Random Tidbits

Sent from a friend:

THINGS I LEARNED FROM LIVING IN TEXAS

Armadillos sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

There are 5,000 types of snakes on earth and 4,998 live in Texas

There are 10,000 types of spiders.  All 10,000 live in Texas, plus a couple no one’s seen before.

If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

‘Twiced’ is a  word.

People actually grow and eat okra (Only if it’s fried–DW)

‘Fixinto’ is one  word.

There is no such thing as  ‘lunch.’  There is only dinner and then supper.

Iced tea is appropriate for all  meals and you start drinking it when you’re two. We do like a little tea with our sugar! (Not me.–DW)

‘Backwards and  forwards’ means I know everything about you!

‘Djeet’ is actually a phrase meaning  ‘Did you eat?’

You don’t have to wear a watch because it doesn’t matter what time it is. You work until you’re done or it’s too dark to see.

You don’t PUSH buttons, you  MASH them.

You measure distance in hours. Like ‘ it’s 6 hours from Houston to Dallas ….’

You’ll probably have to  switch from ‘heat’ to  ‘A/C’ in the same day.

‘Fix’ is a verb.  Example: ‘I’m fixing to go to the store.’

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

Yes, Friday night high school football is serious football!

You carry jumper cables in your car. . . for your OWN car.

There are only four spices:  salt, pepper,  Tabasco and  ketchup.

100 degrees Fahrenheit is  ‘a little warm.’

We have four seasons: Almost  Summer, Summer, still Summer and  Christmas.

Going to Wal-mart is a favorite  past time  known as ‘goin’ to Wally-World.’

A cool snap (below 70 degrees)  is good pinto-bean weather.

A carbonated soft drink  isn’t a soda, cola or pop. . . .. it’s a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor.  Example: ‘What kind a coke you  want?’

Fried catfish is the other  white meat.

We don’t need no stinking  driver’s ed . . .  if our mama says we can drive, we  can drive.

Most important, if you need help, ask God, if you don’t,  thank God.

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I went to LINDA CASTILLO’s local signing for SWORN TO SILENCE Thursday night. It was really nice!  So glad to have my keeper copy in my hands!

Linda’s blogging at Minotaur Book’s MOMENTS IN CRIME. Very good articles!

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Check out Jennifer Archer and Mary Schramski’s new blog, MENOPAUSE MUSING: WRITING WITHOUT PERIODS. It’s so funny!

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Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson…Billy Mays? Wow.

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Finally having a day to slow down. Loving it.

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Missing the family in Oklahoma. ***HUGS****

Windstorm in Amarillo

Yep, even too windy for me today. I usually love the wind,  but today was dangerous.

Broken electrical pole

Skyline

Dusty downtown

Still dormant trees reach to the sky with skeletal fingers, begging for mercy

Dust Storm causes wrecks on I-40

3 yr old killed on Bell Street by person distracted by wind damage

Wildfire near Wheeler, Citizens Evacuated

Power Outages

Reduced Visibility Closes Interstate

Publisher’s Office Closes Over Security Concerns…

NEW YORK —  The U.S. publisher of a controversial novel about the Prophet Muhammad closed its offices as a “precautionary action,” but emphasized that no threats had been received and that “The Jewel of Medina” would be released as planned. (Read whole article HERE.)

“How chicken shit,” I muttered when Random House, Inc. dropped the novel The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones. The premise of the book is a fictionalized account of Muhammed and his child bride, A’isha. You would think a  powerhouse like Random House would stand up for freedom of expression if not for American principle, at least for  the sake of good capitalism.  I mean, come  on,  the controversy  generated by the press alone is guaranteed to be a selling point for a novel that might have otherwise gone quietly into a good  bookstore near you.  

Despite worries Random House cited over “offending Muslims,” (Do they take this much care in not offending Christians? Or other faiths? Honestly, I’m not sure, I’ll just stick to this example for now) (Beaufort Books, publishers of O J Simpson’s ‘if I DID IT’ (oh, come ON, he did it) apparently saw the potential.  Read their press release HERE. This press release also states Sherry Jones has a two-book deal with them. Way to go!

I’m not saying this isn’t risky.  Far from it.  It’s as tricky as tickling a Rattlesnake with a stick.  Extremists have already fire bombed publisher Martin Rynja’s home in  London.  He says:

“In an open society there has to be open access to literary works, regardless of fear. As an independent publishing company, we feel strongly that we should not be afraid of the consequences of debate.

“If a novel of quality and skill that casts light on a beautiful subject we know too little of in the West, but have a genuine interest in, cannot be published here, it would truly mean that the clock has been turned back to the dark ages. The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time.” (Read this article HERE.)

