With sincere apologies to Judith Viorst.
Since last weekend...the state of the White House...and most of America can be best summed up as utter INSANITY.
Beginning with Nazis and the KKK marching on Charlottesville...and the vehicular death of Heather Hayer by one of these same protesters...then Trump blaming "both sides" and taking 3 full days to renounce NAZIS (...kind of...) and toppling of Confederate Statues...and CEOs abandoning this administration until Trump dissolved the whole thing...and the committee for Arts and Humanity leaving en masse...and the Tennessee GOP Senator who introduced a bipartisan bill for the president's censure...and Al Gore calling for his resignation...several others (GOP and DEM) calling for his impeachment or resignation...Trump wandering around in his bubble saying "All is Well"...Mueller sniffing right on his tracks like an ultra-focused bloodhound (...save us Obi-Wan...you're our only hope) ...a few states putting forward a bill to PROTECT the rights of people who run over protesters (seriously)...and an absolute shit-storm on the Twitterverse...and Trump doubling down on his comments about how some NAZIS and KKK Members are "fine people"...
to quote Shrek's Donkey
"...look at my eye twitchin'...I'm going to need some serious therapy!"
(extra points if you just read that in Eddie Murphey's voice)
And BANNON has been fired, so THAT was good.
Out of this photo only Pence and Trump remain.
People in America are funny. You can get away (it seems) with rubbing shoulders with the KKK and the Confederacy...but aligning yourself with NAZIS does seem to be the "No-Fly Zone"
The breaking point.
Nice to see there STILL is one.
So...it gives me hope that GOOD will prevail...and a proud part of The Resistance.
Watching 45's Administration implode.
"Donnie, it is done.It's over. Save yourself and your family the embarrassment- and the taxpayers the cost of impeachment and resign. Seriously."
Moving on...
After the past week it almost seems appropriate that the SUN is going to disappear on Monday...doesn't it?
The Eclipse is Coming!
Found this handy-dandy go to site to see what time and how dark it will be in your area.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2017-august-21#
Just plug in your zip code.
My area will start around 1:00 and be over by 3:00 and the projected path shows we will only have about 90%. Carbondale Illinois will be plunged into total darkness for 2 and a half minutes.
Now THAT would be something to see.
So protect your eyes and enjoy the celestial show.
Did I mention lately that my DIL, Nicole, is amazing?
This week she has been teaching my grand-daughter, Emma,how to make blueberry jelly
and put up pickles
It is so great that she is passing these skills on...as so many parents aren't (or were never taught how themselves.)
My Aunt Vernie taught me canning and preserving when I was about Emma's age.
One of my favorite political satirist- Will Durst
is busily on the stand-up circuit with his show re: The Trump Administration
"The Durst Case Scenario"
I have seen some of it. Hilarious stuff. If he shows up at a venue in your area be sure to catch it.
You'll be glad you did!
Unlike the latest cinematic release
Although I love Stephen King's writing I could (admittedly) never get interested in Roland's World. My late husband-person was exactly the opposite and read all 8 books with relish.
Were he alive, there is no doubt in my mind he would have walked out in the middle of this show.
I LOVE Matthew McConaughey...and even enjoyed Idris Elba as Roland. The boy they cast as Jake was perfect. But that is the only thing (well...and the CGI) that this short short film had going for it.
That, and maybe the nice feel good ending.
If you actually read the books you will dislike the severe abbreviation and the dropping of main characters...although the movie is a "what came after" film...trying to cram 8 books worth of information (even as a suggestion/reference) into one and a half hours is impossible.
If you had never read the books you will be disjointed, confused, lost. It is absolutely not a "stand alone" movie.
So yeah....bleah.
I am looking forward to the new release of IT in September...which promises to be much much better!
And then there is MY Novella.
Which has felt like THIS for the past couple of weeks. I am writing the last several chapters...bringing everything together...tying up loose ends and have spent two and a half weeks deciding one of the three possible "endings" I have been considering.
Fictional characters sometimes take on a life of their own. It is kind of strange.
Since Idgy (and a couple other close friends) have been following me along on this literary journey (reading and offering suggestions) I even reached out and asked how THEY would feel most satisfied (...the ending...) and surprisingly it was a consensus. They want Troy to live (no execution) and maybe a taste of journalling from behind bars.
The options were
Dr, Troy being executed for murder.
Dr. Troy being incarcerated.
Dr. Troy getting acquitted on a procedural technicality...and Brink's reaction/dismay/frustration to it.
(and an earlier 4th discarded Kafkaesque type ending where Mark discovers that his ex-wife and friend are both dead...quits the Exo-Shel programme...and our last visual of him is back bedfast in the VA hospital...depressed and hopeless. Very Kafka- without the large cockroach, of course)
So...now doing research and back to writing.
Which leads into this week's book review.
The Graybar Hotel by Curtis Dawkins
Dawkin's début novel. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole in Lakeland Correctional Facility- Michigan, for a drug related homicide.
This novel is a (non-fiction) micro-view into prison life. A collection of stories about himself and inmates he has encountered during his stay in what he refers to as "the greybar hotel"
An insightful look into the prison system, mindset, lifestyle and its sub-culture.
Besides being an excellent source of reference material for my own novella, this was an eye-opening, interesting,and brilliantly written read. Also gleaned a prison candy recipe which I am tempted to try.
Looking forward (hopefully) to more from this talented writer in the future.
I respect the final sentence in his aknowledgements
"Every penny I might be fortunate enough to make as a result of my writings goes into an Education Fund for my kids."
Photo taken a year before his incarceration. he was 36 years old.
Dawkin's holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts earned in Michgan four years before his incarceration. He has now been in prison for 13 years. He has 2 children. A son and a daughter.
More anon...