Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Herman Cain?
A Republican FB friend posted: "Herman Cain? Stomped Perry and everybody else in the Florida straw vote! Whoa buddy!"
Brian Leekley I just looked at the Wikipedia articles about Cain. I disagree nearly 100% with his positions and in some cases, like tax rates, advocate the opposite of what he does (not that I'm an expert but just going by common sense), but I can see right off that he's smart, competent, and has leadership qualities. He'd be a formidable opponent of President Obama in 2012. My first impression is that Cain is very conservation economically, politically, and socially but is relatively less of a looney crackpot than some of the other contenders to be the 2012 Republican candidate for President, so he might get moderate Republican votes that Obama is probably also seeking.
Brian Leekley I just looked at the Wikipedia articles about Cain. I disagree nearly 100% with his positions and in some cases, like tax rates, advocate the opposite of what he does (not that I'm an expert but just going by common sense), but I can see right off that he's smart, competent, and has leadership qualities. He'd be a formidable opponent of President Obama in 2012. My first impression is that Cain is very conservation economically, politically, and socially but is relatively less of a looney crackpot than some of the other contenders to be the 2012 Republican candidate for President, so he might get moderate Republican votes that Obama is probably also seeking.
Friday, September 23, 2011
StudentsFirst query
Brian Leekley
A group called StudentsFirst is pushing a change.com petition promoting a bill called Empowering Parents Through Charter Schools Act, which passed the House "with bipartisan support" and is on its way to the Senate. Reading about StudentsFirst online, I couldn't determine if it's on the up and up or is just a propaganda ploy to get public support for laws shafting teachers. What are the pros and cons of the Act and of Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst organization?
A group called StudentsFirst is pushing a change.com petition promoting a bill called Empowering Parents Through Charter Schools Act, which passed the House "with bipartisan support" and is on its way to the Senate. Reading about StudentsFirst online, I couldn't determine if it's on the up and up or is just a propaganda ploy to get public support for laws shafting teachers. What are the pros and cons of the Act and of Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst organization?
Chef knife and bassinet
A FB friend posted gratitude for 2 laundry baskets she has used daily for circa 16 years and others commented on long lasting tools.
Brian Leekley Sometime in the late 50s or early 60s when I was a teen I gave my ma for her birthday a Sebatier chef knife. She used it for both cooking and gardening. A few years ago it got passed down to me. It's rusty and worn but still my preferred knife for chopping vegetables. Someone gave my ma a wicker bassinet in the late 40s for a baby. Then it was a laundry basket (or book basket) for over 40 years before wearing out. Other tools have gotten left behind through the years that I'm sure someone is still using. I'm grateful that life sometimes brings one such items.
Brian Leekley Sometime in the late 50s or early 60s when I was a teen I gave my ma for her birthday a Sebatier chef knife. She used it for both cooking and gardening. A few years ago it got passed down to me. It's rusty and worn but still my preferred knife for chopping vegetables. Someone gave my ma a wicker bassinet in the late 40s for a baby. Then it was a laundry basket (or book basket) for over 40 years before wearing out. Other tools have gotten left behind through the years that I'm sure someone is still using. I'm grateful that life sometimes brings one such items.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
D. H. Lawrence
Friend: "The only reason for being alive is being fully alive." D.H. Lawrence
Brian Leekley: I liked Lawrence's novels, such as SONS AND LOVERS, THE RAINBOW, and WOMEN IN LOVE. Have you read much of him? The only reason for being alive is that life is kind of interesting.
Friend: Yes, I have read all of him and have written paper on him as well. He is one of my favorites. He died very young.
Brian Leekley: Lawrence lived 1985 to 1930 so he was only 45 when he died of TB. Makes one at 69 think it's time to get working and get some quality writing done.
Friend: Wow, I thought he was younger. i might be thinking of that poet who died young, is it Yeats? I wonder what the life expectancy was in 1930.