A very informative blogpost at GalleyCat says:

When Sherry Jones told her publishers at Ballantine that they should send a copy of her novel about the life of one of Muhammad’s wives, The Jewel of Medina, to Islamic studies scholar Denise Spellberg, she never anticipated that Random House, Ballantine’s corporate parent, would decide they were afraid to publish the novel after all. Instead of giving Ballantine a nice blurb, Spellberg called her own editor at Knopf and told her putting the book out was tantamount to “a declaration of war” against Islam and would probably lead to terrorist attacks on Broadway—and that was enough to put Random off the idea altogether. (Read entire blogpost HERE.)

(For the record, I take exception to the phrase ‘wasn’t just fluffy historical romance,’ Ms.  Jones.   But I’ll hold off on this fatwa.)

The article also states that:

(Amanullah, meanwhile, posted an article on his altmuslim.com website yesterday arguing that actions like Random House’s are a symptom of “the stagnation and increased misunderstanding that comes from a stifled discourse.”) (Shahed Amanullah’s article can be found HERE. )

He argues against censorship, and advocates using words to argue cases against more words, not prohibitive measures.

Some radical factions, sad to say, aren’t wired to think this way. But snakes react from instinct, terrorists are deliberate.  So perhaps I am hasty to judge.  I wasn’t in New York City, or D.C. or Pennsylvania on September 11. Though I can know the fear that grazed me the day America was attacked, I can’t really know the immediacy those people felt on location.  I do know I experienced that day the fearful uncertainty of what might happen next.  I can only hope that I can function in spite of that fear. That I can be outraged enough at the idea someone seeks to supress me by threat or intimidation that I react appropriately.  Those rat bastards, as Craig Ferguson describes them, won’t keep me down.  Instead, I will count on my optimism and most importantly, my Faith, to lift me up.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. — Ambrose Redmoon

Look, I don’t even know if I’d  be interested in reading this book, to tell you the truth.  But I AM interested that a major publisher backed off because they were AFRAID.

Okay, I give!

I wasn’t going to do it.  Nope.  Not give it the time of day. But come on, people, this Britney Spears stuff is bullshit.

I sit here watching Nancy Grace (I know, I know) and she’s going ‘in depth’ on this latest Brit-Brit news.  *sigh*

As far as I am concerned, there are no excuses here.  If she is mentally ill, well, in my opinion, she’s done it to herself with the lifestyle she’s led.  She’s done this in spite of the fact she has beautiful children she has done a terrible disservice to.  As far as the Papparazzi goes, yeah, they’re obnoxious, but she didn’t have to call them and let them know where she was going to be, either.  And people, PLEASE, stop with the Princess Di comparisons.  That goes all over me to hear that.

And Lynne Spears writing a child-rearing book?  Seriously?  Hello?!  Do I have to even write the reasons this is so ridiculous?

Tragedy?  Well, yes, because what she’s done to herself, what her family allowed to happen to her, the feeding of her perpetual need for any attention, the worse the better, and the fact that her babies don’t deserve to be dragged through this crap.   They didn’t ask for this.  If anyone needs compassion or sympathy, it’s those two little boys. 

And speaking of innocent children and the mistreatment there of, What the hell?  The toddler thrown off a bridge into freeway traffic last week, the four children thrown off a bridge into a river, the baby in Houston found on the side of a road…not to mention the countless others we don’t hear about.

How can people who do this heinous business have the ability to reproduce?  How fair is it that they can, and Mr. Man and I can’t? 

It breaks my heart.

9/11

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(Thanks HT!)

Peekers

Well, Publisher’s Lunch had a bit in it today about the leak of the newest installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. According to this article, there have been numerous leaks reported, but all them have turned out to be fakes, or Fan Fiction. It seems that this time, some spoiled sport has really done it, and posted a full copy of J.K. Rowling’s conclusion to Harry’s story on the Internet. A hard to read copy, featuring photographs of the books pages, but enough to provide massive spoilers. There are various theories on how this could have happened, and whether this is a legitimate copy of the book or not.

Scholastic released this (Thanks to MuggleNet.com):

PRESS RELEASE:
Scholastic has recently learned that some individuals have received copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through the mail , beginning on Tuesday, July 17th, as a result of a breach of the on-sale agreement by the distributor, Levy Home Entertainment, and shipments made by DeepDiscount.com, a customer of that distributor. We are taking immediate legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment. The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 am on July 21st.

We are also making a direct appeal to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on July 21st.

Scholastic is especially grateful to the other retailers and distributors for their careful attention to keeping the books secure until the release time and for planning thousands of spectacular midnight parties where fans will celebrate together. And we ask everyone, especially the media, to preserve the fun and excitement for fans everywhere.

