A Change in Projects

I am blocked in my writing. Well, for a certain project I am blocked. I wanted to write a satire on the perfect “tiger moms”. Trying to writing about a seemingly perfect but actually bad Mom has been depressing to me. I just cannot work on this project right now. Perhaps I need to let my kids get older, or maybe it is just because it is winter. Or it could be a bad idea, I am not sure. I am such a newbie at this.

I have been chastising myself, saying I am not hard core enough. A true artist would suffer for their “art”. If you have read my blogs in the past, you may know that depression is a problem for me, so I really should avoid it if I can. In reading the first two books of “A Saga of Fire and Ice” by George R.R. Martin, I envy his scope because it is truly a complex and fascinating world he has built. But, in that story are some very nasty people. Nasty characters do nasty things, and it is the job of the writer to bring those actions to the page, to carry the story along. It is a hard thing in writing, at least for me right now. Maybe, if I have been doing this for twenty years, I will be more used to it. Needless to say, but these feelings have also just turned me off to the story. Perhaps it just needs to be a short story. Or the fact that it is about Motherhood, a very important role in my life right now. Any which way, I am backing away from that project for now.

So, I am working on something with a little less satire and a little more adventure. It is an exciting in a way, and it is definitely different from “The Chronicles of IDIOT”. Although there may be those who think I should have added more of an adventure aspect to IDIOT, but that could be in the future, if I try to expand the IDIOT universe. It depends upon if there is any demand for more IDIOT books. Since there has not been much sales, I haven't felt much of a pull to try to expand that story. I have ideas about a prequel and for more detailed stories. We shall see.

I don't want to say too much about my new idea. But, it is a fun idea with a little history, a little biotech, a little absurdity, and a little controversy. He he!

Things To Be Thankful For...

I am thankful for my beautiful family, hilarious friends and our wonderful home.

That Tucson has mild winters.

That I have the time to try to be a writer.

That we have fewer dictators in this world.

That I do not have an addictive personality.

That Gabrielle Giffords actually survived a gunshot wound to the head.

That my kids seem to be learning something in school.

The lack of NBA games, who needs them! (Still in anger phase).

Now that Kim Kardashian's marriage is over, she will just fade from the spotlight, right?

Where we live in a democracy where we can elect our leaders who then choose what to legislate based upon the best lobbying (donations given) to them.

That we have Health and Dental Insurance, which only partially screw us over.

That we have at least one calm, rational Republican candidate for President?

That we don't live anywhere near Penn State.

That the world we live in is only partially messed up, not totally screwed. (YET!)

Anti-Intellectualism 101: Chicken-Pox Lollipops

Science and technology have blessed our country and the people of the world. If you don't think so, you might want to take back your smart phone, stop driving your car, stop going to the doctor, and move into a cave. Heck, you might as well not even use two sticks to rub together to make a fire.

Yet, there are some who rail against science. They deny published studies because it may hurt profits for an energy company. They insist that evolution not be taught in the classroom because it is not in the bible, although that would need to take Genesis literally, which many do. Or they send out Chicken Pox tainted lollipops for $50 a pop.

This last example is the latest in “I don't trust them doctors” mentality. Nobody who is mentally healthy likes getting shots and especially giving them to their kids. But a shot is a lot better than getting a disease that can kill you. They think the middle ground is having a Pox party, which 100 years ago might have been a good idea. But we now have vaccines: which are safe, multiply-tested, and certified not to cause Autism. These vaccines can give immunity without the child getting sick. So, yes, I think a shot is a lot better than a disease. The Pox party/lollipop proponents say that getting the disease “naturally” give “natural immunity”. Yes, but it also gives your child (and everyone around them) the risk of deadly complications. Many people used to die of Chicken Pox, it may seem a cute children's disease, but in adults (and some children), it is deadly serious.

Frankly, I think those who sell the Chicken Pox lollipops for $50 a pop are the students of the masters of the three card monty. Con Artists thrive in a recession and we are recovering from the mother of all recessions for the past 100 years. Isn't there that saying that a sucker is born every minute? Those suckers want to give their kids suckers that have been sucked on by a stranger. That sucker could have ANYTHING ON IT! I would rather pay to have my doctor jab my kid with a needle to prevent disease, than play: “what's on the lollipop along with the Chicken Pox?”

We have freedom of choice; and parents have the choice to not vaccinate their children, home-school them, and try to keep them from all the “evils of the world”. I am all for choice, but a choice involves using your brain. So when making a choice, please try to keep all options available. Because trusting a stranger selling $50 lollipops about vaccinations more than your Pediatrician is just plain scary.

