There's been a lot of talk lately about the new version of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. In case you haven't heard, the word "nigger" has been removed and replaced with the word "slave."
While the "N" word is certainly offensive, removing it from literature is just plain wrong. It's censorship--pure and simple. You don't revise history. Period. And this book IS history.
Read Sean Ferrell's blog. He states his case pretty darn well.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Monday, December 13, 2010
Home Cookin'
I like my own cooking.
This revelation came to me one Friday afternoon when hubby asked me, "Do you want to go out to eat tonight?"
I thought about it for three or four seconds and said, "Nah. I'll make something." It had nothing to do with the fact that it would require me to shower, fix my hair, put makeup on, and wear something besides nylon workout pants and a t-shirt.
It had to do with a few meals we'd had recently at restaurants. Quite frankly, they sucked.
I'm not going to officially name any of the restaurants, even though I should--as a warning to unsuspecting consumers. It all started a couple of months ago when we went to one chain that serves burgers, sandwiches, and might just have a bird in their name. It was the absolute worst meal I've ever had. I should have known we were in for a bad experience as soon as we walked into the place. The entrance area was packed. Misbehaving little monsters were running rampant while their oblivious parents chatted. The hostess said there'd be a ten minute wait. We were finally seated a good half hour later.
It got worse. We were seated about six inches away from a family with four children under the age of ten. This wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but the little girl in a high chair seated closest to us was a true demon child. I almost suggested we go somewhere else, but we'd already waited so long, I figured we should stick it out. Bad decision.
After another long wait, our waitress finally showed up and we ordered a couple of beers. Just when I was wondering if she was brewing the beer herself, she came back. Hubby and I ordered fish sandwiches. While we waited, said demon child kept throwing things onto our table. Every once in awhile her mother would say she was sorry, but didn't do anything to correct demon child. Okay, maybe she said, "Honey, don't do that." She should have picked up her precious one and given her a good swat on the backside. Maybe she was afraid the kid's head would start spinning or something. It wouldn't have surprised me.
Believe it or not, there's more. When our food finally arrived I bit into my fish sandwich. IT WAS STILL FROZEN. As in ice particles underneath that crispy fried batter. I took my fork and poked at it. Yep. FROZEN. While hubby ate his unfrozen sandwich, I waited for our server to come back. Ate a few french fries. Waited some more. No server. I finally flagged down a passing waiter after he served another table and told him. He took the sandwich and brought me a basket of fries. When he finally brought a new sandwich, I couldn't eat it. Just the thought of frozen fish turned my stomach. All this time, our waitress was nowhere to be found.
I'll cut to the chase. When it was time to pay, we handed our waitress (who had finally come back) our credit card. Another wait. The credit card machine was broken. She asked if we could pay cash. Um. No. She came back with a manager who stated she'd try to run it the old-fashioned way. Another wait. Finally, the manager said the meal was on the house because she couldn't figure out how to run the card. So, we got a free meal, not because it sucked, but because their credit card machine didn't work. Needless to say, I'll never go there again.
And that's not the only bad meal I've had lately. We went to another chain and I had a hard time picking something because there were too many weird ingredients in things. No, I don't want cranberries, pecans, and who knows what else in my salad. No, I don't want the chicken dipped in Caesar dressing, breaded, fried, and topped with cheese. I want an ordinary grilled chicken salad. Hold the fries. It's not that hard. Sheesh.
Even the lunch I had at our annual SinC Christmas lunch was inedible. And this was at a place that used to have good food. My pulled pork is a hundred times better than theirs.
I got the message. I'm cookin' at home.
Next time we go out I'll stick to beer and dessert.
They're my two favorite food groups anyway.
This revelation came to me one Friday afternoon when hubby asked me, "Do you want to go out to eat tonight?"
I thought about it for three or four seconds and said, "Nah. I'll make something." It had nothing to do with the fact that it would require me to shower, fix my hair, put makeup on, and wear something besides nylon workout pants and a t-shirt.
It had to do with a few meals we'd had recently at restaurants. Quite frankly, they sucked.
I'm not going to officially name any of the restaurants, even though I should--as a warning to unsuspecting consumers. It all started a couple of months ago when we went to one chain that serves burgers, sandwiches, and might just have a bird in their name. It was the absolute worst meal I've ever had. I should have known we were in for a bad experience as soon as we walked into the place. The entrance area was packed. Misbehaving little monsters were running rampant while their oblivious parents chatted. The hostess said there'd be a ten minute wait. We were finally seated a good half hour later.
It got worse. We were seated about six inches away from a family with four children under the age of ten. This wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but the little girl in a high chair seated closest to us was a true demon child. I almost suggested we go somewhere else, but we'd already waited so long, I figured we should stick it out. Bad decision.
