Nom de Plume

I think I’ve read this before

I’ve been pretty good about writing a page every morning, and am now up to 160 pages. Perhaps not 160 good pages, but 160 pages nonetheless.

There are so many regency romances out there, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to fill Almack’s with every fictional regency character. The heroes and heroines of the good books wold get on famously, exchanging witty repartee–and, I suspect, partners–while the badly-drawn characters of poorer novels would appear blurry around the edges, fading into the potted palms.

But just imagine how many elegant, smoldering men who don’t need to pad their shoulders there would be!

Speaking of books, have been very bad about doing my little book reviews. So this is just what I remember.

The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
The best thing about this book was the end. No, I don’t mean it was awful; I mean that the entire book seemed to point its way to the puzzling, ambiguous ending. Impetuous Pauline and stodgy Michael should never have gotten married–but did and stayed that way for 30 years, had three children and a grandson that resulted from a druggie dropout daughter. This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t one of Tyler’s best. Her usually finely-drawn characters and keen sense of place were sacrificed to spanning nearly a lifetime in the space of 300-odd pages.

George Washington Gomez, Americo Paredes
I got this out from the library for Steve because I thought he would enjoy it–and ended up dipping into it myself. I had forgotten how heart-rending it is. The story of a “Mexicotexan” family during the Depression, an optimistic father seeks greatness for his son by naming him after the first American president. As he lies dying, wounded by gringos, he makes his brother-in-law promise not to let him hate and to educate him so he can find his destiny. Rich in detail, this novel evoked East of Eden for me, both in its descriptions of a lost time and in the ambiguities of forging Western frontier identities. Recommend highly.

The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt
Just read it. It’s truly fabulous.

High Maintenance, Jennifer Belle
Funny and sad at the same time. Our heroine goes through a divorce, a sick affair, and emerges from grief as a realtor. Set in NY, it pokes fun at a whole bunch of people. Quick easy read.

In Revere, In Those Days, Paul Merullo
Well, I started reading it. It made me want to shoot myself, and as I was already depressed to begin with, stopped. Steve is now reading it, albeit in a rather lackluster fashion.

The Army has reported 94 individual cases of abuse–yet has also concluded that “no systemic failures were at fault.”

Apparently, being all you can be doesn’t involve using a brain.

Still.

This, from Angela who is quite possibly the funniest person I know:

By the way did I tell you I got a dog?  I have the most adorable Cocker Spaniel.  She’s a brat too though…I bought a shock collar yesterday.  Ryan wanted to know if we could try it on him.  I had to explain that it was child abuse but perfectly suitable for the dog.  We were both confused by the time I was done.

KCRW music

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between “president of peace” and”prince of peace”?

The insult escapes me, especially considering the alternative.

Of course, now they have to worry about his grabbing their asses.

Someone I barely know just sent me a close-up of EPT pregnancy stick for someone I don’t know at all.
 
With the blue line streaked across one of its windows.
 
I guess this is congratulations?

The Skeptical Inquirer–a publication I generally like–just published an article entitled, “Development of Beliefs in Paranormal and Supernatural Phenomena,” in which the author develops an entire theory based on faulty research. The question: whether TV could influence beliefs in the paranormal.
 
First step: he posted questions on online chat groups about various programs, including The X Files. Which skews this from the very start. Anyone who watches a show and then goes online to chat about it is a freak. Sorry, but there you have it.
 
Next step: stupid questions. In White’s words: 
 
My research asked, [Do you believe] “[d]uring astral projection, or the leaving of the body for short periods of time, a person could commit a murder?”

So, um, isn’t that a loaded question? The question was not “Do you believe in astral projection, and if so, could a person …. ?” It assumed a belief, which could have been perceived as hypothetical by the respondent.
 
Final step: conclusion. Once again, in White’s words:  
 
A homicidal astral projector was the plot of an X-Files episode, but ER viewers were just as likely to acknowledge belief in that paraparanormal (a concept beyond the traditional paranormal) belief as were viewers of The X-Files!
 
Wow.
 
The blurb at the top promised that this “synergy of cultural indoctrination has implications for science and skeptics,” and while the rest of the article may have been sound, I couldn’t be bothered to read the rest of the article.
 
Would you?
 

Hmm, interesting.

The house front, that is.

The listing agent is a drunk. At least that’s what Serena and the bank say. Apparently, when Steve asked them to pay closing costs, he called the bank and started asking all sorts of illegal questions. Slurrily.

The owners don’t want to fix anything … or at least, they don’t want to pay to fix anything. They want to fix it themselves. Considering how they spackled the skylights, this is probably not a great idea.

So, this is the dealbreaker. But I suppose it’s a valuable exercise, because I’m discovering that I really would like to live there. I’ve been iffy.

So there it is.

Didn’t go surfing this weekend because Steve had to work, and then deal with house stuff the next day. Went to the International District, just happened on a festival, and then wandered around the Japanest supermarket. We left clutching bottles of unfiltered saki.

Still waiting for house news.

Dick lives on

This according to the NEA.

46 percent of Americans read literature, which is defined as having read a novel, short story, play, or poetry in the past 12 months. 53 percent read books period (and I rather suspect they’re books like The Atkins Diet).

These readers reported slogging through an average of six books per year.

On the other hand, 97 percent of respondents reported watching TV for an hour a day, while 46 percent report watching three or more hours a day.

Think about that for a sec. The same number of people watch 3+ hours of TV and read an AVERAGE of six books a year.

6 books a year is one book every two months, half a book a month … yadda yadda. So that’s what? A very generous 15 minutes a day vs. three or more hours?

The full report may be viewed here. Pass it on.

No one used ‘em anyway. Send me an e-mail though.

How on earth can Bush call Edwards inexperienced? Isn’t that kinda like the pot calling the kettle black. Ah well.

Great 4-day weekend, like two weekends back to back. Watched fireworks in Fremont, lolling up against a hill on Sunday night, and the next morning, headed to Oswald State Park to surf. Beeyyotifull.