Brenda Birch

Banned What???

Okay, I think I must live in a world of rainbows and butterflies. I’ve been visiting writers forums and blogs regarding banned book month. Really? I didn’t know it had its own month. 

I did a google search and came across this list of banned books from the American Library Association. Honestly, I didn’t realize how widespread the book ban epidemic was. Of course you hear about certain groups wanting to ban books, especially here in the Bible belt, but nationwide?

I have an idea – instead of banning a book so no one can appreciate it, why don’t you just put it down? Just don’t read it. Is that so hard to do? Why do a select few believe they can speak and make decisions for the rest of us?

I’ll admit, I had a sizzling paperback romance that never left my bedroom. I don’t know where I even got it, but once I had it, I wasn’t about to let it go. I must have read this book over 20 times while I was in high school. Okay,  a 100 lb chick with no boobs who lived seven miles from the nearest soda machine didn’t get alot of dates. The book was Savage Surrender by Natasha Peters, a 600 page real bodice ripper full of almost sex. If my mom knew I had that book she would have killed me.

I’ve read at least five of the books on the list.  Heck my kids have read a few of them too. B2 read Go Ask Alice by Anonymous in 8th grade. I’ll admit I did worry about the material and her age but she was okay with it.

I have had quite a few parents ask me about one book or another. I think it’s because I always have a book with me at sporting events. I’ll tell them about it if I’ve read the book (and remember what it was about), but I don’t recommend too many books.

Anyhow, go read a banned book.

Danged Doubt Demons!

Why does this always happen?  I’m 37k into the ghost story and all I can think about is how bad it sucks.  Why can’t I get these thoughts when I’m only 5k or 10k into the story? I suppose that would be to easy now wouldn’t it? Geesh.  Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.  Here’s a snippet:

Chapter 1

“What does that look like to you?” Alyssa asked Nick and pointed to the cloudy anomaly on the photograph. She’d been studying the pictures ever since she picked them up from the drugstore earlier this morning. The same defect had been on the pictures when she printed them off on her home printer, but assumed it was her machine. At first she was furious, thinking all of the photographs of the ancient castle were ruined, until the smoky blotches on the paper began to take on distorted human features.

“It looks like someone standing next to you was smoking when you took the picture. Ooooh, Oreos. Can I have some?”

“Yeah, but just don’t feed them to Sky. They gave her the runs last time.” She gave the small sheltie a playful mean look while the dog waited patiently for Nick to drop a crumb or two. “There’s no smoking in the castle.” Why wouldn’t he just admit it? “It’s a face. See . . . right there . . . eyes . . . nose . . . mouth.” She pointed to the translucent images that resembled faces and at times entire bodies laced into the otherwise mundane snapshots.

Be honest.  Does it capture your attention? Please . . . be brutally honest. 

On the other hand, I’ve been following this closely.  How many more of our daughters have to die because liberal-assed judges can’t do their jobs? There was so many opportunites to put this guy back in prison, but not only did they didn’t do that, they “canceled” his parole entirely. MY GOD!  STOP ALLOWING THESE MONSTERS TO KILL OUR DAUGHTERS! Just more evidence to prove that SEX OFFENDERS CANNOT BE REHABILITATED.

Censorship . . .

It’s everywhere. Can’t say this – it’s offensive . . . can’t comment on that . . . it might be insensitive. Oh heaven’s no you can’t say that – you’ll start a riot in the streets. 

Call me crazy but words are just words. They have no power unless you allow them power.  They cannot hurt you unless you let them.  I’m probably one of the few writers who believes words themselves have no power. NONE.  It’s action of people who are moved in some way by those words (again just words) that have the power. This could be a physical, mental or emotional reaction to the words and the results could be positive, negative or neutral depending up the culture and the experiences of the people reading the words. Without the action, they’re just words.

LABEL c : a descriptive or identifying word or phrase: as (1) : epithet (2) : a word or phrase used with a dictionary definition to provide additional information – Merriam-Webster

Today I got in a tinsy bit of a rift with a poster on a writers message board regarding labels and how certain labels offended this poster. Many members felt her pain over these labels and shared some of their own experiences. 

Many were painful to read. But almost everyone I know has experienced discrimination or ”labeling” at some point in their life. It’s certainly not pleasant being the object of words that bring pain, but again they’re only words and CANNOT hurt you unless you allow it. Bigots, haters and nutjobs are everywhere and it’s better to realize them for what they are than to get all emotional just because of their WORDS.

On the other hand, just because YOU find something offensive that doesn’t give that YOU the right to tell others what they should and shouldn’t say. And just because one has the freedom to say something doesn’t mean they should (that’s were I seem to get into trouble), but I really hate the “word banning” that seems to be the trend as of late.  

SOOO me and my big mouth (or fingers) decided to play devils advocate asking such questions as why is a descriptor or label acceptable in one generation (say the fifties or sixties) and offensive today? Who gets to decide what terms are offensive and which ones aren’t? How it this information distributed? Is there a list? If so, how often is it updated? Does this end when the entire English language is deemed offensive? I probably made a mistake when I ended my post with “the PC Police is the biggest threat to free speech today”. 

I also pointed out the everyone uses Labeling whether they admit it or not. Some people use a particular term and are unaware that it’s now considered offensive, i.e. a generational gap faux pas such as Harry Reid’s comment regarding our President’s lack of “Negro dialect unless he wants one”. Harry Reid’s comment, not mine. Google it.