After another long wait, our waitress finally showed up and we ordered a couple of beers. Just when I was wondering if she was brewing the beer herself, she came back. Hubby and I ordered fish sandwiches. While we waited, said demon child kept throwing things onto our table. Every once in awhile her mother would say she was sorry, but didn't do anything to correct demon child. Okay, maybe she said, "Honey, don't do that." She should have picked up her precious one and given her a good swat on the backside. Maybe she was afraid the kid's head would start spinning or something. It wouldn't have surprised me.
Believe it or not, there's more. When our food finally arrived I bit into my fish sandwich. IT WAS STILL FROZEN. As in ice particles underneath that crispy fried batter. I took my fork and poked at it. Yep. FROZEN. While hubby ate his unfrozen sandwich, I waited for our server to come back. Ate a few french fries. Waited some more. No server. I finally flagged down a passing waiter after he served another table and told him. He took the sandwich and brought me a basket of fries. When he finally brought a new sandwich, I couldn't eat it. Just the thought of frozen fish turned my stomach. All this time, our waitress was nowhere to be found.
I'll cut to the chase. When it was time to pay, we handed our waitress (who had finally come back) our credit card. Another wait. The credit card machine was broken. She asked if we could pay cash. Um. No. She came back with a manager who stated she'd try to run it the old-fashioned way. Another wait. Finally, the manager said the meal was on the house because she couldn't figure out how to run the card. So, we got a free meal, not because it sucked, but because their credit card machine didn't work. Needless to say, I'll never go there again.
And that's not the only bad meal I've had lately. We went to another chain and I had a hard time picking something because there were too many weird ingredients in things. No, I don't want cranberries, pecans, and who knows what else in my salad. No, I don't want the chicken dipped in Caesar dressing, breaded, fried, and topped with cheese. I want an ordinary grilled chicken salad. Hold the fries. It's not that hard. Sheesh.
Even the lunch I had at our annual SinC Christmas lunch was inedible. And this was at a place that used to have good food. My pulled pork is a hundred times better than theirs.
I got the message. I'm cookin' at home.
Next time we go out I'll stick to beer and dessert.
They're my two favorite food groups anyway.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Remembrance of "A day that will live in infamy"
Today is the 69th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The following is what my mother wrote about that day. She was a 21 year old beautician at the time. She loved to write, and I think she would have been a great one if she'd had the chance to pursue it.
Fascinating, isn't it?
Here's a site that contains links to some of the radio broadcasts that people listened to that day.
"Well, this day began as usual. Being Sunday, I arose late and just about made it to 12 o'clock Mass at the Point Church in downtown Pittsburgh. After Mass, I followed the Sunday routine by waiting on the corner of Ferry and 3rd Avenue for Cass and Peggy, the three of us then making a dash across the busy streets, startling Sunday drivers by our bold jaywalking, walking briskly up Liberty and into the Jenkins Arcade to avoid the brisk December weather. And as always we looked into the windows of a shop displaying novelty jewelry before leaving the Arcade for another mad dash thru the Penn Ave. traffic and into the lunch room at Walgreen's drug store. We even had our regular order of ham salad on toast and coffee, lingering long enough to smoke at least three cigarettes, tongues wagging while going over the current capers of our clique. Yes, it was the usual Sunday for us. We had nothing more important to talk of than the surprise party we were planning for Jimmy McCloskey's birthday on the 12th. Nothing more important in our frivolous heads than thoughts of Tom, Jack and Larry, members of our clique for whom we three were bearing torches.
We left Walgreen's and walked down Penn, stopping to look at the clever window display in Horne's dept. store. Christmas was in the air. Everyone pushing, crowding, but everyone gay as they watched the huge Santa Claus in the window. As each person turned away from the window, he turned away with a broad smile and laughter in his eyes for the laughter of the Santa Claus brought mirth to all.
We three crossed the street to our car stop, boarded our car and arrived home about 2 o'clock as we did every Sunday. Daddy left for work just after I arrived home, mother was out for the afternoon, and just Joanne and I were at home. We just sat around reading the funnies and after awhile I curled up on the studio couch for forty winks. Joanne woke me in time to start preparations for supper. Mother, Aunt Clara, Anna Mae, Jack and the baby came in around five. We were just about to sit down to the table when Joanne turned the radio on for some dinner music. The program was soon interrupted with special bulletins. This was no longer our usual do-nothing Sunday. This was history in the making. This was an outrage to our government. While the Japanese Consul General was having negotiations with our government for peace, Japan was bombing our territories.
What little supper that was consumed was done so automatically. The coffee pot was twice emptied and the ash trays held too many cigarettes. The thought of war made your blood run cold. I resolved then and there if my business is affected in any way I'll close, store my equipment and do whatever I can to help with defense work. Every able bodied American will be on their toes now.
Peggy and I went to church in the evening for our novena. After church we went to the show where we met Bobby, Cass, Ernie and Jimmy. We stopped and had hamburgers and coffee in a little shop in the Rocks and then came home where we all sat around."
