Archive for July, 2008

31
Jul

yeah, but how did it end . . .

By writerds 2 Comments
Categories: fun stuff
Tags: , , , , , ,

I’m not going to be able to post tomorrow, so I’m posting a little funny now. Enjoy the laugh and your weekend!



A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent babies. Suddenly, at 3 o’clock in the morning, a loud noise came from outside. The woman, sort of bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man ‘Holy crap, that must be my husband!’

The guy quickly jumped out of the bed. Scared and naked he jumped out the window like a crazy man. He smashed himself on the ground, ran through a thorn bush and then started to run as fast as he could to his car.

A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, ‘I AM your husband.!’

The woman yelled back, ‘Yeah, then why were you running ?’

And that folks…………is how the fight started.

31
Jul

grasping at straws

By writerds 9 Comments
Categories: entertainment, in the news, media, politics and wtf?
Tags: , , , ,

I haven’t made it any secret that I want Obama to win in November. At first I was for Hilary until she and Bill got on my nerves, but she’s out of the race so watcha gonna do? Now I’m thinking McCain should do now what Hilary should have done before she was forced out and Jesse Jackson should have done before his unfortunate, sour grapes comments–get the hell out of Obama’s way.

Now McCain is likening Obama to such political luminaries as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, calling Obama the biggest celebrity in the world. Is that all you’ve got McCain? Obama isn’t qualified to run the country because . . . people like him? Whoa! Ride him out of town on a rail for that.

I’m sure you can find video of that commercial all over the web. Here’s another bit of video that is just plain sad. I also admit most of it is taken out of context, but it’s still pitiful.

McCain is reminding me more and more of some old curmudgeon crabby because his lap rug is out of place.  So my message to McCain–quit grousing grandpa.  Go on and take your nap now.  You’ll feel better later.

30
Jul

Hold on to your knickers

By writerds 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Queen Elizbeth’s just sold at auction for $9,000. The undies, of the crotchless variety are two separate legs held together by a drawstring. Naughty, naughty, but I doubt the style will ever come back into vogue at Victoria’s Secret.

29
Jul

Oops, I did it again . . .

By writerds 0 Comments
Categories: blogosphere, for writers, my blog, my work, publishing, reading and writing
Tags: , ,

I forgot yesterday when I posted that I would be blogging here again today that it’s my turn to do the deed at Blogging in Black. So if you want to know what’s on my mind today, head on over. I’ll meet you there.

28
Jul

speaking of guest blogging

By writerds 0 Comments
Categories: for writers, my work, publishing and writing
Tags: , , ,

I’m doing my blogging thing over at Bettye Griffin’s blog, Chewing the Fat with Bettye. The particular bit of grissle in my molars is learning to protect your writing. You can check it out here. I’ll be back blogging over here tomorrow.

23
Jul

Easy come, easy go

By writerds 4 Comments
Categories: entertainment, fun stuff and wtf?
Tags: , , , , ,

Other than Tuesday, what day is it today?

Give up?

It’s Bobby Sherman’s birthday. Maybe you have to be a baby boomer to care, but Bobby turns 64 today. That’s right the hearththrob of Here Come the Brides is a senior citizen.

Sherman dropped out of sight, becoming a policeman, after the series faded, but when He sang Julie, Julie, Julie, Do You love me? I substituted Dee dee, Dee dee, Dee dee–and swooned with everybody else.

Sigh. Now Bobby’s old enough to get the seniors discount at the movies. I guess it had to happen sometime, but there seems to be something very bizarre in that.

21
Jul

Batman no joke

By writerds 7 Comments
Categories: entertainment, fun stuff and in the news
Tags: , , , , , ,

Riddle me this, riddle me that. Who’s afraid of the big black bat? Apparently no one since the movie raked in a record 66 plus million for one day and a record $155. for the weekend.

I haven’t seen the movie, but my nephew was there for the first midnight show in our area–come to think of it, he never did call to tell me what he thought of it. As y’all know, I’m much more of a Netflix kind of gal. I watch when I can eat my own damn popcorn. LOL

But does this whole hoopla strike anyone but me as being kind of morbid? I mean doesn’t it seem like folks want to see it just because Heath Ledger is dead? I’ve been a big fan of his since the commercial bomb but personal love, A Knight’s Tale, so it’s not as if I haven’t been following her career. Still, I wonder if people would be so quick to rush out to see the movie if Ledger had lived.

But let’s focus on the positive. It doesn’t surprise me there’s Oscar buzz around his performance. I hope he gets the nomination at least. I still loved Jack Nicholson as the Joker, though. Eventually I’ll see this new one to compare.

18
Jul

stupid like a fox?

By writerds 4 Comments
Categories: politics and wtf?
Tags: , , ,


Please, Jesse, tell me it ain’t so that you managed to go on Fox News of all places, threaten to do bodily harm to a presidential candidate and let the “N” word come out of your mouth to a reporter who looked caught between not wanting to know and salivating to hear.