Friend: Looks like it was 58. Thank you, internet!
Brian Leekley: Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) stopped creative writing before he was 21 and died of cancer at 37. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) died of pneumonia at 39. Albert Camus (1913-1960) died in a car accident at 46. So it goes.
Brian Leekley: I liked Lawrence's novels, such as SONS AND LOVERS, THE RAINBOW, and WOMEN IN LOVE. Have you read much of him? The only reason for being alive is that life is kind of interesting.
Friend: Yes, I have read all of him and have written paper on him as well. He is one of my favorites. He died very young.
Brian Leekley: Lawrence lived 1985 to 1930 so he was only 45 when he died of TB. Makes one at 69 think it's time to get working and get some quality writing done.
Friend: Wow, I thought he was younger. i might be thinking of that poet who died young, is it Yeats? I wonder what the life expectancy was in 1930.
Friend: Looks like it was 58. Thank you, internet!
Brian Leekley: Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) stopped creative writing before he was 21 and died of cancer at 37. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) died of pneumonia at 39. Albert Camus (1913-1960) died in a car accident at 46. So it goes.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Fozy
Brian Leekley
My new favorite word is "fozy". Someone played it in a Scrabble game. I'd better eat my fruit before it gets fozy. My brain is getting fozy with age. Brian has a fozy belly from eating bismarks full of jelly.
My new favorite word is "fozy". Someone played it in a Scrabble game. I'd better eat my fruit before it gets fozy. My brain is getting fozy with age. Brian has a fozy belly from eating bismarks full of jelly.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Baby tortoise
Friend: Saw a beautiful baby tortoise today, about the size of a quarter (about 2.5 cm? across).
Friend of friend: where? did you leave it there? some mean crow might eat it!
Friend: I left it there. Wasn't at all sure I'd be able to break the glass that separated us in the zoo's Tropical House.
Brian Leekley: Mean crows and people eat turtles. Some mean turtles eat bugs and worms. Mean bugs and worms eat people, turtles, and crows. Conclusion: a) the mean get to eat; b) meanness is relative to which side of the mouth you're on; c) what goes around comes around; d) it's all good; e) if you deprive a crow of a baby turtle meal, give it some roadkill to compensate; f) vegan is best.
Friend of friend: not entirely sure how Brian got to (f) but I'm glad the tortoise was safe (if we can call being behind glass in a cage safe)
Friend of friend: where? did you leave it there? some mean crow might eat it!
Friend: I left it there. Wasn't at all sure I'd be able to break the glass that separated us in the zoo's Tropical House.
Brian Leekley: Mean crows and people eat turtles. Some mean turtles eat bugs and worms. Mean bugs and worms eat people, turtles, and crows. Conclusion: a) the mean get to eat; b) meanness is relative to which side of the mouth you're on; c) what goes around comes around; d) it's all good; e) if you deprive a crow of a baby turtle meal, give it some roadkill to compensate; f) vegan is best.
Friend of friend: not entirely sure how Brian got to (f) but I'm glad the tortoise was safe (if we can call being behind glass in a cage safe)
Odd number of slices in a loaf of bread
A friend posted: "... why is there an odd number of slices in a loaf of bread ....?"
Brian Leekley: My bread theory: To have a classic loaf of bread shape, the middle slice needs to be the largest, with each slice in turn to the left and right of that being of about equal size, each subsequent slice on the left and the right being a little smaller. With matching slices on either side of the one biggest slice, there must be an odd number of slices. Of course one can cheat and get an even number of slices by not having all slices of uniform width. Mathematicians, is that right?
Brian Leekley: My bread theory: To have a classic loaf of bread shape, the middle slice needs to be the largest, with each slice in turn to the left and right of that being of about equal size, each subsequent slice on the left and the right being a little smaller. With matching slices on either side of the one biggest slice, there must be an odd number of slices. Of course one can cheat and get an even number of slices by not having all slices of uniform width. Mathematicians, is that right?