Fascinating, isn't it?
Here's a site that contains links to some of the radio broadcasts that people listened to that day.
Monday, December 06, 2010
A Good Time Was Had By All
The Pittsburgh Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter of Sisters in Crime had a Christmas lunch yesterday at the Church Brew Works in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. As usual, I forgot to take my camera.
But I assure you, everyone had a good time. I mean, really. What could be better than the combination of getting together with other writers, food, books, and a former Catholic church turned into a brewery?
While we were waiting for our lunches to arrive, we did our version of a book grab bag. Everyone brings a new or gently used book that they read--wrapped, of course. Our exchange is a bit different than the usual. The first person up chooses one of the pretty packages and opens it. Whoever brought that book then tells the group a little of what the book is about and why they liked it. Then that person picks the next book. It's a fun way get a book you might not have picked otherwise. And if you get one you read already, you can always trade with someone. I have to say, though, the only trade I saw yesterday was for a latecomer who would have received her own book, so we all must have liked our gifts.
The book I got was DECIDER by Dick Francis. I've never read any of his books, so now I can broaden my literary horizons. Or something like that. The book I gave was SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo. Hubby and I go to the Walnut Creek/Berlin area in Ohio about once a year, so when I saw the setting was Amish country in Ohio, I had to buy it. The protagonist is a former Amish woman who is now the police chief of a small town. She has to track down a serial killer, who may be the same person who raped her years earlier. Good book!
Have you ever participated in a grab bag? What's the weirdest or best grab bag gift you received? Have you been in a book exchange? What was the best book you received?
But I assure you, everyone had a good time. I mean, really. What could be better than the combination of getting together with other writers, food, books, and a former Catholic church turned into a brewery?
While we were waiting for our lunches to arrive, we did our version of a book grab bag. Everyone brings a new or gently used book that they read--wrapped, of course. Our exchange is a bit different than the usual. The first person up chooses one of the pretty packages and opens it. Whoever brought that book then tells the group a little of what the book is about and why they liked it. Then that person picks the next book. It's a fun way get a book you might not have picked otherwise. And if you get one you read already, you can always trade with someone. I have to say, though, the only trade I saw yesterday was for a latecomer who would have received her own book, so we all must have liked our gifts.
The book I got was DECIDER by Dick Francis. I've never read any of his books, so now I can broaden my literary horizons. Or something like that. The book I gave was SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo. Hubby and I go to the Walnut Creek/Berlin area in Ohio about once a year, so when I saw the setting was Amish country in Ohio, I had to buy it. The protagonist is a former Amish woman who is now the police chief of a small town. She has to track down a serial killer, who may be the same person who raped her years earlier. Good book!Have you ever participated in a grab bag? What's the weirdest or best grab bag gift you received? Have you been in a book exchange? What was the best book you received?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Yes, Virginia, there is a writer here...
I'd say welcome back to my blog, but some of you probably visit it more than I do.
Anyway, I'm in the process of redesigning the thing to better reflect the type of book I'm writing now. (Yes, I've been lured over to the light side.) My WIP--soon to be finished--is a funny mystery. At least I hope it's funny. My protagonist is a sarcastic, irreverent, six-foot-tall, red-headed, divorced police secretary, who attempts to solve the murder of the police chief. Her efforts are hindered by her pink Cadillac-driving mother, her ex-husband who happens to be her new boss, the mayor who wants to keep the investigation secret, and the hunky newcomer restoring the local hotel.
I still haven't come up with a title, so I may be asking for help with that. Maybe a contest!
I'll be tweaking the blog design over the next few weeks, so let me know how you like it, and what you'd like to see on here.
Anyway, I'm in the process of redesigning the thing to better reflect the type of book I'm writing now. (Yes, I've been lured over to the light side.) My WIP--soon to be finished--is a funny mystery. At least I hope it's funny. My protagonist is a sarcastic, irreverent, six-foot-tall, red-headed, divorced police secretary, who attempts to solve the murder of the police chief. Her efforts are hindered by her pink Cadillac-driving mother, her ex-husband who happens to be her new boss, the mayor who wants to keep the investigation secret, and the hunky newcomer restoring the local hotel.
I still haven't come up with a title, so I may be asking for help with that. Maybe a contest!
I'll be tweaking the blog design over the next few weeks, so let me know how you like it, and what you'd like to see on here.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Historians on the Gettysburg Casino Plan
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10182/1069580-454.stm
and
http://www.civilwar.org/aboutus/news/news-releases/2010-news/gettysburg-historian-letter.html
I wonder if it's a coincidence that the manuscript I'm sending queries out for has this hot-button issue as a major plot point. As my protagonist, Summer would say, "I don't believe in coincidences."
I just wish I was marketing the book right now instead of querying!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
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