I never could figure out how to use this WordPress blog.
Sigh. I’m hopeless.
Now I’m back at http://www.chenoah.blogspot.com
Come visit!
September 11, 2006
April 5, 2006
Writers’ Group
Tomorrow is the planning meeting of a writers' group. I had wanted to join one for a long time – you know, a face-to-face one with real people instead of a virtual online group. So finally, I decided to start one! I've had a lot of help. One talented member set up a message board for us, and another one got email addresses together and sent out queries (oops, maybe "query" is a bad word?) to prospective members. The three of us have brainstormed some preliminary ideas, and tomorrow we'll get input from the full group. So far, we expect a total of seven people, including ourselves.
Question of the day: Why the heck did I do this just weeks before my alleged move* to North Carolina?
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* As both of my regular readers know, this is the fifth "deal" we've had on selling our rent house. We are NOT packing another thing until the fat lady sings!
April 3, 2006
She Bad
Three thousand words today. Um-hum. Fifty-five percent com-puh-leet! Uh-huh. She bad. That's right. She fine!
April 2, 2006
Everyone’s a Winner
Last night we went to see a play competition put on by TeCo Theatrical Productions. There were six one-act plays by local playwrights.
TeCo is an arts education program whose objectives are to “provide cultural and artistic opportunities for children and families who live in at-risk communities [and to] provide instruction in theater, acting, dance and other art forms …”
Everyone was asked to vote for their favorite of the six plays, winner to be announced after the last performance next week.
Of course there are no losers here, because it’s a win-win for everybody.
Thanks to James (a rising star who makes my latte for me in the meantime) for inviting us.
April 1, 2006
Take My Blogroll. Please.
How many times do we bloggers stumble (clumsy bunch that we are) across someone else’s blog, read and like the first entry, and the second entry, then maybe bookmark and/or leave a comment, and move on, or how many times do we revisit our favorite bloggers because we love them so much, but never really pay attention to their blogrolls, the blogs they loved enough to link to? If you’re like me, not very often. Only so many hours in the day, right?
Starting today, I’m going to make a point to visit blogs on other people’s blogrolls as often as I can. I know that I’ll find some great places and people out there, and as an added plus, I won’t be stumbling around, I’ll be on a clearly marked path. Wow – was that profound? Uh, nah … second thought, not so much.
Anyway, take my blogroll, please. You’ll find some wonderful people over there!
March 30, 2006
March 28, 2006
All Dressed Up
This is the company, SF Bags, that made the custom sleevecase for my laptop, Harriett. Shown here is the basic sleevecase:
And here it is with the optional flap and shoulder strap (I chose the suspensor shoulder strap because it distributes the weight more evenly):
I chose the vertical orientation, rather than this horizontal one. Both come with a pouch on the other side. Another option is a piggy-back case for the cord.
The best thing is that you just tell them what kind of laptop you have, and the sleevecase will match its dimensions exactly!
I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many laptop-carrier-thingies I’ve bought for Harriett, but none of them is as kewl as this one!
Only thing is, Harriett wasn’t so sure about it at first. No, really. I put her in her new, custom-made case with the s-o-f-t, luxurious interior. It fit her like a well-made little black dress should. Then later, when I took her back out and turned her on, she just froze! I kept calling to her, “Harriett, it’s alright! Were you afraid of the dark place? Mommy’s sorry, she should have warned you first. Come on, Harriett. It’s going to be okay. Really.” Well, after a little more coaxing, she recovered and started working again, and now she has no problem at all with her case.
In fact, I don’t think she’d even look at another sleevecase now!
DON’T THINK. BELIEVE.
Fellow FSM Believers,
Last night I was touched by the Prophet of His Noodly Appendage Himself, for into my Inbox was thrust the following communique, like unto an e-mail. This is indeed a Holy Day.
Fellow Believers,
Our day has finally arrived! The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is at last here. Maybe not inscribed on stone tablets, but it is a book. And maybe not THE Good Book, but at least A Good Book.