Palestine in UN?
Commenting on a link pertaining to a petition to the UN for Palestinian statehood:
Brian Leekley The experience of the USA has been that what works well is one nation with freedom of religion / thought and no established religion and with many ethnicities welcomed and honored within a broad consensus of permitted behaviors.
Brian Leekley The experience of the USA has been that what works well is one nation with freedom of religion / thought and no established religion and with many ethnicities welcomed and honored within a broad consensus of permitted behaviors.
Friday, September 16, 2011
NY Times: White House Weighs Limits of Terror Fight
Brian Leekley:
Michael Corleone: "I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies." Does might make right? Is the USA Boss of Bosses of the world? Is there any limit to the legal and moral justifications for killings ordered or authorized by the President? How do state power and inter-nation conflicts differ from gangsterism and gang wars? Will killing more people result in more friends and fewer enemies?
Friend:
Bumper Sticker: We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them
Michael Corleone: "I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies." Does might make right? Is the USA Boss of Bosses of the world? Is there any limit to the legal and moral justifications for killings ordered or authorized by the President? How do state power and inter-nation conflicts differ from gangsterism and gang wars? Will killing more people result in more friends and fewer enemies?
Friend:
Bumper Sticker: We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them
Commenting on an anti-pollution link
Brian Leekley Or is unregulated industry with its polluters and other destroyers of life and life support systems needed to cull the overpopulated human herd?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Immigration politics
Comments on link to How the Right Made Racism Sound Fair and Changed Immigration Politics - COLORLINES colorlines.com
Brian Leekley Make sense?
Brian Leekley The main thing to keep in mind about immigration policies and practices is that capitalist investors and those looking out for their interests use them to both increase the pool of workers competing for jobs and at the same time to keep workers divided and unorganized. For a dramatization of this, see the movie or read the novel THE GRAPES OF WRATH.
Brian Leekley Make sense?
Brian Leekley The main thing to keep in mind about immigration policies and practices is that capitalist investors and those looking out for their interests use them to both increase the pool of workers competing for jobs and at the same time to keep workers divided and unorganized. For a dramatization of this, see the movie or read the novel THE GRAPES OF WRATH.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Me and My Magic Jack
Last August I bought a Magic Jack gadget. $39.99 paid for the gadget plus the first year of service. Each additional year of service will be $19.99. For that under $20 per year I can make otherwise free calls to numbers in the US and very cheap calls to other countries.
At the time that I got my Magic Jack I did not have a landline phone or a cell phone, and my Magic Jack phone came in handy a few times. But in the following months I soon had alternatives. I can make free phone calls without a gadget and with no service charge using Gmail Talk. I can make free webcam calls with Skype. For months I have had an AARP discounted prepaid cell phone with which I text with my wife. So for many months my Magic Jack gadget lay unused in a file drawer.
Then the other day I made up the lyrics of a song, and I wanted to hear myself sing it to the tune in my head, and I remembered the niftiest feature of the Magic Jack service.
When someone calls my Magic Jack phone number and doesn't get an answer (because I don't keep the program running or the gadget plugged into a USB port), they get a voice message from me saying to leave a messge. If they do leave a voice mail message, that is sent to me as a .wav digital audio file attached to an email.
So I used my cell phone to call my Magic Jack number; sang my song; got the email; listened; revised my scribbled notes of the lyrics; deleted the email; called and sang again, and so on until I was satisfied.
How is that better than a tape recorder? Because I get the recording as an email attachment on a free email service, I don't need to buy and to store audio tapes. And like any email attached file, it's easy to share the .wav files.
I've started experimenting with making up stories. My expectation is that I can make up a story off the top of my head as I speak to my Magic Jack voice mail; listen; try again; get opinions; call and tell the story again, and so on, and have a good core story that holds attention and entertains before I write a word of it.