Some of my future posts will further discuss Anti-Intellectualism, since I think this is a serious problem in our world today.

Actual Chronicles of Idiocy – 2

All good things bring sequels. The sequel may or may not be better than the original but it is usually bigger. So, for this chronicle of idiocy, we are going bigger and I will actually show I am more than a bit of an idiot at times.

The NBA Lockout

Remember basketball? I vaguely recall it, there used to be this league for that game, I think. But, it seems that there are quite a few over paid, spoiled people involved with that sport. They are millionaires fighting with other millionaires over millions of dollars. The people who actually love the sport are left trying to enjoy bowling or god forbid – soccer. Yes, I know the NFL season is on now, but that is a once a week sport where b-ball had at least two or three games a week. Given our ADD culture, I don't think the NFL is even close to enough.

Greece/Europe

When a government makes an agreement for a bailout and is just about to receive the money, the leader should not then say “Hey, now let's put this up to a vote.” Too late, the agreement was already made. Therefore, after Greece's Prime Minister did just that, the world's stock markets went topsy turvy. Then again, the whole set-up with Europe is kind of idiotic, like a half-built house. They have the foundation of a common currency. But, without the roof and walls of an agreed upon and enforced taxation laws throughout the Euro-zone, it is not a surprise that everyone is getting rained upon.

“The Onion” Creates Confusion

I love the Onion, a satirical newspaper. Recently, they put out an article called “Study Finds Every Style of Parenting Produces Disturbed, Miserable Adults”. The reaction to this article was beautifully idiotic. The article sites the real California Parenting Institute as the authors of this fictional study. Unfortunately, some of the good people at the CPI did not know that the Onion is only known for satire. Some were asked about this study, saying they did not know it was occurring and and wanted to know who was doing the work. Don't believe me? Check out this link: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/01/parents-believe-onion-article-freak-out-accordingly/

I guess it is best when you do satire, to not name actual agencies, they may freak out.

My Own Writing Process

I wrote a book. Yeah! Now, I am getting feedback that is not so positive about it. Ick. It seems that I was so excited to get this book done, I must have rushed the creative process. There is some leeway about this, and I am still proud of what I did, maybe I should have given it more time. But that was the first try, and in working on my next project(s), I will definitely try to not jump the gun.  

Manufactured Monsters

There are many monsters we have created in fiction and urban legend. Sesame Street even turned the concept of monsters on it's head and makes them fun, fuzzy, friends of our toddlers. For Halloween this year, I want to discuss the concept of monsters and show the different ones our psyches will just not let go and new ones our media just will not let go.

Vampires

Ah, the classic monster, a creature that gets nourishment from drinking the blood of other creatures. Ever since Bram Stoker introduced Dracula into popular culture, the Vampire has been the quintessential monster. There are quite a few examples of “vampiric” animals in nature: mosquitoes, leeches, and a certain south American bat instantly come to mind. I am actually surprised there are not more vampires in nature since blood is quite healthful. Although now in popular culture, it seems that Vampires are sexy. True Blood, Eclipse, as well as numerous TV shows are showing young-looking Vampires with old souls that just want a little blood. I am not sure which is more absurd, the Sesame Street friendly monster or the sexy vampire.

Frankenstein's Monster

Thanks a lot, Mary Shelly. You have really screwed up science, ever since you wrote that book. You know the one I am talking about. Your monster, a reanimated man, has given reason for many people to loathe scientists and science. Mad science may be cool to some, but real science and scientists suffer.

The Mummy, and no I am not talking about Hockey Moms

The Mummy's Curse is based on Archeologists and grave robbers disturbing the Pharaoh’s tombs in Egypt. Many think the Pharaoh's so protected their treasures in the tombs that they were able to kill anyone who disturbed their crypts. Later evidence points to a deadly fungus which was present in the tombs as the cause of the “curse” which did kill possibly ten people. As to whether the tombs naturally had these fungi or if they were introduced by the Egyptians before the tomb was sealed is still a mystery for archeologists to answer.

Werewolves

People turning into wolves by the light of the full moon. Origins of this monster come from Europe and may have to do more with serial killers than wolves. Perhaps something evil that a person has done is so horrific that others have to explain it by saying they became an animal. There is a rare genetic condition called hypertrichosis, where the sufferer has thick hair growing all over their body may give the appearance of a man-wolf. It is sad that those people with these sorts of genetic anomalies were automatically assumed to be monsters.

