Don't Cancel Hamburgers and Beer

I was just watching a clip in which James Carville—a liberal political consultant—advises Democrats not to talk like women.  He says Left leaning women have spoiled the image of the Democratic Party, and it now comes across as preachy and judgemental.  It's as if the Democrats are saying: don't watch football; don't eat hamburgers; and some other startling directives.

I'm paraphrasing, but this gentleman is saying: Football is a popular sport!  You won't get anywhere by badmouthing Football!  And, by extension, 'Hamburgers are a popular food; don't go putting down hamburgers.  And the same goes for beer!'

Well, Trump is a, well, sort of popular guy; shouldn't we say anything nasty about him?

Anyway, advice on healthy eating habits is clearly a no-no.  Do not say anything against anything that's popular with the testosterone-infused Tea Party.  We don't want to come across as 'preachy' and 'feminine', because the Dems are perceived as being dominated by women, and moreover, health- conscious ones. 

This boils down to: don't tell them anything they don't want to hear.  I think James Carville's beer- loving friends have been kidding him about the lack of machismo in the party.  I don't know whether those at whom our PR is directed are going to buy our suddenly growing an extra pair of balls.  Trump's friends just might; they've bought so much BS from Mar-a-Lago, after you've bought tons of it, a few tons more is easy to swallow.  Unfortunately, those who are likely to understand what we stand for are not going to be persuaded by this nonsense. 

Kay

The Morning After

I'm told that things got better as the debate wound on, but no.  Biden has had a good several years, but this campaign season is going to be like shadowboxing with a demented skunk.

The MAGA crowd believes Trump (the skunk) when he says that his biggest failings and mistakes are actually brilliant triumphs.  Trump is playing to two audiences: 1—rural non-college people who will believe anything unscientific and illogical, and 2—hardcore Conservatives who really don't care what Trump says, as long as he wins.  The Democrats, of all stripes, and the undecided, on the other hand, care desperately, and we're hoping for some sense, and a clear signal from this debate.  Man, I wish I could text them some Tylenol, because they must need it so bad. 

My heart bleeds for everyone, the misguided Right, the frustrated Left, and the confused Millennials.  The Right, not so much.  The Millennials: very much.

When I was teaching, I would tell țhem: "I hope you guys are going to come out to vote!"  It was some years ago.   They would say at once:  We don't know whom to vote for!!  Can you explain all this stuff?

At that time, there was such a backlash against socialists professors, that I thought it would be prudent to take a neutral position, so I said, you gotta watch TV, listen to the candidates, and make your own decisions!  Stoopid. 

But apparently now Democrats are discussing how to get Beiden to stand down. 

Kay

I can't watch ...

I had the debate on for about fifteen minutes, until it seemed clear that Biden was having trouble recalling specific words he needed.  You can't debate obviously in that condition.  Trump was dishing out his usual 12 words repeatedly, making it sound as though he was making sense, but Biden seemed to be against the ropes  as they say. 

No politician is entirely altruistic.  Those who are more altruistic hardly ever get in office.  But I can confidently say: Biden has the good of the country at heart; Trump wants to stay out of jail, go on a revenge spree, and make more money. 

The Biden-Trump Debate

I am so worried about this upcoming debate—this is Tuesday; the debate is on Thursday, as far as I know—that I have been quiet about it, not knowing what to say.

On one hand, Biden, even if not as forceful as I would like, or as eloquent, hasn't said anything as wildly crazy as Trump has.  I say that not because I'm opposed to the content of what Trump says from the point of view of any ordinary person; I don't judge Trump from an ultra-Left point of view.  But even from the conservative point of view, Trump is in the loony bin.