It’s part of our culture and how, as writers do we describe people, places, event, objects, etc without labeling, either benign labels, positive labels or negative labels? Of course, no one there would EVER admit they have such a character flaw as labeling.

Well, originating poster slammed back with a plethora of accusations, racial insinuations, etc assuming that I was not a minority because of what I believe and I could never understand what it is like to be a minority in my own country. Well, hold on there sister (or brother), are you labeling me??? Caught them in their own act, but since the poster was a Moderator (oops!) my post was considered inflammatory and removed. Nothing was said about theirs. Typical. Offer a differing opinion and get chastised.

I find it laughable that people don’t see in their own actions the same kind of behavior they find soooo offensive in others. Gimme a break.

As for that writer’s forum . . . I don’t know. I don’t think I want to be a part of something that condones censorship . . . we’ll see. There are many talented writers there. Heck, my signon probably won’t work anymore anyway.

I’ll end this with an line I recall Oprah using after her trial in Texas, “FREE SPEECH ROCKS!”

No More Negative Nellie!!!

Okay, so the day job’s a drag, my evenings are booked playing taxi and cheerleader and by the time I get home and get everything ready for the next day, I’m dead tired.

I’m certain that has sometime to do with me being, for lack of a better word, a complete and utter bitch – whining both here and to whomever else will listen.  Quite frankly, the negative outlook is getting to be a drag. Seriously, what do I have to be angry/sad/nervous/upset/pissy/etc about? NOTHING.

I as a citizen certainly have worries about the economy, local land planning nightmares, terrorism and a multitude of other issues that lead me to believe that every moral, ethical and social value I hold dear is wrong, but I personally have yet to be touch by the chaos, be it real or hyped in the media. So until I am touched, I seriously need to “stand down” on the anger. It’s not healthy.

Yesterday I did something awesome. After picking up B4 at open gym and getting him home from a sleepover, and getting all of B2 and B1′s agenda for the day, I drove about 20 minutes, picked up my friend Lara and drove two and half hours to Ashville. It was funny. We had just met each other in person that very day, but we have “known” each other via online writers groups and email for years.  We laughed and chatted as if we’d truly been good friends for years. Well, really we had and then again, really we hadn’t.

First we visited the Biltmore Estate. It rained so we didn’t get to enjoy the gardens like we wanted to, but that house is the definition of excess. Lara and I both like the library – it’s the library one dreams about as a writer – a spacious room with dark oak paneling, overstuffed chairs, antique rugs over polished hardwood floors and rows and rows of leatherbound books from floor to ceiling. It was fun.

Next we drove into downtown Ashville to Malaprops Bookstore to a book signing by Sara Gruen. Her new book APE HOUSE was released on September 7th and this was the first night of a nationwide tour.  She is, in my opinion, one of the most creative and talented authors today. APE HOUSE will definitely equal or even surpass the success she has with WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.

We chatted all the way home and even though it rained most of the way, it was still a great day. I got home around 1:15 am and fell into bed.  Hubby had to get up at 6:30 and get B3 to the ballfield. They lost their second game but B3 had a good weekend.

B2 had a team tryout today. Meh, she didn’t look all that interested. It’s her decision, not mine.

This week it’s back to the ghost story.  I need to get some handwritten pages typed. Also, it’s going to be a great week at work! Have a wonderful week everyone.

There’s a special place . . .

. . . IN HELL for those individuals who write computer viruses. I found (after hours of reading different forums) that I had a dialer infection which therefore allowed multiple forms of the Trojan virus to infect, infect and then infect some more. What a mess! However, I think I’ve gotten rid of it, so you lose, assholes! (Okay now watch it return with a vengence.)

I swear I could hear “oh my god” in a chipmunk voice come through my speakers even when I wasn’t online. It was creepy.  B4 heard it too. I suppose it would have been creepier if it said, “I’m watching you” or “I’m going to kill you in your sleep” but it was still creepy.  I’m running another malware scan as I type and after that, I’ll run the anti-dialer scan.  This thing managed to outwit AVG and Lavasoft. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I actually wrote today at lunch. The ghost story is coming along nicely. I’m hoping I can get it completed by mid-October, take a short break and then start on my next project. Hopefully. With B1 and B2 both playing high school basketball, B3 doing volleyball at Carolina Courts and B4 playing middle school basketball, winter looks to be quite full.

Hubby is in Ft. Myers Florida this week and had to purchase new tires for his work van. The bad news – $600.00. The good news – Florida doesn’t have state sales tax so he actually saved about $50.00.  Who would have thought I was the “glass half-full” type?

The weekend at the mountains was fun. Saturday night we had a bonfire with hot dogs and smores fixins’. Me and B3 got the fire going (without gasoline) while hubby was on a beer run. We won’t be able to go back again until Thanksgiving so I told mom I’d need a clear kitchen counter to cook for more than 10 people.  Calling my mom a “clutter bug” is being nice, God love her!

The day job sucks. I have 133 unread emails mostly from well meaning people wanting to know when parts are going to arrive. Surprisingly “when hell freezes over” or “when pigs fly” doesn’t go over well. Oooh . . . I know . . . let me go to the restroom and crap a couple of crankshafts. That’ll take care of the problem. These parts come from SWEDEN or JAPAN mostly by way of CHINA. They ship what they want, when they want and there’s not much I can do about it!

Well, I have to go buy some dog and cat food before I pick up B2 from volleyball practice. Have a wonderful evening!