That'll give me an incentive to go for sundown and twilight walks, to both tell improvised stories to my cell phone and get my exercise.
I can, and no doubt will, use my Flip video camera that I got for my birthday for the same purpose of verbally improvising stories. The Flip has the advantage of recording both video and audio, and I can save Flip files, too, to my computer. The Flip camera has the advantage, but sometimes making a phone call is more convenient. Like, people will scarcely notice someone walking while talking on a cell phone but might think it odd to see someone strolling along talking to a Flip camera held in front of their face.
Magic Jack's voice mail to email feature has the additional use of recording, saving, and sharing voice and sound messages of historical significance. Did you reach the mountain top? Call and shout the news. Did you just give birth? Call. Did your sweetheart just say yes to your marriage proposal? Call and ask her to repeat those precious words. Did you just catch the biggest perch in Waybackdar County history? Call to capture the moment with a message to the world and posterity. I'll forward the email with the attached file of your spoken words of historical importance to you.
At the time that I got my Magic Jack I did not have a landline phone or a cell phone, and my Magic Jack phone came in handy a few times. But in the following months I soon had alternatives. I can make free phone calls without a gadget and with no service charge using Gmail Talk. I can make free webcam calls with Skype. For months I have had an AARP discounted prepaid cell phone with which I text with my wife. So for many months my Magic Jack gadget lay unused in a file drawer.
Then the other day I made up the lyrics of a song, and I wanted to hear myself sing it to the tune in my head, and I remembered the niftiest feature of the Magic Jack service.
When someone calls my Magic Jack phone number and doesn't get an answer (because I don't keep the program running or the gadget plugged into a USB port), they get a voice message from me saying to leave a messge. If they do leave a voice mail message, that is sent to me as a .wav digital audio file attached to an email.
So I used my cell phone to call my Magic Jack number; sang my song; got the email; listened; revised my scribbled notes of the lyrics; deleted the email; called and sang again, and so on until I was satisfied.
How is that better than a tape recorder? Because I get the recording as an email attachment on a free email service, I don't need to buy and to store audio tapes. And like any email attached file, it's easy to share the .wav files.
I've started experimenting with making up stories. My expectation is that I can make up a story off the top of my head as I speak to my Magic Jack voice mail; listen; try again; get opinions; call and tell the story again, and so on, and have a good core story that holds attention and entertains before I write a word of it.
That'll give me an incentive to go for sundown and twilight walks, to both tell improvised stories to my cell phone and get my exercise.
I can, and no doubt will, use my Flip video camera that I got for my birthday for the same purpose of verbally improvising stories. The Flip has the advantage of recording both video and audio, and I can save Flip files, too, to my computer. The Flip camera has the advantage, but sometimes making a phone call is more convenient. Like, people will scarcely notice someone walking while talking on a cell phone but might think it odd to see someone strolling along talking to a Flip camera held in front of their face.
Magic Jack's voice mail to email feature has the additional use of recording, saving, and sharing voice and sound messages of historical significance. Did you reach the mountain top? Call and shout the news. Did you just give birth? Call. Did your sweetheart just say yes to your marriage proposal? Call and ask her to repeat those precious words. Did you just catch the biggest perch in Waybackdar County history? Call to capture the moment with a message to the world and posterity. I'll forward the email with the attached file of your spoken words of historical importance to you.
Hurray!
Hurray! I did it! I just finished draft 5 of my short story in progress "Pickup in Buzzy's Bistro" — originally "Matilda on the Prowl". Now I'll set it aside for 1 or 2 or more weeks and then have a fresh look at it. Meanwhile I'll work on my website and blogs.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Why is accidently spelled accidentally?
Friend: Stacked suffixes.
Me:ah yes, I see. But, like me, do most people actually say accidently, not accidentally? And say incidently, not incidentally? Spelling should catch up with usage. Or am I in a minority of one, and do I need to relearn how to say those words?