It's really strange how anti-immigrant so many Republicans of clearly immigrant heritage have been.  I think, in the most rational instances, they're reacting to the complete lack of restraint, or order, in the controls at the border.  Even I, who have lots of immigrant ancestry, look on the border situation with alarm; there, I said it.  Let's face it: we're asking our border workers—guards, lawyers, social workers—to do an impossible thing, to be kind and understanding, and yet firm and inflexible.  The border problem of the USA is very much incompatible with the attitudes of a majority of the citizens.  We want to keep them out, while understanding the impossibility of their lives in their home countries (many, or most of which are ruled by crooked businessmen).

What can I say?  We're on the brink of being led by a crooked businessman ourselves once again.  The only thing, I think, standing in the way of Biden showing as a complete contrast to crooked Trump, is the opaque problem of Hunter Biden. 

This video showed up on my Facebook feed, and I thought I must post it!  There are some signs that the two women are uncomfortable being recorded; maybe I'll take it down pretty soon. 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/471536935263694

I thought this dance was super cute!

Rainbow Valley

Lucy Maude Montgomery, the famous Canadian author, who created Anne of Green Gables, had a wonderful sense of humor.  It came to life nowhere better than in the story of Rainbow Valley, the seventh Anne of Green Gables book.  Anne is married, in this story, and the mother of no less than six children: Jem, the oldest, Walter, twins Nan and Di, Shirley, Susan's favorite, and Rilla, the youngest. 

This is, in my view, the most colorful of the books, with the most colorful characters.  There's Mary Vance, the orphan girl who is taken to work at Miss Cornelia's home; Reverend John Meredith, a widower who comes to be the Presbyterian minister, and his four children, Jerry, Faith, Una, and little Carl.  There's also Lida Marsh, who walks around barefoot in the winter snow, and lots of other fascinating characters. 

The minister's home, given by the church, has a very small yard, so the four kids tend to play next door, in what was the Methodist cemetery (now no longer in use).  The ongoing rivalry between the Methodists and the Presbyterians is one of the funniest aspects of the book, but will make very little sense to present-day kids, and probably many adults!

If you happen to pick up this story to start reading it, look out for a mention of the song Polly Wolly Doodle.  It is a riot!

Kay

Wrong Tone?

This is something I have been anxious about: (1) Are there readers of this blog—and readers generally—who are put off by the careful grammar of my writing?  (2) Are there readers who read this blog because of the careful grammar?  (3) If I stop writing the way I do, and adopt a style that's more relaxed, grammar- wise, than it is at present, will I increase my readership or decrease it?

Even as I wrote that paragraph, I realized that to change the way I write, I have to make an additional effort.  That would take away from the satisfaction I get in writing; it's a little more work to write as someone else; it's acting, really.  It's not a lot more work; I have to do it all the time, when I'm writing dialog.  Rather than write "A said this, and B said that," I much prefer to write the two statements in such a way that the reader can infer exactly who is speaking from the context, and the voice.  I have written about Voice before; I ought to try and give you an example ...

Well ... this is embarrassing—I looked carefully through several stories, and I seem to editorialize during dialog so much (not good!) that there are hardly any examples of dialog to illustrate the point I'm trying to make: that voice and context alone are enough to make clear exactly who is saying something. 

The Moon

This is a stacked image; lots of different images of the moon under different light conditions were merged to obtain it.  The original is on Instagram, on the 'Astrophotography' account; you could probably find it on there if you've got an Instagram account. 

Caitlin Hostility: Why?

I had been puzzled about why Caitlin Clark's fellow players in the WNBA seem so hostile to her.  Well, just from what little I knew of human nature, I had to expect a little resentfulness from them; after all, most of these women had been playing their heads off (and their arms, and their legs) for a year or more, and this kid expects to waltz right in, and get all the glory?  Who does she think she is??

Actually, that should explain all of it; but there are a few more bits of chemistry that have a bearing. 

First off, over the years, you may have noticed that the girls who dominate women's sports—even team sports—are lesbians.  Most lesbians are fairly friendly to girls; whether they're comfortable among straight girls is really a matter of the individual women concerned.  Especially if a girl is attractive to both straight and gay girls, we can expect relations to be strained.

