WTF? Georgia Senate Threatens to Secede!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Civil Rights, News
Georgia Senate threatens dismantling of USA
They really did, by a vote of 43–1. On April 1, but it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.
The resolution goes on to endorse the theory that states have the right to abridge constitutional freedoms of religion, press and speech. According to the resolution, it is up to the states to decide “how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged.â€
(snip)
Finally, the resolution states that if Congress, the president or federal courts take any action that exceeds their constitutional powers, the Constitution is rendered null and void and the United States of America is officially disbanded. As an example, the resolution specifically states that if the federal government enacts “prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition,†the country is disbanded.
You better believe that I’m writing to our state senator right away. Yes, this nonsense was slipped in on day 39 of the 40 day legislative session, but that is absolutely no excuse. Our representatives have no business voting for anything they haven’t thoroughly read, understood, and debated. That’s their job!
Yet another reason I don’t want to live in Georgia any more. I seriously think this is a backlash against our election of a black Democrat to the presidency. I’m looking at blue states now.
Tags: bigotry, constitution, Georgia, politics
Review: Suite 606 by J.D. Robb (and company)
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
My review
rating: 1 of 5 stars
I only read the story by J.D. Robb. I glanced at the other three, but they’re primarily romance stories, which do NOT interest me.
The whole point of these little anthologies is to introduce readers who enjoy an established author’s work to other, similar authors, right?
I know that J.D. Robb is a pen name for Nora Roberts. I know that the stories she publishes as NR are romances. If I saw an anthology anchored by an NR story, I’d expect it to be full of romances.
However, I don’t read the NR stuff. I only read her JDR books, which have a little romantic spice about the main character, Eve Dallas, and her husband Roarke, with occasional glimpses into Eve’s partner, Peabody’s, relationship with her guy, McNab. That’s it, though. Neither of those sets of relationships are the focal point of the plots. The mystery/crime is the main thing, and while they’re set in the future with the advantages of technology we don’t yet have, they’re essentially police procedurals. (I don’t consider them SF, quite, because all the tech seems to be extrapolated from what we have now, and quite plausible. And, of course, the tech isn’t the point of the stories, either.)
So why not put similar stories in an anthology anchored by a JDR story? Why why why? Misleading and disappointing readers is NOT the way to garner any positive buzz for the lesser-known authors, and the backlash can lead to less enthusiasm from established readers (like me) for the established author’s work.
Tags: In Death, J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts
Online Job Hunt — Heard of this place?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under General
Yes, yes–I promise this is the last post for now. Probably for the weekend, but at least for a few hours!
I continue to hope to find some kind of work that I can do from home despite my uncooperative body. Of course, most listings for “work at home” and “telecommute” jobs are complete rip-offs. I don’t really have the energy to go the full self-employment route, which involves doing all the marketing and billing and collections and such (if you do, check out Noël Figart’s very cool series of ongoing posts, How to Make a Living From Home: A Free Course). More precisely, if I do all that stuff, I worry that I won’t have any energy left to do the actual income-generating tasks.
I don’t remember how, precisely, but I ran across Virtual Vocations a while back, and have looked around the site a few times. I’ve yet to actually pony up the fee to get access to the contact information for the job listings, but the fact that they allow anybody to see the rest of the listings without paying is pretty nice.
The only genuinely-negative thing I’ve come across about them anywhere is a person who claimed that they contact Craigslist posters who have stated that they do NOT want to be contacted by third parties. I don’t like that at all, but it isn’t quite a killing blow. The only “it’s a ripoff” complaints I’ve seen are anonymous comments left on any blog that posts a VV review. I give those all the seriousness of the commenter’s willingness to back up his words–meaning none.
BUT–people I actually know are more credible. So have any of you used the site, or do you know someone who has? What do you think of them?
Jane Austen/Other Book Recommendations?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Um, I’m wanting something to read, and the libraries are being very slow about fulfilling my hold requests, so I’m looking for old stuff that’s good and probably on the library shelf just waiting to be loved. I think I might try some Jane Austen, as I recently realized that I never have, but the excerpts I’ve seen are wittier than I expected. I’m not fond of romances or “chick lit” or such things, which is where I’ve place her books.1
If I’m going to try them, where should I start? Any other authors/books you think I should try?
I don’t care to read doom-filled, depressing stories. There’s enough of that in the real world, and I can always go look at the news. I want to read about smart, likeable people doing interesting things while bantering wittily. Humor is important, but goofy slapstick nonsense looses me. I HATE HATE HATE “do something obviously stupid, try to get out of the resulting mess” plots.
I’ve read Lois McMaster Bujold, thanks 🙂 Well, all the Vorkosigan universe stuff, anyway. Her fantasy books have never interested me, for some odd reason.
Thank you 🙂
1 I think to some extent I got her all mixed up with the Brontës when I was a teen, and damned if I wanted more of that nonsense.
Tags: authors, Books, Jane Austen, Lois McMaster Bujold
No Katie Here
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Critters, Family
In much lighter news, The Girl is in the Pacific Northwest! For three weeks! She’s scouting colleges and seeing friends and so on. She’s already in geo-love after just a few days, saying she’d like to live there. Her hosts seem like Very Good People, and I hope to meet them when they come to town for Dragon*Con.
Kyoshi is utterly unconsolable, though. He wanders through the house looking for her, returning frequently to her door (still closed, and no, I won’t open it to let him in), the front door, every single window—hoping in vain to catch sight of her. I’ve never known such a one-person kitty! He does come to me and Sam (a lot), frantically at times, and he lets us pet him. But he won’t settle in our laps long at all. He has to dash to the front windows every time a car goes by, just hoping it might stop and disgorge the girl. I hope he gets more attached to us by the time she returns. Wherever she goes to school, though, I think she’s going to have to take the cat with her!
I’m less demonstrative than the cat, but I do miss her. I know she’s with good people, and she’s having a great time, and she’s a smart young woman with a good head on her shoulders. But she’s my baby and she’s way far away and we’ve never been apart for more than two weeks in her whole life!!!
Ok. I’ll try to rein that back a bit.
R.I.P. Uncle J
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family
Uncle J was buried yesterday. He hung on for weeks, and they’d finally moved him to home hospice care just a few days before he passed. At least he wasn’t in pain at the end, and the family did get to say whatever they needed to say.
Mom is taking this really hard. She says it’s concern for Aunt B, and I’m sure that’s part of it. I can’t being to imagine the agony of losing your spouse of 48 years. I have to think, though, that some of it is Mom’s fear that it may be Daddy next time. I’m worried about her.