Bigfoot

Mr. Bigfoot, also known as the Sasquatch or theYeti depending upon where in the world you are asking about a huge man-like ape. This is a variation on the werewolves except that many people thing these are just incredibly rare creatures or just an urban legend. They may exist, but I think there are many more hoaxes out there then real evidence for these creatures. It may be that there are hermits out there that want to be alone, and therefore scare people off.

Ghosts

I think many people want to believe in ghosts, spectral dead people who walk this planet before going to the “other side”. It explains weird things that happen, and some people must think this is how someone who dies a wrongful death can get revenge beyond the grave. I have never seen a ghost, but I do have friends who wholeheartedly believe they exist. It seems like our psyches sometimes need them to exist.

Chupacabra

This creature is a recent urban legend, the “goat sucker” is another cryptozoology mystery, like bigfoot.  A legend of the Americas, although they have been found in other parts of the world as well, and the hispanic community. Many skeptics think they are dogs or coyotes with terrible cases of mange.

Zombies

Zombies are hot this year. They are the monster of the year. A friend of mine posted on Facebook that he was going to write a biology lecture on zombies for Halloween. I joked that “zombies are so last summer”, but he quickly posted back that they are “still very hot, just look at the ratings for 'The Walking Dead'”. And he is right. For whatever reason, possibly recession induced, zombies which are people infected with a virus so virulent it makes their skin fall off their bones and turns them into cannibals, giving the famous “Brains....brains...” cry when they are hunting for fresh humans to feed upon. And if they only bite you, well then you become a zombie as well. Ick.

You know it is interesting how there are many parallels between all of these monsters. Vampires, werewolves and zombies make more of their kind by biting prey. The chupacabra is an animal form of a vampire. Werewolves and Bigfoot both are in the very least quite hairy human-like creatures. Frankenstein's Monster and zombies both have anti-science elements to them due to mad science or a rogue (possibly genetically engineered) virus that creates the zombies. All of these manufactured monsters find something in our collective psyche that scares the hell out of us. It seems these scary stories were started to keep people in the tribe, for leaving the tribe might mean a very scary fate, whether that is death by starvation, or death by a wolf. Today, it keeps our children from venturing too far from their parents, and some just seems to be entertainment so teenagers have an excuse to jump into each others arms (as if they need one). Although there are true monsters out there, and they are very human and whether propelled by greed or psychosis, we still need to be wary of them.

Have a Happy Halloween and be safe out there!

The Death of a Country By a Million Cuts

My son started Kindergarten this year. This was a big transition for him... and me. For him it was a transition to an all day school and the rigors of learning his ABC's and 123's. For me, it was learning that I was taking on a voluntary part-time job without my knowledge. It seems that no matter the school, fundraisers are an integral part of their budget. Even high class private schools have fundraisers. I have been inundated with information on how this school needs these extra funds and don't I care about my son's education? If I did, I would do all I could to raise more funds for the school. I am doing a few things, but honestly, I have other things I need to do. Unfortunately, one of those things is fundraising for my son's soccer team. If it is not one thing it is another...

I asked my mom if she remembers having to do lots of fundraising for my brother's and my education. She said there was a little, but not like it is today. It seems like these things are no longer our city's, state's, or country's priority. And that is a sad thing. A few years ago, our school district had to shut down 6 schools. It is a large school district, but I think that any time a school is shut down, it is a tragedy.

So why are we having to do so much more fund-raising now a days? Well, things everywhere have been cut back. Taxes have been cut as well, and while that may put more money in people's pockets, it also takes it away from things like education. Education is an investment. If you are investing in possible workers for your company, wouldn't you want them to be well educated? Wouldn't that make your business better in the future? But no, nobody is thinking like that now. Right now, it is all about what is wrong with education and government and we should cut it back; not thinking about who that could hurt or how far those repercussions could last.

I agree that budgets need to be balanced and cut are necessary. Unnecessary waste needs to be cut, but lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater. If we cut too much, too soon we could be heading to losing our middle class and on our way to becoming a third world country. I have a feeling that the extremely rich would not mind that at all, as long as they got to keep as much money as possible. But for the rest of us, things would get a lot harder. Our middle class that was built in the early to middle part of the last century made our country strong. Do we really want to lose that?

