, Neo Nazi, Mormon. Murdered his own family on Wednesday. Was good friends with:

Russell Pearce - Anti Immigration, introduced SB 1070 into Arizona legislature, Mormon. Trying to pretend he didn't know J T Ready now.



Uh huh.

Mitt Romney - Mormon, and is quoted with saying he believes SB 1070 is a model law for the nation.

I think it's pretty obvious what Mormons believe about anyone who isn't white, male and heterosexual. California's Proposition H8 legislation was backed by the Mormons. Mitt Romney personally donated $3 million toward the campaign to deny LGBT people in California their rights. The three Mormons above all ran for and or are running for and or held political office as Republicans. All of them want to limit other people's rights, one of them was openly a Nazi.

Sorry Russell Pearce, we have all seen the Mormon baptism certificate you signed for J T Ready, and there you are embracing him for a picture at an anti-immigration rally.

Mormonism is a religion founded by Joseph Smith in the 19th century after being caught fucking a woman he wasn't married to. He insisted God told him to have sex with women other than his wife and created a new religion based on that practice. What I have read of Emma Smith makes it clear she was not at all happy with her husband's new religion that allowed polygamy, but Joseph Smith insisted on having four more wives whether she liked it or not. Many Mormons today don't practice polygamy (I lived in Idaho for four years, I know for a fact some Mormons still do practice polygamy), but they still treat women like lower class citizens. Mitt Romney told a divorced pregnant woman who for some reason was still a Mormon on purpose either give up her baby for adoption or she would be excommunicated. Absolutely true. The woman saw the light and she's not a Mormon any more. Divorced female Mormons are not allowed to remarry, divorced male Mormons can get married (and married and married and married) after as many divorces as they wish.

Mormons hate women, hate gays and lesbians, and they sure as hell hate minorities. The poison attitude and beliefs of these people permeate anywhere they are a significant part of the population in this country ... like Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. I've seen stranger things to base a religion on. The difference is none of them are as horrible and dangerous as the Mormons. Now how can we honestly consider voting one of these lunatics into the White House?

And while I write this, Rachel Maddow is talking about Mormon billionaire Frank Vandersloot, the man bankrolling Mitt Romney's campaign. He likes to out gays and pay for anti-gay billboards in the state. What a piece of shit. But why would I be surprised? He's Mormon, after all.

Almost a year ago in Merry Olde England a scandal broke out much to everyone's horror/delight and it still hasn't stopped. When someone as evil as Rupert Murdoch's involved, it's to be expected. Couldn't happen to a more deserving scumbag either.

Chances are if you read a newspaper, watch the news on TV, listen to the news on the radio, use the internet, read magazines or books ... you're making Rupert Murdoch richer. He owns media all over the world and likes to hobnob with politicians. Rupe uses his power to be a kingmaker - someone who can make or break political careers. With his influence he can get the right people into office who then do things for him. See: 2000 US presidential election.

What things can politicians Rupert Murdoch helps do for him? Do things like green light his desire to own so much media, he controls everything.

This is what was happening in the UK; Rupert Murdoch wanted to own all of BSkyB and he came very close to doing it. What stopped him? A murdered 13 year old girl. No, he didn't kill her ... maybe. We'll never know because his hack journalists tampered with evidence in their zeal for a sexy scoop to sell more newspapers.

The question is will this wonderful three ring circus come to a nation near you? In the US, I am pleased to say yes it is. The FBI is investigating possible misdeeds with News Corp journalists here. The Senate is looking into setting up a committee investigation. Now that the UK government has handed down the declaration that Rupert Murdoch is unfit to run a media company, can we hope the same happens here? I know I sure as hell am. Dare to dream of a Fox News-free America. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

Is there more scandal coming in the UK? You bet there is. There's stuff no one but a few have seen yet that will make the existing scandal seem very insignificant. Pop some popcorn, kick back and wait for the show. It's going to be a hell of a summer.

I stopped working on Pierian Spring a while ago because I realized that one of my main characters, Andrew was a Harvard College student and I didn't know much about Harvard College in the 18th century. I did as much research as I could online and with the history books on hand, but knew eventually I would need to find more thorough sources to flesh out Andrew's academic life.

Oh happy day it was when a google books search led me to Revolutionary Generation, a book about the Harvard class of 1774. The book covers the lives of 204 students during their four years from 1771 to 1774. I read through everything offered in the Google books preview, but as you know with Google book previews pages and sections are left out, and knew I needed to read all of this book.

No problem, that's what libraries are for! I worked in the cataloging department of a large university library for 4 years, I love the library. The two best places in the world are libraries and book shops because I say so.

Of course, living in the Manistee National Forest of Michigan means I am nowhere near a large university depository library where a book like this might be, so I head to my local public library's website where I can request the book through inter-library loan. I check the public side of OCLC to see where the closest library that the book in their holdings might be, then put in the request through the online form my public library provides.

Then, I sit back and wait. I know inter-library loans can take from a week to up to a month, so I put working on my novel on hold until the book arrived. I really should have a clue about what Andrew's life at Harvard was like before I write about Andrew's life at Harvard, right? Right!

And I wait a little longer ... one month passes, two months ... three months ...

Huh? That's not how it works, especially when copies of the book are sitting in East Lansing and Kalamazoo. A trip to the library is in order it seems.

I need income tax forms anyway, so while I have copies of those made, I ask about their inter-library loan program and how long does it usually take? I explain about the form on the website that I filled out months before and never received any notice.

