Thursday This n That

Earlier, I saw some silly ditz 'digital content creator' saying that you don't have to be a writer to be an author.  Wuh?

Yesterday, I read a headline that went something like 'law students think tests are discriminatory' because they're too hard.  Like the person who posted the link said 'tests are supposed to help discriminate between the capable and the incapable', so yeah.

What is with all these words that people are putting asterisks into now?  I write a bunch of crime fiction, but words like rape, murder, killer, etc. are forbidden?  I don't even like putting asterisks in when I type fuck, I'm sure as hell not going to do it when I talk about rape or murder or killers.  Pardon me, but fuck that shit.

I wrote a note to FB in answer to their limiting my number of marketing posts.  Now, I don't seem to be getting the block, but I'm also not getting any reach.  Brilliant.  Wish in One Hand has traditionally flown out the door when I run a freebie.  I got 21 downloads the first day, then I wrote FB that note and the next day I got 4.  :eyeroll: :facepalm: :headdesk: 

Just got our Brightspeed 'final bill' thing.  They owe us $24.  It would've been nice if they'd just put in a check.  But no.  I'll most likely have to call them and struggle to get my credit back.  Fun.

I've been watching The IT Crowd.  It's pretty funny.  If you're a nerd, which I am.

I'm up to 50 miles walked for the year.  I posted that to FB and one of my friends (someone I've 'known' since like 2006 when I got my first blog) said something like 'well, you better turn around and go home'.  This is why we're friends.  LOL

If I wore jeans, I'd be buying myself a pair of American Eagle right now.  Sometimes I miss wearing jeans.  :shrug:

Dollar General has the best ice cream.  It's Caramel Swirl.  Caramel flavored ice cream with a ribbon of smooth caramel.  No chunks.  It's awesome.  I'm not a fan of chunks in my ice cream.

Got anything to add today?

THAT WORD

So, I watched Die Hard With a Vengeance last night.  It was on TV, so I wondered how they were going to handle the whole scene where John's standing in Harlem wearing a sandwich board with a racist statement on it.  Sure enough, when they finally did show the sign, it said "I HATE EVERYONE".  Umm, no.  They also cut out the part where Zeus says what's on the sign.  

Seriously, people.  It's ridiculous.  Yet, notice I refrain from using it here.  Because I don't want a rain of shit to come down on my head for using it.  And no, I won't do the whole 'stars in the middle thing'.  Sometimes I have the serious urge to run around just saying the word over and over again so people see how ridiculous it is to fear or hate a word.  Say it enough and it becomes meaningless.

Honkie Honkie Honkie Honkie... oh wait, that's not the word.  That word's okay.  Mybad.  

The one I'm talking about is pretty much the only word you can never ever use.  George Carlin's 7 words You Can't Say on TV have become every day oatmeal words.  Personally, I don't think tits was ever that bad, but what do I know?

It used to be that you couldn't use the word fuck.  :shrug:  Just about everyone I have ever known has used that word since I was like ten.  (My mother being one of the rare exceptions.)  We used to hang out under the big tree at recess saying fuck.  Just because the playground attendants never bothered to climb the hill and monitor what any of us was doing underneath the tree.  We could've been doing ritual sacrifices up there for all they knew.  

Of course, in public you have to put some stars in the middle of it there.  F*ck, F**k, F***.  Everyone's brain fills in the missing letters, so what the purpose of those asterisks is?  Who knows.  The stars are protecting someone's delicate feelings, I guess.  Fuck that.

As my mom says, it's just not a nice way to talk.  I respect that.  I try not to use that word when I'm talking to her.  Sometimes, though, it's just the right word at the right time.  

Anyway... where was I?  Oh, yes, the WORD.  The derogatory word for a certain race that no one - except those who are members of that race - is allowed to say or type without stars.  Funny how the derogatory terms for all the other races aren't as carefully monitored.  Oh, sure, I had an editor give me the stink-eye for using 'spic' once in Accidental Death.  I ignored her and left it in.  Right word for the right time, doncha know.  

So, there's John McLain... and this dude who hates him wants him to have a horrible day and possibly get the crap kicked out of him, so he drops John into Harlem wearing a sign that says 'I hate... EVERYONE'?  That wouldn't even get him noticed.  I think hating everyone is a pastime in NYC, so it wouldn't make him stand out.  At all.  Feh.  Hell, it might even get him a few new friends.  "Hey, that dude hates everyone.  So do we!  Let's buy him a coffee."