Friend: Chomsky would say English spelling is only partly phonic and also represents underlying form. "accidentally" is a noun turned into an adjective turned yet again into an adverb, and the spelling reflects the complexity of that underlying form. You needn't pronounce the "a" any more than you need to pronounce the apostrophe I just used in "needn't". It's there to represent form, not sound.
Friend continues: But I prefer descriptive to prescriptive linguistics. There's an unending tension in English spelling between those two functions, and spelling reform has always lagged behind the audible evolution of the language.
Me: I agree. I remember that when I was a boy the Chicago Tribune was known for using simplified spelling to match pronunciation. The situation today: The spell checker for Open Office Text accepts both though and tho, does not accept altho for although or thru for through, and accepts the reform spellings catalog and donut and rejects the old spellings catalogue and doughnut. Dictionary.com accepts all of those spellings, calling tho, altho, and thru informal simplified spellings and indicating by prominence of font that catalog and donut are the preferred spellings. In olden times the ugh in though and doughnut, the gue in catalogue, and so on were pronounced as a bit of a guttural sound in the back of the throat. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_spelling_reform I like options -- to be able to write thru when I want to be efficient, modern, and logical and to write through when I want to be leisurely, old fashioned, and connected to history. Is it time for "Don't laf at my cof" to be as acceptable spellings as "Don't laugh at my cough"? Incidently the dictionary.com pronunciation audio for incidentally gives both pronunciations.
Me continuing: I just learned that it's guttural, not gutteral.
Me:ah yes, I see. But, like me, do most people actually say accidently, not accidentally? And say incidently, not incidentally? Spelling should catch up with usage. Or am I in a minority of one, and do I need to relearn how to say those words?
Friend: Chomsky would say English spelling is only partly phonic and also represents underlying form. "accidentally" is a noun turned into an adjective turned yet again into an adverb, and the spelling reflects the complexity of that underlying form. You needn't pronounce the "a" any more than you need to pronounce the apostrophe I just used in "needn't". It's there to represent form, not sound.
Friend continues: But I prefer descriptive to prescriptive linguistics. There's an unending tension in English spelling between those two functions, and spelling reform has always lagged behind the audible evolution of the language.
Me: I agree. I remember that when I was a boy the Chicago Tribune was known for using simplified spelling to match pronunciation. The situation today: The spell checker for Open Office Text accepts both though and tho, does not accept altho for although or thru for through, and accepts the reform spellings catalog and donut and rejects the old spellings catalogue and doughnut. Dictionary.com accepts all of those spellings, calling tho, altho, and thru informal simplified spellings and indicating by prominence of font that catalog and donut are the preferred spellings. In olden times the ugh in though and doughnut, the gue in catalogue, and so on were pronounced as a bit of a guttural sound in the back of the throat. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_spelling_reform I like options -- to be able to write thru when I want to be efficient, modern, and logical and to write through when I want to be leisurely, old fashioned, and connected to history. Is it time for "Don't laf at my cof" to be as acceptable spellings as "Don't laugh at my cough"? Incidently the dictionary.com pronunciation audio for incidentally gives both pronunciations.
Me continuing: I just learned that it's guttural, not gutteral.
Santa Fe, a strange world
It came to me this morning what a strange world Sana Fe is. It's the middle of June, and I have not yet seen, heard or felt a single mosquito or fly. It seems artificial, like an enclosed theme park. Even the heat is humidity controlled, with no mugginess.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Moderation re taxes
I'm for moderation; for not too high and not too low tax rates; for moderately progressive rates; for raising, lowering, or maintaining taxes according to circumstances. The stance that taxes and tax rates should always be cut and never raised makes no sense.
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Albuquerque Cheer
ABQ!
Woo woo woo!
ABQ!
I love you!
Jump with glee
for Albuquerque!
Leap about
and give a mighty shout:
[go to first line]
The sort of thing I think about while standing in the sun all afternoon.
Woo woo woo!
