“We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don’t like a Communist.” — E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

“Sometimes we feel that one individual’s action is very insignificant. Then we think, of course, that effects should come from channeling or from a unifying movement. But the movement of the society, community or group of people means joining individuals. Society means a collection of individuals, so that initiative must come from individuals. Unless each individual develops a sense of responsibility, the whole community cannot move. So therefore, it is very essential that we should not feel that individual effort is meaningless — you should not feel that way. We should make an effort.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from “The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Wisdom: The Essential Teachings,” p. 400

“Also, in the individual’s mind there are many hopes. If one hope fails, it does not mean that all hopes fail. I have met some people who tend to feel completely overwhelmed and who become desperate when they are not able to fulfill one of their hopes. But I believe that the human mind is very complex. We have so many different types of hopes and fears that it is quite dangerous to invest everything on one particular hope, so that when that hope is not fulfilled we are totally overwhelmed. That is a bit too dangerous.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from “The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Wisdom: The Essential Teachings,” p. 366

“You don’t have to suffer to be a poet. Adolescence is enough suffering for anyone.” — John Ciardi

“You always think that a bolt of lightning is going to strike and your parents will magically change into the people you wish they were or back into the people they used to be. But they’re never going to. And even though you know they’re never going to, you still hope they will.”

— Nora Ephron in “My Life as an Heiress,” New Yorker, 10/11/2010

“When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”

–- Ignatius Reilly in “Confederacy of Dunces”

“It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.” — Rollo May

Today I actually want to write, so I will. I would prefer to not break up any kid fights, fix meals, do laundry, or take care of demanding cats. Thank you, universe, for helping on this. If you could, please?

Continuity is a bitch with novels, it turns out. (That’s what I’m working on. A measly little 315 pages and 91,061 words of continuity.) Because if I’m reading a novel, and in one spot the character is 24, and in another spot all of a sudden she’s 23, that distracts me and I can’t enjoy the book. I mean, unless we’re going back in time and I’m going along for the ride, that’s different. Nit-picky, nit-picky. I am no Marge Piercy, let’s just say that. I don’t need to be — there can only be one, when it comes to Marge Piercy. (Go read her if you haven’t already — astounding writer. Start with “Gone to Soldiers” and then read “Woman on the Edge of Time.” She wrote “Gone to Soldiers” as eight separate books, I think it was, then wove them together. Goddamn.)

Do you go over books with a fine-toothed comb, when you read, or is it just me? Please advise.

— wm

“A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.” — Chuckles the Clown, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”

Sun is out again today, it’s fantastic. A guy came by to look at our floors — hardwoods, here we come! (I miss the oak hardwoods from our old house, but that’s about all that I miss.) The carpets, the cats who shed about two pounds of fur per day — allergies, asthma. Enough. We’re getting the bids and I can’t wait until we get the project started. (Make that “finished.” heehee.)

We just got our new copy of the “National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012” in the mail, yay! (Free copy for review, so here’s my disclaimer. Again.) My kids really enjoy these almanacs, they’re jam-packed full of fun stuff.

And another disclaimer… now that I’m retired and working from home again (wait… I thought I was retired? OK, writing = not really retired, eh?), I’m going to check out the marketing sites a little more often, BzzAgent and Vocalpoint, for starters. So if I am reviewing products (that I’ve received gratis) I will let you know. I also highly recommend signing up for some of the marketing sites, if you like to check out new products, or if you (like I do) have kids at home who love getting freebies in the mail.

For example, I just wrote this, then went to check the mail. Voila! There’s a coffee cup (paper, wrapped in plastic) that says, “take a break from aftertaste.” OK. I open it up, and there we have… chocolate! No. Damn. Coupons! For Breve Creme — one free pint, on them. And a string of cents-off coupons. I would have rather had a free cup of coffee. It’s the middle of the afternoon and I could use a jolt. But this is all right, too. So there you have it. Breve Creme.

Just remember, I never promote something just for the hell of it, even though I know that sounded like it (Breve Creme… mmmm Breve Creme) and I’m going to continue to give you my honest opinions on stuff. (Even though you’ve never, you know, asked me for ’em.) Or I will, anyway, once I try out this creamer. Dammit, maybe I should stop by Starbucks after I get the kid from school. So no buy-offs here, got it? Got it. Good luck getting any book reviews out of me, though… so busy writing that I’m not able to read as much as I’d like lately. Ah, well.

Here’s a magical recipe from the Sweet Suzanne (go buy her book, too! She worked hard on it):

Baby Reds with a Sprinkle of Magic

Ingredients

2 pounds small red skin potatoes, halved or quartered
1 tablespoon, extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
Salt (if you want) and pepper (I used seasoned pepper)
2 tablespoons, 3 or 4 sprigs, fresh thyme, leaves stripped and
chopped

Directions

Fill a skillet 1/2 full of water and bring water to a boil. Add
potatoes, simmer 13 minutes until fork tender. Drain potatoes in a
colander. In the pan you cooked the potatoes in, heat over med-high
heat, the extra-virgin olive oil and butter. When butter melts add
potatoes. Season potatoes with salt, pepper and chopped thyme. Coat
and brown the potatoes, turning occasionally, 7 or 8 minutes.

QOTD
“What am I doing? Nothing. I am letting life rain upon me.” — Rahel Varnhagen

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Agree or disagree? Please discuss.

“In my life’s chain of events, nothing was accidental.” — Hannah Senesh