You know what word I hate?  Cunt.  Now there's a word Carlin missed.  It doesn't offend me.  It's just nasty.   Why?  Who knows.  Something somewhere in my history made it so that word is hated.  Poor word.  

So, we can't use THAT WORD.  Or any word closely resembling that word.  I read a news story about a professor who was teaching a foreign language - Korean, I think - and an innocuous word of that language sounded similar enough that the professor got slapped around (figuratively) for using it.  What a bunch of scheisskopfs*.  

Eh, I'm a writer.  Words are my trade.  The mere fact that I am not allowed to use a particular word burns my ass something fierce.  

*Scheisskopf - German for shithead.  I learned that one at a pretty young age, too.  Thanks, Dad.

Thursday This n That

I just noticed something... I keep seeing people use the word 'partner' instead of 'husband' or 'wife' or 'spouse'.  In terms of language it's kind of right, but not exactly right.  All husbands and wives are spouses, all spouses are partners (or they should be), but not all partners are spouses.  (And spouses are broken into husbands and wives, so not all spouses are strictly one or the other.)  Specificity, folks.  Hell, you could even slide another level in there - significant other.  Put it between partner and spouse.  As in, all spouses are significant others, but not all significant others are spouses.  When partner can also include business relationships - company ownerships, law offices, etc. - as well as law enforcement, using partner when you mean significant other/spouse is lazy language.  Or it's a further degradation of our way of life.  Either way, knock it off.

Sonny the buck is almost totally unafraid of Hubs now.  True, Hubs can't pet him yet, but it's to a point where the buck is getting within mere feet of my husband.  I may end up watching Hubs' back while he puts out food during the rut.  I'll go out there with my big walking stick and that alone should keep the deer back.  They're still terrified of me.  My mere presence in the window makes them walk away.  Scary scary lady here.

Speaking of my walking stick, we were out at the lake a while back and I found this stick that had washed up on the shore.  It's about 5 ft long and just the right diameter, tapering down to a solid point.  Both ends show distinct beaver gnaw marks.  It's awesome, so I brought it home.  The beavers did the work of removing all the bark for me.  Hubs stained it for me last week.  I can't wait to use it.

I have another one my oldest brother made for himself out of an ash tree he cut from the land where we grew up, and I just assumed custody of it when he left home.  My oldest brother is 6'8, so you can imagine how big this thing is.  I can't actually wield it as a walking stick.  Staff?  Anyway, it's a piece of home, so I've carted it through every move since 2001.  It's standing in the corner of my living room behind the TV.

Today's my mom's 81st birthday.  I sent her a rock.  Yep, a rock.  And a loaf of homemade zucchini bread made with my zucchinis.  And some homemade granola bars.  The rock is a long story.  Suffice it to say, she liked it and that's all that matters.

Okay, I should probably get some stuff done before I have to head off to the Packing Show.  Have a great day, ya'll.

Word Manipulation

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." - Philip K. Dick

"We don't want to use past definitions of infrastructure." - Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm

Inside of one generation humans won't have any other definition of certain words than the definitions now provided for them by leftists.  Kids today are being taught the new definitions.  Old definitions... the ones we've used forever... are being scrubbed out of existence.  Even the dictionaries are changing their definitions so words don't mean what they used to anymore.  

As a human being, this makes me sad.  As a writer, this pisses me off.  But I don't have the words this morning to convey what I want to say.  Other than to remind the world that 1984 was a cautionary tale, not a how-to guide.

:wanders off:

Thank You

This morning, a FB friend of mine asked if anyone had heard the new thing where you're not supposed to thank people for doing the things they're expected to do.  And from there, she went off.  And in comments, I went off.  Seems like a perfect subject for today's post.

First off, thank you.  Thank you for being here and reading this today.  I don't really expect you to be here.  And I'm glad when you are - even if you don't comment.  

It occurs to me, maybe there's the crux of the issue.  Expectations.  Perhaps the reason they're trying to get people to stop saying thank you is because they think of all the little things as things we are EXPECTED to do.  If you expect people to do things, then you might not feel as if you should thank them.  

When a waitress brings your dinner, she's expected to do that.  Don't thank her.

When someone holds the door for you, they ought to do that.  Don't thank them.

When your husband takes out the garbage, he's expected to do that.  Don't thank him.

When your wife does the shopping, she's expected to do that.  Don't thank her.

When firemen puts out your burning home, it's what they're supposed to do.  Don't thank them.

When a cop stops a guy from shooting you, well, that's his job and he's expected to do that.  Don't thank him.