Honestly, my hope is that Jackson, knowing that people had equated Obama with him, found a way to put distance between the two men in the public’s eye. Otherwise, I don’t even know what to say about Jackson’s latest appearance.

In many ways, I feel sorry for Jesse. He’s been at this game since King was King. The way people speak about him now it’s as if he’s always been some sort of buffoon. He may have always been narcissistic and self-absorbed, but he made a decent presidential run, even if his politics guaranteed the majority would never vote for him. Jesse’s done pretty good by black people, too, working for their interests around the world.

And what took Jackson out? A scandal with some woman who fathered his child. Big freaking deal. I don’t care if he’s a reverend. I don’t care that betraying his marriage makes him a hypocrite. I think many in the black community abandoned and ridiculed him for no good reason. We humans, whether black, white, or anything in between have little tolerance for those who purport themselves to be heroes having any flaws.

Jesse, I’d love it if you could tell me this slip was part of some plan, but it seems you let your lip slip before your brain can restrain itself from commenting. I remember the stir you caused with a certain H____town comment about my hometown New York (you know if I don’t say the N word I’m sure not going to touch the H word). Put this kind of crap under the column of things that just make me sad.

15
Jul

The Politics of Smear

By writerds 2 Comments
Categories: politics and wtf?
Tags: , , , ,

Not since Miller’s great taste/less filling debate have folks seemed equally and vociferously divided over a popular image.

Enter Barry Blitt’s controversial cover for the July 21 edition of the New Yorker magazine. According to a poll I saw on my local news 47% of those polled thought it was satire; 48% thought it was racist drivel. At the very best, whatever you call it, the use of the artwork was ill-advised. I’d rather not get into the worst.

In the picture, Obama is dressed in traditional African garb; Michelle is tricked out a la Angela Davis–all while a flag burns in the Oval office fireplace and Bin Ladin’s picture hangs on the wall.

Leaving aside the intention of the artist and the magazine for a moment, what I want to know is why it didn’t occur to anyone that such a cover would blow up in their faces. Was there no voice of reason to say, hey, maybe these images might be misconstrued whatever our intent?

Guess not. The New Yorker tends to thrive on controversy, annoying liberals and conservatives almost equally. But a note to the folks at the New Yorker–it ain’t satire if folks don’t find it funny. The point of satire is to expose the absurd. It’s not satire if what you appear to be exposing is character not caricature. Captioning the piece The Politics of Fear doesn’t change the fact that the cover more likely reinforced detractors views of the Obamas as being militant, Muslim extremists rather than ridiculing them.

Now that’s funny, and not in a ha ha sort of way.

To read more go here.

On a more positive note, at least it beats this–

12
Jul

Got Cliche?

By writerds 2 Comments
Categories: for writers, freaky friday, my work, paranormal, publishing and reading
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


As I’m working on my own paranormal series, I was interested in story elements/characterization stereotypes. In other words cliches that I wanted to avoid. I have a couple of articles posted on the website regarding romance cliches, but damn if there don’t seem to be more in fantasy.

'thopter on the horizon
For me this bears a bit of irony since of the two genres romance is the more restricted. In fantasy you can make your own world in ways you can’t with romance. You can go to the past, the future, a parallel world or one that exists only in your own mind. You can have a love interest if you want, but you don’t have to. You can have a happy ending if you want, but you can also be a bleak son of a bitch if you desire. Your characters can be shape-shifters, vampires, invisible pixie-like ‘droids if you want them to. So why so much conformity?

Part of the reason, I’m sure, is that unlike pure fantasy, fantasy publishing exists in the real world where what is expected to be a success tomorrow is the thing that was a success yesterday. The mantra tends to be give me exactly what I had yesterday, except just different enough not to incite cries of plagiarism. I mean how many versions of The Incredible Hulk do we really need.

I think it’s also true that people write what they’ve seen and liked and thought they could put their own spin on. Hey, the Bard of Avon did it. His Romeo and Juliet is based on another work Romeo and Giuliet (I think that’s how it was spelled, but it’s been a long time since I took that Shakespeare course). To the Elizabethan (and other minds) the true merit of a story was not its originality by the skill the author showed in telling their version of the tale.

vs.
Same couple, different centuries?

Given the recent spate of remakes of previous works everywhere from the movie theatre to the bookstore to Broadway, it appears the do-over is de rigeur.

So that begs the question, what to steal and what to leave behind? Here are a few websites to help you decide. Each features cliches to avoid.

What cliches do you hate seeing in science fiction/fantasy/paranormal works? What would you like to see more of? Inquiring writers want to know!

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  --Debra Ross,
     Romance in Color
A skewed sense of humor has kept me sane through 10+ years of teaching and almost as many writing. I invite you to come in and look around. Leave a comment if you like. My goal is to leave you with a smile on your face and a few new thoughts to mull over. If you like the blog, please tell your friends. If not, tell your enemies.

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