Caitlin, both because of what a good player she is, and has been, and because of how cute she is (which I picked up on very early) is also attractive to guys; in fact it looks like she has an army of guy fans.  This doesn't sit well with Caitlin's queer spectrum fans.  Now, Caitlin has a boyfriend, but as we all know, there's no need to be upset right away; people are works in progress, and the main thing is—and this is a general statement—if anyone loves a woman, they should love them without wanting to own them.  A tough order, easy to say, but ...

Meanwhile, another factor raises its ugly head, namely that women's basketball watchers are delighted to discover a white champion.  Fans of the sport may protest that they don't take note of the ethnicity or race of a player; that what matters is how good they are (at playing the sport).  I think it's good to be that way, but in this day and age, it's almost impossible to be color-blind. 

Caitlin is also being paid a lot to play basketball, not to mention that the whole WNBA is making a lot more money since Caitlin joined the WNBA, which is hard on the other players. 

A lot of these feelings could—and probably would—change as time goes on, and CC's character sort of crystallizes, and fans stop romanticizing Caitlin to the present extent, if that's even possible. 

But I have an insane faith in Caitlin's ability to hang in there :)  I only learned about her a few months ago, but she had impressed me in how well-adjusted she is; she seems to have a fantastic head on her shoulders.  Her only weakness seems to be that she's a bit impatient with her youngest fans; but she's smart enough to absorb the benefits of experience.  I was pretty rough around the edges until I had taught for a year or two. 

If good wishes alone were enough to keep a girl strong, Caitlin would be fine.  There has seldom been a girl for whom so many wished only the best!  We love you, Caitlin Clark!

Kay

More Griping: Cleavage

A lot of the images I'm down on DA now are of girls with thick, long, braided hair, with enormous cleavages.  The pseudo-photos are cropped, and it's left to the viewer to imagine how far down the neck opening is open. 

I'm not normally triggered by cleavage, but when almost all the images I am shown have cleavage like this, my instinct is to turn into Mama Bear.

Jennifer Garner

A glaring omission from my list of women I admire—from my.point of view, not from anybody else's—is Jennifer Garner!

First off, I think she's super cute, even beautiful.  Someday, if and when I have the great fortune to fall into a long-term relationship, I have to put all this praise of women in perspective for her.  (I just don't think I'll be falling for a jealous type that keeps bringing up all my past crushes; some of the women on my list are amazing beauties.)

But I don't think Jennifer Garner is going to be a babe of contention.  Not that she isn't beautiful; I think she is amazing.  But somehow, I can't see women being jealous of a crush over J.G.

Kay.

Griping Again

Another thing I intensely dislike about the 'uniforms' present-day so-called beauties are depicted wearing are: super high heels. 

I never liked the things.  I have worn them, but just medium heels, not these seven-inch affairs that the 'models' on DA stagger ãround in; pfft.  I recently saw Caitlin Clark, my idol, wearing heels.  Actually they were a lot smaller than some of these girls wear; also a lot smaller than sexy characters in FF stories wear.   Usually, the femmes in FF stories wear heels, and I ignore the descriptions of their footwear.  But it is difficult.   I just wish they wouldn't lovingly dwell on their Jimmy Choos.

My heroines are more likely to wear sneakers. 

Kay

Little Facts Everyone Knows

Well, dear readers of my Blog, all 13 of you (or fewer); I think of you as my good buddies, though I have never met you, and know nothing about you (but you guys know a lot about this elusive author called Kay Hemlock Brown!)

I just realized, earlier this afternoon, that maybe not everyone knows that clean clothes dry more quickly.  One would not know this from experience unless one has tried to dry dirty clothes!  Well, sure, they dry, but not easily. 

There's a reason.  Water mixed with other materials has to overcome the surface-tension between water and that stuff, whatever it is, which could be large.  The surface tension between a molecule of water and surrounding water is usually less. 