The fans themselves have made it abundantly clear that they are looking forward to going to the midnight parties, receiving their very own copy of the book and finally getting to read the book they have so anxiously awaited.

The TorrentFreak blogger makes this remark:

Die-hard fans of the series will undoubtedly rush to grab a copy of the torrent for themselves.

Maybe some will. But not this fan.

When I first discovered the Harry Potter magic, I did so as a skeptic. And, I admit, as a jealous unpublished writer who thought, “Yeah, yeah. Another down on their luck writer ‘all of a sudden’ makes it big. Whoo hoo. Hype-hype-hype.” Bad form, I readily admit. (Maybe I shouldn’t be so forthcoming, it isn’t attractive! )

So one day, I settled myself into a cushy Barnes and Noble chair and opened Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. BAM! Page one got me, and by the time it was time for me to rouse myself and go back to work, I had to buy the book so I could take it with me and finish it! J.K. Rowling had cast a spell over me with Harry Potter and his adventures. As far as I’m concerned, she’s earned every bit off acclaim she’s received.

Fan that I am, I WILL NOT be rushing to the websites that have the leaked pages. First of all, I respect the author and her wishes. She’s released this statement:

We are almost there! As launch night looms, let’s all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’d like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!

Another reason– I don’t WANT the surprise ruined. I’ve never understood why some people take so much pleasure in spoiling surprises. At Christmas, I do everything I can not to find out what gifts may be coming my way. (I’ve always suspected Brother was a peeker. Don’t tell him I said so. But I think he was.) I don’t want the ending to movies sprung on me before I see the show. I don’t want to have a ‘fortune teller’ lay the rest of my life out before me.

The suspense, the anticipation, all those excited feelings are all part of it for me. I want to open up Deathly Hallows and read for myself how the journey turns out. I don’t want it spoiled for me.

What do the people who post these Harry Potter spoilers want to get out of this? What’s in it for them? Yay, you’re first, you know the ending before anyone else, and get to spoil it for millions of others. And this makes you. . . what? Popular? Big Man on the Internet? What?

No one can force people to read the spoilers. But what’s to stop other mean-spirited spoilers from blabbing it out before someone can cover their ears?

All I can do is my part, I guess. I’m waiting eagerly until the 21st, so we can read it for ourselves.

Steinbeck manuscripts found

Los Angeles writer to auction newly discovered Steinbeck papers

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A handwritten draft of John Steinbeck’s novel “Sweet Thursday,” along with an unpublished story and other works, will be auctioned by a writer who says they were sitting in a closet for 50 years.

“This stuff was unbelievable — just laying in a box,” said Joel Eisenberg. “I had this `Aha!’ moment when I realized not only what I had here, but what I had the responsibility to do.”

He said the material belonged to a friend, the late

 

Look out, Little Miss Muffett!

Natural Viagra: Brazilian Spider Bite Causes Hours-Long Erection

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

By Jeanna Bryner

WASHINGTON — A Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital.

Its venom stimulates an hours-long erection. Now scientists have figured out the chemical that seems to be responsible for the penis boost.

In Brazil, emergency room staff can immediately spot the victims of a bite from the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer).

Patients not only experience overall pain and an increase in blood pressure, they also sport an uncomfortable erection.

“The erection is a side effect that everybody who gets stung by this spider will experience along with the pain and discomfort,” said study team member Romulo Leite of the Medical College of Georgia, presumably speaking only about male bite victims. “We’re hoping eventually this will end up in the development of real drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Man,I feel sorry for those mice.

Ahhh, Spring

 

 

This is used to be the carport of someone who lives a couple of blocks from us. DH got the tree we lost cut and put in the alley yesterday. And around town, the clean up continues.The next to pics are also from the same winds that took our tree.Meanwhile, we had 8 tornadoes in the Panhandle last week. Two of them ripped through two small communities, leaving devastation in their wake.I can remember when a little girl, Mom loading us in the car and taking us to the underpass that is near our home ( I say is because I still live in the same neck of the woods) when the tornado warnings came around. Mostly, I think that we did that because of the threat of hail. Evidently, people are still doing it!

Pet Food Poisoning intentional?

It’s been in the headlines that the recent poisoning of pet food could be intentional.  This article implies that melamine makes food tests register that the product has more protein than it really does.

Perhaps the shysters should be fed a steady diet of their own product, hmmm?

Virginia Tech

God bless the students and families of Virgina Tech. The world weeps with you, and prays for you.

Miss Snark posted the news on her blog that one of the victims was the child of author Michael Bishop. http://www.michaelbishop-writer.com/

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We Shall Meet Again

If I should leave this world Without a warning…

Well, hello !

From Tornado Alley!