Except in each case, there should be some measure of gratitude, so 'thank you' is the least you can do in return.  Yeah, in all of the instances above, those people are expected to do what they did.  Does your expectation makes their job any less important than it was?  Are you less grateful because you expected them to do it?  If the answer is yes, shame on you.

Entitled brats expect others to do things for them without their having to acknowledge the effort.  

Hubs and I thank each other often - for all the little things and for all the big things.  And we don't do it by rote.  We mean it.  So what if taking out the garbage is 'his job'?  I'm grateful he does it.  So what if grocery shopping is 'my job'?  He's grateful I do it.  I could easily take out the trash.  He could easily do the shopping.  (He could... I won't let him, but he could.)

We also don't say 'thank you' because we assume the other person expects it.  Neither of us expects it.  He doesn't stand there tapping his foot waiting for me to thank him for doing the laundry anymore than I'm waiting for him to thank me for doing the dishes.  We just do it.  

All in all, it's pretty nice.  People ought to try it.  

So, once again, I thank you for being here.  I thank you for being my friends.  I thank you for reading my words and enjoying them.  

Now, go out there and say thank you to the people in your lives who do things they're expected to do.  Because there may come a day when they don't do the things you expect of them because they're tired of the world not recognizing the things they do.

And if someone thanks you, don't blush and say 'it's nothing'.  K?

Pronoun Acceptance at the Highest Level

I just read a post on FB that has me a little confused.  A best-selling and renown author was talking about the word 'they' and how Merriam-Webster has made it the word of the year.  Apparently, it's now socially acceptable to use 'they' to refer to a single person.  The author also notes that it's been used this way for 600 years and then says that this is a 'game changer' for writers.

Why?

If it's been used that way for 600 years, how is the dictionary giving it the okee-dokee a game changer?  I mean, my editor can stop pointing out instances where I use 'they' instead of 'he or she', which I ignore anyway.  If, in my writing, it's not definite whether an individual is a guy or a gal, I refer to the individual as 'them' or 'they'.  Been doing it pretty much all my writing life.

Okay, I know there's a certain segment of the culture pushing to get rid of gender-specific pronouns.  I ignore them, too.  In a book I read recently, a minor character gets snotty when the MC refers to her as Ms - trying to impress upon him that he should refer to her as Mx (pronounced Mix) because that's how she identifies.  Like he was supposed to know that before he met her.  And like he'd give a rat's ass, especially since he was never going to see her again.

By the way, look at all those gender-specific pronouns up there.  I should probably go flagellate myself with a wet noodle or something.  :yawn:

Here's a funny.  I have a deep voice.  There have been many times on the phone where someone has mistaken me for a man.  (Can't mistake me for a man in person.  I have too big a rack for that.)  In those cases, I say my name and they think I've said Jeff or Seth, because my deep voice gives them the impression that I am male.  And every time that happens?  I laugh. 

More people need to laugh, I think.

This game changer doesn't change a damn thing for me.  And it makes me a little sad that it would be a game changer for others.  Maybe they're constantly berated by their publishers and editors for their misuse of a pronoun and have to change it or face dire consequences.  (Not sure cuz I don't have a publisher and my editor is cool.)  Or maybe they're so 'socially conscious' they feel bad using the wrong pronouns for fictional characters.  Or maybe they're worried that their readers will be offended by the wrong pronouns for their fictional characters.  :shrug: 

If someone refers to you by a pronoun that doesn't fit, you've got two choices: move on or throw a hissy fit.   I guarantee, you'll live longer by moving on then by doing the hissy fit. 




They, them, he, she, him, her... it's all good, baby.  But for pitysakes, don't say 'it'.  That just pisses everyone off.  ;o)

And for the record, I will never use the trendy made-up pronouns.  Unless I'm doing what that other author did and using it to make a point about a certain character.  In that case, it worked perfectly to show that individual's character succinctly. 

NaNo Day Four - Paused for Research

Okay, so I'm writing a fantasy and there are beasties, of course.  But my memory of all things beastie is failing me.  Thus far, I've been leaving myself notes - :insert minor monster here: - when I can't think of the name of something and want to keep writing rather than stop and research.  Last night, however, I hit a spot where just leaving myself a note wasn't possible. 

You see, there's a spot where the intrepid band of good guys gets ambushed by something and there's a battle scene and in order to have a battle scene, you kind of have to know what your characters are up against. 

So, last night, I paused writing to do research.  I got one good scene out before I reached the point where I had to start this scene.  Then I stepped away, grabbed my big book of magical creatures, and got busy scanning through the pages to see if I could find the one that would fit this particular scene.  And I made a list for later of things that could potentially be used for all those notes I left myself. 