Delivering His Divine Message is my life�s work, and as I�ve said before, all proceeds from the book will go toward our pirate ship fund. Because as you know, global warming is the direct effect of the declining number of pirates, and His Noodliness, while he endorses boiling pasta, is against boiling the planet. With your help, and with the sails blowing on our bad-ass pirate ship (with flags, cannons, and weevils in the flour barrels below deck), we can spread His Word and save the environment at the same time.
Remember that ours is a small boutique religion, but we have BIG ideas (some, arguably a bit al dente) and we must share this rich booty of ideas with others. Within the pages of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, you will find FSM history, helpful propaganda, scientific evidence of His existence (including the 100% verifiable fact that no one has sued any school boards about us), as well as pictures and illustrations that surely test the limits of copyright law. But as pioneers we�re not afraid of a little controversy.
Since The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster goes on sale tomorrow, March 28th is a Holy day. I encourage you to dress in your Pirate�s best�paint one of your pant legs to resemble a wood finish, maybe wear an eye patch or get a parrot, and eat some cacciatore with a side of linguine. Then, go to your local bookstore to let them know that The Church of FSM is strong in your community. I can honestly say that if everyone on this e-mail list goes out and buys the book, it will be a bestseller. That would certainly get some people�s attention.
Our future is in our own hands. And in His noodly appendage.
Ramen.
Bobby Henderson
Prophet
Available today at Amazon, B&N, and Powells.
March 27, 2006
Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Republican
You may have seen this one before, but it's worth reviewing.
Things you have to believe to be a Republican today:
Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush II needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.
Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind without regulation.
The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.
Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
You support states' rights, but the Attorney General can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.
What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.
Feel free to pass this on. If you don't send it to at least 10 other people, we're likely to be stuck with more Republicans in '06 and '08.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican.
And, let me add a couple of recent ones my own:
We must respect the sovereignty of the Afghan government, but it was okay to oust the legitimate government of Iraq.
We will help rebuild the Mosque that was bombed in Iraq, but our own citizens are still living in tents in Louisiana and other Gulf coastal states.
March 26, 2006
On The Run In Lampasas, Texas
Yesterday Tomcat and I took a road trip down to Lampasas for research on my novel, Gino's Law.
The main character is on the run, having been framed for murder, and he hightails it from the Metroplex in a southerly direction, avoiding the Interstate. Specifically, I wanted to see what the soils* were like between Dallas and Stephenville, and Stephenville to Lampasas, plus take in the scenery and ambience of the place. Boy, did we luck out, because ambience was all around us the whole live-long day!
This picture shows the chalky unpaved roads around there leading into the semi-arid landscape. The whole area is one big limestone deposit. The vegetation is mixed grasses, cacti, mesquite trees, liveoak trees, and … salt cedars. The cedars are everywhere, and their scent is heavy on the breeze.
Last night I Googled the cedars and found that salt cedars are on a par with fire ants and cockroaches in that part of the State. They come from Asia, and were originally introduced as an ornamental plant in the early 19th century. I imagine that some Regency or Victorian-era lady thought these would look so nice next to the cacti in her yard, so she persuaded her husband to order them.
Big mistake. These trees have a very long tap root, which deprives the indigenous plants of water, choking them out. They cause the water table to get lower and lower, and even affect the water levels of the rivers, which in turn harms other species' habitats, like fish and turtles and so on. Now, here's the scary part: the State of Texas has imported thousands of Asian salt-cedar beetles to devour these trees. One shudders to think …
* In my part of the State, we have clay, which wrecks havoc with foundations, and also large areas of that fantastic super-rich black soil that will grow anything you put in it. Traveling south to Stephenville, there are long stretches of iron-rich red soil, like on Mars (which may explain a lot, somehow…) Then, you get into limestone and gravel country where you can see these chalky roads. When you drive along these roads, the car throws up this fine white powder, which dusts the grasses and trees alongside. You can drive for miles on these things and suddenly come to a "Stop" sign where it intersects with another one. I mean, there's nothing out there but cactus, salt cedar, mesquite, oak, and buzzards, and here's a stop sign?! Then we saw signs for school bus crossings. Oh. Okay. We're just city folk; we had no idea there were people out here!
Anyway, the trip was fun and we took lots of notes. All for sake of research, don't you know.
Chapterhouse 