ABQ!
I love you!
Jump with glee
for Albuquerque!
Leap about
and give a mighty shout:
[go to first line]
The sort of thing I think about while standing in the sun all afternoon.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
I just deposited my first royalty check ever
I just deposited my first royalty check ever, for $28.94, from Whiskey Creek Press for first quarter sales of ebook copies of my novel THE SON WHO PAID ATTENTION.
I can deposit checks into my credit union account from home via my scanner and computer.
Little by little I am advancing toward becoming a professional writer. First there was the $5 I won in 8th grade for an essay contest. Then there was the $1 to option movie rights to an early draft of TSWPA for a year some years ago. Then came getting TSWPA published in September and since then buying and selling several dozen paperback copies myself. And now I've gotten a royalty check.
I can deposit checks into my credit union account from home via my scanner and computer.
Little by little I am advancing toward becoming a professional writer. First there was the $5 I won in 8th grade for an essay contest. Then there was the $1 to option movie rights to an early draft of TSWPA for a year some years ago. Then came getting TSWPA published in September and since then buying and selling several dozen paperback copies myself. And now I've gotten a royalty check.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wednesday I joined
Wednesday I joined a writing group in Santa Fe that meets semimonthly at the south side Borders Books. The founder and leader of the group calls herself Mama Bear. She's a creativity coach.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
While sign spinning today
While sign spinning today at Cerrillos and Rodeo in Santa Fe, I looked when I heard clackey-clackety. The back left wheel was coming away from a pickup truck across 6-lane Cerrillos from me. The wheel wobbled and got further and further from the truck.The driver had just time to pull into the lot of a propane gas business before the wheel and the axle shaft came off and rolled a ways before falling and stopping.
Regretfully I have to cut back on Facebook time.
Regretfully I have to cut back on Facebook time. Last night at bedtime, after an evening of clicking many Likes and commenting on everything from angst to Wisconsin, I realized I had not showered, washed dishes, done anything to market and sell my 6 months old first novel, updated my website, typed my notes, or caught up on emailing. So moderation is my new Facebook policy.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sometimes the right thing
Sometimes the right thing is to stop revving your engines, to put your body and mind in neutral for some deep meditation, deep relaxation, boundless bliss consciousness. The tendency then is to do less fretting and more just following one's nose positive action. Every day I neglect that advice and do lots of fretting and wheel spinning.
LETTERS TO A YOUNG ACTIVIST by Todd Gitllin
A couple of days or so ago I finished reading LETTERS TO A YOUNG ACTIVIST by Todd Gitllin. It's pretty good -- though of course not on a par with its model LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET by Rilke.
I admireed Gitlin back in the mid 1960s when he was a community organizer in a poor white neighborhood in Chicago. He went on to a university career, to write a number of books, and to continue to be a progressive activist. I've found that I don't always agree fully with his positions but that they have always seemed well expressed, well reasoned, and worth considering. This book has a lot of the wisdom of experience and is worth a close study. I recommend it for any book discussion group with a politically progressive outlook.
I admireed Gitlin back in the mid 1960s when he was a community organizer in a poor white neighborhood in Chicago. He went on to a university career, to write a number of books, and to continue to be a progressive activist. I've found that I don't always agree fully with his positions but that they have always seemed well expressed, well reasoned, and worth considering. This book has a lot of the wisdom of experience and is worth a close study. I recommend it for any book discussion group with a politically progressive outlook.
wobblies
It's wonderful that the Wobblies are still around. I knew some of them in Chicago in the early 1960s in a neighborhood coffeehouse that was a Leftist / anarchist / Bohemian hangout. The group was a mix of old-timers and college kids.