By the time I was finished, it was almost time for the season premier of Holiday Baking Championship, so I didn't get back to the book.  But that's okay.  I'm totally not kicking myself for being behind.  I wrote close to 800 words and that ain't bad, considering how many days this year I wrote zero words.

I'll have to do some more research before tonight's writing session.  I have a list but I'm still not certain what would fit.  Something smaller than a human but larger than a dog and semi-intelligent but totally vicious - made more vicious by being shut up in the mists for a thousand years - that hasn't been done to death in other fantasy novels.  And it can't fly.  I already have flying beasties elsewhere.  A dragon (naturally) and some wyverns.  Plus, flying critters would change the battle I'm envisioning.  And nothing too out of the ordinary.  If the average fantasy reader ain't never heard of it, I better have a really really good reason for introducing them to it.

Anyway, I'm having fun with the whole process. 

I know, doing research after the first of November is a no-no.  Maybe if I'd known for sure I was going to dive back into this, I would've done some research in October, but I didn't, so there I am.  And I think as long as you don't fall down the rabbit-hole of research, you can still accomplish your goals.

Right now, I'm about 2K words behind.  And that's okay.

So, how are things with you? 

Thursday This n That

I saw a commercial the other day for some kind of old people product wherein the lady laments that she's on a fixed income.  This phrase has irritated me since my long ago telephone fundraising days.  I mean, the majority of people have incomes that are fixed - as in they don't change from one paycheck to the next - so I've never been exactly sure why anyone thinks that's a thing to lament.  You know how much money you'll have, so you can budget accordingly.  You want to lament something?  Lament having a non-fixed income where you're not sure how much money you'll be getting and whether you'll have enough to pay bills when your next check drops.  Non-fixed income is why I have never been good at working on commission.  When I have to worry about making enough money to not eat dogfood, I get all tense and weird and can't sell shit.  And buyers can smell the desperation. 

For the record, working on royalties is like working on commission.  Except I'm worrying about where I'll come up with editing funds and not whether I'll be eating dogfood.  Hubs makes sure I don't have to eat dogfood.

Dogfood really should be one word.

Why are some things compound words and other things aren't?  Who makes the rules for that stuff?

Speaking of words, I refuse to put apostrophes in words that didn't use to have apostrophes.  Hallowe'en?  Oh, hell no.  Hawai'i?  Don't get me started. My blog editor is red-squiggling the hell out of those words with the apostrophes.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot.  Happy Halloween!

You know, I didn't really care who won the World Series.  I mean, I was leaning more toward Houston because of leftist DC, but I don't really like the Astros either.  Then the Nats fans had the gall to boo the President.  Then I was really rooting for the Astros. Not sure who won because I went to bed before the end of the final game.  :shrug:

When I'm out and about in the world, I literally don't notice anything about you - your skin color, your eye color, what you wear, tats, piercings, etc. - unless you give me a reason to notice you.  And usually the reason I notice you isn't a good one - you're loud, you're obnoxious, you're standing and talking in the middle of a grocery aisle leaving no room to pass on either side, your kids are running amok. I'd rather have good reasons to notice you - your cute and respectful children, a happy smile turned my way, a cheerful word - but it's your choice.  If you're old or look lost, I'll help you.  Unless you seem like a shit, then you're on your own.

Anyway, I think you've heard more than enough out of me.  What's the this-n-that for you today?

Friday This n That

Because I forgot to post yesterday, I thought you wouldn't mind a Friday this n that for a change.

Actually, not much has gotten done this week.  I blame the eclipse. 

Yesterday, I saw a female cerulean warbler in my redbud tree. 

I also went fishing for the first time since my fall last week. 

People, as a whole, are silly nincompoops.  (Not specific individuals, but people.)  And I'm trying to laugh at them.  Which is good because if I did what I really wanted to do, I'd be in jail and they'd still be silly nincompoops.

I keep hearing people say the word height with a th sound at the end.  For some reason, it's irritating me.  It's HITE not HEIGHTH.  Then again, tons of people say ASHPHALT instead of ASPHALT.  And OFFEN instead of OFTEN.  :shrug:

There really isn't anything as peaceful and recharging as sitting on the edge of a body of water with no one else around.  Quiet, calm, still.  The sun on you, the breeze ruffling your hair, birds singing in the distance.  Ahhh.

Of course, then you have to go back and reconnect with the world which reminds you that the world is nuts.  Ah, well.

Okay, that's it.  I'm done this-n-thating today.  What this-n-thating do you have to do?