Having watched the Occupy Wall Street and other protests around the country, I certainly understand their point of view. Since I have children, I am not going out to protest. Sorry, but my kids come first. There is an excellent book by Tracy Chavlier called “Falling Angels”. It is the story of suffragettes in England at the turn of the century. Yes, they were doing important work, but it also showed how their children suffered because their Mother's thought that protesting was more important than raising their children. I just cannot do that, protesting is for the young and angry. Most of the rest of us are too busy to keep up with that. But it does not mean that we do not understand where they are coming from.

I am one of the 99%. It seems that more importance is being placed on material things than extremely important things like education. We have seen a crest of success in this country, but now it is over, so many children are no longer doing better than their parents. Are we witnessing the decline of the United States of America? I will try to vote in a way to slow it down and hope that my children will still do better than me. It may not be protesting, but it is the easiest way every citizen to tell our leaders what our priorities are for the future.

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”

I was saddened to hear about Steve Jobs' passing earlier this week. At age 56, it seemed like such a young age to die. But, when you are battling cancer, as he was in the past, all of your time is a gift.

Now, I am not a MAC/Apple person. My father used to own a Macintosh computer, and liked the user friendliness aspects. I seem to be ambidextrous about computers, as long as I learn to use them, I can use them. Others see it differently. They HAVE to use a Mac or the HAVE to use a PC. Maybe it is because I am left-handed and have had to be more accommodating in a right-handed world that I don't have a computer preference.

I am fine with PC's, in fact I am writing on one right now. But, in college, I had an experience that made me consider the Gateway computer lines a “Gateway to Hell”. That was due to lost data. I learned later that it was a graduate student who had dumped my data (of which I had worked long hours to input) so he could load a computer game. So, it really was not the computer's fault, but I can't help but consider Gateways any other way. My husband had a considerably hard time writing his thesis on a Mac and has never liked Apple products. It might also be the fact that he likes to build computers and the Apple people really don't let you do that. Also, affording an Apple product is kind of a stretch for our family, that is just the way it is.

But, I am not trying to Apple bash, they make fine, beautiful products. How else could they be doing so well now? That is mainly due to Mr Jobs' vision. Here, I would like to honor Mr. Jobs as a visionary and discuss his speech given in 2005 to the graduating class of Stanford University.

If you have not heard or read his speech, I highly recommend it, it is quite inspiring. I heard it on NPR (yes, I listen to them quite often) when it was played for the last half an hour of “Talk of the Nation” last Thursday. Here is a link to a Guardian article with the text of the speech, and commentary (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/09/steve-jobs-stanford-commencement-address?newsfeed=true ).


Mr. Jobs gives 3 stories of his life which shaped him to the person he was at the end of his life. The lessons are a kind of opposite to the standard ones you hear in commencement speeches. He dropped out of college and considers it a good thing for life (most people would just consider him a drop-out). It is interesting that many of the Silicon Valley big-wigs did not finish college. Maybe just a few years was enough for them. The second story is about his being fired from Apple. Yes, it is true. He got brought back when his company NEXT got bought by Apple, but still, he got fired. The last story is about how he was diagnosed with cancer and had to face death. Doing so bravely, and wanting to live life to it's fullest.

The lessons are all about how to face adversity. Sure, first you are probably devastated by anything like this happening in your life. But, as Mr. Jobs points out from his life, you can take dropping-out, getting fired, and facing down death as opportunities. These things make sure you focus your life.

He was the visionary he was about technology, but he was also focused on his goals because he knew everything else was secondary. It is a lot easier to have a clear vision of what you want in life if you focus on what is important to you. What do you love? Is it your priority?

My great loves are my family and my writing. In that order. I do try to keep everything else out of my focus. My writing suffers, but my children have to come first, I just have to trust that everything will then work out.

The last thing Mr. Jobs discussed in his commencement speech was a saying from the Whole Earth Catalog that he uses as his last recommendation for everyone. I think he would want this to be his words of advice to the whole world: stay hungry, stay foolish.


Now, at first glance, you might think those are insane words of advice to anyone. But the opposite of that is stay satiated, stay sensible. Those words are what is expected, and those who do what is expected usually do not make an impact in this world. Yes, you are doing alright, but are you doing what you love? Sometimes you do have to just hope that things will work out for the best and take chances.


So, I agree with Mr. Jobs, because time is short. It certainly was for him and I do believe he lived his life to the fullest.


Therefore, stay hungry and stay foolish.



We are traveling to Texas for a week to attend a family wedding.  Being on the road makes it more difficult to blog for me, so I am taking next week off.  See you in two weeks!