Now, one instance where you don't want things to be too dry, is trying to prevent static cling.  So that's why you put in fabric softeners, which don't allow the fabric to get too, too dry.  Of course, the Fabric Softener people will claim some miraculous properties of the material (mostly various types of wax) to keep the fabric super soft—some of which just might be true.

I've also noticed that, after a heavy rain, the streets dry out really quickly!  When they're dirty, a little rain wets the dirty surface, and creates a slushy mess that doesn't dry quickly.  But after a good long rain that washes off the mud, the road dries in a flash!

I should give you lots of examples, but I can't think of any ...

Kay

Awesome John Lennon

Just heard 'Mind Games' all the way through, and I just love it.

I never understood why that David somebody decided to shoot him; it seemed a decision of a deranged man. 

Well, I'm going to listen to the entire 'Mind Games' album, and I'll report on it after. 

Kay

Another Pair of Homonyms: Piece and Peace

"There.  I've said my peace."

That should look wrong to anyone who reads a lot, but I think some people who started to read when they're adults tend to read in such vast gulps of text, racing to get to the end of each book, that particular combinations of words don't have the opportunity to make an impact.

Peace=the opposite of hostility.

Piece=a part of something. 

'My piece'=what I wanted to say. 

A Crazy Thing

Well, I'm assuming all my readers are quite familiar with e-readers.  When you come to the end of a page, you tap in the right margin, and the next page appears.

So I was where I usually am on a Saturday afternoon.  My friend had invited me over, for a lunch party she was having (at a restaurant), but I had just peeked in her refrigerator and seen some really nice leftovers.  (Also, I hate any sort of parties.)  So I pleaded, and she left without me. 

I noticed that she was reading a three-volume compendium of stories about a character called Mrs. Pollifax.  She had saved her place with the dust cover flap, which I didn't want to mess with, so I looked through until the next story began, and started reading. 

At the end of the page—you guessed it—I was tapping furiously on the margin, for the page to turn.  But it was a paper book.

I was so embarrassed.  But there were no witnesses; all the pets were fast asleep. 

OK, as you were. 

Kay

Only a Game

I didn't say what the game is: it's SUDOKU!

A lot of people could be put off by the fact that there're numbers involved.  But none of the properties of numbers are involved at all, not the order properties, the arithmetic properties, or anything else.  You could just as well play the game with any nine symbols, like—!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, ÷.  (Or even nine letters, but people might think that there's some algebra hidden in there ...)  Actually, there's a little reasoning involved, but a lot less than in some other games. 

I might be punished for this, but you just can't talk about the game without an example.   I got this from a book someone gave me for a long plane ride—or flight  is the approved word:

This one is labeled 'Very Easy'.

Oho!

I see something right away: it's where a '2' goes in the bottom-left block.  Why?

Looking down the three left blocks, we notice that the only place to put a '2' in is: (can you tell?)  in the very center space.  The 2 (I gave up on the quotes) in the top block is in the left column, so that's out.  The 2 in the middle block is in the right column.  That leaves the three spots in the middle column. 

But wait, there's more!  Look all the way over to the bottom right block.  The two in the top row shuts that row out.  The bottom middle block has a two in the bottom row!  So all the squares are shut off, except the very middle square.  (I so wanted to put an exclamation point right there, but I hate when authors get too excited, so I assume you do, too.)

Now we have a problem.  Or rather I have a problem; I guess I have to put in more pictures with the 2 inserted in the right place.  But let's see how far we can go without doing that.

Oh, oh oh!!  I see something!

Where does a 5 go in the very middle block?  It can't go in column 1 because bottom middle block.  It can't go in column 2, bc/ top middle block.  There's only one open spot in the right column!  (Oops, illegal ! there), that's where we put our 5.

I'm going to give up for today; and maybe also for tomorrow; too much Sudoku, and I might have to shut down my blog altogether.

Kay.

What's Up, Doc?

I always confuse this movie title with "What's new, Pussycat?" so I took a second to make sure.  I watched this movie last fall, with some of my older friends, and I found it totally hilarious, while they were like: Ahaha!  Hmm.