The librarian looked at me, and I swear this is what she said ... "We have an online form for that?"

Uh, yeah honey, ya sure do. I didn't say that out loud; thinking it the whole time though. The librarian suggested trying again. I took my tax forms, and a job application and left for home.

A week later I stopped again to check on the status. Different librarian there and didn't have a clue what I was talking about. "Perhaps you should bring in your titles hand written and we can process your request that way?" It became obvious to me I would need to do this old school.

Not that I mind old school, as stated earlier I spent four years working in the cataloging department of a large university library right when everything digital switched to awesome looking but memory bogging graphics. It looks pretty though, and that's all that matters right? I miss the card catalog.

So I waited another week and returned. This time I had my job application filled out and a hand written list of the titles I wanted to request for ILL. I handed the librarian the application, then asked about the books I wanted, and offered her that list.

"Oh wait, one of your books is in! I have it right here!" She pulled the book out from the bottom of the pile on her desk and showed it to me.

Hooray!

She stamped the due date in it for me, and even waived the $2.00 fee 'for my trouble'. Then she really hit me with the most mind-boggling part of this book Odyssey - The librarian who handles the website had no idea what that ILL form was for, so ... wait for it ... SHE JUST DELETED ALL THE BOOK REQUESTS WHEN THEY SHOWED UP ON THE SYSTEM.

Let me repeat, this ILL book request form is on the library website, but they had no idea it was there. Because they had no idea it was there, when people filled it out they didn't know what it was for, so they deleted the requests and forgot about them. Problem solved!

Oi ...

I am very happy to have my book. I am learning lots of great things that I can use in my novel to flesh out Andrew's life as a Harvard student. Perhaps I could write a scene where he struggles to find a book in the college library?

Griffin often spends the night outside. He has acres of forest to prowl after all, which keeps a young cat busy. So busy sometimes I step on the back porch and call for him in the morning if he hasn't made an appearance. This morning was one of those mornings. Usually if he spends the night indoors he bites at my toes under the covers to wake me up because he's ready for breakfast. If he's been outside he's at the back door waiting for me to let him in.



This morning was one of those mornings Griffin stayed out all night and I had to call him in. Imagine my surprise when he calmly strutted onto the porch with a freshly killed mouse in his mouth.

Oh Joy.

He dropped the mouse at the door and waited for me to let him in. I opened the door and he started to walk in, then went back and picked up his mouse as if he was going to bring IT in.

"No Griffin, leave the mouse outside." Oh great, now I have to clean up dead mouse. Griffin dropped the mouse again and sauntered proudly into the house. I spent a few moments praising him and petting him, telling him what a wonderful hunter he was and all that crap. He eventually wandered over to the bowl of food waiting for him, began to eat, then stopped and walked back to the door, looking at the mouse carcass on the porch.

"You're not done with it, I take it?" I let him out again. He sniffed at the mouse and began to eat.

Alright, fresh meat is always better than whatever that stuff is in the can. I will now have to clean up uneaten mouse bits instead of an entire dead mouse ... yay. I leave him to his meal and go back to do my morning routine of checking email and news while waking up with a hot cup of coffee.

A little while later I walk back into the kitchen for a coffee refill, and see half eaten mouse now bleeding all over the porch. Not far away is Griffin, looking at the mouse. Next to him is a pile of ...

Oh no ... Griffin has unleashed the Hairball of Doom.

Hairball mixed with stomach fluids and ... masticated mouse bits.

I hang my head and silently berate myself for mentally complaining about cleaning up a whole dead mouse. Now I have bleeding dead half-eaten mouse, and hairball in a fresh mouse reduction waiting for my attention.

Sighing heavily, I grab the roll of paper towels and get to work. Fortunately Grandma's porch has that indoor-outdoor carpet that makes clean up a breeze compared to the stuff she had installed in the house.

Griffin calmly walked into the house and curled up on my bed to go to sleep. He's had a busy night.

between Metalheads and quality of life.

I've been thinking much on this manufactured by the Repugnithugs "War on Women" which has been unleashed to distract and confuse Americans during a critical election cycle. This is hitting people close to home because it's obtuse and hateful, much like anyone who willingly votes Republican are also obtuse and hateful.

Then it dawned on me, we need to hit Repugnithugs close to home and go after what they consider dear to their hearts.

Therefore, I propose the following: Immediately draft legislation to have "IN GOD WE TRUST" removed from our currency, and "UNDER GOD" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.

The motto hasn't always been there. It first appeared in 1864 during the Civil War, then off and on until 1909, when the public demanded it be displayed on American currency again. IN GOD WE TRUST didn't become the official motto of the United States until 1956, which of course was in response to the Cold War. I've posted about the history of the Pledge of Allegiance more than once on this very blog, and I still enjoy pointing out that the original pledge was written by Socialist Francis Bellamy. The pledge has been changed three times since he wrote the original one, and of course we no longer perform the Bellamy salute.



Can't imagine why ...

Just think what would happen if we did pass legislation to remove all the G*d references from our money and school indoctrination? Damn right, their heads would explode. President Obama decided to join them rather than fight them and use their own bullshit against them in this election campaign, why shouldn't the rest of us do the same thing to counteract the bullshit War on Women? Write your progressive congressperson and ask them to support and propose this measure, then sit back and enjoy the hilarity that will most definitely ensue. Nothing like injecting a little chaos into the process, and see what comes of it! As for Republicans losing their heads ... since they're Republicans they never use them anyway.