Priorities
The other aspect of the proposed rallies concerns government budget priorities. "Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to corporations and the very rich, and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response and vital human services." In a democracy, these are matters for argument and negotiation. Whether it is best to raise, lower, or keep level a tax or tax rate and how much of tax funds should be spent on this or that depends on circumstances. In present circumstances it seems foolhardy and counterproductive to cut funding for education, infrastructure, Medicaid, and other Republican targets. Places to look to cut government spending are the military and handouts to corporations.
The right to unionize
The right to unionize is a basic human and legal right recognized in the first amendment to the Constitution, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble" and guaranteed in the 13th amendment prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude and in the 9th amendment prohibiting the denial of whatever other rights people have. In common law, a contract needs mutual consent, and to deny employees the option of negotiating terms of employment as a group is to deny them comparable power with the employer and thus to deny mutuality of consent.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
doubts about Essene Gospel of Peace
http://www.compassionatespirit.com/strange_new_gospels.htm
This essay raises doubts about the authenticity of The Essene Gospel of Peace by Edmund Bordeaux Szekeley. I'm disappointed that Jesus may not have been a health nut after all.
This essay raises doubts about the authenticity of The Essene Gospel of Peace by Edmund Bordeaux Szekeley. I'm disappointed that Jesus may not have been a health nut after all.
Monday, February 21, 2011
This morning
This morning I added a Coming Attractions page and a Contact page to the website I'm constructing.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Nutty logic
I posted a link to a newser.com article about Republican politicians in SD wanting to make it legal to murder abortion providers. I commented: The nutty logic of fanatic extremism.
A FB friend commented: Brian- Maybe now is the time to move to Canada! :)
I responded: Brian Leekley ..., I might one day. I love both the USA and Canada. But it's not a refuge from nuttiness. I read a FB post recently about rightwinger shouting fits in Canadian legislatures, and I've heard of much reactionary damage being done by Canadian conservative politicians. I'm reminded of the story of the family who, wanting to get away from it all on the eve of World War 2, moved to Guam.
A FB friend commented: Brian- Maybe now is the time to move to Canada! :)
I responded: Brian Leekley ..., I might one day. I love both the USA and Canada. But it's not a refuge from nuttiness. I read a FB post recently about rightwinger shouting fits in Canadian legislatures, and I've heard of much reactionary damage being done by Canadian conservative politicians. I'm reminded of the story of the family who, wanting to get away from it all on the eve of World War 2, moved to Guam.
A little effort
When an FB friend posted:
hungry+lazy=lethal combination
I commented:
Brian Leekley When flush again, prepare: Draw a deep bath. Put amusing reading materials in reach. Put fruits, snack foods, sweets, etc. in reach. Laze by the hour, replacing cooling water with hot water as needed. Preparing for lazing and gorging takes a little effort -- or a servant.
hungry+lazy=lethal combination
I commented:
Brian Leekley When flush again, prepare: Draw a deep bath. Put amusing reading materials in reach. Put fruits, snack foods, sweets, etc. in reach. Laze by the hour, replacing cooling water with hot water as needed. Preparing for lazing and gorging takes a little effort -- or a servant.
Before and after sign spinning
Before and after sign spinning work today, I worked some more on my new website. Feedback is welcome on its design and content. I'm using the free basic Weebly features. There are many design templates to choose from, and I can customize the one I tentatively chose.
brianleekley.weebly.com
Brian Leekley, Writer & Wonderer
Comments:
... what about a feature to make your website more interactive, A spot for people to leave their thoughts or opinions?
Brian Leekley ..., thanks much for the suggestion. I'll add that this weekend or soon. It's a website, not a blog, so commenting isn't built into the design, but I can have a form on the Contact page for feedback about the site and its content. My blogs are linked to the website, and each of those allows and encourages comments. I want the website to include a page or a blog that is password protected, where those who have already read my first novel can discuss it without giving away what happens and lessening the suspense for first time readers, but to get that I'd need to pay for the "pro" version offered by Weebly.
... It makes sense to have your blogs be places for comments and not the webpage. Other than that I have no suggestions. (Yet, I'll let you know if anything comes to mind)
... Looks cool so far!