Barbra Streisand was a very, very funny woman in her youth.  She had an amazing instinct for comedy.  I'm trying to imagine what it would have been like for the director (Peter Bogdanovich) to try and keep a little control over a scene, but I just can't!  Another comic actress is the woman in "Cactus Flower" ... her name begins with H, and she was in Rowan and Martin's Laugh In ... I give up.  She giggles; it would have been impossible.  Wait!!!  It's Goldie Hawn!  Gosh, she's super funny!

"Funny Girl", I think, is another funny Streisand movie, but she's done a handful of them, I get them confused. 

Caitlin Clark

Oh man, I just love Caitlin's face!  Sometimes it's in repose, and full of calm benevolence.  Sometimes it's baffled and frustrated, because she knows she's not allowed to retaliate. Sometimes she's full of excitement at the prospect of something nice that's going to happen!  Sometimes she just looks goofy; most times that's the way she looks; she looks goofy when she doesn't have a lot on her mind. 

It's a privilege not to have to worry about life each day; I guess that goes with being a fabulous athlete, as long as she is one.  She should save up for when she retires. 

Kay

Types

I want to talk about two things: the first is that I saw yet another video of Caitlin playing basketball!!  This time I sort of knew what to expect, and I could keep a watch out for what makes her such a phenom.   It isn't really a mystery; what I thought I saw the last time I watched was pretty close to what I saw today: she can sink a basket (is "sink" the proper word to use?) from an enormous distance—I believe that baskets made from far away score more points; I could be wrong—but of course they're riskier.  So the only way to stop her from scoring is to either keep her from getting the ball at all, or keep her prohibitively far from the basket. 

The second thing is: types.  When I'm writing a story, and a new character comes along, I'm usually thinking of this character as a brand new person, with all the special properties that I imagined him or her with.  (The exception might be Helen Nordstrom herself; more about her later.)  But if I'm introducing a minor character, or friend, I imagine them as belonging to a certain type.

When I say "type", you're probably imagining an ethnic type.  In a way, ethnic types are the archetypes for types generally; urban Americans, and since Television, all Americans, think in terms of types; and now,  probably, all over the world people think in terms of types.

For example, let's talk about some specific characters in the Helen story.  Helen's dad is supposed to be of Scandinavian descent, and I imagine him as essentially a Midwestern guy.  Annie, Helen's classmate, who married John Nordstrom, Snr, I imagine as a sort of Irish type.

Cindy—Mary-Catherine O'Shaughnessy—I also imagine as an Irish type, but with a lot of English ethnicity mixed in.  Gena and Allie I imagine as English, Erin as Irish; but James as German/Scandinavian.

Lalitha and Sita are generic Indian; Lorna is Jewish, and so is Becky.  Maryssa was an interesting problem.  I thought of her parents as Armenian, or Russian, or something like that, but Maryssa acts and behaves very Anglo.

Angie Connors, Helen's one-time Calculus student, despite her Irish name, feels very Italian to me.  So does Little Elly.

Jane, the stories, had lots of interesting characters.  Jane herself is what we call Pennsylvania Dutch over here; they're Germans who were members of very rigid protestant denominations, many of whom chose to become Lutheran or Methodist.  Deanna, the other main character in that story, is Jewish; Stephanie Johnson is generic Midwestern; Maria and Szuzsanna Varady are Hungarian; Mary-Ellen is generic Midwestern; Martha Schultz is German.

When I create a character, I don't start with a type; the type is an attribute that gets added on afterwards. 

Take James, for instance, Helen's little boy.  I think I modeled him after a cute little fellow I used to babysit while in college.  The fact that he's German comes from the fact that his father is Jeffrey Gibson, whom I imagine as half-English, half-German.  Helen named him James Gibson, which is kind of ethnically neutral. 

Another Miscellany (also Pasta Salad)

Various things set me off thinking  that I want to put something here for you readers, but there isn't enough for a theme for the whole post!

