There’s a lot to get angry about with things political, and I certainly add my share of angst to the ire. In the last week, there’s been enough “commentary” about the SCOTUS decisions to strike down DOMA and California’s Proposition 8 to fill quite a few volumes. During that same time, President Obama’s speech about … [Read more…]
Yesterday, I finished George Orwell’s classic work of dystopian psychological horror, 1984, which I read for the Mythgard Institute’s Dystopian Tradition class, taught by the estimable Amy H. Sturgis. It’s the second time I’ve read the book, though I’m not entirely sure when I first read it. In college, perhaps? In any case, it was … [Read more…]
Last night I watched the first of a four-part PBS series called Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. In it, Sagal pretends to be a biker and goes on a neo-Steinbeckian cross-country trip in a quintessential attempt to take the pulse of the heartland — and, you know, other lands on either side of the heartland…. I … [Read more…]
Apparently, there’s some brouhaha over standardized testing in schools. Earlier today, a friend posted a link to an article about parents in Central New York telling their children to refuse to take standardized tests, and it seems it’s not just a local phenomenon. The question is, why? Opponents of the testing say it stresses students, … [Read more…]
Today, President Obama signed 23 executive orders in a step to help prevent future massacres like the Sandy Hook shooting, along with gun violence in general. The orders are not yet up on Whitehouse.gov, but a list of order summaries is available at The Atlantic. Predictably, there are predictable reactions from various predictable people and … [Read more…]
Late last Friday night, I learned about the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. However, since I was attending the Mythgard “Mythmoot” conference over the weekend, I had limited opportunity and inclination to spend much time online. Thus, I did not learn many details about the attack until the last couple … [Read more…]
In the past week, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued unanimous decisions in two cases. The thing I like about both of these decisions is that the government makes clear, common sensible arguments admonishing various parts of the federal government for its nonsensibility. The first was for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States, … [Read more…]
So, Obama will be in the White House for another four years. I expected as much, and honestly I don’t think it would’ve mattered much had Romney been elected. In his current term, Obama: Won the Nobel Peace Prizeand then invaded Libya Implemented a vast change to the nation’s health insurance (not health care) system … [Read more…]
I got a rejection email for a story I submitted to an English magazine in August. It’s a very short story – about 400 words, a so-called “flash fiction” piece – that has an extremely unusual twist in the last paragraph. It’s (delightfully, in my humble opinion) strange and thought-provoking, and everyone who has read it … [Read more…]
Nearly everyone knows that eleven years ago today terrorists hijacked four airplanes. Two of the planes flew into the World Trade Center Towers, one crashed into the Pentagon and another crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania. Those left dead numbered in the thousands, and many more were left with physical and emotional wounds, some … [Read more…]