... Someone advised me to create a Facebook page for my novel, but I don't understand how or why. Has anyone suggested that to you, Brian?
Brian Leekley ..., no, not personally, but I have seen that suggestion made in articles. When I can get to it, I'll scan and email you a magazine article on that very topic. The why is that a Facebook page is a free way to promote your novel and to build up a fan base measured by the number of "likes". I'm thinking of creating a Facebook page this month or next, and I'll share with you what I find out about how to do it.
brianleekley.weebly.com
Brian Leekley, Writer & Wonderer
Comments:
... what about a feature to make your website more interactive, A spot for people to leave their thoughts or opinions?
Brian Leekley ..., thanks much for the suggestion. I'll add that this weekend or soon. It's a website, not a blog, so commenting isn't built into the design, but I can have a form on the Contact page for feedback about the site and its content. My blogs are linked to the website, and each of those allows and encourages comments. I want the website to include a page or a blog that is password protected, where those who have already read my first novel can discuss it without giving away what happens and lessening the suspense for first time readers, but to get that I'd need to pay for the "pro" version offered by Weebly.
... It makes sense to have your blogs be places for comments and not the webpage. Other than that I have no suggestions. (Yet, I'll let you know if anything comes to mind)
... Looks cool so far!
... Someone advised me to create a Facebook page for my novel, but I don't understand how or why. Has anyone suggested that to you, Brian?
Brian Leekley ..., no, not personally, but I have seen that suggestion made in articles. When I can get to it, I'll scan and email you a magazine article on that very topic. The why is that a Facebook page is a free way to promote your novel and to build up a fan base measured by the number of "likes". I'm thinking of creating a Facebook page this month or next, and I'll share with you what I find out about how to do it.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Today Kayle and I
Brian Leekley
Today Kayle and I went hunting and gathering for bargains in a grocery store
Today Kayle and I went hunting and gathering for bargains in a grocery store
This morning I finished the second draft
This morning I finished the second draft of a short story with the working title "Matilda on the Prowl". Now I'll set it aside for more or less a week, maybe longer, and then I'll see how it reads and if it needs a touch-up and polish or a major rewrite.
Brian Leekley Meanwhile I'll turn my attention back to another story in progress, "Gus in Mississippi: Summer 1964", to submitting to another magazine my story "Gus Up North", and to marketing my novel THE SON WHO PAID ATTENTION.
Brian Leekley Meanwhile I'll turn my attention back to another story in progress, "Gus in Mississippi: Summer 1964", to submitting to another magazine my story "Gus Up North", and to marketing my novel THE SON WHO PAID ATTENTION.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine Day
Kayle and I are enjoying Valentine Day at Counter Culture Csfe in Santa Fe.
Brian Leekley ... and I liked it and look forward to going back. It looked to be a thriving, popular business with, besides coffees, teas, and pastries, an extensive soup and sandwich menu, and WiFi. People sit at long tables instead of at the usual booths and 4-seat tables.
Brian Leekley Right. Yesterday Kayle and I strolled downtown Santa Fe then drove to Cowgirl BBQ for happy hour and with her margarita and my microbrew we had frito pie -- a bag of Fritos corn chip torn open and on them dumped chunks of beef in BBQ sauce. Good. I was off my near vegan diet for the day.
Brian Leekley ... and I liked it and look forward to going back. It looked to be a thriving, popular business with, besides coffees, teas, and pastries, an extensive soup and sandwich menu, and WiFi. People sit at long tables instead of at the usual booths and 4-seat tables.
Brian Leekley Right. Yesterday Kayle and I strolled downtown Santa Fe then drove to Cowgirl BBQ for happy hour and with her margarita and my microbrew we had frito pie -- a bag of Fritos corn chip torn open and on them dumped chunks of beef in BBQ sauce. Good. I was off my near vegan diet for the day.
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