Caitlin Clark.  I'm getting to the point where whatever she does seems fascinating and interesting!  I'm not exactly a fan, because I don't follow the game (of basketball), and it seems to me that there are a vast number of basketball fans who have opinions about how things should have gone, who are amateurs at best (or never touched a basketball at worst), and I don't want to be one more.  The ignorance of the basketball armchair quarterbacks is embarrassing, even to a complete outsider like me.   [Added later:]  It appears that the rough treatment Caitlin suffered from this Chennedy person is attracting more attention.  What I don't like is some commenter remarking (in the comments on Facebook posts) that 'no talent black girls should be thrown out.'  They didn't exactly come out and say that, and sports fans have been famously rough spoken, but seriously, this Chennedy is underscoring the racial angle of the incident, and if there wasn't one to start with, there could very quickly be one now.  I hope Chennedy is happy.  🥲

Cats.  I was at my friend's house when a service person came in, and of course the dog had to make friends with him.  There was lots of tail wagging, and sniffing of pant legs, and so on.  Dogs are great communicators.  The cat just hides at first, then gradually emerges, and watches.  She has no hope of figuring anything out, except whether the visitor is friendly, or dangerous.  If he or she is friendly, she'll ask for a petting, otherwise she'll stay out of reach, and keep watching.  That's all!  With those simple tools, she relates to everyone, and everyone feels as though they know the cat.  Truly, there isn't much to know there. 

Donald Trump.  I do not like the man; I'm sure I have made my feelings known.  But I think all the vilification of the man and his family is unnecessary and over the top, and only serves to provide all the MAGA folks fodder to hate the Democrats even more.  It's everybody's fault for electing him in the first place, and giving him the opportunity to trash the Washinton D.C. establishment.   But now, Trump wants to enjoy it again.  And we did not know just how much trash there already was in the nation's capital, until Trump brought out the worst in it!  The Supreme Court: don't even mention it to me; whatever there was to admire there is now gone. 

Allergies.  All my sinuses are stuffed; I can't even shake my head without it hurting.  Today has been the worst of the last several days; a warm water shower helps a lot. 

Pasta Salad.  My friend very kindly made a pasta salad for me, so that I don't have to go foraging for food!  Her salad consists of * Cooked Rotini, little spiral bits of pasta; * Little cubes of cheese; I asked for pepper jack; * sliced sweet pepper—I asked for orange peppers, and she kindly obliged; * onion; thickly chopped pieces of white onion; * little chunks of cucumber, or celery.  Cucumber chunks need to be soaked in salt and vinegar briefly, but I couldn't insist on that procedure, because after all, it was a gift.  * Then there was pieces of sun-dried tomato, which, I ḍidn't used to do, but I really like it; * she put in a cupful of salad dressing, and finally, I would have put in pieces of thick-sliced pepperoni, cut in quarters.  She didn't do that, because she doesn't believe in pepperoni—she's a pepperoni atheist.

I can't even finish this post; I gotta go get myself a bowl of this stuff ...

Well, guess what?  Overnight, the cucumber (aka 'cukes', for those not in the know) soaked up some of the salad dressing, and taste quite decent now.  Also, she had put in * Ripe olives (the black ones) cut in half!  Fabulous!!!

[More to come ...]

Amazing Post!!

Before I tell you what the amazing Post is all about ... I was just perusing quickly through today's offerings on Deviant Art, when I came across several pieces of art, described by the artists as "Beautiful girl!" or "Cute Elf," or "Sexy fighter."

I can hardly imagine DaVinci or any of the ancient great artists captioning their work with any word of self-endorsement.  It's for your audience to assess the value of your work, young geniuses, not you, yourselves!

I guess Mohammed Ali started it all, saying "I am the greatest!"  With him, it was half in ĵest.  But with some of these fellows, I think it is serious. 

OK, the post is nothing special, my young padawans.

Kay.